Chris and his dad Tom attended the BARC (British Automobile  Racing Club) Champions award night at The Chesford Grange Hotel Kennilworth Warickshire on Saturday 18th Feb.

This invitation only event was to commemorate Chris Mohan and his family teams successful for winning the 2016 Bilstein Classic VW Cup Championship outright. This prestigious night was hosted by guest speaker and well known touring car interviewer Alan Hyde. Chris was one of many drivers getting their awards. Drivers from all levels of motorsport, from club level, right up to national level such as the 2016 Renault Clio Cup UK champion, Ginetta junior and Supercup champion, Porsche Carrera UK Cup and many more. 

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Chris reported on the event, "I thoroughly enjoyed the evening along with my dad. It was a testament to the hard work and success and a privilege to be part of this event. A great way to end a very successful season."

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Just want to thank all my sponsors, Intuitive Systems and Networks, Webbex mini DV Cameras, JW Designs, and Kingswood Tyres for all your support in getting us here to enjoy this event and the success we have had. 

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Saturday 10th February saw the Classic Touring Car Club host it's end of season awards evening at Mercure Hotel and Spa Daventry for all drivers who competed in the 2016 season.

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The season felt like a lifetime away with the final round at Silverstone where Chris was crowned overall Classic VW Cup Champion back in October. Never the less it was good to reunite with all the drivers and get together to hear everyones plans and changes for the coming season ahead.

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The evening kicked off with a 3 course dinner followed by a speech by British Touring Car driver Rob Austin, who also handed out the awards to all the drivers. Drinks and celebrations followed then after.
 

Chris recieved not only one but two trophies. The overall Classic VW Cup Champion trophy (your left) and the class B overall champions trophy (your right).
 

The celebrations are not over yet. Due to winning outright the Classic VW Cup Championship, my dad and I have got the opportunity and are attending the prestigious BARC Awards night on 18th February. This is where all the champions racing under the BARC organisation including the recently crowned 3 times British Touring Car Champion Gordan Shedden are presented with their awards.

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Chris wants to thank his sponsors, his family friends fiancee Charlotte for all the support on and off the track to get to where I am now and for what I have managed to achieve. 

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Basingstoke driver Chris Mohan arrived at the final meeting of the season with the knowledge that he was the overall champion of the 2016 Bilstein Classic VW Cup. A great feat bearing in mind it was his debut season in the competition. The Silverstone International Circuit was a fitting environment with the new F1 paddock open and garages made available to the CTCRC members.

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A compilation of three championships filled the grid with 42 cars which looked quite impressive on the F1 circuit

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Qualifying was a dry affair, but unfortunately was broken into two sessions due to a competitor’s car expiring at the last corner, bringing out the red flags. All drivers returned to the pits whilst the stricken car was removed. On return to the circuit there was enough time for 3-4 laps. The end result was a 2nd in class and 20th overall.

The weather took a turn for the worse after qualifying forcing the drivers to make decisions on car setup. The VW Golf GTi was setup with dry tyres but dampers softened as it was deemed not wet enough for wet tyres.

In Race 1 a good first lap saw the VW Golf leap forward four places with another two gained on the second lap. A loss of one place on lap three was followed by a loss of 6 places at the end of lap four due to the Basingstoke driver locking his brakes going into the chicane and leaving the circuit albeit briefly.

Mohan eventually gained a place on the last lap to give a position of 3rd in class and 20th overall.

On reflection the option for wet tyres may have allowed the young driver to keep the places he gained on the first few laps as the track appeared to be holding water longer than expected.

Race 2 was a dryer affair and a well fought race between the Basingstoke driver, the VW Golf Mk 1 of Nick Penfold and a Renault Clio 172 cup. A collision was avoided on the final corner of the first lap when the competitive Penfold lost control on cold tyres and almost collided with Mohan whilst also avoiding the pit wall, when it slewed across the front of the Basingstoke driver at high speed.

The race opened up in the following laps but the three drivers battled at each corner with Mohan battling to get past the Clio. Midway through the race Mohan managed to get past the Clio and held onto this position until the last lap. This small group were having an entertaining race between themselves until the front running cars caught up with the group entering into the high speed first corner. The ensuing collection of cars saw the Golf Mk4 at a disadvantage and the Clio squeezed through alongside the more powerful front runners.

Chris has had an amazing 2016 season and would like to take this opportunity to thank his sponsors Intuitive Systems and Network Ltd, JW Signs, Webbex DV Cameras, Finsport UK for all there continued support throughout this successful season.

The Snetterton 300 circuit was the penultimate venue for the Bilstein Classic VW Cup.

With the weather forecast for the Saturday showing rain throughout the day, the VW Golf Mk4 Gti was prepared for a wet race prior to transporting to the circuit. 

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There was a slight doubt prior to Qualification as the rain was taking its time on arriving but fortunately the settings and tyres were required and used to give quite a successful outcome. There were a variety of classes in the race and the Basingstoke driver had a great controlled drive to gain a grid  position ahead of the more powerful cars such as the Holden Monaro and Ford Falcon to name a few. A grid classification of 12th from a total of 30 cars was a very impressive outcome.

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In Race 1 the VW Golf was run again in a wet setup even though the rain had stopped and a warm wind was drying the track. Due to the presence of the Thunder Class cars a rolling start was the order of the day. As expected the more powerful cars stormed through on the first lap but only two came by and the ISN sponsored car spent the race swapping 14th and 15th positions on alternate laps. A good drive ensured a final position of 14th and 1st in class. Again a very good result with the VW Golf and driver proving that a well-balanced car added to good wet-driving skills could give the big boys a run for their money.

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The following day Race 2 was held in warm sunshine and blue skies and the Golf reconfigured for dry racing. 

This was to be a slightly experimental race for Mohan as he had run out of dry tyres having run the last of his Dunlop’s at Rockingham. The Lincoln based Finsport team came to the rescue and supplied a full set of Toyo’s for the young driver to use for the remainder of the season. 

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The race began with a rolling start and the various classes merged, with cars in their position gained from the previous race, no mean feat with cars ranging from 1800 -5700 cc. 

The dry conditions allowed the more powerful cars to use their power to the full but again a steady race by the VW Golf and driver helped to minimise any loss in positions. Only one position was dropped and a concentrated effort was required to keep ahead of the Finsport sponsored Honda of Dawn Boyd. 

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An overall 15th and 2nd in class was another good result but was soon to prove to be of greater significance. Having checked the overall results it was found that the Basingstoke driver could not be caught by any of the class A or B cars and had an unassailable lead in the Championship. Another good weekend of racing and a special thanks to the Finsport team for their assistance throughout the weekend.

Qualifying found the CMR team on the back foot as the forecast of a slight drizzle in the morning evolved into downpours. Fooled by the warm but cloudy conditions a number of competitors were caught out and like ourselves had to race on dry tyres. Never the less a respectable 14th out of 28 and second in class was achieved. More impressive was the fact that the car was kept on the track despite quite a few drivers losing control, and in some cases directly in front of the Golf Mk4.

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Race 1

A loss of one position on lap one was quickly regained and improved upon by lap 6. The middle part of the race was a great dice with the Finsport Honda of Dawn Boyd. The fact that both drivers were racing in separate championships did not hold them back from good close racing. With two laps remaining the Golf Mk4 managed to pass the Honda on the start of the Cooper Straight. This was not the end of the fight as the Honda out braked itself trying to pass entering Druids but a collision was avoided and the Basingstoke went on the gain 9th position overall and 1st in class. An enjoyable and entertaining race.

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Race 2

The weather had settled down after qualifying which allowed the drivers to push the cars a bit more. Unfortunately this caused a safety car to be deployed on lap 4. The safety car stayed out for another 5 laps which only left 4 laps to race. The lack of race time on our well worn tyres showed as the lack of grip didn't allow the Basingstoke driver to progress through the field but finishing 10 overall and 1st in class was still a good end to our day.

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Going into  the summer break, Chris is leading the overall championship  ( both classes). With only two more rounds to go, at Snetterton in September and Silverstone in October the focus is now firmly  on the championship title.

Chris made his debut appearance at his home circuit of Thruxton . A good qualifying session saw him set the fastest time in class and to put him 16th overall. 

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Race 1

This was to be one of Chris’s favourite races, having had a start to finish dice with championship and class leader Ben Smith.  This battle received a  lot of air time on the race commentary due to the close but fair racing between both drivers.  The Basingstoke driver managed to eventually pass his rival at the complex two laps from the end and kept the lead to the chequered flag.

A first in class win with an overall progression from 16th to 12th.

Race 2

As with the first race it was a rolling start due to participation of the more powerful cars in the Thunder Saloon class. A repeat of the first race albeit with the roles reversed  saw another close race. Chris kept the lead throughout the race and saw his rival suffer from the well documented abrasive nature of  the Thruxton surface. With a few laps to go Ben’s front left tyre had a puncture and he retired from the race but thankfully without any major damage to the car.

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A first class win with the added bonus of fastest lap  saw the young driver take the overall lead in class B of the Bilstein Pre 2003 Classic VW Championship.

Donington Park hosted the 2nd round of the Bilstein Classic VW Cup Championship.

An early incident  in qualifying saw the Golf Mk4 retire with front and side damage  having skimmed the concrete wall on exit of the last corner. Although the body work was quickly taped up the boost pipe was crushed within the crash bar which caused a lack of air to the engine. A busy time was spent getting the car into a decent condition for race 1.

Race 1

Starting from the back in 29th the Basingstoke  driver had his work cut out.  Although the safety car did have an outing good progress was made through the field.  A good few final laps gained 5 places  to finish in 15th position and 1st in class.

Race 2

As with the previous race a rolling start with the highly powered Thunder class cars got  underway. The safety car was seen twice on the early stages of the race. Due to the split racing the Golf Mk4 started in 22nd and  made a steady progress to finish 14th and 1st in class. Points were also gained for two fastest laps.

The BARC Classic Touring Car Racing Club Championship was held at Rockingham and the race series entered was the Bilstein Pre 2003 Classic VW Championship.

This being a new venture and relatively new championship brought new challenges which were overcome to result in a very successful weekend.

Qualifying was early in the morning and not an enjoyable experience for many of the drivers as they were presented with greasy conditions after a night of rain. The outcome for the VW Golf driver was 10th out of 16 competitors.

Race 1 started well but at the first hairpin on the first lap an exuberant competitor lost control on breaking and the oncoming pack of drivers had to take evasive action, which resulted in the Golf returning to the track in 15th position. The second lap saw a recovery of three places to climb to 12th until out-braking himself at the hairpin on the 4th lap and losing two places. There was a gain and loss of a place for the next few laps before a steady recovery of a few more places to result in 11th place overall.

The dry weather held on for Race 2 but a poor start left the Basingstoke driver back three places after the first lap placing him in 14th position. The first half of the race saw a steady pace and the regaining of a few places. After the 5th lap a significant improvement could be seen in the lap times with a second being shaved off of each recurring lap. The lap time continued to improve with the 10th and final lap being his quickest. A gain of five places before dropping another spot resulting  in 10th overall.

Classifications were eventually resolved and it wasn’t until the next day the Basingstoke driver found out that he had come in 2nd and 1st in class over the two races with the added bonus of claiming two fastest laps.