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News Archive 24 Sept 07

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12/10/2007

30-09-07

Rob Pritchard and his Caterham Vauxhall continued their winning ways at Oulton Park on Saturday taking the first of 2 races in the Ace Deliveries Sports and Saloons Championship. He was followed home by Alastair Chalmers in a Caterham R400, 1.876seconds behind with Ian Hall a distant third in a Darrian. In the second race Pritchard was beaten to the line by Richard Wood's Opel Astra (pictured below) by 2.46 secs with Chalmers third over a minute behind the leaders.  In the IBIS Classic Group 1 race Stacy Vickers (below)took his first win of the day in his Mazda RX7, leading the Jaguar of Brian Stevens by 3.396secs with Roger Stanford's BMW 2002 third.  Vickers took his second win in the Toyo Tyres Pre-95 Touring car race, just pipping the VW Corrado of Ken Lark by less than half a second. Lark had led the early laps before VIckers found his way by on the fifth lap. Craig Jamieson completed the podium in a Sierra Cosworth.  Roger Stanford won his first of two races in the York Fitness Post Historic Championship, his Lotus Cortina Mk1 beating Dave Nixon's Mazda with over 10 seconds in hand. David Howard was third in a RS2000. Stanford's second victory, again in his Cortina, was in the Thermex Classic and Historic Touring car race. Roger Ebdon(pictured below) came second in a Mini Cooper S, 2.120 secs behind the winner with Thomes Lailey de Ville thrid in another Cortina, 5.1 seconds off the leaders time. (all Oulton Park Pics by Paul Williams)

Tony Gilham is the 2007 Volkswagen Racing Cup Champion. The 27-year-old from Swanley, Kent, put the crown beyond the mathematical reach of any of his rivals today (Saturday) at Rockingham in the penultimate round of the 12-race series.

Callum MacLeod, who was crowned British Formula Ford Champion seven days ago, put in a champion's performance at Rockingham this weekend to end his remarkable season on the highest possible note.

Andrew Partridge(below) took another win in the Easytrak Prod BMW Series at Oulton park on Saturday, but only just, Partridge taking the flag only 0.974 secs up on second placed Robin Welsh. Liam Crilly was third 10 seconds behind.

ULTIMATE MOTORSPORT's Esteban Guerrieri came close to clinching a podium place in the British F3 Sereis at Rockingham. As it was he had to settle for 4th place in the final round today(Sunday) after Sebastian Hohenthal passed him halfway through the race; .

Menasheh Idafar was lucky to escape unscathed from a huge accident during the final round of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Oulton Park Island Circuit this afternoon, the Russell Racing youngster seeing genuine hopes of a maiden points finish ruined after contact from another competitor on the opening lap of the race. Matt Shawyer’s expected return to action with Russell Racing today(Sunday) didn’t materialise after a joint decision was made by driver and team to withdraw his car from the final round of the Formula Renault BARC Championship on the grounds the Hertfordshire-based BRDC Rising Star’s appearance could have been a factor in the outcome of the 2007 title

2007 Champion Marko Asmer cruised to a lights-to flag victory ahead of Atte Mustonen and Sebastian Hohenthal. Hohenthal started in 10th and made up seven places to take his first podium finish since Brands Hatch in July.  Sergio Perez scored his 13th win of the season in the National Class, finishing well ahead of his T Sport teammate Salman Al Khalifa and Performance Racings Hamad Al Fardan...

Sébastien Buemi won his second race of the year in Round 18 of the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Circuit Paul Armagnac.)Nogaro).  Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Hülkenberg  finished second and third respectively..

South Africa has won the first race of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season at Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands, dominating the 12 lap race from start to finish. Zaugg was joined on the podium by A1 Team France and home nation A1 Team Netherlands in second and third position respectively. 

Preparations have begun for the upcoming 2008 Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda as Walker Racing completed the second day of many tests to come this off season. The Indianapolis based squad tested Atlantic hopefuls from the Star Mazda Series, Alex Ardoin and Ron White, at Putnam Park Road Course in Mount Meridian, Indiana yesterday and today.

Nicolas Prost (Campos F3) to his first win of the season in Spanish F3 today at the Valencia Circuit, a win which could help decide the championship. The Frenchman dominated the race in front of his team mate Adrián Campos Jr, who secured his second consecutive podium, and Máximo Cortés (Tec Auto), who made the most impressive recovery of the year from 26th. to third.

28-09-07

US RaceTronics has confirmed that Carl Skerlong will return to the team in 2008 for a second season of competition in the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. Skerlong enjoyed a solid rookie season in 2007 with the California-based team, piloting the 300bhp #24 King Taco-backed Swift Mazda-Cosworth to 10th overall in the Driver Standings and a pair of podium finishes in Houston and Elkhart Lake respectively. US RaceTronics team boss, Shane Seneviratne said, "I'm obviously delighted to have secured Carl's talents for US RaceTronics and the PCM Junior Team for 2008,he did a great job for us this year and I know there was considerable interest shown in him by other teams based on his performances with us." Carl Skerlong is equally pleased with his continued association with the team."I can't wait for the 2008 season to start," Skerlong stated enthusiastically. "We finished this year's campaign with another podium and I stated afterwards that I wanted to use that as a springboard into next season. There's no doubt that continuity can play a big factor in being successful in motorsport and I believe that with US RaceTronics we've got everything in place to push for the title in my sophomore season."

The Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0 is back at Oschersleben again this weekend for season rounds eleven and twelve. The two races in the Magdeburger Borde-region promise plenty of action while the battle for the title is hotting up. Frank Kechele, driving for the local Motorsport Academy team, is still the points leader coming to Oschersleben, but his team mate Tobias Hegewald, who is entered under the Motorsport Arena banner, reduced the gap to only 25 points by scoring a pair of wins last time out at the Nurburgring. During the FIA GT weekend at Oschersleben in July, Kechele was quite successful with a win and a second place-finish and it is obvious that he want to repeat his success this time, but there are many others who want to shine as well, not at least those from the ranks of the Motopark Academy/Motorsport Arena-outfit, including Italian Fabio Onidi and Briton Oliver Oakes. For all of them, Oschersleben is more or less their home track and they have a lot of experience at the circuit, having racked up many miles in testing.

The Nogaro race at the Paul Armagnac circuit in the Gers region of France this weekend(29 -30 September)will be the ninth (and penultimate) round of the FIA GT 2007 season. Nogaro, just one week after the race at Brno race which saw an outstanding performance from the Playteam Scuderia SaraFree drivers, the two cars finishing the race where tyres were the key to a difficult and technical track.  The Brno result also reinvigorated the championship, with Bertolini/Piccini now joint-leaders in the championship with 47 points. Everything is now set for a close finish with nine drivers in the GT1 separated by just seven points. The Nogaro circuit is uncharted territory for Scuderia Playteam Sarafree as none of it’s drivers driven on this track.  Andrea Piccini said "I do not know Nogaro yet, but it looks like its tight and technical specifications will suit our cars. We should adapt well.", while Andrea Bertolini added "We are now joint-leaders in the championship with 47 points. It is great to see five cars so close in the championship because even if it may be a disadvantage not to know the track, I will learn it quickly and it will be easier to drive here with the 25kg performance ballast that the GT Series gave to all Maserati MC12 cars.."

The F3 Euro Series is at Nogaro in Fance this weekend and Edoardo Piscopo can't wait to get started. After stalling whilst in pole postion at Barcelona the Roman is ready to get back behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Powered Dallara 307 and score a  good result for Red Bull team Mucke Motorsport. Nogaro, a new venue in European-level F.3 racing, was visited only one time during this winter's testing.  The French track is relatively short, winding and not expected to leave too much room to pass, so qualifying will be vital. Unlike the previous occasions, the F3 Euro Series will partner the FIA GT Instead of the DTM.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) driver Hamad Al Fardan heads to Rockingham Motor Speedway this weekend in Northamptonshire, just one hour North of London, for the final two races of the 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series….

27-09-07

Russell Racing is delighted to announce the return to competitive single-seater action of BRDC Rising Star Matt Shawyer, the 25-year-old from Wheathampstead set to race for the team during this Saturday's 12th and final round of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Oulton Park Island Circuit.

With the 2007 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear winding down Northwest Autosport has released their initial early post-season test schedule in preparation for the 2008 championship and announced their intentions of participating in the Formula Mazda Challenge Winter Series presented by Standing Start

Chris Alajajian will make his A1GP race debut for A1 Team Lebanon at Zandvoort this weekend.The Australian-based Lebanese driver has been given the nod over team-mate Khalil Beschir for this weekend after impressing in pre-season testing at Silverstone and Snetterton over the summer. A1 Team Lebanon seat holder Tameem Auchi said: ‘We are looking forward to the third season of A1GP, we feel confident that we’re improving and we’re constantly aiming for those elusive points. ‘We’ve chosen Chris to drive for us at Zandvoort because we feel he is ready for a race weekend, even though he will have less track time than normal at Zandvoort because we aren’t running on Friday. He is a quick learner and should cope with the pressure well. ‘Both Chris and Khalil play an important role in the team and we are confident that we can improve as we move through the season.’

UK Formula Ford frontrunner, Jay Bridger, has concluded a deal to race in this year's Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone for Team West-Tec, whose founder, Gavin Wills, is a previous winner of the Walter Hayes himself. Jay Bridger: "Last year I entered the Walter Hayes Trophy but suffered all sorts of reliability problems - so this year we decided to come back with the best team! With upwards of 180 cars expected to enter, it's great fun just to take part although I;ll be aiming to finish as high up as possible." John Miller, Team Director: "Jay recently enjoyed his debut F3 test with us and we enjoyed working with him. He then went on to win his first UK Formula Ford race at Brands hatch - so he should be in a position to impress at Silverstone. The Walter Hayes Trophy is a great event and has really taken over the mantle of the eminent FF1600 race of the year in recent times. As a team we enjoy supporting it and, as well as Jay and Gavin, we will also have our regulars Dave Connor and Adam Quartermaine in action as well as, possibly, one more driver yet to be announced. All our drivers have the ability to do well overall, so it should be quite a spectacle."

A1 Team Canada has confirmed James Hinchcliffe will drive for the team this weekend at the opening round of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, hosted at Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands, Saturday 29th – Sunday 30th September. Having helped steer Canada to an 11th place finish in the 2006-07 A1GP Nations Standings, Hinchcliffe, who made 14 starts in his rookie season with seven top-ten finishes, will again strap into the 550bhp open-wheel A1GP race car to take on 21 rival nations with A1 Team Germany out to defend the title they won in style last season with nine victories. 

After a fourth place finish in the inaugural A1GP at Zandvoort last year A1 Team Netherlands is setteling for nothing less than victory during their home race on the seaside track. A bold goal perhaps, but certainly not out of reach considering the current strength of A1 Team Netherlands.During the sell out premiere last year A1 Team Netherlands led the race for a long time, but had to settle for a spot just outside the podium. Already then Jeroen Bleekemolen showed that with an A1GP car at Zandvoort, at that time without any preparation, he was clearly amongst the favorites. This year Bleekemolen, together with Rookie and reserve driver Arie Luyendyk jr. and the rest of the team has prepared himself very well for the third A1GP season

26-09-07

Buddy Rice will drive for A1 TEAM USA in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2007-08 season opener on Sunday at Zandvoort. It will be the first A1GP race for Rice, who has tested for a total of 2 ½ days at Silverstone .  “We’ve developed some good, reliable information on what the ‘We The People’ car likes in our tests and the challenge we face at Zandvoort is finding the optimum performance during a race weekend,” Rice said. “I haven’t raced there before, but we have a strong engineering staff with experience in A1GP and at Zandvoort and that will be a short cut to my learning curve. “There is very tough competition in A1GP. I’ve been impressed by the drivers in our tests and some of them have raced at Zandvoort before. We’ll have to bring our A game and I’m confident we will.” Rice, of Phoenix, Ariz., will become the first Indianapolis 500 champion to race in A1GP. He’s a veteran of the IRL and finished ninth in the championship this season.  The A1GP event at Zandvoort begins with practice and qualifying on Saturday, followed by the Sprint and Feature races Sunday.

Signature Team driver Edoardo Mortara took a resounding victory in race one at Barcelona round eight of the Formula 3 Euroseries becoming the first rookie ever to accomplish such a feat since the current race format was adopted two years ago. The French-Italian driver, in only his second year of racing cars, started the weekend methodically finding a good set-up for qualifying, taking sixth on the grid as a result. With just a few minutes to go before the race, rain fell causing the start to be delayed for all the drivers to switch to wet tyres. Despite this uncertainty, and the fact that he had never tested in these conditions, Edoardo made a lightning start through traffic to take second by the first corner. He then set about leader Nico Hulkenberg, taking the lead on lap 8 he went on to take his second win of the year . Sunday, by contrast, was a disappointment. Having started race two from eighth place on the grid according to the rules, Edoardo was caught up in a messy collision on the first lap and his days work was over on the spot. The next race will be at Nogaro in France this weekend.

Ford Performance Racing (FPR)  have confirmed the team's two 2007 season drivers, Steve Richards and Mark Winterbottom, will be joining forces to create one of Ford's most potent driver combinations at this year's SuperCheap Auto Bathurst 1000 to be held next Sunday. (October 7). Richards and Winterbottom will compete in the number 6 FPR Falcon, which will appear in a re-designed livery that combines all three of the team's major sponsor brand identities, Castrol, Orrcon and Ford Credit in a shared format just for this classic 1000 kilometre endurance race.

Dirk Muller will race in this weekend’s Petit Le Mans endurance classic at Road Atlanta. Muller who already has a class win and podium finishes in the first 3 runnings of the race will drive in the 1000 mile, 10 hour event as part of the Petersen Motorsports White Lightning racing team who have won the GT2 class for the past 2 yearr.

Oliver Jarvis heads into this weekend's opening round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup in Zandvoort determined to start A1 Team Great Britain's season with strong points finishes in Sunday's Sprint and Feature races. This is not Jarvis's first taste of A1GP power at Zandvoort having been Team GBR's Rookie Driver twelve months ago. Last year Team GBR qualified sixth in Zandvoort, Driver Darren Manning finishing fifth in the Sprint and seventh in the Feature Race. The Dutch circuit attracted a sell-out crowd, the nature of the track and changing weather conditions helping to produce one of the most exciting events of the season. The 2.684 mile circuit is technically demanding, but also offers one of the best overtaking opportunities in racing on the run down to the famous Tarzan hairpin at the end of the long pit straight. Oliver Jarvis: "Having taken part in the Rookie Session at Zandvoort last year, I have an idea of the demands and complexity of the race circuit. It's going to be a very physical race and the large possibility of rain throughout the weekend will add that extra element. The main aim is to get strong points finishes in both races. Of course I'd be delighted to get the team's first win of the season, but think it's important that we have consistence from the outset this year and go for the title."

25-09-07

Clark optimistic for Oulton Park final round of the Formula Renault BARC series. This coming weekend, Kieren Clark will be looking to shake off the disappointment from his last outing. The closing round of this seasons  Formula Renault BARC series will be at  Oulton Park on Saturday 29^th September and Kieran is looking positively at the forthcoming weekend, “The Thruxton non finish was annoying after the good qualifying, but I’m optimistic that we can get up on the grid again this weekend.”  Team Manager, Tony Clark commented, “Even after the non finish at Thruxton we are still 10^th place in the championship. There are some excellent drivers in the series and we have shown we can match them, so we are looking to end the season on a high.”

This weekend at Rockingham Motor Speedway  the final curtain call will take place for the 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, with plenty of entertaining race action in prospect during the first races for the Series at the Northamptonshire venue since 2003.

Infineon Raceway is a happy hunting ground for Patrick Barrett in the Pacific FF2000 Championship.

The 2007 Visma Formula Palme Audi Championship has been won by Tim Bridgman, after finishing third in round 19 at Croft.  Bridgman only needed three points to beat Stefan Wilson in the overall standings, and his third-place finish sealed the title.

Mathiasen Motorsports plans to expand its racing operations with a two-car effort in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. With the 2007  season just over, the team's focus now turns toward an off-season testing program starting in October. The ultimate goal to obtain get two drivers capable of not only challenging for, but winning the 2008 Atlantic championship.

Ultimate Motorsport is hoping to cap a successful debut season with a podium finish this weekend as the British F3 International Series comes to an end at Rockingham..

This weekend the Formula 3 Euro Series is holding an event at the circuit of Nogaro. Just as Mugello, Nogaro is one of the two circuits the Formula 3 Euro series drivers are racing on for the very first time, this year. And the battle for the title – between Romain Grosjean (ASM Formule 3) and Sébastien Buemi (Mücke Motorsport) – enters its next round, at the circuit located in Southern France. With four more races to go, the two young guns are separated by just five points, in the championship standings

Two races for the Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge provided some stunning action during the World Touring Car Championship meeting on the demanding Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit over the weekend (22/23 September)

The battle for the top slot in Formula BMW Germany remains a nailbiting affair. In Barcelona on Saturday, Jens Klingmann (Leimen) took first place ahead of Daniel Campos-Hull (ESP/ both Eifelland Racing) and Philipp Eng (AUT/ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg).

Mike Meadows showed impressive form on his debut in the International Formula Master championship at Brands Hatch in Kent over the weekend. A top three time in the early practice session, was followed by the fourth fastest lap in qualifying, which was quick enough to give Mike a second row grid slot. Sadly for Mike he experienced two retirements, with a racing accident, and then ,a mechanical failure preventing him from showing his potential at the Brands Hatch circuit.

Check out theGrid's new Gallery from Assen Champ Car GP

24-09-07

Three weeks after clinching the coveted 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, Hitech Racing heads to the final rounds at Rockingham next week determined to end the season the way it started – with victory

Paul Tickner was the winner in the Sports 2000 Pinto race at Oulton Park on Saturday, his Carbir C52  leading Paul Streat’s Shrike P15 across the line with just 0.656 secs in hand. Third in a second Van Dieman was David Houghton.  In the Sports Duratec race Richard Johnson took his Van Dieman RF5C to victory ahead of Tom Mill’s Gunn TS9 and Mike Jenvey’s Gunn TS6. In the Carphon

e Warehouse Networks Club FF1600 series James Cole won the class A & B race in a Van Dieman RF99, 1.509 secs up on second placed Chris Chisnall, also driving a Van Dieman. Third was David Grady completing an all Van Dieman podium. In the Class C-E race Stuart Jones came out on top in his Reynard SF89, 4.7 seconds ahead of the Reynard SF88 of Nigel Thompson and 5.4 seconds ahead of third placed Ian Pilkington.

Alex Morgan equalled his career-best car racing result of fifth place at the world-famous Magny-Cours Circuit in France on Sunday, 23rd September, during his French Formula Renault Championship debut with the New Ollerton-based Manor Competition squad.

Mark McAleer sealed the 2007 Apex Tubulars Porsche Club Championship title with victory in the final race of the year in front of a large crowd at Brands Hatch. Both McAleer and Neil Harvey won their class and took fastest lap- but McAleer took the title by a point with Ben Demetriou third.

Race wins went to Paul McLean and Richard Chamberlain as the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open combined with the Porsche Club series to entertain large crowds at Brands Hatch's World Touring Car Championship meeting.  Steve Rance won Class Two on both days to confirm the Porsche Carrera Cup GB prize drive that had been his target season long.

Mark Robinson won the Dandautos.co.uk XR Challenge race at Oulton Park as XR2’s closed out the podium. Second was Stephen Poole , 1.485 seconds behind with Simon Robinson third  a further 12 seconds back.  The Historic Sports 2000 race was won by Niklas Johannson  in a Tiga SC81 with Jonathan Loader second in a Crossle 42S and Chris Snowdon third in a Royale RP37.

Audi withdraw from DTM race at the circuit de Catalunya - The title decision in the 2007 DTM will only be made in the finale at Hockenheim on 14 October. 42,000 spectators at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona (Spain) witnessed an excessively rough race in which one Audi driver after the other was bumped off the track by Mercedes drivers -- among them all four drivers of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline including the two candidates for the title, Mattias Ekstrom (Sweden) and Martin Tomczyk (Germany). When the situation threatened to escalate, Audi decided to withdraw all seven Audi A4 DTM cars that were still in the race.

Jamie Green (2007 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) won the ninth round of the 2007 DTM in Barcelona and achieved his first victory in the championship. After 58 laps, he came home 11.549sec ahead of Bruno Spengler (2007 DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class) and Paul di Resta (2005 JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class).

Chevrolet made a clean sweep at the seventh and penultimate round of the Danish Touringcar Championship at Padborg Park. Sweden's Pontus Morth started by winning the first of the two qualification heats with team mate Henrik Lundgaard clinching the other, and subsequently the Swede went on to take his as well as Chevrolet's first ever win in a DTC final.

Cram Competition's Jérôme D’Ambrosio claimed the inaugural Formula Master Driver title today in round 14 a Brands Hatch in a thrilling race which saw the Belgian post fastest lap after fastest lap as he climbed from eighth to a fifth finish.

Andy Priaulx has taken his first ever win at the wheel of a touring car at Brands Hatch.The reigning champion dedicated his success to the late Colin MacRae and his family. Alain menu had earlier won the opening race for Chevrolet from Alfa Romeo’s James Thompson After a successful home weekend Priaulx leads the championship by 12 points.

Ben Hanley (Prema Powerteam) has been handed a 25-second penalty for causing a collision with Milos Pavlovic (Draco Racing) in race 2.  The young Brit therefore drops down from seventh place to fourteenth and scores no points. Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin Motorsport) moves up into the top ten. Alvaro Parente (Tech 1 Racing) is 15 points clear of Hanley in the Championship.

Mathieu Arenzo won his econd race in the  Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race at angy Cours yesterday(Sunday)

Patrick Barrett and Joel Miller added a new experience to their CV’s recently when they tested a US RaceTronics Atlantic car at Buttonwillow Raceway….

23-09-07

Oulton Park Island Circuit hosts the 12th round of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship just over a week from now, Saturday, 29th September, with FR2000 Class entrant Russell Racing hoping to end the season on a positive note by securing its fifth points-scoring result of the campaign.

Manor Motorsport's Franck Mailleux claimed a hard-fought podium finish at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this morning, Sunday, 23rd September, during the 16th round of the 2007 Formula 3 Euroseries.

Rob Wheldon and Ross Allen shared the spoils in the Dunlop Radical Biduro Championship, each one taking a first and second place in the two races at Pembrey. Nick Adcock and Toby Newton were third in races 1 and 2 respectively.. In the Powertec Radical Callenge races Jonathan White won the opener from Paul Steele by only 1.63secs with John Ali third 2.1 secs off the leader. In race 2 it was Roger Bromley's turn to win, his SR3 crossing the line in front of White's similar car by a little over half a second(0.513secs). Simon Tilling completed the podium in third a little less than 4 seconds behind the leading pair. In the Radical Enduro the Ince/Kinsella pairing were second to the Johnston/Moseley car in the first race although they managed to reverse the positions in race 2 and come through for a win.

The Playstation Ginetta Jnr Championship was also at Pembrey and Nigel Moore won the opener by a little over half a second from Kieran Vernon with Christopher Clayton third. In race 2 Moore again proved unstoppable winning from Tom Sharpe by 6 seconds. Dominic Pettit was a distant third.  Martin Wallbank won both the Dunlop Sports Maxx Cup events in his Astra VXR. John Thorne and Simon Shaw were second and third on both occasions , Thorne driving a BMW M3 was only 2 seconds adrift in race one  but a massive 36 seconds in race 2. Simarly Shaw was right on the lead duo's tail in race one only to be lapped in race 2. Andrew Spencer won both the Westfield Sports races from Peter Daglish.

Snetterton enjoyed some exceedingly close finshed today(Sunday), the Max-5 series providing one of the closest. In race 1 Jonathan Blake had won by 4.5 seconds from Tom Roche with Jonathan Greensmith third but in race 2 it was Ian Neville who triumphed, but only just. In second, 0.048seconds behind was Jeremy Clark, third 0.219 second behind the winner was Tom Roche, fourth was Greensmith, 0.254secs off the lead, fifth was Paul Sheard at 0.407secs and finally in sixth was Jonathan Blake, 0.776seconds back.   The close racing continued to the Universal Services Classic FF1600 race which was won by Oliver Robinson who enjoyed a 'massive' 0.016second advantage over second placed Simon Davey, both driving Van Diemans. Third, a 'long way', or 1.9secs was David Gathercole's RF82.  In the Classic FF2000 race Andy Huxtable managed to take his  victory in a Van Dieman RF83 with a more comfortable margin, leading Erik Pagano's RF82 over the line with  0.245secs to spare whilst David Flory was roughly the same distance further back in third.    In the Lancaster Insurance MGOC Class A and F races Paul Savage and Ian Evans won a race a-piece. Second to Savage was Martin Willis, 0.3secs behind with Evans third a further 0.6secs up the road. In the second race Evans beat Savage by 0.2secs while third went to Ian Deans. The Classic Clubmans encounters saw Peter Harper win the first  in his Connaught from the Mallock Mk20B of Malcolm Jackson with Steven Chaplin's Phantom P79 third. Mark Charteris won the second in another Mallock MK20 with Harper second and Jackson third.  

Callum MacLeod has won the 2007 British Formula Ford Championship title by taking a lights-to-flag victory in Round 23 of the series from pole position.

Guillaume Moreau (KTR) won his first race in World Series Formula Renault 3.5 at Magny-Cours today(sunday). After an exciting race Miguel Molina (Pons Racing) took second with Julien Jousse (Tech 1 Racing) third. Alvaro Parente (Tech 1 Racing) was fourth, thereby holding onto the top spot in the title chase.

The Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge is set for a thrilling finale after Saturday's (22 Sept) penultimate rounds at Oulton Park, where 18-year-old James Davis maintained his superb late-season form to claim a brace of Roadsport class wins and Roelant de Waard took a maiden double win in Roadsport B.

Dutch driver Renger van der Zande (Prema Powerteam) claimed victory in the 16th season round of the Formula 3 Euro Series and brought his team the first victory since October, 2003. He led home the two Frenchmen Tom Dillmann (ASM Formule 3) and Franck Mailleux (Manor Motorsport), who finished second and third respectively. Points leader Romain Grosjean (ASM Formule 3; 79 points) remained without a countable result, his title rival Sébastien Buemi (Mücke Motorsport; 74 points) scored one point by finishing sixth. Thus, he reduced his gap to five points with four races to go. The race started with a huge pile-up. Italian Edoardo Piscopo (Mücke Motorsport) stalled on pole and some drivers didn’t succeed in avoiding his car. In total, nine drivers retired on the first few metres. The safety-car neutralised the race until the seventh lap. After the re-start, Van der Zande drove his undisputed lights-to-flag victory home.

22-09-07

On a rainy day at Magny-Cours, Ben Hanley (Prema Powerteam) was utterly dominant as he claimed his first race win of the season. He was joined on the podium by Davide Valsecchi (Epsilon Euskadi) and Clivio Piccione (RC Motorsport), whose head-to-head was thrilling to behold. In the overall standings, the RDD driver is now just eight points adrift of Alvaro Parente, who finished in sixth place today.

Immaculate driving saw Jérôme D’Ambrosio come within a hair’s breadth of the inaugural Formula Master title at Brands Hatch today after he commanded the 21-lap race, leading from start to finish

21-09-07

Reigning champion Graham Fennymorehas a chance to secure his second successive Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge title next weekend (29/30 Sept) at Rockingham. Fennymore, who has already clinched both the Superlight Sprint and Endurance championship crowns in the 2007 evo Caterham Eurocup, arrives at Rockingham with seven UK race wins under his belt from eight starts…

A1 Team GB completed a test this week in preparation for the  opening round of the A1GP World Cup at Zandvoort on September 29-30th.  Oliver Jarvis and Robbie Kerr shared the driving duties, Jarvis setting the 4th fastest time on Tuesday afternoon with a time of 48.432s and Kerr achieving a time of 48.142 to go 8th fastest on Wednesday morning.  A1 Team GBR's test began with data collection work for engine supplier Zytek, bedding in brake discs and pads, plus general set-up work. Set-up work continued this morning, although Kerr's quickest runs were ruined by traffic, and the team also completed vital pit stop practice in preparation for the mandatory two pits tops which will be key to this season's A1GP Feature Races. No major problems were encountered, although the car suffered a wishbone failure which cost some time, and overall the team emerged satisfied with its final preparations for next week's event in Holland.  Oliver Jarvis: "We made good progress yesterday. It wasn't about setting quick lap times but focusing on shaking the car and engine down and getting the jobs done whilst doing as little mileage as possible to save the components for Zandvoort. We're going to Zandvoort in a good position and will hopefully improve our real pace at the first round"  Robbie Kerr: "we're happy with how the day went. There are a few minor issues that we resolved and questions that needed answering which we have now answered. We've been focusing on car set-up and know what we need to make the car go quickly. I'm now just looking forward to the racing starting again!"

James Winslow will add another string to his racing bow next weekend, having been asked to test with Champ Car World Series team Conquest Racing at Sebring.  Winslow has been a winner in both the Australian F3 and Formula V6 Asia championships this season, and currently leads the V6 series after a double victory at Chengdu last weekend. His success has now attracted the attention of Champ Car stalwart Eric Bachelart, who offered the chance to try one of the state-of-the-art Panoz DP01 chassis during a group test at Sebring next week.

Super 1 Dunlop Honda Cadet British Karting Championship driver Jessica Hawkins heads into next weekend"s final round of the season with the coveted runner-up spot squarely in her sights, the 12-year-old superstar rapidly making a big name for herself in the realms of national-level kart racing...

Silverstone has confirmed that the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) will return to the  circuit next year.  The BTCC have  released their provisional ten-event calendar for 2008, the 50th anniversary of the ever popular domestic series and Silverstone,the home of British motorsport, will host the penultimate round on 30 – 31 August.  In 2008, Silverstone will showcase what promises to be a nail-biting race weekend towards the end of the BTCC season. As the penultimate race, teams and drivers will be going all out to claim valuable championship  points  before  the  end  of  season  finale.  BTCC  joins the  cream  of  motorsport  at Silverstone where fans will be able to enjoy the 2008 FORMULA 1™ Santander British Grand Prix, the Silverstone Classic and rounds of the FIA GT Championship and British Superbikes. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said: “It’s great news for the fans that the British Touring Car Championship is coming back to Silverstone, and we are delighted to be back on the calendar, especially for 2008 when the series will be celebrating its 50th year. BTCC is a fantastic British championship and we look forward to hosting the ninth round. “Silverstone promised to do everything possible to bring back BTCC for the loyal Silverstone fans, and we are thrilled that it has now been confirmed. As the home of British motorsport it seems fitting that one  of  the  most  prestigious  UK  racing  series  gets  to  battle  it  out at  Silverstone  a  venue  which  has traditionally always had an association with the BTCC.”

Christian Vietoris has welcomed the introduction of a second pit stop in this season’s Feature races – because he believes A1 Team Germany is so good at them it will give it an advantage.Several new rules have been introduced this season in A1GP, including a second mandatory pit stop in the Feature race. However, a team will only be notified of which laps they are allowed to make the second pit stop when they leave the pit lane 40 minutes before the start of the race.While experts are forecasting this will make for more unpredictable racing, Vietoris has welcomed the change, because of his confidence in the reigning champion’s pit crew. ‘The new rules sound good to us at the moment,’ Vietoris said. ‘The guys are great at doing pit stops - so from our point of view it will be good and we have nothing to worry about. ‘We are just looking forward to the races and seeing how everything works.’

Book now to get the best seats for A1GP Brands Hatch.Tickets for the final round of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport have been released – and early bookers can take advantage of great savings and the chance to get the best seats in the house. Both A1GP World Cup of Motorsport events held at Brands Hatch have taken place in front of packed crowds, with fans flocking to the circuit to support their nation.A1GP Brands Hatch is the final round of the 2007/08 season, and takes place on 2-4 May 2008. Advance online raceday admission starts at just £30, with grandstand seating starting at just £8. With experts predicting the closest season yet of A1GP, the final round at Brands Hatch could be the place where the championship is decided. CLICK HERE to order your Brands Hatch tickets online.

Brazilian Fabio Carbone was unable to underline his clear potential at Sugo, round seven of the Formula Nippon Championship, and ended up just off the points after being caught out by traffic in qualifying,.  With Sugo being such a twisty circuit, the Brazilian faced an uphill struggle to make up places. He made a fantastic getaway, but at the first corner he was boxed in behind a slower car, losing two places. What made his task even harder was the fact that the Sugo race did not feature a mandatory pitstop as usual, depriving Carbone  of the chance to formulate an effective race strategy to move themselves up the field.  After a frustrating race, he nonetheless ended up ninth ­ just missing out on a point.Fabio said: “It’s clear that the real damage was done during the last lap of qualifying: without the traffic I’m confident that we could have been challenging at the front. Then when you qualify further down the grid, you make yourself more vulnerable to incidents with other traffic, as happened to me in the first corner. But that¹s life and that¹s racing. We¹ll be back feeling even more confident for the next round, and I firmly believe that we will be contenders for victory once more. “Round eight ­ the penultimate round of the Formula Nippon Championship ­takes place at Motegi from October 20-21.

Current Skip Barber championship points leader Joel Miller was given the opportunity via the Team USA Scholarship to test a ChampCar Atlantic with USRacetronics. The test took place at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in central California. After showing his capabilities in the morning sessions, the team decided to put new tires on the car for the afternoon. With the new slicks up to temperature, Miller was able to drop his times by a whole second despite the extreme heat in the afternoon. "The amount of grip and braking capabilities the car had was unbelievable! Before the test I only heard from other drivers about the characteristics of the car, but experiencing them for yourself gives a whole different perspective. I can definitely see myself racing for the championship in years to come," quotes Miller after the test. Last weekend Miller was able to extend his championship lead in Skip Barber at Miller Motorsports Park for rounds 14 & 15 of the championship. Miller was able to score two podium finishes taking 3rd in round 14 and 2nd in round 15.

19-09-07

Callum MacLeod will next weekend (22/23 September) get his second chance to bring to an early conclusion the fight for the prestigious British Formula Ford Championship title

Brands Hatch hosts the final two rounds of the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open series this weekend, September 22^nd and 23^rd, the regular runners combining with the Porsche Club Championship to provide a 40-plus field of Porsches on the supporting bill to the prestigious World Touring Car Championship. With the front of the Open grid seeing a battle between powerful 935 and 993 GT2 cars, and the newer and more nimble 997 GT3 racing models, the racing should provide great entertainment for the anticipated large crowds…

The 2007 Apex Tubulars Porsche Club Championship reaches its climax at Brands Hatch this weekend with the final two races of the season - and the last opportunity for the title contenders to score vital championship points. Drivers from three different classes are all in with a shot at the title and the prize of a one-off drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB next season.

A1 Team New Zealand stormed to the top of the time sheets at the Silverstone circuit on the first day of the final A1GP official test, ahead of the start of the 2007/08 season.  New Zealand’s Jonny Reid set the pace this afternoon with a blisteringly quick time of 48.102s, breaking the lap record for an A1GP car around the National circuit by eight hundredths of a second. The previous lap record of 48.182s was set in 2005 by A1 Team France driver Alexandre Premat.

Two former British Touring Car Champions -- Yvan Muller (2003 Champion) and Gabriele Tarquini (1994 Champion) -- will lead SEAT Sport's attack on the British rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship, which take place at Brands Hatch on September 22-23.

The 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series has just six more races to find a successor to 2006 champion Paul di Resta. Currently, Romain Grosjean (ASM Formule 3) and Sébastien Buemi (Mücke Motorsport) are in the most promising positions. .  Grosjean has 79 points and holds a 6 point lead over his rival, Buemi and he has also won more races, with five wins to Buemi’s one. However Buemi is more consistent with 11  podium finishes to Grosjean’s 9. Althought  the  title seems to be between Grosjean and Buemi, 36 points behind the leader in  third is Nico Hülkenberg (ASM Formule 3), who probably  hasn’t got a realistic chance but a couple of non-finishes could change all that. Franck Mailleux (Manor Motorsport) holds the lead in the rookie rankings. Yet, his lead over his compatriot Jean-Karl Vernay (Signature-Plus) and Edoardo Mortara (Signature-Plus) amounts to just five and six points respectively. Vernay and Mortara have secured three rookie wins each, followed by Mailleux, Yann Clairay (Signature-Plus) and Tom Dillmann (ASM Formule 3) who all have proved to be the best rookie in two races.

James Walker heads to France this week for rounds 12 and 13 of the 2007 World Series by Renault. The next two races are being held at Magny Cours, home of the French GP..“The early season test at Magny Cours went very well for us,” said James. “It was my first time there and from what I had heard I didn’t expect to like the track as much as I did. I really enjoy driving there, especially through the challenging high-speed chicanes. It’s a tough circuit physically, particularly the long first corner where you can really feel the G-Forces pulling on your neck.”After taking his first World Series victory at Donington Park, James is keen to keep up the momentum heading into the next race. Qualifying is on Saturday morning followed by Race one in the afternoon. The second race is on Sunday

The opportunities keep coming for 2007 Team USA Scholarship winners Patrick Barrett and Joel Miller.

James Winslow’s decision to focus his attention on the Formula V6 Asia series paid off at the fourth round of the season in China, with a maximum points haul taking him to the top of the championship standings.

Liam Kenney returned to Miller Motorsports Park last weekend, 14th -5th Sept, and duly added his third straight podium at the Utah track with a third place finish in Round 15 of the 2007 Formula TR Pro Series 2000 Championship followed by a fifth place effort in Round 16 the next day.

In two hard fought races at Miller Motorsports Park, the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda saw a first-time winner, Steven McAleer and the second win of the year for A.J. Riley.

18-09-07

The ambitious Darlington and District Motor Club bring the curtain down on a summer of car racing when they play host to the final meeting of the season at Croft Circuit near Darlington this weekend (September 22/23rd).

Sarah Bennett-Baggs and BMW owner Paul White entered the Silverstone rounds of the Dutch Supercar SuperSports II series at Silverstone GP circuit when it was supporting the 24hr last weekend

Thruxton proved a huge disappointment for the 18 year old Royston driver Kieran Clark after his best ever qualifying of 4th in the Formula Renault BARC series

This weekend Rodolfo Avila will take to the track in the International Formula Master (IFM) at Brands Hatch. . After the races in Britain, the fight for the championship continues in Monza for the season finale. Avila therefore has two more round to show again an upfront fast pace but he will also need a change of fortune.  “I saw two engines blowing up in Germany and I had a fuel pressure problem during the test day at Monza. That’s enough! We will “cross the fingers” to have a clear race now”, said Avila, adding “I’m looking forward to Brands more than usual as it’s the first track I will be going to for the second time. Now I have the chance to show what I can do with some experience and track knowledge to help me. This is not an easy place to overtake so qualifying will be very important. I'm not making any predictions as you just never know, but my aim will be to avoid any silly incidents and score well.” IFM’s next rounds, 13 and 14,  are on 22 and 23 September with TV coverage on Eurosport World, Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2.

Buddy Rice will resume testing for A1 TEAM USA in A1GP's final preparations for the 2007-08 season Tuesday (Sept. 18) at Silverstone's International Circuit. Rice drove the "We The People" car in A1GP's previous open test on Aug. 28-29 at Silverstone. The 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner completed 134 laps in his first time in the Lola-Zytek. He was 10th in the opening-day afternoon session.

Frédéric Vervisch strengthened his second position in the German F3 Championship with two second places on the Sachsenring in the penultimate round of the ATS F3 Cup. The 21-year-old put in a strong performance in qualifying setting third fastest time during the first qualifying and fourth fastest in the second session. In race 1 Frédéric made an exceptional start putting pressure on pole setter Christian Vietoris. Side by side they ran into the first corner, but it was the German who took the advantage. “I selected the wrong gear and had to let him go”, Frédéric explained after the race. In the mean time Frédérics team mate Verdonck had overtaken Carlo Van Dam and was attacking Fred for second. Later on while passing a slower car, Verdonck was forced off the track and crashed giving  Vervisch breathing space to keep second behind Vietoris.. In the second race Vervisch made another good start getting alongside Van Dam into the first corner, however the latter was able to maintain a better line to grab the lead. Only after half distance was Vervisch able to put more pressure on Van Dam to finished f0.4 secs behind Van Dam at the flag. “After my crash on Friday, I had a lack of confidence during qualifying and the races. Still we were able to put in a solid performance”, Vervisch said. “The team did a great job repairing the car over night. The result is known. We finished twice second, a result which we hadn’t counted on.  Van Dam has won the championship, but the battle for second place is still not over. I have 19 points more than my closest rival, so I only need five points to secure second position. I will also help my team mate to regain third place in the standings. We want to finish the season in style during the last race weekend.”  The season finale of the German Formula 3 Cup takes place in the weekend of September 29th and 30th in the Motopark Oschersleben.

Title fight in the DTM comes to a head Two Audi drivers at top of table Audi heads to Spain as last year's Iberian race winner It's getting serious in the DTM: At Barcelona (Spain) on Sunday 23 September the championship battle could be decided -- to the benefit of Audi.

17-09-07

Stacy Vickers was triumphant in the Hammerite Classic Group 1 Touring Cars race at Thruxton. Vickers,(pictured left: by Paul Williams) driving a Mazda RX7, won by  just 3 seconds from the Capri of Jim McLoughlin who had David Hickton’s Opel Ascone right on his tail in third, a mere 4 tenths behind.

Leo Voyazides won both the Top Hat encounters in a Ford Falcon at Mallory Park beating Robert Hartley's Ford Mustang on both occasions. In race won he crossed the line 1.4 seconds ahead and 1.7 seconds  in race 2. The Cloth cap race saw Jamie Boot take the honours in a TVR Griffith, Boot lapping the entire field on his way to victory. Second in a Turner Tatty was Michael Harding and third in an E-Type was Alistair Dyson

CF Racing’s Hywel Lloyd did his Formula Renault BARC Championship title hopes no harm at all by winning his fifth race of the year at Thruxton yesterday(Sunday, 16^th Sept). Second was Eurotek Motorsport’s David McDonald with Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Ollie Hancock third and championship leader Dean Stoneman fourth. Stoneman now leads the FR2000 title chase by just six points with one race left to run

Russell Racing’s Mark Gillibrand saw one of his customary lightning starts fail to bear fruit at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire this afternoon during the 11th round of the Formula Renault BARC Championship, contact from a rival FR2000 Class competitor ruining his chances of a push towards the top 10

2007 British F3 Championship-winning team Hitech Racing will make its long-awaited Formula Renault racing debut, under the banner of Hitech Junior, when the Silverstone-based team contests the 2007 FRenault Winterseries

Dan Stringfellow was the victor in the first of the  Kumho BMW races at Thruxton yesterday (Sunday) winning by 2.8 seconds from James Perrott with Ian Hill third 5 seconds further back. In race 2 Perrott came out on top ahead of Garrie Whittaker and Ian Crisp. In the Easytrack Production BMW race Andrew Partridge(pictured right by Paul Williams) was the winner in his E30320. Second was Liam Crilly in a 318i and third was Mike Dugdale in a 320. 

The York Fitness Post Historic race at Thurxton was won by Stephen Primett drving a Mk1 Escort. Second, 5.419seconds behind was Dave Thomas in a Mk1 Capri with Mark Lucock third in a second Escort.  The Clubmans Cup saw Daniel Gibson’s Mallock Mk35  (pictured below by Paul Williams) emerge as the winner with 4 seconds in hand over the Mallock Mk29 of Clive Wood. Howard Payne completed the Podium in a Mallock Mk20B. The IBIS Packaging Classic Mod Saloons were won by Joss Rondchetti in a Talbot Lotus Sunbeam, only 0.281 seconds in front of the Sierra Cosworth of Peter Taylor. Third, in a Vauxhall Firenza was Tony Davis.

From championship to heartbreak, Saturday's Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve season finale at Miller Motorsports Park was a true representation of the season as a whole -- including one team's championship hopes literally going up in smoke.

16-09-07

Ex-World Rally Champion Colin McRae has been killed along with his young son in a helicopter crash today in Scotland. David Richards, McRae's former boss at Subaru, said "He had a competitive spirit like I've never seen in any other individual in my life," said Richards. "He was one of those people who had an extraordinary spirit that you just can't define. It's a terrible loss." Official confirmation of his McRae's death came at 1255 BST today(Sunday). McRae was piloting the helicopter when it crashed, killing all four people on board. McRae leaves a wife, Alison, and daughter, Hollie, theGrid offer our condolences

Graham Carroll did the double in the SMRC Formula Ford 1600 Championship at a cold and wet Knockhill today(Sunday) winning both races. In the opener he headed Alan Kirkcaldy's Van Dieman by a smidgen over 0.6  seconds with Louis Di Resta third. In race 2 he again beat Kirkcaldy who again shadowed him all the way but couldn't find a way past finishing 1.094secs behind. Robert Johnson was third after Di Resta spun off on the third lap in the very wet conditions. Di Resta rejoined at the rear and climbed back to seventh at the flag.

In the Scottish Sports and Saloons Andrew Gallacher and Charlie Shaw dominated  in their 4 wheel driver Ford Fiesta and Focus respectively.The former by a larger margin in race one beating Shaw by 10seconds, Rob Pritchard kept them in sight, just, finshing third 5 seconds behind Shaw in his Caterham.  In race 2 Gallacher again waltzed into the lead with Shaw had on his heels until the latter spun off into the 'kitty litter' at  Clarks(now Car Lube). This left Gallacher 'home free' Pritchard again gave chase but in the wet it was a vain hope and he settled for a comfortable second 5.88 secs adrift at the flag. Alistair McCaig was third in another Caterham.  Olly Ross (pictured left running second behind Bernard)won the first of two Classic Sports and Saloon races in his Lotus Europa. Stan Bernard in a Porsche 911 led the early laps before Ross go by on lap 4, the Lotus handling better in the wet. Bernard held on to second until the final tour before he was piped at the post by Matthew Gordon in a second 911. In race 2 with the grid in reverse order Matthew Gordon made the best start to lead  Steven Swan's Renault Gordini and Ian Morton' Midget,  Olly Ross was next up  followed by the Escort of Ian Longford and Stan Bernard's 911. By teh time Ross had edged his way up to second on lap 2 Gordon had pulled out a substantial lead and although Ross closed up on the rear of the Porsche he couldn't quite find a way through giving Gordon his first win of the year. Ross was 1 second behind with Longford an excellent third after a long duel with Swan's Renault, the latter  spinning off on lap 8 dropping  to fifth behind Bernard.

In the Smarty.com Mini Cooper Cup Ken Thirwall (pictured right)took a well deserved win in the first race beating Paul Wilson and Vic Covey, the frist three separated by just 2 seconds In the second event Ian Mlton led the start before the red flag came out on the first lap because of 'beached' cars. At the restart Milton again led the field away followed by a train of cars headed by Vic Covey Jnr, Paul Wilson and Ken Thirwall. As the group jostled for positions it was Covey Jnr who made the move that counted snatching the lead on the last lap to take the chequered flag with just 0.037 seconds to spare from Milton. Third , 1.1 secs behind the winner was Jordon Gronkowski who moved into the lead group 3 laps from the end in fifth, taking a place each lap to take third right at the end.   The XR2 Championship was awash(literally) with spins and crashes as the appalling weather took it toll on the cars, especially in race 1. Andrew Winchester took the lead at the start with Fraser in close attendance. Fraser got past on lap 3  to lead the rest of the race crossing the line to win . not from his championship rival Winchester but Scott Morrison who grabbed second on the last lap. In the second race, mercifully in the dry(the second last race of the day, and the first with no rain!)Scott Fraser won again after another red flag, this time on lap 5(more beached cars!) a race long  battle with first Scott Morrison then Andrew Winchester after he slipped by Morrison on lap 6.Morrison retook second once again after a mistake at the same corner by Winchester, on the penultimate lap, let Morrsion through to finish second.

Just three days after taking his debut win at Croft, British Formula Ford frontrunner James Nash enjoyed his debut Formula 3 test with Team West-Tec at Silverstone. Driving one of the team's Spanish specification Dallaras, James impressed as he tested alongside team regular Christian Ebbesvik. Finding the groove very quickly indeed, and on an ideal day for setting fast times, James recorded laptimes faster than any of the other six drivers who have tested for the team recently at the track, ending the day just a couple of tenths off Ebbesvik's best.

Glen Wood received an early birthday present today, breaking through for his first Australian Formula Ford Championship race and round win at Sandown Raceway. Wood, who turns 19 tomorrow, was in the thick of the action from the outset, after recording results of second and fourth in the opening two races, both of which were won by Ashley Walsh..

14-09-07

A MATTER OF CLASS FOR CLUB FORMULA FORD MS . Gavin Wills long since claimed the Club Formula Ford (MS) Championship but the two class winners were decided when the championship completed its season at Brands Hatch on 9th September. Gavin was again the victor on the day but David Grady confirmed his runners up spot overall, while the class spoils went to William Zollo (Class B) and former BRSCC director Peter Daly (Class C).  

DUCKMAN TO SPORT A PINK RIBBON. 2006 Lodge Sports Porsche 924 champion, Gary Duckman, will be racing his newly acquired Porsche 968 at next weekend’s FIA World Touring Cars meeting at Brands Hatch, in the Porsche Club Championship. At the meeting Gary will be raising money for the Pink Ribbon Foundation, a charity that helps with the fight against breast cancer. Gary has taken a trade stand at Brands Hatch where girls from the Foundation will be selling pink ribbons and there will be lots of other fun activities going on to raise both money and awareness. If you want to make a donation go to www.pinkribbonfoundation.org.uk or visit the stand at Brands Hatch. 

BRSCC ANNUAL DINNER DANCE & AWARDS PRESENTATIONS. Invitations will shortly be going out to all BRSCC champions to attend the annual dinner & awards presentations. The celebratory evening will take place on Saturday 17th November at the Holiday Inn, Stratford-upon-Avon. Tickets are priced at £48 and are available from Dominic at HQ. Call 01732 783141 or email dominic@brscc.co.uk

NEW STRUCTURE FOR NATIONAL MOTOR RACING ARCHIVE. After 19 years of growth the National Motor Racing Archive has been incorporated as a non profit making company limited by guarantee. What started as a private collection by BRSCC member Martin Hadwen has rapidly become a very important collection of material and the new framework will enable the NMRC to move forward.  Joining Martin’s team are three new members; Bob Armstrong brings a wealth of experience gained over twenty years as the Competitions Manager for both the BRSCC and BRDC. Duncan Rabagliati, who is a practicing solicitor, is the Co-Founder of the Formula One Register and Founder of the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association and organiser of the FIA Lurani Trophy. Taking the role of Company Secretary is Anthony Goddard FCCA. He is treasurer of the Historic Sports Car Club, and races with them in the ex-Chris Amon Mk9 Merlyn F2 car.

Martin Hadwen commented “We are in very good shape to take the Archive forward. What we need now is for manufacturers, teams, drivers, clubs, trade associations, marshals, officials and the public to help us to create an Archive we can be justifiably proud of. You can contact Martin on 01953 882066 or 07885 792343 Email Racingarchive@btinternet.com www.motorracing-archive.com

MOTORSPORT SAFETY FUND CHRISTMAS CARD. This year the Motorsport Safety Fund’s Christmas card is a reproduction of a painting by John Ketchell called ‘Aston One Two’. The painting depicts the Carroll Shelby/Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DBR1 leading the Maurice Trintignant/Paul Frere DBR1 to an historic one two at the 1959 Le Mans. You can view an image of the card in the publications section at www.motorsportsafetyfund.com The cards are priced at £6.50 for 10, including envelopes, postage and packing within the UK. They are available from: Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box 200, Sevenoaks, TN15 8WZ.

MOTORSPORTADS.CO.UK LAUNCHES CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTOR. Want to find out what to do next season? MotorsportAds.co.uk has just launched the "Championship Selector", designed to provide competitors and potential competitors with a one -stop shop to find out all about different UK race championships and series, including those run by the BRSCC. 

The Championship Selector is already ranking No1 on Google searches worldwide! Like all brilliant ideas, it's a wonder that no-one has done it before, and it's already becoming the first port of call for competitors wanting to identify their racing options. Championships and race series are analysed in detail, allowing competitors to shortlist only those championships which meet their criteria, then drill down to find out more (which includes budgetary information). Hyperlinks to championship websites and contact details are all there, making it truly the easy way to research the opportunities.  

To try it out, just go to MotorsportAds.co.uk and select the Championship Selector, or click on this link www.motorsportads.co.uk/championship-selector

FORMULA FORD FESTIVAL TESTING. Alan Tapson at MSV has advised the BRSCC of the following testing availability at Brands Hatch in the week leading up to the Formula Ford Festival. 

Tuesday 16 October          Full day  £200.00  Half day  £140.00   Garage   £70.00   Extra driver  £70.00

Wednesday 17 October     Full day  £200.00  Garage   £70.00   Extra driver  £70.00

Thursday 18 October         Full day  £200.00  Garage   £70.00   Extra driver  £70.00 

MSV also have Thursday 4 October available as a test day in case any teams need some pre festival testing. For more information or to book contact Alan on 01474 875 340 or email alan.tapson@motorsportvision.co.uk

14-09-07

Joshua Scott took pole for Saturday’s round six of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Sandown Raceway yesterday(Thursday)…read more

Formula Renault UK Championship front-runner Will Brat has spoken of his delight after being named a British Racing Drivers' Club ˜Rising Star', the 19-year-old was awarded the prestigious status following an interview at the club's Silverstone headquarters yesterday, (Thursday, 13th Sept)..

Simon Taylor wins the LMA Euro Saloon and Sports Car Championship. Other classes all decided as Mal Davison, Steven Taylor, Stephen Pearcy and Simon Jackson win classes A, B, C and E

LAST MAN STANDING. The BBC are searching for volunteers to participate in the ‘Last Man Standing’ documentary series. They are looking for men aged between 18 and 28 who excel at their sport - but are not yet professional. The series offers the chance of a lifetime to go to the world's most remote locations, experience life there and compete in some of the world's most unusual sports. Full details follow

Russell Racing Ltd would like to announce its disassociation with Thunder Arabia Motorsport and Middle East Racing with immediate effect.With round 11 of the Formula Renault BARC Championship taking place this Sunday, 16th September, at Thruxton, British-born Bahraini racer Menasheh Idafar and Manchester’s Mark Gillibrand will both continue to race with the Warwickshire-based team in the headline FR2000 Class.The break with  Middle East Racing, however, does mean Bahraini teenagers Essa Mohammed and Mohamed Al A’li will not be appearing with the team. Russell Racing would like to take this opportunity to wish both drivers every success for the future. Qualifying for round 11 of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship is expected to get underway at 11.35 on Sunday, 16th September, with the 12-lap race itself timetabled to begin at approximately 15.40.

Dominic Lesniewski put in a strong performance in the Britcar 24 Hour race at Silverstone where he was part of a four man team racing a TopCats Racing Marcos Mantis…full report

Anyone who wants to win the World Series by Renault 3.5 title must first stop Alvaro Parente from taking the title. Ben Hanley (Prema Powerteam) and Filipe Albuquerque (Epsilon Euskadi) will be looking to upset the apple-cart at Tech 1 Racing's home race of Mangny Cours…read more.

Former A1GP champion A1 Team France will recall Loic Duval for the second official A1GP test at Silverstone next week.Duval was capped eight times for the team last season, scoring a best result of second in his A1GP debut at Taupo, New Zealand. The 25-year-old will be joined at the test, taking place on the Silverstone National circuit, by Nicolas Prost and newcomer Guillaume Moreau.

Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Race at Miller Motorsports Park should help to determine the championship. Round 11 preview…read more

Cars  International  Kensington,  a  leading  worldwide  supplier  of  high-performance road  and  racing  cars  turned  its showroom  into  a  luxury restaurant  on  Tuesday  4th September. 40 VIP guests,  private aviation specialist  Air  Partner,  and former  F1 driver  and  ITV commentator Martin Brundle were treated to a gourmet menu prepared by BBC TV star chef James Martin Each course   was   presented   and   complemented   with   a specially   selected   wine   by Christophe Galez of Champagne & Chateaux Ltd. Paul Osborn, co-owner of Cars International commented: “Guests were delighted by this  very special  evening.  James  cooked  an  amazing gourmet  menu  and  while savouring the scrumptious courses guests were also able to admire cars displayed in the mews outside the showroom.” Media man   Tony   Jardine,   fresh   from   his   outing with   Paul   Osborn   and Cars International’s  Ferrari  250  Lusso  at Goodwood  Revival,  hosted the evening.  

13-09-07

The sixth weekend in the season for the Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge will feature at one of the biggest and most important race meetings in Britain in 2007 when the stunning field of classic GT and saloon cars is one of the highlight support events to the British round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship…

Team LNT to run in GT2 and LMP2 at Silverstone. A last minute deal with Zytek will see Team LNT running in the LMP2 class at the next Le Mans Series round at Silverstone next week(14–16 Sept). The Team has so far concentrated on running in GT2 but in a bid to broaden their technical experience, the Leeds-based outfit will run the same Zytek car that ran this year at Le Mans. As a result, one of the two Panoz cars that usually competes in the GT2 category will not be making an appearance at Silverstone. Instead, former Le Mans class-winner Tom Kimber-Smith will partner Danny Watts in the Zytek, with Team owner Lawrence Tomlinson and Managing Director Richard Dean in the remaining #82 Panoz.

Yesterday’s International Formula Masters test in Monza, Italy, saw Team Bicar Racing taking part with Italian driver Marco Mapelli as well as IFM’s first two Japanese drivers Hajime Sugino and Yuhi Sekiguchi, both testing for Euronova Racing.  Iris Project’s Roberto Merhi completed the line-up of guest drivers. The 16-year-old Spaniard is leading Italian Formula Renault 2.0 and competing in the Formula Renault Eurocup.  Marco Mapelli is currently fourth in the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship whilst Hajime Sugino races in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and Yuhi Sekiguchi in Formula 3 Japan.  “The car was really nice to drive,” said Sekiguchi. “Although it was my first time at Monza which meant I had to spend some time learning the track, I really enjoyed myself today and was able to drive competitively very quickly.”  m-mate Hajime Sugino added: “I have less racing experience than Yuhi so this was a very good learning experience for me. I really like the car and have followed the Series closely so it was very good to take part today.”IFM rounds 13 and 14 will take place at Brands Hatch, United Kingdom on 22 and 23 September 2007

Bridgestone, exclusive tyre supplier to the GP2 Series, took Bridgestone e-reporter finalist Peter Hodges, from Congleton (UK), to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix (7-9 September).

Michael Meadows, son of Honda F1 Sporting Director Ron Meadows, will race in International Formula Master’s (IFM) rounds at Brands Hatch on 22-23 September with Euronova Racing. Currently racing in British Formula 3, Meadows joins Italy’s Alberto Costa and Frenchman Pierre Ragues to complete the Euronova Racing Bratch Hatch line-up.   “I’m looking forward to a good performance at Brands Hatch and hopefully a podium,” said Meadows who started his single-seater career by winning a scholarship with BMW in 2005. “It’ll be nice to put on a good show for the British crowds and give them something to cheer for!  I tested the Formula S2000 in Lausitzring a few weeks ago but my knowledge of the car is still limited compared to the other drivers. I know Brands Hatch really well though so I think things will even out thanks to my track knowledge.”

Guillaume Moreau celebrated his first World Series podium finish last week-end at Donington Park. 13th in qualifying, he recovered 8th in Saturday’s race, and took a well-deserved second place on Sunday

Utah's Miller Motorsports Park hosts the 2007 Formula TR Pro Series 2000 Championship for the second time this season with Virginia's Liam Kenney returning to action in Rounds 15 and 16, Friday 14th -- Saturday 15th September

The sixth round of the Pro Tour South African National Formula Vee Championship, at The Citizen Kyalami Pro Tour race meeting, produced another double win for Dennis Johns

A few days after winning the 2007 IndyCar Series championship, Dario Franchitti  and Indy Pro Series champion Alex Lloyd, along with other drivers, teams and manufacturers, were recognized during the Indy Racing League Championship Celebration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Brian Barnhart, president of the competition and operations division of the IRL presented Franchitti with a $1 million championship bonus and a mini IndyCar Series championship trophy. "The championship means a lot." said Franchitti, who earned an IndyCar Series-record $4,017,583 this season. "It's been kind of elusive. I've been over here 10 years and I've won a lot of races, but to finally win it means a lot. I didn't realize what it did mean until I crossed the finish line (Sunday). I'm just so happy. To do that and the 500 in one year, I'm really proud."

It was the last round of the 2007 Indy Pro Series and 22 year old Clerical Medical and Manx Sports Aid Foundation backed Alex Lloyd was as eager to win as he was in the first round. It was held at the 1.5 mile oval at Chicagoland Superspeedway, and Alex was looking forward to this round more than any other as he knew he could enjoy the race and go all out to win, after having already claimed the championship in the previous round at Sonoma.

Bahraini racing driver Salman Al Khalifa admitted to having mixed emotions at the weekend, after his first ever visit to the Yorkshire circuit Croft. The 2005 Formula BMW Asia champion secured his third National Class podium of the 2007 British F3 International Series season in race one, but a spin in race two cost him the chance of a second top-three finish

Ultimate Motorsport scored two top-ten finishes in the penultimate round of the British F3 International Series on Sunday when Esteban Guerrieri fought back form a heavy crash to match Michael Devaney's opening race points haul at Croft

11-09-07

SG Formula’s Jon Lancaster secured the first pole position of his single seater career, and took his maiden race win on Saturday ion the Formula Renault Eurocup at Donington…

Juno Racing had a busy and satisfying weekend at the Silverstone this weekend with their marque running in both Britsports and Sports 2000

Paulo Ramalho Takes His Maiden Portuguese Hillclimb Win in His Juno. Juno Racing were delighted this weekend to congratulate Paulo Ramalho on his maiden win in the Portuguese Hillclimb Championship behind the wheel of his Juno SSE at Caramulo  Paulo dedicated to his win to the hard work, dedication and unconditional support of the Lancashire based Juno team who in turn could not hide their excitement at his victory. A popular visitor to the team’s Leyland base, Paulo’s ambition to drive a Juno in a hillclimb championship was both a surprise and intriguing challenge for the team at the start of the season.  Paulo’s Fuchs backed Juno being on top of the podium makes another happy chapter in the Juno story. And with news of an order for two Junos which will be based in New Zealand it seems the Juno story just keeps on travelling!

Alexander Sims consolidated eighth position in the Formula Renault UK driver standings at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 9th September, after backing up an excellent top four result in round 17 with eighth place in round 18

Rookie Logan Gomez held off a final-lap charge from Indy Pro Series champion Alex Lloyd to win his first Indy Pro Series race by 0.0005 of a second. The time and winner's 188.627 mph closing lap on the 1.52-mile oval equates to a margin of victory of 1.65 inches. The difference was the closest in the six years of the series -- and in Indy racing League history.

10-09-07

A giant-killing Volkswagen Golf TDI has yet again rewritten the form book in the UK's only 24-hour sports and saloon car race, finishing 13th overall, ahead of some much more powerful opposition, and winning its class for the second year in succession

Dario Franchitti overtook Scott Dixon in Turn 3 on the final lap when Dixon ran out of fuel and went on earn the victory and his first career IndyCar Series championship.

Nigel Thompson and Lee Hannah(pictured,pic Paul Williams) shared the spoils at Anglesey in the Carphone Warehouse Networks Pre 90 Club Formula Ford races. Thompson won the opener on Saturday in his Van Dieman RF88 with Hannam second, 3.6 secs behind. In race 2 on Sunday Hannam came out on top ahead of David Bailey’s Reynard 89FF with Thompson completing the podium in third. The Sophos Global Lights had two races at the Welsh track with Michael Conway winning on Saturday from Edwin Masson by just 0.128secs. Third was Mark Braden. On Sunday Massen took the honours in another close finish, crossing the line only 0.7secs up on Keith Dawson with Stephen Heary third. 

Apotex Scorpio Motorsport racer David Epton produced a pair of typically sound drives at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 9th September, during the 17th and 18th rounds of the Formula Renault UK season – an event attended by an incredible 135,000 spectators throughout the course of the weekend…

Duncan Tappy is back at the top of the 2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship after taking his second win of the day in front of 80,000 fans at Donington Park Grand Prix circuit.

Irish championships were much in evidence at Anglesey over the weekend and it was Sylvie Mullins who won the first race in the Formula Libre series in a Ralt RT33. Second  1.001 behind was Colin Millar in a Radical and third was the Reynard 93D of Dan Daly. Race two saw Jeff Collier(pictured left: pic Paul Williams) to the fore ina Radical SR3, winning by 0.215 seconds from Mullins.  Millar took another podium place in third 7 seconds adrift of the winner.  In the Dunlop Supercars John Farrely and John Whelan shared the spoils, Farrelly winning on Saturday from Dave O’Brien and Whelan. On Sunday Whelan won with 2.9secodns to spare over Rob McGovern with Farrelly third. In the Irish Strykers and Historics championship Alan Kessie(pictured below: pic Paul Williams) and Graham Onion each won a race, both taking the Historic class win as well as the overall honours. In the Strker class Alan Watkins, who was second overall behind Kessie on Saturday took the victory with Tristan Quinn claiming the prize on Sunday with a third overall and first in class. Peter Barrable won the Irish FFord race on Saturday in a Ray 06, winning by 0.273secs from Robert Barrable’s Swift SC92. The positions were reversed on Sunday with Robert winning by 1.4 secs while Mrgan Dempsey popped up in third 4 seconds off the leader.  Colin Broster triumphed in both the Irish Porsche races , his 996GT3 proving too good fro the opposition on Saturday as he took a comfortable win with over 30 seconds in hand over second placed Jim O’ Reilly. He didn’t have it so easy the next day when Stephen Doyle’s Porsche Cup 996 kept him honest by finishing second only 4 seconds back

Bradley Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer entered rounds 11 and 12 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Croft second in the title chase. Sadly a bad day in Yorkshire saw the pair slip to third after a penalty in round 11 demoted them to fourth and a DNF in round 12

The Classic F3’s were at Anglesey over the weekend with Benn Simms(below: pic P Williams) winning both races in his March 803B. Second in race 1 was Tom Thornton  in an Argo JM3 with Alan Goodman third in a March 793. John Bradshaw was second on Sunday in an Argo JM6 while Paul Smith completed the top three in a Ralt RT1   In the Carphone Warehouse Networks Post 89 FFords James Cole took a brace of wins in his Van Dieman RF99. On Saturday he beat Stuart Gough’s Ray GRS07 by 0.855secs while on Sunday Graham Carroll, in a Van Dieman RF90, followed him home , 7.7 seconds behind.

Mark McAleer made up for his Donington Park disappointment with wins in both Apex Tubulars Porsche Club Championship PMC Trophy races at Silverstone, putting his title challenge back on track. Ben Demetriou took both Class Two wins, with Mark Taylor doubling up in Class Three. The Club runners shared the Silverstone track with the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open - the two huge grids providing action packed racing…

Richard Chamberlain took a pair of wins this weekend at the PMC Trophy meeting for the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Paul McLean led the chas