The Month in Millers Oils Motorsport – August

August was action-packed for the Millers Oils motorsport family. With championship battles reaching their crucial stages and several drivers celebrating standout results, there was plenty to cheer about throughout the month. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from August.

Jodie Sloss – FFSA GT4

Jodie Sloss and teammate David Levy enjoyed a successful weekend at Magny-Cours in the FFSA GT4 Championship, securing a class victory in Race 1 before following it up with a strong second-place finish in Race 2. After qualifying saw David take P2 in class despite losing two of his fastest laps to track limits, Jodie started Race 1 from fourth and the pair went on to claim the win. In Race 2, Jodie and David once again showed impressive pace in the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, finishing second in class and adding valuable championship points. The results keep their title hopes alive heading into the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard.

Adam Smalley – GT World Challenge Endurance

It was a challenging three hours of GT racing at the Nürburgring for Adam Smalley and the No.4 McLaren. Despite front-end damage affecting the car’s performance, Adam and the Optimum Motorsport team continued to push, making progress in the Gold Cup and bringing the car home in 7th place after 180 minutes of racing. It was a difficult day for Optimum Motorsport overall, with the No.5 McLaren forced to retire after sustaining extensive damage. With just one round remaining, attention now turns to Portimão.

MINI CHALLENGE JCW

Knockhill delivered a dramatic weekend in the JCW class, with the unpredictable Scottish further adding to the excitement. Three different drivers took victory across the three races. Harry Hickton made an immediate impact on his return to EXCELR8, claiming pole before converting it into his maiden win. Archie Johnson then inherited his first victory after Harry Campey’s post-race penalty, before Alex Solley completed the trio of first-time winners with a breakthrough victory in the final race.

In JCW Sport, Alfie Garford continued his dominant form, taking victory in all three races to extend his championship lead over team-mate Murray Richardson.

Harry Hickton – MINI CHALLENGE JCW

Harry Hickton enjoyed a breakthrough weekend at Knockhill in the MINI CHALLENGE JCW, securing his maiden victory and first-ever pole position. His first outing as an EXCELR8 Driver Development driver, he topped two practice sessions before setting a commanding qualifying time to start from the front. He converted pole into a controlled lights-to-flag victory in Race 1, before battling through challenging wet conditions to finish seventh in Race 2. Hickton then crossed the line first again in Race 3, but a five-second false-start penalty dropped him to third. A hugely positive weekend, showing his skills, pace and ability as a driver.

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy

A memorable weekend at Donington Park saw Rhys Hurd dominate the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy, taking a hat-trick of victories for Westbourne Motorsport. Hurd battled through from eighth to win Race 1 before repeating the result in the shortened Race 2 and completing his clean sweep in the weekend finale. Henry Foote secured his maiden pole in a record-breaking qualifying session but slipped back in Race 1, while Alex Keens claimed two podium finishes and regained the championship lead. Josh Wilby and Isaac Doble also enjoyed strong results, with Doble securing his maiden podium in Race 3.

Dan Zelos – Porsche Sprint Challenge

In his own words, it was a “solid but pretty frustrating” weekend at Knockhill for Dan Zelos. After showing strong pace in testing, Dan struggled to extract the full potential from the new tyres in qualifying, leaving him starting further back than planned at a circuit where track position is crucial. From there, all three races followed a similar pattern. Despite having competitive pace, traffic, dirty air and overheating brakes made it difficult to make progress through the field. Dan maintained his consistency, securing three P6 finishes, but felt there was more performance in the car than the results reflected.

Team VERTU – BTCC

Team VERTU endured a challenging weekend at Knockhill but finished on a high, with Tom Chilton taking his first win of the season in the final race. Ricky Collard also enjoyed a strong weekend, securing his sixth podium of the campaign, while Tom Ingram fought back to score points after a difficult race two retirement. Nicolas Hamilton showed encouraging pace despite the changeable conditions and a late mechanical issue.

Then it was another challenging weekend for Team VERTU at Donington Park, which saw the team leave with just one podium finish. Tom Ingram led the way with a strong third-place finish in Race 2, while Ricky Collard followed him home in fifth. The weekend was hampered by a series of issues, with gearbox and electrical problems affecting Nicolas Hamilton and Tom Chilton, while Collard’s Race 3 ended early after contact and a puncture. Ingram also battled through contact in the final race to finish ninth.

Sime Racing – Brands Hatch

It was a fantastic weekend at Brands Hatch for Touring Car Rewind South and the Classic Touring Car Racing Club Pre-’66 Championship. With Jimmy Sime behind the wheel and Barry supporting from the pit wall, the weekend got off to a strong start, with Jimmy qualifying P15 out of 29. Race 1 saw him make up three places to finish P12 overall and 3rd Mini, before an even stronger performance in Race 2. Starting from P12, Jimmy battled his way up to an impressive P9 overall and 3rd Mini, finishing just behind the reigning champion and ahead of a Mustang.

Derek Tohill – Rallycross

Derek Tohill enjoyed a strong weekend at Loheac Rallycross, showing impressive pace in both wet and dry conditions. After finishing P3 in the Chrono race, Derek secured a front-row start for the semi-final, before going on to finish P4 in Rallycross France and take victory in the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship. A small mistake exiting the joker in Q3 ultimately cost him a shot at the podium, but it was still a highly competitive weekend and another strong result for Derek.

Adam Marshall – SW Motorsports Clubsport Trophy

Adam Marshall continued to make progress at Brands Hatch, securing P9 in qualifying before battling his way through the race. After a challenging pit stop, strong pace in the second half saw him move up the order. A late safety car created a two-lap dash to the finish, with Adam taking the chequered flag in P5.

Read last months ‘Month in Motorsport’ here.