MSA Autumn 2011

THE

MAGAZINE FOR BRITISH MOTOR SPORT

AUTUMN 2011

READER AWARDS

PICK 2011’S BEST GEAR, EVENTS AND MORE SEE PAGE 21

KRIS MEEKE YUMPS TO IT

WHY MINI’S WRC STAR WAS BORN TO RALLY

PLUS

KIRKISTOWN'S RICH HISTORY PREPARING FOR AN EVENT BUYING COMPETITION BOOTS INSURING YOUR PRIDE AND JOY

KARTING

THINK IT’S CHILD’S PLAY? TRY AGAIN… POLITICS

FIGHTING FOR MOTOR SPORT IN GOVERNMENT

HOW THE MSA IS LOBBYING ON YOUR BEHALF

“This is my time” David Coulthard

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“THE G40R, A RACE CAR FOR THE ROAD”

“It’s a road-going version of a fast, affordable club racing car. As such, it’s aimed at the sort of person who likes the idea of blowing away badly driven Ferraris at track days, having spent a 10th of the budget [£29,950 OTR] and having driven to the circuit under his own steam.”

STEVE SUTCLIFFE AUTOCAR

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this issue

Contents

66

07 Forum

58 Performance

The lifing debate continues

ON THE

COVER

Marcus Simmons gets prepared

10 Action replay

61 My mistake

Drag racing with Roger Moore

13 Briefing

Kris Meeke’s Mini takes to the air at Rally Finland in July, shot by LAT/McKlein.

Full feature on p32

British Grand Prix news, and more

65

62 Ask the experts

28

Our specialists get technical

19 Club news

65 Gear

All the latest from local groups

MAGAZINE FOR

BRITISH MOTOR

Ginetta G40R, hand-made holdalls, plus guides to boots and insurance

20 Gear of the year

AUTUMN 2011 THE

SPORT

READER AWARDS BEST

PICK 2011’S GEAR, EVENTS AND MORE SEE PAGE 21

Cast your votes in the first MSA magazine reader awards

70 National court

25 Opinion

Four wheels good, two wheels not so bad, reckons Simon Arron

74 Simon says

Colin Hilton reveals the MSA’s work behind the scenes KRIS MEEKE IT TOWAS SSTAR YUMPWRC WHY MINI’S BORN TO RALLY

PLUS

HISTORY KIRKISTOWN'S RICH EVENT AN PREPARING FOR TION BOOTS BUYING COMPETI PRIDE AND JOY INSURING YOUR

KARTING

THINK IT’S CHILD’S …

PLAY? TRY AGAIN POLITICS

FIGHTING FOR MOTOR SPORT IN GOVERNMENT

LOBBYING HOW THE MSA IS BEHALF ON YOUR

CoverV2.indd 1

01_MSA_Aut11_

Julian Bailey confesses to Matt James

44

27 Talking heads

Karts to cars: when is too young?

22/08/2011 11:49

28 Karting

Robert Ladbrook discovers a sport for all age groups

32 Cover story

The UK’s new WRC hope Kris Meeke talks to Oliver Owen

38 Navigating

David Evans sheds light on the dark art of road rally route-plotting You can’t pick and choose your opportunities. I have one now and I plan to make the most of it.

All the experience I’ve gathered over the years is perfect grounding for now Kris Meeke’s big chance, on p32

42 Tabletop rally

Crack out the map for John Pickavance’s navigation challenge

44 Future rally stars

Dan Prosser on when Team UK met Skoda UK at Goodwood

CONTRIBUTORS

49 A day in the life

Tracey Morley, Croft circuit manager

50 Politics

Matt Youson on the wheels within wheels of motor sport lobbying

54 Place notes

Kevin Turner visits Kirkistown

56 Go see

Seven of the best upcoming rallies

Dom Romney was Renault MSA Young Motor Sport Photographer of the Year 2009. He shoots all aspects of motor sport, with a focus on drag racing.

Ben Anderson is editorial assistant for a certain little magazine called Autosport, and is a former MSA Young Motor Sport Journalist of the Year.

Oliver Owen interviewed Kris Meeke for this issue. Oliver was deputy sports editor of The Observer and is now a freelance sports journalist.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 05

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letters

Forum

facebook.com/msauk twitter.com/msauk

We thought our inbox was pleasantly full after

We want to know your thoughts on any motor sport issues you think we should cover.

Email us at msa@ thinkpublishing. co.uk

the Spring issue of MSA, but we have been bowled over by the response to our second edition. The subject of the lifing of components has sent so many of you racing to your keyboards that unfortunately we can only print a small number of replies. But for the latest news on the issue, turn to page 13. And if you have any suggestions for topics to cover in our “Talking Heads” page, let us know.

We don’t just want this magazine to be a great read – we want it to stir debate, too.

One reader bemoaned the lack of rallying content in the Summer magazine – fair point. We’ve saved it for this edition instead! As the weather turns chilly, it’s time to celebrate the muddy glory that is British rallying. Don’t miss David Evans’ piece on navigational rallies (page 38).

Having recently seen over 40 cars take part in a VSCC event, my eyes have been opened to this entry-level branch of the sport – and we’ve even set you a mapreading challenge you can do from the warmth of your kitchen table (page 42).

We’re hunting for drivers who compete on a tight budget, be it in trials, crosscountry or karting. If you’re a shoestring racer, send a brief outline to msa@ thinkpublishing.co.uk and you could be starring in the next issue. Until then…

Gemma Briggs

Houston, we are ready for lift off.

Petter Solberg is strapped down

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

EDITOR’S LETTER

YOUR THOUGHTS!

LIFE ON THE ROAD? Interesting article on lifing of components. Personally I’m against it but as soon as I see those in favour of lifing replacing the seatbelts in their road cars at set times I’ll change my view. Any volunteers? No? Thought so...

Paul Greener

CONDITION NOT AGE As a club competitor on stage rallies, I think the lifing of seats and belts is ridiculous. Having bought the best seats and belts I could at a cost of £1,700 for two seats and two belts, they then sat in my house for 18 months whilst I finished building the car. The car has done three tarmac rallies since, competed for 18 months, a total of 112 competitive miles, and the seats and belts are now three years old! The car is kept washed, polished and in a centrally heated, dehumidified garage between rallies. In these circumstances lifing only benefits the salesmen of such commodities.

Paul Doroszczuk

EVIDENCE REQUIRED I’m afraid Colin Barnett’s support of the lifing of seats and harnesses doesn’t hold up. He explains lifing, correctly, as being related to the number of duty cycles. But

this is not what he is supporting in the proposed regulation changes. Effectively the changes are introducing an arbitrary “use by” date unsupported by any evidence of the effects of ageing on the specified components.

Indeed, I understand the evidence of ageing on seat belts already supplied via Rallies Committee suggests that ageing has little or no effect on efficacy up to the 20-year limit of the tests, and 11-year-old belts performed rather better than either new or 20-year-old belts.

I am unaware of equivalent evidence, either way, on seats. Perhaps Mr Barnett could enlighten us? Seats are the bigger concern because of the much higher cost of replacement and the potential for unintended consequences.

Many clubman crews building new cars for log-booking or replacing non-FIA seats are actively trading down from fibreglass and composite unitary construction seats to the cheapest “tube and webbing” buckets they can find with an FIA badge.

Contrary to his assertion that he would rather see hundreds of harnesses thrown away than one life lost, this move is likely to see crews on limited budgets (by far the majority) sitting in the flimsiest of seats when they next visit the scenery.

Martin Shaw Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 07

letters WASTE OF GOOD COMPONENTS

RISK ASSESSMENT I have only recently ventured into motor sport, but I have experience as a rock climber and as a safety engineer for a defence company working with fast jets, where some of my work involves the lifing of safety-critical systems.

I believe lifing is essential to maintain the level of risk that competitors are exposed to. The public (most competitors included) may not know the subtleties of lifing safety and may expose themselves to higher risk than is necessary. I am keen to keep costs down, but I don’t want safety to be adversely affected for those who will use a harness to the bitter end.

Use after homologation expiry dates should be allowed, but the circumstances should be controlled and the risks to competitors should be highlighted.

Matthew Weeks

SUMMER ISSUE FEEDBACK

And it wasn’t only the lifing issue that made you put pen to paper...

events recently. Have a look at the Motoscope Northern series.

Dave Holliday

letters At 16, Ross Westgarth is the youngest full MSA champion

SPRING ISSUE FEATURES FEEDBACK IN THE LAST ISSUE, WE ASKED WHETHER THERE ARE TOO MANY JUNIOR CATEGORIES...

Yes, I think there are. I have been suggesting to organisers for years that they amalgamate series on lap times rather than regulation compatibility.

That way racers can run to their existing series regulations, but in the same race as others. With full grids, after a couple of laps, little battles go on throughout the field, which is more entertaining for drivers and spectators!

David Thomas

TOP READ

COMPETITION WINNERS CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF OUR SUMMER COMPETITIONS. SILVERSTONE CLASSIC TICKETS WENT TO DANIEL BLOGG FROM LEICESTER, LG BENTLEY FROM LEEDS, BRIAN ROWLAND FROM FAREHAM, ERIC STANLEY FROM SOUTH MOLTON AND SUZE ENDEAN FROM TILBURY. CLAIRE LAYTON FROM BANBURY PICKS UP A STILO DOUBLE HELMET BAG, AND JOHN JOHNSON OF CHICHESTER WILL BE TAKING HIS PLACE IN AN ARIEL ATOM 300 DRIVEN

BY LUKE HINES

Received the new MSA mag this morning and it’s great! I think the MSA should consider offering it for public consumption, as it’s a great read for sport anybody who is interested in motor pages but doesn’t want to wade through Is of car tests and price comparisons. scribe?

Simon Arron going to be a regular I very much hope so!

Michael Ashcroft Editor: Yes, you can read Simon’s column on the back page of every issue.

GREAT, COVER TO COVER

great!

You asked for feedback: absolutely a mag An excellent spread of topics and cover that I was interested to read from to cover, including the adverts.

Gordon Elwell

NOTHING NEW

‘The MSA magazine for British Motor Sport’ dropped through my letter box today. What does it offer that Autosport or Motorsport News doesn’t? Erm, nothing. What does it offer that the various club magazines don’t? Erm, nothing. Would I even dream of paying good money for it? No. Stop wasting your time, my time and my money.

COMPETITION WINNERS

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED THE SPRING ISSUE COMPETITIONS. PHILIP ARCHBOLD, FROM BUCKINGHAMSHIRE WINS THE TW STEEL WATCH AND STEVEN CRAGGS, FROM COUNTY DURHAM AND DEBRA OXTOBY, FROM WEST YORKS EACH WIN A DUKE DVD BUNDLE.

Roger Bromiley Editor: Unfortunately, we’ve had to shorten Roger’s letter, but we do hope future editions may change his mind.

EDITOR

Gemma Briggs PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF MSA BY:

Think The Pall Mall Deposit 124-128 Barlby Road London W10 6BL Tel: 020 8962 3020 www.thinkpublishing.co.uk

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION (MSA)

THE PIECE ‘HOW THE BIG CAT LEFT ITS MARK’ BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES FOR ONE READER...

Having been a supporter of motor sport for many years, the article about the Jaguar D-Type was very interesting to me, as I was a marshal at Snetterton in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

I remember several of the drivers who drove the D-Type, as you mentioned, including Salmon, Sargent, Charles, Brooks, Major Baillie and Sieff.

Regarding marshalling, in my day, we had no fireproof

ART DIRECTOR

Scott Bentley

NEWS EDITOR

Tim Swietochowski CHIEF SUB-EDITOR

James Debens ADVERTISING

Adam Lloyds (adam.lloyds@ thinkpublishing.co.uk)

or protective overalls, but just turned up in jeans. There were no safety barriers to hide behind – we just had straw bales!

Ron Green

OUR ARTICLE ON FITNESS STRUCK A CHORD WITH ONE KARTING COMPETITOR WITH AN EXTENSIVE, FIVE-DAY EXERCISE ROUTINE...

REFERRING TO THE 1947 JERSEY ROAD RACE you say on page 41

I am currently competing in the LKRC Rotax Max championship at Fullbeck. As a club competitor on a very limited budget, I know I am probably never going to progress further than club-level karting.

However, I love my sport and I always want to ensure that I can get 100 per cent out of my kart and, just as importantly, out of myself! I spend nearly all of my spare time training – I have a full-time job, so often I wake up, go to work, then the gym, get home at 9pm, have dinner and go to bed, repeating the same process for the rest of the week.

Training has made me a better driver: I feel more competitive, more confident, more alert and my results keep improving. But most of all, I really enjoy my sport so much more now.

Michael Ward

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Duncan Johnson PUBLISHER

Ian McAuliffe PRINTED BY: Wyndeham Press

Group Limited, which holds to the ISO14001 environmental management system. MSA magazine is printed on 90gsm UPM Finesse Silk.

JOE WILSON

I think lifing needs to be addressed urgently. Whilst safety is of importance to everyone, it is surely time to stop consigning perfectly good seats and belts to the bucket simply because they are out of date. I think it would be more sensible for seats and belts to be inspected by scrutineers for signs of damage and wear on event. This would avoid perfectly good – and often seldom-used – seats and belts being binned unnecessarily.

Alan Gardiner

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED

BY THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MSA. EQUALLY, THE INCLUSION OF ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS MAGAZINE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES CONCERNED BY THE MSA.

06 www.msauk.org Summer 2011 27/05/2011 18:36 05-06_MSA_Sum11_Letters.indd

10

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT MR BROMILEY [LETTERS, SUMMER ISSUE] HAS GOT IT WRONG – the only person who is wasting his money is himself. If the new magazine offers nothing that he can’t get by spending money on two other publications then I assume that he also finds that there is nothing that it doesn’t offer. Therefore why buy the other two when you can get this one for free? Excellent mag, keep up the good work.

John Upstone

that “Reg Parnell won the first post-war motor race in the British Isles at St Helier”. I suppose that is literally true. Nevertheless I saw Parnell racing his 4cl Maserati on 10 August 1946. He finished second, three seconds behind Bira (who was driving his C-type ERA – Hanuman – I think), in the first post-war motor race held in the British Isles at the Ballyclare Circuit in Northern Ireland. Bob Gerard (B-type ERA) was third. Congratulations on the transformation of the MSA magazine! It is now readable. Please maintain elements both of history and of historic series.

Guy Stock

BIG IMPROVEMENT! DISTINCT LACK OF RALLYING ITEMS IN THE SUMMER EDITION. How about

EDITOR

Gemma Briggs PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF MSA BY: THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION (MSA)

Think The Pall Mall Deposit 124-128 Barlby Road London W10 6BL Tel: 020 8962 3020 www.thinkpublishing.co.uk

08 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

ART DIRECTOR

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER

NEWS EDITOR

PUBLISHER

Scott Bentley

Tim Swietochowski SENIOR SUB-EDITOR

Alec Johnson

ADVERTISING

Adam Lloyds (adam.lloyds@ thinkpublishing.co.uk)

Duncan Johnson Ian McAuliffe

PRINTED BY: Wyndeham Press

Group Limited, which holds to the ISO14001 environmental management system. MSA magazine is printed on 90gsm UPM Finesse Silk.

LAT PHOTO / SILVERSTONE CLASSIC

Seatbelt safety has come on quite a bit…

doing something on the low-cost championships, which is where the newcomers to the sport are likely to start?

Much more informative than the fantasy world of WRC, which has lost the plot. Historics have been the saviour of many club (and BRC!)

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED

BY THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MSA. EQUALLY, THE INCLUSION OF ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS MAGAZINE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES CONCERNED BY THE MSA.

V2 Classic Manufacturers of SNELL and FIA approved helmets

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DATA BURST

WHEN: 25 April 2011 WHERE: Santa Pod Raceway WHO: Roger Moore CAR: Dodge Viper EVENT: Easter Thunderball WEBSITE: www.msadragracing.co.uk

Moore took his maiden victory in the MSA British Drag Racing Championship, setting a career-best elapsed time of 6.732 seconds, at a terminal speed of 207.05 mph. “I’ve been drag racing for over 20 years, beginning in the lower classes and working my way up to where I am now,” says Moore.

MODERNPICS.CO.UK (DOM ROMNEY, RENAULT MSA YOUNG MOTOR SPORT PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2009)

Moore’s 2000 Dodge Viper is powered by a 12-litre “big block” Chevy V8 petrol engine with nitrous oxide injection, which churns out around 2,000 horsepower.

10 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

action replay

You’re so concentrated on driving the car that you don’t really notice the g-force or the acceleration

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org

11

news

IN THIS

ISSUE:

British Grand Prix; Motorsport Week; MSA trophies

Briefing talking heads

A MIGHTY TURNOUT FOR THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

IS THE LIFING OF COMPONENTS NECESSARY? lifing of

An investigation into extending the how rally car harnesses has thrown light on the integrity of components is protected

Ministers, royalty and a record crowd at a stunning weekend A thrilling race capped a successful British Grand Prix weekend for the MSA, which hosted ministers, Lords and Parliamentarians, and also welcomed HRH Prince Harry, who presented the famous grand prix trophy to Fernando Alonso.

Also at Silverstone were five Secretaries of State – Philip Hammond (Secretary of State for Transport), Jeremy Hunt (Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport), Kenneth Clarke (Secretary of State for Justice), Michael Moore (Secretary of State for Scotland) and Cheryl Gillan (Secretary of State for Wales) – plus Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and UnderSecretary of State for Transport Mike Penning.

Other guests included Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport; Lords Rooker, Astor of Hever and Drayson of Kensington; and MSA Honorary President HRH Prince Michael of Kent GCVO. On race day, Penning joined MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton, FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Ambassador for Road Safety Michelle Yeoh, and Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul Di Resta to support the FIA’s Action for Road Safety initiative.

Hilton later applauded the event’s 1,100-strong volunteer workforce. “I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of this year’s From top: Prince grand prix for their dedication and Harry presenting the commitment, not just at Silverstone trophy to Fernando Alonso; Nigel Mansell but across the country throughout with Prince Michael the year,” he said. of Kent; the Action for Road Safety team To find out how the MSA works with politicians, turn to page 50.

315,000

The record number of fans who visited Silverstone over the 2011 British Grand Prix weekend

Every hard brake application or heavy landing represents an unrecorded duty cycle and we can all think of crews in which one member is twice the weight of the other. While most cars are lovingly cherished Martin Chinnery, between events, many more are Colin Barnett, Association of South left in the state they finished MSA Technical Eastern Motor Clubs the previous outing. In my Commissioner day job, I’ve witnessed just how seriously the strength of The use of lifing is webbing straps is compromised The compulsory lifing debatable because the and by even minor damage of components is a main criterion should be the neglect, and there’s only one affecting issue, sensitive quality, not quantity, of that way for even an expert to tell two areas of great interest life. The Rallies Committee by just how much they heard that a car may to competitors: their health have been compromised not be involved and their wealth. Apart from – and that’s by in an accident vehicle homologation, the WHAT DO destructive testing. necessitating the principle of lifing is only YOU THINK? When dealing We want to know your replacement of used for safety-critical items, with safety-critical thoughts on whether the lifing the belts, but notably seats and harnesses. of components for safety is equipment the impacts The issue is in focus now at msa@ us Email necessary. with so many sustained in because of a proposal to thinkpublishing.co.uk intangible factors, Turn to page 64 to heavy landings allow the use of rally car the worst case has learn how to fit your would put the same harnesses for up to six years as safety harness considered be to stress into them. beyond their FIA-homologated the norm. Certainly, Lifing has less expiry date. perfectly serviceable The integrity of the harness relevance for the ordinary harnesses will be discarded, is arguably the first line club competitor because the but I’d rather see a hundred of defence in any serious frequency of use could be harnesses thrown away than accident and the majority of once or twice a year in one life, especially when the the, thankfully, few lifea 1,000cc Micra compared to cost of a reputable-brand, sixchanging injuries sustained in 12 or more events in a fullpoint harness is similar to motor sport can be traced to house WRC car. a tank of petrol. failures of seat or harness.

NO

YES

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

MSA

Motor sport at every level from Formula 1 to club racing must target driver safety

The views expressed by the individual

contributors are not necessarily those

Under the current rules, the Micra may have to replace the seats and belts after four events – clearly a serious barrier to that competitor continuing. But the WRC car would be able to use them for perhaps 50 events. Although the owner may have chosen to replace ahead of this, they are not required to do so, especially if the scrutineers use the life regulations to avoid making a confrontational judgement on the condition of the seats and belts.

In reality, it is not a problem if the Micra’s components are used for a further five years. But the WRC car would be safe only if the scrutineers made a proper assessment in the later years of the period. This means the life regulation has no relevance to its safety. And all this takes no account of the storage conditions – anything from a heated, clean garage to being left on a trailer during damp, cold weather.

We should remove the lifing aspect of our regulations to avoid this unnecessary burden on competitors.

21 Summer 2011 www.msauk.org

of the MSA.

27/05/2011 18:08 21_MSA_Sum11_TalkingHeads.indd

23

MSA GRANTS SEAT REPRIEVE FOR 2012 SAFETY Following an extraordinary vote passed by the Motor Sports Council, competitors will not be required to replace their FIA homologated seats next year.

From 1 January 2012 the following new Regulation will come into effect: “(R)48.10.6.1. For any vehicle issued with an MSA Competition Car Log Book prior to 1st January 2009, the requirements of R48.10.6. are satisfied until 31st December 2012. This is provided that the seat(s) have previously been FIA homologated and in addition the seats have the appropriate seat mountings in accordance with R48.10.6.”

“This issue has generated substantial correspondence from competitors and a considerable amount of debate at Regional Association meetings in recent months,” said MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton. “This new Regulation will allow a further 12 months to consider how best we move forward in the future.

I would like to reiterate that the responsibility for the safety of a competitor lies exclusively with that competitor.”

Visit www.msauk.org/news for further information.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org

13

Howard Davies, presenter of S4C’s Ralio+ and the man who navigated Gwyndaf Evans to the 1996 MSA British Rally Championship title, is now developing and promoting the sport in North Wales as Go Motorsport’s latest Regional Development Officer (RDO).

There are ten RDOs tasked with taking the Go Motorsport message into schools and colleges across the country, while also working with clubs, associations and venues to promote motor sport in their areas.

“Having enjoyed a colourful and successful life in motor sport, I’m delighted to have this fantastic opportunity to share my enthusiasm and adventures with the next generation of potential participants,” said Davies.

“Hopefully I can inspire many of them to get involved – that’s why I’m so keen to put something back into the sport.”

According to MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton, Davies’ appointment carries added importance because of this year’s revised Wales Rally GB route, which features stages in the north of the country (see MSA, Summer 2011). “This is a very important time for rallying in the area,” said Hilton.

“Howard will be a great asset in helping to generate serious interest in all forms of motor sport, particularly among the younger generation.”

To contact your local RDO or to arrange a school visit, email info@gomotorsport.net

14 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

WEBBER AND FRANCHITTI PICK UP MSA SILVERWARE AWARDS

Honorary trophies presented to top drivers

Two of world motor sport’s leading lights, Mark Webber and Dario Franchitti, have been given honorary trophies by the MSA. At the British Grand Prix MSA Chairman Alan Gow handed fellow Australian Webber the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy, which is presented annually to the highest-placed British or Commonwealth driver in the previous year’s Formula 1 world championship.

Meanwhile MSA General Secretary Rob Jones headed to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to award three-time IndyCar Series champion Franchitti the Sir Malcolm Campbell Memorial Trophy, which recognises excellence in motor sport by a British individual or group.

Rob Jones presents the trophy to Dario Franchitti (above); Alan Gow with Mark Webber (below)

CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN UK AND FIA RALLY CARS RALLYING Rally cars built to FIA historic specifications may become eligible for UK events if a trial green-lighted by the Motor Sports Council succeeds. As part of the trial, cars with FIA Historic Technical Passports (HTPs) had their own class at the recent Ulster Rally; they will also be able to join this year’s Trackrod Rally Yorkshire and the Roger Albert Clark Rally, after which the MSA Historic Committee will make recommendations for regulation changes to the MSC. “FIA and MSA regulations on historic cars have gradually been coming together over the past few years,” said Historic Committee chairman Rod Parkin. “The aim of this trial is to see whether cars can be built to one set of rules that allows them to compete in both UK and international events with only minor safety modifications, the intention being to boost the number of entries for events.”

GETTYIMAGES

FORMER BRC CHAMP DAVIES TO PROMOTE THE SPORT IN NORTH WALES

news

NEWS IN BRIEF TANZANIA IS LATEST STOP FOR MSA TRAINERS

TRAINING The Automobile Association of Tanzania is the latest National Sporting Authority to receive training from the MSA, which is one of just three FIA Institute Regional Training Providers. The MSA team met 56 delegates from seven regions of the African motor sport community, as well as representatives of the police and civil emergency services.

F1 snapper Drew Gibson’s photography masterclass

APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR RENAULT MSA AWARDS

BRITISH MOTOR SPORT GOES CENTRE-STAGE RECRUITMENT Motor clubs, venues, grand prix teams and the media threw weight behind this year’s relaunched National Motorsport Week (NMW), a nationwide celebration that culminated at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the run-up to the British Grand Prix.

The MSA teamed up with the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) to revitalise the initiative this year, aiming to shine a light on the sport for the benefit of the entire community.

“We have celebrated the UK’s worldleading motor sport industry,” said MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton. “We have drawn attention to less well-publicised parts of the sport and we have helped to attract new recruits to our clubs and events.”

UK-based Formula 1 teams welcomed the winners of Go Motorsport contests to their headquarters, and four fans also won the chance to become pit crew members with Mercedes GP at Goodwood, and Team Lotus at a straight-line test.

Factory tours at Fort Dunlop and WRC squad M-Sport’s Cumbria base were heavily oversubscribed. “We are always keen to raise awareness of rallying – and motor sport as a whole – as it is a genuine UK success story to be proud of,” said M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson.

MotorSport Vision and Club MSV ran a range of activities, such as a photography masterclass with Formula 1 snapper and former Renault MSA Young Motor Sport Photographer of the Year Drew Gibson, and gave three female engineering students a chance to work on high-speed

machinery at Oulton Park with engineering team leader Sophy Owen. Jonathan Palmer’s organisation also offered discounted ARDS tests for non-race licence holders.

Some of the UK’s biggest media outlets got on board to raise awareness of the sport: David Coulthard shot an NMW film for the BBC’s grand prix coverage (see MSA, summer 2011), with BBC Radio 5 Live, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, The Sun, Autosport and Autocar also providing exposure.

Meanwhile, Go Motorsport Regional Development Officer Richard Egger worked with a number of motor clubs to create bespoke activities (see page 19).

“The MSA thanks all those who engaged with National Motorsport Week 2011 and helped make it a great success,” said Hilton.

“Our focus now shifts to next year, and ensuring that we build on this platform for the good of British motor sport.”

DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES The MSA and MIA are pleased to announce that National Motorsport Week 2012 will run from Saturday 30 June to Sunday 8 July 2012.

More on National Motorsport Week 2011 can be found in the July edition of MSA News, available at www.msauk.org

AWARDS Anybody wishing to apply for the 2011 Renault MSA Young Motor Sport Journalist and Photographer of the Year Awards should email media@msauk.org.

Entrants must have been aged 25 or under on 1 January 2011; the closing date for entries is 11 November 2011. The winner of each award will receive a trophy and £1,000 at the Night of Champions in January.

BARC TO PROMOTE BRITISH HILL CLIMB

HILL CLIMB The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) will take over from Speed Championships Ltd as promoter of the MSA British Hill Climb and Hill Climb Leaders Championships from 2012. The five-year appointment follows an open tender process that was launched by the MSA earlier this year.

“We are delighted to have been given this opportunity,” said BARC chief executive Dennis Carter.

STUTTGART UNI WINS FORMULA STUDENT 2011

ENGINEERING The University of Stuttgart was crowned Formula Student 2011 winner at Silverstone in July. The competition challenges universities from across the world to design, build and race their own cars. The top British entry this year was the University of Hertfordshire, in third place.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org

15

news

TWO-DAY WORKSHOP FOR NATIONAL SQUAD

MY MOTOR SPORT ENGINEERING A Q&A with Audi Sport’s Leena Gade, who this year became the first female lead engineer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours

Was it always your ambition to become a motor sport engineer?

which has trained the likes of Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Heikki Kovalainen.

“Louise made me think about how I interact with journalists,” said 17-yearold Team UK racer Alex Lynn, who has dominated Formula Renault UK this year. “She also showed us a ‘how not to do it’ interview with Jason Plato, and it wasn’t until she told us that I realised he was acting! I was pleased with my physical assessment too, as my scores were twice as good as my last test in March. It’s an important area for me because I’m looking to step up to Formula 3 next year.”

RED BULL TOUR FOR BSKC VICTORS KARTING The winners of this year’s British Schools Karting Championship (BSKC) enjoyed a tour of Red Bull Racing’s Milton Keynes headquarters, before spending an afternoon in Arden International Motorsport’s race simulator.

Altrincham Grammar School for Boys pupils Max McGuire, 17, Zubair Hoque, 14, and Alex Wilson, 15, beat 450 teams from 176 schools to win the BSKC, a national arrive-and-drive championship for school and college students aged 13 to 18.

“We had a fantastic day,” said McGuire. “Winning was a real teambuilding exercise. We’ve had amazing support and I feel immensely proud that we won on behalf of our school.”

The 2012 BSKC starts in January and finishes on 27 March at Daytona, Milton Keynes. To register, visit www.bskc.co.uk

What is your career background?

After studying aerospace engineering at Manchester University I worked for Jaguar Cars and then MIRA, which I left in 2006. I’d been working on the side as a mechanic and data analyst in Formula BMW and A1GP, and one day I had a call from Howden Haynes, a senior engineer at Audi Sport. He asked me to be his assistant, and it wasn’t until I met him faceto-face that I realised he was talking about working on the Audi R10! I spent a couple of years focusing on Audi’s various sportscar programmes with Howden, and then late last year I was made a lead engineer.

How does it feel to be the first woman to race-engineer the winning car at Le Mans?

It’s great to highlight the fact that women can excel in engineering; there have been many other female race engineers who just haven’t had the opportunity to work for teams that are capable of winning a race like Le Mans, such as Audi. But on the other hand it makes no difference that I’m a woman, because I’m here to do a job and that’s that.

How did you react when your car took the chequered flag?

Howden was with me and the first thing he said was that he was proud of me, at which point I did the girly thing and burst into tears!

He was so happy to see that the gamble he’d taken by making me a lead engineer had paid off. My number two Audi R18, driven by Benoît Treluyer, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer, had taken pole position, set the fastest lap and won the race. It still hasn’t sunk in.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org

17

DAVID CLERIHEW/RED BULL CONTENT POOL AUDI PRESS OFFICE

MSA ACADEMY Team UK, the elite drivers at the pinnacle of the MSA Academy, gathered at Silverstone’s Porsche Performance Centre for a two-day training session, overseen by National Race Coach David Brabham and his rally counterpart Mark Higgins.

The drivers worked on their media skills with Louise Goodman, a presenter of ITV’s BTCC coverage, and focused on data analysis with veteran race engineer Andy Miller.

There were also anti-doping and time management seminars, and each squad member was put through a two-hour fitness assessment with VO2,

It was my goal from as young as 13, when I started following Formula 1. At the time my sister, Teena, and I were introduced to a family friend who was an engineer, and from then on motor sport engineering was what we wanted to do. Teena now engineers Kris Meeke’s Mini in the WRC.

CREDIT

18 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

news CLUB

EGGER WHIPS UP CLUB SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL MOTORSPORT WEEK

FOCUS

CLUB GETS INTO THE SWING OF NMW

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Dukeries Motor Club open its doors for National Motorsport Week and looks ahead to its 53rd rally

Any forward-thinking club keeps membership numbers high on its agenda, so many used National Motorsport Week to reach out to the uninitiated. One such group was the 57-year-old Dukeries Motor Club, which hosted a well-attended Q&A session for non-members.

“We’ve long had a steady membership of around 140, but we’re always thinking about how we can attract new members,” says club secretary Bob Draper, a Dukeries MC member since 1976. “That’s why we think National Motorsport Week is so important. With this year’s relaunch, NMW coincided with one of our club nights so we decided to make it an open evening for non-members, which we promoted with a flyer in the Dukeries Rally programme, on the event website and in the local press. I’m pleased to say we signed up

some new members and we’ll soon be thinking about our plans for next year.”

The Dukeries Rally is one of UK motor sport’s oldest events, having run for 52 years in a row; Draper has been clerk of the course for the past 17. “It started as a road rally but incorporated stages from 1967,” he says. “Our stages may not be the most challenging in the UK, but we’re always commended on our preparation and organisation, and it’s an event we’re proud of.”

All are welcome at Dukeries MC’s club nights, held at Mansfield Rugby Club on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

CALLING ALL CLUBS! Send your news to media@msauk.org and it could appear in MSA magazine.

RECRUITMENT Richard Egger, Go Motorsport’s East Midlands Regional Development Officer and a stalwart supporter of grass-roots motor sport, brought a number of MSAregistered clubs into the National Motorsport Week fold, despite the late confirmation of this year’s revised dates.

“I sat down and wrote a list of clubs which I thought would be receptive of National Motorsport Week,” he said.

“The range of activities they came up with was eclectic, from car displays at country fairs, to taster days and novice events. There were all sorts of marketing ploys too, from local radio advertising to ‘bring a mate for free’ offers.”

Successfully using NMW to promote the sport and sign up new members were: Accrington MSC, Airedale & Pennine MCC, Allwoodley MC, Bristol MC, Dukeries MC, Eastwood DMC, Farnborough DMC, Knutsford DMC, Lancashire & Cheshire CC, Lindholme MSC, Liverpool MC, Omagh MC, Oxford MC, Peterborough MC, Rugby MC, South Wales AC and Warwickshire Drivers MC.

NEWS IN BRIEF

CMWI.NET

100 NOT OUT FOR TUNBRIDGE WELLS

CLUBS MSA Technical Director John Symes handed an MSA Centenary Award to Tunbridge Wells MC chairman Norman Redhead at a celebratory gathering in honour of the club’s 100th anniversary. “TWMC is to be congratulated not only for reaching 100, but also for continuing to offer club competitors many opportunities to enjoy motor sport in a number of different disciplines,” said Symes.

FOREST EDGE KART CLUB EVENT RAISES £10K FOR SOLDIERS

CHARITY The second annual Help for Heroes Charity Festival, round five of the Forest Edge Kart Club Championship, attracted 218 karters and raised £10,600 for the soldiers’ charity.

Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson lent his support, saying: “Having served in the army myself, I know that this money makes a huge difference and it could not go to a more worthy cause.”

LIVERPOOL MC SUPPORTS STUDENT COMPETITION

STUDENTS Liverpool Motor Club is helping to run the North West heats of this year’s Greenpower Corporate Challenge, a competition for school and college pupils to design, build and race environmentally friendly cars. LMC has helped Greenpower run heats at Aintree since 2008; as well as providing marshals and recovery units, the club awards a trophy for the best heat performance.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 19

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reader awards

MSA magazine

Reader Awards Questionnaire We’ve now taken in all your feedback and have compiled the categories and shortlist you wanted. Please take this opportunity to tell the sport what you really think and champion the success stories that have turned UK motor sport into what it is today – make your vote count Venue of the year Blue Hills Mine Glan y Gors Lydden Hill Silverstone Snetterton

Event of the year

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If you’d prefer not to cut up your pristine edition of MSA magazine, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/msareaderawards2011 to take part online.

Date 2011 www.msauk.org 21

reader awards

WIN!

Tweeter of the year Alice Powell Dario Franchitti Katherine Legge Scott Malvern Tom Chilton

Send us your completed questionnaire for a chance to win one of the following fabulous prizes:

Best motor sport book, DVD or game

eed for Speed: N Shift 2 Unleashed Red Bull Racing F1 Car: Owners’ Workshop Manual Le Mans 2010 Review – DVD Magic of the Mille Miglia, the World’s Greatest Road Race, Anthony Pritchard No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone, Tom Bower

One of three pairs of Wales Rally GB Saturday Day Passes, including a car park pass www.walesrallygb.com A chance to join Luke Hines around Silverstone in an Ariel Atom 300 www.gprdirect.com One of three Duke DVD prize bundles www.dukevideo.com

Photographer of the Year

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who helped compile the shortlist – this is the first year of the MSA magazine readership awards and your feedback counts.

Jakob Ebrey Colin McMaster Greg Pajo Mark Writtle Roy Dempster

To be entered for the prize draw either vote online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ msareaderawards2011 or fill in the questionnaire and send it, with the form below, to: MSA Reader Awards, Think, The Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS Send the competition code [MSA magazine – Reader Awards 2011] with your name, address, telephone number and questionnaire to Think, The Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL or via email to msa@thinkpublishing.co.uk. No purchase necessary. One entry per person. Check the terms and conditions in full at www. msauk.org. Promotion closes at 11.59pm on 24 September 2011. Promoter: Think, The Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL. Open to UK residents only aged 18 or over

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opinion

HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW? The MSA is working hard across the sport, yet perhaps the greatest challenge is trying to explain it all to the membership, says Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive The role of a National Governing Body (NGB) has

evolved beyond all recognition in the past 15 years. Almost without exception, governing bodies these days are staffed by highly experienced, skilled staff and the organisations themselves are run more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

For years, the MSA was concerned solely with the administration and regulation of the sport. The overarching objective in this area is to establish a level playing field (through the Regulations) on which competitors can enjoy their motor sport as safely as possible, with an established form of resolution (judicial system) if a dispute arises. Broadly speaking, this remains the MSA’s primary objective, and a huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make this possible.

Yet to govern in the 21st century, an NGB has to do more than make the rules and enforce them. The increasing challenge is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the sport, improve participation numbers and secure commercial backing to ensure that as a company it is able to invest in its future development. In short, it has to lead.

The MSA’s Whole Sport Plan was designed to achieve just that. It focuses on three key areas: increasing participation, supporting the infrastructure, and identifying talent.

Go Motorsport continues to gather momentum, and this summer’s National Motorsport Week was a great success in

Forest access is high on the MSA’s agenda

We also know that there is enormous value in British drivers achieving success at the highest international level, and it is only sensible to do all we can to assist the most promising young talent in this country.

Despite the widespread misperception, the MSA does not have a great deal of money to throw at this issue and we have had to work extremely hard to secure funding partners to assist with our aims.

As well as the Whole Sport Plan initiatives, the MSA is engaged in a raft of activity that is essential in its role as NGB.

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

We want you to be able to get on with your leisure time unencumbered by potential problems.

We are doing all this so that you don’t have to generating widespread coverage of motor sport, at both grass-roots and elite levels, to attract newcomers to get involved. The schools programme is taking the motor sport message to young people across the country and the benefits of the Regional Development Officer network are starting to be felt.

This will have an impact on the club structure that underpins the entire sport. If we can help clubs to attract more participants, members, volunteers and spectators, we will be securing their future and that of the sport.

This magazine is the latest development in the MSA’s communications overhaul and we know from your feedback that it has been well received. More importantly, various channels now enable the MSA to communicate better with its membership than ever before and we hope to address the website next year.

Much of the MSA’s work goes on under the radar of the majority of competitors and volunteers, and that is entirely as it should be. We want you to be able to get on with your leisure time unencumbered by the potential problems that might be lurking

in the distance. We are doing all this so that you don’t have to.

The excellent article on page 50 highlights this point perfectly. There are some big issues at stake at the moment with Westminster and, for the most part, we are working away behind the scenes. If we publicised our discussions we would have no chance of being bringing them to a successful conclusion.

Sometimes, however, we do need to mobilise the troops to demonstrate that we are not the lone voice of a governing body.

The forestry topic is one such example.

A handful of people inevitably responded to our call to action by saying “I thought that’s what we paid the MSA for”. I can assure you that we have been working on this issue since the end of last year, but when the independent panel asked to hear the views of individuals, we had to encourage the motor sport community into action. We are delighted that so many agreed to speak up and get involved.

I do believe that we are making progress in communicating what the MSA is doing on your behalf. But more importantly I know that we are working harder on your behalf than ever before.

If you want to know chapter and verse, it is all there for you. But my suspicion is that most people don’t really want to know; you’d much rather just get on with the next event.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 25

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talking heads

Small beginnings: is karting a vital building block or a needless delay?

ARE KARTERS MAKING THE JUMP TO RACING TOO EARLY?

YES

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Martin Hines, Boss of Zip Kart

I think that young racers need to complete their education in karting before getting behind the wheel of a racing car.

The skills that a young driver can hone in a kart will stay with him or her for the rest of their career.

To cut off that level of development while they are in the middle of the learning process and put them into a junior racing category seems senseless.

Drivers aren’t fully formed at the age of 14 and they change a lot in terms of maturity and the way they use their minds, which alters the way they race.

I think drivers shouldn’t be allowed to race until they are 16 years old, but even that can be too young for some.

It is up to the individual and I would advocate that some drivers would benefit from being held back Simon Hill, even further.

Television commentator If you look at all the best racing drivers – and even rally drivers such I think letting young as the late Colin McRae – people race from the their background has been age of 14 is a great way of made up of a long stint making sure the talent has in karting. time to flourish and grow, Even for younger rally and there is definitely drivers, it is a place a place for it in UK WHAT DO they can learn motor sport.

YOU THINK? about car control You can We want to hear from before they step help a young anyone with a view on kids into a proper driver develop and karting, so email us at competition technique if he msa@thinkpublishing.co.uk And turn the page now to machine. or she is racing find out about the There is a from a young age. category’s more trend to push young There are things mature converts drivers as hard as you can only learn you can as young as when you are behind the you can, but that just means wheel of a racing car – things that they miss out on a vital like weight transfer and those building block in their career kinds of dynamics. Those are development. areas that you have to get a

The views expressed by the individual contributors are not necessarily those of the MSA.

NO

natural feel for and it is not something you can develop when you are in karting.

With the right tuition and guidance, a 14-year-old can handle a racing car perfectly adequately.

I do agree that there needs to be more honesty from team owners and, in some cases, the parents themselves.

If their child isn’t skilled enough, they need to make sure that there is a full test programme in place before they race. But it seems some team managers are just too keen to take the money and let the kid get behind the wheel.

Maybe a stricter form of ARDS test would help root out this particular problem.

There has been some debate that there are a higher number of accidents in junior racing, but that always happens with younger drivers. In times gone by, the drivers would still have those accidents but they would be happening at higher speed in something like Formula Ford or Formula First.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 27

karting

To the casual observer it’s the first step for young, aspiring racing drivers. But, as Robert Ladbrook reveals, karting for adults is on the rise

be about the next big prospect in the junior classes – but there is another story that is largely untold. It centres on the mass of adults choosing to get involved – or even to ply their trade – in this branch of the sport.

Recently a growing number of adults have taken up the grass-roots side of the sport, dispelling the idea that karting is just for kids.

In fact, karting hasn’t always been about young talent. When it started in the UK, at the end of the Second World War, it was the preserve of adults. It only became accessible to younger drivers in 1987 when Martin Hines’ Zip Kart company launched the Cadet Class, which catered for drivers as young as eight.

While classes like Cadets continue to thrive today, numbers in adult categories dipped after the influx of younger, fitter drivers. But a change in the climate of karting in the UK over the past decade has bucked that trend.

What’s happened to spur adults back into the sport? Hines explains that the biggest factor is the accessibility of modern karting.

“Karting was an adult-only sport when I started out; lots of people have forgotten that,” he says. “There was a time when almost all of the focus was on the promising kids. Karting always used to be a niche sport, so when these great young drivers started 28 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

coming through it got labelled as a kids’ sport, but that was never the case.

“The biggest swing came in 1982 when I joined up with Bob Pope and Martin Howell, who ran Playscape. We opened the world’s first indoor karting facility and ran it out of an old bus garage in Clapham! It allowed people who had never thought of trying a gokart to get involved easily. It opened the sport up to an entirely new audience and turned out to be the turning point karting needed.”

Since Playscape’s first centre opened, arrive-and-drive karting has boomed across the UK and the globe. It’s allowed millions of adults to try motor sport at its most simple, and arguably most challenging, level.

Daytona Motorsport, formed in 1990, is one of the most recognisable outdoor karting brands. Its tracks at Milton Keynes, Manchester and Sandown Park, Surrey, bring in over 130,000 drivers every year, and have seen a year-on-year increase in senior drivers.

Daytona manager Jim Graham says: “The rise in popularity of corporate karting about ten years ago has been a big factor in getting more adults into karting. Corporate karting boomed because it was a cheap stress-buster and a good thrill. But it allowed large groups of people to experience the thrill of racing.

“We capitalised on the popularity by launching our DMax Championship, geared

From businessmen in old bus garages to professional superkarters on full-size outdoor circuits, there’s plenty of variety to karting

CREDIT

Look at a page of karting news and most of the headlines will

CHRIS WALKER – KARTPIX.NET CREDIT

Karting can take a lot of the effort out of competing and make motor sport very accessible

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 29

karting Size doesn’t matter: increasing numbers of adults are moving from car racing to the accessibility and thrill of karting

he increase hasn’t just been in nonchampionship karting. Easykart is one of the UK’s leading entry-level MSA-sanctioned championships, and is open to arrive-and-drive and ownerdriver entries. It runs classes for senior and heavyweight drivers, and a typical meeting might attract 170 competitors in three classes.

Easykart promoter John Vigor says: “A large number of our Easykart drivers have been there and done it in circuit racing and are looking for something to do primarily for fun, but with a competitive edge.

“We’ve got guys who have raced Caterhams and Radicals for years but now they have a family and a job, and carting a car and trailer around the country isn’t viable. That’s where Easykart thrives because we can transport drivers’ karts to and from each meeting and maintain them. We take a lot of the effort out of competing and make it very accessible.

“People outside motor sport wrongly believe that karting is for kids: one of our races would be a real eye-opener. Of our 45 heavyweights, 42 are over 25. We also have 18 older drivers in our grid of 48 lightweights.

Around 190 of our 250 members are adults.

“We have drivers ranging from the young father who never raced in his life to the middle-aged driver who gave up on the 30 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

Formula 1 dream long ago and now just wants to compete and pursue his passion.

A lot of adults are waking up to karting as an easy, viable way to go racing.”

Indeed, some sectors of karting remain dominated by adults. Numbers of senior drivers in both 125 and 250cc gearbox karts, which race on both long and short circuits, vastly outweigh those of younger drivers.

Ian Rushforth is a coordinator for the British Superkart Association. He says: “Superkarts definitely appeal more to older drivers and around 80 per cent of our grid in both the 125 and 250cc classes will be seniors.

“Superkarts tend to attract older drivers because they take a lot of engineering input,

shunned car racing and has picked up five major British titles. The 28-year-old earns a living driving for Paul Fletcher Racing and competes globally in the KF1 and KF2 classes.

“When I started karting I had the same ideals of getting to Formula 1, but pretty soon you get older and realise that only a few make it,” explains Litchfield. “There’s a lot of pressure moving up. You can be a champion in karting but if you’re not at the front of a car racing grid it’s tough to keep your reputation.

“I see an increasing number of young kids going to cars early, but a lot of them come back to karting later in life because they miss the purity of the racing and the buzz.

“I love karting and I’m incredibly lucky to earn a living out of what I do. The level I’m at takes me all around the world and I learn something new every time I go out for a race or a test. That’s the magic of a karting career.”

Even Hines himself relented to the temptation of competitive senior karting. He resurrected his own driving career and won his last European title aged 56 back in 2002.

I once put Michael Schumacher in a Zip kart, and when he got out he had the biggest grin on his face and many younger drivers are more interested in driving than in fettling their kart between sessions. Superkarts are also a real alternative to cars. A 250cc superkart offers Formula 3 performance for a fraction of the money.”

Equally, the number of younger drivers in the sport is declining. Circuit racing series like Ginetta Juniors and rallying categories like Junior 1000 have made switching to cars easy as soon as a driver is 14. But there is a solid career to be made in karting.

Mark Litchfield has become one of the most successful karters of his time. Having started at the age of eight in the Cadet class, Litchfield

“Nobody is ever too old to start karting,” Hines adds. “I’ll always argue that it’s the greatest form of racing in the world and I’ve yet to see anything that matches it for competitiveness, pure skill and enjoyment.

“I once put Michael Schumacher in a Zip kart for a day. It only had a beat-up old Honda engine in the back but when he got out he had the biggest grin on his face.

“I’d encourage anyone to get in a kart on a track like Whilton Mill. It’ll be the best day’s driving they’ve had. You never stop learning in a kart and that’s why it is, and always has been, such a vital part of motor sport.”

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC / CHRIS WALKER – KARTPIX.NET

towards older drivers. We invested in a fleet of Birel chassis with Rotax Max 125cc engines.

They are real racing karts, and they drew in loads of older drivers who realised they could have the same calibre of kit that they spent thousands of pounds running years ago for a fraction of the price in an arrive-and-drive series. As a result I’d say 50 per cent of our registrations in the series are aged over 40.

“Ten years ago 70 per cent of our income would have come from corporate events, now that’s more like 40 per cent.”

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profile

SITTING PRETTY

ris Meeke is looking a little awkward.

He is standing in his shoes and socks and wearing a wetsuit. “It’s a bit smelly,” Dave Wilcock had warned as he lobbed the offending Billabong garment to Meeke. Wilcock, the Mini WRC Team’s chief engineer, grinned as Meeke wandered off to get changed.

In the car Meeke looks more at home, but he can’t be comfortable.

He is sitting on a block of wood, a bit of cardboard and a polythene bag of liquid foam. His face suggests that a seat-fitting is best conducted in private.

Meeke adopts his driving position and stares at the whitewashed wall in front of him. “Keep the throttle down,” urges Wilcock. “Floor it. That’s how 32 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

you try to drive.” Meeke won’t be going anywhere for a while and there is a clear sense of frustration.

“You always look at the bigger picture,” says Meeke from his stationary Mini Countryman WRC. “I’ve worked all my career to get into the World Rally Championship and try to achieve in it, and I’ve eventually got my opportunity in a factory team. I firmly believe that we are approaching it in the right way.”

The approach of Prodrive, who run the Mini rallying operation, is just six events this year before a full-blown assault on the World Rally Championship in 2012.

“You need a year to 18 months to develop a car ready to fight at the forefront of the world championship.

To take in six events as part of our test programme is something that I think is the right way to approach it,” explains an on-message Meeke. “It’s frustrating because we’re competitors and we want to compete but we have to look at the bigger picture and we are definitely approaching it the right way. That approach will bear fruit next year.”

Meeke is cautiously optimistic that by the sixth and last event of a truncated campaign, the Wales Rally GB in November, he and the Mini WRC Team will be near the front of the field.

CREDIT

His career may have had as many stops and starts as your average WRC round, but now Kris Meeke is in the hot seat he’s not looking back, says Oliver Owen

CREDIT

profile

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 33

profile “There are two aspects to it: there’s the car and there’s myself,” says Meeke. “It’s my first time in a sustained programme at this level. It is the world championship. The top five drivers at the moment are at a different level to everyone else and it’s going to take me time as a driver to learn that rhythm, to learn that tempo. At the same time we have to develop the car and keep pushing on all fronts. There are those two sides to it, but Rally GB should be a good gauge, especially this year with it venturing onto new territory, which limits the experience factor for the other guys. That’s good because when you are going into a rally where guys like [Sébastien] Loeb have done the stages eight or nine years on the trot you are going to struggle to keep up on pure experience, never mind your car or driving ability, but Rally GB should be a good indication of where we are.”

Does he feel the gravel stages in Wales will be to his advantage?

“To be honest I have no real preference,” he says, somewhat dismissively. “I’ve been as successful

Rallying was the family’s bread and butter. For all I know I was probably conceived at a rally throughout my career on Tarmac as on gravel. As long as I’m at the sharp end it doesn’t really matter.”

Kris Meeke was born in Dungannon in 1979 and it is no surprise that the softly spoken Northern Irishman became a rally driver, though his route was hardly straightforward. His father Sydney is still considered to be the doyen of rally engineers, but his mother Carol was also involved in the sport.

“My dad wasn’t a driver, but he did a few road rallies back in the seventies,” explains Meeke. “My mum competed in several as well, against my father and beat him. Maybe it came from my mother’s side as much as from my father’s. Rallying was the family’s bread and butter. For all I know I was probably conceived at a rally. Rallying was the conversation around the breakfast, lunch and dinner table.”

As a child Meeke followed the sport as best he could and did all the things that a rally-obsessed boy would do.

“I was completely hooked,” says Meeke. “I remember the long-haul rallies like Argentina, the only way we had to listen to it was reports on 34 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

BBC Radio 5. You were tuned into the wireless and Ceefax. Hitting the refresh button on Ceefax… we had no internet back then. I was totally hooked.”

Was it only rallying that had him grappling with page 360 of the BBC’s teletext service?

“I liked all motor sport and we’d sit down to watch the Formula 1 but I’d get up in the middle of a race and walk away from it,” he recalls. “I wasn’t glued to it like I was with rallying. That was something that captivated me and I think it was so much in the family from a young age. From when I was two or three I had stickers all around the headboard of my bed and posters in my room. Colin McRae was the big poster right above my bed. Before that my father was running the Opel team in Spain and back then Carlos Sainz was just starting out. In the late eighties and early nineties he was still doing the Spanish championship and I remember he was one of the first stickers I had up in my room… but shortly after that Colin McRae came on the scene.”

The 1995 world champion would go on to become a massive influence on Meeke the driver, but before he ever got behind the wheel, there was Meeke the engineer. After leaving the Royal School in Dungannon he enrolled at Queen’s University in Belfast to study mechanical engineering.

“I think it was common sense from my dad’s point of view,” Meeke says.

“He had seen the ups and downs of the sport, with car manufacturers coming in and out. My dad was nearly bankrupt in ‘86 through investing a lot in rallying and all of a sudden everyone pulls out.

There was a recession and he was left high and dry. I think he hammered into me that I needed an education behind me because not everyone can follow a career as a driver and succeed.”

After graduating Meeke landed a job as a designer at Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport in Cumbria. It was there that he first met McRae. It was also then that he graduated from drawing board to dashboard. In September 2000 his mother Carol was terminally ill with

Left to right: Meeke wielding his 2009 Autosport Rookie of the Year award; at the Trackrod Rally in 2003; on his way to victory in the German leg of the JWRC 2006

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 35

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CREDIT

New website launch Autumn 2011 Check out the roll cage selector

profile cancer and one of her last wishes was that her son should attend a Peugeotsponsored find-a-driver competition at Silverstone Rally School. Kris won and two days later Carol died.

The journey from competition winner to full-time WRC driver hasn’t been smooth, but McRae’s mentorship stood Meeke in good stead. “He never coached me how to drive,” says Meeke, his voice quiet as he talks about the friend who died in a helicopter crash in 2007. “We talked about it but he never actually sat in the car and showed me how to drive it. He was very much a believer that you develop your own skills. We talked a lot about how you approach it, the mental side, how you prepare. There was no one more experienced than Colin. We came from a similar background. He grew up with his family involved in rallying. He was more a life coach than an actual rally coach. He helped open doors to create drives for me. That’s what you need as a young driver. It wasn’t a coaching role, it was more guiding me through all the obstacles you can fall into. There were so many things that I took on board from him that I carry with me.”

Despite early successes the obstacles came thick and fast. After winning the British Junior Championship in 2002 Meeke graduated to the Junior World Rally Championship the next year. He showed plenty of speed over the next three seasons but the title proved out of reach as crashes and ill-fortune took their toll. For a few years Meeke found himself in the rallying backwoods.

There was the occasional drive – and

A Mini adventure: checking out the intimate details of Meeke’s Countryman WRC

WALES RALLY GB: A RETURN TO SACRED GROUND

MINI PRESS OFFICE / LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

After a two-decade gap, some classic rallying runs are being returned to service in November’s upcoming Wales Rally GB. There’s excitement in the air for local organisers When Kris Meeke says that Wales Rally GB is venturing onto “new territory”, he probably should have qualified that by saying it will be new territory for the current crop of WRC stars. The first day of competition when the rally starts in November will be held on some of world rallying’s most sacred ground. The two runs along the Great Orme Toll Road have not been used in Britain’s round of the World Rally Championship since 1981 and the stage at Clocaenog is back after a break of 15 years.

“It has always been a firm commitment of Wales Rally GB to innovate and bring new thinking to the British round of the FIA World Rally Championship,” said Andrew Coe, chief executive of Wales Rally GB’s organiser, International Motor Sports Limited, when the route for this year’s event was unveiled back in April.

“We are doing that this year by visiting a far larger part of Wales, as well as some of the most iconic stages in rallying history.”

The seeds for a return to North Wales were sown two years ago by Alyn Edwards, who is clerk of the course of the Cambrian Rally. That event was held just eight days before Wales Rally GB in 2009 and Edwards advised the WRC teams that it would be a good chance to “see a local, national, great British rally”.

Several teams took the chance to take a look, with Mads Ostberg winning the rally and Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mikko Hirvonen also taking part. “It was such a success,” says Edwards.

“We had 19-20,000 spectators, the feedback was amazing, the stages were brilliant and it was the talk of Cardiff the following week.”

Edwards, who is coordinator for day one of Rally GB, is confident that the stages in North Wales will attract huge spectator numbers. “The catchment area is huge,” he says.

“You’ve only got a twohour travel from Leeds, Carlisle, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

We’re expecting absolutely thousands to come to the area.”

win – but teaching in a rally school was how he was making ends meet.

In 2008 his career finally regained its upward profile when he landed a drive for Peugeot UK in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge in 2009. Marc van Dalen had run Meeke in the JWRC and was prepared to give him another chance. “I had faith in him. He just tried too hard in the past – he thought he had something to prove and tried to be fastest on every stage.

But I did not expect him to win the championship, not in his first season,” said van Dalen after Meeke clinched the title at the first attempt, nine years to the day after his mother’s death.

That IRC title was the turning point.

A couple of mute appearances in Peugeot television advertisements got his face recognised by the public but it was his sheer speed that landed him a factory drive in the WRC, even if he did have to wait until he was 32.

“You can’t pick and choose your opportunities,” says Meeke. “I have one now and plan to make the most of it. I feel ready. All the experience I’ve gathered over the years is perfect grounding for now. Marcus Grönholm didn’t get his first opportunity in a world rally car until he was 31 and he became a double world champion and a legend in the sport. Nothing says entering the game at that age is a hindrance. Sébastien Loeb didn’t get his first chance in a world rally car until he was 29 and he’s not done so bad.”

In the Mini WRC Team’s workshop at Prodrive’s Banbury headquarters there is a flurry of activity around Meeke’s now jacked-up Countryman. “It’s burst,” Meeke calls out, fearful that the polythene cushion is leaking liquid foam. “It suddenly shot forward.”

Wilcock peers in but can see no leak.

“Maybe it just found somewhere new to go,” he says calmly. Meeke relaxes in his wetsuit, grips the wheel and stares ahead to a distant point in his mind’s eye. His right foot is flat to the floor.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 37

CREDIT

navigation

38 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

MARKS THE SPOT

CREDIT

Where can you pick up the multitude of skills required to co-drive? Try road rallying, says David Evans

If somebody mentions a herringbone to you and your

first thought is either a fish or a nicely cut jacket, road rallying might not be for you.

If, however, your first thought is a brainbending junction which takes all your speed, aptitude and ability to suss, you’re already in the game.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of Britain’s finest co-drivers, your Saturday nights are not going to be your own. Instead they will be about Ordnance Survey maps, tulip diagrams, three-metre triangles and, quite literally, the right approach. The reward for getting it right in the short-term is a trophy and a bacon sarnie on Sunday morning. In the longer-term, a first-class road rally co-driver has everything he needs to make it to the top of the sport.

Nobody knows that better than 2003 World Rally Champion Phil Mills. Mills spent his early years in the lanes around his home in Wales, learning his craft. He then moved further afield to compete in road events in Yorkshire and Derbyshire before switching to stage rallying, where he scored the ultimate goal.

“I did 155 road rallies in the early days,” says Mills. “I started when I was 16 and I’d be out every weekend or every other weekend. It was fantastic and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I did without navigating on those events.

Road rallying teaches you everything Autumn 2011

www.msauk.org 39

navigation and arms you with the skills you need to succeed at WRC level.”

Inherently, co-drivers need to be organised, level-headed and composed. At the grass-roots, road-rallying level of the sport, the co-driver’s job is vital. But, as they progress, the spotlight switches to the other side of the car, as the driver becomes the star. This is unfair, as the driver still relies enormously on the person calling the corners from the seat alongside them – and reading pacenotes (the pre-prepared notes which describe the road ahead) is a true dark art: think reading the newspaper aloud while sitting inside a tumbledryer. The drivers take all the plaudits for winning rallies, with their colleagues often only talked about when they make a mistake. A prime example of this was when Miikka Anttila called the wrong note to JariMatti Latvala in Sardinia earlier this year; the Finns barrelled their Fiesta into a left-hander two gears too high and rolled. Co-drivers can appear to

be the perennial bridesmaids – but extremely hardworking ones at that.

But in road rallying the driver takes a back seat. With so much weight on the navigation side, it’s the one without the wheel who can win it. The organisers of road rallies provide a set of route instructions at the start of the event and these will include a variety of controls which have to be made at a precise time and from the correct direction. Road rallies are set at a low average speed, but the twisty and rough nature of the roads means achieving that average speed and reaching the control on time is far from easy.

To keep navigators on their toes, event organisers will include different kinds of controls; some manned, some unmanned. The unmanned controls have a series of letters, numbers or symbols on a board, which have to be recorded by the navigator for a marshal to check at the next manned control. These fiendishly difficult obstacles are included to catch out the unwary. And, at two or three in the morning, it’s easy to be unwary.

Going down the same stretch of road or through the same control twice can be penalised with a fail, as can missing a control completely or arriving at it 40 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

from the wrong direction. If you’re out to win, failing is not an option.

“Navigating on road rallies really forces you to make snap decisions and to think on your feet,” says Mills.

“If you dither and have to think about which way [to go] at a junction you’re dropping time. Of course, one of the key aspects of navigating and co-driving is time-keeping, and you learn plenty about the importance of that on road rallies, not to mention map reading. It’s a fantastic feeling to call a tight entry into a farmyard track off the map and get it absolutely right. And don’t forget: you’re doing all this in the dark in the dead of night.

With more night stages coming back to the World Rally Championship, this is giving the guys with the road rally background even more of an advantage.”

Traditionally run on open public roads, road rallying went through a period of increased regulation in 1988, to lower the speeds and generally lessen the disturbance events created. The upshot of those rule changes is the sustainable, sensible and safe sport we have today.

The events tend to run to a roughly similar format, including around 100 miles on public roads and private ground – often running across farm or forest tracks. The regulations surrounding the cars are straightforward, with all vehicles

On night rallies like these the navigator can make the difference between victory and being stuck halfway up the wrong farm track at silly o’clock

CREDIT

The atmosphere at the start of the Rali Bro Caron is infectious, as the first of 90 cars heads out into the mid-winter darkness

WIN WIN WIN!

Turn the page and win weekend passes to the 2011 Wales Rally GB

CREDIT

If you fancy a free trip to the 2011 Wales Rally GB, including a car park pass, have a go at the navigation competition overleaf. Plot your route and answer a series of fiendish questions for a shot at the prize.

Wales is home to the final round of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, one of the UK’s leading sporting events. Widely regarded as the most challenging motor sport competition around, it features some of the best drivers battling it out on some of the toughest terrain.

TO ENTER Send the competition code [MSA magazine – table top] with your name, address, telephone number and answers on a postcard to Think, The Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL or via email to msa@ thinkpublishing.co.uk. No purchase necessary.

One entry per person. Check the terms and conditions in full at www.msauk.org. Promotion closes at 11.59pm on 24 September 2011.

Promoter: Think, The Pall Mall Deposit, 124-128 Barlby Road, London W10 6BL. Open to UK residents only aged 18 or over.

checked for eligibility at pre-event scrutineering. Service, often known as “petrol” (because that’s usually all the competitors need), is also straightforward: if you carry it in the car, you can use it – or you can borrow from fellow competitors.

There are a few no-nos the budding navigator should be aware of. For example, forget the mobile phone: it must remain switched off at all times.

The job in hand is to be carried out between you, your maps, your driver and the car, tempting as the sat-nav facility on your smartphone might be.

And the OS maps you use must remain unmarked. The organisers will pick out some real stinkers for junctions and there’s a temptation to circle a tricky junction to help provide some advance warning next time out.

Don’t do it.

For those desperate to become the next Phil Mills, there’s some very good news: they can make a start earlier than those longing to sit alongside them. Once you hit your 12th birthday, you can hop in and get on the maps.

But you don’t have to wait that long to practise. Under-12s just need an Ordnance Survey sheet (1:50,000 series) covering the journey, and they

can start calling the junctions and familiarising themselves with the symbols on the map.

As with any sport, a competitive spirit is a given in road rallying, but a calm nature is also vital, along with the ability to deliver instructions in a clear, concise way in high-pressure moments. Car sickness is not really an option here. Once you’ve decided it is for you, the first thing you need to do is to join a local motor club, where you’ll find plenty of members willing to show you the ropes and help you get involved.

Anybody who still thinks Saturday nights are for sleeping should try the car park of the Black Lion Royal Hotel in Lampeter on the right night in the middle of February. The atmosphere at the start of the Rali Bro Caron is utterly infectious as the first of 90 cars heads out into the mid-winter darkness.

“I did the Cilwendeg [Rally] last year,” said Mills. “That was the first time I’d been back to that event for about 20 years and I couldn’t believe how popular it was. It blew my mind – you could hardly get through the car park to the start. Road rallying is still a bit of a hidden gem, but there’s no better grounding for co-driving in the whole wide world.”

What are you waiting for?

Autumn 2011

www.msauk.org 41

GETTING BACK TO YOUR ROUTES

There’s nothing quite like a road rally to exercise your route-plotting skills – even if it’s just on a tabletop. Loughborough Car Club’s John Pickavance has set the challenge…

or our mums – to see something “from the other person’s point of view”.

It is an old chestnut that has its place in motor sport, too. While a tabletop rally (essentially a map-reading exercise) provides useful practice for rally navigators, it also gives drivers an insight into the skills required by the other half in the passenger seat. So, readers, there is no excuse for ducking the challenge!

The route is defined by features on the map, whether they be road junctions, spot heights, church symbols, contour lines or even the grid square lines. Want to know the basis for success?

Accurate plotting.

And for anyone tempted to take it a stage further, there’s one golden rule: do not actually drive the route. The roads used may not necessarily be public rights of way…

42 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

How it works

Use the clues to determine a route from Main Control 1 (MC1) to MC7, via the five Controls (TCs). You must then use your route to answer the questions for each of the six sections, to prove that you have followed the instructions accurately and gone the right way.

Of course, you will need a map, for which there are two options.

The first is to visit www.getamap. ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk.

Registration is free. Once the map is on the screen, click the “leisure” button in the top-left to reveal the grid squares, and adjust the zoom to 1km, as indicated in the bottom-right. Then use the marker tool to indicate your start and finish points for each section, and the route-drawing tool to plot your route between those two points.

The second option is to use a tangible map, in which case you will need OS 141 edition C3 (Kettering and Corby) for this particular challenge.

A point is awarded for each correctly answered question, and whoever

scores the most points is the winner.

The answers will be printed in the winter edition of MSA magazine.

The basics of navigation

The correct route is the shortest one that complies with the instructions. l Only use each road once. l The route does not cross over itself, unless it travels over or under a bridge. l Dual carriageways are two separate roads; think of them as one-way streets side-by-side. l Roundabouts are treated as a set of road junctions adjacent to each other. l The route is as shown on the map, even if the actual road is different. l ARC means “all roads count”, including the white roads, whereas CRO means “coloured roads only”.

In CRO navigation, any white road at a significant junction is shown in the instructions as a dashed line. l There are three passage controls (PCs): A, B and C.

CREDIT

We have all been told at some stage in our lives – whether by a teacher, a boss

tabletop rally

The instructions Section one

Section three

TC3 (SP 842970) to TC4 (SK 789057) CRO

MC1 (SP 710917) to TC2 (SP 810945) These are tulip diagrams, which represent road junctions you must follow. Read from left to right and top to bottom. In this case you approach from the dot and depart in the direction of the arrow.

CRO

Exit grid squares via the west (W) or north (N) in this order:

WNNWNW W W Then exit grid squares via the open side of each diagram from left to right:

PCB

1. In which county is spot height 102?

2. How many times do you cross Eye Brook?

3. In which square is PCB? 4. What cycleway is used and for how many miles?

Section four

PCA

Next, the herringbones below. The smaller vertical lines indicate the junctions that you must pass along the correct route, which is represented by the horizontal line.

ARC

1. In which grid square is PCA? 2. How many red diamonds are on the route?

3. How many spot heights and trig points are passed through, and what is their total?

Section two

TC2 (SP 810945) to TC3 (SP 842970) ARC

CREDIT

Pass through five spot heights with values totaling 429, and cross the county boundary six times.

1. How many public telephones are on the route?

2. In which square is the nearest public house to the route?

3. What is the grid reference of the gradient between 14 and 20 per cent?

TC4 (SK 789057) to TC5 (SK 740040) CRO Follow these bearings at each junction: 350, 260, 200, 290, PCC, 180, 180, 250, 180, 210, 160, 190, 330, 300, 10, 270, 270, 180.

1. How many green dots and red diamonds are passed through?

2. In which square is the nearest moat to the route?

3. In which square is PCC? 4. What is the value of the greatest spot height passed through?

5. What is the grid reference of the last gate passed through?

Section five

TC5 (SK 740040) to TC6 (SP 700981) ARC Pass only through the following spot heights and in the necessary directions where indicated: 198; 191; 175; 176SE; E168; 146; 143; 161.

1. Which squares do the route’s white roads pass through?

2. How many green dots are on the route?

3. In which square is water last crossed?

4. How many times do you cross GL72?

Section six

TC6 (SP 700981) to MC7 (SP 710917) CRO Pass through squares with the following features: moat, windmill, well, CHAMP. Note that the features do not necessarily touch the actual route.

1. What is the total value of the spot heights passed through?

2. How many halls are passed on the route?

3. In which square is the motte?

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org www.msauk.org 43

44 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

future rally stars

A CHANCE

TO SHINE

Driving a top-line rally car is a rare experience – and Team UK’s three young guns did it under the watchful eye of the crack Skoda team. Dan Prosser was there

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 45

in West Sussex, the 2011 Festival of Speed’s exhibitors begin the process of packing away the weekend’s rarefied motor sport machinery, the mind-bogglingly large show stands and the endless paddock equipment. Although the many thousands of thrilled spectators have long since left Lord March’s grounds, the excitement for three British youngsters is just starting to build.

The trees that surround the 1.7-mile gravel Forest Rally Stage will reverberate to the sound of Skoda UK Motorsport’s Fabia Super 2000 at full chat for one more day as Team UK’s promising young rally drivers get behind the wheel of the full-specification Intercontinental Rally Challenge machine.

Through a partnership forged between the Motor Sports Association and Skoda UK, Elfyn Evans, Harry Hunt, and John MacCrone, all 22 years old, are being given the opportunity to test Andreas Mikkelsen’s charge on an authentic rally stage and to meet a professional team. On such occasions are future champions born.

“We’ve been working with the MSA since the end of last season on what we can do to help further British rally talent,” explains Cathie Sleigh, head of Skoda UK Motorsport. “It began with a fair amount of concern as to why we hadn’t chosen a Brit when we were looking for a driver for our 2011 IRC campaign. The reason we didn’t hire a British driver was that there wasn’t anyone at that level. It was such a pity. I really think it’s important to help young drivers develop and to support motor sport.”

In the eyes of Skoda UK, Britain’s young prospects lacked international rally experience. “If we gave the drive to somebody who wasn’t ready for it,” continues Sleigh, “it would have knocked them back.”

Although Skoda UK therefore took the decision to employ a foreign driver with vast World Rally Championship and Intercontinental Rally Challenge experience in Mikkelsen, it also resolved to help our most promising talent to bridge the gap between the domestic series and the global circuit.

The first fruit of the MSA/Skoda UK partnership ripened on the Monday after July’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Evans, Hunt and MacCrone could hardly have hoped for better conditions in which to sample S2000 machinery; the sun baked the air to 20 degrees Celsius and the chalk-surfaced rally stage was smooth and flat, not rutted or scarred by 1,000 passes over the preceding three days.

46 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

Elfyn Evans, son of 1996 British Rally Champion Gwyndaf, has the most four-wheel-drive experience of the trio, having contested half of the 2011 BRC in a Subaru Impreza as Pirelli’s Star Driver. The Welshman took his maiden series victory at his home event, the Bulldog International Rally, on just his second outing in the TEG Sport-run Impreza.

Hunt has done the majority of his rallying beyond our shores. The Londoner was a latecomer to the discipline, having made his debut in 2009, but he’s since contested upwards of 20 WRC or IRC qualifiers. His four-wheel-drive experience extends to a single outing this year in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 on the Wyedean Rally.

MacCrone, meanwhile, had never before driven a four-wheel-drive rally car, but since he was crowned Scottish Junior Rally Champion in 2009, he’s been tipped by many as one to watch.

Andreas Mikkelsen (below) guides Team UK (bottom, left to right: Elfyn Evans, John MacCrone and Harry Hunt, with Mikkelsen) round the Forest Rally Stage

The Goodwood Forest Rally Stage was designed – by 1983 World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola, no less – to accurately replicate the demands of forest rallying and to encompass a wide variety of corner types. It’s tight,

Evans launched away expertly, snapping up to second gear with a gunshot explosion as he ventured into the woods technical, fast in places and leaves no margin for error.

To relieve as much pressure from the three drivers as possible, there was no timing system in place, no six-figure prize drive on offer and no judgemental crowd of spectators. Despite this, the unfamiliar nature of the stage and the fearsome characteristics of the Fabia S2000 made the scope for disaster difficult to ignore.

“In some ways, when you try to impress, that’s when it goes wrong,” says Robert Reid, MSA Performance Director, when asked what the Team UK drivers needed to do to impress. “At an event like this, it’s about doing what the team wants, it’s about getting experience, it’s about having some fun and it’s about giving some natural feedback. It’s about what they do out of the car as much as what they do inside the car.

“There’s a whole load of experience here in terms of the team, the engineers, Andreas and others. It’s a great environment for them to ask questions.

“In a handful of laps, there’s no way they’re going to get up to the speed of Andreas. The guys have just got to get the most they can out of this, and that does

MALCOLM GRIFFITHS

As the morning sun beats down on the Goodwood Estate

future rally stars

involve going quickly. If they pootle around in second gear, they’re not going to learn very much.”

There certainly was a need for the three drivers to dig deep and drive the Fabia as it was designed to be driven, then, but given the performance gulf between the S2000 weapon and the near-production Group N cars with which all were exclusively familiar, that would be a far from straightforward task. “This car is

much lighter, so all steering movements have a direct input to the car straight away,” said Mikkelsen. “Things happen much more quickly in the S2000. Hitting high revs before changing gear might be the biggest challenge.”

While his co-driver received tuition from Ola Floene, Mikkelsen’s experienced navigator, Evans became the first of the Team UK drivers to sample the Fabia. The Welshman lined it up on the start line with the engine blaring and launched away expertly, snapping up to second gear with a gunshot explosion as he ventured into the woods.

“The Fabia was very driveable,” said Evans after eight runs through the stage. “It does what you ask it to do. The braking performance is phenomenal.

You straightaway notice the weight of the car compared to a Group N. You feel everything.”

“With the four-wheel drive, you can control the slide under power,” added Hunt after his outing. “I got good feedback from the engineer. It’s interesting to see what I was doing with the car and relating that to how I felt in it. My braking was quite similar

to Andreas’, with a hard initial input, then tailing off as I approached the corner.”

“It was an awesome experience,” remarked MacCrone. “It wasn’t a difficult car to get into and drive. This was also an opportunity to learn how to work with foreign people as well; the language barrier is one that you’ve got to overcome in rallying.”

On hand to assess performance was Team UK programme leader and 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours winner David Brabham. “I think all the guys settled down quite quickly and asked all the right questions,” he said. “The data showed that they started changing gear later, although none of them quite reached maximum RPM on all gearshifts, which is quite common. It also showed that as the runs went on, they all got a little braver on the brakes and that they were getting on the throttle earlier.”

Not only did this exercise confirm the talent of Team UK’s three drivers, it also proved the commitment of the MSA and Skoda UK to furthering our rally driving prospects. All the signs suggest that this will be a fruitful partnership.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 47

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01/08/2011 17:29

a day in the life

BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN CROFT

As circuit manager, Tracey Morley looks after everything from toilets to traffic management of the North East circuit The visit from the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car

Championship in June is the biggest event of the year for us. The infrastructure of TELL the circuit can’t cope with the crowds US ABOUT we get at the BTCC, so we have to YOUR DAY plan things like toilets and waste – We want to hear from you need as much lead time as you people for whom motor can give to the various companies, sport is a profession, as well as a passion. Nominate so just after Christmas I start yourself – or another – at contacting them. msa@thinkpublishing. co.uk Race-day hospitality is another thing, but sadly we haven’t been able to organise this for the past couple of years.

In the North East it’s been a struggle with the recession, so extra luxuries get knocked on the head. Even without this though it’s a huge to-do list I have, which I’ve developed over the years. You just tick them off, all these little things that add up. outside onto the roads as well to see what’s On BTCC race day I arrive at the circuit happening with the traffic. just after 7.00. I need to arrive before the Once I’m happy with that, I’ll make sure crowd and make sure that the security is the pits walkabout is OK. There’s a big in place, the car park stewards are there, health-and-safety element to my job and I the ticket offices are ready to go and the always seem to be observing without even site’s been cleaned up overnight, and that realising it, just making sure things are it’s tidy and respectable. safe and aren’t going to fall over. The teams We advertise that the ticket offices open are well-used to doing this and are very at 8.00, so I’m there before the crowd, well-briefed, so there’s rarely a problem. but there’s always an amazing number of The pits walkabout was full this year – people queueing at that time, so they can wonderful to see. But trying to get everyone get their favourite place on the bank and out at the end can be difficult, as there’s set themselves up in their chairs. always an extra autograph that the public After that is a lot of monitoring. The want to get. That can be quite a long job! track always needs inspecting, so I go During racing, it’s part of my remit to around making sure nothing untoward has make sure the circuit is safe and ready. I happened. I’m driving around all the time, need to make sure the tyre barriers are put watching the roads and the flow of traffic back correctly if there’s been an accident, coming in – especially because there’s and that the tyres behind the kerbs are nothing that annoys people more than correctly placed – one or two cars spun off being held up. We have a one-way system this year into very odd places. Normally the in place at the circuit, but I have to go officials have no issue, but if there is one

Specialists in the design and manufacture of gearboxes and differentials

P O W E R

Did you pack the picnic? Taking the scenic route at Croft

then I’ll go around the circuit with them before the race to make sure it’s OK. Other than that, I’m around all the time checking what’s going on. A silly little thing this year was that we ran out of water in the main building, so we had to make sure buckets of water got to the toilets – a real freak thing that hadn’t happened for years!

I don’t see much racing at all – I’m always on the end of a radio and suddenly the day’s over. This year was a late one, around 7.50, because there had been a traffic accident outside, the police had to close roads and we had only one way to get the public out. That wasn’t helpful, and the car parks didn’t empty until 7.45.

It’s a very wide-ranging job, but the BTCC have a wonderful set-up with their paddock coordinator Derek Weller. I just have to make sure everything’s OK and we can work together on things from when they arrive on Wednesday to when everyone leaves on Sunday night.

I N T O

M O T I O N

Tel 0845 1307400 / 01732 741144 or email info@quaife.co.uk www.quaife.co.uk Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org Quaife Ad.indd 2

49

14/02/2011 14:50

Stalking the corridors of power In the modern era there’s more to governing motor sport than issuing licences. The politics of sport is suddenly a very serious business, says Matt Youson There’s plenty to marvel at in the Palace of Westminster. Sir Charles Barry’s

homage to all things Gothic drips with history and grandeur. The Cholmondeley Room is a popular haunt for receptions, allowing guests, MPs and peers to mingle while strolling along the Thames Terrace.

Today it’s largely empty: the hundreds of invited guests are mostly outside in the car park.

“You can go in, you know,” sighs the steward, but the audience are more interested in the Audi R18, the Mercedes W02 and the Ford Fiesta RS WRC. Tonight is a motor sports gala, and everyone is talking shop in front of their cars. The river will still be there later.

Officially this is the MIA’s Summer Reception at the House of Lords, though the MSA has turned out in force. Motor sport didn’t always do politics, but that’s changed recently: now it has to get involved because so much of what it depends on in turn depends on political discourse. A canapé and a chat while looking out at the Thames is just the visible tip of the spear.

Rewind a few days to the British Grand Prix, the British motor sport event of the year (with all due respect to the Wales Rally GB and the Goodwood Festival of Speed). It’s MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton’s best opportunity to bend the ears of the influential, but it’s also his biggest problem.

Persuading ministers, MPs and peers that UK motor sport needs help is difficult amid the excesses of the F1 paddock and a full house of 120,000 spectators.

“All government ever sees is Formula 1, so they assume British motor sport is awash with money. Our job is to demonstrate that 98 per cent of the sport is amateur – and it needs their patronage.”

For anyone used to thinking of the MSA as the people who hand out licences and supply scroots, it’s a shock to think of them stalking the corridors of power at Westminster. But this, says Hilton, is an essential, if largely unseen, part of the job.

“Of course we’re seen very much as a regulator because that’s what we’ve been for the past 20, 30, 40 years. That’s fine – that’s what a governing body is for – but we realised about five years ago that acting as a regulator doesn’t develop the sport. We needed to focus on the future, and do it in a structured way that

50 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

was going to help the sport grow in the UK. The first thing was to look at what other sports did – and most mature sports had a whole sport plan. We’ve got that plan now, but we realised we weren’t punching our weight with government. Sports such as football or horse-racing have a pretty high profile; motor sports didn’t, so we had to develop our public affairs skills.

We hired professionals and drew up a list of what we wanted from government, which departments we needed to talk to and how best to approach them. We developed a manifesto and we learned how to lobby.”

Of the many issues where the MSA comes under the aegis of government, two best characterise the relationship, with one demonstrating motor sport’s need to safeguard its traditional base, the other necessary to facilitate its growth. “I’m very concerned about the forests,” says Hilton, “and very excited about the possibilities of closing the roads.”

Holding events on closed roads is an issue close to the heart of most in our community. Unlike Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, local authorities on the mainland aren’t permitted to close roads for motor sport events without an Act of Parliament. It’s something the MSA would change, but for that it needs parliamentary support.

“We had some research conducted by Sheffield Hallam University,” explains Hilton. They looked at the Jim Clark Rally, the Tour of Mull and Northern Ireland, and calculated that a similar closed-road event could bring around £2 million into a local community without any public-purse expenditure.

“Based on that we put a paper together, and presented it to the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Sport and the Olympics. We set up fringe meetings at party conferences, and persuaded people to turn up by having guests like Nigel Mansell there.

Meanwhile we went out to the local clubs to make sure this was what they wanted. There were already plans to ensure that any such event would run safely, and we began to develop consultation arrangements to make sure that if closed-road events happen we won’t upset anybody. So far we’ve had approaches from 14 potential events and we seem to be building consensus in Westminster that this is a good idea.”

politics

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org

51

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politics

While mainland Britain is hoping to see closed-road legislation in the next few years, the MSA is also trying to hold on to existing events. “We are concerned about the sell-off of forests,” admits Hilton. “We’ve already seen Stang Forest in County Durham sold to private enterprise and, while all the right words were said about those who previously had access still having access, motor sport was banned. We’re using this as a test case for the new working group (the Forestry Advisory Panel). We pay nearly £1 million a year into the forests and have a concordat with the Forestry Commission that we will act in an environmentally responsible manner. We would like the conditions of any sale to state that anybody who previously had access will continue to do so.”

Fast-forward to the House of Lords, and the forestry

DOING YOUR BIT

Help the campaign to bring closed-road motor sport to the whole of Britain by writing to your local MP

sell-off is a big topic, with the MSA buttonholing many of the assembled parliamentarians. One who doesn’t need much convincing is Gavin Shuker, Shadow Minister for the Natural Environment.

“The Labour Party had concerns about the forest sell-off, not just because we thought some things shouldn’t be for sale, but also because we wanted to get right the access relationship to those forests. As a result the government had to set up an independent panel to look at the future of the forests and I’m hoping that the motor sport industry will make submissions to that. Lawmakers think about ramblers and horses; they don’t necessarily think about motor sport.

“Motor sport needs to work hard, and showcase to Parliament the work it does. Only by lobbying on issues as diverse as forestry, defence and engineering will motor sport be able to stay on top of them. There is a good minority of people in Parliament who have a strong interest, but we need to draw in more.”

Of course not every sale of woodland is a concern.

Greystoke Forest’s sale to a Mr M Wilson of Cumbria, for example, is unlikely to cause anguish. “The last thing I would have done is buy a forest and not let it be used for motor sport, but the wider picture is a big

concern,” says the M-Sport founder. Wilson is one of the big guns the MSA pulls out when it needs its lobbying to pack a punch. His presence in Westminster was far from ornamental.

“We’ve met MPs all day, building on the MSA’s work behind the scenes. What’s important to me is to secure the future of motor sport’s grass roots. We have a great opportunity to get closed roads and I want to lend as much support as I can. It’s fantastic the government is listening to us, and helping us to make it happen.

“It’s going to bring big economic benefits in localised areas, but there’s more than the balance sheet: it will encourage young people into motor sport because the access will be greater. It’s up to us now – the MSA, the MIA and individual competitors – to lobby our local MPs and get this idea out there.”

Eventually, with the sun setting and the cars back in transporters, people drifted inside. Our host, the racing driver and team owner Lord Drayson of Kensington, professed himself satisfied. “It’s been a hugely successful day. We’ve had a number of meetings with MPs and peers, and tonight’s reception is packed. I think we’re getting the message over.”

ILLUSTRATIONS: PADDY MILLS @SYNERGYART

THE LOBBY LIST WHAT YOUR GOVERNING BODY IS FIGHTING FOR Closed roads Introduction of legislation to permit the temporary suspension of the Road Traffic Act to allow properly organised and regulated motor sport events to take place on the public highways.

Amateur status Largely as a result of the motor sport industry, the sport is currently regarded as ‘professional’, despite 98% of participants being amateur.

Changing this status will have significant benefits, especially at grass-roots level.

Forestry Commission Safeguarding access to the public forests for the 41 motor sport events that paid £821,000 to the Forestry Commission in 2010.

a year without a change of planning status, yet the government is considering changing these rules.

about driving standards and responsible behaviour on public roads.

Rally GB Ongoing discussions with several regions to secure a venue for Britain’s WRC round from 2012.

Noise restrictions Seeking clarification of issues surrounding potential liability for nuisance, where an event is operating within planning regulations.

Charity commission The MSA is seeking clarification from the Charities Commission about the establishment of a proposed MSA Foundation to do good works in motor sport.

Use of agricultural land Sixty per cent of MSA event permits are issued under the regulations allowing agricultural land to be used for 14 or 28 days

Road safety Motor sport has a great role to play in addressing the key target age group of 17-24-year-old males and educating them

Apprenticeships Securing a waiver for drivers on the MSA’s Advanced Apprenticeship who would otherwise need to be ‘paid’ by their team or club.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 53

Kirkistown Some of motor sport’s biggest names started out at Northern Ireland’s characterful circuit, says Kevin Turner

When it comes to motor sport in Northern Ireland, Kirkistown is special. Not only is it the region’s only car racing circuit, it has helped launch the careers of homegrown Formula 1 stars John Watson, Eddie Irvine, Martin Donnelly and Eddie Jordan.

Such is Kirkistown’s importance that even the Northern Ireland government has got involved. An injection of cash in recent years has allowed the County Down track to improve and modernise its facilities. The 1.5-mile layout, including the challenging Colonial complex and Fishermens right-hander, now looks set to become a feature of mainland UK championships as well as its own series.

Circuit owner the 500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland – the only club to own a circuit in the British Isles – has lived at Kirkistown since 1953. It initially focused on events for 500cc F3, attracting such names as Peter Collins, future Le Mans winner Ivor Bueb, and Ken Tyrrell, but has often moved with the times.

As 500cc F3 waned in the late 1950s, the club introduced its own formula, based on Ford’s common E93A side valve engine. Future famed

For many years, until Mondello Park arrived in the south, Kirkistown was the sole permanent circuit in Ireland. Only the two public road events at Phoenix Park and Dunboyne gave Irish racers the chance to compete elsewhere in the country.

It’s not always just been about the grass roots of the sport either.

Highlights of Kirkistown’s history include the GKN Trophy F3 race in July 1971, the Peugeot Days of Speed in the 1980s, and Formula Renault’s visit in 1990.

The GKN event was another example of government backing for Kirkistown, which had the rare chance to host an international F3 field.

Brabham-mounted Colin Vandervell, son of the former Vanwall boss Tony Vandervell, dominated a wet first heat to defeat future F1 world champion James Hunt. After a multi-car pile-up at the hairpin, Vandervell again controlled the second heat to win on aggregate, while John Watson – by then a rising star in F2 – returned to beat the locals in the supporting Formula Libre event.

Historic DFV-engined grand prix cars arrived for the Peugeot Days of

Kirkistown has two big stops with late apexes, and that helps the racing because you can dive past people constructors Eric Broadley of Lola, Arthur Mallock, and John Crosslé were among those attracted to the category.

Over the years Formula Junior, Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic rose to prominence, but saloon cars played a role too. Competitive single-make series for Ford Escorts, ex-Brands Hatch Talbot Sunbeams and then Rover Metros all had their time at Kirkistown.

Now the 500MRCI’s circuit is the scene for FF1600, Formula Vee, Formula Libre, roadsports, and saloon/GT contests.

54 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

Speed in the mid-1980s, and so did lots of spectators. Operations manager Richard Young remembers: “The crowd was so big the police made us let everyone in for free because it was affecting the road network!”

Renault 5s and Formula Renault made the trip across the Irish Sea in 1990. In a fraught Formula Renault race with several clashes, Chris Goodwin looked set to win. But his Van Diemen’s engine cut out with just over two laps to go and Tommy Erdos swept past to take victory on his way to the title in Fortec Motorsport’s Swift.

During all this time, the circuit’s layout changed little. A chicane appeared on the back straight in the 1970s, initially with a quick version, before the current slower variant was introduced in 1984, but the overall challenge has remained.

Nevertheless, a lot goes on to keep up with the sport. Young, who first raced at Kirkistown in 1967, has seen the evolution. “I can remember when it was the old RAF concrete slab surface,” he says. “We resurface a bit of it every year because we’re on very swampy ground and it moves around.

Cracks appear. It’s a bit like painting the Forth Bridge.”

Young also believes the layout provides both a challenge and the chance for wheel-to-wheel racing.

“The nicest part is Debtors Dip when you get it right,” he says. “It’s a fast left and is the quickest corner by quite a considerable margin. Kirkistown also has two big stops with late apexes, and that helps the racing because you can dive past people.”

To make sure the circuit continues to prosper, the government has helped fund upgrades through the

The new garages (above) have had a full take-up for every race at the County Down circuit (right), which for years was the only permanent track in Ireland

place notes Racers tearing through the Kirkistown chicane (left), and kicking up dust at a tight bend (below), while spectators gather at the comms tower (right)

DATA BURST

LENGTH: 1.53 miles DATE OPENED: 1953 LAP RECORD: 51.431s LOCATION: Kircubbin, County Down BT22 1AU WEBSITE: www.kirkistown.com CONTACT: 01304 830557

GRAHAM CURRY ALISTER JACKSON

2 & 4 WHEELS WORKING TOGETHER We’re used to hearing that government investment in motor sport only happens in Asia. But Northern Ireland’s 2 & 4 Wheels, established in 2002, backed by the Northern Ireland Sports Council, proves the theory wrong.

The initiative came about to look into motorcycle road racing safety after some serious accidents, but the ensuing report highlighted the need for a more widespread motor sport strategy.

This led to motor sport organisations across Ireland coming together to form 2 & 4 Wheels, which has board members from each body, plus an independent chairman and secretary. All regulated forms of the sport in Ireland are represented and work together.

“The government, which only wanted to deal with one body, provided money for each club to write a report, which we merged into one strategic plan,” says MSA Regional Committee chairman Nicky Moffitt. “It took a year and many meetings but it went very well.”

The organisation aims to increase funding for motor sport,

improve facilities, deal with legislative issues, and provide training and education.

A development manager was introduced and a five-year plan formed, but arguably the biggest achievements have come in the past two years. Two million pounds from the government has been used to develop Kirkistown, the motorcycle venue at Bishopscourt and the kart circuit at Nutts Corner. There have also been other improvements, such as the introduction of two MSAspecification rescue units.

“Kirkistown has had a lot of updates, which are down to 2 & 4 Wheels,” says Moffitt.

“We’re protecting the venues and making them more attractive to spectators. The government knew we needed to update them.

“There’s more to be done, and we’re going to try and improve facilities, including spectator stands, and bring more championships from other countries. The government support has been a godsend. We’re very much a team and the sport will go from strength to strength.”

2 & 4 Wheels organisation (see sidebar). Improvements include asphalt run-off and gravel extensions, and many new circuit buildings, such as garages and a clubhouse.

“I was surprised with the take-up of the garages,” admits Young. “We rent them out [to competitors] and we’ve had 100 per cent take up every time.”

Not only does this aid the circuit’s finances, but such facilities could also help attract new overseas competitors.

In the past, V6 Eurocars and BRDC Historic Sportscars have run there, and the chances are other mainlandbased series could make the trip.

“I think the British Touring Car Championship is a step too far, but there are plenty of clubs who could race here,” reckons Young. “James Beckett has his European FF1600 plan and we could be part of that because Formula Ford continues to be strong here.”

Kirkistown is something of a hidden gem for many British club racers outside FF1600, but with the enthusiasm and investment currently apparent there, that may not be the case for too much longer.

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 55

go see special the forest stages of North Wales are. This event is the finale to the 2011 MSA Welsh National Rally Championship but should also attract a host of World Rally Championship stars keen to test some of the stages they will face on Wales Rally GB. www.wnrc.co.uk 23 October

CHEVIOT NATIONAL RALLY Otterburn

The Cheviot National Rally takes place at the Otterburn Military Ranges in the North East of England. Organised by the Whickham and District Motor Club and the Hadrian Motor Sports Club, it provides the finale to the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship. www.asphaltrallying.co.uk

RALLYING AROUND The British Isles is awash with great rallies – here we pick seven coming up 1 October

COLIN McRAE FOREST STAGES Aberfeldy

This rally remains a tribute to one of Scotland’s greatest motor sport legends and an awesome event in its own right.

There have been some major changes to this year’s running – including a full move of the rally HQ to Aberfeldy – which is the final round of not only the MSA Scottish Rally Championship, but the BHRC, too. www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk

28-29 October

ISLE OF MAN INTERNATIONAL RALLY Douglas

24 September

INTERNATIONAL RALLY YORKSHIRE Scarborough and Pickering Covering 85 miles, including the renowned Dalby Forest, this is the penultimate round of the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship.

The main event is preceded by the Trackrod Historic Cup, with a ceremonial finish in Scarborough. www.rallybrc.co.uk

This legendary event – now in its 48th year – has moved from its usual summer slot to become the finale to the 2011 Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship.

And we should be in for a thriller, as this double-header allows competitors to score two full sets of points, keeping the drama fully alive. www.rallybrc.co.uk 5 November

TEMPEST RALLY Aldershot

According to organisers of the MSA English Rally Championship, the small number of forest rallies in Southern England means that this one-day gravel event – the last of the series’ 2011 outings – will have a great buzz and atmosphere. www.englishrally.co.uk

SIX THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT…

The Dunlop/Wonago.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship

RACMSA RALLY OF SCOTLAND Stirling, Perth and Kinross

One of the highlights of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, this event – the penultimate round of the championship – sees some of the world’s best rally stages being pressed into action. If you want to see cutting-edge rally cars from top marques and some of the best foreign and national drivers there is no better place to go. www.msaevents.co.uk/rallyofscotland 8 October

CAMBRIAN RALLY Clocaenog and Penmachno

Anyone who attended the Lombard RAC Rally back in the day will know how 56 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

Of the MSA’s 25 1BHRC championships, the is its only historic

series. Says Colin Hilton: “The BHRC recreates what many consider to be the golden era of rallying – the 1970s – and features some of the most exciting rally cars ever built running in period specification on the best historic rallies in the country.” series runs on the 2DuluxThe same roster as the Trade MSA British Rally Championship, and although they are

not competing against each other, the historic cars often set stage times comparable to the modern four-wheel-drive cars. On this year’s Bulldog Rally, BHRC winner Nick Elliott set times fast enough to reach the top six in the BRC field. corners of Great 3– areAllBritain – and beyond visited, with rounds in Wales, England, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Belgium. Over eight rounds, the competitors

will cover almost 700 competitive miles. it’s Kielder 4relishWhether Forest or Epynt, fans the chance to see

cars such as the Porsche 911, Lotus Cortina and Talbot Sunbeam hit the best stages that Great Britain has to offer. But by far the most popular car for competitors (and many of those watching) is the Mark II Escort.

The cars on stage 5heyday come from rallying’s in the sixties and seventies. Cars eligible

for the Championship must have originally competed no later than 31 December 1981, and although there is no official start date, most of the oldest entrants are from the early sixties. series is as 6andThe popular with drivers co-drivers as it is with fans – and not all of those are vintage themselves!

One of the youngest co-drivers is just 21.

Overall there are up to 100 registered competitors and each round attracts up to 75 entries.

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

7-9 October

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PREPARE TO BE AMAZED...

It’s the simple things that can make the difference between success and failure, says Marcus Simmons, and good preparation is one of them An old story from Dick Bennetts, team principal of

top touring car team WSR, is that when he ran Formula 3 cars he had an instant measure of how easy a driver would be to deal with.

West Surrey Racing was the team of choice for many a young foreign driver in the 1980s and early 1990s. At just seven miles from Heathrow Airport, it shouldn’t have been too difficult to get to, but in those pre-satnav days it proved beyond the skills of many.

“Rubens Barrichello and Ayrton Senna were very good,” remembers Bennetts.

“Some would get here straight away, or stop and ask someone directions, and others would have to call us about ten times. You’d arrange a meeting for 10.00, and be sitting there still waiting at 11.30.”

He adds: “I guess it’s a combination of education, intelligence and being clear and concise in what you do. Those who are quick and prepared will get further up the road.”

That’s just a small example of the importance of planning and preparation in motor sport. It’s an activity into which you and those around you invest enormous amounts of time and money, so why not take a few minutes to plan ahead? That way you’re not cluttering your mind at the last minute, panicking yourself and your team, and jeopardising the resources and brainpower that should be going into making you and your car go faster.

“It’s the six Ps: proper planning prevents piss-poor performance,” asserts sports-car star David Brabham, who, as national race coach for the MSA’s Team UK initiative, is a guiding hand in the careers of many of the country’s top up-and-coming drivers.

“Whether you’re a driver or a team or whatever, you’ve got to plan for it properly.

58 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

If you do, it becomes easier to perform to a higher level.”

For Brabham, planning entails training, diet, hydration, reference to notes, discussions with team and mechanics and, for those at a higher level, a chat with your tyre engineer.

When he speaks to us, he is en route for the FIA GT1 World Championship at Spain’s Navarra circuit.

“I’m training as much as I can anyway so I’m in good shape,” says Brabham. “I generally eat well and drink

Whether you’re a driver or a team, you’ve got to plan for it properly.

If you do, it becomes easier to perform to a higher level a lot. I’ve not been to Navarra before, so I’m looking at data from last year, and I’ve been watching in-car camera footage on YouTube.

“When I get to the track I’ll walk around the circuit and take pictures of each corner on my iPhone. Then when I get a quiet moment I can flick through them so I can get it all in my head.”

So much for the driving, but there’s also all the other paraphernalia that goes with being a serious motor sport competitor. Take the British guy (who wishes not to be named!) who had a public relations event in Italy in the 1990s but found that he had no money to get home. “I told everyone I had a flight because I was so embarrassed,” he says. “I must have bunked about 15 different trains across Europe, hiding in the loo whenever I saw a ticket inspector.

I remember sitting on the platform at

Mulhouse at five in the morning, staring into the abyss…”

“It’s simple things like knowing your schedule: meeting times, sponsor commitments, the drivers’ briefing,” continues Brabham. “I have all these things set up on my iPhone, so that I know 15 minutes or half an hour in advance when I’ve got something coming up. It becomes more like clockwork that way.”

He adds that “you learn by experience, but even at my age you’re always fine-tuning your routine. Someone young coming through needs guidance – even if they have a team around them they need to figure things out for themselves. Each time they move up a category they get stretched and sometimes draw a blank – that’s when they learn more about themselves, and at Team UK we try to help them through that stage.”

performance

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC / ALEXANDRE GUILLAUMOT / DPPI

Above: with good planning it’s not just the cars that move quickly. Below: David Brabham. Left: Dick Bennetts with a young Mika Häkkinen and Rubens Barrichello

Brabham’s Nissan team-mate Richard Westbrook is all too familiar with the pitfalls of winging it without a plan, from his days racing in the Opel Lotus Euroseries in 1994. “I travelled to the Imola race in the truck with my team,” he recalls. “We were running out of money, but I had a fantastic offer from another team after the race so I switched on the spot. Then I realised my lift back home had gone… There was no internet then or budget airlines, so I was stuck in Imola for a week!”

Not good preparation for the subsequent races then…

Brabham sums up: “In order to get on it straight away in a sport where you’re into action so quickly, you need to have an awareness of self. We all have these same tools, but it depends how we use them.

We all have an ability to focus, but it’s the clarity of mind to achieve this that dictates our performance.”

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 59

The winning formula for all your insurance needs Competition Car Insurance is a leading motorsport insurance broker providing a wide range of covers suitable for businesses and individual competitors.

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Untitled-1 1

• Accidental “On event” Damage • Personal Accident • Public Liability

03/05/2011 10:28

my mistake

JULIAN BAILEY

BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP, SILVERSTONE 1993

Taking out your team-mate in front of an F1 crowd is bad enough; unluckily for Bailey, it also gave Toyota’s arch-rivals Nissan the last laugh.

Words Matt James It was a moment of pure gold from BBC commentator Murray

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Walker. When MSA British Touring Car Championship team-mates Will Hoy and Julian Bailey collided at Priory corner in the Formula 1 support race, Walker hit overdrive.

“It’s a good job Will’s strapped in. The car upside down is a Toyota,” he screamed.

It was. Hoy had been tipped over as Bailey made a lunge down the inside into the righthander. The Carina pair had been fighting for the lead and had just produced an owngoal in front of the packed spectator banks.

“It was my fault,” recalls Bailey. “I had a great start from seventh on the grid and I had made it up to second when I overtook Kieth O’dor’s Nissan in the Vale section.

I closed in on Will quickly. I got on the radio to the team boss Paul Risbridger and pointed out that I had the faster car and that Will should move aside and let me through.

They told me that they had informed him so I assumed that I wasn’t going to face much opposition when I tried to go in to the lead.”

With O’dor following and Steve Soper’s BMW close behind, things were getting

desperate for Bailey. He knew he had to make his move for first place – and make it quickly. It came to a head on lap three.

“I had tried early in the lap to overtake and Will had just chopped across the front of my car. It was a pretty aggressive thing to do and I had to back out of it,” says Bailey. “I had made up my mind to make the move at Priory later in the lap. It was do-or-die. Will had a better run out of Abbey and through Bridge,

I made the move at Priory later in the lap.

It was do-or-die but I had already decided that I was going to make the attempt for the lead. This was it.

“I made the lunge even though I was a long way back as we came through Bridge corner. As I went to the inside, Will turned in and we hit each other. Will’s car tipped up on its side and went over, and I was also out of the race with a broken front right suspension. It was about as bad as it could be for Toyota – and what made it even worse

was that a Nissan went on to win the race with O’dor.”

There was still intra-team politics to sort out, but Bailey remembers Hoy being mature about it when they shook hands afterwards, with both cars out of the race early on.

“He was really laid back about it,” says Bailey. “We talked it through and he said he had never heard the radio message telling him to let me though. It is hard to know if he even got the message from the team.

“We discussed it and I think I really should have been a solicitor. I kept referring to the incident at Brands Hatch in 1992, when he had a crash with his then Toyota team-mate Andy Rouse. I was asking Will what the common denominator was – and, of course, it was him. That is how I think I got away with it – it was a bit cheeky, but I was in the clear.

“We certainly got lots of publicity after that race and there was the classic Murray Walker line when it was shown as highlights on the BBC the following weekend,” says Bailey. “Murray’s commentary was great. It’s a line that fans of the BTCC remember to this day.”

Flipping out: Toyota team-mates Hoy and Bailey tussle at the Priory bend

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 61

Onboard camera fitments: this one probably won’t be getting past the scrutineer

ASK THE EXPERTS From cameras, regulations and licences to foreign drivers, our panel tackles your puzzlers…

Regulation changes proposed by the various Specialist Committees are published for consultation on the MSA website at www.msauk. org/regulations. The action sheets containing the proposed rule changes also detail the email addresses that comments should be sent to, as well as the dates by which feedback must be received.

After consultation the final Regulations (incorporating any revisions) are tabled for ratification by the Motor Sports Council, before being published on the carrier sheet of this magazine.

COCKPIT VIEW

Can I use onboard and helmet cameras in MSA motor sport?

Onboard cameras are permitted in UK motor sport, but only if specific requirements are met. The use of an onboard camera must be sanctioned by the chief scrutineer and event organiser (J5.20.5), and the camera fitment must be checked 62 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

and approved by the chief scrutineer before the event.

Some championships mandate the use of onboard cameras for judicial use; in such cases the organisers supply the cameras, which must be fitted in a manner determined by championship officials.

Onboard cameras are not permitted for road rallies (R7.2.9). They are permitted for karting, as long as they weigh no more than 100g, excluding casing and mountings (U19). Helmet cameras are not permitted in any circumstances in any motor sport.

MOTOR SPORT IN THE SUN

Which foreign events can I compete in with my MSA competition licence?

National Sporting Authorities (ASNs), such as the MSA, maintain National Events with Authorised Foreign Participation (NEAFP) calendars, which list events in which foreign drivers with specified grades of competition licence can compete.

MSA National A or International Competition Licence holders who wish to compete in foreign events

CREDIT

HAVING YOUR SAY

How can I give feedback on proposed MSA Regulation changes?

should contact the relevant country’s ASN (contact details are available on the FIA website) and obtain its NEAFP calendar.

If you are not a professional driver and the foreign event you intend to compete in forms part of a national series or championship, you will not be eligible to score points. However, professional drivers are permitted to score points in foreign events on the same basis as national drivers.

Professional drivers are defined as having declared to the relevant

ask the experts authorities the money they receive in salary or sponsorship for competing; the MSA must receive proof of this declaration. Articles 18 and 47 of the International Sporting Code explain the requirements and the fact that professional drivers may be identified by EU flags on their competition licences.

Further information on competing in foreign events can be found in the 2011 Blue Book (Appendix 3 – Competing Abroad, page 388).

completion of the Advanced ARDS Course (H14.2.3). Signatures can only be collected on the day of the event’s completion; if you did not have your upgrade card with you on the day, or did not obtain the required signature, you can submit official results sheets instead. l Payment. This is calculated as the difference between the costs of your current licence and the one that you are upgrading to, plus a £28 upgrade fee. For example, upgrading from the £53 Race National B (not EU) to the £78 Race National A would cost £53.

A BUMP ON THE HEAD

My crash helmet was knocked in an incident but looks okay; should I carry on using it?

Helmets are constructed to absorb the energy of impact through the partial deformation of the outer and/or inner shell; this deformation may not be visible externally. The image to the right shows a helmet that appeared from the outside to be undamaged, but which a cutaway revealed to be deformed internally.

The MSA appreciates that helmets are expensive but strongly advises that competitors replace them following any incident in which they may have suffered an impact, even if no damage is visible.

STEPPING UP

What do I need to send to the MSA to upgrade my competition licence?

You must supply four things to the MSA Licensing Department: l Your current MSA competition licence card. This will be voided and sent back to you, along with a new card for your higher grade. If you

WISH YOU WERE HERE?

Can I accept foreign entries to my UK national event?

Firstly, any foreign competitors need to meet eligibility requirements. For example, their grade and type of plan to compete in the interim, just competition licence must be valid let Licensing know so that email or and appropriate, and if the event has fax coverage can be issued. further restrictions (i.e. National B l The completed licence amendment or Clubmans) whereby a competitor card, which can be found in the must be a member of an invited Blue Book. If the upgrade requires MSA-registered club, then the foreign a medical, the reverse of the card competitor must be a full member of must be completed by a GP such a club. (alternatively, use the standard To accept eligible foreign entries, application form available on the you must apply to the MSA to have MSA website). If you cannot find your event inscribed on the National the card, include a covering letter Events with Authorised Foreign explaining that you wish to upgrade Participation (NEAFP) calendar. To your competition licence. do so, visit the Clubs section of the l Your signed upgrade card. If, MSA website, click on ‘forms’ and for example, you wish to upgrade download the Application for NEAFP HAVE A from Race National B (not EU) to form for either car or kart events.

QUESTION? If you have a question Race National A, you will need Return the completed form to the you’d like to put to the six National B or Clubman MSA with the appropriate fee MSA, email msa@ thinkpublishing.co.uk or signatures. One of these can (£205 for car events, £107 for kart write to us at MSA be substituted for a day’s events) at least six weeks before magazine, Think, The Pall marshalling, and another for the event.

Mall Deposit, 124-128 It’s not always clear when an undented helmet has suffered internal damage

Barlby Road, London W10 6BL

THAT’S MOTOR SPORT

CREDIT

Three-time MSA British Drag Racing Champion Andy Robinson on three decades in the sport “I can only recall one piece of honest advice, but it made a difference.

The Pro Modified class I race in has three choices of powerplant: petrol with nitrousoxide injection, petrol with a turbocharger, and methanol with a supercharger. I ran nitrous for 20 years but six years ago my good

friend Dave Wilson, a multiple FIA Drag Racing Champion, told me to ‘go blown’ and switch to supercharging. The first pass I made with the blower in the car was faster than I’d ever gone with nitrous, so in that sense it was the best advice I’ve ever taken.

“That said, it was also the worst! I had no experience of

supercharging, so when I first put the new engine in my 1953 Studebaker I didn’t know how to start it – I had to call Dave round to help. There have been expensive broken parts since then and a fair few detonations.

Circuit racing and rallying need consistency and longevity, but drag racing is a quest for power.

So, while supercharging

has allowed me to post some of the best times in Europe, it’s also cost me a lot in broken kit.

“My advice to wouldbe drag racers is to learn your race-craft. It’s not as easy as it looks. A Pro Mod car will do 0-60mph in less than a second, and will hit 235mph in six seconds.

Don’t underestimate the challenge.”

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 63

IN THIS

ISSUE:

Ginetta takes to the roads p65 Buying the perfect pair of boots p66 The right insurance for your racing car p68

Gear

Ginetta G40R From £29,950

www.ginettacars.co.uk

Following the G40 race car, the Leeds-based manufacturer has now released a road-ready version. Ginetta’s aim was to build a car you could drive to the circuit, race, then drive home again.

With the same lightweight chassis and snappy handling as the race version, it looks like they might just have succeeded. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but hey: it’s the half the price of that TAG watch from the Spring issue of MSA magazine…

Blow the Budget

Caracalla – Bath Holdalls

Rapido Helmet

For those seeking a few steps up from a grubby kitbag, Simon Jordan’s handmade Italian leather holdalls might offer a more luxurious answer.

His company, Caracalla – Bath, named after the street in Rome where Ferrari won its first race, produces a range of stylish retro bags that can give you a whiff of classic Continental racing before you even get in the car. Each piece can be customised, with options for type, colour and design.

It might not be the fanciest design around, but the Rapido Open Face Helmet is a quality product at an impressive price. It’s been adopted by the Silverstone Race school, and has even picked up its own celebrity backing: it popped up on Jake Humphrey’s head during BBC coverage of the British Grand Prix.

£395 (personalised)

www.cbfil.co.uk

£90.83 + VAT (£109) www.hedtec.co.uk

Best for Value

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 65

BUYER’S

GUIDE

Put your foot in it...

Boots form part of your essential motor sport kit, but where to start? Club racer Ben Anderson has tested the market-leaders to give you a few pointers

SPARCO FORMULA SL7

OMP MONTECARLO 2

ALPINESTARS TECH 1-Z

As Mike Williams will tell you, Sparco boots are a good bet for quality at a cost-effective price. The Formula SL7 comes in a larger range of colours than most other boots (red, black, white and blue) and is a bit more ornate than nearest rivals from Puma and OMP. They feature side protection – to guard against wear from the pedals when heeling and toeing – and are super-comfortable, but the sole is a bit too thick for my taste.

This is an entry-level boot for drivers who want something cost-effective that won’t fall apart. They come in a choice of blue, black or red – so will fit in with the colour scheme of most race suits. There is nothing particularly outstanding about this boot, except the price. They are not flashy, gimmicky or clever – just good, solid race boots.

These are the boots of choice for drivers who like to strut around the paddock and show rivals they are cock of the walk.

They are made from kangaroo leather and are available in a silver colour scheme.

Unsurprisingly, they are the most expensive boots in our range. There are no laces, so adjustment is made via a snowboardstyle boggle. The gold trim is certainly unnecessary, but they are comfortable boots and the thin sole gives excellent feel.

66 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

£95.65 + VAT

£183.29 + VAT

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

£146.95 + VAT

footwear

OMP NURBURGRING

PUMA FUTURE CAT

A solid yet flexible and comfortable boot that is very popular with the historic racers its classic design is tailored to appeal to. The high-ankle version also features a Velcro strap. They are extremely comfortable and even the low-ankle option offers ample support. I’m not sure I would shell out the extra cash for them – even if I was racing historics – but they certainly look the part when matched up with a retro race suit.

According to Grand Prix Racewear, 75-80 per cent of Formula 1 drivers use a Puma boot because of its close fit and comfort.

The elite will use rebranded versions of the Trionfo; the Puma Cat is about 60 quid cheaper, suede, and laced up to the side instead of the front. This is the most comfortable boot I have used, although it takes some time for the suede to mould to the exact shape of your foot. At this price, you definitely get a lot of boot for your buck.

£164.35 + VAT

£123.63 + VAT

Finding the right competition boots – as with all racewear – is essentially a calculation of comfort, cost and colour. We all want boots that look nice and fit well, but don’t cost a fortune.

Different drivers will place their own premium on which of these three elements is the most important, but I would say choosing the correct size is definitely the number one priority.

I hadn’t really given much thought to my choice of race boots until I went for a seat fitting in a Formula 3 car last year. I was using a pair of red Alpinestars Tech 1-R boots, bought for me in size 10 (my usual trainer size) as a Christmas present.

I’d used them happily without concern, until I went for my seat fitting and found they didn’t fit properly. Space was so limited in the footwell that the spare room in the end of my boots prevented me from working the pedals properly. I didn’t fit the car and had to borrow a pair of smaller boots in order to drive it.

I immediately went out and bought the same boots in a size nine (black this time – to go with a new race suit I had to get for the same reason). These are the boots I’ve been using ever since – until a recent switch to the more comfortable Puma Super Cat. For MG Metro Cup frontrunner Mike Williams the process of choosing his blue, low-ankle Sparco race boots was much more straightforward.

“Of the ones I tried on, they were the ones that felt comfortable,” he says. “I suppose it’s the same with any shoe. I felt a bit like Peter Pan when I was trying them on wearing my jeans, but the guy said ‘it doesn’t matter what they look like, it’s how they feel that matters’.

“When I first started racing, I just took recommendations from the shop, because I didn’t know anything and they knew more than me! I mainly go with Sparco because they have economical prices, but good quality. Mine are blue because they’re the same colour as my race suit and my car.”

The best way to find the right boot is to head to somewhere like Grand Prix Racewear, take some advice from their knowledgeable staff, and try some on for yourself. Which is exactly what I did…

Thanks to Grand Prix Racewear.

If you’re looking for a new pair of boots, visit www.gprdirect.com

Autumn 2011 www.msauk.org 67

HOW TO...

INSURE YOUR COMPETITION CAR

Now, where did I leave that ladder?

68 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDIT

Picking the right insurance for your pride and joy is a tough decision, says club driver Ben Anderson

CREDIT

how to We’ve all been there: stood at the side of the circuit, surveying the wreckage of our beloved car, having just wrapped it around a tree or slammed into the barriers during a race.

Sometimes it’s your own fault, sometimes not, but the end result is the same: more time and energy, or money, or both, to get you back out competing again.

As a club racer myself – competing regularly in the 750 Motor Club’s Formula Vee Championship – I don’t insure my racing car.

My family team and I figure it’s better to just accept the accident damage and spend the money repairing as you go.

But if you’re letting others get behind the wheel of your pride and joy it’s a rather different matter. You’ve only got yourself to blame if you smash your own car up, but the prospect of shelling out if somebody else does it for you is harder to swallow.

Historic Racing Drivers Club founder Julius Thurgood owns a unique Lenham Spitfire GT car. He recently lent it to me to race in his Grand Touring Greats series on the Silverstone GP circuit. Getting the car insured was a no-brainer for Julius.

“Insurance is a good idea if you can’t afford to lose the cost of your car,” he says. “£5,000 to one person might be a fortune; £25,000 is pretty steep to me! So I insure the car.

“Various companies will underwrite the cost of the car at an agreed figure. But you will pay an excess of ten per cent on everything, so if you insure at £25,000 you’re effectively getting £22,500 of cover.”

You are not obliged to insure your car at its full value, and many instead insure to the cost of repairing the car if it gets damaged.

For example, you may have a car that’s worth £15,000, but know that you can get it fixed for less than that. It all depends on individual resourcefulness and budget.

“There’s a classic example of this in rallying with the Mk2 Ford Escorts,” says Motorsport Insurance Services account executive Chris Tyrrell. “Some of them are worth £60,000, £70,000, £80,000, but the re-shell cost is standard at around £20,000.

“Lots of guys will look to insure for this value because in repairing these cars, the place to start is a re-shell. The emphasis is not on insuring for the full value; there are people who say ‘this is my budget – how much cover can I get for that?’ Everything is very adaptable; it’s not one size fits all.”

There are plenty of options out there when it comes to insurance, so the best plan is to shop around until you find the right deal for you, but, as with most things in life, honesty is definitely the best policy.

“We’ve got a fairly good idea of what cars are worth,” Tyrrell adds. “If someone came forward with an unusually high value, we’d want to know why.”

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national court

MOTOR SPORTS COUNCIL NATIONAL COURT SITTING THURSDAY 2 JUNE 2011

David Munro (Chairman) Mike Garton Mike Harris CASE No J2011/06 – Redline Racing (Ahmed Al Harthy and Keith Webster)

In the matter of the Eligibility Appeal of Redline Racing, Ahmed Al Harthy and Keith Webster the National Court finds as follows: 1. Ahmed Al Harthy and Keith Webster were competitors in the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship, Rounds 5 and 6 at Thruxton Circuit on 1 May 2011.

2. Following Round 5 of the Championship, the Appellants were each the subject of Protests brought by drivers entered by Celtic Racing, namely Rory Butcher and George Brewster.

3. In each case it was alleged that the appellants’ cars were not eligible as “the car did not start the race with sill gurney flaps fitted”.

4. Both cars were examined by the Eligibility Scrutineer who reported by means of Non-Compliance Reports for each car that: “the bodywork was not in the condition in which it was delivered, i.e. missing rear underbody gurney”.

5. The Clerk of the Course upheld the protests and each Appellant driver was excluded from the results of Round 5 of the Championship under General Regulation C3.5.1 (a) and (b).

6. On a detailed examination of the parts said to be missing, it is plain that they are not gurney tabs of any sort, they are in fact described by Porsche as “rubber lips”. They do not appear to have any clear aerodynamic function.

7. The Appellants assert that in the case of each car the lips would have been present at pre-race scrutineering and at the start of the race itself. This assertion is accepted by the National Court which notes that on 1 May 2011 the Championship Technical Regulation 5.1.4 was amended after Round 5 and before Round 6 to state that: “All cars must run with the following part numbers removed: Rubber Lips Left hand: 997 504 863 80 010 Right hand: 997 504 864 80 010” 8. Common sense dictates that this amendment was made to address the fact that the parts in question were likely to become detached during the course of racing.

9. Had the rubber lips been absent at pre-race scrutineering it was open to any competitor to protest at that stage.

10. The National Court cannot be satisfied that either car No 7 [Ahmed Al Harthy] or car No 99 [Keith Webster] was ineligible to compete at the commencement of Round 5 of the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship and accordingly in each case the Appeal is allowed.

11. As a consequence, the results of Round 5 shall be amended and republished accordingly.

12. The Appeal fees shall be refunded and no orders are made as to costs.

This decision was set down at 12.15 hours on Thursday 2 June 2011.

DAVID MUNRO, CHAIRMAN 70 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

CASE No J2011/05 – Fortec Motorsport (Alex Lynn and Oliver Rowland)

In the matter of the Eligibility Appeal of Alex Lynn and Oliver Rowland the National Court finds as follows: 1. The Appellant drivers are both competitors in the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 Championship, both are entered by Fortec Motorsports who are responsible for the preparation of the race cars.

2. The Appellants participated in Rounds 3 and 4 of the Championship on 16-17 April 2011. Following the second race on 17 April, both Appellants’ cars were subject to post-race scrutineering and were then the subject of NonCompliance Reports filed with the Clerk of the Course. [Number 14647 in the case of Rowland and Number 14648 in the case of Lynn.]

3. On the basis of these reports, the Clerk of the Course excluded both appellants from Round 4 of the Championship.

4. Both Non-Compliance Reports are concluded in the same terms, describing the non-compliance as “suspension out of tolerance”: “Regulation and Page No 5.9.2.1 (B-18) (4B)”. “5.9.2.1” relates to the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Regulations and states: “Adjustment of the suspension is free, but only within the range of adjustment provided and defined in the Technical Manual.”

“B-18” is a reference to Page B-18 of the Formula Renault 2.0 User Manual 2011. The reference to “4B” is wholly unclear and the Court cannot ascribe any meaning to it. Reference is also made to seal numbers – apparently seals were affixed to a “wishbone” in each case. The sealing certificates were not supplied to the Court nor is the component described with any greater clarity.

5. The Court notes the Appellants’ argument that the information supplied on the Non-Compliance forms is inadequate to have enabled them to understand the detail of any alleged wrongdoing. It is accepted that they would have struggled to answer the allegation that the suspension was “out of tolerance” without clear information as to what part of the suspension was “out of tolerance”.

6. It begs the question “what tolerances?”, and further fails to identify which

parameters may have been involved.

There is no reference for instance to front or rear, or side, nor is there any reference to camber, caster or ride height on the Non-Compliance Form.

Further information is now available to the Court from the Series Scrutineer’s response to the Appellants’ first submissions. Unfortunately the report from Mr Auld, the series scrutineer, does not advance the cause of clarity to any great degree.

The Court could not determine basic matters such as the means by which measurements were taken, other than finding that a calibrated vernier gauge was utilised. It remains unclear as to which suspension wishbone(s) were examined. The report does not, for instance, specify front or rear, or left or right, with any precision. The Technical Regulations Nomenclature 2011 at page 33:00, which appears to the Court to be the appropriate page in that document, is equally of little assistance.

7. The Appellants believe that the rear suspension was the subject of both measurement and concern, yet the report of Mr Auld refers to “FLWB”, which the Court concludes must be a reference to a front lower wishbone component.

8. The Appellants submit that the wishbones, as manufactured, have a tolerance of +/- 2.5mm against the relevant engineering drawings. Mr Auld does not appear to the Court to challenge this assertion or to comment upon it.

9. Taking the above matters into consideration and relying on the information properly before us, the Court cannot be satisfied that the Formula Renault 2.0 cars of the appellants were ineligible to race in Round 4 of the Championship on 17 April 2011 and accordingly the appeals are allowed.

10. The Appeal fees are to be returned and the results of Round 4 must be republished to reflect the fact that both drivers are to be reinstated.

This decision was set down at 15.35 hours on Thursday 2 June 2011.

DAVID MUNRO, CHAIRMAN

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Simon says..

Is it time to appreciate the art of leather being brushed against asphalt and bring two-wheeled motor sport onto the same bill as car racing, asks Simon Arron

“Would I like to compete at Silverstone?”

It wasn’t the kind of proposal I was likely

to spurn, even when – in this instance – the weapon of choice had two wheels missing. A minimoto, I was told, represented a bit of harmless fun. It would be a race between friends in the same spirit as indoor karting, but slightly more upright (in theory, at least). I agreed to take part before an awkward truth dawned: I’d never previously ridden a motorcycle.

Actually, that wasn’t quite true. I once hired a scooter in the days when the Monaco Grand Prix support paddock was in a different country to the circuit (only France, admittedly, but it was still an hour away by foot). The laws of gravity tripped me on that occasion. When leaning to the right, my hand moved just enough to tickle the throttle without me realising as much, which is why I parked beneath the front bumper of a Renault Clio. I was wearing crash helmet, t-shirt and shorts at the time, but my most serious injury was a slightly bruised hip from where I’d landed on my mobile phone.

That, though, was no deterrent. I was promised that the minimoto enduro – on a temporary circuit in a Silverstone car park – would include lots of riders of parallel cluelessness, although the (participating) presence of Superbike World Championship and MotoGP star John Hopkins implied otherwise.

While awaiting my turn I canvassed people who seemed to know what they were doing, to obtain a few tips about traversing a wooden ramp that

74 www.msauk.org Autumn 2011

“I may be wary of motorcycles, but motor sport shouldn’t be”

WESLEY MERRITT @ DEBUTART

Simon Arron is a former editor of Motoring News and Motor Sport.

Now a freelance F1 writer, he contributes to titles including Motorsport News and writes a blog for The Daily Telegraph’s motoring section

featured towards the lap’s end. To this day I’m convinced I was heeding counsel by leaning over the bars as I approached for the first time, but as I reached the ramp’s summit I suspect trepidation caused me to totter backwards and unintentional throttle syndrome kicked in once more. For a few seconds I saw nothing but the cobalt blue of upper Northamptonshire – rather more pleasant than the jolt that followed a drop of several feet to the ramp’s base. Very soon, my right buttock and much of the connected leg were a deep shade of blackcurrant.

I didn’t remount and haven’t ridden anything with an engine in the five years since. As a teen I was always wary of motorcycles, purely on the grounds of vulnerability, and subsequent experience hasn’t eased that relationship. The same suspicion seems to infiltrate motor sport as a whole, however, and this I find harder to understand.

Cars and bikes alternate track time at some events – the revivals at Goodwood and Cholmondeley, for instance – but mostly tend to be kept apart. Earlier this year, though, the Classic Touring Car Racing Club incorporated four historic motorcycle grand prix races within its two-day Classic Festival at Mallory Park.

It gave the weekend welcome extra elements: it was a chance to appreciate the art of leather being brushed against asphalt beneath the musk of Castrol R and, potentially, a useful showcase. Like what you see and you might crave more – a principle that works both ways.

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