CROFT RACE REPORT – STUDENT MOTORSPORT CITY CAR CUP
CROFT RACE REPORT - CITY CAR CUP
Following encouraging progress at Silverstone, Pitlane Development travelled north to Croft Circuit for the latest round of the BRSCC Student Motorsport CityCar Cup Championship. Croft is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most demanding circuits, combining high-speed commitment with technical precision, making it a particularly tough challenge for our driver, Reuben Lowe.
Adding to that challenge, Reuben arrived at the circuit having never driven Croft before. With no Friday testing and no simulator preparation beforehand, every lap of qualifying would be spent learning the circuit while trying to extract the maximum performance from the car.
The weekend proved to be another significant milestone in our development, delivering our biggest points haul of the season to date.
SATURDAY:
QUALIFLYING:
Knowing track position would be important, The team ensured Reuben was out out near the front of the pack to maximise clean air. With every lap, confidence increased and lap times continued to tumble as he quickly learned the characteristics of one of the most technical circuits on the calendar.
Unfortunately, just as the session was building towards its conclusion, a red flag following an on-track incident brought qualifying to an early end, preventing many drivers from completing their final flying laps.
Even so, Reuben secured P9 in class with a best lap of 1:54.700—an impressive result considering it was his first ever experience of the circuit. The data showed there was still more pace to unlock, giving the team confidence heading into the opening race.
RACE 1:
Saturday’s race showcased just how quickly Reuben had adapted to Croft.
A fantastic launch off the line saw him immediately gain several positions before settling into an intense midfield battle that lasted virtually the entire race. Wheel-to-wheel racing, close defending and measured overtaking became the theme of the afternoon as he continued to build confidence in the car. The highlight came on the final lap, where Reuben executed an excellent overtake to secure P7 in class at the chequered flag.
Just as encouraging was the pace. The team’s continuous setup refinements and Reuben’s growing confidence reduced his fastest lap by almost a full second to 1:53.750, highlighting the rate of progression throughout the weekend.
SUNDAY:
RACE 2:
Once again, Reuben made a superb start, climbing through the order and establishing himself in P5 in class for much of the race. Running consistently with drivers who have spent considerably more time racing at Croft demonstrated how much progress had been made in less than 24 hours.
The race remained largely clean throughout, allowing the team to focus on extracting consistent pace. Reuben rewarded the team’s efforts by setting what was then the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:53.400. A closely fought battle on the final lap saw one of the championship’s regular front-runners edge ahead in the closing corners, leaving Reuben to cross the line in a highly respectable P6 in class.
RACE 3:
With only around an hour between races, the team worked quickly to prepare the car for the final race of the weekend.
The race began less positively, with Reuben suffering a poor launch and becoming boxed in through the opening corners, costing several positions. Rather than allowing the setback to define the race, he immediately settled into a consistent rhythm and worked his way back through the field with a series of determined overtakes.
As the race entered its closing stages, an incident involving another competitor saw their bonnet detach and strike the windscreen while approaching Sunny In, bringing out the Safety Car. The remainder of the race was completed under Safety Car conditions, freezing the order and leaving Reuben classified P6 in class. Reuben had once again found more speed, recording the team’s fastest lap of the entire weekend with an impressive 1:53.300.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Croft marked another significant step forward for Pitlane Development.
Our largest points haul of the season, combined with consistent pace improvements and increasingly competitive race performances, demonstrates the direction the programme is heading. Alongside the on-track progress, the Pitlane Development engineering team continued refining our race operations, improving data analysis, setup development, driver feedback processes and race weekend preparation. Every session added valuable knowledge that will strengthen both our performance programme and the learning opportunities available to our Trackside Pass members.
The progress made across the weekend gives us real confidence heading into the next round at Cadwell.
As always a special shout out to all our partners and team sponsors, We couldn’t compete without the support of each and every one of you. Thank you for helping make this journey possible and for continuing to support our development both on and off the track throughout the season:
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