Superb Silverstone Finale

RACING DOESN’T COME MUCH CLOSER THAN THE GOODYEAR MINI CHALLENGE SUPPORTED BY MINI SPARES, WITH THREE OF THE FOUR TITLES GOING DOWN TO THE VERY LAST RACE OF THE SEASON, A MERE POINT THE DIFFERENCE IN AN EPIC MIGLIA CAMPAIGN…     

Arguably the opening race of the weekend will be the one that is talked about for many a year to come, with over a dozen cars in the lead pack throughout. As we have come to expect in 2025 the top Miglia quartet were again in the mix, each with four wins to their credit and the point permutations best left to Mensa. They were joined up front by the returning Jeff Smith in his first race since a rib-breaking shunt on the Brands GP circuit back in May. After a dizzying number of lead changes, the latter would eventually take the laurels by a mere 0.653s followed by title chasers Ian Curley, Aaron Smith and Kane Astin, although Rupert Deeth’s odds had lengthened after he collected a puncture and finished well back. Headed by Phil Bullen-Brown and Sam Summerhayes, a further seven cars finished within 5s of the winner! With Phil Harvey already assured of the Libre title, the class win looked a safe bet for Ian Fraser until another slice of mechanical bad luck curtailed his run which left Huw Turner to nab glory just ahead of Les Stanton, with title runner-up Julian Proctor taking 3rd from James Lindridge.

A cagier Se7en encounter later on Saturday afternoon saw one half of the title-chasing duo eventually eke out a comfortable victory, Damien Harrington moving in front after a scrappy opening lap, title rival Ross Billison restricted to 3rd some way behind Kane Astin out for a guest run in outgoing champion Joe Thompson’s car. Darren Thomas, Glen Woodbridge, Spencer Wanstall and Daniel Munro provided the closest challenge in the leaders’ mirrors. Similarly, the S-Class title race was effectively down to two, Olly Birkett just having the edge over Joel Wren at flag-fall with Callum Perfect coming through into 3rd place after Michael Winkworth pitted, Alfie Glenie, Bertie Woolard, Louis Birkett and James May all on the pace too.  

A cooler, mistier circuit greeted the four-way Miglia title chase on Sunday morning but there was drama even before the race got going when first Astin went missing with a popped driveshaft, strike one. Then almost immediately we had red flags/lights for a nasty looking crash off the startline, Josh Canning spearing sharp right into the pit wall after clipping another car, having started from the back following an early DNF the previous day. Clearly in some discomfort, the driver was attended to on the track before being transported to hospital for fracture surgery. On the rolling restart Curley and Jeff Smith seemed to get a jump on the rest, but gradually both Deeth and Aaron Smith reeled them back in to maintain the tension. Deeth needed to finish 3rd to be sure of the title, but when the chequer came out he was in 4th behind Jeff Smith… However, with Aaron Smith coming through take the win by just 0.236s from Curley, the latter was just 1 position and point shy of Deeth’s total (after drop scores applied), so the final ranking calculated as Deeth from Curley from Aaron Smith on 263-262-261 respectively, Astin back on 259 having rejoined the finale a few laps adrift. Bullen-Brown and Elliot Stafford led the rest, while in Frazer’s absence Huw Turner again secured Libre honours from Lindridge and Stanton.

Onto the final Mini encounter and the stage was all set for what should have been a straight duel between the top Se7en duo. However, while the brakes were off for Harrington from the get-go, motoring away into a clear lead, Billison in contrast never really featured and was mired back in 7th for the most part. Even when a late mix-up among the chasing pack saw Glen Woodbridge and Astin lose ground it was Wanstall who came through to claim 2nd from Munro, as Billison eventually got the better of Thomas for 6th, but by now a couple of points adrift of the runaway leader who could now only lose the title if he failed to finish. Which he didn’t, reeling off the laps to finish over 10s clear of the rest. In S-Class, Olly Birkett went into round 18 needing only to finish on the podium to secure the top prize, the lead traded between himself, Winkworth and title rival Wren, the latter ahead at the flag by just a nose from the former as Birkett duly completed the podium ahead of younger brother Louis. However, a technical protest and subsequent appeal – in addition to the usual mandatory post-season engine checks - means that the ‘Scholarship’ title remains provisional…

 
Words by Richard Williamson

RESULTS:      Silverstone International                        11-12 October 2025

Round 17      (Saturday – 16 laps)

1st      1          J Smith (M)

2nd     5          I Curley (M)

3rd      0          A Smith (M)

12th   123     H Turner (L)

Round 17      (Saturday – 15 laps)

1st      29       D Harrington (7)

2nd     11       K Astin (7)

3rd      2          R Billison (7)

9th      746     O Birkett (S)

Round 18      (Sunday – 12 laps)

1st      0          A Smith (M)

2nd     5          I Curley (M)

3rd      1          J Smith (M)

17th   123     H Turner (L)

Round 18      (Sunday – 15 laps)

1st      29       D Harrington (7)

2nd     73       S Wanstall (7)

3rd      41       D Munro (7)

10th   741     J Wren (S)

New lap records

(1.85-mile circuit):

Miglia I Curley          1:15.908 – 87.73 mph

Se7en             R Billison        1:22.933 – 80.30 mph

S-Class           O Birkett       1:23.567 – 79.69 mph