The Grid

Graham Carroll won the National Formula Ford Championship over the weekend by taking two victories at Mallory Park. Carroll has already won the Scottish and the North West FFord titles this season. His next outing will be the Formula Ford Festival followed by the Walter Hayes Trophy in November.

The Fiskens-supported Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy came to a thrilling end at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend where the Historic Automobile dealership presented Sir Stirling Moss with their ‘Sprit of the Woodcote Trophy’ read more

The Scuderia Ecosse team will be hoping that the promise of warmer conditions at the southern French circuit of Nogaro this weekend, will boost their chances of scooping maximum points from Round 8 of the FIA GT Championship. The team has pulled out all the stops to ensure that the car is in peak race condition as the season draws towards its conclusion in November. During a busy few weeks back at team HQ car 62 has been significantly modified and heads out to Nogaro with the latest 2008 aero package, a fresh engine and having had the benefit of some valuable technical input and advice from Michelotto. As the team's trucks rolled out of the Scuderia Ecosse HQ, team principal Stewart Roden commented, "We have known for some time now that the engine we had been running was not performing as it should. Therefore since Brno we have spent a considerable amount of time and effort overhauling key parts of the car and we are now heading for Nogaro with a car that I believe is capable of reaching its full potential."

Britain’s Tony Roots took the plaudits in the CAMSO V8 final

at Warneton on Sunday winning in his V8 Racing #77 Pontiac Grand Prix. Roots drove a great race coming throught the field to take the lead which he never lost..read report.

The Performance N Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship held it’sfinale at Oulton Park at the weekend. Michael Blomfield’s Ford Sierra and Robert Pritchard in his Caterham Vauxhall shared the spoils, with Paul Dobson winning his second successive title in his Mazda RX7...read report

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, driving for SG Formula and Spaniard Roberto Mehri of Epsilon Euskadi both had a win and a podium place at the recent Formula Renault WEC event at Estoril in Portugal. Riccirdo has a 16 point lead in the Championship as they head for Spa this weekend for the next pair of races..read report

The HVM Racing Firestone Indy Lights team made its on-track debut at the Putnam Park Road Course in Mount Meridian, Indiana on Monday. Prospective pilot Andrew Prendeville was behind the wheel during the one-day test where he was joined by HVM Racing Indy Lights General Manager Michael Crawford and Owner Keith Wiggins. "Today was a chance for us to debut our Indy Lights program and evaluate our progress," said Wiggins. "It was obvious from Andrew's lap times that it was successful for everyone involved. We're pleased with the quick advancement of this program after making this announcement less than one month ago." Prendeville, lapped over 100 miles, improving lap times throughout the afternoon. "I try to keep my expectations low, but I think we easily exceeded all of our expectations today," commented Prendeville. "The car handled well and it was fast. We even gained more speed throughout the day and that reflected on how well we worked together. It was a good day." HVM announced at Chicagoland earlier this season that beginning in 2009 they will field two entries in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. The team's first event will be a doubleheader April 4 and 5 on the Streets of St. Petersburg.

The Spanish Open Championship title-fight is now between Luke Wright and Jose Cautela’s. although the latter’s win at the weekend’s race at Campillos (28/29 September) gives him the edge..read report

Since mid-season the Star Mazda Championship has acquired a celtic edge to it as Irishman Peter Dempsey has becomes the man to beat, winning 4 of the last 5 races. However as the teasm head for Road Atlanta this coming weekend there are still seven drivers in with 'a shout' at the title. Aside from Dempsey there is John Edwards, Joel Miller, Alex Ardoin, Charles Hall, Tom Gladdis and Billy Goshen. read more

The Volkswagen Racing Cup goes down to the wire next weekend (11/12 October) at Donington Park, with two drivers going head to head for top honours in the UK's best supported saloon car championship…read more

A1GP has changed to its sporting regulations to give all its teams the same chance in the championship as they gear up for the Season Four opening round, A1GP Zandvoort this weekend. As stated on Friday, all teams at the Dutch track will score points for the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. However, a change to the sporting regulations means the teams will now just count their best nine scores. The final standings will be calculated by dropping the worst result, which will be the points from the Sprint and Feature races of one event. For Zandvoort only, the first official practice session has been extended to one hour 50 minutes, beginning on Saturday (4 October). This will be followed by the usual second session at 11.00 – 12.30, before qualifying gets underway at 5.45.

Sarah Reader and her co-driver Ryan Hooker are heading the final-round of the Vdev Endurance Championship in second place in the points. The pair were fourth yesterday(Sunday) at Croft in their TFL Racing-prepared Juno SSE-CN. This means the Title chase will go down to the wire on the 19 October at Silverstone…read report

Steve Chaplin celebrated his maiden victory at Oulton Park in the Classic Clubmans, in a dramatic finale to the 2008 season, which lost both new champion Mark Charteris and Malcolm Jackson in late retirements. read report

It took four atempts to get the Clubmans Cup race completed at Oulton Park over the weekend,. But after three red flags Mike Evasn finally came out on top in the final five lap restart to win the last of the seasons races...read report

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship season draws to a close at Brands Hatch on 10/11/12 October, and with two races still remaining the rivalry has been intensified as every rider wants to end the season in a blaze of glory. Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne may have secured his second BSB title, but he has an army of riders ready to take him on for the final victories of 2008. The Airwaves Ducati rider will want to top off his title with a double win at his local circuit but he will first have to fend off the challenges from his rivals. Leon Haslam may have missed out on the title, but expect the HM Plant Honda to be ready for a dogfight at Brands Hatch. The ‘Pocket Rocket’ intends on rounding his season out in style having been so dominant in the previous rounds, winning five of the last seven races, and will be determined to cross the finish line first. Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes will want to leave BSB on a high as he heads off to the World Superbike Championship; having secured one of the best rides for next season, and with confidence high, he will settle for nothing less than a victory. Cal Crutchlow arrives at Brands Hatch with fond memories following a win at the circuit back in May, but with pride at stake and this the last time all of the riders will go head-to-head it will be a tough task for the HM Plant Honda rider to repeat history.

Over 300 historic racing cars will head to Donington Park this coming weekend(4/5 October) for the Donington Collection Meeting, the final major historic motor racing festival of the season. With a 15-race weekend of 1950s thru 1980’s single seaters, run by the Historic Sports Car Club it should be well worth a visit. Admission just £12 per day with children free..read more

Radical Club Cup title contenders Jonathan Wright and Richard Stables both failed to finish the final race in the series at Rockingham giving Wright the title by 1 poin. Gary Kane took the Biduro class crown while Andrew Harwood claimed the Clubsport category…read report

Chris Holmes returned to racing on British soil with an all conquering display in the Formula 4 race at Snetterton this weekend. The clean sweep victory was a welcome high point after Chris underwent surgery earlier in the week at Leeds Genereal Infirmary to have a titanium plate placed in his jaw after it was severely broken in a recent holiday accident. Having raced earlier in the season in the States it was a return to home soil for a one off debut race in the Formula 4 series. Chris made his mark early in proceedings taking pole position ahead of Jeremy Walker who has dominated the season this year. The pair had a superb tussle in the first section of the race before Chris took a definitive lead which saw him take the race win by over 30 seconds. In taking the victory Chris also posted the fastest lap of 1min 09.34secs, shaving over half a second off the Formula 4 Snetterton lap record. "I am very happy to have been able to race in England again this year" said Chris afterwards. "I did everything I hoped to by getting pole position, the win and fastest lap with the lap record as a bonus! Raising the budget to drive is proving difficult however I am working hard towards a full drive again in 2009, and this is a great platform to build on I would like to thank all my partners especially Hanline Associates, Bridford Financial Solutions and Physiocure for their continued support. And a very special thank you is due to the staff at Leeds General Infirmary after my operation this week. The excitement of being able to take a bite of sandwich today after 10 days of mush was almost as exciting as the race win!"

Hitech Junior driver Richard Singleton were second in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship race at Estoril on Sunday. Singleton’s second place came from a front row starting p[osition and is Hitech’s best result in the series so far. ..read report

Bertrand Baguette had a mixed weekend in the World Sereis by Renault at Estoril. After a reasonable qualifying session he made a good start in the first race only to be punted off whilst challenging for the lead on the opening lap. Race two was much better and he convert4ed a fourth row grid spot into fourth place at the flag moving him up to seventh in the championship..read report

The World Series by Renault organisers have presented changes to be introduced in the three international WSR championships, Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Eurocup Megane Trophy, for 2009. Calendar: focus on F1 Tracks..read more

The last Great & British Dunlop Motorsport Festival of 2008 ended on a high with all the core championships being decided on the final day of competition at the Rockingham Motor Speedway. The first award to be won on the day went to Leyton Clarke, the young Vauxhall Corsa driver winning his class in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup race and with his Thorney Motorsport team-mate Simon Shaw winning the overall race it meant that title contender Martin Wallbank, was denied the privilege of being crowned champion, his third place finish not enough to land the crown. Having led the overall standings for the duration of the campaign Martin Depper(pictured) finally secured the 2008 Mini Challenge title scoring a second place finish in all three races at Rockingham. This was enough to guarantee the crown despite nearest rival Jack Stanford finishing ahead of him every time at Rockingham. In Club class, Craig Dawson won the first two races of the day but he was unable to complete the ha-trick when Josh Waddington roared to victory in the final encounter of the day

The Radical UK Cup campaign came to a dramatic conclusion at Rockingham with title contender Ross Kaiser crashing a high speed into the banking. Thankfully he walked away unhurt yet ended any hope he and Terence Woodward had of being crowned champions. Jamie Patterson, who ends the year as the top Supersport driver, won the race but second place was enough for Derek Johnston and Stuart Moseley to be crowned 2008 champions, a result which would have guaranteed them the crown even if Kaiser had finished the race. Earlier in the day Woodward and Kaiser took the spoils with Patterson's second place ensuring he finished race one as top Supersport driver..read report

At the finale of the Swedish Junior Touring Car Championship the Volkswagen Golf drivers Marcus Fluch and Johan Kristoffersson were victorious. Having started from the pole position, Johan Kristoffersson in Saturdays race had to settle for third place behind Marcus Fluch and Audi driver Simon Reinberth. In the second race Kristoffersson won ahead of Reinberth with a 2.2-second lead. After 18 rounds of the season, the title in the Swedish Junior Touring Car Championship goes to Volkswagen driver Alexander Graff, who clinched places four and three in his Golf at Mantorp Park. Marcus Fluch ranks in third place of the championship, ahead of Johan Kristoffersson.

South African Shane Williams made a brilliant showing as a guest entrant in the Jetta TDI Cup, the American "clean diesel one-make cup of Volkswagen. Williams, who had earned the slot in a foreign race as half-time champion in the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup in Germany, clinched a commanding victory ahead of American David Jurca in the first of two races on the city street circuit in New Jersey (U.S. state of Pennsylvania). In the turbulent second race, Williams only finished in eleventh place while victory went to the American Liam Kenney.

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has announced an exclusive partnership with Elite Traveler, the private jet lifestyle magazine. With distribution aboard private jets, mega-yachts and other high-end venues in over 100 countries, Elite Traveler brings luxury brands to the global high-spending market. With a median household income of $2.28 million and mean household income of $5.3 million, the readers of Elite Traveler personify the Private Jet Lifestyle - one for which luxury is a necessity. Elite Traveler readers average 41 trips per year, including 10 intercontinental trips. A1GP have race reports and analysis, pictures of on-track action and behind the scenes highlights from race weekends, including the pre-race Ignition parties and exclusive insights into A1GP hospitality in Pangea. Doug Gollan, President and Editor-in-Chief of Elite Traveler, said, “A1GP is truly a private jet lifestyle sport and event, and we are excited about this partnership”.

Will Bratt fought with chronic understeer and oversteer in Valencia this afternoon, Sunday, 28th September, to take seventh place in Round 13 of the FIAT Spanish Formula 3 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit . Yesterday(Saturday) he had taken tenth in the first race of the weekend,..read report

Dean Smith picked up a good top ten finish in the Eurocup Formula Renault race at Estoril on Saturday despite damage to one of his car’s barge boards. He followed this up today with his best finish of the campaign, a six place on Sunday read report

Dean Smith to make F3 race debut at Donington Park. Dean Smith has confirmed tha t he will make his F3 debut two weeks from now on 11th/12th Octobe in the 2008 British F3 International Series finale at Donington Park Graduating to F3 with Fortec for his maiden outing in the category, Smith will test the car on Monday 29th September at Rockingham after his return from Estoril. “I can’t wait to test the F3 car tomorrow”, said Dean, “I’m sure we’ll get up to speed pretty quickly but I do need to spend some time learning the track in the morning as, even though I’ve been to Rockingham before, we’ll be using a layout I’ve never run on. I’m really looking forward to the F3 race at Donington in a couple of weeks. My main aim is to obviously do as well as possible but I would love to finish on the podium on my Formula 3 debut. Obviously I’d like to fight for the win if possible.” He added: “I’d like to move up to Formula 3 next year. We did originally want to make the step up this season so we’ll see how things go at Rockingham, see how competitive we are and then hopefully have a good run at Donington as a springboard for 2009.”

The Aston Martin Asia Cup got the racing underway at the 2008 Singtel Formula One Singapore Grand Prix with the first of the support races. Japan’s Kota Sasaki won the race after starting from pole with ex F1 driver Christian Danner second and local driver Ringo Chong third...read report

Hitech Junior secured its first front row start with Richard Singleton second quickest in the Superpole session in Estoril on Saturday. A staggering 54 cars lined up for the two qualifying sessions for the latest rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship, leaving the Silverstone-based team delighted with the performance of its young charges. In his group, the reigning Formula Renault Winterseries Champion comfortably qualified through to the Superpole session and made great use of the track to immediately get on the pace, topping the times with eight minutes remaining. However a red flag situation after Albert Costa crashed into the safety barriers thwarted his chance of taking his first pole spot.At the restart with just a few minutes remaining, championship leader Daniel Ricciardo took up the number one spot from Valtteri Bottas and Jean Eric Vergne but Singleton finished right on their tail in fourth wth a second fastest lap to give him a front row start for Sunday’s race. “This is a great performance for us,” said Richard. “We’ve made a big step forward this weekend with the car set-up but also me with my approach to the weekend. I’ve tried to relax a bit and be more confident and that has made a massive difference. In the session, we opted to get out on track early on and it has paid dividends for us. This is a reward for all the great work Hitech has done all season. If I can get a good start from the front row and get cleanly into turn one I think we have a chance of victory.”

Menasheh Idafar had his latest run in a Formula Renault UK car at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire yesterday, Friday, 26th September, and concluded the outing with yet another strong performance. Running on old tyres and trying a variety of settings throughout the day, the British-born Bahraini ended the run at the wheel of his Hillspeed car with a best time of 1m 20.2 seconds and he was pleased with his progress. Menasheh’s driver coach, BRDC Rising Star Matt Shawyer said: “It’s been another productive day, we tried a few different things and Menasheh said everything felt good and he had no problems. It’s important for him to continue racking up the test miles and we’re all very happy with his performance.”

Idafar's next race will take place a week from now, 4th/5th October, at Silverstone during the final event of the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship. Heading into the last two races of the year, rounds 11 and 12, he is fourth overall in the driver standings and has a realistic chance of ending only his second full season of car racing in the top three. To date he has scored 4 podiums while also achieving four pole positions.

The 2008 Easykart Championship ended at Whilton Mill last Sunday (21 September), with the champions; Oliver George (Heavy), Elliot Rice (Junior) and Terry Langley (Light) all earning entry to the World Finals, held this year at the superb Jesolo circuit, near Venice on 17/19 October. Twelve ‘wild card’ entries were also made available for selected drivers, as Series promoter John Vigor explains, “Due to the success of this year’s series, Birel granted us some extra places for the World Finals and I’m delighted to say that we’re fielding a quality, 15-strong team.” Joining Oli George in the Heavy class will be Will Smith, Firas Bilbeisi, (Easykart Winter Series Champion) Mark Lawrence, Richard Friend and defending World title-holder Barnaby Pittingale. Jack Sales, Brad Fairhurst, Connor Hambleton and Tiernay Oliver will - with Elliot Rice - spearhead the Junior assault. Sam Smithson, Owen Jenman and Adrian Crockett will be eager to turn the tables on Terry Langley and drivers from 18 other different countries in the Light category. Birel UK supremo, Andy Cox said, “To field fifteen drivers at the World Finals illustrates how popular Easykart is becoming. This year’s event is expected to see nearly 300 drivers taking part. Last year Barnaby Pittingale came home with a World title, can he or any of our boys do it again this year? We think so!” For more information about Easykart, visit www.Easykart.co.uk

David Brabham heads for Atlanta and the penultimate race in the American Le Mans Series, the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans next weeekend (4 October). Brabham is currently second in the LMP2 title chase alongside his teammate Scott Sharp, the pair just 4 points adrift of leaders Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. ..read more

Voting for the annual American Le Mans Series Most Popular Driver Award is under way at www.americanlemans.com. The ALMS is once again conducting an online voting campaign to let fans choose the worthy winner of this year's award for which Brabham must be a serious contender. To make your vote count log on to the website.

The 2008 British Formula Ford Championship comes to a close in two weeks time at Donington Park. Two drivers are in the fight for the Title, team-mates Wayne Boyd and Tim Blanchard are separated by just 36 points with 3 races to go. Read more

Harold Primat has been signed by Creation AIM for the Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta next weekend. Primat will partner Creation’s regular drivers, Jamie Campbell-Walter and Stephen Simpson in their AIM-powered cars powered by Bio Ethanol E85. read more

The 19th and 20th rounds of the FIA WTCC will take place next week at Monza, This will be the last European event before the move to the Far East for the final events in Japan and Macau.The Autodromo Nazionale is a traditional venue for the FIA Touring Cars having hosted the European Touring Car Championship in 2003 and 2004, before being the stage for the revived WTCC's first race in 2005. After BMW and Alfa Romeo shared glory and victories at Monza for years, the 2007 edition was dominated by the turbo diesel SEAT León Tdi that won both races with Yvan Muller and Jordi Gené.

Three drivers will carry the maximum 70kg success ballast in the next WTCC race meeting at Monza: Yvan Muller, who won the first race in Imola and is leading the Drivers' Championship, Rickard Rydell, poleman at Imola and second in Race 1, and Robert Huff, third in Race 2. Muller will keep the maximum ballast until the end of the season, having already collected 80 points. Gabriele Tarquini, currently second in the championship, will have 68kgs while Jörg Müller is the heaviest of the BMWs with 62. Following its victory in Imola's second race, James Thompson's Honda Accord will receive 49 kilos. A total of twenty-three drivers will have success ballast in Monza, including the race-by-race entries Tanev, Ladygin, Poulsen, da Costa, Orido and Taniguchi who will get 30Kgs each.

Following their first WTCC victory, N.technology will run a second Accord at Monza and Okayama for Japanese driver Yukinori Taniguchi who spent two days at Adria testing the Accord Euro R. "We completed 62 laps on Wednesday and 92 on Thursday," said Taniguchi. "The test went very well and I am learning the car's limits and behaviour with every lap. The team is extremely professional and is a pleasure to be working with them. Although I don't expect to match someone of James' calibre, who already holds so much touring car racing experience, I hope to be competitive in Monza for the team's home rounds and then in Okayama for my national race meeting."

Duarte Félix da Costa has won a one-off participation in the WTCC at Monza. The 23-year old from Cascais, Portugal, is the fifth SEAT Eurocup driver during the current season who is being given the opportunity to show his talent to the World Touring Car Championship at the wheel of a SUNRED SEAT León TFSI.
Wiechers-Sport team will be back at Monza. The German squad will compete with two cars as they did at Oschersleben. Takayuki Aoki, from Japan, will replace Olivier Tielemans until the end of the season. The team's second BMW will be driven by Kristian Poulsen from Denmark who has competed in the WTCC 3 times with his own team.

Will Bratt made his GP2 test debut at Paul Ricard HTTT in southern France yesterday, Thursday, 25th Sept, lapping within 0.9 secs of the outright pace. It was his first time in a GP2 car and his first ever outing at Paul Ricard. Driving a David Price Racing engineered car the 20-year-old completed around 100 laps with a best time of 1m 14.047 seconds, 13th fastest overall and only 0.9secs shy of pace-setter, Kamui Kobayashi. Commenting on his debut Will said: “It was a very cool experience running in the GP2 car, I really enjoyed it and I think we did a pretty good job. Considering it was my first time on track at Paul Ricard and my debut in a GP2 car, I’m very happy with the times we achieved.GP2 is much more physical than F3, there’s obviously much more power which means harder braking – you have to dominate the car to get the most out of it. I enjoyed working with the guys at DPR, it’s a great team and we certainly made good progress.” DPR Team boss David Price added: “Considering Will has never been in a car like a GP2, he did an excellent job. Diego Nunes, who raced with us at DPR this year in GP2 and was in one of iSport International’s cars during the test, was only half a second quicker than Will so that was a very good benchmark. GP2 testing at Paul Ricard is always very close so for Will to have ended the day in the top half of the field on his debut is very good. He was in amongst his contemporaries and we were very pleased with the job he did. With a second day in the car, we’re sure he’d be in the top 10.” With his GP2 debut now completed, Will returns to the wheel of his EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport F3 car for this weekend’s 12th and 13th rounds of the FIAT Spanish F3 series.

Alexander Rossi needs to increase his lead by 11 points at this weekend’s Formula BMW Americas Championship races at Thunderbolt Raceway, in Millville, New Jersey. If the young Californian gets that lead he will clinch his first professional racing title. Rossi is currently leading Ricardo Favoretto by 32 points so with 42 points available this weekend and another 42 points available at the final two Rounds at the Brazilian Grand Prix in November, a 43 point lead on Sunday night will take the crown and make Rossi the first driver in Formula BMW Americas history to win the title before the final race. Rossi, was 17 yesterday, knows the 2.25-mile, 10-turn Thunderbolt circuit very well. At the official test held on September 2 – 3, Rossi completed more than 200 miles, setting fastest lap in the process (1:17.052 minutes). “More than the championship title I am thinking about my job this weekend and getting back in the car”, Rossi commented. “Each weekend it is my job to win races and collect points, the championship will take care of itself. With rain forecasted it reinforces the importance of consistency and qualifying on pole. The confidence is high with team Eurointernational and my abilities in the wet. Should be good wet or dry and I am very thankful for Michael Vadasz, owner of OTTO’S BMW and the opportunity they have given me this weekend.” .Rossi’s Title sponsor for his No.16 FBO2 will be Otto’s BMW of West Chester, Pennsylvania, www.ottosbmw.com..” Practice, qualifying and Round 13 will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27. Round 14 will start at 9:15 a.m. Sunday. Information can be found at www.formula-bmw.com.

Motors TV (Sky channel 413 and Virgin Media 545) becomes the exclusive UK broadcaster of LIVE MX1, MX2 and the Women’s World Championship in 2009, as well as the season’s highlight: the Motocross of Nations. All 17 Grand Prix will be broadcast on Motors TV treating loyal fans to no less than 79 hours of LIVE Motocross. In addition to this live coverage, the “High Speed Television Channel” will also be showing 26 minutes MX3/EMX2 highlights across the championship’s 16 rounds.The FIM Motocross World Championship will be the jewel in a Motors TV MX crown that already boasts the US AMA Motocross, the Belgian and French series, and from early 2009, the US AMA Supercross

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport’s Official Timing and Watch Partner, TW Steel, has launched an exciting new special edition range of watches to commemorate the partnership between the two companies. With superb quality the TW Steel A1GP links back to the precision and quality associated with the series, with a chronograph movement, accurately measuring time to 1/20th of a second

Alexander Sims named as one of six finalists in the 2008 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award. After finishing the Formula Renault UK Series as runner-up with 2 wins, the Manor Competition racer also had the honour of being accepted onto the MSA British Race Elite programme. “I feel very privileged to have been named a finalist, it’s a prestigious award and to be in the running is great for my career due to the recognition you receive”, said Alexander, “It’s important to keep on impressing the right people and I’d like to think we stand a good chance of winning. I’m really looking forward to it, this caps off the year superbly.” The award evaluations, which will see Alexander have the opportunity to drive superb race cars including a Formula 3 racer, an Aston Martin N24 and a DTM touring car, will take place at Snetterton. Past winners include current Jenson Button and David Coulthard, Anthony Davidson 2007 Indy Racing League Champion and Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti. Should Alexander join the list of racers to have won the award he will get a cheque for £50,000, a test at Paul Ricard at the wheel of a GT1 Aston Martin and a test in a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car. The winner will be announced during the annual Autosport Awards evening on Sunday, 7th December, in London. Before then he will race at Spa next weekend, 4th/5th October, when he will make his Formula Renault West European Cup debut.

Doran Racing's 2008 Rolex Series season concluded this past weekend at Miller Motorsports Park with what team drivers characterized as 'one of those racing things'… a first-lap, first turn multi-car crash that put Memo Gidley into the wall and ended the team's quest for a podium finish.

Formula Renault team Hillspeed field a four-car assault on the 2008 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship as they aim to retain the title it won last November with Richard Singleton. After a year in the Formula Renault BARC Championship with a three-car entry, Hillspeed will retain championship front-runner Menasheh Idafar and his regular

team-mate Michael Lyons(pictured) for the upcoming 4-race winter series beginning on 1st November, at Croft. Joining the duo will be newcomers James Theodore and Immanuel Bryson-Haynes who will both pilot BARC-spec cars in the Winter series. Theodore graduates to Formula Renault directly from karting where he has been competing in the B4/Renault ABkC KF2 National Championship. Previously a title winner in a number of club karting championships, including success in the Mini Max Class of the Motors TV Championship, Theodore, who started karting at the age of eight in cadets, has impressed Hillspeed team boss Richard Ollerenshaw in recent test outings. Bryson-Haynes is a 24-year-old Anglo-Australian who is changing disciplines from saloon car endurance competition to single-seaters. Born in Sydney of English parentage, Bryson-Haynes now lives and works in the City of London and is keen to establish himself as a successful racer in the BARC Class of the Formula Renault UK Winter Championship. Like new team-mate Theodore, Bryson-Haynes has tested with Hillspeed in recent months.

Silverstone hosts Formula Renault BARC finale next weekend. Before thoughts turn to the upcoming Formula Renault UK Winter Championship, Hillspeed has its sights set on a successful conclusion to the 2008 Formula Renault BARC series with the finale taking place at Silverstone over the weekend 4th/5th October. Idafar is currently the team’s best placed driver in fourth position in the headline FR2000 Class standings and will be very keen to make a return to the podium to sign-off the season strongly. Ahmad Al Harthy is just nine points behind Idafar in the championship and off the back of his maiden Formula Renault BARC pole position at Thruxton last time out, coupled with his second podium of 2008, the Omani racer has a great opportunity to do well. For Lyons, a top 15 championship finish looks assured and he’ll be giving his all to try and add another couple of top 10 points scoring finishes to his season’s tally which has so far seen a best result of seventh position. James Theodore will make his competitive debut in a Formula Renault BARC car at Silverstone next weekend with the run forming part of his preparations for the upcoming winter series.

The Red Dragon Race and Track Club will be running various Championships in 2009. They are dedicated to Japanese racing and are the only MSA approved race club purely for Japanese performance cars. There is for example Subaru Cup dedicated to the Impreza and MR2 Racing which if you are on a very tight budget this may be what you’re looking for. Race spec cars cost as little as £2500 or a newly built one for £3500 ready to race..read more

Last weekend SG Formula’s Yann Clairay qualified on the front row of the grid in the F3 Euro Series at Montmelo in Spain with 2nd fastest time, just 0.06 seconds off pole. After leading the first 20 laps he made a small mistake which dropped him to fourth where he finished. In the second race he started and finished in fifth.

Bertrand Baguette tests GP2. Prior to this weekend’s World Series by Renault finale at Estoril , Team Draco driver Bertrand Baguette made a detour to the High Tech Test Track Paul Ricard to test in GP2. " The BCN Competicion team, based in Barcelona and run by no one less than Enrique Scalabron, contacted me", Bertrand explained. "He hoped I would take part in a test run with one of his single-seaters at the Castellet circuit. Basically it was just an initial contact seeing that I only had 90 minutes of driving time prior to heading off for Estoril, but no way was I going to turn down such an opportunity." So this Thursday morning Bertrand did some thirty laps of the Castellet track, and for a first time at this level it went smoothly.. "The basic difference between a GP2 and a FR3.5 lies in the tyres ", the young driver continued.”The range of usage and performance of these Bridgestone tyres is fundamentally different from those of the Michelins, which implies a different style of driving. I progressively managed to reduce my lap times as I adapted to this single-seater, but in fact overall the environment is not that much different from what I’m used to in the World Series by Renault. The team seemed to be satisfied with my performance as I was able to fit a new set of tyres near the end of the session. Seeing I was discovering these new tyres for the first time, I wasn’t able to take full advantage of these. Usually they come into their own during the second lap, at full speed, and I set my best lap time with these tyres in my 5th lap.." Bertrand clocked up 12th best time, behind drivers who, in some cases, enjoyed a longer time in GP2. "I wish to thank the BCN Competicion team and more especially Enrique Scalabroni for this opportunity ", Baguette concluded.

Mexico City to host 2008 Formula BMW World Final. This year the Formula BMW season will end at the "Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez", situated in the heart of Mexico City, on 5-7 December. The winner of can look forward to driving a BMW Sauber F1 Team F1 car. "We are looking forward to the opportunity of taking the Formula BMW World Final to America," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "After previous World Finals in Bahrain and Valencia, the young drivers will be able to prove their skills on this circuit located in the centre of Mexico's capital city. I am convinced that this populous metropolis will provide the perfect setting for the highlight of our Formula BMW season. After events in Asia and Europe, the time has come to stage the World Final on American soil. This year numerous noteworthy talents representing various American regions are contesting the Formula BMW Americas series -- which is one of three successful championships in the Formula BMW programme -- and therefore it is totally fitting that we meet, literally, in the centre."

Formula BMW Europe has a new champion - Esteban Gutierrez claimed the first Formula BMW Europe title in the Saturday race at Monza. His fourth place behind winner Tiago Geronimi of Brazil was enough to take the title. "Winning the Formula BMW Europe title is something very special for me. From race to race I was able to learn new things every time. It's a long way right to the top of Formula One, but when you look at former Formula BMW drivers like Vettel and Rosberg, for example, you see that an advance of that kind is certainly possible," said the Mexican. Gutierrez then had the chance of meeting his role models at the Saturday evening Formula BMW get-together. Beside BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, who personally congratulated the new title-holder, he met BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers Robert Kubica and Christian Klien. In addition, former Formula BMW winners such as Sebastian Vettel, who went on to win the next day's Italian Grand Prix, and Nico Rosberg met with the young drivers. On Sunday the 16th and last round of the season decided the remaining 2008 Formula BMW Europe championship positions. Despite another victory by Geronimi, it was Michael Christensen who won the "Rookie of the Year" title. The team award went to Josef Kaufmann Racing. Marco Wittmann and Adrien Tambay were second and third respectively.

Formula BMW Pacific celebrates a double first in Singapore this weekend. Not only will Formula BMW's be on the new street circuit through the Asian metropolis on 27th and 28th September, but the participants will compete on the support card of the first night race in F1 history. Two Formula BMW Pacific rounds will be contested during the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. Going into rounds 12 and 13 of the series, Ross Jamison (150 points) of Hong Kong leads the drivers' classification, with Sean McDonagh (US), on 128 points, his closest challenger. After the race in Singapore, another set of F1 support events awaits the series on 18-19 October, with the series coming to a close in Macau on 16th November.

Final spurt in Formula BMW Americas. After a summer break, Formula BMW Americas is preparing for the final spurt which takes the series through to season's end. Four races remain during which the champion of BMW's Americas-based young driver series will be decided. With a score of 165 points, Alexander Rossi (right) is in the strongest position of taking overall honours, while Ricardo Favoretto , 32 points in arrears and is the nearest challenger. Gianmarco Raimondo currently holds third place in the standings. His 98 points mean he still has a theoretical chance of lifting the title. The series' next showdown, comprising three heats, will be contested on 27th and 28th September at the Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey, USA. The season finale, forming part of the support package for the final Formula One race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, takes place at Interlagos on 1st and 2nd November.

Ex-GP driver Martin Brundle teamed up with F1 designer Adrian Newey in a lightweight Jaguar E Type supplied by Cars international of Kensington at the Goodwood Revival. Racing in the 2-driver Royal Automobile Club TT celebration race Newey had the car in fourth as he came in to hand over to Brundle. However a broken throttle stop delayed them before Martin rejoined in 9th. He then proceeded to set several fastest laps on his way back through the field to claim third at the flag .

Strakka Racing’s Peter Hardman was a busy man at the weekend. Not only was he racing in the Britcar 24 hours at Silverstone but he also drove a 1963 Ferrari 330 LMB in the Goodwood Revival.

Jessica Hawkins has won the British Cadet Open Championship at Buckmore Park. Starting seventh on the grid snatched victory on the last lap with a late move round the outside of Connor Jupp and Robert Holland in the final corner!

Gregor Fisken was at Goodwood driving in the Richmond and Gordon Trophy in Burkhard Von Schenk’s ex-works Maserati 250F. The race was marred by an accident involving Jochen Mass which brought out the red flag. Mass, who ended up upside down in his 1956 Lancia FerrariD50A was fortunately unhurt.

Sir Stirling Moss will feature in the Woodcote trophy race at the Spa 6 Hours next weekend, driving a 1957/58 OSCA FS372. With races for GTs,, Touring cars, Historic F1’s and Sports Prototypes all racing on one of the best tracks in the world this is an event not to be missed..read more

Audi v Peugeot: The battle for endurance racing dominance continues on Motors TV. Audi have had the better of the season that much is clear, they’ve won the Le Mans 24 Hours plus the Le Mans Series triple of the drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers’ championships. Nevertheless, Peugeot, with its beautiful 908, has undoubtedly had the quicker car as pole position at La Sarthe and four LMS victories prove. The final meeting between the two in 2008 takes place on 4 October, at the 11th round of the ALMS, the Petit Le Mans., a 1000-mile race at Road Atlanta. There Peugeot will face further competition from the works teams of Porsche and Acura (Honda), neither of whom they face in Europe, but both of whom are capable of outright victories in the US, despite their P2-class status. A plethora of British stars will be in action (Allan McNish, Dario Franchitti, Jamie Campbell-Walter, Guy Smith, Rob Bell, Johnny Mowlem, Darren Turner and Oliver Gavin) while international stars from a number of different motorsport disciplines (Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon) are also on duty. The rumour mill also suggests that ex-F1 World Champion Nigel Mansell and his two sons could also be on the starting grid! The Petit Le Mans will be screened Live, exclusive and un-interrupted on Motors TV on Saturday 4th October from 4pm.

Kieren Clark, the Cambridge based dynamic teenage racer, delivered a fine 7th place from his best qualifying position of 9th this season, in the final rounds of the 2009 Formula Renault UK Championship.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs's performace in her new loaned Porsche 911 SC was rewarded with a double podium finish at Silverstone at the weekend moving her up to second in the Porsche Club Championship.

Strakka finished in an unlucky thirteenth at the Britcar Silverstone 24 Hours, and it really was unlucky. Stakka Racing’s BMW M3 GTR driven by . Nick Leventis, Peter Hardman, Allan Simonsen and Christian Vann had led for before a succession of drive-train problems lost them over 25 laps in the pits and effectively the race..

Patrick Barrett and co-driver Mike Forest were 4th in the GT class at the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 finale on Saturday (20 Sept).

The 23rd Le Mans 24 Hours for Karts was a big success. The Corentin-Intermarché team of Nicolas Scelles, Pierre Couasnon, Charles Poncelet and Cedric Boisroux in their 100 cc Birel-Tm recorded their second victory in the race, the first coming three years ago in 2005.

Freddy Nordstrom was eighth in the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship after an eventful final two rounds at Brands Hatch.

Matech GT Racing looking to recruit a team-manager and a technical director for the FIA GT ! Whilst the 2008 racing season is still in full swing, Matech GT Racing is already looking to the future, and this with the development of a GT1 version of the Ford GT, which will be competing next year in the International FIA-GT Championship. In order to ensure optimum management support for this project the Swiss team, with its workshops located within a stone’s throw of the German Nürburgring circuit, is presently looking to recruit a team-manager as also a technical director. It goes without saying that previous experience in the Grand Touring sector, preferably in GT1, but definitely in GT2 is an absolute must. Command of both German and English is imperative; knowledge of French is not an inconsiderable asset. Candidates meeting these profiles should in the first instance contact Valérie Guillon (guillon@matech-concepts.ch) or Thomas Mutsch (mutsch@matech-racing.ch).

TanderSport driver Leanne Tander cam back from the disappointment of loosing the Kumhom Tyres Australian F3 Title to win the John Bowe Trophy and the Country Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix at Symmons Plains in Tasmania on Sunday. To top things off for her team Tandersport, their National Class drivers Ben Crighton and Mathew Radisich both had good weekends with Radisich becoming the first National Class driver to take pole position..read report

Having finished runner-up in three of the previous four seasons, Tim Harvey is celebrating victory in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB after the final race of the season at Brands Hatch on Sunday (21 Sept). Harvey, who has been racing for nearly a quarter of a century, achieved a major personal ambition by winning the title he has been chasing for five seasons. "I've been close to the title before and I haven't enjoyed my racing as much as this for years," said Tim. "The cars are great and the competition in the Carrera Cup is brilliant." He clinched the crown in the 20th and final race of the season by finishing ahead of title rival Michael Caine. "It's a feeling of relief, I suppose. But it wasn't until the last lap of the last race that I began to relax a bit." Over the second half of the season, Harvey chipped away at Caine's advantage and moved ahead during the penultimate weekend of the season at Silverstone. "The second half of the year has been very good for us and we've had the momentum. When I won the BTCC in 1992 I had the momentum in the second half of the year," said Harvey. "I just had a good feeling this year, but with all the things that have gone wrong in the past, I didn't think it would come off. It's the highlight of five years' work and enjoyment in the Carrera Cup and it's all come right this year. The depth of the quality in the championship has been better than ever before." Harvey paid tribute to the team and sponsors that made the result possible. "Full credit goes to Red Line Racing and everyone involved, particularly my sponsors Nationwide Crash Repair Centres and Data Pulse. I'd love to defend the title with number one on the car!"

Since appearing on 'Dragans Den, Robert Hall has attracted interest from individuals and businesses one of which is MyRacingClub.com They are now planning to support Robert in the upcoming Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone on 1-2 November and possibly support him in 2009. myracingclub.com is a motor sport team with a difference, it is run by the club members who all have an equal say in the management of the team. For more information about MyRaingClub.com and what they have to offer visit the website http://www.myracingclub.com/ and click on their news items.

Robert Lawson was on the podium once again in the SEAT Cupra Championship after taking second, one place ahead of his rival for the Title, Jonathan Adam. However that was after the first race of the weekend at Brands Hatch on Sunday. By the end of the second race Adam was on the podium again and Robert wasn’t, he had finished fourth and the Crown was Adam’s,. At least that is, until an appeal held over from the last event at Silverstone, is heard,

Formula Renault UK team Manor Competition came close to winning the Formula Renault UK crown with their driver Alexander Sims. At the final event of the season, held at the Brands hatch Indy circuit, Sims had a slim chance of the title. But despite a second and a third place in the two races he finished Championship runner-up behind winner Adam Christodoulou. Alongside Sims on the race one podium was his team-mate Kris Loane who came second behind winner Adriano Buzaid.

Andrew Herron has finished his and SEAT’s last Cupra Championship, ending up fifth in the overall points standings. Andrew completed his final weekend in the series with two sixth places at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

In-Tune Racing’s Michael Doyle finished his debut season in the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship with another Independents Trophy points finish at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Sunday,(21st Sept) putting him 11th place in the Trophy standings. Not bad for a rookie in a five year old car!..

Sarah Bennett-Baggs's performace in her new loaned Porsche 911 SC was rewarded with a double podium finish at Silverstone at the weekend moving her up to second in the Porsche Club Championship

Patrick Barrett and co-driver Mike Forest were 4th in the GT class at the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 finale on Saturday (20 Sept).

Freddy Nordstrom was eighth in the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship after an eventful final two rounds at Brands Hatch.

Competing in three races in 24 hours isn’t going to be easy but it can be rewarding. For Jonathan Ridley-Holloway that’s exactly what it was. With a fine seventh and ninth place in the Elf Clio Cup plus a Class win in the Silverstone 24 hours Jonathon had a tremedous weekend.

Jonathan Adam, driving for Total Control Racing, has provisionally at least, notched up his second straight SEAT Cupra Championship at the final event on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Martin Byford of AB Glass/Z Speed Racing was the winner of both races but Adam's third place in race1 and second in race 2 was enough to give him the title. His rival for the championship Robert Lawson came close, taking second in race 1 but he could only manage fourth in race 2 handing the title to Adam. The results are course all dependent on the outcome of an appeal from the Silverstone event event three weeks ago.

Alexander Sims put in two good performances in the last two rounds of the Formula Renault YK Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Sunday, 21st September. He came away with a thrid place in race1 and a second in race 2 to confirm his second place in the Championship table. He has picked up more points than anyone else but when the mandatory 'dropped scores' were subtracted the title went to Adam Christoloudou.

Mike Donovan won both races at Silverstone in the Porshce Open as the series combined with the Porsche Club field to create 2 very large grids at the Britcar24-Hour race meeting. The two half-an-hour events had Donovan recovering from poor starts to win from Paul Maclean on each occasion.

The Porsche Club races with the combined Porsche races(see above) were won by Ian White on Friday and Gary Duckman on Saturday. Scott Kavanagh came out on top in Class Two with Jeremy Clark the class 3 double victor.

Sam Hancock finished his year in the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB with a third and a fourth place finishe in the last two races of the season at Brands Hatch over the weekend. In the process he picked up enough points to take third place overall in drivers’ championship.read report

Parkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk finished it's BTCC season at Brands Hatch over the weekend with Martyn Bel;l picking up more Independents Trophy points in Round 28 before both cars retired in the very last race of the year with mechnaical gremlins The event marked an end of a chapter for the Leamington Spa team as driver Erkut Kizilirmak was making his last appearance in the series for now.

Dino Zamparelli has won the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship in the final round yesterday on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Zamparelli took the title with 16 points in hand over Thomas Carnaby. Dominic Pettit won the final round taking him up to fourth in the standings pushing Daniel Lloyd down to fifth.

Will Bratt picked up a 10th place finish in the 10th rounds of the 2008 FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship at Magny-Cours in France, despite a spin during the race. In the second race he damaged his front wing at the Adelaide hairpin on the opening lap which ruined his race and he eventually finished in 18th.

Adam Christodoulou has been crowned the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Champion with a fifth place in the final round of the season at Brands Hatch Indy on Sunday, 21st September. Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman won the race, his third of the year which also gives him Graduate Cup for rookie drivers. Christoloudou’s only rival Alexander Sims finished second. In the first race of the day Adriano Buzaid won from pole with Kris Loane in second place and SIms third.

Manor Motorsport’s with Japanese driver Kazuya Oshima took his first ever F3 Euro Series win in the second of two races at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona on Sunday,(21st Sept). Osima’s victory, from pole position, came after he finished eighth in the first race .

Daniel Lloyd ended his first season of car racing with fifth place in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship after coming in sixth in the final race of the year at Brands Hatch.

The 7th round of the Aston Martin Asia Cup will be supporting the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. The series will be welcoming new drivers alongside the regular competitors who are battling for the Championship title and the prize of a 2009 FIA GT4 seat in an Aston Martin Vantage N24. Sri Lanka’s Dilantha Malagamuwa leads the AMAC Championship by just 5 points from Japan’s Kota Sasaki. Local driver Mel Choo will be keen to repeat his Round 5 win in front of his home crowd. Fellow Singaporean drivers George Ong, David Lai, Ringo Chong and Nasrat Muzayyin will also be enjoying the opportunity to race on home soil. Indeed Nasrat’s Singapore based ConcordEnergy Racing team will be fielding a further two cars alongside his with Australian’s Simon Waters and Ryan Marsden taking the wheel ensuring plenty of interest for the Singaporean spectators. Joining the series is Britain’s Danny Watts, Japan’s Naoki Furuya and Philip Ma and Frank Yu both of Hong Kong.

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is due to hit the ground running with a full line of up of both new and renewed TV deals ensuring continued worldwide coverage for the series. Commenting on the new deals, A1GP's Director of Broadcast, Richard Dorfman said: “A1GP continues to attract new broadcasters around the globe along with our original family of carriers which have been with us since our inception. This is testament to the growing popularity and acceptance of the series by many of the worlds most highly viewed channels.” A1GP has taken a major leap forward in Italy with the commitment of RAI. The national broadcaster will broadcast all the races in Season Four in their entirety either live or slightly delayed. Complementing the new deal in Italy, A1GP is pleased to announce the signing of NT1 France, along with their channels such as Men and Motors, which will air the series in full. Sky Sports and Five UK have both extended their agreements to broadcast the series. Sky Sports has extended its contract for a further three seasons and will continue to broadcast live coverage of Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s races while Five will continue its highlights package in its regular late night sports slot within a week of the race. Pan-Asian broadcaster, ESPN Star Sports (ESS) which reaches more than 30 countries and territories in the region has also signed a renewal. Other new carriers include TEN Sports India and TV1 Indonesia who join a continuing group of broadcasters including Fox Sports Australia, RTL Holland, Sport TV Portugal and SABC, to name but a few.

Paul Rivett complated his Elf Renault Clio Cup season in style with two wins from two starts. After winning on Saturday he followed it up with a lights-to-flag win on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit yesterday(Sunday). Double Six Racing’s Rob Boston made the podium in second for teh first time in his Clio career while third went to Y4HR Miracle Drywash Stancombe Vehicle Engineering’s Niki Lanik.

In the second WTCC race at Imola Gabriele Tarquini's SEAT León Tdi stalled on the grid at the start and although both James Thompson and Yvan Muller avoided the Italian Félix Porteiro couldn’t. As he pulled away he was momentarily unsighted by Muller, when he pulled inside he found Tarquini#’s SEAT and he piled straight into it’s rear. Needels tto say the satefety car was deployed with the order Jörg Müller, Nicola Larini, James Thompson and Rob Huff in-line behind the safety car. At the restart Thompson overtook Larini and soon afterwards Muller to pull clear for Honda’s first WTCC win. Müller stayed second with Huff third. In the first race Yvan Muller took the win for SEAT ahead of Rickard Rydell and Huff .

Gabriele Tarquini was taken to the Imola hospital after the heavy crash he was involved in at the start of today's second race. After the first checks and X-rays were carried out at the circuit medical centre, he went to the hospital for more examinations including a Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT Scan) to his neck that was negative. H has been advised to spend the night in the hospital as a precautionary measure, but has already received the green light to race in Monza by the FIA Medical Delegate, Dr. Alain Chantegret.

With SEAT saying goodbye and Giovanardi failing to score points in the first two races of the HiQ BTCC (for the first time this year!),Jason Plato could have had a fairy tale end to the year and won both and maybe the title. However.... Plato had a bad day as well. After picking up 6 points for 5th in Race 1, he failed in races 2 and 3 to add any more. To make matters worse for the SEAT driver Mat Jackson, in a BMW 320si won Race 1 and 2 and finished 4th in Race 3 pushing Plato down to 3rd in the Championship. Mat Chilton won the third race.

Tim Harvey took the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship title today at Brands Hatch(Sunday 21 September 2008) with a second place in this afternoon's race behind Tim Bridgman. Nigel Rice meanwhile clinched the Pro-am 1 title from Tony Gilham. After the race Harvey said, "I haven't enjoyed my racing as much in years; the cars are great and the competition is brilliant," Harvey had already put one hand on the Championship when he won yesterday's race after pole-sitter Tim Bridgman suffered a broken driveshaft just before the start. However Harvey's rival Michael Caine did pick up second which was enough for his team, Team Parker Racing to take the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB teams' championship crown .

Phil Quaife picked up two fifth places in the final round of the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB to finish fifth in the Championship after a frustrating weekend at his home circuit Brands Hatch.

Daniel Lloyd made his fifth podium visit of the 2008 Ginetta Junior season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent on Saturday, 20th September, with a second place finish during the penultimate race of the year.

James Winslow has won the CAMS Australian Drivers Championship and the Gold Star after winning the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship in Tasmania today(Sunday). His rival for the F3 Title Leanne Tander was denied a chance of challenging for the Championship by an engine problem in race 1. She responded in style in the afteroon however by winning the 30-lap Country Club Tasmania F3 SuperPrix .

Paul Rivett took another win in the Elf Clio Cup at Brands Hatch yesterday(Sat).Second was Niki Lanik, his thrid visit to the podium this year while third was Clio Cup newcomer Dave Newsham, the Scottish legend driver producing a great drive ..

Dominic Pettit has finally taken his first, and very well deserved, race win in the Ginetta Juniors at the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit yesterday afternoon.(Saturday). Petit led from pole and although he lost the lead momentarily to Danile Lloyd after a safety car period, he always looked the quickest man on the track and at the end was a comfortable winner.

SEAT Cupra Championship front-runner Andrew Herron is aiming for big improvements at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit today, Sunday, 21st September, after a disappointing run in qualifying this afternoon ahead of the final two rounds of the 2008 season. On the back of an outstanding weekend at Silverstone last time out where he achieved a richly deserved double podium finish, the 20-year-old Northern Irishman was expecting to qualify strongly at Brands Hatch today but ended up frustrated after emerging eighth fastest in round 19 qualifying and sixth quickest in the round 20 session. Lapping the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit with a time of 50.563 seconds (85.34mph) during the first of the day’s two 20-minute sessions, Andrew was less than two 10ths of a second shy of the second row on the grid.

Northern Ireland’s Kris Loane came within just 0.079 seconds of claiming his first pole position start of the 2008 Formula Renault UK Championship at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Lapping with a best time of 43.887 seconds (98.32mph) during this morning’s session, the 20-year-old from Kesh in Co. Fermanagh was less than a 10th of a second shy of pole position. Unfortunately for Loane during round 20 qualifying his quickest time of 44.296 seconds (97.41mph) couldn’t quite take him onto the first couple of rows on the grid and he will instead line up for the final race of the year in eighth position. Manor team-mate Alexander Sims, who still has a chance of usurping long-time Formula Renault UK Championship leader Adam Christodoulou in the title race this weekend, was fifth fastest in round 19 qualifying – his time a lap of 43.981 seconds (98.11mph), just a 10th of a second shy of Loane’s best. In the second session Sims posted the fifth quickest lap again with a time of 44.206 seconds (97.61mph) and will begin both Formula Renault UK races behind championship rival Christodoulou who starts third on the grid for round 19 and fourth on the grid for round 20.

Fortec Motorsport’s Adriano Buzaid claimed his sixth pole position of the season in qualifying for round 19 of the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship at Brands Hatch Indy circuit today(20th September). Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman took pole for the third time this season and will line up on pole for round 20, with both races taking place tomorrow(Sunday). The first session saw what has become a customary quiet first 10 minutes followed by exciting action as the battle for pole began in the second half of the session. Buzaid set a best time of 43.808s (98.49smph) to take pole by just 0.079s ahead of Manor Competition’s Kris Loane (Kesh), who equalled his best grid slot of the season. CR Scuderia Formula Renault’s championship leader Adam Christodoulou also came within a tenth of a second of pole with his lap of 43.902s (98.28mph) as the single-seater drivers once again showed the evenness of the competition. Christodoulou is separated from his only championship rival Alexander Sims by Eurotek Motorsport’s Jordan Oakes, who took fourth ahead of the Manor driver. In the afternoon, Stoneman defied the recent convention and went out with team-mate Rossi at the start of the 20-minute stint. The move paid dividends as his best lap of 44.071s (97.91mph) remained unbeaten throughout. Riki Christodoulou came as close as possible to matching Stoneman’s time, finishing just 0.001s adrift. Buzaid is third with Adam Christodoulou once again ahead of Sims in fourth and fifth respectively.

Darren Turner qualified his SEAT Leon TDI in 3rd place for the first of tomorrow’s three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch, while 36kgs of success ballast cost Jason Plato two-tenths of a second. enough to see him qualify down in 10th, one place ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi (Vauxhall Vectra). Turner was one of only a few drivers to improve their lap times as the 30 minute session progressed, as qualifying was fairly static once the initial times had been set. Trying to get a clear flying lap with 20 cars on the 1.9 mile Indy Circuit is always difficult, yet Darren managed to record a 49.533 at his first attempt. Having bettered it with a 49.517, his final 49.401 put him into 2nd place behind Mat Jackson, before Stephen Jelley (in a similar BMW 320si) snatched pole, demoting Darren to 3rd.

Tim Bridgman was the star of qualifying at Brands Hatch today (Saturday 20 September 2008) when he took pole position for both of the final two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Title leader Tim Harvey will start second on the grid for both races, while his championship rival Michael Caine will start from fourth and third on the pair of grids as the season-long title contest heads towards a conclusion. In the pro-am1 category Nigel Rice took the advantage with eighth and seventh fastest overall times while Michael Leonard headed pro-am2 for both races after a stirring performance.

Rickard Rydell claimed pole position in his SEAT León Tdi during a highly competitive qualifying session at Imola. He emerged ahead of team mate Yvan Muller in the final minutes, beating five other drivers who provisionally held pole during the session. Rydell's time of 1:54.761 was two tenths faster than Gabriele Tarquini's time from this morning's final practice session. Chevrolet were also strong, taking third position with Alain Menu, and fourth with Robert Huff. They had been improving all weekend following a slow start and both drivers headed the standings at times during the session. James Thompson's N-technology Honda took fifth position, following an extremely promising morning during practice. Halfway through the session the Briton clocked a lap of 1:54.954 to claim a provisional pole position that stood until the final moments. Tarquini made up the rest of the third row alongside Thompson as he struggled to find the pace he had in test and practice. The Italian began the qualifying session going wide at Villeneuve, but was later able to recover an important sixth spot on the grid. The final Chevrolet of Nicola Larini took seventh position, with the first BMW driver, Jörg Müller, in eighth. The BMW cars have struggled for pace on this circuit as Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx made up the top ten positions behind Müller.

TanderSport’s Mathew Radisich surprised everyone at Symmons Plains by taking pole position for the first race of the weekend in the final round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship. James Winslow, currently vying for the title with Leanne Tander was fastest for race 2 in a wet second qualifying session…read more

FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship front-runner Will Bratt made a very promising start to the sixth event of the season at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours setting the fourth fastest time overall in official testing. Ending the day just half a second shy of pace-setter Jaime Alguersuari, Will is feeling very positive ahead of this(Saturday) afternoon’s qualifying session and with a few changes to his car he’s confident he’ll have the pace to challenge for a place on the front two rows of the grid tomorrow. “I’m quite pleased after today’s test, it’s not been a bad day at all”, he commented, “We bedded things in, getting adjusted to the track early on and then when I attacked more in the last session we found more time. The other guys at the front have run before at Magny-Cours so it’s been a very positive start for us to be so competitive. I’m not content but certainly quite happy. Although there is more work to do before qualifying, if we can find another few 10ths of a second we should be in good shape tomorrow.”

Raphael Matos from Brazil has won his fourth single seater Championship in six years with the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights championship while driving for AFS/Andretti Green. Matos tookthree viictoriies and five poles on his way to the title along with the 'Rookie of the Year' …read more

SEAT’s Gabriele Tarquini set the fastest lap in the WTCC test session on Imola's newly refurbished track this afternoon. Following this morning's rain the track was still wet in places but it didn't hinder the Italian who set a time nearly 3seconds faster than the previous lap record. The record fell easily smashed as Variante Bassa has been replaced by a right-hander, making it much faster. Tarquini's time of 1:55.564 was one tenth faster BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus. Chevrolet's Alain Menu was third, with BMW Team Germany ‘s Jörg Müller fourth. In fifth was Yvan Muller in a second SEAT, ahead of Alessandro Zanardi and Andy Priaulx. Rickard Rydell rounded of the top eight who were covered by only six tenths of a second. Stefano D'Aste was first of the Independents' Trophy runners with a time of 1:56.871. Robert Huff meanwhile could only manage 17th nearly two seconds off the pace. Jordi Gené also had problems, his engine began to smoke very early on, forcing him to abandon the car on the side of the track. The possible reason is a turbocharger failure. Newcomer Russian Bears driver Kirill Ladygin had electronics problems which resulted in his LADA going back to the pits. His team-mate Jaap van Lagen did not leave the garage at all due to an oil leak.

Kart star and Formula Vee frontrunner Jason Mills is to step up to the British Formula Ford Championship next month at Donington Park in preparation for a full 2009 assault on the Ford-backed series. Mills, 18, will race a Myerscough College-prepared Van Diemen and plans to be a Scholarship Class title contender with Myerscough next season. After 7 seasons in karts Jason made the move to single-seaters at the start of 2008 and currently holds fifth place in the 750 Motor Club's Formula Vee Championship. British Formula Ford's 11/12 October finale at Donington clashes with the FVee decider at Mallory Park, but Mills has opted to forego his Vee swansong in favour of a future with Formula Ford: " I can't wait to get out there and start learning about how to get the best from the car” said Jason. “ Myerscough is a great team and I'm sure that their guidance will be a big help to me." Mills, a motorsport engineering college graduate, is backed by SW1 Lighting and Electrical. The countdown to Donington's triple-race showdown is gathering momentum for championship title protagonists Wayne Boyd and Tim Blanchard; the Jamun Racing team-mates are separated by just 36 points. There is an identical gap between Chrissy Palmer and Garry Findlay at the top of the Scholarship Class championship table.

Saloon-race class champion Peter Felix is the latest driver to sign up to the burgeoning Volkswagen Racing Cup. Felix, 34, from Derby has 20 years of experience, will pilot a Golf GTI at next month's Donington Park rounds with a view to joining the Hankook-backed championship full time in 2009. Valtra tractors-backed Felix has contested the ELF Renault Clio Cup with success this season despite a limited budget. He's hoping that the more cost-effective Volkswagen Racing Cup will provide him with the opportunity to shine. 'We achieved some top-10 results in Clios this season despite having less than half the budget of the front-runners,' he said. 'My plan for Donington is to test the waters and hopefully to get a good result, and then see about tackling a full season.' Felix's Mk V Golf is a hire car prepared by RacingLine, one of seven the team will field at Donington. 'It's going to be a busy weekend for us,' said RacingLine Director Melissa Wright. 'Peter will be driving one of a range of "arrive and drive" cars we have built and developed for the championship and will, I am sure, have a great time.' RacingLine's other contenders are VW’s Jetta TSI Sport 'promotional car', which will be in the hands of Top Gear magazine's Bill Thomas; Peter Wyhinny's Caddy TDI; a Polo for Paul Wyhinny ; the Europcar Golf of Michael McInerney; and Golfs for Steve Walker and Addison Lee's Kieran Griffin. Donington's 11/12 October races will decide the outcome of the Volkswagen Racing Cup crown: Joe Fulbrook and Jamie Perry are the men going head to head for the title.

Renault Clio team AMERY Motorsport have a new driver for Brands Hatch, with Legends racer Dave Newsham racing car #21. Newsham, the 2004 Scottish Legends Rookie champion, currently lies second in the UK Legends series. Max Hunter lies second in the Mini 7 series as he tries to defend his title and will make his Clio Cup debut for champion team JHR Developments

2008 Clio Champion Ben Winrow will take part in Renault Sport’s prize test for all its Clio Cup champions on Tuesday, 4th November. Renault Sport invites all Clio Cup champions from across Europe to the test its 3.5-litre 330hp racer at the Paul Ricard HTTT in France. The prize is in addition to the £10,000 winner’s cheque.

Dean Stoneman, newly crowned Graduate Cup champion, is the first Formula Renault UK driver to confirm his entry to the 2008 Winter Series for Alpine Motorsport. The team is expected to run up to four cars, including its existing FR BARC drivers Last year’s winning entrant Hillspeed has entered three cars. Its Formula Renault BARC runner Michael Lyons is joined by James Theodore and Immanuel Bryson-Haynes. The four rounds take place at Croft on 1st November and Rockingham on 8th November.

Renault Sport has confirmed that the Formula Renault UK champions’ prize test in a World Series by Renault car will take place on Wednesday, 5th November. Champions from around Europe are invited to test the 500hp Formula Renault 3.5 car at the Paul Ricard HTTT in southern France and meet potential teams for the 2009 season.

ADAM Christodoulou and Alexander Sims go head to head for the Formula Renault UK title at Brands Hatch this weekend, with Adam hot favourite to clinch the crown. The leader since round two of the series, when he won at Brands, the CR Scuderia driver has seven race wins. Manor Competition’s Sims has shown remarkable consistency to finish every race in the top nine, including two wins. Coming to the final rounds with a 34-point lead, Christodoulou said: “The pressure is on but I’ve been in this situation before in karting. We were strong here at the start of the year and I just need to repeat that, keep it clean and make sure nothing daft happens. It will mean a lot to me to win it, and even more for my career.” Christo can guarantee the title with two top-six finishes, or by finishing ahead of Sims in either of Sunday’s races. Sims, who is only 10 points behind before dropped scores are taken into account, said: “It’s a big ask but we have to approach it in the same way as all the other weekends. I feel I got the maximum from the car at each event. I’m under no illusions that it’s a struggle to win from here but anything can happen in racing as we saw at Silverstone

Nathan Caratti, James Winslow and Leanne Tander all qualified for the Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Finale within 0.2 seconds of each other as the trio dominated proceedings prior to this weekend’s Championship decider ..read more

Team Aluminos owner Rob Soares took the TaG Masters title last weekend a the Superkarts USA ProKart Challenge North series final round. Held at the Jim Russell International Karting Center at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. GP Kart importer AJ Noud of Rocky Mountain Kart Works of Loveland, Colorado picked up a podium place in S3 for the team as well.

At the SunRichGourmet.com 1000 held at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah LevelFive Motorsports have signed Christophe Bouchut, for the seven hour endurance season finale and for next seasons Gand-Am Championship. Frenchman Bouchut is of course a former FIA GT Champion and winner of the Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hours…read more

BEFORE the 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup season has officially ended, enquiries are being fielded regarding the 2009 season, the 35th anniversary of Renault’s one-make saloon-car debut in UK motorsport. Next year is the 10th season since Clio Cup racing returned to the BTCC support bill following four years when the Renault Sport Spider was used in its place - a period that saw Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato triumph in the series. While many current drivers have indicated a desire to return, Renault Sport UK has had calls from drivers in several other one-make series at national and club level as well as from other areas of the sport such as rallying. Recently Ginetta Jnr racer Daniel Lloyd has announced a switch to the Clio Cup, as the series continues to attract interest from around the country. Clio Championship Manager Simon North said: “35 years of unbroken involvement in British motorsport is something Renault can be rightly proud of and is testament to the hundreds of drivers who helped make the series what it is.”

Round six of the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship was run at Phillip Island last weekend and local chassis Spectrum dominated, taking all top six places with Synergy Motorsport’s Paul Laskazeski coming out on top.

Martin Brundle has been tempted back to the cockpit this weekend for the Goodwood Revival (19-21 September. Brundle will partner Adrian Newey in a light weight E Type Jaguar from the sixties The prestigious retro motor racing event will feature numerous legendary cars, bikes, planes with a ‘time warp’ background at the glorious Goodwood track in West Sussex .read more

After running a 2-car team all year, Doran Racing will have just one car with three drivers in this weekend's 2008 Rolex series finalei, the SunRichGourmet1000.com at Miller Motorsports Park. Regular drivers ntrols of Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger will be joined by Burt Frisselle in the team’s #77 Kodak Doran/Dallara Ford..read more,

Firestone Indy Lights team Panther Racing have signed up Volkswagen Euro F3 Series driver Martin Plowman for next years Indy Lights Championship…read more.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB have announced a young driver scholarship, worth £100,000 for 2009. The 'Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme' is aimed at finding the next drivers to follow the path of Richard Westbrook and become professional sports car drivers. Created and run by Porsche Cars GB, it will provide £50,000 each to two drivers to help towards their budget for next season’s Carrera Cup GB ..read more

The curtain is up once again at Imola's renovated Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari. This weekend's FIA World Touring Car Championship meeting will mark the reopening of the track after a two-year closure due to extensive renovation works. The old garages, race control and media centre were demolished and replaced by a brand new set of buildings. The racetrack itself was subjected to a number of changes. The Variante Bassa has been erased and replaced by a fast right-handed corner, while the run-off areas in some other bends - like the Piratella - have been enlarged. The FIA Touring Car Championship has visited Imola twice before. In 2004, Gabriele Tarquini won both the European Touring Car Championship races in his Alfa Romeo 156. The year after, on the WTCC first appearance on this track, Alfa Romeo's Fabrizio Giovanardi and BMW's Dirk Müller shared victories.

For this weekend's WTCC races at Imola, Alain Menu will drive the Chevrolet Lacetti "art car". Menu's black-and-gold one-off race car sports the winning design of the pan-European "Young, Creative, Chevrolet" competition which Chevrolet ran in cooperation with design schools in different countries. Winner Adi Sumi from Slovenia was present at RML's UK workshops last week to watch the regular two-tone blue Chevrolet being turned into a moving work of art and will be present in Imola to see his work in action. "Considering how competitive we were at Oschersleben with more ballast, I can only be optimistic for Imola. My aim therefore is to have two good races and hopefully finish on the podium. That would be great, particularly as my car will be the art car. I'm always in for something a bit out of the ordinary and the Chevrolet design competition was a great initiative to help create interest in the WTCC from quarters not necessarily familiar with racing," said Menu.

Dane Cameron , the 2007 Star Mazda Champion is totally focused on the final two races of the Atlantic Season and determined to end the season on a high note. This weekend he will be at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah for the penultimate round of the year..read more

A four-driver Japanese patrol will join the FIA WTCC for the season's final. The extra race meeting at Okayama on October 26th has aroused huge interest in the Country of the Rising Sun. N.technology-Honda and Chevrolet were the first to announce their plans to line up additional cars for Japanese drivers. Yukinori Taniguchi will join N.technology for the events in Monza and Okayama, while Manabu Orido will drive the fourth Chevrolet Lacetti in the same two events plus the championship's finale in Macau.Recently two other drivers have announced participation in their home race at Okayama: Takayuki Aoki and Masaki Kano. Following a deal between Japan-based Endless Racing and Wiechers-Sport, Aoki will take the wheel of the German team's BMW 320si, while Kano will drive for Liqui Moly Team Engstler with which he clinched the 2007 Asian Touring Car Championship crown.

Tomorrow afternoon(Friday) the FIA WTCC competitors will have their first impression of the changes to the Imola racetrack during a 30-minute test session. The session, which was authorized by the FIA will take place from 15.00 to 15.30.

Gregor Fisken will be back at the Goodwood Revival meeting this weekend with some rare racing cars from the past, including a Burkhard Von Schenk’s Maserati 250F, the same type that Juan Manual Fangio used in his 1954 and ‘57 title triumphs. ..read more

Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion, is to join Patrón Highcroft Racing duo of Scott Sharp and David Brabham for the next round of the American Le Mans Series, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, on October 4. The Scot will drive the No. 9 Patrón Highcroft Acura ARX-01b prototype sports car for the first time in the 1,000-mile event ...read more

The final major historic motor racing extravaganza of 2008 will be the Donington Collection Meeting at Donington Park over the weekend of 4/5 October. It will celebrate the Donington Collection, the world's largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars . Racing will feature numerous classic racing cars, sports cars and single-seaters from the 1950-80 with the HSCC organising the a fantastic Group C sports cars race from the 1980s..read more

Following a debut season running alongside the Masters Cloth Cap category, the JEC/Vredestein XK Challenge will continue to run under the wing of the Masters Racing Series in 2009. The arrangement has proven to be highly popular this year, with grids of over 30 cars for the Cloth Cap/XK Challenge races. The XK drivers have embraced the longer race format with the option of sharing cars and a number of drivers now swap cars mid-race so that they each drive two cars. "Competitors have been delighted by the warm welcome from other Masters Series' competitors," said Terry Dye, Competitions Secretary of the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club. "The races have been competitive and fun with a terrific camaraderie. The Jaguar XK sits comfortably within the ethos of Masters and we feel very much at home. I would like to compliment the Masters team on the efficient and friendly running of their race meetings." "We're very happy to see the XK Challenge racing with Cloth Cap for a second season," said Claire Tippet, the Masters Top Hat co-ordinator. "Some XK owners already race other cars in Top Hat and Masters, so it has made a lot of sense to welcome the XKs into Masters events." The 2009 Top Hat racing calendar is currently being worked on and will be released as usual around the end of the year.

Sarah Bennett-Baggs will be back in the Porsche Club Championship this weekend - following a huge accident at Castle Combe 3 weeks ago where fellow competitor Ian Duncan tapped Ian Oliver into a Spin right in Sarah's path writing off her pink Porsche 911. Sarah said " The hit was so hard I snapped off the accelerator pedal under my foot and the car has been reduced to more of a beetle sized Porsche, I am still receiving treatment for neck and back pain but I am not going to let it beat me" Sarah feared her season might be over, but after much ringing around and pledges to borrow a car Sarah has been loaned an identical car Porsche 911 3.0SC and will be back out to fight for her points to finish the championship. She currently lies in 2nd position. Not only will she back out to race following a very hard hitting accident, the new 911 SC will be graphically wrapped in pink fur! As an eye-catching PR stunt for her sponsors Adrian Flux, it will also show her competitors she's back with style and means business!

After a long break since the last round in the Australian Formula Ford Championship, the CAMS Rising Star squad and Borland Racing was eager to get back into Formula Ford racing last weekend at Phillip Island. The flowing Island circuit is a nominated test track for the team.read more

The Porsche Club Championship and Porsche Open fields will get together at Silverstone for the 24-Hour race meeting to provide two potentially great races with a huge grids this weekend, (Sept 19-20t) The Club runners are battling for championship points while the Open cars will be looking for outright wins on the Grand Prix circuit…read more

Eleven drivers took advantage of the official pre-event Australian F3 test day at Symonds Plains yesterday to carry out testing and set-up work for this weekend’s final round of the Kumho Tyres Australian F3 Championship ..read more

The final race in the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch will be shown live on ITV4 this Sunday (21st September). Depending on Saturday’s result, the season-long battle for the title could therefore be resolved on live TV on Sunday as Tim Harvey and Michael Caine go head-to-head for the title. The race will be broadcast on ITV4 as part of the BTCC programme and providing the race day timetable runs to plan, round 20 of the Carrera Cup GB will go out live at 1.35pm. The specially extended BTCC programme on ITV4 runs from 11.30am to 5.30pm and will give unrivalled coverage of the day's action. Porsche coverage ion the following week is as follows :

Wednesday 24 September at 1.30pm on ITV4
Friday 26 September at 1.10am on ITV1
Saturday 27 September on ITV4 (exact time to be confirmed)
Motorsport UK can also be watched at itv.com and is available for viewing for 28 days after the initial broadcast date.

Sportscar racer Liz Halliday has donated one of her racing suits to be sold off at a charity auction with all proceeds going to Mencap – The leading UK charity for people with a learning disability and their families. The suit was previously worn by Liz during the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours where she raced for Del Bello Racing in the LMP2 category and led the class before gearbox problems forced retirement in the early hours of the morning. The auction has been organised by Surrey’s Daryl Farmer, who will raise further funds next year by tackling the arduous ‘Marathon des Sables’, a seven-day, 150 mile on-foot trip across the Sahara Desert. “This is a really great cause and I am excited that I could help by adding to the charity auction” said Halliday, “I hope that everyone who can will come and be a part of this important fundraising night.” The auction night will take place on 11 October, although bids can also be made through the campaign website by emailing daryl@dazinthedesert.co.uk. For more details or to make a donation to Mencap, please visit www.dazinthedesert.co.uk. More details about Mencap as a charity can be found on www.mencap.org.uk

Ken Thirwall and Chris Knox shared the spoils at Knockhill in the STV.TV SMRC Mini Cooper Cup on Sunday. Thirwall won the open from Vic Covey Jnr while Knox held off a determined Michael Rowan in race 2. In the DDMC Sports Saloons race and Tommy Deelan(pictured) in a Porsche 997 won from Richard Wareing's Lotus Europa .read reports

The RML AD Group MG Lola EX265C finished a strong fourth in Sunday's final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series. It was an impressive and very satisfying debut for the car, which was only completed a few days before the weekend's first practice session and has yet to undergo any development testing. Read report

The 2008 Pro Tour South African National Formula Vee Championship had a new winner over the weekend when Courtney Steenveld won the second heat at Phakisa Freeway. …read report,

Lola ended the 2008 Le Mans Series in style claiming a second place in the Autosport Silverstone 1000kms with the Charouz Racing System Lola-Aston Martin driven Jan Charouz and Stefan Mucke. The manufacturer also had a podium in LMP2 with the Quifel-ASM Lola B05/40-AER taking third…. read full report

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs had his maiden victory in the weekend's opening Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Cup race at Mugello. He then followed this uyp with a fourth in the second race, which was interrupted by two safety-car periods, to move into third place in the championship. Adrian drove a faultless race leading into the first corner. However it wasn’t all that straight forward. On lap 4 the experienced Michele Faccin slipstreamed his way past pushing Adrian down to second. However within a lap Faccin ran wide over the kerbs and into the gravel which dropped him to third and handed Adrian the win.

Bob Lyons was inadvertently blamed for causing the accident that brought out the red flag in the second Scottish Sports Saloons at Knockhill on Sunday by this website. This was a mistake on our part for which we apologise. Having seen the photographic evidence on www.power-images.co.uk we can see that Ian Donaldson’s Lambo Gallardo hit the tyres and not Bob. Sorry for that.

Current Aussie V8 championship leader Garth Tander took the chequered flag to win the Lawrence and Hanson Phillip Island 500 in dramatic circumstances on Sunday after Vodafone's Jamie Whicup locked a brake allowing Tander to pass down the inside and streak away for a much needed endurance race win for the Holden Racing Team before heading to Bathurst. Team mate and co-driver Mark Skaife was full of praise after he thought all was lost when he slipped back through the field during his period behind the wheel, which could have proved costly for Tander's shot at back to back titles. The win saw Holden return to the endurance podium after three years in exile, with Ford dominating both the Sandown 500 and the race of the season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, although Team Vodafone are looking for a "three-peat" come October.

BTCC driver Erkut Kizilirmak will realise his long-held dream of racing Yvan Muller’s 2004 title challenging Vauxhall Astra Coupe at Brands Hatch this weekend, 20th/21st September, during the finale of the 50th anniversary season. The Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk racer first wanted to compete in the BTCC after watching video footage of Muller, at the wheel of the Astra battling door-to-door with Jason Plato at Brands Hatch in 2004. Bringing the Astra Coupe, which he acquired in 2005, back to the UK from his home in Turkey, Kizilirmak has taken the decision to race the car in place of his usual car mark the closing of the “first chapter” in his motor racing career. He explained: “I have taken the decision to take a year away from the BTCC at the end of the current season due to my business commitments and the demands on my time back in Turkey. Therefore, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to race the Coupe at Brands Hatch, something I have wanted to do since I bought the car in 2005.It’s something a bit different to close the first chapter in my motor racing career and it will also give the BTCC fans a rare chance to see the car, which Yvan raced brilliantly in 2004, back on track at Brands Hatch. The race between Yvan and Jason is very famous and it’s responsible for getting me hooked on the BTCC!” Although stepping away from the BTCC next year, Kizilirmak will continue to race in 2009 in the Turkish Touring Car Championship with assistance from Arkas Racing’s technical director Brian Ashwood. He will then rejoin the BTCC with a new car in 2010. Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk’s Martyn Bell, meanwhile, will pilot his regular Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch during this weekend’s 2008 season finale at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, his maiden year of front-wheel drive competition in the realms of the BTCC.

The Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship goes down to the wire this weekend at Symmons Plains when either Leanne Tander or James Winslow will win the title. Winslow has just a single point leads as the pair head for Tasmania and the last race of the season..read more

Jonathan Adam should be the favourite to retain his SEAT Cupra Championship title after an amazing second half to the season. The Scots driver has put in some sensational drives to get himself back into contention after Robert Lawson had built up a substabtiual points advantage in the first half of the year. The provisional points including the mandatory two dropped scores, has Adam 17 points in front which means Lawson has an enourmous task ahead of him this weekend…read more

Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours hosts the sixth race meeting of the 2008 FIAT Spanish Formula 3 Championship this coming weekend, 20th/21st September, and British racer Will Bratt is aiming to impress. Will driving for Spanish team EmiliodeVillota.com Motorsport, has shown good pace at the first 5 events of the season and sees no reason why he can’t challenge for his second F 3 podium at the famous venue. Currently 10th overall in the Championship, Will achieved his first pole position at Spa at the end of May before going on to record his debut podium finish in the first of the weekend’s races. “Racing at Magny-Cours should be fantastic and although I’ve never been there before I’m confident we should be able to learn the track pretty quickly”, commented Will, “It hasn’t been a problem getting up to speed at the other circuits we’ve visited this year, Spa was the best example where we qualified on pole position on our first visit there.”

After a hectic three days of the LMS event Silverstone the track now has the annual Britcar 24 hours race coming up. Now an established late-season fixture on the British racing calendar, the fourth edition of the BRSCC organised meeting takes place over the 19th-21st September, on the Grand Prix circuit. A 24-race is not all about competition on the track, and the full weekend’s programme, as well as featuring the Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship, Formula Palmer Audi, Lotus Elise Trophy, and Porsche GB amongst the support races, will host a number of off-track activities, including a fly-past by the unique Vulcan bomber, an air acrobatic display, and the essential funfair. With a dedicated on-site camping facility, there is now no excuse to miss any of the action, which starts on Friday with qualifying and support races, and culminates in the start of the big race at 4.30 pm on Saturday afternoon. Britcar is offering a special offer of 2 weekend tickets for the price of 1. Call the Silverstone ticket line on 08704 588260 and quote SILV08. Normal advance price is £30 per weekend ticket and £40 on the gate. For all the latest news about the race go to BRITCAR 24hrs

It is with deep regret that we report that Alec Spooner died last week. Alec held the post of Chief Marshal for the BRSCC South Eastern Centre for several years at Brands Hatch, Lydden Hill and Croix-en-Ternois. Alec passed away on Thursday 11th September from heart failure. Alec will be greatly missed by his former colleagues in the BRSCC. The Grid would like to offer our sincerest condolences to his family.

For the eighth time this year Mark Charteris proved unstoppable, as the Classic Clubmans made their annual visit to Cadwell Park. ..read report

Derek Johnston and Stuart Moseley did it again, this time in the Radical European Masters on the full GP circuit at Silverstone, winning on both Saturday and Sunday. They didn't just beat their regular 'foes' but the best from Europe as well

Strakka Racing were at Silverstone in the Autosport 1000kms and the team’s Aston Martin DBR9 crossed the line in fourth place in the GT1 class. Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner was driving alongside the regular pairing of Nick Leventis and Peter Hardman

Daniel Lloyd has signed a deal with Team Pyro to contest next year’s ELF Renault Clio Cup which runs alongside the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. Approximately two months ago Daniel did declare his intention to graduate to the Ginetta G50 series next year but an established sponsor wanted in a Clio Cup car in 2009. Team Pyro, Mark Hunt’s Leicestershire-based squad is planning to field a four car entry in the 2009 championship and Daniel’s graduation to the series with Pyro marks a major step forward for the 16-year-old. Speaking on the deal, Daniel commented: “I’m sad to be leaving the Ginetta family but at the same time absolutely delighted to be racing in Clio Cup next year. It’s a fantastic championship and with Team Pyro I’m 100 per cent happy we’ll have the best chance of doing well in our first season. I’m really looking forward to my first run in a Clio.” Team Pyro boss Mark Hunt added: “We’ve been looking at Daniel all year to be honest and when the opportunity to run him next year came about, we jumped at the chance. We have a two year plan in mind for Daniel with the aim of winning the Clio title with him in the second year. We’re confident he’ll do a great job and the addition of a talented young driver like Daniel to the Team Pyro line-up can only be good for us. His pedigree from karting is fantastic and the potential he’s shown in Ginetta Junior this season has been terrific. We’re certainly aiming high and very much looking forward to working with him.”

The Volkswagen team and Carlos Sainz claimed second place on Sunday in Portugal in the round 2 of the Dakar Series. The Spaniard's TDI-powered Race Touareg was beaten to the Portimão finish line by just 16 seconds by the Mitsubishi of Stéphane Peterhansel.The result could have been very different: the Spaniard had led the event for three days and looked poised for victory until a final-stage roll-over. 'Shortly before the end of the stage I received a signal showing me at a 45-second advantage,' said Carlos. 'I reduced my pace and apparently lost my concentration a little in the process. The wheels got caught somewhere and we landed on the roof. Thanks to the help of the spectators we were able to finish the rally, and second is still a good result.'The Volkswagen of South Africa's Giniel de Villiers finished fourth, less than three minutes off the winner's pace, to underline the strong showing by the team on what was its final competitive dress rehearsal for the 2009 Dakar Rally. The third Race Touareg, driven by Germany's Dieter Depping, was forced out on Friday's third leg when it clipped a tree.The Dakar Rally proper - the first to be held in South America - is scheduled to get underway from Buenos Aires on 3 January. Provisional final standings
1, Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), Mitsubishi, 10h 54m 14s
2, Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA), Volkswagen, +16s
3, Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA), Mitsubishi, +1m 21s
4, Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER), Volkswagen, +2m 42s
5, Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Tina Thorner (SWE), BMW, +5m 41s

Australian F3 Championship contender Leanne Tander is ready for next weekend’s Title challenge at Symmons Plains Raceway, in Tasmania..read more

Sasha Pearl made an appearance in the Scottish Classic and Sports Car races at Knockhill yesterday drving a Lotus Elan and came away with a win and a second. In the Scottish Formula Ford races Rory Butcher did the double winning both from Graham Carroll although the latter’s two second places were enough for him to claim the Championship.

Peter Cruickshank and Ian Munro

shared the spoils in the Scottish XR2 races, Cruickshank(pictured - all Knockhill pics Richard Pascal 11/56 NMotorsport) winning the first while Munro scooped the second after it was halted by a red flag. In the Sports and Saloons Andrew Gallacher won to races comfortably, although he gave himself a scare in the second race when he very nearly chucked his Focus off the road during a restart in a race meeting that was blighted by red-flags..

Peter Dempsey has won again in Star Mazda, notching up his fourth win of the eyar and earning himself a nickname in the process. It seems he is now known as the ‘the Irish Steamroller'!. . This time his victory came in the second race of the weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Dempsey winning comfortable in the #21 Andersen Racing / LotusWorks /Quayside.ie / Allied Building Products Mazda.

Carol Brown won the Scottish Legends Championship yesterday by taking third in the second race of the day, giving her enough points to take the title. Brown who has dominated this year was always on course for the title from mid-season.

The GT4 European Cup was in the Czech Republic at Brno this weekend and Eric De Doncker was there with his Ford Mustang FR500C Insulco Motorsport 98. Right from the start of the event the Belgian driver was at the sharp end and that’s where he stayed coming away with two wins .

Harold Primat and his co-driver Christophe Tinseau took their Pescarolo Sport to sixth place in the Autosport 1000kms at Silverstone yesterday(Sunday). The pairm had been hoping to be the top petrol car but sadly it wasn;t to be..

Menasheh Idafar returned to the cockpit of a Formula Renault UK car at Oulton Park on Friday, (12th Sept), and continued to make good progress. Taking the opportunity to run in Hillspeed’s 2008-spec Formula Renault UK car for the third time in as many weeks, the British-born Bahraini lapped strongly and ended the test with an unofficially timed best lap of 1m 36.3 seconds. Menasheh’s driver coach, Matt Shawyer said: “Oulton Park went very well, Menasheh did a good job and we were very pleased with his performance. The track was greasy early on after some rain and when it dried in the afternoon the circuit conditions still weren’t the best so it wasn’t a bad run at all.” Menasheh’s next race will be at Silverstone on 4-5 October for the finale of the Formula Renault BARC Championship.

The LMA Euro Saloons returned to the Anglesey last weekend (6-7 Sept) and were met with a complete copntract in the weather conditions over the two days. Saturday was a wash out while Sunday was dry. Wins for Nick Williamson and Steven Taylor (leading left - pic Paul Wiliams) share the wins with Class victories going to Rhys Lloyd (x2), Derek Kelly-Cooper, David Hinde, Jim Mepham and Simon Jackson. All this leaves Rhys Lloyd leading the Championship as it heads for Mallory at the end of the month..

This coming weekend, Kieren Clark, the 19-year-old driver from Cambridge, will be in the final race weekend of the Formula Renault UK season at Brands Hatch. “I’m determined to put in a good finish to the season, and I’ve got my sights set on improving on my qualifying for this weekend. Its been a long season since we started at Brands in March, and I’m looking to put the areas I’ve been working on into practice. Lots of people are coming along to see me, that’s always a buzz to have some support and chat to people around the car.”

Thomas Mutsch and Ian Khan driving the Matech Racing Ford GT won the second of the FIA GT3 Championship races at Brno over the weekend. Despite being hit by an Aston Martin at the start .

Graham Carroll won the Scottish Formula Ford Championship at Knockhill today (Sunday)finishing second behind Rory Butcher in both races whilst setting a new lap record of 54.60 secs. It's the Scottish teenager's second title this year as he has already claimed the North West Championship Overall and class 'B' . He still has the chance of making it a hat-trick on titles with the National Championship at Mallory Park in two weeks time.

On Saturday at Castle Combe Trevor Fowell and Mark Fulford both won their respective groups in the Daily Telegraph Caterham Academy's final rounds to become Caterham's latest Champions. Both won their last races, with Fowell beating Matt Draper to the line by less than a third of a second and Fulford taking victory by just under two seconds from Keith Ashworth...r Pictured -Group 2 Champion Mark Fulford (left) with Anthony Freeling (centre) and Keith Ashworth. Pic BC Photographic

Patrick Barrett hopes for another top class performance in the final round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 next weekend, September 18-20, when the series arrives at at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele , Utah . read more

Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship leader, Paul Laskazeski secured an overall Round win today (Sunday) in the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. Laskazeski took one win a second and a third in the three races. CAMS Rising Star team mates, Daniel Erickson(pictured)

came in second overall and third went to and Jake Chapman. read report

John Edwards took his third win of the year in the first race of Round 9 in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at New Jersey Motorsports Park. His victory ended a 3 race winning run of of Irishman Peter Dempsey who had to settle for third behind Edwards and Joel Miller ..

Jason Bargwanna won his sixth race in a row in the Australian Mini Challenge at Philip Island on Sunday. However he did have to fend off a determined Nathan Geier in the last of three races to do so

At Silverstone in the Autosport 1000kms Xavier Pompidou was running in fifth overall in the Speedy Sabah Lola Judd LMP2 when he was forced off the track by a GT1 class Lamborghini on the start/finish straight with thereslt that he hit the wall and instant retirement, ending a possible podium for the team..

Bradley Ellis has stayed in third in the FIA GT3 European Championship even though he only managed a seventh place finish in the second race at Brno this weekend. The first race on Saturday ended on lap one when his his co-driver Alex Mortimer was 'punted' off. Sunday's race was nearly as bad when Ellis had to take to the gravel to avoid an incident at the start which dropped him to 12th before he recovered to finish seventh.

Charles Pic has already won Monaco and he shone again in Le Mans, which had 170,000 spectators turned up to see the Tech 1 Racing driver win Race 1 and finish 6^th in Race 2.

Jason Bargwanna continued his dominance of the Australian Mini Challenge with another win today at Phillip Island It took Bargwanna, driving the Trivett Classic Mini Garage/Matchmaster TV Reception Systems car four laps to get to the front after his ousin Scott had set the early pace.

Daniel Erickson claimed his first win and a new ap record in the 2008 Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. Second was Nick Percat and third Nick Laskazeski .

New Jersey Motorsports Park, scene of the rounds 9 & 10 in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear got practice underway yesterday with the newest member of the Andersen Racing team, Valle Mäkelä setting the third-fastest time on his series debut. Quickest was Joel Miller, the 2007 Skip Barber Pro Series champion, with a 1:16.192 (106.310 mph). Second was Peter Dempsey, the Irishman laying down a marker once again after winning the last 3 races .

Daniel Lloyd has one thing in his sights next weekend, 20th/21st September, when the Ginetta Junior Championship reaches its conclusion, to enjoy a sparkling end to his maiden season of car racing. Rounds 23 and 24 of the campaign will take place at Brands Hatch and Daniel is hoping to be in a position to challenge for a double podium finish. So far this year he has three race victories to his credit and is in fourth position in the championship with a 26 point cushion over closest rival Jake Farndon. However at the conclusion of the final race all competitors will have to ‘drop’ their four worst scores before calculating the end of season totals. Brands Hatch could therefore have a major impact on the final positions. “We’ve been running a strong pace for a while now but the results haven’t always been as consistent as we’d have liked, hopefully it’ll all come together at Brands Hatch and we’ll have some good success”, commented Daniel. “Brands is one of the first tracks I ever tested at and was the first circuit I raced at earlier this year. It’ll be really interesting to go back and see how much we’ve improved since the first two rounds. I reckon it’ll be very close next weekend and the podium places could be anyone’s, it’s that sort of track.” Provisional 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship Positions (after Rd22):
1st Dino Zamparelli, 578pts; 2nd Thomas Carnaby, 562pts; 3rd Josh Hill, 446pts; 4th Daniel Lloyd, 376pts

Fresh from winning the Formula Renault BARC title Ollie Hancock will step up to the main UK championship for the season finale at Brands Hatch. The 20-year-old secured his first major title in only his second season of modern racing with a podium in the BARC race at Thruxton, but will now skip the last round to make his debut in the BTCC-supporting Formula Renault UK championship. “The aim at the beginning of the season was to win the title,” said BRDC Rising Star Hancock. “We’ve achieved that so now I’m already thinking about next year. Formula Renault UK is a step up, but I’m confident that we can be competitive and it’s a good chance to see exactly where we are in relation to the guys who have been racing in the championship all season.” Hancock is keeping his options open for 2009 and while Formula Renault UK remains a possibility, he hasn’t ruled out a campaign in British F3 or in a European series. “It all depends on our budget and whether I can attract some new partners to help me. But I’m very keen to start moving up the motorsport ladder.” Ollie’s toe-in-the-water Formula Renault UK campaign on the weekend of the 20/21 September will be with Apotex Scorpio Motorsport who helped him to his BARC title.

After six years at the front of the BTCC grid SEAT UK have call time on their Touring Car team. In 2009 they will not takle part in the BTCC nor will there be a SEAT Cupra Championship ..read more

Volkswagen Racing Cup frontrunner James Walker is to swap diesel for petrol propulsion in next month's Donington Park final rounds of the Hankook-backed championship. The 22-year-old led the championship in May after a convincing race win at Rockingham in his Golf TDI - the first for a turbodiesel since 2006 - but has since struggled for results. Now his SildeSports-prepared machine is having a 2-litre turbocharged petrol motor installed to turn it into a Golf GTI. 'It's a real disappointment to be abandoning the diesel because the short gearshifts and superb torque made the Golf a joy to drive,' said Walker. 'The problem is one of reliability and of a lack of top-end power. We really suffered at Silverstone against the petrol cars and have decided that it's easier to join them than to beat them.' SildeSports chief Mark Jenkins added: 'The potential to make the turbodiesel competitive is certainly there but adopting a petrol unit is going to be a more cost-effective route for James.' Walker, younger son of truck racing legend Richard, will give his Chek Whyte Industries-backed GTI its debut at the 11/12 October Donington rounds in preparation for a full assault on the championship in 2009. SlideSports will also be fielding the Golf GTIs of Mike Kurton and promising youngster James Griffiths. All three are looking to finish the season in the championship top 10.The Donington races will decide the outcome of the Volkswagen Racing Cup crown: Bora-borne Joe Fulbrook and Golf driver Jamie Perry will be going head to head for top honours.

Jason Bargwanna has won the latest round of the Australian Mini Challenge at Phillip Island today(Friday). The Matchmaster/Trivett Classic MINI Garage driver dominated with fastest time in practive, qualifying and the wini, his fourth of the year. Second was was Nathan Geier (Split Image Project Management/BMW Apprentice Program.

Volkswagen's Carlos Sainz went into the lead of Portugal's round of the Dakar rally series yesterday (Thursday) alongside Mitsubishi's Luc Alphand. Just 41 seconds covers the top five at the event's mid point. Sainz and his TDI-powered Race Touareg endured a tough day on the leg from Castelo Branco to Benavente, losing time with a puncture. 'This is a truly thrilling rally,' said Sainz. 'Luc Alphand shares the lead with us and Stephane Peterhansel is two seconds behind - that doesn't give us any kind of a break. Any small mistake will be crucial.' His team-mate Dieter Depping enjoyed a strong run yesterday, fighting back from time lost on Wednesday with a puncture to move into fourth, 30 seconds off the lead. 'We are now within striking distance,' said the German, 'and anything is possible.' The third Volkswagen, driven by South African Giniel de Villiers, was another to suffer a puncture yesterday but made up lost time later in the stage to end the day sixth overall and well in contention. 'All three Race Touaregs ran flawlessly again,' said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. 'So far we are more than satisfied with this "Dakar dress rehearsal".' The rally ends in Portimão on Sunday after 829 km of competitive stage running.

Provisional standings after leg 2
1, Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA), Volkswagen, 6h 28m 25s
1, Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA), Mitsubishi, +0s
3, Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), Mitsubishi, +2s
4, Dieter Depping / Timo Gottschalk (GER), Volkswagen, +30s
5, Joan Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP), Mitsubishi, +41s
6, Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER), Volkswagen, +1m 19s

The last race, the final race in the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 is at Miller Motorsports Park next weekend and Aim Autosport hope to have a starring role. The Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley has an extra driver this time out with Cristiano da Matta joining regulars Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle in Utah. Read more

Jonathan Ridley-Holloway will have a very busy weekend next week(20 -21 Sept) when he takes part in the finale of the Elf Clio Cup at Brands Hatch and the Britcar 24 hours. Jonathan will be part of a four driver line-up for the TJH Motorsport team in the annual Silverstone 24 Hour Race at the wheel of a Honda Civic Type R….read more

A1gp testing has continued at Donington Park this week with the cars running over 400 laps of the 2.5-mile circuit between them. The fastest lap went A1 Team Malaysia’s Fairuz Fauzy who was folled by Team Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen read more

Daniel Erickson has taken pole position at Phillip Island for this weekend’s first race in the Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship . Second is Championship contender Nick Percat with his closest rival for the title Paul Laskazeski third. Read more

Formula Renault UK team Manor Competition are off to Brands Hatch next weekend for the season’s finale with driver Alexander Sims looking to ‘pinch’ the championship from under the nose of long-time series leader and odd-on favourite Adam Christodoulou. Read more

BMW Team Italy-Spain's Félix Porteiro, the winner of the second race in Oschersleben, and Chevrolet's Robert Huff, who collected two podium results in Germany, will both receive the maximum 70kg success ballast for the event in Imola. Augusto Farfus of BMW Team Germany, who won Oschersleben's Race 1, will have only two kilos less on board his car with 68kgs. Current championship leaders, SEAT Sport's Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini, will be two and four further kilos lighter respectively.(66 and 64Kgs) Reigning World Champion Andy Priaulx will be given a 53kg ballast, just like Jordi Gené.

The Russian Bears Motorsport team will have a third LADA 110 car for the remaining events of the season: Imola, Monza, Okayama and Macau. Kirill Ladygin, 30 from Ekaterinburg in Russia will drive the car. He has plenty of experience including eleven national karting titles and he won the LADA Cup in 2004 and 2006. He is also LADA Motorsport's official tester and is currently working on the technical development of the WTCC version of the new Priora, which will be raced from 2009. From Imola onwards he will join the team's regular drivers Jaap van Lagen and Viktor Shapovalov, who have competed in the WTCC since the Valencia meeting in May.

Russian fans and media had their initial taste of FIA WTCC last Monday, when cars and drivers hit Moscow's Red Square for a photo session. Representatives from the championship visited the Russian capital to present plans for a Russian race meeting in 2010. KSO General Manager Marcello Lotti; drivers Rickard Rydell, Alain Menu, James Thompson, Jaap van Lagen, Viktor Shapovolav, Kirill Ladygin and Andrey Romanov met the President of RAF (Russian National Sporting Authority), top managers of LADA Avtovaz and the media. "To include Russia in the 2010 calendar is our priority and we are all working towards that goal. The most likely scenario is racing on a street circuit, and we have been presented two or three alternatives, including Moscow. A decision will be taken soon," explained Marcello Lotti. Viktor Kiryanov, president of RAF said: "We fully support the idea of organising top level motorsport events in Russia. In WTCC drivers race cars similar to those we use each day. It will be interesting for motorsport fans; furthermore this event will attract attention and highlight the campaign to raise awareness of road safety."

WTCC EUROSPORT COVERAGE FOR IMOLA
Saturday, 20th: Qualifying Eurosport 2, 19.00/19.45
Sunday, 21st; Warm up - LIVE Eurosport International, 08.45/09.15 Race 1 - LIVE Eurosport International, 15.00/15.30 Race 2 - LIVE Eurosport International, 15.30/16.30

Andrew Herron will be hoping to go one better next weekend when the SEAT Cupra Championship visit’s Brands for the final time. At Silverstone in the last round he came close to winning his first race, 2007 Champion Jonathan Adam only passing him for the lead late on in the second race, Perhaps this time it will be Andrew's turn..read more

Lola heads to its home race at Silverstone this weekend with five entries for Sunday’s Autosport Silverstone 1000kms, the final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series. read full story

In the space of two weekends Julien Jousse ran through the whole gamut of racing emotions: from fastest in qualifying to backmarker on the grid, from the pain of retiring to the delights of the podium. But the Frenchman is still in the running in championship race, with the 2nd place firmly in his sights.

SG Formula have a new situation to deal with in the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, Daniel Ricciardo and Andrea Caldarelli are jointly leading the championship. Le Mans also hosted a West European Cup race during the weekend, in which the team from La Rochelle notched up yet another 1-2. Daniel Ricciardo took his fifth WEC victory of the season, and rookie Jean-Eric Vergne scored his maiden podium finish.

The Brasil GT3 Championship was at Rio de Janeiro circuit last weekend and the Ford GTs, won both races. The first went to Walter Salles and Ricardo Rosset whilst Andreas Mattheis and Xandy Negrao took the second.

VOLKSWAGENS HOLD 2-3-4 FORMATION IN PORTUGAL. Just 2 seconds separates Volkswagen team leader Carlos Sainz from the lead of the Portuguese Pax Rally, round 2 of the Dakar series, after yesterday's (Wednesday) 223 km opening leg from Lisbon to Castelo Branco. The progress of Sainz and his TDI-powered Volkswagen Race Touareg was hampered slightly by running at the head of the field; towards the end of the special stage his was the first car to catch the motorcycle entrants. 'There were only a few overtaking opportunities and it cost us time,' said double World Rally Champion Sainz. 'It was a truly tough leg, like a WRC stage but much longer.' The VW of Dieter Depping led for a spell until he suffered a puncture and lost 2 minutes with a wheel change. He ended the leg fourth, 1.5 minutes behind the third VW team member, Giniel de Villiers. Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen said he was 'more than comfortable' with the team's progress. The Pax Rally is scheduled to finish in Portimão on Sunday after five legs and 829 km of competitive stage running. Provisional standings after leg 1
1, Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA), Mitsubishi, 3h 22m 47s
2, Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA), Volkswagen, +2s
3, Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER), Volkswagen, +53s
4, Dieter Depping / Timo Gottschalk (GER), Volkswagen, +2m 26s
5, Joan Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP), Mitsubishi, +2m 59s
6, Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), Mitsubishi, +4m 14s

Harold Primat and his co-driver Christophe Tinseau, currently are determine4d to be the beast of the petrol powered cars in the Le Man Series. So this weekend at Silverstone they will be planning to end the season on a high ..read more

The Australian MINI CHALLENGE is back and raring at Phillip Island in support of the L&H 500 V8 Supercar event this weekend. Running the show will be the man who gave Ayrton Senna his F1 start, Ted Toleman, whose company Toleman Motorsport will manage the series for the rem,ainder of 2008…read more

The Star Mazda championship presented by Goodyear heads for New Jersey this weekend with Peter Dempsey the man to beat. The Irishman, driving for Andersen Racing, has won the last three races and is now just 1 point of the Championship leader, American Joel Miller. Miller, who has won only one race so far this season, is however a model of consistency and has 4 podium finishes ..read more

Fans of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport can now re-live the highs and lows of what has been the closest title race to date with the release of a special two disc DVD set of the 2007/08 season.This can be purchased via www.a1gp.com with a special pre-order saving of 25%. The release date is 13 October.

AIGP Team testing got underway at Donington Park this week, although heavy rain delayed the start of running. A1 Team Netherlands were the first to emerge for an exploratory lap with Adrian Zaugg giving the A1 Team South Africa car a shakedown. John Martin was in the A1 Team Australia car while Edoardo Piscopo was in action for A1 Team Italy. The A1GP test car, which has now completed 7,446-kilometres testing, was also out on track with Thomas Biagi at the wheel. Fairuz Fauzy ended the day quickest for A1 Team Malaysia, despite the bad conditions, posting a time of 1m 35.250s in the new Powered by Ferrari car. Fauzy commented: “This morning we did an installation lap and everything was fine with no problems. The car was very reliable which was surprising straight out the box, so that is a positive sign for us. It’s a totally different car to last year, especially with the Michelin tyres, carbon brakes, higher downforce and more powerful engine. It was fun to drive. I was very impressed with the downforce of the car and the grip in the wet.”

Touring car driver Michael Doyle has agreed a top-line deal with daily newspaper the Scottish Sun which will guarantee him first class media coverage all the way through the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season. Agreeing terms with the Scottish Sun to provide media support throughout his second year in touring cars, Michael will also benefit from other assistance such as promotional support at a number of events, particularly his home race meeting at Knockhill in Fife next August. Michael added: “I’m absolutely overjoyed to have agreed this partnership with the Scottish Sun, it’s a massive development for myself and In-Tune Racing and is a reflection on how well we’ve done this year with our limited resources.” The 2008 BTCC season finale, rounds 28, 29 and 30, will take place less than two weeks from now at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent. Practice and qualifying will be held on Saturday, 20th September, with all three races scheduled for Sunday, 21st September.

The CR Scuderia GT team will be in the Czech Republic this week at Brno, for the 7th round of the 2008 FIA GT Championship. After two wins in Bucharest, the team is eager to score more points in it’s quest for second place in the championship. CRS is just eight points behind BMS Scuderia Italia so the fight is on for the runner-up spot. There is a clash this weekend between the FIA GT Championship and the Le Mans Series. Rob Bell will be at Silverstone, driving in the 1000kms race, and the CRS team will run reigning FIA GT2 Champion, Dirk Müller in Rob’s place alongside Andrew Kirkaldy at Brno.. “It was great having Dirk on the team at Spa,” said Kirkaldy. “Especially for a new team like CRS it is always positive to have input from other professional drivers. There is no reason to believe that we won’t have a cracking weekend at Brno.” Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen, the drivers of CRS Ferrari no.55, are feeling confident too, especially Tim who loves the Brno track and has always gone well there. “The first time I raced a Ferrari at Brno was in 2006 and I put it on pole position,” said Mullen. “I was driving with Phil Bennett in that race and we finished in fourth place. Last year I got pipped to pole by Dirk Müller but, along with my team-mate Darren Turner, I got a podium finish in third”.

Ryan Hooker and his team-mate Sarah Reader were fourth in the VdeV UK Championship when it visited Assen in Holland for the latest round. This has left the pair at the top of the points table with two rounds remaining.

TFL's Sarah Reader and Ryan Hooker have taken a narrow overall lead in the VdeV Endurance Series following a good fourth place at Assen in the Netherlands on Sunday (7 Sep).

Xavier Vandermeersch took a well deserved victory in Budweiser 200 ,Round 8 of the CAMSO V8 series at the Warneton Speedway in Belgium.

Gordon Tompkins and David Ellersey both won a round of the www.dees.co.uk Fiesta Championship at Anglesey in Wales over the weekend. Tomkins won the opener on Saturday leading Richard Kemp over the line with 0.876secs to spare. Ben Roper came third with Nick Sanderson fourth. In Sunday's race Ellersley won (pictured- all Anglesey pics Paul Williams) from Tomkins with Roper third once again. The Jedi championship races were won by Jack Smith on Saturday and Russell Small on Sunday. Smith led Stuart Abbot by 1.481 secs at the finish with Richard Gittings third 4 seconds off the leaders time. Small's victory on Sunday saw him cross the finish line with 3.3 seconds in hand over Gittings, who was another 3 seconds ahead of third placed Richard Mitcham.

In the Alfashop Alfa series Roger Evans won both races in his GTV at Anglesey. Neil Smith kept things respectable, coming second on both Saturday and Sunday. In the first race he was only 0.254 seconds behind in his 156 while on Sunday the gap was 4.11 seconds. Bryan Shrubb was third in race 1 and Aidie Hawkins completed the podium in race 2, both in Alfa 33s. In the Motorlawyers FIAT Challenge Simon McFie brought his Punto home in first place on Saturday winning comfortably from Vic Craven's Uno and the simlar car of Mark Smith. On Sunday Jason Greatrex, a driver synonymous with the series, took the laurels in his Punto HGT from Mark Smith by only 0.309secs. McFie completed the top three.

In the Mill St Motors Ford Saloons at Anglesey Malcolm Wise and Craig Rainer shared the honours, Wise winning on Saturday, his Escort Cosworth 9.4 secs up on Rainer's Escort Mk2 while Olly Allen came home in third. Sunday saw Rainer and Wise swap places with the Escort Mk 2 coming in first with a good 8 second lead. David Matthias was third i9n another Escort Cossie. The www.d-and-d autos.co.uk XR Challenge was dominated by XR2s. Mark Robinson won on Saturday by 2.3secs and was second on Sunday. Michael Blackburn(pictured) was Sunday's winner 5.2 seconds up on Robinson and 7 seconds up on third placed Steve Poole who had picked up te runner-up spot a day earlier.

Strakka Racing is currently preparing for their final 24 hour race of the season, the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone, just along the road from the team’s headquarters. Strakka Racing’s drivers Nick Leventis and Peter Hardman will be out in the team’s ex-works BMW M3 GTR for the race, held in just over a week on the weekend of September 19th-20th. On this occasion they will be joined by the experienced pairing of Christian Vann, who shared the car at the Spa 12 Hours and Allan Simonsen, who is making his debut with Strakka…read more

Ahmad Al Harthy claimed his second podium of the season at Thruxton on Sunday in the Formula Renault BARC race, a race he started from pole position, his first!

Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship drivers head for the final races of the year in a little over a week at the Country Club Tasmania F3 SuperPrix event held at Symmons Plains Raceway on September 19 - 21. The prize is the Championship tilte and Britain’s James Winslow leads the chase on 175 points from Australia’s Leanne Tander by just a single point. Read more

Atrocious weather greeted Team GCR and their driver Tom Dunstan at Mallory over the weekend when they arrived for the the Ginetta Festival. It wasn’t all bad news however as Tom went on to refcord two top ten finishes.

GT Academy winners Lucas Ordóñez from Spain and Lars SchlÖmer from Germany were racing at Cadwell Park and Thruxton at the weekend as they attempt to rack-up the 20 signatures necessary for their International competition licences necessary for their race at Dubai next year. Read more

Raphael Matos won the Firestone Indy Lights championship with a third-place finish in the SunRichGourmet.com 100. Matos led the 66 of 67 laps after starting from the pole while his teammate Arie Luyendyk Jr. surged past him on a Lap 66 restart to take his first victory. Ana Beatriz finished second, .0817 of a second behind Luyendyk. Richard Antinucci, who started the race just three points behind Matos was taken out of the race on Lap 26.

Helio Castroneves raced from the 28th on the grid to first, winning a photo finish in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, but it Scott Dixon who won his second IndyCar Series championship. Castroneves started 28th due to a penalty during qualifying and raced his way through the field to take the lead on lap 78. Scott Dixon then led the next 14 laps until Castroneves pulled alongside for the final two. As the pair took the chequered flag side-by-side, it took a photo to determine that Castroneves had edged Dixon by .0033 of a second, the second-closest finish in IndyCar Series history. Dixon maintained a 17-point lead in the championship to become the second driver to win multiple championships in the IndyCar Series. Dixon also won in 2003. Pole sitter Ryan Briscoe finished third. Hideki Mutoh won Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year honors by six points over Justin Wilson despite finishing 22^nd.

Hitech Junior were at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit over the weekend for the rounds of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship and WEC series. Drivers Luciano Bacheta and Richard Singleton were racing alongside 16 year-old Miki Monras and Colombian Juan Jacobo in the Eurocup race. While Australian Motorsport Foundation Rising Star Ashley Walsh took part in the WEC round alongside Monras..

For the second year in a row Andrew Spencer has won the BARC Westfield Championship. He did it in style with yet another win, this time at Thruxton from pole position.

Adrian Lester’s Mallock was the winner of the Clubmans Cup race at Thruxton after he had race long duel with reigning champion Daniel Gibson which only ended when Gibson fell back as a wheel nut worked loose. He did finish in third , but only just.

Ollie Hancock won the 2008 Formula Renault BARC Championship title yesterday, 7 Sept, at Thruxton with two races to go. Hancock finished second behind Johannes Seidlitz of Mark Burdett Motorsport, who won his third race of teh season while Ahmad Al Harthy was third.

After a two month break, Bradley Ellis and the FIA GT3 European Championship will be back in action for rounds seven and eight at Brno in the Czech Republic on 13-14 September. As the season reaches the halfway point, Ellis lies third in the championship standings in what is his first full rookie year in the series, just seven points adrift of the leaders Arnaud Peyroles and James Ruffier. The last rounds, at Oschersleben in June, saw Ellis return to racing less than a week after a serious accident during a guest appearance in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Thruxton left him with a compression fracture to the sixth vertebra. In Germany Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer were put out of the hunt while leading round five and brake failure put pay to their round six chances. Ellis now heads to the Czech Republic itching to get back at the wheel of the Matech Ford GT “After such a long break between Oschersleben and Brno , I can’t wait to get back in the car. My neck is feeling really good now and I’m not experiencing any pain or trouble, so I am ready to get back in to the championship fight. At Oschersleben we just had to defend our championship position but now I am back on full form we will be looking for another podium finish and vital points at Brno .”

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is heading back to Brands Hatch for the the 2008/09 season finale there on 1 – 3 May 2009. A1GP Chief Executive Officer, Pete da Silva, said: “We are pleased to announce A1GP is returning to Brands Hatch for a fourth consecutive season. We have worked hard to put together an interesting calendar of challenging circuits for the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars, and Brands Hatch will provide an exciting final venue.” Following the delay to the start of the season it has not been possible to find an alternative date to accommodate A1GP Mugello, Italy in this year’s calendar, therefore this event will now be taken out of the Season Four schedule. Team testing begins at Donington Park this week with two days scheduled on the 9 and 11 September. The second team test in the UK has now also been confirmed for Snetterton in Norfolk on 23 – 24 September 2008, and there will also be a one day test at this track on 1 October. The season opener will be A1GP Zandvoort, Netherlands, 4 – 5 October.

Menasheh Idafar saw his hopes of challenging for the podium during the 10th round of the Formula Renault BARC season slip away at Thruxton yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 7th September – the Hillspeed driver ending the race in seventh position to maintain fourth place in the championship.

Two wins from two starts for Frederic Vervisch in the ATS Formula 3 Cup at the Lausitzring saw the Belgian home in on the Championship title.

Alexander Sims made his Eurocup Formula Renault debut at Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France over the weekend, and came away with a 6th and 9th place finishes. Alexander’s focus now is the finale of the Formula Renault UK Championship which will take place at Brands Hatch Iin a fortnight’s time, 20th/21st September. Just 10 points behind long-time championship leader Adam Christodoulou on overall scores, each competitor has to ‘drop’ their two worst scores from the 20 rounds so when that is taken into consideration at this stage, Alexander is actually 34 points behind. “Obviously it’s still realistically Adam’s title to lose but we didn’t expect Silverstone to turn out as it did so we have to keep pushing”, said Alexander, “Hopefully we’ll have a strong car and be competitive in qualifying and the races. At Brands Hatch Indy it’s massively important to qualify at the front, we need to do that and then if Adam makes any mistakes we need to be in a position to capitalise. I’m really looking forward to the final two rounds of the season – anything could happen.”

Dean Smith raced to his second top 10 result of the 2008 Eurocup Formula Renault season at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in France yesterday afternoon, Sunday, 7th September – a good conclusion to the weekend for the Wolverhampton driver as he was forced out of Saturday’s race when running in sixth

Daniel Lloyd consolidated fourth position in the 2008 Ginetta Junior Championship at Mallory Park on Sunday, 7th September, with a brace of solid performances during the second ‘Ginetta Festival’ of the season.

In the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship Andrew Smith took his maiden victory in the series at Mallory Park on Sunday afternoon, 7th September. He had a great fight with Championship leader Spencer McCarthy who increased his lead in the title chase over Kieran Vernon who crashed out on lap 8. Kieran Vernon cam back in race 2 however and promptly won

Thomas Carnaby led a Tollbar Racing podium lock-out during the opening Ginetta Junior Championship race at Mallory Park’s special ‘Ginetta Festival’ on Sunday. He then followed this up with a second win later on to close the gap to Chamionsip leader Dino Zamparelli to 16 points.

Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) continues to be the man to beat in the Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup. The Australian scored his fifth victory of the season after a good scrap with his team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne.

Brands Hatch will host the HSCC next weekend for what promises to be a great day of racing on Saturday 13 September. With Sportscars, saloons and single-seaters on the bill the event should appeal to all race fans and with an admission fee of £12 (£10 when booked in advance) and children under 12 admitted free, it's a great value for a whole day's entertainment...read more

Alexander Rossi led Eurointernational teammates Giancarlo Vilarinho and David Ostella at the top of the Formula BMW Americas time sheets at the September 2 – 3 Formula BMW Americas official test held at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Thunderbolt Raceway, Millville, New Jersey...read more

Six months of fierce southern California competition for Team Aluminos was put to bed this past weekend following the final round of the Superkarts! USA ProKart Challenge South regional program, which was held at the Santa Maria Kart Track in Santa Maria, California.

At the recent Stars of Karting West Division finals in Kent, Washington Mike Vincec came away with two top-five results which created a tie in the points standings. However as Mike won at the East / West races at Shawano he was awarded the title..read more.

Imola's Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is set to re-open after two years with the FIA World Touring Car Championship race meeting on September 20-21. Yesterday numerous members of the media attended the event's official launch, meeting BMW Team Italy-Spain's Alessandro Zanardi and SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini. .

Representatives of the FIA WTCC will visit Moscow in the next few days, amongst them KSO General Manager Marcello Lotti with drivers Rickard Rydell, Alain Menu, James Thompson, Jaap van Lagen and Viktor Shapovolav playing the role of the championship's ambassadors with Russian authorities and media. After visiting the Moscow International Motorshow at Crocus Expo on Sunday afternoon, the WTCC party will attend a round table at the Ritz Hotel, together with the Mayor of Moscow and the President of the Russian Sporting Authority RAF. The object of the discussion is to plan for WTCC Russian event in the near future. "This is definitely a priority for us and our car manufacturers," explained Marcello Lotti. "We are working to include Russia in the 2010 calendar. However, everything depends on the completion of an FIA homologated racetrack suitable to host the championship."

Chevrolet will campaign a fourth Lacetti in the final three meetings of the WTCC for Japanese driver Manabu Orido. The 39-year old from Chiba will make his debut in Monza, before taking part in his home event at Okayama and the WTCC finale at Macau. His car, usually driven by Tomas Schie in the Swedish Touring Car Championship, will be run by the Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden team.

Italian pasta company Barilla, who sponsor Alessandro Zanardi, will offer a dish of pasta to all the spectators who will visit the paddock during the FIA WTCC race day in Imola. Using the "pasta party" format introduced in a number of sporting and musical events (like the New Marathon and rock concerts), Barilla will build an hospitality structure inside the paddock where between 4,000 and 5,000 dishes of pasta will be prepared and served in-between the two WTCC races on Sunday 21st September, from 13.00 to 15.00.All the spectators who have purchased a paddock ticket will be welcome inside the Barilla hospitality area.

Three Volkswagen Race Touaregs will be in next week's second round of the Dakar Series, a five-day and 1600 km trek through some of Portugal's toughest off-road terrain. Spain's Carlos Sainz - who won the opening round of the new Dakar Series, the Hungary-based Central Europe Rally, in April - leads the Volkswagen trio into battle at Lisbon on Wednesday (10 September). The other 280 PS TDI-powered Race Touaregs will be driven by South African Giniel de Villiers and Germany's Dieter Depping. The Volkswagen team is treating the Portuguese event as a dress rehearsal for January's Dakar Rally, and will be up against their fierce rivals from the works Mitsubishi and BMW teams. 'The first rally of the Dakar Series required strong nerves,' said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. 'We were up against powerful rivals on every stage and sometimes the stages were decided by a matter of seconds. For us, it was a valuable success and we will leave no stone unturned to decide the second round in our favour as well.' Sainz is hopeful the new rally will suit him: 'The event resembles a classic sprint more than a cross-country rally, and this should suit my driving style. It will be a close fight, and any mistake or loss of focus will cost dearly.' The 'Pax Rally' gets underway from Lisbon on Wednesday morning and is scheduled to finish at Portimão on Sunday 14 September after five legs and 829 km of competitive stage running.

Management of Caterham's UK and European motorsport programme will be undertaken by Simon Lambert who takes over following a strategic review of the business and a decision to take direction of the programme 'in house'. A former Caterham race champion, Lambert has been appointed to the new position of Caterham Motorsport Manager. He has previously held after-sales management and motorsport commercial management positions with the company. Magnus Laird stepped down as Director of Motorsport last month; he remains a freelance consultant to Caterham. "I'm delighted to have been given the opportunity of taking on this challenge, but am under no illusions about the size and complexity of the job ahead," said Lambert. "Magnus has done a terrific job of developing Caterham Motorsport into what it is today, one of the biggest programmes of its kind in the UK, but working together with the Caterham management team and our excellent race co-ordinators I'm confident that Caterham Motorsport will continue to grow and improve."

Menasheh Idafar gave a good account of himself at Pembrey in Wales this week when he made his F3 test debut with Carlin Motorsport. Idafar, who is currently driving in the Formula Renault BARC Championship, took his first miles in F3 car on Monday, (1st September), and enjoyed an encouraging adaptation to the demands of a Mugen-Honda National Class cars. Weather weren’t great and eventually hail storms ended the British-born Bahraini’s run on Tuesday.

RML and AD Group will race in the final round of this year’s Le Mans Series with an upgrade of Lola's MG EX265C LMP2 sports prototype. The team have been working alongside Lola Cars to develop this evolution of the EX265 into the new closed-cockpit configuration. So yesterday(Thursday) the team's drivers Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos carried out a final shakedown test of the fully revised car C at Snetterton ..read more

SG Formula had it's first visit to Brands Hatch at the weekend and their drivers, also on their first visit to the track, did very well in the F3 Euro Series. Yann Clairay claimed his thrid podium of the year in the first race on Saturday and followed it up with a 6th place on Sunday. In the rookie class Henkie Waldschmidt did exceptionally well by taking two second places. read more

Television coverage for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB continues next week with another highlights programmes in the Motorsport UK series. The dedicated Carrera Cup coverage continues with action from the Snetterton races and the half-hour programme will be broadcast as follows:
Tuesday 9 September at 1.55pm on ITV4
Friday 12 September at 1.10am on ITV1
Saturday 13 September at 4.30pm on ITV4
In addition, Motorsport UK is also screened on the Men and Motors channel on Friday evening. Motorsport UK can also be watched at itv.com and is available for viewing for 28 days after the initial broadcast date

The Genuine Ford Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship is back next week with Round Six of the series, the L&H 500 at Phillip Island on 12-14 September. Leading the title chase is Synergy Motorsport's Paul Laskazeski who is currently sitting 40 points clear of second placed driver Nick Percat ..read more

The first Masters Festival to be run outside Britain was held at Magny Cours in France over the weekend (30/31 August). With 8 events including the Grand Prix Masters, which had 6 different non-Cosworth Grand Prix engines running in one race, it was a truly marvellous event ..read report

Darren Turner has fulfilled a lifelong ambition and made his first parachute jump, and in doing the 13,000 foot skydive he raised £1,500 for the Help For Heroes charity. The SEAT Sport UK driver, who has won two races in this year’s HiQ MSA BTCC, made the jump with the Red Devils, the SEAT UK-supported British Army’s parachute display team. Darren, who has a pilot’s licence, made the tandem jump at South Cerney airfield near Swindon. Strapped to Lance Corporal Steve Candlish, Darren exited the aeroplane at 13,000 feet above Gloucestershire. After freefalling for 45 seconds at a speed of 120mph, they pulled the parachute at 5,000 feet to enjoy a gentle five minute ride beneath the canopy, before landing safely. The charity Help for Heroes (www.helpforheroes.org.uk) was founded to provide practical and direct support to the men and women of the British Armed Forces wounded in service. With the help of royalty, celebrities, the media and thousands of decent ordinary people, it has raised almost £9M since its launch in October 2007

A1 Team Great Britain will continue its media partnership with Metro, the free UK national newspaper for the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season. The relationship began in April for final two rounds of the 07/08 season, including Brands Hatch where GBR took the Sprint race win and bronze in the championship table. Fans outside of commuter areas where Metro is distributed will not have to miss out anymore as there is also the facility now to get Metro each morning straight to your email inbox. Readers just need to log onto www.emetro.co.uk to sign up to receive the daily email. Metro will once again adorn the A1 Team GB car, which will feature a brand new red, white and blue livery, to be revealed soon.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing have signed former IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti to drive alongside their 2008 Indy 500 winner and current points leader Scott Dixon. Franchitti will drive the No. 10 Target Honda replacing Britain’s Dan Wheldon.

Justin Wilson turned only two laps in the morning warm-up due to a steering problem, but went on to lead the final 15 laps of the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone in the afternoon to claim his first IndyCar Series victory. Wilson started fourth and moved into second on Lap 60. After a restart on Lap 69, Wilson put pressure on Helio Castroneves, who led a race-high 53 laps. Wilson made two attempts to pass on Lap 72, but was rebuffed by Castroneves who went low and then back high. Race officials penalized Castroneves one position for blocking, and Wilson took the lead on Lap 73. Castroneves, who finished second for a record eighth time this season, gained 13 points on series points leader Scott Dixon to climb within 30 points of Dixon heading into the Sept. 7 championship season finale at Chicagoland Speedway. Dixon led the first 18 laps after starting on the pole but shuffled back to 18th after his first pit stop and could never get back higher than his final position of fifth. Tony Kanaan finished third and Oriol Servia finished fourth. Bruno Junqueira improved 17 positions from his 24th-place starting position to finish seventh.

After running in the top 5 in pre-race practice, the #77 Doran Racing/Kodak Doran-Dallara Ford driven by Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger didn't get a chance to show off it's potential in the Grand-Am Rolex SuperCar Life 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park as brake problems forced the car into the pits for some lengthy repairs mid-way through the race.

Daniel Ricciardo and Andrea Caldarelli both took podium places for SG Formula at the recent Renault 2.0 Eurocup races at the Nürburgring. Ricciardo was third on Saturday while his team-mate took the same place in Sunday's event, thus retaining their first and second slots at the top of the Championship table .

Patrick Barrett and his team-mate Mike Forest took their #32 PR1 Motorsports Miracle Sealants/Kolliner-Long Gallery/Konica Minolta Pontiac GXP.R to seventh place in last weekend’s Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16 race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J…read more

Carl Stirling is on the verge of adding the British Super 1 Championship to his Open Championship title after claiming another win and a fourth place at Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire last Sunday (31 August)..read more

The British Super 1 KF3 championship is set for a nail-biting showdown following Mackenzie Taylor's fighting 1st and 2nd places at the series' penultimate round at Whilton Mill last weekend..read more

GT Academy, an international driving competition from PlayStation® and Nissan has found its winners following a gruelling week-long final at Silverstone. Lars SchlÖmer, from Germany and Lucas Ordóñez from Spain beat 20 other competitors from across Europe to be crowned the GT Academy champions..read more

SEAT Cupra Championship goes Nuts on TV Speed Hurts, a new 10 part television series following the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship, begins on Nuts TV tomorrow night (Thursday 4th September) at 10pm. The series follows car expert and speed enthusiast David Green, as he races the Nuts TV branded 300bhp turbocharged Leon Cupra car in this year’s SEAT Cupra Championship. Appealing to both racing fans and those new to the sport, Speed Hurts delves head first into the exhilarating world of the SEAT Cupra Championship, giving an insider view as it follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a brand new team in its first season of competition. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access, each will focus on one weekend of the racing season Starting at 10pm on Thursday 4th September. Each episode is repeated on the following Sundays at 9.30pm and Mondays at 9pm, exclusively on Nuts TV (Sky Guide 196 and Freeview 42). Speed Hurts programme schedule Episode 1 (Thursday 4th September).

Robert Pritchard made it three wins in a row in the Performance N Economy Chip Tuning Sports/Saloon Car Championship but his Caterham only just made it as engine problems slowed him towards the end of the race. Chris Alanson then won the shortened race two in his Z cars Min, his first win in the series .

Peter Hardman had a good weekend at the Hungaroring in the 2008 Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge on August 30th-31st. The Strakka Racing team driver was racing in the annual Ferrari Racing Days meeting, in a 1966 Ferrari P3 (412P), the same car he drover with regular co-driver Nick Leventis, at the Le Mans Classic in June.

Indeck/Cytomax driver, Conor Daly's winning ways continued at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, where he won round twelve of the Skip Barber National Championship. It was Daly's fourth Barber National win of the year and his 7th win in his last ten races (having won the last three Ontario FF1600 races). Having qualified on the pole for both races at the Grand Am Supercar Life 250 double header weekend, Daly dominated Sunday’s race driving away from the pack to win by over eleven seconds. Saturdays round eleven race was marred by controversy when Daly and Brazilian’s Fabio Orsolon and Felipe Polehtto were all penalized for aggressive driving. The penalty cost Daly 8 championship points (from his fourth place finish). Sunday's win put Daly back on top of the championship table with two rounds to go at Virginia International Raceway, October 2nd -- 3rd.

Sam Hancock is now up to third in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB after taking a second and a third place at Silverstone last weekend. It could have been even better as he was leading the wet second race, Round 18 , by 6 seconds before a spin dropped him back down the order

Kieren Clark picked up a good fifth place in the Formula Renault UK series at Silverstone. In treacherous conditions the Cambridge based racer, delivered his best result this season from 10th on the grid, with a mature drive.

Sevilla FC driver Borja Garcia claimed victory in the pouring rain in Superleague Formula's first reverse grid race at Donington Park. Starting from seventh, Sevilla moved up to fifth when the race was disrupted by the safety car on the opening lap when FC Porto (Tristan Gommendy) and Al Ain (Andreas Zuber) made contact. On the restart, Garcia proved to be the rain master while other teams suffered spins in the treacherous conditions. Galatasaray, Borussia Dortmund and Basel all suffered spins allowing Sevilla to move forward. All were able to continue except for Galatasaray driver Alessandro Pier Guidi who spun off the circuit at the Craner Curves and struck the car of Rangers' driver Ryan Dalziel who had gone off on the previous lap. A second safety car allowed Garcia and Sevilla to close on their Brazilian rival and the Spaniard grabbed the lead at Goddards with 14 minutes remaining. Behind the lead battle, Liverpool driver Adrian Valles was also starring in the wet after starting 12th. Valles made the move past Borussia Dortmund driver Nelson Philippe who had looked set to claim the final spot on the podium until the final moments of the race. Race 1 winner Davide Rigon (Beijing Guoan) pulled out a solid performance to finish in 6th position, just behind Tottenham Hotspur's Duncan Tappy.

Dean Smith picked up his first points in the Eurocup Formula Renault series at the Nurburgring over the weekend, 30th/31st August. season. Driving for Fortec Motorsport Dean took a solid seventh in the first of the weekend’s races and a 122th in the second securing himself four championship points.

Team JVA secured their first Formula Master victory today in Oschersleben with driver Josef Kral taking the win in round 12 of the Series. The Czech scored his first points of the season before claiming his maiden win in the afternoon's race. Starting in second place, Kral survived contact with Tim Sandtler and took the lead on lap one whilst ISR's Sandtler was forced to retire. Passing Iris Project's Michael Ammermuller on lap three, Fabio Leimer (Jenzer Motorsport) ran between the German and ADM Motorsport's Norbert Siedler for the majority of the race, before a pass on Siedler allowed both Leimer and Ammermuller through.The pair finished the race in second (Leimer) and third (Ammermuller). JD Motorsport's Chris Va der Drift claimed his fifth victory of the Formula Master season in round 11. The New Zealander led from start to finish, taking the win ahead of Fabio Leimer in second place. Michael Ammermuller finished in third.

Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship and the GP2 Series, is this year celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Bridgestone e-reporter competition..read more

Past Champions and legends from the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) were at Silverstone today to celebrate the 50th, 60th and 80th anniversaries of the BTCC, Silverstone and British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) respectively..read more

Manor Competition drivers Alexander Sims and Henry Surtees enjoyed a successful weekend at Silverstone National Circuit, 30th/31st August, with Sims taking his second win of the Formula Renault UK season and Surtees claiming his maiden podium.

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB enjoyed a hugely successful weekend at Silverstone during rounds 17 and 18 (30/31 August), with live TV , great racing and a 27,000-strong crowd despite the weather. Round 18 was one of the best races to date in the Carrera Cup GB, with a starring drive from Tim Harvey to head home Phil Quaife, Sam Hancock and Michael Caine. In total, ten drivers visited the Carrera Cup podium across two races, with round 17 winner Nick Tandy, Hancock and Quaife joining Harvey on the overall podium. Stepping onto the pro-am1 podium were Nigel Rice, Tony Gilham and Sean Paul Breslin, while pro-am2 podium finishers were Glynn Geddie, Paul Hogarth and Steve Rance.
The races also marked several Carrera Cup landmarks, with Harvey taking his 70th podium finish in round 17 and then his 20th race win in round 18. Meanwhile, pro-am1 racer Rice scored his 25th category victory in round 18 to further close the points' gap to pro-am1 leader Gilham. The action from both rounds 17 and 18 of Carrera Cup at Silverstone will feature as usual in the Motorsport UK series, with the half-hour programme going out on both ITV4 and ITV1 with a provisional broadcast date of the last week in October

Caterham Motorsport crowned three new champions this weekend (30/31 Aug) at Donington Park - a fitting conclusion to an 11-race celebration of the marque which saw nearly 150 Seven drivers competing.The three crowned were 20-year-old David Mayes, who clinched the Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge title with his seventh and eighth race wins of the season; Philip Broad, 23, who wrapped up the Motorsport News Challenge title for Roadsport A thanks to a brace of second-place finishes at Donington; and Raphael Fiorentino, who was proclaimed Roadsport B champion.

Koudai Tsukakoshi had his third visit to the podium in the Formula 3 Euroseries at Brands Hatch over the weekend (30-31 August) when he came second in the first of two F3 races. It t was his team Manor Motorsport’s fifth rostrum placing this season.

Jason Plato led all three HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone in his SEAT Leon TDI on Sunday, although he only managed to win one of them, the first. His victory was SEAT Sport UK’s 100th BTCC podium result. Fabrizio Giovanardi adn Mat Jackson took the laurels in the other races.

Freddy Nordstrom drove two great races at Silverstone in the SEAT Cupra Championship held at Silverstone taking home a fifth and an eighth place.

Volkswagen's new Formula 3 engine enjoyed a superb UK debut this weekend, the highlight of which was a 1-2 finish Sunday round of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Brands Hatch. The win came courtesy the Signature Team cars of French drivers Franck Mailleux and Jean Karl Vernay. They made a perfect start from the front row of the grid and led in formation all the way to the flag to record a commanding 1-2 result. Italian Edoardo Mortara was fourth in both races at Brands to second overall in the championship. 'I'm incredibly happy with my first victory for Volkswagen and for Signature,' said Mailleux. 'The hard work of the engineers and mechanics paid off. I managed a perfect start and, after that, a flawless race.' Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen added: 'The 1-2 for Franck and Jean Karl is a great result in the history of the Volkswagen Formula 3 engine. The combination of the Volkswagen engine and the team's excellent vehicle set-up combined to make us competitive throughout the weekend.'

In the eighth round of the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup, also at Brands Hatch, 22-year-old Pole Maciek Steinhof claimed his maiden win, ahead of Germany's Elia Erhart and South African Shane Williams, who extended his championship lead. It was the first visit to Britain by the Polo Cup

Phil Quaife produced his best qualifying effort of the season before taking a double podium in rounds 17 and 18 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Silverstone.

Scotland’s Michael Doyle produced a giant-killing performance in the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone yesteday after taking on and beating many of the more established stars to take a and with a career-best eighth place finish during the rain-hit third race of the weekend

Robert Lawson regained his winning touch at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend, 30th/31st August, after taking his sixth victory of the 2008 SEAT Cupra Championship campaign during the 17th round of the season..

Alexander Sims kept the Formula Renault UK Championship alive at the weekend with a win and an equally superb fourth place to close the gap on the points leader, Adam Christoloudou to just 34 points with just two races remaining..,

ELF Renault Clio Cup rookie Jonathan Ridley-Holloway was left ruing his bad luck at Silverstone National Circuit this afternoon, Sunday, 31st August, after being caught up in a highly unfortunate, multi-car tangle during round 18 of the season..

Silverstone wasn't kind to Daniel Lloyd over the weekend. After failing to finish on Saturday his race yesterday wasn't much better. After a superb start that moved him from seventh to second it all went wrong at Luffield at the end of lap one when he spun off in the wet conditions. .He did manage to salvage a top 10 finish but it was poor compensation

Caterham Eurocup competitor Jon Walker, the first customer to receive an R300, won the Invitation Class at Donington Park in all three of the weekend's Eurocup races, including an overall victory in the last one. In the CSR Masters, Nick Payne and Richard Hay won their individual races, with Payne and his team-mate Kurt Hoffmann beating the Hay/Clive Richards car in the pit-stop race..

Adriano Buzaid was victorious at Silverstone yesterday(Ssunday)in the 2008 Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship. Second was Dean Stoneman and third Henry Surtees, who came from 15th on the grid. In the title chase CR Scuderia ’s championship leader Adam Christodoulou came together with Jordan Oakes on lap 1 forcing him out of the race. This allowed Manor’s Alexander Sims to close the gap at the top of the drivers’ standings to 34 points after he finished fourth.

HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship team Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk were back up to full strength at the weekend with the return of driver Erkut Kizilirmak alongside team-mate Martyn Bell.

Dino Zamparelli is back and on ce again in control of the Ginetta Junior Championship. At Silverstone over the weekend he took two wins to retake the lead in the Championship by 39 points over his main rival Thomas Carnaby.

Lee Pattison got his first win in the Elf Clio Cup in round 18 on Sunday, 31st August. IN wet and miserable conditions the Range Storage with Robertshaw Racing driver got into the lead on lap two and there he stayed. JHR Developments’ Steven Hunter was second, with Total Control Racing’s Stefan Hodgetts third

AIM Autosport’s driver lineup for the SunRichGourmet.com 1000 presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels at Miller Motorsport Park in Tooele, Utah. will be Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins in the Exchange Traded Gold No. 61 Ford Riley as usual plus 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta. “I am very happy to be with AIM Autosport for the final race,” said da Matta from his home in Brazil. “The team has been very strong all season and I am looking forward to driving with Mark and Brian. I think it will be a lot of fun to run with drivers who have such focus.” The entire team is excited about having da Matta in the paddock at Miller bringing a wealth of technical expertise about setup and race craft. Brian Frisselle commented, “It is quite amazing to have Cristiano in the car. Growing up, I always admired Formula One and had that as a goal. To be driving alongside a former F1 driver is really very exciting. This is a real step forward for the team.” Mark said, “Excitement aside, I expect we can learn a lot from having someone with Cristiano’s vast experience in the car and in the pit. I have to say though, it is a thrill to be teamed with a champion driver in what is an important race for us.”

Andrew Herron led over three quarters of the second SEAT Cupra race at Silverstone on Sunday. The Northern Irish driver put in a brilliant wet weather drive before he was passed just three laps from the flag by reigning champion Jonathan Adam .

Tim Harvey believes that his victory in round 18 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Silverstone on Sunday (31 August 2008) rates as one of the best races of his 25-year racing career...read more

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