The OX4 Racing team will hope to return to the Vertu Motors MINI CHALLENGE for a second successive season after rounding out 2023 with a Directors Cup victory at Brands Hatch.
The team, which operates from the MINI factory in Oxford, had sat out the 2022 season before making a comeback with Simon Reed taking over driving duties from Jim Loukes.
Having sat out the Oulton Park meeting due to commitments elsewhere, Reed and the team went into the final event of the season on a run of five top 15 finishes in six races.
The highlight of the final weekend would be a Directors Cup win in race two, with eleventh place marking the best overall result of the year for the team.
“It’s excellent to get a trophy as a lot of hard work has gone in this season,” Reed said. “We started this year from nothing and we were off the pace, but a lot of hard work from everyone involved has allowed us to improve and ultimately get us onto the podium.
“We all have day jobs so it takes a lot of commitment from people to then try and juggle racing alongside their regular work. It’s a big ask, and I massively appreciate everyone giving up their time to allow us to do this.”
Members of the team come from across the MINI factory, with Reed himself having worked on the car in other roles before getting behind the wheel.
“We come from all over the business,” he said. “I work in maintenance and assembly, Sam [Drew – technical manager] works in logistics, Jonny [Light – team manager] works in powertrain so we have a broad mix of skills that we can use when it comes to racing.
“I’ve been with the team for a long time, starting out as a mechanic and even driving the truck, so having such a broad range of knowledge does work. The beauty of the team is that anyone interested in getting involved can come along and if they want to one day end up driving the car like I have, then hopefully we can work to help them get there.
Whilst the team has yet to confirm plans for 2024, Reed added that he hoped OX4 would remain part of the grid for next season.
“I hope we can continue next year,” he said. “As always, we have to look at the options, and hopefully picking up some silverware is a step in the right direction towards impressing the people that matter.”
