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10/09/2007 - 10-08-07

31-08-07

Justin Wilson took provisional pole position in the first qualifying sesion for Champ cars at Assen today(Friday). Wilson set a time of 1.30.656, nearly 9 tenths of a second quicker than second placed Simon Pagenaud. Tristan Gommedy was third for PKV racing.

Nico Hülkenberg (ASM Formule 3, 1.24.256 min) was the fastest driver to lap the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit in free practice of the Formula 3 Euro Series. The winner of the “Masters of Formula 3” was 0.121 seconds faster than Spaniard Dani Clos (Signature-Plus, 1.24.377 min). Sébastian Buemi (ASM Formule 3, 1.24.471 min) was third fastest. Maximilian Götz (R.C. Motorsport, 1.24.956 min) was the best-placed driver with a Volkswagen engine in tenth place.

The Federal Government may yet need to employ the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship as it’s official ‘drought breakers’, following another wet day’s running from the wings and slicks category today.Both practice sessions held today at Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania were held in wet conditions as a top field gathers for the seventh round of the series, this weekend featuring the inaugural Country Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix for the John Bowe Trophy.Four of the six rounds held to date have been rain affected and wet weather Kumho’s were the order of the day this morning as well, as a heavy shower swept across the 2.4km circuit just before opening practice.Persistent rain throughout the second session, held later in the afternoon, meant that times were more than 10-seconds per lap slower than the lap record pace – a record that, given dry conditions, may be broken this weekend

28-08-07

Hitech Racing bounced back to form with a dominating performance in testing at Rockingham today which saw the championship leaders quickest in both three-hour sessions at the Northamptonshire track.  With Marko Asmer at the wheel, the Silverstone-based team posted a time of 1:12.272 seconds to wind up 0.278sec quicker than Jonathan Kennard..

Formula Renault UK race-winner Alexander Sims believes he has an excellent chance of two podiums at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit next weekend, 8th/9th September, during the penultimate race meeting of the 2007 championship.

Castle Combe served up some excellent Bank Holiday fare on Monday kicking off proceedings with the a brace of races in the Savesometax.co.uk Special GT Championship. Race 1 was won by Howard Spooner in a lights-to- flag victory in his Jade Trackstar. Second was Shane Marshall in a Mallock P21 with Louis Davidson third in a Radical. In the second race Mark Funnel took his Lotus Exige to victory just 0.400secs ahead of the Westfiled of Tony Michael with Duncan Cameron third in a Ferrari 360. The AMOC had two races at Combe as part of the circuit’s Sports Car race day and Charlie Kermp won the UBS Aston Martin Championship round in aDB4 Lightweight, 6.2 seconds in front of second palced Peter Foster in another DB4. Martin Brewer completed the podium in a DB5. The second AMOC race, the Intermarque Challenge was won by Charlie White in a Ferrari 355 from Chris Scragg in an Aston Martin V8. Charlie Kemp was third.  Gary Culver was the winner in the Pirelli Ferrari Challenge race, his 328GTB beating the similar machines of Graham Reeder in second by 2.7secs and the Nigel Jenkins in third by 3.081secs .

James Blyth endured a frustrating weekend at Croft in the latests round of the Mini Challenge…

Castle Combe’s Melton Concrete Products FFord 1600 series provided a field in excess of 30 cars on Monday(27 Aug) with Robert Hall coming out on top, winning with 0.165secs in hand over Steven Jensen, both drivers in Swift SC92s Third in a Ray GRS07 was Andrew Jones  only 2 seconds off the leader.  The Castle Combe Saloons race, the National Mobile Windscreens encounter, also came with a huge grid, once again with over 30 cars. It was won by Russell Humphrey in a Mitsubishi Evo when early leader Keith Murray’s  Audi A4 retired after 3 laps. Second was Bill Brockbank in a SEAT Leon Cupra with Terry Thorne third in a Focus RS.

Last weekend at Brands Hatch was character building for Kieren Clark, the 18 year old Royston based driver. After a couple of red-flags and some determined driving in the Formula Renault BARC series he came away with a 9th and a 7th place from the two races…

Juno racing’s Rob Croydon (below) increased his lead in the VdeV Championship at Spa with a strong second palce…

The fight for the Australian F3 Championship will continue  this weekend in the  seventh round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Symmons Plains in Tasmania .After six (of eight) rounds the  championship is currently lead by Tim Macrow, with Charlie Hollings and Leanne Tander nipping at his heels, just nine and eleven points behind, respectively 

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport organisers have today unveiled an ambitious series of initiatives to help reduce the series’ environmental footprint. Series organisers have pledged to tackle climate change by a set of measures to be known as THINK Greener Racing. Measures announced include switching to biofuel, detailing waste reduction measures, the promise to carbon-offset unavoidable emissions and promoting environmental awareness through the series to a global audience spanning 150 countries. These initiatives were announced at A1GP's official 2007/08 test session at Silverstone by Pete da Silva, CEO, in front of a global audience, which included the UK Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Peter Ainsworth MP. A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will, from this season, use a 30 per cent biofuel ethanol mix. This has been made possible through a partnership with Zytek, the series' engine manufacturer. The new fuel, an ethanol based product, is produced by the racing fuels specialist blender, Petrochem Carless.

28-08-07

Sebastien Bourdais proved once again why he is the driver to beat in the Champ Car World Series, earning nearly every point by grabbing the pole position on Saturday, setting the fastest race lap and winning by more than 13 seconds. Bourdais also extended his points lead to 53 markers over Dutch driver Robert Doornbos

Australian James Davison took advantage pit stops and tyres changes due to an early-race downpour to take his first victory in the Mosport round of the 2007 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Vancouver native Lorenzo Mandarino was second while series leader Dane Cameron comnpleted the podium in thgird

Mark McAleer and James Neal shared overall and Class One honours as the Apex Tubulars Porsche Club Championship visited Castle Combe on August Bank Holiday Monday, while in Class Two Marcus Carniel took two wins, though a red flag in race one saw the results wound back a lap and Ben Demetriou denied the win. In Class Three points leader Neil Harvey won race one, and Charles Winterhalder took his first win of the year in a closely fought second race…

It was a day of double wins as the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open visited Castle Come, Nick Staveley taking both race wins, while Steve Rance had a Class Two double and Mark Chilton doubled up in Class Three. Despite having missed qualifying, Mike Johnson took second in both races - even though he went into the Camp barriers in race two

CF Racing’s Hywel Lloyd won round 10 of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship on Bank Holiday Monday, 27th August but Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman still leads the drivers’ standings after a solid third place. Worswick Engineering’s Rossi (pictured) took his second victory of the season in round nine on Sunday…

The Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0 started into the second half of the 2007 season during the ACV Sprint meeting at the Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit. Tobias Hegewald closed up to points leader Frank Kechele with a pair of wins in the Eifel. Kechele finished second on both occasions. Third places went to Oliver Oakes on Saturday and Fabio Onidi on Sunday

Racing Team Edil Cris has reached an agreement with Maurizio Mediani to race in the  Adria's round of the FIA GT Championship on 8th September.  He will drive the number 53 F430 Ferrari  with Matteo Cressoni.

Daniel Morad finished his 2007 Formula BMW USA in style by winning Round 14 . After clinching the Overall title on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in Round 13, the 17- year old Canadian added a record sixth win on Sunday …

Warwickshire-based Formula Renault BARC team Russell Racing came close to securing its fifth points-scoring result of the season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon during an action-packed 10th round of the campaign

AIM Autosport's Star Mazda Championship team had a rough race at Mosport on Aug. 25. After qualifying well and making smart weather calls, both team drivers were caught by the timing of the race's only caution period. They each lost a lap to the leader, leaving them with eighth- and 12th-place finishes. Natacha Gachnang of Switzerland, qualified the sixth on the 22-car grid with a 1:16.497while team-mate Devin Cunningham was right behind her in seventh on 1:16.718. The drivers started on slicks but heavy rain forced them into the pits for rain tyres early on. Several competitors weren't as savvy, opting not to change with one spinning off causing a full-course caution that allowed the rest to pit. Although Gachnang was faster than the leaders, she and Cunningham were unable to make up the lost-lap deficit caused by the safety car, Gachnang finished eighth and Cunningham 12th.  AIM is now tied for fourth place in Star Mazda Championship standings, with two races remaining this season.

27-08-07

It was Gold Cup weekend at Oulton Park where the HSCC provided much of the entertainment. In the Formula Jnr  races Edwin Jersey (below) won Race A for rear-engined cars in a Lotus 22 from Denis Welch in a Merlyn  with Michael Hibberdin a Lotus 27.  Race B saw the Terrier Mk1 of Derek Walker(pictured right) take the chequered flag from John Millievic by just 0.001 sec! In teh 70s Sports car race Julian Barter in a TVR beat Charles Barter, the second placed Datsun 240Z loosing out by a little over 1 second as they crossed the line. Peter Shaw was a distant third in a TVR Tuscan , 25 seconds behind the winner.  Nelson Rowe took his Crossle 20F to victory in the Historic Formula Ford race, winning by 20 seconds from Neil Fowler's Lola T200 and Michael Lyons Merlyn. In the Historic Road Sports race Dave Randall came out on top in his Ginetta G4. Andy Shepherd was a close second in his Lotus 7 S2, only 0.746 seconds behind while Paul Tooms was third in an Elan S4

Mark Dwyer (pictured) did the double in the Derek Bell Trophy winning both races in his Lola T400. Neil Glover was second in race 1 in another Lola, a T330, while John Holmes was third in a  March 772P. In race 2 Frank Lyons took the runner-up spot in his Lola T400 with Glover on the podium again in third.   Ian Gray won the  Classic Racing Cars race in a Brabham BT16 from the BT20 of Geoffroy Rivet by 1.4secs while John Burton won the RJB Trophy race in a Chevron B26 from Robert Harvey in a Chevron B19. Third in a Lola T296 was Michelle Liguori. The Saloons race went to the Elt/Dodd BMW 2000. Second 2.5 seconds behind was Nigel Vaulkhard in a Mustand with Richard Styles third also in a Mustang. Tom Bradshaw took his Argo to victory in the Classic F3 race ahead of the March 803 of Ben Simms and Bill Coombs Ralt T1. In the Historic F2 races Bob Juggins and Martin Stretton shared the spoils with a win a-piece.(pics Paul Williams)

Andrew Deviny won a closely fought Dunlop Mini Se7en race at Brands Hatch at the weekend beating Max Hunter in second by just 0.438ses and Paul Thomson in third by 0.5seconds In the Mini Miglia race Andrew Hack took the spoils from Endaf Evans by 0.096secs. Kelly Rogers was third just 0.4 secs behind the winner!   Rory Farrell won both then Classic Formula Ford races in his Crossle 45F. On Sunday he  beat the Van Dieman RF81 of Simon Davey by 3.132 secs with Stuart Kestenbaum third just 0.6 seconds further up the track. On Monday Farrell won again this time from Joseph Walton in a Crossle 25F who was only 0.023 seconds behind at the flag! Oliver Robinson was third in a RF81

In his rookie year Alexander Rossi ends the Formula BMWUSA season in third after finishing 6th in Round 14...more 

Callum MacLeod  got one hand on the British Formula Ford Title after taking 3 wins from 4 races at Thruxton over the weekend. It could have been four from four but Nick Tandy managed to 'nick' in and spoil Macleod's clean sweep. full report

Bradley Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer scored two credible podium finishes at Thruxton circuit, Hampshire, in rounds nine and 10 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship on 25&26 August. full report

SEAT Leon TDI scores first diesel engine victory in the WTCC . SEAT scored an historic result in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, by becoming the first manufacturer to win a round of the series in a diesel engined car. In only its third race, the SEAT Leon TDI WTCC, driven by Yvan Muller, won the first of two races at the Motorsport Arena in Oschersleben, German today, ahead of the SEAT Leon of pole-sitter Gabriele Tarquini -- who continues to highlight how competitive the petrol-engined Leon is. In Race 2, Jordi Gene completed a remarkable day, finishing 3rd in his SEAT Leon TDI -- having started Race 1 from 18th on the grid!  Brazil's Augusto Farfus of BMW Team Germany claimed victory in the 16th round of the  Championship. He crossed the line  ahead of BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx. In the first race of the day, Farfus' team-mate Jorg Muller (GER) was the best-placed BMW national team driver finishing fourth however, the 37-year-old was forced to retire from race two after a collision. Priaulx finished round one in fifth position while Farfus took seventh place.

Hitech Racing’s Marko Asmer took two points scoring finishes in rounds 17 and 18 of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series at Thruxton today to maintain a healthy 72 point advantage at the head of the points standings. Despite struggling with straight-line speed in both 24-lap races, Asmer finished ninth and fifth while his rookie team-mate took 10th in race one but spun out of race two when oversteer car.

Alex Lloyd clinched the Indy Pro Series championship in proper fashion, winning the Carneros 100 at Infineon Raceway. Richard Antinucci  won his second road course race with vicotry inv the Valley of the Moon 100 Indy Pro Series event.

Preparation for Australian Formula Ford Championship aces Ashley Walsh and Joshua Scott's British Formula Ford Festival campaign is entering its final phase, with on-track testing wrapping up last Friday. In a six-week program, the CAMS Rising Stars will tackle a round of the British Formula Ford Championship at Brands Hatch next month and the British Formula Ford Festival, the unofficial Formula Ford world championship, also at Brands on October 19-21. As part of an intensive build-up, the team conducted eight test days in recent weeks at Wakefield Park and Winton Motor Raceway, with a new Spectrum 011 chassis fitted with the same British-spec engine and slick tyres Walsh and Scott will use in their international debut

Atte Mustonen scored his first win in British F3 finishing in a lights-to-flag victory ahead of Niall Breen in Round 18 of the 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series.

Round nine of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit this afternoon saw the Russell Racing team forced to battle the odds once again, although Menasheh Idafar(pictured) continued his excellent progress with a creditable 13th place finish in the headline FR2000 Class..

27-08-07

24-08-07

A record-breaking season for the Formula Renault BARC Championship has ushered in a change to the process of registering for the 2008 season. A total of 43 registrations were received prior to the 2007 championship, a record in the three seasons since Renault Sport UK gave its backing to the now-thriving single-seater series.

Formula Renault UK race-winner Jeremy Metcalfe(right)will make his Porsche Carrera Cup GB debut at Knockhill in Scotland next weekend, 1st/2nd September, as part of his prize for being a finalist in the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award..

Apotex Scorpio Motorsport is delighted to announce its partnership with Nottingham-based software publisher Serif (Europe) Ltd, in support of 19-year-old motor racing star Will Bratt at the World Series by Renault race meeting on 8th/9th September at Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit..

Alex Lloyd heads for Infineon Raceway looking to clinch the Indy Pro Series Title. With 7 wins sop far this season he now has a commanding 98 point lead over Hideki Mutoh, the only other  driver who can challenge for the championship

Motorsport Events is holding a series of track days throughout September.

A1 Team Great Britain will be back on track at Silverstone next week as the outfit finalises preparations for its assault on the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The British team will join over 20 other nations on track for the first official A1GP test of the season. With 3 wins and 3 second places from the final six races of last season momentum is with the team as the countdown to the opening race of the season in Zandvoort Park, Holland, on September 30th continues.

Samantha Reid is set to make a vital step forward in her open-wheel racing career after today confirming her participation in next weekends’ seventh round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.In her F3 debut, Adelaide-based Reid will drive a Trophy Class Dallara F396 for Melbourne team Scud Racing at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania.The ‘Trophy’ Class is made up of the oldest model (1996 – 1998) cars in the field and is a stepping stone to the outright championship class cars that contest the Australian Drivers Championship.The Tasmanian round will be the 20-year-olds first experience behind the wheel of a ‘wings and slicks’ car 

A1 Team Ireland has unveiled an intriguing line-up for the official pre-season test at Silverstone next week, with Ralph Firman re-joining the team alongside  GP2 racer Adam Carroll.  Carroll tested in a rookie evaluation session at Snetterton last week and has been invited back to take part in the team’s official Season Three preparations. He will be joined by Firman, who returns to the team after a season’s absence. Firman has driven for the team 16 times  and achieved the team’s best finish to date, with third in the Feature race at Estoril, Carroll will drive on Tuesday, with Firman driving on Wednesday.

Joel Miller takes 2 wins from 2 races at Lime Rock in Skip Barber

BRITISH F3 & GT STARS AND CARS MAKE A PITSTOP AT THE  DOLPHIN SHOPPING CENTRE. The Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship made a scheduled pitstop in Poole at the Dolphin Shopping Centre, on Thursday 23 August, ahead of the next respective championship rounds at Thruxton circuit, Hampshire, on 25&26 August. The Hitech Racing British F3 car and Brookspeed Team Trimite British GT Dodge Viper Competition Coupe roared into the Dolphin Shopping Centre to be displayed on the main Mall for the day. Wave 105.2FM’s Steve Power also dropped in to compere the unique event. Shoppers were not only allowed to admire the majestic racing machines but to rub shoulders with some of the UK’s top racing drivers. British F3-series leader Marko Asmer, Carlin Motorsport’s Sam Bird, British GT championship leader Bradley Ellis and Brookspeed Team Trimite’s Phiroze Bilimoria were all in attendance.As well as meeting hundreds of visitors and signing just as many autographs, the drivers also enjoyed challenging each other on the Scalextric Roadshow, which remains in the Dolphin Shopping Centre until Saturday 25 August. The two championship leaders, British F3 star Asmer and British GT ace Ellis, were also seen racing head to head, before all of the drivers and the cars made off for Thruxton, in nearby Hampshire, ready for Friday testing.

23-08-07

Schedules for the next round of TV coverage for the Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge have been announced. Coverage of the single race at Silverstone on Saturday 11 August during the British F3/GT meeting will first be screened on Sky Sports 2 during the early evening of Tuesday 4 September.  
The provisional broadcast schedule is as follows:
Tuesday 4 September at 17.30 on Sky Sports 2
Tuesday 4 September at 22.00 on Sky Sports Extra
Tuesday 4 September at midnight on Sky Sports 1
Wednesday 5 September at 01.30 on Sky Sports 3
Wednesday 5 September at 09.30 on Sky Sports 2
Wednesday 5 September at 12.30 on Sky Sports Extra
Saturday 8 September at midnight on Sky Sports Extra
Sunday 9 September at 11.30 on Sky Sports Extra 
The race action in the series for GT and touring cars of the 1960s and 1970s continues at Brands Hatch on 22/23 September.

The scene is set for what could be a memorable occasion for Scottish driver Jonathan Adam as the 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship heads north of the border

Jonathan Adam knows the Knockhill circuit like the back of his hand and often teaches high-performance driving skills there. The New Leon Cupra class leader gave around 300 passengers laps around Knockhill in the week before the recent Brands Hatch meeting, driving a specially adapted single seater.

SEAT Sport UK and ‘theGrid’ would like to congratulate Freddy Nordstrom on his A-levels results, which sees him get to his first choice university, European Business School London. Freddy will be studying all aspects of business along with French – tres bien!

Fulvio Mussi’s ‘pimping’ of his paddock cart continues, as it now has new tyres and a remote alarm. But Harry Vaulkhard may offer some competition as he plans a roof chop, bamboo flooring and a roof-mounted surfboard for his buggy.

Congratulations to Leon Cupra R driver Adrian Churchill, who became a proud father recently to a baby girl, who he and his wife have named Emilia.

Team Australia is taking a history of success into the Grand Prix of Zolder for Round 11 of the Champ Car World Series in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium this weekend. Team Australia driver Will Power scored pole position around the Zolder circuit in 2005 while racing for Carlin Motorsport in the World Series by Renault. Later that year Power was signed by Team Australia to pilot the Aussie Vineyards Champ Car with his debut coming on the streets of the cold Coast in his native Australia in October

Hitech Racing heads to the Thruxton circuit in Hampshire next weekend knowing that double victory would clinch the team the Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 International Series title.  In fact just one point more than chief rivals Maro Engel and Sam Bird from the weekend would seal the crown, but team Principal David Hayle refuses to be drawn on the possibility, instead remaining determined to repeat the dominant performance last time out at Silverstone

Kieren Clark looking forward to Brands Hatch and two rounds of the Formula Renault BARC series. Round 9 will take place on Sunday while round 10 is on Bank holiday Monday( 27^th August). Brands Hatch has been one of KC’s best circuits when previously in the Formula Jedi series and he will be hoping for another good showing in the championship.  KC is optimistic, “we have had good showings at Brands in previous years and I like the track. I have shown I have the speed of the front runners so I’m looking to improve on my 4^th place at Snetterton. Qualifying is going to be really important, last time out I was only 4 tenths off pole.”   Team Manager, Tony Clark commented, “Currently Kieren is 10^th place in the championship, with only 3 points between the next 3 drivers so some good results could get us well up the table. With his performances improving each race we are looking forward to some strong finishes this weekend. It will certainly help our sponsorship search for next season.” Also featuring over the packed weekend of BARC organised racing, will Formula Fords, bike engined Legends, plus Minis and MX5’s on Sunday and MG races on Monday.

Over $5000 in prizes will be awarded to the top three finishes of the inaugural Tasmanian Formula 3 SuperPrix thanks to a new naming-rights sponsorship arrangement with Country Club Tasmania. The winner of the Country Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix will receive a five-night accommodation package for two at the award winning Country Club Tasmania, valued at over $2100. The prize will include return airfares from Melbourne and be a true reward to recognize the accomplishment of winning the longest and most prestigious race in the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship season. The SuperPrix – the second of two races to be held at Symmons Plains on September 2nd - winner will also receive the inaugural John Bowe trophy. The runner-up and third place finisher will also receive accommodation packages valued at over $1500 (2nd) and $1200 (3rd) respectively.

Ultimate Motorsport are hoping to continue their climb up the grid in the British Formula Three International Series at Thruxton this weekend after running on the lead pace at the last event at Silverstone.The team, which debuted with unique Mygale-Mercedes cars this season, equalled their best ever finish two weekends ago when Irish driver Michael Devaney came home fourth after the team's best ever qualifying performance saw him line up third on the grid. Devaney and Argentine team-mate Esteban Guerrieri will be aiming to continue the team's improving qualifying trend at the Hampshire circuit to put themselves amongst the leading outfits and in with a chance of scoring Ultimate's first ever podium finish.  Team Manager Jonny Ostrowski said: "P3 on the grid for race 2 at Silverstone was another step in the right direction. We have got to where we are now down to the hard work of everyone in the team – and we hope we can carry that form onto Thruxton with both cars.  "It is a positive that we were all disappointed with P4 – that would not have been the case a few races ago. We are edging closer to the podium at each event and with that in mind we are looking forward to this coming weekend."     Guerrieri will be looking to turn around the disappointment of the last event, where the team were unable to get the best out of the car. Devaney, meanwhile, will be looking to capitalise on his strong form and continue to pick up points to climb up the championship table.   Guerrieri said: "Silverstone is behind us now and we are concentrating on the next event. We will be pushing hard to get the package working for qualifying and to maximise our start position for the races.   Devaney said: "Well, we really showed our hand last time out and I hope we will be able to put in an even better performance this time around. The races have been getting better and better every time recently so now it is about time we hit the top three. That is where we are aiming at this weekend."

Duncan Tappy was on his way to a perfect weekend until a minor technical infringement left officials no option but to exclude him from Race Two, which he had won. He had made huge strides in his Formula Renault UK Championship bid by claiming two pole positions, two race wins and two fastest laps and had extended his lead in the title battle with his nearest rival, Fortec team-mate Dean Smith, who struggled at the Kent circuit. Race One was the epitome of a perfect race for Tappy who led from the start eventually crossing the line 24 laps later, five seconds up on his nearest rival.  Race Two was similar, good start, leading from lights-to-flagi with fastest lap giving him maximum points . It all changed following a protest from a rival team, which on close inspection by scrutineers, revealed a technical infringement realting to the fixation of the floor. Duncan said, "I'm gutted about what's happened but we're not going to appeal as we risk a harsher punishment. As it is, I'm only seven points behind Dean and I can still win this championship and that's what I intend to do. I've won the last four races and there's no reason why that run can't continue."

Team consistency will again be rewarded when the Champ Car World Series begins its 2007 European two-event swing this week with the championship's race teams doing battle for the inaugural Phanos Resorts Champ Car European Cup

Freddy Norstrum battle hard in the SEAT Cupra Cup but had to settle for two 4^th places after other people’s incidents marred his day

Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent hosts the final ˜double-header’ race meeting of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship this weekend and Russell Racing is aiming to bounce back strongly from one its most challenging events of the year at Snetterton last time out

21-08-07

Nick Williamson nicked past Mal Davidson to win the first race of the LMA Euro Saloons at Oulton park by just 3 tenths of a second atr the weekend. Davidson resumed his winning ways in race 2  but its still Simon Taylor who leads the title chase

This weekend’s International Formula Master (IFM) rounds in Oschersleben could provide some unexpected winners with the majority of IFM’s young drivers having already raced on the circuit before plus IFM’s official test took place at the track earlier this month. when Scuderia Famà’s Luca Persiani set one of the fastest times.    “The track is very similar to Anderstorp in terms of set-up,” said the Italian. “So technically, if you performed well in Sweden then Oschersleben should be good too. Hopefully, the weather conditions will be different though which will produce very different races to a few weeks ago!”  Austrian Norbert Siedler is aiming for more IFM wins having scored two in two consecutive races,Siedler is rapidly catching the leaders “I’m not really thinking about the title for the moment,” said Siedler. “I’m focusing a lot more on each race weekend but if it keeps going like this then maybe I can start to think about it a little bit!”

The John Walko Racing crew headed in to the eighth race of the Star Mazda  season at Trois Rivieres with a lot of confidence. ..more

Formula Renault UK driver David Elton produced a characteristically strong race drive during Round 16 of the championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 19th August, to achieve his fourth top 10 result from eight starts in the 2007 campaign.

RLR/Andersen Racing will enter Andrew Prendeville and J.R. Hildebrand in the Indy Pro Series doubleheader at Infineon Raceway  this weekend, team owner Dan Andersen announced today.  Andersen said that Joey Scarallo, who has been driving for the team this year in the Indy Pro Series, has decided not to compete at Infineon or at the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 9. "It was an amicable and mutual decision on both of our parts," Andersen said.  Hildebrand will be a local favorite at Infineon, as he lives in nearby Sausalito, California. Hildebrand is one of America's brightest rising stars, winning the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 championship last year. Hildebrand drove for Newman Wachs Racing in this year's Atlantic series, finishing seventh overall. Hildebrand tested with the RLR/Andersen team at Infineon Aug. 16. "Everything went very well, and the Capes and I are very optimistic about our chances with both Andrew and J.R. at Infineon," said team manager John Andersen.

Taking a 67-point lead in the Overall standings into the final two Rounds of the 2007 Formula BMW USA Championship at Mosport International Raceway this weekend, 17-year old Daniel Morad (Eurointernational) is favourite to win this year's Formula BMW USA title in front of his hometown fans. Canadian Morad was last season's Rookie champion and has had a stellar season this year winning 5 times. One of seven drivers in the 15 car field who competed at Mosport last year, Morad's experience should see him collect enough points  this weekend to clinch the title. He needs only a seventh-place finish in the first race to beat Esteban Gutierrez (Team Autotecnica), the only driver with a chance to beat Morad. Mexican Gutierrez has had  eight poles and the Rookie title with his fourth win of the season in Round 12 at Road America. Three drivers who could challenge Gutierrez in the Overall points are Alexander Rossi (Team Apex Racing USA) and HBR Motorsport Team USA teammates Maxime Pelletier and Steven Guerrero. Californian Rossi has come on strong in the closing stages of the season, winning two of the last four races. He stands third overall. Second-year Formula BMW USA drivers Pelletier and Guerrero are fourth and fifth respectively

SEAT Sport UK British Touring Car driver Darren Turner proved that he’s as quick on water as he is on land, when he tested Jackie Hunt’s P1 SuperSport World Championship winning powerboat on the Solent..

Paul Rivett won on his return to  he 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup on Sunday, (19^th August )at Brands Hatch in round 9 of the series

20-08-07

Castle Combe on Bank Holiday Monday is the venue for latest rounds of Apex Tubulars Porsche Club Championship, two races in a day at the Wiltshire circuit offering the series regulars ample opportunity to score championship points. Two wins at Brands Hatch for championship leader Mark McAleer have put him in control at the top of the table, but his rivals - both from within Class One and down the order - will be keen to reign his lead in..

This coming weekend's (25/26 Aug) Thruxton rounds of the British Formula Ford Championship will provide the toughest test yet for competitors and teams. For instead of the usual three-race festival of speed the high-speed Hampshire circuit will play host to four Formula Ford sprints..

Two rounds of the Apex Tubulars Porsche Open Championship makes it a hectic Castle Combe Bank Holiday Monday raceday for some of the most dramatic and exciting cars in British Club Racing. The regulars head for the Wiltshire circuit after an exciting one-hour race at Brands Hatch which saw numerous lead changes and the action should be just as hot at Combe. .

The BRSCC were at Oulton Park over the weekend and Neven Kirkpatrick and Gary Patterson shared the honours in the two Super Mighty Mini races. Kirkpartick won race one beating Patterson by 3.454 seconds with Scott Kendall third. In race 2 Patterson held sway leading James Young across the line with 2.032 secs in hand. Kirkpatrick had to settle for third less than a tenth behind the second placed car. In the MG Cockshoot Cup Ian Whitt took his Midget across the line first 1.280 secs up on Peter Bramble in second.  The Dunlop Tuscan Challenge was won by a Sagaris V8 driven by Steve Glynn. 14 seconds  behind ina Tuscan was Hugh Marshall with Fred Tonge third in a second Sagaris. In the Mighty Minis Chris Morgan took a brace of victories beating David Berney by 4.29 secs in race 1 and James Lyford by 2.19 secs in race two. As usual  the Club Formula Fords were split into two with teh older Class B, C & E in one race which was won by David Bailey's(pictured at Anglesey earlier thisyear) Reynard FF89 from the Van Dieman RF88 of Nigel Thompson, but only just. The two leaders were separated at the flag by just 0.781 secs. Lee Hannah came third in a second Reynard. In the newer Class A & B race Gary Jones triumphed over Stuart Gough, the leader's Van Dieman RF91 winning by 1.320 seconds. Third was James Cole who started from pole,1.9 secs behind the winner.

Manor Competition’s next competitive action will come this weekend, 25th/26th August, at the Nurburgring in Germany for the latest round of the North European Formula Renault Championship (NEC) - the team’s first ever appearance in the category. Running Alexander Sims at the event, hopes are high for a very successful outing. Co-team owner Sarah Shaw, meanwhile, will return to her secondary role for the weekend as race engineer for Formula Renault BARC title contender Hywel Lloyd during the ninth and 10th rounds of the category’s season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on 26th/27th August, the meeting taking place over the Bank Holiday. 

Jeremy Metcalfe to race Porsche guest car at Knockhill. will make his first ever race appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship during the category’s 17th and 18th rounds of the season at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland. The drive is part of Jeremy’s prize for being a finalist in the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and will see him compete at the Fife venue at the wheel of the guest car which is run by Porsche GB. Jeremy’s only prior experience of a 400bhp 911 GT3 Cup car came during last autumn’s track evaluations for the aforementioned McLaren award

Multiple title-winning Formula Renault UK entrant Manor Competition continued it’s superb run of recent good form by claiming a richly deserved podium during round 15 of the season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 19th August, rookie ace Alexander Sims racing to a comfortable second place finis

Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt won round 16 of the 2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship after Championship leader Duncan Tappy was excluded having taken the chequered flag in first place. Tappy, having won Round 15 had started the race on pole and crossed the line first before his car was protested by Apotex

At the famous Grand Prix de Trois Rivieres, Australian Racing Driver James Davison who started third was involved in a first corner melee that eliminated five cars. Sustaining suspension damage to the left front, Davison limped back to the pits where the team did an extraordinary job to change the front upright and get the car back into the race, 6 laps down. Davison to the acclaim of the crowd proceeded to drive through the field and set the fastest lap of the weekend. The Grand Prix held in front of a large crowd involved many lead changes and was a great advertisement for the Star Mazda Series. The race was eventually won by Ron White, Dane Cameron 2nd and Nick Haye 3rd.  Davison said “The Trois Rivieres street circuit is amazing with the Star Mazda feature race involving some incredible dicing. I am obviously disappointed the first corner accident precluded me from racing for the lead, but I walk away with the track record. I would like the thank my Velocity team for doing such a fantastic job in every respect. I know I’m competitive so I am looking forward to Mosport next weekend where I aim to win.”  The Championship Standings are Dane Cameron 1st, Ron White 2nd James Davison 3rd.  Round 10 of the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear will be staged at Mosport International Raceway in Ontario Canada, run in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series next weekend 25th August.

Clerical Medical and Manx Sports Aid Foundation backed 22-year-old Alex Lloyd got his first taste of an IndyCar machine last Thursday, when he tested for Target Chip Ganassi Racing at Sebring in Florida. Alex shared the day with 2003 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon. For Alex this was a great opportunity for him to show what he can do in the 3.5 litre V8 machine, and compare and learn.  Lloyd ran for a couple of hours with 2 new sets of tires giving him an opportunity to get up to speed, make some changes to the car and get a feel for the way to get the most out of an IndyCar Series machine. "It was a great feeling for me to have my first IndyCar test with Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Stated Lloyd. "The cars are a big step forward in terms of power and downforce compared to the Indy Pro Series car. This meant the driving style differed slightly. To have Scott Dixon's data to compare myself to was invaluable and helped me a great deal."

ELF Renault Clio Cup driver Andrew Herron saw his run of eight consecutive feature race points-scoring finishes come to an unfortunate end at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Sunday afternoon, the JHR Developments driver forced into retirement on the opening lap

Alexander Sims made his second visit to the Formula Renault UK podium this season during round 15 at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, the Manor Competition racer taking a highly competitive second place result after a controlled and mature drive…

Jeremy Metcalfe emerged from Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Sunday with his fifth podium finish of the 2007 Formula Renault UK Championship, the second in as many race meetings for the 19-year-old

Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt produced an inch-perfect performance during round 16 of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday(Sunday) to achieve an excellent second position, although this was then declared a victory for  Bratt following the post-race exclusion of title rival Duncan Tappy

Turkish racer Erkut Kizilirmak secured his maiden Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship top 10 finish during the first of three action-packed encounters at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent, the Arkas Racing star then continuing the momentum with a repeat performance in race two…

The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear races at Trois Rivieres took place at the weekend and Ron White, who started 6th, won his second race in a row; points leader Dane Cameron, starting 4th, kept his championship hopes healthy with a 2nd-place finish; and newly-emerging talent Nick Haye scored his second-straight podium finish after starting 7th

Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) took his win tally to five, converting two poles into a double victory to re-gain his Championship lead in Rounds 15 and 16 of the Formula BMW UK Championship at Brands Hatch.

Sports Car star Bill Auberlen took the lead with 15 minutes remaining in Sunday's two-hour Grand-Am KONI Challenge Grand Sport (GS) race and went on to win at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres for the second time in three years in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 he co-drove with Chris Gleason.

Sunday's fifth round of the Danish Touringcar Championship at Padborg Park really turned the top part of the championship table upside down. With an impressive hat-trick of wins in both the two qualification heats and the final BMW driver John Nielsen shot from fourth position overall to become the new championship leader with an eight point lead in front of Seat Leon driver Michel Nykjær.

19-08-07

Plato avoids the carnage and  delivers a truly memorable recovery driver to keep a 4 point lead over Giovanardi in the BTCC despite the latter driver winning 2 of the 3 races

Boardman and Mussi both win in SEAT Cupra Cup while Jonathon Adam 'slips' out of round 15. The title's destination is  therefore on hold until the next round at Adam's home race, Knockhill in a fortnight's time

Alvaro Parente and Milos Pavlovic both win a race each at Spa in the World Series by Renault.

Ultimate Motorsport has launched a competition to give fans the chance to be an ‘Ultimate Grid Girl’ a the end-of-season round of the British F3 Series at Rockingham…

Lamy and.Sarrazin win Spa Le Man Series race in the  Peugeot 908 HDi FAP works entry. The Collard/.Boullion Pescarolo was second 2 laps down on the leader. 

18-08-07

It is with regret the 'theGrid' has learnt of the untimely death of Tim Bevan, a racer in the Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship. A former Porsche driver, Tim was racing in the SEAT Cupra Championship in the Leon Cupra R Class, finishing  4th at Oulton Park in round 10.  Tim was tragically killed in a road accident on Thursday night (16th August). He will be sorely missed in the BTCC support paddock. 'theGrid would like to extend its sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Jason Plato will start Round 22 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship from the second row of the grid, after a brilliant qualifying lap saw the SEAT Sport UK driver record a surprise 3rd fastest time around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit..

Jeff Gordon took his ninth NASCAR Nextel Cup Pole this year at the Michigan International Speedway despite being last oput in qualifying. Gordon explained why being last today was best: "Just the angle of the sun believe it or not, even though you might not feel it or see it. The track temperature does cool down just a few degrees and they said it was six degrees cooler from the start of qualifying to the end so in that way it paid off and I think in probably the biggest way is that you get an opportunity to look and watch every car and listen on the radio, the guys comments, plus your teammates and what they did and make air pressure adjustments on pit road to compensate for that."

Fairuz Fauzy (Cram Compétition) secured his first pole position in the World Series Formula Renault 3.5 at the prestigious Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The Malaysian driver maintained the form he showed in collective testing to dominate today's qualifying session. He will be joined on row one by Alvaro Barba (Draco Racing), who was quickest in the first series, which was held on a drying track.

A dominant display in qualifying ensures championship leader Duncan Tappy  will start from pole position for rounds 15 and 16 of the 2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit on Sunday, 19th August. The Fortec Motorsport ace set a time of 46.983s (91.84mph) in a wet first qualifying session, adapting well to dry conditions in session two with a time of 44.387s (97.21mph).

17-08-07

OULTON ON SATURDAY - The BRSCC North Western Centre is back in action for their fifth meeting of the season this Saturday at Oulton Park. It looks like a great day of motorsport with 11 races scheduled starting from 11.50am. In addition to the perennial Oulton favourites of the Carphone Warehouse Networks Formula Fords & Ford XR’s, the meeting features the very popular LMA Euro Saloons, the Mighty & Super Mighty Minis, the Dunlop Tuscan Challenge & the MGCC Cockshoot Cup. The full timetable can be found at www.brscc.co.uk/calendar/36.html 

After a month-long mid-season break, the Renault 3.5 cars returned to action at Spa-Francorchamps. Fairuz Fauzy (Cram Compétition) recorded the best time in the half-day of collective testing, to finish ahead of Clivio Piccione (RC Motorsport). Championship rivals Filipe Albuquerque (Epsilon Euskadi) and Alvaro Parente (Tech 1 Racing) were not far behind the top two.

ROUND nine of the ELF Renault Clio Cup from Brands Hatch could be shown live on ITV4 on Sunday. If the raceday schedule stays intact, the race will be shown after the second BTCC race. This will be the first time a TOCA support race has been shown live on ITV.

TRACK SESSIONS AVAILABLE AT ROCKINGHAM THIS WEEKEND. This weekend the BRSCC are running their Rockingham meeting in conjunction with the Ford RS Owners Club to bring together two days of racing and the largest Ford car club show in the country. The RSOC National Day will attract one of Rockingham’s biggest crowds of the year with over 10,000 people attending. Saturday 18th will feature qualifying and racing including Pickup Trucks and MAC Tools SCSA V8s on the full Oval circuit, along with Ford Fiestas, Ford Saloons & VSR’s on the international circuit.  Sunday 18th will see the Ford RS Owners Club take over the showground with trade stands, car displays and lots more. In addition to the racing there will be track-time available to the general public on both Saturday & Sunday. The Saturday session is an open pit lane and costs £50. On Sunday there are 20 minute sessions for three different groups. Groups A & B will have a 98db limit while Group C will have a 105db limit. The cost is £115. For more information and to book call the RSOC on 08702 406215. Circuit entry tickets are priced at just £10 in advance (booking fees apply) and £15 on the gate - kids go free so Sunday promises to be a great day out for all the family. For tickets call 01536 500500 (option 8) or visit www.seetickets.com Tickets are valid for both days of the meeting. Saturday only tickets are £5 and are available on the day – they cannot be ordered in advance.

TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO. With two of the POWERnights events successfully completed there reamins just the third and final one of the summer at Silverstone on Thursday August 30th. Entries are still available in the Formula Ford, Saloon & Sports and classic Saloon & Sports categories so if you want to participate in this ground breaking initiative contact Sharon Smith at BRSCC HQ on 01732 783146 or sharon@brscc.co.uk Midland Centre Chief Marshal Alan Tyson is also on the lookout for additional marshals so if you are interested please call Alan on 01525 403676 or 07796 123218, or email marshal.midlands@brscc.co.uk 

BRITCAR SILVERSTONE 24 HOUR RACE. The Britcar Silverstone 24 Hr Race is almost upon us (7-9 Sept) and promises to be even bigger than last year! The EERC report that so far they have 70 cars on the grid including last year’s winner, Duller Motorsport, who are back to defend their prestigious title. EERC report a full grid for all the support races, including the Dutch Supercar Challenge, Porsche, Britsports as well as Production Saloons 1 and Sports 2000.  Further entertainment will be provided in the form of a Fun Fair and Air Shows, including a “dog fight” with a Messerschmitt (weather permitting). Spectators can purchase an event programme giving a full preview and the exact timings for the weekend for £5. There will be numerous retail outlets attending including catering, clothing and memorabilia. The EERC are offering BRSCC members reduced weekend tickets at £15. Visit www.eerc.co.uk and quote code BRS07.The timetable and entry list are also available on the site. 

BRSCC  MEMBERSHIP CARDS Just a reminder to all competitors that if you are racing in a BRSCC championship you must be a Racing Member of the Club. It is a mandatory requirement that all Racing Members produce their membership card when signing on at a race meeting. So if you are not yet a member or need to renew please contact the membership secretary Jo Ward on 01732 780100 or at jo@brscc.co.uk

The Star Mazda Championship is at Trois Rivieres this weekend for Round 9 and the three Canadians in the series, Devin Cunningham,  Marco Di Leo and Lorenzo Mandarino each have one win already can one of them make it two?.

ROUND 15 of the Formula Renault UK Championship is standing by to be shown ‘as-live’ during ITV4’s BTCC coverage from Brands Hatch. Depending on the raceday timetable, ful coverage of Sunday’s first  race will be shown after the second BTCC race of the day. The action will be shown at approximately 14.00 on Sunday.

DRIVERS wishing to test prior to the Formula Renault UK Winter Series will have an additional test day organised by Renault Sport UK. The test at Snetterton on 2nd October is open to current drivers but also allows newcomers to the series a chance to shakedown their cars ahead of  the Winter Series.

FOUR drivers have already confirmed their entry in the 2007 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Winter Series.. Alpine Motorsport’s Formula Renault BARC Championship leader Dean Stoneman and former FR BARC driver Andy Meyrick of AMR will both take part in the main Championship. Newcomers Brett Parris and Scott Jenkins have entered the BARC class, where 2006- specification cars will race without the usual engine restrictor. Parris has finished on the podium six in Formula Jedi, including two race wins ,. Jenkins is a leading kart  racer who has launched the 2SJ brand with his younger brother Sam. Scott, who turns 16 on Tuesday, has won races in America this season and lies seventh in the British Super One Renault Formula A Championship. The 2007 Formula Renault UK Winter Series is limited to 32 entries to meet the track licence at the two venues, Donington Park and Croft. Rounds one and two take place on Saturday, 3rd November, with the final two rounds at Croft on Saturday, 10th November 

16-08-07

Lola Cars, the UK’s largest and most successful racing car constructor opened up its doors for a comprehensive  tour  of  its  renowned  facilities  this  week  as part  of  the  2007  National  Motorsport Week initiative. ..read more

Dolphin Shopping Centre (Poole, Dorset) visitors will have the rare chance to rub shoulders with some of the UK’s top racing drivers from the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship on Thursday 23 August. Marko Asmer, Sam Bird, Bradley Ellis and Phiroze Bilimoria will be dropping in to challenge shoppers on the Scalextric Roadshow, meet visitors and sign autographs, from 11am until 3pm. 

The Formula BMW UK Championship heads back to Kent next weekend for the penultimate rounds of the 2007 season where the strongest grid this year will see 21 drivers hoping to capitalise on the last few months experience....read more

The first official A1GP pre-season test at Silverstone will be open to the general public – free of charge. All 22 A1GP teams will be running at the test session on Tuesday 28 August and Wednesday 29 August, with many trying new drivers in the build-up to the 2007/08 season, which begins at Zandvoort on September 30. Many cars will have new liveries which will be unveiled at the test, and it will be the first chance to see teams trial new driver combinations. There will be no  charge for parking, and covered grandstand seating will also be available at no extra cost. In addition, fans will also have the chance to get up close to the teams and drivers, with paddock access also free where there will be a tyre-change challenge. Food and refreshments can also be purchased. ‘We are delighted to be able to welcome members of the public to the test session reinforcing the fact that A1GP is the most accessible motorsport series around,’ said Pete da Silva, CEO of A1GP.

Water deal gives Malvern his last gasp chance of karting glory A lack of funds forced Formula A star Scott Malvern to quit karting - but thanks to a bottled water company he’s back on track, and out to win this weekend’s (17/18 August) Kart Masters Grand Prix. The 18-year old’s career has been revived by One water. One is the brainchild of the charity, Global Ethics - who use the profits from the sale of the bottled mineral water to install desperately needed water pumps in Africa. Scott’s clearly excited about the deal, “These water pumps are actually children’s roundabouts that draw water from wells. As the kids play on them and spin them round, clean water is pumped from the ground into tanks that the whole community can use. With a supply of fresh, clean drinking water these kids can go to school instead of having to walk for up to 5 hours to collect it.”

Ron White, who started last in the Maxwell Racing / Maxwell Paper Products Mazda won his first race of 2007 in the latest round of the 2007 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Road America..

15-08-07

Patrick Barrett and Joel Miller are the 2007 Team USA Scholarship Winners ...read more

Michael Ammermueller will replace Sebastian Vettel at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend as race driver for the Carlin World Series team, following Vettel's recent call up to the position of full time race driver with the Scuderia Torro Rosso F1 team. Ammermueller, also a Red Bull driver, comes to Carlin having recovered from a broken wrist acquired at the first GP2 round in Bahrain in April. Vettel leaves the World Series championship with a 27 point lead in the drivers' standings

Craig  Welsher, winner  of  Silverstone  Motorsport  Academy’s  2007  Racing Driver  Scholarship, returned to Silverstone at the weekend (11-12 August) to race there for the first time. read more

Australian Formula Ford Championship contenders Tim Blanchard and James Moffat received recognition for their efforts behind the wheel when they tested for leading V8 Supercar outfit TeamVodafone earlier this week. The front-running pair turned laps of Queensland Raceway with the Ford team on 13 August, at an official Driver Evaluation Day, alongside Supercross star Chad Reed. Current series leader Blanchard and third-placed Moffat impressed the team with their on-track ability and professionalism off-track. “The growth and development of Australia’s Formula Ford drivers is a passion of mine and I’m happy to have provided this opportunity to both James and Tim,” TeamVodafone team principal Roland Dane said. “Both boys have handled the task very professionally, and like Chad, have been open to all of our suggestions. This quality alone will ensure they go a long way in this sport.”

Toronto’s James Hinchcliffe was presented with the Gilles Villeneuve Award on Sunday evening as the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship season concluded at Road America, Wisconsin with its traditional end-of-year awards banquet.Hinchcliffe, who raced for A1 Team Canada in the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, had earlier in the day wrapped up a fourth place finish in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Driver Standings having campaigned the #9 NOCO/ProWorks Swift Mazda-Cosworth throughout the season for the Nevada-based Sierra Sierra Enterprises outfit.

The Christians in Motorsport Ferrari of Hector Lester and Tim Mullen took their second win of the year in British GT ahead of the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton at Silverstone last weekend.

O'Neill Continues Winning Ways at Infineon in Formula Mazda Challenge. Slone and Westerhoff Split Mazdapalooza Double-Header .

Alex Lloyd competed in the first night race in Indy Pro Series history last weekend at Kentucky Super Speedway, finishing second.

14-08-07

On Saturday Grahame and Oli Bryant scored a resounding win in the Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge 45-minute race at Silverstone in their Morgan +8.

As the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic season comes to a close in Elkhart Lake, Walker Racing is already making preparations to formulate their driver lineup for 2008. The team is pleased to announce that they will be adding another car to the stable as Canadian Kevin Lacroix and Uni-Select will join Walker Racing for the full season in the Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda in 2008.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs (pictured below) and  Paul White  entered the Adrian Flux M3 BMW at the final round of the BRITCAR series at Brands Hatch at the weekend and enjoyed a trouble-free race...

Jensen MotorSport is pleased to announce an exciting prize for drivers achieving a podium finish with our team at the Formula BMW World Final. Jensen MotorSport is offering a sponsored drive in one of their Champ Car Atlantic race cars at the Champ Car World Series season ending Arizona Grand Prix event, to be staged on the downtown streets of Phoenix, Arizona on the weekend of November 30 – December 1, 2007. Team Principal Eric Jensen said, “Our team had a great experience at the 2006 Formula BMW World Final with our driver Frankie Muniz. We are also proud that we graduated both our 2006 Formula BMW USA drivers up to our Atlantic team for the 2007. It is clear that the BMW concept teaches young drivers what they need to learn to be competitive in higher-level race series, and we hope this incentive will further help develop the careers of some talented young drivers within our team.” The Formula BMW World Final 2007 will take place at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain from 22nd – 25th November. The event will see the world’s leading Formula BMW drivers battling it out for overall victory. Visit www.formulabmwusa.com for more details about the Formula BMW World Final.

There was some highly entertaining racing at Knockhill on Sunday at the SMRC organised meeting. With 2 races for nearly everyone adn the DDMS thrown in it was a good way to kick-off British Motorsort week   full reports -Rob Pritchard winning DDMC race

Ultimate Motorsports gave 2 AOL competition winners a day to remember on Sunday at the 8th ound of British F3 championship.  The two lucky winners, father and son Frank and Peter Bloyce, travelled from their home near Brands Hatch to spend the entire day with the team after winning the competition on AOL's motors section – and they proved to be lucky charms as Irish driver Michael Devaney raced to the team's best ever finish.  Team Principal Barry Walsh said: "We are a team that likes to be open and friendly and we value our supporters greatly. This competition, which we ran through online portal AOL, gave us a great chance to welcome two fans that clearly have motorsport in their blood.  "Frank and Peter certainly seemed to have an enjoyable day and after getting to know the team I hope they will be lifelong supporters! They were both excellent guests and I think they learned a lot about us! We look forward to welcoming more competition-winning fans into the garage as the team continues to grow." In what proved to be a thrilling and educational visit, the two prizewinners met drivers Esteban Guerrieri and Michael Devaney, had a full tour of the garage and were given an insight into the technical layout of the car and the inner meaing of the telemetry data by the team's engineers.   They were treated to all-day hospitality in the exclusive Lloyds TSB Insuarance British F3 International Series area, had the chance to get on the grid several times during the day and watch from the stands as the Ultimate Motorsport cars competed in the day's two F3 races.

T-Cars racer Joe Waters, from Norwich, got the chance of a lifetime recently when thanks to SEAT Sport UK he met his racing hero Jason Plato..

Round 7 of the  Formula Renault BARC Championship saw Kiran Clark take a season's best 4th place at Snetterton..

Asmer takes 2 more wins in British F3..

13-08-07

Dean Stoneman of Alpine Motorsports left Snetterton at the weekend in the lead of the Formula Renault BARC Championship after winning both races at the Norfolk track...

The Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy has been chosen once again as the racing destination for this year’s Team USA Scholarship winners. The scheme was first launched in 1990 and its inaugural winner, Jimmy Vasser, went on to win the 1996 Champ Car crown. The scholarship program has provided opportunities for deserving young Americans ever since, and the winners have taken part in the FPA Autumn Trophy on four previous occasions. Paul Edwards won the title in 1999 and in 2000 the series was won by Phil Giebler, who has gone on to represent Team USA in A1GP and be Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500 in May. The scheme returned to FPA in 2005 with J.R. Hildebrand, and Dane Cameron took overall honours in 2006. Hildebrand is competing in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship this season, whilst Cameron is leading the Star Mazda Championship. This year’s winners are Patrick Barrett, 17, from Los Osos , California and Joel Miller, 19, from Hesperia , California . Barrett is currently leading the Pacific F2000 Championship whilst Miller heads the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National points table. The pair were chosen from a shortlist of seven talented young American drivers and the adjudicating panel included Vasser, Champ Car owner Dale Coyne and Scholarship founder Jeremy Shaw among others.Miller said: “I have to thank everybody behind the Team USA Scholarship for giving me this opportunity to represent the U.S. this year in the Formula Palmer Audi series. Racing in Europe in a competitive series has always been a goal of mine, and now the Team USA Scholarship is making that a reality”. 

This year’s FPA Autumn Trophy takes place over two weekends – Brands Hatch on 27/28 October and Snetterton on 3/4 November. The Snetterton weekend will incorporate the FPA Shoot-out to decide who will be the sixth British contender to join the finalists for the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and places are available for the shoot-out for £5,500 plus VAT.

Snetterton held a two day BARC meeting at the weekend with Classic Saloons and Caterham Graduates providing a large slice of the entertainment. James Ellwood (pictured below) won both the Caterham Mega Graduate races beating Declan Dolan on both occasions. On Saturday he had an ‘easier’ time winning by just over 3 seconds whilst on Sunday they gap was a ‘fag-paper’ or 0.080secs! George Longmuir was third on Saturday and Mike Welburne on Sunday. In the Super Graduates Andrew Vickers won Saturday’s race from Andrew Smith and James Sibbett, The trio covered by less than a second at the line. On Sunday Andrew Ennis triumphed with Sibbet second and Vickers third. In the Classic Graduate race Trevor Newman beat Toby Briant on both occasions, winning on Saturday by 0.294seconds while on Sunday he was 0.2 seconds up on Briant but unfortunately for him 0.013 seconds behind Graeme Smith, Sunday’s race winner. Sheena Woodhouse won both the Formula Woman encounters from Jennifer Garratt with Emily Fletcher third on each occasion.  In the Classic Saloons Post Historic race Roger Stanford’s BMW 2002(pictured) beat Dave Thomas Mk1 Capri by 4 seconds while Stephen Primett was third in an Escort, 1 second further back.   In the Hammerite Classic Group 1 race Stacy Vickers took his Mazda RX7 to victory ahead of Brian Steven’s Jag XJ12 and Jim McLoughlin’s Capri. Steven’s had to settle for second in the Toyo Tyres Pre-93 races as well, Ken Lark winning by 4.169seconds in his VW Corrado, but at least Steven’s did beat Vickers who was third, just 7 tenths behind. The two Powertec Radical Challenge races were won by Tony Ashton from Simon Tilling and Paul Steele . Andrew Partridge took a lights to flag win in the Easytrack BMW race while Trevor Collar, in a Sapphire Cosworth and Gerard Faber in a Chevrolet Camaro each won a round of the Ibis Packaging Modified Saloons Championship. Kevin Williams was second to Collar on Saturday while the latter was runner-up on Sunday. The Tiger Sportscar race was won by Paul Dudley from Jow Tuckey.

Championship leader Tony Gilham finally took his  first wins of the Volkswagen Racing Cup season yesterday (Sunday), winning both races at Silverstone in his Golf GTI. Gilham was the fifth different driver to win this year

Russell Racing’s Mark Gillibrand produced his fourth points-scoring result of the 2007 Formula Renault BARC Championship season at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk this afternoon, the 24-year-old driving superbly to climb from 17th on the grid to finish in the coveted top 10 of the headline FR2000 Class.

Road America is a driver's circuit in the truest sense of the word. The majestic Wisconsin road-course is a circuit that separates the men from the boys with its series of ultra-fast corners throughout its four-mile layout. more

Team Australia has had a day to forget in the Generac Grand Prix of Road America as both Will Power and Simon Pagenaud experienced problems in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin today...read more

Carlo van Dam was dominating the German F3 Championship this weekend at the TT-Circuit in Assen. The Dutchman, racing in front of his home crowd, took two pole positions, two victories and the fastest lap in the second race of the ATS Formula 3 Cup. Van Dam improved his leading position in the championship. After twelve races the S-T-A-R-T driver has collected a total of 107 points. In the Rookie Cup Van Dam also has a big lead after scoring 100 championship points

Glen Denny and Graham Fennymore shared the Avon Caterham Superlight Challenge honours at Silverstone at the weekend (11/12 August), claiming a win apiece in two hard-fought 30-minute epics. It was Colards Motorsport driver Denny's maiden UK Caterham win and reigning champion Fennymore's fifth of the season. 

Rookie Hideki Mutoh earned his second Indy Pro Series victory, holding off Alex Lloyd and Wade Cunningham to win the Kentucky 100 at Kentucky Speedway.

Long after the results of Saturday's Star Mazda race at Road America are forgotten, the three Andersen Racing drivers who competed in it will remember the exciting 45-minute clash on the famous 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course.

Bradley Ellis still leads the Avon Tyres British GT Championship with teammate Alex Mortimer despite a challenging two-hour round eight at Silverstone on Sunday 12 August

Franck Perera  ended his Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season in the best possible way, winning his third race of the year at the Generac Grand Prix at Road America

Mexico’s Esteban Gutierrez, won Round 12 Formula BMW USA  from his record eighth pole of the season at Road America yesterday.

Callum MacLeod's rival in British Formula Ford, Nick Tandy, took two wins to Macleod's one at Silverstone this weekend to close the gap at the topof the Championship table

Hitech Racing is now well on track for the Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 International Series title with Marko Asmer taking two lights to flag victories at Silverstone yesterday(Sunday). 

12-08-07

What does DTM star Paul Di Resta do on his weekend off?   Work on Dad's FF1600  of course...(pic 11/56 Motorsport)

Mark Campbell had a busy weekend. Starting on Saturday at Oulton Park the TR5 driver competed in the CSCC's Swinging 60's taking a fine second place. He then drove up the M6  to Knockhill where he took in two rounds of the  SMRC Classic Sports/Saloons which he managed to win quite convincingly. In the first he beat Stan Bernard's Porsche by 11 seconds and in the second Olly Ross's Lotus Europa(by 8 secs), despite slipping  to third at the start and having to dispatch first Stan Bernard, then Olly Ross and  survive a 'moment' at Clark's when he got his wheels onto the gravel trap, somehow kept it together, to record a second victory.

 Richard Dorlin (pictured below, pic Paul Williams) was the winner of the Vredstein/Souilmec JEC Saloons race at Oulton park on Saturday.  He held off Dave Bye, in a Jag XJ6 to win bt 1.096secs. Peter Dorlin came home third in a Jag Mk2, 19 seconds off the leader. In the CSCC's Swinging 60's encounter John Muirhead brought his Lotus 7 S2 home in first place 11 seconds up on second placed Mark Campbell's TR5 and David Holroyd's Elan. Matthew Hammond triumphed in the CSCC Tin Tops race bring his Honda Accord home in front of the Colin Broad,/Nigel Ainge Honda Integra. The Clio pairing of Collins and Burton were third.  William Smallridge took a dominant win in the Lenham Cars MG Midget race, crossing the line with over 30 seconds in hand over second palced Richard Perry and Edward Reeve in third Steve Davis won the Toyo Tyres XJS race from Steve Avery and John Lock while Jon-Paul Ivey(pictured, pic Paul Williams)  took the honours in the JEC/WRDA Sports V Saloons race in his Radical. Second in a Nemesis was Alexis Cole, just over a second behind while in third was Peter Williams in a Radical.

Callum MacLeod current leader of the British Formula Ford Championship lost his chance of recording an eighth win this year when he collided with a back marker on the last lap at Silverstone yesterday

Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan waljked away with the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway today. Second was Scott Dixon who closed to within 8 points of Dario Franchitti who coyuld only finish down in eighth.

Marko Asmer (#7 Hitech) took his eighth win of the season with a lights to flag victory ahead of a resurgent Maro Engel (#23 Carlin), who started 5th, and Atte Mustonen (#26 Raikkonen Robertson Racing). Greg Mansell (#50 Fortec) had his best result since Round 3 at Donington Park finishing 4th. Sergio Perez took his 8th win in the National Class ahead of Brazilian Ernesto Otero, who finished second on his British F3 debut.

Alexander Rossi wins Round 11 of the Formula BMW series at Road America,

Russell Racing saw a top 10 finish for Mohamed Al A'li fall by the wayside when the Bahraini driver was forced to retire in round seven of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Snetterton on Saturday...read more

Jolyon Palmer took his second victory of the year in action packed round 15 of the Visma Formula Palmer Audi Championship at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire

Ultimate Motorsport equal their best ever result at Silverstone in Round eight of the British F3 International Series , just missing out on claiming their first podium 

The most competitive fight for the Australian Drivers Championship in years has got even closer following a wet and wild round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship held today at Phillip

11-08-07

Hitech Racing and Marko Asmergot their home event off to the best possible start with double pole position ahead of Round 15 and 16 of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series at Silverstone tomorrow.  The Estonian, who now lives in Buckingham posted the quickest time in both 30 minutes qualifying sessions today to take his seventh and eight pole spots of the season. 

Ultimate Motorsport get their best ever grid spot at Silverstone where Michael Devaney put his car on third  for  Round 8 of this weekend's British F3 Championship

Formula Renault UK team Manor Competition is fully focused on achieving its second race victory of the 2007 season when the 15th and 16th rounds of the campaign take place at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit next weekend, 18th/19th August.

The 2007 Clio Cup Scholarship and behind the scenes television  programmes give you a great insight into what it takes to become a National Racing driver competing in one of the most competitive championships in the world – The Clio Cup Championship.

David Epton is all set to continue in the Formula Renault UK Championship for the rest of the season after confirming he will remain in the Apotex Scorpio Motorsport camp for the 15th and 16th rounds of the campaign at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit next weekend, 18th/19th August. .

Formula Renault UK Championship front-runner Jeremy Metcalfe is aiming to return to winning ways at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit next weekend, 18th/19th August, the Kent venue where the AKA Cobra ace secured a superb opening round pole position and race victory at the start of the current season.  For the category's second race visit of the year to the short 1.2-mile circuit, Jeremy is bidding to be in the battle for wins in both the 15th and 16th rounds of the campaign as he hopes to begin a consistent run of podium results on the back of the outstanding third place result he achieved at Snetterton a fortnight ago, from ninth on the grid. II feel pretty good looking ahead to Brands", said Jeremy, "The Indy Circuit is one we've been strong at before and obviously I took pole position and won there earlier in the year so we're confident of another good showing. Qualifying is obviously very important on such a tight and short track and you've got to try and be on the front row really to challenge for a win. Our set-up at the start of the season at Brands was good so we should be able to be competitive again and I'd like to think we could back-up our Snetterton podium with a couple more next weekend."

Will Bratt is setting his sights as high as possible ahead of the 15th and 16th rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit next weekend, 18th/19th August, with two race victories the centre of his focus.

10-08-07

Cars  International  Kensington,  a  leading  worldwide  supplier  of  high-performance road  and  racing  cars,  has  secured its place  amongst  £30  million  worth  of  racing exotica  and  motor  racing  legends,  after  its  beautiful  1964  Ferrari  250 Lusso was included into the entry of the famous RAC Club T.T. Race at the Goodwood Revival (August 31 – September 2, 2007). read more

The 2007 Blaupunkt SEAT Cupra Championship heads back to Brands Hatch and this time the drivers don’t have a whole season ahead of them to make up for any mistakes. This is, in terms of the Championship, is crunch time

Double former ELF Renault Clio Cup champion Paul Rivett  is set to make his return to the one-make saloon-car series in round nine on 18th/19th August. The 28-year-old, champion in 2002 and 2004, will race for Entrants’ standings leader JHR Developments in place of Richard Cannon at Kent’s Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Rivett, who also won Renault Clio Winter Cup titles in 2001 and 2003, has been out of racing action since finishing as 2007 Clio Cup vice-champion to Tom Onslow-Cole. He has worked this season as a driver coach to reigning Clio Winter Cup champion Niki Lanik before getting into the car for official testing at Thruxton on Wednesday, 8th August.  The test marked the first time Rivett has driven the record-breaking New Clio Cup car, having won his titles when Clio Renaultsport 182 race cars were used. Commenting on his return to the grid, Rivett said: “I’m really looking forward to it and hope I can get a good result for the team to thank them for giving me the chance. JHR Developments had its first win of the year in the last round and leads the team standings so I couldn’t ask for a better car to race.  “Testing at Thruxton was a chance to see how the car handles compared to the one I raced last year. I didn’t get as many flying laps as I would have liked so I don’t think my time is representative of my true pace. We’ll go to Mallory Park next Wednesday to do some more laps and then on to Brands Hatch.” 

Despite having won seven of the last nine races at Brands Hatch, Jason Plato, the leader of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, will have 45kgs of success ballast on his SEAT Leon next weekend(18-19 August) which makes him think winning this time around  could be a lot harder

Hywel Lloyd set the fastest