The BAC Mono Is Finally Going Racing

Launched in 2011, the BAC Mono has long been one of the closest approximations of driving an open-wheel racer on the road. With a single central seat, sequential paddleshift gearbox and a racing-spec driver safety cell, as well as some properly alarming performance figures and cornering capabilities, you’d be hard pressed not to feel like you were behind the wheel of a proper wings-and-slicks racer as you popped down to the shops.

Despite all this, though, the Mono has never actually been racing. That will change later this year, as BAC has announced the formation of the Mono Cup, a one-make winter series based in the Middle East that will kick off in late 2024.

Announced in the lead up to this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the series – overseen by the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation – will be based at the Jeddah Corniche circuit that’s hosted the F1 race since 2021. Taking place over a six month period over the winter of 2024 and 2025, it’ll also visit the Bahrain and Qatar F1 circuits, and venues in the UAE, which include Yas Marina and Dubai Autodrome.

Even though a pack of ‘standard’ Mono Rs would surely make for a great racing spectacle, the series will run with a specifically-designed car, “extensively re-engineered” for racing. Entry will require an International C race licence, the same grade that grants entry to series such as the British Touring Car Championship and regional Formula 3 championships.

The Mono Cup will operate on an ‘arrive-and-drive’ basis, meaning things like car preparation and logistics will be handled by BAC. The series also promises “world-class support and hospitality services,” all of which probably means prospective drivers will need some serious funds behind them to get a seat.

Neill Briggs, BAC’s co-founder, said: "Mono Cup embodies BAC's unrelenting dedication to high-performance driving; we are supremely proud that we can now take our values, passion and expertise honed within the automotive arena and apply that to motorsports. Like our road-legal supercars, the Mono Cup car will deliver a driving experience unlike anything else across the world.”

So far, there’s only confirmation of a Middle Eastern-based series, so time to start making some noise about getting one in Europe, too: surely we all want to see a full grid of race-prepped Monos buzzing through Eau Rouge or diving into Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch.