Racing and Competition

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.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Sunbeam 1000hp breaking the 200mph Land Speed Record, the National Motor Museum will be breathing new life into one of its engines to make it run for the first time in over half a century. Additionally, we are going to make the video of this car and its record breaking history our video of the week. The restoration project will begin in time for the anniversary on March 29th, with an engine start-up planned for later in the year at Beaulieu.

The second-generation McLaren Super Series, which will make its public debut on March 7 at the 87th Geneva International Motor Show, is poised to raise previously accepted limits of supercar performance. Drivers will be able to enjoy acceleration from standstill to 200km/h (124mph) in just 7.8 seconds, accompanied by a soulful, clean and crisp exhaust note that is among the most emotive of any McLaren. “The new 4.0-litre M840T is an outstanding engine powering an exceptional supercar capable of covering a standing quarter mile in 10.3 seconds,” commented McLaren Super Series Vehicle Line Director, Haydn Baker. “Power, torque and throttle response are all significantly enhanced compared to the first-generation Super Series, yet with fuel efficiency and emissions also notably improved.”

The 12-turn, 2.5km Puerto Madero circuit is the only track on the Formula E calendar to have featured in all three seasons, but it provides a new challenge for Panasonic Jaguar Racing, as the team builds on a solid start to its debut season. Racing in the hot Argentinian sun makes the Buenos Aires ePrix a tricky test, requiring a careful balance of race pace and thermal management, which led to some of the championship’s most thrilling and unpredictable races. The British team is looking forward to the challenge of racing on a track that pushes cars to the limits and rewards clear communication between driver and engineer.

The Aston Martin-Red Bull Advanced Technologies concept hypercar; AM-RB 001, will make its first appearance in North America — and global auto show debut — at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto later this month. The unique and groundbreaking AM-RB 001, introduced in July 2016 at the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, England, is an unprecedented fusion of form and function the likes of which has never before been seen in a road-legal vehicle. It will be accompanied to Toronto by Dr. Andy Palmer, the President and CEO of Aston Martin, who will be speaking at the Opening of Manufacturers’ Media Preview Day and the Automotive News Canada Congress on Thursday, February 16, 2017.

Defending Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour Champions Tekno Autosports claimed a hard-earned top five finish, and a podium in the Pro class, in the 2017 edition of the race. McLaren Factory Drivers Rob Bell, Côme Ledogar and Alvaro Parente staged a valiant never-say-die effort in the #1 650S GT3 at Mount Panorama, Australia after early setbacks left the trio at the back of the field.

Bentley Motorsport has finished in third place in the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Bathurst 12 Hours, in a race that was packed with dramatic action from the outset. The #17 Continental GT3 piloted by the all-British trio of Guy Smith, Steven Kane and Oliver Jarvis rose from 22nd on the grid to finish on the podium in Bentley’s first race of 2017. Australia’s largest and highest-profile endurance race began at 05.45 on Sunday morning, and it was the #8 Continental GT3 piloted by Maxime Soulet (BE) that was gaining most attention as it climbed from fifth to third on the opening two laps.