Rockingham lines up action packed Calendar for 2013

BTCC is sure to be a fan favourite at Rockingham in 2013

WITH the new motorsport season just around the corner Rockingham has announced its exciting racing line-up for 2013, which will again feature action on both two and four wheels at the Northamptonshire circuit.

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship leads the action on four wheels and will again be the headline race meeting when it returns in the autumn. Rockingham hosts Round Eight of the UK’s premier tin-top series over the weekend of September 14/15.

Following a successful return last season, the UK’s largest bike racing series, Thundersport GB, is back over the weekend of July 27/28, to offer the chance to watch an awesome array of motorcycle racing on Rockingham’s 1.94-mile International Motorcycle Circuit.

It’s also a summer date for 750 Motor Club, which is one of the UK’s leading motor racing organisers with championships to suit all tastes. The club will hold its maiden race meeting at Rockingham over the weekend of July 13/14.

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship will provide a touch of glamour over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 5/6, when some of the world’s most prestigious supercars will provide bumper-to-bumper racing at breathtaking speeds.

Rockingham Chief Executive Charlotte Orton said: “We are looking forward to a fantastic 2013 season at Rockingham. We have secured some great race meetings this year from grass roots motorsport through to the UK’s premier motor racing series.”

The British Racing and Sports Car Club (BRSCC) will raise the curtain on the new season over the weekend of April 6/7, while British Automobile Race Club (BARC) are pencilled in for two visits on May 10/11 and August 10/11.

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Rockingham 2013 Race Calendar

April 6/7 BRSCC Race Weekend

May 5/6 Avon Tyres British GT Championship

May 10/11 BARC Race Meeting

June 1 Britcar

July 13/14 750 Motor Club

July 27/28 Thundersport GB

August 10/11 BARC Race Meeting

Sept 7 BRSCC Race Weekend

Sept 14/15 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship

Dec 7/8 Rockingham Stages Rally

To reinforce Rockingham’s commitment to making motor racing accessible and affordable to all fans, adult admission prices start from just £10 per day, while children aged 16 and under get in for free.

Don’t forget if you buy a BTCC Sunday race day ticket before March 1, you will receive free entry to Saturday’s qualifying day. Advance tickets can be purchased either online at www.rockingham.co.uk or via the ticket hotline on 01536 500500.

All tickets include a grandstand seat with a unique panoramic view of the entire circuit and access to the race paddock, allowing an exclusive insight into the hard work which goes on behind the scenes to keep the drivers and cars on track.

For more information visit the race events page on the Rockingham website.

Tillotson sponsors 750 MC Formula Vee 2013

Tillotson, one of the oldest manufacturers of carburettors in the world, will be the title sponsor for the 750 Motor Club-run Formula Vee Championship, the Club has announced.

The sponsorship funding will mean that competitors in the single-seater championship, which enjoyed a boost in entry levels in 2012, will benefit from regular tyre draws at each round of the 2013 Tillotson Formula Vee Championship. Two tyres will be won by a competitor at each of the seven double-header events next year, following a similar pattern to that already established in several of the Club’s other championships.

“We are delighted to welcome Tillotson on board as a sponsor to the Formula Vee Championship,” said 750 Motor Club Competition Manager Giles Groombridge. “It is particularly pleasing that its contribution will enable all of our Vee competitors an equal chance of winning a worthwhile prize, rather than just those that are battling at the front of the field.”

“It's a thrill to sponsor the Formula Vee Championship,” Tillotson President Charles Demirjian said. “We are grateful for the opportunity and are excited to work with the 750 Club to make this a great year of racing for everyone.”

The 2013 Tillotson Formula Vee Championship, which will be run over 14 races, begins at Donington Park on 23 March. The Club has held entry fees at the same level as the 2012 season despite increasing circuit hire fees.

750 Motor Club Teams up with Performance Driving Centre

The 750 Motor Club, one of Britain’s leading organisers of club motorsport, whose offices are based trackside at Donington Park, have teamed up with the Performance Driving Centre to offer an exciting range of race driver training packages designed to fully prepare aspiring racing drivers for their first race meeting. The deal will also offer existing club drivers the opportunity to sharpen their skills behind the wheel.

The Performance Driving Centre was established by Richard Peacock in 1978 and is the longest established race training facility in the UK. The hand-picked team of instructors are all qualified under the ARDS/MSA racing driver instructor licensing scheme and over the years, the PDC team have coached and trained drivers with professional potential all the way up to Grand Prix winners.

In addition to offering the Competition Licence Course, which every aspiring racer needs in order to obtain a National B grade race licence, the 750MC PDC scheme offers the chance to every candidate to see them through to actually participating in their first race. Other options will include:

• Junior ARDS Course - for 14- to16-year-old driver;
• Circuit Skills and Racing Procedures (CSRP) - one-to-one tuition with a senior ARDS instructor, demonstration laps showing cornering lines and three 20-minute circuit driving sessions with technical debrief;
• Intensive one-day Race Training Programme – offering approximately twice the track time of the CSRP course and a detailed analysis of the technical aspects of successful track driving and race craft; and
• First Race Package – participate in your first race, sharing a car in a two-driver event with one of our senior instructors.

Packages are now available from £295 and each course at Donington Park includes a number of additional benefits such as complimentary membership of the 750 Motor Club as well as access to the world famous Donington Grand Prix Collection.

Christopher Tate, Managing Director at Donington Park, said: “With our on-site partners from 750MC, and the strong past connections between Richard Peacock and this circuit, all here at Donington are delighted with this new race training school. Now, with the Honda Ron Haslam Academy at Donington offering excellent two-wheel training, we have the two great racing disciplines of bikes and cars professionally managed.”

Richard Peacock, of the Performance Driving Centre said: “It has been a cause of concern to me in recent years that UK motorsport has lacked a realistic structure for potential drivers to start racing. I would also like to dispel the theory that unless you are fortunate enough to come from wealthy, indulgent parents and start very young you are wasting your time. Providing you have genuine interest and a reasonable amount of natural ability progression to being competitive can be quite swift. Motor racing will always have a cost but 750MC are the market leaders in providing a variety of cost effective categories. Our current range of courses is practical, down to earth and tailored to the individual. I am delighted to be part of this initiative at Donington in conjunction with 750MC and look forward to seeing new faces on the starting grids and existing competitors becoming more competitive.”

750 Motor Club announces 2013 Calendar.

The 750 Motor Club has announced an expanded racing programme for the 2013 season, having experienced growth in a number of its core categories during the past year. The calendar includes first visits to the Snetterton 300 circuit and Rockingham, and the first event on the Donington Park Grand Prix layout for several seasons.

“We have pursued a policy of conservative expansion,” said the Club’s Competition Manager, Giles Groombridge. “We have two more days of racing than in 2012, but have maintained a good variety of circuits and a sensible spacing in the calendar. The majority of our competitors will have the opportunity to race on one or more new layouts next season, and I know that they will enjoy the challenge.”

The increase in dates, combined with the earlier cancellation of the Saxmax championship, has allowed Groombridge to increase the number of championship rounds by two for 750 Formula, Bikesports, Classic Stock Hatch, Compact Cup and Sports Specials. “All five of these championships showed growth in 2012 so the extra dates are justified,” he said. “This demonstrates the Club’s commitment to developing our categories and rewards the loyalty of our competitors.”

The popular Locost Championship, which fielded average grids of 39 cars in 2012, will feature on the bill at the Motors TV Live Race Day at Castle Combe on the May Bank Holiday. The Club’s season will close, as is traditional with the Birkett Six Hour Relay Race on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on 26 October. A near capacity entry of 67 teams took part this year.

Silverstone will also be the venue for the Club’s Summer Festival on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The full calendar of race events organised by the 750 Motor Club in 2013 is as follows:

23 March                       Donington Park (Grand Prix) 

1 April                           Mallory Park

27/8 April                      Brands Hatch (Indy)

25/6 May                       Snetterton (300/200)

15/6 June                      Pembrey

13/4 July                       Rockingham (International Super Sportscar Long)

24/5 August                  Silverstone (National – Summer Festival)

21/2 September             Donington Park (National)

12/3 October                 Cadwell Park (Full)

26 October                    Silverstone (Grand Prix – Birkett Relay)

[2 out of 3 Grand Prix Circuits!]

Autosport International 2012 : 750 Motor Club

Viv Ayres from top organising club, the 750 Motor Club tells us their plans for 2012 and beyond