Wiltshire College students team thriving in CCRC Hot Hatch Championship

Wiltshire College students team thriving in CCRC Hot Hatch Championship

Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Castle Combe campus is once again making its mark on the CCRC’s Hot Hatch Championship, with students from three different year groups gaining hands‑on experience running cars across multiple classes.

Around 50 students are involved, from degree‑level motorsport engineering to 16-19 college learners – with a growing number of female students joining the programme as motorsport continues to become more inclusive.

Fuchs, Rhd Performance, M4 Tyres, Carwood Brise and BG Racing are all enthusiastic partners of the youngsters’ activities – part of studying level-degree motorsport engineering.

Two rare Honda EFs prepared by the students are competing so far this season: Samuel Williams (1600cc) and Devon Till (1400cc) are both competitive in class D and E respectively.

The team even has capacity at future events to run an MG ZR in Hot Hatches, plus a Borland Spectrum Class A car in the CCRC’s FF1600 Championship.

The course is overseen by David Campion – now ten years at the College – and fellow qualified motorsport engineer Ethan Walsh who is in charge of the workshop and students’ race event activities.

“Being based within the circuit grounds gives our students a unique pathway into engineering and real networking opportunities,” said David.

“Motorsport is evolving and we need to move with it, but it’s important we keep the ‘old‑school’ spirit alive too.”

David and Ethan are now passing on their extensive motorsport experiences to the next generation.

David’s motorsport career also includes running Sports 2000 and Formula Renault race cars, and he was a keen competitor in hillclimbs and sprints.

Ethan has previously worked on iconic machinery such as Group C endurance legends like the Lola T70 and Spice 89.