The BTCC has announced the date and venue for the 2012 media day and test day. This is where the 2012 cars, drivers and teams assemble to be photographed, filmed and interviewed by the media.
There is also a timed testing session where the cars can be demonstrated and an early idea of who the in-form drivers and teams are likely to be.
The public can generally attend for free to watch the afternoons testing.
Date : 19th March 2012
Venue: Silverstone.
Spectacular sideways action to warm the winter crowd
The all-season sport of rallying makes a return to Brands Hatch later this month (Sunday 22 January) as the Kent circuit hosts the TRS (Essex) Ltd Brands Hatch Stage Rally. The event follows a successful running in 2011, after a 20 year hiatus, and utilises special gravel stages and sections of the circuit’s paddock as well as parts of the Indy layout.
Over 90 entries have been recorded so far and many more are expected in the coming days as drivers finalise their plans after the Christmas break. Plenty of rally classics can be found amongst the list, including Escorts spanning the years, Mini Coopers and GTs, small hatches from Lotus Sunbeams to Focuses and Peugeots, and 4WD world-beaters from Subaru and Mitsubishi.
There are also examples of exotica on the list. The names Aston Martin and Ferrari may not be synonymous with gravel, pace notes and flying finishes but a four-litre AM GT and 308 GTB Michelotto will be competing. They’ll be lining up to beat last year’s winning Darrian piloted by John Indri and Dave Engwell.
Several thousand spectators witnessed the unusual car win after a strong challenge from Nigel Mummery and Fiona Scarrett ended up with their Ford Focus beached at Paddock Hill. However the gravel is a lot shallower elsewhere on the course, and the sideways spectacle of a thrilling sport rarely seen in the south east will be something to behold.
Another feature familiar to rally drivers is running in the dark and the event will finish after dusk, leaving a spectacular sight as the cars are distinguished by bright headlights, exhaust flames and glowing brake discs.
With the eight stages extended from last year and a bigger entry list, a strong crowd is expected for the opening event of a spectacular 2012 season.
Tickets for the TRS (Essex) Ltd Brands Hatch Stage Rally on 22 January are available in advance from £10 until Tuesday 17 January at midday, with free entry for children 12 and under. For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk
Nigel Greensall has provided this in-car footage of the CTR Lotus Elise he shared with Richard Chamberlain.
Thanks Nigel!
2011 Overall Winners John Indri and Dave Engwell. Pic: M&H Photography
TRS (ESSEX) LTD BRANDS HATCH STAGE RALLY
Stage Rallying will return to Brands Hatch on Sunday 22nd January 2012 after the successful return of a stage rally at the venue in 2011, which was the first time a stage rally had been held at the venue in twenty years.
Chelmsford Motor Club, the JLT Sport / MSA Club of the Year 2009, are pleased with the continued support of MSV and the event sponsors, TRS (Essex) Ltd, and look forward to running another successful event in 2012.
The 2012 event will run a similar format to 2011, however the stage mileage has been extended by approximately 1 mile per stage by maximising the use of all the roads available to bring the total stage mileage to approximately 40 stage miles over 8 stages. The event will start at 10am and finish at 5.30pm, allowing stages to be run into the darkness. Regulations will be available on http://brandshatchstages.co.uk on 1st December 2011 with entries opening on 12th December 2011.
The event was hugely popular this year with competitors, marshals and spectators and Chelmsford Motor Club look forward to welcoming many people back to this historic and popular venue in 2012. Spectator charges are £10 per person in advance or £13 on the day, with six passes available per competing crew and discounted spectator tickets available at a “competitor ticket” rate of £8 per person all through MSV directly. Hospitality suites are available from £250 + VAT by contacting MSV directly on 01474 854900.
Chelmsford MC organise many events throughout the year and have over 300 members, the majority of whom are active competitors, marshals and organisers. With a longstanding community partnership with Thames Gateway College and the club annually raising over £2500 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Chelmsford MC are extremely active in both motorsport and the local community.
For futher information visit http://brandshatchstages.co.uk
Autosport reported in early December that MSV Brands Hatch were considering reprofiling Graham Hill Bend in order to promote overtaking. A planning application has been made although MSV’s Jonathan Palmer admitted that the plans submitted were unlikely to be the definitive version. Work was likely to be done over the 2012/13 closed season.
These plans have been listed on Sevenoaks Council’s website HERE. It has to be said that initial reactions from enthusiasts and racers have not been that favourable.
The plans show that the track changes will start on the exit of Druids Hairpin with the new section of track keeping right. Assuming no major landscaping works, the circuit will continue downhill before climbing to where a constant radius left hand hairpin, dropping back downhill slightly to a right hand corner before rejoining the existing circuit.
This corner has been subject to several alterations over the years, and was originally known as Bottom Bend. What do you think of the proposals?
Click the picture for a larger version.
Donington Park’s date on the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship calendar has now been confirmed – meaning all ten BTCC fixtures for next year are now in place.
The historic Leicestershire venue will host the second event of the season when the BTCC, the UK’s premier motor racing championship, tours the country – in total it will visit nine top-class race circuits in eight different counties.
The BTCC’s 2012 race dates are:
Date Circuit, Location
31 March-1 April Brands Hatch, Kent
14-15 April Donington Park, Leicestershire
28-29 April Thruxton, Hampshire
9-10 June Oulton Park, Cheshire
23-24 June Croft, North Yorkshire
11-12 August Snetterton (300), Norfolk
25-26 August Knockhill, Fife
22-23 September Rockingham, Northamptonshire
6-7 October Silverstone, Northamptonshire
20-21 October Brands Hatch, Kent
Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson won the final round of the Britcar Dunlop GTN Championship in the combined Into the Night race with the Britcar Endurance Championship at Brands Hatch on Saturday. APO Sport’s Seat Leon, driven by Alex Osbourne and James May took the overall, and class two titles after their main challenger, Tim Saunders failed to finish.
The production race may have been an hour shorter than the BEC race, with competitors leaving the track under full waved yellow flags at the two hour mark, but it was equally important as the longer race, given the that overall championship was still up for grabs, as well as both class titles. It was all to play for.
Class 1 invitation entry JDR and their Honda NSX didn’t make the start of the race, after taking the production pole position – the engine seizing up after qualifying. Hopefully we will see the team back next year as they obviously have the pace to be contenders in the new for 2012 standalone production cup series – more on that over the off season.
The withdrawal of the Honda, along with the BEC pole Barwell Ginetta pulling into the pits on the formation laps meant that Wayne Gibson, taking his customary first stint in the Intersport BMW, gained two places on the first lap and crossed the line in an overall 10th place.
In second place in Production, but four cars further back on the track was the #52 Motionsport Lotus Elise, with Ben Gower at the wheel taking the first stint. By lap 13, Gower had caught up with Gibson and was just 4 seconds behind. This gab hovered impressively around the three second mark, even through traffic as Gibson tried to pull away, and Gower did everything he could to hang on. Although not wheel to wheel action, it was fascinating to watch as the laps ticked by and the apparent advantage ebbed and flowed between the two drivers, through safety car periods – Tim Saunders Honda Civic being recovered around the 40 lap mark brought the gap right down – and through traffic as slower cars were to be lapped.
The two leaders came in to pit on the same lap (80 of 131). While they had been having their great-to-watch scrap at the front the #45 Mazda MX5 GT driven by Owen Mildenhall in the first stint, had kept on the same lap as the leaders and pitted before them, on lap 70, for Mark Ticehurst to take over. By the time the pitstops had shaken out Kevin Clarke had taken over in the Intersport BMW and was leading Production, Simon Phillips was in the hot seat in Motionsports Elise, and Ticehurst was running third in the Mazda.
On lap 85 Philips made a move on Clarke, and took the production lead, which he was to hold for 2 laps, before Clarke wrestled the lead back again, which he would hold unto the chequered flag. Barely half a lap behind was Ticehurst, keeping a watching brief, and ready to make a move should anything happen to the leaders.
Unfortunately for Motionsport – something did happen – that set the scene for the last 30 or so laps of the race, Philips slipping back into the clutches of Ticehurst who took second place on the very last lap!
Simon Philips explaining later: “A couple of problems on the second stint! A dodgy contact lens (folded in right eye, literally as I left the pit lane!) followed by a lack of clutch (with 10 mins or so to go) meant that a fair bit was done in one gear. A real shame as we defo had the legs on the Mazda and should really have had a pop at Intersport!”
It wasn’t a completely bad day for the Motionsport squad, the third place in the race was enough to secure the Production class one title – a great result for the team in their debut Britcar season, and one they will no doubt want to improve upon next year.
Tichurst was also unsurprisingly pleased at the end of the race – “We’ve had a cracking race. We’ve come on leaps and bounds this season, and are looking forward to next year!”
Wayne Gibson, was also happy, albeit brief, after the race “It was brilliant, great to be back!” the Intersport duo having not won a race since Donnington back in May. A long time for the 2009 champions to be winless.
As mentioned at the top of this report, APO won the overall and class two titles. They lead class two for the first hour but ended up retiring 20 minutes before the end of the race. They had done enough to be classified in 8th and the corresponding points were enough to give them the titles from fellow class two competitor Tim Saunders and his Honda Civic.
Production class two race victory was taken by the Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic, with Dave Allen and Alyn James at the wheel. A fine result to finish a season in which they have had their share of incidents – the huge shunt at Castle Combe springs instantly to mind.
This production race was closely fought and shows great potential for next year’s standalone production cup races, the first round of which is provisionally pencilled in for 24th March at Silverstone.
Final top ten positions:
|
Pos |
Class |
Num |
Driver/s |
Sponsor/Entrant |
Vehicle |
Total |
|
1 |
2 |
150 |
||||
|
2 |
2 |
145 |
||||
|
3 |
1 |
143 |
||||
|
4 |
1 |
127 |
||||
|
5 |
2 |
124 |
||||
|
6 |
1 |
114 |
||||
|
7 |
2 |
108 |
||||
|
8 |
1 |
103 |
||||
|
9 |
1 |
95 |
||||
|
10 |
2 |
87 |
Words: Alex Ings / Images: Alex Ings
The final round of the Britcar MSA Endurance Championship and Dunlop GTN Championship took place in a combined race at Brands on Saturday and was the best race of this season.
The class three Topcats Marcos, piloted by Owen O’Neil and Henry Fletcher, took the first overall Marcos win for Topcats in a number of seasons, after an excellent race which kept spectators on the edge of their seats right until the end. Finishing less than fifteen seconds behind was the Hawthorns motorsport Porsche 997 in a race in which action, safety cars and strategy all played a part.
Although the BEC title was still technically up for grabs, all the GT3 Racing team had to do was make the grid with their Dodge Viper, which is a bit of luck, as that’s about all they managed – completing just 30 laps after having serious problems with fuel pressure. It was enough, however, to take the very first Britcar MSA Endurance Championship.
Pulling into the pits on the formation lap was the pole sitter class two invitation entry Ginetta G55 of Barwell motorsport with a broken driveshaft. Managing to change the item in a little over 20 minutes was very impressive, and the team was back out. Despite Mark Lemmer, Tom Kimber-Smith and Ben de Zille Butler setting some very competitive lap times during their stints, the damage had been done and they ultimately finished 31 laps down on the leader.
After two pace car laps, the field was off, and Jay Shepherd in the Hawthorns Motorsport Porsche 997 had an excellent first lap, and after starting in fifth place crossed the line after the first circuit in second place behind the GT3 Viper, and had dragged the sixth (#48 Lee Mowle Ginetta G50) and seventh (#26 Topcats Marcos) place starters with him. Crossing the line fifth at the end of lap one was the other Topcats Marcos, Henry Fletcher having an excellent first lap to climb from 10th place.
On lap four the safety car was out for a single lap, while the #19 Oliver Bryant Marcos, who had started in 3rd place and had an off, was recovered by the marshals. By lap ten the Viper was into the pits for the first time, and would play no further part in the battle.
This left the Hawthorns Porsche, Optimum’s Ginetta and the two Topcats Marcoses (Marcosi?) to pull away from field. Another Porsche 997, this one from the Jones family, were hanging on to the leading quartet impressively.
When Neil Huggins in the #26 Marcos took the lead from Jay Shephard in the Porsche, the question was – can the thirsty Topcats car pull enough of a lead to enable it to stop twice, over the efficient Porsches one stop?
Joe Osbourne in the Ginetta was really going for it in the first stint, and took second place from Shephard, and ultimately the lead for half a lap, from Neil Huggins. However they were always destined to fade away due to having to stop twice, so all three drivers could do a stint. Their first stop was on lap 69, to hand second place back to Shepherd. The team would go on to finish fourth overall, 2 laps down on the leader but showed great pace while on track.
On lap 39 the safety car came out again, this time to recover Production runner Tim Saunders and his stranded Honda Civic, to bunch the field up again and, crucially, allow some fuel saving for the thirstier cars.
At the end of lap 74 Neil Huggins ran wide at Graham Hill bend, and lost the lead to Jay Shepherd and then second place to stablemate Henry Fletcher in the other Marcos. Huggins then pitted to hand over to John Harrison. Unfortunately their issues didn’t end with the pitstop. It turns out the power steering had leaked fluid onto the tyres causing Huggins initial off, and then also gave Harrison some grief. The car would then have a problem with the ignition switch, and the car would eventually come home in 8th place, 20 laps down.
By the time half distance came, Fletcher had taken the lead from Shepherd, and the realisation was starting to dawn at Hawthorns that the Marcos may be one stopping. Rod Barrett explains: “I was convinced that you guys [#36 Marcos] would have to re-fuel and two stop so we thought we had it made, but when your car went passed the 90 mins without re-fuelling, I began to think, that’s weird, it’s never gone longer then that before, they must have really turned the wick down.”
As it was, Rod Barrett took over at the wheel of the Porsche on lap 132 and such had been Shepherd’s pace, that the team were still in second place, albeit two laps down at this point.
Ten laps later and the leader pitted, retaining the lead as they came out from their single stop, Owen O’Neill now at the wheel and with a lap lead over Barrett.
Fast forward another 10 laps, and Barrett has reduced the lead down to 30 seconds, with about 40 minutes to go at this point and lapping quicker than the Marcos, we were all set for a grandstand finish. By lap 179 Barrett was barely thirteen seconds behind the leader, and we had about 25 minutes left on the clock.
On lap 180, luck was to come the way of Hawthorns – the safety car was sent out for the Priocept Lotus Elise which had stopped out on track. When it came in, the clock said the gap was barely 3.5 seconds. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story, as Barrett had a number of back markers between him and the race leader – one of which was the Topcats other Marcos.
With less than fifteen minutes on the clock, Barrett had some more traffic to lap, the Jones’ family Porsche who were running an impressive third at that point, went for a gap up the inside, which was still damp. The end result was a Hawthorns Porsche pointing in the wrong direction, and a loss of time of over 20 seconds on the leader. A great shame for Rod Barrett, and the team, as he had been putting some serious lap times in to close up on O’Neill before that. Indeed after that spin, during the last fifteen laps of the race, Barrett managed to claw back more time to finish just thirteen seconds behind.
It turns out that Topcars needed fifteen minutes of safety car time to be able to one stop. Owen O’Neill – “We thought we would be 5-10 mins short at the end and were pleased to get to beyond two hours on the first stint due to the safety cars. I think we had 2 litres left in the tank!”
Congratulations to the Topcats on their race victory, and class three title. Congratulations also to the GT3 team for taking the overall GT and class two titles and Azteca Motorsport for the class one title in their Mosler.
Final top 10 positions:
Team names in bold denote class champions.
Production race report to follow.
Words: Alex Ings / Images: Alex Ings
Mummery & Scarrett win Snetterton Stages
Rallying returned to Snetterton for the first time since 2003 this weekend with the Tamdown Stage Rally. Eight stages would be run, using variants of the Snetterton 300 circuit. After a two hour delay due to fog, rallying got underway at 11:15am.
Stages 1 and 2 were 2 laps of the Snetterton 300 circuit, run in reverse to how it is normally run, with some additional chicanes added. Rather than the using the normal Esses (Nelson and Brundle), the escape roads were used, with coned chicanes halfway down the Bentley Straight, the Senna Straight and one between Palmer and Agostini corners.
The Escort Mk 2 of Peter Rayner and Richard Bonner took stage 1 with a time of 5m 44, but stage 2 would go to Ray Brammer and Mark Loomes in their Subaru Impreza WRC. An early casualty would be the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Rally of Alan Thistlewaite and Mick Klien who misjudged braking at Murrays and slid into the Armco – there isn’t much run off when running the circuit the wrong way to usual.
The Aston Martin Vantage was the first casualty
Stages 3 and 4 were similar, although there was an extra loop of the 100 circuit run each lap.
Brammer and Loomes would take stage three and Nigel Mummery and Fiona Scarrett would take stage 4 in their Ford Focus WRC.
Stages 5 and 6 were as stages 3 and 4 but run in the traditional direction. Mummery and Scarrett would take both stages to cement their lead
Stages 7 and 8 were as stages 1 and 2 but run in the traditional direction. Rayner and Bonner would win both stages, but Mummery/Scarrett had done enough and would win the first running of the Tamdown Snetterton Stages by 1 second.
Class Winners:
Rayner and Bonner pushed hard but had to settle for 2nd
Class 5: Nigel Mummery / Fiona Scarrett,
Ford Focus WRC – 49m 47 – 1st overall
Class 4: Pete Rayner / Richard Bonner,
Ford Escort Mk 2 – 49m 48 – 2nd overall
Class 3: Martin Hodgson / Andrea Hodgson
Ford Escort Mk 2 – 51m 02 – 3rd overall
Class 2: Johnnie Ellis / Dave Green
Ford Fiesta – 52m 57 – 4th overall
Class 1: Aron Rayner / Stanley Graham
Citroen AX – 54m 25 - 7th overall
Engine problems meant the Lancia Delta Integrale of Smith and Glew retired after stage 3
Pics: Norwich Photo
MSA Britcar BEC & Dunlop GTN Production qualifying
Pole position has been taken at Brands Hatch by the class 2 invitation entry Barwell Motorsport Ginetta G55, driven by Lemmer, Butler and Kimber-Smith by only half a second from the BEC Championship leader, GT3 Racing’s Dodge Viper, in a session interrupted with two safety car appearances.
A wet track from overnight rain met competitors at Brands Hatch this morning, but three other sessions ran before the BEC and GTN drivers took to the track for qualifying, leaving a dry racing line, but damp patches offline were still present.
The first interruption to the session happened fairly early on, and was due to the James May Seat Leon, who had an off at Druids hairpin.
The safety car was sent out for a second time as the Honda Integra of Harding and Axisa went off towards the end of the lap. At the same time the #19 class two invitation entry Oliver Bryant’s Marcos Mantis entry had an off track excursion on the way up to the hairpin. Clearly only cosmetic damage occurred, as they went on to qualify third overall.
With the only other challenger to the overall BEC Championship (Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis) back in 7th overall, it would seem as though Wilkins and Scott only need to complete 40% race distance to be classified as finishers, which would then give them the championship.
Horsepower racing have taken a good first step in trying to overhaul the Topcats other Mantis for the class 3 title, by out qualifying them. An outside shot for class three is Rob Barrett and Jay Shepherd in their Porsche 997, who qualified just three tenths, and one place behind the Horsepower Ferrari.
In the GTN Production Championship, pole was also taken by an invitation entry – JDR’s Honda NSX, barely a tenth ahead of Britcar regulars Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson in their BMW who are racing for pride this weekend, as it is not possible for them to finish in the top three in class.
Simon Phillips Lotus Elise is currently leading the class one championship, and looks will have an easier time to try and sew that up today, as challengers Jenson Lunn and Sarah Bennett-Baggs in their Strata 21 BMW are not competing today. Currently third in class are Team Jota in their Mazda, and they have a bit of an uphill battle to take the class title from Phillips, being 16 points behind. Also not competing the father and son team of Peter and Mark Cunningham in their Seat Leon – currently fourth in class.
Class two is closely fought with two entries leading the overall GTN Championship. APO’s Seat Leon and TH Motorport’s Honda Civic are separated by only three points at the top of the table. They will be lining up next to each other on the grid, in 19th and 20th places overall, respectively.
The final round of this years MSA Britcar Endurance Championship and the Dunlop GTN Production Championship will take place at the Brands Hatch “Into the night” race this weekend. Although all titles in the BEC are theoretically up for grabs, the current overall (and class 2) leaders Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott in the GT3 Racing Dodge Viper need only 2 two points to claim both titles, leaving the Topcats Racing team (currently second in class and third overall) needing a race win, fastest lap and some serious doses of luck to overhaul the leader.
Class 1 is closer, with the Azteca Motorsport Mosler on 124 points, and fifth overall, and the Strata 21 Mosler nine points, and one place adrift. Class three is closer still, with the second Topcats Mantis leading class three (and in second place overall) just five points ahead of Horsepower Racing’s Ferrari F430.
Top 6 BEC positions going into the final round at Brands Hatch:
In the Dunlop GTN Championship, everything is to play for.
APO Sport’s Class 2 Seat Leon, driven by Alex Osbourne and James May lead overall with 131 points, 3 ahead of T H Motorsport and their Honda Civic Type R. In third overall, and leading class 1 is the Motionsport Lotus Elise with Strata 21 and their BMW M3 just 10 points further back.
Top 6 Dunlop GTN Production positions going into the final round at Brands Hatch:
Toyota Sprint Series 2011 event report – round 5 Croft 4th September 2011
For the first time in the Toyota Sprint Series history, Croft played host to round five of the championship. A former wartime airbase located in North Yorkshire, records of racing there go back to the 1920’s, although the current layout was not designed and put into use until 1997, and has since received yearly visits by the British Touring Car and British Superbike championships.
Only the organisational skills of Javelin Trackdays Colin Jebson and the compliance of the Toyota Sprint Series competitors to adhere to noise limits throughout the year made this event possible, as due to a court judgement in 2009 regarding noise, only forty “noisy” days a year can be run at the circuit.
Thirty one drivers in twenty six cars took part, and those who hadn’t seen the circuit before were surprised at how fast and flowing it was, the only exception being tight hairpin at the end of the lap.
With the end of the season drawing closer, overall and class positions were being fought out and looked at closer than ever before, and Croft would be a turning point for many in their quest to come out on top.
Results in class order:
Class F Street – Up to 1.0
Dan Quinn returned in his little 1.0 litre Yaris, and thoroughly enjoyed his day, proclaiming it to be his greatest days sprinting ever. Praise indeed from someone who has taken part in every event bar one in the history of the series.
Dan managed to shave over a second off of his previous best on his last lap to win the class with a 96.25 lap.
Class F Pro – Up to 1.0
Class F Pro is the home for the TRD built 1.0 Vitz shared by Jane Newsome and Tim Cogman. A rejuvenated Jane drove with more confidence and verve than she has all season, an ever larger smile accompanying her return from each run.
A 97.49 lap was her reward, but Tim once again took the class spoils with a 93.87 obtained on his last lap.
Class D Street – Up to 1.6 Normally Aspirated
Local man Matthew Tyson made his series debut driving his pretty Corolla AE111 at Croft, and thoroughly enjoyed his day. Matthew was consistent throughout, and like so many others, set his best time of 89.07 on his final lap to take the class win.
Class C Street – Over 1.6 Normally Aspirated
Scott Briance unusually had his car all to himself for Croft, his father and brother being unable to take part.
Scott drove with his normal speed and consistency, six of his eight runs being in the 89 second bracket, his sixth run of 89.19 being the quickest to clinch the class win.
Class C Pro- Over 1.6 Normally Aspirated
Stephen Ellis put up a brave fight in his automatic ST182 Celica, finishing with a 91.09, but it was once again Paul Thomas’s Supra that took Class C Pro honours with a 86.42 attained on his final run.
Class B Street – Up To 1.6 Forced Induction
After a short absence Gavin Mycock entered his second event in a row in his Sera and found himself all alone in Class B Street. Despite some unorthadox mechanical assistance by certain “friends” (!), Gavin chipped away at his times throughout the day to finish on a 89.06.
Class B Pro – Up To 1.6 Forced Induction
The fierce season long battle between Barrie Newsome and Phil Cutler was expected to continue at Croft, but sadly a supercharger problem for Phil’s MR2 left him helpless. Barrie cruised to an untroubled victory with an 80.71, Phil’s best time being an unrepresentative 89.32.
Class A3 Street – Over 1.6l Forced Induction
Seven drivers contested Class A3 Street, Ash Simpson’s ST205 Celica again proving dominant with a superb 80.69.
In her last sprint of the season, Di Turner’s relaxed attitude reflected in her times. An 82.6 in her ST205 Celica putting her an excellent second in class, 10th overall, and a deserving recipient of the Hard Charger trophy.
Class A3 Pro – Over 1.6l Forced Induction – Modified
A healthy seven cars also did battle in Class A3 Pro.
Andrew Falkingham once again proved untouchable in his ST205 Celica, and recorded an extremely fast 77.41 on his fifth run.
Chris Cooke again encountered overheating issues with his MR2, but assistance from Arran Gabell allowed Chris out for the final three runs to record an 80.45 on his final run, enough to finish a commendable second in class and fifth overall.
Class A2 Street – Over 1.6 Forced Induction
Dave Ellen missed the last round at Cottesmore due to tyre issues, but bounced back in his Lexus IS350 at Croft to cruise to a to an 89.33 class win.
Class A2 Pro – Over 1.6 Forced Induction
The Servicetune duo of Andy Bunney and Nigel Levinson enjoyed one of the closest tussles of the day, consistently trading fastest laps with each other in their ST185 Celica.
A huge spin for Nigel ensured that Andy eventually came out on top, but only by a mere .41 of a second. Andy’s best of 80.24 coming on lap six, Nigel’s 80.65 on lap five.
Class A1 Pro Over 1.6 Forced Induction
With only two rounds left in the championship, pressure on both Jonny Milner and Adrian Smith was really building.
At times Jonny did not look particularly fast, looking over the limit due to the amount of sideways action, but the eyes can deceive and Jonny was on top form, setting a stunning 67.82 on his third run.
Adrian was left to play catch up for the rest of the day, and despite giving his absolute all during his final run, had to settle for second on the day with a 69.92.
Results – Simplified:
1st Overall: Jonny Milner – Celica GT4-TC
2nd Overall: Adrian Smith – Celica GT4-X
3rd Overall: Andrew Falkingham – Celica GT4
Class A2 Pro Winner: Andy Bunney – Celica GT4
Class A2 Pro Runner up: Nigel Levinson – Celica GT4
Class A2 Street Winner: Dave Ellen – Lexus IS350
Class A3 Pro Winner: Andrew Falkingham – Celica GT4
Class A3 Pro Runner up: Chris Cooke – MR2 Turbo
Class A3 Street Winner: Ash Simpson – Celica GT4
Class A3 Street Runner up: Diane Turner – Celica GT4
Class B Pro Winner: Barrie Newsome – Starlet Turbo
Class B Pro Runner up: Phil Cutler – MR2 SC
Class B Street Winner: Gavin Mycock – Sera
Class C Pro Winner: Paul Thomas – Supra
Class C Pro Runner up: Stephen Ellis – Celica ST182
Class D Street Winner: Matthew Tyson – Corolla AE111
Class F Pro Winner: Tim Cogman – Vitz
Class F Pro Runner up: Jane Newsome – Vitz
Class F Street Winner: Dan Quinn – Yaris
Hard Charger: Diane Turner – Celica GT4
Summary:
The smooth, faster than anticipated nature of Croft made it hugely popular with every competitor. Excellent facilities along with the friendly nature of the series led first time entrants to comment they would definitely be back for more, and those who had travelled the furthest distances to attend stated they would have no hesitation in returning should the series use the same venue again.
It is interesting to note that fourteen of the 31 competitors posted their fastest laps on the eighth and final lap of the day. Learning the track? Feeling more confident in their own or cars abilities? Pure desperation? A combination of all of these? I leave it for you to decide, but driving standards and car preparation certainly take a leap forward with each passing round.
One of the many indications of how friendly and easy the series is to access is reflected by the fact that five ladies were once again entered at Croft, enjoying it every bit as much as the men, and often putting them to shame in the process!
Congratulations to all who took part, every one of you making it a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable day for everyone involved.
And so on to the last round of the series at Blyton.
With so many classes yet to be decided, the action is sure to be even more tense and closely fought than ever before.
Bring yourselves, bring your family, bring your friends, and witness the final round of the 2011 Toyota Sprint Series for yourselves.
Some more photo’s from the day:
Photo’s courtesy of Andrew Cliffe at www.norwichphoto.co.uk
Event report by TSS Tim
Gavan Kershaw and Stuart Hall have won the second Lotus 1000km, driving a Strattons-run Evora. Whilst the team were favourites for victory, they were pushed all the way by last year’s pacesetters GWS. The thirstier V6 was barely three minutes ahead of the challenging Exige and potentially required an extra stop before the 515-lap distance was completed. However when Jamie Stanley brought the GWS car in for an unscheduled stop in the final hour and was unable to resume battle, the matter was settled.
This left Doug and Chris Setters, plus Chris Headlam in the Combat Laser Games Exige to take second, whilst the leading Elise Trophy class car took the final podium position. Witham Cars Japan’s line-up of Adam Bewsey, Dan Plant and Yuji Shinohara defeated LaHay racing’s John LaMaster, David Hay and Steve Williams by just seven seconds after more than eight hours of racing and they shared several battles out on track. The moment was particularly sweet for Shinohara, who had flown from Japan to compete.
Last year’s winning entry, which included Paul O’Neill on the driving strength, failed to make the start following gearbox failure, whilst a storming series of laps from Nick Tandy in the pole-sitting Europa came to nought after gear linkage troubles left them in the garage for many laps. His team’s race was more successful than fellow front-row starters Hofmann’s Motorsport, their Europa retiring early after refuelling flash fires indicated an incurable problem. However, 16 of the 24 starters were classified at the finish, with many more running at the end of the race.
(images courtesy of Jon Bryant at Snappyracers.com)
Josh Hill at the 2010 Formula Renault Winter Series
Here is the entry list for the Formula Renault Winter Finals, held at Snetterton this coming weekend, and Rockingham the weekend after. The races will include entrants from Formula Renault UK, Formula Renault BARC and the Formula Renault Eurocup teams.
2 Daniil Kyvat, Koiranen
3 Ocon Esteban, Koiranen
4 Hans Villemi, Koiranen
5 John Bryant-Meisner, Koiranen
6 Martin Rump, Koiranen
7 Stefan Wackerbauer, Koiranen
8 Geoff Uhrhane, Atech Reid GP
9 Melville McKee, Interwetten
11 Dennis Van Der Laar, Van Amersfoort Racing
12 Joao Sergio Camara, Van Amersfoort Racing
14 Josh Hill, Fortec
16 Dan Wells, Atech Reid GP
17 Nick McBride, Manor Competition
18 Hector Hurst, Manor Competition
19 Dan De Zille, Fortec
21 Josh Webster, Mark Burdett Motorsport
22 Tomasz Krzeminski, Mark Burdett Motorsport
24 Felix Serralles, Fortec
25 Victor Jiminez, Hillspeed
26 Archie Hamilton, Fortec
27 Ivan Taranov, Antel
28 Chirag Marhotra, Antel
29 Ed Jones, Fortec
31 Joe Kibbler, Hillspeed
33 Sean Walkinshaw, Hillspeed
34 Thomas Jäger, Fortec
39 Shahaan Engineer, Fortec
41 Jake Dennis, Fortec
42 Jordan King, Manor
44 Oliver Rowland, Fortec
66 James Fletcher, MGR
99 TBA, MGR
Pic: Norwich Photo
Just one week after the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain concluded at Silverstone championship regular Antti Buri headed straight for Brands Hatch, to tackle the prestigious Formula Ford Festival.
With high hopes for the tough challenge ahead, Antti enjoyed tense battles with 2011 British Formula Ford Champion Scott Malvern, as he strived for Festival glory.
As the build up to the event got underway testing showed it would be a difficult weekend for the Mygale SJ11 pilot. A broken gearbox awaited Antti and the team as they prepared for the first test session, which resulted in a lost day on track. However with some of the mechanics’ best skills on the case Antti was out on track to demonstrate good pace the next day.
The arrival of qualifying saw Antti return to the front of the field, with a second place start for the Heat. A sprint style race of just 12 laps made for an exciting battle around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, as drama struck again.
As he toured the circuit in second place, a stuck throttle sent Antti tumbling off the track before rejoining in third. Despite his pace time ran out, however Antti recovered to seal a strong third place.
Onto the Quarter Final, Antti lined up third on the grid. As the race unfolded, Antti toured in the wheel tracks of Malvern, as the pair edged out a substantial gap to their pursuers. Unable to snatch victory, he settled in second place.
The Semi-Final demonstrated a battle not only between Antti and his rivals, but also Antti and his tyres. A good start launched him into the lead of the race, until new tyres failed to agree with his single-seater. Second place again awaited the Finnish racing ace, as the all important Final edged ever closer.
Faced with the difficult decision of whether to run with old or new tyres, the Final was always going to be a tricky affair. After selecting new tyres, Antti lined his Formula Ford up on the grid, as the Final got underway.
It was soon clear the tyres presented him with a disadvantage, however despite his woes Antti made it to the chequered flag, in fifth place.
“It was a very frustrating weekend,” admitted Antti. “It started badly with our gearbox problems, but seemed to get better for a while. We were definitely on the pace of the others and enjoyed some really good battles with Scott.
“The speed was strong and there was no physical damage to the car all weekend, we kept out of trouble, so that is a bonus,” he added.
Now faced with the off-season break Antti will be working out his next step, with his 2012 plans announced in due course.
Report: Leanne Fahy via The Racewire
Photos: Jonathan Hatfield
Louise
Grantham-based Richardson Racing saw the highs and lows of motorsport during the final two rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup at Silverstone.
Brother and sister pair Andrew and Louise Richardson went into the season finale on the short National circuit aiming for the top step of the podium, with Andrew eager to add to his win tally and Louise hoping to taste victory champagne for the first time this year.
Chasing her first victory of the season, Louise’s weekend started well when she posted the third quickest time amongst the G50 drivers during the two free practice sessions on Friday. Repeating that feat in qualifying, Louise then secured third in class and twelfth overall on the grid for the opening race after a closely-fought session that saw her miss class pole by just 0.073secs.
Andy
However, Louise’s hopes of ending the season with a trip to the top of the podium ended in dramatic fashion on the opening lap, when she was forced onto the grass by the G55 of Jamie Orton as the field headed into the left-hand kink prior to Becketts. Once on the grass, Louise was powerless to stop her car from getting sideways and having come back onto the circuit in the middle of the pack, she was then collected by the car of fellow G50 runner Aaron Williamson.
Heavy contact with the driver’s door caused extensive damage to Louise’s car and left her trapped in her seat, with rescue crews attending the incident to help her from the wreckage. After a visit to the circuit medical centre, Louise was transferred to hospital for checks, but luckily escaped with nothing more than a bruised leg.
“I got alongside the G55 on the run to Becketts but just as we came up the little left-hand kink before the corner and entered the braking zone, he squeezed me onto the grass,” she said. “I’m not sure he realised I was there. When I braked, the car got sideways and when I came back onto the circuit, I hit Jake Rattenbury and that turned my car round right in front of Aaron; he just had nowhere to go.
“Unfortunately he hit my car in just the wrong place and I ended up being trapped in my seat. I’ve got to thank the people that got me out for doing a fantastic job as they helped to keep me calm and made sure I was in as little pain as possible – I’m really grateful for their help.
“I’ve had a lot of bad luck this season and got caught up in incidents that weren’t my fault, but I’ve also shown I have the pace to run at the front and have finished on the podium. I have to thank the boys in the team for the work they’ve done on the car over the season as it improved a lot over the course of the year.”
Louise’s accident meant Andrew was left to fly the flag for the team, although his hopes of victory in race one were also ended by an incident early on. Prior to the red flag being shown for Louise’s accident, Andrew – who had qualified fifth amongst the G50 drivers despite being just 0.131secs from pole – was tipped into a spin by Mark Davies going into Brooklands, which dropped him to the rear of the field.
Andy
That meant Andrew started from the very back of the pack when the race was restarted but he made up five places on the opening lap alone to lie 15th overall. Continuing his forward progress, Andrew worked his way up to eleventh overall and third in class by lap nine and then put Mark Johnston under pressure before clinching second amongst the G50s and tenth overall with a move up the inside into the final corner.
Starting from tenth for the final race of the season, Andrew held his place through the opening lap and fought for the G50 class victory throughout with rival Jake Hill. Despite a G55 driver getting involved in the battle between the pair mid-way through the race, Andrew stayed within a second of Hill throughout the race but had to settle for a repeat of his race one result as he took second in class in the season finale.
“Two podium finishes is a good way to end the season, although it could have been better,” he said. “If I’d not been punted off in race one and had to take the restart from the back, I think I could have battled for victory and in race two, I could possibly have made a move on Jake if the G55 hadn’t got in the mix.
“However, looking at the season as a whole, I think we’ve had a very good year when you consider the amount of track time we’ve had and the fact we have run on a small budget. Personally, I think I have proved myself on track and shown what I can do and there are a lot of positives that I can take away from this season as I start working towards 2012.”
Following the final race, Andrew then headed over to the South circuit at Silverstone for an event with the charity Afghan Heroes, where he gave passenger rides to a number of British servicemen injured in conflict who have since been helped by the charity.
“The event was really good,” he said. “Everyone who came in the car with me was smiling afterwards and seemed to enjoy themselves; which was the main aim of the day. These are people who have been injured fighting for their country and it was great that we could do something for them.”
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