RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

The Final races in the Fuchs Titan MR2 Racing series on a wet Pembrey circuit on Oct 9th.
qualifying
with the majority of the drivers having never raced at Pembrey together with a wet track this was going to be interesting, times kept getting quicker and fantastically the pole went to Richard Avery his first ever MR2 pole, from Simon Lockey and Gary Lawrence.

Pole
1st Richard Avery 2nd Simon Lockey 3rd Gary Lawrence
4th Dave Hemingway 5th Ian Davies 6th Neil Stratton

race 1
race one soon involved a great race between Richard Avery and Simon Lockey who were passing an most corners, coming through the field fast was Paul Corbridge on his last lap all three were together, Richard made a dive for the lead at the hairpin only to spin out, so the win went to Simon his first in his MR2 from Paul and Richard.

1st Simon Lockey 2nd Paul Corbridge 3rd Richard Avery
4th Ian Davies 5th Dan Budd 6th Geraint Hughes.

race 2
Paul Corbridge led this one from Simon Lockey and Ian Davies, the Front two pulled away from Ian Davies, with the win going to Paul by 1.5 sec from Simon.
1st Paul Corbridge 2nd Simon Lockey 3rd Ian Davies
4th Dave Hemmingway 5th Richard Avery 6th Gary Lawrence

race 3
the last race of the 2011 season, again Paul Corbridge showed the way and kept his car pointing in the right direction on a wet track, Simon Lockey finished his year off with another consistent drive to 2nd place, Dave Hemingway got up to 3rd place despite his car smoking very badly.

1st Paul Corbridge 2nd Simon Lockey 3rd Dave Hemingway
4th Ian Davies 5th Richard Avery 6th Neil Stratton

driver of the day award
went to Neil Stratton who drove from 17th on the grid to finish 6th. so another very successful year for the RED Dragon Race & Track Club, Steve Vince the series organiser said it always amazes me the number of cars that turn up for the MR2 MK1 series, we already have new drivers lined up for the 2012 series.

the Birmingham Classic car and sports car show will be on at the N.E,C in November 11th/12th/13th and information on this series will be available in hall 6 on the Toyota “MR2 DRIVERS Club” stand were Sarah Wherry and Stuart Skinner will be for the full duration of the show only to pleased to help you and a fully prepared race car will be there for you to see if your interested in any technical hints and advice.

The Fuchs Titan MR2 racing series moved on to Mallory Park, Leicestershire for rounds 11 & 12 or of the 2011 series, 23 cars lined up for qualifying on a sunny dry track.

After qualifying the top 5 drivers were all in the 57 sec laps, with the following 6 in the 58 sec laps, racing was going to be close on this one with such a short circuit and a mass grid , pole position went to Jonny White from Aaron Pullan and Paul Corbridge.

Race 1
Pole man Jonny White led from Aaron Pullan and Paul Corbridge, two laps in Aaron took the lead coming out of the hairpin, only for Jonny to attempt an overtake back going into the hairpin on the next lap, Jonny lost control and spun out, Aaron then pulled a 3 second gap on Paul Corbridge and was soon catching back markers , unfortunately Aaron was unlucky when an out of control back marker caused him to take avoiding action Aaron lost control himself and span and he had to retire , so the win went to Paul Corbridge his first win of the series.

results
1st Paul Corbridge 2nd Ian Davis 3rd Jon Winter
4th Chris Shackle 5th Roger Pullan 6th Gary Lawrence

race 2
with the track now very wet from midday torrential rain Paul Corbridge lead this race closely followed by Gary Lawrence and Chris Shackle, the race followed this pattern until the last pap when Gary Lawrence got better drive round Gerrards and passed Paul Corbridge into the esses to continue and take the win.

results
1st Gary Lawrence 2nd Paul Corbridge 3rd Chris Shackle
4th Jonny White 5th Matt Smith 6th Aaron Pullan

the final race is at Pembrey on 9th Oct

for further details on this series or Red Dragon Race and Track Club please see the clubs web site
www.reddragonraceandtrackclub.com
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The FUCH`S TITAN MR2 racing series promoted by the Red Dragon Race & Track club had rounds 10 & 11 at Rockingham speedway on Saturday 20th August 2011.

Qualifying
Steve Hennessy car 64 claimed his first pole position in the MR2 Racing from Dave Hemmingway car 59 and Gary Lawrence car 93. 1 sec covered the top 7 cars.
1st Steve Hennessy 2nd Dave Hemmingway 3rd Gary Lawrence
4th Ian Davies 5th Nathan Harrison 6th Paul Corbridge

race 1
Gary Lawrence lead this one and looked on for a win until a rear puncture put a stop to this, Dave Hemmingway was also challenging for a win until he lost a fan belt and all his water , this caused Paul Corbridge to spin out of 4th place so a win for Ian Davis by .1 of a second from Steve Hennessy and Jon Winter.
1st Ian Davies 2nd Steve Hennessy 3rd Jon Winter 4th Nathan Harrison
5th Chris Shackle 6th Chris Gray.

race 2
race two soon developed into a 3 car race between Ian Davies, Steve Hennessy and Paul Corbridge with another 3 car race on for 4th place between Chris Shackle, Gary Lawrence and Richard Avery.
Ian Davis took the win from Steve Hennessy with consistent Paul Corbridge third all covered by less than 1 sec, 4th place went to Chris Shackle from Gary Lawrence and Richard Avery again covered by less than 1 sec.
1st Ian Davies 2nd Steve Hennessy 3rd Paul Corbridge 4th Chris Shackle 5th Gary Lawrence
6th Richard Avery

The Red Dragon race & track club MR2 series next races at Mallory Park on 18th sept 2011.

Nippon challenge at DTM 2nd 3rd and 4th Sept 2011

Following the success or the Nippon challenge at the recent FIA F2 meeting on Brands Hatch GP circuit, MSVR have asked Red Dragon race and track club series organiser Steve Vince to put a grid of his successful Nippon challenge series cars on the D.T.M meeting on the 2nd,3rd and 4th of Sept.
The Nippon challenge is open to all makes of Japanese cars of different power, we have classes from 150bhp to 500 bhp and cars ranging from Toyota,Honda,Subaru,Nissan,Mitsubishi and Suzuki to name a few.

for more information on this and any other Red Dragon events please contact Steve Vince on 01646601908 or got to the clubs web site: www.reddragonraceandtrackclub.com

Spaces left to race if you have a Japanese sports car eligible to race in the Red Dragon Nippon Challenge, a fantastic once in a life time chance to race on the full GP circuit at Brands Hatch one practice and two races on this fabulous circuit on the weekend commencing the 22 July please contact Steve Vince for more details on 01646601908 or email Stephenzebra@aol.com.
this is set to be a massive weekend on one of the best circuits our fair Isle has to offer, dont miss out you wont get this chance again!
anything Japanese can enter have a look at the Red Dragon Race and Track clubs site also for details on NIPPON CHALLENGE,SUBARU CUP, FUCH`S TITAN MR2 RACING SERIES,HYUNDAI COUPE CUP, BUDDYCLUB CIVIC CUP……..www.reddragonraceandtrackclub.com

Snetterton 300 circuit was the venue for rounds 5 & 6 of the RED DRAGON Race & Track club promoted series, on a very sunny hot weekend June 26^th.

30 Toyota MR2 MK1`s lined up for qualifying, for most drivers this was the first time they had seen and driven the new layout circuit.

Qualifying

1) Dave Pittard

2) Aaron Pullan

3) Gary Lawrence

4) Ralph Budd

5) Chris Shackle

All drivers came back praising the new circuit!

Race 1

On the long 3 mile circuit the field soon spread out, pole man Dave Pittard showed his experience at doing some track days and race meetings by leaving all behind, he finished 19 seconds ahead of Aaron Pullan .

1) Dave Pittard

2) Aaron Pullan

3) Ian Davis

4) Charlie Budd

5) Paul Corbridge

Race 2

Dave Pittard again used his track knowledge to pull away from the field finishing 17 seconds ahead of Aaron Pullan, who had slowed because of a loose exhaust, with Paul Corbridge getting his first MR2 podium in 3^rd.

1) Dave Pittard

2) Aaron Pullan

3) Paul Corbridge

4) Ian Davis

5) Charlie Budd

The RED DRAGON MR2 Racing series now moves to the full Brands Hatch GP circuit on the 22-24^th July, this is a major coupe for the club and Steve Vince the series organiser is looking for full grids in the MR2 series and the Nippon Challenge.

The RED DRAGON Race & Track club series promoter Steve Vince has managed to give his club members a one off chance to race the fantastic Full GP Brands Hatch circuit at this event on the 22-24th July 2011.

“This is a round of the FIA F2 series and I have managed to get our MR2 MK1 Series sponsored by FUCHS TITAN and my NIPPON CHALLENGE Series both race slots in the programme” said Steve Vince.

“They will get a 20 min practice and two 20 min races for only a little more cost than the Brands Hatch short circuit, this is a once in a lifetime for club racers to race on the Full GP Circuit, with the huge crowds that follow the F2 events it will be a massive full weekend for RED DRAGON Race & Track Club.

The NIPPON CHALLENGE will practice and race on Friday and Saturday, the FUCHS TITAN MR2s will practice on Saturday and have two races on Sunday, so we are on track all weekend!”

for details please visit the RED DRAGON Race & Track Clubs new site: www.reddragonraceandtrackclub.com

FUCHS TITAN MR2 Racing Series
Castle Combe was the venue for rounds 3 & 4 of the FUCHS TITAN MR2 Racing series on 30th May, 2011.
Qualifying
35 drivers lined up on a wet circuit for qualifying, Jason Jesse and Aaron Pullan found conditions not to their liking and attacked the barriers, Dave Pittard proved to be the wet master or the day from Mat Smith and Richard Avery to 5 were as follows…
1) David Pittard
2) Mat Smith
3) Richard Avery
4) Ralph Budd
5) Charlotte Burridge
6) Steve Hennessy
Race 1
With the circuit still wet and still raining, Dave Pittard lead off the line from Mat Smith and Richard Avery, Richard moved up to 2nd place but lost control and spun backwards into the barrier losing him a few places, so another win for Pittard from Mat Smith and Mark Woods.
Race 2
With a drying track now for this race and almost the last race of the day the grid was formed up ready with Dave Pittard on pole again and true to his form all day he left the start line and pole never to be seen again by the grid, he finished a full 4 seconds ahead of Aaron Pullan who was 5 seconds ahead of 3rd place Jonny White, unfortunately front row starter Matt Smith had a mechanical / car fire after an off the track moment, this also covering part of the circuit in oil, thus causing quite a few cars to spin off.
1) Dave Pittard
2) Aaron Pullan
3) Jonny White
4) Ralph Budd
5) Jon Winter
The Red Dragon Race & Track Club Promoted series next visits the New Snetterton 300 circuit on 26/6/2011
With the Red Dragons NIPPON CHALLENGE also at this event.

Vaughan Fletcher @Castle Combe 30th May 2011
Nippon Challenge “First Line” Japanese Race Day
“Super GT” Subaru Impreza

Pre Race:

It’s been a while since we were last out with the Nippon Challenge series, but following a chat with organiser Steve Vince at the pre-season event at Silverstone, and given the chance to run at one of Vaughan’s favourite tracks, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Since our last outing at Brands Hatch for the series final rounds in October last year, the car has undergone a number of changes to further enhance the handling and in our opinion the looks of the car.

With a wide arch kit giving the car a more aggressive appearance, we’ve increased the track with some new 8×18” wheels, and had new front hubs developed to engineer out the problems associated with the standard hubs, which are notoriously weak.

With a routine fluid change before the trip, everything was ready for the race.

Race Day:

Bank Holiday Monday’s at Castle Combe are something of legend, as the support for the circuit is far reaching and huge crowds flock to watch the racers compete.

With a full compliment of additional races, the paddock was brimming with cars from all of the attending series.

However the biblical rain that was falling from the skies was making the tarmac of Combe take on a more aquatic nature!

Qualifying:

Very Wet

From a possible grid of 42, the Nippon Challenge came up trumps with 34 cars, covering every class from GT150 up to Super GT and the Subaru Cup.

The ever popular Swift of Andy McLennan was out looking to add his wins tally from the opener at Silverstone and the last race at Brands, and with a couple of unknowns in the mix, it would be interesting to see how things played out.

Super GT class was made up of the following:

01. Jonathan Blake Mazda MX150r

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

50. Yaser Almagrhrabi Daihatsu Charade Gti
96. Jason Langan Suzuki Swift Gti
97. Andy McLennan Suzuki Swift Gti

For qualifying it was decided we would try out the Toyo’s R888’s which were mounted on the new Revolution “Millennium 2” alloys. Given the opportunity to see how these faired in the wet, we took the gamble in the hope that we wouldn’t be disappointed. How wrong we were!

All too soon it became apparent that in heavy rain, the 888’s don’t cut the mustard. It wasn’t possible to get any heat in the tyres (as the data after the session showed) and the grip was non existent.

With the Impreza’s “understeer” handling bias magnified in the appalling conditions, and not being able to get the power down coming out of the corners, it wasn’t long before the