Ssangyong takes it 1-Tonne pick up and takes it racing, - Now this looks like fun.

Weekend of 3 & 4 June for the second round of motorsports’ newest race series 

The SsangYong Musso Pick-up Racing Challenge - UK Motorsports’ newest race series, will line-up for three races plus qualifying at the second of six meetings this year at Silverstone on Saturday 3 & Sunday 4 June.

The series launched at Snetterton over the weekend of 13/14 May, when 12 SsangYong Musso Pick-ups took to the field, and follows the highly successful format running in New Zealand. 

The single make series is based on the production SsangYong Musso 1-tonne Pick-up sold in the UK, sporting a sealed 2.2 litre turbo diesel engine and running gear. Changes to the vehicle are limited to full safety equipment in compliance with RACMSA regulations, specially developed suspension dampers by Proflex and wheels from Speedline Corse with AVON control tyres. 

The first weekend of three 15-minute races was held in mixed weather conditions, and led to some exciting close-quarter racing for competitors in this brand-new manufacturer supported series. 

After qualifying, racing got underway on a rolling start, and after three races of thrills and spills – and a long night for the mechanics to have the grid ready for day two, Lewis Grant left Snetterton leading the standings. 

Commenting on his success, Lewis Grant said: “The weekend went really well. I only sat in the car for the first time on Friday so to come away with two wins and a second place is brilliant. To drive a rear wheel drive car is a big change for me, so it took a little bit of getting used to. I am really impressed with the Musso and was surprised how well it handles, leading to some really close and competitive racing.” 

Runner-up, Harry Webb said: “I am really pleased to have won the final race of the weekend. The cars are pretty equal and produce some very close racing, so it was challenging, and very difficult to get past anyone. The SsangYong Musso is very different to anything I have driven before - it was fun.” 

Paul Williams, CEO of SsangYong Motor UK commenting on the first event said: “As a relatively new brand in the UK, we like to be different and try new initiatives. Pick-ups aren’t noted for their ability on a race track, but we had seen the success enjoyed in New Zealand, so thought we’d give it a go. 

“Despite a few inevitable teething issues from turning pick-ups into racing cars, the cars ran remarkably smoothly on their first outing at Snetterton, and with what we have learnt, bodes well for a great season. It’s a highly competitive format, and clear that drivers and supporters are already extremely enthusiastic.” 

The SsangYong Musso Pick-up Racing Challenge 2017 

Round 1	13 & 14 May	Snetterton	Double header
Round 2	3 & 4 June	Silverstone National	Double header
Round 3	8 & 9 July	Knockhill	Double header
Round 4	29 July	Oulton Park	Single header
Round 5	30 Sept	Cadwell Park	Single header
Round 6	28 & 29 Oct	Brands Hatch Indy	Double header
For the single header rounds, there are 2 races + qualifying
For the double header rounds, there are 3 races + qualifying

jason Plato wins his 500th BTCC race in style and over the three races, the team took a large haul of points and podium placings.

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing driver Jason Plato started the weekend on a high qualifying with pole position for what would be his 500^th race of his Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship career.

He set an impressive lap time during the final seconds of the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and came out on top with team mate Colin securing his place in the top five with James setting the fourteenth quickest time and Warren twenty first.

Race One saw Jason take a lights to flag victory and his first race win of the season in his all new Subaru Levorg GT bringing his total wins to a staggering ninety-five.

Jason led the race throughout managing to hold off the threatening BMW of Jack Goff who took second place with Colin bringing his Subaru Levorg home in third and taking the final spot of the podium.

James brought his car home in a point scoring position of fifteenth but there was dismay for Warren who was tapped into a spin and subsequently forced into retirement from the race.

Race Two once again saw Jason lead the race from the off until the chasing pack of Jack Goff in the BMW and Colin in his Levorg were bunched up behind him during a safety car period.  Colin endured a race long battle with the BMW’s of Goff and Tordoff and then Jordan.  The Honda of Matt Neal passed both Colin and Goff and into third after contact was made between the pair at the hairpin. 

With 75kgs on board Jason was eventually passed by both Tordoff and Neal and finished in third position having held them of until the final two laps with Colin was just behind in fourth.

There was disappointed for both James and Warren who had incidents with James being sent into a spin due to contact but managed to bring his machine home in 21^st and Warren was tapped from behind and put into the gravel trap and had to retire from the race for the second time of the day.

The Silverline Subaru BMR Racing drivers were lucky in the reverse grid draw for the third and final race of the day with Matt Jackson’s number being drawn from the barrel, promoting Colin up to third and Jason to fourth.  James started from 21^st and Warren 27^th.

Colin got a good start retaining his position whilst Jason lost a place to the BMW of Rob Collard on the run down to the first corner.  After a brief safety car period allowing the cars to bunch up, Colin was on the attack of the Collard, and the BMW of Goff was in turn on the attack of Colin, bringing yet another Subaru and BMW battle.  Then disaster struck when there was contact between Collard and Colin sending them both into a spin and ending their races.

Jason then enjoyed a third place battle with the Honda of Scotsman Gordon Shedden but managed to keep him at bay.  Jackson took the lead, Tordoff came in second and Jason brought home the Subaru Levorg in third for the final podium spot.

James finished in his second point scoring position of the weekend in thirteenth with Warren completing the race in twenty fifth.

Rounds 22, 23 and 24 of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship take place at Rockingham on 27/28 August, we hope to see you all in the stands.

Silverline Subaru BMR Racing comments from Knockhill:

Paul Tunnicliffe, Managing Director of Subaru UK commented:  "Another good day's work for the team, with steady progress continuing to be made.  I was particularly delighted for Jason, who, in true JP style, marked his 500th BTCC race with a pole, and a lights to flag victory.  Colin continues to show gritty determination, carrying out crucial overtaking manoeuvres to keeps his title hopes alive.  Personally, I wouldn't bet against us being there or thereabouts come Brands Hatch.  Roll on Rockingham."

Jason Plato commented: “What a fantastic weekend!

“It was great to get back to standing on the top step of the podium especially as it was on such an amazing milestone in my career. I was on Pole and finished second in my first ever BTCC race in 1997 and nineteen years later went one better in my 500^th BTCC race with Pole and a Win.

“To leave Knockhill as top points scorer with a first and two third places was a fine reward for all at Silverline Subaru BMR Team, they have worked so so hard.

“Race One was pretty straight forward, I nail the start, built up a lead and then controlled the pace, but, the safety car was deployed late in the race which eroded my lead and produced a tense last few laps.

“Race Two on the other hand was tense throughout, laden with 75kgs of success ballast I couldn’t breakaway and was under severe pressure throughout the race until I lost rear grip with four laps to go, as it turned out the one of the other cars was laying oil around the circuit and I lost the lead and slipped back to third when Matt Neal rattled inside me at turn seven. Still a good result.

“Race Three was all about being patient and letting the race come to me, I was sat in fifth keeping a watchful eye on the leading three starting to get a bit feisty and slightly desperate as Jackson was holding them up. Turkington made a last minute silly lunge on Collard which resulted in him taking both of them out of the race, and nicely promoted me to third. I then got onto the back Tordoff and we both applied serious pressure to the leader Jackson for some eighteen plus laps. Despite all our efforts neither of us could get past the “Slow in the corners, too fast on the straights’’ Jackson. A second third place podium of the day was a great reward.

“Rockingham can’t come soon enough, hopefully we should be on the pace but we are all very nervous about not having enough straight line speed for the flat out sections to combat the Ford and BMW cars.”

Colin Turkington commented:  “I come away from Knockhill focusing on the positives and another strong weekend for the team.  We were fast in every session and I was pleased to qualify strongly with championship ballast in the car for the first time.  This was the best the car has felt all season in race trim and I was really able to bring the fight to the table.  We're moving the Subaru forward at a fantastic rate each time out and considering this was our first time at Knockhill we can all be pretty satisfied. I really enjoyed the intensity of the racing at Knockhill.  I had a car that I could push to the limits and there is no better feeling.

“I’m confident about the remaining three events and I'm committed to giving my best.  We may have lost the points in Race Three but nothing changes – I’m here to challenge for the title."

James Cole commented:  “Before we get onto my weekend I first want to once again congratulate Jason Plato and Colin Turkington on another mega weekend. 

"My own weekend was filled with positives and frustrations. The team prepared a perfect car both days. Myself and my engineer, Richard Owen, are now getting into the nitty gritty of the Subaru's performance to best suit my driving style. 

“Our times in Race One showed real top ten pace, which is where I feel I now should be. Sadly driving standards outside the top ten are in my opinion the worst I've ever seen. A distinct lack of respect between a few of the drivers is really ruining it for most. 

“It only takes a few to spoil the party. Hopefully we will start to see improvements in the next round as having your own race ruined by the actions of others is tiresome. 

“My speed is increasing, my knowledge of the car is improving and I'm certain all of this will be reflected in the results if we can all race properly.”

Honda has a great weekend at Knockhill, the latest three rounds of the B.T.C.C.

• Matt Neal produces storming drive for third triumph of 2016
• Gordon Shedden fights hard to stay in the hunt on home turf
• Honda keeps pressure up in chase for Manufacturers’ crown

Matt Neal tallied his third victory of the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign at Knockhill this weekend (13/14 August) as the three-time champion maintained his bid for a fourth tin-top crown north of the border.

 

  

An impressive qualifying effort with 57kg of success ballast on-board his Halfords Yuasa Racing Honda Civic Type R saw Neal line up seventh on the grid for the opener, with team-mate and home hero Gordon Shedden just a tenth-of-a-second back in 11^thafter suffering turbo trouble.

From there, the duo raced in tandem to eighth and ninth on the harder-compound Dunlop tyres. Having switched to the more favourable softer rubber for race two, Neal went on a charge, scything his way through the field and taking advantage of the leaders’ scrapping to move up to third on lap 22, second two laps later and snatch the lead at the hairpin a lap later still, subsequently easing clear to secure his third triumph of the season.

After crossing the line a solid ninth in race two, it was Shedden’s turn to bolt on the soft tyres in the day’s finale, swiftly advancing five spots to run fourth before setting off in pursuit of the leaders. Although he soon caught them, there was no way past around the tight-and-twisty Fife circuit, but the Scot did snare an additional point for posting the race’s fastest lap.

On maximum ballast following his earlier race win, Neal completed an excellent weekend with a strong fifth place, consolidating his second spot in the Drivers’ standings – just nine points adrift of the lead – with Shedden similarly well in touch in fourth. Honda maintained second position in the Manufacturers’ classification, with Halfords Yuasa Racing continuing to narrow the gap to the top of the Teams’ table.

Matt Neal:

“Both of us took the pain on the hard tyres in the first race, but I really enjoyed race two; being on the soft tyres, I thought we would have a chance from where we were starting and after catching the leaders, I could see they were beginning to struggle a bit and I was able to capitalise upon their battle. The Halfords Yuasa Racing Civic Type R was monstrous right the way to the end. With 75kg of ballast in the car in race three, I honestly thought a top ten finish would be a good outcome so I was really pleased to take fifth. We came to Knockhill anticipating a tough weekend with the weight we were carrying and its reputation as a rear wheel-drive circuit, so to leave with a win and still sitting second in the championship is fantastic.”

Gordon Shedden:

“The dice never really rolled my way this weekend, right from qualifying. The first two races involved some typically tight Knockhill battling, and then the reversed grid worked against me with a couple of quick cars on soft tyres ahead. I pushed as hard as possible and the Honda Civic Type R was quick, allowing us to make decent progress at the start, but we just couldn’t keep up in a straight line which prevented us from attacking into the corners, so that was mightily frustrating. With Knockhill being my home track, I’d obviously hoped for more but we salvaged the best we could and we’re very much still in the hunt. We’ve clearly got some work to do, but we’ll head to Rockingham next with everything to play for.”

Former World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola to race Audi quattro in the McRae Rally Challenge.

Former World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola together with a number of rare and exotic Audi quattro rally cars are heading to Knockhill next month (16-17 May) - Group B machines that changed the sport in the 1980s for ever.

The “Flying Finn” and long standing co-driver Arne Hertz will be in attendance with the four-wheel-drive “supercars” that are part of demonstrations and displays at the McRae Rally Challenge, a special two-day rally event celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Colin McRae’s World Rally Championship win.

Mikkola, who celebrates his 73^rd birthday next month, was active in rallying between 1973-93 and two years after joining Audi, won the 1983 Driver’s World title achieving four wins and three second places in the revolutionary Audi quattro with Hertz.

Hannu commented: “It’s always nice to get back behind the wheel of an Audi quattro rally car and never fails to bring back special memories for me. Scotland has always been a favourite place of mine to rally in the UK, and I have been fortunate enough to do really well there too. It’s also great to support this event and celebrate a fantastic achievement in British motorsports and remember what Colin accomplished in the sport.”

Mikkola won the 1981 and ‘82 RAC Rallies, that swept through Scotland, and also claimed victory, with Phil Short, on the 1982 Scottish International Rally in an Audi A2 quattro. He missed out on the “world” crown to fellow Audi driver Stig Blomqvist that year – the Swede also claiming the British Open Championship title in 1983.

Various derivatives of the Audi quattro were also victorious in Scotland in the hands of Blomqvist (1983), Malcolm Wilson (1985) and David Llewellin (1987).

The original Audi quattro rallycar debuted in 1980 while the Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 that Mikkola drives at the Colin McRae Anniversary event was rallied in 1985. Between 1981-85, quattros won 23 WRC events and netted two WRC Manufacturers’ titles (1982/84).

Kellett has mixed Knockhill race positions, but over all a good weekend.

LAP ONE

Saturday saw the first race of the weekend with James in fourth after qualifying, With Lando Norris on pole with Senna Proctor and Jack Mitchell in second and third, unfortunately for James, he slowly headed backwards and finished the first race of the meeting in seventh, with Lando, jack and Senna taking the three podium positions.

RACE TWO

With James on pole position for the second race of the Knockhill weekend, it is looking like he is going to build upon his good results so far over the last few weeks, 

Lando Norris in 2nd place will try to get past, but James gets a strong start with Lando 2nd, after the first few corners, there is a tiny gap being pulled by the front three, and with no issues so far, these youngsters are showing that they are a force to be reckoned with, but as the first lap is complete Lando pulls forward and James goes back one place.

The front two are now slightly pulling away, with Lando being pushed hard by James, as they pass the start finish line to start lap three, the front two have pulled away from 3rd position, and with a train of cars following back from third, these guys and girls are really pushing for all they are worth, Lando is now pulling away from James as they finish lap three and starting four.

James will not let him pull away and as half the lap is complete, the pair are fighting hard, and James just storms past Lando on the final bend to take first, a couple of cars have left the track, with one in a precarious position, but no safety car has been called as yet, James is now the guy being pushed by Norris and James is defending, and Chadwick is now pushing for 2nd, the lap continues with James still in the lead, with a train of three behind.

The gap has now pulled a little more and James knows he must pull a significant gap to be safe from further attack as the laps progress, lap 7 starts with a nice gap, and a bigger one between Lando Norris and third place Chadwick, the fighting for position is as hard lower down the field as it is at the top, but James is still there, and not taking it for granted, the gap has remained the same, as lap eight of 12 is starting, and with another car leaving the track and swiftly coming back on, the fighting is getting fierce.

Lap nine carries on as before with James in the lead, with Lando right behind, but now the gap back to third, is quite significant, but neither of the two up front know their positions are safe, until they go over that finish line for the last time, lap ten comes around with the front two, in procession, with Lando just a little bit closer, but James wont let them worry him, and will carry on defending and racing hard to the end.

The gap now between two and three and three and the rest is now nearly the full length of the start finish straight, with the rest now in a line of about nine cars, James has pulled slightly ahead on the final lap with a sixth tenths gap, its looking like a great result again for James, and with a new sponsor on the horizon, his future is well assured, the final corner, and on to the chequered flag and James win with Lando Norris 2nd, a brilliant race for all involved and another brilliant win for James along with the fastest lap, a great final race of the weekend.

This win now puts James 2nd in the league 76 points behind Jack Mitchell, with Lando Norris in third, and with Rockingham the next race weekend, james will be fighting hard for pole positions and wins in both races.