The fantastic five that marched to BTCC supports glory

The British Touring Car Championship finals weekend is always a dramatic one. While the title is virtually always up for grabs in the headline act, the supporting categories normally produce a few eventful and unpredictable showdowns of their own.

But, sadly, not this year. In 2022, each of the five regular supports was wrapped up with at least one race to spare by a champion who enjoyed varying levels of dominance. That is not to say the campaigns were boring, far from it, and there was plenty of intrigue to keep the massed spectators on their toes.

Here's the story of how the Mini Challenge, British Formula 4, Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Ginetta GT4 Supercup and Ginetta Junior seasons unfolded.

Mini Challenge

Weller was at the head of the field from the start of the season, having finally taken his maiden win

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

Last year, it was a nail-bitingly dramatic conclusion to the Mini Challenge season, but there was no such tension this time around as the remarkable consistency of Sam Weller meant the Hybrid Tune driver netted the crown with two races to spare.

Considering the reliability woes of some of his rivals – including last year’s victor Dan Zelos – and the high chance of contact with the packed field nearing 30 cars, it was impressive of Weller to not just be one of only two drivers to finish all 20 races, but to also always be inside the top six.

With such an emphatic display, it is easy to forget this was just Weller’s second full season in the JCW class – and he had yet to win prior to this year.

“My strength this year was knowing when to pick your moment,” Weller says. “Last season we were good but we just got involved in some skirmishes which could’ve been avoided.”

“The first Donington win was very special because that was my first win in that car. I was second quite a few times the season before. That ate me up over the winter quite badly” Sam Weller

Weller ended his win drought with a double at the Donington Park opener, attributing his early season success to the preparation he and the team had undertaken to get to grips with the new Goodyear tyre for this year.

“The first win was very special because that was my first win in that car,” Weller adds. “I was second quite a few times the season before. That ate me up over the winter quite badly thinking, ‘What have I got to do to get a win in this series?’ That was a box ticked and some pressure off.”

But, while Weller headed the standings from that first race, it could have been very different if the season had instead started at Snetterton in August. Graves Motorsport’s Alex Denning won six of the last nine races, the Irish Fiesta graduate really gelling with the JCW and marking himself as a star of the future. But it all came too late to stop Weller from being number one.

British Formula 4

Snetterton was a weekend of "pure dominance" from Dunne

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

Dominant. There is no other way to describe Alex Dunne’s performances in British Formula 4 this year as he achieved results not even current/future F1 drivers Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri were able to register in the series. Having won twice and stormed from ninth to second in the partially reversed-grid race at the Donington Park opener, seemingly the only question was whether Dunne would wrap up the first title in the series’ new era in time to also contest the Italian round at Monza on the weekend of the Brands Hatch finale.

The answer was sort of. Although Dunne had not officially clinched the crown with an event to spare, Oliver Gray needed the most incredible weekend in F4 history to dethrone Dunne and the Irishman therefore still headed to Italy. Yes, there had been a few blips along the way, including scrappy races at Brands Indy and Knockhill, plus engine woes at Croft, but the Hitech GP driver’s glory never really looked in doubt as he smashed the series’ record for the most wins in a season with 11.

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“Breaking the record for most wins against some of the names that have been through the championship is really special to me,” says Dunne. “I’m slightly overwhelmed and super-happy with what we’ve achieved this year.”

Of all his successes, Dunne picks race three at Snetterton as his favourite.

“That was the only race this year I managed to win by 10 seconds and I had the fastest lap by seven tenths as well,” he says. “That was a pretty special race and that weekend was purely dominance.”

While Carlin’s Williams junior Gray grew stronger as the season wore on, he ultimately won just twice and was far too inconsistent to challenge Dunne – a common theme across the grid. The fact fifth-placed Joseph Loake (JHR) was the only other driver to manage at least four wins says it all.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB

Jewiss enjoyed fantastic end to the year, while Martin had nightmarish last two rounds

Photo by: Porsche

The low-scoring nature of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB points system helps create close title battles. And that was how this year’s fight was shaping up with five points separating the top four drivers after three events. It continued to be the case with two weekends to go as two points split Kiern Jewiss and Will Martin. Yet the final standings were anything but close as two near-perfect rounds for Jewiss and misery for Martin left a very different impression.

Jewiss had enjoyed contrasting fortunes throughout the campaign, not least a tricky Donington Park opener when contact with Gus Burton left the Team Parker driver out of the points. But he instantly put that behind him with a storming drive from 14th to third in race two.

“You want to hit the ground running and to end up in the gravel is never ideal,” he reflects. “In race two, we rescued that as best we could and that got the ball rolling.”

From there, he scored a win and a podium at Brands Hatch to claw the deficit back and a strong Snetterton weekend put him in a healthy position. But two fifth places at Thruxton then enabled Martin to close right in again.

“I think I got a bit too confident after Snetterton and felt I had enough speed to just keep finishing races and it would be OK” Kiern Jewiss

“I think I got a bit too confident after Snetterton and felt I had enough speed to just keep finishing races and it would be OK,” admits Jewiss.

That prompted a change in approach for Silverstone and the work behind the scenes paid off with two crushing wins, before he also doubled up at Brands (but was behind Pro-Am champion Charles Rainford in the finale).

As Jewiss hit form at a crucial time, Martin was literally hit. Contact from Theo Edgerton sent Adam Smalley clattering into him at Becketts in race two at Silverstone, leaving him seventh in class, before Edgerton then sent Martin spearing heavily into the barriers exiting Paddock Hill Bend at Brands. All of which meant Martin went from challenging Jewiss to third in the final table.

“Going into the [Brands] weekend [22 points adrift], I was thinking whatever happens, it’s been a strong year for us and we’ve proven we can fight for a championship,” says Martin, with there still being plenty of positives for the Richardson Racing driver despite the disappointing conclusion.

Ginetta GT4 Supercup

Bold move around the outside of Paddock Hill Bend was one of Kellett's many standout moments

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

The new G56s sounded great but it was disappointing there were not more of the V8 monsters on the Ginetta GT4 Supercup grid this year – with there being just three or four in the top Pro class at times. Those low numbers contributed to the decision to make 2022 the category’s final season, but we were treated to a masterclass from James Kellett as he became the last champion in style.

Kellett – a two-time GT5 Challenge title winner – had impressed on two cameo outings in a G55 at the end of last year, meaning the Century Motorsport racer was confident coming into the season. And he was right to be.

“I think the package we had was just unbeatable,” says Kellett. “We went to the first round and qualified on pole by quite a chunk and that was on the Indy circuit at Brands! At that point, I knew this is my championship to win.”

The “chunk” Kellett refers to was a healthy 0.36 seconds around the short 1.2-mile lap and he converted that into two comfortable wins. He then laid down another marker with a victory in the wet reversed-grid finale, storming around the outside of two cars at Paddock and grabbing the lead on lap four.

Kellett never looked back from there, going on to dismantle just about every series record. He won the first seven races, a new record. He claimed 13 wins across the season, another record. And he even triumphed from the back of the grid in the third race at Silverstone after earlier mechanical woe cost him the chance to seal the title with an event to spare.

“We worked hard for those wins – it may have looked easy, but it wasn’t,” Kellett adds. “All that pre-season effort behind the scenes with the team and mechanics [paid off].”

While Kellett was all-conquering to start with, Elite’s Tom Emson grew in confidence after his first success at Snetterton. But he was the only driver able to take the fight to Kellett in a thin field – although Kellett believes that made it harder to win the title, given just finishing a race netted a huge points haul.

Nevertheless, Kellett concludes: “It was a year I will remember for the rest of my life.” Some of his bold overtakes will certainly live long in the memory as the GT4 Supercup fades into history.

Ginetta Junior

Rowledge recovered from this Thruxton spin to still win in Ginetta Junior

Photo by: JEP/Motorsport Images

Facing backwards on the approach to the Complex at Thruxton having been spun by a rival is normally the end of a driver’s victory hopes. Not for Ginetta Junior champion Josh Rowledge with this moment in the third race at the Hampshire speedbowl, when he fought back to win, encapsulating the tenacity he showed across the campaign.

Whenever he faced a setback, he never let it faze him. Whether that was a disappointing qualifying – on seven occasions he was outside the top six with the new high-pressure format restricting the teenagers to just three laps to register two grid-setting times – or contact that dropped him down the order, Rowledge always seemed to find a way to bounce back.

It was just one factor that helped Rowledge take the glory. Another was the confidence winning last year’s Winter Series brought after a distinctly average rookie season in the main series, while his consistency – his only time outside the top six was when he spun out at Croft – also helped.

For the first four events, it looked like an intriguing title battle would be in store with Rowledge, Elite Motorsport rookie Will Macintyre and Assetto Motorsport’s Harri Reynolds evenly-matched

“I feel like I’ve had a strong group of people around me and that’s made a difference,” Rowledge adds, in reference to the R Racing crew that also powered Aston Millar to last year’s crown.

For the first four events, it looked like an intriguing title battle would be in store with Rowledge, Elite Motorsport rookie Will Macintyre and Assetto Motorsport’s Harri Reynolds evenly-matched. But a nightmare Knockhill round for Reynolds dropped him back and some poor races for Macintyre in the middle of the year dented his charge.

Meanwhile, 2021 runner-up Liam McNeilly did not triumph until the Brands Hatch finale in a campaign that was disappointing, albeit beset with misfortune, compared to the impressive frontrunning performances he produced last year that suggested he would be a key rival for Rowledge this time around.

10. Adam Smalley

Smalley finished runner-up in maiden Carrera Cup season

Photo by: Porsche

This was a tricky one to decide as there are two runner-ups staking a claim. Smalley gets the nod for his performances in his maiden season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB ahead of second-year British Formula 4 driver Oliver Gray, who was too inconsistent and aggressive at Silverstone. Yes, Smalley’s second in the points owed to Martin’s misery but it still represented a decent effort for the GB Junior, who began the year in style with victory in the opener but could not match the ultimate pace of champion Kiern Jewiss.

9. Tom Emson

The only one who could get on terms with James Kellett in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup and, by the time he could, his rival was storming clear in the points. However, given the dominance Kellett enjoyed in the early races, Emson’s rate of progress was significant. First win at Snetterton gave him confidence and should have had more at Thruxton but for engine woes and a broken windscreen. Held off Kellett at Brands to prevent the champion winning all weekend but the lack of other opposition must be noted.

8. Will Macintyre

We have grown accustomed to rookies shining in their first Ginetta Junior season and Tom Lebbon set that bar unbelievably high when claiming the title in his maiden car racing campaign in 2020. But Macintyre’s achievements certainly should not be downplayed. Taking six wins and a further nine podiums is very impressive for a rookie and he was right in the mix at the front from the very first round. He just did not have the same consistency as Josh Rowledge to truly rival him for the crown.

7. Alex Denning

From the moment he took his first Mini Challenge win in the final race at Knockhill, there was no stopping Denning. Ended the year with seven victories compared to Sam Weller’s four, and was undoubtedly the championship’s form driver. But an inconsistent start to the year, while still getting to grips with the series after a couple of cameo outings at the end of 2021, meant the Irishman was never likely to challenge Weller, but did beat a host of far more experienced drivers to finish runner-up in the standings.

6. Will Martin

This had been looking like it could be Martin’s year. After two seasons learning his Carrera Cup trade, having taken the significant leap up from Ginetta Junior with Richardson Racing – which also had no previous Porsche experience – Martin looked the part. And he was right in the mix until being the innocent victim of contact twice in two races at the end of the year. Even without that, probably would not have stopped Jewiss, but would at least have given him more to think about.

5. Kiern Jewiss

Ranking the champions was tricky but Jewiss only held slender lead until brilliant final two rounds

Photo by: Porsche

It does not seem fair that one of these dominant champions is only fifth but someone has to be and, unfortunately for Jewiss, it is him. Was outstanding across the final two Carrera Cup events but, up until then, was neck-and-neck with Martin – whose terrible Silverstone and Brands weekends artificially inflated Jewiss’s eventual margin in the standings. Focused on improving his qualifying pace this year, and that made a difference, although his poor starts sometimes negated that advantage.

4. James Kellett

Another standout driver having rewritten the GT4 Supercup record books and boasts the highest win percentage of any TOCA supports driver this year (65%). But the reason he is only fourth is simple: a lack of opposition. At its very largest moment, the top Pro class had just five other drivers and, even then, only Emson seemed capable of halting Kellett’s charge. Also blotted his copybook with Knockhill disqualification for clumsy move on Aston Millar. Otherwise, was often mightily impressive.

3. Alex Dunne

Perhaps one of the more obvious contenders for top spot but, for all his British F4 dominance, Dunne made far too many errors to be ranked number one when comparing such brilliant seasons. He lost his front wing in the third race at Brands, lost control in Oulton Park race two, lost his cool after stalling off the line at Knockhill, spun again in race two at Thruxton and then played his part in an unnecessarily tempestuous Silverstone weekend. Aside from those misdemeanours, he trounced the opposition.

2. Josh Rowledge

Ginetta Junior champion Rowledge produced a very meritorious effort in a series famed for its unpredictability, but his consistency had just the one slip up at Croft. Demonstrated outstanding racecraft to make up for some tricky qualifying sessions and ended the season with nine wins – and it could have been more had he not sat out the final two races to prevent any late penalty points. But ultimately misses out on top spot because he did not have to battle any reversed grids to score his regular podiums.

1. Sam Weller

When there were five such dominant champions, all heading to the Brands Hatch finale on the brink of their respective titles, it makes it unbelievably tricky to rank them. Weller may be a slightly surprising choice as number one, but the Mini Challenge conqueror faced the largest field of all, packed full of potential title contenders, and never finished outside the top six. Considering that includes partially reversed-grid races, his consistency is very impressive.