|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
 |
|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
|
|
|
News Archive OCTOBER 2009 mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk 11/11/2009 IF RACE REPORTS LINKS REMOVED - FOLLOW 'Reports' LINK ON THE GRID above 31-10-09
WTCC - Gabriele Tarquini took his third consecutive pole with a storming lap of 1:37.666 making it five poles this season. Andy Priaulx qualified second with Jörg Müller third. The top three times were split by a mere 0.060 of a second. Title contenders Farfus and Yvan Muller will line up fifth and seventh respectively. Q1 - The top ten places remained relatively stable among the front runners with all five SEAT Sport cars setting competitive times along with the BMW cars of Priaulx, Müller and Farfus. The final two places were all to play for and it was Huff and Menu of Chevrolet who snapped them up. Hernández missed Q2 by 0.143 of a second taking 11th position on the grid with Coronel taking the Independent pole (12th overall).Thompson of LADA Sport was denied a Q2 spot by 0.206 and will line up 13th. Japanese drivers Nobuteru Taniguchi and Seiji Ara had a respectable qualifying. The former was just three tenths off the pace of his team-mate Porteiro who was 15th overall, while Ara's best lap was just two tenths off that of Wiechers-Sport companion D'Aste. Q2 - Throughout qualifying the BMW cars looked strong, therefore it was something of a surprise when Tarquini's last lap shot him to the top of the timesheet. Until then provisional pole was held by Müller who was demoted to third after Priaulx squeezed into second place but fell 0.050 seconds shy of being pole-worthy.Rydell took the fourth spot with Gené sixth, Monteiro eighth, Huff ninth and Menu tenth. All of the Q2 competitors set their best times on their last laps making for a suspense-filled couple of minutes. 30-10-09
Asian Le Mans Series. Aston Martin Racing will start the inaugural round of the Asian Le Mans Series in fourth position from the second row of the grid. The qualifying time of 1m19.747s was set by Stefan Mücke and will be used to determine the starting position for both of the weekend’s races. The drivers had their first experience of the 13-turn, 2.3 mile (3.7 km) Okayama circuit earlier today during two one-hour practice sessions. Qualifying driver Mücke said: “This circuit is difficult for us. Our car is built for long fast straights at Le Mans and this is like a go-kart track with lots of slow corners. We had a few problems with the set-up during practice but the team made changes which improved the car for qualifying and I’m optimistic we will find a good balance for the race. “Fourth place is a little bit disappointing. It is what I was expecting, but I was hoping we would be able to find a couple more tenths. I’m looking forward to the race though and we have three hours to try and get the best from the car.” Team-mate Harald Primat commented: “The team anticipated this track would not suit our car so qualifying fourth was better than I expected. The traffic is not as bad as it usually is in the Le Mans Series races because we don’t have as many cars on track. We just need to find a comfortable position for the race and see what we can do.” In total 23 cars will line up to start race one which commences at 12:30 JST (GMT +9) on Saturday 31 October and is scheduled to run for 136 laps or a maximum of three hours.Live timing can be found at www.asian-lemans-series.com with races broadcast across Europe on Eurosport International.
GP2 Asia - The third season of the GP2 Asia Series opens this weekend at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi as part of the country's first ever F1 Grand Prix. The GP2 Asia Series had the honour of being the first racing cars to run at the new circuit for a pre-season test on October 23 and 24, and it was a chance for everyone to learn the long layout, test the lighting system and begin to put a little pressure on their rivals. Luca Filippi and MalaysiaQI-Meritus. com set the pace on both days, but with the top ten drivers setting times within a second of the Italian's best lap the stage is set for yet another epic battle for the title, the continuation of what is now a firmly established GP2 tradition. The 2009-2010 season will consist of four rounds (eight races in total): two in Abu Dhabi and two in Bahrain, with the final event taking place on March 13-14 in support of the Grand Prix. In line with the financial strategy implemented this year in GP2, the organisers put together a programme solely in the Middle East to keep costs in check and reduce budgets for the competitors. V8 Utes - The ten year anniversary calendar has been confirmed for the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series protected by Armor All and will cover four States, one Territory and the land of the long white cloud. As tradition will have it the V8 Utes will be back at their inaugural Adelaide Parklands track at the Clipsal 500, 11 – 14 March to get the season started. V8 Ute Category Manager and SPHERIX, Partner, Mr. Bill West said, "We are extremely happy with the calendar and grateful to V8 Supercars for their continued support. I think it shows how far the V8 Utes have come as a category and it's great to know we are welcome back to our favourite tracks." For Round 2 they’re off to Winton Raceway, Victoria and then to the Hidden Valley track in Darwin. Northern Territory Major Events, General Manager, Paul Cattermole is please that the V8 Utes will be back in the Northern Territory on such a historic year. "It will be great to have the V8 Utes back in Darwin. They are a crowd favourite and we are happy to be a part of their ten year celebrations," he said. The Utes will then head for the Townsville 400 for Round 4 and after a 2 year interval the Series, will make a return to both L & H 500 at Philip Island, 10 – 12th September for Round 5 and the Super GP on the Gold Coast, 21 – 24th October for Round 7. (still subject to confirmation.) Before then they will return to that icon of Aussie car racing, Mount Panorama for Round 6 of the Series. The final round of the tenth year in V8 Ute Racing will be the Sydney Telstra 500 at the Sydney Olympic Park, 3 – 5 December 2010. Negotiations are also underway for an event in April at the Hamilton Street race. This will feature a combined field of New Zealand and Australian V8 Ute competitors in a 3 test race format for the Trans Tasman format.
29-10-09
Formula Renault -
With just a couple of days remaining until the beginning of the
Formula Renault UK Winter Championship,
Robert Foster-Jones is gearing up to be a leading contender on his car-racing debut this weekend. The 19-year-old from Essex is already setting front-running times in testing for the Formula Renault UK Winter Series and looks likely to be among the leading group this Saturday (October 31) in the opening round. Foster-Jones, clinched the British KF1 Kart Championship less than two weeks ago and didn’t start his Formula Renault testing with Manor Competition until last week at Pembrey. On Wednesday at Snetterton, he was within a couple of tenths of a second of the fastest driver on old tyres. Manor team chief Tony Shaw said: “We’re keeping our powder dry with Robert and for now the important thing is to learn technique, so we’re just using very old tyres. I can’t wait to see what he does on new rubber! He’s a dream to work with - very determined, very good with the data analysis and has strong team-mates to push him, not that he needs much encouragement in that area! So far he shows the same level of understanding of the car as the top drivers we’ve run in the past. He just needs to learn certain techniques that are different from karting, and it takes time for those to become embedded, whether that be Robert Foster-Jones or Lewis Hamilton.” Foster-Jones said: “It’s extremely hard to go in and win straight away against experienced drivers, but it’s not completely out of the question. Having said that, I’d be really pleased with a top-five finish. I’m probably doing a bit better than I thought I would. I’ve just got to concentrate on high-speed turns and staying on the brakes into slower corners. And the Manor team are brilliant. Tony and the guys are very enthusiastic and I have to say my mechanic Dave Ball is Dave ‘on the Ball’! I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far.” Foster-Jones is one of the first drivers to be signed to Accelerate Driver Development, a race-driver-management stable created by Formula Woman founder Graeme Glew,
BTCC - Following an exciting HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship this year, where Jason Plato drove the RML Chevrolet Lacetti for Racing Silverline, taking his 300th BTCC start and his 50th career win. As a result of his endeavours this year, for the third time in succession, the BRDC has awarded him with the BRDC Silver Star. The Silver Star award first came to fruition in 1977, when former BRDC Club Secretary, Pierre Aumonier, advised the Board that an award equivalent to the Gold Star, first instigated in 1929 for the Member with the best racing results at International level, should be presented to the most successful Club member competing at the highest level in National racing. An impressive history of BTCC winners places Jason in good company, with former victors including John Cleland, David Leslie and James Thompson.
Club Racing - The fourth of the specially commissioned programmes to showcase the best of BRSCC racing will be broadcast on Friday 30th October, at 7.05pm on Motors TV as part of their UK Full Speed Racing show. The last of the series for this season features rounds of the Drivers Republic Caterham Roadsport A Championship and the BRSCC Formula Jedi Championship at Brands Hatch on Sunday 16th August. Motors TV can be found on channel 413 on the Sky platform and channel 545 via Virgin Media. The show will be repeated several times next week. The complete schedule can be found at MOTORS TV
28-10-09
LMA Euro Saloons - Tony Soper took a last gasp victory in the LMA Euro Saloon and Sports car Championship at Snetterton on Sunday. After falling back to eighth after apoor Start in his Hasrrier Soper pulled out the stops, seeting a new lap record in the process, to pip Andy Harvey’s Impreza on the run to the flag winning by a mere 0.025 secs. Read report Grand-Am - Fresh from winning the inaugural 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona Driver Challenge presented by Sunoco, British champion Derek Johnston will test a Daytona Prototype on Nov. 3-4 at Virginia International Raceway as he begins his preparations for the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Johnston won a coveted driver's seat in America's premier sports car race by scoring the highest average points among registered drivers competing in the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, the Radical UK Cup and the SPEED sports prototype series in 2009. Johnston, 47 from Nottingham, has won the Radical UK Cup the past two years, in addition to winning Radical's European Masters championship. Johnston had the highest average score, based on race finishes, pole positions and fastest laps. As a result, he will have a funded seat in a Daytona Prototype at the Jan. 30-31 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the opening round of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports CarSeries presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the kick-off event on the international motorsports calendar. He also will test at Daytona on Dec. 8-9, 2009, and Jan. 8-10, 2010. First, Johnston will test the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona Porsche Coyote at VIR, working with GRAND-AM Rolex Series veteran Guy Cosmo. The Daytona Beach-based team will also have its No. 90 Porsche Coyote at the session. "We will give him the opportunity to run many laps to see how he likes it," said team owner Troy Flis. "I think the Daytona Prototype will be a real good fit for him, coming from racing the Radical prototype, because both cars are similar. I think it's a real cool deal for Derek. He should get up to speed quickly, he just needs to get used to the greater weight of the Daytona Prototype." Prior to traveling to Virginia, Johnston will visit Daytona Beach, where Cosmo will take him around the Speedway. "I can't wait to get to drive a Daytona Prototype," Johnston said. "I've been watching plenty of videos, and it looks awesome. I just found out about testing at Virginia, so I'll be watching plenty of videos of that circuit. I can't wait. I hope it's like Rockingham in the U.K., because I'm quite good at Rockingham. This is a phenomenal opportunity, and I can't wait to get there and see the car and meet the teams." "The Roar Before the Rolex 24" test is set for Jan. 8-10, 2010 at Daytona International Speedway, when spectators are invited to watch competitors prepare for the 2010 season. Rolex Series competitors will also test at Daytona on Dec. 8-9, 2009.
The 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB has enjoyed record levels of TV coverage, with 11 races broadcast live and a total live audience of up to 13.8 million viewers. The championship enjoyed superb race day coverage within the extensive BTCC programmes on ITV4, with 11 races broadcast live and a further four races recorded and shown on the same day to an average audience of 1.38 million viewers per programme. This alone delivered a total of 10 hours of race day coverage for the Carrera Cup. By the end of the year, 15 of the season's 20 Carrera Cup races will have been shown in the Motorsport UK series, which first runs on ITV1 and is then repeated on ITV4 and also shown on Men and Motors.But it was not just on television that the BTCC race meetings attracted massive audiences. Across the 10-event season, a total of 325,000 fans witnessed the action at close quarters and the Brands Hatch final attracted a huge 35,000-strong crowd to make it a record season for the Carrera Cup GB. The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and P-UNO Motorsports TV have announced the SPEED Channel Latin America broadcast schedule for the 2009 races. SPEED Latin America will begin broadcasting races at 1-hour shows every Wednesday, beginning November 11. Two different races will air each Wednesday, with a repeat broadcast 3-4 days later. The final two events, the Grand Prix du Trois Rivieres from Quebec and the season finale from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, will air on Dec. 9, with a repetition on Dec. 13. Over the course of a month, SPEED Latin America will air 24 Star Mazda Championship broadcasts in more than 40 countries. Races will air with Spanish-language voice-over commentary, SPEED will provide commentary in Portuguese for the Brazilian market and there will be a SAP version in English as well.Los Angeles-based P-UNO Motorsports TV has a 5-year agreement to broadcast the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear in Latin America. P-UNO principals are Hector Cademartori, world-renowned motorsports artist and a journalist for 35 years and Pedro Serramalera, a long time racing enthusiast and also a driver in the Star Mazda Championship. 27-10-09
Formula 2 - Andy Soucek finished the Monday’s(26 Oct) official Formula 2 test at the top of the timesheets having set a fast 1:38.910s at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. The Spaniard ran in the top five for most of the day setting his quickest time in the final 10 minutes of the last session. The champion's effort relegated Milo' Pavloviæ down to second after the Serbian had held top spot for much of the final hour. Robert Wickens made a final attempt to beat Soucek's time in the final moments, setting his quickest lap in the process. It wasn’t quick enough however and he had to settle for third fastest time. Julien Jousse ended up fourth having set the pace during the morning whilst Mikhail Aleshin improved late on to take fifth. The Russian recovered well following two spins earlier in the day and his effort was good enough to relegate Philipp Eng down to sixth. Debutant Tristan Vautier remained the star of the show finishing every session inside the top ten. The 20-year-old, who has won six Formula Palmer Audi races this year, settled for an impressive seventh at the end of the day. Kazim Vasiliauskas and Mirko Bortolotti were eighth and ninth, while Jason Moore rounded out the top ten after a productive day of set-up work for the Briton. Nicola De Marco was just outside the top ten and double race winner Tobias Hegewald had to settle for 12th. Jolyon Palmer moved up the order late on to claim 13th ahead of Sebastian Hohenthal. Soucek said: "I knew we had good pace but I wasn't expecting to be that fast. I am still really fired up for this weekend - people are maybe expecting me to just relax and take it easy but I want to win both races for the first time. There is a lot of work to do, but I am fully focussed on taking each session as it comes later in the week." Robert Wickens said: "I have had a really good day. We have accomplished everything and more in terms of our test programme and I am feeling really confident for the weekend. My best lap was set on the seventh lap with those tyres and I didn't use the boost so things are looking good for the weekend." 2009 Polo Cup Champion: Maciek Steinhof .he 23-year-old Pole is the new champion of the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup. By finishing the season finale at Hockenheim in fifth place, the driver from Cracow will enter the history books of Volkswagen's one-make cup as the last Polo Cup champion. In 2010, the popular junior racing series will be replaced by the new Scirocco Cup with Bio-CNG engine power. Aussie V8s - Mark Winterbottom was in dominant form at Surfers Paradise over the weekend coming away with two wins and 2 second places from the four 150km V8 races at the Nikon SuperGP. This despite battling a glandular illness all week. Winterbottom started his weekend by placing his #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon on pole after the Top Ten Shootout on Saturday morning before taking victory in the opening 150km race, with the Holden Racing Team pair of Garth Tander and Will Davison in third. In the second race Winterbottom started on pole with Tander beside, however after a frenetic start Tander was able to take the lead and maintain that position through a safety car-free 34 laps to claim the victory. Will Davison was third. On Sunday after following TeamVodafone's Craig Lowndes across the line in the third race, ‘Frosty’ beat the Holden Racing Team's Tander and Jim Beam Racing's James Courtney in the final race. The points he collected, the most of any driver at the weekend, Winterbottom is now into fifth in the championship. "It is awesome to be back in the winners circle," said Winterbottom. "Yesterday was a great day as well. It's awesome. The Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon was really good all throughout the weekend and it is a credit to everyone in the Ford Performance Racing team to have a car that can finish all four races right up the front. It's been a very tough weekend that's for sure but to come away with it and finally break through for a win is really special." The Haymans Electrical MINI Challenge saw some more scintillating racing with Queensland's Paul Stokell winning race one on Friday ahead of Western Australia's Nathan Caratti and Queensland's John Martin. Chris Alajajian, Paul Stokell and Ryan Hansford were the first three to take the chequered flag in race 2 on Saturday while the third and final race on Sunday saw another win for Alajajian ahead of Paul Stokell and Ryan Hansford. 26-10-09
ELF Renault Clio Cup - Recently crowned Clio Cup champion Phil Glew was on top form as he fulfilled his prize of a test in a Mégane Trophy race car at the 3.321-mile Motorland Aragon circuit on Monday, 26th October. The 26-year-old, who won the Clio Cup with Team Pyro, outshone fellow Clio Cup champions from all over Europe by setting the fastest time running with championship winning team McGregor by Equipe Verschuurs. Glew was among Clio champions from France, Belgium and Italy invited to test the 3.5-litre V6, 360hp car by Renault Sport Technologies, as a prize for his performance in the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin. Glew, who plans to move into BTCC next year, won an impressive 11 races to secure the title with three rounds to spare. In hot, sunny conditions, Glew began the first of two one hour 30 minute sessions on worn slick tyres yet continually lowered his lap times to finish just a fraction off Mike Verschuur’s pole position time of 2m 04.335s (154.7 kph average) and the quickest among the Clio Cup champions. Glew continued to impress in the second session around the newly-built Spanish track this time on new rubber as he became more accustomed to the rear-wheel drive Mégane Trophy. Commenting afterwards, Glew said: “It’s been a fantastic experience today and I’ve been really impressed by the Mégane Trophy which is just so quick and has so much more grip and downforce than the Clio Cup car. The paddle-shift gears took a bit of getting used to as did the steering-wheel mounted clutch but the rear-wheel drive didn’t present any problems as I am used to this from my previous racing experience. The team have also been impressed by my performance and I have to say a move into the Eurocup Mégane Trophy championship is something I would definitely consider! My immediate plans though still centre on competing in the BTCC next season. I’m still in talks with my sponsors but a move looks increasingly likely and I plan to start testing with a number of teams very soon.”
Team USA Scholarship winners Connor De Phillippi and Brett Smrz have had a busy week since they made their European debuts at the Formula Ford Festival last weekend at Brands Hatch. They have taken part in the first rtest in the Grand Prix Shootout,(the winner gets a drive in the 2010 Formula BMW series in Europe) and visited GP2 team iSport International and the 2009 Le Mans Series championship-winning Aston Martin Racing/Prodrive organization. Next up is the Walter Hayes Trophy this weekend at Silverstone ..read more
FBMW - This weekend, Australian Formula BMW Junior, Chris Wootton heads to the penultimate event of 2009’s Formula BMW Pacific Championship at Okayama International Circuit in Japan (formerly known as Aida) after a solid effort to prepare himself for a weekend of competition. Unusually, the 20-year-old has had the opportunity to drive a racecar between events, last week completing a F3 Australia evaluation day at Winton Raceway in Victoria. It will be his first visit to the 3.703 kilometre circuit at the southern end of Japan’s largest island, Honshu, however many hours studying YouTube, laps on the PlayStation and rigorous physical training have the young Australian ready for the weekend ahead. From his research, Chris believes the circuit has limited passing opportunities, therefore qualifying well is going to be critical, particularly in the highly competitive FBMW Pacific ranks. Chris aims to build on his efforts at Singapore – where he was granted Series points equating to third in both races. He currently sits seventh in the table, with an eye to move into the top five by season’s end. There are two practice sessions which will allow him to become acquainted with the circuit and set up his car ahead of qualifying and the races. Mini Challenge – Scott Bargwanna has taken the ROCK Energy Drinks MINI into second placing in the MINI Challenge Series after this weekend’s events at Surfers Paradise, with team-mates Sean Carter and BJ Cook enjoying solid debuts on the Nikon SuperGP circuit and Team Principal, Jason Bargwanna recorded just the second V8 Supercar pole in his career. Read report Formula Renault 3.5 – Bertrand Baguette confirmed his right to the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 title in some style at the Spanish Aragon track over the weekend winning both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races from 4th and 5th on the grid. Read report Formula Renault - Third place in the final race of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season was enough for Epsilon Euskadi's Albert Costa to take 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship. Antonio Felix da Costa driving for Motopark Academy won the race with BVM Minardi Team's Dean Smith second. The first race at the Spaninsh Aragon track was also won by Antonio Felix da with Costa second and Vergne third…read reports 25-10-09
ETCC - Hungarian Norbert Michelisz claimed pole position for the ETCC in Braga at the wheel of a SEAT León TDI car run by the SEAT Sport team. Again weather conditions were a factor, as the session began on a wet track that dried up towards the end. It was crucial therefore to choose the right moment to go for a quick lap. Michelisz himself opened hostilities with a lap of 1:29.202, but as time wore on pole changed hands 18 times amongst five drivers. Reigning S2000 champion Michel Nykjær ousted Michelisz early on with a 1:28.802, only to be demoted by James Thompson's 1:28.798, a time he improved to 1:28.675 later on. Franz Engstler then joined Nykjær and Michelisz setting fastest laps, until Thompson hit the track with 5 minutes left putting in two consecutive laps of 1:25.853 and 1:25.766. But it wasn’t over yet. Duarte Félix da Costa emerged on top with a 1:25.349, before Michelisz reclaimed the lead. They swapped places one more time until Engstler crossed the line in 1:24.898. Only a few seconds were left when Michelisz's last shot sopped the clocks at 1:24.821 enough for pole with 0.077 seconds ro spare! Bamboo Engineering team-mates da Costa and Harry Vaulkhard filled the second row for Race 1, with the Honda cars of Tomas Engström and Thompson behind them. Russian driver Mikhail Zasadych stole pole from Latvia's Marcis Birkens by 0.2secs while S1600 only competitor Carsten Seifert managed to avoid the last spot of the grid qualifying ahead of Nikolay Karamishev. Vincent Radermecker is the only competitor not to run as since yesterday morning the Maurer Motorsport crew have been trying to solve an electrical problem on his Chevrolet Lacetti that stubbornly refuses to start.
.jpg) Karts
-
Jordan King produced a strong performance in the last
round of the national Super 1 Series at Fulbeck to finish third
and fourth in the two finals. But for the 'dropped scores'
system Super 1 employs, Jordan's super-consistent season would
have seen him end the campaign as British KF3 Champion.
Read report24-10-09
 It
is fast becoming an expensive outing for many of the Formula
Ford teams competing in the final round of the 2009 Genuine
Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at Surfers
Paradise this weekend. In the second race of the round, several
incidents claimed the scalps of no less than four drivers who
now face the task of rebuilding their machines in time for the
third and final race tomorrow. Just two racing laps were counted
in the shortened race which was eventually declared under the
supervision of the safety car with young New Zealander Mitch
Evans again taking the honours, ahead of his fellow national
Richie Stanaway and Queenslander Ash Walsh. “Not the ideal way
to finish a race but I’ll take the points!” Evans said, who has
now secured second place in the 2009 championship, and a one-two
for his Sonic Racing team with teammate Nick Percat already
taking the title at Phillip Island last month. “Hopefully we
can have a clean race tomorrow and finish the weekend with some
good racing,” he added. Ash Walsh and Richie Stanaway provided a
great spectacle for the early morning crowd in the opening laps
as they jostled for second place, with Stanaway’s tenacity
winning in the end before the first of the several safety car
interventions. Local driver Chaz Mostert was the first casualty,
retiring after the first lap with suspension problems – a result
of yesterday’s accident with Nick Percat. Martin Swindells was
next to go after losing control at turn one, tagging the wall
and leaving the right side of his Spectrum seriously buckled and
the tow truck called to clear the wreckage. On the re-start
young CAMS Rising Star Nathan Morcom and Nick Simmons were
involved in separate incidents also at turn one which led to the
safety car again being deployed and the race ultimately called
prematurely.23-10-09 Jean Todt has been elected to be the new president of F1's governing body, the FIA. In a Hotel near the FIA's headquarters in Paris, the Federation’s almost 70 per cent of the votes went in favour of Jean Todt. The FIA stated that only 49 went to Ari Vatanen with12 abstensions Mini Challenge – Decorug’s Paul Stokell won the opening race in the Haymans Electrical Mini Challenge at the 2009 Nikon SuperGP event on the Surfers Paradise Street circuit. Nathan Carratti was second in the Glory Team Racing’s car followed by John Martin in third. Scott Bargwanna was fourth.
Supercopa -
Clio Cup - Organisers have received the first registrations for the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup with Michelin which takes place at Rockingham Motor Speedway on Saturday, 7th November. Among the early entries is 20-year-old Sam Tordoff competing with Total Control Racing. The Leeds racer finished eighth overall, the highest placed rookie-racer in 2009. TCR team-mate Daniel Lloyd also joins the winter series along with 16-year-old James Colburn competing under the family-run Westbourne Motorsport. Registrations have also been received from two newcomers – Matthew Munson and 42-year-old Paul Plant, both run by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering. Organisers are also offering a 5% discount from the 2010 ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin registration fee to all drivers who take part in this year’s Winter Cup. This year’s Winter Cup sees a change from previous years with the series being contested over just two rounds instead of the previous four in order to help control costs for both teams and drivers. The series will still adopt the same format as used in recent years of 1x qualifying session and 2 x races with testing taking place on the Friday beforehand. Cars without the latest bodywork update, introduced during the summer, will also be allowed to compete. Last year’s series saw Irish racer Árón Smith take the overall honours with two wins and two second places to finish 21-points clear of PH Motorsport’s Philip House. Registrations for the series are open now and will remain open until early November.
Three local drivers will make guest appearances in the FIA WTCC event at Okayama, all at the wheel of BMW independent cars: Seiji Ara (Proteam Motorsport), Nobuteru Taniguchi (Wiechers-Sport), Masaki Kano (Liqui Moly Team Engstler). The latter has raced in the WTCC before while Ara and Taniguchi face their debuts in the series João Paulo Lima de Oliveira will join SUNRED Engineering for the event in Okayama. The 28-year-old Brazilian is a favourite of Japanese motorsport fans, being a regular in the local championships since 2004. After claiming the South American F3 title in the Scholarship class at the age of 18, he moved to Europe to win the German F3 championship in 2003. The year after he settled in Japan, where he collected another F3 title in 2005. From 2006 he has taken part in both the Japanese Super GT and Formula Nippon championships, establishing himself as one of the fastest and consistent drivers. He claimed Super GT race wins sharing the wheel of Nissan Z and GT-R cars with Seiji Ara. The two of them will find themselves on opposite sides in the WTCC, as Ara will drive a Wiechers-Sport BMW. YOKOHAMA will return home as the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) travels to Okayama, Japan, for the penultimate race weekend of the 2009 season on 1 November. Not only will YOKOHAMA be providing the control tyres for the WTCC, but in its continued commitment to motorsport, will also supply a range of teams competing in the inaugural Asian Le Mans Series, which is supporting the WTCC. In accordance with its environmental policy, YOKOHAMA will be using ‘green electricity’ in its tyre service area during the weekend while preparing cars for the track. With the aim of reducing the use of fossil fuels and CO2 emissions, YOKOHAMA has partnered with Japan Natural Energy Company Limited and has been issued with a green certificate worth 1,000 kWh of energy using natural resources.It is the second consecutive year that YOKOHAMA has used ‘green electricity’, generated by wind power, hydropower and biomass, at the Japanese rounds of the WTCC, as the fight against global warming is of high priority to the company across its business activities, including motorsport. Prior to next weekend’s WTCC rounds, YOKOHAMA will also be supplying the control tyres for the FIA European Touring Car Cup (ETCC), which takes place at Braga's Circuito Vasco Samerio, Portugal, on 25 October. It has supported the series consecutively since 2005 and will award prize money of EUR 165.000 across each of the three categories: Super 2000, Super 1600 and Super Production.
Other News - Johnny's Herbert’s annual Charity karting Challenge will take place at The Raceway, Docklands, London on 29th November 2009. To date confirmed celebrities include Alex Brundle, Danny Watts,Louise Goodman, Johnny Mowlem, Scott Malvern, Jake Green, Sarah Playfair. The event will see 22 teams battling it out for 3 hours of heart stopping racing, with spectators right up close to the action. For more information visit http://www.johnnyherbertkarting.co.uk Karts - James Singleton, after stepping up a level from Mini Max to Junior Max, produced a brilliant performance to finish on the podium in his first real outing at Shenington. In 2009 and aged just 13, James has already finished inside the top four outright in both national championships, Formula Kart Stars (FKS) and Super 1… read report
Porsche Supercup - British racers Richard Westbrook and James Sutton will team up to race for Team SAS in the Porsche Supercup races supporting the F1 World Championship finale in Abu Dhabi (31 October/1 November). Team SAS, which is operated by British team Red Line Racing, will field two cars at the Yas Marina track as a build-up towards a full Supercup campaign and has will enter cars for Westbrook and Sutton in Abu Dhabi. Both drivers are former Porsche Carrera Cup GB champions, Westbrook having won the title in 2004 and Sutton in 2007. "It’s a new circuit for everyone," said Westbrook. "It’s going to be a great double-header for the Supercup and it’s going to be incredibly hot out there. It's great to be working with Simon Leonard and the guys at Red Line Racing again. Simon was instrumental in getting me into Carrera Cup GB in 2004 and winning the title. That really was the catalyst for me moving on up." Sutton added, "I really want to go and deliver two good results in Abu Dhabi. It was good experience for me learning Monza recently as a new track and that was a good confidence boost ahead of Abu Dhabi." Carrera Cup GB - Ten drivers took the opportunity to drive a Porsche 911GT3 Cup car at Silverstone yesterday (Wednesday 21 October) during the Porsche Carrera Cup GB sampler session. The drivers, 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 2010 season. In addition, FF1600 racer pat Blakeney took to the track in a 911GT3 Cup car having won the inaugural Ian Taylor Trophy Race for Formula Ford 1600, which was held at Thruxton on Sunday 28 June. The race honoured the memory of Ian Taylor, who raced FF1600 at Thruxton in the late 1960s and early 1970s before climbing further up the single-seater ladder during a very successful career. His son James is the manager of the Porsche Driving Experience Centre and did some FF1600 racing himself in the early stages of his racing career. James was also able to sample the 911GT3 Cup car during the test day. "I've only ever raced single-seaters," said Blakeney after taking his prize drive. "Driving the Porsche was great fun and thoroughly enjoyable. It was very predictable and it certainly ticked another box for me." The final driver to take to the track was Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher. He has played the character of Andy Sugden since 1996 in the long-running soap and harbours an ambition to break into motor sport at some point. Silverstone: fast and fun gifts for Christmas - Launching the ALL NEW Lamborghini Thrill - £99 Silverstone – The Home of British Motor Racing – has the perfect gifts this Christmas, providing a Thrill for everyone. Whether it’s treating yourself, a friend or family member, Silverstone’s new fun-filled Lamborghini Thrill and £99 Christmas Super Choice Voucher will add some four-wheeled festive cheer to this year’s Christmas stockings. Silverstone is welcoming the instantly recognisable Lamborghini Gallardo to its range of Driving Experiences at the venue. Motoring fans will get the chance to drive the stylish and high-powered Gallardo on sections of the world famous Grand Prix Circuit with expert guidance from Silverstone’s fully qualified instructors. Included in the £99 Silverstone Christmas Super Choice Voucher (available at this reduced price for the Christmas period only*), recipients will be able to choose from either a Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Rally, Single Seater, Lotus Exige or Ferrari Thrill. Silverstone’s Single Seater Thrill is the closest that many will ever get to driving a F1 car, providing a slick, super-quick taste of Formula racing behind the wheel of a real single-seater race car. However, for off-road fun, tackling the rally handling stage in a works-built Ford Fiesta ST 150, as part of the Rally Thrill, also comes highly recommended. All of Silverstone’s Driving Experiences** include tuition from highly professional instructors. For further information on the full range of Driving Experiences and Thrill packages available at Silverstone, visit www.silverstone.co.uk, or call 0844 3728 270. – 22-10-09
Club Racing - The third of the four specially commissioned programmes to showcase the best of BRSCC racing will be broadcast tomorrow evening, Friday 23rd October, at 7.05pm on Motors TV as part of their UK Full Speed Racing show. Tomorrow’s programme features rounds of the BRSCC Mighty Minis Championship and the Welsh Sports Saloon Car Championship, which were both shot at our South Eastern Centre meeting at Brands Hatch on Sunday 16th August. The series of programmes were produced thanks to the support of GRAND PRIX RACEWEAR, RICHARD EGGER INSURANCE and GAZ SHOCKS. Motors TV can be found on channel 413 on the Sky platform and channel 545 via Virgin Media. The show will be repeated several times next week. The complete schedule can be found at MOTORS TV
Carrera Cup GB
-
The U.S. F2000 National Championship is to be revived by Dan Andersen, the co-founder and co-owner of the popular series back in the nineties. It will be sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. It will be known as the U.S. F2000 National Championship and will be run by Andersen Promotions, LLC, a new company owned by Andersen and his brother, John. Read more 21-10-09
A1GP - The A1GP race at Surfers paradise this weekend has been called off . This means the first race in the series will now be held at Zhuhai in China in November .GT Open - 2010 Calendar Unveiled. The 2010 season of the International GT Open will include eight events, which will keep the proven format of two 1-hour free practice sessions on Fridays, two 35-minute qualifying sessions and first race on Saturdays and second race on Sundays. The series will visit tracks around Europe with the Nurburgring included for the first time. GT Sport anticipates no major changes in the technical rules of the Super GT (GT2) and GTS (GT3) categories, ensuring thus regulatory stability for the fifth year in a row. The main development will be that the GTS (GT3) category will have its own separate set of rules, to be published shortly, but with no modifications in substance. On the commercial side, the growing interest from TV stations will certainly lead to an extended TV coverage, both live and delayed, throughout Europe and beyond. GT Sport will announce new agreements in due course. Jesus Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, commented: "We are actively working on the 2010 edition of the International GT Open and will pursue our policy of progressive growth based on regulatory stability and cost control, which is what GT competitors are asking for. We are pleased to announce today our 2010 calendar, which includes eight events in seven different countries, all on top-class circuits with premium venues, and we are delighted to add to the list a motorsports temple like the Nurburgring". calendar
20-10-09
Formula Ford – The Australian Formula Ford teams will be on the streets of Surfers Paradise this weekend for the final round of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship, to decide the minor placings in this year’s championship. Sonic Racing’s Nick Percat wrapped up the title during round seven at Phillip Island last month, but the battle for second and third places will go down to the wire in what’s sure to be another round of racing. Just 12 points separates Sonic’s Mitch Evans and Borland Racing’s Scott Pye in the chase for runner-up, with Synergy’s Chaz Mostert also in with a outside chance a further 20 points behind. “I’m really looking forward to this weekend now the pressure’s off,” Percat said “This circuit is not the sort of place I’d really want to be scrapping for a championship on … it’s actually going to be a bit of fun out there knowing I’m not racing for a championship,” the new champ added. New Zealander Mitch Evans will be looking to make it a one-two championship finish for Sonic Racing but will have his hands full with Pye and Chaz both fighting for the runner’s-up trophy. “We should see some pretty tight racing this weekend,” Evans said “None of us have driven this circuit before so we’re all starting with a level playing field so-to-speak … I guess a lot of it is going to come down to qualifying because it’s not the easiest track to pass on so being fast out of the box is going to be really important.” Scott Pye, fresh from the Formula Ford Festival in the UK, echoed Evans’ sentiments.“This is going to be a pretty tough event,” he said. “It’s not the sort of place you want to try a big passing move and not pull it off … there’s little room for error with all the concrete - so getting out in front early is going to be the key to a successful weekend,” he added. The Formula Ford’s have three races starting Friday and wrapping up on Sunday afternoon. Race three will be televised live on the Seven Network on Sunday afternoon from 1.30pm ETCC - The fifth edition of the FIA European Touring Car Cup will take place on October 25th at Braga's Circuito Vasco Samerio. This will be the first FIA automobile event at the 3.0 km racetrack located 6 km North of Portugal's third largest city. Although the karting track nearby has hosted several international meetings, including FIA World Championships in 2000 and 2005, the racing circuit has only been used for national events so far. Read preview
FPA - Richard Plant claimed the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi Championship during a dramatic final weekend at Snetterton. Plant, Tristan Vautier, Kazim Vasiliauskas and Adam Foster were all in contention to win the title at Snetterton, and Vasiliauskas improved his chances by taking victory in the opening race of the weekend ahead of Plant. The Lithuanian closed the gap even further with a second place in race two, whilst Vautier and Plant could only manage seventh and eighth respectively. Foster was out of contention by the final race while Plant held a 5 point lead over Vasiliauskas with Vautier a further 10 points back. There was drama at the start of the final race when the top two clashed off the line. Plant made a great start from fifth but he had nowhere to go as a gap closed in front of him. Plant immediately braked and was hit from behind by Vasiliauskas. The Lithuanian suffered major damage to his front left wheel and crashed at the first turn, collecting Paul Rees and Bastian Graber in the process. Plant was able to continue as the safety car was immediately deployed. Felix Rosenqvist, who won race two, then led Jolyon Palmer at the restart of race three before they made contact at Riches Corner, both cars spinning in front of Tristan Vautier. As he tried to avoid them he was collected by Palmer and turned upside on the side of the circuit. Another red flag came out but Vautierm’s, who was completely unharmed, championship dream was over. The frenetic opening to the final FPA race of the season had handed Plant the championship as the Englishman eventually settled for eighth place in the restarted race while Rosenqvist went on to win.
19-10-09
Classics - Russell Paterson was in a dominant mood at Knockhill yesterday(Sunday) winning both of the SMRC’s Classic Sports and Saloon car races in the final meeting of the eyar at Knockhill. His Morgan Plus 8 team-mate Andrew Smith kept him honest in both races coming in second just a few tenths of a second behind on both occasions. Read report  Mini
Challenge
-
In the FFDR Scottish Mini Cooper Cup on Sunday at
Knockhill, Guest driver Robin Liddell won the first two races
with a pair of lights-to-flag victories. In the opening
encounter he was followed throughout by Vic Covey Jnr and Ken
Thirwall,the three crossing the finish in line astern separated
by a little over a second. In race 2 Liddell again led
from the start with Covey hard on his heels, until 2 laps from
the end. Covey then went off track to rejoin dead last. This
handed second place to Mark Dyden with Thirwall third. In the
final race Mario Loia led the first 6 laps before Michael Rowan
slipped by followed by David Sleigh leaving Loia to fend off
Thirwall for the remaining laps. At the flag Rowan won by just
under a second with Sleigh still second and Loia third.Scott Bargwanna will be back in action in the Australian Mini Challenge at the Nikon SuperGP in Surfers Paradise this weekend where he plans to move closer to the Championship leading DecoRug machines of Grant Denyer and Paul Stokell. Although he is 66 points adrift at the moment both the Decorug cars will be loaded with ‘success ballast on the Gold Coast. So with 60 points up for grabs in each race this looks like the perfect opportunity to close the gap. Joining Bargwanna and his team-mate Bj Cook in the Rock Energy team this weekend is 18 year old Sean Carter read more Porsche Carrera Cup Italia - Fresh from finishing second in the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB, James Sutton made his debut in the Carrera Cup Italia at Monza over the weekend (17/18 October) and claimed a podium finish on his first experience of the famous Italian track. Sutton says that his results in the Carrera Cup GB this year opened the door for the fully funded drive at Monza. "The team had a spare car and offered me the drive; it was too good an opportunity to miss," he said. "With my success in Britain in 2009 they recognised that I'd be a good candidate." Despite having to learn the Monza track, Sutton finished fifth in the opening race and then third in the second race, setting the fastest lap of the second race in the process. "What I learnt in Carrera Cup GB this year stood me in good stead for battling with the top Italians," he said. "It was hard work learning the track against all the local drivers who know it so well. But it was a fantastic chance to learn Monza and I hope to be racing there in the Porsche Supercup next season." With drivers like Alessandro Zampedri at the head of the field, Sutton said that the racing was tough. "It is very, very competitive out there and the pace of the front guys is Supercup pace, so I was very pleased to be battling with them." The Porsche Club GB brought its three motorsport championships, the Porsche Club Championship, Porsche Open and Porsche Speed Championship, to a formal close with an awards evening at the Hilton Puckrup Hall Hotel near Tewkesbury on the evening of Saturday October 17th. Champions and class winners from each series were honoured, with awards being presented by Steve Dolby of Michelin, long-term supporters of the club’s racing activities. The Porsche Open, being a series rather than a championship, still had two awards on the night, with Driver of the Year, based on results and a subjective element from the organisers, going to Mike Johnson. Unbeaten in class and a supporter of the Open all season, Mike was always in the thick of the action in his Class Three 911 SC. Mike wins a one-off drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB next season. The Spirit of the Series award for the Porsche Open went to Dave Whelan, who travelled from Ireland to contest each round of the series. The two winners will be the last in Porsche Open history as the series will be replaced by the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge in 2010. Jeremy Clark was awarded the Porsche Club Championship trophy, the reigning champion holding on to his crown, this time racing in Class Two and undefeated in class all year. Ben Demetriou claimed the Class One title – becoming the first driver in Porsche Club history to have won all three classes in different seasons. The team award for the Porsche Club Championship went to County Classics Racing Ltd. The Porsche Speed Championship title went to another driver who remained unbeaten all season, Graham Rose taking his second overall title from Class Four of the series in the 15th season of the well-supported series.
Team Motul-Autech and its star driver Benoît Tréluyer once again shone at Autopolis this weekend. After a podium finish at Fuji last month, Tréluyer climbed to the second step of the rostrum once more to strengthen the team’s position at the head of the championship standing read report 18-10-09 Formula Ford - Rory Butcher won the Formula Ford Festival Kent final at Brands Hatch today(Sunday). After winning his heat yesterday and his semi final earlier today Butcher held off his season long rival Scott Malvern to win by just 0.069secs whilst third went to Neville Smythe who was breathing down the leading pairs' necks just 0.129 off the winners time. In the Duratec final Chrissy Palmer came out on top ahead of Liroy Stuart and 2009 MSA FFord UK Champion James Cole.
GT3 Asia – The GT3 Asian Championship was won and lost in the final race in Japan today. Melvin Choo claimed his second win at Autopolis making it a perfect 2 wins from 2 starts but it was Tunku Hammam who won the title but only just! His rival fro the title Francis Tjia had the title in the bag whilst running third late in the race until he inexplicably ttried to pass Frank Yu’s Ginetta. The pair touched, spun and thereby handed the title to Hammam. Read report 17-10-09
Formula Renault - With just two weeks to go until the 2009 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship gets underway at Snetterton, Manor Competition has confirmed it will field a four-car line up. Bidding to add the 2009 winter title to the it’s 2009 Formula Renault UK driver’s crown they won with McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist Dean Smith, the team will benefit from the consistency of retaining David McDonald (pictured) and Thomas Hylkema alongside Manor newcomers Menasheh Idafar and Robert Foster-Jones. McDonald improved markedly throughout his debut season in Formula Renault UK this year, achieving three top four finishes and six other top 10 results en-route to 12th l in the championship. Dutch racer Hylkema, showed great flashes of pace throughout the main championship but bad luck didn’t allow him to show what he is capable of. Ending the season 16th in the standings, a career best top six finish during the penultimate event at Rockingham showed the speed is definitely there. British-born Bahraini Menasheh Idafar makes his return to Formula Renault with Manor having called time on his 2009 UK championship after the seventh race meeting of the season. Having already impressed during his maiden test appearances with the team, the 18-year-old has high hopes for a consistent campaign. Karting’s Robert Foster-Jones makes the step-up to cars with Manor from the ranks of the B4/Renault MSA Formula KF1 British Championship where he is currently in contention for the 2009 title – the decider taking place this Sunday, 18th October, at Fulbeck in Lincolnshire. Commenting on the line-up, team co-owner Tony Shaw said: “We’re very, very happy indeed to have secured such a strong four-car squad. We’ve managed to carry forward consistency from the main championship with David and Thomas while also bringing some fresh faces into the Manor fold with Menasheh and Robert. Testing with David, Thomas and Menasheh has been very promising so far while Robert will run with us for the first time next week when he’s concluded his commitments in karting. After such a strong championship-winning season this year, we’re really looking forward to the winter series.” The the 2009 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship starts at Snetterton on 31st October before moving to Rockingham a week later on, 7th November. 16-10-09
The latest pair of Team USA Scholarship drivers, Connor De Phillippi and Brett Smrz have completed their first test session at Brands Hatch, where they will make their European racing debuts in this weekend's Formula Ford Festival. De Phillippi and Smrz had their first look around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in identically prepared Ray GRS07/08 Formula Ford cars. "My first time out in the car went really well," said De Phillippi, who clinched this year's BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda at Lime Rock Park last Friday and Saturday. "I adapted to the car's characteristics quite easily, because they are quite similar to the Skip Barber car. It moves around a lot, although it is still very stable in the high-speed turns. Understeer seems to be a common characteristic, so adapting my driving to that will be the next step. Adapting to the H-pattern gearbox was a bit tricky, but for now the car is great. I'm just focusing on perfecting the track." On unofficial timing, De Phillippi was within a few tenths of the day's best times. Smrz was also close to the pace despite a brief trip into a gravel trap. "The car was a bit difficult to get used to," said Smrz. "It tended to have a lot of understeer, rather than a lot of oversteer. The Skip Barber cars tend to be more on the loose side, so it is something that I had to take some time to overcome." Both drivers enjoyed their first taste of Brands Hatch. "Paddock Hill Bend is quite some turn," exclaimed Smrz. "The first time I went through there, I didn't expect the drop to be quite as severe as it looked. Once you are in the car, it feels like a roller coaster. There is a compression at the bottom of the hill, and then it immediately starts to climb back up another hill. You definitely have to build your confidence." Formula Ford driver-turn-team owner Cliff Dempsey was impressed by the two Americans. "They're not going too bad," he said with characteristic understatement. "My first impressions are good. You keep sending me kids like this and I'll run them anytime, anywhere. They're great!" For more information, please visit www.TeamUSAScholarship.org. Ford is to throw a lifeline to thousands of historic Formula Ford racers worldwide thanks to a decision to put the legendary 'Kent' engine block back into production. Engineering work has already begun at Ford Racing‟s Performance Parts division in the USA, with sales scheduled to start in 2010. The 'Kent' engine began its production life 50 years ago, and was the perfect choice of power unit when Formula Ford was created in Britain in 1967. Though the engine was superseded at the top level of Formula Ford racing in the UK in 1993, between 5000 and 7000 'Kent'-engined cars are competing around the globe and engine parts are becoming increasingly scarce. “Our parts division has many years of expertise in re-making blocks,” says Ford Racing Engineering Supervisor Andy Slankard, “and we are going to take our knowledge of modern techniques to remanufacture the 'Kent' block and improve its durability. Our aim is not to make performance gains but to strengthen it and to make the unit more reliable. “There are many thousands of 'Kent'-engined Formula Ford cars still racing around the world – particularly in the USA, which never adopted the Ford Zetec engine which replaced it in Europe – and we believe that the majority of owners of these historic machines will want to retain the originality of their car by using a genuine Ford engine.” The news is welcomed by Mike Norton, Motorsport Manager Ford of Europe: “It is fantastic news that the legendary 'Kent' engine is to be reborn.” New Duratec 1600cc, 110 PS engine - Another alternative for Formula Ford owners is the launch of an all-new version of the Ford Duratec 1600cc engine, offering 110 PS. This engine is designed to complement the highly successful 155 PS Duratec unit, the engine which since its introduction in 2006 has powered Formula Ford back into the single-seater limelight. The new Duratec 1600cc 110 PS engine, which has been in development for the last 12 months, will be available from the end of 2009 with a price tag expected to be around £5,000. The new engine can be fitted into new Formula Ford chassis, or in older cars as a replacement for the 1600cc Kent or Zetec 1800cc engines. “The new power unit will be ideal for fitment in new chassis; it will be a stepping stone to the more powerful Duratec engines used in the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and other series worldwide,” says Norton, “and the engine will be made available throughout world, from the US to Europe, Australia to Africa.” The highly robust and efficient 1.6 litre Duratec engine, as used in the Ford Focus and Ford Fiesta road cars, has proven a very successful race engine in Formula Ford championships around the world.
Championship winners - Paul Plant has won the Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship) while Ben Seyfried took the Super Mighty Mini Championship title this year. Scott Malvern (BRSCC Club FF Midlands South Championship in association with Richard Egger Insurance) Ian Parkington (Creative LED Solutions Club FF North West Pre 90 Championship), Simon Kinsey (Creative LED Solutions Club FF North West Post 89 Championship), Brett Walter (LMA Euro Saloons & Sports Car Championship) Dan Denis (Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight R400 Championship) and Joe Fulbrook (VW Cup in association with Hankook Tyres). All of these drivers will be invited as guests of the BRSCC at their annual dinner dance & awards presentations evening on Saturday 20th February 2010 at the Holiday Inn, Stratford-upon-Avon Motorsport Safety Fund's 2009 charity Christmas card - Few cars stir the blood of rally enthusiasts quite like Lancia's iconic Stratos, and the subject of the Motorsport Safety Fund's 2009 charity Christmas card will certainly rekindle memories of these mid-engined monsters barking their way through the forests of the RAC rallies of the '70s.The card's front cover features "Stratos in Dalby", a painting by Gary Milburn of Italian ace Sandro Munari opposite-locking his way through the famous Yorkshire forest stage during the 1974 event, on which he won his class and finished third overall. It is hard to imagine anybody with better credentials for such a depiction - Gary was born and still lives in Yorkshire . He is also a dyed-in-the-wool rally marshal, with no fewer than 25 consecutive RAC Rallies to his name. The card can be viewed at MOTORSPORT SAFETY FUND. Further examples of his art can be found at http://www.autoart-uk.com.The cards are priced at £6.50 for 10 (including envelopes, postage and packing); they are available from: Motorsport Safety Fund, Penny Farthing, Heythrop, Chipping Norton OX7 5TW.
Formula 3 - All eyes will be on Aaron Steele this weekend when he gives an eco-friendly racing car, tipped by many as the future of motorsport, its world debut at Brands Hatch. WorldFirst Racing's futuristic Formula 3 car, fuelled by chocolate, steered by carrots and built partly from potatoes, will be trialled in competitive conditions for the first time as part of the Formula Ford Festival. It will race in the BRSCC Cardinus Formula 3 Championship, with Steele, a BRDC Rising Star and McLaren Autosport BRDC Awards finalist, behind the wheel. Until now, the sustainable car, developed by researchers at the University of Warwick, has only been put through its paces in private test sessions. Its race debut has attracted unprecedented interest from across the globe and on Tuesday (October 13), even appeared on BBC children's television show Blue Peter. Steele was given a seat fitting in the 'green' car at Lola's factory on Tuesday. James Meredith, project manager at WorldFirst Racing, based in the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (WIMRC), said: "It's been very exciting to work on the project and important for our team to develop a working example of a truly 'green' motor racing car. The WorldFirst project expels the myth that performance needs to be compromised when developing the sustainable motor vehicles of the future." This weekend, the 2009 ATS Formula 3 Cup season ends at the Motorsportarena Oschersleben with the final two rounds of the German series. Dutchman Stef Dusseldorp is in a confident mood as he needs just a single point to finish the season as best newcomer. So far Dusseldorp has scored 131 points with his Team Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara Volkswagen, while second-placed Markus Pommer (Dallara Mercedes) racing for Zettl Sportsline has 112 points. It’s basically a formality as the latter named needs to win both races, with his Dutch rival failing to score a single point. There are of course several other drivers hoping to finish third in the championship: Rafael Suzuki, Nico Monien and Markus Pommer to name but 3. The Brazilian leader with the Japanese name has 65 pointswith the two Germans Monien (56) and Pommer (53) holding second and third position respectively. Tom Dillmann is another driver on the move. In the previous two events, the experienced Frenchman driving for Team Neuhauser Racing took two wins, two poles and set two fastest laps. HS Technik Motorsport relies on the proven drivers Harald Schlegelmilch and Joey Foster who only just missed out on the Aussie F3 title this year.
Autosport International - Free Entry for BRSCC Memebers - If you love motorsport, Birmingham is the place to be in January as the Autosport Show returns to the NEC to celebrate its 20th anniversary, and BRSCC members can get in for free! Held between 14-17 January 2010, show-goers will get the opportunity to see Brawn GP driver and current F1 world championship leader Jenson Button, race car superstars Allan McNish and David Brabham, as well as a host of other drivers and motorsport personalities. The show is one of the few places where motorsport fans have the rare opportunity to get up-close and personal to their favourite drivers and see their cars away from the racetrack. From grass-roots karting to F1, every rung on the motorsport ladder is represented at the show. Catch up with all the latest news and technologies from hundreds of stands featuring the largest collection of motorsport trade and memorabilia available in the country. Visitors can also look forward to wheel-to-wheel racing and record-breaking stunts in the brand-new tri-oval layout Live Action Arena, providing not only a great new challenge for the drivers, but also an exciting new spectacle for fans. Show entry is complimentary to BRSCC members. To sign-up for your free ticket, please visit the trade registration page on the following link: www.registerbynet.com/shows/auto10link GP2 - Ocean Racing Technology has invited Portuguese driver, Antonio Felix da Costa, to take part in the upcoming test at the Paul Ricard on November 10. In addition to da Costa, Ocean Racing Technology will also test Charles Pic, Christian Vietoris, Nelson Panciatici, as well as a fifth driver whose identity will be revealed in the near future. Tiago Monteiro justified the latest choice, made with Jose Guedes. "We've been following Antonio's career for some time now and he is certainly a driver that we would like to integrate into Ocean Racing Technology as he fits right in there with the profile we are aiming for. However, the GP2 Series car is very different to the one he was driving this year and this will allow him to have his first experience of the GP2 Series as well as of our team. It will help us to see how he comes to grips with the car and the team. We will also test other drivers. At the end of the process, we will be able to draw conclusions regarding what the best options for the team could be. We already said that we would like to race with a Portuguese driver and therefore the Paul Ricard session as well as the GP2 Asia Series will be decisive for our driver selection." Before the test at Paul Ricard, Ocean Racing Technology will head to Abu Dhabi in order to prepare for the start of the GP2 Asia Series, which will open its doors the following week on the same circuit.
The 56th Macau Grand Prix was launched yesterday at Macau; the event will include the WTCC's final meeting as well as the 27th edition of the FIA Formula 3 Intercontinental Cup and the 43rd Macau Motorcycle Grand Prix. During a crowded press conference held at the Fisherman's Warf Convention Centre, Engineer João Manuel Costa Antunes, coordinator of the Macau Grand Prix Committee, commented: "Sociedade de Jogos de Macau is once again the title sponsor of the FIA World Touring Car Championship - Guia Race of Macau. Since its inception in 2005, the FIA WTCC has been decided at Macau, and we are thrilled that this year we will once again play host to the title decider. We are also very pleased to welcome Macau drivers André Couto, Henry Ho, Joseph Rosa Merszei and Liu Lic Ka who will join the WTCC field for their home event." 15-10-09
British GT - Exciting changes are to be introduced to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. These changes have been designed to create new opportunities for competitors to join the grid. Key features for 2010 including the re-introduction of the Cup Class, changes to GT3 to allow all FIA GT3 homologated cars to compete, the introduction of the KTM X-BOW and Lotus 2Eleven to the GT4 class, a Challenge Cup for amateur drivers, presented by The Independent and several more…read on
Masters
Historic Racing
and
I FBMW - After an impressive second-place finish in the Formula BMW Pacific Series event in Singapore for Eurointernational, team owner Antonio Ferrari has invited Michael Lewis to race in Rounds 13 and 14 of the Formula BMW Pacific event at the Okayama International Circuit in Japan, October 31 and November 1. "Michael did very well in the Singapore event and I thought it would be good for him to have another opportunity to race with the Formula BMW Pacific drivers," said Antonio Ferrari. "This will help Michael prepare for next season as the Okayama International Circuit is a first-class facility and it will give Michael another chance to race with the competitive Asian drivers." Lewis has had an outstanding rookie season with the Eurointernational team in the Formula BMW Americas Championship where he earned the Rookie Driver Championship.
A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsports will revisit Zhuhai International Circuit on 15th November 2009. The last time A1GP was at Zhuhai in 2007 the sprint race saw Team China's driver Cheng Congfu finish in third place and got on the podium he received a wild applause from the 60,000 fans. The second race was won by A1 Team India's Narain Karthikeyan, showing that ZIC is a good circuit for Asian drivers. With A1 Grand Prix coming to ZIC again, Executive Deputy General Manager Mr. Stewart Tan states: "We are very happy A1 Grand Prix decided to visit ZIC again, although there is less than two months to the race from now, our entire staff will work hard to ensure everything goes smoothly. Since we already have experience with A1 Grand Prix, we are confident the race will run smoothly. I hope all the race fans will come to Zhuhai to cheer for A1 Team China." He also mentions that ZIC will fully co-operate with the promotions effort to drum up the race event in Zhuhai and the Pearl River Delta. A1GP Zhuhai, China round will be held from 13th to 15th November. Free practice will be run on 13th Nov, qualifying on 14th Nov and two races will be run on 15th Nov. For ticket information, please visit Zhuhai International Circuit (www.zic.com.cn) and A1GP.com websites. GP2 - iSport have signed British racer Oliver Turvey for the upcoming GP2 Asia 09/10 season and GP2 2010 season. Runner up in the 2008 British International F3 Championship and former winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, Oliver has been competing in World Series By Renault this year and will now make the step up to GP2 after testing extensively with iSport in Jerez last week 14-10-09
Bathurst 1000 - Troy Bayliss has endured a tough Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 debut with the three-time World Superbike Champion unable to finish the endurance race following a crash on the 59th lap of the 161 lap race at Mount Panorama. After qualifying 32nd, Bayliss' teammate Dean Fiore started the race and completed a double-stint with the regular driver of the #12 Commodore reporting fuel injector problems at the conclusion of his time behind the wheel. Bayliss completed one lap of the circuit before he was forced to return to the pits while the problem was rectified. Bayliss rejoined the race 30 minutes later before falling victim to the greasy conditions on the top of the Mountain which saw him hit the wall at Forrest Elbow. Despite the result Bayliss said he enjoyed his introduction into V8 Supercars and he is even more determined to look at competing in the world's most competitive touring car series in the future. "Bathurst is one of those events which has the potential to catch even the most experienced racer out and bring them undone. Unfortunately I only had limited time in the car over the weekend but Bathurst is an interesting place and given that it is one of the most famous and dangerous race tracks in Australia -- it was quite daunting to race around, " said Bayliss. "Dean [Fiore] started the race and was at the end of his double stint when he noticed that there was a problem with the fuel injector. He brought the car in and handed over to me and we had a few issues getting out of the box so the following lap I came in. Thirty minutes later I went back out again but it had just started raining and it was quite greasy at the top of the Mountain and I unfortunately came unstuck. There was very little damage to the car but given the problems we had experienced up until that point, we were unable to go on." The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was won by Will Davison and Garth Tander. The event concluded the 2009 V8 Supercar endurance season.
Saloons - Andrew Caddell claimed his 2009 Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Championship two weeks ago at Miller Motorsports Park making him a two-time Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Series champion. Caddell successful defended his inaugural Mustang Challenge title despite fierce competition from Ted Anthony Jr. "We won the first race of the year, and then we struggled after that. After the Barber Motorsports Park and the 45th Anniversary of the Mustang, we took the car to the dyno and found that we were 12 horsepower down. We changed the motor, and once we did that, the rest of the season went great," said Caddell. "We won in New Jersey, we finished second at Laguna and then we finished the season off with another win. It was just a great year." GP2 - The three leading pilots of the Euroseries 3000 by PartyPoker had a successful test in GP2 last week at Jerez. Fabio Onidi, Marco Bonanomi and Will Bratt took advantage of the test session in order to get acquainted with the GP2 Dallara and to hopefully impress the paddock with their performances. Onidi, the leader in the Euroseries 3000 standings, was with Scuderia Coloni on day 1, the only one in which the drivers have to start with new tyres. He started of with some long runs, in order to work on the pace. Things changed in the afternoon when Fabio started pushing and managed to improve his laptime, reaching 1'28"369. On the second and third dayWill Bratt joined the team using his first day to acclimatise himself with the car. On day 3 on a wet track Will was fifth fastest and first of the rookies while in the afternoon his engine blew just as he was starting his fast lap on fresh rubber. Despite this he set 13th fastest time (1'27"137). Marco Bonanomi was also on track on the third and last day of test and he also took time to familiarise himself with the GP2 car. He then proceeded to set 6th fastest time of the day in the afternoon on a 1'26"607. 13-10-09
Carrera Cup GB -
Finalists
announced for Carrera Cup GB Scholarship. The
six young racing drivers selected as finalists in the second
year of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme have
been announced. 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 2010 Carrera Cup GB season. The six finalists will now be
put through a rigorous two-day evaluation process at the Porsche
Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone on 20/21 October,
including driving the 420bhp 911GT3 Cup car on the Silverstone
National circuit.
GT3 Asia
Clubsports - 2010 ADAC Cruze Cup: Motorsport for everyone. Race-prepped Cruze revealed at Motorsport Arena, Oschersleben. After a success of the Chevrolet Cruze in the World Touring Car Championship, ADAC Weser-Ems Clubsport will adopt a newly developed race-spec version of the same car for it’s in-house series. The Clubsport events have been taking place since 2006 with the motto "Motorsport for everyone,". The concept was to give members the chance to enter into affordable,low-maintenance and competitive amateur long-distance racing events. With this in mind ADAC Weser-Ems Clubsport have developed the Cruze Cup. At Euros 17,500 (plus VAT), the Cruze Cup is affordable, with basic mechanics making it a practical package for any owners who won't require extensive racing experience to maintain or run the vehicles. To prepare the car to DMSB / ADAC-specified regulations, Wiechers Motorsport has been contracted. Their many years in motorsports has helped them to prepare a special roll-cage and aero & performance package while keeping things simple enough to run with limited experience. Eric Nève, Manager Motorsports at Chevrolet Europe: "We are extremely happy that the ADAC has chosen the Chevrolet Cruze as the car for its Clubsport events as we believe it best fits the values of their concept: "motorsports for everyone."
Atlantic - 2008 Atlantic Champion Markus Niemelä crossed the finish line third in the last event of the Cooper Tires presents the Atlantic series Powered by Mazda season. 3rd place is the second podium for Jensen Motorsport Team in the Atlantic Series. Niemelä, who started fourth, was later penalized two positions due to an incident with Simona De Silvestro in the first lap. Markus Niemelä: "Simona tried to pass me in the first lap going into Corkscrew chicane, we went side by side through the first part of the corner and I ran off the track in the exit. When I came back on track our cars touched and she hit the wall. This is very unfortunate as Simona was fighting for the title and my apologies for her and the Stargate team. Nevertheless I will not take the whole blame of the incident. We were both driving aggressively and this time it just didn't pay off and this is part of racing." In the Price Giving Banquet Niemelä received a significant American motorsports award -The Gilles Villeneuve Award, named after the legendary Canadian Formula One star and 1976 Toyota Atlantic Champion, is traditionally awarded to the driver in the series who posses extraordinary ability, star quality and who has distinguished himself through sportsmanship, dedication and perseverance in the face of disappointment. John Edwards was crowned as the 2009 Atlantic Champion ahead of Jonathan Summerton and Simona De Silvestro. Niemelä dropped down from 5th to 6th in overall points due to time penalty that followed the incident with De Silvestro in the opening lap of the last race. Indycar - Franchitti’s second title: Dario Franchitti left the IndyCar Series following his 2007 championship looking for new challenges. He returned to the series this season learning the grass isn't always greener and those lessons helped him claim his second IndyCar Series title. "In '07 there was a lot of satisfaction in getting that one done," Franchitti said. "And now to come back from where we were a year ago, I think that's what makes it sweeter." Where he was a year ago was out of a job after his effort with Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team was shut down. A meeting at the IndyCar Series event at Detroit's Belle Isle led to dinner in Detroit where Franchitti agreed to contract terms written on a napkin that would see the 2007 champion drive for Ganassi's IndyCar Series team in 2009. In returning, Franchitti felt he could win races but not the title so quickly. "I didn't think I'd win five races and a championship in my first year back," Franchitti said. "I knew driving for Team Target, I'd have good equipment, it just a question of could I get back into it and compete at a level that I had (before)." But those fears were quickly cast away. The No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing team claimed the first of its five wins at Long Beach, the second race of the season. "From that second win at Long Beach, the winner in the second race at Long Beach, I knew we could get it done," Franchitti said. "If there were any regrets, I guess it was at Indy. We felt Scott (Dixon) and I had winning cars and we didn't execute, so it took us some weeks to make up for that." Wins followed at Iowa, Toronto Infineon and Homestead-Miami Speedway. "I'm just glad they invited me back to come and play," Franchitti said. "I really enjoyed it. I wanted to be part of the unified series, the places we get to race at and the people I get to race against and the cars I get to drive. It's pretty cool." And cooler was the site of his title-clinching win - Homestead-Miami Speedway, where Franchitti's good friend Greg Moore claimed his final victory in 1999. Moore was fatally injured in a racing accident at California Speedway later that season in the 1999 CART series finale. Franchitti was involved in the championship fight, but lost to Juan Montoya on a tiebreaker. ``I don't think of that as a day I lost a championship,'' he said. ``I think of it as a day I lost my best friend.'' Franchitti said he thinks of Moore often, but especially when he returns to Homestead. Had Moore still been here, Franchitti said in tribute, ``We'd have been racing for second. We wouldn't have seen him for dust.''
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and P-UNO Motorsports TV have signed a contract with SPEED Channel Latin America to broadcast seven races of the 2009 STAR Mazda Series Presented by Goodyear championship. Seven of the Star Mazda Championships 13 races from the 2009 season are part of the package, including the season-opener at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Round 2 at Virginia International Raceway and Rounds 4 and 5 from the Mazda Formula X double-header at New Jersey Motorsports Park as well as Rounds 8 and 9 from the Harrah's Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda double-header at Autobahn and Round 10, the legendary street race in Trois Rivières in Quebec. In total, SPEED Latin America will broadcast the Star Mazda Championship races to more than 40 countries (or territories), including all of the most important racing markets: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. Los Angeles-based P-UNO Motorsports TV has a 5-year agreement to broadcast the Pro Star Mazda Series Presented by Goodyear in Latin America. P-UNO principals are Hector Cademartori, world-renowned motorsports artist and a journalist for 35 years and Pedro Serramalera, a long time racing enthusiast and also a driver in the Star Mazda Championship. The main targets of the project are three fold: to promote the series in Latin America, to inform drivers from that part of the world about the Star Mazda Championship and encourage them to further their careers by racing in North America, and to generate exposure for the sponsors of South American drivers in their home markets. "It's not all the races, but enough to give our audience south of the border a good idea of what this series is all about," says P-UNO co-founder Pedro Serramalera. "Furthermore, two of them (Sebring and VIR), will be world premieres since they have not been aired anywhere, yet. SPEED Latin America is planning to show each race at least twice every week, beginning in early November. We'll let everyone know as soon as we have the final schedule." The 2010 season will mark the 20th year of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, one of the most stable and successful open-wheel driver development series in North America. Both title sponsors are major global corporations and their contracts with the Series run through the 2013 season. 12-10-09
Josh Mulholland added a second victory to his 2009 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship tally yesterday at as wet Thruxton in Hampshire leaving him in fourth place in the points…read report Atlantic - John Edwards has won the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda with his fourth win of the season. Edwards,the youngest Champion in the history of the series, won the race at Laguna Seca from pole ahead of Jonathan Summerton by just over a second..read report
Grand-Am - While Joao Barbosa and Hurley Haywood won Saturday's Grand-Am Rolex Sports CarSeries presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season-ending Grand Prix of Miami, Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney finished fourth to capture their second Daytona Prototype championship. Barbosa passed Scott Pruett on the back straight with 28 minutes - or Lap 84 of 100 - remaining in the two-and-half hour race to score his first Daytona Prototype triumph, while Haywood - a late addition to the Brumos lineup - scored his first victory since winning a pair of races at Homestead and Phoenix in 2003. It’s a second Daytona Prototype championship for Fogarty and Gurney in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley. They finished six points ahead (337-331) of Pruett and Memo Rojas, who finished second in the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley. Third was the Michael Shank Racing Ford-Riley of Oswaldo Negi and Mark Paterson. Brian Frisselle and Max Angelelli entered the race second in the standings but finished seventh in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara. They finished the year third in the championship with 325 points. In the Acxiom GT’s victory went to Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards in the No. 07 Team Drinkin' Mate Pontiac GXP.R, while Leh Keen and Dirk Werner clinched the championship title with a third-place finish. Bathurst 1000 - Garth Tander and Will Davison won the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 yesterday(Sunday) giving Holden their first win in Australia’s Great Race since 2005 when Marke Skaife and Todd Kelly triumphed. It was Tander’s second Bathurst 1000 victory and a first for Davidson. Jason Richards and Cameron McConville were second behind the winning Holden Dealer Team carr while Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso made it a 1,2,3 for Holden. "It's absolutely awesome. Words can't describe it," Tander said. "What a result for the team, absolutely fantastic. What a race for Holden and what a way to come back. We had a really fast car and did a really good job in the pit stops." The Holden teams of Greg Ritter and David Besnard, Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy were leading the race with jusat 20 laps remaining when the Ford of Dean Canto crashed on lap 141 forcing a safety car period. This sent the two leading cars into the pits for fuel handing the lead to Tander and Davidson who had already stopped for fuel three laps earlier.
Superleague Formula Hitech-run Liverpool FC maintained its lead at the head of the Superleague Formula by Sonangol league table with two steady drives in the penultimate rounds at Monza last time out. Spaniard Adrian Vallés finished fourth and fifth in the two races, to give the team a 49 point advantage with two rounds remaining. Read report 11-10-09
Indycar - Dario Franchitti won his second IndyCar Series championship by winning the Firestone Indy 300 on Oct. 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing used fuel strategy to beat second place Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske to the finish by 4.788 seconds. Franchitti's teammate, Scott Dixon, finished third. The top three finishers were the only drivers who entered the last race of then year with a chance at the title. Franchitti finished the season with 616 points, Dixon with 605 and Briscoe with 604. It was the second consecutive title for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, as Dixon won in 2008. Franchitti won his first season championship in 2007 with Andretti Green Racing. The three title contenders led 198 of the 200 laps. Briscoe took the lead on Lap 151, with Dixon in close pursuit, when Franchitti entered the pits for the final time on Lap 150. Briscoe and Dixon had stopped on Lap 144. Briscoe and Dixon then pulled away from Franchitti over the next 35 laps, as Briscoe led Dixon by .1850 of a second on Lap 187. Franchitti was the only other car on the lead lap, 23.8841 seconds behind Briscoe. But Briscoe and Dixon were forced to pit for fuel in the last eight laps, Dixon on Lap 192 and Briscoe on Lap 194. Franchitti was able to stretch his fuel over the last 50 laps for his fifth victory of the season, a career best. Franchitti's average speed was 201.420 mph, the second-fastest race in series history. It was the first caution-free race in series history. Said Franchitti: "Can you believe it? No, I can't. I can't. Like 2007, I just had to try to save some fuel and stay on strategy. And it just worked out. The Target car wasn't great early that first stint. Chris (Simmons, crew chief) and the boys made some changes. From the second stint on, we were right there. But we had lost so much ground. We were saving fuel. We were sticking to our strategy. The car was really good at the end. A win is a win. On the cool-down lap, I was thinking of my buddy Greg (Moore). I was in a championship fight 10 years ago, but it didn't matter because we lost him. This one is for him. It's been a hell of a year for the Target boys. I've got to thank Chip (Ganassi) for gving me a job." Karts - Peterborough’s Callum Bowyer, snatched second place from under the noses of his rivals in the final standings of the 2009 Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship in the final meeting at Whilton Mill, courtesy of a brace of superb podium finishes. Read report 10-10-09 Indycar - Dario Franchitti took pole for the final race of the year at Homestead Miami ahead of Championship leader Scott Dixon, in second. Dixon leads with 570 points with Franchitti in second with 566 having closed to within 4 points courtesy of his pole position. Ryan Briscoe was third in quaifying just as he is in the title chase on 562 points. Who will win the title....who knows...? Grand-Am - Mark puts the No. 61 AIM Ford Riley on the second row! . "My fastest lap didn't feel so quick because the rest were so on the limit!" With those words, Mark Wilkins described his qualifying run this afternoon that put the No. 61 Ford Riley on the second row for the fourth time this season. Wilkins was quick from the start of the session and quickly into the 1:13's and with a top five position. Mid way through qualifying, Mark slowed to get some space on track and with a gap, recorded the fastest time on his next hot lap - a 1:13.305 at 112.952 mph, moving to fourth place on the starting grid. Mark pushed for three more laps and but could not quite get to third, missing by just sixty-eight thousandths of a second. The No. 61 Ford Riley is just four-tenths of a second off the leaders time. "We made a few changes that worked great for us in qualifying" commented Mark. "But that meant the car was truly operating at its limit which gave me a moment or two. As it turned out though, the one lap I seemed to hang it out the most, felt comfortable and turned out to be our fast lap." He continued, "Now we will get the car set up for the race so that Burt can bring it home, hopefully on the podium." A good qualifying position for the No. 61 Ford Riley in this final race is also important in terms of AIM's chances to move up in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Championship. Currently sitting sixth, they need to finish just two positions ahead of their nearest rival to move into fifth place to repeat from last year. In 2008 Aim finished fifth overall having recorded three straight podiums including two race wins. "To repeat in fifth against some very tough competitors, is just a testament to how solid and consistent we have run this year" offered team principal Ian Willis. "While we have not reached the podium in 2009, we have finished every race except the Rolex 24 because we have avoided mechanical issues and mistakes that have cost us in the past." Willis continued, "But the season is not over yet - not until tomorrow, so we we still have a chance at a podium. It would be great to close out the year for the entire team a with top three result and we know that Mark and Burt will give it their all to make it happen."
Karts - Roy Johnson, who returned to Formula Kart Stars (FKS) in the final 2009 meeting at Whilton Mill and looked as if he had never been away, putting in a brace of superb performances right on the leading pace. Read report Tom Harvey, whose progress in 2009 has been a great improvement from being a 'B' final competitor to a triumph in the last meeting on the 2009 FKS calendar at Whilton Mill, ending up fastest cadet all weekend - an amazing breakthrough. Read report Reigning Kartmasters winner Ash Hand, took a superb win when he who defeated 2009 Formula Kart Stars Junior Max Champion and season-long rival Matt Parry to claim a famous victory in a last-gasp thriller in the final FKS round of the year at Whilton Mill...read report 09-10-09
Atlantic - The battle for the 2009 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda is coming down to a three-way fight between Simona De Silvestro (No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds), John Edwards (No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing) and Jonathan Summerton (No. 34 Newman Wachs Racing). De Silvestro currently leads by seven points over Summerton, 176-169, with Edwards another three points back. If either De Silvestro or Edwards take the title on Sunday it will make Atlantic Championship history. If De Silvestro wins she will become the first woman in 36 years of the Championship to take the crown. If the 18-year-old Edwards takes the title, he will become the youngest champion in series history. The current youngest champion was Michael Andretti who took the 1983 title at 20 years, nine months and 30 days of age. Read review GTs - Jim Geddie will be out in action this weekend for the GT Cup meeting at Silverstone, racing a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup which will be entered by Apex Tubulars. He will then take part in the final round at Brands Hatch (Indy) two weeks later on 24th-25th October before heading back to the Kent circuit for the annual Britcar Night Race spectacle on 7th November. Formula BMW Pacific has announced its 2010 scholarship winners; 17-year-old Australian Jesse Dixon, and Kotaro Sakurai, 15, of Japan. The scholarship includes a Euro 50,000 contribution towards the 2010 Formula BMW Pacific season, and enrollment in the Education and Coaching Programme, a comprehensive training course unique in the region. Jordan Oon,19, of Australia, Thailand's Sandy Stuvik, and South African Caleb Williams have been named as reserves, should either Dixon or Sakurai be unable to take up their scholarships. The annual Scholarship Trials offer young talent professional training and a thorough driver assessment from a team of BMW Motorsport professionals. The drivers judged to have the most potential for an international motorsport career as well as the motivation to work hard and succeed, are then offered a coveted Formula BMW Pacific scholarship.
WTCC - FIA World Touring Car champions Yvan Muller and Andy Priaulx will both compete in the Race of Champions 2009, which takes place in Beijing on November 2-4. After Okayama on November 1st, they will fly to China’s Bird’s Nest Stadium,home to the 2008 Olympic Games where reigning WTCC champion Muller will be teamed up with another, still-to-be-confirmed, French driver . They will run in The ROC Nations Cup on Tue 3 November, before going for individual glory in The Race of Champions on Wed 4 November. “It is going to be a great experience to compete in China,” said Muller. “I have raced in The Race of Champions many times, and it’s always a lot of fun with the crowd so close to the action.” Three-time WTCC champion Andy Priaulx is aiming to become the first British winner of the event since Colin McRae ten years ago. Priaulx, who has driven in The Race of Champions since 2006, will return as a competitor who narrowly missed out on making the final for the past two years and will join F1 World Championship leader Jenson Button to race for Team Autosport Great Britain. “Having enjoyed competing in The Race of Champions at Wembley and Stade de France, as well as the ROC Legends event in Porto, I’m excited to see the track in Beijing, which I’m told is going to be bigger and better than ever before,” said Priaulx. Three Japanese drivers will join the WTCC in their home event at Okayama; Seiji Ara, Nobuteru Taniguchi and Masaki Kano. While Kano is back with the Liqui Moly Team Engstler after taking part in two rounds of the 2008 WTCC at Okayama and Macau, Ara and Taniguchi are facing their maiden appearances in the championship. Ara, 35 years old from Chiba, will drive Wiechers-Sport's second BMW 320si alongside Stefano D'Aste. A very experienced long-distance racer, Ara is one of the only two Japanese drivers ever to have won the Le Mans 24 hours (in 2004 at the wheel of a Team Goh Audi R8). He is a race winner for Nissan in the competitive Japanese SuperGT series. Taniguchi, 38 years old from Hiroshima, will join Félix Porteiro at Proteam Motorsport for both the last race meetings, Japan and Macau. Like Ara, he is a SuperGT top racer (though in the GT300 class) and also boasts a couple of national titles in the Super Taikyu series The Liqui Moly Team Engstler have confirmed their participation in the 2010 WTCC. "We are always looking at the future and take care of it in all our decisions," team manager Kurt Treml said. "We are pleased that Liqui Moly confirmed their support for 2010. Franz Engstler and I have been working together for nearly ten years and we always worked to build the team up step by step, with the aim to become one of the best touring car teams in Europe." The German outfit will run additional cars for Asian drivers in Okayama and Macau. "Our next goal is to run a second team in the WTCC featuring young Asian drivers. The Asian market is now ready for such a project and I hope that, with our experience and support from BMW and Liqui Moly, we can be successful," Treml unveiled..
Karts - The Karting Show is set to return to the NEC in Birmingham, from 14-17 January 2010, joining the celebrations surrounding the 20th anniversary of Autosport International. more
Other News - The Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF) has announced that Matthew Brabham and Jack Le Brocq have been selected for the CAMS Rising Star Program in 2010. Brabham, the 15 year old grandson of Sir Jack Brabham, began karting in 2001 and has claimed several state championship victories and podiums at national level. In 2009, the Queenslander made the transition into Formula Ford with immediate success, finishing second at the final round of the Victorian Formula Ford Fioesta Series at Phillip Island. Le Brocq, 17, will be alternating his overalls for a racesuit next year, as the Minda Motorsport apprentice mechanic joins Brabham in the Program. Le Brocq, from Victoria, has shown enormous potential in the Victorian Formula Vee Championship. With three round wins at state level and a second place at the Formula Vee national round at Winton in 2009, Le Brocq is eager to progress to the next level. The aim of the CAMS Rising Star Program is to identify and fast-track the development of young Australian drivers from the junior ranks to national and international competition through clearly defined and supported pathways.
08-10-09 Club racing – Fiestas -The Competition Car Insurance Ford Fiesta Championship went to Lydden Hill in Kent for Rounds 11 & 12 last weekend and Nick Sanderson didn’t have an easy time. Problems with his brakes plus bumps and nudges from his fellow competitors all combined to leave him in fourth and fifth in the two races. His regular team-mate John Findlay was on his holidays so Kempster Ford Director, Ian Fletcher turned out in his car with the team running a third entry got guest driver Alan Donnelly. The final rounds of the season are to be filmed for television broadcast. NSR in association with Kempster Ford have completed a deal with Ford Racing K to cover the filming costs in return for exposure of their team and sponsors. DVDs will be available after the event. Race report
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 - Hi-Tec Oils Racing pairing Mark McNally and Tony Ricciardello are ready to tackle Mount Panorama as final preparations are completed for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in Bathurst, New South Wales. The duo is the first all-West Australian driver combination at Bathurst since Grant Johnson and Kerry Wade in 2003. McNally is one of 13 drivers making his Bathurst 1000 debut this weekend, but does have previous experience in the development-level Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series around the 6.213-kilometre circuit. Ricciardello, a six-time Australian Sports Sedan Champion, has four previous starts in the Bathurst 1000, as well as scoring second place in the Bathurst 12-Hour production car race earlier this year. Troy Bayliss will make his V8 Supercar endurance race debut at one of the most demanding touring car events in the world, with the three-time World Superbike Champion set to get behind the wheel of a Paul Morris Motorsports-prepared Commodore for this weekend's Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama. Bayliss had planned to make his debut at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island last month until a mechanical failure on a sighting lap forced him and co-driver Dean Fiore to watch the race from pit lane. Racing at Mount Panorama is the realisation of a dream for Bayliss, who said he remembers watching the race as a child. "I'm really looking forward to racing Bathurst," Bayliss said. "It's going to be a challenging weekend and even the top guys in the series rate the event as one of the biggest of the year. I guess for me it's going to be a huge learning curve having to become familiar with the grueling track and also the car at the same time. Given the circumstances I'm feeling quite prepared for the event. I would have liked a full day in the car at Phillip just to allow me to learn more about the category prior to Bathurst, however it wasn't meant to be. My goal is to get through the weekend and to get some miles in the car so I can take another step further in my goal of making the transition from two to four wheels." Fiore, will also make his debut in a V8 Supercar at Mount Panorama this weekend. Victory in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 this weekend will give IRWIN Racing's Alex Davison a unique position in Australian sport. Never before have two members from the same family won a Bathurst 1000 and an Australian Grand Prix title. John Goss is the only individual driver to take a Bathurst victory (1974 and '85) and Australian Grand Prix title (1976 - Sandown). Along with his brother and fellow V8 Supercar driver, Will, a victory to either driver is sure to add to the legacy of their late grandfather Lex who scored four Australian Grand Prix titles, including 1958 at Mount Panorama. On that day Lex Davison's Ferrari beat home the likes of Stan Jones, Alec Mildren, Len Lukey and Bill Patterson. Known as Australia's first true motor sports hero, Lex Davison won the Australian Grand Prix in 1954 (Southport Qld), '57 (Caversham WA), '58 (Bathurst NSW) and '61 (Mallala SA). Lex Davison died in a practice crash at the 1965 International 100 at Sandown International Raceway in Melbourne. This weekend Alex Davison will be aboard the Stone Brothers Racing prepared IRWIN/SP Tools Racing Ford Falcon with Shane van Gisbergen. The experience of the three-time V8 Supercar Champions and 1998 Bathurst winners is sure to give the 29-year-old his best chance since his debut at Mount Panorama in 2004.
Atlantic - Genoa Racing will miss the season finale of the Cooper Tires Presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. due to budget constraints, but it can still look back on a very successful 2009 season. "Laguna is a particularly expensive event for our team to attend, and unfortunately we just have no budget to do so," said Thomas Knapp, the team manager and chief engineer. "Our highest-placed driver in the championship, Frederic Vervisch, is fourth in the standings and the highest-ranked rookie, and he cannot make or lose any positions by competing in the season finale. We regret not being able to support the series by participating, but this season has taken a particularly heavy toll on our finances. We wish the championship contenders all the best as they head into the finale." Genoa Racing, one of the top teams in the series, fielded up to three cars this year in selected Atlantic events for Vervisch, James Winslow, Jonathan Summerton, Tonis Kasemets, Greg Mansell and Robert Wickens. The team had one victory, six other podium finishes and five additional top-five finishes in 11 of the 12 events.  GP2
-
International Formula Master
title holders Fabio Leimer and Alexander Rossi
showed their speed in the GP2 official test in Jerez this week
by setting third and ninth fastest times overall. Reigning IFM
champion Leimer showed some pace on his first outing with team
Ocean Racing Technology, claiming the fastest newcomer lap time
in yesterday afternoon's session as well as the overall third
fastest lap of today(Thursday) on a 1:26.193. This season's IFM
Rookie title winner Rossi also made an impact, posting the ninth
quickest time in 1:26.740 with DAMS this afternoon. Rossi had
been fastest rookie for most of the wet morning session until a
hydraulic problem hindered his performance. The 17-year-old
American ran in GP2 for the first time with Piquet GP on Tuesday
6th October. Both took part in test with 2007's Jérôme
D'Ambrosio who consistently set times within the top five
despite driving for three different teams. 2008 IFM title winner
Chris van der Drift ran with Piquet GP today, setting 11th
fastest time of 1:26.858,while his former IFM tea-mate Vladimir
Arabadzhiev set a 1:28.059. JD Motorsport driver Josef Kral also
made his GP2 debut this week, testing for Ocean Racing
Technology and Piquet GP on Tuesday and Wednesday, setting the
16th fastest time in both afternoon sessions. "It's been really
nice to go from IFM to GP2," said Leimer on this week's
experience. "There is a big difference in horsepower, you go
from 250-odd hp to over 600, which is a big step! But there is
so much in common otherwise, like the clutch, the steering wheel
and the downforce. It really helps. You could see both myself
and Alexander [Rossi] were pretty fast today and that is because
we're used to driving a car like this. The test itself went
really well; we had areas that needed working on after yesterday
morning's first run and we improved every time. This morning was
good too, it was interesting to run in the wet and we found a
great set-up for the afternoon, which gave us third fastest."
07-10-09
Carrera Cup GB sampler session announced. Drivers considering racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2010 will have the chance to try the cars out during a special 'sampler' session at Silverstone on Wednesday 21 October. The Silverstone National circuit will be available from 2-5pm for Carrera Cup teams to offer test runs for prospective drivers. It will be an exclusive session, with only Carrera Cup cars on track. Any driver interested in taking part in the sampler session should contact carreracupgb@porsche.co.uk in the first instance for more details.
Sports -
Formula Renault - CRS Racing will enter its current Formula Renault cars in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship next year, in addition to running four brand new chassis’ in the 2010 Formula Renault UK Championship. The team has already signed Mitchell Hale for the 2010 BARC series. Mitchell, who turns 16 in December, will join CRS for its first assault on the BARC title, before progressing on to the full Formula Renault UK Championship in 2011. The team has watched him move from international karting into the Ginetta Juniors. “I first tested for CRS in Barcelona when I was 14 years-old and I know they’ve been watching me develop as a driver ever since then,” says Mitchell. “This will be a fantastic opportunity to progress through the Formula Renault ranks with the leading outfit on the grid. There is no better team to be with than CRS. I’m happy to be developing my single-seater craft in BARC. I then plan to step up to the main UK series – hopefully as champion – when I am 17.”
06-10-09
Saloons - Kevin Wendt took control of the latest round of the LMA Euro Saloons and Sports car Championship at Lydden Hill on Saturday. After loosing out to kevin Hayes SEAT Leon at the start he soon got his M3 in front to win his first ever race in the series. read report
GP2 - Ten of the thirteen GP2 Series teams testing in Jerez, Spain, this week will field International Formula Master (IFM) drivers as the first official GP2 Series post-season test session gets underway. 2009 IFM Champion Fabio Leimer is spending two days with Ocean Racing Technology, whilst Rookie Title winner Alexander Rossi is taking to the track with Piquet GP today and DAMS on Thursday. Two of this season's IFM race winners Josef Kral and Vladimir Arabadzhiev are also present, with Kral sharing his testing time between Ocean Racing Technology and Piquet GP. Arabadzhiev is testing with the Piquet GP team too, as well as with DPR. Both previous IFM Champions are taking part; 2007 title winner Jérôme D'Ambrosio is testing with iSport International, ART Grand Prix and the Fat Burner Racing Engineering team over the course of the three-day test, whilst 2008 Champion Chris van der Drift will join the GP2 Series field on Thursday for a run with Piquet GP. 2007 IFM driver Johnny Cecotto is driving for Trident Racing today, with Series regular Filip Salaquarda replacing him at the team on Wednesday and Thursday. Fellow IFM regulars and former GP2 Asia team-mates Marcello Puglisi and Marco Bonanomi will also join the field on Thursday, driving for Durango and Party Poker Racing.com SC respectively. Ginettas - Tom Ingram was back in action at the weekend at Brands Hatch in the 2009 Ginetta Junior Championship and despite missing several rounds over the summer due to a fiscal shortfall, he came away with two points finishes. read report
Manor Competition’s Dean Smith took the 2009 Formula Renault UK Championship crown with a win in the penultimate race, the team’s seventh victory of the season. Tand their first title since Oliver Jarvis in 2005. “I’m absolutely over the moon”, commented Tony Shaw, “The team has worked unbelievably hard this year and Dean thoroughly deserves the championship, he’s an exceptional talent. It’s by no means been easy, especially with Dean only returning to the championship after the first couple of rounds had taken place, but that’s testament to the effort of the whole team. ..read report
Cumbria’s Alex MacDowall finished his season in the Elf Renault Clio Cup by winning the penultimate round and following the Champion home in in the last race. It was his fourth race win of the year and it set the seal on his season and his runner-up spot in the Championship. Read report
A brand-new organisation, designed to take drivers to the pinnacle of motorsport, was launched at Silverstone last week. Accelerate Driver Development, run by motorsport experts Graeme Glew, John Byfield (Chairman of Essentially Group) and Keiran Crawley, is selecting four drivers from the junior ranks. Each will benefit from more than 70 years of combined motorsport experience accumulated by the ADD team. ADD is negotiating with commercial partners to support the scheme, in return for which corporations and brands will benefit from association with the drivers as they rise to the top. Two of the four drivers have already been chosen they are Oliver Oakes, 21,former World Kart Champion has raced in Formula BMW,Formula Renault . He is expected to move into F3 or GP3 in 2010. Robert Foster Jones, 19, is set to take his first steps into car racing after a career in karts. He has signed for Manor Competition, 2009 Formula Renault UK Champion Dean Smith’s team, for this year’s Formula Renault Winter Series. Two more drivers will be announced soon. Graeme Glew, whose experience ranges from race-school operation to F1 commercial activities said: “Accelerate Driver Development is taking drivers who already have proved themselves in the lower formulae, and will take them through everything else that is crucial for a career’s development, from coaching to fitness, psychology to contract negotiation and most important sponsor acquisition. Drivers need good management and we already have two of the best young guys around on board.” John Byfield was formerly involved with the March F1 and Pacific F1 teams as a commercial and legal expert, managed Jenson Button and has recently, as chairman of Essentially Group, built up a global sports marketing and management company. Crawley is a former karting mechanic for Lewis Hamilton, the current UK importer for Zanardi Karts. 05-10-09
The New 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup Champion Nathan Freke ended his superb season in the perfectr way yesterday by wiunning the last race of the season, his fifteenth victory of the year. …read report
Saloons -
Clio Cup - Champion Phil Glew ended his 2009 ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin season as he started with a double podium during the final two rounds at Kent’s Brands Hatch GP circuit on 3rd/4th October . The 26-year-old Team Pyro racer claimed a lights-to-flag victory in round 20, the final round of the action-packed season, together with a second place in round 19 to finish the year on a high and secure the Entrant honours for his team. Total Control Racing’s Alex MacDowall, who has been Glew’s main rival throughout the series, also ended on a positive note with win in round 19 and a second place to finish as the Championship runner-up. The thrilling weekend also saw a maiden podium for Amery Motorsport’s Rob Gaffney, returning to the series after an absence, with third in round 19 while team-mate Dave Newsham picked up the remaining podium spot and finish fifth overall. With the season drawn to a close, attention now turns to the forthcoming Winter Cup series which takes place at Rockingham later in the year (7th November). Read report
Daniel Lloyd’s rookie season in the ELF Renault Clio Cup ended with him just missing out on a top 10 place in the Championship by just 4 points. He had looked odds-on for the coveted tenth place before his opening race at Brands Hatch this weekend was rudely interrupted when he was ‘punted’ into the gravel at Druids. He did put in a strong drive in the second race to claim seventh from 15th on the grid but it was too little too late . ….read report
Porsche Carrera Cup GB - Tim Bridgman won the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB during the final two races of the season at Brands Hatch (3/4 October), taking a maximum weekend score of 44 points to jump ahead of James Sutton and Tim Harvey in the final standings. Bridgman claimed the title for Team Parker Racing with two poles, two wins and two fastest laps to beat 2007 champion Sutton and 2008 champion Harvey to the title. "Going into Brands we were eight points back, and we set ourselves the target of maximum points. We achieved that," said the 24-year old from Stansted. "All season the championship has been the target," said Bridgman. "Stuart Parker and I have been so focused on winning this and so much work has gone in from everyone in the team. To achieve your goal is a fantastic feeling. It's 50% happiness and 50% relief. This has been my dream!" Bridgman paid tribute to the level playing field offered by the Carrera Cup and said that he loves driving the 911GT3 Cup car. " I have to thank Porsche for keeping such equal equipment," he said. "I can honestly say this is by far the most equal of any one-make championship I've raced in. That makes a big difference." Already, Bridgman has the Porsche Supercup as his target for next season. "Supercup is where I want to be. I've made no secret of that aim this season and I want to be racing on the international stage next year," he said. "I believe I deserve a chance and I've got a lot to offer."
Robert Lawson(pictured above on right) capped off an excellent maiden season in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit over the weekend, 3rd/4th October, with two more class podiums to narrowly miss out on the Pro-Am1 title – a battle he led going into the final event of the year. ..read report
Formula Ford -
Dean Smith
finally won the 2009 Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship
crown
Porsche – The last ever Porsche Open race was held yesterday at Silverstone as the series will be replaced next year by the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. Paul McLean and Peter Fairbairn sharing the formers 993 GT2 Evo each won a race…read report Jez Clark claimed the 2009 Porsche Club Championship title with another two class wins in the final rounds at Silverstone – Clark ending the season undefeated in Class Two with a perfect score of 16 wins from 16 races. With dropped scores taken into account, Clark was 40-points clear of Class One champion Ben Demetriou in the overall championship table. Scott Kavanagh won Friday afternoon’s race, his first overall win and also the first for the 993 C2 model in the series, while Kevin Harrison took his first win of 2009 in Saturday’s round. Read full report 04-10-09
I
Carrera Cup GB – Tim Bridgman is the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion after he won both race s today at Brands Hatch (Sunday 4 Oct). After winning round 19 this morning he followed it up with a second win this afternoon to pip James Sutton to the title by just 4 points. Glynn Geddie finished third overall to win pro-am1 title while Glenn McMenamin had already clinched the pro-am2 last month. Karl Leonard won pro-am2 in round 20 with a brilliant drive from the pits. Read report
ELF Renault Clio Cup - Front-runner Alex MacDowall claimed the runner-up spot in the Elf Renault Clio Cup on Saturday with a perfect win in the penultimate race of the year at Brands Hatch. Meanwhile his Total Control Racing team-mate Fulvio Mussi produced two of his strongest performances of the season during rounds 26 and 27 of the Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup claimed a fine second place in the second race of the day at Brands Hatch on Saturday. Read report Ginettas - Nathan Freke fittingly sealed the 2009 Michelin Ginetta G50 Cup title with a true champion’s performance at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday, 3rd October – a brace of largely unchallenged wins handing the Kidderminster racer a deserved championship triumph. Read report Tollbar Racing’s Jake Hill stole the headlines from Ginetta Junior Championship with Henderson Insurance title rivals Jake Cook, Sarah Moore and Aaron Williamson at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday, 3rd October, with a spectacular winning return during round 19. read report 03-10-09
The Porsche Carrera Cup GB is setting a new record at Brands Hatch this weekend (3/4 October) with the biggest grid in the seven-year history of the championship. With interest in the 2010 championship already running at an unprecedented level, a superb field of 27 cars will contest the final two races of the 2009 season on Sunday (4 October). The 20th and final race of the season is scheduled for broadcast live on ITV4 when all three drivers' titles are due to be settled. The 27-car field surpasses the previous record by four cars and comes at the conclusion of a fabulous season for the championship. Grids have been consistently strong all season and a total of 43 drivers have now raced in this year's championship."This has been a fantastic season for the Carrera Cup GB," said championship manager Marion Barnaby. "The teams and drivers have worked really hard to deliver such strong grids and exciting racing and we want to thank them all for supporting the championship. Next season already looks like it is going to set more new records!"
Karts - Russ Danzey has
been putting his on-track skills towards a worthy cause by
organising a charity karting day that helped to raise more than
£3,000 for local life-saving organisation Neurocare – and the
event was such a success that a second one is already in the
pipeline for next year. Ten teams of four amateur drivers pitted
themselves against each other in an hour-long battle of
endurance around the challenging PF International circuit in
Lincolnshire. “I did a couple of demo laps for them to show them
what sort of lines they should be taking,” recounted Russ. “Of
course it’s hard for karting rookies to come in and go up
against some people who had done it before, but I think they all
did quite well. I think the whole day went very well, to be
honest. We raised some good money for Neurocare and had a lot of
positive feedback from the drivers who took part. I think
everyone just really enjoyed it.” Aside from the on-track action
there was also an auction of various sporting. “It was my first
event personally,” revealed Neurocare fundraiser Emma Douglas. Jay Goodwin, who after six weeks of head-scratching and off-the-pace outings caused by a bent chassis, has returned to form with a vengeance just in time for the final meeting of the Formula Kart Stars (FKS) Championship at Whilton Mill this weekend (October 3/4). Read report
Clio Cup - Organisers of the 2009 ELF Renault Clio Winter Cup with Michelin have announced new plans to make the series more cost effective to both teams and drivers. The series will now compete over just two rounds, instead of the previous four, which will both be held at Northamptonshire’s Rockingham Motor Speedway on Saturday, 7th November. The series will still adopt the same format as used in recent years of 1x qualifying session and 2 x races with testing taking place on the Friday beforehand. Cars without the latest bodywork update, introduced during the summer, will also be allowed to compete in a bid to swell grid numbers. ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin Promoter Simon North commented: “After talking to all our existing Clio Cup teams we felt that by limiting the series to just one circuit and two rounds it would prove more cost effective for teams but also potential drivers. “With six of last year’s competitors racing full time in the main 2009 championship, the series remains a fantastic opportunity for prospective new drivers for 2010 to gain some useful race experience and mileage.” Last year’s series saw Irish racer Árón Smith take the overall honours with two wins and two second places to finish 21-points clear of PH Motorsport’s Philip House. Registrations for the series are open now with a closing date of Wednesday, 14th October.
Carrera Cup GB - Tim Harvey set the testing pace ahead of the final two rounds of the 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch today (Friday 2 October 2009). In a record 27-car field, Tony Gilham headed pro-am1, while Karl Leonard topped the pro-am2 times. With all three drivers' titles to be settled on Sunday, the stage is set for two dramatic races and the testing times showed how closely matched the leading contenders are. Harvey's best lap on new tyres in the afternoon session set the mark at 1m29.461s, but he then uncharacteristically ended the session in the gravel trap at Stirlings. Harvey (Red Line Racing) reported that a problem on the downshift pitched him off and the subsequent red flag brought the session to an early halt. "I love the circuit and the car felt good all day," said Harvey. "That's stage one of the weekend done and I think there is more time to come." A tenth of a second behind Harvey was Tim Bridgman (Team Parker Racing) who said that traffic cost him his best lap. "I had good first two sectors on new rubber, then hit traffic," he said. "It was going to be a low 1m29s lap." Just behind Bridgman came James Sutton (Red Line Racing), the third of the key title contenders. "It's taken a while to adjust to the circuit," said Sutton of his first experience of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in a Carrera Cup car. Fourth fastest overall was Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance), who also felt that he could have gone quicker. "I was on my first flying lap on a new tyre run when the red flag came out," said Caine. A superb fifth fastest overall and top of pro-am1 was Tony Gilham, to make it three cars from Red Line Racing in the top five. However, only a very late sponsorship deal allowed him new tyres for the afternoon test session. "We secured a tyre sponsor 20 minutes before I went out," said Gilham. "The car felt really good and there is more time to come." Sixth overall was Tom Bradshaw (Team Parker Racing) after a strong run in the afternoon, while pro-am1 championship leader Robert Lawson (JHR) was seventh from Jake Rosenzweig (Team Parker Racing). Rounding out the top 10 times were pro-am1 drivers Ollie Jackson (Motorbase Performance) and Derek Pierce (JHR). Pierce was tackling the Grand Prix circuit for the first time and ran well as he came back from a major accident at Rockingham two weeks earlier. Karl Leonard (Team Parker Racing) set the pro-am2 pace, but Paul Mace (GT Marques) was well in contention. "It was busy out there, but there is another half-second to come," said Leonard, after his first run on the Grand Prix circuit. Paul Hogarth (IN2Racing) was third in pro-am2, heading a close quartet of pro-am2 cars that also included Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance), George Brewster (Celtic Speed) and Glenn McMenamin (Parr Motorsport).
The Liqui Moly Team Engstler completed a test in Hockenheim with three Asian drivers. Alongside their regular WTCC entries - team principal Franz Engstler and Kristian Poulsen - the German team will field two additional cars in Japan and three in Macau. Masaki Kano from Japan and Henry Ho from Macau will race at Okayama, while Ho will be joined by his fellow countrymen Lic Ka Liu and Jo Rosa Merszei in Macau. Kano, Ho and Lic had the opportunity to test the BMW car in Hockenheim, taking advantage of Engstler's advice. Kano, who had raced for the team in last year's WTCC events at Okayama and Macau, knew the racetrack already and clocked good lap times. Ho and Lic started testing at the wheel of BMW 320i E46 cars, before switching to the new E90 models. The Asian programme means a huge effort for the team that shipped five cars to Japan and will fly a crew of 25 people Formula 3 - Tom Tweedie, the 2009 Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship National Class Champion is to test with Team West Tec at Rockingham later this month…read more
The opinions expressed on this site are not necessarily shared by 11/56 MotorSport or any of theGrid team
|
|
Abarth
500 Trofeo GB
Formula
Renault UK Winter
Formula
3
Other
News
WTCC
- Yvan Muller topped the timesheet in testing at Okayama
Last
Sunday Alessandro Zanardi
Formula
3
GP2
- Alexander Rossi will make his GP2 Asia series debut
Superleague
Formula
Karts
-
FIA
GT3
Graham
Nearn 1933-2009 - 
Formula
Renault
The
GT Cup
Superleague
Formula title contender Craig Dolby warmed up
for the season finale at Jarama with a visit to White Hart
Lane, home to Tottenham Hotspur, on Saturday where he was given
a rapturous welcome by the home supporters. The Spurs’ driver,
who lies 49 points adrift of fellow Premiership side Liverpool
in the Superleague standings, toured the stadium before heading
for the trophy rooms and finally the main VIP lounge for lunch
with sponsors and former players Allan Mullery, Pat Jennings and
Martin Chivers. With 3pm fast approaching, Craig then took his
seat for the first half of Tottenham’s Premier League fixture
against Stoke City. Despite the Spurs domination, the match
remained goalless at half time when Dolby made his way down to
pitch level where he was presented to the 36,000 strong sell-out
crowd and handed the trophy for his second position at Monza.
Back in his seat, Craig’s vocal support continued only for Stoke
to score against the run-of-play with just minutes remaining,
eventually holding on to win 1-0. Craig said, “It was fantastic
to be honest. I was really excited about going and when I was
there it was just awesome. At half time when I went on the pitch
a lot of the players came over, shook my hand and said they’d be
watching the race on TV, including club captain Ledley King and
fellow England International David Bentley. It’s great that they
and the fans knew who I was and acknowledged what I was doing
for Spurs. That’s given me a big boost for the last race. It was
the first Spurs game I’ve been to actually. The crowd were mega
and then we went and lost! Stoke had two shots on target the
whole match and won 1-0. Hopefully they can pick themselves up
and win the Cup game against Everton this evening.” Title rival
Adrian Valles will hope to receive a similar welcome when he
visits Liverpool’s Melwood Training Ground next Monday. 
GP2
Carrera
Cup GB -
Formula
Ford
Formula
3 -
Karts
- 
ETCC
- 
Formula
3
Formula
Renault UK Winter Championship
Karts
Formula
Ford
Freddy
Nordstrom Is Shunted Out Of The Latest SEAT Leon Supercopa Race.
Saloons
– Andrew Gallacher
WTCC
ETCC.jpg)
Russ
Danzey
Australian
Formula Ford
New
Zealander Mitch Evans set the pace on the Gold Coast during
opening practice for Round eight of the Genuine Ford Parts
Australian Formula Ford Championship at Surfers Paradise... but
his 1min 59.50secs hot-lap came at a price. Evans was one of
several drivers caught out by the unfamiliar circuit, with his
Banklink Mygale bottoming out on the kerb at turn one causing
him to lose control and spear into the tyre barrier. Such was
the force of the impact, the steering wheel snapped off in his
hands leaving him with a very sore wrist which is currently on
ice. Hopefully it will heal in time for in the afternoon. Evans’
Sonic teammate, and 2009 Australian Formula Ford Champion Nick
Percat, also came to grief causing significant damage to his No
Fear Mygale, leaving the Sonic crew a frantic afternoon of
repairs prior to qualifying. Tasmanian Ben Walter was the first
victim to be claimed by the dusty circuit, sliding into the wall
at turn ten on the first lap of the first session, leaving his
Minda Motorsport Spectrum looking more like a canoe. The Minda
team worked feverishly between sessions to rebuild the front end
enabling Walter to get some laps under his belt in the second
session. On a more positive note, recent returnee to the
national championship Ash Walsh continued his run of good form,
posting the second fastest time. Walsh, piloting his Muzz Buzz
Spectrum was just two tenths (0.24secs) off Evans’ fastest lap
in the incident shortened session. Synergy Motorsport’s Chaz
Mostert finished third fastest. 
Ginetta
V
de V –
The
six young racing drivers selected as finalists in the second
year of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme
completed a demanding two-day evaluation process at Silverstone
on Wednesday(21 Oct). They now have an anxious wait until the
announcement of the two scholarship winners for 2010, which will
be made on Monday 26 October. Created and run by Porsche Cars
GB, the 'Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme' provides £50,000
to each of two drivers to use as a significant element of their
budget for the 2010 Carrera Cup GB season. The six finalists
went through a rigorous two-day evaluation process at the
Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone, including
driving the 420bhp 911GT3 Cup car on the Silverstone National
circuit. On the first day they took part in media exercises,
fitness tests at Porsche Human Performance, panel interviews and
a challenging fitness competition. In addition, the finalists
were put through a Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS),
which is the gold standard for bench-marking performance
personality. Their scores were compared to those of Olympic gold
medallists
Star
Mazda -.jpg)
Karts - Callum Bowyer
achieved his first victory of 2009 in the last round of the
national Super 1 Series at Fulbeck, dominating the entire
weekend with wins in both heat races and both finals. What's
more only a handful of days before the meeting Callum hadn't
even thought he would be racing at all due to the funding having
run out - but a benefactor kindly stepped in at the eleventh
hour to enable him to compete, and he did so in style for a
superb result...
And
here’s one I raced earlier! - BBC TV's most famous
Children's Programme, Blue Peter, has one of it's presenters
making his truck racing debut at Brands Hatch in the
the
Truck Superprix next weekend (31 October/1 November). Andy
Akinwolere will swap sticky-back plastic for a steering wheel in
order to make his motor racing debut. Akinwolere will compete at
the circuit on Saturday 31 October, piloting a five-tonne
1000bhp race truck – capable of accelerating to 100mph faster
than a Porsche 911 – in the British Truck Racing Association
Championship. In preparation for his racing debut, Andy has
undergone an intensive training programme that included
obtaining his HGV road licence. He also passed his entry-level
racing licence test with the help of some one-to-one tuition
from a team of Brands Hatch instructors. Akinwolere has received
some expert advice too from eight-time British Truck Racing
champion Stuart Oliver, who has been helping his Blue Peter
protégé get to grips with the racing lines around the Brands
Hatch Indy circuit. Stuart Oliver said: “When Andy and I first
met I took him out as a passenger, and I was a bit concerned by
how terrified he seemed during his first taste of a racing
truck! However, once he got into the driver’s seat he picked up
the basics very quickly. Andy is coming on leaps and bounds in
his training, as he has listened to the advice I’ve been giving
him and put it into action.” Stuart added: “Time will tell how
Andy will fare on the big day, as a lot of his success will be
down to whether he can cope with the pressures of racing.
Practicing on the circuit can’t prepare you for the feeling of
sitting on the grid surrounded by other trucks!” The Brands
Hatch Truck Superprix takes place across two days – 31 Oct -1
Nov – and features the final 4 races of the season. Entry is
free for Blue Peter badge holders under the age of 16, and the
event will also include support races such as Pickup Trucks and
Legends.Tickets for the Brands Hatch Truck Superprix on 31
October/1 November cost from £16 for adults, with free entry for
children aged 12 and under. Blue Peter badge holders aged 16 and
under also get in free. For more information call 0870 950 9000
or visit
Fiestas
- Peter Cruickshank and Tim Sleigh
Asian
LMS
Formula
3
British
Formula 3
Karts
– 
British
GT
Grand
Prix Shootout - Chrissy Palmer has become the first
driver to earn a place in the Final 
F3000
Formula
Ford – Scott Fraser took full advantage of
Rory Butcher’s absence from Knockhill on Sunday to record to
well deserved victories at a cold and on occasion damp Knockhill.
Leading both races from pole he was never headed as he swept to
two fine wins ahead of Craig Brunton. In the opening race he was
briefly challenged by Stuart Robertson before the latter had a
momentary trip to the gravel before rejoining in fifth.This
handed second to Brunton who fastened himself onto Fraser’s
gearbox and stayed there for the duration. He had a brief look
up the inside of Scotsman on several occasions but Fraser kept
the door firmly closed, winning after 10 laps by half a second.
Third was Alistair Dow who had been trailed by Jillian Shedden
for most of the race before she went out on lap 9. This left
fourth to Carol Brown who had been forced to start from the back
after he car failed it’s ride height after practice.
Nevertheless she put in a good drive to climb through the field
getting fourth from Martin Pieraccini on lap 8. Fifth went to
the recovering Stuart Robertson who also passed Pieraccini late
on leaving the latter named to end his race in sixth,
pic R Pascal 11/56 Motorsport
GTs
F3000
GT3
Asia
Karts
-
Formula
Ford
LMS
Karts
In
the KF2 class, Chris Lock
Asia
GTs
WTCC
Grand-Am
Formula
3
Yas
Marina Circuit announce the Abu Dhabi Classic 2010
FM
Karts
Formula
Renault 
Karts.jpg)
Russ
Danzey
GT
Formula
Renault
GT
Cup
will
race for the first time at the Autopolis Circuit in Japan at
the weekend (16-18 October) 2009 The track in the South West
island of Kyushu will hold the final two rounds of the GT3 Asia
Challenge for this year. There are 3 drivers in the hunt for the
title. 
Karts
- 
Star
Mazda
Formula
Renault
Omani
Ahmad Al Harthy great performance
Formula
3 -.jpg)
Karts
Star
Mazda
ALMS
ALMS
GP2
- Alexander Rossi took part in GP2 Series first official test
also at Jerez , Spain last week, October 6 – 8th. He dtove
for two teams; PiquetGP on Tuesday and DAMS on Thursday.
Alexander got used to the car very quickly, grabbing the
attention of many throughout the week. On Thursday morning
Alexander held the top spot most the morning 3 hour session in
wet and drying conditions, until mechanicals problems left him
in the garage during closing 30 minutes. It was also a handy
warm-up for his BMW / Sauber F1 Test also at Jerez now just 2
weeks away. 
Formula
Reanult
Grand-Am
-
GP2
McLaren
Autsport Award
Dean
Smith is celebrating.jpg)
The
Tony Kart Junior Racing Team
Rolex
Grand-Am series star Memo Gidley
Formula
Ford Festival
VW
Cup
V
de V
BTCC - The HiQ MSA British
Touring Car Championship has unveiled its 2010 calendar,
with MotorSport Vision set to host four rounds across three
circuits next season. Brands Hatch will host two BTCC meetings,
the first of which will take place on the Grand Prix circuit
over May Bank Holiday weekend (1/2 May). The Kent circuit will
once again be the setting for the season finale on 9/10 October.
The BTCC will also visit Oulton Park in Cheshire on 5/6 June and
there will be a triple header meeting at Snetterton in Norfolk
on 7/8 August. The calendar announcement follows a sensational
2009 season for the BTCC, which came to a head last weekend on
the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. A record 35,000 spectators
flocked to Kent to see Team RAC BMW’s Colin Turkington clinch
his maiden title, whilst Jason Plato became only the second
driver ever to win three races in one day. For a limited
time period, tickets are on sale at 2009 prices for the Brands
Hatch, Oulton Park and Snetterton BTCC events. Adult tickets are
available from £23 and entry is free for children aged 12
and under, with grandstand seating now also on sale,
-and-Christodoul.jpg)
Star
Mazda - 
Ginettas
Mike
Jenvey was the winner in the Sports 2000 Duratec race at
Silverstone over the weekend. His Gunn TS6 came ver the line
with a 4.248 second advantage over second placed Richard
Johnson;s Van Dieman RF05. Third was Rupert Russell in a Van
Dieman,RF95 - pic Dennis Goodwin
Protyre
Formula Renault BARC Championship team Hillspeed
Britcar
Karts
- Jack Barlow has been racing for barely two years
and yet last weekend, he won the Formula Kart Stars
championship in his first full season of competition at national
level. Finishing the final race of the year behind his nearest
rival Harry Crawley, he resisted the temptation to go for the
lead, settling for second place and with it, the title. In
doing so he showed a level of maturity that belies his age and
experience - a star of the future perhaps?
ALMS
-
Formula
Renault
The
Hitech Junior Team
Elf Renault Clio
Cup
Palmer
Audi – 
Other
news - Team GCR have been invited by The Stroke
Association
Ginettas
Isla
Cox came out the overall winner of the Castle Combe Saloon Car
Challenge on Saturday. Simon Norris had 'destroyed'
everyone in the first race, winning by 25 seconds in his
Mitsubishi Lancer evo with Gary Prebble second and Cox, who was
the last of the un-lapped runners, third! She then however
managed to turn the tables in the handicapped second race. Cox
bringing her SEAT home in seventh to record the best overall
time while Norris only came in a distant 16th but he still took
second overall. The second race was won 'on the road' by David
Mears in a Peugeot 205 GTi with the Audi TT of Tony Hutchings
second 
Alex
MacDowall finished his season with Total Control Racing
BTCC
Glynn
Geddie and Glenn McMenamin both clinched titles in 2009 Porsche
Carrera Cup
Spectrum
driver Ben Norton
Formula
Renault UK
on
Sunday at Brands Hatch and he did it in style. Starting Round
19, the first of yesterday’s races, from pole he put in a
perfect display to win ther ace and with it the Championship. He
followed it up with a third place in the final round later on in
the afternoon…
The
Formula Ford Carnival
As
the field completed lap one Vivian got sideways going into Camp
corner and as everyone behind tried their level best to avoid
him they ended up going off or into each other and the tyre
wall. Ed Moore’s car was out on the spot as were Bob Higgins,
Steven Jensen and Keith Davey, various other cars subsequently
left the track at various points(or had aleready done so in the
slippery conditions) so out came the red flag. A lengthy clean
up followed before the race got underway again. Jones was once
more to the fore followed by Vivian, who had somehow escape all
the carnage, then Ben Norton and Thomas Barrow. Within a couple
of laps it was clear Jones wasn’t finding it as easy this time
around and by lap 3 of the restart Vivian was passed followed
soon afterwards by Norton’s Spectrum. The pair then made a break
with Norton getting into the lead on lap 5, a lead he held to
the flag. Vivian stayed in touch in second with Thomas Barrow
coming home third. Fourth was Chris Acton ,Adam Higgins was
fifth and Andrew Jones finally came home in sixth. After
the race David Vivian was excluded thereby moving
everyone up a place.
n
the Universal Racing Services Classic FF2000 Championship race
Tom Pope
GTs
Saloons
Porsche
Carrera Cup GB 
Superleague.jpg)
Renault
Sport UK
Superleague
Max Wissel
While
the WTCC cars are traveling to Asia