Caygill gearing up for sprint challenge
his first full season of endurance competition, with a best finish of ninth in the Pro-Am class at Paul Ricard in France, Caygill cannot wait to get started in the action packed Blancpain Sprint Cup where he will partner British Touring Car Championship race winner Aron TaylorSmith in the Silver Cup class.
“I am ecstatic to be racing with Team Parker and Bentley in the Blancpain Sprint Cup this year,” said Caygill.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity and at exactly the right time in my career.
“The recent two-day test at Navarra was great, very productive and the ideal opportunity to get to know the team, the car and, of course, work with Aron for the first time.
“There’s a really good atmosphere in the team, very positive, and I’m confident we’re all going to have a great year.
“I think Aron and I are going to work really well, it’s great having such a quick and competitive teammate to measure myself against and hopefully we’ll push each other on.
“I’m obviously delighted to have the continued support of SMUK, LSS and all my other sponsors too.”
Where the Endurance Cup features races three, six and even 24 hours in duration, in the Sprint Cup the action takes place over shorter 60-minute contests with two encounters taking place on each given race weekend.
Having already proven Bentley Continental GT3, the former Supersport motorcycle racer will share with the Irishman this year, during the recent test at Navarra in Spain, and he has high hopes for his second season of racing at this level and cannot wait to get stuck in to the Sprint Cup format.
“I’ve been absolutely blown away by the Bentley, it’s an incredible car and I felt really comfortable driving it straight away”, Caygill added.
“I obviously know, from first-hand experience, how competitive the Blancpain GT Series is.
“But I’m looking forward to the shorter Sprint Cup races which are even more cut and thrust than in the Endurance Cup.
“It’s going to be a mega year.” THE Huddersfield Falcon trials club were multiple award winners at the Yorkshire awards presentation night.
Will Tolson, from Golcar, the Falcon’s 2017 club champion, received three awards and is pictured below collecting one of them from ACU Yorkshire Centre Trophy secretary and past president Phyll Stephenson at the event staged at Healds Hall Hotel.
Tolson collected the best Youth A Class Champion in both the Yorkshire Centre and West Yorkshire Championships, and best Under 21 All-Rounder.
Other Falcon members who were successful were retired Holmfirth High School teacher Bill Swallow, who won the JW Edge Trophy for his achievements in road racing in 2017 – notably finishing seventh overall on an Italian Paton machine in the Isle of Man Classic Senior TT.
Denby Dale’s Tom Tunstall won the Rob Fitton Trophy as Best Centre Resident Road Racer, having competed in the British Superstock Championship on a 1000cc BMW.
Falcon Secretary, and 2018 centre President, Mike Washington from Shelley, collected the Leon Cooper Trophy for Best Clubman B Team in the Yorkshire Centre Team Trial, held at Tong, Bradford, in September 2017 on behalf of team members Chris Greenwood, Ian Haigh and Willie Wood.