Introduction
The Novice of the Year is the only championship that a driver has one shot of winning. It is open to Novice drivers who will race amongst the rest of the drivers but score points separately for this title. It first ran in 1972 with John Park (157) the first winner of the Novice Of The Year title.
The title has had numerous formats over the year with it being a single race, a group of races, a points race and even voted on for the eventual winner. The format since 2002 has a been a points race over the entire season with a multiplier explained below, that is designed to reward drivers who climb the grades.
Due to the nature of the title there are usually only a few drivers who compete for this title yearly. Former winners include Quadruple World Champion Peter Falding, Double World Champion Tom Harris and the entire Hunter family. Warren (1990) and Sons Will (2014) and Henry (2015) are all former winners of this title which is a record as no other family has won the title three times.
The 2019 edition of the title was hotly contested between three former Ministox racers, Liam Gilbank (20) managing to see off a late charge from Charlie Sworder (5) with Courtney Witts (180) finishing third.
How it Works
The Novice Of The Year is a points based championship open to all Novice drivers.
A Novice is termed as any driver who will start the year as a white top, who has not taken part in more than three points meetings the previous season and has no previous experience in another adult formula. The drivers eligible for the Novice Of The Year will be decided by the BriSCA Grader.
The Novice Of The Year scores normal grading points but with a multiplier. The further up the grades a Novice climbs the more points they will score towards the Novice Of The Year. The multipliers are Whites x1, Yellows x2, Blues x3 and Reds & Superstars x4.
Current Champion – Thomas Rogers (269)
Title and Roof Colour
| Title | Novice of the Year |
| Roof Colour | None |
Full List of Winners
Novice Of The Year - event was run as a stand alone race between 1973 and 1989| Year | Track | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | White City | Martin Fernihough (208) | Danny Clarke (203) | George Rudd (241) |
| 1974 | White City | John Thorpe (367) | Pete Brown (21) | Clive Moran (213) |
| 1975 | Event not held | |||
| 1976 | Rochdale | Andy Stott (160) | John Lund (53) | Brian Whorton (408) |
| 1977 | White City | Bernard Poyser (435) | Pete Hodgson (131) | Colin Townson (58) |
| 1978 | Bradford | John Lund (95) | Pete Denning (189) | Colin Gautry (488) |
| 1979 | White City | Richard Ahern (18) | Alex McDade (29) | Neil Brigg (87) |
| 1980 | Belle Vue | Kevin Bentham (480) | Arthur Gibson (357) | Bob Forrest (464) |
| 1981 | Bradford | Peter Morton (132) | Ian Smith (367) | Steve Froggart (240) |
| 1982 | Rochdale | Keith Riley (382) | Pete Billows (402) | Iain Stirk (464) |
| 1983 | Northampton | Peter Falding (33) | Russell Humphrey (113) | Geoff Stagg (266) |
| 1984 | Sheffield | Les Mitchell (499) | Vic Milner (41) | Steve Sharp (223) |
| 1985 | Northampton | Dave Johnson (383) | - | - |
| 1986 | Northampton | Alan Jackson (42) | Geoff Coales (115) | Mark Webster (226) |
| 1987 | Bradford | Mark Armirage (123) | Al Bateman (361) | Richard Dobson (10) |
| 1988 | Hednesford | Mark Wareham (401) | Andy Maynard (152) | Scott MacKenzie (47) |
| 1989 | Scunthorpe | Richard Thorton (516) | John Gibson (227) | Andrew Cave (438) |
| Year | Track | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Boston | Warren Hunter (20) | ||
| 1991 | Boston | Craig Smith (407) | ||
| 1992 | Long Eaton | Daniel Harter (4) | ||
| 1993 | Stoke | Richard Johnson (78) | ||
| 1994 | Stoke | Andy Robinson (140) | ||
| 1995 | Northampton | Tristen May (27) | ||
| 1996 | Skegness | Richard Simmons (123) | ||
| 1997 | Long Eaton | Lee Mellor (181) | ||
| 1998 | Coventry | Mike Dungale (28) | ||
| 1999 | Coventry | Alan Bedford (289) | ||
| 2000 | Sheffield | Matt Hodgson (103) | ||
| 2001 | Swindon | Harry Fowkes (203) |
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Mat Newson (16) | Andrew Swann (103) | Mark Peters (231) |
| 2003 | Mark Keeling (271) | Craig Utley (484) | James Lund (153) |
| 2004 | Micky Randell (172) | Gary Towsend (223) | Andrew Bowler (348) |
| 2005 | Tom Harris (84) | Peter Blundell (156) | Liam Brown (192) |
| 2006 | Dan Johnson (4) | Timmy Aldridge (257) | Hayley Parkinson (54) |
| 2007 | Ryan Harrison (197) | Scott Davids (462) | Billy-Tom O'Connor (318) |
| 2008 | Danny Wainman (212) | Spencer Taylor (498) | Joe Booth (446) |
| 2009 | Luke Dennis (192) | - | - |
| 2010 | Mike Kingston (488) | Robert Braithwaite (253) | Josh Smith (191) |
| 2011 | Paul Carter (300) | Nigel Harrhy (45) | Rob Tunnah (505) |
| 2012 | Martyn Walton (243) | Sam Redman (248) | Peter Allin (331) /John Hughes (255) |
| 2013 | Jamie Jackson (377) | Carl Swift (245) | Alex Wass (283) |
| 2014 | Will Hunter (220) | Karl Roberts (313) | Paul-Jay Lemons (444) |
| 2015 | Henry Hunter (202) | Ben Riley (422) | Jordan Falding (36) |
| 2016 | Matt Rogers (213) | Aaron Leach (70) | Sam Wass (284) |
| 2017 | Harry Steward (126) | Ant Whorton-Eales (408) | Robert Plant (364) |
| 2018 | Kyle Gray (124) | Finn Sargent (526) | Charlie Sworder (5) |
| 2019 | Liam Gilbank (20) | Charile Sworder (5) | Courtney Witts (180) |
| 2020 | - | - | - |
| 2021 | Lewis Evans (392) | Tyrone Evans (381) | Jack Ryan (595) |
| 2022 | Callum Thornton (368) | Joshua Spiers (452) | Lewis Galer (78) |
| 2023 | Thomas Rogers (269) | Oliver Wadsworth (31) | Jansen Wilkinson (287) |
For more in-depth historical information in relation to the Novice Of The Year please follow the link below:
https://www.briscaf1stox.uk/website/champs_choices.php?champ=15