MAZDA MAGIC EXPECTED AT CROFT

The MX-5 SuperCup will see the title fight intensify further - Photo: Jon Elsey

It may only be our one and only visit to North Yorkshire this season, but that doesn’t take away from the mouth-watering prospect this weekend is sure to bring. The Croft circuit in Darlington will play host to a sensational display of motorsport as an array of our championships roll into town.


Another strong Mazda contingent tops the bill once again, with both the MX-5 Championship (Mk1s) and MX-5 SuperCup (Mk3s) in action. Simon Baldwin will be looking to fend off the attentions of championship rivals Darron Lewis, Sam Smith and Ben Tuck in Mk1s, with Lewis and Tuck claiming wins last time out at Oulton Park. One man also looking to bounce back from a trying weekend is Brian Chandler, who lost valuable points his rivals and slipped 3 places in the standings as a result. He will be one to watch as he strives for redemption this weekend.


In the SuperCup, local hero Alan Henderson will continue his charge towards the title after another pair of victories at Oulton. The County Durham man may not have everything his own way, however, as this weekend also marks a one-off appearance from the reigning SuperCup champion Abbie Eaton. Expect to find her #44 machine hovering around the front of the field and becoming the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons for the championship contenders. Speaking of which, Jonathan ‘JJ’ Clements, Liam Murphy and Simon Goddard will hope to build on solid weekends in the top 6 at Oulton, as the race for 2^nd in the standings has tightened up to separate the trio by just 5 points.

Alongside the Mazda’s, there’s plenty more track action to entertain the spectators. The Toyo Tires Porsche Championship will feature former double champion Rick Styrin hoping to continue his successful return, unless points leader Ed Hayes has anything to say about it. The pair of them took a win apiece at Brands Hatch and Rick has been complimentary about the quality of the grid on his comeback, making success that little bit harder. Adam Southgate, Garry Lawrence and Richard Avery will also be in the mix in the Boxster class, while the 924 class see Adam Hayes strive to defend his lead against Karl Rossin, with second placed Alistair Kirkham a no-show this weekend. Niz El-Chamaa will also want to capitalize on securing his first class win in 924s at Brands too.

Also on the programme will be the Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship which sees a few drivers make the journey north which didn’t feature at Brands. In the Modified class, Graham Seager is the only one present from Brands as he is locked in the overall title fight. This time, however, he’ll have a larger contingent to deal with as Andy Robinson, Bryan Shrubb and Roger McMahon. Keith Waite and Ron Davidson make up the Power Trophy class, while the Twin Spark Cup will see the biggest class entry. James Bishop maintains his hold on the competition, nonetheless also occupied by his overall championship scrap with Seager, the pair just 2 points apart at the top. Veteran Dave Messenger and Tom Hill, first time winner at Brands, will look to be his main competition with Paul Plant and Andy Hancock also expected to be in the mix.

Giving support to our championships will be our good friends from the Darlington and District Motor Club. Their vastly popular Northern Sports and Saloons. A stacked grid is expected across 9 classes with machines of all shapes and sizes set to take part. The variety of the field features anything from Caterhams, BMW M3s, ex-V8 Supercars and Lotus Elises to Ford Fiestas, Peugeot 205s and even a pair of modified Suzuki SC100s! There are also a selection of drivers from Darlington competing, which should definitely give the local fans some cause to cheer them on.

Last, but certainly not least, we also have the Irish Global Lights on the bill with us once again. This championship features small sports prototypes, producing large amounts of downforce and power from a potent yet lightweight 600cc Yamaha bike engine.

Weather wise, it doesn't look too amazing, we're afraid to say. Forecasts from the Met Office tell us that heavy rain is expected on Saturday, which could mean some potentially mixed up grids come qualifying. Sunday promises to be an improvement, but still overcast with the chance of light showers. Temperatures aren't predicted to exceed 16 degrees, so you might want to bring an extra layer with you just in case. You can find the more detailed forecast atCROFT WEATHER.


Also, the provisional timetable, entry list and final instructions can all be found at CROFT RACEDAY.

Scott Woodwiss

WRC Ogier : « Ma saison la plus aboutie »/ “My most polished season yet”

Après le Rallye de France-Alsace 2013, le Rally RACC-Catalunya 2014, Sébastien Ogier et Julien Ingrassia ont remporté leur troisième titre mondial consécutif au Rallye d’Australie, à trois manches de la fin de saison. Du jamais vu...

Avant de quitter l’Australie pour le Salon de Francfort où Volkswagen va également fêter son 3^etitre, Sébastien Ogier nous a livré ses premières impressions sur cette victoire et ce nouveau titre mondial.

« On remporte trois titres de suite avec la manière, en gagnant à chaque fois le rallye », a commenté le triple champion. « Ce week-end, ça a été un rallye fantastique qui a conclu une saison fantastique. Etre titré si tôt, je crois que ce n’était jamais arrivé en WRC. »

« Sur le papier, on n’avait aucune chance de gagner ici en Australie. Le balayage était vraiment important, peut-être le plus important de la saison. On a roulé fort pour rester au contact les deux premiers jours et puis dimanche, on est allé chercher cette victoire. Les écarts étaient si infimes avec Kris et Jari-Matti que dans la bataille, je n’ai pas pensé au titre. Certains succès touchent plus le moral de nos adversaires que d’autres, je pense que celui-ci en fait partie. »

« Il ne faut pas croire que j’ai remporté des victoires faciles cette année. Ma position sur la route était pénalisante et j’ai eu des adversaires valeureux et déterminés, comme Seb au Monte-Carlo ou encore Jari-Matti sur de nombreuses épreuves. Bien sûr qu’il m’arrive de douter, mais je ne le montre jamais à mes concurrents. Je me remets souvent en question. »

« Je pense que c’est ma saison de WRC la plus aboutie avec sept victoires en dix courses. Il n’y a eu qu’un accroc mécanique en Argentine, mais on ne peut pas en vouloir à l’équipe qui nous donne des voitures parfaites. D’ailleurs, j’en ai une qui m’appartient désormais. »

« Ce sera compliqué de faire mieux l’année prochaine. Où je m’arrêterai ? Pour l’instant, je n’ai pas prévu d’arrêter. On verra bien. On va déjà fêter ce titre et cette 31^e victoire avant d’aborder les trois derniers rallyes de la saison plus détendus. »

In 2013, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia clinched their first world title at the end of Rallye de France-Alsace. In 2014, the championship was wrapped up after the Rally RACC-Catalunya. This season, they secured their third crown after Rally Australia, with three rounds still to come. Exceptional! 

Before flying back from Australia to the Frankfurt Motor Show where Volkswagen plans to celebrate its third Manufacturers’ title, Ogier talked us through Sunday’s win and his third world title.

“Each time we’ve made sure of the championship we’ve won the decisive rally, too,” says the 2015 champion. “Rally Australia was fantastic and it rounded off a fantastic season. I don’t think anyone has wrapped up the title so soon in the WRC.

“On paper, we didn’t stand much chance of winning in Australia. It’s a rally where road sweeping plays a big role, perhaps the biggest of the season. Because of that, we pushed extremely hard on the first two days to keep up with the leaders. We wanted the win and the gaps with Kris and Jari-Matti were very small. We didn’t think about the title. Some successes affect the morale of your rivals more than others and I think Sunday’s was a good example.

“It would be wrong to think winning has been easy this year. My start order has been a handicap and my opponents have been strong and determined, like Seb Loeb on the Monte Carlo, and Jari-Matti on numerous events. Sometimes I doubt myself, but I never let it show.

“I think this has been my most polished season yet, with seven wins so far from 10 rounds. We had a mechanical issue in Argentina but there’s no way I would hold a grudge against the team for that. Everywhere else they have provided us with a perfect car. I actually own one of them now…

“It won’t be easy to do better next season. When will I retire? I haven’t given it a thought. We’ll see. Now’s the time to savour our 31st win and then start thinking about the last three rounds of the year, but in a more relaxed frame of mind.”

virée en ural

Un look de DBR9 GT1 pour l’Aston Martin Vantage GTE 2016

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Aston Martin Racing fait évoluer sa gamme de Vantage en vue de la saison à venir. Les modèles GTE, GT3 et GT4 reçoivent quelques évolutions à un moment où une partie de la concurrence sort de nouvelles autos. Les V12 Vantage GT3 et Vantage GT4 ont été améliorées au niveau de la performance et de la fiabilité.

Quant à la Vantage GTE qui est actuellement à Ladoux pour l’établissement de la Balance de Performance 2016, elle a reçu quelques modifications pour faire suite à la nouvelle réglementation GTE qui autorise des changements importants au niveau de l’aérodynamique. Le plus visible est le diffuseur arrière qui peut désormais dépasser de 100 mm au-delà de l’arrière de la voiture. L’aileron peut lui aussi être étendu à la même distance. A l’avant, le splitter a été repensé pour améliorer le flux d’air sous la voiture afin d’optimiser le nouveau diffuseur. On se rapproche du look d’une DBR9 GT1 de feu le World GT1.

Pour ce qui est de la V12 Vantage GT3, les modifications sont nombreuses : transmission, amortisseurs, radiateurs d’huile, différentiel, siège, optimisation du moteur, etc… La Vantage GT4 reçoit pour sa part la dernière boîte de vitesses semi-automatique à 7 rapports, un capot offrant un meilleur refroidissement.