Time Attack Finale – Cadwell 2026

The Perfect End to 2026 – Clubman Champions & a Cadwell Park Lap Record 🏆

Where do we even start with this one?

After an incredible year with the MMT Race Team, we headed to Cadwell Park for the final round of the 2026 Time Attack Season already knowing that we had secured the Clubman Championship.

That took some of the pressure off going into the weekend, but if you know our team, you’ll know that didn’t mean we were going to take it easy!

There was still one thing our driver Clive wanted before we could officially call the 2026 season complete:

The Cadwell Park lap record.

And after a good day of sunshine, a few problems to overcome, plenty of teamwork and one final all-or-nothing lap, he did exactly that.

1:35.058.

82.82ph average speed.

A new lap record.

As if that wasn’t already enough of a way to end our session, our MMT X Mapped & Modded club stand also came away with the trophy for Best Variety of Cars at Modified Live.

Safe to say, it was a pretty special day for all of us.

One Last Round

The final round always feels a little different, and this year even more so.

We weren’t arriving at Cadwell chasing the championship points. The hard work throughout the season has already paid off and the Clubman Championship was ours, which meant for once we could enjoy the day a little more.

For Clive though, there was still unfinished business.

“It’s always a weird feeling on the last round, as you know it’s the last event,” he said. “But this year was different because we knew we didn’t have the pressure and we weren’t chasing points. It was nice to have the time to enjoy it.”

But when I asked him what the goal for the day was, the answer was pretty simple:

“The only focus for the day was trying to beat the lap record.”

Our first warm-up session began at 9:50am, with each session running for 20 minutes and the final outing of the day not coming until 18:05.

We had beautiful sunshine all day. Ironically, we’re usually the team hoping for the rain, but this time we were going to have to get the job done in the dry!

From the mechanical side, our mechanic Tee said the morning actually started relatively calmly.

“The day started well. It was a very good atmosphere being surrounded by people that enjoy what we all love”.

And that atmosphere pretty much summed up the whole paddock. Everyone was there for the same reason and, championship pressure aside, we were determined to enjoy our final race day of the year.

Keeping an Eye on the Golf

It didn’t take long for the first mechanical challenge to appear.

The opening session became an important test for the Golf, particularly when it ca,e to the front brakes,

Clive immediately noticed that something wasn’t right.

“The first session was a big test for us,” he explained. “We tried different pads and they fading too much and making the car unstable, so we quickly changed them for the next outing.”

From Tee’s side of the car, the brakes quickly became one of the main things the boys were monitoring every time the Golf returned to the paddock.

“We were mainly keeping our eyes on the front brakes,” Tee explained. “On the first initial hot lap they had extreme vibration. We swapped out the pads for another set and this solved it, but it was still something we were cautious of and kept an eye on.”

Once the pads had been changed, Clive immediately had more confidence in the braking zones.

From there, the Golf just kept getting better.

Our good friend Ben, who was helping Tee and Paul with the car throughout the day, could see the improvement happening with every session.

“The car definitely improved session by session,” Ben said. “We made a few set up changes and got the car into a much better place by the end of the day.”

Ben has always taken a big interest in our Golf and its development, so having him involved with us at Cadwell was another huge help.

“Working with the team is very rewarding. Everyone worked well together and stayed focused, even when things got hectic.”

Interestingly, from Tee’s perspective, compared with some of our other race weekends, this one was actually relatively smooth sailing.

Of course… we couldn’t let him have an entirely easy day.

Half a Second Up…Then a Spin

During Attack 2, we thought we might have it.

Clive was on a flying lap and was around half a second up on the day’s delta/

Then he reached Chris Curve.

There was oil on the track.

The Golf hit it and spun, ripping the tyre to shreds and damaging the brake air ducting in the process.

At that point our focus went from chasing a record to making sure we could get the Golf back out.

This is one of the things I’ve loved watching about our team throughout this season. Something can go wrong and everyone immediately knows there’s a job to do.

And while things might look calm from the outside, there’s a very different kind of pressure when you’ve only got a small window between sessions to work out what’s wrong, make the changes and get the car ready to go again.

“The pressure is extremely high,” Tee said, “Especially with a fair few people surrounding you.”

Clive summed up just how important the boys were in getting us through that final part of the day:

“Without Paul, Ben and Thierry, we would’ve struggled getting the car back out for the last round. Ben fixed the air ducting to get it through the day. Without that, the brakes would’ve overheated within a couple of laps.”

Thankfully, the boys did what they do best.

The Golf was fixed.

We had one session left.

One Last Send

Even with the championship already secured, finishing our season strongly still mattered to everyone.

For Tee, it was about maintaining the standard the team had set throughout 2026.

“It was fairly important to finish strong, mainly to keep up the performance we’ve shown this season.”

And I don’t think we could have finished much stronger.

Before the final run, we lowered the tyre pressures and Clive headed back out.

One last chance.

And apparently, the answer was to just fully send it into Turn 1!

“The last lap, it just all fell together,” Clive said.

“I went into the pits, we lowered the pressures and I just fully sent it into Turn 1. That then set me up for the rest of the track. No cars in the way and every corner lined perfectly.”

He crossed the line.

1:35.058

The lap record was ours.

After an entire season of watching Clive and the boys work on this car, watching that time come through on the final outing of the final round was pretty special.

And despite spending his day looking at the Golf from a very different perspective to the rest of us, Tee’s highlight from Cadwell was exactly the same:

Setting that lap record.

When I asked Clive for his favourite moment from the whole 2026 season, it wasn’t actually winning the championship either.

“My favourite moment was coming back off the track at Cadwell and sensing everyone else buzzing that we’d got the lap record.”

I think that says quite a lot about our team.

Meanwhile… We Had Something Else Also Going On!

Race days for me aren’t just about what happens on track anymore.

For the final round, I also wanted to make the MMT Presence at Modified Live bigger and bring more of the car community into what we do.

This was my second attempt at organising a club stand for the team, and this time we joined forces again with our friends at Mapped & Modded Car Club.

We had around 12 cars on our stand, and honestly the whole thing exceeded my expectations.

There was a lot that went on behind the scenes to get us there.

The boys had the Golf to prepare, I had the stand, organisation, photography and content side to get ready. Mapped and Modded helped with organising the club and convoys and my good friend and MMT Head Rep Kenzie helped support everything on the day and made sure it ran smoothly and assisted the convoy I’d arranged.

“At the last meeting point we finally met everyone joining the stand and it was fab. We were all chatting and having a good laugh before convoying up to the circuit” Said Jess, Mapped and Modded Car Club owner.

That atmosphere carried on throughout the entire day.

Our First Club Stand Trophy 🏆

Then something happened that I genuinely wasn’t expecting.

We won Best Variety of Cars.

This one meant a lot to me.

I know compared with winning a racing championship or setting a lap record, a club stand trophy might seem like something small.

But to me, it wasn’t.

I’d put so much work into organising everything outside of my normal work, so when our stand was recognised, it genuinely brought tears to my eyes.

All the messages, organisation, planning, content and running around suddenly felt completely worth it.

And it wasn’t just an MMT achievement.

It was something we achieved alongside everyone who joined and supported us on the day.

Everyone was supportive, everyone got involved and – although we were all absolutely exhausted by the end – everyone left smiling.

That’s exactly what I wanted from it..

Getting to Capture the Whole Journey

Alongside organising the stand, I was of course doing my usual job of running around Cadwell with a camera!

Covering our race days has always been my favourite part of my job.

I genuinely feel at home doing it.

I love photographing the Golf, I love watching Clive absolutely smash it on track, and I love getting to capture all the little moments that people don’t necessarily see.

This year has been particularly special for me because it’s been my first full season with MMT.

Last year I joined towards the end, so I didn’t really get to experience the entire journey.

This time I’ve been there from day one.

I’ve watched the Golf Progress, I’ve watched the team deal with problems, I’ve watched everyone put ridiculous amounts of time into making things work and I’ve been lucky enough to document it along the way.

And as much as I love a good track photo, my favourite photos will probably always be the ones at the end.

The smiles.

The relief.

Everyone celebrating.

Clive holding another trophy.

That’s the stuff I love capturing the most.

A Small Team That Gets Things Done

One thing Jess mentioned after spending time around our paddock really stuck with me.

“I am surprised at how small the MMT Race Team is for the amount of work that goes into it all,” she said.

“However, with that being said, the team is so close-knit and works so well together that it just works and it’s amazing to watch.”

I think that’s a pretty accurate description of what happens behind the scenes.

There might only be a small number of people around the Golf, but everybody has their part to play.

Tee & Jamerz are keeping an eye on what’s happening mechanically and reacting to anything Clive reports from the circuit. Paul and Ben are there helping to make sure changes happen when they’re needed. Clive is giving the feedback from behind the wheel. While we have other members such as Lou and Tracey behind the scenes keeping the company running while we are out on the track.

And everyone has to trust each other to get the job done.

Ben saw exactly the same thing while helping with the Golf.

“It shows how strong the team is. They’ve stayed focused, adapted to problems and kept pushing all year.”

He’s already looking towards what’s next too.

“I really enjoy the development side and would love to be more involved next season. I’m already excited for next year and watching the team and car progress even further.”

We are too, Ben!

Our 2026 Clubman Champion 🏆

Then there’s our driver.

I’ll admit, I never really doubted Clive would do it.

He has a mindset that I’ve been lucky enough to watch throughout this season. He wants to win, obviously, but it’s never felt like he’s doing it purely for himself.

He wants it for everyone around him too.

That’s what makes these moments so good to capture.

And for Clive, becoming the 2026 Clubman Champion feels even sweeter because of where the Golf was only a year ago.

We Couldn’t Do It Without You

Something I really wanted to include in this article is a thank you.

Because although you see Clive and the Golf on track, there are so many people behind what we do.

Our team, our friends, our families, the people working on the car, the people creating things behind the scenes, the clubs joining us at events, the people standing at the barriers cheering, everyone following what we’re doing online.

And, of course, our sponsors.

A massive thank you to:

Direnza Performance

Pro Tint Specialists

AlienTech

Rock Awnings

TKP Wraps and more…

And a personal thank you to Dan Knight, who has helped us document the season through our articles using my photography and media throughout the year.

To Mapped & Modded, Jess, Kenzie and every club member who joined us at Cadwell – thank you for helping us turn the final round into something much bigger than just another race day.

As I have said before, our supporters are everything.

Without the brands backing us, the clubs we’ve worked with and the people who continue to show up for us, MMT wouldn’t be where it is today.

So…How Do You Top That?

Let’s recap Cadwell…

2026 Time Attack Clubman Champions. 🏆

1:35.058 lap record. 🕐

82.82mph average speed.

Best Variety of Cars Club Stand.

Around 12 incredible cars joining us on stand.

And one very happy – and very tired – MMT Team.

Clive probably summed the day up best:

“The atmosphere was great. Millie organised a car club to come with us and we won a club award, which is something new for us. We knew we’d won the championship, and then to top it off with a lap record… nothing could top it.”

Jess is already up for doing it all again too.

“The members love the collab because it’s something different, it’s something exciting and it’s something I’m able to give them with the help of MMT.”

“I would love the chance to do it all again next year but bigger and better.”

I think bigger and better is probably a good way of describing what we’re aiming for too.

I’ve already got some big ideas cooking for 2027.

Looking back at where our media, events and race team coverage started at the beginning of this year compared with where we’ve finished, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built.

But I’m even more excited about where we can take it next.

For now, though, I think we deserve to enjoy this one.

MMT Performance – Your 2026 Time Attack Clubman Champions.

What a team.

What a season.

Bring on 2027

Written by ShotbyMills