RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Snetterton to celebrate all things Great and British

Circuit to host festival of UK racing series next weekend

Snetterton will be flying the Union Flag next weekend (8/9 May) when the super-quick 1.95 mile circuit hosts the Dunlop Great & British Festival, a celebration of home-grown vehicles and racing talent.

The festival, which was first launched in 2006, brings together some of the UK’s leading club racing series. This year’s visit to Snetterton will include a packed programme of saloon car, single seater and sports car racing, featuring an exciting mix of rising stars and enthusiastic amateur competitors.

One of Britain’s most iconic cars – the Mini – will be starring at Great & British this year, as there will be track action from the Mini Challenge. The opening round last month produced some close racing, as reigning champion Luke Caudle clinched two wins before Chris Panayiotou snatched victory in the final outing of the day. In addition, there will be action from two other Mini series: Mini Miglia and Mini Se7en.

The Autosport Young Guns series will provide single seater competition from some of the UK’s most promising young motorsport talent, including former T Cars competitor James Nutbrown and 16-year-old former karting ace Josh Webster from Stowmarket in Suffolk.

There will also be racing from the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup, a saloon and sports coupé racing series for vehicles up to five years old, where Adrian Churchill’s Vauxhall Astra VXR has established a slender points lead over Luca Lorenzini’s Nissan 370Z, along with a sportscar outing from the Quaife Radical Clubman’s Cup.

Tickets for the Great & British Festival at Snetterton on 8/9 May are available from £10 for adults, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or visit www.snetterton.co.uk.

750mc Locost Championship Rounds 3 & 4 Brands Hatch 24&25/04/10

The 2010 Locost Championship is shaping up to be the most open for many years.  There have been four different winners in the first four rounds and several other drivers are showing competitive pace. The title may ultimately go to the driver who makes fewest mistakes rather than the one who has a few hundredths of ultimate speed.

Thirty six cars (including four reserves) took to the track for qualifying on a warm Saturday morning.  There is not a great view of the track from the pit wall at Brands but listening for the point at which the driver grabs fourth gear is usually a pretty good guide to how well he or she has exited clearways. The usual front-runners were all shifting at similar revs and within a few feet of one another. The planned fifteen minute session was cut short by a red flag after only 9 minutes and the cars were sent back to the paddock. Tom Coller had repaired the accident damage from Castle Combe and, after spending the Friday test working on set-up, was rewarded with pole position for race one. Tom set five sub one minute laps which was more than any other driver managed. Martin Gambling, Scott Mittel and Dave Black made up the rest of the front two rows for the first race. There were nine drivers under one minute and all covered by less than one second.

Tom Coller led race one from start to finish as the fight for second place among Martin, Scott, Dave and John Lanceley gave him just enough room to drive his own lines and pull out a comfortable lead. By lap eight John had managed to break away in second place after Martin had run into the back of Dave’s car at Clearways.  Martin began to drop off the pace as his engine temperature climbed. Lee Bankhurst ran off the road at Clearways, narrowly avoiding a couple of cars which had been parked in the gravel. The leaders began to lap the back-markers from lap ten but seemed to clear them without incident. Tom took the chequered  flag by nearly three seconds from John with Scott and Dave a further three seconds behind.  Martin limped home in fifth in front of Stephen Ross, the first of the Team Challenge cars. The long list of drivers with sick and broken cars had 23 hours to be ready for race two on Sunday.

Tom Coller was on pole position, again, for race two. Behind him were the TMC-run cars of Gambling, Lanceley and Ross. Tom made a good start but this time the following cars concentrated a little more on chasing the lead than blocking one another. John Lanceley took the lead on lap two and then retired with what appeared to be a very sick engine. Dave Black progressed steadily from grid eight and was in second place by lap three. For the next twelve laps the leading four cars of Mittel, Black, Coller and Gambling continued to swop places until they finished in that order. Nicholas Morley took fifth place as well as being the highest Team Challenge finisher.

The first five cars had their cylinder heads removed for post-race scrutineering.  All were legal.

Rounds 5 & 6 will be at Anglesey on the 29^th & 30^th of May.

Full results, championship positions and information on Locost racing at 750mc.co.uk

Report by Maurice Dudley
Photography: Az Edwards, AE Photography

The AAA (Ajec AWD Academy) Saloon Cup continues its debut 10-race season with a double-header at Silverstone on Saturday May 8th.

With a win and a runner-up spot in the opening two races of the season at Castle Combe, Nick Williamson and his race-proven Escort Cosworth look likely to start as favourites. Gary Prebble in his 700 bhp Evo VIII might well be a fly in the ointment. Prebble won the second race at Combe, having started at the back of the grid, but reveals that he last raced at Silverstone over 10 years ago, so will certainly be rather rusty.

Other contenders for overall victory include Laurie Kilby in the Ajec Racing Evo (2nd in the opening race of the series) – he won and set a new lap record at Silverstone last year in the LMA Saloons, and Simon Norris in the Bogey Evo – with a potential 900 bhp he can never be discounted. Paul Doyle will be making his race debut behind the wheel of a 700 bhp Subaru; and while he lacks race experience he was running second fastest in the opening round of Time Attack a few weeks ago – so the car and driver are certainly a fast combination.

A pair of GpA drivers made their race debut in the opening round of the series, Richard Jones who retired his Launch Motorsport Evo with engine gremlins and a delighted Jonathan Faull – who picked up a 3rd place in Race 2. They are hoping their limited experience can be put to good use.

In GpB, for cars restricted to 400 bhp, Steve Liquorish will once again be strapped into the Ergo/JRM Evo X and hoping to add to his cup collection – he picked up a runner-up cup at Combe. His Evo received extensive front-end damage in the last outing and Steve is hoping that this time he’ll be the GpB leader in both races, without the unwanted repair bills. His closest rival is again likely to be the Ajec Racing ‘guest’ Evo VIII which took class victory in both of the opening races, but this time driven by Ben Anderson, Autosport magazine’s staff racing driver. This will be Ben’s race debut in a saloon car although he has tasted success in single seaters. He tested the Evo earlier in the year at Silverstone, and despite ripping off some bodywork, is looking forward to the challenge of racing on his favourite circuit.

Having secured two third places in his first two races Freddie Leatham will be hoping his beginner’s luck streak continues when he reaches Silverstone behind the wheel of his Evo VIII.

At just 21 years old Dan Thackeray is easily the youngest driver in the series, but don’t feel sorry for him because he’s held a racing licence since he was just 15 and has already clocked up pole positions, race wins and fastest laps in several events over the years, most recently in the VW Cup. Completing the mixture of Group B cars are Angus Gorringe – he made his race debut at Combe last year in a BMW M3 – who will be racing his Tangerine Audi S2 while Martin Thomas will be hoping his Evo, which took him to second place in the second round at Combe, will once more be at the front end of the GpB pack.

This new series has attracted significant media interest with Motors TV confirming that they will be broadcasting a 25 minute programme from each of the 10 races.

Full details about the series can be found at www.aaasaloons.com and on Facebook.

Since the proliferation of one-make categories became established in the lower formulae of car racing towards the end of the 20^th century there has been concern over the lack of opportunities for youngsters to gain experience that will be of value to the British Motorsport industry.

Helping to fill this void are the many educational establishments which offer training in the construction and preparation of competition vehicles. One example of this is the Motor Sports Bachelor of Engineering Degree course at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN). Not only does this provide classroom based learning but there is also the option of getting priceless ‘hands on’ experience by being involved in the extracurricular Formula Ford racing squad.

This team is operated almost solely by foundation and first year students with just a couple of members of staff being present to guide them. Nonetheless, the outfit has a fine reputation in the paddocks of Oulton Park and Anglesey where it is a regular in the Northern FF1600 Championship. This is underscored by the fact that this season’s lead driver, Chris Chrisnall, has signed up having been impressed by the under-graduates who were on hand to assist when he joined the series in 2004 with another entrant.

Although a great advert for the Lancastrian learning establishment (the racing cars always generate plenty of interest on open days) no funding is received from the university. The budget is secured from those who are willing to get behind the wheel of the cars that are tended to by these budding Formula 1 engineers. The crew of mechanics have to deliver competitive cars to continue in business. It doesn’t get any more ‘real’ than this!

The UCLAN syllabus and the team itself were established in 2000 having evolved from a General Engineering Degree prospectus which had suffered from declining numbers. A more focussed offering reversed that trend.

Many have used the course as a springboard into their dream career. One such is Simon Laughlin who is now the General Manager of Juno UK – the manufacturer of innovative, beautifully engineered sports-racing and Formula Ford cars.

Being involved with the racing team was a key factor in giving Simon and his fellow students an edge in the job market. He says “It allowed us to develop the skills we had learnt in the workshop/classroom. We were given the opportunity to become familiar with setting up vehicles and the logistics involved with getting them out on the track. For people with so little experience the chance to be physically allowed to run a car, make decisions and influence the team is still pretty much non-existent elsewhere.”

Simon was especially impressed with the quality of the lecturers and technicians that oversee the course, who he says “…are hugely knowledgeable and supportive. They passed on invaluable advice but also allowed enough room for personal learning and development.”

The exposure available to the world of powered competition extends far beyond four-wheels, infact sometimes no wheels are involved at all(!) as the roster of tutors includes 2008 British F3 Hovercraft Champion, Tony Broad. Meanwhile a Tuesday night motorsports club is the time when engine building skills are practiced. Racing motorcycles are also prepared on club nights, in the past these bikes have competed at Macau and in the Bol d’Or 24 Hours.

There are no regrets in Simon’s mind about doing the course. “I will be forever grateful that I attended UCLAN,” he confirms “as the staff nurtured us while we learnt. We also enjoyed life and motorsport along the way! I would have no hesitation in recommending both the university and the course to anybody looking towards a career in Motorsport. Once studying at the Preston campus it is a no brainer to then become involved in the race team.”

For more details about the course see http://www.uclan.ac.uk/information/courses/MotorSportsBEng.php

Dave Williams

The spectacle of classic Formula 1 and Formula 5000 cars in action, including the ex-James Hunt McLaren M26, will be one of the highlights of the fifth annual Classic SpeedFair at Knockhill over the weekend of 26/27 June.

During the weekend, Frank Lyons and his team will demonstrate both F1 and F5000 cars from his extensive racing stable. Frank, his son Mick and wife Judy, will drive the ex-Hunt McLaren from 1977 and the sensational Gurney Eagle FA74 Formula 5000 car that was originally built by the team of former F1 racer Dan Gurney. The Formula 5000 link will turn the Knockhill clock back 35 years to the day when New Zealander Chris Amon officially opened the track in a Formula 5000 car during 1975. Meanwhile, Ferrari racer Gary Culver is hoping to bring his ex-Martin Brundle Tyrrell to join in the celebrations.

A fine race line-up for the weekend includes a feast of Ferraris, with both the Pirelli Ferrari formula classic and the Pirelli Ferrari Open from the Ferrari Owners’ Club. This will be the third time that the Ferraris have been a central part of the Classic SpeedFair and around 40 racing Ferraris will be on-track. However, that’s only a small part of the overall Ferrari experience, as dozens of road-going Ferraris are due to attend. “We’re expecting the biggest Ferrari gathering ever held in Scotland,” said Stuart Gray from Knockhill. “The whole event has a huge Ferrari momentum behind it.”

Other races with a classic flavour will include a double header for the Millers Oils UK Formula Junior Championship. These fabulous single-seater racing cars from the late 1950s and early 1960s consistently deliver big grids and exciting racing, fifty years after many F1 stars made their name in Formula Junior. “We are very grateful to Duncan Rabagliati of the Formula Junior Historic Racing Association for making this possible,” said Gray.

New to the event will be two half-hour races for the Equipe GTS series, which will bring a strong entry of production sports cars from the late 1950s and early 1960s to the Fife track. Typically, cars from MG, Alfa Romeo, Morgan, Triumph, Elva, Lotus and AC are regularly seen in Equipe GTS races.

Meanwhile, a round of the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons Championship will keep local fans entertained. The category is booming ahead of the 2010 season, with 50 cars now registered even before the opening race of the year. The class is now the most popular in Scotland in terms of competitor support and a race at the Classic SpeedFair will be the highlight of the season.

More details about the Classic SpeedFair will be announced over the coming weeks. For the latest information, visit www.Knockhill.com

Racing Exposure’s regular Silverstone photographer, Scott Mitchell, attended the VSCC ‘Spring Start’ meeting held last weekend.   Below are a selection of his photographs.   His full gallery can be seen here.

Oulton Park was the venue for the first round of the MSA Time Attack series, which has grown massively in popularity since it was introduced to the UK 4 years ago.

Pro Class was won by Gareth Lloyd in his CPR prepared Mitsubishi EVO, lapping the Island circuit in 1:25.493 seconds, outgunning Steve Gugliemi in his Audi powered Exige who ran a best lap of 1:26.141.

Gareth Lloyd - Time Attack Pro winner

Steve Guglielmi lifts front wheel accelerating onto main straight

Club Pro class was won by Marcus Webster in his R32 Skyline, with a best time of 1:29.917, narrowly pipping former Time Attack  champion Kev Horsley in his Scoobyclinic backed Impreza (1:30.378)

In Club class, the 4WD category saw two newcomers to the podium, both from Scotland. Swapping best times throughout the day during the practice and qualifying sessions, Scott Robson in his GC8 Impreza (1:35.188) that was purchased a few years ago from a breakers yard, got the upper hand in the final beating Fee Kindness in her TrackScotland R32 Skyline (1:35.733). Both will be hoping to repeat their success at their home track at Knockhill for round 2 on the 16th May.

Scott Robson winning Time Attack Club class

Fee Kindness in her R32 Skyline

The rear wheel drive categoy was headed by the Lotus Exige of Jamie Wilson, closely followed by the Whifbitz Toyota Supras of Steve Linton and Paul Whiffin.

Whifbitz Supra during Oulton park Time Attack

The front wheel drive category was dominated by Bo Nielsen in his Vauxhall Astra VXR. Bo set fastest times throughout the morning practice and qualification sessions, upstaging many of the more powerful 4WD cars, and followed through with a 1:37.437 in the final. Second in the FWD category was Dave Thorpe in his Honda Civic EP3, almost 3 seconds behind the pace of class leader Neilsen.

Full Results

Class Standings after round1:

The Time Attack series moves north to Knockhill in Scotland for round 2 on the 16th May.

Words: John Stewart
Images: Flat Out Photography

For those that have not encountered the VW Fun Cup before I’ll give a brief summary of what it is all about.

Fun Cup cars are purpose built single seater space frame chassis, clad with a fibreglass VW Beetle silhouette bodyshells.   Powered by either a 130bhp petrol engine, or 170bhp turbo diesel, both from the VW/Audi family, the two classes give close racing, even after several hours on the track.

Endurance is the name of the game, with Fun Cup races often being between 4 to 7 hours long, with exceptions – a 45 minute ‘sprint’ race and the 25 hour race at Spa.    Each car has to come in for routine fuel and tyre stops, and during these stops a driver change is also permitted, with some teams running up to 6 drivers.

A 1 hour timed practise session gives all the drivers a chance to familiarise themselves with both car and track, although the grid order is decided by a random ballot which makes for a topsy-turvy grid.

The entry costs and running costs are kept low, made easier by the large entry numbers, and in terms of £ per mile VW Fun Cup must be one of the cheapest forms of circuit racing in the world.

32 cars took part in an hours qualifying, sadly one car didn’t make the race start, but of the remaining 31 cars, 27 cars were classified, after 4 hours of very close racing and 159 laps.   Of those not classified, two were still running, but had lost a lot of laps due to extended repairs.

The race was won by Team Honeywell, driven by Neil Plimmer and Geoff Fawcett.   2nd place was the Happy Racing car, their bright green machine driven by Jason Porter and Max Hunter with the RAM car of Richard Ince and Austin Reynolds 3rd.   As predicted the race was won by the turbo diesel class, their power advantage and economy meaning they can run longer.

The race for petrol honours was taken by the JPR Credit Crunch Racing team of Tim Wheeldon, Nigel Griffiths and Dominic Jackson with the David L Walker car 2nd driven by Paul Calladine and Tom Walker and Scarab Racing’s Bram de Groot and Phill de Groot-King 3rd.

Calladine, who has raced single seaters with Monoposto tells me the two cars are surprisingly similar, both rewarding a smooth and consistent driving style, however the lower cost of Fun Cup and huge amount of tracktime made the decision much easier.

The next round is on the 15th May at Rockingham which is a 7 hour race.

Words: Andrew Cliffe
Photography: Norwich Photo

Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship
Report, round two: Pirelli Historic Rally

It was a day of drama and surprises and survival in Kielder Forest on Saturday (26 April) for the second round of the Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic rally Championship, the Pirelli Historic Rally.
Will Onions and Dave Williams took their maiden victory in category three, after Bulldog Rally winner Nick Elliott rolled his Escort on the third stage. In category two Peter Smith and Russ Langthorne (Porsche 911) were the surprise winners after the top three all went off on the final stage in Bewshaugh. Meanwhile, Graham Waite and Gill Cotton (Volvo Amazon) regained the lead in category one on the last stage, after Jonathan Gale’s Sunbeam Tiger seemed set for victory.

Category 1
Gale and James Whitaker were hoping for a repeat of their Bulldog victory and made a late tyre change before embarking on the first loop of two stages. They lost out to Waite/ Cotton through the 11.6-mile Roughside stage, but turned the deficit into a 9.2s advantage by the time they arrived back at Carlisle racecourse for service. “We went for harder tyres and they were almost shredded. It was a good choice though and I drove conservatively. It was narrow, fast and easy to get dragged into the ditches,” said Gale.
Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride (Porsche 911) was the first casualty. “It was a square right and I got into a tank slapper, nearly going off the edge and rolling. Then I caught a tree stump and bent a TCA and got a rear puncture which left it crabbing left through the second stage,” said Dessie.
Waite had been delayed in Nutt’s dust and was still a comfortable second, from Geoff Taylor/Steve Greenhill (Sunbeam Imp Sport). Nutt arrived at service in fifth behind Philip and Barbara Smith’s Porsche, having lost over five minutes. Nick Pinkett/Jonathan Lodge (Saab 96 V4) also had an off in stage one. “We were 10 miles in and had fuel a problem. I reached down for the second fuel pump switch and went off,” said Pinkett. He kept going but Paul Mankin and Desmond Bell had gone out with a rod through their Lotus Cortina’s block and Mike Barratt/Joanne Watson joined them after they went into a ditch when the Sunbeam Stiletto jumped out of gear.
Gale had managed to build his lead to 14.9s over the next two stages, but his struggle for grip proved decisive. “We hit the logs at the flying finish on stage three and I drove as hard as I could on the last one. I was on the limit and couldn’t do any more,” he explained. But it was still not enough as Waite sailed through the final Bewshaugh stage to claim victory by 11.8s.
“I was nearly dragged into a ditch on the third stage too as I was occasionally a bit too fast into some of the corners,” said the victorious Waite. Smith was ‘driving to survive’ in third and took class B5, while Nutt managed to claw back to fourth overall after Taylor had a puncture on the last stage. “There was nothing I could do really, but push on in case anyone had a problem,” said Nutt. “I went into a ditch on stage three and then on the last we had a puncture, stopped to change it and then my navigator had to chase the wheel as it rolled away,” Taylor added. Pinkett’s Saab completed the finishers.

Category 2
Having missed out on their anticipated duel on the Bulldog Rally due to an early retirement, David Stokes and Guy Weaver (Escort Mk1) gained the upperhand on rivals Jeremy Easson and Alun Cook from the start.
After the opener in Roughside Stokes had pulled out a 5.9s lead, only to be matched by Easson on the next two runs. It was up to seven seconds on the penultimate stage before Kielder’s reputation came to the fore in a big way.
The 12.2 miles Bewshaugh stage turned the leader board upside down by not only claiming Stokes and Easson in ditches, but Tim Mason/Graham Wild (Porsche 911) too. Mason had survived an earlier scare too when he came across a deer on stage. “It didn’t seem to know where it was going either,” he said.
With the top three all out, it was a surprise victory for Smith/Langthorne Porsche 911. “That’s my first win since I came back into rallying and we didn’t have a problem all day,” he said. Andrew Siddall and Colin Thompson were just as surprised to find themselves in third and winners of class C3. “I think I was probably about 5mph too slow into every corner and just trying to stay on. But we had a scare too up a firebreak on the last stage,” said Siddall.
Chris Brown/Liz Jordan had a trouble free run in their Escort Mk1, delighted with third overall and class C5 honours. Vince Bristow and Tim Sayer (Escort Mk1) dominated class C2; “We had problems and vibration on the last stage though,” said Bristow. Nigel Godden/Ian Orford (Escort Mk1) managed to have three offs on the second stage but still held onto second in class, with Gary Orton/Mike Morgan third after an early roll.
Drew Wylie and Neil Ewing collected second in C3 once the driver had woken up, but they had a determined James Slaughter/Phil Peak (Escort Mk1) chasing them at the finish after a first stage ditch excursion. Chris Nixon and Baz Green were second in C5 in their Escort Mk1.

Category 3
Fresh from their Bulldog Rally victory Nick Elliott and Dave Price were determined to make the finish in Carlisle, after being stranded in the forest for six hours after retiring on last year’s events.
It all started s well with Elliott’s Escort Mk2 3.4s up on Julian Reynolds/Ian Oakey at service, after the first two stages. “I didn’t expect to be at the front, as I had kept it fairly straight as it was so slippery,” said Elliott. “I lost a couple of seconds on stage two when I stalled under braking,” Reynolds replied.
Although Onions and Williams were third, they had clutch problems, while youngsters Ryan Barrett/Kevin Bowcott and Connor Corkill/Rob Fagg were also in contention. Barrett changed a gearbox in service after it kept jumping out and Corkill ripped his exhaust off on logs on the opening run. But Darren Moon and Chris Parsons didn’t even make service, after their Escort had terminal clutch problems after only one stage.
Elliott’s rally ended dramatically on the first stage after service, when he clipped a log pile and rolled. Reynolds became the new leader, but with two stages remaining Onions shot ahead to secure his maiden victory. “No dramas at all,” concluded Onions. “I was a bit annoyed not to win but second is Ok,” added Reynolds.
Both Barrett and Corkill became victims of the last stage too. Corkill retired with gearbox problems and Barrett dropped to 12th with a puncture.  Class D3 winners Richard Lane and Frank Richer finally secured third in category three in their Escort MK2. “It was some skill and a lot of luck,” said Lane.
Gareth Lloyd and Ryland James were disappointed to be pipped by Lane, after starting the stage almost five seconds ahead. “We just lost time in the dust,” said Lloyd. Phil Squires/Kevin Owens and Roger Kilty/Lynette Banks (Escort Mk2) completed the top six, while in the classes Pat Anderson/Rob Brook (Talbot Sunbeam) went unopposed in D2, while Wayne Bonser/Richard Aston and Baz Jordan/Jonathan Gratton-Smith (Escort Mk2s) were both well adrift of Lane in taking second and third in D3.
Rob Smith/Shaun O’Gorman recovered from a broken wheel on the first stage, after clipping a rock, to take their Vauxhall Chevette to victory in D4, with Steve Magson/Geoff Atkinson (Opel Ascona) struggling to the end after cutting out on the final stages.

Report by Peter Scherer; photo by Simon Marks.

Harvey does the Carrera Cup double at Rockingham

Tim Harvey completed a perfect start to his season by making it four wins in a row in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Sunday 25 April) in round four of the championship.

Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) completed a perfect weekend with a second pro-am1 victory from Tony Gilham (Collins Redesign Racing), while Glenn McMenamin (Red Line Racing) clinched pro-am2 glory from Steve Parish (Addison Lee Motorbase). Jackson took the ‘driver of the weekend’ award, while Motorbase Performance was confirmed as the ‘team of the weekend’.

“That’s the best start I’ve ever had to a Carrera Cup season; we’ve all worked very hard for that and the guys in the Red Line team have done a great job,” said Harvey, after extending his series lead to 12 points. Harvey led the field into the first corner and, despite the race-long presence of Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance), was able to control the race from the front to complete a clean sweep of victories.

Caine never quite felt he could challenge the leader as strongly as he had done in Saturday’s race. “I struggled with the front of the car; we had a better car yesterday than we did today,” said Caine. “There was a big scramble into the hairpin on the first lap and early on I had to defend from Glynn Geddie.”

The first lap scramble included a big attack from Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) who tried a bold move around the outside but spun. He rejoined at the tail of the field but further around the lap had to spin to avoid a pro-am2 tangle and ended his race in the gravel. Up front, Harvey and Caine edged clear as Geddie (Team Parker Racing) headed his team mate Stephen Jelley and Jackson. That was how they finished as Geddie and Jelley scored their best results of the season to date and signaled their intention to challenge Harvey and Caine over the coming races.

Jackson was elated to take his third pro-am1 victory from four races with another faultless performance, while Charlie Bateman (Motorbase Performance) battled through to sixth to finish the weekend on a high note. Seventh, having started at the back of the grid, was Gilham (Collins ReDesign Racing) who drove a superb race. “I had a few close shaves on the opening lap, but I had to go for it,” said Gilham. Despite a mid-race spin, Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) bagged another podium finish with third in pro-am1 from Ahmad Al Harthy (Red Line Racing).

McMenamin took pro-am2 victory after a nicely measured drive, having chased Steve Parish (Addison Lee Motorbase) in the early laps. “I knew I had the pace today, but I didn’t attack him too early,” said McMenamin. However, when letting Gilham through, Parish made a mistake at Deene and McMenamin seized his chance to take the pro-am2 lead. “I’m relieved to be back up there,” said McMenamin of his return to the top step of the podium. Third in pro-am2 was the best result of the season to date for George Richardson (Motorbase Performance).

Harvey wins Carrera Cup round three at Rockingham

Tim Harvey completed a hat-trick of early season race wins in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Saturday 24 April) in round three of the championship. Harvey led from the start and fended off the challenge of Michael Caine to extend his championship lead.

Ollie Jackson (Addison Lee Motorbase) scored an emphatic pro-am1 victory from Tony Gilham (Collins Redesign Racing), while Mark Hazell (JHR) made it a hat-trick of wins in pro-am2 from Steve Parish (Addison Lee Motorbase).

Harvey converted his pole position into an opening lap lead and with Caine on his tail they quickly started to edge clear of Euan Hankey (Team Parker Racing) who battled through to third in the opening laps. As ever, Harvey and Caine were very evenly matched and the gap was seldom more than a second. Harvey had the better pace initially, but Caine came back strongly mid-race and was close enough to run side-by-side with his rival into Deane Hairpin on lap 10. But Harvey stayed ahead and dealt with a late safety car period to win by just over half a second.

“I pushed quite hard early on,” said Harvey. “But then I had to have a word with myself to tidy it up. Three wins on the trot is the best start to a season I’ve ever had in Carrera Cup.” Caine felt that he had the pace to win, but the safety car didn’t help his plans. “I think our car was better today, but there wasn’t much in it,” he said.

Hankey ran a secure third to score a hat-trick of podiums, while Jackson drove a fine race to take fourth and win pro-am1. For much of the race, Jackson was under pressure from Tom Bradshaw (JHR), but a rear puncture later sent Bradshaw into a brush with the wall at Turn One and the safety car was sent out while his stricken car was moved.

“Hankey got the break on me early on, so I was just sitting there looking after my tyres,” said Jackson after a nicely measured drive. Under the safety car, Gilham was able to close up to Jackson, but it also brought Glynn Geddie (Team Parker Racing) up to Gilham’s tail and at the re-start Geddie dived briefly ahead. “Geddie got a run on me and that cost me the chance to go after Jackson,” said Gilham. Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) completed the pro-am1 podium, with Ahmad Al Harthy (Red Line Racing) in fourth.

Until the final lap of the race, Glenn McMenamin (Red Line Racing) led pro-am2 with a tremendous drive, having gone well clear of Hazell and Parish. However, the safety car closed the gap right up and allowed Parish to attack the leader into Deane for the final time. “I was putting pressure on him and he outbraked himself,” said Parish, who nipped through as McMenamin spun. Though Parish took the flag, he was later penalised two seconds for passing Hazell under a yellow flag and so it was Hazell who was confirmed as the pro-am2 winner from Parish and George Brewster (Celtic Speed) as a very frustrated McMenamin finally finished seventh.

Arch rivals Matt Neal and Jason Plato shared the wins in today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds at Rockingham. Neal won both races one and three in his Honda Racing Team Honda Civic but it is Plato, victorious in race two in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze, who leaves Northamptonshire leading the standings from Neal as the BTCC now heads to the world-famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent in just seven days time (Sunday 2 May).

Neal, BTCC Champion in 2005 and 2006, was suitably overjoyed with his performances. Not only has he made up some of the ground he lost to Plato in Thruxton’s opening round earlier this month, he’s also achieved a double victory – the last time he did that was almost four years ago to the day in April 2006.

And his day could not have started any better – he won race one by the crushing margin of more than eight seconds, while team-mate Gordon Shedden followed him across the line in second to give the Honda Racing Team a dream 1-2 result.

“I am overjoyed,” said the Worcestershire driver. “In one day I’ve just doubled my wins tally for the last two years! Race one was just perfect as we’d gone for slick tyres all-round on a damp but drying track – I had no-one in my mirrors at the end of lap one and I needed no second invitation. The Civic again was terrific in race three and helped me make the break – it was vital we capitalised in that one, with Jason starting further back on the reversed grid. Bouth our cars will go into qualifying and race one at Brands with a lot of success ballast so it’ll be difficult doing this again, particularly as there are a lot of other very strong car-driver combinations out there.”

Oxford-based Plato, hoping this year to add to his BTCC title of 2001, was satisfied with his day’s work but says his team needs to keep pushing development of its Cruze. Notably, his victory in race two was the 54th of his BTCC career and also the first for Chevrolet’s Cruze model in the championship, although he only just managed it after a determined late charge from Robert Collard’s WSR BMW.

Plato commented: “We’ve had a good day, but we need to sit down and do some more thinking to get just that bit more out of the car. The Cruze is still new to the BTCC so we’re still finding out what makes it tick and the opposition today – not just the Hondas but the Fords and BMWs – have clearly demonstrated they are very strong. Still, we’re enjoying a very good start to the season which is what we wanted and I had a great day on the Brands GP track last year with all three wins in one day. Whether I can do that again next weekend we’ll see…”

Elsewhere, there were huge cheers in the Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport team as Paul O’Neill gave Marvin Humphries’ squad a best-ever second place finish behind Neal in race three. Furthermore, leaving Rockingham, he has taken over the lead of the Independent Drivers’ championship. Airwaves BMW driver Steven Kane is a happy man as well after third-place finishes in races two and three today have elevated him to third behind Plato and Neal in the outright title race.

Rockingham was also the venue for a LPG powered car to take pole position.    Tom Chilton took the honours with his Calor Gas LPG turbo Ford Focus.

Meanwhile, Chevrolet/RML retains its lead in the Manufacturer/Constructor table as does Airwaves BMW in the HiQ Teams’ Championship, although it remains hotly pursued by both the Silverline Chevrolet and Honda Racing Team outfits. Airwaves BMW has also taken over at the top of the Independent Teams’ standings from Sunshine.co.uk.

BTCC Drivers’ Points after Rockingham (round 2 of 10):

1. Jason Plato, 64 points

2. Matt Neal, 47

3. Steven Kane, 45

4. Paul O’Neill, 43

5. Fabrizio Giovanardi, 38

6. Mat Jackson, 36

=7. Gordon Shedden, 23

=7. Robert Collard, 23

9. Andrew Jordan, 18

=10. Tom Boardman, 15

=10. Tom Onslow-Cole, 15

27/03/10 - Castle Combe Rd 1

05/04/10 - Croft Rd 2

18/04/10 - Silverstone Rd 3

01/05/10 - Ingliston Rd 4 (None Spectator Event)
02/05/10 - Ingliston Rd 5 (None Spectator Event)

05/06/10 - Pembrey Rd 6
06/06/10 - Pembrey Rd 7

12/06/10 - Anglesey Racing Circuit Rd 8
13/06/10 - Anglesey Racing Circuit Rd 9

03/07/10 - Kirkistown Rd 10
04/07/10 - Kirkistown Rd 11

31/07/10 - Kames Rd 12
01/08/10 - Kames Rd 13

14/08/10 - Lydden Rd 14
15/08/10 - Lydden Rd 15

30/08/10 – Colerne Rd 16 (None Spectator Event)

Nick Algar en route to the 2009 Sprint Championship title in his Gould-NME GR55

Brands Hatch (Indy) Rounds 1&2 2010 Race Report

The weekend of 27th and 28th March saw the 2010 Toyo Tires Racing Saloons season kick off in top style, with the MSVR fraternity making their way to Brands Hatch for races one and two of the championship.

Contesting the Indy circuit was always going to be a fine spectacle for both the drivers and the fans, and the duet of races around the Kent venue didn’t disappoint.

After around 15 minutes of qualifying, it was Leigh Franklin who roared to pole position, just ahead of Andrew Busby and Peter Seldon.

Race 1:

The opening race of the season got underway in fine fashion, with Mark Capewell launching from fourth on the grid to immediately snatch second. Having started from pole, Franklin made the most of a good start and held station at the front for the 11 lap duration, also steering his Talbot Sunbeam Lotus to first in Class C. A bit of drifting through Paddock Hill Bend lap after lap made his race that bit more exciting, and gave the spectators something to really see.

Behind, the action really began to hot up. First of all it was Lawrie Dunster who suffered throttle cable problems, causing him to drop a few laps behind. As the race progressed, Jason Jenner had a moment at the top of Paddock Hill Bend; as a result his distinctive green Vauxhall Astra was sent off the circuit and out of the race, causing the safety car t be deployed whilst the wreckage was cleared up.

Next up to fall foul of trouble at Paddock was Richard Thomas, with the BMW 318i pilot enduring a spin. Fellow BMW driver, Graham Ewings had a spin in avoidance of Thomas’ pirouetting machine, as did a number of other drivers, all doing well to avoid contact.

Towards the front of the pack, Ian Clark, Stephen Primett and Matt Knight enjoyed a very close battle throughout the race; however, this resulted in Clark leaving the circuit at Druids with damage to his Ford Capri GXL.

As the chequered flag swept downwards for the first time this season, it was Franklin who was there to receive it first, followed by Roger Kneebone, who also took victory in Class A, and Andrew Busby third overall.

Race 2:

The second race of the day didn’t start off as smoothly as the first, with the weather playing a large part in how it played out. The pace on the green flag lap was very slow due the wet track surface, with cars practically coming to a stop on the back straight. Richard Ibrahim stalled his Alfa Romeo 33, which delayed the start whilst the marshals recovered his stricken car.

As the race got into gear Franklin again claimed the lead from the off, leaving everyone else to follow suit behind. With the top few settling into a rhythm, chaos ensued further adrift.

As the field rounded Clearways, two Class F machines, thought to be Joe Adam and Ewings, both suffering offs. Luckily both were able to rejoin the race, however later finished down towards the rear of the pack.

With the majority of the action happening at Paddock Hill Bend in the first race, as ever, more drama developed at the infamous corner in this second race. Oliver Davies and Mike Collins, both Class D entrants had a collision whilst heading down Paddock. As with the above incident, both were able to continue, finishing 14th and 15th overall.

The turmoil didn’t stop there. Charles Moseley was next up when he spun on the pit straight, hitting the pit wall and causing front end damage to his Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. He was able to get back to the pits, slowly, despite their being a bit of a traffic jam as the field rounded Druids.

After 16 laps it was Franklin who again rose to the challenge and crossed the finish line first. Busby followed him in second, making his second visit of the day to the prestigious podium. Behind, Kneebone narrowly lost out on third, when he was passed by Ken Lark, leaving the former fourth, but again first in Class A. Colin Tester missed out on fifth at the end, when a wrong line into Paddock allowed the pursuing Seldon and Rob Sadler to squeeze through.

Commenting on his duo on strong finishes, Busby said: “All in all a great weekend and thoroughly enjoyable start to the 2010 campaign.”

Looking back to his mistake in the second race and the weekend as a whole, Tester commented: “Realising what a plonker I had been I tried to get back on the pace but it was too late. Still I had an excellent race; excellent driving by you guys. Can’t wait for next race.”

Report: Leanne Fahy
Photo: www.snappyracers.com

Ma5da Racing got their 2010 season off to a great start, with 62 cars and 6 exciting races on a sunny Brands Hatch Indy circuit. The new race day format spliting the drivers into 4 groups, with each race consiting of 2 different groups, there was plety of action and overtaking.

Race 1 featured Tom Roche and Jonathan Greensmith’s groups,  Tom won this time, but as ever it was a good close race. Further down the field there was plenty of close racing, with a lot of new cars and new drivers.

Race 2 was Rob Boston’s race, after starting 2nd next to his team mate Dave Connor, he built up a massive, by Ma5da standards, lead of 9s. Charles Plumley was in second place, with new driver Matt Davies had a great debut in 3rd place.

Race 3 was the Blendini Motorsport show, with the green liveried cars of Tom Roche and Charles Plumley leading from start to finish, although Chris Dawkins and Dave Connor were never far behind, but locked in their own battle.

Race 4, the last of Saturday’s races, looked like it was going to be a re run of the last race of the 2009 season, with Rob Boston up against Jonathan Greensmith at the front of the field, however, by the time end of the first lap, Rob had slipped down the field, but had made it back to second, albeit with a large gap, by the time the safety car came out for an incident at Paddock Hill bend. After the safety car came in Rob was able to overtake Jonathan and stay in front for the rest of the race.

Further down the field there was a great 4 way battle for third place with Chris Woodger, Ben Robinson, Mark Pierpoint and Martin Stevinson (finishing in that order) after a lot of overtaking.

Race 5 came after two races which had been red flagged on the first lap (the second one also got red flagged on the restart), so there were a lot of people waiting anxiously for the Ma5das to get round the first lap, all in one piece, they managed Paddock Hill Bend and Druids without any problem, but David Neville span off on the exit of Graham Hill Bend/the Cooper Straight, hitting the armco fairly heavily, causing the safety car and then the red flag to be used. Then all track activity had to stop, for the Kent Air Ambulance to pick up a casualty (not related to any of the on track action). With the amount of delays, it was decided to shorten the afternoons 15 minute races to 10 minutes.

From the restart it was Jonathan Greensmith who led the pack away and won the race, although Charles Plumley was challenging hard for most the race, even taking the lead from Greensmith up the inside at Clearways, only for Greensmith to win the position back and then Plumley to lose a few more positions with a mistake at Paddock Hill Bend. This promoted Adam Gore, on his first race weekend, to the second step of the podium.

Race 6 was the one I’d been looking forward to, Tom Roche and Rob Boston each had two wins each from the Saturday and would be going head to head. The first lap passed without too much incident, only Ben Robinson ending up in the gravel trap at Druids, second time round Gary Hufford and Andy Coombs ended up nose to nose, also at Druids, but managed to escape and rejoin the pack, which was now behind the safety car, after Martin Tolley and Kevin Taylor collected eachother at Paddock Hill Bend.

When the marshalls had cleared up, there was only time for a few laps of the shortened race, which provided an excellent dash to the line, both times Tom and Rob came past me they were side by side, which continued to the finishing line as they were only separated by 1/1000th of a second, with the yellow and black car of Rob Boston just infront.

A full gallery of images from the weekends racing can be found at LewisCraik Photography

BritCar GT Rd 2. Snetterton, 17^th April 2010.

The production race gave us 3 attempts at the start, accidents and the red flag. Surely the GT race couldn’t match that for incidents?

Well, actually it did with the fun and games beginning in qualifying. Going into this event Keith Robinson in the No 1 MJC Ferrari F430 was concerned about the McInerney’s Mosler, explaining, “We think they will have an advantage here due to the long straights. It’s a completely different sort of track to Brands” where the MJC team had won last time out.

The Ginetta G50 of In 2 Racing, to be driven by Alistair Mackinnon, of meeting sponsor Mackinnon construction, and Fiona James unfortunately didn’t make the start of qualifying due to a blown engine.

The number 26 Marcos Mantis of Topcats Racing most certainly made qualifying though, and held provisional pole 15 minutes into the session with a time of 1:08.473 which they had for 5 minutes before being relegated down a place by the Ferrari 430 of Aaron Scott, who was to share racing duties with Arwyn Williams.

The other Mantis wasn’t fairing so well though; the number 36 stopping out on track and bringing out the safety car. By this time the McInerney’s held the provisional pole and the MJC Ferrari had beaten Aaron Scott’s time also.

The safety car came in with three minutes left on the clock. Robinson went out to try and snatch pole, but Sean McInerney followed him out and launched an overtaking move at Sear corner, preventing Robinson from setting a quicker time. While this was happening, the Mantis snatched 3^rd from the Ferrari 430.

So the grid was set. The two class one rivals locking out the front row, with the class 2 Huggins/Fiorentino Mantis heading up the Ferrari 430 of fellow class 2 entry Aaron Scott & Arwyn Williams and the JMH team.

5^th spot was taken by Stephen Brady, who was going to be in for a long hot afternoon as the only driver of the Master Motorsport Ultima. Alongside him were the class 3 leaders, Chris Headlam & Jamie Stanley in the Orbital Sound Lotus Elise.

Row 4 was the TVR of Glynnsport next to the Porsche 997 from Eurotech racing. The remaining cars were all class 3, with the other Topcats Racing Mantis to be driven in the race first by Henry Fletcher, with Owen O’Neill taking the second stint. Another Porsche was in 10^th, this time in a 996 shape from the Neil Garner / Azteca Motorsport stable.

Matt Bell and Richard Dean were in another Ginetta G50, and would be starting from 11^th with runners up in the Production race Keith Gent & Steve Clark in a BMW M3 E46. Rounding off the grid were Jordan & Harrison in the Eurotech Racing Ginetta G50, Clarke / Gibson in Intersport Racing BMW M3 E92 and in 15^th was the Aston Martin N24 from Nicholas Mee Racing, which was to be piloted by Karsten Le Blanc & Christaen Van Lanschot.

Perhaps due to the mishaps at the start of the Production race, Robinson was a bit wary at the off, and this caution dropped him to 6^th by the end of the first lap. Moving in the other direction was Stephan Brady in the Ultima, with a corking first lap taking him up to second place, albeit 2 seconds behind the Mosler already.

The no 36 Mantis driven by Henry Fletcher in the first stint was having some kind of trouble – 30 seconds down on the leader by the end of lap 1, and then into the pits. Fletcher did rejoin, although he was already 3 laps down on the leader. Between himself and Owen O’Neill they managed to bring the car home, a feat many others failed to do, and finished in 6^th position.

Neil Huggins, who was doing the first stint in the other Topcats Racing Mantis was hounding Brady in the Ultima for second place, and managed to get past on lap 21 – the Ultima running wide due to reduced grip – the same complaint Huggins himself had “We went with the soft tyre as we thought the weather would be cooler. My rears were shot when I came in. I could see the Ultima had the same problem, so wasn’t surprised when he dropped it.”

Half an hour in and the Mosler had lapped…. Absolutely everyone. Fuel economy was going to be in issue though – surely the 7 litre engine was going to be more thirsty than everyone else – would an extra stop be needed? At this point the Mantis of Huggins, Brady in the Ultima and Gamski in the recovering MJC Ferrari were separated by only 6 seconds in 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th respectively.

Much to the surprise of everyone, Gamski came in to pit first of the leading group, handing over to Keith Robinson on lap 42. With Sean McInerney coming in on lap 50 to hand over to Michael, this left Neil Huggins leading in the Topcats Racing Mantis.

It was looking as though an excellent result was on the cards for the Huggins / Raphael Fiorentino pairing with team boss Warren Gilbert convinced that both the Ferrari and Mosler would have to stop twice more. However, attrition was again going to come into play. Oil drops were spotted after the pitstop when Huggins came in to vacate the seat for Fiorentino on lap 72. Whatever the problem was, it got worse. With smoke coming from the back of the car, it was called into the pits to retire.

Issues were also plaguing the Mosler – the air jacks not working on the stop, so being sent back out with old rubber. A puncutre – the fist in 5 years for the team – forced Michael to re-pit on lap 64. Unfortunately the flapping rubber from the puncture caused other damage – enough to spin the Mosler out while entering the Esses, and ending their race.

Pitstop issues for Brady as well, with the team taking tape off from the radiator. The hot weather causing issues with the air box, and forcing a retirement for him also.

Reliability problems for the Orbital Sound / Chris Headlam Lotus Elise forcing them to retire on lap 67 with a faulty wheel bearing while running in 8^th place – “we just need a stronger car” rued Jamie.

The number 87 Jones family entered Porsche fell foul of the track, having a puncture also, forcing them to pit on lap 105. While all this was going on, the MJC Ferrari had things pretty easy, leading by three 3 laps, and pitting for Witt Gamski to take the wheel again for the final half an hour run to the chequered flag. Which he duly took after 121 laps.

Following him across, albeit 2 laps down, were Matt Bell and Richard Dean in the United Autosports Ginetta G50, who had driven an excellent race and managed to avoid the issues going on around them to take the runner up spot.

However, that wasn’t quite the end of the story as with only 10 minutes left, the number 33 Intersport Racing BMW, running third developed a fuel pressure problem. Unable to hold off the Neil Garner / Azteca Motorsport Porsche, who stole the spot with only 3 laps to go. Kevin Clarke was losing ground rapidly, and the recovering Jones Porsche had a lunge down into Russells on the last lap, but couldn’t make it stick.

What had looked a very promising day for the Topcats team ended with a single 6^th place finish for O’Neill & Fletcher, just 4 seconds ahead of Aaron Scott & Arwyn Williams in the JMH Ferrari. Mike Jordan and Gerry Harrison finished only a further 14 seconds back in their Ginetta G50, with the Aston Martin of Nicholas Mee Racing the last of the still-runners.

Not classified was the Glynnsport TVR Sagaris, which retired on lap 37 with gearbox problems, and the other TVR of Tim Hood and Fred Tonge, who only lasted 11 laps before retiring with suspected differential problems.

The MJC team won a race that perhaps they didn’t expect to win, by being one of the few cars to stay out of trouble, and avoid the reliability woes that affected others. Once again in Britcar GT there was some great racing throughout the field, and action all through the 2 ½ hour race.

Roll on Croft in three weeks time.

With thanks to Steve Wood at Britcar for the help in compiling this report.

Words: Alex Ings / Images: Alex Ings.

750mc Locost Championship rounds 1&2 Castle Combe April 5^th 2010

There are few less inspiring sights in motorsport  than a Locost  running alone on the track – but there are few more exciting ones than watching a full grid of them attacking Quarry corner on their first racing lap of the season.  Thankfully they all made it through in one piece and the 12^th year of Locost racing was under way.

Qualifying produced variety of approaches and racing lines as some drivers made their racing debuts and others such as Ian Mittel and Trevor Faunch returned to the track after long absences. Many of those who had driven at Combe before were noticeably tidier  through Quarry. The  number of possible lines caused many to scramble around some distance from the long apex.  It was a similar story at the first chicane – while many were screeching tyres and banging  kerbs, those who ended up near the front of the grid were avoiding heroics on the entry and making a better exit. Pole position was claimed by Locost debutant Lee Bankhurst  driving Dave Black’s old car. Dave  himself was second fastest in his newer car. Ernie Gushlow and  Simon Ironside were already finished for the day with, respectively, chassis and engine damage.

Race one was the usual mix of frantic overtaking and near misses .  After sticking close to Dave Black for most of the race Lee Bankhurst   re-took the lead to  take a very impressive win  in his first locost event. Alex von Erheim took fastest lap on the way to third place, closely followed by Scott Mittel. The first four were covered by 1 second at the finish. TMC drivers Matt Cherrington, Martin Gambling and Tom Coller took the next three places. The large Bank Holiday crowd seemed suitably impressed.

Race two was shaping up to be a similar spectacle when Lee Bankhurst  ran into the back of Martin Gambling  who was still hard on the throttle on the approach to Tower corner. The impact threw Lee’s car into the barrier. Lee was unhurt but the safety car was brought while the marshals dealt with the incident.  Some drivers took advantage of the chance to make up places while others, perhaps less familiar with the procedure, left a huge gap to the car in front as the race restarted.  Leader Martin Gambling  opened out a gap at the restart but the following pack of Mittel, Black, Coller, von Erheim, Morley and Cherrington soon slipstreamed back into contention.   Matt Cherrington lost his chance with a spin.  Scott Mittel took the lead with a decisive move at Tower on the last lap to win fom Dave Black and Martin Gambling .

Dave Black’s two second places give him the championship lead from Scott Mittel.

The initial lead in the Team Challenge was taken by Doulas Hannah who will be partnered by Patrick Dudley for the season.

Rounds 3&4 will be at Brands Hatch on April 24^th & 25^th.

Results: Here
More Info on Locost Racing: Here

Text: Maurice Dudley
Photo: Glenn Summerbell – click link for a full gallery.