Driver Database News

Midland Car and Kart racer Jade Paveley, has ended the 2012 race season on a high note with a second place overall at Snetterton race circuit.

Racing as part of the official Mazda Motors UK entry in a 2.0 Sport MX5 Jade was picked as one of six drivers to race for Mazda Motors UK and compete in the inaugural Snetterton 12 hour endurance relay race.

Jade practiced at the Norfolk circuit on Thursday in a Mazda MX5 road car before taking to the wheel of the race car for Friday evening’s qualifying session. Teamed up with the experienced ex BTCC driver Mark Ticehurst and the seasoned Mark Hales the team qualified 2nd on the grid for the Saturday race.

The team raced hard for 12 hours and the Mazda MX5 proved the ideal package with its reliability and superb handling providing the ideal platform for Jade to post her fastest lap to date on the Snetterton 300 circuit and improve on her qualifying time of the previous evening.

“Qualifying in the dark and mist on Friday was very dramatic, but very exciting, although I was driving well within my limits as I knew Mark had already posted a superb time for the team before the track had cooled down” said Jade. “On Race day everything just clicked and my lap times just kept on coming down, although the team kept me at a steady rhythm over the radio during my 1 hour 15 minute race slot, I was really desperate to go faster and do more. These type of races are real team efforts and it would have been really selfish to push for faster laps and risk the race car, and the overall result. I am really proud to have raced for Mazda again this season and I hope its not too long before I get to race an MX5 again as it really is a fantastic car.”

Jade has now completed her busiest season to date racing in KZ2 karts and Mazda MX5 race cars as well as completing her A levels and filming with DAVETV Driving Wars.

“I really have been a lucky girl this year, but I am already hungry for next year. I will now have a short break before starting winter testing in Ireland and then we have some hard decisions to make on what happens next year” commented Jade.

Last weekend, former British Formula Renault champion and Star Mazda champion Adam Christodoulou was given the first opportunity to put the new McLaren GT3 MP4-12C through it’s paces at Magny Cours, the world famous French track. Joining Christodoulou was Pierre Kaffer, and his familiar team mate, Klass Hummel.

Testing kicked off at the former Formula One circuit on Thursday with testing in dry conditions. This was Christodoulou’s track debut here, and he reported that the balance of the car seemed to have improved positively since the 24 hours event at Spa a number of weeks ago.

Despite a dry Thursday, Friday was the opposite, and with constant rain it provided the perfect opportunity for tuning the car’s wet setup too.

Saturday’s three hour race followed pre-qualifying and the main qualifying session. Each driver had 15 minutes to get a qualifying lap time, and Christodoulou was out first. On the second lap he had managed to snatch the second fastest time on track, then on the third lap pushed himself to the top of the leader board. With traffic building up ahead, the team decided to conserve tyres and fuel and so eased off the throttle, but with the car performing magnificently, everything was set to make for an excellent day out on track.

Hummel took the wheel for second qualifying, but the session ended early, delivering a frustrating blow to the team as neither he or Kaffer had by this time managed to file a qualifying lap. Regulations stipulate that all three drivers must qualify, and after the corresponding penalty was applied, the car was relegated, and the team had to start from the back row of the grid in a poor 34th position.

At 6.15pm the race began, and Hummel began proceedings with a unbelievable start, ascending the ranks quickly from 34th into 23rd in just the first three laps. A safety car period soon handed the team an additional blessing, and at the 45 minute mark he had climbed to 18th position. But the team’s luck wasn’t to last, and even before Kaffer and Christodoulou got their chance, the car had to retire from the race within the first hour.

It was a terrible disappointment for the whole team. Christodoulou commented after the race, “Everyone is gutted. Looking at our pace, a top five or even a podium finish looked to be a real possibility. The car had so much grip and the speed was fantastic, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

Christodoulou returns to the UK for his next race in the McLaren at Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix, on October 8th and 9th. However this coming weekend he will also be fitting in one additional race and heading to Austria to the Red Bull Ring to compete in his debut appearance in the Ferrari Challenge.

Total Control Racing is deeply saddened to report the sudden and untimely passing of much loved team director Graham Pearce.

Following a short battle with cancer, Graham sadly passed away on Sunday, 8th May. He leaves behind loving wife Theresa and devoted children Ainee and Gordon.

Graham was a very well known and highly respected member of TCR for the past 13 years and a pivotal character in the team’s outstanding success.

Mainly becoming a force in the AirAsia Renault Clio Cup UK, the team has also enjoyed huge success in a variety of other one-make saloon car categories such as the SEAT Cupra Championship and Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup.

“We’re all shocked and deeply saddened by Graham’s passing, he was a true gentleman and a hugely important part of TCR”, said team principal Lee Brookes on behalf of the Wednesbury squad, “He was very well known throughout the paddock, always offering a smile and a great sense of humour.

“It’s easy to say at a time like this how wonderful someone was but the fact is Graham was an incredible person and a fantastic friend to everyone at TCR. He was a thoroughly charming man.

“All our thoughts and prayers are with Graham’s family at this heart-breaking and deeply distressing time. Our heartfelt condolences go out to them all – Graham will be very sadly missed by everyone associated with TCR.”

The champions of the 2010/11 IRC Series have been decided after a thrilling final round at the Taupo Motorsport Park over the Easter weekend.

After six hard-fought rounds of motor racing across ten classes and spanning the length of the North Island, the majority of the victors were still undecided until the very last lap of the final race around the technical and challenging 3.3km Taupo circuit.

Michael Shepherd went out on a high in the Formula First category, scoring a blistering poleposition lap – over 1.3 seconds clear of his nearest rival – and winning all three races by convincing margins from the chasing pack of squabbling youngguns including Ryan Hellier, Kyle George, David Ruthven and Matt Higham.

In doing so, Shepherd retires as a five-time New Zealand Formula First champion – the most successful driver in the history of the class.

Nick Chester upset the GT1 field in claiming pole position in his Holden V8 Supercar andwinning the opening race by ten seconds, but all eyes were on Craig Corliss and Andy Greenslade, who were never far from one-another all weekend long.

Corliss’ consistent run was enough for him to take the title from Greenslade’s Jaguar TranZam, with Clark Proctor scoring three solid finishes in GT2 to round out his championship challenge in the Metalman Escort.

Phil Kerr consolodated his handy points lead heading into Taupo to win the Pro 7 Series One title, while the battling Pro 7 Plus trio of James Parker, Dean McMillan and Myles Fothergill picked up in Taupo where they left off at Hampton Downs.

But, in dominant fashion it was McMillan who dominated the results sheets from start to finish, taking a clean sweep of qualifying and all three races.

Darren Swinburne wrapped up the HQ Holden title in the NZ6 Series despite the best efforts of his closest rivals, which in this case was two feamle drivers; Darryl Harris and Janine Douglas showing the boys how it’s done all season long.

Just up the road in the Super 6 class Shane Wenzlick didn’t have it all his own way as he looked to claim another championship victory from young gun Shannon Coker. It was too little too late for Coker, however, and Wenzlick’s first, third and fourth placings were enough for him to win the Super 6 championship title.

The season-long battle between Ian Hayr and Conal Dempsey in the Bridgestone Porsche Series saw Hayr take the championship title, but it wasn’t without a fight as he came away from the weekend winless for the first time all season. Brent Greer took the Bridgestone Championship Cup.

In the Super Mini Challenge, Mini 7 class young gun Elliot Heron experienced a difficultweekend but dug deep to come away with his first championship victory; his father Warren winning the round and claiming third overall.

The van Swets – Rick and Mark – were victorious Super and Miglia, while Robin Greenland’s healthy points gap in the Open Class left him with little pressure as he cruised to victory.

In an unexpected upset in the SS2000s, Justin Herbert’s two race wins, followed up with a second placing, was a hard act to follow for his rivals as he leapfrogged both David Geraghty and Phil Brown to take both the overall title, and the Honda Challenge, in his Honda Integra.

Caine Lobb showed his class in the Formula Suzuki/Sports Car classes, clean-sweeping the weekend without challenge from the chasing pack. In driving away from the field – one victory by 24 seconds, and another by 16 – Lobb claimed the Formula Suzuki Championship, with David Glasson similarly being crowned champion in the Sports Cars.

Brett Harris enjoyed a successful campaign in NZGT to take the series win from Kevin Hyde, despite Hyde’s impressive seven race wins to Harris’ one, proving that consistency pays dividends over the course of a race season.

The Pre 65 championship – with four classes making up the field – offered four tantalising prospects going into Taupo, and despite a sprited challenge from Peter Stevenson it was Bill McKinnon who took the Class A title.

Shane Hobman took a well deserved Class B title, a frontrunning performance from Gary Rush securing him Class D and Mark Bowskill benefiting from the absence of Dave Robinson to sneak in for the Class C victory.

The Easter weekend IRC Series racing at the Taupo Motorsport Park marked the final round of another successful season for all involved in the diverse class structure that makes up the series.

Preparations are already being made behind the scenes to go bigger and better again in 2011/12, where this year’s champions will return to take on full grids of hungry up-and-comers and established pedallers from across New Zealand.

“Jaco’s Paddock Motorsport“ went into the season finale at the Nuerburgring with reinforcements of an illustrious variety: Klaus “Frikadelli” Abbelen bolstered the team from Barweiler, his “adopted hometown.”

Klaus Abbelen’s assignment at the Rundstrecken Challenge Nuerburgring offered him an entirely new perspective: For the first time, “Frikadelli” wasn’t sitting in his familiar Porsche but in the “Jaco’s Paddock” BMW at the start of a Nuerburgring race. In the final race, over a combination of the GP Strecke and the Nordschleife, he shared the cockpit of the BMW E36 325i with Thomas Ehlke.

Abbelen carefully felt his way toward the limits of the BMW on still wet track conditions and was able to win over the pit crew with good times after a few laps. Despite 300 fewer horsepower than in his regular vehicle, Abbelen had a lot of fun during his “guest assignment.”

“This was an entirely new experience for me today – after my stint, I was able to understand participants in less powerful vehicles much better. The assignment was a lot of fun, even if you have to drive a 200-horsepower race car completely differently than our Porsche!”

After six “Frikadelli” laps, Thomas Ehlke took over the BMW with start number 567. But luck wasn’t with the two drivers on this Sunday. Shortly before the end of the last lap, a technical defect forced Ehlke to give up.

The race was totally different for its “sister vehicle” with start number 146. Once again, a strong team performance by Michael Clemens and Jaco Velders was rewarded with very good results. Besides a steady climb in the sprint laps, Clemens’ set time of 13:58 was precisely confirmed by Velders, the team chief and driver all in one. Their victory in the V4 production car class at the season’s end was the perfect conclusion to the 2009 motorsports season, as Michael Clemens summed up after the race:

“With today’s points, we have not only reached second place in our class for the 2009 season, but we have just barely driven past a V4 win. Racing with Jaco has been a lot of fun, and it’s really a shame that the season is at an end.”

Next, yet another racing highlight is ahead for “Jaco’s Paddock Motorsport.” From Nov. 26 to Dec. 6, the team from Barweiler will demonstrate its driving skills at the Essen Motor Show. More news on this soon at www.jacos-paddock.com

GP2 Asia Series debutant Will Bratt produced a solid drive during the FIA Formula One World Championship-supporting opening round of the season in Abu Dhabi this morning, Saturday, 31st October, to secure a creditable top 12 finish.

Having encountered problems in qualifying, which meant the 21-year-old from Banbury would start from an uncharacteristic 23rd on the grid for his maiden GP2 race, he dealt with the demands of the stunning Yas Marina Circuit well – along with two Safety Car periods – to finish just six seconds shy of experienced Party Poker Racing.com Scuderia Coloni team-mate Roldan Rodriguez.

Not only did today’s 33-lap Feature Race mark Will’s first in GP2, it also included his maiden taste of pit-stop action with the opening encounter on any given GP2 weekend including a mandatory tyre change for each driver.

Lapping more competitively than he was able to in qualifying, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star posted a fastest race lap of 1m55.861 seconds which was just eight 10ths of a second outside the pace of top six finisher Christian Vietoris.

“Finishing 12th today is a pretty good result, especially considering where we started”, said Will, “I was happier with our pace today but there is still a lot to find so I’ll be working hard with the team to see where I can improve and get closer to the guys ahead.

“We put together a solid race which was pleasing after problems in qualifying. It was fantastic to be involved in a GP2 race for the first time, especially at such an incredible new track like Abu Dhabi, and the pit-stop was a new experience for me too. It all went well but now we’re focused on trying to unlock more pace for tomorrow.”

By virtue of the round one result the 2009 Euroseries 3000 Champion will line-up on the sixth row of the grid for the Sprint Race tomorrow, Sunday, 1st November, which will be beamed live across the UK on digital satellite and cable channel British Eurosport.

Round two of the 2009 GP2 Asia Series is timetabled to begin at 13.30 local time, 09.30 GMT, with coverage carried on Sky Digital channel 410, Virgin Media channel 521 and also through the Top Up TV service. Please check listings for more information.

Photo by GP2 Asia Media Service.

Today, Friday the 30th of November, will be the first day of the new season of the Chevrolet V8 Supercars Middle East, supporting the first Formula One Grand Prix in the new venue, Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit.

Meezer Team will run car number 11, driven by Bahraini Raed Raffii, sponsored by Tamooz from Saudi Arabia and Batelco from Bahrain. Raed is supported by his coach Malcolm Edeson from the United Kingdom, to offer race coaching and data analysis.

During the pre-season test, held at Bahrain International Circuit on the 6th of October, Raed managed to set the fastest lap of the whole day. He was working closely with his coach and team to prepare for the coming race and the season.

Sessions schedule for the weekend is as follow: Abu Dhabi time

Qualifying: 15:45
1st Race: 9:40
2nd Race:12:00

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At a dry, sunny but quite cool Laguna Seca Raceway this afternoon Richard Westbrook safely put the #18 T-Mobile® VICI Racing™ Porsche 911 GT3 RSR onto the sixth row of the grid for tomorrow’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season-closing 4-hour Monterey Sports Car Championships. The team was somewhat on the back foot going into qualifying after sensor problems reared their head during the last practice session, but Richard made the best of the situation to ensure that the car he will share tomorrow with Johannes Stuck will be well placed for the tough season closer in California.

VICI Racing™ is a long-established German/US racing team competing in the prestigious ALMS series. T-Mobile USA is a leading innovator and provider of mobile communications. At the end of 2008, T-Mobile USA served more than 32.8 million customers. T-Mobile USA is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. Michelin is a technical partner of the team.

The day got underway with an hour long practice session from 9:45-10:45AM and with this being the first time the team would get on track this week coupled with limited practice running time before the race, every second of green flag conditions would count. With all three drivers having never raced here before Technical Director Roland Wall would have to factor in squeezing the maximum track time for each of them in without compromising his pursuit of optimised qualifying and race setups. The morning saw the #18 Porsche’s regular duo, Richard and Johannes, given half an hour each to get used to the 2.238-mile circuit complete with its famous “corkscrew”, while a new engine fitted last night and other strategic components needed to be bedded in. During the session the two drivers ran 27 laps with the fastest being in 1:25.568 (94.157 mph) set by the experienced English sports car racer.

“The track is really interesting, I enjoyed it out there,” said Johannes, the 22-year-old son of sports car legend Hans-Joachim Stuck, and the latest product of a generational racing dynasty. “I think I did quite well, I have looked at the data and I seem to be doing everything correctly. The track is quite demanding as there are a lot of blind corners and there aren’t many long straights, so no time to relax, it will be a tough stint out there. I have to work on a few areas and my braking zones, but I’m happy here, it is a great track.”

The afternoon kicked off with an hour-long practice session at 2:00PM which would lead into the usual 20 minute qualifying session after a quick 10 minute breather. Richard was first in the cockpit to work on setup changes but when he came in a third of the way through the session to hand over to Lance problems occurred. The German youngster had only been in the #18 magenta-and-white car for a lap when a faulty sensor sent him back pitwards and replacing the component cost the Miami, Florida-based team the rest of the session. For the record the car turned in 13 laps during the session with the quickest of those, posted by Richard, being in 1:25.680 (94.034 mph) on the seventh time round.

It all added up to leave the team on the back foot for the qualifying session but with set-up looking good, Richard did the job to put the car onto the grid with a quickest lap in 1:24.307 (95.565 mph). “We’ve had a few things thrown against us today that we have had to deal with,” says Roland, “but the car looks pretty good and I am confident the set-up is going the right way for the race, so we now have to do some work tonight and evolve our race strategy to our starting position. I would have liked to see the drivers get more cockpit time, but they look solid already, and the crew have done a great job as usual.”

Tomorrow (Saturday, October 10) will see the final round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series, the four-hour Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The green flag is scheduled for 2:45PM (PT). The race will air on SPEED from 2:30 to 6:30PM (ET) on Sunday, October 11. Live coverage will be available on American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche via americanlemans.com, which also will feature Living Timing & Scoring on Racehub. Live coverage also can be heard on Sirius 126 and XM 242. You can follow the Series on Twitter and on the series’ Facebook page. The race will also mark the 10th and final round of the 2009 MICHELIN® GREEN X® Challenge.

Denver’s Savannah Rickli may have just gotten her driver’s license two weeks ago, but she is no stranger to driving.  “I knew I wanted to win the Indy 500 when I was seven years old” she recalled, “I’m a go getter.”

Savannah’s parents were big into ice racing – think vintage Jeeps sporting tires studded with 2 inch bolts – when she was just a toddler.  Her first exposure to driving was ice racing for kids, where spunky young kids sit on their parent’s lap to steer the car while the parent operates the pedals.

The trajectory changed entirely when Savannah was invited to an autocross.  Running a Mazda Miata -  a notoriously excellent autocross car – she fell in love with the notion of road racing and started saving pennies for her first go-kart which she ultimately found on Ebay.  At twelve Savannah desperately wanted to attend the touted Bondurant advanced karting school in Phoenix.  Not deterred by the age limit of 16, she called and wrote letters repetitively until the school finally agreed to a special coaching session just for her.

Read the entire article at Examiner.com:
Inspired young racer designs her own plan to go pro

Cecotto will take part in the upcoming Formula Renault North European Championship event in Spa-Francorchamps with Koiranen bros. Motorsport.

Team Principal Marko Koiranen “It is great to have Johnny as our third driver for this race! He is the first non-Finnish driver in this team and it will also be the first time that Koiranen bros. Motorsport lines up with three cars for a race, which makes me very happy. The team is growing, and people are noticing the good work we have been doing!”

At the moment a deal is in place only for the event in Spa-Francorchamps, but the team and driver are confident on achieving a good result and believe that there is a lot of potential in working together during the rest of the year!