Redding makes history

Redding makes history

Scott Redding made history by becoming the first rider to win the British Superbike Championship title in his debut season.

Redding, of the FUCHS Silkolene-backed PBM Be Wiser Ducati team, sealed the victory by finishing third in the final race of the season at Brands Hatch.

That followed P2 and P3 finishes in the other two races, meaning Redding finished five points clear of his team-mate Josh Brookes.

Paul Bird, owner of the PBM Be Wiser Ducati team, said afterwards: “A quality team with quality bikes needs a quality product.”

Joost van Genderen, Head of FUCHS Silkolene, added: “We were delighted to see PBM win the championship with Scott Redding. They have dominated the championship from start to finish and were worthy winners, certainly.

“It gives us great pride to see our products being used at the top level of motorsport. It proves that they are capable of performing in the most extreme racing circumstances and gives added confidence to the people who use our oils in the bikes around the world every day.”

Quattro Plant JG Speedfit Kawasaki signed off for the season with two P16s for Ben Currie and Héctor Barberá.

Team manager Jack Valentine said: "It just didn't work out this year, we tried everything but it wasn't to be. I hope if we can come back next year we can improve and prove a point."

BMW Smith Racing’s Peter Hickman finished P7, P8 and P5 to finish the season sixth overall.

 

Strong finish for Kershaw

Kershaw Racing finished the season in style at Brands Hatch, taking the win from ninth and missing the lap record by 0.1 seconds.

It means the team finished second in the championship in their rookie 600cc season, with nine wins in total.

The team are now looking forward to 2020 and the FIM World Championship.

 

Harry Rowlings

Harry Rowlings wrapped up 2019 with the best finish of his season, crossing the line in ninth.

He said: “Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped me get through the year. We’ve had a lot of testing weekends and a few crashes that weren’t small, but we’ve kept plugging away taking loads of time off my previous PB lap times and gaining loads of experience in my first year at BSB.”

 

Brown suffers non-finish on Belgium rally

Steve Brown was offered the opportunity to drive the brand new Rally Me BMW MINI on the Hemicuda rally in Belgium last weekend as part of an early development plan for the car which will form a brand-new rally championship in 2020, ensuring a cost-effective outlet for aspiring rally drivers with budget and fun at the heart of the series.
 
Developed by founder John Goff, the MINI was handed to Brown for the popular event which saw him contest his first stage rally since 2018 after making the switch to a full-time British Rallycross campaign, also in a BMW MINI, run by the Bellerby Motorsport outfit. The aim of the Belgian outing was to offer feedback on the car’s performance and characteristics ahead of the MINI Challenge launch next year.
 
Unfortunately the opening stage of the rally was cancelled which meant Brown’s first taste of the car would come over the second test of the event. A trouble-free loop before the first service of the day found Brown happy with the 20 kilometres covered.
 
“The car feels great and very grounded on first impressions,” he said. “It certainly handles well and has plenty of potential although I`m still learning it at the moment so let's see what we can do on the next loop”.
 
But sadly, on the very next stage, the MINI’s rear wheel was pulled into a culvert, launching the car across the other side of the road and into retirement.
 
“Of course, I`m really disappointed to have only completed two stages in the car,” said a dejected Brown.

“Everything felt really good, but I just caught something on the side of the road and was a passenger from then on. There is plenty more to come from the car that for sure and I`m sorry to John and the Rally Me team for not getting it to the end. The 2020 Mini Challenge will certainly be one to watch.”
 

Croft closes National Championship rallycross season

The final two rounds of the British Rallycross championship will take place at Croft circuit, near Darlington, on Saturday and Sunday this coming weekend.  Looking for strong finishes will be sisters Paige and Drew Bellerby, as well as Steve Brown, fresh from his trip to the Belgian scenery last weekend on the Hemicuda rally.

In her Lotus Exige, Paige will be up against the fearsome 600 h.p. Renault Clio kit car of Tristan Ovenden, as well as the Lotus Exige of another local driver, Guy Corner.  But, at a circuit which suits her style, Paige will be hoping for a strong finish to her season in the Super National class.

Meanwhile, sister Drew, together with team mate Steve Brown, will be looking for podium finishes in the BMW Mini class.  With cars in the single make class relatively equal on performance, it will be up to the drivers to make the difference.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Croft” said Drew, “but it’s quite a short lap, and there’s no joker here, so you have to do all your overtaking on the circuit.  You’ve really got to start planning your overtake on the lap before you make the move!”

More details from http://www.croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/british-rallycross

 

FUCHS Lubricants Asphalt Championship - Heatheringtons triumph on Jersey rally

The final round of the championship took place on the island of Jersey, after a season-long hard-fought battle which went down to the wire.

After taking maximum points on the penultimate round on the Ulster Rally, father and son team Peter and Chris Heatherington (Talbot Sunbeam) headed for Jersey knowing that a finish on the Roberts Garages Jersey Rally would give them the Championship win in 2019. 

After a sleepless night before the event started, for Peter a steady run across the two day event meant they finished 41st overall to take the championship crown. 

Taking second overall in the Championship positions and leading championship contender on the Rally were Dick Mauger and Geno Gouvia.

 

Patrick Naylor – season round up

Pat Naylor rounded off his season in the BTRDA championship on the Trackrod rally.  These are his thoughts on that event, and the championship:

“Rather disappointed with the end to our Trackrod but that's rallying. Could have been a close battle with only 0.8s behind Scott and Gareth on our 1st stage SS2 and knew we had more speed as I didn't drive as well as I should have in the bad conditions. 

“Broke a rear shaft near start of SS3 which put us out of contention but fixed in Service then had a problem with front diff near start of SS4, so cruised through five to investigate in Service and it turned out to be terminal so forced to retire. Our 1st mechanical retirement of the year but looks like we have 3rd overall BTRDA so can't be too unhappy. Shame it couldn't have been 2nd as this will be the 4th time we've got this trophy! We also finished 2nd in NR4 and 2nd in the Production Cup by just 2 points in both. Re-preparing the car for next year for another go, thanks to all at FUCHS Lubricants for their support and advice over the season.”

 

Valuable experience for Freddie

Promising young karter Freddie Housley had a last-minute call up to the ROK World Finals at South Garda Karting Circuit in Lonato, Italy.

It was always going to be a tough challenge for Freddie as he had never been to the circuit, or even driven the engine or tyres.

However, after his serious crash in the last race knocked his confidence, the team decided it would be good for him to jump back behind the wheel. If nothing else, the experience would be valuable moving forward.

Freddie arrived for the two-day practice to discover that 100 of his fellow drivers in the Mini ROK Class had been racing and test for two weeks – and some had been on the track for three weeks!

Freddie struggled in qualifying, but the four heats were more encouraging with finishing positions of 23^rd, 20^th, 19^thand 18^th. It wasn’t enough to qualify for the main finals, but the experience was invaluable moving forward.

 

Morgan ends season with fine nine

Adam Morgan wrapped up a rollercoaster BTCC season at Brands Hatch.

Collisions with Matt Neal and Jack Goff in the first two races saw the Ciceley Motorsport man finish 18^th and 26^th.

There was better to come in the final outing as Morgan blazed through the pack to finish P9.

The result meant Morgan finished the championship in 12^th spot overall.

Looking ahead, Morgan told us: “There is much to be positive about in 2020. Since Steve Farrell came in as my main race engineer in August, we have seen a real upturn in performance of the car.

“We have big plans for improvements over the winter and we are already counting down to the start of next season.”

 

Oh, we do love to be by the seaside

JSR Racing headed south for the Weston Beach Race 2019.

Coming into the 37th edition of the Weston beach race, the team were prepared and ready for what Weston had to throw at them. The sun was shining and the scene was set with plenty of sand and plenty of salt water. With over 800 riders ready to hit the 2.5km straight, it was to be a fantastic day of racing.

James Dodd came into the weekend after a top 10 finish and unfortunately, he came up short this time, coming in 14th. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular ride from the local with a great jump out the gate. Not too many problems throughout the day, he pitted well, handled the traffic good and all fell into place nicely.

Andy Smart had his first Weston experience - and it didn't disappoint. He loved every minute of the three hour battle and came home in a very respectable 60th place. 

Jamie Smith, the JSR team manager decided to take part two days prior to the event. Despite only riding a couple of times this year he had no expectations and came into the event open minded. In typical Jamie fashion, he had a great start which put him in a really good position for a solid finish.

 

Myerscough College Motorsport

Myerscough College Motorsport were crowned 2019 Thundersport GB Golden Era Steelsport champions at Oulton Park.

Ryan Garside rode a steady race one, managing ignition problems and very poor weather conditions to come home P2 in class and secure the championship victory.

Carl Vickers of CV Racing, meanwhile, was eighth in class and ninth overall in the Supersport category.

 

Ellwood champ in enduro contest

Tom Ellwood and Jordan Young picked up the Team Trophy in the Army Enduro Championship.

Cpl Ellwood took home the top spot and become Army champion for a fourth time, with LCpl Young coming second.

The 3 Para and Parachute Regiment Team received the best Novice Team, Fastest Special Test Lap, Best Infantry Rider, and third Novice Rider. Not bad for a brand new team!

 

Silver for Adss Endurance Racing

Adss Endurance Racing competed in round nine of No-Limits Racing at Croft Circuit.

The team finished P2 in the race – and P2 in the championship!