RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

British Touring Car ace to join tough Superstars competition at Donington Park

A renowned young British ace is ready to join the SUPERSTARS INTERNATIONAL SERIES at Donington Park this Sunday. 25-year-old BTCC racer Tom Onslow-Cole, who has scored 7 wins in 141 British Touring Car Races, will be making his debut appearance in the series reserved for top class touring cars with 500 hp.

The young Brit, has already earned a great reputation in touring car racing, will line up on-aboard one of the two Ferlito-prepared Jaguar XFR racecars . A British driver in a British car will give local fans two reasons to cheer on this wild card entry.

“It’s going to be really exciting to drive these cars with so much power. I have watched some of the races and they are spectacular. The cars make the right noises and they move at the right speeds,” said Onslow-Cole on Thursday.

Onslow-Cole has enjoyed a successful career so far in racing: driver in the British Touring Car Championship where he finished on the top podium spot 7 times and closed out the 2010 season in 4th place. He made his BTCC debut in 2007 with West Surrey Racing when he was only 19. Among his rivals was Fabrizio Giovanardi (who lined-up in SUPERSTARS two years ago) whom he joined as a team-mate in 2008.

In this debut SUPERSTARS race Onslow-Cole will run with a new Italian team mate, Como based Max Pigoli, in their Ferlito Motors Jaguar that took a race win at Monza.

WSR Team Principal Dick Bennetts was very happy to call Tom about the opportunity on the young driver’s birthday, “Tom is over the moon to get this chance to drive a 500hp touring car. He is a great young lad and I can’t think of a better present for his 25th birthday. We have been watching SUPERSTARS for some time now; it’s an interesting series so I am very happy that Tom has been given this opportunity. He is a very sensible driver so I am confident he will take to the big car well.”

Ex-formula one drivers line up for Superstars race at Donington Park

Former Formula One drivers Johnny Herbert, Christian Fittipaldi, Tonio Liuzzi and Mika Salo are taking to the Donington Park track later this month for the Superstars International series.

The Superstars International series, the fast-growing European super-modified touring cars, will be racing at Donington Park on May 19th and 20th. This round of the Superstars championship will see former British Grand Prix winner Herbert aiming to return to the Donington podium after his second place position in last year’s race at the world class circuit.

Christopher Tate, Donington Park managing director, comments: “We are delighted the series is returning to Donington Park again this year to top the bill at a festival of sports and touring car racing, with close battles expected in every race over the two day weekend.

“Johnny Herbert will be competing in just three rounds of the Superstars series this season, so we’re thrilled he’s selected Donington for one of those races. Johnny’s a real favourite with the East Midlands fans and we’re anticipating a big turn out for what promises to be a real highlight in Donington’s busiest ever year.”

Almost 30 years on from their first encounter on track together, racing’s ‘rat pack’ of Damon Hill, Martin Donnelly, Julian Bailey and Perry McCarthy returned to Brands Hatch today, scene of many of their battles, for a practice session ahead of this Saturday’s (19 May) DTM-supporting VW Scirocco R-Cup race. They will also race alongside friend Mark Blundell and honoury member David Brabham, who fought through the ranks of Formula Ford and Formula 3 at the same time.

 

After an hour of acclimatising themselves to the LPG-powered cars, the four, who apart from Donnelly have all since retired from racing, got together to discuss their return in aid of 1996 World Champion Damon’s HALOW charity.

 

We spoke to them all about the weekend ahead:

 

Damon: It’s wonderful to make my racing comeback here. I love Brands Hatch, I was Champion of Brands in 1983 on bikes, which is one of my proudest achievements! I’ve won here on bikes and in cars and had some great times at Brands Hatch, it’s had a fantastic history and Jonathan Palmer’s done an excellent job of keeping Brands Hatch up there as a premier venue for motorsport in this country.

 

Julian: The circuit hasn’t changed very much but it is a lot tidier. It hasn’t really changed from a driver’s point of view.

 

Martin: Obviously the exit at Graham Hill bend has changed and Paddock Hill bend is a terror as you cannot run four wheels off anymore. Brands Hatch is great for spectators with a natural amphitheatre. For the drivers it’s really busy there is no chance to have a rest.

 

Perry: I don’t think you should modify the circuit, what I think they should do is give me a faster car so I can overtake!

 

Martin: I’ve asked for a heavy front bumper so I can push Perry out the way just like old times!

 

What does it feel like being back on track together?

 

Damon: It’s fun, it’s good fun. Everyone said they weren’t going to try hard and drive fast but they’re all doing that, so they’re up to their old tricks again!

 

Perry: I’ve just come back from a three week intensive training session in Tenerife before that I was skiing in Norway with the Commando unit.

 

Julian: I have been spending a lot less time in my pub.

 

Martin: Damon’s attitude was to just drive the car round but when you put the helmet on you get competitive.

 

Perry: We are talking about the 1996 F1 world champion here – a 22 Grand Prix winner and he has come back after a 12 year lay off really with minimal testing and hasn’t driven front wheel drive. For Damon he is setting himself up for a fall against these young lads and he is doing it to be with us the rat pack and to raise the profile for the charity and I think that is incredibly commendable. There will be a bit of ribbing between us but we can’t really say much to Damon as he did the job and made it to F1.

 

Who would they be putting their money on for the race?

 

Perry: My money would go on either Martin (Donnelly) or David (Brabham) from our pack.

 

Martin: Mark Blundell should be the best draw as he did it last year and knows what to expect. He has a bit of confidence in the car and the upper hand.

 

Julian: I would say Mark too as he has the most experience. The cars are not difficult to drive but they are quirky with paddle shifts and the boost button.

 

Damon: I think Perry seems to be very motivated, strangely, I don’t know why!

Finally, would this be their last outing together?

 

Martin: I sincerely hope not this is not the final outing for the rat pack. It depends how much entertainment we put on.

 

Julian: It depends how many cars Volkswagen will have left.

 

Perry: Everything has kicked off just as we thought and the banter is flowing. It is down to the joy that Volkswagen have in motorsport to provide a platform for us to be us again, so we need to thank them for that.

 

Damon: Yes, I’m going to do this weekend and move on!

 

Tickets for the DTM-supporting VW Scirocco R-Cup are available on the gate for £10 on Friday and £15 on Saturday, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.brandshatch.co.uk

The Maidstone Sports Cars race team have unveiled a special livery for their Lotus Exige race car, which is competing in this year’s Lotus Cup UK Championship. The livery is a design from acclaimed artist Damien Hirst.

The Maidstone Sports Cars Exige has already raced in the opening round of the MSVR-organised Lotus Cup UK Championship at Silverstone. Driven by Adrian Hall, the team qualified on pole position, before leading the early stages of the race.

The unveiling coincides with a Damien Hirst exhibition which has just opened at the Tate Modern, and will see the first major survey of Damien Hirst’s work to be held in the UK, presenting seminal works spanning 25 years of the artist’s career.

Andrew Marsh, Team Principal of Headcorn-based Maidstone Sports Cars explains ”The whole team feels privileged and honoured to be allowed to have a design from this world renowned artist displayed on our car.”

The Maidstone Sports Cars Exige liveried with the Damien Hirst design can be seen at all rounds of the Lotus UK Cup in 2012 and at various motorsport events throughout the year, starting with the DTM-supporting round on May 18-20 at Brands Hatch.

Last weekend saw the Historic Festival return to Donington park, this is the second Festival to hit the park and after the fantastic success of the weekend last year, this year’s event was set to be even better and boy was it!

Saturday started off chilly and that was looked to be the setting for the rest of the day. 9am came and engines started up with the first qualifying session being the Pre War cars. Crowds started to build as they headed onto track, a session split between two drivers ahead of the 45 minute race. The session finished with a pole position for Wakeman/Blakeney-Edwards with a time of 1.33.407. The race seemed to shape up the same way with the duo storming to victory as well as setting the fastest lap.

Next up was Formula 2, the qualifying pace was set my Martin Stretton by 6 tenths of a second as he threw his March 742 into the final chicane to the delight of the crowd.

The race seemed to be set the same way but it didn’t go all Martin Strettons way. From the off leaving the assembly area, Martin’s car seemed to snap and headed towards the wall damaging the front wing, this meant a delayed start and Martin not starting the race, he reported  a tyre issue was the problem. After another warm up lap the race was started, the Formula 2 cars screamed around the 1.9 Mile track. The cars reached the chicane where there was contact between Peter Meyrick and Jamie Brashaw causing cars to scatter through the gravel. Out in front was Matthew Watts who drove away to the win in Race 1.

Race 2 came on a slightly warmer day at Donington, everyone was hoping for Martin Stretton to start the race; he would have been starting from the back which would be exciting to watch as he makes his way through the pack. But that wasn’t the case; there was no sign of him which tells us it was possibly more than a tyre issue. The race was far more spread out than the Saturdays race 1 and was won by Philip Gladman who had retired in the previous race, he stuck with the front runners for most of the race but problems with others including previous winner Matthew Watts who had an Injection pipe split gave him the lead. He then drove a great race to the finish.

Then came the Woodcote Trophy, a fine selection of cars from Jaguar D-types to Maserati’s. The top of the field in qualifying was dominated by the Pearson’s, one whom was driving with Monteverde , both pairs in Jaguar D-types. The Pearson’s duo qualifying  time was 1.2 seconds faster than the Pearson/Monteverde time.
The Race saw a brief shower but it didn’t really slow these drivers down, drifting through every corner. The race saw the two paired drivers battling against each other at the top of the field, although the Pearson pair had been fastest in qualifying they were being caught every lap by the Pearson/Monteverde pairing to conclude a great race and win.

After the recent success of the E-type Challenge it was added for the first time this year at Donington Historic. Qualifying saw a short rain shower that caught a few drivers out, especially under braking to the old hairpin, after drivers sorted themselves out and got a lap in it ended up with Melling/Minshaw pairing heading the pack with a lap time of 1:20.259.

The first race of the weekend was a highlight of the weekend, a very close battle between Buncombe and O’Connell was the race the lead. Swapping positions through the race the drivers were racing very clean. On the last lap both made contact with O’Connell coming of worst and ending up the in the gravel trap and damage to both cars. Buncombe took the flag to win the first race of the weekend.

Race 2 on the warmer Sunday started like the second Formula 2 race, the cars were spread out and unfortunately didn’t finish the full race time. A car further down the field had a massive blow up, most of the pack saw the oil and flags but a couple of other cars didn’t causing a large amount of damage to a number of cars and a 30 minute delay.

The JD classic field is the smallest grid at the Donington Historic with only 12 cars, but has some of the nicest machinery. The TWR Jaguar XJS was fastest in qualifying but it didn’t go that way in the race, with Mark Wright leading the way in his beautifully prepared Zakspeed Escort. The Zakspeed Escort won the race by 8 seconds from the XJS. A moment from the BMW CSL 3.0 at the chicane causing it to lose control and bounce over the red kerbs into the gravel, putting it out of the race.

The big and final race of the Saturday was the 1000k, as the darkness ascended and the temperatures dropped the thundering Lolas, Fords, Ferrari, Chervrons and a Matra went storming round the Donington Circuit lights ablaze. The race was led by Simon Hadfield in his Lola T70 who will be later shared with the returning Frank Sytner, followed by Paul Knapfield in his very fast Ferrari 512M and then Coplowe in the bright blue and yellow Lola T70. After a few safety car periods and driver changes Martin Stretton was in charge in the Lola T70, followed by Rob Hall in the Matra. A retirement for the Ferrari 512M moved the Hadfield/Voyazides Lola into third place. Simon Hadfield was massively catching Leo Voyazides with still 20 minutes to go. After catching Leo up Simon let himself known with the flash of lights, the following lap at the chicane, Leo seemed to leave Simon some room but a misunderstanding caused light contact between the two cars leaving Leo in the gravel with a damaged tyre being forced to retire. Martin Stretton brought the Lola home to win the 1000k!

The first session on a nice Sunday Morning was the Stirling Moss Trophy, a nice collection of cars such an Aston Martin DBR1, Maserati Birdcage and Lotus Knobbly. Qualifying was dominated by the Minshaw pair but it was Verdon-Roe who powerslided his Aston Martin DBR1 to victory in a thrilling race, followed closely by Stretton/Minshaw.

Then came the Pre 63 GT race with an electric mix of cars including Ferraris, Jaguars and Aston Martins. Qualifying was topped by the Oliver/Pearson pair with a time of 1:23.344 which is a whole 1.4 seconds faster than Wood/McCabe in the Jaguar E-type. The race was just as good as qualifying but no one could touch Oliver and Pearson who won the race by a comfortable minute, perfect driver changes and faultless driving.

Another highlight from this event  was the Under two Litre Touring Cars, these range from BMW’s, the popular Cortina and the fantastic Mini aswell a Alfa Romeos. The Furiani /Stippler Alfa Romeo took control of a close qualifying as cars were being slung into corners to the crowd’s joy.
The hour race wasn’t one to miss, Simon Hadfield made up for his mistake to Leo by bringing the Cortina to the finish first with a fantastic drive from both of them. Second place was Furiani and Stippler who lead the race for a while in their Alfa. A minute down the road was the BMW driven by Oliver/Shaw.

Now the one everyone wanted to see, the highlight of the Donington Festival and the most impressive. The Group C cars are not to be missed. Qualifying was a bit of a wash out and turned into more of a test session to begin with as the rain fell. With 10 minutes to go the rain had stopped and cars started to set times on a drying track. At the end of the session everyone’s favourite Mercedes C9 driven this year by Gareth Evans topped the times closely followed by the Aston Martin of Andy Meyrick.
The race started with Drama, the Tandy Nissan on the start line lost control and hit the inside wall putting it out of the race. The Race continued with Andy Meyrick diving up the inside of the Evans Mercedes.  The Mercedes then had issues and spent most of the race in and out of the pitlane. Pitstops done and the final stretch of the race left and the Donavon SPICE was catching the Meyrick Aston. The laps were running out and the two were having a great race but Donavon couldn’t do anything about the super fast Meyrick who won the race!

That concluded a fantastic weekend at Donington Park, big crowds and fantastic racing, although the weather started out cold on the Saturday the decent weather on Sunday was welcomed. Lets hope 2013 will be even better!

Report & Photos: Matthew Barrington

Competitors in the 2012 edition of Tour Britannia (6-8 June) will tackle 20 special stages and two races during two and a half days of intense competition following final sign off of the route for the eighth running of the classic race and rally tour.

As always the stages are interesting and novel, with four of the venues completely new to motorsport. There are unique variations at some venue, including the Harewood Hillclimb course being tackled in the opposite direction to normal. Meanwhile, the team at the event HQ hotel of Rudding Park in Harrogate is surfacing a new road in the grounds to be used on the first stage of the event.

Tour Britannia will visit 10 venues, with another new to Tour Britannia special stage venue confirmed as Blyton Park Driving Centre near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. “The stages for 2012 are new and interesting and should provide a great challenge and a lot of fun for our competitors,” said event director Alec Poole.

Full-on asphalt stages like Blyton Park, and another recent addition at Tockwith, contrast nicely with the beautiful parkland roads at Raby Castle and Aske Hall and the iconic stages at Harrogate and Newark Showgrounds. There really is something for everyone in the 2012 route.

Meanwhile, the organisers are dealing with a flurry of entries as the closing date approaches, including 2011 winner John Clark and rallying crew Tony Robinson and Jon Cropper in one of nine Porsches already on the entry list for the competition event.

In the concurrent regularity rally, a fabulous array of classic cars will compete, ranging from a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud to a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso and, marking the 50th anniversary of the model, an MGB. Also represented in the regularity entry are classic marques liker Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Austin Healey, Lancia and Bentley.

More details about Tour Britannia and Targa Britannia can be found at the event website: www.tourbritannia.com and entry forms can be downloaded from the site.

One of the worlds best known and loved Imprezas makes a welcome return to the the Time Attack series at Cadwell Park this weekend.

The iconic Subaru Impreza built by Roger Clark Motorsport is fondly referred to as “The Gobstopper”, and it has excelled in all competitions it has entered. It has been sadly missed by fans for the past two years, as Matt and Olly Clark have been concentrating on building up their highly respected tuning business.

Whilst it may not be the the absolute fastest Subaru in a straight line or even around a circuit, as an overall package it has been hard to surpass, even without the plethora of aero modifications seen on many of it’s rivals. With over 800bhp on tap from it’s 2 litre flat four engine, incredible engineering, quality of finish and impeccible attention to detail it is no surprise that the car has carved out a near cult status amongst motoring enthusiasts around the world.

With it’s highly anticipated replacement Gobstopper II nearing completion, this could well be the last chance for fans to see the original in competitive action.

A youtube video of the car in action has attracted over 250,000 viewers over the past few years:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiQ6FcyiPag

The action at Cadwell Park starts at 9am on Saturday 5th May.

Words & Photos: John Stewart

Lloyd makes Porsche Carrera Cup GB history

Daniel Lloyd made a piece of Porsche Carrera Cup GB history at Thruxton (29 April) when he became the first Carrera Cup GB Scholarship driver to score a race victory in his Scholarship season.

Just six races into his Scholarship year, Lloyd swept to a sensational victory in truly challenging conditions. It was a performance that caught the attention of many experts, including ITV4 commentator Toby Moody, who described the race live. “The second Carrera Cup race at Thruxton was one of the best races I’ve commentated on for a while because it was in damp conditions with the guys on slick tyres,” said Moody. “For a Scholarship winner to win during his third race weekend was a little piece of history I was privileged enough to witness.”

For Huddersfield-based Lloyd (20), it was a landmark result. Former Scholarship drivers Michael Meadows and Euan Hankey both won races in the season following their Scholarship year, and Meadows currently leads the 2012 title race, but no Scholar has won as early in their Carrera Cup career as Lloyd.

“We’ve had massive ups and downs over the first three race weekends,” said Lloyd. “Everything is positive with my pace and how I’ve done, but we’ve yet to have that solid weekend. Again at Thruxton we didn’t think it was going to happen, because it just hasn’t been going our way.

“Going into the second race at Thruxton we went on slicks and the conditions were tough,” continued Lloyd. “But I got a fantastic start and went from eighth to second on the first lap. On lap five I lost my splitter just as it began to dry a bit and Michael Meadows began to catch me. Then it started raining again quite heavily, which evened things out a bit. It was just a hard race. All credit to Rory Butcher, he did a fantastic job leading without having anyone to chase. To bring the win home was just fantastic. It’s been an amazing start to the Carrera Cup. Everyone at Team Parker Racing has been unbelievable and everything is going really well.”

During the six-week break until the Oulton Park race weekend (9/10 June), Dan will take part in the Leeds Half Marathon on 13 May for his nominated charity, the Forget-Me-Not Children’s Hospice in Huddersfield. “It’s my first half-marathon,” said Lloyd. “I’ve run 10km before, so this will be the furthest I’ve ever run. It’s for a great local charity and it makes you realise how lucky you are.”

Lloyd wins Carrera Cup thriller at Thruxton

Daniel Lloyd scored a stunning debut Porsche Carrera Cup GB victory at Thruxton today (Sunday 29 April) in a thrilling round six of the championship. In a race of ever changing fortunes, run with slick tyres on a very slippery track, Lloyd battled ahead of long-time leader Rory Butcher as Glynn Geddie charged through to grab second place.

In a race where the entire field started on slicks on a damp track, and then had to cope with more rain mid-race, there was superb action all down the field as drivers battled successfully to stay on track. In Pro-Am1, Ahmad Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) completed a perfect weekend with another victory, while Tania Mann (SIBSport) gain scored maximum Pro-Am2 points after her first taste of racing in such conditions.

Butcher (Celtic Speed) is renowned for his pace in tricky conditions and he burst into the lead at the first corner as Lloyd (JD Pierce with Team Parker) turned in a monster opening lap to go from eighth on the grid to second place. Michael Meadows (Redline Racing) slotted into third, while Geddie (Redline Racing) charged through from 11th on the grid to hold sixth place behind Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing).

Despite losing the splitter from the front of his car on lap five, Lloyd maintained a dogged chase of Butcher and his prayers for more rain were answered mid-race. That mitigated the loss of the splitter somewhat and allowed him to stay close to Butcher as Meadows held a watching brief in third and Geddie hunted them all down.

Conditions mid-race were incredibly tough as the rain returned, but the driving standards were superb as Butcher fended off Lloyd. But Geddie was the big threat now, having demoted Meadows, and by lap 18 the leading trio were almost nose-to-tail. Out of Church a lap later, Butcher and Lloyd were side-by-side and they raced level up to the Chicane with Geddie close behind. Lloyd tried for the outside, but Butcher’s car snapped into a spin and Lloyd had to straight-line the chicane to avoid contact.

Now it was Lloyd leading under pressure from Geddie and the Carrera Cup Scholarship driver held on for a debut win by just half a second. “Rory did a great job leading,” said Lloyd. “When he spun I had nowhere to go: it’s just fantastic to get my first win.” “We needed that result,” said Geddie after his best drive of the season to date.

Butcher had given his all in supremely tough conditions and completed the podium as Meadows ran home fourth. “That was about championship preservation,” said Meadows, who had wisely opted to make sure of another strong finish rather than take big chances. Ben Barker (Parr Motorsport) and Gelzinis completed the top six.

Al Harthy again won Pro-Am1 from seventh overall, having raced well clear of a long tussle between Oly Mortimer (GT Marques) and Victor Jimenez (Redline/Oman Air). “That’s been the toughest weekend I’ve had in the Carrera Cup,” said Al Harthy. “The conditions were incredible, and we’ve had two really strong results.”

Round six results:
Pro category: 1 Daniel Lloyd; 2 Glynn Geddie; 3 Rory Butcher
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Oly Mortimer; 3 Victor Jimenez
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Tania Mann

Meadows dominates Carrera Cup GB round five at Thruxton

Michael Meadows dominated round five of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (Sunday 29 April) to score his fourth win from five races as dreadful weather conditions made it one of the toughest races in the 10-year Carrera Cup history.

Meadows drove a superb race as heavy rain and wind made for a truly challenging race and the fact that every car finishing unscathed was testament to the skill of the drivers. Ahmad Al Harthy claimed another Pro-Am1 win, while Tania Mann bagged maximum points in Pro-Am2 after her first experience of racing in the rain.

With the track awash, the race started behind the safety car to allow drivers to explore the conditions. After three laps, the pace car peeled off and the race started in earnest. Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) jumped Meadows (Redline Racing) and was actually ahead before they reached the start line. But Meadows bided his time and edged ahead as they raced through the Complex for the eighth time.

Once ahead, Meadows quickly built his lead and was able to ease back over the closing stages as the rain continued. “I didn’t get a great start, but once I got ahead it was a lot easier,” said Meadows. “But the conditions were terrible,” he said after extending his overall championship lead.

Plant soon came under attack from Ben Barker (Parr Motorsport) and a trip across the kerbs removed the front splitter from Plant’s car. That left Plant powerless to defend and Barker took second before the chasing Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) closed in and took third from Plant. “There was zero visibility when running behind another car,” said Barker after a strong drive. “Once I got past Richard it was a lot easier.”

Butcher revelled in the rain to claim a deserved overall podium from sixth on the grid. “That was worse than Knockhill,” he said of the conditions after a first class performance. Plant battled home fourth, which was scant reward for his early race pace. Like Plant, Daniel Lloyd (JD Pierce with Team Parker) had to contend with no front splitter which seriously affects the car’s handling in the fast corners, but he claimed fifth at the flag.

Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) always set the pace in Pro-Am1 and took sixth overall as well as a resounding category victory. He spent many laps tracking Chris Dymond (Parr Motorsport) and finally worked ahead on the final lap. “I think I was faster than him, but I just couldn’t see anything,” said Al Harthy.

Further back, Oly Mortimer (GT Marques) battled hard to take second in Pro-Am1 after a lengthy challenge from Victor Jimenez (Redline/Oman Air). “It wasn’t the amount of grip that was the problem, it was the standing water,” said Mortimer. Jimenez lost his splitter later in the race, but the chasing Derek Pierce (JD Pierce with Team Parker) suffered the same problem and was not able to challenge the Spanish driver for the final Pro-Am1 podium place.

“That was my first race in the rain: I couldn’t see a thing,” said Mann (SIBSport) after she coped remarkably well in the conditions to stay in touch with the Pro-Am1 cars and claim another Pro-Am2 maximum score.

Round five results:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows; 2 Ben Barker; 3 Rory Butcher
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy; 2 Oly Mortimer; 3 Victor Jimenez
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Tania Mann

Barker wins Michelin award in Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton

Ben Barker is the third Porsche Carrera Cup GB racer of the season to benefit from Michelin’s on-going support of the championship by winning a set of tyres this weekend at Thruxton (28/29 April).

At the start of his first full season in the Carrera Cup GB, Barker is already showing front-running pace despite an accident in the second race at Donington Park last time. With his Parr Motorsport car rebuilt, Barker qualified third and then fourth for the two races at Thruxton. Sunday’s round five will be his first race at the high-speed Hampshire track.

Having been the control tyre supplier for the Carrera Cup GB for ten seasons 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 takes double Carrera Cup GB pole at Thruxton

Michael Meadows completed a perfect run of six pole positions on the trot for the Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Thruxton today (Saturday 28 April) by setting the standard for rounds five and six of the 2012 championship. In changing weather conditions, Meadows and the Redline Racing team judged it perfectly to end the qualifying session on top.

Meadows changed to slick tyres at just the right moment as the track became less wet in the closing stages of qualifying. He was the only driver to post two laps under the 1m20s mark and duly claimed another two pole positions. In pro-Am1, Ahmad Al Harthy made it a great day for Redline Racing with two poles, while Pro-Am2 runner Tania Mann (SIBSport) qualified in among the Pro-Am1 pack on her first experience of driving a 911GT3 Cup in the wet.

Initially, everyone went out on wet tyres and it was Rory Butcher (Celtic Speed) who set the pace. But as the half-hour session progressed the track dried a little and Meadows was one of the first to opt for slicks. It proved to be a smart move and he maintained his unbroken 2012 run of poles. “We set the car believing it would dry and I got five laps on the slicks,” said Meadows. “We always planned to do two three-lap runs on wets and then change to slicks.”

Meanwhile, Richard Plant (Team Parker Racing) stayed on wets for the session and was second for round five and sixth for round six. “It was a bit of a lottery: it was a knife edge,” said Plant. Butcher bagged his best ever Carrera Cup grid position with second for round six and will start sixth for round five. “That was quite a stressful session,” said Butcher. “The next lap on the slicks would have been good, but the chequered flag was out.”

In a good session for Parr Motorsport, Ben Barker was third and then fourth, with Chris Dymond taking an excellent fourth for the opening race. “I went to slicks early and got a good lap in, but I wondered if it was the right way to go,” said Dymond. Jonas Gelzinis (Juta Racing), Daniel Lloyd (JD Pierce with Team Parker) and Sam Tordoff (Team Parker Racing) all claimed top six positions across the two grids in a session of ever-changing fortunes.

In Pro-Am1, Al Harthy (Redline/Oman Air) clinched both poles having traded 35 degree temperatures in his home country for six degrees at Thruxton. “We went to slicks at the end but I really wasn’t sure if it was the right way to go. The team got me back out in amazingly quick time,” said Al Harthy. Second in Pro-Am1 in both sessions was Oly Mortimer (GT Marques) after a strong performance, while Victor Jimenez (Redline/Oman Air) was third for both races after his first time in the wet.

Round five grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m19.087s); 2 Richard Plant (1m19.817s); 3 Ben Barker (1m19.898s). Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy (1m20.819s); 2 Oly Mortimer (1m22.747s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m22.867s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Tania Mann (1m25.568s).

Round six grid:
Pro category: 1 Michael Meadows (1m19.550s); 2 Rory Butcher (1m21.257s); 3 Jonas Gelzinis (1m21.517s).
Pro-Am1 category: 1 Ahmad Al Harthy (1m22.208s); 2 Oly Mortimer (1m22.994s); 3 Victor Jimenez (1m24.738s).
Pro-Am2 category: 1 Tania Mann (1m26.255s).

The Monoposto Racing Club heads for Donington Park for rounds 3 and 4 of the 2012 Championship.

Mono2000 leader Robbie Watts, who also took a maximum points hall from Brands will be absent on the Saturday as his is also competing in the 750MC’s F4 championship at Silverstone, so the race win will almost certainly be one of the Dallara shod racers, but which one? Malcolm Scott took a win last season, Richard Purcell a win the year before and a lap record last season. Tony Bishop is vying for his first win, but there are the cars of Steve Patania, Peter Venn, Russ Giles and Kevin Mason to consider. All quick men, some new to Dallaras, others more familiar.

Anton Spires makes his Monoposto debut with his Tatuus Formula Renault, which he will compete in select Monoposto and Formula Renault BARC cars.

In the new MotoMono class, formed by the merger of the 1000cc and 1400cc bike engined classes, Marc Fortune will be looking to continue his excellent start to the season – Fortune from Southampton took maximum points from Brands Hatch with two wins and two fastest laps, but defending champion Adrian Wright is only 10 points behind, and Jason Timms is just a single point behind him. Luck was with Fortune as rival Dave Connor didn’t finish either race.

Choosing a winner from the Mono 2000 Classic category is just as hard. Chris Anstruther was the man in form at the end of last season, but failed to finish both races at Brands Hatch. He needs to get some good scores at Donington to stake his claim for the championship which ends at Cadwell Park in September. Jim Blockley’s Ralt RT3 should be suited to the Donington circuit, and there should be a good fight between the Vauxhall Lotuses of Jared Wood and Simon Lonnergan, both went well at Brands. Terry Clark could go well in his new Reynard 903, it has the potential to win, but its a big step from his FVL. Jim Timms is currently leading the class and is also likely to feature strongly.

Both of the Mono1800 class wins went to Ewen Sergison at Brands Hatch, but Jeremy Timms pushed him all the way, and its too close to call which of these two will beat the other. Olly Thorpe is another contender, towards the end of last season his Royale took a number of class wins, but had to pull out of Brands Hatch with an engine failure.

Mono1600 class sees quite a big grid at Donington, Nigel Davers and Dave Parkinson shared the race wins, but Mat Jordan is getting quicker every race.

Davers will be hoping for reliability after an engine fire scare in qualifying, that came back for the first race.

Pics: Norwich Photo

ONLINE CHARITY AUCTION: JOIN REDSTONE RACING AT THRUXTON!

Redstone Racing has launched a special charity auction, offering two fans the unique opportunity to become part of the team during the BTCC’s visit to Thruxton on 29^th April 2012.

The team’s youngest driver, Aron Smith, has kindly donated a pair of VIP passes, inviting the highest bidder and a guest to join him at the Hampshire circuit.

As well as experiencing all the BTCC action next Sunday from Redstone Racing’s hospitality unit, the winner will enjoy a complimentary breakfast and lunch, guided tour of the Redstone Racing garage featuring an in-depth talk on the squad’s Ford Focus ST race cars, VIP grid walk and the chance to meet Aron and his team-mates Mat Jackson and Liam Griffin.

All the proceeds from the auction will be donated to a charity cycle ride from Essex to Amsterdam that Redstone Racing Team Manager Oly Collins will be undertaking this July. Oly and seven friends will be completing the gruelling challenge in aid of St. Elizabeth’s Hospice in Suffolk, which supported a close friend during the final stages of her battle with cancer.

The five-day auction is now underway, with fans encouraged to make their bid before it closes at 6.00pm on Wednesday 25^th April.

Click here to find out more and place your bid.

This weekend saw a range of championships, as part of the CSCC Spring Race Weekend, take to the track at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk. Amongst those was the Pirelli Ferrari Open, in this series a range of top line Ferrari GT cars from across the years compete in two 25 minute races – one on Saturday the next on the Sunday. The series is split into four main categories; Class C1 is for the Ferrari F355 Challenge and the sole 456 GT, Class C2 is for the Ferrari 360 Challenge cars produced in 2002, C3 is for the F430 Challenge cars and finally C4 is for the Ferrari 458 Challenge, 360 GT2, F430 GT2 and F430 GT3.

In qualifying Paul Bailey in his Ferrari F430 GT2 would show that he had the pace to win, he qualified 0.517 seconds ahead of Gary Eastwood in his modified Ferrari 458 Challenge. In Pirelli Ferrari Open they work on using a rolling start, this provided Gary Eastwood the boost he needed to overtake Paul Bailey within the first few turns – it would then prove to be a battle between the two for the rest of the 25 minute race. Paul Bailey remained to be just on the limit, finishing the race in 2^nd position and only 7 seconds off the leader. The win was of course handed to Gary in his F458 which showed a lot of potential for the second race of the weekend.

Race 1 Results (Top 3) –

1 – Gary Eastwood – Ferrari 458 Challenge (C4)

2 – Paul Bailey – Ferrari F430 GT2 (C4)

3 – Wayne Marrs – Ferrari 360 GTC (C3)

For the Sunday the track had changed from the Snetterton 300 circuit to the 200. This would make the circuit more focused upon straight line speed rather than cornering ability –qualifying showed that this played to the 458s strengths as Gary Eastwood set pole position followed by Michael Dwane in his Ferrari 458 Challenge, Paul Bailey qualified in third position in the F430 GT2.

Come race time the conversation to be found in the pit lane was heavily revolved around the question “slicks or wets?” The weather at Snetterton had been changeable across the entire day switching between sunny spells and even hail this meant that the teams were struggling to predict what weather could arrive in the next 25 minutes. Gary Eastwood in the Ferrari 458 decided to opt for slick tyres whereas Paul Bailey in the F430 GT2 went with wet tyres – this would be a vital decision for both drivers. As the drivers lined up on the start a hail storm arrived at the circuit making the track surface very wet – many other drivers dived into the pit lane to change tyres thinking it would provide an advantage as the hail continued. In the first few laps Gary & Paul battled for the lead although Gary would slip back on the second lap from the lead by 7 seconds due to the worsening conditions.

On lap eight of the race track conditions were beginning to improve, the sun was shining on the Snetterton circuit. This would play into the hands of Gary Eastwood in the 458. By lap 9 of the race Paul and Gary were once again battling for position but this time Gary had the upper hand, the drying out track meant that he had a better overall pace so could really put the pressure onto Paul Bailey for the lead. Lap 10 saw Gary Eastwood take the lead of the race; Paul would unfortunately feel the effects of wet tyres on a drying out track as he slipped down the leader board. By the next lap Paul had dropped 8 seconds from the leader, this now meant that the 77 car of Michael Dwane could potentially move up to second position. The track was, at this point, essentially dry and Dwane was moving up quickly gaining on Paul’s F430. On lap 16 Michael would take 2^nd position.

Gary Eastwood would eventually win the race by 42 seconds, Michael Dwane finished in second position whilst Paul Bailey completed the podium. Michael Dwane also acquired the fastest lap of the race with a 1:15.699.

Race 2 Results –

1 – Gary Eastwood – Ferrari 458 Challenge (C4)

2 – Michael Dwane – Ferrari 458 Challenge (C4)

3 – Paul Bailey – Ferrari 430 GT2 (C4)

4 – Wayne Marrs – Ferrari 360 GTC (C3)

5 – Jacques Duyver – Ferrari 430 Challenge (C3)

6 – Nick Kaye – Ferrari 360 Challenge (C2)

7 – Darren Laverty – Ferrari F355 Challenge (1A)

8 – Vance Kearney – Ferrari F355 Challenge (1A)

9 – James Shirely – Ferrari 360 Challenge (C2)

10 – Tim Ingrahm Hill – Ferrari 360 (C2)

11 – David Hathaway – Ferrari 360 Challenge (C2)

12 – Paul Brooks – Ferrari 456 GT (1B) – DNF

13 – Sam Smeeth – Ferrari 430 Challenge (C3) – DNQ

Once again Nikki Thompson has rated the drivers out of 10 for their performance at Donington Park.  Do you agree with her thoughts?

Jason Plato – 6/10
Another good weekend for Jason Plato and Triple Eight. Starting the weekend on a high note, Jason put his MX Momentum Racing MG6 on pole position, finishing fourth overall in the first race. Race two didn’t go to plan, whilst in an on-track tangle; he collided with the barriers on the start finish straight. Despite rejoining the race, Plato finished a handful of laps behind. Despite finishing the final race in second, a controversial move on Honda Racing’s Gordon Shedden at the end of the race saw him attain a two-second time penalty and demoted to third. This was later turned back to second after Mat Jackson’s exclusion.

Matt Neal – 7/10
The defending champion ran well again at Donington Park, qualifying in third place behind team mate Gordon Shedden. Two podium finishing positions for the NGTC civic, including a Honda 1-2 brought smiles all round. However, after contact during the first half of race three, Matt found himself in the gravel and out of the race. Neal goes into Thruxton four points behind Jason Plato, with everything still to play for.

Andrew Jordan – 6/10
Despite finishing all three races in the top six, the Pirtek Racing driver Jordan could have had a better day. On track skirmishes scuppered his chance of a podium finishing position – of which he received a verbal warning. In the face of this, Jordan is still leading the Independent’s standings, and goes into Thruxton eighteen points ahead of eBay Motors’ Rob Collard.

Rob Collard – 5/10
After a successful weekend at Brands, Donington Park unfortunately didn’t bring the same string of results. Qualifying in fifth position, Collard made another flying start off the line and led the first race for a number of laps. However, being pushed wide entering the start/finish straight, he fell back to fifth place – eventually ending the race in tenth. Another tangle with Jason Plato in race two saw him spin on track at the end of the first lap, but managed to recover well to finish in eighth. After the penalties and exclusions of race three had been taken into account, Rob finished in fourth in race three, despite being involved in a slight jostle with team mate Tom Onslow-Cole.

Gordon Shedden – 7/10
After a rotten weekend at Brands Hatch, the Honda Racing Team were looking to improve going into the second event. Qualifying in second behind Jason Plato, Gordon had a good run in race one to finish on the second step of the podium – pressuring Jackson for the lead during the latter stages. A 1-2 finish for the team in race two – with Gordon taking the win – brought delight to the team. After a controversial end to race three, Shedden was promoted to second, which later became a win after Mat Jackson’s exclusion.

Mat Jackson – 6/10
After a somewhat baffling weekend at Brands Hatch, the Redstone Racing driver wanted to come back with a vengeance at his local track. Despite starting the first race down in sixth place, some enthusiastic driving saw Mat take the lead in the early stages. A good drive in race three, although struggling somewhat with the onboard success ballast saw him finish once more on the podium, this time in third. Although Mat won the third race on the track, he was later excluded due to a technical issue.

Jeff Smith – 5/10
A good weekend for the second Pirtek Racing driver. Qualifying in the top ten on Saturday afternoon put Jeff in a good position for the first race. Despite losing some ground throughout the race, he finished overall in thirteenth – with an across the line battle with Tony Gilham and Adam Morgan for the remaining point scoring positions. A good race two saw Smith finish in sixth – with the reverse grid selecting him for pole position. Another good race saw him finish in fifth in the final line-up. Smith also received a verbal warning from officials at the end of the day for on-track incidents.

Tom Onslow-Cole – 6/10
Despite a disappointing qualifying session, which left the eBay Motors’ driver sitting in twelfth, it didn’t stop Onslow-Cole from fighting through the field to secure some good results. Although still getting to grips with the rear-wheeled drive BMW, Tom made a good start in race one, and finished in fifth behind Jason Plato. Some on track jostles and incidents in race two saw the BMW rounding out the top ten, whilst in race three, an early encounter with team mate Rob Collard didn’t stop him from achieving a third top ten finish.

Dave Newsham – 5/10
After a strong opening round at Brands Hatch, ES Racing’s Dave Newsham was looking for similar results this time around. Being caught out with the rain in Saturday’s qualifying session saw him qualify in seventh on the grid. Race one was consistent; finishing in the same place in which he started. Race two was a little more eventful. Some contact with Andrew Jordan’s Honda Civic saw him take two track positions, finishing in fourth overall. Despite fighting with the leaders in race three, Newsham pitted on the penultimate lap with a problem. He was also given a verbal warning by officials for on-track incidents.

Tony Gilham – 7/10
A great weekend for Tony Gilham in the Team HARD Honda Civic. Despite qualifying down the field on Saturday, Tony drove well in race one to finish within the points in fourteenth. Some great manoeuvres in race two, including taking a place from eBay Motor’s Tom Onslow-Cole in the closing stages saw Gilham finish in seventh place. After all the race three penalties and exclusions had been taken into account, Tony scored his maiden third place finish in the championship.

Rob Austin – 3/10
A hugely disappointing weekend for the Rob Austin Racing team. Whilst setting a lap in qualifying – in which Rob scored the fastest first sector of anybody – an engine failure forced them to sit out the remainder of qualifying, and would start the first race in third. After securing another engine in place overnight, Rob could only race for six laps before another engine failure ended their weekend. RAR will be now looking ahead to Thruxton to put their pace into results.

Aron Smith – 6/10
Another good weekend for Redstone Racing’s Aron Smith. Having qualified in the top ten, Aron put his driving skills on show, which included a great move on Rob Collard, to finish in eighth, whilst another good drive in race two saw him finish in ninth. A race three finish of twelfth brought a consistent weekend to end, with Thruxton next on the agenda.

Frank Wrathall – 6/10
A good consistent weekend for Frank after a disappointing turn of events at Brands Hatch. Qualifying just outside the top ten, a fine race one saw him jostle with position with the eBay Motors BMW of Rob Collard, to put his Toyota Avensis in the top ten. Despite running well through the first half of race two, incidents on track left Wrathall having to settle with fourteenth place. Race three saw Frank running well in sixth place, however a moment at the chicane left him falling back. In the final standings, Wrathall finished in seventh place overall.

Nick Foster – 5/10
After a dramatic opening round at Brands Hatch, the action from Donington Park was definitely much calmer for Nick Foster. Qualifying in fourteenth place, Nick’s pace in race one improved, finishing in eleventh behind team mate Collard overall. Despite some good fights on track in race two, Foster finished in the same place as he started, whilst in race three, he scored another point scoring position of thirteenth.

Lea Wood – 4/10
A slightly disappointing weekend for Lea in the BINZ Racing Vauxhall Vectra. Starting race on in seventeenth, Wood was involved in the first lap incident of race one, which left both himself and Liam Griffin out of the race. A good recovery in race two saw him finish in the points, with race three bringing the team a top ten finish.

Dan Welch – 5/10
Dan started the weekend by qualifying in thirteenth place, and had good race pace to finish comfortably in the points. Race two was a little disappointing, as a spin early on in the race forced him to retire. A strong race three, taking into account the exclusions, saw Welch finish in seventh place.

Liam Griffin – 4/10
Donington Park didn’t bring Redstone Racing’s Griffin the results he would have wanted. Qualifying down the field in sixteenth, Griffin was involved in the first lap incident of race one, which caused significant damage to the front of the Focus, causing him to retire. Race two also saw retirement, after a tangle with Chris James on lap eleven put them both out of the race. Finishing just inside the points of race three brought an end to a somewhat disappointing weekend.

Andy Neate – 4/10
Not a brilliant weekend for Andy in the Triple Eight Racing MG6. Neate was unable to set a time during Saturday’s qualifying session due to a differential issue, which meant starting race one from the back of the field. After finishing just outside the points in the first race, Andy put in a good recovery to finish twelfth in race two. In the early stages of the final race, an impact with the barriers of the start/finish straight forced him to retire from the race.

Ollie Jackson – 3/10
A very unfortunate weekend for the AmDTuning.com VW Golf. Qualifying at the bottom end of the field in nineteenth place, engine gremlins got the better of the team within race one, forcing them out of the race. To save putting the Golf through any adverse damage, the team decided to sit out the remainder of the weekend – and will be putting all focus now on Thruxton in a couple of weeks.

Chris James – 3/10
A weekend to forget for the ES Racing team boss. Starting the race from fifteenth on the grid, James slipped back slightly to finish just outside the points in seventeenth. James was involved in the race two incident, which put himself and Liam Griffin out of the race, and finally ending the weekend fourteenth in race three. Later on in the day, Chris was handed an official reprimand plus two penalty points for an incident in race one. A further three penalty points and a £1000 fine was given for abusive language/behaviour.

Adam Morgan – 5/10
After a disappointing debut for Adam last time out at Brands Hatch, Donington brought some well deserved results for the Speedworks Motorsport team. A good race one saw him finish in the points, while in race two a best ever finish of thirteenth for the team brought smiles all round. A problem with the Toyota during the last race saw Adam pull into the pits.

Tony Hughes – 4/10
Another respectable weekend for Tony in the second Speedworks Toyota Avensis. Race one was a little disappointing, when after contact with team mate Adam Morgan, Hughes had to retire from the race with suspension damage. Completed the entire of race two, despite finishing a lap down in sixteenth and went on to score the first point of the season in race three after the exclusions had been taken into account.

John Thorne – 2/10
Another disappointing weekend for the Thorney Motorsport team. Having completed only four laps in Saturday’s qualifying session; they decided to sit out the entire weekend due to problems with the car. The team will be trying to get the car out for Thruxton, to hopefully start getting to grips with the Insignia.

BTCC outsider Tony Gilham snatched glory when he was promoted to 3rd place, after a chequered flag finish of 4th, in Sunday`s BTCC race at Donington Park.

Unlucky leading man Mat Jackson was disqualified from victory 1st place, which led to Tony Gilham’s last minute promotion.
His car was found to have broken the series’ technical rules – exceeding the permitted turbo boost limits during the final event, and disqualified him from the results.

Gilham had earlier said in his ITV4 Interview Sunday straight after the race, that he hoped one day to get “a podium”.  But little did he then know that just an hour later –after his ITV INTERVIEW - his dream would come true!

The announcement was made an hour after the final race had finished, at 7pm Sunday evening – after the podium ceremony had taken place with Mat Jackson on the top step.

Gilham had taken the chequered flag in 4th place. He also got a double whammy getting the 1^st Independent trophy.

The revised race results saw Gorden Shedden inherit the win and Jason Plato second.    Plato had already received a time penalty for barging past Sheddon on the final lap.   Jackson took the flag, Plato second and Sheddon 3rd with Gilham 4th.      Plato was given a 2 second time penalty which meant that Sheddon inherited second and Plato took third.   Then Jackson was disqualified, promoting everyone up one place.   Confused?

Sadly Gilham never got to stand on the winners podium, but celebrated the news with his team and a firm handshake with RCIB’s Mike Joseph who is the main sponsor.  Mike says ” Tony is a great driver and thouroughly deserves his success.”

Gilham’s Honda Civic will be closely watched in the next Thruxton race Round 7, in a couole of weeks time, as Gilham is standing 10^th position overall.

Story: Rachel Evans.

Williams on top form at season opener

Victory and a podium finish saw Luke Williams open his attack on the 2012 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain in fine style. Despite the adverse conditions he battled the elements to score his first win in the competitive championship.

Luke’s relatively late deal with the vastly experienced Jamun Racing team meant he saw just four days of testing in the new car before round one at Oulton Park last weekend (7^th-9^th April). “We only managed four test days, however each day was extremely productive, and we learned a lot about the car and also improved my driving style to suit the car,” said Luke.

A strong qualifying session saw Luke score a brace of second place starts for each of the three races, despite struggling with fierce tyre degradation throughout the session.

As race one beckoned Luke lined up on the grid for the first time this season, eager to beat pole man Antti Buri into turn one. A few nerves for a front row start got in the way slightly, with the youngster’s getaway being marred by a jump start. Despite receiving a drive through penalty, Luke battled away to ensure a third place finish and podium appearance.

Race two was a more challenging adventure. Rain did its best to interrupt play, meaning a wet race awaited Luke this time around. A slight drop to fourth place on the opening tour saw the Thirsk-based racer unfazed, as he mounted an attack on his rivals.

Sadly Luke soon found himself caught out by the treacherous conditions, being forced into a spin. Regardless of dropping to 14^th place he chased his way through the spray to find third place. A further push to try and catch the runaway leaders meant the conditions again played their part, sending the Jamun Racing driver into the gravel trap.

“I swiftly made it to third place, but by this time the two leaders were at least five seconds ahead. I started pushing and closing the gap, however I pushed a little too hard in to druids and locked my rear left wheel, which made me aquaplane into the gravel, where I beached the car ending my race prematurely,” said Luke.

Fired up for another fight back, Luke took to the starting grid for the final time. Again faced with a sodden circuit this time he used the conditions to his advantage.

Luke cautiously made his way around the opening few laps, as he learned where the grip was on a very wet track. As those in front of him fell foul of the slippery circumstances, Luke was able to make his way into the lead.

At the fall of the chequered flag Luke enjoyed a seven second cushion to those behind him, as he scored his first victory. “I worked on building a gap, and by the finish I was over seven seconds clear of second place. I am over the moon with my first victory, especially in the tricky conditions,” Luke said.

Looking back over the first weekend of a new season, Luke said: “Before the start of the weekend we had high hopes of three podium finishes, but as the weekend progressed with the difficulties mechanically [an engine change late Sunday night], the changing weather conditions and still learning the car I am pleased with how it went. This makes us extremely confident that we will be able to go to the next meeting and hopefully make a clean sweep of victories.”

Luke will next be in action over the weekend of 18^th-20^th May, as the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain heads to Brands Hatch in Kent.

Strong results see Antti start season on top form

Easter Monday rain played a part in today’s Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain double header at Oulton Park; however it didn’t Stop Antti Buri from strengthening his championship charge.

A late entry saw Antti join his JTR team just last Wednesday, before heading to Oulton Park for the opening round a few days later. With two days testing of the new EcoBoost car under his belt, qualifying handed the Finnish ace pole position for each of the three races.

As the first race developed it was Antti who scored not only the first win of a new season, but also the first British Formula Ford win of his career and the first win for an EcoBoost machine.

After a day off for Easter Sunday, Monday 9^th April saw action return to the track with races two and three ready to roll. A pole position start gave Antti the advantage he craved, and as the race began it was the JTR racer who led into Old Hall.

Close attentions from his nearest challenger meant Antti had a fight on his hands, however after he managed to hold his line during the opening lap his advantage remained temporarily intact.

Despite his earlier advantage, Antti was caught out in the treacherous conditions, meaning he lost his lead. After dropping to third place, he soon mounted a challenge, which saw him grasp second narrowly before the release of the safety car.

At the restart Antti was able to maintain the gap back to third place, giving him his second podium finish of the weekend.

The final race was again held in wet conditions. Another pole position placed Antti nicely back at the head of the field as another race got underway.

As the chase unfolded the race one winner was able to maintain his lead, as he built up a cushion between him and his pursuers. However all was not well, when on lap six the throttle on his single-seater became stuck, causing him to hit the gravel trap at Druids, the fastest corner on the circuit.

After regaining momentum, Antti managed to rejoin the race albeit in third place. Unfazed by the mishap he again pushed, however as the race neared the chequered flag an issue with his clutch reared its head. A determined drive saw the 23 year old work his way to third place, to bank yet another successful finishing position.

“It’s been a very good weekend and a great start to the season for me and the team,” said Antti. “I only got the car on Wednesday and given the wet conditions we were faced with it made things tricky. But we are now equal on points in the lead of the championship.”

“I think it will be a lot closer at the next round,” Antti continued. “It is a different sort of track and I think it will be a lot harder to break away at Brands Hatch. We have good pace though and will be testing there a few times before we race. I’m looking forward to it.“

Cook kicks off season in fighting style

Racing youngster Jake Cook made the ideal start to his 2012 Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain campaign this weekend, with a win and two other podium finishes to his name.

As Jake took to the Oulton Park track for qualifying he was met by three strong starting positions. Despite difficulties during the session, the Jamun Racing ace would line up on the grid fourth, fourth and third, respectively.

“Qualifying wasn’t great, we were struggling with the set-up of the car,” explained Jake. “The first race was just damage limitation for me really. The first half of it was really good, and then I just dropped back as my rear tyres went off,” he added.

After a strong second place finish in the season opener on Saturday, a wet day welcomed Jake back to the track on Monday (9^th April). A fourth place start for the first of today’s two races saw a feisty getaway leave him in second place after the opening tour.

From here the Rotherham-based racer went from strength to strength, as he slipped passed his chief challenger for the lead. After stretching out a seven second advantage, Jake’s lead was soon devoured by the appearance of the Safety Car.

As the race got underway once more the pressure was on for the Jamun Racing pilot to navigate his way towards success. Although his nearest rival kept him in his sights, Jake had built enough of a cushion to storm towards his first win of the season.

Just one more race was left to run, and as the rain continued to fall it was a wet race once again. This time starting from third place Jake made another sound getaway, as he set about chasing pole man Antti Buri for the top spot.

Determined as ever to score another enviable triumph, Jake laid in second place, as he waited for the opportune moment to pounce. However as others faltered around him, it was another strong podium finish that came his way, in what was an immensely successful start to a brand new season.

“It’s been a good weekend. Just to get another podium is good. It would have been nice to get a win in the final race as well, but I’m happy with the weekend,” Jake concluded.

The next round of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain takes place at the infamous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, on the 18^th-20^th May. The championship will be playing a supporting role to the prestigious DTM series, the German Touring Cars, which always provides masses of thrilling action.

Welter enjoys success on British Formula Ford debut

The first meeting of the Dunlop MSA Formula Ford championship of Great Britain was originally not on the Rendez-Vous Racing’s calendar, due to main driver Fabian Welter only doing selected races in his first year in the UK. However it proved a successful venture, with the youngster scoring twin victories on his first attempt.

The 16 years old’s intentions are to use this upcoming season as a learning curve; however after an encouraging pre-season test at Silverstone Team Manager Philippe Layac decided the season opener at Oulton Park would give his young driver a taste of what racing in the UK was really about.

The RVR team demonstrated their potential as Fabian topped the times in the first practice session. He further cemented his velocity in the next two sessions by occupying the top of the timing sheets yet again. Following his earlier dominance qualifying third on Saturday morning was a bit disappointing for Fabian; however it was a sterling effort after he suffered a little overheating in his rear tyres on a drying track.

As race one got underway Fabian passed five cars before reaching the first corner. Despite being re-passed by the fast paced new generation Formula Ford EcoBoost machines, Fabian held on to his early class lead, as he improved his lap times whilst his rivals faced various misfortunes.

At the fall of the chequered flag Fabian crossed the line with a 15 second advantage, to score his very first victory in the UK on his first attempt. Joy was shared by everyone at RVR, it also being their first race as a new team.

Race two would be even better for Fabian and RVR as they won in frantic conditions their very first wet race. Starting third Fabian was immediately in a position to pass those ahead of him.

However before long he became the victim of the horrendous conditions and fell off the track twice. Soon enough he was able to pass again and stormed through the last laps two seconds quicker than his class rivals, to finish in a remarkable fourth position overall scoring his second class win in a row.

Race three saw another brilliant start to put him in a position to show his skills on a very wet track. The difference of straight line speed with the EcoBoost cars made Fabian’s job more difficult, which allowed his Duratec Class rivals to catch up with him. After a brief off-track excursion Fabian fought back to fourth place, narrowly missing out on a third consecutive podium.

Following his UK racing debut, an ecstatic Fabian said: “I had a really good feeling with the car at Silverstone and immediately felt confident and competitive, so we thought that even without prior testing going to Oulton Park wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I must say that it is the best track I have ever been to and I have really enjoyed winning my first races in the UK.”

RVR Team Manager Philippe Layac said: “The bet has paid off well as Fabian has proved his great ability in tricky conditions. Good work was really well rewarded too as since Fabian arrived in January we’ve worked extremely hard every day on his physical condition at the RVR Academy. We’ve also focused on his concentration by watching a lot of video footage, sampling the simulator and taking part in all sorts of very stimulating activities, which is exactly what any racing driver needs to feel on top of his game.

“Working with Ross Curnow (ex Antel Motorsport) has proved to be very beneficial mechanically, and we were in a position to give Fabian a very competitive set-up for every condition he had to face during the weekend,” Philippe added.

Fabian and the RVR team are now focused on the second meeting of the season at Brands Hatch in May. Fabian will arrive there as the leader of the Duratec championship, with everyone at RVR eager for more success.

Words: Leanne Fahy
Photos: Jonathan Hatfield

Tanner Foust claimed the Supercar victory at the opening round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill’s Monster Energy International Rallycross Festival. The American star controlled the A Final, despite the treacherous mud and rain, beating second placed Mats Lysen and third place finisher Liam Doran.

In the highly competitive Super 1600 class Finnish-Russian Jussi-Petteri Leppihalme took his maiden win, beating team mate Andreas Bakkerud to the flag. Swede Anton Marklund steered his Ford Fiesta Mk 7 to top spot in the Touring Car class, with Czech Roman Castoral second.

At Lydden Hill’s fourth hosting of the ERC start light problems forced the organisers to abandon racing on Day 1. An even greater packed Day 2 with 3 sets of heats and finals resulted, causing non-stop action throughout.

Day 1 belonged to Tanner Foust, as the US Top Gear presenter finished top of the times in Timed Practice. The wet conditions allowed the OMSE Team to fine tune the Fiesta’s wet set up, aiding Foust who stated: “The weak point of my car is its wet set up. We’ve had limited testing in the wet, so this weekend has been one of our first tests in these conditions.”

Alterations to the Fiesta clearly paid off, as Foust finished top of the times despite a four wheel jump over the chicane. Andy Scott (Ford Focus) was an incredible second quickest, with experienced Frenchman Jean–Luc Pailler (Peugeot 207) third.

All eyes were on Monster Energy star Liam Doran, who Foust claimed was: “my biggest rival as he lives here!” Despite Liam’s extensive circuit knowledge a technical infringement on the Citroen DS3’s set up let him down. An exclusion from Timed Practice left Doran on the back foot before any racing began.

Day 2 and Heat’s 1 and 3 belonged to Foust, with Swede Stig-Olov Walfridson (Renault Clio) upsetting Foust’s domination in Heat 2. Doran fought back, powering his M-Technologies DS3 to the B Final win with a magnificent come back.

This earned Liam a spot on the A Final grid, which Foust headed alongside Walfridson and Scott. From lights to flag Foust led, ahead of Norwegian youngster Mats Lysen who fought through from his fourth placed grid spot.

Local star Doran out muscled Walfridson down Hairy Hill, taking third on the DS3’s debut. Guttorm ‘Maximum Attack’ Lindefjell brought his Fabia Mk1 to fourth, with the unfortunate Scott bringing up the rear of a frantic A Final.

The Set Promotion squad controlled the Super 1600 podium with Leppihalme (Renault Clio) and Bakkerud (Renault Twingo) beating Poland’s Krzysztof Skorupski (VW Polo) to first and second. The 2011 class champion Bakkerud pre race stated: “I can’t nail the starts; if I can do it my Twingo’s times will improve.”

Bakkerud did get away well, but so did Leppihalme, with the 2011 champion Bakkerud only able to follow Leppihalme to the flag.

The Touring Car class had one of its biggest entries, with a field of 17 hitting the mud plastered track. Irishman Derek Tohill (Ford Fiesta Mk7) ahead of the final commented: “It’s half the battle just to be at Lydden, any result is a bonus as the title is the aim.”

Young Swede Anton Marklund took a surprise win, ahead of the entertaining Castoral and a pleased Tohill who rounded out the rostrum finishers.

Next on the ERC calendar is France on April 28th/29th, where Europe’s finest will return to battle after a fantastic Round 1.

Report: Daniel Wright
Photos:  Joseph Wright

Before even turning a wheel in anger Mark Hazell has pulled out of the 2012 British Touring Car Championships, citing personal reasons for the dramatic pull out.

Hazell was due to drive for the Rob Austin Racing Team in one of their Audi A4′s.    He didn’t race at Brands Hatch as only one car was finished in time, but was expected to make the grid at Donington Park.

Team boss, Rob Austin drove the sole A4, finishing 2nd in free practice 1, qualifying in 7th place and finishing 8th, 5th and 5th in the opening three races.    He is currently 5th in the standings behind Jason Plato, Matt Neal, Andrew Jordan and Rob Collard.    He is third in the Independents championship, and 6th in the team trophy (the first single car team)

Pics of Rob Austin: Norwich Photo

Stefan di Resta, the 22 year old brother of Sahara Force India Grand Prix star Paul, is to make his race debut this Sunday at Knockhill.

Stefan, who comes from Bathgate and works in the family property development business, will be racing the Grand Prix Adventures #6 Mini Cooper in the Celtic Speed Scottish Mini Cooper Cup. With three races scheduled, Stefan will be competing against 25 other Minis, including 4 lady racers, all of whom will be tackling the twists and turns of the challenging Knockhill circuit. 17 year old Lewis Grant from Aberdeen will also make his racing debut in the same event driving his Apex Tubulars backed Mini Cooper.

GPA owner Kenny McLeod said “I am delighted to be playing a small part in Scottish motorsport history with Stefan driving the #6 GPA Mini resplendent with the McLeod tartan roof!” Stuart Gray Knockhill Events Director added “It will be great to see how Stefan gets on at Knockhill as it’s the same track that his brother Paul, his cousin Dario Franchitti, David Coulthard and Alan McNish all drove their first race cars.

A busy 14 race programme kicks off at 10am and features the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup, Scottish Classics, Legends, Formula Fords and Sports and Saloons in an action packed race day.

Fiona Kindness starts her first season of door to door racing, having successfully campaigned her Nissan Skyline in the UK Time Attack series for the past 3 years.

Photos: John Stewart, Flatoutphotography