Innehållsförteckning för 25/07/19 från Autosport

Red Bull is not the most popular team in Formula 1. A (relative) lack of history is probably part of the reason, as is its domination during the later years of the V8 era in 2010-13. Perhaps its public and not always entirely pleasant spat with Renault doesn’t help either. But fans of F1 – and indeed motorsport in general – have much to thank Red Bull for, as Scott Mitchell shows on page 16. As well as providing two F1 teams, supporting drivers at many levels of the sport and helping to bring back the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull has also boosted F1 by doing the sort of off-the-wall things that it’s hard to imagine Ferrari or Mercedes trying. And, importantly, it’s a seriously strong racing operation too,…

WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP Toyota has agreed to a series of rule changes designed to finally get the privateer LMP1 cars on terms with its TS050 HYBRIDs in the 2019-20 World Endurance Championship. At the same time it has introduced a revised version of its P1 contender for its fourth and final WEC campaign. That isn’t the contradiction that it might at first appear. Toyota Motorsport GmbH technical director Pascal Vasselon insists that the manufacturer can’t afford to rest on its laurels as the independents continue to move forward with the help of the rulebook and through development. “It was not an option for us to stand still and count on the others not developing,” he said. “We have already seen some progress from Le Mans last year and Le Mans…

BTCC Cosworth Electronics has won the tender to supply the standardised hybrid powertrain in the British Touring Car Championship from 2022, which will lead to the scrapping of success ballast. The BTCC currently uses weight to slow down the most successful cars, but that will be replaced with restrictions on the percentages of power each competitor can use from the new hybrid-energy system. Series bosses also confirmed that drivers will activate the system via a push-button to use the power boost to defend or attack. Cosworth Electronics has designed a 60-volt system, which will weigh no more than 64kg when the full equipment is installed in the cars. In its purest form, the hybrid boost will be available for a maximum of 15 seconds per lap and provide a power…

Seventh place was once the most accursed finishing position in Formula 1. For more than four decades it was the difference between the all of a point and the nothing of a blank. The cruel, hard line between sixth and seventh hexed many a driver, none more so than during eight mid-season races in 1992 when Michele Alboreto took his Footwork to six of them for no reward. Since 2003, seventh has offered points, but still it remains an uncomfortable position to be in an era of three teams monopolising the top six. If you’re seventh, you’ve won the battle for scraps – a great achievement but hardly nourishing for the racing driver that lives to win. Nobody has finished seventh more times in F1 world championship history than Sergio…

Smile on his face, red cape (and nothing more) on his torso, Christian Horner leaps into the swimming pool of the Red Bull Energy Station. It’s May 2006, and Horner is not making quite the same jump as around 15 months previously, when he was placed in charge of Red Bull’s new, wholly owned Formula 1 squad and named the youngest team principal in the championship’s history. But it’s significant nonetheless: Red Bull, the party team, the young disruptor, has just scored its first podium finish on its 26th attempt. Horner’s leadership by example triggers post-race celebrations that descend into a massive shoving contest as team members rush to throw one another in the water as well. “I can’t see Zak Brown doing that now,” grins Horner as he reflects…

Red Bull’s Formula 1 empire had humble beginnings. The junior programme, which spawned from Helmut Marko’s Red Bull-backed Formula 3000 team, was formally founded in the early 2000s after Red Bull’s initial young-driver support allowed the company to back talents in different countries at their discretion. “IF YOU’RE NOT WINNING IN A CATEGORY STRAIGHT AWAY, YOU’RE NOT THE RIGHT GUY” Of course there was some payback. Red Bull would benefit from the exposure and the connection in different world markets, particularly as it expanded its junior set-up outside of Europe. Talented drivers could grab some support – money, racewear, guidance – and Red Bull had a large pool of racers across the world decked out in the company’s colours. But that’s as far as it went because Red Bull had…

W SERIES ASSEN (NLD) 20 JULY ROUND 5/6 As the conclusion of the inaugural W Series season draws closer, the penultimate round at Assen last weekend ensured that the title battle between Williams Formula 1 development driver Jamie Chadwick and Beitske Visser will go down to the wire at the final at Brands Hatch next month. Just 13 points separate the pair from the $500,000 available to the champion. Chadwick, who began her march on the W Series crown in dominant style at the season opener at Hockenheim in May, denied Visser a home podium on Saturday after a race-long battle for third place. Visser ultimately ran out of time to make a move stick on Chadwick in the 30-minute sprint. But the stand-out performances of the Assen weekend came…

DTM ASSEN (NLD) 20-21 JULY ROUND 5/9 “Today’s setback is tomorrow’s comeback.” That quote, attributed to Marco Wittmann, made for a nice motivational post for BMW and its driver after his home weekend at the Norisring proved a disaster thanks to a retirement and a middling eighth place that put a dent in the two-time DTM champion’s bid for a third crown. But that easy-to-disregard PR line proved spot-on after a remarkable Assen weekend acted as a reminder of why Wittmann is probably championship leader Rene Rast’s greatest threat. Wittmann bounced back immediately, taking pole position for the Assen opener despite free practice form and paddock whispers suggesting Audi had taken a clear step over BMW in recent rounds. But the answer as to which manufacturer is the DTM’s pacesetter…

The revived Ecurie Ecosse racing team, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Jaguar D-types in 1956-57, has revealed that it is creating a new road-legal track car. Inspired by the Jaguar XJ13 sportscar, the Scottish outfit has now revived the 1966 project by building the LM69. The original XJ13 was the marque’s first mid-engined model, but it never raced after lengthy delays to the development meant it would have been uncompetitive against the seven-litre Ford Mk2, which won at Le Mans in 1966. The new car, of which only 25 will be built, complies with the 1969 FIA homologation regulations and will be officially launched at Hampton Court Palace across 6-8 September.…

750MC The Locost Championship commemorated its 20th anniversary at Cadwell Park last weekend, celebrating with drivers past and present. Ron Champion, author of Build your own Sports Car for as little as £250, the book that set the foundations for the series, visited to see the Locosts in action 20 years on, alongside myriad drivers who have enjoyed racing in the championship over the years. Celebrations were originally intended to be held at the early-summer Silverstone meeting, until the event was postponed due to track resurfacing ahead of the British Grand Prix. “This is the closest date on the calendar to the 20th anniversary of the first race, which started in 1999 at Mallory Park,” said 750 Motor Club competition secretary Giles Groombridge. “Locost has become one of the strongest,…

SPA BRITISH GT 21 JULY There’s nothing quite like winning to instil confidence in a driver, so it was entirely apt that Ollie Wilkinson should follow up his first career victory in International GT Open with a maiden British GT triumph one week later at Spa alongside Bradley Ellis. Carrying an extra 30kg aboard his Optimum Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 as a Silver Cup entrant, 23-year-old Wilkinson has made strong progress in his second season of GT3 racing and when Spa’s famous microclimate threw a curveball before qualifying, he splashed to pole in his session by almost half a second – a full 2.6s up on the best Pro-Am entry – which laid the foundations for the weekend. Wilkinson aced the start and made no mistakes in traffic, handing…

SPA BRDC BRITISH F3 20-21 JULY Ayrton Simmons delivered his best weekend of the BRDC British F3 Championship season so far at Spa, gaining ground in the title battle. The Chris Dittmann Racing driver stormed to a double pole in qualifying, held (unusually) on Friday afternoon, securing himself a start from the front in races one and three. But Carlin’s Kaylen Frederick ensured Simmons didn’t come away from those encounters with a maximum return. In Saturday’s opening contest Simmons made a clean getaway from the Double R entry of fellow front-row starter Neil Verhagen, while Frederick began his progress from fourth on the grid. Simmons was far enough ahead not to be challenged on the first lap while Frederick began to mount his challenge. The American proved feisty in battle,…

BRANDS HATCH MSVR 20-21 JULY The Mini Challenge JCW championship battle intensified at Brands Hatch as title rivals Nathan Harrison and James Gornall clashed in the last race. The pair took a win apiece, with Ben Palmer also victorious in the triple-header that headlined the Mini Festival. Harrison consolidated his championship lead with some battling efforts, bouncing back after struggling in wet qualifying when he salvaged fifth on the grid for race one, only after pitting late on for scrubbed wets. From there, he finished third behind Gornall and polesitter Dan Zelos after losing out when attempting to go three-wide into Druids with Gornall and Palmer. Front-row men Gornall and Zelos got sideways at Druids on the opening lap of race two, allowing Harrison into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish.…

DONINGTON PARK MGCC 20-21 JULY A lap penalty for speeding in the pitlane and an additional five seconds for track limits still wasn’t enough to stop the Plastic Fantastic team of TVR Granturas (Rob Cull/Rod Begbie/Mark Ashworth) taking victory in the weekend’s flagship Equipe Classic Relay race. Finishing one better than last season’s exploits, with the penalties applied Plastic Fantastic was only 3.3s ahead of the 50 Shades team of Lotus Elans (Stephen Bond/Clifford Gray/Keith Fell/Piers Gormly). Squadra Budino Nero dominated the first third of the three-hour race with Tom Smith in his MGB Roadster pumping in fastest lap after fastest lap, comfortably 2s quicker than anybody else on track. Combined with Smith’s lightning speed and the battle for second between Plastic Fantastic’s Begbie and 50 Shades’ Fell, his team’s…

SCOTTISH FORMULA FORD 1600 Races 1 & 2 Matt Cowley (Ray GR18) Race 3 Jordan Gronkowski (Van Diemen JL012K) SCOTTISH SPORTS & SALOONS AND IRISH GLOBAL GT LIGHTS Races 1 & 2 Andy Forrest (Radical) Race 3 Ron Cumming (Nemesis Kit Car) SCOTTISH MINI COOPER CUP Race 1 Michael Weddell Race 2 Ian Munro (below) Race 3 Vic Covey Jr SCOTTISH LEGENDS Heat 1 John Paterson Heat 2 David Newall Final David Hunter SCOTTISH CLASSIC SPORTS & SALOONS Races 1, 2 & 3 Alastair Baptie (MGB GT V8) SCOTTISH CITROEN C1 CUP Race 1 Ryan Smith Race 2 Ross Dunn MOTORSPORT UK BRITISH SUPERKART CHAMPIONSHIP F125 OPEN Race 1 Sam Moss (Anderson DEA) Races 2 & 3 Liam Morley (Anderson DEA) MOTORSPORT UK BRITISH SUPERKART CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 1/F250 NATIONAL/F450 Races…

Andy Rouse quells a brief chirrup of oversteer as his ICS Rover Vitesse wags its tail at Oulton Park’s Lodge Corner in round three of the RAC Trimoco British Saloon Car Championship in 1984. Though the Vitesse was the butt of many jokes in the car industry, in Rouse’s hands it more than held its own in Class A against factory opposition and the likes of BMW and Ford. Rouse finished second to the BMW 635CSi of James Weaver here, but won the championship with 81 points – his nearest Class A rival was BMW’s Frank Sytner, on 30… For classic tin-top DVDs head to dukevideo.com/Touring-Car For more great photographs, visit motorsportimages.com…

A NEW MASTERS FORMULA 1 BATTLE The Nick Padmore-Williams FW07 combination that has been so tough to beat in recent years is not contesting FIA Masters Historic Formula 1 this season, leaving the way clear for others. Youngster Matteo Ferrer-Aza leads the championship, having made a successful switch from junior single-seaters to Ligier JS11/15, but the experienced Martin Stretton is a serious threat. Stretton’s Tyrrell 012 twice beat the Ligier at Brands Hatch in May and won the first race at Magny-Cours last month. Others should be able to get into the mix too. Steve Hartley was a winner at Brands Hatch in his McLaren MP4/1B, while Lotus 91 driver Katsu Kubota snatched a last-gasp victory from Hartley in the first British Grand Prix-supporting race. This year, the races are…

1955 COOPER-JAGUAR T38 CURRENT OWNER FREDERIC WAKEMAN Charles and John Cooper’s first attempt to harness Jaguar’s rorty 3.4-litre straight-six XK engine, introduced in 1948, for sportscar racing came in the tubeframe-chassised T33 with all-independent suspension and disc brakes. Three emerged from their Surbiton works in 1954, for Peter Whitehead, Bertie Bradnack and Jack Walton. The prototype was sleekly clothed initially but they all ultimately raced with curious pared-down bodies that exposed the driver in low-cut cockpits. The subsequent T38 model incorporated many lessons learned by the 500cc Formula 3 kings, who had produced two-litre Cooper-Bristols in single-seater and cycle-winged sportscar guises in some numbers by that stage. The newcomer’s running gear was clothed in a pleasantly curvaceous body, with the uprated engine now carried further back. Again three were built,…

As Nigel Brain lined up for the South Downs Stages at the Goodwood Motor Circuit, it was hard not to do a double take. For the most part, his MGB roadster looked like a conventional historic rally car thanks to its mud flaps and a brace of spotlights. But down the flanks it wore stickers from racing in the Classic Sports Car Club’s Classic K series and Equipe GTS. That’s because, for 2019, he decided to give his car a double identity to follow his Formula 1 heroes. Brain used to rally a Ford Escort Mk2 in local Tarmac events before enlisting in the military, during which time he flew the Westland Lynx. It holds the official helicopter top speed record, clocked at 249mph, so perhaps a return to the…

RACING ASTON MARTIN OWNERS CLUB amocracing.com 01865 893930 BENTLEY DRIVERS CLUB bdcl.org 01295 738886 CLASSIC & MODERN MOTORSPORT CLUB cmmotorsportclub.com 01225 777606 CLASSIC SPORTS CAR CLUB classicsportscarclub.co.uk 01225 810655 FIFTIES SPORTS CAR RACING CLUB fiscar.org GOODWOOD ROAD RACING CLUB goodwood.com/grr 01243 755057 HISTORIC GRAND PRIX CARS ASSOCIATION hgpca.net 020 7785 7204 HISTORIC RACING DRIVERS CLUB hrdc.eu 07850 361159 HISTORIC SPORTS CAR CLUB hscc.org.uk 01327 858400 JAGUAR ENTHUSIASTS’ CLUB RACING jec.org.uk/racing 0117 9698186 MASTERS HISTORIC RACING mastershistoricracing.com 01234 713800 MG CAR CLUB mgcc.co.uk/motorsport 01235 849738 MORGAN SPORTS CAR CLUB morgansportscarclub.com 01666 238083 MOTOR RACING LEGENDS motorracinglegends.com 01379 678101 VINTAGE SPORTS CAR CLUB vscc.co.uk 01608 644777 750 MOTOR CLUB 750mc.co.uk 01332 814548 RALLYING EUROPEAN HISTORIC SPORTING RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP fia.com 07850 783555 HISTORIC RALLY CAR REGISTER hrcr.co.uk 01332 652533 IRISH HISTORIC TARMAC RALLY…

FORMULA 1 Formula 1 teams have been urged to put aside frustrations they may have about more restrictive design regulations for 2021 and instead embrace the benefits that new rules will bring. With the FIA and F1 owner Liberty Media having outlined their concept for a new 2021 car last week, F1 managing director of motorsport Ross Brawn says the move to clamp down on design freedom is essential to make the championship a success. The 2021 car will feature much simpler aerodynamics, with the majority of the downforce created by ground-effect through the use of full-length Venturi tunnels that will feed a tall diffuser at the rear of the car. The plans have received some push-back from teams, which claim that cars will end up looking too similar, but…

FORMULA E Andre Lotterer’s decision to sign for the new Porsche ABB FIA Formula E squad has kickstarted the post-2018-19 championship silly season. Lotterer will join Neel Jani in Porsche’s line-up for its maiden FE campaign after leaving the DS Techeetah squad. The triple Le Mans winner had remained a Porsche factory driver after joining its LMP1 team ahead of the 2017 season following Audi’s decision to withdraw from the World Endurance Championship, despite Porsche then making its own WEC exit at the end of that season. “I wanted to stay in the group, in the family, under the Volkswagen group,” Lotterer explained to Porsche’s in-house Inside E podcast. “Unfortunately, we only had a year – so for me, it’s a bit [of] unfinished business that I have.” Jani was…

WRC Wales Rally GB will open and close chapters in the history of one of rallying’s most famous families. Petter Solberg will end his professional World Rally career in Llandudno, while his 17-year-old son Oliver starts his in the same place. The Solbergs will enter a pair of Volkswagen Polo GTI R5s for an event that Petter dominated for four years (2002-05) and where he won his first world title in 2003. Solberg Sr will drive Rally GB as part of his season-long farewell tour. He said: “To end my professional career in this place, where so much happened and with Oliver driving alongside me, will be unbelievable. The emotions will be a lot.” Solberg Jr was a hit at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this month. In his…

We’ve all been there – happily driving along the motorway, minding our own business, when some dimwit changes lanes without looking. In this situation, most capable drivers will instinctively take evasive action by moving over into the next available lane (provided there is space) to avoid a collision. But what if you knew the next available lane was reserved for emergency vehicles, and that driving into your only escape road carried an automatic fine and penalty points on your licence – justice served by CCTV, with no appeals or reviews allowed? Faced with the prospect of a guaranteed penalty and fine, you might just decide to chance a probable collision with that wayward fellow motorist. Maybe they’ll see you at the last minute and swerve? Maybe you’ll gently bounce off…

Right now, Red Bull is beating Ferrari on race pace and, with new engine partner Honda, laying the foundations for what it hopes will be a season-long fight against Mercedes in 2020. Quit threats never seem too far away, but that ghost will never be laid to rest all the while Red Bull’s involvement rests on the whim of one person. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz (right) should have F1 by the cojones, with all he has given it. Which is some journey from being as much of a dreamer as anybody who fancies owning an F1 team. “What struck me immediately when meeting Dietrich was his passion and enthusiasm for motorsport, and ambition and vision,” remembers Horner, who is now 45. “Even at that stage it was clear that…

F1’s four current engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda and Renault – have long F1 narratives as works teams and engine partners, with various entry and exit points along the way. On the teams’ side, names such as McLaren and Williams are tethered to the history of F1. This is something Red Bull simply cannot compete with. However, asking what Red Bull’s legacy will be – looking forward instead of judging its relative lack of history that should not be held against it – puts the organisation in stronger stead. Four straight world titles from 2010 to 2013 should mark out that period specifically as one of the most impressive in F1 history. That alone is a formiddable sporting achievement, representing a peak as high as any of the most…

GROUP 5/ZAKSPEED Don’t be fooled by the photos of flames licking from the exhaust. The Zakspeed Capri wasn’t just about brute force. The Group 5 cars the factory team raced in the DRM German racing championship from 1978 to 1983 were high-tech aluminium-spaceframe silhouette racers boasting ground-effect aerodynamics and water-cooled brakes. “Zakspeed came up with a lot of good ideas; they were self-taught guys who learned by doing,” recalls Klaus Ludwig, who won the 1981 DRM crown with the team. “The Capri had a lot of power – and a lot of flames – from those little turbocharged engines, and massive downforce from the underfloor with plastic skirts running front to rear.” At least it did at the start of the races. That goes for the power and the downforce.…

IMSA SPORTSCAR LIME ROCK (USA) 20 JULY ROUND 8/12 It was steamy hot at Lime Rock Park last Saturday, and so was the competition in the first of two IMSA championship events this season that will focus on the two GT classes. Porsche once again appeared to have the upper hand, with series leader (along with Earl Bamber) Laurens Vanthoor claiming his first pole earlier in the day, narrowly outpacing team-mate Nick Tandy. But while both 911 RSRs ran an identical two-stop strategy, a bold decision by Ford Chip Ganassi Racing to gamble on making an extra pitstop enabled Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook to capitalise on fresher tyres and snatch a brilliant tactical victory. Even though Briscoe was unable to make any ground on the leaders during his opening…

BRITISH GT James Dorlin is confident the cloud hanging over him and Tolman Motorsport teammate Josh Smith will soon lift after missing out on their debut British GT victory at Spa for the third time in as many races. Following engine woes while leading at Silverstone and contact with a GT3 car at Donington, Dorlin leapt from fourth to lead at the start and Smith held the position until the final lap, when Smith’s attempts to defend from Tom Canning’s TF Sport Aston Martin at the Bus Stop broke his radiator and forced him to stop. Their recent run of bad luck means Dorlin and Smith are now realistically out of title contention, more than 50 points behind team-mates Jordan Collard and Lewis Proctor. But Dorlin says he is not…

MINI CHALLENGE Mini Challenge Cooper Pro champion Kyle Reid joined the JCW category at Brands Hatch last weekend, ahead of a planned campaign in the championship in 2020. Reid, whose performance last year also clinched the Sunoco 240 Challenge and a prize drive at Daytona in January, hired a JCW machine from Joe Tanner for the Mini Festival, and has ordered his own example for 2020. “It’s different from what I’m used to,” said the offshore oil worker. “The only similarity between this and the other Mini is the badge. You can’t really take anything from the other to help you with this. “Next year I’ll do as many rounds as I can. Last year was a one-off for me – my work got behind me to pursue my dream…

LIDSEY BROTHERS UNITE Renault UK Clio Cup podium finisher Brett Lidsey will be joined by his younger brother Tyler at the MRM team for the rest of the season. Lidsey Jr has been a regular in the Michelin Clio Series in recent years but Snetterton next weekend will be the first time he has competed in the TOCA support category. GLOBAL GT LIGHTS AWAY TRIP The Global GT Lights series made its Knockhill debut last weekend when it joined the Scottish Saloons and Sports grid, with 11 drivers heading to Scotland. Although the circuit was a hit, there were several safety complaints, particularly regarding the speed differential between cars. Race winner Jake Byrne said: “I love the track but the racing is just crazy, in a bad way.” FROM OVALS…

One round after TF Sport gave the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3 its first British GT win at Donington, its GT4 arm followed suit at Spa. Tom Canning and Ash Hand delivered the spoils – the team’s first in GT4 since Spa 2014 – although it was not without controversy. It came after a thrilling battle that lasted for the final half hour of the race with Josh Smith’s Tolman Motorsport McLaren 570S, which used its turbo grunt to pull out a gap in sector one before the Aston’s superior grip in high-speed corners allowed Canning to close. The need for the turbocharged McLaren to fuel-save, particularly in the absence of safety cars, also worked in Canning’s favour. Having lost potential victories while leading at Silverstone (engine) and Donington (contact…

CADWELL PARK 750MC 20-21 JULY The first of the Classic Stock Hatch contests in the action-packed 25-race Cadwell Park meeting finished in dramatic style, with Pip Hammond and Pete Morgan battling for the win right up to the line. Morgan held a five-second lead over his rival at the start of the final lap, but both were unaware that Ford Fiesta XR2 driver Morgan had incurred a five-second penalty. Hammond’s Vauxhall Nova took the chequered flag 4.45s behind Morgan, making him the winner of his first race in the championship in 2019. He then went on to make it two from two on Sunday ahead of Andrew Thorpe. The Clio 182 grid enjoyed a trio of races at Cadwell, with James Bark taking victory in all three. He had tough…

EQUIPE THREE HOUR CLASSIC RELAY Plastic Fantastic – Rob Cull, Rod Begbie, Mark Ashworth (TVR Grantura MK III) EQUIPE GTS Chris Ryan (Triumph TR4) MG TROPHY Races 1 & 2 Graham Ross (ZR 190) MGCC MG CUP Race 1 Mike Williams (Rover Metro GTi) Race 2 Richard Buckley (Rover Tomcat) MG MIDGET & SPRITE CHALLENGE Race 1 David Morrison (Midget) Race 2 Stephen Collier (Midget) MGCC ICONIC 50s Robin Ellis (Lotus Elite) MG METRO CUP Races 1 & 2 Jack Ashton (below) MGCC COCKSHOOT CUP Races 1 & 2 Paul Clackett (MG ZS) MORGAN CHALLENGE Races 1 & 2 Philip Goddard (+8) SPORTS 2000 Tom Stoten (Gunn TS11) For full results visit: tsl-timing.com…

Having last raced north of the border a decade ago, the Motorsport UK British Superkarts made a welcome return to Knockhill last weekend. A total of 42 karts across the F125 Open, F250 National and Division 1 categories turned up, with the racing proving popular with drivers and fans alike. But while the high-speed, flowing circuits of Donington Park and Silverstone are more suited to the lightweight pocket rockets, the confines of Knockhill may just point to a new niche for Superkarts. “The thing with the 250 single and twin-cylinder karts is that they love to stretch their legs on high-speed circuits,” said British Superkart championship representative Gary James. “They’re probably not suited to somewhere like Knockhill in reality, but the racing should still be very exciting.” And the racing…

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WHO IS THIS? This versatile journeyman was arguably better than his results suggested. He was already a long way from home when he donned his gloves and stepped into the ring. He graduated as a continental champion before retracing the wheeltracks of so many of his famous countrymen. When he found his wings he was able to soar up the categories before arching into a surprise deal. Up against established stars his pace was no disgrace, but when the funds ran dry he was forced to retreat to an emerging series with global ambitions. With his reputation restored he took an interplanetary mission to a new home although he would have to abort before his true conquest was achieved. He was tickled pink by a hybrid series but returned home…

Patrick Blakeney-Edwards’ route into historic motorsport certainly wasn’t orthodox. “My brother and I set up a rock band and I was a drummer for about 10 years until my late twenties,” he recalls. “I had huge amounts of fun and played the main stage at Glastonbury a couple of times. Then I literally woke up with a large hangover – I was 28 or 29 and thinking, ‘Oh God, what am I going to do now?’” It left Blakeney-Edwards with one option. “My father was a GP but had a passion for vintage cars and in particular Frazer Nash,” he continues. “As a young child my father taught me how to weld and how to mill and how to work on cars, so I’ve been involved mechanically with cars forever.…

It’s no surprise that historic racing often relies on traditional techniques. Even with the increasing level of competition, some old crafts, such as fabricating and panel beating, remain crucial. But modern approaches can also play an important role. KW Heritage, which was officially launched in 2018, is the classic vehicle engineering division of high-performance engineering company KW Special Projects. It aims to use cutting-edge technology to help restore and maintain historic machinery and has already been involved in several motorsport projects. One of those was to help preparation firm Martin Stretton Racing restore an Alfa Romeo T33/3 sports-racer, and the project demonstrated some of the key strengths of KWH. The three-litre V8 engine was in good condition, but the lightweight magnesium alloy front cover was in a bad way, with…

ASTON READY FOR F1 ENGINE CALL Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer says the company is willing to revive its Formula 1 engine supply interest should Honda opt not to commit beyond 2020 in its partnership with Red Bull. Aston previously explored the prospect of building an engine to F1’s planned 2021 rules, but it was before Red Bull’s switch from Renault to Honda power. BOTTAS TESTS TOYOTA YARIS WRC Mercedes Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has raised speculation that he will compete in a rally again in the near future after testing a Toyota Yaris WRC. Bottas made his competitive rally debut aboard a Ford Fiesta WRC in January’s Arctic Lapland Rally, finishing fifth overall. Toyota Gazoo Racing said the outing, which was at the team’s permanent test site, was…

LENGTH 2.842 miles NUMBER OF LAPS 67 2018 POLE POSITION Sebastian Vettel 1m11.212s POLE LAP RECORD Sebastian Vettel 1m11.212s (2018) RACE LAP RECORD Kimi Raikkonen 1m13.780s (2004) UK START TIMES Friday 26 July FP1 1000 FP2 1400 Saturday 27 July FP3 1100 QUALIFYING 1400 Sunday 28 July RACE 1410 CATCH THE RACE LIVE SKY SPORTS F1 BBC RADIO 5 LIVE HIGHLIGHTS CHANNEL 4 1900 TYRE ALLOCATION CHAMPIONSHIP Drivers 1 Hamilton……………………….223 2 Bottas………………………………184 3 Verstappen………………….136 4 Vettel………………………………..123 5 Leclerc…………………………….120 Constructors 1 Mercedes…………….407 2 Ferrari……………………243 3 Red Bull………………..191 4 McLaren…………………. 60 5 Renault…………………… 39 RACE STATS Previous winners 2018 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2016 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2014 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2013 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 2012 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2011 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 2010 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2009 Mark Webber Red Bull…

In praise of the drag reduction system I note that the proposed 2021 F1 regulations, in encouraging means of overtaking without so-called ‘artificial aids’, look to have dispensed with the DRS system, as one might expect. I recognise that I may be alone in expressing this, but I’m actually a quiet fan of DRS. While a DRS overtake pre-braking zone is clearly something of a non-event, I am nevertheless an overt fan of overtaking (as opposed to no overtaking whatsoever!). Watching some of the ‘classic’ races broadcast on Sky has proven a timely reminder that in the 1980, 1990s or 2000s often-times a car circulating as little as three tenths of a second behind another was compelled to stay there for the duration. Yet part of the enjoyment my two…

Red Bull has experienced all F1 can throw at a team in the past decade. From its first victory in 2009 to a first world title in 2010, which snowballed into four consecutive championship doubles, it raised the bar for what giants of F1 – mainly Ferrari and McLaren – needed to aim for. During this time, Vettel set a new record for consecutive victories in the second half of 2013. Unlike Ferrari, or McLaren, or Williams – all of whom had had seasons of almost unrelenting success – there appeared to be greater discontent when Red Bull was at its most successful. Red Bull’s popularity went hand-in-glove with Vettel’s. Neither seemed to get the adulation they deserved, with Vettel’s reputation in particular seeming to suffer alongside Mark Webber, as…

EUROPEAN LE MANS SERIES BARCELONA (ESP) 20 JULY ROUND 3/6 After the sun had set in Barcelona, Jean-Eric Vergne piloted the #26 G-Drive Racing car to the team’s second win in a row in the European Le Mans Series after being untroubled for most of the race. It was Roman Rusinov who had a more difficult time compared with team-mates Vergne and Job van Uitert. Starting from third, he managed to take over the lead before the first hour had been completed. Not long later he endured a scary moment as the #9 LMP3 car of Realteam Racing spun in front of him, although he managed to avoid making any contact. Paul Lafargue in the polesitting #28 IDEC Sport ORECA was able to get to within a second of Rusinov…

NASCAR CUP NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (USA) 21 JULY ROUND 20/36 Kevin Harvick finally managed to end his 2019 NASCAR Cup victory drought by surviving a nail-biting final lap to edge Denny Hamlin at New Hampshire. Harvick had claimed his sixth win of the 2018 season at the same event last year, while his Stewart-Haas Racing team was the dominant force. Although his first 2019 win was overdue, he qualified in 14th and finishing an anonymous eighth in stage one. It required a strategic gamble to propel him into contention. Opportunity arrived when a caution in the closing stages allowed fourth-placed Harvick to roll the dice, staying out on track to lead at the restart. Hamlin, who had led comfortably before his caution pitstop, cycled back to fourth. Harvick’s crew…

SMRC The Scottish Motor Racing Club remains optimistic about the future of Scottish Formula Ford 1600 despite failing to bolster the grid for the David Leslie Trophy last weekend. Plans to boost grid numbers included a pubic invitation to past FF1600 champions to take part in the meeting, which pays tribute to the late Leslie, himself a British Formula Ford champion in 1977. A calendar clash with Champion of Brands last weekend was one of the reasons some teams did not enter the Knockhill round, while car issues forced others out as just eight drivers took part. “It is a shame that we couldn’t get the grid size up for this weekend, but the racing has been absolutely sensational in the three races, so on that front we’re happy,” the…

HILLCLIMB Former historic racing star Edwin Jowsey was back behind the wheel for the first time in seven years when he made his debut in the Jack Moor Wasp 500 at Chateau Impney earlier this month. Jowsey, who was a regular frontrunner in Historic Formula Junior in the 2000s, now hopes to race the Formula 3 car at the Goodwood Revival in September, 20 years after his father Clifford drove the Wasp at the Sussex venue. “We then dismantled it and it was in such a state it was left until last November,” said Jowsey Jr. “Then we started to build it up and only finished it last week, giving it a shakedown at Teesside Autodrome. “My last races were in F3, but this was my first time on a…

There are lots of things that you’ll see (and hear) at big historic race meetings, such as the Silverstone Classic this weekend. Eclectic grids, close competition, sideways action and lots of noise will be a given. What you won’t necessarily see is a reflection of what happened when these cars raced in period. Clearly, one of the big appeals of historic motorsport is the link to the past, seeing cars you either recall from your youth or didn’t get the chance to experience the first time around. But it’s not unusual for pacesetting cars from previous eras to be beaten by machines that didn’t achieve anything back in the day. This used to frustrate me a lot – seeing Ferrari 250 GTOs outclassed by Jaguar E-types that would have struggled…

GT3 (49 laps) 1 Bradley Ellis/Oliver Wilkinson (Aston Martin Vantage GT3); 2 Callum Macleod/Ian Loggie (Mercedes-AMG GT3) +10.520s; 3 Glynn Geddie/Ryan Ratcliffe (Bentley Continental GT3); 4 Rob Bell/Shaun Balfe (McLaren 720S); 5 Nicki Thiim/Mark Farmer (Aston Martin); 6 Adam Christodoulou/Richard Neary (Mercedes). Fastest lap Thiim 2m21.406s (110.79mph). Pole Ellis/Wilkinson. Starters 15. Points 1 Jonny Cocker/Sam De Haan (Lamborghini Huracan EVO) 104.5; 2 Phil Keen/Adam Balon (Lamborghini) 104; 3 Ellis/Wilkinson 88.5; 4 Jonny Adam/Graham Davidson (Aston Martin) 78.5; 5 Macleod/Loggie 72; 6 Thiim/Farmer 62. GT4 (46 laps) 1 Tom Canning/Ash Hand (below) (Aston Martin Vantage GT4); 2 Lewis Proctor/Jordan Collard (McLaren 570S) +21.700s; 3 Patrick Kibble/Josh Price (Aston Martin); 4 Michael O’Brien/Graham Johnson (McLaren); 5 Mike Robinson/Patrik Matthiesen (Aston Martin); 6 Sebastian Priaulx/Scott Maxwell (Ford Mustang GT4). FL Dean Macdonald (McLaren)…

Veteran racer Bill Richards ended last year’s Mini Festival with his spaceframe car, affectionately known as Bessie, in bits. A heavy accident in the combined ‘Fastest Mini in the World’ and Allcomers race sidelined the machine until last weekend when it returned to the track in Friday testing and won Sunday’s first race. Now running a two-litre Ford Duratec engine providing around 220bhp, the car started life as an 850cc Maguire Mini special saloon in the 1970s, before being transplanted with the BDH variant of the Ford BDA. It’s also on its third body shape, going via Metro to its current Mini Traveller/Countryman shape. “We thought, ‘The Metro’s got a lower drag coefficient, so we’ll put a Metro body on’,” said Richards. But, with backing from Mini Spares and seeking…

KNOCKHILL SMRC 20-21 JULY It wasn’t quite the bumper Formula Ford 1600 grid the Scottish Motor Racing Club had campaigned for, but a trio of stunning races made sure the David Leslie Trophy lived up to its billing at Knockhill last weekend. There was another maximum score for Jordan Gronkowski, but the bigger prize for the Van Diemen driver was a first Trophy victory since 2013 following a weekend-long battle with Graham Brunton Racing interloper Matt Cowley. Gronkowski continued his qualifying dominance by claiming pole on Saturday, but a poor start in the opening race left Cowley with a clear advantage heading into Duffus for the first time. Cowley’s defence was then tested to the limit as his Ray was caught in the corners but edged away under acceleration. Gronkowski…

Twelve months ago, Romain Dumas stood at the top of a mountain after demolishing the record for the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. Volkswagen’s all-electric I.D. R signalled a new era for the motorsport world’s most famous hill and, apparently, the death of internal combustion in this competition. Robin Shute must have missed that memo. Late last month, he became the first British driver to win Pikes Peak and, with that maiden success nailed, he’s got his eye on the biggest prize in Colorado Springs. He wants the record and he wants to make some noise along the way. “I still think it’s possible to break the record with gasoline,” says Shute, his years on the US’s west coast telling in his turn of phrase. Looking at the numbers, Shute’s got…

The Silverstone Classic has been one of the biggest events on the UK racing calendar for many years now, so it seemed the right time for the second edition of the Autosport Historics supplement. One of the big appeals of the Silverstone Classic is the sheer breadth of machinery that will battle it out around the Grand Prix circuit. From pre-war sportscars to Historic Formula 1 machines of the 1980s, via various eras of tin-top, there really is something for everyone. And that’s before we get on to the subject of the GTs and sports-racers of the Masters Endurance Legends, which gloriously stretch the definition of ‘historic’! As well as picking out some of the highlights to look out for this weekend on page 4, we also speak to Gordon…

Ford’s crack marketing team tagged the Capri as ‘the car you always promised yourself’, but Gordon Spice didn’t share that sentiment. When the curtain fell at the end of the 1982 British Saloon Car Championship season, he had racked up 25 overall wins and six successive class titles in the coupe. But the switch to tin-tops was a sideways step that only took form after glory in Formula 5000 had eluded him. “I was very lucky,” Spice says of his 10-year affair with the Capri. “It actually came to my rescue back in the early 1970s. At that time, Formula 5000 had more or less given up on me and I was without a drive.” For the first half of the decade, Spice had to settle for class wins –…

Classic Team Lotus isn’t just about race preparation and restoration. It is also entitled to some important rights. “In terms of the business as a whole, the licensing is a significant part of our revenue, licensing the Team Lotus cars,” explains Clive Chapman. “There are always new people each year, particularly simulations and games – that’s become increasingly significant.” The licensing extends to model cars, and CTL sells Lotus-related merchandise through its website and on-site shop. It also conducts tours at Hethel and attends non-motorsport events, when possible. “Often the events really aren’t commercially set up and we’re so stretched,” admits Chapman. “It would be great to send a car to every fete that asks, but it doesn’t really work.” Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue that Classic Team Lotus isn’t…

KW Motorsport, KW Special Projects and KW Heritage all have their roots in British racing car constructor Reynard, largely through founder Kieron Salter, the ‘K’ in KW. Adrian Reynard was a guest of honour at Salter’s mechanical engineering graduation ceremony at Oxford Brookes University and made a big impression. “It was about his company and it sounded really cool,” says Salter (above), who then asked Reynard for a job. Within weeks he was on a graduate training scheme at Reynard. Salter worked in all the departments and ended up in the Formula 3000 drawing office and became project coordinator. He also worked on special projects, including the Panoz GT. At just 26, he was the chief designer on the WSR-run Ford Mondeo in the 1997-98 British Touring Car Championship, and…

Arguably, the easier way to enjoy competition in both historic rallying and circuit racing is to have cars dedicated for each discipline. That’s the approach taken by Ben Gill and his co-driver David Didcock. Throughout the regular season they race with a 1964 AC Cobra 289 and a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and Didcock’s DMD Motorsport Engineering outfit build and prepare their Broadspeed Mk1 Ford Escort RS. For the winter months, that line-up is complemented by a 1979 Group 4 Escort Mk2 rally car. The ability to split their time not only leads to variation, but all-year-round motorsport. “The racing season kicks off for us at the end of March and that will see us through until the end of October,” says Gill. “Then we can go rallying up at…