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News Archive October 2008 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 10/11/2008 IF RACE REPORTS LINKS REMOVED - FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above 31-10-08
SEAT have already claimed the WTCC Manufacturers' Championship after the first race in Okayama and now head to Macau to see either Yvan Muller or Gabriele Tarquini become the new Drivers' World champion. During a triumphal year, the León cars obtained twelve victories and five pole positions ending BMW’s domination that has lasted since 2005. "It has been a fantastic season and we have been fighting for that for several years. We have been given new technology from Tdi that has enabled us to do something more with the car," said SEAT Sport director Jaime Puig, pointing out the fact that this is the first World Championship won by a diesel-powered car. "We are proud to say now that Spain has won all the three automobile world championships: Formula One with Fernando Alonso, WRC with Carlos Sainz and WTCC with SEAT." The WTCC races in Okayama marked the end of Andy Priaulx's reign, one that lasted from the 2004 European Touring Car Championship. After four consecutive FIA titles, the triple World Champion is now ready to abdicate in favour of Yvan Muller or Gabriele Tarquini. "I have to face up to the fact that SEAT have been the fastest this year and although we have had a fantastic reign it is now over. I feel I have been beaten by the best team this year with great drivers. I want to congratulate them, and Yvan Muller who I think will win the title. From now on I just need to go out and get big points to move up the championship table and I am just going to look forward to Macau and not back," said Priaulx, commenting his defeat with the sportsmanship of a great champion. 15 drivers will carry the maximum 70kg success ballast in the WTCC's final race meeting at Macau, including the top-seven of the Drivers' Championship: from Yvan Muller to Augusto Farfus. The remaining eight drivers laden by the 70 extra kilos are the race-by-race entries. A total of twenty-five drivers will have success ballast in Macau. Success ballast – Macau, 70 kg Y. Muller, G. Tarquini, R. Huff, R. Rydell, A. Priaulx, J. Müller, A. Farfus, K. Ladygin, M. Orido, M. Kano, M. Choo, M. Marsh, A. Couto, J. Merszei, Let Kit Meng Only two team mates are still involved in the fight to win the WTCC Independents' Trophy: Sergio Hernández, who leads by 29 points, and 2007 champion Stefano D'Aste. Although the two Proteam Motorsport's men were in a league of their own at Okayama, they will face a strong opposition in Macau. Franz Engstler of Liqui Moly Team has been able to threaten Proteam supremacy in the latest races and his experience of the Guia circuit may give him the boost he needs to clinch his first WTCC victory. Other competitors with ambitions are the Wiechers-Sport duo formed by Hong Kong driver Matthew Marsh (third in Race 2 at Okayama) and Takayuki Aoki from Japan. While Jaap van Lagen is eager to prove that the Russian Bear Motorsport LADA cars are improving race after race and Singaporean Melvin Choo wishes to score points once again. Macanese driver André Couto had his first test in the N.technology Honda Accord car on Monday, October 27th, at the Okayama International Circuit. The Italian team booked the Japanese circuit on Monday morning after the race day, in order to give Couto the chance to get used to the car that he will drive in the next World Touring Car Championship meeting at Macau, on November 15th and 16th. Couto, who joined the team on Sunday tested for one hour on the dry track."The car is quite different from the Alfa Romeo 156 I drove last year. However, I feel quite comfortable with the team and I believe that with their help I can manage to get in tune with the Honda. I was very impressed by Thompson's performance in Okayama; this proved that the car has a great potential and I am confident that it will be extremely competitive in Macau," Couto commented. After a lap record breaking return to the streets of Adelaide, the Formula 3 Australian Drivers championship will return to the Clipsal 500 between March 19 – 22, 2009 with Australia’s best young open wheel talent …read more Fans of A1GP in the UK will be able buy tickets for Season Four’s Finale at Brands Hatch from tomorrow (1 November) when tickets go on sale for the race, scheduled for 1 – 3 May 2009….read more
The Formula Renault UK Winter Series kicks off this Saturday at Croft in Yorkshire. After winning the 2008 Driver’s Championship with Adam Christodoulou, CRS has already begun the search for the next champion and has entered a strong team to contest the Winter Series. Fredrik Blomstedt (SWE), Antonio Felix da Costa (POR), Matias Laine (FIN) and Harry Tincknell (GBR) will race the red, white and blue CRS cars in the two 25-minute races at Croft. All four drivers have the potential to do well and CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy, is looking forward to seeing how they perform.“The winter season is always a very important and interesting time for us as a team,” said Kirkaldy. “We are looking for drivers to replace the form that Adam has shown in 2008. All four have been very promising and all come from very good backgrounds. Fredrik and Antonio have a lot of experience of the car now and have been very impressive in testing. Harry and Matias have very little car experience but have proved to very efficient at learning the ropes of the formula. As a team we have a great chance to win the races and hopefully the winter championship.” After Croft, the Formula Renault UK Winter Series will move to Rockingham for the final two races on Saturday 8 November 30-10-08
SG Formula finished it's first season in the F3 Euro Series at Hockenheim last weekend and it wasn't a particularly good ending for the team from La Rochelle. Richard Philippe started in 14th but encounter problems in Saturday's race while t Henkie Waldschmidt brought his car home in 10th, Yann Clairay also managed a top ten finish on Sunday .
New Formula BMW Juniors selected for Scholarship programme. Five young racing drivers have qualified for Formula BMW Europe's sponsorship programme for 2009. During the scholarship qualifying in Valencia, two Dutch drivers - Jack Te Braak and Robin Frijns - were selected, along with Riccardo Galli from Switzerland and George Katsinis of Greece. The fifth driver to be offered one of BMW's sponsorship packages is Michael Christensen of Denmark for winning the 2008 "Rookie of the year" title. The "Juniors", as they are known, will receive special support from BMW during their 2009 motorsport year. All five drivers can look forward to getting 75,000 euros for the season and a place in the Education and Coaching Programme. Formula BMW Pacific will race at Macau. And wiith the 2008 FMBW Championship already decided , the focus will be simply be on the race. The FBMW Pacific drivers will also get the opportunity to race on the track prior to one day(they hope!) contesting the F3 Intercontinental Cup, where previous experience of the circuit is consider a big advantage. Prior to Round 14 and 15 in Shanghai, the Formula BMW Juniors and drivers in the Education and Coaching Programme met BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Nick Heidfeld and Christian Klien. Naturally, the youngsters were keen to ask Heidfeld, who raced at Macau in 1995, for some advice. "I think you will enjoy it," said Heidfeld, who won the first leg of the 1995 race. "It's crucial to get a lot of time on the track, and not necessarily to be on top of the leaderboard during practice. Get lots of time on the circuit." Newly-crowned Formula BMW Pacific champion Ross Jamison (18/HKG/Meritus) and Formula BMW Junior and Rookie Cup winner Simon Moss (17/RSA/Mahara) will be two of the drivers taking that advice to heart. Jamison says he is looking forward to going to Macau "It's pretty much a home race for me," said Jamison, who has watched the Macau race several times. "It's a very difficult race and a challenge that should be really exciting and lots of fun. Learning the circuit with Formula BMW Pacific is brilliant preparation for the next career move. I think it will be a really good experience."
A1 Team Malaysia is set to take on one of its biggest challenges since winning at Zandvoort earlier this month. The team will be putting down their spanners and picking up paintbrushes for a new project as part of the A1 Team Malaysia Outreach programme, the team's social responsibility arm. The Malaysian A1GP team has agreed to help Shelter, providing a replacement roof at one of the charities' care homes followed by repairing and redecorating the inside and outside of the building. The roof work will be carried out by specialists, with the additional work being undertaken by volunteers from the team and its supporters. Shelter, a registered welfare organization, was set up in June 1981. The charity is guided by the vision of giving children at risk a childhood and future by protecting guiding and healing them, and by building strong communities and loving families. Shelter's services and initiatives are aimed at providing care for abused, abandoned, neglected or at-risk children through our homes, and through counselling and therapy. It also aims to proactively raise public awareness on child abuse, parenting and youth issues, and equipping individuals with relevant skills to detect signs of abuse and to take action. The A1 Team Malaysia Shelter Outreach initiative will take place over the weekend of 15 -- 16 November in the OUG area of Kuala Lumpur. Volunteers interested in assisting with the project should contact A1 Team Malaysia at info@a1teammalaysia.com.my. Shelter's contact details are www.shelterhome.org 29-10-08
Johnny Herbert Ex-F1 and current Speedcar series driver will be aiding racing stars of the future by working alongside his friend, driver manager and entertainment entrepreneur, Chas Cole next year. The pair will use their skills from their respective worlds of motorsport and music to identify, target and develop opportunities for drivers with natural talent who may not be able to take advantage of any opportunities. Johnny Herbert said of the venture: I've been looking for an opportunity to give something back as motor racing has been good to me. When Chas suggested we work together I jumped at the chance. I've watched Chas put a lot of time and energy into the sport and it's now time for me to roll up my sleeves and see what I can do to help. Wayne Boyd, for example, has now received the backing of the Racing Steps Foundation, is something special. Such a complete driver at such a young age and he's still got so much to learn – it’s wonderful to see. He reminds me of the old-school type of F1 drivers - very focused, no nonsense, modest and calm - just a real cool guy! He'll go far and anything I can do to help him I will. “ Johnny continues: “The Racing Steps Foundation and BRDC Superstars programmes support is brilliant for Wayne and I'm certain that together we can all make sure that Wayne develops properly and in the right way. But his talent may have been lost had Chas not stepped in and so, with this in mind, I will be spending more time in the UK next year and Chas and I will begin to develop a UK coaching operation. We are interested in helping find raw kids with the right attitude who we can teach. No social or financial barriers - just talent and ambition - and we'll help them to maximise their potential.” Chas Cole concludes: “Johnny and I are still working on exact details, but to summarise what we want to do is to help teach and develop young talented drivers, irrespective of their social or financial background. Education and opportunity is the key” Quifel-ASM, one of the leading LMP2 teams in the Le Mans Series, has become the first customer for the Ginetta-Zytek 09S, as Zytek Engineering's latest car is to be called. Developed from the already impressive Zytek 07S, the 09S will feature a revised aero package and will be powered by a new version of the 2007 Le Mans class winning, 3.4-litre Zytek ZG348 engine. The power unit improvements include a 3kg reduction in weight and increases in both power and torque. Runner-up in the Le Mans Series LMP2 championship in both 2006 and 2007 with 4 wins, the Lisbon-based Quifel-ASM Team has been one of the LMS's most consistent performers.Lead driver Olivier Pla has already tested and raced the Team LNT LMP1 Ginetta-Zytek 07S. "I can see the car has a big, big potential," he said just prior to the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta where that car led overall in the early stages. "Both the engine and chassis appear to be very good and there is still a lot of development to come. For me, it is the car to give a hard time to the Porsches." The 2008 Euroseries 3000 Championship isn't over but the organizers are already looking to the new 2009 season. After setting the maximum cost for the Italian and European F.3000 championship at just 350.000 Euros and confirming the Lola B02/50-Zytek with Formula 1-style paddle shift gearbox, the 2009 caledar has been announced. It will have 14 races over 7 events covering 4 countires Italy, Portugal, UK and Spain. In the meantime the Euroseries 3000 will come back on track this weekend at Barcelona track for Round 7 with Nicolas Prost (Bull Racing) leading the ttitle vchase from Italian Fabio Onidi (GP Racing) …2009 calendar Team USA Scholarship Drivers Daly and Newgarden head for Silverstone, After their spectacular showing at the Formula Ford Kent Festival, 2008 Team USA Scholarship winners Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden have been busy with preparations for the Walter Hayes Trophy event at Silverstone this weekend. The original plan called for Daly and Newgarden to undertake an extra day of testing at Anglesey before crossing Irish Sea to Cliff Dempsey Racing to prep the cars in Dublin. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and a violent storm initially prevented the team from unloading the cars. The weather did eventually improved and the crossing went ahead allowing the pair to enjoy several days of Irish hospitality. They were alsoinvited to tour McLaren Technology Centre courtesy of Newgarden’s Festival triumph. They now have two days of testing at Silverstone prior to this weekend's races. "I have been looking forward to Silverstone since the minute after the Festival at Brands, so I can't wait to get onto the track," said Daly. "I am very hungry for a victory and I know it is within reach with the help of Cliff Dempsey's team!" "I'm excited about being able to race at Silverstone, because it has such a great history," added Newgarden. "I know we have a very competitive car going into the weekend and I'm looking forward to another strong result." 28-10-08
Luke Wright continues to improve his reputation in Karts with god performances and he did himself no harm on Sunday when he took the runner-up spot in the Spanish Open Championship. The A1GP Teams are preparing for next weekend’s round of the series at Chengdu in China(7-9 Nov) and for the teams from China and Portugal had theior first test at Silverstone yesterday(Monday). They were joined at the Northamptonshire track by the teams from Brazil, France, Korea and the Swiss who ended up setting the quickest time..read more
Motorbase Performance BMW will hand newly-crowned Porsche Carrera Cup champion and former BTCC title-winner Tim Harvey a test run at Brands Hatch today(Tuesday). The testing session will be the first step in the Kent-based team’s preparations for the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. The aim will be to consolidate the progress that made the BMW 320si a regular podium finisher in the second half of 2008, and seek further improvements in key areas. It will be the first time Harvey has stepped back into a Touring Car since the 2002 season. Harvey won the BTCC title in 1992 behind the wheel of a BMW 318 coupe and jumped at the opportunity to be reunited with the German manufacturer’s latest saloon race car. While he currently has no plans to return to the BTCC full time, Harvey believes the test will present him with a great opportunity to make sure he is up to speed with the latest S2000 specification cars should the opportunity to drive one competitively arise.
27-10-08
For Gianmarco Raimondo, the 2008 racing season ends this weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil and there a lot on the line. Gianmarco, who was awarded a Formula BMW scholarship to start the season, has lead the Formula BMW Americas rookie championship since the first race at Laguna Seca back in May and now he hopes to wrap that up with a strong performance in front of the F1 crowd in Sao Paulo. Going into the final two races this weekend, Gianmarco has a five-point lead and while he hopes to get to the podium, the goal is to finish ahead of his rivals in the rookie championship. "The ultimate goal is to continue the string of BMW Junior Drivers who have earned the rookie championship. It would also be great to follow previous BMW Juniors and fellow Canadians Robert Wickens and Daniel Morad who both went on to win the overall championship."Winning the rookie championship this year would also bring with it a Junior Scholarship for next season. The scholarship, which has a value of $80,000, goes towards the driver's participation in the Formula BMW Americas Championship and includes enrollment in Formula BMW's Education and Coaching Program. The 2008 Charterhouse Heritage GT Challenge drew to a close on Sunday (26 October) at a wet Brands Hatch. Andy Jenkinson and John Young won the first race in Jenkinson’s beautifully presented Aston Martin DBS V8, while father and son pairing Arthur and Boysie Thurtle were unstoppable in the later race in their Chevrolet Camaro.
Audi driver Timo Scheider won the race and the DTM title in the season finale at Hockenheim yesterday(Sunday). "This is the most beautiful day of my life in motorsport," he said. "The final lap was full of emotions, a feeling one can hardly describe. I have wished nothing more than this title and I didn't want to lose it in the last race. Now, I would rather be standing somewhere at the back and realise what I have achieved. I knew how difficult it would be and therefore, I had put everything at the start. That worked out fine." His rival for the Championship Paul di Resta finished second 3.062 behind leaving him on 71 points to Scheider’s 75. Third and fourth went to di Resta’s Mercedes teammates Jamie Green and Bruno Spengler, 0.487 and 1.231 seconds behind respectively while Audi's Tom Kristensen was fifth. Bernd Schneider finished sixth in his final DTM race Ryan Briscoe became the first Australian driver to win at Surfers Paradise, beating reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon to the flag in the Nikon Indy 300. Briscoe, driving for Penske. started third and led nearly two-thirds of the 60-lap race. He took the lead for the final time on Lap 43 after the final round of pit stops and held off Dixon as he dealt with traffic in the late stages of the race. Dixon, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing finished 0.5019 secs behind with Ryan Hunter-Reay third for Rahal Letterman Racing. Alex Tagliani was fourth with Oriol Servia fifth. In the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup at Hockenheim Alexander Rambow (Zehdenick) won the championship title. In the tenth race of the season the 19-year-old only needed a fifth-place finish, behind his rival for the championship title, Shane Williams from South Africa. Race victory went to the Swede Andreas Simonsen ahead of Thor Qualmann from Denmark and Niclas Olsson from Sweden Armando Parente has won the ADAC Formula Masters title with a second place at the last round of the season, despite failing to pick up any points on Saturday due to a wrong choice of tyres. Race victories at the events held at Hockenheim went to the Dane Marco Sørensen and the Austrian Klaus Bachler, who finished third overall. Second place overall was defended by Nico Marvin Monien (Romerstein) despite the fact that he finished both races at Hockenheim out of the points. A1GP World Cup
of Motorsport will have two new personalities on TV forSeason Four.
The series will have Diana
The Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland was won by Volkswagen Junior Rene Rast a the last round of the season. The champion of the 2005 ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup 2005 started from third on the grid, took no risks to finiwsh 4th. Rast thus crowned a season with a total of six podium places in nine races with first place overall in Germany's quickest one-make cup. The Volkswagen Polo Cup South Africa remains a thriller: after two wins by Miguel Pasqualli on the penultimate race weekend at Kyalami four drivers still have title chances before the season finale at Cape Town (16 November). With a third and second place Gennaro Bonafede defended his lead of the standings with a narrow lead in front of Pasqualli and Mathew Hodges, who finished one race in third place. The other podium position at the tradition-steeped was clinched by Gant Gatland. With two wins at the tenth race weekend of the Formula Volkswagen South Africa on the rain-drenched circuit of Kyalami, Christiano Morgara took the lead of the standings in the juniors' series. His rival for the title, Gavin Cronje, in the first round took second place ahead of Wesleigh Orr but didn't finish the second race. Podium positions this time went to guest entrants Maxime Soulet and Jayde Kroger. 26-10-08
Jon Lancaster will join Manor’s regular F3 drivers Sam Bird and Kazuya Oshima as part of the team’s three car assault on the 55th Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix, the annual blue riband event of the international F3 racing calendar which takes place three weeks from now over the weekend 15th/16th November. The 19-year-old from Leeds, who competed in F3 Euroseries this year with the ART Grand Prix team, has strong hopes ahead of the prestigious race – an event won by Manor Motorsport in 2005 With Brazilian star Lucas di Grassi.Team boss Booth commented: “Kazuya was third at Macau last year so he stands a great chance of doing well this time and Sam was the best rookie in 2007 at Macau so he too can expect to do well. We’re delighted to have signed Jon (Lancaster), it’ll be good to run with a Yorkshireman in the team again – we’re looking forward to it.”
Race results for WTCC rounds 21 and 22 have been suspended, pending the technical check of the front and rear hubs of cars #3 ( Augusto Farfus ' BMW 320si) and # 11 ( Gabriele Tarquini 's SEAT León TDI). These parts have been sealed by the FIA Technical Delegate after the second race in Okayama . Liqui Moly Team Engstler's driver Andrey Romanov was given a 30-second time penalty on the WTCC’s first race results in Japan. The Panel of the Stewards judged the Russian guilty for the incident he had with Borusan Motorsport's Ibrahim Okyay; the penalty meant that Romanov slipped down from 19th overall and 6th of the Independents, to 22nd and 8th respectively. Okyay's car obtained massive damage in the impact.
Alexander Rossi will race at Sao Paulo in Rounds 16 and 17 of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship as the champion having won the title back in September at the Thundertbolt Raceway in New Jersey. That doesn’t mean the 17 year old Californian is going to take it easy, anything butmm he’s planning to end the season with a win..read more Charles Pic was awarded the best Formula Renault 3.5 rookie trophy at the World Sereis Gala held in Barcelona last weekend. The 18-year old Frenchman was well worth the award having stood on the top step of the podium twice in 2008. 25-10-08 Bristol caravan dealer Willsbridge Leisure have agreed to sponsor Alex Waters in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy. General Manager Dick Pease says, 'We are a new company who are bucking the trend in hard times and we are pleased to support local talent. Alex Waters is a young man who has done some great things to help others and is a role model for other young people.' Waters competed in the 2008 Spanish F3 Cup with West Tec Racing as a team-mate to former FPA Autumn Trophy competitor Jonathan Legris. He has also raced in the British F3 Championship with Promatecme and tested with Raikkonen Roberts Racing. The 19 year-old from Avon will also be eligible for the FPA Shootout, which is incorporated into the second part of the competition at Snetterton next weekend. Alex has also raised over £500,000 for the Children's Cancer Charity 'CLIC Sargent' Willsbridge Leisure are based in Bath Road, Willsbridge, Bristol. http://www.willsbridgeleisure.co.uk www.alexwatersracing.com
Menasheh Idafar had the pace in testing at Rockingham on Thursday, 23rd October as he continues his preparations for the Formula Renault UK Winter series. In his Hillspeed-run FR 2.0 Menasheh lapped strongly alongside a full complement of his competitors coming within a few 10ths of a second of the outright pace. Speaking after the latest test outing, Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “We had a very good day and were pleased with the pace Menasheh showed once again. The conditions weren’t great when he had a run on new tyres but he still ended up just a couple of 10ths of a second shy of what we believe the outright pace was.” Menasheh is expected to have one further practice run prior to the official test at Croft next week.
Rockingham was the host for a Formula Renault test on Thursday, (23rd Oct) with Hillspeed running all four of it’s Winter Series drivers. Menasheh Idafar, who remains with Hillspeed as he moves to Formula Renault UK from Formula Renault BARC was out driving alongside his team-mate Michael Lyons, plus newcomers James Theodore and Immanuel Bryson-Haynes also put in some laps ahead of the winter series…read more Augusto Farfus continued to destroy all his competitors in Okayama. After he topped the test and two practice sessions he took pole position today on his first flying lap. He gradually bettered his time repeatedly, and was on an even faster lap at the end, but aborted it when discovered that his pole was safe. The rest of the field battled for second place that was eventually taken by Farfus' team mate at BMW Team Germany, Jörg Müller, following a fight with Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Alain Menu. read full story 23-10-08 Ed Brand's second place in the British Super 1 Championship last Sunday saw the Paul Carr Racing Kart driver claim his place at the biggest meeting of his career so far – the Rotax World Finals.
Earl Bamber is back in the cockpit this weekend in Japan where he will resume his battle for the 2008 Formula V6 Asia title. The 18-year-old from Wanganui in New Zealand has been very busy in the last month, making a winning debut in the European Formula Master Series in Italy in September before climbing onto the podium for A1 Team.NZL at the A1GP in the Netherlands on October 5. He followed this upo with a second place in the feature race for his Malaysian-based My Team Qi-Meritus.Mahara team at the first round of the 2008 GP2 Asia series at Shanghai in China last Sunday. This weekend's round of the Formula V6 Asia championship is the fourth and after wins in both races at the third round in Sentul in Indonesia back in July Bamber leads the championship from his team Qi-Meritus teammate James Grunwell. The 3.7km Okayama circuit(formerly known as T1) is on the southern coast of Honshu in the Okayama prefecture where the Formula V6 Asia series will race alongside the WTCC.
Carrera Cup sampler session is a hit. Fifteen drivers took the opportunity to drive a Porsche 911GT3 Cup car at Silverstone on Wednesday 22 October during the Porsche Carrera Cup GB sampler session. The drivers, nearly all of them new to the Carrera Cup GB, took part in an exclusive three-hour session on the Silverstone National circuit as they consider their options for the 2009 season. The sampler session came at a time when interest in the Carrera Cup GB is running at an unprecedented level. As well as more than 50 young drivers who applied for a place in the Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme, many other drivers from across national racing are seriously evaluating the Carrera Cup GB for 2009. The two drivers
selected for the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme
will be announced at Silverstone on Thursday 30 October. The 6 drivers
selected as finalists have just completed a two-day evaluation programme
(21/22 October) and now wait for a decision from the eight-strong
judging panel. Television
coverage for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
continues next week with the final 2008 highlights programme in the
Motorsport UK series. The Carrera Cup coverage in the Motorsport UK
series concludes with action from the Brands Hatch races and the
half-hour programme will be broadcast as follows: Fans to cheer on Lewis from Silverstone - Lewis Hamilton will have the support of fans all over the country for the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday 2 November when he will be focused on becoming the 2008 FIA F1 World Champion. With this in mind, Silverstone has arranged a private screening of the Brazilian Grand Prix to be held in the BRDC Clubhouse and will be inviting 50 fans*, who have already booked their tickets to the 2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (19 - 21 June**), along with a host of special guests. All fans that have already purchased tickets for next year’s British Grand Prix, or who book before17:00hrs on Wednesday 29 October, will be entered into a lucky draw to win tickets to this exclusive screening. With Lewis just 7 points ahead of rival Felipe Massa the atmosphere among spectators at the BRDC Clubhouse will be electric. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, commented: “It’s unbelievable to think how much Lewis has achieved in just two seasons in Formula One. He has become a real inspiration and he must now stay focused if he is to win the World Championship. It would be very special for all of us involved in British motor sport to witness the first British F1 champion since the President of the BRDC, Damon Hill, took the title in 1996. “
Wayne Boyd awarded ‘votwo’ Athlete of the Year accolade.After winning the 2008 Formula Ford Festival, Wayne Boyd has been awarded the 2008 votwo ‘Athlete of the Year’ Award. The votwo Awards are presented annually to acknowledge the sporting achievements of athletes who are coached by human performance specialists - votwo. 17 year-old Boyd was chosen for his dedication and commitment to his physical training and preparation, alongside a demanding school and racing schedule in the British Formula Ford Championship. Wayne is the first motorsport competitor to win this Award , Wayne Boyd, “It is absolutely fantastic to win this votwo award, as I take my fitness very seriously. It has not been too difficult fitting everything into the diary and my dad and manager help me with that! My school and friends back home are great – they help me catch up if I miss a few days when I am away racing and they give me a lot of support.” Wayne visits votwo coaches for his fitness assessments and one-to-one training every month at the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone. Everything is ready at the Okayama International Circuit to host the penultimate round of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Japanese track opens its doors again to an international event, thirteeen years after the 1995 F1 Pacific Grand Prix. The venue was then called Aida Tanaka International Circuit; Michael Schumacher won the 1994 and 95 races for Benetton. Chevrolet's Nicola Larini is the only WTCC driver to take part in one of those GPs. In 1994, called in by Ferrari to replace the injured Jean Alesi, Larini qualified in seventh. However, his race didn’t last long as he was involved in a first lap collision between the Williams of Ayrton Senna (who was on pole) and Mika Hakkinen's McLaren. "I could not avoid them and found myself pushed onto the gravel trap. It was a shame, because we had the potential to finish on the podium," recalls the Italian. The WTCC Race of Japan will get underway on Friday afternoon, when the competitors will have the chance to make contact with the racetrack during a 30-minute test session. The session, will take place from 16.00 to 16.30 local time (9.00 to 9.30 CET). Macanese driver André Couto will have his first test in the N.technology Honda Accord car on Monday, October 29th, at Okayama. The Italian team have booked the circuit after the race day in order to give Couto the chance to get try the car that he will drive in the next round at Macau, on November 15th and 16th.Independents' Trophy contender Pierre-Yves Corthals has been forced to miss the championship's two final meetings in Okayama and Macau. Corthals is currently third in the points, 36 behind the leader Sergio Hernández; a gap that, with 60 points still at stake (as double points are awarded in the two final rounds at Macau), was keeping the title within his reach. However, budget reasons have forced SEAT Belgium and the Exagon Engineering team to end their season prematurely, depriving Corthals - who has claimed four victories during the season - of the chance to win the Trophy. SG Formula did a lot of winning last weekend. At Magny-Cours Jean-Eric Vergne was crowned FFSA Champion of France, in Barcelona Daniel Ricciardo won the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup while the team picked up the Team trophy in the WEC and the Eurocup F Renault Championship as well. A1GP teams were testing at Silverstone today(Thursday) ahead of the second round of the 2008-9 A1GP season at Chengdu in China on 7 – 9 November. It was A1 Team Ireland who were quickest, Adam Carroll setting a 45.554-second lap at the end of the day .read more MotorStorm® Pacific Rift, the latest game for PLAYSTATION®3 will sponsor the Bowler Off Road’s assault of next weekend’s UAE Desert Challenge (28 October – 2 November). Britain’s off road vehicle manufacturer will be entering two V8-engined Bowler Nemesis rally cars, which will be dressed in the stunning new livery of MotorStorm Pacific Rift and PlayStation 3 for the event staged in Dubai. Managing Director of Bowler Off Road, Drew Bowler and Richard Haywood will take the wheel of the two rally cars. The 17th edition of the UAE Desert Challenge promises a spectacular end to the international cross country rally calendar, with a mighty line-up of cars, bikes and trucks from the Middle East and overseas. The event is the final round of both the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup for cars and trucks, and the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship for bikes. After the supe special spectator stage on 28th October, the Desert Challenge officially starts the following day from the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi at 9.30am. The 2,210-km trail finishes at Dubai International Marine Club on 2nd November Patrón Highcroft Racing picked up several awards at the ALMS Banquet last weekend. The team and it’s drivers, Scott Sharp and David Brabham both picked up second in the team and drivers Championship while Sharp also woin the Rookie of the year title. Team ‘spanner-man‘ Joel Svensson was named Mechanic of the Year for the LMP2 category. Read more 22-10-08 Record-breaking DTM champion Bernd Schneider is retiring from motor racing. At the age of 44, he will compete in his last DTM race at Hockenheimring this coming Sunday. Schneider, who won a total of 43 races and 5 DTM and 1 ITC Championships for Mercedes-Benz from the 226 races he started in both series(the ITC was a DTM offshoot in 1995). He also took the FIA GT Title in 1997. He will now embark on a second career at Mercedes-AMG as a brand ambassador, instructor and test driver. Bernd Schneider: "I have now been active as a racing driver for a total of more than 30 years, and my aim has always been to continue racing for as long as I enjoy the sport and I am still able to remain competitive. The time to leave has now come, and it gives rise to conflicting emotions. On the one hand I am sorry to be saying "Good Bye" to the many friends I have made in motor sports, and above all in the AMG, HWA and Mercedes-Benz teams over the last 17 years. On the other hand I am looking forward to facing my exciting new challenges. I see my decision to work for AMG following my career as an active racing driver as absolutely logical. I was able to celebrate most of my victories, and also the most satisfying ones, in the AMG Mercedes team, and now I am looking forward to the new challenge as an instructor, test driver and brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG." The traditional surfboard trophies that are presented to the top three finishers in the V8 Supercar Event at the Nikon Indy 300 have become one of the most sought after trophies in the V8 Supercar Championship. Supercheap Auto Racing's Russell Ingall, who was the winner on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in 2002, has got his sights on become the first dual winner of a V8 Championship round on the Gold Coast in this weekend's Coffee Club V8 Supercar Challenge. After finishing second last year Ingall believes he can go one better in 2008 and add another highly sought after surfboard to his trophy collection in the process. "If there is one trophy that all the drivers in the V8 championship talk about then it is the surfboards at Indy, everyone who has won one in the past want another one and those who haven't got one say that they would love to have one." Ingall is under no illusions that whoever stands on top of the podium at this week's Coffee Club V8 Supercar Challenge will have earned their place in the record books. Goodyear will continue as the exclusive tyre supplier for the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. The agreement is for the next five seasons and was made public at the series' championship banquet in Monterey, Calif. over the weekend. "Goodyear is proud of our long-standing relationship with the Rodrigues family and the series they've created with the tremendous support of Mazda North America," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of global race tyre sales. "We're happy to announce that Goodyear will continue as the presenting sponsor of the Star Mazda Series." 21-10-08
Remaining at Silverstone on Sunday, 19th October, Michael Lyons was invited to take part in the VdeV Endurance series, his fourth race of the weekend. Qualifying the Norma M20F sportscar in 12th, Michael and team-mate Andrew Bentley raced well and ran as high as eighth early on during the three-hour race. Unfortunately the duo slipped down the order after problems resulted in 4 pit-stops and 3 battery changes, they did keep going and finished in eighth place, a good result after a very challenging run. Prior to the weekend’s racing, Lyons tested a Formula Renault UK car for the 2008 Formula Renault UK Winter series which licks-off on November 1st at Croft. In other HSCC races at Silverstone on Saturday Bill Coombs won the Classic F3 race in his Argo JM5 beating Benn Simms March 803B by just under 10 seconds. Third went to Paul Smith in a Chevron B38. Simms was back out in the Formula Junior race, going one better and winning in a Cooper T59 by 1.443 secs from Michael Hibberd’s Lotus 27. Third was Edwin Jowsey in another Lotus, a 22. The Historic Road Sports saw Simon Garrad win in a TVR 400 Griffiths with James Paterson second driving a Morgan Plus 8 just 2.4secs behind while Paul Tooms came third in an Elan S4.. The HSCC’s 70’s Road Sports race at Silverstone was won by Paul Anderson’s Porsche 928, his winning margin just 0.4 secs from Richard Plant’s Morgan Plus 8. Julian Barter was third in his TVR3000M. Graeme Dodd took his Jag MkII to victory in the Historic Saloons 0.370 seconds ahead of Dan Cox’s Lotus Cortina with James Fuller completing the podium in a Alfa Giulia Sprint. Finally the Guards Trophy race went to Robert Shaw in a Chevron B8 ahead of Ted Williams Ginetta G16 and Stuart Tizzard’s Lenham Spider
The Nikon Indy 300 F3 Challenge, held this weekend on Australia’s Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise should be a close run thing with many of the drivers moving to other things next year this is their last chance to shine in F3 down under. Britain’s James Winslow, the 2008 Australian F3 champion, will lead the ‘locals’ along with his BRM team-mate Nathan Caratti, TanderSport’s Leanne Tander and Astuti Motorsport driver Mat Sofi..read more
The Formula V6 Asia series will be in action on the Japanese island of Honshu this weekend at the Okayama circuit. Championship leader Earl Bamber from New Zealand will be keen to maintain his lead in the title chase as the series moves past the halfway point…read review The 2009 provisional calendar for the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series and the Avon Tyres British GT Championship has been revealed, with more international races for both series. For British F3 there will be an additional overseas event at Hockenheim, which will join trips to Monza (TBC), Spa and Bucharest. It has still to be decided whether British F3 will support the FIA GT Spa 24 Hours in July or travel to Belgium with British GT a week later. British GT will also leave the UK for the first time since 2006 with an event at Spa in August and the championship will be returning to Knockhill in Scotland for a standalone event. F3 Calendar - GT Calendar Antonio Felix da Costa will race in the Formula Renault UK Winter Series over the first two weekends of November. Driving for 2008 British Champions CR Scuderia, the Portuguese driver is undergoing preparations and has already tested at the Rockingham where two of the four races are held. Antonio's d program for 2009 is in the final stages of negotiations, and it looks as though he will race in Formula Renault 2.0 in the Eurocup and Northern European Cup
Work is well underway for the A1GP’s visit to Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province. This will be a new challenge for the A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars when they take to the track for round two of the championship, 7-9 November 2008. Chengdu City is the capital of the Sichuan province, while the track, which lies 16 kilometres south west of the city centre, is 3.367 kilometres (2.019 miles) long and features 14 turns running in a clockwise direction. Building works are progressing well and expect to be completed in time for the A1GP event. Commenting on the progress in Chengdu, CEO Asia Pacific, David Clare, said: “For A1GP it is a great honour to race at the Chengdu International Circuit and particularly being the first ever major international motorsport event in the Sichuan Province. This is the heartland of China and a great transportation hub. We are excited to bring all of our competing countries in their A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars to this great city.” 20-10-08 The SMRC held its’ Final Fling’ meeting at Knockhill yesterday(Sunday) and the weather ensured it really was a final fling as by the end of the lunch break it really was ‘flinging it down!’ Andrew Gallacher won both the Sports Saloon races from his team mate Charlie Shaw while the XR2 Championship was finally settled in favour of David Sleigh after Peter Cruickshank’s tile challenge just failed to deliver. Ian Munro won both races.
There were 9 races at Brands Hatch for the final rounds of the Caterham Motorsport season on Friday and Saturday at the weekend(17/18 Oct). David Mayes continued his winning ways with yet more victories in the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge. In the Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge, Lewis Hopkins did the double in Class A while his team-mate JJ O'Malley claimed his first win in race 3. Mark Figes won both Roadsport B events while in the Academy wins went to Gordon Sawyer and Robert Smith James Cole not only made it to the final of the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch but he also finished a highly creditable sixth despite racing with a fractured wrist. Dean Smith ended his season of European racing at the Circuit de Catalunya with races in both the Formula Renault West European Cup and the Eurocup Formula Renault. In the former he came away with a sixth and an eighth place in the two races but his Eurocup encounters were best forgotten. SG Formula’s Daniel Ricciardo may have won the last race of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 but it was Valtteri Bottas, driving for Motopark Academy who claimed the title with fourth place, giving him just enough points for the championship.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo’s victory in the first race of the Formula Renault WEC at Barcelona plus his second place in the second race means he has won the first title in the Formula Renault West European Cup. The wi nner of the second race was his team-mate Andrea Caldarelli.
Brands Hatch has not been included on the FIM World Superbike provisional 2009 calendar. A round of the World Superbike Championship has taken place at the Kent circuit every year since 1993. Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision, said: “Of course it is very disappointing not to have World Superbikes on the calendar for Brands Hatch next year but I have not been able to agree terms with the promoters of WSB, the Italian-based FG Sport company, run by Paolo and Maurizio Flammini. It is obviously their business to obtain the highest fees possible from circuits for having a WSB event but unfortunately FG Sport has demanded a fee over twice as much as MSV paid in 2008, which seems strange given the very obvious global economic crisis. I have made it very clear to FG Sport that we would be delighted to welcome WSB back to Brands Hatch in 2009 but despite considerable negotiation over many weeks the substantially increased offer I made to FG Sport was not acceptable to them.The loss of Brands Hatch will be a shame for British fans but also a big loss for the World Superbike Championship, as Brands Hatch has consistently attracted the biggest crowd of any circuit and will clearly be missed by its promoters and sponsors.MSV is however more committed than ever to major motor cycle events at Brands Hatch and we are advancing plans for a major new bike event to take place on the traditional WSB date that will provide fans with outstanding entertainment and value. We anticipate making an announcement within the next month.” Eurosport will broadcast the British Superbike Championship (BSB) for a further two seasons after renewing its exclusive live rights deal with MotorSport Vision this week. The digital sports channel had the exclusive live rights to the 12-round BSB championship in 2008 and used the series to develop British Eurosport 2 in the UK market. The new two-year deal will continue to give the exciting BSB series extensive TV airtime, with a 4-hour live show produced at each of the 12 rounds, featuring both BSB races, the British Supersport Championship and additional support races. Raceday highlights will also be shown in primetime and repeated throughout the week. On Thursday nights “British Superbikes Extra” features the British 125 GP, National Superstock and KTM RC8 Championships.
Dario Franchitti will drive in the IRL Surfers Paradise street race this coming weekend. Franchitti has been named as the second driver for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team and will be a team-mate for reigning IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champion, Kiwi Scott Dixon. Franchitti won the Gold Coast race in 1999 and will make his open-wheel return after a season with Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR operation. “I know this year’s race is not for championship points, but that will not make one inch of difference when it comes to race time,” said Franchitti. The Nikon Indy 300 is one race every serious Indy car driver wants to compete in and win. I would give anything to win it twice and I am thankful I will get that opportunity next week, but I know there are going to be another 23 drivers just as keen to get their hands on that big gold cup as me – championship points or not. The fact that there are three Australian born drivers, including my team mate Scott Dixon, who have a good chance of winning is a big bonus for the Australian and Kiwi fans. Without championship points, they might even get a bigger show than they were expecting.” Franchitti has been a long-time fan of the Australian race and has actually visited the event when he was not even competing. “It is quite ironic that I will be making my return to open-wheel racing with Target Chip Ganassi Racing at one of my favourite events anywhere in the world on the streets of Surfers Paradise,” said Franchitti. Scuderia Ecosse started Sundays FIA GT race ninth on the grid before they secured another valuable point after an incident packed race at Zolder. The team ran with the latest edition of Pirelli tyres and during the race car ‘62' steadily climbed to second place and was looking good for a top podium finish, before an incident involving Emmanuel Collard and Jamie Davies resulted in a drive-through penalty going against the team. The ‘61' Pro Speed Porsche tried to go round the outside of a faster GT1 car thereby forcing Jamie Davies to brake unexpectedly; resulting in a spin for both cars. Excessive damage sustained by the car during this incident forced Fabio Babini to cut short his second stint behind the wheel. After having seen the car return to the pit twice in quick succession, Team Principal Stewart Roden made the difficult call not to send the car back out and risk incurring even more damage in the final seventeen minutes of race. Immediately after the race Stewart Roden said, "We had a super quick car today and to see number 62 running as high as second place was fantastic and is a credit to all the hard work by our team and the Pirelli development programme. We look forward to building on this performance as we head into the final round of this year's Championship in Argentina next month". David Brabham suffered a challenging final American Le Mans round in what was his last LMP2 race with the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Monterey Sports Car Championships. The 43 year-old led from overall pole position in the opening laps, but the Acura ARX-01b suffered its only technical failure of the season, affecting the power steering. Despite a characteristic Brabham charge to the finish the sports car ace finished ninth in class. Motors TV will now be available as part of Virgin Media’s XL TV package to subscribers in the UK. The ‘High Speed Television’ channel provides viewers with a wide selection of international motorsport, featuring 70 championships worldwide, including disciplines as diverse as motocross, rallying, circuit racing and powerboats. Live coverage includes the DTM, ALMS, V8 Supercars, F3 Euroseries and the MX2 Motocross World Championship. Time is also dedicated to grassroots motorsports from the UK and beyond. As of 21 October 2008, Motors TV will be available to all Virgin Media XL TV subscribers. Motors TV Chief Operating Officer Philippe Deleplace said: “We are delighted that Motors TV, present in the UK since 2002, will be available to Virgin Media’s 3.5 million TV customers. This announcement underlines our continued expansion, bringing the best content to legions of motorsport fans throughout Europe.” Motors TV can be found on Virgin Media channel 545. 19-10-08
Will Bratt was back up the sharp end of the field in the latest round of FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship at Jerez on Saturday, coming home in fourth place…read report
Patrón Highcroft Racing had a tough final race in the 2008 American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca. The team had led their class early in the race but a mechanical problem delayed the team forcing into the pits for repairs. The did o stage a fightback climbing from 25th to 9th at the flag. Michel Nykjær managed to claim a second consecutive FIA European Touring Car Cup at the Austrian Salzburgring today(Sunday). The Danish driver won the first race and then survived a number of incidents to finish second in the second race behind Oscar Nogués. This was enough to give him the Super 2000 Cup and give Denmark victory in the Nations' Cup. It also gave Chevrolet their first international trophy in Touring Car racing. Young Spaniard Nogués, who had won participation in the FIA Cup after his victory in the SEAT Eurocup, clinched a brilliant win in race two, while Richard Göransson was third. Italian driver Fabio Fabiani (BMW 320i) and Ralf Martin from Germany (Ford Fiesta) emerged as the winners in the Super Production and Super 1600 class respectively. 18-10-08
Patrón Highcroft Racing took it’s third pole position of 2008 for the final ALMS round at Launa Seca . The Acura ARX-01b’s set a time of 1:10.103, a new ALMS lap record at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the final qualifying session in LMP2 ..read more
17-10-08 Star Mazda Practice - After most of a season of seeing the same half-dozen names at the top of the time sheets a new name has popped up – Richard Kent, an English karting champion with a background Palmer Audi. Driving the #77 Andersen Racing / Traka Mazda, Kent, his first time at Laguna Seca and in a Star Mazda car, set a time of 1:12.074, nearly 0.3secs up on points leader John Edwards (1.21.373). In third was Peter Dempsey, currently third in the championship with a 1:21.615 .In fourth was Joel Miller, with a 1:22.090 while rounding out the top-5 was another unfamiliar name who usually runs in the Star Mazda West Coast regional series, Patrick O'Neill with a time of 1:22.179.
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear has announced a technical and promotional partnership with iRacing.com Motorsports Simulations, LLC that will begin immediately in preparation for the 2009 racing season. iRacing.com is now the "Official Simulation Service" of the Star Mazda Championship and will provide resources that allow prospective new drivers to test drive and existing drivers to train with a virtual Star Mazda race car on digital duplicates of most of the tracks that will be used by the series during the 2009 season. iRacing.com will also provide contingency awards to top-performing Star Mazda Championship drivers and teams during the season, as well as a year-end award of a custom-built, professional-grade racing simulator. The Star Mazda Championship and iRacing.com will also cooperate on advertising programs in major motorsports publications and web sites, joint appearances at motorsports trade shows and other public relations, promotional and marketing opportunities. Additional initiatives are under discussion and will be announced as they develop.
Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly, two 2008 Team USA Scholarship winners, are heading for the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy on October 18-19 and November 1-2, respectively. Newgarden, who hails from Tennessee, finished runner-up to his Team USA Scholarship teammate Daly in the BF Goodrich/Skip Barber National Championship. For Newgarden, the races are of great importance, "Winning a race in the U.K. at such prestigious races would definitely provide a huge boost for my career," said Newgarden, "Along with winning the Skip Barber title, this has been a focus of mine ever since I found out I had been selected for the Scholarship. It's a great honour to be a part of this program and I will give it my all to bring home a win." And what of his rivalry with Daly,? "I've been racing against Conor since I was 13," said Newgarden,. "Off the track we're good friends. On the track, we're very different personalities, but each of us shares an overwhelming desire to win every time we flip that visor down.” Then there is the question of English weather and the rains. "I love driving in the rain. It's my favourite condition, but at the same time I don't wish for it because it just throws up too many unknowns," added Newgarden. Visit the Team USA Scholarship website to follow more of the action and read the driver's blogs at TeamUSAScholarship.org. The penultimate meeting of the 2009 FIA WTCC will take place next weekend, October 26th, at the Okayama International Circuit in Japan. Although this is the first time the championship will go to Japan, it’s not the first time for FIA Touring Cars in the country of the rising sun. Twenty-one years ago, on November 15th 1987, the first edition of the World Touring Car Championship (and also the last one before the series was revived in 2005) ended at Fuji. A few days after their exclusion from the previous round at Bathurst, due to technical infringements, Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz drove their Eggenberger Ford Sierra RS500 to victory in the Inter Tec 500km. The world championship went to Roberto Ravaglia (now principal of BMW Team Italy-Spain) at the wheel of a Schnitzer Motorsport BMW M3. In 1996, the FIA International Touring Car Championship also visited Japan, ending its only season at Suzuka; Mercedes drivers Dario Franchitti and Bernd Schneider winning one race apiece. Three SEAT Sport
drivers will carry the maximum 70kg success ballast
in the next WTCC race meeting at
Okayama, they are Championship leaders Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini,
who both won at Monza, plus Jordi Gené. Other drivers with heavy
ballast are Nicola Larini on 68kgs, Andy Priaulx and Robert Huff on 66
and 64 respectively and 62 for Rickard Rydell. N.technology's The Chevrolet WTCC team started testing their 2009 car. The new Chevrolet Cruze will continue testing for the rest of this year. The car is expected to make its first appearance at Curitiba, Brazil, in the opening round of the 2009 WTCC in March. "The new Cruze will be the next milestone in Chevrolet Europe's motor sporting history. So far, we have achieved every goal we set in 2005, step by step: challenge the competition, score points, prove we can win and then become regular frontrunners against competition with an established motorsporting resumé. With the Cruze, we will put the bar even higher and firmly aim at winning the World Championship," said Chevrolet Europe Motorsport Director Eric Nève. André Couto will
rejoin N.technology for the
WTCC final on his home track of Macau. He will drive the team's second Honda Accord Euro R car - the same
driven by Yukinori Taniguchi in
Monza and Okayama. Couto, who won the 2000 F3 Macau GP and took pole
position in the 2003 Macau Guia race with an N.technology Alfa Romeo
147, said: "Macau has always been a special race for me and being given
the opportunity to race there again with N.technology is great. Having
seen what the car can do this year, I look forward to getting behind the
wheel and seeing what James and I can do on these famous streets." Norbert Michelisz is the last driver coming from the SEAT Eurocup to join WTCC. The 24-year old Michelisz won the series' first race in Monza and will drive a SUNRED SEAT León Tfsi in the WTCC meeting at Okayama, Japan. Michelisz is the sixth SEAT Eurocup driver to win a WTCC appearance after Oscar Nogués, Tom Boardman, Lourenço Beirão da Veiga, Martin Colak and Duarte Félix da Costa. He is also the first Hungarian to join the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The Liqui Moly Engstler Team will enter a third car in the FIA WTCC event at Okayama, for Japanese driver Masaki Kano. Kano will drive a BMW 320i E46 Super 2000 at Okayama, alongside the team's two 320si cars of Franz Engstler and Andrey Romanov. Hong Kong driver
Matthew Marsh will join the Wiechers-Sport team
in the WTCC in Japan and Macau; his BMW 320si will sport the colours of
City of Dreams Macau, an integrated entertainment resort due to open in
2009. Derek Daly Design and Paxton Waters Architecture have entered into a strategic alliance with Inis Motorsport Ltd. Ex-F1 driver Daly and Waters, designer of some of America's premier motorsports facilities, are currently expanding their collective abilities to design and build road circuits around the world. The alliance will allow Daly and Waters to offer Inis Motorsport Safety and Management Systems at all future project sites. Inis Motorsport, headquartered in Cork, Ireland, develops systems for Motorsport Venues including the worlds first wireless corner lights system. Peter O'Doherty founder and CEO of Inis Motorsport welcomed the partnership saying "this is a great recognition of the development we have undertaken". With over 120 sites throughout the world Inis systems are fast becoming recognized as leaders in the world of Motorsport track technology. 16-10-08
Liz Halliday heads back to California this weekend as the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) draws to a close at Laguna Seca in California where she took a podium finish back in 2006......read more Patrón Highcroft Racing are off to Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón at Laguna Seca this weekend, October 17-18, for the finale of the American Le Mans Series. The team are looking to end their season on a high as tis will be their last outing in LMP2 as in 2009 they plan to move to LMP1..read more This weekend at
Brands Hatch the BRSCC is running the 37th Formula Ford Festival.
Newly crowned national Formula Ford Champion Wayne Boyd is favourite to
take the Duratec crown, while Scotland’s Graham Carroll Races at Donington Park and Oulton Park last weekend saw some more champions of the variousv series. As mentioned above Wayne Boyd took the British Formula Ford title ahead of his Jamun team mate Tim Blanchard, while Chrissy Palmer took the honours in the Scholarship class. Meanwhile up at Oulton Park , Nigel Thompson secured the Carphone Warehouse Networks powering TalkTalk Club Formula Ford NW Pre 90 Championship after a season long battle with Ian Parkington . There was an even more dramatic end to the inaugural Dunlop TVR Challenge. Michael Holden looked odds on to win the championship but technical problems meant he couldn’t get off the grid in race one leaving the field clear for Dean Cook to take the honours. BRSCC members will once again be entitled to claim a complimentary ticket to the Autosport Show at the NEC, Birmingham . Members can choose which day they want to attend from any of the four days of the Show, which runs from Thursday 8th to Sunday 11th January 2009. Applications can only be made on-line and details of how to apply will be announced in the November edition of BRSCC Racing News and next month’s e-newsletter. In the meantime more information about the show can be found at Autosport International
The Anglesey Circuit Club is holding a Winter Race Day on Sunday 30th November. The meeting is open to almost any model, whether it’s a modern car, a Classic Car, a Historic Car, a Post or Pre something car, or a one make series car. If you race any saloon or sports car, or most single seaters, you can race your car at this meeting. Two races for £150 and a Saturday Test Day for £90. If you are searching for licence upgrade signatures this is an ideal opportunity. Further details are available from Ian Smith on 01928 580222 or 07939 107888. Regulations, race entry forms and test day booking forms are downloadable from www.angleseycircuit.com The Motorsport Safety Fund's 2008 charity Christmas card is a chilly reminder of the valiant work carried out by Britain 's motorsport marshals, year in, year out, whatever the weather. It features a composite of two photographs taken at a wintry Lydden by lensman Steve Williams. In the foreground is a Jaguar marooned at a marshals' post and partially camouflaged by falling snow. Behind are five long-suffering marshals looking typically cheerful, despite the freezing conditions. The cards are priced at £6.50 for 10, including envelopes, postage and packing and are available from: Motorsport Safety Fund, Penny Farthing, Heythrop, Chipping Norton OX7 5TW. An image of the card can be viewed in the Publications section of the Fund’s website; www.motorsportsafetyfund.com
Now that the 2008 Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series has ended, AIM Autosport has already started preparations for 2009. However it has also had time to reflect on a successful 2008..read more
15-10-08
The 2008 Charterhouse Heritage Grand Touring Car Challenge wraps up a great season at Brands Hatch on 25/26 October for the 12th and 13th races of the season. The Heritage GT series of races everything from Mini Coopers to Ford Mustangs and from E Types to Camaros. Big grids and fine racing have typified 2008 and the final weekend will be no different with an entry of over 30 cars. ..read more Aim Autosport's Star Mazda Team is back in action this weekend at Monterey, California for the final round in the Star Mazda Series presented by Goodyear. John Edwards, the team's driver will be looking for another win to add to his four victories this season so far and with it the Championship title... . ..read more Auction raises $40,900: In the coming years, Graham Rahal can expect more than a few thank you cards from critically ill youngsters. The 19-year-old IndyCar Series driver raised $40,900 for Flying Horse Farms with the online action of a helmet featuring posters from some of the late Paul Newman's biggest movies. Rahal wore the helmet in the July race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He, Newman and helmet designer Troy Lee each autographed the helmet.
Formula BMW Americas have awarded Canadian Alexander Ellis,Cuban-American Roberto Garcia, 17, and Dominican Daniel Vela, 14, 2009 Formula BMW Americas Junior Scholarships Formula BMW Junior scholarship will be awarded to the winner of this season's Rookie Championship. The scholarship awards $80,000 and enrollment in Formula BMW's Education and Coaching program. The 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship will conclude along at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Nov. 2. Alexander Rossi wrapped up the Overall Championship with a win in Round 14. The final two Rounds will determine the winner of this year's Rookie championship and recipient of the remaining Junior scholarship. The battle is a close one with four drivers, Gianmarco Raimondo, Mikael Grenier, Alexandre Ruiz (all three Formula BMW Juniors) and Giancarlo Vilarinho separated by only 12 points.
For the third time in three weeks rival teams SG Formula and Epsilon Euskadi shared the spoils in the Formula Renault WEC, this time at Mangy Cours. Andrea Caldarelli delighted SG Formula by taking the win on Sunday in a last gasp, last lap pass.. 14-10-08
Richard Hay and Clive Richards have successfully defended their evo Caterham Eurocup 'CSR Masters' title, pipping their Anglo-German rivals, Nick Payne and Kurt Hoffmann, to the crown at Magny Cours at the weekend (11/12 Oct).
Andrew Herron is celebrating after being named one of six finalists , from more than 50 applicants, for the inaugural Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme. Andrew has made no secret of his desire to graduate to Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2009, will take part in a two-day evaluation next week at the Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone. Getting behind the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup racer on the venue’s 1.64-mile National Circuit as part of the assessment, Andrew cannot wait to show what he’s capable of. Following the evaluation procedure, Porsche GB will then make an announcement before the end of October naming which two drivers will be selected to receive a sum of £50,000 each to go towards their season budget for the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB. “I’m obviously delighted to have been chosen by Porsche GB to be one of the six finalists for the scholarship”, said the Co. Down ace, “It’s a fantastic opportunity and I intend to grab the chance with both hands. My goal for 2009 is to graduate to Porsche Carrera Cup GB so winning £50,000 towards the budget would be incredible. It’s sure to be an exciting and enjoyable couple of days at Silverstone, I’m really looking forward to it.”The Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme evaluations will take place on Tuesday, 21st October, and Wednesday, 22nd October, at Silverstone.
The Aston Martin Asia Cup will once again be supporting the Formula One World Championship when the series arrives at Shanghai for the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. The race for title is very close with Japan’s Kota Sasaki and Sri Lanka’ Dilantha Malagamuwa level at the top of the table..read more After ‘umpteen’ red flags at Oulton Park last time out, the Clubmans Cup managed two races at Pembrey with only one! The weekend did have a severely depleted field as a result of the Oulton carnage but that didn't stop Alex Osborne and Adrian Langridge coming through to take a win each in the last event of 2008. The much-anticipated world debut of ECO Racing's environmentally ground-breaking, production-engined, bio-diesel LMP1 Radical AER is scheduled to occur at the American Le Mans Series' season finale, the Monterey Sports Car Championships Oct. 16-18 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The British team has chosen Japanese star Hideki Noda and America's Andrew Prendeville, a veteran of the tough Firestone Indy Lights Series, to drive the car in the four-hour race on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Jonathan Adam has been confirmed as the 2008 SEAT Cupra champion, and in doing so the 23-year driver from Kirkcaldy in Scotland becomes the only back-to-back champion in the six- year history of the series. ..read more Formula Renault team Hillspeed ran 2 days of testing at Rockingham last week in preparation for the 2008 Winter Championship. Menasheh Idafar, who is stepping up to Formula Renault UK from the BARC series, was fastest with a best of 1m 15.8 seconds on Friday. Although times were unofficial, it’s widely accepted that Idafar ended the second day fastest. . For the Winter Championship, Hillspeed will field two UK-specification cars for Idafar and Michael Lyons who will test this Friday at Silverstone. The team also ran newcomer James Theodore who soon got to grips with his ‘slicks and wings’ single-seater, the 16-year-old ended Friday’s test with a 1m 18.0 seconds. Joining Theodore was 24-year-old Immanuel Bryson-Haynes who is set to make his maiden race appearance in a Formula Renault BARC car during the opening round of November’s winter series. The winter series itself will commence on Saturday, 1st November at Croft Jeff Westphal needs only 7 points from the final two races of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to clinch the Terminal Velocity Pacific F2000 Championship Presented by Hankook Tire. The 22-year-old racer endured a disappointing start to his campaign when an electrical gremlin forced him to begin the very first race almost a lap down. Since then he has been on a tear, winning eight out of nine races in the #39 Cacci Construction/TNT Demolition/PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen. Westphal is poised to break 2007 champion Patrick Barrett's record of eight wins in a single Pacific F2000 season. Nevertheless, 2006 Pacific F2000 champion Robert Podlesni remains in mathematical contention after an equally consistent season which has included eight podium finishes aboard Dave Freitas Racing's #84 Terminal Velocity Processing/Alpinestars Van Diemen. Podlesni needs to win both races to keep his aspirations alive. Both the Masters (for drivers aged over 51) and Expert titles (between ages 35 and 50) also remain unsettled. In the Masters category, defending champion Chuck Hulseholds an 18-point margin over Peter Hastrup who has been racing in F2000 since its inception as a professional category in the United States in 1991. Hulse, incidentally, finished third and fourth overall in the two most recent F2000 races in Utah. Ira Fierberg holds a healthy advantage in his quest for a second successive Experts title. 13-10-08 Victor Corea and David Brown have won the last three races in the 2008 British Formula Ford Championship while Wayne Boyd finally clinched the title. Although Boyd didn’t manage to add to his 13 victories he still picked up three podium places in the final rounds at Donington Park this weekend. .read .
Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes won their third-straight Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 yesterday(Sunday) in a Ford ahead of Jason Richards and Greg Murphy and the Stone Brothers pairing of James Courtney and David Besnard. Jaime Alguersuari won his third successive race to win the 2008 British British F3 International Series crown. The 18-year-old Spaniard became the youngest ever British F3 Champion with two wins at Donington Park yesterday(Sunday). His rival for the title Oliver Turvey failed to finish the second race of the day after taking third in race 1 behind Brendon Hartley. Nick Tandy had his best finish of the year with second in race 2 ahead of Sergio Perez
Outgoing British Formula 3 International Series champion Hitech Racing brought its 2008 British season to a finish with the final two rounds at Donington this weekend. For the Buckingham-based team there were mixed emotions following a solid performance in qualifying on Saturday British Formula 3 International Series debutant Dean Smith outshone many of the F3 regulars at Donington Park by taking two fourth places showing that he could be one to watch next season should he get a competitive .
The Masters Series has announced plans for its third Festival at Brands Hatch that will run over the weekend of May 23/24/25, 2009. The Brands Hatch Masters Festival has quickly established itself as one of the best historic events on the calendar, with full grids and a great racing from a huge variety of cars. Masters Series Director Christopher Tate is already looking forward to the third annual event: “We are delighted to be going back to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, one of the best driver’s circuits in the world. We have enjoyed two tremendous weekends there and, working closely with MotorSport Vision, year three will be a bigger and better. We will be taking our regular Grand Prix Masters and World Sportscar Masters, as well as sports-racing cars and touring cars. In addition, we hope to reprise the successful 2008 visit by the HGPCA with their F1 cars of the 1950’s and early ‘60s. All these, plus the GT and touring cars which always provide great racing, means we are already busy working on making this event the best yet. We have a number of exciting plans for the off-track entertainment that will cement this as one of the ‘must do’ events in the historic racing calendar. Undoubtedly, Brands Hatch will be the place to be in May 2009.” Six young racing
drivers have been selected as finalists in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
Scholarship Programme.
Created and run by Porsche Cars GB, the Programme will provide £50,000
to each of two drivers to use as part of their budget for the 2009
Carrera Cup GB season. The six finalists will now be put through a
two-day evaluation process at the Porsche Driving Experience Centre at
Silverstone on 21/22 October. They are: Tom Bradshaw; age 19 from
Blackburn, Lancashire, 2008 season: Formula Palmer Audi Championship, Roberto Mehri (Epsilon Euskadi) put himself in a strong position for the title after Magny-Cours where he took over first place in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup. The championship is now set to be decided at Barcelona as there are now just 3 points between Mehri and Daniel Ricciardo. Mackenzie Taylor maiden senior kart race in Italy ended with an excellent second place in annual, two-part Industrial Trophy with the faster, KF2 class machinery KF2 pilot Robert Foster-Jones is enjoying his most successful season ever and yesterday at Parma, he took another superbly taken win in the first round of the Trofeo Industriale…
Magneti Marelli is to be the official technical partner of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport for the 2008/09 season. A1GP will utilise Magneti Marelli electronic systems in many key areas of the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars. Using the Magneti Marelli modular design engine and gear control system, A1 Teams will benefit from increased data logging capability, 100% real-time telemetry cover, and reliable integration with all other control units on the car. The system currently controls the gearbox, data logging and all steering wheel functions. John Wickham, General Manager, Technical & Operations of A1GP, said, “This is an important partnership for A1GP as we enter a new era with the Powered by Ferrari cars. Reliability has been excellent during the test programme, with no problems encountered in over 7,500-kilometres of testing throughout Europe.”
Volkswagen driver Laurens Vanthoor won the final round of the ATS Formula 3 Cup season. The Belgian started from second on the grid in his Dallara F307 Volkswagen for the 18th race of the season at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, assumed the lead immediately after the start and defended it to win by the margin of 0.3 seconds. Vanthoor looked destined to win the first race before misfortune intervened: The Chinese Adderly Fong spun, was obscured from view in a huge dust cloud and Vanthoor crashed into him. Without this the Volkswagen driver would still have been able to fight for championship runner-up spot. So, Vanthoor ended the season in fourth place overall with two wins. Niall Quinn replaced Swiss girl Rahel Frey in the second Dallara F307 Volkswagen and crossed the finish line seventh in both races. Christoffer Osterby won the sixth and final round of the Volkswagen Polo Cup Denmark. The 34-year old Dane won by more than 13 seconds from Bjarne Kragelund and Morten Troelsene at the rain swept Jyllandsringen. As a result, Osterby also clinched second place overall in the Polo classification, since his rival for the runner-up spot, the Norwegian Thomas Faraas, was only ninth. Dennis Elgaard had already been confirmed as Danish Volkswagen Polo Cup before the season finale. He finished the season with a sixth place. 12-10-08
Joe Fulbrook is the 2008 Volkswagen Racing Cup Champion. Winning the title at Donington Park today (Sunday), with a lowly 12th-place finish in race 1 he took enough points to guarantee himself the crown. He didn't get anywhere in race 2 either, the wins went to Mike Kurton drving a Golf GTI in race 1 and the Corrado of Alex Dziurzynski in race 2 . .
Australian Mini Challenge racer Darren Berry on the mend – Darren Berry underwent surgery on his broken ankle at Orange Base Hospital today(Sunday), after yesterday’s incident at Mount Panorama. He is expected to return to his home in Brisbane later this week to continue his recuperation. Aside from the broken ankle and some stiffness associated with the accident, Berry has shown no other effects of the crash and is in good spirits. National Manager, MINI – Justin Hocevar, said, “It’s fantastic news that Darren is progressing so well,” he said. “It was a huge incident, however the fact that Darren has not suffered any more serious injury is testament to the safety built into these MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE racecars. It also goes to show the implementation of safety precautions such as the Head and Neck Support (HANS) Device by MINI CHALLENGE goes a long way towards keeping our drivers safe in such an incident. Everyone involved with MINI CHALLENGE hopes to see Darren back at the racetrack very soon.” 11-10-08 Jeremy Metcalfe is well placed to try and claim the runner-up spot in the 2008 Avon Tyres British GT Championship this weekend after team-mate Luke Hines set the third fastest time during qualifying for the final round at Donington Park National Circuit. Running well during the 30-minute session on Saturday , the No.16 Ferrari 430 GT3 car produced a best lap of 1m 09.788 seconds (100.96mph) with Hines at the wheel to secure third on the grid for Sunday’s two-hour endurance race. Heading into this weekend’s 2008 season finale the battle for the runner-up placing in the driver standings is incredibly tight. Jeremy and Luke, along with fellow CRS driver Michael Cullen, lead the way on 52 points with the remainder of the CRS attack, Michael Meadows, James Sutton and Cullen’s partner Paddy Shovlin, five points adrift. The fourth edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup, that will take place next weekend at the Salzburgring, Austria, has already met with a brilliant result: a new record in terms of represented countries. 33 drivers have entered the event driving cars built from 10 different manufacturers (see the final entry list attached). 21 of the competitors will fight for the FIA Super 2000 Cup, 6 for the FIA Super Production Cup and 6 for the new FIA Super 1600 Cup...read more
Dean Smith produced a good performance his British F3 debut at Donington Park today, Saturday, qualifying fourth on the grid for his maiden F3 race. The 20-year-old, driving for Fortec Motorsport, ran strongly throughout this morning’s round 21 qualifying session did a best lap of 1m 01.734 seconds (114.14mph) – less than half a second shy of pole. With the time placing Dean seventh on the grid, a handful of drivers were penalised after the session for posting quick times when yellow flags were being waved mobving Dean up to fourth. In round 22 qualifying, light rain fell making tyre choice tricky for the drivers and teams. Initially running with slicks on his Dallara F308, Dean moved into sixth place before slipping to ninth overall as he sat in the pits. When he returned to the track the conditions weren’t as good, so unable to better his fastest lap he ended up 10th overall . Mini Challenge driver, Darren Berry has sustained a broken left ankle following an incident in the opening lap of race three of Mini Challenge at Mount Panorama, Bathurst . Earlier in the day, Jason Bargwanna extended his winning streak to eight
At least 120 Caterhams are expected to race at Brands Hatch next weekend (17/18 Oct) in an eight-race celebration of the marque and its new champions.2008 Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge Champion David Mayes will be trying to end is first season in Caterhams with yet another win to add to the 8 he has already …read more Menasheh Idafar will remain with Hillspeed for his graduation to Formula Renault UK just three weeks from now, the British-born Bahraini having confirmed his participation in the 2008 winter series. The 17-year-old, who has competed in the Formula Renault BARC Championship for the past two seasons, will make his competitive debut in a Formula Renault UK car during the opening two rounds of the 2008 Winter Championship at Croft Circuit, North Yorkshire, on Saturday, 1st November. As part of his preparations for the four-race winter series, Menasheh tested the car at Rockingham on Thursday and Friday. Lapping with an unofficial best of 1m 15.8 seconds, the Hillspeed racer is thought to have concluded the day as the fastest of the Formula Renault UK drivers on track, to the delight of his team Team principal Richard Ollerenshaw said: “We’ve had an excellent two days, Menasheh proved to be very quick indeed in UK specification and now the new car has had time to bed in more the times are coming. Today truly was a fantastic performance and it all bodes well for the Winter Championship.” David Brabham is ready for the last ALMS race next weekend at Laguna Seca, 17-18 October, when he will be going all out for a win in is last LMP2 race for Patrón Highcroft Racing ..read more The Club Class cars from the Formula Renault BARC Championship can run in the 750 Motor Club’s Formula 4 Championship in class A starting next season. read more 10-10-08 Jason Bargwanna’s win streak in Australian Mini Challenge has continued at Mount Panorama today, taking out an abridged race one, but he was pushed all the way by New Zealand Mini Challenge Champion, Brent Collins...
Hexis Racing achieved their first European victory at Nogaro in the FIA GT3 Championship. The team's two youngest drivers, Thomas Accary and Pierre-Brice Mena, drove a peerless Race 1. Hexis
Racing are going into GT1
On Tuesday the FIA World Motor Sport Council approved the draft for the 2009 WTCC Calendar. With 12 meetings, including one in Morocco on May 3rd on a new street circuit in Marrakesh, which will need to be homologated by the FIA. The only other change is the Portuguese event which switches back to Porto after Estoril this year. As in 2008, the season will start in Curitiba, Brazil, and end in Macau. The Belgian Grand Prix on August 30th clashes with the WTCC's Oschersleben race. Plans are underway top move this to September 6th. …calendar The WTCC race at Monza saw the introduction of the FIA Institute Accident Data Recorder on WTCC cars. The device mounted between the driver's seat and the door will be tested until the end of the season to become mandatory from 2009. Andy Mellor of the FIA Institute visited Monza to help the teams to fix the recorder in place and get used to it. "The aim is to analyze crashes in detail and have a better understanding of their consequences. The application of similar systems resulted in massive safety improvements in F1 and now we want to focus on doing the same in other categories. All the data recorded by the ADR will be collected in the FIA Accident Data Base at Geneva and will provide an important reference for the future. As an example this kind of data may help to have a more scientific approach in designing components that are crucial for the drivers' safety, like seats, roll cages, safety belt anchorages," Mellor explained. Following their triumphant weekend in Monza, SEAT are now closer to both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' Championships. Two punctures occurred at almost the same time during the second race in Monza forcing Chevrolet's Robert Huff and BMW's Andy Priaulx to retire. So the Drivers' Championship looks like a straight fight between Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, who shared victories in Monza and are split by 9 points. With 40 points still at stake, the hopes of Huff (31 points behind), Rickard Rydell (33) and Priaulx (34) have nearly vanished. All other competitors haven fallen out of contention. In the Manufacturers' Championship, the Spanish brand have stretched their lead to 54 points ahead of BMW. Proteam Motorsport clinched the Yokohama Teams' Trophy in the WTCCwith two race meetings still to go. This is the second consecutive year that Proteam Motorsport have claimed the Trophy. Proteam's drivers Sergio Hernandez and Stefano D'Aste may add the icing to the cake, as they are currently first and second in the Independents' Trophy. Hernandez, victorious in Monza's second race, leads by 22 points from his team mate. Their closest competitor, Exagon Engineering's Pierre-Yves Corthals is a further 14 points adrift The new FIA Formula 2 Championship and the Trofeo 500 Abarth will support the WTCC in 2009. Formula Two will make its debut at the Valencia round on 31 May 2009, and will run at four other European WTCC events: Brno, Brands Hatch, Oschersleben and Monza. "We have eight events, and most of them are associated with the FIA World Touring Car Championship, which you know always draws big crowds at circuits around the world," said the series' promoter Jonathan Palmer. The Trofeo 500 Abarth, reserved for the 190bhp Fiat 500 Abarth Assetto Corse cars, will join six WTCC events. The same five as F2, plus Porto. The fourth edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup will take place next week at the Austrian Salzburgring, October 18-19. Approximately 40 drivers are due to compete in the three categories eligible for the event: Super 2000, Super Production and the new Super 1600. FIA Cups will be awarded to the winners of each category, while the Nations' Cup will be awarded to the National Sporting Authority of the country whose drivers have scored the highest number of points. Cooper Tire will be the new tyre supplier and title sponsor of the British F3 International Series for 2009 until 2011.The US tyre manufacturer takes over the role held for 25 years by Avon Tyres, a brand owned by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company which will continue to sponsor the British GT series for another 3 years as well. "Through our many years in British F3 with the Avon brand, we know that it is a genuine stepping stone of great drivers on the way to F1, and therefore requires the very best components in every area," explains Julian Baldwin, managing director of Cooper Tire Europe. Avon Tyres is very well established in British and European motor racing and, as Cooper Tire grows as a brand in Europe, we want it to stand for the same standard of quality. Cooper's racing tyres deserve to be allied with a high-profile championship in Europe and you don't get much bigger than British F3." Cooper Tire already has an established reputation in US motorsport, where it is title sponsor to the Atlantic Championship. The calendar for the 2009 Cooper Tire British F3 International Series will be announced soon. With a virtually unassailable lead, Dennis Johns should take his second National Formula Vee Title at Zwartkops Raceway this weekend in the penultimate round of the 2008 Pro Tour South African National Formula Vee Championship. ..read more Grand-Am Rolex Series 2009 schedule announced starting on January 24-25 at Daytona. calendar Following the last race in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda last Friday at Road Atlanta, the drivers, teams, partners and officials gathered at the posh Chateau Elan in Braselton, Georgia for the annual Awards Banquet. After wrapping up the title earlier in the day Finnish rookie Markus Niemela and his Brooks Associates Racing teammates were the evening's biggest winners. Niemela winning $250,000 and. the Rookie of the Year as well. After finishing second in the championship, Jonathan Bomarito got $150,000 prize while Jonathan Summerton was presented with a $100,000 prize for third place. Guillaume Moreau has been selected for A1 Team France as part of its driver line-up for the 2008-09 season. Moreau will join Loic Duval and Nicolas Prost in the team where he hopes to make a significant contribution to the French attempt to win back the title 09-10-08
PSL Karting will have two drivers at the Snap-on Stars of Karting Finals at Las Vegas this weekend, Fritz Leesmann will contend for the ICC National Championship while Tommy Beshro will compete in the Junor Intercontinental A (Photo: On Track Promotions - otp.ca)..read more The Silverstone Britcar 24
Hr will be on SKY at the following times : -
Wednesday Nov 5th Sky Sports Extra 8pm,
Jason Bargwanna is on pole for in the Australian Mini Challenge at Bathurst, his third third successive pole in the series. Setting a time around the superb Mount Panorama circuit of 2:31.1762 he was 1.25 seconds faster than second placed Matt Neal, the BTCC star surprising everyone with a front row spot. ..read more
Russell Ingall has had one goal in mind this year,winning the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This weekend Ingall and his Gold Coast-based team, Supercheap Auto Racing will case the 'holy grail' in Australian motorsport -- the Peter Brock Trophy at Mount Panorama. "If there is one race that a driver wants to win, it is this one!" said Ingall. "I've won it twice but I want more. This year my focus has purely been on this race -- I want to win it again. I will be leaving nothing for chance this wekend, neither will the team. I saw the emotion shown by the guys in the team when we finished on the podium in Queensland. If we can get on the podium at Bathurst I can almost guarantee you that you'll see some grown men cry!" In last month's opening endurance race of 2008, the L&H 500 held at Phillip Island, Ingall and co-driver Paul Morris were in contention for a podium finish before a late race mishap drop them down the order. However, the speed shown by the pair aboard the #39 Supercheap Auto Commodore was impressive and has the 2005 series champion buoyed with confidence entering this weekend's event. Practice at Mount Panorama begins today(Thursday) with qualifying on Friday followed by the top-ten shootout on Saturday. The 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 will begin at 10:30am on Sunday.
After Hitech Junior took their first podium finish in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup at Estoril they headed for Spa –Francorchamps full of confidence with drivers Australian Ashley Walsh and Britain’s Luciano Bacheta joined by Formula Renault UK Winterseries Champion Richard Singleton.
Walker Racing capped off the 2008 season on a high for the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship finale in Road Atlanta. The team's drivers, Kevin Lacroix, and Greg and Leo Mansell, all had good results. Lacroix drove a solid race for second place, finishing ninth in the overall standings. His teammate, Greg Mansell rounded off his season on a positive note, qualifying eighth he finished the race fifth for tenth in the championship. Leo Mansell meanwhile qualified 16th, worked his way up the grid for an 11th place finish in the race and 19th overall in the standings. 08/10/08 Motors TV (Sky Channel 413 and Virgin Media 545) and the American Le Mans Series have signed a new two year deal to ensure coverage of then series continues…read more.
On Tuesday (7 October), Prince Andrew, His Royal Highness The Duke of York, was at the Lola Group’s facilities in Huntingdon. The Duke, now the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, was supporting Lola’s 50th Anniversary celebrations….read more Television
coverage for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB
continues next week with another highlights programme in the Motorsport
UK series. The coverage continues with action from the Knockhill races
and the half-hour programme will be broadcast as follows: The CR Scuderia British GT Championship team will be heading to Donington Park for the season finale this weekend. Both championships are already wrapped up and as the championship-winning team, CRS will be out to finish the year with a victory. All of the CRS driver line-ups have a mathematical chance of taking the runner-up spot in the driver's championship, although Michael Cullen remains 5 points ahead of Paddy Shovlin as the latter missed Snetterton. The season finale is a two-hour race, like the one won by James Sutton and Michael Meadows at Silverstone, and it takes place this Sunday at 1315hrs. Asia Racing Team (ART) Motorsports continued its winning streak clinching a double victory on Asian Formula Renault Challenge at Zhuhai. Indonesian Rio Haryanto won both wet races by a comfortable margin. In Race 1, Haryanto kept his cool in the treacherous conditions that saw the race to start behind the Safety Car. At the lights Rio made a good start and pulled a 20 second gap to 2nd place. Having been quick throughout the weekend, Rio dominated again the early stages of the Race 2, managing the gap to the 2nd car. Due to the track conditions the race was red flagged with two laps remaining and Rio celebrated the second victory of the day under amber rainstorm warning signal. Speaking after his first single-seater wins Rio said, "I am very happy with the results. In both races I was able to push really hard in the first few laps and build up a good gap from the 2nd. Track conditions were a bit of a problem today but I drove the car without making any mistakes. This race belongs to the team too. They worked hard to give me a car to win". Team USA Scholarship winners, Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden, dominated proceedings this past weekend in the final two rounds of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway 07-10-08 Raceinstructors.com was launched on 1st September 2008 The concept behind Raceinstructors.com is to provide a single place on the web for anyone seeking race tuition and to easily access information about race instructors. For the Instructors it is a low cost advertising solution which maintains a high Google ranking and where possible links to their existing website. Kelly Williams, who runs the site, has been involved with Motorsport or sometime while her father runs a successful race car preparation business. Kelly has raced herself and hopes to be out racing again in 2009. For further information can be found at www.raceinstructors.com or e-mail info@raceinstructors.com NASCAR driver Boris Said, double British Touring Car Champion Matt Neal and New Zealand Mini Challenge Champion Brent Collins, spearhead an international all star cast for Australian Mini Challenge at Bathurst this weekend, read more
In the Historic
Formula Ford race at the Donington Collection meeting
Darren Burke(pictured right)
Leo Voyazides Ford Falcon
took two wins from two starts in the HSCC/HRSR ‘Bybox’ Historic Racing
Saloons at Donington
In the FIA Lurani Trophy for Historic Formula Junior cars Edwin Jowsey was unstoppable.His Lotus 22 simply ran and hid in both races, winning Saturday's event by 16 seconds from Michael Hibberd's Lotus 27. Third was Philipp Buhofer on a Lola Mk5A.824 who was a further 12 seconds up the road after he had a good battle with John Fyda(Lotus 22) and Piero Enrico Tonetti in a Brabham BT6, who came home in 4th and 5th respectively. In Sunday's race, held off until mid afternoon due to the wet weather, Jowsey still won with ease although Fyda in second was only 4.8 seconds adrift after he put in a good drive from 4th at the start passing first Marcus Mussa's Brabham BT6 and then Hibbered on is way to second. Hibberd held onto third with Mussa fourth. The combined result put Jowset in a comfortable first place with Hibberd second and Fyda third.
Harold Primat’s chances of a second consecutive Petit Le Mans podium finish were ended by gearbox failure after four hours of an incident-packed ten-hour race at Road Atlanta. Julien Jousse had an excellent weekend at Estoril recently when he picked up a third place in the Formula Renault 3.5 series. The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear has released its 2009 calendar, beginning the season with it’s traditional date at the Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 20 before ending at the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 10. The major change next year is the return of ovals ..read more 06-10-08
In the URS
Classic Formula Ford 1600 Championship at Silverstone,
At Silverstone
in the Impressions Classic Modified Saloons Neil Philpotts
put his Colt Starion Turbo in first place beating Andy Davies in an M3
and Arden Grant in a similar car. Meanwhile the Post Historic
encounter was won by Nigel Garrett in his Triumph Dolomite Sprint.
Garret drossed the line with 0.387 secs to spare over second placed
David Howard’s XJ12 and 0.9 secs over Stephen Primett’s Escort. Finally
in the MGOC race Gary Smith(pictured far right) was the outright
winner in a MG ZR with Stuart Plotnek second Ian White and Marcus Carniel took outright wins as the Porsche Club Championship season closed at Spa, but it was Jez Clark who left the famous Belgian circuit with the overall championship after another pair of Class Three victories Paul McLean left Spa-Francorchamps with two wins in the Porsche Open series, the second shared with co-driver with Peter Fairbairn. Paul Winter won the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup prize drive for the most consistent driver over the season. Thorpe Bay kart pilot Robert Foster-Jones won the British Super 1 Championship at the very last round, held in terrible conditions. Eric De Doncker has taken his second successive GT4 European title wining the 2008 Championship at Nogaro at the weekend. .
No less than 51 different types of F1 car from the 3-litre era have competed in Grand Prix Masters races in 2008. The statistics, compiled following the final races in the GPM season at Spa-Francorchamps (27/28 September), is thought to make the 2008 GPM season the most varied in F1 history. During the season a total of 66 cars competed, covering 51 individual models. Among them were 19 from the 1966-1978 era including the familiar marques like Ferrari, McLaren, March, Tyrrell and Brabham but also some of the rarest. These included catrs like an Amon, Trojan, Theodore and Token, all painstakingly restored and brought back to racing.Grand Prix Masters has also actively encouraged engine diversity. In addition to the DFV, the mainstay of classic F1 racing, there have been engines like 12-cylinder Matras, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari and V8s from Repco and Alfa Romeo. Christopher Tate of the Masters Racing Series is thrilled at the level of support for GPM as well as the glorious diversity that the series offers at the very pinnacle of historic racing. ""For diversity of cars and drivers, for great cars and good fun, why would circuit owners, magazines, spectators, look anywhere other than GPM?” he said. "We plan to make 2009 even better and we look forward to welcoming all of our drivers back onto the GPM grid along with some new faces as well."
Alexander Sims has been invited by the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) to become one of the organisation’s prestigious ‘Rising Stars’. After making it to the final 6 in the 2008 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, the BRDC Rising Star accolade is yet further confirmation of the truly outstanding year Alexander has enjoyed in Formula Renault UK. Absolutely delighted to join the prestigious ‘Rising Star’ scheme, Alexander said: “It’s fantastic to have another important group of people award you with such an accolade and it’s great to be associated with the Rising Star. It’s nice to have the recognition and, like the McLaren Award and the British Race Elite, it can only be good for my career.” The BRDC Rising Star is an invitation-only award which aims to recognise young racers who have displayed excellence in their chosen category of motorsport and who are seen to have incredible potential for future success in the upper echelons of motor racing. The award was inaugurated in 2000.
Manor Motorsports Sam Bird picked up an excellent second place in the F3 Euro Series on Saturday at Le Mans. The second race was a confusing affair affected with rain and safety car periods and finally a red falg which left Sam down in eleventh palce.
Leading Formula Renault UK squad Manor Competition secured a double top 10 result on its competitive debut in the West European Cup at Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend, 4th/5th October, with regular drivers Henry Surtees and Alexander Sims Hillspeed enjoyed a successful end to it’s 2008 Formula Renault BARC campaign at Silverstone on Sunday, 5th October, with Menasheh Idafar and Ahmad Al Harthy both finishing on the podium
Menasheh Idafar finished his 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship with a fine third place in the second of the three races at Silverstone on Sunday. The Hillspeed driver’s podium place also consolidated his fourth place in the final championship table. A1 Team France has claimed the first Feature race victory of the season in extremely wet conditions at Zandvoort in The Netherlands. From third on the grid Loic Duval took the lead before the first round of pit stops and held on until the end despite two safety car periods. Fairuz Fauzy finished second for Malaysia, losing time in the first pit stop due to a problem with the left-rear wheel while Earl Bamber for A1 Team New Zealand was third. In the earlier Sprint race, Fairuz Fauzy came from fourth on the grid to take the team’s first victory in 27 races. Earl Bamber was second with Loic Duval third .
Formula 3 race
debut next weekend for Dean Smith at Donington Park David Brabham and teammate Scott Sharp’s ALMS championship title chances have been damaged by a DNF in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Their Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura was put out after a a spin early in the race damaged the car . Charles Pic came away from Portugal WSR 3.5 with a P2 in Race 2. The young Tech 1 Racing driver was the fastest rookie right through the weekend apart from when he had to drop out of Race 1. He is also the best-placed rookie in the current championship standings. After Estoril he's now lying 5th, up from 7th. He can still improve on that in the closing meeting of the season, which will take place in Barcelona, next October 18-19. One week after Charles' podium finish in Portugal, his 17-year old brother Arthur clinched the Formul'Academy Euro Series title in Le Mans. Arthur won 6 out of 12 races this year. The last Formul'Academy Euro Series meeting of the season will take place at Snetterton on November 1-2
Sportscar driver Jeremy Metcalfe is set to return to the TV screens today Monday, 6th October, in the opening episode of the new series of the Gadget Show on Five. Jeremy is, of course, no stranger to mainstream TV having spent a month in the Big Brother house last January as part of the inaugural Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack show on Channel 4 and E4. When approached by Gadget Show production team North One TV to take part in the first show of the 10th series of the popular programme, the 20-year-old British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star jumped at the opportunity. 04-10-08
Jeroen Bleekemolen will start on pole position in the A1 Team Netherlands car for his home race, A1GP Zandvoort tomorrow after posting a superb lap of 1m 24.213 seconds in qualifying at Zandvoort.Eighteen-year-old Earl Bamber put in an impressive performance for New Zealand to put Black Beauty on the front row of the grid in preparation for his first ever A1GP race start. Adam Carroll continued his good form from the morning session to claim third ..read more SEAT Sport have claimed the first four places on the grid for tomorrow's first WTCC race at Monza. Qualifying was all about the SEAT drivers who will line up on the grid with the three Championship leaders - Yvan Muller, Gabriele Tarquini and Rickard Rydell - in the top four places. Muller and Tarquini changed positions repeatedly throughout the session in the attempt to take pole. In the end last year's pole sitter Yvan Muller improved his time from 2007 (1:59.487) and set the fastest today, with a lap of 1:59.213. Tarquini finished very closely behind him (1:59.247), with Jordi Gené taking third position (1:59.879). Rydell took the fourth (1:59.963). Augusto Farfus could only manage fifth place while the highest placed Chevrolet of Nicola Larini was sixth, with his team mates Alain Menu in seventh and Robert Huff in ninth. Andy Priaulx was sandwiched betweem them in eighth. James Thompson, who won the second race in Imola could only qualify his Honda Accord in thirteenth.
03-10-08
A 30-car field is expected for the WTCC races at Monza. With the addition of three Japanese drivers - Manaubu Orido, Takayuki Aoki and Yukinori Taniguchi and Duarte Félix da Costa, winner of the SEAT Eurocup at Oschersleben, alongside Kristian Poulsen's return, the championship will have 30 drivers and 5 different manufacturers: BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, LADA and SEAT. The Chevrolet team will retain the same line up for 2009. They have re-signed Robert Huff, Nicola Larini and Alain Menu, who have been with the team since the beginning of the World Touring Car programme. Altogether they have 12 victories, 24 podium results and 7 pole positions in the championship so far for Chevrolet. "It is good to be able to announce our drivers for 2009 at this early stage. It shows the confidence we have in their abilities and they have in our engineering strength. In 2009 we will run a new car and it is good to have stability on the drivers' side. Their experience with the Chevrolet Lacetti will allow us to hit the ground running when we start to prepare for the new season," Chevrolet Morotsport manager Eric Nève said. The season statistics for the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB have been compiled. During the 20-race season, 43 drivers took part, racing for 11 teams. In the course of 20 races the leading drivers completed 468 racing laps. …read more Carrera Cup GB
sampler session announced.
Drivers considering racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2009 will
have the chance to try the cars out during a special 'sampler' session
at Silverstone on Wednesday 22 October. 02-10-08
The top 4 drivers in the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship got a chance to show what they could do in a top-line Touring car at Silverstone. Jonathan Adam, Robert Lawson, Martin Byford and Carl Breeze each had a test drive in this year;s SEAT Sport UK’s Leon TDI as part of their end-of-season prize. ..read more Alexander Rossi won the 2008 Formula BMW Americas Championship last weekend with two superbt wins in Rounds 13 & 14 at Thunderbolt Raceway, New Jersey Motorsports Park. Richard Gould won the LMA Euro Sports and Saloons encounter at Mallory Park last weeknd while Douglas Ellwood, Lee Reynolds and Andrew Nealall picked up class victories
Dane Cameron set the fastest lap in practice for this Friday’s Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda race at Road Atlantqa. Sopping the clock at 1:14.963 (121.980 mph) the Genoa Racing driver led the field in the days only session. Second quickest was points leader Jonathan Bomarito with a lap at 1:14.971 in the entry from Mathiasen Motorsports. With just eight points separating Bomarito from Jonathan Summerton and 10 points between Bomarito and third-place Markus Niemela, it was a particularly good start for Bomarito. Niemela was third in the No Brooks Associates Racing macine with a lap of 1:15.212 the Finnish rookie was somewhat relieved by his strong performance in Wednesday's practice. Despite a crash midway through the session, Canadian Kevin Lacroix managed to come in fourth place with a 1:15.328 for Walker Racing. Like Cameron, Lacroix is another driver who has yet to win an Atlantic race this season. Summerton rounded out the top five Newman Wachs Racing with a lap at 1:15.448 (121.196 mph). Greg Mansell continued his late-season flourish in his rookie Atlantic campaign by posting the eighth-quickest time in practice at 1:15.686 (120.815 mph) in the No. 5 Sunseeker entry for Walker Racing. Mexican racer David Garza, who is making his return to Atlantic competition for the first time since Round 5 at Edmonton was 10th-quickest with a 1:15.790 for Forsythe/Pettit Racing. A1GP World Cup of Motorsport will have a maximum of 18 cars on the grid for its first race of the 2008/09 season, A1GP Zandvoort. “We cannot blame any of the missing teams for a lack of effort. They all burnt the midnight oil and worked as hard as humanly possible to make the grid, but the car build delays just beat them,” said A1GP CEO, Pete da Silva. The good news for the Dutch fans is their own A1 Team Netherlands car will be there with Jeroen Bleekemolen at the wheel. The teams also definitely racing, some of whom are testing at Snetterton this week, are from Australia, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and the USA. The final group of teams who are still working flat out and will have to head straight to Zandvoort are Brazil, China, France, Portugal and Switzerland. Meanwhile Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India and Mexico will have to wait for the second event of the season for their race debuts. Andretti Green Racing (AGR) will run the US entry in A1GP beginning at Zandvoort this weekend. “We are very proud to be representing the United States on the level and competitive playing field that is provided by A1GP,” said team co-owner, Michael Andretti. “Andretti Green has been fortunate to enjoy a reasonable amount of success in just six seasons of operation and we’re looking forward to joining the world stage of A1GP.” Andretti, who is a racing legend himself, will be on hand at Zandvoort to announce the team’s Season Four driver lineup. A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira, commented: “We are proud to have such a successful and well respected team involved with our series. Over the years some of the most famous names in motorsport have been associated with the A1GP, and to have one that is synonymous with racing at its highest level in the United States can only help to raise the profile of the series both there and worldwide. ” A1 Team Great Britain will miss the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Season Opener at Zandvoort this weekend. Despite huge efforts from the entire squad to get the British entry ready to compete in the season opener, the delays in the new A1GP car build schedule has unfortunately meant that this has not been possible. The challenging 4.63km Dutch track holds good memories for A1 Team GBR. A year ago, the team started the 2007/08 A1GP season in style with a dominate victory in the Feature Race, courtesy of Oliver Jarvis. 01-10-08 The battle for the Porsche Club Championship crown goes down to the final two races at Spa-Francorchamps , Belgium , this coming weekend, with just one point separating Jez Clark and Ian White in the points..read more
Manor Competition will have Adriano Buzaid with the team at Spa this week as the team prepares for the latest round of the Formula Renault West European Cup on 4th/5th October. Marking the New Ollerton-based outfit’s debut outing in the WEC, its visit to the famous Belgian circuit will see 2008 Formula Renault UK runner-up Alexander Sims and his team-mate Henry Surtees contest the WEC races. Brazilian racer Buzaid, meanwhile, will test a Manor car on Thursdayand again on Friday in order to gain valuable experience of the Spa circuit. Speaking ahead of his first run Buzaid said: “I don’t have a commitment at the moment to do the races at the weekend but if I do well in testing I’d quite like to take part. Every driver is curious about other teams so this is a good opportunity for me to try Manor’s car. “The main aim is to learn the track at Spa, I’ve never been there before and for the future it’s good to get some experience. I’m looking forward to joining Manor this weekend and I’m sure everything will go well.” The 2008 Porsche Open season draws to a close this weekend with 2 races at the Spa-Francorchamps, giving the cars an opportunity to really stretch their legs on the quick GP circuit. The meeting will also see the destination of the one-off Porsche Carrera Cup GB drive in 2009, with Paul Winter leading Paul McLean in the points with two races left. A strong Class One entry sees McLean’s 996 GT2 Evo challenged by two other GT2s, ably piloted by Paul Livesey and Mark Chilton, and with a smattering of the newer and more nimble 996 and 997 models to provide variety. Tommy Dreelan returns to Porsche Open action with his 997 GT3, while a welcome returnee is Gerry Harrison, out for the first time this season in his 996 GT3 RSR. In Class Two, Winter has been the man to beat in his 996 GT3, though after his double class success at Silverstone in September Pete Morris was threatening to make the journey to Spa to take on Winter and the Spa Circuit. In other 996s are Ray Dias, rapid at Brands Hatch in August, and newcomer Mike Corridan. Brian Corbett and 2008 Bill Taylor Trophy winner Paul Follett make up Class Three. Qualifying is on Friday afternoon, the Porsche Open field combining with the Porsche Club Championship to provide a 35-car plus field for a 30-minute race on Saturday and a 50-minute final outing on Sunday
Happy Birthday Silverstone – Celebrating 60 Years as the Home of British Motor Sport. On Thursday 2 October Silverstone celebrates its Diamond Anniversary, marking 60 years to the day since Luigi Villoresi won the inaugural RAC Grand Prix in a Maserati..read more Ed Brand went to Genk in Belgium for the final round of the European Rotax Max Championship on 24-28 September to try out against European opposition before he races in the series in 2009 .
AIM Autosport plan to run two cars in this weekend’s Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Road Atlanta. Regular driver John Edwards will be joined by Kyle Marcelli, who last year won the 2007 Ontario Formula Ford Championship ..read more Sportscar driver David Brabham’s charity kart race will once3 again be part of the Karting Show at Autosport International, on 8-11 January 2009. The BP Ultimate Celebrity Kart Challenge on Friday 9 January will no doubt attract some top racing personalities as well as giving members of the public a chance to race alongside them for just £300….read more Big response to Carrera Cup GB scholarship. Young racing drivers have reacted very positively to the 'Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme'. Already a raft of applications has been received many more are expected before the closing date of 10 October. "We are delighted with the early response to the scholarship, both in terms of the number of drivers and the quality of the applicants. It's going to be a tough job selecting the six finalists," said Marion Barnaby, Carrera Cup championship manager. "The concept has clearly caught the imagination of ambitious young drivers." Created and run by Porsche Cars GB, the 'Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme' will provide £50,000 to each of two drivers to use as a significant element of their budget for the 2009 Carrera Cup GB season. To enter the scholarship, drivers must be aged between 17 and 22 at 1 January 2009, have a National A race licence and have not previously registered as a competitor in the Carrera Cup GB. They must also be able to demonstrate that they can secure the balance of the budget for a full season of racing. There is no charge for drivers entering the scholarship. Any driver wishing to apply for the Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme should send a c.v. to carreracupgb@porsche.co.uk, along with the reasons why they think they should be selected. Applications close on 10 October 2008 and the six finalists will be evaluated at Silverstone on 21/22 October.
British Formula 3 driver Oliver Oakes will race for Vincenzo Sospiri’s Euronova Racing in this weekend’s (4/5 October) Formula Master round at Monza. The 20-year old will test the car today(Wed) before returning to the UK to test in F3 for Carlin Motorsport at Donington Park. He will then fly back to Italy for the final round of the Master Championship. Oakes said, “Euronova hasn’t had the strongest of seasons unfortunately, but I’m hoping to reward them with a strong result.” Oakes faces a stern challenge as he will not only be making his debut at Monza but it will be with a new team in an unfamiliar car. “I’ll be fine” he assures. “It’s one of the most famous circuits in history, but I’m positive it’s going to be a nice experience - although it will be a steep learning curve.” Eurosport's coverage of the Formula Master race weekend begins on Saturday 4 October, with Race 1 shown live at 12:15 (CET) on Eurosport International and Asia Pacific. Sunday's Race 2 will also be broadcast live on Eurosport 2 at 14:15 (CET). (Picst James Bearne)
Hexis Racing has signed up a new sponsor, Sublimo, which makes an exclusive range of hair beautycare products in hairdressing salons, has become a partner. "As a company boss and Motorsports enthusiast, I'm delighted to give my backing to this ambitious young team and help it progress in the racing world," said Sublimo chief executive Frédéric Réal. The team’s next race is the Nogaro Grand Prix for the FIA GT and FIA European Championship GT3 this weekend (October 4-5) .. Hexis Racing's Aston Martins recently picked up their first outright victory of the 2008 season at the Sachsenring in the ADAC GT Masters which saw them take third place in the Championship..read report All eyes will be on the three drivers battling it out for the 2008 Atlantic title in Friday's season finale. American Jonathan Bomarito (No. 26 Del Taco/Stone Brewing/Discount Tire/RLM Investments) owns the championship lead on the strength of victories in Race #1 of the doubleheaders at Edmonton and Road America, and the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres and nine top-10 results in 10 starts. American rookie Jonathan Summerton (No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing) won Race #2 of the Edmonton and Road America doubleheaders, finished second at Trois-Rivieres, third at New Jersey Motorsports Park and second last time out at Miller Motorsports Park. He is currently second in the overall championship standings and leads the Rookie of the Year point standings. Bomarito and Summerton are the only two drivers in the 2008 Atlantic Championship with multiple victories. However, Finnish rookie Markus Niemela (No. 8 Mr. Jones Bar & Kitchen/Rauma Town/Turku Karting) worked his way into the championship discussion with his first career Atlantic victory in Round 10 at Miller Motorsports Park, his ninth result of seventh or better in 10 starts. Just 10 points separate the top-three drivers in the championship. Bomarito leads with 224 points, followed by Summerton with 216 points and Niemela with 214. read full story
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
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In
less than two weeks the WTCC competitors will hit the track
Tom
Bradshaw and Lewis Hopkins have been announced as the winners of the
Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme for 2009 and will each receive
£50,000 towards racing in the Carrera Cup GB next season. ..
Liz
Halliday 
Chris
Holmes swapped single seaters for a sportscar at a recent test at
Silverstone.
Mere
days away from the opening two rounds of this year’s Formula Renault UK
Winter Championship, Menasheh Idafar continued his preparations at
Snetterton on Tuesday. The 17-year-old will make his debut in Formula
Renault UK this Saturday, 1st November, at Croft was out testing with
his Hillspeed team-mates Michael Lyons, James Theodore and Immanuel
Bryson-Haynes. Lapping the 1.95-mile venue within a couple of 10ths of
the front-runners in this year’s Formula Renault UK series, Idafar heads
to Croft to begin the build-up to the weekend. Reflecting on the test,
Hillspeed driver coach Matt Shawyer said: “Menasheh did well, his lap
times were good and consistent and we were just two or three 10ths of a
second away from the times which were done at Snetterton when Formula
Renault UK visited in the summer. All in all, everything looks good for
the weekend.” 
Alonso
Vortex Kart driver Robert Foster-Jones
FV10
have signed an agreement with Ascari Race Resort
Klaas
Zwart took two victories 
Will
Bratt is looking forward to the final two races of his first season of
international competition this weekend, 1st/2nd November in the 2008
FIAT Spanish F3 Championship. The EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport driver
secured his best finish of the campaign in the last event at Jerez with
secopnd, taking a second in round 15. Ahead of this weekend’s action at
the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Will has every confidence he’ll
be able to produce another strong podium performance. “I’ve really
enjoyed working with everyone at the team this year, Emilio and the rest
of the guys have been fantastic”, commented the rapid young racer, “The
team is very efficient and it certainly hasn’t been through any lack of
commitment, effort or skill that we haven’t managed to win a race so
far. We’ve frequently been the fastest combination but we’ve just been
on the wrong side of the luck unfortunately. We did manage to identify a
brake-related problem which was solved for Jerez so now we’re all aiming
to go out on a high at Barcelona with a shot at our first win in the
championship.”
TANDERSPORT
endured a frustrating end to their 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3
season at the Nikon Indy 300 F3 Challenge last weekend. 
Binks
and James Hinchcliffe as its pit lane reporters, working alongside its
regular commentary team of John Watson and Ben Edwards. This will not be
totally new territory for Hinchcliffe, who raced for A1 Team Canada in
Seasons Two and Three. He has been a co-commentator for Champ Cars’
international TV feed and also made a guest appearance in the A1GP pit
lane as a reporter last season in Sepang. Diana Binks, who was born in
Scotland, is no stranger to the world of motorsport, as she has worked
in various categories from bikes to cars and currently fronts the
British Formula 3 and British GT Championship for Channel 4 in the UK.
She also hosts late night sport for Five and is a regular reporter on
sportscars, triathlon and endurance sports events. Binks knows how tough
being a pit lane reporter can be, having spent 22 hours of a Le Mans
24-hours in the pit lane. The first time the new team can be seen in
action will be in A1GP Chengdu, China, 7-9 November 2008.
The
Formula V6 Asia series was on the same bill as the WTCC this weekend at
Okayama. They also 'enjoyed' the same wet and cold conditions.
That didn't seem to bother New Zealander Earl Bamber however as he took
a lights to flag win to further extend his lead in the championship.
Manor
Motorsport’s Koudai Tsukakoshi finished second in the final race of
the 2008 Formula 3 Euroseries at Hockenheim 
The
first appearance of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in Japan
claiming
his second victory of the season ahead of Jörg Müller and Andy Priaulx.
A victory that won the Spanish brand the Manufacturers' Championship
(pending official confirmation by the FIA). The second race was won by
Tom Coronel who became the 14th different winner in the 22 races so far.
Coronel crossed the line inches ahead of Augusto Farfus, with
Independent Sergio Hernández claiming his first podium in the
championship. The championship will resume for the final rounds of the
year at Macau
Stefano
D'Aste of Proteam Motorsport
Daniel
Lloyd
BMW
junior development driver Ollie Millroy
Last
weekend on Sunday Julien Jousse
Australian
John Martin won his first F3 race in his own country today(thursday)
in the first race of three in the Nikon Indy 300 F3 Challenge at Surfers
Paradise.
Last
Sunday, Luke Wright finished in an excellent third place in the last
ever running of the Industrial Trophy at the Kartdromo di San
Pancrazio just outside Parma in Italy.
Michael
Lyons had a busy day at the HSCC meeting at Silverstone 
TFL
Racing finished second in the VdeV Endurance sports car Championship
Leanne
Tander
David
Brabham was awarded two ‘Most Popular Driver Awards’
Bertrand
Baguette ended his season in Formula Renault 3.5
The
Scottish Formula Ford races saw Stuart Thorburn
won
the opener before crashing out in the second, taking Colin Dryden with
him. This left the door open for Vic Covey Jnr to drive through and take
a well judged win. (
pics R pascal 11/56 Motorsport)
Graham
Carroll finished in third place behind Patrick McKenna
Phil
Quaife scored his second successive win in teh V de V championship at
SIlverstone over the weekend. Phil partnering Gareth Howell in
the final round of the series superb win for 
Will
Bratt finally got back onto the podium in the FIAT Spanish F3
Championship yesterday (Sunday) with a superb second place in Round
15 at Jerez. It was the Banbury driver's best finish in the series this
year .
Wayne
Boyd has won the 2008 Formula Ford Festival (Duratec Class) at
Brands Hatch today Sunday). Boyd was very much the man in control and
dominated all weekend winning the final from pole. Second was
Chris Maliepaard and third Tim Blanchard.
Richard
Kent
Team
Reckless driver Kota Sasaki
Team
Reckless driver Kota Sasaki
Joel
Miller got things back to normal in Star Mazda
Will
Bratt enjoyed a competitive test at Jerez on Friday, 17th October,
during the build-up to this weekend’s penultimate event of the 2008 FIAT
Spanish Formula 3 Championship. He lapped the Spanish venue with a best
time of 1m 39.523 seconds (160.171 km/h) putting him third overall. Very
happy with his start to the weekend, the EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport
driver is looking forward to qualifying where he firmly believes he has
the car with which to challenge for a place on the front row. “We’re
very happy with today, we had three good sessions and I’m confident
we’ve got the pace in the car to be strong in qualifying tomorrow”, said
Will, “We’re still working on things ahead of the weekend but we’re
pleased with today’s runs. Our aim tomorrow will be to try and get a
good lap in early, see how the session pans out and then hopefully be
able to challenge for pole position or, at least, a place on the front
row. Things certainly look good at this stage but we’re not getting
carried away. Our pace in testing has been very good from the off but
it’s tomorrow and Sunday that really count.”
Chris
Alajajian will return to Formula 3 in Australia next weekend for the
Nikon Indy 300 on the Gold Coast Alajajian has signed up with
Astuti Motorsport for the event and is clearly looking forward to racing
on the streets once agan..
James Thompson (leading right) is better off as he has gone down
from 49 to 19 kilos since Monza. 
(pictured
below) will be aiming to add the Kent titles to the numerous titles
he has already claimed in the BRSCC Club Formula Ford categories. A
promising turnout of Zetecs makes up a triumvirate of Formula Ford
racing. As is the tradition, Brian Jones will host a drivers’ forum in
the Kentagon at 7pm on Saturday evening. In addition to the Formula
Ford races, Caterham will be having their season finale for Superlights,
Roadsports and the Academy classes. Also on show are the very well
supported Sports 2000 Championship, a great turn out in our Club F3
series and the BESCR Formula Facilities Services Autumn Trophy. It all
adds up to three great days of racing. More information, including a
timetable, can be found at
Mike
Vincec's 2008 season has gone very well
Coming
into Round 12 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Oliver
Oakes
John
Martin will return home for Australian F3’s non-championship challenge
at next week’s Nikon Indy 300 on the Gold Coast. Martin, a member of the
Australian Motorsport Foundation’s (AMSF) International Rising Star
program, will line up with Piccola Scuderia Corse next week when
Australia’s top ‘wings and slicks’ category returns to the Surfers
Paradise streets. 
Britain's
Gary Ellis has won the 2008 CAMSO V8 crown after taking two wins on
Sunday 12 October, which along with a podium in the third race was
enough to take the title .
Tom Dunstan
ended his Ginetta G50 Cup season
French sportscar
specialists Larbre Competition
Will Bratt has a
return to the podium in his sights at Jerez
On
Sunday (12 October) approximately 10,000 peoples lined the streets of
Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire to support 
Wayne
Boyd is the 2008 British Formula Ford Champion, 
Dean
Smith
Jeremy
Metcalfe won his second Avon Tyres British GT Championship
James
Cole
Graham
Carroll won the final race in the North West Formula Ford Championship
at Oulton 
Hitech's
Walter Grubmüller will start from the third row in tomorrow’s opening
British F3 International Series race at Donington 
Stars
& Stripes Motorsports have announced they have signed a 'letter of
intent' to field a car for 17 year-old karting champion Jessica Brannam
in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear.
Martin
Plowman has completed his first Indy Lights test with Panther Racing
at Sebring ahead of his 2009 championship debut. Plowman completed over
200 laps of the circuit in Florida on 8&9 October, and impressed his new
team throughout the extensive two-day test...
,
albeit briefly ..for now. Philippe Dumas, who will share the wheel of a
Ferrari 550 Maranello with Pedro Lamy in the final of the French FFSA GT
championship at Magny-Cours, said. “The idea for the project came from
the Dor family at Care Racing. They want to demonstrate that this car is
operational and capable of winning races in a decent GT1 championship in
France. This is the car that turns out in FIA GT for ACA Argentina,
driven by former F1 racing drivers Esteban Tuero and Gaston Mazzacane.
As Larbre Compétition already has two Saleens entered for Magny-Cours
and is going flat out for the French Champion's title with Bouchut and
Bornhauser, Jack Leconte has asked us to take care of the Ferrari. A
Larbre mechanic will be helping us out and we'll have a mechanic and an
engineer from Solution F for the engine. For us at Hexis Racing, the
opportunity to race a car like this one and to support a driver of Pedro
Lamy's calibre is bound to be a fantastic experience and educational.
Not only is Pedro an official Peugeot Sport driver, poleman in the Spa
24 Hour race and former Grand Prix driver, but he is also widely
appreciated as a great person.”
Australian
rookie Sam Abay
Hitech
Racing
Daniel
Ricciardo
Despite
torrential conditions at Spa, Sarah Bennett-Baggs achieved another
2 podium places in the Porsche Club Championship with a second and a
third place in class at Spa. This ensured her enough points to
finish runner up in the Class Championship behind her rival Jeremy Clark
who secured the overall Porsche Club Champion. 
Dane
Cameron looked on course for victory in the final race of the 2008
Atlantic Championship 
The
HSCC meeting at Donington Park saw Andy Purdie 
John
and Gary Pearson won the one hour GTSCC race at Donington Park on Sunday
in their E-Type Jag. The race which started in dreadful conditions
had looked a bit of a lottery as the cars skittered during the first
couple of laps. Fortunately however the rain eased and very slowly the
racing line started to dry out. As the first cars came in to
change drivers Pearson and person momentarily lost their lead to the
Healey the Welch family which seemed to revel in the wet coming through
the field from 34th on the grid! By the time everyone had stopped
normality return and the Pearson's E-Type was back in the lead where it
stayed to win by 8.7 secs. Second was the John Minshaw and Martin
Stretton E-Type with the remarkable Welch's third in their Healey only
10 seconds behind the winner. 
The
Classic racing Cars event at Donington went to Formula Renault
driver Michael Lyons in a Merlyn MK10. Second was Tony Keele in a
Palliser WDB3(pictured left) with Ian Gray third in a Brabham
BT16. The opening race of the event was the Historic Road Sports o
Saturday and it was won by James Patterson in a Morgan plus 8 from the
Ginetta G4 of Dave Randall in second and Paul Tooms in a Lotus Elan
third. The Guards Trophy was won by the Merlyn MK4A of Van Der Croft and
Burnett with Jamie Boot secopnd in his TVR Griffith and Simon Leighton
third in a Chevron B8.
Simon
Hadfield won the Derek Bell Trophy race at the Donington Collection event.
His Chevron B37 led from the lights pulling out a huge lead of 37
seconds by the flag. Mark Dwyer came second in a Lola T400 with Gareth
Burnett third driving a Chevron B40.
The
Historic Formula Ford race on Saturday at Donington was won by Tom Mills
Carl
Stirling
Roger
Stanford won three races at the BARC’s meeting at Silverstone
Stuart
Kestenbaum (pictured - pic Paul Williams)did
the double winning a race on both Saturday and Sunday in his Van Dieman
RF79. Second in the first race on Saturday was Andy Powell in a Royale
RP26, 0.394secs behind with Oliver Robinson third in another Van Dieman,
a RF81. On Sunday Peter Lavender was second, a long way behind
Kestenbaum with Matt Tayerson third in a Hawke DL11. In the URS
Classic FF2000 races Lawrence Denne claimed the first victory on
Saturday in a RF82. 9.7secs ahead of Andy Huxtable(RF83) and Erilk
Pagano(RF82).
Huxtable(below
- pic Paul Williams) turned the tables
on his fellow competitors on Sunday however, winning by7 just 0.453 secs
from Pagano with Denne third, 2 seconds further behind. 
(first in Class F) and Ian Evans third. Class B went to the Maestro of
Ben
Short
while Class A was won by William Sharp in a Midget.(pictured right -
pics Paul Williams)
Liz
Halliday’s
Alexander
Sims
The
penultimate round of the FIA GT3 European Championship
Alpine
Motorsport’s Isa Yousif and Mark Burdett Motorsport’s Johannes Seidlitz
The
Volkswagen-powered Dallara of Canadian driver Robert Wickens
(pictured on the left)claimed victory yesterday (Sunday) at Le Mans
in the 18th round of the Formula 3 Euro Series. It was the third win of
the year for the Volkswagen F3 engine in what is its first full season
of competition, as well as Wickens' maiden win. Wickens took the lead of
the rain-blighted race on the opening lap after starting from second on
the grid in his Team Signature-prepared car. Despite a stoppage caused
by the downpour and a restart behind the safety car, Robert held on in
front to secure the win. His French team-mate, Jean Karl Vernay, placed
third. 'I love Le Mans,' said Wickens. 'In the first race I found a good
rhythm which enabled me to take many places and finish seventh. I was
confident for race two despite the difficult weather, but I had to
concentrate because it would have been easy to make a mistake. I'm
delighted to be the first Canadian to win a Formula 3 Euro Series race.'
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen added: 'We proved yet again
that even on circuits new to us that we can be among the front-runners
straight away. We now have three victories and 13 podium finishes to our
credit, a tally with which we are more than satisfied in the first full
season since our return to Formula 3 as an engine supplier. We will try
to put some finishing touches to this successful season at the finale at
Hockenheim (25/26 October).'
Volkswagen
driver Darren Blumson
With
two 1-2 finishes today in the WTCC at Monza, SEAT Sport drivers
Dean
Smith
Bradley
Ellis and Alex Mortimer
In the Star Mazda
Championship race at Road Atlanta American John Edwards recorded his
fourth win in the #7 AIM
Caterham
Motorsport
Peter
Dempsey once again set the pace
Damon
Hill OBE, president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) 
Next
weekend on Sunday 12 October Lola will host a parade of it's more famous
racing cars through the streets of Huntingdon, it's home town. The
parade is part of Lola Cars 50th Anniversary in 2008 and there will be
up to 16 cars taking part. Included will be their all new RML MG-
Lola LMP2,the iconic T70(pictured), the first car, the Mk1 and many
others.
Bertrand
Baguette is racing in the Superleague Formula
Peter
Dempsey continued to set the pace in Star Mazda when he set the
tastest time in practice for this weekend's race at Road Atlanta.
Dempsey currently leads the Star Mazda championship and has won 4 of the
last 5 races 
The
Charterhouse Heritage GT Car Challenge
Spanish
Open Championship front-runner Mitchell Hale
The
new Asia SuperCar Challenge 2008 champion Rodolfo Avila
Menasheh
Idafar