Innehållsförteckning för November 9, 2017 från Autosport

LAST WEEK, LEWIS HAMILTON – RIGHTLY – GRABBED all the plaudits for securing his fourth Formula 1 world crown. This week we speak to his defeated rival, Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari star might have missed out on adding to his own four titles, but Vettel is still upbeat about his chances of finally taking Ferrari back to the very top – assuming it doesn’t withdraw following the spat over F1’s 2021 engine regulations (see page 6). The Vettel-Ferrari combination has certainly got stronger and it is clear the German dearly wants to follow in the footsteps of his hero and countryman Michael Schumacher by dominating in red. However, there are still a few rough edges. Vettel accepts his actions in Azerbaijan (clashing with Hamilton behind the safety car) were not…

BRDC BRITISH FORMULA 3 RACER JAMIE Chadwick says she believes all drivers should compete in Formula Ford 1600 at some stage in their career, having taken part in the Walter Hayes Trophy last weekend. The 19-year-old competed in a Graham Brunton Racing Ray GR15 at Silverstone after agreeing a deal only days before the event. “It’s always been in the back of my mind [to do it], I said on social media I wanted to do it and then Jonny Adam, my old driving coach, put me in touch with Graham Brunton,” she said. “I’ve said so many times that the first test session was some of the most fun I’ve had all year. “It’s just a really great event, I’m going to have to encourage some of the other…

THE FIRST OF THE ASTON MARTIN DB4 GT continuation cars took to the track for the first time last week when Michael Mallock shook down the development model at Snetterton. A total of 25 continuation cars are being built by Aston Martin for track use, based around a two-year programme of trackdays at high-profile circuits across the world, including Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi. Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner will head up the instructor team, but there are no plans for the cars to race. The DB4 GT, launched in 1959, won on its debut at Silverstone in the hands of Stirling Moss. Just 75 DB4 GTs were built and values of the surviving examples of the eight special lightweight cars are now around £3million. The 25 continuation cars…

THE REVIVED JUNIOR SALOON Car Championship scholarship has attracted strong interest, despite entries only being open for a short period. The series for 14-17-year-olds did not run a scholarship for the 2017 season, but has decided to revive the initiative. An assessment day will take place at Silverstone on February 24 and the winner will receive a fully funded season in the category in 2018 – a prize estimated to be worth £30,000. Entries for the scholarship were open from the middle of last month, and half of the places had already been filled within days. The series has also entered a partnership with three charities – the Teenage Cancer Trust, Blood Bikers and the National Autistic Society – and the scholar will act as an ambassador for them. “We…

A LAST-LAP MISTAKE AT BROOKLANDS BY JAMES Raven gifted Matt Round-Garrido victory in heat one on a wet track, with polesitter Jake Byrne finishing third after a spin on the opening lap. Ross Martin secured a lights-to-flag victory in heat two as Kevin O’Hara took second, with Luke Cooper, who started eighth after suffering damage in qualifying when he collided with Sebastian Melrose coming out of the assembly area, finishing third. The front three of Joey Foster, Jordan Dempsey and British F3 driver Jamie Chadwick stayed unchanged from start to finish in heat three. Keith Donegan lost on-the-road victory and was demoted to fifth after last-lap contact at Luffield with last year’s event winner, Niall Murray, in heat four. Team USA scholar driver Jonathan Kotyk inherited the win, with Murray…

TRUCKS (11 LAPS) 1 Ryan Smith (MAN TGA); 2 David Jenkins (MAN TGX) +2.205s; 3 Shane Brereton (MAN TGX); 4 Stuart Oliver (Volvo VN); 5 Simon Reid (Iveco Stralis); 6 Mat Summerfield (MAN TGS). Fastest lap Smith 1m07.757s (64.17mph). Pole Brereton. Starters 12. RACE 2 (15 LAPS) 1 Luke Taylor (MAN TGX); 2 Smith +0.792s; 3 Richard Collett (MAN TGX); 4 Ray Coleman (MAN TG); 5 Brereton; 6 Michael Oliver (Scania Truck). FL Brereton 1m00.661s (71.68mph). P Terry Gibbon (MAN TGS). S 12. RACE 3 (12 LAPS) 1 S Oliver; 2 Smith +4.903s; 3 Coleman; 4 Collett; 5 Taylor; 6 Gibbon. FL Smith 59.081s (73.60mph). P Frans Smit (Scania T124). S 12. DIVISION 2 (5 LAPS) 1 Luke Garrett (MAN TGA); 2 Tony Smith (Sisu SL250) +3.456s; 3 Mika Makinen…

1 ENAAM AHMED Carlin Took wins at every meeting bar one in an almost-perfect season. Highlight was a stunning drive from seventh on the grid at Spa to win in race two. Rockingham the only noticeable blip with an error at the start in race three. 2 BEN HINGELEY Fortec Motorsports On his day was quick enough to beat anyone, but needed more consistency to mount a serious title challenge. Faultless drive from pole in race one at Donington showed he should have challenged Ahmed more often. Two DNFs at Brands Hatch was the low point. 3 TOBY SOWERY Lanan Racing Disappointing season with only two wins at Silverstone showing a brief glimmer of hope in the hunt for the championship. Lost a third win at Brands after being excluded.…

A STRONG LMP1 GRID FOR NEXT YEAR’S LE MANS 24 Hours and the 2018/19 World Endurance Championship ‘superseason’ looks assured after a spate of announcements by privateers in the past 10 days. The combined news means that there should be a minimum of seven non-hybrid independent cars in the field when the WEC reconvenes at Spa next May. The British Manor squad, a WEC player in LMP2 over the past two seasons, has firmed up its intention to graduate to P1 with a Ginetta. The current plan is for one car, but the team is saying that it could expand its assault to two entries before the start of the season. What it isn’t saying is whether it will use the Mecachrome twin-turbo around which the British P1 machine has…

FORMULA 2 AND GP3 DATES SET Formula 2 and GP3 have added slots at the returning French Grand Prix to their calendars for 2018, and will also be back at the Russian GP. The standalone Jerez event has been dropped, meaning a net gain of one round to 12 (F2) and nine (GP3), all as Formula 1 supports. Both will race at the Spanish, French, Austrian, British, Hungarian, Belgian, Italian, Russian and Abu Dhabi GPs, with F2 also in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Monaco. BOSCHUNG SPLITS FROM CAMPOS Swiss F2 racer Ralph Boschung has parted ways with Campos Racing before the Abu Dhabi finale. Boschung, whose best result in his rookie season has been seventh, has had four different team-mates this year. VW CUP CHAMPION THOMPSON IN BTCC Volkswagen Racing Cup…

This year, I have been fortunate enough to spectate at the Silverstone rounds of the World Endurance Championship, British GT and British Touring Cars (my traditional visits to the grand prix and Silverstone Classic were prevented by clashing engagements). At each of these events, I witnessed some fantastic motorsport (and some bad examples) in both the main and support categories. However, the closest, most entertaining racing I have seen in 2017 was provided by my most recent trip to the circuit, for the Walter Hayes Trophy. I was only in attendance from Semi Final 1 onwards, but every race was action packed, with the lead never being guaranteed from one lap to the next. Particular highlights were Joey Foster’s last-gasp victory in Semi Final 2 and the gaggle of five…

For any driver attempting to work their way up the racing ladder, it is always a challenge when competing against racers that are much older than you. But that is even more difficult when you are as many as five years younger than the drivers you are battling with in a competitive karting series. That was the case this season for Monde-Jnr Konini. He was racing in the Super One IAME Cadet class aged just eight. Some of his rivals were as old as 13. Konini finished 27th in the standings this year, but the results weren’t too important – instead it was more about gaining experience. “It’s very difficult and challenging,” admits Konini about the task of racing against much older competitors. But this is a driver who clearly…

GERMAN CLASSIC SPORTSCAR RACER Nik Ditting had a first test in his recently purchased Aston Martin DBR9 at Donington Park last week. Ditting, who has previously raced an Alfa Romeo GTA, Ford GT40 and Chevron B16, is planning to race the car in next season’s new Masters Endurance Legends series. Experienced sportscar racer Sam Hancock gave the GT1 car its shakedown before Ditting took over. The car is being run by Tim Samways, who has also tended it during its stay in a private collection over the past few years. “It had been in Brazil and hardly raced – I believe its last race was in 2006,” said Samways.…

HISTORIC DEBUT FOR BESLEY Charlie Besley, the 18-year-old son of Formula Junior racer Crispian, made his historic racing debut at Silverstone last month at the wheel of his father’s front-engined Elva 100 and claimed a podium finish. He had made his car debut a week earlier in a Mazda MX-5 and is hoping to step up to Renault Clios next year with Westbourne Motorsport. BLETSOE-BROWN’S DEREK BELL AWARD Mike Bletsoe-Brown has been confirmed as series winner in the HSCC Derek Bell Trophy after an excellent season in his Formula 2 Chevron B27. The Northamptonshire racer saw off the joint Formula 5000-class victors Neil Glover (Chevron B37) and Jamie Brashaw (March 73A). NEW SCOTTISH MOTORSPORT FESTIVAL Scotland’s place in motorsport history will be marked in a new static event to be…

THE WILLIAMS FILM RELEASED earlier this year is not a simple narrative tale charting the Formula 1 team’s history – it’s much more than that. Williams is a powerful family story – one that Autosport (August 3 2017) said “arguably surpasses Senna – the yardstick by which all F1-related documentaries are judged”. The film is based on the book by Sir Frank Williams’ late wife, Lady Virginia ‘Ginny’ Williams, A different Kind of Life, which was co-written by Pamela Cockerill. The audio recordings the pair made as they produced the book provided important insights for the film. “The tapes only exist as I’m an absolute hoarder,” says Cockerill. “It’s a miracle that I didn’t record over them.” Remembering the time she spent writing A different Kind of Life with Ginny,…

FERRARI SAYS IT IS PREPARED TO WALK away from Formula 1 after 2020, as it questions Liberty Media’s plan regarding the new engine regulations for 2021 and beyond. “Liberty has got a couple of good intentions in all of this, one of which is to reduce the cost of execution for the team, which I think is good,” said Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne in a conference call with analysts to discuss Ferrari’s latest financial results. “[But] there are a couple of things we don’t necessarily agree with. One is the fact that somehow powertrain uniqueness is not going to be one of the drivers of distinctiveness of the participants’ line-up. “I would not countenance this going forward. The fact that we now appear to be at odds in terms of…

November 10-12 INTERLAGOS LENGTH 2.677 miles NUMBER OF LAPS 71 2016 POLE POSITION Lewis Hamilton 1m10.736s POLE LAP RECORD Nico Rosberg 1m10.023s (2014) RACE LAP RECORD Juan Pablo Montoya 1m11.473s (2004) TYRE ALLOCATION UK START TIMES LIVE ON SKY SPORTS F1 FRIDAY FP1 1200 FP2 1600 SATURDAY FP3 1300 QUALIFYING 1600 SUNDAY RACE 1600 RADIO BBC RADIO 5 LIVE 1600 HIGHLIGHTS ON CHANNEL 4 RACE SUNDAY 2230 PREVIOUS WINNERS THEMES TO WATCH WEATHER WATCHING The Sao Paulo climate can be fickle, and has often had a major effect on the Brazilian GP. Will this add chaos to events at Interlagos once again? BOTTAS EYES SECOND Valtteri Bottas closed to 15 points off Sebastian Vettel in the battle for second in the points. Can he make the pass to establish a…

THE 2017 GP3 SEASON got off to a perfect start for Jack Aitken when he took pole at the Barcelona opener. But a sensor problem effectively shutting down his engine as he fought Nirei Fukuzumi for the win put him out of race one. That retirement, plus a slightly disappointing run of results in Austria and Britain – just when George Russell was hitting a purple patch – left him adrift in the standings. Aitken rallied with a blistering pole and race-one win in Hungary, and scored battling podiums at Spa and Monza, but paid heavily for a mistake passing Dorian Boccolacci in the second Belgian race, ending up 18th. “It’s not the season I wanted, but I’ll come back stronger” “[I’m] massively gutted,” Aitken reflected aft er the title was ultimately…

AUSTRALIAN SUPERCARS PUKEKOHE (NZ) NOVEMBER 4-5 ROUND 13/14 JAMIE WHINCUP WILL HEAD INTO THE final Supercars round of the season with a 30-point series lead after winning the Jason Richards Trophy in New Zealand. The Red Bull Holden driver backed up a fourth place from Saturday’s opening 200-kilometre race at Pukekohe with a controlled win over chief title rival and local hero Scott McLaughlin on Sunday afternoon, setting up a thrilling title showdown ahead of the finale in Newcastle (that’s the New South Wales Newcastle, as opposed to the Geordie one) later this month. The pair were inseparable all weekend; on Saturday they spent the first two stints scrapping for the lead, the battle getting physical enough that then-leader Whincup was at one point slapped with a bad sportsmanship flag…

WALTER HAYES TROPHY WINNER Michael Moyers has decided not to compete in the Castle Combe FF1600 Championship next season and is looking to compete in the British Racing and Sports Car Club Formula Ford 1600 National Championship instead. Moyers has competed fulltime in the Castle Combe FF1600 contest for the past three seasons. But after failing to win the title, finishing second twice and third in 2017, the 32-year old has declared his intention to race at other venues across the UK. “I don’t think there’s a more competitive series in the UK, the driving level is really high and it’s relatively affordable,” said Moyers of the national series, which has grown in popularity in recent seasons and will support the new TCR UK Championship next year. “I’ve been looking…

THE VOLKSWAGEN RACING CUP WILL support the new TCR UK series at three of its events next season in a series shake-up. The category has announced an eight-event calendar and will team up with TCR UK at its Silverstone, Oulton Park and Croft rounds. It will retain its place on the British GT undercard for the other five rounds. As well as the reshuffled calendar, the series will introduce a new Class B division for lower-specification VW group cars. It is also likely to merge with its sister series, the VAG Trophy. Next year’s champion will also win a test in a Maximum Motorsport-run SEAT Leon Cupra TCR car. Maximum boss and series director Stewart Lines said: “I think we’ve created a fantastic package for 2018. “I’m excited and looking…

WALKINSHAW GETS TCR HONDA Sean Walkinshaw Racing has begun testing its new Honda Civic TCR car ahead of its planned entry into TCR UK next season. The team has taken delivery of the first of its two Civics and was testing at Donington Park last week. Drivers to get behind the wheel of the car included GT4 Northern Europe Cup race winner Charlie Fagg and former Renault UK Clio Cup drivers Kyle Hornby and Alex Sedgwick. JARDINE REPLACES MORRIS AT WHT Jamie Jardine was given the latest of call-ups to race in the Walter Hayes Trophy in place of the injured Rick Morris at the weekend. The Pre-’90 Triple Crown and National champion in 2014 raced a Ray GR09 to 28th in his semi. NEW CLASS FOR GT4 CARS IN…

SILVERSTONE WALTER HAYES TROPHY NOVEMBER 4-5 THE SAYING GOES THAT IF AT FIRST you don’t succeed, try and try again. For Michael Moyers, those words have never held truer meaning. On three occasions the 32-year-old had led the Walter Hayes Trophy finale, and each time bad luck or a blip in concentration had cost him the prize he craved the most. That was before a last-lap pass on Castle Combe Formula Ford rival Josh Fisher in a dramatic and heated 2017 final secured an emotional and popular win. “It feels like the weight of the world is off my shoulders. It’s not going to get any better than this and I’m going to let this sink in,” said Moyers. “I think it has helped, to be honest [not thinking about…

BRANDS HATCH BARC NOVEMBER 4-5 COMING INTO THE SEASON FINALE, Ryan Smith only needed a single point to claim his second British Truck Racing Championship title in as many years. Stuart Oliver was mathematically in contention, but his chances were extremely slim as he needed to win all four races, with Smith failing to score at all, to claim the title. Come race one, Smith made it clear that he was not going to play it safe and, starting from second on the grid, he went around the outside of polesitter Shane Brereton as the pack stormed through Paddock Hill Bend and began to open up the gap in an eff ort to secure the title as early as possible. His strategy worked out perfectly and a win in the…