Weekly Motorsport Round-Up #1

MORGAN LEADS THE WAY FOR FUCHS RACERS

Spring has sprung which can only mean one thing – motorsport is back!

FUCHS and FUCHS SILKOLENE are once again heavily involved in elite and amateur motorsport on both four and two wheels.

Adam Morgan got off to a flying start in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

Ciceley Motorsport‘s Morgan qualified in sixth in his re-branded Mercedes-Benz A-Class – and followed that up with a superb third place finish in the opener. Morgan finished just 0.167s behind Gordon Shedden and was delighted to podium. Tom Ingram finished first.

“That’s an amazing way to start the year,” said Adam, who admitted he thought about challenging Shedden for second spot but decided to bring the car home safely instead.

Adam followed up that excellent finish by clinching further points in races two and three, finishing in P4 and P5.

Meanwhile, in the Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship, FUCHS-supported drivers Stanley Orr and Bob Bean took first and third respectively in category two.

Conditions were wet, slippery and misty at times in this 11-miler season opener in the Gartheiniog stage.

Stanley and Stephen McAuley set the pace in the Capital Construction Category 2 as Stanley gained useful seat time in his BDA-powered Escort Mk1. They emerged clear winners ahead of Phil Jobson/Arwel Jenkins, while Bob/Malcolm Smithson came home in third.

Both Stanley and Bob use FUCHS Titan Race Pro R 15w-50 in their engines.

The ‘Spirit of the Rally’ product award from FUCHS went to Jake Scannell and Adrian Stevens, who made their BHRC debut in their Category 4 Toyota Corolla. Despite losing a lot of time in SS4 and SS5 following a roll, they got going again and set a representative time in the final stage on their way to a class victory. The car was a little battered, but still running strongly at the finish.

A brief film report of the historic action from the Red Kite Stages is now available: https://www.facebook.com/MSABHRC/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

FUCHS-backed Gavin Murray was in action in the National Hot Rods. The sun was shining and the terraces were full for the final meeting ever to be held at Wimbledon Stadium before it is demolished later in the year.

Twenty-four National Hot Rods were in attendance for World Qualifying Round 9 where Gavin started 22nd for both heats one and two. The starting grid is calculated based on average points scored over the last eight qualifying rounds. Gavin is the third highest points scorer of the season so far meaning he has to fight his way from the back of the grid each race with the final race grid being calculated on points scored on the night from heats one and two.

Gavin got caught up in some argy-bargy on the last bend which nearly resulted in him spinning out, but he managed to hold on and crossed the line in eighth. After a stewards’ enquiry, Gavin was elevated to sixth.

Gavin pushed hard in round two and came home in eighth, putting him in fifth spot for the final. Gavin was running second before a mid-race caution brought the field to a halt. Gavin struggled to get going on the restart and eventually finished in third, bringing another successful meeting to a close.

The second round of the BTRDA Rally Championship gets under way this weekend in Somerset. It’s a long journey for the FUCHS-backed, Carlisle-based CA1 Sport team, who have Tom Preston competing again in his Skoda Fabia R5.

Seeded at number eight out of the 110 entries received so far, Tom and co-driver Andrew Roughead are looking to improve on their 2016 placing of seventh overall.

On two wheels and competing under the SILKOLENE flag, it was a day of mixed fortunes for the Be Wiser Ducati Team at the opening round of the 2017 MCE British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne’s title defence got off to a terrible start as he crashed out of the warm-up and was declared unfit to compete. Shakey is a fighter and has vowed to fight his way back up to the top of the standings in the months to come.

There was much better news for teammate Glenn Irwin, though, who rode strongly in race one to clinch P6 after starting in ninth on the grid - and superbly in the second race to finish third.

Glenn said: “After Shakey crashed someone said to me that the pressure was really on as I was carrying the hopes of the team. Whilst it’s not the ideal way to get an opportunity, I saw it as exactly that and took it with both hands.”

Joe Collier has taken on a new challenge this year and has moved from the Dickies British Supersport Championship to the Ducati Performance Tri Options Championship with the BPS Racing team. It has been a last minute deal but Joe settled in well and took a double victory at the first round of the MCE British Superbike Championship round at Donington Park.

Joe Collier: My first time riding the bike in the dry was on Friday so we had a lot to learn and change to get things right for me. The team worked really hard over the weekend to get everything feeling comfortable. I am looking forward to Brands and making the Ducati feel a little more like my own."