Two new teams are set to challenge for the £10,000 prize as Fun Cup returns to Croft!

The Fun Cup Endurance Championship returns to Croft this Saturday, after missing the North Eastern Circuit last season.

Back in 2022 it was UVio/Hofmann’s that took the victory spoils, with reigning Champions Team Olympian GRD victorious the previous year.

It’s another 20 plus grid, for what should be a memorable day, with a one-hour sprint race, before the afternoon’s three-hour feature.

MJ Tec had waited four years to reach the top step of the podium, but a dominant victory at Oulton Park will leave Scott Jeffs and Will Abraham keen for a repeat.

Olympian-GRD had the pace too at Oulton, where Simon Rudd opened his Olympian trophy account with Chris Dovell and Riley Phillips for the first time. They will be keen to open their seasons account too.

Former Champions UVio/Hofmann’s and GCI had a fantastic battle in the final stages of the opener. Farquini Deott/Fabulous Randaccio can never be discounted, while Craig Butterworth/Ian Wood will be looking to make amends; they go well at Croft too!

British GT ace Marcus Clutton returns to his roots and rejoins Steve Ruston and John Whitehouse in the Signature RV car, after Harry Mailer deputised at Oulton.

The last time Marcus shared the car was in the 2023 finale at Oulton, which they won, as Marcus has pointed out on occasion…

It was a good start to the season for Greenheath’s Gary Bate/Paul Turner. They just missed out on the overall podium, but were in the front running group all race, so surely a podium is on the horizon this year?

Neil Plimmer has been quoting how well last season had gone for the PLR team, but their luck changed again at Oulton. But Ben Pitch joins Neil again on home ground this weekend, so watch this space.

There is only one EDF car at Croft, with Vapeclub’s Vlad Vassiliev and Simon Coles having paired up for the first time at Oulton, netting them sixth place and the Joyce Design Team of the Day trophy.

After a year of acclimatisation, the Seed Data duo of Matt Hogg/Mike Devlin have started to show their pace. They were ninth at Oulton, but with a bit of luck on their side too, they could go higher.

The family Ratcliff spent most of the opener in the top 10 too, with Peter sharing with sons David and John. They came home eighth, but lost some time behind the safety car, certainly a team to keep an eye on.

Teenager Gracie Mitchell made her debut at Oulton in the GMR/Eco car, but struggled to get on the pace, despite having the experience of Rob Croydon alongside. The team believe they have no unearthed some of the issues they struggled with, so it will be interesting to see how they prove at Croft.

Ted Bradbury had no such trouble with pace, but ended the day at Oulton with a heavy off at Old Hall in the rain. The Morpheus Racing crew will have been busy repairing substantial damage to get the car to get to Croft, where Neil Burroughs makes his seasonal debut, after Mikey Porter had deputised.

Chris Weatherill’s Axiametrics team will be hoping for a trouble free weekend, as they still wait to fulfil the promise showed last season. He his joined again by Greg Evans and newcomer Jonathan Railton, who debuted at Oulton.

Skull Club Racing are a new team to the Championship this year, with former TCR racer Jac Constable and Russell Joyce sharing. Constable had a great duel with Scott Mansell at Oulton in the first stint, but later dramas left them down the order.

Andy Bennett, David Postin’s and John Perrott out again with Team 3 Motorsport, while Fueled Up Racing have nominated both Jamie Price and Paul Taylor to share with Paul and Wendy Ellis-Smith.

Red River Sport are down to just two drivers, with Johnny Mowlem and Geraint Williams sharing, in the absence of Bonamy Grimes.

Paul Calladine has returnee Guido Basile sharing again at Hi-Peak Racing, while Wave 9 have added returnee Graham Pattle to their line-up, joining the Oulton duo of Mark Burton and Jason Minshaw.

Finally, there are two new teams joining the grid at Croft, both vying for the £10,000 prize money! Angus Gough, Elisha Day and Sammy Hopkinson share the JPR 97 Marlboro car and Sport 77 make their first appearance, with ex BTCC and Britcar racer Will Powell, sharing with Nick Wallis, Father of Carrera Cup racer James, and Alex Jones.

Qualifying is from 9.55 for 45 minutes, with the Sprint Race at 11.50, followed by lights out for the feature at 14.50. The action can be followed on livestream via the Fun Cup website.

Published by Pete Scherer for the Fun Cup UK Endurance Championship, May 1^st 2024.