DEMPSEY BEATS THE BEST

IRISHMAN TOPS THE WALTER HAYES TROPHY P20

HAMILTON:
THIS WAS MY
TOUGHEST
TITLE
BRITON NAILS DOWN A
SIXTH CROWN IN TEXAS
By Matt James

Six-time Formula 1 world champion

Lewis Hamilton said his latest
triumph comes after his most
difficult campaign to date.
The Mercedes driver wrapped up
his third successive crown by finishing
second at the Circuit of the Americas
on Sunday to move to within one title of
record holder Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton said: “It’s been the toughest
second half of the season that I think
we’ve had as a team, fighting against
Ferrari and Red Bull, which is great,
we welcome that. Every year you go
through a different rollercoaster ride of
emotions to get to where you’re going.”
Full story, p2-3

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ISSUE MJ3205 NOVEMBER 6 2019

INTHISISSUE
Photos: LAT

F1’s vision for the future

P6
REMEMBERING RUSSELL BROOKES

P19
DEMPSEY DOMINATES AT WALTER HAYES
Riding high: Hamilton has
closed in on Schumacher

By Matt James
Reigning world champion
Lewis Hamilton says he
is eager to rack up more title
successes in Formula 1 after
second place in the United
States Grand Prix on Sunday
and winner Valtteri Bottas.
The Briton is now the second
most successful F1 driver of all
time, and is just one crown short of
equaling Michael Schumacher’s
record of seven titles.
“As an athlete I feel [as] fresh as
can be right now, so I’m ready for
Brits and people with the UK flags
supporting me this weekend.”
Hamilton’s tribute
The new world champion said that
his sixth crown – and his third
in a row – was made difficult for a
number of reasons, including the

P20 helped him to a sixth crown.

The Mercedes man fought
back from a troubled qualifying
session to power from fifth on the
these next races, we won’t let
up, we’ll keep pushing,” said
Hamilton. “I’ve got to say a big,
big thank you to all Team LH
loss of Niki Lauda.
Lauda was a non-executive
chairman of the Mercedes team
but passed away shortly before

SIMPSON SECURES NEIL HOWARD STAGES HAT-TRICK grid to second place using a less
favourable one-stop strategy,
which was enough for the title.
He finished behind team-mate
[Hamilton fans] around the world,
everyone that has come out here
this weekend to really make this
event what it is, and also to all the
the Monaco Grand Prix in May.
Hamilton said: “It’s been the
hardest year for us as a team.
We lost Niki this year. [He was]
a crucial member and a real
pivotal member of our team and
the emotional rollercoaster that
we’ve been on with losing him,
and a race where I didn’t have
Bono [Hamilton’s regular
engineer Pete Bonnington] here
[Bonnington missed the race in
Mexico with health issues].”

United States Grand Prix report
Racing news
Historic race and rally news
Rally news
Walter Hayes Trophy report
MN Circuit report:Neil Howard Stages
Rally reports
Racing reports
Diary of a rally organiser
P22
Hamilton staved off the threat
from a resurgent Ferrari in
the middle of the season as the
4 Motorsport Games report 28 Scuderia took a trio of wins,
6 Sporting Scene 29 with two for Charles Leclerc
13 Letters/Comment/What’s On 30 and one for Sebastian Vettel at
14 Classifieds 32 the start of September.
20 “That is the toughest [title], and
22 only really other athletes who are
23 at the top of their game can really,
25 Hamilton (right) reflected on the loss of Lauda (left) this year probably relate to it, probably
26

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LEWIS: I WILL ONLY
GET STRONGER
Brition says he is on the way to painting a “masterpiece” in success
Lewis Hamilton secured the title in the USA for a second time
Wolff says that hard work
will help 2020 successes
because it’s just: arrive, week-in,
week-out, [don’t] drop the ball.
And this car has not been easy,
not been easy for us.
“We started the season, honestly,
going off to Melbourne thinking
that we were going to be behind.
[By the] mid-point of the season
we were behind, and it’s been a
real challenge, this second half of
the season. It’s been the toughest
second half of the season that I
think we’ve had as a team, fighting
against Ferrari and Red Bull,
which is great, we welcome that.
“Every year you go through a
different rollercoaster ride of
emotions to get to where you’re
going. I wrote something in my
[social media] post this morning,
that each and every single one of us
is struggling with something in life.
Whatever it may be: small, big.
I tried to show people that, from
the outside, things always look
great but it’s not always the case.
And I am also struggling with lots
of different things and battling
certain demons and trying to
make sure that I’m constantly
growing as a person.”
Painting a picture
Hamilton said that he still thinks
there is a lot more to achieve in his
career and that he felt he had not
yet reached the level of a complete
racing driver.
The 34-year-old, who won
10 grands prix this season and
has claimed 83 wins in his career
compared to Schumacher’s 91,
says he continued to grow
throughout 2019.
“I think this year has also been
continuous growth but I tried to
make sure that I’ve started the
season as I finished last year,”
explained Hamilton. “And I think
that’s just stayed through the
season. If you looked, I’ve been
very consistent in qualifying. I’ve
not had particularly spectacular
pole positions that perhaps I did
last year – but it’s been first or
second row the majority of the
time, except for this weekend. And
apart from Hockenheim – but I’ll
give myself a pass for that weekend
because I wasn’t really 100%.
Otherwise it’s been the best
performing year. I’m working on
a masterpiece and I haven’t quite
finished it yet, so I’m trying to
understand. It takes a long time to
master a craft and whilst I feel like
I am mastering it, there’s still more
to master. There’s still more to add
to it. There’s still more pieces to the
puzzle to add. There’s going to be
more ups and downs along the way
but I feel like I’ve got the best tools
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 3
HEADLINE NEWS
Second place was enough
for Hamilton to take title
now, to this point at least, to be F1 DRIVERS’ TITLES
able to deal with those.”
Hamilton also added that he
wanted to sign off the season with
back-to-back victories in the final
two races of the year in Brazil
(November 17) and Abu Dhabi
(December 1).
Wolff praise
Mercedes clinched the
constructors’s title at the previous
round in Mexico, and team boss
Toto Wollf says that the team will
keep pushing hard to give Hamilton
the tools he needs to do the job to
eclipse Schumacher’s record.
Wolff said: “There’s a reason
why the Schumacher record Ayrton Senna took the first of his three championships for McLaren in 1988
stands, because it’s very difficult. I
think if we are able to provide the
drivers with a good car next year,
that is competitive, we’ll continue P DRIVER TOTAL
to work on the gaps that we have, 1 Michael Schumacher 7
try minimising mistakes, and if 2 Lewis Hamilton 6
[Lewis] has a good season, there is 3 Juan Manuel Fangio 5
no reason why he couldn’t go for a 3 Sebastian Vettel 4
seventh title. [Lewis] will always 3 Alain Prost 4
say there is room for improvement, 6 Jack Brabham 3
and this is the mentality you need . 6 Jackie Stewart 3
“I think for me he is on a high 6 Niki Lauda 3
level. But you never want to give 6 Nelson Piquet 3
yourself or anybody 10 out of 10, 6 Ayrton Senna 3
because you might just be a nine Stewart was the UK’s first triple title holder
and you want to have the room
for being a 10 in the future.”
PAGE 7
4 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110

BY MATT
USA GP REPORT BEER

FIVE KEY TALKING

HAMILTON’S 1.Bottas stops Hamilton

getting all the glory
Lewis Hamilton only needed an eighth

AMERICAN DREAM
place to seal the 2019 Formula 1 world
championship in the United States Grand
Prix – but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going
to try everything he could to win it.
Valtteri Bottas knew his once-bright title
hopes were realistically over months ago –
but that didn’t mean he was going to let his
team-mate have all the fun at Austin.
While an out-of-sorts Hamilton only

Six titles for Lewis but it’s Bottas who takes the victory spoils in Texas
qualified fifth, Bottas pipped Sebastian
Vettel by just 0.012 seconds to give
Mercedes its first pole since the German
GP in July. The subdued Hamilton said it
“just wasn’t a good lap” and insisted he
didn’t “look at this race as particularly
important” despite the potential to
become only the second six-time
world champion in F1 history.
His combative start to the race belied
that – as he swiftly passed both the
Ferraris on lap one and then hounded Max
Verstappen’s Red Bull-Honda for second
through the opening stint.
Bottas established a lead of just over two
seconds early on in a race that Pirelli had
suggested would be doable as a one-stop
if tyres were managed carefully. But
Verstappen coming in on only lap 13 of 56
skewed things for Bottas, forcing him to pit
too to avoid being vaulted by the Red Bull if
he responded too slowly and meaning both
were committed to a two-stop race.
Hamilton stuck to the one-stop plan and
found himself 15s clear of Bottas in the
race lead. But such was Bottas’s pace on
his fresh hards compared to Hamilton’s
worn mediums, it took just eight laps for
the second Mercedes to demolish the #1
car’s lead and fly past back into first place.
Having previously refused an invitation
to pit, Hamilton came in straight after
losing the lead. He switched to hards and
now had to complete a 32-lap stint on them
– a run he began by rapidly closing back in
on Bottas, who made his second stop 11
laps later.
That set up the showdown: Hamilton
on worn hards leading Bottas on new
mediums by nine seconds with 21 laps to
go, and Verstappen lurking close behind
Bottas on the same strategy too.
Bottas’s initial pace was staggering – a
full 3.2s faster than Hamilton on his first
flying lap. A rapid return to the lead
seemed a foregone conclusion. Then the
balance began to shift. Hamilton was
getting through traffic better than his
team-mate, and – despite the concerns he
was expressing over the radio at times –
his hards weren’t exactly wilting yet. Had
Bottas gone too hard too soon and wasted
his advantage?
He hadn’t. Though there were no more
massive pace swings, Bottas kept chipping
away at Hamilton a few tenths at a time
and was right on him with six laps to go as
the tiredness of the championship leader’s
Pirellis really began to have an impact.
Briton celebrates
An initial bid for the lead on the back
a sixth title victory straight was firmly rebuffed. “There was
some traffic ahead, Lewis had a bit of a
mistake into Turn 11 so I could get this first
opportunity,” said Bottas. “He covered the
inside, I had to take the outside line, I was
ahead but he braked very late. I had to run
off the track to avoid the collision but it’s
fine, because if I was in his position I would
have done the same.”
Next time around “it was a bit more
straightforward” and Bottas was able
to fly past on the straight and leave
Hamilton to successfully fend off
Verstappen to the flag for a second place
that made him the 2019 champion. But
Bottas’s charge to victory meant he
could hold his head high too. “I did my
part,” the race winner declared, “which
Bottas took the win but it wasn’t enough to deny Hamilton Verstappen completed the American podium Vettel’s race was brief,lasting just seven laps feels good.”
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110 motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 5

ROUND Photos: LAT

POINTS FROM TEXAS RACE FACTS Results © 2019 Formula One Administration Ltd

USA GRAND PRIX TYRE

Circuit: Circuit of the Americas Laps: 56 CHOICE
2. Ferrari’s the opening laps then went out early Race distance: 191.643 miles Lap: 3.422 miles Prime
controversial slump with broken suspension. Lap record: 1m36.169s (Charles Leclerc, 2019) SOFT

Ferrari had its least competitive race Leclerc furiously hit back at 2018 winner:Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
since its Hungarian GP drubbing at Verstappen, saying “he has no clue” Drag reduction
the start of August, and Verstappen and calling his comments “a joke”, Date: system activation
Weat
had no doubt about why. “That’s what while Ferrari team principal Mattia Option
happens when you stop cheating, of Binotto called the remarks “very DRS Timing line SUPERSOFT
course,” he said on Dutch television. disappointing” and made clear
He was referring to the publication Ferrari had not changed anything
DRS Timing line
of an FIA technical directive on its engine settings for Austin.
regarding fuel flow rules, issued in Max said Ferrari‘stopped cheating’ Both drivers and Binotto declared
response to Red Bull querying three Ferrari’s poor form a mystery, but Option
ULTRASOFT
possible scenarios that would allow recent straightline superiority, one unrelated to engine performance.
increased fuel flow rates between the Verstappen wasn’t the only one “Certainly the speed on the
official measurements. All those making a connection between the FIA straight was not our issue whereas Drag reduction
scenarios were declared illegal. clarification and Ferrari’s plummet we had clear problems with the grip system activation
There was no mention of Ferrari down the order. The team that had of the car in the first stint with both
in Red Bull’s question or the FIA been quick enough to win every race drivers,” said Binotto, who also
response, and no action taken since the summer break finished only pointed out that Leclerc was running RESULTS
against Ferrari but, in the context fourth with Charles Leclerc, 52s from a downgraded engine spec after an FIA Formula 1 World Championship, round 19/21
of Maranello’s rivals vigorously victory, while Sebastian Vettel oil leak in final practice forced a POS DRIVERS NAT CAR-ENGINE TIME
probing how it might be achieving its slumped from second to seventh in change ahead of qualifying. 1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes 1h33m55.653s
2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes +4.148s
3 Max Verstappen NLD Red Bull-Honda +5.002s
4 Charles Leclerc MCO Ferrari +52.239s
3. Job almost done for 5 Alexander Albon THA Red Bull-Honda +1m18.038s
McLaren to seal fourth 6 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault +1m30.366s
McLaren is on the cusp of clinching 7 Lando Norris GBR McLaren-Renault +1m30.764s
fourth place in the constructors’ 8 Carlos Sainz Jr ESP McLaren-Renault -1 lap
championship – its highest finish 9 Nico Hulkenberg DEU Renault -1 lap
since its 2012 third place – having 10 Sergio Perez MEX Racing Point-Mercedes -1 lap
maintained its 38-point cushion over 11 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo-Ferrari -1 lap
main rival Renault despite being beaten Another double top-10 finish takes McLaren a step closer to fourth 12 Daniil Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso-Honda -1 lap*
to ‘best of the rest’ honours in the race. 13 Lance Stroll CAN Racing Point-Mercedes -1 lap
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo the lap time out of the car a bit easier,” Ricciardo and Norris had swapped 14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo-Ferrari -1 lap
ultimately won a race-long battle mused Ricciardo. “That window places twice on the opening lap, 15 Romain Grosjean FRA Haas-Ferrari -1 lap
with McLaren’s Lando Norris for seems slightly wider for them, and initially at the downhill Turn 2 where 16 Pierre Gasly FRA Toro Rosso-Honda L54/accident damage
sixth by just 0.4s, but with Norris’s I think that’s why in quali we’re not Norris admitted he “almost didn’t 17 George Russell GBR Williams-Mercedes -2 laps
team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr recovering always able to extract the most out of see it and almost had a huge shunt – 18 Kevin Magnussen DNK Haas-Ferrari L52/brakes
from a first-corner brush with Alex it because it’s probably easier for us to he must have been in my blind spot”. R Robert Kubica POL Williams-Mercedes L31/hydraulics
Albon’s Red Bull to take eighth and make a mistake. But then in the race, While Ricciardo was then able to R Sebastian Vettel DEU Ferrari L7/suspension
Ricciardo’s team-mate Nico once you’re not on the limit of the make a one-stop strategy work, Winner’s average speed 122.413mph Lap leaders: Bottas 1-14; Hamilton 15-23; Bottas 24-35; Hamilton 36-51; Bottas 52-56
Hulkenberg back in ninth the two tyre, our window expands naturally Norris pitted twice and was able to *=five-secondpenaltyforcausingacollision
teams both scored 10 points. for the pace and I think that’s why charge back towards his rival at the
“If I watch the onboards, I do feel we’re able to maybe come back a finish. “One more lap and the two- FASTEST LAP CHARLES LECLERC 1m36.169s ON LAP 44 (AVERAGE SPEED:128.235MPH)
like McLaren seem to be able to get little bit towards them.” stop would’ve had us,” Ricciardo said.
QUALIFYING
POS DRIVER TIME POS DRIVER TIME
4. Kvyat’s deja vu minutes after the finish. heed yellow flags for Kevin 1 Bottas 1m32.029s 11 Hulkenberg 1m33.815s
For the second time in a week, Daniil When told of the penalty during TV Magnussen’s stranded Haas and 2 Vettel 1m32.041s 12 Magnussen 1m33.979s
Kvyat found himself demoted out interviews, Kvyat responded: “That’s Racing Point team principal Otmar 3 Verstappen 1m32.096s 13 Kvyat 1m33.989s
of the points by a penalty for a late bullsh*t. That’s unbelievable. I don’t Szafnauer had no doubt where 4 Leclerc 1m32.137s 14 Stroll 1m34.100s
collision. After his brush with know, I have no words. It’s so stupid. fault lay either. 5 Hamilton 1m32.321s 15 Grosjean 1m34.158s
Hulkenberg in Mexico, this time it I just went around the inside and he “He deserved it,” Szafnauer said 6 Albon 1m32.548s 16 Giovinazzi 1m34.226s
was a tangle with Sergio Perez that closed the door.” of Kvyat’s penalty. “You can’t make 7 Sainz 1m32.847s 17 Raikkonen 1m34.369s
got him in hot water and led to him But Perez accused Kvyat of only up all the time under double waved 8 Norris 1m33.175s 18 Russell 1m35.372s
being demoted from 10th to 12th closing in because he had failed to yellows and not slow down, and then 9 Ricciardo 1m33.488s 19 Kubica 1m35.889s
bounce off the kerbs into someone. 10 Gasly 1m33.601s 20 Perez* 1m35.808s
Kvyat was furious I think justice prevailed.” * Driver required to start from the pitlane after ignoring a weighbridge call during practice
at his late penalty Perez, who finished 10th having
started from the pitlane as a
punishment for missing a
weighbridge call in practice, had
been involved in a separate incident
with Pierre Gasly a few laps earlier,
which led to the Toro Rosso retiring
with suspension damage.

5.Tyre rows for 2020 step forward,” said the Ferrari driver. done any set-up work to suit the
begin already “But it’s pretty much done, the tyres 2020 tyres meant it was inevitable
Pirelli’s planned 2020 F1 tyres were are built for next year so that will be it.” they would feel difficult to drive.
given their first major outing in Pirelli insisted that it was too soon to But that hasn’t stopped teams Haas had another race to forget as it again failed to score any points
Friday practice at Austin as an initial criticise the product, arguing that the already beginning early moves to
exploratory run for the teams ahead dirty track conditions of Friday push for the 2019 tyres to be kept CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
of the major post-race test in Abu practice and the fact the teams hadn’t into next year after all. DRIVERS CONSTRUCTORS
Dhabi. And the new rubber POS DRIVER PTS POS CONSTRUCTOR PTS
immediately provoked complaints. New Pirelli rubber 1 Lewis Hamilton 381 1 Mercedes 695
Sainz said the tyres “felt very weird 2 Valtteri Bottas 314 2 Ferrari 479
proved unpopular
and very bad”, Hamilton declined to 3 Charles Leclerc 249 3 Red Bull-Honda 366
comment at all – simply smiling and 4 Max Verstappen 235 4 McLaren-Renault 121
saying: “I’ve got to hold back and not 5 Sebastian Vettel 230 5 Renault 83
say too much at the moment”. 6 Alexander Albon 84 6 Racing Point-Mercedes 65
Vettel was unimpressed and 7 Carlos Sainz Jr 80 7 Toro Rosso-Honda 64
resigned to that feeling continuing 8 Pierre Gasly 77 8 Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 35
into 2020. “I think it was a 9 Daniel Ricciardo 46 9 Haas-Ferrari 28
disappointment because there was no 10 Sergio Perez 44 10 Williams-Mercedes 1

NEXT RACE: BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX, NOVEMBER 17

6 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk
RACING NEWS
F1 ROUND-UP
Austin works
The Austin F1 circuit will
be closed this winter for
major work to eradicate
the bumps that led to
vociferous driver
complaints last weekend.
Lewis Hamilton claimed
the undulations had left
him feeling ill after Friday
practice, while Sergio
Perez claimed they would
cause crashes in the race
and “someone can get
hurt”. Some grinding work
was done during the
weekend to try to improve
the situation but this winter
extensive excavations will
take place to remove pipes
that run under the circuit.
2020 line-ups
The 2020 F1 line-up is
on the cusp of being fully
settled, with Antonio
Giovinazzi confirmed as
remaining at Alfa Romeo
for a second year
alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
“Antonio has emerged
as a very quick driver,
even alongside as tough
a benchmark as Kimi,
and we expect him to
develop even further as his
experience grows,” said
team boss Fred Vasseur.
Formula 2 frontrunner
Nicholas Latifi is
considered near-certain to
take Robert Kubica’s place
at Williams provided he
gets the required F2 result
to obtain a superlicence,
while Red Bull has made
clear that it will pick from
its current four drivers to fill
its two teams even though
it has yet to decide who
goes where. All that is set
to leave Nico Hulkenberg
outside F1, and he has
been strongly linked to a
DTM move for next season.
Bike swap
Lewis Hamilton and
Valentino Rossi’s long-
rumoured car/bike swap
will take place at Valencia
on December 9. The
two legends had long
expressed an interest
in trying each other’s
machinery, and the event
has been made possible
by Monster Energy –
which sponsors both the
Mercedes F1 and Yamaha
MotoGP teams. Hamilton,
a keen biker, has already
tested World Superbike
machinery but never a
MotoGP bike, whereas
Rossi tested extensively
for the Ferrari F1 team
in the mid-2000s while
mulling a career change.
HOW MOYERS MISSED OUT ON A FAIRYTALE WALTER HAYES HAT-TRICK
New car is designed
to allow close racing
F1’S 2021 MASTERPLAN
IS FINALLY UNVEILED
Major new rules package is approved and first images of future of F1 are revealed
By Scott Mitchell
Formula 1’s bold new look,
key format changes and
potentially championship-
changing financial regulations
were unveiled last week as
the category’s 2021 overhaul
was finally signed off.
The major new rules package,
which has been debated for
months, was approved
unanimously by the FIA’s World
Motor Sport Council on Thursday
last week, and the new rules and
F1’s vision were unveiled at the
United States Grand Prix.
FIA president Jean Todt, via
video link, joined F1 CEO Chase
Carey, F1 motorsport managing
TECH ACE FRY TO JOIN RENAULT FOR 2020
Pat Fry, formerly a leading
technical figure at McLaren
and Ferrari, has agreed to join
Renault for 2020 once free of his
ongoing contractual obligations
with McLaren.
Fry began his career with the
Enstone team in the early days
of its Benetton era, rising to the
role of race engineer by 1992.
He then moved to McLaren,
becoming chief engineer, before
heading to Ferrari as chassis
technical director in 2010. He
subsequently became engineering
director before leaving the team
for a short spell at Manor.
More recently he returned to
McLaren for a second stint on
a consultancy basis, and was
regarded as a key contributor
to the team’s resurgence.
It is not yet clear what job title
director Ross Brawn and FIA head
of single-seater technical matters
Nikolas Tombazis at a special
press conference, where Carey
called the WMSC’s unanimous
approval “a watershed moment”.
Todt described the regulations
as “a major change in how the
pinnacle of motorsports will be
run”, adding: “For the first time,
we have addressed the technical,
sporting and financial aspects
all at once. The 2021 regulations
have been a truly collaborative
effort, and I believe this to be
a great achievement.”
The biggest changes for 2021 are
in the technical regulations, where
the cars will look very different.
They have been researched
Fry has been working as a consultant for McLaren
extensively by the FIA and F1 in
a bid to create cars that are easier
to follow. According to the FIA
and F1, when one car length
behind another competitor, the
following car will have around
86% of its usual downforce,
compared to 55% at present.
As well as looking different
to the current generation of car,
the intention is to encourage
teams to create designs that are
differentiated from each other,
too. The FIA showed a selection
of different adaptations it
considered legal under the
2021 rules, and cited seven major
areas where there is scope for
different shapes and ideas
without a performance deficit.
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Thenew2021machinescouldraceatupto25eventsascapislifted
F1 has also upped the limit
of the number of races to 25
for 2021 and has cut Thursdays
from the current schedule to
ease the burden. This means
scrutineering is moved to a
Friday morning, and teams are
only allowed to race what is sent
to scrutineering on Friday.
They can still run experimental
parts in practice, but they cannot
then decide to race those parts
that weekend. Parc ferme has
also been moved to the start
of final practice, instead of
qualifying, which means set-up
decisions will be locked in before
the final 60-minute session.
There are also changes to the
sporting regs that involve the
McLaren dismisses Rich Energy rumours
McLaren has dismissed a
cryptic tweet from former
Haas title sponsor Rich
Energy teasing a possible
deal as a publicity stunt.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown
said he was taken aback when
he was sent the tweet, and
moved quickly to insist there
had been no talks – and would
not be – with Rich Energy’s
chief William Storey over
any sponsorship.
“Not at all,” Brown said.
“I was sent that, and the guy
obviously likes to draw
attention to himself. I haven’t
spoken with them. I won’t speak
with them. I think that is an
attempt to get some publicity.”
News of Brown’s comments
provoked a further social
Photos: F1, LAT
technical side, including more
tightly-regulated CFD and
windtunnel running. The
dyno testing allowance for
power units will also be reduced
to minimise costs.
Financial regulations mark a
new addition to the official FIA
rulebook, to implement an F1-
first cost cap that will limit team
spending to $175million. That cap
will exclude “driver costs” and
“three highest-paid person costs”
among other areas of expenditure.
Any breaches of the cost cap
will be subject to a serious
penalty, ranging from fines and
reprimands in minor cases, to
suspension and exclusion from
the championship.
media response from Rich
Energy, which tweeted “we
ask Zak Brown of McLaren
F1 to clarify and apologise for
his false statement on Rich
Energy” and insisting that
“multiple” meetings had
taken place and a Rich Energy
McLaren livery had been
mocked up. A subsequent
tweet showed Storey stood
among 1980s McLarens at the
team’s Technology Centre.
Rich’s deal with Haas –
already in the spotlight for
a copyright row over Rich’s
logo – collapsed mid-season
when the firm tweeted that it
was cancelling the deal due
to “poor performance” only
for its shareholders to try to
salvage the relationship.
PAGE 20
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HINCHCLIFFE LOSES
2020 INDYCAR SEAT
Arrow McLaren SP signs up O’Ward and Askew for next year’s campaign
Photos: LAT
Hinchcliffe has been with the team for the last five seasons
OUICK LAPS THE FASTEST NEWS ROUND-UP
Jenson Button brought
his two-year Super GT stint
to a close with sixth place
alongside Honda team-mate
Naoki Yamamoto in the
season finale at Motegi. The
pair had been champions
in 2018 but were eliminated
from the title fight early this
time. LeMans Lexus crew
Kenta Yamashita and Kazuya
Oshima won the 2019 title
by finishing second behind
championship rivals Nick
Toyota slowed by 2.74s a lap in Shanghai
Both of Toyota’s LMP1
cars will be slowed by
2.74 seconds per lap in
this weekend’s Shanghai
World Endurance
Championship round.
The two TS050 Hybrids get
identical success handicaps,
as they are both on 44 points,
amid a small increase in the
coefficient used to calculate
the penalties,
at 0.012s per p
the last-place
in the standin
(up to a maxim
of 40) per
kilometre of
track length
for the last
race in Fuji.
While the
weight of the
Toyotas will r
capped at 932k
measures suc
A handicap is now used in WEC
‘Dempsey comes out on top
Cassidy and Ryo Hirakawa
of TOM’S… Sophia Florsch will
return to the Macau Grand Prix,
the scene of her enormous crash
last year, with event debutant
HWA in 2019. Florsch’s Van
Amersfoort Racing-prepared car
was launched airborne and into a
photographer’s bunker in the 2018
event. She had to have a seven-
hour operation after suffering a
spinal fracture, but made a full
recovery and finished seventh in
the Formula Regional European
reducing the available ERS
power per lap, decreasing
fuel flow, and reducing the
size of the fuel restrictor
have been taken.
The Rebellion R-13 and #5
Ginetta also carry weight
penalties for China, but the
second Ginetta remains the
‘reference car’ as it is last
in the standings so has
Walter Hayes Trophy report, p20
By Matt Beer
McLaren has shocked the
IndyCar paddock by dropping
experienced race-winner
James Hinchcliffe from its
new team for 2020 and
recruiting young guns Oliver
Askew and Patricio O’Ward.
Hinchcliffe had an existing
contract with the Arrow Schmidt
Peterson Motorsports team that
McLaren has partnered with to
create Arrow McLaren SP for
its full-time IndyCar return.
After an initial suggestion that
Hinchcliffe’s long-standing
Honda ties would rule him out
of a seat at what was becoming
a Chevrolet-powered team,
McLaren indicated that
Hinchcliffe would stay on only
to then announce he was being
released as it signed 2018 and ’19
Indy Lights champions O’Ward
and Askew as its line-up.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown
said the young guns’ “superstar
potential” made it a gamble worth
taking. O’Ward had starred in an
IndyCar one-off with Harding
Championship this season…
A subsidiary of the Penske
Corporation has purchased
the IndyCar Series and the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
among other assets from the
previous owner, Hulman
and Company. The purchase
has been made by a Penske
division named Penske
Entertainment Corp, which
means Penske’s four-car
IndyCar team will compete in
a championship that is owned
Gen2 cars don’t require a pitstop as they go full race distance
PITSTOPS MAY RETURN TO FORMULA E
New Formula E boss Jamie
Reigle says the electric
championship could
eintroduce pitstops when
introduces its Gen3 car.
Pitstops have not been
mandatory in FE since the
rrival of the Gen2 car – which
was designed to ease fears over
lectric vehicles’ range – for the
018-19 season. That car will be
sed for four campaigns, while
lso undergoing a facelift at
he end of the upcoming
019-20 championship
o a ‘Gen2.5’ bodykit.
The teams and manufacturers,
s well as the FIA and FE, are
already involved in discussions
AUTOSPORT TECHNICAL EDITOR
JAKE
BOXALL-LEGGE
“There’s a lot to like
with the 2021 vision
G
Racing at the end of the 2018
season and then with Carlin in
the early part of this year before
being whisked off by Red Bull –
which viewed him as a potential
F1 prospect and took him to race
in Super Formula in Japan.
Askew finished second in the
2016 Walter Hayes Trophy when
he raced with Cliff Dempsey
Racing as part of the Team USA
Scholarship programme, and
went on to win that year’s Mazda
Road to Indy scholarship and the
2017 USF2000 title before this
year’s Lights success.
McLaren will continue to pay
Hinchcliffe’s salary in 2020 even
if he successfully finds a drive
with another team. Hinchcliffe
said he was “shocked” to learn he
was being dropped by the team,
having raced for SPM for the
past five years – during which
he won three races and took pole
for the 2016 Indianapolis 500.
Team co-owner Sam
Schmidt admitted it was a
“gut-wrenching” decision to
part with Hinchcliffe but insisted
“everything’s amicable”.
by its parent company…
Honda has hinted that it could
be interested in entering NASCAR
– but its IndyCar and IMSA
SportsCar programmes would
be in jeopardy if it did. “We can do
IndyCar and IMSA and those types
of things, or we can do NASCAR,”
said its US motorsport chief Art St
Cyr – who described NASCAR as
“something that interests us” and
added “given the opportunity, we’d
jump at the chance to do that as
soon as it makes sense for us”.
over the nature of the Gen3 car –
with all-wheel drive, revised
battery shapes, torque vectoring
and higher overall power levels
among suggested ideas.
“For Gen3, as we think about
why might a consumer not adopt
an electric vehicle, there’s a
perception perhaps around
charging availability and
‘how quickly I can get my car
charged?’” said Reigle. “Where
that gets interesting is when it
potentially feeds back into the
racing product, which is to say
‘OK, well if you can change the
speed with which you charge
the cars, perhaps you can
reintroduce a pitstop’.”
AGREE/DISAGREE?
letters@motorsport-news.co.uk
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 7
iven the amount of
hype surrounding
Formula 1’s much-
vaunted 2021
regulations,
followed by
suggestions that the teams were
looking to meddle as much as
possible in a bid to get their way,
one could have been forgiven for
expecting the new ’21 ruleset
to become a muddy, watered-
down mess.
But F1 has pulled off a win, and to its
credit has managed to secure a unanimous
vote for its 2021 rules to get the go-ahead
at last week’s FIA World Motorsport
Council. That’s great news for those bored
of the status quo, but will they actually
be the silver bullet that F1’s notoriously
hard-to-please fanbase is looking for?
Thankfully, the data suggests so. F1 and
the FIA have both been incredibly hard
at work making these rules have some
quantifiable advantage over the current
cars. In other words, this should not be a
repeat of 2017, where F1 was lured by
the siren’s song of faster cars and broken
lap records. Instead, aerodynamic
simulations suggest a huge uptick in
the downforce available when following
another car – giving a chasing driver
much more weaponry to play with.
Part of that is down to the renaissance of
ground-effect aerodynamics. By making
the floor do most of the work, the aero
on top of the car can be trimmed off,
banishing the unpredictable turbulent
flow that coalesces to form the dreaded
“dirty air” problem. The turbulence won’t
be gone forever, since it’s physically
impossible to do so unless F1 cars start
racing in a vacuum, but the reshaping of
the rear wing structure should help.
By taking away conventional endplates,
the vortices produced at the corners
should be much smaller and weaker,
meaning a chasing car isn’t hit with a
barrage of circulating air that doesn’t
mesh with its front wing. Reducing
those front wing elements to four should
reduce its sensitivity, and the shape of
the endplates there all but quell the
“outwash” airflow that also adds
to the turbulent wake.
One gripe that many will have is the
amount of prescribed parts teams have
to include, for example, like the new
deflectors over the front wheels. But that’s
a necessary evil to maintain the effect
that F1 has carefully crafted over the past
couple of years, and sometimes one must
sacrifice pure technological freedom for
better racing. Aero development should
also be a lot more restricted, ending the
sunk costs of a tiny winglet to help bring
the field together.
There’s a lot to like with the 2021 vision,
but we won’t know how it’ll really play
out until then. And if that year’s round at
Paul Ricard manages to throw up some
exciting racing, then it’ll be a success
by all counts.
8 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk
RACING NEWS
IN BRIEF
Wood picks up win
Having just missed out on last year’s
Pickup Racing crown, former British
Touring Car racer Lea Wood made his
first Pickups appearance of the year in
the season finale at Brands Hatch last
weekend. “As I hadn’t raced this year,
I had to start at the back as a novice,”
he explained. His Dave Longhurst-
owned truck hasn’t been out this year
either but, despite starting at the back,
Wood charged through to take fourth
in the opening race, before winning
the second. There was no third time
lucky for the Herefordshire driver, as he
retired from the final race after six laps.
Orton’s debut roll
Junior Saloons debutant Will Orton
will certainly remember his car racing
debut at Brands Hatch last weekend,
after rolling out of his first ever race
through Paddock Hill Bend. Orton,
a finalist in the recent Ginetta Junior
Scholarship, had qualified 17th out
of the 21 cars. His avoiding action
at the first corner left him uninjured,
apart from a few bruises, but his car
was substantially damaged and out
for the weekend.
Charity karting
Sportscar team United Autosports is
organising a charity karting event to
help LMP3 driver Christian England
pay for his medical bills after a first-lap
crash in the European Le Mans Series
race at the Algarve Circuit last month.
The 38-year-old was unable to avoid
Jack Manchester’s spun Dallara LMP2
and sustained injuries to his lower right
leg and ankle, requiring surgery on
Saturday. Bone was taken from his heel
to repair part of his foot and he has also
had a plate and screws inserted. Over
£15,000 has been raised so far. You
can donate by visiting justgiving.com/
crowdfunding/christian-england?utm_
term=axyPGKWWg
Bell and Balfe to bid
for British GT3 title
The Balfe-run McLaren 720S
GT3 will contest a second season
in British GT next year with an
unchanged line-up of factory
driver Rob Bell and Shaun Balfe.
After electrical problems forced
Balfe to withdraw from the
opening round at Oulton Park,
the new-for-2019 McLaren scored
more points than any other car
and fell just five points short of
the title after scoring a maiden
win at the Donington Park finale.
“We continue to learn about
the 720S GT3 and the team is
working hard to maximise all
areas of performance and become
a stronger unit,” said Bell. “This
season we showed significant
strides forward at each round.”
In addition to Graham Johnson/
Michael O’Brien’s full-season
entry, Balfe ran an extra McLaren
570S GT4 at select rounds this year
and the team expects to expand to
three cars full-time next season,
with driver announcements to
follow in the coming weeks.
WHORTON-EALES
BACK TO MINIS
The 2018 champion will return to the category next season as it joins the BTCC bill
By Stephen Lickorish
Mini Challenge champion
Ant Whorton-Eales will
return to the series next
season when it joins
the British Touring
Car Championship’s
support bill.
The 25-year-old won the Mini
title last year in impressive
style, only finishing two races
outside of the podium. He has
since contested a part-season in
EuroNASCAR this year but is
now looking to add a second
Mini crown. He will again drive
for the Jamsport squad that
powered him to the 2018 title,
along with the 2016 Renault
UK Clio Cup championship.
“Continuing to work with
Jamsport as a driver mentor
and being part of the
engineering team this year
was great, but I’m a racer and
the opportunity to get back
behind the wheel full-time in
2020 is something I wasn’t going
to turn down,” said Whorton-
Eales. “The fact that the Mini
Challenge is now part of the
BTCC support package makes
Teams and drivers can now buy fifth-generation Clio
British GT4 champions Hand and Canning look to continue partnership
British GT4 champions
Tom Canning and Ash
Hand are hoping to continue
their driver partnership
next season, following a
successful first test of
TF Sport’s GT3 championship-
winning Aston Martin Vantage.
Canning, 17, and Hand, 25,
who won the 2019 title with TF
in a Vantage GT4, are among
the 23 members of the revived
AMR Driver Academy, which
carries a prize of a factory
contract for the winner.
Both drivers plan to continue
with the marque next year,
The ultimate review
of a superb season
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Photos: Mark Campbell, Jakob Ebrey
a return particularly appealing,
because it is no secret that
touring cars is where I want to
be again in the future. This is the
ideal way for both the team and I
to show what we are capable of.
“The only goal is to reclaim
the championship that we won
together in 2018 and, whilst
I’m happy for someone else to
have it on loan for a year, I’m
determined to take it back!”
Whorton-Eales graduated to
the BTCC for a single season in
an AmD-run Audi S3 in 2017,
taking a best result of sixth at
Silverstone. The Jamsport
squad is eyeing a move into the
series in the future and team
boss Jamie Going believes
Whorton-Eales would be the
perfect driver to help realise
that ambition with.
“We want to be racing in the
BTCC in the future and are
actively working towards
making the step up to touring
cars with Ant,” he said. “We
bring the best out of each other
and I’m confident that we can
enjoy a strong 2020 season
Jamsport will again
together to take us a step
closer to our goal.” run Whorton-Eales
Orders open for new Clio Cup car as entry fees are slashed for 2020
Orders are now open for the in the UK in 2020 with support lower next season. These
new fifth-generation Renault from Renault Sport Racing. should cost around £8000 + VAT
Clio that will be used in the
heavily-revised Clio Cup UK
The cars for the revamped
series – which will feature on
for the year, down from the
£16,650 it was in 2019.
series next season. the British GT package next year Each of the seven rounds of
Renault UK withdrew its as well as having two overseas Clio Cup will feature 90 minutes
backing of the popular British events – have now gone on sale. of track time – two 20-minute
Touring Car Championship They cost €37,900 + VAT (£32,700). qualifying sessions and two
support series at the end of this The series has also revealed 25-minute races will take place
year but a Clio Cup will continue that entry fees will be much at each meeting.
regardless of the outcome, then I would like to race with
but are unlikely to return Ash again,” Canning said.
to British GT4. “The [GT3] car felt incredible
They are exploring options and there’s a lot to take away
in GT3 in the British from it. It does set your sights
championship and Europe, a bit more firmly on moving
with a move into the into that.”
GT4 European Series Hand added: “It’s similar
another alternative. to the GT4, just with more
Both drivers completed power and more downforce,
25 laps each in the GT3 at and even the characteristics
Silverstone, impressing TF of the car were similar. We
boss Tom Ferrier. matched each other for pace
“It might be limited to what which shows we’re a great
opportunities we get and pairing. If we could stay
whether we can go to the same together, that would be
thing, but if there’s a chance a great thing for us both.” Canning (l) and Hand have tested a GT3 Aston at Silverstone
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BURNS IMPRESSES IN
Teenager Burns (l) raced Drake’s McLaren M1B in Portugal
HISTORIC McLAREN
Clio Cup winner takes second in Algarve Historic Sports Car race and set for full 2020 campaign
By Marcus Pye
Renault UK Clio Cup race
winner Bradley Burns’ career
is set to change direction
following an impressive
second place on his debut
in mentor Chris Drake’s
McLaren-Chevrolet M1B
at the Algarve Classic
Festival last weekend.
Burns, 18, was runner-up
Race winner Taylor heads the Ginetta Junior Winter Series entry list with Elite for this weekend’s Brands Hatch event
Taylor finished fifth in the main category’s standings
Blake-Baldwin plans more Ginetta GT4 Supercup outings next year after making debut at Brands
Multiple Mazda MX-5
champion James Blake-
Baldwin made his debut in
the Ginetta GT4 Supercup at
Brands Hatch last month, with
a view to a 2020 programme.
In wet conditions, Blake-
Baldwin qualified his AK
Motorsport-run car fifth of
the 20-strong entry before
Webster beat Gamble to second
in standings by a single point
in the 2016 Ford Fiesta Junior
championship, and fifth in last
year’s Renault UK Clio Cup
series, with two wins. He
graduated to the TCR Germany
series with Team Pyro’s Honda
Civic this season, but cut the
programme short when they
felt penalties were being meted
out unfairly.
Burns took to the early Can-Am
car like a duck to water, having
scoring a best finish of fifth in
race two. That was rewarded
with a front-row position for
the reversed-grid race three
but Blake-Baldwin was forced
to start from the pitlane after
suffering an intermittent cut-
out on the way to the grid.
“The MX-5s are hugely
competitive but I feel like
not driven it or the technical
Portuguese circuit prior to two
sessions last Thursday. He
finished second in the pre-’75
Sports Cars race, behind Historic
F1 racers Max Smith-Hilliard/
Nick Padmore’s Chevron B19.
“The McLaren is the best thing
I’ve driven by miles,” Burns said.
“It’s so fast, and the sensation of
being out in the open is amazing.
I had two spins on the treaded
Ginetta Junior race winner
James Taylor heads the entry
list for this weekend’s Winter
Series at Brands Hatch.
Taylor, a former Ginetta
Scholar, took four wins en
route to fifth in this season’s
standings and is the highest-
placed driver to compete in
the Winter Series contest.
He switched to Elite
Motorsport – the team that
powered James Hedley to this
year’s crown and last year’s
Winter Series title – for the
we’ve ticked that box,” said
Blake-Baldwin. “We haven’t
got anything more to prove
so this is something to get our
teeth into.
“AK have done an amazing
job to set the car up. We’re just
working on trying to give as
much feedback as possible on
how the car’s handling and
Photos: Eric Sawyer, Marcus Pye, Jakob Ebrey, Dan Bathie
tyres, the first when I knocked
the fuel pump off changing
down, and [without power]
couldn’t get it back.”
Lights Cars Action team
owner Drake, who re-finished
the 1966 McLaren in original
American privateer owner
Dave Causey’s period livery this
year, added: “We’ve been helping
Brad for three or four years and
he’s now working with us [as an
final four events of the main
Junior season and took five
podiums in that time.
“I’m looking forward to
bringing him back for the
Winter Series and I’m only
bringing him back for one
reason,” said Elite team boss
Eddie Ives. “I’m expecting
James to be right at the front
and our other drivers can
learn a lot from him.”
Ben Kasperczak will join
the team for the Winter
Series, the former Junior
we’re getting there slowly
but surely, but at the same
time I’m learning.
“I’d love to do [a full season]
but it’s all a money thing. I think
some of the boys that are racing
here this weekend are the best
in the country, extremely
talented, and they’re certainly
putting me through my paces.”
Porsche Carrera Cup runner-up Webster eyes full title challenge next season
Former Porsche Carrera Cup
GB champion Josh Webster is
targeting a full title challenge
next year after returning to
the series this season.
Webster, who won the
2014 title when he was the
scholarship driver, joined the
grid at Donington Park this
year after missing the opening
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 9
Burns took second place
after two practice sessions
apprentice mechanic]. He’s a
super talented lad and we are
very lucky to have him.
“This was an opportunity for
him to get a feel for the car and
with three M1Bs in the race his
ability showed. The plan is for
Brad and I to share the car in the
eight-round FIA Masters Historic
Sportscar Championship next
season. He’s a natural so I’m
going to have to up my game.”
Saloon Car Championship
frontrunner having
contested the main season
as a privateer entry. Elite’s
four-car line-up will be
completed by rookie William
Aspin and newly-selected
2020 Scholar Tom Lebbon.
Other likely frontrunners
in the Winter Series are likely
to be R Racing drivers Josh
Rattican and Joel Pearson.
Fourteen drivers had entered
this year’s contest when MN
closed for press on Monday.
Multiple MX-5 champion Blake-Baldwin took best result of fifth
two races at Brands Hatch. With
a win and a third at Donington,
he was hoping to launch a title
bid but has only taken two
further victories and finished
second in the standings.
Now he would like to commit
to a full season in 2020 and join
Damien Faulkner, James
Sutton, Tim Harvey, Michael
Bilinski swaps Ginetta
Junior for British F4
Ginetta Junior racer Roman
Bilinski will switch to British
Formula 4 next season.
Bilinski had an eventful
seven rounds in Ginettas this
year, taking a win in the second
round at Donington Park
before being excluded on a
technical infringement and
then changing teams. He also
picked up an unprecedented 14
points on his licence but didn’t
contest the final three events
after a hefty Thruxton crash.
He will now drive for Arden
in F4 and becomes the team’s
second signing for 2020.
Another F4 signing for next
season is Peruvian karting
graduate Matias Zagazeta.
He has competed extensively
in karting series both in
South America and Europe
but will now switch to single-
seaters with Carlin, the team
that powered Zane Maloney
to this year’s title.
Combe Saloon rivals
plot new challenges
Castle Combe Saloon Car
championship rivals Simon
Thornton-Norris and Matt
Parr are both looking to race
in other series next year.
Thornton-Norris clinched
his third overall Combe Saloon
title driving a Mitsubishi
Colt Ralliart earlier this
year, and when there were not
date clashes he also competed
in the UK Time Attack
Championship in a Mitsubishi
Evo. Next year he plans to
prioritise Time Attack.
“Primary would be Evo [and]
Time Attack, and secondarily
here [Combe Saloons],” he
said, “but if they don’t clash
at all then I’ll do both.”
And Parr, who in a Peugeot
106 GTi dominated his class
as well as being a close overall
championship runner-up
to Thornton-Norris, is open
to national opportunities.
“I’d love to move on and do
something nationally, like
Mini Challenge on the TOCA
[programme],” Parr said.
“A dream is touring cars
obviously, but I don’t have
the sort of budget to do that
on my own.”
Meadows and Dan Cammish
in the ranks of two-time
Carrera Cup GB champions.
“I think I’m going to come
back next year,” Webster said.
“I’m really enjoying it, which
is the most important thing,
and the sponsors are really
enjoying it. Team Parker
Racing are doing a great job.”
 THE STORY BEHIND TÄNAK’S
RISE TO WRC GLORY
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

The full story of newly-crowned World Rally champion Ott Tänak’s

rise and rollercoaster career is brought to life with incredible behind-
the-scenes access in Ott Tänak: The Movie - which is now available to
view globally.
The lm was originally released in cinemas in Tänak’s native
Estonia in April, but can now be watched anywhere in the world via
tanakmovie.com.
Last weekend Tänak halted Sébastiens Loeb and Ogier’s 15-year
run of WRC titles as he secured his rst world championship with a
typically hard-charging performance on the Rally of Spain.
“THE PURPOSE OF THE FILM WAS FOR EVERYTHING
TO BE RECORDED THE WAY LIFE IS, THERE IS NO ACTING,
AND I WASN’T MORE POLITE BECAUSE OF THE CAMERA.”
Producer Eero Nõgene and his Sterotek Film crew had incredible
access to Tänak and his team during the season.
“The purpose of the lm was for everything to be recorded the way
life is, there is no acting, and I wasn’t more polite because of the
camera,” said Tänak. “Just like the last season, as we know, I can’t
say my whole career has been a boring one.”
But the story is about far more than 1 . The lm goes back to
Tänak’s roots in rural Estonia and hears from his family and the
school teacher who tried to discourage him from motorsport. His
relationships with his mentor Markko Märtin - a WRC rally winner in
his own right - and long-time team boss Malcolm Wilson of M-Sport
also come to the fore, as both men reveal plenty of never-told-before
tales that reveal how many obstacles Tänak has overcome to reach
the top, and how many times his career appeared to be over.
Ott Tänak: The Movie is a touching story of how a stubborn kid from
a small island in North-Eastern Europe broke into the rallying elite
and coped with both winning and losing - and learnt that he often
needed to look within himself to nd the reason for those defeats.
The lm is mostly in English and Estonian and is translated
into multiple languages. Subtitles are in Spanish, Italian, Finnish,
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The whole movie is also dubbed into English, Spanish, French,
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Tänak is regarded as one of the more elusive and reclusive athletes

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media that endured through both the lows and highs of his career.
The movie was lmed during the 1 season - Tänak’s rst with
Toyota, and a year that nearly took him to the world title, with only
bad luck halting the charge he mounted with a string of mid-season
wins.

The e t a it ve eve een o a

Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport Managing Director

t ho e the ea it e neve et to ee The h an to

Becs Williams, Rally Commentator

The ike Tänak a ee i a o e oa te

David Evans, Autosport
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RACING NEWS
NEW SERIES TO
EXPAND IN 2020
BRSCC Clubsport Trophy set to feature five or six rounds next year
Clubsport Trophy has
attracted large grids
By Mark Paulson
The British Racing and
Sports Car Club plans to
run its Clubsport Trophy
with an expanded calendar
of five or six rounds in
2020 after raising capacity
grids for both its events
this year.
The series’ format of
45-minute mini-enduros
for one or two-driver crews,
LOH won by 50 seconds as the battle raged behind
Ma7da Locost series to benefit from standalone races next year and targets 20 cars
Twenty-car entries are being
targeted for the Ma7da Locost
category next year, when it
is set to benefit from its own
standalone grids.
The 750 Motor Club series
has been running as part of
Class B in Sport Specials this
season, regularly attracting
around eight cars.
with a variety of sports and
saloon cars split by power-to-
weight ratios, has attracted
entries from drivers already
competing in another category
at the meetings as well as
additional cars not eligible for
other BRSCC championships.
“We were over-subscribed
at both of the meetings this
year so we were delighted
with it,” said the BRSCC’s new
race operations and general
It was designed to be a step up
from the popular Locost class,
with drivers able to convert their
existing machines to run in the
new series. Ma7da Locost
features a 1.8-litre Mazda MX-5
engine and lap times are five to
10 seconds per lap quicker than
the existing Locost category.
“My aim is to have about 20
Photos: James Roberts, Steve Jones, Michael Chester
manager Paul McErlean.
“The cost-share product
has got something extra than
a single-driver competitor
experience can provide so
we were very keen to bring
it into the portfolio but we
didn’t want to rush it.
“We wanted to make sure
that we got the focus right
because Clubsport is very
much focused around the
clubman racer as opposed
LOH Motorsport team of Polley, O’Dwyer and McHale takes Mondello Fiesta endurance victory
The LOH Motorsport 9 team of
Dan Polley, Patrick O’Dwyer
and Ronan McHale took victory
by over 50 seconds in the annual
Mondello Park Fiesta six-hour
race last weekend.
Erik Holstein grabbed pole
position for the Naas Court
Hotel squad and made no
mistakes to lead away a list
of who’s who of Irish racers
cars next year and I think we
can confidently say we are
going to have 16-18,” said series
representative and frontrunner
Ben Powney. “We did have
a few teething issues with
some of the control parts but
that’s all been sorted now.”
Powney added that he would
like to see a ladder form between
to bigger faster-class cars.”
The two races held this
year, at Brands Hatch and
Donington, were won by
a Mazda MX-5 Mk3 and
a Honda Civic.
“You will often see a Mazda
getting a class win but rarely
will you see it getting an
outright win,” said McErlean.
“That was the basis of the
design, to try and focus from
the bottom up.”
when the lights turned green,
but he soon came under
pressure from William Kellett,
who eased by, leaving Holstein
to fend off a feisty Rob Barrable.
The pair subsequently
tangled at Turn 2, with Holstein
despatched down the escape
road backwards. The Barrable
machine was headed for the
pits shortly afterwards, with
various 750MC categories, giving
drivers a clear direction to take.
“I would really like to see the
winner of Locost move to Ma7da
Locost and the same with Ma7da
Locost progressing up to F1000
[single-seater series] and create
a bit of an informal ladder – I
think that’s got real potential,”
he said.
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 11
BRSCC Porsche series will now be open to a wider range of cars
Major revamp for Porsche series to boost grids
The British Racing and
Sports Car Club’s Porsche
Championship will be
completely revamped next
year with a new class structure
aimed at attracting a wider
range of models.
The series, which has
struggled to attract grids in
double figures this season, will
also switch to a predominantly
one-day format.
While not yet formalised,
the championship will feature
around four or five classes
split by power-to-weight
ratio, with the intention of
all Porsche production
sportscars being eligible.
Of the seven race meetings,
five will have qualifying and
two races on the same day. The
McErlean takes on new
BRSCC management role
The British Racing and Sports
Car Club has appointed Paul
McErlean into a new role of race
operations and general manager.
McErlean, who has worked as
a consultant for the BRSCC for the
past two years, takes on many of
the duties of outgoing competitions
director Dominic Ostrowski.
In his consultancy role,
McErlean led the successful
introduction of the BRSCC’s
Clubsport Trophy this year and
was involved with the changes to
the club’s Porsche Championship.
“Competitions is where I’m
most at home,” said McErlean,
whose new role is effective from
November 21. “My previous history
and development have been the
development or reinvigoration of
new or existing club formulae.
“I’ll be working closely with the
coordinators and commercial
operators to get a much more
a wheel bearing failure.
This left Kellett’s Swipe Right
Racing leading comfortably but
at two-thirds distance Mondello
legends David Kennedy and
Tommy Byrne were up to third
and looking strong.
LOH worked its strategy
correctly, snatching the lead
once again in the final stages,
with John Denning and
The upgraded Locost machines ran in Sport Specials series this year
remaining two will adopt the
format trialled at Donington
Park last month, with qualifying
and a sprint race on the Saturday
before a 40-minute mini-enduro
with optional driver changes
is held on the Sunday.
Championship coordinator
John Broadley explained
that both ideas follow similar
approaches to successful
BRSCC series like the BMW
Compact Cup, Civic Cup and
Clubsport Trophy which all
attract strong grids.
“In effect it’s Clubsport
principles but for Porsches,”
he said. “We’ve done a lot of
analysis of other championships
and, overwhelmingly, the
feedback we’re getting is that
people like one-day meetings.”
Chairman Daly and McErlean (r)
detailed understanding of what
our formulas are doing and what
we can do to help develop them –
and also look at new products
for the portfolio as well.
“We will look at what we’ve got
and what we can do to improve our
customer experience and our
member experience.”
Anthony Fildes, in the Swipe
Right car alongside Kellett,
Jake Byrne and Max Hart,
scrapping mightily for second.
As Polley took the flag for
LOH, Denning was charging
back from a number of
indiscretions but crossed
the line right on Fildes’s
back bumper to round out
the top three.
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HISTORICS
DOWN THE PUB
BOB BULLEN
Historic Touring Car champion
Age: 59 Lives:Warlingham
Bullen will swap to a Cortina
He started in an Anglia
“I started racing in 1989. I built
one Ford Anglia and crashed it,
so I built another one. Then
the ICS Historic Touring Car
Championship started and we
built our current car for that. I did
that for a few years and nearly
got the championship but Nick
Swift beat me in the last race at
Donington in his Mini. We were
side by side on the last lap.”
He’s had a couple of
breaks from racing
“I packed up racing from about
1997 until 2005. Then I did
a few more years and had to stop
again to rebuild my workshop.
I came back in about 2010 and
have been racing in Historic
Touring Cars ever since. I won
the title this year on a tie-break
with Roger Stanford.”
He shunted at Cadwell
“Last season I nearly won the
HSCC Historic Touring Car title
but lost it on dropped scores to
Adrian Oliver in his Hillman Imp. I
missed the two races at Anglesey
this July after I had an incident
at Cadwell and damaged the
back of the car; it was still in
the bodyshop. In the first race
at the Oulton Park Gold Cup the
gearbox went and I finished the
race in fourth gear. In the second
race the battery went flat on the
last lap. So I should have won
the title before the last race of
the season at Silverstone.”
He has a new project
for 2020
“I should be out in a Lotus Cortina
next year as I’ve bought Peter
Hore’s car and I’m rebuilding the
engine at the moment. I’ll keep
the Anglia: I’m too sentimental
to get rid of it. I’ve never yet raced
anything other than the Anglia.
The Lotus twin-cam will give
me a bit more power and it is
a good car.”
He has good support
“I’ll carry on racing until I die!
Away from racing I run a garage
and I’ve got a workshop with four
guys. We do cars and vans and
it’s a busy workshop. Mark and
Harry Phelps, father and son, are
always with me and I don’t think
I could carry on racing without
them. When they’ve been on
holiday and I’ve had to come on
my own, it is tough.”
ALL THE HISTORIC FF1600 ACTION AT THE WALTER HAYES TROPHY
Woodpecker outing
was used to prepare
RALLYING VETERAN
COLLINS IN R.A.C. BID
Forty years after first outing, he will compete again in Opel Ascona
By Paul Lawrence
Rallying veteran Phil
Collins will contest the
Roger Albert Clark Rally
as he makes a return to
gravel rallying in his Opel
Ascona 400.
Forty years on from first
starting out in the sport,
Collins and fellow veteran
Den Golding will tackle the
five-day rally later this month.
Midget: one of the oldest cars
Heatherington seals
title on rally return
Peter Heatherington won the
RACRMC Historic Asphalt
Championship in his Sunbeam
Lotus as he returned to the
sport this season after a long
lay-off from regular rallying.
Peter was co-driven by his son
Chris and the Northumberland
crew sealed the title with a
measured drive on the final
round, the Jersey Rally. Back
in 2001, Heatherington won
Group N on the Jim Clark
Rally in a Mitsubishi.
“I’ve been rallying off
and on for 50 years,” said
Heatherington. “Another
highlight was finishing Rally
GB in 2000. I built the Sunbeam
as a retirement project a couple
of years ago. I built it with a lot
of help from Jim Little, who
worked on the cars in period.”
Collins competed extensively
at British championship level
through the 1980s, often in
Opel Asconas and Mantas. His
team also ran David Llewellin’s
Toyota Celica to the British
Open title in 1989 and 1990.
With both crew members
now well into their 60s, it is
time for another crack at the
longest stage rally in the UK
and a switch back to gravel
after doing most of his recent
Seager to tackle Roger Albert Clark Rally in his 1967 MG Midget
Dorset-based Bob Seager is
bidding to finish the Roger
Albert Clark Rally in his
MG Midget, one of the
smallest and oldest cars
due to tackle the five-day
rally later this month.
Seager has enlisted the
British F4 aspirant finished third in pre-’82 class on his debut single-seater weekend
FITZ-SIMON IMPRESSES ON WALTER HAYES DEBUT
Horatio Fitz-Simon made
his single-seater debut at
Silverstone in a Merlyn
Mk20 Historic Formula
Ford last weekend ahead of
a planned British Formula 4
campaign next season.
Fitz-Simon, 19, was born in
nearby Towcester but moved
to California with his family
rallying on asphalt in Ireland.
“We did the Woodpecker
Stages in September as a
warm up, but before that we’d
done very little together,” said
Collins. “There is a hell of an
entry list and apart from the
Woodpecker I’ve not really
been on gravel since the Roger
Albert about six years ago. I’ve
done some rallying in Ireland
but nothing much on gravel.
“All we want to do is be
co-driving skills of Geraldine
McBride for his 1967 MG
Midget, which will run near
the head of the field as the
older and smaller-engined
cars run in the first group.
McBride brings extensive
experience to the project as
aged two. He later raced karts
successfully in America and
resolved to return to the UK
and race as soon as he
finished his education.
He was due to take part
in the F4 Scholarship
yesterday (Tuesday) and
raced at the Walter Hayes
Trophy with Speedsport
motorsport-news.co.uk N
‘Hibberd starred in DRW’
Historic Closed Wheel action, below
Photos: Paul Lawrence
respectable, not embarrass
ourselves and have a bit of fun.
It’s a long rally and it covers a
lot of the country. The trailer
section up to Carlisle on Friday
afternoon suits me very well.
“It’s about getting used to
driving on gravel on notes
we haven’t made, so we’ve got
a big learning curve ahead of
us. It’s a proper rally and at
least the Ascona isn’t
another Escort!”
regular co-driver to multiple
BHRC champion Dessie Nutt.
“We’re being supported by
service and management
crews that have never been
to a rally, so it will be an
achievement just to finish,”
said Seager.
to get some seat time. He
showed impressive pace on
his way to a Pre-’82 podium.
“This is my first ever car
race,” he said on Saturday.
“I did a last-minute deal
with Speedsport and the car
is a joy to drive,” he added
after impressing team boss
Mike O’Brien.
2019 13
IN BRIEF
Keith Schellenberg
Adventurer and Bentley racer Keith
Schellenberg has died at the age of
90. In a remarkable life, he competed
in the Winter Olympic bobsleigh team,
owned the Scottish island of Eigg,
stood for parliament and raced a
vintage Bentley with success. He
competed on the inaugural London-
Sydney Marathon in 1968 but missed
the boat to Australia after the Bentley
fell off the road in Turkey.
Impney date
The sixth running of the Chateau
Impney hillclimb has been confirmed
for the weekend of July 18-19, 2020.
Around 200 pre-’67 cars will compete
in the annual event at the hotel near
Droitwich, along with more recent
rally cars. The target for the faster
hillclimb cars will be Malcolm
Thorne’s 2018 hill record of 38.86s.
Slow zones arrive
The organisers of the Legend Boucles
in Belgium have changed the way
in which they keep average speeds
down on the 2020 rally’s competitive
sections. Instead of mid-stage
passage controls, they are introducing
slow zones into the stages where
crews will be required to travel at
30km/h for a designated distance.
The event runs on February 1-2.
Jags on show
Four famous Jaguars will be on display
at this weekend’s NEC Classic Motor
Show to honour the life of Jaguar test
driver Norman Dewis. The prototype for
the Jaguar D-type, the oldest surviving
open-top E-type, the unique XJ13 and
the new Ecurie Ecosse LM69 will be
shown by the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club
and Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust.
Pilot 1950sTrial
The Historic Sporting Trials Association
is to run a pilot trial for trials cars from
the 1950s, including road legal trials
cars like Dellows as well as early
purpose-built trials cars. Next year,
a standalone single-site Heritage
Sporting Trial will be organised to
gauge levels of support. The current
programme of Historic Sporting Trials
will continue unchanged.
Hibberd stars
Historic single-seater ace Andrew
Hibberd starred in the HSCC Closed
Wheel race at the Walter Hayes Trophy
at Silverstone when he had a guest run
in the DRW of Rudolf Ernst. Hibberd
prepares the diminutive 1960s sports-
racer for the German owner and had a
try out in the car. In the early laps he ran
as high as second before being out-
gunned by more powerful cars.
Testing rally begins
The annual Rally of the Tests starts in
Torquay tomorrow evening (Thursday)
and finishes in Chester on Sunday
afternoon. The rally, which recreates
the RAC Rallies of the 1950s, will
feature 80 crews in pre-’86 cars
tackling 750 miles, 30 special tests
and 22 regularity sections including
an indoor test at the NEC Classic Car
Show from 1245hrs on Saturday.
Rally of the Tests gets underway
PAGE 21
14 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk
RALLY NEWS
NEWS
ANALYSIS
HOWTANAKFOUND HIS
PATHWAY TO HYUNDAI
The reasons behind the team-switch shocker for the reigning world champion Ott Tanak
By David Evans
How on earth did it come to this?
How on earth did Toyota lose
Ott Tanak?
Be under no illusion, Toyota lost its
world champion when Tanak’s two-year
Hyundai deal was announced last week.
Persuasive and charismatic as Hyundai
Motorsport director Andrea Adamo
is, he shouldn’t have been allowed
anywhere near the Estonian.
Something has gone seriously awry
for Tanak and Martin Jarveoja to be lured
away from the best funded team with the
fastest car and with the brightest future
in the championship. How many other
manufacturers has a president clapping
and cheering at the side of the road in
the way Akio Toyoda does?
Naturally, the positioning of this one
depends very much on who you ask. For
months, the service park has been awash
with talk of Tanak’s overblown and
apparently increasingly exorbitant
demands for the next two seasons. We
were reliably informed he wanted his
own knife, fork, spoon and plate to eat
from. And that came after private planes
were demanded for him and his family…
for all the rallies.
Some of the shorter longhauls, sure.
But not all the rallies.
I’ve known Tanak his entire professional
career and reported on every one of his
105 WRC starts. I’ve been fortunate
IAIN CAMPBELL’S WHIRLWIND FORTNIGHT
enough to meet his family, his parents and
his lovely wife Janika. Trust me, such
demands are outlandish to the point
of being laughable. It’s not him.
Give him a car, some cash and some
competition and he’s in.
I’m not naive enough to think Tanak
hasn’t watched with interest as his former
team-mate Sebastien Ogier did the big
deals and counted the millions coming
in and then fancied a little bit of that.
Avaricious he ain’t. I see him and Markko
Martin – the man who has guided
him through his entire career – as
understanding the worth of a
world champion.
And then driving a hard and, at times,
uncompromising deal.
The very fact that Tanak has left Toyota
is indicative of a breakdown in the
relationship. I would stress the Japanese
end of the deal seemed very happy –
throughout negotiations – to keep Tanak.
It’s at the Finnish-Estonian end that
things have apparently turned sour.
The seeds of such discontent were sown
in the middle of last year, but a greater
Japanese influence over the place was
reckoned enough to steady the ship.
You would have thought, allied to all the
Toyota loveliness detailed above, the fact
that Tommi Makinen Racing (Makinen’s
own firm which runs the WRC
programme) had moved its re-prep
and build base to the outskirts of
Tallinn would have been another tick
Makinen held firm on his position
in another box for Tanak.
When we looked around it together
earlier this year, there was a real sense of
pride from Ott at his involvement in that.
That’s gone now.
So, are we saying the fault sits firmly
with Tommi Makinen here?
No. There’s fault on both sides.
Tanak has divided opinion inside the
team. There are those who feel he was
too quick to criticise them and their
work. That’s understandable.
But what’s surprised me here is
the inability of these two sides to find
common ground and agreement to make
sure Toyota’s first world champion since
Didier Auriol in 1994 stays with them. And
stays with them for a very long time.
My understanding six months ago was
that Tanak wanted to tie up an agreement
with the world’s biggest car maker for a
Andrea Adamo (left) has lured new world championTanak (right) for 2020
good few years. Why wouldn’t he?
Sources within Toyota acknowledge
TMR management has dragged its feet
in sealing this deal and the time element
has certainly played its part in the
champ’s departure.
Tanak, it seems, simply got fed up
with waiting.
And, undoubtedly, he struggled with
Makinen’s approach to running the
team he’s built himself.
If you’re looking for precedent,
remember Esapekka Lappi, the Finn
who walked out on a Finnish team run
by a Finn (Toyota) at the end of last season.
You’d have thought, just having won the
drivers’ title, morale would be sky high at
TMR. Not so, apparently.
As one insider said: “You’d have thought
winning the championship a round early
was something worth celebrating on
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110
Photos: mcklein-imagedatabase.com
Tanak’s days at
Toyota are numbered
Sunday night in Spain. Instead we all just
went our own way.”
We’ve got to be careful here. In just
the same way that Mitsubishi’s Group A
Lancer used to be labelled undriveable by
all those apart from the man who used it to
win four world titles, it would be easy to
look into Toyota and criticise Makinen.
Let’s not forget, he’s a man who won
a world championship for Toyota in just
his second year in charge.
Hyundai has been in the championship
since 2014 and they’ve still to win any
season-long silverware.
Ultimately, it’s the team principal’s job
to manage his team and that includes
man-managing drivers like Tanak.
Put plainly, he didn’t feel loved. At times,
he didn’t even feel liked. From last week,
that changed. As we’ve seen through this
season, Adamo’s all about the love.
PAGE 26
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EVANS IN TALKS WITH
TOYOTA TEAM FOR 2020
Welshman in the frame for a drive in the title-winning machine
By David Evans
Elfyn Evans flew to Finland last week
to discuss a potential move from
M-Sport to replace Ott Tanak at Toyota.
Tanak’s two-year deal to drive an i20
Coupe WRC was confirmed by Hyundai
last Thursday, leaving Toyota short of a
lead driver.
Neither Evans nor Toyota team principal
Tommi Makinen were available for
comment on the Welshman’s visit to the
team’s Puuppola headquarters, but
sources in the team confirmed he spent
a day looking around the factory and
talking to senior management.
In the immediate aftermath of Hyundai’s
announcement of Tanak’s move, there
was speculation that both the World Rally
champion’s nearest rivals Sebastien Ogier
and Thierry Neuville could be in discussions
with Makinen.
It’s now emerging, however, that it could
be Evans in the driving seat.
M-Sport team principal Richard Millener
admitted the team was ready to fight
INGRAM FACES PRESSURE TO CHASE ERC TITLE WIN
Manchester driver Chris Ingram will look
to rewrite European Rally Championship
history and realise a lifetime ambition
as he chases the ERC title at this weekend’s
Rally Hungary.
Ingram arrives at the all-asphalt event –
a new one for everybody – leading the
championship by 19 points from Polish
driver Lukasz Habaj. Defending champion
Alexey Lukyankuk is a further nine down.
The Briton’s advantage at the top of the
table doesn’t account for dropped scores,
so he’s not quite the clear-cut favourite the
numbers suggest.
If Habaj wins on Sunday, Ingram needs
to finish second, but if Lukyanuk wins, the
Toksport Skoda driver needs a podium result
to become the first Brit to win the European
Autosport International to kick off WRC season again
The 2020 World Rally Championship will
kick-off at Autosport International on
January 11 at Birmingham’s very own
WRC Super Saturday.
All four factory teams will attend the
third successive WRC launch at the NEC,
with new car liveries unveiled and world
champion Ott Tanak seen in Hyundai kit
for the first time.
Motorsport Network president James
Allen said: “It’s increasingly rare for
world championship-level motorsport to
offer fans such access to cars and stars. We
are thrilled that the WRC has continued
the initiative to open its launch to the
public and give show visitors an insight
into what makes the WRC so special.
“Just one week after the launch, the
very same stars and cars will travel from
‘Simpson made it a hat-trick
Fiesta man’s Oulton glory, page
for its number one driver.
“We’ve worked with Elfyn for a very long
time,” Millener told Motorsport News. “As
a team, we’ve invested a huge amount in
him and we’d be very reluctant to see him
leave. We’re ready to fight. I think it’s fairly
common knowledge that we perhaps don’t
have the same resources as some of the other
teams, but we’ll do what we can.”
Millener admitted the financial realities of
M-Sport’s position complicated negotiations
with Evans.
“Much as we would love to keep Elfyn
and win more rallies with him next year,”
Millener added, “we have to be very aware
that we’re a private team in a competitive
commercial environment. We have to sell
more [Ford Fiesta] R5 cars – that’s one of
the real priorities for us. Results like
Stephane Lefebvre winning a really
competitive event packed with well-driven
R5 cars in Condroz last weekend (see below)
are great for us – we need more of those.
“Like I said, we’ll push as hard as we can to
keep Elfyn, but we have to be realistic.”
Evans has been a professional driver with
Rally Championship since Vic Elford in 1967.
“This is everything to me,” said Ingram.
“Winning the ERC would be a life ambition
achieved. It would mean an enormous
amount to me to be able to wake up every day
having achieved a dream and would give me
a huge amount of self-belief and satisfaction.”
Ingram is hopeful success this weekend
could finally make the move up to a WRC
programme possible, having shown his
potential with a debut WRC 2 podium at
Rally Turkey last year.
He added: “Having the ERC title to my
name would be a huge opportunity to use
the publicity of the accolade to boost my
profile massively in the UK and Europe,
which would hopefully help me take the
next step up in my career in 2020.”
Birmingham to the French Alps ready
for the opening round of the series,
the Monte Carlo Rally, which starts
on January 23.”
WRC Promoter managing director
Oliver Ciesla echoed those sentiments
and admitted he’s as excited as anybody
to see the WRC back at ASI.
Ciesla said: “The first sight of
newly-liveried 2020 World Rally Cars
altogether, along with drivers and
co-drivers appearing with their new
teams for the first time, will set pulses
racing among the fans in the build-up
to the season.”
Autosport International runs from
January 9-12. Tickets and further
information are available from
autosportinternational.com
DAVID
EVANS
“There are stil
plenty of talks
to be had”
Evans has options for 2020 campaign
M-Sport since 2013 and all 86 of his WRC
starts have been made in a Fiesta. He won
his 2016 British title with M-Sport and
DMACK and his, to date, only WRC round,
Wales, two years ago.
Currently M-Sport has Teemu Suninen
under contract for next year, while Toyota’s
only 2020 deal is with Kalle Rovanpera.
Frenchman Stephane
Lefebvre won last weekend’s
Condroz Rally on his debut
in a Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2
beating, among others,
FIA rally directorYves Matton
who finished 13th in a Skoda
Fabia R5.
Ingram has the ERC title in his sights
British rallying could celebrate two ERC
titles in Hungary if Nabila Tejpar can beat
her Bulgarian rival Ekaterina Stratieva
to the Ladies’ Trophy.
●Irishman Callum Devine will drive
a Hyundai i20 R5 at this weekend’s ERC
finale ahead of a possible European title
tilt in 2020. Rally Hungary starts with a
qualifying stage on Friday morning.
Rally ready to prepare
Japan for WRC return
Japan will undertake its final preparations
for its 2020 World Rally Championship return
with this weekend’s Central Rally Aichi.
The all-asphalt event is based in Nagakute,
east of Nagoya, and includes 14 stages and
80 miles across Saturday and Sunday. This
week’s action will be in the two mountainous
regions – Aichi and Gifu – to be used on the
first world championship qualifying Rally
Japan since 2010 next November.
The central service park at Morikoro Park
used this week will remain the same for
next season.
Home hero Takamoto Katsuta will be the
star attraction as he and Dan Barritt top the
entry list in a Toyota Yaris WRC. Hiroki
Arai (Citroen C3 R5) and Heikki Kovalainen
(Toyota GT-86) are also among the highlights.
Kovalainen celebrated his first rally win at
the Highland Masters Rally last month.
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 15
GROUP RALLYING EDITOR
W
hat now then? What now
for everybody else? We
know what colour Ott
Tanak will be wearing
next year. We know
what Sebastien Ogier
and Thierry Neuville will be driving.
Or do we?
Trouble is, Tanak to Hyundai was such a curve
ball that nothing’s off limits now. Neuville or Ogier;
Neuville and Ogier off to Toyota? Who knows.
Very recent precedent dictates that anything’s
possible now.
Regardless, when the music stops, if Ogier or
Neuville were without a seat, others would be moved
to make room for them. The big three are safe.
Prior to Tanak’s news, the thinking was that Craig
Breen would slot into Hyundai, replacing Andreas
Mikkelsen. And the news that the Irishman will make
the trip to the final round of the series in Australia
would have backed that thinking up perfectly.
But what about Breen now?
Let’s deal with what we know, let’s deal in the
definites: Citroen has two seats and both are
taken by Ogier and Esapekka Lappi. That’s not
to say the six-time champion won’t jump ship,
but that’s a possible, not a definite.
Hyundai has four drivers under contract (Tanak,
Neuville, Dani Sordo and Sebastien Loeb), so that’s
their quota of drivers done. Don’t forget though,
there’s no limit on the number of drivers retained, so
Breen could still end up in light blue next season and
drive some of the events Sordo and Loeb don’t fancy
such as Finland and Australia with a bit of Wales
thrown in there for good measure.
Would that be attractive? With some testing,
some R5 work and potentially some other bits and
pieces, quite possibly yes – especially as only Tanak
has a done deal for Hyundai in 2021.
M-Sport and Toyota? Only a brace of Finns are
locked down: Teemu Suninen in a Fiesta WRC
and Kalle Rovanpera in a Yaris WRC (not forgetting
Takamoto Katsuta on a limited programme in a
fourth Toyota).
That means there are at least two seats at Toyota
and potentially the same on offer in a factory Fiesta
for next year. Gus Greensmith would be the obvious
choice for one of the M-Sport Fords given his strong
Fiesta WRC showings earlier this year. But don’t
forget Breen’s history with M-Sport. He spent
years and won two world titles in a Fiesta. Craig
to lead M-Sport in 2020? Don’t rule it out.
Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala are both key
players in Toyota’s future plans and team principal
Tommi Makinen has made positive noises about
keeping both in his squad for next season. Following
Hyundai’s use of a driver rotation policy for the last
two seasons, there are rumours that Toyota could
consider a similar programme in 2020.
In summary, there are still seats about and plenty of
talking to be done. Can we expect decisions before
Rally Australia about who goes where? Unlikely.
If – and it’s a very big if – Ogier’s trying to extricate
himself from a current contract, that’s not the work of
a moment and Evans could find himself torn between
Toyota and the team that’s run him for his whole
career. In a short summary: anything’s possible.
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 VOLUNTEERS WANTED
To ensure we successfully and safely run the PokerStars Rally 2019 we need the following:
Stage commanders — Time keepers — Radio operators — Marshals

The 100 plus miles stage rally will take place on its historical dates:

8TH AND 9TH NOVEMBER

Using many iconic stages that have ust been used on this year s National event
They include eristal Ronague St Marks Druidale Staarvey and everyone s
favourite aldwin s
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To register your interest please contact our volunteer liaison officer
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FANS AND CREWS R
FOR JIM CLARK RETURN
Beloved rally will take place for the first time in more than five years
By Luke Barry
After a five-and-a-half-year
absence, the Jim Clark Rally
returns this weekend and
is set to present a huge
challenge for crews.
For the first time since 2001 –
when foot and mouth disease
forced a reschedule – the rally will
run in November, so the already
demanding Borders lanes will be
damp and littered with leaves.
The rally runs as a standalone
event this year – before appearing
on three major championship
calendars in 2020 – creating a
varied entry list.
Three of the top 10 seeds will
arrive in brand new cars, headed
by Irish visitors Josh Moffett
and Andy Hayes. Moffett brings
a Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2 to Duns
for its first ever appearance on
a UK national round as he
assesses his R5 options for 2020.
David Bogie is the only previous
winner on the entry list and will
be reunited with former co-driver
Kevin Rae. The 2011 winner
finished third in his Ford Escort
Mk2 on last month’s Mull Rally
and could challenge for victory
again if conditions stay dry.
Robert Swann lines up for
his first assault on the Jim
Clark since 2008 in a borrowed
Famous stages to be used,including Abbey St Bathans,Langton and Blackadder
The 2019 route features 11 stages
and 61 stage miles across two days
for competitors to get their teeth into.
Friday begins with the notorious
Abbey St Bathans test in the
Lammermuir Hills, just north of Rally
HQ in Duns before two runs around
the short spectator stage in Langton,
famous for its watersplash.
“Abbey [St Bathans] has always
been a favourite of all the competitors
Swann to use Fiesta RS WRC on Jim Clark
Perennial Rally Barbados runner-
up Robert Swann will enter a Ford
Fiesta RS WRC in this weekend’s
Jim Clark Rally as he assesses
his options for 2020.
Swann has finished second in
Barbados three times and retired
from the lead of the event this
year when the engine expired in
his Subaru Impreza S12B WRC.
A recent regulation change
for next year allows for newer
World Rally Cars to compete
on the island, giving Swann the
incentive to try out a Fiesta RS
WRC in competition. He will
compete in Peter Smith’s
‘Scott managed second place
MN Circuit Rally report, p2
Ford Fiesta RS WRC (see below).
Alan Kirkaldy has never done
the Jim Clark before but is in
good form after his recent Cheviot
Stages victory. Kirkaldy recently
changed the restrictor size on his
Fiesta R5 from 32mm to 34mm
“to try and keep up with the WRC
cars a bit more” and has been a
threat ever since.
“The stages look quite narrow
and it’ll be quite damp with the
leaves, and obviously bits in the
shade will never dry out so it’ll
be challenging, put it that way,”
he told MN.
Perennial asphalt threats
Hugh Hunter, Andy Fenwick and
last week’s Neil Howard Stages
winner Stephen Simpson can’t be
discounted either, while Michael
Binnie heads the local charge in
his Mitsubishi Lancer E9.
Garry Pearson has swapped
his usual Fiesta R5 for an Escort
Mk2, while fellow Duns driver
Dale Robertson could spring a
surprise thanks to his intimate
knowledge of the stages.
Euan Thorburn was a favourite
for victory but has had to pull his
entry due to engine issues with
his Ford Focus WRC05. MN
understands that he is working
flat out to still make the event, but
Thorburn remained absent from
the entry list as we went to press.
that have done the Jim Clark Rally,”
deputy clerk of the course Colin
Smith told MN. “Everybody is going
to have to be on the ball straight away
because you can lose quite a bit of
time in Abbey. That then takes
us down to Langton [and] the
interesting thing with the weather at
this time of year, the ford in Langton
is a bit high at the moment so that’s
going to be an interesting challenge.”
example on the Jim Clark to get
a feel for the car.
“We will always be trying but
we aren’t going to push it past
the limit,” Swann told MN.
“The car’s going to be new to
me as well [so] for me a top six
finish will be a sensible result.
“The main focus [next year]
will be [on] going back to Barbados
and trying to finally win that rally.
I need to go back and get that
one done. I don’t think there’s a
massive performance gain for
that event but what it does give
you, taking a younger car, is a
bit more reliability.”
Comprehensive motorsport insurance products to keep you on track;
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Event draws in locals and rally fans from around the globe
SEEDED ENTRY
Jim Clark Rally, Duns, Berwickshire, November 8-9
NO DRIVER/CO-DRIVER
1 Josh Moffett/Andy Hayes
2 David Bogie/Kevin Rae
3 Robert Swann/Darren Garrod
4 Alan Kirkaldy/Cameron Fair
5 Hugh Hunter/Calvin Cooledge
6 Stephen Simpson/Patrick Walsh
7 Andy Fenwick/Harry Marchbank
8 Michael Binnie/Claire Mole
9 Donnie Macdonald/Andrew Falconer
10 Garry Pearson/Dale Bowen
Saturday begins with two more
stabs at Abbey St Bathans and
Langton, this time punctuated by a
service break. The Blackadder and
Fogo stages follow in the afternoon
and run twice before the winners
return to Duns just before 1700hrs.
“Blackadder and Fogo are quite
different compared with Abbey,
they’re so much faster,” Smith
added. “So you’ll find people that
Peter Smith’s car will be driven by Swann this weekend
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motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 17
MN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
LUKE
BARRY
“Duns is being
Photos: Kevin Money, John Fife
put back on the
motorsport map”
M
ention Blackadder and to
most people it’s a British
sitcom. Langton, what’s
that? It probably won’t
even register. Abbey St
Bathans? Abbey St who?
And Fogo? To non-locals it’s a hamlet which
has a nursery I once attended 17 years ago.
But to you and I, these names are rally stages. More
specifically, Jim Clark Rally stages. And after more
than half a decade of waiting, they’re all back in 2019.
A huge amount of work has been put into the
Jim Clark’s return by event organisers, Scottish
Borders Council, Motorsport UK and the Scottish
government, so Josh Moffett’s departure from
CAR Duns Square at 1500hrs on Friday will mean a lot.
Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2 Moffett’s presence itself feels quite poignant on
Ford Escort Mk2 an event that has been dominated by Irish visitors.
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Andrew Nesbitt is the record victor – having won
Ford Fiesta R5
Ford Focus WRC05
it three times – while Eugene Donnelly has also won
Ford Fiesta R5 twice over the years. Moffett has a very real chance
Ford Fiesta R5 of joining the roll of honour, but as a first-time visitor
Mitsubishi Lancer E9 he’ll need to be aware of the specific challenges the
Mitsubishi Lancer E9 Jim Clark Rally can throw at you.
Ford Escort Mk2
“It’s difficult to explain what it’s like until you go and
have a look at other closed-road events,” explains
deputy clerk of the course, Colin Smith. “The nature
of the roads in the Borders are so different with the
high hedges and everything, it’s very difficult to see
are quick in Abbey could be off what’s in front of you. You’re totally reliant on what
the pace in Blackadder.”
your co-driver is saying all the time.”
All four of the stages are within five
miles of the service in Duns, keeping That challenge has been accepted by 100 crews
the route incredibly compact. this week and they’re in for a real treat. But what
“[The stages were chosen] to try we’ll witness this weekend is basically a high-octane
and make the route really compact dress rehearsal for next year, with just six months
and help with managing it marshal- before the 2020 event.
wise, which is always a struggle for
A provisional route has already been internally
any event to get enough marshals
to run a stage,” added Smith. drafted and some brand-new stages have been
teased to MN. My mind is now in overdrive to try
and work out which of the backroads I was driven
to school on could be used.
The 2020 hype should not dampen anticipation
ahead of this weekend, though. In the same year
the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum opened its
doors, Duns is being put back onto the motorsport
map with an event the entire rallying community has
waited far too long for.
Now more than ever though, I urge you to listen
and obey everything the marshals tell you out on the
stages. We all know what happened in 2014, and
it would be very easy to hark back to the glory days
and bemoan the increased scrutiny on spectator
locations. But failure to adhere to instructions and
the Jim Clark Rally could become just a memory
once more.
AGREE/DISAGREE?
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18 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk
RALLY NEWS
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
won’t be used
McGARRITYHAS SIGHTS
SETON NINTH NI CROWN
Glens of Antrim Rally will play host to a three-way title battle this weekend
By Jason Craig
Defending Northern Ireland
Rally champion Derek
McGarrity believes he has
a chance to secure a ninth
drivers’ crown on this
weekend’s Glens of Antrim
Rally finale in a three-way
title battle.
McGarrity can seal another
title if he records a perfect
score or finishes in front of
main rival Stephen Wright,
JUKES RETURNS TO ISLE OF MAN FOR POKERSTARS RALLY
AS NEWBY GETS BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL OF IMPREZA
TEG Sport driver Arron
Newby expects a battle on
his return to the Manx stages
for this weekend’s two-day
Pokerstars Rally.
The Carnforth driver has
been heavily involved in the
TEG project to build and
develop a Skoda-based car
using Subaru running gear
for most of this year, which
has limited on-stage action
but left him eager to return.
“I haven’t done a lot this
year and haven’t been in
the car for five months, so
basically Friday night will
be settling back in, trying to
use my head, and then open
it up on Saturday,” he said.
“But I can’t wait to get back
over there again!”
He won the event in 2013
MALTON FOREST SUCCESS FOR MELLORS
8TH & 9TH NOVEMBER
WWW.MANXAUTOSPORT.ORG/
POKER-STARS
ENTRIES FOR THE RALLY OPEN 1
in fourth position or higher.
McGarrity will stick with the
Skoda Fabia R5 that carried him
to victory on the penultimate
round last month – the Tyrone
Stages – as a misfire in his
Ford Fiesta RS WRC will not
be remedied in time.
“I have a good knowledge of
the stages from years gone
by,” McGarrity told MN.
“I rate my title chances as
excellent. It is great to be part of a
three-way fight, although I do feel
and ’17 and has twice
lifted the Manx Rally title,
but maintains “it’ll be
interesting to see where
we can place ourselves
again after being away from
the island for two years”.
“Initially we wanted to
do both the Jim Clark and
the Pokerstars events, but
with them both on the same
weekend we opted for the
island,” he added. “This event
always gets a strong entry.”
Jamie Jukes, winner in
2018, leads the event away in
a Spencer Sport Mitsubishi
Mirage, with other leading
opposition coming from
John Stone in his Ford
Fiesta RS WRC.
The local drivers have
had few events to contest
if we had better reliability this
year we would not find ourselves
in this position. If I finish ahead
of Stephen I’ll be OK.”
At the beginning of the season
Wright brushed aside talk of a
title assault, insisting it was not
his priority. However, as results
have gone his way, this has forced
a re-think, especially as he can
become the first driver from the
Republic of Ireland to win the
Northern Ireland Championship.
“I rate my chances as good as
SEEDED ENTRY
Pokerstars Rally, Isle of Man, November 8-9
NO DRIVER/CO-DRIVER
1 Jamie Jukes/James Morgan
2 Arron Newby/Rob Fagg
3 John Stone/Charlotte Shimmin
4 Stu Bainborough/Paula Swinscoe
5 Steve Colley/Mark Rodman
6 Gary Leece/John Tarrant
7 Kevin Davies/Dylan Jenkins
8 Timmy Collins/Cliona Collins
9 Kex Walker/Dannii Matthews
10 George Collister/Graham Collister
this year, but a solid finish
for Stu Bainborough
(Mitsubishi Lancer E6)
would be enough to lift a first
Manx Championship, with
Welsh VW Golf co-driver-
turned-driver Dale Furniss
anyone’s,” said Wright. “We have
been on the back foot for most
of the season in terms of event
experience and the same applies
for the Glens of Antrim Rally.
“Perhaps I am the underdog
[in some people’s eyes] but I like
the challenge. The close racing
is what kept me coming back to
the championship.”
For the first time in a number
of seasons, the title is being played
out between three drivers but the
third party, Derek McGeehan,
POKERSTARS
PREVIEW
CAR
Mitsubishi Mirage
Subaru Impreza
Ford Fiesta RS WRC
Mitsubishi Lancer E6
Mitsubishi Lancer E7
Mitsubishi Lancer E6.5
Ford Escort Mk2
Subaru Impreza
BMW 325
BMW E30
his nearest challenger.
Crews will tackle seven
stages across the south of
the island covering 44.5
miles on Friday night, with
a further nine tests over
61 miles on Saturday.
The 100 plus miles stage rally will take place over
many of the Isle of Manʼs iconic stages that have
just been used on this yearʼs National event. They
include Keristal, Ronague, St Marks, Druidale,
Staarvey and everyoneʼs favourite Baldwinʼs.
ST AUGUST
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110
Photos: Chicane Media, Roy Dempster
is at a disadvantage. An inlet
valve on the original engine in his
Mini Countryman John Cooper
Works WRC failed last time out
forcing him to switch engines.
“We have had to put in another
motor which is less powerful
than the one I had in before,” he
explained. “Losing points on the
Tyrone Stages hasn’t helped me
at all; to win the championship
is going to be a tall order. I would
need the other two to have
misfortunes for that to happen.”
Five wins from seven
rallies for Hughes
BTRDA award goes to ST Trophy driver Hughes
ST Trophy champion Zak
Hughes has been announced
as the latest recipient of the
BTRDA Rally Series Looking
to the Future award.
The prize, which is donated
by past BTRDA Gold Star
champion Adam Kent and run
in collaboration with MRF Tyres,
hands young drivers a cash sum
of £2500 to be used on entry fees
for the following season.
Hughes will receive his
award at the BTRDA prize-giving
VOLUNTEERS WANTED
Route change
for Antrim rally
Organisers of this Saturday’s
Glens of Antrim Rally say that
they have been left with no
choice but to drop one of
the planned special stages
because of ongoing
Forest Service Northern
Ireland operations.
Ballypatrick Forest was
one of three areas that
initially made up the route for
the final round of the Northern
Ireland Rally Championship
but organisers feel running
a rally through it would
“disrupt works”.
In an attempt to claw back
the mileage that has been
lost, clerk of the course
Raymond Linton has taken
the decision to run the 8.1-
mile Slieveanorra stage
three times instead of the
originally planned two.
The shorter 2.8-mile
Parkmore test will be used
twice, as originally planned.
“Total stage mileage has
fallen from 37 miles to 30
miles,” explained Linton.
“It would not have been
possible to run a viable
stage in Ballypatrick as
we weren’t able to secure
enough mileage.
“This aside, it is always
pleasing from the motor
club’s perspective to promote
our events in the local area,
in the Glens of Antrim forests.
There is no doubt that they
are still considered among
the best in Northern Ireland
because of the variation in
surface and challenge of
each stage.”
ceremony on January 11.
“This is a massive positive for
both me and the team,” Hughes
said. “So many people have put
an outstanding effort in this
year. It’s an amazing award,
which gives us young drivers
a real boost in which to create
further opportunities.”
Hughes dominated the ST
Trophy class this year, claiming
five out of seven victories
throughout the season to
comfortably secure the title.
PAGE 23
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OBITUARY
Russell Brookes is well
remembered for Manta days
Brookes carrying the famous colours and slogan on theWelsh in 1983
NATIONAL BATTLER WHO TOOK ON
THE BEST OF WORLD RALLY CROP
Despite never winning his beloved Rally GB, Russell Brookes was a man who set a benchmark
I
don’t know much
Welsh. Araf (slow)
is about the extent
of it. Apart from one
sentence. One sentence
in Welsh is known and
loved by rally fans of a
certain generation.
Gwres i Rentu.
Heat for Hire.
And that’s thanks to one man:
Russell Brookes.
Born in Redditch, Brookes was
captivated by the sport of rallying
at an early age and took to the stages
aged 18 in his mother’s Austin
Westminster. That was replaced
by a Mini which, despite limited
funding, he used to make a name
for himself on local events.
In the early 1970s, Ford
established its Mexico Challenge –
a one-make series for Ford Escort
Mexicos. Russell set his sights on
the 1973 title.
The 1973 series offered a 16-round
calendar which was broken down
into four quarters with a works
drive offered to the winner of each
quarter. Brookes won the first
quarter and was given the keys to
an RS1600 for the Jim Clark Rally.
“I’d never driven anything more
powerful than the Mexico at the
time,” Russell said. “I said to the
Russell Brookes
August 16, 1945 – October 30, 2019
people at Boreham: ‘I really ought
to drive the car before the start of
the rally…’ They told me to drive it
from Boreham up to Scotland. So
I did. I had a bit of a thrash around
the lanes just before the start and
finished the rally second to Roger
Clark. I was only 20 seconds behind
him – and I’d rolled.
“I told Roger: ‘If I hadn’t have
rolled, I’d have beaten you.’ He
looked at me and said: ‘F**k off.
If you hadn’t have rolled, I’d have
driven faster.’
“But that was the start for me.
I remember sitting down with my
co-driver at the time, John Brown,
and I said to him: ‘John, I can do
this. I can beat these people.’ That
was the start of my ambition to
become a works driver.”
An ambition he would fulfil at
the end of 1976 when Ford signed
him for the following season.
He repaid that faith immediately
with a maiden British Open
Championship title in 1977,
having seen off some fierce
competition from Scandinavia.
“They were all there,” said
Russell, “all the Finns and the
Swedes. I had a big battle with
Pentti [Airikkala] through that
year and in five of the rallies, he and
I were separated by less than three
Brookes’last Rally GB in 1994
seconds. It was incredible.”
By that time, of course, Brookes’
cars were resplendent in what
would go on to become one of
rallying’s most recognisable
liveries, the orange, blue and red
of Andrews Heat for Hire – which
ran as Gwres i Rentu for the Welsh
Rally every season.
Between 1973 and 1991, Brookes
changed cars regularly and often;
a Mk1 became a Mk2, followed by a
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, Vauxhall
Chevette HSR, Opel Manta 400,
Kadett GSi, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
and finally the Sierra Cosworth 4x4 –
where he gave Ford’s latest rally
weapon its maiden victory on
the 1990 Manx.
All those cars, cars spanning three
decades, ran in in one colour scheme.
I have, of course, forgotten one car.
One car which few believed they
would ever see in Andrews livery –
the Lancia Delta HF 4WD. At the end
of 1987, determined to realise his
biggest ambition in the sport and
win his home round of the World
Rally Championship, Russell turned
to the Italians and did a deal to
drive a fourth factory Delta (joining
Markku Alen, Juha Kankkunen and
Mikael Ericsson).
That particular dream ended in a
ditch in Pundershaw.
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 19
Brookes at speed in a Ford Sierra Cosworth on Rally GB in 1989
“That Lancia team was so special,”
said Brookes. “They did things so
differently to Ford, they were so
organised – if a mechanic needed a
10-mil spanner to start a gearbox
change, he just reached out his hand
and it was there. Every time. The car
was left-hand drive, but it was easy
and really nice to drive. I really
wanted to win the RAC, but that’s
what can happen when you hang
all of your hopes on one event.”
He certainly didn’t have a bad
record on the RAC, finishing on the
podium three years in succession
between ’77 and ’79. The last of those
results being the most memorable.
“It was a big ambition of mine to
win the RAC,” he said. “And 1979
was the closest I came when I
finished second to Hannu [Mikkola].
Hannu was supreme on the loose,
but when I looked who was behind
me, it was Timo Salonen, Ari
Vatanen, Markku Alen, Walter Rohrl
and Bjorn Waldegard – five drivers
who were world champions [Alen,
admittedly only for 11 days]. I might
not have won it, but that second place
was pretty good for me.”
A second British title came in 1985,
an era remembered for his intense
rivalry with Vauxhall-Opel Dealer
Sport Team mate Jimmy McRae.
Those two were usually put on
Photos: LAT, mcklein-imagedatabase.com
Brookes was a mainstay
of national rallying
slightly different programmes,
with one focusing on the British and
one featuring more in the European
Rally Championship, but McRae
and Brookes both knew they were
fighting to be the best in Britain.
The battles were classic.
It’s testament to Brookes’ longevity
in the sport that he battled the
second generation McRae and only
lost the 1991 title to Colin by 10 points.
That would be the popular
Midlander’s last full season in
the sport. After that he took to the
historic scene and would go on to
become a regular at Rallyday,
where he starred last season.
Talking to Brookes just over 12
months ago, his recollection of each
and every detail was startling. Still,
he remembered the corners that
caught him out and the tyre
choices that helped him win.
It’s fair to say he was never the
most fashionable of drivers, but
he couldn’t half drive and his ability
was well recognised among the
sport’s household names both
here and across Scandinavia.
Part of the British rallying
establishment for more than 40
years, Brookes will be sorely missed.
MN extends its deepest sympathies
to his family and friends throughout
the sport and around the world.
20 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk

WALTER HAYES TROPHY

Dempsey never looked

like losing the final

DOMINANT DEMPSEY DENIE

Moyers just misses out on remarkable comeback and hat-trick of wins as Irishman triumphs. B

I
t was all set up for
a fairytale win for
Michael Moyers. After
a clash with fellow
multiple Walter Hayes
Trophy winner Joey
Foster in the second
heat left the pair starting the
Sunday morning Progression
race at the very back, Moyers
brilliantly overtook 64 cars
through that contest, the Last
Chance encounter and the first
semi-final to start the final an
impressive 10th.
“I was confident – other people
had done it before and that gave
me hope,” said Kevin Mills Racing
driver Moyers.
History did indeed show it was
possible to bounce back to take a
brilliant result. Roger Orgeegained
97 places in 2015 to finish fifth in the
final and just last year Matt Cowley
progressed from the Last Chance
race to miss out on overall victory
by 0.978 seconds.
Moyers even benefited from a red
flag after four laps of the final – when
Stuart Gough tagged Jamie Chadwick
(to cap off a tough event for the W
Series champion who struggled with
understeer in the damp conditions
of the heats and semi-finals) into
a spin at Luffield, who was in turn
collected by Jamie Stanley.
Moyers lined up sixth for the
restarted final and was now right with
the leading contenders. Suddenly
Moyers’s confidence was well-placed.
Suddenly the dream result of
becoming only the second driver –
after Foster – to take a hat-trick run of
victories in this hard-fought
competition was incredibly realistic.
But two drivers weren’t reading the
script. And the first was Moyers’s
team-mate Jordan Dempsey.
The 2018 Chinese Formula 4
champion has often shown good
pace in the knockout end-of-season
Formula Ford events but failed to
convert that into big results. Take
the previous weekend’s Festival
for example, he didn’t make the
final after a tangle with Foster.
It was different this time. Right
from when a timing/transponder
issue was rectified and it was revealed
that he had qualified on pole for the
opening heat by 1.407s, it was clear
he was on it. A fairly comfortable heat
one victory followed and he snuck
ahead at the last corner to win a semi-
final he had led the majority of too.
A quicker fastest lap than the other
semi-final winner Scott Huffaker,
gave Dempsey pole for the big one
and he duly made the most of it,
breaking away from the drivers
Moyers/Foster clash to win the
second heat and set up his good run.
By lap four of the now 10-lap final,
Moyers was up to third and, when he
passed Huffaker’s Ray GR19 down
the inside of Brooklands on the
following tour, it looked like he would
then go on and chase after Dempsey.
But Huffaker had other ideas.
The very next lap he dived back
past Moyers with a sensational
move from a fair way back down the
inside of Brooklands. They spent
the next couple of laps fighting tooth-
and-nail before Moyers eventually
sealed the place at Brooklands with
a couple of laps to go, as this year’s
Festival winner Jonathan Browne
snuck ahead too.
“We had a really good battle with
MoyersspentearlypartofSundaybattlingFoster(l)aftertheirheatclash him – he’s a hell of a driver,” Moyers
admitted. “When he passed me [at
behind before the red flag. Spectrum 011C driver eventually Brooklands] I was like ‘Whoa, what
“I knew from the first start I could eased clear to a 5.338s victory. a move’.”
pull away but it was annoying to “I’ve been watching this event Despite being gutted to miss
have to do it again!” said Dempsey. since I was a kid and it’s special for out on a very memorable victory,
“I said to myself ‘just get your head me to win it,” said Dempsey, who Moyers was still happy to finish
down and go’.” Moyers said was a deserving winner. runner-up. Huffaker, meanwhile,
And that is exactly what he did. The other driver who proved to repassed his Cliff Dempsey Racing
Dempsey got an even better start be a thorn in Moyers’s remarkable team-mate Browne on the final lap
this time around and pulled away at victory bid was Team USA Scholar to complete the podium after taking
a faster rate. After the first lap, his Huffaker. More used to racing LMP3 ninth in the Festival.
lead was half a second. Then it was machinery in the States than single- “I thought about sending one
0.885s. By lap four it was 2.094s. And, seaters in the damp and cold of the down the inside of Michael on the
as the pack squabbled behind, the UK, Huffaker capitalised on the last lap but I didn’t want to take him
out,” said Huffaker.
As for Browne, he w
disappointed not to ge
podium but had progr
from 11th on the origin
“I had great fun toda
from 11th to fourth,” h
I was quicker than the
I was just too far back
First in the Festival an
here – I would’ve defin
that [beforehand]!”
Behind Browne was
FF17 racer Jack Wolfe
stayed out of trouble t
weekend to net an imp
ahead of another KMR
form of Michael Eastw
He had survived two
with Josh Fisher – wh
he described as “errat
being in heat threeou
which left Eastwell a d
eighth, before the pair
at the final’s original s
“Sadly I was taken o
person I got taken out
the first corner,” he sa
know what position w
to, but it wasn’t good.
“I made a bit of time
before the restart I got
but obviously then go
18th, and finished sixt
disappointing, don’t g

SEMI-FINALS
DEMPSEY AND HUFFAKER TAKE
KE THE SEMI-FINA
Jordan Dempsey and Scott Huffaker
took tenuous but well-deserved
victories in Sunday morning’s semi-
finals, with the combined winning
margin from both races less than
two-tenths of a second. Crucially,
almost all of the main contenders
for outright victory progressed.
The main casualty was Team USA
Scholarship runner Josh Green,
who understeered on the wet line at
Copse on lap eight of the first race
and collected Ollie White, with
whom he was disputing third
TeamUSAScholarship driverHuffakerwonhisheatandfirstsemi-final position. While Green’s Cliff
Dempsey Racing Ray was ruled out,
White did at least scrape his Souley
Motorsport Medina onto row 16 for
the final. “It was a racing incident
but it is frustrating,” White said.
“Now I will see how many places I can
make up in the final!” A storming
drive later gave him the answer:
19 positions gained left him 13th.
Huffaker held a slender advantage
over Matt Cowley, who tried a last-lap
move on the outside line at Becketts
but was nudged out wider still, and
dropped back to seventh. That
promoted Luke Cooper to second
and a brilliant run through Luffield
was almost enough for the win, only
to be squeezed onto the grass at the
last moment. Jack Wolfenden took
third ahead of the evergreen Ivor
McCullough (whose Van Diemen
was later ruled out on the first lap
of the final) and Moyers. The
frustrated Cowley was sandwiched
by his Team Dolan colleague Morgan
Quinn, and 2011 Irish Formula
Ve e C champion Ian Campbell, who
had taken a shock heat podium in
only his second FF1600 event.
Although Dempsey controlled
most of the second semi – pa
thanks to a third of it runnin
the safety car – Rory Smith c
extraordinarily close to bea
The first caution period ca
after Tom McArthur’s brak
Van Diemen went off at Bec
on the opening lap, but Dem
aced the restart with Smith
behind South African Julia
der Watt’s Mygale. “Julian w
very quick around Luffield,
no idea why,” said B-M Raci
Medina driver Smith, who h
earlier won heat three. “I wa
 motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 21

Photos: Steve Jones, Jakob Ebrey

HISTORICS

Brown (l) and Grant spent

lap after lap side-by-side

CALLUM GRANTED WIN

AFTER HISTORIC THRILLERS
It was a third win in a row
While the main Walter Hayes Trophy helping hold the car.” was penalised for exceeding track
for Kevin Mills Racing

ES MOYERS
final didn’t feature much of a lead
battle, the same can’t be said for the
historic divisions.
With the number of WHT heats
reduced from six to four, the available
track time was instead given to
the two historic classes, with each
That effort was rewarded as Grant
won the final – but it was far from
straightforward, even after Brown
spun at Brooklands when under
intense pressure from Grant. Ben
Tinkler (Reynard 89FF) picked up
where Brown left off and briefly
limits. Brown also picked up the
Neil Cunningham Trophy for
being the highest-placed historic
finisher in the main final in 20th.
The Carl Hamer Trophy final for
pre-1982 cars was also shaping up
to be an exciting affair with the Van

By Stephen Lickorish and Ian Sowman

getting their own pre-final. And that
proved a masterstroke as the Janet
Cesar Trophy pre-final (for cars
built between 1982 and 1992) was
arguably the pick of the weekend’s
grabbed the lead before Grant
reclaimed it at Brooklands with
a lap to go.
“I wasn’t losing today!” stated Grant,
who now eyes a bid for the main event
Diemen RF80s of Richard Tarling
and Cameron Jackson battling Neil
Fowler (Winkelmann WDF2).
But double Historic Formula Ford
champion Jackson retired mid-race

as
sixth is our best result, but we have
been screwed every year.”
et another From Eastwell back, the rest of
ressed well the top 10 was separated by just
nal final grid. 1.3s at the flag. Chris Middlehurst
ay, coming headed that pack but said a lack of
he said. “I feel straightline speed on his Van Diemen
e top guys but LA10 limited his final result, having
realistically. run with Browne early on.
nd fourth Another two drivers left ruing what
nitely taken might have been were eighth and
ninth-placed Matt Cowley and Luke
s Firman RFR Cooper. Cowley started the final down
enden, who in 14th after losing out in his semi-
throughout the final late on. He then buzzed his Van
pressive fifth Diemen JL15’s engine at the start of
R driver in the the final, limiting his progress.
well. Cooper, meanwhile, looked to be one
o collisions of the favourites for the final win after
ose driving just missing out on heat four victory
tic” – the first when trying to pass Oliver White on
t of Becketts, the final corner. But car woes on his
disgruntled Swift SC16 consigned him to ninth.
r again clashed “The clutch went after the restart,”
start. said a devastated Cooper. “On the exit
ut by the same of every corner, I was always threeor
by before, at four car lengths back – I was just
aid. “I don’t about hanging on. I am gutted.”
we fell down While Cooper was among those
left bitterly disappointed, there was
up and just no such misery for Dempsey. It may
t up to 15th, not have been a hat-trick of triumphs
t put back to for Moyers but Dempsey ensured it
th. Bitterly was a third consecutive Hayes win
et me wrong – for a Kevin Mills-run Spectrum.
WINNERS
Walter Hayes Trophy
Heat 1: Jordan Dempsey (Spectrum
011C)
Heat 2: Scott Huffaker (Ray GR19)
Heat 3: Rory Smith (Medina JL18)
Heat 4: Oliver White (Medina JL17)
Progression race: Michael Moyers
(Spectrum 011C)
Last Chance race: Michael Moyers
(Spectrum 011C)
Semi-final 1: Scott Huffaker
(Ray GR19)
Semi-final 2: Jordan Dempsey
(Spectrum 011C)
Final: Jordan Dempsey (Spectrum
011C)
Janet Cesar Trophy
Pre-final: Tom Brown
(Van Diemen RF91)
Final: Callum Grant
(Van Diemen RF91)
Carl Hamer Trophy
Pre-final: Cameron Jackson
(Van Diemen RF80)
Final: Richard Tarling
(Van Diemen RF80)
HSCC Allcomers Closed Wheel
A race: Phil Barak (Lotus 11)
B race: Alan Davenport (Centaur
Mk14B)
Silverstone Allcomers Closed
Wheel
Jon-Paul Ivey (Radical)
Silverstone Allcomers Open Wheel
Martin Daly (Dallara F311)
races. The Van Diemen RF91s of Tom
Brown and Callum Grant went at it
hammer and tongs, Brown eventually
winning by just 0.066 seconds. But it
was far from certain the duo would
continue their battle in the final.
Grant’s car was left badly damaged
after a collision at Copse with Michael
Macpherson and Thomas Capezzone
in the second semi-final of the main
event. That left Grant, his team and
even other bystanders desperately
trying to get the car fixed.
“I got wiped out in the semi-final
through no fault of my own,” he
said. “We had an hour to repair
the car – it should’ve taken three
weeks! Spectators were just
FOSTER FAILS IN HIS FINAL RECOVERY BID
For many competitors, the Walter
Hayes Trophy ends with a tale of
what might have been, but rarely is
there such a direct comparison with
another competitor as there was for
three-time winner Joey Foster.
The Cornishman had an almost
identical path to that of eventual
runner-up Michael Moyers – starting
with their heat clash – but ended the
weekend with a broken Firman.
Predictably, Foster’s view on the
Copse incident on lap threeof
Saturday’s qualifier differed from
in a modern car next year. “I was the
slowest of the top five but racecraft
came into it. If Tom hadn’t spun, I
don’t think I could’ve held him off.”
Despite the spin, Brown still
finished third after Jaap Blijleven
Tarling (r) ended up winning the Carl Hamer Trophy comfortably
his rival. “He didn’t give me much
space and left me on the wet line,” he
said. “The car got very sideways and
unfortunately I careered into him.”
Foster followed winner Moyers over
the line in both the Progression and
the Last Chance Races, before the pair
went their separate ways in the semis.
Foster used “calculated aggression”
to get to eighth in his race, but surely
starting 15th for the final would leave
too much to do?
Not a bit of it, as Foster made up eight
places by the second corner, slotting
with gearbox issues and a puncture,
as Tarling won comfortably from
Fowler. Impressive rookie Horatio
Fitz-Simon was third after diving
past Rick Morris at Brooklands on
the final tour.
in behind Moyers. He was well placed
after the restart too, before his race
came to an abrupt halt at Brooklands,
colliding with the back of Rory Smith’s
Medina as he tried to pass Jack
Wolfenden. “I hit the brakes a metre
later than normal and all of a sudden
two cars appeared from the left in front
of me, and that was it,” he explained.
Foster retired on the spot but Smith,
whose car was knocked out of gear
having “never been hit from behind
that hard before”, continued to 10th
with a bent wishbone.

AL SPOILS, BUT ONLY JUST

artly struggling there compared to him.” the drag to the line by barely a
ng behind A second safety car intervention – hundredth. “There is nothing
came required because Saturday podium I could have done other than
ating him. finisher Thomas Cappezzone’s weaving, which I am not going
ame Swift, Michael Macpherson’s to do,” said a slightly rueful Smith.
keless Spectrum and Callum Grant’s After Michael Eastwell and Josh
ketts older Van Diemen had tangled at Fisher’s heat collision, they both
mpsey Copse on lap seven – played back had plenty to do in the semi. Eastwell
delayed into Smith’s hands. “My tyres were progressed better in his Kevin
n van switched on and I made my way Mills Racing Spectrum, climbing
was through,” he explained. from row eight to fourth, one place
, I have Dempsey was third going onto the ahead of Fisher, who started 11th.
ng final lap, but soon despatched van Jonathan Browne was a largely Foster outbrakes himself and
had der Watt although he had to wait anonymous sixth, ahead of David
careers into the back of Smith
as until the very end to pip Smith on McArthur’s Medina and Foster.
22 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110

MN CIRCUIT RALLY Photos: SMJ Photography

CLASS ROUND-UP
Victory in Class A was decided
by a twist of fate on the final
stage of the event.
The Vauxhall Corsa of Nicky
Cowperthwaite appeared set
for victory after heading the
class from the opening stage,
extending his cushion to 10s
over the Citroen AX GT of
Ben Wilson thanks to five
fastest stage times.
But the former would
lose 23s on the final stage,
handing Wilson the overall
class victory. A cruel
penultimate-stage retirement
dropped third-placed Mark
Blackmore’s Corsa out of
the rally while on course for
maximum MN points
meanwhile, which instead went
to Ron Walker’s Ford Puma.
The battle for Class B was
dominated by the returning
Chris Ruck and Steve Harris
in their unique left-hand-
drive Corsa.
Winning gap
“We used to compete in the
was 37 seconds

SIMPSON SECURES
British Rally Championship
back in the early 1990s, but
we’d been out of action for
around 25 years,” said Ruck.
“It’s been tough getting used to

HAT-TRICK OF WINS
it but it’s quick. This was made
by Opel Poland, and we got it
from Greece – one of only 12.”
Ruck also claimed full MN
points in class, over two
minutes clear of nearest rival

Ford Fiesta crew survive battle of attrition to finish top. By Dan Mason
Paul Gorge, competing in the
Mazda MX-5 formerly driven
by team owner, Paul Sheard.

Connor Tolson (Ford Fiesta
R2) and Ashleigh Morris (Fiesta
R200) recovered from slow
starts to challenge Gorge,
but came up narrowly short
as the trio were covered by
just nine seconds.
Class C was clinched by
the Darrian T90 of Joshua and
Tamsyn Davey despite suffering
early front corner damage that
cost them over a minute on
SS4. Maximum MN points
went their way, Davey intending
to compete in “as many rallies
as we can get to”.
British Touring Car
Championship race winner
Paul O’Neill put his MX-5 “at
all sorts of angles” to finish
18th overall with journalist
Jack Benyon as they took
MX-5 class honours.
Another Darrian T90 GTR+
took overall and MN honours in
D1, Barry Morris beating
Stephen Tilburn who finished
as top Escort driver following
SS6 offs for Will Owen and
Peter Jackson.
Class D2 went to overall
winner Simpson, but top MN
points went to Coffey after
Edwards’ retirement. “It’s
gutting to lose like that,”
said Edwards’ co-driver
Rhys Stoneman. “We were
sitting pretty until then.”
Wilson won in Class A
I
t seemed to be a rally
nobody wanted to win
until Stephen Simpson
took it upon himself to
grab a third Neil Howard
Stages victory in a
dramatic Motorsport
News Circuit Rally Championship
opener at Oulton Park.
“It’s all about getting to the finish” were
Simpson’s words while in contention
for success, and that phrase summed
up the narrative in Cheshire as twice
big hitters fell by the wayside while
leading comfortably.
Even before the event, Simpson’s
perennial rival Kevin Procter opted
out of the rally he had won for the last
three years due to family reasons.
“Me and Kev have been at each other
for around 20 years,” said Simpson, his
rival replaced by household rallycross
name Andy Scott and co-driver Marc
Fowler in the Ford Fiesta R5.
World Rally and R5 machinery was
touted to run the show, and that proved
the case in changing conditions
across the day.
Quickest out of the blocks was the
returning Frank Bird, the Formula
Renault single-seater driver bagging
fastest stage times on SS1 and SS2 to
gain bragging rights in his Focus
WRC07 over his chasing Fiesta R5
rival, Matt Edwards.
The latter was hindered by a 10-second
time penalty for missing a chicane on the
opening stage, albeit unintentionally.
“We’ve had brake problems on that
stage so I had no choice to try and
avoid the barrels,” he said.
These problems did not deter the two-
time British Rally Championship winner
and two stage wins, coupled with a half-
spin for Bird on SS4, slashed the deficit
of 15s to just 10 by the afternoon.
With battle lines drawn, mechanical
gremlins soon took a stranglehold on the
lead battle. First to suffer was Graham
Coffey, who lost ground through a RESULTS
niggling boost issue early in the day on
Neil Howard Stages, Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, round
his Fiesta S2000 which was rectified.
1/7, November 2
That was not the case for leader Bird
on SS5, as the Focus WRC07 dropped into POS DRIVER/CO-DRIVER CAR TIME
limp mode after disagreeing with the 1 Stephen Simpson/Patrick Walsh Ford Fiesta R5 1h02m25s
water splash. “It’s gutting for him as 2 Andy Scott/Marc Fowler Ford Fiesta S2000 +37s
he needs points,” said co-driver Jack 3 Graham Coffey/Sam Colman Ford Fiesta R5 +41s
Morton, as the pair were forced to retire 4 James Self/Ian Davis Ford Fiesta R5 +42s
due to the issue. 5 Joshua Davey/Tamsyn Davey Darrian T90 +1m28s
Edwards’ luck had changed, but in 6 Barry Morris/Tom Hutchings Darrian T90 GTR +1m43s
a flash it turned full circle as his Fiesta 7 Steve Tilburn/Jack Tilburn Ford Escort Mk2 +3m24s
stopped at the hairpin exiting Cascades. 8 Richard Wells/Calvin Houldsworth Mitsubishi Lancer E9 +3m30s
A small engine fire confirmed 9 Paul Smith/Dale Bowen Mitsubishi Mirage R5 +3m30s
retirement, leaving Simpson’s Fiesta R5 10 Paul Murro/Callum Cross Ford Escort Mk2 +3m57s
suddenly in the hot seat with a 30s lead Event class winners: Ben/Kevin Wilson (Citroen AX GT); Chris Ruck/Steve Harris (Vauxhall Corsa); Davey/Davey; Morris/Hutchings;
over a recovering Coffey. Simpson/Walsh; Paul O’Neill/Jack Benyon (Mazda MX-5).
MN class winners: Ron Walker/Amy McCubbin (Ford Puma); Ruck/Harris; Davey/Davey; Morris/Hutchings; Coffey/Colman.
“It could be me next,” Simpson
quipped as he pondered the thought of
matching Procter’s tally of three Neil
Howard Stages wins. “I can’t slow down
though or the car doesn’t respond.
It’ll be flat chat to the end.”
Sticking to their words, Simpson and
co-driver Patrick Walsh reeled off a
brace of stage wins to move realistically
out of reach. A steady finish sealed the
deal, Simpson taking his first win
since 2016 by 37s. “I can now say to
Kev [Procter] that we’re three all,”
said the winner. “It’s an excellent rally,
and we did our own thing which was
get it to the end.”
They left behind a gripping scrap for
second between Coffey, Scott and a flying
James Self in another Fiesta R5.
Scott grew in confidence as night
descended and was rewarded with his
first fastest stage time on the penultimate
test to take advantage of Coffey’s slower Scott took to the wheel of Procter’s Fiesta S2000 and finished runner-up
run, trimming nine seconds out of his
rival to move clear in second spot. returning Darrian T90. Davey almost A second Darrian followed with Barry
“We knew we had to pull something joined the retirements list after suffering Morris behind the wheel, beating Steve
special out the bag,” said Scott. “I kept front wheel damage from a jarring Tilburn who upheld the Ford Escort Mk2
improving, and I’ve got to thank Kevin trip through a pothole on the second flag in seventh ahead of Richard Wells
for giving me the opportunity.” stage of the day, but broke up the Ford (Mitsubishi Lancer E9). A Mitsubishi
Coffey hung onto the final podium spot stranglehold thanks to a raft of top-five Mirage earned a top-10 finish thanks to
by a solitary second over Self, as Joshua performances throughout the Paul Smith as Paul Murro’s Escort Mk2
Davey rounded out the top five in the day’s stages. rounded out the top 10.
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110
RALLY REPORTS
Six stage wins from
six in N Yorkshire
MELLORS TAKES WIN AT
WHEEL OF PROTON IRIZ
Dominant display secures 31-second victory on Malton Forest Rally for Proton Iriz R5 crew
Malton Forest Rally
By Peter Scherer
Organiser: Malton MC & Clitheroe & DMC When: November 3 Where:
Pickering, N Yorkshire Championships: Northern Historic; ANCC;
ANECCC Stage Rally; ANEMMC Stage Rally; EMAMC Stage Rally;
SD34; SD32 Stages: 6 Starters: 74
Ollie Mellors and Ian Windress were
quickest on all six stages in North
Yorkshire to take their Proton Iriz R5
to a 31-second victory over seven-
time Malton Forest Rally winners
Charlie Payne/Patrick Walsh.
It was also the end of a run of four
successive wins on the event for Payne,
whose Ford Fiesta RS WRC had matched
Mellors’ time through the opening
stage in Langdale.
Payne consolidated second over
Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson’s
Kirkaldy/Carstairs take victory as Scottish Tarmack title goes to Inglis
Kingdom Stages Rally
By John Fife
Organiser: Glenrothes MSC When: November 2 Where: Crail, Fife
Championships: Scottish Tarmack Rally Championship Stages: 6
Starters: 60
Andrew Kirkaldy and Peter Carstairs
won a wet and treacherous Kingdom
Stages Rally at Crail on Saturday, but
it was third-placed Greg Inglis who
clinched the 2019 Scottish Tarmack
Rally Championship drivers’ title.
The dark Tarmac glistened
menacingly as Kirkaldy eased his Ford
Escort Mk2 out on to the first stage of
the day and posted a time seven seconds
quicker than the Lotus Exige of Alistair
Inglis. He was a further 12 seconds
ahead after SS2 before they shared
the same time on SS3. That was only
because the first three cars had been
given notional times after Finlay Retson
spun and momentarily blocked the
stage for the top three.
As conditions dried Alistair Inglis
Fiesta RS WRC on the following stages
as the latter rued a wrong tyre choice
on the opening stage, which left him
fourth behind Tom Preston/Carl
Williamson’s Fiesta RS WRC and
17 seconds off the lead duo.
Petch recovered third through the
second stage in Gale Rigg, and although
Preston was a clear fourth his rally
ended prematurely in Darncombe
on stage four, smashing the rear diff
after hitting a huge rock.
As the top three held station through
the final two stages, Matthew Robinson/
Callum Atkinson had moved up to fourth
and were the leading Historic entry
in their Ford Escort Mk2.
Both Robinson and the Escort of fellow
historic crew Steve Bannister/Dave
Robson had been in the top six from the
dramatically closed the 19-second gap
to Kirkaldy on the fourth test. With
victory now looking a distinct possibly,
Alistair Inglis scalded off the line on the
fifth test only to hit standing water.
The Exige executed a series of four
perfect 360-degree spins before
coming to rest astride a ridge of tyres.
Kirkaldy was home and dry,
figuratively speaking, but there was
still drama behind. Harry Chalmers
had been holding third place until the
retaining pins broke in his Subaru
Impreza and the bonnet flew up
obscuring the windscreen before
Alan Wallace lost fourth spot when
the centre diff failed on his Mitsubishi
Lancer E6.
That promoted Joe McKeand to his
best rally result with second spot in his
Impreza ahead of the battling duo Greg
Inglis and Kyle Adam. With one point
separating these two at the head of the
championship points tables prior to the
rally, neither could afford a slip-up.
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 23
Photos: Kevin Money, John Fife
opening stage, but Bannister failed gradually edged their way up the top Nick Dobson/Jonathan Turnbull had
to restart after the mid-rally service. 10 during the day, with their Fiesta an engine failure on SS4, while George
Dan Hiorns/Chris Purvis’s Subaru S2000 finally settling in eighth. Tied Hewick/Ashley Young’s similar
Impreza had started the day seventh on the same time was Dave Welch/ Escort went off on SS3.
quickest, but lost the spot to Ian Steve McNulty’s Impreza. Following Bannister’s retirement,
Bainbridge/Jamie Edwards’ Skoda Trevor Gamble/Ron Roughead’s Chris Skill/Simon Jones’ Escort
Fabia R5 until Bainbridge had a moment Fiesta R5 completed the top 10. Mk1 followed Robinson home in the
in Cropton. Despite breaking a In class 2, Barry Lindsay/Caroline Historics, with David Brown/Steve
rear driveshaft and suffering a slow Lodge were in the clear from the start as Bielby’s Escort third.
puncture, Hiorns still made it into their Peugeot 206 finally took the spoils Results
fifth with a stage to go but Bainbridge’s by a massive 9m07s over David Duff/ 1 Ollie Mellors/Ian Windress (Proton Iriz R5) 39m29s; 2 Charlie
Payne/Patrick Walsh (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +31s; 3 Stephen
recovery allowed him grab the place Richard Hill’s Escort Mk2, who secured
Petch/Michael Wilkinson (Fiesta RS WRC); 4 Matthew Robinson/
back on the final stage as Hiorns second after Mick Quinn/Dave Callum Atkinson (Ford Escort Mk2); 5 Ian Bainbridge/Jamie
finished a solid sixth. Jackson’s Peugeot 205 GTI retired on Edwards (Skoda Fabia R5); 6 Dan Hiorns/Chris Purvis (Subaru
As well as dominating class 1, Mat stage three with a broken cambelt. Impreza); 7 Mat Smith/Giles Dykes (Proton Satria); 8 Steve Petch/
Smith/Giles Dykes’ Proton Satria Stuart Boyes/Nigel Hutchinson’s John Richardson (Fiesta S2000); 9 Dave Welch/Steve McNulty
(Impreza); 10 Trevor Gamble/Ron Roughead (Fiesta R5).
was seventh overall, heading class Escort Mk2 won class 3. They moved
Class winners: Smith/Dykes; Barry Lindsay/Caroline Lodge
rivals Alex Kirk-Willey/Sasha into third on stage two ahead of Gary (Peugeot 206); Stuart Boyes/Nigel Hutchinson (Escort Mk2); Nigel
Herriot’s Peugeot 106 by 6m32s. Cooper/Jon Riley’s Toyota GT86, but Cay/Fred Roberts (Vauxhall Chevette); Mellors/Windress; David
Steve Petch/John Richardson were left in the clear when leaders Goose/Will Atkins (Ford Escort Sport); Robinson/Atkinson.
Their pace carried them to third and
fourth places overall and as each won
their respective classes and scored
maximum points they ended the
day as it started; one point apart in
Inglis’ favour.
It may have been little consolation
but it was Kyle Adam’s co-driver, Fiona
Moir, who clinched the co-drivers’ title.
Ex-14-17-year-old Ecosse Challenge
graduate Chalmers recovered from his
earlier mishap to finish fifth, while
Greg and Alan Stark were relieved to
score sixth in their Lancer E9 despite
having to top up a leaking clutch master
cylinder at the end of every stage.
Results
1 Andrew Kirkaldy/Peter Carstairs (Ford Escort Mk2) 1hr8m19s;
2 Joe McKeand/Callum Shanks (Subaru Impreza) +2m13s; 3 Greg
Inglis/Ian Parker (Lotus Exige); 4 Kyle Adam/Fiona Moir (Escort
Mk2); 5 Harry Chalmers/Andrew Logan (Impreza); 6 Greg/Alan
Stark (Mitsubishi Lancer E9); 7 Jamie Stewart/Kevin Mollison
(Peuegot 205); 8 Frank Pinder/Ian Murray (Lancer E3); 9 Fergus
Gray/Kenny More (BMW 130i); 10 Jonathan MacDonald/Chris
Wareham (Peugeot 306 GTi)
Class winners: Eamonn Kilmurray/Derek Cassells (Citroen C2 GT);
Adam/Moir; Inglis/Parker; Kirkaldy/Carstairs; McKeand/Shanks. Winning margin for Ford Escort Mk2 crew was more than two minutes
 Number one for
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RACING REPORTS
BRANDS HATCH: BARC BY BRIAN PHILLIPS
Photos: Gary Hawkins
SMITH GOES FOURTH
WITH ANOTHER TITLE
A win in the opening race
helped Smith to the crown
Former BTCC driverWood was victorious on his first Pickup Truck outing of 2019
Sonny Howard of SHP Promotions looked
back on a year of consolidation and
improvement when he reviewed the Super
Silhouette and Pickup Trucks championships,
which ended their season at Brands Hatch.
Howard took the former Intermarque
championship under his wing at the end
of 2018. “Upgrading in-car safety has been
a priority this year, along with presenting
to the drivers their potential as a national
championship [the old series was focused
on the south east],” he said. “We’re working
to a three-year plan.”
The category’s professional credentials
were demonstrated, he added, when the
Silhouettes raced in near-darkness under
close and continuous scrutiny from race
officials on Saturday. “We were working in
radio contact all the time, enabling the race to
run to its full duration in safety,” Howard said.
Like the Silhouettes, the Pickups trace their
racing DNA back to short oval competition,
which is where many of both series’ drivers
cut their teeth. Pickups’ reputation for close,
hard but fair competition is well established,
but Howard acknowledges that with the
championship so tightly contested in 2019
the paddock atmosphere hasn’t always been
as friendly as he would wish.
And what about the third element of SHP’s
“Power of Three” promotional package?
“Two of the Sprint cars we revealed at the
beginning of the year are built and we have
the parts for another six or seven, but until
we can do it 100% we won’t go ahead,” he said.
“This represents a £100,000 investment and
WINNERS
British Trucks
Division 1
Race 1: Ryan
Smith (MAN
TGA)
Races 2, 3 & 4:
Jamie Anderson
(MAN TGX)
Division 2
Races 1, 2 & 3:
Steven Powell
(MAN TGX)
Race 4: John
Bowler (DAF CF)
Legends
Heat 1:
Jack Parker
Heat 2:
Connor Mills
Final 1 & 2:
Miles Rudman
Heat 3: Paul
we need to have everything in place. It’s no
good coming out with 10 cars. They’re small
SILHOUETTES SUPER
AS SHP TAKES OVER
so we need 20. I’m not saying it will be cheap
racing, but cost-effective, and people are out
there to do it.”
General issues to be addressed will be
familiar to all race organisers. “It’s not
just a case of taking race entries,” Howard
explained. “For our existing races we have
to book 130-135 minutes of track time at
possibly £120 per minute, paid in advance.”
Meanwhile, back in the paddock, the
Silhouettes welcomed back last year’s
champion Lewis Smith in his Vauxhall Tigra
lookalike after a disappointing switch to the
VW Cup. Smith’s plans for 2020 are under
discussion with father Richard, a former
Intermarque regular himself. Another son,
Daniel, was also an Intermarque competitor
but switched to the Ginetta G40 Cup this year.
Another Tigra was out for the first time in
its latest specification in the hands of Ben
Taylor. The car boasted the familiar grey
and pink Honda touring car colours of BTC
Racing, run by Ben Taylor’s dad Bert.
“We love touring cars, but this is our
hobby,” said Bert, seated on the cold
Tarmac of the Brands Hatch paddock
while he worked in the wheel arch of the car.
And another member of the Essex Smith
clan, Lewis’ uncle Simon, was having perhaps
his last outing in his BMW Z4, which is now
for sale. Next year’s plans focus on a new
chassis under a Ford Fiesta shell similar
to one that has been showing good form
on the ovals in the hands of Terry Hunn. Howard assumed control of the old Intermarque series and making it a national category was a priority
motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 25
British Truck Racing’s current star,
Ryan Smith, secured his fourth
Division 1 championship title in
successive years on a weekend
when drivers and spectators faced
conditions varying from gales and
driving rain to bright sunshine.
Sunday’s respite brought out big
crowds for the track action and
MotorSport Vision’s highly-rated
fireworks display.
David Jenkins kept alive his slender
hopes of overhauling Smith by finishing
third in Saturday’s first encounter,
although Smith was a dominant winner
as Jamie Anderson separated Smith from
Jenkins. Smith then hounded Jenkins as
they raced to third and fourth in race two
as Smith ensured his title. The pair finished
some way behind winner Anderson who
had Stuart Oliver in pursuit.
Smith slipped to fifth while struggling
with a broken differential in race three.
Anderson inherited the win, followed
by Oliver, Jenkins and John Newell.
Anderson lent a replacement for the finale
to Smith, who had a full 360 degree spin at
the foot of Paddock when the two of them
got a bit too close. Despite this, Anderson
stormed past early leader Richard Collett to
complete a hat-trick, and Smith was third.
Luke Garrett already had the Division 2
title wrapped up, and star driver of the
first day was Steven Powell. He revelled
in the wet and fully exploited home track
Simmons advantage by winning both races. Garrett
Heat 4:
and John Bowler followed him in race
John Mickel
one. Paul Rivett took third in race two,
Pickup Trucks a five-lap rerun after Simon Cole beached
Race 1: at Paddock.
Michael Smith Powell looked beaten into second by
Race 2:
Rivett on Sunday morning, but Rivett’s
Lea Wood
Race 3: power steering – an issue at past meetings –
Reece Jones locked on the last lap and sent him through
the gravel. He was lucky to escape and
Super finish second, with Garrett next. Starting
Silhouettes
eighth in race four proved a challenge
Race 1: Danny
Hunn (Mazda too far for Powell, who was delayed on his
RX-8) way up the order. Bowler had meanwhile
Race 2: Lewis moved too far ahead to be threatened.
Smith (Vauxhall Saturday’s round of Legends races
Tigra)
featured heat wins for Jack Parker and
Junior Saloons Connor Mills. Second and fifth places
Races 1 & 2: were good for points leader Miles Rudman,
Lewis Saunders outscoring his title rivals, and he crowned
a successful day by winning the final.
NOVEMBER 2-3
Paul Simmons and John Mickel were
Sunday heat winners. Rudman was
only 12th in heat one but formed part of
a five-car blanket finish in heat two,
taking third. Rudman then sealed his
championship title in fine style, beating
the rest in a slippery final.
One of those in contention for the Pickup
Trucks championship, Michael Smith,
headed clear for an untypically easy win
on Saturday. Other contenders, including
Dale Gent and points leader George
Turiccki, were part of a fraught battle for
second place downwards until Turiccki
and Dean Tompkins clashed and fell back,
promoting Gent to second from Mark
Willis and series returnee Lea Wood.
Wood triumphed in race two although
he only led for a few yards. Tompkins and
Willis were next and Smith, in front for
much of the race, spun at the last corner.
Sixth for Turiccki was enough to put the
championship out of rivals’ reach. Reece
Jones triumphed in race three.
Danny Hunn (Mazda RX-8) was a
surprise winner of the first Super
Silhouettes race. Lewis Smith
(Vauxhall Tigra) was the pacesetter
but retired with overheating after a
grassy moment blocked his radiator.
Ray Harris caught the leader but a last-
corner excursion left the Mercedes
SLK driver to recover still in second
place. More members of the Hunn
family, Jason and Ricky, sandwiched
Ian Hales in third, fourth and fifth.
Danny Hunn was among those
affected by early incidents on Sunday
but Smith was back on form, catching
and passing Ian Hales for the lead
before half-distance. Mike Thurley’s
Ginetta G40 clone was third, securing
third in the points behind absent
champion Malcolm Blackman and
runner-up Chris Brockhurst.
A red flag and a caution period spoiled
the penultimate race for this year’s
Junior Saloons season, but it didn’t
prevent Alfreton teenager Scott McIntyre
claiming the title when he finished
second to defending champion Lewis
Saunders. Will Orton caused the stoppage
when he performed a multiple roll at
Paddock. A vibration put McIntyre out of
race two, which started dry and ended in
a shower, and gave Saunders another win.
26 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk
INSIGHT
BEING AT THE HEART OF
A BRITISH RALLYING STORM
Iain Campbell experienced a frantic two weeks on Rally GB and in Mull. He describes his whirlwind fortnight
T
wo rallies at two
very different ends
of the country in
two weeks. In a
matter of days,
Iain Campbell
went from running
Britain’s round of the World Rally
Championship to being assistant
clerk of the course on the returning
Mull Rally.
On top of everything else he had to
do, Campbell kept a diary over what
was at times a fairly frantic fortnight.
Here’s what happened…
Sunday September 29
Off we go then. Inverness airport
and LoganAir flight LM591 south to
Manchester. Just about time to get
the complimentary Tunnock’s Teacake
and coffee done before we’re well
south of the border and an M56
away from Llandudno.
The journey to the service park
involves the A55, which includes some
fairly significant road works. The A55
is the rally route to and from Liverpool
and Oulton Park on Thursday. Route
co-ordinator Andrew Kellitt is on
this one and will monitor through
the week. Otherwise, the afternoon’s
about a meeting with the Oulton Park
stage commander to finalise plans
and risk assessments.
After dinner there’s a moment to go
through the Mull social media plan,
which is all scheduled and ready to
roll from tomorrow.
Monday September 30
Day starts with a contract meeting with
Natural Resources Wales Commercial –
the providers of our lovely forest stages.
By mid-morning, it’s clear we have an
issue with one of the car parks in the
Slate Mountain stage. We’re not going to
be able to use it, so it’s another meeting
to formulate a plan to deal with that.
Meeting done. Plans made.
Citroen is unhappy with its positioning
in the service park. I can sympathise,
but at this point in time, there’s nothing
to be done – there are no Citroen-sized
holes in Llandudno right now.
Talking of the service park, the place
is alive with concerns about the high-
tide due tomorrow. No time to worry
about that, we’ve got Rally Control to
set up, a Junior WRC presentation to
attend to and there are the never-ending
messages asking if we’ve got any spare
passes. The answer’s always a no at
this stage.
Again, it’s back to Mull after dinner.
Enjoy a small single malt – Welsh
this time – to celebrate the Mull Rally
programme being sent off to
the printers.
Tuesday October 1
So… those tides really were quite high!
The weather properly came in today
with a whole heap of rain. This wasn’t
massively helpful as we tried to sort
out a few issues at the Colwyn Bay stage
just down the coast. Understandably,
nobody wanted to be outside for too
long this morning!
Today is, of course, the first day of the
recce for the crews, the engineers’ recce
is finished this afternoon. Back in Rally
Control there’s an early discussion with
the event stewards and an FIA technical
briefing for the scrutineers.
In the middle of those, there’s more
weather-related news, with one of the
road sections into Dyfi being closed
due to flooding. And don’t even get
me started on the height of the ford in
the middle of Dyfnant...
Wednesday October 2
The early starts are starting... In at
0700hrs, but I know that’s a lie-in
compared to most of the stage teams
out there working on preparing the
roads for the WRC’s arrival. The nerves
are starting to really kick in now.
Fortunately, I remember to order the
Junior British Rally Championship
trophies which we’ll need for the end
of season awards evening – not always
easy to remember the things not directly
involved with the event you’re on.
As the day before shakedown goes,
this one’s been fairly quiet. That’s good.
We had to deal with some land owner
issues in Aberhirnant, some of the
competitors haven’t followed the road
book and they’ve ended up where they
shouldn’t be. Apart from that and one
locked gate on the return route from
shakedown recce, we’re all good.
At 1600hrs, it is the team managers’
meeting with the FIA stewards, FIA
category manager and WRC Promoter.
This is probably the biggest meeting of
the week, where we go over the minute
detail of the route and get scrutinised
on every aspect by the WRC teams. It is
always a meeting that you hope goes
well and doesn’t throw up any surprises
requiring a bulletin and further action.  stage. That’s when you realise, a lot of
Head to a drivers’ briefing at 2000hrs,
fairly surreal to be briefing novices
like Petter Solberg, Hayden Paddon,
John Kennard and Phil Mills!
Turning the phone back on after
that briefing opens it up to a blizzard
of messages about the shakedown
car park being full for the following
morning. Looks like this rally’s going
to be a popular one.
Thursday October 3
What rain? Thursday dawns bright.
Shakedown gets going and runs well
without any issues. Good. Straight into
an FIA software developers’ meeting –
really interesting and a fascinating
insight into an exciting future. And
then we’re good to go.
The crews start to leave Llandudno
around midday and that’s when the
adrenalin starts to really flow.
Into Rally Control ahead of stage
one and we’re ready for Rally GB
to get going. No problems at all in
Oulton Park and the cars are all back
into service with no bother.
Finished by midnight, which is
a bonus.
Friday October 4
The alarm’s ringing at 0330hrs and
there’s immediately some messages
about some radio problems in the first
these folk just haven’t been to bed.
While I was sleeping, they’ve been
trying to fix these issues at their end.
Inevitably, once the rally gets up
and running there’s a big element of
fire-fighting and we’re pretty much
straight into that. We’ve had complaints
from the public about traffic levels –
tricky one that: good and bad. Good to
be bringing people into the area, but
the locals aren’t quite so chuffed when
it means they can’t go about their
business just as quickly as usual.
The first on-stage issue comes with
stage five, when we have a problem with
spectators moving and then returning
to a dangerous position. We have no
option but to cancel the stage. One
stage later and we’re dealing with car
95 being on fire.
One stage later and [Jari-Matti]
Latvala crashes. Unfortunately a
spectator has been hit on the head
by a stone, we stop the stage and
send the medics in. The spectator’s
injury is not serious, just a bit of a cut.
But the stage is neutralised.
Things take another turn when we
hear about a bomb threat being radioed
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in. Fortunately it’s a hoax and it’s all
dealt with quickly and without any fuss.
In the middle of all of this, we’ve had a
contingent of Safari Rally organisers
with us in Rally Control – I think we’ve
given them a good flavour of what they’ve
got coming their way next season.
Saturday October 5
Slightly longer lie-in this morning,
alarm at 0440hrs and the first job of
the day is to help the flying finish crew
extricate themselves from the field
they’ve got themselves locked in after
getting lost on the way to the end of
the stage.
After losing a stage due to spectator
numbers yesterday, we take the decision
to deploy additional marshal cars after
the FIA safety delegate has been
through. We drop the marshals off in
the really popular areas, the places we
know will be the busiest. It works well
and the spectators all have a great day.
The day’s only on-stage drama which
involves Rally Control and potential
police involvement comes when
some of the locals start fighting on
the railway embankment above the
Colwyn Bay stage.
Sunday October 6
First text of the morning relates to an
incident in the car park at 0100hrs, which
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110 motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 27

Photos: Iain Campbell

The weekend finished with a resounding six-nil victory at Hampden Park

The new WRC service park at Latvala’s rally came to an

Llandudno was a logistical puzzle abrupt end on Friday morning

Campbell in the heart of the action in the Wales Rally GB control room

Crowds flock to the

Mull Rally awards The atrocious weather threatened to derail the activities in Colwyn Bay

left three folk injured and one arrested.
The day can only get better, even though
it’s less than four hours old…
Actually, it doesn’t get much better
when a 45-second radio comms failure
happens just before the start of Alwen.
The stage is delayed by two minutes.
Nobody likes to start a stage late.
Worse still is when we have to cancel
a stage completely, like we do with the
Great Orme. The decision’s taken at
0900hrs, it’s just not possible to get the
divers close enough to the rocks due to
underwater swells.
After a fairly busy start, the rest of the
day goes to plan, the results go final on
time at 1915hrs and there’s even time
for a quiet pint at Petter Solberg’s
farewell party.
Monday October 7
Nice to get a bit more sleep this
morning. Meet with Safari Rally team
to discuss plans for their 2020 event then
head to the airport and another
LoganAir Teacake.
Tuesday October 8
Morning taken up with follow-up emails
from Rally GB before moving onto Event
Scotland paperwork for Mull. Go over
plans for Thursday night’s forum in
Tobermory before I start worrying
about the flooding on the island’s
roads following heavy rain over the
last weekend.
Forecast not looking great with lots
more rain and some very high tides
coming our way…
Wednesday October 9
Early start to schedule social media
posts before heading south from
Inverness to Fishnish via two ferries.
It’s raining. A lot. Arrive in Tobermory
to find my hotel room’s been cancelled –
fortunately there’s a sofa in somebody’s
flat for me.
Meet with Motorsport UK safety
delegate and work on an early bulletin
with Andy [Jardine, clerk of the course].
Round up a few volunteers for Colin
Clark’s rally forum and enjoy the fact
that the Mull Rally fever is really starting
to build up now. The social media
channels have started to go nuts!
Thursday October 10
Drive the safety delegate around the
north of the island – he’s happy and so
am I. After that we have a briefing for
the safety car drivers and the stage
commanders. There’s huge excitement
about, can’t believe it’s three years since
the last one! Meet the SportTraxx
tracking guys and go through all the
new tracking kit for this year’s event.
Read and reply to the WRC co-drivers’
report on Rally GB before heading out
to the Rally Forum, where Colin’s on
fine form to get some great stories out
of the drivers.
After that, it’s a curry, a pint and
bed (sofa).
By the way, it’s still raining.
Friday 11 October
Up at 0600hrs and it’s still raining. I
take the safety delegate to shakedown
and stay on the stage until midday –
no problems.
Motorsport UK chairman David
Richards arrives at 1730hrs. It is great
to see him taking an interest and visiting
the event – he’s made very welcome.
Like last week, the nerves start to kick
in as the start approaches, but the first
four stages run without any incident.
Stage five is stopped when a spectator
falls into the water. We rescue him, but
somebody calls 999 and we stop the stage
to let the emergency vehicles in.
Social media a huge success with 59,000
views on our live feeds.
The cars are all into Salen Hotel for
about 0200hrs, but it’s another couple of
hours before the time cards are all back
to us in Rally Control. It’s 0400hrs
before we get cracking on the
start list for tomorrow – which is now
well and truly today! Finally get to
bed at 0640hrs.
Saturday October 12
Alarm for 0915hrs, lots to do before the
restart out of Garmony at 1100hrs.
Immediately clear we’re going to have to
move a lot of camper vans and spectator
cars from the side of the stages if we’re
going to run the roads. Lots of interaction
with the spectators via social media and
Rally Control and everything’s done –
brilliant work by the marshals and fans.
The heart of this event is the eight
daylight stages, all of which have to run
in a five-hour window – that’s 131 cars
running at 30-second intervals. It’s fair
to say Rally Control is buzzing for those
five hours!
The first cars finish the afternoon loop
at 1620hrs, but the last crew’s not through
for at least another hour and by then
we’re starting to think about the restart
from Salen at 2100hrs. Saturday night
starts with ‘the long one,’ a 22-mile run
through Calgary Bay and down the side
of Loch Tuath. The prospect of losing
this stage is not one anybody wants
to consider.
The atmosphere in Rally Control really
starts to build again as night falls and the
nerves are back when two safety cars get
punctures and the stage starts eight
minutes late. Thanks to a huge effort
from everybody, we get that stage done.
The only other Saturday night issue
is the loss of the big screen in service at
Craignure. It must be tired. Or wet. Know
how it feels…
Zero car driver Allan MacKay arrives
at the finish and decides to light up the
Ledaig car park with some donuts in his
superb Ford Anglia WRC (Well Run Car).
Unfortunately, it blows its diff and the
celebrations are cut short. Not for long
though as Paul MacKinnon and Paul
Beaton pull into Tobermory at 0117hrs
on Sunday morning, winners of the 2019
Mull Rally.
The results are prepared for going
provisional at 0405hrs and I’m asleep half
an hour later.
Sunday October 13
This morning’s 0715hrs alarm is a little
bit self-inflicted and involves football.
I’m taking full advantage of the offer of
a lift home from Iain Campbell Sr – he’s
already taken the car across to Lochaline
last night. I feel slightly guilty walking
past a mile-long queue of cars waiting to
get on the small ferry at Fishnish, but
dad’s ready on the other side. I sleep all
the way to Inverness, pick up my son
Lewis and head to Glasgow to watch
Scotland play San Marino. We win 6-0.
Not often we can celebrate putting six
on the opposition. There’s no partying
on Sunday night, just a wee dram and
the chance to reflect.
And then sleep. Lots of sleep. n
28 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110

REPORT
Photos: SRO

Gavrilov claimed
the tin-tops triumph

RUSSIAN POWERHOUSES
Scot Rory Butcher improved and took fourth in race two

RULE THE WORLD

David Addison enjoyed the action at the first FIA Motorsport Games at Vallelunga

T
hink
dominant
motorsport
nations and
you may not
put Russia
at the top
of the list and yet it was
Vladimir Putin’s pals who
triumphed in the first FIA
Motorsport Games.
Comprising GT, Formula 4
and touring cars, along with
drifting, karting slalom and
esports, the Vallelunga event
was a huge success with 51 nations
represented and a big crowd on
hand to watch the action.
Russia’s success came with three
medals, with a gold recorded in
the Touring Car Cup. Run for TCR-
spec cars, all bedecked in national
colours, it was 19-year-old Klim
Gavrilov who represented his
nation with his Audi S3 and made a
demon start having been promoted
to pole position after Germany’s
Luca Engstler blew his Hyundai’s
engine after bagging the top time.
An engine change put him to the
back of the grid.
Once Gavrilov was ahead he was
unstoppable, building a gap over
the opposition, with Slovakia’s
Mato Homola (Hyundai i20) doing
the chasing. Behind, Tom Coronel
(Netherlands Honda Civic) found
himself in a Benelux battle with
Gilles Magnus (Belgium Audi S3)
with contact at Turn 14 pitching
Coronel sideways and damaging
his suspension. Crab-like, he
battled on....and on and on to
finish the race eighth. That
meant coping with the damage
for the best part of 10 laps...
Coronel almost scuppered the
Russian medal in race two, the
points scored across both races
determining the Touring Car
result. As Magnus powered away
to win, Gavrilov settled into second
place, content to rack up points to
take the Gold Medal. However, a
late-race safety car bunched up the
pack and Coronel attacked on the
one-lap restart, whacking Gavrilov
sideways but not barging by. Second
was enough to give Russia the gold
by two points from Belgium.
Behind Coronel came Rory
Butcher, his MG6 going better in the
second race after new-car gremlins
forced retirement in the opener.
A feisty Butcher flew from 10th on
the grid and snatched fourth with
a bold move around the outside of
Homola at the last corner. And
Engstler? He missed race one as the
engine was changed and collected a
stalled Italian Audi on the race two
grid, ripping a wheel from his car.
In contrast, Russia’s other circuit
racing hopes failed to deliver. Its
GT pairing of Denis Bulatov and
Rinat Salikhov (Ferrari 488 GT3)
struggled in the opening race,
a scrappy affair marred by a red
flag when gentle rain fell before
the pit window. Added to that was
a safety car period to collect two
cars in separate incidents, but the
safety car’s deployment pushed
back the opening of the window.
So, unable to pit and with rain
falling on the bronze-graded
drivers, the FIA race director
red-flagged the race and the field
headed into the pits which is
where the confusion really began.
The clock carried on ticking
meaning, as the cars approached
the restart, less than 10 minutes
remained. Some teams, like TF
Sport operating Turkey’s Aston
Martin, reckoned slicks wouldn’t
warm up in time and stayed on
wets; Rinaldi Racing operating
Russia’s Ferrari understood the
red flag was to stipulate a change
to wets. Both were frustrated
when the cars left the pitlane and
the race was extended by nearly
20 minutes... Hardly anyone was
impressed, although Germany’s
Alfred Renauer/Steffen Gorig
triumphed (Porsche 911 GT3 R).
Russia ended up 11th.
Worse was to come in race two in
which torrential rain came a few
laps in and Bulatov flew off the
road at Turn 1, damaging the car
in a race won by Japan’s Hiroshi
Hamaguchi and GT rookie Ukyo
Sasahara (Lamborghini Huracan).
That was another red-flagged event
thanks to the rain, and it affected
the medal-awarding final, too,
although this was more of a race.
Hamaguchi grabbed an early
lead on wet tyres on a drying road.
Many, including Russia, pitted
over the opening laps to change to
slicks and they were the tyres to
have for the mid-part of the opening
stint – until the rain came again just
minutes before the pit window. It
meant Russia’s Salikhov, who had
made good progress, fell back as he
had to complete three slow laps to
get to the opening of the window.
He fared better than Italy’s
Gianluca Roda, whose Ferrari 488
was flying until he discovered rain
where he expected grip and slewed
ItalytooktheF4CuphonoursafteranimpressivedisplayfromRosso
into the wall. A post-pit-window
safety car reduced Sasahara’s
advantage over Artur Janosz
(Poland Lamborghini Huracan)
but Janosz had backmarkers to
battle past on the restart and,
as he did so, Japan pulled away
again. In the pack, Belgium’s Nico
Verdonck (Audi R8 LMS) hit
Germany (Renauer at the wheel),
the Porsche sliding into the gravel.
Cue safety car again and, as the
rain worsened, so the race ran to its
close under controlled conditions.
It was a win for Japan from Poland,
with Verdonck given a penalty
for the contact with Germany
promoting Australia to third
and the bronze medal. Russia
ended up seventh.
Russia should have done well in
the F4 Cup, the new KCMG-run
cars providing excellent racing.
Sadly, though, polesitter Pavel
Bulantsev was given a grid drop for
setting his best lap under yellows
and then he made a duff start
leaving Germany’s Niklas Krutten
to lead from Israel’s Ido Cohen and
Italy’s Andrea Rosso. Eventually
Rosso wriggled ahead to win, only
to be dropped behind Cohen for
a yellow flag infringement.
Sunday’s race was no better for
RESULTS
Medals
1 Russia 1 Gold 2 Bronze
2 Italy 1 Gold 1 Bronze
3 Australia 1 Gold 1
Bronze
Races
GT Cup
Race 1 Germany (Alfred
Bulantsev who spun out of Renauer/Steffen Gorig)
contention, but on a damp and fast- Porsche 911 GT3 R)
drying track came an impressive Race 2 Japan (Hiroshi
display from Rosso. As Cohen led Hamaguchi/Ukyo
from pole, Rosso nursed his tyres Sasahara) Lamborghini
and pushed late-race. After a safety Huracan
car period, Cohen was defenceless Main Race Japan
on his well-worn Pirellis and could
do nothing but plummet like a Touring Car Cup
stone, allowing Italy to win from Race 1 Russia (Klim
Germany’s Krutten and Finland’s Gavrilov) Audi S3
William Alatalo. Race 2 Belgium (Gilles
More medals came for Russia Magnus) Audi S3
in the Drift Cup, in which
Ilya Fedorov took third in a F4 Cup
competition won by the Ukraine’s Qualifying race Israel
Dmitry Ilyuk, and a bronze (Ido Cohen)
medal was taken in the karting Main race Italy
slalom by Olesia Vashchuk and (Andrea Rosso)
Vladislav Bushu.
Negatives? Odd race direction Drift Cup
decisions and miserable weather Ukraine (Dmitry Ilyuk)
at times, but the atmosphere Nissan 200SX
and quality of racing more than
made up for that. With a good Karting
mix of classes and in pure race Netherlands
terms some unusual driver-car- (Nina Pothof and
team combinations, it made for Bastiaan Alexan)
a pretty level playing field. SRO,
the event promoter, is already Digital Cup
talking of adding more classes Australia (Cody
next year and, with a bit of Latkovski)
tweaking, there is no reason to
suggest that it won’t be a success.

Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Ukyo Sasahara claimed victory in the sodden GT race at Vallelunga Top team from Russia celebrate after being crowned winners of the first Motorsport Games
Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110 motorsport-news.co.uk NOVEMBER 6 2019 29

SPORTING SCENE
SILVERSTONE DROPPED FROM
Photos: mkpics.net, Dave Bastock, Colin Casserley, mkpics.net
Organisers try to get
Irish RX back on track

2020 WORLD RXSCHEDULE The Irish Rallycross Championship is

pushing for the final round of the series
to take place at Mondello Park later this

Britain dropped from the revamped roster for next season’s competition month after the penultimate double-
header at the same circuit was cancelled
Silverstone is not on the calendar recently due to a lack of entries.
By Hal Rigde Championship, has been absent from Having debuted in the series this year, The series will be “releasing more
CALENDAR Britain since 2009 when the European Abu Dhabi remains on the calendar for details on incentives shortly” to get
A new rallycross circuit at the series returned after a 10-year hiatus. a second term, but has been moved from competitors to enter the November 24
World RX 2020 Nurburgring will feature in The World RX event moved from Kent its 2019 season-opening slot to be run finale. The event will also include finals
LOCATION DATE the 2020 World Rallycross circuit Lydden Hill in 2018 to Silverstone. next year just two weeks ahead of the from round one of the championship that
1 Barcelona, Spain April 18-19 Championship but the British The Northamptonshire circuit is also final round in South Africa. Barcelona’s was stopped half-way through the event
2 Montalegre, Portugal May 2-3 round at Silverstone has been absent from the provisional 2020 Formula 1 circuit will hold round one, and the finals postponed due to snowfall.
3 Spa, Belgium May 16-17 dropped from the schedule. British RX calendar. while the series will also return to Rallycross in Ireland could also
4 Hell, Norway June 13-14 The 11-round calendar was announced The Nurburgring previously held Portugal for round two after a year be given a boost next year with the
5 Holjes, Sweden July 4-5 last week and doesn’t include the British Internations Cup rallycross events in away from the Montalegre venue. return of the Motorsport UK British
6 TBC July 18-19 round at Silverstone or the Canadian the early 1990s, and will be the third Spa-Francorchamps will hold round Rallycross Championship.
7 Nurburgring, Germany Aug 1-2 round at Trois-Rivieres. German venue to host World RX when three for the second year in a row, Lydden Hill will run British RX for at
8 Loheac, France Sept 5-6 There are currently two TBC rounds it runs next year, following rounds held on May 16-17. least the next three years after winning
9 TBC Sept 19-20 on the calendar, but neither are expected at the traditional Estering circuit and The TBC events are expected to the Motorsport UK tender process, and
10 Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi Oct 30-31 to be held in the UK. Next year could Hockenheim. Nurburgring’s rallycross be announced following the next has included a double-header at Mondello
11 Cape Town, South Africa Nov 14-15 therefore mark the first time FIA layout will be constructed in the FIA World Motor Sport Council Park in its provisional calendar, set to be
rallycross, either European or World Mullenbachsleife area of the circuit. meeting in December. held in July.

BriSCA F1
GREEN SURVIVES THE ROUGH STUFF TO WIN
BriSCA F1: Northampton
By Neil Randon
Organiser: Incarace Where: Northampton International Raceway
When: October 27 Starters: 48.
Nigel Green won an attritional final
at Northampton’s National Points
Championship Shootout round at
the end of October.
On a shale track that cut up badly,
a number of the leading Shootout
contenders suffered right rear punctures
in the final due to tyres rolling off the rim
on the rutted surface, leaving Green to
scoop up his fifth final win of the year
and his first of the Shootout series.
One-time world champion Green was
fortunate to even make it to the main
event of the day, having himself suffered
a right-rear flat tyre in the consolation
event, but managed to scramble over
the line in 12th as the final qualifier.
B-grade driver Richard Woods won
the opening 22-car heat, reigning National
Points champion Frankie Wainman
Jr took the 26-car heat two and
European champion Craig Finnikin
won the consolation.
And by the time the final was stopped
for a second time with six laps to go with
Woods at the head of the field, a hole in
the track that had developed in Turn 3 put
paid to the chances of world champion
and Shootout Points leader Tom Harris,
who was forced to pull off with a right
offside flat tyre. The same fate befell
fellow Shootout contenders Wainman
Jr, Finnikin, Bobby Griffin, Mat Newson
and Danny Wainman.
Green, who was lying in third spot on
the restart, soon picked off the leader
to take the flag, while Lee Fairhurst,
immediately behind Green – and
looking good to pick up valuable points –
also suffered a right-rear puncture
with two to go, dropping him down to
seventh at the flag.
“We probably shouldn’t have been
racing, but it was the same for everyone,”
said Green. “My rear axle snapped in
the heat, and then in the consolation
I was cruising round, but because the
tyres are that soft and the track that
rough, it pulled the tyre off the rim.
I was fortunate to qualify.
“In the final, nobody in front of me got a
puncture and neither did I, so it was quite
nice to win. It’s a bit of a shame really
that we’re now minus a round [after
Mildenhall was cancelled due to the
weather] as I’m still a fair way behind in
the Shootout, but it isn’t done and dusted.”
Newson picked up valuable points in
the Grand National heat, winning from
Fairhurst and Wainman Jr. Green started
the race from the one-lap handicap but
within a lap had to pull off. The reason?
Another right offside rear tyre…
Results
1 Nigel Green; 2 Niels Tesselaar; 3 John Dowson; 4 Mark Woodhull;
5 Richard Woods; 6 Paul Hines; 7 Lee Fairhurst; 8 Karl Hawkins;
9 Sam Makin; 10 Bobby Griffin.
Nigel Green captured the top spot in the closing stages of the final

NATIONAL HOT RODS BriSCA F1

Bad light stops play at
Hednesford Hills
National Hot Rods: Hednesford
By Graham Brown
Organiser: Incarace Where: Hednesford Hills Raceway When:
November 3 Starters: 29.
Power supply issues which had
afflicted the Hednesford Hills
raceway all afternoon finally
came to a head as darkness fell,
knocking out the track lights.
Some portable lighting sets raised the
oval out of total darkness, the Classic Hot
Rods electing to race their final with that
level of illumination, but with much of
the track still in deep shadow the National
Hot Rod drivers voted not to risk it. Prior
to the abandonment of their part of the
meeting, Ivan Grayson and Scott Bourne
had each collected a heat win.
Alastair Lowe turned pole position into
an immediate lead in the opening race but
the fast-starting Grayson was right with
him before they’d even rounded the first
turn and seeking a way through. After a
lap sizing the leader up, Grayson swept
around the outside and away, never to
be seen again by the rest.
Dick Hillard suffered a hairy spin
along the back stretch and somehow
avoided getting rammed or causing a
yellow flag, the driver eventually
reversing the crippled car to a safer spot.
Although the destination of the win
seemed assured very early on, the same
was far from true of the other major
positions. Lowe clung onto second despite
Grayson took
heat one glory
the attentions of Mark Shelper, while
behind these two, a massive places scrum
developed with Mikey Godfrey and
Bourne at the head of what became a
13-car dice as the laps wound down.
Some three-wide racing certainly had
the potential to end in tears but they all
survived intact, with Godfrey and Bourne
still at the head of the battling horde
despite a lot of chopping and changing
behind them.
Rain before heat two rendered the
track very wet. As in the first heat it was
Lowe and Grayson who squared up to
one another from the off but, this time, it
turned into a much more even contest, the
pair trading places on almost every bend
for a few laps. Grayson eventually got the
upper hand again but some other fast
movers had arrived on his tail by then,
headed by Bourne, who went to the front
as they rounded the West bend.
Bourne had Colin Hitch tracking him
and he too relegated Grayson, but the
main interest here centred on the cars a
bit further back, where Dave York and
Lowe were scrapping with Rob McDonald
and Chris Haird, the current and former
world champions seemingly loving the
conditions as they carved their way to the
front. York went spinning in the midst of
the in-fighting, an incident which delayed
McDonald and allowed Haird to go
charging after the leaders. He was up to
second with two laps to go but just ran out
of time to try and prevent Bourne’s victory.
The wavering power supply, which had
been causing problems throughout the
meeting, eventually led to the complete
failure of the track lights, causing the
curtailment of any further NHR activity.
“It was the right decision”, said Ginetta
racer Stuart McLaird. “We all took a vote
and a two-thirds majority said they didn’t
want to chance it. I’m happy with the car
and very happy to take it home in one piece.”
Results
Heat one: 1 Ivan Grayson (Vauxhall Tigra); 2 Alastair Lowe (Vauxhall
Tigra); 3 Mark Shelper (Peugeot 206CC); 4 Mikey Godfrey (Vauxhall
Tigra); 5 Scott Bourne (Vauxhall Tigra); 6 Gavin Murray (Vauxhall Tigra);
7 Perry Cooke (Vauxhall Tigra); 8 Jack Blood (Vauxhall Tigra). Heat
two: 1 Bourne; 2 Chris Haird (Vauxhall Tigra); 3 Rob McDonald
(Vauxhall Tigra); 4 Grayson; 5 Jason Kew (Ginetta G40R); 6 Murray;
7 Colin Hitch (Peugeot 206); 8 Andy Lane (Ginetta G40R). Final:
Cancelled. Points (after 7/14 rounds): 1 Aaron Dew 209; 2 Kew 198;
3 Haird 192; 4 Carl Waller-Barrett 189; 5 Blood 188; 6 Shane Bland 176.
Hines puts himself in the record books with Stoke win
BriSCA F1: Stoke
By Colin Casserley
Organiser: Startrax Where: Stoke Raceway When: November 2
Starters: 43.
Paul Hines etched his name in the history
books by winning the last ever final at
Stoke Speedway. It was announced only
a few weeks ago that the track, which
has been running since 1973, was recently
sold for redevelopment and will be
demolished following Saturday
night’s meeting.
The track has held 95 BriSCA F1
meetings and Dick Sworder, grandfather
of current F1 driver Charlie Sworder,
won the first meting at the Staffordshire
track. Frankie Wainman Jr won the
most finals at Stoke with 16 triumphs.
Darren Clarke took the lead from the
drop of the green flag but the Stoke track
lived up to its reputation for providing
action early in the race when a multi-car
pile-up caused a track blockage, resulting
in a yellow flag.
On the ensuing restart, James Morris
barged his way into the lead. Further
Hines won the last Stoke meeting
back, Hines was forcing his way to the
front and a tremendous scrap developed
between Morris and Hines. In the closing
stages, Hines managed to open up a slight
advantage which he held until the end.
Tom Harris fought back from a visit to
the fence midway through the race to
claim second on the last lap.
“I wanted that one. I won the last ever
race at Coventry and I wanted to win the
last ever final here,” said Hines. “My
car was fast, I knew I had a good car and
I moved any car that was in front of me.
It’s bitter-sweet though: I am pleased to
have won, it’s just as shame it is the last
ever meeting here.”
Harris’ second place moved him
further ahead in the Shootout points
after Wainman Jr and Lee Fairhurst
both failed to finish the final.
Nigel Green won the Grand National.
It moved him into fourth place in the
Shootout and, with double points available
at the last round this Sunday at Belle Vue
in Manchester, he is still within distance
of Harris. “It’s good to get some more
points in the bag with that win, and nice to
get the last ever win at Stoke,” said Green.
Sunday’s meeting at Belle Vue could
be the last one there too as the site has
been under threat of redevelopment
throughout 2019 and the chances of
racing there in 2020 are slim.
Result
1 Paul Hines; 2 Tom Harris; 3 James Morris; 4 Charlie Sworder;
5 Bobby Griffin; 6 Danny Wainman; 7 Mark Woodhull; 8 John
Dowson Jr; 9 Tristan Jackson; 10 Nigel Green.
30 NOVEMBER 6 2019 motorsport-news.co.uk Advertising enquiries: 0203 405 8110

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MN SAYS...
Setting a new benchmark in Formula
Brit Hamilton seems set to smash all the previous grands prix records that exis
It certainly wasn’t one of Lewis Hamilton’s most complete weekends in terms of his on-track performance at the Circuit of the Americas.
only started from the third row and a strategy gamble was unrewarded in the race when he was unable to resist team-mate Valtteri Botta
was only a slight speedbump on his way to world championship glory.
Hamilton has edged closer to Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven world titles, and that was a level that seemed to put the record books out of
reach when the German landed his last title in 2004. Of course, Schumacher had the best equipment for the majority of his career at Ferrari, and that has be
mirrored by Hamilton and his alliance with Mercedes. That does not diminish the achievements of either driver, because it is the ability of the men themselve
gather a brains trust around them to consistently perform at the highest level that also counts. Hamilton shows no signs of slowing down, and nor does
Mercedes. The record books seem destined to be rewritten.
Matt James, Editor (Twitter: @MattJMNews)

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ART EDITOR MIKE STOKOE’S
FAVOURITE OF
THE WEEK!

Mike Griffin’s photograph of a limping Marcos at the Historic Sports Car Club’s final meeting of the season at Silverstone SydWall captured this iconic image on a trip to the Bathurst 1000

Locost pushing the limits at Snetterton,photo from Sam Nudd James Lomax’s picture of stage action fromWales Rally GB BirminghamWheels by sunset,photo sent in by Peter Atkins

Spectacular drifting at Anglesey,picture sent in by Brian Gower Chris Collier’s photograph of a flying Mini Challenge racer Classic Formula 3 action at Silverstone,sent in by David Harbey

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Lewis Hamilton passed SebastianVettel in the closing laps to win the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix
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THIS CLASSIFIED SECTION WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Christian Plucknett Nick Gavigan Joshua Kerley Ben Webster
Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Advertising Sales Senior Production Controller
T: +44 (0) 20 3405 8110 T: +44 (0) 20 3405 8148 T: +44 (0) 20 3405 8106 T: +44 (0) 20 3405 8131
E: christian.plucknett@motorsport.com E: nick.gavigan@motorsport.com E: joshua.kerley@motorsport.com E: ben.webster@motorsport.com

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