RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Michael Epps enjoyed a productive day of testing at Silverstone yesterday (Friday 11^th May) in preparation for the second round of the Formula Renault BARC championship at Rockingham next weekend.

The 20 year old from Hemel Hempstead in only his second season of car racing, left the Northamptonshire circuit in an upbeat mood after working with his JWA-Avila team on mechanical setup and race pace.

He said: “The day went really well! I feel more and more comfortable in the car with every lap that I drive. I was pleased with my pace and I’m looking forward to Rockingham.”

Epps heads to the Corby venue on the back of an eventful debut weekend in the series last month at Snetterton where a crash during the wet qualifying session, his first experience of driving the car in the wet, meant he had to start two of the three races from the very back of the grid. However, Epps showed good resolve to secure three solid finishes despite a tough qualifying session and collect sixteen championship points.

Now though Epps is focussed on running much closer to the front of the field and after lapping at a pace not too dissimilar to championship leader Josh Webster yesterday, he feels there is no reason why this will not be the case.

“We are confident as a team and I seem to be able to run closely to the pace of the more experienced drivers in the championship when it’s dry, so I think we’ll be in the mix next weekend.”

Words: Tom Surgay
Pic: Jakob Ebrey

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

Rockingham: Oct 1st (Rounds 13 and 14 of BARC’s VTEC Challenge)

Well, the season has flown by and the last two rounds of the 2011 VTEC Challenge took place at the purpose built circuit of “Rockingham” in Northamptonshire.

2011 marks the 10 year anniversary of the circuit that lays claim to being “Europe’s Fastest Racing Circuit”, which is due to the yet unbeaten lap record for the 1.5 mile oval set on the 22nd September 2001. Tony Kanaan piloted his Ford/Lola Champ Car around the banked circuit in a time of 24.719 seconds at an average speed of 215.397mph.

I think it’s fair to say, I don’t think any of the VTC drivers would be getting near those figures!

VTEC Challenge:

On Saturday 1st October, rounds 13 and 14 were held on the circuits popular “International Super Sports Car Circuit” and as ever the action promised to be thick and fast.

The most commonly used configuration combines long straights, sweeping high-speed bends and a lower speed, highly technical infield section that would allow the less powerful machinery to close up the gap.

For the final round, the series boasted a varied grid of competitors, with the welcome addition of Peter Dixon in the “Tuner class”.

Using Rockingham as an introduction to the VTEC Challenge, Peter was expected to be on the pace of the front running “Tuner” Class entrant Kris Dunlop, and Richard Voaden in his group “A” Integra, who has been the one to beat all season long.

It was a welcome return to the fold for Andy Smith and his “vtecdirect.com” Accord Type R, and Gareth Broadbent in his B18 CRX, who has sat out recent rounds due to a recent “Baby Boom” in the Broadbent house hold. (Congratulations to Gareth & Family)

Entrants:

01 – Andy Smith – Accord Type R (A)
03 – Tim Blowers – DC5 Integra 2000cc (B)
10 – Gareth Broadbent – CRX B18 (B)
11 – Dave Roberts – CRX (D)
24 – Rich Voaden – DC2 Integra 2200 (A)
64 – Rich Chilton – DC2 1800cc (C)
67 – Peter Dixon – Civic VT B16A (Invitation)
70 – Kris Dunlop – EG K20 Civic (T)
98 – Mark Chese – Civic Type R (EP3) (B)

Qualifying:

For the majority of drivers, Rockingham would be a new challenge, and with the daunting prospect of racing alongside the high concrete barriers that run around the perimeter of the circuit into “Turn 1”, it promised to be a test of man and metal.

Qualifying began just before 10am, and the conditions were perfect. The glorious “Indian Summer” that the country had been experiencing in the run up to the weekend had stayed with us, and the sun was shining down on a busy paddock.

With the cars called forward from their respective garages, the stream of Honda’s were led onto track by “R-Motions” Kris Dunlop in the “Tuner” class DX Civic.

All to soon the heat began to take its toll on both cars and drivers, with the temperatures rising into the 30’s, meaning the tyres began to struggle for grip, resulting in some very tail happy Honda’s on the infields tight sections.

Despite his best efforts, Dunlop would have to settle for 2nd place on the grid, as Voaden pipped him to pole by 0.339 sec, and the dark horse “Dixon” rounded out the top 3.

Pole: Rich Voaden – 1.34.982
2nd: Kris Dunlop – 1.35.321
3rd: Peter Dixon – 1.36.272

Race 1:

After following the safety car for the green flag lap, the drivers were positioned in their grid slot and counting down the seconds to the off. With the 5 second board shown, the engine revs rose in anticipation, and with the red lights out, everyone was clean away.

On the outside of Voaden, Dunlop got the “R-Motion” Civic rolling to avoid wheel spin before slotting home 2nd gear and using the torque of the K20 to pull him ahead of Voaden and around the outside of “Turn 1”.

Mark Chese in his Civic Type R made a fantastic start, and came through the pack from 5th to pass Gareth and Peter to take 3rdplace before Peter came back up the inside into “Deene” and retook the position.

Turning into the infield part of the course, everyone got through cleanly, although Robert’s in the CRX did kick up a dust cloud as he took to the grass on the outside of the corner.

Dunlop was now starting to pull out a bit of a lead over Voaden, but the driver from “Performance Autoworks” wasn’t going to give up just yet, and fought back to keep the Civic within contention.

Coming into “Tarzan”, Kris ran wide and Voaden looked up the inside for a way through to “Brook”, but Dunlop saw the threat and accelerated away to hold position. Constantly Dunlop was on the defensive against Voaden, who was looking for the smallest of opportunities, but despite a valiant effort he was unable to find a way past Dunlop.

A later diagnosed split drive shaft gaiter had thrown oil all over the brakes, rendering them useless, which led Voaden to ease up and bring the car home instead of risking a DNF from a mistake in the heat of catching the leader.

Sat comfortably in 3rd place, Peter Dixon and his Civic were on a charge, but a low final drive meant he was bouncing off the rev limiter on the fast outer sector of the circuit, which allowed the battling duo of Dunlop and Voaden to continually put more distance between themselves and Civic driver from Bishop Aukland.

Broadbent in the red CRX, who had recovered from a less than perfect start, began to close on Chese, and within a couple of laps, has overhauled the Civic, but is unable to put any great distance between them. Coming into “Brook” on lap 9, both drivers held their position, and the result was two cars into “Brook” doesn’t go. Although the resulting incident was a light rub, Gareth decided to retire due to an unknown vibration coming from the car.

Rich Chilton in his Class “C” Integra and Andy Smith in his Class “A” Accord were having a close fought battle throughout the race, with the lighter and nimbler Integra worrying the series “heavyweight” on some of the tighter infield sections, but Smith was able to hold off the Integra and put some distance between them on the “oval” section.

Dave Roberts and Tim Blowers diced for position early on, until Roberts managed to find his grove, and pulled out a lead on Tim, who has moved to group B for the final rounds after installing the Yokohama control tyre of the series.

With Voaden dropping back, Dunlop crossed the line 13 seconds ahead for his 2nd race win of the series.

1st: Kris Dunlop – 1.34.645
2nd: Richard Voaden – 1.34.992
3rd: Peter Dixon – 1.35.375

Class wins were awarded to: Kris Dunlop, Rich Voaden, Mark Chese, Rich Chilton and Dave Roberts

With some remedial work required on Rich Voadens Integra, Marks Civic and Gareth’s CRX, the VTC drivers and organisers got stuck in to ensure everyone was back out for race 2.

Race 2:

With Dixon starting from the back row of the grid at his request, the rest of the drivers lined up in their 1st race finishing positions, set to do it all again.

Gareth’s CRX was fully repaired and had taken his position on the back row alongside Dixon.

Dunlop on pole was now on the inside of the grid, with Rich above him and looking to turn the tables on the silver Civic and its driver.

With the race underway, the sound of the VTEC’s echoed around the bowl at Rockingham, as they all screamed away from the line.

Dunlop put paid to Voaden’s plans as again he hooked up perfectly and took off into a lead.

Dixon had shot through from the back row to take Gareth, Tim and Mark before “Denne”.

Into the infield and Gareth and Peter began a race long battle, that saw position swap back and forth, but ended around lap 8 when the Civic driver passed the slower looking CRX around “Turn 1” to take 3rd place.

Mark Chese in the Civic was struggling with a blowing exhaust which was robbing him of some of the Type R’s power. However, he was able to climb up the field to close the gap on the duo of Dixon and Broadbent by the end of the race.

Rich Chilton and Andy Smith were having a repeat performance of race 1 with Chilton eventually crossing the line on the bumper of Andy’s Accord. A great testament to both driver’s skill and respect for one another, as on more than one occasion they wanted the same piece of track!

Dave Roberts pulled away from Tim in the DC5 Integra, and both drivers ran a trouble free race, even if a way back from the leading trio.

Not putting a wheel wrong, Dunlop pulled away from 2nd place Voaden, who on this occasion could find no answer to the pace of the Civic.

So making this his “hat-trick” Dunlop crossed the line to take the win and wrap up the season in the best possible way.

1st: Kris Dunlop – 1.34.304
2nd: Rich Voaden – 1.34.815
3rd: Peter Dixon – 1.35.846

Class wins were awarded to: Kris Dunlop, Rich Voaden, Mark Chese, Gareth Broadbent and Dave Roberts

Summary:

The inaugural season of the VTEC Challenge has come to a close, so if you’re thinking of racing a Honda, or want to know more, drop onto www.VTECChallenge.co.uk and get the low down on what the VTEC is all about.

With registrations for 2012 opening soon, there is already a buzz about what next year will bring.

Words: Jonathan Fletcher
Pictures: Lindsey Bridger

Vaughan Fletcher No:16 @Rockingham 2^nd October 2011

On the 2^nd October, Rockingham played host to the final round of the 2011 BARC’s “Classic Thunder” Championship, which was part of a full weekends racing.

The season has unfolded at such a pace, and now we end our “CT” year at Rockingham in Northamptonshire, on the “International Super Sports car Circuit”.

The most commonly used configuration combines long straights, sweeping high-speed bends and a lower speed, but highly technical infield section that would allow the less powerful machinery to close up the gaps.

The international motorsport venue was the first purpose built race track in the UK since the famous circuit of Brooklands was opened back in 1907, and 2011 marks the 10 year anniversary of the circuit that lays claim to being “Europe’s Fastest Racing Circuit”. This is due to the yet unbeaten lap record for the 1.5 mile oval set on the 22nd September 2001 by Tony Kanaan in his Ford/Lola Champ Car. The resulting record stands at 24.719 seconds at an average speed of 215.397mph! not something any of the Classic Thunder entrants would be close to beating.

Rockingham’s International Super Sportscar Circuit is the layout used by the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, whose recent event saw the fastest lap set by Frank Wrathall in the DynoJet Toyota Avensis with a 1.24.550.

Pre Race:

Following Cadwell, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Vaughan had received “Driver of the Day” for his part in the “Classic Thunder” event at Cadwell, so a big thank you to “Track Driver” for their award.

In addition to this, the car needed a bit of work before we ventured out at Rockingham.

A new Screen was needed, following the appearance of a huge crack due to flying debris, and the brake cooling was also on the receiving end of some cosmetic changes. The oils in the engine, gearbox and diff’s were also replaced as a preventative measure.

Race Day:

Having never raced at Rockingham before, it would take some time to set the car up and for Vaughan to get accustomed to the circuit. With the challenges of the high speed banking, along with the tricky infield section, qualifying would be a hard fought task.

With the mercury rising, it was decided to change the car’s settings to allow for maximum airflow into the engine bay.

We checked the suspension and made some minor adjustments to the camber to get what we thought would be the best set up. The tyre pressures were also lowered in an attempt to keep them from overheating later on in the session.

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of:

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

We rolled onto the circuit at the start to “Turn 1” ahead of Keith Butcher and his super quick Nissan Primera Super Touring.

With 31 cars on circuit, it didn’t take long to be among traffic as they looked to set their own fastest lap time. Fortunately around the banking, the Subaru could stretch its legs and power past some of the slower machinery without them causing any hold ups.

5 laps from the end, we started to encounter problems with the brakes, and they needed pumping to get a pedal firm enough to scrub off the speed carried around some of the quicker sections of the circuit.

Qualified 1st in class

Qualified 6th overall

Fastest lap: 1.30.982 on lap 5 of 9

Checking the condition of the tyre’s showed that there were some small changes we could do to help the car’s handling, but the pressing issue was that we had no brakes and not enough spare fluid to bleed the system fully. (Oh, there was plenty in the motor home!)

There were no obvious signs why the brakes should have stopped working, so bleeding them was the only reasonable solution.

Thankfully fellow competitor Craig Rainer from the “Pro-Driver Blue Oval Saloons” became our saviour with enough fluid to complete the task.

Round 12:

With 28 cars on the grid, getting clean away would be the key to holding position, or indeed making up a place or two around the banked circuit.

On the outside of the circuit, and alongside Joss Ronchetti in the “Bullet”, we knew it’d be hard fought to overhaul him, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

As the safety car peeled into the pits, and the lights went out, the thunderous roar of all 29 cars echoed around the bowl of the Rockingham circuit and everyone peeled around “Turn 1” for the first time.

Andy Robinson in his Australian Falcon touring car, used all of the V8’s torque to slingshot him into the lead.

Vaughan held his position on the banking, before dropping down for the first corner “Denne”.

With everyone safely through, Vaughan soon caught up with Joss, and challenged for 5^th place on the run into “Chapman Curve”, however when Vaughan checked his mirrors, the front of the Bullet was just far alongside to allow him to take the line and Vaughan chose to ease off instead of risking contact with his fellow competitor.

Coming up from behind was the Sierra Cosworth of Graham Wait, who looked up the inside at “Tarzan”, but was unable to pass as Vaughan accelerated up towards the “Brook” chicane. Graham retired the following lap with a very smokey engine.

Fellow A4 competitor Ian Froggatt then began to close up on Vaughan, and was visibly quicker around the banking, however he was unable to capitalise on his advantage. Battling over the course of several laps the duo drove a close fought, but clean race. Unfortunately, mechanical gremlins crept in and Ian was forced to retire on lap 8.

For the remaining laps, Vaughan drove through traffic, closing up to the 5^th place Alfa of Adrian Hawkings and Keith Butcher who was marginally ahead in 4^th place.

With a 3 way battle for 4^th place, the traffic was working in Vaughan’s favour, however the loss of braking again meant the last few laps required more concentration than normal to anticipate each move, and combined with the tyres beginning to loose their grip, a finish was more important than the risk of a DNF due to going off.

Finished 1^st in class

Finished 6^th overall

Fastest lap: 1.32.112 sec on lap 10 of 10

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Pictures: Lindsey Bridger

Formula Ford front runner Dan de Zille will be teaming up with Fortec Motorsport to do the Renault Winter Series this November.

After three years of Formula Ford and some very impressive Sports-car racing results, automotive engineering student Dan has his sights set on testing his skills at a higher level.

Richard Dutton of Fortec commented” The Winter Series is a great opportunity for drivers to get a feel for the Renault Championships and learn to qualify and start”

The Winter series events start the first weekend of November with an intensive weekend of four races at Snetterton followed by an event at Rockingham the following weekend with a further 2 races. Dan will also have the benefit of three days solid testing leading up to the first round at Snetterton so there will be lots of track time to get used to the new car.

“The main difference with the car is getting used to the down-force, the Formula Ford cars have no downforce and the Formula Renault cars have both slicks and wings.”

“Since Dan was a front runner in Formula Ford, I see no reason why he should not do just as well in Formula Renault, there will be plenty of data to look at and he will have strong teammates to compare against, he will also have the same technician working alongside him throughout whom he can trust and rely on”

The first event will be at Snetterton on 5th November. After his seat fitting last week Dan commented “I am very excited about the Renault Winter Series, Fortec have a good reputation and I am looking forward to the new challenge, new faces and learning all about the new car, testing my driving ability on a higher level”

TECH-SPEED SECURES THIRD PODIUM AT ROCKINGHAM

The GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed Motorsport team secured its third podium finish of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season on a strong weekend of racing at Rockingham, where the team also picked up its first Independent victory of the 2011 campaign.

After a difficult weekend a fortnight earlier at Knockhill, the Rockingham weekend marked the best of the season for the Leamington Spa-based team, with Widnes-racer Paul O’Neill finishing inside the top seven in all three races and coming within a lap of taking a double podium.

The weekend started well for Paul when he put his Chevrolet Cruze on the front row of the grid in qualifying, taking second on the times behind defending champion Jason Plato. A slightly slow getaway when the lights went out allowed Rob Austin’s Audi to get ahead on the long run round the oval to the turn two hairpin, although contact with the Audi further round the opening lap saw Paul move back into second place.

Despite a mid-race Safety Car period, Paul held position throughout and – although unable to challenge Plato for victory – was comfortably clear of the fight for third behind. The second place finish matched his best result of the season and also saw the GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed team take the Independents class victory for the first time this year; having finished second in class on three separate occasions.

Running with extra ballast in his car for race two as a result, Paul held position through the first lap before dropping behind the Honda of Gordon Shedden on lap two. As the race wore on, the impact of the extra weight began to have more of an impact as tyre wear worked against him and Paul slipped down to seventh at the chequered flag.

The reverse grid draw however saw Paul start race three from the second row of the grid and a good start saw him climb into third before a slide at turn two dropped him back to fifth place. Getting ahead of Jeff Smith’s Vauxhall on lap two, Paul set about finding a way ahead of the BMW of Rob Collard and eventually made a move stick at Chapman to put him once again into a podium position.

However, Collard was able to reclaim the position on the final lap, although a fourth place finish for Paul – added to his earlier results – gave him his best points haul of the season to date and means he now sits ninth in the championship standings.

“To be honest, 75% of the work was done on Saturday in qualifying as that set us up for race day,” he said. “At Knockhill, we knew we didn’t have the car to challenge and just had to grin and bear it, but we have come here and got the results; I’ve not had a weekend like this for a while.

“I’ve never been a fan of reverse grids, although I know that in the past they have given a small team likes ours a chance – like last year with the Integra. However, with the Chevrolet being a car that has won the title, there is no hiding place and to go out there and get the job done by qualifying at the front and then taking a podium finish is fantastic for the team.

“A bit of inexperience in running with the extra weight worked against me in race two as I pushed too hard, too early and the tyres went off, but seventh was a decent result. At the start of race three I went into the second corner a bit too hot and lost a few places but from there, it was a good fight with Rob and when I got ahead of him, I managed to pull away. However, he got the place back on the last lap and you could see his tyres had hit the sweet spot by the way he just drove up to the top two.

“Overall, it’s been a great weekend and I’d say its been our best of the season because we did great job on both Saturday and Sunday and got the podium finish on both speed and merit. We’ve deserved the results we’ve collected.”

Guernsey-based team-mate John George qualified 21st on the grid at the wheel of the sister car but enjoyed a solid run to 17th in the opening race of the weekend – setting lap-times comparable with Knockhill winner Tom Chilton in the process.

However, an incident on the opening lap of race two – when he was squeezed by two rivals into the hairpin at Deene and then hit from behind, saw him forced to make an unscheduled trip to the pits, which dropped him off the lead lap.

Having taken the chequered flag in 19th place, John followed it up with 22nd in race three as he picked up three finishes from the weekend to end a recent run of tough results.

“The car had good pace this weekend but we didn’t get it quite right with the tyres in qualifying after the shower that arrived before hand,” he said. “I’d just put new tyres on when the red flag came out and then there were only three minutes left so I didn’t get the best out of them. Paul had put new tyres on a few minutes earlier and that was the perfect call, but its one of those things.

“Race day was promising at the start and race one was good but then in race two I got squeezed into the hairpin and got turned round. There was some damage to the back of the car so I had to pit which was a shame and then in race three, I had really bad understeer from the start for some reason and it got worse as the race wore on and the tyres went away from me.

“In all three races, I made a really good start off the line and it’s just a shame that I wasn’t able to get the results.”

The results over the course of the weekend mean the GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed team now sits eighth in the HiQ Teams Championship while the gap to big budget rivals Team Aon in the race for fifth place in the Independents’ standings has also come down ahead of the penultimate meeting of the year on the Brands Hatch GP circuit.

“That was a much better weekend than in Scotland,” team boss Marvin Humphries said. “Paul’s performance in qualifying was excellent to put the car on the front row, and it made all the difference as track position is what its all about. The boys have worked really hard on the cars and in race one, it was really good to see Paul up on the podium for the third time this year.

“We didn’t have the set-up quite right in race two and he wasn’t used to running with the extra weight and then in race three, he did the hard work to get ahead of Collard but then started to suffer with a bit of a traction issue and it meant Rob could come back at him. However, he finished the race ahead of Jason [Plato] which is a big positive and we’ll take the results we’ve gained.”

Pics: Chris Wynne

The AmD Milltek Racing.com team showed strong pace throughout the latest rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham only to come away from the eighth meeting of the 2011 season without any points to its name.

On his third outing for the West Thurrock-based team, former Clio Cup champion Martin Byford produced his most competitive performances of the season but was left to rue an incident on the opening lap of both race one and race two which hit his hopes of breaking into the top ten for the first time.

Colchester-racer Martin enjoyed easily his best qualifying result of the season on Saturday as he secured tenth on the grid for the first race of the weekend but was then caught out on the opening lap when an incident ahead saw him make contact with a rival car and dislodged the bonnet on his turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf.

Having managed to return to the pits despite having the open bonnet blocking his view, Martin was able to rejoin the race – albeit a lap down from the rest of the field – and took the chequered flag in 20th place.

Unfortunately for Martin, another incident ahead on the opening lap of race two again hit his hopes of a points finish after a coming together ahead resulted in contact with the Chevrolet of John George. With a broken bonnet catch, Martin was forced to return to the pits but then produced a fine drive to bring himself back level with the remainder of the field; posting the sixth fastest lap of the race but taking the chequered flag in 18th after his earlier delay.

Contact on the opening lap of race three saw the VW slip down to 20th place before Martin started making forward progress, although he spent much of the race on the end of a train of cars fighting for position in the midfield.

Running in 19th for a long spell, Martin finally managed to battle ahead of the Ford of Michael Caine and the struggling Honda of championship leader Gordon Shedden before a last lap move saw him claim 16th from Knockhill race winner Tom Chilton – again showing strong race pace with the Golf despite spending the full 16 laps in traffic and with damage to the bodywork sustained in race two affecting his straight-line speed.

“It was difficult to come back from what happened in race one,” he said. “Race two was equally frustrating given the pace we showed in the car and then in race three, I lost out when I got hit at turn two and it meant I was in a train of traffic throughout. It’s a real shame because the car was really strong this weekend and in the final race, when I got ahead of Caine, I was able to pull away and make up places; it was nice to get ahead of someone like Tom Chilton before the end. Although we lost out a bit on the oval, we had genuine pace in the car and with a better result in race one, we would have been in the points.

“The team has done a really good job this weekend and has taken a methodical approach to working through the programme we had. We’ve been on the pace since qualifying and we have unlocked a lot of potential in the car, we just weren’t able to make the most of it.”

Team boss Shaun Hollamby was left frustrated by the failure to score points on what had been a strong weekend for the Volkswagen squad, but with the team’s home circuit of Brands Hatch coming up next in a fortnight’s time, hopes remain high of a strong performance on the iconic GP circuit.

“In the BTCC, you need to basically treat the three races as one because they all have an effect on each other – given that your starting positions are dependent on earlier results,” he said. “You’ve got to finish, and finish well, and we were on the back foot after the first lap of race one which was a shame. The pace Martin showed on track was really good, especially in the second race, and he made the most of the fact that we have a strong chassis with the Golf. What we now need to do is make sure we get all we can from the engine, as we just lost out a bit through the speed traps.

“It’s disappointing that we haven’t scored points this weekend given the steps forwards we have taken again, but Brands Hatch GP circuit should suit us down to the ground and as our home circuit, we’re hoping for a strong weekend there.”

Hankey does Carrera Cup GB double at Rockingham

Euan Hankey completed a perfect weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Sunday 18 September) with his second race victory in the space of a little over three hours.

In a race full of superb racing and fierce contests, Jonas Gelzinis completed a Pro-Am1 double and Yucel Ozbek took his second Pro-Am2 win of the day and his fighting performance earned the Turkish racer the ‘driver of the weekend’ award. Parker with Juta took the ‘team of the weekend’ award.

Once again, Hankey (Parker with Juta) shot off the grid to lead the opening lap, but James Sutton (SAS/Redline) had a mighty first couple of corners to jump into second place from Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) and Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline). As Hankey and Sutton pulled clear, they ran neck and neck for much of the race and in late race lappery Sutton almost dived ahead. But Hankey drove another superb race and won by just three-tenths of a second after a nail-biting finish. “What a day,” said an elated Hankey. “Massive hats off to James; that’s probably one of the hardest races I’ve ever had.” Sutton had pressured Hankey right through the race. “All the work was done at the start,” said Sutton. “Euan drove a very smart race and it was always going to be difficult but I thought I might get him in the traffic.”

As many as five cars ran in close formation for third as Jelley bagged the final podium position from Meadows, Gelzinis (Juta Racing), Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) and Ben Hetherington (Oman Air/Redline). “That was better than the first race,” said title contender Jelley. “I’ve got to push hard at Brands,” he added of the penultimate weekend of the season. Meanwhile, Gelzinis completed a double win in Pro-Am1. “I’m happy to be in the top five overall,” said Gelzinis, who was always in touch with Meadows.

For once, Derek Pierce (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) had a clear run to take second in Pro-Am1 from eighth overall as Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) completed the Pro-Am1 podium. “A lonely race is a good race,” said Pierce, who has had his share of dramas in recent races. Motorbase Performance racers George Richardson and Daniele Perfetti took fourth and fifth as Perfetti had one of his best weekends to date in the Carrera Cup GB.

The absorbing contest in Pro-Am2 was a highlight of the race and finally resulted in a second victory for Ozbek after he fought back from an early spin. “I was watching someone else spinning,” explained Ozbek of his indiscretion. With George Brewster (Celtic Speed) forced to pit twice with punctures and Keith Webster (Redline Racing) having to stop to have an advertising hoarding removed from the front of the car, it was guest racer Chris Dyer (Parr Motorsport) who grabbed the Pro-Am2 lead after keeping out of trouble in the early laps. But Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and the recovering Ozbek fought up ahead of Dyer and then Ozbek tigered ahead of Parish after a tremendous battle. When Dyer spun, Webster was able to take the final podium position. “It was a great battle with Steve; a very fair battle,” said Ozbek after a mighty drive. “Brilliant fun,” added Parish. “That’s what we do it for.”

Hankey wins in Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham

Euan Hankey dominated round 14 of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Rockingham today (Sunday 18 September) with an emphatic lights-to-flag victory as championship leader Michael Meadows led the pursuit.

In a race full of battling and place changing through the field, there was success for international racers as Jonas Gelzinis (Lithuania) bagged another Pro-Am1 victory and Yucel Ozbek (Turkey) clinched his first Pro-Am2 win.

Hankey (Parker with Juta) set the seal on his victory with a peach of a start to lead the field through the banked Turn One and into the tight Deane Hairpin. In his wake, Meadows (SAS/Redline) slotted into second and Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) briefly dived ahead of James Sutton (SAS/Redline) to take third. But in the melee at Deane on the opening lap Sutton went boldly around the outside to regain third place.

Hankey immediately stamped his authority on the race and went away on the opening lap. “I’ve got to make a habit of these starts,” said Hankey, who was able to control the race from the front. “I managed to get a lead on the first lap and concentrated on consolidating that.” While Hankey edged his lead out to around three seconds, Meadows was secure in second but life was anything but secure for Sutton in third. Having squeezed ahead of Jelley on the opening lap, Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) set about challenging Sutton for the final podium position and chased the SAS car for lap after lap. “Richard kept me honest all the race,” said Sutton, who was only able to put space between himself and Plant during late race lappery.

“Our pace was good all the way through,” said Hankey after a clear run to victory. “Massive thanks go to Team Parker Racing.” For Meadows, second place and fastest lap maintained his championship lead. “I just need to keep doing this,” said Meadows. Sutton completed the overall podium from the impressive Plant. “I couldn’t get past Sutton, but I can’t knock that result,” said Plant. Jelley ran fifth, but gradually dropped away from the battle between Sutton and Plant, while Kieran Vernon (Nationwide/Motorbase) continued his strong qualifying form to take sixth.

Gelzinis (Juta Racing) always led Pro-Am1, but in overall terms he challenged Vernon and, at the same time, battled to fend off Ben Hetherington (Oman Air/Redline). On the final lap, Hetherington attacked at Tarzan and, after contact, Gelzinis ran wide and lost the place. Hetherington was later given a time penalty to reverse the positions. “It was more or less okay, but on the last lap he touched me,” confirmed Gelzinis.

There was drama in the battle for the other Pro-Am1 podium places as Derek Pierce (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker) came back from a first lap knock to fend off Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline) and Alex Martin (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker). Eventually, contact from behind put Al Harthy out with a rear puncture and then, on the last lap, contact between Martin and Pierce sent them both spinning. All of that opened the door for George Richardson (Motorbase Performance) to nip through to second as Pierce recovered to salvage third. “I had a slow front puncture and I was just nursing it home,” admitted Richardson. The unfortunate Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) ran a secure second for much of the race before being forced into the pits with a rear puncture.

Ozbek (Redline Racing) drove a faultless race to win Pro-Am1 for the first time. “It was a good clean race,” said Ozbek. “I did not know where to be on the first lap, but I survived!” With George Brewster (Celtic Speed) delayed after being tipped off on the first lap, Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) fended off the closing Keith Webster (Redline Racing) to complete the Pro-Am2 podium.

Hankey claims Carrera Cup GB poles at Rockingham

Euan Hankey was the star of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in qualifying at Rockingham today (Saturday 17 September) ahead of rounds 14 and 15 of the championship.

Hankey (Parker with Juta) claimed a superb double pole ahead of his key title rivals, with championship leader Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) taking second place for both races. Meanwhile, Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) claimed a double pole in Pro-Am1 and Yucel Ozbek (Redline Racing) topped Pro-Am2 for both races.

Hankey was in superb form as the only driver to break the 1m20s mark and he did it twice to make certain of pole for both races. “It’s been a long time coming to get everything back on track,” he said. “The races will be a real challenge and I’ve just got to do the job tomorrow.” Meadows was close in second as the opening half of the session delivered the best lap times. “Euan pipped us today, but the front row is always good,” said Meadows. “There is a possibility of rain tomorrow and that will be a bit of an unknown.”

James Sutton (SAS/Redline) was third for the opening race, but slipped to a frustrated fifth for the second race. Fellow title contender Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) was fourth for both races, while Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) jumped up to third place on the second grid. “I did my best, but there is still more to come,” said Plant ahead of his first race at the Corby track. Jelley was content enough to be in the mix and predicted that tyre wear during the races would be critical. “I think we’re looking alright for the races; I saved the tyres as much as I could,” said Jelley.

With his best qualifying performance to date, Kieran Vernon (Nationwide/Motorbase) was a fine fifth for race one ahead of Plant. “That’s a big, big improvement,” said Vernon after a session when less than half a second covered the top eight drivers. Gelzinis and Sam Tordoff (Team Parker Racing) joined the drivers to lap within half a second of Hankey’s standard.

Gelzinis again topped Pro-Am1, but felt he could have been further up overall for the opening race. “I went too fast into the chicane and lost my best lap,” he said. “But there is more chance to overtake here than at Knockhill,” added the Lithuanian racer. Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) was second fastest in Pro-Am1 for both races as he built his Rockingham experience; Friday’s test sessions were his first time on the track in the 450bhp 911 GT3 Cup. “I’m learning the circuit every time and I’ll be very happy if it is wet tomorrow,” said the Scot. Third places in Pro-Am1 went to Daniele Perfetti (Motorbase Performance) and Derek Pierce (Dextra/JD Pierce by Parker); with Perfetti having his best qualifying run so far in the Carrera Cup.

Ozbek was very impressive in taking both Pro-Am2 poles, lapping around six-tenths of a second faster than his category rivals. But the Turkish racer still wanted to be faster. “I improved again, but I want to be further up overall,” he said. Behind Ozbek came his team mate Keith Webster as Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance) and George Brewster (Celtic Speed) shared the third places. “My team mate beat me to pole, but I improved again,” said Webster. “It’s just about confidence around here,” added Webster.

Tordoff wins Michelin award in Carrera Cup at Rockingham

Sam Tordoff is the latest Porsche Carrera Cup GB racer to benefit from Michelin’s on-going support of the championship by winning a set of tyres this weekend at Rockingham (17/18 September).

Tordoff, driving for Team Parker Racing, was new to the Carrera Cup GB at the start of 2011 and has made fine progress in his learning season. The 22-year old former karter from Leeds is currently lying seventh in the overall championship standings and has a best result to date of third overall at the Nurburgring in June.

Having been the control tyre supplier for the Carrera Cup GB since the championship was created in 2003, Michelin is once more supporting the teams and drivers with the award of a complete set of slick racing tyres at each event. Before the start of testing, a name is drawn from a hat to receive the tyres, with a value of more than £1200.

Meadows heads Carrera Cup GB test at Rockingham

With the four title contenders posting times in the top five, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB is poised for two more hugely competitive at Rockingham this weekend after testing today (Friday 16 September) ahead of rounds 14 and 15 of the championship.

Championship leader Michael Meadows (SAS/Redline) ended the day at the head of the times, but only by 0.159s from Euan Hankey (Parker with Juta) and his SAS team mate James Sutton. In Pro-Am1 Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing) set the pace, while at the top of Pro-Am2 was Yucel Ozbek (Redline Racing).

“It’s going to be very close,” said Meadows. “Everyone is in the mix. We left it late this afternoon to run the new tyres; we were mostly concentrating on race runs before that.” Hankey was equally pleased with his day’s work. “I’m really happy with that,” said Hankey. “We were fastest on old tyres and I had a moment at Turn 2 on my best lap.”

Sutton was within a quarter of a second of his team mate thanks to his best morning lap. “There is always a better lap there but I think we’re really, really strong,” said Sutton. Meanwhile, Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) was right in contention in fourth slot ahead of his first race at the Corby track. “I wasn’t expecting that for my first time here,” said Plant. “I can’t ask for more than to be up where I am,” he added.

Title contender Stephen Jelley (Parker with Juta) was fifth from Gelzinis, Sam Tordoff (Team Parker Racing), Ben Hetherington (Oman Air/Redline) and Kieran Vernon (Nationwide/Motorbase). Gelzinis had a useful margin of four-tenths of a second over his category rivals Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) and Ahmad Al Harthy (Oman Air/Redline), with Butcher showing excellent form ahead of his Rockingham debut.

In Pro-Am2 Ozbek had strong pace to head the field, but only by a tenth of a second from his Redline Racing team mate Keith Webster. “I improved a little bit from this morning,” said the Turkish racer. “I did some changes in the car and in my mind,” he added. Preparing for his first race at Rockingham, Webster was pleased with progress. “The car feels absolutely brilliant; but the wall at Turn One is a bit distracting!” Points’ leader George Brewster (Celtic Speed) narrowly took third in Pro-Am2 from Steve Parish (Motorbase Performance).

DPR driver Mark Shaw dominated free practice and followed through with pole and a race pace some 0.4 seconds better than the next fastest man on track. However Shaw suffered a drive through penalty for a breach of track limits. Shaw recovered to 2nd place but Orton was the man who was gifted the chequered flag. With the wet conditions in race two, Orton demonstrated his mastery of the track leading from the front and soon developing a lead that became unassailable. It was left to Brannan, Superlight newcomer Maclachlan and McMillan to entertain with a struggle for second place that lasted almost the entire 30 minutes although it was Brannan (2nd) followed by Maclachlan (3rd) that gained the edge in the final stages to claim the remaining podium positions.

Caterham Superlight R300 – Rockingham

Mark Shaw dominated free practice being the fastest man in three out of the four practice sessions. This was followed through in qualifier with a pole time of 1:28.724 which was 0.237 better than second placed Jamie Orton.

After a race one start which saw Shaw drop briefly back to 4th, he soon moved into the lead with lap times consistently in the 1:29 zone to open up a lead over the championship leader Jamie Orton. Shaw’s time of 1.29.035 claimed the fastest lap with a comfortable margin of 0.4 seconds over the best lap put in by Orton. However Shaw’s progress from race leader to race winner was terminated by a drive through penalty imposed for breach of track limits. Notwithstanding the harshness of the drive-through penalty, Shaw’s pace allowed him to climb back to second place to finish the race just 3.6 seconds behind race winner Jamie Orton.

The wet conditions in race two provided Orton with the opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of the track and Orton soon became the inevitable race winner with a commanding lead over the rest of the field. It was left to Brannan, Maclachlan and McMillan to provide the entertainment of a closely fought race. In the closing stages of the race it was the Maclachlan battle with Brannan for second place that deservedly gained attention.

Mark Shaw said “It was a pity that the drive-through penalty determined the outcome of race one. However it was rewarding to be so demonstrably on the pace given the depth of quality competition on this grid. I now need to replicate my dry weather pace in wet conditions.”

James Maclachlan said “I came to Rockingham with low expectations given my limited testing. However I had made use of driver coaching together with video and data to extract the most from pre-race testing. This undeniably paid back particularly in the challenging conditions for race two. I was trying hard to move up to second but was resisted to the end by Paul Brannan.”

DTM will thrill the Brands Hatch crowd this weekend

A number of big meets this weekend.

Brands Hatch – DTM – the German Touring Cars come to the UK once again

Rockingham – British F3 and British GT

Knockhill – British Touring Car Championships

There are a number of smaller events going on as well…

Oulton Park – BRSCC meeting on Saturday

Thruxton – BARC meeting, including BARC Formula Renault

Cadwell Park – BARC club meeting on Saturday, Bikes on Sunday

Croft – Toyota Sprint Series on Sunday

Anglesey – Lancashire & Cheshire Car Club & MG Car Club sprint

Castle Combe – bikes on Saturday

Snetterton – bikes

United Autosports Look To Maintain Championship Lead As BGT Resumes After Summer Break

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship roars back into action after an eight-week summer lay-off with United Autosports’ series leading duo Matt Bell (GB) and Mike Guasch (USA) hungry to add to their already impressive points haul.

Bell & Guasch enjoy a slender two-point lead with four races remaining – which includes the two, one-hour races at Rockingham.

The event marks the first time United Autosports and the Audi R8 LMS have ever raced on the 1.94-mile track near Corby, Northamptonshire, but Bell and Guasch are eager to add to their impressive results tally; victory (Snetterton), second (Oulton Park), third (Oulton Park), fourth and sixth placings (both Spa).

Meanwhile racing returnees John Bintcliffe and Jay Palmer are aiming to improve on their best placing of fifth place (Snetterton) to haul themselves inside the championship top-10 in what is the Anglo-American team’s maiden BGT season.

A field in excess of 22 cars is expected at Rockingham with 16 of them contesting the top-level GT3 category. Rockingham’s twin races are the last one-hour events on the British GT calendar: in late September the crews face their toughest test of the year, a three-hour classic at Donington Park, which will be followed by a two-hour curtain closer at Silverstone in October.

Avon Tyres British GT Championship (after six rounds):

1 Matt Bell & Mike Guasch, 90.5-points

2 Geddie/Geddie, 88.5pts

3 Griffin/Cameron, 76pts

12 John Bintcliffe & Jay Palmer, 23pts

Provisional Timetable:

Saturday September 3 – 0900-1000 Practice 1; 1145-1245 Practice; 1620-1655 Qualifying

Sunday September 4 – 1000-1010 Warm-up; 1250-1350 Race 1; 1625-1725 Race 2

* All times are UK “local”

#23 Molecule – Audi R8 LMS

Matt Bell (GB). Age: 21. Born: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, T&W. Lives: Barningham, N. Yorks, England:

“I’ve had two rounds of the FIA GT3 series plus the Spa 24 Hours to keep me busy since the last BGT race. I raced at Rockingham in last season’s Ginetta G50 Championship but tested the Audi pre-season there this year. The title race is very close so Mike and I must avoid any non-scores. That said, we’ll focus on winning rather than settling for points. We have some very experienced and quick competitors chasing us, so if we take our foot off the gas it will give them the upper hand heading into the final races. I would prefer to be at the top heading into the last round than chasing the leaders!”

Michael Guasch (USA). Age: 53. Born: Palo Alto, California. Lives: Walnut Creek, California, USA:

“I have twice tested at Rockingham, neither occasion in the R8 LMS, and found the track fun to drive. It has a little bit of everything – tight and technical turns plus high-speed ones and I believe the Audi will work well there. Since Spa, I’ve been testing my Pro Formula Mazda back home in California to stay in shape and will also take in a Formula Car Challenge Race at Infineon Raceway in California this coming weekend. The BGT Championship appears to get more competitive with every race. We must push hard, especially in qualifying.”

#24 Teknavo – Audi R8 LMS

John Bintcliffe (GB). Age: 45. Born: Bridlington, E. Yorks. Lives: Harrogate, N. Yorkshire, England & Jay Palmer (GB). Age: 38. Born: Harrogate. Lives: Harrogate & London, England / Barbados.

Richard Dean (GB), Managing Director & Co-Owner of United Autosports:

“Our team has been busy since Spa BGT, taking in two FIA races at Paul Ricard, the Spa 24 Hours, and then another two FIA races in Slovakia. We also competed in a GRAND-AM race at Watkins Glen, so have been busy both sides of the Atlantic. This event will mark United Autosports’ first races at Rockingham and happens to be the only track in the UK that I haven’t personally raced at. We tested there earlier in the year but unfortunately our running was restricted by fog! We have led the British series since May but haven’t won since May so I think that confirms points mean prizes. We must be mindful of strong finishes are preferable to going for individual glory. I believe our pace is getting better and the Balance of Performance is getting more even as the season progresses. Rockingham should suit the Audi so I think two podiums are within our reach.”

16^th July  2011 – Typical British weather, torrential rain for qualifying and blistering heat for the races was the order of the day at Rockingham.

Pic: Rachel Horgan

Group 2

22 year old, Student David Robinson pipped championship leader Andy Welch to the post to claim pole position on the last lap of Qualifying. Meanwhile Rob Oliver seemed well suited to the wet conditions and lined up third on the grid.

Oliver didn’t get away well, while Alex Macindoe executed a perfect start and jumped into the lead from fourth. Rob Smith, Welch, Robinson and Paul Thacker were all hot on his heels. As the pack filtered into the tight Deene hairpin on the second lap, Macindoe spun out elegantly without collecting any of the following cars. He re-joined back down in thirteenth, handing the lead to Welch. Welch remained in the lead for the complete duration of the race despite early advances from Robinson. The leading pair created air between themselves whilst they also pulled away from the chasing pack in a rather uncharacteristic way for Caterham racing. This meant the battle for third heated up considerably, Rob Smith was under pressure from the storming Brad Smith who had made his way through the field after a miserable twelfth place qualifying. It was a game of Chicken as the pair dived into Deene hairpin, who could brake later? Brad Smith won the game and set about trying to close the large gap between him and the leaders. Welch took the win, followed by Robinson who was over ten seconds ahead of Brad Smith. Welch remains top of the table, he has been on the podium at every round, has won both races and also set the fastest lap at both events. Can he be beaten?

Pic: Rachel Horgan

Group 1

Charles Bowmont (The victor at Brads Hatch) took pole, Mark Lewis lined up alongside him with Charlie King in third. Championship leader, Elliott Norris was in seventh place with main championship rival Rob Chappell behind him in ninth.

As they funnelled into Deene for the first time, Lewis pirouetted from second place, all made it past unscathed and the nail biting action was able to continue.

Bowmont held the early lead, with King eager to pass, constantly looking to the inside of Bowmont. Paul Hawthorne spun, dropping from second to seventh, this promoted Oliver Lymington into third. Lymington’s mirrors were filled by Chappell as the pair diced for position.

David Allott’s race ended in the Pif-Paf gravel trap, the safety car was called while they recovered it. This bunched all the cars back up into a tight Caterham crocodile working in Norris’ favour. He had been cruising back in sixth looking unlikely to confront the leaders, now he was only inches behind them.  Like a lightning bolt, he shot up to third once the race re-started. Lymington spun after contact with Achille Corbellati, dashing his chances of a podium. The fierce battle for the lead was now between the two Charlies and Poker expert, Norris. King lead the trio into Brook, with Norris stuck to his bumper and Bowmont just behind. Norris made a slight error and lost momentum having to concentrate on defending rather than attacking as they crossed the line. Charlie King was the King of Rockingham winning by 0.927 from Norris, who was delighted with his recovery drive, punching the air as he crossed the line. Bowmont settled for third and another trophy to add to his collection. Norris leads the championship and there are now only six points between Chappell and Bowmont.

Next Round: Snetterton 300 – 13^th/14^th August

Oulton Park
MSVR Blast in the Park club meeting. Featuring the GT Trophy Endurance Race, Monoposto single seaters, Production BMW and Project 8 Racing Saloons, VAG Trophy

Brands Hatch
HSCC Superprix. Held on the GP circuit, the HSCC Superprix has a number of top class races including older F1 cars, classic F3 and Group C legends.

Rockingham
BARC Dunlop meeting

Donington Park
750MC Club meeting

Goodwood Festival of Speed
The GFOS is back again, featuring a selection of world class cars, both modern and historic, on the famous hillclimb and rally course.

Snetterton & Cadwell Park
Bikes

Pembrey
BRSCC Club meeting - Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship, BRSCC Euro Saloons & Sports Car Championship, BRSCC OSS Championship, Welsh Saloons & Sports Car Club

Anglesey
BARC club meeting

Harewood
Car hill climb

Sean and Michael McInerney took GT, and overall victory in their new Ferrari 430 GT completing 100 laps of Rockingham, with the last 30-odd of them closely fought with team MJC in a very exciting race. Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson won Production in their BMW M3 by two laps over the Phillips / Storey Lotus Elise in the combined 2 ½ hour race on a very warm spring day on Saturday.

Victory didn’t come easily for the returning McInerney’s, who undertook only a handful of Britcar races last year in their Mosler. Changing to a Ferrari for economical reasons for this season, they didn’t take part in the first round at Silverstone three weeks ago. Indeed, it seemed as if their participation at Rockingham was in doubt, after having to start from the pitlane due to starter motor troubles flooding the engine.

Before we got to the start of the race, we had already lost some entrants. The Saxon Motorsport BMW had engine problems during testing on Friday, and was unable to take any further part in proceedings. During qualifying the Bullrun Ferrari had a cam belt failure, dropping oil everywhere and causing a red flag to bring the session to a halt, and ensuring the team were heading off home early.

Qualifying ended with Javier Morcillo & Manuel Cintrano on pole in the Neil Garner / Ateca Motorsport Mosler, seven tenths ahead of another Mosler – the Paul White / Calum Lockie Strata 21 entry. Taking the class two pole was the only Dodge Viper in the field, 1.5 seconds off the pole time lining up just ahead of the Flat 6 Rapier.

Row three consisted of the Backdraft Racing Lamborghini and the McInerney’s in their Ferrari. Starting in 7^th was Team MJC in another Ferrari 430, Keith Robinson not concerned by their position on the grid: “We started down in 7^th for the 24hour and that worked out fine. Should be ok, fingers crossed!”

Taking the Production pole, and 12^th overall was the recently reclassified (down from GT class 3) Topcats Racing Ginetta G50, three tenths but two places ahead of fellow Production class one entries Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson in their BMW, who didn’t make Silverstone and are unsure of how much of the Britcar season they will be able to take part in given a loss of a sponsor over the winter.

Sandwiched in the middle was the #46 Lotus Elise of Chris Headlam and Jamie Stanley, who found their bad luck had continued. An upright bolt broke, sending the upright itself straight through the oil filter during qualifying. The damage was fixed in time for the race but while going out to the grid the ball joint broke, and with the speed of the banking it wasn’t worth the risk in sending the car out. “We started the first race last year with a road car, and so we expected some issues last year, but were hoping we would have fewer problems this year.” Jamie said.

Another Ginetta started 16^th overall – this one being the Reflex Racing G50, just two places ahead of Silverstone Production winners Mark & Peter Cunningham in their Seat Leon Supercopa, who were just two tenths behind. Due to an error in registration the Cunninghams, who had deliberately added weight and de-tuned their car over the winter to drop down into class 2, found themselves listed as being class 1, and so the extra ballast was taken back out again, and the engine tuned back up and they will run in Production class 1 for the rest of the season. Hoping for a podium place, and planning on running a one stop race Mark found himself causing a safety car on lap 20 when a suspension arm broke and completely sheared the wheel rim off. After spending a long time in the pits they did manage to get back out again and went on to complete 69 laps.

Not lasting even that long was the Honda Jazz of Synchro motorsport. Having had an engine change during the morning, Dave Allan made the start of the race but didn’t even manage a lap, pulling off at turn one.

At the race start Manuel Cintrano took the first stint, for the first time, and he had dropped down to 7^th by the end of lap one. This put Calum Lockie, taking the first stint in the Strata 21 Mosler up to first, Aaron Scott in GT3’s Dodge Viper up into second and Michael Millard up to third in the Rapier.

Making an excellent start was Andy Schulz in the Horsepower Racing Ferrari 360, moving up from ninth place up to fourth, Witt Gamski in the MJC Ferrari made up two places, leading the Backdraft Lambourghini who was sixth at the end of lap one.

In the Production race, it was all change also. Reflex Racing led production, ahead of the Topcats Ginetta, who were ahead of Wayne Gibson in the BMW, all three separated by less than a second after lap 1. Crossing the line last at the end of the first lap was Owen O’Neill in the Topcats Racing Class 3 Marcos Mantis, who had started in 20^th place, but suffered a spin on the infield section. O’Neill and Jon Harrison would go on to finish in 22^nd place.

By lap five Mike Millard had dispatched Aaron Scott in the Viper and was studying the rear of Calum Lockie’s Mosler intently – the first three separated by less than a second at the end of lap six. On lap seven Millard took the lead and by lap ten, had pulled out a ten second lead over Lockie.

By this time Witt Gamski had dropped to tenth place, just 1.5 seconds ahead of Wayne Gibson who was had taken a lead in Production that, barring pit stops, they would keep until the checkered flag. Michael McInerney was making slow progress through the field, up to only 23^rd position at this time.

Lap 20 signified the start of the pitstop window, with three cars stopping – Aaron Scott from third in the Viper and Manual Cintrano in the Azteca Mosler from sixth place both re-emerged with no problems. Andy Schulz stopped from fourth in the Horsepower Ferrari 360 at this point as well, and again three laps later with problems, which would cause them to complete only 63 laps.

On lap 35 the safety car was out for a second time, this time for the MacG Racing Ultima, who had started down in 17^th place due to throttle problems in qualifying. Having made up a load of places in the first 20 minutes Wilcox was forced to pull over on the outside of turn one with electrical problems and retired immediately. During this second stop Gamski pitted twice refuelling both times as Britcar rules allow only a 25 litre fill under safety car conditions. The second stop included a driver change, Keith Robinson taking over, coming out in 15^th place and staying in the car until the end of the race.

Mike Millard, who would later retire with a blown engine, pitted on lap 40, handing the lead of the race to Calum Lockie, who still hadn’t pitted and would stay out until lap 52. Over the next 10 laps, as various pitstop strategies played out, we had a couple of different leaders including the Jones family Porsche who looked like they may have been able to spring a surprise. Running a 62 lap first stint and only needing to stop once more, it looked like they could have had a shock result. The pace of the final stints of others meant that they finished seventh overall and won class three, just ahead of fellow class three Porsche from Hawthorns Motorsport. The Lotus Exige of Noris-Jones / Mussi rounded out the class three podium.

Scything through the field, and taking advantage of others stopping, Sean McInerney and Keith Robinson, who were quite often less than a second behind – even through traffic, found themselves in the top 5, and by lap 68 they were running second and third, behind Javier Morcillo in the Azteca Mosler, who was putting in very respectable laptimes of low 1:24’s. The question remained over fuel levels. The thirsty Mosler would have to stop again, of that there was no doubt, but would just fifty extra litres be enough for the two Ferrari’s?

In the end, both Ferrari’s made it to the finish without stopping, but with some incredibly close racing between the two of them. Sean McInerney hitting the wall at one point, but managing to hold on to the lead until the checkered flag for their first victory in their Ferrari. Sean McInerney: “We had a great race! Keith and I were at it hammer and tongs for the best part of 50 mins once I caught up with him. It didn’t help with me hitting the wall with 20 mins to go either! Last on the first lap, first on the last lap. Happy days!”

Rounding out both the overall and the GT class 1 podium were Javier Morcillo and Manual Cintrano in the Azteca Mosler, with the Strata 21 Mosler in fourth. All four on the same lap and within 50 seconds of each other – very close considering it was a 2 ½ hour race!

Taking GT class 2 honours was the Dodge Viper of Scott & Wilkins, who had a lap on the class runners up Backdraft Motorsport Lamborghini. Head & Tilley took third in class 2 in the Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis, finishing 12^th overall.

It appeared as though Kevin Clarke & Wayne Gibson had a fairly straightforward race to take Production victory a lap ahead of Norris-Jones & Mussi in the Lotus Exige, with Ticehurst / Mildenhall having the last step on the podium in their Mazda MX5.

Ian Lawson & Anthony Wilds won Production class 2 in their BMW 320i, two laps ahead of Osborne & May in their Seat Leon and were the only two Production class 2 runners to be classified.

The next round is at Donnington on the weekend of 6^th-8^th May.

Words: Alex Ings / Images: Alex Ings

Oulton Park (Sat Only) – Modified Live – Time Attack and European Drift Championship

Donington Park – BTCC and supports

Silverstone – FIA F2 and support races

Rockingham – Britcar Endurance Championship

Brands Hatch – 750MC Club meeting

Snetterton – BARC Club meeting

Cadwell Park – bikes

Mallory Park – bikes (Sunday)