Tuesday 30th March saw the launch of the Mazda MX5 Championship, the biggest single-make motor racing series in the UK. With 95 cars, over 100 drivers and over 160 hours of TV coverage via MotorsTV, Eurosport & ITV4 this series looks set to be a corker.

Here at Gravytrain we’re very excited as not only are we sponsoring one of the teams – E3 Sport; our MD Kevin Taylor will be racing too! Over the next few weeks we’ll also be launching a new website for E3 Sport, and managing their online presence.

Having briefly considered doing a 'Dukes of Hazard'; Kevin elects to enter the car the old fashioned way...

So, who are E3 Sport?

Bar Kevin, it’s a family affair. The team is managed by Jim Edwards Junior, who started racing back in 1985 in the Super Road Saloon series. Jim Junior is a former Elf Renault 5 GT Turbo champion, Renault Clio Cup champion and BTCC race winner.

Jim Edwards Senior (Jim Junior’s’ father) has come out of retirement to race again. He’s a seasoned pro – a former Formula 3 driver and the 1979 Renault 5TS champion.

Racing prowess certainly runs in the family, as he’s joined on the team by Jim Junior’s daughters Jade and Chloe.

Jade, 19 competed in the 2006 Ginetta Junior Championship, was one of only two female drivers to be awarded a Race Drivers Academy Scholarship; and won the Cosmo Magazine ‘Risk Taker of the Year’ award in 2006. Chloe, 21 has seen similar successes – most notably finishing 3rd in the 2008 Renault Clio Cup Scholarship.

Kevin Taylor’s also no stranger to the circuit having raced in 4 successive Renault 5TS Championships, finishing 3rd in 1995. He also finished 3rd in the 1996 VW Polo G40 Cup.

So understandably, we’re expecting big things from the E3 Sports team; the first round commences on 10th April and we can’t wait!

The track day launch was fantastic, and Kevin even took one of our clients for a spin – Mark Hare, MD of Bedford Insurance. Check out the video below:

When asked if he enjoyed the experience Mark said “I’ll be fine once I’ve changed my pants…”