Indholdsfortegnelse for 30/01/20 i Autosport

There have been plenty of reminders over the past few years of the abilities of Red Bull. Even during the turbulent time with Renault, the team won 12 grands prix during the turbo-hybrid era and it has often made the most astute strategic decisions during races. While Red Bull’s 2019 season was apparently similar to the year before, it’s probably fair to say that the first year of the Red Bull-Honda relationship was better than many people expected. And as Scott Mitchell’s piece on page 16 shows, the key players believe that things are looking good to build on that campaign. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are very much in Max Verstappen’s sights and those years of Red Bull domination haven’t been forgotten. As well as the now, we also take…

FORMULA 1 The organiser of the putative Miami Grand Prix has released an updated map of the proposed Formula 1 circuit around the Hard Rock Stadium, which now avoids the use of public roads. It has also promised there will be “no racing during school hours” in direct response to complaints about potential noise and air pollution associated with the event impacting local school children. The news came ahead of a crucial Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners meeting, when plans for the race – and specifically zoning issues related to the stadium district – were due to be discussed, but this has now been deferred until next month. The map was revealed by Tom Garfinkel, the vice-chairman, president and CEO of both the Miami Dolphins NFL team and the stadium…

DTM DTM boss Gerhard Berger remains confident of the series’ grid holding at its 2019 level of 18 cars despite last week’s news that R-Motorsport has withdrawn its squad of four Aston Martin Vantages. The Swiss team’s pullout leaves the DTM with just 14 confirmed cars – six factory machines each from Audi and BMW, and the two Audi privateer entries. Berger said: “R-Motorsport’s decision comes at a late stage. We expected their involvement in the series would be longer. On behalf of ITR [the DTM series promoter], I would like to thank Dr Florian Kamelger and his whole team for their involvement in 2019. “We are holding productive discussions with a number of manufacturers and teams, and are confident that we will have a full starting grid for this…

For Carlos Sainz it was just another podium; for Colin McRae, a fourth place on an event he’d never particularly cared for. Neither of those titans of the sport were much in the mood for celebrating the 2002 Monte Carlo Rally result. Little did they know what they’d started. When they drove their Ford Focus RS WRC 02s over the ramp in Monaco, that was the start of an unbroken run of 250 points-scoring finishes for the M-Sport team running the operation. Granted, the introduction of superally (or Rally2 to use the proper name) regulations in 2005 made it more straightforward to keep cars running and in the points. But still, it’s been 18 years since then and there hasn’t been a World Rally Championship round concluded without Malcolm Wilson…

“WE KNOW WHERE WE HAVE TO IMPROVE… WE KNOW WE HAVE TO BE THERE FROM THE START IF WE’RE TO FIGHT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP” Formula 1 has a golden opportunity to flip an old adage on its head this year. So much is staying the same that it could be the key to change. The same drivers, the same car-and-engine combinations, the same aerodynamic and engine rules. Yet hopes are higher than ever before that Mercedes’ vice-like grip on the drivers’ and constructors’ championships may finally be coming to an end. For those hoping for a changing of the guard, Christian Horner’s Red Bull team will join Ferrari as the protagonists. “Unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of a hat, then I think we’re set for a really exciting year…

As Red Bull’s latest Man Most Likely To Make Formula 1, Juri Vips’s opening comment about his impending season in Japan is unsurprising. “If I realistically want to get to F1, I have a big, big job in hand this year,” he reflects. “The jump from Formula 3 to Super Formula is humungous. The car is so much faster.” You only have to look at the fate that befell Dan Ticktum, his predecessor as Man Most Likely and at the Super Formula Team Mugen squad, to appreciate the task faced in 2020 by the 19-year-old Estonian. The Brit was dumped after three SF starts in 2019, and his replacement Pato O’Ward didn’t do much either. Two years before that, in 2017, Pierre Gasly lined up in the same seat and…

BMW prevailed in an ultra-tight battle in GT Le Mans with Porsche that raged right through the race. The winning Bimmer driven by Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus and Chaz Mostert and the two cars from its German rival were rarely separated by more than a handful of seconds. But, not for the first time in recent Daytona past, BMW had the pace when required right at the death. Krohn crossed the line in the #24 Rahal-run BMW M8 GTE an unrepresentative 14s ahead of the CORE-run Porsche 911 RSR with Earl Bamber at the wheel. The second of the factory 911s was just four seconds further back in Nick Tandy’s hands. The turning point of the race came on Sunday morning when the GTLM frontrunners switched back from…

BRITISH GT Double British GT champion Andrew Howard says he “cannot see” himself entering the series again as a driver, but has left the door open to contesting one-off races in future. The 56-year-old patron of Beechdean AMR has been a regular in the championship since 2006, and won titles alongside Jonny Adam in 2013 and 2015. But Howard, who won the 2016 European Le Mans Series GTE crown, has decided to focus his efforts on Europe instead and signed Valentin Hasse-Clot and Alex Toth-Jones to drive Beechdean’s Aston Martin Vantage British GT3 entry. “Until the foreseeable future I cannot see me entering the British championship,” Howard told Autosport. “I think the days of the true Am having an opportunity of winning it have gone, and I’m not complaining at…

BRITISH FORMULA 4 Two-time Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Michael Meadows has become the team manager of top British Formula 4 squad Double R Racing via a new partnership with his karting operation Argenti Motorsport. Meadows, who claimed the 2018 Blancpain GT Sprint Cup title in a Mercedes, has decided to step away from racing himself to take on the role. Before switching to GTs, Meadows was a single-seater racer and drove in British Formula 3 in 2007. “I’ve known Double R for a long time because I drove for them in F3 in 2007 and always maintained that relationship,” he explained. “Midway through last year we started speaking. I just felt I wanted to do the next thing – driving is fine but I knew opportunities were fewer and…

HGPCA PRE-’66 The cars in which South Africans Syd van der Vyver and Ernest Pieterse won their national drivers’ championships in 1961 and 1962 respectively have returned to the country. They will be raced in the strongest class within ‘Springbok Series’ retrospective features at Zwartkops (Johannesburg) and Killarney (Cape Town) over the next two weekends. Historic Grand Prix Cars Association members have sent a grid of 19 Pre-’66 cars to South Africa for the first time in the organisation’s 40-year history. Seven conform to the 1500cc regulations to which the championship was run in the period. American Brad Hoyt drives the Lotus 18 in which former motorcycle speedway star van der Vyver won his second straight title in 1961, having switched from a Cooper. UK-based Dutchman Eddy Perk drives the…

CHRIS CLARKE 1950-2020 South Africa’s motorsport fraternity has been rocked by the death of Chris Clarke, who was shot on his driveway following a social event on Sunday. A 40-year stalwart of production car, classic car and Historic Single-Seater Association racing, he was also a popular official with the national ASN. Autosport extends sincere condolences to his family and friends. HISTORIC F3 GOES DUTCH The FIA Historic Formula 3 European Cup will return to the Zandvoort circuit during the Historic Grand Prix on 4-6 September. The third such event in the sequence will allow drivers of F3 cars up to 1984 to tackle the revised venue after the Dutch Grand Prix. The F3 cars will have a double-header weekend. HSCC LISTS CORE VALUES The Historic Sports Car Club has launched…

Ayrton Senna, in pensive mood, waits for track time in the West Surrey Racing Ralt RT3/83 during British Formula 3 testing at Oulton Park in 1983. It was at Oulton Park that year that he clashed controversially with his title competitor Martin Brundle, while attempting a pass, ending both their races. Senna would go on to win the 1983 championship. For classic Ayrton Senna DVDs head to dukevideo.com/F1/Ayrton-Senna For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

One of the oldest established championships in the world, having been created in 1950, it was founded to give racing enthusiasts the chance to build their own machines on a low budget. Dubbed the most affordable ‘slicks-and-wings’ racing series in the UK, the 750 Formula’s sports-prototype machines originally used Austin engines before moving to Reliant and more recently Fiat 1100cc powerplants that have proved much more reliable. Former alumni include Marcos co-founder Jem Marsh and Formula 1 designer Tony Southgate. The Historic 750 Formula caters for cars built to earlier regulations, primarily comprising Austin Seven Specials and Reliant-engined cars.…

For many aspiring drivers, their formative years are spent in one of the hundreds of karting championships that run across the country. But, for two-time Civic Cup champion Lee Deegan, his early motorsport career was in an entirely different discipline: autograss. Deegan began competing in a 1000cc Mini, having watched his father race from an early age. He successfully raced a variety of different machinery on dirt ovals, culminating with a campaign in a rear-wheel-drive Duratec-engined buggy. But, for 2013, Deegan was persuaded to give circuit racing a go by his autograss engine builder, family friend Tom Bell. Bell, who now races a historic Mini, had made the move from autograss to Stock Hatch in 2012, and finished runner-up in the points. “He made the switch to circuit racing and…

This is the newest addition to Porsche’s motorsport pyramid. It’s a carefully considered and well-executed halfway house between the Boxster and the Carrera Cup, but the look and feel of the 718 undoubtedly places it closer to the Carrera Cup end of the spectrum. The control panel gives away the Cayman’s road-going roots, but the racing steering wheel, paddleshift system and Michelin slick tyres tell a different story. The Cayman drives in a similar way to the Carrera Cup car, only easier, because the driver aids – traction control and ABS – allow for much more aggression behind the wheel. You still need to drive it with a modicum of discipline, but you don’t get punished for imperfection in quite the same way. The dash also helpfully lights up whenever…

Higher licence fees and permit costs are the changes that have grabbed people’s attention in 2020, but there is far more to Motorsport UK’s plans than that. Here the governing body talks Autosport through the bigger picture. When Motorsport UK’s licences were restructured in November, you announced a new investment strategy. How would you summarise it? It has been a year of major changes at Motorsport UK and the investment strategy is part of a new economic model that will allow us to deliver on the new objectives of Motorsport UK, and so it is all geared towards creating a sustainable future for the sport. The investment strategy focuses on four pillars of investment: member and club development to give our members a better experience and support clubs; sport promotion…

Gerry Marshall in Dealer Team Vauxhall’s Ventora FE ‘Big Bertha’ at Thruxton on 27 May 1974, its only Tricentrol Super Saloon series appearance. A five-litre Holden Repco V8 engine from GM’s Australian arm powered Bill Blydenstein/Frank Costin’s design, built by Gerry Johnstone at Shepreth, but its race career spanned barely four months. After three wins from five starts, a dislodged brake pad fired the 1375kg monster into Silverstone’s barriers on 4 August. Surviving parts were recycled into the lighter, nimbler and rarely beaten Firenza ‘Baby Bertha’ in which Marshall won the 1975 and 1976 titles. For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

LE MANS 24 HOURS The next generation of prototypes to race in the IMSA series in North America will be allowed to fight for outright victory in the World Endurance Championship. The new breed of LMP2-based hybrids due to take over from the current Daytona Prototype internationals in 2022 can join the WEC from the start of the 2021-22 season. The move announced last week ahead of this season’s IMSA SportsCar Championship opener at the Daytona 24 Hours will pitch a third class of car, labelled LMDh, against lookalike prototypes and the road-based machinery built to the LM Hypercar rules that will come on stream one season earlier this September. The Balance of Performance will be used to ensure equality between the different kinds of machinery. What was billed as…

FORMULA 1 Williams says development driver Dan Ticktum is “one of the best” it has ever seen in its Formula 1 simulator, and is confident it can harness his potential. Ticktum endured a difficult 2019, when after three races in Japan’s Super Formula series he was dropped from the Red Bull Junior programme. That decision appeared to make it difficult for him to find his way back in to F1, but late last year Williams announced that it had appointed him as a development driver. As well as two Macau Grand Prix wins and the 2017 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, Ticktum’s rollercoaster career also includes a spell in which he was banned from competing, of which he served one year, but Williams has confidence that it can get the best…

FORMULA 3 Reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion Oscar Piastri has joined Prema Racing for his step up this season to the FIA Formula 3 Championship. The Australian, who has also become a member of Renault’s F1 Academy, will race for a team whose drivers locked out the top three positions in the championship last year. It means that Prema has the two 2019 champions of Europe’s series for FIA Regional F3 cars, as Piastri (right) joins Formula Regional king Frederik Vesti in the line-up. Also on board is Logan Sargeant, who switches from Carlin. Prema boss Rene Rosin said: “We worked really hard over the winter to secure a competitive line-up and I’m satisfied with how the team has come together.” Renault has confirmed a graduation to Formula 2 for…

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP Next month’s Rally Sweden hangs by a thread, with the coldest of cold snaps needed to get the show on the road. Event CEO Glenn Olsson has told Autosport that he’s willing to accept a lack of snow – just as well because not a flake has fallen, and recent sunshine has given most of the stages a surreal summer look – but that if a big freeze doesn’t come by early next week the event will be off. World Rally Championship stakeholders are anxiously waiting on the weather, with a downturn in temperatures predicted for later this week. As Autosport went to press, it was four degrees and raining in the service park in Torsby. “We have very little snow, but the snow is a visual…

I’ve been dreaming about this for years: the same cars competing for overall victory at both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Daytona twice-around-the-clock enduro in North America. It’s never truly happened during my time on the sportscar beat over the past quarter of a century or so, but that was the vision unveiled last Friday at a joint press conference hosted by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and IMSA. I’m excited about what the two governing bodies told us on the eve of this year’s Daytona 24 Hours. That’s not so much the plans for 2021-22, but what they have in mind in the longer term for ‘my’ branch of the sport. Like so many dreams, this one was hazy in the detail and left me feeling more…

All winter Thierry Neuville had waited – and waited. Since Rally Spain last October, the Belgian had been forced into the shadows by an incoming World Rally champion. So profound has been the chatter about Ott Tanak joining Hyundai, it felt like the man who made Hyundai his own had been lost. Harbourside, Monaco, last Sunday afternoon, he was, most definitely, found. Neuville’s maiden Monte Carlo Rally win couldn’t have contrasted more comprehensively with Tanak’s result. By the time Thierry cracked the champagne open, the Estonian was at home reflecting on the biggest and fastest crash of his life. Once more, the World Rally Championship held its breath when the #8 Hyundai speared off the road at high speed on Friday’s second stage. The terrifying accident, which lasted an agonising…

Lamborghini made it three GT Daytona wins in three years. The battle for class honours came down to a straight fight between two of the Italian manufacturer’s Huracan GT3 Evos, though this time it wasn’t one of the Austrian Grasser team’s entries that did the business. The Grasser Racing Team’s bid for a hat-trick of its own was undone by a late charge from Andrea Caldarelli in the Paul Miller Racing Lambo. The Italian, who shared with Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow and Corey Lewis, came from behind at the end to overhaul the car run under the GRT Magnus banner with fellow factory driver Marco Mapelli at the wheel in the final hour. Caldarelli had taken 15 or so seconds out of the lead of his co-champion in last year’s…

Engineering team Tour-de-Force is taking orders for its TDF-1 package, which re-purposes either the 2011 Marussia MVR-02 or 2012 Sauber C31 Formula 1 cars for private circuit use. Each retains the factory carbonfibre tub and suspension, but receives a new 1730cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is capable of 600bhp in place of the original 2.4-litre V8. Barcelona and Paul Ricard feature on the designated driving days, in which customers will receive coaching from W Series racer Jessica Hawkins.…

CHANGES TO GINETTA SERIES Ginetta has revealed a number of tweaks to its series for 2020. The GRDC will now be open to experienced racers as well as its previous catchment of drivers completely new to motorsport, but will retain a rookie class. Instead of having a standalone grid, it will now join the back of the G40 Cup field. Elsewhere, the GT4 Supercup will now have a Pro, Pro Am and Am class format – replicating the system used by the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. NEW BRDC RISING STARS The latest batch of drivers to be selected to join the British Racing Drivers’ Club’s Rising Stars scheme has been announced. They include four champions of major national series from last year: Tom Canning (British GT4), Harry King (Ginetta GT4…

HILLCLIMB The first competitive speed hillclimb to be run on a closed public road in England this century will be the centrepiece of the Yorkshire Motorsport Festival. The Wolfstones Hillclimb, which will take place on 26-28 June, is open to Pre-’76 saloons and sportscars. Competitors will compete on a one-mile course in the moors above Huddersfield, near the picturesque village of Holmfirth, immortalised by the TV series Last of the Summer Wine. Brainchild of Michael McErlain – remembered for rallying a Ford GT40 in historic events – the multi-faceted festival will be run by the Mid-Derbyshire Motor Club on an 80-acre site. Legal permission and Motorsport UK licensing have been granted for the hillclimb, at which later competition cars will also be demonstrated. “We are incredibly excited to be able…

FILM REVIEW THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN It’s that age-old motor racing story: driver aspires to race in Formula 1, runs out of finance on their way up the single-seater ladder and so adopts a dog that’s voiced by Kevin Costner. Hang on a minute… that’s not right. This is only the first flight on our way to Chile as Autosport heads to the Santiago E-Prix, but perhaps it’s an early onset of jetlag that has us confused. As for what looked like a cameo appearance from Giancarlo Fisichella – perhaps we spent too much time chasing free spirit samples in duty free… It’s a tough life. After 109 minutes of in-flight entertainment, we’re still none the wiser as the credits role on The Art of Racing in…

Tyres are hardly the most engaging topic in motorsport, but they are crucial, and the maiden grand prix triumph for one supplier in its first full season sent the 1978 Formula 1 season into serious intrigue after its second race. “The tyre war is well and truly on” stated Jeff Hutchinson’s Autosport report, headlined ‘Michelin Man’, for the Brazilian GP – held at Rio Jacarepagua for the first time. Through the mid-1970s, Goodyear had dominated F1, winning every race and supplying pretty much the entire grid. Michelin had arrived with Renault in 1977 and then struck a deal to supply Ferrari for the following season in addition to the French marque. The reward was swift – in round two, on a typically hot Brazilian afternoon, Carlos Reutemann stormed away from…

FRONTAL PROTECTION With the quest for safety a never-ending journey, many single-seater championships are going down the route of the halo to offer further head protection for the driver. With the integration of a halo into an existing tub not feasible, this year the carbonfibre Tatuus chassis used in British F3 will incorporate an Advanced Frontal Protection (AFP) fin. The device, which was used in IndyCar last season, sits directly in front of the driver’s head and can be retrofitted, unlike a halo. It will help deflect debris away from the cockpit opening and act as a secondary roll structure. “It’s virtually impossible to reverse-engineer a halo into an existing tub and to swap the entire tub – it forces people to buy a new one which is very costly,” says Butterfield.…

One of the 750 Motor Club’s most popular championships for its close and competitive racing, with grids in 2019 averaging 34 entries across the 16 races. It was created in 2001, and modifications to the engine, suspension, brakes and transmission are all limited, with only one type of tyre permitted. It’s an entry-level championship, and second-hand cars are available from £4000. The Ma7da Series, which uses a Locost chassis but a more powerful 1.8-litre Mazda engine, was introduced last season as a stepping stone for competitors.…

The racing driver in me owes much to Porsche. That’s an odd thing to say considering I’ve raced one only once, at Knockhill, way back in 2008, but it was nonetheless utterly transformative, proving key to my progression as a driver. Driving in the single-make, national-level Carrera Cup with no prior experience of the circuit – or much else other than Formula Jedi and club-level karting – opened my eyes to just how… bad I was. Rory Butcher wowed crowds at his local track – forging a path that eventually carried him to British Touring Car title contention – while I (then aged 23) spun off repeatedly, broke my car’s clutch, struggled to defeat a couple of gentlemen backmarkers, and sweated buckets merely to lap within a couple of seconds…

“The Carrera Cup car I love,” enthuses Zamparelli. “It’s my favourite car to drive. It’s pure, it’s got that rawness about it.” I actually drove the Carrera Cup car first for this test – in at the deep end again, just like Knockhill in 2008. The nerves I felt when I first drove the 997 version are gone but that idiosyncratic rear-biased handling catches me out yet again when I brake too late at Club, pitching the car into a spin. I also flat-spot my scrubbed set of new tyres by nailing the brakes in a successful attempt to keep the thing out of the gravel. The vibrations are too severe to continue, so I drive a slow lap back around to the pits with that familiar sheepish feeling… “I…

Motorsport UK’s talent pathway exists to enable drivers to follow in the footsteps of McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris or World Rally winner Elfyn Evans, become the next Jamie Chadwick or navigate their way into the world of co-driving. The Motorsport UK Academy is the pinnacle of Motorsport UK’s talent development pathway and aims to equip the most promising young drivers with the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to maximise their performance. The Academy provides free, independent and informed guidance to help young drivers unlock their full potential as athletes. While the Academy develops the skills required to be a leading driver or co-driver, it also allows personal development and education opportunities. This ensures that athletes are provided with the tools they need to be successful at the top…

500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland kirkistown.com 028 4277 1325 750 Motor Club 750mc.co.uk 01332 814548 Aston Martin Owners Club amocracing.com 01865 400400 Bentley Drivers Club bdcl.org 01295 738886 British Automobile Racing Club barc.net 01264 882200 British Racing & Sports Car Club brscc.co.uk 01732 780100 Castle Combe Racing Club ccracingclub.co.uk 01249 784160 Classic & Modern Motorsport Club cmmotorsportclub.com 01225 777606 Classic Sports Car Club classicsportscarclub.co.uk 01225 810655 Darlington & District Motor Club darlingtondmc.com 01429 869407 Equipe Classic Racing equipeclassicracing.com 01279 883292 Fifties Sports Car Racing Club fiscar.org Formula Junior Historic Racing Association formulajunior.com 07871 046031 Goodwood Road Racing Club goodwood.com/grr 01243 755057 Historic Racing Drivers Club hrdc.eu Historic Sports Car Club hscc.org.uk 01327 858400 Lydden Hill Motorsport Club lyddenhill.co.uk 01304 830557 Masters Historic Racing mastershistoricracing.com 01234 713800 MG Car Club…

UK MOTORSPORT The British government has been urged to help keep the country’s motorsport industry as the ‘best in the world’ by ensuring there is a business-friendly post-Brexit immigration policy. The influential Motorsport Industry Association has joined more than 30 business groups plus its largest business lobbies in sending a letter to home secretary Priti Patel offering help in coming up with policies that work for the country’s industries. The UK boasts a massive motorsport industry, with its ‘Motorsport Valley’ business cluster generating revenues of more than £9billion per year. With many of those companies heavily reliant on freedom of movement to employ highly skilled staff from Europe, the fears are that strict immigration restrictions could become a deterrent for the best talent. In a tweet linking to the letter…

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP The days of Ott Tanak crashing frequently are gone. But even now, when the reigning world champion departs the straight and narrow, he does it in the most dramatic fashion. Five years ago he rolled into a Mexican reservoir. Last Friday, he levelled a tree and then fell off the edge of a cliff on the Monte Carlo Rally. Once again, footage of a Tanak crash went viral, but the Estonian couldn’t have cared less. His only focus in the wake of his brief Hyundai debut was on the lost seat time his fourth-stage Monte shunt caused. After a night in hospital for observation, Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja were cleared to fly home to Estonia, where they would begin plotting their comeback. Tanak told Autosport: “The…

TOYOTA RACING SERIES Reigning champion Liam Lawson bounced back from a miserable start to the weekend to win again in New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series at Teretonga and maintain his points advantage after two rounds of the 2020 series. A qualifying red flag, plus traffic on this short circuit, scuppered Lawson (above) on Saturday morning, and he lined up 13th. Caio Collet got a brilliant start from fourth, rounding battling poleman Igor Fraga and Gregoire Saucy at Turn 1 to emerge with the lead. Brazilian Renault F1 protege Collet, in the R-ace GP-assisted Mtec Motorsport entry, scampered clear to win from Saucy, Fraga and Franco Colapinto. Lawson carved his way up to sixth, but was unable to grab fifth from Ido Cohen, try as he might. Eighth place in the…

CHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS Congratulations to Peter Howarth from Bedford, winner of our Christmas quiz. His prize: Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II worth £295.95. A 1 1991 Japanese GP, Suzuka. 2 53. 3 3. 4 Giancarlo Serenelli, Sepang. 5 The first driver to contest a full season and score no points. 6 Ayrton Simmons. 7 14th. 8 Dean Stoneman. 9 Jake Hughes, 3.827s. 10 4. B 1 Mika Salo. 2 Robert Bell. 3 Gianni Morbidelli. 4 Jordi Gene. 5 Sean Gelael. 6 Steven Richards. 7 John Watson. C 1 Colin Turkington. 2 2 October 2011, Brands Hatch, Porsche Carrera Cup. 3 Norisring, 12. 4 #11 BR Engineering BR1-AER, 350.1km/h. 5 He claimed to have been blinded by the low sun. 6 2. 7 Jordan Pepper. 8 16 – Josh Files,…

For most motorsport fans, Honda’s first period of sustained success on an international stage – on four wheels at least – came during Formula 1’s first turbo era in the 1980s. But two decades before world titles with Williams and McLaren, Honda had demonstrated its engineering prowess against tough European opposition. The 1966 season was the third and final year of 1000cc multi-marque Formula 2. For two years, British firms Cosworth and BRM had dominated, but up-and-coming constructor Brabham secured exclusive use of Honda S800-based engines for season three. In its few outings in 1965 Honda’s effort had disappointed so, between November 1965 and March 1966, a new engine was created. In his autobiography When the Flag Drops, Jack Brabham explained the effort that was put in: “I made several…

When the 1500cc Formula 1 began in 1961, it made the 1500cc F2 redundant. Formula Junior took its place as the feeder series but, by 1963, these 1100cc single-carburettor road car-based engines were giving no more than 115bhp. F1 now had 200bhp so some felt another feeder formula was needed. A new Formula 2 of 1000cc full-race-specification engines was suggested, to take over from FJ and provide greater potential for rising power. Initially, the proposal was derided and 1200cc was demanded, but rejected. The new machines, sometimes in the hands of F1 drivers, were only 4% slower than the F1 cars of the day. An extra 200cc might have wiped out that differential. The F2 cars were lighter, had less drag, and were very nimble. For the first season in…

Recce done, the rest of the week was Dani Sordo’s own. What to do? Maybe take in some skiing, or head down to Monaco and chill by the sea for a while. Or just head home. Either way, getting up at four o’clock in the morning and driving all the Monte Carlo Rally stages for a third, then a fourth time, was definitely not part of his plans. That was before Bruno Thiry got sick and was no longer a viable solution to drive Thierry Neuville’s ice-note car. Neuville asked his colleague if he was up for it. The first answer wasn’t the one he wanted. “It’s a big responsibility,” said Sordo. “I wasn’t sure to do it.” Neuville worked on him, convinced him and the Spaniard was in. “Dani…

Wayne Taylor Racing made it two Daytona 24 Hours triumphs in a row last weekend, and three from four in the Daytona Prototype era. Twelve months ago, its Cadillac led 259 of the 593 laps. This time around WTR drivers Ryan Briscoe, Renger van der Zande, Kamui Kobayashi and Scott Dixon topped the leaderboard for 493 of the record 833 laps. That’s nearly 60% of the race duration compared with just over 40% last year. What makes that statistic so impressive is that the #10 WTR Cadillac DPi-V.R came back from a series of delays, each time regaining the initiative in double-quick order. It lost time with a drivethrough penalty, a lights issue, a change of brakes, a power-steering glitch and then a one-minute stop/go. It was almost as if…

HISTORIC GROUP C The very first Sauber C9 Group C sportscar built returned to the track for the first time in 30 years last week at Donington Park, after an 18-month restoration. Eventually developed into a Le Mans 24 Hours and World Sportscar title-winning package for 1989, the C9 struggled when it was introduced two years earlier. Plagued by unreliability, chassis 87-C9-01 – the first of its type – was raced predominantly by Mike Thackwell and Henri Pescarolo in Kouros colours. It then wore the prominent ‘circuit-board’ livery in a deal with sponsor AEG Olympia before switching to its current Silver Arrows scheme – adopted when it became the test car for the revised four-valve engine that would appear in the Mercedes C11 successor. This chassis was then fully rebuilt…

CLIO CUP UK Former British GT Championship racer Ben Wallace is the first driver to be confirmed as competing in the revamped Clio Cup UK series this year after joining Student Motorsport. The 20-year-old drove a Ginetta G55 for Team Hard in the GT4 class of British GT in 2018 and before that contested the Volkswagen Racing Cup. The relaunched Clio category features a new fifth-generation car and has joined the British GT support bill for 2020, Renault’s first year away from the BTCC-supporting package since it was introduced in 1993. Student Motorsport is the racing arm of a new membership network that provides students, graduates, educators and professionals with the resources to develop skills and links to the motorsport industry. Wallace has previously worked with team manager JP Latham…

CATERHAM GRADUATES The Caterham Graduates Racing Club has taken the unusual step of closing to any new members after receiving a significant amount of interest for the 2020 season. Over 90 drivers have signed up across the four Caterham Graduates classes and membership has increased by a third. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest in racing with us in 2020 and have taken the unusual decision to close membership this early, to ensure that our members will have the opportunity to race at as many meetings as possible,” explained club director Andrew Outterside. “We think our success in retaining existing members and attracting new members is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, our continued focus on having fun in a sociable environment for racers and their families. Safety and…

HISTORIC MONTE CARLO RALLY The most significant Porsche 924 in British history will return to competition after a 41-year hiatus in this week’s Historic Monte Carlo Rally. UCN 201S won the club racing championship promoted in 1978 by Porsche Cars GB, which was contested by a host of drivers including 1975 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Derek Bell. Entered by Gordon Ramsay Limited, it was one of two cars prepared to tight regulations – basically standard 140bhp spec with blueprinted engine, plus safety equipment – by Broadspeed Engineering. Driven by Tony Dron, the former Unipart F3 and Triumph Dolomite Sprint racer, ‘UCN’ won six of the nine races. With the series discontinued, the car sat dormant before being re-prepared for the 1979 Brands Hatch 6 Hours round of the World…

As two Brazilians faltered in Formula 1, there was a compatriot ready to replace either one. Despite his role in orchestrating a victory for Fernando Alonso in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, the pressure hanging over Nelson Piquet Jr at Renault wouldn’t alleviate. A few garages down the pitlane, and prior to Honda’s withdrawal from F1 amid the global economic crisis, rumour had it that Rubens Barrichello’s seat was in jeopardy. Waiting in the wings for either slot was Lucas di Grassi. Ahead of finishing third in the 2008 GP2 standings, di Grassi had impressed Renault during a three-day test in September at Jerez aboard the R28. Then, in November, he ran at Barcelona in the outgoing Honda RA108 – battling alongside Bruno Senna to impress Ross Brawn. “At the…

The UK national motorsport scene is truly incredible. From sporting trials to hillclimbs, autograss to circuit racing, the amount of motorsport on offer in this country is matched in very few other places around the world. And at Autosport we want to celebrate that diversity. As we mark 70 years of Autosport magazine, we plan to make sure the spotlight shines more brightly on the remarkable breadth of national motorsport on offer. Alongside our regular club coverage at the back of the magazine each week, where we will continue to provide news stories, analysis, opinions and the latest event reports, each month we will also have a national motorsport supplement. This will explore some of the amazing characters, cars and clubs we have in this country. We will also investigate…

Nowhere else in the world is national motorsport as strong as it is in the UK, with a wealth of championships and series on offer, but that wouldn’t be the case without the existence of the various racing clubs throughout the country. One of the longest running and most successful is the 750 Motor Club, which in 2020 is entering its 81st season. Founded in 1939 by a group of Austin Seven enthusiasts, the club has grown beyond recognition over the decades and now boasts 26 championships/series in its roster and a membership of around 2000. The club was created with an ethos of affordable racing, which remains part of its DNA, from its membership fee of just £25 to strict regulations within its categories to ensure costs are kept…

Last season it attracted the largest average grids of all the 750 Motor Club’s championships and series, with 41 entries. Multi-class racing split into three classes – class A (300bhp/tonne), class B (240bhp/tonne) and class C (180bhp/tonne) – as well as an invitational class. Races are usually two hours, often with one three-hour race per season, with a mandatory pitstop. Driving duties can be carried out individually or with a team-mate. No slicks helps keep the costs down and the racing competitive.…

The Boxster is simply a great place to start your Porsche racing journey. It is a superb entry-level club racing car. No frills, no bells, no whistles. Well, a few tiny bells and whistles – namely tweaked suspension, Mintex racing brake pads and trackday ‘cut-slick’ Pirelli tyres. But from the driver’s perspective this is as basic as it gets: a road car on the race track. The result, as you’d expect, is minimal technological help (save for basic ABS) and a highly enjoyable driving experience: three pedals, manual six-speed gearbox, 8000rpm red-line on the rev counter; fill ’er up, heel-and-toe and off you go! My prior experience of Boxster racing was a particularly rambunctious outing in the British Racing and Sports Car Club’s Porsche Championship in 2013. The ethos behind…

Nineteen-year-old Harry King is the reigning Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion, and follows an illustrious line of competitors who’ve joined Porsche Carrera Cup as junior drivers from Porsche Motorsport GB’s scholarship scheme. Successful Blancpain GT racer Michael Meadows, Supercup racer Josh Webster and Aston Martin factory GT driver Charlie Eastwood have all used the junior scheme as a springboard to bigger and better things. King hopes to follow them, but first he must make the most of a two-year programme aimed at developing his racing skills while contributing £85,000 per season to his Carrera Cup GB budget. “It’s a really big opportunity – one of the biggest in British motorsport,” says King. “I don’t think there are any other junior programmes that offer two years. If I go in with high…