Post by Blair on May 12, 2003 20:51:54 GMT
12-05-03
New ground for British Rallycross Championship
Competitors in the MSA British Rallycross Championship will take a leap into the unknown when the fifth round of the ten event championship takes place at Knockhill (Dunfermline, Fife) on May 25.
The British championship last appeared at Knockhill in 1990 and as none of the championship front runners took part in the non-championship test race on the revised track last October, the undulating Scottish venue will be new territory for them all.
After winning rounds three and four Pat Doran (Milstead) is the championship leader entering round five and his Ford RS200 Supercar should be ideally suited to the fast and smooth Knockhill track as long as it¹s a dry day. Should the weather go against Doran, it will play directly into the hands of the two drivers chasing him in the title hunt.
Will Gollop (Canterbury) won the first two rounds of the championship in his Ford Focus WRC and is an acknowledged wet weather expert. After crashing out of last month¹s round four at Lydden, Gollop is aiming to regain ground lost to Doran.
Third placed Dermot Carnegie also excels in the wet, but will be in the hunt for a win no matter what the weather. Carnegie (Dublin) has qualified his Ford Focus WRC on pole position in all four events to date but has yet to translate his qualifying success into an event win.
Ulsterman Lawrence Gibson (Banbridge) has climbed to fourth in the championship points table with his MG Metro 6R4 and will have a little track knowledge to call upon when the event starts as he will run some demonstration laps of the Knockhill circuit during the Superbike event the weekend prior to the BRC counter.
Highest placed of the two-wheel drive Modified cars that are also eligible for the MSA British Championship is Irishman Christopher Evans (Wicklow). Enjoying a great season with his new Nissan Micra, Evans has so far notched up two class wins as well as a fine third overall in round three to climb to fifth place. Evans sits just ahead of Gordon Rogers (Winkleigh) and Dave Bellerby (Northallerton), the three Modified racers ahead of Supercar runners John McCluskey, Mike Manning and Helmut Holfeld.
Irishmen McCluskey (Dublin) and Holfeld (Dun Laoghaire) have both suffered mechanical problems in the opening events of the season while Manning (Carmarthen) has been sensational in his first season with a Supercar.
The championship will gain two new cars at the Knockhill event. In the Supercar class Kevin McCann (Cranleigh) will give his new Subaru Impreza WRC its first outing.
Graduating from the Modified section, McCann is planning a steady run through the last half of the 2003 season while he learns and develops his new car prior to tackling a full championship campaign in 2004.
Mike Dresser (Brampton) is returning to the Modified ranks after almost three years away from driving and is breaking new ground as he will drive the only Lotus Elise to be used in Rallycross. A former class champion with more than 20-years of experience behind him, Dresser recently drove the Knockhill track and rates it highly.
³It¹s a great circuit to drive, it¹s got fast bits and slow sections and the loose surfaces areas are prepared to an excellent standard. I think it must rank as one of the best tracks I¹ve ever driven on and I¹m looking forward to racing there.² he said.
The concurrent British Rallycross Drivers Association Championship does not take the BRC-only Superfinal into account and is structured to allow drivers in all categories an equal chance at the title and all four categories are represented in the championship top six.
Will Gollop and Christopher Evans share the lead of the championship with 390 points each, but are only just ahead of third placed Dermot Carnegie who has 385 points to his credit. Minicross event winners Ralph Budd (Aylesbury) and John Binks (Gosforth) hold fourth and fifth places with best placed Stock Hatch racer Chris Cake (Dover) sixth.
The Stock Hatch class (for unmodified ŒGTi-type¹ cars) is also where the handful of Scottish Rallycross drivers can be found. Stuart Waite (Kinross) is the only driver to have been out regularly this year but will be joined in his home event by long time Rallycrosser Dave Black (St Boswells) and teenager Chris Knox (Paisley).
Also on the event programme is the new for 2003 Junior Rallycross Championship which is following the same ten event calendar as the British and BRDA Championships.
With a hat trick of event wins to his credit, Grant Rees (Llanbydder) leads the championship by 20 points from round one winner Ed Morris (Bredgar). Third place is held by Tommi Walmsley (Wetherby) while Liam Doran (son of British Championship leader Pat) has climbed to fourth with a series of steadily improving performances.
MSA British Rallycross Championship, positions after four of ten rounds:
1 Pat Doran (2.0t Ford RS200) 380; 2 Will Gollop (2.0t Ford Focus WRC) 355; 3 Dermot Carnegie (2.0t Ford Focus WRC) 350; 4 Lawrence Gibson (3.5 MG Metro 6R4) 285; 5 Christopher Evans (2.0 Nissan Micra) 285; 6 Gordon Rogers (2.0 Vauxhall Corsa) 258; 7 Dave Bellerby (2.0 Vauxhall Nova) 244; 8 John McCluskey (2.0t Peugeot 306) 226; 9 Mike Manning (2.0t Ford Escort WRC) 200; 10 Helmut Holfeld (2.0t Ford Escort WRC) 182.
Event details and contacts
Knockhill Racing Circuit is off Junction 4 of the M90, or follow signs from Kincardine Bridge
The event starts with practice at 0930 and racing from 1030
Admission price: £10 for adults, concessions and 12-16-year-olds £5 (accompanied children under 12 free)
Knockhill Racing Circuit 01383 723337
www.knockhill.com
2003 MSA British Rallycross Championship
1 Sunday March 9 Croft (Darlington, County Durham)
2 Saturday March 29 Nutts Corner (Antrim, County Antrim)
3 Sunday March 30 Mondello Park (Naas, County Kildare)
4 Monday April 21 Lydden (Canterbury, Kent)
5 Sunday May 25 Knockhill (Dunfermline, Fife)
6 Sunday June 22 Anglesey (Holyhead, Gwynedd)
7 Saturday/Sunday July 26/27 Blyton (Gainsborough, Lincolnshire)
8 Monday August 25 Lydden (Canterbury, Kent)
9 Saturday/Sunday September 20/21 Blyton (Gainsborough, Lincolnshire)
10 Sunday November 16 Brands Hatch (Dartford, Kent)
Further details about Rallycross, the technical classes, future dates, full championship points charts and reports of previous events are available at www.RallycrossUK.com
And a wee pic:
New ground for British Rallycross Championship
Competitors in the MSA British Rallycross Championship will take a leap into the unknown when the fifth round of the ten event championship takes place at Knockhill (Dunfermline, Fife) on May 25.
The British championship last appeared at Knockhill in 1990 and as none of the championship front runners took part in the non-championship test race on the revised track last October, the undulating Scottish venue will be new territory for them all.
After winning rounds three and four Pat Doran (Milstead) is the championship leader entering round five and his Ford RS200 Supercar should be ideally suited to the fast and smooth Knockhill track as long as it¹s a dry day. Should the weather go against Doran, it will play directly into the hands of the two drivers chasing him in the title hunt.
Will Gollop (Canterbury) won the first two rounds of the championship in his Ford Focus WRC and is an acknowledged wet weather expert. After crashing out of last month¹s round four at Lydden, Gollop is aiming to regain ground lost to Doran.
Third placed Dermot Carnegie also excels in the wet, but will be in the hunt for a win no matter what the weather. Carnegie (Dublin) has qualified his Ford Focus WRC on pole position in all four events to date but has yet to translate his qualifying success into an event win.
Ulsterman Lawrence Gibson (Banbridge) has climbed to fourth in the championship points table with his MG Metro 6R4 and will have a little track knowledge to call upon when the event starts as he will run some demonstration laps of the Knockhill circuit during the Superbike event the weekend prior to the BRC counter.
Highest placed of the two-wheel drive Modified cars that are also eligible for the MSA British Championship is Irishman Christopher Evans (Wicklow). Enjoying a great season with his new Nissan Micra, Evans has so far notched up two class wins as well as a fine third overall in round three to climb to fifth place. Evans sits just ahead of Gordon Rogers (Winkleigh) and Dave Bellerby (Northallerton), the three Modified racers ahead of Supercar runners John McCluskey, Mike Manning and Helmut Holfeld.
Irishmen McCluskey (Dublin) and Holfeld (Dun Laoghaire) have both suffered mechanical problems in the opening events of the season while Manning (Carmarthen) has been sensational in his first season with a Supercar.
The championship will gain two new cars at the Knockhill event. In the Supercar class Kevin McCann (Cranleigh) will give his new Subaru Impreza WRC its first outing.
Graduating from the Modified section, McCann is planning a steady run through the last half of the 2003 season while he learns and develops his new car prior to tackling a full championship campaign in 2004.
Mike Dresser (Brampton) is returning to the Modified ranks after almost three years away from driving and is breaking new ground as he will drive the only Lotus Elise to be used in Rallycross. A former class champion with more than 20-years of experience behind him, Dresser recently drove the Knockhill track and rates it highly.
³It¹s a great circuit to drive, it¹s got fast bits and slow sections and the loose surfaces areas are prepared to an excellent standard. I think it must rank as one of the best tracks I¹ve ever driven on and I¹m looking forward to racing there.² he said.
The concurrent British Rallycross Drivers Association Championship does not take the BRC-only Superfinal into account and is structured to allow drivers in all categories an equal chance at the title and all four categories are represented in the championship top six.
Will Gollop and Christopher Evans share the lead of the championship with 390 points each, but are only just ahead of third placed Dermot Carnegie who has 385 points to his credit. Minicross event winners Ralph Budd (Aylesbury) and John Binks (Gosforth) hold fourth and fifth places with best placed Stock Hatch racer Chris Cake (Dover) sixth.
The Stock Hatch class (for unmodified ŒGTi-type¹ cars) is also where the handful of Scottish Rallycross drivers can be found. Stuart Waite (Kinross) is the only driver to have been out regularly this year but will be joined in his home event by long time Rallycrosser Dave Black (St Boswells) and teenager Chris Knox (Paisley).
Also on the event programme is the new for 2003 Junior Rallycross Championship which is following the same ten event calendar as the British and BRDA Championships.
With a hat trick of event wins to his credit, Grant Rees (Llanbydder) leads the championship by 20 points from round one winner Ed Morris (Bredgar). Third place is held by Tommi Walmsley (Wetherby) while Liam Doran (son of British Championship leader Pat) has climbed to fourth with a series of steadily improving performances.
MSA British Rallycross Championship, positions after four of ten rounds:
1 Pat Doran (2.0t Ford RS200) 380; 2 Will Gollop (2.0t Ford Focus WRC) 355; 3 Dermot Carnegie (2.0t Ford Focus WRC) 350; 4 Lawrence Gibson (3.5 MG Metro 6R4) 285; 5 Christopher Evans (2.0 Nissan Micra) 285; 6 Gordon Rogers (2.0 Vauxhall Corsa) 258; 7 Dave Bellerby (2.0 Vauxhall Nova) 244; 8 John McCluskey (2.0t Peugeot 306) 226; 9 Mike Manning (2.0t Ford Escort WRC) 200; 10 Helmut Holfeld (2.0t Ford Escort WRC) 182.
Event details and contacts
Knockhill Racing Circuit is off Junction 4 of the M90, or follow signs from Kincardine Bridge
The event starts with practice at 0930 and racing from 1030
Admission price: £10 for adults, concessions and 12-16-year-olds £5 (accompanied children under 12 free)
Knockhill Racing Circuit 01383 723337
www.knockhill.com
2003 MSA British Rallycross Championship
1 Sunday March 9 Croft (Darlington, County Durham)
2 Saturday March 29 Nutts Corner (Antrim, County Antrim)
3 Sunday March 30 Mondello Park (Naas, County Kildare)
4 Monday April 21 Lydden (Canterbury, Kent)
5 Sunday May 25 Knockhill (Dunfermline, Fife)
6 Sunday June 22 Anglesey (Holyhead, Gwynedd)
7 Saturday/Sunday July 26/27 Blyton (Gainsborough, Lincolnshire)
8 Monday August 25 Lydden (Canterbury, Kent)
9 Saturday/Sunday September 20/21 Blyton (Gainsborough, Lincolnshire)
10 Sunday November 16 Brands Hatch (Dartford, Kent)
Further details about Rallycross, the technical classes, future dates, full championship points charts and reports of previous events are available at www.RallycrossUK.com
And a wee pic:
worth it!