Race With Me in 2027

The 2027 Challenge

I live on the Isle of Islay.

The nearest racing circuit isn’t exactly around the corner.

Every race weekend starts with ferries, hundreds of miles of driving, accommodation or sleeping in the van, race entry, car hire, fuel and all the other costs that come with competing in UK motorsport.

That’s part of what makes this project interesting.

Tom O’F Cars has always been about showing the reality of getting into motorsport; the costs, the mistakes, the logistics, the good weekends and the ones where everything goes wrong.

In 2027, I’d like the Classic Mini Racing Championship to become the next chapter of that story.

Rather than appearing for one race, the goal is to become part of the championship and document what happens across the season.

Not a professional racer. That’s rather the point.

I’m not a professional racing driver. I live on the Isle of Islay, work normal jobs, run small businesses and try to fit motorsport around everything else. I started in sim racing, then gradually found ways into real-world motorsport. First through endurance racing, then the Scottish C1 Cup and most recently the Classic Mini Racing Championship. None of it has been the straightforward route into racing, and that’s really what Tom O’F Cars is about.

The aim isn’t to pretend I’m already at the top of the sport. It’s to document what it actually takes to try and get there from somewhere as remote as Islay. The costs, the travel, the ferry times, the last-minute opportunities, the mistakes and the occasional weekends where everything somehow comes together. People following Tom O’F Cars aren’t just following results; they’re following the process of trying to make racing possible in the first place.

That idea also sits behind Remote Racing Co. It represents the slightly ridiculous reality of trying to build a motorsport life from an island off the west coast of Scotland. Racing doesn’t have to start with a big budget, a famous surname or a workshop beside a circuit. Sometimes it starts with a simulator, a ferry ticket, a van full of kit and a willingness to keep finding the next opportunity.

Why Classic Minis?

There is also a fairly personal reason I’ve chosen this championship.

Brands Hatch is where this started

On 23 June 2013, my family went to the Brands Hatch Mini Festival.

I was there as a spectator, watched the racing, set the fastest lap on one of the simulators (something I apparently still feel deserves mentioning) and went home again.

Thirteen years later, in August 2026, I went back.

Except this time I was driving.

I qualified 7th for my first Classic Mini race weekend and finally raced a Mini around the circuit I’d spent years visiting as a spectator.

There were red flags, contact, overtakes, damage and considerably more drama than I’d planned.

But I loved it.

Going back in 2027 and trying to complete a proper championship season feels like the natural next step.

The Championship

The Classic Mini Racing Championship brings proper sprint racing back to one of Britain’s most recognisable racing cars.

Race weekends typically feature:
15-minute qualifying
two or three 20-minute races
close, competitive racing
established UK circuits
a welcoming grassroots paddock
Classic Minis that people immediately recognise

For me, it offers something particularly important:
proper solo sprint racing where I can develop as a driver over an entire season.

Instead of sharing an endurance car for one stint, every qualifying session, race start, overtake, mistake and result becomes mine.

And that gives us plenty to talk about.

What does a partnership help make possible?

Race entry
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Car / arrive-and-drive costs
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Travel from Islay
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Ferries
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Fuel
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Equipment
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Content production

Partner income goes directly towards making the racing programme and the content surrounding it possible.