Racing and Competition

Nick Chester looks ahead to Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season and reviews the team’s performance in Interlagos. What are the challenges of Abu Dhabi? The first sector is generally medium speed with a couple of high speed corners and not too technically challenging; a reasonable level of downforce works fine here. The second sector is more power hungry with two good straights and two low speed corners – a low speed hairpin and a low speed chicane so it’s important to manage these well. The final sector is quite technical with a number of low and medium speed corners where the car needs to be well balanced and work well to achieve a good lap time. Putting all that together is key – you need a car that works well in low speed corners and be good […]

Established in 1999, the Lotus Driving Academy offers a comprehensive range of driver training and experience packages for customers to get a taste of the benchmark handling and pure driving experience of Lotus sports cars. Now available for the first time, prospective customers, Lotus fans and track driving enthusiasts alike can experience what a day with theLotus Driving Academy might feel like in full 360 degree immersion using the latest video technology. At the home of Lotus Cars in Hethel, Norfolk lies a 2.2 mile test track that has been the site for test and development of all Lotus Cars since 1966. Viewers now have the opportunity to experience this world famous circuit at full race-pace in virtual reality – through their computer, tablet or mobile device – and get a taste of what’s on offer before experiencing it for […]

Aston Martin will start the Six Hours of Bahrain from pole in the GTE Am class, while also enjoying a return to competitive form in the GTE Pro category. Despite the distraction of a restarted qualifying session due to technical difficulties at the circuit, the #98 GTE Am pairing of Paul Dalla Lana (CA) and Pedro Lamy (PT) were capable of pulling together two strong lap times, clinching pole position for tomorrow’s race with an average of 1m58.659.

Legendary racing driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Andy Wallace relived his 1988 victory by taking to the Silverstone circuit to drive the Jaguar XJR9-LM during day and night back-to-back with the new 550PS, 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 Jaguar XJR. Wallace discusses his experiences in the XJR9-LM and the new XJR in an exciting new film. Driving at night on the Silverstone circuit gave Wallace the opportunity to test the new LED headlights on the new XJ, which are a first for Jaguar.  “Driving at Le Mans back in 1988, it was so hard to see at night,” said Wallace. “We were travelling at around 240mph and it was too fast to see the road ahead. We used the lights more to catch glimpses of landmarks as they whizzed past, so we knew where we were.

A brace of victories for McLaren GT factory driver Shane Van Gisbergen with teammate Klark Quinn saw the 650S GT3 secure the coveted Highlands 101 title at the Australian GT season finale weekend which took place at Highlands Motorsport Park, New Zealand. With victory in the weekend’s opening race, followed by the win in the three-hour endurance race, Van Gisbergen secured his first wins on home soil with the 650S GT3. The first race of the weekend saw Van Gisbergen and Quinn qualify the Darrell Lea McLaren on the front row, narrowly missing pole position by just 0.044 seconds. A strong start by Quinn saw the Australian take the lead, which he held until a racing incident further down the field close to half-distance brought out the Safety Car. With the race neutralised, teams looked to optimise race strategies with […]

Aston Martin Racing has announced that six of its Evolution Academy drivers will test the Vantage GTE at the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Bahrain, before the panel decides who will be offered a 2016 works team contract. Dan Lloyd (GB), who helped Craft-Bamboo Racing secure the GT Asia Series championship title, will be joined by British GT Championship GT4 class-winners Ross Gunn (GB) and Jamie Chadwick (GB). The 24H Series GT4 class-winner Devon Modell will also take part, alongside British GT Championship GT3 stars Matt Bell (GB) and Jody Fannin (GB).

1961 Jaguar E-Type chassis 860001, the very first right-hand-drive production Fixed Head Coupé restored by Classic Motor Cars Ltd (CMC), has been driven to 146 mph on a German autobahn by British Hill Climb Champion, David Franklin. David was recreating for Octane magazine’s 150th issue one of the most famous road tests ever undertaken, attempting to match the 150 mph a Jaguar E-Type reached on a Belgian motorway in 1961, and he nearly made it! David said: “I saw 146mph and it was still accelerating when I had to back off because of cars and lorries in the distance. When you’re travelling at that speed you have to err on the side of caution. You’re catching other traffic up quite quickly and you have to remember that there’s no ABS, although the brakes felt strong and progressive.It would comfortably have […]

The McLaren 650S GT3 continued winning ways over the weekend with a lights-to-flag victory for McLaren GT customer team Clearwater Racing at the second round of the Asian Le Mans Series in Sepang. Factory driver Rob Bell, alongside teammates Mok Weng Sun and Keita Sawa secured pole position and overall victory in the GT3 category to extend the championship lead. Round 2 of the highly competitive Asian Le Mans Series took place in hot conditions at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, with very different conditions to the wet race of round 1 in Fuji, Japan last month.  Despite the change in weather, Clearwater Racing showed the competitive edge once again in a close battle throughout qualifying with factory driver Bell securing pole position for the start of the three hour endurance race.

Advance discounted tickets are now on sale for the 2016 Donington Historic Festival (Saturday April 30th, Sunday May 1st and Monday May 2nd), perfectly timed for those looking to secure the idea Christmas gift for a historic motorsport or motoring fan. Over five very successful years, the Donington Historic Festival has gone from strength to strength, with world-class historic racing for grids from the 1920s to the 1990s supplemented by hugely popular features such as the exhilarating historic rally car and karting demonstrations and special paddock displays and track demos.  For 2016 the race content is building to be the event’s strongest yet, while the track action will also include some very exciting historic F1 car demos – always guaranteed to quicken the heartbeat of motorsport fans!

The ‘She’s a Beauty’ theme given to this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, held at Birmingham’s NEC from 13-15 November, is set to bring together some thrilling women and their prized classics. The show will team concours classics with motorsport marvels, highlighting the efforts of women across the classic car scene. The Bentley 4.5-litre entered into the Benjafield 24 by the Bentley Belles will take pride of place on the feature display stand, along with Bentley Belle Katarina Kyvalova. The team, which also included Gillian Carr, Georgina Riley and Georgie Brewster, only met for the first time the day before the endurance event, and entered the record books as the only all-female team to campaign a Bentley in a 24hr endurance race, ever. Since then, they have added the same accolade to their list for the Spa Six Hour […]

The 16MY Bentley Continental GT Speed has been taken to its top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h)* by Australian racing legend, John Bowe, on the derestricted Stuart Highway** deep in the Northern territory. The 635 PS (626 bhp), 820 Nm (607 lb.ft) W12-powered GT Speed Grand Tourer reached Vmax in just 76 seconds, covering a distance of 9.4 kilometres in the process. At top speed, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo Grand Tourer was covering a staggering 92 metres (or one football pitch) per second. John Bowe said: “This isn’t a modified racecar; it’s a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line. It took us a little over a minute to go from a standstill to 206 mph. That’s extraordinary. Even when you break through the 200 mph barrier, the GT Speed just keeps accelerating.” The Stuart Highway covers […]

The McLaren 650S GT3 claimed its first championship over the weekend in Barcelona as McLaren GT customer team Teo Martin Motorsports secured the International GT Open Championship title, and also saw the first victory for the McLaren GT Young Driver Programme. A hard-fought double podium finish for factory driver Alvaro Parente and teammate Miguel Ramos secured the championship, while Young Driver Andrew Watson took overall victory in the weekend’s opening sprint race alongside Fernando Monje. A third 650S GT3, entered by customer team Peter Kox Racing also secured fastest lap of the race to reinforce the dominant display. Still only in its debut competitive season, the results in Barcelona underline the success from the outset for the latest model from the Woking-based outfit. The 650S GT3 is based on the road-going 650S Coupe, with a lightweight carbon fibre MonoCell chassis […]

Last Thursday, Bournemouth-based author and former Anglican Priest, Bryan Apps, launched his new book at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Laced with fascinating anecdotes, Raymond Mays’ Magnificent Obsession reveals a pivotal figure in motor sport history and describes the author’s enthusiasm for BRM, detailing his visit to Raymond Mays in Eastgate House, Bourne, in 1963. An intimate congregation of friends and motor racing enthusiasts gathered around the National Motor Museum’s Mk1 BRM for a talk by the author, followed by a presentation of the book to Beaulieu’s Chief Executive, Russell Bowman, and a signing session. Bryan Apps said: “I was given a very warm welcome at Beaulieu by Russell Bowman and Museum Manager, Doug Hill and was delighted to give a signed copy of Raymond Mays` Magnificent Obsession for the Museum Library, which is an essential resource for any student […]

The 2015 season of Caterham’s five official race series reached their conclusion in a gripping finale at Silverstone on 17-18 October, with four championships going down to the wire and six champions being crowned in total. The GQ Caterham Academy, Caterham’s introductory race series designed exclusively for rookie racing divers, saw two full grids compete for the title. The season saw the competitors gaining their race licence at the start of the season and then progress from sprint events to circuit racing. In the Green group, Rui Ferreira had already sealed the title prior to the final weekend with three wins throughout the season. Andy Perry secured the championship in the White group with a second place finish at Silverstone proving enough to secure the title. The next step up the Caterham Motorsport ladder, the Roadsport class, saw 2014 Caterham […]

The Lotus Driving Academy is pleased to announce the addition of the new, critically acclaimed Evora 400 to its fleet. What’s more, the entire fleet is renewed, with five Elise 220 Cup, two Exige S and one Exige S Club Racer model joining the new Evora 400 and now available to drive on the famed Hethel test track at Lotus’ Norfolk HQ. Jean-Marc Gales, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus plc, commented: “We are pleased to offer potential customers and track driving enthusiasts the opportunity to drive the new Lotus Evora 400 and our other high-performance models at our Hethel test track. Lotus prides itself on offering benchmark handling and pure driving experience and the Evora 400, developed at Hethel, is the latest proof of this concept. To drive the Evora 400 at the very track used throughout the model […]

Bentley Motors enjoyed an exciting and successful weekend at the 17th Jochpass Oldtimer Memorial and Historic-Rallye in Bad Hindelang, Germany. Four historic Bentleys competed in the world-renowned classics event between 9 and 11 October, including the Team ‘Blower’, R-Type Continental, Speed 6 and a Bentley 4,5 Litre Le Mans. About 18.000 enthusiastic spectators were in attendance to admire the 280 classic cars on show. The drivers travelled from all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

McLaren established itself throughout the 1960s and 70s as a world-beating force in one of the most extreme forms of motorsport, Can-Am, winning five consecutive championships between 1967 and 1971. In honour of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 inaugural season, McLaren Special Operations (MSO) has created the limited production 650S Can-Am which takes its inspiration from the race cars of this golden age of motorsport.  The 650S Can-Am can be commissioned now priced at £255,850 with deliveries set to commence in the spring of 2016, 50 years on from the first race at Mont Tremblant, Canada.  Just 50 examples will be produced globally, all based on the 650S Spider. The Can-Am series, or Canadian-American Challenge Cup, was a no-holds-barred battle of power and speed around some of the most iconic circuits in North America and Canada.  It attracted the […]

The Bentley Continental GT3 has won its first major race car championship, as customer team Bentley Team HTP took the Blancpain Sprint Series drivers title following a pole position and two race victories at the final round at Zandvoort this weekend. Just two years after the Bentley Continental GT3 was launched, drivers Maxi Buhk (DE) and Vincent Abril (MO) fought off stiff competition from the 2014 championship-winning Audi, to take one of the most sought-after titles in GT3 racing. “This is a fantastic achievement for Bentley Team HTP with the Bentley Continental GT3,” commented Bentley’s Director of Motorsport Brian Gush. “The Blancpain Sprint Series is very competitive and there is no room for error. Maxi and Vincent with Bentley Team HTP have been the perfect team to take our race car to success.”