BARC NW Celebrates 40 years of their Sports/Saloon Championship

2023 is the 40th year for the North Western Centre’s Sports/Saloon Championship. To mark this momentous achievement the Centre will be organising a celebration at its race meeting at Oulton Park on the 14th October.

It was at Oulton Park on the 31st March 1984 that the championship, then a Special GT Challenge, held its first round. A small grid of 10 cars started the race with Bob Trotter victorious in his Ford Escort RS2000. The Challenge became a Championship the following year and within a few years the average grid had increased to over 30 cars. Over the 40 years of friendly but competitive racing we have run over 460 races, in which over 700 drivers have competed with Chris Maries starting the most races at 222 in about 25 different cars. Ric Wood, owner of CNC Heads our current sponsor has competed in 35 years of the Championship.

The strength of the championship is built on stability of the regulations, firm but fair application of the regulations and cost effective, non-contact competition. There is no registration fee, entry fees are kept as low as possible, which has resulted in increased grids that allow for the low level of fees. In addition competitors only pay for their time on track as refunds are given for sessions missed for valid reasons. These principles plus the family atmosphere in the Paddock should allow for the continued health of the Championship.

The Centre thanks our current sponsors, CNC Heads and CSP Car Service Packs for their continued support.

We all look forward to many more years for the BARC (NW Centre) Sports/Saloon Championship.

Come along to Oulton Park on the 14th October to celebrate this momentous milestone for the Championship. At this meeting we will be running the last two rounds of the Championship and crown our 2023 winner.