2023 NEWS
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MINI CHALLENGE SEASON REPORT
17TH NOVEMBER 2023
What a year, what a learning curve.
After many highs and lows this season we completed our first year in Mini challenge.
After showing strong pace in the first 3 weekends getting top 4 qualifying’s and fastest laps, we then struggled with power issues due to the accident at Thruxton that persisted until the final weekend of the year.
What could have been if we would have had the car on form all season!
I can’t thank Chandler Motorsport enough for going the extra mile in order to make this season possible.
Time to regroup over the winter and focus on 2024 for both the graduates championship and the main to come back faster, stronger.
Overall Results:
Championship- 16th
Rookie championship- 8th
MINI CHALLENGE - FINAL ROUND
10TH NOVEMBER 2023
This weekend we took part in the final round of the Mini Challenge Championship at Brands Hatch supporting the British Truck Racing!
After a season of ups and downs I came into the weekend looking to make sure we had pace in the car and end the season on a high.
With no testing on Friday Qualifying was always going to be tough! Things were made more difficult when the isolator gave up after 1 lap and we lost all power causing me to have to retire from the session . Although this was still good enough to qualify 24th out of 32.
The Team quickly diagnosed the issue and concluded this had been due to accident at Thruxton - we had finally found the cause of our power issues since Croft!
Race 1- WET WET WET! I started 24th and made our way through the pack at a notoriously difficult track to overtake, due to multiple safety cars and a red flag I was only able to make up 4 positions despite the pace we now had in the car.
Race 2- with dry conditions and starting 20th we could only go forwards, we made some excellent overtakes and gained 7 positions before the steering rack snapped with 2 laps to go . We backed off and settled for bringing the car home safe in 13th
The team did an amazing job swapping the broken rack in an incredibly short amount of time ready for the final race. I honestly can’t thank you enough
Race 3- the final race of the season, we started 13th and my aim was to finish in the top 10. With the car now back to its quickest and some more great overtakes I crossed the line in 8th place with the 3rd fastest laptime of the race, We could have gone further but due to yellow flags in key overtaking areas for the last 5 laps - we had to settle for 8th but we were only 2 seconds off the lead by the end of the race.
The weekend started with frustration but ended with the car back to its best and a good result which made watching the excellent firework display a whole lot sweeter!
This year has definitely been a learning curve for me, being my first season racing a FWD car and I’ve met some incredible people along the way.
I can’t wait to get back to it next year!
PHOTO CREDIT MINI CHALLENGE
PHOTO CREDIT MINI CHALLENGE
ROUND 6 AT SILVERSTONE - MINI CHALLENGE
18TH SEPTEMBER 2023
An overall better weekend considering the challenges we had to endure.
Qualifying: With the power issues from Croft and Donnington still with us we struggled to lay down a good lap, ultimately placing us in 17th.
Race 1: We tried as hard as we could to work our way up the field but with reduced acceleration out of the corners - we were only able to keep the 17th place we started with.
Race 2: We started 17th and made our way up the field to 12th doing some good overtakes whilst also having to think defensively out of the corners due to the lack of acceleration. we ended up crossing the line in 14th due to being out dragged on the way to the line.
Race 3: I started 14th and finally managed to adapt a driving style that meant at least we could cope with the power issues we had. We were finally able to compete and pulled off some great overtakes in a very close field to cross the line in 9th just 2.9 seconds behind the leader. I’m unable to say more but we eventually got demoted to 14th due to a 4 second penalty being applied to a clean overtake I made in the early stages of the race.
A bizarre way to end to the weekend but a huge thank you to Chandler Motorsport for all their hard work in running the car and going all out to try and find the issue.
Also a huge well done to Rhys Hurd on his maiden victory, what a way to show everyone what the team is capable of and what we can do together!
Finally I’d like to give a huge thank you to my sponsors as I wouldn’t be racing without them!
Once again, a huge thank you to my sponors and my team:
Chandler Motorsport, Sata Tools, Studio Fred, Stokker, Simply Medicals, Waves LTD and BR Exclusive Car Hire
Onto brands in 6 weeks!
PHOTO CREDIT MINI CHALLENGE
REECE TAKES ON THE FIFTH ROUND AT DONINGTON - MINI CHALLENGE
28TH AUGUST 2023
Qualifying: With power issues and then a broken driveshaft we had to retire the car after only 5 laps but still managed to somehow qualify 15th out of 31.
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Race 1: We started 15th but due to the continuing power issues, we saw ourselves go backwards to 19th by the end of the race.
Race 2: Starting 19th in a wet race with the continuing power issues was always going to be difficult but after some great moves, I made my way to 12th before suffering from a front left puncture midway through the race resulting in a DNF.
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Race 3: Starting from the back and still with low power meant I had my work cutout again. After 3 laps I had made up 14 places and was in 16th and on the back of the train for 5th, unfortunately due to contact on the rear of my car going into McLean’s I was spun around and dropped to 25th but managed to recover to 21st when the race was ended early due to a red flag.
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With the power issues from Croft still haunting us for the entire weekend the weekend was always going to be difficult. However on a positive note we believe we may have been able to identify the issue meaning that we will be back to 100% by Silverstone!
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Big thank you to Chandler Motorsport for all their hard work this weekend. They worked tirelessly analysing diagnostics and taking the car apart to try and find the issue and make the car 100% again, and another big thank you to all my sponsors as I wouldn’t be here without them.
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Well done to my team mate Rhys Hurd for getting the results that the team deserve with the pace that we both know we have and to Tommy Gilham who drove great in his first weekend with the team. Time to move onto Silverstone!
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Huge thank you to my sponsors and my team:
Chandler Motorsport, Sata Tools, Studio Fred, Stokker, Simply Medicals, Waves LTD and BR Exclusive Car Hire
MINI CHALLENGE FOURTH ROUND AT CROFT
31ST JULY 2023
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Qualifying:
With a loose steering rack and slight misfire i managed to set a respectable time to put me 12th for the first race.
Race 1: After experiencing the same issues we had in qualifying i managed to get myself to 6th by the end of the race which put us 6th for the final race on Sunday.
Race 2: After a heroic start from me and my teammate we were sitting 5th after a couple of corners, but due to an incident the race was red flagged, I am glad all drivers involved were okay.
The race was restarted but whilst overtaking again for 5th, despite being fully alongside - I received contact to the side of my car which forced me off track and I spun on the grass which was all captured from the camera of my teammates car who was following directly behind.
This ultimately damaged the car and forced me to nurse the car to the finish.Not the way we wanted to bounce back from Thruxton but we come back stronger and wiser for Donnington.
Huge thank you to Chandler Motorsport for all their hard work and getting the car ready for the weekend and the great support over this weekend!
Also another huge thank you to my sponsors Sata Tools for flying over from Europe to come and watch me this weekend, I really hope you enjoyed watching some of the best racing in the uk.
Once again thank you to everyone for your continued support with me and my other amazing sponsors as this would not be possible without you.
Time to rebuild and come back bigger and better at donnington!
MINI CHALLENGE - THIRD ROUND RACE REPORTS
6TH JUNE 2023
Thruxton saw us take part in our first TOCA weekend and it was a real mixed bag of emotions!
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Qualifying: After only 2 practice sessions the day before learning the new track me and my teammate Rhys Hurd Racing worked together to get as high up the results as possible this ended up with us qualifying 4th for race 1.
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Race 1: we battled for the lead for the whole race until 2 laps before the end the rear left shock collapsed going for a move for the lead of the race. I nursed the car back to the pits for a DNF. A review of my footage by the officials also confirmed that a 10 second time penalty shown on the timing screens would have also been overturned had I finished ! - so double heartbreak!
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Race 2: we started in P25 due to the shock collapsing in race 1. By the time the race was red flagged for an unexpected accident half way though the race - we were already in p14 Thankfully all drivers involved were okay. The race was restarted we crossed the line in 4th overall an P1 rookie before the results were taken back a lap due to another red flag on the last lap leaving us in 5th.
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Race 3: Live on ITV 4, we led from pole and we battled for the lead all race never going lower than 4th, however heavy contact from an unrealistic and ill judged move on the last corner forced both me me and another driver into the wall whilst in site of the chequered flag. Our chance of a first race podium and rookie win had gone!
Overall a disappointing weekend that could have been been our best weekend yet!
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The positive - we have pace to burn in both qualifying and in the races and we showed a great demonstration of what I am capable of after only 3 rounds in.
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Big thanks to the team Chandler Motorsport for getting the car repaired and ready for race 2 and finally thank you all for your kind messages!
Time to rebuild for Croft - we come back stronger, harder and hungrier for success!
REECE TAKES ON THE SECOND ROUND AT SNETTERTON - MINI CHALLENGE
15TH MAY 2023
A weekend like no other...an unfortunate amount of bad luck that plagued such a promising start to a weekend.
Qualifying:
After showing such mega pace in the practice we put a lap in that secured us 3rd place for the first race. A great result!
Race 1:
Unfortunately a mistake on my part cost us 13 places at the start but knowing that I had the pace, I got my head down and we started to make some really great overtakes. So much so, that I managed to finish back in 7th for race 2.
Race 2:
We started off strong, quickly moving into 5th and the race was starting to look good. However after being forced offline I was back down into 10th place.
I remained in the main pack for the rest of the race until I broke for a corner in my usual place...unfortunately the car just slid and I collided with the car in front which forced him wide. Within the same lap, I managed to overtake a further car but then on the following lap the safety car was deployed due to oil on track - the race was red flagged.
Due to my earlier incident, I was given a time and grid penalty for race 2 which dropped me from 8th to 18th. A really gutting result!
Race 3:
Here we had a lot of work to do, we were starting 18th after the penalties! Within the first lap, I was making good progress and had already gained 6 places, putting me back in 12th. Unfortunately on this lap, there was a racing incident...we were spun by another driver and due to the heavy contact, we were forced to end our race early.
It was a deeply disappointing weekend at Snetterton but we move onwards and upwards to the BTCC round at Thuxton in 3 weeks time. Thank you for all your support, I really appreciate it and I can't wait to see what we do at the next round. Let's hope for better luck!
MINI CHALLENGE FIRST ROUND AT BRANDS HATCH
10TH APRIL 2023
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Qualifying:
A dry track meant all out attack and effort required, we had a few good laps but was unable to get a proper flying lap in, this left us 8th on the grid and with a lap time just under the fastest lap time ever recorded for the minis in previous years.
Race 1 was a huge learning curve, after returning to sprint racing after 2 years and not racing in such a close championship before I was expecting such a high quality of driving and attack from the other drivers. We made our way back up to 14th from 17th after loosing some places at the start. We also set the 3rd fastest lap of the race.
Unfortunately in race 2 I was involved in an incident that resulted in me dropping far down the order to 19th, I did some incredible overtakes and learned some crucial race craft, whilst matching front running pace, we finished this race in 11th.
Race 3:
Starting 11th we had our work cut out to make a top 10 finish, a poor start saw us fall to 14th after the first lap. After this I put my head down and focused on catching the lead pack. I made a series of close overtakes whilst setting the fastest lap of the race on my charge for the front, I finally caught the back of the battle for 2nd (8 cars long) with 5 minutes long and we set to make my way through when an unfortunate incident brought the final race to an early close. Our final result for this race was 9th and 3rd in the rookie championship.
A weekend of ups and downs but massive improvements. I have a lot to work on for Snetterton but I have shown I have the pace to be at the front and battle for podiums.
Big thank you to the whole team at Chandler Motorsport who prepared my car to such a high competitive level and running me throughout the weekend without a single issue. As a new team and new driver I feel we have both made our mark within the championship. Also well done to my team mate Rhys Hurd for your successful weekend!
Huge thank you to my sponsors, Studio Fred, Sata Tools UK, Aflatek and Simply Medicals. I would not be able to race without you guys.
Full throttle for Snetterton!
REECE TAKES ON THE COOPER CLASS
29th March 2023
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We are very excited to share that Reece will be competing in the Cooper Class for the 2023 season. The Cooper Class give us the most exciting racing that Mini Challenge offers.
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Stay tuned to keep up to date with race fixtures, latest news and all things Reece Lycett Racing.
