Morganator back on top form!
Morganator back on top form!
“We’re back” – that was the cry from our BTCC ambassador Adam Morgan after a dramatic turn in fortunes.
After being riddled with bad luck during the first half of the season, Morgan enjoyed an outstanding weekend in Thruxton, picking up a third, second and fourth over the three races.
A change of engineering personnel was triggered prior to the meeting. Back came Paul Ridgway, who had worked with Ciceley Motorsport in the early days of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and experienced engineer Steve Farrell (Adam’s race engineer in the Chinese Touring Car Championship). Between them, they looked at how the cars had performed and went back to basics. The transformation was instant.
Having guided his car to fourth fastest in qualifying, Morgan grabbed third place at the flag in race one to secure his second podium of the season.
And more success was to come with a P2 in race two and a fourth later on, lifting Morgan to 14thoverall in the standings.
He said: “It’s been an incredible weekend. The car fells so different, much easier to drive, more confidence inspiring, and we have had pace that we haven’t enjoyed all season.
“Paul Ridgway and Steve Farrell have got the car working as it should do and I have been able to race, not just sit in traffic.
“The car had great pace in race three against lighter cars and we’ve done so little to the car all weekend, just the occasional camber change, because it has worked. We’re back!”
Bank Holiday visit to Lydden Hill circuit for British Rallycross Championship
Paige and Drew Bellerby are on their way to Lydden Hill this weekend for the next round of the British Rallycross Championship on Monday August 26th.
Drew is looking to consolidate her position in the BMW Mini rankings after a fine win and a second at the last double header round at Pembrey.
“This will be a good time for me to build on my performance at Pembrey, I’m getting better at timing when to take my joker lap, so I avoid getting stuck in traffic, and being able to use the joker as a slingshot to maintain speed going off the first bend,” was Drew’s take on the event.
Sister Paige meanwhile is hoping for more gaps to appear in the front row after her outings in Wales.
“It’s no good” she said afterwards, “I’ll just have to make sure I’m qualifying on the front row, then I can use the Lotus’ nippiness to get off the start line”.
The event is on Monday August 26that Lydden Hill circuit in Kent.
https://www.rallycrossbrx.com/ for more details.
Brown wants more podiums
Despite being in only his first full year competing in the Toyo Tyres British Rallycross Championship, FUCHS Lubricants-backed Steve Brown has already bagged a podium in the BMW MINI Championship and will head to Bank Holiday Monday’s round at Lydden Hill with his sights sets on a repeat performance during round five of the series.
Brown, 32, from Rochdale has made the switch from his Nissan Micra Kit Car in the FIRC Belgian Rally Championship to British Rallycross this season after getting a taster for the sport as a guest of the Bellerby RX Motorsport outfit last year.
Brown has shown impressive form throughout the opening four rounds of the season, and as the championship heads into the second half of the year, he sits in fifth place in the ultra-competitive series and just two points behind fourth spot.
“This will be the first time this season that we return to a circuit that I’ve actually competed on before which will certainly help in the qualifying races” says Brown.
“Lydden formed round two of the championship and I’ve found that it takes me a while to learn the circuits, get the lines right and find the optimum braking points. Most of the other contenders have experience of the circuits on the tour so I`m constantly playing catch up. Hopefully this will be a good leveller and I`m looking forward to this one”.
CA1 Sport in Sweden trip for Ahlen
Martin Wilkinson took his FUCHS-backed rally team to Sweden last weekend to look after local driver Fredrik Ahlen on the Kolsva rally. “Fredrik had a good debut on this event”, explained Martin ,” it was his first time in these forests and he settled really quickly.”
Fredrik led the rally for the first 5 stages, but on the 6thhe hit an errant rock, splitting a brake pipe and putting the crew into immediate retirement. “That rock was a real shame” said Martin afterwards, “the crew had got into a good rhythm together and were driving comfortably within the capability of the Skoda. But that’s the way rallying goes sometimes, but we’ll hope for better luck next time.”
https://www.facebook.com/CA1Sport.Carlisle/
Brookes steals championship lead
PBM Be Wiser Ducati’s Josh Brookes has taken the Bennetts British Superbike series lead from team-mate Scott Redding after a thrilling round of action at Cadwell Park.
Brookes came home in second position behind Danny Buchan in race one, with Redding in fourth.
And Redding could only watch as Brookes swept to victory - and the to the top of the points table – in the second outing after he was knocked off by Andrew Irwin. It’s fair to say Redding was less than impressed with Irwin.
Elsewhere, BMW Smith Racing’s Peter Hickman scored two precious P5 finishes at his home circuit and is now a single point shy of the Showdown places.
The Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki team enjoyed a better weekend, too.
Héctor Barberá ended the weekend on a high note with a strong 11th place in race two after a P16 in race one.
Ben Currie, meanwhile, came home in 21stand 19th.
Jack Valentine, team manager, said: “It was a better weekend, but we are still not where we should be. We have an injured rider learning a very difficult track with Héctor. The opening sector was good, but he was losing out on the following two sectors due to the technicality of the circuit.
“Ben is still struggling a bit with fitness after his foot injury back in May; the harder he pushed the worse he was getting. He had a big crash over the weekend, and it has just knocked his confidence and aggravated his previous injury.”
Seeley shows steely resolve to grab podium
Alastair Seeley’s British Supersport Championship sprint race podium in third place was the pick of the results for FUCHS Silkolene-sponsored EHA Racing at Cadwell Park.
The former champion did also post a fourth place in Sunday’s feature race, with team-mate David Allingham also working hard in the BSB class, finishing just outside the points in both of Sunday’s races aboard the CF Motorsport prepared EHA Racing Yamaha R1.
Orr-some Stanley in Ulster
Stanley Orr and Graham Henderson were the dominant force in round six of the FUCHS Lubricants Motorsport UK British Historic Rally Championship, the Ulster Rally.
The local crew took control of the BHRC pack right from the start of the nine special stages and were fastest on five of the nine tests in their Ford Escort Mk1. By the finish, they had half a minute in hand over fellow local crew Adrian Hetherington/Ronan O’Neill (Escort Mk2) while an excellent third place and good championship points went to event newcomers Simon Webster and Jez Rogers.
The Ulster Rally event marked the second asphalt rally of the championship season before the action returns to gravel for the title deciding round in Yorkshire in late September.
Orr put a marker down by winning the opening stage and maintained that form through the first two loops of stages, aside from the second run through McGaffin’s Corner when Hetherington was just a fifth of a second faster. Orr went into the final loop of three stages with a 50-second advantage and was able to measure his pace on his way to a famous home victory. “I like the Ulster but it hasn’t liked me. This year we’ve had a bity of luck on this rally for a change,” said Orr after an impressive performance that sets him up for a serious shot at the BHRC crown in Yorkshire next month.
Hetherington never stopped chasing but accepted that Orr had taken too much profit on the first loop when the roads were still damp and slippery in places. That evidenced when Hetherington was 30s quicker on the second run of McGaffin’s Corner compared to the opening shot. “Stanley’s taken a fair bit of time out of us,” he admitted before mounting a major attack on the final loop of stages to claw back 20 seconds. “It’s been a really good day with good stages.”
Webster accepted that he was a long way behind the two Northern Irishmen in terms of relevant experience but he and Rogers knuckled down and did a great job to claim third, running at a pace that keeps them at the head of the title contest heading for one of their strongest events. “Stanley’s starting to go up a gear now, so we’ll just cling on as best we can,” said Webster after the first four stages.
Rudi Lancaster and Guy Weaver had a good run in their Escort Mk2 and stayed clear of trouble to finish fourth of the title contenders, closing to within 13s of Webster at the finish. “A really testing day,” said Lancaster after a great run.
Barry Stevenson-Wheeler and John Pickavance also turned in a fine performance in unfamiliar territory to take fifth in the BHRC ranks. Meanwhile, Joe Price and Chris Brooks dropped a lot of time early on, but later got going and set a strong pace, trading stage times with Webster, to pull back up the order and score vital championship points as sixth BHRC crew home.
There was no birthday present for Ben Friend, as his rally finished with an off on SS6 while Paul Street/Ian Jones went out after an early off left their Escort Mk2 with damaged steering.
Event results are at: https://www.rallyscore.net/#/results/1131/879?Ulster-Rally
Disappointment for Kirsty
Kirsty Widdrington travelled to Ferropolis in Germany for the Iron Drift King event.
Unfortunately, Kirsty was left “absolutely gutted” after failing to qualify in Syril The Silvia.
Onwards and upwards!
Kershaw close the gap at the top
Reining British Sidecar Championship champions Kershaw Racing have closed the gap at the top of the table after a stunning weekend at Cadwell.
Steve Kershaw and Stuart Clark scored two race wins – and a lap record to boot.
The gap at the top of the championship is now just 30 points with 200 points still up for grabs. At one stage the deficit was 75 points.
Meanwhile, the Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasak team of Ricky Stevens / Ryan Charlwood are sixth overall after a pair of P4s at Cadwell.
Jim is a true hero
The True Heroes team competed in the Pirelli National Superstock 1000 Championship at Cadwell Park.
Jim Walker on the STK1000 bike lost a second Free Practice due to the weather.
Already on the back foot this change didn't suit Jim's plans and he never really got going or found a comfortable set up.
Unfortunately, this meant he couldn't achieve his best and his lap time in Qualifying meant he narrowly missed the cut for the reduced grid size of Cadwell Park.
Unlike some other STK1000 riders who didn't make the cut for the race on Sunday, Jim remained at the circuit with the team for the rest of the weekend to help out the other riders and the wider team.
Meanwhile, Dave Sellers crashed in race two of the Ducati Performance TriOptions Cup and broke a finger after posting a P6 in race one.
True Heroes team-mate Dave Mackay recorded a 10thand a ninth.
Strong performance for Ashleigh
A hat-trick of top 10 finishes made for a strong weekend for Ashleigh Morris in the latest rounds of the Celtic Speed Scottish MINI Cooper Cup at Knockhill.
The FUCHS-backed ace preformed well in qualifying, ending up tenth on the grid and less than half a second off pole.
Despite being pushed out into the gravel by rivals defending on a couple of occasions, Ashleigh battled back well to secure 10thspot in race one.
She was on the wrong end of a collision in race two which again forced the youngster into the gravel and caused damage to the car but she wasn’t deterred and battled hard to end in ninth.
Race three was again eventful with wet conditions and incidents occuring throughout the field but Ashleigh kept her nerve and showed strong pace to finish in eighth.
Ashleigh said: “I had a good weekend overall with three top 10 finishes. I came away disheartened slightly after Saturday’s testing but good results put us further into the lead of the Ladies Championship, while these points are valuable to the Main Championship also.”
