The Champion SV Racing team had a superlative maiden season under the sole leadership of Danny Buxton, amassing 21 race wins, 38 podium finishes, ten pole positions and 19 fastest laps en route to title glory in many of the UK’s most competitive one-make championships.
Under its former guise, the Scuderia Vittoria outfit became synonymous with quality, expertise and victory, while providing a vibrant atmosphere where talent could be nurtured and race-winning cars developed.
Former UK Clio Cup Champion Buxton continued in this vein, striving for perfection in the preparation of his cars in the hope that this fine attention to detail would be evident in the results his newly-named SV Racing venture achieved on track in the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup, Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup, Michelin Clio Cup Series and Junior Saloon Car Championship (JSCC).
The formation of a ‘stairway of talent’ for prospective touring car racers and a strengthened relationship with the KX Akademy – a bursary programme funded by KX Energy Drink that’s designed to assist young, talented drivers on their ascent up the motorsport ladder – saw SV Racing attract a potent crop of racers in 2014.
Lichfield’s Ant Whorton-Eales retained KX backing for the second consecutive year and was joined in SVR’s UK Clio Cup stable by fellow young chargers Alex Morgan, Ash Hand and Josh Cook, while BRDC Rising Star David Pittard spearheaded the team’s GT4 Supercup assault.
SV Racing kicked off what promised to be a lucrative season in fine style, as Bridgend-born Morgan ‘did the double’ at Brands Hatch’s curtain-raiser and Bristol’s Cook sealed pole position and led home a superb SVR one-two-three-four at the history-rich Donington Park circuit.
Unbeaten, the Wettenhall team was on the crest of a wave as it headed south to Hampshire’s super-quick Thruxton circuit where, in a superlative display of dominance, Pittard truly marked himself out as a GT4 Supercup title contender by masterfully secured two consecutive victories and a second place.
Cook ensured SVR extended its phenomenal record of winning races at every track it visited at Oulton Park and Snetterton, although these were punctuated by a sensational weekend at Croft Circuit, which saw a reinvigorated Hand flip his fortunes with a brace of top three finishes, and Pittard secure his third victory of a remarkable debut season.
The leading SV Racing team stood on the cusp of title glory and emerged from a ‘rocky’ weekend at Rockingham as the UK Clio Cup Teams’ Champion, local racer Hand achieving podium finishes to get the job done ahead of the season finale.
Cook remained SVR’s best hope of lifting the UK Clio Cup Drivers’ crown to the very end, but, despite leading home an SVR one-two-three after a superb display of teamwork on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, the Bristol racer concluded a remarkable year as Vice Champion.
Pittard, meanwhile, was on great form once again. The amiable KX Akademy recruit immaculately took a maximum points score from Silverstone and proceeded to translate pole position into a trio of podiums to snatch second in the final GT4 Supercup Drivers’ classification, exceeding all expectations.
Elsewhere, Sam Randon from the Derbyshire Dales and Norwegian hotshot, Tommy Østgaard, both stepped up to the ‘Racecar’ division’ of the Michelin-backed Clio Cup Series having demonstrated supreme skill in 2013.
But while they joined the pace-setting SVR team for a full-time assault on the burgeoning one-make series and had championship glory on their agendas, budgetary constraints ultimately curtailed the teammates’ seasons.
Nevertheless, SVR went on to reinforce its commitment to nurturing skilled young drivers when 14-year old James Dorlin stepped onto the first rung of the team’s ‘stairway of talent’ in the JSCC.
The Barnsley-based youngster made an instant impression in the entry-level ‘tin-top’ series for budding touring car racers by going on to finish runner-up in the final championship standings during a sensational rookie year, and duly picked up from where he left off in 2014.
Dorlin swept all before him in the opening round of the season at Rockingham and carried on racking up wins and podiums to consolidate his championship lead at Anglesey, Oulton Park and Donington, where he sensationally achieved a ‘Triple Crown’ – pole and two victories.
It was then that Tom Stockton became the latest addition to SVR’s driver development programme.
The Cheshire youngster, keen to refine his driving technique and increase his profile with guidance from Buxton, regularly frequented the podium places and this success helped him forge a lucrative partnership with WIX Filters for the concluding part of the year.
Dorlin, meanwhile, stood on the verge of title glory as he headed to Croft Circuit for the pivotal final round of the JSCC, having led the Drivers’ standings since the very first round of the season.
In a testament to the effectiveness of SV Racing’s ‘stairway of talent’ and his own natural flair behind the wheel, the Barnsley hotshot capped off a sensational campaign with a pair of commanding victories to leave North Yorkshire as the 2014 Junior Saloon Car Champion.
And after achieving so much success and establishing a multi-step ladder of progression, SV Racing is primed for bigger and better things, hopeful that it can continue onwards and upwards in 2015.
For more information on SV Racing, please visit the www.svracing.co.uk website, ‘like’ the team’sFacebook page or follow @SV_Racing on Twitter and Instagram.