The 2025 King of Clubs season Opens its account in style at Aldershot

Written By Andy Hyde

Local Ace’s proved hard to beat on the renowned high-speed layout and unforgiving kerbs at the Demon Raceway

Rookies Cup: Harrison Sets the Standard

Finley Harrison dominated the Rookies Cup races securing victories in both finals with consistent lap times and controlled driving. Evie Thorogood demonstrated resilience, finishing second in both races, while Ivan Murphy-Brown completed the podium with two solid third-place finishes.​

Dedicated to drivers aged 12 and under, the Rookies Cup  is a vital part of KOC, and we’ll be watching these young drivers follow in the footsteps of previous Rookies now making A finals and shaking up Touring Car racing.

Talent Cup: Adams and Johnson Share the Spotlight

In the Talent Cup, aimed at drivers aged 16 and under, Rookies Cup graduate Harry Johnson claimed a win, as did series debutant and fellow Aldershot racer Elliot Adams. It was Adams that edged out Johnson on tie-break to take the “overall”. Eastbourne’s Chloe Snashall showed what a positive attitude can do. After technical and set up difficulties through the day, Chloe secured two third place finishes that could be vital in the drivers championship come September.

Frontie (FWD): Moorey Capitalises on Westwood Mishap

Eastbourne’s Ben Moorey dominated qualifying in a stacked Frontie class and secured a comfortable race win in the first final. The second race was a different story however - Aldershot bros Glenn and Jay Westwood taking the lead on Lap 1. Jay had the early pace out front, but Glenn’s car came good - a close battle looked like it would go to the finish until a collision between the team mates on lap 12 forced Glenn to retire with a broken car. Moorey capitalised on the opportunity, reclaiming the lead and securing victory. Eastbourne’s Jack Collins demonstrated contender status with a strong third-place finish.​

Congratulations to Michael Chapman (Colchester) and James Snashall (Eastbourne) for taking B final wins, and to Iain Gordon and Daryl Osbourne for taking C final wins.

17.5 Stock Touring Car: Cane The One to Beat?

Aldershot’s Ben Cane delivered a flawless performance, winning all four rounds of qualifying and both A finals with his Schumacher Mi9. It was far from dull however - West London’s Ricky Copsey, driving for XRay pushed Cane hard throughout both final races - the gap just 0.07 at the finish in Race 1, and not much more in Race 2.  Colchester’s Ethan Southall and WLRC’s Ashley Wiffen secured strong finishes ahead of a fast field of local ace’s including Jack Campfield, finishing a very close 3rd in Final 2.

Past KOC series have shown its “Away Results” that decide championships. This will be close.

Congratulations to Archie Matthews (Eastbourne) and Joe Jenyavanija (Aldershot) for taking B final wins, to Dave Johnson (Splitter) and Dion Phillips for taking C final wins and to Andy White (Aldershot) for doing the double in the D.

Masters Touring Car: Sheldrake's Dominance

Another Aldershot local, Chris Sheldrake, dominated the new Masters class, taking a clean sweep of qualifying and final races. With new 20:20 vision Sheldrake was out of sight from the get go, with none of the other contenders able to keep up. West London’s Damian Giddins looked the most likely through qualifying, but mishaps in both races left him out of contention. Dave Ringsell (West London) came from 5th place on the grid to take two seconds, Simon Morhall (Aldershot) and Damo sharing 3rd place honours.

Congratulations to Tony Watts (West London) for doing the double in the B final.

A great start for the new Masters class and for KOC25!

Round 2 is at Adur Model Car Club on Sunday 25th May 2025.

Drivers Championship Positions After RD1

Rookies Cup

Position Driver Points
1Finley Harrison200
2Evie Thorogood198
3Ivan Murphy-Brown196

Talent Cup

Position Driver Points
1Eliot Adams199
1Harry Johnson199
3Chloe Snashall196
4Poppy Hyde193
5Oscar Sturt191

Frontie (FWD)

Position Driver Points
1Ben Moorey200
2Jay Westwood197
3Jack Collins195
4Mark Trinder192
5Glenn Westwood191

17.5 Stock Touring Car

Position Driver Points
1Ben Cane200
2Ricky Copsey198
3Ethan Southall194
4Ross Luffingham190
5Ashley Wiffen190

Masters Touring Car

Position Driver Points
1Chris Sheldrake200
2Dave Ringsell198
3Ian Diboll194
4Marlon Mckulsky191
5Damian Giddins190
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Andy Hyde