BTCC Returns in massive weekend of motorsport

What a weekend of motorsport to look forward to...

 

Ciceley Motorsport

BTCC finally returns this weekend after the summer break.

Adam Morgan will be hoping to put himself back into title contention at Snetterton, while team-mate Tom Oliphant will be looking to build on his P16, P13, P14 last time out.

 

Drew and Paige Bellerby

FUCHS-supported rallycross drivers Drew and Paige Bellerby return to their home track at Croft Circuit near Darlington for the next round of the British Rallycross Championship this coming weekend.

Paige will again be in her Honda-engined Lotus Exige, whilst Drew is hoping to continue her winning streak from Pembrey in the increasingly popular BMW Mini class.

Tickets are still available for the Sunday event from the circuit, everyone is hoping for another sunny and warm day to showcase the event.

 

The FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship

The FUCHS LUBRICANTS MSA British Historic Rally Championship moves to asphalt for round five, the Harry Flatters Rally (Sunday) as the championship contenders head to the challenging Epynt ranges in Wales.

A fabulous championship entry will line up, headed by current championship leader Paul Barrett and co-driver Dai Roberts.

Barrett also heads the Rally and Competition Equipment Category 3 after a superb opening run of results, despite a devastating non-finish on the Carlisle Stages after his Ford Escort Mk2 caught fire at a stage start.

Barrett does not have extensive knowledge of the Epynt roads, but he will be well on the pace and seeking another big points’ haul.

However, there are plenty of crews aiming to give Barrett a hard time and some of them have excellent form over the daunting brows and dips of Epynt.

Notably, Neil Williams and Peter James rejoin the BHRC at a venue where they have always been among the absolute pacesetters.

Meanwhile, back after several years away are Gareth James and Steffan Evans and they will surely be quickly back up to speed.

Steadily gaining asphalt pace are gravel aces Nick Elliott and Dave Price, while regular championship contenders Rudi Lancaster/Guy Weaver, Steve Bennett/Osian Owen and Simon Webster/Jez Rogers add to a fantastic field.

 

BHRC2

A strong field of cars will line-up for the fifth round of BHRC2 and it is the class C2 Hillman Avenger of Graham/McCann that could set the overall pace. In class D2, for the later 1600cc cars, the Mounsey brothers will make a rare foray onto Epynt.

Topping the excellent REIS Category 1 field is the Porsche 911 of current pacesetters Rikki Proffitt/Graham Wild and Bob Bean/Miles Cartwright (Lotus Cortina). Both crews have had some recent misfortune, but will be strong on Epynt even though Bean is a rare visitor to these stages. Back in the mix is another rapid Porsche 911 for the hugely experienced Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride.

Right with Proffitt and Bean will be the flying Ford Anglia of Malcolm Rich/Arwel Blainey from class B3, while Bob Gibbons and Jon Harris (Ford Cortina GT) add more local strength to the Category 1 field. Both crews have the potential to be right at the head of the Category 1 contest, while Phillip Harris returns in his Mini Cooper and Ken Davies/Alan Jones switch from their Volvo Amazon to a Ford Cortina GT.

 

Roving rally team CA1 Sport in action in Ireland

Fuchs-backed CA1 Sport were in Ireland last weekend, supporting rally crew David Bogie/John Rowan (Skoda Fabia R5) on the Down rally.  The team and crew were preparing for the next round of the British Rally Championship, the Ulster rally, which is held in August.

David got off to a flying start to lie in 2^nd position after the first round of stages.  He reported the stages as ‘fast and bumpy, just what you expect in Ireland’, but he was comfortable with the handling of the car.

Although he dropped a place in the afternoon, he was still driving comfortably when a hydraulic glitch caused the power steering to fail, bringing a fine run to an end in the second service park.  Nevertheless, they got sufficient running to fine tune the car on the Irish asphalt stages, in preparation for the next round of the British Rally Championship, the Ulster rally on 17^th/18^th August.

 

All this action is following another packed weekend...

 

Staffordshire Cycling Festival

Staffordshire Cycling Festival was hailed a huge success, with both professional, amateur and budding riders taking to the streets for the FUCHS Silkolene-backed event.

Elite pro riders from across the UK battled it out in front of large crowds.

Cyclists zipped round the tight 750m circuit on a scorching day.

A host of other races took place before the professional event, including the curtain-raiser sportive event, which saw more than 300 cyclists take part in the 60 and 40-mile routes.

Lee Barber, from Stoke-on-Trent, was the first to cross the line in the 40-mile competition – despite cracking a rib after being hit by a car just two weeks ago.

 

British Superbike Championship

The Bennetts British Superbike Championship roared back into action at Brands Hatch GP – and there were podiums for the PBM BeWiser Ducati team.

After qualifying in P1, Glenn Irwin kept up the pressure at the top of the Standings by finishing second in both races behind Josh Brookes.

Championship leader Leon Haslam, also backed by FUCHS Silkolene, was third in both outings, while Peter Hickman of the BMW Smiths Racing team racked up points with P6 and P10.

Andrew Irwin, Glenn’s brother and teammate, came home in ninth and 12^th.

 

Freddie Housley

Karting ace Freddie Housley travelled to the Three Sisters Circuit in Wigan to continue his progression.

Unfortunately, the Cadet grid was full of two-stroke engines which at that circuit are half a second per lap faster than the four-stroke Honda Freddie races. This was due to all the top Honda drivers being at a British Championship round.

However, Freddie used it as a three-day test to give him more experience with racing and overtaking.

And he didn’t disappoint. Starting 22^nd in every race, his results were P18, P17 and two P16s with confidence growing!

 

South Coast Honda Racing

Round five of the MX Nationals UK saw the South Coast Honda Racing team head to Canada Heights for a blistering hot weekend of Motocross action.

Charlie Parrott rode well for a 20^th overall, while Tobias Sammut managed 11^th, ninth, another ninth and finally a 12^th despite fracturing his left shoulder.

Lewis Wigger competed for the senior team and broke into the top 30 on day two, while Aidan Wigger in the Expert MX1 class deserved his 16^th overall.

 

Kershaw Racing

Steve Kershaw and sidecar passenger Stuart Clark are running away with the British Sidecar Championship after more success at Brands Hatch.

The duo are now an astonishing 124 points clear of the chasing pack after two more triumphs with four rounds to go.

It’s now surely a question of when rather than if they secure the title.

 

David Allingham

David Allingham took his debut win for EHA Racing and his first-ever in the British Supersport Championship, when he stood on the top step of the feature race podium during round six of the 2018 series at Brands Hatch.

It was a fitting reward for the Irish rider after taking second place in Saturday’s sprint race and the fastest lap of the race, just one place ahead of his team-mate Ross Twyman (third), who unfortunately crashed out of podium contention on Sunday.

 

Sharp Motorsport

Sharp Motorsport travelled to Snetterton for rounds seven and eight of the Civic Cup with high hopes.

Arron Sharp qualified in 13^th position despite limited testing due to gearbox issues, and finished race one in 11^th.

Race two saw Arron run wide onto the grass, but he still managed to finish in 10^th to complete a good weekend.

 

Neil Kirkham

FUCHS-backed rally driver Neil Kirkham was delighted to be invited to display his Mk3 Gartrac example of the Ford Escort genre at the recent Festival of Speed held at Goodwood.

Neil completed several runs on the rally stage and the main track without mishap during the weekend, and his car attracted much attention from the admiring crowds.

 

And finally…

It was the end of an era this week for Shaun Tarlton as he handed over his Mini to its new owner.

She’s going to a good home and will be back on track at the Brands Hatch Mini Festival.