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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 March 2009 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 07/06/2009 IF RACE REPORTS LINKS REMOVED - FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above 21-03-09
Adam Christodoulou had a great start to his Star Mazda campaign at Sebriong yesterday(Friday) by winning the opening race. The 2008 Formula Renaylu UK Champ led his fellow countryman Richard kent over the line with half a second to spare. Last year’s Walter Hayes Trophy winner Conor Daly was third. As a
direct result of the support offered by British racing fans,
25-year old Mehdi Bennani will join the FIA WTCC for his home event in Marrakech, becoming the first North African driver to race in an FIA world championship. The young Moroccan driver will be at the wheel of a petrol-powered SEAT León run by Luc Marchetti's Exagon Engineering that was a regular WTCC competitor in 2007 and 2008. Bennani, who has progressed in his racing career from the karting to the Formula Renault, the Formula BMW, the World Series by Renault and finally the Euro F3000 Series, will be backed in his WTCC debut by OMNT, Morocco's Tourism Office. The Exagon Engineering team will give Bennani the opportunity to test the car in Magny-Cours before the race meeting in Marrakech. 20-03-09
Jonathan Summerton claimed the first pole of the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda with his timew from Wednesday’s session after none of his opponents managed to better his time in the second session yesterday.
David Brabham got back into LMP1 in the American Le Mans Series yesterday(Thursday) in qualifying at Sebring. Brabham, co driving the new Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura alongside Scott Sharp and Dario Franchitti, put the car into 6th place on the grid for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring The Porsche Carrera Cup GB will enjoy an even better TV package in 2009, with extended programmes in the 'Motorsport UK' series on both ITV1 and ITV4. In addition, selected Carrera Cup GB races will feature during the live coverage of the BTCC race days on ITV4. 'Motorsport UK' has been extended from half-hour programmes to a run of 35 hour-long programmes, and will benefit from prime slots on ITV4 and a late night screening on ITV1. In addition, Motorsport UK is also screened on the Men and Motors channel on Friday evening. Viewing figures for 2008 from Motorsport UK, show a typical programme audience of 550,000. The audience for the live BTCC programmes on ITV4 was as high as one million viewers in 2008.
Australian F3 Championship team BRM have been judged as the round one winner of the Meguiar’s best presented award at this weekend’s Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Meguiar’s award a team at each round of the 2009 championship with a prize pack of high-quality car care products for the best presented, or to have made a significant improvement in their presentation between rounds. James Kollias, the Central-West Australia Sales Executive for Meguiar’s, presented the team with their award at the Adelaide Parklands Circuit this morning after viewing the F3 paddock. “Team BRM are worthy winners and their presentation this weekend is very impressive,” Mr. Kollias said. “In particular their overall presentation – including the pit walling, team uniforms and the cars themselves makes the team stand out and represent everything that this award is about. They have clearly made an investment in their presentation and it shows.” Meguiar’s singled out several other teams for strong levels of presentation this weekend, including the stunning new livery on the #2 AmPro tools Dallara driven this year by Mathew Sofi. The field of 24 cars at the Northern European Cup can look back at two successful days of testing at the Nurburgring on Wednesday and Thursday(18-19 March). Making good use of the dry weather, Magnussen and Motopark Academy put the fastest time on the screens (1.57.625) on Wednesday. Finnish Toomas Heikkinen, driving for Koiranen Bros kept up, finishing just 0.07 secs slower. The remaining top five was made up by Felix da Costa and Jacobo for Motopark and Nigel Melker with MP Motorsport.. Thursday started with grey skies, but in the morning the son of former Formula 1 driver Jan Magnussen beat his own time by 0.3secs(1.57.312). A time that would stand for the rest of the day. Other drivers who finished with good results were Adrian Quaife Hobbs in 2nd on a 1.57.469 and Arnold Neveling with a 1.57.959 for SL Formula. Twenty one confirmed entries have been received for this year's HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. Britain's favourite motor racing series will receive increased TV coverage across the ITV network, yesterday held it’s annual Media Day launch at the Rockingham where 2009's 'runners and riders' have been officially unveiled. In a few weeks, the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup will kick off on the Nogaro circuit. The original calendar has been slightly modified. The Formula Renault 2.0 WEC will not go to Dijon but instead will return to Spa-Francorchamps to everybody’s great delight.. 19-03-09 Fortec Motorsport’s James Calado continued his excellent pre-season form with the fastest time during official pre-season testing in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Oulton Park. Masters Test Day at Donington on Thursday 2nd April. There are a few spaces left in each of the groups running on the day, now is the time to reserve your space to avoid disappointment. Just to recap, it’s a rare ‘noisy’ day at Donington. With just three groups of cars running on track, Single-seaters, Sportscars and GT/Touring, each group is due to enjoy 2 hours of track time during the day. You don’t need to be a Masters Member to join in on April 2nd, but all cars must be ‘historic’. At only £335 per car*(including bacon buttie on arrival!), it’s great value and is always great fun! Booking forms are available on the Masters website or from the Masters Office.
David McDonald put in a good performance of the 2009 Formula Renault UK pre-season at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire yesterday, Wednesday, 18th March, during the championship’s latest official test outing.
Oulton Park Island Circuit hosted the fourth official test of the 2009 Formula Renault UK pre-season on Wednesday*8 Mar). Menasheh Idafar continued his championship build-up with a best lap of 1m 19.412 during the morning session, a time that put him 11th fastest at that point. Sadly the Gulfol, Ortolan and Gulf Computer Services backed driverwasn’t able to get a run on new tyres during the afternoon after a trip to the gravel trap, the result of a failed bolt on the rear upright of his car’s suspension causing a puncture, ended his afternoon run. The speed team worked hard to repair his car during the final hour of the test but just ran out of time. Commenting, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “The day started very well indeed for us, Menasheh was in great shape this morning and to end the session 11th fastest was very impressive. “It’s a shame he didn’t get a chance to try and improve this afternoon due to the puncture and subsequent visit to the gravel trap but what it does mean is that Menasheh now has an extra set of new tyres which we can use during next week’s test if we wish. All in all, we’re very pleased with the work we completed at Oulton today.”
Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer was the dastest driver on the first of a two-day International Formula Master (IFM) test at Imola yesterday 2008 FBMW Europe Champ Esteban Manuel Gutierrez from Mexico is in Estoril for the first official F3 Euroseries test session along with 11 teams and 31 other drivers. Esteban met his team and teammates Jules Bianchi (France), Adrien Tambay (France), and Valtteri Botas (Finland) last week at the ART Grand Prix HQ in Villeneuve La Guyard, one hour South of Paris. Now he is in Portugal, "I feel very enthusiastic about being here and ready to begin the new season. It has been more than three months since I got into a race car and finally the waiting period is over. Last week I had the chance of meeting with my team for a day and we were able to see all the necessary modifications in the car to embark this new season which will be very competitive. I also had the opportunity of meeting with my physical trainer in Italy, to continue with my physical preparation for this season. We are working very hard in all physical, mental, and nutritional aspects with the object of being in 100% fit to face this new challenge, which won't be easy," Esteban commented. Adam Christodoulou has joined JDC Motorsports for the 2009 Star Mazda Championship. The reigning British Formula Renault champion will make his North American racing debut in Round One at Sebring International Raceway From its transporter in Florida, JDC MotorSports’ lmade a ast minute addition to its driver line-up with Christoloudou joining the team for the entire 13-race schedule. The Minnesota-based squad now has four very skilled drivers Christodoulou, Joel Miller, Alex Ardoin, and Caio Lara in addition to two of the leading candidates Gerry Kraut and Michael Guasch in the Masters Series. Driving the No. 11 Redline Oil/JDC MotorSports entry, Christodoulou will make his debut at season-opener this Friday. 18-03-09
The traditional Spanish opening event of the FFSA V de V Series is a breath of fresh air for all of the teams. While northern Europe is still in the grip of winter, everyone is rushing off to the Madrid and Jarama for some spring sunshine. The competitors in Formula 3 and the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup have all been getting fit for their respective championships. Thirty Three young drivers have been at the Volkswagen fitness camp in Oberjoch in the Bavarian Allgau region taking a training programme focused on building stamina, coordination and strength under the guidance of sports professionals. Formula BMW Pacific has confirmed the calendar for the 2009 season, the best compilation of race meetings in the series' seven-year history. The season will open in support of the 2009 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix in April, and close in spectacular fashion at the 56th Macau Grand Prix in November. In between, Formula BMW Pacific will be part of two Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) weekends, in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the field of young talent will have ample opportunities to hone their skills over four rounds at each meetiong, before once again supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship, this time in Singapore. In late October, Formula BMW Pacific will be part of the FIA World Touring Car Championship round at Japan's Okayama International Circuit, before travelling to Macau for the grand finale of 2009.
17-03-09
New date for Bucharest round. The annual visit to Romania by the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series will take place on a different date to that originally announced. The FIA GT Championship has brought forward the date for the Bucharest street-race event to the weekend of 8/9 August - three weeks earlier than first planned. Hitech Junior has signed Jordan Oakes to complete its four car line-up in the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship. The 19 year-old from Norfolk, won on his car racing debut in the 2006 Formula Renault BARC Championship round at Snetterton, where he also took pole and fastest lap. He went on to finish the Championship second in his class with three wins, two pole positions and four fastest laps. He also ran in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series, finishing third. In 2007 and ‘08 Jordan raced in Formula Renault UK finishing 2007 in sixth place in the Graduate Cup and 13th overall. Last year he again raced in FRenault UK taking his maiden pole. Jordan will join Hungarian Formula Renault runner-up Tamas Pal Kiss, FBMW Pacific Scholarship winner Marlon Stockinger and fellow Brit Nick Yelloly at Hitech. Team Principal David Hayle is happy with the performance of all his drivers in recent testing. “We’re delighted to have Jordan on board,” said Hayle. “We now have a terrific line-up of drivers in the team and I’m sure Jordan could be a serious title contender. We ran him in the recent tests at Snetterton and his performance was very mpressive, running second quickest on day one. Equally the other 3 drivers in the team have all gone exceptionally well in pre-season testing, so we’re looking forward to what promises to be an exciting first year in the Formula Renault UK Championship.”
If you can’t afford to fly away this year for F1 then there are lots of good reasons for staying at home and those in the ‘know’ are taking up the rewards by supporting the innovative approach of new Ginetta team, www.YourRacingCar.com When the 2009 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring gets underway this week, David Ostella from Ontario, will begin his second season of formula car racing, in the Star Mazda Championship with Toronto-based AIM Autosport. “Every day closer I get to the race, the more anxious I am to get back in the car," he said over the weekend from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "I just love the car! The moment I stepped into the it I felt comfortable, and AIM just has a great set-up. Everyone in the team knows each other and works well together, and they have a great team chemistry under the tent. I'm really looking forward to continuing my development as a driver and opening the season at Sebring!" Making the move to Star Mazda from FBMW this season, Ostella will race thirteen rounds including a visit to Mosport in August, an event that the young driver is already looking forward to. "I can't wait to race at Mosport, so close to home," he said while outlining the schedule. "I did a test day there in Formula BMW and I just loved the track, like so many drivers do. And it will be fantastic to have friends and family able to come out and see the race cars and what an event entails. So many of my classmates know that I race, but don't really know what that really means. There is just so much to look forward to this season!" Round one of the The Star Mazda Championship Championship presented by Goodyear will be run Friday afternoon. JDC Motorsports get their 2009 Star Mazda Campaign underway at Sebring this weekend with a five-car effort. Entering the 2009 season-opening event in Florida this week (March 18-20), the Minnesota-based team has all the tools necessary to win and start it’s march towards the championship crown. With drivers Alex Ardoin, Michael Guasch, Gerry Kraut, Caio Lara and Joel Miller getting behind the wheels of their JDC MotorSports cars they should be well placed . Miller just re-signed with JDC MotorSports and enters Round 1 as the top returning driver in the series. After two seasons in the series with another team, Ardoin will get behind the wheel of a JDC car for the first time at Sebring as a proven race winner. He won the 2007 season-finale and finished an impressive fourth in the title fight last year. Lara makes it three returning series front-runners driving for JDC MotorSports in 2009. The Sao Paolo driver having ended his 2008 rookie campaign with a pair of top-five finishes. Not to be left out of the mix, team co-owner Kraut will again pilot the No. 55 Dougherty & Co./Dougherty Funding LLC/Redline Oil/JDC MotorSports car in Round One Guasch completes the driver line-up at Sebring, joining the series for a full campaign in 2009. "Everyone at JDC MotorSports is looking forward to the opening round at Sebring," commented team co-owner John Church, "Given the driving talent we have behind the wheels, the goal is to leave Florida with not only valuable points, but a pair of victories."
The 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Championship line-up continues to take shape with 13 drivers already confirmed and several more due to be announced in the coming weeks. Three of last season's challengers Richard Plant, Adam Foster and Paul Rees have re-joined the series and the trio will expect to be genuine title contenders. Plant finished fourth in last years standings after taking one win and a total of five podiums, Adam Foster was the top rookie and Paul Rees took one pole position on his way to a top ten overall finish in the championship. Frenchmen Maxime Jousse, Tristan Vautier and Julien Gerbi have also signed up for the 2009 campaign. Jousse, brother of F2 driver Julien, joins FPA after a season of racing in F Renault 2.0 WEC, as does Vautier who finished sixth in the championship after scoring two podium finishes. Gerbi returns to Europe following a competitive season of Skip Barber racing in North America where he took one win and ten podiums from 14 races, ending up fourth in the Eastern Regional series. Howard Fuller and Kenny Andrews are joined by world renowned fashion designer Luca Orlandi and famous restaurateur Giuseppe Cipriani in contesting their first full season of FPA racing, and all four have experienced FPA in the past. British driver Ashley Babbra joins after finishing an impressive third overall in Formul'Academy Euro Series in 2008, and Pakistan racer Syed Ovais Naqvi and Swiss driver Philipp Frommenwiler are also confirmed in the line-up. Eliott Bachelart will be returning to the seat of a Skip Barber car this week when he takes part in the BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda races at Sebring on March 19-20. "I couldn't be happier to race right now. I've been looking forward to this event for the past month and I've been preparing very hard both mentally and physically," expressed Eliott. The son of Conquest Racing team owner Eric Bachelart will be competing in his second Skip Barber National event. His first came at Cleveland in 2007. Although the younger Bachelart will be making his first Skip Barber start at Sebring he is no stranger to the course. Tim Bridgman set a scorching pace in the major pre-season test day for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Silverstone on Monday. Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) burst to the top of the time sheets towards the end of the day with a 56.478s, a lap that is believed to be the fastest Carrera Cup lap of the Silverstone National circuit. A record 23 cars and 26 drivers took to the track on a day of glorious spring weather. … 16-03-09 British racing driver Nick Padmore and team mate Jean-Lou Rihon will be heading to Spain this weekend for the curtain raiser on the French V de V Championship at Jarama. The 4 hour race which takes place at Jarama and the duo cannot wait to get back behind the wheel of the Norma UK outfit's M20F. "I've never been to Jarama before so this will be a new experience", admitted Padmore. "However, the team have provided some useful data from last year so we won't be starting from scratch and I've been training hard throughout the winter and feel fitter than ever. Norma UK are a tremendous team to work with so I'm looking forward to the start of a fresh season with them and Jean-Lou which, of course, we all hope to be successful". Padmore put his first touch on his 2009 season with a superb 3rd place finish at a sunny Brands Hatch yesterday. He entered his privately-owned BMW E30 in the Production BMW Championship and was the centre of attention in a six-car dice for the lead. Padmore eventually stole the last available step of the podium on the last corner of the last lap and was more than happy with his maiden voyage in the ultra-competitive series."That was so much fun; loved it!", grinned a buoyant Padmore. "It's completely different to racing in V de V as these races are only 15 minutes long so there's no time to relax - you have to be 'on it' as soon as you leave the grid".The NPR (Nick Padmore Racing) BMW is available to hire for trackdays as well as the remaining 5 double-header rounds of the 2009 GAZ Shocks Production BMW Championship. Craig Baird won his fifth New Zealand Porsche GT3 Cup title on Sunday at the final round of the series held at Pukekohe. Braid won all three races over the weekend , although he did have a bit of luck in the third and final race when Jody Vincent picked up a puncture late in the race allowing Baird to slip past for the win. In the first round of the 2009 South African National Formula Vee Championship Courtney Steenveld looked to have the round sewn up after winning the opening heat and leading the second. That was before Chad Van Beurden and he had a coming together less than a kilometer from the flag. The Australian Mini Challenge Series sees DecoRug Racing return this year with Grant Denyer and multiple Australian Champion Paul Stokell driving their cars with one aim, the Championship title. Broadheath Recovery Services are the new sponsors of the Ford XR Challenge. BRS Recovery are a professional, low cost vehicle recovery and transportation business located in Manchester. With over 30 years experience in the vehicle recovery industry they offer a nationwide transportation service, operating 24 hours a day, at reasonable prices. BRS Recovery has been involved in the Ford XR Challenge since 2004 with Antony Sullivan competing in the XR3 class. In 2007, a second XR3 was added to the team driven by Antony ’s brother Adam. The team will be on the XR grid again in 2009 in the unusual dual role of competitors and title sponsors. For more info rmation on BRS Recovery visit www.broadheathrecovery.co.uk
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB has it’s best ever entry for the championship this year it was revealed the Carrera Cup GB pre-season test and media day at Silverstone today (Monday). The line-up of teams and drivers in the stunning 911 GT3 Cup cars shows a total of 25 registered competitors, and an expected grid of at least 20 cars at every round. Significantly, the entry is evenly spread across the pro, pro-am1 and pro-am2 categories. "We are absolutely delighted with the response to the Carrera Cup GB for 2009," said championship manager Marion Barnaby. "These are difficult financial times and so we are very grateful to the teams and drivers who have worked so hard over the winter to make this record entry possible." The latest teams and drivers to confirm their plans include Scotland’s Glynn Geddie, who has signed with Team Parker Racing for his first full season. Also in the Team Parker squad will beAmerican Jake Rosenzweig, who will tackle three race weekends alongside his single-seater campaign in Europe. From Scotland will come 2 cars from the Celtic Speed team of Tommy Dreelan and Bob Lyons. Another driver returning to the series is David Ashburn, with a fourth car run for Motorbase Performance. Ashburn is only expected to contest a limited programme, and other drivers are likely to fill the seat at other rounds. Parr Motorsport will again field Robin Clark in the pro-am2 category. Championship newcomer Glenn McMenamin, who hopes to join the grid at Donington in May, will join Clark in the squad. The top three from 2008 are all back; Tim Harvey will defend his title while Michael Caine and Tim Bridgman try and take the crown for the first time. Ranged against them in the pro class will be Carrera Cup GB Scholarship winners Tom Bradshaw and Lewis Hopkins. New to the Carrera Cup GB is the JHR team, which will field newcomers Robert Lawson and Derek Pierce, while new teams joining the grid include Team Kinfaun, JMH Automotive, and GT Marques.New drivers on the grid will include youngsters Ollie Jackson and 17-year old George Richardson, while Michael Leonard, Tony Gilham, Karl Leonard, John Quartermaine and Graeme Mundy all return. Liam McMillan will debut his ex-Jason Plato SEAT Toledo at the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship test session at Rockingham this Thursday (March 19th), signalling the first time an ultimate-spec Toledo S2000 race car has been seen in the series. Liam will debut chassis number 011 – the car in which Plato sensationally won a race at Thruxton on SEAT Sport UK’s first BTCC appearance in 2004. It will be powered by a new 16v engine (which has 12bhp more than the 20v unit that was fitted into chassis 011) and the entire car has been prepared to the latest Toledo S2000 spec, including the latest aerodynamic package. This specification was only introduced by SEAT Sport in Spain during the 2005 WTCC and has never run in BTCC before. Liam said: “Pre-season testing has gone well. We achieved our main aim of getting as many miles under my belt as we could, including a number of race distance runs.It hasn’t taken me long to become comfortable in the Toledo and I already feel right at home in it. It’s a nice car to drive and it reacts well to any changes you make to the set-up, so we’ve been able to do a lot of work during our four winter test days and changed the car to my liking. I’m looking forward to testing at Rockingham, because it will be the first time I’ve been on the same track with the BTCC field and the first opportunity to compare laps times.” Just a reminder that a range of BRSCC leisurewear, including jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts and fleeces is available to purchase on-line. Produced by specialists in the field, Performance Clothing , who have worked with a number of WRC and F1 teams, the on-line shop can be accessed at BRSCC LEISUREWEAR The long awaited on-line BRSCC Race entry service should be up and running very shortly. The Club are in the final phase of ironing out a few technical issues before it goes live and will then contact Racing Members to invite them to register. In the meantime, hard copy entry packs for all BRSCC championships and series are now available from the co-ordinators and can also be downloaded from the relevant championship page on the website. 50 Years of Motorsport Marshalling, a book by George Copeland, is an attempt to record the history of motorsport marshalling in the UK and the British Motorsport Marshals’ Club (BMMC) in particular. The history is not well documented and it took two years of fairly intensive “digging” to extract enough info rmation to form a reasonably accurate record. Since 1957,the Marshals’ Club has been at the heart of every major marshalling initiative. Importantly, the Club is a collection of quite disparate characters. They come from all walks of life and give their time freely to the sport, in return for the enjoyment they get from doing so, their enthusiasm for the sport and the camaraderie that exists in marshalling ranks. They are a talented bunch and despite the voluntary nature of their duties are generally considered to be among the best in the world. All profits from the sale of this book will go to Marshals‛ Club funds. The book contains 288 pages including a 16 page colour plate section. The normal retail price is £20 plus £1.95 UK carriage but BMMC Members can get a copy for just £17 including UK carriage. To order by phone call: 01904 431213, or go online at www.YPD-books.com or send a cheque made payable to: York Publishing Services Ltd, 64 Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, YO31 7ZQ Frederic Vervisch will make his debut in the Cooper Tires presents the Formula Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda on March 20 with Genoa Racing. Vervisch said, "My goal was to participate in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, but I was not able to find enough funding. Recently the opportunity to race in America arose. At this time, I will only take part in the opening round of the championship at Sebring. It won't be easy, but I'm aiming for the win with Genoa Racing. Markus Niemela, Borja Garcia and John Michael Edwards will be my main opponents. Niemela is the reigning champion and Edwards, with whom I drove in the European Formula Renault, took the title in the Star Mazda junior series." A first test with his new team took place last week at Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida. On Tuesday he set the third fastest time, only a few tenths shy of the fastest time set by Garcia. Australian F3 qualifying has been spiced up in 2009 by a new award. Melbourne-based Yorkshire Investments will sponsor the F3 Pole award in 2009. The Yorkshire Investments Pole Award will reward each outright pole a $200 bonus, while at the end of the year the driver who has the most poles will get a $1000. award. Should more than one driver score the same number, the award will be decided each drivers’ average qualifying position. Hd the Yorkshire investment pole award been around in 2008, Leanne Tander, with 5, would have pocketed $2000 plus the end of year bonus, “There’s nothing like cash to spur a driver on to go that little bit faster,” AmPro tools driver Mathew Sofi said. “As someone who hopes to regularly be challenging for pole positions this season I’m really happy that Yorkshire Investments has come on board to sponsor the Pole Position award in 2009. It will only spice up qualifying even more and make Saturday just as exciting as race day. I’m looking forward to trying to get the first $400 with two pole positions at the Clipsal 500 this week!” 15-03-09 Chris Holmes is set to contest the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Championsip as he continues to chase single seater motor racing glory. Over the last 11 years the Championship has seen nine of its graduates go on to race in Formula One as well as launching countless others to world class motor racing series. This year the Championship boasts an amazing £50k scholarship prize for the winner to take them into F2. As if the grand prize isn't motivation enough for 22 year old Chris, Formula Palmer Audi drivers are also eligible to be nominated for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver at the end of the year which brings with it a further £50k prize fund to help develop the career of upcoming British drivers. "Formula Palmer Audi is a proven and respected stepping stone in motorsport" says Chris, "and the prize fund and opportunity to graduate into Formula 2 makes it all the more attractive! I believe it is a series in which I can be very competitive and which can help me sprinboard my motorsport career further" Chris will certainly be fit for the 20-round season after receiving the support of new partner Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing Centres. With access to their state of the art gyms, Chris is keen to start the season in peak physical fitness. "The support of Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing is great" says Chris. "I hope it won't be too long until I am bringing some silverware with me to the gym to encourage us all to push that bit harder!" The race weekend takes place at Donington Park on 18-19th April. The
Historic Sports Car Club
has issued a call to all former Formula 5000 2008 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship winner James Winslow has joined up with Conquest Racing to race in the 2009 Atlantic Championship in the USA…
14-03-09 Following development during the winter Matech Concepts will present its new generation Ford GT1, built to the new GT 2010 regs, at the FIA-GT Media & Test Days at Paul-Ricard of April 6-7 After 2 years of successful FIA-GT3 , Matech Concepts is now stepping up to the FIA GT series. The carsl race debut will coincide with the start of the FIA-GT season on May 3rd at Silverstone where a Matech livered Ford GT will race alongside the new generation customer Ford GT1. Further teams are already interested. “We consider 2009 as a development year to gather as much knowledge as possible before the launch of the FIA-GT World Championship in 2010, but based on last year’s successful GT3 experience we feel extremely confident about the car’s competitiveness right from the start of the season” Martin Bartek, the man in charge of Matech GT Racing, commented. American motor racing legend Bobby Rahal has announced he will join Masters Historic Racing for the 2009 season. Rahal, the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and three-times ChampCar champion (1986, 1987, and 1992) has raced in European historic events. He has been a regular at the Le Mans Classic in both a Lola and a Porsche 917 – “one scary ride” – and at Spa in a historic F2 race. In addition, Rahal is an occasional Goodwood Revivalist in touring and GT cars. Later this season, Bobby plans something of a Masters campaign, firstly with a Chevron B16 FVC in World Sportscar Masters at the Silverstone Classic, and then in Masters Proto70s races in a Lola T290-BDG, which he will be taking to Portugal for the Festival at the new Algarve circuit for Masters season closer in October. Ron Maydon founder of Masters said: “To have a driver of Bobby’s skill and achievements racing with us is a huge honour. The fact that he is a great historic enthusiast and fun to spend time with, will mean that his fellow Masters’ members will really enjoy having him out with us. To see him race in our spectacular evening 90 minutes at this year’s Classic will be a sight which Silverstone spectators and TV viewers, who so enjoyed the race last year, can really look forward to.”
Porsche racing regular Richard Chamberlain has announced his return to the Porsche Open series for 2009, entering his Porsche 935 in Class One of the series. A prolific Porsche Open race winner, Richard’s car is currently being repaired after a major shunt last season, and will be run by his own CTR Developments concern, which will also be running two others cars in the field. “This must be my 15th or 16th season of Porsche racing,” said 52-year-old Richard from Cambridge , “I joined the Club in 1993 to go and race with them. I’ll be out in the 935 once we have finished rebuilding it from our shunt at Brands Hatch last year, we are working hard and our target is to have it completed by May. There was not much left of the car and we have had to make lots of parts, but it is worth re-building. It took a lot of time to get the 935 handling as well as it did, so it will be good to race it again, in the Porsche Open races we usually run it at 520BHP. In the two- driver races I’ll share it with Zubin Randeria, and we will be running two other Porsche Open cars for Zubin and James Fillingham.” The 2009 Porsche Open seasons starts at Anglesey in Wales in April The 2009 British historic racing season will get underway at Snetterton next Saturday (21 March) with a great day of racing in five of the Masters Top Hat categories Masters Historic Racing has pledged its support to Help for Heroes, through a major fund-raising effort.The immensely important work of the rapidly developing UK Armed Services support charity, Help for Heroes, will be the beneficiary of a major fund-raising effort among the historic motorsport community, spearheaded by Masters Historic Racing Masters Historic Racing have announce fresh races and new opportunities for owners of Post-1978 Formula 1 cars ( ‘ground effect’ and ‘flat-bottom’ eras of F1 up to 1985) - with the opening of entries for two races each, for both Festivals run at Donington and Brands Hatch in May. “Several of the owners of these cars already compete with us in GP Masters or in our other series. Also, we are aware of others who are keen to race their Post 78 cars, but without the time and expense of overseas trips,” said Series Director Christopher Tate. “By holding these new races at our two key May UK events, we are offering new races not only for those owners and drivers who may not yet be geared up for a full series of races across Europe, but also for those who just want a worthwhile run-out between their race dates for the well-established FIA championship which looks after this era of Formula One history. We think that by offering two UK events in the early part of the 2009 historic season, at Donington and Brands Hatch, two great drivers’ circuits, that the Masters Post 78 races should be well supported.” The Masters Donington races will take place on May 9/10, with the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit playing host on May 24/25. Masters Historic Racing has also announced a July 10-12 meeting at Magny-Cours, where the Post 78 Grand Prix cars are again having their own dedicated races. Race clothing and accessory specialist Grand Prix Racewear (GPR) based at Silverstone has negotiated a new deal with Masters Historic Racing aimed at giving its members more bang for their buck. They will also support the “Masters Spirit of the Series” award, with a tailor-made set of overalls for the overall winner The 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship now moves to Puebla, Mexico, on 21-22 Marc. hWith the greatest number of turns per kilometre of any circuit on the calendar, Puebla is notoriously tough on drivers and cars, particularly when faced with temperatures of up to 40°C. Although the track, located in the centre of Mexico, has a low-grip road surface, constant changes in direction place a greater demand on the lateral stability of the tyres than most circuits. However, because the series went there last year Yokohama engineers now have a clear picture of how the ADVAN race tyre reacts in such dynamic conditions. “Despite extreme temperatures, Puebla is actually an easier circuit on tyres than it looks; grip levels are the lowest on the WTCC calendar, and the average speed of the circuit is also modest,” said Ian Beveridge, Yokohama Technical Consultant. “The emphasis is on the lateral stability of the tyre, as the tyre moves from side-to-side under cornering. To counteract the increased lateral forces, we advise teams to increase the pressure of the tyres; it is Yokohama’s job to ensure that the best performance is attained,” added Beveridge. “A race tyre has a relatively low profile compared with a road-going tyre, but 10-15mm of tyre sidewall deflection is expected, which is well within the operating limits of the ADVAN tyre.” Eurosport will provide television coverage of qualifying and both races. Live qualifying will take place at 23:00 CET on 21 March, broadcast on Eurosport International and Asia-Pacific, with Races 1 and 2 live on 22 March, broadcast at 19:00 CET and 22:30 CET respectively. The 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship now moves to Puebla, Mexico, on 21-22 Marc. hWith the greatest number of turns per kilometre of any circuit on the calendar, Puebla is notoriously tough on drivers and cars, particularly when faced with temperatures of up to 40°C. Although the track, located in the centre of Mexico, has a low-grip road surface, constant changes in direction place a greater demand on the lateral stability of the tyres than most circuits. However, because the series went there last year Yokohama engineers now have a clear picture of how the ADVAN race tyre reacts in such dynamic conditions. “Despite extreme temperatures, Puebla is actually an easier circuit on tyres than it looks; grip levels are the lowest on the WTCC calendar, and the average speed of the circuit is also modest,” said Ian Beveridge, Yokohama Technical Consultant. “The emphasis is on the lateral stability of the tyre, as the tyre moves from side-to-side under cornering. To counteract the increased lateral forces, we advise teams to increase the pressure of the tyres; it is Yokohama’s job to ensure that the best performance is attained,” added Beveridge. “A race tyre has a relatively low profile compared with a road-going tyre, but 10-15mm of tyre sidewall deflection is expected, which is well within the operating limits of the ADVAN tyre.” Eurosport will provide television coverage of qualifying and both races. Live qualifying will take place at 23:00 CET on 21 March, broadcast on Eurosport International and Asia-Pacific, with Races 1 and 2 live on 22 March, broadcast at 19:00 CET and 22:30 CET respectively. 13-03-09 Wayne Boyd and Callum MacLeod, Formula Ford's most recent British champions, both received career boosts this week. Reigning title-holder Boyd has been selected as one of the BRDC's 'Superstars' for 2009, while '07 champion MacLeod has landed a plum drive in the Spanish F3 Championship. Boyd, who to the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series with top team T-Sport, is one of 12 young British drivers to receive the BRDC accolade. The Superstars scheme offers recipients direct assistance in all aspects of professional motor sport, including help with physical and mental training, career guidance, team building skills, sponsorship and marketing advice, access to motor sport seminars and workshops with BRDC members. Callum MacLeod will make his Spanish F3 debut this season with Team West-Tec. "I am delighted to be racing again this year," said Callum, "and F3 is where I've wanted to be since I won Formula Ford. Testing is going well, and I am relishing the opportunity to compete on some of the best circuits in the world this season." Gavin Wills, Team West-Tec co-principal, added: "Callum is a very exciting driver. I am looking forward to working with him, and achieving success together."
Next weekend sees the start of the 2009 Star Mazda presented by Goodyear Championship at the 57th annual 12 Hours of Sebring. With a 30 car grid lining up, including seven of last year’s top ten drivers, all in the new, faster Star Mazda car, it looks like being a great year James Calado driving for Fortec Motorsport was quickest at the pre-season test for the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship(as it is now known for 2009) at Snetterton this week. Calado did a 1min 04.259s (109.35mph average) yesterday(Thursday) morning
Hillspeed’s Formula Renault BARC Winter Champion James Theodore joined the team at Snetterton today Friday, for an unofficial test in his BARC specification Formula Renault.
Menasheh Idafar sustained his good progress during the second day of official Formula Renault UK Championship testing at Snetterton Circuit today, Thursday, 12th March, by ending the outing inside the top 15, just 0.7secs shy of the outright pace. Slicing 0.4secs off his best time from Wednesday’s two sessions at the 1.95 mile track, the Hillspeed driver produced a quickest time of 1m04.985 seconds (108.13mph) this morning in dry but cloudy conditions. Ollie Millroy has made a strong start to the 2009 season by going fastest at the second official Formula BMW test at Monza. At the two day test Millroy posted the two quickest laps of the 26 drivers with a time of 1.59.080 and ran in the top three on both days, establishing himself as a strong contender for the 2009 title. "We've had another very strong two day test," says Ollie, "Considering this is the first season my new race engineer Paul South has engineered a Formula BMW car we have made a good solid start. The car feels quick, it's good to drive and Paul is great to work with. On the first day I also had 2008 GP2 champion and ex Formula 1 driver Giorgio Pantano working with me and no one knows their way around Monza better than he does. The whole 'Motaworld Racing' team are working really well together, there is a good atmosphere and we are all confident that we will get stronger before the first race at Barcelona in May. The lap times appear to be much closer this year and at one point there was only one second seperating 20 cars so we are happy to be the quickest, but we've got more to come. The team are confident we will be at the sharp end this year looking for wins and so am I." Reigning South African National Formula Vee Champion Dennis Johns (No1 Geyser Attorneys Rhema 2), returns home to start the defense of his title, at the Phikisa Freeway, on the 14th March. In addition to the National Championship Formula Vee race, the day's program includes Northern Regions Championship races, for Formula Ford Kent, Nashua Mobile Historic Saloon Cars, Nashua Mobile Historic Sports and GT Cars, Formula GTi and 250cc Super Karts, together with Club Championship events, for Formula Libre Single Seaters and Nashua Mobile Marque Cars, providing a dynamic mix of Single Seater, Sports, GT and Saloon Car racing, along with the incredibly quick 250cc Karts. A day's racing not to be missed. Up against Johnswill be three times National Formula Vee Champion, Alan Holm (No4 Lasersprint Rhema 2), development driver Courtney Steenveld (No3 NLDTF Rhema 2), Jaco Schriks (No7 Lasersprint Rhema 2), Trevor Bland (No5 Rhema 2) and the other development driver, Zaahir Essa (No71 NLDTF Rhema 1). A dark horse, at the head of the field, could be fifteen year old Chad Van Beurden (No55 Rhema 2). The young ex Karter had a sensational debut, in the Formula Vee Class, at the recent Midvaal Formula Libre race, beating both Holm and Bland to the line, in the second heat. The 2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge season got off to a quick start on Thursday, as 18 Ford Mustang FR500S machines broke through the silence of the long off-season with a pair of practice sessions on the 2.21-mile infield road course to start the Grand-Am Fan Appreciation Weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway. Jim Click Racing driver Mike McGovern, who finished 3rd in the 2008 Championship, led the first session with a 1:38.985-secs. 2008 Champion Andrew Caddell posted the fastest time of the second session, a 1:39.147-secs as track lost grip in the sunny conditions. Caddell, who made his Grand-Am KONI Sports car Challenge debut at Daytona in January as part of his Ford Racing Champions Package, was happy to put the lessons learned on the high banks to good use as he looks to kick off the season with a strong result in the double header weekend. Caddell's time was shadowed by Joe Lee Middlebrooks, who was second quick in the late afternoon session with the Metro Motor Sports Mustang. Middlebrooks is looking to get some momentum in Miami before the Mustang Challenge races near his hometown in April for the 45th Anniversary celebrations of the Ford Mustang at Barber Motorsports Park. The WTCC stays in America for its second meeting next week at the Autódromo Miguel E. Abed in Mexico, where rounds 3 and 4 will take place on March 22nd.The WTCC visited Puebla for the first time in July 2005. Fabrizio Giovanardi's Alfa Romeo won the first race, while SEAT's Peter Terting claimed his first and only WTCC victory in the second.The following year's event - on a completely revised track - was dominated by the Alfa Romeo men, Salvatore Tavano, who won the first race, and Augusto Farfus, victorious in Race 2.After a one-year break, the WTCC returned to Puebla in 2008. The SEAT León TDI cars dominated both races: Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell finished 1-2 in the first one, while Tiago Monteiro won Race 2 followed by five other SEAT cars, including Tom Coronel, sixth in the SUNRED petrol-powered León. SEAT Sport's drivers go to Mexico leading the Championship with Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini sharing the top with 15 points, having both won and had fourth places in Curitiba. Their team mates Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell are joint in third position with 14 points. The SEAT quartet is followed by five BMW men, led by Augusto Farfus on 7 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, SEAT have scored 36 points against BMW's 22. Surprisingly LADA lie in third position with 10 points, one more than Chevrolet. Félix Porteiro has already built a good lead in the Independents' Trophy, having scored 31 points in Curitiba. On his first appearance with Proteam Motorsport's BMW, the young Spaniard dominated the field and fought hard with the works driver. He even managed to lead the second race for four laps and to score three points in the overall classification. "With the new point system that awards three points for each one scored in the overall championship, my results in Brazil were very important. Counting this bonus and the points awarded for the pole position and the fastest laps, I have collected 11 additional points," a pleased Porteiro commented. SUNRED's Tom Coronel is the closest competitor, as he claimed two second places and 19 points: "I also scored one point in the overall championship. Not bad when you consider that my car is 55kg heavier than last year. For now this was the best possible result and I am really looking forward to the next round in Mexico," the Dutchman said. ALMS racing driver and 3 Day Eventer Liz Halliday will link up with the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone in 2009 so that they can provide her with physical training assistance during another season in the two highly-competitive sporting disciplines. Haliday’s training regime needs a bespoke-programme to cope with the demands of two very different sporting challenges and the Porsche Human Performance centre is ideally equipped to help. PHP provides advice, exercise and nutritional plans to provide structure and motivation to achieve each individual’s goals. Halliday said: “I’m delighted to be working with the Porsche Human Performance centre this year. My training needs are very specific due to the nature of my dual career and the experts at Porsche are ideally qualified to help me gain that extra edge. I’ve already visited their headquarters at Silverstone and was hugely impressed by their facilities and the team of people working there. I’m looking forward to a very positive relationship this year.” Andy Blow, Director of Votwo who run the programme for Porsche, said: “The Porsche Human Performance Centre, Silverstone will be assisting Liz Halliday with her physical training and preparation for her gruelling competitive racing and eventing schedule in 2009. Liz will be working with the team there on everything from fitness assessments to heat acclimation in their on-site chamber to make sure that she is in the best possible condition to compete in the car or on horseback.” 12-03-09
AmPro Tools have announced that they will sponsor Matt Sofi’s Astuti-Motorsport prepared Dallara F307 Mugen Honda in this year’s Australian Drivers Championship for the CAMS Gold Star. … Menasheh Idafar continued his Formula Renault UK pre-season at Snetterton on Wednesday in the first of two officially timed days at the Norfolk track. With more than 30 cars on track, Menasheh ended the day with a quickest time of 1m 05.316 seconds (107.58mph) making him 15th overall on the timesheets. Concluding the morning session with a 1m 05.639 secs which put the Hillspeed racer 14th by lunch and 4th quickest Graduate Cup runner. Improving by 0.3secs in the afternoon he was just half a second shy of the fastest Graduate Cup driver Finnish racer Matias Laine, who was fourth overall. Speaking on the day’s action, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “We’re very happy indeed with Menasheh’s performance. He was only just over 0.15 seconds away from the top 10 which was a very pleasing effort. We’re certainly looking forward to tomorrow.”
Motorbase Performance BMW has added Jonathan Adam to its line-up for the 2009 HiQ MSA BTCC. Adam (24), from Fife, won the SEAT Cupra Cup in 2007 and 2008, tested the Motorbase 320si at Brands Hatch at the end of the 2008 season, and impressed team principal David Bartrum with his consistency and professional approach. This was clearly enough to secure a drive in the Kent-based squad's 2009 BTCC campaign. The Scotsman will join Rob Collard in the team as Motorbase Performance BMW look to become a race-winner in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. Team Principal David Bartrum said: "I'm delighted to have secured Jonathan Adam for the 2009 season. From the first moment we started working with him in the garage and in the car we realised he was keen to learn and very ambitious. I think Jonathan will do a really good for Motorbase this year and will be very competitive once he settles in to the car. He will also be able to learn a lot from working alongside Rob Collard with all his experience, so I am convinced we have the right drivers to ensure Motorbase is successful in 2009." Four round wins from the five this year means that Craig Baird has one hand on another Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship title as he heads into the final round of the 2008/09 series at Pukekohe this weekend. After the last round at Manfeild a fortnight ago the 38-year-old has 1070 points, 99 more than teammate David Reynolds and 314 more than third placed Daniel Gaunt. It's been another copybook season for the experienced Baird -- who looks set to claim his fourth New Zealand Porsche GT3 Cup title this weekend. Reynolds, like Baird also a Carrera Cup Australia champion, has been the closest rival, having claimed three poles to Baird's two and won five races and the round at Timaru. Getting a good start has become critical this season as the contingent of young guns have edged closer to the professionals like Baird, Reynolds and Gaunt. Jono Lester remains fourth in the points heading into the final after another dynamic season which has already included a race win. He, perennial series hard-charger Jody Vincent, and second-generation racer Ant Pedersen have never given less than 100% all season and have reaped the rewards. As has Australian Rodney Forbes, the former V8 Supercar driver who crosses the Tasman each month to run with the Triple X team. He heads into the final in fifth place in the standings, 49 points behind Lester and 22 in front of Jody Vincent. Ant Pedersen is seventh, Darryn Henderson eighth and Giltrap Group team car driver Mark Russ ninth. Triple X team boss Shane McKillen rounds out the top ten just ahead of his team's series rookie Courtney Letica in eleventh. The Eurocup Formula Reanult 2.0 competitors held another tesat session this week at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit. It was Epsilon Euskadi’s Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) who set the apce recording the fastest time. The Formula Renault 3.5 Series lap record was broken at Jerez this week during collective testing. Leading the charge was USR driver Miguel Molina, who was quickest overall. They were followed by Charles Pic ofTech 1 Racing and Marco Barba ofInternational Draco Racing. 11-03-09 RML AD Group’s Lola-Mazda Coupé was at Paul Ricard on Sunday and Monday for the ACO’s official Le Mans Series test. Team Manager at RML Phil Barker had the team working on set-up and balance on the first day before moving onto the matter of driver comfort on Monday, mademore challenging this year with the addition of Chris Dyson’s 6’2” frame
Mathew Radisich will line up in a Gold Star-spec Formula 3 car
Its just a few days before the start of the new Easykart UK season on Sunday 15 March. Andy Cox (of ACR) and John Vigor (of Club 100) will be delighted to see a historic grid of Cadets form at the Northamptonshire Whilton circuit, albeit a small one. The field represents an exciting new addition to the Easykart family and is the result of months of hard work and careful liaison with the MSA. There are 22 drivers looking to become Junior champion, with last season’s winner and runner-up - Elliot Rice and Jack Sales - graduating to the Senior class for 2009, there is a raft of drivers capable of taking wins. Only Barnaby Pittingale appears to be the favourite to wrest Oli George’s Heavy Class crown from him this year. The Londoner has been rapid in testing, despite bringing some pre-season ‘success ballast’ into his switch to this class. Brian Parias and Kieran McCullough will also fancy their chances. Terry Langley is back to defend his Light title - but will surely be pressed hard by a strong field consisting of some of the most talented drivers seen since Easykart’s arrival here in 2007. Davies, Craig Pty Ltd a leading global supplier of innovative cooling equipment technologies, has gone into partnership with the Australian Formula Ford Championship. At each of this year’s rounds, Davies, Craig will present a “Hard Charger” award to the Formula Ford driver who makes up the most positions from their qualifying position over the course of the weekend’s races. This will get the driver a cash prize along with Davies, Craig’s award winning Electric Water Pump (EWP) Combo pack. “It’s great to see that our drivers will be financially rewarded this year for a great on track performance – as well as earn themselves a great piece of race hardware,” Formula Ford Management’s General Manager Margaret Hardy said. Davies, Craig’s EWP is used by McLaren to circulate coolant through their F1 engines to eliminate 'heat soak' and prevent any overheating of race engine components. “Our racing successes in the last couple of years against the world’s best competition in Europe, UK and USA proves the power gains and durability in Electric Water Pump technology … so it’s fantastic that we can help the race stars of the future on our home turf,” Davies, Craig’s John Benson said. Davies, Craig Pty Ltd is an Australian owned and operated company and were a major sponsor of motor racing in Australia in the early 1970’s under their ‘Thermatic Fans’ brand. The Championship kicks off at the ING Australian GP on 26 March. Atlantic debutant Borja Garcia set the quickest lap in the first day of testing at the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda test session, run at Palm Beach International raceway earlier this week.. The Spyker Squadron tested their Laviolette GT2R in 2009 specifications at the High Tech Test Track (HTTT) Paul Ricard on 8-9 March. As Tom Coronel was racing in the WTCC in Brazil, Spyker Le Mans Series driver Jarek Janis (CZ) was accompanied by Holland’s Jeroen Bleekemolen who will join the pair later this year in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They started the test on Sunday with some electrical problems due to a faulty wire in the loom So it was just before lunch before the team got out on track testing the various new Michelin tyre compounds in combination with the right geometry settings. On Monday it was still sunny but much cooler and the wind had considerably strengthened. Based on the data from Sunday the team continued to enhance the geometry parameters to match the grip levels of the new tyres. They also tested and evaluated various engine mappings, their new brake calliper design and new front-wheel bearings. As the car improved both Jeroen and Jarek were able to set quick times in the afternoon ending up third quickest time of the GT2 field. Jerez welcomed the competitors in Formula Renault 3.5 Series for two days of testing recently. A chance for each of the teams to test their cars in its 2009 aerodynamic configuration for the first time. Eighteen competitors were present for the test with Tech 1 Racing, USR, Prema Powerteam and Carlin Motorsport teams already on the track a day earlier. Miguel Molina (USR), Jaime Alguesuari (Carlin Motorsport) and then Oliver Turvey (Carlin Motorsport) were the first to set quick times. Charles Pic (Tech 1 Racing) soon claimed the provisional fastest lap. The Frenchman, supported this season by Renault Driver Development, ended the first hour of testing on top, ahead of Oliver Turvey, Jaime Alguesuarin Bertrand Baguette (International Draco Racing) and Miguel Molina of USR. The latter then began to push the pace to with a time of 1'30"029. Molina’s teammate Greg Mansell was also having his first test in the series and he soon got to grips with the car. Towards the end of the first hour of the morning session Charles Pic reclaimed top spot, to move ahead of Molina and James Walker (P1 Motorsport). The 2005 runner-up Adrian Valles driving for Epsilon Euskadi set fourth fastest lap with Jaime Alguesuari fifth and the fastest rookie. In the afternoon the temperature continued to rise and it became impossible to repeat the times from the morning. The two International Draco Racing drivers, Bertrand Baguette and Marco Barba, were the only drivers to have fitted fresh tyres at the end of the session. They set the two fastest times of the afternoon, but Charles Pic retained the quickest time of the day Team RAC driver Stephen Jelley will run in this year's Hastings Half Marathon on 15 March 2009 with support from team-mate Colin Turkington. The drivers will take on the 13.1 mile course in preparation for the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season, which begins on 4/5 April at Brands Hatch in Kent. 26-year-old Jelley will be testing his fitness levels by tackling the course on foot, whilst team-mate and current Independent drivers' champion Turkington will be offering his 'support' by leading the pack in Team RAC's BMW320si race car. Team RAC's Stephen Jelley commented: "I'm really looking forward to competing in Hastings and it's a great way to boost my fitness ahead of what's sure to be another highly competitive season. Having Colin driving the marathon alongside me will be great support, although I doubt he'll be getting out of first gear too often!" The New Megane Trophy, part of the 2009 World Series by Renault, has 21 competitors pre-selected by the World Series by Renault Organizing Committee. Tech 1 Racing, winner of the Teams championship since 2006 will have 3 cars for Antony Tardieu, Matthieu Cheruy and Nick Catsburg. They aim to bring home a fourth consecutive crown plus the Drivers title won by TDS Racing and Michael Rossi last season. TDS Racing will of course be defending both Drivers and Gentlemen Drivers titles with Jonathan Hirschi, Jean-Phillippe Madonia, (Gentlemen Drivers champ 2008), and Pierre Thiriet. The Boutsen Energy team will have Dimitri Enjalbert and David Dermont, while Fabrice Walfisch rejoins Team Lompech Sport, who he drove with in 2007. Walfisch will be teaming up with Jean Charles Miginiac and Bernard Delhez. Equipe Verschuur’s Frans Verschuur will be running six Meganes across three teams. Bernhard Ten Brinke and Wim Beelen will defend the Equipe Verschuur colours. Hoevert Vos and Harrie Kolen will be after the Gentlemen Drivers category for the Vershuur Autosport team. Finally McGregor by Equipe Verschuur drivers Jeroen Schothorst and Mike Verschuur will have the Teams and Drivers titles in their sights as they make a return to the category. Brixia Autosport have Angelo Baiguera while Spanish driver Rafael Unzurruzaga is in for Blue Jumeirah Team. The season begins at Barcelona on April 18-19. Motors TV will break new ground in 2009 by becoming the first TV channel to air a women’s motorsport world championship LIVE. Having already secured the rights to show a first full season of LIVE MX1, a second of LIVE MX2, as well as adding the MX3 category to its roster back in December, the channel has announced that all seven rounds of the Women’s MX World Championship will be shown live this year. Now in only its second season, the series features a 40 rider-strong field from 10 different countries. All will be desperate to take the crown from reigning champion Livia Lancelot after the Frenchwoman dominated in 2008. The girls compete on the same courses as their male peers, ensuring that they too are subjected to the full physical force of riding a modern motocross machine. Women's World Motocross Championship Manager Stefy Bau said, “Youthstream and the FIM have really put a big investment into this championship. We are noticing enquires to participate in 2009 from women that come from countries that you wouldn't expect which translates into a growing recognition of the female side of our wonderful sport, both on and off the track. All the girl riders are working really hard to try to turn motocross racing into a full on career, breaking all the barriers that are still partially present in male-dominated sports, and we are happy that Motors TV is helping to make this a reality. “So, just tune in and watch the WMX live on TV!”
Jaeger-LeCoultre, the reference in fine watch making, is extending its relationship with Aston Martin by becoming the official Watch Partner of Aston Martin Racing. The three year technical partnership will see Jaeger-LeCoultre produce a special limited series of Aston Martin Racing watches, details of which will be announced in June, at the Le Mans 24 hour race. The pair most recently worked together on the AMVOX2 DBS Transponder, the first watch developed with the ability to control access into a luxury sports car, a fusion of traditional watch making expertise and high-tech engineering. Dr Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin said: “Our partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre demonstrates the power of a long term alliance between complementary brands, based on shared values and mutual respect. I am delighted that Jaeger-LeCoultre is further strengthening our relationship with their commitment to our ambitious LMP1 programme.” 10-03-09 Aston Martin Racing were at Paul Ricard in France over the last two days(8-9 March) for the Le Mans Series test. Both their Gulf Oli sponsored cars were present as were their six drivers, Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ), Stefan Mücke (DE), Harold Primat (CH), Miguel Ramos (PT) and Darren Turner (GB). The only ‘cloud on the horizon’ came on the aftgernoon of the first day when a heavy accident for Tomas Enge effectively removed car number 007 from the proceedings. Andersen Racing has a new marketing partner in Lafarge North America Inc., part of the Lafarge Group that is the largest diversified supplier of construction materials in the United States and Canada. Lafarge's involvement will centre on RLR/Andersen Racing's Firestone Indy Lights campaign and their three races in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Sebring.and the New Jersey Motorsports Park. One of RLR/Andersen Racing's Firestone Indy Lights cars will be on display in the Lafarge booth at the INTEX (Interior Exterior Commercial Construction) Expo March 27-28 in Nashville. JDC Motorsports has added another Star Mazda veteran to their ranks. Michael Guasch has joined the organization for the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Guasch, who wrapped up a third place finish in the 2008 Masters Class championship despite missing over half of the season, looks to take up the mantle of 2008 class champion and former JDC Motorsports driver Chuck Hulse. Guasch is looking forward to his 2009 prospects. "With the season debut at Sebring right around the corner I am excited to be running under the JDC Motorsports banner for 2009," Guasch commented. "John Church has put together a proven championship caliber organization and I'm looking forward to running alongside Alex Ardoin and Caio Lara as they seek the overall championship while I aim for the Master Series title." JDC Motorsports co-owner John Church is equally enthused. "Mike has shown that he is a true competitor and everyone at JDC Motorsports is looking forward to working with him as we get the season underway," Church said. "His desire to follow in the footsteps of our championship winning drivers makes him an asset to our organization." Conquest Racing has signed Latvian Harald Schlegelmilch for the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season. "We've had a lot of success in the Atlantic Championship in the past and we look to build on that success with Harald," stated Eric Bachelart. "We're anxious to get out on track with him at the test this week. He has good experience in open-wheel cars in Europe and I think he will be competitive aboard our Atlantic car. We have a history of introducing drivers to North American racing and we're happy to welcome Harald to our team." Schlegelmilch previously drove in the Formula Masters series in Europe, where he scored a couple of podium finishes including one win in his rookie season. "Coming to race in the Atlantic Championship was very appealing because of the prize package but also because it is a competitive series. It was an easy decision to make," explained Schlegelmilch. "I think it will be easy to adapt to the car thanks to my previous experience in Europe and I can't wait to take it out on track tomorrow. I'm happy to be joining a professional team like Conquest Racing and I want to thank Eric Bachelart for giving me this opportunity. I'm sure we will do a good job." The number 11 Team Oreca Matmut-AIM of Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre set the fastest times in all four Le Mans Series test sessions at the Paul Ricard HTTT test track. The team also tested Bruno Senna, who is now in the frame for the Le Mans 24-Hours. Also at the test ,making their debut and setting good times were the two Aston Martin Lolas, before, that is Tomas Enge crashed on Sunday afternoon. The Paul Ricard circuit had another new festure on Sunday, spectators, as members of the public were admitted for the first time in many years. T-Sport has added a second Brazilianto its British F3 line-up, Gabriel Dias joining fellow countryman Adriano Buzaid and Britain’s Wayne Boyd in the T-Sport squad for 2009. Dias' 2008 season was brought to a premature end at the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup round at SPa when he broke his back in an accident. He has chosen to compete for the National Class Championship with T-Sport in 2009 in order to get his career back on track before moving up to the Championship Class in 2010. "My original plan was to be a serious Formula Renault Eurocup 2.0 contender in 2009," said Gabriel. "My recovery from my Spa accident is on schedule but, as it meant I was unable to take part in the Eurocup pre-season tests, I decided to move to British F3 one year earlier than the original plan. I'm sure it will take some time to adapt to the car and the tracks but I am very confident that through testing and the proven skills of T-Sport I will have everything in place to be competitive by mid-season." Meritus drivers testing at Sepang ahead of next month's opening round of the Formula BMW Pacific showed they will once again be the team to beat. Team champions for the last six years, Meritus Racing have completely dominated Formula BMW Pacific by also winning the Drivers' and Rookie-of-the-Year crowns. After three-days of testing, team owner Firhat Mokhzani’ said, "I was pleasantly surprised with the drivers' times when we tested at Sepang last week," said Firhat, ahead of the final three days of testing which begins at SIC tomorrow. We have a new set of drivers this season but it didn't take them long to get use to the car. I'm confident we can set quicker times when we resume testing. This certainly augurs well for our 2009 campaign where we will defend our team, drivers' and rookie titles." The team have yet to finalise their driver line-up, with only Indonesians Rio Haryanto, 16 and Dustin Sofyan, 14, confirmed for the new season. The first round of the new Formula BMW Pacific season will be at the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix from April 3-5. . 09-03-08 Gearbox failure in the Greystoke Forest denied Craig Breen a possible Fiesta ST victory and the spectators a chance to witness a battle royal between the young Irishman and eventual winner, Kris Hall .
Team BRM has signed Joey Foster for the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, the same team that won the title with James Winslow in 2008. Could Australia’s premier single seater championship be won by another Brit.?.
Ryan Hooker will partner Derrick Collin in the 2009 VdeV Championship,
fielding the ex-Balfe Norma. Hooker, 2nd in the 2008 VdeV UK series, has
contested selected rounds of the European VdeV over the last two years
but this marks his first full season in the Championship. For Derrick
Collin, who has previously raced series including Formula Palmer Audi
and the Spa 25hrs Fun Cup, this will be his debut in VdeV.
Magny Cours was very busy over the weekend of 27-28 February for the FFSA V de V Championship test. With close to 50 cars out on either day in the Historic, Sport Proto, GT and Funyo classes the championship looks like supplying some excellent racing.
WTCC champions Yvan Muller and SEAT Sport
got the 2009 WTCC underway with a dominant victory in the first race of
the year at Cuitiba in Brazil yesterday(Sunday). SEAT not only won with
Muller but also claimed the next 3 places as well, Jordi Gené, Rickard
Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini taking the next 3 places. Round two was a
similar story for the team only this time it was Gabrielle Tarquini Shaun Modisett kicked-off his season in style at Fontana over the weekend. In the opening rounds of the Pacific F2000 Championship Presented by Terminal Velocity Processing the 21 year old claimed not only his first win in Round 1 but his second in Round 2 as well. Double European GT4 Cup champion Eric De Doncker is moving up to GT3 in 2009 in the European FIA GT3 Chanpionship with the Swiss Matech team Volkswagen will again participate in the legendary Dakar Rally in 2010. After the one-two victory and the historic first "Dakar" triumph of a diesel-powered car this year, the car manufacturer will yet again take on one of the major challenges of international motorsport. "No doubt, the 2009 Dakar Rally contributed to the fact that the Volkswagen brand is now shining even brighter around the world," said Prof Dr Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Volkswagen Group, on the occasion of the "Dakar" victory celebration at the Wolfsburg "Autostadt". "Therefore, our participation in this event is a good investment in the future of our company and that's why we decided to again compete in the Dakar Rally in 2010." In the Race Touareg powered by a 280-hp TDI diesel engine Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D) had won the "Dakar" that was staged for the first time in South America; as the runners-up, Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/RSA) gave Volkswagen a one-two victory. In 2010, the Dakar Rally will be held in Argentina and Chile again, from 02 to 17 January."
08-03-09 The SEAT León TDI cars will fill the five top spots of the grid for today’s(Sunday) race 1 after Yvan Muller, Jordi Gené, Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Rickard Rydell set the five fastest laps in qualifying for the first race of the 2009 WTCC. For the first time the drivers faced the new qualifying format with the session split in two parts. At the end of the 20-minute Q1 ten drivers were qualified for the 10-minute Q2. Q1 - The session was red-flagged after only five minutes, when Kristian Poulsen spun at the last turn, crashing his BMW head-on into the inside wall. After the restart SEAT and BMW drivers posted their first fast times, with Y. Muller leading the field with a lap of 1:24.345. Gabriele Tarquini, who was 11th in the final moments, saved himself with a lap of 1:24.537 that promoted him to second position, before he was demoted to third by Alain Menu's last gasp attempt at 1:24.537 (only 0.003 seconds faster). The top-ten drivers were covered by 0.6 seconds, with Nicola Larini claiming the last position valid to go ahead to Q2. Q2 - SEAT Sport's five men were the first to hit the track and Y. Muller set a new record at 1:24.196, a time good enough to eventually claim pole position. Jörg Müller, Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus and Larini waited until the last minutes to make their only attempt; the German provisionally climbed to second with a lap of 1:24.637, but he was immediately demoted to sixth when the five-car SEAT train crossed the line placing Jordi Gené, Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Rickard Rydell in the order behind Y. Muller. 07-03-09
Defending team champion Andersen Racing has signed Denis Navarro to drive in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. He joins up with Richard Kent, Conor Daly and perhaps another driver for 2009. Navarro finished third in the South American F3 championship last year with 4 win. Like Mario Romancini, who will drive for RLR/Andersen Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, he hails from Sao Paulo. His car will be sponsored by Navarro Medicines Distribution and Andersen Racing's team sponsor, Allied Interior Products. "We are delighted to confirm Denis as one of our drivers for 2009, as he impressed us greatly at our recent test at Homestead, Fla." said team co-owner Dan Andersen. "He was on pace with his new teammate, Richard Kent, and we believe he will be a championship contender immediately. Our lineup now of Denis, Richard and Conor Daly is very strong, and I see many victories for Andersen Racing with this talented group." "I hope to have a good year in the Star Mazda series," said Navarro. "It's a new challenge for me, but nevertheless I'm very hopeful that I can have a very good, competitive season. I know that Andersen Racing is very competent, and it will be a great step in my racing career." Jesse Wakeman from South Australia will take part in the first round of the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Wakeman will race a National Class Dallara F304 run by experienced engineer and former racing champion Ian Richards, and his Wingfield-based R-Tek Motorsport team. Jesse was one of the top performers in 2008 driving an older 2001 car, getting inside the top six in both the races at the Gold Coast Indy 300 event last October. This year Wakeman will drive a car capable of finishing even higher . "Last year was a learning year, but 2009 is all about getting some results," Jesse said today. It made sense to make the investment and step up a class of car to give us a better chance to feature higher on the results table. The car is very good and showed last year that it was not only capable of racing with the championship-class cars, but beating them as well. We looked at Formula Ford but the costs were almost identical and it made sense to get in the faster car that was going to help my career further. I couldn't think of a better way to return to my home race than in a new car with someone like Ian Richards helping out behind the scenes. “ Richards said that Wakeman was ready to take the step up a level. "There is no doubt that at the end of last year, Jesse was driving very well and showed that he has what it takes to move up a level," Richards said. The Gold Star grid will tackle two races on the Adelaide Street circuit. 06-03-09
2004 Porsche Club Champion Richard Lambert has announced his return to the Porsche Club Championship in 2009, running in Class One with a Porsche 964 C2 imported from the USA . Richard won his championship from Class Two and now he has set his sights on his first every outright victory. “I’ve raced in Class One before but never won a race outright,” said 43-year-old Richard, “I almost won from Class Two at Spa one year – I was side-by-side with Ian White across the line but he took the flag. I saw the car on EBay last year, it had been built up for racing in the US and done some races there. When I bought it the exchange rate was much better than it is now – but it was to Porsche Club specification over there and still had the entire interior fitted. It will be run by Jaz Porsche and we have given the car a test at Snetterton and it seems on the pace, the 964 C2 is a nice car, better all round than my old 911 Carrera. Like everyone I am still looking for more sponsorship.” Porsche Club Championship race winner and 2008 Class One runner-up Gary Duckman is the first driver to enter a 993 model Porsche for the 2009 series, the model only becoming eligible under the regulation this year. Running in Class One, the powerful 993 has the highest minimum weight of any model in the series in order to ensure the close racing. “It was my sponsors who led the way on choosing to run a 993,” said 36-year-old Gary , from Croydon, “they brought some guests to see me race last year and they were expecting a car that looked like a traditional Porsche – not my 968! They agreed to support me this year and it seemed the perfect time to switch to a 993 which becomes eligible for the series for the first time. The car has been built up from a road car by County Classics , who ran my 968 for me, and it will handle very different to what I am used to, I last drove a 993 on the road 10 years ago. The 993 will be the most powerful car in the field – but also the heaviest so it will be interesting to see how we fare against the 964s and 968s. We give the car its first shakedown at Brands Hatch next Wednesday, so we will get our first idea of how it runs. The first race is on my birthday, so it would be great to get a good result then.” The 2009 Porsche Club Championship starts at Donington Park on April 4th. John Gaw and Phil Dryburgh have confirmed plans to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season, sharing a car in selected races under the Team Kinfaun banner. The Scottish duo raced together in Britcar in recent seasons but now plan to step up to the Carrera Cup GB for certain races. With Dryburgh living near Knockhill , it is likely to be on their schedule. "We'll do a selection of races between us," said Gaw, who will manage the running of the 911GT3 Cup car from his base near Reading. "It's a small private team. Phil got into racing with me about three years ago and the Carrera Cup pro-am2 category is a great opportunity for us." Gaw started racing eight years ago and had some success in Caterhams. He later raced in the LMS in a Lola prototype and did a season in Renault Clios. For the last three years he has raced several Porsches in endurance events. The team name, Kinfaun, is taking from a little used Scottish word meaning 'the top of the hill'. Gaw and Dryburgh will both take part in the Carrera Cup test and media day at Silverstone on 16 March.
David Brabham, Sir Jack’s youngest son will help start the celebrations for his father’s 50th anniversary of hsi first F1 title back in 1959. They will kick-off at the opening round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series, the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, on 21-22 March. David will be racing in LMP1 for Patrón Highcroft Racing . Paul Mace has unveiled plans to return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB with his new team, GT Marques. Mace will tackle at least half the races as a build up towards an expanded campaign in 2010. Although an accomplished racer in his own right, Mace is also recognised as the team principal for Team BCR, the squad that ran Richard Westbrook to eight wins in the 2003 Carrera Cup GB. Now, Mace is rebuilding his race team and will race a 911GT3 Cup in the Carrera Cup as a shop window for the new North-West London based team. "I want to get back into the Carrera Cup, and so I need a presence in the championship," said Mace, who will also run Porsches in other race series in 2009. However, he has clear ambitions to mount a fuller programme in the Carrera Cup in 2010 and beyond with customer cars. "This is going to be a build-up season. We won a lot of races with Richard Westbrook and won the Carrera Cup team championship in 2003, so we know how to do the job properly," said Mace. Mace will race in the pro-am2 category and has yet to run any testing in his car. "I need a little bit of time to get up to speed as I haven't driven the car yet. If I can get onto the pro-am2 podium, I'd be very happy." Mace and the team will test at Silverstone on 16 March during the Carrera Cup test and media day and will make his racing return at Thruxton in late April. DR Racing Kart UK Managing Director Steve Green believes his signings for this year’s Super 1 grid will be competitive from the start. “I’d like to welcome Tom Pyttlik and Jason Taylor to the team”, Steve said from his Surrey HQ. “Tom made his 177 Super 1 debut last year and a frustrating season didn’t really allow him to show his true worth. However, he was instantly on the pace in his first test with us and we expect him to be inside the top ten all season.” Tom, from Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, said “The DR (J90) chassis is really good. I tested it at Whilton and straightaway the balance of the kart was spot on. We made no set-up adjustments and it was consistently quick.” Speaking about Jason, Steve commented “I’m very excited about him. He’s an unknown quantity here in England, but in Northern Ireland he’s one of the top 177 drivers. He’s really looking forward to the challenge of taking on the best in Super 1 and, like Tom, we believe that he’ll quickly adjust and be quick in no time at all.” Jason says, “The 177 class was introduced into Northern Ireland five years ago and in that time I’ve won the Ulster Cup every year and the Irish Kart Gran Prix four times. I’m really looking forward to getting out on the DR chassis and hoping to do well for myself and the team.” The team will return to Whilton Mill on 18 March for further pre-season testing. Drivers looking to contest the British Super 1 and Stars of Tomorrow series in the Rotax or KF classes are invited to join the team at Whilton and test J90 or M92 chassis. Daniel Lloyd is scheduled to appear on his local ITV Calendar News programme this evening, Friday, 6th March. Daniel, who passed both his theory and practical road driving tests on his 17th birthday this week, a day after testing his ELF Renault Clio Cup race car at Oulton Park in Cheshire, was interviewed at his West Yorkshire home this morning by Calendar’s Sports Editor John Shires. Joining Daniel were his father Neil, an instrumental figure in the teenager’s motor racing success, and Martin Bell from the Outlane Driving School in Huddersfield – the instructor who prepared Daniel for his road test after a mere two hours of tuition on Wednesday morning! Residents in Yorkshire will be able to watch Daniel’s interview at 18.00 tonight on ITV1 while anyone with Internet access can view the footage at www.itvlocal.com/yorkshire Having made his car racing debut last year in the Ginetta Junior Championship, becoming a multiple race winner and consistent front-runner, Daniel will contest the ELF Renault Clio Cup in 2009 with championship-winning squad Team Pyro.The season, which is set to be screened on ITV4 each race weekend during the course of the year as part of the broadcaster’s coverage of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship, begins at Brands Hatch in Kent on 4th/5th April. For further information regarding Daniel and his career to date, plus details of how to become involved as a 2009 sponsor or commercial partner, please visit www.daniellloydracing.com 05-03-09 A Masters Historic Racing has announced details of its first major summer event of 2009, to be held at Magny-Cours on July 10-12. The circuit in Nevers has, for 16 years, been the home of the French Grand Prix, and appropriately, Masters Historic Racing will be bringing two busy grids of historic Formula 1 cars, for both its pre- and post 1978 grids, as well as a full set of sports, GT and saloon grids.Philippe Decharne, the CEO of Circuit Nevers Magny Cours, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back the Masters, whose first visit last August was very well received. We look forward to working with Masters to create the 2nd Masters Classic GP.” Masters Historic Racing Director Christopher Tate said: “We are very excited about this return to Magny-Cours, especially since there is no French Grand Prix this year. Masters is now able to provide an opportunity for French fans to see Formula 1 cars, all in period livery and all being driven as hard as ever. Equally, it is excellent for Masters’ competitors to race at Magny-Cours, on a contemporary Formula 1 circuit and in, we hope, summer weather conditions. We intend that the whole weekend should have not just great racing but also a fun, relaxed atmosphere, so that our drivers enjoy the racing - and the wine region!” The 2nd Masters Classic GP has been made possible by Masters’ close cooperation with the circuit and with France’s governing body, FFSA, who will be supervising the FFSA Historic Formula Ford round, as well as the all-new French 1970s Group One Touring cars – which is excellent news for Masters’ owners of suitable cars, who will be very welcome invitees in those two ‘French’ races. Entry forms and all further details are available now from the Masters’ usual office address, or on www.themastersseries.com.
Manor Competition’s Thomas Hylkema and Fortec Motortsport’s James Calado went quickest in the second official Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship test at Brands Hatch Indy circuit this week(3rd/4th March) Dutchman Hylkema took the fastest time of the two-day test on Wednesday afternoon with a 43.887s (98.32mph average), while Calado did the business on Tuesday with a time of 43.924s (98.23mph average)
Hillspeed ended the Formula Renault testing this week at Brands Hatch happy with both their drivers, F Renault UK championship rookie Menasheh Idafar made good progress while the team’s Formula Renault BARC racer Ahmad Al Harthy out in some very quick times.
JMH Automotive is the latest team to join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB by entering a car in selected races for Aaron Scott. The car's owner, Andy Ruhan, will also contest some rounds as the team plans to compete in half of the season's 10 race weekends. Scott, who is likely to make his Carrera Cup GB debut at Donington Park in May, is keen to show his pace in the 911GT3 Cup car. "I'm really looking forward to it. The Carrera Cup is very competitive, but I hope I'll be up there somewhere." The former single-seater racer has extensive sports and GT racing experience, but is realistic about the new challenge he faces. "The team has really gelled with the car and I've done a reasonable mileage so far," said Scott. "I've raced Porsches before, but never in the Carrera Cup. We're already quite well up to speed with the car. I'm optimistic about our chances, but I'm respectful of the teams and drivers we're up against." Cheshire-based JMH Automotive has a sports car racing pedigree going back for nearly a decade. Ruhan, meanwhile, has scored a series of impressive results in Britcar and GT racing over recent seasons. Both drivers are scheduled to drive the car at the Carrera Cup GB pre-season test day at Silverstone on Monday 16 March. It's season two of Formula BMW Europe and, with a strong line up from around the world. Some of the drivers are back for a second year while others are just starting their single seater careers. The entry list has 26 drivers from 13 nations racing for nine different teams. Drivers who are back for a second chance include 2008 Rookie of the Year, Michael Christensen, from Denmark, and Spain's Daniel Juncadella, who won two races and finished fourth in the 2008 championship. Great Britain and Spain boast the largest number of competitors, with five each while France has four, Denmark and the Netherlands two while Brazil, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Romania, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates all have a single representative. In total 13 drivers are back for a second year as they all have experience of six of the tracks. The only new one is the Nurburgring, as the German Grand Prix alternates between here and Hockenheim. An eighth race has been confirmed at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on 12-14 June as support to the Masters F3 race. The Juniors, who will receive support from BMW in their first year out of karting, are Jack Te Braak and Robin Frijns from the Netherlands, George Katsinis from Greece and Olivier Lombard from France. Before the first race of the season supporting the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona all the competitors will have six two day tests with the first of these having taken place in Spain this week. American Jonathan Bomarito will again joins forces with Ray and Leslie Mathiasen and their Mathiasen Motorsports team for the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. The team returns with the full squad intact from last year and race engineer/technical director Alain Clarinval is looking forward to testing at Palm Beach and Sebring in preparation for the season opener March 20, 2009 at Sebring. "This is a fantastic chance for us to go back with our well-oiled machine of a team and an outstandingly talented driver that we know how to support and provide for him to be the very best," stated Clarinval. "It's like wearing old shoes that are so comfortable but that got polished to a mirror and with new laces to tighten them well. We are extremely grateful to Jonathan that he has agreed to return and drive for us once again in 2009," said Ray and Leslie Mathiasen. "The team we have assembled for the most part will be identical to the one that came so close to winning the Atlantic Championship in 2008 and now also includes a full time data support engineer to assist Alain Clarinval. We definitely have some unfinished business to take care of and with the added incentive of a substantial improvement in the prize fund structure provided by the Atlantic series, everyone on the team is totally committed to achieving our mission of winning the 2009 Atlantic Championship." Bomarito shared the other's enthusiasm for the upcoming season stating, "I am really looking forward to being back with Mathiasen Motorsports. To say we have some unfinished business is an understatement. I want to thank Ray and Leslie Mathiasen for giving me another opportunity to keep racing and further my career." Goshen Motorsports have extended its partnership with Baker Commodities Inc. for the 4th consecutive season. Baker Commodities, one of America’s leading rendering companies, will serve as a "premier" sponsor of driver Billy Goshen and the Goshen Motorsports #82 Star Mazda race car in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Joshua Goshen driving the #04 speed truck in the west coast 14 race ASA Truck Series. "I have been a race car fan most of my life. Growing up, I spent many hours in my father's garage watching him hot rod his Model A during the week and racing at the local dirt tracks on weekends. At Baker Commodities, we have the same dedication to provide outstanding service to our suppliers and high quality finished products to our customers, at the same time maintaining environmentally sound operations" said Jim Andreoli, President of Baker Commodities Inc. Currently, Goshen Motorsports is preparing for the 2009 ASA Truck Series opening at Blythe, California on March 7th with their 15 year old driver Joshua Goshen. In the Star Mazda Championship, Goshen will be expanding from a single car team in 2008 to a three car operation in 2009 with the opening race at Sebring on March 20th. Formula BMW Americas Championship came to a chilly end at the Carolina Motorsports Park after 2 days of testing ended the 2.3-mile road course in Kershaw, South Carolina without the mercury ever reaching the 50-degree mark Team Stargate Worlds completed its first test of the season with drivers Frankie Muniz and Simona De Silvestro. The cars made their debut at the team's home track of Buttonwillow Raceway. The 1.374-mile track provided a full day's worth of testing as well as an opportunity for both drivers to get acquainted to their new team. Though the threat of rain loomed over the track throughout the day the conditions remained dry for the Team Stargate Worlds duo. Both Muniz and De Silvestro combined for a total of just over 400 miles. For 2009 Muniz will work alongside his engineer Gerald Tyler, while Burke Harrison joins the team as De Silvestro's engineer. Both Tyler and Harrison have a long history together that goes back to the 2002 Atlantic Championship season where, along with US RaceTronics Team Principal Shane Seneviratne, Dorricott Racing won the 2002 championship with Jon Fogarty. Tyler and Harrison followed that up by winning the Championship again the following year with RuSPORT. The team will regroup next week at the series-sanctioned test at Palm Beach International Raceway on March 10-11. Frankie Muniz, Driver No. 77 - "I'm very happy with how the day went. We were very productive and we got to run a lot of miles, which dusted off the cobwebs. I also got to work with my new engineer Gerald Tyler which was great. I'm confident that we'll have a very good year just based on what we've learned thus far. I just want to thank the Team Stargate Worlds team and I can't wait to get back in the car for our next test." Simona De Silvestro, Driver No. 78 - "Overall the day went very well. The Team Stargate Worlds crew did a great job today and working with my new engineer Burke Harrison had a lot of positive results, which allowed us to be very productive. We tried a lot of things out in order to see what worked and what didn't but overall I think today's test was a definite step in the right direction." 04-03-09 Aston Martin Racing has added Portuguese driver Miguel Ramos to its LMP1 line-up for 2009. Ramos will join Aston Martin Racing Works drivers, Jan Charouz (CZ), Tomas Enge (CZ), Stefan Mücke (DE), Harold Primat (CH) and Darren Turner (GB). Aston Martin Racing announced in January that it will make the move from GT1 to the LMP1 category and will compete in the full Le Mans Series and at the Le Mans 24 Hours with a two car team. Ramos began his racing career in 1991 and has competed in the FIA GT Championship for five of the past six years and at Le Mans twice, most recently in 2005. Although new to Aston Martin Racing and the LMP1 category, Ramos drove a DBR9 in 2006 for Aston Martin Racing BMS. "We are delighted to have Miguel with us this year and look forward to integrating him into the team," said Team Principal George Howard-Chappell. "I am pleased to be joining Aston Martin Racing," said Ramos. "I’m sure that the new car will be competitive and I am looking forward to the challenge of moving from GT1 to LMP1." The first race of the year is at Barcelona on 5 April. Craig Breen was in action last week in the Rallye Sunseeker in Dorset. Craig was racing with new co-driver Gareth Roberts and the pair finished 3rd in the two wheel driver category and first in Class 2. He followed this up the next day by coming 7th overall in the Carrick on Suir Forestry Rally
Antonio Felix da Costa starts pre season testing this week. The Portuguese driver has about 10 days of testing for the season for the European Formula Renault 2.0 along with his team Motopark Academy. Having confirmed he will run in the North European Championship and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 da Costa will begin today(Wed) and Thursday at the official test organized by Renault Sport at Montmelo in Barcelona: "I can't wait to sit in the car and get prepared as best as I can for the new season. It is important to work well together with my engineer so we can have a good base set-up, and be quick in every track, "he said.
Former British
GT and Aston Martin driver Tim Crighton
will contest the 2009 SEAT Supercopa series in association with Dunlop
Tyres. Crighton will join Ex- SEAT Cupra Cup racer Freddy Nordstrom at
Advent Motorsport. The team has confirmed it will field 3 cars in this
year’s series with a third driver still to be named. As reported
earlier on ‘The Grid’,
LADA is to become the first car manufacturer from Eastern Europe to compete in the WTCC. The Lada Sport Team will start the season at Curitiba, Brazil this weekend driving Lada 106 cars. Later on in the year it will be replaced by an all new Lada Priora. For Russia's biggest car company, this participation in the WTCC is an important step in the process of integration into world motorsport. Such an elite competition will increase brand loyalty and trust among consumers, both in Russia and abroad. From the technical side, up-to-date technologies used at the highest level of competition will be brought together and formed into a unique engineering experience. The Head of Lada’s Sport Dept, Vladislav Nezvankin, commented: "The WTCC is not only a significant sporting event, but also a perfect communication field for world brands. Through participation in the WTCC, LADA will have a higher level of integration into global automotive society. This means an exchange of knowledge and technology and new organisational, technical and marketing experience for us, as well as new business contacts. In our debut season, our main goal is to have consistent results in the middle of the grid. The LADA 106 cars used by the private "Russian Bears" team last season have been significantly modernized. This modernization has allowed us to improve aerodynamics, speed, engine performance and drivability. We believe that these changes will have a certain effect". The LADA SPORT Team will take part in the World Touring Car Championship with three drivers at the wheel of the LADAs. The lead driver will be 44-year old veteran Viktor Shapovalov, alongside multiple Russian champion Kirill Ladygin (30) and Dutch driver Jaap vanLagen (32).
Rob Collard will race for Motorbase Performance BMW in the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. The Kent-based team has re-signed Collard to drive one of its BMWs and Collard was at Brands Hatch on Monday as part of track’s season launch where he did some demonstration laps in the 320si. Collard enjoyed a fine season with Motorbase in 2008. After a difficult start he helped transform the fortunes of the team in the second half of the season, as they regularly challenged at the front of the field and scored a string of podium finishes. Highlights of Collard's season included stepping onto the podium at Knockhill and Brands Hatch. Both Collard and Motorbase Performance are confident they can improve on last year when the new season kicks off at Brands Hatch on April 4. Collard said, "To re-sign for Motorbase is a great opportunity for me. You see when other teams retain the same car and same driver they get a lot of benefit in terms of consistency, so we hope to replicate that. The BMW will be very strong this year and the team has been busy during the close season recruiting new staff and sponsors, so we will have a great package when we line up on the grid for the first race of 2009. I think it's going to be a very good season for us." 03-03-09 LOLA SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT WITH ASTON MARTIN. Following a number of inaccurate and misleading quotes given by the Aston Martin Chairman David Richards, regarding the supply of the Lola LMP1 chassis to Aston Martin Racing for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours and Le Mans Series programme, Lola has decided to set the record straight. The Lola Aston Martin is a Lola designed and built car. It is not a ‘radical re-design’ as stated by Aston Martin Racing. Aston Martin has undertaken some body styling cues that required some CFD work to try to reinstate the Lola Aero performance and minor bespoke mechanical changes to accommodate the styling changes. Lola has spent over two and a half years in the research and development of this state of the art car costing several millions of pounds. Aston Martin contracted with Lola in December 2008 to buy our cars because they knew that as a result of the 2008 performance that we had the leading LMP1 customer car and Aston Martin didn’t have the time to develop their own car. When Aston first mooted rehomologation of the Lola car and was given the cost of their contribution to IPR and R&D the negotiations broke down. It is completely inappropriate that Aston Martin should now attempt to achieve "ownership" through misrepresentation in the media. Lola’s binding contract with Aston Martin is for two cars the nomenclature of which under the contract is that the cars must remain Lola Aston Martin
Masters Historic Racing Ltd and Brands Hatch MSV have alined up an impressive array of machinery for the Bank Holiday Masters Historic Festival on May 23-25th 2009. The Festival will, as in 2008, feature both a special race day for the Masters Top Hat grids on the Indy circuit on the Saturday ((23rd) and then two-days, (May 24/25th) on the GP circuit. This Masters Historic weekend will feature four different grids of Grand Prix cars, from pre-1978 3 litre cars in two ‘GPM’ races plus a race a-piece for the front- and then the rear-engined cars of the 50s and 60s from the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association. There will also be two invitation races for post 1978, ground effect-type cars.. A1GP’s next event will be in Portugal at the new Autodromo International Algarve circuit after the postponement of the Mexican race. . Goshen Motorsports have signed Ryan Booth for the 2009 Star Mazda Championship. He had a initial test with the team last November at Buttonwillow Raceway prior to a second in January at Sebring. In spite of being in the car for only the second time, Ryan recorded good times on the first day at Sebring. Before he lost an engine early on the second day, thereby ending his test. Crew Chief Richie Hearn and Engineer Andy Tagg said "Ryan's test at Buttonwillow went very well and he followed that up with a strong showing at Sebring. We feel he will be very competitive in the Pro Star Mazda Series in 2009." They added, "Ryan gets up to speed quickly and is very aggressive." Team owner, Bill Goshen said "I have followed Ryan's career for several years and know he is very competitive when he gets in the car and is an exceptionally nice young man to have in the pits." Booth began racing in karts in Stars of Karting and WKA national events. In 2006, he moved to Skip Barber Regional Series taking several wins. The next year he won the title in the Formula TR Pro Series 1.6 class. Last season saw him compete for the Asia Racing Team (ART) in the Formula Asia 2.0 Series taking 1 win at Bira in Thailand. Goshen Motorsports will be running 3 cars in 209 for Billy Goshen,Toshihiro Deki and Booth. World Speed Motorsports will only race in part of the 2009 Star Mazda presented by Goodyear season. The team will compete in a handful of the nationally televised events, and is expected to bring multiple cars out for the Miller Motorsports and Mazda Raceway events. “The Molecule Formula Mazda Challenge is a series we have been promoting since late 2004, and this will be a great opportunity for our entire team to focus on this key element of our business," said World Speed Operations Manager Mark Milazzo. The Molecule Formula Mazda Challenge is a regional Star Mazda series that keeps costs in check by limiting travel. There are three classes to compete in; The Pro Formula Mazda, the Standard Formula Mazda, and the Formula E powered by Mazda. The MOLECULE Formula Mazda Challenge forges into its fifth consecutive season as an officially sanctioned NASA race group. The year end cash awards have grown to over $18,000 for the season with the addition of support from MAZDASPEED. Other series partners include Star Race Cars, Goodyear, Red Line Oil and title sponsor Molecule Labs. 02-03-09 Formula Renault UK Championship team Hillspeed and Michael Lyons have agreed to part ways ahead of this week’s second test of the official 2009 pre-season. Hillspeed will be at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit for official testing tomorrow, Tuesday, 3rd March with just one car for Menasheh Idafar. The team is, however, in active discussion with several potential candidates for the second seat and there is still a month before the opening two rounds of the Championship. “Obviously we’re disappointed Mick has decided he wants to leave Hillspeed but we part ways on good terms and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours”, commented team principal Richard Ollerenshaw. We’re talking to several drivers regarding the possibility of lining up alongside Menasheh in the team so hopefully we’ll have some positive news to announce there in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we’re focused on enjoying a good test run at Brands this week and also continuing with the preparations for our three-car assault on the Formula Renault BARC Championship.” Lyons, meanwhile, said: “I wish Hillspeed all the best for the future. It’s a shame to leave the team but I feel the time is right now to explore other opportunities.” Drivers who would like to discuss the possibilities surrounding the second seat in Hillspeed’s Formula Renault UK line-up are invited to contact Richard Ollerenshaw on 01433 650400 or 07966 650400. Alternatively, please email richard@hillspeed.co.uk
The 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) returns to the heat of Curitiba, Brazil, on 8 March, for the season opener, with Frenchman Yvan Muller defending his 2008 championship title. Once more the WTCC is in Brazil at the hottest time of yearwhen the temperature can play havoc with the cars, drivers and tyres alike. Yokohama have more than 500 wet tyres have already been shipped to Brazil, in case of possible tropical storms. 2009 is the 4th year that the ADVAN tyre has been used by the WTCC and Yokahama have worked closely with the manufacturers and teams to ensure that the tyres are working to their best. “The biggest challenge we face is that cars develop through the lifespan of the tyre design, with increased aerodynamic efficiency and mechanical grip,” said Yokohama Technical Consultant Ian Beveridge. “The WTCC cars are now significantly faster than they were four years ago and we have to follow the trend of development, and in some cases anticipate it, to accurately advise the teams of an optimum set-up for every track. We only have one tyre compound to work with, and it has to perform in all temperatures and on all track surfaces, which is another big challenge. We haven’t got the luxury of being allowed to use different tyres for high and low speed circuits.” added Beveridge who is one of the 10 Yokohama staff who will work trackside at the WTCC in Brazil. The team, consisting of engineers, technicians and tyre-fitters, will ensure that every driver gets the most out of their ADVAN tyres. Chris Wootton, will this week join his new Australia’s Formula BMW team, Eurasia Motorsport, for official testing at the Sepang in Malaysia for the 2009 Formula BMW Pacific series. Eurasia, formerly known as Team Minardi Asia (in 2004-2005) has a technical partnership with Raikkonen-Robertson Racing in the UK. Eurasia Motorsport Principal ,Mark Goddard will also run Japanese driver, Sho Hanawa, in Australian F3 this year. Chris will be engineered by ex-Williams GP engineering’s Greg Wheeler Chris’s main goal for this first test is to learn the team and their expectations, whilst acclimatising to the extreme heat and humidity he will experience at Sepang for the opening round. "The whole team is very excited that Chris is joining us,” Mark said. “He demonstrated last year that he possesses the talent and determination to win and with a season's experience under his belt we are confident that we will be a true championship contender this year. Historically, drivers who have done well in their first year have gone on to do very well in their second year in a series and I am confident Chris will follow that trend.” Wooton said, “This week is going to be like the first day back at school. We know the guys from Eurasia from being at the Formula BMW Pacific events last year, but working with them and being part of their team is different to saying hello in the paddock. Our concentration this week is on learning how each other works and getting things in place so we’re right on the pace at round one.” The new SEAT Leon Supercopa UK Challenge have announced it’s prize fund for 2009. The series , now endorsed by SEAT UK and supported by SEAT Sport. Will award three SEAT road cars to the first three drivers in the Supercopa Challenge, while the first two in Type R class will get a paid race in Spain. Further enhancing the series is the news that Men and Motors will provide TV coverage with nine one-hour programmes plus repeats on ITV. The series will run by Motorsport Vision alongside Formula Palmer Audi, the GT Cup and Lotus Elise Trophy. The year’s calendar has 8 events with 16 races in sprint and feature race format. There are two classes, the premier Supercopa cars and the entry level Leon Type R. The season registration fee has been set at £2,950 (+VAT) with free race entries and £700 worth of tyre vouchers from series partner Dunlop. Single race entries are available for £499 (+VAT and are ineligible for tyre vouchers). Croft have announced their 2009 calendar.The Darlington circuit hasn’t had ‘it’s troubles to seek’ this year with their recent legal problems over ‘noise’ so it’s good to see that they are still going strong. Once again, the two most popular motorsport championships in the country head to the North Yorkshire track with British Superbikes and British Touring Cars taking centre stage while the calendar is complemented by a range of club and national class racing throughout the year. Retaining the date from 2008, British Superbikes are at the track over the weekend of September 12th while making a welcome return is the BTCC which visits Croft on June 13/14th. Rallycross is well catered for with rounds of the British and Open Championships scheduled as well as the Superprix which sees some of Europe's top drivers in attendance. To round the year off, the Christmas Stages Rally takes place on December 27th. The British Sprint Championship is at Croft on Easter Monday (April 13th) and in addition, there are rounds of numerous club championships on two, three and four wheels. For the most part, prices have not been increased and remain at 2008 levels and with accompanied children aged 15 and under admitted free with an adult Craig Baird beat both the opposition and the weather to win all three races in the 2008/09 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship at Feilding's Manfeild circuit over the weekend. Despite his team-mate, David Reynolds taking pole for race 1, Baird was not to be denied and he soon clawed his way to the front in appalling weather to win the first race. Race 2 saw him take a lights to flag victory in the dry on Sunday morning before more heavy rain stopped the third and final race with Baird once again in the lead. 2008 Formula Master runner-up, Fabio Leimer, set the fastest lap time in Valencia, Spain, yesterday for the Series' first official 2009 test day, with a best lap of 1:26.585. Returning to the Series with Jenzer Motorsport, Leimer posted the fastest overall time 0.64 seconds ahead of Erik Janis' best lap of 1:27.234 for ISR. Three different teams claim the top three times with JD Motorsport's Josef Kral posting a third fastest lap of 1:27.384, which was also the morning's best lap. 01-03-09
Jean Alesi came through from seventh on the grid to take his second win of the weekend in the the Speedcar series at Dubai yesterday. The Frenchman produced a superb drive to win despite an oil leak, beating Gianni Morbidelli in second by just under 4 seconds with Johnny Herbert third Bart Hylkema has signed a contract with Motopark Academy to take part in the 2009 Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0. The Dutchman tested for the German Formula Renault 2.0 team at both Portimao (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain) circuits in 2008 and was able to convince team manager Timo Rumpfkeil of his potential. Stefan Wilson will drive in this season’s Firestone Indy Lights Championship for 9 FIRST Motorsports, a division of the ASR Motorsports Group, LLC. Stefan, who hails from Sheffield raced in the 2008 British F3 Championship and Palmer Audi is the younger brother of Justin Wilson of IndyCar and F1 fame "We are very proud that Stefan has chosen to join our team and we are looking forward to a very successful season this year," stated team owner, Jon Lewis. "Stefan's program currently will include all of the road course events in 2009 as we work together to increase the funding to enable him to drive the entire Series schedule." "I'm delighted to be competing for FIRST Motorsports in the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Series," said Stefan. "I'm really looking forward to working with Jon Lewis and also with Derrick Walker and his staff. It's been a tough challenge over the winter to secure enough funding to compete in the road course events, but I'd really like to compete in some of the Indy Lights oval events too, especially the Freedom 100, if I can acquire a sponsor in time. For now, I'm focusing 100% on St Petersburg. I've never driven there, but I'll be tapping into my brother's circuit knowledge. I'm looking forward to a successful season and can't wait to get started." Finlay Motorsports Driver & Race Team Management have announced this weekend that they can provide a comprehensive suite of motorsports-related services designed to helpt drivers throught their careers from karting through to the upper echelons of professional racing. Services include racing schools or series, planning a budget and negotiating contracts to driver coaching, physical/ mental preparation, engineering/car setup training, web sites and public relations
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
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JOEY
FOSTER
SEAT
Sport's Yvan Muller posted the fastest lap in Friday's test
session at Puebla in Mexico
British
drivers Richard Kent and Adam Chritoloudou
Joey
Foster has made it two from two in qualifying for the Australian
F3 Championship
J
Chad
Racing is to return to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship
Richard
Singleton made a return to the Hillspeed ranks at Oulton Park
Island Circuit yesterday, Wednesday, 18th March, during
official Formula Renault UK Championship testing alongside the
team’s confirmed 2009 driver, Menasheh Idafar. Idafar’s best lap
of the day, 1m 19.412 seconds (100.91mph), placed him on the
fringe of the top 10 and was just 1.2 seconds outside second
placed Dean Stoneman. Singleton, who last year competed in
Eurocup Formula Renault after running to seventh position
overall in the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship, completed
35 laps in total during the afternoon with a best lap of 1m
19.858 seconds (100.34mph). The 20-year-old is considering a
return to Formula Renault UK and Hillspeed team principal
Richard Ollerenshaw would certainly relish the prospect of
seeing the experienced campaigner team-up 
Eliseo
Salazar
Grand-Am
Rolex series star, Memo Gidley
Conor
Daly set the fastest time
Reigning
champion team Carlin Motorsport
Kieren
Clark was at Snetterton last week
Tim
Macrow will be back in action this weekend in Adelaide
TEAM
GODDARD and driver
racers to mark the 40th anniversary of the inaugural British Formula
5000 Championship race at Oulton. This will to take place at the Oulton
Park Gold Cup on 30/31 August. Now the HSCC is now trying to locate as
many former F5000 racers as possible. The race weekend will
include a grid full of the thundering 5-litre racing cars in action in
the HSCC's Historic Formula 5000/Formula 2 Championship with former
F5000 racers invited to share in the celebration. Having been introduced
in the US in 1968, Formula 5000 came to Britain for the 1969 season. As
well as a British championship, the cars also raced alongside Formula 1
cars in non-championship F1 races like the Oulton Park Gold Cup. Then,
in 1973, the Gold Cup became a dedicated Formula 5000 race before the
category evolved into Group 8 in the middle 1970s. Holding this at the
Cheshire track has added significance as the inaugural Formula 5000 race
in Britain was held at Oulton Park over the Easter weekend in early
April 1969. Peter Gethin won in his McLaren M10B from David Hobbs
(Surtees TS5) and Keith Holland (Lola T142). The links between the
HSCC and Formula 5000 go back to the early days of the category, as
Grahame White, now Chief Executive of the HSCC, was Chairman of the
Formula 5000 Association in the early 1970s. White was also closely
involved with Chevron's F5000 racing activities in the same period. "I
am very much looking forward to seeing as many past F5000 drivers as
possible who can attend the Gold Cup. I've already spoken to Peter
Gethin who said he would love to come and he will make every effort to
be there," said White. Any former F5000 racers who would like to know
more about the event should contact the HSCC office on 01327 858400.
Manor
Competition
Joel
Miller will return to the Star Mazda Championship
The
field gathering for this season's MSA Formula Ford Championship
Hillspeed
team principal Richard Ollerenshaw praised his team and their
Formula Renault UK challenger Menasheh Idafar at Snetterton on Thursday,
after a positive two-day official test. With the curtain-raiser to
the Championship now just three weeks away, testing is getting even more
important. In Wednesday morning’s test, Idafar produced 14th quickest
time before improving in the afternoon to end the day 15th and fifth
Graduate Cup runner. On Thursday morning he improved again , this time
by 0.4secs on his day one best with a lap of 1m 04.985 secs (108.13mph).
Menasheh ended the test just over 0.3secs off the top four, a very
encouraging result. Richard Ollerenshaw said: “I’m very pleased with the
hard work the team is doing and the effort Menasheh is putting in. This
week’s test has been very positive for us and to end today just over
three 10ths of a second away from the top four is highly encouraging for
all of us. Menasheh ran with new tyres this morning, which is when he
posted his quickest time of the two days, but in the afternoon we didn’t
see any point in wasting another set of fresh rubber so we ended our
running after 23 laps. It’s been another good test, Menasheh did an
exceptional job.”
Andrew
Herron
RSS
Performance will field a three-car team in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
this season, with cars for Graeme Mundy, Karl Leonard and John
Quartermaine. The Salisbury-based team joined the Carrera Cup for some
races in 2008, and is now mounting a full campaign, with Mundy and
Quartermaine running in the pro-am1 category and Leonard challenging for
pro-am2 success. "It’s been great to fill the three drives we had
available in the Carrera Cup," said team manager and former BTCC/ETCC
driver Matt Kelly. Mundy made his Carrera Cup debut at Snetterton last
July and was quickly on the pace, taking a pro-am2 victory. He will now
step up to the pro-am1 category and should be a leading contender.
Meanwhile, Irishman Leonard tackled selected races with the team in the
2008 and now returns for a concerted challenge on the pro-am2 category.
Quartermaine also joins the team for a full campaign in the ex-Tony
Gilham car, following a run in the VIP car during 2008. "Since driving
the guest car at Donington I knew exactly what I wanted to do for 2009,"
said Quartermaine.
After
two days of testing at Oulton Park for the 
at
next week’s Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship round at the
Clipsal 500 meeting in Adelaide . Radisich will drive a Dallara F307
Mercedes for Team BRM, his first shot at outright honours in the
Championship. Last year Radisich, took pole at Symmons Plains in a
2004-spec car and then led several laps early on, a performance which
open many people’s eytes to the New Zealander. “Last year I was able to
show my speed and race pace, now I just need to show the consistency and
the results should come,” Radisich said. “It’s a great opportunity to
race at Clipsal with a championship winning team like Team BRM. I’m
really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the championship
class car.”Radisich will partner F3 race winner Joey Foster who
confirmed on Monday that he would join the team this year. Radisich and
Foster will be two of several drivers shaking down their cars ahead of
the Clipsal 500 at a pre-event test at Mallala this Friday. The Team BRM
car of Foster, TanderSport driver Ben Crighton and local ace Jesse
Wakeman will all unveil new liveries ahead of the seasons start the
following week. 
Strakka
Racing was the official ACO Le Mans Series test at Paul Ricard recently.
The team was out with iit’s new Giinetta-Zytek GZ09S driven by Danny
Watts, said Nick Leventis and Team Principal Peter Hardman. They were
out in . four of the five sessions and came away third or fourth
fastest in LMP1.
The
Volkswagen Racing Cup
The car will
be run by Norma UK and the team and drivers recenrtly returned from a
successful pre-season test in France. Good weather and a busy track gave
the team ample opportunity to shakedown the car and the drivers some
race like track scenarios. "The car didn’t miss a beat" reported back
Ryan. "The team have made a great job of preparing it and applying a
couple of upgrades in a short space of time. Both myself and Derrick
found it very easy and comfortable to drive and therefore perfect for
such an endurance series. Our goal for the season is consistent
finishes, a feat which can be rewarded by a top three spot at the end of
the season if you look back at previous years." The duo may also race
in some rounds of the UK SPEED series (formerly VdeV UK), which they
will confirm later. Their first event at the opening V de V round at
Jarama, on 21-22 March. 
who
claimed the spoils followed by Rickard Rydell , Jordi Gené and Yvan
Muller to make it two from two for SEAT Sport
SEAT
Sport driver Gabriele Tarquini set the fastest lap
Chris
Dyson ,Sporting Director of Dyson Racing, will join RML AD Group’s
Mike
Vincec is in Ocala, Florida
IM
Autosport have taken on Ireland’s Peter Dempsey-and-Martin.jpg)
Daniel
Lloyd had his 17th birthday this week
Formula
Renault UK Championship competitor Menasheh Idafar
Manor
Competition’s Thomas Hylkema delighted his team
Menasheh
Idafar enjoyed his most impressive outing of the official Formula
Renault UK pre-season at Brands Hatch
Speedy
Racing Team Sebah's Lola 2009 liveries
SEAT
UK will supply a brand new SEAT road car to the top three finishers.
Crighton’s decision to move to the Supercopa was made after a test at
Castle Combe last week. “The new upgraded Leon is a really impressive
car and provides a perfect stepping stone to a seat in either the BTCC
or WTCC. The combination of the SEAT Sport backing and TV coverage has
made the series really attractive and I’m confident it’ll represent
great value for our partners. At the moment everyone is being careful
about where their commit funding and being able to add value to our
sponsors is key, the mixture of terrestrial and satellite television
coverage was crucial in our decision to race in the Supercopa.” The
SEAT Leons are extensively modified for racing and feature a 6 speed
paddle shift version of the DSG, full aerodynamic package including
splitter and diffuser and upgrades to the engine increasing power to
just over 300 bhp. . Fans will be able to keep up to speed with the
series on the Men and Motors and Channel Five, the latter screening
highlights of the races. Streamed race footage will also be available
via
CRS
Racing will enter the FIA GT3 Championship in 2009
Masters
Historic Racing got it's 2009 season underway at Goodwood at the
weekend with a two days of testing at Goodwood. Among the runners was
former British Touring Car racer Patrick Watts out in his ex-Rupert
Clevely Ford Mustang while another old BTCC driver Frank Sytner
had a go in Grant Tromans' Ford Lotus Cortina. Other notable names on
track included Jackie Oliver, the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours winner, driving
Richard Shaw’s BMW 1800Ti .jpg)
Don’t
underestimated the Great British motor racing fan!
Roberto
Merhi has signed up with Manor Motorsport