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News Archive June 2008 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 09/07/2008 FOR RACE REPORTS FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above 30-06-08 David Sleigh won both XR2 races at Knockhill with Peter Cruickshank second on both occasions, although in the first race his race actually ended in the gravel trap, his position preserved after a red flag when Barry Holmes endured a series of barrel rolls at the end of the main straight Touring Car aspirant Andy Neate will join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton (12/13 July) completing the three-car squad from Red Line Racing for at least that event. The 33-year has initially agreed a one-event deal, but hopes that it may be extended to cover more races in the second half of 2008. "My focus has been on getting into the BTCC and the Carrera Cup is the best way to go to try and get back to the BTCC," said Neate, who has already raced in Touring Cars. "We'll do Snetterton and then take a view; I've certainly not ruled out doing the rest of the season." Having won the Ford Fiesta title in 2006, Neate has only tackled selected races since then, including the 2007 Britcar 24-Hours at Silverstone where he came second.
Bryce Wilson and Ally McKever took their second win in a row at Oulton park on Saturday in the VdeV championship despite running the latter stages of the race with only 5th gear!. Alan Kirkcaldy and Graham Carroll fought out two great FF1600 races at Knockhill, both coming away with a win. Rory Butcher completed the podium in both races which saw the leading trio cross the line separated by only fractions of a second... Vic Covey Jnr took two wins from three starts in the Smartycars.com Mini Cooper Cup at Knockhill while Chris Knox won the third and his first in the series in the final race of the day. Andrew Gallacher won both of the Scottish Sports and Saloons races, beating Colin Simpson in the first and Tommy Dreeland in the second, although Dreeland ran him close in the end.
Bradley Ellis’s progress overnight has been good and he has been cleared to go home today. His neck collar has been removed and he will not need to wear a neck brace during his recovery period. Bradley is in high spirits this morning and eager to get home to recuperate for a swift return to racing as soon as he is cleared by his doctors Stan Bernard won the first of the two Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons races at Knockhill to maintain his 100% record this year. But Olly Ross and a wet track soon put paid to his record in the second race..read report.
The GPR Tin Tops race at Anglesey
on Saturday saw the Nigel Aige/Broad Integra take the spoils from
Matthew Hammond’s Honda Accord while in the Jag Classic Parts Jaguar
Saloon race Richard Dorlin (pictured
left - Pic Paul Williams)
Keith Dunn driving a Caterham 7
Brendon Hartley wins two from two in British F3 at Thruxton while his team Carlin take all three podium places in Round 12..read report
Jeremy Metcalfe picked up a second place in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship yesterday(Sunday), this time at Thruxton. It could easily have been a win as the winning Trimite Brookspeed Viper Competition Coupe of James Gornall and Jon Barnes was initially given a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. However this was later rescinded and the CR Scuderia pair were put back into their finishing position Jamie Perry and Paul Taylor won a race a-piece in the VW Racing Cup at Thruxton yesterday(Sunday) with Perry also getting second behind Taylor in race 2. Joe Fulbrook, driving a Bora picked up a couple of podiums to keep his title hopes in place ..read report
John Muirhead won the Swinging Sixties
race at Anglesey in a Lotus 7 from Nicholas McCaffrey’s E-Type while
Sam Abay took his best finish in British F3 at the weekend with a fourth place in the first race at Thruxton. In race 2, starting from 11th after a poor second qualifying session, he finished in 9th. James Thompson got a stop-and-go penalty in the Danish Touring Cars at Padborg for hitting the Peugeot of Robert Schlunsson handed victory to Michael Outzen in teh DTCC final. Manor Motorsport’s Koudai Tsukakoshi pickjed up a superb second place, both his and the team’s second podium of then year, at ish of the at the Norisring in the Formula 3 Euroseries on Saturday Jamie Green driving a Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class won the fifth round of the 2008 DTM at the Norisring. After 74 laps Green passed the Chaequered flag just 0.4sec ahead of Bruno Spengler in a second Mercedes. It was the manufacturers second 1-2 victory this year and it’s third win in a row after Green's and Paul Di Resta's 1-2 in Mugello and Di Resta's victory at the Lausitzring. Paul Di Resta came home sixth Tony Kanaan took his first victory of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, winning the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway by 4.7691 seconds over Helio Castroneves. Kanaan, starting from the pole, led 166 of the 300 laps to claim the 13th win of his Indycar career. Team Penske's Castroneves was second with Scott Dixon third to stay on top in th3e Championship. Dan Wheldon finished fourth followed by Oriol Servia 29-06-08 Bradley Ellis suffered a serious accident at Thruxton today, Sunday 29 June, in the Team RPM Ginetta G4 during round 10 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The incident happened on lap four at Woodham Hill, approaching the Club chicane, where a rear impact sent Bradley off the track and into a marshals post at high speed. Bradley managed to get out of the car but was taken by ambulance to Winchester Hospital where he has already undergone extensive x-rays and tests. The x-rays have proved inconclusive and further CT scans are being carried out to his neck and spinal area. Bradley is conscious and conversing.Further updates with made once more information is available. Graham Carroll came back from a third place finish in the first of the Scottish FF1600 races at Knockhill today (Sunday) to win the second in a exciting closely fought out race. After Alan Kirclady had won the opening round from Rory Butcher by 0.285 secs Carrol won the second by 0.039 from Kirkcaldy with Butcher third only 0.175 seconds behind the winner. Martin Plowman had a difficult weekend in round 7 and 8 of the Formula 3 Euro Series at the Norisring this weekend (n 28-29 June). A brilliant opening lap in round seven took him from from 20th on the grid to 11th place. However his luck ran out late in teh race when he was force to retire with suspension problems. Round 8 was even worse as a first lap pile-up put him out of the race. The Volkswagen-engined cars of Edoardo Mortara, Jean Karl Vernay and Robert Wickens enjoyed strong results at Nuremberg in Germany in rounds seven and eight of the Formula 3 Euro Series this weekend (28/29 June). Italian Mortara finished fourth and third in respective races in his Team Signature Dallara to maintain his overall championship lead. His French team-mate Vernay placed third and fourth while Canadian newcomer Wickens was an excellent second in race two on what was only his second weekend in the championship
Avon Tyres British GT Championship CR Scuderia driver Jeremy Metcalfe had a potential race win snatched from his grasp on Saturday at when ladt luck failed to smile on his team-mate Luke Hines during a pit-stop. Volkswagen's first foray into
South American rally-raiding was declared a triumphant success on
Friday (27 June) when the TDI-powered Race Touaregs of Giniel de
Villiers and Mark Miller completed Brazil's demanding Rallye dos Sertões
in first and second places. The Volkswagens topped the timesheets on all
10 of the 4500 km rally's special stage legs, with South African de
Villiers crossing the Natal finish line more than an hour clear of
Miller, and with American Miller nearly two hours ahead of the
third-place car, a Mitsubishi piloted by Brazilian Reinaldo Varela.
'This 1-2 is a fantastic result for us,' said Volkswagen Motorsport
Director Kris Nissen. 'This rally was great preparation for the 2009
Dakar Rally and we learned a lot, particularly with regard to the
technical demands made by the terrain. The entire squad, from the
drivers and co-drivers to the mechanics, did a truly fantastic job.'
'For the whole team, this was truly a challenge,' added de Villiers,
'because the terrain was so different to Morocco or Mauritania, for
example. It was very difficult to drive and very difficult to navigate.
I am very happy with our performance.' The Volkswagen team will
return to the continent in January for the Dakar Rally, which is being
held in Argentina and Chile for the first time. Rally dos Sertões provisional
final standings
28-06-08 Jaime Alguersuari is on pole for the first race at Thruxton tomorrow in British F3 with Brendon Hartley ahead of team-mates Oliver Turvey and Marcus Ericsson in the second race. In the National Class, Jay Bridger was quickest. Austrian Walter Grubmüller and Briton Max Chilton were unable to make the most of their tyres at Thruxton in qualifying for tomorrow’s two British Formula 3 International Series races. The Hitech Racing pair headed to the Hampshire track in a confident mood after a positive test last week and left disappointed not to be able to repeat the performance that saw them first and sixth. On a track renowned for its abrasive surface, the reigning championship-winning team elected for a more conservative set-up in an attempt to prevent the problems of poor tyre wear at last year’s race. However, in the two 30 minute sessions, 19 year-old Grubmüller and 17 year-old Chilton were unable to get the best out of the tyres and were left down in the midfield. Despite the lowly grid positions, Max who has twice taken a podium finish, and Walter who has regularly shown a rapid race pace are confident of taking two top ten finishes in the races which take place at 11:45 and 15:40 on Sunday. “It’s very disappointing to be so far down the grid after being so quick in testing last week, said Walter. “I’m not too sure why, we simply weren’t quick enough, which after being consistently quick in testing is very frustrating. Hopefully though we can get a good start in both races tomorrow and make up some places. From where we are it’s possible to get a couple of top ten finishes, so that will be the aim. It seems to be similar to Snetterton in that we were awesome in practice. I know it was over a month ago and it was wet, but usually if you’re quick in the wet you’re normally quick in the dry,” said Max. “I don’t know what’s happened here today. Round Thruxton there are really only two corners; the last corner feels fine it’s just the Complex that’s the problem in that I seem to have a lot of oversteer but apart from that it’s not bad. The team has found something in the data where I need to brake later and harder and that cost me some time. Looking ahead to the races tomorrow, I know we’re a long way back but it’s quite easy to overtake here as you can get a good slipstream, so I’ll be looking for some good strong top ten finishes. We went conservative on the set-up because of the tyres,” said Team Principal David Hayle. “We went way too conservative because after the first session the tyres were like new as though we’d done ten laps of Snetterton rather than ten laps of Thruxton. They still had the moulding lines on them. So we went the other way to be more on the edge for the second session and found six tenths but that obviously wasn’t enough.” Qualifying for
Round 11 27-06-08 Sarah Franklin will race in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for rounds eleven and twelve at Snetterton over the weekend of 12/13 July when she races the PCGB entry in the pro-am2 category at Thruxton. The Ginetta racer will be the second girl racer on the grid following the confirmation that Pippa Mann will make her debut at the same event. As well as being a lawyer based in Melton Mowbray, Franklin serves on the committee of the British Women Racing Drivers' Club and signs and plays in a band in her spare time. Currently, Sarah is competing in a Ginetta in her fourth season of racing and is keen to move up to a more powerful sports GT car. "It will be fantastic to race the Porsche," said Franklin. I'm looking to step up for 2009 and Snetterton is probably my best circuit." Daniel Lloyd was
testing at Snetterton yesterday The Genuine Ford
Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship Drivers and team members from the Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be the guests of Porsche Cars GB at the all-new Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix (6 July). To mark the completion of the new Porsche Driving Experience Centre on a site adjacent to Becketts corner on the Silverstone GP circuit, three people for each car competing in the Carrera Cup GB will spend the day at the Centre and will enjoy a unique view of the both the Grand Prix and the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup. The new driver training facility, which includes a 3.1km test track, will allow every new owner of a Porsche in the UK and Ireland to receive expert tuition and an extensive roof top platform offers views of the Grand Prix circuit as well as the entire Driving Experience Centre. "We are delighted to offer Carrera Cup teams and drivers this unique opportunity," said championship manager Marion Barnaby. "It is one of the ways that we can thank the drivers and teams for supporting the 2008 Carrera Cup GB." Patrick Barrett had a very brief return to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT series over the weekend after his co-driver Mike Forest laws tagged by a spinning pPorsche in wet conditions ending their race rather prematurely . A1GP has received backing for the series to hold its first race in South America during a meeting in Brazil between A1GP ambassador, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Brazilian President, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. The meeting happened last week when Fittipaldi was racing in the Brazilian GT3 Championship with his brother, Wilson. The pair along with the Brazilian Minister of Sport, Orlando Silva, discussed the team ahead of the new A1GP season. After the meeting Fittipaldi commented: "We are working hard at A1 Team Brazil to raise the profile and awareness of the national team. It is invaluable to have the support of President Lula, Orlando Silva and the Government, and it is a goal of ours, in the not too distant future, to have a race in Brazil, so we will work with them on this important project. " Tony Teixeira, A1GP Chairman, said: "We have always wanted to take an A1GP race to South America and Brazil would be our chosen location given its heritage and amazing drivers like Emerson. We are proud to have him as an A1GP ambassador as he is one of the best known and well respected former motor racing drivers. The support the series gets from the Brazilian fans is fantastic but to now also have the support of the Brazilian government is a big step forward in bringing a race to the region." Damon Hill OBE, President of the BRDC has backed Lewis Hamilton to put in a great performance at the British Grand Prix (4-6 July). Speaking at the third day of F1 testing at Silverstone, Hill believes Hamilton has every chance of securing maximum points in front of his home crowd. “Lewis can definitely win”, said Hill. “He hasn’t had the best of luck since Monaco, but the support of the fans, and the atmosphere at his home Grand Prix, will be tremendous. Silverstone is popular with all the F1 drivers, but is a very special place for the Brits. He has a real chance of winning, he just needs to focus on driving. It would certainly be a special way to celebrate our two anniversaries - 60 years of Silverstone and 80 years of the BRDC.” When asked about Silverstone's securing the future of the British GP beyond 2009, Hill was optimistic but refused to get carried away. "I am 100 percent confident that we have got what it takes to deliver a venue that F1 and the UK will be proud of”, said Hill, “but it’s a mistake to think anything is a foregone conclusion. My experience is that you should never make some presumptions. But F1 benefits from being in the UK. We are at the forefront of technology, and we have the drivers and teams. You would be hard pressed to find another F1 venue with such strength in depth. The circuit is ideally placed for F1 and for all motorsport. Our planning application for a new Pit and Paddock complex has been approved, but it's one step at a time. The negotiations with Bernie and F1 Management are ongoing and, I expect, won't come to a conclusion until the final hour, ,whenever that is. It's going round in circles, but the circles are getting smaller and I think we're getting closer to the final stage. We're definitely making progress, and it’s foot by foot, rather than inch by inch.”
From one race to the next, Hexis Racing continues to send its Aston Martin DBRS9s into the fray to face international competition and to put its drivers on the podium. After Monza and the Nürburgring, the next meetings are going to be interesting for the team from Lédenon. At the end of this week they will be at the Norisring street circuit before heading to Oschersleben near Magdebourg for the next round of the FIA GT3 European …read more Hexis Racing have been filming with the BBC's Top Gear series. The first sequences have been shot at Zolder in Belgium are already in the can. More news is expected in due course Hexis Racing's Auto Sport Academy member wins at Magny-Cours. Côme Ledogar, winner of the ACO/Auto Hebdo Scholarship Trophy last winter, is one of several up and coming drivers competing in the new Formul’Academy Euro Series. Working for Hexis Racing as a mechanic (looking after tyres and fuel for the Aston Martin of Fred Mako and Jean-Claude Lagniez), he already has points after the first four races of the season. However it was at Magny Cours that it all came good, Côme, driving in front of the French F1 GP crowd, swept to victory in race 2 after starting from on pole,setting fastest lap in the process Mike Vincec, 17, is looking good in the ICC category in the Stars of Karting series after the Race of The Americas at Newcastle. Over the weekend he not only won the final on the Saturday but camer3rd of Sunday to move 71 points clear in the Championship ..read more
Danish racing driver Kristian Poulsen will make his WTCC debut at Estoril. Poulsen will drive a BMW 320si car run by his own team Poulsen Motorsport. Poulsen, a former rally driver, switched to racing only at the beginning of the 2007 however, he quickly established himself and his own team in the Danish Touring Car championship. At the end of the year, Poulsen took part in the FIA European Touring Car Cup at Adria, achieving a brilliant third place in the Super 2000 class. For the current season, the team has signed the reigning Danish champion and winner of the FIA European Cup Michel Nykjær, former Danish champion Jesper Sylvest and former WTCC regular Emmet O'Brien alongside Poulsen. The Dolphin Shopping Centre played host to Hitech Racing’s British Formula 3 International car and Brookspeed Team Trimite’s Avon Tyres British GT Dodge Viper yesterday as both teams paid a visit to Poole before the Thruxton rounds of the Championships on 28 & 29 June. Shoppers had a chance to meet the stars of the future from the British F3 Series and British GT Championship including F3 driver, Max Chilton. Max commented: “This has been a fantastic day at the Dolphin Shopping Centre where it has been nice to get out and meet the fans, especially in the town where my brother, BTCC star Tom, lives.” Current Avon Tyres British GT Championship leaders, Southampton ’s Brookspeed Team Trimite, had its Dodge Viper Competition Coupe positioned pride of place on the Main Mall, next to the Hitech Racing Dallara F308 Mercedes HWA. A Scalextric Time Attack competition was won by Adam Bullen from Poole who won a VIP hospitality package for Thruxton courtesy of Avon Tyres. Joining Adam will be Stuart Beddingfield, also from Poole, who won the Shopping Centre’s free prize draw, a behind-the-scenes tours of the Hitech Racing and Brookspeed Team Trimite pit garages. TV Coverage from the fourth round of the Australian Mini Challenge Series from Sandown International Raceway will be on Australia ’s Olympic Network, Seven, this Saturday, June 28 at 1:30pm nationally.Sandown saw a brace of Bargwannas thrown into the mix and Paul Mercurio put his dancing shoes to work on the pedals of the UBER-STAR Car. The series returns on the Island as part of the L&H 500 at Phillip Island on September 12-14 followed by the ‘big one’, October 9-12, Mount Panorama, Bathurst! 25-06-08 Dillon Battistini won the Jeld-Wen 100 Firestone Indy Lights race in Iowa, the seven-eighths mile oval in tiny Newton, 40 miles fromn the state capital Des Moines. Battistini passed polesitter Arie Luyendyk Jr. with 14 laps to go to earn his third victory of the season and move into the series points lead. I'm just amazed. What a race; I really enjoyed that. Our cars were very close to matching pace. We lapped a few of the cars several times and we both got held up, so I realized if I dropped back a little bit and when he got held up I might be able to carry a run on him and it worked perfectly. There was a little bit of luck involved."said Battistini. Luyendyk tied a career best with his seventh career second-place finish. Ana Beatriz was third, Brent Sherman fourth and Pablo Donoso fifth. Luke Wright was second in the second round of the Spanish Open championship, last Sunday (22 June) while Mitchell Hale took 3rd place at Cartaya in Southern Spain last Sunday (22 June) .
The Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda President Vicki O'Connor and officials from the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) have announced that IMSA will sanction Atlantic Championship events for the 2008 season. "After a lengthy period of negotiations, we are delighted to announce that IMSA will now be the sanctioning body for the Atlantic Championship," O'Connor said. "As a road racing championship in North America, it certainly makes sense to align Atlantic with North America's premier road racing sanctioning organization. Atlantic has some previous history with IMSA and - in our 35th anniversary season - we are excited to begin a new chapter with IMSA." While the Atlantic Championship will continue to be owned by Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe and will be operated by O'Connor and her staff, all races will be run under IMSA rules Canada's James Hinchcliffe holds the lead in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship as it arrives at Quebec's Circuit Mont-Tremblant circuit for Round 3 of the 11-race series this weekend, Friday 27th -- Sunday 29th June. The 21-year-old Oakville racer dominated last month's second round at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca taking his Forsythe Pettit Racing INDECK/TireRack.com Swift Mazda-Cosworth to victory setting a new lap record along the way. The six week gap in the schedule between Laguna Seca and Tremblant allowed ‘Hinch’ to attend the Indy 500 and the Canadian GP where he worked as a co-commentator alongside Ben Edwardst "We've had a really long break so I'm just ecstatic to be getting back behind the wheel," exclaimed Hinchcliffe. "The fact that our first race back is in my home country and at one of the nicest race tracks in North America I think is really an extra bonus. Hopefully Friday's extra practice time will allow us to get our heads around everything before Saturday's qualifying runs. Obviously I'm hoping I can leave Tremblant with another victory and give the home crowd something to enjoy and extend my championship lead some more!" Top Five Atlantic Drivers -- R2/11: 1st HINCHCLIFFE (CAN) 44pts, 2nd De Silvestro (SUI) 42pts, 3rd Summerton (USA) 42pts, 4th Strous (NED) 41pts, 5th Niemela (FIN) 40pts -- www.atlantic-championship.com North Carolina's Franklin Futrelle secured the inaugural Speed Connection Formula Mazda Challenge title over the weekend (June 20-21), winning Round Seven at Road America in Wisconsin. Joining the newly-crowned champion in the victory celebrations were Bruce Lawrence and Juan Marchand. The 7th race of the inaugural Speed Connection Formula Mazda Challenge season got underway in damp conditions with Lawrence making the better start passing poleman Futrelle for the lead entering turn one. He then kept first until turn five, when Futrelle regained the place. Building a slight lead over the next corners, Futrelle held the advantage until Canada Corner, when he went off as a result of standing water. Quickly regrouping, he rejoined the race still in the lead as Lawrence did the same thing at the same place. Behind the lead pair, Marchand had moved into third. With the track drying Futrelle never relinquished the lead again winning for the sixth time in 2008 ahead of Lawrence and Marchand with Casey Carden and Sam Lockwood 4th and 5th. Alan Holm, driving a Lasersprint Rhema 2 is back in front in the South African National Formula Vee Championship and heading for what looks like an unprecedented fourth consecutive title. 24-06-08 The Classic Touring
and Saloon Car Club's Post Historic race Rob Pritchard and his Caterham Vauxhall added another victory to his list with a closely fought win over Alastair Chalmer's Caterham CSR in the Sports Saloons race, Pritchard winning a mere 0.105secs. Third in a Caterham 400 was Robert Chalmers. Class D went to Paul Dobson in a RX7, Class c to Paul O'Neill's Mini and Class A to Darren Smith's Tuscan.... Denis Crompton won the Classic
Modified Saloons and Sports car race(Class E & F) at Oulton Park on
Saturday. Drivng a BMW M3 Crompton beat Neil Philpotts in a Colt Starion
by over 40 seconds.Third, driving a Clio was Allan Davies(see report
above). In the
MGOC Class B and Z race Gary Smith(below left) Erik Pergano was the winner of the
Classic Formula Ford 2000 Charles Hall, current Championship leader in Star Mazda with Andersen Racing, will make his Firestone Indy Lights debut on July 5th at Watkins Glenas alongside Andersen Racing's regular drivers in the series, Andrew Prendeville and J.R. Hildebrand. Hall will have his first test in an Indy Lights car tomorrow(Wwednesday)..read more
Hitech Junior claimed it's first podium in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup at Valencia when Spaniard Miki Monras finished in third place at the weekend. Richard Singleton picked p two top ten finishes while Aussie Ashley Walsh came home in 21st and 23rd Silverstone has announced that the 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX is a complete sell out. Tickets for all three days of the event on 4-6 July have gone. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, has been overwhelmed by the support of the British fans. “The demand for tickets has been incredible. Only three weeks ago we announced that race day had sold out - now practice and qualifying have sold out too. We will be at full capacity over all three days with a record combined crowd figure of 240,000. The atmosphere is going to be amazing”, Silverstone has once again capped its crowd levels to ensure the fans get the best out of their British Grand Prix experience. Phillips added, “We have managed to slightly increase our capacity this year by adding extra grandstand seats and terracing, but it is important we don’t compromise the comfort levels and viewing experience for the fans. Fans attending on the Friday also have an option to sit in any grandstand. 23-06-08 SG Formula's Daniel Ricciardo continues to be the main force in Formula Renault 2.0 WEC winning both races in Valencia. However after the race Epilson Euskadi protested the three SG Formula cars of Ricciardo, Caldarelli and Vergne for using an illegal rear wing pillar. The protest was upheld handing the win in race 2 to Bernard Lariche. SG Formula have appealed . Mark Charteris won the Classic Clubmans race at Silverstone despite spinning late in the race handing the lead to Ray Mallock. However a superb couple of recovery laps allowed to to regain the lead in the last corner of the last lap to win by 0.079secs! . Howard Payne got right back into the title hunt in the Clubmans Cup after Championship leader Daniel Gibson was sidelined with a stub axle failure in the second race of the weekend at Silverstone. Gibson had dominated the first race leading Payne home by 7 seconds before the latter won race 2 to close the gap in the Championship to just 2 points.
Ginetta Junior driver Cassey Watson will be appearing at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on July 5th & 6th for the Streetlife show, www.streetlifeshow.co.uk . Cassey will be showcasing her race car for the 2009 season, the 300bhp Ginetta G50. The car will be displayed on the Girlracer stand and Cassey will be attending the event on both days to sign autographs and to formally announce her deal to become the face of the Girlracer clothing brand. Porsche Carrera Cup GB contenders Tim Harvey and Sam Hancock will contest the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup race at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix meeting. The pair will make the step up for their home round of the international series with the support of PCGB, with Harvey running with his regular Red Line Racing team and Hancock continuing an association with the ToLimit team. "This will be the fourth time that I've done the Silverstone round of the Supercup," said Harvey. I'm delighted that my sponsors, Nationwide Crash Repair Centres and Datapulse, are backing me for this race, so my car will run in its usual livery." As the most successful racer in the history of the Carrera Cup GB, with 64 podium finishes from the 110 races run to date, Harvey knows that racing in the international series will be a tough challenge. "I hope we can be in the top 10, but it will be very tough. It's always a big event and we did fairly well last year." Hancock will head to Silverstone fresh from finishing 16th in his Porsche Supercup debut at the French GP. Hancock's Carrera Cup team mate Phil Quaife also contested the Magny Cours race following a late opportunity to join the Jetstream squad and scored an impressive 11th place in the hugely competitive field. Pippa Mann will join the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Snetterton on 12/13 July and over the balance of 2008 she will combine three Carrera Cup weekends with her existing World Series by Renault single-seater programme. As the first female racer to join the Carrera Cup GB, Pippa will race at Snetterton, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch in order to gain her first experience of racing a sports and GT car. She will race a new 2008 911GT3 Cup car, prepared by Team Eurotech. Mike Jordan's team will enter the car alongside its existing two-car BTCC team. Pippa will race in the World Series in Budapest just one week before making her Carrera Cup debut at Snetterton.
Jeremy Metcalfe is gearing up for his home event this coming weekend, 28th/29th June in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship's races at Thruxton. The 20-year-old, who lives in the village of Church Crookham near Fleet, is aiming for a successful return to his local track having already been on the top step of the podium this year with a superb victory from pole position during the third round of the championship at Knockhill. His biggest challenge will probably come from the rival Lamborghini Gallardos and Dodge Vipers which have benefited from a performance boost recently due to re-equalisation measures introduced by officials. “We’ll be aiming to do the same as always at the weekend, go out there and do the best job we possibly can”, said Jeremy, “I’m really looking forward to the races, I think we’ll be very strong. The high speed corners at Thruxton should definitely suit the Ferrari and I always feel very comfortable there, it’s always good to compete at your home track.“It’s been a good season so far. Driving the Ferrari is fantastic, the team is doing a great job and I really am quite confident we should be strong at Thruxton. Both Luke and I would love to win again but a couple of podiums would be great too.”
The Rally dos Sertões in Brazil reached the half-way stage yesterday (Sunday) with the TDI-powered Volkswagen Race Touaregs of Giniel de Villiers and Mark Miller holding a comfortable first and second overall, more than one hour ahead of the field. South African de Villiers and his US team-mate Miller have taken a clean sweep of stage wins for Volkswagen, with Miller triumphant on yesterday's 268 km jungle section between Paranã and Palmas - a leg made all the more tricky because service crews were not allowed to make mechanical checks on the Race Touaregs after Saturday's section.'I'm happy to have won this stage,' said Miller. 'My co-driver, Ralph Pitchford, did a superb job of navigating and that was a major part of our success. His preparation with the road book was perfect, and that is particularly important on marathon legs where you have to stay focused.' De Villiers lost a few seconds with a 'wrong slot' yesterday but remains comfortably ahead overall. 'Halfway through the event we can be satisfied with our achievements,' said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. 'Both Race Touaregs are running perfectly despite the huge demands made on them so far, which shows their reliability and the hard work of the team.' A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2008/09 season approaches and with it the series will become one of the first international racing series to offer its World Feed TV Broadcast in High Definition (HD). A1GP is carried by more than 45 licensees worldwide, reaching nearly 180 countries and territories around the globe. They will all now be given the option to receive A1GPs host broadcast in HD, while broadcasters without HD channels will still be able to receive the Standard Definition feed. As well as offering pictures in HD, there are a number of exciting new developments set to enhance the TV broadcast next season. A1GP Productions have been working closely with the designers of the new Ferrari engined car to integrate new a On Board Camera positions. There will also be further telemetry available from the car, alongside more advanced TV graphics to give viewers a greater insight into the efforts of the driver inside the cockpit. 20-06-08 A record crowd of 59,000 attended the WTCC last weekend in Brno and they were rewarded with two exciting races. In the first Alessandro Zanardi converted his pole position in his third WTCC victory. The Italian was followed by his team-mate Félix Porteiro and Chevrolet's Alain Menu in third position. The second race was also exciting with countless overtaking moves and clashes to keep the spectators entertained. The race wasn’t decided until Gabriele Tarquini's SEAT León TDI and Zanardi's BMW 320si negotiated the last two turns door-to-door, with the former winning by inches. Augusto Farfus inherited third place after Robert Huff's Chevrolet was excluded due to a technical infringement. After ten of the twenty-two rounds in the WTCC, Tarquini is the only driver to score more than one victory. He has also stretched his championship lead to 15 points ahead of his team-mate Yvan Muller, while another SEAT Sport man, Rickard Rydell, is third a further six points adrift. Reigning world champion Andy Priaulx of BMW Team UK is fourth, 24 points behind, and the first non-SEAT driver.In the Manufacturers Championship, SEAT lead with a margin of 21 points ahead of BMW. The series will resume at Estoril, Portugal, on July 13th for rounds 11 and 12. Charity auction cubes cut from of the old racetrack surface of the Brno circuit raised more than 200,000 CZK (about 8,000 euros) for young patients of the Oncology Ward of the University Children's Hospital in Brno. The first charity auction took place as part of the gala opening of the resurfaced racetrack on 18th May 2008. Five cubes signed by MotoGP aces Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Loris Capirossi were sold for 115,000 CZK. Seventeen other cubes signed by MotoGP riders and Czech racing drivers were auctioned on-line for 86,850 CZK. Last week the WTCC podium finishers - Zanardi, Tarquini, Porteiro, Menu and Huff - also signed cubes that will be auctioned later this year. The money will be mostly spent on new medical equipments. Will Bratt is aiming for a successful return to competitive action next weekend, 28th/29th June, when he takes part in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2008 FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship at Albacete. Third in the driver standings heading into the Albacete race meeting, Will is just three points shy of series leader Bruno Mendez and the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star is confident he will be able to seamlessly re-adapt to F3 after his brief return to Formula Renault a couple of weeks ago. “I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of the F3 car”, commented Will, “Racing in the Formula Renault at Silverstone was good fun but now we need to concentrate on the serious business of continuing our championship challenge in Spanish F3. I’m looking forward to Albacete, when we tested there back in March we were very competitive. It has been announced the Spanish F3 championship will be extended by two rounds to a total of 18 races this season following confirmation the category will run at the new street circuit in Valencia on 26th/27th July. Acting as something of a rehearsal ahead of the Formula One European Grand Prix which will be staged at the brand new venue in late August, next month’s event will see Will Bratt and his team among the first to experience the new home of the European GP. “I was already looking forward to the Formula One support race as the highlight of the season but to have the opportunity to race on the Valencia street circuit sooner than we expected is fantastic news”, said Will, “It’ll be an amazing challenge. Having the chance to race on the new circuit four times in total will be an unbelievable experience.” Hitech Junior have been testing for this wekend’s rounds of the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup at Valencia. The Silverstone-based team’s Richard Singleton finished the test in fifth place with Miki Monras ninth and Aussie Ashley Walsh 16th. Team owner David Hayle was understandably delighted with the performance of his three young drivers ahead of testing at the track on Friday. “It’s an incredible performance by all three drivers to be running as well as they have against the experienced opposition. For Richard particularly to be quickest throughout right up to the closing minutes of the session is a real achievement. Likewise though, Miki is just 16 years old and up against far older and more experienced drivers so his performance is equally impressive. While the other two have had the benefit of track time as they’re also competing in the Eurocup, Ashley has not had much time on the circuit and I’m confident that he will improve as he has certainly shown he has the capability to be up in the top ten. And that is where I would expect all three of them to be in testing and qualifying later today and tomorrow.” Silverstone has announced that all tickets for the official F1 test, taking place at the Home of the British Grand Prix on 24 / 25 / 26 June, have now sold out. The circuit would like to remind fans that tickets will not be available to purchase on the day. The three day F1 test takes place less than two weeks before the 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX. 19-06-08 Former Champions, drivers and cars from from the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) were at Silverstone on Thursday as part of the circuit’s plans to celebrate the 50th, 60th and 80th Anniversaries of the BTCC, Silverstone and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) respectively. The celebration will be held alongside this year’s round of the 2008 HiQ MSA BTCC on August (30/31 August). read more Carl, Adam and Craig Stirling were all at the 3rd Round of the British Super 1 kart Championship at Rowrah last weekend. Carl came away with a win in one of the KF3 finals, whilst big brother Craig, set the lap record in KF2.
The 2008 Volkswagen Racing Cup will reach the mid-point of it’s season next weekend when it visits Thruxton in Hampshire. With six winners this year already the season is certainly competitive so picking a winner for Britain’s fastest circuit won’t be easy..read more The HSCC Autoglym Historic Festival takes place next weekend (28/29 June) on the GP circuit at Brands Hatch. The event has attracted over 450 entries for the 15 races which includes the FIA Historic Formula One Championship and the Orwell Supersports Cup..read more Patrick Barrett Matech Racing continued with their plans for ‘world domination’ in GT3 with yet more wins, this time in Brazil. Drivers Ricardo Rosset and Walter Salles winning in the Brazilian GT3 series at Brasilia..
The Volkswagen
team made an excellent start to the Rally dos Sertões
on Wednesday in its first foray into South American rallying. Race
Touareg driver Giniel de Villiers completed the opening leg of the
10-day Brazilian event with a time that beat his nearest rival by over 4
minutes. His Volkswagen team-mate Mark Miller was third fastest. A 184
km timed section took competitors from the start at Goiâna in central
Brazil to Rio Verde and a short spectator stage, with de Villiers
running at the head of the field. 'As the prologue winner we had the
privilege of opening the course,' said the South African. 'On one hand
it was an advantage because we did not have to overtake nor swallow the
dust of a car in front; on the other hand the roads were covered with a
thin, slippery layer of gravel. But all in all it was a good day for
us.' HIGHLIGHTS from the first two rounds of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship will be aired on SBS Speedweek this weekend. There will be three races - one from A1GP and two from Clipsal in the half-hour show on Sunday at 1:00PM, with repeats on Inside Speed, on FOX Sports, next Wednesday at 7:30PM (Check your local guides).You can catch the action, including Bamber's airborne antics, the massive Race two crash, McFadyen's Lap record and the Chris Reindler rollover 18-06-08 Nick Williamson was the winner of the LMA Euro Saloons race at Brands Hatch when the race was red-flagged late on due to the number of cars ‘parked’ in the Paddock Hill Gravel trap. Mal Davidson had just passed Williamson for the leads but as in all red-flag situations the result was set on the previous lap, handing Williamson the victory Team Aluminos were at the ProKart Challenge North series at the Jim Russell Karting Center at Infineon Racewayon Saturday(June 14) and all four of the team’s drivers picked up podium finishes. The team’s driver coach and engineer Tom Dyer came second in TaG Senior race while Sergio Machado also took a runner-up spot this time in S4. Marc Elliott was second in S3 ahead of his team-mate Brad Dunford in third . report
Antonio Felix da Costa took part in the third round of the Formula Renault Northern European Cup at the Finnish track of Alastaro where he added another podium finish to his collection. In the first qualifying session, after setting 4th fastest time, Antonio was relegated to 9th because of yellow flags during his quickest lap. In the second session he made it stick and was rewarded with a front row spot, less than 0.3s from pole. In the first race of the weekend, Antonio had an excellent start, moving up 4 places into the first corner, unfortunately, due to inexperience he let his car roll slightly before the red lights went on and received a stop and go penalty, relegating him to 14th place. In the second race he made a great start to go into the first corner slightly ahead of Valtteri Bottas. The two team mates had a brief fight for the elad before Antonio had to settle for 2nd place where he stayed to the flag. Doug Prendeville claimed his maiden victory on Sunday (June 15) in the F2000 Championship Series Presented by Hoosier Racing Tyres at Watkins Glen. The Andersen Racing driver was followed home by Ski Motorsport's Tim Minor and Brian Graham Racing's Kyle Marcelli. 17-06-08 Simon Pryke finally made it to the chequered flag first in the BARC Westfields Championship at Croft. After a superb start he led from the off until Andrew Spencer, who missed a gear at the lights, finally caught him in the latter stages. As the pair approached the hairpin on the final lap they touched putting Spencer into a spin which handed the win to Pryke with Spencer second,. In race 2 Spencer turned the tables to win comfortably .
Terrence Woodward and Ross Kaiser Silverstone has announced that tickets for the Wednesday and Thursday of the official F1 test, taking place on 25 and 26 June, are now sold out. A limited number of tickets, priced at just £12, are still available for Tuesday 24 June, however, fans are required to purchase these in advance via the Silverstone website – www.silverstone.co.uk.
Swiss racing team Trading Performace were running well at Le Mans when after less than 2 hours of racing their cat driven at the time by Claude-Yves Gosselin was shunted into the barriers at Ford chicane and out of the race..report Russell Danzey took his first win in the third round of the British Super 1 Kart Championship at Rowrah in Cumbria on Sunday ..read report Charles Pic’s time at Silverstone in the World Series by Renault start out well with fast times in practice. However it all started to go ‘pear-shaped’ after he qualified for the Superpole. Not making it into the top 8 was bad enough but a poor start and a 15th place in race 1 wasn’t what you expect from the Monaco winner, Sunday’s race wasn’t much better Jonathan Walker picked up two runner-up spots in Round 3 of the British Super 1 kart Championship at Rowrah at the weekend to move up to 4th in the Championship.
Yoshitaka Kuroda picked up his first podium of the season for Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports in the Formula Asia 2.0 Round 2 at Sepang. The Macanese team also saw all of it’s drivers pick up points over the two races. 16-06-08 A double-header trophy race for sports racing cars will be held at the at Pembrey on the weekend of the 28/29th June. Entries will be accepted in two classes; Class A up to 2000cc, Class B over 2001cc. There will be a 20 minute qualifying session on Saturday followed in the afternoon by a 25 minute race. Another race of 25 minutes will take place on the Sunday. Contact the BRSCC for details This Sunday (22nd June) the BRSCC Northern Centre are organising the Caterham Raceday at Cadwell Park. BRSCC meetings at Cadwell Park differ from most BRSCC events as they use a different timing company. SMART Timing are the official timekeepers at Cadwell Park and all the details of last weekend’s meeting, including qualification times, grid line-up, race results and individual lapcharts can be found at www.smart-timing.co.uk Looking ahead to this Sunday’s meeting all the above information can be found immediately after the meeting has finished at www.mylaps.com before being uploaded to the main site between within a day or two after the event.
Porsche Carrera Cup GB driver Sam Hancock will make his Porsche Mobil1 Supercup debut at Magny Cours at the weekend(21/22 June) during the French GP. Hancock has used the mid-season break in the Carrera Cup to move into the Grand Prix support series. He will then return to the GB Series at Snetterton in July. Hancock, will race under the wing of the 2Limit team, working with some of the same race engineering squad. His Carrera Cup team Jota Sport has ambitions towards a dual campaign in 2009, with teams in both the Carrera Cup GB and Supercup. "I don’t underestimate the Supercup in any way," said Hancock, who will be backed by Technojobs. "But we can dip a toe in the water this year and get some of the learning done, and we hope to hit the ground running." Dale Earnhardt Jr finally got back into the winners circle after 76-races on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock 400. Second was Kasey Kahne with Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers fourth. Trident Racing's Harald Schlegelmilch claimed his first Formula Master victory in Brno on Sunday, leading the race from start to finish. Cram Competition's Pablo Sanchez Lopez took second, securing his first podium of the season, whilst ADM Motorsport's Norbert Siedler was third. Harald Schlegelmilch, Trident Racing "It was a good race. I'm very pleased with the result. Now you see me smiling and hopefully the next round will also be a smiley race! "The start was very good, the best in Formula Master this year. I managed to make a good gap in the first laps but Sanchez Lopez was coming very fast and I was lucky to keep him behind."
Scott Maxwell andJoe Foster driving the No. 55 Hyper Sport Ford Mustang GT claimed their team’s second consecutive Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Grand Sport track victory on Saturday at Mosport in Canada. The Audi R10 TDI remains unbeaten in the Le Mans 24 Hour race. On its third attempt, the diesel sportscar won the French endurance classic once again. After the 76th edition of the race, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish triumphed at the wheel of the number 2 car. The "sister" car of Lucas Luhr, Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller was fourth. Last year's winners Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner finished sixth in one of the most exciting Le Mans races in history…read report The Pescarolo of Harold Primat,
Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer Christophe Bouchut and the Labre Competition team lost any chance of a strong result in the Le Mans 24 Hours when a a wheel broke off at Tertre Rouge, pitching the Saleen S7R into the gravel trap. Bouchut managed to get the car back to pits where the team set about repairing the damage. After replacing the transmission, brakes and suspension and removing large quantities of gravel from the car they got it back on track in just 45 minutes. The car then ran without a hitch for the remainder of the race but sadly they were never able to regain the lost ground finishing up 7th in the GT1 class...read more Robert Huff has lost his third place in the second WTCC race at Brno, after his Chevrolet Lacetti was excluded by the Stewards due to a technical infringement concerning his front anti-roll bar. His exclusion moves Augusto Farfus up to third and the reigning World Champion Andy Priaulx to eighth, which means he keeps his fourth position in the championship behind the SEAT trio of Gabriele Tarquini, Yvan Muller and Rickard Rydell. Further penalties were incurred on Stefano D'Aste and Franz Engstler. Both drivers will be put back ten places on the Estoril grid for the first race in Portugal. D’Aste was judged guilty of a collision with Engstler, who was penalized for hitting Tiago Monteiro. 15-06-08 The Audi Sport team with drivers Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello were the overall winners of the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours Aston Martin's DBR9 driven by David Brabham, Antonio Garcia and Darren Turner has won the GT1 Class at Le Mans today. The race was close as well , the 009 Aston took the lead within the first three hours of the estart but it was shadowed throughout by it's Corvette rival. ..read more
Lola found the 76th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours a fitting occasion to celebrate it's 50th Anniversary. The Charouz Racing System Lola-Aston Martin was the highest placed Lola coming home in 9th overall .
Pescarolo leads petrol class as dawn breaks at Le Mans. Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer lead the ‘unofficial’ LMP1 petrol class and lie seventh overall in their Pescarolo 01-Judd, as the sun rises at the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours. Their car ran problem free throughout the night, with all three drivers producing strong consistent stints. Rain began to fall just after 4am as Tinseau started a triple stint, but he made no mistakes throughout to maintain his position. The diesels of Peugeot and Audi fill the top six places, but the #17 car has a seven lap lead over the #5 Courage-Oreca of Loic Duval, Soheil Ayari and Laurent Groppi. In recent years the Le Mans 24 Hours has often contained a final twist and 2008 is no exception,. With intermittent localised rain falling on parts of the circuit the GT1-leading Aston Martin DBR9 009 still holding a small advantage over the Corvette, every decision has now become crucial. Darren Turner is currently driving the car, but he is backed up by constant support from the Aston Martin Racing technicians on the radio, and track condition updates from his team mate in the 007 car. “You drive to a completely different set of rules in this situation,” he said. “You don’t try to be competitive; you just try to be safe and consistent. Even if you drop a few seconds a lap to your rivals, it doesn’t matter.” Although Darren (along with David Brabham) formed part of the 009 crew that won the GT1 class at Le Mans last year, he doesn’t necessarily assume that the experience will make it any easier this time round.The 007 car is still going strongly in fourth place, now with Heinz-Harald Frentzen behind the wheel. With the end so closely in sight all the drivers are having to be careful – as many of the leading crews are getting caught out by on the slippery surfaces. Larbre Competition has moved steadily up the field at the Le Mans 24 Hours after problems early in the race cost them one hour in the pits. As the race enters its 19th hour, the team’s Saleen S7R has run without incident during the night and early morning and currently sits in 30th position overall and 7th in the GT1 category. The heavens opened at 4:15am to make track conditions treacherous, and steady rainfall throughout the morning has meant the circuit remains slippery leaving the drivers unable to push too hard. Despite this, Patrick Bornhauser, David Hallyday and Christophe Bouchut have all driven error-free stints and maintain a strong pace which has seen them move ahead of the Team Modena Aston Martin DBR9 which has suffered problems in the pits. Leanne Tander and James Winslow claimed pole in the two races at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. for the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship. Tander was quickest in qualifying for race 1 while Winslow did the same in Qualifying two before rain ended any chance of improving....read more. 13-06-08 New Gallery - Scottish Classic Speedfair...more Aston Martin Racing completed qualifying for Le Mans last night with their cars 4th and 5th in the GT1 calss. Antonio Garcia was quickests with a 3m48.994secs lap in the team's 009 car while Andrea Piccini was fastest in the 007 car with a 3m49.060s . The race of course starts tomorrow(Saturday) at 3pm...read more
Yesterday at Le Mans Lola Cars were honoured when Executive Chairman, Martin Birrane received theprestigious ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ trophy. Meanwhile on track Stefan Mucke was the quickest Lola Driver during qualifying. His Charouz Racing System Lola B08/60 powered by Aston Martin did a 3m25.158ses to go sixth fastest..read more Pescarolo
drivers Harold Primat, Christophe Tinseau and Benoit Treluyer
The WTCC races in Brno
is the last one in which the two LADA 110 cars of Viktor Shapovalov and
Jaap van Lagen are not be eligible to score championship points.The
Russian cars failed to pass the scrutineering in Valencia and Pau
because the intake and outlet ports of the cylinder head were not
homologated. With the agreement of all the other competitors, the
Stewards decided to let them race until Brno. Now the team must
introduce the changes before Estoril Chevrolet were fastest
in yesterday's test session at Brno. Alain Menu topped the morning
session, with a 2:09.942, while team-mate Robert Huff was the fastest in
the afternoon with a 2:09.648. Gabriele Tarquini and Alessandro Zanardi
were the quickest for SEAT and BMW respectively. Tarquini third ion a
with Zanardi fourth. Next up was Chevvy’s Nicola Larini in fifth
followed by Porteiro, while James Thompson's was seventh on 2:10.276
for Honda.
Caparo is to make its first ever appearance at of Le Mans this year, after signing a partnering agreement with the Barazi Epsilon team. The race will provide Caparo with the opportunity to develop lightweight structures and components while working in motorsport. The company is increasingly focused on weight reduction, one of the key strategies for fuel economy and emissions improvement. “The design of lightweight components for motorsport applications provides substantial benefits for teams,” says Angad Paul, chief executive officer of Caparol. “By reducing weight beyond the minimum weight regulations we give designers the flexibility to redistribute ballast which helps the overall handling and performance of the vehicle. Le Mans is a technical proving ground for road car technologies with experience gained in areas such as diesel and bio-fuels so we are confident it can assist in a similar manner for lightweight structures.” The Barazi Epsilon entry will be driven by Juan Barazi, Michael Vergers and new to the team, Stuart Moseley. Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle brought their Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley home in seventh place in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen last weekend. 12-06-08 The British Formula Ford Championship will team up with the Benelux Championship at Spa next week creating a grid of over 30 cars at the Belgium track. Wayne Boyd leads the British series after winning 11 races so far this year stretching his lead in the Championship to 435 points, 49 more than second placed Tim Blanchard...read more
There are still a limited number of tickets still available for the official F1 test at Silvderstone on 24 – 26 June. They can be purchased in advance for £12 per day. Teams and drivers take to the Grand Prix circuit for 3 to make their final preparations for the British Grand Prix. All the teams are expected to attend. British drivers Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard are also expected at some point over the three days. Following the popularity of last year's F1 test, Silverstone will be increasing general access by opening up some of the best grandstands and spectator terraces to ensure the best possible views. Tickets(which must be purchased in advance) are available for £12 a day or £30 for 3 days, children under 15 are free. For further information, or to book tickets, visit www.silverstone.co.uk, or call 08704 588 260 The Gulf Aston Martin Racing team cars hads their first qualifying session for this weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours last night. The 007 car driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Andrea Piccini and Karl Wendlinger ended the evening in sixth while, the 009 machine of Darren Turner David Brabham Antonio Garcia. Were fifth..read more
Canadian’s Scott Maxwell and co-driver Joe Foster are hoping for a ‘home’ win in the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series at the 2.459-mile, Mosport circuit in Bowmanville, Ontario this weekend .read preview Iris Project's Michael Ammermuller was fastest in testing at Brno in Formula Masters yesterday. The German posted a best lap of 1:50.374, followed by JD Motorsport's Chris van der Drift with a time of 1:50.490. Third fastest was Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer, whose best lap time was 1:50.698. The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport car for the 2008/09 season continued an intensive testing programme this week at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. Following on from successful tests at Fiorano, Andrea Bertolini was back behind the wheel of the Powered by Ferrari car awat from the Ferrari test track for the first time. Feedback continues to be positive with the car running on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. All team testing will take place at Silverstone on 18 -- 20 August 2008 and Mugello on 17 -- 18 September 2008. The British round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), which takes place at Brands Hatch from 26/27 July, will see three home-grown competitors going head-to-head for glory. As well as three-time FIA WTCC champion Andy Priaulx, who is hoping to make it four titles in a row this year in his BMW 320Si, and Chevrolet's up-and-coming talent Rob Huff, James Thompson will be gunning for the Brands Hatch victory with his Honda Accord Euro R Super 2000. 11-06-08
Fresh from its victory on April's Central Europe Rally, the Volkswagen team faces a totally new challenge next week when it sends a brace of TDI-powered Race Touaregs to South America to contest the 10 day Rally dos Sertões.in Brazil. It is seen as vital preparation for the Dakar Rally, (which next year will be held in Argentina and Chile!!). The Race Touaregs will be crewed by South African Giniel de Villiers and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz, and by the American/South African pairing of Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford. The Rally dos Sertões gets under way from Goiâna in central Brazil on Wednesday 18 June and features 10 timed special stages, ranging in length from 135 km to 536 km, as part of its 4500 km overall length. The rally ends at Natal on Brazil's Atlantic coast on 27 June. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen said. 'We expect the Sertões stages to be quite similar to the terrain of the future "Dakar", and it will be a new test for the team, for the cars and for the drivers.' Miller agreed, It will be a case of adapting to the terrain and we will need to take as few risks as possible. We should maintain a constant pace throughout and in no way underestimate the local teams.'
Ford 'Tin Top' Racing on
the Telly! The ever popular satellite channel Men & Motors has now
been contracted to show a 4 programmes (initially) featuring race action
from the Ford Saloons and
www.Dees.co.uk Ford Fiestas. Titled Ford Car Racing, the schedule is
below and reflects the hard work by AMG-TV to secure the slots. Check
AMG-TV website for latest transmission information. Men & Motors
transmission details. John Edwards didn’t have an easy time at Watckins Glen in the Star Mazda Championship last weekend. After suffering a myriad of mechanical gremlins with his AIM Autosport No. 7 car he persevered and brought the car home in sixth. Alexander Rossi won the Formula BMW Americas race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last weekend. Rossi took the lead on the second lap after qualifying on the front row, winning by over 5 seconds..
10-06-08
A1GP World Cup of Motorsport have released a provisional calendar for or its 2008/09 season Stefan Johannson won the Grand Prix Masters race at Anderstorp in Sweden over the weekend. Appropriately driving an ex-Ronnie Peterson March 761 the former Ferrari F1 driver won both races from Simon Hadfield
Jeremy Metcalfe produced a strong fightback in the British GT’s eighth round at Snetterton. Taking over the CR Scuderia Ferrari in 15th place from team-mate Luke Hines, Metcalfe climbed back to seventh place at the finish..read more Kieran Clark picked up a good 11th place finish at Silverstone in Formula Renault UK, after sustaining a lot of pressure from his rivals, including his temporary team-mate Will Bratt.. Michael Devaney took his and Ultimate Motorsport’s first AND second every victories in the Briths F3 Championsip at Snetterton on Sunday. Scott Dixon claimed his first Indycar win at Texas Motor Speedway, winning the Bombardier Learjet 550k under caution after the cars driven by Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact while battling for second place with five laps remaining. Helio Castroneves finished second and his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, was third. Dan Wheldon, who started 11th in his backup car, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan improved eight positions to finish fifth. This weekend (June 14/15th) Croft will host the Dunlop-backed Great and British Motorsport Festival. Visiting six of the UK's circuits, the BARC series has the BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup , the Mini Challenge, the Mini Se7en and Mini Miglia on Saturday, the Radical UK Cup, which has two 50 minute races on Sunday and on Saturday two races for the Radical Club Cup. There is also the Westfield Championship with two twenty minute races on Sunday and the ever popular DDMC Northern Sports and Saloon Car Championship on Saturday. At Watkins Glen Charles Hall finally got his just desserts and won Round Three of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear ..read report. 09-06-08 Graham Carroll won the Jackie Stewart Trophy at Knockhill yesterday during the Scottish Speedfair. Carroll who had earlier won his qualifying heat led from the flag under intense pressure from Robert Barrable and William Herron. After a Red flag on lap, 5 when John Stewart beached his car on the kerbs at Car Lube(formerly Clarks), which Carroll only just missed by taking to the gravel trap, the race restarted. Carroll led again followed by Rob Barrable once more, who kept right on the leader’s gearbox until the flag. Herron, who was third took fastest lap. Carroll was also awarded the David Leslie Trophy as FF1600 driver of the day.
In the Pirrelli Ferrari Open Series Gary Culver won Sunday’s racer at Knockhill by leading the last 50 or so yards when erstwhile leader Marco Pullen momentarily lost it on the last corner of the last lap after leading the previous 24 and three quarter laps. He recovered to finish second with Charlie White third after a great driver from the back of the grid. Culver then went on to win the Ferrari Classic race held later that afternoon. Once again Marco Pullen had led the early laps but by lap 8 Culver was right on his tail, taking the lead one lap later to win by just under 8 seconds. Nicky Paul-Barron was third just behind Pullen. Peter Harper won both Classic Clubmans races at Brands Hatch at the weekend. In the first he pulled off a superb overtaking move at Paddock swooping past both Steve Chaplin and John Harrison in one move to take the lead. Daniel Gibson and Adrian Langridge shared the spoils at a dry and sunny Brands Hatch over the weekend in the Clubmans Cup.. Jonathan Adam made a dramatic return to the Elf Clio Cup at Silverstone at the weekend and came away with a win and a second place behind Championship leader Ben Winrow after the latter had followed him home in the first race. Jason Bargwanna (Trivett Classic MINI Garage/Matchmaster TV Reception Systems) completed the perfect weekend in MINI CHALLENGE at Sandown International Raceway winning all three races. Jake Chapman won his first race in the Australian Formula Ford Championship today(Monday) while Paul Laskazeski won the overall round with two wins from tree races at Sandown Raceway CR Scuderia came away from Snetterton this weekend with two podiums. James Sutton and Mike Meadows claimed third yesterday(Sunday) whilw Jeremy Metcalfe and Luke Hines finished in the same place on Saturday.
Will Bratt ‘s Formula Renault UK comeback for Apotex Scorpio Motorsport netted him an eighth place finish at Silverstone in the second race after he retired from the opener.
Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer’s return to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship showed exactly why the pair won the title last year. A storming drive in Saturday’s race saw them come second after a safety car period wiped out their earlier lead while on Sunday they were unstoppable winning comfortably . Brazil’sAdriano Buzaid won both Formula Renault UK races at Silverstone in front of over 70,000 spectoators. Championship leader Adam Christodoulou took two second places while Alexander Sims and James Calado picked up the final podium places.
The people of Crawley are supporting our injured soldiers, sailors and airmen in more ways than ever.Three companies in particular have been involved in the launch of a newly formed charity - PUSH TO FREEDOM…read more Hitech Racing picked some more points in the British F3 Championship at Snetterton. Walter Grubmüller took two ninth places while and Max Chilton was seventh in race 2 after a disappointing 13th in the earlier race. Sam Abay did not have a good weekend in British F3 at Snetterton. In the first race he got stuck in a traffic jam behind Nick Tandy while in race two he got a puncture which cost him a lap after he pitted for a new tyres. Alexander Sims was again on the podium in the Formula Renault UK Championship, this time at Snetterton Total Control Racing’s Jonathan Ridley-Holloway saw his good qualifying efforts come to naught after he was punted back down the field by errant drivers in the Elf Clio Cup at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit . Aluminos Kart team owner Rob Soares keeps on utilizing his experience alongside that of other top karters like Tom Dyer and Lorenzo Mandarino to bring on new talent..read more 08-06-08
Dean Smith produced a tremendous performance in the first of the Eurocup Formula Renault races at SIlverstone on Saturday, 7th June. Smith moved from last on the grid up to 18th at the finish, passing 245 cars in the process. Then just to prove it wasn't a fluke he went and did it again today !..read more
Jeremy Metcalfe claimed his second podium finish of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship yesterday, Saturday, 7th June 07-06-08 Stan Bernard maintained his 100% win rate in the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons today in the Scottish Speedfair at Knockhill with another win in his Porsche 911. Despite slipping back to fourth at the start , it took him just 7 laps to hit the front passing Willy Toye , then Matthew Gordon's Porsche and finally his son Adam to win by a comfortable margin. Second was Gordon after Adam Bernard's 911 suffered from overheating problems from lap 10 but he managed to nurse it home in third just ahead of Toye's TR8.
Marco Pullen won the first Pirelli Ferrari Open
Series
Fortec Motorsport’s Adriano Buzaid will start from pole for rounds 11 and 12 of the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship.. The single-seater series is supporting the UK round of World Series by Renault, the free motorsport festival being held at Silverstone this weekend. A single qualifying session determined both race grids, with each driver’s fastest time setting the grid for round 11 and their second-fastest time setting the grid for round 12. Buzaid’s time for round 11 was 1min 46.070s (108.40mph) on his final flying lap. The Brazilian’s team-mate James Calado will line up alongside Buzaid on the front row for both races, getting within 0.233s of pole. CR Scuderia Formula Renault’s championship leader Adam Christodoulou is third on the grid for both races alongside his cousin Riki Christodoulou of Fortec Motorsport. Manor Competition duo Alexander Sims and Kris Loane share the third row, Sims in fifth with Loane sixth for round 11 while the pair swap places for round 12. Fortec Motorsport’s Oli Webb is 7th for both races. The top 10 for round 11 is completed by Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman and Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt. In round, Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes improved from 12th to take eighth place on the grid ahead of Apotex Scorpio’s Australian driver Josh Scott and Manor’s Henry Surtees. Mark Winterbottom began his duties yesterday (Friday) facing tough questions from young competitors at Sandown Raceway. The informal mentoring session was an open forum with sponsorship proving the hot topic. Young Formula Ford competitors were interested in how to build relationships with potential sponsors. Winterbottom emphasised the importance of linking sponsors to each other to strengthen their return on CAMS Rising Star young-gun Daniel Erickson was concerned with balancing work and racing; Winterbottom was able to relate to his predicament. Winterbottom was able to relate to his predicament. "The mentoring session was really beneficial," said Erickson. "Winterbottom has faced a lot of what we are now facing as young drivers and it's reassuring to know he's come through and achieved his goal of V8 Supercars. "I've been trying to work as well as race, but I'm lucky that my employer understands my racing commitments and allows me time off to prepare and race. Winterbottom empathised with us about finding a happy balance between the hours spent working and time spent on your ultimate racing goal. Getting to each round is a challenge for many of us and Winterbottom understands that - he's a great ambassador for 2008." Jason Bargwanna has given his Trivett Classic MINI Garage/Matchmaster TV Reception Systems team the perfect possible start, by setting the fastest time in MINI CHALLENGE qualifying at Sandown International Raceway today. read more Practice for the Sunday's Round 3 of the Australian FFord series began today with Nick Percat fastest. Adam Graham settled in second completing 10 laps, while a red flag was called after Rob Storey became a victim of the slippery track, finding the wall on lap four.
ELF Renault Clio Cup championship leader Ben Winrow will start rounds 11 and 12 from pole position after a brilliant display in qualifying on Saturday, 7th June..read more 06-06-08 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 contender James Winslow is struggling to stay in the championship due to a lack of funds. His budget is now so tight he may not even make it to next weeks' fifth round. Needless to say the Englishman is as committed as ever to remain in the series....read more
James Appleton has signed a long-term agreement with Q8 Oils and Accident Exchange, one of the UK’s leading accident management companies James, one of Britain’s up-and-coming karting drivers is racing with the NJR team in the Mini Max class in the British Super 1 and Stars of Tomorrow Championship. Now with Q8 and Accident Exchange backing and marketing support he can continue his bid to become a Formula One driver. James said, “I am really pleased to have support from Q8 Oils and Accident Exchange. Both companies support motorsport and it's terrific that they are getting involved with me at this stage of my career.” James’ first race in Q8 Oils’ and Accident Exchange’s colours will be this weekend (7 / 8 June) at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire, where he will be attempting to make it three wins out of three races, in the Stars of Tomorrow Championship.
PSL Karting had a mixed time at the ‘Mazda Race of the Americas’ in New Castle Indiana last weekend. Florida Winter Tour champion Fritz Leesmann came away with their best result with a fourth place in the second final while veteran Josh Schreiber picked up a fifth in the first. Paul Mercurio, Leanne Tander and Jason Bargwanna have unveiled the Australian Mini Challenge's UBER-STAR CAR complete with an all new livery for this weekend's race at Sandown..read more The 9th and 10th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week in the Czech Republic, at Brno's Masaryk Circuit. This is a traditional meeting for the championship, as Brno hosted the European Touring Car Championship from 2002 to 2004, and then the World Touring Car Championship from 2006. BMW notched up seven victories out of the ten races; only Alfa Romeo (Fabrizio Giovanardi's double win in 2002) and Chevrolet (Robert Huff won Race 2 in 2006) have managed to break the German cars' supremacy. The 2007 meeting saw Félix Porteiro (it was the young Spaniard's maiden WTCC success) and Jörg Müller sharing the glory with a win apiece. Since last year the circuit has been completely resurfaced during the winter, which may result in fastest lap times. Andy Priaulx and Yvan Muller will have their cars laden by 58 kg of success ballast in Brno while championship leader Gabriele Tarquini will get only 3kgs less, 55. Rickard Rydell will carry 47kgs, one more than Augusto Farfus. The heaviest Chevrolets will be Nicola Larini's and Robert Huff's with 39 and 37 kg respectively. The lightest top drivers will be Jörg Müller (+20), Alain Menu (+14) and Tiago Monteiro (+12). A total of eighteen drivers will have success ballast in Brno The rain did not put off the spectators at Pau last weekend according to Jean-Paul Pasquet, president of the ASAC Basco Béarnais, there were 30,000 . At the French meeting Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx claimed two lights-to-flag wins for BMW. Michal
Matejovský will join the WTCC for his home event at Brno.
The young Czech will be at the wheel of SUNRED's second SEAT León TFSI
car alongside Tom Coronel, entered under the name of SUNRED-BRT. Late Czech driver Zdenek Voitech will be honoured during the WTCC event at Brnowith an invitation race. The 1st Touring Car Cup - Zdenek Voitech Memorial, reserved for saloon cars, is made up of two 11-lap races that will close the programme on Saturday and Sunday. Voitech was part of the Skoda team that won the 1981 FIA European Touring Car Championship Manufacturers' title and one year later claimed the Drivers' crown in a BMW 328i; he died of cancer in 1998 at the age of 47. Both his sons Tomás and Stepan followed his footprints into motor sport competition: Stepan races in the FIA GT Championship, while a tragic twist of fate claimed Tomás' life with a heart attack in 2005 just before the start of a rally, he was only 32. 2007Formula Renault UK champion Duncan Tappy has secured a deal to race in World Series by Renault for the rest of the seasson, starting this weekend at Silverstone. The 23-year-old has joined RC Motorsport just in time to show off his abilities in front of his home crowd . “I’ve been trying since the end of last season to secure a drive in the World Series but it has come down to budget,” said Tappy. “I got close a couple of times and tofinally get such a great opportunity is fantastic news. Hopefully I can put on a good show for the home crowd and make the most of it.”
Last weekend's rained off round 10 of the Formula Renault UK series at Croft has been re-scheduled for Snetteton on Saturday, 12th July. Two qualifying sessions will be held as normal for rounds 13 and 14, followed by the postponed round 10 race . At Croft Rik Christodoulou qualified on pole with Alexander Sims alongside him SEAT Cupra racer Jonathan Adam will make a one-off return to the Elf Clio Cup this weekend at Silverstone for Total Control Racing. “I think the fact it is on the full Grand Prix circuit will help me because it will level the playing field,” says Adam. “Not many people will have raced or even tested here prior to the weekend, although they do have more experience than me in the new Clio Cup car.” I’ve done a few tests in the car. I think you have to drive it more aggressively than the 182 that I raced in 2005 and hopefully I’ll get to grips with that during Friday’s test, which is a key day.” 05-06-08
The Champion Racing / Intrepid USA Kart team spent last weekend at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Mazda Race of the Americas event at the New Castle Motorsports Park, located just outside Indianapolis. The weekend didn’t fget off to an auspicious start when violent thunderstorm hit the area on Friday evening and wrecked the large circus tent used by the team causing some minor damage..read report
GTS Racing with Mitchum Motorsports hits the track for the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen this weekend after a brief layoff from the Rolex Grand American Road Racing Series. This layoff wasn't a vacation for the #74 Porsche GT3 Cup team, having performed a successful test session at Carolina Motorsports Park with development driver Anthony Lazzaro and team newcomer Jim Michaelian. Going into the weekend Michaelian states; "I'm delighted to have the opportunity to drive with the GTS Racing team at Watkins Glen. We had a very successful test at Carolina Motorsports Park and the team demonstrated their strong commitment to run a first-class operation and we are looking to perform well on the historic road circuit at the Glen. Hopefully this will lead to further opportunities for me to run with the team in future Grand Am events." For the event Michaelian will be joined by Bransen Patch along with young hot shoe Andy Brumbaugh Silverstone has announced today(Thursday 5 June) that race day tickets for the (Sunday) 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX are now sold out…read more Justin Wilson and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing will race at this Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550k at the Texas Motor Speedway. The saying ‘Everything is bigger in Texas' certainly applies to the 24-degree banking in the turns of the 1.5-mile oval and Justin is looking forward to the challenge. "The steepest banking I have run on so far is Kansas or Homestead so I'm looking forward to getting on track in the McDonald's car and experiencing the banking at Texas for myself," said Justin. "I have no idea what to expect physically. I know it's pretty demanding; the loads are more vertical than they are on some of the lower banked tracks. It will be different, but I should be able to adapt pretty quickly." Texas Motor Speedway has featured the closest racing in IndyCar history. In the 18 races held at the track, 13 have been determined by less than one second, while six races, including last year's, had a margin of victory of less than one-tenth of a second. "I've heard that Texas Motor Speedway produces intense racing because everyone is in a tight pack, flat-out, running nose to tail," said Justin. "The emphasis is on not making a mistake and trying to be around drivers you can trust. You also need a good pit strategy to try to get some positions and move up the order." Dean Fiore and Aaron Caratti head for Melbourne this weekend and Round Five of the Carrera Cup Australia at Sandown International Raceway looking for good results are loosing ground on Championship leader Craig Baird last time out in perth. .read more Following three consecutive top-five finishes, defending Pocono 500 champion Jeff Gordon has gained seven positions in the point standings. Now sixth entering this Sunday's 500-mile event at Pocono Raceway, Gordon and Team DuPont eye a fourth consecutive top-five finish - at Pocono and on the 2008 season - to further strengthen their position in the standings. With 13 races completed and only 13 remaining before the field is set for the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup," the driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet knows the job is only half-complete. "Our goal each year is to be in the Chase," Gordon said. "We've had an up-and- down season so far, but we've had a string of good finishes recently and we need to keep building on that.” Dario Franchitti, driver of the No. 40 CGRFS Dodge, will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend at Pocono Raceway after missing the last six weeks because of a broken ankle received in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in April. Franchitti made his return last weekend at Dover International Speedway in the Nationawide race finishing 15th. Since then he has tested at Pocono along with most other teams. The team's fastest lap was a 53.755 seconds at 167.426 mph, which put them 12th fastest at the end of the day. 04-06-08
During the Grand-Am Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen this weekend (June 6 & 7) AIM Autosport will focus on reliability rather than just speed in the pits. Drivers Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle have led races already this season, now they just need to lead the final lap...read more Jason Bargwanna will race in the Australian Mini Challenge for the rest of the 2008 season alongside his cousin Scott in a two car super-team. After driving the Uber-Star car at Eastern Creek earlier in the year Jason will start his comeback this weekend at Sandown..read more Liz Halliday has joined the commentart team at Eurosport for their exclusive coverage of the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours next weekend(14-15 June). Halliday has raced in Le Mans three times before coming fourth in 2006 ..read more Paul Mercurio, the host of Mercurio’s Menu and a judge on Dancing with the Stars on the Seven Network is the latest MINI CHALLENGE UBER-STAR for this weekend’s races at the Midas 400 meeting at Sandown (June 7-9)..read more JD Motorsport’s Sergey Afanasiev and Pro Motorsport’s Marcello Puglisi shared the honours in the two Formula Masters races at Pau last weekend..report Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 is one of the most hotly-contested categories around. With more than forty cars in the starting line-up, the slightest mistake can have significant consequences. Among the favourites this season, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Andrea Caldarelli and Roberto Mehri all paid the price at Spa-Francorchamps. The trouble, caused by chaotic start during the second race, brought a surprise victory for Paul Meijer (MP Motorsport) who will not be racing at Silverstone this weekend. Ricciardo has so far lived up to expectations. the SG Formula driver has four wins, one in the Eurocup and three in the West European Cup. The Australian currently heads the points table with BVM Minardi drivers Daniel Zampieri and Cesar Ramos just behind. Competitive and reliable, the two men pulled off an impressive result in Belgium. Valtteri Bottas needs to build on his recent form when he arrives in the UK. The Finn must draw on all his resources to notch up his first Eurocup victory. The The British contingent is well represented in Eurocup series. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (BVM Minardi Team) proved quick in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, with two top-ten starting positions, although he was less lucky during the races. Richard Singleton, Luciano Bacheta (Hitech Junior Team), Dean Smith, Daniel McKenzie and Alex Morgan (Fortec Motorsport) all have the advantage of a little local knowledge. 03-06-08 Historic saloon cars will have a support race at the 2008 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday 6 July following confirmation that the Historic Sports Car Club has been invited to organise a race for pre-1966 cars. The race, which is likely to run after the GP itself on Sunday afternoon, should provide an exciting race from a huge variety of cars. It is sure to be a popular feature of the weekend for the capacity crowd and represent a rare opportunity for saloon car racers to compete at such a prestigious event. "We are delighted to have been invited to organise the historic support race at the British Grand Prix meeting for the third year running," said Grahame White, chief executive of the HSCC. "We can start 48 cars on the Grand Prix circuit, and I am hopeful that we can fill the grid very quickly." The race will include the type of cars that competed in the early years of the British Saloon Car Championship, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. Any drivers interested in entering the race should contact the HSCC office as soon as possible on 01327 8584500, by fax to 01327 858500 and by e-mail to office@hscc.org.uk
TV coverage for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
continues this week with another highlights programmes in the
Motorsport UK series. This week, the dedicated Carrera Cup coverage in
the Motorsport UK series continues with action from the Rockingham races
and the half-hour programme will be broadcast three times:
Stefan Hodgetts joined an elite
list of drivers to have scored race wins in the VIP entry in the Porsche
Carrera Cup GB when he won round ten at Croft (1 June). Without a
regular drive in Britain this season, Hodgetts was invited to race the
PCGB entry in the pro category for the races at the North Yorkshire
track and promptly reminded everyone of his ability. Sarah Bennett-Baggs continues to lead her class in the Porsche Club Championship after taking two second places at Silverstone on Sunday.. Hitech Junior will get to race at home for the first an only time this weekend when the 2008 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship comes to Silverstone. based at the hone of the British GP, the team will run four cars for Miki Monras, Richard Singleton, Juan Jacobo and Luciano Bacheta. ..read more The dreadful weather, which saw teams at the official Le Mans test on Sunday get just a single hour of dry running, didn't worry RML AD Group’s three drivers for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours ..read more.
Phil Quaife took a fourth and a sixth place in a soggy Porsche Carrera Cup GB weekend at Croft. With the British weather doing it's best to give the drivers a taste of all 4 seasons in a weekend, the Jota Sport racer kept out of trouble to take more championship points.. Jeremy Metcalfe and his CR Scuderia Ferrari 430 GT3 car are at Snetterton this coming weekend, 7th/8th June, for the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.Lying equal-seventh in the standings with team-mate Luke Hines, Jeremy is confident of continuing the recent run of points scores which started with a maiden British GT victory at Knockhill in April. This weekend will see the recent re-equalisation of the Lamborghinis and the Dodge Vipers by championship officials, the move giving those cars a performance boost. With that in mind, the challenge at Snetterton could be pretty hard. Looking ahead to next weekend’s action, Jeremy said: “I haven’t been to Snetterton in the Ferrari yet but I’m confident we’ll be strong for the next two rounds and I’m looking forward to the event. The Ferraris were quick there last year but, like Rockingham, we’ll have to see how it pans out with the re-equalisation of the other cars.I’m confident we can put a good race together and I’m sure we’ll be challenging for more big points. I’m happy with the way the season is going so far, the team is working very well and I’m having a great time in the Ferrari – it’s a fantastic car to race.” 02-06-08 AIM Autosport The last rounds of the Ford Fiesta Championship from Snetterton will be shown this week on Motors TV (Sky Channel 413), starting on Friday at 9pm, where you will see our 2nd place in the first race and race win in the second! The show “Race and Rally UK” is repeated at various times over the following week if you miss the first showing. Next TV slots for Heritage GT
Car Challenge. Schedules for the next round of TV coverage of the
2008 Heritage GT Car Challenge have been announced. Highlights of the
race at Silverstone on 31 May will first be screened on Sky Sports 2
during the early evening of Tuesday 10 June, with a further five repeat
broadcasts.
Lola’s various entrants prepared for the 24 Heures Du Mans to be held on 14-15 June at the official test day at Le Mans, on Sunday (1 June). With 7 cars entered this it is the marque’s biggest entry since 1979. ..read more Hitech Racing are off to Snetterton on Friday for a final test prior to the next round of the British Formula 3 International Series starting on Saturday(7 June). read more Sam Hancock finished on the podium once more in the first race for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Croft. In the second he gambled on wet tyres on a drying track, a gamble that didn’t come off... Round 9 of the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Croft on Sunday(1 June) was won by Adam Christodoulou, his fifth win of the year. Second was Alexander Sims, with Riki Christodoulou in third. Heavy rain delayed the start of the race unitl 1600hrs leaving no time for Round 10. This has been provisionally scheduled for 12th/13th July when the series is at Snetterton…. Gary Duckman and Mark McAleer both won a race in the Porsche Club championship at Silverstone. Paul McLean won the first 20-minute Porsche Open race at Silverstone, while Mike Johnson won the longer race two Paul Rivett came away with maximum points from Croft after taking two wins from two starts in the 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup. The former champ led home Ben Winrow and Phil Glew in round 10, exactly the same result as Saturday’s race…
Arthur and Boysie Thurtle continued the 'Happy Families' theme in Heritage GT by becoming the third family pairing to win in the series this year. The Thurtle's Camaro taking them to victory at Silverstone on Saturday (31 May) in the Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge, . Kazuya Oshima was best placed for Manor Motorsport in both F3 Euroseries races at Pau this weekend. The team’s other drivers, Niall Breen failed to finish in both races while Sam Bird and Koudai Tsukakoshi manged a solitary finish well down the field..
Will Bratt’s brief tenure at the top of the Fiat Spanish F3 Championship table last barely 24 hours after he was force to retire from the second race of the weekend at Spa on Sunday. Martin Plowman had an eventful time in the latest rounds of the F3 Euroseries at Pau over the weekend. In Round 5 he stormed from 25th to eighth while in round 6 a gearbox problem put him out.. Manor Competition were once again on the podium in Formula Renault UK, this time at Croft where Alexander Sims took a competitive second place on a drying track. Daniel Lloyd completed a perfect weekend in the Ginetta Jnrs at Croft yesterday, winning his second race of the weekend by over 11 seconds bringing him to within 21 points of second place in the championship Danile Lloyd’s Ginetta Junior Championship bid was aided yesterday when Championship leader Dino Zamparelli crashed out while trying to pass Lloyd on the opening lap.. Michael Doyle enjoyed his best finish to-date in the HiQ British Touring Car Championship at Croft yesterday when the 20 yeat-old Scot brought his car home in 9th place in the opening race Andrew Herron continued to deliver with another second place in the SEAT Cupra Championship at Croft. The Northern Irishman shadowed his team-mate and eventual winner Robert Lawson throughout the one and only Cupra race yesterday(Sunday)..
Robert Lawson did his home supporters proud at Croft in North Yorkshire yesterday, (Sunday) by winning the only Cupra Championship race, his fifth of the season.. Alexander Sims is into third place in the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship after taking another podium in the race at Croft yesterday(Sunday). Larbre Competition was right on the pace with their Saleen S7R at the Le Mans Test Day coming away with the second fastest GT1-class time set by Christophe Bouchut during one of the few dry periods of the day..read more 01-06-08 Stefan Hodgetts won the second race in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Croft today (Sunday 1 June) after elcting to go for dry tyres at the start of the race. Second place was Michael Caine who remains at the top of the Championship table. Tony Gilham won the pro-am1 while newcomer Glynn Geddie won pro-am.
Heavy rain brought chaos to the HiQ BTCC at Croft today(Sunday). The first race was stopped twice by red flags, the second calling an end to the race which was won by Colin Turkington.He also won the second event, run in the damp before Giovanardi won the third. The SEAT team had a 'bad day at the office' , picking up just 3 points between Plato and Turner and both be hoping for much better when the Championship resumes next month at Snetterton. Andy Priaulx won his first WTCC race of 2008 in the wet at Pau in race 2 today (Sunday) giving BMW a double victory beside the Pyrenees. Nicola Larini was second for Chevrolet with SEAT's Rickard Rydell third . Will Bratt leads the 2008 FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship after taking 3rd place in Saturday's race at Spa-Francorchamps ..
Paul Rivett got his 2008 title chase back into gear with a fine win in round nine of the ELF Renault Clio Cup at Croft on Saturday,( 31st May) . The 2002 and 2004 champion headed Full Speed Racing’s Phil Glew in second place and Team Pyro’s championship leader Ben Winrow in third
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
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Carol
Brown
Stewart
Lyddall
won
on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday he beat Simon Lewis by
0.788secs with Chris Boon third 1.4 seconds off the winner’s time. In
the following race on Sunday Boon took second ahead of Lewis 1.31 secs
behind Dorlin.
(below
- pic Paul Williams) picked up four wins over
the weekend at Angelsey. On Saturday he won the Sports V Saloons with
Caterham and JEC Jags from Gerry Simpson’s Caterham R400 and Peter
Davies Superlight, the first class D car home was Martyn Adamson’s TR7.
In the Sports V Saloons with Stryker Sports race Dunn led Davies and
Simpson home in that order while on Sunday the trio continued their
inexorable drive at the front with two morerepeat performances. In the
Sports V Saloons race and the Sports V Saloons and JEC Jags event. In
each case Dunn led Davies who was followed by Simpson. In the former
Chris Palner was the first Saloon home in his XJS while in the latter
Jeremy Knight’s D-Type was the first Jaguar over the line
In
the Mono 2000 races at Anglesey in Wales Neil Hanson(Dallara F398) ,
Jeremy Timms(Dallara F397) and Tristan Cliffe(Reynard 883) were first,
second and third respectively in both Saturday and Sunday’s races. The
race for the 1200, 1600 and 1800 cars was won by Steve Cave on Saturday
in his JKS when he beat Chris Vinall’s JKS by 1.866 secs. Ben Anderson
was third in a Jedi five seconds further back. On Sunday Cave and Vinall
swapped places, Vinall winning by 4.693secs with Katherine Impey
third. (pic Paul Williams)
Valter
Fernandez (pictured - picPaul Williams)
took the honours in the Stryker Sportcars from Colin Deering and Paul
Murphy 
EmiliodeVillota.com
Motorsport’s Will Bratt was another Brit suffering a poor weekend in
Europe. Racing in the Spanish F3 Series at Albacete yesterday and
today his chances of a god result were spoilt on Saturday after he was
given a controversila drive-through penalty leaving him down the grid in
13th for Sunday's race. Despite this he managed to claw his way
through to field to finish seventh 
Alexander
Rossi dominated the latest round of the Formula BMW Americas
James
Thompson and his N.technology Honda Accord Euro R 
SEAT
Sport's Gabriele Tarquini
Aim
Autosport Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley claimed it's best
result of the season with a fourth place at Mid Ohio in the Grand-Am
series, a reslt that moves it p to seventh in the Championship .
was won by Stephen Primett(pictured left - All Oulton Park pics
Paul Williams) in a Ford Escort. Second was David Howard in a Jag
XJ12, just 0.976 secs behind with Dave Nixon third in a Mazda. Classic
Group 1 laurels went to Neil Bray in a Ford Fiesta 2.2 secs ahead
of the 3 litre Capri of Jim McLoughlin with David Hickton's Opel Ascona
third 3.17 secs behind the winner. The Pre 93 Touring cars saw Andy
Davies
(below)
take victory in his BMW M3, 7.2 secs up on Carl Bennett in a Honda
Civic with Stuart Tranter third in a Rover Tomcat.
was triumphant. his MGZR crossing the line 3.4 seconds up on Lee
Sullivan's Maestro while BenShort was third in another Maestro, a
further 3 seconds 'down the road'. In the second MGOC race for Classes A
& F Stuart Plotnek won from Paul Savage and Ian Evans. 
event at Oulton Park(pictured right). His Van Dieman RF82 just
managed to hold off Andy Huxtable's RF83 to win by 0.9secs. Peter
Chippendale was a distant third. In the FF1600race Keith Davey(Van
Dieman RF81) won from Paul Walton(Crossle 25f) by 8 seconds with Stuart
kestenbam(Van Dieman RF79) third 
Phil
Quaife was out in the Porsche Supercup at the weekend racing in support
of the French GP stars at Magny Cours. Friday practice
session gave him a brief opportunity to familiarise himself to the new
2008 Supercup car, It's got more horsepower than 2007 plus ceramic
brakes. He ended up 19th in qualifying the next day, saying, “I
felt the competition had moved up another gear this year which made
qualifying much closer. Just nine tenths of a second covered the top 20
which meant that it was essential to string together a near perfect lap.
The track is usually quicker with more grip at the beginning of the
session on the F1 rubber, which is when I pushed hard to get my best lap
in and at this stage I had slotted the car into the top 10. I used my
2nd set of tyres too early and could not improve on the lap time.
Unfortunately as the session progressed the track got faster and a
number of drivers who used their 2nd set of tyres later posted their
quickest time towards the end, which dropped me down the order”.
In the race Phil used the start to make up some positions and 14 laps
later he had moved up to 11th place at the flag. After the race
Phil reflected on his weekend, “I made a pretty clean start and
managed to gain a couple of positions off the line. It was then just a
case of keeping my head down and staying out of trouble. It is such a
strong competitive championship where anything can happen but I loved
every minute of it! It was fantastic to be back competing in the
Supercup championship again this weekend and I was pleased with a finish
just outside the top 10 in such a competitive series. I would like to
thank Jetstream for giving me the opportunity of returning to Supercup
this weekend and giving me a fantastic car. It has certainly whetted my
appetite to return to the series again in 2009”.
Japan’s
Team Reckless driver, Kota Sasaki did the double in Rounds 3 and 4
of the Aston Martin Asia Cup at Sepang, Malaysia over the
weekend.
Wayne
Boyd continues to dominate the British Formula Ford Championship. On
Saturday in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps he won yet again taking
his season's tally to 13 wins. After winning both races on Saturday
he simply said, "It's all good," .
Philip
Broad, Dax Humberstone and David Pearce all won a race in the
Motorsport News Caterham Roadsports A at Cadwell Park. In the Roadsports
B series there was 3 separate winners as well with David Townrow,
Rob Vissers and Raphael Fiorentino sharing the spoils,
Strakka
Racing's BMW M3 driven by Peter Hardman, Nick Leventis and
Christian Vann was leading the Spa 12 hours until it retired from the
race just after half distnace when the cockpit filled with smoke.
Thruxton
plays host to the Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge
returns to racing this weekend in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 GT class at the Mid Ohio Sports
Car track..
Aim
Autosport will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen added: 'On our way to the
2009 Dakar Rally, the Rally dos Sertões is another step in our
preparation. Giniel and Mark opened the competition with a good first
stage; the next few days will offer a lot of variety in terms of the
terrain. We are eager to see what is in store for us.' Next up is the
hardest section of the rally, a total of nearly 1200 km of special
stages between Rio Verde and Palmas. Saturday's section is particularly
tricky at 431 km in length and with no service permitted between it and
Sunday's punishing 268 km leg. There are 10 competitive legs in all and
the overall rally length is 4500 km. The event ends at Natal on Brazil's
Atlantic coast next Friday (27 June).
Gemma
Garrett is the Female Face of the 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND
PRIX. Having recently been voted Miss Great Britain 2008, Gemma
is now the proud ambassador of this year’s British Grand Prix, taking
place at Silverstone on 4 - 6 July. Gemma will help
celebrate the track's special birthday. 2008 marks 60 years since the
first ever British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the circuit will be
celebrating the occasion in style. “I’m very honoured to have been named
the Female Face of the British Grand Prix.. I will be attending the
British Grand Prix on 6 July. I’m really looking forward to cheering on
the three British drivers. I’ve never been to the Grand Prix before so
it should be an amazing experience. I can’t wait,” said Gemma.
With race day sold-out and only a limited number of
tickets still available for practice on Friday and qualifying on
Saturday, Tickets for the Friday and
Saturday at the 2008 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX can be
booked at www.silverstone.co.uk or by calling 08704 588 300
once again came up with the goods in the Radical Cup winning their fifth
race on the trot with two more wins at Croft over the weekend.
TanderSport
Robert
Foster-Jones
Frederic
Vervisch
came home at Le Mans in
seventh plece, the first of petrol powered car across the line.
Beaten only by the works Audis and Peugeots the team can
justifiably claim the unofficial ‘petrol’ class at the Le Mans 24 Hours
after a faultless drive by the team.
Gabriele
Tarqunini grabbed a win for SEAT at Brno in the WTCC's second race
of the day in teh Czech Republic, holding off BMW's charging Alessandro
Zanardi. Earlier on in teh first race Zanardi had led home his BMW
team-mate Felix Porteiro after teh pair head led from the off. Alain
Menu spoiled BMW's total domination of the podium by taking third
Nathan
Carrati and James Winslow (pictured)shared the wins in the
Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Championship at Phillip Island today. Carratti
also picked up a second place in race 2 giving him an 18 point lead in
the title chase. The event which was interrupted with safety cars also
ended in controversy when Leanne Tander and Stuart Kostera were
given drive-thru penalties for overlapping at the restart. Appeals have
been lodge so results are provisional for now.
Menasheh
Idafar got his first taste of the full Silverstone GP Circuit on
Thursday during a general test day at the track. Driving for Hillspeed
in the Formula Renault BARC, he made the most of the mixed weather
conditions to carry out a variety of different tests in both the wet and
the dry. His quickest time was a 1m 49.6 seconds. The test has given
Menasheh much more confidence whatever the weather. “I’m really happy
with the work we’ve done, we made some set-up changes and I think we’ve
moved forward”, said the Gulf Computer Services, Ortolan and Gulfol
supported driver, “It was good to have the rain today as it gave us a
great chance to sort out some good wet-weather settings. The way things
have been so far this season, we have to be prepared for more rain when
the championship continues!” Hillspeed team boss Richard Ollerenshaw
added: “Menasheh did a very good job today, his best time in the driest
conditions we had was 1m 49.6 seconds and that was done on old tyres.
Even though the track was mainly dry at that point, there were still
some damp patches and the kerbs were wet so he couldn’t run a full dry
line as he would have liked. “He seems very comfortable with the wet
set-up we’ve worked on at Silverstone. We’re all very happy we’ll be
able to show improved performance in wet conditions if it rains at any
of the race meetings during the second half of the season. It’s been a
good day
James Winslow , driving for
the Team BRM Dallara , topped the timesheets at Phillip Island today in
practice for this weekend's Round of the the Kumho Tyres Australian F3
Championship. Second was Nathan Caratti (Team BRM) with Neil McFadyen (Piccola
Scuderia) third. The weather conditions made the session a bit of a
lottery with both rain and freezing temperatures hitting the circuit...
will start Le Mans from 11th on the grid after qualifying on Thursday
evening. The drivers didn’t improve their time, as Christophe Tinseau
aborted his best lap after being caught in traffic, but the team were
happy with the work they managed on the car’s race set up.Crucially,
Primat also managed some useful night running, after missing out on
Wednesday when the session was red flagged. Needing three laps in the
darkness hours to meet the ACO criteria to be eligible for the race,
Primat comfortably accomplished his goal and was pleased with his
consistent lap times. : “We’re pretty much where we want to be. There
are six diesel cars we can’t compete with but we’re still in the fight
with the Courage-Orecas and the Domes.” he said. “We don’t know what
will happen with the Peugeots and Audis in the race as they’re so
desperate to beat each other and sometimes that can lead to problems
with reliability. That, on the other hand, is Pescarolo Sport’s strength
so now we must concentrate on not making any mistakes and the team
having a good strategy. Le Mans is about concentrating on your own
race.” Team Principal Henri Pescarolo added, “The team has a lot of work
to do now in fitting the race engine, gearbox and suspension, but,
importantly, the drivers are happy with their car. We are all ready for
the race."
Larbre
Competition will start the Le Mans 24 Hours from second on the GT1-class
grid after missing pole position by just one tenth of a second in
Thursday’s second and final qualifying session. Having seen both the
works Corvettes lower their best laps and the two works Aston Martins
also improve significantly, Christophe Bouchut responded with a time of
3:47.761, over three seconds quicker than his best from Wednesday’s
session, to take second. He felt he could have been quicker had he not
been blocked by the pole winning Corvette on his best lap. David
Hallyday managed more night running, having only managed a single lap on
Wednesday due to the session being red flagged. He easily completed the
compulsory three laps to ensure his eligibility for the race. Patrick
Bornhauser also impressed, continuing his trend of posting consistent
times.Team Principal Jack Leconte commented: “Our level of performance
was incredible and once again Christophe produced a magical lap. The
fight for pole position was extremely complicated and difficult against
a big opponent like Corvette. I guess, when you see your main rival
turning the timing screen green in the first two sectors, you make sure
you’re on track at the right place! However to be second, so close to
the Corvette, and so far ahead of the Aston Martins, is very pleasing
A1GP Testing of the new Ferrari
powered car will continue next week with five-days running at the
new Guadix Circuit in Spain. The 3 kilometre track near Granada is a
good mix of fast and slow corners with various cambers and a 750-metre
main straight. A1GP General Manager, Technical and Operations, John
Wickham: "We've completed about 900-kilometres of testing so far and
everything is going relatively smoothly. The car is performing very well
and the driver is happy with it; the balance is good and the tyres are
working well. We haven't done as much testing as we hoped but that's
partly because we were waiting on the weather at Fiorano. We ended up
just running in the rain in the end but the car looked very quick in the
wet! In general the car has been very reliable. We look forward to five
consecutive days running next week with the tight Guadix Circuit ideal
for further testing of the handling of the car. "
Christophe
Bouchut driving the 
The
Superlight 300
Carl Stirling won last weekend's Stars of
Tommorrow race at Whilton Mill after a race-long dice with Zip Kart's
Lewis Hall and Jake Dennis..
The
Fiskens-supported Royal Autombile Club Woodcote Trophy was at Monza
Ollie
Hancock has been named as a British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising
Star
On Friday 13
June, David Leslie’s son Graham
Manor
Competition
In
the SMRC’s Classic and Sports Cars race 
Wayne
Boyd
Former
Zip Formula racer and ex-editor of British Racing News magazine,
Joe
Fulbrook
Paul
Laskazeski won yet another race and broke the lap record
in The Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at
Sandown Raceway today.(Sunday) .
Ollie
Jackson and David Mayes shared the honours in the Avon
Caterham Superlight Challenge races at Snetterton this weekend. Jackson
was superb in the wet conditions on Saturday while Mayes dominated in
the sunshine today.(Sunday).
race at Knockhill's Speedfair this afternoon (Saturday), After maing a
storming start he swiftly opened out a sizeable gap to his nearest
pursuers to win by over 8 seconds. The Chasing group, made up of Gary
Culver, Mark I'Anson (pictured #30 leading, Culver #34 -
pic 11/56 Motorsport) and Wayne Marrs
had spend the majority of the race locked together in a fight for second
place with for I' Anson in second from the start. However on the final
lap he got onto the gravel at Clark's(Car Lube) which allowed Culver to
slip by and claim the runner-up spot. I'Anson recovered to finish third
with Marrs fourth. Culver got his own back the Ferrari Classic
race winning with ease, crossing the line 11 seconds ahed of second
placed Pullen with David Tomlin third. 
Frank
Hynds won the Legends race at the Scottish Speedfair although Carol
Brown was the star of the show, climbing through the field from 18th on
lap one to finish in third less than a second Behind the winner. Ben
Mason just held her off on the final lap to take second. David Thorburn
had look likely to take the runner-up spot until Brown and Mason slipped
past him in on the final lap pushing him back to fourth at the
flag. 
Reigning
British GT Champion Bradley Ellis and team mate Alex Mortimer will
return to race in the series from which they stole the 2007 crown, for
rounds seven and eight of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at
Snetterton on 7&8 June. Fresh from their inaugural double FIA GT3
European victory at Monza in May, Ellis and Mortimer will help the
Matech Ford GT to make its British GT debut in the one-off 2008
appearance.. Ellis and Mortimer’s double ‘A’ grade driver status means
that the Ford GT will be subject to a 30-second pit penalty at
Snetterton, increasing the compulsory pitstop window from 45 to 75
seconds in total for each race. “It’s going to be great fun at
Snetterton,” said Ellis. “It will be a privilege to showcase the awesome
Ford GT on home ground. We aren’t expecting to stroll out there and win,
especially with the pitstop penalty, so we won’t be getting in the way
of anyone’s championship fight. It will just be great to return to race
in what is an excellent championship and to show the crowd what the Ford
GT can do.” 
Will
Bratt was pleased with his first test at Silverstone on Thursday
during practice for the weekend’s rounds of the Formula Renault UK
Championship. Making a one-off return to the series where he won 4 races
in 2007, the 20-year-old will race alongside the British round of the
World Series by Renault which is expected to attract up to 150,000
spectators. Lapping the 3.2-mile Silverstone GP circuit in a time of 1m
47.932 seconds during the single 55-minute session, Will finished just
0.006secs shy of the top 10 in 11th place. 
Gregor
Fisken took two third places in the Ferrari Historic Challenge 
Will
Bratt
Murray
Walker
SPEEDY
RACING - TEAM SEBAH
L
Glynn
Geddie was the revelation of rounds nine and ten of the Porsche
Carrera Cup GB at Croft (31 May/1 June) as he won the pro-am2 category
twice on his debut in the championship. The 17-year old racer from
Aberdeen was invited to race the PCGB entry in pro-am2 for the
races at the North Yorkshire track and impressed everyone. Having only
ever raced a Porsche twice before, Glynn was immediately on the pace and
increased his speed throughout the weekend as he learnt to work with the
team engineers. "The car is brilliant," he said after qualifying. "It's
a lot different to be racing at this level, but I just want to learn as
much as I can and try to do the best I can." In the opening race on
Saturday, Glynn won his class with a storming drive and then went even
better on Sunday when a drying track made conditions tough for the
drivers. Having made the right choice to fit slick racing tyres, he
stormed through to finish fifth overall and win his class again."It's
been a brilliant weekend and we're planning to do more Carrera Cup races
this season, including at my home track of Knockhill in August.
With the Star Mazda Series presented
by Goodyear on this weekend at Watkins Glen, AIM Autosport have
agreed to run John Edwards for the remainder of the championship
season.
The
Vitaphone Aston Martin DBR9 team braved wet conditions during the Le
Mans official test on Sunday.Regular drivers Peter
Hardman and Nick Leventis, team-mates at Strakka Racing, teamed up with
Vitaphone's Brazilian, Alexandre Negrao for the eight hour
test..........
is teaming up with Grand-Am and Watkins
Glen International in a promotion for the Sahlen's Six Hours of The
Glen. Drivers Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle along with the Exchange
Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley will be appearing on June 4 at Dunn Tire
Park in Buffalo, New York during the Buffalo Bisons Baseball game to
showcase the June 6/7 event at The Glen. Brian is scheduled to throw out
the first pitch for the Triple A League baseball game and one lucky fan
will come away with a great prize for the race weekend. The No. 61 Ford
Riley will be on display at the ballpark when the gates open at 6:00
p.m.(ET) and the drivers will be there to meet and greet the fans and
answer questions about the car and the Rolex Grand Am Series presented
by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. Representatives from The Glen and Grand Am
will also be on hand.
Aston
Martin completed the official Le Mans test day
Freddy
Nordstrom
Arkas
Racing with Sunshine.co.uk
Jonathan
Ridley-Holloway
The
wet weather at Croft had a more dramatic effect on the SEAT Cupra
Champonship. By the time Robert Lawson had won Round 9 from his team
mate Andrew Herron, round 10 ran out of time and was cancelled.
BMW
Team Germany's Augusto Farfus won the first of two WTCC races at Pau
in France today(Sunday). SEAT's Yvan Muller and Jordi Gene were second
and third respectively.