EBC-Equipped Semprini Race Team – 2024 Seaon Round-Up

“We took part in two main series this season – the BRSCC Supersport Endurance Championship in class ‘Clubman-A’, and the MSV Trackday Trophy in class B. We also had outings in the MSV Trackday Championship at Cadwell, which was abandoned to fog and Navarra in Spain where we podiumed (3rd in class), as well as a single round of the BRSCC Clubsport Trophy at Donington where we came 4th in class.”

BRSCC SuperSport Endurance Championship

• Rounds participated in: 5
• The first round of the season at Silverstone saw us qualify 5th in class, but feeling there was a lot more speed to come as we got to grips with the unfamiliar Silverstone International circuit. Unfortunately, the Civic had other ideas and cut out on the green flag lap to the grid and was classified as a DNF.
• The next round was at Snetterton, a circuit we have gone well at in the past. Sure enough, both Phil and Jeremy set their fastest ever laps around the 300 layout, despite having to take some unusual lines around Coram and at the end of the Bentley Straight to avoid oil spillages. Finishing 2nd in class, just 40 seconds behind the class winner was a great result and kick started our class challenge. The big braking zones into the Wilson hairpin, the Brundle/Nelson chicane and the final Murrays tight left-hander are real tests for the car and where strong braking but a good pedal feel to avoid locking up is essential. Our EBC Brakes Racing SR-11™ (front) and Bluestuff (rear) brake pad combo are perfect for this and help us keep our tyres intact through a long two-hour endurance race. Jeremy set his fastest lap in the last 10 minutes of the race, proving the benefit of a great braking setup.
• At Croft Phil drove solo for the full two hours and had his work cut out, having never been to Croft before, and facing rainy conditions. The SR-11™ front pads proved their worth here, giving excellent feel in the conditions allowing Phil to find his rhythm and bring the Civic home P3 in class.
• On to the Donington GP track for the next round where some suspiciously quick cars joined the class in the form of a TCR-esque Golf and a Lotus who were lapping a full 5-6 seconds a lap quicker than the Civic. Qualifying 4th in class, Phil and Jeremy were able to improve in the race to come home with another class podium in P3. This despite the loss of 3rd gear mid-way through the race! This meant leaning even harder on the EBC brake pads without the help of third gear to slow us down into the Fogarty Esses or the Melbourne Hairpin.
• Our final round of this championship was at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit – a very busy place to be with 28 cars of varying lap times! Managing only 6th in a very congested qualifying session, Jeremy and Phil set about the race in hot temperatures aiming for consistency and reliability, something some other cars struggled with. It was enough to improve to P4 at the end and put us into P2 in class for the championship.
• We were unable to run the car in the season finale at the Silverstone National circuit due to our imminent departure to Spain for another series, so Phil and son James debuted their Civic in the guest class. Had they run in class they would have finished P3 but the points didn’t count towards our championship. Luckily some of our regular competitors also didn’t make this round so we finished the season in P2 in class, a result the team is delighted with.

MSV Trackday Trophy

• Round 1 was at Donington Park and it was an EBC Civic lockout with the Semprini EP3 coming in 2nd behind the similar EBC Civic of Justin Roberts and Nicole Draught. Jeremy and Nicole had a great battle in the early stages of the race before different strategies came into play around the safety cars. At the end it was the Roberts/Drought Civic 1st over the line with the Semprini Civic in 2nd.
• The Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit was the venue for the next round, with Jeremy and Phil qualifying in P7 on a mega-competitive grid, just 1.1 seconds covering P1-P7. In the race the Civic was strangely off the pace resulting in a P6 finish, later attributed to the hot temperatures causing the engine management system to go into a more cautious mode. Post-race we made some changes to the air intake system and the problems didn’t return for the rest of the season.
• The next round at Lydden Hill was eventful with torrential rain giving way to sunshine. Qualifying in P2, once again behind the Roberts/Drought EBC Civic, It was Jeremy who set off after the fast starting Justin for the first stint. Trading lap times the gap remained tantalisingly close before the mid-race driver changes. It was apparent straight away when Phil started his stint that the abrasive Lydden surface had taken its toll and the front right tyre burst, leaving Phil to limp back to the pits. A hasty tyre change got the Civic back out on track before the end of the race to claim 2nd in class.
• On to Snetterton where an unfortunate misunderstanding with a backmarker resulted in an accident for Phil and a DNF for the Civic.
• The season moved on to our first overseas event at the superb Navarra Circuit in Northern Spain where we took part in both the TDT and TDC races. The Navarra track is another where a great braking balance is essential with a big braking zone following the flat out turn 1 into turns 2 and the very tight turn 3. Then at the end of the back straight is another big braking zone and into the new hairpin installed just before we arrived – we were the first series to take part on the new circuit layout. The final corner is also a tight one, coming off a fast left hander into a tight, slow right turn onto the main straight. Our SR-11™/Bluestuff combo was superb again at getting the car slowed down and into the corners with great feel, avoiding lock ups and keeping the tyres on song.
• In the TDC, race we placed 3rd in class resulting in a podium appearance being presented with our trophy and bottle of local Rioja by circuit owner and ex-Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer.
• The TDT race was less successful as a power steering pipe popped off at the end of lap 2, dowsing the hot engine with fluid and resulting in a DNF.
• The final race of the year was back at Brands Hatch on the Indy circuit and was something a little different for us as we ran both the blue Civic and Phil and James in their White Civic. Uniquely Phil was to drive both cars in the race so our pitstops were dictated by this rather than a more normal strategy! Sure enough, an early safety car was too soon for us so we stayed out, at one point having a 1-2 in the race before making our stops for Phil to hop out of the Blue Civic and hand over to Jeremy while awaiting James to stop in the white car so he could jump in. Although out of position, Jeremy had a very entertaining battle with class C champion Waynes Cockerill’s Toyota Celica with a pass into Druids made possible by leaning very heavily on the EBC combo to take a gap that looks to be closing, avoiding a lock up and passing successfully. A very entertaining race but with no trophies this time!

“Plans for 2025 are underway – we are coming back to the BRSCC Supersport Championship to see if we can go one better and win our class next year…”