RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Laura Tillett will make her car racing debut this season at the wheel of a Fortec Motorsport car in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship, with her ultimate aim being to reach Formula One.

The move into the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship could also see the twenty year old from West Malling make her debut on the Touring car Package as part of the standalone Renault GP Cup.

Tillett had an encouraging run in a Total Control Racing Clio Cup car back in January at Brands Hatch, and she returned to the Kent circuit last week to test the Formula Renault 2.0 single seat race car, and impressed the Fortec Motorsport team straight away with her pace and ability, and she followed this up with another test at Silverstone last Friday, 24 February, before she finalised her plans for the 2012 campaign.

“I’m really, really excited to have signed for Fortec in Formula Renault BARC”, said the ecstatic Kent racer, “This is what I’ve wanted to do since I was little when I started out in karting, it feels like a dream come true and I couldn’t have hoped to be with a better team. I absolutely love the car, it’s really good to drive and my confidence grew massively over the two test days.”

“The Clio Cup car was a lot of fun, I liked it a lot and I really want to say a big thank you to Lee (Brookes) and everyone at TCR – it’s a fantastic team,” added Tillett about her Clio Cup test for TCR.

“The Formula Renault suits my driving a bit better though, it’s more like the approach you have in karting so I feel more at home with it. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season, it’s going to be amazing!”

Her maiden campaign in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship will be backed by TILLETT Racing Seats, ET Fashions, Puma Motorsport and Point Racing, but for her to enter the standalone Renault GP Cup in September and October, she needs to secure additional sponsorship and commercial backing.

The Renault GP Cup, introduced for the 2012 campaign is for drivers who have registered for the Protyre Formula Renault BARC category and will offer the drivers a chance to shine on three of the biggest events in the UK – the British Formula 3 International Series weekend at Silverstone as well as with the British Touring Car Championship for two weekends.

For Tillett, the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship campaign gets underway at Snetterton over the Easter weekend, 7/8 April with the season finale at Silverstone over the 6/7 October.

Fortec Motorsport’s Steve Lynch, the Protyre Formula Renault BARC squad team manager said about the signing of Tillett: “We’re delighted to have Laura onboard for the new season, she’s a great name from karting and in these first two tests with us she’s done a really good job – especially considering how little time she’s had in the car.

“At Brands she gained more and more confidence during the morning in the dry, unfortunately it rained at lunchtime but Laura still did a great job. It was a very steep learning curve but she built herself up well. Then, at Silverstone, it was damp to begin with but in the dry in the afternoon she found a lot of time. We’ve been very impressed and we’re looking forward to a good year.”

As well as her commitments in the Protyre Formula Renault BARC series, Tillett will also be working in an ambassadorial role with Caterham Motorsport, as the company have recently announced a karting Championship which is due to start in 2013.

Tillett was the first British female racer to compete in the premier class of the CIK-FIA World Karting Championship, thus making her the ideal candidate to help establish the new category which is set to offer a low cost yet high value option for karters.

With Caterham becoming an increasingly prevalent force in global motorsport, from the grass roots all the way through to the FIA Formula One World Championship, the new-for-2013 karting category will complete the manufacturer’s impressive ladder of opportunity.

Omani racer Ahmad Al Harthy kicks off his 2012 racing campaign at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, where he takes part in round five of the Porsche GT3 Challenge Middle East this weekend, Friday 2 March and Saturday 3 March.

Rounds nine and ten of the Championship will make Porsche Motorsport history as it will be the first ever Porsche Gt3 night race.

Having announced his plans to return to the Porsche Carrera Cup GB for 2012 in the Oman Air Racing Team car, the thirty year old is delighted to have confirmed his place on the grid for the penultimate round of the Middle East series at Doha.

His entry has been made possible through his portfolio of sponsors, namely Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Ministry of Tourism, Nawras, National Bank of Oman and Muscat Eye Laser Centre; Al Harthy will be one of an expected eighteen car grid at Losail. If all eighteen cars arrive, it will be the largest entry in the Middle East Championship since it started in 2009.

“I’m really looking forward to being back on the grid in the Middle East series, it’s very important to race in the region whenever we can”, said the Muscat racer, “Thank you as always to my fantastic sponsors for making this possible, it’ll be my first time racing in Qatar and my first ever night race as well so I really can’t wait to enjoy the whole experience.”

To date, Al Harthy has competed in six of the eight races run, as he missed the previous round at the Reem International Circuit in Saudi Arabia. In the six races he has competed in, he secured three podium finishes, including a victory in the FIA Formula One World Championship support event at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. These results had left him in contention for the Championship.

The two races in Qatar will be Al Harthy’s final races in the series as the final two races of the Championship clash with the opening two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Brands Hatch in Kent.

“Obviously this weekend will be something completely new to me, a new track and a new format with the night racing, but being back in the car in racing conditions will be great preparation for the start of the UK championship which begins at the end of March”, he added, “Hopefully we can sign off our time in the Middle East series with two more podiums at least.”

The Porsche Carrera Cup GB kicks off its campaign over the 31 March/1 April at Brands Hatch, and supports the British Touring Car Championship for the 2012 campaign.

Keep up to speed with Ahmad’s 2012 progress at his official website www.ahmadalharthy.com follow him on Twitter @AlHarthyRacing or visit the Ahmad Al Harthy Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ahmad-Al-Harthy/111700892183537

Motorbase Performance have announced that Motorsport Ireland Dunlop Young Racing Driver of the year; Aron Smith has joined the team alongside the returning Mat Jackson and Liam Griffin.

For Smith, it is his first full campaign in the Dunlop MSA British Touring car Championship, having made his debut in a one off race weekend for 888 at Knockhill last year, where he scored a point on his debut.

He has recent success in the BTCC supporting Renault Clio Cup and the Irish driver’s attitude to racing has seen him develop a loyal legion of fans, both in Ireland and across the UK.

The twenty-two year old said about the announcement that he is joining one of the biggest teams in the BTCC paddock for 2012: “I couldn’t be more excited about this season; the past two years have literally been building up to this moment. Motorbase Performance is the type of team I know I’ll feel right at home in, this all feels like a dream come true and I can’t wait for the racing to begin!”

Returning for his third season with the team and second at the wheel of the Mountune powered Ford Focus ST is Mat Jackson, who led the Championship for the team after Snetterton last season. He secured four outright victories and ten Independent’s victories.

The thirty year old from Henley-in-Arden is delighted to have resigned for David Bartrums team and he hopes that he can challenge for outright honours once again: “It’s fantastic to be back driving with Motorbase for the third year in a row – it feels like home now!  We have the same core personnel in place for this season, which I believe is key to our challenge for the outright driver’s title.”

Looking ahead to the 2012 campaign, Jackson believes that it is all set up to be an exciting campaign with most of the front running teams switching to the NGTC regulations for the forthcoming season.

One of the outright fans favourites, Jackson added: “2012 looks to be an exciting year in the BTCC. With the New NGTC regulations being adopted by many of the front running teams, the season could prove to be very interesting indeed.  We showed last year that we have the car and skills in place to compete against the ‘big boys’ and hopefully the other teams will experience some teething problems that we can capitalise on!”

Filling the third Focus is Liam Griffin, who like Jackson, returns for a second season at the wheel of the turbocharged Ford Focus ST. He heads into his fourth season with the Kent based squad and is looking to build on his end of season promise, where he was racing consistently with the mid-pack.

“How can you be anything but excited about the start of the season? The BTCC is the premier Motorsport championship in the country and it is a privilege to be a part of it,” said Griffin.

He added: “Having finished consistently at the end of last season I feel I have given myself something to build on. Half the battle is not feeling out of your depth, the other half is actually not being out of your depth. I certainly feel like I have completed the first part but have to now see if we can turn that into being a bit more competitive.

“It is great to be part of Motorbase for my 4th season as they are without doubt not only one of the best teams in the paddock but also one of the most driver friendly teams.”

The team head into the 2012 campaign with their most ambitious project, a full season three car team, and they hope that the consistency of the car/driver line-up will paid dividends while the other teams get used to their new cars and driver line-ups.

Team Principal David Bartrum is confident ahead of the forthcoming campaign, which kicks off at the team’s local circuit, Brands Hatch, over the 31 March/ 1 April.

“We’re very excited about this year. We will be continuing with the same cars from last year which we learnt a lot from in our first season with them in 2011. We have been busy further improving over the winter, so to also keep the continuity of Mat and Liam as well is very important for us moving forward this year, and to welcome Aron to the team is fantastic.

Bartrum is also pleased with how well Smith has settled in with the team and is hoping for some better luck to fall Jackson’s way, after the terrible run of misfortune during the second half of the 2011 campaign.

“Aron has settled straight in to the team and has impressed us all in testing. I’m sure he will be competitive very quickly this year. Liam has had a year in the BTCC under his belt now so knows what to expect this year so we’re looking forward to him hitting the ground running come round one. And with Mat, he will be starting in a car he knows well which has been further improved so there is no reason why we can’t mount a serious championship challenge as we did last year, but hope for some better luck in 2012!”

Kent based Motorbase Performance have announced that they are to sit out the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB but Team Principal David Bartrum confirmed that the team will return to the series.

“I love the Carrera Cup, but we were looking for a new challenge for 2012. This isn’t an ending, it’s a sabbatical. Give us a year or two and we’ll be back. Carrera Cup has been a big part of our team and Porsche will always be part of our future,” explained Bartrum.

The series has seen Motorbase at the sharp end in seven out of the eight campaigns that the team has competed in, having joined the grid for the 2004 season. To date, the team has secured twenty six race wins as well as the Teams’ Championship crown in 2010.

The team will return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship with their three Ford Focus ST cars and Bartrum confirmed that there are a number of other exciting plans in the horizon for the team.

He added: “We’ve been really busy behind the scenes for the past few months and have a number of exciting plans in the pipeline for this year and that’s where our focus will be.

“We’re not quite in the position to make any announcements at this moment in time, but we’re close – all will be revealed very soon.”

Josh Webster has confirmed that he will graduate into the Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship for the 2012 season after agreeing a deal to remain with the Mark Burdett Motorsport team, for whom he drove for in the six event ‘Finals Series’ back in November.

The Team UK driver steered one of the Skegness based teams’ current Formula Renault cars to third overall in the six round ‘finals series’, which backed up his Protyre Formula Renault BARC performance as he finished as the series Vice Champion, with three victories and six other podiums from the twelve races held.

His determination and focus over the previous twelve months has seen him develop a strong foothold in single seater racing, and with the announcement that he is to graduate into the Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship, he said: “We’ve been working so hard to try and put together a deal to race in Formula Renault UK this year so I’m happy we’ve been able to agree something with Mark Burdett. The team did a great job for me in the Finals Series last year and together we showed we’ve got what it takes to run at the front in Formula Renault UK.

“I have to say a big thank you to all of my sponsors, especially James Palmer of Nine Telecom, Graham McMullen and David Marsden of Admiral Managed Networks and Pas Ruggiero of Integra ICT, for continuing to support me and helping us to finalise a great drive for 2012. This is going to be such an important year for my career, particularly as I’ll be representing Team UK and the MSA, so I’ll be giving it everything.”

Speaking on behalf of the team, Mark Burdett said: “We were very impressed with Josh in the Finals Series last year, he did a very good job and the top priority for us this season was to try and sort out a deal with him. We’re delighted he’s with us, we’ve all got a great working relationship with Josh and the aim is to try and fight for the championship – that’s why we’re here!”

The Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship is renowned as one of the most important single seater categories in the world and has seen Formula One World Champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton race in the series during their early racing days, while fellow racers Paul Di Resta and Heikki Kovalainen also passed through the Championship en route to Formula One.

2012 sees the Formula Renault UK Championship switch to a three race weekend for the first time, moving it in line with the format that the Cooper Tires British Formula Three International Series uses.

The season gets underway at Brands Hatch, Kent over the 31 March/1 April, and the series visits Donington Park, Thruxton, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Rockingham and Brands Hatch GP as part of the British Touring Car Package. The visit to Brands Hatch GP marks the conclusion of the season, over the 20/21 October.

Josh Hill, the son of 1996 FIA Formula One World Champion Damon, has joined Fortec Motorsport for the 2012 Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship.

The twenty year old had his first experience of Formula Renault UK racing in 2010, when he took part in the Formula Renault Winter Series with Manor Competition before signing to compete in the 2011 main series with the team.

He proved himself as a driver to watch in 2011, as he provided some daring overtaking moves and wheel to wheel battling as he raced to seventh in the overall Championship standings.

Ahead of the six race ‘Finals Series’, Hill switched to Fortec and he impressed from the word go. He secured six pole positions out of six and he secured his maiden victory at Snetterton, which he then backed up with another victory at Rockingham. His performances in the six races marked him out as a driver to watch for 2012.

Currently, the Farnham-based driver is out in New Zealand, racing in the Toyota Racing Series as he prepares for his second full season in the Certina Formula Renault UK Championship. Hill thus far has enjoyed great success, with four podiums and a victory to his name.

Alex Fleming, Formula Renault 2.0 UK Team Manager is certain that the teams’ latest recruit will be a series frontrunner in 2012: “Josh is undoubtedly quick and has a year’s Formula Renault experience under his belt. Combined with his dedication and hard work, I’m sure we will see him develop as a regular race winner and a strong contender in 2012.”

The team are looking to build on their dominant 2011 campaign, where they took Alex Lynn to the Championship title, team-mate Oliver Rowland to Graduate Cup Glory and second in the outright Championship while they also secured the Teams’ Champions.

Brands Hatch in Kent is the venue for the opening weekend of the 2012 Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship, over the 31 March/1 April, with the Championship supporting the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and the Sunday races are being shown live on ITV4 and ITV4 HD.

2010 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Champions Hillspeed have welcomed today’s announcement concerning the creation of the ‘Renault GP Cup’, which enables the Formula Renault BARC drivers and teams’ the chance to compete in the final three events of the 2012 Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship.

Established by Protyre Formula Renault BARC organisers and the British Automobile Racing Club, the new ‘Renault GP Cup’ goes some way to replacing the proposed ‘Formula Renault Junior’ category, which was aimed at bolstering the grid sizes for the British Touring Car Championship supporting Formula Renault UK.

The ‘Renault GP Cup’ is a separate, standalone series, away from the main Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship and the Renault GP Cup will allow those racers who have registered for the BARC Campaign to take advantage of the added option of competing in the final three Formula Renault UK events of the 2012 campaign, at Silverstone, Rockingham and Brands Hatch.

It is hoped that the introduction of the Renault GP Cup, for drivers in the Tatuus FR2.0 cars, will bolster the grid numbers by ten to twelve cars.

The first event for the Renault GP Cup will be the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series meeting on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit over the 8/9 September, before moving to Rockingham on the 22/23 September and Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit over the 20/21 October. The Rockingham and Brands Hatch weekends are in support to the British Touring Car Championship.

“The planned introduction of the Junior class in Formula Renault UK was an ideal opportunity to provide drivers with a halfway point between BARC Renault and the full UK championship”, said Hillspeed principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “Unfortunately, the current climate means the desire just isn’t there to do that – the economics don’t support it.

“What has been put forward now with the Renault GP Cup has the benefits of the Junior class but in a programme the BARC drivers can be offered at an acceptable budget level. We definitely welcome this as a good step forward and support it wholeheartedly.”

He added: “The BARC championship has gone from strength to strength in recent years, it’s a fantastic place to make the transition