Rally of the Midlands

Our local rally hosted the 4th round of the MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, which saw the most impressive field ever to take to these stages. Peter Lloyd & Graham Handley were debuting their Impreza WRC S14 but sadly failed to make it out on day 2. The overnight leaders however were in considerably older technology. In their Escort MkII Simon Mauger & Chris Butcher held a 12 second lead over Damian Cole & Craig Drew (Focus WRC) with championship leaders John Stone & Lee Carter (Fabia WRC) 3rd overnight. All three would feature in the final podium places at the end of the rally as MIRA provided the bulk of the mileage and decided the outcome.

Mid Wales Stages

Our first visit to Sweet Lamb in 2010 saw us take in the Mid Wales Stages. It was bit of a stop start affair with numerous accidents on stage 1 resulting in many crews taking a notional time. Most dramatic was the excursion of Will Onions & Dave Williams (Escort MkII) who did fly through the 300m warning board in the flying finish, retiring as a result of the damage on landing. Nick Elliott & Dave Price (Escort MkII) had decided caution was the best approach before seeing Onions off from the stop line and they duly cruised to a comfortable victory, banishing the memories of their accident on the 2009 event. Behind them Gareth Lloyd & Ryland James (Escort MkII) took 2nd overall as they continued their comeback after taking time out in 2008 and 2009. Third were Rob Smith & Shaun O’Gorman (Chevette) with Classic cars once again completing the podium.

Quinton Stages

The BTRDA championship made its annual visit to the Epynt ranges for the Quinton Stages. The rally has not always enjoyed the type of weather you would expect with being held in July and 2010 was an overcast and showery affair. At the head of the field Steve Perez & Paul Spooner (Focus WRC) took a commanding victory, taking the lead of the BTRDA championship in the process. Andy Burton & Robin Kellard (Peugeot Cosworth) had been leading up until the end of stage 3 but Perez pushed through on stage 4 before Burton’s engine expired at the end of stage 5. James Belton & Eurig Evans (Impreza WRC) were second with Patrick Naylor & Ian Lawrence (Evo IX) a fine 3rd overall and 1st in group N.

MINI set to join World Rally Championship from 2011

MINI is making a comeback on the international rally circuit. From 2011, the brand will compete at selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and will go on to contest the entire season from 2012 onwards. This involvement is planned for several years.

Preview: Harry Flatters Historic Rally

A little piece of history will be made on Sunday (1 August) when the SGC Printing Harry Flatters Historic Rally runs as a round of the Waterend Asphalt Cup. Although not a full round of the 2010 Dunlop/WONAGO.com MSA British Historic Rally Championship, the Epynt event is a round of the mini-series of asphalt events that runs under the BHRC umbrella.

United Autosports target GT3 class podium finish in maiden 24 hour race

- FIA GT3 European Championship regulars tackle legendary Spa 24 Hours
- Mark Blundell, Eddie Cheever and Stefan Johansson make Belgian race débuts
- Team Co-Owners Zak Brown and Richard Dean amongst eight driver squad
- High-profile sponsors adorn immaculately presented Audi R8 LMS sports cars

Saturday! Saturday! Saturday night’s all right!

Well it will be if you are at MCM Coventry Stadium on Saturday 31 July for the Coventry Masters Unlimited Banger Racing.

The Brandon oval lends itself ideally to these big-engined, big-bodied monster bangers, which rise and fall, nudge and spin in such perfect time that the races could be set to Elton John’s music.

For an upbeat night out where shouting and cheering, waving and booing is positively encouraged, there’s no better way to get rid of all the pent-up emotions of the past few months.

Renault F1 open days

Wednesday 11 August, Thursday 12 August and Friday 13 August 2010. Enstone, Oxfordshire.

Spaces are strictly limited – pass onto family and friends!

The Renault F1 Team will once again support National Motorsport Week by opening its doors to give members of the public a glimpse behind the scenes of its Enstone technical centre from 11th to the 13th of August.

Race success for Caparo AP Braking at the Volkswagen Racing Cup

Caparo AP Braking were delighted to share Podium success with Howard Fuller (1st) in the Golf GTi, Aaron Mason (2nd) also in a Golf GTi with Peter Wyhinny coming in a respectable 4th  driving a Seat Leon, in the Volkswagen Cup at Rockingham.  All cars were fitted with Caparo’s Racing Upgrade Kits and using Caparo’s 600 Racing Brake Fluid.

Star drivers line up for Abarth celebrity race

Stars from TV, radio, sport and music will line up on the grid this week (23 July) to race Abarth 500 cars for charity at the world-famous Silverstone Circuit.

Citroën jumps into action with top-ten ‘Big Air’ images

During April’s Rally of Turkey, Citroën’s Sébastien Loeb literally took off on the fast Ballica stage propelling his C4 WRC car an incredible 85 metres into the air.

Guintoli & Haslam confirmed for Brands Hatch festival

Alstare Suzuki World Superbike riders, Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli, are the latest star attendees confirmed to join the special Brands Hatch British Superbike Festival weekend on the 7th and 8th August, as they and thousands of Suzuki GSX-R fans celebrate 25 years of the iconic sports bike range.

Thirty Five “Best of British” young athletes supported from 25 sports

At a Ceremony today in London the Jaguar Academy of Sport presented 35 young athletes, representing the next generation of British sporting talent, with the Jaguar Academy of Sport Bursary Awards.  The Bursary Fund is at the core of the Jaguar Academy of Sport, which aims to recognise, celebrate and inspire the best of British sporting talent and success.  The 35 athletes were chosen after a rigourous selection process conducted by SportsAid, which administers the Bursary Fund on behalf of the Jaguar Academy,  with the final decision being made by the Patrons and Ambassadors of the Jaguar Academy of Sport, some of the nation’s most successful sportsmen and women.