The Grid

The HSCC’s new Historic Formula Ford 2000 Series looks set for a very good first full season with 100 of the 2-litre Ford Pinto-powered single-seaters built and raced between 1974 and 1981 already regiustered…read more

Fifty-six motorsport rookies have passed their Association of Racing Drivers Schools (ARDS) tests at the Castle Combe with the Caterham Academy…read more

Formula Renault UK driver Alexander Sims had a great start to his official 2008 pre-season test at Rockingham this week,. After 2 days of testing he came out of the test with the fastest time …read more

Adam Christodoulou from CR Scuderia Formula Renault was next up behind the Manor duo just 0.1 secs off the pace in what promises to be another competitive season…read more

The Aston Martin Asia Cup gets underway next weekend in Shanghai with the first official test on 9 March with the first race taking place on 23-25 May at Shanghai…read more

The Volkswagen Racing Cup's turbodiesels class is looking increasingly competitive in 2008. To date 5 TDI cars, including a four-wheel drive Golf, - have entered and there is still a month before the first round…read more

The Heritage GT Car Challenge is fast approaching maximum capacity for the 2008 season and has just concluded a fresh television deal for the coming year….read more

WTCC SUPPORTS MAKE CARS GREEN CAMPAIGN. Competitors from the FIA World Touring Car Championship will be supporting the FIA's Make Cars Green campaign from the first round of the series, in Curitiba , Brazil , this weekend. ..read more

Manor Motorsport look like the team to beat after their drivers set the quickest times at the recent Formula Renault test at Rockingham last week….read more

Hitech Racing continue to set an impressive pace in the F3 Pre-season test at Snetterton. Both drivers, Walter Grubmüller and Max Chilton held fastest time at some point during the day ..read more

Top Hat - Snetterton March 29 - Last call for entries for the Top hat race meeting...Details

The FIA WTCC Race of Brazil will again be making a contribution towards the aid of the starving people of Brazil . Together KSO, the championship promoter; HSBC, partner of the event; and the City Hall of Curitiba, repeated the initiative of offering free tickets to the public in exchange for two kilograms of food.Fans wishing to attend the races on Sunday may collect the tickets by delivering the food to twelve different collection points scattered over the city, or at the racetrack's ticket office on Sunday morning. The food collected will be donated by HSBC and the City Hall of Curitiba to the charity society Instituto Pró-Cidadania de Curitiba, which will distribute it to those in need. In 2007 this humanitarian initiative resulted in the collection of 24 tonnes of food, or the equivalent of 120/150 thousand meals.

WTCC DRIVERS MEET FANS AND MAYOR. Official proceedings to the WTCC season of 2008 got underway in the centre of Curitiba with a promotional day yesterday. It started with the drivers meeting the fans in two crowded autograph sessions in front of the HSBC palace, on the central Ruas das Flores with two FIA WTCC racing cars - Jordi Gené's SEAT and Andrey Romanov's BMW - exhibited in front of the building. In the afternoon the drivers joined the Mayor of Curitiba, Mr Beto Richa, Marcello Lotti , general manager of KSO, Mr Glen Valente , Marketing Director of HSBC, and Mr Guilherme Pimentel director of TIM - Regional Sul, for a press conference and cocktail reception attended by large representation of media, at the elegant Wyn Lounge & Japanese Art.

The N.technology team have said that they will not take part in the WTCC season-opener in Curitiba . The Italian team were due to make their debut with the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000 car driven by the James Thompson. However, in spite of all the effort to be ready in time, the team eventually decided to skip Curitiba and begin their season later on, in order to focus on the technical development of the Japanese car. N.technology's decision means that twenty-one cars will compete in the championship's first event of the year.

WTCC ON THE YAHOO! EUROSPORT PLATFORM. Five new online areas dedicated entirely to WTCC on the Yahoo! Eurosport internet platform have been launched. The new sections are produced in five languages - English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - and accessible from the Motorsport section at the following urls:

The FIA WTCC's website www.fiawtcc.com continues its service in English and remains the only official source of information for all partners and media. On the eve of the 2008 season's opening, fans are able to keep up to date with the very latest news about the championship, the drivers, the teams and events. They are also able to use the embedded Eurosport player to watch LIVE race action, interviews and highlights, as well as use the forum to react and offer opinions.

Gold Coast Indy 300 General Manager Greg Hooton and Chairman Terry Mackenroth will fly to the US this today to finalise a deal to make the iconic Australian event a part of a new era of international open-wheel racing….more

The Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, the longest-running single-seater driver development series in North America will run it’s 35th Anniversary season in 2008 with a 12-race schedule beginning April 18-20 at Long Beach. …read more

Team West-Tec have signed Jonathan Legris as part of their attack on the 2008 Spanish F3 Championships. The FBMW UK race winner, who recently finished in an excellent fifth place on the road at the BMW World Finals, will join Francisco Villar in racing a Copa de Espana Class B Dallara, in the team. Jonathan is the second British driver in the team along with Alex Waters, who will drive in Class A alongside the Norwegian Christian Ebbesvik.

Fortec Motorsport have confirmed Alex Morgan ihas joined the team for the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup. The British driver set his sights on a Eurocup drive in 2008 after a 5th at Magny Cours in September, and 2 top-10 finishes at Barcelona in October with Fortec. Morgan joins Dean Smith, Daniel McKenzie, and Gabriel Dias at the team. Alex said “It has been my objective to compete in a championship winning car and in a championship winning team for 2008 and I am absolutely delighted to have signed for Fortec for this championship. Whilst there will be a lot of new tracks to learn our experience at Magny Cours and Barcelona in 2007 were very encouraging.” Fortec team principal Richard Dutton commented “It's great to have Alex join the team for the Eurocup. I know he'll bring a great-deal of experience and talent to an already strong line-up. We started testing this week at Valencia and have already shown ourselves to be serious about succeeding in this category".

Rehagen Racing will enter a 4-car team in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup. The Grand American Road Racing Association is sanctioning the eight-race series which will use the all-new factory-built Ford Mustang FR500S…read more

CR Scuderia’s GT team tested the British GT and FIA GT cars in Spain recently. The GT test ran smoothly and ended on a high note when Rob Bell took the lap record at Monteblanco. "The testing all went according to plan," said Chris Niarchos, who will partner Tim Mullen in car 55 in FIA GT this year. "The cars all ran well and I must say it's great to be back on Michelin rubber. Perhaps the best thing about this test though is that I have seen how the new team is gelling and I am thrilled with how well everyone is working together, all pulling in the same direction." "We have had a very successful test," said James Sutton, who, along with Luke Hines, was on driving duty in the British GT cars. "We managed to do an awful lot of running with no dramas and both Luke and I are all fired up for Oulton Park now." Meanwhile Adam Christodoulou, Scott Jenkins, Sten Pentus and Ryuji Yamamoto were all on duty for the CRS Formula Renault team at Rockingham and Adam set the pace for much of the two-day test. "That was all very positive," said Adam. "We were all on the pace throughout the test and I think we'll be up there when it comes to the Rockingham race. The times were all very close and I was pleased I was able to run consistently." Next up for CR Scuderia is a two-day Formula Reanult test at Brands Hatch next week and the British GT media day at Silverstone next Thursday (6 March). The team also announced that they will be sponsored by Madhouse, a major fashion clothing retailer, with stores throughout the UK. Madhouse will provide new uniforms for the GT and Formula Renault race teams and its logo will be displayed on the team kit, the race cars and the transporters. Steve Mucklow, Managing Director of Madhouse, said: "I have a ten-year working relationship with Chris (Niarchos) through The Cobra Group plc. I think what he is doing with this new team is fantastic so I wanted to support him all the way. Presentation is important to CR Scuderia so we are going to make sure the entire team looks good both on and off the race track."

Tiago Monteiro will be one of the five drivers with SEAT Sport this weekend as the WTCC gets underway at Curitiba…read more

Robertshaw Racing have announced that it has agreed a deal with Matt Allison to race one of their Chevrolet Lacetti’s in this years HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. Matt,24 brings a wealth of experience to the fledgling team having previously raced Formula Ford, Clio’s, was the 2006 British GTC Champion driving a Porsche GT3 and most recently raced a Seat Toledo Cupra in last years BTCC Independents Cup. The Norwich based driver believes that the Robertshaw squad and the Lacetti, offer him the best opportunity of improving after an impressive debut last eyar when he finsihed 12th. Matt said “Sure the team is still new to the BTCC, but there were a number of things that really stood out for me about this set up, the Chevrolet car, which is proven in the WTCC, plus the technical team and engineers that Gary Robertshaw has put together, it really is top notch, the decision to join team actually was not that difficult” “We’re very excited about signing Matt” said team manager Joe Bradley “he brings a wealth of racing and BTCC experience to the team which is exactly what we need at this stage in our development. With Matt’s ability and the speed of the Chevrolet’s I’m sure the he’ll be battling for the top spots this year”. Matt will get his first run in the car at the Rockingham race circuit Wednesday 12 March immediately after the official BTCC Media launch event.

Menasheh Idafar (right)returned to the track with an outstanding display during testing for the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship at Rockingham this week. Not only was he consistent but he produced a time within a 10th of a second of his rivals who were running without the engine restrictor that they will have to use during the championship …read more

Nathan Freke passed his Oval Racing Rookie Test at the Nashville Superspeedway. The rookie test is a requirement to compete in the Indy Pro series on the oval tracks. Nathan completed over 100 miles on the 1.3 mile circuit in conditions in less than ideal conditions impressing his new team, Michael Crawford Motorsport, whilst averaging 167. Nathan commented, ' I am really pleased with how things went, it was a crazy sensation but good fun, G forces on an oval took some getting used to, but I am looking forward to the pen test at Miami Homestead on Thursday when the rest of the competition will be there and I can see the size of the task'. Michael Crawford, team owner added, ' Nathan did a real sound job and impressed the IRL technical director with his performance and there was no hesitation in passing him to race on the ovals. We are looking forward to some good performances from Nathan' Nathan will now participate in the first official test on the Homestead Oval in Florida on the 28th Feb, prior to flying home .

Team West-Tec have confirmed the signing of Portuguese driver Francisco Villar for their four car assault on the Spanish F3 Championship. Francisco raced in the Master Formula Junior Championship in 2007 taking 4 wins, before trying his hand late in nthe season in F3. He will drive one of the team’s Copa de Espana Class B Dallaras, as run by the team in 2007 Francisco Villar: We have been talking to Team West-Tec since last summer and I am really pleased to have finally signed to join such a professional team. They were very impressive last year in Spanish F3, and I am looking forward to developing my career with them.’[ Team Principal, Gavin Wills: Francisco came highly recommended and we have been impressed by what we have seen so far. I am looking forward to watching him develop within the team, on order to help bring his undoubted talents to the fore consistently.’

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 held their first tests of the year at Valenica this week and it was Aussie Daniel Ricciardo driving for SG Formula who came out on top with the quickest time……read more

At the latest round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Durban last weekend A1Team Germany was disqualified from the sprint race after the stewards that A1 Team Germany were to blame for an accident between their car and A1 Team Netherlands. Further incidents in the feature race did not see similar penalties imposed, which has dismayed Willi Webber, Seat holder at A1Team Germany, who has made the following statement…full statement

Scud Racing came through various dramas at Adelaide in the Kimho Tyres Australian F3 Championship to record a fourth in the overall positions in race 1, a podium in the National class and a win in the Trohpy class. Not a bad days work…read report

Daniel Morad

will be joining Eurointernational Team Principal Antonio Ferrari at Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil on March 2nd for the launch of the Superleague Formula race car associated with the Corinthians FC. Eurointernational will be providing race support for the Corinthians' car in the new international series set to begin in August of 2008. The new Superleague Formula race series has been in development for some time and each team is associated with a Football team. The series is designed around a weekend of entertainment and will feature twenty cars carrying the livery of football clubs from around the world. So far 11 teams have signed up. Featuring a 750-bhp V12 engine built by Menard Competition Technologies with a 6-speed transmission, the Superleague car is an open wheel, aerodynamic design built by Élan Motorsport Technologies using a carbon fibre tub and carbon brakes. Already signed to Eurointernational for the 2008 Atlantic series, Morad was a primary choice to run the Superleague Formula car. "We have a good working relationship with Daniel" said team principal Antonio Ferrari. "We enjoyed a very successful season with Daniel in 2007 winning the Formula BMW USA Championship and after just one test so far in the Atlantic car, we are encouraged by his performance in a higher horsepower car that has greater mechanical grip. We are certain Daniel will be ready to move into the Superleague Formula car by the time the season starts in August."

The unification of Champ cars and the IRL under the IndyCar Series banner will see the Detroit Belle Isle GP welcome the new-look series to the Motor City this summer. Following the triumphant return of world-class auto racing to Motown last summer at the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, organizers are looking forward to an even bigger and better weekend of racing on August 29-31, as the cars of both the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series return to the Belle Isle Park street circuit on Labor Day weekend.

Ford Fiesta driver Nick Sanderson will contest 2008 www.dees.co.uk Ford Fiesta Championship with backing from Specialist ST dealer, Kempster Ford, who sponsored the team in 2007. Similarly, Orion Engineering Ltd has also confirmed their continuation of support based on the 2007 successes.New to the NSR team for 2008, are Tom Lord Driving Solutions, Vacuum Pouch Company, Simply French Knickers, Anthony Barton & ST Owners Club.. The NSR fiesta ST is currently located at the Kempster Ford dealership in Heywood. …details

Alexander Rossi will drive for Eurointernational in the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship. Rossi who was third in the series in 2007 will join up with one of the most successful teams in the series. Eurointernatioional won the BMW series in both 2006 and 7 with Robert Wickens and Daniel Morad….read more

In 2008 the Production BMW Cup has organised its own calendar and there will be no requirement to join any of the national motor racing clubs. It also has cheaper entry fees, just £125 so the PBMW Cup really does offer drivers “cheaper more affordable racing” the ethos it was set up with in 2004. Finally it should have full Grids. 42 cars are expected in the season opener at Castle Combe on March 24^th..www.pbmwc.co.uk

CORINNE BELTOISE. Caterham competitors in France and the rest of Europe have been shocked and saddened to learn of the death last week of Corinne Beltoise, following a ski-ing accident. Corinne was, with her partner Christian Bonnal, the French Caterham motorsport representative for many years and was a staunch supporter of all forms of Caterham racing. Her young son Vincent took his first racing steps last year and was one of the large band of French competitors who took part in the Caterham Golden Jubilee meeting at Donington Park. Corinne was the sister of Jean-Pierre Beltoise, the French Grand Prix driver of the 1960s. "Corinne will be sorely missed and Caterham motorsport will be the poorer for her absence," said Caterham Motorsport Director Magnus Laird. "To Christian and to all the Beltoise family, we extend our deepest sympathy."

The 2008 evo Caterham Eurocup, the pan-European series for drivers of all racing Caterhams has been announced. It includes a revised three-race format with rounds at Spa, Valencia, Donington Park and Magny-Cours…..read more

Belgian Nico Verdonck, who finished 3rd in the 2007 German F3 Championship, was at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit last week for a test organized by Japanese F3 Team ThreeBond Racing. Nico was invited by ThreeBond to come and test as part of their driver evaluation and selection programme for the 2008 season. This was Verdonck's first outing with the Dallara F307. ThreeBond is waiting for an all new Dallara F308 to be delivered. Nico drove in the afternoon session on day 1 and in the morning sessions on day 2. Nico made good progress throughout the test and adapted quickly to the new environment. At the end of day 1 Nico finished with 6th fastest time, 1.4s off the fastest lap posted by German F3 Champion Carlo Van Dam. The second day went better, with Nico getting more familiar with the track, the characteristics of the Bridgestone tyres and trying out setup changes on the car. He finished the day with the 4th fastest lap, this time only 0.1s off Van Dam. “I know for sure I can go much quicker if I get a bit more track-time. I feel this was still far from my true potential”, he commented . Looking back on the this new experience, Nico added "Being my first time out in Japan, it was a great experience to work with such a professional team as ThreeBond Racing. I believe this could be a very interesting option for the future. I enjoyed it a lot and feel more than ready to go racing in Japan!"Nico Verdonck is now back in Europe, making final preparations for the upcoming season.

Christian Vietoris will race in the Formula 3 Euro Series season for Mücke Motorsport. Last year, the 18-year old contested the ATS Formula 3 Cup and finished fifth. He has also been part of German A1GP squad driving for 2 years. driving alongside Nico Hülkenberg last year while in season 2007/8 he has already stood on the top step of the podium with 4 races to go. The Formula 3 Euro Series season will start in April at Hockenheim.

Prema Powerteam has reached an agreement with Colombian Carlos Munoz, Lituanian Kazimieras Vasiliauskas and Italian Patrick Reiterer for the 2008 F Reanult Eurocup and the Italian F Renault series. Reiterer raced in the Italian F.Renault seies in 2007, while Munoz and Vasiliauskas are coming from kartsAngelo Rosin - Team Principal- "I'm glad to welcome Patrick, who had a very positive debut in last year's F.Renault and proved to have the skills needed to succeed in motorsport. Carlos e Kazimerias are two former kart racers at their first car racing exper ience. I'm sure that with the help of Prema, they'll be able to grow in the two very formative series we'll enter in 2008, the F.Renault Eurocup and the Italian F.Renault Championship. They shown a great progress during winter testing, and that's definitely a good indication for the upcoming season."

Team JD Motorsport has announced the second of thee three drivers that will start the 2008 Formula Master European Championship, Bulgarian Vladimir Arabadzhiev. Vladimir, took part to the Italian F3 in the 2006 and in F3000 last year. He has since tested the team last December, setting good lap times and providing some positive feedback to the technical staff. He will also take part to the Italian Formula Master Championship

Opes Prime Team BRM had a good weekend in Adelaide. The South Australian team not only won race 2 with Ben Clucas,it now has 4 drivers in the the top 5 of the Championship..

Hitech Racing have been given the role of developing the new Superleague Formula Car, something that begins later this week ..read more

Team Essex are currently testing at Dijon in France, where the team is running the Porsche RS Spyder, it will enter in this year's Le Mans Series and the 24 hour race at Le Sarthe. The first day of testing on Sunday was trouble-free. In collaboration with tyres technicians from Dunlop, various set-ups were tried on the car, which could become the fastest this year in the LMP2 class . They set a a time of 1.06,7, a time similar to the days when F1 was at the track. The last time sports prototypes were raced by top teams at the circuit was back in 1990, when the lap record was held by Sauber- Mercedes with a 1.08,973.

This weekend, the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship gets underway at the "Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba". BMW will once again be the team to beat as it’s current title holder Andy Priaulx (GB) of BMW Team UK wants to add to his haul of three World Championship titles.

Conquest Racing has confirmed it will run a team in the 2008 IndyCar® Series this season. "Finally, we have come together as one," expressed Conquest Racing Owner Eric Bachelart. "It's been a long time coming and we can now all move ahead in the same direction under one roof. The work is only starting but now that there is solidarity in open-wheel racing it will make it that much easier to take this sport to where it needs to be. It's a great moment for open-wheel racing in general and for the fans and our sponsors. We are happy to be competing under the Indy Racing League banner with our other fellow ‘Champ Car' competitors against established IndyCar Series teams and we are also looking forward to the new challenge that this unification brings us." Driving for the team will be Frenchman Franck Perera and a as yet un-named teammate. Perera finished second in the Atlantic Championship in 2007 and was also named "Rookie of the Year"

Freddy Nordstrom will contest the 2008 SEAT Cupra Cup in a brand new SEAT Leon backed by PlumberTraining.com. The Anglo-Swedish 19 year old, a former Mini Challenge S Class Champion, made a strong debut in the SEAT Cupra R Class in 2008, finishing 4th in the Championship regularly setting the pace. Nordstrom will once again be run by Norfolk based Advent Motorsport. He also has on offer an ‘arrive and drive’ SEAT available for a budgeted driver. Interested drivers can contact Freddy on 07900 894184 or freddy@freddynordstrom.com for further details. ‘TheGrid’ will once again follow freddy’s exploits with interest

Tander Sport drivers’ Leanne Tander and Samantha Reid didn’t have a great weekend in Adelaide in Round two of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship

Matt Hamilton has signed with Joe Tandy Racing for the 2008 British Formula Ford Championship where he will join frencham Philippe Layac and Dutch driver Rogier de Wit. …read more

2007 British F3 Champions Hitech Racing has underlined it’s intentions with some quick times in the first official 2 day test at Pembrey. Walter Grubmüller and Max Chilton were third and fourth quickest respectively, a little over 0.1secs behind fastest driver, Raikkonen Robertson Racing’s Atte Mustonen…read more

The British Formula Ford Championship website has been relaunched for the coming season with a fresh look, including driver, team and chassis profiles, advice on how to get started in Formula Ford, and all the latest news and pictures. It can be found at www.britishformulaford.co.uk

Team West-Tec have signed Alex Waters, 20 to their Spanish F3 Championship attack for 2008. After having to end his 2007 race season early due to illness, Alex is very keen to get back to racing and enjoyed a recent test at Valencia where he impressed the team. Alex Waters: "I tested just before Christmas at Valencia and we were at the top of the times, which shows there is potential there for winning. The prizes on offer are huge with the series having a great pedigree for drivers graduating to higher levels. The team have guaranteed me a GP2 test if everything goes to plan which is incredibly exciting. My ultimate goal is to reach Formula 1 to spread the word about cancer as people do not understand enough about it and how it can be prevented or cured." Team Principal, Gavin Wills: "Alex has tested for us twice and has impressed the team on both occasions. He drove at Valencia in December in appalling conditions and was bang on the pace despite not knowing the track or the car, and not having driven for some months. Alex is very focused and determined and I have no doubt he's going to be challenging at the front in 2008 as we race at some of the world's most challenging tracks."

Finnish team Koiranen Bros, is ready to take part once again in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup. After a very successful campaign in 2007, culminating with two victories in the final round, and 3rd place in the overall standings of the Formula Renault NEC with rookie driver Valtteri Bottas, the team embarks on the new season with two drivers, Daniel Aho from Finland and Dutch newcomer Bart Hylkema. The Formula Renault NEC kicks off on April 27th at the famous Hockenheim circuit, in Germany. This year’s calendar includes, for the first time, an event in Finland, at the Alastaro Circuit.

Three up-and-coming drivers have tested a Formula Palmer Audi car for the first time this week, including former F1 world champion Damon Hill's 17 year old son, Joshua Hill was joined by T-Car graduate Dan Rozwadowski and Formula Renault race winner Jack Piper for an initial FPA test to get to grips with the single-seater. Josh, who has already tested a Formula Ford and has signed to compete in part of this year's Ginetta Junior series, battled against fog and low visibility to set some strong lap times. Joshua Hill said: "I've never felt acceleration like this before, the Ford and Ginetta are nothing compared to this. These cars are fast, the only experience I've had that comes close was when my dad took me out in a two-seater GP Masters car." Jack Piper also had a successful first session testing. The 17 year old has only been racing cars for a year, but has already scored his maiden victory at Spa whilst racing in Formula Renault 1600 in Belgium. Jack was introduced to FPA by his father Kevin, a journalist and TV presenter who is also a friend of Martin Brundle. Piper commented: "These cars accelerate quick but the best thing is how they stop, the braking is awesome! I'm happy with my performance today as it's my first go in the car but I know I can go quicker. I just need a few more tests and then I will be right on the pace. I can't wait for the season to start!" Finally, 17 year old Dan Rozwadowski is contemplating a switch from tin tops to single seaters this year after completing his first Formula Palmer Audi test. Dan has raced in the T-Cars series for the past two seasons, finishing fourth in 2007. Dan's first FPA test opened his eyes to the differences between T-Cars and FPA: "With FPA cars, you have to pay attention 100% of the time as you are going so quick, otherwise you will be off," he said. "It's unlike a T-Car where you seem to have loads of time. I did a few hours in the car but set my quickest time just one hour into the test. I think I was getting mentally and physically tired but next time I will know what to expect, so I will be able to improve my time." The 2008 Formula Palmer Audi season begins at Donington Park on 12/13 April.

Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Friday that will unify the sport for 2008. Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in principle in Chicago, joining his partner Kevin Kalkhoven and Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George who had signed late Thursday in Indianapolis. It has not been confirmed which Champ Car teams will join the IRL, or which events will be part of an expanded calendar this year.

A1 Team Switzerland were the dominant force in the A1GP Feature race in Durban today (Sunday), In an incident filled race Switzerland's Neel Jani stayed out of trouble at the front while many front runners including Canada's Robert Wickens and Team GB's Oliver Jarvis were eliminated in accidents. Loic Duval of France drove an excellent race to take second with A1Team Portugal third. The Swiss team are now 10 points clear of France in the title chase. In the earlier Sprint event Robert Wickens and A1 Team Canada won, the team's .first Sprint race win. Second was Oliver Jarvis for A1 Team GB with Switzerlands Neel Jani taking third .

Ben Clucas completed a spectacular comeback to Australian F3 by winning the second race at Adelaide today (Sunday). In a crash filled 12 lap round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship in Adelaide. Former Caterham racer Clucas stay out of trouble while other contenders tangled to win from Neil McFadyen (Piccola Scuderia Corse) and Opes Prime Team BRM Team mate James Winslow.

JHR Developments driver Andrew Herron had a couple of very productive test sessions recently. The former Clio racer, now preparing for an assault on the SEAT Cupra Championship was at both Rockingham and Silverstone's National Circuit last week....read more.

A1 Team Canada's Robert Wickens put in a stunning effort to qualify in pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race at the A1GP Durban, South Africa, becoming the youngest ever pole-sitter in the series, while the Feature race will be led off the grid by Switzerland's Neel Jani.

Chris Gilmour, driving the Drivebuy.com.au Dallara F304 Spiess Opel won the second Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Opes Prime National Class race today in Adelaide(Sunday) after a 12 laps of racing with Daniel Schulz and Mathew Radisich in a close fight.

Neil McFadyen driving for Piccola Scuderia Corse won today's shortened nine-lap Kumho Tures AustralianF3 race in Adelaide from Britain's Ben Clucas. New Zealander Earl Bamber was third, shattering the five-year old lap record in the process.

Lee Farrell has won on the streets of Adelaide in the Opes Prime National Class of the Kumho TyresAustralian F3 Championship in today's opening race

John George, the owner of JAG Communications and HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship driver crashed his Honda Integra Type R during a routine testing session at Rockingham...read more

Already established as a serious training ground for European racing series such as GP2, Formula Master’s status as a feeder series was extended to the United States today as two additional prizes in the Indy Pro-Series and the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series were confirmed. ..read more

Alexander Sims had his first outing at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit earlier this week and the 19 year old thoroughly enjoyed every minute...read more

Joe Fulbrook, who finished third last year in the Volkswagen Racing Cup, will be back again this year in the Hankook-championship leading a two-car team....read more

The managing director of one of Volkswagen's largest UK fleet customers has just taken delivery of another car to add to the 2300 Volkswagens already on his company's books. But the Golf GTI in question is a little different - it's a 150mph war-painted racing model in which Liam Griffin plans to take up a track career...read more

The 50th anniversary of Lola Cars will be marked during the Masters Festival at Brands Hatch over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend (24-26 May). Read more

Neil McFadyen (Piccola Scuderia Corse Dallara F307 Mercedes Benz) was fastest in both qualifying sessions for the Australian F3 Championship round at Adelaide on He led second palced Earl Bamber by less than 0.1secs with Nathan Caratti third and Ben Clucas fourth.

Lee Farrell took a pair of Class pole positions in the National Class of the Kumho Tyres Australian F3 series on Friday on a circuit he described as ‘Awesome, really challenging and great to drive.”

CURITIBA HOSTS WTCC OPENING ROUND. The start of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship is just a few days away. The series' fourth season will get underway next week at the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba , Brazil . This is the third time the 3.7 km circuit hosts the WTCC. The championship visited Curitiba for the first time in July 2006; a record crowd of 34,000 attended two thrilling races that were won by Jordi Gené (SEAT León) - after an exciting fight with local hero Augusto Farfus (Alfa Romeo) - and Andy Priaulx (BMW 320si). From last year the Brazilian event was moved to March and given the honour to open the season. The BMW men dominated the 2007 edition, with BMW Team Germany fellow drivers Jörg Müller and Augusto Farfus sharing victories. The attendance of the Brazilian fans was even larger than in 2006, with 45,000 spectators gathering at the track during the weekend.

Champion Racing/Intrepid USA picked up six podiums, including 3 wins as the kart team continued its run of success in the Florida Winter Tour at the Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida last weekend. Pro Shifter pilot Jordy Vorrath, Stock Moto driver Bryan Eady, and KF2 competitor Joey Wimsett were the triumphant trio….read more

Adrian Zaugg reckons the key to success at this weekend’s A1GP event in Durban is getting the car to handle correctly over the bumps. The South African circuit is unique on this season’s calendar in that it is the only temporary track the series visits, the 3.28-km circuit is on the streets in the city. This gives it a unique characteristic, with surface changes and bumpy sections of asphalt that are not experienced at other permanent race circuits. ‘Most drivers enjoy it because there are some very fast corners leading to some slow turns,’ said the A1 Team South Africa driver. ‘There is everything and it is great to race here.‘But like any street circuit it always bumpy. So getting good damper settings, spring settings and adjusting the ride height correctly is crucial. It is key to have a good free practice session, work in the right direction on set-up and have a good qualifying session to start up near the front. ‘But you have to keep your concentration in the races. If you go off at another circuit you lose a couple of seconds but if you go off here you lose a front corner of your car. You have to stay concentrated throughout the race and just keep that up and you cannot afford a slip at any time. At every corner there is a wall just waiting for you. Durban is similar to most street circuits,’ Zaugg added. ‘Passing is not that easy but the tight first turn can be good to overtake on. It doesn’t compare to passing on other circuits, but you can overtake at Durban.’

Sam Abay and the Carlin team have been at the first official British F3 test at Pembrey in South wales . The Aussie youngster set consistent times at the topend of the timesheets setting second fastest time on day 1 and fifth fastest on day 2. …read more

Russian Bears Motorsport are entered in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship's full season. The Russian outfit will run two LADA 110 2.0 cars from the third race meeting of the season that will take place in Valencia on May 18th. The procedure to homologate the Russian car with the FIA is currently underway.The team, who took part in last year's FIA WTCC events at Zandvoort and Valencia with three BMW 320i cars, have already named their drivers, the 43-year old Russian Viktor Shapovalov, who drove for LADA in the Russian Touring Car Championship, and the 31-year old Dutch Jaap van Lagen, champion of the 2006 Eurocup Renault Mégane Trophy."We are an independent team, however we have received from LADA the bodyshells with the roll-cages, some necessary spare parts and technical support. Furthermore LADA technicians are supporting us with the documents needed for the homologation," team manager Maxim Maksimenko explained.During the season the team will be based in their Dutch workshop at Franeker and are expected to make their maiden appearance at the WTCC official test session in Valencia , on April 15th and 16th.

Carlin Motorsport made a strong start to the 2008 British F3 International Series this week, with a successful test at Pembrey. Taking part in the first official test of the season, all six Carlin cars were among the frontrunners, with Oliver Turvey and Sam Abay going fastest on day 1. Icelandic racer Kristján Einar joined the team’s British F3 squad for 2008 season and also took part in the test. The 19 year-old will race in the National Class alongside Andrew Meyrick, has already completed a comprehensive test programme. The Reykjavik born rookie first competed in karts in 2004, before becoming Icelandic go-kart champion. Since July 2007 Kristján Einar has completed a wide-ranging test programme with, gaining experience in Formula BMW, Formula Renault and Formula 3 cars….read more

Audi has confirmed the final three drivers to join it’s team for the DTM. They are A1GP driver Oliver Jarvis, Katherine Legge, fresh from Champ cars and ex F1 driver Markus Winkelhock…read more

24 drivers from 13 countries, representing five different car Manufacturers - BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, LADA and SEAT - have entered the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship's full season that will start next week with the WTCC HSBC Race of Brazil at Curitiba .The latest addition was Russian Bears Motorsport who entered two LADA cars; the Russian team will join the championship from the third meeting in Valencia .Among the newcomers are the reigning Turkish Touring Car champion Ibrahim Okyay and Andrey Romanov from Russia . Their presence marks the first ever competitors from Turkey and Russia to have committed to the full season of an FIA racing world championship.The major line-up changes from last year were N.technology team and James Thompson switching from Alfa Romeo to Honda, and Rickard Rydell's return to SEAT Sport.

SEAT PRESENTED WTCC TEAM IN MADRID. Last week at Madrid 's Zarzuela Hippodrome, SEAT presented their team for the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship. All five SEAT Sport drivers - Jordi Gené, Tiago Monteiro, Yvan Muller, Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini - attended the event and met representatives from the Spanish and international press. At the end of the last WTCC season Muller and SEAT were classified second in the Drivers' and Manufacturers' championship respectively. "We want to have the number one in 2009 and therefore we have to win the title this year. We came close to succeed in 2007, so we know that we can do it and that is our goal," SEAT Sport director Jaime Puig said.

LAUNCH OF LIQUI MOLY TEAM ENGSTLER. The Nueschwanstein castle was the charming background to the presentation of the Liqui Moly Team Engstler's FIA WTCC programme last weekend, in Germany ."It was a conscious choice, because for the whole team the launch of the WTCC programme was a fary tale that became true," team manager Kurt Treml explained. The team's plans to enter the WTCC were meticulously built, step by step on the technology of the BMW 320si car, the crew's motivation and know-how, the experience and ambitions of the drivers Franz Engstler and Andrey Romanov, and the enthusiastic support of the main sponsor Liqui Moly and the other partners. "We must be very grateful to them, because without their support this dream could not have been realized," Engstler said.

OKYAY TO COMPETE IN FIA WTCC. For the first time a Turkish team committed to compete in the full season of an FIA World Touring Car Championship. Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport entered one BMW 320si car that will be driven by the reigning Turkish Touring Car champion Ibrahim Okyay. The 38-year old from Istanbul , who has six national titles under his belt, is not a new face to the FIA WTCC paddock as he took part in the 2006 event at the Istanbulpark, where he classified third in the Independents' Trophy. "We have also planned to line up a second car in some of the WTCC European race meetings," team manager Aydýn Ural revealed. The Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport team will sport a turquoise livery, which is also known as "Turkish Blue".

Chris Gilmour

was fastest in the National Class in today’s practice for round two of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Adelaide. Gilmour set a time of 1m21.7655s lap , Lee Farrell in second place did a 1:22.3674, Gilmour was eighth overall.

Nigel Rice will defend his pro-am title in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season after confirming plans to extend his successful relationship with Red Line Racing into 2008. With backing from Beverley-based Nigel Rice Transport, Rice continues with Red Line Racing for a seventh season and will mount his fourth consecutive Carrera Cup campaign with the Middlesborough team.
For the first time in 2008, the winning pro-am driver will earn the use of a road-going Porsche 911 for a year and Rice is determined to challenge for the award. "The idea of winning a Porsche road car for a year sounds pretty good; it really appeals to me, so I'm out to defend my title," said Rice.
In 2007 Rice also finished sixth in the overall points' standings, having scored points in 19 of the 20 races. Only a broken driveshaft at Knockhill prevented a perfect scoring record. He has finished in the overall top five twice before in the Carrera Cup, despite missing the first season of the championship, 2003, after a motorcycle accident.
Rice will maintain his long-time relationship with Red Line Racing boss Simon Leonard. "When I first raced a Porsche back in 1989 and 1990, Simon was a teenage mechanic with the team, so we go back a long way."
Rice and Red Line Racing will start their programme in the opening Carrera Cup GB races at Brands Hatch on 29/30 March.

Neil McFadyen was quickest in opening practice for the Kumho Tyres F3 Championship round in Adelaide today(Friday). The man from Sydney drove his Piccola Scuderia Corse Dallara F307 around the streets of Adelaide in a time of 1m19.5426s lap, 0.7secs up on second placed place Ben Clucas.

Lola will have seven cars at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours in June, the 76th running of the famous endurance classic. Lola will have their biggest presence since 1979 with 3 LMP1 and 4 LMP2 cars at the race…read more

PSL Karting had a better weekend at Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida in the second rounds of the Florida Winter Tour. The team(right) took two wins on Sunday courtesy of American pilots Fritz Leesmann and Gus Vidal

Maxime Pelletier will enter the F3 Euroseries with HBR, the team he raced with in Formula BMW USA and the BMW World Final in Valencia last year. For the 17-year old from Montreal, this opens a new era in a career where he will have to fight with a very competitive grid. He is in the process of finalising details in his contract with HBR and will attend the test sessions coming shortly in March at Valencia and Estoril. "I needed a change after two years in the Formula BMW USA, says the young man. I have the impression I lost my rookie scholar season with an uncompetitive team and moving to HBR after the first event last year finally put me in a quick machine. I wouldn't mind spending a third year in the new America series but I find the F3 more appealing and a tremendous learning curve for me. The F3 Euroseries has a lot of visibility, a high-profile grid and new race tracks for me to learn, except for Valencia."

Earl Bamber will be at this weekend's Clipsal 500 in Adelaide racing in the second round of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championships. Bamber won the Formula BMW Asia title in 2006 and is currently running a close second to Andy Knight in the 2007/08 Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand, raced in the first round of the Australian F3 championship at Australia's A1GP meeting at Sydney's Eastern Creek last month. There he ran second to drivers James Winslow and Nathan Caratti in practice and qualified third for the first race. This weekend Bamber faces an additional challenge, racing on a street circuit. "Really, " he said this morning, "it's just another circuit. And the only difference here, especially for the guys in single-seaters, is probably visibility. At a purpose-built circuit you can usually see through most of the corners, here they'll lined with walls and we sit so low in the cars that from what people who have run here tell me it's like driving in a tunnel. It's the same for everyone though and I'm really looking forward to actually getting out there in the car. I've been round plenty of times on Playstation, and I walked it twice when I got here on Tuesday but nothing beats your first few laps in a car."

Tiago Monteiro carried out two days of tests under the SEAT Sport program dedicated to its preparation for the FIA WTCC. After the encouraging tests at Estoril, the team headed for Jarama where SEAT Sport concentrated on improving several details of the Leon TDI. The first day, Thursday, Tiago completed 75 laps and then added another 66 the next day. The mileage racked up by the Portuguese driver made it easier to understand the behaviour of the SEAT Leon TDI and to optimize its settings. The team was particularly attentive to the suspension and the longevity of the front tyres which suffer from greater wear with the diesel engine as its heavier than its petrol counterpart. The test gave Tiago more confidence for the start of the championship. "These two days were very interesting and yielded promising results. We beat the track record that belonged to Jordi Gene since 2005, Tiago explained, after an immense amount of work I can confirm with assurance that we are getting faster and faster even though it is impossible to compare us to our competitors. The test schedule is unfolding as planned, with no pressure, and the results come naturally. I am very satisfied with these tests, which were my last before the first race of the championship. The SEAT Leon TDI is only showing encouraging signs. It is harder to master but we are getting more and more comfortable with it and we are gaining in experience."

CR Scuderia's FIA GT programme got off to a flying start yesterday with a productive test session at Snetterton. The day's running was delayed by freezing fog over Norfolk but, once that lifted, the engines were fired up and the cars took to the track. The Snetterton test provided the first opportunity for the team to run its two GT2 Ferrari 430s on Michelin tyres. They had a lot of work to get through but with Andrew Kirkaldy, Rob Bell and Tim Mullen on driving duty, they worked steadily through the job list, and all reported that the cars felt good. "It's good to have a trouble-free run during the first GT2 test of the year," said CRS Team Manager, Malcolm Swetnam. "We will continue our preparations with a three day test in Spain next week, as planned." The CRS team is heading for a warmer climate next week, to the Monteblanco Circuit, close to Seville. The team will run from Monday until Wednesday with its FIA GT and British GT cars.

The plan to merge the two major open-wheel racing series based in America, IRL and Champ Cars, is getting closer to fruition, apparently. John Griffin, vice-president of IRL public relations said recently that "talks were ongoing, but no definite timetable or press conference announcement" was imminent. If the two series do come together it will affect various suppliers such as Elan Motorsports Technologies who build Champ car chassis and of course Cosworth who make the engines. IndyCar use Dallara with Honda engines. As for Atlantic, the Champ car feeder championship nothing is forthcoming. IMSA are rumoured to be in negotiations to buy the single seat series but it is only that, a rumour! Watch this space…

JDC MotorSports have announced that Nick Haye will drive for the team in 2008 as he did last year in the Star Mazda Series. Minesota-based JDC MotorSports took the Star Mazda Championship in 2007 with Dane Cameron, …read more

Panther Racing has signed former NASCAR driver Brent Sherman to drive in the Indy Pro Series for 2008. Sherman tested for the team at Homestead recently and Panther team owner John Barnes sees no reason why the Minnesota driver cannot challenhge for the title…read more

Stewart brothers to be celebrated at Knockhill Classic SpeedFair Sir Jackie Stewart OBE and his late brother Jimmy will be honoured during the third annual Classic SpeedFair at Knockhill circuit over the weekend of 7/8 June.
The JYS Trophy, in honour of the three-time World Champion, will again go to the winner of the Formula Ford 1600 knock-out event. With interest in the category running at record levels in Scotland, a bumper field is expected with drivers from Scotland, Ireland and England.
Meanwhile a new Jimmy Stewart Trophy will honour the memory of Jackie's elder brother Jimmy, who sadly passed away earlier this year at the age of 76. Jimmy was a talented racer in his own right and earned drives with the Ecurie Ecosse, Aston Martin and Jaguar teams in international sports car races in the early and middle 1950s.
He was due to partner Mike Hawthorn in a works Jaguar D-Type at Le Mans in 1955, but a serious accident at the Nurburgring shortly before that race led to his retirement from racing. However, Jimmy supported his younger brother's career and retained a keen interest in the sport. He was thrilled to get back behind the wheel of an Ecurie Ecosse Cooper Bristol for some demonstration laps at the Knockhill Classic SpeedFair in July 2006.
To celebrate the racing life of Jimmy Stewart, a new trophy will be presented to the winner of the Classic Sports/Saloon race in June. "It will be an honour to help perpetuate Jimmy's achievements and memory," said Stuart Gray at Knockhill.

A1 Team Malaysia has announced it is to stick with Fairuz Fauzy for this weekend’s races in Durban, South Africa. Fauzy made a surprise return to the team at the last round in Sydney, replacing long time favourite Alex Yoong, A1GP’s most experienced driver. Fauzy made a steady return in the soaking wet conditions of Australia, finishing the Sprint and Feature races in 17th and 20th respectively

World Speed Motorsports have been testing for both Star Mazda and Formula Mazda Challenge. This month they will run more than 20,000 miles k as their new drivers get ready for the forthcoming championships. ..read more

A1 Team Canada welcomes 17-year-old Daniel Morad to its driver line-up this weekend as the team heads to South Africa and the streets of Durban for Round 7 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th February. Morad will make his debut for Canada in Friday morning's 'Rookie-Only' session before handing over to Toronto's Robert Wickens for the remainder of the weekend. Wickens remains in the race seat in South Africa having collected three podiums in just eight starts in the open-wheel racing, nation versus nation series. Last time out in Australia Wickens steered Canada to its first double-points score in over a year, the 2006 Formula BMW Champion collecting a magnificent third place Sprint finish from 15th on the grid before claiming sixth in the Feature race. Morad will make his debut in the 550bhp A1GP car on the demanding 3.38km temporary street circuit in Durban. "I'm really excited to be making my A1GP debut in South Africa," said Morad. "I'm grateful to A1 Team Canada for this opportunity and I intend to make the most of my time in the car on Friday morning. The team's firmly on a roll at the moment and I hope my input well help maintain their form and aid Robbie's progress when he takes over in the afternoon's practice session. I'm used to the challenge of learning street courses quickly so I can't wait to get going in Durban."

Team Modena will be competing at the highest levels in both national and international sportscar racing in 2008, with full seasons of racing for its GT1 and GT3 specification cars which will see the team take on the best the sportscar scene has to offer in what should be an exciting year for the team. Read more

Hitech Junior has confirmed its complete Formula Renault line-up for this season. Richard Singleton, Spaniard Miki Monras, Briton Luciano Bachetta, Colombian Juan Jacobo and Australian Ashley Walsh will all join the new Silverstone-based team set up by Hitech Racing Team Principal David Hayle.

Michael Trimble has declared himself ready for his V8 Supercar debut while admitting that this weekend's Clipsal 500 is arguiably the toughest race on the V8 Supercar calendar. The Gold Coast-based driver has moved into the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in 2008 and will jump straight into the deep end with his first race around the tortuous Adelaide street circuit. Trimble raced in the Carrera Cup series in 2007 and along with major sponsor Global Jet, has joined Marty Brant's Independent Race Cars team in V8 Supercar racing's development series for 2008. "Adelaide is an awesome place and an amazing event," said Trimble. "The track itself is probably the equal to Bathurst as being the toughest we race at all year. There isn't one section of the track that is easy, you need to be aggressive and also be very fit. "Fitness is something I have really focused on over the summer that should help me towards achieving a strong result this weekend." Trimble has raced at the Adelaide street circuit in the past in other categories, most recently qualifying ninth in his debut in the Carrera Cup at Adelaide in March last year.

The Australian Formula Ford Championship has secured sponsorship from Genuine Ford Parts who will take official naming rights for the series for the next 3 years…read more

Peter Dempsey has signed up with top US Team Andersen Racing for the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear after he put in some seriously quick laps in testing at Sebring International Raceway, laps that were considerably faster than the existing Star Mazda lap record. …read more

Brother/sister J.C. and Kristy Kester will race in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear with their own team Kester Racing …read more

Willi Weber sends his A1 Team Germany to the seventh round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season in South Africa with an ambitious goal. Nominated driver Michael Ammermuller should attack for the team of the defending champions a rather meagre points haul last time out. With two victories this season the German squad numbers among the best of the 22 national teams -- only New Zealand with three wins has more. "Fully motivated as always, but even more focussed than recently and the team should find its old form again," judges Willi Weber. "Many small problems, including two problematical pit stops cost us valuable points in Australia. Michael Ammermuller and the David Sears Motorsport race team have already shown that they can win this season. Now it's all about reducing the 19 point gap to the championship leaders as quickly as possible."

A1 TEAM USA driver Jonathan Summerton knows there's no room for error this weekend (Feb. 22-24) when A1GP World Cup of Motorsport ventures onto the 2.04-mile street circuit with those menacing concrete-lined barriers at Durban, South Africa. "You realize those walls surround you," Summerton said. "You can't run off the track even a little without damaging the car." Summerton drove in his initial A1GP races last year at Durban, elevated by owner Rick Weidinger after four rounds as A1 TEAM USA's rookie driver. "This will be the first time I'm coming back to a track in A1GP that I've actually raced on," Summerton said. "Hopefully, it will help us keep moving up." Summerton was a season-best fifth in the Sprint in the previous round at Australia. He was running seventh midway through the Feature when France's Loic Duval drove into A1 TEAM USA's right rear and broke the car's suspension. A1 TEAM USA is 15th in the championship with 12 points.

After 11 years in F1, Ralf Schumacher will race this year with the Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class in the DTM, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced today. Ralf Schumacher's DTM debut will take place at the season opener in Hockenheim on 13th April 2008. Ralf Schumacher tested the AMG Mercedes C-Class during four and a half test days in Estoril, Portugal for about 490 laps; which was more than 2,000 kilometres or approximately 12 DTM race distances. It was his first outing with an AMG Mercedes since 20th July 1997 when he was a guest driver in a race of the FIA GT Championship in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium with an AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR. This was also Schumacher's last opportunity to drive a car with a roof. "I like the series”, said Ralf, I like the environment, I like the enthusiastic and positive spectators. And I like Mercedes -- with them I got my first chance to test a Formula 1 car in 1996 and who knows how my Formula 1 career had turned out if I had accepted the McLaren Mercedes offer to become their test driver for 1997.But then I wanted to drive races, and that's what I still want today, more than ten years later."I will learn in the DTM, I will work hard and I will put it behind me if people will criticize me if I should have problems during the first couple of races.It was great fun testing the DTM C-Class and I look very much forward to the new season, more than I did for a long time. Money and popularity like in Formula 1 don't play the first role for me."Now I want sport, fun and excitement and that's what the DTM features more than any other race series."

Gianmarco Raimondo has finally achieved the goal he set himself back in 2007, he has signed up to compete in a major single-seater race series in North America. The 17 year old Canadian will race in the Formula BMW Americas Championship for Toronto-based Team Autotecnica. and he will begin testing with the team almost immediately ....read more.

Carl Breeze and Daniel Welch

are to join forces in two turbocharged Leon Cupras, run by Fleet-based Welch Motorsport for this season’s SEAT Cupra Championship…read more

The Porsche Carrera Cup kicks off it’s season at Brands Hatch on the weekend 28-30 March and the drivers will notice some changes to the run-off areas at Clearways. In a major winter project, Motorsport Vision has extended the run-off considerably at this tricky part of the Indy circuit and the new layout allows a bit more margin for error than before.

Skip Barber Series, Sebring - Coming from sixth on the starting grid, Sunoco Team Ultra 94 driver Mike Vincec made up positions at the start to take P3 in the Skip Barber Southern Region race on Sunday morning. "We had a good start", Mike commented, "but it is hot and humid here today and we could not get enough out of the car to make a run for the lead. We are happy with another podium in the series though and look forward to the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next month."
After a sixth-place finish on Saturday and Sunday’s thrid Mike has added to his points total and continues to hold second place in the Southern Region Championship. Mike then headed down to Moroso Motorsports Park to participate in the Florida Winter Tour event. As he missed qualifying, he would start from the back of the field of twenty-two karts. Despite no time for setup and practice, Mike managed to make up several places but ultimately finished outside of the top ten. The next race in the Skip Barber series takes place March 8th and 9th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Fortec Motorsport is pleased to announce that Sebastian Hohenthal will remain with the team to fight for the 2008 British Formula 3 International Series title. Hohenthal stays within the Fortec family after winning the 2006 Formula Renault UK championship with the team before going on to finish 9th in the British F3 International series in 2007. Fortec team principal, Richard Dutton commented "It's great to have Sebastian back with the team for another season. He really is a phenomenal talent and a fantastic personality to have within the team. I'm sure he'll be fighting for race-wins from the start and is certain to be a championship contender".

Ryan Newman took victory in the Daytona 500 with a last lap pass on Tony Stewart to take the win by just 0.092secs. Second wasn’t Stewart, who had to settle for third as Kurt Busch blasted into sco nd as the pair approached the finsh line. Newman’s average speed was 152.672 mph for the 200-lapper which started in sunshine and finished in darkness at gthe Daytona International Speedway. Behind Stewart, Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson completed the top five

Peugeot have entered the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on March 12-15. Pedro Lamy, Nic Minassian and Stephane Sarrazin will drive for the French Manufacturer in a diesel Peugeot 908. Sarrazin set the fastest time in the three-day test at the track last month with a 1:42.801 (129.571 mph). "Peugeot's confirmed entry into the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring sets the stage for one of the most anticipated editions of America's greatest endurance race," said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the ALMS "It is no secret that Peugeot's ultimate goal for 2008 is to once again claim victory at Le Mans, and there is no better proving ground than Sebring," Atherton added. "We couldn't think of a more appropriate way to open our 10th season than by welcoming another world-class entry - Peugeot - into the American Le Mans Series. The North American racing debut of Peugeot coupled with all that is already in place within the American Le Mans Series all but assures that this year's race will be a classic." Sarrazin and Lamy both will race at Sebring for the third time after competing for Aston Martin in 2005 and 2006. Minassian will compete in the 12 Hours for the first time.

Havoline Ford driver Angus Fogg won two from three races with SCG Ford driver David Besnard winning the third reverse grid race of the fourth round of the New Zealand V8s Championship at Manfield on Sunday. However it is defending V8s champion John McIntyre who still holds sway in the title chase in his BP Ultimate Ford. Fogg was the overall round winner with two wins and an eighth place. He has therefore closed the gap in the championship to 79 points behind McIntyre.

Asia Formula Renault 2.0 team Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports was testing at Zhuhai last week, its driver Yoshitaka Kuroda topping the timesheets…read more.

Karun Chandhok did not have a good weekend in the GP2 Asia Series at Sentul in Indonesia at the weekend. The iSport International driver had the speed but a unscheduled pitstop, rain and other competitors all combined to give him a torrid time..read more

Frederic Vervisch dominated in Asian F3 this weekend at the Batangas Race Circuit in the Philippines. He started off yesterday (Saturday) with a two dominant displays followed by a thid win this morning. Matt Howson stopped his run of victories in Round 12 in the wet taking a well deserved first win in the series.

The racers from the Skip Barber Western Region joined the Southern Region series at Sebring this weekend and Sunoco Team Ultra 94 driver Mike Vance has had the opportunity to race in both series' events. This meant lots of track time at the Sebring circuit. On Friday, Mike ran a total of four practice sessions and was in the top five each time out finishing P4, P1, P2 and P4 respectively. He went on to qualify P3 for both races on Saturday.
Running both divisions also puts Mike in four races this weekend and on Saturday he scored a podium (P2) in the Western Region event. He was just 2/10ths back at the chequered after closing fast on the leader. He finished P6 in his regional race. Mike has two more races today(Sunday) morning and if time allows, travel about 90 minutes south to Moroso Motorsports Park to compete in Sunday's races of the Florida Winter Tour in the Pro Shifter class.

Two countries in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport are level on points at the top of the table, the first time this has happend in the history of the series. This incredible championship battle nowheads to the streets of Durban, South Africa for round seven on 22-24 February..

Sébastien Buemi was handed his maiden GP2 win in the feature race of the second round of 2008 GP2 Asia. Series in Sentul, Indonesia. Super Nova Racing driver Fairuz Fauzy won the sprint race in appalling conditions.

The Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 continues to go from strength to strength. The increasingly popular championship reaches new heights in 2008: the World Series by Renault Organizing Committee has selected nineteen teams, from a total of nine different countries, to take part in this year's championship. A total of 44 drivers will be fighting it out in this season, which promises plenty of exciting and incident-packed races. The action gets underway at Spa-Francorchamps on May 3 and 4....entrants

Tony Gilham will step up to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season with ReDesign Racing. The 28-year old Kent driver is the reigning VW Racing Cup champion and a former BMX cycle racing World Champion, but says that graduating to the Carrera Cup will be his biggest challenge to date.
"This year is going to be a big test for me and the whole ReDesign team," said Gilham. "But what we lack in experience we make up for in our desire to be successful. I want to stretch myself as a driver and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. It's a privilege to be racing at such a high level.
"I wanted to race in the BTCC package and saw the Carrera Cup as the best way forward. I want to test myself against the best and I'm sure I will learn a lot. I'd like to do two or three years in the Carrera Cup and then maybe look at the Porsche Supercup."
ReDesign Racing is a pool of diverse backgrounds and talents. Team principal Karl Chopra is the owner of Design 911 and DesignTek, while chief engineer Chris Stewart is the man in charge of tuning and race preparation specialists Regal Autosport. The chief mechanic is Keith Davis from Little Mote Garage in Kent. "Motor sport has been an ambition of mine since childhood," said Chopra. "To be entering the Carrera Cup is a dream come true. ReDesign Racing is a new race team with a motivated driver who is prepared to work his way up and we're all really looking forward to the new season."After winning the VW Cup, this is a natural forward step for Regal Autosport," said Stewart. "We're looking forward to the challenge ahead."
Gilham and ReDesign Racing, with their eye-catching 911GT3 Cup car, will start their programme in the opening Carrera Cup GB races at Brands Hatch on 29/30 March.

The Masters Festival, running over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend in May, was unveiled during the major pre-season media day at Brands Hatch recently. The three-day festival of historic motor racing is one of the highlight events on the 2008 Brands Hatch calendar and promises to be a great weekend's racing..read more

ELF Renault Clio Cup driver Jonathan Ridley-Holloway is looking forward to official pre-season testing next month after some impressive showings at both Oulton Park and Brands hatch last week . read more

Byford breaks Brand Hatch lap record in Cupra testing - Martin Byford broke the SEAT Cupra Championship race lap record around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in his first outing in his newly liveried Leon Cupra – but as it was achieved during a private test session, the time will remain unofficial. The official SEAT record is held by Gareth Nixon, who lapped the 1.1986 mile track in 50.745secs (85.03mph) on Sunday 19 August, 2007. Martin’s unofficial best lap time was 50.380secs (85.64mph). The reigning Clio Champion is pleased how quickly he is adapting to his 300PS turbocharged Leon, which appeared at Brands Hatch in its new red, white and blue colour scheme for the first time, with sponsorship from A&B Glass, Saracen Security, UK Fasteners and G Signs. The 35-year old has more pre- season testing planned in the Z Speed Racing prepared car, and is delighted with his pace so far. “We worked through a lot of our test programme at Brands Hatch and we were quick,” said Martin. “I think we’re about where we should be, although we’ve still got to find the ultimate pace. To be honest, that’s got more to do with me having more time in the car than the car itself. We have plenty of test mileage remaining between now and the start of the season, so we are very happy.”

Reigning Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge title holder Jeremy Ellis and 2006 double Roadsport champion Gary Halcrow are among yet another exceelent grid for this season's 14-round championship. Forty-nine drivers are planning to contest the Roadsport A division this season, with a further 39 lining up to race Roadsport Bs...read more

Fiesta front runner enters SEAT Cupra Championship David Nye, who finished 5th in the Ford Fiesta Championship last year, will contest the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship in a Leon Cupra run by the experienced Daniels Motorsport team. “I'm very happy to continue racing with the Canterbury-based Daniels Motorsport team for another season, competing in both the SEAT Cupra and the Ford Fiesta Championships, clashes permitting – just don't tell the wife,” said David. “After watching both the Clios and SEAT Cupras race at Thruxton last year, I decided to enter the SEAT Cupra Championship because of the damage limitation controls, an impressive car and the professionalism of SEAT Sport UK.”

More TV time for Cupras in 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship races will enjoy an extensive TV package in 2008, with some races broadcast live on ITV4, courtesy of the new HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship TV deal. The SEAT Cupra Championship will also be broadcast on the Motorsport UK series, to be shown on ITV4, with repeats on its sister satellite channel, Men & Motors – giving competitors and sponsors on the Leon Cupra grid maximum exposure. ITV4’s Motorsport UK will be broadcasting a series of shows dedicated to the BTCC support races, starting on April 29th. The show will be aired twice a week over a 34 week run, with the first broadcast in a new Tuesday tea-time slot, with a repeat showing later that same evening. Men & Motors will then broadcast the show the following week, meaning the SEAT Cupra Championship will benefit from the 64 hour BTCC TV package across the two channels – but that’s not the end of this extensive coverage. The SEAT Cupra Championship, as a major support series to the BTCC, will also benefit from the new three year TV deal, which will see every BTCC meeting televised live on ITV4. This adds up to a staggering 46 hours of live broadcast time, allowing ITV4 to show some support races live on ITV for the first time – including the SEAT Cupra Championship. With a new and improved TV package and increasing numbers of spectators attending race meetings, the SEAT Cupra Championship has the potential to reach a far greater audience in 2008. ITV4 Live Broadcast Schedule Brands Hatch, 30 March, 12.30pm-5.30pm Rockingham, 13 April, 12.30pm-5.30pm Donington Park, 4 May, 12.30pm-5.30pm Thruxton, 18 May, 12.30pm-5.30pm Croft, 1 June, 12.30pm-5.30pm Snetterton, 13 July, 12.30pm-2.30pm & 5pm-6pm Oulton Park, 27 July, 12.30pm-2.30pm & 5pm-6pm Knockhill, 17 August, 12.30pm-5.30pm Silverstone, 31 August, 12.30pm-5.30pm Brands Hatch, 21 September, 12.30pm-5.30pm

PSL Karting looked to continue their solid start to the 2008 season when they trekked to Jupiter, Florida for the second Rotax round of the Florida Winter Tour at Moroso Motorsports Park last weekend.

Pembrey will have its own historic racing festival in 2008 when the Historic Sports Car Club organises a weekend of racing in July. The meeting will celebrate the life of Welsh Grand Prix driver Tom Pryce and will include the presentation of the Tom Pryce Memorial Trophy. The event, weekend of 12/13 July, will be the first major historic race meeting to be held at Pembrey and circuit director Phil Davies wants the meeting to become an annual fixture. "We're very keen for it to happen and for it to develop into a prestigious event for Pembrey and for Wales ," said Davies. "We would like to celebrate Welsh motorsport heritage." Facilities at Pembrey have been significantly improved over the last couple of years, partly thanks to backing from the Welsh Assembly, and enhancements to the pit and paddock area include new scrutineering bays and administration buildings. The new historic race meeting has already earned support from local and regional government. The HSCC will take 10 championships and series to Pembrey for the event, including the Derek Bell Trophy, Classic F3 and Formula Junior. Mini-endurance races over 40 minutes will be held for the Guards Trophy and Historic Racing Saloon Championships, while all other classes will have a double-header weekend.

BOOST FOR VSR SERIES. John Clark’s VSR Super Silhouette Championship is set for a huge boost this season following the news that they will be joining forces with the SCSA V8 cars to form the VSR Series. Combined with the resurgence of interest in the V8 and V6 super silhouettes and the already strong 2 Litre class this could prove to be the ultimate spaceframe series. This is a major shift for the ex-ASCAR racers as they move away from their oval racing origins to run on circuits such as Cadwell Park, Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Snetterton.

Samantha Reid will drive for TanderSport in round two of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Championship at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide next week. Reid, who comes from the South Australian city,will drive take te wheel of a TanderSport Dallara F304 Spiess Opel in the Opes Prime National Class.

Danish driver Marco Sorensen will race in this year’s British Formula Ford Championship bringing the number of different nationalities on the 2008 grid up to 6….read more

Eurosport unveiled their plans for the live TV coverage from Curitiba for the FIA World Touring Car Championship's opening event next month. A total of 195 minutes of live broadcasting will be dedicated to the FIA WTCC during the first weekend in March, The coverage will start on Saturday 1st with the qualifying session aired live on Eurosport International from 7.00 to 7.45 pm Central European Time. Live coverage will switch to Eurosport 2 on Sunday - from 1.00 to 1.30 pm CET - for the 15-minute warm-up session. The first two races of the season will be broadcast live on Eurosport International: Race 1 from 5.00 to 6.00 pm CET and Race 2 from 8.00 to 9.00 pm CET.

Denmark-based Poulsen Motorsport have confirmed they will enter 3 FIA WTCC rces this year. "We have planned to enter in Estoril, Brands Hatch and Oschersleben," said team manager Niels Jørgen Iversen. "The last of these three events is quite close to the Danish Touring Car Championship race at Sturup, but we should manage it anyway, as the way back from Oschersleben is not that long." The team has five BMW 320si ‘s but to date only 3 drivers have been confirmed: Kristian Poulsen, the winner of the 2007 European Touring Car Cup Michel Nykjær and Jesper Sylvest. "We are still working on a deal with Emmet O'Brien, maybe just for the WTCC races," Iversen revealed.

Just a reminder that in order to be eligible to compete in a BRSCC championship drivers must be current Racing Members of the BRSCC. All members are sent renewal letters before their membership expires. However, if you have lost your renewal notice, changed address or are not yet a member then please contact Jo Ward, the BRSCC Membership Secretary, on 01732 780100 or jo@brscc.co.uk

The rumours concerning a possible merger between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League refuse to disappear, although it is now thought to be on hold after a fresh rumour surfaced that the Champ Car World Series was moving toward bankruptcy protection. "We've been hearing those rumours since Friday, and as we've continued to say our doors are open and people are working," CCWS Executive Vice President Communications, David Higdon told the Associated Press. "We're proceeding with our plans and will keep operating as Champ Car." The two top American single seat series have talked before and it led nowhere but this time the omens look more positive. It may not happen in 2008 as track owners, promoters and manufacturers would loose out but by 2009 there is time to work out the details and sort out a calendar

The BRSCC South Eastern Centre will be hosting their annual Quiz Night on Thursday 6th March in the Kentagon at Brands Hatch. Teams from other local clubs have been invited to attend, including the 2007 champions, the Sevenoaks & District Motor Club. Teams are not just restricted to motor clubs – last year there were several factions from the South Eastern Centre including the BRSCC Pits Squad who unfortunately lived up to their name! To register a team contact Brian Jones at bj@brianjones.net. Entry on the night is £2 or £10 per team and it includes a glass of wine, light refreshments and of course plenty of good company!

JIM CLARK FILM FESTIVAL . A film festival which celebrates the life of the twice World Champion racing driver, Jim Clark, will take place at Eynsham Hall, near Witney, Oxfordshire on February 23rd and 24th 2008. Clark, who was a BRSCC member, scored his last race victory almost 40 years ago to the day of the event. The programme will include film shows and talks by people who knew Clark well or worked with him. The film shows will cover Clark’s exploits across the globe including some rare, never-seen-before footage. The talk session will feature former mechanics who worked with Clark and Ian Scott Watson, who was a big influence on Clark’s early career as his mentor and manager. Other special guests attending the event will be Mrs Hazel Chapman, widow of Lotus founder Colin Chapman and her son Clive, who is managing director of Classic Team Lotus. Saturday’s proceedings will finish with a three-course dinner at Eynsham Hall, where guests will be able to mingle and dine with the speakers and like-minded enthusiasts. On Sunday, the talk and film programme will be repeated for those who can’t get tickets or who are unable to attend on the Saturday. For more information and to book tickets, please see www.jimclarkfilmfestival.com or contact the organiser, Michael Oliver on 01993 200331

Dave Ward takes up the job of Race Team Manager at SEAT Sport UK. Ward who previously worked in the series with Audi in 1996, is returning to the series for the first time in 10 years ..read more

2007 Formula Renault Winter Champion Richard Singleton has quit Hillspeed and the Formula Renault UK series for a crack at the Western European Championship intesad. As a result Hillspeed, one of the top teams in Formula Renault UK, has a seat to fill…read more

CLAIRE RACES FOR LIFE. EERC race secretary Claire Williams will be donning her running shoes again for 2008 Race for Life, to raise money for Cancer Research. The event takes place at Richmond, Surrey, on the 18th May 2008 at 2pm and Claire is particularly interested in finding some females who are keen to run with her. To make a donation to his very worthy cause visit Claire’s link below; http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/clairewilliams3

Golden Motors Honda Dealer Team, from St. Petersburg , Russia officially announced their plans for the 2008 racing season. They will start in the Swedish Touring Car Championship to continue in the FIA WTCC and finish in the FIA European Touring Car Cup with two Honda Accord Euro R cars, built by JAS Motorsport and run by the Estonian team Artman Racing. The team's two drivers - Alexander Lvov and Andrey Smetsky - who were classified first and second in the 2007 Russian Touring Car Championship - will make their seasonal debut in the STCC at Knutstorp. Golden Motors who took part in last year's WTCC event at Anderstorp have planned to take part in five events of the 2008 season - Valencia, Brno, Oschesleben, Anderstorp, and Monza - before heading to the Austrian Salzburgring for the European Touring Car Cup.

The second round of the GP2 Asia series will go ahead this weekend in Indonesia. From a wet and humid Jakarta, Christian Bakkerud observes “This is certainly going to be a memorable weekend! Since arriving here on Monday we've experienced torrential rain from morning to night and temperatures are ranging between +25 and 27, so it’s very humid but not extremely hot which is good. It’s the first GP2 race here in Indonesia so we are all new to the track and the forecast is rain and more rain for this weekend. Added to that, the track has around 12 different types of surfaces and we only get 30 minutes of testing before going into qualifying which makes it extremely difficult for all teams and drivers to find the ultimate set-up. I’m lucky in the fact that my Super Nova team was here last year with the A1GP series and they were quickest around the track with team New Zealand so we at least have a starting point. Although the track has changed slightly since, the team have a basic understanding of what to do to the car. We will have a dry set-up which we can then quickly convert with a few changes to a wet set-up. I have full confidence that they will do a super job as they have on every occasion so far. Having done most of our racing in Europe we drivers are all used to the way things work but on arrival here, all drivers were told that should we have an off and end up off the track we must stay in the car until a marshal arrives as the whole area is full of snakes! With that word of advice I shall do my best to have a good weekend and stay on the black stuff!” The first of two GP2 Asia races in Indonesia is screened live on Eurosport on Saturday morning at 07:30 UK time with race two (not live) on Sunday morning January 17th starting at 10:30 UK time.

Tiago Monteiro has been testing the SEAT Leon TDI at his local Estoril circuit, and having raced a petrol-engined Leon throughout the 2007 FIA World Touring Car Championship he says that the diesel car is definitely “on the right track”. SEAT Sport travelled to Portugal to determine the settings for the car in which Tiago and his team-mates Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini, Jordi Gené and Rickard Rydell will race at the opening round of the WTCC at Curitiba in Brazil on March 2nd. Tiago’s work was more when the track was dry, and he was able to test new shock absorbers, with pleasing results. At the end of the day, Tiago was satisfied with the development of the Leon TDI and his adaptation to the new car, whose characteristics are very different from the petrol version he drove last year. “This new car is 80kgs heavier than the petrol Leon and so its handling is very different,” said Tiago. “Also, the FIA has forbidden SEAT from using the flat bottom [on the TDI], which means a specific handling in the fast corners. But we are on the right track and everything indicates that our results are positive. I also think that it is the subject preoccupying the other teams.” The team will continue its pre-season test programme at the Albacete circuit in Spain.

The BRSCC AGM for 2007 will be held at the Hilton Warwick Hotel, Stratford Road, Warwick, CV34 6RE at 8.00pm on 2nd April 2008. Regarding the election and nomination of Directors, the relevant extract from the Memorandum and Articles of Association is below: “every candidate for election as a Director must be nominated by a member and such nomination must be in writing signed by the member making the same and must be accompanied by a written consent signed by the person nominated of his willingness to accept the office for which he is nominated. Every such nomination must reach the Secretary not later than the 1st day of March in every year or 28 days prior to the Annual General Meeting, whichever is the later”. Please submit any formal questions or nominations for election to the Board to Drew Furlong at drew@brscc.co.uk

Championship winning F3 team Carlin Motorsport will enter the British F3 National Class this season with Andrew Meyrick. The 20 year-old will join Brendon Hartley, Jaime Alguersuari, Sam Abay and Oliver Turvey in the team Meyrick took part in the North West Pre 90 FF1600 series in 2005 winning the title He moved to the UK Formula Ford in 2006 in 2006 before joining the Formula Renault BARC championship for the second half of the season. Last year he took part in several Thoroughbred GPs and the Formula Renault Winter Cup. Speaking about 2008 Meyrick said, "For me F3 is the first level of professional motorsport; it's a prestigious championship to be involved in. I'm very excited about the season ahead and hope we'll be able to race with some Championship Class cars as well as challenging for the National title." Meyrick will join the Carlin squad at Pembrey for the first test of the season on Tuesday 19 February before the season kicks off at Oulton Park on 21 March.

Ben Hanley joins Vitaly Petrov in Barwa International Campos Team in the GP2 Asia Series. The British driver will replace Diego Nunes, who took part in the opening of the championship in Dubai last month with the Spanish team. The Brazilian will be racing for DPR for the remainder of the Asia Series

Oliver Jarvis will return to A1 Team GBR next weekend in Durban, as the team heads to South Africa determined to secure some strong results to improve its championship position in what is turning out to be the most highly competitive season of A1GP yet

Rob Austin will race in the British GT Championship with the all-new Ginetta G50 GT4. Austin, who contested the British F3 championship during the course of four memorable seasons from 2001 - 2004, will run the car under the Rob Austin Racing banner in a planned campaign for his team which also includes the G20 and G50 championships. "I've watched drivers who I've to beaten on the track go on to great things, but now I'm going for a driver/manager approach to my motorsport," says 27 year-old Austin. "I'm confident I can take the fight to any competitor on track and anyone joining my team will be given the best opportunity to do the same." Rob Austin Racing is currently looking for a driver to partner Rob for the eight round season, which starts at the end of March at Oulton Park, "We are talking to a number of drivers for the seat in GT4, and we also have seats to fill in two Ginetta G50s which will contest the G50 championship. We're contesting the G20 championship too, and we've a couple of G20 seats left there for anyone who wants to join probably the most exciting team out there," says the Evesham resident. "It's certainly going to be a busy season.

F2000 Championship Series presented by Hoosier Racing Tire team Andersen Racing' will run Norway's Anders Krohn in the series in 2008. Krohn' will be sponsored by Trallfa Industries, Coliseum Dental, Kruse Smith, SR Transport and Antenor - as well as the Palmetto, Florida based team's sponsor, Allied Building Products Corp. Krohn finished second in the 2007 Dutch & Benelux Formula Ford championship ,his first season in car racing. "I'm very happy to have signed with Andersen Racing," Krohn said. "I tested with them for two days on January 7 and 8, and was immediately impressed by the entire team. Never having been to the U.S. before I didn't quite know what to expect, but I really loved everything about it. It was a great two days that led to the signing of a contract with Andersen Racing. It's obviously hard to know what to expect when you're heading into your first season in a new country, a new series and with a new team, but I was definitely encouraged," Krohn continued. "I think that we can do a good job. My main goal has always been to win, no matter what I drive. I will try to do that also in F2000, although I know it will be tough. From what I have seen and heard of the F2000 Championship Series, it is highly professional, with loads of entries." His team mates this year are Jonny Baker(GB), Doug Prendeville, USA, Ricardo Vassmer(Venezuela) and Scott Willard(USA). Andersen Racing is the official development team of Rahal Letterman Racing, which competes in both the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series.

James Walker will continue to race with Fortec Motorsport in the World Series by Renault in 2008. Walker is delighted with this news as he believes a continuation of the partnership will give him the best chance of further success in the series. “I had a good rookie season in the World Series by Renault,” said James. “The highlight was definitely the win at Donington but I enjoyed the whole season as we made steady progress as we went through the races. I know I still have more to give and I have continued to train hard over the winter to make sure I am ready for the new season. I know that the team will continue to push me hard and I am ready and willing to put the work in. I think we have some exciting times ahead of us.” Technical Director, Chris Gorne, who was James’ race engineer in 2007 said, “James is the right choice for Fortec. He did a good job for us last year and made significant improvements as the season went on. Staying with us for his and our second season in WSR, gives both James and the team a sound platform to capitalise on. All the teams have changes with the new car, so working with the same driver reduces the variables and enables us to hit the ground running. I am sure James will be a much stronger and confident competitor from the first race, his application and feedback are exemplary so it's just a matter of time.” The first official test of 2008 is scheduled for 5 March in Valencia.

Hour Ten of the 2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour ended with a horrific crash for the Mazda 3 MPS of Len Cave which flipped an amazing ten times through The Chase, with Cave amazingly escaping any serious injury. Cave was further down in the pack when he was approaching the chase nine hours and 42 minutes in and dropped a wheel, sliding sideways into the sand trap at approximately 250 kilometres per hour. Digging into the sand trap, the blue Thrifty #27 Mazda then rolled approximately ten times with a number being clean in the air -- with the impact so severe the engine, front suspension and gear box were torn clear during the crash, with the carr amazingly coming to rest on its roof on the exit of The Chase. Amazingly, Cave was able to remove himself from the car, and is currently being assisted by medical personnel on site of the crash and will soon be escorted to the medical centre with full precautions for a thorough check-over, however he appears to have escaped serious injury. The incident at the close of the tenth hour has required the seventh safety car of the Race and the first since the seventh hour. The safety car once again compresses the field, and will reduce the lead that Grant Denyer and his Mitsubishi Evo IX has maintained over second-place since taking over at the conclusion of the last hour from Klark Quinn. Denyer was two minutes and 30 seconds over second-placed Damien White at the time of the safety car, and on the restart in the next hour will lead White, Craig Baird, Layton Cranbrook and Daniel Schulz into what is left of the final two hours of this challenging 12 hour test.

Dale Earnhardt Jr took the honours in the 30th Running of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona yesterday. Making his Hendrick Motorsports debut, Earnhardt Jr. led 47 of 70 laps in a hard-fought battle of two- and three-wide racing to capture the win in the 2008 edition of the race. Second was Tony Stewart, third Jimmie Johnson with Jeff Gordon and Reed Sorensen fourth and fifth, respectively. Earnhardt Jr. becomes a two-time winner of the Budweiser Shootout, said in victory lane. "I had a blast. I had a really great race car. That was 50 percent race car and 50 percent teammate. Jimmie Johnson gave me a push there at the end when he and Kasey were lined up on the outside. That was great for us and I want to thank them for that. "I want to thank my team for building a beautiful race car," Earnhardt continued. "They did such a great job all winter. Everyone at Hendrick has worked so hard. This is great for us. This is exactly what we needed coming out of the gate. I hope the fans enjoyed that race because it was so fun for me, the National Guard and Tony, and everybody that has helped us in the off season. This makes it all worth it. "

Brooks Associates Racing (BAR) headed to Sebring recently to test at both Sebring and Moroso prior to the official Sebring series tests last week. With two rookie drivers, the team wanted to give its young pilots as much seat time as possible as they prepared for the upcoming season. Both drivers ran well at the initial tests, which also gave the team's engineers, Nick Harvey and Yancy Diotalevi, time to try various set-ups and learn their driver's idiosyncrasies. Markus Neimela and Filip Salaquarda ran well in their first tests, competing within a few tenths of each other. To strengthen the initial testing, the team brought in renowned driver coach, Barry Waddell, to assist its drivers in the transition to the U.S. style of racing.The Sebring test was a tremendous opportunity to introduce the team's rookies to their ultimate competition - a well-rounded field of veterans and rookies from around the globe. Markus showed his best times, running consistently in the top five and finishing the two days as the fastest rookie in the 2008 field. Filip struggled and was unable to run his identically prepared car at the same pace as his teammate. The frustration got to him and he decided to step out of the car, and the series, on the second day. "We are very happy with the way the Florida run went for both our drivers," said team owner John Brooks. "I'm disappointed Filip let the competition get the better of him - the whole team gelled quickly with a great relationship, fun and productive atmosphere. Markus is clearly a quick driver, but Filip did exceedingly well in his previous days testing and we're certain he would have regained that confidence as the second day continued. We wish him well, and now have a seat we hope to fill quickly."

Carlo van Dam has driven the new Dallara-Toyota of Toyota Team TOM’s which he will race in the Japanese Formula 3 championship this year. Despite cold and snowy conditions the Dutchman ran at Fuji completing close to 250 laps. “It is quite cold here at the moment”, Carlo says. “This morning when I drove to the circuit temperatures were below zero. This first test was postponed once already due to snowfall, yet although it is still cold and snowy here now, at least we could go out on the track this time. On the first day we only started running in the afternoon, because the pit lane was still icy in the morning. I managed to do 96 laps in the afternoon, though, which allowed me to get to know the new car, the new engine and the Bridgestone tyres, which are new to me, too. Of course they take some getting used to, for the characteristics of these tyres are different to those I raced on in Europe. Today, I completed some 140 laps. The track got quicker during the day, but due to oil on the circuit our afternoon times were about the same as the ones we set during the morning session. Several teams were testing and I was fastest, which is nice, but we can go much quicker, so this is just the start and the conditions were far from ideal. The tyres offered little grip and for this season Bridgestone will introduce a new tyre anyway, based on a softer compound. So we can’t jump to conclusions. It was good, however, to get to know the car and the engine and to work with the team. We seem to be getting along very well together and I like working with my new engineer.” On February 20 and 21, Carlo will test at Motegi.

RML AD Group’s new MG Lola EX265 carried out a perfect shakedown test at the Silverstone circuit on Friday(08-02-08). Thomas Erdos was pleased with the new XP-21 engine and is looking forward to this year's LMP2 Series...more.

Ferraris to star at Knockhill Classic SpeedFair. The third annual Classic SpeedFair at Knockhill will enjoy the backing of Event Scotland when it moves to an early summer date for 2008. Over the weekend of 7/8 June the Dunfermline will track play host to a celebration of motor sport history, with a stunning array of racing Ferraris at the heart of the action.
The Ferrari Owners’ Club will take its two race series, the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic and the Pirelli Ferrari Open, to Scotland for the first time, with each grid having a double-header weekend. Organisers hope to have around 40 racing Ferraris present and in order to get the race cars to Scotland, the Club is organising a fleet of car transporters to pick up the Ferraris from various points in England, including two of the premises of Ferrari main dealers, Graypaul.
It is hoped to have a strong Ferrari flavour at the event, with many Scottish owners driving their Ferraris to the track and taking part in parade laps on the Sunday. In addition, a number of important historic Ferraris will be on display. "The team at Knockhill as well as the Scottish Motor Racing Club are wonderfully enthusiastic about bringing the Ferraris to race in Scotland," said Ferrari Owners’ Club Competition Director, John Swift.
Building on the success of the first two Classic SpeedFairs, the 2008 event will feature celebrations of several famous motorsport marques, notably Ferrari, as well as the achievement of Scottish race and rally drivers. Full details of the featured events and race programme will be announced shortly.
In recognition of the growing status and financial significance of the event, the Knockhill Classic SpeedFair has gained the support of Event Scotland, the organisation working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. Event Scotland is helping to develop a range of sporting and cultural events to raise Scotland’s profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.
"It is quite a landmark for the Classic SpeedFair to have gained the backing of Event Scotland in only two years," said event director Stuart Gray from Knockhill. "It is very rewarding to have such important recognition for the event and we're busy working to ensure the 2008 event is the best yet."

The biography of Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams will be published on 1 March 2008...looks well worth a read...watch this space...details

Andrew Herron continued his pre-season SEAT Cupra Championship test programme at two of the UK-s most popular circuits this week,“ Rockingham Motor Speedway in Northamptonshire and nearby Donington Park in Leicestershire...read more

MORE CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES FOR FORMULA MASTER.

Following last week’s announcement of a Formula One test with the Honda Racing F1 team for the 2008 Formula Master Champion, the Series’ €240,000 prize fund and further testing prizes were confirmed today(Saturday). GP2 test with Trident Racing. With three former Formula Master drivers currently racing in GP2 Asia (2007 Champion Jérôme D’Ambrosio (pictured) along with Marcello Puglisi and Marco Bonanomi) and current GP2 team Trident Racing choosing the Series to run a feeder outfit for its GP2 venture, Formula Master’s ties to the Formula One feeder series are now firmly established. The test is a great chance for the Series’ vice-champion to impress potential teams as did 2007 Formula Master graduates D’Ambrosio, Puglisi, Chris van der Drift and Kasper Andersen last season, according to Trident Racing Team Principal Alessandro Alunni Bravi. “We are extremely pleased to give this year’s runner-up the opportunity to test in a GP2 car,” said Alunni Bravi. “As the first GP2 team to join Formula Master, we are very proud to be this involved in the Series. We are also happy to confirm that the winner of the Italia Formula Master series will be given a test with our GP2 team as well.” Formula Master promoters together with Trident Racing agreed on the Italia Formula Master prize of a GP2 test for the series, which will run for six events throughout Italy this year and is promoted by Peroni Promotion...more

FIA World Touring Car Championship (FIA WTCC) test with N.Technology. Partnering the FIA WTCC for the second year running, Formula Master holds strong connections to the championship with Italian WTCC team N.Technology founding the Series. Benefiting from N.Technology’s touring car expertise, the Formula Master driver finishing in the third place will be awarded a test in the Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000. The Italia Formula Master series runner-up will also be granted a test with the N.Technology WTCC team. Further test prizes, set to take place in the United States, are currently under discussion. “I am pleased to confirm that following Trident Racing’s decision to race in Formula Master, the team can also provide such a great opportunity for our young drivers,” said Chairman Mauro Sipsz who believes the considerable prize package will validate drivers’ choice to join Formula Master. “We can already offer such a competitive package after just one racing season, with our drivers now able to compete for tests in two FIA World Championships as well as GP2. In addition to this year’s test rewards, we can confirm a €240,000 prize fund, with €30,000 allocated for each event.”

Australian Formula Ford leading lights Glen Wood and Tim Blanchard(pictured below)

will continue their battle in the UK this season. The Aussie duo are two of many international and British drivers dranw to the 2008 British Formula Ford Championship…read more

PSL Karting head for Jupiter, Florida this weekend for round two of the FWT Rotax program at Moroso Motorsports Park. After a successful double-header weekend tat the start of the 2008 Florida Winter Tour the 15 drivers running under the PSL banner hopes are high for the good results

Conquest Racing have signed 2007 Atlantic "Rookie of the Year" Franck Perera for the 2008 Atlantic season. Perera completed his first test with Conquest two days ago, where he topped the time charts, outpacing both established Champ Car drivers and other newcomers to the open-wheel series. "I think Franck will continue to surprise many people this year," said Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing team owner. "He was without a doubt the best driver in Atlantics last season, and I think he is a great addition to our team. We knew before the test in Sebring that we were signing Franck for the year, now everyone knows why we are so excited to secure him for 2008. The chemistry with Franck is excellent and he is an experienced professional--a pleasure to work with. Our focus is to take this team to the next level and Franck will help us achieve that goal." Conquest Racing, who will be participating in their sixth year of Champ Car competition, was able to put this program together thanks to the support of Opes Prime, an Australian unlisted public company that provides a range of financial services and products for high net worth individuals, stockbrokers and financial advisors, asset managers, banks and other firms. Conquest Racing will be fielding a two-car effort this season in the Champ Car World Series with more information on their second driver to come in the following weeks.

Tim Harvey will be back in the Porsche carrera Cup GB in 2008. Harvey, the most successful driver ever in the series will race for Red Line Racing….read more

American Spirit Racing driver Cyndie Allemann backed up her first Indy Pro Series Test day a Phoenix nt Raceway by setting the quickest time of the test. "I am very pleased that our test in Phoenix went so well," exclaimed Cyndie. "This is a great way to start, going into the 2008 season. I know I still have some work to do and driving with 20 cars or more on the track is going to be an experience, but I'm looking forward to it. The Team has consistently given me a very good car and every change made it quicker and more predictable. I'm really enjoying being with this Team!" Technical Director and Chief Engineer Rossella Manfrinato said. "We came here knowing that we had a lot of work to do and we are leaving very happy that we achieved a lot. Given Cyndie's limited experience with these cars and these kind of tracks, I am extremely pleased with the way she drove and responded to the changes we made to the car. She's very eager to learn and handled this test on a very demanding track, not only being fast, but also consistent." The team will head back to Indianapolis in preparation for testing later this month at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Scuderia Playteam SaraFree invited a number of leading drivers to test cars from various racing series at Vallelunga recently In 2008, the team will be competing in the Italian GT Championship, International GT Open, Euroseries 3000, and the Superleague Formula challenge. Davide Rigon, the champion of 2007 F3000 Euroseries and Marco Bonanomi, who currently competes in the GP2 Asia Series with Piquet Racing were in action as well as Giacomo Ricci, 2006 European F3000 champion and Alessandro Pier Guidi. Despite tricky conditions the drivers got plenty of laps and set competitive lap times. They were joined on day 2(5 Feb) by Filipe Albuquerque, Jason Tahinci and Bruce Jouanny.

Ford Performance Racing (FPR) is delighted to welcome Dean Canto and Luke Youlden to the Prodrive team for the 2008 V8 Supercar endurance races. This highly experienced duo will join FPR full season drivers Steve Richards and Mark Winterbottom at the inaugural L&H 500 at Phillip Island in Victoria on September 14 and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 on October 12. Both Youlden (30) and Canto (27), will take part in all FPR test days and the new 2008 Enduro Driver Sessions at the Eastern Creek, Sandown, Queensland Raceway and Winton rounds, ensuring that they become quickly accustomed to the intricacies of the FPR BF Falcons ahead of these crucial long distance races.

Sportscar manufacturer Juno and Formula Renault racing team Hillspeed

have agreed an exciting new partnership to develop a brand new Formula Ford chassis which they intend to debut in 2008. Hillspeed’s boss Richard Ollerenshaw, who runs multi-car teams in Formula Renault UK and Formula Renault BARC, will provide operational support and technical assistance to Juno for its first ever single-seater. Development work of the new Juno chassis will be carried out by Formula Palmer Audi competitor Tom Bradshaw. ….full story

Speedmaster International is extending its partnership with the Masters Racing Series by supporting the Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Series as well as Grand Prix Masters. …read more

Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship drivers James Winslow (Opes Prime Team BRM) and Daniel Schulz

(Astuti Motorsport) will race in this weekend’s WPS Bathurst 12 hours. They will line-up alongside Kiwi Andy Knight behind the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRX STI for Wilson Brothers Racing in the Sonax High Performance All Wheel Drive class as part of the two-car WBR team…read more

Dane Cameron has picked up two very prestigious awards to add to his already crowded trophy cabinet The 2007 Star Mazda Champion, who will race in the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic Championship courtesy of a full-season sponsorship from the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder, has been awarded both the 15th annual Gorsline Scholarship and selected as the 45th annual Open Wheel Road Racer of the Year by the Motor Sport Press Association. ..read more

BMW plans to return to the American Le Mans Series with its next-generation M3 coupe later on in 2008. Rahal Letterman Racing will run the cars on behalf of BMW Motorsport. "This is another monumental day for the American Le Mans Series - we have had a phenomenal start to '08 and this big news from BMW adds to our momentum," said Series President and CEO Scott Atherton. "BMW represents one of the cornerstones on which the American Le Mans Series was built and has maintained a loyal following of dedicated owners and fans since that time. We are thrilled to embrace this effort from BMW with Rahal Letterman Racing." For the 2009 season Rahal Letterman will race two M3s for the whole season in GT2 alongside Ferrari, Aston Martin, Dodge, Ford, Panoz and Porsche making the ALMS GT2 Class one of the best manufacturer supported sports-cars series.

The GU-Racing Team were at Hockenheim this week to test their new Formula Renault 2.0. Drivers Carlos Gaitan and Max Wissel were on hand for the test which was run in wet conditions. After completing 80 laps Max Wiseel and theteamwere happy with their progress.

The Formula Renault 3.5 teams will take delivery of their first car for the 2008 season on February 19^th, giving them a couple of weeks to prepare for the opening test at Valencia on March 5-6^th. Their second car should follow by the middle of March. Drivers for the series are also signing up with 16 confirm so far…read more

With a number of Porsche Carrera Cup GB weekends featuring both races on Sunday in 2008, a new qualifying system is being introduced. A driver's best qualifying time will set their grid position for the opening race, while the second best qualifying time will set their grid position for the second race.

James Hinchcliffe was the quickest runner in the recent Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda test at Sebring International Raceway. Both ‘Hinch’ and his Forsythe Championship Racing team-mate David Garza headed the times at the end of the two-day session. It was the second day ‘on-the-trot’ that Hinchcliffe had led the field with a best lap at 57.366 sec. (104.738 mph). ..read more

The Conquest Racing team spent an extra couple of days in the sunny Florida testing two drivers for their Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda program at Sebring. Sebastien Chardonnet from France and Juho Annala of Finland took part in their second test with the team, having tested at Houston earlier in the year. Annala and Chardonnet logged many miles and soaked in the experience during this two-day test. "I think the two days went well," said ex-F Renault racer Chardonnet, who ended up tenth quickest overall of the 24 car field. "Today was better than yesterday though. I'm getting more use to driving one of these cars. They are different to what I drove in the past so that's mostly what I was focusing on at this test. The red flag at the end was unfortunate because I was going out on new tires and I'm sure I could have improved my time, but overall I'm happy with what I have accomplished." As for Annala who has raced in International Formula Masters, British F3 National Class and FFord,."Overall the test was very good. I enjoyed driving with this team, I think they are very professional," he said. "There are still a lot of things for me to learn in the car to improve my driving and get the car to my liking but I'm happy with the test because we made big improvements as we went along. The only thing I'm not happy about is the red flag at the end of our last session. I didn't get a chance to go out on the new tires, so the best is still hidden somewhere!"

Pacific Coast Motorsports wrapped their first official Atlantic test of 2008. American standouts Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz completed two full days of testing at Sebring. PCM Atlantic Team Manager, Shane Seneviratne commented on the team's performance and the driver's developments, "Overall, I'd say it was a very productive test. We really focused on the upcoming season and technical development." Seneviratne continued, "Our engineers Burke Harrison and Tim Lewis really used this test to develop a book of set-up combinations that they will be able to apply throughout the year. While Carl and Frankie did not necessarily get to display their speed, they did spend a lot of time working with their engineers and developing their racecar. They have a lot of information to take-away and study prior to the start of the season. Everyone did a great job."

Walker Racing completed a two day Champ Cat Atlantic test at Sebring with drivers Kevin Lacroix from Canada and Greg and Leo Mansell…read more.

Porsche AG has announced details of the new GT3 Cup S, based on the road-going GT3 RS sportscar, which has been created exclusively for racing purposes. The Weissach-developed and built car will race in international championships run to FIA GT3 regulations. The new model will make a clear definition between the 911 GT3 Cup cars used in the Carrera Cup GB and the GT3 Cup S, which is aimed solely for use in GT racing. The GT3 Cup S will feature a raft of developments, including an increase of power to 440bhp.
In contrast to the GT3 Cup, the body of the Cup S is not based on the road-going GT3, but on the GT3 RS and considerably larger wheels can now be used. At the front, the rims measure 10.5 inches in width with 12 inch wheels fitted at the rear. The front section and flares are significantly different to the GT3 Cup components. An adjustable front-splitter generates more downforce at the front axle. The rear-wing is wider and positioned higher than the Cup version and provides more downforce at the rear axle.
Several suspension components for the GT3 Cup S have been taken from the more powerful GT3 RSR which races in the GT2 class in international long-distance events. The braking system of the GT3 Cup S has been developed to match the increased power compared to the GT3 Cup. At the rear the diameter of the brake discs has grown by 5mm to now measure 355mm. The new GT3 Cup S costs Euro 250,000 plus VAT and is scheduled for delivery to customer teams from April.

Ombra Racing have announced their driver line-up for the 2008 ATS Formula 3 Cup. t Team Principal Massimo Pollini has kept Matteo Chinosi in the line-up. Last year, the young Italian showed a marked improvement throughout the year, finishing up with several visits to the podium, so tis year his goal has to be wins. New to the team is Frederico Leo, the 19-year old Italian started his car racing career in 2006, with Formula Renault 1.6, moving to Formula Renault 2.0 last year. After some promising tests, he makes the step to Formula 3. In the coming season, the team wants to be among the race winners. “It will be Ombra Racing’s third season on the ATS Formula 3 Cup grid,” says Pollini. “Following our good debut with a win in 2006 and several podium finishes in 2007 we now want to regularly battle it out at the front end of the field with both our cars. We are enhancing our team structure and organisation to achieve the highest standard with both our team and our cars.”

The first day of testing for the Atlantic Championship at Sebring International Raceway saw James Hinchcliffe (#3 Forsythe Championship Racing) set the quickest time with a 57.449 seconds (104.587 mph) Second was American Jonathan Bomarito (#6 Sierra Sierra Enterprises), who did a 57.542 seconds while third was Hinchcliffe's Forsythe Racing teammate, Mexican David Garza on 57.860 seconds. …read more

Kart racing Team Aluminos welcomed rookie senior driver Scott Rossi to their squad last weekend, and he delivered a pair of S1 wins while G1 sophomore Blair Chang turned in a great performance on Saturday with a podium spot . Stock Honda pilot Brad Dunford showed good speed in all conditions resulting in fourth place in the rain on Sunday

Pacific Coast Motorsports new drivers Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz had their first taste of the 20008 Atlantic cars ar Sebring - Carl Skerlong, #28 King Taco/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires "We had a good start to our test, we learned a lot and that is our goal. Unfortunately we lost some time this morning when someone drove into me, but the guys did a good job getting that fixed and we were back out there this afternoon, continuing our development. We've started the test in the top-ten, I think we that is not really an indication of where we are, we've certainly got more, so I am excited to see what tomorrow brings." Frankie Muniz, #29 PCM/Mazda/Swift/Cooper Tires "It was a good day today, everyday with PCM I am learning so much, it's awesome and great for my confidence inside the race car. I was a little disappointed this morning; I do not feel like I maximized the session. However, this afternoon was much better and we made a lot of progress. I had the best session I have ever had in terms of the timesheets and I am confident we can be much quicker in the morning, so that is great. Sebring is a great track for testing. It is bumpy like a street circuit, but it also has high speed corners which are great confidence builders and challenging brake-zones that give you the opportunity to work on late-braking. I have been training everyday over the off-season and it has definitely paid off. It was 80 degrees today and it felt like it was nearly 100% humidity but I still had a lot of energy at the end of the day after 125 laps, I feel great!"

Kelly Wood Racing, Kelly’s season started at Sebring where she took part in her first Skip Barber National shoot-out. With only two years of racing behind her in karts, it was going to be a steep learning curve getting to grips with a formula car. Following a successful three day Skip Barber School the week before at Sebring, Kelly successfully completed her first challenge. A session on the Skid Pad in the Mazda Miata followed by an autocross driving class in the Mazda Mx5. 5 Sessions followed over the next 2 days, switching cars on each session certainly tested Kelly's new found skills. Finally a change in track layout for day 3, at 120MPH flat out into a blind corner in a car for the first time was certainly a new experience. By the end of her last session on track, Kelly had managed to be within 1.2 seconds of her more experienced Canadian drivers in her best session. It was a great experience for her. While in Sebring, a new website came online www.kellywoodracing.com which can be viewed, where you can keep up to date with Kelly's racing activities.

Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship and the GP2 Series, is searching for young journalistic talent for the 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter competition..read more

Junior Max racer Ed Brand scored his second victory in as many weekends, when he romped to a crushing victory at PFi, Lincolnshire (3 February). With the Super 1 Championship starting in 6 weeks, 13-year old Ed is beginning to look like a serious contender for overall honours. In the heats, he went from 19th to 5th in the first race, before winning the 2nd heat by over 4 seconds - and duly claiming pole position for the final. Ed said: “It’s funny, someone asked me the other day if I ever get nervous before a race and I said ‘Only if I’m on pole for the final’. So yeah, I was a bit trembley beforehand.” If he was nervous, it didn’t show on the track. With 25 karts all vying and jostling for position behind him, Ed made good his advantage and quickly opened up a gap over his pursuers. From there, a string of consistently fast laps saw him extend his lead to nearly 6 seconds, and put the race beyond doubt. Ed was keen to point out that he owed his success to a genuine team effort from Paul Carr Racing: “It’s all thanks to Dad, Dean my mechanic and Paul that things are going so well at the moment”.

Paladin Motorsports and Canadian driver Adrien Herberts have rejoined forces for the full 2008 season of Champ Car Atlantic. The 18-year-old native of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia will once again drive the team's No. 45 Mazda-Cosworth/Swift 016.a/Cooper, which will carry sponsorship from Keller Williams and TravelUnlimited.ca as well as a major Canadian financial institution to be announced later. "We're really happy to have a chance to continue with Adrien for 2008," said Paladin owner Reza Honarvar. "Continuity is a key to success, so this will give us a chance to continue our development with him." Herberts competed in 10 Atlantic events with Paladin during 2007, earning a best result of 11th in the first race of a doubleheader at the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton Prior to heading for the Sebring test, Herberts tested the No. 45 machine at MSR Houston. "MSR was a great test for Paladin Motorsports and me," Herberts said. "I think that we really showed our speed and will only improve from here. I'm excited. I believe that this year will be a breakout year for me and Paladin Motorsports. We have the speed and the skill to be at the front, and I feel confident that 2008 will bring great success." While Herberts is set for the team's No. 45 entry, Honarvar is currently exploring opportunities to add a second car for the 2008 Atlantic season. "We are working on a deal to field a second car," Honarvar said. "We have tested another driver and are close to making an announcement. I'm sure it will be another exciting year of strong competition in the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, and we feel ready to compete with Adrien Herberts."

Wolf Henzler will be starting the 2008 season for Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche AG as a factory driver. driving a Flying Lizard Motorsports' Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in ALMS. "I am very glad we have succeeded in adding additional strength to our team of works drivers by hiring Wolf Henzler. I have been following his career for years now. I value his consistency, his experience and his basic turn of speed," said Hartmut Kristen, Porsche's worldwide head of motorsport

Pacific Coast Motorsports wrapped their first test of 2008 yesterday in preparation for this year’s Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series. The team completed two and a half days on the 1.7-mile test track with Alex Figge completing 247 trouble-free laps in his #29 Champ Car, while second driver David Martinez managed 255 laps. Martinez is evaluating his options for his first full-season of Champ Car; Team Manager Michael Harvey was impressed by his performance in his first test with PCM, "David did a great job throughout the test here at Sebring." Harvey continued, "We knew he is quick based on his previous performances in the Champ Car, but we were also very impressed by his feedback, his ability to develop the car and his teamwork." Figge opened the 2008 season quickest the first morning of the test and ran in the top-eight throughout, recording his quickest lap Monday morning with a time of 50.521 seconds at 118.929 mph. "Alex was quick immediately, and most importantly, the #29 team worked on developing the car for the upcoming season and they made consistent improvements throughout the test. It looks to be a very competitive field and we are encouraged with our progress," commented Harvey.

PKV Racing was both testing at Sebring recently(2-4 Feb) and after five sessions, two on both Saturday and Sunday and one Monday Alex Tagliani, who was testing with the team for the first time, was third overall(combined times), while Oriol Seriva, who is signed to campaign one of two PKV Racing entries during the 2008 Champ Car World Series season, was fourth. Tagliani ran a total of 281 laps (466.46 miles), the second most of the 14 drivers participating in the test. He posted a time of 50.173 seconds (119.754 mph) on the 1.66-mile Sebring "short course". The 35-year-old native of Montreal was consistently quick and was never lower than seventh on the combined report. His fast lap, as with all but one driver, came in the fifth and final session. Servia, who ran the most laps of any driver with 288 (478.08 miles), recorded a fast lap of 50.178 seconds (119.742 mph). The Spaniard was in the top-five on the speed charts in four of the five sessions, getting as high as second in one session.

Plans to secure the future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone have taken a significant step forward with the adoption of the Joint Silverstone Circuit Development Brief by South Northamptonshire Council’s Cabinet Committee on Monday 4th February….read more

Prema will field an all-Spanish driver line-up in the 2008 World Series by Renault, as Angelo Rosin and his team completed their line-up with 19-year-old Miguel Molina, from Barcelona as a partner to Alvaro Barba. Molina was entered by Prema in last November's test where he put on an impressive performance. Molina, a member of "Circuit de Catalunya Young Drivers Programme" has shown constant improvements during the 2007 season, adding better car management during the race to his qualifying strengths. Molina and Barba are expected to bring Prema the right mix of experience and determination to repeat the successful 2007 season, where the team proved to be able to fight for title until the very end.

Anders Krohn will drive in the US Formula 2000 Championship in 2008 for the Van Diemen factory team Andersen Racing. ”I am beyond happy about this! It has been an exciting off season, and I am glad to have been able to put this package together.” said Krohn who last year ran in the Dutch & Benelux FFord Series taking the runner-up spot with 6 wins, 9 poles and 11 podiums. The US Formula 2000 Championship (F2000 Championship Series presented by Hoosier Racing Tires season will consist of 14 races being held over 7 weekends, including the Cleveland, Mosport and Road America. ”Everything will be new for me this year, new car, new tracks, new team, new country and new culture. I am looking forward to every bit of it, and I am sure I will be able to do a good job together with the Andersen Racing crew. The fields this year will be huge, so it will be huge challenge to stay up there in every race in order to challenge for a top position in the Championship.” Anders said. The first race of the season will be held on April 19-20 at Virginia International Raceway. But before that time, Anders will test his brand new Van Diemen race car to be fully prepared together with the Andersen Racing team, for a tough 2008 season

Hitech Racing’s Marko Asmer, who dominated last season’s Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, has been confirmed as the BMW Sauber F1 test driver for 2008.Estonian Asmer, who scorched to 11 race wins from 22 races for the Buckingham-based team, underwent a successful programme of tests in Spain during which he impressed the F1 team with his technical feedback. Hitech Racing Team Principal David Hayle was understandably delighted with the news: “It’s great news for Marko, he totally deserves the drive after his dominance last season and everybody at Hitech Racing is delighted to have helped a young, talented driver on his way into Formula One. We always knew Marko had the ability, which was the reason we took him in last season but there are a lot of good drivers out there and it takes a special driver to get an opportunity like this. Marko is just that.”

Tom Gladdis has signed for Andersen racing to compete in the 2008 Star Mazda Series. Gladdis who last year ran in Formula BMW UK was signed after testing at Sebring last week..read more

Conquest Racing completed their first Champ Car pre-season test of 2008 today by showing their intentions for the upcoming season. The team topped the open test with driver Franck Perera and showed good pace with Simon Pagenaud. ..read more

Reigning Star Mazda Team Champions JDC MotorSports will have Masters category pilot Chuck Hulse driving for the team in 2008. Hulse, a longtime motorsports competitor, will join JDC MotorSports following off-season discussions with team co-owners John Church and Gerry Kraut, putting him under the tent with recent JDC signee Joel Miller and Kraut, a fellow Masters Championship driver. Hulse will contest all 12 rounds on the 2008 Star Mazda Championship calendar, having made his series debut last year, running selected races with another team. In addition to racing in the Star Mazda Championship this coming season, Hulse will contest a full-season in the Pacific F2000 Championship for a second consecutive year. Hulse enters his first-full season in the Star Mazda Championship seeking to continue his winning ways behind the wheel of an open-wheel car. The 54 year-old has been involved in motorsports since childhood, initially racing sprint cars in the 1970s and 80's before making the move to formula cars in the early 2000's. Competing in the Jim Russell Racing Championship from 2002 to 2006, Hulse scored numerous wins and captured the 2004 Grand Master Championship. Moving up the motorsports ladder last year, he contested the entire Pacific F2000 Championship season, as well as five rounds in the Star Mazda Championship. Finishing seventh overall in the Pacific F2000 Championship, he secured the Master Championship title, while in the Star Mazda Championship he finished as the top Masters driver in four races, earning two top-10 results.

James Watt Automotive (JWA) is pleased to announce they have purchased an Aston marton Vantage GT2 with which to contest the full 2008 Le Mans Series (LMS). Initially JWA will use the Aston Martin development car for the first two rounds in Barcelona and Monza, whilst awaiting delivery of the new car. Team Principal James Watt commented, "We have been in negotiation with Aston Martin Racing (AMR) for some time and can only give credit to the professionalism and integrity of AMR who have supported us at every turn. We will have Aston Martin Racing built chassis number 3 and are keen to mount a serious challenge to the leaders of the GT2 class I am sure we will " .James Watt concluded, "We view this as the beginning of a long term partnership with AMR and will be expanding and developing the co-operation over the next years". 2008 sees the fourth season of LMS racing for JWA who have entered a two-car team for the season.

Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin will race with CR Scuderia in the GT3 class of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, it was announced today. The Irish pair have raced in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli for a number of years with great success and now move to British GTs where they will face stiff competition from a packed field of drivers who all want to win. Michael has previously won two European Championships with the famous Italian 'Rossocorsa' team and Paddy finished third in the 2005 series, so both are more than familiar with racing ferraris.They continue their association with Rossocorsa whilst CR Scuderia has established a technical and logistical partnership with Rossocorsa to assist with the Irish pair's ambition of racing in British GT. Their Ferrari 430 will be based at CR Scuderia's brand new technical centre at Bardon in Leicestershire, and the British GT effort will be backed up by factory-trained Rossocorsa staff joining CRS at each British race meeting.

Melbourne-based Scud Racing's long term plans for the development of young driving talent kicked-off at Eastern Creek at last weekend in the opening round of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship

Arkas Racing has confirmed it will field two Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch cars in the 2008 HiQ British Touring Car Championship after agreeing terms with popular BTCC runner Martyn Bell….read more

ITV Sport will show the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship and ELF Renault Clio Cup on ITV4. The Channel will provide comprehensive, prime-time highlights on Tuesday evenings. There is also the possibility of some live or same-day as-live coverage on ITV4 alongside the BTCC, subject to TV scheduling and race meeting timetables. once the season gets underway at Brands Hatch on 29th/30th March. …read more

Promising young racer Menasheh Idafar is delighted to officially confirm his return to the Formula Renault BARC Championship for 2008 after signing a deal with Derbyshire based team Hillspeed. The 16-year-old, who lives in Bahrain and also has a home in South West London, made his British race debut in the headline FR2000 Class of the Formula Renault BARC series last year and is aiming to become a regular top 10 finisher throughout the 2008 season. He will celebrate his 17th birthday just over a week before the first round of the season, Menasheh will be one of the youngest drivers in the category. Menasheh’s association with Hillspeed began ahead of last November’s Formula Renault Winter Championship where the Gulf Computer Services-backed star achieved a brace of BARC Class podiums on his way to fifth overall in the class standings. Speaking on his continuation as a Hillspeed driver in 2008, Menasheh said: “I’m really very happy to be returning to Formula Renault BARC this year with Hillspeed. The winter series was quite good for us and I hope, with more testing behind us over the next few weeks, we’ll be able to improve more and achieve some good results.” Forming part of a three-car Formula Renault BARC line-up for Hillspeed, Menasheh will be joined this season by Omani racer Ahmad Al Harthy and Essex-based British driver Michael Lyons.

To coincide with his new race deal, Menasheh Iafar has launched a brand new website www.menashehidafar.com which has been produced, and will be updated throughout the year, by Marc Orme Motorsport PR. Featuring the latest news, race reports, image galleries and profile information, the website offers journalists, sponsors and supporters a valuable portal through which to find out more about the race career and background of the teenage single-seater racer. Menasheh’s pre-season test programme will start within the next couple of weeks. The 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship will then get underway at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent on Easter Sunday, 23rd March, and Easter Monday, 24th March.

Wickens selected Red Bull Junior of The Week. With his stellar drive in the rain at the A1GP race in Australia, Robert has been selected as the Red Bull Junior of the Week. Robert would come from 15th on the grid in the sprint race to finish on the podium. Languishing mid-pack on a dry track, Robert put on a charge when the rains came and moved into contention very quickly. He would end the race P3 for his second straight podium appearance after taking a second-place result in the feature race at New Zealand. Robert would start from the back of the grid (21st) in the feature and in very wet conditions, put on another show moving to the top ten on the first lap. He would end the race P6. With two points-earning positions on the day, Robert helped Team Canada move into tenth spot in the series standings.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB will enjoy an extensive television package in 2008, with programmes on both the 'Motorsport UK' series on ITV4 and on the 'Men and Motors' satellite channel. Building on the success of the 2007 Motorsport UK series, the Carrera Cup will feature prominently in a new 32-week run of the half-hour programme on ITV4, starting in April. The programme will be shown twice each week on ITV4 and then run twice on Men and Motors, giving each programme a total of two hours screen time.
Exact transmission dates and times, along with the schedule of which races will be covered in each programme, will be announced in due course.
The TV package for the Carrera Cup works hand-in-hand with the excellent TV arrangements for the BTCC, which will feature extensive coverage on ITV4 during a five-hour live programme on most of the season's ten race days. Whilst this coverage will obviously focus on the BTCC races, some of the support race action is likely to feature within this major broadcast. "This is an excellent TV package for the Carrera Cup," said Andrew Davis, Corporate Communications Porsche Cars GB. "ITV4 is fast becoming recognised as home to some of the best sporting events on TV and we are confident that the Carrera Cup GB will deliver some great race action."

Silverstone looks set for another action-packed year in 2008, during which the famous Northamptonshire circuit will celebrate 60 years since its first British Grand Prix in 1948. In addition to this special diamond anniversary, the circuit has announced a world class line-up of events, including a host of domestic and international championships. Notable dates for 2008 include Silverstone’s flagship event - the FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - taking place on 4-6 July and the return of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship in August. …read more

Daniel Morad,

the 2007 Formula BMW USA Champion, will contest the Cooper Tires Presents Champ Car Atlantic Championship in for 2008. Daniel will be driving, once again for Eurointernational, he won the Formula BMW USA Championship with last year. Daniel will start testing at the first official practice in Sebring on February 5th

Tafel Racing received its first new Ferrari F430 GTC less than two weeks ago. By its second official test session, the No. 71 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC was running in the top-two of American Le Mans Series GT2 competition. It only took the Jim Tafel owned team until its fifth session to stand atop the GT2 classification at Sebring International Raceway. Driver/owner Tafel, 2000 12 Hours of Sebring class winner Dirk Muller, Dominik Farnbacher and Pierre Ehret each took to the circuit in preparation for the 56th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Farnbacher turned the quickest time for the No. 71 car with a lap of 2:1.641 seconds set in Wednesday's second session (sixth session overall) on the 3.7- mile, 17-turn circuit. Overall, the team left Sebring with high expectations for the March 15th American Le Mans Series season-opener. Tafel Racing's second Ferrari, which will race as the No. 73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GTC, was delivered on site to Sebring but did not turn a wheel in the test. The No. 73 will be driven by Tafel, Ehret and Simonsen at Sebring while Bell, Farnbacher and Muller will race the No. 71 F430 GTC that was tested this week.

A1 Team South Africa won their second A1GP

of the season in today's(Sunday) Feature race at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway. Adrian Zaugg drove a great race in heavy rain to win by nearly 20 seconds from Switzerland's Neel Jani. Team GB's Robbie Kerr was third. A1Team France dominated the Sprint race, also run in appalling conditions, with a lights to falg victory ahead of New Zealand. Loic Duval led from the off pulling away from Switzerland's Neel Jani and New Zealand's Jonny Reid. Reaid managed to pass the Swiss driver after 9 laps before the latter lost it, and valuable points, with an off late in the race. South Africa are now up to 4th in the series standings, 14 points behind third placed Switzerland, At the top on the points table the fight is even closer with both New Zealand and France o 96 points (pic a1gp.com).......Race

Nathan Caratti had a great start to his F3 season winning the first race of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Eastern Creek near Sydney. Lee Farrell took the Opes Prime National Class honours. The second race was abandoned after a few laps due to torrential rain

A1 Team GAB celebrated after Robbie Kerr finished the feature race in third position at Eastern Creek, for round six of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. The result was a welcome return to the podium, especially following a strategy gamble from the morning sprint race which disadvantaged the team and meant Robbie only finished in 16th position. Robbie began this morning’s 14-lap sprint race from eighth on the grid and made a fantastic start, moving up to fifth after turn two by passing Germany, USA and China. He was then one second behind fourth-placed Team New Zealand, and pushed hard over the opening laps. On lap seven, by which time heavy rainfall had begun, Robbie was up to fourth after South Africa spun off track. On lap eight, A1 Team GBR made the decision to bring Robbie in to change from slick to wet tyres, and he emerged from the pits in 19th position. Unfortunately the gamble did not pay off, as just three other teams made the same choice, and the remaining drivers were able to hang on in the wet conditions on slicks. With the Czech team pitting on lap 11, Robbie gained one position and, after overtaking Mexico and Lebanon on the final lap, he crossed the line in 16th position. Fortunes changed dramatically for the afternoon’s feature race, of which the entire 45 laps were held in heavy rain, causing spray and limited visibility for the 22 drivers out on track. With pole-sitters New Zealand beginning the race from the pitlane, Robbie began from second position behind Switzerland. He briefly fell to third after the lights behind South Africa, but soon regained his position. Following his first pitstop on lap nine, he went off in hot pursuit of Switzerland. On lap 14 he ran slightly wide at turn nine, but remained on track, albeit losing some time to Switzerland. After the first round of pitstops, South Africa came out on top, followed by Switzerland with GBR in third. Robbie made his second stop on lap 28 and had a steady race from then on, passing the chequered flag in third and collecting ten points. A1 Team GBR has now moved up to sixth in the championship with 58 points.

TanderSport had a promising start to the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Eastern Creek. Running one car in the Championship Class and one in the Opes Prime National Class, drivers Leanne Tander and Chris Reindler both enjoyed races at the front of their respective classes’ .Leanne Tander (#42 TanderSport Dallara F307 Mercedes) started from pole for race one, finishing in third just a tenth of a second behind second placed James Winslow. However, a competitive performance with the leaders was a promising debut for the teams’ brand-new Dallara F307. She also set fourth-fastest lap, despite being sandwiched between Winslow and Earl Bamber for all of the 13 laps. Chris Reindler (#52 TanderSport National Class Dallara F304 – Spiess) made a great debut, taking Pole in the National Class after only one day of testing prior to the round. A hefty crash just moments after setting his time, however, left the TanderSport team with a huge job ahead of them – the team working miracles to get the car repaired in time to give Reindler a chance to place the car on the grid for the second race before ending the second session 5th - despite the car only having a basic setup in place. The 18-year old then raced strongly to finish third despite a seatbelt problem that caused him substantial pain in fast corners. Unfortunately, neither driver was able to improve on their race one results after the second race was red-flagged after four laps behind the safety car, due to extreme wet weather conditions.

John Walko Racing driver Mike Hill kicked off the new year on a positive note, sweeping Round Five and Six of the 2007-2008 Star Mazda Winter Series presented by Standing Start at Phoenix to claim the inaugural championship. Billy Goshen wrapped up second place in the championship with Taylor Hacquard finishing third. "The Winter Series was a great opportunity to develop race craft and to test in a competitive medium. Even thought there was not as much competition as there will be this year in the 2008 Star Mazda Series it still provided a competitive environment and demanded my absolute focus," Hill explained. "I have already competed in six races with my team; I understand how they operate and how they expect me to operate and communicate so we are now on the same page as we head to Sebring. It feels great to head into the 2008 season with this much momentum from my success on the track and with my team." Hill's team owner John Walko was equally enthusiastic about the results, "The Star Mazda Winter Series was absolutely wonderful. The series was an excellent way to prepare for the 2008 season and good way to keep busy during a slow time of the year. The experience of competing in the car is far superior to that of a private testing program which would run about the same cost. All teams entered into the 2008 Championship should consider participating in the Winter Series next year; we are planning on it. Heading into the 2008 season with Mike, I feel confident that he will excel having gained valuable experience in a competitive environment; as always, we will see what happens at Sebring."

Mark Burdett Motorsport will enter the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship. Richard Kent returns to the team and to Formula Renault after a season in Formula Palmer Audi. Kent will be hoping to secure podium finishes early in the season as he did in FPA last year. Kent is joined by another driver to have competed in the Renault backed Super One karting championship, Tom Armour. Armour will be making his Formula Renault debut with the team at Round 1 of the series at Brands Hatch in March. Armour sat out for the 2007 season to concentrate on his first year at Lincoln university and has been rapidly adapting to the Formula Renault car since starting testing towards the end of 2007.After a season in Formula BMW Germany, Thomas Hylkema completes the line up and will enter the season as the teams most experienced driver. The Dutchman’s season in German BMW stands him in good stead if the team history with ex-FBMW Germany racer, Markus Niemelas’ results are anything to go by from the 2006 season.

Leanne Tander today scored the first point of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship by taking pole position for race one to be held at Eastern Creek tomorrow..

With less than two months to go until the 2008 HiQ MSA BTCC kicks-off, Vauxhall completed an intense five-day test programme at Almeria. Tom Onslow-Cole, VX Racing's recently-signed third driver, got his first taste of the Vauxhall Vectra at the Spanish circuit. Taking advantage of the mild weather, Onslow-Cole was able to gain good knowledge about his new racing car. His team-mates, reigning 2007 BTCC Champion Fabrizio Giovanardi and ex-double BTCC Champion, Matt Neal were also on-hand to provide constructive assistance. "It was a completely new experience for me to drive the Vectra for the first time and it took me most of the first day to get comfortable with the car," said the 20-year-old. "The car is a totally different animal to what I am used to, but a lot of fun to drive. "Fabrizio and Matt have been really great and have not only given me tips on the car itself but also told me a lot about touring cars in general. I really enjoyed the last five days and I can't wait to race the Vectra this season." The shake-down was closely followed by VX Racing's Team Principal, Ian Harrison, who has high hopes for the talented youngster. "Tom was testing the Vauxhall Vectra on all five days and it went absolutely fine, but he obviously has to learn more about the car before the season starts. He showed good progress from day-to-day and we completed the programme successfully. "Fabrizio and Matt also took to the track each day to run through their commitments and the week went as smoothly as it usually does when you go testing."

A1 Team France put in a superb performance to qualify in pole position for tomorrow morning's Sprint race at the A1GP at Eatern Creek while the Feature race will be led off the grid by championship leader New Zealand.

Qualifying for Round 6 of the 2007-08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport proved to be dramatic for A1 Team Canada with Robert Wickens collecting a 15th place Sprint start followed by 21st on the grid for Sunday's Feature race after a penalty for blocking dropped him from eighth at Australia's Eastern Creek International Raceway.With Canada sitting 12th overall in the A1GP Nations Standings and Toronto's Wickens collecting two podium finishes in his first six race starts, the team was hoping for another strong qualifying outing to target two points scoring finishes at the 3.93km track tomorrow. Sprint qualifying initially looked promising with Robert sixth fastest after his first run but he'd ultimately drop back to 15th on the grid after his second run with the pole going to France's Loic Duval.Feature qualifying was a more competitive affair for Canada with Wickens overcoming grip issues to collect a fourth row grid start with the eighth fastest time from the 22 nations but he was subsequently penalized by the race stewards for ignoring blue flags blocking Brazil in the process. Stripped of the eighth fastest time, Canada is left languishing down in 21st for the 70-minute Feature race with New Zealand's Jonny Reid on pole.

A1 Team GBR’s Robbie Kerr will line up for tomorrow’s Eastern Creek Feature race on the second row of the grid after qualifying third for round six of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. For the morning Sprint race, the team will begin from the fourth row on the grid after setting the eighth fastest time in Sprint qualifying. The results follow Team GBR running today without race engineer James Goodfield, who was injured last night in an accident at the circuit. During routine pitstop practice yesterday evening, the wheel nut gun pipe from neighbouring A1 Team Portugal became detached from the tank, causing the gun to swing around, striking James just above the knee. James was taken to the local hospital where he is currently being treated for a broken leg. In his absence data engineer Albert Lau is taking responsibility for the engineering of the car. The first challenge for the team was the final one-hour practice this morning, and Robbie demonstrated the strong preparations of the team by getting straight on the pace, setting consistently fast laps on old rubber, and posting the second fastest time behind Team France. The main aim of the session was to fine-tune the car’s performance on old tyres and Robbie completed 21 laps of practice, setting a quickest lap of 1:20.233. This afternoon’s qualifying did not begin as well as the team had hoped as Robbie took to the track in the dying moments of the first Sprint qualifying session. The GBR driver was blocked on his outlap by a number of other cars, which prevented him from crossing the line to begin his hot lap before the chequered flag. For the second segment the team made a number of improvements to the car and Robbie set the eighth fastest time, with a lap of 1:18.649, putting him on the fourth row for the Sprint race. After the team made further changes to the car, Robbie headed out on old rubber for the first Feature qualifying segment. Unfortunately the set-up changes caused the car to lose rear end grip, and Robbie was only able to set a lap time of 1:20.759. For final qualifying Team GBR made some good set-up improvements and Robbie was able to demonstrate the team’s previous form by recording the third quickest time with a lap of 1:18.720, setting himself up for a second row grid slot for tomorrow afternoon’s Feature race.

Charles Bateman will return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2008 and is targeting race wins after signing to stay with Team Parker Racing, backed by Pilgrim Food Service. "I want to have a serious shot at the overall title and certainly score some race wins," said Bateman, who celebrated his 21st birthday on New Year's Day.I improved a lot through last year and we showed our pace, particularly at Knockhill. Now I want to step up a gear again," said the Boston-based racer, who will move up to the pro category after racing in the pro-am category in 2007.
Bateman started racing in the Caterham Academy in 2004 and then finished tenth in the 2005 Caterham Roadsports Championship, with assistance from Team Parker Racing. He joined the team full time in 2006 to finish fourth in the UK Superlight Championship and sixth in the Caterham Eurocup. He stayed with Team Parker Racing for his debut Carrera Cup season last year and has now signed for a full Carrera Cup campaign with TPR in 2008. "It's the best team in the paddock," said Bateman.
Team boss Stuart Parker is delighted to have retained Bateman as part of a very strong Carrera Cup team. "It continues our relationship with him into a fourth season. He's a young driver developing well and this year he'll reap the benefit of his learning year in 2007. He's only going to get better." Bateman and Team Parker Racing will start their programme in the opening Carrera Cup GB races at Brands Hatch on 29/30 March.

Masters Top Hat racers head east. Competitors in five of the Masters Top Hat categories will get the chance to race at Snetterton this spring as the Masters Racing Series visits the East Anglian circuit for the first time for a one-day race meeting on Saturday 29 March. Under its new Manager, Claire Tippet, this will be the first of four Top Hat Race Days will offer mini-endurance races for Top Hat Pre '66 Saloons, Cloth Cap (Pre '66 GT Cars including the Jaguar XK Challenge), Oldies but Goldies (Pre '60 Touring and GT Cars), Touring 70s (Group 2 Touring Cars of the 1970s) and Stars of the 70s (1970s Touring and pre '75 GT Cars). The Pre '66 Saloons will race over 60 minutes, while the other four categories will each have a 45-minute race following qualifying on Saturday morning. With a heritage dating back to 1951, Snetterton is one of Britain 's busiest race tracks and yet rarely hosts classic and historic events, so the Top Hat day is a welcome addition to the Norfolk track's calendar. The Pre '66 Saloon Car race will come as the 50th anniversary season of the British Saloon Car Championship begins. Fittingly, one of Norfolk 's most celebrated racers, Sir Jack Sears, was the inaugural champion in 1958 and won the title again in 1963 in a Lotus Cortina. Now, 45 years later, Snetterton will once again witness the spectacle of Lotus Cortinas battling with Ford Mustangs and Mini Coopers.

Team Jag and John George will start the 2008 British Touring Car Championship with high expectations and hopes that this year will be his best yet!. .read more

The Kumho Tyres Australian F3 field kick-off their season with changeable conditions at Eastern Creek today (Friday). After two sessions in both the wet and the dry Opes Prime Team BRM pairing of Nathan Caratti and James Winslow topped the timesheets. ..

HONDA READY TO TEST IN VALENCIA IN WTCC . N.Technology will take part in the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship with a Honda Accord Euro R, designed and built by JAS Motorsport and driven by James Thompson who classified third in the 2007 FIA WTCC. The team will start their test programme next week in Valencia . "It's an exciting project," said N.Technology chief Mauro Sipsz. "I have always had a lot of respect for JAS as competitors and I'm now looking forward to working together on this programme." JAS Motorsport, Honda's official partner for customer support in competition, will be responsible for the design and building of the car as well as its continued development. N.Technology will run the racing programme. "Finally we have the chance to be in the FIA WTCC with a winning car and a winning driver," added Alessandro Mariani, JAS Managing Director. "This programme is a great opportunity for JAS to show how good our car is." James Thompson commented: "I have always said how good the N.Technology team is. The whole outfit works very well together; it feels like a family. I was offered other drives for next year but what I wanted most was to stay, which I am with a three year contract. I'm lucky to have also worked with JAS and Honda in the past, so knowing what we achieved this year, who knows what we can do next season with a partnership like this one!" So far the best result achieved by a Honda car in the FIA WTCC was third position in the 2006 Race of Mexico, at Puebla , claimed by Ryan Sharp in a JAS Motorsport Accord Euro R.

A1 Team France was quickest today(Friday) in the second of the free practice sessions at Eastern Creek in New South Wales for Round six of the 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport . In wet and overcast conditions Loic Duval set the fastest lap of the day on his first flying lap with a 1m18.675s...read more

Niall Quinn finally got behind the wheel of the Belmayne A1 Team Ireland car this morning(Friday) after a much anticipated wait. Quinn's baptism of fire wasn't helped by a wet track, which meant extra care was needed as he bedded in brakes alongside familiarising himself with both the track and the car. By the end of the second 25-minute session a dry line had emerged and Niall was able to have some final runs on slick tyres before the chequered flag came out. His lap times were dropping each time round with him eventually clocking a 1m 24.436s by the end. Niall Quinn: “At the beginning in the wet it was quite hard to adapt to the car as the extra power was a bit new to me but as I went on I got more and more comfortable. When I got the slicks on for the last four laps I really got to push and lap times were coming down a second a lap I was pretty happy. I really enjoyed it as it’s a really nice car to drive. After about five laps it didn’t feel too fast anymore, but I think everything else will feel really slow from now on!”

James Winslow has had a busy day at the A1GP meeting in Australia today (Friday). Fresh from finishing at the top of the timesheets in this morning’s first practice for the Australian F3 round which will support this weekend’s A1GP race, James Winslow took to the track once again for the rookie practice session. After heavy morning rainfall, the session began on a damp track with the Team GBR car using a wet set-up. Towards the end of the first 25-minute segment the track began to dry out, although the team opted to remain on wet tyres as James only ran limited laps due to radio problems. With a dry track for the second segment, James went out on track with new slick tyres and, after running second fastest for much of the time behind home team Australia, he eventually finished third fastest. He set his fastest time of 1:21.521 on the final of his 20 laps. Robbie then stepped into the car this afternoon on his third visit to the Australian track. After scoring a second place podium in season one and showing very competitive form last year, Robbie was once again straight on the pace in today’s practice. Weather conditions remained dry and the team was able to work through its planned programme ahead of tomorrow morning’s final practice and qualifying. Robbie finished the session third fastest with a lap time of 1:18.996, three tenths of a second behind session leaders, Team France.

CORONEL IN A SUNRED-RUN SEAT IN WTCC. For the fourth consecutive year Dutch driver Tom Coronel will be racing a SEAT in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. With the backing of the Dutch SEAT importer, Pon Car, Coronel will drive a León run by the Spanish team SUNRED. The team has close links to SEAT Sport and are based nearby SEAT's factory in Martorell. "I am delighted that, thanks to the Dutch SEAT organisation, I am able to race again in the WTCC this year," said Tom Coronel. "For me, this is the best championship around and this year I have the best package I have ever had." After three successful seasons with the GR Asia team, with which Coronel claimed the 2006 Independents' Trophy title, he has now switched to SUNRED and he is optimistic about his chances for the coming season: "First of all because I will be taking part in the official FIA test sessions this season, which wasn't the case in the previous years. Then I see extra opportunities because recent changes in the technical regulations enhance the competitiveness of the petrol-powered León car. SEAT will also continue to develop the petrol engine, so it looks quite promising!"

Holden Motorsort will field a Jack Daniel's backed 6.0L V8 Sportswagon SS for V8 Supercar drivers Shane Price, Cameron McConville and enduro specialist Nathan Pretty in the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama "Holden has a great history of success at Mount Panorama, so what better place for the new ultra cool Sportwagon to be showcased than on the track at Bathurst?" said GM Holden's Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Alan Batey. "The (WPS Bathurst 12 Hour) is a race for production cars so is an ideal event for us to spotlight new models in the Holden range. Last year we ran a pair of Astras -- one an SRi Turbo Coupe, the other a CDTi Diesel. "With Sportwagon due in Holden showrooms across the country in the coming months, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to underline the sporting pedigree of the latest model in the VE range whilst highlighting its great style and handling." Also returning to the Event are reigning champions Garry Holt, Craig Baird and Paul Morris, with Sydney businessman Holt recently confirming that his 2007 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour winning driver and car combination (BMW335i) will return to defend its title. While lining up with Holt for the race around the clock, V8 Supercar star Paul Morris just can't get enough of racing -- with the Gold Coast's 'dirty dangerous dude' also set to steer none other than Bobby McGee's ex-Neville Hayley Australian Championship winning HQ at the WPS Bathurst Motor Festival.

The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup presented by BF Goodrich Tyres have announced that the official series launch will take place at Miller Motorsports Park on Saturday, March 1. At that time, approximately 25 examples of the brand-new Ford Mustang FR500S will be delivered to their new owners. The event will include seminars on car set-up (Ford Racing engineers and MMP development team); the BFGoodrich g-Force R1 tyres (BFGoodrich engineers); technical inspection (series technical manager); data acquisition system (AIM engineer); series rules and details (series race director); plus series registration. "We are really excited to deliver these new Mustangs to their new owners," said series director Lynda Randall. "The response to the series has been phenomenal, and I know that people are anxious to get their hands on these cars so they can get ready to go racing. The series launch event should be both fun and informative, and will be a great kick-off to what we hope will be a very competitive inaugural season." The Ford Racing Mustang Challenge will be an eight-round series utilizing the new Ford Mustang FR500S fitted with BFGoodrich g-Force R1 tires. The series, which will be sanctioned by the Grand American Road Racing Association, will consist of eight races during the 2008 season.

Pacific Coast Motorsports have expanded their racing team with a two-car entry in the Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Series Powered by Mazda. PCM also announced their all-American driver line-up, Carl Skerlong and Frankie Muniz.

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