Great camaraderie as teams come together for season-ending Birkett 6 hour relay race
- John Broadley
- Nov 11
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 14
There was a great atmosphere and camaraderie as teams more used to battling each other came together for the annual Birkett relay race.
With 7 teams, numerous cars and almost 30 drivers gathered into 3 of Silverstone’s pit garages, competitors from the CALM All Porsche Trophy series (CAP) dominated the entry for October’s season-ending 6 hour spectacular.
Run on Silverstone’s epic Grand Prix Circuit and organised by the 750MC, the Birkett is the UK’s largest motor race, with around70 teams and nearly 300 cars and drivers competing for the outright win or the equally important handicap prize that levels up the performance of the competing teams.
The Birkett features an eclectic mix of closed wheel cars, and this year was no exception, including modern BMWs, Smart cars, TCR cars, NASCAR V8 monsters, various Jaguars including an X Type estate, hordes of Caterham derivatives and contemporary sports racing cars such as Radicals and Spires – plus the CAP Porsches.
The majority were regular CAP competitors, but we also welcomed cars and drivers from other series and championships, covering the spectrum of Porsche evolution including front engined 944s and 968s, rear engined 911 and mid-engined Boxsters and Caymans, one of which was a contemporary Cayman Cup car.
Team 23 – Supertune Apex Chargers – Stuart Warner, Tony Levy, Dom McGee, Adam Warner, Colin Tester and Brendan Haffner – Boxsters
Team 60 – CAP Boxster Boys – Chris Valentine, Steve Wood, Gabriel Yilmaz and Jonny Cooper – Boxsters
Team 61 – CAP Dye Hards – Most of the Dye family, specifically Simon, Julian, Andrew and Charlie – Boxsters
Team 62 – CAP Team Elite – Richard Neall (Cayman Cup), Warren Allen (Cayman), James Brodie (997)
Team 63 - CAP MTD – Clayton Sampson (968), Nick and James Carey (968), Finn Voar (944S2)
Team 64 – CAP Birkett Wurzels – Martin Mason, Vince Brewer, Ben Grewcock – Boxsters
Team 65 - CAP Lads and Dads – Dan Crego (968, Jon Walker (Boxster), Christian Walker (Cayman), Tom McHugh, Jamie McHugh (Boxsters)
The Birkett is really two events in one. In addition to racing for the outright win, there is the hotly contested Handicap competition, which in theory could be won by any team based on past performance, and this is what most CAP teams were focussed on.
The exception was CAP Team Elite, with car and driver combinations capable of running comfortably in the top ten. They were aiming for an overall podium, being allocated P4 on the grid (the grid is decided by the organisers, not qualifying) surrounded by rapid Radicals, TCR touring cars, Caterhams and some very quick BMWs.
It was sunny but very slippery as the 67 car field took the rolling start, soon spreading out and the slower cars being lapped from as early as lap 4. CapTeam Elite were running strongly in the top 6, and after a couple of hours were established in an impressive 3rd overall, with all 3 drivers excelling in the difficult and crowded conditions. Lapping quickly and consistently they completed the race on the podium in 3rd overall, achieving by far the best ever Birkett result by a CAP team.
Throughout the afternoon the garages were a hive of activity with cars returning after their stints (typically around an hour) releasing one of the other team members to join the fray. At some teams there was an air of unhurried calm, at others a frantic atmosphere and running repairs as the race took its toll on cars reaching the end of a gruelling season’s competition.
The organisers continuously refine the handicaps as the race progresses, so it was difficult to track each team’s progress, but by the end of the 6 hours, 3 CAP teams had made it into both the Overall and Handicap top 20, a very satisfying result and a fitting way to bring the curtain down on 2025’s CAP season.
CAP Team Elite - 3rd Overall and 15th Handicap.
CAP Lads and Dads - 13th Overall and 11th in the Handicap.
CAP Birkett Wurzels - 19th Overall.
CAP MTD - 19th Handicap.
Comments