MARK PAULSON
CTCRC
One-time Praga Cup champion and YouTube star Jimmy Broadbent will dovetail a full season of competition in his wild Mazda MX-5 with GT racing in the Nurburgring-based NLS endurance series this year.
Broadbent, who took the 2022 Praga title alongside Gordie Mutch, gave his 700bhp MX-5 Mk1 its racing debut in the Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s Classic Thunder series last weekend at Donington Park – the same venue where he first competed in a standard MX-5 three years ago.
“I bought this car in 2014 for £700, and it was my little runaround,” said the 32-year-old, who drove the car last year in Time Attack, where contestants compete against the clock. “And since then, it’s gone insane. It started off having a ‘stock’ engine, built to make 340bhp, which is still quite a lot on an MX-5 with a little bit of aero. Now we’ve switched over to a 2.3-litre [Nissan] SR20, which makes just shy of 700bhp. And, with this aero as well, it’s been pretty serious.”
Mated to a six-speed sequential Quaife gearbox, the turbocharged engine was built by Dave Yandell, while Carbon Repair UK manufactured the car’s vast diffuser that works in conjunction with the front splitter and flat floor.
“I’ve only driven it on a handful of occasions – it’s quite a temperamental car,” added Broadbent. “We
