Formula 1’s commercial masters might be making a point of rejecting prospective entries right now, but club racing is different. Grid numbers there are the gold standard of health and – more to the point – sustainability.
In 2023, the aggregate picture was one of grids staying roughly resolute, and in challenging circumstances that are well documented.
Yet rising costs, in circuit hire but also elsewhere both at the track and away from it, are commonly cited by club bosses, and it reduces breathing space for categories struggling for entries. The risk was showcased when MG Car Club, amid increasing costs and declining grids, late last year ended 70 years of its circuit racing organising history.
And heading into 2024 David Smitheram, director of Classic Sports Car Club that has often topped grid size charts, perceives the odd gathering cloud for UK club-level motorsport. Established racers, he reckons, aren’t taking part in as many events as they used to. Plus, perhaps, the number of new racers is also slipping.
“Last year our membership figures remained as high as they’ve ever been,” Smitheram tells Motorsport News, “but those members are doing slightly less racing on average, so it’s naturally had an effect on grids.
