Snetterton this weekend sees the first 20 car TVR grid since the Tuscan Challenge was combined with the TVRCC Challenge Cup last season, and probably the first time that 20 TVRs have lined up on the starting grid in any race for at least four or five years. It promises to be a great race with no less than three of the awesomely quick V8 Sagaris starting, along with the debut of the 6.0litre Chevy powered Tuscan of John Sampson and T350c of Cliff Jobson. Qualifying starts at 10:05 with Race One at 14:50 and Race Two at 17:10. The weather's looking good with a forecast of partly cloudy and a high of 20 degrees so why not get along to Snetterton and cheer on your favourite driver. Will Tim Hood dominate again? Will Class C Sam Head maintain his 100% success rate? With just three days remaining now until the start of the "Greatest Race on Earth", the report from our correspondent on Houx campsite is that it is starting to rapidly fill up with TVRs. We are pleased to report that all of the Club's charity cyclists made it to Le Mans in one piece having cycled from Corfe Muullen to Poole and then from Cherbourg to the circuit itself. They are once again raising money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. If you haven't yet left for Le Mans but are travelling tomorrow or friday, have a safe journey. And don't forget to give Daviel Nash in the 1962 Le Mans Grantura a big cheer in the legends race on Saturday morning. Many race fans will know that the racing at Le Mans on the Saturday morning can often be far more exciting to watch than the later and longer race that follows. And what's more, unlike the main race where once again this year there sadly is no TVR to cheer for, we are pleased to confirm that Daniel Nash will be there in the Legends race in the 1962 Le Mans Grantura. Daniel is in Class 3 which is for cars built between 1961-1964 - 2000cc and Below and is up against a Porsche 904, two MGBs, an Alfa TZ1, an Elva GT160 and Lotus Elan although the front runners are expected to be the Class 6 GT40s and Ferraris. The full list of competitors is here. The Legends race starts at 10.15 so plenty of time for breakfast first and still time to find the perfect vantage point. A good place to watch is the Ford chicane where lots of cars get out of shape and there are lots of lurid slides as the cars accelerate out of the last bend onto the start-finish straight. Tim Hood took the chequered flag in both races today at Pembrey in his Sagaris V8. In the first race he lead home fellow Sagaris pilot Steve Glynn in his first race in the new car by over half a lap with class A Tasmin driver Steve Hall in 3rd. In the second, shortened race after a restart, the runner's up position on the podium was taken by Dean Cook ahead of Hugh Marshall, both driving Tuscans. With many regulars missing this round, Class B honours in both races were taken by new boy to the championship TVRCC Track Day co-ordinator Andy Race in the Monster Griffith whilst Class C was won by current series leader Sam Head in a Tasmin. The TVRCC would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Andy Holding and Darren Dowling whose Tuscan finished third overall podium place and first in GT3 class at yesterday's Silverstone GT 90s revival. After a superb start in the first race on Saturday and a huge dice with 2 Porsche GT2 cars over third place, Andy's engine failed which resulted in an overnight engine change for Team Holden. Nevertheless, they certainly held TVR honours high against Ferraris, Porsches Stealths, Venturis , Marcos and Lotus. The second TVR, of Steve Glynn and Tim Hood driving Steve's Tuscan also had a great weekend after a torrid time with reliability during practice whch meant that they had no free practice at all. Despite this, they finished 5th overall in both races taking GT3 class honours on Saturday and finishing 3rd in class on Sunday. Congratulations to all concerned. Remember that you can see most of these drivers in the TVRCC Challenge Cup, the next round of which is this coming weekend at Pembrey.
The 2007 TVR Car Club Challenge Cup/Dunlop Tuscan Challenge kicks off this Saturday where the 2006 competition finished with a double header at Oulton Park in Cheshire. Will TVRCC Competition Secretary and current series champion Graham Walden begin this season with the same consistency that he showed all through 2006, or will he succumb to the power and might of the stunning new Sagaris V8s that have been testing through the winter? Many of last years stars have changed cars and moved up a class including our own TVR Sprint Deputy Editor Howard Bryan who moves from Class C where he took class honours last year in his Tasmin and this year will pilot a Tuscan. We hope to have the full list of competitors for this year's competition on the Motorsport Page in the Members' Area soon - 26 are registered so far - but in the meantime we have the timings for this Saturday for those who are planning to cheer on their favourite drivers. Qualifying is from 0910 until 0925. Race one is due to start at 1300 and race two at 1615. So come on, get along to Oulton and let's get our support behind the TVRCC Challenge Cup drivers. This weekend sees the first round of the 2007 TVRCC Speed Championship which starts on Sunday at North Weald Airfield, Essex. Organised by the Borough 19 Motor Club, North Weald in March is going to be cold - especially noting the forecast of possible snow showers for the eastern half of UK for this weekend - but the Speed Championship always have a good turnout at this one. First practice stars at 0915. Please note though that this is a non-spectator event although it may be possible to gain access by arrangement - please contact series coordinator Steve Cox if interested in attending. For more details about the Speed Championship, click here For the rest of this month, the 1962 Le Mans Grantura, restored between 2000 and 2003, will take pride of place in the main display at Alfred Dunhill in Jermyn Street London. Dunhills have long had an association with motorsport and the car has been loaned to them by its present owner, City Region RO, Daniel Nash. As a result of some overall changes to the BRSCC calendar announced at the Autosport Show, the provisional TVRCC Challenge Cup dates have changed. In short, Silverstone has dropped off the programme, Pembrey has moved into May, and there are additional rounds at Oulton Park in August and Brands Hatch in September. Full details can be found in the Motorsport pages. Please note however that these dates remain provisional.
After 20 rounds spanning the length and breadth of the country, the TVRCC Speed Championship title for 2006, and with it the Colin Parry Cup, goes to Simon Cole. With 199.78 points, the Yorkshire based 350/460 driver took the title from second placed entrant Paul Edwards piloting a T350C by just two points. Third, and leading Class A competitor home, was Steve Dennis in a Vixen S2. Despite starting in 9th place on the 5th row of the grid, it was Andy Holden (Tuscan#6) who took the chequered flag at Oulton Park in the final race of the 2006 Dunlop Tuscan Challenge/TVRCC Challenge Cup today. But the title goes to Graham Walden, who despite finishing in 5th position, managed to hold off the challenge from Marc Hockin to take the title and Class B honours by just 7 points. Thunder Sunday at Rockingham brought two wins out of two for V8 Sagaris driver Tim Hood ahead of Andy Holden and Steve Glynn. In class B, TVRCC Competition secretary Graham Walden took the honours ahead of Marc Hockin and Kevan Gore, whilst in class C victory went once again to TVR Sprint Deputy Editor Howard Bryan.
Congratulations must also go to rookie driver Mark Freeman, who, in his first outing in any form of motorsport, finished both races but despite the official timing showing that he had also set the fastest lap in Class C in his first race, this turned out to be a trick of the timing gear as he had outbraked himslef, gone straight on at a chicane and missed the hairpin thus shaving 18 seconds off his best time! The next opportunity to see the cars in action will be in demonstration runs at Back Home in Blackpool next Saturday. The next race is at Mallory Park on 20 August. Although the detailed results of the third and final race of "Plateau 4" have not yet been posted, the overall results of the Classic Le Mans have and therefore we are delighted to offer our sincerest congratulations to City region RO Daniel Nash for finishing a highly creditable 20th overall from 70 starters in the 1962 Le Mans Grantura. Daniel, together with co-driver and fellow TVRCC member Kingsley Marten, finished with many supposedly much faster cars - including three Porsche 911s, four E Types, five GT40s and a whole bunch of Ferraris - behind him Even his raw position before "compensation" was very respectable in 28th. Sadly it was a disappointing day for fellow TVRCC member Phil Hooper whose Grantura was placed only 61st out of the 70. The "plateau" was won overall by a Lotus Elan driven by Frenchman Jean Marc Merlin. All in all it was a pretty disappointing day for TVR racing. The expected field of 15-17 cars did not materialise for a number of reasons. Cars not ready, one with a serious electrical problem the day before, and problems during testing the previous day. Iain Jones was unable to qualify or race following a blown head gasket. But with joint Class A leader Tim Hood retiring on the first lap, fellow class A leader Darren Dowling racing but not qualifying due to a failed transponder and class B/overall championship leader Marc Hockin also retiring, it left the field wide open. Dean Cook was thus able to claim his first victory in the 2006 Dunlop Tuscan Challenge/TVRCC Challenge Cup. After 2 seasons in the TVRCC Challenge Cup racing a Turbo TVR Tasmin, the partnership of owner/driver Cliff Jobson and Constructors Track Car Solutions Ltd have embarked on a new race car project for the 2007 season, a TVR T350. Having campaigned successfully the current Twin Turbo 24 valve TVR Tasmin and developed it as far as possible within the constraints of the original factory chassis, the team have moved their focus towards its more modern replacement. History has been made at the La Sarthe circuit this weekend with the first ever win in Le Mans by a diesel powered car. After 24 gruelling hours and 380 laps of the 13km circuit, the Joest Audi No 8 of Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner crossed the finishing line 4 laps ahead of second placed No 17 Pescarolo Sport or Eric Helary, Franck Montagny and Sebastian Loeb. Third was the second Joest Audi. |
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