We have four classes in this session, two of which were still up for grabs. The Clubman title would be won by with Jon Ellis in his Mini Cooper S or Ollie Novell in his Toyota Corolla T-Sport. While the Classic & Retro Club champ would be either Alan Tolley in the Cosworth YB-powered Sierra XR4x4 or Jeff Whitbrook in the Honda turbo-powered Charade GTTI. Mark Flook had already earned enough points to win Clubman+, while Stewart Summer had dominated the Pocket Rocket class in similar fashion. There was still plenty to play for in these classes too, as the fastest time in each class on the day would also set the first ever Time Attack lap record around the International Super Sportscar Long circuit.

Clubman+

Inaugural Clubman+ Lap Record!

Jonny Roose : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

Jonny Roose and his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII have been getting faster all year. Part of that is down to the car, which is backed by Norris Motorsport and run by Roose Motorsport. The rest is down to Jonny himself. He’s been taking driving tuition from former Time Attack Club Pro Champion Marc Kemp at Panic Link Motorsport, and it shows. Jonny topped the Clubman+ time sheets all day, setting a 1:40.905 in qualifying and a 1:40.631 in the final. He scored 15 points at Rockingham, the maximum score possible, helping him claim the runner-up spot in the Clubman+ Championship.

Mark McManus (Single Round Entry) : Seat Ibiza

The Forge Motorsport front-mounted intercooler clearly visible at the front of Mark’s Seat Ibiza signals it’s intentions. Mark was locked in a battle all day with fellow Clubman+ Single Round Entry Darren Meddings in the Subaru Impreza. Mark qualified in fourth place in Clubman+ behind Darren, with a best of 1:43.038 right at the end of the session. However, when the final arrived so did the chance to win a trophy for the fastest Single Round Entry in Clubman+. After a hard fight, Mark emerged victorious! His best lap of 1:42.400 in the final was the second-fastest time in Clubman+ overall, most importantly it was 0.048s quicker than Darren Meddings in third place, meaning it was Mark who drove home with the trophy and a smile on his face.

Darren Meddings (Single Round Entry) : Subaru Impreza

Darren’s Impreza is exactly what Clubman+ is all about, a quick car with limited modifications, but the right ones in the right areas. The car is supported by MB Developments, and Darren returned to Time Attack after having a great time at Croft in the last round. Darren qualified in second place behind Jonny Roose, with a time of 1:42.532. In the final, he went marginally quicker, setting a 1:42.448. Unfortunately for Darren, this was a tantalizing 0.048s behind Mark McManus in the battle for fastest Single Round Entry. Still, another excellent performance from Darren and his Impreza.

Alan Shepherd : Ford Focus

It’s been a tricky year for Airtec boss Alan Shepherd in the Ford Focus RS. He started out in Clubman, before his speed resulted in him being bumped up to Clubman+, amongst the more powerful four-wheel drive cars including an R35 Nissan GT-R and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII. Considering the different performance levels of the cars in standard trim, Alan has done extremely well to be on the pace at every round. Alan set a 1:42.828 in qualifying, good enough for the runner-up spot among the Championship contenders and third overall in Clubman+. In the final he set a 1:43.242, fourth overall in Clubman+ and once again runner-up of the championship drivers. The 13 points Alan scored at Rockingham helped him secure third place in the championship standings at the end of the year. A podium position is a decent reward for his hard work throughout the year.

Leigh Jordan : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

Leigh Jordan has been very quick at times this year, for example picking up a second place at Cadwell Park and a third place at Snetterton. However, he was marginally off the pace at Rockingham. The International Super Sportscar Long circuit was new to many of our drivers, Leigh among them. So it was a very steep learning curve on the day. Leigh recorded a 1:44.386 in qualifying, earning him fifth place in Clubman+ (third of the Championship contenders). Leigh grabbed the same spot in the final, with a time of 1:44.554.

Chris Milner (Single Round Entry) : Vauxhall Astra VXR

The blue DS Motorsport Astra was a welcome addition to Clubman+ at Rockingham. Chris had never driven on soft semi-slicks before, with his only driving experience being three and a half trackdays! Again, this is exactly what Clubman and Clubman+ is here to do, open a door into Time Attack competition. Chris admits the sessions flew past faster than he anticipated, probably because he was having so much fun. He set a 1:50.668 during qualifying, and a 1:50.511 in the final. He left feeling he could have gone faster, but for someone with such little track-driving experience Chris did a great job.

Clubman

Inaugural Clubman Lap Record!

Warren Greenland (Single Round Entry) : Vauxhall Astra Van

They say the fastest car on the road is an Astra van. Well, Warren Greenland proved that might be the case at Rockingham. With his Astra J VXR and Corsa track car both undergoing upgrades, Warren decided to use his work van instead. It has a remapped 1.9-litre diesel, with a few other goodies including an Mfactory LSD, hybrid Turbo Dynamics turbo, KW coilover suspension and Alcon 4-pot brakes. He was right on the edge of the Clubman regs, but with a heavy diesel engine (and being a van!) it was decided that the odds were sufficiently stacked against him. To be honest, we all wanted to see how he compared. The huge torque helped of course, but Warren can obviously drive a bit, as he negotiated the tight infield far faster than we thought possible. As a Single Round Entry, Warren wasn’t able to score any points but he did top the Clubman time sheet in all four sessions. He managed an impressive 1:48.213 in qualifying, followed by an even quicker 1:48.096 in the final. Surely this is the first and only Time Attack lap record set by a diesel van, anywhere in the world?

Chris Atkins (Single Round Entry) : Renault Clio 200 RS

Chris Atkins put in a strong performance at Rockingham to cancel out the nightmare weekend he had at Oulton Park earlier in the year. His Renault Clio 200 RS carried the message “Thanks Dad”, in recognition of the help he’s had from his Dad Paul Atkins. He was also quick to point out the help he’s had from Bro Sport, Midlands Renault Specialists, Kalaztaisport Renault and Stuart Millican Racing. Chris was happy that he beat both Ollie and Jon, who were battling for the championship title. Chris recorded a 1:49.183 in qualifying, and a 1:48.908 in the final. He got close to Warren’s lap times too, which is impressive considering the power difference between the two cars and the minimal modifications on the Clio.

Ollie Novell : Toyota Corolla T-Sport

A power steering issue didn’t help Ollie, on a day when he needed a good result to secure the Time Attack Clubman Championship. With help from the Se7en Motorsports team, Ollie navigated his way around the issues to grab the points he needed to win his first Time Attack Championship. Ollie set a 1:51.783 in qualifying, followed by a 1:50.142 in the final. Both times were quicker than those set by his Championship rival Jon Ellis, meaning that Ollie ended up with a healthy 6 point lead in the final standings. Ollie was disappointed he couldn’t match the pace of our two rapid Single Round Entry drivers, but with a car that wasn’t 100% he was just happy to have sealed the title. Ollie is now considering what to do next year, and has already hinted that he might change classes. Sounds interesting.

Jon Ellis : Mini Cooper S

Jon Ellis made a surprising admission at the start of the day. He’s really enjoyed his debut year in Time Attack, but has always been too busy getting his car ready or driving it on track, to take much of the day in. So he made the extremely unusual decision to put his hot laps in early in each session, before parking up and watching the remaining minutes as a spectator! So he completed just six laps in qualifying, with a best of 1:54.219. Then he managed another six in the final, setting a best lap time of 1:52.794. It was a slightly bizarre end to the Clubman Championship fight that had come down to the wire, but it says a lot about Jon’s approach to Time Attack in his daily-driven Mini. In some ways we wish Jon had gone all out in every session, but it’s refreshing to find someone who is not only a Time Attack driver but a huge Time Attack fan too.

Pocket Rocket

Inaugural Pocket Rocket Lap Record!

Stewart Summers : Citroen Saxo

It was fitting that Stewart dominated the Pocket Rocket class once again at Rockingham in his supercharged Citroen Saxo, he’s been doing that all year. In the final calculations, Stewart’s dropped round score was the only final he didn’t win, and even then he qualified in first place and finished runner-up! In fact, from a maximum possible 75 points, Stewart scored an incredible 74 points! He qualified in first place with a stunning 1:40.869, his fastest time of the day. That was almost three seconds clear of his nearest rival, it was also the fastest time set in the entire session across all four classes – beating the Clubman+ Evo and Impreza drivers too! Stewart went marginally slower in the final with a best of 1:40.941, still way out in front of the rest of the Pocket Rocket field and second fastest in the session overall, across all four classes. We’ve run out of superlatives to describe Stewart’s performance this year. A properly sorted Pocket Rocket, driven by a very talented driver.

Robert Oldman : Ford Fiesta ST

Winner of the Best Presented Team of the Year award, SCC Performance boss Robert Oldman has shown he’s handy behind the wheel this season too. He went into the Rockingham final in the middle of a fight with Mini turbo drivers Tim Kite and Richard O’Dwyer, for second place in the championship. Richard had pulled out of the final, but was sitting in a provisional second place, so that meant Robert had to beat Tim on the day and score big points to leap-frog Richard. In the early warm-up and practice sessions, Robert finished in third place, behind Tim on both occasions. When qualifying began it became clear that Robert had been keeping something up his sleeve, but it was still close. When qualifying ended, Robert had earned the runner-up spot, behind Stewart and ahead of Tim by a tiny 0.152s! It was a similar story in the final too, where Robert finished runner-up once again, this time finishing 0.7-seconds ahead of Tim. A great performance that resulted in the Fiesta ST driver grabbing the runner-up spot in the Championship. So Robert had several nice trophies to take back to SCC HQ from the final round of the year.

Tim Kite : Mini Cooper S

The distinctive grey and hi-vis yellow Mini has appeared neat the front of the Time Attack time sheets all year. The Mini Cooper S is supported by Airtec, and the factory supercharger has been replaced with a 1320Mini turbo conversion running an Owen Developments turbo. Tim started well, beating his Championship rival Robert Oldman’s times in both the warm-up and practice sessions. When qualifying came, Tim managed a 1:43.683 on his last lap, good enough for third place. This turned out to be Tim’s fastest time of the day. In the final, he set a 1:43.714 right at the start of the session, once again earning him third place. The 11 points he earned at Rockingham helped him gain fourth place in the overall Championship table, an agonizing two points off the Championship podium. In fact, only four points covered second to fourth place in the Championship at the end of the year, showing just how close the fight was. All things considered, a decent debut year for Tim in Pocket Rockets.

Thomas Mühlenz : Time Attack Championship / Airtec Ford Fiesta ST

We’ve had a range of famous names and faces behind the wheel of our Time Attack Championship 10th Anniversary Ford Fiesta ST prepared by Airtec. For the final round, it seemed fitting to give one of our sponsors an opportunity to share in the fun. The lucky man was Thomas Mühlenz, who joined us from Takata and Schroth Racing. Judging by his times, Thomas is a quick driver. In a car that was completely new to him, and on a circuit he had never driven before, Thomas was chasing our top three drivers all day, as they pushed hard for those Championship points. Thomas recorded a 1:45.395 in qualifying, followed by a 1:44.462 in the final, fourth fastest in both sessions.

Adam Barnett : Mazda MX-5

The only rear-wheel drive car in the Pocket Rocket class this year, Adam and his supercharged Mazda MX-5 have had an up-and-down season. He’s been quick, but he’s also suffered from a few mechanical issues, most notably high inlet temperatures, which have left him thinking about a turbo conversion for next year. He’s certainly entertained us all with his oversteer antics, and it was no different at Rockingham. Adam set a 1:49.749 in qualifying, before chopping a decent amount off that time in the final, with a best of 1:48.777.

Ali Arshid : Suzuki Swift

Ali Arshid was noticeably quicker at Rockingham than he was at the start of the year. He’s learning fast in his CTC Performance supercharged Suzuki Swift. Ali set a 1:48.995 right at the end of qualifying, his fastest time of the day, earning him fifth place. He couldn’t quite match that pace in the final, recording a best of 1:49.595. Ali is another driver who has used this year to learn the format and make his car reliable. He now has a decent base on which to build for the future.

Andrew Kime : Mini Cooper S

Andrew’s fastest time of the day is not representative of his true pace at Rockingham. He managed only three laps in the warm-up session before being forced to retire the car for the day. A disappointing day for the Saxo driver, who impressed us with his pace at Croft in round 5.

Classic & Retro Club

Inaugural Classic & Retro Club Lap Record!

Alan Tolley : Ford Sierra XR4x4

Heading into the final, it was a simple case of winner takes all, and the result couldn’t have been closer. Alan Tolley started the year late, missing round one through ill health. Despite the serious nature of his illness, Alan has refused to be put off doing what he loves. The TNT Racing Ford Sierra is an XR4x4 with a 2.0-litre turbo Cosworth YB engine under the bonnet, and it’s been a case of ‘little vs large’ all year as Alan’s big Sierra went up against the lightweight Daihatsu of Jeff Whitbrook. Things were looking dodgy for Alan when he finished runner-up to Jeff in qualifying by a nail-biting 0.137s, setting a 1:47.262. This meant the outlook was simple. In the final, if Alan lost he would also lose the title by one point. If he won, he would be level with Jeff on points, but would be crowned Champion based on the number of event wins (3 vs 2). As the minutes counted down in the final, the tension was incredible. When the session ended, Alan was fastest. He had won! In fact, his 1:45.636 turned out to be over a second clear of Jeff’s time. An incredibly close fight and both drivers later shared their respect for each other. A close fight, but one carried out in the right spirit. Alan can be really proud of his Classic & Retro Club Championship and his Rockingham lap record.

Jeff Whitbrook : Daihatsu Charade GTTI

When Jeff Whitbrook first arrived on the scene, we weren’t aware of the firepower he was packing. The Daihatsu Charade GTTI usually has a 1.0-litre turbocharged 3-cylinder engine under the bonnet, that makes them nippy rather than quick. Jeff’s car is a beast, with a turbocharged Honda B-Series somehow stuffed under the bonnet! Jeff fought Alan all year, with both the nimble Daihatsu and stable Sierra finding certain tracks where they had an advantage, the drivers had to make up the rest. Jeff kept his nerve in qualifying, grabbing first place with a 1:47.125. This gave him a shot at the title. All he had to do was beat Alan in the final, and the title would be his. Sadly for Jeff, it wasn’t to be. He managed to improve his time from qualifying, setting a best of 1:46.771 in the final, his fastest time of the day. Alan was just faster in that important final session of the year. Jeff is a great competitor and feel proud of his achievements this year, that includes two wins and two lap records.

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Championship Podiums

Final Championship Points Table

In the Club classes, Umar Masood had already scored enough points to become the 2015 Club RWD Challenge Champion. However, both the Club 4WD and Club FWD Challenges had come down to this final round. We watched on with excitement as Josef Calleja and Simon Girffiths battled it out in Club 4WD, while Club FWD was so competitive that several drivers could still win the title. Who would set the debut Time Attack lap records on this longer course too? Read on to find out..

Club 4WD

Inaugural Club 4WD Lap Record!

Simon Griffiths : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

Simon turned up at Rockingham with a 1 point lead in the Club 4WD Championship over Josef Calleja. It was going to be a straight shootout between the two, and Simon knew that every point was critical. Things didn’t start well. Simon went out in qualifying and set a banker lap, only for the engine to develop a misfire. He returned to the pits and qualified in second place (1:38.865). This meant that he and Josef were on equal points. After five rounds and 180-odd laps, the Club 4WD Championship had come down to the final session of the year, winner takes all. Nick Rountree from NR Autosport found the root of the problem, and sent Simon out with new coilpacks for the final. Simon admits he was worried, with a cracking exhaust manifold and Pirelli tyres that had done the entire season! Still, it was now or never. Simon went as hard as he could, setting his fastest time of the day on his third lap in the final before feeling the tyres start to give up. He couldn’t go any faster. He wondered if that would be enough, and as the minutes counted down he hoped Josef couldn’t beat it. When the session ended, Simon’s best lap of 1:37.235 was 0.338s faster than Josef’s best. Simon had won! What a spectacular way to win a Championship, and all one on set of tyres all year!

Josef Calleja : Subaru Impreza

Josef has flown over from Malta for every single round, and he’s made a big impression on the Time Attack this year. He knew he would have to win both qualifying and the final to beat Simon and grab the Club 4WD title. He started well, topping the overall Club Challenge sessions in both warm-up (1:39.088) and practice (1:37.433), before beating Simon in qualifying by just 0.327s with a best of 1:38.219. He’d taken the fight to the last session of the year. Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat Simon’s time in a nail-biting final. In fact, his lap time of 1:37.573 was marginally slower than his time from practice. The day didn’t end how Josef would have liked, but he still took home a runner-up trophy, and can be extremely proud of how he performed in his debut year of Time Attack competition.

Mark Flook (Single Round Entry) : Nissan GT-R

Our 2015 Clubman+ Champion Mark Flook decided to enter Club 4WD as a Single Round Entry, for a new challenge at the last round of the season. The Clubman+ class is for cars with very limited modifications, so Mark’s car is his daily-driver and has far fewer modifications than Simon and Josef. That being said, the Nissan GT-R is a fearsomely fast car, even in standard trim. So it was interesting to see how Mark compared. Ultimately he was a couple of seconds off the pace, with a 1:40.250 in qualifying and a 1:39.675 in the final. Even so, it was a good opportunity for Mark to test himself. We’ve heard rumours that Mark’s big-power Mitsubishi GTO could make a return to Time Attack competition next year. That’s a very exciting prospect indeed.

Club RWD

Inaugural Club RWD Lap Record!

Simon Roberts : Noble M12 GTO3

After valve failure took out his race engine at Oulton Park, followed by big electrical issues last time out at Croft that wrecked a lot of the wiring loom, Simon Roberts had performed a miracle just to be at Rockingham. Simon explained how grateful he was to Jetstream Motorsport for getting the car ready, especially Dave Baseley. The problems continued in the morning however, as a fuel pump problem meant he couldn’t start the car, so missed out on the warm up. He was out for practice thankfully, before a misfire ruined qualifying (1:47.557). With Dave helping to fix the misfire, Simon went out for the final with nothing to lose. With only the driving to concentrate on, Simon went over a second faster than anyone in Club RWD had gone all day! His time of 1:40.361 won him the final event of the year and gave him a lap record to take home too. A great reward for his perseverance, and an indication that Simon’s 4th place in the Championship standings doesn’t reflect his true pace.

Anthony Woo : Nissan 200SX

The Nissan that has been eating all the tyres. Anthony Woo’s Nissan 200SX turned up at Rockingham noticeably wider, thanks to a widebody conversion by EP Racing. The Eurospec-supported Nissan had much wider wheels and rubber, and it clearly helped as Anthony was on the pace all day. He qualified in first place in Club RWD, with a 1:42.949. Before finishing in the runner-up spot in the final, with a 1:41.576. These 14 points helped Anthony claim the runner-up spot in the 2015 Club RWD Championship too. A successful year for Anthony and the team all round.

Umar Masood : Mazda RX-7

It’s fair to describe Umar Masood as a Time Attack veteran. His widebody Mazda RX-7 had an eventful day, ending up on fire briefly at one stage! Thankfully it all held together to allow Umar to perform a rolling burnout down the pitlane to celebrate winning the 2015 Club RWD title. Naughty boy! It was a popular victory though, as Umar is something of a prankster in the Time Attack paddock. Rockingham wasn’t his best performance of the year – he set a 1:44.633 to finish runner-up in qualifying, before a 1:41.992 earned him third place in the final – but he won’t mind. Securing his first Time Attack Championship was Umar’s aim, and he did that in style, finishing a massive 15 points clear of his nearest rival.

James Pinkerton : Mazda RX-7

James Pinkerton has had an inconsistent year, but has shown flashes of genuine pace. His RX-7 was looking a little battle-scar’d by the end of Rockingham, proof that he’s been pushing on. James set a best of 1:46.720 in qualifying, followed by a 1:44.700 in the final, securing fourth place in both sessions. He finished the year tied on points with Noble driver Simon Roberts, despite scoring no points at either of the first two rounds of the year.

James Procter : Nissan 350Z

Considering this was James Procter’s first year of driving a rear-wheel drive in competition, you have to to hand it to him. His 3.5-litre V6 engined Nissan 350Z is the only naturally-aspirated car in Club RWD. So when you compare his times to the rest of the class, you have to take into account he’s has much less horsepower than his rivals. James set a 1:46.376 in qualifying, to grab an impressive third place. In the final, James managed a 1:45.149 in his VR Dyno Tuning, Velociraptor Racing 350Z, earning him fifth place. It’s been a year of learning for James, and next year the plan is to take the next step. Time Attack isn’t purely about power, far from it. However, the twin-turbo conversion he’s planning should help James compete at the top of Club RWD in 2016.

Club FWD

Inaugural Club FWD Lap Record!

Neil Wrenn : Honda Civic

Of all the classes in Time Attack this year, Club FWD has been the biggest and arguably most competitive class. The cars and drivers have pushed each other onto a new level this year, and the results are lap times that have often been comparable with those set in Club Pro! Neil Wrenn worked hard on his turbocharged B-Series Honda Civic over winter, and the car looks completely different to last year, the most obvious difference being the wider front tyres and arch extensions. Heading into the final round at Rockingham, Neil was leading the Championship, having set a couple of new lap records along the way. However, it will come as a surprise to those that have followed Neil’s success in Time Attack this year that he had never won a round. Neil qualified in second place with a 1:38.972, right at the end of the session. In the final, Neil had a problem shifting into third gear and also some fuel-cut issues. Despite this, he strung what he admits was a fairly untidy lap together. When he returned to the pits, he was surprised and relieved to see people giving him the thumbs up. He had won! Not only had he won the final by the tightest of margins (0.142s), he had set the inaugural lap record and won the 2015 UK Club FWD Championship. What a time to score your first win. A well-earned championship in what is effectively a home-built car.

Martyn Henry : Vauxhall Astra

Martyn Henry came on strong at the end of the year to mount a serious Club FWD championship challenge, scoring 14 points in the final two rounds to earn the runner-up spot in his Vauxhall Astra VXR. The Scotsman knew he would need a perfect weekend to have any hope of beating Neil Wrenn to the title. In fact, there were several drivers who were mathematically able to win the title, but Martyn pushed himself to the front of that queue with a great performance in qualifying. He set a 1:38.606, a time that was second fastest in the Club session overall, nevermind the front-wheel drive class – only beaten by Josef Calleja in the Subaru Impreza by 0.387s, and over a second faster than Neil Wrenn in second place. That’s how fast he was. It set up a fantastic end to the year, with Martyn needing to win and hope that Neil finished down the order. Martyn recorded a best of 1:38.677, almost identical to his qualifying time. Sadly for Marytn, Neil went just 0.142s quicker to grab the title, leaving Martyn to pick up the runner-up spot on the day and in the Championship. Considering how fearsome the Club FWD competition has been this year, that is still something to be extremely proud of.

Darren Spooner : Peugeot 205

Darren has flown under the radar slightly this year in his Peugeot 205, and hasn’t always received the recognition he deserves. He’s one of those drivers who pushes from the very first lap of the day until the last, and his car always looks and sounds fantastic. Darren has been competing with cars running larger engines than the turbocharged 1.6-litre 106 engine under the bonnet of his 205, but it’s never stopped him being in among the front-runners. The Spoox Motorsport Pug has grown a bit of front aero during the year, which must be helping because at Rockingham Darren was quick. He qualified in fourth place with a 1:39.855, before going a bit quicker in the final (1:39.417) to earn third place. An excellent result at the final round of the year, that also saw him take fifth place in the Club FWD Championship.

Paul Waddington : Honda Civic

Inaugural Club NA Lap Record!

The fastest naturally-aspirated car in UK Time Attack this year. That’s how Paul Waddington and his K20-powered EK9 Civic Type-R will be remembered. The bright yellow weapon has been taking aim at apexes all year, but something definitely seemed to click for Paul at Rockingham. Up against far more powerful turbo cars, Paul’s light and nimble Civic proved a great car in which to tackle the tight infield section of the Rockingham Super Sportscar Long circuit. We almost had to double-take as Paul appeared in third place at the end of qualifying (1:39.610), and then fourth place in the final (1:39.423). An astounding performance when you consider Rockingham features that long straight with the scary high-speed Turn 1. Paul’s was one of the drives of the day, for sure. The result also saw him pick up sixth place in the Club FWD Championship. Paul is now considering some form of forced induction for next year, and is looking at supercharging rather than adding a turbo. Watch this bright yellow space.

Marc Donnelly : Ford Escort

Almost. That’s how Marc Donnelly will feel after he came so close to making it a hat-trick of consecutive Club FWD Championship titles. That would have been an incredible feat, but Marc has consistently said he is going faster than ever before, it’s just that everyone is so fast in Club FWD this year. A driver who loves the heat of battle, Marc was looking forward to this final round shoot-out but ironically, it ended up being his worst Time Attack weekend for years. Bad timing. Amongst the mechanical issues that included a driveshaft failure, Marc could only manage a 1:40.393 in qualifying and a 1:40.767 in the final, finishing fifth in both sessions. Still, the points were enough to secure Marc third spot in the 2015 Club FWD Championship, and his beautiful Focus RS-powered Mk3 Escort is still one of the best-prepared cars in the pit lane. It’s hard to judge if this is much consolation for a man who is so used to the top step of the podium.

Adrian Daniel : Vauxhall Astra

Turbo technician Adrian Daniel is another driver who has been steering his way around a learning curve this year. His Astra Coupe uses an old-tech Holset turbo and Adrian has been subtly tweaking the car throughout the year to improve his lap times. The front splitter and end plates are relatively new, and Adrian has been putting a lot of thought into his driving, analyzing his lines and braking points. As a result he’s been moving steadily up the order. Adrian recorded a 1:43.401 in qualifying (6th place), and a 1:45.224 in the final (7th). He also finished in 7th place in the Club FWD Championship too. A pretty decent year all round and a decent base to build on in the future.

Jonathan Morris : Ford Focus ST170

Another screaming naturally-aspirated competitor, the Burton Power Duratec engine in Jonathan Morris’ ST170 sounded great as it accelerated along the main straight and into Turn 1 at Rockingham. Jonathan does a lot of charity work and has been supporting two causes this year, Veterans Association UK and the St. Andrews Childrens Hospice. Two very worthy causes. Like many of the drivers, Jonathan had never driven Rockingham before and admits he was feeling a little apprehensive about tackling the banked corner and concrete wall. Thankfully he avoided it all day, but did have to stop early in the final with a CV joint failure. The built engine is simply making too much power for the factory part, especially with the extra grip he has. That said, one of Jonathan’s biggest issues on the day was getting enough traction from his 215/45-17in rubber, a relatively narrow tyre compared to some of his Club FWD rivals. Jonathan still managed a 1:44.202 in qualifying (7th) and a 1:44.243 (6th) in the final.

Andy York (Single Round Entry) : Peugeot 205

Another 205 and another Spoox Motorsport special joined us at Rockingham. Andy York took home a trophy for the fastest Single Round Entry in Club FWD at Rockingham, and he earned plenty of new friends in the process. He set a 1:46.495 in qualifying (9th place), followed by a 1:45.224 in the final (8th place and his fastest time of the day). The fact Andy set his fastest time of the day on pretty much his final flying lap, suggests he peaked at the right time and got the most from his Peugeot 205.

Dan Lewis : Renault Megane

Dan’s R26 Renault Megane is fully road-legal and putting out around 360bhp. Behind the matte bodywork is a relatively lightly tuned car, compared to some of his rivals in Club FWD this year. Dan found the circuit quick slippery in places, giving him lots of oversteer to deal with. Couple that to a clutch that began to slip as the day drew on, and you can understand why Dan feels he could have gone faster. Even so, he managed a 1:46.138 in qualifying (8th place), and then a slightly slower 1:47.216 in the final (9th place). The fact he went backwards in the final is an indication the clutch issue was getting worse with every lap. A frustrating way to end the season, although he did score enough points to take eighth place in the Club FWD Championship.

Jeff Alden : Vauxhall Astra

Jeff Alden admits he’s loved every second of this year’s Time Attack Championship. The Book Club Racing Vauxhall Astra has a B204 Saab turbo engine under the bonnet, and has been upgraded as the year has gone on. At Rockingham, Jeff struggled with some handling issues so he wasn’t 100% happy his times. In qualifying he managed a best of 1:50.672, but managed to knock a whole three seconds off that time in the final, with a best of 1:47.567. Those 5 points in the final were important because they helped Jeff grab ninth place in the Championship, one point ahead of Jonathan Morris in the Focus.

Antonio Giovinazzo : Alfa Romeo 155

The Giovinazzo brothers were full of smiles once again, despite bringing up the rear in Club RWD. If the championship was decided on enthusiasm, these two would be champions. Antonio was slightly off the pace at Rockingham in the homebuilt 2.0-litre twin spark turbo 155 Alfa Romeo. Car issues prevented him from recording a lap time in either qualifying or the final. So Antonio’s fastest time of the day was actually the 1:55.504 he recorded at the end of the warm up session, the only session of the day he completed. Not one of the Giovinazzo brothers better days on the track, but they still had a blast being part of the UK Time Attack Championship circus.

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Championship Podiums

Final Championship Points Table

In the Pro classes, Russ Paton (Club Pro) and Lloyd Wright (Classic & Retro Pro) had already scored enough points to become 2015 champions. However, the Pro and Pro Extreme titles were still up grabs. Who would come out on top? Who would take home the debut Time Attack lap records on this longer course? Read on to find out..

PRO Extreme

Inaugural Pro Extreme Lap Record!

Phil Reed : AP Tuning/Ross Sport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Phil Reed grabbed the 2015 UK Time Attack Pro Extreme Championship title at Rockingham, despite hitting the concrete wall at well over 100mph! In the championship standings, it was a straight shoot-out between Phil and fellow Lancer Evo driver Andrew Barbour, and Phil brought some extra firepower with him to Rockingham. Having already set some of the fastest speed trap figures throughout the year with just 800bhp or so, the AP Tuning guys gave Phil extra boost and nitrous oxide injection to play with for the final round! Phil qualified in second place (1:31.589), before unleashing everything he had in the final – where he set an incredible Pro Extreme lap record of 1:29.281 to win in style. After setting his winning lap, Phil pushed on for a quicker lap. He entered the banked Turn 1 a bit too hot, understeered out onto the marbles and hit the unforgiving concrete wall side-on. Luckily the damage was minimal and he managed to drive slowly back around to the pits, where his team and spectators alike congratulated him on a well-earned victory.

Brad Sheehan : NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Where did Brad Sheehan come from!? We always knew Brad was capable of performing right at the front of the Time Attack field, but he will be the first to admit he’s had reliability issues with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX throughout the years – hence he was in his E46 BMW M3 at Croft, in the last round. This year he switched teams to NR Autosport, and Nick and the guys have been working through the issues to make the car both reliable and fast. One of the key areas NR and Brad have worked on is the suspension. Nick has been focusing on the setup of the Reiger Racing dampers and we saw the results at Rockingham. Brad controlled his usual steer-from-the-rear driving style to produce a neat and tidy lap that earned him the runner-up spot in the final. Amazingly, he reckons there was still a bit of time left on the track, but he was stopped from trying again by a red flag. Even so, this was his best performance of the year by a mile.

Richard Marshall : Ultra Racing / HEL Performance Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Richard Marshall has been competing across Europe all year, and it’s safe to say he’s won pretty much wherever he’s gone. He claims this is his last appearance in UK Time Attack, certainly in this car, but we’re not sure if we believe him. He’s been around for years now and at Rockingham he was still the reigning Pro class Champion, looking to end 2015 with a bang. It’s fair to say he performed extremely well, right on the pace and grabbing third spot on the podium with his fastest time of the day right at the start of the final. We’ll have to see what the future holds for Richard but no-one can deny that he’s been extremely quick this year.

Andrew Barbour : NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Sadly for Andrew, things didn’t go his way at Rockingham. Heading into the event, he was locked in a fight for the Pro Extreme title with Phil Reed, in his debut year with his new car in Pro Extreme. In fact, all of our Pro Extreme drivers at Rockingham were new to the class this year. The difference is that only Andrew had a completely new car to learn too, and he admits that if had been offered second place in the Pro Extreme Championship at the start of the year, he would have grabbed it. Andrew started well, qualifying in first place with a 1:31.195 that was 0.394s faster than his Championship rival. However, when the final came everyone went faster and Andrew found himself at the rear of a very fast quartet, just 0.016s behind third-place Richard Marshall. That’s how close the pack were in the final. So it was a slightly disappointing day, but a very successful year for the Flyin’ Scotsman.

PRO

Inaugural Pro Lap Record!

Kevin Jones : Jetstream Motorsport Noble M12 RSR

Is there any stopping Kevin Jones and his Jetstream Motorsport Noble M12 RSR? Last year he won the Club RWD Championship, this year he steps up to Pro, swaps to slick tyres and win his second successive title! The Martin Cheetham engine in the back of Kevin’s car has now completed two full seasons without any issues. It’s also providing plenty of power, as Kevin’s lap times prove. Kevin won a tight qualifying battle, setting the fourth fastest time of the entire session and quickest in Pro (1:33.762). The Noble driver then found a whole heap of time in the final, taking maximum points with a 1:31.909, the fastest time by any rear-wheel drive car at Rockingham. If Kevin chooses to go for a hat-trick of Championship titles next year, it’s going to take a very special car and driver combo to beat him.

Lee Broadhurst : ABG Motorsport KTM X-Bow

In a class that includes a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 Noble and a triple-rotor turbo Mazda RX-7, Lee Broadhurst has been effectively out-gunned in Time Attack this year. However that’s only half the story, and Lee’s KTM X-Bow with 2.0-litre turbo Audi TFSI power in the back, is only half the weight of his competitors. Making up the time in the bends has been Lee’s priority all year, and that’s been clear by his spins towards the end of the year. Spectacular to watch, Lee has been great entertainment this year and has proved he’s no slouch, even in the face of stiff competition – taking the outright win at Snetterton for example, in Round 2. At Rockingham, Lee was on the pace in qualifying (1:33.818), finishing in the runner-up spot just 0.056s behind Kevin in the Noble. When the final came however, Lee couldn’t match Kevin’s extra pace but still recorded a credible 1:34.481, and the runner-up spot in the Pro Championship. Lee and his ABG Motorsport-supported X-Bow have done themselves proud this year, and we’re already hearing whispers of plans to come back stronger next year with new goodies. Watch out Kevin..

Classic & Retro PRO

Inaugural Classic & Retro PRO Lap Record!

Lloyd Wright : RSR8 Escort

A crowd favourite all year, Lloyd Wright’s Escort RSR8 is a work of art. Not only is the twin-Hayabusa V8 engined Escort an incredible machine, Lloyd’s attitude has been spot on. When several Classic & Retro Pro competitors pulled out at the last minute before Round 1, Lloyd pulled his socks up and focused his attention on the Pro and Pro Extreme drivers instead. He’s been pleased with some results, less so with others, but his pace has generally been around the Pro guys, sometimes pushing the Pro Extreme chaps too. So he was slightly disappointed with his lap times at Rockingham, which were marginally slower than the Pro drivers, but he’d already become the driver of a cult car for many Time Attack fans. Lloyd qualified in 1:35.467, before setting a best of 1:35.538 in the final, and of course took home the inaugural Classic & Retro Pro Championship title. Hopefully he’ll have some new friends to play with next year, but now that Lloyd has a year of experience under his belt, they had better come prepared!

Club PRO

Inaugural Club PRO Lap Record!

Ronnie Amis : Airtec VW Golf

It was a mixed day for Ronnie Amis at Rockingham. In many ways, it’s been a difficult end to the season for the Airtec VW Golf driver, with mechanical niggles in the later rounds ruining his Club Pro title challenge. Ronnie topped the Club Pro times in Warm-Up (1:39.374), Practice (1:38.881) and Qualifying (1:1:37.784). He earned 5 points for qualifying in first place and looked set for a strong finish to the season. However, when the final session began the alternator in Ronnie’s Golf died. He didn’t set a time, which was particularly annoying as Ronnie was sure he could go faster. As Ronnie described it himself, this summed up his year perfectly. Despite this disappointment, Ronnie still took home a trophy for third place in the Club Pro Championship, and of course has a new Club Pro Lap Record to help soften the blow.

Russ Paton : HQ Garage Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

HQ Garage Evo driver Russ Paton had made the trip down from Scotland knowing he was already 2015 Club Pro Champion. That didn’t stop him from trying to finish the year in style, but he was surprisingly down the order slightly in qualifying, finishing third with a best of 1:41.087.  When the final came around, he either wound up the boost, took a brave pill or both, because he went much faster. Russ finished the year with a win in the final session, setting a best time of 1:39.958. We know Russ supports other drivers in other series too, and he was up at another track in Scotland the day after Rockingham, which shows his dedication to Motorsport and his HQ Garage customers. A popular win for a driver who has helped out behind the scenes at Time Attack, when this very car was still being rebuilt from the wreckage he created at Brands Hatch a couple of years ago.

Jonny Fletcher : G-R Performance Vauxhall Astra

Jonny Fletcher could be in Club FWD this year but decided to push himself into Club Pro for a bigger challenge. He rewarded his own ambition at Rockingham. When Ronnie Amis’ mechanical issues opened the door, Jonny stepped up and delivered the lap time to score the points that ultimately saw him snatch the runner-up spot in the Championship. Jonny qualified in second place with a 1:41.070, a miniscule 0.017s ahead of Russ Paton in third place! In the final, Jonny once again finished in the runner-up spot, this time 0.863s behind Russ, with a best of 1:40.821. It was a strong finish to the year for Jonny. Ronnie may have opened the door, but Jonny still needed to deliver that lap-time, and that’s exactly what the Vauxhall Astra driver did.

Lee Mabbett : Se7en Motorsport Toyota Corolla T-Sport

Lee Mabbett didn’t have the debut year he was expecting, in his supercharged Toyota Corolla T-Sport. Issues with his competition engine early in the season forced him to reset his expectations, and he’s moved forward admirably. Once again Greg at ProTuner tweaked the ECU map, got the Race Tech dash working correctly and Lee sorted the issue he’s been having with the supercharger belt slipping. Lee qualified with a 1:44.252, despite stripping third gear during the session. Without a gear that he admits he was using for around 70% of the lap, plus a slipping clutch, Lee’s final lap time of 1:48.021 isn’t representative of what he could have achieved. Still, it scored him the points to grab the third step of the podium at the final event of the year. Since Rockingham, we’ve heard rumours that Lee is building a new car for next year. So if you like the look of Lee’s car with it’s custom aero package, get yourself to the Se7en Motorsport facebook page for more info. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with for next year.

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Championship Podiums

Final Championship Points Table

Time Attack rolled into Croft for the first time since 2013, with lots of new faces keen to attack the circuit they had heard so much about. Croft is a challenging and flowing circuit. There are technical corners that link onto several long straights, rewarding drivers that can carry speed through them.

We arrived to rain showers and gloomy skies. Far from ideal. Thankfully, by the time the Warm-Up sessions arrived the rain had eased and the track continued to dry throughout the day. As everyone got used to the track and grip levels increased, the lap times dropped.

Being the penultimate round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship, and with every driver required to drop their one lowest round score from their overall Championship points, we could now start to calculate Championship standings. By the end of the day we had a new Club FWD lap record, a new Club NA record, several inaugural lap records for the new classes plus a total of five new 2015 Time Attack Champions to celebrate!

Clubman+

2015 Clubman+ Champion!

Inaugural Clubman+ Lap Record!

Mark Flook : Nissan GT-R

Earlier in the year, Mark Flook realized his Mitsubishi GTO wasn’t going to be ready in time for the Time Attack season. He still wanted to be involved, looked around at the classes and wondered if his daily-driven Nissan GT-R would be competitive in the new Clubman+ class – created to invite very lightly-tuned cars into the world of Time Attack. His reward for this commitment is that several rounds later he’s been crowned the first Clubman+ Champion! At Croft, Mark was pushed all the way by Jonny Roose in the Evo but always had a few tenths on his closest rival. Mark topped both qualifying (1:35.355) and the final (1:34.812), to secure the maximum 15 points and take the title in style, with one round remaining. Mark is toying with stepping up to Club 4WD at Rockingham for an extra challenge, provided his absence doesn’t affect others in the fight for the remaining Championship places. Watch this space.

Jonny Roose : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

Jonny Roose came so close to winning at Croft but finished a close runner-up in both points-scoring sessions. In qualifying Jonny finished just 0.358s behind Mark Flook, posting a best of 1:35.713 on his final qualifying lap in his Lancer Evo VIII. In the final, Jonny went almost a second faster, setting a 1:35.038 on his last flat-out lap. Sadly, it was still 0.226 behind Flook in the GT-R. Still, it was a great battle to watch and Jonny was well clear of his next fastest rival.

Darren Meddings (Single Round Entry) : Subaru Impreza

Darren Meddings had a great Time Attack debut, finishing the day as the Fastest Single Round Entry. He set his fastest time of the day in qualifying, during an almighty tussle with Brad Sheehan in the M3. Darren set a best of 1:38.179, an incredible 0.015s faster than Brad! When the final came around, Darren went marginally slower, with a best of 1:38.693. That was good enough for fourth place in Clubman+, 0.229s behind Brad.

Brad Sheehan (Single Round Entry) : BMW M3

Brad has competed this year in Pro Extreme, behind the wheel of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. Sadly his Evo wasn’t ready in time for Croft but Brad didn’t want to miss out on all the fun, so he decided to thrash his daily-driver around in Clubman+ instead. Essentially a road-spec M3 with a few minor tweaks, Brad had lots of sideways moments on the slippery track, showing us he can handle plenty of oversteer! Brad’s times improved as the track dried out during the day. He set a 1:38.194 in qualifying (fourth fastest in Clubman+), before going one better in the final. In a tight battle with Darren Meddings in the 4WD Subaru Impreza, Brad clocked a 1:38.464 to take home a well-deserved trophy for fastest Clubman+ Single Round Entry in the final shootout.

Alan Shepherd : Ford Focus

Airtec boss Alan Shepherd was pounding round all day in his Focus RS, the only front-wheel drive car in Clubman+. Alan managed to get one over on at least one 4WD car, beating Leigh Jordan to fifth place in both qualifying (1:39.850) and the final (1:39.283). That’s important because there is now just two points separating Alan and Leigh in the Championship points table, with both drivers still required to drop their one lowest round score at the end of the year. It’s all going to come down to a shoot-out at Rockingham.

Leigh Jordan : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

Someone has to bring up the rear in each class and in Clubman+ at Croft, that honour was Leight Jordan’s. Leigh was further down the order than we might have expected in qualifying, setting a best of 1:44.893.  He managed to pull some time out of the bag during the final, recording a 1:42.577 right at the end of the day. Leigh will be hoping for a better result in the final round at Rockingham, where a step on the Championship podium is still well within his grasp.

Clubman

Inaugural Clubman Lap Record!

Jon Ellis : Mini Cooper S

In a close-run battle, it was Jon Ellis who set the fastest time of the day in his Mini Clubman. The wonder lap came during a heated qualifying session, where Jon set a 1:44.467 in his Mini Cooper S to edge out Ollie Novell in the Corolla by an incredible 0.055s! These turned out to be the fastest times of the day for both drivers, although it was just as close in the final, where Jon set a 1:44.664 to finish in the runner-up spot by just 0.035s! It’s incredible how these two different cars have been driven to such similar lap-times.

Ollie Novell : Toyota Corolla T-Sport

Ollie just missed out on the top spot in qualifying, recording a 1:44.522 to finish just 0.055s behind Mini driver Jon Ellis. However, it was Ollie’s moment of madness in the final that stands out. With brake pads that had worn down to the metal and no spares on hand, Ollie went out to drive around at a steady pace to score important points towards the Championship. While he was driving around however, something took over him. He decided to go for it. Somehow he managed to put a hot lap in before going off the circuit shortly after, with completely destroyed discs. His time? 1:44.629, winning the Clubman final by an unbelievable 0.035s!

Pocket Rocket

2015 Pocket Rocket Champion!

Inaugural Pocket Rocket Lap Record!

Stewart Summers : Citroen Saxo

What a year it’s been for Stewart Summers and his supercharged Saxo. Just over a year ago Stewart rolled his old Saxo in spectacular fashion at Snetterton. These days his team reckon he’s pushing the re-shelled version far harder, mainly because it didn’t begin as his ‘pride and joy’ road car, which the other one did. He’s going much quicker as a result. Or it may simply be that Stewart has more track time under his belt and more confidence? Either way, he once again rose to the top of the Pocket Rocket class, qualifying in first place (1:37.095)  before winning a dramatic final (1:36.916). Those 15 points helped Stewart become the first Pocket Rocket Time Attack Champion with one round remaining.

Richard O’Dwyer : Mini Cooper S

Richard O’Dwyer has been quick all year in his turbocharged Mini and at Croft he pushed Stewart all the way. He was just 0.532s slower in qualifying, grabbing second place. In the final, it seemed like he might pull off a dramatic victory to take the Championship fight into the final round. That’s despite suffering clutch issues towards the end of the session. However, when the final results were confirmed it became clear that Richard had finished in second place, recording a best lap time of 1:37.438. Just 0.343s behind Stewart. A tiny margin, but one that confirms our 2015 Pocket Rocket Championship winner. Richard now has the change to fight it out for the second spot on the Championship podium at Rockingham, which would still be a great result.

Robert Oldman : Ford Fiesta ST

The eye-catching SCC Performance Fiesta was clearly being pushed to it’s very limits at Croft, bouncing around the tight Complex lap after lap. The SCC Performance boss Robert Oldman knew what was at stake, with this being the penultimate round in the Championship. He secured third place finished in both qualifying (1:38.461) and the final (1:38.153), so you can see how consistent Robert was. In the final he also pushed himself to within 0.715s of Richard O’Dwyer in second place, and it’s Richard and fellow Mini driver Tim Kite that Robert will have to beat at Rockingham to secure the runner-up spot in the Championship.

Tim Kite : Mini Cooper S

Another car with hi-vis highlights, and another turbocharged Mini. Tim Kite has backed up his impressive performance at last year’s Night Attack at Brands Hatch with a solid debut year in Time Attack. He was at Croft the previous day for a spot of testing and had an ‘off’, hence the stealthily repaired front bumper. Having never driven the track before Friday, Tim ended the day at Time Attack having knocked 10 seconds off his best lap time from the day before. That’s some very rapid progress! Tim finished in fourth place in both points-scoring sessions, recording a best of 1:40.239 in qualifying, followed by a 1:39.870 in the final. He’s now in a three-way fight the runner-up spot at Rockingham. Bring it on!

Mike Cantelo (Single Round Entry) : Time Attack Championship / Airtec Ford Fiesta ST

“Missile Mike” isn’t his official nickname but it should be. Circuit Manager Mike Cantello is a Time Attack lap record holder at Croft, so there was no-one better to drive the 10th Anniversary Time Attack Championship Fiesta ST prepared by Airtec. After a minor “off” in the morning warm-up thanks to some very brave but ultimately too late braking, Mike recovered to put in a fine display. He set a 1:41.539 in qualifying followed by a 1:40.524 in the final, earning himself a trophy for being the fastest Single Round Entry in the final, in the process. Mike even had time to end his session early too, as he kept one eye on the circuit. You see, some men can multi-task!

Andrew Kime (Single Round Entry) : Citroen Saxo

Andrew Kime was a Single Round Entry at Croft, and ended up as the fastest naturally-aspirated competitor in Pocket Rockets. Under the bonnet of this lightweight french hatchback is a 1.6-litre engine using high-compression, cams and individual throttle bodies to fight off the turbo and supercharged opposition. What he’s done with the rest of the car clearly works too, as Andrew was on the pace despite being outgunned in the power department. Although he only qualified in eighth place (1:44.500), Andrew’s lap times continued to drop as the day continued and eventually set the sixth fastest Pocket Rocket time in the final (1:42.012).

Adam Barnett : Mazda MX-5

Adam Barnett had fun and games in the morning, trying to find traction in his supercharged Mazda MX-5. It didn’t help that he was trying to bed in a brand new set of Pirelli Trofeo R tyres at the time. A minor “off” followed when he got too brave but he was fine to continue. Adam qualified with a best of 1:43.210, good enough for sixth place. However his day got really interesting in the final, when the belt attached to his supercharger snapped. Adam managed to crawl back to the pits with no boost, and with help from his team and Club Pro competitor Jonny Fletcher, got one fitted with just three minutes to go! He raced around the circuit and managed just one flying lap before the chequered flag dropped; a 1:43.393, seventh overall and fifith quickest of the Championship hopefuls. Adam admits it wasn’t a perfect lap and left marginally frustrated at leaving time on the track, but grateful for the help that saw him record a time at all.

Sam Weller : Peugeot 106

It was a manic week leading up to the event for Sam Weller. With help from his friends Lee Hunt and Matthew Willgoss, there was a new engine under the Peugeot’s bonnet and new front suspension too. Unfortunately, Sam didn’t get on with the new suspension and with clutch issues towards the end of the day, it’s fair to say Sam didn’t put in a lap time he was truly happy with. Still, he set a 1:44.211 in qualifying that was good enough for seventh quickest in Pocket Rockets overall, and sixth fastest of the Championship contenders. Before recording a best of 1:43.648 in the final, sixth fastest of the Championship contenders.

Ali Arshid : Suzuki Swift Sport

Ali Arshid has never done any competitive driving before but he has big plans for the future in Time Attack, so watch this space. For now, he’s getting used to being out on track in his supercharged Suzuki Swift backed by CTC Performance. Ali set his fastest time of the day during the final, where his 1:45.604 was over a second faster than his qualifying time of 1:46.897. So he’s heading in the right direction.

Karl Chard (Single Round Entry) : Mazda MX-5

Time Attack at Croft came shortly after Karl Chard’s birthday, so a day spent out on track was a pretty good present to himself. Karl’s Mk1 Mazda MX-5 looked great out there in the morning session. He finished fourth fastest in the wet warm-up with a 1:55.622. Unfortunately, that was the last session Karl completed. Hopefully he’ll back in the future to show us what he can really do, as he looked quick.

Classic & Retro Club

Inaugural Classic & Retro Club Lap Record!

Alan Tolley : Ford Sierra XR4x4

Alan managed to shave an incredible 17 seconds off his fastest lap time during the day, thanks to a drying track and a change of tyres. After completing the warm-up and practice sessions, Alan made the switch to a set of semi-slicks for qualifying. They obviously helped, as Alan qualified in first place with a best of 1:42.068 in his 2.0-litre turbo Cosworth-powered Sierra XR4x4. That was over two seconds faster than his nearest rival. In the final the gap closed up but not by much. By the end, Alan had secured a win and the maximum 15 points, with a best of 1:42.092. Alan is now tied on 57 points overall with Jeff Whitbrook, with both drivers having scored no points at one round already. So with each driver required to drop their one lowest score at the end of the year, it will be a heads-up shootout for the title and neither driver can afford any kind of accident or mechanical failure. What a climax to the debut Classic & Retro Club Championship!

Jeff Whitbrook : Daihatsu Charade GTTI

Jeff had to concede he was second best at Croft in his Honda turbo-powered Daihatsu Charade GTTI. Last time out the positions were reversed, with Jeff taking maximum points but this weekend it was Sierra driver Alan Tolley’s turn. Jeff recorded a 1:44.275 in qualifying, then a 1:43.941 in the final, so he was getting faster. It sets up an incredible final round with both Jeff and Alan on identical points, having both already scored zero at one round. So it’s winner takes all at Rockingham on Saturday 19th September.

Max Wakefield (Single Round Entry) : Lada Lotus

An old Lada based on an even older Fiat, with an 8-valve engine and carburetors. On paper Max Wakefield had no change but this is Time Attack and there’s more to this combo than meets the eye. A well-developed car with an experienced driver, Max turned plenty of heads with both his pace and his sideways driving at Croft! Under the bonnet is a naturally-aspirated 2.0-lite Fiat twin-cam putting out 220bhp, and the car was built to replicate the Lotus Lada that featured on the Top Gear TV programme. Max may have finished bottom of the time sheets in both qualifying and the final, but there’s no shame in that, especially as a Time Attack newcomer up against modern machinery. Considering the track was relatively damp all day, Max’s times were impressive. He recorded a 1:47.381 in qualifying followed by a 1:47.692.

To buy tickets for the final round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship at Rockingham, click here – They’re only £10 if you buy early!

Click here to view the Championship Points Table

It’s not racing… it’s TIME ATTACK!

Time Attack rolled into Croft for the first time since 2013, with lots of new faces keen to attack the circuit they had heard so much about. Croft is a challenging and flowing circuit. There are technical corners that link onto several long straights, rewarding drivers that can carry speed through them.

We arrived to rain showers and gloomy skies. Far from ideal. Thankfully, by the time the Warm-Up sessions arrived the rain had eased and the track continued to dry throughout the day. As everyone got used to the track and grip levels increased, the lap times dropped.

Being the penultimate round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship, and with every driver required to drop their one lowest round score from their overall Championship points, we could now start to calculate Championship standings. By the end of the day we had a new Club FWD lap record, a new Club NA record, several inaugural lap records for the new classes plus a total of five new 2015 Time Attack Champions to celebrate!

Club 4WD

Simon Griffiths : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

Simon Griffiths blasted his way to the top of both qualifying and the final, to take the maximum 15 points away from Croft. The Lancer Evo III driver had sorted the gear-selection issues that plagued him at Oulton Park and he was quick! With some aggressive yet controlled driving, Simon qualified in first place with a 1:34.042, over a second faster than his closest rival. When the final arrived, Simon put in his fastest time of the day on his last flying lap, an impressive 1:32.756. That is just 0.1.61s outside the Club 4WD lap record set by Lee Bullen in 2013! Another impressive drive from Simon, who continues to get faster at every round.

Josef Calleja : Subaru Impreza

Maltese driver Josef Calleja had an eventful weekend. Testing on the Friday went despite some issues with the front suspension. With that sorted he headed into Saturday’s Warm-Up and Practice sessions at a steady pace before winding it up the power and going for a hot lap in qualifying. Suddenly, the car felt under-powered. Josef pitted, swapped to the low power map and went back out, but it still didn’t feel right. Josef parked the car to save the engine. When the final came around, Josef put in a slow banker lap off boost to secure some points. His team had discovered the fuel pump was on it’s way out, causing low fuel pressure. With just minutes remaining Josef drove the car onto the circuit on low boost (actuator pressure) and drove flat-out. He only just managed to start his final lap before the chequered flag came out, the result was his fastest time of the day, a 1:34.188. Miraculously, also the second-fastest lap time overall in the Club final.

Club RWD

2015 Time Attack Club Rear Wheel Drive Champion!

Umar Masood : Mazda RX-7

Umar Masood is the 2015 Time Attack Club RWD Champion! He scored maximum points at Croft and can no longer be caught, regardless of what happens at Rockingham in the final round. However, his day didn’t start well. An faulty fuse box set fire to some the car’s wiring! With that quickly sorted, Umar took to the track and never looked back. He was several seconds faster than his nearest rival all day. After years of trying, Umar can finally say he is a Time Attack Champion.

Anthony Woo : Nissan 200SX

Anthony Woo had to compete with a standard engine under the bonnet of his Nissan 200SX at Croft, after problems with his competition engine. He still had all the bolt-on parts but couldn’t wind everything up to eleven, so he was down on power. That didn’t stop him pushing hard all day however, and he was rewarded with the runner-up spot in both qualifying (1:40.534) and the final (1:39.498). Those could prove to be important points too, as Anthony is now up to second place in the provisional Championship standings. A good performance at Rockingham will secure him the runner-up spot in his debut year.

James Pinkerton : Mazda RX-7

As you can see from the front bumper on James’ FD3S Mazda RX-7, he had an interesting day at Croft. Despite things not quite going his way, James did manage to secure third place in both qualifying (1:42.454) and the final (1:42.496), so his times were consistent. Those 11 points really are crucial too. James is still bottom of the provisional standings after two zero scores in the opening rounds, but has caught up to the rest of the field. A strong finish at Rockingham could still see James on the Championship podium.

James Procter : Nissan 350Z

The VR Dyno Tuning 350Z is one of the best-sounding cars in Time Attack thanks to that throaty 3.5-litre V6 VQ engine. James P nearly caught James P at Croft, indicating that Mr Procter’s pace is increasing in the big Nissan. His biggest problem on the day was forgetting to turn the traction control off on his last run in the final. Without the ECU stepping in and cutting the power on his fastest run, James would have gone even faster.

Simon Roberts : Noble M12

Where do we start with Simon Roberts? At the last round his engine and both turbos were damaged, and he moved heaven and earth to get everything rebuilt and ready on time for Croft. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds because some of the engine internals Simon uses are discontinued parts. So sourcing them is hard enough. Getting everything built up was a race against time and a battering on the bank balance. Having made it to Croft, Simon then had a brown race-suit moment when the throttle stuck open, before a total electronic failure brought his day to an end, just one lap into qualifying.

Club FWD

New Club FWD Lap Record!

Neil Wrenn : Honda Civic

Neil Wrenn started the day by finishing third quickest in the wet warm-up session, then improved to second fastest in practice, after which the scrutineers pointed out his front tyres were now below their tread limit. A quick trip to a local garage for a fresh pair of boots proved to be a very good thing. Neil went out in qualifying and after a couple of steady laps he gave it everything. The result was a stunning 1:34.340, enough to qualify in first place with a new Club front-wheel drive lap record! There could have been an even faster lap from Neil too. In the final he recorded a 1:35.631 early on, then he was on a hot one. He was 0.5s up on his best in the first sector alone, he went for fourth gear and it wasn’t there. Disaster. Still, his earlier lap was good enough for third step on the podium. He’d also scored 13 important points too. The Championship will come down to the final round. It’s too close to call!

Martyn Henry : Vauxhall Astra

Incredibly, Martyn won his first Time Attack event at Croft, having never driven the track before! It’s Martyn’s debut year in Time Attack and this time last year his car was still being built. He moved up the timing sheet during the morning sessions and qualified in second place, despite missing a large chunk of the session because his car was overheating. His qualified just behind Neil Wrenn with an impressive 1:34.340 – just 0.006 seconds behind Neil’s new lap record! Cooling the car down required the interior heaters to be left on max, so when the final came around shortly after qualifying, Martyn got into a red hot cabin. He was quick from his first lap in the final, and went on to trim tenths of a second every lap until setting a 1:34.493 to take an exciting win in an extremely competitive class. A driveshaft problem brought an early end to Martyn’s final but he won’t care about that. He has his first win on the board and is now right in the middle of the fight for the Championship that will unfold at Rockingham.

Marc Donnelly : Ford Escort

Arriving at Croft as a double-reigning Club FWD Champion and the lap record holder, Marc Donnelly was tipped to do well. He didn’t disappoint. The third in a trio of Club FWD drivers to dip into the 1:34s, Marc started well by placing first in the warm-up and then first in practice. He went on to qualify in second place with his fastest time of the day, a 1:34.787! 0.453s behind the new lap record set by Neil in the turbo Civic. In the final session everyone appeared to go slower, perhaps because of the changing temperature and grip levels on track? So although Marc could only manage a best of 1:35.448, it was good enough to secure him the runner-up spot, beating Neil Wrenn by just 0.183s and getting revenge on him for taking his lap record earlier in the day. Interestingly, Marc had a last-minute gearbox swap before Croft and a subsequent dyno session showed the Focus RS engine is getting tired and is now down on power. Marc also swapped to a Quaife ATB from the plate-type KAAZ diff, as his tyres were going off too quickly. This leaves Marc with some important decisions to make before Croft. What does he change? Which diff to go for at Rockingham? He’s in the mix for the title once again, one of several drivers on virtually the same points. It could be a case of ‘winner takes all’ in the final round!

Darren Spooner : Peugeot 205

You’ll notice there’s a new front splitter on Darren Spooner’s awesome Peugeot 205 GTi turbo. You can also see the large down-turned side-exit exhaust in this pic, an attempt at keeping the noise meters happy and the raucous 106 GTi turbocharged engine under control. As ever, Darren was absolutely on the edge all the day, pushing hard. He clipped a tyre stack whilst flat-out in fourth gear which he later discovered had done lots of damage to the suspension and gearbox of his rapid Pug. Thankfully, he still managed to record fourth place finishes in both qualifying and the final, with a best of 1:35.484 and 1:36.013 respectively.

Daniel Clark : Vauxhall Astra

Dan Clark has two wins under his belt this year, and qualified in first place during the monsoon that wrecked round 1 at Cadwell Park. So he should have been among the Championship contenders. Unfortunately, car reliability has pushed him out of the fight but he hoped to put in a good performance at Croft. However, before he had even arrived he had been involved in a light road accident in his car transporter and things went downhill from there. We’re not sure what ladders Daniel has been walking under but he needs to stop. During the day his brakes caught fire before a wishbone snapped at over 100mph! Daniel admits he wasn’t 100% focused at Croft which is a shame, as he started the year with such impressive performances. His best time of the day was the 1:36.375, good enough to finish fifth in qualifying. He finished in the same position in the final, with a best of 1:36.961

Adrian Daniel : Vauxhall Astra

Turbo expert Adrian Daniel had fun at Croft in his Holset-equipped Astra Coupe. The DM Motorsport Engineering driver had a fairly spectacular “off” during the final, nearly ending up in the wall. Luckily the session was then red-flagged and he could check the car over and go again. In qualifying he had set a best of 1:39.140 (7th), but when the final got underway again, Adrian started banging in personal bests. He wound up for “a do-or-die lap” when he came across a car exiting the pit lane at the wrong time. Forced to back off, he went around again and managed just 1/3rd of the next lap before running out of fuel! Still, his best time from the final was a 1:37.825, good enough for sixth place and his best finish yet. It’s steady progress but Adrian continues to head in the right direction in arguably the most competitive class in UK Time Attack this year.

New Club NA Lap Record!

Paul Waddington : Honda Civic

Paul Waddington competes against the turbo cars in his naturally-aspirated K20-powered Honda EK9 Civic Type-R. This means he uses weight and handling to compete with the boosted competition. It also means that he qualifies to compete with the existing Club NA lap record, a class that doesn’t exist this year. So without making things too complicated, let’s celebrate the fact Paul went out hard from the outset, going fastest of anyone across all Club classes in the wet qualifying session (1:46.431)! When the track dried the power difference became more obvious thanks to Croft’s long straights but Paul wasn’t trying any less. Quite the opposite in fact. He set his record-breaking 1:38.588 during qualifying, earning him sixth place. He then showed how consistently he was hammering round the track, with a 1:38.899 in the final, for seventh place. Very well driven and it was great to see Paul’s commitment rewarded with a lap record.

Jeff Alden : Vauxhall Astra

Some subtle aero pieces have found their way onto the front of the Book Club Racing Astra during the year, and there was a new F18 gearbox under the skin too. Andy Alden of ANSA Motors had stayed up through the night to make sure the car was ready on time, with additional help from Mark, Gary and Dominic. The Saab B204 turbo engine is still under the bonnet and Jeff is still driving with a big grin on his face. The car had a boost leak in the later stages of the final, but the key thing is it finished the day. Jeff clocked up a creditable eight place in both points-scoring sessions, recording a 1:41.852 in qualifying followed by a 1:40.965 on his last lap of the day with boost. Meaning Jeff was going faster as the day drew on, which is a promising sign.

Adam Cleland (Single Round Entry) : Ford Focus RS

There’s something very pure about a stripped-down car with no unnecessary bits on it, and that’s definitely the vibe given off by Single Round Entry Adam Cleland’s Mk1 Ford Focus RS. This was Adam’s Time Attack debut and considering the changing track conditions, quite a tricky one. He didn’t hold back however, finishing seventh fastest in the wet warm-up and tenth in the damp practice session. Adam recorded a best of 1:41.977 in qualifying (10th quickest), and saved his best time of the day for the final, a 1:41.614 that was ninth fastest of all the Club FWD drivers. All things considered, a very respectable debut.

Jonathan Morris : Ford Focus

The letterbox air-scoop on the bonnet of Jonathan Morris’ Ford Focus highlights this is the other naturally-aspirated car in Club FWD. That scoop feeds cold air into a set of individual throttle bodies, that are attached to a full Burton Power build on the 2.0-litre ST170 engine. In other words it’s a screamer, and several videos have been bouncing around social media of Jonathan in the early stages of the day, roaring up the main straight. He recorded a 1:41.872 right at the start of qualifying but the Focus went silent shortly after. A driveshaft failure brought an end to his day before he could even record a time in the final. Jonathan will hope to reset and go again for the final round at Rockingham in a few weeks time.

Antonio Giovinazzo : Alfa Romeo 155

The ever-cheerful, always enthusiastic Giovinazzo brothers with their home-built twin-spark turbo Alfa 155. With their gearbox problems hopefully behind them, Antonio was free to push on at Croft. He did mention he was struggling with a turbo lag issue however, so perhaps the large Holset turbo under the bonnet needs re-thinking? Either way, it’s great to see the guys out there again. Their passion is clear to see, and they admit they really care where they finish in the pecking order. For them, Time Attack is about challenging themselves to go faster, so the only lap times that matter are their own. Antonio recorded a 1:51.131 in qualifying and a 1:47.782 in the final.

Domonic Gregory (Single Round Entry) : Vauxhall Astra

Team Z20-LEx boss Domonic Gregory returned for the first time since his engine failure at Cadwell Park in Round 1. Unfortunately mechanical gremlins plagued his day at Croft too. After starting out steady in the wet warm-up, a disconnected boost pipe brought his session to a premature end. With helps from his team and parts borrowed from the Book Club Racing guys, the pipe was persuaded to stay in place for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that only meant the practice session. After going out and warming his tyres and brakes, Domonic floored the accelerator for a hot lap. Shortly after, the car nose-dived and there was a loud bang under the bonnet. It turns out the oil pump had failed, causing more damage to the engine and bringing his day to an end. So his 2-minute lap time isn’t representative of Domonic’s true pace. Hopefully he’ll get the issues sorted in time for the final round at Rockingham in just a few weeks time.

To buy tickets for the final round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship at Rockingham, click here – They’re only £10 if you buy early!

Click here to view the Championship Points Table

It’s not racing… it’s TIME ATTACK!

Time Attack rolled into Croft for the first time since 2013, with lots of new faces keen to attack the circuit they had heard so much about. Croft is a challenging and flowing circuit. There are technical corners that link onto several long straights, rewarding drivers that can carry speed through them.

We arrived to rain showers and gloomy skies. Far from ideal. Thankfully, by the time the Warm-Up sessions arrived the rain had eased and the track continued to dry throughout the day. As everyone got used to the track and grip levels increased, the lap times dropped.

Being the penultimate round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship, and with every driver required to drop their one lowest round score from their overall Championship points, we could now start to calculate Championship standings. By the end of the day we had a new Club FWD lap record, a new Club NA lap record, plus a total of five new 2015 Time Attack Champions to celebrate!

PRO Extreme

Inaugural Pro Extreme Lap Record!

Phil Reed : AP Tuning/Ross Sport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo driver Phil Reed showed blistering pace in the damp conditions! He set the fastest time of the whole event when qualifying in first place in Pro Extreme, set the first Pro Extreme lap record at Croft in the process. The crazy thing is, Phil reckons there was even more pace left in the car, as just after setting his new lap record, the gearbox expired! Gary Hayward and the rest of the AP Tuning team leapt into action, somehow managing to replace the gearbox in the short time we had between the end of qualifying and the start of the final! Heading out into the final, Phil entered a monumental struggle with Andrew Barbour, eventually finishing in second place. However, his time from qualifying says everything about his pace on the day. A great performance that puts Phil top of the Championship standings, and sets up an exciting final round at Rockingham on Saturday 19th September.

Andrew Barbour : AKB Racing/NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

All year Andrew Barbour has been fighting it out with Phil Reed to be ‘best of the rest’ behind the two extreme aero cars. With neither Black Mamba or SVA at Croft, the door was left open for one of these guys to take the win. And so it proved. The final became a heads-up war between the drivers of two of the fastest track-going Evos in existence, both desperate for the win. Andrew put it in a hot one to top the timing screens, Phil somehow managed to top it and with the clock counting down, it was Andrew Barbour who forced himself to the front of the epic battle – putting everything on the line and blasting in a lap over half-a-second faster to grab the victory and all 10 points. In the end, Andrew’s final-winning 1:26.783 was 0.689 seconds faster than Phil’s best. Although Andrew’s fastest lap was actually the 1:26.600 that earned him second place in qualifying. We’ve been saying Andrew has been getting used to his new car (and slick tyres) all year, but now it’s safe to say we’re seeing him getting comfortable in the car and really pushing on.  That victory in the final will give Andrew a lot of confidence heading into the title decider at Rockingham.

Gavin Renshaw [Single Round Entry] : Lateral Performance/SD Motorsport Subaru Impreza

A triple Time Attack Pro Champion driving a car that has won Championships and set hillclimb records; this should have been a deadly combination. However, it didn’t really click for everyone at Croft. Gavin was up for it and the car looked immensely fast, but it was the tyres that appeared to let the team down. Loading up the trailer at the end of the day, they looked like a wild cat had tried ripping them apart, with huge gashes along the tread of each one. Whether it was a setup issue or the tyres themselves, something was amiss. That said, Gavin wasn’t far off the pace of the front-runners. It was great to have Gavin back on track, and we always enjoy seeing the Impreza known as “The Banana”, in action.

Richard Marshall : HEL Performance / Rich Marshall Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Where to start with Richard’s awful day? Firstly, we were pleased to see Richard back in the pit lane. Our 2014 Pro Champion moved up to Pro Extreme this year, and after a bright start has missed the last few rounds. A technical issue ruined his day, preventing him from setting a single lap time. However, Rich did win the award for Best Presented Car at Rockingham, and if you’ve every looked around it closely, you’ll know why. It is immaculate. We know the car is fast and Rich is a Champion driver. So hopefully we’ll see him put in a performance to be proud of at Rockingham, the 10th anniversary event of Time Attack in the UK.

PRO

Kevin Jones : Jetstream Motorsport/KJR Noble M12 RSR

After getting to the bottom of his driveshaft issues recently, Kevin Jones has unstoppable. Since the last round, Kevin has been on the other end of a phone offering support to Club RWD driver Simon Roberts, as he attempted to rebuild his car in time. However, Kevin needed no help in delivering scorching lap times at Croft. He qualified in first place with a 1:29.641, before winning the final with his best of the day, a 1:28.072.

Lee Broadhurst : ABG Motorsport KTM X-Bow

Lee was all smiles at the end of an exciting final session, not least because he decided to keep his foot in when his X-Bow went sideways onto the main straight. A smokey spin followed and Lee was clearly having fun exploring the limits. Lee couldn’t quite match Kevin’s pace at Croft but appeared to be getting everything out of his car. He qualified second with a 1:30.642, and finished in the runner-up spot with a best of 1:29.793 in the final. The track continued to dry all day and if there was another session directly after the final, we’re sure Lee would have gone quicker again.

Classic & Retro PRO

Inaugural Classic & Retro Pro Lap Record!

Lloyd Wright : RSR8 Escort

We were very impressed with Lloyd Wright’s performance in his Escort RSR8. Under the bonnet is a high-revving V8 made from two Hayabusa motorbike-engines, transplanted from a Radical. So while it’s awesome to watch in action, it doesn’t have the torque that many of the turbo cars have. It’s also very light, and it is the weight of the car that might have raised an issue at Croft, as Lloyd was surprisingly disappointed with his performance, despite getting close to the other Pro drivers. He had been testing the day before and completed similar lap times to his best at Time Attack, despite using old tyres and not driving 100%. Had the rain changed the grip levels? Does the fact Lloyd’s car is so light, make it sensitive to track conditions with regard to getting heat into the tyres? Possibly. All we know is Lloyd is really getting stuck in to Time Attack now. He was quick and still left disappointed. Let’s see what Rockingham brings, a track where light cars seem to do well.

Club PRO

2015 Club PRO Champion! – Russ Paton : HQ Garage Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Huge Congratulations to Russ Paton in the HQ Garage Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI. The Scotsman is the new 2015 Time Attack Club Pro Champion, after qualifying in second place and winning the final at Croft. That 14 point haul means Russ cannot now be beaten. If you do the calculations, Jonny Fletcher can theoretically equal Russ’ points if he has a perfect weekend at Rockingham and Russ has the opposite, however Russ has won more Finals (3 vs 0) – crowning him Champion with one round to go. A well-deserved victory for the chap who has helped out behind the scenes at Time Attack rounds, and managed to rebuild his car and his Time Attack dreams following a nasty accident at Brands Hatch a couple of years ago. On the day, Russ was Mr.Consistent again, despite an imploding power steering pulley that was quickly fixed in time for the final session with parts kindly supplied by AP Tuning. Russ set a best of 1:33.898 on his last qualifying lap, before a 1:33.115 on his last lap in the final. Well done Russ and everyone at HQ Garage.

Ronnie Amis : Airtec VW Golf

It was a frustrating day for Ronnie Amis. After battling illness to even be at Croft, initial checks revealed the car had somehow been injured on the way to the circuit. A leaking radiator and cracked alternator bracket got the team into action, and they fitted spares in time for Ronnie to make the early sessions. He was flying, topping the timing sheets in both Warm-Up and Practice. He then won a hard-fought battle in qualifying against Russ (1:33.388 vs 1:33.898) to grab the full 5 points, before disaster struck. Power Steering rack failure was found after qualifying. The team tried to fix it before the Final, but with a short turnaround between sessions, they simply run out of time. Disappointing for Ronnie on the day because he appeared to have the pace, and in terms of the Championship standings.

Jonny Fletcher : GR Performance Vauxhall Astra

Some top work by both GR Performance and CR Turbos got Jonny Fletcher’s Astra ready for action in time for Croft. It’s been a mixed bag for Jonny since moving up from Club FWD to Club Pro, but he’s enjoying the challenge. After settling himself in during the Warm-Up and Practice sessions, Jonny went straight into qualifying and set a banker lap (1:42.148). This proved to be extremely valuable, as he suffered an inner CV joint failure just as he was winding up for a hot one. His banker was good enough for third place and 3 important points. Jonny’s team quickly swapped the whole driveshaft over, with help from Pocket Rocket competitor Adam Barnett and his team, just in time for the final. Sadly, as soon as he started his first flying lap he lost fourth gear. Jonny completed the rest of the session by shifting from 3rd to 5th and vice-versa. He somehow still managed a 1:36.961, good enough for the runner-up spot on the podium and an extra 9 points. Jonny is now in with a real shout of second place in the Championship. Who will end the season with the unofficial title of fastest 2WD in Club Pro? Be at Rockingham to watch the fireworks.

Lee Mabbett : Se7en Motorsport Toyota Corolla T-Sport

There was definitely a sweeter exhaust note coming out of the back of Lee Mabbett’s Toyota Corolla at Croft. Or perhaps we should say angrier? There was indeed a new tune on the car, but it’s still down on power as the back-up engine remains in place of the sleeved block the car should be running with. The Rotrex-supercharged 1.8-litre 2ZZ engine is still at least 100bhp down on it’s competitors at the moment, according to estimates from the Se7en Motorsport team. This isn’t the full spec they intended to compete with at the start of the year and Lee has driven the wheels off it to remain competitive. After some mechanical gremlins early in the day, Lee really got into the swing of things and for a long time he was second in the final, until Jonny Fletcher pulled a bit more time out of the bag. A strong performance that can’t be judged on lap time alone.

Click here to view the Championship Points Table

To buy tickets for the final round of the 2015 Time Attack Championship at Rockingham, click here – They’re only £10 if you buy early!

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Inaugural Clubman+ Lap Record!

Jonny Roose : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

Jonny Roose continued his winning form, taking home maximum points from Oulton Park in Clubman+. After testing on the Friday and a slow build-up in the morning sessions, Jonny fitted new tyres and increased the power for qualifying – where he set a best of 1:36.861 to grab first place. He gave everything the car had in the final, and with a tyre pressure adjustment halfway through the session, went out and blasted in a 1:35.505, taking home all 15 points.

Mark Flook : Nissan GT-R

The daily-driven Nissan GT-R of Mark Flook topped the timing sheets during the morning warm up session. He finished less than a second behind Jonny in both qualifying (1:37.104) and the final (1:36.158). However, with consistent performances all year long in his Eurospec-supported GT-R, Mark only needs to register points in qualifying and the final at just one of the last two remaining rounds, to win the first ever Clubman+ Championship!

[S.R.E] Karl Wilson : Noble M12

The number on Karl Wilson’s Noble M12 GTO3 is the same as the build number on his car, 127. He was third fastest in qualifying (1:39.400) in his Silver Fern Performance-supported Noble, and fourth fastest in the final (1:39.807). Karl took home the trophy for fastest Single Round Entry in Clubman+ too, so a good day all round.

Alan Shepherd : Ford Focus RS

Alan set the fastest front-wheel drive time in Clubman+ at Oulton Park while qualifying in fourth place. When the rain came down in the final he jumped up a place to third, perhaps surprisingly so considering the track offered less grip. Alan recorded a 1:39.508 to claim a step on the Clubman+ podium.

[S.R.E] Mark McManus : Seat Ibiza

With a Forge front-mounted intercooler clearly on display and chunky rubber, Single Round Entry Mark McManus and his Seat Ibiza meant business. He was pretty much one second slower than fellow S.R.E Karl Wilson in the Noble, which is pretty impressive when you consider the performance difference between the two cars in standard trim.

Leigh Jordan : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

You could imagine pulling up at a set of traffic lights next to Leigh Jordan and his clean Lancer Evo V. It’s exactly in keeping with the Clubman+ “lite-tuned” ethos. Leigh set his fastest time of the day in qualifying, going only marginally slower when the rain came in the final (1:43.596).

Clubman

Inaugural Clubman Lap Record!

Ollie Novell : Toyota Corolla T-Sport

Ollie recorded his third maximum points score of the season, topping qualifying (1:46.749) and winning the final (1:1:46.585). His new clutch and flywheel only arrived on the Wednesday before the event, and he ended up bedding it in during the drive up to Oulton Park. That’s what Clubman is all about; these are all genuine road-driven cars, and Ollie was the fastest. With just two rounds left, Ollie is closing in on the inaugural Clubman title.

[S.R.E] Chris Atkins : Renault Clio

Chris had a nightmare week leading up to the event. He had to rebuild the gearbox and cancel the test day he had booked on Friday. His difficulties continued as he payed with tyre pressure all day, without finding the sweet spot – and then a yellow flag ruined his best lap in the final. Chris set the second-fastest times in both qualifying (1:47.250) and the final (1:47.741). So considering his problems, that was a good result.

Jon Ellis : Mini Cooper S

Another Time Attacker that had never driven Oulton Park before, Jon Ellis found himself battling with brake issues all day – sitting out the Practice session while he tried to solve the problem. Jon set a 1:51.926 in qualifying, and his fastest time of the day in the final (1:49.701).

Pocket Rocket

Inaugural Pocket Rocket Lap Record!

Stewart Summers : Citroen Saxo

One of the drives of the day. Stewart’s supercharged Saxo has 200bhp at the wheels, over 100bhp less than Richard O’Dwyer’s Mini for example. It’s light, short-geared and Stewart can clearly get the best from it. He wasn’t even expecting to be on the podium at Oulton because of the long straight sections. In the end, his times would have been good enough for third place in Club FWD qualifying and final! Stewart qualified in first place with a 1:37.238 before winning the final (1:36.675), to take home the maximum 15 points and retain the provisional Championship lead with two rounds remaining.

Richard O’Dwyer : Mini Cooper S

Richard was another driver that struggled with hot brakes at Oulton. With a set of new tyres and some strategic brake bleeding, he wanted to push on. Having to work in burst of a few laps at a time, Richard set a 1:39.348 in qualifying to grab second spot, before ending the session early to save his brakes for the final. When the final arrived, Richard pumped in some 1:38s and 1:39s before some cool down laps and a last throw of the dice. With the brake pedal feeling less than great, Richard gave it all and was rewarded with a 1:37.645 – his fastest time of the day and good enough for second place. It’s also a healthy 13 point score, so if Richard can remain reliable and quick, he’ll jump up the Championship leaderboard once the dropped rounds are taken into account and he can eliminate his 0 score from Cadwell Park.

Tim Kite : Mini Cooper S

Team Radio came in handy for Airtec/1320Mini turbo driver Tim Kite at Oulton Park. He was on a cool-down lap when his team told him that Robert Oldman had just beaten his time. So Tim went for one more hot one and managed to beat Robert by 0.396 of a second with a 1:41.180, to grab third spot. In the final, Tim hit traffic during the drier early stages, so had to do it the hard way. He fought his way around an increasingly wet track to over-turn the 0.1 second advantage that Robert Oldman had over him. Once more the radio call was all the inspiration he needed, as Tim recorded a 1:40.991 to grab the third spot on the podium.

Robert Oldman : Ford Fiesta ST

Robert had an epic battle with Tim Kite all day, in his SCC Performance Ford Fiesta. He was pipped to third place both times but still managed 9 important Championship points. REVO had helped to sort out the boosting issues he suffered at Brands Hatch, but Robert reckons he’s still down on power and heavier than the front-runners in the class. Even so, he was definitely on the pace. He set a 1:41.576 in qualifying, followed by a 1:42.473 in the final.

[S.R.E] Carl Owen : Ford Fiesta ST

Trackdriver editor Carl Owner joined us at Oulton Park, in the 10th Anniversary Time Attack Fiesta by Airtec. Being new to the car and in a competitive class, it was always going to be tough for Carl, despite his racing experience. Even so, he did himself proud. Carl qualified fifth with a best of 1:43.030. He made up a place in the final, recording a 1:42.021 to grab fourth place in Pocket Rockets with his fastest time of the day.

Adam Barnett : Mazda MX-5

It was a frustrating day for supercharged MX-5 driver Adam Barnett, depsite looking quick in the early warm up session. The engine in Adam’s car suffered form high inlet temperatures. The bottom line being he was about 80bhp down, with only a calculated 170-180bhp available.  Adam was therefore restricted to single hot laps, having to let the car cool down inbetween. Throw in some unlucky yellow flags on his best laps, and Adam probably should have stayed in bed! We’re glad he didn’t though. His car is a great example of the diversity of these daily-driven Pocket Rockets. Adam qualified in sixth place with a 1:44.281, before setting a best of 1:45.260 for seventh place overall. He’s bumped up one spot in terms of points in each session however, thanks to the fact Single Round Entry Carl Owen cannot score Championship points.

Sam Weller : Peugeot 106

Sam Weller got to close to Adam Barnett’s time in qualifying, and then beat him in the final. A very decent performance considering he’s arguably out-gunned by his turbo and supercharged rivals. Sam set a best of 1:44.964 in qualifying, followed by a 1:45.176 in the final.

Ali Arshid : Suzuki Swift

Ali Arshid continues his first steps into Time Attack competition in his supercharged Suzuki Swift. He set a1:51.447 on his last lap in qualifying, and a 1:51.406 in the wet final. So that suggests he was getting quicker as the day went on, regardless of the track becoming slower.

Classic & Retro Club

Inaugural Classic & Retro Club Lap Record!

Jeff Whitbrook : Charade GTI

There’s something very aggressive about the front-end of Jeff Whitbrook’s Honda-engined Daihatsu. Yes, we did say Honda. More specifically, there’s a 1.8-litre turbocharged B18C4 engine under the bonnet, which probably explains how he could outrun the Cossie YB-engined Sierra XR4x4 of his rival Alan Tolley! Jeff recorded a 1:45.396 in qualifying, followed by a 1:43.661 in the final. Meaning the Championship fight is nicely poised with Jeff having the smallest of advantages, with two rounds remaining.

Alan Tolley : Ford Sierra XR4x4

The TNT Racing Sierra lost third gear on the first lap of the warm up at Oulton Park. The Championship fight is close, so Alan pushed on and drove the rest of the day shifting straight from second into fourth! Driving this way, he set a best of 1:52.338, which is an impressive time considering the problem. When the final came around, the competitor in Alan came out. He couldn’t resist going for third again and with some effort, he could use it momentarily. The result was a lap time six seconds quicker (1:46.708), and a tow back to the pits! Still, Alan and TNT had managed to score 13 important points from a day that could have ruined their Championship there and then. Let’s hope they get it repaired in time for the next round at Croft, on Saturday 22nd August.

It’s not racing.. It’s TIME ATTACK!

Club 4WD

[S.R.E] Martin James : Nissan GT-R

A new face in the Time Attack pit lane, Martin James was immediately on the pace in his Litchfield-tuned Nissan GT-R. He stunned everyone by pumping in a 1:33.752 on his first lap in the WarmUp, over 7 seconds faster than he closest Club 4WD rival in that session! Was it a case of too much too soon? Perhaps. Martin was double-driving his Ariel Atom in Club Pro, but despite switching between the cars, he was fast in both. He took his GT-R to fastest time of 1:32.282, the fastest Club 4WD car in qualifying. However, Martin didn’t go out in the Final. The oil pressure gauge was showing some strang readings, so rather than gamble it was a faulty gauge or sensor, Martin decided to retire the car. His GT-R was running 1bar of boost on the day for 810bhp, and the car weighs 1,710kg wet. A very interesting car and driver to watch, hopefully we’ll see Martin out again before the end of the season.

Josef Calleja : Subaru Impreza

Josef flies into the country for each Time Attack round, so it’s great to see his commitment being rewarded with maximum points at Oulton Park. He was fastest of the Championship contenders in both qualifying and the final. Josef has John Felstead and Simon Stanley from his Chevron Motorsport support team to thank for some important tweaks, not least the brakes. Josef admits it’s taken the car to another level. He saved full boost for qualifying, where he set his fastest time of the day before the rain came in the final. With the absence of Damien Bradley, it was the perfect time for Josef to take home all 15 points. He is now co-leader of the provisional Championship standings with two rounds left (and one round score to be dropped).

Simon Griffiths : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

It was a tough day for Simon all round. He had never driven Oulton Park before, plus he was nursing a poorly gearbox and clutch. In qualifying that meant that even on his hot lap, his fastest time of the day, Simon couldn’t select 4th and struggled to get it into 5th. Not ideal when you’re pushing hard on a new track! Simon admits he set a banker lap in the final to score some important points but there was no point trying to chase Josef with a poorly car. Still, he managed 13 valuable points and is looking forward to fighting it out with Josef at Croft on Saturday 22nd August. The Club 4WD Championship is perfectly poised with both Josef and Simon co-leaders, with one round score to be dropped at the end of the season.

Club RWD

Umar Masood : Mazda RX-7

Umar Masood made it a hat-trick of wins in the final, with a stunning lap that was only bettered by Club 4WD winner Josef Calleja. His 1:35.103 in a session where the rain started to come down, was over 6 seconds faster than his closest Club RWD rival! Incredibly, that was marginally faster than the 1:35.174 Umar recorded in a dry qualifying session. Umar takes the maximum 15 points away from Oulton Park, and makes it a hat-trick of wins in the final too. This means he’s overtaken Simon Roberts at the top of the Club RWD Championship points table, with each competitor still to drop their lowest round score at the end of the year. It’s going to be an exciting end to the season with just two events left!

Anthony Woo : Nissan 200SX

Anthony Woo is starting to deliver on the potential we see in his Eurospec-tuned Nissan 200SX. He was second fastest overall in Club RWD thanks to a 1:37.717, which also landed him second place in Club RWD qualifying too. Anthony didn’t set a time in the final, which will disappoint him. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and he’s back out at Croft on Saturday 22nd August.

James Pinkerton : Mazda RX-7

James Pinkerton qualified in third place in Club RWD, with his fastest time of the day (1:38.246). He then improved upon that, taking the runner-up spot in the final (1:41.464). So a total of 12 Championship points for the Mazda RX-7 driver, his best performance in Time Attack so far.

Simon Roberts : Noble M12 GTO3

The distinctive green Noble was sadly missing from the timing screens for most of the day. Just 15 minutes into the 20 minute practice session, the engine expired. Simon was understandably very disappointed about it because he was leading the Championship points table. Now the race is on to get the car ready for Croft. We hope he can make it.

James Procter : Nissan 350Z

James Procter was missing from the qualifying session but returned to set a 1:45.477 in the final. However, his earlier absence suggests something was not quite right and we suspect this isn’t a representative lap time. Hopefully James will be at full strength for the next round at Croft.

Club FWD

New Club FWD Challenge Lap Record!

Neil Wrenn : Honda Civic

We could probably write an entire report just on Neil’s day, it was that eventful. It began with a slight “off” that damaged the front splitter and continued with Neil driving to Stockport to grab an engine mount and shifter bush! Returning just in time to get the car fixed, Neil went out and did the unexpected; he set a new Club FWD lap record! This was his fastest time of the day. Neil finished in the runner-up spot in the wet final session, admitting he made a few mistakes on his best lap. Still, a new lap record in arguably the most competitive class in Time Attack this year is something Neil can be very proud of.

Marc Donnelly : Ford Escort

With his gearbox fixed since Brands Hatch, Marc had the confidence to really press on at Oulton Park. He looked on it from the word go, breaking the previous Club FWD lap by 1.5 seconds in the warm up! With the brakes bled, Marc went another half-second faster in Practice (1:36.507). He qualified in second place (1:36.321) before making a smart decision in the final. With the rain starting to come down at the start of the final, Marc decided to go out hard early and was rewarded with his fastest time of the day in the final (1:35.949). A well-deserved win, surprisingly it was Marc’s first win since Knockhill last year.

Darren Spooner : Peugeot 205

Darren’s Peugeot sounded awesome all day. Perhaps a little too awesome for the noise police, as Darren had to take step to quieten his 1.6-litre turbocharged 106-engined 205 down. Darren set his fastest time of the day 1:37.388 in the final, grabbing third place in both qualifying and the final to take a well-deserved place on the podium.

Martyn Henry : Vauxhall Astra

Martin was happy with 4th place in the final, considering it was his first time at Oulton Park and the strength of the opposition. Brake issues kept him out of the qualifying session, but he still took 7 points away and is looking ahead to Croft.

[S.R.E] Nigel Brown : Mini Cooper S

Nigel Brown’s Mini is a crazy-looking beast, especially from the rear with it’s rear-mounted rad and fans. He recorded a best of 1:39.438 in the final.

Paul Waddington : Honda Civic

Driving a naturally-aspirated K20-powered Honda Civic against the turbo cars, Paul Waddington has his work cut out this year. Even so, he did himself proud. Paul recorded his best time of the day in qualifying, finishing in a credible fifth place. He went on to finish seventh in the final (1:41.212).

Dan Lewis : Renault Megane

Dan and his stealthy matte Megane qualified in sixth place (1:40.395), before grabbing the same position in the final (1:40.513).

Adrian Daniel : Vauxhall Astra

Turbo specialist Adrian Daniel qualified in seventh place (1:42.001) with his first hot lap of the session. He went marginally slower in the wet final (1:42.793).

Jeff Alden : Vauxhall Astra

Jeff’s Saab B204-engined Astra continues to evolve and he gets faster with each event. The Book Club Racing team worked all day to cure the oversteer issues that first appeared at Brands Hatch. By the time qualifying came around they had a good setup. Then an engine mount snapped and stopped their fun. Expect Jeff and his Astra to be much more competitive at Croft on the 22nd August.

Antonio Giovinazzo : Alfa Romeo 155

The Giovinazzo brothers were there again, with cheery faces as always! They had replaced the fault “3-speed” gearbox in their D.I.Y turbocharged 4-cylinder twinspark Alfa 155. Antonio was unusual in that he went faster in the light rain than he did in the final, taking a huge six seconds off his qualifying time to record a 1:50.966 on his final lap of the day.

It’s not racing.. It’s TIME ATTACK!

We got lucky with the weather, well almost. It was bright and warm for most of the day until rain showers began during the Finals, which made the fight for points very interesting – and meant that those who went out hard early on in the day, were more likely to take home a lap record. Listed below in order of their fastest time of the day, here’s how our Pro Extreme, Pro, Classic & Retro Pro and Club Pro drivers got on:

PRO Extreme

New Pro Extreme & outright Time Attack Lap Record!

Gareth Lloyd : SVA Imports Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

We were expecting big things from Gareth Lloyd and we weren’t disappointed. There was another batch of new aero on the SVA Imports Mitsubishi Evo – the most obvious being new wing-end plates on the front splitter – as the car continues it’s bodywork transformation in the build-up to the World Time Attack Challenge in Australia, later this year. The team were also continuing the development of their bespoke Nitron Suspension setup, experimenting with different spring rates throughout the day.

Gareth has been an instructor at Oulton Park for many years, so we we knew he would be fast. Bizarrely however, this intimate circuit knowledge started working against him. Gareth admitted the aero is now so effective that he’s having to fight his instincts to brake or lift off the accelerator, effectively forcing himself into a situation where he feels he’s going to crash. If he doesn’t do that, then he’s probably leaving time on the track. This is life at the sharp-end behind the wheel of record-breaking Time Attack car.

Starting out in the Warm-Up with a best of 1:25.269, Gareth and SVA were immediately a couple of tenths faster than the outright Time Attack lap record. When Practice came they went even faster. Much, much faster. Without all the toys (anti-lag, nitrous oxide injection, etc) and with the boost still turned down (SVA tend to save full-boost until the points-scoring sessions), Gareth lapped Oulton Park Island in an amazing 1:21.004! The crazy thing is the team believe they can go much faster but thanks to the rain that will have to wait for another day. Gareth set a 1:21.032 to qualify in first place, while taking it easy to ensure the team recorded points without stressing the car. Then the rain came. Interestingly, Gareth seemed most proud of the 1:22.053 lap he set in the Final. On a wet track with slick tyres, Gareth was just one second slower than his earlier record-breaking dry lap! Highlighting the potential the team believe the car had. Very impressive driving from Gareth all day, who delivered the speed on request all day long.

Andy Demetriou : Drenth Motorsport / IPVDX “Black Mamba” Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

Disaster struck the ‘Black Mamba’ and Andy Demetriou at Oulton Park, but not before they could twice smash the Time Attack lap record and beat a British Superbike! Andy never wastes any time getting on the pace and immediately took a second and a half off the previous outright Time Attack lap record, with a 1:23.868 on his first hot lap of the day in the warm up. He bettered this in Practice (1:22.180) and for a while held both the Pro Extreme and outright lap records. Later in the day he won a lap-time battle with Australian Jed Metcher on a PR Racing British Superbike, as part of the Tunerfest North show. Sadly the day did not end so well. The Drenth Motorsport/IPVDX team had suffered one engine failure just before the event. After rushing to fit the spare engine in time, the replacement engine then failed shortly after the Time Attack against the bike. We wish Andy and the team well. Let’s hope he’ll be back at Croft for Round 5, as he was clearly in great form and the team believe there was plenty of lap time still to come.

Phil Reed : Ross Sport / AP-Tuning Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Phil Reed’s day nearly went up in flames. Literally. A sensor in the power steering system decided to pop off, spraying fluid onto the hot exhaust manifold. The result was a fairly spectacular engine fire. Thankfully Phil reacted quickly and the marshals did a fantastic job of putting the fire out quickly. Phil’s team were able to fix the car in time for qualifying, and Phil went out and grabbed second place in both the qualifying and final sessions, earning him 13 very valuable Championship points too. Phil set his fastest time of the day on his one and only flyer in qualifying, and now sits in a provisional second place in the Championship hunt thanks to the speed and reliability of his Ross Sport / AP-Tuning Lancer Evo VI.

Andrew Barbour : AKB Racing/NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

With a new car, more driving experience under his belt and a fresh set of Pirelli slick tyres, The Flyin’ Scotsman was a massive 8 seconds faster than the last time he drove here with Time Attack, four long years ago! As Andrew’s experience with both the car and slick tyres continues, he’s bound to get faster and faster. He set his fastest time of the day during qualifying, and like many drivers the rain robbed him of a chance to find out exactly how fast he could go. Still, third place in both points-scoring sessions left Andrew with 11 very valuable points to take home to Scotland.

Paul Knapp : PK Racing/AP-Tuning Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII

Paul recovered admirably from his ‘incident’ at Brands Hatch last time out and showed no sign of holding back because of it. Paul qualified in a very admirable fourth place, with a 1:22.721 that proved to be his fastest time of the day.

Brad Sheehan : NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Early in the day, Brad Sheehan was delighted with the handling improvements brought about by NR Autosport. It seems he’s getting to the bottom of a long-term balance issue that has been holding him back for way too long. He backed his fastest time of the day up with a 1:29.550 in qualifying, but didn’t get out in the wet final. With the experience of Nick and the NR team behind him, let’s hope it’s the start of better things to come for Brad.

Classic & Retro PRO

Inaugural Classic & Retro Pro Lap Record!

Lloyd Wrght : Mk1 Ford Escort RSR-8

If ever there was a car that summed up the ‘unlimited’ side of Time Attack, it’s Lloyd Wright’s Radical-engined Mk1 Escort RSR-8. With two motorbike engines pushed together to make a high-revving V8, and not a lot of weight to carry around, Lloyd was hot on the heels of the Pro Extreme guys and technically the fastest ‘Pro’ driver of the day. He had an issue with soaring engine oil temperatures, which restricted him to just one hot lap before having to slow and cool the car. Slightly frustrating perhaps, but Lloyd should be very pleased with his lap time.

PRO

Kevin Jones : Jetstream Motorsport / KJR Noble M12 RSR

Kevin made it two successive maximum-point hauls at Oulton Park. The Noble driver had an intermittent misfire at Brands Hatch, thankfully that had been solved with some new ignition parts and Kevin was ready for action. The car ran faultlessly, with the only issue being the car occasionally bottomed-out in the braking areas. Despite traffic, Kevin set a blistering 1:29.412 in qualifying. When the final came, Kevin held back slightly, believing the rain would pass. By the time he realised it wasn’t going to, it was too late to go again. Even so, Kevin recorded a best of 1:35.374 in that wet final session. A scary experience by all accounts on slick tyres!

Lee Broadhurst : ABG Motorsport KTM X-Bow

KTM X-Bow driver Lee Broadhurst set his fastest time of the day in qualifying, recording second place to earn four points. He went on to finish third in the final, which he admits wasn’t what he hoped for. Still, he left Oulton Park with a total of twelve Championship points and a trophy for Best Prepared Car too.

Dalibor Kvasai : Torque Zone “Kermit II” Mazda FD3S RX-7

The Torque Zone team admit that Kermit II isn’t as healthy as they would like at the moment. The biggest issue being a loss of compression on the rare triple-rotor 20B turbo engine. Hopefully we’ll be able to see what this RX-7 is capable of before the season ends, but driver Dalibor Kvasai wasn’t willing to wait and siezed his opportunity when the rain came down in the final. Although he set his FTD while qualifying in third place (1:33.756), Dalibor went out and attacked the track in tricky conditions during the final. His fastest time of 1:39.416 might sound slow in comparison, but in the slippery conditions it was enough to  grab second place. A well-earned second step of the podium.

Club PRO

Martin James (S.R.E) : Ariel Atom

We had two Ariel Atoms with us for the first time at Oulton Park, as an experiment with one eye on the future. The Atoms race here so both drivers arrived with car setups in their pocket, a handy advantage over the rest of the field. When the lap times were accumulated, it was Martin James who came out on top. Martin set his fastest time in qualifying but as a Single Round Entry, was not eligible for Championship points. It’s worth noting Martin was double-driving his Nissan GT-R in Club 4WD too, which made his pace even more impressive and his day much busier!

Nick Whitehead (S.R.E) : Ariel Atom

Slower than Martin by just over a tenth of a second, Nick was no less exposed to the elements in the other Atom. Nick went out and blasted in his FTD on his first flying lap during qualifying. Although he did get his own back on Martin later, beating him in the Final to earn the trophy for fastest Single Round Entry in Club Pro.

Ronnie Amis : Airtec VW Golf

The Best Presented Team wasn’t a boast by Airtec at Oulton Park, it was a fact. They picked up the award during a champagne-soaked podium ceremony at the end of the day. They worked hard for it too. In the WarmUp, Ronnie felt a lot of understeer. The team managed to dial that out for Practice, which gave Ronnie a lot of his confidence back. Before qualifying the Airtec team fitted new tyres and pads, but when Ronnie went to pull out of his pit garage the power steering pipe split. With the session passing before they could repair it to their liking, Ronnie went out in the final with a plan to bed the brakes in and get temperature in the new rubber. Then it rained. Ronnie had no choice but to go for it immediately, eventually glazing the front pads and driving pretty much with only rear brakes! So his 1:37.055, only 0.179 seconds behind Russ Paton’s 4WD Evo in the wet, was very impressive. Ultimately, Ronnie feels a bit frustrated as he could have gone much faster than his 1:34.540 if the final had been dry.

Russ Paton : HQ Garage Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Interestingly, Russ Paton wasn’t much slower in the rain than he was in the wet (1:35.347 in the dry qualifying session vs 1:36.876 in the wet final). How you analyze that is up for debate; he likes the wet? He’s brave? His car is very capable? Take your pick. The bottom line is Russ traveled back to Scotland and HQ Garage.. err HQ, with the maximum 15 points. With Ronnie’s failure to score points in qualifying, this was a key time for Russ to score big in the fight for the 2015 Club Pro title, putting him top of the provisional standings heading into Croft on Saturday 22nd August.

Jonny Fletcher : JDF Racing / G-R Performance Vauxhall Astra

The man who entered Club Pro to push himself is doing exactly that. He’s fighting the odd issue here and there, but there is definitely light (and pace) at the end of the tunnel. His two morning sessions were ruined by brake failure and then a failing CV joint. So he ended up carrying out his usual warm-up and bedding-in routine during qualifying. Despite this, Jonny admits it was his best session of the season so far, and the pace of the car started to show itself, especially considering he was playing catch-up in terms of laps driven on the day – missing out on the maximum 5 points by just 0.323 of a second. When the rain came it was a case of damage limitation, with Jonny doing what he could to grab third place and some more valuable points. Let’s see what Croft brings, but don’t be surprised to see a big improvement from Jonny there.

Lee Mabbett : Se7en Motorsport Toyota Corolla T-Sport

The white Se7en Motorsport Corolla is extremely eye-catching with it’s bespoke aero package and bright white paint. Lee is still developing the car after issues with his proposed big-power engine build earlier in the year. After Brands Hatch last time out, Lee got to the bottom of some engine gremlins including a camshaft issue caused by a third-party. Bottom line being his Rotrex-supercharged 1.8-litre 16v 2ZZ-GE engine was up about 150bhp from where it was at Brands, making around 400bhp. Sadly, more teething problems meant the 1:44 best isn’t representative of his true pace. Onwards to Croft, and hopefully we’ll see Lee show us what he and the Corolla can really do!

It’s not racing.. It’s TIME ATTACK!

Clubman+

New Clubman+ Lap Record!

Jonny Roose : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

It was Jonny Roose who grabbed the Clubman+ victory and the lap record at Brands Hatch. He was only third fastest in Clubman+ qualifying (55.162), but when the final arrived so did Jonny’s true pace. He set his best time of the day right at the end of the final, a 53.855. It was the fastest time of the session across all four classes, and Jonny was the only driver across all four classes to dip into the 53s too. An impressive performance.

[SRE] Adrian Bradley : Nissan GT-R

The brother of Club 4WD Legacy driver Damien, Adrian Bradley joined the fun in his R35 GT-R at Brands Hatch. He enjoyed a battle with Mark Flook in the other GT-R all day long. After qualifying in second place behind Mark with a best of 54.960, Adrian upped his game and reversed those positions in the final. His 54.175 was good enough for second place in Clubman+ but perhaps more importantly, Adrian won the battle of the GT-Rs.

Mark Flook : Nissan GT-R

Time Attack regular Mark Flook is still competing in his daily-driven Nissan GT-R. Mark has effectively de-tuned his GT-R to comply with the Clubman+ regs, with a long-term view to bring his heavily-modified Mitsubishi GTO back to Time Attack in the future. Mark qualified in first place with a 54.791, getting the better of Adrian in the other GT-R by just 0.169 seconds! Mark went even faster in the final, setting his fastest time of the day on his last flying lap (54.239) – suggesting he extracted all the performance from his car. Mark took 14 points away from Brands, interestingly the same amount as Jonny Roose. Mark now has a 12 point lead at the top of the Clubman+ table.

Alan Shepherd : Ford Focus RS

Airtec Ford Focus driver Alan Sherpherd finished fourth in both qualifying and the final. His times got faster in every session, and after a best of 56.399 on his last lap in practice, Alan improved to a 56.047 in qualifying. He then bettered that with a 55.742 in the final. Alan takes home the unofficial title of the fastest 2WD entry in Clubman+ at Brands. It’s also worth noting that all of Alan’s best times came on his last flying lap in each session. As we always say, that’s an indication of a driver pushing hard until the end and extracting every last bit of performance from the car.

[SRE] Jamie Hollett : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

Jamie’s Lancer Evo III is significantly older than most of the cars in Clubman+, but that didn’t seem to hold him back. The older Lancer Evos are also lighter than their more modern counterparts, so maybe Jamie was able to use that to his advantage because he was on the pace all day. He qualified sixth in Clubman+ with a 57.704 but when the final came he managed to cut a second off his fastest time, setting a 56.775 right at the start of the session. There’s still plenty of speed left in the old Lancer yet.

[SRE] Warren Greenland : Vauxhall Astra

Warren Greenland was bumped up to Clubman+ at Brands Hatch after destroying the Clubman field in the last round at Snetterton. We have lots of the older Mk5 VXRs in Time Attack but Warren’s is the only Mk7 so it’s an interesting barometer of the car’s capabilities. Warren peaked in qualifying, managing fifth place with an impressive 56.801 (just 0.754s behind Alan Shepherd). However, he appeared to struggle in the final, slipping down the order. He set a 57.933 right at the start of the session but failed to improve upon it, leaving his qualifying time as his fastest time of the day.

Leigh Jordan : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V

Leigh Jordan has performed well so far this year but he’ll be slightly disappointed with his lap times at Brands Hatch. Someone has to be the slowest in every class and unfortunately it was Leigh this round. Even so, he managed to bag some important points, a feat made easier by the fact the single round entries are not awarded points. Of the Championship challengers, Leigh earned 2 points for qualifying (58.243) and 7 points for fourth in the final (57.369). With his good performances at Cadwell Park and Snetterton, Leigh is currently in second place in the overall points table. He’ll be hoping for a better result at Oulton Park on July 11th to keep his race for the Clubman+ title on track.

Clubman

New Clubman Lap Record!

[SRE] Alex Newman : Honda Civic

There was an epic fight at the top of Clubman all day, and it was Alex Newman who came out on top. Alex had swapped to his EK4 Honda Civic VTi for his Single Round Entry at Brands Hatch, after being disappointed with his performance earlier in the year in his S13 Nissan 200SX. Alex clearly enjoyed himself in his 1.6-litre NA Civic, after setting himself a target at the start of the day of a 1-minute lap. Alex was fastest in both qualifying and the final by tiny margins over his nearest rivals, setting the first ever Clubman lap record at Brands Hatch in the process. Not bad for a Single Round Entry! He set a 59.330 in qualifying before beating that with a 59.077 right at the end of the final. An extremely hard-fought win.

[SRE] Kevin Atkins : Toyota GT86

Kevin Atkins pushed his Toyota GT86 to second place in both qualifying and the final, but it could have been so much more. He was tantalisingly close to Alex Newman all day. In fact, Kevin was fastest Clubman driver of all in Practice (59.181) – a time that would have earned him first place in qualifying! Unfortunately, Kevin’s pace dropped slightly in qualifying. In general, it was a slower session and Kevin ended up with a best of 1:00.677. He picked the pace up again in the final though, ending up with a best time of 59.243 – just 0.166s behind Alex! It was a great battle and Kevin can be proud of his performance.

Ollie Novell : Toyota Corolla T-Sport

The Toyota 2ZZ-GE is an underrated engine, especially within Time Attack circles. We have seen a tiny number of cars over the years that have been powered by the VVTL-i unit originally co-designed by Yamaha. Now we have Se7en Motorsport involved that’s set to change, in both Clubman and Club Pro. Ollie originally tweaked his Corolla T-Sport for sprinting before turning his focus to Time Attack. He was right on the pace early on, second fastest in the warm up and practice sessions. Unfortunately, his clutch let go during the practice session so we never got to see Ollie’s potential realized. Even with traffic and lots of fuel on board, he still set a best of 59.222 in practice, just 0.041s behind Kevin Atkins and 0.172s ahead of the record-setting Alex Newman. A frustrating event for Ollie, particularly because his failure to set a time in both qualifying and the final meant he left Brands without any points.  However, his early pace will fill Ollie with confidence for future rounds.

Jon Ellis : Mini Cooper S

Jon Ellis says he entered Time Attack to see if he could be competitive in the car he drives to work every day. This is what Clubman is all about; minimally-tuned cars driven as fast as you can. The only modifications on Jon’s supercharged Mini Cooper-S is a set of tyres, an air filter, uprated ignition and some safety equipment. He set a 1:02.112 in qualifying and was third fastest Clubman driver in the final (1:01.263). Jon can be very pleased that he leaves Brands Hatch as the Championship points leader in the Clubman class.

[SRE] Andrew Alden : Vauxhall Vectra

Another of the Book Club Racing team, Andrew Alden drove the V6 Vectra hard at Brands Hatch. Possibly too hard! The engine suffered “a few problems” and only just lasted until the final session, so it’s entirely possibly Andrew could have gone faster with a healthier car. As it is, he’ll have to be happy with the 1:01.810 he set in qualifying. We hope to see Andrew at another Time Attack event soon. The BCR team bring a huge amount of fun to the Time Attack paddock and really get what it’s all about, especially at this entry-level end of the class structure.

[SRE] Sam Fleet : Honda Civic Type-R

Sam Fleet had the dubious honour of bringing up the rear in Clubman at Brands Hatch. His Honda Civic is very much a road car, with minimal suspension, braking and engine upgrades. Sam has never done any competitive driving before. After a few trackdays he decided to test himself and Time Attack looked a perfect fit. He’s really enjoyed his single round entries at both Snetterton and Brands Hatch, so we hope to see him again in the near future. On the day, Sam’s best lap surprisingly came in the practice session (1:02.372). He went marginally slower in qualifying (1:03.537) before picking the pace up again in the final with a 1:02.519 right at the end of the session.

Pocket Rocket

New Pocket Rocket Lap Record!

Richard O’Dwyer : Mini Cooper S

What an epic battle we witnessed at the top of Pocket Rockets! Richard O’Dwyer was the worthy winner in his 1320Mini turbo-converted Cooper S. We suspect Richard’s inaugural lap record will be very hard to beat for future Pocket Rocket drivers. Richard was quickest in the warm up (54.305) and practice (54.503). However, he was outqualified by Stewart Summers and could only managed a 54.661 to take second place. With the provisional lap record in his pocket, it seemed that whoever was fastest in the final would take both the win and probably the lap record too. Richard had been studying video footage of a fast lap all day, and with a map of the circuit on his steering wheel too, you could tell he was fully-focused on victory. Richard went out and pumped in a 54.227 on his very last lap of the day. He’d done it! A total of 14 points, which he desperately needed in his quest to claw his way back up the table after scoring no points in the opening round. More importantly perhaps, he drove home from Brands Hatch with that first ever Pocket Rocket lap record at Brands Hatch.

Stewart Summers : Citroën Saxo

We’ve been so impressed with Stewart Summers this year. His PlanetSaxx Citroen Saxo isn’t the newest car on the grid, and the Rotrex supercharger attached to his 1.6-litre engine is from the older range too. So how is he so fast!? Stewart has clearly got his car well-sorted and can drive a bit too. He kept Richard O’Dwyer honest all day, beating him in qualifying with a best of 54.348 – the fastest time in qualifying by any competitor in these three classes. That was faster than Jonny Roose’s Evo and both Nissan R35 GT-Rs! A very impressive performance. Stewart just couldn’t make it happen in the final, managing a best of 54.849 for second place and a total of 14 points from the day. Stewart now has a 12-point lead in the Pocket Rocket Championship.

[SRE] Kyle Ward : Toyota Starlet

Fastest Single Round Entry of the day was Kyle Ward in his Tuning Developments Toyota Starlet GT Turbo. He set a 55.402 in qualifying and a 55.735 in the final, the third-fastest Pocket Rocket in both sessions. Kyle’s pace is even more impressive when you consider he has a smaller engine than most of his rivals. The forged and turbocharged engine under the bonnet of his Starlet is only a little 1.3-litre! Hopefully Kyle will be back for another S.R.E before the end of the year.

Tim Kite : Mini Cooper S

Contrary to the photo above, Airtec Fiesta driver Tim Kite did get his 1320Mini turbo Cooper S pointing in the right direction at Brands Hatch. However, the photo indicates how hard he was pushing all day. Perhaps “no fear” should be Tim’s middle name? Tim recorded a 55.739 in qualifying that earned him third place in the Championship, fourth overall in the Pocket Rocket session. Unfortunatley, Tim then lost a second in the final, dropping to a best of 56.717, which still earned him third place amongst the Championship contenders but fifth across all Pocket Rockets in that session. Tim can be happy in the knowledge he left Brands Hatch with 11 points and is in a provisional third place in the Championship standings, at the half-way stage.

Robert Oldman : Ford Fiesta ST

It was a mixed day for Robert Oldman in the Ford Fiesta. A strange boost issue meant he didn’t have full power all day, which made the already difficult task of topping a competitive Pocket Rocket class virtually impossible. Still, he finished the day fourth in his class and his SCC Performance team won a trophy for Best Presented Team too. So what could have been a disastrous day was turned into a trophy and 8 valuable points, leaving Robert in a provisional second place in the Championship heading into Oulton Park on July 11th.

[SRE] Andy Barnes : Time Attack Championship / Airtec Ford Fiesta

Our Time Attack leader Andy Barnes has been gagging to get behind the wheel and join in the fun, and at Brands Hatch he grabbed the opportunity. Driving our Airtec-prepared Time Attack Championship 10th Anniversary car, Andy set about testing his skills against the class of 2015. Andy is something of a ringer with racing experience behind him. Thankfully for our Pocket Rocket drivers this isn’t racing, it’s Time Attack. If anything, Andy’s presence spurred the other drivers to try even harder; It’s not often you get a chance to get one over on the boss. Thankfully for us, Andy did Time Attack proud. He managed a 57.082 in qualifying (5th place), and a 56.323 in the final (4th place). Who will be behind the wheel of the car next? You’ll have to get yourself to Tunerfest North at Oulton Park on Saturday 11th July to find out!

Sam Weller : Peugeot 106

Sam Weller proved the old Peugeot 106 is still a very effective base for a track weapon. The 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated engine in his stripped-out Pug features a set of GSXR1000 motorbike throttle bodies and some wild cams. He needs them to compete with the turbo and supercharged rivals in his class. Sam did himself proud with a 58.577 in qualifying and a 59.002 in the final. However, his fastest time of the day came in the practice session (57.898). Perhaps suggesting there was more time left in both Sam and the car in the final session?

Adam Barnett : Mazda MX-5

Adam Barnett removed the large rear wing from his Mazda MX-5 a while back. He probably wished he still had it when he attacked Paddock Hill bend for the first time at Brands! There were certainly plenty of reports from his classmates about the rear-end of his TR Lane supercharged MX-5 waggling around as Adam pushed on, trying to find traction. He’s partly responsible for that extra power, as Adam maps the Megasquirt engine management himself. He set a best of 58.347 in practice, before peaking in the qualifying session with a 57.995 – good enough for sixth place and his fastest time of the day. He went marginally slower in the final session (58.019) but that was a common story amongst drivers in this session. Perhaps the track was past it’s best. Either that or it was simply the case of 24 drivers trying to find space on the 1.2-mile Indy circuit.

Ali Arshid : Suzuki Swift Sport

After the all-nighter madness pulled by CTC Performance to get Ali’s car ready last round, Ali arrived at Brands Hatch calm and ready to go. His Rotrex-supercharged Suzuki Swift has lots of potential but we didn’t see it realized this time. Ali has big plans for the future regarding Time Attack, but in the short term he wants to learn the game and get the best out of his Swift. Ali set a 1:01.866 in qualifying, then a 1:01.390 in the final. So although he isn’t where he wants to be just yet, he is consistent and was faster as the day went on.

Classic & Retro Club

New Classic & Retro Club Lap Record!

[SRE] Simon Taylor : Ford Fiesta

Simon Taylor had a great battle with Alan Tolley to win Classic & Retro Club, setting the first Brands Hatch lap record in the process during the final. His 57.007 was the 11th fastest time overall in the final session, amongst the 24 cars on track. As Time Attack debuts go, that’s very good indeed. Showing how consistent he was all day, Simon set a 57.772 in the warm up, a 57.473 in practice and also qualified with a 57.050, 10th quickest overall. So he was in the 57s all day and his fastest two times were just 0.043 seconds apart. How’s that for precision driving?

Alan Tolley : Ford Sierra XR4x4

The TnT Racing Sierra isn’t everything it appears to be. Those who know about Sierras might look at the split rear quarter windows and think it’s an XR4x4, which it is. Under the bonnet however, instead of a naturally-aspirated V6 there is a 2.0-litre turbo Cosworth lump with a GT3076 attached to it. We’re lucky to have Alan here with us this year to be honest. He suffered a minor heart attack just before round 1 but is refusing to let that slow him down. With support from his brother Wayne plus his friend and Team Manager Paul Taylor, Alan is picking up the pace once again. He pushed Simon right to the wire at Brands. After qualifying with a 58.305, Alan set a 58.009 in the final, earning him maximum points as Simon isn’t eligible as a Single Round Entry. However, it was the 57.231 Alan set in the morning practice session that was very nearly the new Classic & Retro Club lap record – missing out by just 0.224s! We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: these are the fine margins involved in Time Attack competition.

[SRE] Dick Mauger : Ford Escort

The blue Mk2 Escort might not have been the fastest car at Brands Hatch but it was one of the most popular. Everyone likes an old Escort and Dick’s beautifully-prepared car received lots of admiring glances during the pit-lane walkabout. The Escort earned it’s reputation on the rally stages, and that’s exactly what Dick’s car looks like. With it’s relatively high ride-height and mud-flaps, it’s clear Dick’s car has been built to handle the rally stages and isn’t focused purely on circuits. That being said, Dick stayed on the pace considering the relatively specialized company. He recorded a best of 1:00.370 in qualifying and a 1:00.111 in the final. Both times were third fastest in his class but you have to respect the consistency, indicating he was getting everything he could out of the car on the day.

To catch up on the current 2015 UK Time Attack Championship standings, click here

Our next event is at Oulton Park on Saturday July 11th. You can buy discounted tickets here

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Club 4WD Challenge

New Club 4WD Lap Record!

Damien Bradley : Subaru Legacy

Damien Bradley’s name has appeared at the top of the Club 4WD time sheets at every round since we were last at Brands Hatch in November 2014. He won that day too, and at the first ever Night Attack the same evening. But he didn’t take home the lap record. This weekend, he did.

Last year Damien set a 52.3, missing out on the lap record by just 0.1s! So he admits his aim for this weekend was a sub-52s lap. During a gentle warm-up session, Damien noticed a small engine misfire. It was still there in Practice, so after his first flying lap (on low boost), he was surprised to look down at his AIMS dash and see he had recorded a 50.982 – a new Club 4WD record! Over a second faster than his previous best.

Unfortunately that was as fast as he would go. After changing his spark plugs to cure the misfire and topping the tank up with Torco fuel for full boost, Damien couldn’t find his way through the traffic for a clean lap. Even so, he set a 51.068 to qualify in first place before managing a 52.076 in the final before his gearbox stuck in fifth gear, forcing his retirement. He could only look on from the side of the track as Simon Grffiths chased down his time. Even so, Damien’s time was good enough for second place in the final. He now has a 5 point lead in the Championship table and a new lap record. It’s a shame we didn’t see what he could do on full-boost with a clear run but 50.982 is still an amazing time on road-legal tyres.

Simon Griffiths : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

Simon arrived at Brands Hatch with some new fuel for his immaculate Lancer Evo III. Simon reckons he was around 200bhp down on power compared to Damien Bradley at Snetterton, translating to a 15-20mph deficit through the speed traps! So at Brands Hatch Simon made the switch from regular Shell V-Power super unleaded to Sunoco 260 GT 109, allowing him to turn up the boost for more power – a power upgrade facilitated by Nick at NR Autosport.

Unfortunately the combination of the extra power, combined with the grip provided by Simon’s Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R tyres showed a dangerous drop in oil pressure, even with a heavily baffled sump. A dry-sump upgrade has since been planned but at Brands Hatch the only thing Simon could do to protect his engine was to turn the boost down – it was still running 1.8bar (26psi) for around 570bhp!

Simon pushed Damien close in qualifying, setting his fastest time to grab second place (51.562) – before chasing down top stop in the final with a 51.843. So not only was Simon fast but he was consistent too. With a total of 14 hard-earned points from Brands and more developments on the way, expect a strong finish to the year from Simon in the race for the Club 4WD Championship title.

Josef Calleja : Subaru Impreza

Maltese driver Josef flew into Gatwick on Friday especially for this Time Attack weekend. He did brilliantly considering he had never driven around Brands Hatch before! Josef started the day by taking it easy. He didn’t even have his lap timer switched on, so was surprised to pull in at the end of the warm up to find he had set a 53.705 on his 10th lap around the track. To put that into context it’s only 1.5 seconds slower than the previous Club 4WD lap record! During the day Josef had problems with a blowing up-pipe but even so he managed to post a 52.738 in qualifying and then his fastest time of the day in the final, a 52.577. Josef finished in third place in both points-scoring sessions and was one of the few drivers that got faster as the day progressed.

[SRE] Logan Black : Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII

As a Single Round Entry, Logan Black is not eligible to score Championship points. He is perfectly entitled to upset the status quo however, and that’s exactly what he did at Brands Hatch. Logan was quick early on, being second fastest car in Club 4WD in the practice session and featuring high up on the speed trap tables. So his car is clearly fast and Logan knows how to drive it. Later in the day Logan switched from his usual Toyo tyres to a brand new, wider set of rubber – and didn’t get the new grip he was expecting. Even so, Logan set a 52.932 in qualifying and ended the day with his fastest lap, a 52.604, in the final.

Club RWD

Umar Masood : Mazda RX-7

Club RWD veteran Umar Masood admits he has a new mental approach this year, and it shows. Fresh from a maximum points score at Snetterton last time out, Umar hit Brands Hatch with everything his RotaryMotion-supported FD3S Mazda RX-7 had. He was pipped to second place in qualifying with both drivers in the late 53s (Umar’s best in qualifying was a 53.996). However, when the final arrived with the bulk of the points up for grabs, Umar pushed himself to go faster. The result was an improvement of over a second (52.790), and the top step of the podium. This was also the fifth fastest time set overall in the Club final, and the fastest time by a 2WD Club Challenge driver all day! An impressive performance.

[SRE] Thomas Everill : Lotus Exige

If previous lap records and podiums are anything to by, Brands Hatch really suits Lotus drivers. That’s probably because it rewards handling balance over lots of power. That said, the driver still has to pilot the car around the circuit and attack that infamous Paddock Hill bend – which is exactly what Exige driver Tom Everill did. A Single Round Entry ineligable for Championship points, that didn’t stop Tom from immediately laying his marker down in Club RWD with a stonking 53.560 in the morning warm up session! He was also into the 53s in both qualifying and the final, with best times of 53.742 and 53.837 respectively. A brilliant Time Attack debut.

Simon Roberts : Noble M12 GTO

Simon Roberts slowly would up his Noble M12 GTO during the two morning sessions, setting a best of 56.031 in the warm up followed by a 55.962 in practice. When qualifying came he would up the turbos, took a couple of brave pills and attacked the track. His reward was an impressive 53.707 that earned him first place in qualifying and the maximum 5 points. Unfortunately, Simon might have taken a few too many brave pills because half way though the next session he went straight on at Druids and into the gravel! As his confidence grew, Simon had carried more speed through Paddock Hill each lap and had simply arrived at Druids a lot faster than he had done previously. Still, he was recovered by the marshalls and with 10 minutes left in the final he managed to compose himself for one last attack. He ended up with a 53.739 on his last flying lap, good enough for second place and 9 points. Those points have put Simon joint top of the Club RWD points table with Umar Masood in the RX-7. It should be a good fight between the pair next time out, at Oulton Park on July 11th.

James Pinkerton : Mazda RX-7

It’s great to see another Mazda RX-7 in the Club RWD Challenge. James Pinkerton was the third fastest RWD Challenge driver in both qualifying (55.580) and the final (54.545) – setting his fastest time of the day halfway though the final session.

Anthony Woo : Nissan 200SX

Even a minor ‘off’ couldn’t stop Anthony Woo enjoying his day at Brands Hatch. Anthony’s car is effectively a new build so he’s very much in the process of getting comfortable in the car, sorting the alignment and generally coping with any new-car niggles that pop up. A car with lots of potential for future events, Anthony set his fastest time of the day during the final session, suggesting he’s getting faster with every lap.

James Proctor : Nissan 350Z

James is still finding his RWD feet after running a naturally-aspirated FD2 Honda Civic last year. His VR Dyno Tuning Nissan 350Z is definitely a work-in-progress and he’s pushing hard to catch his Club RWD rivals. Surprisingly, James set his fastest time of the day during the morning practice session – managing a 57.307 in qualifying followed by a best of 58.458 in the busy final session.

Club FWD

New Club FWD Lap Record!

Daniel Clark : Vauxhall Astra

We suggested Dan Clark was one to watch in our Event Preview. He proved us right and then some. The Vauxhall Astra driver thrashed the old lap record by over a second in the final session of the day, but it wasn’t easy. Dan had some new tyres for the event which he hoped would give him a significant drop in lap time. As it happened, the new tyres didn’t work out and he struggled first with a vibration from the front and then an overall lack of grip. He set a 53.668 in the warm up without any of his dash functions working. Then with that fixed he set a 53.372 in Practice, the fastest in Club FWD – despite a trip through the gravel that ripped off his rear diffuser! He was clearly trying hard. When the points-paying sessions came, Dan went out in qualifying and still struggled to find the right balance. His best was a 53.652, third in Club FWD. A re-think was needed. Dan took the gamble of fitting his old tyres for the final. Some adjustments were made to the anti-roll bars and spoiler angle, along with a change in tyre pressures. The changes would make or break his event. On his sixth lap in the final, Dan set his fastest time of the day (52.800) – a new Club FWD Challenge lap record. Dan now sits clear of the field at the top of the Club FWD Challenge points table. The question is, with a couple of circuits coming up that Dan has never driven before, can he keep his place and take home the title at the end of the year?

Neil Wrenn : Honda Civic

If Neil Wrenn needed a reward for his hard work over the winter, he got it at Brands Hatch. In fact, it was reward for a week of work to get his engine repaired in time to even be there at Brands. He may have finished on the second step of the podium at Brands Hatch but that’s only because the class of 2015 are going so fast! A banker by day, Neil burned the midnight oil over winter to transform his Civic for this year, resulting in a new aero package and colour-scheme. Under the bonnet is a home-built and turbocharged hybrid B-series, mainly comprised of B20 and B18 bits. Neil has much wider tyres on the front this year and they are clearly helping as Neil went out and broke the old Club FWD lap record in the very first session of the day, topping the overall Club Challenge time sheets in that session too! His 52.951 was an astonishing way to start the day. Unfortunately a fault start motor kept Neil out of the next session, and with a combination of traffic and a track that appeared to be getting slower as the day progressed (perhaps because of the rubber laid down during the drift demos?) – this would stay Neil’s best lap time. He qualified in second place with a 53.311, before grabbing the second step on the podium with a 53.200 in the final. An excellent round for Neil, who is getting faster as the season progresses.

Martyn Henry : Vauxhall Astra

You might think Martyn Henry’s Vauxhall Astra only ever had three wheels on the track at one time, if you’d only seen the photos of him in action at Brands Hatch. Or sometimes two. Marty was clearly pushing himself and his car to the very limits of grip and sometimes beyond. Trips onto the grass were balanced with raw speed and Martyn clocked the fastest time in qualifying, a 53.009 for the maximum 5 points. It was so close to a 52-second lap. Could he manage one in the final? Sadly, Martyn went a touch slower in the final with a 53.533 – earning him third place and 8 points. It’s a shame he couldn’t join the other two in the 52s but it was still a very impressive display from Martyn. To put his lap times into perspective, both his points-scoring laps were quicker than the Club FWD lap record at the start of the day – a 53.890 set by Romain Levesque in a Honda CRX back in 2011! Interestingly, the top three all left Brands Hatch with 13 points. So Martyn find himself level with Neil Wrenn and just one point ahead of Marc Donnelly at the half-way stage. Bring on Oulton!

Marc Donnelly : Ford Escort

Another driver who managed to beat the previous Club FWD lap record on the day. Marc Donnelly usually goes well at Brands Hatch. To be fair, our reigning Club FWD double-champion is quick everywhere! His fastest time of the day (a 53.530 set in Practice) is made even more impressive by the gearbox issues he faced. The problem involved failing gearbox mounts, resulting in a lot of movement and forcing Marc to steer one-handed while he wrestled with the gear-lever! Somehow he managed 4th place in both qualifying and the final with consistent lap times – 53.794 and 53.628 respectively. The car is already being sorted and Marc will want to forget Brands and look forward to Oulton Park on July 11th, when he’ll have the luxury of steering with both hands.

Darren Spooner : Peugeot 205

It’s old and it has a smaller engine compared to it’s rivals, so there’s no way Darren Spooner and his Spoox Motorsport Peugeot 205 should have been able to close in on the old lap record. But he did. That’s despite a few minor niggles on the day caused by the age of some of the components. Darren has since started development of a few new parts to cure the problem, including their own clutch pedal pivot (the old aftermarket one sheared in half at Brands!) and aux pulleys. The bottom line with all this is that Darren heads to Oulton Park knowing he can drive the car hard, which always does. This is backed up by the fact Darren set his fastest time of the day on his last flying lap of the day. As always, flat-out until the finish.

Paul Waddington : Honda Civic

Paul Waddington’s Honda Civic doesn’t have a turbo, so it was interesting to see how his well-sorted K-swapped Civic compared at Brands. The truth is he ended up a little way behind them, but he was the fastest of the naturally-aspirated cars in Club FWD, which is a nice accolade to have earned. Paul set a 55.710 in qualifying and a 55.786 in the final, so he was really consistent. Paul will have a set of TDi North camshafts in place for Oulton Park, so we’ll wait and see if that helps him close the gap to the turbocharged front-runners.

[SRE] Nigel Brown : Mini Cooper S

Nigel Brown was the fastest Single Round Entry in Club FWD at Brands Hatch, despite a few ‘issues’. He was clearly pushing the limits as the battle-scars and missing headlight in the photo indicate. Still, he kept going and had a trophy for the fastest S.R.E in the final to show for it. The surprising thing is that Nigel later discovered the boost controller attached to his turbo conversion was not switched on, so it was only running wastegate pressure. In simple terms that means he was missing around 10psi of boost and a lot of power! So it’s fair to say Nigel could have gone even faster. Let’s hope he returns and puts that right next we’re at Brands Hatch.

[SRE] Michael Luken : Honda Civic

Michael pushed Nigel close in the battle to be fastest Single Round Entry in the final session. His best of 55.885 was just 0.107 seconds slower! Those are the fine margins in Time Attack. Hopefully Michael will be back to take home a trophy of his own.

[SRE] David Ward : Honda Civic

David Ward was the fastest Club FWD Single Round Entry in the first three sessions of the day; 57.298 in the warm up, 56.455 in practice and 56.108 in qualifying. He looked odds-on to be quickest S.R.E in the final but when his rivals increased their speed dramatically, David went marginally slower with a best of 56.425. He ended up third fastest S.R.E in Club FWD after spending most of the day in the 56-second range in his EG Civic.

Jeff Alden : Vauxhall Astra

With a new engine and gearbox but no testing, it was going to be an interesting day for Jeff Alden and the Book Club Racing team. Their day started with a big cloud of smoke! Thankfully it wasn’t from the engine but was instead the front wheels rubbing on the bodywork. It turned out the car was running a bit too low for the big compressions that Brands provides. Even with that issue, Jeff had already gone faster than his previous best by setting a 58.487 in the warm up. Jeff improved his times all day, ending up with a 57.004 in qualifying, followed by a 56.333 in the final. That’s 2.5 seconds faster than his personal best at the start of the day. It’s great to see Jeff making progress in the Saab-powered Astra. It’s already evolved lots since the near-standard road car he started out with in Time Attack. Jeff admits he went for an aggressive suspension setup that was great over the kerbs but a bit unstable round the bends. With a bit more time to dial the car in properly, Jeff reckons he could dip into the 54s. Great to see the progression. All trophies and lap records aside, pushing yourself and developing your car to go faster is what Time Attack is all about.

Jonathan Morris : Ford Focus

Jonathan Morris is one of 7 drivers who ended the Brands Hatch event covered by just over a second. That’s how close Time Attack has become this year, especially Club FWD. It’s the biggest and arguably most competitive class this year. Jonathan has an extra level of difficulty to contend with, as one of the few naturally-aspirated entrants taking the fight to the turbo guys. Thankfully he has a Burton Power engine screaming away under the bonnet, and as Jonathan and his team tweaked the suspension, the times kept dropping at Brands. He set a 56.789 in qualifying before topping that with a 56.663 in the final. So you can see from these lap times how consistent Jonathan was. With some more time and suspension setup, we’re confident Jonathan could go even faster.

Dan Lewis : Renault Megane

Dan is another driver that improved as the day progressed in his Renault Megane. His best in qualifying was a 57.624 but he went even faster in the final, with a 56.812. Dan is currently level on points with Jonathan Morris and Adrian Daniel in the overall points table.

Adrian Daniel : Vauxhall Astra

Adrian’s Astra has grown a pair of neat canards to go with the splitter on the front. Unfortunately he didn’t really get the chance to test them out after an off at Paddock Hill bend wrecked much of the setup. Adrian managed to get the car going again but ultimately had to retire from the final after the engine oil temperature went through the roof and he couldn’t get it down again, even after several slow laps. With so many cars on track looking for space, Adrian reluctantly retired the car. A selfless act that will have been appreciated by his fellow drivers.

Antonio Giovinazzo : Alfa Romeo 155

In the nicest possible way, the Giovinazzo brothers are crazy! They didn’t have time to repair the gearbox in their self-turbocharged twin-spark Alfa Romeo 155, but they made the journey to Brands Hatch regardless. This means they ran all day with only 1st, 3rd and 5th gears!

To catch up on the current 2015 UK Time Attack Championship standings, click here

Our next event is at Oulton Park on Saturday July 11th. You can buy discounted tickets here

It’s not racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

PRO Extreme

New PRO Extreme & outright Time Attack Lap Record!

Gareth Lloyd : SVA Imports Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

What a day for Gareth Lloyd and SVA Imports. The SVA team are based in Kent, so it was a relatively short journey to the track for them. They arrived just days after announcing they would be representing UK Time Attack at the World Time Attack Challenge in Australia later in the year! “Aero” is still the buzzword out there, so SVA are developing a whole new aero package for the event and the front-end made it’s first appearance at Brands Hatch. It seemed to work.

After having his lap record beaten in the Warm Up session, Gareth and SVA played their usual long-game, gradually adding the technical goodies and increasing the pace as the day continued. Even so, Gareth went out in the very next session and snatched back his lap records in Practice – by a full second!

This proved to be Gareth’s fastest time of the day, a 45.043. To put that into perspective it is 1.646 seconds faster than the outright Time Attack lap record, and a massive 3.63 seconds faster than the Pro Extreme lap record at the start of the day! Both of which were Gareth and SVA Imports lap records from the past couple of years. It’s also 0.417 seconds faster than the British Superbike lap record!

Gareth went on to qualify in first position with a 45.078. However, the team were still confident of going even faster. When the final arrived, Gareth went out and set a banker lap, a 45.050. So you can see how consistent Gareth was, which is amazing considering the car was completely un-tested in this spec. Then SVA turned on all the toys – nitrous-oxide injection, full turbo boost, etc. – Gareth went out to smash his own record. He was significantly quicker in the first half of the lap but then disaster struck. A differential failure forced Gareth to pull the car over to the side of the road at Surtees. Their day was done. Gareth could only watch from the side of the track and hope no-one beat his time in the remaining minutes of the final. They didn’t, and both Gareth Lloyd and SVA Imports left Brands Hatch with maximum points and a new Pro Extreme and outright Time Attack lap record. Not a bad day’s work.

Andy Demetriou : Black Mamba Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

After a perfect start it was a day of mixed emotions for Andy Demetriou and Black Mamba. Andy fired out of the blocks and immediately destroyed the previous Pro Extreme and outright Time Attack lap record by setting a 46.038 in the first session of the day! It was only supposed to be a Warm-Up, but it signaled the intentions of Andy and the Black Mamba team. We were going to witness a real battle between Andy and Gareth, with the winner taking home the lap records. Then disaster struck.

Still in the Warm-up session, Andy kept his foot in after setting his 46.038 and on the next lap was 0.7 seconds up when he and Club Pro Astra driver Jonny Fletcher made contact. It’s a rare occurrence in Time Attack and the impact took a chunk out of the side of Black Mamba’s carbonfibre bodywork. The damage was more than skin deep unfortunately, bending suspension arms, subframe and transfer box! The Black Mamba team rallied to fix the car , and Andy did manage to set a 45.801 in qualifying to take second place. However, Andy claims their pace was way off what it could have been. He ended up sixth in the Pro Extreme final with a 52.893, clearly nursing the injured car. It was a frustrating end to an event that had begun so spectacularly.

Philip Reed : Ross Sport / AP-Tuning Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Philip Reed finished second on the podium at Brands Hatch with a stunning 48.355 in the final session. He was very consistent in his Ross Sport and AP Tuning supported Lancer Evo VI – setting a 48.588 to finish third in qualifying. Both of these times are quicker than the old Pro Extreme lap record! If there is a gap between the more extreme aero-equipped Lancer Evos of SVA and Black Mamba and the rest of Pro Extreme, then Philip is starting to emerge as the front-runner in the chasing pack. His car features a 2.3-litre engine with a GT37 turbo and is clearly very fast in a straight line. He was fastest car of the day in both speed traps during the final, and fastest car of the entire day over the start-finish line; an incredible 154.9mph!

Andrew Barbour : AKB Racing / NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

The Flyin’ Scotsman Andrew Barbour is clearly becoming more comfortable in his new car. It’s a baptism of fire for Andrew this year, a new car and a step up to slick tyres too, and it’s the latter that is proving the biggest challenge. There’s a lot more involved in getting slicks ‘switched on’ at exactly the right time to achieve that perfect lap, but with the help of NR Autosport and the car’s former owner Phil White, he’s getting there. Andrew admitted his target for the day was a 48-second lap and taking the car home in one piece. He managed both. Even better, Andrew grabbed the third step on the podium with a 48.459 in the final session of the day. That’s just 0.104 behind Philip Reed. So as the two heavily aero-equipped cars are involved in a battle at the front of the class, there is another equally close battle developing between Andrew and Philip. A single point separates the pair in the Championship Points Table. Watch this space at Oulton Park.

[SRE] Paul Knapp : AP-Tuning Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII

After being forced to pull out of Cadwell Park at the last moment, this was Paul Knapp’s first taste of Time Attack in 2015. His day started with a bang. Literally. Carrying speed up towards Paddock Hill bend, Paul braked and the wheels locked up, sending the car into a spin straight through the gravel, hitting the barrier side-on. The rear quarter took much of the force but Paul and his AP Tuning support team worked hard to get the car back up and running. They were rewarded with the fifth fastest time of the day when Paul got back out and set a 48.814 to finish fourth in the final session. A great effort from Paul, who has previously raced in the Clio Cup. It seems a last-minute decision to stiffen the suspension was the cause of the accident. It’s a credit to Paul that he was able to regroup mentally and go out and be right on the pace.

Brad Sheehan – NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

It was a frustrating day for Brad. Frustrating because he’s a very capable driver and usually goes well at Brands Hatch. It started promisingly enough, with Brad coming close to his personal best despite being on low boost and a set of old road tyres! That 50.767 lap proved to be his fastest for a while however. First a tyre de-laminated, causing some minor damage to the arch but also ruining his Practice session. Then in qualifying he had issues with a leaking exhaust manifold, robbing the car of power. Throw in some traffic during the laps when the temporary fix was holding, and you can understand why Brad left Brands dissatisfied with his day. His still managed to pull a lap together in final, his fastest time of the day that was good enough for fourth place in the Pro Extreme final amongst the Championship contenders.

PRO

Kevin Jones : Jetsream Motorsport / KJR Noble M12 RSR

Kevin Jones was in the same Noble M12 RSR that he was last year but had a lot of new toys this year, not least the wider track and slick tyres. He also had a set of new, bespoke driveshafts following his issues at Snetterton last time out. The Jetstream Motorsport-supported car is still extremely quick with Kevin behind the wheel, and it was Kevin who climbed the top step of the podium after a battle with Lee Broadhurst in the KTM X-Bow. Kevin set his fastest time of the day during qualifying, a 49.828, before winning the final with a 51.674. Every driver has to drop their lowest points score at the end of the year, but Kevin’s maximum points haul of 5 for qualifying and 10 for the final at Brands means he now leads the Pro Championship by 3 points, as we head towards Oulton Park.

Lee Broadhurst : KTM X-Bow

Lee Broadhurst peaked early at Brands Hatch. Kicking off with a 51.818 in practice (slightly slower than Kevin Jones) and  then a 50.697 in the warm-up (slightly faster than Kevin Jones), it seemed we were in for a real battle between the pair of Pro class drivers. Unfortunately Lee’s times went backwards from there. He had a difficult qualifying session, posting a best of 52.156, before setting a 52.225 in the final. Lee’s times from Practice suggest there is more time in the car. Whether it was traffic or mechanical gremlins, Lee will be hoping to beat Kevin at Oulton Park, in the race for the 2015 Pro Championship title.

Dalibor Kvasai : Kermit II Mazda RX-7

We still haven’t seen the best of Kermit II and Dalibor Kvasai. In the morning, car owner Dave Thompson shared his concerns at an apparent loss of compression on the triple-rotor 20B turbo engine. With the decision made to carry on regardless, the rear differential let go. Dalibor missed out on both qualifying and the final, setting his best time in the morning practice session. It’s another day to forget for the team in their difficult debut year in UK Time Attack. We can’t wait to see what Dalibor and Kermit II can really do. The car has so much potential, we just want to see it realized.

Classic & Retro PRO

New C&R Pro Lap Record!

Lloyd Wright : RSR Ford Escort

If there was an award for the most popular car in Time Attack this year, Lloyd Wright’s RSR Escort would be a contender. The Escort was swamped during the lunchtime pit-lane walk and their garage was full of interested faces all day. Powered by a Radical engine, two four-cylinder Suzuki Hayabusa motorbike engines sharing a common crankshaft to make a high-revving V8, this car had weight and balance on it’s side. Even with the twin bike engines it’s down on power compared to most cars in Pro and Pro Extreme. So Lloyd has to make time up in the corners. He definitely did that at Brands Hatch as he chased down the lap times. After a strong start in warm up (49.910, third overall in the session) and practice (49.634, second overall in the session), Lloyd slipped down the order. He posted a 50.188 in qualifying and a 50.427 in the final. When asked about the dip in performance towards the end of the day, Lloyd first pointed out he doesn’t have boost to turn up like the turbo cars – but he also felt the grip levels of the circuit change throughout the day. Is it possible the rubber left on the track during the drift demos had made the track slower? It’s certainly a possibility. Oulton next and another chance for Lloyd to push his stunning Escort to the limit once again.

Club PRO

New Club PRO 2WD Lap Record!

Ronnie Amis : Airtec VW Golf

Local driver Ronnie Amis proved we were right to mark him out as one to watch at Brands Hatch after he set a rapid new Club Pro 2WD lap record. Ronnie came speeding out of the blocks, smashing the record for the first time during the first session of the day with a 51.859 in the warm up! He quickly followed that up with an even faster lap in practice, a 51.676. An incredible time considering Club Pro cars wear road-legal treaded tyres. No slicks allowed. The only disappointment in Ronnie’s day is that he didn’t go faster. Another victim of the deterioration in the grip levels at Brands Hatch, Ronnie couldn’t go faster in the final two sessions (51.759 and 52.244 respectively). However, he did top Club Pro in both, giving the Airtec Golf driver the maximum 15 points – and the provisional Championship lead heading into the next round. Oulton Park is going to be tasty!

Russ Paton – HQ Garage Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Another driver making the epic journey down from Scotland, Russ Paton’s Evo is looking great these days. Immaculately prepared and featuring wide bodywork with the rear cut bumper cut short for a huge diffuser, the HQ Garage Lancer Evo VI goes as good as it looks. Russ started in the 54s in warm up, then 53s during practice before hitting the low 52s in both qualifying and the final. His fastest time of the day came in qualifying (52.163), and he followed that up with a 52.373 in the final, showing a lot of consistency. In the process he bagged second place in both points-scoring sessions, and currently sits in second place in the Championship standings. Russ and Ronnie are just starting to pull away at the top. The points will be hard-fought and well-deserved for the victor at Oulton Park on July 11th.

Jonny Fletcher : Vauxhall Astra

It was a case of survival for Jonny Fletcher in the JDF Racing Vauxhall Astra. An early clash with Andy Demetriou in the Pro Extreme Black Mamba meant Jonny spent the rest of the day straightening what he could and replacing what he could not. That’s despite his Astra looking fine. The ABS Motorsport BTCC bodykit (adapted from a hatchback to fit the Coupe, believed to be the only one like it) appeared untouched! Jonny’s time is impressive considering the issues he had but aren’t a fair reflection of what his pace would have been. We wish Jonny the best in getting the car ready for Oulton Park, as he continues his debut year in Club Pro after stepping up from the Club Challenge.

Lee Mabbett : Se7en Motorsport Toyota Corolla

We haven’t had many Corollas in UK Time Attack over the years and Lee Mabbett is pushing boundaries with his. It’s 2ZZ-GE VVT-Li engine is equipped with a Rotrex supercharger but it is effectively an interim powerplant. The original heavily-modified engine was ruined when the expensive cylinder liners shifted, instantly condemning the extensively-machined block to the bin. So don’t pay too much attention to Lee’s times in his Se7en Motorsport Corolla. This is definitely a work-in-progress and we fully expect Lee to be running at the front of the class in time to come.

To catch up on the current 2015 UK Time Attack Championship standings, click here

Our next event is at Oulton Park on Saturday July 11th. You can buy discounted tickets here

It’s not Racing.. it’s TIME ATTACK!

Our Pocket Rocket competitors are driving cars that were originally equipped with an engine capactiy of 1,750cc or less. While the Clubman class features cars with very minor modifications. Just before Snetterton the decision was made to split Clubman; Clubman for hot hatches and the like, Clubman+ for those cars that are more expensive, more capable on track from the factory, than the Clubman cars. So a lightly modified 2.0-litre NA Civic Type-R can be separated from a lightly modified Lancer Evo or GT-R, for example. Finally, our Classic & Retro Club class supports drivers of those ‘analogue’ cars we all love, from a time before driver assists. As all four classes are new for 2015, each fastest time of the day has set a new lap record. Congratulations to everyone who managed to earn one in the difficult conditions.

POCKET ROCKET

New Lap Record!

Richard O’Dwyer – Mini Cooper S

It was a triumphant return to Time Attack for Richard O’Dwyer. He was runner-up in the wet final session (1:33.110), but had already peaked in terms of lap time. Richard set the fastest Pocket Rocket time of the day outright in his 1320Mini Turbo during qualifying. A very quick time considering the relatively small engine capacity, and always up there in the speed traps.

Stewart Summers – Citroën Saxo

What a difference a year makes. The last time Stewart Summers was at Snetterton in a Saxo, he rolled it onto it’s roof spectacularly at Murrays. This time around he was fastest Pocket Rocket in the wet final session (1:31.991) and second fastest in qualifying (1:28.098), in his supercharged Saxo. An excellent, and very brave, drive.

Tim Kite – Mini Cooper S

Another 1320Mini Turbo, Tim Kite went from a Sprintex supercharger to a GT28 turbo this year and it’s clearly given the little Mini some grunt. Tim was third in qualifying, where he set his fastest time of the day. He went on to finish sixth in the wet final session. However, out of all the Pocket Rockets, Tim was the was quickest through the speed trap at the end of the Bentley straight in both the qualifying and final sessions.

Robert Oldman – Ford Fiesta ST

You couldn’t miss Robert Oldman’s brightly-coloured Ford Fiesta. Another driver who set his fastest time of the day in qualifying, Robert pushed his way up the order to grab the third step of the podium in the challenging final session. His Fiesta ST can probably be seen from outer space and is prepared by SCC Performance.

Sam Weller – Peugeot 106

The Peugeot 106 is an under-used car in Time Attack. It’s lightweight and has good chassis balance even in stock form. So it was great to see Sam Weller taking the fight to the rest of the Pocket Rockets. He was the last of four cars that set 1:28s laps in qualifying. Mr Consistent, Sam finished fifth in both qualifying and the final.

Sam Brabham – Airtec Fiesta ST Celebrity Car

The son of LeMans winner David Brabham and Grandson of triple Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham O.B.E, young Sam Brabham has huge shoes to fill. Not literally, of course. Sam was behind the wheel of our Airtec Fiesta ST at Snetterton. It was a big change from the rear-wheel drive Formula Ford single seater he’s used to, but Sam progress sensibly throughout the day and ended up pushing the Fiesta to fourth place in the final (1:35.271).

Andrew Kime (OHW) – Citroën Saxo

Early in the day there were rumours that Andrew’s Saxo had expired but thankfully that wasn’t the case. He completed the full day, setting his fastest lap time during qualifying. It’s worth noting Andrew was quick through the latter part of the lap, featuring higher in the sector 2 rankings than his final position. Perhaps indicating that his Saxo was down on power slightly against it’s rivals, but handled the direction switch of Brundle and Nelson, and the long Coram corner, particularly well?

Adam Barnett – Mazda MX-5

Adam took the unusual step of removing some aero before Snetterton. Those of you familiar with the home-brewed supercharged Mazda MX-5 will know there used to be a large rear wing on the boot. It actually provided too much downforce, so he removed it. Considering the miserable weather conditions at Snetterton, he may have been wishing it was still there? One to keep an eye on at Brands Hatch, as it should suit the little rear-wheel drive roadster.

Ali Arshid – Suzuki Swift Sport

CTC Performance pulled an all-nighter to get Ali Arshid’s supercharged Suzuki Swift ready. Ali didn’t arrive at Snetterton until after the warm-up and practice sessions were over, and he had never driven the track before! So his first session was the fastest session, so his time isn’t truly representative of what he and the car can do. Hopefully he’ll get to participate in the whole day next time!

Classic & Retro Club

New Lap Record!

Jeff Whitbrook – Daihatsu Charade GTti

There aren’t many Daihatsu Charade GTtis left, which is a shame because they’re a truly bonkers little car – and Jeff’s is more bonkers than all of them. Under the bonnet the 1.0-litre turbo engine is gone, replaced by a B18C4 Honda engine and DC2 gearbox. Oh, and a TD04 turbo. In other words, a whole load more power and traction. Jeff didn’t perform so well when the rain came out in the final, but during qualifying he pipped Alan Tolley’s Sierra XR4x4 to the fastest Classic & Retro Club lap time of the day, and a new lap record.

Alan Tolley – Ford Sierra XR4x4

Ford Sierra driver Alan Tolley joined us for the first time at Snetterton. His XR Sierra is another rare car, and he pushed Jeff close in qualifying, where he set his fastest lap. Alan is one of the few drivers that went close to his qualifying time in the wet final. No doubt the combination of Alan’s driving and the grip provided by the Sierra’s four-wheel drive system.

CLUBMAN

New Lap Record!

Warren Greenland (OHW) – Vauxhall Astra

Warren hit the jackpot at Snetterton. A One-Hit Wonder, he’s carried out a smash-and-grab on the Clubman lap record! The speed of his Vauxhall Astra down the Bentley straight (128mph) was only beaten by Clubman+ GT-R driver Mark Flook. Well driven by Warren on the day.

Ollie Novell – Toyota Corolla

If you’re a fan of sprinting then you might have seen Ollie’s VVTLi engined Corolla T-Sport before. He’s modified it gradually from a road car to a sprint car, and now he’s in Time Attack. The Corolla was buzzing through the gears all day, and with Warren unable to score points as a One-Hit Wonder, Ollie took well-deserved maximum points from both qualifying and the final.

Jon Ellis – Mini Cooper S

Unlike the Club Challenge Minis, Jon Ellis’ Cooper S is very mildly modified, making it the perfect Clubman car. Interestingly, Jon set his fastest time in both qualifying and final, on the very last lap. We always say that suggests a driver that is doing a great job. A good sign for the future.

Sam Fleet (OHW) – Honda Civic Type-R

Another One-Hit-Wonder and another very mildly modified Clubman car. Exhaust, suspension and brake modifications pretty much cover the upgrades on Sam’s Civic Type-R, and although he’s done trackdays before he has never done any competitive driving like this. So if you’re wondering if you can jump in without any experience, there’s your answer. Sam had a great time and has already booked himself in as a One-Hit-Wonder at the next round, Brands Hatch on June 21st.

CLUBMAN+

New Lap Record!

Mark Flook – Nissan R35 GT-R

A set of brake discs and pads, plus a downpipe. That’s the total sum of the modifications on Mark Flook’s daily-driven family car. Of course a GT-R is a very effective track weapon in factory trim, hence the creation of a new Clubman+ class to cater for 4WD turbocharged beasts like this. Or any lightly-tuned sports cars that can challenge it. Mark topped every session of the day, and the speed trap tables in both qualifying and the final. A dominant performance. However, he was given a one position penalty for passing a slowing car under waved yellow flags.

Alan Shepherd – Ford Focus RS

Behind Mark, Alan Shepherd was the best of the rest in Clubman+ all day. He was the one to benefit from Mark’s penalty, and put in an impressive display to stay so close to the big GT-R all day long.

Ben Cook (OHW) – BMW M3

A last-minute One-Hit-Wonder, Ben Cook and his BMW M3 performed admirably. The car is barely modified and Ben managed to stay ahead of two 4WD Mitsubishi Lancer Evos in slippery conditions.

Jonny Roose – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

In the battle of the Evos it was Jonny Roose that came out on top. Jonny set his fastest time of the day on his last lap in qualifying.

Lee Jordan – Mitsubishi Evo V

Last but by no means least, Lee Jordan set his fastest time while qualifying in the final Clubman+ position. However, when the wet final came along, Lee leap-frogged Jonny Roose (1:39.664 vs 1:44.283). So maybe he was saving something for the final but got caught out by the weather?

You can buy tickets to Round 3 of the UK Time Attack Championship at Brands Hatch on June 21st here

CLUB 4WD CHALLENGE

Damien Bradley – Subaru Legacy

The white Legacy continues to set the pace in Club 4WD. Damien was proudly displaying a pair of Torco flags outside his garage all day, attracting curious visitors who wanted to know more. At first it seemed like the fancy fuel wasn’t making a difference, as Damien was bottom of the timing sheet in both the morning warm-up and practice sessions. However, Damien presumably turned everything up to eleven at lunch time, because he blitzed both qualifying and the final to snatch maximum points – setting his fastest time of the day on his last flying lap of the day. As we’ve said before, that’s a good indication of a driver that is getting the most from their car. Can anyone stop Bradley this year?

Josef Calleja – Subaru Impreza

It wasn’t the orange, white and blue colour-scheme that was turning heads towards Josef’s Impreza – okay, maybe it had a little bit to do with it – but it was his pace that really got the crowds interested. He was only just behind Damien in both the points-scoring sessions. Looking at the speed traps is interesting. Josef was only a couple of miles-per-hour slower than Damien at the end of the Bentley straight, but was almost 10mph slower across the start-finish line, indicating that the second half of the Snetterton 200 circuit is where Josef lost time.

Simon Griffiths – Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III

Simon admits he’s probably a couple of hundred horsepower down on his Club 4WD rivals this year. In Time Attack terms, the spec of his Lancer Evo III is relatively modest, with plenty of factory parts still in place. Of course it’s no slouch, but the power difference needed to be made up by Simon and on a track with long straights it was a difficult task. Simon has proved he’s fast in the past, but things didn’t really click for him at Snetterton. He’ll be glad to see the more twisty Brands Hatch Indy circuit is up next on June 21st.

CLUB RWD CHALLENGE

Umar Masood – Mazda RX-7

A return to form for Umar and his Mazda RX-7. He was clearly having fun exploring the limits all day, often sideways and always pushing hard. Umar left Snetterton with maximum points, after impressive wins in both qualifying and the final, several seconds ahead of his closest competitor in both sessions.

Simon Roberts – Noble M12 GTO3

Simon appeared on the pace in the morning sessions before Umar pulled a gap on him in qualifying. The Noble was clearly no slouch however. Despite finishing in the runner-up spot in the final, Simon’s Noble clocked the fastest speeds through the two speed traps in Club RWD overall, 126mph on the Bentley straight and 132mph over the start-finish straight.

James Pinkerton (OHW) – Mazda RX-7

One-Hit Wonder James Pinkerton really impressed us. As a OHW James was not eligible for any Championship points, but it didn’t stop him having a real battle with Simon Roberts in the Noble all day. James pipped Simon in the wet qualifying session (1:42.501 vs 1:42.725), before the order was reversed in the drying final session when both drivers set their fastest times of the day. Definitely a driver and car combination that could be competitive over a full season.

Anthony Woo – Nissan 200SX

Effectively a new car, Anthony was still getting used to the beast that Japanese tuning specialists Eurospec have helped create. This Nissan 200SX has a big spec list but it was a case of finding the grip at Snetterton for Anthony. After a disappointing qualifying session, Anthony picked himself up and went back out onto a drying track for the final, earning himself third place and a pat on the back from his team. Another car/driver combo with more performance to come at future rounds.

James Proctor – Nissan 350Z

Making the transition from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive isn’t easy, but James Proctor is showing he’s getting used to the big VR Dyno Tuning Zed. With less power than most of his Club RWD classmates, James did a great job of staying in touch with the pack on a track that features two decent straights.

Alex Newman (OHW) – Nissan 200SX

Another One-Hit Wonder, Alex matched his fellow 200SX driver Anthony Woo’s time in the morning practice session before setting his fastest lap in qualifying. Alex did not take part in the final session, when the track was considerably drier. So his fastest time looks further adrift of the field than it really was.

CLUB FWD CHALLENGE

Daniel Clark – Vauxhall Astra

What a day for Daniel Clark! Struggling for grip on tyres that he had driven on since 2013, Daniel was pushing to the limits and beyond all day. Several times he left the track and skidded across the grass. Daniel was battling it out in qualifying with Marc Donnelly until he slid off the track and kissed a barrier, bringing the red flags out and a premature end to the session. As a result he finished second in qualifying by just 0.243 seconds. In the final, that rivalry continued and it was Daniel that came out on top in a nail-biting climax. Very well driven.

Marc Donnelly – Ford Escort

Marc’s Escort arrived with exactly the same suspension setup as Cadwell Park. That meant it was very aggressive, as it proved as the rear end of Marc’s front-wheel drive Escort was seen swinging about all day! It’s got some grunt too. The Focus RS-powered Mk3 Escort was the fastest of all Club Challenge cars at the end of the Bentley straight (136mph). Marc was fastest in Club FWD qualifying and second in the final, just missing out on top spot by 0.175 seconds. However, he was given a one place penalty in the final for passing a slowing car under a yellow flag.

Martyn Henry – Vauxhall Astra

Photos of Martyn Henry flying through the air have gone viral since Sunday! Martyn had a spectacular incident which he skillfully managed to recover from without rolling the car over. However, it did break a wheel, hub, bent the axle, etc. Somehow he got it all repaired in time for the final – with help from Russ Paton’s crew – where considering the frantic activity that had been going on in his pit garage, Martyn drove bravely to achieve his fastest time of the day. He certainly didn’t hold back.

Paul Waddington – Honda Civic

The bright yellow Civic certainly attracted attention, especially at the rear with that big wing and cut-away bumper. That aero appeared to play a part in Paul’s performance at Snetterton. He was clearly making up time around the corners with his driving because he was down the order through the speed traps, understandably so considering he’s pitting his 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated K20-swap Civic against the big turbo boys. Brands Hatch Indy circuit is up next and rewards handling over brute force, which should suit Paul and his Civic even better.

Neil Wrenn – Honda Civic

So much promise but it was a disappointing end to Neil Wrenn’s day in his turbocharged Honda Civic. Neil has made big improvements to his car this year and was one to watch. He even removed much of the front-end aero he had fitted before Cadwell Park, in order to swap a bit of downforce for straight line speed. He qualified in third place and was looking on the pace. However, when the final came and he turned everything up to eleven and bang! Bit cloud of steam out the back. Neil pulled over and his day was done, Thanks to a cracked cylinder liner. He hopes to be at Brands Hatch but with only three weeks until then, he’s got his work cut out. We hope he makes it because this is one of the cars that is evolving at pace this year.

Adrian Daniel – Vauxhall Astra

Guess how Adrian’s day ended? A hardcore barbecue enthusiast, Adrian clearly couldn’t wait until the final session finished to get the bangers on the go. In all seriousness, Adrian loves driving in the wet and applying the light touch required on all the controls. He qualified well and thought he could improve in the final. When it came, he turned up the boost and went for it. Shortly after he saw flames flicking out from under the bonnet. It appears an oil line had come loose or split and sprayed all over the hot exhaust manifold. Luckily Adrian had the composure to find a marshal post and the fire was extinguished quickly. Let’s hope the damage isn’t too bad and we see Adrian and the DM Motorsport Engineering Astra on June 21st.

Dan Lewis – Renault Megane

The stealthy grey Renault went under the radar in the morning sessions. However, when the final arrived so did Dan Lewis, leap-frogging several drivers who had been faster earlier on in the day. Another driver who didn’t necessarily gel with the conditions and track until the very end and will want to look ahead to Brands Hatch.

Jonathan Morris – Ford Focus

Jonathan became involved in a real battle with Dan Lewis in his Ford Focus. Jonathan won the battle in a wet qualifying session but lost the war, as Dan beat him by just 0.090 seconds in the final. Incidentally, it was in the final session that both drivers set their fastest times of the day.

Darren Spooner – Peugeot 205

We really felt for Darren Spooner. He showed blistering early pace in his Peugeot 205, topping the overall Club Challenge time sheet in the morning. This was something of a surprise, as his little Pug only has a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, so it’s theoretically down on power compared to his rivals, most of whom have engines of 2.0-litre capacity or more. He was flying though. Right up until the point a boost pipe cracked, preventing him from realising that potential in the final. Very frustrating, but in a strange way also very positive as his pace was clearly there. Brands Hatch is going to be an epic fight in Club FWD, especially if Darren’s car is back to full power.

Antonio Giovinazzo – Alfa Romeo 155

The ever-cheerful Giovinazzo brothers are as much a part of Time Attack as Andy Barnes’ beard. The home-turbocharged 2.0-litre twinspark Alfa 155 once again pounded around lap after lap. The engine is clearly healthy because the Alfa was a little way up the Club Challenge speed trap list this time around. Definitely showing improvement.

Jeff Alden – Vauxhall Astra

One of the most popular teams in the pitlane, Jeff Alden and Book Club Racing had a tricky day. Their Vauxhall Astra has all sorts of new parts, meaning it’s much quicker than it was before. Or at least it should have been. Unfortunately, a worn gearbox meant Jeff lost fifth gear, which was pretty disastrous considering he was already topping the F20 5-speed ‘box out in fifth anyway! Then the engine let go just four laps into qualifying. A day to forget maybe but Jeff still seemed to be having a blast, as always.

The next round of the UK Time Attack Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on June 21st. You can buy tickets here or on the gate. If you buy tickets before midday on Wednesday 17th June you save money too. What are you waiting for?

The track was super greasy. Perhaps there were small spots of fluid on the track, dropped by the previous day’s endurance racers doing everything they can to keep their car going. Or perhaps it was simply the amount of rubber they had laid down onto the racing line, but either way when the rain came down the track became extremely slippery. With short 20-minute sessions, the challenge for our drivers would be getting the heat into their tyres and brakes, while searching for the grip on the ice rink. Sorry, circuit.

That being said, the drainage at Snetterton is excellent. So as the day progressed, the track went through phases of being wet, damp and even dry in a couple of places. A recipe for an exciting day for the drivers and spectators, but little chance of any new lap records.

PRO Extreme

New Lap Record!

Gareth Lloyd : SVA Imports Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Bang! You weren’t expecting that, were you? Neither were we. The SVA Imports Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI and Gareth Lloyd made a jaw-dropping return to Time Attack, after electrical gremlins minimized their running time at Cadwell Park in the opening round.

Such is the development of the car (and Gareth’s driving) that Gareth topped the Practice session on low boost, won qualifying without switching the anti-lag on, and went on to win the Final in a time that beat their own lap record set last year (1:10.880) – hitting an astonishing 171.1mph at the speed trap towards the end of the Bentley straight, and crossing the line at 152.5mph!

He might have gone even quicker too. At the end of the final session, Gareth was on a hot one. He set a personal best first sector and looked odds-on to go even faster, before catching traffic at Murrays that forced him to tighten his exit onto the Senna straight. Crossing the line in a 1:10.576, just 0.009 seconds slower than the new record. More in the bag? Probably. Almost certainly. He’d buzzed the speed trap at Bentley at 172.9mph on that lap, fastest of the event overall.

The bottom line is SVA Imports and Gareth Lloyd still leave Snetterton with maximum Championship points and yet another Lap Record to add to their impressive collection.

Andy Papageorgiou : Black Mamba Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII

Backing up his round 1 victory was always going to be tough in such a competitive field, but Andy and Black Mamaba threatened to do it again.

They had a challenging day, missing practice and at one point Andy had to leave the circuit and return to his hotel. There was lots of activity on Black Mamba going on all day, and this is still very much a new car. Even with the niggles, Andy went out and qualified in second place on a wet track (1:20.466), almost matching Lloyd’s speed through the sector 1 speed trap on the Bentley straight (160.9mph).

In the final, Andy built up the speed and set his PB for the event on his last lap. An indication that he did his job as a driver to extract every last bit of performance from the car when it mattered most.

Phil Reed : Ross Sport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Phil Reed deserves a pat on the back for his performance at Snetterton. You only have to look at his car briefly to know it doesn’t share the same amount of aerodynamic aids that the SVA and Black Mamba Lancer Evo do – although it does still have some rather hefty canards up front that rise up along the front wing.

Despite this, or perhaps partly because of this, Phil Reed was fastest across the start-finish line in the final. Every single one of his laps in the final recorded a high speed through that trap than SVA, Black Mamba, or anyone else at the event. So he’s clearly got the second half of the lap absolutely nailed, and a lot of power under the bonnet of his Ross Sport Evo VI.

Andrew Barbour : NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

It was Andrew’s birthday at Snetterton but he kept that quiet. Qualifying was the first time the Flyin’ Scotsman had driven his new car on full wets, so it was a tall order for him to get comfortable in the car in just two 20-minute sessions. Even so, he did a great job in a top four that was covered by just over three seconds. Andrew was happy to finish the day without any real problems, and a couple of seconds quicker than he was last year in his old car. There’s still plenty more to come from this combination.

Brad Sheehan : NR Autosport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX

Brad looked like he was on for a good result. Third fastest in practice, Brad had a disappointing qualifying session but was building up to the final. As you see from the photo, Brad was pushing the limits all day, learning where and how hard to push on both wets and slicks. Unfortunately, four laps into the final he suffered a broken differential, just as he had got the tyres and brakes up to temperature. Next time.

Richard Marshall : HEL Performance Mistubishi Lancer Evo IX

The thoughts of everyone at Time Attack are with Richard Marshall. Family issues meant his head was never solely focused on the track this weekend. Still, he pushed on with a positive attitude but wasn’t really rewarded as gearbox wear made finding gears difficult, especially third which pretty much disappeared. An event to forget for the Iceman. We wish him well and hope he’s had some good news by the time we reach Brands Hatch.

PRO

Lee Broadhurst : KTM X-Bow

What a fantastic result for Lee Broadhurst. The Pro car with the least horsepower, it looked like being a difficult day for Lee as he faced two cars putting out double the power, on a track with two long straights.

His KTM weighs much less of course, and it was the combination of this and his bravery that resulted in Lee setting the fastest Pro time of the day, winning the final in the process. British GT Champion had offered Lee some advice about one corner in particular, something along the lines of “flat-out”. With the track starting to dry, it was in the final session that Lee finally decided to go for it. The result was 100 points and a whole load of respect from the spectators.

Kevin Jones – Noble M12 GTO3

Fastest in both the morning warm-up and practice sessions, Kevin was looking good until a driveshaft failure ruined his rhythm. Kevin finished second in both qualifying and the final, to different rivals. So a mixed day but by no means a disaster in terms of Championship points.

Dalibor Kvasai – “Kermit II” Mazda RX-7

Revs and power were increased for Kermit II at Snetterton, but we still haven’t see what the car is capable of. Dalibor turned the form book on it’s head as he piloted KII to first place in qualifying, several seconds ahead of his rivals in a very wet session. Top marks for Dalibor, who set his fastest time in the final session, where he dropped a second off the pace of his rivals. You sense there were a few gremlins creeping in towards the end of the day. Hopefully we’ll get a healthy, full-power Kermit II at Brands Hatch on June 21st?

CLASSIC & RETRO PRO

New Lap Record!

Lloyd Wright – RSR Escort

Out on his own, Lloyd Wright turned plenty of heads in his Mk1 Ford Escort at Snetterton. Under the bonnet you won’t find a pinto or even a Cosworth YB engine, but two Suzuki Hayabusa motorbike engines sharing a common crank to make a high-revving V8. The engine is actually from a Radical race car. So it’s around 400bhp, lighter than an empty crisp packet and running on slicks. Which on the day were wrapped around brand new Magnesium-centered split-rims. Lloyd had fun pushing hard in the damp conditions but struggled with tyre temperature, admitting he has one eye on challenging the Pro Extreme guys. Next up is the twisty Brands Hatch Indy circuit, so it will be interesting to see how close Lloyd can get to them there.

CLUB PRO

Russ Paton – Garage HQ Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI

Videos of the build of this car went viral last year following a meeting with the armco at Brands Hatch in 2013.  The new car continues to get quicker with Russ behind the wheel. His time in the final, his fastest of the day, was seriously impressive. In drying conditions he went over four seconds clear of his closest rival. A serious bit of kit and well-driven on the day.

Ronnie Amis : Airtec VW Golf

It’s standard practice to mention this car’s former life as a BTCC racer but things are moving on now. Ronnie and the Airtec team have begun their development of the Golf after a year of becoming familiar with it. Power is now up from around 300bhp to around 370bhp, with lots of setup changes helping to keep Ronnie on the black stuff. Whatever they’re doing is working because Ronnie’s Golf was the fastest 2WD car in Club Pro. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact Ronnie won a wet qualifying session (1:35.520), beating the 4WD Lancer Evo of Russ Paton by 0.166 seconds. Impressive stuff.

Jonny Fletcher : Vauxhall Astra

The black Astra was spitting flames all day long from that side-exit exhaust. Perhaps Jonny was trying to dry the track for everyone? The truth is things didn’t really gel for Jonny on the day. He’s still getting used to Club Pro, having campaigned his Astra successfully in the Club FWD Challenge. He goes well at Brands Hatch, so he’s definitely one to watch next time out.

Lee Mabbett : Toyota Corolla T-Sport

A new car and driver combo for Time Attack in 2015, and a very welcome addition. Lee’s Corolla has a 1.8-litre 2ZZ-GE engine fed boost by a Rotrex supercharger, with a Quaife LSD doing it’s best to give the front wheels grip. There is an even higher power motor in development, which should bring a substantial performance boost at future rounds. Especially if we can avoid more rain..

Round 3 of the UK Time Attack Championship takes place at Tunerfest on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Sunday 21st June. You can buy tickets here

The spring sun was shining and the smell of warm transmission oil lingered in the air as the buzz and anticipation of another Time Attack season was upon us. Public ticket sales were up, tensions were high and expectations were at a maximum and it was down to our series of drivers to deliver the goods, and boy did they deliver.

The opening session of the day started the day with beautiful track conditions and some impressive times were being pulled in all round. Lee Jordan (pictured above) put in a good practice time in the Clubman Fl class with a fastest lap time of 1:50.882.

Mark Flook in his Nissan GTR lead the leader board for the opening Warm-up, pulling in a fastest time of 1:47.559 with just three laps completed. He went on to improve on that time in the Practice session with a 1:43.175  and then 1:43.631 in the Qualifying and Practice sessions respectively.

Stewart Summers in his supercharged PlanetSaxx Saxo pulled in an impressive 1:48.577 early on only to go on and quash his all time PB in the Qualifying round, reaching a time of 1:41.590 to put him in good stead for the finals.

In the Club sessions Logan Black in the Mitsubishi Evo was leading the lap times for the Practice round, after missing the warm-up session, with a fastest lap time of 1:38.329. He went on to improve on that in the Qualifiers with a 1:37.542.

Two times Club FWD champion Marc Donnelly was in good stead with his Ford Escort Mk3, which was now sporting a new T-Wing that Marc spotted for sale on eBay. With a 1:45.850 in the Warm Up and then a 1:44.817 in the Practice, Marc pushed on hard to break the 1:40 barrier in the Qualifying session with a fastest time 1:39.944.

Returning for another year to Time Attack was Damien Bradley in his Subaru Legacy GL in the Club 4wd class. Damien made quite an impact in his debut season last year and was keen keep that momentum going into the 2015 season.

Damien kept his cool for the Warm Up and Practice sessions, pulling a fastest time of 1:45.613 and 1:42.514 respectively but really put the pressure on fellow class competitor Simon Griffiths (EVO III) in the Qualifying round and eventually pipped Simon on the last lap to take the Club session leader board with a time of 1:34.801.

Another regular feature in the Time Attack line-up is the flame-throwing RX-7 driven by Umar Masood. Despite pulling a good 1:43.076 in the Practice session a few technical issues during the session forced a early withdrawal from the rest of the day.

As always, there was a real buzz about the air for the PRO session’s and today’s effort did not disappoint. The return of Andy Papageorgiou’s ‘Black Mamba’ was the hot topic of the day and they were dressed to impress by delivering some close to record breaking times. Andy and his boys came within two-tenths of beating the course record with a fastest lap time of 1:26.789 in the PRO practice session.

There was a lot of anticipation around the infamous Lateral Performance / SD Motorsport Impreza which would have seen triple Pro championship winner Gavin Renshaw behind the wheel but sadly the Banana wasn’t going to be a moving feature in today’s line-up due to technical issues.

A heavy out-burst of rain moments before the start of the opening Finals session nearly put an end to the day’s activities with the opening two laps of the race having to be lead by the safety car but with just under nine minutes remaining on the clock the safety car pulled into the pits and it was full speed ahead for the drivers.

Alan Sheppard in the celebrity AirTec Fiesta put in a good time to finish third on final lap time leader board but he couldn’t take the limelight from birthday boy Adam Barnett and his Mazda MX5 who pinched third place on the podium in the Pocket Rocket class. With Stewart Summers sealing the 1^st spot it was down to Robert Oldman in his Fiesta ST to fill the second place position for the day.

It was Lukas Morley in the Evo VI who took the final lap time leader board earning himself a trophy for single round entry in the Clubman Fl class pulling a fastest lap time of 1:42.726 in the qualifying round.

Not long after the final car had crossed the line however another bout of rain set in and unfortunately this time it was here to stay. The inspection car attempted to take to the track to investigate but there were reports of up to six crucial turning points submerged in large puddles which set the fate for the remainder of the day.

So for the Club and Pro final sessions, today was not meant to be.  We caught up with Black Mamba driver Andy Papageorgiou during the rain outburst and he told us the story of how “Cadwell should have been his bogie” today. He was looking forward to putting the completely re-built Evo through it’s paces on the season opener, and for Andy to be back on the track at Cadwell after a ten year absence from the course was a good feeling.

It wasn’t a completely untold story for the Black Mamba team though as Andy and his boys still managed to take full qualifying points in the Pro Extreme class as well as coming close to beating that all time track record. I believe for Andy and the Black Mamba the best is yet to come from them this season.

So that’s it for Round 1 but we hope to see you all out in force at Snetterton for Round 2 of Time Attack 2015 on Sunday 31^st May.

With a dry and warm track for tyres to bite into, our Club drivers set personal bests throughout the field. They also set two impressive new lap records around the Silverstone National circuit:

New Club Challenge RWD Lap Record – 1:02.228 – Kevin Jones, Noble M12 GTO3

New Club Challenge FWD Lap Record – 1:04.028 – Adam Jones, Honda Civic Type-R

By the end of competition on Sunday, three Club drivers had scored enough points to be crowned class champions with a round to spare. So huge “Congratulations!” to the following drivers:

2014 Club Challenge 4WD Champion : Dave Coe, Subaru Impreza

2014 Club Challenge RWD Champion : Kevin Jones, Noble M12 GTO3

2014 Club Challenge NA Champion : Mark Burnett, Honda Civic

How did each driver get on during the event? Read on to find out..

Club 4WD

Damien Bradley – Subaru Legacy

Subaru Legacy driver Damien Bradley went from the bottom of the leaderboard in qualifying to the top in the final, after a stressful day chasing a misfire. By the end of it he had secured his first ever Time Attack win!

Damien arrived at the track after a very succesful mapping session using his new Nimbus Motorsport supplied Torco race fuel. However, he struggled in the early sessions with a misfire and understeer. The result was Damien qualified in last place with the slowest lap he’s ever done of Silverstone, a miserable 1:29.723.

Then with just minutes until the final, Damien’s team discovered a broken coil plug wire – the cause of the misfire! It was quickly fixed and he joined the back of the queue just in time for the start of the session. the drama still wasn’t over however, and after a quick pit-stop to remove the new front splitter (that was making a horrific noise), and to fix a boost leak, Damien went out and attacked the track. The car felt great. He began building up the speed, putting in a couple of quick laps while building up heat in the tyres and brakes. Just as he lined up for his maximum attack lap, a boost pipe popped off. To make matters worse the session was simultaneously red flagged. Bringing it to an early conclusion.

Damien cruised into the pits in a cloud of swear words. He looked over at Steve Darley of SD Motorsport who had a single digit raised, informing Damien he had won. That soon turned his frown upside-down!

It shows just how fast Damien and his Legacy are now. He was able to win without the new front aero and on a warm-up lap!

The final round is at Damien’s home circuit, Brands Hatch. He will arrive knowing he’s already guaranteed the runner-up spot in the 2014 Club 4WD Championship too, thanks to the 110 points he scored at Silverstone. No doubt he”ll be hoping for the same result in the final there, but without the stress!

Jason Bird – Mitsubishi Evo

Well done Mr Bird! A third consecutive podium for Jason and his Eurospec Evo, and a repeat of his second place finish at the last round.

Jason was on the pace from the outset at Silverstone. Never finishing lower than second in class all day, Jason was super-consistent and scored 140 points at Silverstone, the highest number of points of any Club 4WD competitor.

He finished in second place in the final to earn 90 points, with a 1:03.700. However, it was qualifying where Jason really shone, taking first place and the maximum 50 qualifying points with his fastest time of the day (1:03.156).

It was a great effort from Jason and the Eurospec team, following a barren start to the season with just 60 points form the first two rounds. In recent rounds Jason has come back stronger and faster, fighting his way into a three-way battle for third place in the 2014 Club 4WD Championship, along with Eric Holmes and Andy Grady. Brands Hatch is going to witness an almighty struggle for that final step on the podium.

Dave Coe – Subaru Impreza

2014 Club Challenge 4WD Champion!

Dominant, impressive, it’s hard to know which word describes Dave Coe’s season best? Dave and his Subaru Impreza have been the class of the Club 4WD field. Qualifying second and finishing third in the final at Silverstone scored Dave 120 points, enough to see him crowned 2014 Club 4WD Champion without needing to turn a wheel at Brands Hatch in November.

It’s been a very impressive run of results and the damage was done in the final sessions of each round, where Dave scored the maximum 100 points in each of the first four rounds. Ironically, on the day he wins the title, Dave finishes third in the final, the first time he hasn’t been on the top step of the podium!

Dave had refreshed his engine before Silverstone and turned up with one eye on the times of Club RWD driver Kevin Jones as a target. After taking the warm-up gently, he increased his pace in practice (1:03.156) – setting a new P.B and beating Kevin, so that made him smile.

That turned out to be his fastest time of the day as an intermittent fuel fault reared it’s ugly head. Dave was grateful to Pro Extreme OHW Andy Forrest for lending him a new set of fuel injectors, but it failed to fix the problem. Dave suspected one of the fuel pumps was at fault, but had run out of time. He was still able to pick up the important points that sealed him the Championship though. So becoming 2014 Club 4WD Champion wasn’t exactly a bad end to his day!

Mark Flook – Nissan GT-R

Mark is possibly the bravest man in UK Time Attack. He spent his 8th wedding anniversary driving his Nissan GT-R around Silverstone! So a quick “thanks” to Mark’s lovely wife Alice for being so understanding. She knows how committed Mark is to Time Attack. In fact, he’s so committed that once he realized his Mitsubishi GTO wasn’t going to be ready in time, he immediately made plans to drive his R35 GT-R instead. A very understanding better-half and an R35 GT-R daily driver? It’s a hard life, eh Mark?

Mark’s GT-R had a boost of power in the run up to Silverstone. The 3.8-litre V6 twin-turbo engine is completely standard with just a y-pipe upgrade to the exhaust system. Thanks to some ECU wizadry by Eurospec, it now kicks out 590bhp along with an extra 100lb/ft more torque than the standard car.

Mark managed to qualify in third place (1:06.275), before setting his fastest time of the day in the final (1:05.570) earning him fourth place. An impressive performance by Mark in his road car!

Walter Morris (OHW) – Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R

Our fastest One-Hit Wonder, Walter Morris continues to drive the Midlands Performance R33 GT-R ‘beater’ as he recovers from his leg injury that has kept him out of the seat of his R32 GT-R Pro car. Like Walter’s leg, the R33 GT-R has received some rehabilitation since Cadwell Park. To be blunt, it refuses to die!

Walter drove the wheels off it to record his fastest time of the day in the practice session (1:06.475). In fact, all his times were pretty consistent (1:07.083 in qualifying, 1:06.775 in the final) – suggesting he had his foot welded to the floor all day long. That’s one way to rest it.

Andy Grady – Mitsubishi Evo

Another Time Attack driver in his road car, Andy shocked everyone by replacing his usual eye-catching blue and yellow Subaru Impreza with a Mitsubishi Evo!

It was a case of ‘needs must’ for Andy, as he continues work on his poorly Subaru Impreza, which he hopes to have back in time for the final round at Brands Hatch. Andy mentioned the straights seemed much longer this time, compared to Round 1 when he was driving the Impreza.

By the end of the day Andy had completely ruined a set of Toyo R888s trying to make up time in the corners. Overall, he was just pleased that he wasn’t the slowest one there. Interestingly, the points he scored could be important in the race for third place in the Championship.

Club RWD

NEW LAP RECORD : Kevin Jones – Noble M12 GTO3

2014 CLUB CHALLENGE RWD CHAMPION!

Kevin Jones once again demonstrated he is the fastest driver in Club RWD by taking the maximum 150 points on offer. He qualified in first place before winning the final. In the process, Kevin scored enough points to make sure none of his rivals are able to catch him at Brands Hatch, making him 2014 Club Challenge RWD Champion. Congratulations Kevin!

His 3-litre twin-turbo Noble has been fast all year and Kevin proved to be consistent all day. As an example, there was just a fraction of a second between his best lap times in both qualifying and the final; 1:02.250 vs 1:02.228. A stunning performance once again.

Simon Roberts (OHW) – Noble M12 GTO3

Simon made a welcome return to Time Attack at Silverstone following his OHW debut at Cadwell Park in round 4. In the early sessions it looked like he might be able to upset the Club RWD Championship leader, marginally beating Kevin Jones in the warm-up and topping the Club Challenge time sheets outright.

Simon’s Noble was treated to some new upgrades for Silverstone, including stiffer Protech dampers fitted by Jetstream Motorsport, coupled to their own specification Eibach springs. As Simon’s car is making the transition from a road car to a more track-focused vehicle, the trip to Center Gravity for a full race-spec chassis setup was an important one.

When he managed a 1:03.905 on his 14th lap of qualifying, Simon admitted the expense had been worth it! He tried to improve upon that time even more in the final, but it was taking three laps to get the front tyres switched on, and with two red flags and traffic it just didn’t happen for him. He was still chuffed with the progress. So much so that he’s already ruled himself out of Brands Hatch.. so that engine work can begin with one eye on doing a full season next year. It looks like Kevin and the rest of Club RWD might have even more competition next year.

Neil Clark – Mazda FC3S RX-7

It’s so good to see Neil Clark and his Mazda RX-7 delivering on their potential. After a tricky start to the season, Neil is now finding a regular spot for himself on the podium – this being the second consecutive event he’s secured second place in both qualifying and the final.

Neil had a new turbo fitted in preparation for Cadwell, focused on response. In preparation for the longer straights of Silverstone, Neil had Pip at WGT Auto Developments remap the car for a bit more grunt. Pip managed to increased power from around 360bhp at the wheels to 390bhp at the wheels, without sacrificing that rapid power delivery.

It certainly seemed to do the trick. Neil recorded his fastest lap of 1:04.416 in qualifying, taking the unofficial title of fastest RX-7 in the process.

Umar Masood – Mazda FD3S RX-7

Poor old Umar doesn’t get much sleep these days. Once again he was left with only a few hours kip in the build-up to the event after his RX-7 required a last-minute engine swap. We don’t have enough space to explain the zig-zag lines that Umar and his friends drove across Britain, picking up parts to get the job done in time, but they managed it.

Unfortunately the problems followed him to Silverstone. Umar eventually borrowed the light blue Mazda RX-7 belonging to his engine tuner Chris at RotaryMotion, to complete the event. A quick car but not as track-focused as Umar’s. Hopefully Umar will stop walking under ladders or whatever he’s doing wrong, and be back to full strength for Brands Hatch in November.

Club FWD

NEW LAP RECORD : Adam Jones – Honda Civic EP3 Type-R

Adam is absolutely flying in his Honda Civic Type-R turbo at the moment. Not literally of course, that would be against the rules. Two wins out of two, with maximum points and a new lap record at Silverstone; it doesn’t get better than that.

Running a completely stock K20 engine with a TDI North bolt-on turbo conversion, Adam’s Civic has come on really strong in the latter half of the season and Adam is now pushing it to the limits as his lap times show. With just one event remaining, Adam has put himself into contention for the 2014 Club Challenge FWD title – which now appears to be a straight shoot-out between himself and Ford Escort driver Marc Donnelly. Choose your favourite and get along to Brands Hatch to support them. It’s going to be an epic fight!

Bo Nielsen (OHW) – Vauxhall Astra VXR

The great Dane Bo Nielsen just popped into see us at Silverstone and show that he’s still got it. The Time Attack veteran has been developing his Vauxhall Astra VXR for many years, with help from the likes of Forge Motorsport and Owen Developments.

Bo clearly had the bit between his teeth and was pushing hard. He was very quick and clearly deserved his trophy for fastest FWD OHW, effectively breaking the old Club FWD lap record and finishing a split-second behind Adam and his Civic Type-R. A strong performance by Bo in a very competitive field.

Marc Donnelly – Mk3 Ford Escort

Club FWD Challenge leader Marc Donnelly had a busy few days in the lead-up to Round 5. With a week to go there was still nothing sat in his engine bay! Marc is grateful for the help he had from Will Pedley Racing, Paul Dolan at Co-OrdSport/PartBox and Graham Hopper at GS Motorsport, who all helped to make his last-minute engine refresh happen in time.

After a near-miss with the spinning Umar Masood in the warm-up session, Marc settled into his usual routine of being bang on the pace. He topped the FWD practice session (1:05.574), before a precautionary hub change in time for qualifying where he finished in second place behind Adam with a 1:05.154.

An intermittent misfire in qualifying motivated a change of coil packs before the final, but it didn’t really happen for Marc. A combination of red flags and traffic at crucial times meant he couldn’t nail the perfect lap, although he did improve on his qualifying lap, grabbing third place in the final with a 1:05.031.

Next up is the final round at Brands Hatch on Saturday 8th November, where Marc will go head to head with Adam Jones for the 2014 Time Attack Club FWD Challenge title. It’ll be Ford versus Honda, the reigning champion versus the young challenger. We can’t wait!

Neil Wrenn – Honda Civic

Neil’s B18 turbo Honda Civic received a few tweaks before Silverstone. The biggest of which was a new 3in exhaust system and subsequent re-map, resulting in the lightweight Civic now having a mighty 427bhp at the front wheels!

Taking to the track for the first time with the new power on Sunday, Neil admits it took him by surprise and will take some time to get used to. The engine is now so powerful that he actually removed some turbo boost from third and fourth gears during the day, saying it was an absolute rocket in a straight line but he needed to become more familiar with the circuit and work on his line. Ultimately, a blown gasket between the turbo and exhaust manifold brought his fun to a premature end, but Neil is definitely one to watch at the final round.

WATCH : Neil in action at Silverstone

Jonny Fletcher – Vauxhall Astra GSI

Some days you shouldn’t get out of bed. Silvertone was a bit like that for Jonny. After his first practice lap Jonny lost 3rd gear completely. Four laps later his inner CV joint collapsed and he had all sorts of fun with a suspension damper trying to free itself from the hub! In many ways it’s surprising these cars hold up to the abuse so well, considering the deadly combination they all have of big torque output and lots of grip.

Without a suitable replacement, GR Performance set about creating a replacement by welding two shafts together in the paddock. Incredibly, it worked. Jonny recovered and was only 0.2 seconds off a podium place despite only using two gears! It makes you wonder where he would have finished with a healthy car?

Daniel Clark – Vauxhall Astra VXR

It was a case of reverse engineering for Daniel at Silverstone. His Astra had been treated to a new larger turbocharger, but the last-minute mapping session was cut short by a gearbox oil leak. Fixing the leak took up valuable time and the result was Daniel arrived at Silverstone with an ECU that hadn’t been mapped for the new turbo.

As a result he spent the whole day fiddling with the car, removing some of the supporting parts for the new turbo and tweaking the boost levels so the car would run as well as it could on the new turbo and old ECU settings. He had moments where the car felt stronger than at previous rounds, but ultimately the engine was getting hot. Red flags helped Daniel by providing him with time to check logs and fiddle with settings but they also hindered him. When the final red flag came out at the end of the day, drawing the final to an early close, he hadn’t been able to complete a satisfying lap.

So it was a case of time running out for Daniel at Silverstone. He now has almost two months to prepare his Astra for the final round, so we should see the Astra in full health with more power than ever before.

Stewart Summers – Citroen Saxo

1.6litres, one supercharger and 240bhp. Stewart Summers’ Citroen Saxo is the kind of car we love to see in Club FWD. A home-built giant killer, Stewart’s car is even more of a unique creation than it appears from the outside. Take the custom gearbox for example, which Stewart has created on a budget using parts of Citroen Picasso, Peugeot 205 and finished off with a Quaife ATB limited slip differential.

Frustratingly, Stewart had a recurring issue with a vacuum pipe popping off the map sensor. It will be fixed in time for Brands Hatch, along with a few upgrades. Stewart admits he’s looking forward to it, describing his season so far as “an awesome experience.”

WATCH : Stewart’s fastest lap

Darren Spooner – Peugeot 205

The only naturally-aspirated car in Club FWD, Darren and his Peugeot 205 continue to battle the turbocharged opposition. He is probably the most consistent driver in UK Time Attack, as his times at Silverstone on Sunday proved.

After registering a 1:08.595 in the warm up session, Darren went on to record ridiculously close fastest laps in each of the three remaining sessions; 1:07.571 in practice, 1:07.541 in qualifying and 1:07.537 in the final! Showing he is repeatedly pushing the absolute limit of what his 2.0-litre handling-machine Pug will do, compared to cars with more than twice the horsepower. Brands should suit him.

WATCH : Darren’s Warm-Up Session (1:08.595)

Will Watson – Vauxhall Astra VXR

Another driver with mechanical issues at Silverstone. Will said the car felt good in the warm-up but when he started to push during practice, it began overheating. Will suspected the cylinder head was lifting off the block, so decided to pull out of qualifying with the idea of going for one flat-out run in the final, hoping it would all hold together.

Sadly, all that happened was the engine started running on three cylinders, ending his day. After only scoring 30 points at Silverstone, Will has dropped himself right into the fight for third place in the Championship, along with the likes of Daniel Clark, Jonny Fletcher and Neil Wrenn. Thing is, with budgets being stretched so far already, there’s a chance Will won’t make the final round. Let’s hope he can find a solution as it wouldn’t feel right for Will to be missing at the season finale after such a strong showing this year, which included his first ever Time Attack win at Snetterton in Round 3.

Adrian Daniel – Vauxhall Astra GSI

Adrian says Round 5 was his favourite round yet, despite having a catalogue of issues! From CV failures to high-speed vibrations so violent he couldn’t see, to teething problems with his new 3in exhaust system – it wasn’t Adrian’s day to be honest. Still, he went out and made the best of it. After getting back to D&M Motorsport Engineering HQ, Adrian now suspects the head has been lifting. Perhaps there is a design issue there with the Vauxhall engines? Or maybe it’s simply coincidence, and the result of everyone pushing each other to more extreme levels of tune? Either way, Adrian has the best part of two months to work on it now, so he’s another driver that can look forward to having a much, much faster car at Brands in November.

WATCH : Adrian’s fastest lap

Jeff Alden – Vauxhall Astra

Five rounds into his debut season, newcomer Jeff Alden is making real progress in Time Attack. His Vauxhall Astra is very close in spec to a road car. The main modifications being the ECU mapping, suspension damping and removing as much weight as possible.

In preparation for Silverstone, Jeff and his Book Club Racing team made three important new changes to the car. The first was a set of DMack Medium/Soft tyres for more grip, a new 3in exhaust to help the engine breath better and most importantly of all, a microwave for the team transporter so they don’t go hungry. Potentially the most vital bit of equipment Jeff has purchased all year!

Joking aside, Jeff is getting to know all of the tracks on our calendar and is taking on the steep learning curve head-on. The opening round of the 2014 Time Attack Championship was also at Silverstone National, so our return offered Jeff his first chance to gauge how far he had come.

The bottom line is that Jeff was an impressive two seconds faster than he was in Round 1, with roughly the same amount of power – showing that Time Attack isn’t about how much horsepower you have. Better still, Jeff was consistently faster than he was at Round 1 too.

In fact, Jeff could have gone even quicker. Sadly, his gearbox gave up at the end of the qualifying session, just after Jeff had set his fastest time of the day. It was a tad frustrating for the Astra driver, as he believed there was more lap time to be had. Still, Jeff was upbeat about it all. Pointing out their tight budget and the fact he was moving in the right direction.

The box will be fixed in time for Brands, although Jeff won’t be taking the advice of his cheeky crew on board. It was suggested he would go faster if he lost some weight from his own chassis. That would be a step too far, he says.

Antonio Giovinazzo – Alfa Romeo 155

The Giovinazzo brothers always bring smiles to Time Attack. Even when their car caught fire in the final, they were still beaming away. “It gives us an excuse to play with it some more” was the response. Thankfully it was only brief and was put out very quickly by the alert marshalls, although it did bring the red flags out and the Club final to an early end. We look forward to seeing the changes the Italian brothers make to their D.I.Y turbocharged twin-spark 155 for the final round.

Club NA

Mark Burnett – Honda Civic

2014 Club NA Challenge Champion!

We were a tad optimistic in challenging our Honda Civic drivers to beat the Silverstone lap record set by a TVR Tuscan in 2008, but they both had a bloomin’ good go! In particluar, Backyard Civic driver Mark Burnett even removed his rear wing during the final in the hope of making his EG Civic a bit more slippery. Unfortunately, it had too much of an effect as Mark had two huge oversteer moments during that final session!

Still, it was a valiant effort from Mark in a car only geared to 120mph. He might not have broken the lap record, but he did score maximum points for qualifying in first place and winning the final, in his Accord Type-R powered Civic hatchback. This means he can’t be caught in the Championship leaderboard at Brands Hatch, crowning him the 2014 Club NA Challenge Champion! Well done Mark, it’s thoroughly deserved. It also makes for a double victory for TDI North, who have supported Mark this year, with Adam Jones winning the Club FWD Championship.

A quick mention for Mark’s mate Ben Hatherley too, for surprising Mark with some fetching Backyard Civic clothing for the event. So the new Champion was looking the part too.

WATCH : Mark in Qualifying

James Procter – Honda Civic

Once again James fell just shy of Mark’s pace at Silverstone, but he can console himself with the fact he’s hardly needed to show his FD2 Honda Civic a spanner all season. His build is the result of a trackday accident which damaged the side of his Japanese import. The FD2 is a rare beast over here in the UK, and before long the rebuild had taken a definite turn from road car to track car.

The engine is a frankenstein K20/K24 making 249bhp and 280lb/ft torque. James admits they could have been a bit more aggressive with the tolerances to extract a bit more power, but the idea was to have a completely reliable engine. This was built and then fitted to the car just two days before Round 1. The whole car has been built by James and his old school friend Chris Elleray, and a tuning company has been born out of the association; VR Dyno Tuning in Kendal, Cumbria.

James admits Mark has been very quick and hard to catch this year. When pushed on the main differences between the cars, James suggests the relative weights play a role and that potentially his own driving could improve, which is very humble of him. James is already eyeing up Time Attack in 2015 and has started drawing up a list of areas he could remove weight from the car. He isn’t sure he’ll stay in Club NA either. We suspect this is one car that will get more and more extreme over the coming months and years.

The final round of the 2014 Time Attack Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on Saturday 8th November. You can buy tickets here

You can view the current Championship leader boards here

We had several high-profile One-Hit Wonders join us at Silvertone for Round 5, and the extra competition seemed to drive everyone on to reach new heights. We had new Time Attack Lap Records set in all three Pro classes!

New Pro Extreme & Outright Time Attack Lap Record – 54.116 – Gareth Lloyd, SVA Imports Evo 6

New Pro Lap Record – 57.930 – Richard Marshall, HEL Performance/Tracktive Solutions Mitsubishi Evo 9

New Club Pro Lap Record – 58.935 – Andrew Barbour, NR Autosport Mitsubishi Evo 5

Once the points scored at Silverstone were added to the leaderboards, we also had one Pro Class Champion crowned with one event still remaining:

2014 Club Pro Champion – Andrew Barbour, NR Autosport Mitsubishi Evo 5

So huge congratulations to both Andrew and NR Autosport! Andrew can now look forward to Brands Hatch with the pressure lifted and the opportunity to target another lap record! How did everyone else get on at Silverstone and what were their fastest times? Read on to find out..

PRO Extreme

NEW LAP RECORD: Gareth Lloyd – SVA Imports

In recent times SVA Imports have earned a reputation for saving their best until last. If you are familiar with the story of their wins at either the 2013 European Time Attack Masters or even the final round of last year’s UK Time Attack Championship at Brands Hatch, you’ll know what we mean. For those who aren’t, it basically means SVA Imports and Gareth Lloyd don’t always show us what they’re truly capable of until the Final.

And so it proved at Silverstone. Going into Round 5, the Pro Extreme Lap Record for Silverstone National circuit was the 58.444 second lap, set by Olly Clark in the RCM GSII Impreza at Round 1. While the outright Time Attack lap record was the 57.989 set in the Pro Class by the same team but in GSI back in 2009.

With some new aero on the SVA car for this round, Gareth went out in the Warm-Up session without his transponder in the car, so he didn’t even appear on the timing sheets. Tactical? Possibly, but the SVA Evo re-appeared on the timing sheets in the Practice session (57.534, 2nd in session), already faster than the old records. He then followed that up with a 55.618 in Qualifying, but was still in second place, just half a second off top spot.

Going into the final, it was starting to look like being Olly and RCM’s day. Let’s be blunt about this, Olly Clark had topped the timing sheets in every session, starting in the 56-second range and then consistently in the 55s. However, when the Final came around, SVA turned everything up to 11. They also switched on their nitrous oxide injection system, something that team principle Raef admits they hadn’t used all year, until now. Gareth went out, eyes focused on the high-speed apexes and the challenge of effectively driving a new car. His first flying lap stunned everyone. A 54.116, a lap that smashed the Pro Extreme and outright Time Attack lap records – proving to be over a second faster than his nearest rival! A stunning achievement and a fitting climax to the Pro Extreme competition.

WATCH : Gareth’s new Pro Extreme Lap Record

Olly Clark – Roger Clark Motorsport “Gobstopper II” Subaru Impreza

It must have been a strange journey home for the Roger Clark Motorsport team. Having been beaten in the Final by Gareth and SVA must have been disappointing but it’s impossible for their day to have gone better up to that point; fastest in every session, breaking the old Pro Extreme and outright lap record in every session, qualifying in first place and finishing in second place in the final. That’s 140 points from a possible maximum of 150, and a huge step towards the 2014 Pro Extreme Championship!

Olly recorded a 56.006 in the Warm-Up, a 55.574 in Practice and a 55.195 in Qualifying. Stunning and consistent lap times, all without using GSII’s maximum tune, which includes nitrous oxide injection. That was saved for the Final, but a mixture of red flags, traffic and an intermittent gearbox ECU niggle that prevented gearchanges and forced Olly to keep re-setting the system, meant Olly never got the absolute maximum out of the car. Still, as RCM’s resident genius Matt Clark admits, it was a very positive day all round for the team leading the Championship: “At the start of the day I wanted a 55 second lap, so we have to be happy. Of course, when you get a 55 you then want a 54! We didn’t have a perfect final session but we can be very positive about the times we achieved and where it leaves us in the Championship. In general, it was a great day of Time Attack competition.”

WATCH : Olly’s 55.574 from Practice

Andy Forrest (OHW) – Forrest Performance Subaru Impreza

Where to start with our fastest One-Hit Wonder Andy Forrest and his 6-cylinder Subaru Impreza? Making his Time Attack debut at Silverstone, this is a car that is well-known amongst tuning enthusiasts and recently became the 2014 Ten Of The Best Champion. How did he get on? Very well in terms of lap time – beating the old Time Attack lap record in the Warm-Up with his fastest time of the day (57.011)!

That was on old tyres and low boost (V-Power fuel, 1.2bar boost and around 720bhp). As the day progressed Andy went through the stages of increasing boost (hence horsepower), and fitting stickier tyres (from the old used BTCC-spec ones he started with, through to 3-year old sprint slicks before unwrapping a new set of slicks for the Final). However, Andy battled with a misfire after that first session, eventually replacing one of the turbochargers with help from the Time Attack paddock; Paul Blamire supplied the replacement turbo, and it was fitted to a hot engine bay (ouch!) by Andy, Steven Darley of SD Motorsport and Phil from RA Motorsport. Well done guys!

Unfortunately the misfire re-appeared, most likely a boost control issue that can be easily solved but working against the clock between sessions, the guys did amazingly well just to replace the turbo and keep going. So we never got to see the result of Andy’s maximum attack setting (new slicks, 2bar boost and around 1,000bhp!). Even so, Andy was very pleased to have beaten the old lap record on his first proper hot lap, on old tyres and low boost. An amazing achievement in itself.

A very special car and Andy is clearly no slouch behind the wheel. We hope to see Andy back at Time Attack very soon.

WATCH : The moment it went wrong for Andy

Simon Norris (OHW) – Norris Designs SWB Mitsubishi Evo

Another very special bespoke car that pushes the boundaries performance tuning. Simon Norris is a familiar name in Time Attack circles, and his unique Mitsubishi Evo features extreme modifications including a huge chunk missing from the middle, making it the only short-wheelbase Mitsubishi Evo we are aware of in the entire world!

Simon had just set a new UK drag racing record for Mitsubishi Evos at Santa Pod in the lead-up to the event (8.72 secs at 164.9mph!) So that shows you what this car is capable of in a straight line. With racing experience behind him too, Simon is able to come in and compete at the top table of UK Time Attack.

Unfortunately Simon had an intermittent misfire that plagued his day, but he was still able to put in some impressive lap times.

WATCH : Simon’s fastest lap

Marcus Webster – Midlands Performance Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R

Our early Pro Extreme Championship leader, Marcus Webster and his R32 GT-R are now the only combination that can beat Olly Clark to the 2014 Pro Extreme Championship title.

Marcus has kept himself in the hunt with some excellent driving. His GT-R packs a punch with a reported 1,000bhp+ and lots of mechanical grip, but lacks the intricate aero bodywork of his rivals. Marcus started the day well and was looking good in Qualifying, where he set his fastest time of the day. Then out of the blue Marcus suffered wheel stud failure and his rear nearside wheel fell off, sending the car into a dangerous spin that he managed to control without causing even more damage.

The team rushed to fit a new rear hub in time for the final, kindly supplied by the road car of Moff from TMS Motorsport that was in the car park! Unfortunately, the impact had cracked a boost pipe. Marcus returned to the pits, the issue was fixed but when he tried to rejoin the session he was stopped at the end of the pit lane by a red flag. The session was brought to an early end and Marcus was left to think about what might have been, as there was definitely more time there for him and his GT-R. It was one of those days, but now Marcus has to focus on Brands Hatch. Maximum points for Marcus and any kind of issue for RCM could see him crowned the 2014 Pro Extreme Champion.

Tim Hood (OHW) – TVR Sagaris

The sexy lines of Tim Hood’s TVR Sagaris were a very welcome addition to the predominantly Japanese competition at Silverstone. A hardcore version of Blackpool’s finest, it was clear from the outset that Tim wasn’t messing about. He was immediately in the 58 second range from the outset, recording a 58.909 and the third-fastest time in the Warm-Up session!

Tim went quicker all day, eventually setting his fastest lap in the final (58.449). This is a ‘proper job’ by the way. Under the bonnet is a 7-litre V8 Chevy LS7 engine mated to a sequential gearbox. It’s powerful, light and sounded absolutely awesome all day!

PRO

NEW LAP RECORD: Richard Marshall – HEL Performance Mitsubishi Evo 9

Hands up all those who though Gobstopper’s Pro Class Lap Record would survive another year? Richard Marshall turned up to Silverstone armed with maximum points from every round, one missed round and one eye on the record.

Tracktive Soultions have helped create one extremely fast Evo. At Silverstone, Richard was on the pace of some of our Pro Extreme drivers, which says a lot.  Richard was immediately quicker than he had ever been at Silverstone, and proceeded to get faster with every session. Upping the boost and fitting newer tyres, Richard took to the track to complete a blistering 57.930. A new Pro lap record!

Frustratingly, Richard reckons there was even more lap time there. Reviewing the telemetry, it became clear that Richard had lost over a second on that lap while using a new line through Brooklands and Luffield. When he tried to drive the perfect lap in the final, which in theory was easily in the 56-second range by returning to his original line plus the maximum attack boost setting giving more power than in qualifying, Rich had a spectacular sideways moment.

At first he suspected some kind of wheel issue or puncture, but on returning to the pits it became clear the head gasket had gone, leaking coolant onto a rear tyre! Rich left knowing he’d left lap time on the track, but pleased with yet another set of maximum points, while knowing he was capable of chasing down some Pro Extreme guys too.

WATCH : Richard’s new Pro Class Lap Record

Peter Cook (OHW) – AP Tuning Mitsubishi Evo

Peter’s name is cropping up more and more in Time Attack circles. Peter was once again the fastest Pro Class One-Hit Wonder at Silverstone in his stealthy Mitsubishi Evo. It’s becoming a habit. Saving his best until last, Peter went out and set his fastest time of the day in the final. With this kind of pace we wonder if Peter is going to compete in next year’s Pro Championship? It looks like he has the pace.

WATCH : Peter’s entire final session

Gary Hayward (OHW) – AP Tuning Mitsubishi Evo

Stepping in at the last minute to fill the space left by Phil Reed was AP Tuning boss Gary Hayward in his own Mitsubishi Evo. Gary was chuffed to be a massive 5-seconds faster than he was last time he drove Silverstone National, it wasn’t without issue. He set his fastest time in qualifying while running 1.4 bar boost but the engine was already showing signs of lifting the cylinder head. Being an ‘in for a pound’ kind of guy, Gary pressed on and turned the boost up to 1.8bar for the final and went for it. Sadly the fun only lasted half a lap before the same problem occured. Still, Gary had set a much faster personal best time and sampled the thrill of Time Attack competition too.

Scott Robson – RA Motorsport Subaru Impreza

RA Motorsport had fitted a new AET Turbo to Scott’s Subaru Impreza in time for Silverstone, which ran faultlessly all day. It was great to see the weather stay dry and the wider wheels and slicks go on Scott’s car. It looks even meaner sat on the wider rubber!

Scott described his Silverstone experience as “another decent day at the office”, finishing in second place behind Rich Marshall in both qualifying and the final. He mentioned traffic issues at times but the car ran well all day. Scott promises a big push for the final round at Brands Hatch, and some new aero for the car. So we look forward to seeing that in November.

WATCH : Scott during Practice

Simon Deaton – HEL Performance Porsche 997 GT3R

Time Attack is so extreme these days that Simon Deaton’s 997 GT3R racer is actually well down on horsepower compared to it’s rivals! This means Simon has to make up time through the corners and if spectator reports are to be believed, particularly in the braking zones where Simon was “the last of the last brakers” all day.

Probably the only driver in the field who wouldn’t have minded a bit of rain, Simon pushed as hard as he dared but the long straights at Silverstone highlighted the power differential between his naturally-aspirated Porsche and the turbo competition. Still, he was great to watch and set his fastest time of the day in the final, showing that he was going faster and faster with every lap.

CLUB PRO

NEW LAP RECORD: Andrew Barbour – NR Autosport Mitsubishi Evo 5

2014 CLUB PRO CHAMPION

Huge Congratulations to Andrew Barbour and his NR Autosport Mitsubishi Evo for the perfect weekend; Maximum points, a new lap record and enough total points to be crowned 2014 Club Pro Champion with one event to spare!

Andrew admits he was praying for it stay dry all day so that he could really push the limits of the track and the car. he couldn’t have wished for better weather and the car was equally helpful, feeling really strong during the morning warm-up.

Andrew broke the existing Club Pro record of 1:00.26 for the first time during qualifying (59.671), before going out and absolutely smashing it in the final with a 58.935! This makes Andrew the fastest ever Time Attack competitor around Silverstone National in a car wearing treaded 1B “semi-slick” tyres.

An absolutely amazing achievement by Andrew and the NR Autosport team.

WATCH : Andrew’s new Club Pro Lap Record

Russ Paton – HQ Garage Mitsubishi Evo

Russ arrived at Silverstone having had very little sleep, the result of a last-minute engine change after a crack was discovered in the previous block. He battled through to score a very impressive second place in the final, where he set his fastest lap of the day on his final flying lap of the event.

Jason Ogg – RA Motorsport Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza driver Jason Ogg completed the first all-Scottish podium in UK Time Attack! Interesting timing considering the forthcoming vote on Scottish Independence.

He was made to work for it though. The warm-Up and practice sessions went well on low boost. Jason was easing himself back into Time Attack after missing Snetterton due to a family bereavement and only completing a couple of laps at Cadwell Park. His team replaced the turbo wastegate to solve a boost leak before qualifying but the misfire that has plagued him all season returned. Ultimately, Jason knew that he only had to complete a lap in the final to secure third place after Ronnie Amis had problems with his VW Golf. As a result, Jason’s fastest time was the lap he completed in the warm up session on low boost. He says it was frustrating that he couldn’t challenge Russ and Andrew in the final, but promises a few changes for the final round at Brands Hatch, where he hopes to put up a real fight against the Evos.

Ronnie Amis – Airtec VW Golf

“Things didn’t quite go according to plan” – That’s how Ronnie Amis summed up Round 5. The Golf was understeering in the early sessions, which the team later discovered was due to a broken anti-roll bar. With that fixed, Ronnie headed out for qualifying, noting a strange noise from the starter motor. He took to the track and set the third fastest lap time, his fastest time of the day and 0.6 seconds faster than he went at Round 1. Showing that Ronnie is making progress in the left hand drive ex-BTCC Airtec Golf.

Sadly Ronnie never made it out for the final. when doing their pre-session checks a crack was discovered in the gearbox adapter plate. The decision was made to retire the car to prevent any further damage. The final round is at Brands Hatch, Ronnie’s home circuit. So expect him to have a stronger showing in November.

WATCH : A fly-by of Ronnie in action

WATCH : Ronnie’s Qualifying session

The final round of the 2014 Time Attack Championship takes place at Brands Hatch on Saturday 8th November. You can buy tickets here

You can view the current Championship leader boards here