RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Following unprecedented competitor demand, the 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup GB is now full, with a 28-car entry confirmed five weeks ahead of the opening races of the season.

Interest in Britain’s fastest one-make racing category has run at record levels since the close of the 2009 season and the list of registered contenders has now hit the 28-car limit for the first time in the eight-year history of the championship.

To ensure that all registered contenders can start all the races, the field has been capped at 28 cars. However, the championship organisers have now opened a reserve list in case any slots become available. It is also possible that spaces at specific race meetings may become open and these will be offered to any teams or drivers on the waiting list.

In October 2009, the Carrera Cup GB set a new grid record at Brands Hatch when a 27-car field lined up for the deciding races of the season. That mark should be bettered when the 2010 season gets under way.

“This is an incredible situation for the Carrera Cup GB,” said championship manager Marion Barnaby. “We have capped the entry at 28 for logistical reasons and the response has been amazing. The drivers and teams have worked very hard to get to this stage and now we are set for the best season ever for the Carrera Cup GB. I’m particularly pleased that the field is a great mix of established competitors and an influx of newcomers.”

The biggest squad on the grid will be the six-car team from Motorbase Performance and team boss David Bartrum says that the capacity grid is testimony to the commitment of Porsche Cars GB. “I said a year ago that the Carrera Cup was buzzing and it’s now off the scale,” said Bartrum. “It proves that the work of Marion Barnaby and the Carrera Cup team has really paid dividends. It’s really good to see a sell-out grid in the current climate.”

The full Carrera Cup GB entry list will be unveiled at the championship’s pre-season test and media day at Silverstone on Wednesday 17 March.

Ahead of there respective 2010 championship challenges, Matt Neal of BTCC fame and Aaron Scott of GT racing fame were out testing at Oulton Park yesterday (2.3.10).

Matt Neal was testing the Honda Civic Type R owned by his family’s team, Team Dynamics. Matt is a great role model for younger racers aiming to climb further up the ladder as he is a famous figure on the BTCC grid and has won the championship twice with Team Dynamics in 2005 and 2006.

During the Test Day Matt Neal gave Racing Exposure this statement:

‘The Honda is going really good, the circuit is great today, very clean and nice and warm thanks to the sunny day! The plan is to race with Team Dynamics and we are hoping to get some good results but it like throwing your hat up in the air and seeing what you get.  There have been no real benchmarks as of yet and with the WTCC Cruze’s, the new BTCC engines and other factors makes it hard to predict how we will do this year. If we are up against another S2000 car then we will stand a very good chance!’

Sharing track space with Matt Neal was GT racing driver Aaron Scott. Aaron has worked his way up from Formula Ford to some of the most prestige GT championships the racing ladder has to offer.

Rather than testing the Viper that both him and Craig Wilkins have guided around race tracks so well for the past few years, they were shaking down a Ginetta G50 that Craig Wilkins plans to race in the Britcar championship in 2010 which starts at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Racing Exposure managed to grab a few words off Aaron during his busy schedule:

‘We are just here to shakedown the Ginetta as Craig will be running it in the Britcar championship with the first round next weekend. I wont be driving alongside him as I will be driving a F430 Ferrari. I do hope to drive the G50 in some VLE races in Germany. When it comes to British GT we haven’t tested the viper much as we know how the car works. We will be running it on the Media day and be racing it here at Oulton Park on Easter weekend. We have high hopes for the British GTs this year and hope to take the title.’

Pictures – Matt Sayle

Glenn McMenamin is planning to defend his pro-am2 in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB this season after signing for a full campaign with Red Line Racing.

The Milton Keynes driver only started racing at the end of the 2008 season and missed the opening Carrera Cup races of 2009 while upgrading his racing licence to National ‘A’ status. Despite that handicap, McMenamin went on to win the pro-am2 title after a superb season.
Now, he says that retaining the pro-am2 title will be even tougher as the category is set for its strongest field to date. “It’s going to be even more competitive than last year,” said McMenamin. “There are seven or eight really strong drivers in the field and there will be some great racing. I’m really looking forward to another good year.”
McMenamin has switched to Red Line Racing where he joins Tim Harvey, Michael Meadows, Andrew Shelley and Archie Hamilton in a very strong five-car squad from the Cleveland team. “Red Line has got some great drivers and I can learn a lot from Tim Harvey; he’s such a presence in the team.”

They have already had a couple of day’s testing, including McMenamin’s first visit to Thruxton. “That was quite an eye-opener,” he said after his initial experience of the high-speed Hampshire track, which hosts the opening races of the season on 3/4 April.

Photo: Malcolm Griffiths/LAT

The TSS fun weekender was a way for the competitors to brush up on their driving skills, test their cars, and meet prospective new competitors before the season start.

The weekender consisted of a karting session at Ancaster Karting Centre on the Saturday, and a trackday at Barkston Heath, a much liked track on the Sunday. The track day was run by Javelin trackdays, the TDO for the Series, and consisted of three separate tracks for competitors to practise on.

Some competitors chose to stay in nearby accommodation, so there was a good social aspect to the weekend too.

Unfortunately the weekend was very wet, and the karters returned soggy race suits, needing to be hurriedly dried out by the end of the day. Phil Cutler, last year’s Class B runner up came top of the TSS drivers, with Adrian Smith, overall runner up last year, in second place.

The trackday also began very wet, cold, and of course windy, but provided competitors a chance to try out different tyre combinations and try out their cars on a wet track. By lunchtime, the track had almost dried, meaning cars could be pushed even further. There were 8 competitors cars and 1 prospective competitor.

Fortunately no massive problems occurred on the day. A few spins happened, but mostly on the wider ‘drift course’ where drivers were happy to push to the limits. Phil and Vix Cutler’s supercharged MR2 blew off a boost hose, but fortunately this was at the end of a run so did not stop the days proceedings. This was also quickly fixed.

The competitors are now looking forward to round 1 of the Toyota Sprint Series at Rockingham on the 21st March. Please see their website www.toyota-sprint-series.com for further details on competing or spectating.

Words: Vix Cutler
Pictures: Andrew Cliffe

Dudley Sterry’s victory in the VSCC Pomeroy Trophy on Saturday in his 1937 HRG caused ructions as he broke the Frazer Nash grasp on the challenge to find the best Grand Touring car.  Sterry dropped the fewest number of penalties to finish on a score of 433.1 points, 8.3 ahead of his nearest rival, Adrian Goding, in a 1963 Ford Cortina.

Frazer Nashes have dominated the results since 2004 when the late, great James Diffey won driving his BMW 2002 tii.   Winner for the past 3 years, Patrick Blakeney-Edwards swapped his usual drive, a Pre-war Frazer Nash Super-Sports, for a Post-war Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica and finished in third place with 415.2 penalties.  Blakeney-Edwards romped through the first batch of racers with skill as the track conditions worsened, thanks to the deluge of rain that hampered proceedings throughout much of the day; he collected a 10 point penalty for running without a hood.

Phil Stainton also flew the Frazer Nash flag bringing the Mags Diffey owned 1936 car back  in fourth place; the highest placed Pre-war example.  Of the six Porsches entered in various guises, Josh Sadler was the highest placed, finishing fifth in his 1971 911.  Martin Overington driving his 1927 Bugatti T35B was blisteringly fast despite the wet conditions in the second batch on track-his efforts earning him sixth place.

The Pomeroy Trophy was first mooted by Club stalwart, John Rowley in 1947, (but because of petrol rationing it did not actually take place until 22nd March 1952). He wanted to create a competition that would find the best all-round GT car of all time; for instance the car to take a driver and passenger to the South of France in speed, comfort and style; akin to a 1940s Top Gear challenge!  It is the only event that the VSCC run open to any era of car; but competing vehicles must be road-going and have a minimum capacity of two litres or 1485cc is supercharged or turbocharged.

Laurence Pomeroy’s formula to calculate the efficiency of Grand Prix car engines was used as the basis for the calculations.  Entrants have to submit the engine capacity of the car, the wheel base and its age.  These calculations are entered into a formula that generates a target number of laps that the car should complete during 40 minutes circuit time on the Silverstone National Circuit.  Entrants drive a series of tests in the morning such as a braking test, a ‘wiggle woggle’ through cones and an acceleration test.  Penalty points are deducted from the overall score for misdemeanors incurred during the morning tests and also for not having sufficient capacity to carry two large suitcases and having a functional hood.

The first event was won by Peter Binns in a Vauxhall 30/98 who is still a Club member.

The wide entry criteria means that there is always interesting machinery out on track.  Tim Dutton’s gold1972 Lamborghini Muira attracted particular attention and the ex-Gerry Marshall Vauxhall Magnum, ‘Baby Bertha’ driven by Charlie Moore aroused nostalgia in the paddock.

The Vintage Sports-Car Club returns to Silverstone on Saturday 24 April for the first race meeting of the 2010 season.  The GP Itala Trophies Race Meeting has eleven races for Pre-war cars, 1950s Sports-Cars, Pre 1961 Front engined Grand Prix cars and a HGPCA Pre 1966 Grand  Prix Cars race.

Source: VSCC
Photos: Scott Mitchell (click thumbnail for larger versions)

The Monoposto Racing Club’s 2010 non-championship Spa meeting is now taking reserve entries.

Forty members of the MRC have paid their deposits, and the reserve list has at least three more entrants.   Anyone who think they may have missed the boat, should put their name down quickly as there is a possiblility people may drop out for various reasons between now and July, and the French Formula Ford Zetec club that they are sharing track time with do not take up their full allocation of spaces.

Whilst it is a non-championship race, the lure of driving the famous Grand Prix circuit, and corners such as Eau Rouge was irresistible.  For those who missed out, the Monoposto Club is also having a non-championship race on the new Silverstone Arena GP circuit as a support race for the Britcar 24hr race later in the year, although I understand that priority for this event will be given to those who are regular entrants.