Season Recap: Asha Silva crowned Britcar Trophy Rookie of the Year

Racing with autism and ADHD, Asha Silva faces additional challenges in her motorsport journey, however she is determined to break down these barriers while being a role model for women in motorsport: stepping up to the Britcar Trophy Championship in 2024, she was crowned Rookie of the Year.

Photo credits: James Roberts / Team Brit

Team Brit driver Asha Silva successfully stepped up to the Britcar Trophy Championship in 2024 as she was crowned Rookie of the Year. Racing with adult autism and ADHD, Silva faces additional challenges in her motorsport journey, however she is determined to break down these barriers while being a role model for women in motorsport.

Silva ended the season runner-up in the Class 2 championship standings, while finishing seventh overall in a campaign which saw her claim two class victories and six further podium finishes as she primarily raced alongside teammate Noah Cosby.

Silva made her motorsport debut in the Silverlake C1 Series at the beginning of 2023 as she began her relationship with Team Brit. The inspirational squad support disabled racing drivers while championing their talent in a range of series, ranging from entry level test days right up to the British GT Championship. By providing both an open and inclusive platform, Team Brit have established themselves as a leading team to enable disabled racing drivers to chase their dreams.

After a successful 2023 season learning the basics of motorsport, Silva took a significant step up in 2024. Driving a BMW 240i in Class 2 of the Britcar Trophy Championship, Asha entered a multi-class series while switching to rear-wheel-drive machinery. For the majority of the campaign, Silva drove alongside teammate Noah Cosby, a paralysed racing driver who uses hand controls developed in partnership with Team Brit.

Silva’s switch to the Britcar Trophy Championship saw her continue down the path of endurance racing. Britcar Trophy Championship events take place on a single day, with one qualifying session followed by a pair of fifty-minute races.

This format ensures good value for money and with a path to compete in the British Endurance Championship, there is a ladder in which to progress. Four classes of cars regularly compete with Class 2, the class which Silva’s BMW 240i was eligible for, being the second highest. Therefore, Asha dealt with both faster and slower traffic across the season, adding to the challenge of driving a more powerful car.

The 2024 season got underway at Donington Park with a large grid of 26 cars taking to the circuit for qualifying. A fantastic lap from teammate Cosby saw the Team Brit pair qualifying second in class, just half a second away from pole position on their series debut. The two races were challenging as technical issues prevented Silva and Cosby from achieving their potential.

Nonetheless, Team Brit worked hard to resolve the issues and after being classified fourth in class in race one, they bounced back to finish second in class in race two, standing on the podium for the first time.

Round two of the season was held at Snetterton and was a challenging circuit to learn for relative rookies. It was a weekend of improvement for Silva and Cosby who began the event by qualifying second in class, while securing an overall top-10 starting position.

For race one of the day, Silva got behind the wheel for the opening stint and immediately claimed the lead with an excellent start. Although she fell back into second position as her stint unfolded, an excellent team performance saw Silva and Cosby claim their first ever victory in the Britcar Trophy Championship, while finishing a superb sixth overall.

The Team Brit pair finished on the lead lap despite their performance disadvantage to the more powerful Class 1 machinery, while finishing over a minute clear of their nearest Class 2 competitors.

In race two, a similarly impressive performance saw Silva and Cosby consistently challenge for the race victory alongside main rivals Mark Jones and Rob Ellick in their Audi TT. Once again finishing on the lead lap and inside the overall top-10, Silva and Cosby were denied a double victory as a late-race puncture thwarted their challenge. Nonetheless, Silva took a significant step forward and was able gain confidence by racing more experienced drivers for the class victory.

Photo credits: Peter Markwick / Team Brit

Round three of the championship was another landmark event for Asha as the Britcar Trophy Championship raced on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in support of GT World Challenge Europe. Therefore, Silva raced in front of a capacity crowd with all eyes on the main support series for Europe’s premier endurance championship. Another strong performance in qualifying saw the Team Brit duo set the second fastest time and continue their fast and consistent single-lap pace.

In the opening race of the event, the pair were racing well and set for another significant haul of championship points before a late-race technical issue led to an unfortunate retirement. Once again displaying great tenacity and determination, Silva and Cosby closed out the event with a runner-up result in Class 2, while finishing an excellent eighth overall with a comfortable margin behind to the third-place finisher in class.

The next venue for the Britcar Trophy Championship was the legendary Silverstone Grand Prix circuit with the fourth round taking place in changeable conditions in June. The track was damp in qualifying and a bold call for Cosby to fit the slick tyres resulted in a first pole position of the season for Team Brit as the duo also set the sixth fastest time overall.

Consistency was the key to the progress of Silva and Cosby in both races which were held in dry conditions. A fantastic effort in race one saw the duo finish second overall, behind Ellick who drove solo, while securing a seventh-place overall finish. Despite overcoming challenges in race two, Asha still achieved a runner-up finish in class and banked valuable championship points in the process.

Silva missed the next two rounds of the season which were held at Oulton Park and Donington Park respectively, before returning to Snetterton for the season finale in September. With Cosby stepping up to a higher class, Silva was joined by Caleb McDuff.

McDuff is a deaf racer and prior to partnering up with Team Brit, the Welsh driver competing in the highly-competitive Junior Saloon Car Championship where he regularly contended for top-10 finishes.

Racing for the second time at Snetterton, this gave Silva a chance to apply the knowledge she had learnt throughout the season to a circuit which she was more familiar with. The partnership with McDuff got off to a good start with the duo securing a second place starting position in Class 2 following qualifying.

In race one, Silva and McDuff raced well which led to another podium finish as they crossed the line second in class, with Asha maintaining her excellent record at Snetterton. After achieving her first victory at the Norfolk track earlier in the season, she was looking to end the campaign on a high in race two.

Once again finishing on the overall lead lap, a dominant drive from Silva and McDuff saw the new partnership bring immediate success as they secured the Class 2 victory while taking the checkered flag seventh overall.

Silva developed significantly as a driver throughout 2024 as this resulted in her being awarded the Britcar Trophy Rookie of the Year award. Asha continued to be an excellent role model for women in motorsport as she continues to overcome challenges on her motorsport journey.

Achieving eight podium finishes from the ten races she competed in, Silva ended the season second in the Class 2 standings despite missing two events. She will now be looking to continue her partnership with Team Brit into the 2025 season with a view to replicating the success she has experienced with the inspirational squad.