Racing and Competition

British luxury brand Aston Martin is set to return to contest the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24-hours (N24) for the 12th year. The close to production specification Aston Martin Vantage GT8 that performed so well in last year’s N24, will again be tested to the absolute limit later this month when it competes on the infamous Nordschleife circuit, seeking the SP8 class win it almost claimed in 2016. 

Aston Martin Racing was enjoying the taste of Spa-rkling wine, after taking victory at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps; the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. After clinching pole position in the qualifying session, the trio of Paul Dalla Lana (C), Pedro Lamy (P) and Mathias Lauda (A) drove a faultless race to convert their advantage into the race win. The result ensures a maximum haul of 26 points – including an additional point for pole position – and the lead in both GTE Am championships.

Sir John Henry Douglas Whitmore, 2nd Baronet has passed away.  He was born October 16, 1937, and died April 28, 2017.  Whitmore was one of Britain’s leading drivers of the 1960s, best known for winning the 1961 British Saloon Car Championship and the European Touring Car crown four years later. He started racing in the late 1950s and came to prominence in GT racing with a Lotus Elite, acquired with the help of his friend Lotus F1 driver Alan Stacey.

The gloves are off this weekend, as Aston Martin Racing prepares itself for its latest Spa-rring match; the 6 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps. With the FIA World Endurance Championship field set to take on the circuit’s world-famous corners, including Pouhon, Blanchimont and the iconic Eau Rouge, Team Principal Paul Howarth is confident of a strong performance to add to the team’s vital championship points scored at Silverstone last time out.

The McLaren 570S GT4 has scored its first win of the season in the opening round of the 2017 British GT Championship at Oulton Park, UK. Customer team track-club, with drivers Adam Balon and Adam MacKay, took overall GT4 victory during the first of two races over the Bank Holiday weekend, as all six examples of the latest GT racing model from McLaren showed pace and reliability. From the outset of the weekend’s racing activities, the pace of the 570S GT4 looked strong. Building on the year of experience at the wheel of the track-honed McLaren Sports Series model, GT Driver Academy pairing of Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell in the #100 Black Bull Garage 59 car secured pole position for the first race and would line up in P2 for the start of the second.

Tony Adamowicz was born in New York on May 2, 1941. Although he won enduring fame for winning championships in Trans Am and Formula 5000, he also competed at Le Mans and Daytona. What brings him to the British Sports Car Hall of Fame, however, is his start as one of the first racers employed by Group 44. During his career racing, in what many deem to be the golden age of sports car racing, Tony drove with the likes of John Morton, Sam Posey, Chuck Parsons, and of course, Group 44 head and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Tullius. His illustrious professional career spanned more than two decades, from 1966 through 1989.

McLaren Factory Driver Alvaro Parente continued his strong start to the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge season on the streets of Long Beach California, breaking the lap record to score pole position, before claiming a lights-to-flag victory. Close behind the reigning champion, K-PAX Racing’s Bryan Sellers teammate secured the final podium position in the #6 650S GT3. During qualifying, Parente set a time of 1m 18.883s in the #9 K-PAX Racing 650S GT3, to score pole position by exactly a tenth of a second. This lap broke his own lap record which was set during the same session last year. From the front of the grid, the Portuguese driver could control proceedings during the 50-minute sprint race around the tight and twisty 3.1-km street course, creating healthy margins at each of the three restarts. 

Burlen Ltd, the world’s only manufacturer of genuine SU (Skinner’s Union), AMAL and Zenith carburetors, is gearing up to promote the flagship race of the Brands Hatch Mini Festival at the iconic race track in Kent. The Salisbury-based company is promoting the Historic Mini Races at the event, which will be named ‘The SU Carburetters Cup for Pre-66 Minis’ in the eagerly anticipated 2017 edition.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing earned its first championship points in style after a thrilling race where Mitch Evans and Adam Carroll finished in P4 and P8 respectively, in only the fourth FIA Formula E race for the British team. The Jaguar duo scored 16 points and leaped one position in the Team Standings to ninth place. The Jaguar I-TYPEs started alongside each other in P10 and P11 on the grid and quickly got to grips with the warm and dusty circuit in the heart of Mexico City.

The Endurance Rally Association’s ninth Flying Scotsman Rally ended in a nail-biting finish as the winning crew of Paul Crosby and Ali Proctor suffered two breakdowns in their 1939 MG TB Supercharged on the final run for the chequered flag at Gleneagles, Scotland. The event started at Slaley Hall in Hexham, Northumberland, with over 750miles of rally ahead of the 103 crews.

A sad update to the tale we told you last week of our contributor Robert Morey running in the Flying Scotsman Rally with John Scott. We heard from Robert this weekend, and unfortunately, the 1937 MG VA they were driving broke down after “an amazing dice at breakneck speed with a pre-war BMW sports car. He could pull away on the straights a bit but John was on him in the corners!”

Bentley Motorsport has finished in second place in the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series at Misano with the #7 Continental GT3 and drivers Steven Kane (GB) and Vince Abril (MO). Bentley Team M-Sport has once again entered two cars in the full GT Series and has its sights set on all three titles, including the Sprint Series Cup that started in Misano this weekend.

Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart OBE has asked motor sport enthusiasts across the world to back a £300,000 crowdfunding charity campaign for a new Jim Clark Museum which was launched at Race Retro 2017. The campaign was announced alongside the unveiling of Jim Clark’s historic 1965 Lotus 33 R11. Jim Clark inspired a generation with his courage and skill behind the wheel, and his dignified and humble personality when not racing. Widely regarded as one of the greatest motor racing drivers of all time, he became a national hero and international icon of the 1960’s.

New season. Same spirit. Aston Martin Racing is back with a trio of V8 Vantage GTEs, fighting once again for honors in the world’s premier endurance racing series; the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Following a positive performance for Panasonic Jaguar Racing in Buenos Aires, the British team is looking forward to racing at the historic Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. Located in the heart of the capital, the 2.09km, 18-turn circuit is one of only two dedicated racetracks on the FIA Formula E calendar. Racing at 2,250m above sea level, the team will face their toughest physical challenge of their debut season to date. The Formula E track incorporates part of the historic grand prix circuit, with long curved sections between fast chicanes that offer few opportunities for the drivers to draw breath between corners.

McLaren Automotive has announced full details of the 2017 Pure McLaren program – a series of exclusive events that bring together the most passionate McLaren owners and enthusiasts. The 2017 calendar starts on April 5 at Monza, Italy and promises exhilarating track days at some of the most iconic Grand Prix circuits across the world. For this year, the program of courses has increased with the introduction of several packages focusing on high performance driving with the aim of transforming those interested in entering the world of motorsport into amateur racing drivers. 

Always fun to feature a bit of vintage racing, so our video this week is for the Walter Mitty in all of us and features the recent SVRA Drivers School at Roebling Road near Savannah, Georgia. New to this year’s schedule was an SVRA drivers school. 2017 1ST National Drivers’ School in Savannah & Bob Williams Heritage Cup at Roebling Road Raceway – Bloomingdale, Georgia. The weekend school is designed to provide prospective vintage racers an accelerated, cost-effective path to getting a vintage racing license, whilst coming away from the track ready to go wheel-to-wheel racing. The entire weekend pays homage to “old school” vintage racing and events with throwback races and low-pressure club feel. For those of you who may be interested in vintage racing, and I highly recommend at least getting to a race as a spectator some time, you can find […]

With the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship® set to kick off on 26 March, Aston Martin has unveiled its latest additions to the Vantage range; the V8 and V12 Vantage S Red Bull Racing Editions. These true collectibles have been created by the marque’s in-house personalisation service; Q by Aston Martin. Celebrating the two brands’ unique ‘Innovation Partnership’, Aston Martin’s latest global offering takes approval from Red Bull Racing drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, with their signatures adorning both sill and inspection plaques.