FUN CUP ENDURANCE 2024 –
OLYMPIAN GRD TRIO RETAIN TITLE, AFTER CLASSIC SEASON
It was round four at Anglesey before reigning Champions Olympian GRD visited the top step of the podium this year. But once in front Chris Dovell, Simon Rudd and Riley Phillips dominated the rest of the season.
After taking second to MJ Tec’s Scott Jeffs/Will Abraham in the opener at Oulton, they were fourth in the sprint race at Croft, as MJ Tec made it two wins in a row.
MJ Tec were close to a third win after Jeffs had a great final stint in the Croft Enduro, but Ted Bradbury snatched it for Team Morpheus with Neil Burroughs with a lap to go, as Olympian came in third.
Apart from the Croft Enduro race, UVio Hofmanns Farquini Deott/Fabulous Randaccio had been podium finishers, with third at Oulton and in the Croft Sprint race, before coming home fourth in the Enduro.
But the Anglesey double-header was the turning point, as Olympian came away with a double win, with UVio Hofmanns second in both races too.
Further wins at Snetterton, and Brands Hatch followed for the defending Champions, but at Brands luck was on their side after a duelling Bradbury and Randaccio clashed at Druids. Bradbury was then penalised and Phillips was declared the victor for Olympian GRD, making it four successive wins.
After a fourth place finish in the Oulton Sprint, their season ended with win number five but in dramatic fashion, after Philips clashed with UVio at Cascades with the finish in sight. He restarted but UVio didn’t.
The title was secured with 30 points to spare over UVio Hofmanns, who managed seven podiums. They led a large proportion the seasons laps, but for the first time in years, they ended the season without a win.
Bradbury and Burroughs had the same car but with a new team to end the season, as they became The Ninky Nonk. It was a strong partnership throughout, with the blend of youth and experience. After wins at Croft and the stormy Donington, they ended their season with a win in the final Oulton Sprint, before taking third in the final Enduro, to secure a well deserved third in the Championship.
Consistency brought success for the ever improving EDF Vapeclub UK duo of Vlad Vassiliev and Simon Coles, both having stints where they led overall. They had five top six finishers and finally secured their elusive first podium, with second at Donington. It could have come at Snetterton though, but Vassiliev lost a tyre valve after contact and dropped them to fourth.
Signature RV’s Steve Ruston and John Whitehouse had Marcus Clutton sharing for most of the year, with Harry Mailer deputising when Clutton was absent. Two sixth places at Anglesey brought them into contention, improving to fifth at both Brands Hatch and Donington. They were fifth again in both Oulton races, which gave them fifth in the Championship, just two points behind Vapeclub and four ahead of PLR’s Neil Plimmer/Ben Pitch. PLR had two podium finishers too, with third at Snetterton and Donington.
Greenheath’s Gary Bate and Paul Turner spent much of the season at the sharp end too. They had a few issues along the way and a few expected excursions, while a third at Anglesey was their highlight, securing them seventh int the table.
The Ratcliff family of Peter with sons David and John, also known as Team Ratters, showed plenty of promise but didn’t always get the results they deserved. They ran in the top six a number of times, but only managed to stay there at Donington. But the season will probably be remembered for John’s spectacular off at Brands Hatch, when after just vacating the lead, he left Paddock Hill airborne.
Seed Data’s Mike Devlin and MJ Tec completed the Championships final top 10. The Seed duo had a mixture of good luck and bad, but they came away from Anglesey with a season’s best fourth, along with other top 10 finishers.
Early Championship leaders MJ Tec pulled out of the Championship after the Anglesey, but such had been their early season pace, they were still 10th at the end.
AxiaMetrics just missed out on the top 10, but their season highlight came at Anglesey, when Jon Railton, Chris Weatherill and Greg Evans came home fifth. They were in the top 10 at Brands Hatch and Croft too, but on too many occasions their bad luck outweighed the good.
Red River Sport had an interesting season. With the experience of Johnny Mowlem leading the team, they managed to finish seventh in four rounds of the eight they contested. Bonamy Grimes shared too on most occasions, with Gareth Williams Mowlem’s season long partner. It was Williams who usually accepted the blame if it went wrong.
Mark Burton was the ever present in the Wave 9 line-up. He had Jason Minshaw with him a number of times, who enjoyed it so much he has bought his own car for 2025. Graham Pattle also shared and towards the end of the season his son Tom joined them too. 10th at Brands Hatch was their seasons best.
Team Tifosi was the final name for the 97 car, which saw action at the front in the opening round with Scott Mansell. For most of the year it was piloted by Ferrari Challenge racers Andrew Isherwood, Adam Fawsitt and Steve Payne, often in spectacular fashion.
The end of season Oulton sprint race also saw the first recipients of the Fun Cup Prize fun for first time podium finishers, when Charlie Hart, son of Fun Cup Leg-End Chris, teamed up with newly crowned BTCC Champion Jake Hill to net £3000 for their second place finish.
Back at Donington the visiting Aussie pair of Brandon Madden and Scott Andrisk came close too, when they finished fourth.
Former Champion GCI and Racelogic made occasional appearances too, with Craig Butterworth and Ian Wood taking three top six finishers. There were also returns for ex Champ Chris Hart, Anthony Reid and Phil Keen, who had his British GT partner Ian Loggie sharing in the final at Oulton.
It was close finish in the Masters Championship, but Plimmer and Pitch did enough to take it for PLR, with just 14 points to spare over Greenheath, while behind them just three points covered Signature RV, Red River Sport and Wave 9 for third, as Team Ratters rounded off the top six.
So that’s if for 2024 and we can all now look forward to Oulton Park on April 12th, when we can do it all over again.
Published by Peter Scherer for Fun Cup Endurance, November 23rd 2024
