RallyCross 2018

Steve

The weather was bad and really not helping and as you say others more experienced than you were finding it difficult too.

The repair could have been a whole lot more and that would have spoilt the day even more.

But as you say you still have the licence to try again at another event. Lets hope you can and get a better feel for it.

So I think you now need to dust off the VP Metro, pump up its tyres and check the oil etc...no helmet rquired

Chris

100% right there, Chris - except, I could don the helmet and HANS device whilst driving the mighty Metro VP and get funny looks at traffic lights!!

How did you know the tyres need some air?

Cheers, Steve

steve, more power to your elbow, as we say over here!! much respect m8 for stepping out and actually havin a go, still sounds like a heart racing and brill experience, and you walked away in one piece with only relatively minor repairs required, plus as you say an increased appreciation for the skills and commitment of the 'big boys'....
hopin this is the first but not the last crack you have at it, but in the meantime the memories are there and cant be taken away....nice one m8!!

You're spot on Billy. Fingers crossed!! Cheers Steve

Steve

Discretion is often the greater part of valour! Sorry you didn't get to rub door handles as much as you may have liked but better to walk away with body and wallet intact.

Hope to catch up at Croft for the next round and looking forward to seeing Miggins in the Pug and hopefully Godfrey will still be using the Mitsubishi.

Cheers

Chris

Great to hear you'll be at Croft. Chris.

I will be there with a display (one cabinet rather than both) with a wide variety of rallycross machinery represented from the first meeting on 4/2/1967 through to the present day. Hope you've still got my number (PM me if not) and we'll meet up on the day. The display will be in the main admin building alongside the circuit office and the café where the Retro Rallycross team will be based.

Miggins was on fine form on Monday, chased hard in the final by Liam Doran until LD took to the air over the chicane close behind 'Miggs' and damaged the steering on his C4. Robbed us of a fine battle in the final.

That said, there was a great tussle between Ray Morgan and Gary Dixon in the retro final. Roger Thomas was on his own in his 6R4 followed by James Harrold's 600 bhp Beetle, with Ray trying to keep his mk3 Escort ahead of Gary's mk2 Astra. There was barely more than a car's length all the way through the final, with the handling differences between the rwd Escort and the fwd Astra adding to the excitement. Spoke to them both afterwards and they were buzzing with excitement.

Gary Dixon has only recently made the jump to Retro Rallycross from Supernationals and is thoroughly enjoying the paddock camaraderie as well as the respectful racing on track. He's not missing other drivers using his rear bumper as a brake, for instance!

There is a steady trickle of new Retro cars (is that an oxymoron, or what?!) joining the championship and it's great to see a Chevette, a mk3 Fiesta, another Mini and the Citroen AX joining the regulars this year. Next Retro model for me will be Simon Hart's 'Haynes of Maidstone' mk1 Escort, a homage to John Taylor's European Rallycross Championship-winning car for the early 70s. Serve two purposes - a current Retro car AND one from the past!!

See you there, Chris, and anyone else?????? Mark?!

Cheers, Steve

World series kicked off at the weekend with a controversial final. Think it will be a season of bumper cars by the looks of it...

You're right there, an action-packed series of semis and finals with the European championship being given a fair coverage too, which is great to see. Well done Freesports for broadcasting the meeting on Freeview within 2 days of the event taking place. I didn't now it was on TV until I saw it had already started, so couldn't get on here to let you guys know.

Round 3 of the British Rallycross Championship is coming up fast. Croft on Sunday 6th May. I'm hoping to have both display cabinets out in the paddock rather than just the one cabinet indoors in the Halifax Room. I'll know on the morning with the weather etc. There will be two new models on display for the first time: A model of Tristan Ovenden's Clio V6 supernational car and a certain black Suzuki Swift with my name plastered on the side windows!

Hope to see some of you guys there. Croft in May? There might even be some sunshine! Weird!!

Cheers, Steve

News that the Global Rallycross series has now been canned for 2018 at least. Stories of unpaid bills to the host circuits being mentioned elsewhere. Shame for Lydden but seemed an odd state of affairs with the late announcement to drop the Super cars.

Yes, Global Rallycross is dead, but long-live Americas Rallycross, or ARX as it is referred to. Several GRX teams and drivers are making the move to ARX, see here: https://www.autosport.com/wrx/news/134827/americas-rallycross-championship-launched

I confess to being a bit confused! Until now, ARX meant one thing only to me - a limited edition Austin Metro!

Closer to home, the entry list for round three of the British Rallycross Championship has been revealed. I'll be there at Croft on May 6th with my display in the paddock (or in inclement weather, the Halifax Room next to the brick garages). Entry list here: http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/news/entry-list-revealed-for-british-rx-round-three-at-croft-circuit

I'm so delighted to see that Jordan Bowes' mk1 Golf will be on track, in the hands of Jordan's older brother Jason. This is bound to be an emotional time for many of us in the Rallycross paddock - it's the first time the Golf has been out since Jordan's funeral in November.

Hope to see some of you there.

Cheers, Steve
(Rallycross Correspondent!)

Rumours of the death of Global Rallycross have been exaggerated on these pages! Ahem!

I had heard of a new Rallycross series to be launched to run throughout the 2019 season but until now, hadn't realised it will be run under the banner of the 'not-dead' Global Rallycross Championship.

Max Pucher, Austrian Rallycross driver, entrepreneur and part-time lingerie model (I made that last bit up!) is launching the Global Rallycross Platinum Series this autumn. The idea is to have all the competition and spectacle of the current supercars but reducing the costs to a more realistic level. This will be accomplished using a space-framed chassis and large displacement engine to be used by all teams. Keep things standard, keep 'em cheaper. But 'standard' does not mean standard performance, even by Rallycross standards (that word again! ).

Initial press release is here: http://www.mjp-racing.at/index.php/en/news-archiv-2018/203-global-rallycross-launches-grc-champions-cup Racing will take place in two championships held in parallel in Europe and the U.S. of America. Winners of the two championships will be brought together for a showdown finale. Speaking recently with a very excited potential participant, the specs for the cars sound superb, the costs sound affordable (for rich individuals and other mere mortals without manufacturer backing) and the vision behind the series is amazing. It's all about having close, competitive racing without having a bank vault in tow.

More info as I get it!

Cheers, Steve

I think I need a lie down now!

Steve

Confused....me ....yep

So whats this headline from Motorsport News on April 23rd?

https://www.motorsport-news.co.uk/news/rallying-news/rallycross/global-rallycross-series-collapses/

Chris

Chris,

Your confusion is understandable..... and shared by everyone else too! It looks like GRX/ GRC will be restarting in 2019 anyway, but how that affects the proposed 'Platinum Series', I don't know. (At least it's not called 'Aluminium' as the yanks mis-spell and mis-pronounce that word! )

I'll try and find out and let you know.

Cheers, Steve

Like your enthusiasm Steve but think this one is dead in the water. They are going to have to find a load of different venues in the USA for a start as the fallout from the current set up is still being felt. As for the NASCAR idea of space frame cars cant see a series of look-a-like cars really catching on in Europe as part of the appeal is differing makes and machines. Happy to eat my words if proven wrong!

I understand, Chris. There are a lot of unknowns out there and mixed messages all over the web.

I'm holding on to a couple of positive statements in the Motorsport News article Chris had found, specifically;

'The demise of the GRC in the US is thought to have no impact on the proposed GRC Europe series, which is said to be an entirely separate entity and is working towards a 2019 start.', and

'Prior to the GRC’s demise, World Rallycross Championship promoter IMG had already launched a new Americas Rallycross Championship that will largely take place alongside world rounds.'

So all is not lost (unless you're the American promoter behind GRC or one of their creditors - some circuits hadn't been paid their hosting costs last year!) and I'd expect some clarity will develop over the coming weeks. The article here may help - you can see the separation between what's happened in the US and what Max Pucher is proposing running in Europe, certainly, and in America through the ARX series.

http://rx-magazine.com/2018/03/interview-mjp-team-principal-max-j-pucher-about-the-grc-europe-and-the-2019-platinum-class-cars/

Whatever happens, (to mis-quote Jimmy Hill) so long as rallycross is the winner at the end of the day.

Cheers, Steve

Sadly could not attend the latest round of the British series yesterday due to a family illness however looks to have been lots of action in the heat and dust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T21GPL7KE0


Take a look at the spectacular vid of Godfrey barrel rolling the Mirage and luckily sounds like he was ok despite the flames. Hope to be able to attend my "local" circuit the next time the championship heads north in July.

Great to see the sportsmanship of other drivers running or driving over to check he is ok/help

Paul

Absolutely, good too see...

Chris