The United Kingdom has dozens of different championships and venues and we will try and outline as many of the different series as possible.

These range from the top level championships such as F3 and BTCC to small clubbie series.

There is also a large portion of UK motorsport that takes place away from circuits. This includes rallying, rallycross, hillclimbs, road rallies, sprints and many others.


If anyone has any contributions can they PM them to either someone or myself and we will add them in the appropriate slot

First of all there are the major national championships such as the British Touring Car Championship, British Formula 3 and British GTs as well as off circuit championships such as the British Rally Championship, British Rallycross, Hillclimbing and many more.

and that's before he's got onto the minor series... like Britcar.

Circuit racing can be broadly broken down into Single Seaters, Tin Tops (Saloon cars), Sportscars & GT cars, Historics, Trucks and Oval racing.

Or even broader - Sprint and Endurance...

There are a large number of single seater series in the UK.

Formula 3- Multi-chassis, multi-engine series. 2 litre NA engines. This year includes chassis from Dallara & Mygale. Engines include Mercedes and Mugen-Honda. Seen as a major stepping stone to F1.

Formula BMW- Single make championship running 1200cc motorcycle engines. Part of BTCC support race programme

Formula Renault- Single make championship running 2 litre engines. Another stepping stone on the path to Formula 1. Part of BTCC support race programme.

Formula Palmer Audi- Single make championship running 1.8 litre turbocharged engines. Cars are fitted with a "boost" button to increase engine output by 60HP. A major stepping stone to Formula 1 and other high-level International series.

See Also

Formula Ford. 1600cc Zetec powered single seaters with no wings. Multi-chassis series including Van Diemen, Ray, Mygale and Swift.

Formula Vee. 1300cc VW Beetle (yes, air cooled!) powered single seaters also with no wings

Saloon & Touring car championships

British Touring Cars- Running Super 2000 regulations as the main component of the series. However, BTC cars are still allowed to compete but cannot win the championship. Eclectic mix of cars including BMW, Honda and Alfa Romeo as well as works entries from Seat and Vauxhall.

Seat Cupra Cup- 2007 sees this championship run two classes with the introduction of the 300BHP 2007 Seat Leon Cupra R alongside the older spec Cupras. Both cars run 2 litre turbocharged engines and this series is now a key rung on the ladder for potential BTCC & WTCC drivers. Part of the BTCC support race programme.

Renault Clio Cup- Single make series now running the new 2007 spec Clio. 2 litre engines. Very close racing, usually cause chaos as they tend to hit each other a bit. Part of the BTCC support race programme.

Production S1- Endurance racing series. Multi-class racing based on power-to-weight ratio. Wide range of cars including Hondas, Mazdas and BMWs. Part of the Britcar package.

Stock Hatch- Run by 750MC. Hatchbacks up to 1600cc engines. Limited modifications allowed. Full grids, close racing and fairly cheap clubbie series.

Hot Hatch- Also run by 750MC. The next step up from Stock Hatch with engines up to 2000cc and a wider range of modifications allowed.

Master of the understatement.

Sportscars & GT championships

British GTs- Multi-class GT championship. Eclectic mix of cars including Aston, Ascari, Porsche, Mosler and many others.

Britcar- Endurance Racing series. Varied mix of cars including Marcos, Porsche and BMW. Split into classes by power to weight ratio.

Britsports- Endurance racing series for open top sports cars such as Radical, Juno and Chiron.

Radicals- There are a number of Radical championships for the various types of Radicals in production. Radicals are also eligible for other championships.

Caterhams/Westfields- A wide range of championships are available for these Lotus 7 based cars. As well as these stand alone championships, Caterhams and Westfields can also participate in other series.

Historic Series

Formula Junior - 1950s F1 style bodies, 500cc engines. Great fun to watch.

Pre-War sports cars- Castrol R in the air, Astons, Bentleys and ERAs on track. Beautiful to see.

Aston Martin Owners Club- Several series run at one day meetings. Astons of all ages ranging from 1920s Aston Le Mans cars to DBS V8s and DB7s.

Bentley Drivers Club- Again several series at one day meetings with the same range of cars as AMOC. Bentley Turbo R vs Napier Bentley? 24 litre aero engines and rather long tyre marks.

What? No Top Hat!?

Top Hat- A range of Historic series for 50s, 60s and 70s Touring, sports and GT cars. http://www.tophatracing.co.uk/series.html

Startline Ed and Someone. Thanks for your help. I don't have a good understanding of the classifications and the helps a bunch. You've proven your worth to this forum already.

Thanks again. More questions to follow, I'm sure.

<shutup> They'll be starting to charge entry fees if you keep up this sort of talk! roflmao

[QUOTE=wickedwitch,Mar 3 2007, 07:59 PM]

[/QUOTE]
<shutup> They'll be starting to charge entry fees if you keep up this sort of talk! roflmao[/QUOTE]
:D (Psss, I'm just trying to put pressure on them to maintain my expectations)

I heard that! <yes>

Don't worry, we'll sort you out with some good stuff to see while you're over here - or at least give you some good recommendations!

750 Motor Club series- http://www.750mc.co.uk/

Stock Hatch
Hot Hatch
Formula Vee
Saxmax- One make series for 14-17 year olds. 1600cc Citroen Saxos. Close racing, but absolute chaos.
Bike Sports- Series for sports cars powered by motorcycle engines.
RGB- Road Going Bike championship. Cars must be capable of passing an MOT. Yokohama control tyre.
Locost- Similar in design to Lotus 7 but based around Ford components and 1300cc Xflow engine.
Formula 4- Class based single seater series with various engine (Ford CVH, Ford 1800 Zetec in both FF Zetec and modified form, motorcycle engines, Pinto, Renault & VW Polo)
750 Formula- Two seater sports car series. Majority are home built chassis such as the Darvi. Powered by either 1108cc Fiat FIRE or 850cc Reliant engines.
Caterham 7s- Multi class Caterham & Lotus 7 series. Classes dependent on the type of engine fitted.
Kit Car Championship- Series for production kit cars. Must be MOT pass. Engines up to 3500cc but must be production car based, separate class for 1800cc Zetec engined cars.
Triple Challenge- Series for Austin 7s. Modifications limited to style and technology of pre-war and immediate post war periods.
750 Trophy- Series for early 750 Formula, Austin 7 specials, 1172cc side-valve front-engined cars, Historic 500cc F3 cars and other historic and classic cars.

British Automobile Racing Club http://www.barc.net/competitors/index.php

Formula 3
Formula Renault
Formula BMW
Formula Renault BARC-
Classic Formula Ford 2000-
Classic Formula Ford 1600-
British Touring Car Championship
Renault Clio Cup
Seat Cupra Championship
Dunlop SportMaxx Cup-
Mini Challenge- Formerly the John Cooper Challenge. Two class series for current Minis. Tweaked Cooper and Cooper S Minis with the Cooper S developing over 210bhp. Close racing, great atmosphere. Part of the Dunlop Great & British lineup.
Kuhmo BMW Championship-
Production BMW Championship-
Classic Group 1 Touring Car Championship-
Classic Saloon & Historic Touring Car Series-
Classic Thunder Touring Car Championship-
BARC/CTCRC Toyo Tires pre-1993 Touring Car Series-
Post Historic Touring Car Championship-
Legends-
Porsche Carrera Cup-
BARC Clubmans Cup-
Radical Enduro-
Radical Biduro-
Powertec Radical Challenge-
BARC Westfield Championship-
MaX5 Championship-
BARC Classic Clubmans-
Austin Healey Club Championship-
Ginetta Championship-
Ginetta GT Junior Championship-
Caterham Race Academy-
Caterham Graduate Championship-
MG Owners Club Championship-
British Truck Racing Championship-
Pickup Truck Racing Championship-
Sports Saloon Champ (North West)-
Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship (Wales)-
Saloon Car Championship (South East)-
BARC South East Centre Single-Seater Series (South East)-
Southern Sports and Saloon Series (South East)-
Gurston Down Hillclimb Championship (South West)-
Gurston Down Hillclimb Top Ten Challenge (South West)-
Harewood Hillclimb Overall Championship (Yorkshire)-
Harewood Hillclimb FTD Championship (Yorkshire)-
Harewood Hillclimb Ladies Championship (Yorkshire)-
Practical Performance Car Speed Championship (South East)-

British Racing & Sports Car Club http://www.brscc-new.co.uk/homepage-2.html

Alfa Romeo Championship
British Formula Ford
Caterham Roadsports
Caterham Superlights
Club Formula 3 Championship
Club Formula Ford
Fiat Racing Challenge
Fiesta Championship
Ford Saloons
Ford XRs
Formula Jedi
LMA Euro Saloons
Mighty Minis
Porsche 924s
SCSA V8 Trophy
Tuscan Challenge
Volkswagen Racing Cup
VSR Super Silhouette

Historic Sports Car Club HSCC Championships

70s Road Sports Championships
Classic Racing Car Championship
Historic Formula Fords
GT & Sports Racing Championship
Historic Saloon Championship
Classic Formula 3
Historic Formula Junior Championship
Historic Road Sports Championship
Derek Bell Trophy
BRDC Historic Sports Car Championship

Guest Series

Orwell Supersports Cup
Thoroughbred Grand Prix
Group C/GTP
European F2
World Sports Car Masters
Grand Prix Masters
JEC Jaguar XKs
HGPCA Pre-1966 Grand Prix Cars
HGPCA Pre-1959 Drum Brake Sports Cars
HGPCA Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars

Historic racing is my particular sphere of interest. In addition to the excellent info from the other chaps, I would add that the HSCC and VSCC run the majority of domestic championships. There is also The Heritage GT series which supports a couple of F3/GT meetings among others and marque specific series like those of the MGCC and the AMOC which runs intermarque, pre-war and allcomers events. Goodwood has the Festival of Speed and Revival which make motor racing an event in a way no other events manage. The big news over the winter was the merger between the Masters Series and Top Hat. This is now a powerful force in Historic Racing. High-profile meetings and grids with plenty of name drivers and cars should be a seasonal highlight. Check them out here http://www.themastersseries.com/

I would strongly recommend the following major events -

GPEuroseries - Donington
GPLive - Donington
VSCC See Red - Donington
Silverstone Classic
Knockhill Speedfair
Brands Hatch Superprix
Brands Hatch Masters Festival
Oulton Park Gold Cup
Goodwood Revival
Goodwood Festival of Speed

But there are also a plethora of other historic meetings across most of the major UK circuits throughout the year. I hope to see some of you trackside!

Some awesome facts on club racing from you chaps. I used to live 10mins from Oulton Park and would get to just about every car meeting there through the active months but I'm a bit out of touch now. Aren't Tuscans making a kind of comeback? That made heroes of Ian Flux and Mark Hales for me as a young lad! What else would you recommend at the moment? Think I'll try Britcar for the first time this year, I've missed it thus far; great concept for a strong trio of series.

Just a note on Britcar - you may find they have a big entry list but a lot of cars tend to "die" or have issues before making the grid - having seen them at both Brands and Silverstone this year they haven't been too bad. They do tend to suffer quite a lot of mechanical failures during the racing too.

The 24 hrs can be quite testing too <sleep> <stayawake> :D

That's one I've managed to miss so far ;)

2CV Racing<thumbsup>

I suppose that's part of the challenge of endurance racing! Probably why there are so many Porsches in Britcar haha! I should be at Oulton for the event in 3 weeks anyway...