Mitchell, who lives in Wrotham a stone’s throw from Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship team Motorbase’s headquarters, qualified fourth fastest in his JWB Motorsport-run MINI and stormed to second place in race one, just 0.8 seconds shy of the win.

Adding a third place result in race two, having started the contest on the front row, Mitchell then took his second runner-up finish of the event in the last race of the year and was a mere 0.2 seconds away from victory – taking his podium tally for the season into double figures, including four wins.

Team-mate and fellow Motorbase Driver Academy racer Jamie Osborne claimed a top three Rookie class finish in the opening encounter, 14th overall, and then took a weekend best of 12th position overall and third in the Rookies again in race two.

Unfortunately, race three wasn’t as fruitful and a tougher encounter ended with seventh in the Rookie class and 20th in the overall classification. Osborne’s maiden season in MINI racing concluded with him sixth in the Rookie Cup standings.

Harri Reynolds’ bid for third place in the Ginetta Junior Championship standings sadly didn’t go to plan over the course of a vexing final event of the season. Qualifying fourth and looking well placed to battle for more podiums, he was unfortunately disqualified from the opening race having taken the flag in sixth.

Lining-up third on the grid for race two, Reynolds had to settle for an eighth place finish and after not contesting the third and final encounter he concluded the championship in fourth position for Assetto Motorsport. Over the course of 2022, Reynolds took 12 podiums including three wins.

In the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship, JTR-run NAPA Racing UK backed driver Hugo Ellis experienced a nightmarish end to an otherwise strong season when he was wiped-out in the opening race at Graham Hill Bend. He had qualified eighth in the Pro-Am class and the incident also ruled him out of the second encounter. He ended the season fifth in the Pro-Am standings.

Pete Osborne – Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal:
“We were delighted to see Jack take a clean sweep of podiums at Brands over the weekend, so close to a couple of wins, but it’s been a great season for him in MINI. Jamie has shown some fantastic promise and has had some real standout performances, and he raced well again this weekend on the GP track which is a proper test of a driver’s abilities.

“Unfortunately for Harri and Hugo their respective challenges didn’t end as planned in Juniors and Porsche, but it’s been a very impressive year for both of them and there have been some fantastic highlights. It’s been a real delight supporting such talented young racers in the Motorbase Driver Academy this year, we can’t wait for 2023 now!”

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Motorbase has a glowing history of supporting outstanding drivers, providing debut BTCC tests or races for a raft of talent including current NAPA Racing UK duo Dan Cammish and Ash Sutton, BTCC race winner Rory Butcher, multiple British GT Champion Jonny Adam and rising star Jack Mitchell.

Now, the Wrotham-based squad has established a ladder of progression which can take drivers all the way from the junior levels of karting and up into touring cars. Partnering with JWB Motorsport and Assetto Motorsport, the programme will enable racers to graduate from karts into the Ginetta Junior Championship, MINI CHALLENGE and TCR UK en-route to the BTCC or GT3 endurance racing.

Aimed at drivers who begin their careers at a very young age, significantly the programme also provides key opportunities for aspiring team personnel – often an overlooked area where openings within the sport are concerned.

From race mechanics and engineers through to HGV drivers, commercial and marketing roles, plus everything in between, the alliance of all three teams opens the chance for individuals to progress their careers within the motor racing industry.

Pete Osborne – Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal:
“I’m delighted to launch such an exciting Young Driver Programme, it’s something incredibly exciting to be part of along with Assetto and JWB and it is also something very close to my heart. We have all been working on this for a while now, so it’s great to see it coming to fruition.

“Motorbase has a great history of supporting young drivers in their motorsport careers and we’re now taking that ethos to another level. We have already signed-up Matt Wilson and Harri Reynolds, and there are more to come. I’m in the process of seeing my two sons’ driving careers going through the ranks, so I know just how important these opportunities are.

“Trusting and reliable relationships within motorsport are important and we feel that between the three teams we can offer a complete package for young talent. In my experience it’s as important to offer this kind of opportunity to team members as well as drivers, after all that’s what makes the team. We’re as proud of our drivers as our crew when they make the jump to the next level, so hopefully this programme will produce part of the future of talented drivers and team members.”

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