The professional race team
specialising in Prototype and Single Seater racing
Despite being a relatively new team, the expertise behind Idola Motorsport has been growing since 2014 under the name VR Motorsport. Vincent Randall formed VR Motorsport initially to run cars in the 750MC Road-going bike engined championship, and in 2015 became the first UK team to purchase an Praga R1T. VR Motorsport raced this in the Dutch GT & Prototype Cup in 2016 and 2017, winning the class championship on only their 2nd attempt. Due to differing motorsport regulations, the Praga was not eligible to race in the UK, so VR Motorsport developed a solution, working with the Motorsport UK governing body to homologate a ROPS to confirm to all relevant UK safety standards. VR Motorsport went on to compete their Praga in the 2018 Britcar championship, claiming the outright win in the first race of the season.
In 2019 a 2nd car was added to the fleet, this time the normally aspirated R1which allowed VR to race across 2 separate classes. In 2020 the Britcar campaign continued and the result was to win the Britcar Championship outright with Danny Harrison and Jem Hepworth driving, making them the youngest ever winners of the Britcar crown.
VR Motorsport brought their links with the Praga factory even closer in 2021, developing a standalone Praga class running within Britcar, and running 5 Factory Praga cars with a selection of guest and celebrity drivers.
In 2022 VR Motorsport founder Vincent Randall founded Praga Racing UK - the in-country sales arm of Praga Global.
Idola Motorsport
Idola Motorsport was formed in 2022 by John Whatley and Al Boulton using the expertise, experience, personnel and equipment built up by VR over their time with the team.
Praga Racing UK and Praga Global in association with the British Endurance Championship have now created a one make championship for the Praga R1T called the Praga Cup UK. In their inaugural year Idola Motorsport ran five Praga race cars in this championship which included Praga Factory cars on behalf of the manufacturer.
In 2023 the Pragas moved to the Zeo Prototype cup where Idola competed two of their own cars, securing 2nd and 3rd in the overall series. In addtion they made a return to the Dutch GT & Prototype Championship scoring podiums at Spa and Assen.
For 2024 Idola have expanded into the world of single seater racing with the purchase of a Tatuus GB4 car. This expansion grows Idola’s value proposition for their customer base, offering a choice of prototype or single seater racing.
Al Boulton
Director & Team Manager
“Idola Motorsport is the culmination of many years hard but rewarding work with VR Motorsport and Praga Global. It is a new chapter for us, building on a wealth of invaluable knowledge and experience. This positions us perfectly for success.”
John Whatley
Technical Director & Crew Chief
“Really looking forward to the 2022 racing season, we have some great mechanics, drivers and cars. Let’s have it.”