Tyler Read (Weedon) produced a true champion’s performance throughout the concluding event of the 2025 Legends Cars Elite Cup at Croft Circuit over the weekend, 2nd/3rd August, with a masterful drive in the finale from the back of the grid to victory sealing a richly deserved title.
Winning the first two Heats on Saturday, racing in support of the British Touring Car Championship, Read claimed his third success of the weekend in Sunday’s opening Heat before storming to a fitting victory in the day two Final in front of the live ITV4 cameras in North Yorkshire.
Read’s sole challenger for the crown going into the final race was Will Gibson (Farnborough), but mid-pack contact going into Clervaux on lap one resulted in several drivers coming to grief, Gibson’s bid ending in the gravel. He finishes the campaign Vice-Champion and also won the Saturday Final.
Gibson’s team ran a second car, the No.52 Team Car, for American teenager Trevor Krouse and the US star was sensational all weekend on his UK debut. Finishing on the podium in three of the races, his highlight was a fantastic maiden victory in Heat Two on Sunday.
Peter Barrable (Dublin) was close to winning the Sunday Final, only losing the lead to Read at Barcroft on the final lap, but second was a great result and ensured the Masters Cup class title for this year’s Elite Cup. In the Rookie division, fellow Irishman Owen Lawlor (Dublin) is the Elite Cup Champion and the No.11 Team Car, raced this weekend by Mark Beaty (Gosforth), wins that class title.
Two wins for Read but one for Gibson take title fight into day two
Stephen Treherne (Islington) had pole in the draw for Heat One with Chris Needham (Altrincham) alongside, and it was the latter who quickly moved to the front but with Treherne staying in close company. Read, from row three, swiftly climbed into third with Jack Parker (Wolverhampton) slicing his way through to fifth, from 11th on the grid, behind Ross Marshall (Stirling).
Read dispatched Treherne on lap two and he then took the lead on the third tour before going on to claim the win by 0.7 seconds. Treherne grabbed second back from Needham on the penultimate tour, while Parker – who also set fastest lap – finished a strong fourth from Barrable and Marshall.
Heat Two began with an outstanding first lap from Oli Schlup (Cuckfield), taking the lead around the outside of Nathan Anthony (Horley) at Clervaux and opening a huge 3.1 second advantage. Behind the racing was close, and as the laps passed by so Schlup’s lead reduced. Gibson and Krouse were second and third at mid-distance, but Read soon closed on them and sliced through to second.
Trading the lead with Schlup over the last couple of laps, on the sixth tour they were side-by-side into the complex and Read emerged on top to win. Gibson, running a changed engine after a Heat One blow-up, was second with Krouse – who was right behind Gibson in race one when his engine expired and so retired with a snapped brake bar – took his first podium from Schlup and Parker.
Connor Mills (Upminster) started on pole for the Saturday Final, having missed Heats One and Two due to damage sustained in qualifying practice, and he led out of Clervaux, but Luke Simmons (Lingfield) enjoyed a fantastic run out of the chicane to move ahead into Tower. Krouse starred on lap one, going from 11th to second, while Marshall was every bit as impressive from 13th.
Into lap three Krouse led from Marshall, but the Scotsman moved ahead into the fourth tour before Krouse hit back into the complex. Marshall grabbed the lead again into Clervaux but a big slide at the Jim Clark Esses lost him huge momentum, and he fell out of contention as a result. Krouse then encountered his own dramas on lap six at Tower, a false neutral dropping him to seventh.
Needham pounced and with two laps to go he headed Marcus Pett (Boston), Gibson, Barrable, Read and Parker, but Gibson and Pett used the slipstream to shoot past the leader into Tower. Pett led into the final tour before Gibson went by at Barcroft, and he held on to win by 0.7 seconds. Pett was second from Needham, Read fourth, Barrable fifth, Parker sixth and the unfortunate Krouse seventh.
Super Sunday with maiden UK win for Krouse and Elite title for Read
Heat One on Sunday afternoon, screened live on ITV4, began with high drama when the top two on the grid, Mike Schlup (Cuckfield) and Marshall, tangled after slight contact behind and both hit the pit wall. Thankfully they were OK and red flags were duly waved, Needham having led at that point.
At the second time of asking, breathless Legends action commenced with Pett leading for the first couple of tours and Treherne then moving to the front. Read charged into second and then took the lead at Tower on lap three, and as the battle behind raged he was able to win by two seconds.
Any one of nine drivers could’ve finished on the podium, continual place changing thrilling the thousands of fans trackside, and it was Gibson who made sure of second with fastest lap on the final tour after a superb fight with Needham. Treherne had to settle for fourth from Pett and Krouse.
Croft debutant Krouse had clearly been impressive throughout the weekend, but he shone even brighter in Heat Two on Sunday. Running second to Simmons on the first lap, as drivers behind had to avoid a spinning Barrable at Clervaux, a wobble for the leader out of the chicane enabled Krouse to pass on the run to Tower before opening an advantage of 1.4 seconds.
Oli Schlup fought his way into second and closed in before producing a superb pass on the outside at Tower to get the lead into the Esses. Krouse, though, had another trick up his sleeve and served up a massively bold pass on the outside into the complex to get the lead back and bag a famous win.
The ever-quick Schlup was only 0.2 seconds back, with the impressive Needham on the podium yet again in third and fourth place for Read moving the title even closer. Mills took fifth, after a torrid weekend, with Gibson salvaging sixth after a slide onto the grass on lap three at the complex.
Going into the Sunday Final, Read held an advantage of 155 points over Gibson with the latter starting 16th on the grid and Read three places further behind. Gibson’s bid, though, cruelly ended at the first corner after several cars made contact in the pack – the title was Read’s. He was never going to just settle for a Sunday drive, Read produced the performance of a champion.
Parker led from Matt Knight (Shoreham by Sea) when racing resumed after a two lap Safety Car period and they enjoyed a great battle. Knight took the lead on lap five, with Barrable taking second from Parker at Tower, and the next time around Barrable passed Knight at the Esses for the lead.
All the while Read was closing in on the podium, he took third on the outside at Tower on lap eight and then produced a great pass at Barcroft on the ninth tour to take second. Pressuring Barrable, who was driving superbly, Read dived past at Barcroft and went on to win with Barrable an excellent second, Krouse third with another great drive, Marshall fourth from Mills and Needham.
Tyler Read – 2025 Elite Cup Champion
Rd8 Heat One, Rd8 Heat Two, Rd9 Heat One, Rd9 Final Winner:
“Peter [Barrable] drove a great race [Rd9 Final] out front, great defending as always. I saw Will [Gibson] went off at the start, so that was the championship sealed and I thought I may as well go for the win. We got side-by-side in a few places, Peter made it difficult – as you would – but I managed to get through in the flat-out section which was a bit ballsy, but we got there!”
Will Gibson – Rd8 Final Winner:
“That was insane! I must say thanks to Chris [Needham], because he managed to push me past Marcus [Pett]. Going two wide through that fast left and right [Jim Clark Esses] is probably one of the scariest things I’ve done in a Legend but there’s so much respect between the drivers, we give each other just enough space. It’s epic, so much fun to do and probably so much fun to watch as well!”
Trevor Krouse – Rd9 Heat Two Winner:
“It was a hard-fought win, a great battle on the last lap and I’m really glad to get a win here. It was not expected at all, when I came over [from the USA] I just hoped I could compete and be in the top 10, and now I just got my first win in the UK! Once I got out front I hoped I wouldn’t see anyone in my mirrors, then Oli broke through and we had a great battle on the last lap, a lot of fun.”
Following the conclusion of this year’s Legends Cars Elite Cup, there are now three rounds remaining in the outright Legends Cars Championship. Round 10 will take place on Saturday, 16th August, at Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire as part of the US Autoshow event.
Provisional 2025 Legends Cars Elite Cup Points (after Rd6)
Champion: Tyler Read, 3005pts; 2nd Will Gibson, 2655pts; 3rd Oli Schlup, 2550pts; 4th Chris Needham, 2415pts; 5th Connor Mills, 2225pts; 6th Marcus Pett, 2190pts
Provisional 2025 Legends Cars Championship Points (after Rd9)
1st Tyler Read, 4160pts; 2nd Will Gibson, 3825pts; 3rd Oli Schlup, 3715pts; 4th Connor Mills, 3620pts; 5th Chris Needham, 3560pts; 6th Jack Parker, 3130pts
