The Month in Millers Oils Motorsport – September

With the motorsport season now entering its final stages, September brought some important championship moments, including title success for Alfie Garford and a first MINI CHALLENGE Trophy double for Richard Jepp. There were also standout wins for Team VERTU, Sime Racing and Derek Tohill, alongside impressive podiums and strong performances across the grid. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from September.

Team VERTU – BTCC

A challenging weekend at Croft saw Team VERTU come away with three podium finishes, despite several frustrating setbacks. Tom Ingram took third in Race 1 after leading on the road, while Ricky Collard followed with another podium in Race 2 and the fastest lap. Tom Chilton then delivered a strong second-place finish in the final race, his best result of the weekend. Nicolas Hamilton also showed encouraging pace in Race 3, narrowly missing out on points after a track limits penalty.

In penultimate round of the BTCC at Silverstone, Tom Igram returned to the top step of the podium, claiming victory in a dramatic wet finale. Tom Chilton also secured a podium finish with third in the opening race, while Nicolas Hamilton delivered a strong performance to score points in Race 2. Making his BTCC debut, Osamu Kawashima gained valuable experience throughout the weekend as he competed alongside the Team VERTU line-up.

MINI CHALLENGE Trophy

In the MINI CHALLENGE Trophy, Richard Jepp secured a memorable double victory at Croft. After securing pole in qualifying, Jepp fought through a closely contested opening race to claim his maiden series win, before leading the second race from lights to flag. Safety cars played a part in both races, but Jepp maintained his composure to complete the weekend. Alex Keens also secured two podium finishes to strengthen his championship lead.

MINI CHALLENGE JCW

Silverstone delivered three action-packed races in the MINI CHALLENGE JCW, with three different winners across the weekend. Olivier Algieri claimed his maiden JCW victory in the opening race, before Nathan Edwards secured his first win of the 2026 season in race two. The weekend finale saw Sam Gornall fight his way through a closely contested race, with changing weather adding another challenge, to take victory. Max Edmundson also enjoyed a strong weekend, securing two podium finishes and closing the gap in the championship standings.

Alfie Garford secured the JCW Sport title in the MINI CHALLENGE at Silverstone after taking his 15th class victory of the season. Garford has dominated the class throughout 2026, winning all but one race before the championship was decided with four races still remaining.

Harry Hickton – MINI CHALLENGE JCW

Harry Hickton showed strong pace in the MINI CHALLENGE JCW, topping Friday practice before securing pole for Race 1 and 3. However, a qualifying exclusion for not wearing the required fireproof socks meant he had to start Race 1 near the back of the grid. Hickton responded with an impressive drive, climbing from 17^th to 5^th at the finish. Further setbacks in the remaining two races denied him the chance to fight for a podium, but his pace throughout the weekend highlighted his potential ahead of the season finale at Brands Hatch.

Dan Zelos – Porsche Sprint Challenge

Dan Zelos enjoyed a milestone weekend at Croft, securing his first Porsche Sprint Challenge GB podium. While the result came following a post-race penalty for another driver, it was a deserved reward after a season of strong pace and challenging luck. The weekend also saw Dan make further progress with the car, finding a set-up direction that unlocked additional pace on Sunday and finishing with the second-fastest lap in Race 3.

At Silverstone, Dan had one of his strongest weekends of the year. Despite battling illness throughout the weekend, Dan showed impressive pace to qualify P5, before securing P4 and P5 finishes in the opening two races. Race 3 proved more challenging, with an unexpected car issue dropping Dan back to P8 and bringing the weekend to a frustrating close. With the championship top three now unfortunately out of reach, the focus turns to finishing the season strongly and building on the progress made.

Sime Racing

Barry Sime enjoyed a fantastic weekend at Snetterton in the Pre-66 Touring Car Championship, with strong results across both races. A competitive qualifying session saw the Mini secure P4 overall, before going on to finish Race 1 in 4^th. taking 1^st in class and the fastest lap. The result secured P4 on the grid for Race 2, where wet conditions played to the Mini’s strengths. Sime Racing took full advantage to deliver a superb overall race victory, rounding off a highly successful weekend.

Derek Tohill – French Rallycross

Derek Tohill enjoyed a strong weekend at Rallycross Mayenne, the penultimate round of Rallycross France. After a mechanical issue in FP1, Derek bounced back with a strong FP2 time before qualifying 6^thin the Chrono race. He went on to win his qualifying race and finish fifth overall, before securing third in Q3 and ultimately 4^th in the final. It was an impressive result on his first visit to the circuit, particularly in a competitive Supercar field of 15 drivers. The weekend also came as Derek celebrated his 10^th Irish Rallycross Championship title, adding another milestone to an already successful season.

Strasse – Porsche Club Championship

It was a strong penultimate round for Team Strasse at Donington Park in the 2026 Porsche Club Championship. After qualifying on the third row, Pete Morris and Chris Dyer delivered two solid race performances. Race 1 saw Pete take P3 and Chris P4, before Chris finished P4 in the second race, with Pete close behind in P5. It was great to see both Porsches representing Millers Oils on track throughout the weekend. With Chris Dyer in the Millers Oils Dragon Soop Porsche currently sitting 3^rd in the championship standings and Pete Morris in 4^th, we’re looking forward to seeing how they get on in the final round!

Adam Marshall – SW Motorsports Clubsport Trophy

Qualifying for Marshall was disrupted mainly by an issue with the car’s roof vent, limiting him to just nine laps. Despite the setbacks, he secured P7 on the grid. A strong start saw Adam move up to P4 early in the race, before a misfire and affected the car’s pace. After dropping back to P7, a well-executed pit stop brought him back into the battle, but he ultimately finished seventh.

Read last months ‘Month in Motorsport’ here.