About Us

Manston Raceway Park opened in 2025, which was our first year at this venue.  The core team at MRP are a group of Drag Racers, who have been competing at the National level for around 30 years.  Led by Paul Marston and his family of Sam Marston and Max Marston.  With great lifetime friends Jay O’Dell, Paul Venners, Bill Felstead, Luke Felstead, Libert Vaulton and of course all the new crew who live locally and run Manston Raceway, which we have met since we opened the track and gelled into a great team.  The Drag Race Team Paul Marston Racing have over the years won National Titles with numerous Drivers, Dave Catton, Mick Howling, John Everitt, Martin Curbishley and of course Paul himself.  We have also won countless National Events.  We ran the Drag Race School at Santa Pod for a number of years and are proud to say that graduates of this now run in the very top classes of our great sport.

Starting at Santa Pod in 2013, we organized a series called UK Top Sportsman at the Mopar Euronationals, which ran for about 6 years, always had a 30+ car count, we attracted some awesome cars, good sponsors, with nice prize money available. We even got a TV deal with Men & Motors and Channel 5.

2017 saw us run the very first No Prep Event in the UK at North Weald, courtesy of Tony Huck who ran North Weald for 20+ years.  We ran a 16 car field and filled all the spots within 10 days in January!! The event was a great success and is the foundation that all No Prep events in this country are built on.

From here we moved onto Rockingham Motor Speedway in 2018 and ran two very successful No Prep events, both with good attendances from competitors and spectators.  These events build on the foundation of North Weald and really put No Prep on the map in the UK. Sadly it was short lived as Rockingham closed in the autumn of 2018.

From there in 2019 - 2024, we were Nomads, running small events at East Kirkby, Elvington, Sywell and Melbourne Raceway, we even ran for a couple of years at Lydden Hill.

Then in 2024, through filming with Owen Forrest, we got to hear about Manston Airport, and eventually we got offered the opportunity to build a drag strip at Manston. The rest, so they say is history.

To say this has been a community effort would be an understatement.  This takes a lot of people with passion for motorsport to build and make it happen.  It has also taken a lot of racers and supporters who know who they are and have donated materials, money and time to make Manston Raceway Park a place for everyone to enjoy their motorsport.  

The 2025 season was a steep learning curve, having to build and run a racetrack built from nothing.  We must also acknowledge the belief that the owners of Manston Airport have had in us, which has enabled us to build MRP and make it the success it has become.  Also the wisdom, support and guidance from people like Keith Bartlett the CEO at Santa Pod Raceway.  Along with many others, including Eurodragster.com and all the racers and spectators that have supported us and shared the journey.  We built this place for everyone to enjoy, and look forward very much to the 2026 season.

That said, Manston Raceway Park will never have a long lifespan, due to the impending massive redevelopment of Manston airfield as a whole. So whilst there is an opportunity to hold drag Racing there, we will carry on.  We are here for 2026 so make the most of it while it is there.