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News Archive  April 2009

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11/08/2009

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30-04-09

Ed Brand is already looking like one of the favourites for the British Super 1 Championship, after taking his second win at Rowrah last weekend  ..read more

Iris Project has confirmed 18-year-old Patrick Reiterer as its second driver for the International Formula Master (IFM) 2009 season. Reiterer, who will drive alongside Simon Trummer, has worked with the Swiss outfit throughout the pre-season ahead of next months' races in Pau. With just a few weeks left until his international debut in IFM, Italian Reiterer said: "I'm really looking forward to the start of the racing season. We've had time to get accustomed to the car and the Series now and with the races approaching, this is a very exciting time. "I think each circuit will give a different challenge; Pau will certainly be tricky as it is a street track, and testing in Hungary has shown us how technical that circuit is, it's a great challenge. I'm especially looking forward to competing in Spa; it's my favourite track on the calendar this year."

Rounds 2 and 3 of the Competition Car Insurance Ford Fiesta Championship at Snetterton this weekend will have a record grid. There are 39 Ford Fiestas entered, including 15 of the new ST Class. We believe Snetterton can only run 38 cars but its still pretty good news  especially in the present economic climate!.

Brett Paris set the early pace during pre-season testing in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham on Wednesday, 29th April. The 20-year-old, who returns to the Championship after finishing sixth last season, posted the fastest time in both the morning and afternoon sessions, his best at 1min 18.343s (89.14mph average). Northern Ireland’s Josh Mulholland went second quickest for the day with Tempus Sport’s Callum Holland third fastest.  The morning session got underway in glorious sunshine. Paris quickly went to the top of the timesheets showing good early pace before setting what would become the fastest time for the session on his 28th lap with a 1min 19.060s (88.33mph average). Hillspeed’s James Theodore went second fastest with Mulholland, Reon Motorsport’s British/Italian driver Dino Zamparelli and Apotex Scorpio’s Joe Crook also among the leading drivers. The opening session was also an opportunity for drivers to familiarise themselves with the use of a Safety Car – a New Laguna Coupé – which is being introduced for the 2009 season, bringing the low-cost Championship in line with the national-level Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship. The afternoon session saw the track temperature drop  and again it was Paris who was fastest– a full 0.778s quicker than his closest rival. A consistent Mulholland also continued his positioning at the top as did Holland, Theodore and Zamparelli. Don de Graaff also showed good pace for Tempus Sport. Commenting afterwards Paris said: “I’m a fan of the Rockngham circuit having ran well here last year. We’d set a target time of half a second quicker than the rest of the field so to go almost eight tenths faster is fantastic and a credit to the team and how well the car is running. It’s given me a huge boost in confidence going into the first round at Oulton Park and shown that despite being a one-car team we can still go quick.” The first round of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship takes place at Cheshire’s Oulton Park circuit on Saturday, 23rd May. .

Hillspeed’s test at Rockingham for the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship saw their driver James Theodore set a top four time on Wednesday..read more

Ian Hall and Robert Pritchard battled in out at the head of a superb 30 car field at Cadwell Park in the Performance n’ Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship on Sunday. Hall eventually came through to win in his Darrian but it was only a matter of a few yards!...read report

Asia Racing Team (ART Motorsports) has signed Luca Ferigutti for its upcoming Asian Formula Renault Championship campaign. Ferigutti becomes the first ART driver to be confirmed for 2009. The 2008 AKOC Rotax Max Champion has Italian/Swiss dual nationality but currently and lives in Hong Kong. The 29 year old first tested a Formula Renault 2.0 last year with his first single seater race in March at the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival at Zhuhai. Ferigutti said, “ For this first year my target is to acquire as much experience as possible and gradually being able to progress throughout the season. I am looking forward to getting started, taking the plunge and doing my best.” Team Manager Philippe Descombes added “We are delighted to have Luca with us this season, in testing he has been consistently quick and has built a great rapport with the team. It will be his very first season in single seaters and there are a lot of things he needs to learn. I am sure toward the end of the season we will see him progressively at the front”  The first 2 rounds of the 2009 Asian Formula Renault Championship will take place during the weekend 23 / 24 of May at Shanghai.

French V de V driver pairing Nick Padmore from the UK and Belgium's Jean-Lou Rihon were in action at Paul Ricard for the second round of the championship last weekend. After 4 hours of racing they finished a superb 7th

Tom Ingram claimed his first ever podium place in the Ginetta Juniors race at Thruxtron on Sunday.  After taking an excellent fourth on Saturday the former BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Karting champion went one better on Sunday to take third..

After a day of running near the front of the field in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway AIM Autosport finished a disappointing eleventh after a spin in the closing stages followed by a series of mishaps during their final pitstop dropped their CONSOL Energy No 61 Ford Riley two laps down

Virginia International Raceway and the #77 Doran Racing / McDonald's team along with their drivers Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger finished in a good 5th-place in the Bosch Engineering 250, Round Two of the 2009 Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series

After various trials and tribulations Jack Barlow scored a somewhat unexpected, but thoroughly deserved, win at Rowrah on Sunday (26 April) in the British Kart Championship.

The next rounds of the Competition Car Insurance Ford Fiesta Championship are this coming weekend on 2nd / 3rd May at Snetterton. After finishing 2nd in difficult conditions in the opening round at Silverstone, Nick Sanderson will be hoping to go one better this time. 

Just days ahead of the opening race of the FIA GT3 European championship at Silverstone, Hexis Racing  have high hopes for the season with their Aston Martin Vantage GT2.  Hexis Racing,  based at the Lédenon circuit in France have a chance to  shine with the factory prototype that was used to develop the Vantage, the same car which took part in the Nogaro and Zolder races in 2008. Aston Martin Racing launched the 4.5-litre V8 model at the start of last season as the final link in its GT range, which now extends from GT4 to GT1. At the wheel will be Stefan Mücke, winner in the Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 at the Catalunya 1000km LMS race, and Frédéric Makowiecki. Philippe Dumas shared his assessment of the challenge facing the team. "Having Aston Martin Racing asking us to take on this schedule is proof of our achievements," he said. “What's more, two of their engineers will be with us to strengthen the team, along with two of their technicians. This will be step up for us - we'll be learning new skills, such as refuelling techniques and how to manage two top grade drivers. On the subject of drivers, I'm hoping this operation will enable Fred to gain a good foothold in AMR. The car is still under development though, so we’ll be under no great pressure to get a result at Silverstone. However, that certainly won't be the case in the FIA GT3 category!"

Manu Rodrigues who has been a vital cog in Hexis Racing's involvement in GT racing, will be taking part in Le Mans classic at the wheel of Ferrari 430 GT2 No.99 entered by JMB Racing. "It was important for me to line up in this gruelling race for the sake of my sponsors,"  explained the driver, who is of French and Portuguese parentage. "I asked Philippe Dumas if he could find me a drive, and he'll be there with me.” Hexis Racing won't be at Le Mans this year, but is more than happy to see one of its drivers in the 24-Hour race. “I will also drive the Ferrari JMB in the Spa-Francorchamps 1000-kilometre Le Mans Series race so I should be well prepared when I arrive in Sarthe for the race come mid-June."

World Football Cup and Euro 2000 winner Fabien Barthez is a motor racing fan and is always keen to take up a new challenge. Following a meeting with Hexis Racing AMR's Clément Mateu, it was agreed that Barthez would take the wheel of one of the team’s Aston Martin DBRS9 GT3 cars at the FIA GT Media Days at Paul Ricard. He started out as a passenger with Frédéric Makowiecki. Then the two men changed seats and Fabien took the car out by himself for a spin on the HTTT (High Tech Test Track). Clément and Philippe were in agreement, saying "he's a lovely guy and he put in some pretty decent lap times, too!"

Brett Smrz picked up his first win in the BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Series presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway over the weekend. He then took fourth in the second race of the weekend

29-04-09

Joachim Ritter has agreed to extend his current Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup deal with Total Control Racing until the end of the 2009 season after enjoying a solid debut outing with the team at Thruxton this past weekend. The 37-year-old Dane, who is based in Switzerland, approached the Wednesbury-based squad after the opening three rounds of the season at Brands Hatch in Kent at the start of the month and is now set to see out the rest of the campaign – the squad’s first in G50 Cup – as a TCR driver.“We’re obviously very pleased Joachim has signed to run with us for the rest of the season, we enjoyed working with him for the first time at Thruxton over the weekend and we’re confident we can help him move up the order as the year progresses”, said team principal Lee Brookes. “It’s great to have expanded to three cars so early in only our first season in the championship and it’s been a dream start for us with Carl (Breeze) winning four of the first six races and Fulvio (Mussi) right up there in the top five of the points table too. We’re really looking forward to Donington.”

Heat management specialist Zircotec is supporting the HSCC’s 2009 Historic Road Sports Championship. Zircotec’s technology helps provide modern comfort, performance, reliability and durability, plus a long-lasting period look, for any classic vehicle, making the company ideally placed to work with the series.  “Because of age, design and traditional materials, most classic cars have poor thermal management, and this is especially critical when racing,” explains Zircotec managing director Terry Graham. “As extra championship points are awarded for cars driven to and from the circuit on the road, reliability can be enhanced with our products.” Zircotec’s zirconia-based ceramic coating offers racers a robust, easily packaged solution that can dramatically inhibit the transfer of heat from exhausts, retaining the heat inside the system to protect surrounding components. Originally developed by the Atomic Energy Authority for the nuclear energy industry, the coating has demonstrated exhaust system surface temperature reductions of almost one third, and under bonnet temperature reductions in some applications of as much as 50ºC, helping to eliminate fuel vaporisation and damage to surrounding paintwork and sensitive electrical parts such as alternators or wiring. "We are proud to support the HSCC’s prestigious and popular classic cars series," continues Graham. “Zircotec's technicians will also be on hand to help drivers with their heat management issues, offering advice and recommendations at each race.”

A1GP has been forced to cancel round eight of the 2008/09 season, A1GP Mexico City, on 22-24 May after the recent outbreaks of swine flu and the advisory from the UK Foreign Office to cancel non essential travel to the country. “To say we are disappointed to have to make this call is an understatement,” said A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira.  “When the news of the health problems broke last week we made sure we kept ourselves up to date with the latest information. It soon became obvious this was not an isolated health risk, and when the UK Foreign Office put out its advisory and the World Health Organization raised the level of influenza pandemic alert that was when we had to make our decision. We must have the safety of all members of the A1GP community as well as the thousands of loyal fans in Mexico City as our prime concern,” he added.The cargo was due to be flown out to Mexico directly after the Brands Hatch race and so this was another factor in the decision. “If we had flown our cars out and not been able to send the teams to run them it would have been a waste of time and money. However, this cancellation does not impact on the future of the series and once Brands Hatch is over we shall be concentrating on Season Five, for which plans are already well advanced,” said Teixeira. Now this weekend’s race A1GP Brands Hatch, Great Britain will be the final round of the championship.  Going into this race there are three teams A1Team Switzerland, A1 Team Ireland and A1 Team Portugal who can still win the coveted trophy. This will mean the title race will go down to the wire as none of these teams can win the title in the Sprint race.

Stan Bernard has a rival in this year’s Scottish Motor Racing Club’s Classic Sporets Saloon Championship.   After dominating the series in 2008 in his Porsche 911 Stan could have expected more of the same this season. That was before Sunday and two closely fought races between Stan and Russell Paterson in a Morgan Plus 8, the pair coming away with a win a-piece.

In the Scottish Formula Ford Championship Rory Butcher dominated winning both races comfortably from Joe Tanner. It was a similar story in the XR2 races with Peter Cruickshank winning on both occasions, although he had to fight hard to keep Dave Colville behind him... pics R Pascal 11/56 Motorsport

Sebastien Saavedra earned his first career victory in Firestone Indy Lights, winning the Kansas Lottery 100 under a caution ahead of 2005 series champion Wade Cunningham. Saavedra passed Cunningham on a restart on lap 10  and led the remainder of the 67 laps. Mario Romancini finished third, Ana Beatriz fourth and Martin Plowman fifth. Jonathan Summerton took over the points lead with a seventh-place finish. The race featured five cautions for 33 laps. Dillon Battistini, involved in the final incident of the race on Lap 59, was transported to KU Medical Center where all preliminary tests came back negative, however, he will remain at the facility overnight for observation.

Full Speed Racing are set for their first appearance in the FIA GT Championship this weekend as the series visits Silverstone for the s ‘Tourist Trophy’ at the 2009 season opener.While the squad have never raced under the ‘Full Speed Racing’ banner before, they possess a wealth of sportscar and GT racing experience from the Le Mans Series, Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA GT Championship. They will field a pair of Saleen S7Rs in GT1. Car #11 will see Luke Hines, competing at his home race with Belgian Stephane Lemeret while car #13 has Italian Ferdinando Monfardini with Frenchman Michel Orts.Team Principal Graham Nash is eagerly anticipating the season opener. “Everyone is looking forward to Silverstone and finally getting to race the cars in anger,” he said. “We had a very productive day at the Official Group Test at Paul Ricard where all four drivers got some valuable track time and we’ve also tested at Donington since then. We’ve put this project together in a short time frame and we’ve made a lot of progress. It has been hard work, but when we see our cars out there racing this weekend it will all be worthwhile and a very proud moment for everybody involved with Full Speed Racing.”

Carl Breeze continued his winning ways in the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup on Sunday with his fourth win of the season so far. However he was beaten in the first race of the day when Daniel Welch took his maiden G50 Cup win in Round 5

Peter Dempsey is back to his winning ways in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. The  'the Irish Steamroller', as he is nicknamed, won his first race of 2009 at Virginia International Raceway driving the #3 AIM Autosport / Motorsport Ireland / Queyside.ie Mazda. Dempsey, starting from the front row, crossed the line just 0.038-secs up on second placed Alex Ardoin in the JDC Motorsports / Oral & Facial Surgery Center Mazda. Third was  Joel Miller in the second JDC Motorsports Mazda.

Tandersport’s Ben Crighton got himself onto the podium in the Australian F3 Championship race at Wakefield Park over the weekend with a good tyhird place behind winner Joey Foster and Second placed Mat Sofi.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB rookie Robert Lawson secured his first ever Pro-Am 1 class victory during round three of the season at Thruxton on, Sunday, 26th April, and saw his efforts rewarded further when named ‘Driver of the Weekend’

James Sutton, winner of the 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup GB title, returned to the championship at Thruxton over the weekend and now hopes to complete the season with Red Line Racing.Sutton won the ’07 crown with Red Line and took the opportunity created when Dean Smith elected to return to single-seaters. Although the deal was done very late in the day, meaning that Sutton missed pre-race testing at Thruxton, he was quickly back in the groove and ended the second Thruxton race on the podium, having battled for second place with team mate Tim Harvey. In 2007, Sutton narrowly beat Harvey to the title.Sutton spent 2008 racing in British GTs, but was delighted to get the chance to return to the Carrera Cup. “It feel very natural being back with the team,” he said. “I’ve got a fantastic rapport with everyone at Red Line Racing. It just made sense to do this and I’m very pleased to be where I am.” Although initially a deal for the Thruxton weekend, both Sutton and team boss Simon Leonard expect that they will now contest the rest of the 2009 season together. “If I had a sabbatical year I could fall off the radar. It’s important for me to keep my name out there. It’s my ambition to complete the year now.”

Sarah Moore did it again in the Ginetta Junior Championship at Thruxton on Sunday, winning her second race in a row after he debut victory on Saturday. The two wins leave Sarah at the top of the Championship table one point ahead of Alex Austin.

ELF Renault Clio Cup driver Andrew Herron took another podium place in the series on Sunday at Thruxton with fine 3^rd place, right on the heels of eventual winner Phil Glew and second placed Aron Smith. The two results leave Herron in fourth place in the

Mazdaspeed driver Conor Daly produced a determined drive to salvage a 5th place finish at the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on Sunday.  After starting 6th, a lap 1, turn 1 crash immediately caused a yellow flag, and at the insuing re-start Daly had to evade a chain-reaction wreck when pole-sitter Adam Christodoulou's brake-checked the field at the green flag. The resulting melee forced Conor to take avoiding action that resulted in a spin in the middle of the racetrack. After re-starting in 9th, the next 13 laps were marred by a series of nonsensical incidents, leaving him with a tough 3-lap dash for the flag. As the flag dropped at lap 15, Conor picked up 7th place with a bold outside move at turn 1, followed by taking 6th on lap 16, then finally had to settle for 5th at the line. "For me,  today was another example of not having enough laps at the end," said Conor, "the race rythim was so inconsistent that I had to really hustle the car to save 5th. Regardless, my team did a great job today, and we'll take today's points and get ready for Utah." Conor is now tied for 3rd in the Championship, with 69 points.

Daniel Lloyd finished his second race of the weekend in the Elf Renault Clio Cup in tenth place to keep him in the top ten in the Championship. The Team Pyro driver had a hard fought race with Carl Bradley and Alex MacDowall passing the former on the very last lap to finish 10^th…

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Colin Turkington and Mat Jackson shared the wins in Sunday's second round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Ccar Championship, held at Thruxton

Vitantonio Liuzzi won the final race of the Speedcar season in Bahrain but the big winner was Gianni Morbidelli, who beat Johnny Herbert by the slenderest of margins to claim the championship and the $500,000 prize that goes with it. Herbert had earlier won the first race of the weekend of Saturday but it smply wasn’t enough.

Reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon earned his first victory of the 2009 season, taking the flag in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway 0.7104 of a second ahead of Helio Castroneves. Dixon entered the race 17th in points after two difficult races on street circuits to begin the season. The return to a 1.5-mile oval suited him well. After starting fourth, Dixon passed pole sitter Graham Rahal on lap 8 and went on to lead 134 of 200 laps for his 17th victory. The win moved Dixon to fourth in the point standings as the IndyCar Series prepares for the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves nearly duplicated his back-to-front victory from last September at Chicagoland. In that race, Castroneves won after starting 28th. Sunday, he worked his way up from the 21st to second. Tony Kanaan finished third.

Alpine Motorsport's Dean Stoneman  came second in Sunday’s race in the  Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship to move to the top of the table at Thruxton. Fortec Motorsport's James Calado.won the opening race on Saturday while . Mark Burdett Motorsport's Jesse Krohn was the victor on Sunday.

Michelin Formula Renault UK racer Menasheh Idafar didn’t have a good weekend at Thruxton  but dspite the problems he is still in the top 15 in the championship. After starting 12^th in race 2 Menasheh had a spin  halfway through the race which dropped him to the back of the pack. He did recover however a managed to salvage appoint in the  Graduate Cup

Team Pyro's Phil Glew continued his unbeaten record with a pair of victories in rounds three and four of the ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin at Thruxton circuit on 25th/26th April -- his fourth win from four races.

Hillspeed once again claimed a top ten finish in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship squad with driver Lee Dwyer showing up well once again.

Dean Smith had a mixed return to single-seaters at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire at the weekend driving for  Manor Competition in the   Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship.

Hitech Junior’s Jordon Oakes continued his good start in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Thruxton this weekend coming away with eighth and sixth in the tow races.

TCR team-mates Mike Robinson and Sam Tordoff enjoyed their best results of the season at Thruxton getting ifth and sixth places  respectively in the Clio Cup. meanwhile TCR Ginetta driver while Carl Breeze maintained his lead in the Ginetta G50 Cup with aother win.

Tom Tweedie continued his good form in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at Wakefield Park, near Goulburn last weekend by not only winning the National Class but racing with the outright Gold Star class. It was a great performance and a fitting tribute to the late Graham Watson; the Australian motorsport icon having served as Tweedie's team manager prior to his untimely passing just two weeks ago.

JD Motorsport set the fastest times in both morning and afternoon sessions for the International Formula Master (IFM) final pre-season test day, at the Hungaroring, Hungary, with Sergey Afanasiev and Josef Kral posting the top times in each respective session. Afanasiev's best lap saw the young Russian place the morning's fastest time in 1:37.138, ahead of Jenzer Motorsport's Pål Varhaug (1:37.362) and JD Motorsport team-mate Kral (1:37.425). Times once again decreased as the day went on with Kral taking the top spot for the afternoon, completing his lap in 1:37.119. Afanasiev matched him closely once again with a fastest time of 1:37.332 whilst Iris Project's Patrick Reiterer produced the third quickest lap of the afternoon, 1:37.874. Varhaug claimed the top rookie time of the day, with his morning lap, ahead of Hitech Junior's Alexander Rossi, whose best time of 1:37.551 placed him fourth fastest overall. Paul Meijer completed his first full day in a Formula Master car, setting a fastest lap of 1:38.191 with AR Motorsport, whilst Tim Sandler returned to the Series for the first time since last season's final races in Monza. The ISR driver posted a best lap of 1:39.875 during his short afternoon run.

David McDonald produced his best performance so far in the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Thruxton Circuit on Sunday, 26th April, with a top eight finish during the fourth round of the campaign.

26-04-09

Andrew Herron secured his second podium this season in the first race of the weekend in the ELF Renault Clio Cup  at Thruxton Circuit on Saturday.

Sarah Moore secured one of the most popular race victories in the short history of the Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire on Saturday 25th April.

Daniel Lloyd has kept in the top 10 of the ELF Renault Clio Cup driver standings after round three of the championship at Thruxton. A  poor qualifying session had left him down in 17^th on the grid but a spirited driver  on Saturday afternoon saw him climb to ninth at the flag.

Round three of the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship saw Menasheh Idafar just miss out on his second top 10 finish of the season on  Saturday.

Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup championship leader Carl Breeze increased his advantage in the driver standings to a very healthy 38 points at the ultra-fast Thruxton.

Total Control Racing continued to lead the way in the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup on Saturday with their driver Carl Breeze notching up another win in the series at Thruxton.   While in the Elf Clio Cup Alex MacDowallclaimed a fine second place..

Former champion Tim Macrow delivered Scud Racing an emotional first ever championship class win in race one after pole sitter Joey Foster ran wide at turn two, on the opening lap, leaving Tim to take advantage.  But later in the afternoon BRM driver Foster took his revenge and crushed the field to win by over eight seconds, to further extend his championship lead after four of sixteen races in the ’09 Gold Star campaign…

Tim Harvey claimed his first victory of the season at Thruxton today (Sunday 26 April 2009) in round three of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Harvey stayed clear of Michael Caine for a hard-earned victory as Tim Bridgman took third, while Robert Lawson scored an impressive pro-am1 victory and Paul Mace headed pro-am2.On Sunday Michael Caine took the honours in Round 4 ahead of Harvey. Tony Gilham won in pro-am1 spoils as Paul Mace in pro-am2.

Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship rookies Lee Dwyer and Menasheh Idafar (pictured - pic Jakob Ebrey)produced another sterling performance for Hillspeed during the third round of the season at Thruxton on Saturday, 25th April, recording ninth and 11th place finishes respectively.

F3 Australia has announced the creation of a Rookie of the year award for Gold Star competitors to recognise new talent and to honour the memory of the late Graham Watson into the future. The Graham Watson Rookie of the Year award will be presented at the end of each season to the driver who has had the best debut in the Australian Drivers Championship. Drivers eligible for the award will have had no prior extensive experience in ‘wings and slicks’ race cars at the level of Formula 3 or above.  The winner can come from any of the three classes and will be judged by a panel of experts including Formula 3 Australia team owners, board members, industry experts, an online poll and the media. Watson, who sadly passed away last week, was most well known in the industry for his ability to spot, and then nurture young drivers in wings and slicks racing in Australia and New Zealand. “Graham was an integral part of Australian Open Wheel racing,” 2004 Gold Star winner and former RALT driver Neil McFadyen(pictured)  said. “He had a huge influence in so many young drivers’ lives and careers, including mine. He had a knack for spotting talent and then developing them, bringing them though the ranks. He created opportunities for them as he did for me. “The incentive announced here today by Formula 3 Australia is a great concept and a great way to remember Wattie and his role in the sport. I know that the driver that wins it this year and each year from now on will be the kind of driver that Wattie would have got behind and given a helping hand though the sport,” he added. Pictured - Neil McFadyen drove a classic RALT RT4 at Wakefield Park at the weekend in tribute to'Wattie' and helped announce the Graham Watson Rookie of the Year award.

Markus Niemela and his NWR - Nuclear Energy - Mr. Jones teammates continued preparing for the coming American Le Mans Series - Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix May 15-17. After a limited one day test at Palm Beach International earlier in the month, the team moved West and set up shop at Putnam Park outside of Indianapolis to continue with their development."It's good to be testing again because my contract was completed so late in the off-season, and right before Sebring, so I was still a bit uncomfortable in the car. The dual tests this month are a perfect chance to finalize any chemistry issues with the team and vice versa. But as usual its great to be back in the car"

Alexander Rossi quickly found pace with the Hitech Junior Team at Brno this week when both he and his team made their debuts in the  International Formula Master Series (IFM) test sessions last week .Rossi from California, settled in immediately with the circuit and finished the first day as quickest rookie and 4^th overall just 0.3secs off of the quickest time of Fabio Leimer. On the second day Rossi set his quickest time with a 1:48 but as times fell hroughout the day he slipped to 7^th overall. “As a team we proved that we can be competitive for top positions this season”, Rossi commented. “The team and I just came together and we need a few more days to work with the car and the tire. At BRNO the tire degredation in the afternoon of day two caught us out a bit, however we learned a lot about the car that we can use going forward into Hungary. We will be just fine.”  Rossi has confirmed a continued testing agreement with Hitech for the final pre-season test at the Hungaroring, Hungary, April 27- 28^th.

25-04-09

Adam Christodoulou took the pole position for Round 2 of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at VIR with a record lap of 1:45.868 (111.195 mph) in the #11 JDC Motorsports Mazda.  And this time, his breaking of the Star Mazda VIR track record, a 1:47.607 set in 2007 by James Davison, was official.  "It's quite warm already this morning, but we made a few sets of changes to the car last night and they worked in finding a little bit more time," said Christodoulou, who won the Star Mazda season opener at Sebring.  "But it seems everyone else found a little bit more time we did, so it's a little bit closer than I expected it to be after yesterday's performance.  Still I just plan on taking it and making it into a win.  There's not as much wind down the back straight today as there was yesterday, so we aren't hitting quite as high a speeds as we did yesterday, but the track conditions around the corners are good; there seems to be a little bit more grip today, so I think if it's like that for the race and not unpredictable, then we should be pretty sorted.  I've got to concentrate on getting a decent start; I got a really good start at Sebring and as long as I do the same here and lead into the first corner I think I can stay ahead of everyone for the rest of the race."Setting the second-fastest time was Peter Dempsey, who earned the nickname 'the Irish Steamroller' last season for four victories, three of them in a row.  He turned a lap of 1:45.997 in the #3 AIM Autosport / Motorsport Ireland / Queyside. Mazda, followed by Brazilian Denis Navarro with a time of 1:46.272) in the #21 Andersen Racing / Navarro Medicines Distribution / Allied Interior Products Mazda.  Rounding out the top-5 were Mikael Grenier on 1:46.415  in the #17 Andersen Racing / NAPA Auto Parts / CAA-Quebec / HS Telecom Mazda, and Alex Ardoin, turning a 1:46.427 in the #51 JDC Motorsports / Oral & Facial Surgery Center Mazda. In the Expert (ages 30 – 44) and Master (45 and older) Series, the two top drivers are Michael Guasch in 16th with a lap of 1:47.652 and 20th is 2008 Expert Series champion Chris Cumming with a 1:48.048

Driving the #11 JDC Motorsports Mazda, Adam Christodoulou set the fastest time in five straight sessions, three 'promoter test day' sessions on Thursday and two official practice sessions on Friday.  All that remains is Saturday morning's qualifying session and Sunday afternoon's race – and while he started from the outside of the front row at Sebring rather than on the pole, he did go on to win the race, so the odds seem stacked in his favour. His time of 1:46.051 (111.003 mph) in the final session was a thorough, if unofficial, smashing of the lap record of 1:47.607, set by James Davison in 2007.  It's worth noting that the top eight drivers in the final session were all under the record, and the top three are all from the same team, JDC Motorsports, including Americans Joel Miller  on1:46.689 and Alex Ardoin with a 1:46.751.  Other drivers under the record include Mikael Grenier in his first Star Mazda drive, 'Irish Steamroller' Peter Dempsey who won four Star Mazda races last season, rookie Denis Navarro, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder scholarship winner Conor Daly and fast-rising Brazilian racer Caio Lara. "For the last session we had a few sets of changes and as the times have shown, its improved the car yet again," said Christodoulou.  "Going through the mid-speed corners now, the car just seems to so hooked up; it goes through turns 5,6 and 7 just beautifully and that's where I found the majority of my time.  I broke a few times into the 46's and tried for 45 on my last lap, but just pushed a little too hard at the end of the straight and ran off course.  But we've got a little bit of a margin at the moment and as long as it stays that way, I'll be happy." As he was in the morning session, the quickest Expert Series (ages 30 – 44) driver was 2008 Expert Series champion Chris Cumming of Vancouver, B.C.  His lap of 1:48.789 was good for 16th in the 28-car field.  The quickest Master Series (45 and older) driver was again Michael Guasch, 20th overall with a lap of 1:49.192.

JOEY FOSTER is making a habit of leaving his best lap to last. Like he did at the Clipsal 500, the driver from Cornwall has again used the last lap of qualifying to take pole position for the first of two races in this weekends’ second round of the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship for the CAMS Gold Star. Foster also claimed pole for race two, to continue the ‘perfect’ score he is building this season. Foster took all 44 points available in Adelaide and this weekend has added a further two points to his tally – and a further $400 to his bank balance thanks to Pole award sponsor Yorkshire investments. In Qualifying one Foster bumped Mat Sofi to second after the flag had flown, taking pole by just three hundredths and denying the AmPro tools / Astuti motorsport driver his first career pole. Tim Macrow was third ahead of National class pace setter Tom Tweedie and Ben Crighton. The grid for race two will see Foster ahead of Sofi, Macrow, Crighton and Tweedie.  “It was a close run thing,” Foster enthused after qualifying one. I pushed so hard and braked as late as I could into the final corner to find as much time as possible. I’m making a habit of getting these pole positions after the flag has come out – but it’s fantastic.” TanderSport driver Ben Crighton was the biggest improver of the day – finding seven tenths of a second between sessions to improve his time dramatically this afternoon. Crighton proved Friday that he has plenty of pace available – his practice best of 54.8 would have placed him third on the race one grid. The Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship will honour the late Graham Watson tomorrow with former RALT champion Neil McFadyen leading the field around on the parade lap for both races in a classic Ralt RT4

The 5th and 6th rounds of the WTCC are on May 3rd in Morocco, at Marrakech's new street circuit, marking WTCC's first visit to Africa. The 4.6-km racetrack has been traced out in the hotel district of Agdal, which lies only a few kilometres South of the Medina, Marrakech's historical centre. More than 2500 concrete impact blocks and as many debris fence panels have been put in place to bound the track, while the paddock has been paved alongside the walls of the Royal Garden. The event was launched on Thursday in Marrakech, during a crowded press conference at the Naoura Barrière Hotel and Ryad. "This is a great event for our city and requires special services and extraordinary measures. Huge efforts have been made to facilitate custom clearance of the teams' trucks that will arrive at Tangier's harbour and immigration of WTCC staff, teams' personnel and international media at Marrakech Menara airport. Special plans have been established for public security and circulation. We have done whatever is possible to guarantee that the event will run smoothly and with success, because the common goal is to help the championship's and the event's promoters to extend their deal for a further three years," explained Mounir Chraibi, Waili of the city. 

BMW National Teams' cars will adopt a new face lift from the next WTCC event in Marrakech. The five 320si machines run by BMW Team Germany for Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, BMW Team UK for Andy Priaulx and BMW Team Italy-Spain for Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández, will sport the new bonnet, headlamps and front bumper with wider air intakes that were tested during last winter in Valencia. Friedhelm Nohl, BMW Motorsport General Manager for Sports and Touring Cars explained: "The face lift is mainly an optical change. The WTCC cars are based on the normal production cars, and in September 2008 the facelifted version of the BMW 3 Series was launched on the markets. This is the reason why the race version adopts now these modifications as well. The new design will have only some marginal influence on the aerodynamics."

24-04-09

The Matech GT Racing team have announced their drivers for the first two rounds of the FIA GT 2009 championship. German Thomas Mutsch, the in-house driver who is also responsible for the development of the Matech GT-Racing machine and Italian Thomas Biagi. The latter has plenty of experience in  GT competitions, with no less than two Drivers titles under his belt, in 2007 and 2003 (Ferrari). “ I’m truly delighted to be involved in this project” said Biagi.” One of the things I really appreciate in motorsport is the on-going development of the cars. The Ford GT1 Matech meets the 201O regulations, and I’m fully aware that this is not to our advantage this coming season. On the other hand I’m certain that my experience can be put to good use to help the team, go forward and prepare the future. Since 1993 I have fully committed myself for the various teams I have been involved with, and I reckon that my integration into the Matech GT Racing organisation is an excellent thing. I will be getting to know the car at Silverstone during the initial training sessions. But I’m quite sure that with Thomas Mutsch we will produce some pretty satisfying results”.

Will Bratt has confirmed his graduation to the PartyPoker backed Euroseries 3000 Championship this year, after agreeing a deal with ex-Formula One driver Emilio de Villota’s Spanish-based team...read more

The Masters Classic at Donington, scheduled for 9-10 May aims to showcase all the Masters grids over a busy 2-day event. There will be 2 separate grids of F1 cars. The Grand Prix Masters for GP cars from the pre-ground effect era of 1966 to 1978 will have a double header of races on each day; and on top of that, a new Masters venture for 2009 will be a set of separate double–header races for the later post 1978 ground-effect and flat bottomed GP cars.  There will be 5 races for sportscars and prototypes from 1960 to 1977.  Ranging from the open-topped SRM pre-1966 sport racing cars, through to the ever popular sprint races for pre-1974 Le Mans Type cars, ‘World Sportscar Masters’ as well as Proto70s, the later 1970s prototypes. Pre 1966 GT cars will be out in force for the Gentleman Drivers mini-endurance race, a 2 driver, 90 minute race on Saturday evening, Touring cars from the 50s,60s and 70s From the 1950s Oldies but Goldies, through to the 70s CSL and Capri’s.  On top of this it’s all in a good cause as it is supporting ‘Help for Heroes’, the UK Armed Services support charity. 

AIM Autosport is in action this weekend in the Bosch Engineering 250 held at Virginia International Raceway. The team are confident they can challenge for overall wins this year after their strong run in last year’s Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal cask No. 16. Driver Mark Wilkins (left) is joined by  Burt Frisselle (right) for the race at VIR.

AIM Autosport are not only be racing in Grand-Am and entertaining some CONSOL Energy guests this weekend, they are also racing in the Star Mazda series at VIR.  AIM’s junior driver development program trains drivers from around the globe in their quest to climb the motorsport ladder. This weekend, three drivers will be at the wheel of one of AIM’s Formula Mazdas. They include Peter Dempsey of Ireland, Jorge Goncalvez of Venezualea and Canadian David Ostella

Steve Aderholt, long time friend of Grand Am driver, Memo Gidley is back as an associate sponsor on the #77 McDonalds/Doran Racing prototype this weekend at VIR.  Aderholt’s story is a familiar one among young businessmen who take up racing.  Steve was a frontrunner himself in Formula Mazda back in the late 80’s and 90’s until his involvement in both racing and his company grew until one or the other had to be put on hold.  Aderholt chose to focus on developing his business as a contractor working on major office buildings and casinos in Las Vegas, including the Aladdin, Paris, Venetian and the newest Trump Tower to name a few. 

American driver Brett Smrz returns to the cockpit of a Skip Barber car this coming weekend (April 25-26), with Rounds Three and Four of the BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Series presented by Mazda taking place at Virginia International Raceway. For the Idaho-based Smrz, the doubleheader will not only provide the opportunity to enhance his position in the championship fight, but also allow him to showcase his talents to teams in the Star Mazda Championship and Grand-Am Rolex Series as part of the Bosch Engineering 250 event.

The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge is looking ahead to the series return visit to New Jersey Motorsports Park for round 5 of the 2009 championship on May 1-3. The Verizon 250 event marks the second-ever Mustang Challenge race weekend at the track. NJMP, which opened just days before the Mustang Challenge 2008 race visit, has not stopped changing, as improvements have been made on and off track to benefit both the racers and the fans that come to see them compete. Both the entrance and exit of pit lane have been completely reconfigured and repaved, and barriers within the pit lane have also been moved and reconfigured. The track has also received over 1500 feet of FIA-approved curbing on the 14-turn circuit.The event is part of a Rolex Sports Car Series event weekend ."We're really looking forward to getting back to New Jersey and seeing everything that has been put in place since we raced there last August," said Series Director Lynda Randall. "We have had a lot of interest from drivers who are looking to get as much seat time as they can next weekend, and we would like to invite anyone who is thinking about racing with us to come see what we have to offer. Ask any of our drivers-Mustang Challenge is the Place to Race."

Aaron Steele will represent his country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Brands Hatch this May Bank Holiday weekend (1/2/3 May). Steele, who works as an instructor at Brands Hatch, has been selected as A1 Team Great Britain 's rookie driver and will take part in two practice sessions at the circuit next Friday.The 20-year-old driver joins A1GP following a successful 2008 season, in which he was shortlisted for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award after winning the Formula Palmer Audi Shootout at Brands Hatch and Snetterton.Aaron Steele said: "I've been given a great opportunity to showcase my talent and I am looking to do the best job possible. It will be the first time I have driven the car and I am sure it will be a real eye opener - I really cannot wait! Hopefully I will impress people, get myself noticed and maybe even come back to do A1GP in the future.As I live so close I will have a lot of friends and family coming to support me. Brands Hatch is my favourite circuit in the world so it's hard to put my feelings into words, especially as I will be driving such a great car.”  Steele will be joined at Brands Hatch by main Team GBR driver Dan Clarke, who has been recalled after scoring points for the British squad last time out in Portugal

Teams and drivers in the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) face a new challenge next week(1-3 May), Marrakech. For the first time the series heads for North Africa and a brand-new inner-city street circuit in Marrakech for the Race of Morocco, the first international car race in the country since the 1958 Casablanca Grand Prix  One of the biggest issues facing teams will be the heat, with an air temperature that’s tough on cars and drivers, and a track temperature that pushes the performance of the Yokohama ADVAN race tyres. However, Yokohama is confident that experience from other rounds and championships will ensure that the ADVANs are more than up to the task of 45 minutes of wheel-to-wheel racing.  Despite the incredible forces placed on the tyres at a street circuit like Marrakech, and having no data or information until the WTCC hits African shores, Yokohama Motorsport Technical Department Manager Susumu Watanabe is already certain that the ADVAN will perform. “Marrakech is a virtual unknown for everyone attending; we know the layout of the circuit, but little else. However, new circuits and surfaces are traditionally low-grip. Oils in the asphalt rise to the surface when it is first laid, creating a greasy, slippery racing line that takes time to settle in. We’re expecting the ambient temperature to be similar to that of the first round at Curitiba, and there are several long straights that cool the tyres.The ADVAN race tyre works over a very wide temperature range, offering good grip from around 65°C, all the way to temperatures in excess of 120°C. Typically, 100-110 degrees is the operating window of a touring car tyre, even at a circuit like Marrakech, so I don’t expect the ADVANs to be challenged.”  

23-04-09

The Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series resumes next weekend at Silverstone for Rounds 3 and 4 with Australian  Daniel Ricciardo setting the pace both in the opening rounds and in recent testing. Ricciardo won both races at the first meeting of the year at Oulton Park over Easter to build a  12-point lead in the Championship over hhis closest rivasls Britain's Nick Tandy and Austrian Walter Grubmüller 

Manor Competition will  have four cars in action at Thruxton this weekend, 25th/26th April, after agreeing an 11th hour deal with 2007 runner-up Dean Smith for the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship.  Although 21-year-old Smith had switched to sportscars this year, making his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB three weeks ago at Brands Hatch, his main aim is to remain in single-seaters.

The RAC Tourist Trophy is back at Silverstone for only UK round of the FIA GT Championship.   Another top class event gets underway at Silverstone on  2-3 May when the  the FIA GT Championship takes place. Lining up on this year’s grid will be the latest cars from Ferrari, Corvette, Maserati, Porsche and Nissan, as well as the newly unveiled Saleen S7. As the teams and drivers prepare for the opening round of the season, CRS Racing took time out from their busy schedule to join the RAC Tourist Trophy and Roary the Racing Car,  from the popular children’s television series, for a pre-event photocall at the circuit. Speaking ahead of the Silverstone weekend, CRS driver Andrew Kirkaldy commented, “The Silverstone event is always a cracking start to the FIA GT season. We all enjoy it as it’s our home race and we know the circuit so well.  We had a lot of fun with Roary today, although he thinks he would beat our Ferrari around Silverstone. I’m not so sure about that!”

The Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway, Round 2 of the 2009 Grand Am Rolex Sports Car is this weekend and  Dane Cameron will co-drive the #30 Racers Edge / Marquis Jet / Total Petroleum / Piloti Mazda RX-8 with a new teammate, Bryce Miller.

The Australian Formula Ford Championship gets back on track this weekend at  Victoria's Winton Raceway. Nick Percat won the opening round at Albert Park last month and should be the favourite once again.

Lap times fell on the second of a two-day test in Brno, for International Formula Master (IFM), with Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer completing the fastest lap of the day in 1:47.632. The Series' new drivers also produced strong lap times; Iris Project's Patrick Reiterer was the fastest rookie in the morning with a best of 1:48.591, which put him fourth fastest overall.  Cram Competition's Alessandro Kouzkin took the top rookie spot during the afternoon, with Hitech Junior's Alexander Rossi also in the top eight on both occasions. Their best laps of the day had Rossi 7^th  Kouzkin 9th overall with respective laps of 1:48.882 and 1.48.925.Kazimeiras Vasiliauskas joined Trident Racing for his first step in Formula Master and did a time of 1:49.414. Testing continues on 27-28 April at the Hungaroring ahead of the first rounds in Pau on 16-17 May.

David Brabham, double Le Mans 24 Hours GT1 winner for Aston Martin, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair joined the race to end Malaria deaths at a Los Angeles gala fundraising event to benefit Malaria No More. Tony Blair was guest of honour and spoke at the event in the USA, part of Brit Week LA, which raised an estimated $1million on Tuesday 21 April. Brabham attended the function at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills with his American Le Mans Series team Patrón Highcroft Racing.  The Acura sports car squad, based in Connecticut, and its sponsor Tequila Patrón will donate $10 for every mile the team completes in the 2009 race season - approximately 4,500 miles – to Malaria No More. Malaria is a preventable disease that kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds. A simple $10/£5 mosquito net can protect two children or a mother and baby, reducing the spread of the disease, saving lives and keeping families intact. Brabham’s efforts in the season’s opening rounds with teammate Scott Sharp, which include clinching Patrón Highcroft and Acura’s first LMP1 victory in the new ARX-02a at St Petersburg and second at Long Beach, have already clocked up $14,911.01 for the cause. .World Malaria Day is this Saturday, 25 April – a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world. Please visit www.milestoendmalaria.org to make a donation

22-04-09

Matt Kelly is a late addition to the entry for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton this weekend (25/26 April) as he ends a six-year break from racing. Kelly, now team manager for the RSS Performance team, will race the car of John Quartermaine who is unable to race at Thruxton due to an on-going shoulder injury. Kelly was a successful racer in TVR Tuscans, MGFs, National Saloons and the ETCC but has not raced since 2003. "I feel excited, nervous and anxious," said Kelly. "This chance only came up this morning (Wednesday). I'm going to collect a race licence tomorrow morning. Being at Thruxton will make it even more difficult; it's a high-speed learning curve. But I've always gone well at Thruxton."  Quartermaine has been racing with RSS Performance, but is likely to be sidelined for some time with further surgery on his damaged shoulder. "John has been an absolute star," said Kelly. "He's been very brave so far and I'm really grateful that he has offered me the chance to drive his car. I never used to get offers like this when I was racing full time!" Kelly has yet to drive a 911GT3 Cup car and his last race was in a Caterham Superlight in 2003 when he won at Spa and Croft. "I've got to learn the car and the circuit in half an hour of qualifying on Saturday. It's a big ask and I'm being realistic about it. I'd like to run up around the top 10 by the second race on Sunday."

The Donington Park rounds of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will take place over the weekend of 18/19 July, it is confirmed today (Weds).The rescheduled Donington date replaces the 25/26 April event, which was  postponed last week.  "Donington Park is a very important venue for British F3 and GT, and the circuit has always been very supportive of the championships," said SRO Motorsports Group General Manager Bernadette Fitzsimons, "so we are very pleased that an alternative date for the event could be found. We are looking forward to visiting the new and improved circuit."   The change in date will also apply to F3/GT support races. i.e The Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook, which will of course now take place on the same July date as well. "We are delighted to be able to keep Donington on this year's Volkswagen Racing Cup calendar," said Volkswagen Racing UK Director Melissa Wright. "Donington is a traditional event on the schedule and a favourite for the drivers." 

Brands Hatch has joined forces with military charity Help for Heroes to raise money at A1GP this May Bank Holiday (1/2/3 May).Help for Heroes was founded in 2007 to offer support to servicemen and women injured in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The charity has worked on some major projects, including a fundraising single with ITV’s ‘X Factor’, and soldiers representing Help for Heroes will be collecting donations at Brands Hatch during the UK round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport next weekend.In celebration of its partnership with A1GP, Help for Heroes will also be providing an array of military-themed entertainment at Brands Hatch. On raceday (Sunday 3 May), the series’ opening ceremony will feature performances from the Royal British Legion Youth Band Brentwood, the Red Devils parachute display team and the Tristar Twirlers majorette troupe. The White Helmets motorcycle display team will also be performing on raceday, and there will be a display of military tanks and artillery as well. Bryn Parry, co-founder and chief executive of Help for Heroes, said: “I am just staggered and delighted by the number of people who are ‘doing their bit’ to support our wounded heroes. People all across the UK are doing something to raise money to support our servicemen and women.  This initiative by the motor racing world will be a fantastic contribution and will make a great difference. We may not be able to prevent our boys and girls being wounded but by joining with Help for Heroes you too can do your bit to help them get better. Thank you.”

Nick Padmore and his Belgian team mate Jean-Lou Rihon fly out to France on Thursday for the second round of the French V de V Championship at Paul Ricard this weekend. The pair endured a trying weekend in the opening round at Jarama last month in their Norma M20F, prepared by Norma UK, but are looking to put their troubles behind them as they head to the French circuit. "We were lacking pace all weekend at Jarama but hopefully that's behind us now", commented Padmore. "The team have been working very hard behind the scenes and have rebuilt the engine, which was later found to be down on power, as well as making sure the car is more balanced. "I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel again so we can find out exactly how much progress has been made. It's looking promising though so, I guess, for us our season starts here".

Official testing in Brno got underway this week for the third International Formula Master (IFM) test this season, with Hitech Junior's Alexander Rossi posting the fastest overall rookie time. With 17 drivers taking part in the two-day test, including nine rookies,,it was Rossi who was the quickest of the newcomers with a best lap of 1:49.25, good enough for fourth overall.  Fellow rookie Patrick Reiterer, driving for Iris Project also featured in the day's top eight times, completing his lap in 1:49.54, whilst Jenzer Motorsport's Pål Varhaug was ninth fastest (1:50.06).Two series newcomers present in Brno were Nicola De Marco, driving for Cram Competition, and Portugal's Tiago Petiz with Trident Racing. Both acquitted themselves well on their first time in the IFM single-seater, posting fastest laps of 1:50.84 and 1:51.80 respectively. AR Master's Kelvin Snoeks completed the field of rookies with a best of 1:52.10.  Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer  was quickest overall with a 1:48.94, with JD Motorsport's Sergey Afanasiev second.The majority improved their times during the afternoon, with Afanasiev setting a 1:49.09-lap, whilst ISR's Erik Janis claimed the third fastest time of the day (1:49.14).

21-04-09

Simon Pryke took the third win of his career at Rockingham in the BARC Westfields series at the weekend after a hard fight with Chris Davidson. Then pair had both led the race before Pryke took the lead for the final time on the penultimate lap. Before Davidson could respond however he spun out on his own oil leaving Pryke to coast home.

The weekend’s results for SG Formula were not quite what the team had hoped for but they did see their Eurocup driver Miki Monras pick-up his first podium place. On top of that hey were also in the West European Cup(WEC where they won…twice! 

The first TV coverage of the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be in Motorsport UK on ITV1 on the night of Thursday 30 April and be repeated on ITV4 on the afternoon of Saturday 2 May. The Motorsport UK series will cover all of the Carrera Cup GB action this year. The first two races of the season at Brands Hatch will be in the opening programme, along with a profile on Michael Caine.  
Motorsport UK will be broadcast as follows:
Thursday 30 April at 12.20am on ITV1
Saturday 2 May at 1.30pm on ITV4
Tuesday 5 May at 5pm on ITV4  .

Silverstone has launched an all NEW ‘Audi R8 Experience’ for 2009. Inspired by the most successful Le Mans racing car of all time, the Audi R8 has been created from 70 years of motor sport innovation by one of the world’s leading car manufacturers. Whether it’s your driving skills that need enhancing or to experience the high revving V8 engine of the Audi R8 as it delivers 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 187mph, the Audi R8 Experience promises to be a day to remember.  The three-hour Audi R8 Experience will include a full in-car safety briefing, expert driver tuition from fully qualified and professional instructors, three laps in an Audi S3, three laps in an Audi TTS and then three eagerly anticipated laps in the Audi R8. All for £249. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said, “As the UK’s premier motor racing venue, Silverstone not only hosts world class sporting events but also provides a wide range of world class Driving Experiences. At Silverstone we pride ourselves on delivering the public with the very best in entertainment and  expert driver training all year round. New for this year, we are delighted with our extended association with Audi and look forward to having the stunning Audi R8 in action on the Southern circuit.” To book your chance to get behind the wheel of an Audi R8 at Silverstone visit www.silverstone.co.uk, or call 08704 588 270.

The second round of the  Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship is at Wakefield Park this weekend (April 24 – 27) and it will feature tributes to the life of the late Graham Watson who sadly passed away last week

V de V Racing will be racing at Paul Ricard this weekend for their second event of the year. With public access available once again at the ffrench track the meeting from 24-26 April should provides plenty of entertainment and action…

The second round of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear gets underway at Virginia International Raceway this weekend. With at least 25 cars on the grid it will interesting to see if Adam Christoloudou ca repesat his winning performance from round 1.

Factory Trackmagic Kart driver, and Grand Am Rolex series star, Memo Gidley, smashed the S3 Track Record at Infineon Raceway Pro-Kart North series race this past weekend..

2008 International Formula Master (IFM) Champion Chris van der Drift scored his first podium this weekend since graduating from the Series. The 23-year-old New Zealander took part in his first World Series by Renault races at the weekend securing a third-place in race two.  "This was a great weekend with a nice podium finish to complete it," said van der Drift. "This is really good for the team and to be in third place in the championship after the first weekend is fantastic. It's a fairly different set-up to IFM but both cars run with similar paddle-shift gear systems so it was good not to have to think about that at all." The Formula Master Champion competed with team Epsilon Euskadi and is set to join them again for rounds three and four in Spa Francorchamps next month.

20-04-09

Olly Mortimer was back in the Mini Challenge over the weekend at Rockingham and he came back with a bang. Not only did he wion two and come a close second in the final race, he managed to do this despite hitting the wall in race 2.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs is racing an Aston Martin N24, run by Brunswick Automotive and sponsored by Adrian Flux Specialist Insurers and Clayton Holdings, in the GT Cup series in 2009.  Sunday (19 April) was her first outing and although Sarah has had only has a limited time in the car she brought it home 5th in class in both races..

J.R. Hildebrand led all 45 laps of the Firestone Indy Lights Grand Prix of Long Beach from the pole to earn his second career victory. Richard Philippe was second, James Hinchcliffe third, Jonathan Summerton fourth and Ana Beatriz fifth.

After being disqualified after the first race in the Eurocup Formula  Renault series at Bacelona for technical reasons,  Epsilon Euskadi driver  Albert Costa set things right in race 2 with lights to flag victory on home soli.

In the Classic Sports Car Club’s race meeting at Anglesey over the weekend Mark Ashworth (pictured - pic Paul Williams) did the double in the two Equipe GTS races. His TVR Grantura proving too quick for the opposition. In the opening race on Saturday be beat Stephen Radcliffe and Jerry Stock, both driving MGBs, by 9 and 10 secs respectively. On Sunday he did it again although on this occasion Stock took the runner-up spot with Radcliffe third.  In the Future Classics race Nicholas Ohlson (pictured right- pic Paul Williams) came out on top in a Lotus Esprit S3 followed by Maryn Adams  and Roy Johnson. John Muirhead  won the Swinging Sixties encounter in his Lotus  7. Second, 14 secs behind was Harry Wyndham in an E-Type with Al Fleming’s Lotus Elan third. In the CSCC’s Magnificent 7s race Ian Fox took his Caterham R400 to victory ahead of Carl Woodwiss in a Caterham C400 and Gerry Simpson’s Superlight.    

There were two races each for the Monopostos at Anglesey, the two for the smaller 1 litre machines were won by Chris Woodhouse in a Speads RM04. (pictured right - pic Paul Williams) In race 1 on Saturday he headed Stephen Brooks in a Jedi Mk03 by just under 4 secs with Darren Freeman third in another Jedi. On Sunday Woodhouse led Katherine Impey’s Jedi over the line with Brooks third. In the larger 2 litre cars Neil Harrison swept all before him in his Dallara F398, beating Jeremy Timms Dallara F397 by just 0.698 on Saturday and Russ Giles on Sunday. Giles had been third in race 1 while Jeremy Goodman completed the podium on Sunday. Finally the Toyo Tires XJS and Classic Jag Parts Championship races were won by Andrew Harrison’s XJS  on Saturday and Chris Palmer’s (pictured - pic Paul Williams) similar car on Sunday. In the first race Simon Lewis was second in a XJ6 with Palmer third while Sunday’s winner was followed home by Harrison and Richard Dorlin.

The European Late Model Series has confirmed it will race at Lydden Hill in the UK  on Saturday 27th of June. Racing is expected to get underway  for the European Late Model Series around mid-day on the Lydden oval with three races of 25 laps. Afterwards there will be little time for celebrations or commiserations for the series is  at Warneton in Belgium the very next morning! The addition of Lydden makes three UK rounds for the European Late Model Series with a possible fourth still to be announced.

The Japanese Super GT championship was back in action over the weekend in Suzuka with 2008 champion Benoit Tréluyer and his team-mate Satoshi Motoyama loosing out on a win thanks to a slow punctureand a 27 second penalty ruined their race..r

Paul Poulter will drive the #77 Roots V8 Racing Pontiac Grand Prix at the next European Late Model Series race at Warneton on May 3rd. Paul is an experienced driver having raced Superstox for many years, and more recently been a regular in the SHP Pick-Up Truck Championship at Rockingham. Last year Paul raced in 3 NASCAR Craftsman Truck meetings in America . Car owner Tony Roots commented that he expects Poulter to do well in his first race for the new series. If you missed the first round of the European Late Model Series, you will be able to catch it on Motors TV in the near future. Listing times will be announced when available.

The Porsche Club and Porsche open were also at Anglesey over the weekend. The Club races saw a brace race of victories for Ben Demetriou while the Open events were won by Mark Chilton..(pic paul Williams)

Jonathan Wright is once again proving to be the dominant driver in his Radical PR6 in the Radical Club Cup. After qualifying on pole Wright to victory in both races in opening meeting at Rockingham over the weekend.

A sunny, but cold, Saturday greeted Nick  Jones and the other racers as they prepared for rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the Welsh Sports & Saloon Car Championship at Pembrey in West Wales ovder the weekend. The morning was spent preparing the car and on track in general testing sessions. Nick setting consistent lap times of 1.05.2.. On Saturday afternoon qualifying got underway and Nick did a time of 1.05.0 , quick enough for  pole in class B. Race one followd later that afternoon and Nick had a comfortable rolling start, and maintaining his first place position all the way to the finish line.  Starting from pole once again for races two and three on Sunday under blue skies Nick completed his  hat-trick with two more lights to flag victories.  Having secured maximum points for the weekend Nick now  leads the Championship and is looking forward to consolidating his posttion at the next event on 16-17 May when the series returns to Pembrey for rounds 4, 5 and 6.

The Radical UK Cup was at Rockingham at the weekend for the first race of the 2009 season. After a race that saw 3 safety cars incidents and finally  a red flag,it was Jonathan Wright  and defending Champion Derek Johnston who came away with the laurels just 1.7 secs ahead of Roger Bromiley and Roger Wheldon.

Total Control Racing has expanded it’s Ginetta G50 team to three cars for the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup at Thruxton next weekend, 25-26 April, after agreeing a deal with Danish driver Joachim Ritter. Lee Brookes’ Wednesbury-based team, which enjoyed a perfect start to its maiden season in the G50 Cup with a brace of race wins for Carl Breeze during the championship curtain-raiser at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago, will run 37-year-old Ritter for just the Thruxton rounds at this time. However, the team hopes the agreement will be extended for the remainder of the campaign. “We’re obviously very happy indeed to have Joachim join us for Thruxton”, said Brookes, “Things couldn’t have started much better for the team at Brands Hatch with two fantastic wins for Carl (Breeze) and some very good drives by Fulvio (Mussi). “To have already expanded our G50 team to three cars for next weekend is great news for everyone at TCR. If all goes well, we’re hopeful we can agree a deal with Joachim for him to remain with us for the rest of the season.” Ritter is currently 13th overall in the Ginetta G50 Cup driver standings.  

Craig Breen took his third straight Fiesta Sport Trophy victory at the weekend - this time on the Pirelli International Rally and the third round of the Kick Energy Fiesta Sport Trophy. The Irish teenager's performance also earned him the coveted Pirelli Star Driver award..

Dario Franchitti has won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The victory was the ninth of Franchitti's career and the 25th for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Franchitti started second but lost two spots in the first turn of the 85-lap race. He moved back up to second on lap 15. One lap later he lucky to be in for tyres and fuel when contact by Mike Conway brought out a full-course caution two laps later. As the rest of the field cycled through pit stops, Franchitti took the lead on Lap 32. He thei benefited from a similar scenario later in the race, pitting under green conditions on lap 53, one lap before another full-course yellow. From that point, Franchitti led the final 29 laps, opening up a lead of several seconds over pole sitter Will Power. Power finished second in the No. 12 Team Verizon Wireless car, two days after relinquishing his seat at Penske to Helio Castroneves, who finished seventh. Andretti Green Racing drivers Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti all finished in the top 10 despite starting 11th or worse. Kanaan finished third, while Patrick improved from 22nd to fourth. Andretti finished sixth.

19-04-09

Cheung Chi Sing won the first race of the season in the Asian Touring Car series while Frank Yee secured the second in two great races at Sepang International Circuit today(Sunday).

Latest Albert Costa disqualified, Nathanael Berthon is winner . Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) has been disqualified in race 1 due to a technical non-compliance on his car's gearbox. Consequently, all the other drivers that finished the race move up one position. So Nathanael Berthon (Epsilon Euskadi) takes his first victory in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, ahead of Nico Muller (Jenzer Motorsport) and Antonio Felix da Costa (Motopark Academy). Albert Costa, driving for Epsilon Euskadi started his Eurocup Formula Renault campaigne is fine style with a win at his home track of Barcelona. Second was his team-mate Nathanael Berthon with Nico Muller of Jenzer Motorsport third. Formula Renualt UK championship leader James Calado had been vying for  a podium spot with Muller until he picked up a puncture right at the end of the race.

Jody Vincent won the final race at the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercar meeting in New Zealand toaday( Sunday) , the 26-year-old claiming his maiden victory with a lights-to-flag drive ahead of Daniel Gaunt and Mark Russ. Craig Baird meanwhile won both races on Saturday and the first race on Sunday.

Pons Racing’s Marcos Martinez won the first race of the 2009 Renault 3.5 series at Barcelona this weekend.  Bertrand Baguette driving for International Draco was second with Adrian Valles of Epsilon Euskadi third.

18-04-09

Daniel Lloyd is aiming to continue his good start to the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup when the championship resumes at Thruxton next weekend, 25/26 April. The 17-year-old began his maiden year of Clio Cup racing  in great style at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago with good seventh position. During official pre-event testing at Thruxton on Tuesday Daniel was just on the fringe of the top 10 during session one with a time a fraction under a second shy of the outright pace. Daniel still improved his pace in the second session to end the day only 0.789 secs away from experienced team-mate Philip Glew’s timesheet-topping best. Daniel is looking forward to being back behind the wheel as he bids to retain his top 10 placing in the driver standings. “We’re really looking forward to Thruxton next weekend”, said Daniel, “The action in Clios is always mad but at a track like Thruxton where slip-streaming is a big part of things it’s bound to be even more hectic. The season has started well, the second race at Brands Hatch was good and I was really pleased with my performance. Hopefully we can keep building on that as the season goes on. The Thruxton test this week didn’t go quite as we had planned as we were held up in the second session quite badly by other cars and so didn’t get the best out of the tyres. Even so, our pace wasn’t too bad but we know there’s a lot of time to be gained. We’ll look at the data before qualifying next weekend to try and get the maximum out of me and the car.”

Eurosport Events, host broadcaster and promoter of the WTCC via its subsidiary KSO, will produce the FIA WTCC in High Definition, starting with the next on Marrakech's new street circuit, on May 3rd. The WTCC is becoming the first FIA World Championship to be produced in native High Definition. Plans for the season include the production in HD of nine of the championship's twelve events: .   Marrakech,  All European events and Okayama, the last-but-one event of the season on November 1st . The HD broadcasts will be produced using an average of 14 track-side HD cameras, two RF HD cameras and 14 on-board SD 16:9 cameras, as well as a new Digital TV outside broadcast van developed by Belgium-based company Alfacam.

International Formula Master races will also be shown in High Definition on Eurosport. Despite recent speculation, International Formula Master organisers can confirm the Series' future is secure for 2009 and beyond, with established partnerships including the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and Eurosport confirmed until 2012. Prizes for this year's top Formula Master drivers have also been confirmed and include:  Access to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team simulator, a WTCC test with the Chevrolet team, GP2 Series test with the Dams team and a Indy Lights test with the Sam Schmidt Motorsport team. "It saddens me to hear rumours regarding IFM's future," said General Manager Alessandro Alunni Bravi. "We have a strong package, which has worked extremely well in the past two years and there is no reason why this year should be any different. Our car development is done and has already proven successful in pre-season testing, which has featured 16 drivers to date; entries have already been announced with several names to be added in the next few of days; and we have taken steps towards the cost-effectiveness of our Series to ensure teams affected by the current financial situation can still compete. With four weeks still to go until our racing season begins, and two more official testing sessions in the meantime, our teams as well as their confirmed and potential drivers are all getting ready for what I'm sure will be our best season to date."

WTCC's next event in Marrakech will mark a historic moment in motorsport, bringing back a World Championship race in North Africa and Morocco after long time. Only once in the past has the region and the country hosted a world Championship title race. The 1958 Grand Prix of Morocco held on October 19th at the Ain Diab street circuit along Casablanca's seaside. This was the final round of the season and decided the title fight between Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn and Vanwall's Stirling Moss. Under the eyes of King Mohammed V, Moss got a flag-to-flag victory, but Hawthorn managed second place and a one-point lead in the championship's final classification. Morocco appeared in the international calendar again in the Seventies, hosting for three times (1973, 1975 and 1976) a round of the new FIA World Rally Championship.

The hearing of the International Court of Appeal for the appeal lodged by the SEAT Sport team against the decision taken by the Stewards in Mexico, will take place in Paris next Tuesday, April 21st. After the second race in Puebla, the Stewards decided to give SEAT Sport driver Gabriele Tarquini a drive-through penalty (that resulted in 30 seconds added to his elapsed time) because of an incident with BMW Team Germany's Jörg Müller.  The two drivers had clashed on lap 6 at the exit of the North banking, while fighting for the second position behind Jordi Gené; Müller spun and eventually finished the race in 13th position, while Tarquini was classified 8th.Having judged Tarquini responsible for causing an avoidable collision, the Stewards decided to give him also a penalty of ten grid positions that will remain suspended for the next three events.

The Australian Formula Ford Championship has welcomed its latest sponsor with the announcement that Instrumental Musicians Australia ( IMA) will support a new ‘Pole Position’ award for the category in 2009. Brisbane's premier instrumental music store, Instrumental Musicians Australia (IMA) have generously sponsored a trophy and cash bonus to be awarded to the pole sitting driver at each round this year. In addition to this award there will also be an outright award at the end of the season for the driver with the most pole positions during the year. “The commercial support for our category this year has been nothing short of fantastic,” Formula Ford Management’s General Manager Margaret Hardy said. “Coupled with our new ‘Hard Charger’ award, the IMA Pole Award is another incentive which will ensure our drivers are rewarded for a great performance,” she added. Round two of the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship will be held at Winton Motor Raceway on 1-3 May.

Dominic Pettit won the race in the opening race of the Ginetta G20 championship at Oulton Park on Monday, but only after a n action packed race. After qualifying on the third row, Pettit took lead when early leaders Mark Davies and Julian Barratt both spun. Pettit was then harried by a fast recovering Davies who reclaimed the lead. The pair then swapped places once again before Pettit snatch the win at the flag by just 0.126 secs .

James Thompson, the former double BTCC Champion, will be back in the HiQ-backed championship starting at the next round at Thruxton on Sunday 26 April - replacing Gordon Shedden in the Team Dynamics squad. Thompson is one of the most successful drivers in the BTCC's 50-year history. He won the Drivers' title in 2002 and 2004 and has also achieved 33 race wins but has not contested the series since 2006. His return follows successful tests during the winter in Dynamics' Honda Civic. It also means there are now four past BTCC Champions on the 2009 grid - Thompson, plus Jason Plato (Champion in 2001), Matt Neal (2005 & 2006) and Fabrizio Giovanardi (2007 & 2008). Dynamics' Team Principal Steve Neal commented: "This change in our driver line-up has come about due to contractual commitments. Gordon has been part of Dynamics since 2006 and has been a great performer for us. We are currently negotiating further sponsorship to run a third car for him alongside James and David Pinkney which is hoped will materialise sooner rather than later.

TW Steel, the Dutch watch brand specializing in oversized watches has signed Canadian Indy Lights Series race car driver, James Hinchcliffe, as its latest Brand Ambassador. The 22-year-old from Toronto will subsequently wear TW Steel branding during his rookie campaign in the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Series competing throughout North America, including a stop in his home town in July with the 'Honda Grand Prix of Toronto' and later that month at the 'Rexall Edmonton Indy', again in his native Canada. “We're delighted to have James on-board as a TW Steel Brand Ambassador," said TW Steel CEO, Jordy Cobelens. "We've known James through our association with A1GP this season and he's always been very enthusiastic about TW Steel. Canada's an important market for us and we see some great opportunities to promote our brand there off the back of James' race campaign. " Hinchcliffe returns to the Firestone Indy Lights Series this weekend at the 'Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix', 16th-19th April.

Thruxton  is the next destination for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for rounds 3 and 4 on 25/26 April. With average lap speeds of over 110mph and a maximum speed of approaching 170mph, the Hampshire track is the fastest on the calendar.  Leading the Championship race is Tim Bridgman (Team Parker Racing), who could not have had a better start to his second year in the Carrera Cup. Two poles, two wins and two fastest laps gave Tim a perfect 44-point weekend at Brands earlier this month. Bridgman now heads to Thruxton determined to maintain that early momentum and showed his pace by heading the times in official pre-race testing on Tuesday. Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing) and Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) are taking the fight to Bridgman and they bagged the other podium places at Brands. They both know how important it is to stop Bridgman making it four wins in a row and Harvey and Caine both have good reason to expect strong showings at Thruxton. But this is not just a three-horse race as a gaggle of quick racers are working to close the gap to the top three. Newcomers Dean Smith (Red Line Racing) and Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) showed great potential at Brands and will be strong at Thruxton. Bradshaw, along with Winchester's Lewis Hopkins, won the Carrera Cup Scholarship for 2009, and started his campaign with a fourth place at Brands. Smith, meanwhile, was a late addition to the entry and went straight into the Brands weekend with very little testing. He will only get quicker as he builds Porsche experience. Meanwhile Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing) could be another podium contender. The pro-am1 category saw Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) emerge from Brands with an early points' lead and he will try to extend that margin at Thruxton for the first time. With Michael Leonard (Team Parker Racing) missing Thruxton due to business commitments, Geddie still has plenty of opposition including testing pacesetter Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing), Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance) and JHR team mates Robert Lawson and Derek Pierce. Adding yet more strength to the pro-am1 field are RSS Performance team mates Graeme Mundy and John Quartermaine.  Joining the grid at Thruxton will be pro-am2 racer Paul Mace (GT Marques) and Tommy Dreelan (Celtic Motorsport), while the VIP car will be raced by former GT ace Ben McLoughlin.

It's back to where it all began for Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champion Craig Baird this weekend, as the 38-year-old returns to Hamilton for the final Trophy round of the 2008/09 season at the annual V8 Supercar meeting. Baird got his career start in karts at a track on the outskirts of the Waikato city and with no permanent motor racing circuit to call it's own last year's inaugural Hamilton 400 V8 street race was the first chance he had of racing on true 'home turf.' He returns with another Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge title, his fifth, under his belt and every reason to be confident that he can again claim three wins from three starts. Helping is the fact that arch rival David Reynolds is otherwise occupied this weekend in a V8 Supercar. That said, there are others ready to take up the challenge with Triple X teammate Daniel Gaunt and Jono Lester, Jody Vincent and Ant Pedersen all capable of taking the battle to Baird. Gaunt steps up to Reynolds' car this weekend, allowing team sponsor and mentor Mike Morton to race his car and  top NZ V8s driver John MIntyre to join the Triple X team in team owner Shane McKillen's GT3.Others in the lineup are Darryn Henderson from Wellington and young Aucklanders Mark Russ and Courtney Letica. The Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup cars join the NZV8s, GT1 series and Toyota Racing Series single seaters on the support roster at the Hamilton 400 meeting with qualifying on Friday, two 12 lap races on Saturday and a final 12 lap race on Sunday.

16-04-09

AIM Autosport is getting an early start on its trip to Virginia International Raceway with support of the “CONSOL Energy: Race to Stock The Shelves”, an initiative to bolster the effort of two area food banks in West Virginia and Virginia. The CONSOL Energy No. 61 Ford Riley Daytona Prototype along with driver Mark Wilkins will be on hand to raise awareness of the program and also to chat with local fans about the upcoming race, the Bosch Engineering 250 at VIR..

Cooper Tires British F3 International Series points leader and double Oulton Park race victor Daniel Ricciardo proved his versatility today (Thurs) when he made the best of damp track conditions to top the times in testing at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Silverstone, venue for the next championship rounds on 3 May, saw Australian Ricciardo's Carlin-prepared Dallara-Volkswagen splash its way to a 2m 01.953s lap in this afternoon's fourth and final session - three-tenths inside the best time achieved by Ricciardo's closest rival on the day, and top British driver, Riki Christodoulou, in his Mercedes-powered Fortec Dallara. Ulsterman Wayne Boyd bounced back from his Oulton Park crash to post sixth-best time, albeit 1.1s off the pace of his T-Sport team-mate Adriano Buzaid. Quickest of the three National Class runners in attendance was Team West-Tec's Russian racer Max Snegirev.

Testing times, Silverstone GP, 16/4/2009
1  INT  Daniel Ricciardo/AUS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 01.953s
2  INT  Riki Christodoulou/GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 02.243s
3  INT  Adriano Buzaid/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 02.841s
4  INT  Max Chilton/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 03.189s
5  INT  Nick Tandy/GBR, JTR Mygale-Mercedes, 2m 03.513s
6  INT  Wayne Boyd/GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 03.964s
7  INT  Henry Arundel/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 04.273s
8  INT  Oliver Oakes/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 2m 05.081s
9  INT  Stéphane Richelmi/MON, Barazi-Epsilon Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 05.618s
10  INT  Victor Garcia/ESP, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 05.700s
11  INT  Hywel Lloyd/GBR, CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda, 2m 06.124s
12  INT  Carlos Huertas/COL, RR Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 06.577s
13  INT  Walter Grubmüller/AUT, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 07.416s
14  NAT  Max Snegirev/RUS, West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda, 2m 07.689s
15  INT  Daisuke Nakajima/JPN, RR Dallara-Mercedes, 2m 07.989s
16  NAT  Gabriel Dias/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda, 2m 08.969s
17  NAT  Victor Correa/BRA, Litespeed-Mugen Honda, 2m 11.032s

Nick Sanderson got his Car Insurance Ford Fiesta Championship underway at Silverstone last weekend with a fine second place behind eventual winner David Ellersley. Nick had led the race early on but wet tyres on a drying track handed the race to Ellersley who had gambled on slicks.

The inaugural KAMS European Late Model Series got going over the Easter break, 12-13 April 2009, at Warneton International Speedway in Belgium. A grid of 18 cars entertained the crowds on the 3/8 mile banked oval with plenty of bumper-to-bumper racing .

The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear series has announced that the inaugural Pizza Ranch 100 at Iowa Speedway on July 10 will be the first event in the series' new "Title Sponsor" initiative that presents companies located in or near race venues on the 2009 calendar .

The SG Formula race team started it’s season in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup with a clean sweep of the podium in both races at Nogaro. Red Bull Junior Team driver Jean-Eric Vergne won both with his team mates Miki Monras and Julien Abelli coming second in the two races.

Menasheh Idafar had a difficult time at the Formula Renault UK test at Thruxton on Tuesday. His car struggled to get up to speed due to suspected engine problems leaving him well off the pace. Hopefully things will improve by the time the Michelin Formula Renault UK championship returns to Hampsjhire next week .read more.

Motors TV will continue its crusade to provide a home for the “Best of British Motorsport” after confirming that Caterham racing will appear on the channel this season. The High Speed Television Channel will devote time to all four senior championship classes – Roadsports A & B and Superlights R300 & R400 – across eight, 50 minute programmes to be screened regularly throughout 2009.. Grids are often packed and with no driver aids to complicate matters, the racing is close. The machine’s simple, lightweight design has changed little since its launch in Lotus guise 50 years ago when the late, great Colin Chapman first developed it. Motors TV’s Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Frederic Viger said, “We’re particularly proud to see Caterham racing join our 2009 line-up as they’re exciting and certainly one of the most treasured and recognisable series in British motorsport. I’d like to stress that television coverage remains just a first step though. Working closely throughout the season, we’re developing a partnership that involves running competitions as well as all entries bearing the Motors TV logo in 2009. Naturally we’ll be further tightening those brand links throughout the year.” Motors TV’s 2009 Caterham coverage is in the weekly “Best of British Motorsport” slot – Saturday’s at 7.05pm. It all kicks off on May 2

Hillspeed's Lee Dwyer continued his good start to the Michelin Formula Renault UK season with a good run at the official test held at Thruxton on Tuesday.  His team mate Menasheh Idafar struggled to get on the pace due to a lack of straight-line speed pointing to potential engine problems.

Thomas Hylkema underlined his and Manor Competition's front-running credentials at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire yesterday, Tuesday, 14th April, during the official Michelin Formula Renault UK .Championship test session for the second race meeting of the 2009 season

Andrew Herron in the JHR Developments car made up for a disappointing first session at the recent Elf Clio Cup practice at Thruxton. He made up for it in the second session however going third fastest. read more

15-04-09

Formula 3 Australia was today shocked and saddened to hear of the untimely loss of Graham Watson, who passed away last (Tuesday) night after a brief battle with Cancer. read more

 Former F1 driver Emanuele Naspetti will return to racing this weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. The Italian will make his Carrera Cup Italia debut at the wheel of a Porsche 911, ran by team GDL Racing, for the first 2009 rounds of the prestigious Stuttgart-based championship. The 41-year-old from Ancona tested his 420-hp car last March at the Misano Adriatico circuit, focusing on the 2009 set-up as well as obtaining crucial feedback on his times. "By the time we finished the shakedown last month, I was well aware of the high level the majority of drivers race at, and I am expecting some great battles on track," said Naspetti. "I look forward to the competition this weekend. I have some great memories of Imola; the last time I raced there was in 2006 and I won both races in the Italian Supertourimo. The track has been renovated since, which I'm sure will be an important factor, but we're optimistic nonetheless." Saturday's race one will begin at 16.10, whilst race two is scheduled to start at 15.10 on Sunday. 

Six years after his last major race, Ben McLoughlin will return to racing in rounds three and four of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton (25/26 April). The former front-running GT racer is now a Porsche Driving Consultant and will race the VIP car at his home track of Thruxton, carrying the colours of the Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone. “It’s a fantastic opportunity and I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation,” said McLoughlin during testing at Thruxton on Tuesday (14 April). “I’m thrilled to be back out racing again; it’s a proper car and to be racing under the Porsche banner makes it all the more special.” McLoughlin works fulltime at the Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone. “I love the fact that I’m going to be racing a Porsche. This is a clean sheet of paper for me and I’ve got a lot of cobwebs to blow away,” he said.

Bridgman sets Thruxton pace in Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Tim Bridgman again headed the time sheets for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB after official testing at Thruxton yesterday (14 April) ahead of rounds three and four of the championship at the track on 25/26 April. Meanwhile, Tony Gilham set the -am1 pace.  Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) set the pace in both of the day's sessions, posting a best lap of 1m14.643s, (112mph). "Everything was fine, so it’s a case of job done," said Bridgman. "We're ready to race," he added, following his double victory in the opening two races at Brands Hatch earlier in April. However, Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) also had reason to leave Thruxton in confident mood after setting the second fastest time of 1m15.013s without using any new tyres. Unlike all of the other leading drivers, Caine spent the day on used tyres even though he thought he was on new tyres when he set his best lap in the afternoon. Just behind Caine was Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing, "I'm happy with the car," said Tim. "I didn't quite get the best out of the new tyres" .Tom Bradshaw and Jake Rosenzweig both had good days for Team Parker Racing to end the testing fourth and fifth fastest. Right with the pace of Bradshaw and Rosenzweig were Dean Smith and Lewis Hopkins from Red Line Racing.  The battle to be top of the pro-am1 times was just as close, with Gilham (Red Line Racing), Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) and Robert Lawson (JHR) covered by only a third of a second. 

The 2009 Porsche Club Championship makes its first visit to the Anglesey this weekend, April 18-19, for rounds two and three of the series. After an exciting pair of races opened the season at Donington Park, hopes are high that Anglesey will provide more top quality race action. Mark McAleer and Ben Demetriou took overall wins at Donington and head the Class One runners. The two 968 CS drivers battled at the front in both races, but for Donington the rear-engined Class One runners will have another race under their belts and  will be aiming to move up the results.  Gary Duckman and Richard Ellis will be out in new for 2009 993 C2 Porsches, the model in its first season of eligibility with the club and drivers and teams are keen to get to grips with the new challengers. The 964 C2 was the car to beat in Class One last year and three examples will be on the Anglesey grid in the hands of Marcus Carniel, Kevin Harrison and Malcolm Jones. Jeremy Clark won Class Two in both races at Donington, the reigning champion the only driver to take a double win at the opening rounds. Stepping up from Class Three and out in a 944 S2 this season, Clark has set a challenge for the class regulars, but drivers such as Chris Dyer, Tim Bates and Alan Newbold will be out to take the race to the champion.   

Jack Barlow impressed onlookers with a pair of classy performances in last weekend's opening round of the Formula Kart Stars MIni Max championship and firmly put himself into early contention for overall title honours

Due to licensing issues at Donington Park , a couple of meetings that the BRSCC is involved with have had to be re-scheduled. As mentioned yesterday(see below) the F3/GT meeting has been postponed to the 18/19th July. The Britcar meeting originally scheduled for the weekend of the 2/3rd May has been cancelled. However the majority of the championships due to compete at this meeting will now race at Rockingham on Saturday 2nd May. You can keep right up to date with all BRSCC meetings by visiting BRSCC RACE MEETINGS

The BRSCC Northern Centre is running one of its two Cadwell Park meetings this Saturday, 18th April. Making their seasonal debuts are the Mighty & Super Mighty Minis, the Dunlop TVR Challenge and the Fiat Racing Challenge. Also in the 10 race programme are the Alfashop Alfa Romeos and the Ma5da MX5 Championship, both of which started their seasons at the Silverstone Britcar meeting at the end of March. The full timetable and Final Instructions for the Cadwell Park Raceday can be found at BRSCC Cadwell Park Raceday  

Last weekend was certainly a busy one for Formula Jedi constructor and competitor Frazer Corbyn. Frazer raced in the first Formula Jedi round of the season at Silverstone on Saturday, recording a fourth place finish. However, Frazer was unable to take his place on the grid for the second round on Sunday morning as his wife Joella, who was expecting their first child, went into labour. Happily, Joella presented Frazer with their first child at 12.50pm that afternoon – a bouncing baby boy named Oscar who weighed in at 7lbs. Congratulations to Joella & Frazer,

CRS Racing’s Harry Tincknell was fastest during official Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship practice at Thruxton on Tuesday, 14th April. The 17-year-old Graduate Cup driver set a time of 1min 09.931s (121.28mph) in the first of two practice sessions at the Hampshire circuit. Championship leader James Calado in the Fortec Motorsport car was second quickest. The first session got underway in the dry with Tincknell posting his best time of the session and the day on lap 20. Calado was second quickest for the session followed by CRS Racing’s Josh Scott and 2008 Graduate Cup winner Dean Stoneman in the Alpine Motorsport car. Fortec Motorsport’s Fredrik Blomstedt, Manor Competition’s David McDonald and SSS Motorsport with Hillspeed’s Lee Dwyer were also among the top drivers. The warmer afternoon session saw Calado hit the top on a 1min 10.196s (120.82mph) followed by Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Jesse Krohn. Round one winner Oli Webb in the Fortec Motorsport car went third quickest with Manor Competition’s Thomas Hylkema, Stoneman and Fortec Graduate Cup driver Will Stevens the leading drivers for the session. Podium finisher from Brands Hatch Jordan Oakes in the Hitech Junior Team car could only manage a best of eighth for the session, while privateer racer Michael Lyons produce one of his best performances to take 10th. The practice session also saw two new entrants to the Championship – Mark Burdett Motorsport’s James Dixon and Falcon Motorsport’s Jordan Williams increasing the number of registered competitors to 28.

F Renault Clio Cup with Michelin leader Phil Glew set the fastest time during official free practice at Thruxton circuit on Tuesday,)(14 Apr). The 25-year-old Team Pyro racer did a 1min 23.965s (101.01mph) to head the timesheets with closest rival Alex MacDowall in the Total Control Racing car fifth quickest overall. The practice session took place ahead of rounds three and four on 25th/26th April. McDowall had been quickest in the first session with Glew, who claimed a double victory at Brands Hatch,just 0.329s behind. Amery Motorsport’s Dave Newsham and Coastal Racing’s Lee Pattison were third and fourth fastest. Coastal Racing’s Carl Bradley and Total Control Racing’s Mike Robinson were also among the top drivers as was Jake Pakun. Session twosaw  Glew set what would become the fastest time of the day with Newsham continuing his form from earlier in the day by going second quickest. Podium finisher from Brands Hatch, Andrew Herron in the JHR Developments car made up for a disappointing first session by going third fastest. Robinson, Pattison and MacDowall all posted strong times as did the youngest competitor in the championship 16-year-old James Colburn in the Westbourne Motorsport with Colin Stancombe Engineering car. Total Control Racing’s Sam Tordoff and Team Pyro’s Aron Smith were also among the leading drivers for the session.

Ian Gough won the first round of the Richard Egger Insurance backed Club Formula Ford Midlands South Championship at Silverstone last Sunday to stake an early claim to what is sure to be a keenly contested title battle. The Southport based driver took the chequered flag in his Ray GRS07 with Matt Shawyer (Van Diemen RF90) and Martin Galpin (Swift SC94) filling the remaining podium places. Rounds two & three of the Championship will be contested at Snetterton on 2/3rd May. Richard Egger and his team of Motorsport Insurance specialists offer a wide range of insurance products tailored to the ‘club’ competitor. For more info rmation visit RICHARD EGGER INSURANCE

Yann Clairay and his co-drivers Patrice Goueslard and Luc Alphand took their Luc Alphand Adventure Corvette C6.R to 2nd place in LM GT1 at the Catalunya 1000KM after a trip into the gravel trap after 3 hours on cost them 6 minutes and a possible victory.

The 2009 Aston Martin Asia Cup kicks off this weekend (17-19 April) with two support races at the Sinopec F1 Chinese Grand Prix. In its second year, the one make Aston Martin series returns to the track sporting a grid of Aston Martin Vantage N24s. The series welcomes back several drivers from 2008, a season which eventually saw Kota Sasaki (Japan) take the spoils as Champion. Sasaki was pushed all the way by the experienced Sri Lankan driver Dilantha Malagamuwa who returns in 2009 with Dilango Racing. Malagamuwa, a double winner and Championship runner up in 2008, will be looking to go one better this year. Singapore fields two drivers in Mel Choo and Ringo Chong. Choo knows how it feels on top of the podium having taken a win last year and Chong took podium places at both F1 support events last year, his third place in his home race at Singapore an emotional finish. Malaysia’s Tunku Hammam is a further 2008 podium visitor who will be one to watch this year. Kuo Tong Hsieh also showed great pace in AMAC’s debut season and he will be keen to finish well in Shanghai as he leads a trio of Chinese Taipei drivers for the event. The series welcomes back Australia’s Mark Williamson and Britain’s Ryan Marsden both of whom will be at the wheel of Concord Energy Racing Astons once more. The team will be joined at a later date by Nas Muzayyin, 2008 Rookie Of The Year. The 16 turn Shanghai International Circuit is an ideal track for the nimble Michelin shod N24s to show off their ability. And with two races on the cards there is ample opportunity for the drivers to shine. "We are all looking forward to getting on the track after the winter break" says Series Director, Ian Geekie. "We are pleased to welcome back many drivers who joined us in our first year in 2008 and also a number of new drivers. To enjoy a double support race at the Formula One is a great way for us to start our season and it certainly adds to the exciting paddock atmosphere."

A1 Team India added 3 points to its championship tally with a 6th place finish in the Sprint race at the Algarve circuit in Portugal. In the feature race driver Narain Karthikeyan started in 17th on the grid after he was blocked on his flying lap in qualifying, nevertheless, Narain  felt that he had a good setup for the race on Sunday. In the run down to the first corner of the Sprint race, Narain was passed by Team Malaysia before he re-passed them at Turn 3. At the pit-stop, the A1 Team India pit-crew did a superb stop getting Narain out quickly allowing him to take the flag in 6th.  The Feature race saw  Narain make a superb start moving up to12th from 17th by the end of the first lap. Once again the pit crew did a great job at the pit-stops and Narain was up to 4^th by the closing stages.  With 10 laps to go he put in the fastest lap of the race up to that point before closing in on 3rd place A1 Team Portugal with just 5 laps remaining.  It was then that he began experiencing  problems turning right and with his brakes. This eventually cost him 4^th to Team Malaysia and then, with just 2 laps, to go he slid off at Turn 11 and into the gravel trap. A later inspection revealed a left front wheel bearing had failed and put paid to Narain and A1 Team India's best finish of the season so far.  After the race, Narain said, “I have mixed emotions about the day today. We had two great races today. Unfortunately due to a wheel bearing failure, we did not finish the feature race, but the race pace of the A1 Team India car in both races was fantastic. We were running very strongly in the top 5 during the feature race, and the car felt fantastic to drive. My team of engineers and mechanics did a superb job all weekend long, and I really want to thank them for that. The next round of the championship is in 3 weeks in Brands Hatch in the UK, one of my favourite tracks, and where I won last year. I’m confident that the team can do the job again next time around and we will get the finish that we truly deserve.”

14-04-09

SRO Motorsports Group regrets to announce that the British F3 and British GT meeting planned for the Donington Park circuit for the weekend of 25- 26 April is to be postponed to a summer date. A new date for the Donington meeting, which will play host to rounds of the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, Avon Tyres British GT Championship and supporting championships, will be confirmed within a few days. SRO is announcing the decision to postpone in the interests of competitors, says SRO Motorsports Group General Manager Bernadette Fitzsimons: "The issues surrounding the problems at Donington are well known(track licence issues due to work for the British GP upgrade). We have worked hard with Donington's management to find a solution, with discussions between us, Donington, the FIA and the MSA not yet concluded, we must move to end the uncertainty. "We are confident Donington will resolve its problems soon, and we look forward as always to visiting what is one of the country's top circuits and to putting on a great show there."

James Cole continued his MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britian in the same vein as he started it, with a second win in Race 2 at the opening event at Oulton Park. In race 3 American Josef Newgarden (pictured) put his stamp on the proceedings by winning the third race of the Easter bank holiday weekend…Pic Jakob Ebrey Photography

On his debut weekend with multiple championship-winning Millennium Motorsport, Jake Lloyd took a superb victory in the second round of the Formula Kart Stars Championship.

SG Formula’s Jean-Eric Vergne got his 2009 Formula Renault WEC title bid off to a great start at the weekend  with 2 poles and 2 wins at Nogaro cin France.  

Paul Taylor and Didge Dziurzynski got their 2009 Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook off to a winning start at Oulton Park yesterday (Monday),. Taylor had a very straightforward victory in the first race winning by a comfortable 10 second margin over Joe Fulbrook in second. In race 2 Dziurzynski won a much closer affair, beating Joe Fulbrook, second again,  to the line by just 0.161 secs..

The first weekend of Formula Renault Northern European Cup (NEC) was held at Zandvoort over the weekend.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs won the opening race from pole with a lights-to-flag victory. Second and third were his team-mates at Motopark. Antonio Felix Da Costa in second and Kevin Magnussen third, although nthey very nearly . eliminated  each other by spinning together on the last lap. Race 2 saw a reversed grid for the first 8 from race 1. This left Toomas Heikkinen on pole in his Koiranen Bros team car with Daniel de Jong for the team of MP Motorsport alongside. However it was Da Costa who came out on top winning from Magnussen and Sorensen in second and third.

Vanthoor and Dusseldorp gave Volkswagen 2 wins in the ATS Formula 3 Cup at Oschersleben at the weekend. The duo both drive for Van Amersfoort Racing and it was Laurens Vanthoor (B) who won the first race on Sunday with his VW Powered Dallara F307, winning from pole and recording fastest lap in the process. Second place went to his team mate Stef Dusseldorp (NL), who went one better on Monday b y winning and setting the fastest lap. Another one-two for the duo was stopped after von Vanthoor was given a drive-thouigh penalty for a jumped start, he subsequently finished eleventh. After two races Dusseldorp leads the championship with 19 points ahead of Vanthoor with 13.

In the ADAC Formula Masters season opener also at Oschersleben, Daniel Abt and Klaus Bachler justified their positions as favourites with wins in the first two races of the year.  Daniel Abt planted his Formula ADAC powered by Volkswagen on pole for both races, winning the first race nd taking second in the second. Klaus Bachler finished fourth in the race on Easter Sunday before claiming victory on Easter Monday. In race one the remaining podium positions went to Adrian Campfield (GB) and Rene Binder (A) in second and third, in race two Kevin Friesacher (A) was third behind Abt.

Star Mazda Championship team Mundill and their driver Anders Krohn recently completed a two day test at Eagles Canyon Raceway, just outside Dallas, Texas. The technical road course, completed in November 2007, proved the perfect place for Mundill and Krohn to improve their car and communication with each other. Krohn also managed to beat the overall track record that was previously held by Ex. Formula 1 and Champ Car driver Christiano Da Matta, driving a Grand Am Daytona Prototype car. Krohn's time of 1.39,993 was just over four tenths quicker than Da Matta's time, 1.40,400. Next up for 21 year-old Anders Krohn is round two of the Star Mazda Championship, which will be held on April 25th at Virginia International Raceway.

13-04-09

Stuart Hall and his partner Daniel Brown won once again in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Twenty Four year-old Hall and his 17 year old co-driver won their second race of the Easter bank holiday weekend at Oulton Park this afternoon in  their Momo Mosler to add to their triumph on Saturday .

American Alexander Rossi will return to Europe next week in preparation for the 2009 Formula Master season to continued to test with various teams. Snow canceled the Formula Master test last month at Spa so Rossi had to shake down the brand new Tatuus / Honda with Hitech on March 26th at Silverstone. The 17-year old Californian plams to race in the International Formula Master series for his first foray into European racing and his first stop was with Trident Racing at Imola.  Rossi commented, “Imola is an important circuit for me to know and all that I had imagined; fast, technical and relying heavily on confidence to be fast,” Rossi said. “The curbs are critical at Imola and you have to find a car balance that works well with them. The whole Trident team was very professional and a pleasure to work with.” Silverstone was Rossi’s second stop. Despite rain Rossi completed 60 laps with Hitech, “The FM car was brand new when we arrived at Silverstone”, Rossi said. “Most of our laps were dry as we developed a baseline on the car. Silverstone is another important circuit and I really enjoyed the Copse Corner. I look forward to BRNO with Hitech in the collective series test. Their high level of experience was obvious at Silverstone and BRNO should go well.” Rossi’s quick adaptation to the track and feedback prompted team owner David Hayle to comment, “During our initial shakedown test at Silverstone Alexander was very mature, serious and a professional race driver. He has a very bright future in racing". Next stop for Formula Master testing is Brno, April 21-22 with the final pre-season test at the Hungaroring on April 27-28. 

Daniel Ricciardo had the best possible start to his Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series campaign at Oulton Park today (Monday). The Australian now leads the championship after winning both races from lights to flag in his Carlin Motorsport-prepared Dallara. It also marks a triumphant return to British F3 for  his engine supplier Volkswagen. 

Anthony Wright (left - pic PaulWilliams) was the winner of the Track and Race Pre93 race at Thruxton yesterday. Driving a Rover Tomcar Wright beat Matk Osborne's Mitsubishi Starion by 4.491 secs. Anthony Gorman came third in a BMW M3.  In the Power Torque Morgan Challenge race at the same meeting Keith Ahlers came out on top in his Plus 8, over 26 secs in front of second placed Andrew Thompson's Roadster while in third was Chris Ackland.

The Autoglym Post Historics got going at Thruxton yesterday with David Howard's Jag XJ12 once again looking like the car to beat, but only just as Stephen Primett's Mk2 Escort was only 1.6 seconds behind. Third place went to the RS2000 of Jason Christie.  In the Impressions Classic Thunder encounter, run with the Blue Oval Saloons, Neil Philpotts  (right - pic Paul Williams) was the winner in a Mitsubishi Starion from the Sierra XR8 of Piers Grange. Gareth Porter came in third driving a Peugeot 205 GTi . The Hammerite Group 1 race saw Jim McLoughlin take the honours in his Capri from Howard's Jag while Alan Roper was third in a Rover SD1 Vitesse. The Max 5 Series had only 6 runners and it as Joachim Ritter who won from Jonathan Halliwell and Cassey Watson.    Adding some variety to the event the 250CC Long Circuit Kart Championship held two races at the Hampshire circuit. Jason Dredge(pictured - Pic Paul Williams)  won the first and Craig Fleming the second, James O'Reilly and James Tucker followed Dredge home in race 1 and Tucker and Paul Platt completed the podium in race 2

2008 Stars of karting Champion Mike Vincec started his kart season recently at Ocala where he ran well taking pole and running well in there hats before claiming second in the final.  His Skip Barber National series debut at Sebring didn’t go so well when an accident (not of his making!) early in qualifying left him at the back of the grid for both races. He managed to get his car up to 18^th and 15^th in the two races which would imply that he does at least have the speed to be competitive...read more

Cassey Watson made her debut in the Max5 Championship on Sunday. Having never seen the car prior to the race day and with an engine and suspension rebuild due prior to round 2 the target for the day was to learn the car and shake off the cobwebs from 8 months without racing. Driving the ACS Networks (UK) Ltd backed Mk1 MX5, Cassey qualified 4th on the grid and set off from with the  intent on shadowing the frontrunners in an attempt to learn the car's limits. Unfortunately a missed gear on the exit of the chicane meant losing touch so she set about trying to finish with the maximum points possible. She did eventually finished 3rd (for the third consecutive time) so she was on the podium, a good result on her debut in a new car and continued her impressive record of standing on the podium in every vehicle she has ever raced. The next Rounds of the championship are on May 23rd at Oulton Park.

Posting a warm welcome to YourRacingCar.com on the forums. When small businesses have very limited funds, they have to be creative if they want to get their name in the public domain. If it’s a choice of a new gear box or advertising, then in a motor racing team, the car will always win. The newly formed YourRacingCar.com (YRC) team like to be different and so launched their ‘Members Club’ funding initiative to a specialist online forum renowned for their loyalty and support of new projects in motorsport , www.SEATCupra.net. Having achieved a great response from the forum members Hannah James, YRC Club Manager sought the support of other forums and their administrators to let people know how they can be a part of a progressive team with YRC.  The running of the YourRacingCar.com car is totally dependent on the financial support of motor racing  fans to allow them to complete a full season of the Ginetta G50 Cup . For that reason the YRC team brought on board corporate partners who provide benefits to the members at no cost to YRC but ensuring the YRC member can get the value of their membership back by taking up the experiences and products on offer YRC was born out of a passion to go racing, giving fans the chance to be part of the team without teh headwaches of running it! 

12-04-09

Nick Jones, the 19 year old saloon car racer is returning to Wales in 2009 to compete in the Welsh Sports and Saloon Car Championship.  Nick's first season in saloon car racing was in 2007 when he raced in the Dunlop Great & British Mini Challenge where he finished 3rd in Club Class and 4th overall. He was also voted Mini Racer of The Year by readers of Modern Mini Magazine.  In 2008 Nick competed in European competition in the Belgium Renault-Sport Clio Cup finishing 5th in Juniors and 11th overall,  "Racing at  Zolder, Spa and the Nurburgring were great experiences, The racing was much cleaner than in the UK as the officials are very strict on their "no Contact" rule. I never replaced a bumper all year" said Nick when recently interviewed for Motorsport News. "Coming back to Wales to race will allow my friends, family and fans the chance to come and cheer me on" added Nick.  His first meeting is on 18-19th April at Pembrey with qualifying and race 1 on Saturday followed by 2 and 3 on Sunday.

Switzerland’s Neel Jani once again emerged victorious in an action-packed Feature race at Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal this Sunday afternoon. The result moves Jani onto  ten A1GP victories, making him the ‘winningest’ driver in the series. Despite receiving a drive-through penalty early on for a false start, Ireland’s Adam Carroll made a great come back, which included some slick pit work from his team to  get him across the line in second.  Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque once again did the local fans proud, moving up from seventh on the grid to take his second podium of the afternoon. Earlier Robert Doornbos took his first win for A1 Team Netherlands this morning when a red flag ended the Sprint race. Doornbos had already taken the lead from pole-sitter Italy’s Vitantonio Liuzzi at the the first corner and had a healthy lead before a crash involving Felipe Guimarães’ Brazilian car and South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg brought out the red flags with 3 laps remaining. Ireland’s Adam Carroll was second with local hero Filipe Albuquerque coming home third to the delight of the Portuguese crowd

James Cole came away from the first race of the new MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain season at Oulton Park with a win from pole position yesterday (Saturday). The Jamun Racing Mygale driver led the field away at the start  to beat Garry Findlay by just over a second at the flag. A startline crash eliminated Josef Newgarden, who was unable to get away off the grid., Josh Hill and Fabio Gamberini.. - Pic Jakob Ebrey Photography

Trackmagic Racing Karts is proud to announce a renewed relationship with karting star and Grand-Am Rolex Series driver Memo Gidley. Over the course of his career, Gidley has raced and won in just about everything,starting in motocross then karts, FF2000, Champ Cars, ALMS prototypes and currently, GrandAm for the #77 McDonalds/Doran Racing team. Along the way, he formed a bond with American kart manufacturer Trackmagic and its owner, the late Fausto Vitello, who was one of the biggest influences of his career.  Memo also has helped thousands of new karters with his “Secrets of Speed” book series and various clinics and schools. As part of reuniting with Trackmagic, Gidley will help develop chassis across the range of the company’s adult karts. He will also compete in select karting events such as the ProKart Challenge, SKUSA SuperNationals and PRI All-Stars Karting Classic. Gidley said, “Karting has given a lot to me over the years and I am excited to be a part of Trackmagic’s vision for growing the industry. With everything that I have had the opportunity to drive, I still really enjoy racing karts and going up against great kart drivers who have the same drive to win that I do. I am looking forward to using my experience to help Mike put Trackmagic back on top in the US market, and to continue bringing new karters into this sport that I love and that has given me so much.”  For more information visit www.Trackmagic.com

11-04-09

Daniel Brown and Stuart Hall made the perfect start to their Avon Tyres British GT Championship campaigne at Oulton Park this afternoon (Sat). The pair took a lights too flag victory in their Momo-backed Rollcentre Mosler in the Championship’s opening encounter of 2009..read report.

Chris Miller managed to hold off Matthew Inge in round two of the 2009 F2000 Series at Virginia International raceway to win by just over a tenth of a second.  Earlier in the race  Canadian Remy Audette had led early on before both Miller and inge pushed him back into third…read report

Max Chilton and Walter Grubmuller were the fastest today in qualifying fro the open ing round of the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series at Oulton Park. Carlin Motorsport’s Chilton claiming pole for Monday's first race with Hitech Racing's walter Grubmuller second ..read more

Chris Miller went fastest today at VIR taking the pole for round two of the F2000 season in al last gasp lap  in the morning session. Alongside him will be Matthew Inge making it an all American front row ..read more

Round Six of the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport continued this afternoon with Vitantonio Liuzzi claiming Italy’s first ever A1GP pole position in the Sprint race in tomorrow’s Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal. Robert Doornbos took his first pole position for A1 Team Netherlands in Feature race qualifying. Despite both segments of Sprint race qualfying being interupted by red flags, Liuzzi timed his run to perfection. Making full use of the one PowerBoost lap available to him he claimed pole poistion for A1 Team Italy on his A1GP debut with a time of 1-minute 30.875-seconds. The Netherlands kept its practice form together in qualifying with Robert Doornbos second on the grid for the  Sprint while A1 Team Ireland’s Adam Carroll made up for a problematic day yesterday by claiming third. Doornbos went one better in Feature race qualifying to claim his first pole position of the series with a 1-minute 30.415-second lap. Ireland will line up alongside him on the front row with Switzerland’s Neel Jani in third, recording his only laptime of the session after his car stopped while out on track during Sprint qualifying.  South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg scored the teams best qualifying result of the season to start fourth. Local Portuguese driver Filipe Albuquerque will start fifth and seventh for his home event.

Benjamin Searcy has won the first race of the year in the F2000 Championship at Virginia International Raceway. Searcy's victory in his Z-Sports Midwest Van Diemen came in mixed conditions. He took the lead in the rain, holding on as the track dried out in the latter stages to win by over 14 seconds from Remy Audette in second.

10-04-09

Remy Audette took pole for the first F2000 race today at VIR under overcast skies with a lap of 1:54.708, breaking the previous F2000 qualifying track record of 1:55.067. The Canadian Qa more than half a second on second placed  Chris Miller who  could only manage a 1:55.307.  Miller in the JDC Motorsports Van Diemen couldn't match his earlier time of 1:54.532 set in practice, “We had the pace but I just couldn't put a lap down,” said Miller. “We lost radio contact so I couldn't talk to the team about changes. But we are starting on the front row so it should be a good race” Matthew Inge put his #02 St. Clair Motorports entry into third. “The track didn't have as much grip as yesterday. Chris Miller and I were running together. There was a car off here and there. It was hard to get a clear lap with the cautions and the traffic,” explained Inge. “But Chris and I were able to put together a good lap right at the end of the session” Jesse Yorio was fourth in his Piper Chassis, he said, “The car is running great. I just wish I had a draft or something on that lap.” Z-Sports driver Benjamin Searcy showed impressive speed to round out the top five with a 1:55.725. 2008 Masters champion Tim Minor was sixth and the first of the Masters class drivers with a 1:55.751. The race gets underway at 2:30pm eastern time.

Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal got underway this morning with New Zealand’s Earl Bamber setting the early pace in the rookie session and the Netherlands’ topping the timesheets in afternoon practice.

The Season Opener of the 2009 Asian Festival Of Speed-Malaysia, scheduled  for 23-24 May at the Sepang International Circuit, has been moved to back a week to 30-31 May. The move is to avoid a clash with the A1GP event planned for the earlier date which involves several drivers and Team personnel.  “We have had to change our dates to accommodate some of the drivers and Teams who are participating in the A1GP. They moved their date recently and we have to change ours to avoid a clash for some of our participants” said David Sonenscher, CEO of Motorsport Asia. The 2009 Asian Festival Of Speed- Malaysia will be held on the full Grand Prix circuit at Sepang and will feature five of the Championships promoted by Motorsport Asia. The Formula V6 Asia, Asian Touring Car Series, GT3 Asia and the Asian Touring Car-Max will all be competing in two rounds while the Formula BMW Pacific will hold four rounds during the weekend.

RML’s Lola Mazda B09/86 debut in last weekend’s LMS race at Barcelona ended prematurely when the car’s engine expired after two-and-a-half hours of racing. To make matters worse Thomas Erdos had got the car into  the class lead after starting sixth on the grid.

The F2000 season started yesterday at Virginia International Raceway with the opening practice and qualifying sessions. At then top of the timesheets at the end of the day was American Chris Miller who set a time of 1:54.532, half a second inside the lap record. 

Triple FIA WTCC champion Andy Priaulx will attempt his first ever marathon. In a personal mission to raise both money and awareness for the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation, a charity he set up with wife, Jo, Priaulx will take part in the London Marathon on April 26th. "Foolishly I said to a few friends what about running the Great Wall of China, but before doing anything stupid like that, I should have a go at a marathon. At the end of the day what we really want to do is save more babies lives and that is why I am doing this," he said.If you would like to sponsor Andy to run the marathon, donate at www.appeal.gg/ppbf.

The WTCC LADA Sport team announced that the LADA Priora car will make its first WTCC appearance at Porto, on July 5th. The Priora will replace the LADA 110 2.0 currently used by the team. The design and development of the new car has been going since the end of 2008 with the Priora currently undergoing construction in the LADA Sport workshop. It is due to hit the track for testing by the end of May. "The first aerodynamic tests in the wind tunnel showed that the Priora is well balanced, which is extremely important. The drag coefficient is very low and makes the LADA one of the best cars in its class," unveiled Vladislav Nezvankin, director of LADA Sport.

Proteam Motorsport will expand to three cars for the next WTC event in Marrakech. The 32-year old Italian Vito Postiglione will join Félix Porteiro and George Tanev at the wheel of a third BMW 320si. "We add a quality driver to an already strong team. I believe that with the addition of Postiglione, our team is getting even stronger. We will provide all three drivers with the best materials in order to offer them the opportunity to shine," team owner Valmiro Presenzini stated. Postiglione has won in the Italian and European Renault Clio trophies. His best achievements were victories in the 2003 Vallelunga 6 hours and the 2007 Ferrari Challenge World Final. "This is an opportunity I was waiting for since long time and I wish to thank Valmiro for supporting me. The programme so far includes some of the European events, then we will evaluate my position in the championship and decide what to do," he said.

WTCC's new Compensation Weight system will come into force for the first time at Marrakech. The system determines the running weight of the WTCC cars on the basis of lap time calculation. The best lap times of the two fastest cars of each model in qualifying and the two best lap times of the two fastest cars of each model in both races are averaged. The calculation is based on a three event rolling average, except it is applied after the first two events.!! The compensation weight for Morocco has been set by the times set in Brazil and Mexico. Therefore the SEAT León TDI and BMW 320si have been indentified as the reference models and will receive a compensation weight of 40kg in addition to the minimum weight of 1170kg fixed by the sporting reg. All other cars - Chevrolet Cruze, LADA 110, SEAT León TFSI and Alessandro Zanardi's BMW 320si (the only one equipped with a sequential gearbox) - will have 20kg deducted from their minimum weight.

The British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC) will celebrate its 100th anniversary at Brands Hatch next weekend (18/19 April) with a centennial race meeting featuring a mixture of historic motorcycles and modern racing categories. Next weekend, the club will commemorate its anniversary with a busy programme of over 30 races, along with historic bike parades and a display of modern and classic motorcycles. There will also be a post-racing celebration in the Kentagon restaurant on Saturday evening including a skiffle band and Courage beer on sale at 1909 prices – just 1p per pint!  Mike Dommett, CEO of the British Motorcycle Racing Club, said: "It's quite an achievement to think that a British racing club has been going strong for 100 years, and it is a privilege for me to be involved with the BMCRC. The majority of Britain 's great motorcycle racers have been members during their early career and the club still thrives as a stepping stone to BSB."

09-04-09

British racers with cars from the Classic F3 Championship and the Peter Hanson Trophy series will get the chance of a lifetime to race at Monaco in May 2010, following the announcement that the Monaco Historic GP will feature two Formula 3 races for the first time. The organisers of the most prestigious historic race meeting in the world have confirmed that two F3 races will be run on the 2010 race programme at the famous street racetrack around the harbour of Monte Carlo. One race will cater for the 1-litre cars raced from 1964 to 1970 and one for the 1600cc and 2-litre cars from 1971 to 1984.  The news is a massive boost for both F3 classes, which have race series in the UK under the wing of the Historic Sports Car Club and in conjunction with the Classic F3 Association and the 1-litre F3 Historic Racing Association.  The inclusion of a race for the 1-litre cars is a boost to the re-growth of the category, which now has a UK mini-series for the Peter Hanson Trophy. With up to 30 cars expected to race in Britain this summer, and more cars in Europe, the 1-litre F3 class is one of the fastest growing categories in historic racing. The first of this year's races in the Peter Hanson Trophy series will be at the HSCC's meeting at Silverstone on 9/10 May.  "This is very good news for everyone involved in historic F3 racing," said Grahame White, CEO of the HSCC. "Obviously, the Monaco organisers will only be able to accept a limited number of entries. But having such a prestigious opportunity for F3 cars will be a big boost to both UK race series run by the HSCC that cater for these cars."

Freddy Nordstrom is set to compete in the Spanish SEAT Leon Supercopa in 2009. The 6 round Championship visits 5 Spanish circuits plus an ‘away’ race to the new start of the art Portimão Circuit in the Algarve, Portugal. Freddy will be the first Scandinavian driver to compete in the series which was one by British driver Tom Boardman in 2008 who has gone on to race in the World Touring Car Championship in 2009. Having previously competed in the SEAT Cupra Championship in the UK and tested his newly upgraded Supercopa, Freddy is no stranger to the car and relishes the challenge of new circuits.A season of racing in Spain will not only aide his long term touring car racing ambitions but will also feature heavily in his University studies in 2009. As a student of International Business in London, Freddy will be looking to add Spanish language skills to his repertoire; he is already tri-lingual in Swedish, English and French as well as conversational German! Freddy will be looking to race on British soil though in the SEAT Eurocup British round which supports the WTCC at Brands Hatch in July.

Anybody who follows the Heritage GT Challenge will be used to seeing a Chevrolet Camaro taking the chequered flag first, just as it did in the car’s heyday. But did you know that until earlier this month; a Camaro was the last Chevrolet to win a British Touring Car race?  When Jason Plato won the third race of the day at Brands Hatch recently, it ended something like 35 or so barren years in BTCC for Chevvy. With its eclectic mix of machinery from the ‘60s, 70s and into the 1980s, the Heritage GT Challenge has rarely failed to capture the imagination of racegoers.  For those of us old enough to recall the BTCC of that era, it is a chance to relive our youth. For those weaned on a diet of single class structure BTCC, it’s an insight as to what the then multi-class BTCC was all about. Whether it’s seeing the little ones trying to get the better of a big ‘un or simply the thrill of watching drivers of the big V8s trying to tame more power than they have grip, there is something for everyone. In terms of controlling power while driving sideways, few in Heritage have matched father and son pairing Arthur and Boysie Thurtle in their Chevrolet Camaro.  Jason Plato has got Chevrolet back on the winners step in BTCC, but can he do it again or will it be left to the Camaro drivers in the Heritage GT Challenge? Visit Donington Park for the season opener over the weekend of April 25/26 or one week later (May 1/3), at Brands Hatch where the Heritage is supporting A1GP to find out..

Full Speed Racing was out at the FIA GT test day at Paul Ricard this week, with all six of their drivers in action in the team’s Saleen S7Rs…read more

Thanks to a deal with Formula Palmer Audi, entrants to this year’s Formula Kart Stars KF2 Championship will be able to take advantage of free entry into this weekend’s opening event at Kimbolton - and the other championship rounds.  It is also the only karting series officially endorsed by Bernie Ecclestone. In a statement he said “Carolynn Hoy runs one of the best and most forward-thinking karting series. Formula Kart Stars will become the benchmark for karting – not just with competitive racing, but also the best support structure for young competitors”. Ecclestone added, “I have a feeling that in future, the Formula One™ World Champions may well come from within the ranks of FKS and this is the reason that Formula One Management supported FKS”.  Winners of each of the nine rounds will be invited to the Formula Palmer Audi HQ at the Bedford Aerodrome to take part in a shoot-out. The winner of which, will be able to compete in the FPA Autumn Trophy, courtesy of a fully-funded drive. Alternatively, the winner will be able to choose between the scholarship seat or the equivalent of £10,000 worth of testing or competing in the 2010 summer season.Drivers can register for the KF2 class now by clicking on www.formulakartstars.com or by signing on at the circuit on Friday morning, from 8am

Dominic Pettit’s racing career was given a lift recently when he successfully negotiated a sponsorship deal with local company Showtrax International, suppliers of graphics, pit and paddock equipment to race teams. 18 year old Dominic, a student at Cambridge, hopes to repeat his success from two weeks ago when he won both the first races of the season in the BARC British Sports Car Championship at Brands Hatch in his Ginetta G20 car. Dominic will be racing in the Texaco Havoline G20 Championship at Oulton Park in Cheshire this Easter bank holiday weekend in his Dominant Motorsport prepared car and is looking forward to the challenge of his first season in senior racing after his previous successes in junior sports cars.

British racing outfit YourRacingCar.com was created 11 weeks ago with the premise of offering a greater level of involvement to motorsport fans by making them stakeholders in a Ginetta G50 Cup team for just £25. The 4-5 April was the teams’ first outing in the G50 Cup and it started reasonably well with Saturday’s qualifying resulting in seventh on the grid for Races 1 and 2 plus fifth for the final race on Sunday afternoon.  In race 1 driver Fulvio Mussi steamed through the pack in the early laps to fourth and looked to have all the right tools to compete at the front. Races two and three were not quite so successful in terms of points however two spirited fightbacks after poor starts meant that the weekend ended on a positive note. Afterwards Hannah James, YRC Club Manager said “It’s been an emotional weekend for everyone, not least because 11 weeks ago neither Fulvio nor I were expecting to be on the BTCC Support Package. Fulvio and TCR have done a fantastic job with the car this weekend especially as Fulvio barely sat in the car before Friday morning. I have to say the real story of the weekend for us is the number of Brands Hatch spectators who visited our stand and joined the YourRacingCar.com club. We’ve been overwhelmed with support and I’m sure if it was ever clearer to Fulvio that he has hundreds of sponsors to please now rather than a handful, Brands Hatch brought it home”.A new livery is required by Thruxton to ensure that all new members see their names and pictures on the YRC Ginetta G50. YRC Members benefit from a massive £22 discount on a pair of Thruxton BTCC tickets so why not join in.

Motors TV is set become the home of Rallycross in 2009 after finalising deals to broadcast two of the sport’s top championships. After renewing their partnership with the MSA British Rallycross Championship, the UK’s premier domestic category, the High Speed Television Channel is proud to announce details of its European Rallycross coverage. All ten rounds of the FIA championship, as well as the eight ERA sanctioned events, will be shown just over a week after the action takes place. The hour-long, primetime Monday night slot at 8pm offers a great chance to watch the continent’s top Rallycross drivers and cars battling it out in close quarters on dual dirt and asphalt courses. Not since Rallycross’ halcyon days of the 1980s has the sport benefitted from this level of dedicated coverage as fans rediscover its unique appeal.   Motors TV’s Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Frederic Viger said, “Rallycross is a great sport which, thanks to fast paced, short races and full on action, represents one of television’s most suitable motorsports. In fact, it’s difficult to think of anything better! We know from our previous experiences with British Rallycross, which we’ve been showing for a number of years now, that there’s a large fan base out there desperate to catch coverage of a European scene which has staged a comeback in recent seasons thanks to an increasing number of international entries. I’m sure 2009 will continue that trend.” Catch the opening round of the European Championships from Lydden Hill, with a guest appearance from the original voice of Rallycross, Murray Walker, Monday, 20th April from 8pm.

Marino Franchitti will race at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours in an Aston Martin Vantage GT2 for all British Team, Drayson Racing, His Co-Drivers are  team owner and driver, Paul Drayson, and Jonny Cocker. Drayson Racing will be the sole representative for the marque in the LM GT2 category. "I am really excited to bring you this news", said Marino "And my thanks go to both Rob and Chris Dyson as well as Mazda North America for releasing me to take on this epic race". Marino is competing in one of Dyson Racing's Mazda-Lola LMP2 prototypes in the 2009 American Le Mans Series and took a third placed podium only last weekend in the second round of the championship held in St. Petersburg, Florida. Between now and the 13th June when the Drayson Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT2 rolls off the grid in the 24 Hours at Le Mans, Marino will be racing in the ALMS championship in Long Beach, California and Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as his Le Mans preparation tests with his new Drayson Racing team.

Max Hyatt and Robert Podlesni  shared the wins in Rounds 3 and 4 of the Pacific F2000 Series presented by Terminal Velocity Processing at Willowsprings last weekend..

Watkins Glen International will be the place to be for any Mark Donohue fan during Opening Day on Sunday, April 26th. The 1973 Eagle-Offy that Donohue drove in several Indy Car events, including his final Indianapolis 500, will be on display and is scheduled to be one of eight legendary cars participating in the weekend-long Mark Donohue Tribute. The cars will make several tribute laps of the historic road-course at noon on April 26th. Opening Day is also the last day to take advantage of the advance sale ticket prices for any 2009 racing event held at the racetrack this summer. Opening will feature a full day of on-track activity and the official release of the new Mark Donohue biography titled Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence at Speed. The eight Donohue cars currently scheduled to appear are two 1967 Lola T70 Can-Am cars, 1973 Eagle-Offy Indy Car, 1967 Trans-Am Camaro, 1961 Elva Courier, 1967 Shelby GT 350R SCCA B production car, 1973 Porsche 917-30 Can-Am car, and rare Penske PC-1 F1 Proceeds from Opening Day will benefit the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC). Additional information on the weekend's activities can be found either at www.racingarchives.org or the Watkins Glen International website, www.TheGlen.com.

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport heads to Portugal for the second time in its history this weekend, but with a brand new circuit in the Algarve providing the backdrop for what is set to be one of the most memorable events of the season on 10 -- 12 April.

08-04-09

The first round of the 2009 LMA Euro Saloon and Sports Car Championship was a double header round at Anglesey. The series added spice to the proceedings by using both circuits, the Coastal circuit on Saturday and the more familiar International circuit on Sunday. Peter Challis and Richard Gould came away with the laurels in the two races with Andy Harvey, Olly Allen, Kevin Wendt and Brett Walter all picking up class wins.

Reigning International Formula Master (IFM) Champion, JD Motorsport has announced its full driver line-up for 2009 with the confirmation of Russian Sergey Afanasiev. The young driver returns to the IFM Series with JD Motorsport for a second year and will partner Bulgaria's Vladimir Arabadzhiev and Czech Josef Kral. Afanasiev, who won in Pau last season, will be supported once again by the LUKOIL Driver's Support Program as well as a new collaboration with Red Bull.

Cars and Drivers from the 2009 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series have been all the rage off the track of late. Over the weekend V8 Utes Racing were involved in the QLD Launch of the new Universal Pictures Movie, Fast & Furious New Model Original Parts in cinema's April 16. The Utes were on display at Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast Sunday 5 April for the launch and will also be on display outside Birch Carol and Coyle Cinema's, Pacific Fair next Wednesday, 15 April for the preview of the movie. Warner Brothers Movie Worlds Brand Manager, Meagan Miller was pleased with the outcome of the Launch. "The Utes were fantastic, the whole afternoon ran smoothly race driver Greg Willis and his offsider Hans were fantastic to deal with as was race driver Ryal Harris, everyone loved the movie and the after party was a smash hit (and looked amazing)," said Miller.

The successful partnership between Volkswagen and the ADAC Formula Masters will start to its second season at Oschersleben this Easter weekend (11 to 13 April). The Formula ADAC powered by Volkswagen cars are fitted with 145-hp FSI 1.6 litre and will start eight events. "The Formula Masters offers young talents a perfect way to enter automobile racing and is thus an important element of Volkswagen Motorsport's development programme for young drivers," says VW Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "The combination of the Dallara chassis and a modern 1.6-litre FSI engine offers reliable, safe and professional material at low costs, particularly to drivers moving up from kart racing. Champion Armando Parente, who immediately managed ascending to higher Formula classes, showed how well suited this material is to make a strong showing." Kevin Friesacher, 18, brother of Patrick Friesacher and Daniel Abt,16, son of DTM team director Hans-Jurgen Abt, are both favourites for the title having raced in the series last year Two others set to attract attention are Britain’s Adrian Campfield and Klaus Bachler from Austria, who finished the 2008 championship in third place. Freddie Hunt, the son of 1976 World Champion James Hunt will contest his first full season in the series. American Liam Kenney, who raced in the American Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup in 2008 will also take part.  

Following the 12 Hours of Sebring, Team Peugeot Total is continuing its preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours with 1000km de the Spa-Francorchamps. Based on the lessons learnt at Sebring, Peugeot Sport will has enter two 908 HDi FAPs for the race on May 9-10 rather than three as originally planned. "This decision is not due to any delay in either our preparation or our work load, but to a small change in our organisational set-up," points out Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel. "Our priority is still Le Mans and I don't want to see the team tire itself out by having to prepare three cars for Spa, especially since we are also working on our ongoing endurance simulation programme. We have consequently chosen six drivers for the Belgian race based on the number of kilometres they have respectively put in at the wheel of the 908 HDi FAP." The No.7 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP will be driven by Christian Klein(AUT), Nicolas Minassian (FRA) and Simon Pagenaud (FRA)., while the No.9 car will have David Brabham(AUS),Marc Gene(ESP) and Alexander Wurx(AUT) at the wheel.

Charlie Kimball opened his 2009 Firestone Indy Lights campaign with a pair of top-10 finishes on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Kimball made good progress in both races as he recovered from poor qualifying, brought about by rain and traffic on his few dry laps. He was 12th for Race 1 and 18th for Race 2. He ran two strong races to move up to 10th in Saturday afternoon's event, and finished good 7th in Sunday's Race 2. The results were even more impressive considering the limited testing that Kimball's team, Palm Beach International Raceway (Team PBIR), was able to complete before the first race weekend.  "The session was so disrupted I am pleased to have done as well as I did," said Kimball. "I am still learning the track and the grip level was changing constantly! That is not where I want to be in qualifying and we need to make some serious changes to the car to move up in the races."  After the second race he was however more upbeat. "What a race!" enthused Kimball afterwards. "It took a lot of concentration not to get caught up in other people's accidents. The car was much better today and I know that when we unload in Long Beach, we will be faster straight away." Kimball will now prepare for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 17-19^th.

Speedcar Series will feature as a support event to the Bahrain Formula 1Grand Prix on April 24-26. This will be the Series' fifth and final round of the season in which five drivers at the top of the Drivers' Championship table are in the running for the Season 2 title and 500,000 US dollars in prize money. Gianni Morbidelli currently leads the Drivers' Championship Standings with 47 points, followed by Johnny Herbert, the reigning champion in second with 40, Jean Alesi on 38, Heinz Harald Frentzen with 36 and Vitantonio Liuzzi in fifth place with 29. There are 20 points available to the winners(10 per race)  which will determine the Champion. Four teams are also contending for an additional 500,000 US dollars to be shared between the top three teams. The current Team Championship standings lead with JMB Racing on 49 points, the UP Team with 45, HPR with 44 and Team Lavaggi on 24 points.

Last weekend Alex Graham and Martin Hindley took a win each in the 2CV.com races at the Silverstone National Circuit. In the first race on Saturday Graham beat Wayne Cowling by 0.5.43 secs with John-Paul Wilkinson third right on Cowlings boot lid. Race 2 on Sunday was a much closer affair with Hindley winning from Steve Panans by just 0.4secs. Right behind the elad pair came Matthew Hollis and Sammy Fritchley, 0.8 and 0.8 secs behind the leader respectively.  In the Classic FF2000 race Lawrence Denne’s Van DIeman RF82 led Andy Huxtable over the line followed by Richard Wallington. While in the MGOC class A-F race Martin Willis won by 0.532 secs from Stuart Plotnek and Ian Evans whoi was third just 0.3 secs further behind.

07-04-09

CRS Racing wrapped up a productive two-day test at Paul Ricard HTTT, running both the GT2 and GT3 Ferrari 430s at the first public test of the season. All four FIA GT drivers were in attendance: Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen in the No.55 GT2 car and Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell in No.56.  The test ran smoothly for the GT boys as Rob Bell explains: “It’s great to get back in the car,” he said. “We got in some good solid running here, getting through everything we wanted to test.  We’ve learnt a lot and hopefully we can take this forward into the season and build on it.” This test also gave new GT3 drivers, Phil Quaife and Klaas Hummel, their first opportunity to run with CRS.  After meeting the team members and getting comfortable in the Ferrari they set about learning the track as they will race here later on in the season. Phil also had a quick run in one of the GT2 cars, trying it out for size. “This test has been very productive for us,” commented Andrew Kirkaldy. “We have tested prior to this but it’s important to come and test with the people you race against. Until you do that you don’t know where you are compared to your rivals.  It has all gone according to plan; we’ve come away with valuable data that will help us both at the Paul Ricard race and during the rest of the season.”

The 2009 Competition Car Insurance Ford Fiesta Championship kicks off this coming weekend with Round 1 at the Silverstone International circuit. Nick Sanderson will be racing a newly build Fiesta ST in 2009 after a successful shakedown at Oulton Park last week.  His team will have two cars on the grid at Silverstone for both John Findlay and Sanderson with backing from Kempster Ford / Orion Engineering.

Craig Breen made his debut in European Rallying at the weekend in Portugal and promptly won the opening round of the Ford Fiesta Sporting Trophy International .

The HRS Motorsport-designed CRG Dark Knight kart scored a brace of superb wins at last Sunday's first round of the British Super 1 Rotax Championship with Ed Brand and Lee Jenner.

Ryan Briscoe and runner-up Ryan Hunter-Reay took the top two places in the first round of the 2009 Indycar series. Justin Wilson, who only secured his drive with Dale Coyne Racing late February, came third.  "This is a great place for me after a long, tough winter," said Wilson, who started an second for the 100-lap Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. His result was a bit bittersweet as he led 52 laps but was passed by Briscoe following a late restart followed by Hunter-Reay a lap later. "That last restart the two cars behind got a very good run off Turn 14 and I didn't," he said. "Having led the most laps all race and been so strong and been so fast, I'm disappointed not to get the win," he said. "But, under the circumstances, I'm very pleased with third result for Dale Coyne Racing."

The Hitech Junior Team scored a debut podium finish in the opening round of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship this weekend  at Brands hatch.  Jordan Oakes took third place on his first appearance with the team in race 1. Sadlt mechanical gremlins intervened in race 2 forcing him to miss the race

CRS has revealed three of the drivers who will race the two CRS Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 cars in 2009: Klaas Hummel, Chris Goodwin and Phil Quaife. As the FIA GT3 Championship is a Pro-Am series it is vital to select the best pairings of professionals and amateurs and CRS has signed what promises to be a winning combination. Klaas Hummel only began racing a year ago but a fine performance in the SLR GT Trophy has fired him up for a shot at the FIA GT3 Championship. He and Chris Goodwin are already a successful partnership and CRS hopes this will continue with the switch to the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Phil Quaife has raced in GT3s since early 2007, alongside successful campaigns in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB and the Porsche Supercup. He has already got his racing year off to a flying start with a class win at the Dubai 24 Hours. Phil's team-mate will be announced soon.

Ed Brand took the lead in the Super 1 Championship at Whilton Mill, near Daventry last Sunday (5 April). After getting to grips with the new format for the event, comprising of timed qualifying, followed by a heat and two finals, Ed came away with 2 wins and a second place ..read report

CRS Racing got their 2009 Formula Renault season got off to a good start at the weekend when their driver, rookie, Harry Tincknell, took pole position before coming home in second place in the first race of the year. "I had a dream start to my Formula Renault season," said Harry. "Taking pole position was awesome and actually felt as good as a win! During the session the slicks were taking ages to come in as it had started off pretty wet. Once they started to work I went sixth, then third, and then I got the run at pole. Going into the race I was little concerned as it was the first time I had done a start in the dry, but I nailed it and had a great run. I had a moment going into the Esses and Ollie Webb got up the inside of me but after that it was a clear run to the flag." Race two was an entirely different story for Harry as his left rear wishbone broke on the warm-up lap and he was unable to start the race. Harry wasn't the only CRS driver at Brands Lewis Williamson had a great result in race two, finishing fourth. Josh Scott had two solid finishes: seventh in race one and fifth in race two. Matias Laine came eighth in race one and Michael Lyons had a tough weekend, finishing 23rd and 21st in the two races.

Strakka Racing made a pretty good debut in the Le Mans Series at the weekend. The Silverstone based team took their Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S  to an impressive fifth place in Spain at  the Barcelona Grand Prix circuit

Fifteen Formula Mazdas took to their spiritual home track, the Mazda Raceway last weekend to contest round five of the 2009 Molecule Formula Mazda Challenge. In morning qualifying in the Pro FM class Chuck Hulse took the top spot followed by Stan Kohls and Larry Schnur. Andy Brown, who had never been on the course before this month, secured the fourth place position. Michael Guasch who actually posted the fastest time in qualifying was not running for points as he was running in full Star Mazda pro series spec which was not Molecule Formula Mazda legal at this event. In Standard FM Matt Trudell took the pole position followed by Stew Tabak and Bill Weaver. In the Pro FM race Hulse got a great start and built a comfortable lead while Stan Kohls, Larry Schnur, and Andy Brown ran within feet of each other from the green flag until the checkered. The Standard FM battle was between pole sitter Trudell, Bill Weaver, Derry O'Donovan, and Jim Mali who all ran in the lead pack and traded places multiple times. When the final flag fell Weaver was on top followed by O'Donovan, and Mali.

Pro Formula Mazda
Chuck Hulse 1st
Stan Kohls 2nd
Larry Schnur 3rd

Standard Formula Mazda
Bill Weaver 1st
Derry O'Donovan 2nd
Jim Mali 3rd   

The Pro Formula Mazdas are back at it again at round six at Miller Motorsports Park on May 16th, while the Standard FM racers have their next event at Thunderhill Raceway Park May 30-31.

The F2000 Championship Series gets started on Thursday when the championship begins at the Virginia International Raceway. A full grid of 30 cars is expected to take the start for rounds one and two of the 12-round 2009 season, making F2000 the largest grid in American open wheel racing. ...read more

The Britcar GT and Britcar Production races from the end of March will be shown on Sky Sports on the 20th and 21st of April.  Transmission times will be published on the news page of the Britcar website as soon as they have been confirmed

Volkswagen's newest race car, the Scirocco GT will make its debut on Easter Monday (13 Apr) in the Volkswagen Racing Cup in association with Hankook. Two RacingLine-built Sciroccos are expected to race at Oulton Park for the opening rounds, a BSS-backed car run by SlideSports team for Mike Kurton and another for Addison Lee Motorsport's Liam Griffin.  ..read more

A1 Team Italy has pulled off a coup by signing Vitantonio Liuzzi for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.  Liuzzi has been successful in all categories he has contested up to Formula 1, and his first race with A1 Team Italy will be the Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal event over the Easter weekend. Liuzzi was at the Sepang in Malaysia at the weekend as reserve driver for the Force India Formula 1 team, but flew back to Europe on Saturday night and his first A1GP experience, driving the series’ simulator in Modena. He will get behind the wheel of the A1GP car for the first time in the practice at 14.00 hours on Friday, 10 April at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. For Liuzzi the opportunity to get to race again is appealing: “I’m really looking forward to trying the A1GP car and to get back to racing, which is the thing I like to do most. I am pleased that Vijay Mallya and Force India agreed to release me for these races so I can feel the adrenalin of a race atmosphere again.”  It is planned that Liuzzi will also drive for the team at A1GP Brands Hatch, Great Britain, but the team is hopeful these will not be the only races he will contest with them.

The MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain gets started this coming weekend at Oulton park  with 24 competitors taking part in the opening rounds….read more

The MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain will get its best-ever level of television coverage this year, with exposure not only on satellite broadcaster Motors TV but also on the mainstream UK station Channel 4.  In previous years the Ford-backed championship was available only on satellite, but the new deal forged by motorsport television producer, HayFisher, makes the series free-to-view in the UK and Europe. Selected rounds of will get a 30-minute stand-alone programmes on Motors TV and on Saturday mornings on Channel 4, fitting in and around coverage for the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The first Formula Ford programme on Motors TV is at 1900 on Saturday 25 April.

Both the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will a;so enjoy significant TV coverage this season. One-hour stand-alone programmes on each championship will be aired on Motors TV, both in the UK and across Europe, after each race meeting, with 30-minute shows on Channel 4, provisionally scheduled for Saturday mornings. Alistair Spence, from series promoter SRO Motorsports Group, said: "Formula 3 has enjoyed an unbroken 10-year run on Channel 4, and we are delighted to see it returning to mainstream British TV for another exciting season." The UK Motors TV channel - Sky Channel 413 - kicks off its Cooper Tires British F3 International Series coverage with footage from the coming weekend's races at Oulton Park on 18 April at 1700. The Avon Tyres British GT Championship races from Oulton get an airing on 25 April at 1800. Repeat programme timings are listed at the championship websites.

The Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship has a new home for 2009 after joining Motors TV’s “Best of British Motorsport” roster. This one make series involves identical Ginetta G20 sportscars battling it out across 16 rounds which culminate at Spa-Francorchamps for the season finale in October. Motors TV will have action from all of this season’s races thanks to eight, half-hour highlights programmes on Saturday evenings. Catch the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship on Motors TV in the regular Best of British Motorsport slot – Saturday’s from 7pm. The first programme airs on April 18th with action of the opening round from Oulton Park.

A1 Team Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque made a final appearance at the WRC Rally of Portugal yesterday as the build up continues to the Vodafone A1GP Algarve, 10 – 12 April. The distinctive notes of the Ferrari engine could be heard for a final time entertaining the crowds as Albuquerque powered his A1GP car around the Super Special Stage in the Estadio Algarve, the base of the Vodafone Rally of Portugal. “It was harder yesterday, said Albuquerque, “because there was a lot more rubber on the track so I struggled a little bit to do donuts. It was still a good show though and the crowd enjoyed it. I could still interact with them and tried to think where I could improve the show for them after last Thursday so I gave it more revs and they were happier.” Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal takes place from 10-12 April at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and nationwide at FNAC, Media Markt, El Corte Inglês, Pavilhão Atlântico, Arena de Portimão and at www.autodromodoalgarve.com.

PlayStation® and Nissan’s GT Academy will be shown on TV channel Dave in a series of five programmes featuring the GT Academy. GT Academy was devised  by PlayStation® and Nissan to unite the worlds of virtual and reality by turning the ultimate gamer into a real-life racing driver. The series of programmes will be aired on Dave across the next five weeks, each airing on a Saturday at 7.00pm, with the first programme featured last Saturday, 4^th April.(repeats on Wednesdays at 7.30pm and then again the following Saturday morning at 11.00am, so you haven’t missed it yet!) The journey started with gamers from 11 European countries posting times via the online version of PlayStation’s Gran Turismo driving game.Eventually they were whittled down to 3 who joined finalists from all over Europe at Silverstone for a week of evaluation. Dave’s coverage of GT Academy will reveal the old cliché of ‘the agony and the ecstasy’ as the 20 finalists are gradually whittled down to two winners in a tense, knockout format judged by a panel of experts. The prize at stake , the chance to qualify for an international racing license and then race as a member of the team in a fully-prepared Nissan 350z  at the Dubai 24hr endurance race.  

The British Superbike Championship kicks off at Brands Hatch with a four day Easter extravaganza on 10/11/12/13 April, which includes an extra day of testing on Good Friday and the opening BSB races of 2009 on Easter Monday. The Airwaves Yamaha team will be looking to pick up where they left off at the end of 2008, with James Ellison joining Leon Camier in the championship-winning team who have made the switch to the new YZF-R1   from Ducati in a bid to secure a second  successive title.  The event also marks the  debut of Sylvain Guintoli with the  Worx Crescent Suzuki team. HM Plant Honda return to the fray with an all-Australian assault on the title with Glen Richards and Josh Brookes. They face tough opposition from fellow Honda squad Hydrex, who have doubled their efforts with Stuart Easton lining up alongside Karl Harris. The Yamaha attack comes from the red and blue Rob Mac Racing teams; Michael Rutter will line up in the red corner for the North West 200 Coca-Cola Zero squad whilst Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker and Graeme Gowland uphold the honour of the blue team in Motorpoint/Henderson colours. Kawasaki will also have two teams vying for supremecy; World Endurance rider Julien da Costa and Simon Andrews head up the MSS Colchester Kawasaki challenge, whilst John Laverty and Tristan Palmer line up on the Buildbase Kawasakis.  The two British Superbike races provide the Easter Monday action alongside races for the  Metzeler National Superstock 600 and 1000 Championships , Fuchs - Silkolene British Supersport Championship, the  Relentless British 125GP  Championship  and further races for Superteens, Sidecars and KTMs.   Tickets for the opening round of the 2009 BSB Championship at Brands Hatch on Easter weekend (10/11/12/13 April) are now on sale. You can book your tickets online from just £23, with grandstand seats available from £6. For further information and to book call 0870 950 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk

06-04-09

Local schoolchildren learn about life in the pit lane. Year 6 pupils from West Kingsdown Primary School swapped the classroom for the pit lane last Friday (3 April), when they enjoyed a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch. The class of 10 and 11-year-old children met several of the BTCC’s leading teams including reigning champion VX Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi, Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan, Tempus Sport Chevrolet Lacetti driver Harry Vaulkhard and Team RAC’s Colin Turkington and Stephen Jelley. The children also enjoyed a visit to the garage of the Wrotham-based team Airwaves BMW, which celebrated its first ever BTCC race win at Brands Hatch last weekend. Pupils met drivers Rob Collard and Jonathan Adam, who tested them on their championship knowledge – and the winning three children had a chance to sit in Collard’s BMW 320si race car. However, the visit did not just involve meeting the teams: the tour also included an educational visit to BTCC tyre manufacturer Dunlop, where the children learned about the work that goes into producing race tyres.

Fortec team-mates Oli Webb (pictured) and James Calado  took a win a piece during the opening two rounds of the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Kent’s Brands Hatch Indy circuit on Sunday, 5th April.

David McDonald and his Dutch team-mate at Manor Competition,Thomas Hylkema, ended the opening meeting of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands Hatch in 12^th and 13^th place in the points table.

Round two of the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship got Hillspeed's Cham[pionship up and running with their drivers  Menasheh Idafar and Lee Dwyer both finishing in the points.

Current Super GT champion Benoit Treluyer took his first win of the season in the opening round of the Formula Nippon championship at Fuji this weekend. it was the Frenchman's first win in the  Japanese single-seater series since 2007.

Matt Neal, Robert Collard and Jason Plato all took a win in the opening rounds of this weekend's opening races of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

Phil Glew, driving for Team Pyro, got his Elf Renault Clio Cup Championship with Michelin off to a flyer at the weekend.  Racing in the opening two rounds at Brands Hatch, Glew made the perfect start taking two wins from two starts .

Andrew Herron rescued a solid ninth place result during the second round of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 5th April, to add to the deserved race one podium he achieved during Saturday afternoon’s season-opening encounter. 

Menasheh Idafar didn’t get his season in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship of to the start he wanted at Brands Hatch. After a difficult qualifying session in damp conditions which left him down on the ninth row he came home 19^th in Round 1. However he did bounce back in Round 2 securing a top ten finish and  fifth in the  'Graduate Cup' standings.

Daniel Lloyd’s ELF Renault Clio Cup debut at Brands Hatch saw him take a fine seventh place in the second race of the weekend despite two safety car incidents, "I'm really happy with today's result, I know I drove a lot better than during the first round yesterday as I'm starting to get more used to this style of racing"…

Junior Strous won both races in the Indylights doubleheader at St. Petersburg. He is the third driver to win the first two races of the season, joining Mark Taylor (2003) and Alex Lloyd (2007). Both of those drivers went on to win the championship. Sebastien Saavedra finished second in race 1, earning the first podium finish of his career.. He finished 26^th in race 2 on Sunday due to mechanical problems. James Hinchcliffe finished third in the opening race and sixth yesterday . Strous said afterwards, "The team has done an amazing job. We're a new outfit so this gives us a lot of confidence for our next race at Long Beach. We saved our tires in qualifying, so for both races we had a new set of tires while the other guys ran used tyres. Both races it was hard to get the temperature in, but after about ten laps the Firestones really gave me enough grip to win the race."

Glynn Geddie claimed 5th place in an eventful Race 2 in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch on Sunday but was the first of the Pro-Am 1 drivers to cross the line.

The Midvaal round, of the 2009 South African National Formula Vee Championship, produced two thrilling battles at the head of the field with Alan Holm and Courtney Steenveld coming out on top in the two races.

Dean Smith had a good start to his 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship at Brands Hatch yesterday when he added a fourth place finish in race 2 to his fifth place in the opening round. The two resulrts leave Smith an excellent fourth place in the Championship.

Jack Goff (18) from High Wycombe did the double in the opening rounds of the MG Trophy championship at Donington on Saturday. After a nightmare test day when the team only managed to do four laps due to an overheating problem they woke on race day not knowing if they would even be racing ,or if the problem had been sorted as qualifying would be the only time to test the car again. Goff taking part in his maiden race in cars held pole position right till the end of qualifying when he was ‘pipped at the post’ by the more experienced Chris Bray. Goff therefore started race one second to  Bray on the grid with an equally experienced Paul Luti lining up in P3. Goff said "I was worried about the start as I have never done a standing start before and have not been able to practice one till the race, but when I got to it all went to plan." After a great close scrap with Bray and Luti, it was Jack who came through for a momentous victory.  Race two saw the trio in the same grid positions ,and after Luti’s retirement, Goff and Bray scraped it out until the flag, swapping positions several times with Bray coming out just on top with Goff just millimetres off his rear bumper at the line. Goff was also named driver of race one and overall driver of the day.  Bray leads Goff in the championship by two points its all to play for at rounds 3 and 4 four on 9th May at Oulton Park.

Jake Cook took his second straight win in the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance at Brands Hatch yesterday. Added to his win on Saturdayhe now has a 20ppoint lead in the championship over Alex Austin in second.

Frank Wrathall grabbed his first win in the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup in Round 2 at Brands Hatch yesterday morning, (Sunday, 5th April). However Carl Breeze extended his lead in the championship with a dominant second win of the weekend in Round 3 .

In the ELF Renault Clio Cup, Total Control Racing’s Alex MacDowall added a fine third place in round 2  to his second in the first round of the season on Saturday. The team’s celebrations continued when Carl Breeze adding a second win in the third round of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup.

Rob Bell & Gimmi Bruni took their JMW Motorsport  Ferrari F430 to 2nd place in LMGT2 in the opening race of the 2009 Le Man Series at the Catalunya Circuit near Barcelona 

The Speedy Racing team Sabah had  a frustrating opening race in the Le Mans Series at the 1000 km of Catalunya race in Barcelona. Their LMP1 Lola suffered overheating problems after a promising start while in LMP2 the car was sidelined for sometime with an electrical glitch..read report  

05-04-09

Jason Plato did what no one thought likely at Brands Hatch today(Sunday), he won a race! Last season this wouldn't have been a surprise but this year....Having signed up for this year's BTCC only last week he promptly turned up at Brands Hatch with the RML-prepared 08 Chevrolet Lacetti, a car he hadn't driven before, and went on to win a race!  His 47th victory and Chevrolet's first since 1975.

Aston Martin Racing has won the Catalunya 1000 kilometres on the team’s Le Mans Series debut with its new LMP1 machine. The 007 car, driven by Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ) and Stefan Mücke (DE) finished first after a flawless debut run. Car 009, crewed by Harold Primat (CH), Miguel Ramos (PT) and Darren Turner (GB), ran in the top three until the final 40 minutes of the race, when a spin put them out of contention.  An elated David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin, said: “This momentous victory is a fantastic reward for the many weeks and months of hard work put in by every member of the team. Endurance racing is above all a team sport, and I think that we have proved this once again today.”  Starting from third on the grid the 007 car showed speed and reliability throughout the race, which came to a dramatic climax just over half an hour from the finish. Having hounded the leader in the closing stages, the 007 car with Mücke at the wheel benefited from a safety car period to close right up to the leader. With a pass around the outside, Mücke was able to take advantage of traffic to claim the lead, pulling . pull away to claim an emotional victory by just 14.8 seconds.

In the LMS GT2 class, there was further encouragement for Aston Martin with the Drayson Racing Vantage GT2 of Englishmen Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker taking a strong eighth place in class on their first ever European outing.

Mark McAleer and Ben Demetriou won a thrilling race apiece in their evenly-matched 968 Club Sports as the 2009 Porsche Club Championship roared into life in combative style at Donington Park on Saturday, April 4. With honours even in Class One - in which the influx of rear-engined 964 C2s and newly eligible 993 models couldn’t quite match the poise of the well sorted front-engined cars - and Class Three, where 911SC duo Mark Taylor and Anthony Oliver shared the wins, only defending champion Jeremy Clark emerged with a perfect score in the newly-prepared County Classics 944S2.

Tim Bridgman did it again with a second straight win in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch today (Sunday 5 April 2009). IJust as he did yesterday in round one, Bridgman took his second victory in front of Tim Harvey and Michael Caine who were second and third respectively. Glynn Geddie won the pro-am1 with Karl Leonard taking  pro-am2.

Jake Cook got his 2009  Ginetta Junior campaign off to the perfect start on Saturday on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday (Saturday). Fifteen year-old Cook won the race after battling with first Jake Hill then Alex Austin before a safety car incident near the end of the race gave him a nervous tijme on his final tour…read report   

Team Pyro’s Daniel Lloyd enjoyed an action-packed ELF Renault Clio Cup race debut at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon, Saturday, 4th April, which culminated in a hard-fought top 14 finish on his maiden competitive appearance in the category...read report

Total Control Racing’s Carl Breeze used all of his experience and race guile during the first round of the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Saturday, 4th April, to secure a popular win ahead of determined young hot-shoe Frank Wrathall.

Australian Formula BMW Junior, Chris Wootton claimed his second second place in the Formula BMW Pacific championship at the Sepang circuit this morning in varying conditions.

Chris Breeze took his and Total Control Racing’s first win of the year in the Ginetta G50 Cup at Brands Hatch. The team nearly made it a double when their driver Alex McDowall came second in the Clio Cup

Dean Smith made a great start on his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship at Brands Hatch on Saturday. Driving for top team, Redline Racing, the 21-year-old finish a fine fifth place.

Andrew Herron was back racing in the ELF Renault Clio Cup after a year racing a SEAT Cupra and it didn’t seem as if he had been away. In the first race of 2009 on Saturday at Brands Hatch he brought his car home in a good third place.

04-04-09

Tim Bridgman came out on top in the first race of the season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch on Saturday afternoon. Second was 2008 Champion Tim Harvey followed by Michael Caine in third. Tony Gilham won the pro-am1 category with George .Richardson taking the pro-am2 victory.

On  April 1st, Conor Daly addressed the Indiana Motorsports Association (IMA) at the Brickyard Motel in Indianapolis. IMA is a Governor Daniels supported initiative to grow the motorsports industry within the state. In his address, Conor discussed his current and future plans.  "I appreciated the opportunity to speak to the IMA membership last night,” Conor said, “I would particularly like to thank the IMA's Executive Director Tom Weisenbach. IMA is a significant business resource for all Indiana motorsports organizations and I'm very happy to have their support." Conor Daly, son of former Formula One/Indy car driver Derek Daly, drives for Andersen Racing as a member of the Mazdaspeed driver development system. In 2009 he will contest the thirteen round Formula Star Mazda championship.  In 2008 Conor won the Walter Hayes Formula Ford Trophy in England for Team USA, the Ontario Formula Ford Rookie of the Year title driving for Brian Graham Racing, and the Mazda Skip Barber National championship.  

Tim Bridgman took a double pole position at Brands Hatch today (Saturday) ahead of the opening 2 rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. With a late charge in qualifying, Bridgman leapt to the top of the times as Glynn Geddie headed the pro-am1 category and Karl Leonard topped pro-am2. Such was the overall pace and closeness of the field that less than eight tenths of a second covered the first 15 cars for race one.

The two Aston Martin Racing cars will start tomorrow’s opening Le Mans Series race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain from second and third places on the grid. Catalunya is the first race of the five-round Le Mans Series, which will take competitors to some of Europe’s most classic circuits. Darren Turner qualified the 009 car in second place, having set his time of 1m32.942s just before a red flag halted the session. German driver Stefan Mücke was third in 009 at the end of the session with 1m33.532s, despite losing time with a minor gearshift glitch and then traffic on his flying lap, making it two Aston Martins in the top three on the car’s race debut, the cars completed the final free practice session in preparation for qualifying and tomorrow’s 1000-kilometre race.  Tomorrow’s race, which is expected to last approximately six hours, is scheduled to get underway at 11:30 and is due to last 215 laps. Before then, the cars will have a 20-minute warm-up on the 4.65-kilometre circuit, which is also the home of the Spanish Grand Prix. Aston Martin is also represented in the GT2 class by the Vantage GT2 of Drayson Racing, driven by Englishmen Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker. The team qualified 11th in class with a time of 1m50.492s for tomorrow’s race, which is the first European outing for the British squad.

Protyre is to become the new title sponsor of the 2009 Formula Renault BARC Championship. The championship, which provides the perfect place to begin for single-seater drivers wishing to progress to the higher-level Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship, will become Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship when the season begins at Cheshire’s Oulton Park circuit on Saturday, 29th May. Protyre, which is fully backed by parent company Micheldever Tyre Services Ltd – one of the UK’s biggest tyre distribution companies – is the sole provider of Michelin circuit and rally tyres in the UK and Ireland, already supplying Renault’s renowned Clio Cup and Formula Renault UK Championships. In addition, Protyre also supply the Porsche Carrera Cup, Porsche Ireland, Porsche Club and Open Championship, Ginetta G50 and Ginetta Juniors as well as the BMW Racing Drivers Club Kumho Championship. Already 19 drivers have registered for the 2009 Championship which uses identical chassis to those used in Formula Renault UK. The BARC championship also provides drivers, many of whom graduate from karting, with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with UK circuits and the effects of aerodynamics before moving up to the Formula Renault UK Championship. This season will also see the provision for the use of a Safety Car, bringing the low-cost championship in line with the national-level Formula Renault UK Championship.

Chris Wootton shown some gritty Aussie determination this today at Sepang when he took second place in Round 1 of Formula BMW Pacific, overcoming damage to his front wing(right) after a coming together early in the race.

03-04-09

Daniel Lloyd made an great start to his first race in the ELF Renault Clio Cup during pre-event testing at Brands Hatch today, posting the sixth fastest time during the afternoon session. The 17-year-old competes this year with reigning champion squad Team Pyro, set a best lap of 52.873 seconds (81.61mph) placing him a fraction outside his target top 10 and just half a second shy of the outright pace. During the second session he leapt into the top six with a time of 52.898 seconds (81.57mph), a mere four 10ths of a second shy of the quickest time of the afternoon set by highly experienced team-mate Philip Glew. “We’re really pleased with how today has gone, it’s been a great start to the weekend but tomorrow is when it all counts with qualifying and the first race of the season”, said the teenage star, “There’s definitely more to come but if we can achieve a couple of top 10 results I’ll be very happy.  If we can do the same as we did this afternoon and qualify in the top six though, I’ll be over the moon!”

Hillspeed’s Menasheh Idafar made a very good start to the opening weekend of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands afternoon, Friday, 3rd April, after ending the second of the day’s free practice sessions with the sixth best time. Heading into his first race Idafar did a lap of  44.189 seconds (97.64mph) – just 0.267 seconds shy of the top of the times and the second quickest of the Graduate Cup drivers. He was around half a second outside James Calado’s pace-setting best. Hillspeed team boss Richard Ollerenshaw said: “Menasheh did a superb job today, to be just half a second off the pace in the morning was a good start and when he ran with new tyres in session two he leapt up the order. To end the afternoon run in sixth place, and just a couple of 10ths away from the top, was well deserved. We’re all absolutely delighted with such a good start to the weekend.”

Tim Harvey and Tim Bridgman topped the times at the end of testing at Brands Hatch today (Friday) ahead of the opening rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. It could barely have been closer as Harvey's best time in the first session was one-thousandth of a second better than Bridgman's best in the later of the two test sessions. In the first session, Harvey (Red Line Racing) ran new tyres to set a best of 47.120s and started his title defence in the best possible way. However, in the second session at the end of the afternoon, Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) dipped to 47.121s in the closing minutes of the session. Only a tenth of a second slower than Harvey and Bridgman was Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance).  With 15 of the 18-car field covered by less than a second the times were very close and it was Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing) who was fourth place overall in the first of two Carrera Cup weekends before he starts his Euro F3 campaign. Fifth was Dean Smith (Red Line Racing) who showed strong pace and went three-tenths of a second faster in the later session. Sixth and seventh fastest, split by just five-thousandths of a second were Carrera Cup Scholarship drivers Lewis Hopkins (Red Line Racing) and Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) who were working with as former champion Richard Westbrook. Two-hundredths of a second covered the top three pro-am1 drivers as Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing), Tony Gilham (Red Line Racing) and Robert Lawson (JHR) proved incredibly closely matched. Karl Leonard (RSS Performance) headed the pro-am2 times after a good improvement in the afternoon. "That was much better than the first session," reported Leonard, who was chased by 17-year old George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) in the pro-am2 ranks. By the end of a very good day, Richardson was only two-tenths adrift of Leonard.

Aston Martin Racing has got its first full season in the LMP1 category of the Le Mans Series off to the best possible start by setting the quickest time in the opening free practice session. Round one of the series gets underway at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona on Sunday, in which the 43 competitors will cover 1000 kilometres of the Spanish track in approximately six hours. The distinctive pair of blue and orange Aston Martin Racing cars took to the Spanish track for the first time this afternoon, for the opening free practice session that lasted an hour and a half. Stefan Mücke – driving the 007 car – set the quickest time of 1m35.014s at the start of the session, which remained unbeaten. Aston Martin Racing is entering two cars in the Le Mans Series this year, as well as contesting the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours. The two Aston Martin Racing cars, numbered 007 and 009, experienced no problems during the initial free practice session – which was designed primarily for the drivers to acclimatise themselves to the circuit and work on the set-up for tomorrow’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. All six drivers – Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ) and Stefan Mücke (DE) in car 007 plus Harold Primat (CH), Miguel Ramos (PT) and Darren Turner (GB) in car 009 – were able to carry out some useful set-up work during the session, held in cool temperatures. Team Principal George Howard-Chappell commented: “The session went very well, and we’re starting to find a good car set-up for the event. It’s very pleasing for us to be at the top of the time sheets but it’s sure to be an extremely close race as some of our competitors are clearly very quick.” 

The opening rounds of the FFDR Scottish Mini Cooper Cup in association with STV Jobs were hosted at Kirkistown in Northern Ireland last weekend. In windy but sunny conditions Ken Thirwall and Chris Know took a win each after some excellent racing.

Vladimir Putin visited Togliatti and the LADA Avtovaz factory on Tuesday. In the city of the Samara region, Mr Putin chaired a remote session of the Russian Government that was dedicated to the situation of the national automotive industry.  During his visit the Prime Minister met the workers, visited the atumobile plants and took a close look to the exhibition of LADA Sport cars. Mr Putin showed a lot of interest for the racing and rally cars, sat behind the wheel of some of them and wished success to all drivers who take part in the competitions under the LADA Sport banner.

Michel Nykjaer, the winner of two consecutive FIA European Touring Car cups, plans to make a few appearances in the WTCC. The 29-year old Dane won a first European title in 2007 at Adria in Italy in a  SEAT Leon and did it again in 2008 at the Salzburgring driving a Chevrolet Lacetti. "After we won the race the team and I started negotiations for the 2009 Danish Touring Car championship," said Nykjaer who was crowned Danish Touring Car champion in 2007.  DTC is the priority, but Nykjaer and the team are looking ahead: "We won the European cup together and we are certain that we could do well in the WTCC. Chevrolet Motorsport Denmark have a very tight cooperation with Chevrolet's WTCC team, and I am hoping that we could join a few WTCC events, which are not in clash with the Danish races."

The final of this year's British Schools Karting Championship was a thrilling affair. 102 pupils from 34 schools fought it out at Daytona International for the spoils…r

Strawberry Racing dominated the Junior and Senior classes at last weekend's opening round of the Rotax Euro Challenge..

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and A1 Team Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque made a guest appearance at the opening special stage of the Vodafone Rally of Portugal today, the fourth round of the 2009 World Rally Championship. This is the first of several spectacular events involving Albuquerque and the A1GP Powered by Ferrari car he will race in next week’s Vodafone A1GP Algarve, Portugal on the 10 – 12 April.  Fans had their first taste of the A1GP car in action at the Estadio Algarve this afternoon when the 23-year-old drove around the Super Special Stage at Rally Portugal in front of his home fans.As well as giving fans the chance to get up close to the A1GP car in the exhibition area, A1 Team Portugal’s star driver took time out to meet and greet the fans for autographs and photos ahead of his home event next weekend. “The crowd seemed to enjoy it, said Albuquerque. “They loved the A1GP car – especially as it’s the Portuguese car.I have been to watch the rally here before with friends but this time it was different as I was out on the circuit myself. “All crowds like to see some burnouts with smoke coming off the tyres and hear the engine noise so it was nice to give them that. I always like to do donuts in the car but it’s not as easy as it seems as you need to control the throttle to keep the car in the tight space, but when you do it’s a good show. I felt much closer to the people in the stadium so I could interact with them more; the people next to me where signalling for more spins. I couldn’t hear them, but I could see on their faces that they were going crazy. I really enjoyed being so close to the fans.”  The Vodafone Rally of Portugal, round four of the World Rally Championship, is taking place from 2-5 April 2009.

Mehdi Bennani had his first test in the Exagon Engineering SEAT on Wednesday at Magny-Cours. The young Moroccan will make his first appearance in the WTCC at Marrakech, spent the day at the wheel of the petrol-engined SEAT Leon car sporting the red-white-green livery of OMNT, Morocco's Tourism Office. During the test Bennani was watched carefully by the team principal Luc Marchetti, the team manager Cathy Muller and by her brother Yvan, the reigning WTCC champion.  "Yvan was very generous in giving Mehdi advice. I have to say that we were all impressed by the way this young driver was able to quickly adapt himself to the car and also by the interesting feedback he gave. Obviously it will take some times to be competitive in such a tough championship, but I'm sure Mehdi has the potential to do well," Marchetti commented.

Motor Racing, comes to the Vaal Triangle, in the form of the second round of the 2009 South African National Formula Vee Championship. The event, run this weekend at Midvaal  also features Regional Championship races, for Historic Saloons, Historic Sports and GTs, Formula GTi, and Club Championship events for Formula Libra/Formula M, Marque Cars, Alfa Romeo Trofeo and the Sports Racing Association, providing a dynamic mix of Single Seater, Saloon Car and Sports Car racing, to appeal to all tastes.  The first round of the Formula Vee Championship, run at Phakisa, produced two thrilling races, with multi car lead battles in both heats. The man to beat on that occasion, was eighteen year old development driver Courtney Steenveld . Starting the first heat from Pole Position, Steenveld controlled the pack behind him like a seasoned veteran, to take the second victory of his Formula Vee and only an incident, a few corners from the flag, prevented him from repeating the performance in the second heat. Steenveld has however never raced at Midvaal and the likes of reigning National Champion Dennis Johns, triple National Champion Alan Holm, Jaco Schriks, Trevor Bland and fifteen year old newcomer, Chad Van Beurden, will all be trying their best, to come away with the Midvaal victory.

One of the UK's top race series, the British Ford Championship will be on Motors TV in 2009 . Considered by many industry insiders to still be an essential first step on the long path to superstardom, the British championship is the Formula Ford category of choice for international drivers. Motors will show all nine rounds and 25 races in 2009. otors TV's Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Frederic Viger, said "Motorsport fans around the world know how important and prestigious it is to compete and win in British Formula Ford. You only have to look at the impressive international driver line-up to realise how highly regarded the championship is. Some of the sports most recognisable names cut their teeth there when junior categories were few and far between and I think it says much for the championship that it's not only survived in the face of their increasing numbers, but that it's actually enjoying a renaissance just now. Considering that Motors TV will be showcasing the "Best of British Motorsport" in 2009, it was vital that we became a part of that." Catch MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain coverage on Saturdays from 7pm in Motors TV's regular Best of British Motorsport slot. Tune in on April 25 to see the season opener from Oulton Park.

For the third year running, International Formula Master (IFM) drivers will battle it out on track throughout the 2009 season for a chance to be rewarded with a test with a top GP2 Series team. This year GP2 Asia Series leaders Dams are the team chosen to trial one deserving IFM racer.  Formula Master General Manager Alessandro Alunni Bravi said. "Dams is pleased to team up with Formula Master in the promotion of young drivers, by giving them the opportunity to shine at the wheel of a GP2 car and demonstrate their potential," said Dams Team Owner Jean-Paul Driot. "This partnership between two series is very interesting to me, especially in the current financial situation. To date 14 IFM drivers have competed in GP2 or GP2 Asia races, which makes us very proud but also shows the defined progression line that has emerged between our two series,Dams are a great outfit with a formidable pedigree; before its current pairing, the team was running Kazuki Nakajima who became a Formula 1 driver in 2008 with Williams F1. We are delighted to have them involved with Formula Master."

The new season of Formula Renault UK starts this weekend at Brands Hatch (4/5 April).  After running the 2008 Formula Renault UK Champion, Adam Christodoulou, CRS Racing has an all-new squad for 2009: Josh Scott, Harry Tincknell, Lewis Williamson and Matias Laine; along with Michael Lyons who is racing in conjunction with CRS. After completing his rookie Formula Renault season in 2008, Australian Josh Scott is back to fight for the top spot in 2009. Exeter-born Harry Tincknell is hoping to take his racing career all the way to the top and chose to race in Formula Renault to make the most of the amount of track time the series enjoys. Lewis Williamson is a young Scottish driver, starting his car-racing career with CRS, after winning multiple karting championships. Matias Laine from Finland is aiming high this year and wants to continue the good progress he has made in testing, whereas Michael Lyons is looking to start steady and work up to the top positions. He’s starting his season in style though as he is competing alongside the F1 teams in Melbourne this weekend in the F5000 support race.

The 2009 edition of the North American F2000 Championship Series promises to be the most competitive season yet. The series will feature an exciting crop of rookie drivers and teams, all looking to contend for race wins and the overall championship..read more

Dean Smith has confirmed a late deal to join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for the opening races of the season at Brands Hatch this weekend (4/5 April). One of the brightest rising stars of British racing will run with Red Line Racing at the start of what is hoped will be a full campaign. The deal was only concluded on Wednesday and Smith will meet the team for the first time just ahead of today’s test sessions. "It is a bit late in the day, but we looked at all the options and this opportunity came up with a great time," said Smith. "I've got to get used to the car again, but we've got two sessions on Friday." Team boss Simon Leonard is delighted to have such a strong young racer to complete his four-car team. "It is fantastic news that Dean will racing with us," said Leonard. "We're all really excited about getting him on board. I think he'll be a credit to the team and will be right on the pace."

Memo Gidley recently had a rare opportunity to driver some historic machinery around the  Infineon Raceway.  The machinery in question was a 1956 Maserati 250 F Grand Prix car was driven by Stirling Moss and a Ferrari 250 GTO..read more

The Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series is to visit Portugal for the first time in its history, it has been announced. The championship will make its call to the new Autodrómo Internacional do Algarve, near Portimão, in mid-September. The Portuguese races will replace those previously scheduled for the Bucharest street track in August. A late date switch of the latter event proved too inconvenient, as Alistair Spence, from series promoter SRO Motorsports Group, explains: "The original Bucharest date was ideal for us, but the Romanian event organisers had to bring it forward and it became logistically difficult for the teams. We were happy to explore other opportunities and we are more than delighted with the outcome."Two British F3 races - rounds 17 and 18 of the 20-event calendar - are scheduled for the 2.9-mile Algarve track; they will support rounds of the FIA GT3 Championship.

Four young drivers from the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series have been selected by the judging panel of the Motor Sports Association's training and development scheme to become part of the organisation's driver programme.  They are Wayne Boyd, Oliver Oakes and Nick Tandy, who are named as MSA British Race Elite drivers, and Max Chilton, who is to be one of the MSA's British Race Academy.   The four were selected from in excess of 50 applicants for the coveted places on the scheme, which offers members one-to-one training in track performance, engineering skills and technical understanding, physical training, mind coaching, career management, sponsorship generation, self-promotion and media presentation.  Speaking on behalf of the judges, MSA performance director Robert Reid said: "It was good to see the best of young British talent up close, and the quality of applicant we saw was high. It will be great to see what the drivers we have picked will gain from the 12 months ahead."

The final pre-season tests for the 2009 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series were completed at Silverstone on Wednesday with T-Sport's Adriano Buzaid remaining the pacesetter. The Brazilian's 1m 14.289s Tuesday lap of the 2.25-mile International circuit remained the best of the two-day session. It was more than a second inside the lap record.Riki Christodoulou joined the test today after missing yesterday's running; he wound up 11th quickest in his Dallara. His Fortec team-mate, Daniel McKenzie, was the quickest of the National class runners, with new championship signing Gabriel Dias close behind on his F3 debut. The circus now moves on to Oulton Park, with further testing on Good Friday (10 Apr) ahead of Saturday's qualifying sessions and Easter Monday's first and second rounds of the championship.

Silverstone testing times 31 March & 1 April (Wednesday times in parentheses)
1  Adriano Buzaid/BR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.289s (1m 14.969s)
2  Oliver Oakes/GB, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.308s (1m 15.101s)
3  Carlos Huertas/COL, RR Dallara-Mercedes, 1m 14.329s  (1m 14.753s)
4  Max Chilton/GB, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.330s (1m 14.854s)
5  Daniel Ricciardo/AUS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.346s (1m 15.051s)
6  Henry Arundel/GB, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.381s (1m 14.965s)
7  Wayne Boyd/GB, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 1m 14.442s (1m 14.996s)
8  Daisuke Nakajima/J, RR Dallara-Mercedes, 1m 14.542s (1m 15.274s)
9  Nick Tandy/GB, JTR Mygale-Mercedes, 1m 14.618s (1m 15.132s)
10  Walter Grubmüller/A, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, 1m 15.089s (1m 15.489s)
11  Riki Christodoulou/GB, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, no time (1m 15.231s)
12  Victor Garcia/ESP, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, 1m 15.248s (1m 15.392s)
13  Hywel Lloyd/GB, CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda, 1m 15.457s (1m 15.384s)
14  Daniel McKenzie/GB, Fortec Dallara-Mugen Honda, 1m 15.386s (1m 16.172s)
15  Stéphane Richelmi/MON, Barazi-Epsilon Dallara-Mercedes, 1m 15.604s (1m 15.638s)
16  Gabriel Dias/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda, 1m 15.641s (1m 15.857s)
17  Victor Correa/BR, Litespeed-Mugen Honda, 1m 16.041s (1m 16.727s)
18  Jay Bridger/GB, West-Tec Mygale-Mugen Honda, 1m 16.761s (1m 16.083s)
19  Max Snegirev/R, West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda, 1m 16.479s (1m 17.263s)

Darren Turner talks about driving his Aston Martin LMP1 around Barcelona..read more

Aston Martin Racing will broadcast regular updates and news throughout the Le Mans Series season, as well as the Le Mans 24 Hours itself, via the online community Twitter. Twitter currently receives around 55 million monthly visits, counting US President Barack Obama amongst its many fans.  As well as regular updates from the track and the pits, Twitter will carry all the latest news and views from the famous 007 and 009 cars. The Twitter feed will commence from Saturday at the opening Le Mans Series round in Barcelona this weekend. To follow Aston Martin Racing on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com and choose to follow AMRLEMANS09.   

Live Chat with Aston Martin's Turner & Enge, Saturday 7pm CEST (1pm ET)  Join us Saturday at 1pm ET for a Live Online chat from the LMS season opener at Barcelona with Aston Martin LMP1 stars Darren Turner and Tomas Enge. http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/lms-livechat-with-aston-martins-turner-enge-saturday-1pm-et/

After Two months of intense testing and development Strakka Racing will finally make it’s prototype racing debut this weekend at Barcelona in Round 1 of the 2009 Le Mans Series.

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport have announced that Vodafone is to be the Title Sponsor for A1GP Algarve, Portugal. The event is the sixth round of the season, takes place from 10-12 April 2009. In accordance with this agreement, the official name for the Portuguese Round of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport shall be Vodafone A1GP Algarve.  Pete da Silva, CEO of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, said, “We are delighted to have Vodafone on board as the title sponsor for A1GP Algarve. They have a long association with motorsport sponsorship and their support for this event shows the commercial importance of the first ever A1GP Algarve in Portugal.” João Mendes Dias, Head of Brand and CRM of Vodafone Portugal, said: “The support of Vodafone to such a remarkable event like Vodafone A1GP Algarve, is in line with our long tradition of involvement with Motorsport, namely with car racing and motorcycling. The strong connection of Vodafone with these sport categories, aims to reinforce the association to innovation, dynamism and continuous improvement, common values to both motorsport and Vodafone.”  With several teams, including A1 Teams Switzerland, Ireland, Netherlands and the home team A1 Team Portugal, all battling for the championship and to win the prized World Cup of Motorsport trophy, the event promises to be one of the most memorable of the season.

2-04-09

Historic F2 set for boom season. With a six-event, 12-race calendar that takes in some of the finest circuits in Europe the Historic Formula 2 Championship is shaping up to have one of its best seasons to date in 2009. The series, which is administered by the Historic Sports Car Club, is the pan-European series for both 1600cc and 2-litre Formula 2 cars from an era that started in 1967 and ended when Formula 3000 replaced the F2 category in 1984. The 2009 season will mark the 25th anniversary of the final season of F2 as the key stepping-stone to Grand Prix racing, while the historic race series caters for cars built up to 1978. "We've now had 32 registrations for the coming season and that's very promising at this stage of the year," said Grahame White, CEO of the HSCC. "We've got a lot of interest from Europe and already have registrations from six French drivers, four from Germany and four from Switzerland. We are aiming for a grid of 28 cars for the opening races at Spa."After the first two races at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of April, the calendar takes in races at Lausitz in Germany and Monza in Italy before two British rounds, starting on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on 4/5 July at the HSCC Historic Superprix. Then, on 16/17 August, Historic F2 will be a support race to the new FIA Formula 2 Championship created for 2009. The partnership between the modern and historic series was formed when Grahame White and Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of FIA Formula 2 Championship organiser MotorSport Vision, met and discussed their shared passion for Formula 2. 

Scottish Motor Racing will get moreMotors TV coverage in 2009. The SMRC has renewed a deal that will see the Scottish Championships get  no less than 26 hours of coverage throughout the year…read more

Jason Plato in a privately-entered RML Chevrolet Lacetti is a dramatic late entry for Sunday's (5 April) opening round of the HiQ MSA BTCC at Brands Hatch. Plato and RML squad, which runs Chevrolet's WTCC programme, have struck a late deal to appear at Brands Hatch this weekend. However, at Brands Hatch itr will race a 2008-spec Lacettis independent to its WTCC role. Plato said "This was too good an opportunity to miss. The BTCC has played such an important role in my life so being at Brands Hatch is hugely important to me personally. At the moment, we don't know how long we'll be around. We're trying tremendously hard behind the scenes to put together a full programme for 2009. Right now, I'm just very excited to be teaming back up with some good friends and respected colleagues at RML. We are so going into this as the underdogs, without a shadow of a doubt. But I've got great confidence in RML's abilities to engineer a car and I've got to draw upon all my experience because I'm probably going to be a bit rusty. If we can get within 20 per cent of what Brawn GP did in Melbourne then we'll be doing well. We're certainly not there to make up the numbers. We'll be going into this with no running, except for a shakedown. All the BTCC cars run on Dunlop tyres and fine-tuning the Chevrolet so it gets the most out of them in the limited time we will have available is going to be a considerable hurdle. We just don't know how it's going to react so let's just see what develops. If there's anyone who can get to the bottom of any problems we find quickly, then it's RML."

Gordon Shedden, Team Dynamics British Touring Car driver is the latest member of the racing fraternity to lend his support to the innovative YourRacingCar.com (YRC) enterprise. Funding their Ginetta G50 Cup campaign on ‘fan power’ alone, YRC membership offers a wide range of discounts, perks and freebies to supporters who pay a subscription fee of £25 (+£2.95 p&p) to see their name on the YRC race car. They have been very successful to date attracting the attention of BTCC and sports car fans alike with the most notable member, former BTCC Champion, James Thompson.This will be Shedden’s fourth full year as a touring car contender having risen up the ranks taking a similar route to YRC driver Fulvio Mussi. Taking on the role of Team Ambassador, the Scottish driver will offer guidance and support to the YRC team throughout the 2009 season.Speaking from Knockhill where he works as the Business Development Manager, Gordon said “YRC really caught my attention- mostly because I know that it takes this kind of persistence and innovation to fund a fledgling racing career. Like Fulvio, I didn’t have money flooding in from personal financiers so I had to make every penny count. There are tonnes of young drivers in the same position but not many willing to go to these lengths to do something to assure their career in motorsport. I love to concept, offering fans a membership package that pays for itself four times over – you can’t really argue with the value”.Gordon will be sporting YRC branding on this helmet and race suit this year to help spread the word about the club.

Reigning Volkswagen Racing Cup Champion Joe Fulbrook has made a last-minute U-turn in his track plans and is now to return to the Hankook-backed championship in 2009 to defend his title. Fulbrook, 38, had been looking for a change after four seasons in VWs.  "I have enjoyed racing against these guys so much over the years that I couldn't resist another crack at it," said the Berkshire businessman. "My Bora is still a competitive and reliable car, and we've found some extra pace from the suspension and chassis in testing recently, so I don't see why another championship win shouldn't be possible." Fulbrook's return means that seven of the 2008 season's eight race-winners plan to be in action when the championships kicks off on Easter Monday (13 Apr) at Oulton . "We are delighted that Joe is returning," said Volkswagen Racing UK Director Melissa Wright, "because when he is around the paddock there is never a dull moment. Not only that, but it means that we have a grid absolutely packed with talent and potential race-winners." Joe won his first race in his maiden season in the championship, in 2005, and placed third overall in 2007 ahead of his '08 championship success.

This weekend (4/5 April) Brands Hatch will host the opening round of the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship with VX Racing’s Fabrizio Giovanardi will be going for  a third consecutive title. The BTCC field took part in an official pre-season test at Brands Hatch last week, in which Giovanardi topped the timesheets. However, he will face strong competition from his team-mates Matt Neal and Andrew Jordan, who makes his VX Racing debut this weekend.  Local team Airwaves BMW from Wrotham will be looking for a maiden series victory, drivers Rob Collard and Jonathan Adam were second and third respectively at the test. After securing two independent drivers’ titles, Team RAC’s Colin Turkington will also be a likely front-runner at the Brands Hatch. Several unknown quantities will also line up on the grid this season including Team Aon’s Tom Chilton in a Ford Focus ST and Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing, the BTCC’s first carbon zero team. As well as three races from BTCC there are the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, Formula Renault UK and Ginetta Juniors series. Tickets for the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch on 4/5 are available on the gate and cost £12 on qualifying day and £28 on raceday for adults. Children aged 12 and under get in free. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk.

Liam McMillan, at 19 the youngest driver in the HiQ MSA BTCC is aiming to finish all 30 races and score top 10 results in his first attempt at the series – which begins at Brands Hatch on April 4/5. Liam will make his BTCC race debut at the track in his ex-Jason Plato SEAT Toledo, which is prepared and run by his own Maxtreme race team.  The young team owner/driver completed his final pre-season test at Brands Hatch on March 24^th, his sixth test outing. Liam has got considerably quicker each time he has driven his Cobra Engineering/EPM Technology-supported Toledo, lapping the 1.22 mile Indy Circuit in which was 14th fastest, this despite loosing fifth gear on the lap. Liam is confident of making a good  “After a good winter’s test programme, I’m in good shape and ready for the start of the British Touring Car Championship. I’d like to try and finish in the top ten all year really and I want to try and finish every race. That will enable me to gain a lot of experience and you can’t do that if you’re sitting in a gravel trap! Racing against professional drivers like Fabrizio Giovanardi and the top independent teams will be difficult, but it’s something I’ve dreamt about doing for many years and I’m ready for the challenge. I can’t wait to get out there!”

The Performance N Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship got underway ;last weekend at Oulton Park. It was another huge turnout for this years opening double header at Oulton Park, with 31 cars vying for the grid. As in 2008 the weather did its best to make an impact and after dry qualifying it was Alastair Chalmers’ Caterham CSR that claimed victory in round one as the rain fell. But there was no repeat for Chalmers in the drier second race, as both he and Mike Blomfield’s Sierra crashed heavily under lappery at Druids, gifting Paul Dobson a surprise win as the red flags flew -Pic Paul Williams.

The LADA Sport team are making steady progress on their first season as a WTCC registered manufacturer. Although the Russian cars are still struggling to be on the pace with the other works cars, the results achieved in Mexico proved that the team's efforts are giving the first fruits."We had a lot of fun in Puebla, and showed our potential. It is clear that we still have some way to go, but we have clearly identified the main areas to be improved. We got three cars to the end of the second race, which was testament to our reliability, and gained a lot of useful information. We are now looking forward to Marrakech; the track is new to everybody and this can help a new team like ours," said team leader Viktor Shapovalov.And Jaap van Lagen echoed: "Our car is basically good but we are lacking power on the straights, which is making the difference. The Mexican weekend was a very encouraging experience and we should have some improvements for Morocco, such as a new engine head."

British racing driver Nick Padmore and his Belgian team mate Jean-Lou Rihon endured a challenging outing in the inauguration of the French V de V Championship, to take a 9th place finish at Jarama at the weekend.

Former Le Mans and BTCC driver Anthony Reid will race in the opening two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch (4/5 April), when drives the VIP entry from Porsche Motorsport. "It's going to be really competitive and I'm delighted to get the chance to race in such a credible championship," said Reid. "There are some very good teams and drivers in the Carrera Cup and I want to give it my best shot. I always set my targets high and I want to achieve the best possible result." Reid is one of Britain's most versatile and experienced racing drivers, with a catalogue of success in a 30-year racing career. After climbing the single-seater ladder, he raced extensively in sports and GT cars and finished third at Le Mans in 1990 in a Porsche 962C. He later spent eight seasons racing in the BTCC, winning 15 races and taking the championship runner-up position in 1998 and again in 2000. More recently, he has raced in the TC2000 series in Argentina, competing against some of the biggest names of touring car racing and winning the 200km of Buenos Aires in 2008.Although this will be Reid's first race in the latest generation of 911GT3 Cup car, he has raced extensively in Porsches through his career and owned a 911 as a road car. "I raced a 911GT2 in Japanese GT from 1994 to 1996 and before that I did some Porsche Supercup races. Over the years, I've driven a lot of Porsches."

Formula Renault UK team Manor Competition heads into the most open title race in recent memory this coming weekend, 4th/5th April, when the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit hosts the first two rounds of the 2009 championship. Over the course of the first official pre-season tests, Manor’s Thomas Hylkema emerged as the quickest of their three drivers but at the most recent at Oulton Park and Silverstone, David McDonald has led team’s charge. The third, Alice Powell, at present and, at 16 the youngest driver on the grid, has been steadily improving throughout and heads into her first season in single-seaters with a chance of some good results. Looking ahead to the first meeting of 2009, Manor Competition team principal Tony Shaw said: “It’s good to finally get the new season underway and having enjoyed a promising pre-season with Thomas, David and Alice, we’re all very much looking forward to Brands Hatch.This season will undoubtedly be incredibly tough and there are plenty of drivers on the grid who have the ability to bag podiums and win races. It’s always important to start the championship as strong as you possibly can and having enjoyed a good test at Brands Hatch a few weeks ago, we hope to hit the ground running at the weekend.”

Stefan Wilson driving for FIRST Motorsports in the Firestone Indy Lights Series took his first spin in the Team's new car on Monday at Sebring.  "Stefan did a great job," commented FIRST Motorsports owner Jon Lewis. "I was very impressed with how smooth he is with the car, especially never being in an Indy Lights before. Stefan was very consistent and worked well with his engineer to steadily increase the performance of the car. We ran over 200 miles on Monday and Stefan was consistent even with over 100 miles on his first set of tires. We're all looking forward to St. Pete. We weren't the quickest yesterday, but we were right on pace. With the combination of a new untested car, a driver who's never been in one of these cars or ever seen the track before, I was extremely pleased with the outcome. Especially considering many of the others teams and drivers have had a lot of testing under their belts before our first test." FIRST Motorsports have signed up a new Primary Associate Sponsor (www.flipNbags.com) for the #19 entry of Wilson.

Larbre Competition has announced Steve Zacchia, Roland Berville and Sébastien Dumez as its driver line-up for the Barcelona 1000kms on 5 April. The trio will race the French team’s GT1 Saleen S7R at the opening round of the Le Mans Series as the multiple LMS Champions make their return to the championship for the first time since the same race last season.  All three drivers have raced for the team before, with Steve Zacchia(CH) having helped the Val de Vienne-based squad to the GTS class title in 2004. Last season he sampled a prototype for the first time racing the Speedy Racing Team Sabeh LMP2 Lola coupé in the LMS and at the Le Mans 24 Hours.  Roland Berville(F) is another familiar face at Larbre and contested the final round of the FIA GT Championship in San Luis, Argentina, last season. Sébastien Dumez(F) raced with Larbre as long ago as 2001 in the FIA GT Championship and is another driver with a wealth of sportscar racing experience. “I’m delighted with our driver line-up,” said Larbre Competition Team Principal Jack Leconte. “We’ve worked with all three of these guys before. We trust them to do a good job in Barcelona and I’m sure that feeling is mutual. They all have plenty of endurance racing experience and that is always crucial in a 1000km race.We finished second-in-class in Barcelona last season with our Saleen S7R, despite having to start from the very back the grid. This year we hope to celebrate our return to the Le Mans Series on the top step of the podium.”

The 2009 Porsche Club Championship bursts into action at Donington Park on  April 5th with 25 cars already entered for the opening round. Class One has attracted the lion’s share of runners and looks to be hugely competitive with the 993 model joining the series for the first time, four former Porsche champions and 17 confirmed runners. “We are very pleased with the entry and it shows the commitment of our competitors,” said series co-ordinator Steve Kevlin. ”All the 993s are brand-new and we have more 964s than last season – we have 911 models from 1972 to 1995 represented. The series looks very strong in number and models.” There will be three 993 models on the Donington grid driven by Gary Duckman, Richard Ellis and Scott Kavanagh. The 993 will be by far the most powerful car on the grid but has been given the heaviest minimum weight to ensure close racing. 2009 Champion Jeremy Clark steps up to a Class Two 944 S2 as he seeks to defend his title, while 2004 champion Richard Lambert makes a welcome return to the series in a Class One 964 C2. 2007 champion Mark McAleer will be back out in his 968 CS. Rounding off the tally of former champions is Porsche Classic and Club champion John Williams, who aims to prove that newer is not necessarily quicker with his classic 1972 911 Carrera RS. Class One front runners Ben Demetriou, Marcus Carniel and Kevin Harrison have all entered, the latter two in the 964 C2 model that was the car to beat in 2008.  Demetriou has stayed faithful to the 968 CS, with front-engined regulars Peter Erceg, Richard Higgins and Adrian Stock also back out.  In Class Two Clark takes on category regulars Alan Newbold, Ian Balaam and Chris Dyer in similar 944 S2s, with John Gilmore and Tim Bates out in 911 SCs. Class Three sees Anthony Oliver and Mark Taylor challenging in their 911s. Saturday’s opening meeting features two 30-minute races, with a 15-minute qualifying session in the morning. The first race is scheduled for 13.30, with the second at 17.20.

The KAMS European Late Model Series held its first official test on 27 and 28 March 2009, gathering essential data for its forthcoming inaugural season. Despite sporadic rain, the attendees managed to clock-up over 200 laps at the 3/8 mile banked oval in Warneton , Belgium . The main aim of the two-day event was to compare the specifications of the former ASCARs and CAMSO V8s competing in the series, and create a set of guidelines to equalise performance. The #99 Revolution Racing Pontiac Grand Prix was used to set the pace against CAMSO V8 Champion Gary Ellis’ Chevrolet Monte Carlo. With the difference assessed, the team’s mechanics began adjusting the Revolution Racing car until the V8s began to set similar lap times. Brit Gary Ellis was impressed with the progress made on the former ASCAR: “The ASCAR has all the right parts to make it a fast short track Late Model. The changes we have made this weekend will put all the cars on a level playing field for the first race and is an excellent starting point for drivers to fine tune their cars according to their own driving styles.”  Amongst those taking advantage of the pre-season track time were firm stock car favourite Daniel Boys, 2007 CAMSO V8 Champion Jean Vasseur, former ASCAR driver Miguel Gomes, Stock Hatch racer Steve Noble and Rallycross veteran Ray Deacon. The countdown now begins to the European Late Model Series season-opener on 12-13 April 2009 at Warneton International Speedway, Belgium.

One of the UK's leading newspapers, The Independent, is to become the official media partner to the British GT Championship in 2009. The Independent will providing editorial coverage both in paper and online. "Supercars with mouth-watering names like Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, Dodge and Lamborghini racing bumper to bumper is the ultimate thrill for all motor racing fans and The Independent believes that our readers will enjoy and appreciate coverage of this season's Avon Tyres British GT Championship," says Nick Duxbury, Deputy Sports Editor. "Nothing can beat GT cars for their striking muscle-bound looks and coupled with the drama the title race is certain to generate, the championship will make a compelling spectacle, which we aim to convey both in print and on our expanding website."

After a horrible winter when her sponsor for the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Championship went into liquidation, it looked like Cassey Watson's Motorsport in 2009 was going to be as a spectator. However she has since she received 4 offers to drive so making a choice was hard. Her main motivation is to be competitive and ideally stay in single seaters. This meant rear-wheeled driver was the most attractive. Therefore Cassey will race in the Max5 Championship.  "I can't wait", Cassey said, "It should be great the MX5 looks a really fun car to drive, it's going to be tough as looking at the results from the last few years the frontrunners have been racing these cars for several years and it's very competitive". The 1st round on the 12th April at Thruxton is going to be hard work as she has never have driven the car at all so her learning curve will be steep. Casset  is extremely grateful to Jon Halliwell for putting the deal together and can't wait for the first round just next week.

The BRDC Stars of Tomorrow is moving in to a new era with the backing of F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone to create a new UK-based karting series, Formula Kart Stars (FKS). The BRDC are delighted to see the F1 supremo lend his support and Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton appointed as Patron of FKS. BRDC Secretary Stuart Pringle said: “Formula Kart Stars will be taking over the permit to run the former BRDC Stars of Tomorrow championship and we are delighted to be able to see the championship move in to an exciting new era to find new talent. “This is a fantastic opportunity for the championship to move forward. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank FKS Director Carolyn Hoy for her assistance with the  BRDC  Stars  of  Tomorrow  and  wish  the championship  every  success  for  the future.” FKS Director Carolyn Hoy added, “We would like to thank the BRDC for your support over the past six seasons.  We are extremely grateful for the endorsement of the Stars of Tomorrow Championship, the competitors were always very proud to carry the famous logo. We were all very much aware just how few Championships had this honour. Having  such  an  endorsement  made  us  look at  our  sport  with  a  critical eye, measuring ourselves against motor sport, always hoping to improve and impress. I believe  that  our  adoption  by  Formula  1  would  not  have  happened  without your guidance. “Many of our competitors have moved up the ladder and are now BRDC members in their own right and membership of the club is still something that all drivers aspire to. “The BRDC has helped us to grow in stature and now as Formula Kart Stars I hope that we will be able to maintain our links and continue to help young drivers make the transition to cars.”

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has been given FIA approval to hold A1GP Mexico City on the 22-24 May 2009, thus making it the final round of Season Four. The event has been included on the A1GP calendar since Season Two,but has never before been the series decider. After receiving the news A1GP CEO, Pete da Silva, said:  “It is very important for the series to go back to Mexico City, especially as it won the award for being the best run event of Season Three. The fans have always given us a warm welcome, and it will be great to let them witness the finale of what has been a very exciting first season for the A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars. The approval is subject to the completion of FIA stipulated track changes that will allow the granting of the necessary licence. This work is due to start soon.

Chris Wootton heads to Malaysia in his quest to become the Formula BMW Pacific Champion for the first round of the Formula BMW Pacific Series held in conjunction with the Formula 1™ PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend – April 2-5. He will link up with his race engineer for this season, Greg Wheeler, who will be fresh from engineering a V8 Supercar for Australian Television personality, Grant Denyer, at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide back in March.  “We’re very happy with where we are at,” Chris said. “We’ve been working through a variety of setups to get me comfortable in the car and get the team comfortable with me. We were approaching the pace we wanted in the dry at the end of the test, but our wet weather form was impressive. Sepang is just such a top facility. It is really technical and has some tough, high speed corners. It’s going to be awesome to have the first two events there. We’ve aimed to be quick from the first round and indications are that we will be. We know what we want to achieve from this season and we’re ready. Mark (Goddard) and the Eurasia guys have me in the best frame of mind possible to do the job.”

The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) has announced that cousins Adam and Riki Christodoulou, Andy Meyrick and Dean Stoneman will take the final four places in its 2009 Superstars young driver programme..read more

Stuart Hall,24, and 17-year-old Daniel Brown will team-up in a Mosler MT900 for the Rollcentre Racing team in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship it was  announced at Silverstone last week

Formula Renault BARC champion Ollie Hancock will step up to the main Formula Renault UK series in 2009 with Apotex Scorpio Motorsport. Hancock stormed to the 2008 BARC title taking five wins and four podiums, wrapping up the championship with two races to spare. Hancock, who has already shown strong pace in testing, was delighted to confirm his 2009 plans and happy to be staying with Apotex Scorpio Motorsport who helped to mastermind his 2008 title success. “I will be fighting to win races and hopefully the championship even though it is my first year in Formula Renault UK,” said Hancock. “I feel I have enough experience after winning the BARC championship last year and would like to carry on with the success we have had in the last 12 months. I know what Apotex Scorpio Motorsport are capable of having raced with them last year and they have a good track record in Formula Renault UK so I can’t wait for the new season to begin at Brands Hatch on 4/5 April. ”

The Aston Martin Racing team is set to make its debut in the premier class of the Le Mans Series this weekend, with a two-car factory entry in the 1000 kilometres of Catalunya: the opening round of the LMS. The two cars – numbered 007 and 009 – will be driven by Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ) and Stefan Mucke (DE) (007) and Harold Primat (CH), Miguel Ramos (PT) and Darren Turner (GB) (009). Aston Martin Racing will compete in the entire Le Mans Series for the first time this season with the new Aston Martin LMP1 car, as well as the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours in June.For Aston Martin Racing, Barcelona marks the first step of a steep learning curve. With just one official pre-season test at Paul Ricard, the new LMP1 car is lacking in track mileage and the objective in Spain will be primarily to develop the car. The driver line-up includes two new faces; Harold Primat and Miguel Ramos.   Aston Martin Racing Team Principal George Howard-Chappell commented: “The first race of the new season is in many ways the most exciting one of all, because nobody really knows where they are relative to their rivals. From our point of view, we’re as well prepared as we’ll ever be although there’s a lot of work still ahead. With our programme only confirmed quite late in the day, we’ve had to do an awful lot in a very short space of time, so I’d like to thank everybody in the team for their hard work and dedication that has brought us up to this point. I’m sure it’s going to be a very interesting race at Barcelona, and it’s impossible really to predict what might happen.”

Racing for Kids, celebrating its 20th season of visiting sick kids in children’s  hospitals around the world, will team up with the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear for five driver visits to Children’s Hospitals during the 2009 season.  This marks the fourth season in a row that Racing for Kids and the Star Mazda Championship have worked together.  Racing for Kids / Star Mazda Championship Children’s Hospital visits are planned for Salt Lake City, Utah (Miller Motorsports Park) in May; Joliet, Illinois (Autobahn Chicago) in July; Trois Rivières, Quebec, in August; Atlanta, Georgia (Road Atlanta) in September; and Monterey, California (Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) in October.Star Mazda drivers who have signed up include: Alex Ardoin, Toshihiro Deki,Ryan Booth, Chris Cumming, Billy Goshen,Taylor Hacquard, Kristy Kester, J.C. Kester Caio Lara,and Joel Miller. Through the program, any Star Mazda Championship driver may join the Racing for Kids program by making a Racing for Kids-sponsored children’s hospital visit, where drivers visit with sick kids and sign autographs and hand out racing memorabilia. Racing for Kids then offers a $500 cash prize to the top finishing Racing for Kids driver in the race where there was a hospital visit, and a comparable cash donation to the Children’s Hospital in the top finishing driver’s name.  A $1,000 cash prize will be offered to the best performing driver in the five race mini-series with another $1,000 going to the children’s healthcare institution of the driver’s choice.  Joel Miller of Hesperia, California won the RFK Star Mazda title last year and Alex Ardoin of Lafayette, Louisiana won the honor in 2007.  

Will Bratt made his long-awaited track return at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit on Wednesday, 25th March, by rejoining his former Formula Renault UK team Apotex Scorpio Motorsport during an official championship test session. Assisting the Loughborough squad with data and set-up work, the outing saw Bratt  end the day fourth fastest with a 1m 47.968 seconds (106.49mph).“It was good to be back on track and I enjoyed working with Tony (Trevor) and Jon (Pettitt), Apotex Scorpio is a great team”, commented Will, “We were more than happy with our dry weather pace, fourth overall was a great result and especially so considering I haven’t been in a car for five months and the tyres we were using were pretty old – we didn’t have chance to run on new ones.“The afternoon sessions were affected by rain and it was difficult to tell exactly where we were as there were a lot of stoppages. In the end, I only had 11 laps but the main aim was to help the team with set-up work. As far as the 2009 season goes for me, we’re unsure what we’re doing at the moment but we hope to be able to announce something in due course.”

It’s a new team with familiar faces for LMS this season with the formation of JMW Motorsport. Team Principal Jim McWhirter has built an experienced and proven crew around his Ferrari F430 GT, which has won the LMS GT2 title in the previous two seasons, headed by Technical Director, Steve Bunkhall.A double winner returns behind the wheel as well with reigning LMS GT2 Champion of 2007 and 2008 Rob Bell once more forming a formidable partnership with reigning FIA GT2 Champion Gianmaria ‘Gimmi’ Bruni. The prospect of propelling Rob to a hat-trick of titles is a further incentive to an already hungry team. The newly spruced team had a successful test at the recent official LMS Paul Ricard test, which was spent working closely with their partners, Dunlop. The first was spent testing various tyre compounds and construction with the second day aside for long distance running. Both days proved extremely encouraging The team have also been given an entry into the Le Mans 24 Hour where Rob Bell will be joined by Tim Sugden, with a third driver to be confirmed in due course.

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