鈥淩ound 3 of the Armed Forces Race Challenge brought a different format, with a single 45-minute race featuring a mandatory pit stop.

鈥淗aving never driven the circuit outside of the simulator, qualifying was always going to be a learning experience. Unfortunately, the session was heavily disrupted by incidents, resulting in multiple yellow flags and a red flag, limiting us to just two genuine flying laps. Despite this, we secured P6 overall and P1 in class with a 2:19 lap time. Both the car and I had more pace to find, but given the circumstances, it was a solid result.”

鈥淭he race got off to a great start. A strong launch allowed us to move from P6 to P4, passing two cars before Turn 1 before making another move on the guest Caterham to take P3 heading into the second hairpin.

鈥淲e settled comfortably into third place and were showing strong race pace before technical issues began to emerge. A low coolant warning appeared, with temperatures gradually increasing. Initially, this reduced engine boost, causing us to lose ground, before eventually removing boost entirely.

鈥淔rom that point, the focus shifted from fighting for positions to managing the car and ensuring we reached the chequered flag without causing further damage. While several other Class B competitors also encountered issues and retired, allowing us to finish P1 in class, it was disappointing to lose what had been shaping up to be a very competitive result.”

鈥淭he positive takeaway is that the car clearly has the pace to run at the front, and the root cause of the issue has now been identified. We can address it, move forward, and come back stronger for the next round.

鈥淎nother major positive from the weekend was the performance of the EBC braking package. The combination of the RP-X front pads, Bluestuff rear pads and EBC discs performed flawlessly throughout the event. Even under repeated heavy braking for the duration of the 45-min race, there was no sign of fade, and pedal feel remained consistent from start to finish. That level of confidence allowed me to progressively push my braking points later as the day went on, knowing the brakes would deliver the same performance lap after lap, the T51 Racing bespoke brake cooling kit also played it part and helped to keep the whole system temps down throughout.”

鈥淎 huge thank-you to everyone who came along to support, help prepare the car, and make the weekend possible. There were a few challenges leading up to the event, and at times it looked like we might not make the grid, but thanks to the efforts of those around me, we got there.

鈥淔inally, a massive thank you to 91传媒, Karlyone Care Ltd, and the Army Sports Car Racing team for their continued support throughout the season. Your backing is greatly appreciated, and we鈥檙e looking forward to coming back fighting at Brands Hatch in August.鈥�

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

鈥淢aking 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.”

鈥淭he 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.

鈥淎 huge positive from the weekend was the performance of the 91传媒 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.”

鈥淢assive thanks to the Army Sports Car Racing Team, 91传媒, 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.

鈥淲e鈥檒l regroup, resolve the boost issues, and come back stronger for the next round at Snetterton 300 on the 20th of June.鈥�

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

鈥淭he 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鈥檚 clear we鈥檝e got a strong platform to build on.”

鈥淕rip levels were outstanding throughout the day, allowing us to push harder with each session and really start to explore the car鈥檚 potential.

鈥淎 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聽keep performance at its optimal level for the races.

鈥淚 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 .

鈥淚鈥檝e just returned from back-to-back track days on the N眉rburgring Nordschleife and Spa-Francorchamps.

鈥淲ith the car now running the likes of an LSD, semi-slick tyres, a full Milltek exhaust system and some other breathing mods, the upgrade to RP-X pads on my Apollo big brake kit has proven to be very impressive 鈥� especially as both circuits remained mainly dry each day!”

鈥淲e managed to get the Civic back together after the crash and made the last two races of the year!聽

鈥淎fter a mid-season crash at a wet Donington Park, the Semprini Racing Civic underwent an unscheduled rebuild!聽

鈥淛oining 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.聽

鈥淧ressed 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.”

鈥淭he 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!聽

鈥淐ome 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鈥� and some more overtaking!

鈥淚n tricky wet conditions, Jeremy relied on the excellent feel from the 91传媒 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!

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

鈥淚 have been searching for a solution to the brakes on my 2019 Golf R since I first tracked the car. The braking system, while good on the street, is not track worthy. Add a Stage 2 tune, suspension upgrades and DOT R sticky tires, and you make the problem worse.聽

鈥淭hrough the years of ownership, I have tried different pad, rotor and racing brake fluid combinations with no success. The brakes are good for about three laps, then fade/warp unless I brake very early and light into the heavy brake zones. If I pushed hard for the weekend, I would get one weekend out of the brake pads and rotors. Frequent caliper rebuilds were required as the seals would be damaged due to the excess heat.”

鈥淎 couple years ago, I tried EBC鈥檚 RP-X pads. They were the first pads that lasted the entire weekend posting fast lap times and had plenty of pad left.聽Unfortunately, the brakes ran hot and chewed up a set of another manufacturers鈥� rotors. I reached out to EBC in 2023 as I had finally found a set of pads that worked great and would last more than a weekend of fast laps.

鈥淭hrough EBC, I learned that heat was the biggest enemy.聽They聽showed me how to achieve an 鈥榠ntermediate鈥� solution to the brakes without going to a BBK. Rotor temperatures would exceed 1,500掳F/800掳C when I used brake temperature paint.

鈥淯sing EBC鈥檚 new sintered race pads, the SR-1s and their new two-piece floating rotors, I was able to have a great brake system that lasted multiple events over two years. The final key was using brake ducts to direct the air into the center of the floating rotors to maximize brake cooling. This got the brake temperatures down to the 1,100掳F/593掳C range. Brake cooling ducts are mandatory on this platform!”

鈥淚 was very interested in EBC鈥檚 6 piston Apollo BBK.聽However, the temperatures I achieved out on the track could pose a problem with any painted caliper. I learned of EBC鈥檚 racing caliper which has specific features designed to handle the stress at the race track. From the hard anodized finish, the high temperature seals and steel castellated pistons, it seemed like the perfect final solution for the Golf R鈥檚 brakes.

鈥淚 installed EBC鈥檚 6 piston racing calipers BBK on my 2019 Golf R in late September 2025 for my next track event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The difference was night and day. I had read that EBC鈥檚 Balanced Big Brake Kit focuses on the entire brake system. I can share from my experience this is not marketing hype. The brakes felt much firmer and the car did not pitch to the front under initial braking as quickly. The car had more of a squat under braking. This kept the car much more stable under heavy braking. The brakes were much more linear which inspired confidence. The 6R calipers require more pedal effort, making it much easier to modulate the pedal as you approach threshold braking. I used the EBC 307+ racing brake fluid supplied in the kit. I was very impressed by how solid the pedal felt under all conditions. Absolutely no issues with the brake fluid all weekend of fast laps.”

鈥淪imply put, the EBC 6 piston racing caliper BBK setup was awesome.聽I tried both RP-X and SR-11 pads front and rear and both were exceptional. My braking distances down the back straight at Mid-Ohio went from the 500 marker to approaching the 400 marker with more confidence than the best setup with the stock calipers.聽Going forward, the SR-11 pad will be my pad of choice for three-day track events.聽The RP-X is an excellent choice for Time Attacks and autocross.鈥�

鈥淎 mixed first聽half of the season!

鈥淪emprini Racing鈥檚 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聽Endurance Cup was missed, with the season starting instead with the MSV Trackday聽Trophy at Silverstone.

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

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

鈥淣ext up was the delayed return to the Supersport聽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聽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!

鈥淲ith clutch and oil cooler replaced and the car put back together, it was off to Snetterton 鈥� 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!

鈥淥nwards to Brands Hatch and back to the Trackday聽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.

鈥淎 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!

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

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

鈥淎nother solid mid-class outing in wet conditions on Saturday set us up well for Sunday鈥� 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鈥檇 received 鈥榤echanical assistance鈥� to get out of the gravel trap, none of our subsequent lap times counted, so we were plum last on the grid!

鈥淣ot 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聽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聽for our first podium and trophy of the season! Finally a good result where car and drivers had combined well,

鈥淥ur 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.

鈥淛eremy 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鈥檚 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!”

鈥淏ack 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鈥檛 push things too hard, to come in mid-grid.聽

鈥淭he 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.聽

鈥淚t鈥檒l 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.

鈥淏ig thanks to 91传媒 for the support again this season – we may not get through as many sets of pads as we鈥檇 have liked to due to our enforced absence for a while, but the SR-11//Bluestuff combo has been one thing we haven鈥檛 had to worry about in this challenging season!鈥�