RallyCross 2018

News today that Mark Higgins will be doing some rounds of the British RallyX Championship and thew World RallyX at Silverstone

https://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/news/rallying-news/rally/british-rally-champion-targeting-world-rx-debut/

Looks like I will be attending rallycross this year

I'm hoping that Mark's ducks line up and he's able to do the full season in supercars. Would certainly add a very interesting dimension to the championship and the racing at each meeting having someone with such skill and speed.

We just need Dai Llewelyn to run a supercar too! It's been brilliant to see Dai's son, Tom, being so successful in the Junior Suzuki Swifts in 2017 (and 2-3 runs out in 2016 too). Tom also won the final in his first ever drive of a 'grown-up' 1600 Swift a Croft last October. Certainly an amazing talent and one to keep watch of.

From the sublime to the ridiculous! - I'm going to be donning a racing overall, skid lid and HANS device for the first time myself in round 2 of the British Rallycross Championship, racing a Peter Gwynne Suzuki Swift! This will be at Lydden Hill on Easter Monday, 2nd April. Can't wait! I'll be having half-day's tuition with Peter Gwynne towards the end of February to help get me ready.

I don't think the front-runners will have anything to worry about though!!

Cheers, Steve

Steve that's brilliant news! Please keep it shiny side up!!

Hampton Caught wrote:I'm hoping that Mark's ducks line up and he's able to do the full season in supercars.  Would certainly add a very interesting dimension to the championship and the racing at each meeting having someone with such skill and speed.  

We just need Dai Llewelyn to run a supercar too!  It's been brilliant to see Dai's son, Tom, being so successful in the Junior Suzuki Swifts in 2017 (and 2-3 runs out in 2016 too).  Tom also won the final in his first ever drive of a 'grown-up' 1600 Swift a Croft last October.  Certainly an amazing talent and one to keep watch of.

From the sublime to the ridiculous!  -  I'm going to be donning a racing overall, skid lid and HANS device for the first time myself in round 2 of the British Rallycross Championship, racing a Peter Gwynne Suzuki Swift!  This will be at Lydden Hill on Easter Monday, 2nd April.  Can't wait!     I'll be having half-day's tuition with Peter Gwynne towards the end of February to help get me ready.  

I don't think the front-runners will have anything to worry about though!!

Cheers, Steve

I will show my lack of Rally Cross knowledge here. Is Peter Gwynne any relation to Bill Gwynne who used to run rally schools?

Hi Paul,

Congrats on spotting the link, m'friend! Peter Gwynne is Bill's son.

Peter Gwynne Motorsport still runs the rally school (as I type now they are in Norway hooning around on icy lakes!) as well as running the Suzuki Swift Rallycross and Rally Championships and race and rally car preparation. They also provide a hire car service (and we all know that nothing is faster than a hire car!!! ) so I'll be racing at Lydden using the arrive and drive stylie.

Peter's website is here: https://www.petergwynne.com/

Of course there are 'little matters' such as the race license, membership of a car racing club (LHMC or BARC), registration with the MSA for the Rallycross championship and registration for the Swift Championship. So not quite arrive and drive, really!!

Back to the original subject posted by Chris, Mark Higgins now looks to be competing the whole of the British Rallycross Championship with Albatec, the Scottish - based team run by Andy Scott, who is returning to compete in some rounds of the British Championship himself in another Peugeot 208 supercar.

Liam Doran has bought the MINI RX supercars from JRM, along with Steve Harris who has previously raced in supercars running a Doran-built Citroen DS3. The MINIs were originally built and run by a little outfit called Prodrive, whom you might know!! Doran is developing the MINIs with 2 litre engines built by Julian Godfrey, which sounds promising for this season. From what I have read, Doran's team (LDM) will also run the DS3s for others, hopefully including last year's champion Nathan Heathcote, BTCC team-owner Warren Scott and Liam's dad, Pat.

I'm off to the Night of Champions, the annual prize-giving and dinner-dance, this Saturday and will be displaying one cabinet of my models including new builds of Michael Shield's 1989 MG Metro 6R4, Tony Lynch's 2016 championship-winning Ford Ka, Lance Foster's Retro Rallycross Mini Clubman without a roof (as he finished the last race of the 2016 season after a punt up the back end from a BMW 3-series!) and a tribute to Jordan Bowes in the shape of his Retro Rallycross Mark 1 VW Golf Turbo. I've also rebuilt a model of a Rallycross car raced by one of the special guests at the event. A name you’ll all be very familiar with but I am sworn to secrecy so will keep schtum!

Any news and photos from Saturday I will try to get to you soon after. Until then, I've finished one model and have finishing touches for another seven (some with plinths) before Saturday. Intriguing, eh?

Cheers, Steve

Thanks Steve. My first experience of driving a rally car was 27+ years ago at a Bill Gwyne Rally School day. Fond memories of handbrake turns in a Mk2 Escort around tyres on an old disused airfield.

Splendid stuff, Paul. Such a distinctive sound, the BDA engine with the tyres scrabbling for grip whilst the car faces every direction except the one it's going in!

The Swift is front-wheel drive so I'm looking to practice (if not master) the left foot braking technique during my half-day tuition with Peter in February. That will be on tarmac, though I've had the option of a gravel rally stage. More of the track is tarmac, so think this is where the priority is for me - that and getting used to sliding the car. Oh boy!!! Can't wait!

There should be at least one Mk2 Escort in Retro Rallycross this year, as last year. Last season, Simon Hart was running a Mk 1 Escort in Haynes of Maidstone livery, a replica of the car John Taylor won the first ever European Rallycross Championship in. Over the winter he's been working on an Imp Rallycross car, possibly with a Rover V8 on board! I feel some more models coming on!!!!!!!

Cheers, Steve

I wish it had been a BDA. I think it was much more likely to be a 1600 or 2000cc Pinto!  That being said, it still spent most of the day going slowly sideways.

News that Lydden has secured the rights to the last two rounds of the GRC this October. Thats one in the eye for Silverstone!

Nice one, Chris. Hadn't seen that, yet had trawled the interweb earlier this evening! Well done for keeping your ear close to the ground!

Looks like Lydden will be hosting a round of the BTRDA Rallycross Championship this summer too, though this has yet to be 100% confirmed.

So, whilst the WRX has grown out of Lydden Hill, there will be two new championships heading there in addition to the MSA British Championship which goes there twice this season. Marvellous, can't wait!

Cheers, Steve

Steve

Details about GRC at Lydden Hill can be found here

https://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/news/rallying-news/rallycross/lydden-hill-added-to-2018-grc-calendar/

Chris

Hmm! Chris, I wonder if a display of 70+ Rallycross models would be welcomed at Lydden for the weekend? Only one way to find out, I'll ask Pat Doran!

I read on 'Chequered Flag' that 'at least two European drivers have expressed an interest in contesting the event as wildcards'. I do hope Dan Rooke is one of them - it would be superb for him to have the exposure at that level of the sport.

I'm intrigued by references to 'the series’ signature 70-foot table top jump'! Where would that go, I wonder? If there's a 70 foot table, would there be a corner I could put my display!!!

Back to the British Championship, I read yesterday that the minimum weight for supernational cars has been raised by almost 100Kgs from about 900Kg to just over the tonne. No wonder Tony Lynch and others are retiring their (still very competitive) cars and looking to build something new... or not! I guess that's why the ex-Dan Rooke Citroen AX didn't sell for the give-away price of £10,500 on eBay the other month. Would be eligible in Retros, I should think!!

Now to find myself some Nomex undies......

Cheers, Steve

Ooops! Addendum: For 2018 onwards, the minimum weight in the Supernational class increases to 900kg. Got that wrong!!

Whatever, this increase in minimum weight will knock out several of the front-running cars, which is a bit of a mystery! Is it to allow more safety kit on board or to slow the cars down? Curious when you think that only a few years ago, space-framed Minis like Stewart Bowes', Lance Foster and Ian Biagi were running at half that weight in the equivalent series! Good job they have a safe home in Retro Rallycross!

Cheers, Steve

Oh dear looks like the Global Rallycross championship has dropped the Super Cars class for 2018 and instead will have something called Gold Class which an uprated Lites category. That's my plannned trip to Lydden binned then!

Well, 2 weeks to go before the MSA British Rallycross Championship 2018 kicks off at Silverstone. I, for one, can hardly wait!

The entry list for Silverstone (Saturday 17th March, BTW) is available here: http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/news/british-rx-silverstone-season-opener-entry-list-revealed

As is often the way, several competitors are leaving it to the last minute and don't appear, so we can be sure of even more entries. Of those published, it's worth noting that three World RX drivers will be competing, one of them a certain Seb Loeb! Clearly, they are using the opportunity for some track time before the British round of the WRX in May. Mark Higgins joins the RX fraternity then too. Hurrah!

Interesting to see a Vauxhall Chevette joining in the Retro Rallycross Championship along with Steve Cozens running the Citroen AX that Dan Rooke piloted to the Supernational Championship in 2015. When I saw that car on eBay in the autumn, I dreamt of buying it and racing with the Retros myself. Glad to see the car will be back where it belongs, on the Rallycross tracks.

Had a morning's tuition driving a Rallycross Suzuki Swift with Peter Gwynne on Tuesday this week. Awesome! Had a wonderful time revving the n*ts off the car before hammering the brakes ready for the next corner. Just racing around a small sprint circuit near Lichfield. Now feel more ready to go racing at Lydden on Easter Monday! Wehay!

Cheers, Steve

Hampton Caught wrote:Just racing around a small sprint circuit near Lichfield.

So that would have been Curborough then, Steve! You should have said - it's only 20 minutes from my house!

I want to see you on the podium Steve to uphold the honour of the forum!! (a la JOB)  I’m sure we will get a mention in the victory speech!!

Hi David,

You're spot on. I was at Curborough .

Had to be there and back in time for the evening at home so meant an early start and I left the circuit at 1.30 for a rather white journey home, so no opportunity to let you now beforehand. Now I know where you are in relation to the circuit, I will know for future.

Paul, I think it fair to say it's most unlikely I'll be on the podium at Lydden but hey, in Jimmy Hill style, we can be sure that Rallycross will be the winner! Hee Hee!

Cheers, Steve

Steve

Perhaps if James (JOB) helped to navigate you round we might have a winner!!!??

Good luck..

Chris

Should be OK, Chris.

We have walked around the circuit ourselves and Rob Gibson has driven me around it, plus I've been there and watched it on TV countless times over 40+ years, so should know which way to go.

Mind you, I might need James to remind me to take the joker lap!!

Cheers, Steve

Steve

Dont forget you start on the G of Green light not the d of Red light!!!

I think we are all envious best of luck!!

Chris

Chris, during my tuition session I aced my first start, couldn't have gone better. The next one was a dog's dinner! Lit the tyres up and whilst bouncing off the rev limiter, snatched second and bogged down!

I've got good reactions and am confident I'll make good starts on track. It's the rest of it I'm more concerned about!

Seriously, I am so looking forward to the experience. What is a bit of a worry is that at the weekend, 'Mrs Caught' suggested I sell my model collection to sustain a season of Rallycross. Gulp! Decisions decisions!

Cheers, Steve

A good idea Steve but would you want all that hard work to go just for going nuts round a track for one season? Plus then after that you would want to go another season, more money! It goes on............. It is a big decision not to be taken lightly but i'm sure there are plenty of vultures on here that would take some models off your hands, me included

Steve

Mrs Caught very good the penny dropped eventually...!!

Motorsport is like a drug, the more you do it the more you want to...take one large funnel and pour your savings into it. What you have left at the end is ....... well nothing!!!

Chris