Team BRIT

Last updated
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Team BRIT
TeamBRITlogo.jpg
Founded2015
Team principal(s)Al Locke, Mike Scudamore
Current series Britcar
Noted drivers James Whitley, Jon Allan Butterworth, Caleb McDuff
Teams'
Championships
Britcar Trophy winners 2022
Websiteteambrit.co.uk/about/

Team BRIT is a British auto racing team formed in 2015, originally based at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, home of the Top Gear test track, but now in Washington, West Sussex. The team is composed of disabled drivers and currently (2024) competes in two British motor racing series, Britcar Endurance and Britcar Trophy, with the ultimate aim to race in 24 Hours of Le Mans

Contents

The key element which allows physically disabled drivers to compete is the specially developed hand control system fitted to all the cars.

History

Team BRIT was formed as an offshoot of the charity Kartforce, [1] which provides military veterans with the opportunity to take part in karting events to support their physical and mental rehabilitation and recovery. Team BRIT gives people with disabilities the chance to compete with able bodied drivers in national motor racing events. 1996 Formula One world champion Damon Hill is a patron of the team.

From its inception in 2015 with a single small racing car and three former military disabled drivers, the team has grown in size and scope. [2]

By 2022 it consisted of five cars and eight drivers with diverse backgrounds and disabilities, competing in three racing competitions.

In 2023, 9 drivers competed across four championships.

History of Cars Available

2015, 2016 - VW Golf GTI

2017 - 2 x Fun Cup Volkswagen Beetle

2018 - 3 x Fun Cup Volkswagen Beetle, Vw polo gti, Aston Martin Vantage GT4

2019, 2020 - 3 x BMW 116i, Aston Martin Vantage GT4

2021 - BMW 1 Series, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, BMW M240i Racing

At the end of 2021 the Vantage GT4 chassis became ineligible for competition in British GT, [3] which follows SRO Motorsports Group international homologation rules. The team continued to campaign it in the Britcar Endurance Championship where it remained eligible in the equivalent "Class D" under Britcar series rules.

2022 - BMW 1 Series, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, BMW M240i Racing, McLaren 570S GT4

2023 - 2 x McLaren 570S GT4, BMW M240i Racing, 2023 also saw the addition of a Citroen C1 endurance race car, adapted and entered to the Silverlake C1 Endurance Series [4] [5] which includes a 24h round at the Silverstone circuit. - the addition of a second McLaren 570S replacing the Aston Martin in the Britcar Endurance Championship. [6] - The other McLaren 570S will continue in British GT and McLaren Trophy [7] The BMW M240i Racing will continue in the Britcar Trophy Championship.

Hand Control Technology

Team BRIT worked with MME Motorsport, a Slovenian gearbox control specialist, to develop electronic hand control systems for throttle, clutch, gear change, and brakes which work in a seamlessly integrated way with conventional controls. The adaptation allows a driver using hand controls to share a car with a driver using conventional controls in race meetings; the car will respond to both sets of controls, giving priority to whichever input is highest if there is a conflict. [8]

The growing development and realism of Sim racing systems allows a disabled driver to use the same steering wheel on the simulator as the racing car which aids a more seamless transition from sim racer to track racer.

Championship Results 2022

Team BRIT drivers James Whitley and Chris Overend made history in 2022 becoming the first disabled team [9] to win a British national motor racing championship, [10] [11] claiming the Britcar Trophy Championship in an adapted BMW M240i Racing.

In Britcar Endurance the team ran the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in class D with six classes in each race.

In British GT Championship the team ran the McLaren 570S in class GT4 ProAM with four classes in each race.

While the McLaren was entered for a couple of races in Britcar Endurance, it wasn't registered for the championship but took part as an invitational entry.

In Britcar Trophy the team ran the BMW M240i Racing in class 2 and the BMW 1 Series in class 3 with five classes in each race

Race Results 2023

CompetitionCircuitDatePosition in ClassDriver 1Driver 2Driver 3Driver 4
Silverlake C1 EnduranceSilverstone GPMarch 1954Yvonne HoufelaarAsha SilvaNoah Cosby
Britcar EnduranceSilverstone GPMarch 255Chris OverendJames Whitley
Britcar TrophySilverstone GPMarch 26Race 1: 7, Race 2: 9Paul FullickTyrone Mathurin
Intelligent Money British GTOulton ParkApril 10Race 1: 6, Race 2: 6Aaron MorganBobby Trundley
Britcar EnduranceBrands Hatch IndyApril 223James WhitleyChris Overend
Silverlake C1 EnduranceOulton ParkApril 2229Yvonne HoufelaarAsha SilvaNoah Cosby
Britcar TrophyBrands Hatch IndyApril 232Paul FullickTyrone Mathurin
Intelligent Money British GTSilverstone 500May 7DNFAaron MorganBobby Trundley
Silverlake C1 Endurance 24hrSilverstone GPMay 20-21st47Noah CrosbyAsha SilvaPaul FullickSteve Crompton
Britcar TrophyOulton ParkMay 27Race 1: DNS, Race 2: 2Paul FullickTyrone Mathurin
Britcar EnduranceOulton ParkMay 274Chris OverendBobby Trundley
McLaren TrophyPaul RicardJune 32Aaron MorganBobby Trundley
McLaren TrophyPaul RicardJune 42Aaron MorganBobby Trundley
Silverlake C1 EnduranceDonington ParkJune 1840Asha SilvaPaul FullickNoah Cosby
Britcar EnduranceSilverstone GPJune 24Did not enter
Britcar TrophySilverstone GPJune 253Paul FullickTyrone Mathurin
McLaren TrophySpa FrancorchampsJune 302Bobby TrundleyAaron Morgan
McLaren TrophySpa FrancorchampsJuly 1Race cancelledBobby TrundleyAaron Morgan
BARC Britcar 6 hourDonington ParkJuly 22570S P2 in raceBobby TrundleyChris OverendPaul FullickJames Whitley
Silverlake C1 EnduranceSnettertonJuly23rd26Gabriela JílkováPaul FullickAsha SilvaAnji Vadgama Silva
McLaren TrophyNurburgringJuly 291Bobby TrundleyAaron Morgan
McLaren TrophyNurburgringJuly 30DNFAaron MorganBobby Trundley
Silverlake C1 EnduranceBrands HatchAug 19th21Asha SilvaNoah CosbySteve Crompton
Intelligent Money British GTBrands HatchSep 106Aaron MorganBobby Trundley
Britcar EnduranceDonington ParkOct 141 (D Invitation)James WhitleyPaul Fullick
Britcar EnduranceDonington ParkOct 144Aaron MorganTakuma Aoki

Following a crash at Silverstone 500 on May 7 when the car suffered extensive damage, the team decided to withdraw from the majority of the remaining rounds of the British GT championship and instead drivers Morgan and Trundley will race the remaining Maclaren 570S in the MacLaren Trophy Championship [19] [20]

Championship Results 2023

Paul Fullick and Tyrone Maturin finished 21st overall in the Rowe Britcar Trophy Championship and 2nd in class driving the BMW M240i.

Chris Overend / James Whitley / Bobby Trundley / Aaron Morgan / Takuma Aoki finished 13th overall in the Motorsport Uk British Endurance Championship and 5th in class driving the Mclaren 570S GT4.

In the Intelligent Money British GT Championship neither the team or the drivers gained any points.

Race Results 2024

CompetitionCircuitDateCarPosition in ClassDriver 1Driver 2
British EnduranceDonington ParkMarch 29thMcLaren 570S4Aaron MorganPaul Fullick
Britcar TrophyDonington ParkMarch 30thBMW M240iRace 1 : 4 Race 2 : 2Noah CosbyAsha Silva
Britcar TrophyDonington ParkMarch 30thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 4 Race 2 : NCDom ShoreCaleb McDuff
British EnduranceSnettertonApril 13thMcLaren 570S1Aaron MorganPaul Fullick
Britcar TrophySnettertonApril 14thBMW M240iRace 1 : 1 Race 2 : 2Noah CosbyAsha Silva
British TrophySnettertonApril 14thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 5 Race 2 : 3Caleb McDuff
Britcar TrophyBrands HatchMay 4thBMW M240iRace 1 : 4Noah CosbyAsha Silva
Britcar TrophyBrands HatchMay 4thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 4Bobby TrundleyCaleb McDuff
Britcar TrophyBrands HatchMay 5thBMW M240iRace 2 : 2Noah CosbyAsha Silva
Britcar TrophyBrands HatchMay 5thBMW 1 SeriesRace 2 : 3Bobby TrundleyCaleb McDuff
British EnduranceSilverstoneJune 15thMcLaren 570S2Aaron MorganPaul Fullick
British EnduranceSilverstoneJune 15thMcLaren 570S4Bobby TrundleyCharles Graham
Britcar TrophySilverstoneJune 16thBMW M240iRace 1 : 1 Race 2 : 2Noah CosbyAsha Silva
Britcar TrophySilverstoneJune 16thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 2 Race 2 : 2Bobby TrundleyCaleb McDuff
British EnduranceDoningtonAugust 10thMcLaren 570S3Aaron MorganPaul Fullick
Britcar TrophyDoningtonAugust 11thBMW 240iRace 1 : 2 Race 2 : 2Noah Cosby
Britcar TrophyDoningtonAugust 11thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 2 Race 2 : 1Caleb McDuffDom Shore
British EnduranceSnettertonSeptember 14thMcLaren 570S2Aaron MorganPaul Fullick
British EnduranceSnettertonSeptember 14thMcLaren 570S3Takuma AokiNoah Cosby
Britcar TrophySnettertonSeptember 15thBMW 240iRace 1 : 2 Race 2 : 1Caleb McDuffAsha Silva
Britcar TrophySnettertonSeptember 15thBMW 1 SeriesRace 1 : 1 Race 2 : 1Dom ShoreBobby Trundley

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britcar</span> Endurance motor racing series in the United Kingdom

Britcar is an endurance sports car racing and touring car racing series in the United Kingdom.

Nathan Freke is a racing driver. He was the 2006 British Formula Ford Champion. Freke has held four British Kart Racing Championship Titles and in 2005 became the only driver ever to win an FIA/CIK Superkart Race in a Division 2 Kart against Division 1 Karts,.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefan Mücke</span> German racing driver (born 1981)

Stefan Mücke is a German racing driver.

Multimatic Motorsports is the competition arm of Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations. Founded in 1992, the team has competed in numerous racing series, including the Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA SportsCar Championship, and FIA World Endurance Championship, as well as starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most notably winning in 2016 with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing in the Ford GT GTE. In late 2015, the organization set up Multimatic Motorsports Europe in Greatworth Park, UK, as a stand-alone base for its FIA World Endurance Championship LMGTE Pro effort, campaigning Ford GTs on behalf of Ford Chip Ganassi Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Leventis</span> British racing driver

Nicholas Leventis is a retired British racing driver and founder of Strakka Racing. One of his most memorable successes was winning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category with Danny Watts and Jonny Kane, breaking five records in the process.

Stuart Hall is a British racing driver. He is the 2013 GTEAM World Endurance Champion and has competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for teams including Aston Martin Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Watson (racing driver)</span> British racing driver (born 1995)

Andrew Robert Watson is a British racing driver from Northern Ireland currently competing in the British Touring Car Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akhil Rabindra</span> Indian racing driver

Akhil Rabindra is an Indian racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Powell (racing driver)</span> British racing driver (born 1985)

William Powell is a British racing driver and businessman. He is the founder of Octane Group and the motorsport team Motus One. He raced in the British Touring Car Championship for Starline Racing in 2023 and for Autobrite Direct with JourneyHero in 2022. He previously raced for the Brabham Motorsport team and won the 2021 British Endurance Championship in a McLaren GT3.

Optimum Motorsport is a motorsport team known for success in sportscar racing, primarily with Ginetta and McLaren GT cars. Optimum also race under the Inception Racing banner. Their record includes championship wins in 2013 British GT4, class wins at 2012 and 2015 Dubai 24H, 2017 24h Series class champions, and most recently several British GT, GT Open, and AsLMS podiums and championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 British GT Championship</span> 27th running of the British sportscar GT Championship

The 2019 British GT Championship was the 27th British GT Championship, a sports car championship promoted by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO). The season began on 20 April at Oulton Park and finished on 15 September at Donington Park, after ten rounds held over seven meetings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Britcar Endurance Championship</span>

The 2019 Dunlop Endurance Championship is a motor racing championship for GT cars, touring cars, sportscars and Production cars held across England. Cars compete in five classes with a car's class decided on horsepower, momentum, equipment, etc. It was the 17th season of a Britcar championship, the 8th run as the Britcar Endurance Championship and the 4th run as the Dunlop Britcar Endurance Championship. The championship changed back to 60-minute races for 2019.: The season began on 30 March at Silverstone and ended on 10 November at Brands Hatch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Wylie</span> Scottish racing driver

Ross Wylie is a Scottish racing driver. He started his motor racing career contesting the 2004 Mini Max Kart Championship, becoming a multiple kart champion in his native Scotland over the next eight years, before moving up to car racing in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Harper</span> Northern Irish racing driver

Daniel "Dan" Harper is a racing driver from Northern Ireland. He is currently competing as a BMW Motorsport works driver and was the 2023 British GT champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Britcar Endurance Championship</span>

The 2021 Britcar Endurance Championship was a motor racing championship for GT cars, touring cars and sportscars held across England. The championship's field consisted of varying types of cars from sportscar to GT and touring cars that competed in four classes, depending on horsepower, momentum, etc. It was the 20th season of a Britcar championship, the 10th run as the Britcar Endurance Championship, and the 1st run as the Goodyear Britcar Endurance Championship. The season began on 24 April at Silverstone Circuit and ended on 14 November at Brands Hatch. This was the first season with the new Praga category, open to all Praga racing cars, which paved the way for a new one-make Praga series in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Mitchell (racing driver)</span> British racing driver

Sandy Mitchell is a British racing driver who currently competes in the British GT Championship and GT World Challenge Europe.

The 2022 British GT Championship was the 30th British GT Championship, a sports car championship promoted by the SRO Motorsports Group. The season began on 16 April at Oulton Park and ended on 16 October at Donington Park.

The 2022 MSUK British Endurance Championship was the 11th endurance championship organised by Britcar, the third as the British Endurance Championship. The season began at Silverstone on 12 March and concluded at Donington Park on 23 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Pittard</span> British racing driver

David Graeme Pittard is a British racing driver who competes in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship. He was part of the Frikadelli Racing Team entry which won the 2023 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt George</span> British Professional Racing Driver

Matthew George is a multi championship winning British racing driver. He started his motor racing career karting in 2007, becoming Midland Karting Champion in 2010... before moving up to car racing in 2016.

References

  1. "Kartforce". Kartforce.
  2. "Video - history of Team BRIT". Vimeo - Team BRIT.
  3. "Team BRIT For British GT In 2022". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  4. Sheehan, Lucy (2022-11-28). "New rookie racing project launched". teambrit.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  5. "Silverlake C1 Endurance Series". BRSCC.
  6. "https://twitter.com/teambritracing/status/1615761144861560834". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-01-21.{{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  7. "2023: Morgan and Trundley return with unchanged Team BRIT line-up". 2023: Morgan and Trundley return with unchanged Team BRIT line-up. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  8. "Behind MME & Team BRIT's hand control technology". Professional Motorsport World. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  9. "Team BRIT wins national championship". PosAbility Magazine. 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  10. "Potentially the first disabled pairing to win a UK championship". Britcar trophy.
  11. "Trophy Championship Results 2022". Britcar Endurance.
  12. "Final Driver and Team Standings 2022". Britcar Endurance website.
  13. "Britcar Endurance final driver standings 2022". Britcar Endurance.
  14. "British GT GT4 Teams final standings 2022". British GT.
  15. "British GT final standings GT4 drivers 2022". British GT.
  16. "British GT final standings Pro AM drivers 2022". British GT.
  17. "Britcar Trophy final driver standings 2022". Britcar Trophy.
  18. "Britcar Trophy final driver standings 2022". Britcar Trophy.
  19. "MacLaren Trophy Championship". Maclaren Trophy Championship.
  20. "Team Brit announces MacLaren Trophy Championship entry".