Motorsport

Super Mighty Mini’s Castle Combe A Plant LUX Report

The last bank holiday of the year always seems to provide a great day’s racing at Castle Combe, with long time sponsors A Plant Lux behind the event helping support this bank holiday meeting. Sadly this year the weather severely dampened the meeting as non-stop rain throughout the day significantly reduced the spectator numbers as well as the chance for great, close racing.

With some trepidation it was the Super Mighty Mini drivers who drove out first to start of the sodden race meeting off. The front row consisted of championship leader Elliot Stafford, with challenger Jamie White alongside him on the front row. At the start it was White who made the better getaway for this 20 minute dash, however it wasn’t long before Stafford took control and opened up a 2 second lead by the end of lap 1.

As Stafford got away the rest began squabbling over 2nd place, with the battle consisting of Scott Kendall, White, Daniel Budd and James Lyford. After constant fighting where these drivers managed to make passing manoeuvres on every part of the circuit it soon became clear this battle for 2nd would go right to the finish. In Mini racing the most important tactic for a leading driver is to try break the tow to the rest behind, something Stafford executed to perfection in this race as he opened a staggering 14 second gap by lap 8.

Behind them the battle for 2nd began to split up slightly as Budd and White made a break from Kendall and Lyford who were now battling for 4th. The tow is all important in Mini racing and from nowhere Steve Maxted used it to perfection late on as he scythed through to 3rd, before challenging Budd for 2nd on the penultimate lap. After 12 laps Stafford came home the victor by 16 seconds, almost unheard of in Mini racing, from Daniel Budd in 2nd and the charging Steve Maxted in 3rd. Jamie White came home 4th whilst James Lyford and Scott Kendall completed the top 6 in a thrilling opening race.

After opening the day’s racing, the Super Mighty Mini gang were back on track for their second race of the day much later on in the afternoon. With the conditions if anything worse than the first race and a reversed top 7 grid for race 2, action was almost guaranteed from these racers. With the front row belonging to 7th man in race 1 David Kirkpatrick, with Scott Kendall alongside him. As the lights went out Kendall and 4th man Jamie White made terrific getaway’s to lead early on, whilst Kirkpatrick suffered a shocker as he bogged down and was swamped by the pack.

Remarkably it didn’t take race 1 winner Elliot Stafford long at all to the challenging for the lead as he rose from 7th to 3rd by the end of an extraordinary opening lap. The drama didn’t end there as a recovering Kirkpatrick locked up going into Camp, with the end result being an appointment with the outside barrier, ending his race very early on. Stafford was on the move again as he picked off Kendall for 2nd exiting Quarry on lap 2, before unsurprisingly the Safety Car was deployed on lap 3 with Kirkpatrick’s car in a dangerous position at Camp corner.

The recovery crews quickly got to work removing the car as the clock ticked down from 20 minutes, with the Safety Car coming in a lap later on lap 4. Although he initially lost out with the Safety Car Jamie White stole a march on the others as he timed his re-start to perfection as he opened a gap to the rest. It didn’t last long however as Stafford went past White on the inside of Quarry for the lead on lap 5. This move proved to be too much of a desperate lunge for Stafford however as he thrown to the outside on the exit, and before he had got settled again a few corners later he had dropped to 4th behind White, Kendall and Daniel Budd.

Mirroring race 1 at this point White scarpered off into a lead of 3 seconds as Kendall, Budd, Stafford and Neil Slark slowed themselves up by constantly changing places in their fight for 2nd. Just as they began closing on White again for the lead Kendall and Stafford suffered almighty moments where they almost span out, dropping them from 3rd and 4th to 5th and 6th on lap 8. Their moments also broke up the battle for 3rd although that didn’t stop Stafford mounting a late charge for win as he was soon challenging Slark for 3rd by lap 9. Up at the front White and Budd were now evenly spaced at the front, although this didn’t last long as Stafford charged past Budd on the inside at Hammerdown for 2nd on lap 11.

With several seconds to make up on the final lap it appeared too much work for Stafford. although he proved everyone wrong as he was right on the tail of White entering the final half lap. After sizing him up Stafford went for a desperate lunge on the inside of Camp, finding a gap the size of a Mini as he battled White for the win. After the drag to the finish line it was initially called as a victory for Jamie White, although timing and scoring later confirmed Stafford had indeed won by 0.001 of a second over a disgruntled White in 2nd, who was not happy in the post-race interview.

Behind them Daniel Budd completed the podium from Neil Slark in 4th, with Scott Kendall and Steve Maxted completed the top 6 in another highly entertaining Super Mighty Mini race. This series always provides exciting racing and the slides these drivers were producing in Camp left the spectators smiling from ear to ear. With only a few round left in the championship it appears to be Elliot Stafford’s championship to lose, although anything can happen in Mini racing.

For more info on this great series please visit these websites – http://www.mightyminis.co.uk/loadframes.html
http://www.brscc.co.uk/Championships/SUPER-MIGHTY-MINIS-CHAMPIONSHIP

Max Chilton rumblings leave Alex Rossi in the cold

After the announcement last night that Marussia driver Max Chilton would move aside at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, allegedly for non-payment from Chilton’s sponsors, therefore allowing Alex Rossi to make his Grand Prix debut. Whilst this seemed like a dream for Rossi, who only recently joined Marussia after leaving Caterham.

Sadly for Rossi, the reality quickly became something much different because as swiftly as he was announced it subsequently became common knowledge that Chilton would in fact be driving for Marussia this weekend after all. For the seemingly happy go-lucky American Alex Rossi this must be a huge blow to gear yourself up for a Grand Prix debut, only to have it snatched away so soon.

This bizarre soap opera began last night when it was announced by the team that Chilton was being replaced for this weekend because of “contractual issues.” The waters were muddied further in the aftermath of this as Chilton himself released a press statement which said that he was “stepping aside” to allow the team to sell his seat for much needed financial benefit. This seemed strange that the team and the driver were giving different explanations for Chilton stepping aside.

It seems that if the rumours are true this was the wake up call for Chilton to start leaning on his sponsors to pay up the promised funds, as whilst Free Practice 1 was taking place this morning, whilst Rossi was probably on track, it was announced by the team that Chilton would indeed by racing this weekend after all leaving Rossi with only the Free Practice 1 session for the weekend.

Whilst this will hugely disappointing for Rossi he can take some solace from the experience gained for the future, especially as this was his first time driving the Marussia MR03-Ferrari car. It seems likely Rossi will get more chances during Free practice sessions this year, most likely at his home race in Austin. With nothing confirmed in terms of driver line-up for next year an impressive showing from Rossi in any further running for the team could persuade them to take him on for the 2015 season.

Whilst it’s hard to read too much into Rossi’s display this morning as it was his first time in the car, therefore it was no surprise that he was 1.5 seconds behind highly rated team mate Jules Bianchi. This seems a good starting point for Rossi, let’s hope he gets a proper chance at F1 from here.

Why Andre Lotterer deserves F1 chance

Immediately following the shock announcement of Max Verstappen joining Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2015 F1 season on Monday night, rumours began circulating that for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix Caterham would replace Kamui Kobayashi with stand-out Audi sportscar driver Andre Lotterer. By Tuesday afternoon it appeared almost certainly a done deal, with the final confirmation being announced by Caterham in a press release this morning, Wednesday 20th August. For the insular world of Formula One many have started scrambling around for information and analysis on this very quick German, with the results they’ll find on him being enough to show his F1 debut this weekend is long overdue.

Andre Lotterer has already been amongst the F1 circus once before, with early titles in German Formula BMW Junior and ADAC Formula BMW in 1998 and 1999 brought him to the attention of the new Jaguar team for 2000, who offered him several tests during the 2000 season to complement his 4th in the German Formula Three Championship campaign. The link to the Jaguar F1 team was made stronger in 2001 as he raced in British F3 for the Jaguar junior racing team, before stepping up to become the official test driver for the Jaguar F1 team for the 2002 season.


Lotterer testing for Jaguar in 2002.

Whilst it initially looked likely that Lotterer would be promoted to a race seat in 2003 after it was announced that both Eddie Irvine was retiring and Pedro De La Rosa was to also leave. Sadly for Lotterer the team chose 2002 Minardi stand-out Mark Webber alongside promising young Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia for the 2003 season, leaving Lotterer looking to re-build his career momentum.

Lotterer subsequently shunned Europe and went to Japan to race in their premier Formula Nippon series, now called Super Formula, and Japanese Super GT series for 2003. Impressive results in both cemented his reputation in Japan as a very fast young driver as he was a frequent title contender in Formula Nippon for the works TOM’S Toyota team, alongside two Super GT titles in 2006 and 2009.


Lotterer and Kazuki Nakajima driving for Lexus in Super GT at Okayama in 2011.

These impressive results in Japan led to some well deserved attention from Europe, although it does seem surprising looking back that despite consistently impressive Super GT results it took until 2009 for Lotterer to make his Le Mans 24 Hours. The call came from the Kolles team racing their privateer LMP1 Audi R10 TDI. After a herculean effort from Lotterer and co-driver Charles Zwolsman to complete the race without third driver Narain Karthikeyan to injury, the car came home an impressive 7th overall after completing 369 laps.

The impressive debut with the Kolles Audi in 2009 led the highly successful works Audi team to offer him a deal for the 2010 season, where his Audi R15 TDI+ came home 2nd. From here things would get very busy for Lotterer as from 2011 onwards he would have to dovetail his Japanese Formula Nippon and Super GT commitments with a full schedule in the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, morphing into the World Endurance Series for 2012.

The full time schedule has not affected Lotterer’s pace however as he finally claimed a first Formula Nippon title in 2011 after 8 years of trying, with a perfect 2011 being completed with a heroic first Le Mans 24 Hours victory for him, after fighting off an onslaught of Peugeot’s to claim the win. Things improved in 2012 as the Lotterer/Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer partnership swept to a second consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours victory and the inaugural World Endurance Championship title also.

2013 and 2014 so far have seen a continuation of is stellar results as the Audi trio claimed a third Le Mans 24 Hours victory and currently sit 2nd in the World Endurance Championship with 5 rounds remaining. During his sportscar and single seater career so far Lotterer has regularly proven himself to be a master of wet conditions, which maybe gives some indication of why Caterham chose to give him debut in the notoriously wet Belgian GP at Spa. Another reason may be his experience of the Spa circuit this year as he’s already raced there for Audi both in the WEC and the recent Spa 24 Hours.


Lotterer at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours for Audi.

Whatever Caterham chose they have made a bold yet good decision in my opinion to take a chance on the always quick Andre Lotterer for this weekend, as a sportscar fan I’ve seen plenty of impressive drives from him over the last few years for Audi. He has a chance to improve things for the Caterham team although despite circuit knowledge the Caterham car has proved very difficult all season. I sincerely hope he gets the chance to give a good account of himself this weekend despite the troublesome Caterham car, which I think is only fair after the wait he’s had to make his F1 debut.

Photo credit goes to http://www.Motorsport.com , http://www.worldcarfans.com and http://www.autoindustriya.com please visit their sites for more amazing photos.

Castle Combe Sports @ GT MSVR Report 02/08/14

In the penultimate race of the day thanks to the re-scheduled Castle Combe Saloons race was for the Castle Combe Sports and GT championship. Another local favourite with the fans, unfortunately the decision to split the sports racing prototypes and the GT cars into two separate series appears to have severely damaged the championship as both series had staggered through 2014 with low grids.

Usually the Sports and GT Championship has been the more competitive of the two yet their race only drew a season low grid of 5 cars for the start, although peak holiday season probably didn’t help with the entry. After a wet qualifying session it was no surprise to see the two 4wd Mitsubishi Evo’s of Gary Prebble and Barry Squibb sharing the front row, with Nick Holden’s Ariel Atom and Stuart Hignell’s VW Golf completing row 2. From the start ex-rallycross racer Barry Squibb made the best start as Prebble bogged down. The reduction from 15-12 laps didn’t help Prebble’s cause as he spent the first half of the race glued to the back of Squibb’s Mitsubishi as he looked for a way past.

After a valiant defence the slightly faster Evo of Prebble found a way past on the inside at Tower on lap 5, and soon built a lead of several seconds over the ensuing laps as Squibb attempted to stay with local favourite Prebble. By the penultimate lap Prebble had extended his lead to 6 seconds as he came home for yet another victory as he dominates this Sports and GT Championship in 2014. Barry Squibb put past reliability issues behind him to claim 2nd from Nick Holden in a distant 3rd. The Darrian of Phil Gale and the VW Golf of Stuart Hignell completed a lonely the top 5, although both were several laps down on the leaders in what was ultimately a good race despite the lack of a significant grid, which is the only thing this series is missing although in the first year of the series this can be excused slightly. With only one more meeting Prebble looks certain to wrap up the series in October.

For more info on this series please visit the link below
http://www.ccracingclub.co.uk/championships/gt/

Radical SR3 Challenge MSVR Castle Combe Report 02/08/14

After the earlier Radical Clubman’s Cup race after the Formula Ford stanza, it was the turn of the premier UK Radical racing series, the SR3 Challenge, to take too the track. Despite a smaller than usual grid for this 90 minute endurance race the race still promised much excitement as some of Britain’s premier club Sportscar drivers took up their places on the starting grid. There was drama before the start however as rainfall over the back section of the circuit meant that one side was relatively dry whilst the other half was a completely wet circuit, leaving a massive headache for the drivers and teams before the start.

It was the Peter Belshaw/Phil Keen car that took place with amateur driver Belshaw taking the start, with soloist Lewis Plato alongside him on the front row. The Andy Cummings/Bradley Ellis SR3 took 3rd as ex-British GT champion Ellis took the start with another soloist Shahin Nouri completing row 2. From the start Bradley Ellis rocketed into an early lead as the rest of the field tip toed around the first laps on the greasy track. As Ellis and Lewis Plato shot away from the rest it appeared they may be on different tyres to the rest, such was their early advantage. By lap 7 it became clear tail enders Manhal Allos and Ossy Yusuf were the only one’s on wet tyres as they both set a string of Fastest laps, although their wet tyres would soon be destroyed by the rapidly drying conditions.

By lap 17 it became clear the crossover point for dry tyres had been reached, as Ellis began setting a string of his own fastest laps to only extend his huge lead from the rest behind. The hopes of 3rd man Jasper Westerholm took an early hit as he was forced in for an unscheduled stop on lap 21 with a right rear puncture, dropping him well down the order. Between laps 25 and 30 the lead dice was hotting up as leader Ellis and Plato in 2nd began trading fastest laps between each other.

On lap 32 the pit window opened for the cars in group A of the pit schedule, with 2nd man Plato and Peter Belshaw immediately taking advantage of this and pitting from their positions. The A group were all quick to pit in the subsequent laps although for the B group it took them a little longer to make their mandatory pitstop’s. Bradley Ellis was unsurprisingly the last to stop as on lap 42 as he handed over to his amateur team mate Andy Cummings with a significant lead of a lap and a bit over the rest. At this point of the race it was the Kevin Mills Radical SR3 of ex-single seater champion Scott Malvern who was setting the pace with very quick 1m04.2 lap times as he made up some ground lost in the first stint by co-driver Nick Jones.

The impressive stint from Malvern didn’t last much longer sadly as he caused a Safety Car deployment on lap 47 to recover his car after crashing, although when later interviewed he explained a gear selection issue caused the off. The Safety Car was ill-timed for Cummings as he lost almost all his advantage as the rest made up their lap to him up front. Things quickly got even worse for Cummings as he was forced to pit for a stop/go penalty, only reducing his lead further as the Safety Car came in on lap 51.

After his stop/go penalty allowed Lewis Plato into the lead of the race on lap 52, it was a tall order for amateur driver Cummings to keep up the professional drivers in the cars around him for the remainder of the race. A car off at Quarry necessitated another Safety Car on lap 56, although it’s very late deployment almost caught out the leading runners as they were forced to quickly slow down behind it. The Safety Car came in on lap 59, and Plato soon set about building a lead to the rest from the re-start. Ex-British GT and TVR Tuscan racer Phil Keen made light work of Cummings at the Esses to claim 2nd on lap 61, with a second penalty for Cummings effectively destroying his chances of a top 2 result as he was forced to pit again late on lap 66.

6 Radical SR3 Challenge

The final laps provided a showdown finish as Keen began closing on Plato at the rate of 0.5 seconds per lap as he hunted for the win, with his first challenge for the lead coming at the Esses on the penultimate lap. The final laps were tense for the leading two although eventually Lewis Plato came home for victory by only 0.3 seconds from the Belshaw/Keen car after 90 minutes of flat out racing. The greatly unlucky Ellis/Cummings car came home 3rd from a lapped Jesper Westerholm in 4th, with Manhal Allos and the Kim/Moseley cars completing the top 6 in an exciting endurance race from the Radical SR3 Challenge.

Credit for these great photos go to

http://www.radicalsportscars.com/uk/radical-racing/details.aspx?passive=1&comp=2013%20Radical%20SR3%20Challenge&t=15

6 Radical SR3 Challenge

For more info on this exciting Radical series please visit the link below
http://www.radicalsportscars.com/uk/radical-racing/details.aspx?passive=1&comp=2013%20Radical%20SR3%20Challenge&t=15#

Radical Clubman’s Cup MSVR Castle Combe Report 02/08/14

After the lunch break, the first race was for the Radical Clubman’s Cup, a stepping stone in the Radical progression from the entry level SR1 cup to the higher profile SR3 Challenge or even European Masters series. Although the grid was not the biggest last weekend the series always provides close racing and plenty more was expected from their two races over the course of the day.

After qualifying it was Dan Vaughan in his SR3 that was on pole, from young hot shoe Oskar Kruger in his smaller PR6 model. Row 2 consisted of Steve Burgess in his SR3 from Brian Caudwell in a similar SR3 in 4th. From the start it was Kruger who made the best start although he was challenged for the lead by the fast starting Ben Dimmack, up from 8th on the grid, although some questioned whether he made too good a getaway. Into Quarry things got frantic however as 5 cars collided, although several were able to continue. The amount of stranded cars left the organisers with no option but to red flag the race to allow the stranded cars to be recovered safely.

After a 10 minute delay the cars began to line up on the grid again for the re-start, which had now been cut from 20 minutes to 15 in order to try make up time for the Castle Combe Saloons to have their race at the end of the day. At the re-start things carried over with Kruger quickly demoting Dimmack from the lead at the Esses on the opening lap. Kruger was clearly on a mission as he built up a lead of several seconds over the next few laps, and things got even more comfortable for him when news filtered through on lap 4 that 2nd man Dimmack was to have 10 seconds added to his race time for a jump start.

From the mid race point the depleted field were evenly spread out until the finish as Kruger came through for a comfortable victory, from Brian Caudwell in 2nd whilst the time penalty for Dimmack demoted him from 2nd on the road to 3rd in the overall result. John Macleod came home 4th in his SR3, whilst Brian Murphy and Richard Stables completed the top 6 from a truncated opening Radical Clubman’s Cup race.

For the second race later on in the afternoon, the grid was back up to full strength after the multi car accident in the opening race, with the front row order reversed this time around as the opening race winner Oskar Kruger claimed pole from Dan Vaughan, whilst similarly to race 1 Steve Burgess was 3rd from Brian Caudwell completed row 2. At the start it was Kruger and Burgess who made the best getaway’s to take an initial lead in this once again reduced to 15 minutes race.

Race 1 standout Ben Dimmack was at it again in race 2 as he came through to an initial 2nd place, although by lap 4 Burgess was beginning to seriously challenge Dimmack for the place as Kruger sprinted away into the distance up front. Dan Vaughan made a bad start and spent the early portion of the race attempting to make up some of the lost ground. His challenge for 4th place ended in tears on lap 6 as he passed John Macleod for the position before almost simultaneously spinning at the Esses, and into subsequent retirement.

http://www.msvracing.com/umbraco/imagegen.ashx?image=/media/2012/img_6798.jpg&height=600&allowupsizing=false&compression=90&format=jpg

The Safety Car was immediately deployed on lap 7 as it was deemed the car was in a dangerous position, although it only took 2 laps to recover the car before the Safety Car went in again. From here Kruger picked up where he left off before the Safety Car as he quickly restored a lead of several seconds over the rest. Behind Kruger Dimmack was had to defend courageously against Burgess behind him, although on the penultimate lap exiting Camp corner Burgess found a way through on the inside to claim 2nd, a position he would hold to the flag. Kruger was again dominant as he took a second victory of the day from Burgess and Dimmack. John Macleod came home for double 4th place from Brian Caudwell in 5th and finally Brian Murphy who completed the top 6.

These races were entertaining for the spectators although a few more cars on the entry list would have really enhanced the races last weekend, although in peak holiday season a dip in a usually much larger entry list is to be expected. All of the MSVR series who raced at Castle Combe last weekend would definitely be welcomed back by the spectators next year.

Credit for the excellent photos go to

http://www.radicalsportscars.com/au/readnews/?news=2014%20Radical%20Clubman’s%20Cup:%20Donington%20Park%2026%20April%20Race%20Report&passive=1&r=9&t=282

http://www.msvracing.com/cars/radical-clubmans-cup.aspx

For more information in this series please visit their website through the link below
http://www.radicalsportscars.com/au/?loadnews=regional

Mini Challenge MSVR Castle Combe 02/08/14

The first of the visiting MSVR championships to get onto the track was the Mini challenge series, for the first of their two races of the day. It promised to be an exciting race as a wet qualifying session determined the grid, yet by the time of their race the track was rapidly drying, leaving some last minute decisions on tyres and set up before the race.

Championship leader Chris Knox claimed pole from Luke Caudle, with ex-Legends racer Lawrence Davey and Neil Newstead completing row 2. At the start of this 20 minute race it was Knox and Caudle who made the best starts from the front row, as the rest diced for position behind them. It didn’t take long before Caudle was putting heavy pressure on Knox for the lead, although they were still managing to pull away from the field despite their battle.

Lap 4 saw Knox beginning to settle in and establish a gap to Caudle of several seconds, as behind these two Davey was now challenging the fast starting Henry Duprey for 3rd also. At this point of the race Knox was simply dominating as by lap 7 he held a 14 second gap to Duprey in 3rd and was in complete control of the race. A lap later and Davey finally breached a stubborn defence of 3rd from Duprey, as he dived inside him at Tower. Things didn’t get any easier for Duprey as the closest challenger to Knox in the championship, Neil Newstead, went inside him at Quarry on lap 10 for 4th.

From here Newstead was the man on the move as he quickly caught and was challenging Davey for 3rd, although his brave attempt at taking the place at Bobbies on lap 13 went badly wrong, as he completely misjudged it and fell back several seconds, ground he was unable to make up in the remaining time. After 16 laps it was Chris Knox who came through for a comfortable victory from a lonely Luke Caudle in 2nd. Lawrence Davey completed the podium with Neil Newstead, Hamish Brandon and Henry Duprey completing the top 6 in 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. In the lower Cooper class it was reigning class champion Shane Stoney who came through for the victory.

Later on in the afternoon the Mini challenge returned for it’s second and final race of the day. The top 8 finishing order in race 1 was reversed for the grid of race which meant it was Patrick Mortimer on pole from Keith Issatt alongside him, with Henry Duprey and Hamish Brandon on row 2. The men to watch out for were Luke Caudle and race 1 winner Chris Knox, who were both on row 4 for this race. The rolling start was pretty uneventful although it didn’t stay that way for long, as a multi car accident in the lower Cooper class brought out the Safety Car at the end of lap 1.

It was two cars who were out of the race that caused the Safety Car, although frustratingly the barriers had been damaged in the accident, necessitating a red flag and 10-20 minute delay to repair them. For the re-started race the duration was cut from 20 to 15 minutes as the timetable was now well behind schedule. This time there was no major accidents on lap 1, and things were soon changing at the front as Caudle passed Newstead for the lead at Folly on lap 2. Seconds later the battle amongst the leading quartet got ugly as contact at Quarry left Newstead in the barriers and out of the race early on.

The Safety Car made yet another appearance on lap 4, with a further 3 laps being completed before it came in at the end of lap 6. Immediately from the re-start the leading quartet made a break from the rest as they started battling for the lead of the race. Despite a valiant defence from Caudle eventually on lap 10 Knox and Duprey were able to force their way through at the Esses. From here the leading four circulated in a tandem on the final lap as Knox claimed his second victory of the day, moving him even further ahead in the championship battle. Duprey came home 2nd from Caudle in 3rd and Hamish Brandon in 4th, with Alan Taylor in 5th and Keith Issatt in 6th completing the significant placing’s. Much like Knox, Shane Stoney came through to take his 2nd Cooper class victory in the day as he cements his position at the top of his class standings.

After two good races from the Mini challenge, they now have two more meetings in their season although with only 4 races remaining it’s hard to look past Chris Knox and Shane Stoney as the class winners, based on their dominant showings here at Castle Combe.

Photo credits go to http://www.bam-promo.com/news/panda-racing/brandon-do-battle-and-fortify-points-position-castle-combe/ and
http://www.hornby.com/news/mini-challenge-tv-coverage-and-castle-combe-1st-august/

For more information on this championship please visit their official website here
http://www.minichallenge.co.uk/

Iconic Racer Porsche 911-50 RSR (Type 991) IBook Review

After the success of the first book from co-authors Stefan Lewyckyj and Ian Doughty on the McLaren MP4-12C, their latest offering centres on the iconic Porsche 911, and it’s latest 991 model. The opening chapters are dedicated to the history and heritage of the Porsche 911, both on the road and the race track. The opening chapters are very informative for the reader with high quality photos being used for perfectly complement the interesting text, setting a standard of quality which carries over throughout the book.

Throughout the book there are peppering’s of interactive features which add another dimension to this book. The video’s and added text material such as press releases are well laid out and subsequently are very easy to use. The chapters centring on the new 991 model Porsche 911 are well presented and guide the reader through the entire development process from start to finished product, through the use of informative text and highly detailed photos.

Whilst the early chapters switch between the road car and race car the later chapters focus more on the race car, something which make the book interesting for anyone as the photos are captioned in expert detail on areas such as the outside bodywork, internal cockpit and the engine. Both the factory and customer teams and drivers racing the new Porsche 991 911 on both sides of the Atlantic from both 2013 and this season are detailed to a similar level, giving the reader a clear understanding of everyone racing the new Porsche 911.

The more anyone will read this book, it will become more evident how well researched this book is as the extraordinary detail to which this book goes to sets it apart from any competitor books on the new Porsche 911. The book also contains complete stats from the 2013 and 2014 season so far. The biggest plus with this interactive book is that anyone can download updates for it which will update results from future races this season and beyond. In conclusion, this is a very well researched and detailed book which will interest anyone who’s interested in cars or motorsport.

In particular, for fans of the Porsche 911 this is a must have book, with a £4.99 price tag making this a very affordable book for anyone interested in cars. Put simply, you won’t get a more informative book on the Porsche 911 with the £4.99 price tag simply even more of a reason to buy this incredible book.

Here’s a link to the book on ITunes and the Iconic racer series Twitter page, which will keep you updated with all the latest in this book series.
Link to the book with ITunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/porsche-911-rsr-type-991-50/id882287325?mt=11
Iconic Racer Twitter page – https://twitter.com/IconicRacer

2014 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am Review Part 2

After previewing the first half of a vast 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am class, this is the second and final instalment of my Le Mans reviews from each class. Like I mentioned before, the GTE Am class was one of the closest fought battles in the race and the vast entry shows it’s popularity with the drivers and teams. Long may it continue.

Team Taisan:

#70 Ferrari F458 Italia: Shinji Nakano/Martin Rich/Pierre Ehret
The Japanese based Team Taisan returned to the Le Mans 24 Hours after a long absence, hoping for a similar result to it’s first debut where the team scored a GT class victory in 2000. Unfortunately for the team, the level of competition in GTE Am is much improved in 2014 and a repeat class victory didn’t look likely.

The team suffered a poor qualifying yet the quality in their driver line-up meant they were unlikely to stay in the lower places once the race got underway. From here the team drove a steady and reliable race as they marched up the GTE Am field to an eventual 8th place finish in class by the finish, and 28th overall. For this team that can be viewed as a success on their return after some years away, with many hoping they’ll make a return visit in 2015.

SMP Racing:

#72 Ferrari F458 Italia: Andrea Bertolini/Victor Shaitar/Aleksey Basov
For this newly formed Russian SMP Racing team their link up with experienced Ferrari GT team AF Corse must have proved invaluable on this, their first Le Mans 24 Hours. Whilst the two Oreca LMP2 cars they fielded struggled during session leading into the race, their GTE Am Ferrari qualified a superb 5th in a highly competitive class.

During the race the SMP Ferrari consolidated it’s position at the head of the midfield, just within reach of podium contention. All 3 drivers were driving well, especially the two Russian rookies considering it was their first Le Mans, until the rug was whipped out from underneath the team just as the began to dream of a top 5 position in class. They were forced out during the night after completing 196 laps, and whilst the team can be disappointed they retired, they can take a lot of heart from their performance up to that point. The team looks likely to return in 2015, and watch out for them to be contenders for GTE Am honours.

Prospeed Competition:

#75 Porsche 911 997 RSR: Francois Perrodo/Emmanuel Collard/Markus Palttala
This #75 Prospeed Porsche was a car I tipped for the GTE Am podium as they contained a driver line-up that could match anyone in the class. Unfortunately the team suffered a poor build up to the 24 Hours and qualified well down from their expected front running position.

The team and drivers were vastly experienced however and it wasn’t long before they began their rise through the GTE Am field. The team was staying out of trouble and making up positions until unfortunately the team was forced into retirement in the middle of the night, having completed 194 laps. This was galling for the team as they looked on course to challenge for a top 5 finish in class, although we remain hopeful the team will return next year and deliver on the potential they showed in this year’s 24 Hours.

IMSA Performance Matmut:

#76 Porsche 911 997 RSR: Nicolas Armindo/Raymond Narac/David Hallyday
The second IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche was another, like the #58 Sofrev ASP Ferrari, to garner plenty of French press attention, as this driver line up contained French pop star David Hallyday, who is a regular at the 24 Hours. This experienced team was given a boost with rapid young French GT driver Nicolas Armindo in the line up, although the #76 car failed to show it’s true pace in qualifying.

Come race day, the car was running well during the early hours, before a plethora of small problems hobbled the team from here on out. The drivers drove well to try make up as much time as possible yet by the finish the problems had relegated the team to a lowly 11th in class at the flag. Although this is hugely disappointing for a team that was probably hoping for a top 5 finish in class, they’ll be hoping their luck improves in time for next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Dempsey Racing-Proton:

#77 Porsche 911 991 RSR: Patrick Dempsey/Joe Foster/Patrick Long
Undoubtedly the car with the most attention throughout the race week was the #77 Dempsey racing Porsche. Well known American actor and avid racer Patrick Dempsey returned for his third Le Mans, and second with his own team. After a heart breaking run that came so close to GTE Am honours last year, they were hoping to better that this year. After a midfield qualifying run the team looked set for a good race as Porsche factory driver Patrick Long was soon challenging for higher places in the opening few hours.

From here the steady hands of Dempsey and business partner Joe Foster kept the car in the hunt, although tragically for the team misfortune soon derailed their challenge. This mechanical problem dropped them down the order, and whilst they tried to make up the lost ground, they were able to get back to a close 5th in class. Although this team might feel slightly disappointed, to have such a strong Le Mans two years in a row suggests if this team has a relatively reliable run, they be challenging for GTE Am honours next year.

Proton Competition:

#88 Porsche 911 991 RSR: Christian Reid/Klaus Bachler/Khaled Al Qubaisi
The second of the Proton Porsche’s carried a lot less hype surrounding it than the sister #77 entry, therefore leaving the car to fly under the race during race week. A quiet qualifying was carried over into the race as the car and three drivers ran faultlessly throughout the 24 Hours, whilst the lacked the all round scintillating pace that can be overcome in the race. Their reliability soon had them creeping up the order until they found themselves 2nd in class with only a few hours to go.

Whilst the team started dreaming of a class victory when the leading #95 Aston Martin was pulled into the pits with only a couple of hours left, the team was unable to make up the lap difference before the Aston was fixed and sent back out. Therefore the team cruised from here to take a comfortable 2nd in class, and 21st overall. The team was clearly delighted with this incredible result and will be hoping their good luck continues for another crack at class victory next year.

8Star Motorsport:

#90 Ferrari F458 Italia: Frankie Montecalvo/Gianluca Roda/Paolo Ruberti
For the 8Star team things started badly for the 24 Hours as driver Frankie Montecalvo suffered a big accident in the early qualifying sessions. It was feared at one point he would be unable to race, yet the team were delighted to find out in fact he would be well enough to race after the shunt. The crash therefore blunted their qualifying effort, yet the team were confident they could make up ground with a reliable run.

The team’s race plan worked to perfection during the race as they slowly and methodically moved up the GTE Am order as the race wore on, the #90 seemed to slip under the radar until they reached 4th in class by Sunday morning. From here the team tried to catch the #61 AF Corse Ferrari in in 3rd, yet were unable to do this and settled for a 4th in GTE Am, only one lap off the podium.

Whilst the team might feel slightly unlucky with their accident and starting position it seems the team lived up to their expectations after a difficult start, and will be hungry for more next year.

Aston Martin Racing:

#95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE: Nicki Thiim/Kristian Poulsen/David Heinemeier Hansson
This was arguably the favourite for GTE Am honours pre-race, something the team delivered on in the ultimate manner. From the moment practice began on Wednesday this team seemed to have an edge on speed over the rest in the GTE Am class, as the Aston Martin Vantage returned to competitiveness at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The team expertly converted a 3rd in class after qualifying into an early lead, which the held for the majority of the rest of the race.

It was one of the few Aston Martin’s that didn’t suffer from power steering problems throughout the race, yet it have it share of problems late on, although by this point the car had enough of a lead to retain it’s GTE Am lead. They eventually crossed the line victorious by 2 laps, in what was hugely emotional win for this all Danish crew, after the loss of team mate and popular fellow Dane Allan Simonsen in the early laps of last year’s 24 Hours. This class win was the ultimate dedication to his memory from everyone at Aston Martin racing.

#98 Aston Martin Vantage GTE: Paul Dalla Lana/Pedro Lamy/Christoffer Nygaard
The second of the two factory Aston Martin GTE entries suffered a lot more difficult race as their Aston was the first to suffer power steering problems. Up to this point the team was thrilled as the factory Aston’s ran 1-2 in GTE Am, with the #98 car holding the lead for 86 consecutive laps before surrendering it to the sister #95 entry just after midnight when the power steering problem reared it’s ugly head.

The repairs were extensive and dropped the car well down in the GTE Am class, once repaired the superb driver line up tried to make up as much as possible, yet there was little they could do at this point as the car eventually made the flag 6th in class, 5 laps down on it’s team mate. Although the team will be disappointed with the problem, they can take consolation from the fact they scored points which sets them up well for the remaining rounds of the WEC now.

Garage 56 Entry:

Nissan Motorsport:

#0 Nissan ZEOD RC: Lucas Ordonez/Wolfgang Reip/Satoshi Motoyama
The final entry for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours was the greatly experimental Nissan ZEOD RC, which challenged the boundaries for hybrid technology in the world’s greatest motor race. The team set ambitious target and threw the best available talent behind this project. The vastly successful RML team ran the operation, which aimed to travel at 186mph on the Mulsanne straight and complete a full lap on only electric power stored by the hybrid system.

Unsurprisingly the car ran into a lot of problems during the week, yet the team’s targets had already been met before the 24 Hours even started as they completed their objectives in the morning warm up. From here the overall result in the 24 Hours wasn’t of major significance as the team had already completed it’s goals. Despite this, the team must have been disappointed to see the car roll to a halt halfway between Arnage and the Porsche curves early on.

Once the ACO refused the team’s plea to let the car be collected and returned to the pits, their race was sadly over after only 5 laps. On the whole, the team can take great heart from this project and it’s achievement, despite the race result. The team performed excellently during the week, and all 3 drivers have definitely put themselves in the window for the new Nissan LMP1 project next year with their performances this week.

That sadly completes my Le Mans 24 Hours coverage for this year, all keep posted as I try to write about the remaining Sportscar season, which goes relatively quiet now in Europe after Le Mans. It was a truly amazing Le Mans 24 Hours race, which has solidified my decision to go to the race next year for sure. Please feel free to comment on this, all my details are in the contact page of this site.

Finally I must say one more time a huge thank you to http://www.Motorsport.com for their amazing photos throughout the whole Le Mans 24 Hours week. I know I’ve said the same thing in multiple posts but their site really is worth a look for any motorsport fan. Until next time, Enjoy!

2014 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am Review Part 1

The final review of mine for this year’s scintillating Le Mans 24 Hours comes from the GTE Am class. Although considered by many to the slowest of the four classes competing, this class provided some very entertaining battles throughout the 24 Hours. The cars this year were the same spec as the GTE Pro field, therefore with the professional drivers in the cars this class was troubling the more established GTE Pro runners.

RAM Racing:

#53 Ferrari F458 Italia: Johnny Mowlem/Mark Patterson/Archie Hamilton
For the RAM Racing team, the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours proved to be a solid if unspectacular week for them. The team’s driver line up was a contender for the best in class, yet some funding issues prevented the team from updating their Ferrari F458 to 2013 spec like many others in the class. The funding issues hurt more as they prevented the teaming entering the Spa 6 hours World Endurance Championship, a traditional warm-up for Le Mans.

In terms of results the team qualified in the midfield and the #53 entry was running solidly before some small problems hampered the team slightly as the race wore on. From here the drivers ran strong until the flag to come home 12th in a very competitive class, and 32nd overall. For most teams the minimum target is to finish the race, therefore this RAM entry can be proud of that, although they will be hoping to eliminate some of their problems for next year’s 24 Hours. A decent effort all round from the RAM Racing team.

Krohn Racing:

#57 Ferrari F458 Italia: Tracy Krohn/Nic Jonsson/Ben Collins
The Krohn racing team came into Le Mans as the most under-prepared team, through no fault of their own, as they received a very late call up to the race only a few weeks before the 24 Hours. From this perspective the team performed admirably therefore to finish the race, finally coming home a remarkable 10th in class. The team suffered very few problems and the driving talent drove brilliantly to secure the finish for this American privateer team. Krohn have become a mainstay of the Le Mans GT classes, and many hope they will return once again in 2015.

Team Sofrev ASP:

#58 Ferrari F458 Italia: Fabien Barthez/Anthony Pons/Soheil Ayari
A lot of French media attention was centred on this new team and in particular it’s driver line-up pre-race, although the presence of a French World Cup winning Goalkeeper amongst the driving talent may have had something to do with that. This relatively new start up French GT team made a good first impression on the 24 Hours, as they performed a solid race and solidified a eventual 9th place finish in GTE Am by the finish, and 29th overall.

For this team, like many, a finish was probably the minimum expectation therefore to complete your first Le Mans 24 Hours is no mean feat. The driver line-up all had a stellar race too as they avoided all the action to secure the finish they so wanted. Many French fans will be hoping this team returns with the same line-up in 2015, as they all proved a hit this time around.

AF Corse:

#60 Ferrari F458 Italia: Peter Mann/Lorenzo Case/Raffaele Giammaria
The #60 AF Corse entry was the first of four Ferrari F458 Italia’s that they were running in the GTE Am class alone. The team is the best European Ferrari GT team in the business, therefore it came down to the driver line-up to ensure a clean and fast run in the 24 Hours. The car qualified in the midfield and appeared to be holding a steady upper midfield spot in the race over the first few hours.

Unfortunately for the team, as the evening and night time drew in this car faltered, and was forced to retire after completing 115 laps. This was a disappointing end to what had been a good run so far for the #60 car. The team looked more than likely to have been fighting for a top 6 in class had it carried on going into the final hours. The AF Corse team will surely be back in GTE Am at Le Mans next year, hopefully they’ll retain this driver line-up for the #60 car too, so they can deliver on the promise they showed last weekend.

#61 Ferrari F458 Italia: Luis Perez Companc/Marco Cioci/Mirko Venturi
I predicted that of the four AF Corse GTE Am entries, this was the most likely to challenge for class honours, and that’s how it played out as the team had a reliable race, complimented by some very fast driving from all 3 drivers. The end result of this was a superb 3rd in class and 22nd overall, only 3 laps down on the winning #95 Aston Martin.

The team delivered on the results it’s shown in the WEC so far this year and will now be hoping they can continue their title winning credentials into the final few races of the WEC season. A definite challenger for GTE Am honours at Le Mans if this team returns unchanged in 2015.

#62 Ferrari F458 Italia: Howard Blank/Yannick Mallegol/Jean-Marc Bachelier
For this #62 AF Corse entry it seemed a reliable run to the finish would be the main target for the relatively inexperienced driver line-up as they learnt the track all week. The team lacked the ultimate pace to challenge for a top 6 in class, yet the team achieved their target as they completed the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Like I’ve said earlier, finishing Le Mans is no mean feat therefore the team can all be satisfied with their race, with their overall finishing position of 38th being of much less importance. It will be interesting to see the improvement in this team if they return in 2015, with many hoping they will come back for more.

#81 Ferrari F458 Italia: Sam Bird/Steve Wyatt/Michele Rugolo
This #81 entry have proven a huge contender for GTE Am victories in the opening WEC races, and it stole the early headlines in qualifying with a scintillating lap from Brit Sam Bird. The recent single seater convert defied his Am class status to set the pole lap in GTE Am, which was only bettered by a lap from the superstar #51 AF Corse GTE Pro line-up. This lap has surely now put him on the map in terms of a long term Sportscar career as I’m sure many teams sat up and took notice of his talents after qualifying.

After such a high with the class pole the race was continuing in a similar fashion as they battled for the class lead early on. From here things quickly went downhill for the team as Le Mans rookie Sam Bird was caught out in changeable conditions and ran into the back of a slow No3 Audi R18. The damage was extensive enough to force both cars into retirement early on, in what was hugely disappointing for both cars and they looked to challenge for their class victories. Nevertheless, the team showing amazing potential which will surely be fully utilized in the remaining WEC rounds this year.

JMW Motorsport:

#66 Ferrari F458 Italia: Spencer Pumpelly/Seth Neiman/Abdulaziz Al-Faisal
For this team, the link up with experienced American GT outfit Flying Lizard provided even more experience to this GT mainstay team. The team was hoping to make all this experience count pre-race. After qualifying in the midfield, the team went into the race still maintaining their hopes of a podium or top 5 finish in class. After a relatively trouble free run the team was able to count on it’s driver line-up to provide quick and consistent laps throughout the race.

This approach usually works at Le Mans and this year proved no different, as whilst the team lacked the last edge of pace to challenge for class victory, they were able to comfortably finish 7th in class and 27th overall. This team appears likely to return next year, and it would be nice to see Flying Lizard return as an outright team again next year too.

IMSA Performance Matmut:

#67 Porsche 911 997 RSR: Eric Helary/Erik Maris/Jean Marc-Merlin
For the highly experienced IMSA Performance Matmut team, this entry was targeting a clean and reliable run in the 24 Hours. Whilst the driver line-up contained hugely fast and experienced Sportscar racer Eric Helary, the other two drivers were unable to match his pace, probably due to their lack of experience at Le Mans in comparison to Helary.

Like many GTE Am team finishing appeared the first priority, something the team can be proud to say they accomplished, with a 13th in class and 34th overall. The IMSA team seems to return to Le Mans every year, and similarly to the #62 AF Corse Ferrari, it would be interesting to see the same line-up to return as I’m sure the improvement would be large from the 2 drivers alongside Eric Helary.

That’s it for the first half of my 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Am review, Part 2 will be posted soon so stay tuned for it later today. I hope you enjoyed reading this and please feel free to comment, even if you think it’s terrible. All my contact details are in the contacts section of my blog so feel free to browse. Finally a huge thank you again to http://www.Motorsport.com for their amazing high quality Le Mans photos, they truly are worth a browse for any motorsport fan. For now, Enjoy!