Pat Doran finished second at Blyton in June. With two event wins to his credit, he leads the eight-event championship back to Lincolnshire for the September 12 event.

The Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship returns to Blyton on Sunday (September 12) for its seventh and penultimate event of the year with the title battle coming to the boil after reigning champion Pat Doran (Winkleigh) gained his second event win of the year in round six, moving ahead of Andy Grant (Barnstaple) to take the points lead.

Doran’s victory has changed the face of the championship, Grant had led the series since round three at Blyton in June where he finished third – behind Doran. After many years racing an Escort Cosworth, Grant moved to a newer Focus Supercar this year and has enjoyed his most successful season to date. Starting this weekend’s event at Blyton still holding second place in the championship, Grant now needs to win an event to keep his title hopes alive.

The 2010 Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship has been extraordinarily competitive; the first five events each producing a different winner and Doran the first double winner in round six.

Already a winner this year, Andy Scott (Dumfries) also needs a victory to retain any chance of challenging for the title, and had been on course to win at Lydden in round six until a puncture forced him to slow and allowed Doran to pass and take the win.

Doran, Grant and Scott now occupy the top three places in the championship, fourth placed David Binks (Newcastle upon Tyne) also still in the title hunt and desperate to shrug off the technical problems that have halted his Ford Fiesta Supercar in each of the last two championship rounds.

Lincolnshire racer chasing SuperModified stars

The championship’s SuperModified class for two-wheel drive cars is also closely contested this year. Sussex-based motor sport engineer Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) leads the class in his two-litre Fiesta but has been worked hard by the 2.5-litre rear-drive version of the Fiesta driven by Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest). Currently third in the class battle, but returning to the scene of his win in round three of the championship, Jamie Lea (Wrexham) will again be a good bet for victory on the fast track in his turbocharged Toyota MR2.

Sixth place in the SuperModified class is held by Lincoln garage proprietor Gary Dixon who has raced in only three events so far this year, making it into the A final in each of them and galloping quickly up the championship order. Racing his familiar Vauxhall Astra GTE, Dixon will make the short trip to his local track at Blyton hoping to maintain his good form and make further progress in the title race.

Full supporting programme

The Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship has a full programme of supporting events, including the RX150 championship for ‘off-road buggies’ and the Suzuki Swift Sport Championship, a new for 2010 one-make series for 1600cc Suzuki Swifts that is fast becoming a favourite with fans and competitors alike as it has produced close racing at every event.

The event also includes the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship with a full range of classes including Junior Rallycross for competitors of 14 to 16-years-old.

Round seven venue change

The seventh round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, scheduled to take place at Mallory Park on September 12 has been moved to the Blyton venue in Lincolnshire but will retain its original date. The move has been made to allow a programme of work on the track at Mallory Park to be carried out earlier than initially planned. Blyton hosted round three of the British championship, the successful Night Race event, in June.

Rallycross Open Day – your chance to drive at Lydden

Members of the public and prospective competitors will have the chance to drive a Rallycross car at Lydden on September 25 when the Swift Sport Championship Rallycross Open Day is held at the circuit. Admission to the track is free, but anyone interested in either driving on the day or taking a passenger ride in a Rallycross car, must book in advance with the event organiser by calling 0844 545 8257, or e-mail events@swiftrallycross.com.

Event details

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, round seven, Blyton, Sunday September 12

Racing from 1000

Gate Price – Adult £12, under 12s free

Blyton Rallycross is on the B1205 near Gainsborough in North Lincolnshire, DN21 3PE

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship

Spectator and general information website:

www.RallycrossUK.com

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship 2010

Monday April 5 Lydden Hill

Sunday April 25 Knockhill

Saturday June 12 Blyton

Sunday July 11 Maasmechelen (B)

Sunday August 8 Mallory Park

Monday August 30 Lydden Hill

Sunday September 12 Blyton * venue change

Sunday October 10 Pembrey

Pat Doran leads the British championship after his second win of the year.

The sixth round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship brought a change in leadership at the top of the points chart, the first double event winner of the series and plenty of good racing as the championship returned to the ‘Home of Rallycross’ for the traditional August Bank Holiday Monday event.

Supercar

Leading up to the event there was a question mark over the participation of defending champion Pat Doran who had aggravated an old back injury and feared he would not be fit enough. Feeling better as the event neared, Doran decided he would try to race, a decision that was paid back handsomely on the day as he dominated the early part of the event, breezing through the qualifying heats unbeaten to put his name to the A final pole with a brace of fastest times. Doran’s first heat best of 2m33.836s stood as FTD, his own second heat 0.7s slower and Andy Scott’s third heat fastest time of 2m38.182s someway short of the mark.

Scott’s second and third heats were a fine recovery from the disappointment of the first heat in which he led the race, only to be slowed by a puncture on the left front of his Peugeot. Scott’s performance brought him up to second and he would start from the centre of the front row of the A final, the third starting place going to David Binks who displayed good speed despite a misfire that plagued his Fiesta all weekend and which proved uncurable. Points leader Andy Grant was fourth to the grid, losing his second heat after a clash of wheels at the start of the race damaged a driveshaft. Gareth Wood again reaped the reward of a reliable run and was fifth in his Subaru Impreza, ahead of Steve Hill who reverted to his Mitsubishi Lancer E9 after the new E10 suffered engine problems just before the event. The older car too had its problems, a clutch failure in practice keeping Hill out of the first heat while broken steering and a puncture contributed to a trying set of heats.

Kevin Procter after a centre diff failure slowed his first heat and caused him to miss the second. Leading the sthird heat, procter’s Focus then suffered a turbo failure that brought the day to a premature end. Dutchman Jan Langenberg chose Lydden as the venue at which to close his 30-years of Rallycross but had a troubled run in the Pauwels Motorsport Skoda Fabia. Granted permission to start the final despite completing only one heat, Langenberg completed his final event by taking seventh place.

At the front of the race, Scott made the best start and was chased by Doran until the Fiesta driver suffered a puncture and slipped back to fourth place as Binks and Grant both gained places. Hill was fifth all the way, a little way behind the top four but making it through to the Superfinal and finishing ahead of Wood and Langenberg.

SuperModified

This year’s new star in the class Nick Priddy qualified on pole for the A final for the second event in succession after setting fastest times in both the first and second heats. Priddy sat out the third heat in which Julian Godfrey dashed to fastest time and bagged five bonus points for setting fastest time of the day in the class with a 2m44.879s run that was two-seconds better than Priddy’s best effort. Godfrey had non-finished his second heat after a clash with Jamie Lea for which the latter received a penalty. the third heat run brought Godfrey up to second  on the grid, returning 2009 champion James Bird completing the front row starters and being third fastest in the second heat and second fastest in the third heat in his first event of the year.

Also back in action for the first time this year, former champion Mike Turpin qualified fourth, with Lea alongside him in fifth place. Ashley Simpson’s first BRC outing of the year saw the young driver get his Lotus Exige into the A final in sixth place, ahead of class points leader Mike Howlin whose Fiesta suffered starter motor problems throughout the day.

Gary Dixon, Gary Pusey and Allan Tapscott raced in the B final for the last of the A final starting places, Dixon taking the win ahead of Pusey and Tapscott who enjoyed a steady and reliable run in the first event for his new rear-drive Vauxhall Corsa.

The A finasl pack split in half, Bird, Turpin, Howlin and Simpson taking first to fourth places while Lea, Godfrey, Priddy and Dixon took the Joker Lap detour in the opening lap of the race. Priddy’s run came to an end in the first lap with driveline problems but Godfrey was quickly on the move and managed to pass Lea early in the race, then climbing to third place in the second lap as Simpson and Howlin took their turn in the Joker Lap. Turpin pressed on in second but with a broken exhaust making his car sound horrible. Godfrey rose to second when Turpin took the Joker Lap and then closed on Bird so that when the leader passed through the alternative section of track in the last lap, the lead changed hands and Godfrey took the race win ahead of Bird and Lea. Turpin and Simpson were the last two finishers, Howlin retiring in the fourth lap and Dixon pulling off the track in the second.

Superfinal

Binks’ huge effort in driving around the problem that had robbed his car of performance all day long came to nothing as the engine in the Fiesta stopped in the dummy grid area just before the Superfinal and resisted all efforts to coax it back into life. Binks’ non-start allowed ninth qualifier Wood into the race,.

Pole starter Scott again made a great start and led, the Peugeot driver chased through the first lap by Grant whose challenge came to an end in the second lap when a gearbox problems left the Focus driver with nothing but fourth gear. Grant continued to circulate, but dropped to the tail of the field and would finish eighth, a lap down on the race. Lea also dropped a lap and was classified seventh, but at the front Scott broke free of the rest and appeared to be on course for his second win of the year until the fourth lap when he hit the kerb in the chicane and caused a puncture.

By now Doran had recovered from an early scare caused by a jammed throttle and come through the field to run second. As Scott was forced to slow, so Doran quickly caught the leader and, with a lap to run, passed Scott to take the lead.

Hill enjoyed a good run in the Superfinal and was able to pass Scott in the last lap as the erstwhile leader took the Joker Lap detour. Scott just managed to hold on to third place ahead of Godfrey who was best of the two-wheel drive runners and ahead of Bird and Wood.

Results

Superfinal (5.5 laps) 1  Pat Doran (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) 4m9.940s; 2 Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 4m15.629s; 3 Andy Scott (Peugeot 306 4×4 Turbo) 4m20.949s; 4 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta S1600) 4m22.049s; 5 James Bird (Renault ClioSport V6) 4m24.349s; 6 Gareth Wood (Subaru Impreza) 4m27.716s; 7 Jamie Lea (Toyota MR2 Turbo) 4 laps; 8 Andy Grant (Ford Focus ERC) 4 laps.

Championship 1 Doran 151; 2 Grant 141; 3 Scott 111; 4 Godfrey 107; 5 Howlin 104; 6 Lea 104

A finals (all 4.5 laps) Supercar Scott 3m18.759s; 2 David Binks (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) +3.2s; 3 Grant; 4 Doran; 5 Hill; 6 Wood; 7 Jan Langenberg (Skoda Fabia ERC)

Championship 1 Doran 185, Grant 148, Scott 147.

SuperModified 1 Godfrey 3m32.082s; 2 Bird +1.7s; 3 Lea; 4 Mike Turpin (Vauxhall VX 220); 5 Ash Simpson (Lotus Exige); 6 Mike Howlin (Ford Fiesta rwd); 7 Gary Dixon (Vauxhall Astra); 8 Nick Priddy (Vauxhall Tigra).

Championship 1 Godfrey 161; 2 Howlin 150; 3 Lea 139.

Ryan Lawford led the Suzuki Swift field all day.

After the disappointment rolling out of the fifth round of the championship at Mallory Park, Ryan Lawford bounced back in the best possible style at Lydden where he completed the event unbeaten. Fastest in each of the first two heats, and setting the class FTD with a 2m55.979s second heat run, Lawford secured pole position without the need to drive in the third heat in which championship points leader Dave Bellerby was fastest and claimed second place on the grid ahead of Tony Lynch.

Liam Doran drove the Steve Hill Motorsport Swift in this event and qualified the car fourth, sharing the second row of the grid with Graham Rodemark who enjoyed  agreat debut run in his newly built Swift.

After enjoying his Mallory Park outing Joel Doran has now bought the car previously raced by his nephew Liam and qualified sixth, ahead of Chris Scott and Jonny Bean, the latter racing both in the Suzuki Swift and in his BMW 325 in the BTRDA Clubmans championship at Lydden. Last on to the grid was Richard Elliott who returned to the series having rebuilt his car following a crash at Blyton in round three, but who was in the wars again here, suffering damage in a second heat incident that also involved Rodemark and Scott.

Lawford continued his good form into the final, managing to break away from the pack in the first lap and then driving perfectly on the front of the field to take the victory. Doran was second all the way, unable to do anything about Lawford here, but remaining safely ahead of Rodemark who claimed a fine third place with his new car. Scott placed fourth, Elliott climbing through the order to take fifth place  ahead of Joel Doran and bean. Bellerby and Lynch tangled in the first corner, the pair running very wide and hitting the barrier but both being able to rejoin the race. Bellerby then edged ahead of Lynch in the dying seconds of the race to take eighth place.

Result

1 Ryan Lawford, 3m45.204s; 2 Liam Doran +3.0s; 3 Graham Rodemark; 4 Chris Scott; 5 Richard Elliott; 6 Joel Doran; 7 Jonny Bean; 8 Dave Bellerby; 9 Tony Lynch.

Championship 1 Bellerby 165; 2 Lynch 133; 3 Lawford 118.

Joe Shrimpton and Leo Forster fought a great duel in the A final.

The RX150 field again provided good racing all day and offered a close duel for pole position as Leo Forster and Joe Shrimpton traded fastest times. Forster was fastest in the first heat, Shrimpton chipping a second from the time to top the second. Pole came down to the third heat in which Forster pulled out all the stops, lopped three seconds off his personal best and claimed pole. Tommy Keet was second fastest in the third heat, but second on the grid still went to Shrimpton who had been third in the final qualifying counter, Keet completing the front row starters.

Geoffrey Dolan returned to the series and was immediately in the mix, qualifying fourth ahead of Steve Harris. Don McLeod, Brett Harriss and Supercar racer Chris Langley  occupied row three of the grid with Legends racer Lawrence Davey last man into the final in his first Rallycross event and Jake Harris the only one not to make it after twice non-finishing in the heats.

The final needed to two starts, the first one halted  in the second lap after a crash that left the buggies of Langley and Brett Harris stuck on the trackside.

Keet had led when the race was stopped but in the second start Shrimpton went ahead, pursued by Forster, Keet and Dolan. the top four fought a close and fast battle at the head of the field, Forster heaping the pressure on to Shrimpton until the last lap. Pressing hard at Pits Bend, Forster ran wide and went off the track. Shrimpton gained a little breathing room and took his second consecutive win while Forster was second on the road but demoted to sixth by the addition of a penalty for going off the track. That elevated Keet, Dolan, Davey and Steve Harris in the final order, McLeod a non finisher after a spin in the second lap.

Result

RX150 1 Joe Shrimpton 3m33.200s; 2 Tommy Keet +1.2s; 3 Geoffrey Dolan; 4 Lawrence Davey; 5 Steve Harris; 6 Leo Forster; 7 Don McLeod; 8 Chris Langley; 9 Brett Harris.

Championship 1 Forster 177; 2 Keet 161; 3 Shrimpton 157

SuperModified

Fastes times in the qualifying heats were shared around quite equally here, Stuart Emery opening the bidding for pole by being fastest in the first heat with Vince Bristow then topping the second heat order. Jonny Bean was fastest in the third heat but, when everything was calculated, it was Bristow who took pole for the A final ahead of Bean and Emery.

The entry was such that six drivers started in the B final, this ultimately presenting Neil Wade with quite an easy win in his BMW Mini ahead of Richard Moore’s rear-drive Fiesta and John Clayton’s BMW. John Wood, Ian Biagi and David Ewin were the last three finishers.

The top three qualifiers were the first three home in the A final, but the order was shuffled again as Bean came to the fore and led home Emery and Bristow. Mark Watson placed fourth with his Focus, B final winner wade making good progress through the order and passing title rival Shelley Wakeling to gain fifth place while Brian Jukes was the last finisher in seventh after Nick McAdden’s Vauxhall Corsa let him down in the second lap.

Result

SuperModified 1 Jonny Bean (BMW 325) 3m40.881s; 2 Stuart Emery (Peugeot 306) +3.1s; 3 Vince Bristow (BMW 328); 4 Mark Watson (Ford Focus); 5 Neil Wade (BMW Mini); 6 Shelley Wakeling (Honda Civic Type R); 7 Brian Jukes (Seat Ibiza); 8 Nick McAdden (Vauxhall Corsa).

Championship 1 Wakeling 204; 2 Wade 199; 3 Bean 154

Stock Hatch

Joe Cunningham set fastest times in the first and second heats and had no need to race in the third heat in which Ash Simpson was fastest in his Citroën C2. Darren Wilcox split the two on the grid after setting second fastest time in all three heats. Cunningham ran out of luck in the final in which he managed only a single lap before having to retire having led the race. Seventh qualifier Harry Bushell was a non starter, so that left eight cars, and best of them was now Wilcox who kept Simpson at bay to win for the secomnd time in as many events.

Ben Cree’s first visit to Lydden resulted in an excellent third place ahead of Dave Martin and David Pearson, the latter having worked hard just to stay in the event having been caught up in a six-car crash in the first heat that brought an end to the event for several drivers. John Rook had a good run with his new Citroën saxo and took seventh, Nick Potter and Leigh Hickey the last two home.

Result

Stock Hatch 1 Darren Wilcox (Citroën Saxo) 3m54.387s; 2 Russ Simpson (Citroën C2) +1.3s; 3 Ben Cree (Peugeot 205); 4 Dave Martin (Peugeot 205); 5 David Pearson (Peugeot 205); 6 John Rook (Citroën Saxo); 7 Nick Potter (Peugeot 106); 8 Leigh Hickey (Peugeot 205); 9 Joe Cunningham (Peugeot 106); 10 Harry Bushell (Peugeot 205).

Championship 1 Pearson 155; 2 Clark 136; 3 Martin 130.

Junior

Here were four starters in the Junior category and Paige Bellerby qualoified on pole after setting fastest time in all three heats.

Oli Mellors non-finished the first heat after a spin but then posted two solid performances, running close to championship leader Bellerby and qualifying second, ahead of Todd Crooks and Shauna Baxter.

Bellerby led the final but Mellors appeared was challenging hard right from the start and made a successful bid for the lead in the second lap, passing Bellerby at North bend. Bellerby remained close to Mellors over the remaining distance, but it was Mellors who took the win, his second of the year, ahead of the championship leader. Baxter was a distant third after Crooks parked retired his Mini from the race in the third lap.

Result

Junior (all Mini) 1 Oli Mellors 4m20.650s; 2 Paige Bellerby + 0.4s; 3 Shauna Baxter; 4 Todd Crooks.

Championship 1 Bellerby 188; 2 Crooks 107; 3 Mellors 60

Minincross

A three-way tie for pole was eventually resolved in favour of George Edwardes who had set fastest time in the second heat and who started ahead of Ben Clark and Kris Hudson on the front row of the grid. Qualifying had been very mixed, Keifer Hudson setting fastest time in the first heat but ending the heats in fourth place while Tom Edwardes qualified sixth, but had been fastest of the bunch in the third heat.

George Edwardes led at the end of the first lap but then lost out as Clark found his way into the lead. Clark then remained ahead of the closely matched pack, Edwardes running out with second place ahead of Kris and Keifer Hudson. Minicross veteran Richard Wakeling ran with the youngsters and claimed fifth place, ahead of Samanthan O’Flanagan, Kelly Bird and Simon Arnold while Tom Edwardes’ race came to an end in the third lap.

Result 1 Ben Clark 3m58.114s; 2 George Edwardes +1.2s; 3 Kris Hudson; 4 Keifer Hudson; 5 Richard Wakeling; 6 Samantha O’Flannagan; 7 Kelly Bird; 8 Simon Arnold; 9 Tom Edwardes.

Championship 1 Kris Hudson 174; 2 George Edwardes 169; 3 Clark 150.

Pat Doran took the championship lead with his second event win of the year.

Current champion Pat Doran (Winkleigh) took the lead in the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship after winning the sixth round of the eight-event series at Lydden Hill today (August 30).

Doran becomes the first driver to win more than once this year, but was not certain that he would be fit enough to drive in the days leading up to the event after aggravating an old back injury. “I’ve hurt my back before and it’s taken six weeks to fix so I didn’t think I’d be fit to race. But I felt better and better each day so I thought I’d give it a go, obviously now I’m really pleased that I did,” said Doran who won the Superfinal after passing early leader Andy Scott (Dumfries).

Scott won the Supercar A final in his Peugeot 306 and led the Superfinal from championship points leader Andy Grant (Barnstaple). Grant’s run in the event was effectively ended in the second lap when he lost but fourth gear. Touring to the end of the race, the Devonian collected points for last place, but slipped ten points behind Doran in the title race.

Scott also hit problems, his car suffering a puncture after he hit the kerb in the chicane in the fourth lap. Doran suffered an early scare in the race, losing time when the throttle of his Fiesta Supercar jammed open on one of the quickest parts of the track. Turning the engine off and then back on, Doran was able to avoid a crash and then worked his way back up to second place by the fourth lap.

Closing quickly on Scott’s limping car, Doran took the lead at the start of the last lap, Steve Hill (Aylsbury) also managing to pass Scott before the end and take second place.

Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) won the SuperModified A final and then progressed to fourth place in the Superfinal ahead of 2009 SuperModified champion James Bird (Midhurst).

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, round six, Lydden Hill,  August 30

Superfinal (5.5 laps) 1  Pat Doran (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) 4m9.940s; 2 Steve Hill (Mitsubishi Lancer E9) 4m15.629s; 3 Andy Scott (Peugeot 306 4×4 Turbo) 4m20.949s; 4 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta S1600) 4m22.049s; 5 James Bird (Renault ClioSport V6) 4m24.349s; 6 Gareth Wood (Subaru Impreza) 4m27.716s; 7 Jamie Lea (Toyota MR2 Turbo) 4 laps; 8 Andy Grant (Ford Focus ERC) 4 laps.

Championship 1 Doran 151; 2 Grant 141; 3 Scott 111; 4 Godfrey 107; 5 Howlin 104; 6 Lea 104

Next event: Blyton, September 12

Full event report report of all classes will be available at www.BritishRallycross.com later

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship

Spectator and general information website:

www.RallycrossUK.com

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship 2010

Monday April 5 Lydden Hill

Sunday April 25 Knockhill

Saturday June 12 Blyton

Sunday July 11 Maasmechelen (B)

Sunday August 8 Mallory Park

Monday August 30 Lydden Hill

Sunday September 12 Blyton

Sunday October 10 Pembrey

Pat Doran won in round five.

British Rallycross champion Pat Doran (Winkleigh) has been forced to withdraw from the August Bank Holiday Monday round of the 2010 championship at Lydden Hill Race Circuit after suffering a back injury last week. Doran’s Ford Fiesta Supercar will still be at Lydden where his son Liam will race the car in what is set to be a very well contested event.

Doran won the fifth round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship at Mallory Park earlier this month, moving into second place in the series and cutting the advantage of championship leader Andy Grant (Barnstaple) to just three points. The championship allows each driver to discard their lowest score from the eight events, so Doran’s hopes of retaining the title are not yet lost, as long as he can return to the driving seat for the final two events. “Obviously missing the Lydden event is not good for my championship position but I can’t compete as I am and the best thing to do is to miss this one and concentrate on being fit to race at Blyton in September. I’ll just have to be focused on trying to catch up whatever I lose by not racing at Lydden.”

Liam Doran (Sittingbourne) has stepped up from the British championship to race in the European Rallycross Championship this year where he is driving for the KHM Citroën team. Enjoying a highly successful first season in europe, Doran Jnr. became the first British driver to win a European Rallycross Championship event for 18 years when he won the Finnish round of the ten-race series in July. The 23-year-old started his season on a high by winning the opening round of the British championship at Lydden in what was a test event with the Citroën team and the C4 Supercar he races in Europe.

Showcase event attracts stars

The August Bank Holiday event is one of the traditional highlights of the British Rallycross Championship and the popularity of the event means that Doran Jnr. is not the only driver to add the race to his schedule. Kevin Procter (Northallerton) also concentrates his efforts in the European Rallycross Championship but will race his Ford Focus ST Supercar at Lydden on Monday. Procter too has won a round of the British championship this year, taking victory in the Night Race event at Blyton in June. Crossing the English Channel to race at Lydden will be Belgian racer Koen Pauwels who has decided to return with his Ford Focus ST after enjoying the Easter Monday event at Lydden.

SuperModified champion returns

While overall British champion Pat Doran will sit out the Lydden event, the SuperModified class champion James Bird (Midhurst) will make his first appearance of the 2010 season. After winning back to back titles in 2008 and ’09, Bird decided to take time out this year while he built a new car. With that project progressing well, he now wants to sell the Renault ClioSport V6 in which he dominated the class for two years.

“I wasn’t planning to race at all this year but Lydden is always a good event and it’s my ‘home’ track,” said the Sussex-based gamekeeper, “I’m building a rear-wheel drive ‘BMW’ Mini to race next year and so I want to sell the Renault. Getting out there and reminding everyone that the car is competitive is the best way to help sell it.”

After a relatively quiet start to the year, competition in the SuperModified class is increasing and Bird’s return to the category will add interest to the battle at Lydden. After leading the class all year, Julian Godfrey (Heathfield) surrendered his points lead to Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) after missing round five earlier this month. Howlin finished second in that event, Jamie Lea (Wrexham) taking his second win of the year and moving into contention for the class title.

Full supporting programme

There is a full supporting programme at Lydden where the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship is joined by the new Suzuki Swift Sport series and the RX150 off-road ‘buggies’ as well as the diverse and competitive BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship in which Shelley Wakeling (Braintree) is the overall points leader and, with three events left to run, well placed to become the first female driver to win the championship.

Round seven venue change

The seventh round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, scheduled to take place at Mallory Park on September 12 has been moved to the Blyton venue in Lincolnshire but will retain its original date. The move has been made to allow a programme of work on the track at Mallory Park to be carried out earlier than initially planned. Blyton hosted round three of the British championship, the successful Night Race event, in June.

Rallycross Open Day – your chance to drive at Lydden

Members of the public and prospective competitors will have the chance to drive a Rallycross car at Lydden on September 25 when the Swift Sport Championship Rallycross Open Day is held at the circuit. Admission to the track is free, but anyone interested in either driving on the day or taking a passenger ride in a Rallycross car, must book in advance with the event organiser by calling 0844 545 8257, or e-mail events@swiftrallycross.com.

Event details

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, round six, Monday August 30

Racing from 0900

Adults admission £15, children under 12 free

Lydden Hill Race Circuit, CT4 6RX

Tel: 01304 830557

LyddenHill.co.uk

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship

Spectator and general information website:

www.RallycrossUK.com

Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship 2010

Monday April 5 Lydden Hill

Sunday April 25 Knockhill

Saturday June 12 Blyton

Sunday July 11 Maasmechelen (B)

Sunday August 8 Mallory Park

Monday August 30 Lydden Hill

Sunday September 12 Blyton * venue change

Sunday October 10 Pembrey

Pat Doran became the fifth winner in five events.

Five events, five different winners. The 201 Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship is developing into the most closely fought and competitive series series for years. The fifth man to climb to the top step of the podium was defending champion Pat Doran (Winkleigh) who dominated the fifth round of the eight-event championship at Mallory Park and reduced the advantage of championship leader Andy Grant (Barnstaple) to just three points.

Supercar

The event did not pass smoothly, and delays and incidents led the organisers to shorten the programme by cutting the third qualifying heat in order to regain the lost time. The shortened programme meant that each driver’s best performance in the two qualifying heats run decided grid positions for the finals. The Supercar order was clear cut, Doran fastest in each of the heats, establishing fastest time of the day at 2m31.257s and leaving Andy Scott (Dumfries) trailing by 3.8s as he pocketed the bonus points for being fastest.

Scott lined up alongside Doran on the front of the grid but the third starting position remained empty. Second fastest in the first heat, David Binks (Newcastle upon Tyne) retired from the second heat after a stone got under the cambelt in the engine of his Fiesta Supercar. Although his team managed to get the engine to run again, Binks opted for the cautious approach, “I could have taken a chance and run in the A final but we knew there was some damage to the engine and if it blew up in the race it could easily have meant missing the next event. All things considered it was better to withdraw and sort out a relatively small problem rather than risk destroying the engine,” he said.

Grant and “Mad Mark” Watson (Barnard Castle)  shared the second row of the grid , Steve Mundy (Ludlow) and Gareth Wood (Newcastle upon Tyne) the last two starters after Simon Horton (Clitheroe) was forced out of the event following an engine fire in his Subaru and Steve Hill (Aylsbury) retired his Mitusbishi Lancer E10.

Doran led the pack to the first corner, Grant charging around the outside to take second place before being eased back to third by Watson. A hole in the radiator of his Ford Focus caused Grant to ease up a little and he also lost position to Scott who then caught and passed Watson to take second place. Watson slowed a little towards the end of the race and Grant closed again but there was no further change in the order. Mundy and Wood raced closely at the tail of the order, Ford driver Mundy always just ahead of his rival.

SuperModified

Qualifying honours were split here and the SuperModified pole was taken by Nick Priddy who set fastest time in the class in the second heat with a flying 2m44.905s race time that smashed 2.4s off the first heat best of Jamie Lea (Wrexham). Lea did not drive in the second heat, knowing he could not be placed lower than second on the grid the Toyota driver opted to save his car for the final. Mike Howlin (Haverfordwest) was second fastest in each heat and completed the front row starters.

Gary Dixon (Lincoln) and Gary Pusey (Great Missenden) shared the second row of the grid with Phil Chicken (Barnsley) and Steve Cozens on the back of the grid, the latter racing his autocross-spec Peugeot 205 here as his Renault ClioSport V6 is not yet race ready and the former surviving an engine bay fire in his VW Golf during the first heat to rejoin the event and make it to the final.

Lea’s rear-wheel drive Toyota MR2 was first out of the grid at the start of the final and led the pack to the first corner, Howlin taking second place with Priddy third. The latter’s challenge faded almost before it had begun when a broken driveshaft forced him to retire his Honda-engined Vauxhall Tigra. Howlin pressed Lea hard over the first lap but then slipped back a little and Lea was able to ease out his lead to almost two-seconds. Second place for Howlin, however, was sufficient for the Welshman to gain the lead in the class championship battle. Dixon and Chicken were close over the first lap or so before Dixon gained a clear advantage. After Pusey’s Peugeot 206 ran into trouble and left its driver to tour at the tail of the field to record a finish, Cozens had a lonely run into fifth place.

Superfinal

Maintaining his form from earlier in the day, Doran made best start and led the Superfinal pack to the first corner where Grant again slotted into second place ahead of Scott and Mundy with Lea heading up the two-wheel drive runners but Howlin slipping to the tail of the order after a slow start.

Mundy ended his race before the end of the first lap, retiring his Focus and allowing Lea up to fourth place where he remained, running ahead of Wood’s Subaru Impreza, until the end of the race.Howlin managed to find his way past Dixon to take sixth place and at the front Scott climbed to second.

A repair to the radiator in his Focus allowed Grant to start the Superfinal, but did not hold for the duration of the race and the series leader was forced to reduce his pace. Unchallenged, Scott was able to cut into Doran’s lead a little, but Grant had to keep an eye to his mirror where Lea closed in, eventually finishing less than a second behind.

Doran was untroubled by any of what happened behind him and took his first win of the year at the end of a perfect day.

Results

Superfinal (4 laps) 1 Pat Doran (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) 3m28.818s; 2 Andy Scott (Peugeot 306) + 2.313s; 3 Andy Grant (Ford Focus ERC); 4 Jamie Lea (Toyota MR2 turbo); 5 Gareth Wood (Subaru Impreza); 6 Mike Howlin (Ford Fiesta Millington rwd); 7 Gary Dixon (Vauxhall Astra GTE); 8 Steve Mundy (Ford Focus) 0 laps.

Championship 1 Grant 124; 2 Doran 121; 3 Howlin 104, David Binks (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) 91; 5 Scott 86; Lea 86.

A finals (all 3 laps) Supercar 1 Doran 2m37.123s; 2 Scott + 1.584s; 3 “Mad Mark” Watson (Citroen Xsara ERC); 4 Grant; 5 Mundy; 6 Wood; 7 David Binks (Ford Fiesta ST ERC) dns.

Championship 1 Doran 157; 2 Grant 123; 3 Binks 119; 4 Scott 117; 5 Watson 94; 6 Wood 73.

SuperModified 1 Lea 2m48.377s; 2 Howlin + 1.933s; 3 Dixon; 4 Phil Chicken (VW Golf IV GTi); 5 Steve Cozens (Peugeot 205); 6 Gary Pusey (Peugeot 206); 7 Nick Priddy (Vauxhall Tigra) 1 lap.

Championship 1 Howlin 131; 2 Julian Godfrey (Ford Fiesta ST) 126; 3 Lea 114; 4 Chicken 102; 5 Pusey 60; 6 Dixon 48.

Mallory brought Bellerby his third Swift victory.

There were seven starters in the Swift Sport Championship class but their number was reduced to six in the first heat where Ryan Lawford (Canterbury) rolled his car after an incident. Tony Lynch (Wigan) was excluded from the heat by officials.

Chris Scott (Faversham) won the restarted first heat but his fastest time was eclipsed by dave Bellerby (Northallerton) when the points leader set fastest time of 2m54.625s in the second heat to secure pole position for the A final. Scott was the second qualifier with Steve Hill having more joy here than in his Supercar and placing second in each heat to be the third qualifier. Lynch recovered to be third fastest in the second heat and share the second row of the grid with Kevin McCann who raced a Swift here as his Supercar Subaru Impreza continues to suffer engine problems. Joel Doran, younger brother of British champion Pat, completed the starters, driving in his first Rallycross event for six years.

Bellerby led the pack to the first corner, Lynch making a good start and slotting into second place in the first corner, ahead of Hill, Scott, McCann and Doran. There was no change in the race order and the top four remained closely matched throughout with four-seconds covering the group. In their first appearances in the class, McCann and Doran slipped off the back of the pack but each completed the day untroubled.

Result

1 Dave Bellerby 2m55.276s; 2 Tony Lynch + 1.908s; 3 Steve Hill; 4 Chris Scott; 5 Kevin McCann; 6 Joel Doran.

Championship 1 Bellerby 148; 2 Lynch 117; 3 Ryan Lawford 87; 4 Hill 68; 5 Scott 66; 6 Gordon Rogers 62

Joe Shrimpton led the field for his first win.

Once again providing close racing throughout the day, the RX150 field got a new winner as Joe Shrimpton led from pole to take the win.

Shrimpton was fastest in the first qualifying heat and set fastest time in the class at 2m47.109s, his mark remaining best after Kevin feeney topped the second heat in 2m48.674s. The pair started first and second on the A final grid, the front row completed by Leo Forster who had been second to Shrimpton in the first heat. Tommy Keet and Brett Harris shared the second row of the grid, Steve Harris, Jake Harris and Adam Sargent completing the qualifiers.

Shrimpton led from the start, Keet coming through to offer the closest challenge while Feeney and Forster battled fro third place. Keet cut into Shrimpton’s early lead and had reduced the gap to 0.3s by the end of the race, but despite that was never quite close enough to mount a challenge for the lead. Feeney’s fine run in the event continued into the final where he raced hard with Forster and held the champion at bay until the end, just keeping third place as he ran side-by-side with Forster to the chequer.

Steve and Brett Harris took fifth and sixth places with Sargent gaining a position and taking seventh in front of Jake Harris.

Result

RX150 1 Joe Shrimpton 2m46.391s; 2 Tom Keet + 0.255s; 3 Kevin Feeney; 4 Leo Forster; 5 Steve Harris; 6 Brett Harris; 7 Adam Sargent; 8 Jake Harris.

Championship 1 Forster 153; 2 Keet 134; 3 Shrimpton 127; 4 Steve Harris 115; 5 Jake Harris 93; Brett Harris 67.