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The final round of the VdeV Championship will be held at Estoril, Portugal on 24-25^th November. Rob Croydon and Juno will enter the event as Championship leaders, with the final Chapter of VdeV 2007 to be written.

Juno Racing is based at Lancashire Enterprise Business Park, Leyland, Lancashire. Founded in 1999 by former Williams F1 design engineer, Ewan Baldry, Juno Racing designs and manufactures high technology, high performance racing cars with a winning pedigree.

Juno Racing Take Resounding Victory At Magny Cours 

Juno Racing Increase Their Lead In The VdeV Championship After Victory in the 12Hours of Magny Cours

It was a resounding victory for Juno Racing at Magny Cours this weekend, with Rob & Adrian taking a hard fought win in the 12Hour, 4000km of Magny Cours. Starting from 6th on the 60 strong grid, it took Rob and Adrian just over an hour and a half to race into the lead, a position they did not relinquish, bar during the pit stop shimmies, for the remaining ten and a half hours. A couple of unscheduled pitstops were required after a couple of punctures but thanks to the organisational skills of Race Manager, Ian Hardy the Juno garage ran with enviable smoothness.  

Sam Allpass, Ryan Hooker and James Swift were also in fine form, lifting their Juno from 20th on the grid to 3rd for much of the race.  The burden on the brake pads was evident and after a brake pad change the trio ably battled back up to a 5th place finish. 

The sibling pairing of Nicola and Richard Bernans put in a storming performance, as they further proved how much they have developed as drivers in this their debut VdeV year, to eventually finish in 12th position having raced as high as 6th before slight radiator damage.  They had been due to be joined by Nick Padmore who was sadly unable to attend after requiring an operation on his hand last week.  The young duo were particularly impressive in their adapting to night racing. It cannot be denied that racing to a chequered flag past midnight gives this event a very special and thrilling air. 

As darkness closed in, it was only to be punctuated by track lights, headlights and some very hot brake pads! Richard and Nicola had extra lamps fitted which certainly gave their Juno that ‘Mad Max’ feel! 

After 12Hours of gruelling racing Rob and Adrian took the win by a margin more akin to a sprint race, just 9seconds from Championship rivals Rob Garofall and Simon Phillips, although 3rd place was a full 10 laps behind. Such an exhilarating race was testament to the VdeV series and one in which Juno can take great pride and encouragement. 

“We are all over the moon” said Juno Team Director Ewan Baldry afterwards. “The cars held up beautifully and it was a race all the way.  Our rivals had a very aggressive strategy and we had to ensure our game was raised to its highest level. The whole team worked extremely hard and the credit for that must be given to our race manager Ian Hardy whose preparation and organisation for the race was faultless.” 

Ian Hardy was equally proud of the team and the performance of the cars. “The cars have been superb all weekend and can just keep going, it’s the humans that need the rest now!” 

Adrian Mardlin was quick to echo the praise for the car’s endurance and handling. “The car was awesome throughout the race, and much better than it had been at any of our previous trips to Magny Cours. This is something we can attribute to our new aero developments on the rear of the car, along with our ever increasing knowledge of how to get the best out of it” said Adrian. “Thanks must be given to Performance Friction for their excellent new brake pads that lasted the whole 12 hours without a single problem, and the excellent consistency of the Avon tyres - we did the whole race on just 2 sets.” 

Juno Racing - One Weekend, Three Countries, Two Wins & a Podium! 

Juno Racing In Action In The VdeV, Portuguese Hillclimb and Irish Sports Libre Championships 

Juno Racing had a trio of action hotspots this weekend with their cars performing in the VdeV, Portuguese Hillclimb and Irish Sport Libre Championships, with good news from all to report! 

In  France, three Junos were competing in the latest VdeV round in the 3Hours of Ledenon.  VdeV Championship leader and Juno racer, Rob Croydon driving alongside regular partner Adrian Mardlin was keen to further cement his title challenge and the pair did not disappoint with a third place podium finish after a dramatic race.  Strating from 18th on the tricky circuit which both drivers agree isn’t their favourite, they truly bit the bullet and put driving skill and strategy to enviable use to raise them to the podium. 

Elsewhere on the VdeV grid the day was not as kind to the other two Juno cars.  The Bernans car was in fine form with Nicola Bernans taking the car to two top ten finishes in the Sprint Proto races before handing back to brother Richard who would race the 3Hour event alongside David Zollinger.  Sadly just a quarter of the way into the race David was forced off the track and into the barrier, causing heavy damage bringing their race to a premature end.  In the third Juno, Duncan Williams and Tony Freeman had their assault tempered by an upright, which after 150hours gruelling track time, split.  Despite being replaced in an amazing 9minutes it was enough to put them down the order and out of front running contention which has been their home previously.

The next VdeV race takes place at the end of October with the 4000km of Magny Cours. 

Whilst the action was thick and fast in France, in Portugal the racing was literally an uphill struggle!  Having been beaten by his Juno racing friend Paulo Ramalho in the last round of the Portuguese Hillclimb Championship, Pedro Salvador switched to the Comval Racing Juno SSE-CN for the latest round, not that the car is a stranger to him having raced it on more traditional flat tracks! Pedro dominated the weekend with a win and in doing so sealed the Portuguese Hillclimb Championship with two rounds left to go! Paulo joined Pedro on the podium taking a third place overall for the weekend and remains second in the Championship.  

And in Ireland the Juno podium run continued as the Juno SS3-V6 made it’s first Sports Libre outing with Wayne Douglas behind the wheel.  In a commanding display, Wayne took the win at Kirkistown by over a half a lap. 

So with plenty of champagne corks popping, Juno Racing raise a toast of congratulations and thanks to all their drivers, team members, associates and supporters after a memorable weekend!  

Juno Racing Help Curtis To CE Class Championship 

Juno Racing Enjoy Fruitful Races In Both Britsports and Sports 2000 at Silverstone. 

Represented in both the CN and CE classes of Britsports, the Junos first race was an all Britsports affair whilst race two saw the Production S1 cars added into the mix.

For the first race on Friday, Will Curtis (CE Class) took the honours as top Juno qualifier with 4th on the grid, with Ian Bankhurst & Nick Padmore just behind him in 5th, the leading CN car of the day. Keeping up the Juno train Adrian Mardlin (CN) Joe Tuckey were in 6th whilst Chris Clifton, a Sports 2000 regular, paired up with Oli Stirling (CN) for some Britsports action starting in 15th.

Will suffered bad luck when a puncture two thirds of the way into race damaged a driveshaft, and though he valiantly saw the chequered flag the 80% rules means a dnf for the history books. Nick and Ian, who set the fastest CN lap of the race, also suffered misfortune when an engine loom problem meant a retirement tantalising close to the end. But Juno honour was ably upheld by Adrian and Joe who took the CN Class win, and 3rd overall. The class win was particularly satisfying for the duo as they led the next CN car by 26 seconds. Chris and Oli also made good ground, coming home 4th CN car.

Saturday's race only saw one line up change with Colin Peach joining Oli Stirling with Chris preparing for the Sports 2000 race. Ready to put the day before's bad luck behind him Will put in a solid race to finish 7th, clinching the CE Championship in the process and just 1 point off the allcomers title. Against was to be a Juno taking the CN win this time with Ian and Nick taking the honours, and adding a further fastest CN race lap toboot. Adrian and Joe followed their Juno stablemates home to make it a Juno CN 1-2. Colin and Oli came in a respectable 12th.

Team Director Ewan Baldry, was more than pleased with their Britsports performance. "Very pleased to see Will take the CE Championship and a competitive whisker from the overall title" he commented. "Taking both CN wins and both fastest CN laps speaks volumes. Seeing the Juno make its pace at Silverstone is very satisfying."  

Sports 2000

With plenty of success in the Britsports, attentions were turned to the Sports 2000, which sees Robert Oldershaw's Juno at the business end of the Championship table. Robert was keeping that pace going with a superb qualifying position of 3rd for a race which boasted a superb grid of 44 cars. Chris, fresh from his Britsports adventure, qualified mid pack and would finish 19th.

The anticipation of an exciting race was well placed with Robert and Harry Chapman having a ding dong battle at the front of the field. Robert brought the car home for a well deserved podium in 3rd place.  

"Robert is very happy with the car" said Ewan afterwards, "and to see him comfortably be at the front of the field is a really good feeling for us. We came in to Sports 2000 this year totally new to the series and were eager to put the best car we could under Robert and we have worked hard to deliver that promise. There are further updates to make but we feel we are on top of it now and look forward to Juno continuing to be part of this friendly and exciting series."

Juno Star At Spa As They Lead The VdeV Championship 

Juno Racing Increase Their Lead In The VdeV Championship After Further Success At Spa

Juno Racing helped lead a dominant British assault on the VdeV Championship as it visited Spa for the 500mile race this weekend. Coming to the race with driver Rob Croydon in the lead of the Championship the Lancashire team was keen to bolster his position at the head of the pack and display Juno’s endurance skills in the six hour event. 

Rob Croydon was joined by Adrian Mardlin, who was putting illness on hold for his two hour stint!  Rob started the race and as so ably demonstrated throughout the season, was immediately scything through the pack which would eventually see the pairing finish in 2^nd place. 

Elsewhere on the track youngster Richard Bernans was joined by Frenchman David Zollinger, their lightening fast qualifying has seen them start the race in 4^th position.  As the first hour mark approached an unscheduled fuel stop and queue at the refuelling station saw David lose five minutes and rejoin the race in the twenties. However a sterling effort by both drivers saw them finish in 7^th position. 

The pairing of Sam Allpass and Chris Lake had their attack hampered by a split jubilee clip on the radiator hose though they were able to make it back to the pit for repairs.  Despite losing a great deal of time they were back on track and stoically brought the car home in 38^th place, in a race that boasted an amazing starting grid of 79 cars! 

The fourth Juno was that of Tony Freeman and Duncan Williams, beautifully prepared by Martin Pluck at YIL Engineering.  Tony and Duncan led the majority of the race in a dominant display only losing the lead in the final 15 minutes to Greg Caton and Rowland Kinch in a tooth and nail battle.  Crossing the line in 2^nd position, celebrations were dashed when they were handed a two minute penalty on the grounds Tony had driven longer than the maximum of two hours and ten minutes in any one stint.  Whilst Tony noted he was unable to enter the pitlane at the end of his stint due it being temporarily closed by the stewards, the penalty was upheld and dropped them to 5th place, with Rob Croydon and Adrian Mardlin promoted from 3^rd to 2^nd.

Whilst Rob and Adrian celebrated, the finish further cements Rob’s lead at the head of the table with Adrian now in 2^nd, they both sportingly tipped their hats to Tony and Duncan declaring them the top Juno story of the day. 

In an arduous race, once again all four Junos made the finish line and thrived at the head of the field, a feat of further pride for Team Director Ewan Baldry, who’s 1 year old son was attending his first race at this event! 

“We know the cars have excellent pace and recent aerodynamic developments are consistently improving the performance of the car” noted Ewan Baldry after the event, “but the reliability of the car is particularly satisfying and continues to give us pride and encouragement in Juno’s long term goals in endurance events.’ 

Indeed, Richard Bernans and David Zollinger’s car put in many more miles in the Ardennes Forest with Richard’s sister Nicola entering the car into the Sprint Proto event.  Another competitive and well subscribed event, Nicola was again on form having been on the podium at the previous event, this time taking 8^th place.  Indeed her constant performances were rewarded with a special presentation by the VdeV organisers as Spa. 

However, the most succinct review came from Juno Racing Manager Ian Hardy. “That was a mega weekend” he said.  We can’t argue with that!

Juno Racing Romp To Victory In Dijon VdeV 3 Hours 

Juno Racing Have Their Most Successful VdeV Weekend to Date and An Impressive Portuguese Track Debut

The winning Juno of Croydon and Mardlin in action at Dijon 

Juno Racing raced to their second win of the VdeV season at the latest round, the 3Hours of Dijon. Taking the win now places Rob Croydon and Adrian Mardlin at the head of the VdeV Championship table.  There was further cause for celebration with the Juno’s of Richard Bernans & David Zollinger and Sam Allpass & Sarah Reader finishing in 6^th and 10^th respectively. 

Hopes were high for a good result from the onset with strong showings in qualifying. Particularly impressive was David Zollinger, a former French Formula Ford Champion, who put the #51 Juno onto the front row of the grid in 2^nd position, confirming the cars single lap pace is as exciting as its race endurance. 

In the race Rob Croydon & Adrian Mardlin matched pace with a series of excellent calls with fuel stops to see them take the win, their second of the season, now placing them at the head of the Championship.   

Richard Bernans & David Zollinger proved a pacey duo, with youngster Bernans continuing to impress with his quick development in this his debut VdeV year. 

Sadly, Tony Freeman and Duncan Williams saw their campaign thwarted by an alternator failure early in the race saw them rejoin down the field and racing to a finish but not reflecting their marvellous pace in qualifying. 

Sam Allpass was setting some blistering lap times and was joined for the event by Caterham specialist Sarah Reader for the first time.  The pair scythed through the field to 10th ensuring a 100% finish for Juno and with three neatly in the top ten. 

Dijon celebrations did not stop with the Challenge Proto.  Richard’s usual race partner, sister Nicola entered the Bernans’ Juno into the Sprint Proto double header scoring her first podium in the Sprint Challenge taking a hard fought 3^rd place in the first race and a 9^th in race two. Nicola is now concentrating exclusively on the Sprint races.  

Further afield Team Director Ewan Baldry was on hand in Porto for the Portuguese Open where Pedro Salvador was driving a Juno in its Portuguese track debut. Supporting the WTCC and with a mammoth crowd of onlookers, the street circuit was challenging on every level though this did not seem to faze Pedro who comfortably put the car on pole.  In a delayed race, Pedro was leading impressively despite the interruption of safety car periods which also fell to the advantage of the two driver entrants for their pit window and sadly not for that of the single drivers such as Pedro.  After his mandatory stop Pedro was back on track in 7^th only requiring one lap to work his way back into the lead only to be faced with a red flag and the race prematurely stopped.  Whilst first on the road at the time of the red flag the race was declared two laps previous which saw Pedro registered 7th!  Whilst the result sheet may not reflect it, it was another strong Juno performance in Europe and an excellent chance to showcase the car to the Iberian market. 

“Well you could say I’m on top of the world” said  Ewan Baldry afterwards. “Taking part in Portugal was very interesting and was a great opportunity to show a different market our car.  Street racing brings with it its own set of problems but we shall be returning for a further street race later in the year so we are obviously gluttons for punishment!  Pedro did an excellent job. 

“The result from Dijon was simply superb.  Another race victory for Rob & Adrian is well deserved, and it is exciting to see ourselves atop the Championship table. All three cars finishing in the top ten is a big credit to all the team and drivers.  This weekend it was also a pleasure to welcome David Zollinger to drive with us. Despite this being only his second time in the car his qualifying lap was nothing short of spectacular and certainly emphasised the ability of the Juno over a single lap. 

It was wonderful to see Nicola gain her first podium in the Sprint Proto.  All in all just a great weekend for us!”

Juno Racing Win The Inaugural VdeV-UK 

Juno Racing put on a winning display for the first VdeV-UK race at Brands Hatch

Rob Croydon & Adrian Mardlin atop the podium, in 3rd Duncan Williams and Tony Freeman 

Juno Racing were represented by four cars as the VdeV-UK series held their first race in the United Kingdom at Brands Hatch. The race was won by Juno stalwarts Rob Croydon and Adrian Mardlin, a victory echoing their win at Jarama earlier in the season at the opening round of the hugely successful French VdeV Championship. 

In changeable conditions Rob and Adrian put in a strong battle in the Juno SSE-CN to eventually take a comfortable win in the one and a half hour race.  They were joined on the podium by Tony Freeman and Duncan Williams in the YIL Engineering run Juno. 

Will Curtis and David Mountain sported the Portuguese Comval Racing Team Juno, and despite little time to perfect a set up suited to them and the track, the car again ran immaculately with them taking 6^th position. They were followed home in 7^th by Sam Allpass who was partnered by Ollie Sterling, having his first taste of the Juno SSE-CN, making a very impressive debut. 

The weekend proved a huge success for Juno Racing Team under the race management of Ian Hardy for the event, with all four cars finishing in the top 7 crowned with a win. However, whilst enjoying the plaudits for the win the team extends their congratulations to Series Co-ordinator Gary Ward on this exceptionally well run and also friendly event which is forerunning plans of a full VdeV-UK Championship in 2008. 

Juno return to the French VdeV stage in a fortnights time when the series visits Dijon.

Juno Racing Quartet @ Magny Cours 

Juno Racing See All Four Home in the Latest VdeV Round

In a field of 52 cars, Juno had four cars on the grid for the first time, as the third round of the VdeV Championship took place at Magny Cours on Sunday. In atrocious conditions the Junos displayed enviable reliability and handling all coming home for well deserved finishes. 

Top Juno performance came from the pairing of Rob Croydon and 19 year old South African, Leslie Reynolds (pictured right).  With the three hour race dominated by heavy rain showers, Leslie showed remarkable talent having only ever driven the car in light rain for 15 minutes previously!  Starting the race, Leslie leapt from 13^th on the grid to 2^nd place, the start of an impressive stint by the youngster.  

“The handling of the car was superb,” he said, after handing over to Rob for the second stint, “Despite the amount of water, particularly getting out of Adelaide, and oil on the track, the car was balanced and stable throughout. I loved it.” 

The team’s change over strategy ill served Rob as he took over from Leslie, seeing him rejoin in 8^th place but as ever he picked up the challenge and finished in 5^th place, picking up valuable Championship points. 

The sibling partnership of Nicola and Richard Bernans in their  #51 Juno were victims of bad luck as they found themselves starting from the rear of the grid after Richard had to take a trip off the circuit to avoid a spinning car on the parade lap, having qualified as a strong mid fielder in 23rd. The pair put in a battling performance to carve their way up to 28^th by the chequered flag. 

It was a welcome return to the track for Sam Allpass in his #28 Juno for his first race of the season, partnered by Chris Lake, a proven quick pairing from their outings in 2006.  They put in a solid drive making up fourteen places to finish 14^th. 

It was also a welcome return for Duncan Williams, who is recovering from a pre-season broken ankle and is still walking with the aide of a crutch! Not that this slowed him down as he partnered Tony Freeman in the stunning #30 flame red Juno which stood out in the very gloomy conditions. They raced to an impressive 12^th place finish. 

 “I am so pleased, firstly to have four cars in the race early in the season and to see them finish so well”, said team boss Ewan Baldry immediately after the race. “All the drivers have enjoyed their racing in these conditions. We will be, however, reviewing our driver change-over strategy. In hindsight, a different strategy may have resulted in a higher placing for Rob and Leslie.”  

Juno of Tony Freeman and Duncan Williams 

Juno Romp Home For Maiden VdeV Win 

Mardlin/Croydon Take Win at VdeV Opener in Jarama

It was a stunning start for Juno in the 2007 VdeV opener at Jarama, Spain as Adrian Mardlin and Rob Croydon took an impressive maiden win in the series. 

A solid performance saw the Mardlin/Croydon pairing scythe through from 15^th on the packed grid to lead the race by midway with enviable consistent lap times at a pace maintained throughout the event. 

“This was our first experience of VdeV with Juno Racing providing the team support as well as the race car, and to say it went smoothly would be an understatement. The team did everything we could ask of them, and all cars performed flawlessly throughout” commented Adrian afterwards. “Rob had what looked like an easy job, being handed a 30 second lead, but it's never easy to lead from the front, especially for over an hour. He did exactly what was asked of him though, and kept the car out of trouble and drove at a pace to keep us in front without taking any unnecessary risks.” 

As well as Juno’s first VdeV victory there was further cause for celebration with the successful debut of brother and sister pairing Nicola and Richard Bernans in the series. The sibling partnership brought their Juno home in a superb 8^th position in their first race in their new car and at a circuit they had not previously driven!  

“Nicola and Richard were quite the revelation this weekend” said Team Director, Ewan Baldry “In a new car in their first endurance race at a new circuit, they were soon up to race pace, improving all the time and coupled with the reliability of the car it ensured they made this wonderful start to their season.” 

The third Juno was driven by Ryan Hooker and Ross Curnow, the pairing proving a fast duo over practice and qualifying the #28 car in 12^th position. Ross started the race and was making good progress when sadly a race incident saw a premature end to his campaign 20 minutes into the 3 Hour race.  

“This is the first time Juno has run cars in this championship, we supported others last year,” said Ewan. “We have demonstrated that we have a car that can beat the Normas and Ligiers in this excellent championship. This is a really solid performance for us to base the rest of the season on.”  

The next VdeV race will be held at Val de Vienne in France on 6^th May.

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