Charles Rainford | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Rainford 20 July 1998 Horsham, England |
| Nationality |  British |
| Championship titles | |
| 2022 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Pro-Am |
Charles Rainford (born 20 July 1998) is a British racing driver currently competing for LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR in the British Touring Car Championship.
Rainford is the son of Shaun Rainford, who runs the Classic Cars of Kent dealership, for which Charles drove for in his four-year tenure in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. [1]
Born in Horsham, Rainford had his first taste of karting at the age of seven, but began racing full-time at the age of 16. [2] Mainly racing cars in his early years, in which Rainford became an ARDS 'A' instructor, [3] he most notably finished second in the Goodwood Revival – St. Mary's Trophy in 2019. [4] [5]
Two years later, Rainford began racing for CCK Motorsport in Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. [6] In his first season in the series, Rainford took five Pro-Am wins in the 16-race season, en route to a third-place points finish. [7] During 2021, Rainford partook in a one-off appearance in the Porsche Sprint Challenge France at Le Mans, in which he finished sixth. [8]
Remaining in the series for 2022, [9] Rainford won all but four races in his class and only missed the podium twice to clinch the Pro-Am title at season's end. [10] During 2022, Rainford also finished second in the Sopwith Cup at Goodwood. [11] Across the next two years, Rainford stepped up the Pro class of Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain, finishing fourth with a win to his name in 2023, [12] before taking two wins and coming runner-up to George Gamble by seven points the following year. [13] [14]
Rainford stepped up to the British Touring Car Championship for 2025 as he completed West Surrey Racing's four-car line-up for the full season. [15] After finishing no higher than 16th on his debut round at Donington Park, [16] Rainford scored his first series podium at the following round at Brands Hatch by finishing second in race one, [17] before taking his first win in race three that same weekend. [18] Four podium-less rounds then ensued, in which Rainford finished no higher than sixth, doing so at in race two Croft. [19] Rainford then took his first ever pole position at Knockhill, [20] before taking the fastest lap in race one and finishing second behind Jake Hill. [21] In the following round at Donington Park, Rainford finished no higher than tenth, [22] before scoring points in all three races at Silverstone with a best result of fifth in race two. [23]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Goodwood Revival – St Marys Trophy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 2nd | |
| Goodwood Revival – Betty Richmond Trophy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24th | ||
| 2021 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Pro-Am | CCK Motorsport | 16 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 94 | 3rd |
| 2022 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Pro-Am | CCK Motorsport | 16 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 156 | 1st |
| Sopwith Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 2nd | ||
| 2023 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Pro | CCK Motorsport | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 68 | 4th |
| Spa Six Hours Classic – GTS12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | DNF | ||
| 2024 | Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain – Pro | Cognition Land & Water with CCK Motorsport | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 98 | 2nd |
| 2025 | British Touring Car Championship | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 160* | 8th* |
| Source: [24] | |||||||||
* Season still in progress.
(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 2002–2003 all races, 2004–present just in first race) Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded all races) * signifies that driver lead race for at least one lap (1 point awarded – 2002 just in feature races, 2003–present all races)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR | Toyota Corolla GR Sport | DON 1 17 | DON 2 Ret | DON 3 16 | BRH 1 2 | BRH 2 7 | BRH 3 1 | SNE 1 12 | SNE 2 9 | SNE 3 7 | THR 1 17 | THR 2 11 | THR 3 19 | OUL 1 11 | OUL 2 DSQ | OUL 3 9 | CRO 1 8 | CRO 2 6 | CRO 3 13 | KNO 1 2 | KNO 2 6 | KNO 3 18 | DON 1 13 | DON 2 17 | DON 3 10 | SIL 1 14 | SIL 2 5 | SIL 3 12 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | BRH 3 | 8th* | 160* |
* Season still in progress.