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News Archive July 2008 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 07/12/2008 31-07-08 The Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge it at a key stage in the Championship right now. Next week Rounds 9 and 10 of the 14 race series are at Silverstone(Aug 9-10), with only 10 points separating the top two of Phil Broad and Gary Halcrow in Roadsport A and a similar gap in the Academy 1 of Trevor Fowell and Gordon Sawyer it's still all to play for. Ian
The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) has reached an agreement with South Northamptonshire Council on the development of Silverstone after a statement to Council last night. It has now been agreed with South Northamptonshire Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council that the housing element will be dropped following consultations with the local community. As a result, an updated Plan for the site has been agreed. This will include an upgrade of circuit facilities, a manufacturer test centre, business park, extreme sport and leisure complex, two hotels, a new university campus and a ‘Welcome Centre’. full statement from BRDC here In the second PCGB car at Knockhill will be Rory Butcher, the young son of circuit owner Derek Butcher and brother-in-law of BTCC racer Gordon Shedden. Autosport journalist Ben Anderson is confirmed in the lead PCGB entry. Ben, who has been covering Carrera Cup races this season in his first season on the staff, races a Jedi single-seater but has never been to Knockhill before The Porsche Carrera Cup GB has become one of the first national race championships to pledge support for the ‘Go Motorsport’ campaign being run by the Motor Sports Association (MSA), the sport’s governing body in the UK. The ground-breaking campaign has been launched to encourage participation in all branches of the sport and encompasses competing, marshalling and spectating. The campaign covers all age groups, and is designed to show people that getting involved in motorsport is accessible and easy, whatever the individual’s particular interest. The support from the Carrera Cup, the fastest one-make race category in Britain, was unveiled at Oulton Park on Friday 25 July, when MSA Chairman Alan Gow joined Carrera Cup championship manager Marion Barnaby and a number of Carrera Cup racers. Many of the cars in the Carrera Cup will be carrying ‘Go Motorsport’ stickers and it is hoped that the wide appeal of the championship will help bring the campaign to the notice of fans at the race tracks as well as those at home watching the action on television. “We are very pleased to support ‘Go Motorsport’,” said Marion Barnaby. “It is important that everyone involved in the sport gets behind this campaign. Ultimately, if more people become involved as competitors, officials or spectators, then the whole sport will benefit.” More details about the ‘Go Motorsport’ campaign can be found at www.gomotorsport.net
Daniel Lloyd will be making an appearance as a representative of Ginetta at the Kartmasters MSA Grand Prix event at PF International Circuit near Grantham, Lincolnshire, this weekend. Ginetta Cars Ltd is the chief sponsor of this year’s event. The Formula 3 Euro Series was in action last weekend at the Nürburgring circuit in Germany and the French SG Formula team picked up two top six finishes. On Saturday the team's leading Formula Renault driver and F3 debutant Daniel Ricciardo brought his car home in sixth while on Sunday Yann Clairay repeated the result for the team. 30-07-08
This weekend saw New Zealander Chris van der Drift increase his lead over German Michael Ammermüller to 13 points in the Formula Masters Series with both drivers claiming a race win each at Brands Hatch. Italy’s Marcello Puglisi and Daniel Mancinelli claimed a second place each with local driver Michael Meadows ensuring England had something to celebrate by finishing third in Saturday’s race. Meanwhile van der Drift put in his second podium appearance of the weekend by claiming Sunday’s third place. The Formula Master season continues with round 11 and 12 in Oschersleben, Germany; the sixth international venue for the Series British fans are all set for a spectacular event at Brands Hatch this weekend (1/2/3 August) when the annual round of the HANNspree SBK Superbike World Championship arrives with several British riders lining up to take on some of the best riders on the planet In the present
economic climate, it would take a very brave parent to launch their
child’s National Cadet karting New competition for race fans . It's free to enter and the winner could end up testing in Formula BMW, the Racing Steps Foundation or Karts (depending on age etc.) The organisers are trying to get more people interested inmotorsport, in particular those who don’t have the funding. For more information about the competition go to Mike Meadows had a successful outing at Brands Hatch in the Formula Master Series at the weekend, enjoying his first Formula Master podium finish of the season. Race one saw Meadows storm through the field and finish third after starting the race tenth on the grid. Race two also gave Meadows a much needed point's boost with a sixth place finish. Meadows reflected on his weekend, "The podium yesterday(Saturday) was a real surprise for us and we knew it was going to be difficult to do it again today(Sunday), but we are really pleased with two good finishes, and especially to take a podium spot. This weekend has been a big boost, we have scored some much needed championship points and we have been running up at the front which is where we want to be. To do all of this at our home track makes it even more special, the support here at Brands has been great. I hope we can carry this momentum into the next race at Oschersleben in a month's time" 25,000 race online to qualify for the GT Academy National Finals. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue™ gamers set their fastest lap in a bid to turn their driving dreams into a reality courtesy of Playstation® and Nissan on 28 July 2008: Last week, after 7 weeks of virtual racing, the chequered flag fell on the first stage of GT Academy, the international competition by PlayStation® and Nissan.The competition,which is merging the worlds of videogames and motorsport, is now moving into its second phase. The first stage of GT Academy ran on PlayStation® Network and required entrants to record their fastest online lap in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The stage saw nearly a staggering 25,000 entrants across 12 European countries battle for a chance to become part of the Nissan racing team in next year’s 24h Dubai. The top 20 drivers from each country will now move to the GT Academy National Finals for time trials and head to head races against one another. From there just three of the fastest virtual racers from each country will be given the chance to prove themselves on a real circuit as they compete in Nissan GT-Rs at Silverstone.The Silverstone stage of the Academy will run from 27–31 August, and will see competitors prove their real driving skills in a variety of vehicles including the Nissan GT-R. Each participant will undergo a series of mental and physical aptitude tests in a bid to become one of just two drivers joining the Nissan racing team next year. To find out more, visit www.gtacademy.eu. 29-07-08
Jonathan Summerton won the second race in the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda at the Rexall Edmonton Indy and the fifth different driver in five races this season to win in Saturday's Atlantic doubleheader in Canada. Jonathan Bomarito had became the fourth different winner in four races on Friday eening when he won first race of the weekeed. Following a review of Caterham Motorsport, and it’s management, the day-to-day direction of Caterham's UK and European race series will be taken 'in house' for the first time. The move means that Magnus Laird will step down as Director of Motorsport immediately. Laird, who has been involved with the marque for 22 years as a driver, team principal and, latterly, as Director of Motorsport, is to remain a freelance consultant to Caterham. "I am looking forward to working alongside Caterham's new in-house team on future projects and, through my association with the BRSCC, will still be involved with the challenge of co-ordinating Caterham's race calendars," said Laird. "I have immensely enjoyed my time as Director of Motorsport and have nothing but fondness for the marque. Working with Caterham racers and the company's staff has been not only pleasurable but also a privilege, and I wish the management every success for the future." Ansar Ali, Managing Director of Caterham Cars, commented: "It goes without saying that Magnus has played a pivotal role in building the Caterham Seven into one of the most-raced production cars in the world. Wherever I go in the world, racing and Caterham now go hand in hand and, as we look to our exciting future, I am sure Magnus will once again play his part as a respected and knowledgeable advisor to us." Fiskens and the Royal Automobile Club once again supported the Woodcote Trophy held at Silverstone over the weekend where it was won by Neil Cunningham, his second consecutive Trophy victory.
Jon Minshaw and Martin Stretton in an E-Type beat Peter Horsman and Jac Nelleman’s Lotus 17 in the Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Masters at Silverstone whilst third went to Gregor Fisken and John Clark’s E-Type. The Grand Prix Masters races for cars from 1925-65 at the Silverstone Classic saw Enrico Spaggiari and Mark Piercy, both in a Copper T53, share the honours with a win apiece. Peter Horsman was second in each race, his Lotus 18/21 just 1.4 seconds behind Spaggiari in race 1 but 4 seconds ahead of Piercy. However Piercy had his revenge in race 2, beating Horsman by 11 seconds with John Clark’s Copper T51 third. On Saturday the Eastwick/Cunningham D Type won the Sports Racing cars event from the similar car of Neumark and Griffiths.
The Group C
races
were filled with some of the great cars of the era from 1985-90 with the
Kumchick/Stretton Spice SE GTP winning the opening race by 1.186secs
from the Law and Wallace Jaguar XJR8 resplendent in it’s Silk Cut
colours(
below - pic Paul Williams)
Frank Sytner
and Simon Hadfield
driving a Cooper Monaco(pictured
– pic Paul Williams)
Niall Breen put in a great performance in the Formula 3 Euroseries on Sunday, 27th July at the Nurburgring when he took his Mercedes powered Manor Motorsport run car to second in the 12th round of the season. 28-07-08 Sam Hancock was fourth place in round 13 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Oulton Park on Saturday before a blown tyre ruined his chances in yesterday's race... JRP Move to Maxter Power. Prior to this weekend’s (2/3 August) forthcoming European KF2 Championship finals at Braga in Portugal, JRP has announced that it has switched to Maxter engines. JRP owner Mark Berryman said, “The whole team has gone over to Maxter. We will also have our own dedicated tuners – Stefano and Marco of HP. Their pedigree is impeccable and we have an exclusive deal with them. They’ve worked with the likes of (Terry) Fullerton and (Nico) Rosberg in the past and have been instrumental in the development of the Maxter KF engines.” The deal also brings the independent, Garda-based outfit closer to their chassis supplier - Maranello. Mark added, “Both Maranello and Maxter are pretty-much on our doorstep, and this arrangement will bring us even closer together. JRP customers will further benefit from having the same kit as the works drivers.” Luke Wright will make his Maxter debut at Braga, after successfully testing the motor at the Portuguese circuit last week. Mark said, “We’ve tested the motor several times now and it’s all been good, we’ve had no problems. The Maxter delivers excellent, progressive power and its quick everywhere you go. It’s definitely as good as everything else out there. It’s very fast, so I’m really happy - as are the drivers. “I would also like to thank TM and Gordon Finlayson Racing Engines for all their hard work and contribution to the success of JRP over the years Phil Quaife left Oulton Park with valuable points following rounds 13 and 14 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, despite two challenging race.
Manor Competition had two podiums at Oulton Park Island Circuit yesterday, Sunday, 27th July, courtesy of Alexander Sims who now sits firmly in second place in the 2008 Formula Renault UK driver standings. Jonathan Adam continued his 'rebirth' in the SEAT Cupra Championship at Oulton Park yesterday. The Fife driver once again doinated proceedings winning both races as well as setting 2 fastest laps and taking 2 pole positions. Championship leader Robert Lawson was second behind Adam in each race thereby keeping the damage to his championship lead to a minimum .Martyn Bell had a good day yestersday in the 3 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship races on Oulton Park's Island circuit. He made it to the finish in each race for Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk to consolidate their 8th position in the Independents Trophy. Jason Plato made it 5 wins in the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park yesterday when he led from pole to win the first of the three races in his SEAT Sport UK Leon TDI. It was downhill all the way after the brilliant start however as a misfire put him out in race 2 (while he was leading!). This of course also meant a lowly grid spot in race 3(17th) which would mean a second win was out of the question. SEAT Cupra Championship leader Robert Lawson kept his points lead fairly well intact at the weekend by coming second, twice, to his nearest rival for the title Jonathan Adam in rounds 13th and 14th at Oulton Park .
The Porsche
Open and Porsche Club grids ran together over the weekend at the
Silverstone Classic meeting and it was Mike Johnson who
took the taking overall honours in both races, Saturday's Mark
Donahue Trophy race and the Derek Bell Trophy on Sunday' after a
race long battle with Paul McLean. The Porsche Club Championship raced alongside the Open runners(above), the net result being a huge grid at the Silverstone Classic event Ian White won the Club race on both Saturday and Sunday while in Class Two the victories were shared between Chris Dyer and Trevor Lewis. Thomas Carnaby ‘s weekend at Oulton Park finished as it started with another win making it two wins from two starts for the Scunthorpe driver. Carnaby is now only 2 points shy of championship leader Dino Zamparelliin the Ginetta Junior Championship…read report Adam Christodoulou completed a superb weekend with victory in round 16 of the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Oulton Park on Sunday, 27th July. The CR Scuderia Formula Renault driver led home his nearest challenger in the overall drivers’ standings Alexander Sims of Manor Competition, with Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes celebrating a maiden series podium in third. John Edwards took his second win of 2008 in the second race at Portland in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Miller Motorsports Park. Second was Saturday's winner and Sunday's pole-sitter Tom Gladdis with Joel Miller third. The Expert Series winner was Chris Cumming while in the Master Series Chuck Hulse came out on top Alexander Sims retains Renault Sport UK Duathlon crown winning the second annual Renault Sport UK Charity Duathlon at Oulton Park on Friday evening, 25th July, retaining the title he won last year with a dominant performance. The format of the contest – which aims to raise vital funds for key charities the North West Air Ambulance and Barnados – sees entrants cycle one lap of the 2.23-mile circuit, run the second tour and then cycle again for the third and final lap. “It’s always important to help raise money for charity and doing it through a fun event like the duathlon is great”, commented Alexander, “I’m obviously pleased to have won again but the main thing is we managed to raise funds for two very worthwhile charities.” Alexander Sims picked up another couple of excellent podium places at a very hot Oulton Park yesterday, Sunday, 27th July, to maintain his runner-up position in the 2008 Formula Renault UK title race. Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Ridley-Holloway had mixed fortunes at Oulton Park at the weekend, finishing Sunday's race in 11th while on Saturday an accident with Nki Lanik and Steven Hunter saw him eliminated from the race. Andrew Herron did not enjoy yesterday's SEAT Cupra race at Oulton Park. Starting the race from fourth on the grid he had hoped for a podium finish but contact with Carl Breeze in a 'racing incident' at Old hall put paid to that .
Daniel Lloyd’s was another front-runner to drop down the order after contact with another competitor. In the Ginetta Junior race yesterday afternoon at Oulton Park Lloyd was pushed into a spin at the hairpin after he was hit by Aaron Williamson on lap two sending him back down the order to eventually finishing ninth. 27-07-08 Jörg Müller, driving a BMW for Team Germany and Alain Menu in a Chevrolet had a win each in today;s WTCC races at Brands Hatch. Muller's win made him the eleventh driver to taste victory this year while for Menu it was his second of the season.
ELF Renault Clio Cup champion elect Ben Winrow celebrated his ninth win of the year with victory in round 15 at Oulton Park on yesterday and a second place today, behind Stefan Hodgetts, as good a guaranteed him the title CR Scuderia ’s Adam Christodoulou finally got back onto the top step of the podium today in the Formula Renault UK Championship. His win at Oulton Park in round 15 was his first for six races and stetches his lead in the race for the title. . Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman was second ahead of Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims.
Tom Gladdis from Gibraltar has won Race 1 of Round 4 of the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland. In second was Alex Ardoin with Billy Goshen third.
Formula 3 racer Will Bratt has plenty of work to do during today’s seventh round of the 2008 FIAT Spanish F3 Championship having endured a frustrating qualifying session at the brand new Valencia Street Circuit yesterday. At the wheel of his EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport car, 20-year-old Will had a luckless run during this afternoon’s qualifying session where he encountered red flags on each of his quick laps. Furthermore, a slight brush with the retaining wall also affected the handling of his FIAT-powered Dallara F308 chassis. Concluding the period with the 16th fastest time of 2m 07.273 seconds (153.399km/h), the Banbury driver will need all of his race craft to try and record a points today in the opening race. Daniel Lloyd had a hard race in the 15th round of the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Oulton Park yesterday ( 26th July) finishing sixth after a spin had dropped him to tenth halfway through the race. Andrew Herron maintained his fifth place in the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship with a good fourth place at Oulton Park on Saturday, 26th July. 26-07-08  Michael
Caine won the first race at Oulton Park today (Saturday 26 July)
in round 13 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. In pro-am1 Nigel Rice took
a fine victory while Michael Leonard came through to win the pro-am2
category. The victory for Caine puts him four points clear of
Tim Harvey in the title race. Jason Plato and Darren Turner qualified 1st and 2nd for the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race for tomorrow’s first BTCC race at Oulton Park. They were the only two drivers to break the 1min 28sec barrier around the 2.26 mile track. Jason did just one flying lap to set a time of 1:27.688 (91.38mph), which was just five hundredths of a second slower than the qualifying lap record, set by James Thompson (Vauxhall Astra Coupe) in 2004. Darren also did a single flying lap, setting a time just 0.167 seconds slower than his SEAT Sport UK team-mate. Both Holiday Inn-backed Leon TDIs then sat out most of the rest of qualifying in the pits, only venturing back onto the track near the end of the 30 minute session to scrub in new Dunlop tyres in preparation for race day. Tom Chilton (Honda Civic) was the best-placed non-SEAT driver in 3rd , qualifying 0.444 seconds off pole and 0.277 seconds behind Darren. James Calado and Dean Stoneman showed their more experienced counterparts the way by clinching pole position for the latest rounds of the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship. Rounds 15 and 16 take place at Oulton Park Island circuit on Sunday, 27th July. Fortec Motorsport’s Calado set a mark of 1min 18.824s (101.66mph) to claim pole for round 15 having started round 13 at Snetterton at the head of the field. Championship leader Adam Christodoulou of CR Scuderia Formula Renault was second, just 0.048s behind. In an incredibly close session that saw the top 10 covered by just 0.409s, Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims was third but less than one-tenth of a second off the pole time. The afternoon session was equally close in the battle for pole, this time Stoneman edging out Adam Christodoulou by 0.042s with a best lap of 1min 18.939s (101.51mph) around the undulating 2.23-mile Cheshire circuit. Sims took third place again, although this time 0.225s away from pole, while Oakes improved to fourth.Fortec team-mates Calado and Riki Christodoulou make up row three ahead of Buzaid and Manor’s Henry Surtees (Lingfield), who climbed from 11th in session one to eighth. CR Scuderia duo Krohn and Jenkins round out the top 10 for the second of two 15-lap races. Augusto Farfus beat Alain Menu to pole position in the qualifying at Brands Hatch in the WTCC, but he had to set a new lap record to do it. With a time of 1:32.794 he shattered the track record for Super 2000 cars by two and a half tenths of a second and claimed his (and BMW's) second pole of the season after Pau. However Menu's second position was only 0.002 seconds behind him. There were British smiles for Chevrolet as Robert Huff took third position in an extremely closely fought session. Fellow countryman and reigning world champion Andy Priaulx put his BMW Team UK car into fourth to make an all British second row for the first race. Jörg Müller popped his BMW onto the third row with the fastest SEAT Sport driver, Yvan Muller in sixth. The third Chevrolet of Nicola Larini took seventh position with Alessandro Zanardi behind him in eighth. SUNRED Engineering's Tom Coronel took ninth position despite running wide into the gravel on one of his quick laps. Newcomer Volvo driver Robert Dahlgren continued his successful apprenticeship to round off the top ten. After his nightmare weekend in Portugal, the third British driver, James Thompson, qualified thirteenth in his Honda Accord Alexander Sims successfully defended his title in the second annual Renault Sport charity Duathlon. The event, which on the day raised £250 towards the target of £500 for the North West Air Ambulance and Barnardo’s, took place at Oulton Park on Friday, 25th July. Sims, who races for Manor Competition in the Formula Renault UK Championship, completed the three-lap course consisting of one cycling, one running and one cycling, in just over 27 minutes. Renault Championship Manager Simon North was second, while Formula Renault UK driver Josh Scott was third. Ginetta Junior racer Simon Austin joined Formula Renault UK’s Dean Stoneman as the other drivers to take part, while Renault Race Centre staff, Apotex Scorpio Motorsport mechanic Steve Lynch and Clerk of the Course Pete Roberts, who ran all three laps, also took part.
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB has become one of the
first national race championships to pledge support for the 'Go
Motorsport' campaign being run by the Motor Sports Association (MSA),
the sport's governing body in the UK.
The ground-breaking campaign has been launched to
encourage participation in all branches of the sport and encompasses
competing, marshalling and spectating. The campaign covers all age
groups, and is designed to show people that getting involved in
motorsport is accessible and easy, whatever the individual's
particular interest.
The support from the Carrera Cup, the fastest
one-make race category in Britain, was unveiled at Oulton Park
yesterday (Friday 25 July), when MSA Chairman Alan Gow joined Carrera
Cup championship manager Marion Barnaby and a number of Carrera Cup
racers. Many of the cars in the Carrera Cup will be carrying 'Go
Motorsport' stickers and it is hoped that the wide appeal of the
championship will help bring the campaign to the notice of fans at the
race tracks as well as those at home watching the action on
television. "We are very pleased to support 'Go Motorsport',"
said Marion Barnaby. "It is important that everyone involved in the
sport gets behind this campaign. Ultimately, if more people become
involved as competitors, officials or spectators, then the whole sport
will benefit."
More details about the 'Go Motorsport' campaign can
be found at www.gomotorsport.net
Sportscar driver David Brabham will contest the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix at Fælledparken , Denmark , 2-3 August 2008. Competing by invitation in Royal Pro-Am, Brabham will race a 1968 Ford Mustang alongside Denmark ’s Christian Nordal. The Royal Pro-Am category will form a veritable who’s who in sportscar racing. Brabham, who sealed his second consecutive GT1 class Le Mans 24-Hour victory in 2008 with the Aston Martin DBR9, will be joined by eight-time Le Mans winner and Danish star Tom Kristensen, Jan Magnussen, Vanina Ickx and Dindo Capello. The elite field will also be joined by HRH Prince Joachim while HRH Princess Marie will present the Royal Pro-Am podium winners with their trophies. “I’m very much looking forward to racing in Copenhagen as well as enjoying the beautiful city and the event with my family,” said Brabs. “It’ll be great fun racing against fellow Le Mans 24-Hour and ALMS drivers on an informal footing but, with the excellent calibre of drivers taking part, the competition is sure to be fierce.” Organised by the Copenhagen Road Racing Company, this historic racing event in the heart of Copenhagen is in its eighth year. For full event details visit www.chgp.dk Ginetta Junior Championship race winner Daniel Lloyd posted the third fastest time in official pre-event testing at Oulton ahead of this weekend’s 15th and 16th rounds of the 2008 season. Leading the way by a full second at the mid-way point of today’s test, Daniel ended the session third fastest with a best time of 1m 48.086 seconds (74.14mph) having run very competitively throughout the hour. Speaking at the conclusion of the 60-minute track session, Daniel said: “We had good speed for the majority of the practice but we did have one or two problems with the car sliding around a bit too much. Obviously, the team will work on that and hopefully everything will be fine for qualifying tomorrow and the races. We changed tyres about halfway through the session and went a second quicker than anyone straight away. The car was very good for the first three laps after the tyre change but then it started to slide again. We need to make it better but we’ve prepared pretty well for the weekend. If I can qualify inside the top four, I’ll be happy with that.” 25-07-08
Tim Harvey was quickest in testing at Oulton
Park today (Friday 25 July) for rounds 13 and 14 of the Porsche
Carrera Cup GB. The top 12 cars were separated by just over a
second and a half which coyuld mean some close and exciting racing
this weekend. Tim Bridgman was second fastest followed by
Michael Caine .
Hillspeed's Michael Lyons has been preparing for this weekend’s prestigious Silverstone Classic event, the new name for the Coys International Historic Festival. Competing in the historic Formula One race at the wheel of his glorious Hesketh 308E, the 17-year-old Felsted racer is also poised to drive alongside his father Frank Lyons in the World Sportscar encounter.
The Wiechers-Sport team, who run Olivier Tielemans' WTCC BMW 320si, have been forced to skip this weekend's races at Brands Hatch."The driver's main sponsor did not meet payments as was provided by the agreement. Therefore we have been obliged to stop and await until the problem is settled. We are confident that this will happen soon, so that we may rejoin for our home race meeting in Oschersleben at the end of August," team manager Dominik Greiner declared. The FIA Touring Car Bureau have taken two decisions that will take effect from this weekend's WTCC event in Brands Hatch. The minimum weight of the Honda Accord Euro R cars will be reduced by a further 10 kilos in addition to the 20-kg reduction resulting from the Bureau's decision of May 28th, 2008. While all diesel cars must have the catalytic converter and the exhaust gas purification system in perfect working order, and therefore must not produce any visible black smoke at any time during the event.. This season’s Formula Renault UK Winter Cup is set to increase in size with 32 registration places available for the four-round series, an increase of four on last year’s event. Once again there will be a separate class for Formula Renault BARCcars, which will race with their engine air restrictor alongside the UK-spec cars. Rounds one and two take place at Croft on Saturday, 1st November followed by the climax at Rockingham on 8th November. The registration fee has been set at £1,750 +VAT with no restriction on the number of BARC -specification cars that can enter, while interest from overseas is also anticipated. Regular Liqui-Moly Team Engstler's driver Andrey Romanov will be forced to miss the WTCC event at Brands Hatch bacause the Russian failed to obtain a visa for the UK. Romanov will rejoin the championship at Oschersleben where he has won a round of the German Procar Championship earlier this season. Triple Touring Car World Champion Andy Priaulx has launched his autobiography at BMW's Mayfair showroom. The book is the inspiring story of an extremely determined man who battled against the odds and performed the role of underdog throughout his entire career. With refreshing honesty, Andy tells of how he fought tooth-and-nail for every sponsor, every car and every penny to achieve his dream of one day becoming a world champion. Highlights of rounds seven and eight of the Formula Renault UK Championship feature in the next edition of ITV’s Motorsport UK show, which has its first airing on Tuesday, 29th July. Adam and Riki Christodoulou shared the race wins at Thruxton. The show also includes a feature on Josh Scott, who scorched to 2nd in round eight
STEFAN Hodgetts will contest this weekend’s ELF Renault Clio Cup races for Total Control Racing, replacing Fulvio Mussi in car 27. The 2007 Clio Cup Championship runner-up won the final round last season, one of five victories.His wins included a rain-affected race at Oulton Park, where he hopes to shine once again, saying: “I only ever go out to win races, I’m not there just to take part. It will take a few laps to settle back into the Clio and get used to it but I’m usually quite quick at learning.” COASTAL Racing’s Carl Bradley picked up the THB Clowes Driver of the Day award for round 13 of the Elf Clio Cup, coming back from a below par qualifying performance to make up 14 places and finish eighth. The round 14 prize of £100 went to Robert Gaffney for his career-best second place, his second podium of the season having been third at Donington Park
Formula Renault UK Graduate Cup drivers Rossi and Dean Stoneman were awarded the THB Clowes Driver of the Day prize for rounds 13 and 14 respectively. It was a second award of the 2008 campaign for Stoneman, who picked up two second places and a win from the three races at Snetterton. Henry Surtees took the award for the postponed round 10. 24-07-08 In 2009 Project 8 Racing (Toyo Tyres Saloons and Production BMW Cup) and will be joining the MSVR stable. This will offer the club some stability in the future. Project 8 will now share billing with series such as GT Cup, Formula Palmer Audi, and the Lotus Elise. Simon Basford won the Project 8 Racing Racing driver of the day award at Snetterton recently. Awarded for his efforts in the Production BMW Cup after qualifying in18th and finishing of 16th, both of which were big improvements from is previous races
Overall
Classification JDC MotorSports will resume the defence of it’s Star Mazda Championship title this weekend (July 26-27) in Rounds 4 & 5 of the series at Portland International Raceway. The Pacific Northwest facility is one of the few tracks at which the team did not achieve success last season, so drivers Joel Miller, Ernesto Otero, Chuck Hulse and Gerry Kraut are all focused on leaving Oregon on a high note. Seeking to provide JDC MotorSports with its second consecutive Star Mazda driver and team titles, Miller enters the Portland doubleheader sitting second in the overall championship fight, a mere two points adrift of the series' leading Charles Hall. Driving the No. 20 MAZDASPEED/K&N Air Filters/Sparco/Redline Oil/JDC MotorSports entry, the Californian took dominant victory in the season-opener at Sebring. He has finished on the podium in all three races since then. The veteran duo of Hulse and Kraut are competing in the Masters category for drivers aged 44 or older, Hulse is the current class leader, winning two of three races in his No. 12 Silicon Salvage/Redline Oil/JDC MotorSports entry. Just four points adrift, Kraut is second in the championship fight, with one victory and a pair of runner-up finishes. For Otero, Round Four will mark the opportunity to build on his first top-10 of the season which came via an eighth place result at Watkins Glen in upstate New York in early June. Piloting the No. 18 Brazilian Green Beef/Redline Oil/JDC MotorSports entry, the Brazilian rookie has shown good speed at every event, but had more than his fair share of bad luck. The first doubleheader of the 2008 Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda is this weeknd at the Rexall Edmonton Indy meeting in Canada,, Andersen Racing's Peter Dempsey, currently third in the Star Mazda championship has announced that LotusWorks will join his group of partners for the series' doubleheader at Portland International Raceway this weekend, July 26-27. LotusWorks is a global provider of technical, construction and management services. "LotusWorks is happy and excited to support Peter Dempsey in the Star Mazda Championship," said Steve Ostrowski, president of LotusCM, the construction Management division of LotusWorks, "We view this as an excellent opportunity to get involved with a young and talented Irish driver. It is also a great way to thank all our customers for being part of LotusWorks. We would like to wish Peter the best of luck." Dempsey has one third-place finish and two fourth-place finishes in Star Mazda this year. Representatives of the FIA WTCC and the President of the FIA Touring Car Commission Jonathan Ashman have confirmed the championship's plan to use biofuel in 2009. The WTCC has measures within its regsto limit the eironmental impact, i.e atalytic converters, unleaded fuel and noise control as well as allowances for alternative fuel sources such as diesel and bio-ethanol. Next year the championship go to second-generation biofuel (2G), as Ashman explained: "So many products can be used as a source for both first and second-generation biofuel. Whereas first generation uses products that are primarily seen as kitchen consumables, 2G biofuel simply doesn't compete with it. Any produce used is what we consider to be waste, or non-food crops. From what I've seen so far, the aspects that fans love about touring car racing, the noise, the excitement and close racing, won't be affected. This is a purely an environmental change." The WTCC's three British drivers were at the WTCC Press conference recently, triple World Champion Andy Priaulx, along with James Thompson and Robert Huff. Each commented on their expectations for the weekend's racing at their home track. "We're hoping for good results especially after a difficult weekend at the last rounds in Estoril," said Honda's Thompson. "Local knowledge should help, and the track suits certain characteristics of our car so fingers crossed." "The fans always make a difference," added Huff who drives for Chevrolet. "We have a lot of family coming, which is a great source of support. I've enjoyed some great results so far this year, the team has really brought consistency to my car and our results reflect that. I'm hoping for a fourth or fifth finish at the weekend so fingers crossed!" "I think finishing in the points would make my weekend," concluded BMW's Priaulx. "SEAT's have been really strong this season so we are fighting to stay in the title chase. Home rounds are always special so I hope to enjoy myself and get some good finishes." 3-07-08 Tim Sugden and Xavier Pompidou will join David Ashburn and Richard Williams at trackspeed Racing for the FIA GT Total 24 Hours of Spa on 3rd August. The pair will join regular drivers David Ashburn and Richard Williams in the Trackspeed Porsche RSR which has been making a solid foundation for itself in the team's first year in the FIA GT Championship. Tim Sugden is sure to be a great asset with his wealth of Porsche and 24 Hour experience for the team's first 24 Hour assault in the Pirelli shod RSR. Likewise the experience of LMES driver and endurance specialist Xavier Pompidou who is also wwell acquainted to Porsches. Xavier demonstrated his pace at the Spa test day when he joined Trackspeed for the first time. Indeed, at the Spa test the team were 4th quickest in the GT2 class.
Simon Pryke followed his Croft win in the BARC Westfields with a second victory at Castle Combe, taking Ben Elliott on the last lap. Andrew Spencer who had been leading the first race before problems intervened nade amends in race 2. leading Pryke over the line for his fifth win of the year. Television
coverage for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
continues this week with another highlights programmes in the Motorsport
UK series. The dedicated Carrera Cup coverage in the Motorsport UK
series continues with action from the Thruxton races and the half-hour
programme will be broadcast as follows: The 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda remains north of the border for Rounds 4 and 5 this weekend with Toronto's James Hinchcliffe hoping for a strong showing as he tackles Edmonton's 1.973-mile City Centre Airport layout. Hinchcliffe is seven points shy of Dutchman Junior Strous, the victor at Mont-Tremblant, but 'Hinch' has every reason to be confident on his native soil following a victory in Round 2 in May. The 'Rexall Edmonton Indy' sees the Atlantic Championship support the unified Indy Racing League for its sole stop in Canada in 2008. "I'm certainly looking forward to getting back out in Edmonton," declared Hinchcliffe. "It's our biggest meeting on this year's schedule -- period. It's obviously going to be a pretty huge event running with the Indy Racing League. As a Canadian it's always great to race on home soil but as it's a double-header weekend in Edmonton it's really a bonus. I've always liked the City Centre Airport track. I was super impressed with it when I first raced there in 2006. "We didn't necessarily have the best of weekend's last time out at Circuit Mont-Tremblant with my fourth place. That's something we have to address as soon as we hit the track as we can't be happy with that kind of result if we're to maintain our push for the championship."
Paul Dobson won the Performance N Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship 2008 race at Mallory Park last weekend but it was touch and go that he would even make the start. An acccident in qualifying(after he had taken pole) saw his Mazda hit the tyres heavily and it was doubtful if he could repair the car in time. However with ‘all hands to the pumps’ he made it.
22-07-08
A1GP season 08-09 will kick-off on September 19-21 at Mugello in Italy . The new season was launched at the track today with the first public run of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car. After six hours of pounding round Snetterton, Simon Phillips and Rob Garofall finally won the VdeV race at the Norfolk circuit with less than a minute in hand over second placed Shaun Balfe and Jamie Derbyshire.
Alexander Rossi Audi returned to its dominating style at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a 1-2 finish in the Acura Sports Car Challenge on Saturday with Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner taking the first overall victory for the R10 TDI since April. Luhr crossed the finish line 7.717 seconds ahead of teammates Emanuele Pirro and Dindo Capello. Two of the leading cars in the Radical Cup UK had their share of dramas at Castle Combe over the weekend. Both Derek Johnston and Terrence Woodward manged to write off their SR8's before the meeting had even got underway. Spare cars were quickly prepared and both went on to win a race apiece with their respective co-pilots(Stuart Moselely and Ross Kaiser). Strakka Racing’s Nick Leventis and Peter Hardman had their race in the 2008 Endurance Touring Car Championship in Misano, Italy ruined on Sunday by a wheel-nut seizing on their BMW M3 GTR. The duo had been heading for a podium finish before the glitch, along with a puncture put paid to their hopes ,. 21-07-08
Fiskens prepared for a Silverstone Classic. After a great meeting at Monza in June, the Fiskens-supported RAC Woodcote Trophy is preparing for another memorable weekend, this time at the Silverstone Classic. The Home of British Motorsport will see the Woodcote Trophy , a series for genuine post-war sports-racers, up to and including December 1955. Motor Racing Legends have assembled a fabulous grid of 46 cars which includes 5 Jaguar D-Types, 3 Jaguar C-Types and 5 Aston Martin DB3s’. Fiskens’ Managing Director Gregor Fisken summarised the thoughts of all the team: “It looks set to be another remarkable weekend for the RAC Woodcote Trophy and we’re delighted to be involved. There are too many special motorcars to pick out just one, but the size of the grid just highlights how historic motorsport continues to thrive.” As well as the Woodcote Trophy races, the Silverstone Classic hosts 19 other races including FIA Historic Formula One, the Group C Series and World Sportscar Masters and the Fiskens team will be out in force in the paddock throughout the weekend. The Woodcote Trophy will be screened live on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) on Saturday 26 July at 11:50. Having dominated the previous HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship race meeting at Snetterton, SEAT Sport UK heads to Oulton Park this weekend (26/27 July) aiming for more race wins with its Leon TDI. ..
Schedules for the next round of TV coverage of
the 2008 Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge have been announced.
Highlights of the races at Snetterton on 20 July will first be screened
on Sky Sports Extra during the early evening of Tuesday 12 August, with
a further seven repeat broadcasts. The Porsche Club Championship and the Porsche Open series will join forces this weekend at the Silverstone Classic to produce 2 races with capacity 48 car grids. As the teams prepare for this weekend's Rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Oulton Park (26/27 July) the battle for the title is hotting up with both Michael Caine and Tim Harvey tieing for the lead in the Championship. A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has entered into a partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government for the hosting rights for the South African A1GP event,. .. Manor Competition are champing at the bit to get to Oulton Park after their successful foray in Formula Renault UK at Snetterton just over a week ago. The team with winning driver Alexander Sims head for he 15th and 16th rounds of the championship this weekend, 26th/27th July, looking for a repeat performance. ...
Jonathan Wright has only lost one race to date in the 2008 Radical Cup until Castle Combe at the weekend. Now it’s two,his PR6 was only second to Ross Edwards in race 1. He staged his usual dominant display in race 2 but Edwards wasn’t there, his PR6’s transmission breaking on the green flag lap Father and son Paul and Daniel Gibson were the winners at their local track, Croft in the Clubmans Cup over the weekend . Howard Payne was second in race one, just 1.4 seconds shy of Daniel while in race 2 Daniel’s Father, Paul led the way home with only 0.7s to spare over his son. Championship leader Mark Charteris was the class of the field in BARC Classic Clubmans races at Croft. Even a spin in round 9 failed to dhard his championship bid. The Juno of Sarah Reader and Ryan Hooker was third in the VdeV race at Snetterton redcently, the second successive podium for the TFLK run Sportscar.
Grand Prix World
Record Attempt at the Silverstone Classic.
With up to 900 drivers competing in 700 cars this weekend’s Silverstone
Classic (25/26/27 July) is already setting records. However on Sunday 27
July a new record will be attempted when over 100 GP/F1 cars, ranging
from the ERAs and Alfa Romeos of the mid-1930s through to the Ferrari’s,
Renault’s and Honda’s, of the 1990s, take to the track to celebrate the
60th Anniversary of the first Grand Prix held at Silverstone in 1948,
which will constitute the greatest number of GP/F1 cars on licensed
Grand Prix circuit at the same time.Over 90 Grand Prix cars will be
racing across three events a the Silverstone Classic this coming
weekend. The FIA Historic Formula One Championship, the Grand Prix
Masters races and the HGPCA Pre 1966 GP races.
Lee Hannan won the first of the Carphone Warehouse Networks Club FF1600 races for Pre 90 cars at Anglesey over the weekend. On Saturday his Reynard FF88 led Nigel Thjompson’s Van Dieman RF88 over the line with 2.149 secs in hand while Douglas Crosbie took third place 2.8 seconds behind the winner. ON Sunday Thompson swapped places with Hannan to take the win by just 0.328 secs with Ian Parkington third in a Reynard 84.
Edwin Jowsey added two more wins to his Formula Junior results with victory in both Edge Club F3 races at Anglesey. Driving an Opel Spice F3 he beat Chris Needham’s Dallara F302 twice , the first time on Saturday by 14 secodns and on Sunday by a closer 2.13 secs. Ray Rowan in a second Dallara was third in each race. Meanwhile Marc Hockin and Dean Cook shared the spoils in the Dunlop TVR Challenge with a win a-piece. Hockin beating Cook in race 1 on Saturday while Cook reversed the positions on Sunday.
The Cockshoot
Cup took place on Saturday at Anglesey with Michael Peters
winning comfortably from Peter Bramble and Alan Bates. While on Sunday
the SSRC Sports 2000 Duratec Championship race was won by Richard
Johnson
Chris Brighton’s Sunbeam Tiger
Menasheh Idafar endured a day to forget at Croft in the Formula Renault BARC Championship after he was excluded from the first race after finishing a fine third and was then ‘punted’ out of the second race at the first corner. Michelin is to become the tyre partner to A1GP series starting in the new 2008/09 season. The French company has inked a three year deal to provide tyres for the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car… Formula BMW Pacific points leader Ross Jamison (18/HKG/Meritus) put in a faultless performance to take Round 11 at Indonesia's Sentul International Circuit holding off Junior racer Chris Wootton (19/AUS/Meritus) for much of the race, to take victory from pole. Second was Team E-Rain's Sean McDonagh, who had started from 4th on the grid, with winner of Round 10, Melvin Moh (20/MAS/Team Holzer PFX) taking the final podium place. Malaysian Moh took his maiden victory in Round 10, the first win for Team Holzer PFX. Moh also becomes the first graduate of the Petronas Formula Xperience (PFX) driver training academy, to win a Formula BMW Pacific race. Second was Formula BMW Junior Simon Moss (RSA/Mahara) followed by fellow Junior Chris Wootton (19/AUS/Meritus). Jamison now has a 22 point lead over McDonagh with Simon Moss 3rd. James Davidson crossed the line to win the Firestone Indylights second race at Mid Ohio after erstwhile race-leader Jonny Reid of Integra Motorspors had entered the pitlane in error after he believed a flag-station on the backstretch marked the start/finish line and the end of the race! Wade Cunningham was second with Pablo Donoso third, while poor Jonny Reid ended up ninth! Earlier Raphael Matos beat Franck Perera to win the opening race with Richard Antinucci third.... 20-07-08
The URS Classic Formula Ford 1600 races at Croft today(Sunday) were both won by Joe Walton in a Crossle 25f with Amanda Whitaker's Elden Mk8 second each time. In race 1 she was 3.661secs behind while in race 2 the gap was just 2.8 secs. Paul Walton took third in race one while Stuart kestenbaum took the final podium spot in race 2. In the FF2000 races Tom Pope took the opener in his Reynard SF81 by just under 2 secs from Erik Pagano with Lawrence Denne third. It all came right for Pagano in race 2 his Van Dieman RF82 wining ahead of Lawrence Denne's similar car by 2.056secs with Andy Huxtable a distant third
In the DDMC's Northern Sports and
Saloons Championship races at Croft on Saturday David Headen came
out on top in the race from Classes AEFG driving a Caterham R400. Second
was Paul Gibson's Lamboghini Gallardo(pictured below -
pic Paul Williams David Brabham once again underlined his bid got the American Le Mans Series LMP2 title with a fine second place(fourth overall) at Mid Ohio yesterday(Saturday). Driving in the Acura Sports Car Challenge Brabham came second right on the tail of class winner Romain Dumas. Nick Percat continued to dominate in the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship today at Queensland Raceway winning both races to add to his win yesterday. Kristian Linborn was once again is main opposition, finishing second in both races. Percat has now closed to the gap to Championship leader Paul Laskazeski to.40 points. Hillspeed celebrated its fourth pole position in the 2008 Formula Renault BARC series at Croft Circuit on Saturday, 19th July with Menasheh Idafar fastest for Round 7. For the first race today Idafar will start third after his second place time was disallowed due to a red flag infringement. His team-mate Ahmad Al Harthy looked very well placed to achieve second row grid starts for both of the weekend’s 14-lap encounters but the abundance of stoppages, three in total, compromised each run for the Omani. In the end his best lap of 1m 21.844 seconds (93.47mph) puts him sixth on the grid for round six. Al Harthy’s second fastest lap, a time of 1m 21.963 seconds, sees him start Sunday’s second race from seventh place. Michael Lyons suffered badly with the red flags and missed out on realising his potential, starting 13th on the grid for the weekend’s opening race while in round seven he is in 12th. Team boss Richard Ollerenshaw said: “Obviously we’re very happy to see Menasheh on pole position again for the second race but the red flags were very frustrating for all three of our guys. We’re confident ahead of tomorrow though and we’re expecting a great team performance from Menasheh, Ahmad and Mick. Regarding Menasheh’s disallowed lap, from our point of view we don’t agree in as much as the car he passed under red flags had slowed considerably and he thought it was grinding to a halt. In his eyes, he had no option other than to pass it. He was also unsighted to the flags but we do accept the decision and feel it was handled fairly.” 19-07-08 Sonic Motorsport's
Nick Percat driving a Mygale won the opening race in the Genuine
Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford series at Queensland Raceway
today(Sat). Percat, qho had qualified on pole, led from start to finish
to cross the l Formula BMW Americas Championship leader Alexander Rossi is driving for Eurointernational this weekend in the Formula BMW Europe Rounds 7 & 8 at Hockenheim alongside the German GP. This is Rossi’s first visit to Hockenheim and he is the only American in the field. After practice and qualifying Alexander will start Round 7 in 10th and Round 8 in an impressive 7th with a best of 1:45.958. Rossi commented, “The Eurointernational car was fantastic and good everywhere. I was loosing a bit of time in the final double apex corner leading on to the front straight in qualifying. This is a tricky corner but shouldn’t be a problem in the race fighting for position. Not having turned many laps here my qualifying expectations are still better than this effort. There is more time to find tomorrow and Sunday. I am thankful that my team owner, Antonio Ferrari made this weekend possible at the last minute and looking forward to racing these two rounds.”
The Silverstone Classic next weekend(25-27 July) is going to be a truly global event, with 99 drivers coming from various parts of the planet to race at the track. .. David Brabham will line up on the front row of the grid for round 6 of the American Le Mans Series, the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio, on Saturday 19 July. Fresh from his pole position and second win of the season last weekend in the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock, the team’s home track, the Aussie topped the timesheets with a :08.193 for several laps. In a three-way battle for pole, with Timo Bernhard in the Penske Racing Porsche lurking in third, de Ferran posted a time of 1:07.969 towards the end of the session that could not be challenged. “After a fantastic result last weekend at Lime Rock, we’re pleased to be back in the frame and on the front row,” said Brabham. “The car feels good. The Patron Highcroft Racing team have done a fantastic job of developing the car and it just keeps getting better. Our qualifying run was the best of the week so far, so we are confident in the knowledge that we have a good race-day car underneath us. We are looking strong for the race but anything can happen and we’ll just be aiming to keep it clean and get to the finish.” With Brabham’s team mate Scott Sharp starting tomorrow’s round six in the Acura ARX-01b, the dynamic duo will be aiming to clinch their third win of the season and close the 24-point gap to LMP2 championship leaders Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. Brabham and Sharp lie second on 78 points, with Butch Leitzinger, Marino Franchitti, Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long all tied for third on 52.
Daniel Lloyd is looking for another race victory in the Ginetta Juniors at Oulton Park next weekend, 26th/27th July. Having won already this season Lloyd is currently third in the championmship behind Zamparelli and Thomas Carnaby..
Jonathan Ridley-Holloway will be at Oulton Park next weekend looking for his first top six finish in the ELF Renault Clio Cup. Ahead of the 15th and 16th rounds of the 2008 season, the 24-year-old is feeling positive after some good performances at Snetterton last time out which included a scrap with multiple Champion Paul Rivett. “Oulton should be good, if we can get qualifying sorted we know we can race well so a start on the first three or four rows could really bring a fantastic result”, said Jonathan, “Things have really started moving in the right direction lately as far as the races are concerned, it’s just qualifying which we haven’t been able to get right. I really like Oulton Park, the up and down nature of the circuit is great fun and there are some great corners – Cascades is mega! Last weekend we were on quite a flat circuit at Snetterton so the contrast and challenge of Oulton will be good. I think we’ll go well.” Jonathan is currently in 15th position in the championship standings with four top 10. After his first race win in the 2008 Formula Renault UK season last Saturday, Alexander Sims can’t wait for the Oulton Park and the next round on 26th/27th July. Now second place in the driver standings, his richly deserved and long overdue victory last weekend was backed up with another podium on Sunday. “After our win at Snetterton I’m fully focused on achieving more of the same at Oulton and I think we should be in good shape to make that happen”, said the Cambridgeshire sensation, “We have suffered a bit with a lack of power from the engine compared to some of the others at the front but hopefully that will be sorted out in time. Oulton isn’t a circuit I would say is totally engine dependant anyway, it’s quite technical and our pace has been good there in testing so I’m confident we should be able to fight for podiums and, more importantly, wins. Oulton Park is a nice track to drive but all of the circuits are pretty much the same to me – they all have straights and corners!” The new Volvo
C30 in Super 2000 will make
its maiden appearance in the FIA WTCC at Brands Hatch. Entered by the
Volvo Olsbergs Green Racing and driven by Robert Dahlgren, it is fitted
with a bio-ethanol fuel-powered engine. Because the car runs in the
Swedish Touring Car Championship on the basis of national homologation,
it will be admitted to take part at Brands Hatch with a special
authorization by the FIA but won’t be eligible to score championship
points. The WTCC will have a field of 28 cars at Brands Hatch. Besides Dahlgren's Volvo there will be Lourenço Beirão da Veiga and Aytaç Biter. Beirão da Veiga, from Lisbon, has won his participation at the wheel of a SUNRED SEAT León through the SEAT Eurocup. The Portuguese claimed victory in the second race at Estoril and emerged as the best driver in his home event. Biter, from Turkey, will join his fellow countryman Ibrahim Okyay in the Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport's second BMW 320si car At Estoril Gabriele Tarquini was the first driver to receive the maximum 70-kg success ballast. But after remaining scoreless in Portugal the championship leader will go down to 58, leaving to his team-mate Yvan Muller the dubious honour to carry the maximum ballast. Rickard Rydell, currently third in the points, will have 68 kilos, with BMW's Andy Priaulx and Chevrolet's Nicola Larini the only other drivers to carry 50 or more kilos of ballast Next weekend’s SEAT Championship rounds at Oulton Park will see Andrew Herron bidding to make an impact on the four drivers ahead of him in the championship. “Oulton hasn’t been one of my better circuits up to now, I struggled there a bit last year in the Clios but the way I’m going now in the SEAT I don’t see why I can’t turn things around and make it a good circuit for me”, said the Northern Irishman. “I don’t like the track all that much but I’m putting that out of my mind and focusing on doing well. I’m confident in my driving and that’s the approach I’ll take into the weekend, hopefully we’ll end up with some strong results. Even though it’s not one of my best circuits, I’m still looking forward to it and I want to fight for podiums.I really want to win my first race in SEAT but I’m not necessarily expecting to be in a position to do that at Oulton”, added Andrew, “The main thing will be to close-up on the four drivers ahead of me in the championship. Hopefully I can come away with two really good results and plenty of points.”
17-07-08
Team Aluminos were at the fourth round of the ProKart Challenge North series at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway in California last weekend. Team owner Rob Soares return to the action after breaing his hand earlier in the season to win both his heats and his final. PSL Karting were at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin last weekend as Trois-Rivieres-based team took part in the Snap-on Stars of Karting Presented by IndyCar Series national championship. The team had a mixed weekend with ICC driver taking their only podium of the event. Meanwhile Josh Schreiber picked up a couple of top-10s places and a fourth place in Race 1..
The Silverstone Classic next weekend(25-27 July) has a very impressive entry list of over 700 racing drivers, Among these are some of the most successful drivers in historic racing, like Jackie Oliver and Andy Wallace to name but two. Bardon/JHR driver Robert Lawson seemed to be heading for the SEAT Cupra Championship title in the opening races of the year but that was before Carl Breeze(Blue Chip/Welch Motorsport) and Jonathon Adam(Total Control Racing) got on the case. Heading into Rounds 13 and 14 at Oulton Park next week (July 26/27), Lawson is now only 27 points in front of Breeze who has a resurgent Jonathan Adam on his tail, just another 3 points adrift. .
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Ltd (CAMS) is offering Australia's up-and-coming young drivers the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) as part of the CAMS Junior Driver Development Program in 2008. The AIS in Canberra leads in the development of athletes with world-class facilities and support services, and together with CAMS, is offering young drivers the chance to take their level of physical and mental preparation to the next level. The programme will focus on elements of nutrition, physiology, psychology, strength and conditioning and media training. Drivers from all disciplines of motorsport are encouraged to apply. The successful 2008 squad members will be announced in mid-August, followed by the camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in late August 2008. Nominations are now open and close on Friday 4 August 2008. Dennis Johns in the Geyser Attorneys Rhema 2 and he came away with maximum points a tthe recent South African Super Vee round at East London. Johns not only won both races but took the bonus point, for fastest lap of the race. In the process, he also shattered the existing lap record, setting the new mark at, 1 minute 31.600 seconds.. Formula BMW Europe returns to action this coming weekend at Hockenheim. The seventh and eighth races of the season in the junior series will take place alongside the German Grand Prix. 29 drivers from 16 countries will do battle with Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez (Josef Kaufmann Racing), leading the Championship on 164 points after four wins from six races. Second and third are Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing, 132 points) and Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing, 110 points) respectively. The three German competitors in Formula BMW Europe can look forward to a relatively short trip, Hockenheim Bastian Graber's (DE/AM-Holzer Rennsport) home in Niddatal, in the state of Hessen is about 90 miles away Wittmann has 120 miles to travel from Markt Erlbach near Nuremberg, and David Mengesdorf (DE/Mucke Motorsport) faces a 200 mile journey from Wolnzach in Bavaria. 16-07-08
The final Stars of Karting Eastern Division round at the USA International Raceway in Shawano, Wisconsin, wasn't easy for the Champion Racing / Intrepid USA drivers but ICC driver Jordy Vorrath and TaG pilot Joey Wimsett got onto the podium. A De Tomso 505, one of the rarest and most unusual Formula 1 cars of the 3-litre era, will be back in action this summer. Designed by Gian-Paolo Dallara in 1970, will race next weekend in the Grand Prix masters events at the Silverstone Classic on July 25-57. The BRSCC is at Anglesey this weekend for the third of four visits this season. There are eight races on Saturday and nine on Sunday. There is single seater with Club Formula Ford, Edge Club F3 and the Historic Formula Juniors. Alonside these are the Ford XR Challenge and the Porsche 924 Championship plus the Sports 2000 Duratecs & Pintos, the Dunlop TVR Challenge and finally the MG Cockshoot Cup. The full timetable and final instructions can be found at; http://www.brscc.co.uk/calendar/77.html Panther Racing were at Nashville Superspeedway with the Indy Lights and took a solid sixth-place with Vitor Meira in the No. 4 Delphi National Guard car. Next, up for Meira is the Mid-Ohio Sports car Course this weekend for teh Honda Indy 200 along with Firestone Indy Lights teammates Dillon Battistini and Brent Sherman Mike Vincec was racing at Shawano Wisconsin last weekend in the East Division championship in the Snap-on Stars of Karting series presented by Indy Racing League. Mike, who drives for Cameron Motorsports took the overall victory with two second places in Sunday’s Divisional points races
Top Hat Race Day at Castle Combe on Saturday 2nd August. Grids for this event are already looking pretty full but with a starting capacity of 42 cars there is always room for a few more so call us the Masters office if you wish to race. .. Kevin Shortis, who is heading up the Club Fiesta Junior initiative, will be at Brands Hatch on Sunday 17th August to meet potential competitors and explain the way the organisers see it working. Potential competitors are being invited to come and meet up with those involved. Invitations are extended to any potential competitor who will be between the ages of 14 and 16 on 1st June 2009 to come as guests of Club Formula Junior. The first ten applicants will be able to take advantage of full hospitality in the BRSCC suite. Others may still attend, but with general admission tickets (supplied on request). Apply to Club Fiesta Junior, email clubmotorsportuk@aol.com
The ever popular LMA Euro Saloons & Sports Car Championship is so popular it now requires split grids for all the cars. Last weekend’s double header at Rockingham saw Classes A, D & F grouped together, while the Classes B & C went their separate way as well. Nick Williamson’s Escort Cossie won the first race in Class A/D while Steven Taylor took the second in his Lotus Exige. Class B/C went to Rhys Lloyd’s SEAT Leon MSV is running a test day at Brands Hatch on Friday 15th August, the day before the two day BRSCC meeting at the circuit. Costs are; £210.00 for a full day, £140.00 for a half day and a garage at £75.00. James Gornall and Jon Barnes came away from Brands Hatch as the Avon Tyres British GT champions. The Trimite Brookspeed Viper drivers took first place in the first of the two races at Brands Hatch meaning they only required a single point from the remainder of the season to become mathematically uncatchable. This was soon achieved with a seventh place in the second of the weekends 1 hour races. Barens said 'Were champions now so we should be pretty happy' Gornall commented 'We have had some good luck and some bad luck this year, we saw Simonsen come into the pits, he obviously had a problem which gave us the Championship'
Paul O'Neill will race in the next rounds (13-14)of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Oulton Park next weekend (26/27 July), in the PCGB entry in the pro category. O'Neill, originally from Liverpool, is one of Britain's most versatile racers and is a former touring car race winner at Oulton Park. He will tell the story of his races in the 911GT3 Cup car in a feature for Motorsport News, one of the UK's leading motor sport magazines. "It will be great to race with Porsche again," said O'Neill. "I'm really looking forward to racing the latest car and I want to repay them for giving me the chance to race a quick car. The last time I raced the Porsche at Oulton in 2006 was something else. The car is extraordinary." O'Neill has driven a variety of cars already this season, several of them for Motorsport News. " I've been very fortunate to race a few different cars and this will be my fourth race at Oulton Park this year." O'Neill will have his first run in the 2008-model 911GT3 Cup car during testing at Oulton Park on the Friday of the race weekend. Charles Pic's Renault 3.5 race at the Hungaroring last week ended in disappointment when a slow puncture spun him out of a potential podium place. In the second race Charles went for points rather than glory and finished in ninth. 15-07-08
Motor Racing stars from the past and present paid tribute to Lola at the Goodwood Festical of Speed last weeknd. From John Surtees through Damon Hill and on to Sebastien Bourdais they all paid tribute to the manufacturer and it’s Golden Anniversary.. Gregor Fiskens Kart Racer Mackenzie Taylor came home in a great 3rd place at Alcaniz in Spain on Sunday 13 July in the Western Region qualifying race for the European KF3 Championships, helds at Varennes, France on September (6/7). Kieren Clark picked up a solid tenth place in the postponed tenth round of the Formula Renault UK championship at Snetterton. A damaged front wing slowed him down in round 11 on Sunday morning dropping him to 15th , which is exactly where he finished in Round 12 Ana Beatriz became the first female driver to win in the Firestone Indy Lights, winning the Sunbelt Rentals 100. Beatriz, who started second, passed Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate and polesitter James Davison on Lap 33 and led the rest of the way. Bobby Wilson finished second with Arie Luyendyk Jr., third Scott Dixon's victory in the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway was the 100th for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams in six motorsports series since its inception in 1990 as a one-car Indy car racing program. It was the fourth victory of the season for the driver of the No. 9 car, which assisted in pushing his IndyCar Series points lead to 63 over Team Penske's Helio Castroneves (finished third) as the series travels to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this week. Dixon led 53 of the 171 laps in the Honda-powered Dallara before the race was called.
Sergio Perez won his fourth race of 2008 in the British F3 Championship at Brands Hatch after making a great start in Round 14. Jaime Alguersuari dominated Round 13 leading from lights-to-flag, a red flag, which came out after 16 laps following an accident for Alistair Jackson at Surtees…read report As the Formula Master season reaches halfway point, Chris van der Drift leads the Title chase with 47 points, following a strong weekend in Estoril, where the 22-year-old took a second and fourth place.Ten points behind in second is Michael Ammermüller, the only driver to score points in every round. A third and eighth place finish this weekend ensure the German’s status as the most consistent point-scorer of the Formula Master field. Harald Schlegelmilch is third with 29 points, whilst Fabio Leimer is fourth, just one point behind, after winning his first race on Saturday and a seventh-place finish on Sunday, increasing his tally to 28 points. Kasper Andersen follows in fifth place with 27 points after collecting a further seven points this weekend, continuing his steady performance this year. With 24 points, Vladimir Arabadzhiev is ahead of Arturo Llobell who currently holds 20.5 points. Both enjoyed a great Sunday race this weekend, scoring a win and second place respectively. Sergey Afanasiev (18 points), Norbert Siedler (17 points) and Pablo Sanchez Lopez (14.5) points complete the top ten, showing Formula Master’s strong international mix: the top ten drivers represent ten different nations. Team JD Motorsport leads the Teams championship with 89 points, ahead of Trident Racing who hold 64 points. Freddy Nordstrom got his first podium in the SEAT Cupra Championship on Sunday with an excellent second place at Snetterton..
Robert Lawson may not have won at Snetterton
but he did take two podiums to keep his healthy 28 point cushion at the
top of
the SEAT Cupra Championship ..
Phil Quaife made the podium SEAT Cupra Championship driver Andrew Herron collected a podium finish at Snetterton on Sunday(13 July) to stay in fifth place in the SEAT Cupra Championship . Sam Hancock took his first pole of 2008 and his team,Jota Sport’s first ever in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, as at Snetterton over the weekend. He followed this up with a good second and fourth places in the races Walter Grubmüller came sixth in the first race at Brands Hatch in the British Formula 3 International Series on Sunday followed by an 8th in race two. His team-mate Max Chilton recovered from an accident in the opening race, to take an amazing tenth place in race two, despite an injured right foot... Manor Competition's Alexander Sims completed his weekend in the Formula Renault UK series in fine style adding a third place to his win on Saturday rounding off a memorable weekend for both him and his team. 14-07-08
Paul Taylor and Jamie Perry were the winners in the Volkswagen Racing Cup on Sunday at Brands Hatch, reprising their Thruxton performances last time out. Tjhier wins makes them the only drivers to win three races this season. Joe Fulbrook meanwhile kept his finishing record intact to keep his lead in the Ttile chase
Alexander Rossi won once again in the Formula BMW Americas series, this time at Lime Rock on Sunday, his fourth win of the year. The SEAT Cupras had 3 races at Snetterton, with the addition of the postponed Round 10 from Croft. Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Adam took two wins with Carl Breeze grabbing the other. Breeze also took a 3rd and 4th top close in on Robert Lawson in the Championship
Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk had a hard time at the HiQ BTCC yesterday(Sunday 13 July) at Snetterton, . although both cars finished in the Independents Trophy points in the final race. Victor Correa followed Adrian Campfield’s debut win in British Formula Ford with his own in the second race of the day at Brands Hatch. The Spectrum driver’s win in Round 19 was followed by the young Brazilian in Round 20 when he beat his Jamun team-mate and championship leader Wayne Boyd George Richardson won the 14th round of the Ginetta Junior Championship at Snetterton yesterday(*Sunday), leading home team-mates Thomas Carnaby, the winner on Saturday, and Josh Hill to complete a Tollbar Racing top three .
Jonathan Ridley-Holloway produced an excellent performance in the Elf Clio Cup’s 14th Round yesterday at Snetterton finishing in ninth place.. Leanne Tander picked up 18 points in the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Eastern Creek to go level on points with Nathan Caratti at the top of the table. TanderSport’s ther drivers Ben Crighton and Mathew Radisich also had a good day at the ‘office’ in the National Class delivering career-best performances Daniel Lloyd was disappointed with his fifth place finish in Sunday’s Ginetta Jnr race, although he did hold onto his third place in the Championship. Alexander Sims got his Formula Renault Championship back on track at the weekend with his first win of the year on Saturday and yet another podium on Sunday.. Former Caterham Champion Jon Barnes added a further title to his impressive racing CV today at Brands Hatch, the Trimite Brookspeed Dodge Viper pilot and his co-driver James Gornall clinching the Avon Tyres British GT Championship crown. Barnes was the 2004 Caterham Eurocup Champion and won the CSR Masters title the following season.
Jason Plato and SEAT Sport UK won two of the three rounds of the HiQ MSA BTCC at Snetterton on Sunday with Mat Jackson winning the third and final race in his BMW. CR Scuderia’s Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin won Round 12 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Brands Hatch with Luke Hines and Jeremy Metcalfe promoted from third to second after second placed Nick Foster’s RPM Viper was penalised a minute for taking off Michael Meadows and James Sutton with seven minutes of the race remaining. More on Jeremy Metcalfe’s second place in the British GTs Close exciting racing and exposure for sponsors and partners are the criteria for A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and its new Ferrari for season four. With this in mind the chassis already has a re-designed engine cover. A1GP Chief Commercial Officer, Scott Hollingsworth, explained the reasoning behind this: “With all the cars being identical we have flexibility to make sure we deliver our promises to both our sponsors and fans. This enlarged engine cover allows a much higher profile position, while delivering the on track performance we demand. We are working hard to make sure our commercial partners get the most out of their association with A1GP.” The computer graphic of the car with its new bodywork, which will be revealed at the Mugello launch on the 22nd July, Ben Winrow has won once again in the Elf Renault Clio Cup, his second double victory of the season, this time at Snetterton. The two wins have extended his lead in the Championship to 87-points with just six races remaining. Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman had a lights-to-flag victory at Snetterton in the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship yesterday(13th July). After a superb start he was never threatened winning comfortably. James Calado driving for Fortec was second with Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims third Michael Doyle
had his best result in the BTCC
Sam Bird took his first F3 Euroseries Podium on Saturday at Zandvoort after Nico Hulkenberg was excluded for being overweight. Sam’s fourth place finish was therefore moved up to third. 13-07-08 Tim Harvey had a perfect day in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton today (Sunday 13 July), Wining twice and moving level with Michael Caine at the head of the championship standings, not a bad days work..
Engine woes sideline James Thompson in Estoril WTCC. Despite working hard the whole night to fix the engine problems, N.technology woes continued in Sunday morning's warm up. James Thompson did not manage to complete the first lap out of the pits before his Honda Accord stopped and had to be towed back to the garage. This was the third engine failure of the weekend after 2occurred in Saturday's practice and after trying in vain to fix it in time for the races, the team was forced to withdraw. Tim Harvey did his
Porsche Carrera Cup title hopes no harm at Snettertion in Round 11 when
he took a comfortable win while his rivals Michael Caine and Tim
Bridgman both hit trouble. Alexander Sims has finally got his win in the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship threatening for so long. After repeatedly setting fast times in testing and taking podium places he got his first win at Snetterton yesterday in Round 10, the race originally scheduled at Croft before it was postponed due to rain. In then second race of the weekend, run this morning, James Calado was another driver taking his maiden victory, although in his case it was a first ever in of his car racing career .
After finishing in ninth place yesterday in the Avon Tyres British GT race at Brands Hatch Jeremy Metcalfe's bid for the championship is now out of reach. With just 3 races left he now has to aim for joint-third in the standings..
Ben Winrow won his seventh race of the year in the ELF Renault Clio Cup to extend his championship lead over Paul Rivett. The Team Pyro driver headed Full Speed Racing’s Phil Glew by just 0.363s at Snetterton with Robertshaw Racing's Matt Allison third . Tollbar Racing’s Thomas Carnaby won the 13th round of the Ginetta Junior Championship yesterday at Snetterton after a three-way scrap with team-mates George Richardson and Josh Hill. . BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Scholarship Winner Daniel Lloyd put in a gritty performance at Snetterton yesterday in the Ginetta Junior Championship taking a good fourth place from sixth on the grid. Hitech Racing driver Walter Grubmüller will line up on the fourth row for Round 13 of the British Formula 3 International Series at Brands Hatch today. The Austrian posted the ninth quickest time in session one with Briton Max Chilton 13th. However several drivers were penalised for overtaking or not slowing down under yellow flags and the pair were elevated to seventh and 10th respectively. In the second session Walter was 11th quickest with Max 12th ahead of the two races to be held at the Kent track today 12-07-08
Fortec Motorsport’s James Calado and Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman took pole position for this weekend’s Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship races at Snetterton during qualifying today. In session one, which set the grid for round 13, Calado claimed pole position with a 1min 04.546s (108.85mph) coming on his final flying lap. Second was his Fortec team-mate Riki Christodoulou 0.190s behind with Stoneman in third. Fortec’s Adriano Buzaid edged out championship leader Adam Christodoulou in fourth and fifth, while CR Scuderia Formula Renault’s Scott Jenkins was sixth. Row four had Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims alongside Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes with Manor’s Kris Loane and CR Scuderia’s Jesse Krohn on row five. Session two set the grid for tomorrow’s round 14 and saw Stoneman top the times with a lap of 1min 04.636s (108.71mph). Calado ended his superb day with a second front-row slot ahead of Fortec team-mates Riki Christodoulou and Buzaid. Sims improved on his morning performance to take fifth and relegate Adam Christodoulou to sixth, with Loane and Oakes on row four. Fortec’s Oli Webb broke into the top 10 with ninth place with Jenkins in 10th. Nathan Caratti broke the F3 Lap record at Eastern Creek in qualifying today for this weekend's sixth round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship. Caratti put in a 1m23.1216 this morning to take his second pole position of the season with team-mate James Winslow second and Leanne Tander third. The same trio took the top 3 places for the second race, although Winslow did close the gap to his team-mate.. The results from the recent fifth round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Phillip Island were made official yesterday following a hearing held by series’ race officials at Eastern Creek. Race stewards have ruled that no penalty will be issued to race two winner James Winslow following an incident investigated that involved the cars of Leanne Tander and Stuart Kostera overlapping Winslow on a race restart in race two. Thus the results from that race and the championship standings issued following the round are official. This leaves Nathan Carrati top with 128 points ahead of James Winslow and Leanne Tander, both on 110 with Nel McFadyen fourth on 99. 11-07-08
The Firestone Indy Lights makes its seventh visit to the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway, the only concrete facility on the calendar. The concrete surface puts a premium on handling as track conditions change throughout the race. Along with Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway is one of only three tracks to have played host to the Firestone Indy Lights every season since its inception in 2002. Richard Antinucci drives the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. He will be making his first start at Nashville. Sean Guthrie, driver of the No. 4 Carcrafters Guthrie Racing car will make his third start at Nashville this weekend in search of his first win. Finally Arie Luyendyk Jr., driving for Andretti Green Racing in the AFS Racing car, also seeks his first win at Nashville. The second-generation driver, who finished second in the inaugural Nashville race in 2002. JDC MotorSports duo of Chris Miller and Juan Pfeiffer return to action this weekend for Rounds 7 & 8 of the F2000 Championship Series Presented by Hoosier Racing Tire at Mid-Ohio. Miller is contesting his first full season of open wheel racing drives the Miller Milling/JDC MotorSports entry. So far he has had 2 podiums and has not finished outside the top-10 in the opening six rounds and is third in the championship . Columbian Pfeiffer also has only a limited amount of open-wheel experience, the driver of the Miller Milling/JDC MotorSports car has been among the lead pack at each the opening three events coming away with four top-10 finishes from 6 races. Scott Sharp will return to his home track of Lime Rock for the first time in 15 years this weekend at the ALMS Northeast Grand Prix. His move this season from the IRL to ALMS brings his career full-circle, as he began his career racing sports cars. The son of six-time SCCA national champion Bob Sharp, he got an early taste for sports-car racing at Lime Rock. Sharp made his mark in the sports-car arena by winning the SCCA GT2, GT1 (twice) and two Trans-Am Championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 2008 season marks Scott's debut in the American Le Mans Series for Patrón Highcroft Racing, a Danbury, CT-based team that is fielding an Acura ARX-01b in LMP2. The ALMS Northeast Grand Prix is race is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET tomorrow, Saturday, July 12 Australian Mini Challenge driver Scott Bargwanna will be racing in his Australian GT Championship Lotus at Eastern Creek this weekend.
Team BRM went about some practice domination ahead of this weekends’
sixth round of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3
Championship for the Gold Star today at Eastern Creek. The Adelaide
outfit’s cars were first, second and third in both sessions. Nathan
Caratti in the Parklands on Bertram Dallara F307 was fastest in both
sessions, his best a 1m25.3496s in practice one, where he was .39s
quicker than team-mate James Winslow’s Drivingsolutions.com.au Dallara
and F3 returnee Chris Alajajian,(right) In the Aussie F3 National Class at Eastern Creek Tim Macrow (R-Tek Motorsport Dallara F304 – Spiess) was quickest overall, his 1m26.96s coming in second practice where he was less than 1.5 seconds behind the faster, new-generation, championship class cars. Chris Gilmour (All Properties Group) was fastest in the F3 ‘race-within-a-race’ in practice one. Andrew Mill looks set to close out the Trophy Class championship battle with a strong weekend at Eastern Creek, and appropriately topped both practice sessions in his class. F3 newcomer Steve Morcombe made his on-track debut in his ex-Fortec / Mansell Dallara F307 and ran reliably in both sessions. Qualifying for Sunday’s 2 races are tomorrow. Queensland MINI CHALLENGE racer, Todd Wanless, returned to more familiar territory in the USA over the past week, beginning his first US racing tour. He started out strongly finishing fifth at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota . Wanless then went on to the Brad Doty Classic at Limaland , Ohio . Up against the cream of world Sprintcar competition, Wanless rolled in his heat race and didn’t advance from the B-Main, finishing 11th. A highlight was out-qualifying World of Outlaws hotshots, Craig Dollansky and Daryn Pittman Australian Mini Challenge racer Nathan Callaghan, will return to Malaysia for the Sepang 12 Hour race, where he will race a Proton in on the weekend of August 29-31. He has ‘rocked around the clock’ at the Malaysian Grand Prix venue twice before. Officials have extended an invitation to International Mini Challenge racers to go to Australia and compete at Bathurst as part of the Supercheap Auto 1000 support card. With Mini Challenge Championship’s growing throughout the world, Series organisers are hopeful of attracting some international interest for the marque’s return to the Mountain, some 42 years after Bob Holden and Rauno Aaltonen led a nine MINI domination of the Gallaher 500. The race will be held over the weekend of October 9-12. ELF Renault Clio Cup organisers have hailed the introduction of judicial cameras into every competitor’s car after seeing a significant reduction in the number of driving standards penalties imposed in 2008. The cameras have been used since the start of the season leading to the drop in the number penalties. Comparing the first 12 races of 2008 with the 12 championship rounds held in 2007, the number of individual drivers penalised has fallen from 20 to 14. The total number of penalties issued that carry a licence endorsement, and are therefore deducted from a driver’s championship score, has fallen from 24 to 18. Commenting on the introduction Clio Cup Clerk of the Course Ian Watson said: “In terms of the judicial process, what the cameras enable us to do is view incidents from a driver’s point of view using high quality images. It ensures we have strong evidence immediately available to support observers’ reports and drivers’ comments, which may not contain full details given the speed with which incidents happen.” Coastal Racing driver and Team Manager Carl Bradley, who joined Clio Cup in 2007, said: “Last year if someone rubbed you, you felt like you wanted to get them back but this year you know you can’t do that because of the cameras. It’s definitely helped and is a deterrent to the smaller rubs and nudges, I think big lunges on the last lap are a part of racing. It’s also good to see the action after the race and the Clerk may see that a move is a simple error instead of being malicious and give you two points, rather than the possibility of losing places or even being excluded. The Mini Challenge, in which we also run a team, has introduced a similar scheme after its success in Clio Cup.” Austrian driver Niki Lanik, double Clio Winter Cup champion, said: “The two main incidents I’ve been involved in this year have seen the person responsible penalised, which is a good thing and that’s down to every car having a camera. People will think about their overtaking because they don’t want to look stupid on camera. In my opinion the cameras have calmed everyone down.”  Formula Renault BARC Championship team Hillspeed has high hopes
for the sixth and seventh rounds of the season at Croft next weekend,
19th/20th July, when the 2008 campaign resumes after a two month
break. With its three drivers, Menasheh Idafar, Ahmad Al Harthy(pictured) and
Michael Lyons, currently lying in second, equal fifth and 12th
position respectively in the headline FR2000 Class driver standings,
the Hathersage based team is confident it will be able to kick off the
second half of the championship with a set of excellent results. For
British-born Bahraini Idafar, his first full year as a Hillspeed
driver has been outstanding, with 4 podium finishes and 3 poles.
Oman’s Al Harthy, meanwhile, has been similarly strong so far with
only the misfortune of a suspension problem during round five at
Oulton Park blemishing his record of top finishes. Lyons has improved
steadily,recording a career best result of seventh at Rockingham in
April.
Team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “We’re all very much looking
forward to the season getting back underway next weekend. It’s been a
good year for us so far but we’re focused on achieving even better
results during the second half of the year. Croft has been a good
circuit for us in recent times, both Menasheh and Ahmad took podium
finishes there in the BARC class of last year’s Formula Renault UK
Winter Championship so we’re confident they’ll be strong. Mick should
go well too, we did some good test work earlier this week with him at
Snetterton so things look promising.”
The Aston Martin Asia Cup (AMAC) returns to Sepang this weekend for its fifth and sixth rounds. On 13th July AMAC will race on the North circuit as part of the Malaysian Super Series weekend, having raced on the Sepang International Circuit last month when Team Reckless driver Kota Sasaki (Japan) took a double victory. The North Circuit, which is 2.7km long with 9 turns, is set to provide close racing between the identical Aston Martin Vantage N24s. Sri Lankan Dilantha Malagamuwa, a double MSS Champion, currently leads the Aston Martin Asia Cup Championship by just 3 points from Kota Sasaki. However, there is keen competition throughout the field of the world’s only one make Aston Martin series. 10-07-08
The Charterhouse Heritage GT Challenge is in Norfolk next weekend for Rounds 8 & 9 at Snetterton. With up to 25 cars in the filed the series should provide some highly entertaining racing with 2 races, a 25-minute race single driver race followed by a 40-minute two-driver event later in the day…
Jota Sport’s Sam Hancock made a second appearance in the Mobil 1 Porsche Supercup at the British GP last weekend. DRacing in appalling eweather Sam climbed through the field(which was somewhat depleted by various offs, spins,. etc throughout the race) from 23rd to 7th at the flag. Julien Jousse put in a great performance in the Formula Renault 3.5 at the Hungaroring recently. After setting 2nd fastest time in the Superpole runoff, he followed this up with two runner-up spots in the races themselves..
The two LADA 110
cars of Jaap van Lagen and Viktor Shapovalov
have been declared eligible to score championship points in the WTCC to
score points for the Independents' and Teams' Trophies from Estoril. The
decision was issued by the FIA Touring Car Bureau on the basis of an
‘Option Variant’ filed by the Russian Manufacturer to amend the Group N
homologation form of the LADA 110. In the 3 previous meetings at
Valencia, Pau and Brno, the Russian cars had been ineligible because the
intake and outlet ports of the cylinder head did not conform to the
homologation form. 25-year old George Tanev and Petrol GT Racing Team will be the first Bulgarian driver and team to compete in an FIA World Championship. Tanev, the current leader of the Bulgarian Touring Car Championship, will take part in the WTCC race meeting at Oschersleben at the wheel of a BMW 320si car run by the aforementioned team. CHARITY BIKE RIDE FROM BOX HILL (REIKES) TO PORTSMOUTH. GO TO WWW.fearlesspromotions.co.uk or www.P&H motorcycles gatwick/or look up bsb team pr maxxis racing.for all the info,you will need. all the best tony phillips P2F EUROSPORT WTCC COVERAGE FOR ESTORIL Saturday,
12th: Qualifying - LIVE Eurosport 2, 16.00/16.45 The family of the late David Leslie invite his friends and admirers to attend a Memorial Celebration of his life to be held at the BRDC Farm at Silverstone Circuit on Thursday, July 24th, starting at 18.00 hrs. Anyone who would like to attend is kindly asked to confirm their intention by emailing davidlesliememorial@hotmail.co.uk. 09-07-08 A vast array of classic racing cars from the Masters Racing Series will have over 180 entries in the five Masters’ Race categories at the Silverstone Classic at the end of this month(25-27 July).
TanderSport and the Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Championship are back at Eastern Creek this weekend as a the series resumes after a one month break. The Track, just outside Sydney, has been kind to the team in the past with Leanne Tander taking pole there in the opening round earlier this year. Motors TV is planning to show the Silverstone Classic live over the weeknd of 26-27 July. The Channel have also secured the services of one Murfray Walker for the Historic F1 races.. Andreas Wirth has left the 2008 Atlantic Championship Series with Brooks Associates Racing. After having competed in only three rounds of competition in the Atlantic Series Wirth is now faced with every driver's nightmare - disappearing sponsorship. Having seen his initial 2008 plans to race in Europe evaporate a few months ago, his retirement from the Atlantics is even more difficult for this determined young racer. Despite this setback, Andreas will not give up - he will do everything to get back on track again.
The Club
Ginetta’s at Anglesey saw Mike Simpson do the double beating Phil Sykes and
Charlie Kemp In the Fiat Uno/Punto races Alastair Keller took the laurels on Saturday from Gary Cunningham and Gary Muller. The winner crossing the line 2.647 seconds ahead. On Sunday Cunningham took the spoils, beating Barry Travers by just under a second(0.974s). Third was Gary Miller once again, just 2 tenths further behind. Stephen Doyle
and Jim O’Reilly shared the honours
in the Porsche races. Doyle
taking the race on Saturday in his 996 by 0.553 seconds from Bob
Cameron’s 911 GTR with O’Reilly, in a GT3 third, 22 seconds off the
pace. On Sunday O’Reilly came to the fore beating Brian Gorman’s 911
comfortably(by over 50 secs!) with Doyle third. Tristan Quinn
won both the Formula Sheane
In the Formula Vee series at Anglesey Robbie Allen picked up a win and a third palce while Brian Kelly went one better and took a win and a second. Allen wonj on Satuday from Kelly with Robert Carey third while on Sunday Kelly led Robert Casey and Allen over the line.
SG Formula’s Daniel Ricciardo dominated both races in the Eurocup Formula Reanult 2.0 series at the Hungaroring last weekend. His team-mate Andrea Calderelli made it a SG Formual 1-2 on both occasions . A1 Team France will be following the route of Le Tour De France with an A1GP World Cup of Motorsport car on a three week journey round France. The event’s fans will be able to see an A1 Team France liveried car when they come to cities around France to greet the world’s largest cycle race. The first stop will be Château de Chambord in the Loire valley. After the stop in the Loire the car heads to Toulouse for the 12 July and then St Genies d’Olt (13 July), Narbonne (17 July), Nîmes (18 July), Montpellier (19 July), La Grande Motte (20 July), Saint Etienne (21 July) and Paris for the event’s finish on the 27 July on the Champs-Élysées. At each location A1 Team France will be distributing telling them about the team and the series. The fans will also have the chance to enter a competition for two people to win a weekend at a season four event A capacity field of 48 drivers from the Historic Sports Car Club's Historic and 70s Road Sports categories will have the highlight weekend of their season when they compete in two races during the Silverstone Classic (25-27 July) . Racing veteran David Yates is planning to make his racing a family affair later this year and into 2009 by sharing a Ford Capri in Touring 70s and Stars of the 70s races with the Masters Racing Series. Yates is a regular contender in Sports Racing Masters events in a Chevron B16, but has spotted an opportunity race with his sons Sam and Jack in a 3-litre Ford Capri in some two-driver touring car races at the same events. For Yates senior, who lives just a mile from the Oulton Park, this is a return to his racing roots as he was a leading contender in Ford Capris in the late 70s and early 80s, competing against drivers like Gerry Marshall and Tony Lanfranchi. Currently, the family is busy acquiring a suitable Capri, which should be racing later this season. "My last full season in a Capri was in Production Saloons in 1983 with my wonderful 2.8," said Yates. "We can put the Capri in the truck when we go to Masters events and I can have some fun sharing it with our sons." While Sam Yates has some Formula Ford 1600 racing experience under his belt, Jack is a racing novice, but David believes that both sons will quickly take to the Capri. Yates senior will, of course, continue to race the Chevron. Special offer to all spectators, friends and associates of the Britcar Silverstone 24 Hour - Two Tickets for the Price of one to this year's event on the 19th – 21st September 2008.
After 6 races of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas season completed, Alexander Rossi leads the Championship by 24 points with 3 wins, 3 poles and 4 fastest race lap. Next up is Rounds 7, 8 and 9 at Lime Rock Park on July 11-12. Eurointernational teammate Ricardo Favoretto is second in points on 67 to Rossi's 91. Rossi said, “Ricardo is my biggest competitor in 2008 and I knew that before the season began. This is a testament of how capable the Eurointernational team is in preparing race cars, allowing us to deliver at our full potential. I have raced at Lime Rock Park before and I like it. It is a confidence circuit, very high speed and not very forgiving if you put a wheel wrong. You must be precise, however this year no one has driven Lime Rock since circuit changes were made.” The Rounds at Lime Rock Park will indeed present a new set of challenges,chief among them is that practice, qualifying, and the three races will be held within 27hours making this an “endurance” race. He has not set a wheel wrong this season and next weekend it will be especially important not to make a mistake. Compounding everything is the fact that the Uphill and West Bend corners have been modified, adding three more turns to the classic, newly repaved Lime Rock Park circuit.At Lime Rock Park Alexander’s No. 16 FB02 will be sponsored by Roamin Angels Car Club Scholarship Program with additional support coming from Niello BMW of Elk Grove. Valley Scooters of and Performance Drink will also support this weekend’s Team Rossi effort.
Lying equal third in the 2008 Avon Tyres British
GT Championship Jeremy Metcalfe heads to Brands Hatch this coming
weekend, 12th/13th July, aiming to continue his debut sportscar
campaign with another podium result or preferably his second win.
Claiming second during the most recent race at Thruxton over a week
ago, the 20-year-old is hungrier than ever to climb back onto
the top step of the rostrum and sees the challenging GP layout at
Brands Hatch as an ideal opportunity. Jeremy and CR Scuderia
team-mate Luke Hines head into the final four rounds of the
championship with their sights set on pressurising the Viper
Competition Coupe of series leaders James Gornall and Jon Barnes.
Jeremy said: “I’m really looking forward to racing the Ferrari on the
Grand Prix layout at Brands, it’s a fantastic circuit and ought to be
a strong track for the team as it should suit our cars well. The
second race at Thruxton was great and although I was happy to take
another podium with the runner-up spot, I really wanted the win and I
think we did have a chance to challenge for it had circumstances
worked in our favour a little better. It was a pretty good weekend
overall though.” Confident the CRS squad will be strong this weekend
at Brands Hatch, Jeremy and his team-mate need to ensure the
championship leading Trimite Brookspeed Viper is less than 20 points
ahead in the standings at the conclusion of round 12 on Sunday to keep
the title battle alive into the penultimate meeting of the year at
Silverstone in mid-August.
08-07-08
The Australian F3 Championship returns to Sydney for the third time this season this weekend. It’s the series second visit to the Eastern Creek, circuit where the 20008 F3 season started earlier this year. The second visit to the area was back in April at Oran Park. With the top 3 drivers in the Ttitle chase separated by only 12 points the races this time could be crucial .. Lewis Hamilton became the first British driver in eight years to win his home Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday (6 July). Not since David Coulthard (in 2000) had a Brit celebrated on the top step of the F1 podium at Silverstone, and a passionate sell-out race day crowd of 90,000 were just as thrilled as the Vodafone McLaren F1 Team driver, after one of the most eventful and thrilling British Grand Prix in recent years..
Despite a difficult weekend the Swiss Matech team still managed to win one race in the GT3’s at Oschersleben, although they have had a lot of damage to repair with before their next outing.. This coming weekend, Kieren Clark will be competing at the Snetterton rounds of the Formula Renault UK series. As well as rounds 13 and 14 on Sunday, Saturday will see the running of round 10, postponed from a waterlogged Croft weekend. Clark is all set for the race weekend, “I quite like Snetterton, and had a very good test session here last week, so I’m up it. I start the Croft race from 15th, so not my best qualifying position, but I aim to be qualifying better in the 2 sessions for the Sunday races. I know that’s where I need to improve, my races have been good, but it wont hurt to get closer to the front at the start! It’s been a month since my last race, so can't wait to get back on track.” Hitech Junior were racing in the Eurocup Formula Ranault 2.0 at the Hungaroging at the weekend and all four of the team’s drivers were in the thick of the action setting competitive times.. Phil Quaife was at Oschersleben for the FIA GT race at the weekend and the BRDC Rising was driving a Jaguar XKR alongside Stuart Hall. Sadly a series of technical problems, a spin into retirement in race 1 and a lowly 24th place finish in race 2 left him feeling somewhat frustrated.. Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation have announced five women drivers who will received funding from the Foundation’s new matching grant program, Project Podium. 07-07-08 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton this weekend will have it’s biggest grid of the year with an expected 20 car line-up taking part..
Richard Antinucci won the second race of the weekend in Firestone Indy Lights at Watkins Glen on Saturday to take the lead in the Championship ahead of Rafael Matos who had won the 1 race earlier in the day. Starting fifth on the grid Antinucci overtook Ana Beatriz on the 11th lap to take the lead. The win takes the Lucas Oil/Sam Schmidt driver into the lead in the championship. "We deserved second place in the first Corning Duel but we were able to improve our car for the second race," Antinucci said. "Once we got going, we were able to pull ahead of the others. And on the restarts, we seemed to be fast. " Matos was second for Andretti Green while erstwhile leader Beatrix completed the podium in third. Matos, who dominated the first race ahead of Antinucci and Jeff Simmons said. "It was an important victory for us, as we recovered in the championship points," he said.
Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Sam Hancock and Tim Harvey put in great displays in the pouring rain at Silverstone to bring their cars home seventh asnd tenth respectively in the Porsche Supercup race at the Grand Prix. Sean Edwards won the race from Danny Watts making it a rare British 1-2 in a Porsche Supercup round. Queensland Sportscar champion Steve Morcombe. Will make his Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship debut this weekend at Eastern Creek.. Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer were back in action at the weekend racing in the FIA GT3 European Championship at Oschersleben. Ellis, who is recovering from a fracture in his neck after a horrific shunt at Thruxton last weekend, and Mortimer did not have a good time, the latter was punted out of the first race at the start while brake problems side-lined the duo on race 2. Andy Priaulx. The reigning World Touring Car champion, will be signing copies of “Andy Priaulx: Triple World Champion: The Autobiography”, fresh from his race at Brands Hatch, on Tuesday 29th July, from 5.30pm in Waterstone in Bluewater, Kent. The book is published in hardback by HarperSport on 21st July 2008. RRP: £18.99. Eric De Doncker retains the lead in the GT4 European Cup with a second and third place at Oschersleben GT racer Jamie Davies was on course for a top five finish for Scuderia Ecosse at Oschersleben in the FIA GT championship, when the introduction of the safety car on lap 59 bunched the field up with 21 minutes of running left. When racing got underway again, Jamie was tapped from the rear at the tight first corner causing him to lose several places. Scuderia Ecosse team principal Stewart Roden said as the race finished, "It was a tough race and to lose out on some valuable points is a shame. Our race pace was really good and the strategy we had chosen was working in our favour, especially when the safety car came out. Jamie and Fabio(Babini) both drove very well all weekend and the team pulled off some stunning pit stops. With the season reaching halfway point at Spa we are keen to dominate and get the team back on the top step of the podium." Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing) will now be able to say that Silverstone is his favourite race track. The 16-year-old Mexican won the fifth and sixth rounds of the season in Formula BMW Europe. He dominated almost at will and won with a big lead on Saturday ahead of Michael Christensen (DK/Double R Racing) and Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing). On Sunday, he gained a victory at the Formula 1 British Grand Prix ahead of Pedro Bianchini (BR/FMS International) and Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing). This means that Gutierrez has had a podium place in all six rounds and was unbeatable in the last four races. The all new Ferrari powered A1GP car has covered 3,500 kilometres in testing so far. The latest tests were in Spain at the Guadix Circuit near Granada followed by three days at Jerez. Scuderia Ferrari test driver, Marc Gene, has now had his first taste of the car and his first impressions were: "It's an interesting car and I had a lot of fun. It's not an F1 car but it's not intended to be one; it will produce exciting racing, allows overtaking, and is an extreme drive." However, the majority of the testing has been undertaken by Andrea Bertolini, while Patrick Friesacher has also been behind the wheel. Feedback has been good with them finding the car well balanced, the tyres have been working well and the gearshift and electronics have been reliable; all in all they have found it an extremely driveable car. .With the development programme moving forward positively, the car will be back out at Jerez in a couple of weeks before testing moves to France later this month. The teams are expected to get their first test in Silverstone in August and then a few weeks later at another UK location.
Jenson Button and Tamara Ecclestone celebrated 60 Years of Silverstone in Aid of Make-A-Wish Foundation UK. A limited edition T-shirt has been designed by global apparel manufacturer, Alpinestars Inc The T-shirt was modelled by Make-A-Wish patron and Honda Racing F1 Team driver, Jenson Button, and Sky Sports Italia co-host and presenter, Tamara Ecclestone. Make-A-Wish child and Formula 1 fan William Hine, who was visiting the F1 Paddock for the first time, joined Button and Ecclestone after the Grand Prix Qualifying session 05-07-08 Donington gets British GP for 2010 and beyond. Silverstone have issure the following statement.. Aim Autopsorts's Daytona race in the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. ended in disappointment when the car came into the pits with a broken drive shaft after leading the race early on. The car was repaired and returned to the race but the time lost left them 9 laps down at the flag.
Motors TV (Sky Channel 413, Virgin Media 545) will screen round 4 of the FIA GT Championship LIVE from Oschersleben on Sunday having agreed a deal to take over the coverage for the rest of the season. The ‘High Speed Television’ channel already boasts an impressive portfolio of sportscar coverage, including live Le Mans Series and American Le Mans Series action and highlights of the British, French and Belgian GT championships, and now completes the set of the world’s top sportscar series. Motors TV’s Head of Programming Frédéric Viger said: “We are delighted to have added the FIA GT Championship to our featured live championships. It is the world’s most prestigious GT-racing category and the races so far this year have been very closely fought. With four drivers tied at the top of the GT1 standings, and just five points covering the top eight, Sunday’s race at Oschersleben is set to be a fascinating one for our viewers to enjoy.” The FIA GT Championship features classes for GT1 and GT2 machinery and includes entries from prestigious marques such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Corvette, Maserati, Ferrari and Porsche. The series is made up of ten, two-hour races at some of Europe’s finest circuits and in 2008 will conclude with a trip to San Luis in Argentina. Sunday’s LIVE and uninterrupted coverage begins at 12.00 UK time. SEAT Sport UK gets it's Touring Car season back underway next week as the second half of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship resumes at Snetterton on July 12/13 After setting the fastest time around the Norfolk track at the official BTCC test recently, SEAT must follow this up with some strong finishes to get back into the hunt for the Manufacturers’, Teams’ and Drivers’ titles. .. 04-07-08 Phil Glew was the pace setter in this week's Elf Clio Cup test at Snetterton. The Full Speed Racing driver, currently third in the Championship, set a time of 1min 18.358s (89.67mph) just a smidgen(0.012secs) quicker than second placed Niki Lanik. Third was Total Control's Fulvio Mussi, again with a gap of just 0.017secs while Championship leader Ben Winrow was fourth quickest 0.03 secs behind Mussi!..
After five weeks of inactivity, Andrew Herron has just over a week before the second half of the SEAT Cupra Championship kicks-off at Snetterton on July 12/13. Following bad weather at Croft during the previous meeting, next weekend’s outing will have 3 races for the first time with the postponed 10th round taking place alongside rounds 11 and 12. Herron,currently fifth in the driver standings,has finished on the podium at each of the last 3 meetings and is hungry for his first race win. He said: “I’m glad we’re able to run the race that was postponed from Croft, 3 races in one day will be just like the BTCC and as we’re all aspiring touring car drivers it will be great experience. The most important thing at Snetterton with the 3 races will be to look after your car, if you try anything risky there’ll be a lot of work to do and it could potentially mean a driver missing one or more races through damage. Having said that, I’ll be fighting hard for three strong results, I certainly won’t be taking things easy!” Following on from the successful start to the all Japanese race series the Nippon Challenge, Red Dragon Race Club principle Steve Vince is seeking championship status from the MSA for both it and his MR2Racing series. The Nippon Challenge has dedicated classes for modified MR2’s including turbo and supercharged versions as well as a production class. Vince also anticipates more TV coverage of both series this and next season with a major sponsor to be announced soon. Red Dragon Race Club principle Steve Vince plans a new one make championship for Subaru Impreza’s. Detailed tech regs will be available in August but the cars will be limited to 300bhp, and will be made available to buy ready to race for an amazing £5000 plus vat. There will also be ‘Arrive and Drive’ packages available and, of course, you can build and run your own. A major sponsorship announcement is expected soon Other plans include “all Japanese race days” and a Japanese race car festival as well as an all Japanese car endurance race in 2009. Steve Vince say’s “I have had so many enquiries from drivers wanting to race Impreza’s of various ages and types including a number of rally cars that if the enquiries continue I would be a fool not to do it. I’m already working on draft proposal." So if your interested in taking part let him know. email stephenzebra@aol.com The club offer a dedicated Japanese car race club, great value on tyre supply , entry fees, etc. For example: a double headers @ Brands/Silverstone is £250, Pembrey tripple header - 3 x 20 min races plus 2x 20 min practice sessions for £250
Next weekend (12/13 July) Caterham Motorsport will serve up a feast of entertainment for Motorsport fans at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park. At the former, on the great GP circuit, the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Championship will take place alongside the British F3s and Avon Tyres GT series whilst at the latter circuit, Oulton, the Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge will be racing on the same bill as the Daily Telegraph Caterham Academy, The 11th and
12th rounds of the FIA WTCC are at Estoril
next week at the Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva. This is the first
time that the championship has visited the track, which is home to the
Portuguese Moto GP, bringing an automobile world championship event back
there twelve years after it’s last F1 GP in 1996. However, the FIA
touring cars have already visited Estoril three times in the past. The
European Touring Car Championship raced there in 2002 and 2003: Fabrizio
Giovanardi's Alfa Romeo and Jörg Müller's BMW shared victories in 2002,
while the year after Alfa Romeo's Gabriele Tarquini took a double win
that helped him win the European title. Tom Boardman is the second SEAT Eurocup driver to win a place in the FIA WTCC. Boardman, who scored the most points in the cup's second race meeting at Pau, will drive the SEAT León TFSI run by SUNRED Engineering Development at Estoril, he succeeds Spaniard Oscar Nogués who took part in the Pau event after emerging as the best Eurocup driver in Valencia. Despite his young age,24, Boardman boasts an impressive racing career in saloons. From 2000 to 2003 he raced in the British National Saloon and Touring Car Championships, claiming seven race wins and a fifth place in Production Class of the 2003 BTCC. In 2005 he won the SEAT Cupra Cup in the UK before taking third in the 2006 Spanish Supercópa.
Wayne Boyd could set a new record for the number of race wins in a season in the British Formula Ford Championship at Brands Hatch next week 12/13 July). Last season Callum Macleod took 14 wins on his way to the title while Boyd currently sits on 13. It already looks like a done deal... Manor Competition enjoyed two successful days of official Formula Renault UK testing at Snetterton this week, Alexander Sims coming out the fastest of the team's four drivers. Sims on one of only four drivers to get below 1m 05 seconds on Thursday, (3rd July) with a best lap of 1m 04.866 seconds (108.33mph). Kris Loane was far behind, setting a 1m 05.174... Riki Christodoulou was the fastest driver around Snetterton in this week's official Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship two-day test. The track will host 3 Rounds, 10,11 and 12, next weekend (10-11 July).. Bradley Ellis Jonathan Ridley-Holloway had a successful test at Snetterton yesterday for the ELF Renault Clio Cup and is now hoping to translate that pace into solid results when the championship resumes next weekend, 12th/13th July. Jonathan set a best time of 1m 18.954 seconds (96.89mph) in the fourth session which placed him as the fifth fastest driver in that final period. Of the quartet of sessions run he finished inside the top 10 during three of them. “Things went very well today, other than the third session where we didn’t get the best out of the new tyres I’m really pleased with the work we’ve done”, said Jonathan, “We didn’t quite have the car right in session three but after we made a couple of changes, in session four we ended up in the top five so I’m delighted with that. “ Supported in the 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup by PicoPC.co.uk, Bond Oxborough Phillips and A4 Apparel, Jonathan has been improving throughout the year and is just five points shy of the championship top 15 03-07-08 RSS Performance will join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB next weekend at Snetterton (12/13 July) with a two car team for owner Graeme Mundy and George Mackintosh. Both will both make their Carrera Cup debuts in the pro-am2 category for 911GT3 Cup cars from 2007 or earlier. This means there will now be 7 entries in the pro-am2 category. The Salisbury-based team is also looking to race in further rounds this season, prior to full-time involvement in 2009. "This is definitely a toe-in-the-water exercise," said Matt Kelly, the team's business development manager. "The plan is to have a minimum of two new cars in the Carrera Cup next year. We're building up towards that." The SEAT Cupras get their Championship back on track next weekend with Rounds 10, 11 and 12 of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship at Snetterton. On this occasion there are 3 rounds as Round 10 was postponed at Croft due to bad weather.. The Race Drivers Academy, based at Silverstone has announced the final chance for drivers to apply to both the Government Funded AASE driver development programme and the Foundation Degree in Sports Performance Motorsport Driving for 2008. Any drivers wishing to be considered for the courses, should contact the Academy with a detailed driving CV. Driver interviews will also be held at the RDA offices Silverstone on the 9th July, and at Loughborough College & University on the 10th July. Courses start in September this year.
Hitech Junior heads to the next round of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship this weekend after taking it’s first podium last time out. The Silverstone-based team will run 4 cars including one for 16 year-old Spaniard Miki Monras, who was third last time out. He will be joined by Richard Singleton and Luciano Bacheta and rapid Colombian Esteban Jacobo, as they head to the Hungaroring just outside Budapest. For the David Hayle-led team, this is their first appearance at the track, “This weekend will be the first time we’ve competed in Hungary but we head to the event in relatively confident form after the podium finish last time out,” said Hayle. “All of the drivers have at different times shown a lot of promise so far this season and we aim to repeat that this weekend. The temperatures are normally extreme and that will pose its own problems, but I’m optimistic we can repeat the form we’ve shown in testing CR Scuderia have signed Finland’s Jesse Krohn in place of Sten Pentus to drive in teh Formula Renault UK Series. The 17 year-old will test this week before starting his race programme with CRS at Snetterton on 12-13 July. Jesse, who was first introduced to CRS’ Andrew Kirkaldy last year by his godfather, Mika Salo, is currently leading the Finnish and Scandinavian Formula Renault Championships. CR Scuderia have announced their driver line-up for the 2008 Total 24 Hours of Spa. Joining Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen in the no.55 CRS Ferrari is Andrea Piccini and Gordon Shedden, whilst Dirk Müller will join Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell in CRS Ferrari no.56, with CRS British GT driver, James Sutton, joining that squad as a reserve driver. Hillspeed Racing The FIA World Touring Car Championship will expand to Africa in 2009. With the addition of a race meeting in Marrakech, Morocco, the world championship is now set to visit four continents next year: Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia. Morocco's first international Grand Prix in more than 50 years was launched today during a crowded press conference at Marrakech's El Saadi Palace. The historical city will host the WTCC on a brand new temporary street circuit in the heart of the red city. The Marrakech WTCC event will be the first international car race in Morocco after the 1958 Formula One Grand Prix in Casablanca. Jack Clarke will race in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton on 12-13 July making his series debut in the PCGB entry in the pro category. Clarke, one of Britain's rising single-seater stars, has been invited to race the PCGB entry and will have his first races in anything other than a single-seater when he campaigns the 911GT3 Cup car at Snetterton. Clarke has raced Formula BMW and more recently in Formula Palmer Audi, where he won at Oulton Park on 28 June. Now he is keen to get to grips with the Carrera Cup car and to race against his friend and rival Tim Bridgman. "It's going to be a lot to take in, but Tim is a good friend and he's given me a couple of tips," said Clarke. "I've got to switch on to the car as quickly as possible and if I get along well with the car I'd love to be competitive." Clarke (20) has been guided in his racing career by his stepfather and former racer Julian Bailey who drove in F1, touring cars and sports cars, winning the FIA GT Championship in 2000. 02-07-08
Formula Renault
BARC front-runners Hillspeed
enjoyed a faultless day of testing at Snetterton on Tuesday 1st July,
with Australian youngster Immanuel Bryson Haynes joining team regulars
Menasheh Idafar and Michael Lyons(pictured). Parr Motorsport will join the pro-am2 category of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton on 12/13 July with a 3-car team for Glynn Geddie, Steve Rance and Robin Clark. Both Geddie and Rance have raced in a VIP car already this season while Clark steps up from the Porsche Open. Geddie, 17 from Aberdeen, was the revelation of the recent Croft Carrera Cup races, showing natural speed and ability despite limited race experience. He now plans to contest more Carrera Cup races this season with a view to a full campaign in 2009. Rance, meanwhile, earned his weekend in the VIP car at Brands Hatch in March as reward for his success in the Porsche Open Series last year. He now returns for at least the Snetterton races in his own 911GT3 Cup car. Kent-based Clark will complete the driver line-up having only started racing last season in the Porsche Open. All three drivers will race in the pro-am2 category, which is for cars from before the 2008 season. Parr Motorsport has an extensive competition history with Porsche, having competed at Le Mans and won at international level in GT racing. Nick Sanderson did not have a good weekend a Cadwell last week in the Ford Fiesta Championship’s latest outing. The weather played it’s part, the result of which was a fifth place in race 1 and a DNF in race 2 after Nick hit standing water followed by the barrier at Halls Bend. The car has now been repaired and it will be on display at the Ford Technical Headquarters in Dunton, Essex for the Global Ford Open Day on Tuesday 8th. The next rounds of the championship are at Lydden Hill, Kent on 2nd/3rd August 2008. Ian Fletcher, Director of Kempster Ford will be making his debut in the second team Fiesta ST at this event.
Menasheh Idafar (pictured below)continues to impress at the wheel of his F
Renault BARC car with another excellent test at Snetterton yesterday(1
July). With a little under 3 weeks until the season resumes at Croft,
the Gulf Computer Services, Ortolan and Gulfol backed driver set a best
lap of 1m 08.6 secs. Commenting on his drivers performance, Hillspeed
driver coach Matt Shawyer said: “It’s been a really good test, compared
to last year’s pole position time Menasheh’s laps were very competitive
even though it was extremely hot. Due to the weather the track was a bit
on the slow side and didn’t offer the best conditions for quick times.
He did a mega job though, he was very consistent all day and the car ran
well. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow now. There’s a chance it
could rain according to the forecast but extra experience of wet weather
driving is always welcome.” Dario Franchitti has been dropped from Chip Gannassi’s NASCAR squad after the team decided to run just 2 cars for the remainder of the year After taking pole for the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship race at Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Junior Strous went on to take his first ever Atlantic win in the Sommet des Legendes race 01-07-08 Tom Dunstan celebrated his 18th Birthday with his first podium finish in the Ginetta G50 Championship at the weekend. After showing he had the pace in race one by running as high as second before he was nudged into a spin late on, Tom put it all together in race 2 to bring his car home in third. The Historic Sports Car Club will field a grid of Historic Saloons at this weekend’s British GP at Silverstone. There will be a large 48 car field for the race, which will be held after the GP on Sunday afternoon. Featuring Pre-66 cars including Ford Mustangs, Lotus Cortinas, Mini Coopers and Alfas it should be a real treat..
Sarah Reader and Ryan Hooker completed the 4 hour VdeV Uk race at Outlon Park on Saturday and wound up coming home second! After racing for 4 hours, the longest race the pair have ever tackled, the pair climbed from 11th on the grid to bring their Juno SSE home in the runner-up spot. Two retirements for the Matech Ford GT racing team were poor return for their efforts at the Norisring in the ADAC GT Masters championship at the weekend. Round 10 of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship, originally scheduled for Croft on 1st June and subsequently rained off, will now run at Snetterton on Sunday 13th July alongside Rounds 11 and 12. Jeremy Doncaster, SEAT Cupra Championship Co-ordinator: “There were several hurdles to get over, but rescheduling the race will be best for the SEAT Cupra Championship. As another series is racing on the Saturday, having also succumbed to the torrential rain at Croft, we’ve been fortunate enough to actually get three races in one day, thanks to the flexibility of the TOCA organisers. The SEAT Cupra Championship is all about making the next step up into touring cars, so our competitors are going to experience first hand what it’s like to race three times on a Sunday(as they do in the BTCC). The third race should be broadcast live on ITV4, so all in all we couldn’t ask for a better outcome.” Under the new Snetterton timetable, Round 11 of the SEAT Cupra Championship will start at 09:00, Round 12 at 11:55 and Round 10, the rescheduled race, at 16:55. Lola will be supported by some of the Sport’s most respected names in it’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later this month(11-13 July). Some of the most famous names in Motor Racing history, including Damon Hill, John Surtees, Brian Redman and Paul Tracy will be present.. Next TV slots
for Heritage GT Car Challenge.
Schedules for the next round of TV coverage of the 2008 Charterhouse
Heritage GT Car Challenge have been announced. Highlights of the races
at Thruxton on 28/29 June will first be screened on Sky Sports 2 during
the early evening of Tuesday 15 July, with a further four repeat
broadcasts. Karting driver Jessica Hawkins was invited to the launch for the Motor Sports Association’s (MSA) brand new ‘Let’s Go Karting’ initiative last week at the Buckmore Park track in Kent. The 13-year-old was invited to be part of the event in recognition of her 2007 achievements, she was Super 1 Dunlop Honda Cadet National Karting Vice-Champion and she won the Buckmore Park Club Honda Cadet title. The idea behind Let’s Go Karting is to promote the first rung on the motor racing ladder and to give children throughout the country a chance to participate in karting for as little as £5. Open to youngsters between eight and 16 years of age, the initiative is part of the MSA’s wider ‘Go Motorsport’ programme. Throughout the course of last week’s event, Jessica met McLaren F1 Team test driver Gary Paffett, 2008 Le Mans 24 Hour Race GT1 Class Winner David Brabham, principal of the Honda Racing F1 Team, Ross Brawn, and legendary Formula One and World Motorcycling Champion John Surtees OBE. Speaking at the launch of Let’s Go Karting, Jessica said: “Karting is brilliant fun. You get a huge thrill from the speed but it’s not just the racing which is good, it’s the friends you get to make while doing karting. Watching Lewis Hamilton has made me want to be involved in motor racing even more when I grow up and karting is easily the best way for me to achieve this. I think all kids should give it a go.”
FOR RACE REPORTS FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
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Fletcher,
Director of Kempster Ford and main sponsor of NSR (
Ginetta
Junior front-runner Daniel Lloyd has confirmed he will move to the
Ginetta G50 Championship in 2009. Having sampled a G50, so named to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ginetta Cars Ltd, for the first time a
couple of weeks ago at Silverstone he is looking forward to 2009 as he
strives to carve out a successful career in saloons and sportscars.
"The G50 is an unbelievable car, as soon as I took it out on track I
knew that's where I wanted to be racing next year", said Daniel, "We
thought about some of the British Touring Car Championship supports like
Renault Clios, they have their merits, but we think G50 is the way to go
and it'll be good to remain with the guys at Ginetta.” While his current
Ginetta Junior car is powered by a 1.4 Ford Zetec engine, the G50 Daniel
will race in 2009 offers a huge increase in performance with a front
mid-mounted, 3.5-litre Ford V6 engine delivering an awesome 300bhp with
speeds up to 160mph! .
Aim
head for their ‘home’ track at Montreal this weekend for the only
Canadian round of the 
Sarah
Bennett-Baggs 
Denis
Welch was a double winner in the Formula Junior(
Peter
Sowerby’s win in the FIA Historic F1 race
Meanwhile
in the Touring cars 
won in a DBR1 from Darren MacWhiter’s Lagonda V12 and Jeff Pattison’s
DSB3S.
Next
up on the BTCC calendar is the biggest event of the year for Michael
Doyle and the In-Tune Racing team as the championship makes its
annual visit to Scotland. Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the 2008 campaign will
take place three weeks from now over the weekend 16th/17th August at
Knockhill Circuit in Fife. “We can’t wait for Knockhill, it’s going to
be huge for us and we’re going to be giving it our all to achieve our
best results of the season”, said Michael, “We’re planning to have
plenty of guests there and hopefully we’ll have some potential sponsors
there too as we’re trying to secure further backing to help carry the
team through into the 2009 championship.” 
Will
Bratt's chance of a podium place in Sunday's Spanish F3 race through
the streets of Valencia were dashed when he was handed a drive-through
penalty .
(pictured
leading Johnston - pic Paul Williams) ..
A
record crowd of 30,000 fans witnessed round 14 of the Porsche Carrera
Cup GB at Oulton Park 
Michael
Caine had another win today (Sunday 27 July) in the Porsche Carrera Cup
GB., his second of the weekend. To top it off he also took maximum
points at Oulton Park to go 9 points clear of Tim Harvey in the
Championship chase.
The
Silverstone Classic saw Peter Sowerby in an ex-Carlos
Reutemann Williams FW07C win the first FIA Historic Formula One
race of the weekend with a lights to flag victory. The racing got
started yesterday in front of a large crowd under blue skies with 
Thomas
Carnaby dominated the first race of the weekend in the 2008
Ginetta Junior Championship at Oulton Park yesterday(Saturday, 26th
July). Dominic Pettit was second, his fourth such placing of 2008
whilein tbhird was Josh Hill .
Michael
Caine set the pace at Oulton 
Robert
Huff will contest his 100th race as a professional touring car
driver on Sunday in the first of two FIA World Touring Car Championship
races at Brands Hatch. The 28-year old is currently 5th in the
WTCC Drivers' standings, after a series of good results which include
victory at Valencia - his third WTCC race win with Chevrolet.
"The first of the two WTCC races will be my hundredth touring car start,
so it would be a delight to celebrate that with a win, especially since
Brands Hatch is also the track where I scored my very first touring car
victory in 2004," said Rob. "Realistically, of course, it will be very
difficult to win with the kilos I'm carrying, as Brands is one of those
tracks where it hurts to run heavy. So if I can bag another eight or
nine points it will have been a very good weekend for me. But obviously
racing at home in front of fans and family is always special, so I'm
going to put on a good show."
Spectrum
have done it again with another win in British Formula Ford. This time
it was Ben Norton who delivered the victory with a lights to flag victory
from pole in the Wiltshire College Motorsport Spectrum in the
FF1600 (Kent engine) class at Castle Combe.
F
Renault WEC - Valencia results confirmed. 
Aim
Autsport’s N0.61 Exchange Traded Gold Ford Riley
Menasheh
Idafar
Silverstone’s
60 year celebrations help raise £5,500 in aid of Make-A-Wish Foundation
UK
Sarah
Reader and Ryan Hooker
came to Europe at the weekend to race in the German GP supporting rounds
of the Formula BMW European series. After only a cursory glance of the
Hockenheim track Alexander 9th and 6th for the two rounds.
The
Mazda Grand Prix of Portland will feature the Star Mazda as the
headline races this coming weekend for rounds 4 and 5 of the 2008 Star
Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear (July 25 – 27). With the
series producing one of the closest Championship battles of recent years
with three different winners in three races, the seri8es is more
than capable of taking over from Champ Car as the main event..
Ollie
Hancock's lead in the Formula Renault BARC championship
lhas gone out to 34 points after a pair of well deserved podiums in
rounds 6 and 7 at Croft at the weekend.
Ahmad
Al Harthy
In
the Post 89 races Graham Carroll
In
the FJHRA Miller Oils Historic Formula Junior races Edwin Jowsey
(pictured
below- Pic P Williams) 
Andy
Davies (pictured- pic Paul Williams)
won both the Classic and Touring Car Club's Pre 93 races at Croft
yesterday (Saturday). Driving a BMW M3 Davies beat Tony Ellis's Mazda RX
7 by a comfortable margin in both races while Carl Bennett brought his
Honda Civic home third on both occasions. 
In
the CTRCC's Group 1 Touring Car race at Croft, Jim McLoughlin (pic
Paul Williams)was victorious in his Capri from Mark Fowler's
similar machine, the former winning by 4.3 secs. Neil Bray was third in
a Ford Fiesta. The Post Historics race was won by Stephen Primett's
Escort from David Howards's XJ12 and Jason Christie's RS2000.
),
just 1.3 secs behind while Neil Philpotts completed the podium with his
Mitsubishi Starion Turbo. In the Class BCDH & H race Tim Evans driving
an Impreza won by 2.5 seconds from Ken Hall's Rover 6R4 with Clio Cup
driver Philip House coming third. 
ine
ahead of Kristain Linborn(pictured). Championship leader
Will
Bratt
Menasheh
Idafar underlined his race winning potential at Croft yesterday,
Friday, 18th July, during unofficial testing ahead of the weekend’s
races in Formula Renault BARC. Emerging as the quickest driver during
the three, 30-minute sessions, Menasheh set a best lap of 1m 20.4
seconds, just a 10th shy of the quickest time he managed during dry
testing at Croft earlier in the year.Although inconsistent weather made
for unpredictable running Menasheh is confident he will be competitive
as he strives to close the points gap to leader Ollie Hancock.“Today’s
test run was good, we managed to be quite a bit faster than anyone else
– if our timings were correct – so I’m feeling confident for qualifying
tomorrow and Sunday’s two races”, said the Ortolan, Gulfol and Gulf
Computer Services backed star, “It’s been a long break since Oulton
Park. I can’t wait to be back racing again, it’ll be fantastic.” 
Strake
Racing’s Nick Leventis and Peter Hardman took part in the Le Mans
Classic last weekend driving a DBR1 and a Ferrari P3 around the full Le
Mans circuit. The Strakka team had three cars on hand, the Aston Martin
DBR1 won Le Mans in 1959, a Ferrari 246S from 1960, and a Fabulous 1966
Ferrari 330 P3.
The
second half of the season started with promise for Aim Autosport - a
pole at Daytona, but once again, gremlins crept in bringing an end to an
exciting race for the podium. Despite the disappointment, everyone at
AIM Autosport came away from the Brumos 250 at Daytona with some renewed
energy. After all, they would once again score fastest lap of the race,
be credited with the "move of the race", see Mark recover from a wild
ride on the banking and have a solid race strategy that put the Exchange
Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley at the front every time it was on track.
The AIM Autosport crew and drivers are now ready to carry this energy
into the next race at Barber Motorsports Park. "Everyone on the
team feels it. The excitement. The disappointment" commented AIM
Autosport principal Ian Willis. "No matter what happens though, the
drive to succeed, to get that podium, is always there. When things go
well, everyone is pumped and when things go not so well, everyone works
just a bit harder to get the job done." With the team's first pole in
the books, the focus is to work on their first podium and first win but
with five races scheduled over the next seven weeks there are plenty of
chances to meet those goals. The AIM Autosport Exchange Traded
Gold No. 61 Ford Riley will be on track for the next round in the Rolex
Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 at Barber
Motorsport Park in Birmingham, Alabama July 18-20.
(pic Caitlin Fell)
Dakar,
capital of the Republic of Senegal, a town
forever associated with the Rally of the same name, is not known
for Circuit racing. However that is al about to change because now there
is a track, a new permanent facility Dakar Baobabs !.
Gianmarco
Raimondo
SG
Formula’s Yann Clairay
Just
over a week since Lewis Hamilton’s
The
NSR Ford Fiesta Championship racing team had it's Fiesta ST on
display at the Ford Open Day at their Technical Centre HQ in Dunton,
Essex recently. In addition to representing all their sponsors, the team
also represented Ford Racing UK and the Ford Fiesta Championship. The
car is back to it's immaculate self again after it's trials and
tribulations at Cadwell Park last time out. The next rounds of the
Fiesta championship are on 2/3 August at Lydden Hill 
was at the Le Man Cla\ssic last weekend sharing a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
and a 1969 Chevron B8 with Joe Bamford ex-Le Mans racer Alain de Cadenet,
who finished third overall at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1976.
Tom
Dunstan took his second podium in the Ginetta G50s (pictured
left) at Brands Hatch, claiming second place behind Championship
leader Nigel Moore to add to this recent third place at Thruxton a
fortnight ago..read report
in race 1 with a
through-the-field drive, but in race 2 misfortune and a Safety Car incident
late on iheld him back n the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton.
David
Mayes came away from Brands Hatch with a brace of victories in the
Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge races. Driving a Taylor's
Foundry Motorsport-prepared Superlight he won comfortably with 12
seconds in hand in both races to climb to the top of the championship
table
at
Snetterton yesterday, Sunday, 13th July, with a 12th place finish in
Round 18 ( later promoted to 11th after Adam Jones SEAT was
excluded). Earlier he had taken 13th in Round 17 after
retiring in the 16th Round with a sheared wheel nut.
Rickard
Rydell won his first WTCC race of the year at Estoril today(Sunday)
with a lights to flag victory in his SEAT Leon TDi. Second was
Chevrolet's Nicola Larinin with Yvan Muller third.
Phillip Broad has
taken the lead in the Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge
after winning both races in the in the Roadsport A class at Oulton
Park yesterday(Saturday). In the Roadsports B it was Mark Figes and
championship leader Raphael Fiorentino who each won a race.
The
battle for the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship
has suddenly got much closer after Leanne Tander and James Winslow took
most of the points in today's races at Eastern Creek, taking a win
a-piece. Nathan Carratti, who had been leading the title chase by 18
points, endured a miserable day fluffing both his starts before spnning
in race two. The results leave Tander and Caratti with 145 points
each with Winslow third 8 points behind. Tim Macrow won both races in
the National Class.
Sam
Hancock and Tim Harvey shared the pole positions at Snetterton today
(Saturday 12 July) in qualifying for rounds 11 and 12 of the Porsche
Carrera Cup GB. After a superbly competitive session, Hancock took pole
for round 11, while Harvey will start round 12 from pole. In pro-am1
Nigel Rice headed the times, as Glynn Geddie topped the very competitive
pro-am2 category. With 18 cars on track, qualifying was busy and several
drivers missed out on good laps after catching slower cars. Among them
was Harvey, who reckoned that he could have broken into the 1m7s bracket
with a clear lap. However, topping the overall times was Hancock (Jota
Sport) with a best lap of 1m08.126s. “I felt on it right from the out
lap; the car was working really well,” said Hancock. Second fastest for
round 11 was Charles Bateman (Team Parker Racing), with his best
qualifying performance to date. “It said 8.1s on the dash and I thought
we had pole,” said Bateman, who was just four-hundredths of a second
away from pole. Right in contention in third, and running superbly well
on his Carrera Cup debut, was teenager Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker
Racing) and his best lap was 15-thousandths off Bateman’s best. Harvey
was fourth fastest for round 11 while in fifth and sixth were Tim
Bridgman and Michael Caine (Team Parker Racing). The order was shuffled
for round 12 once each driver’s second best time was used, and the order
will be Harvey on pole from Rosenzweig, Bridgman, Hancock, Caine and
Bateman. Rice topped the pro-am1 times for both races. In pro-am2,
Geddie (Parr Motorsport) was chased hard by team mate Steve Rance
and Graeme Mundy (RSS Performance). 
Local
knowledge may be advantageous in round 5 of The Genuine Ford Parts
Australian Formula Ford Championship 
who was third. The results were the same in the second session, though
Caratti was a convincing .75 quicker than Alajajian and Winslow. Stuart
Kostera (Scud Racing), Leanne Tander (TanderSport) and Mat Sofi (Transwest
Racing) were among the top 6, each hoping to be a factor this weekend. 
Its
seven weeks since the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship
PSL
Karting
Hitech
Racing will be at Brands Hatch for the British F3 International Series
Liam
Denning (pictured right - pic Paul Williams)
claimed both victories in the Irish Abarth races at Anglesey over
last weekend with Clive Pratt following him home, 0.9 secs behind in
race 1 with Nigel Pratt third. Clive was 6 secs back in race 2 with
Gordon Kellett third.
At
Anglesey last weekend the Leinster Motor Club 
(pictured
right - pic Paul Williams) on Saturday with 7
seconds to spare while on Sunday Kemp and Sykes swapped places on the
podium 10 seconds behind Simpson. 
Jackie Cochrane (pictured below- pic Paul
Wiliams)driving a Sunbeam Tiger won the Historic race on
Saturday with Stephen Doyle second in a Lotus Elan and Michael Doyle
third in a Tuscan.
events
at 
Dan
Daly
A
jump start spoiled the Oschersleben FIA GT race for Tom Cloet and
Tim Bergmeister's Mühlner Motorsport ,Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S as it almost
certainly cost them a top 5 finish.
Cassey
Watson was at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham last
weekend with her 2009 Ginetta G50 Cup car, at the street life show. The
show was for modified street cars but Cassey's Ginetta G50 still
managed to stand out. The car attracted a steady stream of people, many
of whom were seeing the Ginetta for the first time. Cassey said, "I
really enjoyed explaining the car to people, it's easy to talk to people
about something you are so passionate about."
After two years
of absence, Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports
The
HSCC are at Pembrey
Dean
Smith
Nick
Percat
Miss
Great Britain, Gemma Garrett
Nick
Percat won the first race in the Genuine Ford Parts Australian
Formula Ford Championship at Hidden Valley near Darwin today.
Ginetta
Junior Championship double race winner Daniel Lloyd
Nick
Percat set the lap record in both practice sessions for the Genuine
Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship races at Hidden
Valley today(Friday). Percat was followed by the Championship leader,
Synergy Motorsport's Paul Laskazeski. "This is a new track for most of
us, so having the two practice sessions today has really helped in
preparation for qualifying tomorrow," said Percat. Brad Lowe
(Spectrum) finished up in third, while Trent Harrison (Mygale) and Ben
Morley (Spectrum) completed the top five. In the second session, CAMS
Rising Star Scott Pye (Spectrum) took third with Harrison and Morley
maintaining their positions in the top five. The action continues
tomorrow with qualifying and race one. 
AIM
Autosport has earned its fourth front row start and it’s first pole,
in the Rolex Sports Sports Car Series when Mark Wilkins took the
Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley to the top of the time sheets at
Daytona International Speedway, recording a 1:41.223 second lap at
126.661 mph. The race will start at 8:00 p.m. ET tonigh. "We are all
absolutely thrilled" exclaimed Mark. "The Ford Riley was fast all
through the morning practice sessions and both Brian (Frisselle) and I
are very happy with the car. Brian did a lot of setup work this morning
and it all paid off when I took the #61 out to qualify. We hit our mark
early and became the ones to beat out there. Now the goal is to
translate this success into the race this evening." Both Mark and Brian
were quickest for two of three practice sessions. "Everyone on the team
is really pumped right now" reported AIM's Daytona Prototype team
manager Don Sobering. "We have all worked very hard to get to this point
in just our second season. Mark and Brian did a fantastic job today, but
we are not quite ready to celebrate just yet. OK, maybe a little,
although we are hoping for a better excuse later tonight."
has been given medical clearance to race the Matech Ford GT in
Oschersleben this weekend. It was feared that Ellis would miss the
FIA GT3 European rounds following his serious accident at Thruxton on
Sunday 29 June, but the 21 year-old has been given a clear bill of
health to continue his attack on the series title with team mate Alex
Mortimer. Ellis won both FIA GT3 races at Monza and is currently
third in the Championship, raced in the Avon Tyres British GT
Championship at Thruxton to support Fulvio Mussi and finished second in
class on Saturday. But contact to the rear of Ellis’ Ginetta G50 on one
of the fastest parts of the circuit launched him into a bank just
before the chicane. Thanks to the swift actions of the marshals and his
HANS device, Ellis was spared serious injury. After an over-night stay
in Winchester Hospital Ellis was discharged on Monday and subsequent
specialist treatment ensured his medical clearance on Wednesday. Now
armed with a new crash helmet and HANS device Ellis commented: “I’m
thrilled to be getting back in the Ford GT four days after leaving
hospital because I’m feeling fine. I’ve had a lot of tests and treatment
this week and I wouldn’t risk racing unless I felt completely ready. I’m
really looking forward to getting down to business on Friday, and
scoring some valuable championship points in Germany would certainly end
the week on a better note than it started.”
The
Aluminos Kart
were
delighted with its second day of testing action at Snetterton yesterday.
Taking part in the officially timed Formula Renault 
AIM
Autosport
British-born
Bahraini Idafar, who is second in the championship, concluded the day’s
sessions as the fastest in a Formula Renault BARC spec car with a time
of 1m 08.6 seconds, around half a second faster than his closest rival.
Team-mate Michael Lyons did a 1m 9sec lap. Bryson Haynes visit to
Snetterton was his first experience of the track and only his second
ever outing in a Formula Renault car. Speaking on the day’s action,
team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “I’m very happy with how things
have gone. Menasheh did another fantastic job and is producing the
terrific form he’s shown all season while Mick continued to re-adjust to
the Formula Renault BARC car and did a very good job. Immanuel had a
lot to learn today, especially with just four, 30-minute sessions, but
produced a good performance. It’s only the second time he’s driven a
Formula Renault and considering he’d never been to the circuit before,
he had a good run.” 
Willie
Robertson
The
Chartehouse Heritage GT series
Hitech’s
British F3 pairing of Walter Grubmüller and Max Chilton