15/01/20

Motorsport News

The voice of British Motorsport

Motorsport News4 min readAutomotive
Norris: I’m Ready To Take Another Step In 2020
Rising British star Lando Norris has pledged to maintain his open attitude towards fans of Formula 1 as he begins his second season in grand prix racing with McLaren. That was the message he gave to his supporters at the Autosport International Show
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Leclerc: I’ve Still Got To Learn From Vettel
Charles Leclerc has admitted he still has a lot to learn from Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Sebastian Vettel despite a strong first campaign against the four-time world champion. The Monegasque driver took more pole positions, wins and points than Vet
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
F1 Round-up
Formula 1 has revealed its race weekend schedule for the 2020 season, which includes the start time of the British Grand Prix being moved back an hour compared to 2019. The start time of the Silverstone race was set at 1410hrs last year and, allowing
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
Verstappen To Stay At Red Bull Until 2023
Max Verstappen has extended his Formula 1 deal with Red Bull until the end of the 2023 season. Verstappen, who became part of Red Bull’s junior programme in 2014 and was handed an F1 drive with its junior team Toro Rosso the year after, was promoted
Motorsport News2 min read
Symonds Admits F1 Got 2019 Rules Wrong
Formula 1 technical boss Pat Symonds has admitted the rush to make aerodynamic rule changes to boost overtaking for 2019 were in hindsight the wrong thing to do. Front wing design rules were tweaked for last season in a bid to make it easier for cars
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Black Falcon Mercedes Wins Rain-affected Dubai 24 Hours
British racer Ben Barker was among the Black Falcon Mercedes crew that took victory in the Dubai 24 Hours last weekend, as the race was shortened to just a seven-hour contest due to heavy rain and was marred by a nasty pitlane incident. The race did
Motorsport News2 min read
Ouick Laps The Fastest News Round-up
Honda and Red Bull Formula 1 junior Yuki Tsunoda will step up to Formula 2 with Carlin in 2020. It is understood Tsunoda impressed his bosses at both Honda and Red Bull during his rookie campaign in FIA Formula 3, his first year of car racing outside
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
Carrera Cup ace Harper joins BMW Junior Team
Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion Dan Harper has been signed to BMW’s new Junior Team for the next two years. The teenager dominated this year’s Porsche championship in his second season as the Porsche GB Junior and was due to take part in the manufact
Motorsport News1 min read
BTCC Racer Butcher Unable To Take Start
One driver who did not get to compete in the shortened Dubai 24 Hours was British Touring Car Championship race winner Rory Butcher after his flight was diverted to avoid airstrikes over Iraq. Butcher, who last contested the event in 2016, was due to
Motorsport News2 min read
Ford Refugees Tincknell And Westbrook Join Aston For Le Mans
Ford refugees Harry Tincknell and Richard Westbrook will fill the vacant seats in Aston Martin Racing’s 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro line-up. The pair have been snapped up by the British manufacturer for the 2019-20 World Endurance Championship fina
Motorsport News1 min read
Osborne To Partner Hill In AmDTuning Honda
Second-year British Touring Car Championship racer Sam Osborne has completed the AmD Tuning line-up for the 2020 season in an FK2-spec Honda Civic Type R. He will line up alongside Jake Hill in the Japanese cars, which the West Thurrock operation too
Motorsport News2 min read
Chilton To Join Forces With Btc Honda
Fourteen-time race winner Tom Chilton will partner Josh Cook at the BTC Racing British Touring Car Championship team in 2020 at the controls of a latest-specification Honda Civic Type R FK8. Chilton, who began his BTCC career when he was 17 years ol
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
GT Champ Gornall To Step Into The BTCC
Trade Price Cars Racing has signed reigning Mini Challenge champion James Gornall to contest the 2020 British Touring Car Championship season at the wheel of an Audi S3. The 35-year-old, who won the British GT Championship in a Brookspeed-run Dodge
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Proctor To Lead The Line In New Hyundai
Race winner Senna Proctor is the first signing for the new Excelr8 Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance for the 2020 British Touring Car Championship. Proctor will be entering his fourth season in the BTCC. He won in a front-wheel-drive Power Maxed Rac
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
Crees Lands A “Dream Drive”
Michael Crees will race with BTC Racing in the British Touring Car Championship this year, completing the squad’s three-car line-up for 2020. Crees, 36, graduated to the BTCC last season at the wheel of a Team Hard VW CC and scored a best finish of n
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Customer Brabham To Race In Britcar
The Brabham BT62 will contest its first full-season of racing in the Britcar Endurance Championship in 2020, with champion Paul Bailey joined by 2014 British GT4 title-winner Ross Wylie. It is the first customer BT62 sold by the revamped Brabham mar
Motorsport News1 min read
GT4 Pro-Am Champions Plowman And Fletcher To Race JRM’s GT3 Bentley
British GT4 Pro-Am champions Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher will graduate to the premier GT3 class this year in a Bentley Continental run by race-winning squad JRM. It will be their third season together as a pairing, having followed their 2018 G
Motorsport News1 min read
Race Winner Jewiss Stays With Douglas Motorsport For His Second Crack At BRDC British F3
BRDC British F3 race winner Kiern Jewiss will remain with the Douglas Motorsport squad in the category this season. Jewiss took the British Formula 4 title with Double R in 2018, but struggled to replicate that form against fellow F4 graduates last y
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
In Brief
The British Women Racing Drivers’ Club announced the winners of its Gold Star awards at the Autosport International show. The senior Gold Star was won by rally co-driver Sasha Heriot and the junior Gold Star, for drivers aged under 25, was given to S
Motorsport News2 min read
Brscc Targets Bumper 2020 Festival Turnout
The British Racing and Sports Car Club is targeting the largest gathering of Formula Ford 1600 machinery of the season at this year’s Formula Ford Festival as the event will also play host to two championship finales. Alongside the regular knockout
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
Legends Frontrunner Whitelegg To Return And Targets His First Title
Legends frontrunner Steve Whitelegg will return to the championship this season after taking a break from the category in 2019 and has “unfinished business” as he aims for his first title. The multiple race winner, who finished third and second in th
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
VW Cup Drivers Form Their Own JM Racing Squad
Volkswagen Racing Cup frontrunners Josh Coggan and Mark Wakefield have paired up to form a new team in the series this year. JM Racing will run up to four VW Golf Mk7s using the bodykit developed by Coggan. The first two cars are ready to go, with an
Motorsport News1 min read
Chateau Impney Event Axed For The Future
Competitors and fans have been left disappointed and perplexed by the announcement that the 2020 Chateau Impney Hill Climb has been cancelled. A vague statement from the event promoters and venue owners says that the sixth edition of the event, plan
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Down The Pub
Age: 63 Lives: Emsworth “I’ve just spent three days with Martin Stretton instructing people how to slide historic cars around. We do that at Pembrey, and it gets you some in-car time even though you’re not driving.” “I love racing and it’s kind of
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
In Brief
The annual Stoke Row and Nuffield Motorsport Day will be held on Sunday July 19 this year. Over a decade of shows, the event near Reading has raised around £30,000 for local charities and includes a wide array of competition cars on show as well as a
Motorsport News3 min read
Wraps Come Off The Wrc Challengers For 2020 Glory
The 2020 World Rally Championship moved up a gear last week when the three factory teams unveiled their challengers for this season’s titles. Toyota was the first to reveal their car, when Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanpera pulled the
Motorsport News2 min read
Yates Targets Success With 2020 M-sportr5 Attack
Rising British star Rhys Yates says his deal to drive an M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is the launchpad for his career. The Chesterfield driver starts his second season in the World Rally Championship with the Cumbrian squad and is determined to use
Motorsport News2 min read
David Evans
Is it just me or has anybody else noticed the huge sense of irony in Kalle Rovanpera’s words about his countryman Jari-Matti Latvala? If you’ve come directly to the right hand side of these two pages without visiting any of the stories over there, I’
Motorsport News2 min read
Devine Prepares To Fight For Silverware In Europe
Callum Devine believes that he can “be in the mix” for silverware as he prepares to compete full-time in the European Rally Championship this year. Devine will return to top-flight competition this season alongside co-driver Brian Hoy with the backi
Motorsport News1 min read
Popular Blyton-based Rallies Forced To Cancel
Two of the East Midlands’ most popular single-venue rallies, the Jack Neal Memorial Rally and the Hall Trophy, have had to be cancelled after the owners of the Blyton Park venue significantly increased the hire cost. Clerk of the course for the eve
Motorsport News2 min read
Panton To Make Rallying Return At Cadwell Park After Horror Smash
Five-time Rally Barbados winner Jeffrey Panton will rebound from his huge crash on last year’s event by contesting the Alan Healy Memorial Stages at Cadwell Park in February. He will return to the UK for the first time since 1997 to rekindle his Barb
Motorsport News2 min read
Lepley ‘In A Good Position’ Ahead Of Junior Brc Assault
Two-time BTRDA Silver Star champion George Lepley is targeting instant success in the 2020 Junior British Rally Championship, vowing he is not there “to make up the numbers”. Lepley revealed he would be contesting a full JBRC season in a WD40-backed
Motorsport News2 min read
Third BRC Title On The Bounce Edwards’ Ultimate Goal
Two-time defending British Rally champion Matt Edwards says he is aiming to make history by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive British titles. Announced at the Autosport Show, Edwards will drive the latest Ford Fiesta R5 MkII alongsid
Motorsport News1 min read
JBRC Champ McErlean Moves Up Into R5 Class
Reigning Junior British Rally champion Josh McErlean has signed a deal with Philip Case Rally Sport to drive in the top tier of the category this season. McErlean will contest the full season in a Hyundai i20 R5 which he will part fund with the €100,
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Moffett Brothers To Use Hyundais In 2020
Brothers Sam and Josh Moffett will both run 2020-spec Hyundai i20 R5s in this season’s Irish Tarmac Championship as both attempt to regain a title they won in 2017 and 2018 respectively. The move away from the Ford Fiesta R5 – a machine that carried
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Rallying Comeback For Black After Breaking Back In R2 Testing Shunt; Will Compete In Upgraded Toyota Starlet
Jason Black is set to make his rallying return in the Irish Tarmac Championship’s season opener – the Galway International – after nine months recovering from injuries. Black, who dominated the 2018 Irish National Junior Championship, suffered a seri
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
Frank Bird heads Brands Hatch Winter Stages entry as MN Circuit Rally Championship returns
Brands Hatch hosts the next round of the Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship this weekend, where a fourth different winner in as many rounds could take the top spot. The man likely to prevent that is top seed Frank Bird, who is aiming for a re
Motorsport News2 min readAutomotive
New Rally Championship Aimed At Under-25s
A new championship aimed at “bringing new blood” into rallying was launched last week at the Autosport International show. Supported by the Roger Albert Clark Rally Motor Club, the Crew 25 Championship is exclusively for crews aged 25 and under and w
Motorsport News4 min readAutomotive
Taking The Btcc Infiniti Beyond Its Limits
On the face of it, Laser Tools Racing’s decision to ditch its Mercedes-Benz A-Class halfway through the 2019 British Touring Car Championship was an odd one. Driver Aiden Moffat’s team parked its German hatchback and, instead, wheeled out a five-year
Motorsport News6 min read
The Stars Of The Show
Pick a cliche: does the season really start here? Is it really the jumping off point for the 2020 action? The answer is yes to any phrase you wish to use. The 2020 edition of the Autosport International show in Birmingham brought thousands of fans to
Motorsport News3 min readAutomotive
Revealing The Secret
Fifty-five years. There are very few categories around the world that have existed for such a long time, let alone in the UK. But Clubmans is one formula that can boast such an extensive history and, for 50 of those 55 years, there has been a British
Motorsport News3 min read
Graduating To The Front Of The Grid
There has been a number of teams that have expressed interest in the revamped Clio Cup UK series. Featuring a new car that has gone back to basics, new surroundings after a switch from the British Touring Car Championship support bill to the British
Motorsport News4 min readAutomotive
The Long Road To Success
“It’s not going to work if I just think I’m going to do it my way, it’s got to be what the customers want.” Claire Hedley’s assessment of what it takes to create a successful racing series might seem an obvious one, but the owner and managing directo
Motorsport News3 min readAutomotive
Hansens To Create The Next Chapter
Brothers Timmy and Kevin Hansen have continued along the path of emulating father Kenneth by both fighting for the biggest prize in rallycross last season. While Kevin Hansen had claimed the FIA European Rallycross Championship in 2016, a title his f
Motorsport News2 min read
Team Faren
A long-time Hansen family friend who also drove with Hansen Motorsport to success in both European Championship Super1600 and later Supercar, Eric Faren has run his own team in RX2 since 2017. While also working as spotter for Sebastien Loeb in Team
Motorsport News2 min read
Ovenden To Step Up To Citroen Supercar
Three-time British Rallycross Supernational champion Tristan Ovenden will graduate to the Supercar category this season with a Citroen DS 3. Ovenden won a pair of Swift Sport Rallycross Championship titles before stepping up to Supernational, where
Motorsport News1 min read
Skocdopole Joins Up With The Hansen Brothers For RX2 International Challenge
Timmy and Kevin Hansen’s Yellow Squad team has signed the first driver for its assault on the RX2 International Series this year, working in collaboration with Team Faren (see feature, page 28). Sixteen-year old Czech driver Dan Skocdopole, who raced
Motorsport News1 min read
Gundersen Changes Tack And Eyes Glory In Euro RX Supercar With An Audi S1
Former European Rallycross champion Ben-Philip Gundersen will graduate to the Euro RX Supercar category with an EKS-built Audi S1 Supercar. Having won the title in the now defunct rear-wheel-drive Euro RX TouringCar category in 2016, Gundersen then r
Motorsport News1 min readAutomotive
Renault Zoe’s Andros Glory
Four-time Andros Trophy champion Jean-Baptiste Dubourg claimed a maiden victory for the DA Racing team’s works-backed fully-electric Renault Zoe ice racing machine in the third weekend of the 2019-2020 series at Isola 2000. Dubourg dominated the open
Motorsport News3 min readAutomotive
Book Review Formula 1 – The Knowledge
If you thought the Dirk vs Jorg vs Yvan Muller World Touring Car Championship bouts of the mid-2000s were confusing, then feel for the poor Aintree circuit commentator. He had to differentiate between Henry, Mike, Dennis and Trevor Taylor – all unrel

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