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What's on?
11 - 13 Sahkir Bahrain – F1
13-14 March
Sakhir Bahrain – GP2 Asia
Sao Paulo –
Indycar
13 March –
Brands Hatch – Britcar
16-20 March
Sebring – ALMS, Atlantic
20 March –
Bristol – NASCAR Nationwide Series
20-21 March PF
Int, Lincolnshire – Roax Super One Karts
26-28 March
Melbourne – F1, V8 Supercars, FFord
27
March Oulton Park BARC
27-28
March Pembrey - BARC
Brands
Hatch Indy - MSVR
28 March Braga
Portugal – FIA ETCC
St Petersburg – Indycar
Martinsville -
NASCAR
3-5 April Oulton Park - F3
Nogaro – F Reanult
Yas Marina – FIA GT
3 April Cadwell Park - BARC
4-5 April Silverstone -
Superleague Formula
Thruxton - BTCC
5 April Snetterton - AMOC
Castle
Combe - CCRC
9-11 Virginia Int Raceway – F2000
10-11 April Paul Ricard –
LMS
Rockingham – BARC
Snetterton –
CSCC
Symmons Plains – Australian F3
Barber
Motorsports
Park - Indycar
Brands Hatch Indy – MGCC
11
April Cadwell - HSCC
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Photographers
Power Images
Photography
www.power-images.co.uk
Dennis
Goodwin Photography
http://www.dennisg-photography.co.uk/
www.raceinstructors.com
UK based race driving instructors website
ARPRO® improves impact
resistance in motorsport
Classified

Championship winning team, Unitec Motorsport, are seeking to complete
their 2010 line-up
and currently have 2 drives available for the 2010 BRSCC FF1600
National Championship. So for prospective drivers, to ensure
that you're at the sharp-end of such a highly regarded
championship, why not take advantage of one of Unitec
Motorsport's drive offers. If you are serious about your racing
and feel as though FF1600 is the category for you in 2010, then
this opportunity is far too good to miss.
read more
Motorsports-Events
can now offer your son or daughter a chance to learn to
drive at their airfield events. This is an opportunity for
junior drivers aged 12 -16 to be taught the basics and get a
head start with learning all important driving skills.
-
Motorsports Events
-
announce their Track days for 2010

Souriau to launch “convenience” and “performance” motorsport
connectors at Autosport International
read more

Zircotec coating cools hot racing cars
Zircotec
presents new range of colours and finishes for high-technology
ceramic coating A new range of colours and metallic
finishes is being developed by Zircotec for its successful
plasma-sprayed ceramic coating. …read
more

A cost-effective
tyre pressure monitoring system for touring cars has been
developed by industry leaders BERU f1systems.
Specifically for closed- wheel, road car-derived saloons and
sports cars, the system provides accurate tyre pressure and
temperature information for drivers and engineers to optimise
tyre pressures and wear, as well as offering puncture detection…more
|
Club Racers mail your news to
editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
NEWS
11/03/2010
Porsche
Carrera Cup GB:
Tom Bradshaw, one of last year’s Scholarship drivers, has signed to race with the JHR team in the 2010
Porsche Carrera Cup GB. Bradshaw will lead the JHR squad and has
race wins and a bid for the championship as his goals for the
coming season. The
Blackburn racer finished eighth in the overall standings last
season and is delighted to get the chance to build on his first
year of Carrera Cup experience. "I'm very fortunate that the
team has helped me put this deal together," said Bradshaw. "It
is absolutely brilliant news and I can't wait to get started
with JHR. The aim is to win some races and be at the sharp end
of the championship. I want to build on last year's experience
and build my consistency." Team manager Paul Leach is delighted
to have the young charger on his squad. "He's had his learning
and was very quick towards the end of 2009. The aim is race wins
and a challenge for the title," said Leach. "We're very excited
to have Tom on board and we feel we have a potential tile
contender in the team." The team is now into a pre-season
testing programme and Mark Hazell, the JHR contender in pro-am2,
had a strong day of running at Brands Hatch yesterday (Wednesday
10 March). "Mark had an excellent day and set some very
encouraging times without running new tyres," said Leach.
Porsche Club:
Peter Morris and Richard Lambert,
both former class champions and the 2004 title challengers, have
signed to challenge for Class One and outright honours in the
2010 Porsche Club Championship. Morris was Class One champion in
2004, while Lambert won dominated Class Two and took the overall
title at the end of the season. Morris has been a long term
supporter of Porsche Club GB’s race activities, having made his
race debut with the club, and now supports the series through
his PMC Midlands Ltd building company – and puts up a trophy for
the final round of each season. Having raced in national GTs,
Towcester-based Morris returned to Porsche Club racing in the
final two meetings of 2009, testing a newly built-up 968CS in
preparation for his 2010 assault. “I’m really looking forward to
the season,“ says 50-year-old Morris. “The Porsche Club is
really competitive value for money racing where you can race
hard in a friendly environment. We tested the car at Silverstone
and were pleased with the times and it felt good, so I am
looking forward to the first race.” Lambert returned to Porsche
Club action in 2009 with a 964 C2 he imported from the US . Run
by Jaz Motorsport, last season Lambert did selected races in his
new mount, and now the St Albans racer is chasing his first ever
outright victory, having come close to an overall win several
times in his Class Two career. “We have a new baby so it will be
a limited season for me,” says Lambert, “and our first race will
be at Zolder. I’ve never been there before so that will be new
for me, and we will try to do as many rounds as possible.” The
2010 Porsche Club Championship opening round is at Brands Hatch
on April 10th.
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Formula Ford:
Australian Scott Pye led the way on Wednesday in the first major test of the forthcoming Dunlop
MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain season. The
20-year-old lapped Oulton Park in a time very nearly a second
better than that the pole time from last year, despite never
having seen the track before! Pye was pleased with his
performance in one of champion team Jamun Racing's Mygale
chassis: "I'm very pleased. I had a test with Jamun a month or
so ago in Spain, so I knew what to expect from the team and
the car, but it's a tough job to come to a new circuit in a
new country and be quickest." Scott, who took third in
Australian Formula Ford in 2009, was fastest in two of the
day's three sessions and was quickest overall by a 0.377s
margin from Scott Malvern, who was in the Cliff Dempsey
Racing-run Ray. Reigning Formula Ford Scholarship champion
Daniel Cammish was third fastest in his Kevin Mills Racing
Spectrum. Pye's Jamun team-mate Josh Hill (Damon’s son), might
have ended the day higher up the order but, after setting
third-best time behind Pye and Cammish in session two, he was
involved in a collision which brought his outing to a
premature end. Josh ended the day sixth overall. A total of 20
cars and 22 different drivers took to the track at Oulton.
Jamun also ran cars for Dutch driver Jeroen Slaghekke and
Portuguese Emil Bernstorff; Fluid were represented by
Finland's Jesse Anttila and young Brit James Tucker, while JTR
employed Cypriot Tio Elinas and old hand Chrissy Palmer as a
test and development driver. Formula Ford, which this year
runs on new radial tyres developed by title sponsor Dunlop,
gets underway at
Oulton
Park at Easter
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Oulton
Park testing
10/3/2010
– top 10
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1 Scott Pye AUS / Jamun Mygale 1m 40.002s
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2 Scott Malvern
GBR
/ Cliff Dempsey Ray 1m 40.379s
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3 Daniel Cammish GBR / Kevin Mills Spectrum 1m 40.627s
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4 Jesse Anttila FIN / Fluid Van Diemen 1m 41.015s
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5 Jesper Egebart DEN / Brits/Egebart Ray 1m 41.066s
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6 Josh Hill
GBR
/ Jamun Mygale 1m 41.069s
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7 Chrissy Palmer GBR / JTR Mygale 1m 41.138s
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8 Jeroen Slaghekke NED / Jamun Mygale 1m 41.214s
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9 Emil Bernstorff POR / Jamun Mygale 1m 41.670s
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10 James Tucker GBR / Fluid Van Diemen 1m 42.151s etc
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Full TSL timesheets:
http://bit.ly/9qmTo6
Karts: A new chassis has moved young
Welsh kart pilot Tom Harvey
back into the action at the front of the grid in FKS with third
place in the latest round at PF International last weekend. In
fact he could just as easily have won if tyre problems hadn’t
intervened. Read report
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Jordan King learned some valuable lessons on a highly
promising European KF2 class debut
in the opening round of the 2010 WSK Euro Series at La Conca
in Italy at the weekend. Now he needs to put the lessons and
his previous experience into practice next time out when he
can again go for on-track glory! All pics Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
read report
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As
Trent
Valley Kart Club continues to prepare for the prestigious CIK-FIA
European KF2 & KF3 Championships Western Region Qualifications, they have announced that they
will be able to offer KF2 & KF3 drivers the opportunity to run
to full CIK regulations at their April Club meeting. The
process started a few months ago when the April race meeting
was registered on the National Events with Authorised Foreign
Particiaption (NEAFP) calendar, thus making it possible for
foreign drivers to come over to race in the
UK in the build-up to the Western Region Qualifications.
-
Trent Valley Kart Club will be offering the KF2 & KF3 drivers
a choice at the April race meeting:
-
* To take the valuable opportunity to run to full CIK
regulations before the Western Region Qualifications
-
* To run to standard MSA regulations
-
The Club are prepared to stage two separate grids of drivers
to differentiate between the different regulations as long as
the numbers make it viable.
-
TVKC would kindly ask that your choice of regulation which you
choose to adhere to, is clearly marked on your April race
entry.
-
For Example:
-
To run to CIK Regs - mark the entry form KF3 (CIK Regs)
-
To run to
MSA
Regs - mark the entry form KF3 (Club)
-
Pics: Chris Walker/www.kartpix.net
The FFSA French Karting Championship 2010 (Grand Prix Open) is a series like no other, both national and international.
It also promises to be a success with the direction followed by
the Federation and the interest shown already by a number of
drivers and professionals. Given the challenge of these
difficult economic times, the FFSA have kept a lid on the costs
with GPOs less expensive this year and more open and more
accessible at the different levels of competition. The FFSA
Grand Prix Open Karting events offer an excellent opportunity to
race in the international categories - KF2, KF3 and KZ2 either
to race against top level competition or just to race at a
reasonable cost. Thanks to FFSA’s efforts, the budget for a GPO
season remains affordable in the CIK categories. With the debut
of the Mini/Cadet, Nationale, Rotax and X30 categories, each
round will host different groups of participants, thereby
providing an interesting show for the public and all the people
accompanying drivers. The FFSA have also reduced the tyre bill
for competitors by offering a full set of racing tyres per
meeting, that is a 50% bonus on this item. According to the
contract awarded to Bridgestone last year (for a three-year
period), the Japanese manufacturer will provide tyres type YKC
for KF3, YKB for KF2 and KZ2, and YKP for all drivers in wet
conditions. The second important point is the Championships
standings will take 8 out of 10 results into account, this
allows drivers and teams to miss one weekend without losing out
in the title stakes. The FFSA has also shown its willingness to
be more open by including important Cups in the calendar. The
French Cups Rotax and Rotax Master, X30 and X30 Gentleman will
be added to the GPO programme as well as the French Cups Mini
and Cadet and the French Championship of the National category.
The relevant registration procedures will be communicated by the
FFSA soon.
LMS:
Phil Quaife emerged from the Official Le Mans Series test
at Paul Ricard HTTT full of confidence and looking
forward to the opening round of the season at the French track
next month. The two-day test session gave the Tonbridge-based
racer the chance to re-acquaint himself with a GT2-spec
CRS
Racing Ferrari 430 test car, similar to the one he drove in last
year’s Spa 24 Hours and an updated version of which he will race
in the GT2 class of the LMS this season. It was also an
opportunity to meet his 2010 co-drivers, Pierre Ehret and Pierre
Kaffer, for the first time. The trio used the ample track time
to undergo some crucial set-up work with
CRS
Racing’s new engineers and, despite the surprisingly low
temperatures in the south of France, the team took a step
forward in terms of performance during a useful couple of
days.“Everything went very well and the car felt good right
away,” said Quaife. “The car ran faultlessly for two days, which
bodes well considering how much running we did, and we made
progress throughout. Despite the low temperatures, the opening
round is only a few weeks away, so we used the opportunity to
find a set-up which we think will work well in the 8-hour race
at Paul Ricard in April.” Crucially, Phil also found an
immediate rapport with his new co-drivers, Ehret and Kaffer,
with whom he’ll share the Ferrari 430 in the Paul Ricard 8 Hours
and the 1000km races at Spa, the Hungaroring, the Algarve
Circuit and Silverstone this year. “It was the first time I have
had the chance to meet them both and we hit it off straight
away,” he said. “They’re both really good guys and have a lot of
experience in GT racing so I am looking forward to racing
alongside them this year.” Quaife’s times were on the pace of
the other leading GT2-class contenders, which this year include
the likes of former F1 stars Jean Alesi and Giancarlo Fisichella.
“After such a long winter break without driving it felt really
good to be back in a car I love, in a championship I’ve always
wanted to race in, against drivers of the calibre of Giancarlo
Fisichella and Jean Alesi,” Quaife admitted.
Formula
Renault UK: Atech GP’s Tama’s Pa’l Kiss headed
the timesheets during the second official pre-season test for
the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship at Silverstone
National circuit on Tuesday, 9th March. The 18-year-old
Hungarian racer, now in his second season after finishing as the
third highest Graduate Cup driver last year, recorded a best
time of 53.374s (110.54mph average) around the 1.64-mile circuit
– a full second quicker than the current lap record (54.386s –
James Calado).Meanwhile Scottish racer Lewis Williamson in the
Manor Competition run car was again among the quickest drivers
ending the day as the second fastest driver with a time of
53.401s.Brazilian Fabio Gamberini posted the fastest Graduate
Cup time with a 53.978s in his Mark Burdett Motorsport run car.
The day’s first session saw CRS Racing’s Harry Tincknell set the
early pace with a time of 53.627s closely followed by Pa’l Kiss,
Williamson and Manor Competition’s Will Stevens who went
quickest during the first official pre-season test at Brands
Hatch Indy last week. There were also strong times set by Atech
GP’s Nick Yelloly, Fortec Motorsport’s Ollie Millroy and
team-mate Swede Tom Blomqvist.The afternoon session though
belonged to Pa’l Kiss who used fresh rubber to set his best time
on his 38th lap of 48 completed. Williamson and Stevens both ran
well but were unable to match the Hungarian racer. Along with
Gamberini, karting star CRS Racing’s Robert Foster-Jones also
finished inside the top 10 for the day as did Manor
Competition’s Josh Mulholland.The day also provided the
opportunity for the Championship’s latest registered drivers to
get some valuable track time. Joe Crook joins Scorpio Motorsport
after moving up from the Protyre Formula Renault BARC
Championship in which he finished 10th. Meanwhile Fortec
Motorsport have completed their four-car line-up with the
signing of Chrissy Palmer.
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0:
Kalle Kulmanen has been confirmed as MP Motorsport’s third
driver
for the 2010 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship – the
team’s potential four car line-up nearing completion with just
over five weeks remaining until the start of the season. The
18-year-old, from Tampere in Finland, has chosen to make the
step-up to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 this year with the
front-running Dutch squad having spent the past two years racing
in the Finnish Formula Renault 2.0 Championship. Ending last
year fourth overall in the standings, Kulmanen also made his
competitive debut in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and Formula Renault
2.0 Sweden. Prior to his car racing graduation, the teenager had
a successful karting career. Commenting on Kulmanen’s signing,
MP Motorsport’s Sander Dorsman said: “We’re delighted to have
secured Kalle to be our third driver for the coming season. It’s
great news for us to have filled three of our cars with more
than a month to go until the beginning of the new championship.
We do have the potential to run four cars though, so we’re still
on the look-out for an additional driver.Kalle is obviously
totally new to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 so we’re not
expecting too much initially. He needs to get used to the new
car first and then make steady improvements during the next few
weeks as we head towards the first race of the season.”
With
the official Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 pre-season now in full
swing,
Netherlands-based MP Motorsport can happily reflect on two very
positive test outings so far in Spain – one at Valencia in late
February and the most recent at the Circuit de Catalunya in
Barcelona this week. On the first day of running in Barcelona on
Tuesday, 9th March, Daniël de Jong was seventh fastest with a
best time of 1m46.027 (158.1km/h) and team-mate Karl-Oscar Liiv
was eighth thanks to a lap of 1m46.165, just 0.3secs shy of the
outright pace. Dutchman De Jong got off to an impressive start
on Wednesday with the third quickest time of 1m44.955 and went
on to improve to a lap of 1m44.758 in the afternoon. For Liiv,
after posting the 13th fastest time of 1m45.894 in session one,
the Estonian went on to lap with a best of 1m44.518 in the
second outing to finish sixth overall. Kulmanen, on his debut in
the new FR 2.0, was a highly creditable 17th fastest on the
opening day when running was severely restricted due to snowfall
which prevented any track action until the afternoon. On
Wednesday, the championship newcomer was 18th during the morning
with a time of 1m47.294 and improved in the afternoon to
1m46.965. Colleague team manager Dick van der Wilt said: “It was
quite bizarre to begin with, snow in
Barcelona
for the first time in 10 years! We couldn’t go on track until
the afternoon on the first day but we were happy to be only
three 10ths of a second off the pace on old tyres, we saved our
new tyres for day two.The second day was good, Daniël was second
or third for the entire morning and although his new tyre run
wasn’t as we expected in the afternoon, eighth position was
still good. Karl-Oscar was strong and although he slipped from
third to sixth it was great for us to have two cars in such a
competitive top 10. Kalle has a lot to learn of course but he’s
made a good start, we’re happy.” Next on the 2010 Eurocup
Formula Renault 2.0 testing schedule is a visit to Magny-Cours
on 15-16 March. Drivers still considering racing in Eurocup
Formula Renault 2.0 this year are invited to contact MP
Motorsport regarding its potential fourth seat – call Sander
Dorsman on 0031 (0) 6516 70158 or email him at
sander@mpmotorsport.nl
Preparations for the Formula Renault 2.0 season continued this
week with two days of testing at the
Barcelona circuit. Like at Valencia, Daniel Mancinelli (One
Racing) came away with the best time, beating the Formula
Renault 2.0 lap record for the circuit. The Italian driver
finished ahead of Luciano Bacheta (Interwetten) and Arthur Pic (SG
Formula). On Tuesday morning, surprisingly, snow fell on the
Catalunya circuit and the track was iced up in places meaning
testing was not an option in the morning. By 2pm things warmed
up allowing a green light at the pit exit. Once the cars emerged
lap times came down regularly throughout the first hour, with
Luciano Bacheta going to the top with 1'48''784. Miki Wekstrom (Koiranen
Bros Motorsport) and Alex Riberas (Epsilon Euskadi) took turns
to oust Bacheta from first place but the Italian came back
stronger and did a 1'45''826. However in the last few minutes
things changed with Aaro Vainio (SG Formula) posting a
1'45''811. The Finnish young gun finally surrendered the best
time Adam Kout (Krenek Motorsport) who did a 1'45''801, the
Czech driver finishing top the timesheets ahead of Aaro Vainio,
Luciano Bacheta, Bart Hylkema (Koiranan Bros Motorsport) and
Miki Weckstrom. Weather conditions were more settled on
Wednesday, and performances inmproved over day 1. Vainio took
the lead early on but it was Luchiano Bacheta who was first to
get near then beat the previous day's times with a 1'44''849.
Miguel Otegui (Epsilon Euskadi) then went above the Interwetten
driver before Luciano Bacheta took the quickest lap of the
morning in 1'44''566, ahead of Miguel Otegui and Daniel de Jong
(MP Motorsport). In the final session teams devoted the start of
the afternoon to setups before fitting fresh tires allowing
Bacheta to beat the F Renault 2.0 lap record with a 1'44''086.
At the end of the session, Daniel Mancinelli went even faster,
lapping in 1'43''691, the only driver to dip below the 1'44 mark
and was able to walk away from Barcelona with the best time
overall, just as in Valencia.
Formula 2: Jolyon Palmer has confirmed that he will return to the
Formula Two
line-up in 2010 for his second year in the F1 feeder series.
Jolyon graduated to Formula 2 last season after finishing third
in the 2008 Formula Palmer Audi Championship. One of the
youngest competitors in the 2009 F2 field, he made a promising
start to the season when he recorded his first top ten finish in
the second round at Brno in the Czech Republic. The Comma-backed
Briton also joined F2 for all four days of winter testing,
setting the fastest time of day two at Portimao, Portugal.
Palmer admits he will be looking to launch himself towards the
front of the field this year. Jolyon Palmer said: "Last season
was a little disappointing for me until towards the end of the
year when I scored my first points. I was also quick during
winter testing and hopefully I can carry this momentum into my
second F2 campaign. The testing in Portimao in December was
particularly competitive and I went really well there, so this
is hopefully a good sign that I can run at the front and get my
first win in F2 this season. I am used to the one team
environment having been in FPA previously and then in F2, and I
really feel I can get the best out of it. I will start the
season on a race by race basis to see where I stand compared to
the other drivers, but I really feel that I have the potential
to be a contender and if things go my way, maybe even win the
title."
Historic Sportscar
Racing's (HSR)
season-opener at Sebring International Raceway (SIR) got off to
a great start with nearly 200 vintage and classic cars featured
in nine classes, competing over three days.
Read report
10-03-10
Formula3:
Oulton Park hosted the latest test of the Cooper Tires
British Formula 3 International Series today, Wednesday, 10th March, with
National Class pace-setter Menasheh Idafar once again delivering
a top rate performance. Marking his first experience at the
venue at the wheel of an F3 car, the 18-year-old headed the
National Class in all three of the day’s sessions and ended the
test a very competitive 10th overall on combined times. With a
best lap of 1m28.776 secs (109.16mph), Menasheh concluded this
week’s outing just 1.3 seconds shy of the outright pace and,
more importantly, some 1.5 seconds clear of chief class rival,
and T-Sport team-mate, James Cole at the track which will host
the first three races of the season over Easter Weekend,
3rd/4th/5th April. “I’m really pleased to have been in the top
10 overall today, our pace was good throughout the test which is
obviously really good preparation for the first round of the
season at Oulton”, commented Menasheh, “The cornering here is so
much faster in an F3 car than in the Formula Renault I raced
last year but I adapted to that without any problems. All in all
it’s been another great day.” During the two-hour morning
session, Menasheh steered his Gulf Computer Services W.L.L
liveried car to a time of 1m29.923 seconds (107.77mph) on his
final lap of the run to secure 13th position overall on the
timesheets and the top National Class placing by some 1.1
seconds. The first session of the afternoon was by far the most
impressive as he set his fastest time(1m28.776). In the third
and final session, Menasheh lapped in 1m30.064 seconds
(107.60mph).
Pic: Jakob Ebrey Photography
F2000: Jesse Yorio will be back in
2010 in a brand new Piper DF5C chassis.
Joining a 30-car F2000 Championship Series field dominated by
Van Diemens, with expected new cars from Radon and Ralph Firman
Racing, in addition to standing entries from Citation and Mygale,
the new Piper will make it a season of chassis wars in the F2000
world. Yorio, out of New York, will be back for his fourth
straight season, driving under the Company Motorsports banner
alongside teammate Jeff McCusker. “Doug Learned at Fast Forward
Components and I wanted very much to put one of his show pieces
on the grid this year, and with my new sponsor, NewSeed
Advisors, we were able to make it happen,” commented Yorio. “The
goal for 2010 is to win races and with some luck, be in the hunt
for the championship,” Yorio said. “2009 was a disappointing
year, I had a strong start at VIR and we proved that the
improvements made to the bell housing and cooling system on the
Piper DF-5 had achieved what was necessary to get the car back
up front.” While the delivery of any new race car can be
surrounded by delays and the paddock grapevine, Yorio insists
the car is ready to go. “The new car is arriving from Doug next
week and will be track ready straight from the factory. How many
of the silly British cars can that be said about?”
(We'll see what the 'silly' British cars can do when the
season gets under way won't we! - Ed)
The American recently returned from a seat fitting at Fast
Forward Components in California and was left very impressed by
Learned’s operation. “I was out in California last weekend for
the seat fitting and watched the Learneds piece the car together
with tremendous attention to detail. Doug started with Don
Sievenpiper's excellent design and made improvements to many
areas. I have to keep the details of the new whizzy bits under
wraps, but can tell you about the non-secret ones. The car has a
slightly larger fuel cell of aircraft grade and is rated for
alcohol based fuels. The pedal assembly is a work of art, as are
the bell housing and shift linkage. To give you insight into the
attention to detail, the oil tank and firewall have vibration
isolating 3M tape on their mating surfaces.” The Company
Motorsports crew is compromised of Kenneth Company, who Yorio
said, “will continue to maintain the car in his typical
meticulous fashion.” And trackside, Yorio will “be in the good
hands of Daryl Mayhew, David Schuler and Ove Falc.” Like most of
the F2000 community, Yorio will miss Joe Stimola in the VIR
paddock: “Jeff (McCusker) and I both greatly miss Joe Stimola as
he was a mentor to us both. I was fortunate to know Joe for 10
years and he epitomized the term 'class act. Joe always led me
in the right direction and never failed to deliver on a promise.
The paddock won't be quite the same without Joe, but fortunately
he insisted we take one of his setup guides every time we
visited his trailer, so we still have a piece of his knowledge
with us.”
FBMW: Facu Regalia ended the first Formula BMW
Europe
test at
Monza
in good shape. The weather wasn’t great and it even
snowed in the afternoon! The Hispanic-Argentinean driver had his
first official test of the season at
Monza
this week before the debut race of the season in May at Circuit
de Catalunya alongside the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix. Regalia
was out in one of Eifelland Racing’s cars and in the morning
zsession, when conditions were at their best, he was the fifth
fastest. “It was difficult. I was the fifth fastest and fastest
among my team’s drivers, with an eight tenths advantage, even
though I used worn tires”, he said. In the afternoon, the
drivers had three hours on track,even if the weather didn’t give
them a break. Some chose to put new tyres in their cars but
Regalia and his team preferred to save their fresh rubber for
the today’s(Wed) session. “I lost a bit more than a second to
the fastest driver, something that isn’t that bad because he
used new tires and I didn’t. However, we have to improve the
set-up a bit. I think we are in the right path and I’m enjoying
to work with the team”, concluded Facu. A snow storm cancelled
the test today
Michelin
Formula Renault UK
rookie Josh Mulholland
produced a breakthrough performance during official pre-season
testing at Silverstone on Tuesday, ending the day ninth fastest
on overall times. The 20-year-old Manor Competition driver, from
Northern Ireland, bounced back from a problematic two-day outing
at Brands Hatch last week where a string of teething troubles
with his brand new Barazi-Epsilon FR 2.0 car limited running and
compromised his pace. At Josh again had difficulties with
gearing in the morning session but came back well in the
afternoon to set a best time of 54.027 seconds (109.21mph),
ninth quickest on combined times.Ending the test only 0.6secs
shy of the outright pace, the Mulholland Scrap Metals supported
racer also beat his experienced team-mate Thomas Hylkema who
was 10th. “This has been a real boost for me, especially with
all of the problems we’ve had with the car since testing began”,
said the championship newcomer, “Brands Hatch last week was very
tough but during the second session today we were finally able
to get a run of consistent laps. The end result shows we weren’t
all that far away from the top guys.Considering the lack of
running I’ve had compared to most of the others, I’m very
pleased with the outcome. To be just ahead of Thomas (Hylkema)
was great and to be within a 10th of a second of the top four
shows we did a good job and have made progress. The team has
been working hard to get the issues with the car resolved so
hopefully the Rockingham test next week will go smoothly.” Next
is a visit to Rockingham on 15-16 March with further testing a
week later at Snetterton before the season gets underway on 3-4
April at Thruxton. Renault Pics:
Jakob Ebrey Photography
Atech Grand Prix topped the times at its home track of
Silverstone on Tuesday with Hungarian Tamás Pál Kiss fastest at the
second official test ahead of the 2010 Michelin Formula Renault
UK Championship. The 18 year-old, who’s backed by energy drink
Hell, was second quickest in the morning session but jumped to
the top of the time sheets in the afternoon, to end the day
quickest overall. His team-mate Briton Nick Yelloly, runner up
in the end-of-season Winter Cup, was fifth in both sessions,
however was relegated to sixth overall at the end of the day.
Team Principal David Hayle was delighted with the performance of
both drivers as they now look to continue the programme at
Rockingham Motor Speedway next week. “Tamás continued his good
form today and completed a significant number of quick laps
which sets him up well for the season. Nick too was fifth in
both the morning and afternoon sessions, and I’m confident that
when the season kicks off at Thruxton next month, both drivers
will be right on the pace.” For Pál Kiss, the results marked his
first time at the top of the leader board. “It was a good test
today and I was really happy with the team, the whole thing
worked really well, I really enjoy every minute being with
them,” said Tamás. “They take the whole thing very seriously and
are very professional and I think that shows in our performance
today.We head to Rockingham next week where I don’t have that
much experience. However I now feel very confident with the car
and team and so I will do my best and hope that it’s enough.”
Manor
Competition continued its strong start to the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship pre-season at
Silverstone on Tuesday. After heading last week’s two-day outing
at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, the team produced a similarly
impressive showing at Silverstone with Lewis Williamson(pictured)
ending the test second fastest – just 0.027 seconds shy of the
top of the times – and team-mate Will Stevens a mere 0.031
seconds further adrift in third position. Formula Renault UK
rookie Josh Mulholland produced an excellent showing(see
separate story) while Thomas Hylkema, meanwhile, ensured all
four of Manor’s drivers ended the test in the coveted top 10
with a best time just six 10ths of a second outside the outright
fastest lap. During the day’s opening four hour session,
Scottish 20-year-old Williamson set a time of 53.751 seconds
(109.77mph) to go third fastest a shade ahead of Surrey racer
Stevens in fourth place – the 18-year-old posting a best of
53.950 seconds.The afternoon session brought marked improvements
from the Manor quartet, Williamson again the quickest of the
four with a lap of 53.401 seconds but with Stevens almost
matching him in a time of 53.432 seconds. “We’re very pleased to
have pretty much continued where we left off at Brands Hatch
last week”, said Manor Competition co-owner Sarah Shaw, “We’re
all still learning more and more about the new car with every
lap but to have ended the Silverstone test with all four drivers
in the top 10 – and two of them in the top three – is a great
team result and just reward for everyone’s hard work.”
Thomas
Hylkema continued his pre-season preparations with a solid, workmanlike performance at the Silverstone
test ending this week’s run inside the top 10 with a best lap of
54.039 seconds (109.18mph), just 0.6 seconds shy of the outright
pace. Choosing to focus most of his efforts on set-up work and
learning how to get the most from his tyres, Thomas still
managed to lap consistently quickly and at one stage during the
three hour afternoon session was as high as third fastest on the
timesheets.As other drivers elected to run fresher rubber, the
Club Car and TORO-backed racer remained on tyres from last
week’s test at Brands Hatch to continue his learning process –
something which will certainly pay dividends when the season
gets underway at the beginning of April. “All in all this
week’s test was good, I learned more about the car and although
we ran on old tyres for most of the day we were still pretty
close to the guys on fresher rubber”, said Thomas, “The morning
session was a bit more difficult in terms of lap times as I ran
on some very old tyres from last week’s test at Brands Hatch,
but I wanted to work on my set-up and learn more about the car.
After lunch we did have a small clutch problem but after that we
went faster even though we were still on old tyres. On a newer
set of the Brands Hatch tyres we went third fastest and then did
some more set-up work so others were able to go quicker. We had
problems with traffic during my new tyre run at the end, which
was unfortunate, but it was still a strong day for us so I’m
very pleased.”
WTCC: The FIA, in agreement with promoter KSO,
has decided to cancel the second event in the 2010 FIA
World Touring Car Championship scheduled to take place in Puebla,
Mexico, on April 11th. The FIA’s decision is based on security
reports from the region and follows close consultation and
guidance from OMDAI, the Mexican National Sporting Authority.
Grand-Am:
The #77 McDonald's/Doran Daytona Prototype driven by Memo
Gidley and Dion VonMoltke had a good nionth place finish in
round two of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented
by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 at the Grand Prix of Miami last
weekend. “It was a bit frustrating because the car felt like a
5th or 6th place car and we just needed a yellow to get us back
up to the lead group and go racing,” said Gidley. “But, all in
all, it was a good weekend for the #77 McDonald's car and to
have two strong run early in the season is a positive thing for
us.” ..read report
Superleague Formula: Atech Grand Prix has confirmed that Dutchman Yelmer Buurman will
contest the 2010 Superleague Formula by Sonangol series under
the AC Milan banner. The Silverstone-based team won the title
last year with Liverpool FC and Adrian Vallés, and is the first
team to confirm a driver in the series. Team Principal David
Hayle is excited about the prospect of working with 23 year-old
Buurman who finished second in the inaugural season of
Superleague Formula and took fourth place last year. “I’m very
pleased to have finally penned a deal with Yelmer who I’ve known
from his Formula Renault days,” said Hayle. “Over the years I’ve
watched him grow up and over the last two seasons he has proven
to be a particularly strong contender in Superleague Formula,
finishing second and fourth. This season we’ll be looking to go
one stage further with him and I expect him to be in the fight
for the championship.” In 2009, Buurman drove in the GP2 Asia
series as well as in Superleague Formula, where he finished
fourth in the final standings driving for
RSC
Anderlecht. He won two races in the final round of the series
at Jarama. Buurman is relishing the prospect when the series
kicks off next month. “I am happy to be back in Superleague
Formula with last year’s championship-winning team and I look
forward to scoring for a top club,” said Buurman. “After being
second and fourth in the championship over the last two years I
will now go for the top. I only have one aim and that is winning
the championship for and with AC Milan. I am ready for it and
I’d like to thank everyone at Atech GP for their confidence in
my capabilities.” The 2010 Superleague Formula by Sonangol gets
underway with the opening round at Silverstone over Easter
weekend 3/4 April.
LMS: Strakka Racing emerged as front-runners in LMP2 after a very
successful Le Mans Series test at the Paul Ricard circuit at Le
Castellet in southern
France. With a brisk Alpine wind cutting across the track,
conditions were hardly ideal, but the team’s new HPD ARX-01c in
the hands of Danny Watts, Nick Leventis and Jonny Kane set
fastest time in three out of the five sessions, including Sunday
evening’s run through to midnight. The official ACO two-day test
at Paul Ricard on Sunday and Monday this week was the team’s
first opportunity to gauge how the car’s performance measured up
against the opposition. “The test has gone perfectly for us,”
said a very satisfied Piers Phillips, team manager at Strakka.
“We’ve been largely ignoring what others have been doing, and
just getting on with the schedule of work we’d set ourselves,
but even so, it has been gratifying to set some of the quickest
times, especially as we’re comparing our performance with some
teams who’ve been developing their cars for a year or more.
We’re still learning so much every time the car goes out, and
it’s reassuring to know that there’s even more still to come.
It’s a good position to be in.” The team took delivery of a new
low-downforce aero-package in the days just before the test,
which accounted for the plain black scheme of some body panels.
“Most of our testing before today has been in the wet, and it’s
been our first run with the new package, but we’ve worked
through the test without a hitch,” said Nick Leventis. “Speed
and stability is excellent, straight out of the box, and I’m
delighted that we’ve emerged around the top of the P2 class at
the end of it. We’ve established a fairly good idea of the
likely pace, but it’s important not to read too much into times
set during testing,” he said, before adding; “Everyone else will
have more to give too, so we have to be realistic, but it’s been
a very positive two days.” Most of the set-up work was completed
by Danny Watts. “We’re very pleased with where we are,
especially as we’re still in the early stages of learning how to
work with the car. It has been totally reliable and we’ve had no
issues at all. The HPD engine and chassis combination is
excellent, the tyres have been awesome, and the whole package is
gelling together very nicely. What we need now is to return next
month and make a good, solid start to the season, and get points
on the board,” he said. The 8 Hours of Le Castellet takes place
on Sunday April 11th, starting at 11:00am.
The
RML
AD Group Lola B08/80 HPD lived up to expectations
at the recent two-day official Le Mans Series test at the Paul
Ricard HTTT on Sunday and Monday(7-8 March). Consistently in the
top three of the LMP2 class, the car was also the fastest of
it’s category on the Mistral Straight (0.75 miles) in an
impressive 181 mph (291 kph). Driver Thomas Erdos, whoi dod
nmost of the setup. "Almost without exception, our competitors
have been testing for weeks, or months, and their preparation
for the new season is way ahead of ours," observed the
Brazilian. "With that in mind, I'm delighted with the progress
we've made, and to be within a few tenths of quickest in our
class suggests we have a very competitive package, and that's
enormously uplifting." Read more
pic:
David Lord / Dailysportscar
Karts:
Nyck De Vries, the European Champion and winner of WSK in KF3 in
2009, had an impressive debut in Super KF in
Italy
last weekend where the young Dutch driver fought with some of
the best kart drivers to take second place in the WSK Euro
Series. Read report
Star
Mazda: AIM Autsoport ihas announced that
Ontario native David Ostella
is returning for a second season in 2010 to contest the Star
Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Ostella,18, will be
driving the AIM Autosport / Global Precast No 16 Formula Mazda
and he is looking forward to the season’s first race at Sebring
International Raceway on March 19. Ostella teamed with AIM in
2009 to run in Star Mazda and take advantage of their successful
open-wheel racing programs. AIM won the 2008 Star Mazda
Championship and had a solid reputation for developing young
drivers. “It was a very steep learning curve coming into the
series last year”, said David. “AIM and Star Mazda team manager
Keith Willis have an excellent reputation and they had just come
off a championship season so the decision to team with them was
easy.” He continued, ”We learned a lot in ’09 and we knew that
sticking with AIM and building on last season’s work, could lead
to success in 2010. Our goal is to be up front and fight for the
championship.” AIM and Ostella have been testing over the winter
and are now at Sebring for official series testing ahead of the
first race later this month. The first race in the Star Mazda
Championship takes place March 19th at Sebring International
Raceway in Sebring, Florida. David continues his racing
efforts with generous support from Global Precast
Intercontinental. He also has renewed support from both
Alpinestars and RAW Integrated Ltd.
Hayden Duerson, 18, has signed with Juncos Racing for the first two races of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by
Goodyear. "I am very excited to be competing in the Star Mazda
Championship with Juncos Racing," said Duerson. "I am looking
forward to working with my teammates, Conor Daly and Tatiana
Calderon, and I believe with the help of Ricardo and the great
team of people he has put together, we will be very competitive
this year."
From 2005-2007, Duerson was a member of the Italian Motors
karting team. In 2008, Duerson entered in the Skip Barber
National Series alongside Conor Daly. Duerson will make his
debut in Star Mazda at Sebring on March 19.
09-03-10
Sir Stirling Moss is recovering in Hospital
after he fell 3 floors down the lift shaft at his London home.
Sir Stirling, 80, has broken ankles, damaged feet and chipped
vertebrae but it is not considered a life-threatening. The lift
in his house malfunctioned and got stuck on the fourth floor as
Moss stepped into the shaft on the third floor when the door
opened in error and he fell all the way to the concrete base.
“Amazingly he did not suffer any internal injuries," confirmed
BRDC secretary Stuart Pringle. "Lady (Susan) Moss has just
telephoned me and although Sir Stirling is not in good shape, he
is no longer in danger," he added.
Silverstone: Work on the new Grand Prix
Circuit at Silverstone is nearing completion, as the venue’s multi-million pound investment in a new
track layout and improved spectator facilities remains on
schedule to be finished by the end of March. The new circuit
will host a number of world class events in 2010, including the
Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix on 09-11 July, and MotoGP and World
Superbike motorcycle racing
on 18-20 June and 31 July - 01 August respectively. However,
the first major international event to test out the new circuit
will be the Silverstone Supercar featuring the FIA GT1 World
Championship, on 01-02 May. Richard Phillips, Managing Director
of Silverstone Circuits Limited, said, “Work on the circuit
and venue is on
schedule. The team has been working around the clock,
through some pretty terrible weather conditions, to make sure
the circuit is ready on time. The track works at Brooklands and Woodcote
are now complete, including the new run-off area for the fast
entry into Pits Straight, while the major new development – the
new section of circuit from Abbey, up to the Arena Complex and
round to the National Straight – is also coming along nicely.
“There is still a considerable amount of work going
on at Silverstone, including the new elevated banks and
spectator viewing areas, which will continue beyond March.
Conference and hospitality buildings are also being built on the
new Stowe Complex.”
GP3: Californian Alexander Rossi,
joined 33 drivers over two days at Paul Ricard for the inaugural
test of the GP3 Championship Series. Running in both wet and dry
conditions, Rossi led the way giving notice of his intent for
the 2010 season, having signed for GP3 Championship with ART
Grand Prix this past January. The 18 year old set the fastest
overall time at 1:20.013 to lead the timesheets in three of the
four sessions. "The test went very well, not only for me and the
team, but for the series as well collecting a lot of data",
Rossi commented. "For a new car and changing track conditions
I'm really impressed with the amount of reliability and
technical support over the two days. The whole ART team was
flawless, I' m very thankful for the confidence both Frederic
and Nicolas have in my abilities, and quite confident I'll
deliver for them. The expectations are high and should be, as I
have a job to do." GP3 drivers were able to test their
adaptation to both a new car and changing circuit conditions.
The first of four sessions was in the wet, then turning to dry
as the day progressed. Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal ART:
"This has been a really positive first test session for us, but
also for GP3 in general. Our cars have been consistently
reliable throughout the two days, and we have covered a
significant amount of kilometres, gathering invaluable data to
move forward. After watching the cars on track these past two
days I think it's safe to say that we have a great season of
racing ahead of us." The GP3 car is a Dallara chassis with a non
assisted rack and pinion steering system and Brembo brakes. The
Renault 4 cylinder, 2 litre, turbo-charged engine has a 6 speed
sequential Hewland gearbox. Pirelli will be the official tyre
supplier.
Formula 3: Motul Oil
UK have announced expansion of their sponsorship with Team
West-Tec.
The team will take to the grid in the National Class of the 2010
British International Formula 3 Championship, the cars carrying
the French oil companie’s striking Motul livery and their famous
red and white colours into the series this year. Renowned for
their expertise with synthetic lubricants and the design and
manufacture of high performance lubricants for motorsport,
Motul's partnership will further enhance their brand and
technical credentials in this highly competitive and prestigious
championship. Gareth Burnett Managing Director of Pace Products,
Motul's UK distributor said "We are delighted to have extended
our partnership to become Motul Team West-Tec and add this to
Motul's worldwide partnerships in motorsport which are the
proving ground for our products. The pedigree of British Formula
3 speaks for itself and we look forward to seeing Motul Team
West-Tec challenging for the National Class championship this
year." Motul Team West-Tec's John Miller added "We are extremely
pleased to have developed our sponsorship with Motul this year
and represent this world famous and iconic motorsport brand. Our
partnership with Motul also provides us with their superb range
of products and access to their expert analysis and laboratory
facilities which allows us to maximise our cars performance on
the race track."
Volkswagen
Racing Cup
contender Anna Walewska
was at the forefront of a gathering of women in motorsport this
week at Silverstone. The event was organised by motorsport's UK
governing body, the MSA, as part of International Women's Day.
Despite being one of the few sports in which men and women can
compete on an equal footing, women make up only eight per cent
of registered racing licence holders. It's a problem which
frustrates 23-year-old Anna: "There are not nearly as many women
involved as there should be. I think that's just down to poor
promotion. There's a need to make access to motorsport a lot
easier than it is."A lot of women come to me at race circuits
and ask 'How do I get into it? How do I start? Can I race
against the guys?' It's a shame they even have to ask those
questions; the answers should be easy to find. "The Silverstone
event was a good get-together, a chance for women in motorsport
to meet and discuss what we are doing and the hurdles that we
face; it was very enjoyable and I was glad to attend." Anna's
views are echoed by Melissa Wright, Director of championship
promoter RacingLine, championship manager of the very successful
Volkswagen Racing Cup with Fuchs Lubricants, and one of the very
few women involved with motorsport at a senior level. "Motorsport
is the perfect environment for women to compete alongside men,"
says Melissa. "The Volkswagen Racing Cup welcomes female
competitors and we are delighted that it attracts drivers of
Anna's calibre. The championship has no need of a 'ladies cup',
because the women are in any case up there and doing well
against the men." Anna's plans to take on the men and beat them
will see the Surrey driver at the wheel of an Alan Blencowe
Racing-prepared Golf GTI in the Volkswagen Racing Cup this
season. She enjoyed a successful learning year in the series in
2009 and hopes to use it as a springboard into the BTCC by 2012.
LMS:
The Official Test has been the final rehearsal before the
season kicks off at Paul Ricard later this month. Testing went
well for Team ORECA Matmut with Soheil Ayari fastest overall in
the ORECA 01-AIM followed by Olivier Panis, second in the
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP. Danny Watts set the best time in LMP2,
while Stefan Mucke ruled the GT1 class and Richard Westbrook did
the same in the GT2 class. The weather conditions were difficult
on both days, withj high winds and very low temperatures
affecting the driving. Nevertheless the track remained dry.
Oreca Matmut and Strakka Shine -
Testing form is notoriously difficult to read - you
never know for certain what fuel load or set-up a team is
running at any one particular time. Despite an engine problem,
Soheil Ayari, Didier Andre and Andy Meyrick drove well allowing
the ORECA 01 -
AIM to set the best time, but the signs are that they will have
fearsome opposition. Soheil Ayari declared: "We did a good job.
We tested many different kinds of tires and we found interesting
things. The car is faster than last year and it is always a
pleasure to top the time-sheets!" Team ORECA Matmut has very
high hopes for their new Peugeot 908 HDi FAP that was unveiled
two days ago in its brand-new livery. Olivier Panis, Nicolas
Lapierre and Loic Duval had a productive first day with the most
laps of the circuit under their wheels and the second fastest
time in the two-day session. Meanwhile, Rebellion Racing is now
focusing only on the LMP1 class with two Lolas-Rebellion and a
very impressive drivers' line-up.(see separate story below) The
prototypes set the third and fourth time while Marco Andretti
was busy learning the track. We are used to Strakka Racing
topping the time-sheets after the pole last year in Barcelona at
the start of the season, but this time they are in LMP2 with the
Honda Performance Development prototype. This car already has
an impressive record of victories, but this is the very first
time that it has run in an official event in Europe. During this
two-day session, Danny Watts chalked up the best time in the
class, but above all, the car has been very reliable, which is
promising for the competition in the class, especially with the
defending champion Quifel-ASM Team. Though the mood remained
optimistic in the Portuguese camp, the season should be tougher
than last year for Miguel Amaral and Olivier Pla, who couldn't
do better than second, all the more so as Team RML is not too
far behind with their Lola now running Dunlop tyres.
In
the Formula Le Mans class, the test days at Le Castellet saw Team Boutsen Energy
Racing and Team DAMS almost evenly matched before Hope Pole
Vision Racing set the best time. On the International Women's
Day, the young French driver Corentine Quiniou made her debut on
a Formula Le Mans, but could not make the most of the car
because of a lack of grip.
The GT1 class was well represented thanks to the three Fords. One of them (the Matech
Competition's one) will participate to the 1000 Km of Spa-Francorchamps.
The drivers line up will be 100% made of ladies! The Larbre
Competition Saleen stayed only one day, but has been able to
keep up with the pace. The dual between Porsche and Ferrari has
been exciting for two days, and the German car-maker was fastest
thanks to Prospeed Competition and Richard Westbrook.
CRS Racing is very close and Pierre Kaffer and his Ferrari did
their best time in the last lap. Knowing the circuit might have
definitely helped Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni and their AF
Corse Ferrari F430: they completed their planned program with no
problems and chalked up the third time. The fight between the
GT2s is always fierce with many cars able to bring the trophy
home. This season should meet the race-fans' expectations with
several cars within one second. Jean Alesi and Giancarlo
Fisichella had a good start. The Italian driver said at the
Press Conference: "I know that I have a lot to learn because the
GT car is fully different from a Formula One car, but I am very
happy to be here for a new challenge."
Greg and Leo Mansell join a growing group of second generation racers keen to emulate the
successes of their fathers. The Mansell family didn't miss it’s
entrance with the fifth time, and the father and sons could
achieve their work program and should stay in ambush for the
whole season.
On
the 7-8 March, REBELLION Racing attended the 2010 Le Mans Series official test
at Paul Ricard. For the first time this season all of the Swiss
team's drivers were together: Lola-Rebellion # 12 : Marco
Andretti - Neel Jani - Nicolas Prost Lola-Rebellion # 13 :
Andrea Belicchi - Jean-Christophe Boullion - Guy Smith. The
performance shown by both cars met the team's expectations,
despite the wintry weather. A cold track meant that it wasn't
possible to keep the tyre temperatures at optimum levels so the
tyre testing program was limited. This first day allowed each
driver to accumulate miles and familiarise themselves with the
Lola B10/60 - Rebellion. Marco Andretti and Guy Smith coming
directly from the US for their first laps. Marco Andretti was
quickly at ease, "The feeling of the Lola-Rebellion is very
close to the Acura LMP2 that I drove in 2008. I am impressed by
the level of the team and the quality of my teammates. I am
delighted to share the driving of the No.12 with Nicolas and
Neel. I think we can aim for a good result at the 24 Hours of
Le Mans."
As for Guy Smith, he was also very quickly comfortable: "The
car is bigger and heavier than the Lola I drive in the ALMS. It
is well balanced and easy to control. I was favourably impressed
with the Rebellion engine. The REBELLION Racing team is very
good and they make you feel at home quickly, it is important for
my integration into the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the
8 Hours of Paul Ricard. " In the evening, the team took part in
the night test session to check lighting solutions for
Le Mans.
On the second day the weather was again cold with both
Lola-Rebellions turning numerous laps. Nicolas Prost: "We are
pleased with the work done at Le Castellet. We are still far
from exploiting the full potential of our two Lola Rebellions.
Our
driver
trio is very homogeneous, both in terms of feedback and size.
And most importantly, we understand each other very well, which
bodes well for races like Le Mans 24 Hours. We still have to
work before realising all the performance of our cars. But we
will start the season with a team ready for the challenge. " Neel
Jani: "Despite the cold conditions this weekend, we managed to
find our tyre choice. I am pleased to have Marco in our team. I
knew he was a good driver. We now have confirmation that we can
aim at the highest level with the Lola-Rebellion. " Andrea
Belicchi: "I'm happy with what we achieved here at Paul Ricard.
We had no technical problems during these tests. The engine
seems reliable. We are moving in the right direction. We were
able to test and validate the tyre choice that we will use for
the first races of the season. " Jean-Christophe Boullion: "We
made good progress on the car technically both on the set-up and
on the comfort of driving. As always, we would have liked to
continue to work one or two more days on the development of the
car. Communication between drivers is excellent. The two cars
experienced the same progression bringing us to solutions that
are very close to each other. " The team feels ready to face
their rivals in the opening round of the Le Mans Series (10 and
11 April) at the 8 Hours of Paul Ricard.
The
CRS
Racing
LMS
squad
has been out for two days at Paul Ricard, taking part in the
official Le Mans Series pre-season test. Andrew Kirkaldy, Tim
Mullen and Nicola Larini drove the 2010-spec No.91 CRS Ferrari
430. Pierre Ehret, Phil Quaife and Pierre Kaffer drove the
Michelotto test car and will soon get their hands on the No.90
CRS Ferrari, which is being prepared for the new season. Despite
the bitterly cold weather, the team managed to complete its test
programme and is now looking forward to what promises to be a
competitive first season in the Le Mans Series. This test was
the first opportunity for CRS to run the Ferrari 430s in the new
2010 specification. Andrew Kirkaldy, who ran in second place for
most of the first session on Sunday, explains the changes. "The
2010 car has bigger tyres, an engine upgrade and a higher weight
limit," he said. "It definitely feels good and now we just need
to do some more work on the set-up. Overall this has been a
useful test for us. We have quite a few new team members and it
has been good to see them all working together well from day
one."
Darren Turner is all set for a busy year
after it was announced that he has joined JMW Motorsport for a
full-season assault on the
LMS.
The British driver teams up with Rob Bell to race the No.92
Aston Martin Vantage for Jim McWhirter's championship-winning
team. The Le Mans Series season fits in neatly around Darren's
drive in the FIA GT1 World Championship for the Young Driver
AMR
Team and, of course, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which will see him
back behind the wheel of the Aston Martin LMP1 car. "We are
delighted to announce that, with the support of Aston Martin
Racing, we have secured the services of Darren Turner for the
full five-race LMS championship," said McWhirter. "This
underlines our commitment to this championship and adds yet
another strength to our very motivated team ethos. Darren brings
a wealth of experience to the team as well as a working
knowledge of the Vantage V8 GT2." Turner said, "I'm very happy
to be joining JMW Motorsport for 2010,the team has already won
the LMS GT2 title twice, outlining their winning capabilities.
It's good to be teaming up with Rob again as we have won
together before. I'm also looking forward to working with Dunlop
who have a very competitive tyre in GT2 and have already
achieved great success with JMW."
Indy Lights: Andersen Racing will field a car for 21-year-old Carmen Jorda of
Alcoy, Spain in Firestone Indy Lights this year. Jorda competed
in the European Formula 3 Open Series and the Formula 3 Open
Copa de España last year with two podiums in the latter series.
She also made three starts in the LMP2 class of the Le Mans
Series in 2009. Jorda tested with Andersen Racing at both Barber
Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama and Sebring
International Raceway. Her first race as a member of the
Palmetto based team will be March 28 on the street course at St.
Petersburg, Florida. "I'm really excited to be racing in
America this year!" Jorda said. "Firestone Indy Lights provides
a different challenge to what I am used to in
Europe, but I am very much looking forward to the journey.
Andersen Racing is fantastic!" she added. "I have really enjoyed
working with my engineer, Walter Preston, and all of the team
members. We still have some important tests coming up before the
season gets underway in
St. Petersburg, but I am confident we will be ready. All of the
tracks will be new for me, but this is something which I have to
deal with," she continued. "I am sure the experience of the team
will help me on this front." Jorda's goal is to reach the IZOD
IndyCar Series and compete in the Indianapolis 500. "Racing at
Indianapolis will be a highlight for me this year," she said,
referring to the Firestone Freedom 100, a Firestone Indy Lights
race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 28 prior to the
Indy 500. Jorda will celebrate her 22nd birthday that day.
FRMC:
New Tyres can really help and Jason von Kluge used the
new-specification BFGoodrich g-Force R1 tyre to excellent
effect as he scored two convincing Ford Racing Mustang Challenge
race victories at Homestead Miami Speedway to open the 2010
championship in strong style.
In the opening race he had to battle hard in the end
to earn his first race win over a hard charging Tony Buffomante.
Dan Aweida finished in third.
In race 2 he was joined on the podium in by pole-sitter
Pratt Cole, with George Winkler emerging from a thrilling race
with Dan Aweida to take third Read report
08-03-10
Historics:
British
racing driver Nick Padmore
was on coaching duties in the picturesque city of Guadix,
Granada in Southern Spain last week. The French V de V regular
was on hand for the newly-founded Accurate Racing outfit as they
prepare for the season ahead. The Kimbolton-based Accurate
Racing squad, established by Phill Hall and Ian Simmonds, took
with them a cargo containing a pair of Ligier JS49's which they
will run in the UK Speed Series, along with two historic Formula
1 cars in the shape of a 1980 ex-Riccardo Patrese Warsteiner
Arrows A3-Cosworth and that of the late Michele Alboreto's 1983
Benetton Tyrrell-Cosworth - these will be run in the Grand Prix
Masters Series and the Historic F1 Championship. After coaching
Hall and Simmonds, who are set to compete with one of the
Ligiers this season, Padmore was handed the Tyrrell to
shakedown. Due to the altitude of the circuit and the thin air,
initially the engine could not be run at full power until later
on in the three-day test. However the team was eventually able
to successfully complete their full programme with the engine
turned up, and Padmore was delighted with how the whole
operation went. "It's great to be involved with Accurate Racing
right from the start as it allows us all to more clearly
understand the direction that the team is headed", says Padmore.
"They have some very interesting plans and I'm really looking
forward to working with them to develop the team and drivers as
a unit. The Tyrrell was fantastic to drive, and the sound it
makes is just amazing! Now we aim to get the Arrows out and
running alongside the Tyrrell to do further set-up work and
continue with the coaching side within the team - we have all
the ingredients in place to move Accurate Racing's projects
forward, and I can see good things on the horizon for them."
Skip
Barber: Daniel Lloyd made a great start to his
single-seater career
at Homestead Miami over the weekend with two top 10 finishes
at the opening event of the 2010 BF Goodrich/Skip Barber
National Championship presented by Mazda.
read report
WTCC: History repeated in
Brazil with Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini taking a victory
apiece for the second year in succession in Curitiba and leaving
Brazil as joint leaders of the Drivers Championship, the only
difference being the teams they are competing for. The Chevrolet
team commanded Race 1 with all three of their drivers filling
the podium. The good points haul means the USA brand comes away
from Curitiba leading the Manufacturers' Championship with 70
points. All eyes were on the newly formed SEAT customer team,
SR-Sport, to see what they had to offer. Race 1 provided a best
result of fourth with Tarquini, but the defending champion came
fighting back in Race 2 to take victory ahead of team mate Jordi
Gene and making it a satisfactory end to the weekend for the
team. BMW Team RBM struggled on race day after the weather went
against them despite being the pace setters for most of the
weekend. Local boy Augusto Farfus had to settle for two sixth
places, while Andy Priaulx was forced out of the second race
after a clash with his team-mate. The newcomers were impressive.
Norbert Michelisz and Michel Nykjær showed they can chase the
most experienced drivers, Fredy Barth opened the roll of honour
of the new Rookie Challenge, while Darryl O'Young fought for the
Independents' victory in Race 1 with Stefano D'Aste and Sergio
Hernandez.
Grand-Am: Scott Pruett held off a late
charge by David Donohue to win Saturday's Grand Prix of
Miami,
Round 2 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by
Crown Royal Cask No. 16. Pruett and Memo Rojas scored their
second victory in three years at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the
No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley,
holding off the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley of Donohue and pole
winner Darren Law by .255 seconds. In GT, Jeff Segal passed
SpeedSource teammate Sylvain Tremblay on the race's lone restart
with 13 minutes remaining and went on to win in the No. 69 FXDD
Mazda RX-8. It was the third triumph in the last six races for
Segal and Emil Assentato. Read
report
ELMS:
You can now keep up with all the news from the European Late
Model Series. Motors TV.com covers motorsport from all over the
world and now you can keep up with the latest in the European
Late Model Series on their own page at Motors TV.com. The
European Late Model Series 2010 gets under way at
Warneton, Belgium this Easter.
FMBW: Facu Regalia will be driving one of the Eifelland Racing’s
cars
at the
Autodromo
Nazionale de Monza, the circuit chosen by BMW for the first
official test of the 2010 Formula BMW Europe Championship
between March 9-10. Regalia, 18, will be hoping for a repeat of
his earlier private test with Eifelland held at January in Braga
in Portugal where he a new lap record for FBMW. Already at
Italy, Regalia said: “I’m looking forward to drive the car
again. I worked very hard physically in the last few weeks so I
could arrive here in good shape. I want to keep the good
sensations that I had with Eifelland Racing in Braga and I hope
I can be among the frontrunners”.This season, Regalia is looking
for wins but he knows that he has strong opposition and that he
will need all the support he can get. “I want to thank to my
parents all the effort that they are putting in my project, as
to all the persons that support me”, concluded the Eifelland
Racing driver.
LMS:
JMW Motorsport: Le Mans Series Official Test, Day One.
Turning a wheel for the first time on track, the brand new JMW
Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT2 debuted on Sunday 7 March at
the Le Mans Series official test, held at Paul Ricard HTTT,
France. Driven by Rob Bell and Tim Sugden, the team are using
these two test days as a continuation of the Dunlop tyre testing
they began in Portugal last month which was heavily disrupted by
rain. Though there were intermittent rain showers at Paul Ricard
HTTT, and it was bitterly cold, the team made great progress
with the added bonus of being the quickest GT2 car in the
morning session. This promising pace continued into the
afternoon session, with the team posting the second fastest GT2
time. Tim Sugden echoed the feelings of the team after the day’s
sessions: “We are all very pleased. This is the first time we
have run the car and there have been no issues, it has run
beautifully. We are using this test to continue our work with
Dunlop. The different compounds and constructions are proving
very promising and we’ve certainly identified a number of
solutions and areas to work on. We have the second half of tyres
to try out tomorrow. “There’s lots to do, and whilst at a test
such as this you can’t draw direct comparisons with
yourcompetitors, I think it’s fair to say our pace today is
encouraging and stands us in good stead as we approach the
season’s opener”. The first Le Mans Series race takes place on
11 April 2010
at Paul Ricard. JMW Motorsport’s progress can be followed on
their website at
www.jmwmotorsport.com
Sportscar
driver Karim Ajlani
will continue his prototype programme in 2010, beginning with
the blue riband Le Mans 24 Hours this June. Ajlani, who became
the first Syrian to compete at the famous endurance event last
season driving an OAK Racing Pescarolo in LMP2, also plans to
contest a number of European, American and Asian Le Mans Series
rounds during the upcoming campaign. However, he is unlikely to
contest the opening Le Mans Series race at Paul Ricard, instead
preferring the Le Mans 24 Hours for his seasonal debut.
Commenting on his plans, Karim said: “I’m really keen to broaden
my horizons this season which is why I’m looking towards the US
and Asia during the second part of the year. I’d like to stay in
LMP2 as I feel the lessons learned there in 2009 will stand me
in good stead for the year ahead.” Further announcements
regarding Karim Ajlani’s 2010 schedule will be made in the
coming weeks
Porsche Carrera Cup
Asia
: Two-time Porsche Carrera Cup
Asia champions Team Jebsen have signed
Macau’s
Rodolfo Avila
to
it’s line-up for its 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Asia
campaign. For Team Jebsen, this will be their sixth full season
in the series having won the championship twice, in 2006 and
2008. Avila takes over the steering wheel from the team's former
driver, Darryl O'Young, 29, who is this year contesting a full
season of the FIA WTCC. Jebsen and Co Ltd Group Director, Mark
Bishop said: "We are very pleased to welcome Rodolfo to Team
Jebsen and to have the opportunity to nurture another exciting
young talent, having seen Darryl develop together with the team
to become a double PCCA champion. We have no doubt Rodolfo has
the skill, commitment and potential to achieve similar success.
At the same time, we are delighted that Darryl's success has
given him the opportunity to contest a full season of the
prestigious
FIA
WTCC, as we know that that has always been an ambition for him."
For Avila, the chance to join the winning Team Jebsen represents
another major step forward in his career: "I'm really looking
forward to racing with Team Jebsen, and extremely excited to
have this fantastic opportunity to work one of the best
sportscar racing teams in
Asia. We will be up against some strong competition, but I
have every confidence that together we can achieve outstanding
results."
Silverstone promises a ‘better experience’ for MotoGP fans, at
affordable prices - New circuit layout, with improved spectator
viewing - Three day festival of world class racing and action
packed entertainment - Improved experience for fans, at
affordable prices - Adult tickets start at £12. Race day tickets
from as little as £44 (£12 for children*)…read
more
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