The Month in Millers Oils Motorsport – July

While July brought a quieter period for many motorsport championships, there was still plenty of action taking place across the paddock. We supported some exciting events and followed strong performances from our partners and drivers. Here’s this month’s motorsport roundup.

Team VERTU – BTCC

Team VERTU ended a challenging Thruxton weekend on a high, securing victory at the fastest circuit on the calendar for the second consecutive season. After a difficult qualifying race, which saw reliability issues affect several drivers, the team showed strong pace and determination across race day. Tom Ingram recovered from setbacks to claim a podium finish and later took victory in the weekend finale, while Ricky Collard produced an impressive recovery drive to finish fourth after starting from the back of the grid. Tom Chilton and Nicolas Hamilton also battled hard to secure valuable championship points.

The result highlighted the team’s continued development and strong performance with improvements made throughout the weekend providing valuable momentum heading into the next round.

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy – Thruxton

Alex Keens and Josh Selvadorai shared victories in the opening two MINI CHALLENGE Trophy races at Thruxton. Keens secured a dramatic Race 1 win following a post-race penalty, while Selvadorai battled from tenth on the grid to claim his second reverse-grid victory of the season.

Rhys Hurd claimed victory in a dramatic MINI CHALLENGE Trophy finale at Thruxton after a thrilling last-lap battle. Josh Wilby crossed the line first but was later penalised, promoting Hurd to the win. The race featured close racing, with the leading pack separated by less than a second.

Barry Sime – Swiftune Series

Barry Sime’s weekend in the Swiftune Series showed strong potential, with Barry qualifying P12 from a competitive 27-car field for the 40-minute Mini-only race. Running within the top ten during the pit stop race, Barry was building towards a strong finish before a terminal engine failure brought his race to an early end. While it was a frustrating outcome after showing promising pace, mechanical issues are all part of the challenge of motorsport. (He has also sent an oil sample to our laboratory for analysis, where it will be examined for signs of wear, contamination and other indicators that may help pinpoint the cause of the failure.)

Derek Tohill – Rallycross

July proved to be a packed and challenging month for Derek Tohill, with three major Rallycross events in just three weeks. Kicking off in Pont de Ruan for Rallycross France, Derek showed strong pace throughout the weekend, securing a race win and fighting for podium positions before finishing P5 after a disrupted final.

The focus then switched to the long-awaited return of the FIA Rallycross Championships to Mondello Park. Despite an engine change limiting track time, he delivered a strong performance with a heat win, top-ten pace and semi-final qualification.

The month concluded at Kerlabo in France, where Derek continued to demonstrate competitive pace in a tightly matched field. After a difficult qualifying start, he fought back through the heats, set the fastest lap in the semi-final and produced an impressive recovery drive to finish P4 in the final.

Additional shoutout – Santa Pod Raceway

While we don’t usually cover events from Santa Pod, we were pleased to be part of the PULLUP event, featuring the Carl Cox Motorsport Series. Our team enjoyed meeting visitors throughout the weekend, chatting all things lubricants, and adding to the atmosphere with our popular Spin to Win wheel, making it a fantastic weekend both on and off the track.

Read last months ‘Month in Motorsport’ here.