Classic and Competition Car 79 April 2017 by Simon Wright

April 2017

Issue 79

The 21st Century magazine about cars and motorsport of the past and present.

In this issue

750 MC Donington

Hot Rods Coffee and Cars Coventry

Drifting at Rockingham

SDCC Sprint Curborough

BTCC is back Report and photos from the media launch of the 2017 series.

Our Team.

Contents Page 3

News.

Simon Wright Editor Janet Wright. Staff Photographer.

Page 8

John Surtees tribute.

Independant

Page 9

Cars & Coffee Hot Rods meeting, Coventry Transport Museum.

Page 16

Legend Fires North West Stages Rally.

Freelance contributors in this issue. Pete Austin. Mick Herring. David Goose & Stuart Yates of Motorsport-Imagery

Page 21

750 Motor Club Donington Park GP race meeting Event 1.

Page 28

Driftcup 2017 Round 1 Rockingham.

Page 33

Shenstone and District Car Club members meeting sprint, Curborough.

Page 38

Archive Photo of the month.

Page 39

British Touring Car Championship 2017 Guide.

Page 47

British Touring Car media day.

Front Cover. Main photo BMW should be a force in this years BTCC © Simon Wright. 750MC © Janet Wright. Hot Rods © Simon Wright. Drifting © Motorsport Imagery SDCC Sprint © Janet Wright

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April 2017

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Editorial. The racing season has finally started and the biggest British series, the BTCC, starts at Brands Hatch at the start of April. You can see our comprehensive guide to the series in this issue. At the recent media launch for the championship, some of the drivers looked so young, they looked like they needed a pass to be out of school! Will youthful exuberance win out or will the more experienced drivers still rule the roost? With a full 32 car grid, we will soon find out.

News

Can anyone take Sheddens crown?

Vauxhall return to BTCC before company sold to PSA Group. Vauxhall is one of the oldest names in motoring having started car production in 1903. It was acquired by General Motors in 1925. Since 1980 Vauxhall and Opel ranges have been almost identical and the Vauxhall brand was sold solely in the UK. Now in 2017, the PSA Group that makes Citroen, DS and Peugeot has confirmed it is buying the Vauxhall/Opel brand for £1.88 bn. This will make the group the second largest manufacturer after Volkswagen, with a 17% market share. Before the sale was announced Vauxhall had already announced its return to the BTCC with two Vauxhall Astra saloons for Tom Chilton and Rookie driver Senna Proctor. April 2017

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ÂŠ Simon Wright

Donington Improvements. Improvement work continues at Donington Park. Before the season started, the entire area of paddock 2 had been resurfaced in time for the first race meeting at the circuit, the 750 Motor Club meeting on the 18th and 19th March 2017 Single Seater Ace joins Porsche Carrera Cup GB for 2017. Tio Ellinas from Larnaca in Cyprus has risen through the single seater ranks to the heights of GP2 and most recently winning in the Formula Renault 3.5 series. This year he is switching to sports car racing along with JTR in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. He will be joining team mates Dino Zamparelli and Lewis Plato.

April 2017

Prodrive enter World Rallycross with new Renault Megane. Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit and Prodrive will develop a new rallycross car for the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship. Chicherit, a former World Champion in free skiing, has already entered several World RX events in 2015/16. He has decided to build his own team. The new supercar will be based on the Renault Megane IV and will be designed from the ground up by Prodrive to the latest World RX regulations. They will also be developing a bespoke 2 litre turbocharged engine. Page 4

Aston Martin launch AMR At the Geneva motorshow, Aston Martin announced the new AMR brand, which will strengthen the connection between road and race cars. Reflecting Aston Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s racing pedigree, AMR takes technology and inspiration from motorsport to amplify the sporting prowess present across the model range. Also unveiled were two concepts including the Rapide AMR and the Vantage AMR Pro. The Rapide AMR has enhanced the four door sports car with a comprehensive suite of power, chassis and styling upgrades. It features a powerful 600PS version of the 6 litre naturally aspirated V12 engine, making this the Worlds fastest four door car, capable of 210 mph. April 2017

Rivett out to win 4th Renault UK Clio Cup title in 2017 Paul Rivett is out to claim his fourth Renault Clio Championship in 2017, contesting the series for the WDRE Motorsport team. Rivett was champion in 2002, 2004 and 2011 and is hungrier than ever to add a fourth title to his collection. This will be his eleventh full season in the UK Clio Cup since he first entered in 2001

BMW sales off to a flying start. BMW Group have achieved their best ever sales start to the year in 2017. They have delivered 163,288 vehicles worldwide, up by 6.8%. Sales are up 7.2%, totalling ÂŁ143,553. Mini sales have grown 3.7% to 19,563. Also the new electric models have doubled sales in January. Page 5

McLaren Special Operations McLaren 720S Velocity. Unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow, McLaren Special Operations showed a bespoke, personalised McLaren 720S just 24 hours after the global debut of the second generation Super Series. A fusion of Volcano Red and Nerello Red paint colours showcased the ability of MSO to create uniquely sophisticated bespoke McLaren cars. The paint scheme is complemented by lightweight alloy wheels finished in metallic bronze. There is also a range of carbon fibre exterior parts from the MSO collection added to further enhance the bold appearance of the new Super Series. In addition to the red carbon fibre bonnet, a gloss carbon rear deck vent, gloss carbon fibre service cover, rear aero bridge and satin carbon full length sill covers are also fitted. The interior has carbon black Alcantara trim throughout, contrasting with Harissa Red leather details. The McLaren 720S Velocity costs in the region of ÂŁ335,000. April 2017

Solberg and Kristoffersson team up for 2017 World RX. Two times World RX Champion Petter Solberg and last years World RX vicechampion Johan Kristoffersson will contest the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship in a pair of Volkswagen Polo RX Supercars. Solberg will be responsible for the sporting operations of the new team supported by Volkswagen Sweden. The first round of this years championship is in Barcelona on the 1st and 2nd April 2017. Renault-Nissan Alliance extends Electric vehicle sales record.

The Renault-Nissan alliance delivered significant growth in 2016 with global sales of 9.96 millions vehicles. This figure also includes 934,013 vehicles sold by Mitsubishi Motors after it joined the alliance after Nissan acquired a 34% equity stake in the company. The car group also reinforced its leadership in zero emission vehicles with cumulative sales of 424,797 electric vehicles worldwide, since the introduction of the Nissan Leaf in 2010 followed by the Renault Zoe. Renault sales were up 13.3% in 2016 to 3,182,625 vehicles sold, Nissan sales were up 2.5% in the USA and China to a record 5,559,903 vehicles sold, while Mitsubishi were down 13% to 934,013 Page 6

The Renault Trezor won the Concept Car Design of the Year award 2016 at the Geneva Car Design awards. The all electric GT features styling and Technology set to feature on upcoming Renault models. The stunning 1964 Ferrari 330GT Nembo Spider fetched £609,500 (with premium) to benefit the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) charity. © Simon Wright The Nembo had been consigned by the late Richard Allen, Chairman of the Ferrari Owners’ Club of Great Britain for many years shortly before his death in November 2016. April 2017

Puff the Magic wagon flies again. After nearly 46 years, Puff, one of the four Austin Maxis that took part in the 1970 World Cup Rally was back in action on the HERO 3 Legs of Mann Classic Rally from the 17th-20th March. Reunited with one of her original drivers, Bron Burrell, and her young co-drivers, the Whyte sisters (Elise and Seren), the car visited every © Simon Wright control and finished 39th overall out of 62 starters. This was even after running out of fuel within 400 metres of the final finish control at midnight on the first day of the 2nd leg.

Skoda Vision E Making it’s debut at the Shanghai Motor Show 2017, Skoda gave its premier of it’s first electric study Vision. It has a top speed of 112mph and a range of 311 miles.There will be five electric vehicles in various segments by 2025, starting with the Skoda Superb with plug in hybrid drive by 2019. Page 7

John Surtees CBE 11th February 1934 to 10th March 2017. Born in Tatsfield, Surrey, John Surtees was the son of a South London Motorcycle dealer. He had his first race at 15 tears old in a grasstrack event. At 16 he went to work at the Vincent factory as an apprentice. In 1955 he got his first factory ride for Norton and by the end of the season had beaten reigning World Champion Geoff Duke at both Silverstone and Brands Hatch. When Norton hit financial problems he switched to MV Agusta and won the 500cc World Championship in 1956. He took the title again in 1958, 1959 and 1960. He won 32 out of 39 races and became the first man to win the Senior TT on the Isle of Man three years in succession. © Janet Wright In 1960 he switched from bikes to cars making his Formula 1 debut at the 1960 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone for Team Lotus. He finished 2nd in his second race, the 1960 British Grand Prix and took Pole position in his third in Portugal. In 1961 he drove for the Yeoman Credit Racing Team, driving s Cooper T53. In 1963 to moved to Scuderia Ferrari and won the 1964 World Championship. He is the only man to have World Championships on both 2 and 4 wheels. In September 1965 Surtees had a terrible accident in a Can-Am Lola T70 at Mosport Park in Canada which left his body 4 inches shorter on one side than the other. When Ferrari left him out of the 1966 Le Mans race because they did not think he was fit enough to do 24 hours, he quit the team. He switched to the Cooper Maserati team and won the last race of the season to finish 2nd in the Championship. He also won the inaugural CanAm Championship in 1966 in a Lola T70. At the end of the 1966 season he switched to Honda and won the Italian Grand Prix. In 1970 Surtees formed his own team, the Surtees Racing Organisation and spent 9 seasons competing in Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 5000 as a constructor. He won the 1970 Oulton Park Gold Cup at the wheel of his Surtees TS7 and quit driving in 1972, the same year that the team achieved their greatest success when Mike Hailwood won the European Formula 2 title. The © Simon Wright team finally disbanded in 1978. He supported his son Henry in racing until Henry was tragically killed at Brands Hatch in a Formula 2 race in July 2009. John already had an MBE and was awarded a OBE in 2008. In 2016 he was awarded a CBE (Commander of the order of the British Empire for Services to Motorsport. He died of respiratory failure on the 10th of March 2017 at St Georges Hospital in London. He leaves behind a widow and two daughters. To his family and friends we offer our sincere condolences.

April 2017

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Cars and Coffee, Hot Rods and Kool Kustoms By Simon & Janet Wright.

Â© Simon Wright

Ford Hotrod outside the museum

April 2017

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The Heart of the former British motor industry was located in the centre of England in the City of Coventry. Famous for motor manufacturers like Jaguar, Daimler, Triumph, Rover, Hillman, Allard, Alvis, Sunbeam, Talbot and even French Peugeot have all been built in Coventry over the last century. In honour of this fantastic legacy, the city has for many years housed a fabulous Transport Museum in the city centre, with free admission at the time of publication. It has a fantastic permanent collection of motor vehicles on display, plus has April 2017

the facilities and space to house special exhibitions during the year. The current display is Hot Rods & Kool Customs which runs from 28th January 2017 to 14th May 2017, featuring a display of cars from the American and British custom car and Hot rod scene. The oldest car in this display is a 1932 Ford Roadster and another popular model is the 1957 Ford Popular. With posters on the walls and even a jukebox playing out rock and roll, the exhibition really does capture the period.

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During the summer months, the museum also holds monthly Cars & Coffee mornings on a Saturday, in Millenium Place, a large public © Simon Wright square outside the front of the museum. Classic car owners can pre-register their vehicles to display outside the front of the museum. The first of this years meetings was held on April 2017

Saturday 11th March 2017 and was a special Hot Rods Cars & Coffee day in honour of the exhibition in the museum. It was probably one of the largest turn outs for these events, with over 70 cars and vans on display between 9:30am and 4pm. Many had travelled long distances to attend. The unusual vehicles attracted a large crowd of interested on-lookers and passing shoppers, as the museum is located right next to the city bus station. Wheeler Dealer TV presenter Mike Brewer, who is also president of the Coventry Transport Museum Patron scheme, arrived in a stylish blue Porsche 911. He drew a crowd of enthusiasts round him all morning, signing autographs and posing for ‘selfies’. There was an impressive range of cars on display outside. The oldest vehicle was a 1932 Ford Model B which originally was © Janet Wright powered by a 3.3 litre four cylinder engine. but has now been fitted with a 5.7 litre Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine. It retains it’s original English steel Tudor bodywork. The model was built between 1932 and 1934 as a 2 door roadster, coupe and sedan and the four door as a sedan. Ford Model B

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Possibly the loudest car to arrive was an American 1970 Mercury Cougar with its 5.4 litre V8 engine making a lovely ‘growling’ sound as it drove in to Millennium Place. Mercury was part of the Ford empire and the original Cougar shared much of its © Janet Wright

April 2017

running gear with the Ford Mustang, but as can be seen in the overhead view, it was a larger vehicle, slotting in between the Mustang and the Thunderbird. The first generation (67-70) was the only model with covered, hidden headlights when off. © Simon Wright

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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Other ‘modern’ American muscle cars included a convertible Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, several Ford Mustangs and a mammoth Ram SRT10 pickup truck, which must have been twice the size of the 1946 flat bed Ford pickup truck Rat Rod, with its open V8 engine. There were several ‘sit up and beg’ style modified Ford Populars parked together. This British Ford model has always been popular © Simon Wright with the British Hot Rod and Custom car crowd. A large area was used by a selection of American Camper vans, many with custom paint jobs. A Citroen camper van had scenes from the latest Star War movies painted on the sides and rear. There was even an original Volkswagen Camper van, which looked tiny Ford Popular Hot Rod

April 2017

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next to the larger American vans. It was not just American cars on show. A lot of 1950s British saloons shared design features copied from the American cars © Simon Wright of the time, but in a smaller package. An example was the 1955 Vauxhall Velox saloon at Coventry. Finished in Vauxhall Velox black and red, it has been fitted with a Rover 3.5 litre V8 engine and white wall tyres, making it a smaller version of burbling V8 American custom car. Another unusual car was a 1990 Nissan Pao. This retro styled three door hatchback, powered by a 1 litre engine, was built © Janet Wright solely for the Japanese market and marketed without Nissan branding. It was sold through the Nissan April 2017

Nissan Pao

Cherry Stores and the total production of 51,657 were all sold within three months. It had external door hinges, like the original Mini which was fashionable in Japan. The Flap up windows were similar to those on the Citroen 2CV, while the split rear tailgate Nissan Pao was copied from the Austin A40 Farina Countryman. For more information See www.transport-museum.com

Chevrolet Chevelle SS and Ford Mustang © Simon Wright

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Chevrolet Chevelle SS © Simon Wright

Ford Mustang © Simon Wright

April 2017

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ÂŠ Motorsport-imagery

2017 Legend Fires North West Stages By David Goose & Stuart Yates of Motorsport-Imagery

Andrew and Dave Hollands Mk2 Escort.

April 2017

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Covering roughly 75 miles over 22 stages around the Fylde Coast, this years North West Stages Rally was again based around Blackpool. Regarded as a tough, tarmac road rally, the event is popular with the competitors for its friendly atmosphere, tough stages and mixture of night stages on the Friday night and daytime stages on the Saturday. Many rallies run stages late in the afternoon resulting in some early runners maybe getting more favourable light, on the North West Stages everybody © Motorsport-imagery runs in the

John Stone pushes the Fiesta hard down

dark. the promenade at Fleetwood. The event is organised by a team of volunteers from 10 motor clubs from around the North West, whilst the ever popular Motorsport show featuring a wide variety of cars from Rallying, BRISCA Stock Cars, Autograss, Trucks, Group B / Historic Rallycars and circuit racing is held within the hotel’s Norcalympia exhibition centre alongside the Rallies Scrutineering. Entrants this year had to compete against strong winds and a spring high tide making the two promenade stage at Blackpool and Fleetwood April 2017

The Lady Mayor of Blackpool waves off Local hero John Stone in the Fiesta at the start of the rally.

even more treacherous than normal. This years event saw a ceremonial start on Friday evening outside the Norbreck Castle Hotel, where the Lady Mayor of Blackpool waved away the first batch of cars. From there the cars completed a number of runs through stages at Fleet and Blackpool promenades, Fleetwood Docks and Weeton Army Camp.Title sponsor for the 14th successive year was Legend Fires, main sponsor of local hero John Stone who competed in his 2500cc

Aaron Newby and Rob Fagg in the Subaru Imprezza.

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Group B Display Cars. © Motorsport-imagery

Rob Snowden, Tommy Rodgers, Ford Escort Mk2. © Motorsport-imagery

Aaron Newby and Robb Fagg with the Rally winning TEG Motorsport Subaru Impreza.

April 2017

Aaron Newby and Rob Fagg. © Motorsport-imagery

The Mayor of Wyre watches the action.

Army Rally Team Land Rover Wolf.

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Simon Bowen's Impreza WRC. © Motorsport-imagery

Mark Roberts and Stephen Landens Ford Escort Cosworth.

Ford Fiesta, sadly only to retire on Special Stage 9 with differential failure. The event run using traditional road books with tulip style instructions was won by Aaron Newby and Robb Fagg in their TEG Sport Subaru Imprezza who eventually won by just over two minutes from Eian Pritchard and Steven McPhee in a Ford Focus WRC. Third place went to Mathew Roberts and Sarah Edwards in a Mitsubushi EVO 9. Many peoples favourite to win the event, Simon Bowen and

April 2017

Richard Bobinson in their Subaru Imprezza WRC S11 suffered clutch failure on Special stage 18 whilst in second place behind eventual winner Aaron Newby, Bowen suffering time penalties before retiring, however at the time of the retirement he was only 1minute and 6 seconds behind, without the time penalties he would have effectively been leading the rally. Unfortunately it was not to be. Veteran of many North West Stages, Tony Bardy in his Ford Focus suffered wheel and suspension damage in Special stage 9 ending his chances of another victory on the event. First run in 1997, with the exception of one year (2006) the North West Stages has always run as a one day event. It has run over many venues in this period including stately homes, holiday camps, an airfield, and ICI chemical plant and the Leyland Truck test centre but now seems to have found a very popular home at its Blackpool hotel base. © Motorsport-imagery

John Saunders and Tony Hart in the MG Metro 6R4.

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Rally winner Aaron Newby with a hard pushing Simon Bowen in the background. © Motorsport-imagery

Tony Bardy and the Ford Focus crashed out in stage 9.

April 2017

Castrol Toyota Celica in the Rally Show at Norcalympia. © Motorsport-imagery

Probably the closest any rally comes to the main public anywhere in the UK.

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Â© Janet Wright

750 MOTOR CLUB Donington Park GP 18TH-19TH March 2017. By Simon & Janet Wright.

Three abreast in to Redgate at the start of the BMW 330 Challenge and Super Cooper Cup. Eric Dunmore Mini Cooper S (69) just ahead of David Drinkwater BMW 330 (67) and Will Sharpe Mini Cooper S (66) is stuck in the midle

April 2017

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Chris Preen Radical SR3 RS leads the Bikesports race

It seemed very appropriate that the 40th anniversary season of Donington Park since it was re-opened by Tom Wheatcroft, should be started by the 750 Motor Club, who are based at the circuit, using the full Grand Prix circuit. The two day meeting in the middle of March saw a packed program of nine races on Saturday and a further nine on Sunday. After a wet morning of practice and qualifying on Saturday, followed by a heavy rain storm during the lunch break, the racing got off to a wet start for the first of two Aim Technologies Bikesports races. Chris Preen was on a wet pole position in his Radical SR3 RS, but it was Steven Burgess in another Radical SR3 RSX that took the lead

on the wet track and stormed through to win the first race of the day by almost 12 seconds. Dominik Jackson held on to 2nd place in his Radical SR3, while Stefano Leaney worked his way through the field from 5th to 3rd in his Radical PR6. The other class winners were 7th placed Brian Caldwell in a Radical SR3 and Max Windheuser in 11th driving his Spire GT. The Second race for the Bikesports was later in the afternoon, the 8th race of the day and saw another win for Burgess on a much drier track. This time it was Joe Stables who finished 2nd and won his class in his Radical PR6, almost 29 seconds behind, while Philip Knibb was 3rd in a Radical SR3 RSX. The other class winner was Windheuser again in 13th. © Janet Wright

Tony Gabriel BMW 330 finished 12th in the wet BMW 330 Challenge race

Charles Graham Radical SR3 RS spun on the wet track and was nearly collected by Mark Crader Radical RSX (20)

April 2017

Second race was the combined MTEC Brakes BMW 330 Challenge and the Super Cooper Cup race. This was the first race of the new BMW 330 Challenge series. The wet track gave the advantage to Eliot Dunmore in his Mini Cooper S on pole position from David Drinkwater in the first of the BMW 330s. On the drying track Dunmore took a close win in the first race by just 1.78 seconds from Drinkwater with Lewis Carter Page 22

3rd in another BMW 330. Will Sharpe was 4th overall to take 2nd place in the Super Cooper Class. Their second race was the last of the day and held at dusk on a dry track. This time the BMW 330s held the advantage with Carter winning by over 12 seconds from Drinkwater. Sharpe won the Super Cooper race in 3rd place while Andy Knowlton was 4th overall in the second of the Mini Cooper cars. © Janet Wright

Start of the first BMW 330 Challenge & Super Cooper Cup race

Third race of Saturday was the Demon Tweeks/Yokohama Classic Stock Hatch Championship first race of the © Janet Wright weekend. Lee Scott claimed Pole position in his Ford Fiesta XR2i, but was outdragged by Andrew Thorpe in his Cireoen AX GTi on the run down to Redgate corner from the start. The race was red flagged after a car rolled on lap 3. Thorpe took a decisive victory from Matt Rozier, who finished just over half a second behind in his Peugeot 205 GTi with Scott in 3rd place. Their second race was first on the Sunday list and Scott managed to win this race from pole position in his Fiesta XR2i. Rozier took another 2nd place in his Peugrot 205 GTi, while Matthew Stubington was nearly 10 seconds April 2017

behind in 3rd place, The Cartek Roadsports series had a 45 minute race on Saturday, with Andy Marston starting the BMW E46 M3 which he shared with Brett Evans, from Pole position. The winner on the road was Philip Knibb and Neil Primrose in a Lotus Europa, which was Bryn Hawkins Toyota Celica 15th in the Roadsport series excluded from the race results because of an eligibilty problem with their tyres. The BMW won the race by just over 25 seconds from Jamie Sturges in his Seat Leon Eurocup car with Steve Hewson in 3rd at the wheel of a Peugeot 106 GTi, also taking a class win. The other class winners were 5th placed Petteri Jokinen in a Mini Coooper S and Sam McKee driving a BMW E36 328i in 17th place. The Raceparts 750 Formula championship race was run on a dry track and saw Robin Gearing take both race wins from pole position in his Darvi P88 from Bill Cowley

Andrew Thorpe Citroen AX GTi grabbed an early lead in the Classic Stock Hatch race

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Paul Morris Diet 17 leads a bunch in to the Melbourne hairpin in the 750 Formula race

in his Cowley Mk IV who was 2nd in both races. Mark Glover was 3rd in the Racekits Falcon in the first race, while on Sunday, 3rd place went to Peter Bove in a Darvi Mk 4/5. Class B was won in both races by Richard Rothery in a PRS 1b. The Armed Forces Challenge has been developed to allow racers from all the Armed Forces to compete against each other on a level playing field, irrespective of vehicle performance. It awards consistency during races.

Lawson BMW Compact, ahead of Paul Roddison Mazda MX5 Mk 4 and Ben Gundry Ford Fiesta Mk 4 in the Armed Forces race

Caterham Seven 310R and Andrew Stacey was 3rd in a Mini Cooper S. Next out was the first of two Protech Shocks Sport Specials Championship races. This series caters for the genuine ‘production’ sports specials, kit cars, caterhams and Westfields, © Janet Wright plus one-off road going two seater specials, all using production car

This led to a very varied field, ranging from a 1300cc Sultan Locost of Sean Graham, right through to a 3.5 litre Westfield V8 of Darren Berris and a mix of saloons like the Honda Civic R Type of Dan Tedstone to the Nissan Skyline R32 GTR of Chris Camp. After a 45 minute race the winner was Darren Berris in the Westfield V8, giving the Royal Airforce honours in this race. Andy Ebdon was second driving a April 2017

Stephen Ward Westfield Aerorace in the Sports Specials race

Scott Lawson BMW Compact - Armed Forces Race

engines with modifications. The two classes are split by Power to Weight at 340bhp.tonne (A) and 270 bhp/ tonne (B) plus a third class for the MX150R (C). Clive Hudson had grabbed a damp pole position in his Eclipse SM1 and led from start to finish to be 2.81 seconds ahead of Page 24

Clive Hudson on his way to winning the Sports Special race in the wet in his Eclipse SM1

overall, with Scott also taking class C again from 15th overall. Sunday saw four additional fields join the meeting. The Bernies V8’s/SR&GT Challenge featuring Crossle Racing Drivers Club were 3rd and 7th races of the day. Paul Smith won both races at the wheel of a Crossle 9S, with Neil Fowler winning his class in both races in an MG BGT in 2nd place and 3rd place and Gwyn Pollard took 3rd and 2nd in another Cossle 9s. Other © Simon Wright

another Eclipse SM1 driven by Paul Boyd. Stephen Ward finished a distant 3rd in a Westfield Aerorace. Charles Hall won class B in his Locost 7 in 5th place, while Class C was won by 17th placed Micky Scott in his MEV MX 150R. The second race on Sunday in the dry saw the two Eclipse cars swop the lead throughout the race with victory finally going to Boyd by less than a second to Hudson. This time it was Anton Landon who was distant 3rd in his Cyana Mk2. Hall took class B again in 5th © Simon Wright

Bikesports race kicked up the spray

April 2017

Ben Ward Ford Fiesta XR2i and Daniel Fillingham Peugeot 205GTi battle into Redgate during the Classic Stock Hatch race.

double class winners included 9th and 7th placed Mathew Smith in a TVR Chimaera and 15th and 16th placed Austen Belford in a Taydec Mk2. The final class winners were 11th placed Robert Frost in a Dax Tojiero in race 1 and 12th placed Peter Samuels in an MG B GT V8 in race 2. Slightly less powerful were the Toyota MR2 races which saw Kristian White win both races in his MR2 Mk 2. The other class winners in both races were William Gallacher in a MR2 Roadster and Paul Callaway in an MR2 Mk1. The Raceparts Historic 750 Formula race saw Christian Pedersen take a comfortable win in his Austin 7 from Martin Depper in a Centaur Mk 14 while Michael Harvey was 3rd in a JB Special. The other class winner was 10th placed Ian Grant in an Austin 7 Pigsty Page 25

Martin Cayzer Ford Fiesta XR2i finished 14th in the wet Classic Stock Hatch race

David Gardiner/Christopher Mills BMW M3 leads Lance & Alasdair Gauld Porsche Cayman Roadsports Series © Simon Wright

Matt Faizey Porsche 968 6th in the Roadsport series race

Special. The Cartek Club Enduro Series held a 2 hour race late on Sunday afternoon which saw Neil Primrose and Luke Schlewitz win by over a lap in their BMW 135D. Making it a BMW 1-2 were Rory Hinde and Owen Fitzgerald in a BMW E36 Mk3, while 3rd place went to the Aston Martin GT4 of Chris and Mika Brown. 4th went to class winning Thomas Helliwell and Daniel Ludlow in a Honda Civic while the other class winners Jonny MacGregor and Liam Crilly driving a Mazda RX8 finished in 6th place.

April 2017

The spray was bad in the Bikesports race © Janet Wright

2nd place Jamie Sturges Seat Leon Eurocup goes round outside of Andrew Rath & Andrew Higginbottom Lotus Exige S2 in the Roadsport Series race 26

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Mark Crader ran wide over the gravel in his Radical RSX in the Bikesports race

Colin Childs Tiger Avon and Stuart Adam ARD SR2 in the Sports Speciais race. © Simon Wright

4th placed Marcus Ward Ford Fiesta XR2i through Redgate in the Classic Stock Hatch race. © Simon Wright

Matt Faizey Porsche 968 battles with Nigel Ralphsom and Russ Hennessy Toyota MR2 in the Roadsport Series © Simon Wright

750 Formula winner Robin Gearing Darvi P88

April 2017

Roadsport series stream down the GP circuit

Chris Camp Nissan Skyline R32 GTR 16th Armed Forces race © Janet Wright

Roadsport Series 9th Rob Horsfield Toyota MR2 GT Speedster Page

ÂŠ Motorsport-imagery

DriftCup 2017 Round 1 Rockingham 11-12th March 2017 By Stuart Yates & David Goose of Motorsport Imagery

Rob Johnston and Ian Walpole do battle

April 2017

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Yohann Quaziz and Dave Mittell

As part of the Spring Matsuri held at Rockingham over the weekend of 11-12th March the 2017 HEL Performance DriftCup would get under way. The event took place on the outer paddock with a layout put down just for round 1. After practice runs during Saturday the conditions Sunday morning took a turn for the worse as mist and light rain hung over the circuit as further practice runs were made. Finding the limit of grip was tricky and spins were a common sight early on. Qualifying in the early afternoon saw the weather slowly getting better and runs became faster as grip improved. April 2017

This also meant the crowds, which were very close to the action started to see the clouds of smoke they are accustomed to at drift events. It proved interesting to watch as the drivers pushed the levels of grip to the limit whilst finding the best line and getting closer to the clipping points with each run. At the end of qualifying, judges Ryan Pothecary, Julian Smith and Dan Fimager had scored Alistair Sutton in top place, with Frazer Jamieson second by the narrowest of margins, 82.3 to 82 points. The top 32 drivers then © Motorsport-imagery went head to head to gain a place in the top 16. First to do battle on the now drying track were © Motorsport-imagery Dan Brown up against Nathan Cox, with Brown taking the win and progressing. Richard Gladwin was eliminated as he fell victim to newcomer Robbie Burgoyne in his BMW, showing how a chase run should be driven. Several pairings proved so well matched that the judges asked for extra runs, or "one more time" as they are known to take place. In one instance it took 2 one more

Frazier Jamieson nicely sideways

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Winner Alistaiar Sutton with Dan Brown stranded in the background

Third place went to Haydn Cruickshank

time runs before Mike Walton was declared the winner over Mike Jackson. Top qualifier Alistair Sutton went through to the Top 16 with a win over Matt Fountain, Sutton had a good lead run performance resulting in him pulling a decent gap in the second

Michelle Westby "on the edge"

April 2017

Judging Tower

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run. It has to be said, during the afternoon there was more than the fair share of commentators curse, one such event saw Frazer Jamieson spin during his run against Phillip Hayden after the commentator remarked he was driving well ! One driver who has a big following is Michelle Westby, Santa Pod drift demo driver and Grid Girl for Team Hard driver Jake Hill in the BTCC. Michelle would qualify for the top 16, but was knocked out by Dominic Gates who progressed to the final 8. At the end of the day Michelle would comment "awesome day, awesome fun" The Top 8 battle would see Dan Brown and Dominic Gates produce two great runs, with smoke billowing from Brown's BMW E46 on the last clip as he would progress to the last 4. © Motorsport-imagery

Steven Knott

Cruickshank piled the pressure on Mike Walton, in the second run Mike had no answer and span out giving Cruickshank the win. After another dominant drive Alistair Sutton took the last © Motorsport-imagery

Mike Walton gets it smoking

Another fine chase run would see Robbie Burgoyne take the win over Phillip Hayden. During the first of their 2 runs Haydn April 2017

Second place Dan Brown

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spot in the final four. Dan Brown and Robbie Burgoyne were the first pair to battle for a position in the final, both driving immaculately turned out BMW's. Both drivers gave it their all but resulting in Dan Brown heading for the final. The remaining place would be decided with a battle royale between Haydn Cruickshank and Alistair Sutton, judges giving it to Sutton after another close drive. In a strange final Sutton would start to run out of fuel, at the first corner his car would cut out causing a collision, Alistair accepted fault, refuelled and went back to the start for the second run. This time it was Dan Brown who pulled off circuit, we all thought it was to get a one more time, giving a fair fight in the final, but no, it was a result of a broken drive shaft. With no spares available, victory went to Alistair Sutton, Dan Brown second and Haydn Cruickshank in third place. © Motorsport-imagery

Nathan Cox gets close to the tyre wall © Motorsport-imagery

Tom Hutchison in his Toyota Starlet

April 2017

Robbie Burgoyne pushes Richard Gladwin

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Shenstone and District Car Club Members Meeting

ÂŠ Simon Wright

Sunday 19th March 2017 By Simon & Janet Wright.

Gordon Peters gets the tail out under power on his Nissan 350Z GT.

April 2017

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Steve Barnard Audi TT was fastest in his class I

The opening sprint at Curborough took place on Sunday 19th March at the Shenstone & District car Club Members meeting, held in cold but bright conditions. The reasonable entry of 62 cars was the usual mix of road going saloons and sports cars plus some high performance racing cars. There was a reasonable breeze blowing up the main straight which probably didn’t aid any record breaking lap times during the day. After plenty of practice runs in the morning, the competition got underway after the lunch break, with drivers each getting three timed runs on the single lap configuration of the course. © Simon Wright For this meeting the field had been split in to three separate classes which saw a wide range of vehicles competing April 2017

against each other. Fastest time in Class 1 was the incredible Audi TT driven by Steve Barnard, who set the fastest time on his first run with a time of 32.35 seconds and a terminal speed of 99mph. His second run was nearly as quick and still the second best time in the class, but he tried a little too hard on the third run and failed to set a time. The next fastest car was the Nissan 350Z GT of Gordon Peters who managed to break the 36 second barrier on his Swift FB88 of Paul Webb third run and a time of 35.98 seconds and a terminal speed of 88 mph. He looked spectacular too, getting the tail out on some of the runs as he exited the hairpin and put his foot down. Third fastest in class was Nick Bayldon in his Porsche 911C2 who set a 36.11 second run on his first timed run Class 2 saw the BMW M3 of John Bradburn set the fastest time of 34.90 seconds with a terminal speed of 93 mph. He was almost 2 seconds faster than Tom Fisher in a Porsche Boxster S who managed a 36.08 seconds lap on his second run. Making it a German

John Bradburn BMW M3 was fastest in his class II

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podium in the class was Simon Parkin in another Porsche Boxster with a time of 36.79 seconds to finish 3rd. The entry in Class 3 was a mix of high performance kit cars, a rally Ford Cosworth Escort, a Ferrari 328 and Dave Chesterton Ford Fiesta did a 39.45s run several single seaters culminating with Will Hall in his hill climb Force WH xtec single seater racing car. As expected, Hall © Simon Wright blitzed the field to win with a Fastest Time of Day (FTD) time of 27.01 seconds, with a terminal speed of 137 mph. His second run was slower but had a higher terminal speed of 142 mph, while his third run was over a second slower at 28.47 seconds. Second fastest overall was Nick Skidmore driving a Van Dieman Formula X single seater with a time of 31.44 seconds and a terminal speed of 96mph who just managed to beat Steven Potter in a Megapin 10HC97 single seater who did his second run in 31.51 seconds. An immaculate prepared historic April 2017

saloon was also entered by Simon Cooper. His red 1.7 litre Ford Anglia lapped faster on each run with a fastest time Andrew Benfield Kia Magentis V6 did a 46.62s run of 45.36 seconds with a top speed of 67 mph. Another unusual car was the Bond Equipe of Paul Cammerer who managed a best time of 49.50 seconds on his second run. Something you

Fastest Time of Day (FTD) went to Will Hall Force WH xtec in 27.01s

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Simon Cooper Ford Anglia did a 45.36 s run

don’t often see in competition is a 2.5 litre Kia Magentis V6 saloon. Andrew Benfield did his best time on his first run with a time of 46.62 seconds and was fairly consistent with a top speed of 69/70mph on all his runs. The good crowd saw a great start to the sprinting season at Curborough.

Steven Potter spun off in Practice in his Megapin 10HC97

April 2017

Alice Dunt went grass tracking in her MG ZR

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Tom Fisher Porsche Boxster S best 36.08 s

William Rushton Ford Cosworth Escort best 36.54 s

Chris Goodreds gets the tail out round molehill in his Caterham Super 7 before a 38.25 s run

Matthew Walk bounces off the molehill in his Ford Fiesta

David Keer Peugeot 106 bounces over the grass

April 2017

Nick Skidmore in his Van Dieman Formula X was 2nd fastest with a 32.02 s run

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Archive Photo of the month. By Pete Austin.

Sadly, John Surtees, the only person to win World Championships on two and four wheels, passed away last month. He is shown here in the Brands Hatch paddock before the 1967 Race of Champions with the Honda RA273. He was runner up in the first heat and 3rd in the second (behind the Eagles of Dan Gurney and Richie Ginther) but retired from the final with a seized throttle.

ÂŠ Pete Austin

April 2017

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BTCC Guide By Simon & Janet Wright

Vauxhall (Tom Chilton) Flies back to the BTCC but can they catch Honda (Matt Neal)

April 2017

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The BTCC ‘Class’ of 2017

Back: Ant Whorton-Eales Stephen Jelley, Michael Epps Luke Davenport, James Cole, Chris Smiley, Matt Simpson, Jeff Smith, Will Burns, Senna Proctor Middle: Ashley Sutton, Ollie Jackson, Jake Hill, Aiden Moffat, Rob Austin, Martin Depper, Jack Goff, Josh Cook, Dave Newsham, Josh Price, Dan Lloyd Front: Aron Taylor-Smith, Robert Collard, Mat Jackson, Matt Neal, Colin Turkington, Gordon Shedden, Jason Plato, Tom Chilton, Andrew Jordan, Adam Morgan, Tom Ingram © Janet Wright

April 2017

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BTCC Team and driver guide. The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) roars back in to action at the start of April with 32 cars ready to tackle the ten round series that travels the length of the UK. With 6 current and past champions taking part in eleven different brands of car, this years series looks to be as open as ever. There are 16 race winning drivers in the 32 car field and five manufacturers teams from Honda, BMW, Vauxhall, Subaru and MG (indicated in white below). There are also five Rookie drivers who will be competing for the Jack Sears Trophy.

Calendar 1st-2nd April Brands Hatch Indy circuit 15th-16th April Donington Park 6th-7th May Thruxton 20-21st May Oulton Park 10th-11th June Croft 29th-30th July Snetterton 12th-13th August Knockhill 26th-27th August Rockingham 16th-17th September Silverstone 30th September - 1st October Brands Hatch GP

Vauxhall Astra Power Maxed Racing (Manufacturer) 2 Tom Chilton 18 Senna Proctor (Rookie)

Ford Focus Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Duo 3 Mat Jackson 30 Martin Depper 300 Luke Davenport (Rookie)

April 2017

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BMW 125i M Sport Team BMW (Manufacturer) 4 Colin Turkington 5 Robert Collard BMW Pirtek Racing 77 Andrew Jordan

Ford Focus Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport 7 Stephen Jelley 66 Josh Cook

Audi S3 AmDTuning.com with Cobra Exhausts 10 Ant WhortonEales (Rookie) 48 Ollie Jackson

April 2017

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Toyota Avensis Handy Motorsport 11 Rob Austin Speedworks Motorsport 80 Tom Ingram

Volkswagen CC Autoraid/RCIB Insurance Racing 12 Michael Epps 61 Will Burns (Rookie) TAG Racing 24 Jake Hill

Mercedes Benz A-Class Laser Tools Racing 16 Aiden Moffat Ciceley Motorsport 33 Adam Morgan

April 2017

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Chevrolet Cruze BTC Norlin Racing 17 Dave Newsham 22 Chris Smiley

Subaru Adrian Flux Subaru Racing (Manufacturer) 20 James Cole 99 Jason Plato 116 Ashley Sutton BMR Racing Academy 28 Josh Price (Rookie) MG 6 GT MG Racing RCIB Insurance (Manufacturer) 23 Daniel Lloyd 40 Aron Taylor-Smith

April 2017

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Honda Civic Type R Halfords Yuasa Racing (Manufacturer) 25 Matt Neal 52 Gordon Shedden

Honda Civic Type R Eurotech Racing 31 Jack Goff. 55 Jeff Smith

Honda Civic Type R Simpson Racing 303 Matt Simpson

The season starts Saturday 1st of April, but it will be no April Fool who takes the 2017 title after 30 races at 9 different venues. Will one of the six former champions add another crown to their collection or will there be a new champion at the end of the year? April 2017

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ÂŠ Simon Wright

The five manufacturer supported teams on the front of the grid for the media grid photograph. Vauxhall, Subaru, Honda, BMW and MG.

April 2017

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BTCC Media Day Donington Park, 16th March 2017. By Simon & Janet Wright With additional photos by Mick Herring plus Stuart Yates and David Goose of Motorsport Imagery

ÂŠ Mick Herring

Rob Austin flies across the kerbing

April 2017

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Jelley probably got the highest on just 2 wheels

The official start to the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) Season is the annual media day, which for the last few years has been held at Donington Park. This year the teams all assembled on a cold but dry day in March to meet the press and launch the new season. The morning was given to the media, where new drivers were introduced to the press and all the drivers were interviewed on stage. Then the cars were revealed to the photographers in their livery for the year, and all the

cars were lined up on the grid for the classic grid shot. The drivers were then Rib Collard BMW arrange d for the ‘class of’ 2017 group photo and individual shots were taken of all the drivers. After lunch, the public were allowed in to the circuit, free of charge, to watch the first official test session of the season. All the teams used the afternoon to put mileage on the new cars, © Motorsport-imagery test settings and generally try to improve the performance of their vehicles. This test is very relevant for the teams as the second round of the championship is back at Donington Park in exactly one month, over the Easter weekend, 15th-16th April 2017. A large queue of spectators streamed in to the circuit during the lunch period and were soon delighted by the attacking driving of most of the competitors. This was most evident at the chicane at the

Subaru drivers waiting to be interviewed

April 2017

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trying a tyre saving strategy! Over the course of the afternoon test session, 30 drivers took to the circuit and recorded a time. Less than a second covered the top eighteen drivers with Tom Ingram and Rob Austin setting the pace in their pair of Toyota Avensis cars. Ingram set Goff - Honda Civic leads Depper - Ford Focus through the chicane

Tom Ingram was fastest on the day in his Toyota Avensis

end of the long Exhibition Centre straight in to Roberts. In just a few laps, a lot of the cars were up on two wheels as they launched themselves over the kerbs, trying to shave fractions of a second off their lap times. The most spectacular award probably went to Stephen Jelley who was on two wheels almost every lap, sometimes at possibly 30 degrees to the horizon in his Ford Focus. Vauxhall has made a return to the Championship this year and former Independant Champion Tom Chilton also had the © Janet Wright Vauxhall Astra on two wheels through the chicane on almost every lap. Obviously Mat Jackson Shredded Wheat Ford Focus

April 2017

a time of 1 minute 09.995 seconds at an average speed of 101.78 mph in his Speedworks Motorsport car. Just 0.114 of a second behind was his team mate Rob Austin in the Handy Motorsport version. Ingram was happy with his performance, showing a strong pace throughout and had worked on both the balance of the car and doing some race distance runs. He was one that had not particularly flown over the chicance. His team mate Austin had literally leapt over the chicane, with at least three wheels off the track, unlike most of the others that only had two in the air. He said the Avensis felt really good even when running on old tyres. Page 49

High Flying Lloyd in the MG 6 GT

New team BTC Norlin Racing also stared during the test with Chris Smiley setting the third fastest time in his Chevrolet Cruze, only0.198 of a second slower than Ingram. Smiley was happy with the time as it was the first time he had driven his car and he had made a mistake on his fastest lap, so he feels they should be in the mix at Brands Hatch for the opening round of the series. Adam Morgan was fourth fastest in the Mercedes Benz A Class, 0.202 of a second off Ingram. Morgan had used the test session in a constructive manner and had managed to diagnose and eradicate some of the issues with the car that had cropped up © Janet Wright at previous tests. They had also played with different set-ups and got used to the Sutton in the Subaru Levorg

April 2017

new tyres. He was also pleased that Aiden Moffat was 6th fastest in the other Mercedes Benz A Class. Between them was Jack Goff in the Eurotech Racing Honda Civic Type R, who was delighted to be in the top five. His last lap had been two and a half tenths up on his previous best when he got stuck in traffic, so he felt there was more to come, but was realistic to know that some teams may have been running with ballast during the test. Michael Epps had got one of the Team Hard Volkswagen CC cars into top ten with the seventh fastest time of the day, just over half a second off the pace. Although he spent some of the test saving tyres, using just 2 wheels at the chicane, Tom Chilton also got Vauxhall in to the top 10 on their factory return to the BTCC. The Astra was eighth fastest only 0.663 of a second slower than the fastest time of the day. Another returning driver was Dave Newsham, driving his old Chevrolet Cruze, this time for BTC Norlin Racing. Newsham had lost none of his speed and was only 0.682 of a second off Ingram in ninth place. Rounding out the top ten was Ollie Jackson in © Simon Wright

Burns in the Volkswagen CC

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the AMDtuning.com Audi S3, just 0.737 of a second off the pace. Some of the expected front runners were well down the order, but it is unknown what ballast the teams may have been running during the test. Reigning champion Gordon Shedden in the Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R was well down the order in 11th place, but at least three places above his team mate Matt Neal, who was only 0.820 of a second off Ingram.Between the two Halfords Honda Civics were Rob Collard and Colin Turkington in their Team BMW 125i M- Sport

Ollie Jackson in the Audi S3

Shedden and Neal in the Honda Civics

cars, split by just 0.026 of a second. In 15th place was Mat Jackson in the first of the bright yellow Shredded Wheat Ford Focus cars, and still within a second of Ingram. Another high flyer at the chicane was Stephen Jelly in the Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport Ford Focus, who was 16th fastest and 0.914 of a second off the pace. Multiple Champion Jason Plato was a lowly 17th fastest during the test, 0.948 of a second off Ingram, while Jake Hill in the TAG Racing Volkswagen CC was the last of the drivers to stay within a second of Ingram and his fastest lap time of the day. Hill was only 0.988 of a second off the pace. James Cole in the Adrian Flux Subaru Racing Levorg was 19th, April 2017

just fractions of a second ahead of Will Burns in the Autoaid/ RCIB Insurance Racing Volkswagen CC. Another former Champion, Andrew Jordan was only 21st in his new BMW Pirtek Racing BMW 125i M-Sport car and was followed by Aron Taylor-Smith in the first of the MG Racing MG 6 GT cars. Rookie Senna Proctor in the second of the Power Maxed Racing Vauxhall Astra cars was in 23rd place, followed by Martin Depper in the second of the Shredded Wheat Ford Focus. Ashley Sutton in a Levorg was 25th and Daniel Lloyd in the second of the MG 6 GT saloons was 26th. Josh Cook was 27th in his Team Parker with Maximum Motorsport Ford Focus. © Simon Wright

Epps in the Volkswagen CC

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Cole at speed in his Subaru Levorg

while Renault Clio graduate Ant Whorton-Eales was 28th in the second AMDtuning.com Audi S3. The last two drivers on the time sheet were Luke Davenport in the third Shredded Wheat Racing Ford Focus and Matt Simpson in the Simpson Racing Honda Civic Type R who was still only a maximum of 1.812 seconds behind Ingram. The true picture of performance will come at the beginning of April when the cars take part in the first three races at Brands Hatch.

Andrew Jordan in the Pirtek BMW for 2017

April 2017

Adam Morgan tries a new line in the Mercedes A Class

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