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News Archive November 2006

23/04/2008

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22-01-07

OVER 50 RENAULT CLIO RACE CARS ready for collection. Six months after the hugely successful launch of New Clio Cup, the pure racer that will hit the UK’s race tracks in 2007, teams and drivers planning to compete in the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup collected their cars from Southampton docks on 17^th/18^th/19^th January. A total of 52 cars in assorted white, red, blue, silver and black colours were made ready for collection, with many teams opting to begin pre-season testing immediately

Henri Karjalainen took his second win of the weekend in the Asian Formula 3 Pacific Series at the Zhuhai International Circuit, with another lights to flag win from Oliver Turvey and Walter Grubmuller. James Littlejohn won the Promotions Class.Dillon Battistini overtook Walter Grubmuller for third place at turn 7 on the first lap and it took Grubmuller five laps to retake the position. This was the only action in a race where everyone held their position apart from James Littlejohn who pitted with electrical problems.Karjalainen has dominated the weekend and it is expected he will do the same in the final race of the day. Oliver Turvey and Walter Grubmuller are both determined to win therefore fireworks are expected

STRONG DAKAR FINISH FOR VOLKSWAGEN TEAM.  The Volkswagen team ended its Dakar Rally outing with a flourish yesterday (Sunday) with a 1-2 finish on the final stage of the gruelling event.   Giniel de Villiers' stage win - his fourth and Volkswagen's 10th from the 14 stages - underlined the speed and dominance of the TDI-powered Race Touareg 2. A Volkswagen led for the first eight days of the world's toughest motorsport event and the team would probably now be celebrating outright victory but for a freak engine problem. 
'We're looking back on a Dakar Rally which has given us many great moments as well as a bitter disappointment,' said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. 'Volkswagen had 10 outstanding days when we claimed stage victories, five good days when we finished the stages in second and third places, and one black day when both of our best-placed cars suffered problems.'   Highest-placed finishers for Volkswagen were American Mark Miller and his South African co-driver Ralph Pitchford; their Race Touareg 2 finished fourth, just over two hours behind the victorious Mitsubishi of Stéphane Peterhansel.   Volkswagen's Portuguese privateer, Carlos Sousa, placed seventh and the event's erstwhile leaders, Carlos Sainz and de Villiers, ninth and 11th respectively. 'It was a great rally for myself and the entire team,' said Sainz. 'Volkswagen has claimed 10 of the 14 stage victories - when it comes to the strengths of this vehicle, that says it all. I feel more disappointed for the team than for myself that in the end we had no chance of winning.'
Provisional final standings
1,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  45h 53m 37s
2,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +7m 26s
3,  Jean-Louis Schlesser / Arnaud Debron (FRA),  Schlesser,  +1h 33m 57s
4,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +2h 10m 16s
7,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +5h 10m 54s
9,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  +7h 25m 45s
11,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +8h 44m 34s

21-01-06

The Extreme Karting 2006 Cadet Championship in Falkirk saw the overall championship won by John Hill, with 876 points, included including 5 Championship round wins.  In second with 840 points was Ross Agnew while third eventually went to  Elliot Griffiths who pipped Hayden Walker by just 1 point!

Henri Karjalainen, driving for Team Goddard which is afflilated to Eurasia Motorsport, won the first round of the Asian Formula Three Pacific Series at the Zhuhai International Circuit today. His team mate, Paul Ip, finished seventh.Henri Karjalainen took a lights to flag win with Oliver Turvey second and Walter Grubmuller third. The Promotions class was won by James Littlejohn .

19-01-07

F3 driver James Sutton is currently on trial after an accident back in December 2005 in Daventry, resulted in the death of 55 year old Angela Martin. It is alleged that Suttton’s Ford Focus failed to slow down at a roundabout and t-boned Mrs Martin’s Laguna.   Sutton is claiming he was suffering from automatism, which left him physically but not mentally in control of his car, after a testing accident at Oulton Park the day before. The trial continues

ROADSPORT CHALLENGE SET FOR A SUPERB SEASON. The Motorsport News Caterham Roadsport Challenge is set for another season of superb success, with 77 drivers announcing an intention to take part in the 14-round championship. Many frontrunners from previous seasons are planning to return to the series, joined by graduates of the 2006 Caterham Academy. 
The newly announced calendar is a major draw - seven double-header meetings at England's top circuits, and no track visited more than once. Highlights of the schedule include June's Donington Park celebration of the 7's golden jubilee and a Brands Hatch finale alongside the Formula Ford Festival. As ever the championship will be split into two separate grids, a 'junior' Roadsport B division who will tackle 20-minute races and the premier Roadsport class for more experienced drivers and slightly faster cars, who will enjoy two 30-minute outings at each meeting.
Last year's Academy champions, James Sharrock and 17-year-old Lewis Hopkins, are planning to move straight into the upper Roadsport class, where they are likely to face stiff opposition from such as Gary Brown and David Pearce, respectively second and third overall in Roadsport last year, as well as '06 podium visitors Hugo Jones, Toby Dicker, Peter Earnshaw, Kevin Dodd and Simon Young, the latter being joined by his younger brother and Academy podium finisher Peter.
Last year's Academicians moving into Roadsport B for 2007 include top-four finishers Andrew Thomas, Stuart Patterson and Richard Edwards…

The Oulton Park LMA Euro Saloons race meeting from last year will be on Motors TV at 9.00 pm tonight(Friday) and repeated tomorrow at 2.00pm.

SUPERLIGHT CHALLENGE PROMISES BUMPER YEAR. A host of talent is lining up behind the new-look Avon Tyres Caterham Superlight Challenge, which is set to blast into action at Easter at Oulton Park.  With a schedule of races expanded to 14 and key support status alongside the prestigious British F3 and British GT Championships, the Superlight Challenge is attracting not only returning competitors but also fresh faces rising from the ranks of the Roadsport Challenge.
The 2005 Superlight Challenge Champion, Will Mitcham, is planning a return, as are his fellow top-10 overall finishers from last season Rachel Green, James Gardiner, Andrew Beaumont and Nick Payne.  Last year's double Roadsport Champion, Gary Halcrow, is intent on gaining a further crown in 2007 - he plans to move up to Superlights in company with Clive Coote, Ron Johnson, Sean Nash, Chris Bialan and David Bend. Last year's R400 champion, Pat Gormley, is to move up also. "Early signs are that we shall have grids of approaching 30 cars at each meeting," said Caterham's Director of Motorsport, Magnus Laird, "and as ever, I think Caterham can promise to provide the closest racing at any of the GT/F3 meetings."   Five of the championship's seven double-header meetings are GT/F3 events; there will be twin Superlight races also at June's Donington Caterham 7 golden jubilee meeting and in October at Brands Hatch with the Formula Ford Festival

The A1GP Brazil, due to run on 18 March 2007, has been withdrawn from the World Cup of Motorsport's 2006/07 season calendar following a delay in securing a local terrestrial television partner to provide nation-wide coverage of the series.A1GP representative and seat holder of A1 Team Brazil, Emerson Fittipaldi said: 'A1GP has decided to withdraw the Brazilian race from this season's calendar as it has taken longer than expected to secure free-to-air television coverage of the series within the market. A1 Team Brazil and A1GP have been working for some time to secure a wider-reaching television package to support our cable coverage in Brazil, ensuring that all Brazilian fans can follow the series that is conquering millions of followers around the world. We look forward to announcing final details shortly, after which, we will be able to ensure a successful race in Brazil and treat the Brazilian public to the full extent of the A1GP excitement.'

2006 VW CUP Champion Paul Taylor will be defending his title in 2007 having secured support and sponsorship from VW RACING, HANKOOK TYRES, TAYLOR HEATING, PTS –(PLUMBING TRADE SUPPLIES), HI-POINT + DANFOSS CONTROLS. A princple sponsor should be announced next month , it’s expected to be a major BOILER manufacturer.Paul would also like to say thanks for all the support he received at the Autosport show.

Brazilian driver Mario Moraes is to join Carlin Motorsport for the 2007 British Formula 3 Championship.  Moraes will build on an existing relationship with Carlin, having raced with them last year. He will join Sam Bird, who was confirmed as a Carlin driver earlier this month.

The Formula Cup Mallorca will hold its first race weekend next week(27-28 January). Drivers coming from 7 nations have entered for the new series. There will be 2 test-days on Thursday and Friday before the first race weekend. At this official testing there will be a course of instruction as the drivers will be coached by the instructors of the series.
 After 2 hours of free practise on Saturday morning, qualifying and Race 1 will follow in the afternoon. On Sunday there will be a second qualifying session prior to  Race 2.  Points will be 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 with an extra-point for pole and  fastest lap.

17-01-07

After six years with the BRSCC and a total of eleven years in motorsport Vicki Squirrell is leaving the sport in early February for a new career in the boxing promotions world. Vicki has worked for the BRSCC as Assistant Competition Manager firstly to John Ward and latterly to Bob Armstrong before taking on the role herself after Bob's departure last September. The BRSCC would like to thank Vicki for her years of service to the Club and wish her all the very best for the future. An announcement regarding a replacement is expected soon.

Following a six week break A1 Team Ireland heads to this weekend`s sixth round of the A1GP series in New Zealand with Richard Lyons confirmed as lead driver supported by John O`Hara and Gary Anderson  has taked over engineering duties for the balance of the season. Lyons made his debut for the team in Indonesia last month, the 2004 Formula Nippon Champion impressing the team management with his technical feedback and strong race performance. O`Hara is in place as Reserve Race Driver, and will work closely with Anderson, although Lyons will continue to participate in all practice and qualifying sessions as he continues to enjoy `rookie` status for three more events.
The full BRSCC meeting schedule and dates for each championship were made public at the Autosport Show. These have all been issued to the respective co-ordinators but are also available via the BRSCC website. Log-on to www.brscc.co.uk/calendar/choosechamp.asp Please note the dates remain provisional and may be liable to change. 
Motorsport photographer Barry Ambrose has set up his own website, www.fierce1.com from which you can order prints directly

The BRSCC Northern Centre's 2007 Annual Dinner Dance & Awards Presentation evening will take place at the regular venue of Artie's Mill, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, on Saturday 17th March commencing at 7.30pm for 8pm. Tickets are priced at £17 each and are available from Tracey Coe (Tracey can also let you a Rescue Unit for an event if required!). Tel: 01535 652691 or lynxrescue@blueyonder.co.uk

Piccola Scuderia Corse, winners of the 2001 Australian Formula 3 Championship with driver Peter Hackett, have confirmed their return to the championship after a years absence and have signed 2006 Asian Formula 3 Champion James Winslow as the driver.Winslow will drive a 2004-specification Dallara Mugen Honda starting at the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport event at Eastern Creek on February 2 – 4.  The Piccola - Winslow combination has proven prior success working together, Winslow driving for the Piccola squad in the team’s last F3 appearance at the 2006 Australian Grand Prix support races. The British driver won the opening race and featured inside the top three for a majority of the weekend.  Winslow won the Asian Formula 3 Championship last year driving for the ThreeBond racing squad and also made an appearance at the Macau Grand Prix, finishing 12th in the feature race.He was honored with a bravery award from the humane society in London, recently, for his efforts to rescue a trapped driver from a badly-damaged wreck at the final round of the Asian F3 championship in Indonesia late last year. Winslow dragged fellow driver Moreno Soeprapto from the wreckage of his car after the pair had a coming together in one of the series’ penultimate races. With fuel and fluids leaking from the car – that had flipped at 160mph over Winslow and landed inverted on a tyre barrier – and fire imminent, James was able to drag Soeprapto from the wreck moments before it erupted into flames.

A1 Team South Africa will  have drivers Alan van der Merwe and Vulindlela in New Zealand this weekend. The team’s colourfully liveried V8 racing car  carries the 46664 Robben Island prison number of former president Nelson Mandela while Vulindlela also carries the names of the team’s sponsors – Telkom, SABC Sport and Aon – as well as 2010 to signify South Africa’s hosting of the next football world cup.

The BRSCC Centres have confirmed the following training dates for marshals;
The Northern Centre training day for all disciplines is on 27th January at Cadwell Park. Contact Peter Howarth on 07771 873669 or PHowarth18@aol.com The Northern Centre will also be running a Rescue Unit Training Day at Blyton in April. The date will be confirmed shortly. Contact Peter Broxup for more information on 0113 263 0124.
The East Anglian Centre training day for all disciplines is on 28th January at Snetterton. There will also be a session for experienced Observers at Ipswich on 17th February. Contact Darren MacClinton on 07879 494727 or Darren@dmacclinton.freeserve.co.uk
The Midland Centre is holding a training day for the Rescue Unit & Observers at Rockingham on the 17th February. Contact Tony Carwithen on 0121 601 7867 or email tony.carwithen@blueyonderco.uk 
The South Eastern Centre has a training weekend on 24/25th February at Brands Hatch. The Saturday is for incident officers & flag marshals while on Sunday the session is for course, fire, trainee & specialist marshals. Contact Anne Rothberg at annerothberg@blueyonder.co.uk

17-01-07

DOUBLE DAKAR BLOW FOR VOLKSWAGEN TEAM. Volkswagen's event-long lead of the Dakar Rally came to an abrupt end yesterday (Monday) when the Race Touareg 2 of Giniel de Villiers suffered engine problems. In a double blow, the ninth stage from Tichit to Néma in Mauritania also brought electrical trouble for Volkswagen's Carlos Sainz, who had held fourth place. Both machines had to be towed to the end of the stage.   'We were on the receiving end of a couple of hard blows yesterday,' said Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. 'It's difficult for us to accept that we are no longer leading and that it is almost impossible to win now. Our objective now is to enable Giniel and Carlos to continue, to score as many good stage results as possible and to claim a tidy result at the finish.'
A disappointed de Villiers explained his problem: 'A roller tappet in the valve train broke. It punched a hole in the cylinder head cover and the escaping oil momentarily caught fire. We were able to put the flash fire out with the onboard extinguisher. The damage couldn't be repaired on the stage and we had to be towed in.'   American Mark Miller is now Volkswagen's leading contender; his Race Touareg 2 holds sixth place, two-and-a-quarter hours behind the Mitsubishi of new leader Stéphane Peterhansel. Volkswagen privateer Carlos Sousa is seventh.
Provisional standings after leg 9 (of 15)
1,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  33h 43m 23s
2,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +7m 50s
3,  Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Alain Guehennec (FRA),  BMW,  +1h 23m 21s
4,  Jean-Louis Schlesser / Arnaud Debron (FRA),  Schlesser,  +1h 25m 32s
5,  Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP) / Pascal Maimon (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +2h 13m 44s
6,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +2h 14m 26s
7,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +4h 11m 29s
 

Irishman Michael Devaney has decided to halt his A1 Team Ireland commitments and is now to focus his career on going stateside for the coming season. After 5 rounds of the A1GP series it is clear that the Irish team are struggling for speed and the team’s lack of pace is still unknown even after the experienced Richard Lyons drove and struggled in Indonesia. Last season Michael recorded some of Team Ireland’s best results with two 4th place finishes when he subbed for Ralph Firman at three events and this year he has shown to be the quickest driver in the Irish car all season. The team has now replaced engineer Andy Miller with Ex-Jordan man Gary Anderson and they hope this will lead to a more competitive car for the remainder of the season.Devaney who was German F3 runner up in ‘05 missed out on racing during the 2006 season after holding off for the A1GP drive but he now needs to focus on racing elsewhere if he wants his career to move forward. The 22 year old is now looking at racing in Champ Car Atlantic, the Winner of which will receive $2million dollars which could secure a drive in the Champ Car World series the following year.  Michael is excited about his future plans, “This season with A1 Team Ireland has been an uphill struggle so I’ve decided to look at securing a competitive drive elsewhere for 2007 and the Champ car Atlantic series looks like the best option for me. I have only heard good things about racing in America and it looks like there are much more opportunity’s for a driver out there, especially an under-funded driver! I am also looking at some options in Europe so I’m not closing the door on anything just yet.“ commented the Dubliner

Mike Meadows announced that he will race in the 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, with sponsorship from NewNet, a leading Internet Service provider.Meadows, 19, moves from Formula BMW to compete in the National class of the British F3 series. After two seasons of competition in FBMW he took 6 wins and 21 podium finishes showing talent and giving him a firm foundation for his racing career. The BRDC has also recognised his promise selecting him to be in the BRDC ‘Rising Star’ scheme.

James Walker, will step up to the World Series by Renault in 2007, driving for Fortec Motorsport. The new partnership was announced today by James and his new team boss, Richard Dutton, on the central stage at Autosport International. James rejoins old friends at Fortec with whom he took an F3 victory in 2005. As well as this being a rookie season for the Jersey racer, it is also a new series for the team; although with wins in single-seater categories from Formula BMW, Formula Renault, Formula 3 and F3000, Fortec are aiming as high as ever in 2007 and expect James to take them all the way to the top.

Television star Frankie Muniz began his Atlantic career with two podiums the past two weekends in the SCCA National events at Sebring and Homestead driving Jensen MotorSport's Swift 014 race car.  At Sebring in Florida Frankie finished in second  on January 7th. At Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend, Frankie again finished second. Jensen MotorSport team owner Eric Jensen states, "We brought Frankie to these races for several reasons. First, we wanted to give him some additional race experience in advance of his Champ Car Atlantic debut at Las Vegas in April. Second, these races were an opportunity for Frankie to work with his Atlantic engineers and mechanics in a practical race situation. Third, we wanted Frankie to gain experience on these circuits; especially at Sebring where he will drive again in just two weeks at the official Champ Car Atlantic test the weekend of January 27th and 28th."

Bob Hubbard and Jim Downing, founders of HANS Performance Products, industry leaders of the internationally award winning HANS Device, were recipients of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association's inaugural Auto Racing Safety and Humanitarian Service Award (AARWBA.)

15-01-07

CLIO CUP ENTRIES FLOOD IN AT AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL. Anticipation of a highly competitive 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup has been boosted by news of 15 confirmed entries for this season’s championship within days of the registration period opening. Reigning Entrants’ champion Total Control Racing has named two of its drivers for the forthcoming season to head a list that features several new challengers and returning favourites…

UK FORMULA FORD RACE SCHEDULE EXPANDS TO 25. 
The UK Formula Ford Championship calendar is to be expanded to 25 races in its 40th anniversary season to provide competitors with an unrivalled opportunity to gain track experience.
The addition of five races to the Ford-backed series has been achieved by the adoption of a 'triple header' format for five of the 10 meetings.
"The aim is to give the youngsters extra race experience without significantly increasing costs," said Sam Roach, director of championship promoter RacingLine. "Five of the meetings will be double headers and the other five will each feature three races. Coming at a time when other single-seater championships are shrinking their calendars, we believe that this move will appeal to young drivers looking to gain racing experience in a way that remains cost effective."
The UKFF calendar unveiled this week is the championship's best ever, with all 10 meetings enjoying a high profile. The championship will support all eight of the British F3 Championship's UK dates and gains slots on the prestigious A1GP and World Touring Car Championship meetings at Brands Hatch.
All of England's major circuits will be visited at least once, and there will be six races in total on the fabulous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
The move to 25 races has been welcomed by teams. Chassis creator and team principal Bert Ray said: "We're over the moon with the idea… At this level it's all about gaining experience and getting more racing miles under the belt. Five extra races is going to be a major attraction."
Ray hopes that a dozen of his chassis will be on the UKFF grid this season and plans to run two of them himself through the works Ray Sport team.
Registrations for the championship have now opened and Roach is predicting a healthy turn-out: "All the signs are that we shall see an increase in grid numbers once again this season as Formula Ford, which was launched in 1967, rediscovers exceptional form in its 40th year."….calendar

Oliver Turvey, has joined JA Motorsports for the Asian F3 Pacific Series. He takes over the seat of 2006 AF3 Champion James Winslow and will definitely be competitive. The growing credibility of Asian Formula Three is reflected by the fact that a driver of Turvey’s stature is joining the series. Turvey will be gunning for the prize of a sponsored drive in the Macau F3 GP to the series champion. This will not be Turvey’s first taste of AF3 as he contested the last round of the 2004 Series in a Promotions Class, impressing by winning the class on his debut.

DE VILLIERS EXTENDS DAKAR LEAD FOR VOLKSWAGEN.  Volkswagen's Giniel de Villiers today (Sunday) further extended his overall lead in the Dakar Rally, in addition taking his third stage win of the event on what was the longest special stage of the rally.South African de Villiers and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz were six and a half minutes quicker on the 589 km timed section than their nearest rival, Mitsubishi's Stéphane Peterhansel, to extend their overall advantage to in excess of 31 minutes.  'The stage was very difficult, with very unpredictable terrain,' said de Villiers, 'and we had to stop to deflate our tyres to be able to make progress. But we didn't encounter any problems and Dirk navigated brilliantly.'
Giniel's Volkswagen team-mate Carlos Sainz suffered power steering problems today and lost an hour. 'We stopped to try to fix the problem,' said the Spaniard, 'but there was no chance. There was nothing for it but to continue using only muscle power to steer…'
Sainz slips to fourth overall, with double Dakar victor Peterhansel moving into second. Volkswagen's Mark Miller holds seventh spot and Carlos Sousa ninth.
Provisional standings after leg 8 (of 15)
1,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  27h 35m 53s
2,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +31m 13s
3,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +43m 4s
4,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  +1h 5m 51s
5,  Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Alain Guehennec (FRA),  BMW,  +1h 44m 14s
6,  Jean-Louis Schlesser / Arnaud Debron (FRA),  Schlesser,  +2h 0m 59s
7,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +2h 18m 1s
8,  Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP) / Pascal Maimon (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +2h 40m 33s
9,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +4h 16m 35s

Carlin Motorsport are entering this year's Eurocup Formula Renault championship, completing a busy race calendar for the Hampshire team. Carlin will run three cars this season, alongside Carlin's World Series by Renault FR 3.5 team. To accompany the Eurocup Formula Renault championship, Carlin will also compete in six rounds of the Formula Renault UK championship. This combination of races will allow young drivers to learn important European circuits, while also gaining additional experience in the UK. Team Principal, Steve Hollman commented, "I'm delighted that we have been able to add Eurocup Formula Renault to our 2007 calendar. Formula Renault is a fantastic championship which is a real proving ground for young drivers. With our entry into GP2, we are now able to take drivers from the lowest echelons of motorsport right up to the door of F1."

The international invasion of Australia’s most prestigious open-wheel championship will continue in 2007 with Astuti Motorsport today confirming the signing of Austrian speedster Walter Grubmuller for the opening round of the 2007 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.

Grubmuller, 17, comes highly rated to the Melbourne-based outfit fresh from a short stint in the Asian Formula 3 Championship late in 2006.

In what is set to be a busy month for the Austrian teenager, he will compete in the first round of the 2007 Asian series in China before making his Australian debut two weeks later on February 2 – 4 for the high-aiming Astuti team.

Two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart added another Golden Driller trophy to his burgeoning collection of winner's hardware as he raced to victory in Saturday night's 50-lap O'Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals championship feature event at Tulsa Expo Raceway.

And Indiana's Stewart wasn't the only NASCAR rep on the podium at the end of the Oklahoma Dodge Dealers Championship 21 feature events, as J.J. Yeley, who was fifth in 2006 NASCAR Busch Series claimed the runner-up spot followed by ARCA Re/Max Series driver Justin Allgaier in third.

Back in 1978  on January 15  Mario Andretti took his Lotus 79 to victory in the Argentine Grand

Prix (1978).  His first of many wins in the ground effect car that changed the face of F1.

14-01-07

DE VILLIERS ON TOP FOR VOLKSWAGEN AT HALF DISTANCE.  The Dakar Rally reached the half-way mark in a sandstorm in Mauritania this evening (Friday) with the Volkswagen team still in command of the world's toughest motor sport event.Another stage win for Giniel de Villiers - his second and the team's fifth - put the South African driver out in front for the first time, his Race Touareg 2 edging ahead of Carlos Sainz's sister car by a minute and a half.de Villiers follows his team-mates Carlos Sousa and Sainz in taking a turn in the overall lead; a Race Touareg has led since the rally started in Lisbon a week ago.
'I'm very pleased to have taken a stage win and the lead of the rally on what was a very difficult stage because of the weather,' said de Villiers. 'The car ran well.' Added Sainz: 'Visibility was terrible and we were lost twice in the dunes.'
There was drama for Sousa and for Finland's Ari Vatanen today: Vatanen's rally ended with a vehicle fire - neither he nor his co-driver, Fabrizia Pons, was injured - while Sousa slipped from third to ninth after getting his Volkswagen stuck in a dune and losing two hours.
The teams take a day off tomorrow (Saturday) ahead of Sunday's marathon test between Atâr and Tichit in Mauritania, a distance of 626 km in total. The timed special stage distance is 589 km, making it the longest test of the rally.
Provisional standings after leg 7 (of 15)
1,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  20h 4m 1s
2,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  +1m 39s
3,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +24m 38s
4,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +33m 53s
5,  Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP) / Pascal Maimon (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +1h 11m 30s
6,  Jean-Louis Schlesser / Arnaud Debron (FRA),  Schlesser,  +1h 12m 9s
7,  Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Alain Guehennec (FRA),  BMW,  +1h 32m 5s
8,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +1h 50m 39s
9,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +2h 38m 26s

12-01-07

RACE WINNER GILHAM TO CAMPAIGN NEW GOLF GTI.   Volkswagen Racing Cup event winner Tony Gilham is to return to the championship this season for a full title assault, it is announced today (Friday).  Gilham, who campaigned a Beetle RSi in 2006, winning one round and finishing on the podium a further three times, is building a new-model Golf GTI for his return to the Hankook-backed series.  'We were competitive last year in all areas except straight-line speed,' said Kent-based Gilham, 27, 'and I believe that the new Golf will be the solution to that problem… It's the car to have.'
Gilham's new machine - currently in build at the premises of Regal Autosport with the help of sponsor GIAC - will be the fourth new Golf GTI to join the Volkswagen Racing Cup. Michael McInerney, Michael Kurton and Steve Wood are expected to return to the grid with the machines they debuted last season.  Gilham's ex-Philip House Beetle has meanwhile been sold to Darren Blumson and the 2005 Stock Hatch Champion will be campaigning it alongside Paul Taylor's Golf R32 as Taylor bids to win the Volkswagen Racing Cup title for a second time.
Volkswagen Racing UK this week opened registrations for the championship and has already received five early deposits, from Taylor, Blumson, Kurton, McInerney and newcomer Richard Kingsnorth, who will race a Golf TDI. The 12-round championship gets underway at Oulton Park at Easter. 

Lloyds TSB Insurance has confirmed its commitment to the British Formula 3 Championship by continuing as title sponsor for the 2007 season. Lloyds TSB Insurance, which provides financial protection to over 5 million customers through its motor, travel, home, pet, business and creditor insurance products, became title sponsor to the British F3 Series in 2006.“We are extremely pleased that Lloyds TSB Insurance has decided to renew its title sponsorship of the British Formula 3 International Series; the prospects for year two of this partnership are very exciting,” said SRO Chairman Stephane Ratel. “After a successful 2006, we are looking forward to building upon the proven marketing and promotional strength of the British F3 International Series and Lloyds TSB Insurance relationship."“British F3 has become an intrinsic part of our marketing activity and 2006 really helped to raise awareness and interest in our brand – particularly for motor insurance,” commented Lloyds TSB Insurance Senior Marketing Manager Gary Hurry. “From a business perspective it was an easy decision to renew for 2007 and we look forward to being part of the thrills, spills and competitive racing ahead. We’re proud to continue our association.”

Leo and Greg Mansell will compete in the British F3  Championship  with Fortec Motorsport for the 2007 season. The series will consist of 22 rounds at 11 events, visiting the premier circuits of the UK, as well as overseas venues in Italy, Romania and Belgium. The first event of the season is on the 9th April at Oulton Park, Cheshire, UK.

Walker Racing have signed Ryan Lewis to join the team's line-up for the 2007 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. He will partner with Swiss racer Simona De Silvestro, who signed with the team in November.Lewis came out of a successful 2006 Atlantic rookie year with the Mi-Jack Conquest team, scoring three podiums and four top-five finishes. Walker Racing and Lewis hit the pavement earlier this week as they tested at Moroso Motorsports Park in Florida. Joining the team at the test was De Silvestro, and Irishman Patrick Hogan while Walker's Formula BMW USA squad tested Felipe Poletto and Giancarlo Vilarinho.This marks the third series of tests for the team and the first for Lewis. "It's great to have Ryan on board, obviously coming off of a strong first year in Atlantics last year we are keen to try and get back-to-back championships. The first test was a success and Ryan showed us he's got the speed," stated Walker Racing owner Derrick Walker .Anticipating a rewarding and challenging year, Lewis looks forward to competing for the reigning championship team. "Obviously I'm very happy to join the winning team and hopefully I can live up to the potential the guys have set," said Lewis. "We had a good test, but the main thing we achieved is that we learned how to work together. The Walker Racing team is a great group to work with and they push me hard at every step. It's a great environment for me to be in. I can't wait for the season to start."

Alan Docking Racing will have the chance to fight for two major Formula Three Championships in 2007, after today confirming they will form a technical partnership with Drew-Evans Motorsport Group in the Asian F3 Series.  Silverstone-based ADR’s expansion into to Asian Formula Three competition adds to the team current programs in British Formula Three and A1 Grand Prix.The partnership between DEmg and ADR will allow it to offer its drivers a direct path from Asia to Europe, allowing up and coming drivers to work with the same experienced team in both programs, giving them the best possible chance of success.

Audi will  return to the American Le Mans Series to defend their 2007 LMP1 championship. Last year, the marquee earned their seventh consecutive title, six with their former prototype, the very reliable Audi R8 which ran three of the ten races in 2006, the new Audi R10 TDI competed in the other seven. They not only showcased their new diesel engine during the year, they also made history. The R10 TDI made its debut at the 2006 Twelve Hours of Sebring and notched the victory. In the ALMS series, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello will return in 2007 to defend their championship. Their main rivals will be their own teammates Emanuele Pirro  and new co-driver Marco Werner. The first race for Audi to defend will be March 17 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

VOLKSWAGEN DAKAR RALLY 1-2-3 CONTINUES INTO MAURITANIA. Volkswagen drivers Carlos Sainz, Giniel de Villiers and Carlos Sousa maintained their grip on first, second and third positions in the Dakar Rally onThursday after another gruelling desert stage of the world's toughest motor sport event.  Sainz holds a three-minute advantage at the head of the field with de Villiers second and  Carlos Sousa third. The day's stage took them from Tan Tan in Morocco to Zouérat in Mauritania, which at 817 km was the longest single day of the event.
The Race Touareg 2 of de Villiers posted third-best time on the 394 km competitive section, with Sainz fourth fastest. The Hummer of American Robby Gordon won the stage.  'The stage went absolutely perfectly again for us,' said Sainz. 'The first 180 km were very fast, and then the conditions were very sandy. We can only hope that things continue to go this well for us and for Volkswagen.'  e fourth front-running Volkswagen, that of American Mark Miller, improved from 10th overall to eighth.
Friday's timed section is the longest of the rally thus far at 542 km; once it is completed the teams can look forward to a day's rest at Atâr in Mauritania ahead of a marathon test on Sunday.
Provisional standings after leg 6 (of 15)
1,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  16h 0m 4s
2,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +3m 11s
3,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +14m 3s
4,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +23m 55s
5,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +25m 3s
6,  Jean-Louis Schlesser / Arnaud Debron (FRA),  Schlesser,  +28m 50s
7,  Nani Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP),  Mitsubishi,  +37m 31s
8,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +54m 53s

11-10-07

SAINZ & VOLKSWAGEN STILL AHEAD ON DAKAR DAY 5.  Another stage victory for Carlos Sainz - his second and Volkswagen's fourth - earned the Spanish driver and his Race Touareg 2 an increased overall lead in the Dakar Rally today (Wednesday).Sainz and his French do-driver Michel Périn rolled into Tan Tan, Morocco, this afternoon having established a three-and-half minute outright advantage as the rally passed the one-third mark. Volkswagens continue to fill first, second and third positions overall with South African driver Giniel de Villiers close behind Sainz and Portugal's Carlos Sousa holding third. Both de Villiers and Sousa enjoyed strong runs on today's 325 km timed section. American Mark Miller maintains 10th overall for Volkswagen despite three punctures today. 
'That was a good day,' said Sainz. 'The Race Touareg coped with the difficult conditions perfectly and the stage win and increased lead are a bonus. But tomorrow marks the beginning of the really hard part of the rally…' The Dakar crosses into Mauritania tomorrow with another long stage, 394 km of which will be against the clock. 
Provisional standings after leg 5 (of 15)
1,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  12h 53m 50s
2,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +3m 36s
3,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +11m 17s
4,  Nani Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP),  Mitsubishi,  +16m 16s
5,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +20m 27s
6,  Guerlain Chicherit / Matthieu Baumel (FRA),  BMW,  +23m 31s
7,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +24m 31s
10,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +49m 32s.

Jonathan Kennard has signed up with Double R Racing for the British Formula 3 championship. The 2006 Championship winning team is owned by Kimi Raikkonen and his manager Steve Robertson. Kennard, 21, was 12^th in the championship last year with Alan Docking Racing.   ‘I enjoyed a very successful test prior to Macau with Double R, proving that I have the outright speed to challenge for the title,' explained Kennard. ‘My 2006 season with ADR taught me a huge amount and I am thankful to Alan and his team for all they have done for me.' ‘I am totally committed to my assault on the British F3 title, and I know that with the quality of staff and immense competence displayed by the Double R team, I can mount a genuine attack on the crown, not withstanding the fact that there will be a very competitive Championship in 2007.'  Double R team boss Anthony ‘Boyo' Hieatt said: “When we tested Jonathan back in October last year, we were immediately impressed with his approach and outright speed. By mid morning, he'd set the fastest F3 time ever around Pembrey so we are in no doubt that he will do extremely well this season. We are expecting big things from him.”  Kennard previously raced in T Cars and Formula Palmer Audi where he won the  title in 2004.

Sam Bird will race for Carlin Motorsport in the British F3 Championship in 2007. The team, which has won the title three times has this week announced that it will switch to Mercedes-Benz engines this year.  Sam drove with Carlin in his first ever season of car racing in 2004 in the inaugural Formula BMW UK Championship. “I was very comfortable with the Carlin team then and am delighted to return to them for 2007” said Sam “it’s a fantastic outfit and a championship-winning team, and with the Mercedes engine deal they should be in a good position to return to the top step of the championship podium”. Team Principal, Trevor Carlin said, “It’s excellent to have Sam back with us. We were very pleased with his performance back in 2004 and have kept in touch and monitored his progress ever since. It’s great that now Sam is ready to make the step up into F3, he can do it with his old team.”

A1 Team Australia today announced its new driver line-up and team strategy in the lead up to the next A1GP World Cup of Motorsport race at Taupo, New Zealand, 19-21 January.Confirming his acceptance of an offer to join an international racing team based in the United States, Ryan Briscoe will pass the baton of lead driver for A1 Team Australia to Karl Reindler for the next race in Taupo.

Fortec Motorsport, established by Richard Dutton in 1996, will take part in the  World Series by Renault championship, after winning the 2006 Formula Renault 2.0 British championship. Team principal Richard Dutton is looking forward to another victorious campaign in 2007. Fortec will be competing both in the World Series Formula Renault 3.5 and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0!

Dan Andersen of Andersen Racing announced recently that he has signed 17-year-old Terrick Mansur of Aruba to compete in the 2007 Hankook Tires Formula Ford 2000 championship .Mansur will drive an Andersen Racing entry in the first of three series the Fairfield, N.J.-based team uses in its comprehensive development program to create future Indy Racing League (IRL) and Champ Car World Series stars. In a well-thought-out and logical approach, the team nurtures drivers in the Hankook Formula Ford 2000 series and then the Star Mazda Championship before advancing them onto the final rung of its ladder, the Indy Pro Series, the official development series of the IRL. "We will be running three full-season drivers and an occasional fourth car this year in the Hankook series," Andersen noted. "We expect to announce our second driver within days, and our third full-season driver later this month. The team is currently looking at four other candidates for that final seat." Mansur has already shown signs of great promise. He is coming off an excellent 2006 season, winning both the FSCCA Formula Car Magazine Southeast Championship and the FSCCA South Atlantic Road Racing Championship.

David Brabham’s co-driver in the Highcroft Racing Acura Courage LM P2 entry in the American Le Mans Series will be  Stefan Johansson. Team owner Duncan Dayton said "I'm very pleased to announce that Stefan will be joining Highcroft Racing's 2007 ALMS program. His experience and talent will undoubtedly be very helpful in the development of our new Acura LMP2 package, and as everyone can clearly see, he is bloody quick." Stefan Johansson brings a wealth of experience, like Brabham, the Swede has raced in a variety of racing series at worldwide circuits, from openwheel to sportscar endurance races, including 24 races. "I'm very excited to join Highcroft Racing and Acura in their new sports car project," Johansson said. "I've known Duncan Dayton for several years as a great racing driver, and when he invited me to come and join his team it was a very easy decision for me.

10-01-07

Race Dates Announced and Entries Open for Porsche Series. The highly popular and competitive Porsche Club Championship and Porsche Open series now have their 2007 calendars fixed - and entries are open for prospective racers in either of the Porsche Club Great Britain's two circuit racing series.  Highlights of the 2007 schedule include a return to the Spa circuit in Belgium, always a favourite with drivers, and a dramatic end to the season in September with two combined races at Silverstone, on the Grand Prix layout supporting the Silverstone 24-Hours, and at Brands Hatch for the visit of the World Touring Car Championship to the famous Kent circuit. Porsche GB will once again be supporting both series with prize drives in the 2008 Porsche Carrera Cup going to leading drivers. Changes for 2007 include the introduction of a new class to the Porsche Club Championship, which will be for 911, 912 and 356 models built to Historic Regulations (FIA Appendix K). In the Porsche Open, changes have been made to the technical regulations in Class Two to enable drivers of early 911 GT3 specification cars to modify their vehicles, including re-mapping the engine, to compete with later model GT3s.

Damon Hill, the President of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), will officially open Autosport International 2007 at the NEC Birmingham on the first Press and Trade day of the show, Thursday 11 January. Damon, Britain’s last Formula One World Champion, took over from Jackie Stewart as President of the BRDC in 2006 following an eight-year Formula One career that netted him the coveted World Championship crown in 1996.

Oliver Jarvis  has signed a deal to run in the All-Japan F3 Series in 2007 with the reigning champion TOM’S. Jarvis, who took A1 Team Great Britain’s first podium of the 2006-07 A1GP series in China last November, heads east hoping to follow in the footsteps of numerous European drivers who have gone on to make it big in Japan, Eddie Irvine and Anthony Reid being just two. Runner-up in British F3 last year, Jarvis, winner of the 2005 Formula Renault UK Championship and BRDC McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year Award, is raring for his next challenge as he prepares to base himself full-time in Japan.

Former F1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve is expected to be named as a driver for Peugeot in the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours. The Canadian is expected to drive the new diesel car whci it is hope will challenge Audi for overall honours. A win would also make Villeneuve the first driver to win the F1 title, the Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans since Graham Hill completed the hat-trick back in 72. Three times Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais is expected to join the team alongside the Canadian. The other drivers in the two-car team are Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Minassian, Pedro Lamy and  Marc Gene. Peugeot’s last win at Le Mans was in 1993 with Eric Helary, Christophe Bouchut andGeoff Brabham.

Volkswagen's Carlos Sainz extended his overall lead today (Tuesday) in the Dakar Rally, reaching the overnight halt with 1m 55s in hand over his nearest rival, his Volkswagen team-mate Giniel de Villiers. Spaniard Sainz enjoyed another competitive day in the desert, completing the 405 km timed section between Er Rachidia and Ouarzazate in Morocco - the longest special stage of the rally so far - with third-best time, a few seconds slower than the Race Touareg 2 of Portugal's Carlos Sousa. The stage was won by the Ford-powered Schlesser buggy of French veteran Jean-Louis Schlesser.
Sainz continues to head a Volkswagen 1-2-3 ahead of the Mitsubishi team, whose leading light Stéphane Peterhansel today suffered clutch problems which dropped him to ninth overall, some 24 minutes behind.
Double World Rally Champion Sainz was pleased: 'We've maintained the lead in unfavourable conditions. I lost time at the start of the stage in some deep ruts, and the navigation was tricky at first as well. Then we had a rear puncture and had to stop to change a wheel.'
Volkswagen's American team member, Mark Miller, lost 40 minutes with a damaged rear differential; Finn Ari Vatanen stopped his Race Touareg 2 to help with repairs and shadowed his team-mate to the finish.
The Volkswagen team's official partners are Red Bull, Castrol, BP Ultimate, BT infonet, BFGoodrich, ZF Sachs, Bosch and BBS.
Provisional standings after leg 4 (of 15)
1,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  9h 17m 11s
2,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +1m 55s
3,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +7m 20s
4,  Nani Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP),  Mitsubishi,  +11m 44s
5,  Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP) / Pascal Maimon (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +12m 49s
6,  Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +16m 10s
10,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +41m 54s 

The 2007 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship has  16 teasm with 39 cars expressing an interest in the series by completing pre-registration between November 6 and December 21, 2006. Fifteen teams have been pre-selected for the 2007 season. They are : BVM Minardi Team(ITA), Carlin Motorsport(GB), Cram Compétition(ITA),  District Racing (ROM), Epsilon Euskadi Red Bull (ESP), Epsilon Euskadi (ESP), Fortec Motorsport (GB),  Jenzer Motorsport (SUI), Motopark Oscherlseben (GER), Motorsport Arena (GER), Omicron Racing (ESP), Prema Powerteam (ITA), SG Formula (FRA),  SG Drivers Project (FRA) and Thierry Boutsen Racing (BEL).

Sierra Sierra Enterprises has signed James Hinchcliffe to it's two-car 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship lineup. Bringing with him a strong racing background as well as a surplus of enthusiasm and excitement, Hinchcliffe will pair up with Brazilian driver Raphael Matos to round out the two-car effort.  "I'm really excited about signing with Sierra Sierra for next year's Atlantic series. After getting in touch with this team, it was clear how badly we wanted to work with one another, and we did everything we had to do to get the deal done. I can't wait for Vegas and I seriously expect to see some great results throughout the year," commented Hinchcliffe.

Aston Martin has confirmed details of its N24 race car, based on the critically acclaimed V8 Vantage road car, which will be showcased at the Autosport International Show this week. The Vantage N24 is based on a standard European specification production V8 Vantage, with modifications undertaken to prepare the car for the competitive racing environment.  

09-10-07

Ricky and Jordan Taylor enjoyed last weekend, the sons of 2005 Grand-Am Rolex champion Wayne Taylor.  Ricky, 17, and Jordan 15, both competed in the Skip Barber Southern Series race last weekend at Homestead-Miami Raceway in Florida.  Ricky started from the pole before winning both his races. He is now leading the championship with six races remaining.  "It was a really a good weekend for me," said Ricky. "My main competitor, Hayden Duerson, was leading the championship coming into the weekend by 25 points. He had a couple mistakes in both races and I benefited from it. Now I have a 50-point lead. It definitely was a good championship weekend for me. Jordan competed in his first ever car race at Homestead starting from the front row in Saturday's race, finishing third overall. On Sunday he started from third on the grid taking the lead in the first corner and leading for two laps. After a battle with 3 cars  Jordan was passed a few times, dropping to fifth before climbing back to third at the flag. "It was exciting to be on the podium in my first race in the car," said Jordan, who has been racing go-karts for the past five years. "I definitely learned a lot for future races. I know I can do better after all that I learned in these races. I hope to take what I learned and put it to good use next weekend in the Skip Barber Karting Shootout."

Team G.FRO has signed Jeff Westphal, 20 for the US Pacific F2000 Series in 2007.  Westphal, who hails from San Carlos, California, made his F2000 debut with Team G.FRO in last season's season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after completing a full and very impressive first season of racing in the Jim Russell Racing Series. Westphal qualified in the top-five and scored a sixth place finish at Las Vegas. "I am so excited to be able to drive for Team G.FRO in Pacific F2000," commented Westphal, who will pilot the #39 Team G.FRO/MCGC Van Diemen RF05 Zetec. "The team and I get along great and we look forward to giving it 110%."

The most successful Le Mans driver ever, Tom Kristensen, has been confirmed he will attend the Autosport International ’07 on Saturday & Sunday (13- 14 Jan) at the NEC. The Danish sports car driver became the first driver to win the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour race seven times when he clinched a record sixth consecutive victory in an Audi R8 in 2005.

08-01-07

DAAD Racing and TJ Motorsport to Field Porsche 968 RS Turbo in 2007 Britcar Championship.  The Lesniewski’s DAAD Racing has joined forces with TJ Motorsport, the team which took Dominic Lesniewski to the Matador Powertec Radical Challenge title in 2006, to take on the 2007 Britcar Championship.  The team will be contesting the Britcar Championship with their newly acquired Porsche 968 RS Turbo, which is set to add further interest to the already varied Britcar grid.  “The Porsche 968 RS Turbo is something a little different for the series and we are sure it will attract the attention of Porsche enthusiasts and the spectators alike” says Adam Lesniewski.  “It is an exciting prospect and with the track record of TJ Motorsports’ dedication and professionalism we are aiming to make a positive contribution to what looks set to be a great Championship.”  Built in 1992 by Freisenger Motorsport in Germany, the Porsche has raced in the US since 1998 powered by a Porsche 3.0 Turbo motor capable of producing 500+ bhp.   Dominic Lesniewski is confirmed as one of the two drivers, drivers interested in the second seat are invited to contact either Adam Lesniewski on 0778 5374027 or Trevor Griffiths on 0780 2268435

VOLKSWAGEN MAINTAINS 1-2-3 AFTER FIRST AFRICAN STAGE.  The Volkswagen team enjoyed another good day in the Dakar Rally today (Monday), Giniel de Villiers becoming the third different Race Touareg 2 driver to win a stage of the event. Meanwhile his team-mate, Carlos Sainz, accelerated into the overall lead to spearhead Volkswagen's 1-2-3.  South African de Villiers, who was second for Volkswagen in the 2006 Dakar, made the most of the going on the rally's first proper stage, between Nador and Er Rachidia in Morocco. Giniel and his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz completed the 252 km timed section 25 seconds quicker than Sainz. Third fastest on the day was French double Dakar victor Stéphane Peterhansel in his Mitsubishi.
Said Sainz: 'It was an absolutely perfect stage for us, everything went well and my co-driver, Michel Périn, navigated beautifully. There was a lot of dust, and I had to overhaul around 160 motorcycles, which was not easy.'   'It was a good first day in Africa for us,' added Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen, 'and Giniel gave us our third successive stage win.'  Portuguese privateer Carlos Sousa continues to hold third overall in his Volkswagen, with American Mark Miller's(below) Race Touareg 2 moving up to fifth. Finnish veteran Ari Vatanen (pictured)was 11th fastest on today's stage but remains 1h 49m off the lead after his watersplash mishap of Sunday.
The Volkswagen team's official partners are Red Bull, Castrol, BP Ultimate, BT infonet, BFGoodrich, ZF Sachs, Bosch and BBS.
Provisional standings after leg 3 (of 15)
1,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  5h 9m 19s
2,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +1m 02s
3,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +4m 26s
4,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +6m 03s
5,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +9m 12s
6,  Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP) / Pascal Maimon (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +11m 17s

Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club – Trackday 27^th February . There are so few opportunities to explore the performance of our cars nowadays so JEC offers the chance to use road cars at racetracks where we can.  Expert tuition is supplied to get the best from your car under strictly controlled conditions. Technical support is also provided as part of the trackday experience in addition to chat to like-minded enthusiasts.  All that is required is a road legal car, which need not be a Jaguar. The day consists of a briefing, followed by demonstration laps with novices as passengers in which the Instructor will talk you round the circuit. Then follow one-to-one laps with the Instructor sitting along side you. When you are ready, you will be allowed out alone. You may use the Instructors services throughout the day. Sessions are split into experience levels so you will be running alongside similarly skilled drivers in batches of no more than 20. Overtaking is limited to certain parts of the circuit on one side only. Sessions of up to 15 minutes are terminated by a chequered flag. You may run as many sessions as time permits, normally a total of 2.5 hours track time. The circuit is marshalled. The next Trackday is at Mallory Park, between Leicester & Coventry on Tuesday February 27th.  Spectators are welcome.For further information & to register an interest.  Tel 01453 842399 or blue.dye@virgin.net

Vision Racing will have Tony George as one of its drivers at the Daytona Rolex 24 hours on January 27th. George, the team owner who also owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of the Indy Racing League, will join Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter and A.J. Foyt IV in one of the Vision Racing Porsche Crawford Daytona Prototypes.  “I have always wanted to do this race, and it gives our drivers a chance to tune up before we officially start the 2007 IndyCar Series season,” George said. “Now that we have our own race team, it provides me the opportunity to participate in this historic event."   George previously raced  in the USAC Pro-Ford championship back in 1984 before moving to the SCCA Formula Ford Central Division in 85. He then ran in Super Vee and Formula Pacific in 86 and 87 before competing in the American Racing Series for A.J. Foyt in 1989.IRL team.

VOLKSWAGEN 1-2-3 AS DAKAR RALLY IS MOROCCO-BOUND. The Volkswagen team completed the European section of the Dakar Rally in excellent form today (Sunday), winning both of the rally's opening stages and holding first, second and third places overall.  Portugal's Carlos Sousa,(pictured) at the wheel of his privately entered Team Lagos Volkswagen Race Touareg 2, was the winner of Saturday's Lisbon-Portimão stage by a two-and-a-half minute margin and he and his German co-driver, Andreas Schulz, continue to lead outright.
Today it was the turn of Spanish double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz to shine, his Volkswagen completing the relatively short 67 km special stage nearly 30 seconds quicker than nearest rival Nani Roma (Mitsubishi). Sainz and his co-driver, Frenchman Michel Périn, arrived in Malaga for the ferry to Morocco holding second overall.
Volkswagen's South African driver Giniel de Villiers is third overall and the Race Touareg 2 of American Mark Miller is in seventh spot. Ari Vatanen,meanwhile, lost 90 minutes when his car entered a waterway too quickly and the engine was flooded. 'We changed the air filter,' said the Finn, 'and had to check several other things also. In the end we were able to finish the stage under our own steam.' Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen added: 'We've had a relatively good start; three Volkswagens continue as the front runners… Ari made a mistake and this cost him, but the rally is still long.' 
The rally proper gets underway on Monday with a 649 km stage between Nador and Er Rachidia in Morocco, 252 km of which will be against the clock. The Volkswagen team's official partners are Red Bull, Castrol, BP Ultimate, BT infonet, BFGoodrich, ZF Sachs, Bosch and BBS.
Provisional standings after leg 2 (of 15)
1,  Carlos Sousa (POR) / Andreas Schultz (GER),  Volkswagen,  2h 21m 57s
2,  Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Michel Périn (FRA),  Volkswagen,  +45s
3,  Giniel de Villiers (RSA) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (GER),  Volkswagen,  +2m 12s
4,  Nani Roma / Lucas Cruz Senra (ESP),  Mitsubishi,  +3m 29s
5,  Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA),  Mitsubishi,  +3m 55s
6,  Guerlain Chicherit / Matthieu Baumel (FRA),  BMW,  +4m 49s
7,  Mark Miller (USA) / Ralph Pitchford (RSA),  Volkswagen,  +6m 27s

07-01-07

Dario Franchitti has been confirmed at Andretti Green for this year's Inday car Series. Franchitti will join Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick in the 4 car team. He will also drive ifor the team in thier ALMS campaign alongside Bryan Herta, with brother Marino taking his plalce when Ind]ay car races clash with ALMS events.

Scuderia Ecosse's entry for this year's Le Man 24 Hours has now been confirmed by the ACO. Team Boss Stewart Roden is hoping for better things this year and said,'This year we aim to go one step further and win our class overall'. The teams drvier line-up has still to be confirmed  

2006 Asian Formula 3 Champion James Winslow has been award the Royal Humane Award  for saving  Moreno Soeprapto after an accident in Indonesia back in September.  It will be presented at Buckingham Palace on the 16th May 2007.

Formula Renault driver Will Bratt is looking forward to 2007 when his will stay in the  Formula Renault UK Championship for a third season. It has been confirmed that he will remain with front-running outfit Scorpio Motorsport for the 200. As part of his new deal with the Loughborough team, 18-year-old Will has a brand new FR 2.0 chassis with which to challenge for podiums, victories and ulitimately the title.

Matt Shawyeris to take part in a special televised kart race at Birmingham’s NEC next Friday, 12th January, as he bids to help raise vital funds for the disabled children’s charity Whizz-Kidz.The 24-year-old last year competed with the Russell Racing squad in the Formula Renault BARC Championship until a budget shortfall ended a hisseason, is to team-with fellow Formula Renault racers Will Bratt and David Epton as part of the second annual Racing4Charity.com Celebrity Kart Challenge.

02-1-07

Scuderia Ecosse are to be invited to take part in this year's Le Man24 hours by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. The Le Mans organisers have decided that the top two teams in GT1 and GT2 of the FIA Championship would receive automatic entries to this year's race. Stewart Roden's team did of course finish second to Italy's AF Corse in the FIA Series in 2006 as well as winning the British GT title. 

30-12-06

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs has launched a new web site. Any news relating to the talented 15 year old can be viewed at www.quaifehobbs.com Adrian has been  testing with Fortec Motorsport in France and Spain to familiarize himself, both with the BMW and the team. The 2007 Formula BMW UK Championship looks set to see some close races with full grids, which will give Adrian excellent race experience to further his racing knowledge.

V8Superstore.com has signed an agreement with V8 Supercars Australia to provide an official website for the V8 Supercar Championship Series  The site will provide a secure online shop for genuine Team and Series merchandise.   It is expected to be up and running in the new year

Colin Osborne has been re-elected as the President of CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motorsports) for a further two years following a recent meeting of the CAMS Board. Bob Glindemann was also re-elected as one of two Vice Presidents, along with Andrew Papadopoulos who replaces Peter Marcovich who has served as a Vice President for several years. Having served in the position since 2001, Osborne will continue as CAMS President until the end of 2008, whilst Papadopoulos and Glindemann's positions are annual appointments.

27-12-06

For the first time ever, the World Series by Renault will venture into Eastern Europe in 2007. The Hungaroring will host the fourth meeting of the 2007 season on July 14-15 (TBC). This meeting replaces the one which was initially due to be held in Estoril on June 2-3. The other change concerns the French round, which will be held at the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit in 2007. The drivers will therefore have the chance to drive on two more F1 circuits!

World Series Formula Renault 3.5 starting line-ups begin to take shape. As things stand, three teams have already confirmed their two drivers: Carlin Motorsport (Sebastian Vettel/Mikhail Aleshin), Victory Engineering (Giedo van der Garde/Charlie Kimball) and Epsilon-Euskadi (Filipe Albuquerque/Davide Valsecchi). Carlo Iaconelli (Interwetten.com) and Julien Jousse (Tech 1 Racing) have also been confirmed as participants for 2007.

New name for Comtec .Following the signature of a lead partnership agreement with a well-known Dutch energy drinks brand, the Comtec Racing team will be known as Red Devil Comtec in 2007.

Several Formula Renault 2.0 teams were in Valencia this week to take advantage of the time available before private tests are prohibited on January 1, 2007. Cram Competition, Epsilon-Euskadi, Lo Racing, District Racing, Prema Powerteam, BVM and SG Formula all tested their potential drivers for next season.

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.  Prema Powerteam and Toyota have just agreed to extend their agreement on the young driver training programme, which helped Kamui Kobayashi, in particular, to win the Eurocup in 2004. In 2007, Henki Waldschmidt and Martin Plowman will be with the Italian team for a second season. They will be joined by Andrea Caldarelli.

Charlie Kimball will complete the Victory Engineering Team's driver line-up for the 2007 World Series by Renault season. Kimball, 21, will join his old F3 Euroseries rival, Giedo Van de Garde on the grid for next year. Kimball joins Victory after a challenging year in the F3 Euroseries, which saw the American take a great victory at Zandvoort ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Kimball backed this up with two second places at Barcelona and Le Mans to finish 11th in the championship in an extremely competitive season

23-12-06

The Official Clio Cup Scholarship races on to your TV screen through the high speed Motors TV channel,(Sky channel 413).The Official Clio Cup Scholarship is a competition open to anyone 17 years and over.  The first prize is a full season racing in the 2007 Clio Cup Championship, which supports the British Touring Car Championship and the World Series by Renault series.From Friday 23rd February Motors TV will broadcast 6 x 30 minute weekly episodes covering the scholarship from Round One, right through to the winner being selected.  In the sixth episode coverage of the winner's first test day with the Double Six team, as part of the Official Clio Cup test day, will be broadcast.  This is likely to be the first time the New for 2007 Clio Cup car will be featured on TV in the UK.Further ongoing discussions about broadcasting a behind the scenes documentary following the winner throughout the season are taking place, and we hope to make a further announcement soon.Marc Nelson, Team Manager of Double Six Racing, comments "This is fantastic news!  We are really excited about showing what goes on in the scholarship, and also what it takes to compete in the Clio Cup championship.  We started the scholarship on the basis of providing an opportunity for people who may be very good drivers but may not be able to fund the racing themselves.  Furthermore we decided that we would promote the winner as much as possible during the season - the coverage on Motors TV will help with this enormously.""Motors TV has built itself as the leading Motorsport channel in the UK over the past years, through broadcasting major international series but also, and probably even more importantly, most national UK championships. Our aim is to address all Motorsport fans, and who else shall be more interested than those willing to play a role in the sport! The Official Clio Cup Scholarship then made perfect sense to us, and we're very confident it will help our channel grow even further as well as letting people know how to get involved in Motorsport", added Motors TV Head of Programming & Acquisitions Frédéric Viger. The Official Clio Cup Scholarship will be broadcast on Motors TV as follows:
Friday 23rd February, 8:30pm - Introduction/Round One coverage
Friday 2nd March, 8:30pm - Round One coverage
Friday 9th March, 8:30pm - Round Two coverage
Friday 16th March, 8:30pm - Semi-Final
Friday 23rd March, 8:30pm - Final
Friday 30th March, 8:30pm - Winner's first test day

UK RACE CARS BREAK COVER AHEAD OF JANUARY DELIVERY. Renault race cars destined for Britain’s biggest saloon car championship have broken cover for the first time as the UK’s batch of New Clio Cup cars rolled out of the Renault Sport factory in Dieppe ahead of delivery in the new year. A total of 52 orders have been placed for New Clio Cup, the pure racer that will be introduced to contest the 2007 ELF Renault Clio Cup. The uptake for the 2.0-litre 205bhp car has reached record levels and the series is set to become the most successful in Renault UK’s 30+ year motorsport history.  Good news is that further orders can still be placed for the latest evolution of Renault’s renowned saloon-car racer, with delivery in time to join the first grid of 2007. With a four-week production time, an order placed on Renault Sport UK’s stand at the Autosport International Show in January could still be delivered in time for the first official test in February. Championship registration will also open at Autosport International, Thursday-Sunday, 11^th 14^th January, with teams and drivers having until Friday, 23^rd February to sign-up ahead of the first official test day at Silverstone on Monday, 26^th February.  Renault Sport UK is expecting its biggest field for decades and has had to make provision to accommodate all the cars likely to enter. “We could easily see as many as 40 plus competitors in the field, so we have had to make special arrangements to make sure everyone who registers can race”, commented Renault UK Motorsport Director Tim Jackson. In the event of more registrations received than can start a race according to the circuit’s track licence, the new format for both qualifying and races makes sure everyone entered can race. The field will be divided into two groups of approximately equal size. The first group will qualify for 15 minutes, directly followed by the second group for 15 minutes. The starting grid for the first qualification race will be based upon the times recorded by the first group’s qualifying session. The starting grid for the second qualification race will be based upon the times recorded by the second group’s qualifying session. On Saturday afternoon there will be two qualifying races – one for each group.  The starting grid for Sunday’s championship round will be based upon the results of the two qualification races. The group containing the driver setting the fastest individual lap time will line up on the pole position side of the grid with the race winner in pole position and the second-placed driver directly behind and so on. The other group will line up on the opposite side of the grid with the race winner in the second grid place and the second placed driver directly behind and so on. When the qualification races procedure is applied there will be only one championship round during the race meeting but prize money will be adjusted accordingly.

Knockhill launches 2007 Classic SpeedFair . The second running of the Classic SpeedFair at Knockhill will be over the weekend of 21/22 July 2007. The event will be a major celebration of historic motorsport and Scottish sporting heritage at the Knockhill circuit near Dunfermline, and will build on the success of the inaugural event. The event will be extended for 2007, with a full day of racing on each day of the weekend. The major themes will be rallying and motorbike racing, while details of the full racing programme will be confirmed shortly. 
A major celebration of Scottish rallying heritage will be the key focus of Saturday's programme, while the major theme for Sunday will be 100 years of the TT. The event will also mark the 50th anniversary of the first 100mph lap of the Isle of Man TT course by Scot Bob McIntyre. 
Among the races will be the Jackie Stewart Trophy for FF1600, which is likely to run to a heats and final basis to accommodate the entry. Other classic races, on two and four-wheels, will be announced in the New Year.  In addition to race action, a diverse range of on-and off-track activities will entertain the whole family. The whole of the extensive Knockhill venue will be used to host a glorious array of displays, demonstrations and activities to really involve visitors, no matter what their particular interest. Marque clubs, military vehicles, commercial vehicles and airborne displays will all feature in an event designed to cater for 'grandfathers to grandsons'! "The feedback we received from the first Classic SpeedFair is that it was the best event we have ever hosted," says Knockhill's Stuart Gray. "It was a cracking start to the annual event and plans for 2007 are coming together extremely well."

Karl Wendlinger has signed on to drive the Sigalsport BMW Daytona Prototype at the 2007 Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.  The Austrian former F1 racer will share the car with sportscar specialist Bill Auberlen, Matt Alhadeff and team owner Gene Sigal.  "I am very pleased to join Sigalsport BMW for the upcoming 45th Rolex 24 at Daytona,"announced Wendlinger. "I won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2000 and I am happy to be back to try to win again with a Daytona Prototype car and new Sigalsport teammates Matt, Bill and Gene" With ten victories under his belt and 26 podiums, Sigal is very pleased to have the Austrian on board for the 2007 Rolex 24 at Daytona race. "It is a great opportunity for our team to add a former F1 driver and Daytona champion to our drivers' line-up for the Rolex 24 at Daytona," commented Sigal.

Andersen Racing has signed Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 driver Ricardo Vassmer to drive one of its cars the 2007 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Vassmer, 23, from Venezuela, finished third in the FF2000 series this year and was impressive in recent tests with the team’s Star Mazda machine. "His tests were fantastic," said a happy team owner, Dan Andersen. "He's excited to be working with Remi Lanteigne, one of our engineers, whom he worked with at the tests and in an opportunity he had to run a couple of Atlantic races this year.  "Ricardo is fast," Andersen added. "Our goal is the Star Mazda championship, and we firmly believe that he's capable of achieving that for us next year."  Vassmer is expected to test on Dec. 28 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida and at Sebring in early January.

 21-12-06

Chip Ganassi Racing announced today the expansion of its Indy Racing League program with the creation of a two-car Indy Pro Series team to contest the 2007 season. Young drivers Chris Festa and Pablo Perez will join the Indianapolis-based team's stable of drivers which includes 2003 IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon as well as 2005 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion Dan Wheldon.  "I am excited about this," said Team Owner Chip Ganassi. "Despite the fact that we are involved in a number of racing leagues, I am a big proponent of open wheel racing in the U.S. I feel it is a great form of racing and anything that we can do as an organization to help cultivate young talent in the cars and also in the garage is a benefit to us as a team and the open wheel racing industry."

Australian teenager Drew Russell will join the ranks of Australian V8 Supercars in 2007 when he enters the Fujitsu V8 Series. Russell made his racing debut in the 2004 Clipsal 500 Australian Production Car Championship support races just before his 16th birthday, becoming the youngest driver to do so, having previously contested karting and the Formula Challenge open wheel series in New Zealand.  The following year, he was first in Class A and second outright in the 2005 Australian Production Car Championship, and last month secured the 2006 GTP Privateers Cup title. "I'm really excited about it," beamed Russell. "We've had a good run in Production Cars and GTP in the last couple of years and this is really the next step as I work towards my goal of racing successfully in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It will definitely be a massive step up both for me personally and the team and it will take a lot of hard work, but I think it will be a great achievement when we are sitting there on the grid next year for the first time, ready to race." In an early Christmas present for Russell, Global Racing Industries,headed by Drew's father Wayne, recently took control of a Holden VX Commodore, campaigned previously by Derek Van Zelm in the class. It will be prepared from their Newcastle base ahead of Russell's debut in the series at the Clipsal 500 in March

Giedo Van der Garde has been confirmed by Victory Engineering as one of team’s drivers in the 2007 World Series Formula Renault 3.5 Championship, just days after the young Dutchman’s appointment to third driver for the Super Aguri F1 Team.  ‘My test in Valencia was really successful. The team and I worked perfectly together. Victory has proved to be a top team and I’m confident that this year we will achieve some good results.” 

20-12-06

Genoa Racing have announced that it will field a two-car effort in the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship.Owned by Angelo Ferro, the team returns to the Atlantic Championship after competing in the series in the early 90s. Former Atlantic driver and longtime successful open-wheel racing engineer Thomas Knapp will serve as team manager and lead engineer, while Jimmy Vasser will be a team consultant. Ferro, Knapp, and Vasser teamed together at Genoa Racing when Vasser first established himself as a future star, producing six wins and eight poles while finishing second in the 1991 Atlantic Championship. "We're all very excited to be returning to the Atlantic series in 2007," said Ferro. "Genoa Racing is in a position to offer two subsidized seats to select, championship-caliber drivers next season, and it's the team's intention to challenge for the Atlantic Championship."  Operating out of the team's facility in Zionsville, Indiana - just outside of Indianapolis - Genoa Racing is on the fast track to finalize its 2007 program.  "We're currently looking for the right driver combination. Ideally, we'd like to find one driver with Atlantic racing experience and potentially one series rookie," added Knapp. "We're looking for moldable young drivers with a good head on their shoulders. You love raw speed but we are looking for well-rounded individuals who realize they've got to do a lot of things well, in and out of the car, in order to succeed." 

Paul Stoddart has purchased a controlling interest in the Indianapolis-based CTE Racing – HVM Champ Car team. To be known as Minardi Team USA, the new-look operation has confirmed a minimum of two cars and a maximum of four for the 2007 season.  While drivers have not been confirmed at this stage, names such as Katherine Legge, former Minardi drivers Jos Verstappen and Robert Doornbos and current team drivers Nelson Philippe and Dan Clarke have been mentioned as possible candidates. Stoddart is the latest Australian to become involved in the North-American open wheel series which enjoys its most successful event of the year at the Lexmark Indy 300 on Queensland’s Gold Coast each October.

Mazda North American Operations and Skip Barber Racing School LLC has announced a new, long-term partnership agreement that promises to reshape the world of competitive motorsports. The agreement will deliver a broad range of programs designed to further define and strengthen the U.S. motorsports "ladder" through which drivers learn and gain experience on their way to the top ranks of amateur and professional racing. Mazda will supply vehicles to Skip Barber for exclusive use in the "Skip Barber Driving School Powered by Mazda." The school annually graduates over 7,000 students and will feature the MAZDA3, MX-5 and RX-8 cars in a variety of purpose-built exercises at Skip Barber's premier base locations, including Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, Sebring International Raceway and Daytona International Speedway in Florida, Road America in Wisconsin, and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut.In addition, Mazda engines will soon provide power to the 120 racecars used in the "Skip Barber Racing School Powered by Mazda" and the "Skip Barber Race Series Powered by Mazda." Skip Barber's Racing School annually graduates over 5,000 students and is offered at over 20 prominent racetracks across the nation. Graduates have included drivers Jeff Gordon, Michael and Marco Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, and other marquee names in professional racing.

The Formula Renault BARC Championship is returning to Donington Park after a season's absence in 2007 alongside some of the UK’s top circuits. Sadly it isn’t going to Pembrey or Knockhill  and for logistical reasons is not able to include a round alongside Formula Renault Uk and Clio Cup which supports the BTCC

18-12-06

Up and coming Swiss driver Alexandre Imperatori took the last win of the season held at Southern China’s Zhuhai International Circuit. Running second in the Asia F Renault championship, the Asia Racing Team frontrunner knew that the chances of taking the Asian series crown was very little as the only way he could seize it is if the series leader scored not better than a fifth place: “I will simply just do my best to win the race and we’ll just have to see how good that will make” he explained before the event.

In this week in Motorsport  the first world Land Speed Record was set was Acheres. Compte Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat drove a Jeantaud to a speed of 39.24 mph/62.78 kmh on 18-12-1898.  On December 19 Matra test their first 3 litre V12 engine in 1967 and on December 20 1968  Karl Wendlinger was born.  The next day, December 21 1992 one Ayrton Senna tested a Penske Indycar at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, while on December 23  1956 Michele Alboreto(pictured at Brands in born in Milan.

Rodolfo Avila has secured a test deal with British F3 International Series team's Performance Racing Europe. The Macanese was invited by the Sweden founded and UK based team to drive the Championship Class car Dallara F306-Mügen Honda on the 19th and 20th at Valencia, Spain.After conquering the 4th position in the 2006 British F3 National Class championship, Rodolfo Avila is evaluating his options for next season. The Macau SAR official driver wants to continue his career in the highest level of the world motorsport. This test will give Avila the opportunity to try the car he drove at Macau Grand Prix where the Macanese motorsport biggest hope didn’t showed all his talent because of qualifying engine troubles and an early accident at Fishermen’s Bend.

Simon Pagenaud  emerged as the quickest runner in a test with Forsythe Championship Racing at MSR Houston in Texas this week. The former Atlantic star seems to have taken to Champ cars like a duck to water. "I want to thank Jerry Forsythe for giving me this opportunity to test with a championship-winning team," said Pagenaud. "Everyone on the team helped me to get the best out of the car and out of myself. I was already confident about my move to Champ Car next season, but now that I have experienced the car and set the times that I did, I know I am ready to compete in the Champ Car World Series.  There's definitely a huge difference between the Atlantic cars and the Champ Cars, but I feel like my time in Atlantics prepared me for the step up in power and downforce. The car was just great to drive, and now I am really looking forward to driving the new Panoz."  Pagenaud is working to find the best environment for his Champ Car World Series rookie campaign, and has been in communication with a number of teams. With a clear capability of getting up to speed quickly no matter what the track or the car, and with the $2 million champion's check toward his 2007 Champ Car rookie season, Pagenaud's phone has been ringing often.

Heikki Kovalainen was the Champion of Champions in 2004, and he showed the same form in this year's Nations' Cup, the first event in the Race of Champions, being held at the Stade de France in Paris. Kovalainen, who will be starting his Formula One career with Renault in 2007, won all six of his races, in spite of missing Friday's practice sessions, leading Finland to a victory in the rain-soaked event. His teammate in the Nations' Cup was Marcus Gronholm, a two-time World Rally champion. "Marcus and I have been trying to win the ROC-Nations Cup since we first formed a team together in 2004," Kovalainen explained. "We were determined to do it this year and now we've succeeded." The Finns took the title with a victory over a short-staffed Team USA in the finals: Travis Pastrana had been slated to drive first with NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, and then with Formula One driver Scott Speed, but both suffered injuries, leaving Pastrana the sole driver for the team. Pastrana, a highly successful motocross and freestyle rider, had his first taste of a rally car at the 2003 Race of Champions, and last year moved full-time from two wheels to four, winning the 2006 Rally America championship in only his second year in the sport.

Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller will strengthen the Audi driver squad in both the DTM and in sportscar events with the revolutionary Audi R10 TDI Diesel sportscar during the forthcoming 2007 motorsport season. Both Germans are products of the Porsche "Star of Tomorrow" scheme. Lucas Luhr made his breakthrough in 1999 after winning the Porsche Carrera Cup. In the following seven years, the youngster from Koblenz developed into one of the world's best sportscar drivers.

16-12-06

Former Formula 1 driver Clay Regazzoni was killed yesterday in a tragic accident near Parma. Italian Police  said that Regazzoni's car  collided with a tractor  and another car to the west of the city.  Regazzoni was the only fatality. Clay, 67, was born in Switzerland and drove for several teams in F1, notably Ferrari, as team mate to Niki Lauda and Williams where he scored the team's first victory at Silverstone in 1979. He also drove for Shadow, BRM and Ensign.

Oliver Jarvis has signed up with the reigning Japanese F3 championship winning TOM’S Toyota team for 2007. The 22 year old 2005 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner, who was runner-up and highest placed rookie driver in this year’s British F3 International Series driving for Carlin Motorsport, will make his debut in the All Japan F3 Championship next season.  The signing followed an invitation from TOM’S Toyota who singled Jarvis out as a hot prospect for their 2007 driver line-up.  “I am really excited to be part of the TOM’S Toyota team,” says Jarvis who will re-locate from Cambridgeshire to live in Japan during the F3 season next year. “It is a great honour to be invited to join such a well-respected and successful team, especially as this is my first role as a professional works driver.”  Jarvis departs this month for Japan to fulfil his first testing obligations for the TOM’S Toyota team whose Adrian Sutil claimed the 2006 Japanese F3 Championship title this year. Previous drivers to their credit include Jacques Villeneuve, Peter Dumbreck and Darren Manning. 

The 2007 schedule for the Danish Touringcar Championship has now been announced and next season will see the top series racing at the three circuits Jyllandsringen, Padborg Park and Sturup Raceway.

Forsythe Championship Racing concluded its 2006 testing program Wednesday after spending two days at the MSR Houston road course with 2006 Champ Car Atlantic champion Simon Pagenaud, Adam Carroll and Jay Howard behind the wheel of their machines. The team now returns to its Indianapolis based headquarters where it will eagerly await delivery of its brand new Panoz DP01 and prepare for its attack on the 2007 Champ Car World Series Championship.Pagenaud, Carroll and Howard had to hold off their excitement an extra day as the test was postponed due to heavy storms in the Texas area. Once they finally got out on the track all three drivers completed a full day of testing logging over 150 trouble-free miles each. For Pagenaud and Howard this test marked the first time they got behind the wheel of one of these turbocharged 750 horsepower Champ Cars. Carroll already had some Champ Car experience as he tested with the RuSport Team and was selected to be a reserve driver for Justin Wilson at the 2006 Champ Car Finale in Mexico City .

The Lodge Sports Porsche 924 drivers got together for their traditional end of season party and awards evening at the Allesley Hall Hotel in Warwickshire last month, where Gary Duckman was presented with championship trophy in front of his peers. Series sponsor and co-ordinator Ernie Cheetham decided that the proceeds of the after dinner raffle should be donated entirely to the Motorsport Safety Fund and £263 was subsequently raised for the charity.

The Ford Fiesta Championship grids of Fiesta Si and Fiesta Zetec will see an added class for 2007 - the Ford Fiesta ST. Several competitors & teams have purchased Fiesta ST cars and are now converting them to race track specification for the 2007 season.
The Fiesta ST class will be subject to a Group N basis and it is hoped that the car will be competitive and comparable in times with the current Fiesta Si. Having a Fiesta car from the current Ford model range out racing on the track will add interest to the increasingly popular Ford Fiesta Championship.

Highlights of October’s Formula Ford Festival meeting, won by Richard Tannahill, are now showing on Motors TV. The broadcast dates/times in December are; 18th at 4pm, 20th at 8pm, 21st at 1.30am, 23rd at 7am and to round off your Christmas Day viewing, 25th at 7.30pm.

BRSCC members can also get reduced price tickets for the Le Mans Gala Dinner at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Saturday 13 January. Among the line-up of legendary drivers at the show and the dinner will be Allan McNish, who took the Le Mans 24-hour spoils in 1998 with Stephane Ortelli and Laurent Aiello in a Porsche 911 GT1. Joining Allan will be David Brabham, who secured second overall in 2003 with Team Bentley, and Paddy Hopkirk, who made history in 1965 by finishing second in class and 11th overall in the MGB GT. In addition to the dazzling array of stunning Le Mans machines at the show there will be more cars on display at the Gala Dinner, drivers to meet, a wonderful four-course dinner and a celebrity compère to bring the whole evening alive.
The amazing package for BRSCC members includes a room at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole with full breakfast & the four-course dinner for just £123.00 per person. A contribution from each ticket will be given to BEN, the Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund. To secure a seat at the dinner and enjoy the Le Mans experience at the Show, call 08705 201201 or e-mail uk.specialevents@hilton.com

It’s still not too late for BRSCC members to apply for their free ticket to Autosport International, worth £26. You can choose which day they want to attend from any of the four days of the Show, which runs from Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th January, at the NEC in Birmingham. To apply for your free ticket log-on to www.autosport-international.com then click Trade Visitors and then Trade Registration and follow the steps from there. You will need to have your BRSCC membership number when applying and you will need to be a current member of the BRSCC at the time of the Autosport Show. Therefore if your membership expires before January you will need to renew it beforehand. If you are not already a BRSCC member you can still join the Club and claim your free Autosport Show ticket. Just call Jo Ward on 01732 780100 or download an application form from the website www.brscc.co.uk

Tickets for the annual Motorsport Safety Fund Watkins Lecture are still available. The Lecture takes place at the NEC on Friday 12th January – during the Autosport Show - starting at 11.15am. The guest speaker will be none other than the man the Lecture is named after - Professor Sid Watkins. Tickets are free and can be applied for by sending an SAE to; Watkins Lecture, Motorsport Safety Fund, PO Box 200, Sevenoaks TN15 8WZ

The BRSCC Midland Centre has appointed Alan Tyson as their Chief Marshal. Alan, who also joins the Centre Committee, takes over from Keith Jones who kindly stood in for twelve months following John Sadler’s retirement at the end of last season. While wishing Alan the best of luck we would also like to thank Keith for his efforts throughout 2006

The BRSCC Northern Centre’s 2007 Annual Dinner Dance & Awards Presentation evening will take place at the regular venue of Artie’s Mill, Brigg, North Lincolnshire, on Saturday 17th March commencing at 7.30pm for 8pm. Tickets are priced at £17 each and are available from Tracey Coe (Tracey can also let you a Rescue Unit for an event if required!). Tel: 01535 652691 or lynxrescue@blueyonder.co.uk
The BRSCC Northern Centre Committee would also like extend Christmas greetings and best wishes for a safe, prosperous and successful New Year, to all members and would especially like to thank all marshals, officials and competitors who supported their events in 2006

The Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Atlantic has signed its first driver for the 2007 Cooper Tires Champ Car Atlantic series, American Matt Lee, the 2006 Formula BMW USA Championship runner-up.

Formula Renault UK driver Alexander Sims has been hailed as a potential challenger for podiums and race victories during the 2007 championship after performing well during winter testing at Albacete in Spain last week. The 18-year-old joined Manor, the squad with which he made his category debut during November’s four-round Winter Championship, for three and a half days of intensive running and both driver and team returned from the Spanish venue delighted with the progress made.“Every session went really well”, reflected Alexander, “I truly started to feel at home with the Renault at Albacete. If the car moved around at any point I was completely happy with it and could control it without thinking. The feeling I am getting now in the car is how comfortable I felt in karts so that’s really good news. We ran on several new sets of tyres, throughout the test I started driving harder on those and getting more time out of the fresh rubber. The team was excellent, I’m very pleased with how things went and we continued to work very well together. I have no complaints whatsoever and I think we’re very close to agreeing a deal for next season.” 

Chinese Formula Renault Champion Alexandre Imperatori is already looking forward to 2007 and preparing for his next season.The driver and his management team are looking at various possibilities for 2007, with opportunities arising both from Europe and Asia. Alexandre took another step in his career last week when it took part in his maiden Formula 3 test at Batangas Racing Circuit in the Philippines.The young Swiss tested with reigning Asian Champion team JA Motorsports, also known as the junior team of Japanese top team ThreeBond Racing. Alexandre rapidly and steadily learned the car and the challenging track, which were both new to him, and managed to constantly bring the lap time down. At the end of the day, Imperatori decided to put some fresher tires that resulted to some good and consistent lap times, with a best of 1.29.0. The team was very happy with this performance, especially in a first ever F3 test, on a new track and not the best track conditions since a huge typhoon swift the Philippines less than a week ago.

Team Australia formerly pursues the legal process today by seeking judgment against former Team Australia driver James Davison and his father Jon Davison of Melbourne, Australia.The process will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana due to unpaid fees during Davison’s time in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship. All unpaid monies owed for the Davison entry will now be decided by an Indiana court.“It’s very unfortunate that we were forced to take these steps, but default is a serious issue and due to the lack of cooperation from the Davison’s to honour their commitments made under our written agreement is very clear,” stated Team Australia co-owner Derrick Walker.Davison joined the Team Australia Atlantic program for the 2006 season, but after all the payments were not being made when due, Davison was dropped after the Denver Grand Prix. The 19 year-old started 10 events of the 2006 season and earned his best result of 7th place in San Jose, missing the last two events. Davison ended 16th overall in the point standings.

Formula Renault frontrunners, Team AKA, are delighted to announce the formation of "AKA Cobra" after joining forces with the Cobra Group, via its subsidiary, Cobra Racing. Team AKA has been run successfully for the past two seasons by Andrew Kirkaldy and Paul Jackson. The new joint venture with Cobra Racing will take "AKA Cobra" to the next level and create a formidable team within the Formula Renault paddock. Cobra Racing founder, Chris Niarchos, as well as being a busy company chairman, races a Ferrari 430 for Scuderia Ecosse, and won the last FIA GT race of 2006 in Dubai recently. He is used to racing against Andrew Kirkaldy -- albeit within the same team -- so knows how competitive the Scot can be. "This was the perfect opportunity to get more involved in motorsport, especially at a level where we can really make a difference," said Niarchos. I've known Andrew for a long time and I know he puts heart and soul into this team and I know through experience how focussed he is! He and Paul run a very slick team so with their motorsport experience and Cobra's commercial strength; I think the other teams will be keeping an eye on us!" "I've never met anyone with more enthusiasm for this sport than Chris", said Kirkaldy. "I think Formula Renault is now the best feeder series for Formula 3 so being involved at this level, at this time, is very rewarding. Chris' marketing expertise is incredible and his ability to motivate people is unsurpassed so, together, we can make "AKA Cobra" the strongest team out there, without a doubt." The 2007 Formula Renault season starts at Brands Hatch in the spring, but the "AKA Cobra" team will be on-track again soon to continue with winter testing. 2006 Pacific F2000 Champion and Team USA Scholarship winner Robert Podlesni displayed great promise during a recent Champ Car Atlantic test with the PR1 Motorsports team.

Robert Podlesni earned an Atlantic test by winning the Pacific FF2000 Championship in the US. Podlesni ran two days at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with PR1 Motorsports in the Swift 016a. chassis. A variety of other Atlantic teams were testing at the same time, allowing the youngster to compare himself against those drivers in the same position, including several with far more experience. "I love it!" Podlesni exclaimed. "The car is different than I anticipated, but it's just one of the cars you want to drive all day. I learned so much about the car and really enjoyed working with the team's engineer, John Hayes." With five Atlantic teams present, Podlesni ran some of the fastest times of the entire test. This along with some impressive technical feedback, encouraged the Fresno-based PR1 Motorsports team to invite Podlesni back for a further two days of testing at Thunderhill Raceway Park the following week. At Thunderhill, the Atlantic hopeful worked on his consistency, feedback and feel of the new machine. Podlesni continued his momentum through the two-day test. "I've learned so much in the past two weeks," he continued. "The past few days have truly shown me what a fantastic series the Atlantic Championship is, and I hope to be able to compete here next season."

BMW of North America announced its 2007 calendar this week. The 14-round championship will visit seven circuits, competing in front of the Champ Car World Series and the American Le Mans Series, in addition to both North American Formula One Grand Prix races.Returning drivers will benefit from the fact that the 2007 championship will go back to six race tracks that hosted testing or racing last season. One new venue – Road America – has been added to enhance the variety of challenging race tracks that will enable the young talents to gain even more valuable racing experience. Formula BMW USA visited Road America in its inaugural season in 2004.The season will start at Miller Motorsports Park on May 17-18 with Rounds 1 and 2 in support of the ALMS. Rounds 3 through 6 will be run in support of the Canadian and the United States Grands Prix on June 8-10 and June 15-17. Rounds 7 and 8 will take place at Lime Rock Park in support of the ALMS on July 6-7. The championship fight will be taken to the streets with Rounds 9 and 10 at the San José Grand Prix on July 27-29 with Champ Car. Rounds 11 and 12 will take place in support of the Champ Car/ALMS race event at Road America on August 8-12. As in the three previous years, the winner of the 2007 Formula BMW USA championship will most likely be decided in the two final Rounds. Like it did in 2006, the 2007 season will conclude at Mosport International Raceway on August 24-26 with the ALMS.

The fifteenth Goodwood Festival of Speed is due to be held over the weekend of 22 - 24 June 2007.   'Spark of genius - breaking records, pushing boundaries'  Through this theme, Goodwood will celebrate the glory of the individual competitors and engineering visionaries who took risks in their quest for victory. From the brave drivers and riders who campaigned in the first Brooklands and Isle of Man TT races 100 years ago, through to the land speed record breakers and the cream of the current F1 and World Rally Championship (WRC) competitors, all have made their mark and will be honoured at the 2007 Festival. The 2007 theme promises to provide an exciting line-up of rarely-seen, pioneering competition and road machines, as well as legendary driving and riding heroes, past and present. Festival visitors can expect to see innovative racing cars that pioneered technical benefits now commonplace in many everyday family cars, including four-wheel-drive and turbo-charging, in addition to less conventional features, such as six-wheels and ground effects for improved traction.
The Centenary in 2007 of both the opening of Brooklands - the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit - as well as the first of the gruelling Isle of Man TT motorcycle road races will be celebrated in style at the Festival of Speed. Iconic racing cars and bikes from the Brooklands era and TT will join other glamorous racing machinery in action up the challenging 1.16 mile Goodwood Park hillclimb. A veritable who's who of famous drivers will also gather together in the grounds of Goodwood House for this popular motor sport event, including many current F1 pilots.
 
14-12-06
Marino Franchitti received his Christmas present early from Andretti Green Racing with the announcement that they have signed him to srive their Acura LMP2 entry with Bryan Herta. "I'm excited to be able to give Marino the opportunity to join our driver lineup. His background is virtually all in sports cars and he should be a big plus in the development of our ALMS program," commented team co-owner Michael Andretti. "He has shown the ability to run up front and just needs an opportunity like this to show what he is capable of doing. The combination of Marino and Bryan Herta will help give us a very strong lineup as we enter our first season in ALMS.  The younger brother of AGR's IndyCar Series driver Dario,  Marino knows his new team and his co-driver.  "This is certainly the biggest thing to happen to my career. I have to thank (AGR owners) Michael Andretti, Kim Green, Kevin Savoree and Robert Clarke (President, HPD) for giving me this opportunity," commented Franchitti. "I'm looking forward to working with Bryan (Herta). He has a tremendous amount of experience from both open-wheel racing as well as sports cars and I plan to learn all I can from him," he added. "Overall, we have a very solid team and I look forward to developing and putting the package on-track and seeing where we stand." The Acura entry for 2007 will be the first in-house from the ground up powerplant designed, developed and built at the Honda Performance Development (HPD) centre in California. The future project for HPD will be an Acura designed chassis. This season, the three teams (AGR, Highcroft Racing and Fernandez Racing) will work together even while competing.

Las Vegas came alive recently when the Vegas Grand Prix organizers put on a special promotion show on Ogden Street. On hand to showcase the sneak preview of what to expect in April 2007 were two racers who will compete for the 2007 Champ Car World Series rookie title: Ryan Dalziel and Alex Figge. "Once you get a little the confidence, it was fun but honestly, I thought the road was going to be a little wider. So when we first got here, we were a little nervous," Figge said. "Once you get going, it was a lot of fun." Dalziel added: "We had a little trouble in the morning but it ended up being fine at the end." The two newest stars in the Champ Car series will be teammates, driving for the Pacific Coast Motorsports team in their inaugural season next year. Their first race will be held on the streets of Las Vegas, the season opener on the 2007 calendar.

The John Walko Racing have been testing at Road Atlanta recently. Five drivers took turns behind the wheel of the Star Mazda machine over 4 days of testing. Among the drivers were Brazilian Douglas Soares and American drivers Taz Smith and Jordan Jost. In addition, 2006 JWR teammates Charles Anti and Russell Walker continued their preparations for the 2007 season. The team was able to log both wet and dry practice time as the weather changed several times throughout the tests. Soares, who is coming off of a runner-up finish in the highly competitive Brazilian Formula Renault Championship, took advantage of a briefly dry track to run an impressive stint. According to team owner John Walko, Soares was impressive in his first turn behind the wheel of a Star Mazda car. "Douglas immediately was on pace as soon as he got in the car. He was fast from the get go and his feedback was excellent. I look forward to working with him again hopefully as he was very impressive in just a handful of laps really." Also making his first appearance in a Star Mazda car was Jost. He raced Thunder Roadsters this season, most recently coming off of a second place finish in the World Finals, and is frequently on track in a variety of machines as a driving instructor at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. "It was a first time experience at Road Atlanta and the first time in a Star Mazda car. It was an eye-opener, you just can't make a mistake there ever or it is going to be big!" Walko was impressed by the maturity Jost displayed throughout the test. "Jordan went quite well despite the car being an adjustment for him. It was his first time at Road Atlanta as well so it took a little bit of time to adjust to the car and track but he made consistent improvement throughout the day. One thing that impressed me most was the way he adapted to changes we threw at him that surprised him a little" Taz Smith was the third driver to take to the track in the JWR machine. Walko noted that Smith was very quick despite limited experience. Teammates Walker and Anti took advantage of the wet track as well as the dry, turning in some blistering times along the way. In fact, Anti turned times in less than ideal conditions that would have been second fastest at the Star Mazda event a few months ago. Overall, the performance of the rookies and JWR veterans exceeded what Walko anticipated heading in to preseason testing. "One thing I noticed in our preseason testing here is the pace, we are fast everywhere we go. Whether it is part of the learning curve or that our cars are that much more developed, we are miles ahead of last year's program. Even when we put rookies in the car, we are quick." Next on the agenda is a trip Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina next week for a further test.

Super Aguri Panther Racing have signed 2003 Formula Dream Champion Hideki Mutoh to drive its Indy Pro Series entry for the 2007 season. This marks Panther Racing's return to the Indy Racing League's developmental series, after the team won a dominant championship in 2003 with Mark Taylor, who won seven of the 11 races in which he competed that season. Mutoh, a 24-year-old from Tokyo, Japan, is a veteran of the Formula Ford, Formula Dream, Asian Formula 2000 and the Japanese Formula 3 series. Most recently, in 2006, Mutoh competed in both Formula Nippon and the Super GT Championship, where he started from the pole and won his final race at Fuji Speedway.

2006 Asian Formula 3 champion James Winslow has been presented with two awards from the BRDC and Autosport. Damon Hill presented James Winslow with the Innes Ireland award at the annual BRDC Awards luncheon at Silverstone on Monday 4th December,  awarded for the driver who has best displayed the qualities of courage and sportsmanship epitomized by the late Innes Ireland.  James was also presented the Gregor Grant Trophy by Autosport on 3rd December in recognition of his Asian Formula 3 title and his bravery in saving the life of a fellow competitor. Winslow won 8 from18 races in his JA Threebond Dallara-Toyota finishing 81 points clear in the title chase. Winslow also made headlines for his prompt actions in the for the Moreno Soeprapto accident in September.

12-12-06

The Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Team will be returning to the MSR track in Houston this week to test with South African A1GP race car driver Stephen Simpson. "Stephen's a good young driver who demonstrated his talent in the A1GP series this past season and we wanted to give him the opportunity to drive a Champ Car and to show his skills in one of these cars," said Eric Bachelart co-owner of the Mi-Jack Conquest Racing Team. The test will bring back some memories for Bachelart as he drove for Simpson's agent Robert Synge back when he had the Madgwick Racing Team. This test will also mark Simpson's first time in a Champ Car. In the past couple of years he has raced in A1GP, Atlantics and Formula Renault.

Two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and officials from GM Racing and Chevrolet announced  that Chevrolet will power and sponsor Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) entries in the United States Auto Club (USAC) and the World of Outlaws Sprint Series for three years beginning in 2007. In a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart and Mark Kent, director of GM Racing, unveiled the partnership along with TSR's driver lineup. Levi Jones will drive for TSR in the USAC National Midget and Sprint car divisions alongside teammate Tracy Hines, who will also compete in both divisions. They will also compete in USAC Silver Crown events whenever the series races on dirt. Paul McMahan returns for a second season behind the wheel of Winged Sprint car, as TSR rejoins the World of Outlaws full-time . Chevrolet will serve as the primary sponsor and engine supplier for all of TSR's USAC teams, with Bass Pro Shops carrying on as an associate sponsor. For the Winged Sprint car in the World of Outlaws, Chevrolet will also provide engines while serving as an associate sponsor. Bass Pro Shops will maintain its role as the team's primary sponsor. "Our goal when we formed Tony Stewart Racing was to create a grassroots motorsports program that would compete for wins and championships while promoting qualified drivers to the next level," said Stewart, who earned his NASCAR success by way of USAC as he captured four USAC national championships, including the elusive Triple Crown in 1995 when he earned titles in each of USAC's top divisions - Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown. "We've been successful, but in order to remain successful we needed a partner committed to us and committed to motorsports. We found the perfect partner in Chevrolet."

Alex Zanardi's participation to the "Bomb Boogie Eurotouring" race held at the Motorshow of Bologna concluded, opposite to the expectations, with an early elimination of the Italian driver. The humid tarmac, together with the peculiarities of this unusual track, prevented BMWs 320si to express their potentialities and to get to the final stages of the competition. Unfortunately, the Motorshow arena turned out to be unfavourable for rear-wheel drives, whilst front-wheel ones gained advantage from a better grip on the humid track.

Toll/HSV driver Rick Kelly has been confirmed as the 2006 Australian V8 Supercar champion following a l stewards meeting  after the final race  ended in controversial circumstances. Kelly and Ford's Craig Lowndes went into race three at the Phillip Island circuit on equal points after Lowndes finished in front in race two. That race was marred  when Kelly's partner, Garth Tander in the second Toll/HSV car was black flagged for 'blocking' Lowndes. Kelly earned the same penalty when he bumped Lowndes at Honda Corner causing him to collide with his brother Todd Kelly driving the Holden Racing Team's Commodore which was leading the field. This resulted in Todd Kelly spinning off the track and Lowndes trapped in the middle. Alex Davison had no where to go and slammed into Lowndes ending his chances of the championship title after steering problems forced him to pit three times for fresh tyres in the 32 lap event. He eventually dropping four laps to finish 29th, while Kelly finished 18th and secured the points. It appeared that stewards deemed the 'drive through' sufficient penalty for Kelly's misdemeanour, however, once the Triple Eight Racing Team realised their prized driver was down for the count and the championship, they filed a protest. Naturally, Ford fans were furious with the decision, as they came to Phillip Island looking to Lowndes to rap up the title for Ford, making it the fourth in a row, and Lowndes' fourth also, but that wasn't to be.

11-12-06

The Volkswagen Racing Cup looks set for another season of success in 2007, say championship organisers. Once again the Hankook Tyres-backed series will be the sole saloon car supporting event to the prestigious British Formula 3 and British GT Championships, with 12 races planned at six weekend events at the UK's top circuits. 'This is the third season that the Volkswagen Racing Cup has enjoyed the status of sole saloon support to British F3/GT,' said Volkswagen Racing UK director Sam Roach, 'and that is an indication of the strength of the championship and the high regard in which it is held. 'We are particularly pleased with the format of the provisional calendar, which will see us visit the popular Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit again, as well as Oulton Park, Donington Park and Snetterton, and also the championship's return to Silverstone and to Rockingham.'
Roach reports strong interest from prospective competitors: 'There is lots of interest at the moment, and quite a number of prospective new drivers and new teams, and we are expecting several cars new to the championship also.'   Draft regulations will be released to competitors soon. These will follow the established principle of recent seasons in providing stability and a firm base on which competitors can develop a long-term strategy. One rule change proposed for 2007 is to limit to six the number of slick Hankooks which competitors may use in a weekend.  Among the further attractions for competitors are Sky Sports TV coverage and an extensive paddock race centre.
Among the drivers who have already pledged to return to the Racing Cup in 2007 is reigning champion Paul Taylor with his Golf R32. He will be joined by former Stock Hatch frontrunners Darren Blumson, in a Beetle RSi, and Richard Kingsnorth, who will drive a TDI-powered Golf..

2006 UK Formula Ford Champion Nathan Freke rounded his season off with an F3 test as part of this prize for winning the championship . The F3 test at Silverstone in appalling conditions went well and despite not fitting the car well Nathan drove well and had a taste of a car with wings thanks to Fluid Motorsport who put up the prize. Nathan is now turning his eyes towards the USA and the Champ Car Atlantic series where he has been having talks with various teams while looking for sponsorship. 'I would like to thank all of my sponsors and supporters over this and preceding years, without you I could not have achieved the success I have, and I hope to repay the faith that you have in me by continuing that success in 2007'

Round 5 of the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup, held at the Sentul Circuit in Indonesia, proved to be an eventful Sunday outing for A1 Team Great Britain with Robbie Kerr capturing a third place podium finish in the Sprint race followed by the team's first Feature retirement later in the day. Kerr's  podium, the team's third top-three finish of the season plus his point for Fastest Lap, ensures Great Britain holds on to second overall in the A1GP Nations Standings heading into the New Year, the gap to current leaders Germany increasing to 12 points (48-36) with the Mexican entry climbing to third just three markers behind. Sunday morning's 15-lap Sprint race saw Kerr take the rolling start from second on the grid having lost pole to New Zealand's Jonny Reid. Kerr made a solid start but was unable to fend off the attentions of Mexican Salvador Duran wich saw him drop to third before  losing another spot to Phil Giebler in the USA entry before he slipstreamed the American to regain his position at the third turn. Eager to make up for lost time Kerr narrowed the gap between himself and the leaders but couldn't get close enough to mount an attack. Jonny Reid scored New Zealand's first ever A1GP victory with Mexico's Salvador Duran second at the chequered followed by Kerr for Great Britain, the former British F3 Champion setting the fastest race lap of the day with a 1m18.110s taking the valuable bonus point in the process as it wouldn't be bettered in the Feature. An eventful Feature race followed with Kerr lining up third on the grid courtesy of his Sprint finish. Heavy rains forced a delayed start but that failed to dampen Robbie's enthusiasm for the race and he duly passed Mexico for second as he sought to record the team's first A1GP victory. Hampered throughout with a lack of PowerBoost, Kerr found himself caught in a three-way battle for third following his first pit stop, the Brit eventually making the position his having fought wheel-to-wheel with France and the USA. Robbie's podium aspirations came to a sudden stop in the dying stages of the race as he spun and stalled the British entry on lap 39 bringing a spirited performance to an immediate end along with the team's run of points paying Feature finishes. Reflecting on a busy day in Indonesia Kerr remarked, "Well it was certainly eventful out there!" He continued, "It was good to get a podium earlier in the day in the Sprint although we missed out at the start which cost us the chance of going for the win. Lack of PowerBoost didn't help in the Feature but things were going well until the car slipped away at Turn 4 and I beached it in the gravel, day over!"

Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Al Maktoum has completed the sale of his entire shareholding in A1GP to the RAB Special Situations (Master) Fund managed by RAB Capital plc having seen his vision of a nation versus nation motor racing series brought to life.The transaction, for an undisclosed sum, consolidates RAB Capital’s position as the largest institutional shareholder in A1GP. Stepping down as Chairman and Director of A1GP, Sheikh Maktoum said, ‘With RAB Capital's financial expertise and ability to appoint additional management, I am confident that A1GP will attain a new level of excellence. I wish A1GP, RAB and the series every success in the future.’Commenting on the acquisition, Philip Richards, Chief Executive Officer of RAB Capital said, ‘We believe that A1GP will fulfil its promise as the exciting world cup of motorsport where driver skill is all important, as national teams compete for the world championship without the distortion of a different manufacturer for each team. The popularity of the series continues to grow throughout the World and importantly, Asia, where this exciting sport matches the aspirations of billions of citizens across half the planet.’

V8 Supercar race stewards will meet with provisional championship winner Rick Kelly and rival driver Craig Lowndes in Melbourne from midday today to decide who will be named the official champion. Championship runner-up Lowndes has protested after an incident in yesterday's final race at the season-ending Phillip Island meeting in Victoria.Kelly's Holden came into contact with Lowndes' Ford from behind early in the 31-lap race, forced Lowndes' car into a spin before it was then hit by another car. Kelly recovered to finish in 18th position, enough to put him on the top of the overall championship standings.Lowndes' Ford was extensively damaged and he limped home in 29th place. Mark Winterbottom took victory in the race of the season, his results of 7th in race one, 2nd in race two and 1st in race three earned the 25 year old second place overall for the round and consolidated his third

10-12-06

The Volkswagen works rally team next month embarks on its most ambitious challenge yet - to become the first to win the legendary Dakar Rally with a diesel powered vehicle

Moore Racing will take part in the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, signing up to compete in the GT3 class with a Dodge Viper.. Moore Racing will run with experienced Britcar driver pairing, Mike Gardiner and Paul Fenton. Moore Racing founder and Manager, Richard Moore said "With a change of focus to GT3 expected in British GTs and a large number of new cars, reliability and consistency as well as outright speed, will be key to achieving a strong season's performance. As a team Moore Racing has learnt an awful lot about running reliable cars in Britcar and 24 hour races both in Europe and the UK. We believe that experience will pay off over the 14 race calendar. We currently have an option on a second Viper and subject to discussions with suitably experienced and funded drivers hope to boost our attack with a second car." Mike Gardiner says "It's great to enter the Avon Tyres British GT Championship with the new GT3 class really taking off. The Viper has raced successfully in European GT3 and offers a competitive package at a reasonable price. The Moore Racing team has proven itself in Britcar and Paul Fenton and I are a well matched driver pairing. We have all the ingredients for a successful year."

Silverstone excluded from the 2007 BTCC.  With the news that Silverstone will not host any rounds of next year’s BTCC the circuit issued the following statement.’Following yesterday's announcement from TOCA, Silverstone is disappointed that at present it is not included on the calendar for the 2007 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Silverstone was originally offered the 21-22 April date by organisers of the BTCC, which the circuit formally accepted, making the date available by re-working existing bookings in their 2007 calendar of events. Silverstone is currently in discussions with the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) and TOCA to try and understand the reasons for not being included on the 2007 BTCC calendar which has been issued. Silverstone is surprised that the organisers have decided to have 40% of the BTCC calendar hosted by two venues. The circuit firmly believes that hosting a round of the series at Silverstone would offer more variation to competitors and teams, as well as spectators. Richard Phillips, Managing Director of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said: "Silverstone cannot really comment at this point save that it is disappointed that it is not at present included on the 2007 BTCC calendar. Silverstone is continuing to liaise with BARC and TOCA to try and find out the fundamental reasons for not being included as a host circuit next year. It is a shame for our loyal fans that they will not be able to watch BTCC at Silverstone, the home of British Motorsport, for the first time in BTCC history."

Rockingham back on BTCC Calendar. After an absence of 3 years the BTCC will be back at the circuit in April next year.  BTCC Series Director Alan Gow commented: "We are delighted to be able to return to Rockingham. Its unique track layout, up-to-date facilities and terrific viewing areas for the spectators all proved a great hit with the drivers, teams, spectators and sponsors when we raced there in 2003.  In fact, a great many of our fans have constantly been asking me to take the BTCC back to Rockingham, so this is also for them. I’m sure it will receive great support and prove to be warmly welcomed back on our schedule.  

Aston Martin's N24 V8 Vantage will race at the  24-hour race of Bahrain on 15-16 December as part of the continuing development of the car. Aston Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: "The meeting at Bahrain is an opportunity to race in very different conditions which will be valuable experience for the team and the car. Although there will be fewer entrants compared with June, the circuit is far smaller, so we can expect a more intense race in warmer conditions." Supported by a team from Aston Martin, the drivers for Bahrain are: Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Chris Porritt, Aston Martin's Vehicle Engineering Manager; Horst von Saurma, editor-in-chief of Sport Auto magazine, and development driver Wolfgang Schuhbauer. The same team raced flawlessly through more than 130 laps at the Nurburgring in June and will now embark on a very different challenge at the recently completed 6.14km Bahrain circuit.

Patrick Hogan has been named the Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the Year by Motorsport Ireland and wins the Walter Sexton Memorial Trophy. Patrick, who enjoyed an outstanding season in Formula Renault UK this year and ended the championship tied on points with bitter rival Sebastian Hohenthal at the head of the standings.  He may yet be crowned 2006 Champion subject to the outcome of an appeal hearing which was heard on Wednesday at the MSC. "It's an incredible honour to be named Young Driver of the Year", said Patrick, "Winning the award is a very proud moment for me, I'm absolutely delighted and I'd like to thank Motorsport Ireland for all of their support throughout my race career so far. He recently returned from the US where he was testing for Forsythe then Brooks Associates Racing in Champ Car Atlantic.

David Brabham's fundraising organisation www.racing4charity.com has teamed up with Autosport International to organise a one-hour celebrity kart race with an unusual twist on Friday 12 January, with more celebrities than public drivers taking to the track at the NEC, Birmingham. Ten celebrity teams from various championships will race each other to see exactly who is 'top of the formulas' and each team will represent a different charity. Superstar drivers include David Brabham, Dan Eaves, Paul O'Neill, Peter Dumbreck, Kelvin Burt, Darren Turner, Rob Collard, Danny Watts, Tim Sugden, Bradley Ellis, James Walker, Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen, Martin Plowman and Ryan Lewis. Teams will stretch across a wide variety of motorsport formulas including ALMS, British Formula 3, Formula Renault, BTCC, British GTs and Ginetta. Jamie Green, Gary Paffett and Susie Stoddart are also working to enter a DTM driver team.

07-12-06

Renault Sport UK is delighted to announce a three-year sponsorship agreement with leading motorsport insurance broker THB Clowes. The deal will provide benefits for drivers in all three Renault Sport UK series, the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship, Formula Renault BARC and the ELF Renault Clio Cup. With the exception of long-term Renault associates ELF and Michelin, it is the first time a sponsor has become involved in all three championships simultaneously.THB Clowes has provided insurance services to the motorsport world for over 30 years meaning drivers and teams will have access to the highest level of service and professionalism from a company renowned for its specialist broking skills in this niche area. Every driver registered in a Renault Sport UK championship will receive a free Personal Accident Insurance Policy, which will provide additional cover and benefits to competitors over and above the minimum level of cover currently provided by the MSA. In 2006, a total of 100 drivers competed in the three series, with this number possibly set to increase after unprecedented sales of New Clio Cup. Individual insurance programmes will be available to entrants to cover their racing cars competing on-track as well as policies designed to protect investment in team headquarters, contents and employees. Extensions can include the transportation of all race vehicles, trailers, spares, equipment and cars whilst away from the home base. At the end of the season, THB Clowes will provide a prize to the champion driver and Entrant in Formula Renault UK, Formula Renault BARC and ELF Renault Clio Cup. Each winning driver will receive a full racing kit including helmet, race suit, gloves and boots. The winning Entrant prize is being considered and will be announced in due course. In addition to its logo featuring on all race cars in each series, THB Clowes becomes the new title sponsor of the Driver of the Day award in Formula Renault UK and the new title sponsor of the Fastest Lap in Clio Cup. Commenting on the exciting initiative, Renault UK’s Motorsport Manager Tim Jackson said: “It’s fantastic to have a company as renowned as THB Clowes joining the Renault Sport family and supporting our three championships. I believe our competitors will reap the benefits of this agreement and encourage them to contact THB Clowes first when considering any new insurance policy, as they offer a wide range of cover representing tremendous value.” Karen Ellis of THB Clowes commented: “THB Clowes places great importance on putting something back into motorsport.  We are delighted to support The Renault Sport UK Series which represents a prestigious addition to our portfolio of sponsorship for 2007. We wish all competitors the very best for a safe and successful season.”

Two second place finishes in China and Malaysia have lifted A1 Team Great Britain to second place in the 2006-07 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, just six points behind Germany (37-31), with the British team eager to keep its momentum weekend at the Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia. Robbie Kerr will again race for A1 Team Great Britain on Sunday with Oliver Jarvis fulfilling backup duties on Friday morning. Kerr heads into the race having taken his first podium of the season Round 4's Feature race last time out, which followed the team's first podium of the season,  scored by Jarvis in Round 3 in China. As with the previous round in Malaysia, Kerr ialready knows Sentul  having raced there in A1GP last  February. On that occasion  claimed the team's first pole position in the Sprint race, beating the on-form French team in the process.  Kerr ended that race in second, his sixth podium of the year for the team. He also found himself a force to be reckoned with again in the later Feature race leading from the front, only to see a potential win snatched away as a result of poor pit-management, which saw him finish in 10^th. John Surtees, A1 Team GBR Team Principal, is hopeful Kerr can repeat last season's form. "Robbie was right in the running on our last visit, sticking it on pole and looking good for the win until a poor strategy cost us. We've taken steps to ensure that won't happen again and I think you'll see quite an aggressive performance this weekend, hopefully leading to registering our first win in A1GP!" "I'm looking forward to getting back out there," Robbie Kerr stated eagerly. "We had a good weekend in Malaysia and hopefully we can go one step better this time round in Indonesia. We were competitive in Sentul earlier in the year and we're up there again this time fighting for the championship. I think we're set for an exciting race, we saw with Canada's win in February it's possible to overtake but hopefully we'll be out front building on our current momentum."

A1GP has expanded its TV coverage after it completed deals with Channel 5 and  America's SPEED channel.   'SPEED is intrigued by the competitive patriotism in the A1GP’, said Hunter Nickell, SPEED Executive VP and General Manager. 'It adds a unique twist to high-level racing and we believe it is something SPEED viewers will support and enjoy.'   Across the UK, Sky Sports' live race coverage will now be supported by a Channel 5 highlights package, to be shown mid-week after each event. The partnership with the free-to-air terrestrial channel will mean that over 90 per cent of UK households can now support their national race team in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport

Len Sutton, one of open-wheel racing's most respected drivers and the runner-up in the 1962 Indianapolis 500, passed away on Dec. 4 at the age of 81. Sutton had been battling ill health for some time but had been participating in vintage-car race meets until very recently. Born Aug. 9, 1925, the friendly and unassuming Sutton began his driving career immediately after World War II in hot rod "track" roadsters. Sutton had just completed a tour of duty with the United States Navy in the South Pacific when he made his first start in 1946. Within 10 years, he had risen to the ranks of the AAA National Championship circuit, qualifying for the final two events of 1955. Arguably his most memorable event was the 1962 Indianapolis 500, when he started fourth and went on to finish a close second behind Rodger Ward, his Leader Card Racers teammate. It was the first one-two finish by teammates since 1948 and was a feat not duplicated again until 1997. A versatile performer, he won a total of seven USAC midget car feature events, placing fourth in points in 1957. He was also competed in Sprint cars, placed 12th or higher in the USAC Stock Car standings from 1961-64 and drove in the 1963 Daytona 500. He had a brief involvement with local politics in Portland in the 1970s, and in November 2002, he published his memoirs in a thoroughly enjoyable and well-received book entitled My Road to Indy.

06-12-06

Oliver Turvey has won the  McLaren Autosport BRDC Award at the Autosport Awards in London on Sunday . He also gets the McLaren Formula One test drive, a cheque for £50,000 plus a test in a GP2 car, a £4,000 'Grand Silverstone' watch and lifetime membership of the BRDC.  The 19-year-old from Penrith edged out five other finalists to claim the prize which is awarded to the most promising young British driver. Former winners David Coulthard and Jenson Button presented the trophy. Turvey, who is currently studying for an Engineering degree at Cambridge, finished second in this year's Formula BMW UK Championship, with five wins and seven poles, despite missing the first six races of the season. The winner was decided at an intensive two-day selection process at Snetterton in November, where the six nominees were assessed on their driving skills and attitude both on and off the track. The judging panel comprised some of the leading names in motorsport including BRDC President - Damon Hill, Head of Race and Test Engineering at McLaren - Steve Hallam, and former Formula One racer - Martin BrundleSpeaking from the Awards ceremony, Turvey commented " It hasn't sunk in yet, I still can't believe it - this is the perfect end to the year for me. Having missed a big chunk of the season, I was really proud to finish second in the Formula BMW UK Championship."

Ben Clucas  will make his Fujitsu V8 Supercar series debut at Phillip Island this weekend driving a Peters Racing Falcon V8 Supercar in the final round of the Fujitsu series, replacing regular driver Luke Youlden who is unavailable to drive for the round. It will be Clucas' first V8 Supercar race following a number of tests with various teams throughout the 2006 season, including the factory Ford Performance Racing squad at Winton earlier this year. Clucas 2006 Aussie F3 Champ and Caterham racer will join  Michael Caruso (who won the Aussie F3 title in 2003) in the Fujitsu Series field at the CAT Grand Finale this weekend.

J.R. Hildebrand has won the 2007 Gorsline Scholarship,  given to a young up-and-coming driver each year who displays the attributes of a future champion. The award was presented by Sir Stirling Moss at a private reception at The Grosvenor House before the Autosport Awards on Sunday(3 December). By winning the scholarship Hildebrand will be working with Dr. Jacques Dallaire, Co-Founder of the Human Performance Institute, on an individually designed Performance Enhancement Program. Hildebrand was crowned the 2006 Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Champion winning 12 of 14 races. He has recently signed to race in the Atlantic Series in 2007 with Newman Wachs Racing.

Alexander Rossi has signed with Hearn Motorsports  for the 2007 Formula BMW USA championship

Team BRM is pleased to today confirm that it has signed Paul Pittam as its first full time driver in the Australian Formula Ford Championship. 17-year-old Pittam will drive a Team BRM Van Diemen Formula Ford chassis with sponsorship from International Real Estate Company L.J. Hooker – a majority of the support coming from L.J.Hooker Gawler and Doyles on the Bay - and will sport a distinctive Red, Yellow and Black livery that will ensure the car stands out from the field 

Carlo van Dam put the Prema Power Team Formula 3 car through its paces at Vallelunga recently. The Dutchman had to sit out the morning session because of thick fog but in the afternoon Van Dam managed to improve his times continuously and ended the day as the fastest driver out on the track. For the moment this was the last Formula 3 test for Van Dam. In the coming weeks Van Dam and the people of S-T-A-R-T will continue to work hard on getting the sporting and financial details right and try to get a seat in the 2007 Formula 3 Euroseries. 

Condor Motorsports has signed talented driver Dutch driver Junior Strous to drive in the 2007 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda.During three successful test days at Buttonwillow, California recently, Strous proved his ability and the decision was made to secure the young Dutchman for the upcoming season

3-12-06

Drivers flock to FFord test day.  More than 60 budding single-seater drivers braved the weather at Silverstone on Friday(1st Dec) to go behind the wheel of a Formula Ford racer.They were taking part in the first-ever UK Formula Ford 'sampler day', a chance for teams to meet the youngsters who are keen to join the Ford-backed championship in 2007, and for the drivers to try the different chassis available to them.
Despite the predictably inclement December weather, the day was judged a success all round. "We were genuinely amazed by the response to our invitation to come and find out what Formula Ford is all about," said Sam Roach of championship promoter RacingLine. "It's been a brilliant way to get prospective drivers and the teams together.""It was an excellent day and it bodes well for the 2007 championship," said Phil Boland, of the Myerscough College team. "We ran six different drivers and, though the bad weather has been a bit of a problem, it's been a really useful exercise - great for the teams and great for the drivers."
Most of the regular 2006 UKFF teams were present at Silverstone, including Fluid Motorsport, Jamun Racing, Kevin Mills Racing, Ray, Avenues, Spirit, Marque Cars, Joe Tandy Racing, Myerscough College, Eau Rouge Motorsport and Swift, and several new teams were in attendance also.Drivers from as far afield as Russia and Canada took part, each enjoying several laps of the National circuit. Many of the drivers were fresh from kart racing. Those with minimal experience were put through their paces beforehand by instructors on the Stowe circuit, using Fiesta ST saloons, and circuit rides were laid on for a group of under-13 cadet karters.
The sampler day also provided an opportunity for Ford to demonstrate the effectiveness of Bio-Ethanol fuel as a development for the future. Jamun team member Jay Bridger expressed himself pleased with the performance of a 2006 Mygale which had been undergone the light conversion necessary to enable it to use the fuel.
"It was very impressive," said Jay, who is to return to UKFF in 2007. "The way the power was delivered was slightly different to regular petrol, but there was plenty of power there all right. It's an interesting idea."
Reigning UK Formula Ford Champion Nathan Freke was in action also, enjoying his first taste of Formula 3 power as part of his prize for winning the series. Nathan, who is looking to break into F3 in 2007, went behind the wheel of a Fluid Motorsport Lola-Mugen. "It was a good test," said Freke, "although the wet weather didn't help. It's definitely given me a taste for F3…" UKFF runner-up Nick Tandy also drove the car.
 

01-12-06

Thunderhill Raceway Park hosted a two-day test session for the Forsythe Championship Racing Atlantic team on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov 29-30).Several young drivers got the chance to show their skills with one of Atlantics' top teams at the road circuit located about 60 miles north of Sacramento in California.  2006 Star Mazda series champion Adrian Carrio earned the test with the Forsythe squad for winning the title and  hopes to  compete in Atlantic. He he made the most of the test, showing a  steady improvement in the INDECK Mazda Forsythe car, completing nearly 300 miles of testing. "The Atlantic car is a great car to drive and I really want to thank Mazda, Champ Car Atlantic, Forsythe Racing and the Star Mazda series for the chance to show what I can do," said Carrio. "The car fits my driving style perfectly. It has great balance and we were able to make some changes and I felt I developed some good chemistry with the team." The Forsythe team was impressed with Carrio's performance, but not surprised. "Ace did a good job in Star Mazda and we expected that he'd make a smooth transition to the Atlantic car," said Forsythe Racing Team Manager John Brunner. "He did a great job. He got up to speed quickly and he's right there timewise with the other drivers we've tested this off-season. He's definitely ready for the next step into Atlantics." Two other drivers enjoying their second consecutive day of testing were Giacomo Ricci, the 2006 F3000 Italian Euro champion who logged 572 miles over the two-days and left no doubt where he hopes to be racing in 2007. "I liked working with the Forsythe team and everything went well over the two days," said the protege of fellow Italian and former Champ Car star Max Papis. "For me the Atlantic car was good, like driving the F3000 car, but not quite as much power. But I liked it and I want to be driving in the Atlantic Championship next season." The second was Formula BMW USA 2006 champion Robert Wickens the  Canadian completing nearly 300 miles over the 2. "We tried a lot of different things over the two days and I'm really starting to get used to the downforce on the car," said Wickens. "The team did an amazing job getting the car the way I liked it and all in all it was a pretty good test." John Edwards, another member of the Red Bull driver development program along with Wickens, also tested for the squad as he totaled 166 miles on Wednesday. The 15-year-old from Arkansas spent the last two seasons racing in Europe, most recently in the highly-competitive Formula Renault series. He's looking forward to continuing his rapid development in 2007 in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship. "Overall the test went very well, especially considering the cold and windy conditions we faced on Wednesday," said Edwards. "The Forsythe team has been great to work with and I was happy with the Atlantic car and the way the new Cooper tires responded."

Under changing track conditions Carlo van Dam showed his abilities in a Formula 3 test on the Magny-Cours circuit in France. The Dutchman, who recently finished third in the heavily competitive Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, made a real good impression on the Signature-Plus team. By also setting the fastest lap on the timing sheets the S-T-A-R-T driver really displayed his potential with the French team! With an eye on 2007 the Formula 3 Euroseries is one of the possible future steps on the autosport career of the 20-year old from Vlaardingen.

16 young and unique female race-car drivers will attend the 13th annual LSJ Foundation Driver Development Program in the Phoenix area, including the Bondurant High Performance Driving School at Firebird Raceway, for four days of intensive physical, psychological, media and business training to help prepare them for a future in professional motorsports. Past graduates of this program, founded in 1994 by Lyn St. James, former Indy 500 competitor and motivational speaker, include Danica Patrick, Erin Crocker, Melanie Troxel, Allison Duncan, Sarah Fisher, among others who have gone on to succeed in their respective auto-racing categories.

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