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Mickel Racing

Mickel Racing enjoy top 20 finish in 24hr

Saturday and Sunday 8th & 9th September saw Mickel Racing enter a KB Automotive run MG ZR into the second annual 24hr Britcar race at Silverstone. The driver line-up included the usual drivers Gary Smith and Stuart Plotnek, along with Gary’s wife Kelly Smith and Sarah Bennett-Baggs plus Anna Waleska another Britcar regular. The 24hr race which started at 5pm on Saturday was proceeded by a 1 hr of day qualifying and a 2hr night qualifying session giving each of the 5 drivers just 10 mins to do one out lap, one flying lap and one in lap before handing over the car to the next driver on the 3.7mile Grand prix circuit. Gary set the fastest time 2.12 to qualify the team in 35th position out of 52 runners.

Night qualifying wasn’t quite so easy, after 3 drivers the alternator decided it couldn’t cope with the power of the new light pod and packed up, causing Kelly & Sarah to qualify in the spare car with no light pod!

Come the race, a new uprated alternator had been sourced and fitted to help with the extra power draw. Gary started the race and quickly made up some places, but the problems were to start early as after an hour Gary reported the power steering failing, then the car stopped completely. The new alternator had sheered off, punctured the oil filter and taken the power steering belt with it, stopping the car dead.

The car was towed in and fixed and back out within about 40 minutes dropping us to about 45th position. Stuart was out next followed by Anna and we clawed back up to 37th position. Halfway through Anna’s stint she reported the manifold cracking up and the car running loud, the car was brought in to change a part on the exhuast to make it last longer. Again this dropped us positions but meant we could then run for the next 4 hours trouble free.

Kelly and Sarah did the night stints with no problems except a starter motor replacement. Then the car was handed back to Gary at 3.30am just as the fog came down, by which time we were up into 28th position but the fog got so bad the safety car was deployed for 3 1/2 hours during which time nobody can overtake. Gary stayed out for 3 hours behind the safety car, handing back to Stuart to carry on the safety car duty, jjust as dawn was coming up at 6.30am.

The team enjoyed trouble free motoring once again for the next few hours until about 1.30pm when Kelly reported a suspected flat tyre and as she came in, a stone had punctured the oil cooler causing oil to pour out onto the back tyres. A quick oil cooler change was done in the pit lane and driver change to Sarah by which time the team were back up into 21st position and a class win was in sight at 5th in class.  

With 4 hours to go it was an all out fight to try and get third in class, after an hour we were up flitting between third and fourth in class as various cars came in for driver changes and had we had a trouble free finish we could have made it, but about an hour from the end we were given a warning for noise as the manifold had split once again so the car had to be brought in and the manifold replaced causing us to lose valuable laps and places at this crucial time. The KB Automotive team did a fine job getting all the problems sorted out in record breaking time.

The MG-ZR of Stuart, Gary, Sarah, Kelly and Anna finished 19th overall and 5th in class. A cracking team effort.

This was the final round of the Britcar series this year. If you would like to sponsor the Maidenhead team for 2007 please enquire for an info pack on 0870 3500911.

pics Philip Lawton 

Double finish for MG-ZR duo at Donington

Saturday 5^th August saw Mickel Racing enter its two KB Automotive run MG ZR’s into the sixth round of the Britcar - Production S1 series at Donington Park in Derbyshire.  The 100 minute race on Saturday was proceeded by a 20 min qualifying session giving each driver just 10 mins to find a space and get that all important quick lap on the busy 30 car grid. The fabulous sweeping curves of Donington (best known for that fantastic first lap by Ayrton Senna in the European Grand Prix of 1993) are physically demanding on the driver and with the rising heat and humidity the race was not going to be easy on the car or the drivers!

Qualifying on Saturday morning went well for both ZR’s. Kelly & Sarah racing with their slightly lower powered reserve engine qualified 23^rd and 8^th in class while current class leaders Gary and Stuart qualified a brilliant 2^nd in class just 0.004 sec behind the Honda Civic of Ridley-Holloway and Mason.

Come the race, Stuart and Kelly started in their respective cars. Both fighting different battles to claw their way through the traffic, Kelly chasing the Ford Focus of Mark Clynes and Stuart chasing the Honda Civic of Holloway/Mason, unfortunately, although he could hold on to a solid third position, Stuart was just not able to compete on equal terms with the more powerful Civic and a new entry to Production S1, the Volvo S60 of Norchi and ex BTCC racer Piers Johnson and dropped back behind them. Unable to wait for a safety car period to help bring them back into contention any longer, Stuart eventually handed the car over the Gary with just under half of the race left to run.  However, shortly after the boys’ pit stop, a safety car incident did allow Kelly to pit and hand over to Sarah and possibly to gain some time on their rivals. Much to everyone’s disappointment and not for the first time this year, lady luck chose to desert the girls just at the wrong moment and instead of gaining a lap, Sarah found herself with too little time to get out of the pits in front of the Safety Car and was held at the pit lane exit as the train of cars filed past.

At the chequered flag, Gary crossed the line 14^th overall and (given the overwhelming superiority of the opposition) a very creditable 3^rd in class behind the Civic and the Volvo. Kelly and Sarah, finished 8^th in class and 19^th overall.  Donington was the final round of the Britcar Production S1 series.  Gary and Stuart have finished every race on the podium this year, recording four wins, two second place finishes and two third place finishes in the process. The Boys are clear winners of Class 3 and also the unofficial winners of the overall Production Saloon championship of 2006, a fantastic achievement at the first attempt!

The season finale and the blue riband race for Britcar and the Production Saloons is the Britcar Willhire 24hr Race to be held on the Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone on 9^th/10^th September. As they did last year, Kelly, Sarah, Gary and Stuart will be contesting the race but this year they will be competing in the Boys’ class winning car backed up with a hefty spares package from the Girls’ car. Hopes are high for a very good result.

The team still require some sponsorship for the Sky Televised race in early September if you are interested in sponsoring the crew please call Kelly Smith on 07787 567463.

Double trouble for girls at Brands Hatch

Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th June saw Mickel Racing enter its two KB Automotive run MG ZR's into the fourth & fifth rounds of the Britcar - Production S1 series at Brands Hatch. The duration of the races was 1 hour on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday. With glorious sunshine on both days, soaring temperatures in the car combined with a packed 38 car grid on the full Grand Prix circuit meant it was going to be a hot, action-packed weekend!

Qualifying on Saturday morning went well for both ZR’s. Out of the 17 cars in their class Stuart and Gary qualified a brilliant 2nd with Kelly Smith and Sarah Bennett-Baggs 4th. Come the race, Gary and Kelly started in their respective cars. Kelly made an exceptionally good start gaining 4 places by the first corner, leading her new husband Gary.

For the first 4 laps the duo were side by side fighting for position. Kelly finally relented and let Gary pass and the pair drove their own races. Kelly, busily making her way up the grid, was up into 15th position overall when she missed her braking point at Druids and locked up, skidding into the gravel (left). The safety car period which followed allowed Stuart and Gary to pit under safety car conditions, but the laps continued to be lost for the girls as Kelly came back to the pits for the team to check over the car. Despite gravel rash, some steering judder and no power steering, it was thought better to try and make up some laps for grid positions for the following race rather than retire completely so Sarah finished the race in the stricken ZR. Meanwhile Stuart went on to finish 7th overall and 2nd in class behind the class leading Honda Civic of Ridley-Holloway and Mason. Kelly and Sarah, despite not making enough laps to classify, maintained a grid position of 25th for Sunday’s race.

On Sunday the action continued with both Gary and Kelly starting in their respective cars once again for the 2 hr race. Gary got a good start and strode away, leaving some of the faster classes struggling to get by. Kelly, starting from 25th on the grid, had another great start, making up 4 positions on the grid by the 2nd corner. For the first 30 minutes Kelly drove an awesome race, reeling in the cars in front, picking them off one by one until she was up into 3rd in class and a position of 10th overall. Then the back luck struck the girls’ car again with major engine failure which put them out of the race.

Meanwhile, Gary and Stuart continued to climb the field. Making a clean driver change under a safety car period, Stuart had to drive for an hour and 10 minutes in searing temperatures. Not able to catch up the lost lap which the class leaders had gained at their pit stop change, Gary and Stuart had to settle for another 2nd in class to the Ridley Holloway Mason duo and a position of 8th overall.

Next round is Donington Park, August 5th.

Double podium finish for MGZR duo in 4 hr night race at Spectacular Spa!

Saturday 3rd June saw Mickel Racing enter its two, KB Automotive run, MG ZR's in the fourth round of the

 Britcar / Production S1 series at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium.  The format of the race was a combined Britcar and Production S1 four hour race on Saturday starting at 6pm ending in twilight at 10pm. A first time visit to race on the finest

Grand Prix Circuit in the World for Kelly-Anne, Sarah and Stuart meant that testing in the wet on Thursday turned into a baptism of fire on the very technical 4.2 mile track! Qualifying on Saturday morning went well for both ZRs despite being the least powerful cars on the 26 strong grid, the majority of which comprised Porsches, Ferraris and BMWs. Stuart and Gary qualified a credible 22nd, 1st in class and Kelly and Sarah 24th overall and 2nd in class in front of the Mini Cooper of Paul Harvey and Alan Maynard. Come the race, Stuart and Kelly started their respective cars and for the first 4 laps the

duo were fighting for position. Unfortunately, shortly after the start Kelly had to pit due to overheating rear tyres which dropped her to the back of the field and allowed Stuart to pull away. After about an hour, Kelly started to experience some fuel starvation problems and with the driver change due imminently, she was called in, the car was re-fuelled, fitted

with new tyres and Sarah took over the driving duties.

Meanwhile Gary and Stuart were steadily climbing up the leader board simply by putting in good consistent laps without making unnecessary stops. Stuart handed over to Gary after 1hr 15mins of the race and Gary went on to drive for 1hr 40mins before handing back to Stuart to do the twilight hour at the end.

The Girls' car was scheduled on a similar stop strategy but the fuel pick-up problem returned later in the race severely compromising their challenge and towards the end it went completely forcing Sarah to limp back to the pits at 20mph. With no time to look for the fuel blockage, it was hoped that by completely filling the fuel tank the car would complete the final hour. Unfortunately, the problem returned shortly after Kelly rejoined the race and she was forced to return to the pits where Kevin and his team set about trying to locate the fuel problem. In an effort to resolve the problem, Kelly took the car in and

out of the pits during the final 45 minutes until finally she made it back out just 5 mins before the end with the fuel problem resolved.

Despite all the problems and unscheduled stops the girls still finished a credible 16th overall and 3rd in class and the boys who drove a faultless race worked their way through the field to finish 8th overall and 1st in class.

Final result - Britcar - Spa Francorchamps 4 June

Gary Smith & Stuart Plotnek - 1st in Class, 8th overall.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs & Kelly Smith - 3rd in Class, 16th overall.

Next round is Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit June 17th and 18th.

Saturday & Sunday 13/14th May saw Mickel Racing enter its two MG ZR's run by KB Automotive in the third round of the Britcar Production S1 series at Snetterton in Norfolk.

The weekend comprised a one hour race on Saturday and a three hour race on Sunday afternoon but problems started for Kelly-Anne Smith and Sarah Bennett-Baggs in Friday's testing when their race engine blew up. Luckily, the KB Automotive team headed up by Kevin Bull were able to replace the damaged race engine with a new engine overnight. However, with the spare engine being not quite as powerful as the original, Kelly-Anne and Sarah were going to have to work even harder for their results. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when on Saturday morning the girls' car qualified 4th in class and 12th overall and the car driven by Kelly's husband Gary and Stuart Plotnek qualified 1st in Class and in 7th position overall out of a 28 car grid.

Gary and Sarah started their respective cars in the one hour race on Saturday afternoon. Both made good starts and were able to pull away from the remainder of the field with the front runners. With just 6 laps gone the heavens opened and an early stop for wet tyres allowed the girls to get back out on the track before most of the other teams had time to react. Sarah was able to take full advantage of the situation and overtake several cars still on slick tyres that were  struggling to stay on the track in the treacherous conditions.

A long safety car period soon followed which allowed the team to change both drivers without losing any time on their nearest rivals and an uneventful run to the flag saw Gary and Stuart take 1st in Class and 5th overall and Kelly and Sarah finish 3rd in class and 10th overall.

In much better conditions Kelly and Gary started Sunday's race. Within  five laps Gary had driven up into 3rd position overall when the power steering on the car failed. This meant both he and Stuart would have to drive for the remainder of the three hours without power steering - a very tall order in a front wheel drive car. The strategy provided for each starting driver to do 45 minutes stints at the start and the end of the race and for the second driver to do a longer middle stint. However, when several safety car incidents arrived within the pit stop window, both of the mandatory driver changes were made on both cars within a 40 minutes period which allowed both Gary and Kelly to get back in the cars  and sprint to the flag. Despite this the boys drove extremely well to record their third win of the season and a finish of 5th overall, whilst the girls drove an underpowered car to a superb 4th in class and 10th overall.

Final result - Production S1:

Gary Smith & Stuart Plotnek - 1st in Class, on Sat and Sun.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs & Kelly Smith - 3rd in Class Sat, 4th in class Sun.

Next round is the awesome Spa Francorchamps in Belgium for a 4hr night  race. June 2nd.

Britcar - Production S1 - MG-ZR’s finish 1st and 2nd in class at Oulton Park

Saturday 9th April saw Mickel Racing enter its two car KB Automotive run team of MGZRs in the second round of the Britcar Production S1 series on the International Circuit at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Out of 22 cars, car 80 driven by Kelly-Anne Smith and Sarah Bennett-Baggs qualified 3rd in class whilst car 81 driven by Kelly’s husband Gary and Stuart Plotnek qualified 1st in Class and in 7th position overall.

In appallingly wet conditions, Kelly and Stuart started their respective cars. Kelly was able to make up several places over the course of the first few laps, which meant that the Mickel cars ran 1st and 3rd in class almost from the start of the race, sandwiching the Silverstone Class winners Ridley-Holloway and Mason in their Honda Civic. On the 4th lap Kelly suffered a spin although she was able to rejoin albeit having lost a considerable amount of time.

Some 45 minutes later, having chased hard and showed considerable aggression to fight her way through the pack and with the demise of the Ridley-Holloway/Mason car, Kelly found herself back at the sharp end, 2nd in class behind the boys.

With overheating wet tyres on a track that was now drying fast, several cars were beginning to suffer handling difficulties. Although many cars made early pit stops for slick tyres, the Mickel cars were instructed to stay out by KB Automotive team manager Kevin Bull, which allowed both Kelly and Stuart to move forward towards the overall front of the field as more cars pitted. The strategy paid off and a safety car period about halfway through the race allowed both cars to pit for driver changes and slick tyres without either car losing any of the positions they had gained.

Although conditions were still far from ideal for slick tyres, both Sarah and Gary continued the excellent ground work put in by Stuart and Kelly despite having to endure several more safety car incidents and the girl’s car developing a gearbox differential problem with 30 minutes of the race remaining.

Gary bought the boys car home 1st in Class and 3rd overall with Sarah finishing right behind him a superb 2nd in Class.

Final result - Production S1:

Gary Smith & Stuart Plotnek - 1st in Class, 3rd overall

Sarah Bennett-Baggs & Kelly Smith - 2nd in Class, 7th overall

TRACKSS

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2006 Sponsors

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Support Information

The drivers:

The Girls: 30 year old Kelly Mercer, (Treesmill Drive, Maidenhead) has 6 seasons racing under her belt. Kelly recently picked up the BARC Densley Trophy for Best Female Driver for her outstanding  performance during 2004, winning her class championship in her MG Midget, has teamed up with  Sarah Bennett-Baggs from Silverstone Mews, Maidenhead who has two seasons racing under her belt  having launched her racing career in the Novice series Formula Women, featured on ITV during 2004.

The Boys: boys; Gary Smith and Stuart Plotnek, Gary lives in Maidenhead & works as a partner at SUMMIT MG Motors. 2005 Gary won the MG Owner’s Club Championship in his MGF outright,  winning 8 out of 9 races, he also has 5 year’s racing experience. The only person to beat Gary during 2005 was Stuart Plotnek. A maritime lawyer at Ince & Co in London by day, Stuart also has 5 year’s racing experience under his belt and during 2005 finished a close 2nd to Gary in the MG Owner’s Club Championship in his MGF racecar.

The Team:

KB Automotive headed up by Team Manager Kevin Bull and his team have extensive experience in running MGs including the championship winning cars in the MG Owners Club series in 2004 and 2005. With a long running partnership with the Mercer family, their combination of experience and understanding of the marque combined with good team work and strategy undoubtedly contributed to last year’s excellent results.

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