There’s No Off-Season at Teesside Motorsports

It feels slightly strange to be talking about the end of summer when, from where we’re sitting, nothing appears to be slowing down.

In fact, if there has been one theme running through 2026 at Teesside Motorsports, it has been this:

Every weekend is an event weekend.

Somewhere along the way, the traditional idea of having a motorsport “season” seems to have disappeared.

We have gone from karting to cars, bikes to drifting, sprint racing to endurance racing and from running events at home in Teesside to packing the trucks and taking our team, equipment and championship across Europe.

And we’re still going.

2026 – What a Year So Far

The year began with a calendar that already looked busy on paper.

As it turned out, “busy” might have been an understatement.

At Teesside we’ve welcomed thousands of drivers, riders, competitors, teams and spectators through the gates for everything from arrive and drive karting and corporate events to owner-driver testing, sprint racing, car track days, bike events, drifting and endurance racing.

Our Teesside Owner Driver Sprint Championship has continued throughout the summer, bringing together competitors from across the region and further afield for another season of close racing on the National Circuit.

Alongside the racing, our owner drivers have had regular opportunities to test and practise at Teesside, while the Teesside Academy has continued introducing and developing the next generation of drivers.

Then there is everything happening outside karting.

Our International Circuit has hosted cars, bikes, scooters and more, with track days, testing, car meets and specialist events adding an entirely different dimension to the calendar.

It means that one weekend the paddock might be full of kart awnings and race transporters, while the next it’s filled with motorcycles or cars.

Sometimes we barely have time to change the signs.

And then there are the 24-hour races.

Taking the 24H Championship Across Europe

One of the biggest developments for Teesside Motorsports has been the continued growth of our 24H Karting Championship.

For years, Teesside has been synonymous with 24-hour karting, but the championship has grown into something much bigger than a single race weekend.

In 2026, we’ve taken teams on a European tour.

Our championship began in May under the Spanish sunshine at Campillos, before heading to France in July for the Le Mans 24H.

Le Mans certainly gave us a weekend to remember.

Extreme temperatures meant adapting the event around heat restrictions and creating a very different race format, but teams, drivers, circuit staff and officials worked together to make sure the race could continue safely.

Then in August it was time to come home.

The British 24H

The British 24H at Teesside remains one of the biggest weekends on our calendar.

There is something very different about watching the International Circuit come alive for a 24-hour race.

The paddock fills.

Teams build their temporary homes for the weekend.

Drivers arrive with bags containing enough clothes and equipment for a small expedition.

Mechanics prepare for a race in which they know virtually anything can happen.

Then the flag drops.

Through daylight, darkness and back into daylight again, the race becomes its own little world.

The British 24H brings together serious competition and the atmosphere that has always made endurance karting special. Rival teams fight for every position on circuit while helping each other solve problems in the paddock.

For our team, it is also one of the biggest operational challenges of the year.

Months of planning eventually become one very long weekend of racing, pit stops, timing, scrutineering, catering, livestreaming, commentary, safety, administration and solving the inevitable unexpected problems that come with running a 24-hour event.

Then suddenly it’s Sunday.

The chequered flag falls.

Everyone goes home.

And we start preparing for the next event.

Every Weekend is an Event Weekend

That probably sums up life at Teesside Motorsports better than anything else.

There isn’t much time for looking back because there’s normally another event coming through the gate – or another truck that needs packing.

We’re finishing August with the NBS 24-Hour Bike Race at Teesside.

Twenty-four hours of bike racing around the International Circuit is quite a way to finish the month.

But once the chequered flag falls, there won’t be much opportunity to put our feet up.

Because the following weekend we’re off to Belgium.

Next Stop: Spa

The first weekend of September sees the Teesside Motorsports team head to **Spa** for the final round of our 2026 24H Karting Championship.

It’s another new challenge for us and another major step in the development of the championship.

Campillos.

Le Mans.

British.

Spa.

Four very different circuits, four very different events and thousands of kilometres travelled by our teams over the course of the season.

Spa will bring the 2026 championship to its conclusion – but it certainly won’t bring our year to an end.

Because we’ll be coming straight back to Teesside for another endurance race.

Eight Hours of Scooters

The weekend after Spa, the British Scooter Endurance Club – BSEC – arrives at Teesside for the 8 Hours of Teesside.

Once again, the International Circuit will look completely different.

The karts disappear and the scooters arrive.

That’s one of the things we love about having a venue like Teesside.

The same piece of tarmac can host international kart racing one weekend, a 24-hour bike race another, scooter endurance racing the next and then cars, drifting or testing.

And September keeps going.

We’ve still got Norasport, NBS at Rowrah and another Teesside Owner Driver Sprint weekend to fit into the calendar.

That’s before we’ve counted all of the normal activity happening around those headline events.

Arrive and drive karting continues.

Corporate events continue.

Testing continues.

The Academy continues.

The workshop continues looking after a fleet of around 200 karts.

And somewhere amongst all of that, the office team is already taking bookings and planning events months – and sometimes more than a year – ahead.

It’s all go.

But that’s pretty much how we like it.

So What Happens When the Summer Season Finishes?

We start the winter season, obviously.

While many championships pack away their awnings and wait for spring, winter has always been an important part of the racing calendar at Teesside.

Our Winter Series has become particularly popular because it gives owner drivers the opportunity to continue racing when much of the traditional karting season has stopped.

And for 2026/27, we’re taking it on the road again.

The Teesside Motorsports Winter Series

Four rounds.

Four circuits.

Four very different challenges.

This year’s Winter Series will visit:

Rowrah

Teesside

Whilton Mill

GYG

It’s a championship that rewards much more than outright pace.

Anyone who has raced through a British winter knows exactly what can happen.

You might arrive in sunshine.

You might qualify in rain.

You might race in temperatures hovering just above freezing.

And sometimes you’ll get all of that before lunchtime.

Conditions change. Grip changes. Set-ups change.

Drivers have to adapt.

That unpredictability is part of what makes winter racing so good.

Rowrah provides a fantastic opening challenge before the championship comes home to Teesside. Then it’s on to Whilton Mill before the series heads to Wales and GYG.

Each circuit asks something different of the driver and kart, meaning consistency across the four rounds could prove just as important as outright speed at any individual event.

The Winter Series has always been about giving drivers something competitive to race for during the months when opportunities can become limited.

But it’s also become a championship in its own right.

There are titles to fight for.

There are rivalries that develop over the winter.

And there are plenty of bragging rights involved.

By the time we reach the final round, everyone will have earned their spring break.

Although we’re not actually giving them one.

A New Teesside Endurance Championship

Because sprint racing isn’t the only thing happening this winter.

November will also see the start of a new three-month Teesside Endurance Championship.

Running across November, December and January, the championship will bring another style of competitive karting to the circuit through the winter.

Endurance racing requires a completely different approach to sprint racing.

Being the fastest driver on circuit doesn’t necessarily win an endurance race.

Teams need consistency.

They need strategy.

They need to manage traffic.

They need to decide when to make their moves and when fighting over a position is costing both drivers more time than it’s worth.

Driver changes, pit strategy and teamwork all become part of the result.

One mistake can undo an hour of hard work.

One good strategy call can completely change a race.

For established endurance teams it provides another championship to fight for.

For drivers who have watched our bigger endurance events and thought they’d like to have a go, it also creates another route into this side of karting.

And perhaps, for some of those teams, it might eventually lead somewhere even bigger.

Because while we’re still racing through the final months of 2026, we’re already planning our biggest championship for next year.

The 2027 24H Championship

Following the growth of the championship, we’re making an important change for 2027.

The full 2027 24H Championship will be limited to a maximum of 46 championship entries.

Those 46 teams will form the championship grid across our international rounds.

The provisional calendar takes us back to:

Campillos – Spain

Le Mans – France

British 24H – Teesside

Spa – Belgium

The aim is to create a stronger championship identity, with the same core group of teams competing against each other throughout the year.

Instead of individual races simply sitting alongside one another, we want every round to feel like part of one championship journey.

Points earned in Spain matter in France.

What happens at Le Mans matters when everyone arrives at Teesside.

And by the time we reach Spa, every result throughout the season could matter.

With the championship limited to only **46 teams**, places will be significantly more restricted than they have been previously.

The British 24H will remain slightly different.

As our home event – and one of the biggest races of the year – we will make an **additional ten places available for the British round**, beyond the 46 championship entries.

Owner Drivers will also continue to form part of our 24-hour programme.

Owner Driver teams will be able to compete at Campillos and the British 24H, with plans for an additional Owner Driver endurance event later in the year.

It means there will still be different ways to become part of our 24-hour racing programme, while allowing us to protect the quality and consistency of the main championship.

From Teesside to Europe – and Back Again

When we changed from Teesside Karting to **Teesside Motorsports**, it wasn’t simply about changing the name above the door.

It reflected what the venue – and the team behind it – had already become.

Karting will always be at the heart of what we do.

But today a weekend at Teesside might involve karts, cars, motorcycles, scooters or drift cars.

Our team might be working at our own circuit in Middlesbrough or loading equipment into trucks to run an event hundreds of miles away.

Our drivers might be racing at Teesside one month and in Spain, France or Belgium the next.

At the same time, someone could be climbing into a kart for the very first time at an arrive and drive session while, elsewhere in the paddock, an experienced racing team is preparing for its next championship.

That’s what Teesside Motorsports has become.

And we’re still developing.

The Next Few Months

So while the summer holidays might be coming to an end, we’re certainly not winding down.

First we’ve got a 24-hour bike race to finish.

Then we’re going to Spa.

Then we’ve got eight hours of scooter racing.

Then Norasport.

Then NBS.

Then another Sprint weekend.

Then the Winter Series begins.

Then the Teesside Endurance Championship begins.

And while all of that is happening, entries and preparations for the 2027 24H Championship will be getting underway.

At some point, we might even find a quiet weekend.

We just haven’t spotted one on the calendar yet.

Come and Be Part of It

Whether you want to race, test, join a championship, bring a team to an endurance event, try karting for the first time or simply come along and watch, there is always something happening at Teesside Motorsports.

Keep an eye on our website and social media for individual event information, regulations, entry details and announcements for the remainder of 2026 and the 2027 season.

The summer might nearly be over.

Our season definitely isn’t.