Mixed fortunes for Bellerby sisters in Kent
Mixed fortunes for Bellerby sisters in Kent
The FUCHS-backed ‘Sisters of Speed’ returned to the track for round seven of the Toyo Tires MSA British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill.
Lotus Exige driver Paige Bellerby was pleased with her efforts throughout the day. She finished second in each of her three qualifying rounds, then convincingly topped the table in her semi-final. There was nothing, however, that she could do about the superior horsepower of Ovenden’s mid-engined Renault Clio V6, although she never stopped trying throughout the Final’s six laps and was only three seconds down at the flag.
After the podium celebration, an elated Paige explained: “That was hard work but I’m really chuffed to finish so close to him. I had problems with the gears jumping out of second and third, but it was an intermittent fault, so I never knew when it was going to happen. What with that, and the front left brake sticking, I was quite busy!”
Paige is now a comfortable second in the championship, having pulled well clear of Paul Coney in third.
Sister Drew meanwhile, was having a much more fraught and difficult day after a superb win in the first qualifying heat, despite breaking a rear shock absorber on the second of the four laps. The part was quickly replaced in service, but as she tried to start the car to go out for the second heat, she suffered an ECU failure and the car would not start, meaning Drew had to miss the second qualifying heat, whilst the ECU was replaced, then was able to run (albeit down on power with the standard Mini ECU replacement) in heat three and scored a sixth place.
However, her stunning run in the first heat, where she recorded the only sub-50 second lap of the day in her class, meant that she progressed straight to the Final. But her day then went from bad to worse, as, on the second lap of six, the belt driving the supercharger decided to eat itself, and Drew had to record a non-finish.
Afterwards, a plucky Drew said: “I’m gutted about that, but I can pull back at the next round at Pembrey. I had a good win there last time, so I’m starting to look forward to it.”
The Pembrey visit will be on 23rd September.
Three top 10 finishes for Morgan
FUCHS Lubricants ambassador Adam Morgan celebrated three top 10 finishes in the British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill.
In treacherous conditions on the twisty Scottish circuit, Morgan bagged himself a ninth, a fifth and a fourth-place finish across the three races.
“It was so difficult to see,” said Morgan. “It was a case of surviving as you had to judge where to brake off the lights of the cars ahead and trying not to make a mistake was really tough.
“There was standing water at the hairpin and not much grip, so I am pleased to have made it home without damage. The car felt good considering the conditions.”
Morgan is now seventh in the standings with two rounds remaining.
There was joy, too, for Mac Tools with Ciceley Motorsport teammate Tom Oliphant, who enjoyed his best qualifying since joining the team.
Oliphant followed that up with a seventh-place finish in race one. He unfortunately made a slight mistake in race two and skid off the track, before coming home safely in P21 in race three.
Gavin back in hot rod form
After a disappointing World Final and National Championship and missing WQR1, Gavin Murray (Murray Motorsport) was back in action on Bank Holiday Monday at Foxhall Stadium, Ipswich, for round two of the 2019 World Qualifying Campaign.
Murray finished P9 in heat one, P7 in heat two and fourth in the final.
Freddie enjoys Cumbria excursion
Freddie Housley had a successful trip to Rowrah on the weekend for round eight of The NKF National Championship.
Saturday practice started off tough against the older field who have raced at Rowrah for some years and this was only Freddie’s second time there in a cadet kart. By the end of the day, though, Freddie had taken nearly a second off his previous best lap time.
Sunday was very wet and Freddie hadn’t had the best of draws for starting positions for the three heats but enjoys driving in wet conditions.
Heat one he started 11th and got well up the pack, but a 10 second penalty for bumper contact put him into 13th place.
For heat two he started ninth on the grid and finished 12th again. He had climbed the field but a mistake cost him a lot of places.
Freddie started heat three in sixth. After two laps he tried a very daring move to pass three karts going into the esses and ended up in the barrier on the gravel. He rejoined and came home in 17th.
This was a costly mistake as it qualified him to start 14th in the final but, after driving with confidence and no contact, he crossed the line to finish P9, which is the highest place finish to date in the Tough NKF Championship and he was very happy with himself.
The team now has a rest from racing in the UK as he is about to start testing a slightly bigger kart with faster engine to European regulations that he will race in the Spanish Championships in October.
Brown returns to Belgium
Steve Brown, backed by FUCHS Lubricants, is heading off to Belgium this week for the next round of the Mini Cooper historic rally championship , the Conxion-sponsored Omloop van Vlaanderen.
On this event, Steve will be co-driven by Arwel Jenkins, instead of regular co-driver Paul Stringer who has prior work commitments.
Steve had a short test outing before the event to give the car a shake down, and said he is hoping for dry weather, as he had problems with the championship control tyre not being to his liking in the wet.
“They’re a nice tyre, but don’t really suit my driving style in the wet, so I’m hoping for dry going,” Brown said early this week. “And some heat would be quite welcome too, then they work really well.”
Podium success for Carl Vickers
Carl Vickers enjoyed an amazing weekend in Thundersport GB in Anglesey.
Carl finished third in race one, his first podium finish in the Golden Era Supersport and Steelport competition.
He followed that up by finishing fourth in race two, just 0.9 seconds off third.
And Carl wasn’t finished there, coming home fifth in the final outing, bringing his PB down to 1:13.631.
Tough going to Callum Scott in rain
Callum Scott joined the Royal Navy Royal Marines Road Race Team for the sixth round of Thundersport GB in Anglesey to compete in the Pre-National 600 class - and a chance of winning the Royal Navy Royal Marines championship.
Race one saw Callum start 13th on the grid. He struggled to gel with the bike but brought it home in 14th in torrential rain.
The track was less flooded for race two and a good start saw Callum into the top 10, only for a red flag to stop the race. A great launch put him into fourth, but he ran onto the grass and finished P9.
Callum finished P16 in race three and 20th in race four.
Ganley buzzing after podium success
Chris Ganley was “buzzing” after a successful weekend in the Thundersport Golden Era Superbike & GP1 Classic / Cup in Anglesey.
Chris grabbed a third place, despite a lack of confidence on wet tyres – followed by a P2 in the following race.
“I really can’t believe how well this weekend has gone,” he said.
