MsD PRO-AM Summer Annual 2018 by BWR Media

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REVI eason E INSID WS E

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018 UK

SÉBASTIEN LOEB: A LIFE IN MOTORSPORT

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EL MATADOR CARLOS SAINZ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

DRIVING THEM WILDS

INTERVIEW WITH MIKE WILDS

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‘SLICKS & WINGS’ SUCCESS STORY 20 YEARS OF F1000 RACING

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Drive the

NUrburgring

hallenging and exciting, the most famous circuit in the world - the Nürburgring Nordschleife - also has the reputation for being one of the most intimidating and difficult to learn.

Because of this intimidation factor, too many people miss out on this jewel in the spectacular Eifel landscape. This is where the team at RSRNurburg come in. Located only 300m from the entrance to the circuit, this team of motoring enthusiasts have a wealth of knowledge to share, helping anyone gain the confidence required to take on the “Green Hell” for themselves Should you not wish to “risk” your own car on the circuit, then choose from their extensive fleet of sports and track cars, with options for everyone (Including right hand drive / UK

variants); such as the Ford Fiesta ST, Volkswagen Golf GTI, BMW M2 and even Porsche GT3 RS 991 available to hire. RSRNurburg also offers full driving academy programs that are tailored specifically to learning the Nürburgring and are suitable for any experience level. However, don’t think you have to go it alone RSRNurburg can also cater for groups of friends or large corporate events; creating memories that will be shared for years and years to come.

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PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

FROM THE EDITOR T

event at Silverstone Circuit 2-3 November. This is the first event of its kind, offering the market a fresh, new opportunity for you to experience Silverstone Circuit from the Iconic WING facility. Show visitors can source from an array of diverse exhibitors, as well as discover new race teams and championships while actually sampling cars and products “LIVE” on Silverstone’s International Circuit. Our preview features a selection of the already confirmed 70+ exhibitions and cars available to be sampled on track over the two days of the show. Limited early bird tickets are selling fast, so make sure to visit our website to book yours today — www.motorsportdays.LIVE. We thank you again for your support and we all look forward to meeting many of you at MotorsportDays.LIVE at the Silverstone Wing and International circuit this November.

Ben Whibley Editor & Founder

he 2018 motorsport season is well underway, so this PRO-AM Summer Annual takes a look at all the action over the past six months. We’ve already seen Le Mans complete the gruelling 24 hours; with Toyota winning at last with Formula 1 expert Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. The world of endurance has become ever more popular — more and more young drivers seem to be turning their focus to competing at Le Mans rather than stating the obvious about being a Formula 1 driver — a shift in direction perhaps but maybe a discussion for another time? This edition delivers an insight across all disciplines and we’ve enjoyed working on the interviews including PRO-AM exclusives with Carlos Sainz on his impressive victory in the always-difficult Dakar and Sebastien Loeb on his dominant career in the Rallying world, plus we talk with Charlie Martin and MSD Instructor of the Year Mike Wilds. We also take a look at how the 2018 season is shaping up so far for the British Racing and Sports Car Club, SRO, the Classic Sports Car Club and the ever-growing Track Day Trophy, plus so much more. You may notice a strong focus in this issue on the show preview of our own MotorsportDays.LIVE

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MsD.LIVE offers you a unique learning opportunity. Our FREE conference sessions include everything from simulator training to sponsorship and media engagement, as well as invaluable workshops from the industry’s key influencers and racing icons.

Discuss your options, meet championship organisers, track day promoters, engineering and technical companies, safety advisors and insurance providers and more in our “Championship Lounge” on the exhibition floor.

Never before has a motorsport event allowed you to get on track and behind the wheel of championship vehicles from across Europe, independently run race team cars, as well as manufacturers track day weapons all on Silverstone’s famed International Circuit.

MsD.LIVE features a diverse range of industry exhibitors to get you prepared and ready for the following season. This includes everything from competition parts and supplies, to technical products and services.

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To book a ticket or to discuss your involvement and/or interest in the event by phone please call Ben on +44(0)1732 642 755. Ticket price will include show guide. Early bird tickets RRP. £25 only available until 31/08/18 and will increase after this date. All advanced tickets are available until Midnight Thursday 1st November 2018. After that, all tickets will be available on the day(s) of the show. All information correct at time of publishing. Terms & conditions apply. MotorsportDays.LIVE is produced by BWR Media Ltd.

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Editor & Founder Ben Whibley Sub-Editors Diana Butler Joanna Hodder Sales & Marketing Benjamin Davis Contributors Alexandra Legouix, Alex Goldschmidt, Alan Whibley, David Smitheram (CSCC), James Winstanley (750MC), Scott Woodwiss (BRSCC), Tom Hornsby (SRO), Stuart Garland (MSVT) Sarah Fraser (F1000), Design BWR MEDIA Ltd. Photography Andrew Soul Photography, Aron Vickers Photography, D2P, Daimler Global Media, Robert Baxter, Jonathan Elsey Motorsport Photography, Jakob Ebrey Photography, JDH Motorsport Photography, David Stallard (CSCC), Chris Valentine, James Roberts, Shaun Smith Media, Lloyd Horgan (MSVT), Josh Barrett (750MC), Scruffy Bear Pictures, Charlie Martin, Nicolas Millet Photography, IntoTheRace.com ©RedBull Content Pool: François Flamand, Flavien Duhamel, Marcelo Maragni, Frederic Le Floc’h, Eric Vargiolu, Kin Marcin, Race of Champions, Getty Images, Jaanus Ree, @world ©Toyota Motorsport GmBH ©McLaren Media Centre Cover Photo Jaanus Ree BWR Media, Unit 1, Hop Kilns, Goblands Farm Business Centre, Hadlow, Kent TN11 0LT T: +44(0)1732 642755 E: contact@BWRMedia.co.uk

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CO N T E N TS

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BAC Mono’s record-breaking run up the Goodwood Hill

World Rallycross Championship looks to go electric in 2020

KING OF THE HILL

EL MATADOR CHARGES TO DAKAR GLORY Alexandra Legouix talks to Carlos Sainz about his epic South American adventure

Ben Whibley ticks driving a Ferrari around Spa off his bucket list, thanks to the innovative Driver to Pilot (D2P) track day specialists

Alex Goldschmidt reflects on Toyota’s long road to success at the Circuit de la Sarthe

Legendary marque adds to legacy with Brabham Automotive’s unveiling of the stunning BT62

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Ben Whibley heads to Cranfield to experience the ultimate racing simulator

Alan Whibley goes back to school to get back on track

JE T’AIME – TOYOTA’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH LE MANS

Sarah Fraser talks 20 years of Formula Jedi, now F1000

DRIVING THEM WILDS

Ex Formula 1 racer and MsD’s Instructor of the Year Mike Wilds on the art of driving fast

TUCK YEAH!

British GT Championship contender Ben Tuck on his fast track to success

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

12-year-old Freya Woodall on karting, testing Ginetta Juniors and racing at Le Mans before her 21st birthday!

CHARLIE MARTIN – RACING WITH PRIDE

The transgender racer, who is aiming for Le Mans, talks inclusivity in motorsport

2018

MOTORSPORTDAYS.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW - A first

look at this exciting new show which brings the motorsport world together on and off track at the home of British racing - Silverstone

HOW ARDS CAN IT BE?

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McLaren Special Operations pays tribute to the Gulf-Davidoff GTC Team McLaren F1 GTR “Longtail”

MID SEASON REVIEWS

104 BRITISH RACING & SPORTS CAR CLUB 106 SRO MOTORSPORTS GROUP (BRITISH GT) 108 CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB 110 750 MOTOR CLUB

02-03 NOVEMBER

BRABHAM ROARS BACK

BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE

“SLICKS AND WINGS” SUCCESS STORY

EVRX?

SIMULATING PERFECTION

TRACK DAY EVOLUTION

112 MOTOR SPORT VISION TRACKDAYS (TRACKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP)

SEBASTIEN LOEB – THE BOSS

The ultimate record breaker talks WRC, WRX and Dakar with Alexandra Legouix

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MISSION COMPLETE

Jenson Button secures Honda’s fifth and final planned lap record in Civic Type R W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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MATADOR CHARGES TO DAKAR GLORY

The two-times World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, won his second Dakar earlier this year, beating a class field and a tough and challenging course. Alexandra Legouix spent 14 days battling the elements and the logistics to report back on this most epic of victories

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“

It was relentless. At no stage did I feel over-confident or sure of success. You simply cannot assume anything as you never know what is around the corner or what challenge you will have to face next” CARLOS SAINZ

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he Dakar is the ultimate test of man and machine; 9,000kms of a pure, unadulterated spectacle that pushes every person involved to their absolute limit. In January 2018, 515 competitors in 313 motorbikes, cars, buggies, quads and trucks battled it out across every terrain imaginable over 14 stages at radically high altitudes, with no GPS, in extremely changeable conditions. The route took competitors on a journey from Peru’s capital, Lima, through the Bolivian salt flats and navigating their way to the finish line in Cordoba, Argentina. I presented a daily highlights show for Red Bull TV, Dakar Daily, alongside the wonderful Mike Chen. This was my first experience of being part of a rally of this scale and it did not fail to amaze. Before I set off, many people had warned me of how tough, how tiring, how dangerous and how physically and mentally challenging it would be. I thought I was prepared, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! I was absolutely not prepared for the reality of Dakar but I loved every single second of it.

The Dakar is a massive operation. To put the scale of it into some sort of perspective, it is like a travelling suburb. Every day the rally starts and ends in the bivouac, but this bivouac city has to move from stage to stage. Some 3,500 people travel — en masse — to the next base point, where everyone sets up camp again. This happens every day, for 14 days straight. It is imperative that the teams arrive before the competitors to set up their individual team base. This is a major challenge in itself and takes a huge amount of work. The conditions are always grim. It is either blisteringly hot or freezing cold, sometimes with severe wind or torrential rain thrown in for good measure. The bivouac city is run on generators with enough energy to power an entire city. Every bivouac has a fuel station which houses 60,000 litres of fuel which is used up every day. The catering alone is a serious, factory operation. There are 2,000 mouths to feed, three times a day; that is 6,000 meals. Multiply that by 15 and that is 90,000 meals over the course of the entire Dakar. Just one part of this huge circus, which is a non-stop hive of activity 24/7. W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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The Dakar pushes you to the limit. You have to respect the race and respect the preparation involved. Every person involved pushes themselves to their absolute breaking point and there is just something about that feeling of doing that that makes you feel incredible” CARLOS SAINZ

The 2018 Dakar started in a supremely difficult way. The stretch in the Peruvian dunes for the first five days challenged the competitors to the max. There was no easy entry and took out a number of challengers from the “get-go”. An early victim of the desert — on day two — was Red Bull athlete Bryce Menzies. He had an epic roll which resulted in his co-driver braking an ankle — end of story. “There were no emotions that could describe how I felt to have gone out so early and in such a way,” said Bryce later. “After all that the team do to prepare for such a mission, it was heart-breaking.” Another well-known name was taken on day four. Motorbike category leader, KTM’s Sam Sunderland, was forced to stop after a major back compression injury. A punishing stage for the drivers took out two of the biggest names on day five.

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Cyril Despres, five-time Dakar Champion — a contender who had been a favourite for the title from day one — hit a rock and destroyed the front of his car. Then the most successful driver in World Rally Championship (WRC) history, Sebastien Loeb, was struck by disaster and taken out of contention. Firstly, he got stuck in a five-metredeep hole for three hours. After getting going again Seb’s codriver Daniel Elena suffered a huge injury after hitting a dune and that was the end of their 2018 Dakar story. The entire bivouac city then took an 11-hour journey east to La Paz, Bolivia, and climbed the mountains to an altitude similar to Everest Base Camp levels — around 4,800m above sea level. Not only did the competitors have to deal with the effects of extreme altitude — exhaustion and altitude sickness — but the temperature had dropped dramatically too. Conditions

were certainly tough. Stephane Peterhansel had a major crash on day six, suffering so much damage to his car that his hopes for a 14th win went out of sight. This now meant the top step for the car category was very much an open space. So many of the key names were taken out over the 14 stages, but one remained to the end. “El Matador”, twice WRC Champion Carlos Sainz, who raised the Spanish flag in Cordoba and picked up the trophy for the second time; bringing home a well-earned,

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

SAINZ’S CV 2003-2005 Citroën Xsara WRC

2000-2002 Ford Focus RS WRC

1994-1995 Subaru Impreza 555 WRC

1989-1992 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST third title win for Team Peugeot Total. “What an achievement, I am still getting used to it. It feels so good as it truly was one of the toughest Dakars I have experienced,” said an emotional Carlos, proud of his victory. “It was relentless. At no stage did I feel over-confident or sure of success. You simply cannot assume anything as you never know what is around the corner or what challenge you will have to face next. Every day is a huge challenge and things change every moment. The beginning was so tough. Then I had some

complications in the middle with a penalty and some tough stages, but things started to fall in to place around day nine, but even then, I could not relax. There was still so much ahead. It was so hard and so good to get to the finish line!” Carlos was not the first to say how much harder the Dakar was this year. Celebrating 10 years in South America, there were more dunes than ever before and the Dakar’s fearsome reputation was on a high as it celebrated its 40th anniversary. Thirteen-time champion,

Stephane Peterhansel described the 2018 Dakar as “the hardest since we’ve been in South America for sure. It was not a question of speed, it was a question of survival”. Not many do survive to the finish line. This year, only 45% made it to the final flag. The Dakar is designed to break you. It takes even the toughest of contenders and spits them out. So you have to go into it believing you can do it, believing you can win. “I am 56. I am a veteran now but I wouldn’t compete W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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The hardest rally since we’ve been in South America for sure. It was not a question of speed, it was a question of survival” STEPHANE PETERHANSEL if I didn’t think I could win,” explained Carlos. “I knew I had a great car and a great team. I was convinced I had a good enough package to win. It was Peugeot’s last year and we were all ready to attack it with winning confidence and we were right.” Carlos is one of rallying’s true legends. He has 27 major wins, 98 podiums and 757 stage wins. He first took on the Dakar in 2006 after his departure from the WRC, winning his first Dakar title in 2010 with Volkswagen. This second win came after five consecutive defeats. This is standard. Most competitors try and try and try again, desperate to clinch the Dakar Trophy. So what is it that makes people want to do it time and time again? “I cannot truly describe it,” said Carlos. “You either love it or hate it. The Dakar pushes you to the limit. You have to respect the race, respect the preparation involved. Every person involved pushes themselves to their absolute breaking point and there is just something about W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

that feeling of doing that that makes you feel incredible whether you win or not. You don’t even need to make it to the end of the rally and you still love that feeling.” I wondered what Carlos’s thoughts were on the “new Dakar”? For the first time in the race’s history, the 2019 Dakar will be entirely in one country, Peru, and consisting of only 10 stages (compared to 14 in 2018) with one rest day. The Rally will be in the form of large “loop”, starting and ending in Lima. “One thing I have learned is to always respect this race,” replied Carlos. “It is funny that people are questioning whether it will be as tough — of course it will be! Even if it is only in Peru they will make it hard for everyone as this is the DNA of the race. “Look at this year — the Peru chapter was so challenging, with so many dunes. It was a really hard section and we lost many competitors over those five days. So 2019 may be shorter and only in Peru, but I have no doubt that the Dakar

will push us to the absolute limit. I cannot wait.” So, was this Carlos’s way of confirming his 2019 entry? With 2018 being the final year for Peugeot, there was some concern that “El Matador” may retire from the Dakar. Rumours were quashed in June when we heard of his tests with Toyota Gazoo and the Xraid Mini teams. Which way was he going to go? “It’s tough - both are good,” revealed Carlos. “The Mini requires harder work but they both have winning potential. I don’t know which way I will go yet. I have been talking to both teams; they are both strong so we will see what the future holds. I need to make sure it is a winning project and the correct challenge and that I make the right decision... so wait and see!” There is no stopping this champion. Carlos is still supremely fit both mentally and physically. He trains hard, eats well and keeps in great shape. “I never stop training for the Dakar. You can’t. I keep my training consistent through the

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year but then my preparation both physically and mentally increases in August. Everything is tailored more specifically and ramps up a notch.” Carlos has always pushed himself harder than most and just when most people would be considering slowing down, he shows absolutely no signs of wanting that at all. “I just like to be close to the limit. I love to push myself. I love the challenge of the preparation, the challenge of being pushed to extremes, the challenge of being faster, better. That is why the Dakar suits me so much. There is so much to deal with from the heat to the altitude to the endurance – it tests every person involved in every sense. Why should that change just because I am older? It is such an achievement. You cannot compare that feeling.” Carlos was born in April 1962 and from the word go he wanted a life of rallying. “I wanted to be a rally driver from as young as I can remember,” he recalled. “When I was tiny I played with rally cars, painted

rally cars, dreamt of rally cars. There was nothing else for me. I have been so lucky to do what I dreamt of doing.” Despite having experienced some of the most heartbreaking encounters over the years – loss of close friends, major accidents, major lows — he has never questioned his choice. “Rallying is my life, my family, my world through and through. When I was around 11 or 12 I watched and was inspired by all these incredible drivers, Stig Blomqvist, Ari Vatanen and Bjorn Waldegard. I started dreaming about cars, then competing in cars, then my dreams got bigger and bigger and one day I was competing against my childhood heroes! I am so lucky. I wouldn’t change anything no matter how hard.” Carlos has had so many incredible moments it was impossible for him to choose just one. “My first win in a rally car in the National Championship maybe — you can’t beat that feeling; my first stage win in WRC in 1981 in

Portugal — I was so surprised and so excited; winning Rally Finland in 1990 was so special for me; my first Dakar win was after a tight and exciting battle with Nasser Al-Attiyah, the closest in history, so that felt amazing. I have special memories of many great individual races and great battles I just couldn’t choose one. Also, I still feel the best is yet to come!” So, he is not stopping any time soon then? “Not just yet. I just love it. Every time I sit in the car I have a big smile. I always think carefully about what to do and what is my next step. I don’t guarantee anything. I wait for my feeling and follow my gut like when I stepped away from WRC... but at the moment, my feeling is to continue. I am sure one day I will feel like I have had enough, and then I will focus on something else. However, for now, I still have a lot of energy inside.” We all collectively breathe a sigh of relief. It is clear that Carlos still has the infamous “Dakar Spirit”. ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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TRACK DAY EVOLUTION Thanks to Driver to Pilot (D2P), PRO-AM Editor Ben Whibley ticks something off his very long bucket list â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the chance to drive a Ferrari around Spa. Now back down to earth he recalls this epic adventure corner by corner WORDS BEN WHIBLEY PHOTOS D2P

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“BEN, ARE YOU FREE IN MARCH TO COME AND TRY THE D2P FERRARI 488 AROUND SPA CIRCUIT?” “ERR, YEAH, OF COURSE I AM!”

his is exactly how Stephane Corremans, founder of Driver to Pilot (D2P), contacted me. He was offering up the chance to drive some impressive horsepower as part of his new luxury track day concept, previously unseen at racetracks anywhere in the world. Although that wasn’t all. Stephane wanted me to experience the D2P way — “Learning, Safety, Client Service, Fun and Passion” — and enjoy all of D2P’s hospitality and customer benefits.

Some may not be familiar with the brand, but each D2P track day offers an unlimited number of kilometres at prestigious tracks such as Spa Francorchamps, Imola, Silverstone, Barcelona, Paul Ricard, Mugello, Portimao and Hungaroring, plus the chance

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With insurance included in the price, D2P drivers have no excuse not to follow their instructors’ advice and keep it flat! to work with experienced instructors who can improve your on-track experience and reveal the secrets of every corner — think Eau Rouge, Becketts or Signes Curve. With insurance included in the price, D2P drivers have no excuse not to follow their instructors’ advice and keep it flat! The fee also includes the services of the company’s

on-site physiotherapist and the chance to unwind after all the excitement of the track with a glass of champagne. So I already knew I was in for one heck of a ride! I received a very warm welcome, an introduction to the team for the day, plus access to a lounge of sofas, private changing area, bar, Virtual Reality simulator and, of course, the Lotus 3-Eleven and the Ferrari 488. These beasts were sitting in the Spa garage, bursting with D2P branding, laid over the matt black cars.

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Next up was the safety briefing from Gino Bux. He explained the telemetry from previous drivers, showing us how they encourage you to go even faster and, more importantly, where to go faster. First off was the Lotus 3-11. Only 300 have been made and Stephane has number four, so this was already a special car. Add in an upgrade to a 470bhp beast for this 900kg car and you have more than enough to juggle with around any circuit. This Lotus is an amazing piece

of kit, although the clutch was a little high when I first pulled out of the pits — I was eager not to stall it in front of my driver coach, Gino. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit has an amazing heritage and you instantly feel you are somewhere special, whatever you are driving. The 4.3-mile track delivers some breathtaking corners, especially Eau Rouge/Radillion, but you don’t need me to tell you that; this circuit is engrained in any racer’s DNA.

As you leave the pits and head down the hill to Eau Rouge, before climbing back to the top, you thank God you made it along Kemmel Straight. The Lotus is a left-hand drive, which in a way I preferred, but the gearing is instructed through the left hand, making what is normally a busy right hand obsolete. It was a little alien at first, but I got used to it very quickly. I was already familiar with the track, so it was just a case of getting used to the car and tyres.

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I was ready to be fully committed and anchor the brakes. Boy, were they are anchoring! I nearly submarined under the pedals Over the first few laps, I warmed up the discs and pads and then felt I was ready to be fully committed and anchor the brakes. Boy, were they are anchoring! I nearly submarined under the pedals. I was shocked at the raw velocity of the brakes. The power was there, but the sheer stopping power was immense. In a way, it made me have to learn the circuit again, trying a few different lines as instructed by what felt like a Roman emperor sitting next to me, giving the thumbs up or down. Although Gino wasn’t going to send me to the lions; he was excellent in streaming my performance and giving me a few areas to work on. To be honest, it took me a while to get used to the brakes. I was finding out I could brake later and later and needed to work on my confidence for these corners before improving further. I cannot tell you how much of an impression they left on me and recommend you find out for yourself. Up next and available to anyone taking part on a D2P day, was the Ferrari 488 Challenge Car. I’ve never really been a fan of Ferraris but with the introduction of the 488 and FXX, the marque has started to grow on me and so I could not resist the chance to drive this full-blooded racecar.

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Accompanied by Gino again, who was now familiar with my driving, I got comfortable in the car and straight away I knew I was in something special. A low seat and what feels like a sneak peek over the steering wheel for a view of the circuit, plus an array of buttons to adjust and improve the car set-up. I wasn’t there to do a full test day but to have the chance to take the car — and me — to the max and see what I could do. I expected the Ferrari to have a stiff front end due to the fact you don’t want to be going backwards anytime soon. The steering wheel dial pointed to number 1 of 3, as I warmed up the tyres, making sure I warmed them up gradually to the right heat cycle. After getting a few laps in, I was ready to go again. Gino gave the nod and said to push a little harder and wow, the turbo kicked in. I was planted into the seat, giving it the full beans down the straight, passing anything and everything in front of me and quickly approaching the braking-point of the rumble strip on the left-hand side. I lined up the car and hit the pedal hard and the car responded exactly as I wanted it to. Before I knew it, I was a few laps in and Gino changed the dial to level 2, which really

opened up the potential of this Ferrari. Not that I had been unsatisfied with the car’s potential up to then, but like opening Pandora’s Box, this was another world. I was driving a Ferrari, at Spa! I’ve made it and had a massive smile on my face. With special thanks to the team at D2P and for Stephane’s invitation, this was a huge tick off the bucket list for me as an enthusiast. What could be better? So what car did I prefer? I’d love to say the Ferrari and maybe with more track time I’d say so, but the Lotus 3-11 was phenomenal. The brakes, handling and power just begged me to do more and left me wanting the same. ■

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’ S G N I W D N ‘SLICKS A Y R O T S S S E C C SU

g some of K – deliverin 0 0 0 F1 f g in the U o 20 years ater racin ts se ar le g ch n si er e Sarah Fras competitiv t and most the fastes

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ITH MEDIA H AU N S M PHOTOS S

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It is truly some of the fastest and most competitive single seater racing in the country! 1000 is the UK’s premier motorcycle engine, single-seater championship, running for more than 20 years, providing exciting and cost-effective racing. A proven and affordable route on to the single-seater ladder from karting, F1000 is ideal for the novice or committed club racer alike. It is some of the fastest and most competitive singleseater racing in the country! Using a proven “slicks and wings” racing car, with excellent handling characteristics and powered by a 1,000cc, highperformance motorbike engine, the car can go from 0-60mph in just three seconds and on to 150mph, while revving to around 14000rpm!

The F1000 Championship visits the most popular circuits in the UK, generating a healthy grid of cars, all benefiting from full factory spares and tyre support at every race meeting. There is plenty to race for too. In addition to the usual race W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

winner and podium trophies, this Championship offers other awards, including Circuit Champion, Sonic Equipment’s Driver and Technician of the Meeting, Invitation Cup and Novice Awards. New for 2018 was the Invitation Class, designed for nonChampionship specification Jedi Racing Cars. It was also introduced to encourage older and slower cars back onto the grid. “As a single manufacturer championship we need to find the balance between uniformity, budget and performance,” said Frazer Corbyn, Joint Director of Jedi Racing cars and F1000 Championship Manager. “We feel the introduction of this class gives an opportunity for Jedi drivers that are not far off spec to be a part of the F1000 experience and be competitive in their own class with the opportunity to win both a laurel and a trophy.” Also included in the changes

for 2018 is an option for a paired drive, where two drivers can share one car in the Championship, thus sharing costs. This maintains F1000’s core values of being one of the most cost-effective championships for the speed in UK club motorsport. This change allows both drivers to qualify and the time for qualifing is extended to 20 minutes. This has additional benefits for the whole grid. “I often can’t get the time off work to test on the Friday,” explained driver Adam Walker, “so the extra qualy time is crucial to allow me to set up my car and become familiar with the circuit. The F1000 team tries to sort parking for late arrivals so there’s no need to panic about that either.” The Championship is racing 19 rounds at seven meetings in 2018, providing a bumper 425 minutes of track time, that’s an extra 35 minutes more than

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the 2017 season. Castle Combe and Croft will be in support of the TCR Championship and, whilst not headliners, F1000 will definitely be the fastest cars to wow the crowds! This year also marks the first return to Croft for the Jedi Racing Car since the 2010 season.

Maintaining an image as one of the fastest club racing cars on the weekend circuit, the Jedi is also one of the most forgiving The Jedi currently holds the outright lap record at Cadwell Park for a car and 11 lap records over 100mph average. While maintaining an image as one of the fastest club racing cars on the weekend circuit, the Jedi is

also one of the most forgiving and is used by many novices as a means of moving up from karting into the senior ranks of motorsport. Many club racers stay with the car in hill-climbs, sprints and circuit racing season after season, while others have used the car in many different series as a stepping stone to other championships, such as Formula 3, Indy Lights, GP3 Series, British Touring Car Championship and British and worldwide GT. So the future for F1000 is looking strong. The Formula Jedi Series rebranded to F1000 in 2017 and gained title sponsorship this year. Grids are increasing and the Jedi factory continues to build new chassis, while the second-hand market constantly trades. In a marketplace where the temptation is to modify and bring out new features, requiring customers to upgrade, thus creating an “arms race” for speed, Jedi Racing Cars and the F1000 Championship

have managed hold on to their values of balancing maximum speed with economic competition in terms of first cost and cost of ownership. “The Jedi is a proven and userfriendly design,” said Frazer. “We do have several upgrades in the pipeline, but we intend to keep any changes to a minimum as the car is already incredibly quick. All we really want is for drivers, mechanics and families to enjoy the car and their racing weekends. As a family business ourselves, we’re in the business of promoting and supporting club motorsport.” Heading into the summer break with five of 19 races still to go, the championship remains wide open. While 2017 Champion Michael Watton is in the lead with two hat-tricks under his belt, he is being chased by Dan Clowes, whose run of reliability and almost constant podiums is piling on the pressure. The fight for third place is tight too, with long W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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JEDI SPECIFICATIONS Power 185bhp Weight 335kg Bhp/ton 552 0-60 mph 3 secs Top speed 150+mph Length 3995mm Width 1590mm

RACE WEEKEND REWARD PACKAGE Championship Winner: Laurel & Cap (BRSCC) Championship Race Winners 1st, 2nd 3rd Trophies (Speed Group) Invitation Cup Winner Laurel & Trophy (Sonic Tools) F1000 Circuit Champion (highest scoring driver across all races) Driver of the Meeting (Sonic Tools) Technician of the Meeting (Sonic Tools) Newcomer of the Meeting (iZone) W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

time regular Adam Walker finally clawing his way to the top of the table, but only just hanging on with another longtime racer Alok Iyengar who has also found his mojo; both these Jedi drivers having collected their first trophies for some time. Catching them is 2016 and 2017 Vice-Champion Paul Butcher, who may have had a torrid start to his season but should never be written off until the last race is run! Out of 18 Championship racers so far, eight have stood on the podium, indicating how competitive the racing is across the grid. Elliott Mitchell and Rob Welham have taken maiden podiums and Mitchell and Rob Bailey are both moving up in the middle ranks of the table. This is particularly impressive for Bailey who is in his rookie year.

Croft and Donington up next on the calendar, with both venues expecting grids of 15 or more as we go into the most competitive stages of the season. That said, even though the racing is close and highly competitive, the atmosphere in the paddock is friendly and supportive, with a small hospitality area provided at every fixture. This year, the Championship is being filmed by AJK TV — available to watch on the internet — while F1000 also gets good coverage in the motorsport media. There is also a dedicated website, www.F1000uk.com, while all social media channels are part of Speed Group F1000 Championship’s regular media portfolio. Take a look for yourself and find out more about the F1000’s. ■

A N T I–DOPING

DRIVE OUT DOPING!

You have the right to compete in a clean, fair and safe sport – that’s why the MSA works with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) to maintain your sport’s integrity.

Banned Substances can be found in:

All competitors, coaches and athlete support personnel must abide by anti-doping rules. These are consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code, which governs anti-doping internationally.

Prescribed medication.

If you hold an MSA Competition Licence then you are bound by anti-doping rules, regardless of the level at which you compete.

Over the counter medication.

Performance enhancing drugs. Recreational drugs.

KNOW THE RULES Visit msauk.org/antidoping today.

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Driving them

WILDS Never underestimate MsDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Instructor of the Year Mike Wilds. This silver-haired septuagenarian can teach you to go faster than you ever thought possible. Editor Ben Whibley catches up with the coaching maestro in the hope of learning some winning advice

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“

I got out at Brands Hatch and it was one of those Eureka moments. As soon as I heard the noise and the smell I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life”

f you ask for recommendations about instructors on motorsport forums one name regularly appears — Mike Wilds. Accompanying many of these posts are apologies from younger drivers who initially thought that this 70+ racer was probably not the instructor for them. For example, one post on PistonHeads reads: “I had no idea what my car was capable of, how good the brakes really were when used properly. There were two cup cars doing shakedown tests and Mike managed to pull them in and, after a bit of a tussle, to pass them. As he is doing this he is calmly talking me through what he’s doing. Very impressive!” So with feedback like this it is not surprising that Mike Wilds has been named MotorsportDays’ Instructor of the Year. However, after more than five decades in motorsport — Mike had his first race in 1964 — does an award such as this have any relevance? “It means a lot because I have been instructing since the early 1970s,” said Mike when MSD Editor Ben Whibley caught up with him recently.

“It is lovely after all these years to get a little bit of recognition. Not that I look for it but it was a lovely surprise to get this. “I have always taken pride in trying to instruct professionally and pass on my years of experience of racing cars. I have a particular style of driving when I am in a racing car. By the law of averages you are going to have accidents in motorsport and I have made the odd mistake because I’m human but a lot of my accidents have been caused by mechanical failure – petrol fires, suspension failures and so on – which have put me in hospital occasionally. Although I try to drive in a very relaxed way and I have a particular style which I teach that hopefully allows my customers to drive quickly on track days — or if they go racing — but in a very safe way.” Of course there is not much that Mike has not seen — or experienced — on the racetrack, with a career that has included racing in Formula 1 and Le Mans. He believes that the instructor’s experience is key to learning to be a better driver. “The more experience you have the more

Mike Wilds with British GT racing driver Flic Haigh

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PRO-AM SUMMER 2018 worldly-wise you are and so the more relaxed you are in how you put things over to your customer. I think it’s important that instruction is put over in a relaxed way as you are trying to teach your customers to both drive quickly and be totally relaxed. The basics don’t change. It is like building a house. If you don’t have firm foundations what is built on top will fall down.” Ironically though, Mike maybe known for showing his pupils how to successfully drive faster, but that is not how he starts his training sessions. “Basically the last thing I teach is speed,” said Mike. “It cannot be relaxed if you are pushing them to go fast. There is a technique to driving quickly which allows their natural ability to come out and they will go fast naturally, without having to try to drive fast. “It is very easy to drive fast with the techniques that I have for teaching it and it seems to work. Two of my customers got together in their first year of motorsport and won a championship. I don’t think I have had many failures. Most of my customers can go out and drive very quickly, very safely.” So when is the best time to take the plunge and book an instructor? “Have instruction as early as possible because you start to get into bad habits straight away,” replied Mike. “The first track day would be absolutely ideal.” A bad habit many drivers bring to the track is sawing at the wheel, something I myself have been guilty of in the past. I was recommended to watch Lewis Hamilton in action, whose use of the steering wheel is minimal. Mike Wild agrees. “Every time you move the steering wheel you unbalance the car — so my ideal is to drive around the racetrack without moving the steering wheel. Obviously, that is not possible but you should use it as little as possible. I teach one input on the

steering wheel per corner. End of story. Unless you can do that on every corner you going to get problems and not get the lines.” Mike Wild’s life in motorsport came about thanks to a Saturday job washing cars! “I was born in Chiswick and used to cycle up to the Chequered Flag garage on Chiswick High Road,” recalled Mike. “They sold all kinds of racing cars — Lotus Elevens and sportscars — and I was fascinated by them and so got a Saturday job there washing cars. They were also making Formula Juniors in the early ‘60s and invited me to go to a race meeting with them. I went in the truck, got out at Brands Hatch and it was one of those Eureka moments. As soon as I heard the noise and the smell I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” Incredibly, a life in motorsport is what Mike has managed to achieve, although not always incident free. “I did seven or eight races in my first year and came third in my first race and second in my second race at Silverstone. I went back to Silverstone for my third race and won it and got a Best Newcomer trophy in the 750 Motor Club that year. Then, in my first race of the 1966 season, a couple of

cars in front of me spun. I tried to miss them but hit the bank and the car rolled. I got quite badly injured — I didn’t wake up for a week!” This did not deter Mike. “I was desperate to get into Formula 1 but I wasn’t the best racing driver in the world so wasn’t getting offers from Ferrari or McLaren,” said Mike sanguinely. “ I had driven Ensign Formula 3 cars and so had a good relationship with Mo Nunn and he had his 1974 Formula 1 car which wasn’t very competitive. Vern Schuppen had been driving it but left because he wasn’t qualifying with the car. “You always think that if you put a bit of effort in you can do this, but I didn’t qualify in Austria or Canada. There was one basic problem with the car. Every time we went into a left-hand corner and got some G on the car it lost fuel pressure! So the engine misfired and cut out. Formula 1, even in those days, was very competitive and there was no chance that I was going to qualify. Between Canada and the American Grand Prix in 1974 Mo put his heart and soul into trying to cure this problem and changed the whole fuel system. I qualified for the American Grand Prix. OK, so 22nd out of 25 W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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“

I did the British Open in a Williams FW07 Formula 1 car at Oulton Park – a 60-lap race – and I think probably that the Williams was one of the best racing cars I have ever driven” but people like Tim Schenken, and Vittorio Brambilla didn’t even qualify for the race. The whole grid was split by about two seconds and I was there and thought I was driving really well. In the race though I had another mechanical problem — the fuel pressure release valve went and I lost four laps. I did finish but it wasn’t classified. “Although the upshot of that drive was that I got a drive with BRM in 1975. I had some meetings with Louis Stanley and was paid £60 a week. I was a Formula 1 driver for BRM.” Sadly things did not improve for Mike with his new team. “Every time I drove the car the engine blew up,” said Mike. “When I got to Argentina for the first race I noticed it was the same engine that I had blown up at Snetterton! They had welded the block up which didn’t bode well and of course I didn’t finish the race in Argentina. They did take a second engine to Brazil — we had stayed out there between races — but I didn’t finish Brazil because the engine went wrong. “It was very frustrating for me because I wanted to be a Formula 1 racing driver. I said to Louis that we cannot go on like this, it’s ridiculous — the engines are out of date and underpowered. What we should do is get a Cosworth DFV and put in the back and we would have reliability and probably another 100bhp compared to the one I was driving in South

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America. He sacked me on the spot, saying he would never put an American engine in the back of a British racing motor! I said well it’s designed by Mike Costain and Keith Duckworth, is built in Northampton; it’s an English racing engine. He said ‘No, it’s not, it’s a Ford, funded by Ford of America, it’s an American engine, it will never go in the back of my car’. So sadly I got the sack, couldn’t get another drive and never did another grand prix. “It was my ambition to get to Formula 1 and I did it but I would have liked to stay longer,” said Mike a tad ruefully. “I don’t wish to sound egotistical but I honestly thought I had the talent enough to stay there. “Hey ho — I went to the World Sportscar Championship racing and forged a reasonable career out of that. I did four seasons in the World Championships with Ecurie Ecosse with Group C2 and we won the team Group C2 World Championship in 1986, so I had a fair career. I did Le Mans seven times which I really enjoyed too.” So in this “fair” motorsport career, which has spanned five decades, some cars must stand out among the 100 Mike believes he has driven over the years. “I suppose to sit on the grid of a grand prix for the first time in that Ensign NM174 — that was very special. It wasn’t the best car but it was probably the most memorable moment of my life,” revealed Mike. “To

sit with my heroes — Ronnie Peterson, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti — will always be special. When I got up in the hotel on the morning of the race and looked at the newspaper it had the whole grid for that afternoon’s race and to look at all these heroes of mine and see my name among them was a bit surreal. So I would choose the Ensign out of nostalgia. “The next one has to be the Group C Ecosse I drove in the World Championships in the ‘80s. It was such a great little car — it went like stink. Hugh McCaig of Ecurie Ecosse made it one big party. We were very serious with our motor racing and the car was so strong, it would do 215mph up the Mulsanne Straight! It handled beautifully. “I drove it again in a classic race in the early 2000s and it was like putting on a pair of comfortable old slippers you

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haven’t worn for a while. That was a very special car. “The Nissan 1988 at Le Mans was the fastest car I ever drove. I did about 278mph in that. It was very special to be a works driver for Nissan and to go that quick, it was wonderful. “Most recently, I did the British Open in a Williams FW07 Formula 1 car at Oulton Park — a 60-lap race — and I think probably that the Williams was one of the best racing cars I have ever driven — a beautiful car. “I won a couple of championships in an ex-works BMW 320i Touring Car with my son Anthony,” added Mike. This partnership also won class 2 of the 2016 Britcar/ Dunlop Endurance Championship in a Ferrari 458GTC Evo, sporting a distinctive yellow and black livery to match Mike’s standout helmet, which had been designed by his wife. Ironically though, Mike has

never given his son a lesson. “He has the most amazing natural talent,” said Mike with obvious pride. “He’s incredibly quick, incredibly consistent and very safe. Where he gets it from I have no idea! “I have sat with him but never given him a day’s instruction in his life. I talk to him and tell him how I would approach particular corners and so forth and he just

goes out and does it. We are a very good endurance team as we can keep a quick and consistent pace.” Although Anthony may not have had a lesson with his father, we can all benefit from Mike’s wisdom on the track. There is clearly no better person to show you how to go faster on the circuit than MSD’s Instructor of the Year Mike Wilds. ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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TUCK YEAH! From

a thro disastr ous u gh n tran GT o fa sfor ult o Champ med io f his his f Cha own nship d or mpi , Be ebu onsh tunes a nT t n i nam p conte d is now uck ha s nde e fo a st r ev r an rong ery d a auto c grap oveted h hu nter

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“No one knows who I am” his was a Twitter post from last July “No one knows who I am”, which accompanied an image of racing driver Ben Tuck, looking slightly out of sorts in a packed Brands Hatch pit lane autograph signing session. The occasion was Ben Tuck’s debut appearance in the British GT Championship — a debut that did not go quite according to plan. Ben’s partner driver for that weekend had destroyed their Ginetta G55 GT3 during practice before Ben had even turned a wheel. So he was left with no car and no opportunity to race. Nevertheless, Ben set out to meet the fans, conscious that as an unknown newcomer, none of them knew him or had even seen him drive. The irony of signing autographs was not lost on him. Fast-forward 11 months and Ben Tuck’s GT career has, without doubt, taken off. Now firmly established as a British GT Championship front runner, six rounds into the 2018 season, Ben has already taken a pole position, fastest lap, and his maiden victory in the BMW M4 GT4. Fans now queue for his autograph. It’s been a relatively low-key path to the giddy heights of one of the world’s most formidable GT Championships for the 21-year-old student from Bedfordshire. “If you’d have told me at the start of the 2017 season that a year later I’d be lining up on the second row in my debut British GT race in a BMW I would have laughed,”

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said Ben following his maiden win at Snetterton. His incredulity was not based on an assessment of his own ability. This is one racer that is quietly assured of his potential — the manner of his victory in Norfolk is proof of that. It is more based on his humble origins, budget constraints and the measured career path he had thus far plotted. British GT and beyond was always the direction of travel but the rate of travel suddenly picked up in late 2017. A chance encounter with an old karting friend one rainy day at Rockingham in 2014 kicked off Ben’s rise through the ranks, leading to him making his novice car debut in a humble Mazda MX-5 at Oulton Park later that year. Eighteen months down the line Tuck had cemented third place in the BRSCC Mazda MX-5 Championship, having taken three wins, three fastest laps and a lap record. “We were on such a tight budget, we didn’t do much testing and we were trying to save tyres as much as we could, so we had to make every lap count,” recalled Ben. Tuck’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed and he picked up the 2015 RSF MSA Young Driver of the Year Award. With eyes now firmly on a career in GT racing, he made the move to Caterham Supersport, the penultimate step in the Caterham Racing ladder in 2016, taking multiple wins, podiums and another lap record in what was arguably that Championship’s most talented grid ever.

“Every race was a hard battle and I learned a lot about racing and positioning the car during those fights” At the start of 2017, Ben was looking forward to having a strong tilt at the Caterham Supersport title. However, despite an early trio of podiums and a second Supersport lap record, a string of reliability problems and a hefty dose of bad luck followed.

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“We chose Caterham racing because it’s a useful stepping stone towards GT. It’s rear-wheel drive, really competitive and a relatively achievable budget,” explained Ben. “Every race was a hard battle and I learned a lot about racing close to the other cars and positioning the car during those fights. We also made some great friends and as a result GT opportunities began to open up. That was always the aim and the time seemed right, so we decided to switch focus to race GTs.” That chance took the form of a one-off outing in a Ginetta G55 GT4 spec in the Silverstone round of the GT Cup with PT Motorsports, who were running

“The Ginetta G55 GT4 was superb to drive, it gave me plenty of confidence and I knew then that GT racing was right for me” Tuck in Caterhams at the time. It yielded a spectacular debut win in the blazing Northamptonshire sunshine. “It felt like coming home,” Tuck reminisced. “The Ginetta G55 GT4 was superb to drive, it gave me plenty of confidence and I knew then that GT racing was right for me. I was amazed — it was really only supposed to be a test, there was no set up on the car at all and it hadn’t turned

a wheel in two years — we just turned up and drove.” His debut GT4 win was quickly followed up with an opportunity to race Ginetta’s mighty G57 (pictured) in the Creventic 24H Prototype Endurance Series double-header at Spa Francorchamps. In the pouring rain, Ben and his crew claimed double pole positions and raced away to secure a pair of debut wins. “The opportunity was W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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agreed quite late on, so I just jumped into my old Clio one night, drove to Spa and raced the next day! “The G57 was another step up in terms of pace, with aero and different tyres, so there was a lot to learn. I absolutely love Spa and it was incredible to go through Blanchimont at 167mph!” In between, Ben also made his belated British GT debut in the sister Century Motorsportrun G55 GT3 at Donington. After out-qualifying his partner driver, Ben was forced to retire the car after the oil system failed, but he could see the positives. “It was a fantastic experience to learn how to problem solve and deal with issues over the radio, while still lapping at a decent pace. The team at Century were brilliant.” That relationship with Century developed over the off season and bore fruit in January this year when Ben was announced as part of Century’s 2018 line up, running BMW’s latest GT4 offering, the M4. So, after 18 months of Mazda MX-5s, followed by another

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“Everyone is motivated differently, but for me, when you have to work hard in the background for every lap in a racecar regardless of what level, it means you have to focus, learn fast, get the most from every session and look for every possible improvement” 18 months in Caterham Supersport, it would seem that Ben Tuck is proof that if you have what it takes in terms of talent then you will prevail – theoretically. Ben doesn’t have the luxury of enjoying a big budget, which makes for a somewhat different approach on track. “Everyone is motivated differently, but for me, when you have to work hard in the background for every lap in a racecar regardless of what level, it means you have to focus, learn fast, get the most from every session and look for every possible improvement. It’s also important to remember though that this is a dream

come true so you need to enjoy it too! “I owe it to myself as much as to everyone that helps to make my racing happen to always look for improvement. A bigger budget helps to get you into series that can give you a higher profile, but our approach has been to always be at the front in the highest-level racing we could afford at the time and to just take each race as it comes. In the end you have to keep improving as a driver and trust that your ability is going to be picked up.” Ben, who studies Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences at Bournemouth

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University, seems to exude a quiet confidence at the track. “You have to be confident in what you can do in the car but more than that you have to trust yourself that you can learn quickly what you don’t know already. There is always something to learn. It’s a danger sign when you think you know it all. “Especially this year for me, it’s better to listen more than talk,” explained Ben. “I have a fantastic team of BMW and Century Motorsport behind me and I’m still proving myself to them. They provide a lot of input to help me develop and get the best out of the car but it’s up to me to make the best of that.”

It’s an approach that seems to be working. With such a big step up, a major manufacturer involved and the highly professional nature of the Championship, it must be hard to deal with the pressure. However, at the track I noticed that Ben seems unaffected by the hubbub around him. Once in the car he seems to simply “tune in” to the task at hand. “Before a session the tension ramps up, there’s a lot going on but unless it directly impacts what I’m doing I dial it out,” explained Ben. “I just chill, empty my mind and slow everything down. I don’t think about what I can or can’t do or what I hope will or will not happen. You have to trust that

what you need from yourself is inside already. When you need to call upon it, it normally tends to be there.” Ben Tuck is a busy man away from the track with instructing and university dominating his time. “It makes it all the more important to make sure we get the best result from every race weekend and that means solid

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“

If you’d have told me at the start of the 2017 season that a year later I’d be lining up on the second row in my debut British GT race in a BMW I would have laughed!”

preparation in terms of looking at videos of previous laps, data and anything that can help tune the brain to the next race. Simulation can help a lot as long as it is properly focused and used to train specific skills. There are some good products coming along and I’ve been lucky to be involved in helping this technology to improve.” As for this, his rookie year in British GT and with a win already under his belt, the signs are good for Tuck. So what’s the plan? “Well the BOP [Balance of Performance] and success penalty rules that help to make W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

GT such exciting racing also means it’s tough to get to the very top in every single race. But solid, consistent, top four or five finishes are absolutely possible and that’s our aim. GT racing is a team sport so it depends on it all coming together but somewhere in the top five in the Championship is a reasonable prediction, but of course we’ll be pushing hard for the title!” And what next for 2019 and beyond? “Long term it’s all about making a career as a pro-driver,” said Ben. “I think I’ve got the mix of driving, analysis

and coaching skills to make that work. Competition-wise, the aim would be another year in GT4 and then moving on to Europe, GT3 and beyond. The ultimate dream would be to win two different FIA World Championships like Petter Solberg, maybe WEC and WTCC or even Formula E. You never know what’s going to happen so you can never, ever give up.” It is a philosophy that this quietly impressive young driver lives and breathes on and off the track and it is sure to pay dividends in the future. ■

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W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

02-03 NOVEMBER

2018

W O H S 2018

G E T T I N G

W E I V PRE

Y O U

O N

T R A C K

W W W. M OTO R S P O R T DAY S . L I V E E V E N T PA R T N E R S

A S S OC I AT E D S U P P O R T

Anderson Gothard Moroz

E V E N T I N F O R M AT I O N

PRODUCED BY BWR MEDIA

SUPPORTING

M E D I A

2018 EVENT PREVIEW

G R O U P

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G R O U P

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

02-03 NOVEMBER

2018

# G E T T I N G

Y O U

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B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

T R A C K

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

Event Overview n partnership with Silverstone Circuit, Racecar Engineering, PistonHeads, Black Book Motorsport, Race Staff Jobs, DRIVER61, Downforce UK and AGM Careers, plus associated support from the MIA, MSA and Silverstone’s Technology Cluster and Silverstone Park, MotorsportDays.LIVE is the event the industry has been waiting for. It takes place over two days at the end of the 2018 racing season on 2nd - 3rd November. MotorsportDays. LIVE celebrates all aspects of this spectacular industry, with the overall objective to make “getting on track” easier, enhance grids and driver sign up, as well as improve overall preparation for the 2019 season.

MotorsportDays.LIVE offers the market a fresh, new opportunity for industry professionals to come together and experience Silverstone from the setting of the iconic WING facility 02nd - 03rd November 2018. There will be the opportunity to source products from an array of diverse exhibitors, as well as find new race teams and championships while actually sampling cars ‘LIVE’ on the International Circuit. This represents the first event of its kind, by filtering out the fan element and focusing solely on a professionally engaged audience, consisting of amateur and professional drivers, championship E V E N T PA R T N E R S

co-ordinators, engineers, genuine trackday enthusiasts, motorsport investors and performance car buyers that have the ability to sample vehicles and products LIVE on track. Brands and vehicle manufacturers will have the chance to enhance sales and business opportunities as well as increase driver sign-up and increase involvement in championships and independent race teams. This show is an unmissable opportunity to capitalise on the thinking and planning period between the end of one season and the start of a new one. Across both days, MotorsportDays.LIVE will also provide an interactive panelled conference which allows attendees the unique opportunity to gain expert advice and interact with some of the industry’s most established names as well as offering support across all areas of the sport, including assistance with technical setups, attracting sponsorship, marketing and media engagement plus legal guidance and much more.

Ben Whibley Show DIrector A S S OC I AT E D S U P P O R T

Anderson Gothard Moroz

B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

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8 reasons why MsD.LIVE 1 2 3 4 5

Never before has a motorsport event allowed you to get on track and behind the wheel of championship vehicles from across Europe, as well as independently run race team cars and manufacturers track day weapons all on Silverstone’s famed International Circuit As part MotorsportDays.LIVE on-track activity, you have unique access to all the pit garages to discuss with the teams, co-ordinators and drivers their plans and developments for the following season and what you need to be involved with their future Get face to face with some of the industry’s highest level racing cars, including LMP’s, GT’s, sports & touring cars, single seaters and much more All garages are actively allowing you, the licence holder, to go out in numerous sessions over the two days to help you decide your ‘on track’ future. Why not utilise this opportunity to test your latest technology and products to help improve your performance Attend numerous panelled conferences over the two days, allowing you the unique opportunity to interact in detailed sessions across a variety of subjects, everything from race car dynamics to engineering, simulator training to sponsorship and media engagement to name just a few

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Panels of industry experts will discuss a range of relevant topics with the opportunity for you to engage in an open Q&A session to take away practical and invaluable advice from those in-the-know MsD.LIVE exhibition features a diverse range of industry exhibitors to get you prepared and ready for your next race season or track day event. Held in the halls of The Wing facility (above the garages), this includes everything from competition parts and supplies, to technical products and services. Source the latest car parts, products and racewear to give you everything you need to be better equipped on track Benefit from invaluable workshops from the industry’s key influencers and racing icons

B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

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Educational Conference MotorsportDays.LIVE offers you a unique learning opportunity. Our FREE conference sessions include everything from simulator training, sponsorship and media engagement, as well as invaluable workshops from the industry’s key influencers and racing icons. Panels of experts will discuss a range of relevant topics with the opportunity for attendees to engage in an open Q&A session to take away practical and invaluable advice from those in-the-know. These sessions are available to all visitors and exhibitors and take place throughout both days.

• RACE & TRACK DAY TUITION

• GETTING INTO MOTORSPORT • TRACK & TEST DAYS

• SPONSORSHIP & MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

• SIMULATOR TRAINING

• MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY

• SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

• ENVIRONMENTAL • TECHNICAL SET-UP

CHAIRMAN, PRODRIVE & THE MSA

ROZ BIRD

IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

• THE ROLE OF A CREATIVE AGENCY • THE FUTURE OF THE RACE CIRCUIT ALSO JOIN:

• HEALTH & FITNESS • EDUCATION & RECRUITMENT • LEGAL & ACCOUNTANCY

SPEAKERS INCLUDE THE LIKES OF:

DAVID RICHARDS

02-03 NOVEMBER 2018, SILVERSTONE WING

• BROADCASTING TECHNOLOGY IN MOTORSPORT

CONFERENCE SESSIONS INCLUDE: • GUEST SPEAKERS

CONFERENCE SESSIONS

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR SILVERSTONE PARK

GARY ANDERSON FORMER F1 TECHINCAL DIRECTOR

FOR DEDICATED ENGINEERING SESSIONS

LOUISE GOODMAN

MOTORSPORT PRESENTER CHANNEL 4 & ITV

RICHARD DEAN TEAM PRINCIBLE UNITED AUTOSPORTS

THE FULL MsD.LIVE CONFERENCE AGENDA AND GUEST SPEAKERS WILL BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 18 If you would like to be involved in any of the conference sessions or would like to discuss the opportunities available on a topic you want to introduce then please e-mail Ben ben@motorsportdays.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

Getting On Track The most exciting element of MotorsportDays.LIVE is the track time on Silverstone’s famed International Circuit. This allows you the unique opportunity to get behind the wheel of numerous championship vehicles during the peak decision-making period. Never before have you, the race licence holder, had the opportunity to test cars provided by more than 30 different championships, track day organisers, manufacturers and independent race teams running in a range of amateur and the professional UK and European championships all in one place. Track day sessions are also available for drivers to get on track in their own track-suitable car on one of the most famed circuits in the world — SIlverstone. Contact Ben at ben@motorsportdays.com to find how.

Friday 2nd Nov 2018 Time

08:30 - 09:00 09:00 - 09:15 09:15 - 09:30 09:30 - 09:45 09:45 - 10:00 10:00 - 10:05 10:05 - 10:10 10:10 - 10:25 10:25 - 10:40 10:40 - 10:55 10:55 - 11:10 11:10 - 11:15 11:15 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:35 11:35 - 11:50 11:50 - 12:05 12:05 - 12:20 12:20 - 12:25 12:25 - 12:30 12:30 - 12:40 12:40 - 13:10 13:10 - 13:25 13:25 - 13:40 13:40 - 13:55 13:55 - 14:10 14:10 - 14:15 14:15 - 14:20 14:20 - 14:30 14:30 - 14:45 14:45 - 15:00 15:00 - 15:15 15:15 - 15:30 15:30 - 15:35 15:35 - 15:40 15:40 - 15:50 15:50 - 16:00

Session

BRIEFING & TRACK PREP SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE LUNCH BREAK SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE DOWNTIME** - TRACK TIME ENDS

Saturday 3rd Nov 2018

Time

Session

BRIEFING & TRACK PREP SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S* TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE LUNCH BREAK SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE SINGLE SEATERS/OPEN WHEEL* TIN TOPS, TOURING & CLOSED WHEEL LMP*, PROTOTYPES & GT’S TRACK CARS & MANUFACTURERS DRIFT EXPERIENCE DOWNTIME** MSD LIVE SHOWCASE DOWNTIME** - TRACK TIME ENDS

Each confirmed private garage allows 3 cars on track per its respective sessions - 6 cars can be active and on display in your garage over the two days. *LMP, and Single seater/open wheel sessions are strictly MSA licence holders only with previous experience (or at the discretion of the championship organiser or race team owner). **Downtime will be allocated accordingly throughout the day(s) and will be used if necessary for any delays on track. This is just a provisional schedule announcement ahead of the official timetable that will be published end September 2018, all sessions and timings are subject to change. All sessions will be subject to light and visibility throughout both days. Both days will be run under track day conditions, overtaking will only be with consent, racing each other is strictly forbidden, any such activity will see drivers and teams removed from the event without hesitation. Terms and conditions apply.

B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

SILVERSTONE WING Event Site Map VIA HANGAR STRAIGHT BRIDGE

A43

DADFORD ROAD

SILVERSTONE CIRCUIT

MAIN ENTRANCE

SILVERSTONE WING

Key EXPERIENCE CENTRE

STOWE CIRCUIT

INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT MSD.LIVE ROUTE TO MSD.LIVE WALTER HAYES SHUTTLE TO MSD.LIVE

HANGAR BRIDGE

PERIMETER ROAD

NATIONAL CIRCUIT WALTER HAYES STOWE CIRCUIT BRITISH RALLYCROSS MSD.LIVE PARKING

All on track activity run in collaboration with:

0844 3728 200

www.silverstone.co.uk Follow us on

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Watch us on

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

Event Layout

MIA BUSINESS HUB

CHAMPIONSHIP LOUNGE Discuss your options and network with championship organisers, track day promoters, engineering and technical companies, safety advisers and insurance providers, plus car manufacturers, sponsors, race teams and more in our “Championship Lounge” on the mezzanine in hall one.

MIA Members and their guests will have exclusive access to the private Business Hub within the show, to host meetings, enjoy light refreshments and network in a racing environment.

MEDIA TRAINING Get in front of the camera with ITV’s BTCC presenter Lousie Goodman and discuss the do’s and dont’s when dealing with the media, interview techniques and ways to improve plus the importance of on-screen exposure. Exclusive training opportunities are also available for racing drivers at any stage of their motorsport career.

T HALL

ON HALL

MOTORSPORTDAYS.LIVE STAND

Want to get on track? Then all drivers will need to sign on at the MotorsportDays.LIVE stand in hall one.

GARAGE 41 MSD TECHNICAL SETUP AND LIVE RACE CAR BUILD This feature garage is split into two parts. The first offers you the chance to learn in our technical setup area with half day sessions dedicated to improving your knowledge on how to better maintain your track or race car. The second element is a live racecar build several universities will go against the clock and construct a vehicle for the duration of the event with the aim to take them on track at the end of the show. Watch the progression and expertise of these technical students.

B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

LAN T I P IVE

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

GARAGE 15 MSD.LIVE MEDIA AREA

EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE Q&A sessions are available to all visitors and exhibitors and take place throughout both days, please see page 45 for more details. These sessions are FREE to attend and included as part of your ticket and entrance fee.

OFFICIAL SILVERSTONE STAND

REGISTRATION DESK

Bring your race car, team or company to our media garage where our professional photographer will take photos for you to use on your own website, social media and to help improve your sponsorship proposals, general visuals and future marketing campaigns.

WO E

AGES R A G E&

UIT

IRC C L A ION

AT N R E GARAGE 25 T t IN MSD “THE PERFECT GARAGE SET UP” Did you know that there are affordable and bespoke products available to improve your next race weekend? At MotorsportDays.LIVE experience our “Perfect Garage” setup, an environment highlighting everything you need to enhance your workspace, either at home or for your race weekend. Walk through the garage and observe the products and technology available to you throughout the show.

EXHIBITION

LIVE GARAGES

CONFERENCE FLOOR

02-03 NOVEMBER

2018 B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

Who’s Confirmed? With over 70 confirmed exhibitors and garages at MotorsportDays.LIVE, we’ve highlighted a selection of these companies for you to preview before November. This includes everything you need to prepare for your 2019 motorsport season, whether you are a driver looking for a new championship or race team, a professional working in the sport looking for the latest equipment and technology, or a track day user looking for your next performance vehicle. Exhibitors include championship organisers, independent race teams, car manufacturers, engineering companies, race equipment and parts, plus industry recruiters, insurance companies and much more.

EXHIBITOR IN HALLS 1 OR 2

GARAGE EXHIBITOR WITH VEHICLES & ON TRACK DEMONSTRATIONS

SPEAKING AND/OR PART OF A CONFERENCE SESSION

E G C 750 Motor Club Stand No: H1-28

Find out how you can start circuit racing with 750 Motor Club – the UK’s Home Of Affordable Motorsport since 1939. The Club operates 19 different formulae from single-seaters to hot hatchbacks and costeffective two-driver endurance, meaning there is something to suit all tastes, budgets and levels of experience. With a comprehensive calendar that visits all the UK’s top circuits, such as Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Silverstone, plus constant innovation such as our own mobile rolling road to enforce power-to-weight classes and keep racing budgets to a minimum. Come and speak to a member of the 750 team on Stand 28 to see how you can start your racing journey. www.750mc.co.uk

E G C Absolute Alignment Garage No: G-28

The industry’s leading provider of the latest 3D, digital and Bluetooth wheel alignment equipment, showcasing the performance of its high-end products via fiercely-contested domestic and international motorsport championships. The company became an Official Technical Partner to Power Maxed Racing in the BTCC in 2018, as well as supporting Academy Motorsport’s Aston Martin GT4 entries in British GT. Absolute Alignment’s show partners at Silverstone will include Matt Blyth Motorsport and lift suppliers EAE, while PMR has a display adjacent to their four-wheel alignment specialists. For more information on best practice wheel alignment visit our Technical Team and championship vehicles in Garage 28. www.absolutealignment.co.uk

E G C Aireshelter Stand No: H1-60

Aireshelta is one of the world’s leading international shelter companies. Its customer list includes the Armed Forces and blue-chip companies, along with organisations such as the 2012 Olympics and the Fukushima nuclear decommissioning and decontamination project, as well as recordbreaking motorsport teams. The company has been pioneering shelter technologies and designing and delivering for clients around the world for more than 25 years. Aireshelta’s design and product teams are used to meeting any challenge; creating cutting-edge shelters that provide practical solutions for a number of challenges. Find out more by visiting stand 60. www.aireshelta.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

E G C Anderson Gothard Moroz

Anderson Gothard Moroz Stand No: H2-130

Anderson Gothard Moroz (AGM) is delighted to be a partner at the inaugural MotorsportDaysLIVE event 2018 at The Silverstone Wing. We are looking forward to speaking to both job seekers and companies to help with either finding your next career move or helping you strengthen your business in the motorsport sector with the most talented staff. We are also excited to be unveiling our “sister company” Pitlane Industries. Pitlane Industries is a motorsport job board that works alongside AGM. We will be able to offer both candidates and clients a full, 360 recruitment service that is unrivalled in the motorsport industry. www.agmcareers.com and www.pitlaneindustries.com

E G C Anglo American Oil Company Ltd Stand No: H2-120

Anglo American Oil Company Ltd distribute Sunoco Race Fuels throughout UK, Europe and the Middle East. We complement these fuels by stocking a range of pitstop products such as Driven Racing Oil, R Racing fuels and lubricants, ISC racers’ tape, PJ1 TrackBite, Freezetone and Kleers car care products. We also continue to fuel more than 20 championships throughout Europe. Sunoco Race Fuels – the official fuel of NASCAR – is manufactured and designed in Philadelphia, USA, and is the largest manufacturer of race fuels in the world. It owns the entire manufacturing process, enabling 100% control from raw materials to finished product. www.aaoil.co.uk

E G C AutoValet Supplies

Garage No: G-39 / Stand No: H1-40

Bottom 417x496.pdf

Autovalet Supplies provides detailing products and equipment to maintain and enhance the appearance of your track car on race day. Our quality products enable you to achieve quick results and perform. This, combined with expert knowledge, enables you to prepare your car to a higher level. Autovalet Supplies will be demonstrating its fantastic range of products on track cars within the pit lane garage at MotorsportDays.LIVE 2018 as well as exhibiting on stand 40. Come and meet our team to find out how we can help you. Watch our live demos in garage 39. www.autovaletsupplies.co.uk 1

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E G C

CMY

ATEC

Stand No: H1-46

ATEC is at the forefront of the development of products for the fluid transfer market. With locations in both Germany and Brackley in the UK, ATEC boasts a well-equipped machine shop facility, as well as CNC bending, welding and brazing facilities on site. Both locations carry extensive stocks, including a huge range of unique adaptors, tee pieces, banjos and bolts, while producing bespoke components for a range of customers with exacting standards. ATEC is also a stockist for Staubli & Symetric dry brakes and suppliers of leading brands including Parker, Bosch, Adel Wiggins, Stratoflex, Setrab and Mocal. Meet the ATEC team at Stand 46. www.atecautotechnic.co.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

Black Book Motorsport

Event partner & conference suporter

The Black Book Motorsport is a business platform that serves as both a community and hub for insight and interaction unseen elsewhere in motorsport. The foundation of the business is the long-established annual guides, alongside industry-leading events dedicated to rights holders and sponsors and an online industry business news resource. The guides bring in-depth, commercial insight, through exclusive, top-level interviews and official series statistics, into 13 major series, including Formula 1, Formula E, World Rally Championship, MotoGP, NASCAR, IndyCar, Virgin Australia Supercars and new to 2018, the National Hot Rod Association, Porsche one-make series and European Truck Racing Championship. www.blackbookmotorsport.com

E G C BMW Car Club

Garage No: G-20 / Stand No: H1-25 The BMW Car Club GB is the official BMW club and offers a wide range of motorsport options to members from novice track days to racing or rallying at club or national level. The club will assist members with advice on options and discounts to encourage participation without costing fortunes. www.bmwcarclubgb.uk

British Racing & Sports Car Club

E G C

Stand No: H2-118

The British Racing & Sports Car Club (BRSCC) is one of the UK’s biggest and longest-standing organisers of motorsport events and championships. As well as overseeing domestic and FIAsanctioned race meetings, the BRSCC is the organiser of the new TCR UK Touring Car Championship, the latest chapter in the international touring car category that’s sweeping world motorsport. This Club also oversees and organises a wide variety of championships and series to cater for all tastes and experience levels – from sportscars and saloons to single seaters and endurance racing. Contact us to find out how you can start racing today! www.brscc.co.uk

E G C

Bute Motorsport GT Cup Championship

Garage No: G-35 / Stand No: H2-78 Bute Motorsport was founded in 2007 as a race promoter and prides itself on its passion for motorsport and customer service, running its two major UK championships; the GT Cup Championship and the LMP3 Cup Championship (see below). Established as a premium GT sprint series, the GT Cup has proven to be the Championship of choice, offering excellent track time, premium hospitality at every round and value for money. It provides amateur enthusiasts with the opportunity to race like-minded drivers in a friendly but competitive environment. Open to Nat B Licence holders and above, you can enter as a single driver or two driver team. Find out more by visiting our team on stand 78 and witness some of the GTs in Garage 35. www.gtcup.co.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

E G C

Bute Motorsport LMP3 Cup Championship Garage No: G-35 / Stand No: H2-78

Bute Motorsport is also the team behind the LMP3 Cup Championship â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a National Championship in its own right. Started in 2016, this Championship not only offers the same excellent service as the GT Cup (see above) but is aimed at teams and drivers who hold a National A and above licence who wish to race LMP3 cars in the UK. It is the perfect starting point for anyone wanting to reach the Le Mans 24 Hours. In addition, a new invitational class for 2018 allows entry for a broader range of cars such as PT4, Group CN, Radical and Prototypes, before launching dedicated groups for its 2019 Championship. Find out more by visiting our team in Garage 35. www.lmp3cup.co.uk

E G C Caterham Graduates Garage No: G-30

Experience what it is like to race with the Caterham Graduates Racing Club. We have several sessions where you can get on track in a Caterham and experience a low-cost level of racing that caters for all abilities of drivers. Find us in Garage 30 at MotorsportDays.LIVE or see us in the Showâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Championship Lounge, where you can talk to us about the packages available for guest drivers and what it takes to sign up to race with the club. You will also have an opportunity to chat with Torque Motorsport and CTS Motorsport, who will be around to answer all things track days and all things Caterham mechanical. www.graduates.org.uk

E G C Civic Cup

Garage No: G-24 The Civic Cup is one of the most renowned and well patronised clubman racing championships in the UK. Since its formation in 2011 the high profile Honda-based Civic Cup has grown to become a major event at any race meeting it visits. Hosted by the BRSCC the championship aims to provide a fast, close and exciting form of motorsport with tightly controlled regulations. Run as a single class, the grid caters for Civic models from 1990 to 2013 but is now dominated by the popular 2.0l EP3 and FN2 models. Powered by standard engines, with limited and closely regulated bolt on parts, they generate 230BHP, and are arguably the most closely fought single-make saloon cars in the UK today. www.civic-cup.co.uk

E G C Classic Sports Car Club

Garage No: G-36 / Stand No: H2-125 The Classic Sports Car Club (CSCC) is not just about classic car racing, we organise 10 different race series, covering cars of all ages. We will have something new and exciting to launch at MotorsportDays.LIVE that has been two years in the making. So if you are new to racing or struggling to compete on a budget this is for you. The CSCC organises friendly, club racing, with an emphasis on great value for money and high driving standards at the best circuits in the UK and Europe. www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

E G C Corbeau Seats Stand No: H2-122

Corbeau Seats has been manufacturing motorsport seats for nearly 60 years and will be displaying the current range of FIA seats at MotorsportDays.LIVE. Come along to the Corbeau stand (number 122) and try out some of the safest, most comfortable seats available on the market. Don’t forget to check out the Corbeau Ultima Range of FIA harnesses, a firm favourite amongst drivers, offering lightweight webbing and components, whilst focusing on ease of use. Also speak to one of the Corbeau sales team about the package deals available. www.corbeau-seats.com

E G C Cranfield Simulation Stand No: H1-66

Cranfield Simulation is a high technology, race car and supercar simulator brand with a unique heritage in aerospace and professional motorsport. It is acknowledged as a global leader in fully immersive and sustained motion simulators, offering both off-the-shelf and exclusive products tailored to you. This British company brings together the state of the art motion cueing technology, real driving controls, ultra-realistic road and race circuit software and a choice of projection, UHD display screen or virtual reality solutions. Cranfield Simulators deliver the most realistic simulation available. At MotorsportDays. LIVE we will be demonstrating a full motion simulator. www.cranfieldsimulation.com

E G C Draper Tools Garage No: G-21

You will find all the latest tools and equipment for the professional workshop in Garage 21 with Draper Tools. Prodrift Academy will be there too, offering passenger drift laps around the world-famous Silverstone circuit. As the Official Tool Partner to Caterham Cars, Draper Tools is a brand motorsport professionals can trust. Look out for our Draper demo vans, packed full of top products, including the impressive Storm Force 20V series of power tools. Visit our garage to see this powerful range in action and chat to the experts. Plus, check out our new launches, including the Draper Expert Tyre Changer & Wheel Balancer and the comprehensive Mechanic’s Megakit. www.drapertools.com

E G C Driver61

Stand No: H1-23 Driver61 is a resource for the motorsport community, founded by racing driver and instructor Scott Mansell. Scott has 25 years’ experience in motorsport, including testing or racing 15 different Formula 1 cars for private owners. The aim of Driver61 is to help drivers become faster, safer and more consistent on track. This is thanks to an impressive archive of driving techniques and circuit guide tutorials. In addition to these free resources, Driver61 is an online retailer of racewear, car preparation kit and team equipment. Find out more at stand 23. www.driver61.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

E G C Downforce UK Conference Suporter

Downforce UK has been promoting the activities of British motorsport through its podcasts and videos since 2012. It has reached 650,000 listeners worldwide and more than 3.5 million on social media channels. The team led by motorsport commentator Jake Sanson is always looking for new journalists, reporters, radio presenters, panelists and videographers who have a passion for motorsport at any level. Downforce UK, an official partner of MotorsportDays. LIVE, is designed to encourage new talent into motorsport to pursue a career at the top level. www.downforceracing.uk

E G C DURA

Stand No: H1-51 Dura will be showcasing its award-winning, integrated workshop system at MotorsportDays.LIVE on stand 51 in the Silverstone Wing. Visitors to the show will be able to see for themselves why Dura has an unrivalled reputation for delivering outstanding design and quality to improve the efficiency of service operation workshops worldwide. www.dura.co.uk

E G C Eibach

Stand No: H1-68

In 1951, Heinrich Eibach, set up a company in a small workshop in Germany. His son, Wilfried, took over in 1967 and guided the company to stand where it is today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at the cutting edge of suspension technology and manufacturing. A familiar name in the motorsport and automotive worlds for its high-performance suspension springs, components and systems, Eibach is also a leader in hi-tech industrial springs. Its development engineers design and test spring and anti-roll bar solutions for performance aftermarket tuners, motorsport teams and premium manufacturers. It also supplies its own products catalogue and Eibach race spring range. Visit us at stand 68. www.eibach.co.uk

E G C F1000

Garage No: G-38

The F1000 Championship (previously Formula Jedi) provides exciting, cost-effective racing. It has established itself as the premier superbike-engine-powered, single-seater category in the UK. Ideal for the novice or serious club racer, F1000 offers a proven and affordable route onto the single-seater ladder from karting. Previous drivers have gone on to be successful in Formula 3, Indy Lights, GP3 and BTCC. F1000 utilises the successful Jedi Racing Carâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manufactured single seater racing car which has excellent handling characteristics and safety record. Drivers can find themselves going from 0-60mph in just under three seconds and on to 150mph, while revving to around 14000rpm! www.f1000uk.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

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E G C F1 Spinal Solutions Stand No: H2-105

F1 Spinal Solutions (F1SS) uses advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology and radiology interpretation to bring science to the art of race seat preparation. We analyse the driver’s anatomy whilst sitting in their race seat and make recommendations to optimise seat fit, comfort and ensure long-term spinal health. F1SS is privileged to have worked with a number of Formula 1 teams to reduce driver pain and discomfort, allowing them to focus fully on their race performance. With exploratory talks ongoing to work with other race series and endurance racing, we are the Science of Seating. F1spinalsolutions.com

E G C Gazeboshop Stand No: H2-130

Gazeboshop has gone from strength to strength since it was founded in 2005. It is now one of Europe’s largest and most respected suppliers of pop-up gazebos, instant shelters and mini marquees. It has built its reputation on first-class customer service, fast turnaround times and by delivering quality products. Centrally located in Banbury, Gazeboshop has supplied many highprofile organisations including Coca Cola, the BBC, Sainsbury’s and the British Army. You can see the quality for yourself as Gazeboshop has created the welcoming entrance hall at MotorsportDays. LIVE. You can also talk to the team at Stand 130. www.gazeboshop.co.uk

E G C Goodwood Garage No: G-37

Meet the Goodwood team, representing the only classic circuit in the world to remain entirely in its original form, having been carefully restored in 1998. Drive in the tracks of Sir Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Sir Jackie Stewart and Juan Fangio. Come and meet the team in garage 37 and learn more about obtaining your race licence at our ARDS School, the Young Drivers’ Programme, our Performance Track BMW M Performance Experience, the Revival Racing Experience, Off Road in classic Land Rovers, Rage Buggy days or simply the opportunity to drive your own car on track. www.goodwood.com

E G C Grand Design Systems Stand No: H1-70

Grand Design Systems (GDS) of Brackley, England, manufactures totally seamless walling solutions for the automotive industry. Our Maxi System is designed and hand-built to cater for the very best teams with large, formidable budgets. Our EcoWall System is a unique, seamless walling system designed and built for most other teams that have not got those massive budgets!! Both systems are on display at MotorsportDays.LIVE. www.granddesignsystems.co.uk

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E G C Greaves 3D Engineering Stand No: H1-55

Greaves 3D Engineering (G3D) is primarily based in Peterborough and was created out of the requirements for Greaves Motorsport, our Le Mans-winning sister company. G3D designs and produces high quality equipment, supplying solutions and products worldwide. Customers include FORMULA E, WEC, FIA WRC, WTCC, DTM ELMS, Blancpain and the Australian GT. Come and meet the team at Stand 55 and keep an eye out for the Greaves Motorsport LMP2, which will be part of the MotorsportDays.LIVE car display. www.greaves3d.com

E G C

Grove & Dean Motorsport Insurance Stand No: H2-76

Grove & Dean Motorsport Insurance is one of Europe’s premier on-track insurers for professional GT, sportscar, historic and single seater racing cars. With a choice of bespoke European and international policies, a dedicated team and an in-house Claims Manager to take the hassle out of any incidents, you can rely on Grove & Dean Motorsport Insurance to keep you on track. Creators of the National Driver Rankings, Grove & Dean Motorsport Insurance offers drivers from various championships national ranks against fellow racers, adding a fun element to the already competitive industry. www.grove-dean-motorsport.com

E G C KW Automotive Garage No: G-34

For many years, the KW automotive is the epitome for premium products in car tuning and automobile refinement. KW offers its customers the largest suspension programme world-wide. The entire assortment – from springs over sports suspensions to coilover suspensions “inox line” in three damping versions – such a variety of products is unsurpassed on the market. Moreover, KW automotive develops racing solutions for national and international motor sports. The racing programme KW competition is successfully used by numerous racing teams on many race tracks around the world. Sample our products and vehicles on track from garage 34. www.kwsuspensions.co.uk.

E G C LISTA

Stand No: H2-106 Since starting out in 1945, Lista has been in pole position for motorsport workshop storage solutions. Our name is known worldwide for quality, strength and reliability. Lista is the professional’s choice, so come and meet the team – on stand 106 – and find the perfect storage solution for you. www.lista.com

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Moetefindt (JAC-Technologies) Garage No: G-40

JAC-Technologies, the UK agents for Moetefindt, specialises in the transportation of racing and classic cars. Its trailers, which are built to order, are designed for the professional haulier, race team or car dealer and can withstand the rigors of full-time work. Air suspension gives the best ride and handling, without the usual shake, rattle and roll. In addition, aluminium construction ensures the lightest trailer for its size of any covered trailer on the market, delivering both lower towing weight and higher payload. Plus, the self-balancing, non-hydraulic tilt system is easy to use and ensures our trailers are never nose or tail heavy. www.jac-tech.com

E G C Motor Sports Association Stand No: H1-58

Interested in the fast-paced, adrenaline-fuelled world of motor sport? As the UK governing body The Motor Sports Association (MSA) promotes, supports and regulates the sport you love. Under the direction of new Chairman, David Richards CBE, the MSA is undergoing an exciting period of change to reshape the future of UK motorsport and ensure long-term sustainability. Since 1979, we have represented the thousands of competitors, marshals and clubs at the heart of the British motorsport scene, while inspiring future generations to join this dynamic world and its supporting industries. Join us as we as embark on the next chapter of UK motorsport. www.msauk.org

E G C Motorsport Industry Association MIA LOUNGE: Hall 1, Mezzanine

The Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) is the world’s leading trade association for motorsport, highperformance engineering, tuning and services sectors. It represents the specialised needs of this highly successful global industry as it undergoes continuing rapid development throughout the world. The MIA has embraced an ever-expanding international network of business contacts; the result being that today it boasts 300 global members whose companies transact more that £5billion of motorsport business worldwide. As part of the MIA’s diversification programme, the MIA operates the following technology transfer initiatives: Motorsport to. Automotive, Defence, Marine, Aerospace. www.the-mia.com

E G C MotorsportDays.LIVE 2nd-3rd November 2018

Be part of MotorsportDays.LIVE and put your brand in front of a dedicated motorsport audience. From as little as £1,495, including complimentary Show Guide advert, electrics and parking needed over the two-day show, your company can be part of this innovative exhibition in 2018. Alternatively, for just £2,195, take advantage of your own exclusive garage with dedicated track time on Silverstone’s renowned International Circuit. This will offer VIPs and visitors a unique opportunity to experience your products and service like never before. Contact our Show team today. Email ben@motorsportdays.com without delay – not surprisingly spaces are now limited – to confirm your stand or garage. www.motorsportdays.live B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

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E G C Octane Junkies Official Track Partner

Octane Junkies is an automotive and motorsport events agency, specialising in product launches, media events, stunts and hospitality. We love anything that tests the boundaries of sporting excellence and human achievement, so are delighted to be an Official Partner of MotorsportDays.LIVE 2018. Akin to the motorsport and automotive sectors, we are driven by a passion for brilliance and continuous improvement. Our work has seen us help automotive clients, TV production companies, motorsport race teams, PR and media clients and professional racing drivers. Our team will be co-ordinating the pitlane action throughout the show so come and say hello. www.octane-junkies.co.uk

E G C PistonHeads

Stand No: H-48 / Garage No: G-1

PistonHeads is the biggest online motoring community in Europe, amassing more than one million members since it started in 1998. Car enthusiasts head to PistonHeads, an official partner of MotorsportDays.LIVE, to catch up on the latest motoring news, share opinions and content in its forums, and buy and sell premium cars. Anyone is welcome on PistonHeads irrelevant of the car that they drive, as long as they share the same common appreciation of performance cars. This ethos rings true for PistonHeads events, where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find anything from a Renault 5 GT Turbo to a McLaren 675 LT parked up to celebrate the eclectic tastes of PistonHeads members. www.pistonheads.com

E G C Power Maxed Racing Garage No: G-29

Power Maxed Racing (PMR) is known for its success in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). Headed up by experienced motorsport engineer Martin Broadhurst (Prodrive, Ralliart, 888), the team is responsible for design, development and build of the Next Generation Touring Car specification, factory-backed and race-winning Vauxhall Astras. It was campaigned in 2018 under the Power Maxed TAG Racing banner. PMR works with many household names within UK motorsport on development and production. PMR will be displaying one of its race-winning BTCC cars in Garage 29, plus examples of its engineering advancements. www.powermaxedracing.com

E G C Prodrift Academy Garage No: G-21

From its origins on the streets, to high profile events across the globe, drifting has become the fastest growing motorsport in the world. To facilitate this growth, Prodrift Academy has created a unique drift training facility in the heart of Birmingham. Established in 2007, the Prodrift Academy has given thousands of drift fans and motoring enthusiasts access to the sport of drifting, transforming many into professional drifters Designed to capture the minds of drift fans and petrol-heads alike, our fleet of professionally prepared, high-performance drift cars and team of professional instructors will be offering passenger laps around the circuit. Come and check us out at Draper Tools, Garage 21. www.prodriftacademy.co.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

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E G C QuickJack

Garage No: G-27 / Stand No: H2-140 QuickJack is your go-anywhere, stow-anywhere car lift solution. This system is quicker than a trolley jack and safe than axle stands. With five different models and a variety of adapter kits available, it is the perfect lifting solution. The QuickJack has a collapsing height of 76-91mm, making it suitable for low clearance vehicles. Powered simply by 12V DC, it is ideal for racetrack teams, home mechanics and all car enthusiasts. With automatic safety locks and an open centre design, the QuickJack is the perfect addition to your garage. www.quickjacklift.co.uk

E G C Race & Rally Stand No: H1-30

The leading supplier of motorsport accessories in the UK and Ireland, Race & Rally can be found on stand 30 at MotorsportDays.LIVE. Our dedicated team, boasting a wealth of experience across all sectors or the sport, can help you get you on track for less. From clubman rally to international racing, Race & Rally can source brilliant deals on many key names in the game, including PFC Brakes, Stilo, Lazer, Simpson, Recaro, Speedline, Sabelt, Atech, Stabuli, Evo Corse, Total, Spa Design, Spider Cases, Odyssey Batteries, Aero Catch, PIG, Monit, Bell, RRS, Facet, Don Barrow, OMP, ARRI, AP Racing, TRS, Goodridge, FSE, Sparco, Turn One, Grayston, X-Racer, Castrol, Fastime and P1. www.raceandrally.com

E G C Racecar Engineering Stand No: H2-104

Racecar Engineering is the world’s leading motorsport technology publication for motorsport engineering. Every issue gives unrivalled technical analysis of Formula 1, NASCAR and rally racing to name but a few. Written predominantly by engineers and professionals, Racecar Engineering, an official partner of MotorsportDays.LIVE, helps readers keep pace with news, products, technological developments and testing, providing informed analysis of results for the keen observer, industry expert or race enthusiast looking to expand their knowledge. www.racecar-engineering.com

E G C VBOX VIDEO HD2 captures stunning video in full 1080p HD with real-time graphical overlay.

RACELOGIC

Supplied in a rugged, water resistant case, with two cameras, internal GPS logger, backup battery supply, up

to 30s video pre-buffer and real-time graphical overlay, Stand No: H2-136 VBOX VIDEO HD2 represents the ultimate in tough, reliable motorsport video loggers. VBOX VIDEO HD2 comes with CIRCUIT TOOLS, an intuitive analysis software package designed to help

Racelogic is delighted to be on board at MotorsportDays.LIVE, whereandwe will drivers improve their track performance accelerate the be demonstrating ultimately leading to better lap times. CIRCUIT TOOLS driver training the latest VBOX Motorsport products and software.learning So process, whether you are already an experienced software track addict or if you are just getting into motorsport we can guide you towards the quickest way to go faster. Head to Stand 136 to find out www.vboxmotorsport.co.uk • Synchronised video more. and data • Dual camera 1080p • Heart rate monitor • Class leading driver training software (Windows, macOS & iOS versions) • Configurable pre-record buffer

• Camera previewR over B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO SWiFi P O R T D AY S . LHD2 I Vavailable E VBOX VIDEO • CAN interface

• CAN signal database

to order online

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E G C RaceStaff.com Stand No: H1-42

RaceStaff.com was established in 2011 by former driver and engineer Russell Howard. Since then RaceStaff.com, an official partner of MotorsportDays.LIVE has processed more than 50,000 job applications in the UK, Europe, US and Australasia. With a database of more than 27,000 motorsport personnel worldwide and a customer-base of 390 race teams and manufacturers, RaceStaff.com is where the motorsport trade go to find their ideal staff. www.racestaff.com

E G C Radical

Garage No: G-32 & 33 / Stand No: H2-80

Radical is the world’s largest track and racing car manufacturer and brings representation from its complete range to MotorsportDays.LIVE. The compact entry-level SR1 provides GT4-beating pace for the rookie racer, whilst Radical’s best-selling SR3 RSX will thrill drivers and passengers alike. Radical’s flagship RXC Spyder and SR8 open racers – the latter featuring Radical’s own 430bhp V8 engine – will also be present to sample alongside the RXC road coupe. You can also find out more about Radical’s UK and international race championships and track opportunities, either on Radical’s exhibition stand (80) or in the hospitality area situated behind Radical’s garage space (32 & 33). www.radicalsportscars.com

E G C Rage Motorsport Stand No: H1-26

British-based Rage Motorsport produces sophisticated, off-road, track and road-legal vehicles that meet the many demands of its discerning customers, from Formula 1 drivers and world rally drivers to high-profile celebrities. Our competitive RX150 Rallycross derivative has its own class in the British Rallycross Championship, while our clients have experienced great success with race versions of the Rage Hurricane and Comet. Rage Motorsport also has vehicles competing in the UTV Challenge in Portugal and Kenya, delivering exceptional performance, durability and handling under extreme conditions. Come and see the Rage buggy line-up for yourself in Hall 1. www.ragemotorsport.com

E G C RoamingExpert Stand No: H2-96

Do you struggle with expensive, patchy and slow WiFi at racetracks? RoamingExpert has designed and built a custom-made box (Tag WiFi) to provide connectivity at racetracks around the world. Our Truck and Garage WiFi systems use LTE networks around the world to provide good value connectivity solutions direct to where they are required in the paddock. Please visit our stand to find out how Tag WiFi can be used as a stand-alone product to provide WiFi in trucks or garages, connected to existing networks to provide internet connectivity to your in-house systems or used as a flexible base for running your entire network. www.roamingexpert.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

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E G C ROUX HELMETS Stand No: H2-127

ROUX Helmets Europe has recently launched its new line of “WATER COOLED” helmets that are both revolutionary to its industry and cutting edge by design. With driver safety at the forefront of all Roux products - Water Cooling is becoming a “more then serious” factor within the world of motorsports. After a successful first year, ROUX expects to continue expanding and becoming a main player in the world of driver safety. www.rouxhelmets.com

E G C SCU Motorsport

Garage No: MSD.LIVE Technical

The driving force in motorsport education, SCU Motorsport, is behind the first race series in the world to focus on developing motorsport mechanics and engineers, not the drivers. This is a proper race series, with regulations that will make the cars as equal as possible; we will even be operating weight equivalence, so that all participants have a chance of winning. Althought winning can only be achieved by setting the car up properly. The students will be in action throughout MotorsportDays. LIVE, racing against the clock, and rival motorsport students, to build and race a car at the show. Head down to the technical garage and watch them in action over both days.

E G C Sharky-Racing Garage No: G-31

The Sharky-Racing team provides “competitive drives and driver seats” in our VW Golf GTI racecar. We also offer full track support for other brands of customer cars. Inspired by team spirit and passion, Sharky-Racing has been able to capture many victories and podium results in Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring (RCN) and the 24H race series, mainly on the Nürburgring track. Since 2007, we have also been active in motorsport with various VW Golf GTI models on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife. Our passion, commitment and success has helped our team achieve what we are today. We give everything but we never give up! www.sharky-racing.com

E G C Signature RV Garage No: G-22

Signature RV has been supplying RVs to the motorsports industry for more than 25 years. Based in the heart of the UK, we are the only RV dealer to import NEW vehicles direct from our manufacturer, Thor Motorcoach. In addition to this, Signature RV supplies quality, used vehicles with floorplans to suit every requirement. We also offer competitive finance rates with Black Horse finance. Come and visit us in Garage 22. www.signatureRV.co.uk

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E G C Silverstone Circuit Stand No: H2-109

Silverstone, the UK’s only Formula 1® circuit. Experience the longest track in the country, and one of the most demanding. A track day at the Silverstone Wing offers our state-of-the-art Pit and Paddock complex – you’ll enjoy world-class facilities. Feel the thrill of Silverstone’s legendary track and push your driving skills to the limit. We’ve got some of the world’s most exciting cars in our fleet, including single-seater racing cars, Ferrari supercars and the BRAND NEW Aston Martin Vantage (which is only available at Silverstone)! We even offer in-car training from top instructors. www.silverstone.co.uk

E G C Silverstone Park & Techonolgy Cluster Stand No: H2-121

Silverstone Park is home to some of the most exciting companies in UK motorsport. Recent relocations include Mercedes Formula 1 and DS Virgin Racing. Businesses with motorsport roots are now major players across other sectors. Commercial Director Roz Bird said: “The MIA and BRDC have highlighted how our development of Silverstone Park is having a positive impact on the UK motorsport industry. We believe that MotorsportDays.LIVE’s refreshing new approach can have similar benefits for the industry which is why we are supporting it.” www.silverstonetechnologycluster.com and www.silverstone-park.com

E G C

Sonic Equipment (Damar International) Garage No: G-38

Damar International Ltd. enjoys a unique position in the UK’s tooling industry as a specialist supplier of Sonic Equipment to a wide variety of industries. Along with catering to the specialist requirements of the UK market, the company has also embarked on an adventurous, yet highly successful, international commitment, gaining recognition as the world’s leading supplier of hand tools, tool trolleys, automotive and motorsports equipment. www.damar.biz

E G C Suspension Supplies Ltd Garage No: G-40

Suspension Supplies Ltd (SSL) carries out dynamic analysis of sports and race cars. This enables the team at the Chesterfield-based company to design and supply coil springs, leaf springs and ARBs. SSL works with damper/shock manufacturers to provide units with characteristics perfectly matched to the car, the driver and the springs. Directors Dan White and Peter Ballard have more than 80 years’ experience between them in the automotive industry, so head over to garage 40 and discover how SSL can help your car’s performance on and off the track. www.suspensionsupplies.co.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

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E G C Turner Autosport Stand No: H2-89

Based in central Scotland, Turner Autosport is an award-winning motorsport retailer. The company specialises in helmets, racewear, kart wear, parts, equipment and services for all disciplines of motorsport. Turner Autosport also offers professional fitting advice, along with a selection of competition and track day seats available to try out in the showroom. Having a workshop also allows Turner Autosport to professionally fit any of parts that have been purchased. In addition, it can offer competition car builds and preparation and set-up services, as well as track-side support both locally and nationally. Come and visit the team at Stand 89 to find out more. www.turnerautosport.com

E G C United Autosports Garage No: G-23

United Autosports is known for being multiple European Le Mans Series LMP3 Champions. In 2018, they also entered the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second time, as well as competing in other international championships with some of the world’s most famous drivers. However United Autosports is much more than just a racing team. It is a motorsports company which can cater for teams and drivers at any level. From the supply of tools and racewear to race-winning Le Mans prototypes, United Autosports is the franchise dealer for numerous global motorsport manufacturers Speak to our team of dedicated experts in garage 23. www.unitedautosports.com

E G C Variohm Eurosensor Ltd Stand No: H1-11

Variohm Eurosensor Ltd is a manufacturer and supplier of quality, race-proven motorsport sensors. They can be used for applications such as ride height, steering, engine and exhaust temperature, oil/fuel and brake pressures, along with throttle and gear position sensors. Challenge Variohm to solve your sensor requirements. Come and meet the team at stand 11 during MotorsportDays.LIVE. www.variohm.com/motorsports

E G C Walero

Stand No: H2-75

Walero offers advanced, temperature-regulating motorsport base layers. Our FIA- and SFI-approved base layers (AKA underwear) have been scientifically developed to actively regulate your skin’s microclimate and body temperature, enhancing driver performance and ensuring maximum comfort. Walero base layers utilise Outlast© technology. Originally developed for NASA, the technology harnesses the power of Phase Change Materials (PCM). As the wearer gets hotter, the PCM absorbs the heat. Then, when they cool, the heat is then released back. Proven to reduce perspiration by more than 30%, Walero base layers help to minimise the effects of heat stress and fatigue, allowing the wearer to maintain concentration and improve performance. www.walero.uk B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

MSD.LIVE SHOW PREVIEW 2018

E G C Williams Automobiles Garage No: G-40

Williams Automobiles is the UK’s largest dealer and service agent for Morgan, Lotus and Caterham cars. Based near Bristol, Williams Automobiles is also very successful in supporting the build, preparation and support of both modern and historic racecars. Not surprisingly, with such a motorsport pedigree, Williams Automobiles also runs a successful race team. As part of its stand at MotorsportDays.LIVE, Williams Automobiles is bringing a collection of its cars for you to sample during the show’s unique track sessions. Head to garage 40 to find out more from the team at Williams Automobiles. www.williamsautomobiles.com

E G C ZF Motorsport Stand No: H1-18

ZF enables vehicles to see, think and act. This is the tag line of a global leader in driveline and chassis technology, ZF Friedrichsafen AG, the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. The company has an in-depth involvement with Formula 1 and other motorsports, successfully transferring its race technology to its range of performance products for standard road cars. Find out how ZF Motorsport can help your campaign by visiting the team at stand 18. www.zf.com

Let us Entertain You

Exclusive networking opportunity for exhibitors MotorsportDays.LIVE will deliver a fresh, new opportunity for industry professionals to come together at the world-renowned Wing facility at the Silverstone Circuit. Networking is the key to the success of this event, including, of course, our exhibitors. So the organisers have created a bespoke reception exclusively for exhibitors and their guests, on the mezzanine floor, between 5pm - 7.30pm on Friday 2nd November. In addition to drinks and canapés, there will be music from 6Scentric (pictured). This six-piece outfit will deliver an eclectic set, ranging from rhythm and blues classics to the best of Britpop. Happy Hour will take place on the main exhibition floor from 4pm – 5pm – after the last on-track session has been completed on the International Circuit – enabling exhibitors and their VIP guests to relax after a successful first day. To find out more call Ben Whibley on +44 (0) 1732 642755 or email ben@motorsportdays.com B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T N O W , V I S I T W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . L I V E

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

KING OF THE HILL THE BAC MONO LEAVES OTHER SUPERCARS TRAILING IN RECORD-BREAKING RUN UP THE GOODWOOD HILL IN THE MICHELIN SUPERCAR SHOOTOUT AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL OF SPEED nthony Reid smashed all previous Goodwood supercar records when he powered the Briggs Automotive Company’s (BAC) Mono up the hill during this year’s Festival of Speed. Competing in the Michelin Supercar Shootout, Reid took the Mono over the line in just 49.13 seconds, a second faster than his nearest rival, the Nürburgring recordholding Porsche GT2 RS. The Aston Martin Vulcan collected third spot with a time of 51.66 seconds. This coveted supercar accolade had previously belonged to Jann Mardenborough. He had set a time of 49.27 seconds back in

W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

2014, behind the wheel of a Nissan GTR. Mono’s Goodwood effort is just the latest in a long line of performance achievements. It is also the second consecutive year that BAC has topped the Goodwood Festival of Speed leader boards, having dominated the Racecars for the Road category in 2017. Following his winning run, Anthony Reid said: “What a sensational achievement – the fastest-ever supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed! To go up against some of the very best supercars and drivers around this year and win so convincingly feels fantastic – the new record is just the icing on the cake. I know the hillclimb very, very well but it’s

always different and remains a challenging drive – there are lots of undulations and always so much to think about. The Mono is so accessible and agile though that it just lapped up the challenge all week.” Away from the track, the BAC stand was a big hit, with three Monos lining up to give visitors something to savour. Ian Briggs, BAC Co-Founder and Design Director, said: “We’re incredibly proud to win the Michelin Supercar Shootout and top another Goodwood leader board thanks to some great pedalling by Anthony Reid. It feels amazing to be the fastest supercar ever to take on the event and hammers home just how amazing a machine the Mono is.”

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

“

To go up against some of the very best supercars and drivers around this year and win so convincingly feels fantastic” W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

JE T’AIME

TOYOTA’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH LE MANS The Japanese car manufacturer has been fascinated by this French circuit for two decades and this year devotion was rewarded with the top spot. PRO-AM’s Alex Goldschmidt reflects on Toyota’s enduring road to success at Le Mans

his year, 20 years after its début at Circuit de la Sarthe, Toyota GAZOO Racing finally reached the highest of highs, at the most recognised endurance race in the world - The 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though big players in the LMP1 class, such as Audi and Porsche, had decided to concentrate their focus elsewhere in the past two years, W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

the Japanese manufacturer had its heart set on staying in sportscars. The brand from the “Land of the Rising Sun” first appeared at Le Mans in 1998, with a host of former Formula 1 drivers, including Martin Brundle, Ukyo Katayama and Thierry Boutsen, being part of a three-car effort, using the GT-One GT1 racecar around the 13.626km circuit. Toyota’s rate of attrition highlights how unfavourable Le Mans can be. Toyota lost the #28 and #29 cars after 191 and

330 laps respectively — #28 after suffering a hefty accident, while #29 would retire due to a terminal gearbox fault. The remaining GT-One car would take ninth overall, and eighth in class. Further dramas occurred the following year. Toyota suffered multiple issues regarding the supplied-Michelin tyres, despite 1998 winner Allan McNish joining the outfit for the 1999 season. Both the #1 and #2 cars would suffer highspeed accidents, with Brundle

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

going off at the Mulsanne Straight, damaging the rear suspension and forcing the car’s retirement. Meanwhile, Boutsen had a lucky escape. The Belgian went off under the Dunlop Bridge later in the race. A rapid deflation in one of his Michelin-shod wheels caused the GT-One to go out of control, with Boutsen injuring his lower back. Even the #3 car, which went on to finish second, was unable to avoid any rubberrelated dramas. Katayama was

charging towards the overall lead just as the sun came up and suffered a puncture whilst battling for the overall lead, forcing the Japanese driver and his team mates to settle for second best. By then Formula 1 was on Toyota’s radar. Its decision to enter the premier single-seater class after only a two-year foray in endurance racing saw the GT-One consigned to the memory banks. Toyota’s return to endurance racing became more relevant

to road cars when the TS030 Hybrid LMP took to the track at Le Mans in 2012. This was despite some testing times for the outfit, based out of Cologne, which saw a delayed début at the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, following a crash during preseason testing. Toyota opted for an interesting slant on the hybrid-propulsion rules mandated by the organisers, deciding on a petrol internal combustion engine, compared to that which W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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A proud moment for them all to savour. A victory unlike any other – a victory at Le Mans Ingolstadt (Audi) had brought to the party - diesel. A 3.4-litre V8 shoehorned in the back, provided the two-car team with an impressive 830bhp, along with a super-capacitor, which allowed any of the six drivers to unleash the 300bhp assistance at any point and at any speed. Names such as Buemi, Sarrazin, Davidson and a Nakajima in the form of Satoru’s son, Kazuki, were well-experienced in multiple disciplines, including Formula 1 and Super GT, and could provide a potential threat to the Ingolstadt giant. Unfortunately, luck was not on Toyota’s side, both cars going W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

out before the conclusion of the race; showing that there was still work to be done. It was so close, but yet still so far for the following two years. The trio of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas LaPierre and Sébastien Buemi made two trips to the podium but were not destined for the top step in the new TS040, despite going on to secure both Team and Drivers’ Championships in that year’s FIA World Endurance Championships. The jewel in the crown still eluded them. The 2015 race did not deliver either, with the #2 car finishing in sixth, whilst the #1 car was eighth. Although it was the dramas of 2016 that struck

the deepest wound when the race was just minutes from finishing. Kazuki Nakajima was leading with #5 TS050, after an incredible final battle between the brands of Stuttgart (Porsche), Ingolstadt (Audi) and Japan (Toyota). With three minutes remaining on the clock, the Japanese driver came to a halt on the finish line, much to everyone’s surprise. Porsche may have taken the victory that year, but this was a Le Mans moment that will never be forgotten. Nakajima’s emotions, along with the team’s, were vivid, visceral and very public, after being so close to claiming a victory on such

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hallowed ground. Even though salt had been buried deep in their wounds, Toyota continued to strive to take that crown that had, so far, eluded them. Then a new matador joined the team for 2018. Toyota now had a well-sharpened weapon in the form of current McLaren driver and two-time Formula 1 World Champion, Fernando Alonso. He added to the breadth and depth of talent in this Toyota squad. The newly revised TS050 Hybrid LMP challenger for 2018, despite being in its third year of usage, was the only hybrid vehicle to take part in this prestigious event. With a host of new LMP1 cars

bolstering the grid in 2018, it was a sign that Toyota’s luck was about to change. Pole position went to the chariot, affectionately known as the “Alonso car”. The #8’s aggregate during qualifying was two seconds faster than its sister car, #7. Although both cars had their fair share of drama, such as Buemi speeding in the #8 during a caution period in the night, and Kamui Kobayashi running out of fuel in the final hour in the #7. This race though was a vindication of Toyota’s perseverance. A Toyota 1-2 was no longer a dream, it was a reality. Buemi, Nakajima

and Alonso took the spoils, celebrating as a team. Twenty years since Toyota débuted at Le Mans this team finally stood on the top step at Le Sarthe. Although this wasn’t a story about one man coming in and making a difference. It was about a family who, regardless of the obstacles in front of them, were still motivated to win. Now the legend of Toyota has left its own indelible mark, thanks to “kaizen” — continuous improvement - which the outfit has shown since 2012. A proud moment for them all to savour. A victory unlike any other — a victory at Le Mans. ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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This is the Vinnie Jones of simulators, you feel like you’ve got out of a car, not a sim”

he Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton doesn’t use simulators. “When you get into the simulator you have to adjust yourself to the simulator, and when you get in the car you don’t adjust to it, you drive. It might work for others, but for me, it doesn’t,” he has said. Although, in 2016, Lewis was repeatedly beaten “off the start line”. So he used simulators to recreate the start procedure. So Hamilton does use them, but not in a conventional way. So why do we? The word procedure is the key word here – simulators help improve procedures. Whether you want to learn a circuit or practice an area for improvements, it all comes down to improving the procedure and being prepared. Who doesn’t want to be prepared? Some 99% of

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your on-track activity is purely impulsive; it is you reacting to the situation which is key. You may think that is something a simulator cannot prepare you for, but it can. There is a stigma surrounding simulators. “It is an evolution from a PlayStation or Xbox” maybe, but the machines that run the modern simulator do not cost £300, they often run into tens of thousands of pounds or even more. I’ve heard others say, “some simulators make you sick”. Motion sickness is caused when the simulator movement does not accurately represent how the real car would feel. Most simulators combat this by turning off or reducing the motion to avoid this and although I suffer from car sickness, I have never experienced motion sickness in a simulator. Running MotorsportDays for

the past seven years means that I have tried nearly every simulator possible; from your standard, static seater all the way up to £0.5million bespoke sim. I have managed to get a lot out of these and often far more than I thought. If you read our 2018 Annual you would have seen my latest on-track race using a sim to get back in line after a year out of racing. For me, it was all about familiarisation more than anything else, getting seat time, getting comfortable and getting back in the groove. Recently, I was invited to Cranfield Simulation, part of Cranfield Aerospace Solutions Limited (CAeS) to experience its own, home-grown simulator – with a difference. This sim uses four layers of motion control technology giving the sensation of motion in all 6 axes with 11 degrees of freedom. The

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S I M U L AT I N G

Perfection Ben Whibley heads to Cranfield to experience the ultimate in simulators – so realistic he found himself holding his breath going through Copse Cranfield Simulation technology is also the only available that can provide these cues for sustained periods. This means no sudden stop in motion cueing mid-corner and no motion sickness. The force feedback products, g-seat, PRO system, suspension platform and yaw platform are used alongside a force feedback steering system, real motorsport components and are adaptable to fit any chassis. These include Open Wheel, GT, Supercars or bespoke design, which I will explain more on shortly. Cranfield is globally renowned for supplying sustained g-cueing products to the world’s military simulators and currently boasts having delivered more than 130 systems to 21 different armed forces for more than 30 years, achieving a unique two-million hours of simulator operation

for aircraft such as Typhoon, Tornado, F-18, F-16 and Harrier. This impressive CV of highly experienced engineers puts them in a unique position to utilise their experience within the motorsport industry. A cocktail of Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Simulation experience has resulted in their products accurately reproducing a realistic driving experience, utilising the team’s proven technology adopted by Formula 1, Formula 2, GT, Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and NASCAR teams, as well as road car manufacturers. I won’t pretend to know anything further about how these engineers go about their business, but as an end-user, I know what it takes to tick the boxes and what I want out of a sim. We were greeted on arrival by Jenny Kavanagh (Head Of

Airborne Systems Group) and were shown to the sim “brain” room, with all the computers and screens overlooking two rooms. The first room displayed a static sim created from a Radical RXC chassis that was impact tested at the university. The second room was what we had come to see and the excitement kicked in. I got prepped and even though I am just over 6ft – and could do with losing the odd pound – I was comfortable. I was strapped in and straight away it felt different. I was driving a GP2 car around Silverstone and quickly felt comfortable with the car and pace. So I moved up to a Formula 1 car and, to my amazement, I actually felt like I was driving the real thing. I do agree with Lewis a little, you do need to adapt to driving a sim, but I do the same in a

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I felt all the bumps and had to physically hang on to get the car around the corners. This was a new sim sensation for me” car anyway. Although this was different. I had to hold my breath going around Copse and into Maggots and Becketts. I felt all the bumps and had to physically hang on to get the car around the corners. This was a new sim sensation for me and is all down to the ’g-seat’. Through the seat and belts, pneumatic pressure is applied to simulate the feeling of g-force that can be sustained iindefinitely. These multiple airbags, in essence, inflate when braking, cornering and accelerating and it works too. Add to this the Yaw platform which it sits on, which pivots to give a pendulum effect. So, like a racing car, if the back end comes out, you feel that sensation. Most, if not all other sims rarely achieve this and it is something CAeS should be commended for

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and is something you have to experience yourself. This is the Vinnie Jones of simulators; you feel like you have got out of a car, not a sim! So finally, a sim that you need to treat with respect, like a racecar. A sim that allows you to feel more sensations than before, aligning the gap between reality, allowing you to focus on the procedures necessary. Ok, an instructor can increase your potential, but what if I said you could do all of this from home, working on the sim at your leisure and remotely working with an instructor? Cranfield Simulation has made this possible through its remote coaching facility. You can purchase a Cranfield simulator from £9,900 with prices going up to £120k and above for bespoke solutions. A recent collaboration with

Moorgate finance means that you can have a simulator for less than £300 per month! If you are not lucky enough to own one of these, you can always visit Cranfield Simulators and utilise their connections of race instructors to create bespoke programmes, work on a new circuit, look at data comparisons to monitor and evaluate your driving style and technique to ultimately, become a better driver. Cranfield Simulators are firmly leading the way in simulator development. The introduction of virtual reality – possibly the next evolution – ensures that we will continue to keep an eye on developments at this Bedfordshire HQ. In the meantime, you can view the latest Cranfield Simulator technologies at MsD.LIVE on 2-3 November 2018. ■

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INTERVIEW WITH:

FREYA WOODALL NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

A phobia of animals led to young karter Freya Woodall discovering a passion for motorsport. Aged just 12, Freya already has five yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; race experience under her belt, including a test in a Ginetta Junior racecar, all part of her long-term plan to race at Le Mans before she is 21!

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“As a girl in motorsport I find that the boys can sometimes make it harder for you to overtake as they don’t like being passed by a girl” How has your Dad, David Woodall, director of Opentrack Events, helped you get into motorsport? I started karting at first because it was a place where no animals are allowed as I have a huge animal phobia. My Dad said if I tried karting there would be no animals at the circuit, so that is what I did. I think as time goes by and I look to go from karts to cars then Dad’s circuit knowledge will help me out. Through Dad’s work he knows a lot of instructors and has always said tuition is the best thing you can get. He does push me but not too much as he says in the end you just have to have fun and do your best. Why motorsport? Are there any other hobbies you also enjoy? Ever since I had a go in a kart at our local kart track I have loved driving. I would be lying if I said it was all fun. Sometimes, in the middle of winter when you are soaking wet and your hands are freezing, it’s hard not to cry with the pain. But other days are W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

such a buzz when you race someone and pull off a cheeky overtake. Apart from karting, I am also a member of British Gymnastics and have competed in that since I was seven years old. I specialise in the vault and recently got a bronze medal. I am now working towards getting a silver next time. I also do general fitness at my local gym. Access to the sport has never been easy, but as a young female racer, what has been your experience? As a girl in motorsport I find that the boys can sometimes make it harder for you to overtake as they don’t like being passed by a girl! I used to have a pink race suit, but now its black and when I put my helmet on I like to think that we are all just racers together. Of course every one of us out on the track just wants to win. Last year I joined the British Woman Racing Drivers Club which is full of women and girls racing just like me, so I don’t feel like the odd one out in the sport at all. I also joined Dare 2 Be Different, which is run by Suzy Wolf, and this gives you chance to meet other females in motorsport. Karting has been great fun and I have made some great friends – girls and boys out on track – and it is great to have a laugh and chat after the race about our times and who overtook who. Seeing drivers compete with heavy budgets at such a young age is a major stumbling block. How have you found sponsorship in what can be seen as a saturated market? I think that it is a shame that motorsport costs

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“I look back on my first win in September 2015 as my best weekend as I also set a personal best lap time and there is nothing better than coming first” so much money, although my Dad says at least I never asked for a pony as I wouldn’t have got one! I race on a budget like most people who I race with and when you look further on from karting I know it costs a lot. So, at some point, we will be looking for sponsorship to help me with my racing as I move into cars from karts. What recommendations would you offer yourself if you could go back in time to September 2013? I would tell myself that I am as fast as everyone else and in the wet better than some others and to have a bit more self-belief! Education is still important to anyone; do you still find time to fit this in? Most of my racing is done at weekends, with testing in the evenings after school. My school has been great when I have needed the occasional day off — they have been happy for me to go.

I also have a maths tutor who comes to my house each week as my Dad says that without English and Maths you will not get a job as a racing driver with anyone. Many drivers have idols, who is yours? I would have to say Lewis Hamilton as he came from karting and has become one of the best drivers in the world. What was your most satisfying race weekend and why? I still look back on my first win in September 2015 as my best weekend as I also set a personal best lap time and there is nothing better than coming first. What are your future plans — next year and in 10 years time? Next season I will still be racing in karts as it is such good fun and you are learning all the time. However in May of this year I had my first test in a Ginetta Junior racecar and thought it was fantastic. I am hoping that I will be able to race in the Ginetta series starting in 2020 as it is a good series to get on to as it is on the TV and seen by lots of people. Ginetta Racing will take me to the age of 17 – then I will have to see what I will do next. My main aim is to race at Le Mans by the time I am 21 years old. Only 57 women to date have raced there. ■ Follows Freya’s story: www.freyawoodall.com

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CHARLIE MARTIN

e d i r P h t i w g n i c a R

PRO-AM’S ALEX GOLDSCHMIDT SPEAKS TO A TALENTED RACER IN THE FORM OF LEICESTER’S CHARLIE MARTIN, WHO NOT ONLY WANTS TO SET NEW LEVELS OF INCLUSIVITY IN MOTORSPORT, BUT SHOWS THAT RACING IS FOR EVERYONE

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The Pride stickers went so quickly – I was simply bowled over as it really meant a lot to me to see all that support, plus showing how inclusive motorsport can actually be” he British GT race at Silverstone this June saw a notable event take place within the confines of the “Home of British Motor Racing,” thanks to one individual in particular. The LGBT community has always been a part of the motorsport fraternity, but recognition of individuals, irrespective of their identities, has been hidden for many years. In 2018, one driver decided to become more visible and made a welcome impact that has shown that diversity, irrespective of stigmas such as gender, skin colour or sexual preference, is becoming more widely accepted. Leicester’s Charlie Martin is the racer in question. She is aiming to become the first transgender racer to compete at the 24 Hours Race of Le Mans. However, she is fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead. Apart from making the decision to transition from male to female, it has been a tough road for Charlie, dealing with budget struggles and changes in personal life terms, but she has steadily climbed her own “mountain”. Now she has taken on her latest challenge, competing in the 2018 Protyre Ginetta GT5 Challenge, along with Richardson Racing. Revealing herself as transgender was a gradual process. Charlie took small

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steps to allow her to build the confidence to be as open and honest about her identity. “There were a few signs earlier on this year that became apparent to me, as I was already very open to the people I was racing with in France, where I was hillclimbing. I came out to a friend over there, who then became my teammate last year and we discussed it. Nobody, apart from the people I left behind in UK hillclimbing, really knew.” Charlie went on to explain that she came out to the French hill climbing fraternity — which she has been a part of for the past three years — via Facebook, on Trans Day Visibility 2016, classing it as a very “positive experience”. “I was living in fear of this, as someone from the community could comment on a post without knowing my story,” she admitted. It also gave Charlie the confidence to become visible when she returned to the UK this season to race in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge. “I prefer to be upfront and honest with people as I’m confident and secure in myself. To get my story across, I got some great help and advice from my PR Naomi and Influx Magazine’s Damien Cross. We all worked together to help communicate my journey very effectively.” Charlie’s decision to help promote the LGBT community was further personified by the Silverstone 500 event during

this year’s British GT season, where she helped promote “Pride Month” by bringing 130 stickers along to the event. The influx of requests to run the Pride colours on the cars quickly stormed through the paddock like a shockwave, with Charlie running out of them by the early afternoon. “I got them printed big enough, so they would be visible. It was a case of striking the right balance and seeing how many people would decide to run with them,” she said. “I was very careful in the message that I was trying to put across, saying that it was a completely voluntary request. I was also concise in how I explained it, so at least it would be easier for people to understand why and what it represents. “The stickers went so quickly — I could have handed out maybe twice that amount — as marshalls and organisers were asking for them. I was simply bowled over, as it really meant a lot to me to see all that support, along with showing how inclusive motorsport can actually be.” Being out front and centre, in front of the entire British GT roster, was “nerve-wracking”. Despite the nerves, Charlie successfully put across her message and received immeasurable welcome support from the paddock. Something as simple as a noble gesture by the teams that supported Charlie’s efforts,

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If you are fast on a hill climb, you can go out onto a racetrack and go quickly. But there is simply no room for error on a hillclimb”

made an impact previously unseen in motorsport, at one of the most-recognised racing circuits globally. The message was clear — motorsport is and always will be for everybody. Although Charlie’s father died when she was younger, she had help in setting her goals towards a career in motor racing thanks to a good friend and his family. “It was all thanks to Greg Bibbey, and his son Hamish, who was in my class at primary school. Greg raced Morgan three-wheelers at sprints, hillclimbs and circuits. I probably went to my first race when I was eight or nine. We’d go camping in the paddock, where we’d experience all the sights, smells and sounds and help to push the cars around. It was so visceral, you ended up being a part of it, and felt like we were really involved.” When Hamish Bibby started to race himself, it all came full circle, with Charlie becoming

more passionate towards racing. “It got me thinking that I could save up some money to buy a car and race it and see how it goes from there.” Charlie’s exploits into racing saw her compete for three years in France. Her decision to go hillclimbing was based mainly on the budgetary aspect of racing, although thanks to drivers like Andy Priaulx, it also showed her a way to get into the motorsport world. “It wasn’t just about the budget, which was a main contributing factor, but it was also due to the level of experience I had at that time. In hillclimbing, you’re responsible for your own accidents, so if you keep your car on the black stuff, you don’t have to worry about any repair bills or rebuilds.” She admitted that it was a case of starting in hillclimbing “by default”. Charlie had experienced the European hillclimb scene as a spectator

and watched Le Mans in the early 2000s. “Having seen the prototypes that raced at Le Mans, as well as those that race at European hillclimbs, it looked incredible. Racing overseas on these closed public roads, such as Saint Ursanne Les Rangiers, which is the fastest in Europe — you are flat out for almost 80% of the time.” The allure of doing something outside of the normal order was something that appealed to Charlie and so she headed to France in 2014, competing in a Westfield. Hillclimbing is always about being against the clock and minimal mistakes, the same could be said about circuit racing. Charlie admitted to MotorsportDays though, that W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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not every skill is transferable. “There are many things that you can do, so if you are fast on a hillclimb, you can go out onto a racetrack and go quickly. But there is simply no room for error on a hillclimb and some heavily-fixed parameters that you have to drive within, so it can be pretty scary. There’s so much more room on a circuit. It’s a lot easier, especially with run off areas, gravel and more asphalt space.” Charlie headed back to the UK this season to race with Richardson Racing. She found she was able to adapt quickly in circuit racing. The heavy use of data allowed her to keep up with the steep learning curve, especially with fellow racer Abbie Eaton being her driver coach. Although the comparison in getting actual seat time in circuit racing is very different. “For hillclimbs, you drive the course as an open road on the Friday, get three practice runs on Saturday, then it’s three competition runs on the Sunday,” said Charlie, who was able to develop memory-based techniques which helped her

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to learn quickly. “If I’ve got someone who has got good guidance, I can apply what they are telling me really effectively and it has helped me to progress rather well this season. “Of course, I’ve had good weekends and bad weekends this year but it can depend on how you come into a race weekend in terms of your mindset. Considering this is my first full season of circuit racing in a Ginetta, this has been really good so far, especially in such a competitive championship.” Charlie’s dream is to be the first transgender racing driver to compete at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, she knows that it is not going to be an easy road to get to the Circuit de La Sarthe. “I’d like to say it’s a four-year plan right now, which could get pushed back if I’m honest, but I’d like to set my sights on that goal and keep working hard as I am doing. “For me, Le Mans is the greatest race on earth. There’s such a magical feeling about the place itself. There are so many other 24-hour races that have popped up, like Spa or the

Nürburgring, but Le Mans is the original. There is no greater goal that I could think of, when it cames to circuit racing that is, although Pikes Peak is another challange I’d like to achieve. “But I think about Le Mans every day. I’m not sure that’s normal [laughs] to have such an obsessive amount of determination to race somewhere like that. It’s a huge undertaking and I don’t have any family money behind me. I have to work for it, which is exciting and part of the journey. It’s something to be able to have that chance to do something so compelling in your life.” Charlie has recently been testing an LMP3 prototype in France and is the latest driver to join the Electric GT Championship Drivers’ Club. In fact Charlie is clearly someone that others can look to as an inspiration and motivator. She shows that people, no matter their life story, can get behind the wheel and compete with the best of them. ■

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S E B A S T I E N

L O E B

THE BOSS Ultimate record breaker Sebastien Loeb, holder of nine WRC titles, talks to Alex Legouix about WRC, WRX and Dakar and why he regrets a lack of noise in electric racing

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WRC is my home. I love it. It is the absolutely best sensation when you are flat out in the middle of nowhere. You have to anticipate what lies ahead, improvise your driving style, nothing is certain. It is so thrilling. For me I have the best fun doing that”

hen talking motorsport a few names invariably spring to mind: Fangio, Schumacher, Senna, Stewart, Vatanen, Menu — all appealing to different fans for different reasons. However, there is one driver who appeals to fans across the board. He is the coolest cat in motorsport and affectionately known as “The Boss” for his absolute domination of the rallying world. Although, over the past few years he has demonstrated incredible skill in so many of the other disciplines that he is now seen by many as the greatest and most multi-skilled driver of all time. It is, of course, Sebastien Loeb. Most drivers find their route in to professional racing through karting, but Seb was

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different. He came from a tough background — no wealthy family to hand him a golden ticket; no contacts within the industry; in fact, no real knowledge of the motorsport world at all. All he did know was that he could drive — fast — and that handling the machine, be it moped, car or bike, came naturally to him and impressed his friends. Seb first noticed at 17, while out playing with friends on their mopeds, that he was considerably quicker, more daring and better skilled, naturally, than anyone else and he wanted more of the sensation he was experiencing. He loved speed. He loved competition. He loved to win. He was already a winner but in a completely different discipline. Following in his father’s footsteps, Seb started

gymnastics from the age of three. By the time he was 15, he was four-time champion of Alsace, champion of the French Grand East and fifth at the French Championships. No small feat but burning rubber was far more appealing to him. Seb was a good-hearted rebel. When he got his first car — a Renault 5 GT Turbo — he loved to play. “I would find a car park and just push it to the limits. I had an amazing feeling when I was behind the wheel and I just wanted more of that feeling, somehow!” Seb and his friends created

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I would find a car park and just push it to the limits. I had an amazing feeling when I was behind the wheel and I just wanted more of that feeling, somehow!”

their own competitions. His favourites were the Vineyard Grand Prix and the Roundabout Special. “We would race and race. We got through so many tyres I can’t tell you! We would upset the neighbourhood but just had so much fun! At the time I was working as an electrician but night after night I dreamt of racing cars and knew I had to do something about this passion but there just never seemed a way to do it”. With no money he had to find a way in that didn’t require heaps of cash. Luckily, in 1995, Seb saw an ad looking for

young drivers for a competition called Opération Rallye Jeunes. The 21-year-old Sebastien Loeb scraped the barrel dry to find enough cash to pay the 100 francs entry. “I won the regional trials and then the Castellet final but I didn’t quite manage to clinch the title that year. Two years later though, I was in front of 15,000 people competing and winning in this rally. It was a dream come true.” The year that followed was the worst of Seb’s life. It was 1998, his second official season “I crashed in the rally and broke the car. We had no money but

with the help of my friends we repaired it but at the next test I crashed again. We had no insurance for the test so that was it. After all the luck I’d had in finding a route in, my career in motorsport was already finished. I couldn’t deal with it at all. I could see the end of my driving career and just thought that was it, I am going to have to go back to being an electrician again.” Lady Luck was shining down on him though; he was helped by a sponsor whom he had impressed over the past year. Seb was back on track. Twenty W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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Between 2004 and 2012 Seb won nine consecutive WRC titles and 78 WRC events — more than double the number of any other driver in the sport years on and his career crosses all disciplines: rally, rallycross, touring car, Dakar. In every discipline he has proved his worth. Sebastien Loeb is the ultimate record breaker. His first drive in the World Rally Championship (WRC) was in 2002 with the Citroen Total World Rally Team. Between 2004 and 2012 he won nine consecutive WRC titles and 78 WRC events — more than double the number of any other driver in the sport. Seb has won pretty much every event held on asphalt and has been awarded France’s highest honour, the Legion d’Honneur. He won the Race of Champions in 2003, 2005, 2008 and finished P2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006. The list of victories goes on and on. What is more, Seb is now a genuine contender for the World Rallycross (WRX) title, if not this year, then definitely next. “The goal is to fight for the title. I’d have loved to have won it this year but we’ve already had two bad weekends which is a big problem in WRX because you need to be lucky. When things go wrong you can pay a high price in points so that’s frustrating but we now have a new car so we can improve and have great potential. Hopefully in the next few races we can prove ourselves a bit more and fight again but 2019 is my year.” Sebastien loves WRX.

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The driving in Dakar is so different to what I’m used to” Everything that fuelled his passion from the very beginning is offered to him in this Championship. “My only negative is we don’t drive enough! Time actually behind the wheel is a bit short but they are such intense bursts of such maximum adrenalin so that makes up for it. Each start is very intense and the pressure all weekend is really high which is great. The cars are really nice and fun to drive. They feel so powerful, they are easy to handle and the battle is really fierce. WRX is a good mixture between the circuit and rally feeling. One moment you’re sliding, the next you’re jumping; you have Tarmac then gravel... so much is going on all the time, it is very thrilling.” It is great to see such a happy and relaxed Seb. I spent a good deal of time with him during his years in the World Touring Car Championship paddock and although he loved that, he was also frustrated by it all – or frustrated by his lack of a chance to prove himself within

that world. This was one of his first true experiences of being surrounded by so many other cars on track, in such close proximity, and it challenged Seb in new ways. I know he wanted more time to develop this area. However, he is certainly getting a similar experience on track in WRX and is thriving. Still not totally content with his racing CV, the most successful man in WRC history set his sights on another epic feat: the Dakar. In 2016, Seb made his debut in this tough event, taking on the dunes for Team Peugeot Total alongside Dakar legend Carlos Sainz, as well as two other Dakar heroes and fellow countrymen, Stéphane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres. Seb made a characteristically good debut, finishing with four stage wins and ninth place overall. In 2017, Seb was back with vengeance and was in for the win until the final moment when his chance for victory was snatched away by a simple puncture which cost time that

was impossible to make up. So close, yet so far. So naturally the feeling before and during this year’s Dakar mission was of extreme determination and so to lose out so early on — on day five — was absolutely heart-breaking. “It was so frustrating. I tried not to take big risks in those first days as I knew they weren’t my kind of roads all being so ‘off road’. So, I played it safe and planned to survive in Peru and then push hard. So to have that opportunity to fight taken away and lose everything on that last day in Peru was upsetting. But Dakar is like that. “The driving in Dakar is so different to what I’m used to so I have to accept it. I don’t know if I’ll do it again. I have no specific plan to go back at the moment because I am still heavily involved heavily with Peugeot and am doing rallycross with them and they will no longer take part in Dakar. So we shall see. It would be a fun adventure to do again one day.”

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“

One moment you’re sliding, the next you’re jumping; you have Tarmac then gravel... so much is going on all the time, it is very thrilling” Much to everyone’s delight, we have not just seen Seb in Dakar and WRX this year but also back behind the wheel in WRC. He tested the Citroen C3 in August last year and the lure to return was too much. “I just cannot help it! WRC is my home. I love it. It is the absolutely best sensation when you are flat out in the middle of nowhere. You have to anticipate what lies ahead, improvise your driving style, nothing is certain. It is so thrilling. For me I have the best fun doing that.” Seb may be known as the Tarmac king but that doesn’t make Tarmac rallies his favourite. In fact he has no favourite rally or style of rally at all. “I love them all. I love that over a season each rally throws something new at you. One will be Tarmac, the next snow, the next gravel. I love that even over the weekend you are hit with all kinds of different complexities, whichever terrain it is. Nothing is ever the same and you cannot predict anything.” So this champion may not have a favourite rally, but he does have a favourite moment. “2010 was first year we had

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Rally France. The final stage was in my home town, Haguenau, and I had won everything that year — the Rally, the Manufacturers’ Championship, the Drivers’ Championship — so to have the end of the rally in my home town, with all my friends and family there to witness the success and celebrate with me, was an incredible sensation. I don’t cry much but I did then.” So what next for Seb? With his desire to cover so many disciplines I wondered what his thoughts were on the world of electric racing and whether we would ever see him in the likes of Formula E? He was fairly indifferent: “I can’t say it’s an aim or passion of mine hugely. I’m an old driver. I like real engines and real sound. Maybe it’s good for future generations and I know the engines can be great. The WRX electric, for example, will be extremely powerful and the performance will be great and I would love to be involved in the electric WRX when it comes alive, but motorsport without noise? No, it’s just not the same. Formula E is popular, I appreciate that, but

for me the racing is too boring. It’s not for me”. Seb will continue to focus predominantly on WRX for now. Determined to collect another title win in 2019 will make the series an extremely entertaining watch next year (as if it wasn’t already!). We are hoping that we will see him behind the wheel more in WRC 2019 and, one day, back in the fight for a Dakar win. For now though, Seb is happy, content and absolutely thriving and will, no doubt, continue to have a successful 2018 season. “I have so much fun. I am living the dream and wouldn’t change that for the world and I shall continue to keep having fun for many more years to come.” ■

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? X EVR W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARES TO GO ELECTRIC IN 2020 he World Rallycross Championship is set to become electric from 2020. The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council recently approved plans to change the format of this popular series. IMG has been collaborating with the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) and a number of car manufacturers on this project for the past 18 months, whilst also working hard to ensure privateers can also compete in this new

championship. IMG will continue to work closely with the car manufacturers in the run-up to the 30th July deadline for their commitment to the Electric Rallycross Championship. The FIA has appointed single suppliers for two key common parts of the Championship car. ORECA has been appointed as the single supplier for the chassis, while Williams Advanced Engineering has been named as the single supplier for the battery. When these suppliers were confirmed, Paul Bellamy, IMG’s Senior Vice President for Motorsports, said: “We are pleased about the single supplier appointments as the success and track record of each company speaks for itself.” ■

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arlier this summer, Brabham Automotive launched its impressive Brabham BT62, adding to the legacy of this marque’s greatest and most memorable cars. The BT62 also continues the legendary “BT” naming convention, established by the marque’s founders, Jack Brabham and Ron Tauranac, in the 1960s.

The Brabham BT62, a midengined track car, has been designed and engineered to demand more from its driver. This is a car for those who want to challenge themselves and their limitations to experience driving in its purest form. Bred for the track, this Brabham has been designed from the groundup, featuring a host of unique engineering details. W W W. M O TO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

Crafted from lightweight carbon fibre, the BT62’s exterior surface and aggressive aerodynamic package combines to strike the optimal balance between function and form. It boasts a power-to-weight ratio of 730ps per tonne, a dry weight of just 972kg and is powered by a Brabham naturally-aspirated 5.4 litre capacity V8 engine, with the power driven to the rear wheels via a rear-mounted, race-spec transmission.

“It’s with great pride that I honour and continue my father’s legacy”

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BRABHAM ROARS BACK

WITH STUNNING BT62 Building on its 70-year racing pedigree, David Brabham announces Brabham’s return to manufacturing with global launch of Brabham Automotive’s first product, the superb BT62 Speaking at the unveiling at Australia House in London, Managing Director, David Brabham said: “It’s with great pride that I honour and continue my father’s legacy in revealing the next chapter in the evolving Brabham story. The team we have in place and the vision it shares provides a solid platform for Brabham Automotive to execute its longterm business strategy. Our first step to deliver on that strategy is the Brabham BT62, a car truly worthy of carrying the iconic Brabham name. “I set out 12 years ago to re-establish the Brabham name, determined to see it return to global competition. My father had an incredible determination to succeed and, like him, I’ve worked tirelessly

through this time, drawing on my experience as a racing driver, leader and mentor, never once losing sight of that goal. It’s been challenging at times but what we have achieved is simply staggering. Today’s unveiling makes me feel incredibly proud as the Brabham legacy enters a new era.”

“A car which can deliver blistering on-track performance” Although this Brabham BT62 carries more than just the Brabham name; it shares its W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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QUICK LOOK B R A B H A M

B T 6 2

A Brabham 5.4 litre V8 engine produces 710ps (700bhp, 522kW) and 667 Nm (492 ft/lb) of torque

A dry weight of 972kg and a powerto-weight ratio of 730ps per tonne

The Brabham BT62 delivers over 1,200kg of downforce

Brakes are carbon/carbon featuring six piston callipers both front and rear

DNA. Working to the same brief as each of the BT-designated cars that came before it, David Brabham, a multiple Le Mans winner, has led this team to develop a car which can deliver blistering on-track performance. The team has followed the same pragmatic approach that saw Brabham achieve 35 Formula 1 Grand Prix wins and four World Championships.

“A car that demands total engagement and commitment from its driver” Brabham Automotive’s Director of Technology and Engineering, Paul Birch, said: “Created from a

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blank sheet of paper, our first car takes Brabham into an exciting new era, whilst honouring and upholding the marque’s glorious past. Using contemporary materials, processes and technologies, and following a rigorous two-year engineering and development programme, the resulting BT62 is a car that demands total engagement and commitment from its driver, delivering immense reward and satisfaction.” The production of the Brabham BT62, with a base price of £1m plus local taxes, will be limited to just 70 cars in recognition of Brabham’s 70-year heritage, with the first 35 of these cars celebrating the 35 Grand Prix victories won by Brabham during its 30-year reign in Formula 1. Those fortunate enough to own a Brabham BT62 will also

automatically become members of the exclusive Brabham driver development programme, where the performance potential of both driver and vehicle can be fully exploited together as one. Brabham Automotive has established itself as a manufacturer of high-performance vehicles which challenge and reward the driver in equal measure. The company’s ultimate goal is to see the iconic Brabham name return once again to compete on the racetrack, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans firmly in its sights. ■

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Alan Whibley goes back to school to regain his MSA race licence. Although, it was a little more complicated than he imagined after a prolonged period of time away from the track

How ARDS can it be? here is little to beat the excitement of competing in a motor race. Track days are great, but once you have raced you realise the extra buzz you get from competition gives an extra level of adrenalin rush. After nearly four years of not racing, the lure was as strong as ever and, despite advancing years, I felt I had not quite cured myself of the desire to race. So I dug out my old Motor Sports Association (MSA) licence, called the MSA and spoke to various industry experts about getting a renewal. I received various opinions about the rules and it seems if you last had a B national licence more than three years ago you have to retake the theory test. The first step was to contact the MSA and get an Association of Racing Driver Schools (ARDS) pack. This is really useful and includes all the information needed to get going in fourwheel motorsport; from truck racing to single seaters, plus junior racing for 14- to 17- yearolds. It costs just over £100 but includes the cost of the first licence so you can join the other 30,000 competitors who hold a MSA competition licence. Rather than go for just the

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theory, I thought it would be a good idea to go the whole hog and retake the theory and practical test. So I called Pete Edwards who runs The Motorsports School at Mallory Park, Donington and Rockingham. Within an hour we had agreed on a test date. Next step was to get the application form filled in, which meant a trip to the doctor so all the medical requirements could be signed off. This can be done when you take the ARDS test but I thought I may as well get it done in advance in case the doc found something he did not like. It costs around £90 for a medical but it is always useful to know that you are basically fit, especially when you won’t see 60 again! So armed with a bill of fitness, I set about absorbing the relevant parts of the Blue Book, provided on a CD with the application form. This is the Bible of motor racing and includes the myriad rules you must be aware of to compete safely. The most important are the flag signals. The MSA makes it clear that getting just one flag wrong means you fail your test. Having already spent around £360 for the test, the MSA licence at £100 and £90 for

The cost of the ARDS pack is just over £100 but includes the cost of the first licence so you can join the 30,000 competitors who hold an MSA competition licence a medical, you certainly don’t want to waste the money due to lack of preparation. As I had not been on track for years I had hoped to get out on track to renew a feel for racetrack driving, but due to a full diary and busy track day venues, it did not happen. So I spent a few evenings watching the various videos via the MSA DVD which comes with the starter pack, as well as watching various experts on YouTube. I also read the Q section of the rulebook over and over; paying special attention to the flags! The test was to take place at Rockingham — where I last raced back in 2010 — and organised efficiently and hospitably by The Motorsports School. My test was at 11am but I arrived early and was greeted with a cup of tea and biscuits by Mel Edwards a partner of the

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018 school and its ARDS Director. As the earlier test session had just started, I was invited to join two fellow applicants to watch the MSA ARDs video. We were given a detailed and worthwhile presentation by Gary Parkes, who was to take us for the practical test. He went over a lot of detail, much of which had changed since I took my first ARDS test and I found it extremely useful. Gary was highly knowledgeable, with a personable way of getting the key points across. We were a mixed group, including a motorcycle racer wanting to get into four-wheel racing and another wanting to go into historic motor racing. The presentation included an update on the new Hans device and the new hybrid device which allows the driver to use it on any car, rather than fitting it to just one vehicle. The new trailer laws are also worth taking note of depending when you got your driving licence, as failure to comply could leave your trailer and racecar in a police pound! The fire extinguisher rules are also changing and worth noting. Another big change is that all information is now online, including downloading your racecard, which used to come with the Blue Book. The card is required so that you can get signatures from the clerk of the course for your first six races before you can remove the novice sticker. Gary quite pointedly mentioned “waved” yellow and the name of the National Flag — it is not called the Union Jack. The new, pink, 60km flag was also mentioned, a new one on me. So my fellow applicants and I guessed we knew what at least a few of the questions would be! Gary then went on to talk about track limits; something else that seems to have gained momentum since I last raced.

It seems British Touring Car Championship drivers are the last bastion of exceeding track limits, but for the rest of us, it was made clear that on the ARDS test we should stay within the white lines and not rumble over the curbs. It is surprising how quickly instructions like these fade as soon as you get behind the wheel! Next step was to do the theory test consisting of four sides of A4, with three pages full of multiple-choice questions. Going back to exams after decades out of the classroom was surprisingly pressurised, regardless of how much prep you have done. Especially when you are reminded that you must achieve 100%. Although you are allowed to get one non-safety, critical question wrong – apart from the flags – which is just as well as that is exactly what I did. I really do know the difference between over- and understeer but misunderstood the options! Luckily, apart from the embarrassment, I got the wink from Mel that I had at least passed the theory. Relieved, I had another cup of tea and a biscuit. It was now my turn for the practical test. I chose one of the School’s open-face helmets as they make communication between instructor and driver easier. The sun was very bright as we came out of the classroom to find a black Ford Fiesta parked in the pit lane, behind the scrutineering bay. After a quick brief from Gary, emphasising that he was not looking for speed, but track

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position, awareness of other cars and good car control, including braking and gears. Gary drove me around for a few demonstration laps. We then swapped seats and after getting comfortable – and a useful tip to watch cars coming through the Graceland’s bend so you can be sure nothing was coming out of Tarzan to catch you out as you pulled onto the racing line – we pulled off. My first error was to use the curbs as we went through the chicane, as that is what I remembered as the right line. Gary reminded me what he had said and added, “do that once we commence the test lap and it’s a fail”! Suitably chastised, I started my test laps. After years of lumbering around in a big, automatic 4x4, getting the gear changes required concentration, but I only fluffed one. The biggest issue was not being able to use the central rear-view mirror which Gary had set up for himself. I found spotting faster cars coming up behind more difficult to spot in the side mirrors. Apart from being a little wide coming out of Tarzan — again that was the line when I last raced — Gary confirmed that I had passed when we pulled in. I got the feeling — only just — but a hit is a hit! I would have loved another few laps, but that was it. Clutching my signed form, now all I had to do was send it to the MSA and wait for my new licence. As promised, it arrived with the Blue Book within a week. I am now ready for the next stage of my return to circuit racing! ■

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BRINGING THE PAST TO LIFE MCLAREN SPECIAL OPERATIONS PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE 1997 GULF-DAVIDOFF GTC TEAM MCLAREN F1 GTR ‘LONGTAIL’ WITH A BESPOKE LIVERY FOR A ROAD-GOING MCLAREN 675SLT he team at the McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has recreated the legendary McLaren F1 GTR “Longtail” racing livery as a bespoke commission for a McLaren 675SLT. The distinctive light blue, black and red hues of this livery – plus the trademark orange centre stripe – are a homage to the McLaren F1 GTR “Longtails” that raced under the Gulf-Davidoff banner in endurance racing in the 1990s.

The actual inspiration for this design came from the F1 GTR “Longtail” Chassis 20R, which was delivered to the Gulf-Davidoff Motorsport team in 1997. Wearing number 41, the car was

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driven by Pierre-Henri Raphanel, Jean-Marc Gounon and Anders Olofsson to class victory and second position overall at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Once Gulf Oil International had given permission for MSO to recreate its famous racing livery, the bespoke project took more than 1,000 hours to complete. “Creating a car like this unique McLaren 675LT, crafted to individual customer specification, is exactly the type of demanding commission that MSO Bespoke was formed to embrace,” said Ansar Ali, Managing Director of MSO. “Transforming the existing car from its original, singlecolour paintwork into a tribute to the McLaren Formula 1 GTR

‘Longtail’ in Gulf Racing livery was incredibly demanding in its own right but was only part of the brief. We also replaced numerous standard 675LT components with MSO parts and further personalised the car to clearly identify it with its owner, a service an increasing number of MSO customers request.” So the car’s 20-spoke wheels were finished in orange, with the same colour being used for the sill badges which also featured the customer’s initials. In addition, the car was fitted with louvered front wings, a roof scoop upgrade and carbon fibre airbrake from the MSO range of options for the McLaren 675SLT.

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The interior of the car was also designed to complement the exterior theme and the personalisation, including adding the customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initials into the headrests. On completion, this 675LT now has the appearance to match its dramatic performance. This is thanks to a twinturbocharged McLaren V8 engine, producing up to 675PS (666bhp) and 700NM (516lb) of torque. This gives this stunning road car the opportunity to accelerate to 100km/h (62mph) from standstill in just 2.9 seconds, while recording a top speed of 330km/h (205mph). â&#x2013;

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104 PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

Mid Season

REVIEW

BRITISH RACING & SPORTS CAR CLUB he first half of the season has undoubtedly been one of the busiest in the British Racing & Sports Car Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (BRSCC) recent history, writes Scott Woodwiss. The main focus has been on the all new TCR UK Touring Car Championship. With the internationally renowned touring car platform making its debut in Britain this year, it made a highly anticipated arrival at Silverstone at the end of March before heading to Knockhill for the reverse layout, followed by Brands Hatch and most recently, the first touring car event at Castle Combe. So far, it has all been about WestCoast Racing and its leading driver Dan Lloyd. With seven wins out of eight races at this stage, Lloyd commands a dominant lead in the points. However, the Championship has made new stars of the likes of Ollie Taylor, Lewis Kent, Carl Swift and the Backman siblings, Andreas and Jessica. The only way is up for TCR UK as it looks to get stronger and continue to gain support throughout its maiden season and beyond.

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Supporting championships for the inaugural TCR UK season have been the Avon Tyres Formula Ford Championship and the Mazda MX-5 SuperCup. Both have produced stunning racing across all five of their respective meetings, with Formula Ford heading to Kirkistown for its away round, while the SuperCup travelled to Rockingham. The 2016 National Champion, Niall Murray, leads the Formula Ford standings against teammate Matt RoundGarrido and Michael Eastwell, Luke Cooper and Joey Foster, with fierce competition typical of the category in every race. As for the SuperCup, it continues to reach new heights, with an intense title battle forming between defending Champion Luke Herbert, James BlakeBaldwin and Jack Harding. All three have taken multiple race wins so far. Also showing its strength in numbers is the British GT Championship, which is enjoying one of its best supported seasons in recent years, with both GT3 and GT4 machines doing battle across some of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best circuits,

as well as an annual trip to SpaFrancorchamps. Meanwhile, the Formula 4 British Championship continues to help up-and-coming young racers make their first steps on the circuit-racing ladder towards motorsport stardom. In other championships, there is depth in competitiveness and variety. The Mazda MX-5 Championship for the Mk1 generation model continues to see highly populated entries and split grids, with 2017 Champ Will Blackwell-Chambers in the hunt to retain the number one position ahead of teammates Samuel Smith and Mike Comber, with key rivals Oliver Allwood and Brian Trott also remaining in contention. Also boasting popular grids is the Nankang Tyre BMW Compact Cup. Here Steven Dailly is being made to work hard to defend his crown from Owen Hunter and Ian Jones in some

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of the best tin-top, one-make racing in club motorsport. There are equally close fights in the Ford Fiesta championships, enjoying support from new tyre supplier MRF Tyres. The senior Fiesta Championship sees the battle of the young guns as Harry Gooding and Danny Harrison battle for contention, while in the Fiesta Junior Championship it is James Waite facing off against Denmark’s Magnus Kriklywi for supremacy. Caterham Motorsport’s quintet of factory-supported championships again makes up a clear path through the ranks from the Car Throttle Caterham Academy, through Roadsport, Seven 270R and Seven 310R before reaching the fastest collective of drivers in the Avon Tyres Caterham Seven 420R Championship. With sold out grids across the board, this is one of, if not the strongest season to date and

the momentum shows no signs of letting up. Other championships have made strides in class structure, competition or even rebranding. The Kerax Hyperdrive ST-XR Challenge enjoys a new name, title sponsor and additional classes to accommodate more Ford models, while the Speed Group F1000 Championship is in its first full season under its new guise and with a fitting sponsor too. Speed Group also lend its name to the OSS Championship for sports prototypes, while the Teekay Couplings Production GTis now incorporate the Mk5 Series as a points-scoring class for the first time, alongside the Mk2s VW Golf GTis. As for the rest of the roster, there is a mix of familiar series and new additions. Making its debut this season is the new Mazda MX-5 Super Series for SuperCup spec cars.

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Meanwhile, our new friends in the Cox Motor Parts Civic Cup have produced an incredible seven different race winners from the first eight races, proving just how competitive and well supported this competition really is. The Fun Cup continues to provide fantastic value team endurance racing with consistently well populated and diversely talented drivers battling out between three to six hours. With plenty of other worthy series to check out, including the Alfa Romeo Championship, Toyo Tires Porsche Championship and Dunlop TVR Challenge, plus the return of the Milltek Sport VW Cup to the roster, as well as overseeing events such as the Creventic 24 Hours and Ferrari Racing Days, the 2018 season for the BRSCC has been jam-packed full of action and there is much more to come before the year is through! ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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Mid Season

REVIEW

SRO MOTORSPORTS GROUP (BRITISH GT) even races down, two to go! British GT’s 2018 season enters its final furlong in August and September when this year’s GT3 and GT4 Champions will be crowned at either Brands Hatch (August 4-5) or Donington Park (September 22-23). Remarkably, those first seven races have featured six different winners in both classes, meaning it is consistency rather than dominance that has put Barwell Motorsport’s Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen (Lamborghini) and Century Motorsport’s Jack Mitchell (BMW) in prime position, with just four hours of British GT racing remaining. Minshaw and Keen had won four times at the same stage last season but fell short of the senior title on the final weekend. Their approach to this campaign has been markedly different though. They have won just once — Oulton Park’s rain-shortened second race on the opening weekend — while collecting a double-figure points haul in each of the other six rounds.

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It all adds up to a 14-point advantage over Optimum Motorsport’s Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam (Aston Martin) who are both chasing records this year. Haigh is looking at the series’ first overall female champion, while Adam is focusing on a recordextending third title with as many different co-drivers. Two podiums in their last two outings has certainly given the pair’s title challenge renewed vigour after initially failing to build on their early promise and victory at Oulton. Meanwhile, Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim’s DNF at Spa cut short a fine run of results, but their TF Sport Aston Martin — the only car to have won twice this year — remains in title contention. So too are ERC Sport’s Lee Mowle and Yelmer Buurman (Mercedes-AMG). They capitalised on a chaotic race at Rockingham to come through from last to first, while Marco Sorensen and 2016 champion Derek Johnston will likely need to win at Brands Hatch if they are to play any part in the title fight, scheduled for Donington. Elsewhere, reigning GT Cup

Champion Graham Davidson and his AMR factory co-driver Maxime Martin became the latest names to join British GT’s winners’ circle at Spa. However, the Jetstream Motorsport Aston Martin appears too far adrift in the overall standings to mount a realistic, late title bid. In GT4, the only driver to have won twice this year also leads the Championship. Seventy-five of Jack Mitchell’s 109 points have come in the last two races, with victories

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at British GT’s blue riband rounds — Silverstone and Spa — launching the 20-year-old into a timely 16.5-point lead over the HHC Motorsport duo, Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen (Ginetta). The Championship’s pitstop success penalty system, designed to prevent back-toback winners and one team dominating, wasn’t enough to stop Mitchell at Spa. A repeat of that trick at Brands Hatch in early August could see a British

GT title decided with a round to spare for the first time since 2015. Pointon and Matthiesen’s season has been a model of consistency so far thanks to one victory and points scored at every round. However, they will now need more than that over the final two races if they are to challenge Mitchell. Tolman Motorsport’s Charlie Fagg and Michael O’Brien (McLaren) are half-a-point further back thanks to a similarly consistent,

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albeit win-less campaign, while Matt Nicoll-Jones and Will Moore’s Academy Motorsport Aston Martin ensures as many different manufacturers as possible are represented in the overall top-four. GT4’s Pro/Am class also looks like a two-horse race between Team Parker Racing’s Nick Jones and Scott Malvern and UltraTek Racing Team RJN’s Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman. They are separated by 7.5 points with a maximum 75 still to play for. ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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Mid Season

REVIEW

CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB e may be more than halfway through the Classic Sports Car Club (CSCC) season but for many the highlight is still to come — a rare opportunity to race at MagnyCours, in mid-France, at the end of the season. The CSCC Motorsports School Turbo Tin Tops series may be new for 2018 but it has had an excellent start and is growing exactly as the club expects. Catering exclusively for front-wheel drive, forced induction cars, grids have seen a great variety of cars competing, including BMW Mini (R53 and R56), Peugeot 208, Saab 900, Seat Leon, VW Golf, Ford Fiesta, Renault Megane and Vauxhall Astra. With just four main eligibility rules, it is easy for drivers to slip into the series to give it a try. Every round so far has been won overall by a different driver. Those who remember club racing from the 1970s and ‘80s will instantly recognise that most unlikely of sponsors, Wendy Wools. For the 2018 season, this iconic brand returns to give its name to the four-round CSCC Wendy Wools

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Special Saloons and Modsports series. The triple header series finale held at Mallory Park on the weekend of October 6-7 will be one to remember. Snetterton traditionally starts the CSCC season. This year, we tried the 200 circuit for a change, with the layout more closely resembling the “good old circuit”. Those long straights played to the strengths of the high-powered cars, with Dan Williamson using his 7.4-litre, V8 Corvette to good effect to win the CSCC Adams & Page Swinging Sixties Group 2 race, ahead of Raymond Barrow’s 5.7-litre Camaro. Silverstone came next, in May, and saw a return to the Wing for all 10 CSCC series. With membership, registration and race entry fees frozen for yet another year, grids have continued to burst at the seams, with a club record of 408 entries! The CSCC Racetruck Open series enjoyed a full grid of 44 entries, plus reserves. With high-powered Caterham and 1960s classics sharing this grid, it was vital that all drivers showed each other respect. With just two retirements — both with

mechanical difficulties — it was a typically clean and fair race. Group 1 overall victory went to Mathew Evans (E46 M3), with Group 2 going to Tim Davis (Caterham CSR). A packed one-day Oulton Park meeting in early June brought victory to Dominic Malone in his well set up E46 M3 in the CSCC RSV Graphics New Millennium series for post 2000 cars. Meanwhile, father and son duo, Colin and Steve Simpson, took the win in the CSCC Tin Tops; earning them and their Peugeot 206 RC a 30-second winners’ penalty for the rest of the season! What a scorching summer it has been, with temperatures uncomfortably hot at times. The Spa Summer Classic meeting was dry and thankfully cooler than the UK for the 240 CSCC entries. Nine of the CSCC series were in action, together with the Spa 3 Hours classic endurance race.

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The paddock atmosphere was excellent, with a wellattended club BBQ. Those who experienced podiums at this fantastic Belgian circuit will have memories that will last forever. This included Harry Senior, who stood on the top step for the CSCC Gold Arts Magnificent Sevens Group 1 race (Caterham Supersport) and Perry Waddams, who enjoyed a double race victory in the Advantage Motorsport Future Classics (TVR Tuscan). Brands Hatch brought all 10 of the CSCC series back together. The one-hour CSCC Mintex Classic K race was won comfortably by Richard Wheeler and Ross Curnow; the pair using this race as a shakedown before taking a well-earned overall win at the Silverstone Classic later that month. The temperatures caused a high attrition rate but did little to dampen the enthusiasm and smiles in the

paddock. The CSCC Cartek Motorsport Modern Classics once again had a capacity grid with reserves. Gavin Dunn (E36 M3) just took the chequered flag, one second ahead of the rapid Masarati brothers (911 Turbo). Eight Lotus Elise S1s took part – a great sight to see – with David Ellesley and Lee Dendy-Sadler coming out on

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top to take the class win and sixth overall. Our Thruxton meeting and Brands Hatch GP race will have taken place by the time this issue goes to press. That just leaves Donington Park GP on 15-16 September, Mallory Park on 6-7 October and the much anticipated Magny Cours on 19-21 October. ■

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Mid Season

REVIEW

750 MOTOR CLUB fter a hugely popular debut in 2016 and subsequent 2017 season, this year saw the launch of the 750 Motor Club’s Cartek Club Enduro as a championship for the first time. The three-class formula for production sports and saloon cars has gone from strength to strength, with large grids at each meeting so far. With three power-to-weight classes to allow eligibility for a huge variety of machinery, teams contest for both overall and class honours at the end of 2018. It is the pairing of Steve Hewson and Matt Nossiter, in their budget-conscious Class C E36 BMW 328i, that currently tops the standings, after taking three wins out of four available to-date. Also enjoying a successful and busy season is the Endurance Financial RGB Sports 1000 Championship. Re-branded for 2018 to reflect the Formula’s evolution over the past 17 years. From road-going, bikeengined kit cars to fully-fledged sports-racing cars, these

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standard 1000cc superbikepowered machines run on control Yokohama treaded tyres (no slicks allowed) and rival British Touring Car Championship lap times, whilst being the UK’s most affordable championship for sports-racing cars. Spire GT3-S driver and defending champion Billy Albone currently tops the points standings as the season heads into its second half, but he is still being pushed all the way by multiple former Formula Vee Champion Paul Smith, having gelled with the Mittell MC-53 machine since his debut in the formula in 2017. This duo was joined at the sharp end at Cadwell Park in July by touring car legend and Le Mans podium finisher Anthony Reid, who was keen to not only return to the Lincolnshire circuit for the first time in more than 30 years, but also sample RGBS1000 racing action after a track test earlier in the year. The Raceparts Historic 750 Formula series has enjoyed bumper grids so far in 2018; these diminutive Austin — and

Reliant-engined racers offer a staggeringly good value for money introduction to historic racing. New regulation changes, including control tyres and camshaft for the Reliant cars, has brought the field closer together. With plentiful eligibility for other small capacity machines of a similar ilk, it’s almost sufficient to trouble the grid sizes at some venues. Christian Pedersen is always a strong contender in his supercharged Austin Seven “Miss Green”, but former sprint ace Simon Boulter has shaken up the order somewhat in his freshly rebuilt Reliant-engined “Time 3b”, taking back-to-back

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wins on his debut earlier this season. Any notion that decades of experience is essential to success in club racing can be discarded in the current Demon Tweeks | Yokohama Locost Championship standings, where it is circuit racing novice Mark Burton who tops the table by a healthy margin after securing victory in six of a possible nine races to-date in 2018. A runaway victory is however never a given in the slipstreaming action that characterises Locost racing and the former Toyota MR2 sprint racer sits just ahead of a raging three-way battle behind

between 2017 title contenders Martin West and Ben Powney, and former Superkart racerturned instant Locost race winner Louis Wall. Another circuit racing novice also leads the way in the Royal Purple Hot Hatch Championship, where Michael Winkworth has put his autograss grounding to good effect to finish all eight rounds so far on the Class C podium in his Citroen Saxo, the bulk of which were on the top step. In Class B, a journey over from Malta for each meeting hasn’t been to the detriment of Honda Civic driver Rodren Vella’s 2018 campaign.

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He leads the class and sits on equal, overall Championship footing with Winkworth. Although, with former Clio 182 Championship driver Phil Wright now gaining ground after getting to the bottom of a lingering engine issue in his Civic, this battle could go all the way. It is however all to play for in Class A, where it is Integra DC2 driver and former MG Metro Champion Ben Rushworth who leads, despite early season mechanical woes and sharing the Pembrey and Cadwell Park spoils with North East-based Civic EK driver Stephen Sawley. ■ W W W. M OTO R S P O R T D AY S . C O M

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Mid Season

REVIEW

MSVT (TRACKDAY CHAMPIONSHIP) s this Summer Annual goes to print, Motorsport Vision Trackdays (MSVT) will have just closed the door on the first half of the 2018 season. Round four of both the Trackday Trophy and the Trackday Championship (TDC) coming to an end at Oulton Park in mid-July. Trackday Trophy has had a stellar year to date, with capacity grids at each round. This has been twinned with fierce racing up and down the field. Competition has been the key to the successes of this season and you don’t have to look further than the atmosphere in the paddock to see the competitors enjoy their time on circuit together. This may be “gentlemen racing” but it is far from amateur! Nine different class winners and nine different class poles from the nine class race starts so far. Only twice in the first three rounds has pole in class been converted to a class win. Trackday Trophy is only half of the story though, as 2018 introduced the perceived “difficult third album” of TDC. Instead of stalling and stagnating, TDC has continued to evolve and find new inspiration. It expanded in 2018 to allow more cars

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in each class and has moved into new territory with a first European round, Zandvoort in the Netherlands coming the weekend of the 7th October. This season brought many new teams to the TDC, resulting in increased competition on the circuit. This has been reflected in the first three events, where we have seen 12 different class winners from 15 class finishes, with pole in class having only been converted to a class race win on just four occasions. So far, the season has been marked by a run of big events. Opening at Donington Park on the National circuit, the heavens opened during the TDC Class S and A race, shaking up the field. The Class A cars found their pace against the more powerful Class S machinery in the wet conditions. Only for the second time in TDC, we saw a Class A car take the outright win, as 2016 Champion James Britton steered his Whiterose Racing BMW to victory. A feat only previously achieved by Callum McDougal and Ben Simons in the Frugal Racing Caterham at Rockingham on their way to the 2017 Championship. Round two came in the form of the MINI Festival at Snetterton, where the Trackday Trophy saw a class pole to class win from Boreham Motorsports’ Alex Miller in his MX5 from

a 13-strong Class D field. The Festival crowd also witnessed a great individual effort from Tylah Motorsport’s Dean Hyde, who took the Class C E30 BMW to class victory and third outright. Silverstone National was the site for the third round of the season. The 2017 Class B winner Gary Burstow was at the front of the TDC Class B, C and D grid in qualifying, staying in that position in the race. This made Burstow the first double winner of the season and the only person in MSVT’s 2018 racing portfolio to convert pole to a win twice. Although not able to claim class pole, Supatune Motorsports’ Phil Burden joined Burstow in the double win standing, recording a second win of the season in TDC’s Class D. Oulton Park is sure to set the scene for the second half of the season. The Cheshire circuit crucially marks the last time where there are more points going forward than have been allocated in the 2018 season to date. However, the season now splits as TDC takes on Brands Hatch Grand Prix (18 August) and Zandvoort (7 October), while Trackday Trophy goes to Cadwell Park (15 September) and Rockingham (30 September). Both formats join together again for the season finale at Brands Hatch (10/11 November). ■

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MISSION COMPLETE n the fifth and final of a planned series of lap record attempts across Europe in 2018, Honda has set a new 2min 10.19sec record for a front wheel drive production car at the Hungaroring GP circuit in Hungary. The Civic Type R was driven by Formula One World Champion and current NSX Super GT driver, Jenson Button. The track holds special significance for Button, as the circuit where he won the first Grand Prix of his career with Honda in 2006. The Hungaroring circuit is a twisty and narrow 4.38km track with 180degree corners and a complex chicane, making it one of the more technical tracks in Europe. However, this proved to be a perfect demonstration of the Civic Type R’s Adaptive Damper System, delivering a firmer, flatter ride and greater agility for high performance handling around the tight circuit. Alongside the suspension system, the unique steering setup and improved aerodynamics enabled Button to secure the lap record for Honda at the Grand Prix circuit. Speaking about the lap record, Jenson Button said“We came here to the Hungaroring, where I won my first F1 race in 2006 with Honda, to set a new

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front-wheel drive production lap record in the new Type R, and I’m very happy that we did it!” Commenting on the Type R itself, he added “The first thing I noticed when I left the pit lane was how neutral the car was. I come from a background that is not front-wheel drive focused, so it was very different for me but because the Type R is so well balanced it was instantly really enjoyable. “The thing that surprised me most is how late you can brake with this car. The manual gearbox works really well, too. Most cars these days don’t come with manual boxes, so it’s nice to have that manual feel. You always feel a lot more connected to the car.” Honda set the original benchmark time for Hungaroring during a similar challenge in 2016, using the previous generation Civic Type R. This new benchmark time is the fifth front-wheel drive lap record set by Honda in The Type R Challenge 2018, achieving the objective set out by the challenge, which was thought up after the Type R became the fastest front-wheel drive production car ever round the Nürburgring Nordschleife in April 2017, with a lap time of 7mins 43.8secs. These six

records cement the Civic Type R’s position as the quickest car in its class. Newly engineered from the ground up to deliver the most rewarding driving experience of any Civic Type R, this latest generation Civic development programme is the largest in Honda’s history. The high performance hatchback remains the quickest and fastest accelerating car in its class, lent to a combination of its lightweight, highly rigid body shell and unique dual-axis strut front suspension system, which reduces torque steer and conquers hard cornering. The Type R retains the heritage of Honda’s high performance hatchback bloodline and is the fastest accelerating and quickest car in its class. Button finished with: “This new Type R is a mega bit of kit, as they always have been, and it’s definitely not lost any of its charm.” ■

PRO-AM SUMMER 2018

9 -1- 2 = 6

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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 6TH OVERALL WIN!

www.MediaTel.biz | Fotos: KW/Gruppe C photography

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