NEAL & SHEDDEN SHARE WINS AT OULTON PARK, SHEDDEN MOVES INTO CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

Picture courtesy of btcc.net

Honda team-mates Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden shared the wins in three incident-packed Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Oulton Park today. And it is Scotsman Shedden who leaves the Cheshire circuit the new championship leader as the BTCC now heads to the challenging Croft circuit in North Yorkshire for its next three races of 2012 on the weekend of 23/24 June.
 

Jason Plato had set a qualifying lap record on Saturday to grab pole position on the starting grid for today’s first race but a problem with his KX Momentum Racing MG6 meant he never took the start. Neal took victory in his Yuasa Honda Racing Team Civic ahead of Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Civic and Hampshire ace Robert Collard’s eBay Motors BMW.

It was then Shedden’s turn to win in race two as Lichfield’s Jordan took another second place finish. Plato, from the back of the grid, took third after a stunning drive through the pack while a career-best fourth was Fleet’s Daniel Welch in his Welch Motorsport Proton Persona.

In race three Neal won again, this time from Plato and Collard’s team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole. Another driver also celebrated his best result to date, namely Hereford’s Lea Wood who was fifth in his BINZ Racing Vauxhall Vectra.

As a result Fife racer Shedden tonight leads the title race by five points from Worcestershire team-mate Neal. Oxford’s Plato, who had led going into today’s three races, has fallen to third, seven points behind Neal.

“It’s been a very topsy-turvy day with no-one really able to put together three strong races and, if I’m honest, I’m a little surprised to be leading,” commented Shedden from Dalgety Bay. “I’ll take points on the board any day but it means my car will go into the Croft event with maximum ballast which will make it very tough to qualify well there.”

Reigning Champion Neal from Shenstone added: “I never expected a win at all today – I really thought Jason was going to have it his own way – so for two to come along is a real surprise. If he can have a problem, though, it just goes to show how quickly it can turn around and there’s still a very long way to go in the season.”

And said Plato: “After the non-start in race one it was all about damage limitation after that and that meant a few risks, but the race two result from the back of the grid was very enjoyable. Second in that third race was also very important as it keeps us right in the hunt going to Croft.”

Elsewhere Honda/Dynamics and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team have increased their leads in the Manufacturers/Constructors and HiQ Teams championships. Jordan has moved into the lead of the Independent Drivers Trophy table. But it is Redstone Racing which continues to head the Independent Teams Trophy standings.

Meanwhile Nick Foster and Chris James each received official reprimands and two penalty points on their competition licences for collisions in Oulton's first race, with Aron Smith and Tony Hughes respectively. Mat Jackson was identically punished after a collision with Robert Collard in race two and received the same again following a clash with Daniel Welch in race three.

Picture caption: image shows Matt Neal en route to one of his two wins at Oulton Park today. Click here for a copyright-free hi-res version.

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2012 Dunlop BTCC Drivers’ Points after Oulton Park (round 4 of 10):

1. Gordon Shedden, 173
2. Matt Neal, 168

3. Jason Plato, 161

4. Robert Collard, 132

5. Andrew Jordan, 129

6. Mat Jackson, 127

Manufacturers/Constructors’ Points:

1. Honda/Dynamics, 377

2. MG/888, 284

HiQ Teams’ Points:

1. Honda Yuasa Racing Team, 327

2. eBay Motors, 224
3. Pirtek Racing, 200

4. Redstone Racing, 196

5. MG KX Momentum Racing, 181

6. Team ES Racing.com 97

Independent Drivers’ Points:
1. Andrew Jordan, 164

2. Robert Collard, 158

3. Mat Jackson, 153

4. Tom Onslow-Cole, 114
=5. Frank Wrathall & Jeff Smith 100

Independent Teams’ Points:

1. Redstone Racing, 188

2. Pirtek Racing 186

3. eBay Motors, 184

4. Team ES Racing.com, 131

5. Dynojet, 118
6. BINZ Racing, 117

*All points remain provisional

LAST GASP POLE POSITION FOR PLATO AT OULTON PARK

 

 

Image shows Jason Plato en route to pole position at Oulton Park

Jason Plato set a qualifying lap record to grab pole position for the first of tomorrow’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring

Car Championship races at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.

Plato left it right until the end of a highly exciting session to post a best time of 1m26.872s in his KX Momentum Racing MG6 and pip arch rival Matt Neal to pole by just 0.077s. Neal’s time of 1m26.949s in his Honda Yuasa Racing Team Civic was also beneath the old record.

So too were the times set by Robert Collard, third in his eBay Motors BMW and Andrew Jordan, fourth in his Pirtek Racing Honda Civic.

Significantly, all these times were set in less than ideal track conditions with a number of damp patches still on the circuit. Furthermore, championship leader Plato’s time was set in a car carrying the maximum 45kgs of success ballast.

The former double Champion from Oxford commented: “I put the team under a bit of pressure in that session – I ran wide at Lodge corner on my first run and on my second was off the track and through the puddles at Cascades. It all came down to that final run – Matt had just set a very good time but we thought it still might just be possible so it was all or nothing on that last lap.”

Worcestershire’s Neal, the reigning Champion, added: “I was on track at the end and I knew Jason was as well – I was sure he had something up his sleeve and suddenly the team started telling me over the radio he was setting best sector times. I was warming up a new set of tyres for what was going to be my final run but couldn’t get across the line in time to respond.”

And said Hampshire’s Collard: “I’m very happy with third. All I need now is one of my demon starts tomorrow but it’s a very narrow circuit at Oulton – I went from fifth to first at Donington Park but whether I can squeeze between Jason and Matt at the start here… I think that gap might close very quickly.”

Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden was fifth fastest while, just a few places behind, Daniel Welch qualified a career-best eighth in his Welch Motorsport Proton Persona.

Tomorrow’s three BTCC races at Oulton Park will be shown on ITV4, ITV4 HD and www.itv.com in two shows – live from 11.30am-4.00pm and then highlights from 8.00pm-10.00pm..

Leading Qualifying Times, Dunlop BTCC, Oulton Park, Sat 9 June
1. Jason Plato (GBR), MG KX Momentum Racing/MG6, 1m26.872s
2. Matt Neal (GBR), Honda Yuasa Racing Team/Honda Civic, +0.077s
3. Robert Collard (GBR), eBay Motors/BMW 320si, +0.117s
4. Andrew Jordan (GBR), Pirtek Racing/Honda Civic, +0.179s
5. Gordon Shedden (GBR), Honda Yuasa Racing Team/Honda Civic, +0.585s
6. Tom Onslow-Cole (GBR), eBay Motors/BMW 320si, +0.631s
7. Frank Wrathall (GBR), Dynojet/Toyota Avensis, +0.787s
8. Daniel Welch (GBR), Welch Motorsport/Proton Persona, +1.042s
9. Dave Newsham (GBR), ES Racing.com/Vauxhall Vectra, +1.097s
10. Mat Jackson (GBR), Redstone Racing/Ford Focus ST, +1.161s

Some Things Happen Only Once in a Lifetime

Theatre Royal Haymarket Events are proud to announce...

THE BLUEBIRD CENTENARY CELEBRATION 12th June 2012

One hundred years ago the Bluebird legend was born when Sir Malcolm Campbell saw Maurice Maeterlinck’s play ‘The Blue Bird’ at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London. So inspired was he by the play’s theme of the search for happiness, that Sir Malcolm rushed out of the theatre as soon as the curtain fell, waking the local ironmonger in order to purchase the shop’s entire stock of blue paint. That night he christened his racing car ‘Blue Bird’ and with the paint still wet from the night before, he went on to fulfill his dreams and win his first race at the famous Brooklands Race Track in Surrey.

In order to celebrate one hundred years of racing supremacy, which has seen the Campbell family break over 20 world land and water speed records, the Bluebird cars and boats will come together for the very first time in history outside the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London where the legend began.

This once in a lifetime event will be made extra special by the unveiling of the Bluebird team’s latest vehicle: the Bluebird Formula E Racing Car. 100 years since Sir Malcolm won his first race, the legend continues...

This extraordinary spectacle will take place outside the Theatre Royal Haymarket between 8.00am and 10.30pm on the 12th June 2012. In addition to the free Bluebird vehicle exhibition, the general public is invited to a free talk at the theatre where at 2pm Sir Malcolm’s grandchildren Don Wales and Gina Campbell will speak about their family’s fascinating and inspiring 100 years of record breaking followed by a signing session.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness history in the making and help celebrate the achievements of Britain’s greatest record breaking family.?For more information, visit: http://www.trh.co.uk/whatson/bluebirdcentenarycelebration/

This event is made possible thanks to the support of Westminster City Council, The Ritz London, The Brooklands Museum, The Science Museum, The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Mr Richard Nash, Karl Faulkes Halbard and The Campbell Trust.

EBAY MOTORS TEAM GEARS UP FOR OULTON PARK

eBay Motors team heads to the north-west with an exciting fan experience
The fourth round of this year’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) takes
place at Oulton Park on Saturday and Sunday 9th and 10th June, and the eBay Motors team is
looking to build on its early season form.

The team currently lies in third place in the Independents Championship and drivers Rob
Collard, Nick Foster and Tom Onslow-Cole will aim to improve on one of the most popular
rounds in the touring car calendar.

Both Rob Collard and Tom Onslow-Cole have a history of success at the circuit and they are
keen to get their title chances back on track after a break of over a month since Thruxton.
Hampshire-based driver Rob Collard commented: “I am really looking forward to getting
back behind the wheel of the eBay Motors BMW after a slightly frustrating weekend last
time out. There has been some good testing over the past weeks and hopefully the car is in
great shape to compete at the front of the grid. Oulton Park is a circuit that we have done
well at previously and I hope that continues.”

Dick Bennetts, Team Principal of eBay Motors, added: “We ran one of our turbo BMW’s on a
four poster rig and learnt quite a lot, so then decided to verify the results with some testing
at Silverstone with Colin Turkington. Working with the turbo engine has been an interesting
process and we are looking to improve our performance now that we have got to know the
car better. I am hopeful that our talented drivers will be able to guide the eBay Motors cars
to podium finishes at Oulton Park.”

Fans at the Cheshire circuit should look out for the eBay Motors garage, an exciting
experiential zone where visitors will have the opportunity to beat the drivers in the eBay
BTCC simulator and win some great prizes.

Over the weekend the three eBay Motors cars will be running with Union Jack flags on the
roof in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. For more information and exclusive content
about the eBay Motors team and its drivers visit www.ebaymotorsbtcc.co.uk

Kart Force: Alive to Drive race results

Even though weather reports stated heavy rain all day, all teams arrived on time, signed in, donned their race suits and the banter began.

Bang on time, with the efficiency that Daytona are known for, the race safety briefing started. As soon as it was over, drivers made their way outside to start the 30 mins practice and qualifying session. The track was dry and there was no rain, and the race started, again bang on time.

Up until the last drivers went out for their turn to put in a qualifying lap, “Team KartForce” was in Pole Position, but Pole went to “Wayne’s Team”, a team we created from individual drivers wanting to enter the race but didn’t have a team, led by Wayne Lidgbird. Had we known these guys were so good, we would’ve spread them out amongst the other teams - but our lads never shy away from a challenge!

“Team KartForce” started in 5th and after a terrible start we were down to 7th after the first lap. We remained in 7th until our second driver took over and consistently put in fast lap after fast lap, clocking our fastest lap of the race during his stint. He had the most fun as it was dry throughout his stint but he methodically made his way up the grid and got us back up to 5th place.

Then the Heavens opened and the rain came down, sometimes torrentially. The track was slippery and karts were spinning out, and lap times dropped for everyone. The more experienced drivers, like ex-European Champion Simon Nicholson from “Team Blue Lizard” who’s part of the Dino Kart Record (hyperlink to www.dinokartrecord.com) team aiming to break the existing 24 hr world record, shared their experience and knowledge with our lads and gave them plenty of useful tips.

Even though it got wetter and colder throughout the race, the atmosphere never changed. There was a fantastic yet healthy competitive spirit, but also an air of fun and camaraderie. As driver fought the elements and other drivers, the crowd cheered at every incident.

Our last driver was sent out for the final 30 min stint of the race and we were still 5th with a large gap to 4th place. However, as one of our most steady and consistent drivers, his lap times almost the same throughout his drive, he closed the gap and took 4th place. He continued closing the gap on 3rd place, but unfortunately wasn’t able to make it on to the podium.

For 2 of our lads, this was their first outdoor endurance race. For the other 3, this was their 2nd outdoor endurance race. Their excellent performance is testament to the fighting spirit of these lads, who even though they lack experience, their pure drive and determination pushes them to achieve these very impressive results – against seasoned kart racers. Once again, the lads have shown that you don’t need all your limbs to race on a level playing field with non-injured drivers – you just need British Bulldog Balls, and they have these in wheelbarrow-loads!

The lads want to send a special thanks to Josh Hill and Johnny Mowlem. Josh and Johnny have given their time to coach the lads and help them improve their driving skills. There’s no way the lads could’ve achieved the impression results in our last 2 races without the expert tuition that both Josh and Johnny have provided.

Our thanks also go to Charles & Jim Graham and their fantastic team at Daytona Sandown Park. Their support and enthusiasm ensured this event was such a great success.

 Our next race is going to be a very interesting one. The lads are stepping up a class and, for the first time, will be racing in a competition ProKart. On Sat 30th June we take on 34 teams from across the Army, Navy and RAF in the Tri-Services Karting Championships. This will be the first time a team of injured troops will have entered this event and we aim to impress our fellow service personnel. We’ll be practicing in the new kart throughout June so watch this space for news of our next race result.

The team are training for a world record attempt for the most ground covered in 24 hours using hand controls on their karts. Here's a short clip from on board the kart as the team practises.

Second on Jim Clark boosts Tom Cave back to head BRC standings

A storming second place on this weekend's Jim Clark Rally, the fourth round of the MSA British Rally Championship, by Tom Cave and co-driver Craig Parry saw Cave retake the lead of the championship overall, tying with fellow Welshman Elfyn Evans at the head of the tables.

The Jim Clark Rally is unique on the UK mainland - it is the only event using closed public roads and the tarmac stages have a fierce reputation.

The event began with two runs around the famous Duns town centre stage and Cave took these very easy, acutely aware that while there was little to be gained on the two 1.2mile stages, there was plenty of opportunity to lose time and a good result. A spin on the first of the two for Tom cost him around 10 seconds and he took the second run easy to prevent any more mistakes.

On paper, it looked as though they had taken it too easy, lying 16th overall as the crews headed towards the first of Saturday's eight stages. However, the balance was soon redressed, as Tom and Craig went third fastest on the next two stages, followed by a second-fastest and eventually, a stage win on the last of the morning's four stages, to arrive at the mid-day service in second place overall.

They took the stage win on the first of the afternoon's stages also, a repeat of the morning's win and claimed second-fastest to former double BRC Champion Keith Cronin on the remainder of the day's stages, to reach the end of the first day in a strong second place, a minute adrift of Cronin but more importantly, more than a minute ahead of Jonathan Greer in third.

Tom and Craig began Sunday as they meant to go on, claiming the stage win on the opening test before being caught out by unexpected rain on the second of the day. However, Cronin lost even more time, putting him a tantalising 32 seconds in front of Tom.

With three stages to go, Tom decided to push to try to catch Cronin and overhaul him for the win. However, on the first of the day's last loop of three stages, Tom was again hampered by rain, which started to fall as he started the stage. Because he was on hard tyres, against Cronin's softs and the latter on dry roads, he could not close the gap, losing time on the first four miles of the stage, unable to get heat into the tyres.

With two stages to go, Tom and Craig decided to safeguard the result and ensure that they claimed the best possible points haul without taking any risks. Therefore, they reduced their pace for the last two tests and arrived at the event finish in Duns in second place. As a result, they now share the lead of the BRC tables after four rounds with Elfyn Evans, one of Tom's long-time friends.

Commenting, Tom said: "It was a hard weekend but a very good result for the championship. I'm really glad that we managed to climb back up to the top of the championship leaderboard after a good rally - everything seemed to click and while it looked like we might be able to be closer to Keith, a couple of bouts of rain meant we couldn't.

"We had a small spin on the opening stage so I made sure that we had a clean rally after that and didn't make any mistakes - if you lose time, it would be very hard to make it back up again. Saturday went very well for us - we were consistently quick and that was just what I wanted to achieve.

Tom Cave heads north for round four of BRC

Young rally driver Tom Cave heads north of the border this weekend, to contest the Jim Clark Rally, round four of the 2012 British Rally Championship. The 20 year-old will be buoyed by his recent performance on the Carlow stages in Ireland, where he finished 10th overall, first in class and first front wheel-drive car but in contrast, is still mourning the sad demise of his father just two weeks ago.

This will be Tom's third time on the Jim Clark, having competed in his Group N Fiesta and last year, in the Group N Mitsubishi Lancer. However, the event has gained an extra day for 2012, with just two stages around the centre of Duns on Friday night and a further two full days of competition on the tight and twisty asphalt roads around the birthplace of motorsport legend and event namesake, Jim Clark.

The Jim Clark is the first of two tarmac rounds in the series and Tom contested the recent Carlow Stages rally in Ireland in preparation, after the three gravel rallies that opened the series.

Despite a huge field including numerous high-specification Ford Escorts and several World Rally Cars, Tom and co-driver Craig Parry finished the event in 10th place overall, first in class and the first front wheel-drive car, a remarkable achievement against fierce competition. And while the Carlow gave invaluable tarmac experience, Tom is under no illusions that this weekend's event will be a walk in the park.

Commenting, he said; "It's been a tough few weeks and it's hard to describe how I'm feeling at the moment. I'm still a bit numb after Dad died but I need to focus on this event and try to ensure that we get a reasonable result to keep the championship going.

"I think the key this weekend will be to drive my own rally, try to find a rhythm and pace that I'm comfortable with and enjoy the event. Hopefully if I can do this, then the result will come. I don't want to put myself under too much pressure, as I'll just set myself up for a fall.

"We're still second on the championship so ideally, a podium would be good to try to keep towards the top of the tables. But it won't be easy; it's a very competitive event and there will be some very quick drivers out, like Elfyn [Evans], Keith [Cronin], Mark [Donnelly] and Jarkko [Nikara].

"I've done the rally twice before but don't have a huge amount of experience of the stages, so Craig and I will be spending some time ahead of the event reviewing our notes from the previous years and working on systems ahead of this weekend.

"The event is also longer than last year - there are just two stages on Friday compared with six last year then 90 miles on Saturday and another 40 on Sunday, so it will be a tough event but I just want to enjoy it without putting myself under too much pressure."

The rally begins with two runs around the centre of Duns, Jim Clark's birthplace on Friday evening before seven stages on Saturday and five on Sunday. The first crews are expected to reach the finish ramp at 14.40 on Sunday.

Drift Allstars European Series Round 1 – Results – Alan Sinnot takes the win

Photograph courtesy of Will Belcher

Birmingham,UK – May 21st kicked off the season in a dramatic way with a star studded line up of drivers from all over Europe, with past and present champions .Round 1 was also the introduction of the official Live-Stream meaning thousands of fans from all over the globe where tuned in watching their favourite Drift Allstars drivers battle head to head LIVE! If you missed the event stream check www.drift-allstars .com/livestream for the re-run!

“The fifth season is kicking off with a bang at Birmingham speedway, with Skill ,Cars and teams taking a huge leap for 2012 ,it has come a long way in 5 years since the concept started” Says Drift Allstars founder Niall Gunn. “Every year we put on a massive show for the fans and this year will be will be bigger then ever!”

On the day there was a few Car issues as 2011 Champion James Deane’s newly built SR powered Mazda Rx-7 had to retire before practice due to mechanical issues. Unfortunately the LBD Achilles Tires V8 Nissan S13 also had some issues, but was there on Display for the fans! LBD Driver Dan Chapman said it should be all systems go at Round 2!

Juha Rintanen would make the biggest impact of the weekend taking top qualifying spot and recording the highest speed overall on the track. Unfortunately a mechanical issue in the semi finals meant a slight collision with Sinnot would penalise him and then end his day in the second battle meaning the Flying Finn would take 3rd Overall

NIGHT FIGHT Showcased some of the most exciting twin battle action that had Alan Sinnot in the Nexen Tire SR20 Powered Toyota Corolla AE86 beating his team mate on Nexen tires Australian driver Luke Fink in the Gasoline for humans 1JZ Powered S15 in the final. The battle was so close that at the end judges had to call Fink and Sinnot to battle again in a sudden death round! Irish Driver Sinnot would take his first win in the series.With thre different nations on the podium with Irish ,Australian and finnish drivers drivers the 2012 season has just warmed up!

Drift Allstars Professional Drift Championship Round 1 2012 Results

1st: Alan Sinnot (IRL) - Nexen Tire Toyota AE86

2nd: Luke Fink (AUS) - Gasoline For Humans Nissan Nexen Tire S15

3rd: Juha Rintanen (FIN) - LBD/ Achilles Tire Nissan S14a

The season continues on June 16th-17th, 2012 for Round 2: The Big Smoke at The O2 Arena London UK. Tickets are available on-line. For more information and details visit the Drift Allstars website at: www.driftallstars.com

Full Livestream of the event (6 hours ) - http://www.twitch.tv/driftallstarseurope/b/318725714

Full Event Coverage - http://www.drift-allstars.com/drift-allstars-round-1-results-night-fight-birmingham/

Epps Takes Positives From Difficult Rockingham Weekend

Michael Epps endured a challenging weekend at Rockingham as the Northamptonshire circuit hosted rounds four and five of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC championship.

The 20 year old from Hemel Hempstead had never raced on the 1.9 mile circuit and was desperate during qualifying to add to the small amount of testing mileage he had experienced around the circuit in order to find the optimum racing lines. However, both sessions were blighted by a spate of red flags as the wet conditions caught out a number of drivers. This restricted Epps to just three laps in each session and left him 18^th and 15^th on the two grids. To add to his frustrations Epps had gone tenth fastest in the second session just as the red flag was waved which meant his time was discounted which denied him a more promising grid slot but did show that he was capable of setting times good enough to be further towards the front of the field.

“It was fairly treacherous conditions to be honest; there was just the right amount of stnading water on track to make the cars float around a little but at the same time it was greasy around certain sections,” he said of the first session. “I got a lot more out of the car in the second session,” added the Anytime Fitness backed driver.

In the first race which was run in dry conditions, Epps worked his way up from eighteenth on the grid to an eventual fifteenth place finish after a mighty scrap in the midfield. With positions swapping almost every lap Epps gave a good demonstration of his race craft by pulling off some of the best overtakes of the day with his favourite spot being Tarzan hairpin. However such is the competitiveness of this championship that for every place Michael gained there was someone wanting to take it away from him and this meant he had to be defensive at times in the race. This prevented him from being able to concentrate on making a few more places. After the race he was nevertheless pleased with what had been a solid progression up the order.

He said: “I got a good start and had a fair run into the first corner and was doing alright, and then a car came out of nowhere mid-corner and forced me a bit wide. It was a bit of a dogfight for the first couple of laps and then I started to come back through so I’d actually lost places and then gained them back on the first lap so I was in the place I’d started at the end of the first lap. I got through a couple of them lap by lap but we were all quite similarly paced and I was also being taken back a couple of times as well. My pace wasn’t quite there to charge through, if I’d started higher up it would have been an much better race.

“Looking at the actual experiences during the race I’d say the result is okay and that I drove pretty much the best I could have done.”

Michael went into the second race with high hopes after his good performance from the lowly grid slot in the first race. Knowing that he would start fifteenth for the second race he hoped to challenge for his first top ten finish of the season. However, after a good getaway it all went wrong at the first corner, Deane where Epps was hit hard from behind which dropped him to the very back of the field. He feared initially that there was damage to his Jwa-Avilla prepared machine but after the first couple of laps he could run at a similar pace to the first race and set about catching the pack. This was a difficult task because of how much time had been lost on the opening lap but Epps showed great determination to reel in the tail of the pack and then again impressed with a couple of clean overtakes to move up the order. He also took advantage of retirements ahead to work his way up from 28^th to 21^st by the chequered flag, narrowly missing out on a top twenty finish which would have yielded him some points.

An understandably disappointed Epps said of the incident that ruined his race, “Coming out of the hairpin all the cars scattered on the exit and I got tagged at the rear by one of them.”

Thruxton in Hampshire is the scene of the next two rounds of the championship and Epps aims to bounce back from this weekend when the series visits the circuit next month.

He said: “I should be more comfortable there. The aim is to improve on the pace we’ve had here and push further towards the front.”     

Photograph by Darren Hurrel

Formula Renault BARC expecting increased Grid for Rockingham

Formula Renault BARC is doing really well to gain big grids this season.

Rockingham in Northamptonshire welcomes the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship this coming weekend, 19^th/20^th May, for the second race meeting of the 2012 season with an expanded grid set to contest the fourth and fifth rounds of the campaign.

While an outstanding 25 cars lined-up for the season-opener at Snetterton last month, confirming Protyre Formula Renault BARC’s position as the healthiest and most popular series of its kind in the UK, an even bigger field of drivers is expected at Rockingham.

MTECH Lite, which already runs two cars for Sean Walkinshaw (Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire) and Mexican racer Jorge Cevallos, will double its entry this weekend after signing Lebanese divers Joe Ghanem – the reigning Formula Gulf 1000 Champion – and motorsport rookie Shahan Sarkissian.

Ghanem, who has been competing in the Middle East for the last few years, is a familiar face to the British motorsport scene having previously competed in the Formula Renault Winter Series in 2007 before graduating to British Formula 3 where he was a podium finisher in the National Class.

Former champion team Hillspeed, meanwhile, is working hard to finalise a deal to have a third driver on the grid for Rockingham to partner Marcus Allen (Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire) and Jacob Nortoft. Through its work with Nortoft, the squad has actually become an official partner of the Dansk Automobil Sports Union as part of the Danish federation’s talent development programme.

Webster aiming to increase points lead

Delivering consistently strong performances across all three Snetterton races last month, taking one victory and two further second place results, MGR Motorsport’s Josh Webster (Stowmarket, Suffolk) heads the championship standings going into rounds four and five by 14 points.

With his deal to return to Protyre Formula Renault BARC this year incredibly last-minute, due to the shelving of Formula Renault UK for 2012, Webster had zero time to prepare prior to the first three rounds but his experience shone through.

“Everything was so rushed for Snetterton, it was touch and go whether we’d be on the grid at all and the MGR guys had to get the car built in just a couple of days so it was pretty manic”, commented Webster, who currently holds the Rockingham lap record, “To achieve what we did, with no testing and only a base set-up, was fantastic and all credit to the hard work of the team.

“We’re all really looking forward to Rockingham now and feeling pretty confident. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going and, now we’ve had a chance to properly work on the car, show what we’re really capable of and try and increase the championship lead.”

In the same boat as Webster with regard to having had no pre-season preparation was two-time McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist Scott Malvern (Barkingside, Ilford). His star quality was clear to see though, overcoming several mechanical glitches to take an excellent first win on his series debut and third in the points standings for the Cliff Dempsey Racing with Cullen Motorsport squad.

Fortec Motorsports’ Seb Morris (Marford, Wrexham) was a revelation on his maiden weekend racing single-seaters, the 16-year-old dominating qualifying by taking all three Snetterton pole positions and also going on to take a debut win in round two.

He will arrive at Rockingham four points ahead of Malvern while MGR’s David Wagner (Glasgow) is just two points further adrift in fourth place after a superbly consistent season-opener. Impressive first time podium finishers Macaulay Walsh (Northampton) and Jake Dalton (Stoke-on-Trent) are fifth and sixth in the standings respectively for Scorpio Motorsport and MGR.

Qualifying for rounds four and five of the 2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship will take place at 09.30 and 12.10 on Saturday, 19^th May, with both races set to follow on Sunday, 20^th May, at 10.55 and 15.35 respectively.

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

2012 Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship Driver Standings (after Rd3):

1^st Josh Webster, 88pts; 2^nd Seb Morris, 74pts; 3^rd Scott Malvern, 70pts; 4^th David Wagner, 68pts;

5^th Macaulay Walsh, 63pts; 6^th Jake Dalton, 47pts

Shelsley Walsh starts season in style

Aylesbury driver Trevor Willis was the clear winner in both rounds of the Midland Hill Climb Championship at Shelsley Walsh on 6^th May.

Driving his V8 powered OMS 25, Trevor recorded times of 24.16 and 23.85 with two scintillating drives – taking less that two seconds for the first 64 feet and reaching the Bottom Ess at a speed of 130mph – beating Derek Young with his 4-litre Gould GR51 into second place, followed by Will Hall in the new V6 Force in third place, on both runs.

Several ‘new faces’ also made the run-offs, with current ladies hill record hold Sue Young joining her husband to qualify in their shared Gould, with Lyn Owen, wife of car constructor Steve Owen, also making the run-off in their OMS 25, as did Howard Savage-Jones in his beautifully sculptured Lola V8.

Will Hall of Halesowen, had mixed fortunes in his V6 Force, having to make a trip to constructor Ian Dayson at Rugeley for emergency repairs to the rear of the car on Saturday evening, before ably proving the potential of the new car in timed competition on Sunday.

Simon Fidoe of Fernhill Heath faired less well, having to retire his 1,000cc Empire racing car after suspension failure on Sunday morning.

The new spectator platform created over the winter months at Kennel Bend proved very popular throughout the weekend, giving visitors a splendid new view of the wide variety of sports, saloons and racing cars leaving the start line.

Guests for the weekend included a small number of drivers of the British Women Racing Drivers’ Club, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year.

Debut driver Tracey Cameron, from Malvern, overcame early nerves in her 600cc Honda powered Nemisis racing car to hit her target of beating 40 seconds at Shelsley Walsh, and did so by managing a 39 seconds run in practice and then a superb run of 35 seconds on Sunday.

The Paul Matty Sports Cars Lotus Championship was well supported with over 20 cars from 1960s racers up to modern day Elise variants taking part and their ‘boisterous’ prizegiving ceremony was taking place in fine humour on the terrace in the late afternoon sunshine, while the other competitors were packing up after a very successful weekend.

The next meeting at Shelsley Walsh is a round of The British Hill Climb Championship on the 2^nd and 3^rd of June.

The highlight of the weekend will be the BRM celebrations with the P25 that won BRM’s first World Championship Grand Prix at Zandvoort in 1959, Richard Attwood’s P261, and the BRM FF built by Roy Lane already confirmed. Notable BRM personnel will also be present throughout the weekend with BRM designer Tony Southgate and Team Manager Tim Parnell.

To buy tickets or find further information, visit www.shelsley-walsh.co.uk

Dominant DCC Stages victory for Vassallo

Vassallo gets some air in his Citroen C1 on the DCC Junior Stages Rally. Photo : Dave Hatrick

Fourteen year old rally driver Alexander Vassallo took a dominant win at last weekend’s DCC Junior Stages rally, his third consecutive victory in his debut season.

Vassallo, from Corbridge, is contesting both the Junior 1000 Rally Challenge and Junior 1000 Ecosse Challenge championships this year, both championships are for drivers aged between 14 and 17 using cars with engines of 1000cc or less. Despite only starting rallying this year Vassallo had already won two of the three events he had contested prior to the DCC Stages so hopes were high of a good result at the Ingliston-based second round of the Ecosse Challenge.

With experienced co-driver Janice Moore in his Birkbeck-prepared Citroën C1 Vassallo made a storming start to the event, setting a time 28 seconds faster than his nearest rival. He continued that form throughout the days eight stages, being quickest on each one despite the tyres going off on stage 4 and a small overshoot on stage 5. By the end of the event he had pulled out a lead of almost three minutes, a remarkable performance when Junior 1000 events are more usually settled by a few seconds.

“To get my third win in four events is fantastic, I did not expect such a good start to my rally career,” said Vassallo. “I was very pleased with my performance and the car was faultless all day. The tyres going off and the overshoot cost us a few seconds but we still managed to be fastest on every stage.”

“Thanks to Chris Birkbeck and his team and to Janice who was sitting with me for the first time and did a great job.”

Vassallo’s Ecosse Challenge season will continue with the Summer Stages at Crail in June while the next Junior 1000 Rally Challenge round is the TSH Stages at Portreath on 18/19 May.

Kev Monaghan heads to the Isle of Man

Kev Monaghan in action on the Tour of Epynt, before the problems that cost him a finish.
Photo : Songasport

Kev Monaghan is aiming to get his rally season back on track next weekend when he contests round 2 of the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, the Manx National rally.

After retiring from the opening championship round in March Monaghan needs a good finish on the Manx to kick start his championship campaign.

With usual co-driver Chris Purvis out injured after an accident at work Monaghan will have David Jones on the pacenotes in the Pirtek-backed Vauxhall Corsa Kit Car.

“Having competed for more years than I care to remember I cannot wait to rally on the Isle of Man, it is a venue that I have always wanted to compete at,” said Monaghan.

“Losing Chris is a big blow - as most drivers know the confidence you get from working together with the same co-driver over a period of time is difficult to replace but David Jones has competed on the Manx before so that experience will be very useful. Everyone at Pirtek wishes Chris a speedy recovery and we hope to see him competing again soon.”

The front hubs have been strengthened on the Corsa following problems on the last event and an additional front engine mount has been added to cope with the paddle shift gearbox.

“Hopefully the work we’ve done on the hubs will prevent the problem we had on the last round reoccurring. I’ll be aiming to get into the top three of the class so that we pick up a decent amount of points. Thanks to Pirtek Tyne & Wear, F&R Belbin, GB Lubricants, Playskool Motorsport and Carl and Rob Tuer for getting the car setup sorted.”

The rally starts on Friday evening (11th May) before continuing with a full day of action on Saturday. Competitors will face 120 miles of stages all held on the island’s closed public roads.

Rally 2 Raise passes £1500 in donations

Rachel Medich and the Rally 2 Raise Micra : Photo by Songasport

The Rally2Raise project, which is using motorsport to raise funds and awareness for charitable causes, recently passed the £1,500 mark in donations.

The project was set up in late 2011 by Rachel Medich to support the Nystagmus Network, the MS Society, Cancer Research UK and the Joanne Bingley Memorial Foundation for post-natal depression.

As well as undertaking fundraising activities Rachel and her friend Katherine Begg have been promoting all four causes through participating in motorsport events in their DMACK Tyres and Clark Motorsport-supported Rally2Raise Nissan Micra rally car.

 “The support for the project has been absolutely fantastic,” commented Rachel. “I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us so far, I am delighted that we have been able to raise so much already.”

“We’ve got a lot more fundraising events planned over the next few months so hopefully we will be able to raise even more.”

Nystagmus Network development manager John Sanders said: "We are so grateful to Rachel and Katherine for all that they are doing to raise both funds and awareness through their rally driving. At around one in 1,000, nystagmus is more common than most people think - you've almost certainly met someone with nystagmus for instance. One of the challenges we face is getting that message across, and that's where Rally2Raise is making a big difference."

Rachel is hoping to contest the Dumfries-based Scottish rally in June and she has already agreed to take part in the Merrick stages in September after the rally organisers made Rally2Raise their nominated charitable cause for 2012.

For more information on the project please visit www.rally2raise.co.uk or www.facebook.com/rally2raise. Online donations can be made via http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rally2raise.

David Wright hoping for success on Hamster

David Wright in action on the Wyedean rally : Photo : Songasport

After being out of action since the Malcolm Wilson rally in early March Bentham’s David Wright will contest the Tour of Hamsterley next weekend.

Wright retired from the Cumbrian event with gear linkage problems and since then lots of work has been undertaken on his Kumho Tyres, Drenth, York Brewery, Proflex and Grove Hill Garage-supported Mitsubishi Evo 9 to increase both pace and reliability.

“We were going really well on the Malcolm Wilson rally but the gear linkage issue meant we had to retire,” commented Wright. “We also retired on the Wyedean event in February and, with our hopes for a good BTRDA championship result pretty much over, we decided to miss last month’s Somerset Stages to concentrate on getting the car ready.”

“We’ve had the car on a dyno and we’ve found some good gains on the engine so we should have a bit more performance to help us try and keep on the pace of the World Rally class cars.”

“The Tour of Hamsterley is my co-driver Michael Wilkinson’s local event so we’ve decided to enter it to test out the modifications to the car. We’ll also hopefully do the Plains rally in Wales the weekend after if all goes well.”

The Tour of Hamsterley takes place entirely in Hamsterley forest in County Durham with the crews facing around 37 miles of competition.

Watch Porsche Action on TV this week.

The opening programme in the dedicated television coverage of the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup GB will be broadcast in the Motorsport UK programme on Tuesday 8 May on ITV4, on ITV1 on the night of Sunday 13 May and will also be shown on ITV4 on Saturday 12 May.

The Motorsport UK series, which features hour-long programmes, will cover all of the Carrera Cup GB action this season. Action from round two on the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch will feature in this programme.

Motorsport UK will be broadcast as follows:
Tuesday 8 May at 10am on ITV4
Saturday 12 May at 9.30am on ITV4
Monday 14 May at 3am (approx) on ITV1

Viewing figures from Motorsport UK in 2011 showed a typical total programme audience of between 300,000 and 500.000 viewers. Motorsport UK can also be watched at itv.com and is available for viewing for 30 days after the initial broadcast date.

Sykes endures disappointing Pirelli Rally

 Sykes in action on the Pirelli before technical problems
Photo : Songasport

Rally driver Richard Sykes had a disappointing Pirelli Challenge rally last weekend when a mystery electrical problem caused him to retire from the event.

The Carlisle-based event was round 3 of the BRC Challenge championship and after excellent performances in his Bathams Brewery, G I Sykes Ltd, Boroughbridge Marina and Silverstone Tyres-supported Citroën C2 R2 Max on the opening two rounds Sykes went into the event at the head of the championship leaderboard.

The rally started well and going into the third stage Sykes was just six seconds behind rally leader Simon Moore despite not pushing hard as his target for the event was a podium finish rather than a win.

Part way through the third stage the car suffered an electrical problem which meant it had very little power as the engine would not rev above 1500rpm. Sykes and co-driver Simon Taylor carried on through the stage hoping to nurse the car to the end but there was a steep hill near the finish and the car did not have enough power to get up it. Despite frantic attempts to repair the car the event was over for the Stourbridge driver.
 
“Everything was going to plan, we were aiming for a podium finish so to be in second place early on was ideal,” commented Sykes. “Sadly the mysterious electrical fault ended our hopes. I tried changing various items on the car at the side of the stage but I couldn’t cure it.”

“It’s very disappointing as we’d prepared for the Pirelli more than any other rally we’ve done – I didn’t drink in the week before the event and I’d even been to the gym three times. The only positive thing is that the guys who took the podium places have already had retirements on the previous events so we’re still in a good position for the championship, especially as the next three rounds are on my preferred surface of tarmac.”

“Thanks to my service crew who have put heart and soul into the car for the last four weeks and were more gutted than we were at the retirement. We’ll get the little glitches sorted and move forward.”

Sykes’ next event will be the Jim Clark Challenge rally which takes place at the start of June.

Shelsley Walsh starts with high speed action

Tracey Cameron and her 600cc Nemesis

This weekend sees the first speed hill climb meeting of the year taking place at Shelsley Walsh, near Worcester, and it has attracted a full house of top drivers and their cars from across the UK.

2012 sees the 50^th anniversary of British Women Racing Drivers Club, formed in 1962 to promote and support women in all forms of motorsport, and they have recently proudly announced that young Scottish member Susie Wolff has been appointed as a development driver for the Williams F1 Team.

On a local level, Tracey Cameron, a company secretary from Malvern will be making her debut in a single seat racing car and commented: “I have driven a 3-wheel Morgan in the past, but this machine is very different indeed, it is a 600cc Honda-powered Nemesis with wings and slick tyres and I will be aiming to do a sub-40 second run.”

Two championship contenders entered with a new car this weekend are father and son, Charles and James Williams, of Claverley, near Wolverhampton, who are competing in a Force PC racing car.

Charles commented: “I have competed at Shelsley in an F3 Dallara in the past, but this machine is very different indeed, it is very light and powered by a highly tuned 1585cc Suzuki Hayabusa engine and we will be aiming for a 26 second run if skill and the conditions allow!”

Shelsley Walsh will be hosting a special class for competitors from the BWRDC this weekend, and other clubs invited to attend including, ‘Flat Head’ historic cars, Aston Martin, and entrants in the Paul Matty Sports Cars Lotus Championship.

The event is a round of the TTC Group Midland Hill Climb Championship and attracts a wide variety of competition classes for saloon, sports and racing cars, with the action starting at 9.30am each day.

Practice and qualifying takes place on Saturday, with timed competition runs on Sunday, together with a separate ‘run off’ for the twelve fastest championship contenders, which takes place after the morning session and at the end of the afternoon competition runs.

Shelsley Walsh is run by the Midland Automobile Club which enjoys the sponsorship of Midlands prestige car dealerships Stratstone, who provide course cars for each event and Brightwells Auctioneers and Valuers of Leominster, one of the oldest salerooms in the country.

Pirelli Perfection for Cotton

This photo may have been taken at the Pirelli International Rally
Photo by Fiesta Sporting Trophy

British Rally Championship star Matt Cotton banished the memories of his 2008 crash when he finished a creditable 13^th overall and 2^nd in class on last weekend’s Pirelli International Rally. Partnered by co-driver Glyn Thomas, the rapid Cornishman from St Teath endured a hard fought battle with AVS Motorsport team mate Gethin Jones throughout the 96 competitive stage miles in Cumbria to lose out on a win by a scant 8.1 seconds at the finish.

Some of the world’s top drivers converged on Carlisle City Centre to kick off the event on Friday night as the International competitors headed towards the first 2 stages of the event which would be held under the cover of darkness. Crews would face a tough test within the ‘killer’ Kielder Forest complex - so called due to its notorious roads, deep ditches and unforgiving nature, meaning there would be no room for error without a substantial penalty.

Having finished second best on the first two rounds of the series so far, Cotton was conscious that a ‘flat out’ approach to the event would be the only course of action if he was to stay in with a chance to fight for championship honours. Taking the first stage win on Friday night was an important boost to his confidence as he dropped behind rival Jones on the second loop to ensure he was behind him on the road for the Saturday contest. “I’m pleased with our speed straight out of the box tonight” said Matt as he headed to the overnight halt. “We set some good times even though my style was a little too sideways for these stages. I’ll need to settle into a tidier rhythm tomorrow”.

The first stage on Saturday would prove to be the decider for the event as Cotton lost 17 seconds on the slippery Bewshaugh stage and would now need to push as hard as possible if he was to regain the lead by the time the crews headed back to Carlisle Racecourse for the finish ceremony. Responding to the deficit, Cotton set about trying to overhaul Jones and taking many stage wins throughout the remaining competitive miles. But despite his best efforts, the South West pairing crossed the finish ramp in second place by just 8.1 seconds. “It’s been an amazing battle all day long and we were trading times with Gethin throughout the event” said Glyn at the finish. I’m really pleased by our performance this weekend especially considering Matt ended this rally in 2008 upside down in a ditch! It’s clear to see we have improved on every event this season and are looking forward to the sealed surface of the Jim Clark Rally in a few weeks time”.

Matt Cotton and Glyn Thomas hard at work on the stages
Photo : Fiesta Sporting Trophy

This encouraging finish boosts Matt and Glyn to 3^rd overall in the Fiesta Sporting Trophy which is run by the Ford World Rally Championship organisation, M-Sport. This result is even more worthy as other contenders in the series pilot the far more powerful R2 category cars. They also lie in 14^th place in the British Rally Championship and 2^nd in class 8.

The Jim Clark International Rally is the next round on the calendar and takes crews to the first tarmac round of the series on 1^st – 3^rd June in the Scottish Border towns of Kelso and Duns.

Keep up to date with Matt’s progress both on and off the stages by visiting www.mattcottonrallying.co.uk, following us on Twitter (@mattcottonrally), or finding us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mattcottonrally)