RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

A new season for the three Avon Tyres Roadsport championships gets underway in slipstream-tastic style at Silverstone on the weekend of the 10/11^th April and like the R300’s, there’s no clear cut pecking order.

Roadsport-B sees most of the drivers progressing from the 2009 season Academy with the same cars now equipped with sticky tyres and a small suspension modification.  As Academy produces two champions from its twin grids, at least one will be disappointed later in the year.  Jay Gardner won his title convincingly, whilst in the second (equal) group, Ben Whibley won through consistency having never actually won a race!

It’s Whibley’s rivals from 2009 that will provide the biggest challenge for the two champions.  The Geezers from Essex, Lee Wiggins and Steve Day lead the charge.  Wiggins all but had the championship sown up last year, but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with a spin at Mallory trying to fend off Day, who himself had to make way for Jeremy Webb.  Webb finished runner-up to Whibley, his neighbour from Tonbridge in Kent.  Can Webb, Wiggins and Day overcome the champions?  You wouldn’t bet against it.

Graham Johnson Leads the pack

In Roadsport A, all eyes should be on ’09 runner-up Mike Steadman who could so easily have taken last year’s title, but he’s sitting out the start of the season recovering from a wrist injury.  This will open the door to a host of front runners, keen to make hay whilst Mike is sidelined.  Chief amongst them is Steadman’s teammate Graham Johnson.  Johnson knows how to win and has a consistency that alludes the pursing pack, such as JJ O’Malley and Jamie Orton.  Both are often untouchably quick, but also have a tendency to push the boundaries of physics a little too far.  Meanwhile, improving performances from third-place specialist Jonathan Ramsey and occasional front-runner Anthony Sidney-Woollett could push them to the top of the table.  But once Steadman is back behind the wheel, all will have to raise their game…

The newest member of the Roadsport family is Supersports.  This Ford powered series is taking over from Rover powered Roadsport-A as the progression from Roadsport-B.  A tremendous debut year is guaranteed as the top four drivers from last year’s Roadsport-B series have all progressed into R300, blowing the formbook wide open.

Paul Begley and Robert Smith were the only other drivers to pick up trophies in Roadsport-B last year, though Begley had the edge on regular results by some margin.  Just one point ahead of him at the end of the season was Rod Arnold.  Arnold went home empty handed at every round, despite strong performances, but this this dearth of silverware is likely to be replaced with the exact opposite in 2010.  Meanwhile, James MacLachlan and Iain Forsythe jump straight from Academy to take on the more experienced racers.  Although MacLachlan never quite made it to the podium in his first year, he has a string of fourths and Forsythe was just behind.  It might come as a surprise to their competitors to see them on the podium, but not to those in the know…

“It’s going to be a very exciting year for Roadsports”, explains Caterham Motorsport Manager Simon Lambert, “They provide some of our closest racing, so to add a third grid in the form of the new Supersport will make for action packed weekends.  Best of all, there isn’t a sure-fire winner in any of the series, so who knows what might happen!”

Background

The Roadsport championships form the bulk of the Caterham Motorsport ladder, with the progression from Academy into Roadsport-B, then on to Supersport.  Roadsport-A remains part of the mix to cater for pre-2007 Academy based cars in this ever popular series.  As with all Caterham racing, close control of the regulations ensures a level playing field of machinery and in Roadsport-B team support is prohibited to keep costs in check.

Specification

All Roadsport cars are based on an upgrade Academy car.  Roadsport B and Supersport share the same 125bhp Sigma engine and 5 speed gearbox, driving an non-LSD differential and Avon CR500 tyres.  The Supersport is stripped of its light and screen to give it a race car fell, race springs and dampers replace the original road spec items.  Roadsport-A provided the template for Supersport, so is a similar specification, except powered by a 120bhp Rover k-series engine.

Points & Awards

20 points are awarded for a win, then 18-17-16-15 and so on, with 1 point for every classified finisher.  An additional point is awarded for the fastest lap.  Drivers count their best twelve of fourteen scores for the championship.  Trophies are awarded to 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd.

Championship Rounds

10/11 April – Silverstone
3 May – Castle Combe
5/6 June – Zolder, Belgium
3/4 July – Rockingham
21/22 August – Brands Hatch Indy
4 September– Oulton Park International
23/24 October – Snetterton.

A Midlands based race preparation specialist, Classic World Racing (CWR), has just unveiled a racing version of the rare 1968 TVR Tuscan. The race car has been created from original moulds and plans are now well in hand to produce a road going version.

The Tuscan race car was launched at the Race Retro show at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. The audience reaction to the car’s launch was so positive that managing director Mike Luck is close to securing his first order for a road-going version that he has christened the Titan.

“A lot of visitors to the show had heard about the race car and were very interested to see how it would look as a road model. The CWR team have already started work on the modifications required,” he said.

“It all started when I heard about the moulds that had been lying untouched in a barn for 20 years so following a commission from a client to build a classic race car for a series based in Malaysia, we decided to go ahead and build the Tuscan.

“Only around 20 LWB Tuscans were ever made at the time, partly due to supply issues of the 4.7 litre Ford V8 engine,” explained Luck. “So it was great to recreate it and see it come to life stage by stage. Once the team started to build the Tuscan, it struck me what a great little car it is so that’s when we decided to go forward and build our own road going-version. The race car proved very popular at the show and served to highlight our plans for the road car. We plan to have the first car completed by August with a further two finished by the end of September.

“The LWB Tuscan V8 followed in the footsteps of the famous Griffith 400 and we have endeavoured to capture its iconic shape together with a stunning performance within a simple, functional style,” said Luck whose team has over 45 years collective experience in classic car restoration and race preparation.

A key member of the team is ex TVR competition manager Chris Schirle. Schirle worked for the late Peter Wheeler between 1982 and 1987. During that period he was responsible for the successful 450 SEAC Wedge car which ultimately led to the company becoming a major participant in UK motorsport.

The CWR road-going Titan will feature a Chevrolet LS3 V8 engine producing 480bhp and a 5 speed gearbox linked up with an LSD. With a dry weight of around 980kg, the performance will be stunning.

“We believe there is a market for this type of retro looking performance car and I am confident that we can produce a competitively priced, well balanced package that will reflect the heritage and style of the original car whilst respecting and preserving the divide between our version and original examples,” said Luck. “It’s a great advantage to have Chris as a member of the team and I am sure his experience will help us to produce a car that is very exciting to drive.”

Although there is still much development work to be done on the road version, Mike anticipates that it will retail for around £42,500 plus VAT.

Silverstone Circuit nears completion

Work on the new Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone is nearing completion, as the Northamptonshire 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.”

Click on the following link to access the latest images, highlighting work that has been carried out at Silverstone (to date):http://www.flickr.com/photos/48246033@N08/sets/72157623578111068/detail

Source: www.silverstone.co.uk

Former 3-Times Monoposto 2000 champion Mark Harrison is set to make is championship return in a one off entry at Brands Hatch on March 28th.

Mark Harrison in BRSCC F3, 2009

Harrison, currently a strong competitor in the BRSCC F3 championship with a Dallara F301 Toyota, spent many years in Monoposto, clinching a hat-trick of titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007 at the wheel of a Dallara F398 Vauxhall.  His brother, Neil, kept up the family name by winning the same championship in 2009 also in a Vauxhall powered F398.

Mark is going to be driving the same F398 that took Neil to the title in 2009, which is also the car that took the title in 2005.

Lee Coombes, long-time motorsport enthusiast, is hoping to build support for Donington Park to return to active duty following the collapse of the proposed Formula One contract.

“I am a vintage/historic/classic racing car enthusiast who travels all over the UK to watch these magnificent machines competing.

Of all the circuits, by far my favourite was Donington Park, and I’d seldom miss a meeting. There is now a significant chance Donington has seen its last race.

I am deeply concerned about the future of the circut, so I’ve been looking into trying to organise a “Save Donington” rally.

I am contacting car clubs and racing forums about a show of support for the circuit by turning up in numbers to the car park. I figured if enough people turn up demonstrating how important the circuit is, it would justify to the people involved that it must be repaired. I have been impressed by the response in such a short time.

I know this is a naive pipe-dream, but a ball has started rolling, and it was all I could think of. After all, all I am is a skint racing enthusiast, with no contacts, who considers Donington Park his second home.

If anyone is interested, I’ve set up this email account:

savedonington@live.co.uk

The proposed date for the “rally” is 7th March. I figured, if a positive decision was to have been made by then, then it would’ve rendered it unecessary – let’s hope!

I have had some negative comments regarding this idea, so I am asking, initially for people interested in the demonstration to email me messages of support, which I will first compile and send off.

Kindest regards,

Lee Coombs”

Show your support for one of Britain’s finest circuits by attending the rally and spreading the word.  Since the start of Lee’s campaign Kevin Wheatcroft, son of the late Tom Wheatcroft who made the circuit into the national landmark it became, has vowed to return the circuit to a working state, so this show of support is working. Lee has set up a website, a Facebook group, and has spread the word via numerous motorsport websites and discussion forums.