Photo: Gary Parravani / Xynamic

Amongst those were Beechdean Motorsport.   They have been busy preparing for the 2012 British GT Championship with their new GT3 specification Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.   This is a factory supported entry and replaces the trusty DBRS9 which they have campaigned over the previous 5 years, in which they took two wins last year.

The new car was exhibited at the recent Autosport Show at the Birmingham NEC, where the white and dark blue machine drew many admiring and appreciating glances.

Darren Turner, one of the official Aston Martin works drivers, was on hand to put the new car through its paces under the watchful gaze of Beechdean’s Andrew Howard.  Howard will team up with BTCC ace Jonny Adam in their challenge for GT3 glory.   The competitive debut will be at Oulton Park for the first weekend of British GT action on the 7th April, where it will meet stiff opposition. Last year saw the new Ferrari 458 Italia make an immediate impact, and 2012 will see several examples join the field, as well as an eclectic mix of GT3, GT4 and Invitational machinery including representation from Porsche, Ginetta, McLaren and Nissan.

British GT has been bucking the general economic malaise recently with increasing grids and media attention.     The 2012 season is to be held over 7 weekends with a variety of different race formats, ranging from double header 1 hour races, 2 hour races and a 3 hour race, which all require slightly different approaches to race strategy and tactics.

British GT is supported by British F3 and Formula Ford – two of the most important stepping stones that a future F1 driver will rise through, as well as the competitive Caterham and the VW Racing Cup series.

AmD's VW Golf in 2011

AmD Tuning.com will return to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship for the 2012 season after confirming its plans for the year ahead on the opening day of the annual Autosport International show in Birmingham.

The West Thurrock-based team has agreed a deal with Ollie Jackson which will see him embark on a first full season of BTCC competition at the wheel of the team’s turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf, which proved to be one of the most improved cars on the grid last year.

Jackson – originally from Reigate, Surrey but now based in Attleborough, Norfolk – joins AmD Tuning.com having made his BTCC debut in the final two rounds of the 2011 season, taking a best finish of eleventh for the Triple Eight team.

Prior to that, the 27-year-old enjoyed success in Caterham racing before lifting the Pro-Am1 title in the Porsche Carrera Cup in 2010. A switch to the British GT Championship followed last season, the highlight coming at Spa with victory in the GT4 class, before the move into touring cars for the rounds at Brands Hatch and Silverstone.

Having put pen to paper on his deal with AmD Tuning.com, Jackson will now embark on a full pre-season testing programme at the wheel of the VW Golf before the opening rounds of the 2012 campaign take place at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 31 March-1 April.

“After the two rounds last season in the Vectra, I knew the BTCC was where I wanted to be full-time in 2012 and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to agree a deal with AmD Tuning.com,” Jackson said. “I’m really pleased to have a deal confirmed nice and early, which will give me time to carry out some decent testing before the opening rounds.

“Since I moved into car racing, I’ve never had a full testing programme before the season started, so its good that I’ll be able to spend some meaningful time behind the wheel of the Golf, especially as I don’t have much experience of front-wheel drive.

“My initial aim is to see where I stand when we get to Brands Hatch and then make improvements and move forwards. However, the Golf is a proven car that showed good pace in 2011 and my target is to bring home top ten finishes as the year goes on. The team has welcomed me onboard and I can’t wait to get started.”

The decision to sign Jackson comes on the back of a strong 2011 season for the AmD Tuning.com team, which was highlighted by breakthrough points finishes at both Donington Park and Thruxton.

While the basic package remains the same for 2012, with the Golf powered by the same Lehmann-developed engine designed to the BTCC’s Next Generation Touring Car regulations, a series of tweaks have been carried out over the winter as the team looks to build on the promise shown last year to become regular top ten finishers.

“We spoke to a number of drivers about 2012 and are delighted we have been able to agree a deal with Ollie, and agree a deal this early in the year,” AmD Tuning.com team principal Shaun Hollamby said. “He will get the chance to test the Volkswagen for the first time in mid-February and that will be the first part of a full test programme ahead of the new season. That is an important part of our plans for 2012 as it will be the first time we have been able to carry out a full testing programme before the season starts.

“Ollie impressed me last year with his performances in the Triple Eight car when you consider that he hadn’t raced a front-wheel drive machine before, and I’m confident that he can help us take further steps forward and help us fight inside the top ten on a regular basis.

“We have made some tweaks to the Golf over the winter and are confident that the regulations in place for the new season will work in our favour as it should be easier for the series to equalise performance between the different turbo engines on the grid. We know we were down on power a little last year but I’m confident that the regulations will help with that this season, and with Ollie onboard, I’m looking forward to a successful 2012.”

Pic: Steve & Bob Knightley

MSVR 2012 Car Race Meeting Calendar

10 March, Snetterton 300: MSVR Season Starter at Snetterton 300

17 March, Oulton Park International: Master Historic Festival

24/25 March, Brands Hatch Indy: MSVR Indy Weekend

6/7 April, Oulton Park International: British F3/GT

09 April, Oulton Park International: British GT/F3 Cup

09 April,  Snetterton 300: Top Hat – Masters Historic Racing

13-15 April, Silverstone GP: FIA Formula Two Championship

28 April, Silverstone National: Aston Club Racing

28/29 April, Donington Park: Blast in the Park

12 May, Oulton Park International: Aston Club Racing

12/13 May, Silverstone National: MSVR Club Championships

18/19/20 May, Brands Hatch Indy: DTM

19/20 May, Snetterton 300: Belgian Racing Weekend

26/27 May, Brands Hatch GP: Masters Historic Festival

4/5 June, Brands Hatch Indy: Aston Club Racing – St John Horsfall Meeting

16/17 June, Brands Hatch Indy: Mini Festival

23/24 June, Brands Hatch GP: British F3/GT

30 June/1 July, Snetterton 300: MSVR Club Championships

13/14/15 July, Brands Hatch GP: FIA Formula Two & International GT Open

21 July, Oulton Park International: MSVR Club Championships

22 July, Cadwell Park: MSVR Club Championships

28 July, Oulton Park International: MSVR Club Championships

29 July, Donington Park: Aston Club Racing

4/5 August, Snetterton 300: British F3/GT

18/19 August, Brands Hatch GP: Lotus Festival

1/2 September, Cadwell Park: MSVR Club Championships

08 September, Anglesey:  MSVR Races of Wales

15/16 September, Brands Hatch GP: MSVR GP Weekend

29 September, Snetterton 300: Aston Club Racing

6/7 October, Donington Park: Blast in the Park

27/28 October, Snetterton 300: MSVR Club Championships

10 November, Brands Hatch Indy: Lotus 6 Hour

11 November, Brands Hatch Indy: Vee Festival & Victor Meldrew Trophy

24 November, Brands Hatch Indy: Britcar ‘Into the Night Race’

MSVR set for busiest season yet with bumper 2012 programme

MotorSport Vision Racing (MSVR) is set to enjoy the busiest year since its inception in 2006 following the release of an expanded 2012 events calendar.

From March until November MSVR will organise 34 race meetings across seven different UK circuits. 20 core MSVR championships and series will run at these meetings, and will be joined by several ‘guest’ series. A number of prestigious events feature on the 2012 calendar including rounds of the British F3 & GT Championships, FIA Formula Two Championship and the DTM.

Amongst many developments for 2012, the F3 Cup will enter its first year as a full MSA Championship after receiving outline approval last season. After a transitional year in 2011, the first under MSVR’s guidance, F3 Cup is set for rapid expansion with revised regulations permitting newer cars and an outstanding calendar of races – commencing with Oulton Park alongside British GT on Easter Monday. Driver interest is high and strong grids are expected from the outset.

Meanwhile, for 2012 the Lotus Cup UK will be split into two classes: Supersport and Production. The Supersport class will cater for Exige Cup, 2-Elevens and Evoras, while the Production class will see Elise and normally aspirated Exige models compete. The Lotus on Track Elise Trophy has been part of MSVR since the beginning and continues to thrive with superb grids, as does Lotus Cup Europe, which also runs under the MSVR umbrella.

Radical Sportscars will continue to feature heavily at MSVR’s events this season with the new Radical European Masters joining the Radical UK Cup and Radical Clubman’s Cup, both of which moved to MSVR one year ago. The Radical European Masters will feature races at top European circuits including Austria’s Red Bull Ring and Barcelona’s Catalunya F1 circuit.

The MINI Challenge also switched to MSVR 12 months ago and continues to provide some of the most competitive and exciting racing in the UK.

Another new championship joining MSVR this season is the MK4 Golf TDI GTi Challenge. The championship for Mk4 variations of the popular German car will run alongside the VAG Trophy and MK2 Golf GTi Championship.

The Champion of Brands will continue to produce thrilling Formula Ford racing and new for 2012, its big brother ‘Super Series’ will unite the European Formula Ford community, with races at Kirkistown, Croix-en-Ternois, Brands Hatch GP and Monza.

The GT Cup Championship has unveiled a series of modifications to its regulations in 2012 with GT3 cars now permitted to join its excellent 23 race calendar, and interest in the championship is strong. GT Cup always fields spectacular & iconic GT machinery, popular with both marshals and spectators.

Bumper grids and thrilling racing will be found in the Production BMW Championship and Project Eight Racing Saloons along with an expanded schedule for the Club MSV Trackday Trophy and Team Trophy, both aimed at newcomers to motorsport.

The Monoposto Championship is set to build upon another successful season last year with a brand new sponsorship deal with St Cross Electronics for 2012.

New race event additions to MSVR’s calendar this year include the recently announced Mini Festival at Brands Hatch in June, headlined by the MINI Challenge series, whilst the Lotus Festival is set to switch from Snetterton to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. The Belgian Racing Weekend makes its debut on the Snetterton 300 circuit one month earlier and will feature a number of national sportscar championships making the journey from the federal state.

Furthermore, MSVR has been chosen by the Aston Martin Owners Club Racing to organise all of its UK events in 2012, which will be promoted by Duncan Wiltshire of Historic Promotions Ltd.

MSVR Race Operations Manager David Scott said: “I am looking forward to a great season ahead. We have a fantastic calendar and continue to visit the UK’s finest race tracks. With strong support from competitors, 2012 is set to be a vintage year. Whether as a competitor, spectator or marshal, I hope you will enjoy your season with MSVR.”

MotorSportVision Racing have unveiled their 2012 calendar.

St. Cross Electronics will be the title sponsor for the Monoposto Racing Club’s championship, which will be called the St. Cross Electronics Mono Championship.

In 2012 the St. Cross Electronics Mono Championship is expected to build on Monoposto’s position as the largest single seater racing championship in the UK, typically attracting entries of more than 50 cars for each round.  The Championship will have 13 rounds on leading UK circuits at race meetings organised by Motorsport Vision Racing.

St. Cross Electronics is one of Europe’s leading cable assembly and cable harness manufacturers.  The company’s Managing Director, Dax Ward, who is himself a very competitive Monoposto racer, said: “Our partnership with Monoposto is a great way to further develop the presence that St. Cross Electronics has already successfully built in the motorsport marketplace.  Our business in motorsport is rapidly growing, we can be found on British Superbikes through to NASCAR.  We are not just a manufacturer, we design and engineer whole projects. One of the greatest attributes about this championship is that individuals can engineer their cars and there are some very good engineers out there racing, from F1 to Aerospace. So this championship really suits our own business ethos.”

St. Cross Electronic's Dax Ward is a regular Mono front runner

Monoposto’s Chairman, Nick Harrison, said: “Monoposto’s championship has gone from strength to strength and we are delighted that St. Cross Electronics has taken the decision to partner with us.  We will be working closely with Dax and his colleagues to help them achieve their objectives.  In 2012 the St. Cross Mono Championship has arranged a superb race calendar as well as continuing to keep costs as low as possible.  With the support of St Cross Electronics and also the help of our race organising partners MSVR we aim to make this season the best yet for our competitors”

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.

The Norfolk-based outfit are no strangers to the F3 Cup after entering Tony Bishop into the series at Brands Hatch last year and Tristan Cliffe at the Oulton Park season finale. However, for 2012 they plan to make more of an impact with Tristan Cliffe and Tony Bishop leading their bid to challenge for the 2012 F3 Cup championship.

Three-time Monoposto champion Cliffe has elected to embark upon a new challenge by joining the championship, taking advantage of the new regulations which permit F3 Chassis built up to and including 2007. The Norwich racer will run an ex-Team West-Tec Dallara F307 which helped the squad lift the European F3 Open Teams Championship last season.

Cliffe, an accomplished driver in the Monoposto Championship, made his F3 Cup debut at the final round at Oulton Park in October, where he picked up a third and fourth place finish respectively. Despite an impressive display at the Cheshire circuit on his debut, he is under no illusions of the extent of the challenge ahead but eager for the new season to begin.

Cliffe said: “It’s most certainly a new challenge for me. I’ve raced in Monoposto for a few years now and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it but I’m looking forward to more competition next year. I’m not sure how I will stack up against the other drivers but the run at Oulton Park last season gave me reason for optimism. I still think I should be targeting podiums and wins but we will see. I just can’t wait for the first test and the first race weekend now.”

Whipsnade racer Bishop will complete the line up for Omicron Motorsport’s F3 Cup effort as he bids to compete in his first full season in championship, behind the wheel of his Dallara F304. Bishop is relatively new to motorsport, but has shown his potential by finishing third in the Monoposto 2000 Championship in 2011 and is looking forward to moving up the F3 Cup grid in 2012.

Bishop said: “I’m really excited to be joining the F3 Cup next year with Omicron Motorsport. Tristan gave the car a good run out at Oulton Park at the last round which showed the car has pace. I hope to get a bit fitter over the winter and progress throughout the year.”

In addition to the announcement that Omicron Motorsport will join the F3 Cup next year, the team are holding a competition to design the livery for Cliffe’s car for next season. For more information on how to get involved in the contest, visit www.dallara398.com.

Cliffe added: “We had a play with a few designs for the new car and there were none that really stood out so we have decided to open it out to get some input. We’ve had a few designs come so we will see what happens.”

Drivers and teams interested in joining the 2012 F3 Cup should contact championship co-ordinator Simon Davey on 07770 368648, email f3cup@msvracing.co.uk. For all the latest news and further announcements visit www.f3cup.co.uk.

Pics: Norwich Photo

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.

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 10^th 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 8^th 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 24^th March at Silverstone.

Final top ten positions:

Pos	Class	Num	Driver/s	Sponsor/Entrant	Vehicle	Total
1	2	65	Alex Osbourne / James May	APO Sport	Seat Leon	150
2	2	61	Tim Saunders (GB)	T H Motorsport	Honda Civic Type R	145
3	1	52	Simon Phillips / Pete Storey / Chris Randall	Motionsport	Lotus Elise S2	143
4	1	45	Mark Ticehurst (GB) / Owen Mildenhall (GB)	Team Jota/Mazda Motors	Mazda MX5 GT	127
5	2	69	Dave Allan (GB)	Synchro Motorsport	Honda Jazz	124
6	1	57	Jenson Lunn / Sarah Bennett-Baggs	Strata 21	BMW M3 E45	114
7	2	75	Mike Wilds (GB) / Hales (GB) / Crosse	Team Jota/Mazda Motors	Mazda MX5	108
8	1	64	Mark Cunningham (GB) / Peter Cunningham (GB)	SG Racing	Seat Leon Supercopa	103
9	1	88	Kevin Clarke (GB) / Wayne Gibson (GB)	Intersport Racing	BMW E46 M3	95
10	2	86	Paul Mitson / Mike Pascall / Paul Kite	JTECH	Seat Leon Cupra	87

Words: Alex Ings / Images: Alex Ings

Pic: Norwich Photo

The MSVR run F3 Cup has been awarded outline approval by the MSA for full championship status in 2012 as part of the series’ expansion plans.

The F3 Cup joined MSVR’s racing portfolio this year and has enjoyed a successful season with a growing number of drivers competing in races at premier UK circuits, alongside a trip to the world famous Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

MSVR Event Director David Scott said: “F3 Cup is hugely important to MSVR and has the full support of Jonathan Palmer CEO of MotorSport Vision. I’m delighted that the MSA have granted outline approval for Championship status and this will be a massive shot in the arm for the F3 Cup. I look forward to seeing the F3 Cup enjoying success in 2012 and providing competitors with an affordable Championship to progress their racing career and hone their skills. Equally, it will continue to be enjoyed by competitors racing for fun without career aspirations but with a desire to race these exciting cars.”

Alongside the boost of full championship status, the F3 Cup is targeting a further increase in cars next year with all new technical regulations for the 2012 season. Later F3 chassis and alternative engines will be admitted and further details will be announced shortly as well as a prestigious 2012 calendar.

Among the highlights this year, the F3 Cup took part in the largest ever single-seater race with the Monoposto Racing Club in the UK at Silverstone and joined its Austrian compatriots for a thrilling battle around the Spa Francorchamps circuit in June. The F3 Cup has provided a platform for upcoming talent with driver Aaron Steele winning a FIA Formula Two Test as the most outstanding driver of the year, and the 22-year-old has earned a drive at the famous Daytona circuit in America after winning the Sunoco Grand Am 200 Challenge, courtesy of his performances this season.

Details of the F3 Cup season schedule and further developments are set to be unveiled shortly. Drivers and teams interested in joining the 2012 F3 Cup should contact championship co-ordinator Simon Davey on 07770 368648, or email f3cup@msvracing.co.uk.

Pic: Norwich Photo

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 10^th place.

On lap four the safety car was out for a single lap, while the #19 Oliver Bryant Marcos, who had started in 3^rd 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 8^th 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

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 7^th 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 19^th and 20^th places overall, respectively.

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)

Pic: Jakob Ebrey

British GT and British F3 have both announced their provisional 2012 race calendar.

21 Mar – Silverstone GP – Championship launch & media day

06/07 Apr Oulton Park  British F3 & GT

tba Nurburgring GP British GT only

14/15 Apr Monza, Italy Blancpain Endurance Series – F3 only

11-13 May Pau, France  Grand Prix de Pau – F3 only

26/27 May Rockingham  British F3 & GT

23/24 Jun Brands Hatch GP  British F3 & GT

29 Jun-01 Jul Paul Ricard, France  Blancpain Endurance Series – F3 only

26-28 Jul Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium  Blancpain Endurance Series – F3 only

04/05 Aug Snetterton 300  British F3 & GT

08/09 Sep Silverstone GP  British F3 & GT

29/30 Sep Donington Park GP  British F3 & GT

At the moment this is a provisional calendar and all dates and circuits are subject to change

A seven-meeting calendar featuring the UK’s best circuits and a repeat of the successful mix of one, two and three-hour races are planned by the SRO Motorsports Group for next season’s Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

British GT will once again visit Oulton Park, Rockingham, Snetterton and the Grand Prix circuits of Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Donington Park. Next year’s overseas round will take place on the German Grand Prix circuit at the Nürburgring.

“The mix of circuits and race formats which were introduced in 2011 proved very popular,” said championship manager Benjamin Franassovici, “and we were keen to retain this element for the coming season. The one calendar change of any note is that we will be visiting the superb Nürburgring.

“2011 has been a huge success for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, not only with the numbers of cars entered but more importantly the quality of the machinery mixed with some great racing, which led to great unpredictability. We feel at this time that stability is key to building the championship: we need evolution, not revolution, and we are confident of providing teams, drivers and partners with another great package next year. There is more to come in the next few weeks. I cannot wait for round 1 at Oulton Park!”

The exact race format for each meeting has yet to be cast in stone, but it is likely that there will be 120-minute races at three of the meetings, one three-hour event, probably at Silverstone, with double-header 60-minute races at the other meetings.

“Interest for next year is already very encouraging,” adds Franassovici, “both in GT4 and in GT3, and new teams and drivers are enquiring in addition to established championship runners. In terms of rules and regulations, 2012 will be very similar to this season, and it is this stability which makes the championship as attractive as it is.

“The ‘pro-am’ driver pairings will continue to be an essential part of the British GT platform, and two-car teams will be encouraged and will be rewarded by a revised points system for the team championship.”

The calendar and plans have been welcomed by Keith Cheetham of Trackspeed, the champion team of 2010 and ’11: “We are planning to return to British GT in 2012 with two cars, and look forward to claiming our third consecutive championship title. It’s a series which rewards consistency, and we will be aiming for that next year. The calendar looks good, with a good range of circuits which should suit different chassis.”

Andrew Tate, who with driving partner Alex Mortimer won one race in 2011, says he will definitely return next season in a two-car team alongside champion Jim Geddie. “One win was not enough, I want multiple wins next year and to snatch the title off my team mates,” he added. “Both Jim and myself will be driving for our own team, Apex Cin Energy Motorsport.”

The British GT Championship is sponsored by UK tyre manufacturer Avon Tyres and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company.

Team West-Tec added the overall Teams Championship title at Barcelona to the Copa title already confirmed as the 2011 European F3 Open Championships reached an exciting climax at Barcelona on 30 October.

After all team drivers featured at the sharp end in a wet free practice day, a qualifying red flag was rather a spoiler as four of the team’s pilots had their fastest runs ruined by an RP Motorsport car in the gravel.

A typically exciting Barcelona first corner for race one saw Fabio Gamberini eliminated and Victor Correa’s car damaged, though Correa was able to bring his car home seventh with Sam Dejonghe not far behind to take his fourth Copa win of the season.

Sunday’s feature race two saw Sam, Victor and Fabio squabbling over what would have been outright podium positions, although Sam was forced to retire early on – amazingly the first time all season he didn’t finish on the Copa podium. Fabio was eliminated in contact between him and Monje while passing race one winner Amberg, and Victor was unfortunately knocked out late on by Fontana who was then later penalised for over-aggressive driving.

All was not lost though as an impressive drive from Tatiana Calderon brought her through to record her first points finish in a solid eighth place overall, and Luca Orlandi made it a double visit to the podium as he secured a combative third in Copa for the season, behind team mates Fabio and Sam.

~

John Miller, Team West-Tec: We were unlucky not to get better race results in Barcelona as, like always, our drivers had the pace to win. But we have had a fantastic year, winning four of the 16 races outright and taking 14 race wins in the Copa Class to be 1-2-3 in that.

Thank you to all of our team drivers, and sponsors, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Winning the Teams Championship overall is a great testament to everybody on the team, who have worked so hard. I will be looking forward to seeing the number 1 on one of our cars next year, and also looking forward to the team defending that title!

Gavin Wills, Team West-Tec: All of our drivers this year scored points, four were on the overall podium and we won races outright with three different drivers – feats unmatched by any other team!

However, there is no time for complacency as we start testing next week as we start a busy test programme to choose who will drive for us in 2012, to maintain our record as the most successful team ever in the European F3 Open.

We are also looking forward to getting the first of our new F312 cars from Dallara so that we can start testing and mastering that, which should be a very exciting new chapter for us.

~

The 2012 draft calendar gives the schedule as Portimao Algarve, Nurburgring GP, Brands Hatch GP, Paul Ricard, Hungaroring, Paul Ricard & Barcelona.

All cars run identical Toyota engines, with two specifications of chassis.   The new Dallara F312 will form the headline class, which is built to F1 safety standards and includes a DRS style rear wing.    The Copa Class will run the Dallara F308 car to provide a cost effective introduction into F3 racing.

Despite not winning a race all season, consistency proved the key to the title for the #10 Ferrari

Father/Son duo of Glynn and Jim Geddie have won the 2011 British GT Championship, thanks to a great drive (and perhaps a bit of luck) from both drivers in the final race on the Silverstone GP circuit. Despite qualifying only 9th and a few tenths away from the top 3, Glynn believed the car could be better for the race. However, with some of their title rivals fading by the way side thanks to penalties and/or retirements, the Championship leaders going into the final race pulled off a great recovery to get the points needed for the title.

Majority of the teams ran their 2nd driver first, doing a shorter first stint, allowing their 1st and faster driver to complete the race with the longest stint. The only requirement that each driver does at least 45 minutes, resulting in a one stop strategy for everyone.

Aston Martin of Howard/Adam take their 2nd win of the season

At the start, it was initially the 3rd Audi of Joe Osborne and Zak Brown and the #5 Ferrari of Charles Bateman and Michael Lyons that led away after battling their way past the outgoing champion of David Ashburn, who struggled in the opening stages, and the pole position car of the Aston Martin, driven in the opening stint by Andrew Howard, again, also struggling in the opening laps, but eventually regaining pace and 3rd place by the first 30 minute mark.

The leading pair pulled away from the battling pack, pegging each other till traffic and a damaged rear spoiler on the Bateman/Lyons car meant they lost over a second a lap some laps, and dropped back from the Audi after what looked like a promising fight and a chance for the title for the Ferrari pair.

The battling pack behind the top 2 provided much of the entertainment in the early stages, with Ashburn holding on gallantly from the chasing Ferrari’s, Mercedes and Audi’s.

After half an hour, the top 10 was: 29 (Osborne), 5 (Bateman), 7 (Howard), 22 (Jones), 2 (Fisken), 1 (Ashburn), 21 (Cameron), 20 (Draper), 23 (Guasch), 10 (Geddie).

Andrew Jordan was enjoying his 2nd outing in a GT race this year, in the bright orange Ginetta G55 partnering Tom Sharp, battling with the CRS Ferrari of Andrew Tate. Numerous times going side by side before eventually getting past a few laps before their pit stop.

Another Touring Car driver going well for the 2nd time in 2 weeks was Gorden Shedden, once again partnering Hector Lester and out pacing his more experienced team mate. Shedden even trying to get past Tim Bridgman late on in the race despite being a lap down on the Porsche.

A lengthy safety car period intervened at the 57th minute and caused havoc with the leading cars. Although most cars had done their one and only pit stop before the safety car starting at the 51st minute, a few pitted under the safety car, caused by the GT3 Aston Martin of Paul White hitting the barriers over the far side of the circuit at Club corner.

After a bit of reshuffling, with a few winners and losers as Race Control tried to sort out the order, with Westbrook almost losing out in the safety car period, getting increasingly frustrated with the Chevron of David Witt (father of Jordan Witt in the sister Chevron) as they lapped slowly trying to catch up with the safety car train. Eventually, after about 20 minutes, the safety car pulled off after all the cars were behind it and with the race leader the leading car.

Safety car restart Order: 29 (Brown), 5 (Lyons), 22 (Jones), 7 (Adam), 1 (Westbrook), 10 (Geddie), 21 (Griffin), 2 (Bridgman), 20 (Draper), 23 (Bell).

The safety car restart was bad news for Tom Sharp, retiring after contact near the Wing, and pulling off outside the new pit complex, thankfully though in a safe place leaving the race as a race and not bringing out another Safety Car.

However, up front, a fantastic part of the race was unfolding, where Glynn Geddie now at the hands of the #10 Ferrari, showed why he was never going to give up on the title.

Adam, Jones, Westbrook and Geddie were in a nose to tail in fight for 3rd, with the Jones Mercedes starting to drop down the order.

Adam in the Beechdean Aston Martin gets into second with a pass on the Lyons Ferrari, with Griffin and Bridgman side by side through Luffield, Griffin just holding on to the spot. The Aston was on the move again as Brown in the leading Audi with a 1.5 second lead was being caught at a rate of 3 seconds per lap. No surprise then when Adam in the Aston Martin snatches the lead from Brown.

Numerous penalties and retirements affected the championship contenders. Matt Griffin took a 12s stop/go penalty for a pitlane infringement, Mike Gausch/Matt Bell in the #24 Audi pulled into the garage following contact and Michael Lyons served a drive through penalty for not respecting the track limits.

That left David Ashburn within the chance of retaining his title despite being an outsider coming into the final round, with his hopes in the hands of Westbrook, holding onto 2nd place behind the leading Aston, provided Glynn Geddie could do no better than 4th.

Holding that 3rd place that would gift them the championship was Brown in the Audi, but Geddie fought his way through, and began to close on Westbook in the final stages of the race.

The Audi dropping back, losing 5th place to the Mercedes before the end of the race.

Westbrook was slowing and Geddie was hassling the Porsche for the 2nd, even though that 3rd place would net them the title. Jim Geddie in the pitlane was apprehensive, its not over till that chequered flag falls – the race was not yet over and the championship was not yet won. They needn’t of worried though, despite the Ferrari drivers best efforts, he had to settle for 3rd, but it was enough for the title.

“Qualifying wasn‚’t great but come the race Jim did a great job” Glynn said. “He had a close call with a couple of cars and then when the safety car came out on the lap that we pitted, it looked like a disaster for us. But everything worked out okay in the end.”

“The last couple of laps were a bit intense as I tried to get a step up the podium; in the end I backed out of it because we had won the championship”

Father Glynn was equally delighted with the championship title: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet” he said. “I was so nervous I was sick before the race, and I was sick again after I got out of the car. I would definitely like to come back to defend the title next year. We didn’t have the best of starts to our season but I’m delighted to have won it. I’d like to come back next year after some proper winter testing and be on the ball from the first race.”

The KTM proved victorious in the GT4 class

In the GT4 class, the KTM of Peter Belshaw/Marcus Clutton had all but the Championship wrapped up, with the Lotus of Freddy Nordstrom/Leyton Clarke battling with the 2 Ginetta’s of Dan Denis and Jake Rattenbury/Josh Wakefield, all still within a shot of the GT4 title, however a steady drive to 2nd in class by the KTM secured them the title. The Lotus of Chris Holmes and Phil Glew took a comfortable victory in the GT4 class from pole position.

Provisional results GT3 & overall

GT3

1 Beechdean Aston Martin Andrew Howard/Jonny Adam 2h 01m 26.220s / 97.68mph

2 Trackspeed Porsche David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook +22.738s

3 CRS Racing Ferrari Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie +22.939s

4 Trackspeed Porsche Gregor Fisken/Tim Bridgman +37.231s

5 Preci-Spark Mercedes David Jones/Godfrey Jones +43.170s

6 United Autosports Audi Joe Osborne/Zak Brown (USA) +56.941s

7 Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman +1m 14.286s

8 MTECH Ferrari Julien Draper/Matthew Draper +1m 20.669s

9 MTECH Ferrari Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin (IRL) +1m 23.848s

10 CRS Racing Ferrari Andrew Tate/Alex Mortimer 53 laps

GT3B

1 Backdraft Lamborghini Simon Atkinson/James Pickford 45 laps

GT4

1 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Chris Holmes/Phil Glew 52 laps

2 ABG Motorsport KTM Peter Belshaw/Marcus Clutton 51 laps

3 Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta Dan Denis/David McDonald 51 laps

4 Century Motorsport Ginetta Josh Wakefield/Jake Rattenbury 50 laps

5 Magic Ginetta Stewart Linn/Chris Midmark (SWE) 50 laps

6 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Leyton Clarke/Freddy Nordstrom 49 laps

7 Secure/Barwell Aston Martin Peter Erceg/Tiff Needell 49 laps

GT Cup

1 Chevron Racing Chevron Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid 52 laps

2 Chevron Racing Chevron David Witt/Ray Grimes 50 laps

Final Championship Positions (Top 10):

British GT3 Drivers Championship

1 GT3 Glynn Geddie 144

1 GT3 Jim Geddie 144

2 GT3 David Ashburn 130

3 GT3 Matt Griffin 116.5

3 GT3 Duncan Cameron 116.5

4 GT3 Michael Lyons 116.5

4 GT3 Charles Bateman 116.5

5 GT3 Andrew Howard 113.5

5 GT3 Jonathan Adam 113.5

6 GT3 Matt Bell 110.5

6 GT3 Michael Guasch 110.5

7 GT3 Gregor Fisken 107.5

7 GT3 Tim Bridgman 107.5

8 GT3 David Jones 98

8 GT3 Godfrey Jones 98

9 GT3 Richard Westbrook 89

10 GT3 Hector Lester 88.5

British GT4 Drivers Championship

1 GT4 Marcus Clutton 205.5

1 GT4 Peter Belshaw 205.5

2 GT4 Dan Denis 164

2 GT4 David McDonald 164

3 GT4 Freddy Nordstrom 164

3 GT4 Leyton Clarke 164

4 GT4 Jake Rattenbury 157

4 GT4 Josh Wakefield 157

5 GT4 Phil Glew 139

6 GT4 Ollie Jackson 101.5

7 GT4 Chris Holmes 75.5

8 GT4 Peter Erceg 59

9 GT4 Michael Mallock 51

9 GT4 Athanasios Ladas 51

10 GT4 James Nash 37.5

Report: Nick Deeley
Photography: Surreal Illusions