12 months ahead of their originally planned timetable, Praga Cars have confirmed its first one-make championship will be in the UK in 2022 in partnership with Britcar Endurance.
After a successful 2021 within the Britcar Endurance Championship, with nine R1s competing in the Praga category, Praga Cars has committed to ensuring there will be at least 16 cars on the grid for the planned first Round of the Praga Cup at Silverstone in March 2022, and for the 2023 season.
Mark Harrison, Managing Director, Praga Cars said: “We have seen significant growth in 2021 in the awareness of Praga and the R1, had a successful year on the grid within Britcar Endurance and strengthened our team with the recruitment of Lucy Payne as Motorsport Manager. Most importantly though, we saw increased interest from drivers, teams and potential sponsors after releasing dramatic pictures of all nine competing R1s together on the grid at Silverstone in June and this has encouraged us to build on the momentum and target the one-make Cup in 2022.”
Claire Hedley, Managing Director, Britcar Endurance, said: “Britcar is proud to be involved with the development of the Praga brand. Since 2019, when VR Motorsport first raced an R1, they have definitely turned heads! The one-make Cup will be an amazing addition to our Britcar 2022 package, running as a separate race, and we’re very pleased to be a part of their growth.”
Tomas Kasparek, Owner, Praga Cars, said: “Praga has some big plans for 2022. The positive feedback we have received from new R1 owners and dealers in Australia, Belgium, California, Dubai and Poland has been matched by Britcar’s support for accelerating our plans for the one-make Praga Cup. So, it feels like a good time to keep up momentum. Offering our factory cars to the market is also crucial as it allows new teams and drivers without the resources for a new car to compete an R1. We plan to replace these cars with a number of new factory cars next season and look forward to announcing who will be driving those cars soon.”
2022 Praga Cup UK
Praga Cars and VR Motorsport will cap the 2022 Praga Cup at a maximum of 24 R1s.
Praga UK’s 2021 factory cars will be made available for sale (through VR Motorsport) with a batch of and new factory R1s again set to be piloted by Praga’s high-profile Guest Drivers.
Full details of the calendar will be revealed soon, in coordination with Britcar, but the Praga Cup will be competed for on both Britcar Saturday and Sunday race days. Oulton Park, Praga’s ‘home’ race in the UK with its nearby HQ, will host Round 2 in April, with further Rounds at Silverstone, Donington Park and Snetterton in the diary.
Significant prizes are also planned, with the highlight a 2022 factory R1.
Discussions are also underway with Praga Racing West, Praga’s Californian dealer, for a unique opportunity for two drivers to race in the November 2022 25 Hours of Thunderhill: Praga Racing West came third in their own R1 in the most recent running of the race in 2019.
A non-championship race weekend in Europe is also under discussion with additional race coverage likely via Praga UK’s ongoing programme of social media ‘influencer’ guest drivers.
