The Milltek Sport Civic Cup blasts back into action this weekend as Oulton Park in Cheshire plays host to Rounds 7 and 8 of the official TCR UK feeder championship on Saturday 8 June.
Always popular with fans and drivers alike, the challenging 2.26-mile circuit will be buzzing with a packed field of 25 closely matched tin-tops doing battle through a quick-fire double-header in a single day of action.
Reigning champion Max Edmundson and his Area Motorsport team-mate Josh Files have been the men to beat in 2024 so far, snaffling five of six race wins between them.
It was Edmundson who had the upper hand at the Brands Hatch season opener but multiple TCR champion Files hit back with a brace on his home circuit at Snetterton last time out. Who will have the edge at Oulton Park?
The only driver to prevent a Files/Edmundson 1-2 lockout at Snetterton was another Area Motorsport driver, Liam McGill, who got between them in the reversed-grid race.
The Scottish star, a multiple champion in other categories, will be seeking his first win of the season this weekend.
Completing the all-star line-up at Rob Baker’s Area squad are two-time TCR UK champion Lewis Kent, 2021 Civic top dog Alistair Camp and another driver with titles elsewhere on his CV, Sam Kirkpatrick.
Kent’s blistering pace has been tempered by bad luck so far this season, while Kirkpatrick bounced back from a nightmare opening weekend to stand on the podium last time out. While his team-mates drive the venerable EP3 model, Camp is the standard bearer for the FN2 and has already taken it to victory this year.
Taking the fight to Area Motorsport is Ben Sharpe Racing, led by the former race-winning driver. Sharpe’s trio of young guns, Spencer Stevenson, Harvey Caton and Will Redford, have all stood on the podium this year, while also suffering their fair share of misfortune. Each is more than capable of halting Area’s winning streak.
Returning to the BSR line-up this weekend will be long-distance traveller Dan MacDonald. The Scottish islander will pilot the car used by 2Seas Motorsport boss Nick Cristofaro so far this season.
Leading the way for the other multi-car squad, Pro Alloys Racing, is former TCR UK man Alex Kite who will be aiming to bounce back from a tough weekend at Snetterton.
He will, as ever, be ably backed by team stalwart Owen Hillman, while the squad’s teenage chargers Aydan Hassan, Harry England and Wesley Swain (the latter duo in FN2s) continue to build their experience.
Joining the Pro Alloys line-up for his Civic Cup debut this weekend will be former TCR UK and Ginetta GT4 Supercup racer Garry Townsend.
Brothers Daniel and Jamie Petters, in their family-run team, will look to build on the promise they’ve shown so far in their debut seasons. Jack Ruddell, meanwhile, will be aiming to convert pace into results in his car run by former title challenger Morgan Bailey.
Scott Smith (DH Racing), Jordan Brennan (One Day Motorsport) and privateer Will Butt may focus on their Paul Winfield Trophy challenges. The sub-category for championship newcomers and less experienced drivers is currently headed by Spencer Stevenson.
Long-time FN2 exponents Dave Marshall and Mark Hughes will once again pilot their DMR with KA Car Sales cars, as Marshall targets podiums and Hughes looks to extend his advantage in the Goodyear Diamond Award for drivers aged 40 and over.
Hughes’s chief opposition in that category this weekend will come from Irishman Trevor McConnell who returns after missing the previous event.
This weekend’s Milltek Sport Civic Cup action is packed into a single day on Saturday, with Qualifying timetabled 1005hrs in the morning.
Round 7 of the championship is scheduled for 1150hrs before the reversed-grid finale, Round 8 of the championship, at 1455hrs.
OULTON PARK ISLAND TIMETABLE
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OULTON PARK ISLAND QUALIFYING LIVESTREAM
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