What to expect from TOCA's new-look support series in 2022

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB, British Formula 4 Championship, Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Mini Challenge and Ginetta Junior series boast plenty of top talents among their ranks this year, including youngsters on the junior schemes of Formula 1 squads, while cars to three of the five series are introducing new cars.

With so much change in store, picking the likely title contenders is far from straightforward and will make for a fascinating viewing on the BTCC undercard at this year's 10 rounds.

Before the action gets underway on Saturday, Autosport picks out the main themes to watch out for in each series.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB: Top talents to do battle with returning stars

Smalley will hope to become the latest Porsche Junior to shine in Carrera Cup GB

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey Photography

To say that the Porsche Carrera Cup GB is looking competitive this season is an understatement. A glance at the list of reigning champions joining the grid alone is a sign of the quality in the Pro line-up.

There’s Ginetta GT4 Supercup title winner – and new Porsche GB Junior – Adam Smalley, British GT4 victor Gus Burton, Porsche Sprint Challenge GB dominator Theo Edgerton and, more left-field, Castle Combe Formula Ford 1600 ace Oliver White, who is making his long-desired move to sportscars. Add in 2017 British GT champion Seb Morris and 2014 British GT4 conqueror Jake Giddings, and it really is some field.

But perhaps it’s two of the drivers who are not among the additions who have the best chance of taking the spoils. Kiern Jewiss and Will Martin were both race winners last season in a campaign that again featured a hugely talented grid.

Martin, a 2019 Ginetta Junior frontrunner, took two triumphs and is now seeking to launch a full title bid. Meanwhile, 2018 British Formula 4 champion Jewiss impressed after hitting the reset button on his career and winning on his debut weekend after switching from single-seaters. With a bit more luck, Jewiss feels he could have figured in the final-round decider last term, and is optimistic about his chances this time around.

“I’m feeling very confident but you never know what everyone else has got,” he says. “The first few rounds is where we’re going to have the advantage as second-year drivers. We’ve got to lay our stamp down and that sets the tone for the year.”

"The biggest thing I want to improve is qualifying. Pole and fastest-lap points make a difference, especially in a championship where so little points are given" Kiern Jewiss

Jewiss believes that the new ‘Type 992’ 911 GT3 Cup machine being introduced this year “is suiting me a little better”, and will take advantage of his Team Parker Racing squad being the only team to have regularly run the car before, having entered last season’s Porsche Supercup. Considering he ultimately fell 19 points short in 2021, Jewiss is concentrating on ensuring he maximises every scoring opportunity this year.

“The biggest thing I want to improve is qualifying,” he states. “Pole and fastest-lap points make a difference, especially in a championship where so little points are given [just two markers separate the top two in non-reversed grid races].”

But Jewiss is aware the swathe of rookies could “jump straight in and be fast straight away”. And Smalley is targeting doing just that. He enters with the dual confidence boost of a dominant performance in the GT4 Supercup and impressing Porsche sufficiently to be chosen as the new Junior.

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“The ultimate goal is to win the championship but I know it’s not going to be easy,” says Smalley. “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, I’m going to take it round by round. Testing’s gone well but, until the chequered flag waves at the end of qualifying, we don’t know where we stand against everyone else.”
Indeed, predicting a winner among the 10 Pros is nigh-on impossible with Jewiss and Smalley just two names likely to be in the mix.

British Formula 4: F1 junior drivers headline new-look series

Three F1 juniors will do battle in British F4 this year, with Oliver Gray (Williams) pitched against Daniel Guinchard (Mercedes) and Ugo Ugochukwu (McLaren)

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

There is a plethora of changes for British Formula 4 this year, with a new promoter, new car, new engine, new tyre supplier and new sponsors. But another new element for 2022 is the number of Formula 1 juniors on the grid. Never before have three teenagers affiliated with F1 teams competed against each other in British F4, and that makes for an intriguing subplot in the battle to start the new era in style.

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One of those drivers is a familiar face: Williams-backed Oliver Gray took two wins en route to seventh in the standings last year with Fortec Motorsport. He has now switched to Carlin and is feeling “much more prepared” for his sophomore campaign.

“You always feel a little bit more pressure, wanting to perform every week, but I feel like it definitely gives you more confidence,” he adds about his Williams recognition.

But given all the change in the series, Gray acknowledges that being a second-year driver does not bring all the usual benefits this year. Among the rookies aiming to take advantage of that is Mercedes F1 junior Daniel Guinchard. He admits that his selection by the eight-time constructors’ champion was a “big surprise”, but is already reaping the benefits.

Guinchard was in the Silver Arrows’ spotlight after making history by winning two British Karting titles in the same season last year with Argenti Motorsport, the team with which he graduates to F4.

“When I stepped into F4, it didn’t feel like too big a jump compared to maybe how some other people felt because it was with the same family, I knew everyone around the team and it was the same faces,” he explains. “I think that’s definitely helped with the progression over the winter because I’ve felt at home since day one.”

Completing the F1 junior trio is McLaren’s Ugo Ugochukwu, who lines up alongside Gray at Carlin. He has already made several trips to Woking, and all three drivers have regularly been at the top of the times in pre-season testing.

But there is a host of others aiming to prove the F1 teams have backed the wrong drivers. Joseph Loake is the highest-placed from last year (sixth) to continue, staying with JHR for a second season after graduating from Fiesta Junior. Then there’s Guinchard’s Argenti team-mate Aiden Neate, who showed flashes of pace last year, while Carlin’s Louis Sharp could also be one to watch.

Elsewhere, the feelgood story has to be Joel Pearson’s return to racing after battling cancer. Getting on the grid has been a major achievement for the Chris Dittmann Racing driver, but he is also keen to show his pace.

Ginetta GT4 Supercup: New and improved machine brings new challenges

Kellett has already raced G56 Ginetta in GT Cup

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey Photography

It’s been a long wait for James Kellett. Six years after he first targeted a Ginetta GT4 Supercup move, the two-time GT5 Challenge champion is now finally set to make the full-time switch.

Kellett was runner-up in the 2014 Ginetta Junior contest and then claimed the GT5 crown the following year. But a planned progression to the top level of the Ginetta ladder never materialised, with Kellett unable to secure the budget, and he instead spent two years on the sidelines. “As a young driver, that was a massive shock to the system,” he admits.

But he was able to “reboot” his career in 2018 as a new relationship with Century Motorsport yielded a dominant second GT5 title. He has since spent the past few seasons partnering amateur driver Alex Stevenson in the GT Cup before impressing on two cameo appearances in the GT4 Supercup at the end of 2021, when he took three wins.

It was a reminder of Kellett’s talents and, with Stevenson’s Wheldrake Classic Cars company and new Century sub-team Rosland Gold Racing, he has finally landed that full-time GT4 Supercup graduation.

“Because it’s a new car, everybody is all over the place with it. It’s such a technical car compared to the old G55 – I’ve never driven a car with ABS or TC before, so I’m getting my head around that" James Kellett

“I’m going into this year confident purely on the back of what I did last year,” he says. “But it’s a completely different car.”

It’s a familiar story on the BTCC bill, because the GT4 Supercup is yet another series adopting new machinery with the introduction of the G56.

“Because it’s a new car, everybody is all over the place with it,” Kellett continues. “It’s such a technical car compared to the old G55 – I’ve never driven a car with ABS or TC before, so I’m getting my head around that.”

With the addition of a V8 engine and 500bhp for the G56, it’s not just the drivers feeling that extra power – the rear tyres are too. Kellett therefore believes that managing the rubber over a weekend will be a real challenge, and could have a major bearing on results.

While Kellett is seeking title glory on his return to the TOCA package, he is far from the only one to watch. Josh Rattican was runner-up in the series last year and is continuing with Elite Motorsport, while reigning Ginetta Junior champion Aston Millar has made the move with new team DTO Motorsport. And there is still time for more entries to arrive since the campaign does not begin until the second BTCC round at Brands Hatch next month, meaning Kellett still has a little longer to wait to finally become a GT4 Supercup regular.

Mini Challenge: Zelos faces stiff opposition to defend title

Max Coates is expected to be among the contenders in Mini Challenge

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Few drivers have been as consistent a frontrunner without winning a title among the British Touring Car support series for as many years as Max Coates. The popular Yorkshireman has been a key contender in the Renault UK Clio Cup and Mini Challenge since 2016, but has never quite sealed a crown, although he has come very close on occasions. And he is looking to put that right this year.

Last season, Coates joined Graves Motorsport for his sophomore Mini campaign. The ambitious team was new to the JCW class, and he therefore had to temper expectations. But, with a year of learning under its belt, the squad has expanded significantly, with Coates and Bradley Gravett joined by Lewis Brown (third in last year’s points), Cooper class champions Harry Nunn and Dominic Wheatley, Irish ace Alex Denning and ex-Scottish Legends star Ross Marshall.

“Last year was about us all gelling and ended with a pole and a win, and we’re hoping that’s the form we continue into 2022,” says Coates. “More team-mates is hopefully an advantage, it certainly means we’ve got more resources and personnel in the team.”

Coates is keen to get his campaign off to a strong start, something he admits “has been my downfall in previous seasons”. But it’s going to be far from easy, with Coates estimating the packed grid features “10 to 12” race winners. “Of the top six last year, there’s only one not returning so it’s going to be tight,” he adds.

One of those continuing is reigning champion Dan Zelos. He is staying with Excelr8 Motorsport, and that winning combination will be tough to beat as he seeks to make history by successfully defending his crown. With the quality of the opposition, Zelos admits that finishing in the final top three would be considered a success, but is not feeling the weight of expectation after last year’s victory.

PLUS: How 2021's TOCA support titles were won

“There’s a lot of drivers that really stepped it up over the last few rounds of last season,” he says. “Some people said, ‘Are you going to have more pressure after winning last year?’ But I was more determined than ever last year and I’ve now ticked that box. We’ve got a new tyre compound to master – I don’t think anyone knows where they are, and we won’t know until qualifying on Saturday.”

Others likely to be in that frontrunning mix include Lux Motorsport’s Jack Davidson – the form driver in the second half of 2021 – and Hybrid Tune’s Sam Weller, who showed flashes of speed last year.

Ginetta Junior: Rowledge faces expectation after Winter Series title

Josh Rowledge is flanked by R Racing team-mates Akshay Bohra, Luke Watts, Luca Hopkinson and Ian Aguilera

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Drivers who triumph in the end-of-season Ginetta Junior Winter Series have a pretty good track record of also succeeding in the subsequent full campaign. Of the 12 previous winter champions, eight have gone on to finish in the top two in the main series the following year. Josh Rowledge is now the latest seeking to join that list.

"I think it’s given him a bit of confidence to know he can do it. He’s proved it to himself and put him in a good place" Jamie Ross

Rowledge moved to R Racing from Elite Motorsport for the winter contest and, after finishing seventh in the main championship in 2021, he was instantly on the pace. And R Racing boss Jamie Ross believes his charge is now only growing stronger.

“I think it’s given him a bit of confidence to know he can do it,” says Ross of the winter victory. “He’s proved it to himself and put him in a good place.”

But Rowledge’s task of replicating that glory will not be easy. It’s another packed entry and features last year’s runner-up Liam McNeilly, who will be desperate to go one better as he continues with the family Fox Motorsport squad. Other sophomore drivers to watch include Assetto’s Harri Reynolds and Elite’s Aqil Alibhai. But, given Ginetta Junior’s notorious unpredictability, no one can truly be discounted from fighting at the front.