The Army Sports Car Racing Team

Overview

This discipline remains the biggest growth discipline in the British Army Motorsport Association.  The Team has been striving to develop this exciting sport ever since its establishment and recognition by the Army Sports Control Board in 2011.  What started as a few members joining the Race Grid, has now leapt to over 20 Army Race Drivers joining their fellow competitors from the RAF, Royal Navy and Veterans on the grid.  

Army Sports Car Racing

The Army Sports Car Racing team consists of 3 tiers of driver:

• Novice (Development)
• Intermediate (Representative)
• Advanced (Elite)

The Novice and Intermediate drivers will compete in 20 minute sprint races whilst the Advanced drivers will compete endurance races which can exceed 2 hours in duration.  These are explained below.

Sprint Racing

Novice and Intermediate drivers will compete within the the Armed Forces Race Challenge (AFRC) against service personnel from the RAF, Royal Navy, Veterans and guest entries.  The AFRC is organised by a committee of volunteers from all three Armed Services, some veterans and some civilian guests.  The AFRC’s aim is to primarily provide a motor racing community for Service personnel and veterans, but we also invite all members of the UK Emergency Services and selected guests to compliment the competition.

The AFRC operating as an official championship since 2017 has become a firmly established part of 750 Motor Club’s staple of race series’ with over 30 cars regularly filling its own grid. As the official UK Armed Forces race series it prides itself on offering excellent track time and value for money with its ethos firmly mirroring that of the military.  The paddock is renowned for its relaxed but professional atmosphere, with each of the Armed Services and drivers prepared to help each other out in a tight spot.  This doesn’t detract from the competitive edge with all races strongly contested. Cars are grouped in 4 categories based upon power to eight with prizes awarded for class positions.

• Class A upto 300 hp/ton
• Class B upto 240 hp/ton
• Class C upto 180 hp/ton
• Class D upto 135 hp/ton

The championship has a unique points scoring system, that ensures any driver from any class is in contention to become overall AFRC champion.  Parity and the balance of performance between all race cars is brought about by a number of handicap measures, but emphasis and award is based on lap time consistency over “first to the chequered flag”.  Points are awarded for consistency in lap times for each round (10 in total) with the best 8 rounds counting towards the overall championship.  The championship is contended over four race weekends, each consisting of  2 x 18min + 1 lap sprint races.  Further detail on the Armed Forces Race Challenge can be found on its own dedicated website >>here<<.

Endurance racing

This will see the 4 advanced Army drivers compete in the Club Enduro formula of the the 750 Motor Club with 2 drivers per car.  Club Enduro offers all the challenges and satisfaction of endurance racing, but with a grid of production sports and saloon cars on a realistic budget.  The Army will be competing in two cars within the highly contested Class A over 7 weekends with duration's ranging from 100-180 minutes which means not only do they need to drive with pace, but they must maintain concentration for prolonged periods of time.  Pit and mechanical support is provided by members of the Army Sports Car Racing Team.

To finish off the motorsport calendar for the year, a 6 person relay team of Intermediate racers within the team will enter the 6 hour Birkett Relay at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit to compete for the Inter Service Motor Race.

Sports Car Enquiries

For more details please do not hesitate to contact us using the contact forms within the new Army Sports Car Racing website.

How to get Involved!

The reality is that the Army Sports Control Board doesn’t have access to funding that would enable the formation of a British Army Formula 1 Team or even that of a British Touring Car Team.  Motorsport, as a rule, is an expensive sport regardless of discipline; it is therefore unlikely that any significant funding will ever be available for individuals to compete in a fleet of Army Motorsport owned cars.  In order to help offset the personal contribution, this motorsport discipline has worked hard to secure a number of discounts from various motorsport suppliers.  Further information can be requested by completing the contact form below.

The Authority, Motorsport UK, has a useful webpage that gives a good guide on how to get started in Motorsport whether as a competitor, volunteer or spectator.