The new national series and championships in 2021

Motorsport is constantly progressing and evolving, even despite the unwanted efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic and perhaps nowhere is this best seen than in UK national racing.

Every year new series and championships come onto the club racing scene, and although in 2021 there might be fewer than in previous seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic, Autosport has taken a look at the newest additions.

Mazda MX-5 Clubman

The British Racing & Sports Car Club's Mazda MX-5 Championship for Mk1 models of the sportscar is one of the best-supported categories in the UK, and for 2021 the club has decided to mix things up a little and split it into two separate championships.

The existing series will continue in its traditional two-day format and will cater for the top MX-5 racers, while a new Clubman championship has been created that's a little less intense.

This is designed for racers on a tighter budget, with the calendar made up of single-day events to reduce costs, and is the perfect stepping stone for new drivers to MX-5s, who would perhaps be wary of entering such a competitive category. The cars may now be over 30 years old, but they continue to be as popular as ever, so expect this latest addition to the range of UK MX-5 series to be another hit.

Ginetta GT Academy

It's been a while since Ginetta has introduced a new car designed for the UK national racing marketplace. OK, the GTA machine is not completely new, as it's a fresh version of the existing G55, but it's good to see the manufacturer continuing to invest in motorsport in this country.

The car forms the basis of the GT Academy series, the new entry point to Ginetta's motorsport ladder, and replaces the Ginetta Racing Drivers Club series. On the surface, it may seem a significant jump from the G40 used in the GRDC contest, but it runs on road tyres, has a much less powerful engine than the GT4-spec G55, and has won over many of the drivers to have sampled it so far.

Like the GRDC, it will feature on the British GT support bill, but also gets a one-off appearance at a British Touring Car event with a visit to Silverstone. And it's set to get off to a very encouraging start, with 20 cars expected to be on the grid this year.

The new GTA will also be appearing in the GT4 Supercup. A more powerful version, but still a step down from the G55s in the rest of the series, will form a new subclass specially designed for those aged 16 to 21 and making the step up from the G40s of Ginetta Junior or the combined GT5 Challenge/G40 Cup grid.

Ecurie Classic Racing

Created by a former competitor, Ecurie Classic Racing is a very similar series to the incredibly well-subscribed Equipe GTS category. Breakaways rarely work out well, but the immense number of pre-1966 small-engined Appendix K machines out there means it's undoubtedly a popular branch of the sport.

Races will last 40 minutes, and a six-round provisional calendar has been assembled under the wing of the Classic and Modern Motorsport Club.

It includes two trips to Silverstone, alongside events at Snetterton, Castle Combe, Oulton Park and Donington Park.

Porsche Club 911 Challenge

After unofficial practice sessions at the Brands Hatch Porsche Festival last year, the Porsche Club 911 Challenge is due to hold its first races this term.

Something of a trip back in time to the 1980s and the Pirelli Porsche Classic series, the new-for-2021 category will be open to all 911s up to and including the 964 type, with the grid broken into three classes: 964s, no slicks and existing race cars permitted; new builds from 1978-89 (G-body cars only); and air-cooled machines from 1965-77.

Intended to run alongside the Porsche Club Championship, the 911 Challenge is scheduled to have six rounds in 2021, featuring visits to Donington Park, Snetterton (twice), Oulton Park, Silverstone - on the Grand Prix layout, with two 25-minute races and shared grids with the Porsche Club Championship and Porsche Classic Boxster Cup - and Brands Hatch for the Festival of Porsche. The majority of races will be one-hour long with drivers able to share cars.

Zeo Proto Series

There will be a new home for open and closed prototypes and sports-racers in 2021 with the Zeo Proto Series.

A collaboration between the British Racing & Sports Car Club and Excool (driver Duncan Williams's company, which manufactures advanced data centre cooling equipment), the new series will feature six classes, ranging from sports protos over 2001cc down to CN-spec and LMP3 cars, plus an invitational division.

Four meetings are currently scheduled for the year, with trips to Snetterton, Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park. Each round will consist of a 20-minute qualifying session and two 20-minute races, and the series is due to begin on 11 April.

Amon Cup/Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup

Motor Racing Legends will launch two new series of races in 2021. The Amon Cup, solely for Ford GT40s, is named in honour of Chris Amon for his GT40-mounted 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours success. Two 80-minute races will be held, at the Donington Park Historic Festival (1-2 May) and on the Silverstone Grand Prix layout (30-31 October), for pre-1966 examples.

The Royal Automobile Club Pall Mall Cup is a continuation of the successful Pre-'66 Three-Hour race that was held at Silverstone in October last year. The two three-hour races (again at Donington and Silverstone) will feature three classes for Pre-'66 GTs and touring cars, Pre-'63 GTs, and Pre-'61 sports-racing cars.

This means a plethora of machines will be able to enter, including AC Cobras, Jaguar E-types, Ford Mustangs, Austin-Healeys and Lotus 15s.

Entrants will be encouraged to form teams of three cars - one from each class - and the overall spoils will be awarded to the winning team.