Fortec announces Driver line up for Protyre Formula Renault

Fortec are a front runner in Formula Renault and have great links to other series too.

Fortec Motorsports is the first of the leading teams from the Protyre Formula Renault Championship to reveal its full driver line-up for the 2013 campaign after confirming a capacity four-car entry.

The Daventry outfit, which steered Seb Morris to last November’s Winter Series title, will field a squad with a truly international flavour. Spearheaded by British karting graduate Sam MacLeod (Cambridge) and returning Chinese racer Hong Wei Cao (Stoke-on-Trent), the team will also feature Malaysian newcomer Weiron Tan (London) and Hong Kong-born racer Wei Fung Thong (Liverpool).

“We’re really pleased to have all four deals done so early, I think it’s going to be a very open season this year with so many of the experienced guys having moved on”, said Fortec team manager Steve Lynch, “It’ll be a learning year for Sam but he’s been very quick in testing and we’re confident he and Martin [Cao] will be fighting at the front for regular podiums.

“Sam’s already proving himself to be a very good driver and we’re looking for Martin to continue where he left off in the Winter Series, he’s committed to making a big push this year. We know it’ll be a whole new challenge for Tan and Thong but we’re sure they’ll both make strong progress, setting a strong base for next year and, hopefully, a future move up the ladder with Fortec.”

MacLeod competed in British and European KF2 Championship karting last year, having debuted in continental-level action in 2011 where he was fourth in the CIK-FIA European Championship. Prior to that, in 2010, MacLeod was fifth overall in the KF3 class of the UK-based Formula Kart Stars series.

Cao, also known as ‘Martin’, is the most experienced of Fortec’s quartet. After making his British racing debut in Protyre Formula Renault last year, the 19-year-old Keele University student went on to achieve his maiden podium in the 2012 Winter Series – concluding the four round championship fifth overall. He was also the 2008 Asian Formula Renault Champion.

Malaysian driver Tan, who is part of the AirAsia Caterham Driver Development Programme, moves into Protyre Formula Renault from the JK Racing Asia Series where he was seventh overall last year, taking two podiums along the way. The 18-year-old, from Kuala Lumpur, also contested selected JK Racing Asia Series rounds in 2011 alongside a campaign in the Malaysian Super Series.

Hong Kong youngster Thong, who is also referred to as ‘Shaun’, competed in Asian Formula Renault in 2012 where he was third overall and took one race victory. The 17-year-old, who currently studies at Liverpool University, also tried his hand at GT racing with outings in the Malaysian Super Series, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the Trofeo Maserati World Series.

Commenting on Fortec’s announcement, Protyre Formula Renault promoter Simon North said: “Having a team the stature of Fortec as an integral part of Protyre Formula Renault really is very important for the championship as a whole, we’re obviously delighted with the confirmation of four drivers and the international flavour underlines the increasing reach of Protyre Formula Renault.

“Fortec is one of the biggest and most successful teams, both nationally and internationally, and I’m sure everyone there will be determined to add the main Protyre Formula Renault title to the Winter Series crown won last year.”

Protyre Formula Renault features an expanded 16 race calendar for 2013, beginning with two races at Donington Park in the East Midlands on 13th/14th April before embarking on a run of four ‘triple headers’ at Snetterton in Norfolk, Thruxton in Hampshire, Croft in North Yorkshire and Rockingham in Northamptonshire.

The season finale, like the championship opener, will be a double-header and will take place at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend 28th/29th September alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Along with headline sponsor Protyre, Formula Renault is additionally supported by Michelin, The Lubricant Consultancy, Petronas Syntium and NGK Spark Plugs.

MGR Returns to Protyre Formula Renault

MGR's team has steered many teams to success over the years, 2013 should be no exception

Protyre Formula Renault (Formerly Formula Renault BARC) Championship front-runner Chris Middlehurst (St. Helens), second year competitor Tom Oliphant (Tarporley, Cheshire) and series newcomer Matteo Ferrer (Ipswich) are the first three drivers confirmed for MGR Motorsport’s 2013 assault on the 16-round season.

With plans to field a four car squad currently in advanced stages, as the Bardon team continues discussions regarding its final vacant seat with a number of drivers, MGR is delighted to confirm its first three signings.

Middlehurst enjoyed a strong debut season in Protyre Formula Renault last year, ending the main campaign ninth overall with two podiums to his credit before going on to mount a strong challenge in the Winter Series where he took two further rostrums from the four races contested.

The 18-year-old, son of former racer Andy Middlehurst, will certainly be a championship challenger this season and will be aiming to secure his maiden race victory in the category. His best result so far of second place came during the opening weekend of the 2012 Winter Series.

Oliphant, like Middlehurst, will be embarking on his second season in Protyre Formula Renault this year and the 22-year-old will be hoping to continue where he left off with Leicestershire-based MGR during the final event of last November’s Winter Series.

After a difficult main championship campaign, Oliphant moved to the Mark Godwin-led team for the Rockingham rounds of the Winter Series and showed a marked improvement by achieving a career best finish of seventh place.

Protyre Formula Renault newcomer Ferrer, who is of Venezuelan, German and Italian heritage, had no previous karting experience prior to his motorsport debut last year in the now defunct InterSteps Championship but developed significantly as the season wore on.

Ending the year eighth overall in the driver standings, Ferrer is now preparing for a major step-up in competitiveness  and has already made a strong impression on MGR team principal Godwin during initial winter test outings.

"I watched Matteo develop during the 2012 Intersteps Championship, and was really quite impressed considering his complete lack of experience”, said Godwin, “From what I saw during our winter testing in Valencia, I believe we can look forward to a very competitive year. Tom has looked strong in winter testing and we’re confident he’s going to have a good season, he did a great job with us in the Winter Series considering how much he had to adapt to the new car and team.

“We’re very confident Chris will be challenging up at the front from the off, what he achieved last year was very impressive – especially towards the end of the main season and in the Winter Series. We’re sure, with our determined and structured approach, that Chris will be a strong contender.”

Rounds one and two of the 2013 Protyre Formula Renault Championship will take place on 13th/14th April at Donington Park National Circuit in Leicestershire – MGR’s home track. Before then, teams and drivers will take part in the official ‘Media Day’ at Silverstone on Thursday, 21st March.

Commenting on MGR’s signings, championship promoter Simon North said: “MGR is obviously one of the most competitive and well run teams in Protyre Formula Renault and we’re delighted Mark [Godwin] has confirmed three drivers already for the new season. Knowing a fourth car is also highly likely with the team is fantastic news for the championship.”

Along with headline sponsor Protyre, Formula Renault is additionally supported by Michelin, The Lubricant Consultancy, Petronas Syntium and NGK Spark Plugs.

BARC launches new Renault Clio series with Michelin

BARC is now offering the thrills of the Renault Clio Cup on a smaller budget with the new Michelin backed series

Renault UK, the British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) and Michelin are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new entry-level race category for 2013, the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre, which is aimed at providing a professionally run, cost-effective first step into saloon car racing.

Targeting complete circuit novices, seasoned track day participants and also competitors with prior race experience, the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre is expected to run across four events next year with the potential to become a fully-fledged championship in 2014.

Based around the third generation racing Clio, as currently run in the sister Renault UK Clio Cup, the freshly launched series will become the new home for the existing 2.0-litre car when it is replaced in the headline British Touring Car Championship-supporting category in 2014.

“Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre perfectly fills the gap in the market for those who enjoy track days, such as our own very successful Renaultsport Trackdays, but who want to make the step into actual competition without moving straight into the Renault UK Clio Cup”, said Jeremy Townsend, Renault UK Communications Director.

“In just a single week since the BARC was confirmed as the new promoter of the Renault UK Clio Cup, we already have this plan in place to extend the life of the third generation Clio when the new 1.6-litre turbocharged car arrives in Renault UK Clio Cup in 2014. The creation of the Michelin Clio Cup Series is a fantastic development for the Renaultsport brand.”

Although the calendar of events is still to be ratified, provisionally the series is expected to begin over the weekend 11th/12th May at Snetterton in Norfolk – running with the Protyre Formula Renault Championship – with a second event at Croft in North Yorkshire in July.

Two more race meetings are also planned, the first at Rockingham in Northamptonshire over the weekend 10th/11th August, with the final event set to take place at Brands Hatch in September. There is also a desire to run further events during the winter of 2013.

Conversion kit and Michelin road tyres to make Clio Cup Series even more accessible
In a move to ease the transition into competitive racing for rookie drivers, the introduction of a conversion kit has been confirmed which will enable owners of road-going Clio Renaultsport 197 and Clio Renaultsport 200 cars to transform them to track specification for as little as £3,000. Included in the kit is a roll cage, seat belts, fire system with extinguisher and suspension from the Clio rally car.

Alongside the main headline class for thoroughbred racing Clios and a ‘Road’ class for the converted cars, there will also be two driver categories – ‘Expert’ for those with previous racing experience and ‘Sport’ for competition novices.

One of the key facets of the newly created series, as per the headline sponsorship from Michelin, will be the use of Michelin Pilot Sport 3 road tyres as the renowned manufacturer brings its flagship sports tyre into competitive UK motorsport for the first time.

Michelin maintains its links with the popular French Hatchbacks

“It’s very important for the Michelin brand to remain closely linked with Renault and by being the official tyre partner for the new Clio Cup Series, we have a perfect opportunity to showcase the high performance of our Pilot Sport 3 road tyre”, said Michelin UK head of marketing Jianni Geras.

“The road tyres are less aggressive than racing slicks, so this will only help the cost-effectiveness of the series. In the current climate, a series like this is the perfect place for racing newcomers to learn and develop their skills. Michelin is delighted to be the headline sponsor of, what we fully expect to be, a very popular new category in UK motorsport.”

Something of great importance to the success of the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre will be the support of existing Renault UK Clio Cup teams who have strongly welcomed the announcement and creation of the category.

Team Pyro’s Mark Hunt and Scuderia Vittoria’s Danny Buxton, two of the lead pioneers behind the idea to establish a club-level series for the incredibly successful third generation Clio Cup car, are both very confident there is already a strong market for the new category.

“I think it’s absolutely brilliant BARC, Renault and Michelin are introducing this series, there’s a massive market for it and in the current climate it’s exactly the sort of thing that’s needed”, said Hunt, “If we can have race meetings over two days, rather than three, it’ll be great and there’s no threat of it taking customers away from the UK championship.

“It’ll be a great stepping stone and, more importantly, it means we’re not throwing away 25 very good Clio Cup cars – for me it’s brilliant. I see it as being like the BARC Formula Renault, we’ve all seen how successful that’s been for people who can’t afford the bigger budgets, it’s a mega idea.”

Buxton, the 2001 Renault UK Clio Cup Champion, added: “Mark [Hunt], Tom [Ferrier – Scuderia Vittoria co-owner] and I originally came up with the idea and spoke to Ian Watson at BARC about it and, since then, it’s gathered pace massively. Michelin has been a big supporter of Clio racing over the years and it’s great they’re involved with this, running road tyres will help to keep costs down.

“I think there will be a very strong market for this series. Gentleman drivers, for example, who are busy with other commitments on a Saturday can still race on Sunday and that’s a market we need to aim for. The conversion kit then really opens it up to people who always thought racing was out of their price bracket, people will be able to get out on circuit in a proper car for sensible money.”

Precise technical details and sporting guidelines for the Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre will be issued in the New Year and the category will be launched to the motorsport community on the BARC stand at the Autosport International Show, on 10th/11th/12th/13th January, at Birmingham’s NEC.

Provisional 2013 Michelin Clio Cup Series with Protyre Calendar
Races 1&2 Snetterton, Norfolk - 11th/12th May
Races 3&4 Croft, North Yorkshire - 13th/14th July
Races 5&6 Rockingham, Northamptonshire - 10th/11th August
Races 7&8 Brands Hatch, Kent - 21st/22nd September

Goff Dominates Clios at Donington Park.

Goff leads the clios through the final chicane at Donington

Jack Goff produced a brilliant performance to win an action packed race at Donington to remain top of the AirAsia Renault UK Clio Cup drivers’ championship table.

Race winner Goff said “I got ahead of Paul after making a rocket start and had a good breakaway on the first few laps until the safety car came out, which got rid of my advantage. I managed to get away again at the restart and paced myself, I knew we didn’t have the pace all weekend but I made the best out of a bad situation.” 

“It was tough holding off Adam,” continued a delighted Goff, “but I defended the place making sure I kept it tight and not to make any mistakes.” 

Team Pyro’s Goff , who started from second, took the lead from pole sitter and round three winner, Paul Rivett, into turn one after a good start off the line. 

In a frantic first lap that saw several spins and drivers running wide, the safety car made its first and only appearance of the weekend for the recovery of the stricken Scuderia Vittoria’s car of Luke Wright. 

On the restart, a collision between Rivett and Thoroughbred Sports Car Championship racer Josh Files ended Files’ race due to a broken steering arm on lap five. Rivett was fortunate with minor damage, slotting in behind a charging Adam Bonham and Westbourne Motorsports James Colburn. 

“It didn’t go particularly well to be honest,” said Rivett. “There was a lot of damage on the rear of the car and having to fight back from a few places down but apart from that, it was a good race. The car was a little bent after that incident meaning we didn’t have the pace that we should have had,” said a disheartened Rivett. ‘” got a bit of wheelspin off the line at the start, but in general the PER HIRE car has been great all weekend, the Stancombe boys have been great.” 

Focused on making up lost ground, Rivett rapidly closed the gap to 2008 Saxmax champion Colburn putting in a succession of fastest laps, eventually passing him to take third place. 

Next in his sights was Bonham, who himself was eyeing up a pass on leader Goff refusing to let him pull away. The 17-year old consistently threatened to pass keeping Goff honest all the way to the chequered flag. 

Bonham said, “It was a good race. We had the pace to win it probably but I couldn’t manage to get past my teammate Jack. I’m a little disappointed over the weekend having not won a race but obviously chuffed to bits with two second places. I knew the whole time that if I overtook Jack, I would be leading the championship, it was big incentive to make it, but didn’t quite manage it.” 

The midfield battle was also action-a-plenty with 20Ten Racing’s Josh Cook in 7^th, position leading a constantly changing six-car train. It was Cook, and Swedish driver Kim Andersson, who broke from the pack to hunt down the 17-year old Ant Whorton-Eales in a battle for the Rookie Cup. 

With the top three rookies fighting to the end, it was Whorton-Eales who prevailed to take home the trophy in 6^th overall followed by Andersson and Cook respectively, separated by only 0.054 seconds on the line. 

“We had a really good start,” said Whorton-Eales “but unfortunately I dropped into the gravel on the outside of Redgate. Then we had the safety car but once we were racing again I dropped a wheel onto the grass down the back and that was it, the train pulled away.” 

The drivers collect their very shiny prizes on the podium
Left to right : Whorton Eales, Belcher, Rivett, Goff, Bonham 

With very limited running time for ex-rally driver, Bristol-based Adam Gould, who started at the back of the pack, made his way through the frantic field to take home a respectable 13^th place. 

Placing just ahead of Gould, was ex-jet-ski racer Handy Motorsport with Pyro’s Simon Belcher who claimed the ELF Masters Trophy and the lead in the Masters Cup. 

The championship now heads to Thruxton for round three on April 28-29, where Goff will be hoping to extend his championship lead 

Round 4 Results: 

1. Jack GOFF Team Pyro Laps 16 22:21.837
2. Adam BONHAM Team Pyro +0.215
3. Paul RIVETT PER HIRE/SVE +0.437
4. James COLBURN Westbourne Motorsport +0.855
5. James DIXON Scuderia Vittoria +5.342
6. Ant WHORTON-EALES Westbourne Motorsport +7.082
7. Kim ANDERSSON Team Pyro +9.023
8. Josh COOK 20Ten Racing +9.077
9. Mike BUSHELL Mike Bushell +12.082
10. 10. Vic COVEY Scuderia Vittoria +12.608  

Drivers’ Championship after Round 4:

Driver	Points
Jack Goff	112
Adam Bonham	105
Paul Rivett	89
Ant Whorton-Eales	77
James Dixon	74
Josh Files	62
Kim Andersson	52
Luke Wright	44
Josh Cook	39
Aaron Williamson	38
Vic Covey	38
James Colburn	38
William Davison	31
Ignas Gelzinis	28
Simon Belcher	24
Rob Smith	22
Mike Bushell	22
Finlay Crocker	21
Nic Hamilton	18
Adam Gould	17
Darren Wilson	15
Mark Tilbury	14
Jake Giddings	11
Tautvydas Barstys	10
Ronnie Klos	10

Entrants’ Trophy after Round 4: 

Team Pyro	221
Scuderia Vittoria	139
Westbourne Motorsport	136
Stancombe Vehicle Engineering	106
20Ten Racing	54
Finesse Motorsport Ltd	49
Total Control Racing	40
Juta Racing	38
Mike Bushell	24
Silver Fox Racing	14

  

Michelin Revives Group B Rallying

The Peugeot 205 T16, one of the many Group B Cars revived for a special event.

Michelin and Rallying with Group B are pleased to announce the UK’s only multi-venue rally for Group B cars and other rally cars of significant note: The Michelin Rallye Groupe B.

Sponsored by Michelin, the rally will take place over the bank holiday weekend of 25/26 August on the roads of Cheshire and North Staffordshire, with Special Stages in the grounds of castles and stately homes and service at Oulton Park race circuit.

The event is Rallying with Group B’s take on the fabled spectacular stages of the RAC Rallies of the 1980s and will be run as a National B Event under the General Regulation of the UK MSA. It will incorporate the provisions of the International Sporting Code of the FIA and Appendices K and J, both for competition and demonstration.

Rallying with Group B’s members have already reserved 60-plus places so there should be cars to suit every taste that will help recapture the heady days of this iconic era of rallying.

Regulations and further details for the event will be issued as soon as possible and will be available at:

www.rallyegroupeb.com

Steve Dolby, Michelin Product Marketing Manager, comments: “Michelin is delighted to be involved with the Rallying with Group B Trust on this spectacular event.

“Michelin has a strong commitment to motorsport, demonstrated by the fact that we are at the top of today’s World Rally Championship and we were also there during the glory days of Group B on such iconic cars as the Audi Quattro and Peugeot 205 T16. Therefore, it is only natural that Michelin is involved in this event which aims to recapture the feel of one of the most memorable periods in rallying’s history”.