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08/05/2011
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28-12-10
 F2000:
HP-Tech Motorsport will contest the 2011 F2000 Championship
Series season
with at least two new RFR (Ralph Firman Racing) F2000 cars. The
Florida-based team has already signed aspiring Venezuelan
drivers Giancarlo Potolicchio and Robert La Rocca and is in the
process of building brand new RFR chassis. Potolicchio, 18, is
coming off winning the Venezuelan F1600 Championship in 2010.
Teammate Robert La Rocca is 21 and brings various regional SCCA
wins from the past year in a Formula Continental HP-Tech entry
to the F2000 grid and is looking to move up the motorsports
ladder. “The team goal is to promote the new RFR car in the
F2000 Series while being a contender for the title,” said Jorge
Herrera, team president. “I think coming into the Series, which
is new to us, with an entirely new chassis, will be the biggest
challenge. However, we have two really good drivers and a very
experienced team.” While HP-Tech has announced two drivers, the
team is testing more drivers in the coming weeks for its third
chassis, and is considering ordering another. HP-Tech has a
racing background that goes back to 1975 in Venezuela, when the
team was known as Auto Errante in drag racing, winning multiple
national championships. In 1990, Juan Herrera, one of the
principals of the team, got involved in Formula F racing. Since
then the squad has won six national championships and has
developed as a business, importing Van Diemen cars and parts to
Venezuela and now RFR to the United States. In 2004, the HP-Tech
family moved to the United States where they worked for the
American Speed Factory, prepping cars in Star Mazda, Ferrari
Challenge and Grand-Am, accumulating two Pro Mazda Master
Championships and four Ferrari Challenge North American
Championships. The 2011 F2000 Championship Series opens its
sixth consecutive season with a double-header weekend, like all
events, at VIR, April 8-10.
24-12-12
 Formula
Renault BARC:
Drivers competing in next year’s Protyre Formula Renault BARC
Championship
will benefit from live television and large crowds for the final
two rounds of the season. Once again the championship will be
over 12 rounds (six double-headers) with the final two races
joining the BTCC package at Silverstone on 15th/16th October.
The move marks only the second time the Protyre BARC series has
joined the BTCC (previous 2006) with the championship filling
the slot left by the ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin which in
2011 features a 16-round calendar. It will join BTCC regular the
Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship as Renault Sport UK’s
second support race at the Silverstone meeting giving spectators
four single-seater rounds to enjoy. Meanwhile the rest of the
calendar sees the series kick-off at Donington Park National on
Easter weekend (23rd/24th April) before moving to Brands Hatch
Indy (14th/15th May), Oulton Park Island (28th May), Croft
(23rd/24th July) and Thruxton (3rd September). The series will
also continue to be run by Grovewood Sport Ltd with Championship
Promoter Simon North commenting: “We are very much looking
forward to the 2011 Protyre BARC series and in particular the
introduction on the BTCC meeting. The series has always been a
proven feeder series to the national-level Formula Renault UK
Championship but this announcement means the top BARC drivers
will be able to demonstrate their talents in front of the UK
teams, along with the thousands of spectators and millions more
watching live on ITV.” Interest is also already building ahead
of the 2011 campaign with the recent announcement of Indian
racing driver Zaamin Jaffer signing a deal with reigning
champion team Hillspeed. pic Jakob
Ebrey Photography
Masters Historic Racing,
Europe ’s leading organiser of historic motor racing,
has launched its 2011 calendar with new events and circuits on
the schedule. Joining the established Brands Hatch Festival as
Masters self-managed weekend dates, will be the new Catalan
Classic Revival at the Barcelona GP circuit, the September
Donington Festival and the Gran Premio Historico Porto on the
famous Boavista circuit. The Masters season will kick off on
April 8-10 at Barcelona before moving to the UK for the annual
Brands Hatch Masters Historic Festival on May 28-30. The next
stop is the exciting new Gran Premio Historic Porto where
Masters will take five grids to the revamped, widened and
improved street circuit on June 17-19. A month later, Masters
will provide grids at the Silverstone Classic (July 22-24),
while the Oldtimer at the Nurburgring will echo to the sound of
several Masters’ grids on August 12-14. After the success of
Masters being chosen to re-open Donington Park in 2010, Masters
will return in 2011 with its own Festival on September 2-4,
while the Spa 6 Hours event on September 23-25 will once again
prove to be the busiest events on the historic calendar – last
season, across its 4 Spa September Masters races, the group
produced 230 starters, more Masters racers than ever before –
over 330 drivers – racing in Formula One, sports car, GT and
touring cars. A busy UK calendar of Top Hat events will kick off
with a new venue as Masters makes its Oulton Park debut on March
12th where the regular Top Hat grids will be joined by World
Sportscar Masters and Gentlemen Drivers racers. Snetterton will
pay host to Top Hat on April 23rd and the brands Hatch Indy
circuit hosts Top Hat on May 28th. The traditional Mallory Park
date moves to August 7th where there will be a Formula Ford 1600
presence while Top Hat competitors will be catered for in the
Donington Masters Festival on September 2nd – 4th and at Spa on
September 23rd-25th.
 WTCC:
During the 2011 season all the Super 2000 cars will be
eligible to compete in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
Alongside the new S2000 cars fitted with the 1.6-litre
turbocharged engine, the old 2.0-litre cars with petrol-powered
normally aspirated and turbodiesel engines will be also allowed
to take part. Minimum weights for the new S2000 cars have been
fixed at 1150 kg for front-wheel drive and 1170 for rear wheel
drive. The weights for the old cars will be: 1150 kg for
normally aspirated fwd, 1155 kg for normally aspirated rwd
and1170 kg for turbodiesel fwd. ll the cars will start the
season on the maximum compensation weight, or 40 kilos added to
the minimum weights.
WTCC race winner Jordi Gené,
together with Ian Planas and V-Line Org, has launched the
European Production Series that will be
open to touring cars of all kinds, following the spirit and
success of the Spanish Endurance Cup. The new series will also
welcome cars from different one-make trophies, such as the SEAT
León, Ginetta GSO, MINI Renault Clio and Fiat Abarth cups and
challenges.
The European Production Series will be part of six WTCC events
in 2011: Zolder, Monza, Brno, Donington Park, Oschersleben and
Valencia.
23-12-10
-
 Star
Mazda : Juncos Racing has confirmed its
driver lineup for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship
presented by Goodyear. The four young and diverse talents
that will represent team in 2011 are Tatiana Calderon,
Martin Scuncio, Joao Horto and Gustavo Menezes.
Tatiana Calderon, 17, first competed with Juncos Racing five
years ago as an eager young go-kart driver and reunited with
the team once again last year for her rookie season in the
Star Mazda Championship. By the third race at Mazda Raceway
Laguna Seca, the Colombian racer had already delivered her
first top-ten of the 2010 season, and by the second half of
the year, she was consistently competing with the
front-runners to take five additional top-ten finishes. The
former teammate of 2010 Star Mazda Champion Conor Daly will
return to the series this season stronger than ever and
ready to seize her first victory.
Running alongside Calderon is Argentinean driver
 Martin
Scuncio, 19, a rookie who made his debut in the Star Mazda
Championship last season at the finale event in Road
Atlanta. Despite being his first Star Mazda Championship
race and first experience on the famous 2.54-mile road
course, Scuncio immediately commanded the attention and
respect of others by finishing in the top-five positions in
every official session, narrowly missing the pole position
due to a session-ending red flag, and claiming a fourth
place finish in the race. The 2008 Chilean Formula 3
Champion has already proven what a competitor he is in a
single event and has even more to show in 2011.
-
Joao Horto, 20, though not a rookie to the Star Mazda
Championship, will make his debut as a Juncos Racing driver
in 2011. Like many other aspiring racecar drivers, the
Brazilian began his career in go-karts where he won multiple
races and championship titles in Brazil. By 2008, Horto was
ready to take his passion for speed to the next
level-formula cars. Horto spent 2008 and 2009 competing in
the Formula BMW Americas Championship before graduating to
the Star Mazda Championship in 2010 where the rookie claimed
four podiums, five top-five finishes and nine top-ten
finishes in 13 total rounds. Horto's return to the series
in 2011 will undoubtedly see him in the hunt for his maiden
win.
-
The final, youngest member of the four-car team will be
16-year-old
 Gustavo
Menezes. The American premiered on the racing scene at age
six and became the California State Champion in go-karts
that same year. The subsequent years saw many race and
championship wins in go-karts, and at age 11, Menezes became
the youngest driver to win a JICA Snap-On Stars of Karting
race. The following year, Menezes headed overseas to race
go-karts in Europe-in addition to racing in the U.S.A.-where
he continued to impress, and in 2009, the karting ace was
awarded the Jim Russell Future Driver Award. The 2011 Star
Mazda Championship will be Menezes' first attempt at racing
a full season of formula cars, but with a résumé like his,
the Juncos Racing team has full confidence in the young
man's abilities."I am extremely happy to announce our
complete driver lineup for 2011 this early," said Team Owner
Ricardo Juncos. "It's the result of all the hard work the
whole team has done over the last two years. It gives us
the chance to have these four fantastic drivers that have
not only proven their driving talents, but also have the
right attitude which is so important for this team and any
other successful team, too. All four of our drivers are
good people with a lot of passion, and that really counts
for a lot."After the last race of the 2010 Championship, we
have been working harder than ever to get ready for 2011.
We have done a lot of private testing to ultimately decide
on this driver lineup, and we are all very happy with the
decision. The most important thing each person at Juncos
Racing has is passion, and that is something you can't buy.
I really believe it is the key to victory, and I have no
doubt that we will be fighting for the Championship again in
2011 with each one of our drivers." Juncos Racing's
preparation for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship will begin
with testing throughout the month of January. The first
official series test will be at Barber Motorsports Park in
Alabama from March 14-16, and the opening race of the 2011
event calendar will be at the Streets of St. Petersburg on
March 27 in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar Series. To
see the full schedule for 2011 or for more information,
please go to
www.juncosracing.com.
22-12-10
 Grand-Am: Daniel Erickson
will step up to motorsport’s big league next month
when he competes in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The 23 year-old
Aussie will co-drive a Primus Racing Crawford-Chevrolet in the
49th running of the twice-round-the-clock classic on January
29-30 at the legendary Florida racetrack. Erickson was thrilled
at the prospect . “It’s an honour just to be invited to drive in
such a prestigious race,” he said. “I look up to people like
Martin Brundle, Buddy Rice and Jimmie Johnson because they’ve
won at the sport’s highest level, but to have the opportunity to
race against them in similar machinery will be an unbelievable
experience!” Erickson comes to the enduro as the 2010 American
F2000 Championship Series Rookie of the Year, but admits that
the 300km/h Crawford will be radically different from the
‘junior development’ openwheelers he’s driven to date. “A
Daytona Prototype has nearly double the power-to-weight ratio of
an F2000, as well as bigger tyres and more sophisticated
aerodynamics, so I’m expecting a massive increase in
performance,” he said. He added that the 5.7km Daytona road
course and the 24-hour format would present their own
challenges. “I’m looking forward to driving on Daytona’s
31-degree banking, and racing at night – they’ll be new
experiences too!” Erickson was relieved that Primus Racing owner
Jon Baytos, who masterminded his F2000 Championship Series
campaign, would be calling the shots from the Daytona pit lane.
“Jon did an amazing job for me in F2000 this year, overcoming
all sorts of problems with his knowledge and experience,” he
said. “We get on well together because we both set high
standards – there’s no-one else I’d rather have as a team
manager.” Erickson will fly to America later this month to test
the Daytona car at MSR Houston Raceway. He’ll remain in the USA
for the official Grand-Am ‘Roar Before the 24’ practice sessions
at Daytona in early-January. Between then and the Rolex 24 he
plans to test a Formula Star Mazda again, with a view to
contesting the 2011 US national Star Mazda championship.
pic
Grand-Am.com.
The intercontinental Trophy Cup Series (ITC) has announced that they have reached
an agreement with RaceFansTV.com to broadcast all sixteen races
from the Series' eight events throughout the 2011 racing season.
ITC Series Principal Doug Livingtson recently commented on the
need for a broadcast partner. "As a new series focused on
driver development, we needed a platform that would give teams,
and especially young drivers, a means of exposing their talents
while providing support for their sponsors. RaceFansTV provides
the ideal platform with the added benefit that it is global in
nature which ideal for those drivers looking to reach
international markets." RaceFanTV's Managing Director Chuck
Ehredt added. "The Intercontinental Trophy Cup Series is an
exciting new initiative for motorsport fans in that it combines
great cars on challenging tracks in a manner that is very
accessable by the fans. RaceFansTV is proud to broadcast the
races to our worldwide audience via the
www.racefanstv.com platform to increase exposure for the
competitors and sponsors, as well as allow enthusiasts around
the world to follow the championship.¨ ITC will be announcing
it's 2011 racing schedule shortly and will coordinate with
RaceFansTV to include broadcast schedules on the ITC web site so
that fans never miss a race."We are excited to have RaceFansTV
on board" ,said ITC's Livingston. "We can't wait for the season
to get started and have plenty of racing action for our fans to
watch."
Formula 3:
The FIA World Motor Sport Council intends giving Formula 3
additional kudos with the launch of a new competition
- in 2011, six existing Formula 3 events will be replaced by the
new FIA International Formula 3 Trophy. The three highest-placed
drivers will qualify for a Formula One Super Licence, and
perhaps one day will follow in Lewis Hamilton's footsteps. In
order to be eligible for this new competition, drivers are
required to have contested a full season in one of the Formula 3
championship series. Formula 3 team boss Peter Mucke: "The
Formula 3 Euro Series is important for nurturing talent and
plays quite a big role in preparing drivers for greater things
in the world of motor racing. Any driver who can reach the upper
echelons of this top-flight series is ready to meet those
challenges." Born and bred in Berlin, Peter Mucke runs 'Mucke
Motorsport', Germany's biggest private racing team, and has
launched the Formula One careers of six of his proteges -
including Sebastian Vettel. The FIA Formula 3 Trophy opener
takes place in early May 2011 during the Formula 3 Euro Series
heats. It will form part of the DTM race weekend at the
Hockenheimring. The first Formula 3 Euro Series race of the new
season is on 1st April 2011 at Le Castellet in the South of
France. The n-tv news channel transmitted live pictures of all
the races in the Formula 3 Euro Series during the 2010 season.
Broadcasts were featured by 72 stations in 167 countries.
 Renault Sport
Technologies (RST) have announced
the Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO) will take over as Promoter
of the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship and the ELF
Renault Clio Cup with Michelin series on 1 January, 2011. The
two Renault national championships will be run from SRO’s London
office and managed by experienced organiser Lisa Crampton,
alongside her responsibilities for the Cooper Tires British F3
International Series and Avon Tyres British GT Championship.
Having renewed its three-year rolling TOCA agreement earlier
this year, both one-make series will continue to run as support
races to the BTCC. Formula Renault UK will also feature at the
World Series by Renault meeting next year at Silverstone’s new
Grand Prix circuit on 20/21 August, whilst Clio Cup will retain
a 16-round calendar as previously announced.“Renault Sport
Technologies has certainly appreciated the work and the
commitment over the years of its Promoter, Grovewood Sport Ltd.
Today, we are looking forward to a very promising partnership
with SRO in global motorsport activities,” said Jean-Pascal
Dauce, Renault Sport Technologies Competition Director. “SRO
is delighted to have been appointed to take over the running of
two of Britain’s most prestigious and successful national
championships” commented Stephane Ratel, Chairman of SRO
Motorsport Group. “ SRO replaces Grovewood Sport Ltd as the
UK’s Promoter. Grovewood Sport was appointed Promoter for the UK
when Renault Sport reorganised its European motorsport structure
in 2007 and successfully ran the Renault national championship
for three years.
 Success and title glory are synonymous with Formula Renault UK
team Manor Competition
and the 2010 season was no exception as the revered squad
reclaimed the entrant’s championship and also produced its third
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner in as many years. Mounting a
sustained bid for honours throughout the main campaign, the New
Ollerton squad took eight race victories throughout the season –
five for Lewis Williamson, two for Will Stevens and one for
Ollie Millroy – during a year in which 10 different drivers
visited the top step of the podium. In the end the team finished
almost 100 points clear of its closest rival to underline the
sheer dominance of the Manor Competition attack. Unfortunately a
championship double slipped away when Scotsman Williamson was
pipped to the driver’s crown at the final event by a mere six
points. Nonetheless, the 21-year-old shone during the year and
matured greatly under the tutelage of team owners Tony and Sarah
Shaw. He then put everything he learned into practice perfectly
as a finalist for the 22nd McLaren Autosport BRDC Award which he
won in true style to follow hot on the heels of 2008 victor
Alexander Sims and 2009 winner Dean Smith – both Manor
drivers. Thomas Hylkema remained with the Nottinghamshire outfit
for a second season in 2010 and, like his team-mates, improved
markedly in terms of his pace and racecraft. Although unable to
add to the podium he achieved with Manor in the 2009 Winter
Championship, the Dutchman did achieve his first pole position
with a stunning effort at Croft in North Yorkshire. Reflecting
on the main 2010 season, Tony Shaw said: “All in all we had a
fantastic year and it was great to take back the team’s title.
We were obviously very disappointed to miss out on the driver’s
championship but Lewis winning the McLaren Award – our third on
the trot – more than made up for that. It speaks volumes for how
we provide the best possible development for our drivers.”
pic Jakob Ebrey Photography
Read season review
 FPA:
An important era in British motor racing ends this year
with the final Formula Palmer Audi Championship races having
been run bringing a close to the popular series using Audi
engines after 13 years. The championship featuring identical
specification single-seaters utilised Audi’s 1.8-litre
turbocharged petrol engine and was set up and run by Britain’s
former Grand Prix driver Jonathan Palmer to give aspiring young
drivers aiming for F1 an alternative to the established but
expensive Formula Three class.Many young drivers trying to reach
F1 found that the financial hurdle to progressing their careers
was simply too high to clear in the mid 1990s and Palmer came up
with this cheaper, yet ultra-professionally run
alternative.Palmer added: “Providing identical cars was
important but what was critical to achieving the objective of
high quality but low cost was to innovate and operate all the
cars by just one team, which would apply exactly the same
methodology to the running of the Van Diemen single-seater cars.
“I'm extremely proud of Formula Palmer Audi. It provided
hundreds of drivers with affordable, fair single seater racing
to help their careers, as intended, and was run with total
integrity for 13 years since the day it began.
21-12-10
 The
Star Mazda Championship
presented by Goodyear has confirmed the IndyCar weekend at
Barber Motorsports Park
in Birmingham, Alabama on April 9-10. Star Mazda, Indy Lights
and IndyCar will all race on Sunday, April 10. In a further
development of the growing relationship between the Star Mazda
Championship and IndyCar, Star Mazda's official pre-season test
will take place during IndyCar's 'spring training' event at a
road course to be named shortly. The teams and drivers of the
Star Mazda Championship will share the track and TV coverage,
with the Firestone Indy Lights series and IndyCars. This will
be the first of many opportunities during the season for drivers
and teams to build relationships around IndyCar's Road to Indy
program. These announcements come on the heels of the major
announcement that Mazda has signed a multi-year deal to become
the title sponsor of the Mazda Road to Indy; this unique program
will offer the most desirable prize any young driver could hope
for -- scholarship funding for champions at each level to move
up and compete in the next level. The 2011 champion in the
Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered
by Mazda will receive a scholarship to race a full season in the
2012 Star Mazda Championship. The 2011 Star Mazda champion gets
a full-season scholarship to compete in the 2012 Firestone Indy
Lights series. And the 2011 Indy Lights champion will move up
to race in the IZOD IndyCar series in 2012. "These
announcements, along with several yet to come, mark a major step
toward the creation of a fully-integrated, fully-functioning
development program for open-wheel racing in North America,"
says Star Mazda founder and CEO Gary Rodrigues. "I want to
thank everyone who worked so hard to make this a reality and to
encourage young drivers around the world to pay close attention
to the unique and exciting opportunities that Star Mazda and the
Road to Indy will offer in 2011 and beyond. Any driver serious
about making a professional career in open-wheel racing needs to
be a part of this program."
Bathurst 12 Hours:
Craig Lowndes will headline a two-car team entered for
the 2011 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour by Audi Race Experience Team
Joest. Two 2010 specification Audi R8 LMS vehicles have been
confirmed with one car filled with leading Australian Drivers
and the other a diverse group of experienced internationals.
Five-time Bathurst champion Lowndes will be joined in the No. 7
car by Australian GT Championship regular Mark Eddy and V8
Supercar driver Warren Luff. The 'International' car will be
steered by Canadian born, Hong Kong World Touring Car
Championship driver Darryl O'Young, along with German Sportscar
ace Marc Basseng and 21-year-old 2009 FIA GT3 European Champion
Christopher Heis. "Racing in the Bathurst 12 Hour has been on
the 'to-do' list for some time," Lowndes said. "Team Joest and
Audi Sport have a reputation for being the best in the business,
much like Team Vodafone in V8 Supercars, so when they rang it
was impossible to say no! I'm excited to be joining the works
Audi team for this race and to be teaming up with some great
drivers like Mark and Warren. "The R8 looks like a fantastic car
and I can't wait to get behind the wheel in February. Long
distance racing is a great challenge, especially when you get to
an amazing track like Bathurst, and it's a challenge I'm looking
forward to. It should be a great race." Mark Eddy, who took his
Audi R8 to 6th in the Australian GT title race, said his prior
relationship with Audi was helpful in coordinating the Bathurst
attack. "Having the first R8 LMS outside of Europe worked well.
I have been in constant communication with Audi and they showed
a desire to come to Australia to potentially sell some cars," he
explained. "When I got the heads up they wanted to come to
Bathurst it all came together from there." Eddy said he was
looking forward to watching Lowndes and Luff adapt to the R8
after years of driving V8 Supercars. "It's going to be
interesting to see Craig and Warren adapt to the car. I think
they will find them really enjoyable and much easier to drive
compared to the V8 Supercar. We have had V8 drivers in our cars
before and they all think the GT cars stop better, turn better
and have better visibility so it should be a great experience
for them. I think they will have a great time."
Porsche Club GB
can now announce the 2011 race schedules
for the two circuit race series they administer, the new Porsche
GT3 Cup Challenge and the highly successful Porsche Club
Championship. The season will kick off for both series at Brands
Hatch in April, and features rounds at the UK ’s major circuits,
with 12-rounds currently scheduled for the GT3 Cup Challenge and
16-races for the Porsche Club Championship. A highlight for the
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge runners is the possibility of joining
a host of international Porsche runners for a meeting on the
legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, an exciting
opportunity for drivers to take on fellow GT3 runners on the
full 13-mile track. The meeting is by invitation only, and
invites will be extended to drivers who have supported the
series in the races leading up the Nurburgring race date. The
Thruxton rounds in particular will be a pivotal moment in the
Club Championships season, the high-speed nature of the
Hampshire circuit often seeing the Class Two cars able to match
the pace of the Class One front-runners. As has now become
traditional, the season for both series will close at the
Silverstone 24-Hour meeting in October, this is currently
scheduled as a double-header round, but it is hoped that as in
2010, this will actually feature three races on the full
Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
20-12-10
 Carrera
Cup: Ahmad Al Harthy made history on the streets of
Muscat in Oman last week by wowing hundreds of local
motorsport fans with a carefully prepared and controlled
high-speed display at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 race car.
Thanks to the vital support of the Royal Oman Police and the
Oman Automobile Association, a two kilometre stretch of highway
between Qantab Road and Shangri-La Road was closed-off on
Wednesday, 15th December, to give the 29-year-old an opportunity
to show the power and performance of his 425bhp, 180mph Porsche.
Offering the people of the Sultanate their first ever
opportunity to see his car in action up-close, Ahmad delivered
several demonstration runs before taking some of his key
sponsors and several extremely lucky members of the public on
spectacular ‘taxi rides’. The afternoon proved to be a
resounding success for Ahmad and his commercial partners – Oman
Air, National Bank of Oman, Nawras, Ministry of Sports Affairs,
Ministry of Tourism and Brand Oman. In actual fact, it was
better than he himself ever imagined. “I’m so happy to have been
able to do this for the people of Oman, it’s been an amazing
opportunity for me to show the public from my home city what my
motor racing is all about and what a fantastic car the Porsche
is”, said Ahmad. “It truly was an exceptional day, I’m
overwhelmed. Everything went perfectly and we were very lucky to
have some outstanding support, especially from the Royal Oman
Police, the Oman Automobile Association and Porsche Oman. I
never thought I’d have a chance to do something like this.” He
added: “It’s important to me to give something back to my
country, to my sponsors and to promote motorsport in Oman and
the Gulf region. Thank you so very much to everyone who made the
road show possible, the organisation was perfect – everyone had
a great time!”
The FIA Formula Two
Championship will benefit from a enhanced TV package in
2011,
with more than 130 hours of broadcast time on the Motors TV
network. Motors TV will show each of the 16 races live as part
of a one hour program which will include a qualifying review,
pre-race build up and podium and post-race interviews -- placing
a far heavier focus on F2 drivers than ever before. Each event
will receive major exposure and
promotion across all
Motors TV platforms, including their website, while each race
will be shown without interruption or adverts. All races will
also receive at least six full repeat screenings. In addition,
Motors TV will produce a four hour end-of-season review show,
which will be screened at least six times. Another upgrade to F2
in 2011 is the introduction of fixed times for all races, as in
Formula One, which
means that the F2 races will be broadcast at regular times
throughout the season, while Motors TV and Formula Two will
jointly appoint a knowledgeable and permanent commentator and
presenter for the 2011 season. To supplement its coverage on
Motors TV, Formula Two is working with the
Performance
Communications Group (PCG), an established
television rights
distributor, to secure wider distribution of race footage to
achieve a huge global reach in key areas such as all of Europe,
the Americas, India, Australia, Japan and China.
Indycar:
de Ferran Dragon Racing has confirmed it has signed
Brazilian star and 2004 Indy Car Champion Tony Kanaan to
compete in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar series. de Ferran Dragon Racing
President and fellow countryman, Gil de Ferran - both a friend
and long time on-track rival of Kanaan- is delighted to have
secured the services of such a successful driver for the young
team. "This is a great signing and a major coup for de Ferran
Dragon Racing," said de Ferran. "It is fantastic that we have
Tony on board; he is a proven Champion and brings with him a
great record of successes on the track. Tony has consistently
placed at the sharp end of the field for more than a decade and
shows no signs of letting up. I am sure his contribution to the
team, both in terms of speed and experience, will be invaluable
to our development and future success."
17-12-10
Top
Hat Historic Racing
is set for a change of leadership in 2011 with the
appointment of James Beckett to run the national element of
Masters Historic Racing’s portfolio. James will take over Top
Hat from Tim Beavis, who for his own business reasons cannot
commit the time for 2011, but will still be a regular face on
the track and working alongside James at Top Hat races. Beckett,
formerly the BRDC Assistant Club Secretary, has been the driving
force behind the hugely successful Walter Hayes Trophy for
FF1600 cars and has been credited with the resurgence of the
category in the UK . His appointment to run Top Hat will
strengthen the portfolio of races, which includes touring cars,
sports cars and GT racers of the 1950s to 1970s.
Buckingham-based Beckett said: “I am delighted to be working
with Ron Maydon and the Masters Team on Top Hat. Longer races
for national competitors are a great idea and we are working on
a raft of new ideas and venues for 2011 that we will be
announcing soon. We don’t just wave competitors into the paddock
and forget about them: we look after them by providing for them
in our hospitality area, by longer races, by being
customer-focussed and by listening to what they want and by
trying to move forwards. We recognise that our drivers are not
just competitors, they are customers and we want to make them as
happy as possible. We have some exciting announcements about
entry fees that will be made soon but undoubtedly Top Hat will
be the place to race in 2011.” The final touches are being made
to the Top Hat calendar for 2011 and will be announced shortly.
 Autosport International:
International GT racer, Alex Mortimer will be getting his
2011 racing season off to roaring start at Autosport
International by supporting David Brabham’s Racing4Charity
Celebrity Karting Challenge on Thursday, January 13. Once again
held in the Live Action Arena of Europe’s largest motorsport
show at the NEC, Birmingham, the Celebrity Karting Challenge
offers the rare chance for members of the public to race
alongside their motorsport heroes to raise money for
charity. Mortimer, the Principal of leading UK sportscar outfit
Team RPM, joins the event for the third consecutive year fresh
from a stellar inaugural season competing in the International
GT Open Championship. Partnered with seasoned GT racer Peter
Bamford, Mortimer took Team RPM to finish joint third in the GTS
title fight with an impressive track record that included a trio
of podium finishes, one pole position and a fastest lap. The
former British GT Champion was one of nearly 100 celebrity
racing drivers who supported last year’s Celebrity Karting
Challenge, where Mortimer joined fellow sportscar stars such as
Allan McNish, Emanuele Pirro, Guy Smith, Marino Franchitti and
Johnny Mowlem. Organised by Racing4Charity’s Bill Williams and
Le Mans sportscar legend, David Brabham, the 2011 Celebrity
Karting Challenge will raise awareness and funds for the
Starlight charity (www.starlight.org.uk),
which grants wishes to seriously and terminally ill children and
also entertains sick children in hospitals and hospices across
the UK. There
are just a handful of places left for this year’s race. Members
of the public can still join the action for just £300, which
includes two tickets to Autosport International, by contacting
Bill Williams at
bill@racing4charity.com
or call 0044 (0)7712 578263. For further information visit
www.racing4charity.com
and for Autosport International news and ticket information,
visit
www.autosportinternational.com.
The Motorsport Safety Fund has announced the guest speakers for
their annual ‘Watkins Lecture’ which takes place at the
Autosport Show. No fewer than three giants of Formula 1 will
feature at the lecture with Red Bull's Christian Horner and
Adrian Newey in conversation with driver turned pundit Martin
Brundle. The event will take place at 11.15am on Friday 14
January, during the Autosport International Show at NEC
Birmingham. The lecture is named after Professor Sid Watkins -
F1's safety pioneer- who made the very first presentation, and
is an ever-increasing highlight of the Autosport International
Show, regularly attracting over 500 delegates. Tickets are
available free of charge by sending an SAE to: Watkins Lecture
2011, Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box 200 , Sevenoaks TN15 8WZ .
All BRSCC members can claim a complimentary ticket for either of the four
days of the Autosport International Show which takes place at
the NEC, Birmingham, and runs from 13th - 16th January 2011. To
sign-up for your free ticket, please visit the trade
registration page - You will need to have
your BRSCC membership number to hand to register.
Fun Cup:
The MSA Control Panel has granted outline championship status to
the Fun Cup for 2011, with the BRSCC as the
organising club holding the permit. The Fun Cup was launched in
Europe 13 years ago and first came to the UK in 2002. Since its
inception it has proved to be a very successful form of
endurance racing and has introduced many new drivers into
motorsport.
Paul Rose, Series Director, said: “We are delighted to announce
that we will be running as a championship in 2011. Fun Cup is
the strongest it has ever been, with big grids at every race and
strong competition guaranteed at each round. Changing to a
championship will hopefully result in even more cars committing
to a full season, therefore giving us even bigger grids than we
have already. It will, of course, also allow us to celebrate the
overall winners at the end of the season. We would also like to
take this opportunity to welcome the new teams that will be
taking part in the Fun Cup Championship next year.” BRSCC
Competitions Director Drew Furlong added “The BRSCC has a long
association with Fun Cup so we are delighted to welcome the
series into our championship portfolio. We ran the recent Finals
event at Donington Park which attracted an entry of 66 cars and
some 200 plus drivers so the concept clearly has the numbers to
justify championship status”.
Julian Floyd, the Permanent Clerk of the Course for Fun Cup has asked the
BRSCC to pass on his thanks to everyone who was involved in the
Fun Cup at Donington towards the end of last month. Julian said
“I would like to pass on my thanks to you all and your
respective teams for the part you played in last month’s Fun Cup
event at Donington. Due to the fog there were times on Friday
when I wondered if we would get any racing let alone 5 ½ hours
with such a close finish, so many finishers and few incidents.
From the start on Friday the effort made by your teams in
getting everyone signed on, scrutineered, laps during testing
and then qualified was very much appreciated – without all of
that effort it would have been very difficult to get such a long
race on Saturday. I spoke to many competitors on Saturday
evening and they all expressed their thanks to everyone for
making the event happen. An event of this complexity will only
work if everyone works as a single team in a calm and efficient
manner – which you all did, thank you.”
Videos and photos from the meeting can be viewed at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_8lHeoqgs4 and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/perrierpink/sets/72157625336420807/show/
 Karts:
James
Singleton capped 2010 off nicely when he was awarded the
Sports Champion accolade at the annual Conwy Your Champions
awards night – and having learned a great deal on the circuit
this year, he is now revved up to go all-out for glory in 2011.
Selected by a panel of judges and seeing off the challenges of a
local football player and boxer, James was presented with his
trophy by snooker legend John Parrott during a black-tie
evening.
 A
little more than one year after CRG Racing Team celebrated the
title of World Champion
for Arnaud Kozlinski, the team went back to the Coloane circuit
in Macao with the same ambitions and the same determination to
see a CRG-Maxter on the highest step of the podium. This time
luck was not on "Koko"'s side in Super KF, but the KF3
Asia-Pacific Championship was dominated by Matthew Graham, even
if it was the British driver's first time on his new kart
manufactured by the Italian company.
Read report
Club Racing:
Teesside Race School based at Teesside Autodrome in Middlesbrough offers
complete all-inclusive ARDS Tests; the ‘test’ applicants need to
pass to obtain their first race licence (MSA National B Race
Licence). The race school at Teesside is run by Chief Instructor
Howard Hunt and provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ where first time race
licence applicants can complete the whole process of their race
licence application on site in a single day! For full details of
costs, what is included and who to contact click here
ARDS AT TEESSIDE
Donington Park ’s Kevin Wheatcroft was awarded the prestigious
BRSCC John Nicol Memorial Trophy
at the 2010 Awards Dinner Dance at the Holiday Inn,
Stratford-upon-Avon last Saturday night. The trophy, named in
honour of John Nicol, a former Chief Executive of the BRSCC was
presented to Kevin by John’s widow Debs Nicol. In announcing the
award BRSCC Chairman Bernard Cottrell said “Kevin has made a
great contribution to motorsport in this country this season and
in doing so would have made his late father extremely proud.
Through his sheer hard work and determination he was able to
make one of Britain’s most loved circuits operational again
following the chaos left when Simon Gillett’s Donington Venture
Leisure went into administration and the historic circuit lay
dormant for 12 months. It is to the benefit of motorsport that
racing has returned to Donington and it is once again in the
hands of the Wheatcroft family”. Kevin Shortis won the Bert
Lamkin Salver while marshal Paul Newns won the Monty Terrell
GPDA Trophy and Lucy Ashman was presented with a special award
from the Midlands Centre.
 LMS:
OAK Racing has confirmed the second of its drivers for the 2011
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
with the signing of Frenchman Pierre Ragues, who returns to the
team having raced with them in 2008. During his previous stint
with OAK Racing, then known as Saulnier Racing, the 26-year-old
scored his first-ever endurance racing podium and also helped
the team to its first of three consecutive podium finishes at
the Le Mans 24 Hours, ending the year fifth overall in the Le
Mans Series LMP2 drivers’ standings. He has since gained LMP1
experience in both the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans while
racing the Signature-Plus Lola-Aston Martin, scoring two podiums
in 2010. Ragues will share one of OAK Racing’s LMP1 OAK-Pescarolo
prototypes with compatriot Guillaume Moreau, whose continuation
with the team was confirmed last month, in the seven-round ILMC
which encompasses the Le Mans 24 Hours and events in the USA,
China and Europe. François Sicard, Managing Director, OAK
Racing: “We are very happy to welcome Pierre back to the team.
We remained in touch since 2008 and have followed his results
closely – it feels like he’s coming home. Pierre is one of the
most experienced young French racing drivers around and he has
clearly demonstrated the key qualities of speed and reliability
required for endurance racing. Pierre also knows Guillaume
Moreau well from their Formula Renault days and his technical
experience in the LMP1 class will be of invaluable help to the
team as we move up from the LMP2 category.” OAK Racing’s third
driver for the team’s ILMC campaign will be announced shortly.
GT:
McLaren have confirmed its plans to bring back the McLaren name
to GT sports cars racing.
From 2012, McLaren and CRS Racing will supply and support a
limited number of GT3 racing cars based on the McLaren MP4-12C
high-performance sports car for European-based privateers. 15
years since the McLaren F1 GTR won the 24 Heures du Mans on its
debut, and 12 years since six ‘Longtails’ last raced at the
Sarthe, McLaren and CRS Racing have begun development work aimed
at turning the 12C road car into a race-winning GT3 sports car.
As part of the development programme, McLaren and CRS Racing
will compete at a limited number of European GT races in 2011.
With the 12C’s revolutionary lightweight one-piece moulded
carbon chassis (the ‘MonoCell’), its high levels of downforce
and aerodynamic performance, and its focus on form and function,
the 12C should prove to be a great platform on which to develop
a racing car, as well as visually setting pulses racing at
European race tracks. Martin Whitmarsh, Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes Team Principal said: “Racing is in our blood – it was
natural to develop a GT3 car alongside the 12C road car. We have
a legendary history in global motorsport, including GT racing,
and we aim to maintain that reputation with this GT3 programme,
and any future sports car projects that may evolve. The 12C’s
architecture and design was always aimed at high-performance and
ease of maintenance - two key criteria for potential customers.
Combine that with the vast amount of racing experience in our
automotive team, and CRS Racing’s specialist development
experience, and the 12C GT3 should be an exciting proposition
for the top teams planning to race in GT3 from 2012.” Andrew
Kirkaldy, Team Principal, CRS Racing said: “It is a rare
opportunity to work with a company like McLaren and we are proud
to be involved. Together, we aim to produce the highest quality
GT car on the grid. The level of engineering experience at
McLaren is unparalleled and this will be reflected in the 12C
GT3. One of the most important aspects of this programme will be
customer service and for that reason we will be building a
limited number of cars at a competitive price. The result will
be an incredible GT car with manageable running costs and good
residual value that will provide its owner with an unrivalled
experience.”
16-12-10
 The
Australian Formula Ford
Championship has announced its 2011 calendar which will feature
eight rounds. The championship will start at the Clipsal 500 in
Adelaide on March 17-20, the first time the series has competed
at the iconic event since 2007. The series will then take in
Winton and Queensland Raceway before returning to Phillip Island
after missing the venue in 2010. Events at the Gold Coast and
Symmons Plains are also scheduled for the end of the season. Two
rounds are yet to be confirmed, but an announcement will be made
prior to the beginning of the new season. “It’s important to
make it clear that an eight round championship will take place
in 2011, but at this stage we’re working with V8 Supercars
Australia to confirm the remaining two rounds,” Margaret Hardy,
Category Manager said. “As a category we’re excited about
returning to the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. The event has become
one of the marquee events of the V8 Supercar Championship, so
it’s great that as Australia’s premier junior development
category, Formula Ford can be involved. “It’s also a boost
returning to Phillip Island, it’s always been a competitor
favourite and the venue creates some of the best Formula Ford
racing seen anywhere in the country.”
 Formula
Renault:
Jack Hawksworth has signed with Mark Burdett Motorsport for the
2011
Formula Renault UK Championship. A graduate from karting, with
many years of top-level national and international success, Jack
made his car racing debut in the recent Formula Renault Winter
Series where he took four pole positions and two podium finishes
from six starts, ending the series third in the points. Having
established an excellent relationship with his race engineer
Andy Miller Jack feels ready to progress. “To be able to work
closely with someone who has such vast experience in the sport
and is so knowledgeable in his field as Andy gives me an
advantage over the other drivers, I feel,” he said. “The
driver/engineer relationship is probably the most important one
there is – you need to have respect for each other’s ability. I
trust that Andy will give me the best car possible, and he needs
to believe I’m capable of getting the maximum out of it. It’s
the same thing with the team’s driver coach, Robbie Kerr; he and
Andy have both proved themselves at an extremely high level, and
to be able to learn from them is a huge benefit for me. Everyone
works really well together, and there’s a really good atmosphere
and bond inside the team. Everybody shares the same goal of
wanting to win and gives 120 per cent – I really can’t see why I
would want to be anywhere else!” pic
Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
 GT1:
Yann Clairay ended the South American tour of the FIA GT1 World
Championship
on a high note. Together with his team-mate Frédéric Makowiecki
in the no. 9 Aston Martin DBR9 entered by HEXIS AMR he won the
qualifying race on Sunday morning and then the main race in the
afternoon. The Frenchman left Argentina happy that he had
contributed to the achievement of the whole team, which filled
the runner-up spot in the world championship on its first season
at the top level in GT1. This clean sweep gave Clairay a place
in the top 10 in the world GT1 ratings.
Pic:
V-Images
.jpg) Kart
racer Jay Goodwin has been given a
glimpse of life at the very top
from a leading F1 legend – a legend in BriSCA F1 stock cars,
that is. Jay finished a superb sixth in the Mini Max class of
the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship in 2010 and next year
will step up to the more powerful Junior Max level with
Strawberry Racing. “It’s a bit of a tradition in my family,
really,” he explained. “My dad used to race them, and now my
older brother races them. We’ve always been associated with
stock cars one way or another, and now we sponsor the world
champion Andy Smith and his brother Stuart Smith Jnr.” That
sponsorship comes via the Go Goodwins coach company run by Jay’s
father, Geoff, and extends back to 1996. Goodwin Snr remains
every bit as passionate about the sport as he ever was. “I used
to go along to help mechanic at Belle Vue in Manchester when I
was eight or nine-years-old,” he recounted. “There were
30,000-odd spectators there, and I absolutely loved it. I raced
BriSCA (British Stock Car Association) F1 in the 1980s and from
1994 until 1996, when the business just got too busy – but now
my eldest son Wesley is starting to race properly, too. The cars
have 600bhp and are just unbelievable! It is a contact sport and
it can be dangerous sometimes as can any form of motorsport, but
it’s good fun and there’s always a great family atmosphere.”
BriSCA caught the public’s attention rather more through the
recent BBC documentary ‘Gears and Tears’, with races all over
Britain from Coventry, Birmingham and Northampton to Kings Lynn,
Scunthorpe and even Knockhill, always around short 400-metre
ovals. The first-ever stock car race in the country took place
at the New Cross Stadium in London on Good Friday in 1954 – and
over the subsequent half-century or so, Andy Smith has become
one its most successful and crowned practitioners. “I was born
into it, really,” reflected the five-time world champion, an
ever-present fixture at the pinnacle of the sport for the past
decade-and-a-half. “My father raced stock cars right back in the
1960s, and I started out as a child in the junior division when
I was 11-years-old before progressing on to the top F1 division
in 1994.I’ve been lucky enough to win the world championship
five times. I unexpectedly won it in my first year, actually,
but I was still relatively young at just 21, and it was probably
a bit too soon. There was a real weight of expectation upon my
shoulders after that, and I hadn’t been in the sport long enough
to be able to deal with it. There was a long barren spell until
2006, and then I won again in 2008, 2009 and 2010. A hat-trick
of world championships is quite a rarity, so to win it this year
for the third time on the trot was a brilliant achievement and
very special.” pic
Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
15-12-10
Formula 3: Facu Regalia was
on top form at Franciacorta
at the wheel of a Team Ghinzani’s Dallara F309 FPT. He ended the
day just 0.1 sec shy of the circuit lap record despite low track
temperatures.Regalia keeps improving in Campionato Italiano
Formula 3 car and impressed the Italian team at a difficult
circuit. The Spanish-Argentinean driver was on the pace all day,
something that pleased himself and Team Ghinzani. “I was just
one tenth off Daniel Mancinelli record, but he achieved his time
in May, with a good track temperature, and today, sometimes,
there was just -2ºC, which prevents the tyres of reaching their
optimum temperature range. Besides, there were cars from
inferior categories and was hard to find a clean lap”, he said,
adding “with used tyres I was just half second slower than
Mancinelli, who was the Team Ghinzani’s best driver in this
years championship”. The Italian outfit tried various different
set-ups. “The team was fantastic. We experimented numerous
solutions for the Dallara and I felt very comfortable with the
car. I’m very happy with the work that we made and I think that
the team also, because they congratulate me in the end of the
day”. Facu hopes to confirm his 2011 plans as soon as possible,
but for now he will take a break and celebrate Christmas.
 Karts:
It might have been his final karting appearance of 2010,
but Matty Graham made sure he saved the very best ‘til
last with a great performance to lift the CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific
Championship. Pic
M. Petrotchenko/kartingphotography.com
Ginetta:
Total Control Racing were again at the forefront of the
Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup
in 2010 with Carl Breeze just missing out on the driver’s title
in his, and the team’s second season in the category. Aiming to
retain the crown the team won in it’s first year in Ginetta G50s
in 2009 , TCR unfortunately missed out on championship glory
but, as ever, the team was never far from success. Carl Breeze,
who finished third overall in the championship last year, led
the TCR attack once again and ended the season with nine race
wins and the runner-up spot in the title chase.
Read review
 Carrera
Cup GB:
History will be made in Oman today, Wednesday, 15th December,
when homegrown racer Ahmad Al Harthy takes to the streets of
Muscat at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 race car for a
ground-breaking public performance in the Sultanate. The
29-year-old, who competes in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, will
deliver several demo-runs of his 425bhp racer on the public
highway between Qantab Road and Shangri-La Road. Thanks to the
tremendous support of the Omani government and the local Muscat
police, Ahmad will be able to perform a series of demonstration
runs to showcase the power and performance of his Porsche 911 to
the Omani people – an experience normally limited to racing
highlights on TV! Run in association with his chief sponsor
Oman Air, the thrilling performance has also been made possible
thanks to Ahmad’s other superb commercial backers including
National Bank of Oman, Nawras, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs
and Brand Oman. “This is an amazing opportunity for me”, said
Ahmad looking ahead to the event, “To be able to give the people
of Oman a close-up look at my race car in action on the streets
of my home city, well, it’s something I never thought would be
possible! We have received incredible support from the
government, the local police and, of course, all of my sponsors
to make this happen. It’s going to be a ground-breaking event
for Oman, nothing like this has ever happened before and I’m
immensely proud to be making a piece of history. Thank you to
all of the partners who are making today’s road show a
possibility.”
14-12-10
Tom Walkinshaw died on Sunday, December 12, aged 64, after a battle with
cancer. Born in Midlothian, just outside the town on Penicuik,
Walkingshaw was a successful team owner and driver starting his
career in Formula Ford back in the 60s winning the Scottish
Formula Ford Championship in 1969 before taking to F3 in 1970
with Lotus and March. However in 1974 he moved into Saloon cars
entering the BTCC with Ford and by1976 he had started Tom
Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), winning the European Touring Car
Championship (ETCC) in 1984 with Jaguar in an XJS, a marque he
was to become synonymous with. After a further period with Jags
in Saloon cars he moved into the World Sportscar Championship
with the newly-developed XJR-6, wining the World
Sports-Prototype Championship in 1987. The following year they
added a second title, with the Silk Cut sponsored XJR-9 as well
as the Le Mans 24 hours and Daytona 24 hours. After a fallow
year in 89 TWS won Le Mans again in 1990 with Nielsen, Price
Cobb and Martin Brundle while Davy Jones joined Jan Lammers and
Andy Wallace took another Daytona victory. In 1991 Walkinshaw'
moved into F1 as Engineering Director at Benetton bring Ross
Brawn along for the ride! It was while he was in this role that
Benetton won back-to-back Championships with Schumacher in 94
and 95. Walkinshaw next move was to buy a stake in Arrows in
1996(he would later buy the whole team) and in 1997 he signed
Damon Hill after the latter had won the F1 title in 1996. By
2002 things took a turn for the worse, and Arrows ran out of
cash, the team folding after 24 years in Formula One. Walkinshaw
also ran cars in Aussie V8s for many years. He will be sadly
missed.
 Formula 3:
Campionato Italiano Formula 3 contestant, Team Ghinzani, will test it’s Dallara
F309-FPT with Facu Regalia once again this week at Franciacorta.
This will be the Spanish-Argentinean driver’s final outing of
the year as he prepares for the 2011 season. "This is my last
test of the year, I'm looking forward to it, and after it I'll
go back to Argentina. Though I don't know the circuit, I think
that I can develop a good work with the team, although the track
temperatures won't be at their best, and I'll try to replicate
the lap-times that were achieved there in other Formula 3 test
sessions", said the youngster, adding. "This test is very
important, because it will help me to choose with whom I'll race
next season. I think that we will have the possibility to test
with a dry track, and the team wants to see if I'm as fast in
the dry as I was in the wet, at Vallelunga". I enjoyed very much
how Team Ghinzani worked, so I hope that everything goes
smoothly in this test. It will be my fourth Formula 3 test and
I'm enjoying more and more this type of cars".
 Superleague Formula
by Sonangol will continue to boast one of the biggest prize
funds in world motorsport next season having handed out an incredible EURO
5,110,000 during a fascinating 2010 campaign. Drivers will again
battle for EURO 280,000 at each of the series' 12 events in 2011
with EURO 100,000 up-for-grabs for the winner of the five-lap
dash-for-cash Super Final in which the weekend's top six drivers
all earn prize money. A further EURO 1,750,000 will again lie in
wait for the top three drivers in the final league table, the
champion taking home EURO 1,000,000, runner-up netting EURO
500,000 and third placed driver bagging a healthy EURO 250,000
cheque. The continued prize fund reinforces Superleague
Formula's position as one of the only championships in world
motorsport where drivers can earn prize money based solely on
their on-track performance. In 2010 champion Davide Rigon (RSC
Anderlecht) topped the earnings table, the Italian supplementing
his EURO 1,000,000 prize for winning the title with a further
EURO 680,000 thanks to three victories and six other appearances
in Super Finals. Craig Dolby (Tottenham Hotspur) was next up,
his cash pot reaching a massive EURO 860,000 after finishing
second in the final standings, while third place Max Wissel (FC
Basel) won a cool EURO 575,000 after adding his end-of-season
prize to money to that earned in nine Super Final outings. Of
those not to finish in the top three overall, John Martin
(Beijing Guoan) won the most cash from Super Final appearances
alone. The Australian driver, who was out of title contention
early on but then drove brilliantly in the second half of the
season, won two Super Finals and collected a total prize fund of
EURO 365,000, just EURO 30,000 more than Yelmer Buurman (AC
Milan) whose season started well but ended with a string of bad
luck. Robin Webb, Competitions Director, Superleague Formula:
"These days it's becoming increasingly difficult for talented
drivers to earn money racing in single-seaters - but Superleague
Formula now gives them that opportunity. Our cars are all equal
so each driver wins money based solely on their own performances
and the hard work they put in with their teams. We attracted
some of the best professional racing drivers in the world this
year and with the prize fund maintained for next season, we're
expecting our best-ever grid in 2011."
Bathurst 12 Hour The fight for
Production car honours in the 2011 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour
is gathering strength following conformation of a three-car BMW
team entered this week by GWS Motorsport. This year, the GWS
Personnel-sponsored car will be driven by owner Peter O'Donnell,
V8 Touring Car regular Matt Hansen and the experienced Christian
D'Agostin. The team will also enter a pair of BMW 130i models to
battle for class victory once again. "The car has a great deal
of credibility at Bathurst and, from a Production Car
perspective, we're looking to go very well," O'Donnell, a class
winner on his Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour debut in 2009, said.
"We have a very strong team. Most of our drivers have been to
Bathurst before and we know they are all capable. Garry Mennell
from On Track Motorsport is preparing the cars and will put
together the strongest group of people to work on them during
the weekend, so all of our bases are covered. We're never going
to beat the GT Cars, but that's not the goal. We want to go out
and win our classes and I think we have the capability to do
that." O'Donnell said that in a GT car or in a Production car,
racing at Bathurst was a rare opportunity. "Bathurst is Bathurst
and there is nothing else like it," He said. One of Australia's
most experienced production car racers, Allan Shephard, will
head up the 130i attack, set to be joined by drivers including
Commodore Cup regulars Garth Duffy and Geoff Fontaine. The team
is yet to confirm final driver combinations and the remaining
few drivers. Whilst the 335i will compete in Class E, for high
performance Rear Wheel Drive cars, the GWS Motorsport 130i
entries will join an identical car in Class F, Production
Performance. The New Zealand-based Motorsport Services team of
David Glasson, Dennis Roderick and Aaron Harris have already
entered a similar 130i in the class and will look to offer their
Aussie rivals a stern challenge in February. GT vehicles will
join with production vehicles in 2011, with a total of 31
manufacturers eligible to compete in the around-the-clock Enduro
at Mount Panorama from 4-6 February 2011.
 Cadwell Park has revealed a busy programme of
major events
for the 2011 motorsport season, featuring the MCE Insurance
British Superbike Championship’s annual ‘party in the park’ over
August Bank Holiday and a new two-day Historic Racing Festival
during Easter weekend.
The Louth circuit’s 2011 line-up features an impressive
programme of historic racing events, showcasing two and four
wheel machinery from the past eight decades. Kick-starting the
season on Easter Sunday and Monday will be a new Historic Racing
Festival courtesy of the Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC), which
includes track action from classic sports cars and saloons
dating from the 1950s. Cadwell will also celebrate even older
vehicles with two vintage motorcycle meetings and the annual
Vintage Sports Car Festival. The MCE Insurance British Superbike
Championship makes its annual pilgrimage for the ‘party in the
park’ over August Bank Holiday weekend whileother highlights
include the British Superkart Grand Prix and the Modified Live
performance car festival, both in July. Tickets for 2011
major events are now on sale at 2010 prices until Christmas, and
Cadwell Park owners MotorSport Vision are also offering
spectators the chance to make significant savings by purchasing
a season pass for just £115. Cadwell Park season passes include
entry to all two and four wheel events in 2011, as well as entry
to all race meetings at Norfolk-based sister circuit Snetterton
13-12-10
LMS:
Audi has unveiled its latest sportscar which
Britain’s Allan McNish hopes will enable him to score his third
and the German manufacturer’s 10th Le Mans 24 Hours
endurance race victory next June. McNish and his Audi Sport
team-mates attended an unveiling of the Audi R18 at the Audi
Sportpark in Ingolstadt, Germany, last night (Friday 10
December).Audi’s latest sports-prototype features a brand new
3.7-litre V6 TDI turbocharged diesel engine and marks the first
time a “closed” cockpit sportscar has been raced by the
“factory” Audi Sport Team Joest outfit. Buckinghamshire-based
Audi Sport UK entered an Audi R8C Coupé design at Le Mans in
1999. “I tested the R18 for the first time at the end of last
month which was essentially the Coupé’s initial roll-out
combined with its maiden test,” confirmed Dumfries-born McNish.
“The car ran very well without any technical problems. We
encountered wet and dry running enabling us to collect a lot of
information in all types of track conditions. “After racing an
‘open’ Audi sportscar since 2000, it was a renewed experience
for me to again drive a sportscar with a roof. Audi has done a
great job with the design – the front certainly looks very
aggressive – I’m sure we have a contender for race honours.”
Meanwhile Audi will also bids for glory in the seven-race
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in 2011. The series visits Europe,
North America plus Asia and includes the Le Mans 24 Hours (11-12
June)with a 1,000km race also at Silverstone on 11 September.
The Audi R18 will debut at Spa 6 Hours on May 8. Prior to the
event, the new prototype will be able to do its first laps on
the race track at Le Mans during the official test day on April
24. Audi is planning to field three Audi R18 cars at Le Mans
entered by Audi Sport Team Joest . At the opening ILMC race at
Sebring on March 19, the team will use two “R15 plus plus” cars.
“Sending the R18 into a race at such an early point in time
would be difficult in terms of logistics and
interfere with our development programme,” explained Dr.
Wolfgang Ullrich.
 FIA
GT1: The HEXIS AMR team has finished as
runner-up in the FIA GT1 World Championship for Teams with driver Frédéric
Makowiecki third in the FIA GT1 World Championship for Drivers!
Aston Martin meanwhile clinched the SRO Manufacturers’ Trophy!
When French team HEXIS AMR arrived in Argentina it was lying
fifth in the points table with everything still to play for – a
place in the top 3 - or finishing the year in a lower position
with the satisfaction of never having given up. While their main
rivals failed to make the most of the situation, Fred
Mackowiecki and Yann Clairay won the qualifying race and then
scored the team’s first outright victory on Sunday afternoon,
while Jonathan Hirschi and Clivio Piccione bagged their first
world championship podium finish.pic
V-Images
 Formula
Renault:
The Asia Racing Team finished the season on a high note,
winning both races in the Asia Formula Renault season’s finale
at Zhuhai. 2010 AFR Series Champion Sandy Stuvik added one more
victory to his collection as he and the surprise winner Suriya
Bala shared the spoils. Tin Sritrai overcame a nightmare start
to the weekend to claim the runner-up spot in the series with a
reserve car. Read
report
The
Formula 3
Australian Drivers Championship will race in the Northern
Territory
for the next three years after announcing a new major race and a
long-term plan to bring further overseas interest to this
international category. The inaugural City of Darwin F3
SuperPrix will be contested at the SKYCITY Triple Crown, Event
6, 2011 V8 Supercars Championship 17 -19 June Hidden Valley
Darwin. Northern Territory Major Events General Manager Paul
Cattermole and Formula 3 Australia Chairman Ian Richards have
agreed to terms for the race on the Hidden Valley circuit. ‘This
is exciting news for race fans and the Northern Territory. We
have a fantastic race circuit in Darwin and we promote the NT to
the rest of the world. To have an international racing formula
building bridges into Asia and Europe is highly significant’,
Paul Cattermole said. In the first year of the agreement a
strong grid of drivers will compete for the Australian Drivers
Championship and the CAMS Gold Star, with Formula 3 Australia
already planning for international drivers and vehicles,
primarily from the Asia-Pacific region, to race in 2012. This
long term objective will have the City of Darwin F3 Superprix at
Darwin’s Hidden Valley as a ‘Must Win’ event on the regional
open-wheel calendar. ‘We are delighted to be brining the
Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship to Darwin for the
first time’, Formula 3 Chairman Ian Richards said. “The track is
perfectly suited to our cars, with its long straight allowing
for slipstreaming and plenty of overtaking opportunities. It
will be a spectacular show and we are all looking forward to
working with Paul and the Northern Territory Major Events team
to continue to build their truly outstanding event. “ Formula 3
cars will carry the Northern Territory flag throughout the 2011
season in recognition of the City of Darwin F3 Superprix.
Karts:
AMT Racing Team can now cater for Comer and Super Cadet drivers
competing at both club and national level. The team has
announced it is already working with the promising Sam
Kirkpatrick, but owner Ashley Todd says he has more berths
available. “After a successful 2010 with Tom Joyner (4th
European KF Championship) and Jonathan Walker (2010 Super 1
Super KF vice-Champion), I decided that we ought to be creating
a ladder structure within the team. The Cadet categories are a
fantastic way in for many youngsters and I think the way we
approach our racing will give newcomers into the sport the best
possible grounding. From there we can continue to develop a
driver’s abilities right the way through their karting career.”
AMT is also branching into Kart Grand Prix and Rotax Max. “KGP
looks an exciting class and I think it will be a popular
addition to the Super 1 calendar. It has attracted some big
names and could possibly be bigger than KF2. So far the costs
are all looking very sensible and for drivers on a budget - but
wanting top-class competition - it has to be considered. Rotax
continues to be very strong and offers some of the very
competition you could wish to find. Just as we can with the MSA
classes, drivers racing in each of the Max categories can be
accommodated.” A small, friendly awning offers the benefit of
plenty of one-to-one attention and the presence of the hugely
respected and experienced Alan ‘Big Al’ Mackay. As Ashley says,
“We’ve proven that a small team’s focus can produce big
results.” For more information about racing with AMT e-mail
amtmotorsport@yahoo.com.
 As
he looks back over the last season Harry Crawley admits he is proud of
what he has achieved and now has his sights set upon
establishing himself as the best in Britain in 2011.Having
finished a superb second in the Mini Max class of the Formula
Kart Stars (FKS) Championship in 2009 and fourth in fellow
national series Super 1, Harry graduated to the more powerful
Junior Max level this year and he concedes that initially at
least, it took some adjusting to.“I was expecting Junior Max to
be chaotic with loads of contact!” he confessed. “It was a big
step-up from Mini Max and a lot harder, and you really need to
keep your concentration and be constantly mindful of what’s
going on around you – you need to have eyes in the back of your
head sometimes! Junior Max is faster, too, and initially, every
corner came up sooner than I was expecting it to! It took me
about three race meetings to adapt to the characteristics.” By
early summer, Harry was lying second in the Super 1 points
table, following a good win at Whilton Mill in which he went
wheel-to-wheel against the defending British Champion and
prevailed. Another notable highlight was his double victory in
the Euro Max Challenge at Wackersdorf in Germany. Following one
issue after another in qualifying and his heat races that had
left him mired mid-pack he turned it all around in a torrential
pre-final and grand final to mount the top step of the podium.
That result vaulted Harry into the lead of Euro Max, and allied
to his title-contending position in Super 1, things were looking
promising. Unfortunately, a rib forced him out-of-action for two
months and destroying his chances in both championships. Without
the setback, Harry would doubtless have enjoyed better results
over the second half of the season, but he nonetheless swiftly
regained his form and made a victorious return at Three Sisters.
Remaining with Evolution Racing into 2011, he aims to end the
coming season with the No. 1 plate proudly adorning his kart by
dint of Super 1 success, as well as claiming a top three finish
in Euro Max to progress on to the prestigious Rotax World
Finals. “I rate 2010 as one of my best years in racing overall.
I improved a lot as a driver and I’m mentally stronger now, too.
It was my first year in Junior Max, and I think I did myself
proud when you take that into account – and next year, it’s all
to play for! I’ve only got one goal for 2011 – and that’s to end
the year as number one!”
11-12-10
 WTCC:
Yvan Muller and Chevrolet
were been officially named 2010 FIA World Touring Car champions
during the traditional FIA prize giving gala in Monaco last
week. In the sumptuous setting of the Sporting d'Eté's Salle des
Etoiles, the FIA honoured all its champions. In a progression
from Karting to Formula One, the FIA World Touring Car
Championship's prize giving took place between the FIA GT1's and
the World Rally Championship's. After SR-Sport's Gabriele
Tarquini and Muller's team-mate Rob Huff - second and third in
the championship respectively - had received the runner up
trophies, the curtain rose unveiling Muller and Chevrolet
Motorsport director Eric Nève standing on the stage, with the
Chevrolet Cruze winning car between them. Yvan Muller was
awarded the Drivers' World Champion's trophy for the second
time, after the title he won in 2008 for SEAT, while Nève
collected Chevrolet's first Manufacturers' Championship trophy.
 The
first ever FIA WTCC event in Mainland China
will take place at the Guangdong International Circuit, on
November 6, 2011. GIC is located between the cities of Zhaoqing
and Sanshui, some 40 km North East of Guangzhou, China's third
largest city and capital of the Guangdong province. The circuit
was inaugurated in 2009, with modern facilities and a 2.8 km
racetrack. Last week it hosted the final meeting of the China
Touring Car Championship that in 2011 will share the stage with
the FIA World Championship during the WTCC Race of China event.
Marcello Lotti, promoter of the WTCC said: "When we launched the
WTCC, reaching the Asian market was one of our priorities. The
first step was to include in our calendar a traditional and very
popular event like the Macau Grand Prix, then we added Japan and
now we are pleased to crown this approach with the further
addition of an event in Mainland China. On top of this we are
extremely happy to share the event with the China Touring Car
Championship. Not only will this enhance the local promotion,
but it will also reinforce ours and the Chinese promoter's will
to work in a close cooperation in establishing common strategies
for the future."
Promoters representing 16 different touring car championships
worldwide
attended a round table in Monaco on December 8th / 9th and laid
the foundations for a Touring Car Promoter Association that
would help to establish common strategies for the future. On the
second day the promoters met car manufacturers' representatives
for an exhaustive exchange of views on touring car racing. The
round table was organized by Marcello Lotti, promoter of the FIA
World Touring Car Championship and European Touring Car Cup:
"The aim was to gather information about the current situation
in the different series worldwide and identify some common goals
and strategies. I am very pleased with the outcome, as all
participants expressed the will to work together for globalizing
the concept of touring car racing." The promoters who joined
Lotti at the round table, in person or by proxy, represented
touring car championships from Asia, Bahrain, Baltic States,
Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Thailand. "Some
others were not able to join due to previous commitments or
because weather conditions affected their flight schedule.
However they have showed strong interest and approved the
principles of forming an Association. We have been asked to
provide a report of the meeting from promoters of touring car
series in Argentina, Belgium, China, Emirates, Japan, Turkey and
the United States. This was a starting point and now we are
looking forward to fix further meetings. " Lotti concluded.
 Karts:
The 2010 Formula Kart Stars class champions
took to the stage to collect their championship trophies at the
prestigious Autosport Awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House
Hotel on Park Lane in London on Sunday. MSA British Cadet
Champion Nathan Aston, Mini Max Champion George Russell, Junior
Rotax Champion Ash Hand and KF3 Champion Ben Barnicoat collected
their trophies from former FKS Champion Paul Di Resta on one of
the most prestigious events in the British Motorsport calendar.
On a night where reigning Formula One World Champion Sebastian
Vettel topped the bill as Autosport’s International Racing
Driver of the Year, the FKS quartet were joined on stage by
former FKS KF3 Champions Alex Albon and Jake Dennis, who won the
European KF3 and World Under 18 titles in 2010 respectively.
With the eyes of the Motorsport fraternity on them, Aston, Hand,
Russell and Barnicoat were able to meet many of the biggest
names in Motorsport such as Vettel, Jenson Button, Indycar
Champion Dario Franchitti, David Coulthard, Red Bull boss
Christian Horner, rally legend Ari Vatenen, BTCC Champion Jason
Plato and Sauber F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi. “I was amazed at how
many great drivers were there,” said a beaming Hand. “It was
great to be presented my award in front of so many important
people. It was a night full of opportunity with so many team
managers there and it was easy to go and talk to different teams
about your racing. Overall it was an amazing night and one that
I will never forget.” The official Formula Kart Stars
Championship Awards will take place in January’s Autosport
International Show at the NEC in Birmingham
10-12-10
 GT:
Midlands motorsport outfit, Team RPM
has its sights firmly set on securing its first International GT
Open race victory next season following confirmation of its 2011
driver line-up ahead of the Autosport International show.
Manager of the Banbury-based operation, Alex Mortimer will once
again partner seasoned GT racer Peter Bamford in the Team RPM
Ford GT. The duo’s inaugural International GT Open season
delivered impressive results in 2010, despite a difficult year
for the team which suffered the loss of its inspirational
founder, Robin Mortimer. Continuing his father’s legacy, under
Alex’s management Team RPM finished joint third, alongside
Autorlando Sport, in the International GT Open GTS category this
year. Mortimer commented: “The 2010 season was an exploratory
year for Team RPM as Peter and I made our International GT Open
pairing debut. We did really well to finish third in the
standings and take three podiums against such a high calibre of
drivers. Just take the final season round where we finished as
the top Pro-Am pair sixth in class, one place behind Sebastien
Loeb and Dani Sordo. International GT Open is the premier
European GT championship after FIA GT1 and we’re proud to be a
part of it. Our goal is to be the top 2011 Pro-Am pairing and
secure more pole positions, fastest laps and of course our first
win. As well as a great driver line-up, we have a great car in
the Ford GT, as we also proved with 14th overall and sixth in
class at the Spa 24 Hours.It’s going to be a fantastic programme
and it’s great to be positively moving forward. Dad and I ran
Team RPM together for many years, especially as Dad was working
towards retirement, so it’s an honour to continue that
leadership with an awesome team of people behind me. It’s
important we continue the phenomenal legacy Dad built with Team
RPM’s International GT Open success and I believe we have the
team personnel and drivers to make that possible.” Mortimer and
Team RPM’s first commitment of the new season will be appearing
on the trade days at Autosport International 2011, held at the
NEC Birmingham, where he will be chatting to fans and talking
more about the team’s exciting 2011 plans.
 Formula
Renault
: Indian racing driver Zaamin Jaffer will graduate to
the Formula Renault BARC
Championship in 2011 after agreeing a deal with reigning
champion team Hillspeed. The Cardiff-based 20-year-old, who has
been competing in the Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain
for the past couple of seasons, is relishing the prospect of
moving into the world of ‘slicks and wings’ racing and is
scheduled to have his maiden test in an FR 2.0 car at Donington
Park next week. Born in Mumbai, Zaamin was initially raised in
India but moved to the United Arab Emirates in his mid-teens
where he had his first experience of competitive racing at the
Dubai Kartdrome. Securing a podium finish during his maiden
outing in the UAE National Karting Championship, he went on to
become a consistent front-runner. Moving to the UK in 2009,
Zaamin moved from karting to car racing in the Scholarship
Class of the Formula Ford. Taking several class podiums along
the way, he ended his maiden season fourth in the standings.
Stepping-up to the headline class in Formula Ford this year,
Zaamin did encounter more than his fair share of bad luck but
came through to achieve a best finish of fifth place during the
penultimate race meeting of the season. He closed-out the 2010
campaign 16th overall in the points. “I’m really looking
forward to my first test in the Renault with Hillspeed at
Donington next week”, said Zaamin, “It’s an exciting time for
me, I’ve got a new challenge ahead and with a strong team like
Hillspeed behind me, along with the support of iZone Driver
Performance, I hope to be challenging for the championship
title.” For his 2011 Formula Renault BARC bid, Zaamin will
be backed once again by Dubai-based Active PR. pic
Jakob Ebrey Photography
The Mazda Road to Indy
unites the single-seater driver development ladder and provides
scholarships for champions at each level to move up; USF2000,
Star Mazda, Firestone Indy Lights, IZOD IndyCar With the
announcement of Mazda as the multi-year title partner of
INDYCAR's Road to Indy driver development program, top young
single-seat racers find themselves at the beginning of a new age
of open-wheel racing; the Mazda Road to Indy will provide
scholarships to the 2011, 2012 and 2013 champions of the three
affiliated series, the USF2000, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy
Lights, to graduate to the next level of the sport. The
Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear has responded with
a high-profile schedule. Star Mazda teams and drivers will
share race weekends with INDYCAR six times during 2011,
including two road circuits (TBA, Infineon), two street courses
(St. Petersburg, Baltimore) and two ovals (Milwaukee, Iowa).
Additionally, Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights will share
top billing at the GP3R street circuit in Trois-Rivieres; this
marks Indy Lights’ first stand-alone event since it raced at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course in support of the U.S.
Grand Prix in 2007. Rounding out the 2011 Star Mazda
Championship schedule are two road course weekends (Mosport and
Mazda Raceway) with the American Le Mans series, and the
high-profile Night before the 500 USAC event on the O'Reilly
Raceway Park oval in Indianapolis. As a further demonstration
of the growing relationship between the Star Mazda Championship
and INDYCAR, Star Mazda's official pre-season test will take
place during the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights
'spring training' event. The teams and drivers of the Star
Mazda Championship will share the track, as well as press and TV
coverage, with Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar Series.
Andretti Autosport will field a Star Mazda Championship effort
for 2010 USF2000 champion Sage Karam
with scholarship funding from the Mazda Road to Indy. The
announcement marks Andretti Autosport’s debut in the Star Mazda
series and gives the team entries in each level of the Mazda
Road to Indy, which includes the USF2000 National Championship,
Star Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights. Karam, a 15-year old
native of Nazareth, Pa., won the 2010 USF2000 driver
championship with Andretti Autosport, scoring nine victories in
12 starts during the season.
Demonstrating that the Star Mazda Championship is the ideal
training ground,
five of the drivers competing in the 2010 Star Mazda
Championship, including series champion Conor Daly ,Ander Krohn,
Tristan Vautier, Nick Andries and David Ostella Firestone Indy
Lights cars – with Ostella announcing he will move up to a full
season of Indy Lights racing with Jensen Motorsport in 2011.
Ostella competed in the 2009 and 2010 Star Mazda championships;
last season, driving the #16 AIM Autosport / GP Global Precast
Mazda, Ostella scored two top-5 and seven top-10 finishes.
Canada-based Jensen MotorSport has a long history in North
American open-wheel racing. During the past 15 years, the team
has competed in championships including Firestone Indy Lights,
the Atlantic Championship and Formula BMW Americas.
Star Mazda drivers top-ranked by eFormulaCarNews.com.
With the pro junior formula car seasons now complete in North
America, top open-wheel racing web site eFormulaCarNews.com has
issued its final Driver Rankings of 2010… and four Star Mazda
Championship drivers are in the top-10 among a list of 206
drivers competing in various open-wheel driver development
series. Conor Daly, winner of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship
presented by Goodyear, is ranked #1 on the list, followed by
Anders 'The Viking' Krohn in 4th, Mazda-backed development
driver Connor De Phillippi in 7th and Jorge Goncalvez in 9th.
Additionally, expanding the list to the top-15 includes four
more Star Mazda drivers; Tristan Vautier in 11th, Caio Lara in
12th, Mikael Grenier in 13th and Joao Victor Horto in 14th. The
EFCN Driver Rankings are calculated using a driver’s best
finishes in the pro junior formula car series raced in North
America (Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, F2000
Championship Series, Pacific F2000 Championship, USF2000
National Championship, Formula Enterprises Pro Series and Skip
Barber National). Assembled using events from the last 12
months, EFCN uses a driver’s best 10 finishes in order to
determine their overall current point total. Following a race,
drivers receive points based on their finishing positions with
100 points earned for a win. To see the full story on the EFCN
web site, click
here or go to
www.eFormulaCarNews.com.
 Other
News:
Father Christmas’s first stop this year was Silverstone circuit,
where he treated children from Silverstone Infant and Junior
schools to an extra special appearance by abseiling down the
spectacular new Pit and Paddock Complex, recently named the
‘Silverstone Wing’. The children were at Silverstone for their
annual Christmas lunch. Shortly after their festive feast they
jumped on a coach before heading out for a lap of the Grand Prix
Circuit, following in the tyre tracks of Lewis Hamilton and
Jenson Button. On approaching the new Pit and Paddock Complex,
the children were delighted to see Santa performing one of his
yearly miracles. Father Christmas, complete with red coat, black
boots and white beard, abseiled down the ‘Silverstone Wing’
before delivering presents to all the school children. After
Santa’s breathtaking appearance, Rachel Haywood, Deputy Head of
Silverstone School, said “the Silverstone School children have
had a great time at the Circuit today and were particularly
excited to see Santa abseil off the new building. As in
previous years, we had a tour of the circuit and a wonderful
roast turkey lunch, however, Santa was a very unexpected treat
and a lovely surprise.”
 A
team of Britain’s most promising young racing drivers have pitched themselves
against 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button in a test
to see who has the fastest reaction times. The drivers, who are
on the MSA Team UK driver development programme, took part in
Reaction Race 2011 to see if they could beat one of Britain’s
motorsport heroes. In 60 seconds, Button managed to hit a total
of 114 illuminated buttons on a BATAK wall, which has been
designed to test and improve reaction times. The MSA Team UK
drivers took part in Reaction Race 2011, with British F3 driver
James Calado recording the highest score of 112, just missing
out on Jenson’s total. Now Reaction Race 2011 is being opened to
the public at Autosport International. Motorsport fans and
fitness fanatics can see for themselves if they have the
reactions of a racing driver at the show, which takes places at
the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, on 13-16 January
2010. A Reaction Race 2011 BATAK wall will be featured on the
Motor Sports Association (MSA) stand, where show visitors will
be invited to try and beat the MSA Team UK drivers’ and Jenson’s
scores. Reaction Race 2011 will run throughout the four-day
show, with the person who sets the highest score each day
winning a driving experience at Silverstone, where they can feel
the power of either a Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lotus, Fiesta Rally
Car, Formula Silverstone single-seater, or Lamborghini on the
racing circuit. The overall highest scorer during Autosport
International will not only win a driving experience, but also a
motorsport fitness assessment, the same test taken by
professional racing drivers, courtesy of the Porsche Human
Performance Centre, located at Silverstone. To view a video
of the MSA Team UK drivers completing Reaction Race 2011, visit
the Autosport International YouTube Channel at
www.youtube.com/AutosportShow.
Formula Ford:
The eighth round of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula
Ford Championship
was recently held at Sandown International Motor Raceway in
Victoria. Catch all three races in the final round of the
championship this Saturday on 7mate. With Chaz Mostert already
crowned the champion the race was on for second in the
championship and the nature of the Victorian circuit ensured the
racing was tight throughout the field. DATE: THIS
SATURDAY! 11 December, 2010 - TIME: 12:00pm AEDST (check your
local guides) - WHERE: 7mate. The Genuine
Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship has wrapped up
for another year, but the 2011 season calendar will be announced
in the near future.
09/12/10
 Formula
Ford:
Dates at top UK and European tracks, alongside some major
events, are the highlights
of the provisional calendars for the 2011 Dunlop MSA Formula
Ford Championship of Great Britain and the newly introduced
Formula Ford EuroCup. Formula Ford races will support not only
British F3 and British GT at many of its UK meetings, but also
the European “Formula 3 Grand Prix” - the Zandvoort Masters in
the Netherlands - as well as the DTM German touring cars and the
FIA GT4 European Cup. Visits to Spa-Francorchamps and Zolder are
on the itinerary as well. The four-meeting EuroCup is aimed at
attracting the best young single-seater talent from the British,
Benelux and Scandinavian Formula Ford championships, as well as
to introduce Formula Ford to other drivers from around Europe.
Each event will feature three races, with the series getting
underway alongside the British championship on the Brands Hatch
Grand Prix circuit in mid-June. There will be EuroCup events in
July at Spa, supporting Euro GT4 and British GT, and at a
top-level meeting at Zolder, ahead of the concluding rounds at
the Zandvoort Masters in mid-August. The Dunlop MSA Formula Ford
Championship of Great Britain will enjoy an April start to its
season on the Silverstone National circuit, before joining
British F3 and GT for an Easter weekend at Oulton Park and a May
date on the all-new Snetterton ‘300’ circuit layout. The British
championship then links up with the EuroCup at Brands Hatch and
Zandvoort before its September DTM date on the Brands Indy
circuit and the F3/GT meetings at Donington Park and
Silverstone. There will be three races at each of the eight
UK-series events.
 Formula
3:
Gary Thompson’s preparations for next season begin in earnest
next week
(13-17 December) when the Dubliner travels to Circuit Ricardo
Tormo in Valencia where he will test alongside Europe’s leading
Formula 3 teams. Thompson, who contested the Japanese F3
Championship in 2010, links up with crack German outfit
Performance Racing over the five days of running where they will
share the track with teams representing British, Euro Series,
International F3 Open and Italian championships.The Cebu Pacific
Air-backed 18-year-old is no stranger to Valencia after testing
there with Performance Racing last season, before reacquainting
himself with the team at Oschersleben in Germany last October.
Gary Thompson: “We tested at Valencia last season so I know the
track reasonably well and will hopefully build on that
experience. Already knowing the team well from recently testing
with them should also be a bonus, especially as the German
championship uses similar spec cars, engines and tyres to what
I’ve been racing in Japan all year. This test is mainly about
running through the programme and learning as much as we can.
Having said that, we’re still expecting to be the quickest
German-spec car at the end of the test.” Despite his appearance
in Europe, Thompson, supported by Aviation Display, remains
committed to building on his burgeoning career in the Japanese
F3 Championship next season after an encouraging rookie
campaign. “We’re still talking to quite a few teams for 2011.
Nothing’s 100% confirmed but Japan is definitely where we will
be racing. I’ll be in the National Class where there’s a lot
more entries and it’s more competitive because of all the
manufacturer works drivers. It seems the best option. I’d
definitely like to come back to Europe at some stage but when
exactly we’re not sure. We’re testing because it gives us a head
start over our rivals in Japan.”
Young Sydnety Karter Aaron Borg has unveiled plans to enter
the 2011 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship with a
desire to try to reclaim the Gold Star for Australia. Borg held
a formal function at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway last week to
launch the ‘Drive Western Sydney’ (DWS)concept that he hopes
will propel him to the top of the sport. The launch was attended
by representatives from Formula 3 Australia and its reigning
champion team, Team BRM, and featured a presentation to several
members of the Western Sydney corporate community, city leaders
and motorsport industry representatives. Borg outlined his
desire to race and win in the Formula 3 Australian Drivers
championship next year. “Everywhere around the world, Formula 3
is recognised as the premier series’ for developing driving
talent, so it’s important that I begin there next season,” he
said. “Anyone looking to go to Europe needs to go with Formula 3
on their CV because it’s an internationally recognised brand.
It’s very competitive and hopefully racing in it next year will
give me the experience I need to take my career further.” Borg
said he was keen to be the one to wrestle the Australian
Drivers’ Championship / Gold Star award back to local shores
after three successive seasons of winners from Great Britain. “I
can’t wait to get behind the wheel of one of these cars and join
the championship next year and see if I can win the Gold Star
back for Australia for a change!” Macrison company Managing
Director Joan Macdougal is leading the charge to propel Borg
into Formula 3 next season, having been impressed with the young
drivers attitude and determination. “Aaron is a young driver who
has proven himself in Karts for a number of years. However,
unlike many up and coming drivers Aaron does not come from a
family of means,” she said. “That’s never stopped Aaron
achieving his goals and it inspired my team at Macrison to
assist Aaron on the next step of his journey to hopefully
emulate the likes of Brabham, Jones and Webber by becoming a
successful Formula 1 champion. The Drive Western Sydney campaign
is an initiative to bring business in the economic powerhouse of
Western Sydney together to support Aaron on his motor racing
journey. We are focused on engagement, exposure, community and
value. In implementing this initiative, we can use motor sport
to give back and drive further economic development in Western
Sydney.” It is planned for Borg to begin testing with Team BRM
early next year ahead of a potentially full-season campaign on
the 2011 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship.
 Motor
Sport Hall of Fame: Following the inaugural Motor
Sport Hall of Fame event in early 2010,
the prestigious awards evening will return to the Roundhouse in
Camden, London, on Tuesday 15 February 2011. Celebrating and
honouring the achievements of motor racing’s greatest
luminaries, the event brings together a host of personalities
from the sport. The second annual Hall of Fame event, in
association with TAG Heuer, takes place less than four weeks
ahead of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, starting
in March. Already confirmed to attend the 2011 Hall of Fame, are
two of Motor Sport Magazine’s existing Hall of Fame inductees –
Sir Stirling Moss OBE and one of Britain’s most respected Grand
Prix drivers, Tony Brooks. Hosted by BBC Sport’s Jake Humphrey,
the evening will be a gathering of names and faces, with
celebrity guests joining legends from the world of motor racing,
making it a highly memorable occasion for the next inductees due
to be announced on the night. Sir Stirling Moss explains what
the Hall of Fame means to him, “I started reading Motor Sport
avidly in 1947, or thereabouts, and I haven’t missed an issue
since then. It’s an exceptionally good magazine. To be invited
to the opening Motor Sport Hall of Fame event earlier this year,
where I was awarded a founding membership, was an absolute
delight for me. I can’t wait to attend again in 2011 and find
out who the next inductees will be.” Talking about the
forthcoming awards, Motor Sport Magazine’s Editor, Damien Smith,
said, “The inaugural Motor Sport Hall of Fame event was a huge
success. The evening has become a real highlight on the motor
racing social calendar. Motor Sport Magazine is proud to present
racing legends, which are an inspiration to our readers, with an
accolade which pays tribute to their significant contributions
to the sport.”
 Formula
Renault:
A long, hard season comes to an end for Asia Racing
Team(ART) with the last race of 2010 Asian Formula Renault
Championship(AFR) at the Zhuhai International Circuit. After 10
tough races, ART have already won the Drivers and Teams'
Championship titles, but Sandy Stuvik, Tin Sritrai, Chi Cong Li,
Suriya Bala and Naomi Zhang Ran will be giving their all to end
the season on a positive note. Stuvik had done enough to secure
the first position championship standings with two races to go.
The 15 years old from Thailand didn’t miss a podium position
since the season start, and will be looking to write history in
the series as the very first driver to finish all the AFR Series
races on the podium. The fight for second place in the table is
still wide open with Sritrai currently in that position, 5 and
half ahead of his closest rival. The Thai driver arrives to
Zhuhai motivated by his first ever single seater victory in the
last AFR Series event and with Supercar Thailand 1500cc category
title in the pocket. For Chi Cong Li, Round 11 & 12 will provide
the Guangzhou native with the opportunity to end his
championship-winning season on a high note in front of friends
and family. The Chinese rising star has had few chances to reach
the Top-3, but two podium results will be enough to clinch
fourth place in the championship. Suriya Bala enters the finale
seeking to not only end the year on a high-note, but also to add
to his career win total. While Suriya is not in contention for a
championship position, the Singaporean, who started his 2010
season in Formula BMW Pacific, is more than capable of playing
the role of spoiler. After making her series debut with Asia
Racing Team at Chengdu, Zhang Ran will return to the cockpit of
the No. 6 red and black entry in Zhuhai. She will attempt to
better is 8th place finish in Round 10.
 Karts:
Ash Hand’s international debut in karting in the 2010 Rotax
Max Challenge Grand Finals at La Conca in Southern Italy
turned a few heads – with the young Nuneaton racer and reigning
Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Junior Max Champion receiving praise
from some of the sport’s most influential figures.pic
Rotax Grand Finals
08-12-10
 Ginetta
GT Supercup : Jody Fannin, 2010 Ginetta Junior double
race winner is moving up in 2011 to the Ginetta GT Supercup
in a Ginetta G50. He will be run by multiple Clio Cup
Championship winning Team PYRO, who also won the British GT
Championship in 2009. Twice British Touring Car Champion Chris
Hodgetts will continue as driver coach. Fannin said “Being my
first year in cars, 2010 was a massive learning year for me and
to be given the chance to move up to the Ginetta GT Supercup as
part of Team PYRO, with their impressive track record is such a
fantastic opportunity. I’d really like to thank all those who
have made it possible and can’t wait to get into the car!” Mark
Hunt, team boss of Pyro added “We have been looking for a link
between our saloon car work and GT racing for a while now, and
to be able to run Jody in the Ginetta is the perfect scenario.
Jody has shown that he has a lot of talent and understands that
a lot of commitment is involved at this level of racing. He has
a deep desire to win the same as we all do at Team Pyro, so I
can't wait to get our hands on the car and get out testing.”
MSA Academy driver Fannin, who was top rookie in the Ginetta
Junior Championship by 147 points and finished the season in an
impressive 4th place, is due to start testing the G50 in the new
year ready for the opening round of the championship at Brands
Hatch in April. pic Jakob Ebrey
 Brands
Hatch has revealed a busy programme of 13 headline
events for the 2011 season, featuring a hat-trick of British
Superbike meetings and three major international
championships.Two wheel fans can enjoy more track action from
the UK ’s premier domestic bike championship next year, as the
MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship will visit the Kent
circuit on three occasions – including a 4 day season opening
event over Easter weekend. BSB will also take to the Grand Prix
circuit during August, whilst the title-deciding round will
return in October.Brands Hatch will host three major
international car championships in 2010, beginning with a double
headline event from the FIA Formula Two Championship and the
Spanish-based International GT Open Series in July. The
flame-spitting DTM German Touring Cars will also visit Kent for
the championship’s only UK round at the beginning of September.
After enjoying record crowds during its visit in 2010, the BTCC
will enjoy a brace of visits in 2011, including its season
opener in early April. The BTCC will return in October for a
second showdown on the Grand Prix circuit. 2011 will also
feature the opening and closing rounds of the 2011 Delphi
British Truck Racing Championship and two major historic race
meetings: the Masters Festival over late May Bank Holiday and
the HSCC Superprix in June. British F3 and GT Championships be
in Kent in June, followed ten days later by the Modified Live
performance car show, which has been expanded to a two day event
next season. Tickets for 2011 major events are now on sale at
2010 prices until Christmas, and Brands Hatch owners MotorSport
Vision are also offering spectators the chance to make
significant savings by purchasing a season pass for just £195.
Brands Hatch season passes include entry to all two and four
wheel events in 2011.
Formula 3:
Planning for the 2011 Formula 3 Euro Series season is well
underway.
Up to 1st December, six teams already have expressed their
interest in the 2011 series with a total of 16 cars entered. The
teams Signature, Prema Powerteam, Mücke Motorsport and Motopark
Academy will continue their involvement in the series, with
Performance Racing and HS Technik new assets on the Euro Series
grid with several other teams currently are thinking about
entering The official car and driver-entry deadline is the 1st
March 2011. Three of the established teams, Prema Powerteam,
Motopark Academy and Mücke Motorsport, are planning to enter
three cars in 2011, with defending champions Signature, winners
of both the drivers’ and the team titles, coming in with four.
Daniel Abthas already been signed by the French squad. Mücke
Motorsport and Prema Powerteam will keep on relying on
Mercedes-Benz engines, Signature and Motopark Academy will race
with Volkswagen power. One of the two newcomers, HS Technik,
can look back on a successful past in the Euro Series. The
Austrian squad around Team Principal Michael Hascic, contested
the 2007 Euro Series season and took a win, courtesy of Harald
Schlegelmilch. So far they have entered one Dallara-Volkswagen.
Bobby Issazadhe’s Team Performance Racing has entered two
Dallara-Volkswagens.
 Karts:
Last weekend Archie Hamilton joined Danny Watts, Dino Zamparelli,
James Rossiter and James Jakes from the worlds of sportscars,
Italian F3, F1 testing, and GP3 for Johnny Herberts’s 2010
Karting Challenge, finishing second in the ultra-competitive
event. The team, Danny’s Boys, were front runners from the
start, with Archie holding his own against some of the best
motorsport talent in the world, holding third place throughout
his stint. Danny’s Boys crossed the line behind Johnny Herbert’s
own team, however it’s the first time in eight years that the
organiser has taken his own title. The annual race brings
together a host of racing celebrities to compete in a race to
raise money for charity, this year the Northamptonshire and
Warwickshire Air Ambulance Service. Archie Hamilton: “It was a
great event and amazingly competitive for a charity kart race!
It shouldn’t be a surprise I suppose given the top names
competing. My team were great and it was a good opportunity to
talk to drivers that I wouldn’t normally get to meet. Danny
Watts has been driving in the Le Mans Series so it’s given me
added motivation to find a way of getting to Le Mans and the Le
Mans Series as soon as I can. We’re still working on 2011 plans
that will hopefully help me reach that goal.”
 Ryan
Anderton was at Shennington last weekend,
his confidence high after a second place finish last time out at
PF International. After an eventful weekend which included a
couple on minor offs, Ryan came away with another podium finish,
this time in third place.
Pic Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
07-12-10
The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC)
celebrated motor racing achievements of 2010
on Monday (6 Dec), at the BRDC Annual Awards. The ceremony,
hosted by BBC Formula 1 presenter Jake Humphrey, was attended by
motor racing’s finest, including three of the BRDC’s Knights of
the Realm – Sir Stirling Moss OBE, Sir Jackie Stewart OBE and
Sir Frank Williams CBE. World Champions Nigel Mansell OBE,
Andy Priaulx MBE, David Richards CBE, Christian Horner and Damon
Hill OBE, who is also President of the BRDC, were also in
attendance. F1 driver Mark Webber just managed to beat World
Touring Car driver Andy Priaulx to the BRDC’s premier annual
award, the BRDC Gold Star. The Gold Star was one of two Awards
for the Australian driver, while British Touring Car
Championship driver Gordon Shedden received the Club’s highest
accolade for national racing, the BRDC Silver Star.
 The
outstanding achievements of Dario Franchitti(below) were
also recognised at this year’s Awards. BRDC Vice President Sir
Jackie Stewart OBE presented the British driver with a BRDC
‘Special’ Gold Star after Franchitti secured his third IndyCar
Series Drivers’ Championship in 2010, along with his second
Indianapolis 500 race win. The achievements of Britain’s two
F1 drivers, Lewis Hamilton MBE and Jenson Button MBE, were
recognised, with the two BRDC Members being awarded the Graham
Hill and ERA Club trophies respectively. Neither was able to
collect their award in person, however, both drivers had
pre-recorded acceptance speeches. Red Bull’s Formula 1 success
was further celebrated by Adrian Newey who collected The Sir
Jackie Stewart Award, presented annually to a motor sport
engineer who has shown brilliance during the course of the
season. The courage and bravery of BRDC Vice President for
Life, Sir Stirling Moss was also acknowledged by his racing
peers and colleagues. The 81-year-old British racing icon was
awarded The Innes Ireland Trophy following his recovery from
serious injury and his return to the track earlier in the year.
Sir Jackie Stewart’s exceptional contribution to the BRDC and
motor racing as a sport was also recognised, with the Scot being
awarded a BRDC Gold Medal. winners
 Formula
Ford:
Just two weeks after initial registration opened for the first
ever F1600 Formula F Championship Series in 2011,
31 drivers have already reserved numbers for what is appearing
to be a massive inaugural season grid in 2011. A number of
chassis are represented on the initial list, including Van
Diemen, Swift, Piper, Mondiale, Citation, Bowman and Crossle.
Sixteen registrants have listed Ford Kent power, 13 have listed
Honda Fit power and two remain question marks. Chassis and
engine wars will be a huge storyline as the season opens at VIR,
April 8 – 10. After VIR the F1600 tour heads north to Watkins
Glen with the Grand-Am Series, June 3-5. The Series opens the
month of July at Mid-Ohio, June 30-July 2. In September, it’s
Lime Rock with the NASCAR Modifieds, September 16-17, and the
season concludes at the highly popular Watkins Glen, October
14-16.Series officials expect the registrations to keep flowing
throughout the winter."This initial response certainly indicates
real enthusiasm in the entrant base for this Series and we are
pleasantly surprised by the numbers already registered in the
two weeks since we opened registration,” said F1600 Formula F
Championship Series Series Managing Director Michael Rand."The
2011 season looks to be a very busy one for our staff between
well subscribed F2000 grids for our sixth season and new large
fields for F1600 Formula F,” he added. Ages run from Colin
Thompson who will be 17-years-old by VIR to Bill Ehrlinger at
63.check. pic Janice Eakin
06-12-10
 McLaren
Autosport BRDC Award:
Lewis Williamson last night became the third consecutive
Michelin Formula Renault UK
driver to win the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award collecting the
increased prize of £100,000 together with a Formula 1 test with
McLaren. In doing so, Lewis, from Golspie in Scotland, also
become the eighth winner to come from the one-make single-seater
championship. Lewis, who narrowly missed out on this year’s
Formula Renault UK title by a mere six points, won the
prestigious award which is often referred to as indicating the
best young British driver competing at a National level. As
well as £100,000, and a Formula 1 test in a McLaren, Lewis also
receives full membership to the BRDC, a TW Steel watch, Puma
racewear for a year, and the offer of media training with Lee
McKenzie. “I’m just in shock,” said Lewis on stage, who raced
for Manor Competition this year and secured more wins than any
other driver (five). “I just did what I’ve done all year; give
it 100%. That’s all you can do.” He was presented with his award
at a star-studded ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel by
former winners David Coulthard and Paul di Resta. The
21-year-old was one of three Formula Renault drivers among the
finalists – along with Formula Renault UK champion Tom Blomqvist
and Formula Renault Eurocup runner-up Luciano Bacheta – together
with Formula BMW Europe runner-up Jack Harvey, British Formula
Ford runner-up Scott Malvern and Formula Palmer Audi champion
Nigel Moore. There was consolation for 17-year-old Tom Blomqvist
though as he walked away with the British Club Driver of the
Year Award.
Hugely successful Formula Renault UK team Manor Competition
added to its enviable reputation for producing the country’s
most talented junior racing drivers on Sunday night, when Lewis
Williamson was crowned the 22nd McLaren Autosport BRDC Award
winner. Williamson developed superbly during the 2010 Formula
Renault UK campaign and came very close to winning the title in
only his second season of car racing. Taking five wins – the
most of any driver this year – along with four other podiums,
five pole positions and four fastest race laps. “When they announced my name last night I could hardly get up
from my chair as the table went about five feet in the air and I
nearly ended up with a black eye as everybody started hugging
me!”, he said, “When we got to the venue I didn’t get my hopes
up and I wasn’t feeling nervous – we had nothing to lose. To win
the award is amazing. It’s all very emotional and difficult to
put into words.“So many people have asked me, ‘what is it about
Manor – how do they produce so many winners of the McLaren
Autosport award’ and the answer is simple. Tony and Sarah (Shaw)
and the whole team don’t just teach you how to drive, they teach
you how to approach the racing too.The whole package they offer
makes you better on track and a better person off track. To have
had three Manor drivers win the award for the last three years
and to look at all of the success the team has had over the
years speaks for itself – all credit to them.” Underlining
Manor’s faultless driver development work, which has been proven
time and again to equip its racers with the skills necessary to
succeed at the highest level, Williamson’s achievement sees him
follow hot on the heels of 2008 winner Alexander Sims and 2009
recipient Dean Smith to become the team’s fifth McLaren
Autosport victor from the past seven years.
 Chevrolet
Supercars : Teenage racer Ezra Idafar made a dream
start to the 2010/2011 WGA Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship
at his home track, Bahrain International Circuit, on Friday, 3rd
December, with two pole positions, a pair of faultless class
wins and the fastest lap in each race. Returning to competitive
action for the first time since the penultimate round of the
2009/2010 season back in March, the 18-year-old student from
Manama didn’t show any rustiness at all as he dominated the SC06
Class of the one-make Middle Eastern series.
The
2011 European Late Model
Regulations are now available on the European Late Model Series
website.
The regulations come with two important revelations by the
European Late Model Series organisers. First is
the announcement that the European Late Model Series will begin
fazing out the "Fastburn" engines used in early CAMSO V8 cars,
in favour of the sealed 400/400 Crate Engine. This will allow
the organisers to better police the series and should make
competing in the European Late Model Series even more cost
effective. The second announcement is the addition of rain
tyres. The tyre in question is yet to be confirmed, but will
probably be the BRL Hoosier rain tyre. Several Late Model
drivers have already tested this tyre in the rain, with positive
results. It is unlikely the rain tyre will be implemented at
Warnerton, but will be a requirement at Venray where drivers
will be expected to run come rain or shine. The tyre may also be
used at U.K rounds in adverse conditions subject to approval by
the organisers. This will mean no more wasted journeys for fans
and drivers when Britain's decidedly unpredictable weather takes
a turn for the worst over a race weekend!
FIA
GT1: It was on the superb San Luis circuit in
Argentina that the FIA GT1 World Championship came to an end
this weekend.
In the final round Maxime Martin and the Marc VDS Racing team
were hoping to confirming their top-5 place clinched a week
earlier at Interlagos. “What a circuit!, the young Belgian
exclaimed at the end of the first free practice session. It’s
unbelievable. Definitely one of the greatest, even though there
are walls everywhere. On top of that the track is actually on
roads normally open to daily traffic. This also means that
there is dust and mud everywhere. You therefore need to keep a
close eye on where you position the wheels.” Having completed
four laps of the first session, Maxime and his team mate Bas
Leinders had an engine problem.” In fact the engine broke, and
we don’t really know why”, Martin explained. After the team
change the engine they were relegated 5 places on the grid for
the Championship Race. Not an ideal situation. Maxime made the
most of the second free session to check whether everything was
OK prior to the Q1 qualifying session. The young Belgian driver
setting an excellent 2nd best time overall. His team mate took
on Q2, but committed an error resulting in the Ford GT Marc VDS
Racing landing up on the 12th row of the first of the two
starting grids. This Sunday morning Leinders made a perfect
start, narrowly missing an accident at the front of the pack,
allowing him to move up from 12th into 5th. Maxime Martin took
over in 6th place, working his way into the top-3 and setting
fastest lap. “ Super result and it looks pretty promising for
the next race, notwithstanding the fact that we’ll be in 8th
spot on the grid for that one. But the Ford GT’s potential is
real on this circuit, and that’s the most important “
Unfortunately for Maxime the Championship Race didn’t bring a
smile to his face. FIA GT1 races are so intense that any start
from the middle of the pack brings a fair amount of risk.
“ Sometimes it works, and at other times it turns sour. I was
nudged right from the start which lost me quite a few places.
After an initial climb back up I was pushed off the track! I
dropped back to 19th spot prior to once more working my way back
up into 10th place when I handed over to Bas Leinders. He took
to the track in 11th position….when the engine blew once again.
This time it was all over” Disappointment on the one hand but
a positive experience for Martin. “ In fact I am satisfied with
our progress during this season. I know that I am up to claiming
a top-5 or top-6, as shown by my lap times on numerous
occasions. We must now constantly deal with race facts, which at
times have obliged us to start from too far back on the grid.
But in an apprenticeship year at this top level of Grand Touring
racing our top speed was quite clearly there, and that in my
eyes is what really counts.”
Karts:
Had it come earlier on in his career, Jordan King
acknowledged that the inaugural WSK Nations Cup might have
been a frustrating event seeing as how the end result failed to
do justice to his potential – but given that it was his final
competitive karting outing he reflected that it was good to
sign off with an entertaining couple of races.
Read report
 For
a driver far more accustomed to competing on British shores,
it was a new challenge for Matty Graham when he entered the
inaugural WSK Nations Cup.
As he hangs up his helmet now for a well-deserved Christmas
break, young North Wales racer James Singleton claimed a
clean sweep of winter series wins with his fourth victory in
succession.
03-12-10
 Scirocco
R-Cup : Daniel Lloyd is celebrating this week after
winning a spot on the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup grid
–
a chief support series to the DTM championship. The 18-year-old
earned his place in next year’s VW Scirocco R-Cup after making
an impression on the Volkswagen Motorsport bosses during a
two-day assessment in mid-November at Oschersleben in Germany.
Pitted against 30 other contenders in race-prepped VW Polos, he
delivered an incredibly strong performance to secure one of just
a handful of part-funded drives. Daniel can now focus on 2011
knowing he has a berth in one of Europe’s most impressive
one-make categories. That said, he still needs to raise 50,000
Euros by the end of February to seal the deal. “This is an
amazing opportunity”, he said, “Volkswagen is a massively
prestigious brand and it’s an honour to have been selected to be
on the grid in 2011. This year was tough as we weren’t able to
put together a full season in anything due to a lack of funding.
Thanks to Volkswagen I’ve got a great chance to show what I can
do again over a full campaign. We still have to raise 50,000
Euros though so we’re working incredibly hard to do that. It’s a
massive challenge, especially as we need to secure the
sponsorship and funding by the end of February. But as the only
British driver set to be in the championship I’m in a unique
position. We’re keen to identify businesses with commercial
links in Germany as a partnership with us could be very
beneficial.” Although 2010 was tough in terms of lack of budget,
Daniel cemented his place as one of the UK’s top young drivers
with sparkling debuts in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car
Championship and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. On his
maiden BTCC outing he collected a pair of points finishes, he
went on to win the G4 Class during the British GT finale in his
first ever endurance event. One of the most important facets of
the Scirocco R-Cup is that it has broken new ground as the most
‘environmentally friendly’ and eco-conscious one-make category.
The car itself is powered by a 275bhp engine which runs on bio-CNG
(compressed natural gas), meaning it emits 80 per cent less CO2
than cars utilising conventional racing petrol. pic
Volkswagen Motorsport
 LMS: REBELLION Racing and Toyota
Motorsport GmbH
have confirmed plans for a Le Mans Prototype LMP1 engine supply
partnership. The agreement will see two Rebellion Racing Lola
LMP1 cars powered by Toyota engines in the 2011 season as part
of an exclusive partnership with Toyota Motorsport in LMP1. Alexandre
Pesci, Rebellion Racing Team Principal: "This agreement is the
cornerstone of Rebellion’s challenge for the forthcoming season.
Toyota is an impressive and remarkable industrial giant, we are
proud to have been selected by Toyota Motorsport as their
partner in this project. It means a lot for our team to have
secured their support in our efforts to target the victory."
Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Toyota Motorsport President: "Toyota
Motorsport has recent experience of engine supply partnerships
from our Formula One days so we are drawing on that to deliver a
reliable and competitive engine. We are looking forward to
working with Rebellion Racing on this exciting project and it
was very pleasing to see this engine running in a car for the
first time, particularly because the performance, as well as the
reliability, was very encouraging." The partnership started some
weeks ago when, as the first result of combined work from Lola
and Sebah Automotive, an interim Lola-Toyota was shaken down in
early October at Snetterton. Later that month Rebellion and
Toyota Motorsport engineers conducted an evaluation test at
Portimao, Portugal and Monteblanco, Spain. The test car achieved
high mileage, providing valuable data in terms of performance
and reliability with the Toyota engine. Rebellion Racing have
also renewed the contracts of its regular 2010 drivers. Neel
Jani / Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi / Jean-Christophe
Boullion. The additional drivers for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
will be announced at a later date.
 GT1:
The HEXIS AMR team’s South American foray
has got off to a good start. After the ninth round of the FIA
GT1 World Championship in Brazil, the French squad has taken
another step towards its objective - a place in the top three in
the championship in its first season in this top-level
competition. This thanks to a fine fourth place for their no 10
Aston Martin DBR9 driven by Clivio Piccione and Jonathan Hirsch.
pic
V-Images
MotorSport Vision (MSV), the
UK ’s largest motorsport organisation,
has launched its first ever nationwide Young Motorsport
Journalist of the Year competition to uncover the next
generation of sport writing talent. The competition invites
schoolchildren aged 11-17 inclusive to demonstrate their skills
by writing a 300 word race report based on a video selected by
MotorSport Vision, which can be viewed at MSV’s dedicated
competition website
www.motorsportvision.co.uk/youngjourno. The
competition will be split into two categories – 11 to 13 year
olds and 14 to 17 year olds – and three entries will be selected
from each age group by a panel of MSV staff when the contest
closes on 31 December 2010. Each winner will be awarded a
YoungDrive! introductory driving lesson in a BMW 1 Series at
either Brands Hatch in Kent , Oulton Park in Cheshire or Bedford
Autodrome circuit, as well as enjoying the unique opportunity to
see their work published, as their reviews of the experience
will be included in a 2011 programme at one of MSV’s largest
race meetings. In addition, each report will be published on the
MotorSport Vision website and issued as a press release to local
media. Full information, race videos and entry forms for the
MSV Young Motorsport Journalist of the Year contest can be found
through the competition website,
www.motorsportvision.co.uk/youngjourno. Teachers can
also download and print off posters from the website to
advertise the competition around their schools.
 WTCC:
The FIA World Touring Car Championship has a strong
presence at the Essen Motorshow this year.
The show is one of the most popular motor sport exhibitions in
Europe and opened on November 27th, continuing until December
5th.The WTCC stand that is located close to those of its major
partners in Germany, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben and the ADAC
Procar series, exhibits two racng cars: the 2010 world champion
Chevrolet Cruze of Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx's BMW
320si.Animation for the fans is provided by the "Race" simulator
that awards WTCC merchandising and items signed by the drivers,
such as Chevrolet shirts by Muller and BMW gloves and shirts by
Augusto Farfus.
 The
2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship has launched some new
faces
in international tin-top racing. A bunch of young drivers - some
of them having already achieved impressive results in the
national series - attracted attention with remarkable
performances, showing the speed and skill to compete against the
established top-guns of the category. Two of them, Colin
Turkington (28 years old from Northern Ireland) and Norbert
Michelisz (26 from Hungary), even claimed their maiden WTCC
victories during the season. Michelisz, the winner of the 2009
SEAT Eurocup, drove a SEAT León TDI run by the Zengö Dension
Team. His rise was fast and consistent, leading him to an
unexpected 9th position in the Drivers' championship and to a
well deserved win in Macau's Race 2. Even more impressive was
Colin Turkington's path. The 2009 British Touring Car champion
took part in only five events - Portimão, Brands Hatch, Brno,
Okayama and Macau - in a West Surrey Racing BMW 320si. Right
from the beginning he found his place among the best and claimed
three podium results out of his first six races: third and
second in Brands Hatch, second in Brno.He shone again in the
soaked Japanese event, finishing second in Race 2 behind fellow
BMW driver Augusto Farfus; when Farfus was excluded by the
International Court of Appeal, Turkington inherited a victory
that he clearly had the potential to claim on the track. He also
managed to make the top-ten in the Drivers' Championship despite
taklng part in only ten races out of 22.
 Silverstone
and its owners, the BRDC,
have announced the name chosen for the new Pit, Paddock and
Conference building is ‘The Silverstone Wing’. ‘The Wing’ is
synonymous with motor sport, but also connects with
Silverstone’s aviation history, therefore illustrating both the
circuit’s rich heritage and its future. Richard Phillips,
Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, explains:
“‘The Silverstone Wing’ is a highly appropriate name. ‘Flight’
and ‘velocity’ were key themes incorporated into the design
brief, and the streamlined form of the new building conjures up
the impression of speed, dynamic motion and the grace of a
bird’s wing in full flight.”A recent competition, inviting
members of the public to name the new building, generated more
than 4,000 entries. Phillips added, “Many of the competition
entrants suggested names that included the word ‘wing’, or
related to types of birds. After careful deliberation by the
Silverstone team the entries were whittled down to just 20
names, which were then presented to the BRDC Board for
discussion at the November Board Meeting.” ’The Wing’ was
submitted by 10 members of the public as a potential name for
the new building. Originally, entrants coming up with the best
suggestion were to be entered into a draw, with the lucky winner
walking away with a prize package. However, the circuit has
since decided to reward each of the 10 entrants who championed
‘The Wing’ with the ultimate prize for any motor sport
enthusiast: VIP
invitation for two (each winner + guest) to attend the official
opening of ‘The Silverstone Wing’ in May, 2011, Race day
hospitality for two at the 2011 Formula 1 Santander British
Grand Prix, Race day hospitality for two at the 2011
AirAsia British Grand Prix (MotoGP) and a Silverstone Super
Choice Voucher – choose from six of Silverstone’s most popular
Driving Experiences, including the Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lotus,
Formula Silverstone Single-Seater, Lamborghini, or Rally
experience (one experience for each winner only)
ELF Renault Clio Cup
team Total Control Racing enjoyed a highly successful 2010
and although just missing out on entrants title success by a
mere four points, the Wednesbury squad once again proved its
position as a consistent championship contender and race winning
force. With all three of the team’s regular drivers – Sam
Tordoff, Mike Robinson and James Dixon – ending the campaign
inside the championship top six, TCR enjoyed a high level of
success and is now hungry to reclaim outright title glory in
2011. “We had a good year in Clios but we’re disappointed we
didn’t win the championship”, said team principal Lee Brookes,
“Sam, Mike and James performed really well all season but it
took us too long to get that first win. It was great to see
James join Sam as a race winner and he came on very strong in
the second half of the year. Mike was as consistent as ever –
just a shame a win eluded him.”
 Karts:
The CRG company had two very intense weeks at the La Conca
circuit. They were the official chassis supplier for the
Rotax World Final and then continued with the WSK Nations Cup a
week later, from 26-28th November. At the wheel of his
CRG-Maxter, Max Verstappen (KF3) cended his season with
another win.
02-12-10
Formula Pacific
: Motorsport Asia
have secured a Title sponsor for the Formula Pacific Series.
The deal is for the next three years, 2011 -13. The terms
agreed between Motorsport Asia and the Title Sponsor will also
include a name change of the Series to include the Title
Sponsor’s name. “I am absolutely delighted to have secured this
deal to continue the Championship at the same level as in
previous years. Obviously with the withdrawal of BMW and the
termination of the European Championship, the pressure was on.
However, I fully believe that this Championship was great and a
vital necessity for the sport in the Region and the development
of future young talent. This deal and the strong support that
we have been receiving from the Teams and Drivers makes the
prospect of next season really exciting,” said David Sonenscher,
CEO of Motorsport Asia. Obviously everyone is waiting for the
announcement of the Calendar and in fact the only thing holding
that back is the some contractual formalities. Everything is
agreed and I hope to have those signed off in the next couple of
weeks so that we can make a public announcement of the Calendar.
Frankly, it will not be much of a change from this year but we
have one or two exciting new venues, so in actual fact it will
be better.” He added. The name of the Title Sponsor and the new
Championship will be announced at a grand launch event, which is
being scheduled for the 3rd or 4th week of January. The exact
details of which will be announced soon after the New Year.
Background - The Formula Pacific Series is the
replacement series for the Formula BMW Pacific. Since July 2010,
Motorsport Asia has put plans in place to continue the Series in
an independent form. Built by Mygale, the FB02 will be
maintained in the 2011 season and Mygale have confirmed to
continue to support the Series into the new season. The FB02
monocoque is made of carbon-fibre Kevlar which has been proven
to be of the highest safety standards. The 140bhp, 1.2litre
engine provides a maximum of 9,250rpm with a top speed of
230km/h.
 BTCC:
Alex MacDowall - Record breaking qualifying pace, podium success
and finishing on the fringe of the coveted top 10 in the Dunlop
MSA British Touring Car Championship standings at the conclusion
of his maiden season – 2010 was certainly a memorable year for
Alex MacDowall. Realising his long-held dream of competing in
the BTCC, the UK’S biggest and most storied motor racing
championship, the 19-year-old cemented his place as a genuine
front-runner from the off in his debut season and is now fully
focused on returning to the category in 2011 for a major title
push.pic
Jakob Ebrey Photogrpahy
Read full review
GP2: British racer Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
set an impressive pace in GP2 testing this week,
the teenager third fastest on only his second time in the car.
The 19 year-old who contested the GP3 series this season, has
been undergoing a series of tests in both WSR and GP2, and after
topping the time sheets in Spain’s WSR tests recently, continued
the trend with a good performance in Abu Dhabi at the weekend.
Adrian headed out to the test buoyed by his recent performances
and took the wheel of the Scuderia Coloni car for the GP2 test,
which kicked off on Saturday morning. After settling into the
car on the first day, his first time in the car and at the
circuit, Adrian went into Sunday’s two sessions confident of
improving.In the morning session Adrian was immediately on the
pace, posting the third fastest time and just half a tenth away
from the fastest lap. In the afternoon, Adrian was again running
third, until the opposition switched to new tyres, pushing him
down the order. “I’m very happy with the test, it was a
fantastic two days, with a very professional team", said
Adrian. “It was a brand new circuit to me so we spent much of
the first day getting to grips with it and the car. On Sunday we
were immediately on the pace and running in the top three all
day, the gap to P1 was less than half a tenth so we were feeling
pretty positive. In the afternoon the pace was there again and
very fast particularly in the mid sector. I was on old tyres
though and when everyone else switched to new, obviously I
dropped down the order. Still it was a good test and gave me a
great opportunity to compare the WSR car with the GP2 car so I
can consider my options for 2011. The car feels much faster,
with straight line speed and the brakes without doubt the
biggest difference. I think we worked well with the Scuderia
Coloni team, they gave me a good car for the two days and I
think they’re happy with the results too. We have not
confirmed our plans for next year yet but it will definitely be
either WSR or GP2!” Adrian returns home today hopes to make a
decision about his plans for 2011 just after Christmas.
.jpg) Karts:
Ash Hand had already ably proven himself in the
2010 Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship but after heading out
to La Conca to compete in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals,
Ash Hand demonstrated that he is every bit as capable of doing
battle on the international stage, too. As a ‘wild card’ entry
by dint of his success in the FKS series this year, the Nuneaton
racer travelled to La Conca in southern Italy preparing to pit
himself against 71 Junior Rotax class adversaries composed of
more than 30 different nationalities. pic Bas Kaligis
 Jay
Goodwin got to experience the full VIP treatment recently
when he was invited to go on a tour of McLaren-Mercedes’ F1
facilities at Woking in Surrey – and he admitted it was quite an
eye-opener. Jay earned his place on the trip for having been
awarded the Lewis Hamilton ‘True Grit’ accolade in the national
Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship at Rowrah in Cumbria in
April. The ‘honour is bestowed in every round upon the driver
who has made up the greatest number of places during the course
of any one race, which Jay did with a charge from 30th to tenth
in the final at Rowrah. “I first found out I was going to
McLaren a few weeks beforehand,” the 13-year-old reflected. “I
was really excited about it, because it was the first time I’d
ever been to an F1 factory. They gave us a guided tour, and the
sheer level of commitment that goes on there is absolutely
incredible – everything on the car has to be so precise.
“There’s an entire room two times the size of a house dedicated
to refining a single wheel nut, for example. Everywhere is
really clean, and I was surprised by just how much was going on
– even after the end of the F1 season, everybody was still
working really hard. We saw parts of the chassis they are
building for the 2011 car, too; that was pretty exciting,
because we’re the only people outside of the team who have
actually seen that.” pic FKS
01-12-10
 LMS
champion in the Formula Le Mans Series 2010, Gary Chalandon
has signed with Team Bruichladdich to drive the Zytek LMP2 car
for 2011. Hoping to build on the success in the 2010 24 hour
race (10th overall at 24 Hours of Le Mans, and 5th in LMP2
class) Gary has accepted the offer made by Team Principal, Tim
Greaves. Gary said "I am very happy to join the Team that I
raced in my first 24 hour of Le Mans. For them to trust me with
the car with very little experience gave me great confidence in
myself and the Team. The way they manage the races and the car
makes them, for me, one of the best Teams. I will continue my
physical training and hope to drive in some other competitions,
which the Team have readily agreed that I may do. We will
compete in the LMS and 24 hours of Le Mans (if the Team gets and
invitations, of course). The Zytek chassis is well proven and
the Nismo V8 has proved powerful and reliable in the Japan Super
GT Series we should be able to run at the front" Co-driver
Karim Ojjeh said "I am personally very happy to have Gary as a
co-driver for next year. At Le Mans he proved to be a very
thorough driver bringing the car safely at every end of his
stint, which is the most important part of Le Mans. He will
continue to work on his race speed in 2011, especially in
"sprint" style LMS races, as the competition will be tough (I
will need to do the same!). He is young and has a good future.
He has plenty to learn but is a great addition to the Team and I
am sure that during the year he will show his true colours."
Team Manager, Jacob Greaves said, "It is great to have Gary in
the Team for next season. He drove faultlessly in this year's 24
hour race. We now need a third driver to complete our line up.
We are now working hard on the winter rebuild and new engine
installation and I think we will have a strong package for next
year"
 THE MG CAR CLUB'S MG Trophy
Championship
staged a successful end-of-season awards ceremony on Saturday
evening (27 November) with over 100 attendees coming together to
celebrate another memorable campaign for the high-profile
series.MG Motor UK Sales and Marketing Director Guy Jones was a
popular guest of honour and made a series of presentations as
the evening progressed.The thrill-a-minute Paul Streather was
officially awarded his Championship trophy, with hard charging
Scotsman Paul Luti scooping second spot, whilst 2009 Champion
Chris Bray collected third. MGCC MG Trophy co-ordinator Pete
Macwaters said: "The awards ceremony was the perfect way to
conclude a terrific year of on-track action. The Championship
was decided as the final round of the season with three drivers
in contention it proved to be a fitting finale. We were
delighted to welcome Guy Jones and Doug Wallace from MG Motor UK
to the awards evening. There was genuine interest from our
competitors about the future plans for the marque and I would
like to thank both Guy and Doug for taking the time to attend.
Work has already started preparing for the 2011 Championship
and have some exciting plans" Meanwhile, the traditional end
of season MG Trophy video has been created by popular competitor
Ben Jacques.
http://www.mgcc.co.uk/mg-news/club-news/1261-mg-trophy-championship-awards.html
From left to right (Paul Luti 2nd in Championship, Guy Jones -
Sales & Marketing Director MG Motor UK, Paul Streather 2010 MG
Trophy Champion, Chris Bray 3rd in Championship. pic Dickon
Siddall)
 Formula
3: Facu Regalia was the fastest in three of the four
F3 test sessions
held at Vallelunga yesterday. Driving one of Team Ghinzani’s
cars, the Spanish-Argentinean showed his potential and ended the
day as the second fastest and the best among the rookies. “I was
the fastest in three of the four sessions and, when the track
was wettest, I was one second clear of the field. If you
consider that I never drove a Formula 3 in these conditions, I
think it is a good result”, he explained. The track conditions
caught out many drivers, “In the last session, when the track
was less wet, when I was in my best lap of the day the red flag
was shown, one of the thirty plus of the day, something that
didn’t allow me to reach the first place”, said Facu. He was
also fastest for Team Ghinzani at Vallelunga and enjoyed working
with Italian team. “I worked very well with the Team Ghinzani.
We evolved in the right direction and we improved the set-up and
my experience with Prema was very important to achieve today’s
good results”, he concluded.
British GT: Avon Tyres will
be the title sponsor and official control tyre supplier for the
British GT
Championship until the end of the 2014 season. Since Avon Tyres
began supplying the British GT championship in 2006, hundreds of
drivers have completed some 200,000 racing miles.Cooper Tire
Europe managing director, Julian Baldwin, said, “We have enjoyed
working with the British GT Championship and are delighted to
have formalised an agreement with the championship organisers
for a further three years. The constantly changing mix of cars,
each with different characteristics, really tests our expertise
but the Avon crew enjoys meeting the challenge head-on.”
Stephane Ratel, SRO Chairman and promoter of the Avon Tyres
British GT Championship, commented, “Avon Tyres has shown great
dedication to our championship, both on track and behind the
scenes. The nature of GT racing brings special challenges for a
tyre supplier and Avon has always delivered a superior product
that delivers equal performance across a wide range of machinery
and generates fantastic race action. I am certain that Avon
Tyres will continue to support British GT with marketing and
promotion, bringing the excitement and aspirational glamour of
top-flight GT racing to the race fans of the UK.” The
provisional calendar for the 2011 Avon Tyres British GT
Championship kicks off at Oulton Park on April 23-25.
 Karts:
Eyes widened, jaws dropped and some of Formula Kart Stars
most vocal drivers were silenced as Lewis Hamilton and the
McLaren Formula One team opened their doors for an exclusive
look at their world famous Technology Centre. All of the 2010
Lewis Hamilton ‘True Grit’ award winners were joined by the top
three finishers in each FKS class for a special guided tour of
McLaren’s truly spectacular headquarters followed by a chance to
quiz the 2008 World Champion themselves. It’s not every day
that you get a chance to take a peek around a working Formula
One facility but the lucky drivers were shown around the museum,
the wind tunnel and development rooms, the state of the art
fitness centre and even had the chance to chat to Lewis Hamilton
in the McLaren boardroom. “I really can’t thank Lewis and the
entire McLaren team enough for allowing our drivers a truly
unique opportunity,” said FKS series director Carolynn Hoy. “It
was incredible to see a Formula One factory at work and it gave
all the drivers a real insight into the amount of effort it
takes to put two F1 cars on the grid. Lewis was just fantastic
with the drivers,” added Hoy. “He was full of helpful advice and
stories from his days in karting right up to the last race he
did in Formula One. I think all the drivers really learnt a lot
of valuable lessons from what he had to say.” During the day
Hamilton presented MSA British Cadet Champion Nathan Aston with
his prize TAG Heuer watch, one that Aston had worn each time he
won a race in 2010 but that he now gets to keep for good.
Formula Kart Stars would like to thank all the staff at the
McLaren Technology Centre as well as Lewis Hamilton for their
time and generosity. pic McLaren
 Tom
Harvey admitted that he was ‘buzzing’ after a tour of the
McLaren-Mercedes F1 factory
during the course of which he met his hero Lewis Hamilton. Tom
was invited to take part in the VIP visit along with several of
his rivals and friends from the national Formula Kart Stars (FKS)
Championship. The 12-year-old earned his place on the trip by
dint of finishing a superb third in the country in the 2010 MSA
British Cadet class of FKS. “I was really excited when I found
out about it,” he enthused. “It’s not every day you get to go
round an F1 factory or meet an F1 World Champion, is it?!
Unfortunately, though, the day before the visit I felt really
ill but I’m so glad I did because it was just such an amazing
experience! We saw the McLaren F1 supercar that Lewis wants,
too,” revealed Tom, “Ron Dennis has said he can have it when he
wins three F1 World Championships, and Lewis told us he has put
some individual marks inside the car, so if they switch it he’ll
know! He was really chilled when we met him, cool as a
cucumber. It was a bit surreal, because he went around the room
shaking all of our hands, almost like he wasn’t the big F1 star
but like we were the important ones instead! Considering Lewis
is my favourite racing driver, to be able to meet him was just
awesome! He
spoke to each of us in-turn and remembered all of our names,
which I thought was amazing. He told us what his favourite
karting circuits were from when he raced in karts – Clay Pigeon
and Rowrah,” pic FKS
In
2010, Sodi was chosen by Rotax as official chassis supplier
for its World Final organised in Italy. For this the French
brand has provided all its know-how and professionalism to equip
the 72 drivers in the Rotax Junior category. With its 252
drivers from 61 different nationalities, the Rotax final meeting
acquired an extraordinary world dimension, which is explained by
the of the Austrian engine used by dozens of kart drivers in all
the continents. “It was both an honour and a pleasure for our
company to give drivers from so many different countries the
chance to discover the performances of our new ST30 2011
chassis, equipped with our brand new Tekneex Tube Technology (TTT)”,
said Gildas Mérian, Sodikart CEO. With 53 drivers grouped in
less than 8 tenths after qualifying, the race proved to be a
very hard ought event . The first 12 drivers made a final sprint
and passed under the chequered flag covered by less than two
seconds. Dutch driver Jordi Van Moorsel was the winner,
preceding his compatriot Joel Affolter, who repeated his Rotax
Euro Challenge success with a different chassis, and Australian
driver Pierce Lehane
Silverstone – British GP:
As the dust settles on an exciting Formula 1 season,
fans are already looking forward to the 2011 Championship and
the FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX, which takes place at
Silverstone on 08-10 July. Tickets for the UK’s blue riband
motor racing event have been selling fast, with fans snapping up
seats in many of the new grandstands. In 2011 Formula 1 will be
based in Silverstone’s new Pit and Paddock Complex, due for
completion in May. They will also line up on a new starting grid
next year, on the International Pits Straight between Club
Corner and Abbey. Race-goers have been quick to purchase tickets
in the new International Pits Straight grandstand and all 4,500
tickets have now been sold. Tickets in the new grandstand at
Abbey are also selling fast. From 2011, Abbey becomes Turn 1 of
the Grand Prix and only a limited number of seats are still
available. The grandstands at Club Corner and Becketts are also
new and improved for 2011. Club Corner now becomes the final
corner where the covered grandstand, in a new, elevated
position, will provide views of the start / finish straight, Pit
Lane entry and the Pit Lane itself.The repositioned and elevated
grandstand at Becketts was a revelation in 2010. Improved
site-lines provided fantastic views of Maggotts Curve, through
Becketts, and down to Stowe, as well as overlooking the new
section of circuit through Farm Curve, Village and Aintree. In
2011, Becketts will be a covered grandstand. The 2010 circuit
changes have also enabled Silverstone to create new viewing
areas for General Admission ticket holders. In 2011, fans will
be able to gain access to the inside of the Brooklands / Priory
Complex, where enhanced, trackside views will be
available. Tickets for the 2011 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH
GRAND PRIX are available at
www.silverstone.co.uk,
or by calling 0844 3728 300.
The opinions expressed
on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of
theGrid team
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