“This weekend, we attended Rounds 1 and 2 of the Armed Forces Race Challenge at Silverstone National Circuit.

“Making the results even more special, this marked the very first race weekend for the car and myself, making it a huge milestone after 18 months of work preparing the car myself to get it race ready.”

“The weekend proved challenging from the outset, with intermittent boost issues that unfortunately remained unresolved throughout both races. Despite the setbacks, we kept pushing and were able to bring the car home in both races, securing a strong P3 in class during Race 1 and improving to P2 in class in Race 2.

“A huge positive from the weekend was the performance of the 91´«Ã½ package. The RP-X pads paired with the Bluestuff pads and discs performed flawlessly throughout the weekend, delivering consistent stopping power with zero brake fade and remaining sharp and reliable across both races.”

“Massive thanks to the Army Sports Car Racing Team, 91´«Ã½, and KARLYONE CARE LTD for all of their continued support throughout the weekend. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep pushing forward, even during difficult race weekends.

“We’ll regroup, resolve the boost issues, and come back stronger for the next round at Snetterton 300 on the 20th of June.�

“A really positive and productive shakedown at Donington Park’s National Circuit for the car’s first outing, with lots of positive feedback from coaches and passengers that came out in the car.

“The car performed exceptionally well straight out of the box for its first outing, with only a couple of small niggles that were quickly identified and are easily resolved ahead of the next outing. Overall, balance and confidence in the car is very high, and it’s clear we’ve got a strong platform to build on.”

“Grip levels were outstanding throughout the day, allowing us to push harder with each session and really start to explore the car’s potential.

“A big highlight was the braking performance. The new EBC setup, running a combination of RP-X and Bluestuff pads, was absolutely faultless. Consistent, confidence-inspiring, and strong under all conditions, I am yet to actually reach the limit of the brake setup; they performed perfectly all day and are a massive step forward for the car, I am currently adding a brake cooling setup to help keep performance at its optimal level for the races.

“I am now tweaking the couple of bits that needed attention and giving the car a once over ready for the first race of the season at Silverstone in May.”

The 750 Motor Club Armed Forces Race Challenge (AFRC) was developed to bring together four-wheeled motor racers from all across the Armed Forces. The challenge allows a level playing field of competition irrespective of car performance by rewarding consistency during races, so the focus remains on the driver rather than the machinery. Find out more by .

“We managed to get the Civic back together after the crash and made the last two races of the year! 

“After a mid-season crash at a wet Donington Park, the Semprini Racing Civic underwent an unscheduled rebuild! 

“Joining up with the Club Racing UK team for the famous Birkett Relay, the EBC SR-11/Bluestuff-equipped Civic made its return to action on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. 

“Pressed into action for two stints rather than the planned one due to an issue with another car in the team, Jeremy quickly got himself and the car back up to speed and posted a best lap time two seconds quicker than when they had raced at the circuit earlier in the season.”

“The final race of the season was in the Trackday Trophy at Brands Hatch and was a unique experience as qualifying had to take place behind the safety car because of fog. This meant grid positions were drawn out of a cup with Jeremy drawing P30 out of the 34 cars! 

“Come race time and the fog had lifted but the rain had started. A very busy start at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit from P30 saw Jeremy stay out of trouble and then set about some overtaking… and some more overtaking!

“In tricky wet conditions, Jeremy relied on the excellent feel from the 91´«Ã½ setup and made up an incredible 25 places to finish 5th overall and 4th in class at the flag. In fact, Jeremy made up more places than any other driver!

“On to 2026 now and plans are already taking shape for another season with the Civic.”

“A mixed first half of the season!

“Semprini Racing’s EBC-equipped Honda Civic has had a busy and mixed start to the season. Electrical gremlins in pre-season testing meant the first round of the BRSCC Supersport Endurance Cup was missed, with the season starting instead with the MSV Trackday Trophy at Silverstone.

“This season, the Civic is once again with the tried-and-tested combination of EBC SR-11 front pads and Bluestuff rear, giving that great combination of stopping power and pedal feel.

“Solid mid-class pace at Silverstone, but importantly, reliability from the first race with a new engine wiring loom gave the team a huge relief.

“Next up was the delayed return to the Supersport grid at Oulton Park, a great track and firm favourite of both Jeremy and Phil. Tricky, changeable wet/dry conditions saw the pair again solidly mid-class without taking undue risks. The feel from the SR-11/Bluestuff combo meant braking in the changeable conditions was predictable and the drivers could concentrate on finding grip on the damp track. Despite a last lap clutch failure, the Civic was classified as a finisher and we breathed a sigh of relief, only to have the recovery truck pull the front of the car off and damage the oil cooler, meaning a bigger repair job than hoped for!

“With clutch and oil cooler replaced and the car put back together, it was off to Snetterton – a circuit the Civic has performed well at historically. Qualifying was tricky with both drivers unhappy with the feel from the car and unable to match times from previous visits. We started the race a bit further back than hoped for and after 20 minutes alternator failure ended our race early. We subsequently found a leaky shock absorber to explain the poor handling. Surely our luck had to change soon!

“Onwards to Brands Hatch and back to the Trackday Trophy on the iconic Grand Prix circuit. Jeremy is driving these races solo this year as Phil shares another Civic with his sons in this series. Putting in competitive lap times in an extremely close top Class B, Jeremy improved on his previous visits to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit and was comfortable in the car, now complete with new shock absorber and alternator plus some other setup changes. A fresh set of each of the SR-11 and Bluestuff pads completed the car prep.

“A poor start by Jeremy saw him drop a couple of places and settle in to a battle in the middle of the class B pack. A safety car just as the pit window opened where Jeremy decided to stay out and gain a lap over those ahead who pitted backfired when the Safety Car picked up Jeremy as the leader and slowed him right down. Pitting next time around, the circuit went green as the Civic was stationary, compounding the loss in time!

“Now in 18^th, Jeremy set about overtaking anything in his path, leaning on the EBC brakes as never before to overtake a total of 10 cars – including three in once corner – and finish in 8th overall, 7th in class, with a new personal best lap time. The car felt great and performed well – the driver could do better!�

“Back to the BRSCC and Donington Park, where Phil re-joined Jeremy for a double-header Clubsport 45-minute race we used as a test for the main event, the 2-hour SuperSport race on Sunday.

“Another solid mid-class outing in wet conditions on Saturday set us up well for Sunday… or so we thought! Going out first in qualifying on Sunday, Jeremy set out for an early push lap while the track was quiet, unaware a helpful Mini had dropped coolant at the top of the circuit at the fast right hander at Coppice. Full of confidence, Jeremy turned into the corner fully committed to have the car go straight on and into the gravel trap, beached! The lovely marshalls hooked us up to a telehandler and dragged the Civic out so Jeremy could put in another lap to get the requisite three before handing over to Phil. As we’d received ‘mechanical assistance’ to get out of the gravel trap, none of our subsequent lap times counted, so we were plum last on the grid!

“Not to be deterred, Phil took the start and had overtaken five cars before the first corner as he set off to make up places. During his hour-long stint, Phill got us up to an incredible 2nd in class by the time of the change-over. Keeping it consistent and battling fading tyres and diminishing fuel, Jeremy had a good battle for position with the fast Mazda MX-5 in our class and brought the Civic home in 2nd for our first podium and trophy of the season! Finally a good result where car and drivers had combined well,

“Our travels took us to Croft circuit next – the first time Jeremy had been to the new layout, having last raced there on the rallycross circuit over 20 years ago! A fresh pair of SR-11 front pads and it was into a free practice session to iron out any issues and do a bit of set up work followed by a good qualifying in P2 in class behind the all-conquering Audi TT that is dominating this class, but in front of the MX-5 we are battling with.

“Jeremy took the start and actually overtook the Audi into turn 1, but was soon back down to 2nd as the rocket ship Audi took off and joined the battle with the cars in the classes above. Keeping an eye on the Mazda’s pit board, Jeremy could see the gap increasing as he pulled away and settled into a nice rhythm. The Civic then threw its latest curveball by losing 3rd gear as Jeremy came out of the complex towards the final hairpin after 20 minutes. Despite this – and a couple of excursions – he managed to maintain 2nd in class and hand over to Phil with a very useful buffer. Phil duly maintained and then extended the gap before a late safety car which – this time – played into our hands and increased the gap to the Mazda. We crossed the line for another P2 and another trophy, plus a front left tyre down to the cords!”

“Back to Donington and back with MSV for the double header weekend of Trackday Trophy and Trackday Championship. For the first time this season, Jeremy was entered in the TDC and duly strapped on a set of the control Toyo R888R tyres for the wet/very wet qualifying session. Driving on these tyres in the wet for the first time, the Civic Jeremy kept his head and didn’t push things too hard, to come in mid-grid. 

“The race started even wetter and after a reasonable start, Jeremy was battling in a group of cars when one – another MX-5 – spun in front and into the path of an evasive-action taking Jeremy who had nowhere to go, slamming into the spinning Mazda and sustaining considerable damage to the front left of the car. 

“It’ll take some time to repair the Civic, but the aim is to be back out this season, at the very least for the season-ending Birkett Relay, but hopefully for a couple more events before that.

“Big thanks to 91´«Ã½ for the support again this season – we may not get through as many sets of pads as we’d have liked to due to our enforced absence for a while, but the SR-11//Bluestuff combo has been one thing we haven’t had to worry about in this challenging season!â€�

“We took part in two main series this season – the BRSCC Supersport Endurance Championship in class ‘Clubman-A’, and the MSV Trackday Trophy in class B. We also had outings in the MSV Trackday Championship at Cadwell, which was abandoned to fog and Navarra in Spain where we podiumed (3rd in class), as well as a single round of the BRSCC Clubsport Trophy at Donington where we came 4th in class.�

BRSCC SuperSport Endurance Championship

• Rounds participated in: 5
• The first round of the season at Silverstone saw us qualify 5th in class, but feeling there was a lot more speed to come as we got to grips with the unfamiliar Silverstone International circuit. Unfortunately, the Civic had other ideas and cut out on the green flag lap to the grid and was classified as a DNF.
• The next round was at Snetterton, a circuit we have gone well at in the past. Sure enough, both Phil and Jeremy set their fastest ever laps around the 300 layout, despite having to take some unusual lines around Coram and at the end of the Bentley Straight to avoid oil spillages. Finishing 2nd in class, just 40 seconds behind the class winner was a great result and kick started our class challenge. The big braking zones into the Wilson hairpin, the Brundle/Nelson chicane and the final Murrays tight left-hander are real tests for the car and where strong braking but a good pedal feel to avoid locking up is essential. Our 91´«Ã½ Racing SR-11 (front) and Bluestuff (rear) brake pad combo are perfect for this and help us keep our tyres intact through a long two-hour endurance race. Jeremy set his fastest lap in the last 10 minutes of the race, proving the benefit of a great braking setup.
• At Croft Phil drove solo for the full two hours and had his work cut out, having never been to Croft before, and facing rainy conditions. The SR-11 front pads proved their worth here, giving excellent feel in the conditions allowing Phil to find his rhythm and bring the Civic home P3 in class.
• On to the Donington GP track for the next round where some suspiciously quick cars joined the class in the form of a TCR-esque Golf and a Lotus who were lapping a full 5-6 seconds a lap quicker than the Civic. Qualifying 4th in class, Phil and Jeremy were able to improve in the race to come home with another class podium in P3. This despite the loss of 3rd gear mid-way through the race! This meant leaning even harder on the EBC brake pads without the help of third gear to slow us down into the Fogarty Esses or the Melbourne Hairpin.
• Our final round of this championship was at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit – a very busy place to be with 28 cars of varying lap times! Managing only 6th in a very congested qualifying session, Jeremy and Phil set about the race in hot temperatures aiming for consistency and reliability, something some other cars struggled with. It was enough to improve to P4 at the end and put us into P2 in class for the championship.
• We were unable to run the car in the season finale at the Silverstone National circuit due to our imminent departure to Spain for another series, so Phil and son James debuted their Civic in the guest class. Had they run in class they would have finished P3 but the points didn’t count towards our championship. Luckily some of our regular competitors also didn’t make this round so we finished the season in P2 in class, a result the team is delighted with.

MSV Trackday Trophy

• Round 1 was at Donington Park and it was an EBC Civic lockout with the Semprini EP3 coming in 2nd behind the similar EBC Civic of Justin Roberts and Nicole Draught. Jeremy and Nicole had a great battle in the early stages of the race before different strategies came into play around the safety cars. At the end it was the Roberts/Drought Civic 1st over the line with the Semprini Civic in 2nd.
• The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit was the venue for the next round, with Jeremy and Phil qualifying in P7 on a mega-competitive grid, just 1.1 seconds covering P1-P7. In the race the Civic was strangely off the pace resulting in a P6 finish, later attributed to the hot temperatures causing the engine management system to go into a more cautious mode. Post-race we made some changes to the air intake system and the problems didn’t return for the rest of the season.
• The next round at Lydden Hill was eventful with torrential rain giving way to sunshine. Qualifying in P2, once again behind the Roberts/Drought EBC Civic, It was Jeremy who set off after the fast starting Justin for the first stint. Trading lap times the gap remained tantalisingly close before the mid-race driver changes. It was apparent straight away when Phil started his stint that the abrasive Lydden surface had taken its toll and the front right tyre burst, leaving Phil to limp back to the pits. A hasty tyre change got the Civic back out on track before the end of the race to claim 2nd in class.
• On to Snetterton where an unfortunate misunderstanding with a backmarker resulted in an accident for Phil and a DNF for the Civic.
• The season moved on to our first overseas event at the superb Navarra Circuit in Northern Spain where we took part in both the TDT and TDC races. The Navarra track is another where a great braking balance is essential with a big braking zone following the flat out turn 1 into turns 2 and the very tight turn 3. Then at the end of the back straight is another big braking zone and into the new hairpin installed just before we arrived – we were the first series to take part on the new circuit layout. The final corner is also a tight one, coming off a fast left hander into a tight, slow right turn onto the main straight. Our SR-11/Bluestuff combo was superb again at getting the car slowed down and into the corners with great feel, avoiding lock ups and keeping the tyres on song.
• In the TDC, race we placed 3rd in class resulting in a podium appearance being presented with our trophy and bottle of local Rioja by circuit owner and ex-Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer.
• The TDT race was less successful as a power steering pipe popped off at the end of lap 2, dowsing the hot engine with fluid and resulting in a DNF.
• The final race of the year was back at Brands Hatch on the Indy circuit and was something a little different for us as we ran both the blue Civic and Phil and James in their White Civic. Uniquely Phil was to drive both cars in the race so our pitstops were dictated by this rather than a more normal strategy! Sure enough, an early safety car was too soon for us so we stayed out, at one point having a 1-2 in the race before making our stops for Phil to hop out of the Blue Civic and hand over to Jeremy while awaiting James to stop in the white car so he could jump in. Although out of position, Jeremy had a very entertaining battle with class C champion Waynes Cockerill’s Toyota Celica with a pass into Druids made possible by leaning very heavily on the EBC combo to take a gap that looks to be closing, avoiding a lock up and passing successfully. A very entertaining race but with no trophies this time!

“Plans for 2025 are underway – we are coming back to the BRSCC Supersport Championship to see if we can go one better and win our class next year…”

“The first round of the MSVT Trackday Championship at Donington Park resulted in an 91´«Ã½ Racing 1-2, with Honda Civics from Motion Motorsport and Semprini Racing filling the top two places on the podium.

“The red Motion Motorsport car of Justin Roberts and Nicole Drought qualified on the second row, with the blue Semprini Racing machine of Jeremy Evans and Phil Hart on the 4^thÌý°ù´Ç·É.

“At the start it was Evans in the Semprini car who got the jump and passed Drought into the first corner, tucking in behind a couple of BMWs, a couple of Porsches and a newer FN2 Civic of Paul McHugh.

“For the next six laps, Drought and Evans were nose-to-tail in an epic battle until Evans momentarily hesitated into Redgate as a backmarker appeared on the scene. That was all Drought needed and she slipped through to take the place.

“A couple of laps later, a safety car because of a Fiesta in the gravel at the final chicane saw the Motion Civic pit to hand over to Justin Roberts while Evans stayed out in the Semprini car.

“As the safety car period ran, the pits were a very busy place to be with the Semprini team electing to leave Jeremy out in clear air, taking the lead but still needing to make the mandatory two-minute stop.

“It wasn’t long before a different Fiesta also found the gravel in the same spot with the Semprini Team reacting quickly and opting for their pit stop in anticipation of another safety car – which duly came. A quieter pit lane meant an easier stop and Phil Hart left the pits in P2 having leapfrogged the Roberts car.

“Justin was on a charge and hunted down and passed the Semprini Civic – with the leading BMW suffering an engine failure, and other cars falling foul of pitlane penalties the final laps unfolded with the Motion Motorsport car of Roberts and Drought taking the win followed home by the Semprini Racing Civic of Evans and Hart in second place.�

“The Civic has already completed seven 45-minute races and a two-hour race this season, so it has worked hard these last few months. We are racing in the MSV Trackday Trophy, BRSCC Clubsport Trophy and have also taken on a BRSCC Supersport Endurance two-hour race.

“Visiting Silverstone twice, Oulton Park, Donington Park, Anglesey and Snetterton twice, we have rounds in the second half of the season back at Oulton Park, Silverstone and then rounding off at Brands Hatch at the end of October.

“With a 2^nd in class, a 3^rd in class and a few 4^th-place finishes, we are having decent results and that elusive first class victory can’t be far away!

“Both drivers are getting more confident in the car in our second season with it. In the MSV Trackday Trophy, we are in a bunch of cars who are on each other’s pace and it comes down to who is dialled in on the day. In the BRSCC series, we are usually one of the top non-Audi TTCR cars in our class.

“We’ve been running the 91´«Ã½ Racing SR-11 pads in the front after using RP-1s last season. For such a strong pad, the feel is superb and both drivers are getting more confidence under braking and finding plenty of lap time. With Bluestuff pads in the rear, the car is superbly balanced under braking.

“We are setting faster laps when we re-visit circuits and getting on the pace quickly with new circuits, so it’s been a great start of improvements with a couple of trophies and a few 4^th places to show for our efforts so far.�