The club racing championship that enjoyed a 175% grid rise

When it comes to percentage increases, there is no escaping that 175% is a whopping rise. You can add as many caveats as you like to those numbers but, as a headline figure, there is no denying it is incredibly impressive. And it is what Club Time Attack (CTA), the Racing Hondas Championship organiser that is famed for its sprint-style contests, achieved during the category’s sophomore season last year.

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Average grids jumped from just 12 in 2023 to 33 cars last term, so clearly category bosses were doing something right. And a key part of that rise can be attributed to the fact that all drivers taking part in the series last season did not have to pay a penny in entry fees as part of a special initiative with sponsor Tegiwa. In these economically challenging times, it is no wonder drivers flocked to the series – which caters for a wide range of Honda machinery, split into three classes based upon power-to-weight ratios – when they could take advantage of a freebie. Yet CTA founder Andy Barnes insists the move was not a gimmick and is instead part of a long-term strategy for producing a sustainable championship.

“The key part of it of course is it’s a legitimate bona fide initiative that’s shown to work,” he states. “You could look at it as a gimmick or catch, but that isn’t what that was at all. It was a legitimate, well-thought out plan and initiative.

“Once drivers see we’re going to look after them and we care and we deliver a good event, they’ve got no choice but to come back because they know what it’s like somewhere else. That’s a big part of that initiative – we can use it to kickstart a championship so they come to us, they can see what our party’s like and stay with us.”

In many ways, therefore, 2025 is the key season for Racing Hondas. The enticing free entry offer was always going to produce capacity grids last year and now it is a question of whether that can continue. And the signs are very encouraging. Grids are practically full already, despite the season not starting until May, and that is with just the top three in last year’s standings in each class now getting free entries; everyone else will be paying.

Barnes says a key element in the success of the initiative is getting a relevant sponsor on board. They have not just accepted a heap of cash from a company with no connection to motorsport that would therefore get limited return on its investment. “With Tegiwa, they’re a performance parts specialist for lots of different cars but mainly Honda – a lot of their business is Honda,” explains Barnes. “And, of course, because of our events and this aftermarket connection we’ve got lots of partners that are like them that I’m ready to switch on for different reasons and for different purposes.

“The point is, it’s not a flash-in-the-pan initiative because Tegiwa are a long-term partner, they can see the value in it, they’re getting commercial benefits of the initiative, so everyone’s winning. Tegiwa aren’t going anywhere, the championship in terms of its longevity isn’t going anywhere and it’s proven to work.”

Considering CTA’s background in sprint and drifting competitions, conventional circuit racing represents a new strand to its offering. It first moved into the arena in 2021 when TCR UK and Civic Cup operator Maximum Motorsport moved away from the British Racing & Sports Car Club to join CTA’s fold. That relationship ended after two seasons, but Barnes was keen to retain a circuit racing element and felt Hondas would be a good starting point.

“From a personal point of view, I used to race Hondas a lot,” says Barnes, whose extensive motorsport background includes running the Nissan FIA GT team. “I used to do Britcar back in the early 2000s and raced in Japan – Hondas have always been good, reliable cars. We wanted to start a club championship as part of the expansion of the club, so they were a really easy choice. There’s an abundance of them, there’s lots of people that love racing Hondas – it’s not like another marque like MGs where you’ve got a finite amount of people – Hondas there are lots of them, racing teams have got them, so it was an easy go to.”

Even when Barnes created the championship for 2023, he knew he wanted to introduce the sponsor-funded free entry scheme but first sought to get the platform right and therefore was deliberately modest in his ambitions for that inaugural campaign. “We decided early on as an organisation that, because we’re going to venture into club racing, we’ll do a soft launch because people don’t understand us as someone that organises club racing, they just understand us as people that do this Time Attack drifty thing,” he says. “So we decided to do a bit of a soft launch of the championship and for every event we had 12-14 cars on the grid, which – from nothing – I was over the moon about.

“If nobody liked the championship, and they were just there for a free ride, we wouldn’t have any numbers for this year” Ryan Cunningham

“We spent the first year creating a championship, knocking the corners off of it, getting to know the competitors, understanding what they wanted, and I even raced on the grid myself to understand what people wanted, what they were moaning about, what they enjoy. So, when we then click into play the new initiative, we’ve already got all the ingredients right.”

However, the popularity of the championship is down to far more than just a bunch of free entries. Take the example of Ryan Cunningham, who was the overall champion last year having topped Class C in his Civic EP3. He had previously contested CTA’s ‘Run What You Brung’ competition and was therefore intrigued by its move into circuit racing.

“The people that are involved make the championship – that was what attracted me because I knew the paddock and people were nice,” says Cunningham, who praises the way the category is managed. “I was looking at competing last year regardless [of free entry] and the free entry was an added bonus.

Cunningham has enjoyed racing as part of a welcoming paddock

Photo by: Rob Atkin

“Everyone’s always willing to help if you need something and everyone is like-minded. It was my first proper year racing and there was always a helping hand.”

One of the differences with CTA events compared to the average club meeting is the huge crowds that are attracted. Over 10,000 fans are regularly in attendance and that gives another dimension for these humble grassroots racers. “All the kids and fans asking for your autograph is a nice touch and adds to the experience,” says Cunningham, while Barnes notes: “The audiences at our events have really warmed towards it. What would normally be Dave Smith in his club racing car, they’re idolising Dave Smith all of a sudden. He’s someone to them and you’re not going to get that on a normal club racing grid.”

Considering this atmosphere within the paddock, Cunningham is not surprised so many of the drivers who joined last year are keen to continue, even without the free entries. “I think last year really opened eyes to a few people,” he adds. “When a new championship starts, people can stick to what they know but I think it will be around for a while. People are looking at it and they want to give it a go. It’s a championship that always listens to the drivers rather than dictating. The majority of those people remain from last year and they’re willing to pay. If nobody liked the championship, and they were just there for a free ride, we wouldn’t have any numbers for this year.”

And this idea of giving the drivers what they want is central to Barnes’ ethos of the championship. “We put ourselves in the customer’s perspective and don’t overcomplicate it, we give them what they want,” he says. “How does it work? Cheap costs, good grids, good crowds, good organisation, good events and good value for money. We’re able to do that because we are our own club. We can make bold, broad decisions and they can work because we haven’t got to ask anybody else.”

However, CTA’s ambitions extend far beyond just a successful Racing Hondas series. It is now attempting to launch a new Ultimate Racing Cars category for this season for two-litre turbocharged tin-top machinery. But it is not without its controversy with TCR creator WSC warning drivers that any TCR cars racing in the new, ‘unlicenced’ series will permanently lose their homologation.

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Nevertheless, Barnes is pushing on with plans and is seeking to use the same strategy that worked so well for Racing Hondas. Again, Tegiwa is on board to fund free entries to help build momentum from the very start. “Racing Hondas was the blueprint for doing touring cars and also introducing race championships year on year as a club and expanding the club,” says Barnes.

“I’m extremely proud of that because it’s not been done before. What normally happens is everybody gets greedy, in that you want to get a big sponsor and want to keep the money and the entry fees and you want everything. That’s fine for a year, but long term? I want something that stands the test of time. This is our 20th year of organising events, we’re still doing it and there’s still 10,000 people coming through the gate. There’s a lot of championships that started 20 years ago that aren’t around anymore.”

Not everyone may like the idea of giving away free entries but, as Barnes suggests, there is nothing to stop other organisers from following suit. The near-unprecedented 175% increase Racing Hondas enjoyed last season may be a one-off but Barnes and his team at CTA are determined to ensure those high grid numbers can be sustained for many years to come.

Racing Hondas’ free entry initiative was a splash hit in 2024, and there are encouraging signs for this year

Photo by: Rob Atkin