For the Time Attack fans who attended the final round of the Championship at Snetterton there were thrills and spills galore as drivers throughout the Classes fought to end their seasons on a high. One of the most keenly anticipated contests was naturally the Pro Class where Steve Guglielmi’s Lotus and Gareth Lloyd’s Car Planet Racing EVO have been entertaining the crowds from day one. At the beginning of the final round they had both notched up two wins each and broken three Time Attack lap records between them in the process. That meant it was down to the wire, where their final positions on the day would dictate the Championship outcome, so there could be no errors. Surely enough, at the end of a long day the pair found themselves as the pace setters in the Super Battle. With the commentators keeping the crowds informed the tension rose as Lloyd and Guglielmi swapped fastest laps. Then on his sixth lap Guglielmi put in a storming 1:09.032secs time, only for Lloyd to shave tenths of seconds off that just moments later. With Guglielmi back in the pits, Lloyd went on to post a Time Attack record 1:08.299secs lap which not only handed him the Round 5 win, but also put the EVO driver into Time Attack history as the 2010 Pro Class Champion. As Guglielmi pointed out afterwards; the Lotus seems quicker through corners so the CPR EVO must be insanely quick on other parts of the circuit, something that Lloyd’s recorded 164mph top speed on the start/finish straight would perhaps only hint at.

The CPR EVO on the move

Guglielmi's Exige pushing for top spot

Elsewhere in the Pro Class Gavin Renshaw in his Lateral Performance Impreza notched an impressive 3^rd place with a 1:11.163secs time, while James Nicholls in the CPR EVO came 4^th with a best lap of 1:12.010secs. Despite Renshaw’s success at Snetterton though, Nicholls had done enough to secure the points to hand him a well-deserved top three finish in the Pro Class for the season. For Car Planet Racing that meant they had two cars finishing the year in the top three, while for EVO fans it also put and end to the recent dominance of Subarus in this class.

Nicholls; the third placed man

Third on the day for Renshaw's Lateral Performance Impreza

However, Subarus faired better in the Club Pro 4WD class with Paul Doyle in the Green Subaru Racing Impreza even beating Nicholls’ Pro Class time with a 1:11.581secs lap. The Scooby Clinic car driven by Kevin Horsley took 2^nd place for Round 5 while Simon Deaton in the pink Japdna.com EVO scored a 3^rd step on the podium. When it came to the Championship though, despite keeping the same drivers in the top three Horsley and Doyle swapped places. Horsley’s consistent driving and a clearly well set-up car have proven to be hugely competitive this year, so it will be interesting to see how the likes of Doyle, Deaton, Russ Paton, Michael Mahoney and Lee Broadhurst will push things on in this class during 2011 to try and take the crown from Horsley’s head.

The Scooby Clinic car - with Club Pro trophy!

Deaton; third on the day and overall in class

There was what Time Attack commentator Bryn called a “Supra Sandwich” in the Pro Class RWD category, the two Garage Whifbitz Supras finishing in 1^st and 3^rd with Jamie Wilson’s Lotus Exige the filling in 2^nd. There was virtually nothing to separate Steve Linton’s Supra and the Exige at Snetterton though, just 0.037secs the winning margin for the Toyota driver. In the Championship though, that win still wasn’t enough for Linton to keep Wilson from the top honours, which is no mean feat for a driver in his debut year of Time Attack competition. It’s likely that the capabilities of the Lotus Exige haven’t gone unnoticed, but you’re not likely to see Linton or Paul Whiffin swap any time soon.

Wilson on his way to Pro Class RWD title

Yet another Lotus was making a splash in the Club Challenge NA Class too, with Jeff Mileham piloting his Elise to a win at Snetterton. He pipped Mark Pollard in the Metro 6R4 and Daniel Gannon in his E36 M3 to the post, but it was a hard fought win. Just 0.156secs separated all three of the drivers in this Class with Porsche driver Tony Campbell not far behind either. However it was Pollard, Gannon and Mileham who returned to the podium to pick up season trophies for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in the Championship respectively.

The man to beat in the NA class

In the Club Challenge RWD class it was another mixed bag of cars to reach the podium. Matt Webb in his Dragon Motorsport RX7 finished 1^st in class (6^th overall in Club Challenge), with the R33 Skyline of Gordon Wright coming 2^nd and Ronnie Amis’ Sierra Cosworth finishing 3^rd. Just like in the NA class, the three podium finishers also returned to the fore to receive season honours, with Webb the RWD Champion, a popular Amis in 2^nd and Wright finishing up in 3^rd.

Matt Webb takes another win at Snet

There was more to celebrate for Cosworth fans in the Club Challenge 4WD class too. This class has been one of the most competitive of the year with a number of drivers entering Snetterton with their eyes on the top prize. Scott Robson in his Impreza was in pole position for the Championship but a blown engine halfway through the day opened the door for his rivals to take the crown. Fiona Kindness didn’t need asking twice either, putting in a storming performance in her R32 Skyline to finish in 2^nd on the day. Warren Kelly meanwhile went one better by taking his Escort Cosworth to a well deserved win, a result that leapfrogged him above Robson in the points standings. However, in her third year of Time Attack competition (and the only season she’s competed in all five rounds), Kindness’ result at Snetterton catapulted her to the top of the table and meant she could drive back to Scotland with the Club Challenge 4WD trophy to keep her company. Robson still made the top three, but it was Kelly who took the silver medal.

Kelly sets quickest time in 4WD Club Challenge

Kindness keeps her calm to win the CC 4WD title

The one remaining class, Club Challenge FWD, saw an interesting turn of events. Bo Nielsen looked like his seemingly safe 100points cushion may not have been enough after his engine gave up on him in an early session. Dave Ward in the MINI Cooper S could have stolen the crown had he scored points from qualifying well and winning the day, but there was a twist in the tale to come. Romain Levesque in the BuddyClub Honda CRX put in a fantastic drive to record a 1:18.936secs time, almost two seconds ahead of Ward’s quickest lap. While Nielsen hadn’t taken any chances, borrowing a friend’s Astra VXR with a near standard engine and standard suspension just to try and score some points, it wasn’t needed as Ward’s 2^nd place finish behind Leveque wasn’t to be enough to knock Nielsen from top spot. The pair were joined by another MINI driver, Nigel Brown, on the Championship podium but perhaps Levesque’s CRX may give the Astra VXR and MINIs a run for their money in 2011.

Nielsen as his engine lets go!

With the Time Attack season now over, the trophies handed out and the Champagne sprayed it’s clear that 2010 has been another vintage year for the series. Some incredible sponsors, fantastic drivers, talented engineers and of course the superb array of machinery that has taken part has kept crowds enthralled throughout the UK. There have been a number of One Hit Wonder drivers who haven’t received much coverage here plus plenty of rumours in the paddock about cars and teams gearing up for next year too, so while 2010 may have been one of the best yet make sure you brace yourself for more Time Attack action in 2011. And don’t forget, if you want to be on the track driving rather than at the side watching Time Attack remains one of the most accessible forms of motorsport…so what are you waiting for!

Heading to the finish line...and the title

The end of a hard fought day

In the meantime, congratulations must go to the 2010 Champions once again. Gareth Lloyd, Kevin Horsley, Jamie Wilson, Mark Pollard, Matt Webb, Fiona Kindness and Bo Nielsen are not only all extremely worthy winners but they’ve also helped to raise the bar higher once more, so well done and hopefully they’ll all be back to defend their titles.

2010 Club RWD Champions: 1st Webb, 2nd Amis, 3rd Wright

2010 C Pro 4WD Champions: 1st Horsley, 2nd Doyle, 3rd Deaton

2010 Pro RWD Champions: 1st Wilson, 2nd Linton, 3rd Whiffin

2010 Club NA Champions: 1st Pollard, 2nd Mileham, 3rd Gannon

2010 Club 4WD Champions: 1st Kindness, 2nd Kelly, 3rd Robson

2010 Club FWD Champions: 1st Nielsen, 2nd Ward, 3rd Brown

See the full picture galleries of Snetterton and all the other 2010 rounds here

In theory four of the five Pro Class drivers could still take the crown, but judging both the maths and the season so far it should be a straight dogfight between Gareth Lloyd in the CPR EVO V and Steve Guglielmi in the Lotus Elise. In the four rounds this year these two drivers have shared the podium equally, which means Lloyd carries a miniscule 2 points lead into the final round. In fact, the two drivers have dominated this Class in 2010, setting numerous Time Attack records along the way, and it would be a shock if one of them doesn’t notch another victory at Snetterton. However, even if Lloyd scoops the maximum 5 points for fastest qualifier and Guglielmi scores nothing for qualifying, it could still be all about the final. Guglielmi would just need that 10 points difference by winning the event to pip a second placed Lloyd to the post so it’s going to be a tense affair for them…and an exhilarating final for the Time Attack fans.

Throw into the mix James Nicholls in the CPR yellow EVO and there could be another twist in the story. Nicholls has 322 points and should Lloyd or Guglielmi fail to score at all then he could leap frog both of them. Gavin Renshaw in the Lateral Performance Impreza on 298 points could also do the same, so the onus is on the top two drivers to keep their cars on track and make the final. Once they’ve put a lap in during the final though it will leave Nicholls and Renshaw scrapping for third place, offering spectators another juicy bit of Impreza/EVO rivalry.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the action and get yourself along to Modified Live at Snetterton this weekend. It’s going to be a high-revving, adrenaline rush of automotive action.

With a host of entrants in the Club Pro Class for 2010 it’s been a tough battle to get to the top of the Championship table. The Scooby Clinic Impreza, driven by Kevin Horsley and Andy Harvey during 2010, has edged the lead though, racking up a 348 points tally to date. That puts the Scooby Clinic team in pole position for the title as their nearest competitor is the ex-Zen Performance Impreza driven by Paul Doyle. Doyle has 274 points so far and with a large field of competitors there’s the remote possibility he could score 105 points and the Scooby Clinic car could end with zero points. However, on the flipside, no matter what Doyle does, so long as the Scooby Clinic car achieves 32 points (e.g a fourth quickest qualifying time and a seventh overall finish in the final) then the crown is theirs.

Russ Paton in the Wallace Perfomance EVO VI, the Japdna.com EVO VIII driven by Simon Deaton/Martin Byford, Michael Mahoney’s EVO VIII and even Lee Broadhurst in his EVO IX GT can all mathematically take second place from Doyle though. While none of them can hit the top spot, Paton is just 49 points off Doyle and, as an extreme outsider, Broadhurst could make up the 100 points difference too.

Whatever happens it looks like it will be a Subaru driver on the top step of the podium and there will almost certainly be an EVO driver joining them too. The question is; which EVO driver, and which step of the podium? It’s worth pointing out though that should all the EVO drivers fail to deliver at Snetterton and either Shane Smith’s R34 GT-R, Duncan Graham’s Impreza, Marcus Webster’s R32 GT-R or Richard Jones’ EVO VIII pick up maximum points, or close to it, then there could be a longshot standing on the final podium!

Set-up once the season had begun due to the pace set by three of the cars in the Club Class – RWD, the Club Pro – RWD Class is revving up to an intriguing finale. Paul Whiffin’s Supra has had a few issues this year, despite a storming start, so he currently sits in third place with 161 points. Unfortunately that’s also where he’ll finish despite any performance in the final round as the gap between him and the top two is too large.

But for RWD fans, the clash at the top of the group between Jamie Wilson in his Lotus Exige and Steve Linton in his Supra is going to be explosive. Wilson leads at the moment by just 20 points which means Linton could yet be crowned Champion. It will take something special from the heavier Supra though and would likely need his fellow Supra to get in between the sparring top two to make it happen. Only time will tell the outcome; will Snetterton favour the agility of the Exige or the raw power of the Supra?

Three drivers in this Class have the potential of claiming overall victory, but before they hit the Snetterton track, that top spot looks to be a straight battle between the crowd-pleasing Metro 6R4 of Mark Pollard and the BMW M3 of Daniel Gannon. Both have performed consistently through the season resulting in Pollard boasting a 398 points haul and Gannon 43 points behind on 355 points.

Pollard is clearly in the driving seat but with a maximum of 105 points available there’s the potential for Gannon’s M3 to take the title yet. There’s also hope for Tony Campbell in his Porsche 968 Clubsport, sitting in third place at the moment but 98 points off the lead driver. First place is still conceivable, but second place is more likely to be his aim, so Gannon better keep looking over his shoulder.

Speaking of which, Jeff Mileham is only 5 points behind Campbell too, so he may yet have a say in the top three spots especially as he’d getting quicker in his first year in the new Lotus Elise. The BuddyClub DC5 Integra of Paul Hughes, so dominant last year when the NA Class was split into different engine capacity sizes, has struggled to keep up with the bigger engines this year, but with 218 points this season there’s the faint chance of a top three finish.

There may not be a huge number of competitors in this Class, but it is one of the most competitive, so make sure you keep tabs on the naturally aspirated boys!

The upgrading to Club Pro- RWD of the two Supras and Jamie Wilson’s Lotus Exige has opened up the Club Challenge – RWD class to a new set of contenders. At the head of that list is Matt Webb in his FD3S RX7. Webb has amassed an impressive 315 points so far this season which gives him a 20 points advantage over the Sierra Cosworth of Ronnie Amis heading into Snetterton.

Amis has been getting faster all year and could yet put in a winning performance at the Norfolk circuit, so this is one battle that will be worth keeping an eye out for. The three Skyline GTS-t entrants of Gordon Wright, Tim Nicholas and Alex Flower may also be interesting to watch, Wright currently third in Class (which is the highest he can achieve now) potentially having pressure put on him by Nicholas who is 84 points behind. It’s a long shot though and at the moment it looks like the top three will be: Webb/Amis in first or second and Wright in third. Only something spectacular could upset that in any way so Time Attack fans should prepare to see those three on the Championship podium.

Bo Nielsen in his Vauxhall Astra VXR has had a storming season so far and currently leads the FWD class by 100 points. In theory, simply putting in the fastest qualifying lap and taking the 5 points for that could clinch him the title, so long as David Ward in his MINI doesn’t qualify well.

Should it come down to the final Super Battle, it would still take a seriously unfortunate turn of events to keep Nielsen from the crown, but anything’s possible. Julian Holdcroft in his Honda Civic EP3 and Nigel Brown in his MINI Cooper S may not be able to catch Nielsen, but they could both be in with a shout for second place overall. Holdcroft is just 2 points above Brown, with Ward 62 points beyond Holdcroft, so while it looks unlikely that Ward will miss out on a top two finish, never say never when it comes to Time Attack.

Equally Dave Thorpe’s Civic is just 50 points behind the current third placed Holdcroft, so there’s an outside chance his Honda could still finish with a trophy at the end of the season. With big power 4WD and RWD cars out on track at the same time, getting the space to put in the perfect lap at Snetterton could prove to be the decisive aspect of this Class.

In the first instalment of a series of updates leading up to the final round of the 2010 Time Attack series, we take a look at the 4WD competitors in the Club Class. We’ll be looking at each class over the next few weeks to see who has a chance for glory and who you should be keeping an eye out for.

Out in the lead is Scott Robson in the Usedcarparts.co.uk Subaru Impreza, notching up an impressive 386 points to date. His first win came in the last round at Cadwell Park so he may well be on a hot streak.

Mathematically though there four other drivers who could pinch top honours. Fiona Kindness in her R32 Skyline GTR is his number one rival, just 21 Championship points behind. With a maximum of 105 points available (fastest qualifier gets 5 points, quickest car in the final receives 100 points) there are numerous eventualities that could see her pip Robson to the title.

The other contenders are Warren Kelly in his Escort Cosworth (299 points), Matthias Bachler in his Impreza Spec C (284 points) and Walter Morris who pilots another R32 GTR (258 points). Should Robson and Kindness not score for any reason, any one of these three drivers could win the 4WD Club Challenge. It’s an outside chance but one worth keeping an eye out for.

Snetterton’s a slightly unusual circuit though so don’t bet on the likes of Eric Holmes in his EVO VI, David Coe in his Impreza STI 8 or Gary Searl in his EVO VIII pulling something out of the bag. This is undoubtedly one of the most competitive classes in Time Attack so it should make for great drama in the final round.

The stunning Cadwell Park circuit was always going to be the wild card event of the 2010 Time Attack series. Its first time on the calendar, drivers and their teams had nothing from previous years to compare their set-ups or tactics too, but that didn’t stop them from putting on a spectacular show for the Lincolnshire crowds and setting some impressive new lap records. Steve Guglielmi and his perfectly balanced Lotus ended up with top honours in the Pro Class, posting a 1:31.903 secs time on lap three of three in the final to take the win. It was a hard fought group though, with Gareth Lloyd in his Car Planet Racing EVO coming a close 2nd and Gavin Renshaw in the Lateral Performance Impreza getting on the podium in 3rd with a fine display.

Gareth Lloyd narrowly missing out on 3rd win of the year

Gavin Renshaw received a great reception at the podium for his 3rd place

The Pro Class results mean that Guglielmi and Lloyd have now won two rounds of this year’s Championship each, meaning that Round 5 at Snetterton will be a crucial decider for who will be crowned Champion. Gugliemi afterwards pointed out how pleased he was with his performance at Cadwell, a circuit that he was treating with caution but that ultimately proved to suit his Exige perfectly. With his name in the Time Attack history books for a new fastest lap too, he was also keen to point out how this year’s competitors had continued to push things on, his new lap record  joining two others that had been set in 2010. With his eyes on Snetterton now, he’ll be thinking about adding a fourth for the year too.

Guglielmi: driving into the record books

Jamie Nicholls in the bright yellow CPR EVO took 4th place in Pro Class, with the fifth quickest time of the day going to Robin Duxbury in the Redbrick Racing Cyber EVO. All of the Pro Class drivers in the final finished faster than the Club Pro cars, although there was extra pressure in Nicholls’ case to do so. A wager had been set that the JAPDNA.com EVO, driven at Cadwell by Martin Byford, wouldn’t finish within 3secs of his car. Byford’s pink Club Pro EVO put in a storming performance despite being well down on power in comparison to Nicholls’ car and its 1:36.882 secs lap was just 2.796secs away from the Pro Class car. That not only put Byford on the third step of the Club Pro podium but also gave his team an extra reason to celebrate.

Byfield got within 3secs of Pro Class driver Jamie Nicholls

Lee Broadhurst in his EVO IX secured 2nd place in the Club Pro Class, while Paul Doyle in the ex-Zen Performance Impreza mustered up a superb 1:35.770secs time to give him a class win.

Broadhurst's EVO IX looks as well as it goes

Club Pro Class winner Paul Doyle

There was a new class for Cadwell Park too, the results of some RWD drivers in Club Class over previous rounds meaning they were forced up into the Club Pro RWD Class. The Supras of Steve Linton and Paul Whiffin were up against the Lotus Exige of Jamie Wilson in this class, which was a tough call for them at the twisty circuit. Unfortunately Whiffen’s Supra had to retire from the competition but he still won a prize after dropping copious amounts of oil on the track for being the only man who had reached under his car to check his sump…only to find he was touching his crankshaft! Linton did a little better by posting the 17th quickest time on the day to finish 2nd in class, but it was Wilson who ran away with it, a 1:37.803secs time giving him the win.

Jamie Wilson took first win in Club Pro RWD Class

Steve Linton secured 2nd place in Club Pro RWD

Impressively, Scott Robson in the Club Class posted a time to equal some of those in the Club Pro Class. His Impreza fought hard the whole day to secure a win in the 4WD class, but the time he set was  also the quickest of any in Club Class. Imprezas seemed well-suited to the circuit with the energetic driving style of Matthias Bachler helping his to 2nd in the 4WD class, although many spectators may have given him 1st place for entertainment alone. He didn’t appear to have any fear of attempting flight at the crest of Mountain, much to the delight of the grandstand (in fact, a number of Imprezas seemed to take the same approach there!). Walter Morris in his R32 Skyline finished off the podium places in that class, despite it smoking quite heavily, Morris still managed to push it to a 1:40.816secs time.

The quickest car in Club Class, Robson's Impreza took the 4wd honours

Bachler's WRX STI Spec C Type RA attempting flight!

Smoking was clearly good for Walter Morris who came 3rd in 4WD Class

Another stand-out performance in Club Class was in the NA category, Daniel Gannon piloting his BMW E36 M3 to a spectacular win. His 1:39.720secs lap time in the finals saw him not only take the win but also record the second quickest time in Club Class. An impressive feat for the RWD car, but one that looked on the cards from the early practice sessions. Paul Hughes in the BuddyClub Integra also got back into the swing of things with a 2nd place, while the ever-popular Metro 6R4 of Mark Pollard took 3rd place.

Gannon showed just what his M3 is capable of

Paul Hughes returned to the podium positions

With the Supras now up in Club Pro RWD, the RWD class in Club Class was up for grabs and it was the RX-7 of Matt Webb that did the grabbing. He pipped the Sierra Cosworth of Ronnie Amis to top spot by over 2.5secs with Gordon Wright’s R33 GTS-t taking 3rd place on the podium, another 2secs down on Amis. They may not have been too close at Cadwell, but this is a class that is sure to get even more competitive in the future.

Matt Webb storming to a class win with his RX-7

Who couldn't enjoy seeing a Sierra Cosworth at full chat!

Gordon Wright taking his GTS-t to 3rd in Club Class RWD

The FWD Class was another competitive grouping with the MINIs all looking comfortable at the “mini Nurburgring”. It was Bo Nielsen in his Astra VXR that set the standard though, his impressive vehicle continuing to exceed expectations. His 1:41.017secs time was quicker than a lot of 4WD and RWD cars which proves just how well a good FWD car can be on the track. His nearest competitor in the FWD class was Julian Holdcroft in the Civic Type R (some 2secs behing), who narrowly beat the screaming supercharged MINI of Nigel Brown into the 2nd podium spot.

Vauxhalls on top in the FWD Class thanks to Bo Nielsen

Holdcroft managed a 2nd place in Club FWD with his CTR

'Brownpants' and his loud whining MINI Cooper S

There’s just one round left of the 2010 Time Attack series, taking place in October at Snetterton. That circuit will throw very different challenges at the drivers compared to the most undulating and twisty Cadwell Park…so those who did well in Round 4 may not be guaranteed of a repeat performance. With Class winners yet to be decided, Round 5 will be crucial in sorting out which drivers will have their ambitions realised and which will go home empty handed. If the dedication and incredible display of on-the-limit driving at Cadwell was anything to go by though, the crowds at Snetterton will be in for a real treat. Who will you be rooting for?

CC 4WD CLASS: 1st - Robson, 2nd - Bachler, 3rd-Morris

CC NA CLASS: 1st - Gannon, 2nd - Hughes, 3rd - Pollard

CC FWD CLASS: 1st - Nielsen, 2nd - Holdcroft, 3rd - Brown

CC RWD CLASS: 1st - Webb, 2nd - Amis, 3rd - Wright

CLUB PRO RWD: 1st - Wilson, 2nd - Linton

CLUB PRO CLASS: 1st - Doyle, 2nd - Broadhurst, 3rd - Byfield

PRO CLASS: 1st - Guglielmi, 2nd - Lloyd, 3rd - Renshaw

]]> http://www.timeattack.co.uk/2010/index.php/2010/08/02/guglielmi-wins-round-4/feed/ 0 http://www.timeattack.co.uk/2010/index.php/2010/06/29/brands-hatch-galleries-now-online/ http://www.timeattack.co.uk/2010/index.php/2010/06/29/brands-hatch-galleries-now-online/#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:06:01 +0000 andybarnes http://www.timeattack.co.uk/?p=1630

Picture galleries from Round 3 at Brands Hatch this weekend are now live in our Galleries section.

Pictures are courtesy of resident snapper, Rich Sams Photography, clicky the link below or select the gallery tab from the main menu above.

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