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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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News Archive February 2010 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 09/07/2010 IF RACE REPORTS LINKS REMOVED - FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above 28-10-02 The Volkswagen Racing Cup is set to break new ground in 2010 as two drivers with disabilities join the grid. Phil Morris and Simon Andrews will race specially adapted Golf GTIs in the Fuchs Lubricants-backed championship - and both men cannot wait to get into action for their maiden races. Phil, who lost a leg after a motorcycle accident, and wheelchair user Simon have both had to prove to UK motorsport's governing body, the MSA, their fitness to compete. It's been a sometimes tortuous process but each has now passed the ARDS test and has earned his track licence. Their Golfs have DSG semi-automatic gearboxes with steering wheel-mounted gearchange paddles. Phil's has specially adapted foot pedals while Simon's additionally features a hand-operated throttle and brake. Much of the track preparation work was completed by RacingLine. Congleton-based Phil, 50, has owned his Golf for three years and has used it for track days. "I've had great fun with it, but I wanted to take it further, so I started to check things out with the MSA," he said. "I had to prove that in the event of an accident that I could quickly evacuate the car. I did that and they cleared me to take the ARDS test; I passed and now I'm ready to race at Oulton Park on 5 April for the first time. "I'm very much a complete yellow-badge/black-cross novice and at 50 I'm one of the oldest-ever novices. I'm racing for fun." Morris is Purchasing Manager for championship title sponsor Fuchs UK, and his Golf will carry the oil firm's colours. Hampshire-based Andrews, 31, has used a wheelchair for 11 years, since his pedal cycle was in collision with a truck. It's been a three-year battle for him to reach his goal of a place on the Racing Cup grid. "I've had to be very persistent," said the property developer from Liphook. "I've had to go before the MSA's medical panel a number of times, and had to prove I can escape a car in less than 10 seconds. Last year they permitted me to go sprinting in my Golf, and that all went well, so here I am, the first paraplegic to race in the VW Cup."I'm planning to do most of the routine maintenance myself, and to get the car to the circuits, and then RacingLine will help me at the track. I'm really looking forward to it, and to racing against Phil and the other driversRacingLine's Melissa Wright paid tribute to the tenacity shown by Andrews and Morris: "Motorsport is difficult enough to get into, but Simon and Phil have shown true grit to overcome their problems and get on to the grid. The Golf GTI with DSG gearbox is an ideal track machine for a driver with a disability, and I'm sure that both of them are going to have a great time in the championship. We have loved developing these cars with the guys and making sure that the specifications were just perfect for their requirements. We have been as apprehensive as them over the last few months while they went through the various procedures required for them to get their licences. Both Phil and Simon are seasoned trackday participants so I am confident that they will be right in the thick of it in a championship which is perfect for novices of all abilities." 27-02-10
Following a fax vote by the competitors in the WTCC and subject to the fax vote confirmation by the members of the World Motor Sport Council, an amendment will be made to the points system to align with the FIA Formula One World and World Rally Championships. This will take place with immediate effect. Points will be awarded at each event according to the following scale: 1st: 25 points; 2nd: 18 pts; 3rd: 15 pts; 4th: 12 pts: 5th: 10 pts; 6th: 8pts; 7th: 6 pts; 8th: 4 pts; 9th: 2 pts; 10th: 1 point - Although points will be awarded to the first ten drivers classified in each of the twenty-four championship rounds, this will not affect the top-eight reverse grid for the second race of each event.
The Compensation Weight system
(art. 79 of the Sporting Regulations) that was introduced in
2009 will determine the running weight of the WTCC cars again,
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 for the first time after the first
two events. For example, the results of Events 2, 3 and 4
determines the compensation weight for Event 5. All the cars run
in the first two events of the season on the minimum weight
fixed by Appendix 1 of the Sporting Regulations: For the fourth consecutive year the WTCC Race of Brazil will give an aid to the starving people of Brazil. Together KSO (championship promoter), HSBC (partner of the event), and the City Hall of Curitiba, repeated the initiative of offering free tickets to the public in exchange for two kilograms of food. Fans wishing to attend the races on Sunday may collect their tickets by delivering the food to 13 different collection points scattered over the city, or at the racetrack on Sunday morning. The food collected will be donated to the charity society Instituto Pró-Cidadania de Curitiba, which will distribute it to those in need. In 2007 this humanitarian initiative resulted in the collection of 24 tonnes of food, that became 52 in 2008 and 43 last year.
The German event of the 2010 FIA European Touring Car Cup that was due to be held at the Oschersleben Motorsport Arena
on April 18th, has been post-poned to September 5th on the same
racetrack. Meaning that the FIA ETCC rounds 5 and 6 will take
place within the FIA World Touring Car Championship race
meeting. The FIA ETCC competitors will take part on Sunday in
two separate races from the FIA WTCC's. A detailed timetable
will be unveiled soon. Zengö-Dension Team and Norbert Michelisz are the first team and driver from Hungary to committ full season to an FIA World Championship. Michelisz, who won the 2009 SEAT León Eurocup, will be at the wheel of a SEAT León TDI, a car he already drove successfully in the FIA European Touring Car Cup last year at Braga, when he was classified third after winning the first race. "It is a dream come true! It feels great that everything we worked on together becomes reality. I expect tough fights as there are many great drivers in the series, but I think that with our car and experience we can be competitive," said Nortbert Michelisz who recently received the 2009 Talent of the Year award from FIA President Jean Todt. "It makes me proud that we are going to be the first Hungarian team in the WTCC thanks to our partners, especially Dension Ltd. who is the main sponsor. It is a huge challenge for us, however we have proven already that we are capable to be competitive," team principal Zoltán Zengö commented.
Swiss driver Fredy Barth
lodged a last minute entry and will make his maiden appearance
in the FIA WTCC at the Race of Brazil that will take place next
week in Curitiba. Barth, a 31-year old from
Lucerne,
will drive a SUNRED Engineering SEAT León TDI car. After taking
his first motorsport steps in single seater series including
Formula Campus and Formel Volkswagen Deutschland, Barth switched
to saloon cars becoming a successful driver in the SEAT León
cups.
Davide Valsecchi crowned Asia Series Champion. Davide Valsecchi charged to victory today in Bahrain’s Feature Race. With this third win, he snatched the Series title with three races to spare before the end of the season. After Romain Grosjean in 2008 and Kamui Kobayashi in 2009, the iSport racer becomes the third GP2 Asia Series Champion. As soon as the lights went off at Sakhir, Polesitter Jules Bianchi fell out of contention for victory following a very poor start. Javier Villa and Luca Filippi burst from second row to the first corner where the Meritus man took advantage on the Spaniard. Though quicker than Filippi, Villa could not find a way passed the Italian and chose to observe an early pitstop on Lap 8 - a winning strategy that put him ahead of Filippi and Valsecchi once all pistops were done. Towards the late stages of the race, Valsecchi's pace improved. Then running in third place, he rapidly closed the gap with Filippi. After several attempts to pass his countryman, leading to one small mistake and going wide at Turn 10 but he recovered, Valsecchi eventually overtook Filippi into Turn 1 on lap 28. It took him only one lap to catch Villa. The Spaniard surrendered and handed him the lead one lap later also in the first corner. Valsecchi then pulled away easily and secured victory four laps later. Struggling with his tyres, Villa could not resist Filippi's assaults for too long and had to fend off Ricci's attacks until the finish line. Behind them, Charles Pic finished fifth - also benefiting from an early pitstop strategy - ahead of Alvaro Parente and Sergio Perez. Adrian Zaugg took eighth place for Trident Racing from eighteenth on the grid. The GP2 returnee will start from pole position on tomorrow's grid. With his nearest rival and teammate Oliver Turvey delayed in the pits following a problem on his left rear wheel and out of the points today, Valsecchi scored enough with this additional win to secure the title three races before the end of the season. The teams' title remains to be decided although with 61 points to 20 on DPR, iSport International seem impossibly close to another crown. The second GP2 Asia race of the Bahrain round was very short for Alvaro Parente, as Sergio Perez sent him out in the first lap, when he was second. The Portuguese driver started well from third and was able to attack the Mexican’s second place. However, in the straight after the first turns of the Sakhir circuit, Perez interlocked his right front wheel in the Portuguese’s left back wheel and the driver from Oporto had to retire, after a spin in the next turn motivated by a suspension failure. Alvaro Parente was very displeased with this situation and he went to the Addax’s box to have a conversation with Sergio Perez about their accident. “It’s the second time that I’ve problems with him! At least, this time he admitted that he was to blame and apologized me, even if that doesn’t put me back in the race. I was in front of him and much faster than him. I don’t understand his behavior”, said the Portuguese driver. This incident is even more frustrating for the Portuguese driver as he is convinced that he could win the race. “I think that I could be P1 in the chequered flag! I just had Adrian Zaugg in front of me and I was much faster than him. It’s disappointing to end a weekend in this way, as I’m certain that I could win”, concluded the driver supported by TMN, Stilo and Cision. 26-02-10
Superleague
Formula: The final selection of teams for the 2010
Superleague Formula
by Sonangol campaign, due to kick off at Silverstone on
April 2nd, has now taken place. The roster, increased by two
from the end of last season, sees each squad fielding a pair of
football clubs each. Due to compete alongside existing teams
Atech, Alan Docking Racing, GU Racing, Reid Motorsport, Azerti
and Epsilon are Emilio de Villota Motorsport and Laurent Redon,
as well as one further outfit still to be announced.
Superleague Formula Competition Director Robin Webb said: “It’s
obviously great news that we’ve increased the number of racing
teams set to compete in the Superleague Formula by Sonangol
Championship in 2010, with each outfit now responsible for just
two cars each. I’m confident that the quality of racing will
increase still further thanks to the addition of the new teams
and the huge prize fund which exceeds five million euros this
year. We’re also hopeful of announcing the final two clubs and
race team within the next few days, as well as the 2010 driver
roster. All I can say at the moment is that we’ve had
considerable interest from drivers who have competed in many
different categories including GP2 and A1GP and – of course –
F1, which speaks volumes for the championship’s growing
credibility within motorsport.” Team Manager Emilio de Villota
added: “After winning the Euroseries 3000 in 2009, we have no
doubts that joining Superleague Formula by Sonangol is the best
way forward for our team to continue. In 2010, Superleague
Formula will make an important jump by doubling its number of
races from 6 to 12, something which positions this championship
at the forefront of international motorsport. It’s for this
reason that Emilio de Villota Motorsport has decided to join its
ranks, with the intention of making a global impact.” GU
Racing’s Günther Unterreitmeier said: “After a highly successful
campaign last season with FC Basel and Olympiacos, we’re full of
confidence heading into our third year of Superleague Formula.
Retaining the same clubs obviously helps with continuity so I’m
really hopeful of a strong season ahead.” Nissan GT Academy: Nissan and PlayStation’s search for a new racing driver from the virtual world of Gran Turismo race simulation games enters it’s next phase today(Friday). The 18 winners from across the 17 participating countries will gather at Silverstone, where for the next five days they will be put through a series of driving, physical and mental challenges in order to select the two competitors that display the most talent, determination and potential to succeed as real racing drivers. The two winners of the Silverstone event will be invited back to the UK to embark on an intensive two-month driver training programme. They will compete in enough race events to qualify for an international racing licence while also learning race-craft and technique. Following this phase, only one of the drivers will be chosen to compete a full season in the European GT4 Cup series driving a Nissan 370Z GT car alongside Alex Buncombe in the Nissan PlayStation RJN Motorsport team. On hand at the GT Academy at Silverstoneto help guide and train the competitors will be an international team of experienced race instructors headed by Rob Barff. Barff will also act as a judge alongside Eddie Jordan, F1 and Le Mans-winner Johnny Herbert, and two-time Nürburgring 24-Hour winner Sabine Schmitz. The panel faces a tough job to reduce the field from 18 to two over the course of the next five days. During their intensive racing driver ‘boot camp’, the competitors will swap their PlayStation®3 controls for the steering wheels of Nissan GT-R and new Nissan 370Z as well as karts, single-seaters and other cars. From the end of day two, the judges will be required to make the difficult decision of who must be eliminated from the competition.
Porsche GT3 Cup: With interest high in the new 2010 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series, one of the first to sign up was race rookie Peter Smallwood, the Towcester resident having only made his race debut in the final round of the Porsche Open series at Silverstone last October. With a 996 GT3 prepared by Silverstone-based Fearnsport, Peter is looking forward to the challenge that the exciting GT3 series presents. “It will be my first ever full season of motorsport,” says 44-year-old Peter, “and I am really looking forward to it. The 996 GT3 is great to drive – we start testing properly with Fearnsport in March so I can get up to speed. It might seem unusual to be making my race debut at this level, but I felt it was now and never and enjoyed my first race with the Porsche Club at Silverstone last October.” Series co-ordinator Steve Kevlin said: “Peter is exactly the sort of competitor the GT3 Cup Challenge is intended for, somebody who approaches his competition in a thoughtful manner and is looking for what we consider to be close, competitive, yet fun racing. Peter made a great start to his motorsport with his first race with us last year and we are confident he will do well in 2010.” The 13-race series kicks off at Brands Hatch on April 4th, and provides a home for racing GT3 Porsches. Sampling the UK’s major circuits, plus a trip to Zolder in Belgium in May, the series finale is a unique triple-header meeting at the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in October – a chance for drivers to really get to grips with the Northamptonshire venue’s full layout.
Auto GP: There's a switch of dates in the Auto GP calendar. The series maiden race, planned for April 18 in Portimao, will be held in Brno on the April 24-25 weekend. The championship organization was left with no choice when the Portuguese Automobile Club gave notice that, due to a clashing with the Portuguese national championships in Estoril, it couldn't grant enough marshals for the correct development of the weekend. This forced Auto GP to search for a new venue and, after examining various options, the Brno track was the best one, securing a perfect weekend development and a really little calendar postponement, just one week. In Brno, on the Thursday before the races, Auto GP will also hold its first collective testing session, in which all the drivers entered in the series will take part free of charge. For them, and for the teams as well, it will be an occasion to get acquainted with the car and the track. Formula 3: Gabby Chaves will enters the Italian Formula 3 Championship in 2010. Driving a Eurointernational-prepared Mygale M-10 chassis, the American will make his European debut with the team that took him to the Formula BMW Americas Title in 2009. 25-02-10
24-02-10 Formula 3: As the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series pre-season testing ban came to a close, 22 Dallaras headed out onto a damp and cold Snetterton to get the first test of the year unmderway and establish an early pecking order. Top of the timesheets was James Calado the Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver and his Volkswagen-powered Carlin car emerged quickest in the wet morning session by three-thousandths and went faster still in the drier afternoon conditions to end the day on top. "It's gone well," said James, "and I've learned a lot from today, which is the key thing."
Double podiums at the recent Rotax Winter Cup held at Campillos in Spain (10-14 February)would seem to show that Dan Holland Racing is right on track for a strong season in both international and domestic competition. Both Jack Barlow and Jack Dex came away with second in the respective events whilst their team-mates all put in strong performances.
Harry Crawley
made his
Strawberry Racing retained it's Rotax Winter Cup at Campillos in Spain(13/14 February), this time with James Greenway; and Tom Fawcett got his career with the team underway in fine style, taking an excellent third place. GTs: GT Racing in Asia is set to expand with the introduction of the GT4 Asia Cup. The new series is part of an agreement between the SRO Motorsports Group and Motorsport Asia. The GT4 Asia Cup will run according to the SRO regulations and homologation procedures. The GT4 Asia Cup will run over 6 Events with 2 x 40 minute races per weekend. Each race will have a mandatory pit stop while competitors have the choice of either a single driver or two-driver entry. (Single drivers will execute a timed stop for equality). The Series will begin at Sepang as part of the Asian Festival Of Speed Event on May 15-16 and will visit five other circuits in Asia including the new F1 track at Jeongnam, Korea. There will be Global Television coverage through the existing AFOS TV platform, with TV coverage broadcast to over 100 Countries. David Sonenscher, CEO of Motorsport Asia says of the GT4 Asia Cup : "We are proud to cooperate with SRO to bring this fast expanding GT category to Asia for the first time to run alongside our already popular GT3 Asia Series. With rapidly increasing interest globally from drivers, manufacturers and spectators alike, I believe that there is a very strong future for GT racing here in Asia." CEO of SRO Motorsports Group Stephane Ratel : "I am very pleased with the announcement of the introduction of an official SRO approved GT4 pan-Asian series, in the hands of my longtime friend David Sonenscher. His experience of motorsport in Asia makes him the ideal partner for this new Cup, further enhancing the global success of the GT4 category, which is rapidly becoming the perfect entry-level category for GT racing." The GT4 Asia Cup regulations are available upon request and for further information on the GT4 Asia Cup or the Asian Festival Of Speed please contact Motorsport Asia at mal@motorsportasia.com. Formula Renault: The first collective test of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season saw 25 new Formula Renault 2.0s converge on the Valencia circuit. In the first test of 2010 Daniel Mancinelli (One Racing) came away with the fastest lap over the two days. The 2010 season kicks off for real at Motorland Aragon on April 17. For these first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 collective test sessions, teams from Formula Renault 2.0 UK joined the pack at the Spanish track. On Monday morning, with a few spots of rain all 25 cars went out onto the circuit. Tamas Pal Kis (Atech Grand Prix) claimed top spot early on, ahead of Harry Tincknell (CRS Racing) and 16-year old Alex Riberas (Epsilon Euskadi), who is making the step up from Karting this season. In the afternoon, the drivers gradually upped the pace. Italian Daniel Mancinelli, winner of the 2009 Italian Formula Renault championship, soon began to make a showing. After around 50 laps, he produced the best performance of the day, lapping 1'32''942, ahead of Epsilon Euskadi drivers, Giovanni Venturini and Alex Riberas. Tamas Pal Kis and Miguel Otegui (Epsilon Euskadi) put in 4th and 5th fastest times. On Tuesday, in spite of a strong wind, the track seemed quicker. Drivers such as Arthur Pic (SG Formula) ran long runs, Pic notching up 55 laps over the morning. Daniel Mancinelli stood out again. He improved on his fastest lap from Monday to put himself back in the lead with a time of 1'32''648. At the end of the morning, Will Stevens (Manor Motorsport) and Tamas Pal Kis, showing good consistency, lay second and third. The afternoon started with the drivers working on their setups before spooling up for their final charges in the last half-hour of the session. Miki Weckstrom (Koiranen Bros MS) and Lewis Williamson (Manor Motorsport) vyed for position at the top of the timing charts. In the very last seconds Daniel Mancinelli drove to the fastest lap of the two days of testing, in 1'32''563. With his last attempt, Will Stevens grabbed the second-fastest time ahead of Harry Tincknell, Lewis Williamson and Miki Weckstrom. The next collective test sessions will be held in Barcelona on March 9-10. GP3: MW Arden GP3 Team have joined forces with former 2006 European Karting Champion driver Miki Monras for the inaugural GP3 Championship. The young Spanish driver (18) is stepping up to GP3 after a season competing in Formula Renault. MW Arden Team Manager, Julian Rouse comments: Everyone at MW Arden is delighted to have Miki on our GP3 program. He is a young very talented driver who competed right at the front of a very competitive European Championship in 2009 and has also shown great consistency in his race results. We are very confident he has the ability to be competing right at the front straight away in GP3. Miki Monras comments: I am really happy to be able to be a member of MW Arden. It will be a season were all teams start from zero and so I have plenty of confidence in MW Arden to be really competitive and fight together for the leading places in GP3, the experience of MW Arden will give me a chance to demonstrate our potential as a team. I am really looking forward to test the new GP3 and to work with the team". Indylights: Charlie Kimball has secured sponsorship from Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care. Kimball will pilot the No. 26 Levemir® FlexPen® car for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport and will run a full 13-race schedule on the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series. Kimball, 25, is the only licensed driver with type 1 diabete4s in the history of the Indy Racing League. Diagnosed in 2007, he monitors his blood sugar before, during and after each race, and uses Novo Nordisk insulin Levemir® (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection) and NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection). The partnership with Novo Nordisk includes primary sponsorship of Kimball's race car, racing suit and helmet. Kimball also will make appearances on behalf of Novo Nordisk throughout 2010. "Charlie Kimball is the perfect example of how people living with diabetes can successfully manage their disease without letting it get in the way of their dreams," said Camille Lee, Vice President of Diabetes Marketing at Novo Nordisk. "We are proud of our association with Charlie and we look forward to a successful year on and off the track in 2010." Kimball will be competing in his second season in the Firestone Indy Lights series. In 2009, he finished 10th overall, posting a season-best fourth place at Watkins Glen and finishing the 2009 campaign with eight Top 10 results.
23-02-10
BTCC: WSR have signed Andy Neate to compete in the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. WSR has won the Independents Trophy for the last three seasons & the overall Drivers title in 2009 with Colin Turkington driving a BMW 320si. Team Principal, Dick Bennetts commented; "We have known Andy for several years and were planning to run him in 2009, however due to his unfortunate accident in a Britcar event at the end of 2008, we were unable to. We are now very pleased to see that he's made a remarkable recovery and is now ready to step up to the BTCC.WSR have built up an enviable reputation over the years in not only developing, preparing and presenting very good race cars, but also their ability to help develop drivers in their pursuit to become professionals." Andy Neate: "For me as a pure racing spectacle it doesn't get any more exciting on track as touring cars. It's always been my dream to one day make it to the BTCC with a top team, it's something that I've aspired to do my entire racing career. I've raced in a number of single make tin top championships and enjoyed a lot of success along the way; including taking the title in the hard fought Fiesta series. With all this experience in my locker I'm not shy to this type of hard door to door racing and cannot wait to line up on the grid with some of the best touring car drivers in the world. I do not underestimate the level of competition and quality in the BTCC field and acknowledge I've got a huge learning curve ahead of me; however I'm not on the grid to make up the numbers and just for something to one day tell the grandkids. I've got one of the plum seats on the grid in the WSR BMW so I owe Dick Bennetts and the team a huge deal of gratitude for giving me this opportunity. I see this as a multi-year plan and I hope to develop as a touring car driver over the coming season and beyond." Indy Lights: Sam Schmidt Motorsports have announced that Frenchman Jean Karl "J.K." Vernay will join the team for the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights campaign. The twenty-two year-old former Red Bull Junior Team driver comes to the American open-wheel series after spending his junior career racing in Europe, most recently in the Formula 3 Euroseries where he won two races in 2009. His most recent career highlight was finishing second in the Macau GP in 2009. "I'm very excited to come to America this season to race in Firestone Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports," Vernay said. "I also want to thank my managers at CJ Motorsport and my sponsors for making it possible, along with the people at Volkswagen for encouraging me to go." Vernay has completed two tests to date with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. In a one week he sampled the challenges of the Firestone Indy Lights on an oval at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and followied that up with laps on the Palm Beach International Raceway. Vernay said, "After a great test last week, I can't wait to get more time in the car and do more development with my engineer. My goal is to win races and the championship again this year for the team and my supporters." Team owner Sam Schmidt said. "We tested him at Homestead and Palm Beach and everything just clicked. The chemistry between JK and the team was excellent from the start and we're confident he'll be a great fit for the Sam Schmidt Motorsports organization in 2010."
Nissan GT Academy: Eddie Jordan, Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz are to sit on judging panel at Silverstone for the international final of Nissan and PlayStation®’s virtual-to-real racer quest from 26 February until 2 March. The pair will be joined by Sabine Schmitz as judges and mentors for Nissan and PlayStation’s GT Academy competition. Completing the line-up of judges is experienced sports car driver Rob Barff, who will also lead the GT Academy driver training programme. The five-day ‘boot camp’ will teach and test the 19 finalist from across Europe, Australia and New Zealand in equal measure Silverstone’s race instructors will put the gamers through a gruelling schedule of fitness, menta and driving challenges. The stakes are high, with only two of the 19 being given the opportunity to embark on a two-month intensive training programme to qualify for an international race licence. Only one driver will then progress to race a Nissan 370Z in the full European GT4 Cup series that starts in May. Irishman Eddie Jordan, “When I left Ireland to set up my own team over 30-years ago, people never thought I would succeed,” explains Jordan. With some talent, drive and an inner belief anything is possible and that is what I’ll be looking for from these guys. They are already champions on their PlayStations, so I know they have a lot of the right attributes to make it as drivers. Spotting that talent is the key, and I’m looking forward to working with them “ Sabine Schmitz is well known as the first woman to win a major 24 hour race – the 24 hours of Nurburgring in 96 and 97. She is also well known following several appearances on the BBC’s popular motoring show Top Gear In one episode she completed a lap of the Old Nürburgring driving the same car as presenter Jeremy Clarkson and beat his best lap time by nearly a minute! “I am very proud to be a judge on this programme,” says Schmitz. “It is very exciting, although I am a little disappointed that no women made it through to the final! I am looking forward to seeing how these gamers will adapt. I see no reason why they shouldn’t turn into good drivers. The Nissan GT-R is a very fast car so it will be interesting to see how they handle it.” Formula 2: Reigning Formul'Academy Euro Series Champion Benjamin Bailly has entered the FIA Formula Two Championship for 2010. Bailly enjoyed his most successful season to date in 2009, where a superb campaign saw him claim the overall Formul'Academy Euro Series championship with six wins, five podiums and three pole positions from the 14 races. The Belgian driver's progression to F2 has been assisted by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium National Team, which helps promote and develop young Belgian talent. Benjamin Bailly said: "Formula Two is a great championship and I'm delighted to be joining it for 2010. I like the concept of the series, and the fact that all the cars are equal means the driver makes all the difference -- in other categories, if you're not with a good team you can't get the results. Andy Soucek also proved what a good learning step F2 is when he set the fastest time in his Formula One test in Jerez. I'm sure it will be a really competitive season, especially with the upgrades made to the car, but I proved I could be fast when I tested in F2 at Portimão, and I'm certainly targeting podiums and even race wins this year -- a good season would be my way of thanking the team RACB officials!"
22-02-10
Formula 3: Adelaide’s Team BRM has forged a reputation for being the Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship’s ‘international’ team. Drivers like Ben Clucas, James Winslow and Joey Foster have come from overseas to race with the five-time champions of Australia’s premier open wheel series. And it’s a trend that will continue in 2010 following conformation that 18-year-old Chinese driver Zhang Shan Qi will join Britain’s Ben Barker in a two-car attack on the 2010 Gold Star. Zhang made his F3 debut in the 2009 season-ending F3 SuperPrix at Sandown with R-Tek Motorsport. His Team BRM Dallara F307 – Mercedes chassis will this year run in the colours of Chinese Team PTRS, with whom Zhang has done much of his open wheel racing. “It is very exciting for our team to welcome Zhang Shan Qi to the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship,” Team BRM owner Bronte Rundle said. “It is a validation of the level of competition and the cost effectiveness of Formula 3 in Australia that Team BRM has attracted drivers like Zhang and Ben Barker to our line-up this year. Obviously it is very good for our team but it is great for the championship. At this stage it looks like there could be five to seven outright cars well in contention for the championship and that will be a great thing. Already it is a more competitive grid than last year but we are confident we have the ability to challenge for a third consecutive Gold Star title.” The 2010 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship kicks off at Wakefield Park in New South Wales on March 5 – 7. For more info visit www.formula3.com.au
21-02-10
GP3: British racing driver Oliver Oakes plans to contest the GP3 Series this season. Oakes, aged 22 from Norfolk, has been targeted by several teams in the new series, which supports European rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship. Accelerate Driver Development(ADD), which manages Oakes and three other young drivers, is negotiating with teams on Oakes’s behalf. Oakes joined ADD in 2009 after a part-season in the British Formula 3 Championship. The World Karting Champion of 2005, Oakes went on to win races in Formula BMW and became a front-runner in Formula Renault. He also took a pole in an abbreviated F3 campaign in 2008. After a break from the cockpit, Oakes returned to the wheel of an F3 car this winter, setting quick testing times with former championship-winning team Hitech Racing. ADD Managing Director Graeme Glew said: “It’s a well-known fact in motorsport that Oliver Oakes is one of Britain’s fastest up-and-coming young drivers. He has had a lot of bad luck over the past couple of seasons, but his recent F3 test at Rockingham demonstrated that he can jump into any race car and instantly be quick. He is ADD’s most senior young driver at 22, and we believe that GP3 will accelerate his career towards his ultimate goal of Formula 1.” The GP3 Series begins at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 8/9, when it supports the Spanish Grand Prix. ADD hopes to announce the identity of Oakes’s team in the coming weeks, enabling him to undertake a full testing programme in the turbocharged Renault-engined GP3 racer. 20-02-10 LMS: FIA GT2 Champion Richard Westbrook has joined JMW Motorsport as their second driver in the 2010 Le Mans Series. Richard will partner Rob Bell as JMW Motorsport begin their three year LMS campaign with the Aston Martin Vantage GT2. Richard seals the team as a complete British entity for LMS with JMW Motorsport, Aston Martin, Dunlop and two of Britain’s finest sportscar drivers. “I am very excited about joining JMW Motorsport” said Richard, “and am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Aston Martin. The whole project has a very special British feel to it. It is an important project for all concerned and to work with Aston Martin and Dunlop on development is a challenge I look forward to being part of. ” Richard was also quick to praise his new team-mate. “I am a big fan of Rob and the chance to drive alongside him certainly swayed my mind. We will be looking to make the Aston Martin as competitive as possible from the outset and I am sure we can. We will be working very hard.” Richard will also be part of the JMW Motorsport Le Mans 24 Hour squad, when he and Rob will be joined by Tim Sugden as the team’s third driver for the prestigious race. “Le Mans 24 Hour this year is such an exciting prospect. Tim has an amazing knowledge of the race and is such an asset to the driver line up. It is a very special event and one I look forward to being a part of. I am sure the British fans who make the journey will spur us on!” Whilst Tim Sugden will be on driver duty in June, for the remainder of the season he is JMW Motorsport Team Manager and he is more than pleased with their new recruit. “I have known Richard for many years and as we’ve all seen, whatever he turns his hand to he is brilliant” said Tim. “Richard is an amazing driver and a fantastic asset to the team. He and Rob will make an enviable driver pairing of that we are sure”. The JMW Motorsport team have recently returned from a very positive Dunlop tyre test in Portugal with the test Aston Martin Vantage GT2, where they were comfortably on pace. In the coming days the team take delivery of the new racecar for preparation ahead of the official LMS test at Paul Ricard on March follwed by the first race on 11 April 2010 at Paul Ricard 19-02-10 Ginettas: JHR Developments will expand into the Ginetta G40 Championship in 2010 with Jake Hill leading its planned two-car assault on the category. The Dronfield-based team will field squads in three of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship’s support classes – Porsche Carrera Cup GB, ELF Renault Clio Cup and, of course, Ginetta G40. Attracting Hill to its G40 ranks is a major coup for JHR, the Kent teenager cemented his status as a potential champion last year with three superb wins in Ginetta Jnrs despite a budget restricted campaign. “We’re absolutely delighted to have secured Jake to lead our new Ginetta G40 squad this year, he’s undoubtedly going to be one of the front-runners”, said JHR team principal Steven Hunter, “Ginetta G40 is clearly going to be as competitive as ever but we’re confident we’ll be able to hit the ground running and mount a sustained championship challenge throughout the year.” With Hill confirmed JHR is now seeking at least one more driver for its Ginetta G40 squad and Hunter is keen to hear from established Ginetta Junior competitors as well as championship newcomers and karting graduates. He added: “Our aim is to field at least two cars for our first season so we’re welcoming approaches from any other drivers interested in joining JHR. Having Jake onboard is a huge bonus and a major boost for the team. The coming year promises to be a very exciting one for JHR, we can’t wait for the season to begin.” The 2010 Ginetta G40 Championship will begin over Easter weekend, 3rd/4th April, at Thruxton.
After becoming
the oldest World Champion in motorsport history,, at the age of 47 in 2009, Gabriele Tarquini returns to
defend his FIA WTCC crown with a SEAT León TDI run by SR-Sport. For the fourth consecutive year, Tiago Monteiro will take part in the WTCC with a SEAT car under the banner of the new SR-Sport team. In the past three years, Monteiro has established himself as one of the top men in the championship, giving significant contribution to SEAT Sport's successes. "I am really happy to be able to compete in the WTCC again. Apart from Formula One, the WTCC is the championship with the greatest level of competition. I have learnt a lot over the past few years and it is essential that my career continues in the WTCC. I will give my all to secure the best results and to improve as a driver, and as a team, at each round of the season. This is the only mentality I will be working with at each race," he said.
Team principal
Franz Engstler and Russian driver Andrei Romanov will be team-mates again in the WTCC, as they were two years
ago. The Liqui Moly Team Engstler face their third season in the
WTC and will again field two BMW 320s, with plans to expand to a
third for Macanese driver Hery Ho during the season. Engstler
has been rejoined by Romanov, who makes a comeback to the team
after racing for them in 2008 and spending last year claiming
three race victories in the German ADAC Procar series at the
wheel of a Chevrolet Lacetti. Spanish driver Sergio Hernández will join Stefano D'Aste at Proteam Motorsport for the new season. Hernández who spent the 2009 as factory driver at BMW Team Italy-Spain and claimed his first WTCC victory at Brno, returns to the Italian outfit for which he raced in 2007 and 2008. During his second year with the team, Hernández managed to win the Yokohama Independents' Trophy and together with D'Aste helped Proteam to win the Teams' Trophy. LMS: Drayson Racing has signed Emanuele Pirro to race the team's No. 8 Drayson Racing Lola Judd at the three Automobile Club De l'Ouest (ACO)-sanctioned, endurance races of 2010. The five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will join Drayson Racing regulars Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker in the programme's Le Mans Prototype One (LMP1) entry. Pirro will drive for the UK-based team at the 12 Hours of Sebring on 20 March, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-13 June) and the American Le Mans Series' season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (2 October). He will carry out testing the car for the first time this week. 2010 marks the first full year in which the Dale White managed team will race in the prototype class. Paul Drayson, Owner/Driver: "It's just brilliant news! I am really excited about this. I met Emanuele during the 2008 ALMS championship and we got on really well from the start, particularly when swapping flying stories. I am just delighted to be racing with him this year. He is such a world class talent and such a nice guy; pre-race driver briefings were never the same without Emanuele! Most of all though, his huge experience and positive personality will lift the whole expectation and performance of the team, especially during the big three races of the year at Sebring, Le Mans and Petit." Emanuele Pirro: "When I received the offer from Drayson Racing it didn't take long to realise that it was a great opportunity. I met Paul Drayson during the ALMS season [in 2008]. First I was attracted by his life story, rather unusual for a racing driver, then I found a very interesting person with whom I share a lot of things and thoughts not only concerning the motor racing world. I am looking forward to driving with him and with Jonny Cocker, a true young talent. I am really looking forward to racing again in Sebring, Le Mans and Petit and meeting again the many fans that have been supporting me so much in the past years. I would also like to thank Audi for giving me the permission to drive for Drayson Racing."
18-02-10
Formula Ford: Thanks to the Bayswater company ‘The Blind Factory’, Andrew McFarland will be on the grid in a Spectrum 011c for the opening round of the 2010 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at Albert Park in March. Andrew and his father Peter have worked hard to get a sponsor for their 2010 season. “I really have to thank Dad and Borland Racing Developments(BRD) for the hours they have poured into this,” said Andrew. “And of course, a huge thank you to Brett Thomas (The Blind Factory owner) for coming on board for the opening round. I’ll be giving it my all to repay their faith in me!”. Andrew will line up in the Spectrum 011c used by Luke Ellery in 2009 and will run with the support of the Spectrum factory team, Borland Racing Developments. “We’ve been working toward this for a while now. I get on really well with the guys at BRD and can’t wait to get into the racing season. I’ve found the Spectrum to be a more comfortable package all round when compared with the last chassis I used. The Spectrum hasn’t left me with bruises all over the place!” Andrew said. BRD team manager Paul Zsidy welcomed Andrew to the factory squad. “We’re obviously delighted to have Andrew working with us this year,” said Zsidy. “He has an excellent record from karting and racing Formula Vee, so we are confident he will adapt well to Formula Ford given the right equipment and environment in which to develop,” he added. On the sponsorship from The Blind Factory, Zsidy said “Brett (Thomas) is to be congratulated for recognising the marketing opportunity that exists in supporting a talented young driver. I sincerely hope he finds the GP exercise worthwhile and extends support to Andrew for more racing this year!” Just nine places remain to complete the 24 car maximum grid Formula 2: Following a successful maiden season, interest in F2 is high with over 40 drivers hoping to join the FIA Formula Two Championship in 2010. Fifteen drivers have now been confirmed and these should be announced over the next two weeks. Drivers will once again be competing for the prize of a test with the Williams F1 team, whilst the championship top three will become eligible for an FIA Superlicence for Formula One. The F2 field can also look forward to an advanced Williams JPH1B F2 car which has already shown to be around three seconds per lap faster than its predecessor. Jonathan Palmer, Formula Two Series Director, said: "F2 had a great start in 2009, with a full grid of cars and some exceptional driver talent. The difficult economic climate is certainly continuing, and it has been clear to every championship that many drivers have struggled to raise the budgets more this year than previously. However the fact that F2 is far more affordable than any other comparable championship and is now similar in performance to Formula Renault 3.5, is making F2 a compelling choice for many drivers. F2 will also benefit from a season's maturity and a lot of hard work over the winter in the pursuit of our objective of 100% reliability in 2010 as the inevitable teething problems of a new series are ironed out. " FIA GT: Le Mans GT1 star and Corvette Racing driver Oliver Gavin, is to make a return to the racing in 2010 with the newly created Mad Croc Racing. The team, which will run the Corvette Z06, is a result of a merger between the Belgian SRT and Dutch DKR Engineering FIA GT Championship teams. The 37-year-old will be teamed with Pertti Kuismanen of Finland and the Mad Croc brand of energy products. Kuismanen has experience in GT racing through his participation in the Nordic GT, Belgian GT and FIA GT Championships. Oliver will be re-united with team boss Patrick Selleslagh, with whom he drove successfully at the Spa 24 Hours in 2009. The Corvette factory driver claimed the lead of the race just 15 laps in and kept the Corvette in contention until an engine problem 2 hours from then end. Due to a prior commitment with Corvette Racing in the GT2 class of the American Le Mans Series, the Briton will race in seven of the ten rounds of the new FIA GT1 World Championship. He will miss Abu Dhabi, Brno and the Nurburgring due to clashing events in North America when he will be replaced by former F1 driver Mika Salo. Gavin said of the deal: "I'm really pleased to be back with Patrick and his team again for the seven events, after having had such a good connection with him last year. It's also wonderful to be back competing in Europe and I'm particularly pleased the first race of the year will be at my home track, Silverstone, as I haven't raced there since 2007. "I'm looking forward and am intrigued to see how the GT1 World Championship will evolve," Mad Croc is a privately owned holding company focused on everyday portable energy products for consumers, available as energy drinks, chews or gum. F3 EUROSERIES: ART Grand Prix will have three drivers in the 2010 F3 Euroseries with Alexander Sims, Valtteri Bottas and Jim Pla. Bottas' second season in the sport should yield results that match ART Grand Prix' expectations. Alexander has impressed ART Grand Prix for the past few years, especially in 2009 when he was one of their strongest opponents. Jim will now be the team rookie. Valtteri Bottas: "I'm really looking forward to the coming season in the F3 Euro Series, this winter break feels so long and I would like to be in the car already! With ART Grand Prix I feel very confident as I have a perfect professional environment. Just like any driver, my aim is not just to make up the numbers but to win and I want to do better than last year. I am determined, focused and totally committed. I learn every day and I want to learn more. That's why I will seize every opportunity to become an even better driver." Alexander Sims: "I am extremely pleased to be racing with ART Grand Prix in the F3 Euro Series. My ambition is to win the championship this year and I know ART Grand Prix is the right place for me to achieve it. I have been hugely impressed with the personnel and the resources that ART Grand Prix have and it simply reinforces the confidence I have in them. My engineer Theo and I have started working together and I am confident in our relationship already. I will be pushing all year to get the maximum from myself and the team and I believe we can end the year as champions." Jim Pla: "Firstly, it is an honour to have the confidence of such a strong team with such an ample prize-list. I joined them for several days of testing and everything went really well, I instantly had a very good feeling with all the team members. Coming from Formula BMW, there's nothing better than the F3 Euro Series and my aim will be to have a good first year and to learn as much as I can thanks to Valtteri and Alexander, who are two excellent experienced drivers." Frederic Vasseur: "I have to say ART Grand Prix is delighted to have been able to gather the three drivers the team wanted to race for them in the F3 Euro Series in 2010. Valtteri's first year in the series was really convincing and I'm sure he has what it takes to keep up the good work and records registered by the team since 2004. Alexander is not a stranger to us, I've been following him for a few years now and I must say he impressed us in his maiden year in the category. As for Jim, this is quite a step, he is young and will have to learn everything but I'm confident we will provide him with the environment he needs to learn the series and have success." 17-02-10
Formula Vee: Nicolas Tennant left the East London Grand Prix circuit a happy man with 2 wins and the Championship lead after the first round of the 2010 South African National Formula Vee Championship. Driving his Tennant Life Benefits Execuline sponsored Rhema 2 the 19 year old took his first ever wins i9n the series ahead of the experienced Peter Hills in race one and his team mate Alan Eustice in race 2.
Meanwhile another Dan Holland driver was having an equally dramatiic debut at Campillos last, Jack Dex was also making his maiden appearance in European Racing at the Rotax Winter Cup. 16-02-10
Club Racing: The respective BRSCC champions from last season will gather at the Holiday Inn, Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday(20 Feb) for the annual BRSCC awards dinner. Over 35 drivers will collect trophies at the ceremony which will be presented by Gemma Scott of Motors TV. More than 320 guests will be in attendance but tickets are still available for the evening which starts at 6.45pm.Tickets are priced at £49 each and are available by calling Carole Jackson on 01732 783147 or emailing carole@brscc.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Motorsport production company Race TV filmed a ‘Club racing’ magazine programme at the Autosport Show which features a number of interviews on the BRSCC stand and also with Kevin Shortis on the Ford Fiesta Championship stand. The Race TV concept is to have a regular web based magazine programme featuring the best of the racing and stories behind club motorsport in the UK . The programme can be viewed at www.race.tv The Annual General Meeting of the BRSCC Northern Centre will take place on Tuesday 23rd March commencing at 8.00pm at the regular venue of The Crown Hotel, Market Place , Bawtry , DN10 6JW . Admission is via a current Club membership card. The BRSC South Eastern Centre AGM will take place at 8pm on Thursday 8th April 2010 at The Buttery, The Bull Hotel, Wrotham , Kent TN15 7RF . Admission to the AGM is via a current Club membership card. GoPro, the Hero HD camera company, has appointed Ford Racing UK boss Kevin Shortis as a motorsport dealer for their products in the UK . GoPro are the manufacturer and global distributor of the new HD quality in-car video camera. The camera produces 2.5 hours of full quality HD footage on one 16 GB SDHC card. The camera unit is enclosed in a quick release mounting and may be mounted on the suction cup (for glass) or rollbar mount. Apart from video, the camera may be programmed to shoot at 2/5/10/30 and 60 second intervals during the session. Just press the shutter button once for 2.5 hours of poster-print quality photos. Water proof to 180 feet (60m) and protected from rocks and other hazards thanks to its removable polycarbonate housing. Replacement housings and lens kits are available, making repairs or refurbishing the HD HERO camera affordable and conveniently. See an action clip at http://vimeo.com/6829127 The camera is easy to use, easy to fit and interfaces with television and computer. At maximum resolution in 1080p HD a 30 frames per second quality video will be captured and on one charge give 2.5 hours of material. For more info rmation or a demonstration of GoPro products contact Kevin Shortis on 01323 895 859 or email info@fordracing.eu
European Late Model Series: Pit Lane Productions Ltd have announced that they now have available a 2-disc boxed set of all the Motors TV coverage of the 2009 European Late Model Series! All twelve programmes are included. For fans of the American Stockcar formula, this is fascinating and exciting viewing. See the season unfold all the way to the three way fight between France, England and Belgium to become the first European Late Model Champion! The cost of each box set is £25 each and includes packaging and postage to anywhere in Europe, for deliveries outside of Europe please add £2. For further enquiries you can contact Andrew Marriott form Pit Lane Productions on 0208 568 2828.. The two disc set is available either through E-Bay, Short Circuit Magazine's Oval Shop or by sending an order and cheque to Pit Lane at 125 Harlequin Avenue, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 9EW. Short Circuit Oval Shop http://www.ovalshop..co.uk/ 15-02-10 Renault 3.5: Nelson Panciatici has signed for the Lotus Racing Junior Team for his first season in the World Series by Renault Formula 3.5 this year. The 21-year-old French driver, who was runner-up in Spanish F3 in 2008 and competed in GP2 and the Superleague Formula last season, appeared with the outfit at the launch of Lotus Racing, which will make its highly-anticipated return to the Formula One grid this season, at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on Friday afternoon. The Lotus Racing Junior outfit, formerly known as MOFAZ Racing, will enjoy close links with the F1 squad, something Nelson admits was a huge attraction in joining the team. “Joining the Lotus Racing Junior outfit is a huge opportunity for me and offers me the chance to enjoy the benefits of the direct link with the Formula One team,” said Panciatici. “To be racing for a team that carries the famous Lotus name gives a little added pressure, but that isn’t a problem for me because I have learned to manage pressure and turn it into a positive since the age of ten when I started my career in karting. I am very aware of the glorious heritage and history of Lotus in motorsport and it is a huge honour for me to be involved with this team. I will do my best to maximise this opportunity and get everything I can from it.” Alex Somerset, the team's Technical Director, said: “We watched Nelson at both the Aragon and Barcelona tests, and he demonstrated his abilities. He fits our bill of having one experienced driver and one rookie. We look forward to working with him and are confident that along with Russian Daniil Move, our other driver, he will help us finish in the Top 3 of the Teams Championship. We are also of the belief that Nelson certainly has the ability to finish in the Top 3 in the Drivers Championship”. Panciatici will be supported by luxury watch maker Ange Barde in 2010 and wore the Geneva-based firm’s brand new Legend Racer LR46 time piece at the Lotus Racing launch.
Kieren Clark was presented with the BARC President’s trophy for 2009 at the recent British Automobile Racing Club awards ceremony. This honour is awarded for excellence during the 2009 season, and Kieren’s winning streak in the BARC Formula Renault championship of 8 wins saw him chosen by the BARC President, the Earl of March. “It has been a great night, I was honoured to win the Presidents cup ahead of some of the UK’s top motorsport drivers.” Said Kieren, “I would like to thank the Loughborough Scorpio team for their efforts and support throughout the season to get such a consistent winning car. Its been a tough year, but we have had some great support from our partners and would like to thank Taylex, the exhibition stand providers, Motor Insurance Services, for on track insurance, and Motorsport Circuit Guides, the place to find information on the worlds motorsport events.“ The award topped off a successful month with Kieren awarded another accolade of being nominated as number 1 single seater driver by Motorsport News. In January Kieren took part in David Brabham’s Racing4Charity Celebrity Karting Challenge, at the Autosports Showin the NEC Birmingham, which saw a large contingent of motorsport’s elite join together to raise £59,500. Kieren’s team came home 4th. Kieren is now working to bring a group of partners together for the 2010 season. “I know we can be really competitive in Formula Renault UK and with live TV coverage, offer a great partnership to boost our partners’ profile. There are many things we can offer and we can tailor them around company’s requirements to deliver their objectives, it’s a lot more than the name on the car!” Bathurst: Gary Holt, Paul Morris and John Bowe drving the Eastern Creek International Karts BMW 335i came through rain fog and a even a fallen tree that blocked the top of Conrod straight in the 7th hour to win the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama on Sunday. Carrera Cup GB: Michael Caine (pictured) and Charles Bateman have been confirmed as two pro drivers in the six-strong Motorbase Performance squad for the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Caine (Newmarket) stays with the team for a third season, while Bateman joins the Kent-based team after missing much of the 2008 season. They complete the record six-car team, where they will join pro-am1 racers Ollie Jackson and Liam Griffin and pro-am2 racers Steve Parish and George Richardson. Caine, one of the established championship front-runners says that winning the overall title is his prime target for the season. He has finished fourth, second and fourth in the last three seasons and has won seven Carrera Cup races. "I want to win it and that's do-able," said Caine. I've won at nearly every circuit and I just need to string it all together." As the most experienced driver in the Motorbase squad, Caine will also play a mentoring role with his team mates. "I'll be working with all five of the guys to get them all up there. We need to go forward as a collective." David Bartrum is delighted to have retained Caine as his team leader. "Michael works very hard for the team behind the scenes and we believe he has the potential to win the championship," said Bartrum. "I really want Motorbase to win the overall drivers' title." Bateman, meanwhile, will be new to Motorbase but has good Carrera Cup experience having finished eighth overall in 2007 and 2008. Last year he sat out most of the season but contested two race weekends and took a fourth overall at Knockhill in August. "We had a good result at Knockhill and I want to build on that," said the Boston-based driver. "I've been training hard over the winter, both mentally and physically and I'm looking forward to working with the Motorbase team. Podiums and race wins are the aim." Bartrum is keen to see Bateman on the top step of the podium. "We want to get Charles his first Carrera Cup win and we want to do that as soon as possible. I'm very pleased with the team we've put together; it's going to be a great season." Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge: Jonny Reid won the latest round of the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge at Feilding's Manfeild motor racing circuit over the weekend. Reid shared the weekend’s wins with Daniel Gaunt and David Reynolds while series leader Craig Baird now has a 135 point lead over Matt Halliday thanks in part to another podium place in the third and final race. NASCAR: Jamie McMurray won the 52nd annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 but it took three green, white, chequered flag attempts and a shove from Dale Earnhardt, Jr., to complete the race. It also took two red flags to repair a hole in the track's bumpy surface, McMurray wound up in the front pack when it came to the two-lap showdown for NASCAR’s biggest prize. And Earnhardt provided the help he needed to hold off the pack. Earnhardt came from 10th to second in two laps to get the assist, and McMurray was overcome with emotion afterwards. McMurray didn't know if he would have a ride for 2010 until his former car owner Chip Ganassi called and put him in a car for the second time. McMurray responded just as he had the first time he drove for Ganassi at Charlotte by winning first time out. The race took six hours and 10 minutes to complete after a huge pothole developed in the lower racing groove in turn one due to the unusually cold and rainy weather that settled over Daytona Beach this year. The hole was patched before it came undone once more later on and needed a second patch. Finishing third was Greg Biffle, who ran up front most of the day. He was followed by Clint Bowyer in a Richard Childress Chevrolet. David Reutimann was fifth, Martin Truex Jr. sixth, Kevin Harvick seventh, Matt Kenseth eighth, Carl Edwards ninth and Juan Pablo Montoya 10th.
 Guillaume
Moreau has signed with OAK Racing
for the five-round Le Mans Series (LMS) and the Le Mans 24
Hours, joining Matthieu Lahaye, Richard Hein and Jacques Nicolet.
Moreau, LMS GT1 champion in 2008, previously did a fine job for
the team driving the #35 OAK Racing LMP2 Pescarolo-Mazda in the
2009 Le Mans 24 Hours. The team had its first shakedown of the
#35 car at the Magny-Cours club circuit layout recently, giving
Moreau a first chance to test the prototype equipped with a Judd
engine. The shakedown went well as, despite snowy weather
conditions and a cold track surface, Moreau and Lahaye lapped
the track for two hours without problem. The team is also
delighted to welcome Richard Divila to its ranks, the
development and race engineer bringing his support and
experience to help Pierre-Alain Bouhet, OAK Racing’s technical
manager since 2008. Davila, who, for many years, has enjoyed
success in F1, GT and endurance racing, will concentrate mainly
on the #35 car. François Sicard, Team Manager: “We are very
satisfied with our first shakedown. The drivers’ feedback was
positive and they were able to feel an improved level of power
and driveability from the engine and chassis. It was a small
dress rehearsal ahead of the Portimao tests where we have been
invited by Dunlop to test and develop tyres for the season.
Jacques, Matthieu and Guillaume will share the #35 car, as
Richard is absent due to work commitments and the #24 car is
being assembled at Magny-Cours. The objective is to have both
cars ready for the official tests at Paul Ricard.”
14-02-10 Nascar: Tony Stewart held on to win the DRIVE4COPD NASCAR Nationwide Series 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday. Stewart avoided numerous crashes to take his fifth win from the last six Nationwide races at Florida track. Carl Edwards was second after triggering Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s upside-down exit from the 120-lap race on lap 92. Stewart’s teammate Kevin Harvick was third and Justin Allgaier fourth. Completing the top 10 were Brian Vickers, Paul Menard, who came from last place, Joey Logano, James Buescher, Kasey Kahne and Steve Wallace. Both Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, who were raciong at the sharp-end throughout crashed out on the last lap. A 10-car wreck shortly past the halfway ended Danica Patrick’s race. It was one of those "I didn't have any place to go to miss the wreck" accidents! It all happened in front of her out of turn four when Josh Wise was tapped from behind by Colin Braun, this created a domino effect resulting in the retirement of 10 cars, including Patrick. Another spectacular accident stopped the race with just 28 laps left. This time, it involved Earnhardt Jnr who was in third place when he was clipped from behind by Edwards, after Keselowski nudged him. The contact flipped Earnhardt upside down, and he rolled a couple of times before coming to rest rightside-up.
13-02-10 Karts /FPA: Formula Kart Stars and Formula Palmer Audi have teamed up to offer ten lucky drivers a day of testing and assessment at the Bedford Autodrome in February with one driver earning a substantial discount towards the 2010 FPA Championship. All ten selected drivers earned their test day by virtue of either winning a round of the 2009 Formula Kart Stars Championship or setting the fastest lap of the day in their class. Josh Fielding, Jake Lloyd, Jordan King, Macaulay Walsh, Russell Danzey, Paul Hardy, Matt Parry, Ash Hand, Andy King and Ollie Varney will participate in the test, which will involve testing a variety of machinery and the chance to present to the Formula Palmer Audi coaches their dedication and desire to succeed in the FPA Championship. At the end of the day the driver deemed best overall will be given a substantial discount for the FPA Championship. “Formula Palmer Audi is firmly established as one of the most important single seater championships in Europe thanks to its combination of car performance, exposure, professionalism and cost effectiveness,” says series co-ordinator James Gornall. “Drivers can expect stunning speed from the FPA, along with fantastic grip levels that will test every aspect of their driving talent. The championship is very close every year and provides excellent training for aspiring Formula 1 drivers” Since its inaugural season in 1996 FPA has helped launch the careers of Justin Wilson and Andy Priaulx among others with ex-FKS champions Kenny Andrews and Tom Duggan both competing in the series during 2009. “The interest in Formula Palmer Audi amongst our drivers has been fantastic,” says FKS series director Carolynn Hoy. “The series had a car on display at Whilton Mill last year and drivers were flocking around it all weekend. FPA has proved itself to be a vital cog on the single seater ladder and I’m delighted that they have chosen to support Formula Kart Stars. The test day will take place in February and www.formulakartstars.com will be on hand to bring you all the details. Other News: N.Technology is taking on a new technical challenge for 2010 with the design and development of the racing version of Porsche's latest car: the Panamera S. The first version of the Porsche Panamera S is already being prepared by N.Technology in accordance with the Technical Regulations of the Superstars International Series. Further development steps have been scheduled to allow the use of the same Panamera S in the most important endurance races worldwide as well as updates for the car's participation in various classes of different championships are being evaluated. N.Technology has chosen the Porsche Panamera S after the company's staff carried out a deep analysis of the present and future motorsport scenario on a commercial, technical, sporting and regulations point of view. N. Technology holds extensive experience in motorsport, having created and managed touring, rally and GT cars such as the Alfa Romeo 156 Super 2000, the Fiat Grande Punto Rally Abarth Super 2000 and the Ferrari 575 GTC, which have all gone on to win major international competitions on their racing debut. N. Technology faces this new and important project with the enthusiasm, the determination and the will to confirm its own winning tradition. 12-02-10
WTCC: The 2009 FIA WTCC drew record viewing figures with a cumulative global audiences of 430 million different viewers according to the annual broadcast report published by independent German Institute IFM. The 2009 audience figures represent an increase by 23% of ratings and a gain of 80 million viewers (over 350 million) compared to 2008. Throughout the 2009 season, the WTCC was televised by 75 TV networks worldwide (50 free-to-air channels and 25 cable & satellite networks or pan-regional channels) in over 160 countries. The WTCC's continuous growth in popularity and success has also resulted in an increase in event attendance with 761,000 spectators enjoying the races. Jacques Raynaud, Vice-Chairman of Eurosport Group and Eurosport Events commented: "The WTCC is now firmly established and perceived as a true motorsport World Championship and we are extremely satisfied to see how it continues to break audience records season after season. These outstanding viewing figures prove that the WTCC's popularity is growing steadily and appeals to large, diversified audiences. This success results from the event's format which is compact, dynamic and entertaining and the high standard television broadcast that has seen the introduction of our landmark production in native HD. Our continuous innovations and a permanently renewed suspense have contributed to boost audiences. We look forward to continuing our development in 2010 and working with all our stakeholders to deliver another successful year."
Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship : Bahraini teenager Ezra Idafar made an excellent return to action during the fourth race meeting of the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship in Abu Dhabi over the weekend – two class podiums lifting him into fourth position in the SC06 Development Class driver standings.
S Karts: This weekend’s Rotax Winter Cup is the curtain raiser for the Euro Max series and this year, making their European debuts for Dan Holland Racing are Jack Barlow and George Williams. In the Senior ranks, DHR has five drivers, Ross Wylie, Ryan Denton, Jack Dex, Aaron Head and Formula BARC Renault returnee, David Sutton. Speaking from the trackside in Spain, team owner Dan Holland says: “All the lads are capable of challenging for trophies. Jack Dex is fast, as is Ryan who has been very quick in testing. Ryan is making his international debut but has had a lot of success at home, the experience of which I’m sure he’ll draw upon this week. Ross has competed in several European meetings before and came third at Salbris (in France) last year. He should be really strong here (at Campillos)”. Callum Bowyer came away from PF International and the latest round of the 2009/10 Winter Series slightly frustrated that he hadn’t won his first F2 class victory,. But second place keeps him well and truly in the title race.. Ash Hand won the Junior Max final in the Winter Series at PFI International .
After a winning 2009 the CRG Racing Team intends to keep its momentumgpoing into 2010 With new versions of Maxter engines, a group of drivers more ambitious than ever and a carefully planned racing calendar, all the ingredients are there for a positive year. Things will begin to get serious at the opening of the international season at the South Garda Karting in the Winter Cup. "We really worked hard during the winter break to optimise the performance of the CRG range as much as possible" said the technical team on this season's debut. "Thanks to our new factory in Desenzano del Garda, we now have an infrastructure up to our ambitions. As for Maxter mechanics, they did a tremendous job with new engines. Nothing has been left to chance, either in Super KF, KF2 or KF3!" After the Winter Cup, CRG will focus on the WSK. "Our team will be at the WSK Euro Series and then at the WSK World Series" declared Giancarlo Tinini, president of the CRG Group. World Champion and winner of the WSK in 2009, Arnaud Kozlinski is ready for a new season with CRG-, with Davide Forè on his side in Super KF. "In even years I always do great things and I expect a lot from this 2010 season", Fore' pointed out. "After the winter tests, I really feel confident". The team will be completed by Eddy Tinini and Felice Tiene, who has decided to return to CRG. Jonathan Thonon will race in Super KF in the Winter Cup then KZ1/KZ2 in WSK. Sodi Racing Team(SRT) is raising the bar this year with a busy racing programme. Under the management of Nicola De Cola, SRT is getting ready for major events in 2010 with ambitions both in KZ and KF classes. The season will start in a few days' time, with the Lonato Winter Cup (I). This year they will race in the WSK Euro Series and the French Championship. Alongside these will be FIA-CIK races, starting at the European qualifying rounds for KF3 and KF2 in the UK in early May and finishing at the European Championship final round in Genk in July. Then, it will be time to go to the World Cups. KF3 will be the first in Braga (P) in mid-September and then KF2 in Zuera (E), the following week. Gildas Mérian, President of Sodikart, has intimated he would also like to enter the new World Championship for drivers under 18. SRT drivers include Anthony Abbasse in KZ2, in KF2 Belgian Sébastien Bailly , France’s Alex Baron, and Californian Andrick Zeen. Finally in KF3 is Pierre Gasly.
Rebellion Racing carried out a shakedown of its two Lola-Rebellion LMP1 race cars this week.. The shakedown last Monday at Snetterton was carried out by Jean-Christophe Boullion and Nicolas Prost. The new Lola B10/60 – Rebellions covered thirty laps in very cold and wet snowy weather. The team will begin its development testing programme in Portugal on 17 and 18 February at Portimao circuit. The team will then head off to Spain for two further days of testing at the Monteblanco circuit near Seville on 20 and 21 February. All of the Swiss team’s drivers will take part in these tests: Andrea Belicchi will be partnered with Jean-Christophe Boullion in one car, Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani will be partnered in the other. All will take part in the Le Mans Series Test Days on 7 and 8 March at Paul Ricard HTTT. Silverstone has had approval from Formula One Management (FOM) to run the 2010 Santander British Grand Prix(9-11 July) on the new Arena Grand Prix Circuit*. The majority of Silverstone’s old straights and corners are retained in the new track. The only significant change is from Abbey corner where, instead of heading into Farm Straight, Bridge and Priory on the traditional Grand Prix circuit - which remains and will be used for future events, including historic races - the drivers will now turn right at Abbey onto a new section of track. Turning right at Abbey corner, Button, Hamilton, Schumacher and co. will now race back up towards Becketts and into the new ‘Arena Complex’, which has been designed with a view to creating three new overtaking opportunities. The circuit then links up with the ‘National Straight’ before re-joining the original Grand Prix circuit at Brooklands. The work, scheduled for completion in March, has cost more than £5 million. Other improvements are being made to the spectator areas. As well as elevated viewing banks, existing grandstands and fence lines are being moved to bring fans closer to the track. Despite the circuit length being increased by 760m, lap times for an F1 car will only be increased by four seconds. MotoGP (18-20 June) and World Superbikes (30 July – 01 August) are also heading to Silverstone in 2010, with both events scheduled to take place on the new circuit. The first major event to run on the new track is the FIA GT round on 1-2 May.
The Star Mazda
Championship
presented by Goodyear and Performance Friction Company has announced an expansion of the Indy Racing League's 'Road
to Indy' program with the Series champion guaranteed a test with
a top Firestone Indy Lights team. 2009 Star Mazda champion Adam
Christodoulou will test with Andersen Racing's Indy Lights team
later this month, and the champion of the upcoming 2010 season
will also get a test as part of his or her prize package. Those
prizes now include, in addition to the Indy Lights test,
$100,000 in cash and a scholarship from the MAZDASPEED
Motorsports Driver Development Ladder. Drivers will also be
competing for the VISIT FLORIDA Cup, a 7-race
championship-within-a-championship; the grand prize for the
top-finishing driver in those events is a custom-designed dream
vacation in Florida courtesy of VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s
official tourism marketing corporation and sponsor of the 2010
Star Mazda Championship television package. In total, drivers
in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship will be competing for prizes
valued in excess of $1.5 million.. "Our goal has always been to
provide our drivers with the most competitive, cost-effective
and comprehensive opportunity to advance their career," says
Star Mazda Championship founder and CEO Gary Rodrigues. "This
is another step forward in creating a clearly-defined path for
Road to Indy drivers whose goal is the IZOD IndyCar Series and
the Indy 500. We'd like to thank Performance Friction Company
and Andersen Racing for their support in making this possible."
Performance Friction is the exclusive brake pad and disc
supplier to both the Star Mazda and the USF2000 National
Championship.
Linares Racing will become the first-ever Venezuelan team to enter the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. The team, owned by Gustavo Linares (brother of Venezuelan karting champion Carlos Linares), took delivery of its first new Star Mazda single-seater this week and will begin the 2010 season fielding a car for the 2009 Venezuelan national FF1600 champion Carlos Linares with backing from IND, Venezuela's National Institute of Sport. Linares, born in 1992, has been karting since age 7 and competed two seasons in the Venezuelan FF1600 series before winning the championship last season. He has also tested with the Campos Racing F3 team. “The United States offers a lot of opportunities for a young driver like me and I'm really happy to be running in a high-profile series like the Star Mazda Championship," says Linares. "With the MAZDASPEED Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program both working to help Star Mazda drivers, I feel that I am heading toward my goal of competing in the Indy 500." Bringing an additional dimension of top-level expertise to the team will be Rob Ridgely, who engineered Venezuelan driver E.J. Viso's car on the HVM Indy Car team during the 2009 season. The widely-experienced Crew Chief will be Claudio Novoa, a veteran of the bothy Indy and Indy Lights. The new Linares Racing team, headquartered near the heart of the Indy Car racing community at a facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, will have its first test of car, driver and personnel at Sebring on March 3. Linares Racing will expand to a two-car effort later in the season when Carlos' Linares brother, Gustavo, joins the team. Currently in his first year of college in Indiana, Gustavo Linares drove several Star Mazda Championship races last year. The first race of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear takes place on March 19, during the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend. Carrera Cup GB: Andrew Shelley will return to racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season, six years on from his last foray intro the championship. The Yorkshireman has signed for a full campaign with Red Line Racing, the team with which he started racing Porsches a decade ago. After racing in the Porsche Cup around the turn of the millennium, Shelley tackled selected races in the 2004 Carrera Cup. He later progressed to the FIA GT3 Championship where he raced a Porsche 911GT3RS during the 2008 season. Now, after a year out of racing, he is excited about a return to the Carrera Cup. "I had a year out and I really missed the racing," he said. "The Carrera Cup is the most level playing field out there; it's proper competition and it is very well policed. There are some very good drivers out there. I'm a reasonable amateur and it will be great to race against some top drivers." Shelley is delighted to be renewing his association with Red Line Racing, the team that guided him through his early years in the sport. "I've always had a great respect for Simon Leonard and the team," said Shelley.Leonard is pleased to have confirmed another driver for his multi-car team, with Michael Meadows and Archie Hamilton already settled with the Cleveland-based team. "We're delighted to have Andrew back in the team; he's a real team player," said Leonard. He's going to race in pro-am1 and he will be a serious contender." Superleague Formula’s global expansion continues to gather pace ahead of the new season with a raft of new countries being targeted for 2011. The football-themed championship, which kicks off its 12-round 2010 campaign at Silverstone on April 3/4, has entered into negotiations with several nations regarding the hosting of races next year as Superleague Formula bids to become a truly global single seater series. It’s no secret that Asian states began viewing motorsport as a key promotional tool during the last decade, with the likes of Formula 1 and GP2 both staging races on the continent. Now, Superleague Formula is looking to follow suit by opening negotiations with the likes of South Korea, China and Indonesia with an eye firmly on 2011. Indeed, in Korea, promotion has already begun with giant LED billboards in Seoul screening footage from last season’s Superleague Formula campaign (click here to see the video). Indonesia meanwhile might not have to wait quite as long before taking its place on the Superleague Formula calendar with advanced talks ongoing for a street circuit near Jakarta to stage this season’s championship final in November. Brazil too is an area of potential expansion with two circuits vying for inclusion on the 2011 schedule. The country’s deep passion for football and motor racing, not to mention its rich history and success in both sports, makes it the ideal host for South America’s inaugural Superleague Formula round. Australia is another country which could make its debut on the calendar next season with steps being taken to secure a street race on one of the popular V8 Supercar weekends. Superleague Formula is also pursuing the new football clubs to join its other 18-strong league title contenders. Superleague Formula President Alex Andreu said: “Although we’re working hard finalising details for the forthcoming season, it’s vital that we continue to keep one eye on the future and that means planning ahead to improve the championship further for 2011. I think we’ve reached our maximum in terms of European races, what with the eleven confirmed for this season, and to continue our growth we need to be looking further afield. Therefore, it’s important to add clubs and races from outside of motorsport’s traditional heartland and to that end, we’re making a great deal of progress.” IndyCar driver and longtime media personality Derek Daly will join the RaceFanRadio weekly line-up with his new show debuting Wednesday night, February 17th at 9pm EST / 6pm PST. "Derek Daly's Complete Champion" will discuss what it takes to become a top level driver from every aspect and what better way to get the best advice from someone who has done it all...Mario Andretti! The former ChampCar, F1 World Champion and 1969 Indy 500 winner will be Derek's first guest when the show premiers next week “My years and experiences in the sport, both good and bad, provided me with the content for my driver development book, Race to Win”, said Derek. “The new show will allow me to greatly expand the reach for this vital information. It will also allow me to interact with a much bigger audience. This is a very new, different and entertaining way to deliver this type of information.” If you would like to submit your question to Derek or any of his guests, please log onto RaceFanRadio.com for full details, contact our guests via Skype or call the studio at 317.248.0263. Fans are invited to call or write in advance to increase your chances of being included so get interactive now...! "Derek Daly's Complete Champion" is a new show devoted to helping young drivers and their families make better educated decisions about the next phase of their career. Each week, Derek will host some of the most successful personalities in motorsports and solicit listeners to ask the relevant questions which will help further any young driver's career path. 11-02-10 Master Series: In response to competitor demand, Masters Historic Racing will crown five ‘Champions of Europe’ at the end of their 2010 season, after unveiling plans to run its major race series on a points-scoring basis for the first time. Competitors in Grand Prix Masters, World Sportscar Masters, Gentleman Drivers, Sports Racing Masters and the Pre-66 Touring Cars will all be competing for the honour of being champion in the newly titled Masters European Series. In each of the five race series, points will be awarded on class results, so that the drivers in less powerful cars have an equal chance of being crowned champion at the end of the season. Drivers will be able to drop a round (or two, depending on the series) in the year-end calculations, so that drivers do not have to contest every race in the series to have a chance of success. For example, in World Sportscar Masters, drivers will count their best six scores from eight races. However, drivers unable to commit to a full programme are, of course, also welcome as in previous seasons on the various Masters grids, whether for one or more races. With a superb calendar of races at some of the best venues in Europe, there is plenty of choice. "After much off-season discussion and negotiation we are delighted to announce the Masters European Series," said Christopher Tate of Masters Historic Racing. "This is a logical step and we believe that it will raise the level of competition to new heights, and provide extra excitement for the many Masters regulars who have asked for this." More details are available from www.themastersseries.com Formula Ford: The Spectrum chassis is set for its strongest showing in the British Formula Ford in 2010, with Daniel Cammish choosing to remain with Kevin Mills Racing, the team which guided him to a resounding victory in the 2009 Scholarship class. Daniel will step intov a 2010 Spectrum 012 in his quest for the Championship. With the category changing tyre manufacturer this year, from Avon to Dunlop, Daniel is taking the opportunity of travelling down to Australia in early February to undertake a week of testing with the factory Spectrum team. The knowledge and experience gained in testing the new tyres will be invaluable to the team’s campaign this season. Speaking from his Gloucester base, team owner Kevin Mills said, “We’re delighted to be working with Dan again this year. Last year was his first season racing cars; he scored pole positions in qualifying and was very unlucky not to have recorded outright race wins. The deal with Spectrum is superb. I can call Mike (Borland) whenever I need to and discuss what we’re doing. He offers full technical support and I am always surprised at how quickly they get development parts up to us when we need them. We can’t wait for the first round at Oulton Park!”Mike Borland, designer and constructor of the Spectrum chassis, was equally pleased with the news. “This will be our third season with Kev and his team and each year has been better. KMR achieved victories with UKFFC rookies in Adrian Campfield in 2008 and Daniel Erickson in 2009; and it was a fitting reward for the effort everyone has put in. To have Dan Cammish back as a second year, experienced driver is fantastic. He did a great job in his rookie season, winning the Scholarship class and we believe he is ready for the challenge of the Championship battle this season,” he said. Formula 3: Alex Brundle, son of former Grand Prix star Martin Brundle, is to step up to the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series this season. The 19-year-old will race a Volkswagen-powered Dallara prepared by the race-winning T-Sport team. Alex says he has taken the decision to race in Formula 3 as it is one of the best series for young drivers, providing large amounts of vital track time. Alex is raring to get started: "I am very motivated by the opportunity to race in British F3," said Alex. "We're delighted to have signed Alex," said T-Sport principal Russell Eacott. "Having met him we have seen his enthusiasm and desire to race. Formula 3 is all about learning and Alex wants to be in an environment where he can learn to have a one-to-one relationship with his race engineer and really attack the technical challenges of F3." "We are delighted to welcome Alex Brundle into the Volkswagen family. In Formula 3 he faces an important learning year and we look forward to making the next step in his young career together," added Volkswagen Motorsport director Kris Nissen.
Carrera Cup GB: Archie Hamilton will race in the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB in the first year of what the teenager is hoping will be a two-year programme to establish himself as a sportscar and GT racer. Hamilton, who will be 19 just before the start of the season, will join Red Line Racing to contest the pro-am1 category after racing in Formula Ford and Formula Renault. Now, he is making the switch to the Carrera Cup and had his first test with the team at Snetterton last week, with Tim Harvey on hand to offer guidance. "To get to Formula 1 you need millions of pounds and we don’t have that," said Hamilton. "So we looked at various options and the Carrera Cup looked very good. It’s all about me in the car and the result I get is down to me. It's a big step, but I can't wait." Sponsors for the 2010 season will be announced shortly and, subject to backing, Hamilton wants to spend two years in the Carrera Cup. "The aim is that I'll do pro-am1 this year and then step up to the pro category for 2011." Team boss Simon Leonard says that Hamilton will be a rising star of the 2010 season. "He's going to be a good prospect. I'm looking forward to getting him up to speed," said Leonard. Hamilton comes from famous stock as his grandfather Duncan won the 1953 Le Mans 24-hour winner. Duncan was one of the sport's leading characters of a generation and also competed in more than 20 Formula 1 races, including the British Grand Prix five times between 1948 and 1953. Tim Bridgman, Glynn Geddie and Glenn McMenamin, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB champions from the 2009 season, were celebrated again during the annual BARC 'Big Night Out' on Saturday (6 February). The three category champions in the Carrera Cup were presented with special decanters during the annual awards event for the British Automobile Racing Club. As well as being the club responsible for organising the BTCC season, the BARC is the permit-holding club for the Carrera Cup GB. For overall Carrera Cup champion Bridgman, it was a third awards event as before Christmas his success had been celebrated at both the Carrera Cup Awards Evening and the Porsche Night of Champions in the Porsche Museum at Stuttgart Brands Hatch raised almost £3,000 for local charitable causes at its sixth annual Villagers’ Day event last weekend (Saturday 6 February). The community fun day was open to anyone living within one mile of the circuit, and over 500 local residents flocked to Brands Hatch to enjoy driving masterclasses, passenger rides and behind-the-scenes circuit tours. For a £6 charitable donation, visitors were able to get behind the wheel of some of the circuit's driving experience vehicles including the BMW M3, Peugeot 206 rally car and Land Rover Defender. Other activities included flying passenger laps in a Palmer Jaguar Le Mans-style sports car, driven by an expert Brands Hatch instructor, and children's karting courtesy of Buckmore Park . The event raised almost £3,000 in total, which will be divided between good causes in the local community by the Brands Hatch Liaison Group, headed by circuit owner MotorSport Vision's Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer. Mike Groves, Brands Hatch circuit manager, said: "Villagers' Day is a great way for us to engage with members of the community whilst raising money for local causes, and despite some unpleasant weather in the morning it was nice to see another strong turnout. All our guests seemed to enjoy the day and the circuit tours proved as popular as the driving activities. I think many people were surprised by just how much hard work goes on behind the scenes to run Brands Hatch on a daily basis." All motorsport fans can drive a BMW M3, Peugeot 206 rally car or Land Rover Defender at Brands Hatch with MotorSport Vision's driving experiences. Vouchers are available from £146 and are valid for 12 months. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk. 07-02-10 Formula 3: In the year the Aussie’s attempt to reclaim Cricket’s Ashes, local drivers will again need to fight to reclaim Australia’s Premier Open Wheel series following conformation that Team BRM has snared yet another young international star for a Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship campaign. 18 year-old Ben Barker will seek to win a third consecutive Gold Star for both Team BRM and the UK this year. Barker is a graduate of the British Formula Ford Championship and this year he’ll look for the same kind of success enjoyed by James Winslow and Joey Foster, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Barker has completed three test days with the five-time championship outfit and has shown impressive speed – despite this being just his second year in racing cars. “I’m excited, to say the least,” Barker said. ”I’ve had just one year in British Formula Ford, one year in cars full stop. To step up this quickly is really exciting but the couple of test days we have had so far have gone really well so it’s been a good start.”Barker finished 8th in the British Formula Ford championship in 2009 – his first ever year of car racing. After beginning his learning process during the first few rounds, the lanky Brit quickly adapted and by the middle of the season won his first race – at Knockhill in Scotland – and elevated himself into the top eight of the standings by the end of the year with a series of strong top-five performances. He also finished fourth in the Formula Ford festival last year. Barker was introduced to the Adelaide squad by 2008 champion James Winslow, an invite to test the 2009 title-winning F307 at Winton late last year quickly leading to a race deal for this season. “I think I am really suited to ‘wings and slicks’ cars, I feel like I have come to grips with them quickly,” he said. “I was always looking at F3 (As an option for this year), but we couldn’t raise the budget to run at the front in the British Championship. I didn’t want to run in the National Class and I didn’t want to get stuck in Formula Ford again, so when James got in touch and this opportunity came up, we took it.I was looking for a category that could give me a progression to the higher levels and this was a logical choice with the budget available.I’m going to go out and do the best I can and I hope we can have some good, close, fast and hard racing. I’m looking forward to working with the team and getting into the season.” Barker will live in Sydney this year and has already received support from several local businesses, including Race Fit and Driving Solutions, to go with his existing backers Cars Automovie. For more information on the Formula 3 Australian Drivers’ Championship visit www.formula3.com.au pics: Richard Craill / F3A Image, GP2: Will Bratt was fighting for a top ten finish in yesterday’s(Saturday) round of the GP2 Asia Series in Abu Dhabi. However contact with Swede Marcus Ericsson put the 21-year-old Party Poker Racing.com Scuderia Coloni racer out of the race with less than five laps remaining. Read report
Formula Kart Stars are delighted to confirm that Ellough Park Raceway will host the final two rounds of the 2010 Formula Kart Stars Championship on October 15th-17th. The Suffolk venue will replace PFI as the host of rounds eleven and twelve of the 2010 season on the same weekend that FKS was due to visit the home of Trent Valley Kart Club. “I’m extremely pleased that we can confirm Ellough Park as a part of our 2010 calendar,” says FKS series director Carolynn Hoy. “The track will provide a tremendous challenge for our drivers and I’m hugely impressed with the amount of work the track have done to upgrade the facilities.” In addition to a track extension and new on-site kart shop, the circuit staff at Ellough are working feverishly on new dummy grids, a CIK-standard parc ferme area and scrutineering buildings but Hoy says it wasn’t just the improved facilities that impressed her. “Everyone at the track was very welcoming and I can see the massive effort being put in. The whole facility is unrecognisable from when I was last there and I know the club will put on a really special event for us.” 06-02-10 LMS: Everyone at Strakka Racing is delighted to have received confirmation that the team’s application to participate in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours has been accepted by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. The news came through on Thursday that the Strakka Racing entry for a single ARX-01c in the LMP2 category had been listed by the ACO. The car will carry the number 42, and will be co-driven by Nick Leventis, Danny Watts and Jonny Kane. The announcement came just two days after Strakka was pleased to confirm the appointment of Ulsterman Jonny Kane as the team’s third driver for the 2010 season. “We are naturally delighted to have been accepted to compete in the 2010 Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans, the world’s greatest and toughest motor race,” said Team Manager Piers Phillips. “The team is honoured to be representing the HPD brand alongside the world’s best teams and manufacturers.” ,” Nick Leventis, team driver at Strakka said, “We feel very privileged to be granted an entry for this prestigious race.It will be our third participation in the 24 Hours, although only the second under our own name, but I feel we’re in a much stronger position this year. I hope we can demonstrate the strength of the HPD-Strakka partnership, and make the most of this opportunity at our third attempt.” Eight other cars are listed in the LMP2 category. “The LMP2 category is fiercely competitive this year, with several teams fielding some exceptionally strong driver line-ups,” added Piers. “Even so, we expect to take the fight to them, and to challenge for honours. We now have more experience, backed up by technical know-how, and our initial testing has shown the HPD ARX-01c to be both fast and reliable. Now we just can’t wait for June to arrive!” The team will have the opportunity to judge exactly how tough that competition is during the first two rounds of the Le Mans Series, including an eight-hour race at the Paul Ricard circuit (April 9-11) and in the Spa 1000 Kilometres (May 7-9).
V GP2 Asia: Party Poker Racing.com-backed GP2 Asia Series rookie Will Bratt put in a good performance last night(Friday) on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Rascing in Round 3 of the GP2 Asia Series Will drove well in the 33-lap Feature Race, climbing from 22nd on the grid to finish 12th. 05-02-10 GP Masters: Patrick Head, one of the most respected Grand Prix designers of the modern era, will give his name to a new class division within the Grand Prix Masters historic race series this season. Head's name will adorn the class for Post-1978 Formula One cars, in the series run by Masters Historic Racing, and he becomes the first non-driver to be honoured in such a way. The other classes within Grand Prix Masters are named after legendary drivers Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda. “The Patrick Head Class” is now open to ground-effect and flat-bottomed Formula 1 cars produced between 1978 and 1985, an era when Patrick’s design team at Williams Grand Prix Engineering were constantly producing ground-breaking new designs. Head, still very much Williams F1’s Director of Engineering, has a superb record in the sport having joined Frank Williams as Chief Designer in 1976. His first design was the excellent FW06, a car very much part of the Grand Prix Masters races in recent years; and he later created the classic FW07, which took the team's first World title in 1980 with Alan Jones; both these designs are eligible for GPM in 2010. Head has been at the centre of the 16 World titles won by Williams in three decades at the very pinnacle of the sport. The designs created by Head and his team include the later years of the Grand Prix Masters eligibility list, including the ground-effect cars of the late 1970s and early 1980s. "There is no one better than Patrick Head to typify the innovation and fresh thinking of this dramatic era of Grand Prix racing," said Christopher Tate of Masters Historic Racing. "We are thrilled that he has kindly agreed to his name being used for this class. Patrick's achievements in three decades at the top of Grand Prix racing are remarkable, and we hope he will find time to come along to one of our races." More details are available from www.themastersseries.com
Gianmarco Raimondo, the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Rookie Champion, takes another step in his racing career he heads for Europe for the Formula 3 Italia Series. The series offers competitive racing every weekend at some of Europe's best tracks and the top three drivers in the championship receive an official test day with the Ferrari F1 team at the end of the season. "Last year was a great year for me. Even though the year didn't go as well as I planned, I still have no regrets and have learned from all of my results," comments Raimondo. "Winning in Mosport on home turf ended the season on a high note and is also a plus to my motivation for the following year. Formula BMW was a great learning and competitive series from which I have gained a lot of experience." Awarded a Formula BMW Americas Junior Scholarship in 2009, Raimondo took one win at Mosport en route to grabbing 3rd in the championship.
Karts: On Thursday, the
RaceFanRadio crew unpacked for this weekend's live videocast
of the PKE2010 held at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino on the
south end of the Las Vegas strip. Southpoint Hotel & Casino, Las
VegasLive radio updates will start Friday at 3pm EST / Noon PST
with thirty minute reports every three hours leading up to live
video streaming of the "Friday Night Indoor Karting Challenge".
RFR's Charlie Brown and Greg Wright will anchor the newest
consumer karting show poised to become one of the premier events
in the sport. Catch their live radio updates at 3pm, 6pm and 9pm
Eastern on Friday leading up to the flag-to-flag call at 10pm
EST / 7pm PST. Nearly 48 three-driver teams will compete for
the top 12 starting GP2: Arden’s Charles Pic took pole at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the first of this weekend’s GP” Asia races. Fast in Free Practice Pic gave his absolute best during qualifying and fended off Davide Valsecchi's attacks to claim his first ever pole in only his second GP2 race weekend. iSport's Oliver Turvey will start next to him on today’s grid. On a still dirty track, GP2 Asia Series' leader Valsecchi was rapidly on top of the timesheet and was looking to repeat his performance from last round at that same track. Luca Filippi's hopes to shine again in qualifying were ruined after 13 minutes with a technical gremlin on his Meritus car. As the track improved, so did the laptimes and Pic claimed the top spot with nine minutes left on the clock, 0.3s faster than Valsecchi. But the Italian would not let the Frenchman get away with it and thus started one a fierce battle for pole positions, each man bettering the laptime of the other for lap after lap. Sam Bird at ART tried to join the battle, moving up to P3 but was soon denied the spot by GP2 returnee Javier Villa. In the very last minute rookie Jules Bianchi improved and placed his ART car in third. As the chequered flag fell, Valsecchi ran a bit too wide in the last corner leaving Pic with his first pole position. But the session was not over as Turvey denied his teammate of a front row. Behind the Top three, Bianchi finished fourth ahead of another rookie Alexander Rossi at Meritus. The feature race will start at 6:00pm local time today Friday. Le Mans The entry list for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours has been announced with 21 out of the 55 entrants running in the LMP1 class. Last year's winner Peugeot returns with three cars as does Audi, which has confirmed its lineups for each car. Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello will remain together, with Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas in a second car and Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer in the third. Joining them will be cars from Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ford and Jaguar Jaguar will return to the Le Mans 24 hours in 2010. With a total of seven wins at La Sarthe between 1951 and 1990, Jaguar, the single most successful British make in the race's history, will return on 12th June 2010 with an XKR GT2 run by JaguarRSR. Paul Gentilozzi, Principal Partner, JaguarRSR commented: "We are delighted the ACO has granted us entry in the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans. It is a race that is held dearly in the hearts of motorsport fans across the world and for Jaguar to be racing again is something special. We are fortunate to bring an international line up of the world's finest driving talent including Scott Pruett and Marc Goossens as our pilots for this race." Gentilozzi will also drive the JaguarRSR XKR GT2 in the 2010 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Reigning American Le Mans Series LMP1 champions Highcroft Racing will race in this year's 24 Hours after being announced as one of the 55 teams selected to contest the French endurance classic. Highcroft Racing's David Brabham - the winner of last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot - was in attendance at the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) press conference this morning in France. The team will take its 2010 American Le Mans Series entry, the Honda Performance Development factory-backed ARX-01c chassis to contest the LMP2 class at Le Mans on June 12-13. "Getting an entry for Le Mans is extremely satisfying," Duncan Dayton said. "It has been a goal of ours since the creation of Highcroft Racing - preceding our relationships with both HPD and Patron, winning our first race or even the championship. "This is something we have wanted to do for a long time and we are delighted and thankful for the opportunity and very proud of the fact we are invited to France." Brabham will defend his ALMS crown in 2010 teamed with Frenchman, Simon Pagenaud while Marino Franchitti is the third driver. "For the reigning ALMS champions to go to Le Mans with the reigning winner of the 24 Hours is a remarkable opportunity," Dayton said. "We have long-standing and highly successful relationship with David and frankly, I can't imagine going to Le Mans without him.”
Macanese driver Ho Wai Kun, better known as Henry Ho, is due to join the 2010 FIA WTCC at mid season in a BMW 320si car run by the experienced Liqui Moly Team Engstler. The 24-year-old Ho who claimed two Macau Touring Car Championship titles in 2008 and 2009, was in negotiations with the German outfit to find the budget for the whole season, after making his first WTCC appearances last year at Okayama and his home racetrack. "It was one of my targets to build up a new team with Asian drivers. But same as in Europe, we had to face the financial crisis in Asia too and we failed to find the budget for the whole season. However, Ho Wai Kun will join us from the middle of the season," team mager Kurt Treml explained. Liqui Moly Team Engstler are due to announce their driver line-up in the next few days. Like all the Swiss drivers, Alain Menu has not many opportunities to race in his home country. Despite a great motorsport tradition, Switzerland has no racing tracks and laws that limit motorsport to a few rallies and hill-climbing events. However, Menu will have the chance to delight his home fans when he takes part in a demonstration at the Course Automobile de Romont, in the Fribourg canton on June 12th and 13th, driving a two-seater Chevrolet Cruze WTCC. The Geneva-born driver will be the guest of honor at the 40th edition of this traditional event. Before the start of the FIA WTCC season, Menu will carry out the final testing session in Valencia, on February 17th and 18th, alongside team mates Robert Huff and Yvan Muller. 04-02-10
Sprint Cars: Cap Henry put in a solid performance with the All-Star Circuit of Champions on Night #1 at Ocala Speedway last Friday. The 19 year old Bellevue, Ohio native will take on the best in the sprint car business during his Rookie season with the All-Stars and proved he was up to the task. Clio Cup: Total Control Racing will retain the services of Mike Robinson and Sam Tordoff for the 2010 ELF Renault Clio Cup as the multiple championship winning team bids to reclaim both the driver and entrant titles. Effingham-based Robinson has been a front-running regular in the Clio Cup for the past two years, having previously enjoyed success in Caterham Roadsports with wins in 2006 and 2007. Finishing sixth overall in the Clio Cup championship for the past couple of seasons, the 27-year-old undoubtedly has the pace and experience to be a major title threat and will be aiming to add regular podiums and, hopefully, victories to his name. Tordoff, the 2007 Super 1 MSA British Formula ICA Karting Champion, graduated to the Clio Cup last year. During the seventh race meeting of the campaign, the 20-year-old secured his maiden podium in race one before scorching to a debut victory in the second of the weekend’s encounters. Remaining with TCR for last November’s ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup, he took his second win of the year and a further podium too – missing out on the championship title by just a single point to team-mate Daniel Lloyd. Commenting on the signing, TCR principal Lee Brookes said: “It’s great for us to be able to continue working with Mike and Sam this year. The continuity this will give us is going to be fantastic and there’s no doubting they can both be challengers for the 2010 title. Sam had an excellent debut season last year, thoroughly deserving his race wins and podiums, and although Mike had a lot of bad luck he still managed to score consistently well to end the year in the championship top six. We’re confident both drivers will do a fantastic job this year, we really want to win back the driver and team titles.” In 2009, TCR won not only the Winter Cup crown with Lloyd, but Alex MacDowall ended the main Clio Cup season as Runner-up with 4 victories. TCR is also planning to field a multi-car squad once again in the Ginetta G50 Cup to defend the team title won during the squad’s debut season in the championship last year. More news regarding this will be announced in due course.
FBMW: Facu Regalia will race in the Formula BMW Europe Championship in 2010. The promising Spanish-Argentinean driver will drive for Eifelland Racing, one of the strongest teams in the field and one with considerable experience of the Mygale FB02 car. This will be Regalia’s third season in one of the Europe hardest singleseater competitions. The Argentinean youngster made his debut in 2008 with Eurointernational, ending the season as best rookie and taking 10th in the BMW World Final in car prepared by Josef Kaufmann Racing. The 2009 season would be harder but even with the problems that he had, he finished seventh. At the end of the season he took part in Formula BMW Asia where he took two dominant wins at Okayama. At Macao, one of the hardest street circuits in the world, he was the fastest in the practice. The pre-season is already underway for the Spanish-Argentinean driver who tested at the Portuguese circuit of Braga recently. He ended the test quickest, breaking the lap record for FBMW in the process. After the Braga test Facu was very pleased, “The relationship with the team is great. We had a week test and the development work went in the good direction. I feel stronger than ever and with the will to fight for the championship or, at least, to end in the first positions of the drivers tables”. Next up is an intensive physical program before official tests in March organized by BMW. The first race is at the Circuit de Catalunya, during the Spanish Grand Prix. “”. GP2 Asia: The third season of the GP2 Asia Series opened last November at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi as part of the country's first ever Formula One Grand Prix. The GP2 Asia Series cars were the first to run at the new circuit with a preseason test a week before the race weekend, and it was a chance for everyone to learn the long layout, test the lighting system and begin to put a little pressure on their rivals. Although Luca Filippi and MalaysiaQIMeritus. com set the pace on both days, it was iSport's Davide Valsecchi who ended up shining during the entire race weekend: quickest in free practice, the young Italian later signed pole position before winning in the feature race setting fastest lap and scoring a perfect thirteen points. In the sprint race, Valsecchi was once again relentless: starting eighth on the reverse grid, he put his head down and pushed his way through the field to finish second, adding another 6 points to his total. Behind him, the experienced Filippi kept younger guns at bay in the feature race but had to yield the following day when rookies Christian Vietoris and Josef Kral, respectively at Dams and Super Nova, proved their worth and talent with the German sailing to victory on his first GP2 weekend and the Czech snatching his first podium. This week, the GP2 Asia paddock returns to Abu Dhabi for the second round of the season with a new and exciting challenge: racing at twilight. On this occasion, five new drivers join the field. Some faces are well-known to the GP2 world with race winners Addax's Giedo van der Garde and Sergio Perez, and Coloni's Alberto Valerio along podium finisher Dani Clos at Trident Racing. The fifth newcomer will be a rookie as Jules Bianchi will take the wheel of the ART Grand Prix car. With nineteen points scored so far, Valsecchi is leading the Championship 10 points ahead of Vietoris who leads both Filippi and Kral by one. The battle is on... 03-02-10 Karts/F Renault : Leading national motor racing team Hillspeed has teamed up with GYG Karting to offer a fantastic prize to the 2010 Dragon Kart Club Mini Max Champion – the opportunity to test either a Formula Renault single-seater or Ginetta G40 junior sportscar. Hillspeed has a long association with graduates from the ranks of North Wales-based Dragon Kart Club – in 2010 the team will run James Theodore in the Formula Renault BARC Championship and 14-year-old Seb Morris, who still races in Mini Max, in the Ginetta G40 Championship. In addition, the squad has previously worked with local Welsh racing brothers Richard and Ryan Singleton. Richard Ollerenshaw, team principal of Hillspeed, commented: “We’re very pleased indeed to be able to offer a testing prize in one of our Formula Renaults or Ginettas to the 2010 Dragon Kart Club Mini Max Champion. “Hillspeed has a long and successful association with drivers who have come through the club and we aim to continue building on that. The eventual champion will be able to choose which car they test so it really is a great opportunity for one young driver to sample the next step on the motor racing ladder.” pic Jakob Ebrey Photography
BTCC: ITV's Television coverage of Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is likely to surpass 120 hours in 2010. The network's ITV4 channel will show all ten BTCC rounds live in the UK on Sunday afternoons (6.5hrs each from 11.30am-6.00pm) and 99 minute highlight shows will be repeated three times in the following week, on ITV1 and twice on ITV4. ITV4 will show the highlights on both Tuesday and Saturday afternoons while ITV1's highlights will move to Thursdays with a regular broadcast slot soon to be announced. In addition, the ITV-owned Men & Motors channel will show the highlights after each round pushing overall coverage to a potential 125 hours. In 2009, the ITV network's BTCC content equalled an unprecedented 116 hours-plus and attracted a staggering 13.8 million viewers. BTCC Series Director Alan Gow commented: "ITV's increase in commitment to the BTCC for 2010 means yet more terrific news for all our teams, drivers, sponsors, circuits and fans. Our massive TV coverage further underlines the BTCC's position at the very top of British motor sport. This continues to mean that households right across the UK can tune in and watch the country's premier motor racing championship on free-to-air TV, this year with even more hours to enjoy all the action as the season unfolds. ITV has filmed the BTCC since 2003, it’s ITV4 channel reaching 94 per cent of households in the UK. FIA GT: Sumop Power GT confirmed as entrant for 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship. In association with NISMO (Nissan Motorsports International Co. Ltd.) British team Sumo Power GT will run its two Nissan GT-Rs in a field of 24 cars. The line-up comprises 12 teams from five different countries, with six manufacturers represented. “Seeing formal confirmation of our entry in this year’s FIA GT1 World Championship has given our team a real boost”, said team principal James Rumsey. “I have to admit, to find that we are the only team representing Britain makes our presence in this global series even more special.” The team is currently preparing its two Nissan GT-Rs in preparation for the first test, which is scheduled to take place mid-February. The team has also confirmed that the driver line-up for one of its cars will be announced later this week.
Also planning a return to the Volkswagen Racing Cup for the coming season are race-winners Michael Kurton, James Walker and Darren Blumson. Kurton is to return at the wheel of his Scirocco and Walker will once again campaign a Golf GTI. Blumson, who in 2009 capped a remarkable comeback from serious illness by winning the final round at Brands Hatch, has sold his Beetle RSI and will instead campaign a Polo 1.8T. "I had already agreed to sell the Beetle before I won with it, and in fact was looking at moving to another championship," said Darren. "But over the winter I looked again at the Volkswagen Racing Cup and what it offered, and decided I had to stay.The Polo is going to be a whole new ball game for me - I've never raced a turbo before, and it is 250kg lighter than the Beetle. It's undergoing a lot of work to bring it up to pace. Hopefully its lightness will make up for the relative lack of power and we can have some fun at the front." Blumson's Beetle is now in the hands of Tony Harberman, who has attracted backing from theWheelSpecialist.co.uk to campaign the championship. "I've had a great time with my Golf VR6," said Tony, "but the Beetle is going to be a much more competitive prospect, as Darren proved at the end of 2009. I'm looking forward to the challenge." Other drivers confirmed for 2010 include Richard Styrin, the racing returnee who made the podium on his championship debut at Brands Hatch last September; Europcar's Michael McInerney, who is to switch from a Golf to a Jetta; Aaron Mason, who claimed championship third in '09, his rookie season; veteran Golf racer Steve Walker; Caddy pilot Simon Elliott; and Richard Kingsnorth, who returns with his four-wheel-drive Golf after a season away. One driver not coming back for more is reigning double champion Joe Fulbrook, who has put up for sale his turbocharged Bora, the victor of nine races in its five seasons at the top with Joe. "I'm not planning to defend my title, which is a shame but it's time to move on," he said. "We are very sorry to be losing Joe," said RacingLine director Wright, "but five years is a long time in any championship. We wish Joe all the best with his future endeavours. The Racing Cup speeds on, however, and we already know of 20-plus drivers planning on being ready for the first round. It's shaping up to be our best-ever season."The championship, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, kicks off at Oulton Park at Easter (3-5 Apr).
Sportscars: count on Porsche Human Performance again
in 2010.
Sportscar driver Liz Halliday has renewed her partnership with
Porsche Human Performance in 2010 as she prepares for another
busy season in the cockpit. Halliday, who spent the majority of
last year pursuing her International Eventing dreams, will once
again make use of PHP’s world class facilities and staff based
at Silverstone as she readies herself for the unique physical
demands of her dual career.
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
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WTCC:
The start of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship
is just one week away. The series' sixth season will get
underway once again at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba,
Brazil. This will be the fifth time the 3.7 km circuit has
hosted the WTCC. The championship visited Curitiba for the first
time in July 2006; a crowd of 34,000 attended the races that
were won by Jordi Gené (SEAT León) and Andy Priaulx (BMW 320si).
From 2007 the Brazilian event was moved to March and given the
honour of opening the season. BMW Team Germany fellow drivers
Jörg Müller and local boy Augusto Farfus shared victories and
the attendance was even larger, with 45,000 spectators. In 2008
SEAT won both races with Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini. Last
year SEAT's Muller and Tarquini managed to replicate the
previous year's good results. 
GP2:
Skip
Barber National Championship
Porsche
Carrera Cup GB
GP2:
Karts:
After
two months back home in his native country, Indonesia, Kevin
Susilo
GP2:
The
Raikkonen Robertson Racing pairing of Daisuke Nakajima
British
GT:
RML
Formula3
Karts:
Winter
tests had already proved very promising
As
Russ Danzey prepares to launch his bid for a British title in
2010 he took some encouragement from World Champion Jenson
Button, who he met at an awards ceremony recently. “It was the
first time I had met Jenson, and I thought he was a very nice
guy,” the 15-year-old said after Button handed him his trophy
for the 2009 UK-wide Super 1 Series. “H e came across as very
open and friendly and certainly made an excellent impression. I
was surprised by how much time he spent with us to be honest,
and it was good to see him giving something back. “I think
pretty much every racing driver in F1 now started off in karting
as a first step. Of course, everybody wants to make it, but as
you can see from Jenson’s case, the ones that do are those who
believe in themselves the most and work the hardest for it. His
story is very inspirational; Jenson had been in a series of
less-than decent cars for a long time and just always kept his
head up and kept going.” Danzey has now moved KF3 to the more
powerful KF2 class for the this year, the JM Racing driver is
bidding to experience victory on even more occasions in 2010.
The Super 1 curtain-raiser at Shenington takes place on the
same weekend as the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir in March. “I’ve
not raced in KF2 yet because I wasn’t old enough to compete in
the class at the end of last year, and I’ve not been able to do
a great deal of testing either,” the Westbourne School pupil
confessed, “but I feel we’ve come on in leaps and bounds since
stepping up from KF3, and I’m feeling really confident. There
aren’t a lot of corners at Shenington, but at the same time it’s
hard to be fast around there, because if you mess one of them up
you will lose out all the way along the following straight. You
need to get every corner perfect, and I do respect the track
because it’s not as easy as people on the outside might think.
I’m definitely aiming to get a good result, and as long as we
all work hard, I think we will be on the pace – and I feel we
should be able to fight for the podium.” Pic Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
Mitch
Evans, the 15-year-old New Zealander who won the 2009 F3
SuperPrix
Karts:.jpg)
European
debut against 40 rivals at the Euro Max Rotax Cup in Malaga a
couple of weekends back. He not only beat the reigning Junior
Rotax world champion in qualifying he also brought his kart home
in an excellent fifth place after starting from the back of the
grid. He had qualified second but scrutineering revealed an
underweight kart resulting in demotion to the back of the
grid. 
The
2010 MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship
LMS:
Ginettas:
F2000
Karts:
Other
News:
Clio
Cup
Le
Mans
Chevrolet
Supercars:
Formula
Renault:
GP2:
LMS:
REBELLION Racing completed two days of private testing at the
Portimao circuit
VW
Cup:
WTCC:
The entry list for the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship
was released today. 
The
newly established SR-Sport
GT
Academy
Karts:
Carrera
Cup GB:
Brands
Hatch
DTM
German Touring Car Championship in September. In addition this
season sees two visits from the MCE Insurance British Superbike
Championship – commencing with a four day season opener over
Easter weekend – and the Dunlop MSA BTCC, including an outing on
the Grand Prix circuit during early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Other highlights include two Truck Superprix meetings in April
and October, the Masters Historic Festival for classic sports
cars, saloons and single seaters over late May Bank Holiday
weekend, and a round of the FIA Historic Formula One
Championship at the HSCC Superprix in early July. As usual there
There will also be more than 15 club level car and bike meetings
between March and November, including the Formula Ford Festival
in October. Brands Hatch will host the Britcar ‘into the night’
race and the new Lotus Elise Trophy 1000km endurance event, both
of which will take place in November. Tickets are now on sale
for all 2010 events, whilst a Brands Hatch season pass is also
available for just £225, saving spectators more than £800 on
race event tickets. MSV’s free 2010 fixture guide, containing
Brands Hatch and other MSV circuits is available by calling 0870
950 9000 or visiting the Brands Hatch website. 
Superstars:
Karts:
Superleague
Support Races:
Ginetta
G50 Cup
Eurocup
& West European Cup Formula Renault 2.0: 
Formula
Renault
LMS:
Star
Mazda
Formula
3: The Cooper Tires British F3 International Series
2009
FIA WTCC Independents' Trophy winner Tom Coronel
Super
GT:
kip
Barber:.jpg)
Jordan
King
GP2
“With
Andersen Racing’s involvement in all steps on the Road to Indy
ladder, we are delighted to work with PFC and Star Mazda in
making this exciting test program a reality," says Andersen
Racing co-owner Dan Andersen. "My long term relationship with
the folks at PFC, coupled with our involvement in and support of
the Star Mazda Championship for the past six years, makes this
an easy decision. So many Star Mazda drivers in recent years
have successfully transitioned into Indy Lights, and now with
the support of PFC, more drivers can sample the next step
properly. We look forward to testing Adam in the next few
weeks.” Christodoulou has already tested in the Team Stargate
Worlds Atlantic car and is looking forward to experiencing the
additional power and speed of the Indy Lights car. "I've already
had a taste of testing the Indy lights car towards the end of
last year, but it’s a great car to drive and I'm eager to get
behind the wheel again," says Christodoulou. "I've been in
quite a variety of cars recently and each car I get in adds to
my racing knowledge… and to the level of experience I can bring
to my next team. The opportunities that arise from being part
of the Star Mazda Championship, the Road to Indy and the
MAZDASPEED Ladder are much greater than anything that exists in
Europe. These programs have provided a huge boost to my career
and I would recommend them to any driver who is serious about
advancing their ambitions in open-wheel racing." 
British
GT:
Karts:
.jpg)
FIA
GT:
de V
F2000:
Ginetta
Formula
3
Grand-Am
Allan
McNish will bid for a third Le Mans 24 Hour race victory in June
WTCC:
Historics:
Karts:
Grand-Am
VW
Cup
SpaItalia’s 9th
edition
will be held this summer at Spa-Francorchamps on 19-20 June.
Alfa Romeo’s centenary year will see it focus on all things
associated with the margue, Sporting Spirit, Technological
excellence, elegant lines and the musical sound of their
engines. From Torpedo to Duetto, from Giulietta to 8C, many
Alfa Romeo models are unforgettable just as they were, and still
are, created by passionate people, for passionate people ! Some
of the greatest drivers, engineers and designers have all
written pages in Alfa Romeo’s history: Nuvolari, Ferrari, Fangio,
Merosi, Jano, Pininfarina, Zagato, to name a few. More info at
www.spaitalia.be