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.

Toyota enters British GT with new GT86 GT4

The GT86 - Quite possibly one of the best looking Toyotas - nay even cars - seen this decade

 

The GT86 has already seen racing action in the Britcar 24 Hours

The first GT4 racing version of the Toyota GT86 will hit the track later this month following completion of the first chassis by Buckingham-based motorsport engineering pioneer GPRM.

The new car is powered by a 2.0-litre direct injection turbocharged four-cylinder ‘Boxer’ engine which has been developed in conjunction with Nicholson McLaren Engines. The GT86 will be shaken down at a UK circuit ahead of a schedule of European tests and the pre-season ‘balance of performance’ sessions organised by GT4 series organiser SRO.

GPRM and its directors Gary Blackham and Roger King believe the new Toyota will be a serious GT4 contender: “The new engine from Nicholson McLaren will be capable of between 360 and 400 bhp,” said Blackham, “although of course the definitive output figure will be determined by the balance of performance testing.

Inside the Office

“We have gone all out to engineer quality and reliability into the GT86 as well as competitiveness, and the result has provoked a lot of interest from all around Europe.” GPRM has already taken one GT86 order and is in advanced talks with a team keen to race one in the AvonTyres British GT Championship. “The Toyota GT86 will make an ideal GT4 contender in British GT, as well as in the many GT4 series growing in strength and popularity around Europe.”

GPRM’s Toyota GT86 is a cost-efficient entry-level endurance car. The company embarked on the GT4 project immediately after the Britcar24 last September, where the new Toyota sports car made a successful UK race debut. Although not a works effort, the GT4 project has the blessing of Toyota GB, which is providing technical support. 

Chevron scores personal best

Anthony Reid at the wheel of the Chevron GT3 on his way to 7th at Snetterton

Contesting selected rounds of the 2012 British GT Championship, Chevron Racing’s Anthony Reid and Jordan Witt piloted their Chevron GT3 to 7th place at Snetterton (on Sunday 05 August) equalling the highest ever finish for the marque in the series, although this time among a much bigger field. This is also the Chevron GT3’s highest placing in a British GT race – making it a new ‘personal best’.

Despite a weekend of mixed fortunes for the team in Norfolk, the result for Reid and Witt in the second race highlights the success of Chevron Racing’s continued development of the GT3. However, due to tricky weather conditions, which resulted in less track time and qualifying being cancelled, the testing of the Chevron GT3 with newly fitted brakes was limited.

Jordan Witt, having taken the Chevron GT3 across the line on Sunday for 7th place, said;

“After Saturday’s wet weather, and the difficulties it brought with it due to the allocation of grid positions from practice sessions, we really wanted to push in the second race. Anthony handed the car over to me whilst lying in tenth, having come up through the field from near the back of the grid, and by this time the new brakes had bedded in.

“The Chevron GT3 stayed strong until the end of the race, as others seemed to be dropping off the cliff. This is probably down to the fact that we suffered from less tyre degradation, mainly as a result of the Chevron being a lighter car.

“I managed to reduce the gap between us and the leaders, catching them by nearly four seconds a lap towards the end of the race! I could see the sixth, fifth and fourth placed drivers just ahead of me, and we were only six seconds off the pace at the finish. If there had been another ten minutes of the race to run, I’m sure we could of made it onto the podium.”

Anthony Reid commented; “We learnt a tremendous amount from the weekend, came away with a great result, and the team left Snetterton in good spirits. It was unfortunate about the weather on Saturday, but we were able to fight back on Sunday which was fantastic.

“For the next British GT round, at Silverstone in early September, we can now hone the various updates on the car.”

British GT : Lotus takes 3 Podium finishes from 2 Races

The Lotus Evora in the trying conditions at Oulton Park

Lotus Sport UK opened their 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship account with three podium finishes from two races at the picturesque Oulton Park circuit.


In challenging weather conditions Sailesh Bolisetti took to the wheel of the #48 Lotus Evora for the first stint in race one despite only having driven the car briefly in the wet. Promising lap times kept the car in the running for a good finish in GT4 before Phil Glew took over. Setting a stunning pace he reeled in the Ginetta of Hughes and Fannin who had a 1m37s gap at the start of his stint, by the end of the race he had closed that gap down to 37 seconds.


Marco Attard started in the #49 Lotus and following a great start kept 3rd place. With a solid pace throughout the race and improving lap times Alistair MacKinnion took over to keep the car in a podium scoring position.


Race two saw the #48 car star from pole position with Glew leading the way throughout his stint, he matched the pace of Hughes in the Ginetta and would pull out a 6 second lead by the time he came in for the driver change. Unfortunately for Bolisseti the pace of Jody Fannin in the Ginetta would prove too strong and would lose a place; despite this he would keep his head as others slid off the circuit and bring home the car in a brilliant second place.


Alistair Mackinnon started in the #49 car from third place but would lose out as the back end of the Lotus stepped out and dropped him down to fourth place. Attard would put in a solid drive to bring the car home in one piece finishing fourth in class.


Quotes from the weekend:


Sailesh Bolisetti #48: “I had a great weekend with Lotus Sport UK, big learning curve, and horrible conditions that I am not used too!! My team mate Phil helped me no end so that was great. Two second places is a great start to my British GT experience so I’m really happy!"


Phil Glew #48: “It’s great to be back with the Lotus Sport UK guys, they do a great job. It was really enjoyable this weekend racing alongside the likes of Warren Hughes and Jody Fannin in such tricky conditions. Sailesh did a great job, lots for him to take on, and in these very wet conditions, he did a great job."


Alistair Mackinnon #49: "It was great to be back racing in GT's, the conditions were awful, but I think that myself and Marco did a good job, a podium in the first race was brilliant! The team are a great bunch, and the little Evora was a pleasure to race!"


Marco Attard #49: "The conditions here today were terrible, but the we managed to bring back two unscathed cars, and with a couple of podiums too, so all in all, a great weekend!”


Gary Ayles, Team Manager: "All the drivers drove fantastic races over the weekend in very testing conditions, and also the fact we had no major offs, or damage proves what a professional job the guys did. Our rookie Sailesh coped with all the new things to learn extremely well, and the fact he has only ever raced in the wet a handful of times proved that he will be one to watch in GT's in the future."


You can follow the team on twitter at @LotusSportUKGT and on facebook at www.facebook.com/LotusSportUK.

New Aston Martin GT4 unveiled.

Speaking personally, I can't wait to see the new Aston Martin on track - it's a great looking machine, and the engineers at Prodrive have clearly pulled off one of their famous efforts to produce the car. What's more, apparently it can be made Road Legal ... although Aston Martin point out that "it's a track car through and through", so whilst it would make a great, if somewhat expensive track day car, it's probably best to have it driven to the venue rather than drive it there!

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With the latest Aston Martin Vantage road car set to debut at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, a revised version of its closest circuit-racing sibling made a debut appearance of its own at Silverstone on Friday (2 March). The 2012 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 features an all-new aerodynamic package plus further improvements to the rollcage and fuel tank.

Showing off the new rear wing

 For the first time, the Vantage GT4 gets a carbon fibre rear wing, working in conjunction with a larger front splitter to increase downforce for greater dynamic performance, while also adding visual tension to the muscular Vantage bodywork. The re-designed rollcage conforms to the latest FIA regulations and improves access and legroom, while the mid-mounted, 115-litre fuel tank lowers the centre of gravity for better weight distribution. The fuel tank’s twin quick-fill entries in the rear quarter-lights are directly carried over from the recently launched Vantage GT3.

John Gaw, Managing Director of Aston Martin Racing said: “We have taken the opportunity to make some quite dramatic aerodynamic enhancements to the Vantage GT4, which will close the performance gap between this entry level GT car and the GT3. We have also fitted the car with the same roll cage and fuel tank configuration that’s found in the Vantage GT3 and GTE. We are about to sell our 100^th Vantage GT4 and since its launch it has been one of the most successful cars in its class; the Vantage GT4 and its predecessor, the Vantage N24, scored many 24 Hour race class victories, the 2010 European GT4 Cup title and also back-to-back championship victories in the Nürburgring VLN series in 2010 and 2011.

The front end has had a splitter added to it 

“The revised version has very large boots to fill, but given the effort we’ve put into developing the upgrades and following a successful first outing, we’re very confident that the 2012 Vantage GT4 will pick up where its predecessor left off.”

David King, Head of Motorsport at Aston Martin Lagonda, added: “The launch of the 2012 Vantage GT4 completes the comprehensive overhaul of Aston Martin’s race car line up. Late last year we revealed the V12-powered Vantage GT3 and last month our new Vantage GTE – which Aston Martin Racing will run in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – made its debut in London.

“All three models benefit from Aston Martin Racing’s seven years of experience in international motorsport, during which time we scored back-to-back GT1 victories at Le Mans. Not only have all of our racing cars been revised or completely overhauled for the 2012 season, they are all now based on Aston Martin’s sportiest road car, the Vantage.”

The road-going Vantage will show off its most comprehensive raft of improvements since 2008 at the Geneva Motor Show, including aerodynamic enhancements that draw inspiration from Aston Martin Racing’s GT motorsport programmes. The Vantage GT4 benefits from the road car’s exceptionally rigid bonded aluminium chassis, basic suspension design and 4.7-litre V8 engine while the compact dimensions lend themselves perfectly to circuit racing.

Unmistakably an Aston Martin! See it race in British GT and Britcar British Endurance Championship.

Costing from £119,500, the 2012 Vantage GT4 will be officially presented at the GT4 balancing test at Zandvoort, the Netherlands, on 6-7 March and will be eligible to race in all GT4 series including the European GT4 Championship, Blancpain Endurance Championship, the VLN series, British GT, Britcar, Brazilian GT, Belgian Endurance Championship, Dutch GT Championship, GT Asia series and most national series with a GT4 category. 

New Tyres for British GT

Avon’s new GT racing tyre was used successfully at 

last month’s Gulf 12 Hours event

Avon Tyres has introduced a quicker, more consistent tyre product for this year’s British GT Championship.

The Avon brand, manufactured by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd, has unveiled the fourth generation of its GT racing tyre since it took over as sole supplier and title sponsor of the series in 2006.

Avon Tyres Motorsport technical manager, Mike Lynch, believes the new tyre will be around a second quicker than its predecessor around most circuits on the British GT calendar but, importantly, will also be durable enough for teams to use strategies demanding longer stints.

The new tyre has been extensively developed over the last two years, with Avon Motorsport evolving its previous generation product in endurance series such as the VLN. It was also used and well received by all teams at the inaugural Gulf 12 Hour in Abu Dhabi recently.

Lynch said, “The new tyre has been developed using a wide range of cars so we can be sure that it will suit the range of cars we have in the British GT Championship. It is a more consistent, faster product and will provide a more stable drive so our drivers should feel more comfortable when pushing their sports cars to the limit.

“What we found in testing was that the drop-off in terms of grip was almost entirely insignificant so drivers wishing to use a longer-stint strategy will be able to do so.”

Avon has also prepared a new wet weather tyre for the 2012 season, which Lynch says will be considerably quicker and easier to drive than its predecessor.

The British GT Championship is the UK’s most high-profile sportscar championship and features supercars such as the Ferrari 458, Porsche GT3, BMW Z4 and Lotus Evora GT4.

The new tyres will be used by teams for the first time at the championship launch event in March. The championship kicks off at Oulton Park on April 7-9.

Indian star Bolisetti to race for Lotus in British GTSa

Sailesh Bolisetti with the Lotus Evora GT3

Lotus Sport UK has signed Sailesh Bolisetti to race in the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The 23-year-old from Visakhapatnum, on the east coast of India, will race the Lotus Evora GT4 which took three wins last year, the team’s maiden season.

Bolisetti began racing in 2007 and went on to win India’s inaugural Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2010. As part of his prize, he was promoted to the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup, a support series for Europe’s DTM championship. Now’s he’s preparing to make the step up to sportscar racing, alongside some of the toughest tin-top competitors in the business.

Commenting on his appointment Sailesh Bolisetti said: “Being associated with such a well-known name in racing is a great opportunity for me, especially one with such a rich pedigree across a uniquely wide range of disciplines. But I don’t take it as a pressure, I take it as a privilege – I’ll be driving for the same brand as some of my all time heroes and sporting legends and I’m really looking forward to it.”

British GT’s seven-race season kicks off at Oulton Park on April 7. In addition, Bolisetti will contest the Indian i1 Super Series in the Middle East andAsia, in order to get as much experience under his belt as possible.

Gary Ayles, Team Manager, Lotus Sport UK said: “Sailesh is a strong talent that hadn’t been discovered in Europe, until now. I first got to know him and his father through my contacts in India, having been involved with the A1GP India team and raced over there in F3. We kept in contact and now Sailesh has come of age and is ready to race here in Europe with our team. You need to keep an eye on this lad, he’s a star in the making.”

Minshaw and Harvey take on British GT 2012

A very colourful entry - No surprises over the sponsor of course! (Jon Minshaw owns Demon Tweeks)

Jon Minshaw will mount a major programme in the 2012 British GT Championship with a Porsche 911 GT3R from the Trackspeed team. For his graduation into British GT, the experienced racer of historic machinery will be partnered by Tim Harvey. The entry will be backed by Tweeks Cycles and Demon Tweeks.

Minshaw has enjoyed extensive success in historic racing over the last decade and won the 2011 E-type Challenge, marking the 50th anniversary of the classic model. Now, he is taking on the new challenge of the British GT Championship.

“I had such a good season in historic racing last year that it was difficult to see where to go next,” said Minshaw. “I’ve decided to have a crack at some modern racing. It will be a new challenge and I don’t underestimate the task. I want to try and finish every race and then see where we are at the end of the season.” In recent times, Minshaw has contested the 24-hour races at Silverstone and Dubai.

Harvey, meanwhile, is delighted to be returning to the British GT Championship. “It’s the perfect place for me to race in 2012,” said Harvey. “I wanted to be in a Porsche and with a driver I’d enjoy working with. Jon is a seriously committed racer and Trackspeed has done a very good job with the Porsche.”

While British GT will be the main focus of his season, Minshaw will retain an involvement in historic racing and hopes to fit in several high-profile events with his Jaguar E-type and Lister Jaguar.