After much deliberation and talks with the Motorbase Performance Team, Jackson has decided to follow his passion and take on a new challenge in the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship. Previous winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup Pro Am Championship in 2010 and points scorer in every race he has ever contested during his previous two years in the Championship, Jackson has always held fond memories of the series and was keen to make a return to experience the new era of 992 GT3 Cup car.

“I have had a great time in BTCC with Motorbase over the last 4 seasons, both with Mr Bartrum and latterly the Osborne family, achieving my lifelong dreams of standing on the BTCC podium and winning races. Motorbase are a fantastic team, I’ve made many lifelong friends and they have provided me with great cars and great opportunities, but it was time for a change. I am supportive of the introduction of electrification into the sport, but the changes brought about by the Hybrid system just haven’t suited me.”

“Additionally, alongside my racing I do have a full-time job as Chief Engineer for Controlled Braking Technology at Alcon, as well as growing responsibilities within Mountune and other Motorsport related businesses I am involved in. Racing in BTCC and the unique commitments that surround it, requires time as well as a level of intensity and focus that I was going to struggle to reconcile with what is going to be a busy year ahead at work for me.

“Midway through last season I openly discussed my need for a new challenge with Pete, we worked through some potential plans together that included a switch to a rear wheel drive car within the team or a change to endurance racing however, after considering several options, I feel the Porsche and the overall package it provides is the one that really excites me to go racing again. For me the enjoyment in racing comes from the feeling I get from the car on track and the challenge in myself, yes results are a bonus, but first and foremost it’s simply about enjoying each and every race.”

“I am incredibly lucky to have the most loyal sponsors who fully support me in my decision and who will be making the transition with me, along with a few new brands that I am delighted to have on board and be working with.”

“Pete Osborne and Motorbase have been extremely supportive of my decision, and we will continue to not only be great friends but work together closely through my role in Mountune who supply Napa Racing with the Ford EcoBoost engine. I wish Napa Racing and Mountune the very best of luck for the forthcoming season, I will certainly be cheering them on from the paddock.”

Pete Osborne, Motorbase Performance Team Owner added: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Ollie over the last few years, and it’s a real shame to see him leave the team as he’s been a big part of it for so long. Ollie and his family have been with, and around, Motorbase for many years with Porsche as well as the BTCC and we’ve enjoyed some great times together. We worked on a few alternative programmes which would have kept Ollie in the Motorbase family and maybe we’ll see him return to a Motorbase car again in the near future. For now, we wish Ollie all the best in his plans back in the Porsche paddock. We will continue to enjoy his involvement in the team in his role with Mountune, who continue to supply our BTCC engines.”

Further details on Jackson’s drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship will follow in due course.

The post Jackson departs BTCC appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Mitchell, who lives in Wrotham a stone’s throw from Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship team Motorbase’s headquarters, qualified fourth fastest in his JWB Motorsport-run MINI and stormed to second place in race one, just 0.8 seconds shy of the win.

Adding a third place result in race two, having started the contest on the front row, Mitchell then took his second runner-up finish of the event in the last race of the year and was a mere 0.2 seconds away from victory – taking his podium tally for the season into double figures, including four wins.

Team-mate and fellow Motorbase Driver Academy racer Jamie Osborne claimed a top three Rookie class finish in the opening encounter, 14th overall, and then took a weekend best of 12th position overall and third in the Rookies again in race two.

Unfortunately, race three wasn’t as fruitful and a tougher encounter ended with seventh in the Rookie class and 20th in the overall classification. Osborne’s maiden season in MINI racing concluded with him sixth in the Rookie Cup standings.

Harri Reynolds’ bid for third place in the Ginetta Junior Championship standings sadly didn’t go to plan over the course of a vexing final event of the season. Qualifying fourth and looking well placed to battle for more podiums, he was unfortunately disqualified from the opening race having taken the flag in sixth.

Lining-up third on the grid for race two, Reynolds had to settle for an eighth place finish and after not contesting the third and final encounter he concluded the championship in fourth position for Assetto Motorsport. Over the course of 2022, Reynolds took 12 podiums including three wins.

In the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship, JTR-run NAPA Racing UK backed driver Hugo Ellis experienced a nightmarish end to an otherwise strong season when he was wiped-out in the opening race at Graham Hill Bend. He had qualified eighth in the Pro-Am class and the incident also ruled him out of the second encounter. He ended the season fifth in the Pro-Am standings.

Pete Osborne – Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal:
“We were delighted to see Jack take a clean sweep of podiums at Brands over the weekend, so close to a couple of wins, but it’s been a great season for him in MINI. Jamie has shown some fantastic promise and has had some real standout performances, and he raced well again this weekend on the GP track which is a proper test of a driver’s abilities.

“Unfortunately for Harri and Hugo their respective challenges didn’t end as planned in Juniors and Porsche, but it’s been a very impressive year for both of them and there have been some fantastic highlights. It’s been a real delight supporting such talented young racers in the Motorbase Driver Academy this year, we can’t wait for 2023 now!”

The post BRANDS GP PODIUM HAT-TRICK SECURES ACADEMY RACER MITCHELL THIRD IN MINI STANDINGS appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Renowned as the biggest and best celebration of all things motorsport and automotive, with north of 200,000 spectators visiting the West Sussex festival each and every year, Goodwood FOS is an event like no other.

Attending this year’s festival in the grounds of Goodwood House on the first two days, Thursday, 23rd June, and Friday, 24th June, Cammish – one of four drivers from the BTCC to be part of the 2022 event – will be the only representative from the championship to take to the Hillclimb course.

Driving a fully-fledged, NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST touring car – prepared and engineered, of course, by Motorbase Performance – Cammish will take to Goodwood Hill on both Thursday and Friday. Additionally, he will take part in all of Kwik Fit’s official activities including special Q&A sessions, autograph sessions and interviews.

After completing his duties at Goodwood, Cammish will make the 300-mile journey north to Croft Circuit near Darlington for the fifth race meeting of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season which takes place that weekend, 25th/26th June.

Meanwhile, NAPA Racing UK’s Ford Focus ST will remain at Goodwood over the weekend and will continue to be run up the hill in the capable hands of NAPA Racing UK’s Lewis Selby, no mean competitor himself in the Mini Se7en Racing Club.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a fantastic opportunity for all of us involved to be representing the BTCC at Goodwood Festival of Speed. It truly is one of the best motorsport and general automotive events in the world, so to have been invited is an honour. I only wish we could all be there for the duration of the event, but we will be leaving the car in safe hands for the remainder of the weekend while we continue our BTCC championship challenge up at Croft.”

Lewis Selby – NAPA Racing UK:
“NAPA Racing UK is very excited to be playing an important role in this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed as part of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship presence. The event is phenomenal, one of a kind in the motorsport and the automotive sector, and the spectator attendance is huge year-on-year. We’re looking forward to seeing Dan driving the Ford Focus ST up the hill on the first two days of the event and, personally, I’m very much looking forward to getting behind the wheel myself on the Saturday and Sunday. We can’t wait to see plenty of fans there!”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK Driver:
“It’s going to be fantastic representing Kwik Fit, BTCC and NAPA Racing UK at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year, I’m really looking forward to it over what will be an incredibly busy few days. We have lots planned with Kwik Fit for the Thursday and Friday and it really should be an absolute blast, especially driving the NAPA Racing UK Ford Focus ST up the hill.

“To be the only current BTCC driver going up the hill this year truly is a privilege. Then it will be full racing mindset and the long journey up to Croft on Friday evening for the BTCC event. It really will be four very packed days, but I can’t wait!”

The post NAPA RACING UK’S CAMMISH READY TO TAKE ON FAMOUS HILLCLIMB AT GOODWOOD FOS appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Fifth fastest in qualifying at the Hampshire speedbowl on Saturday, 28th May, just 0.055 seconds shy of the second row, Sutton started round seven well and moved up into third by the time the field exited the complex. Soaking up pressure well race-long, he sealed his second podium of the season.

From third on the grid in round eight, the reigning BTCC Champion challenged for second into Allard before settling into third where he remained. Beginning round nine from fifth, Sutton moved up into fourth on lap one and then third on the second tour. Repelling big pressure mid-race, he pulled away to seal third again – thinking better of a late bid for second at the chicane on the final lap.

Conversely, team-mate Dan Cammish endured a nightmarish raceday after things had begun very well in qualifying with the third fastest time – a mere 0.081 seconds shy of pole. His hopes in round seven were ended midway around the opening lap when his Ford Focus ST was barged off the track. After making it back to the pits, he rejoined and finished in 25th and only just missed the fastest lap.

Facing a tough challenge in round eight from the 13th row of the grid, Cammish worked his way through into an 18th place finish. In the final encounter, though, more contact – this time at the chicane on lap 10 – meant a finish of 20th position. Truly a weekend of what might have been.

Sam Osborne raced to his first outright championship point of the season for Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan in round nine, a very hard-fought and competitive drive from 23rd on the grid into the top 15.

Frustratingly missing out on a potential starting slot inside the top 15 for race one, after being baulked in qualifying by a car slowly exiting the chicane, Osborne began round seven in 22nd position and finished in 19th place. In round eight, an unfortunate drive-through penalty limited Osborne to 24th position.

Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan team-mate Ollie Jackson encountered a vexing weekend, starting with retirement from round seven due to power issues. Meaning a required engine change for round eight, the Motorbase mechanics worked impressively and got Jackson’s Ford Focus ST into the second race with a handful of laps remaining – enabling him to bed the car in for round nine.

Starting the last race at the back of the grid in 28th place, Jackson produced a solid performance to gain no fewer than 10 positions and conclude the last encounter in 18th place – bringing a positive conclusion to the Thruxton event.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a weekend of highs and lows! It was an absolutely fantastic weekend for Ash with a podium in all three races, and especially to get the result in race three with a great drive. That keeps him in a great position in the championship. Unfortunately, after a mega effort in qualifying, Dan’s weekend was blown apart on lap one in the first race – it’s really difficult to come back through at Thruxton, even more so with some questionable driving by some others on the grid! But Dan had the front runners’ pace all weekend which is rewarding, but also even more frustrating at the same time.

“Much like Dan, Ollie and Sam both had a case of could have been this weekend. Sam ended up being out of position on the grid because his qualifying efforts were ruined through no fault of his own and Ollie suffered a bizarre issue in race one which cost him a weekend of results. They will all bounce back at Oulton I’m sure, the car was another step forward as we continue to develop and learn with the new Hybrid era.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“I enjoyed that one [race three], I felt at one with the car – the car was really good, another podium! I didn’t know what to expect, we made a couple of changes and it was the right way for sure. If we can roll over what we’ve been learning this weekend, and coming into this weekend, and maybe do a bit more of that then we are going in the right direction. So, I’m looking forward to Oulton Park. It’s attacking, it’s my style, so hopefully we can get the car dialled in.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“What can you say about a weekend like that? If it could go wrong it did, but that’s racing sometimes and no matter what you do you get caught-up in other people’s incidents. It’s frustrating as we were quick in qualifying, so close to pole for race one, but the races were obviously a disaster. It makes us more determined than ever though to hit back stronger at Oulton Park in a couple of weeks, I hope we can have better luck there.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“It’s been another tough one for us, we made some progress in practice but as soon as I had to retire from race one it was game over for the weekend really. I have to say a huge thank you to the team for getting the engine changed between races one and two, it was a fantastic effort and we were able to run the car ahead of race three where, to be fair, we had a decent run. Hopefully at Oulton we can finally put the bad luck behind us.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“We had a bit of a mission on our hands, we should’ve been P13 in qualifying if I hadn’t been blocked on my best lap coming out of the chicane – so we ended up starting race one in the danger zone! We were ringing everything out of the car we could, it was hard work out there, and although we went the wrong way for race three I worked with the tools I had and it was good to finish in the points. It’s been a tough day in the office, but we are making steps in the right direction.”

There is only a fortnight to wait until the BTCC arrives at Oulton Park Island Circuit in Cheshire for the fourth event of the season, over the weekend 11th/12th June.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
2nd Ash Sutton, 116pts; 13th Dan Cammish, 41pts; 20th Ollie Jackson, 6pts; 23rd Sam Osborne, 1pt

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 222pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
3rd NAPA Racing UK, 158pts; 12th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 10pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 105pts

The post PODIUM HAT-TRICK FOR NAPA RACING UK’S SUTTON AT ULTRA-FAST THRUXTON appeared first on Alliance Racing.

In particular, Valvoline VR1 engine oil will be used in the Mountune powerplants of the team’s Ford Focus ST cars with Valvoline fluids also utilised in the gearboxes. Established in 1866 in the USA, Valvoline is a leading worldwide marketer and supplier of premium branded lubricants and automotive services – with sales in more than 140 countries globally.

At the cutting edge of motor oil technology, from creating the X-18 motor oil in 1939 through to MaxLife high-mileage motor oil in 2000, innovation is at the core of Valvoline’s operations. Notably, when the Ford Motor Company’s Model T was first mass produced in 1920, each car was filled with Valvoline motor oil before it rolled off the production line.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“We’re absolutely delighted to welcome such a great technical partnership between Motorbase and Valvoline. To have such a big brand in the oil industry, with the experience and history they have, behind us and working with our technical team is fantastic.

“In pre-season testing both on track and on the dyno we’ve been working closely with Valvoline with a variety of their lubricants to further improve the performance and longevity of our components, particularly in the power train, with great results. With such close margins in the BTCC I feel Valvoline will be a very important feature to our BTCC campaign this season and beyond and we’re looking forward to growing our relationship with their team.”

Mike McCabe – Marketing Director at Valvoline Europe:
“This new relationship with Motorbase Performance spearheads a new and exciting era for our brand in Europe. High performance cars place extreme demands on engine lubricants, coolants and racing fluids. To return to UK racing with a championship winning team such as Motorbase Performance, and their current NAPA Racing UK and APEC Racing with Beavis Morgan teams, is a great honour. As current team and driver champions in NASCAR, we hope our expertise and technical partnership will help drive Motorbase Performance to success here in the UK.”

Following both free practice sessions at Thruxton tomorrow, Saturday, 28th May, qualifying will take place at 15.20. All three races will be contested on Sunday, 29th May, with round seven at 11.40, round eight at 14.40 and round nine at 17.20. All three races will be screened live on ITV4, while qualifying and the race action will also be streamed live online at www.itv.com/btcc

The post VALVOLINE AND MOTORBASE ENTER NEW TECHNICAL PARTNERSHIP appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Hot on the heels of his first trophy haul of the season at a wet Brands Hatch just over a week ago, where he achieved excellent third and second place finishes in rounds four and five, NAPA Racing UK’s Dan Cammish is focused on maintaining the impetus and rising further up the points table.

Last year, of course, Cammish was a podium finisher at Thruxton during a one-off BTCC outing prior to beginning his, ultimately successful, Porsche Carrera Cup GB title bid. Back in April, he ended the official pre-season ‘Media Day’ test at the ultra-fast Hampshire track inside the top six.

NAPA Racing UK team-mate Ash Sutton, who was quickest of all during the pre-season visit to Thruxton, goes into the third event of the season holding third position in the driver standings and determined to be back on the podium, as he was at Donington Park during the season curtain-raiser.

Qualifying maladies led to a very challenging raceday at Brands Hatch last time out, but the reigning champion showed his class and quality with three superb drives. Charging from 18th on the grid to a terrific ninth in race one, he climbed from ninth to fourth in race two and added sixth in race three.

Ollie Jackson and Sam Osborne go into rounds seven, eight and nine of the BTCC season aiming to put together a consistently strong weekend in their Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan hybrid powered Ford Focus ST cars.

Last season Thruxton was the venue for the championship opener and it proved a successful event for the team-mates, Jackson claiming a best of ninth position and Osborne taking his best result yet in touring cars with a strong top 12. More of the same, or indeed even better, will be the target just a few days from now.

Going into this weekend’s action in Hampshire, Motorbase/Ford holds second place in the BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship while the squad’s NAPA Racing UK entry is second in the BTCC Teams Championship.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“After a strong weekend at Brands last time out we’re confident of some more strong results at Thruxton. We had a good test there earlier in the year at the season launch, so hopefully we can build on that. There’s another interesting weekend in store as we all continue to learn how to maximise the Hybrid for this year and we’re all learning it together throughout the grid.

“Thruxton is a circuit which requires us to manage tyre wear probably more than any other circuit we visit, so it’s always a challenge for the teams as well as the drivers. The weather could also throw a spanner in the works like Brands, but we’ll have to wait and see what the wonderful British weather delivers on the day!”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“I’m looking forward to going to Thruxton this weekend, it’s always a mega track to race around. Since Brands Hatch we’ve been working hard to see if we can progress the car forward and address the balance issues we’ve had – I’m confident we’ll get on top of it. We had good pace at the season launch and the Focus seemed pretty hooked-up there, so I’d like to think we’ll be in the mix. Making in-roads on the top two and picking up some more silverware is the aim.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“I’m really excited to get going at Britain’s fastest race track, I always love racing at Thruxton and the challenge it provides. You need to be as one with the car to find the lap time there, the balance must be right and you’ve got to have confidence to push the limits through the fast stuff like at no other track we visit with the BTCC. Brands was obviously good for us, a strong response from the first round at Donington, so I’m hoping to continue that momentum and further climb the points table.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“Challenges on the BTCC calendar don’t come much bigger than Thruxton and I’m really looking forward to being back there. It’s a fantastic track, the racing is as exciting as it gets, and it’s the kind of circuit which really does reward bravery and commitment. Brands was a mixed weekend for us after we went the wrong way with the set-up initially, so I’m hoping we can start off on the front foot this weekend and build from there to battle for some great results.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“Thruxton is always a big challenge and a unique one as well, you really do need a good car under you to give you the confidence to push – especially with so much of the lap flat out. It’s been a mixed start to the season for us but we’re working hard on moving forward with the set-up and I’m really hoping to push towards the top 10. Last season at Thruxton we had a good run to 12th place so I’m focused on trying to repeat that and really push on.”

Following the free practice sessions at Thruxton on Saturday, 28th May, qualifying – which will be streamed live online at the www.itv.com/btcc website – will begin at 15.20. On Sunday, 29th May, round seven will start at 11.40, round eight at 14.40 and round nine at 17.20. All three races will be screened live on ITV4.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 71pts; 11th Dan Cammish, 41pts; 19th Ollie Jackson, 6pts; No Score – Sam Osborne

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 151pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
2nd NAPA Racing UK, 113ts; 12th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 8pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 69pts

The post MOTORBASE AIMING TO MOUNT STRONG THRUXTON CHALLENGE appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Added to a double podium for Motorbase’s NAPA Racing UK driver Dan Cammish in the headline Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, in the supporting Ginetta Junior Championship points leader Reynolds further increased his advantage at the top of the table with two podiums.

After racing to fifth place, from ninth on the grid, in a dry round four on Saturday, Reynolds secured third place in round five later in the day. On Sunday, in slippery damp conditions, he bagged his third victory of the season with Assetto Motorsport and now leads the standings by 12 points.

Mitchell, driving for JWB Motorsport in the MINI CHALLENGE, stormed to pole position in qualifying for round four and converted it into a lights-to-flag win on Saturday – his first. Although slipping to fourth at the start of a damp round five on Sunday, Mitchell battled back to make it two consecutive victories. Unfortunately, round six delivered a non-finish after contact late-on from a rival.

Team-mates Jamie Osborne and Ru Clark didn’t enjoy such a fruitful weekend sadly, with the former taking a best finish of 14th position in the red-flagged wet sixth round – fifth in the Rookies. Race one brought an unfortunate non-finish, but Osborne battled through the order to 20th overall in race two.

Clark faced a monumental challenge after problems in qualifying meant he had to begin round four from the back of the grid in 30th position. Impressing with a great drive to 16th place, he followed Osborne home in round five in 21st spot but a tough finale ended with 23rd position.

Porsche Carrera Cup GB driver Hugo Ellis produced a sensational qualifying performance in his JTR run NAPA Racing UK car, claiming his maiden Pro-Am pole position in fifth overall – a mere 0.107 seconds shy of the outright pole.

Round three on Sunday started dry but when rain arrived, several drivers encountered difficulties and the race was red flagged. After the resumption, drivers having been able to change to treaded tyres in the meantime, Ellis eventually finished his first wet race 21st overall and seventh in Pro-Am. In round four, Ellis took his second Pro-Am podium after charging to third place in class, 14th overall.

At Warden Law Kart Club, teenager Alfie Garford prepared for this weekend’s second round of the Wera Tools British Karting Championship at the Sunderland venue by competing in the third round of the LGM series.

Having never visited Warden Law previously, Garford spent much of the weekend learning the track and the Heats produced a mixed bag of results – fourth in the opener, 21st place in the second Heat after a collision and then 14th place in the third Heat. Starting the Final 16th out of 42 competitors, after slipping back early on he fought through to 10th place with times a match for the top four.

Pete Osborne – Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal:
“Harri and Jack go from strength to strength in Ginetta Junior and MINI, they both performed superbly at Brands Hatch. It was great to see Harri take his third win of the year, and enhance his championship lead, and brilliant to see Jack take his first two wins in the MINIs. Jamie and Ru had a mixed weekend unfortunately, in difficult conditions, but I know they’ll both bounce back.

“In the dry qualifying for the Porsches, Hugo’s pace was sensational – taking Pro-Am pole was great but to only be a tenth off the outright pole was fantastic. After an unlucky race one, it was good he got back on the podium in race two. Alfie made some good preparations up at Warden Law for the second round of the British Championship this weekend too, we’ll be watching with interest!”

The post ACADEMY DRIVERS REYNOLDS AND MITCHELL WIN AT BRANDS appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Taking his first podium result for the Motorbase Performance-run squad in a damp fourth round, Cammish – who had qualified eighth fastest and just 0.2 seconds shy of pole – finished in a terrific third place.

Going one better in a slippery round five, Cammish raced to second position and was tantalisingly just 0.2 seconds shy of the victory. He wrapped up the second weekend of the BTCC season with another top 10 in the finale.

Ash Sutton overturned a very tough qualifying to secure a great haul of points on raceday and maintain third in the championship, beginning by storming through from 18th on the grid to finish an impressive ninth in race one.

The reigning champion then moved through from ninth to fourth place in the second contest, another very strong drive, and then took sixth in round six to round-out a positive raceday. NAPA Racing UK was the top scoring entrant in round five and Motorbase and Ford were the winning manufacturer and constructor.

Ollie Jackson achieved a pair of points results with a season-best 14th for the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan entry in round five, having started 23rd on the grid as per his round four result, before bettering it with a very competitive top 12 finish in round six.

In the sister Ford Focus, Osborne took the flag in race one just behind Jackson in 24th spot and improved in race two with a top 20 finish. Racing well in the third encounter, Osborne was into 18th position by lap seven and after some mid-race position changing he reclaimed the place.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“What a weekend! After a difficult qualifying session, the team worked wonders to make the cars as competitive as we were all day on Sunday. I’m especially pleased for Dan, in tricky conditions, he had a fantastic day moving forward from his grid spot in every race and was so close to the win in race two.

“Those conditions are always hard for the drivers and engineers, we’re forced to make difficult, late decisions because of the unpredictable weather. Then the crew have to work super-fast to make the relevant changes, not to mention the drivers who then have to drive a strategic race to look after their tyres and predict whether or not the track is going to dry more or if it’s going to rain again. Throughout the team and throughout the day our whole team did this brilliantly and fully deserve the trophies we won including the Teams’ trophy – always a nice one to win.”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“I was really pleased with race one, it was a tough old race – seeing how it ebbed and flowed – and it’s about the third time I’ve been at Brands Indy where conditions are flipping on a coin. We had more dry bias in the car and it just got better and better. It was a similar story in race two, three quarters of the race we were hanging in there and suddenly my car switched on. It really was like a switch flicked, with one more lap I think that could’ve been my win. It’s fantastic to get two podiums and some points on the board for my championship, this is the start of my season.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“Considering where we were after qualifying on Saturday I’m pretty happy to come away with three top 10 finishes and still sitting third in the championship. I’d say we were helped a little bit by the weather on Sunday, but the car certainly felt better and I was able to make progress in all three races. Next, we’re off to Thruxton and I’m looking forward to seeing how we get on there. I think the hybrid deployment and its impact will be quite interesting. The car should be strong there – it certainly was at the Season Launch – so I’m confident we can get amongst it.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“It’s good to get some points this weekend. To be fair, the biggest problem we had was we went the wrong way with the set-up in qualifying and for race one. I switched closer to Dan’s set-up for race two, as that obviously worked, and it was much better. The track conditions were pretty consistent lap to lap in each race really, the resurfaced area of track was a lot grippier but it didn’t seem like anybody’s car worked on both. Some were stronger on the newer bits, some on the older parts.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“The conditions were tough, it’s been a tough weekend overall to be honest. As the track gripped up we kind of started losing the front, that’s something we’ve been struggling with, and so we haven’t been able to get the power down. It’s been a tricky weekend so we’ll have to regroup now and have a think on how we can move forward, I know the guys in the team will put us in the right direction.”

Hampshire’s Thruxton Circuit will host the first of two visits by the BTCC this year a fortnight from now, over the weekend 28th/29th May, for rounds seven, eight and nine of the 2022 season.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 71pts; 11th Dan Cammish, 41pts; 19th Ollie Jackson, 6pts; No Score – Sam Osborne

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 151pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
2nd NAPA Racing UK, 113pts; 12th Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 8pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
4th Sam Osborne, 69pts

The post MORE TROPHIES FOR MOTORBASE AND NAPA RACING UK AT RAIN-HIT BRANDS HATCH appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Striving to highlight the significance of mental health awareness as part of its participation in the country’s premier motor racing category, the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, Motorbase is utilising its platform to support the promotion of mental health causes.

Mental Health Awareness Week, which began this past Monday and runs until Sunday, 15th May, is a key date on the calendar for one of the UK’s most serious health challenges and this year the focus of the awareness week is to help tackle loneliness and the wider issues associated with it.

Figures show one in four adults feel lonely some or all of the time, with no single cause, but neither is there any one solution. The longer loneliness persists, the greater the risk of mental health problems surfacing and arising, and so Mental Health Awareness Week – which is led by the Mental Health Foundation – has been aiming to highlight practical steps to avert problems developing.

To discover more, visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week where the Mental Health Foundation explores everything to do with loneliness – why it matters, what it feels like and ways in which individuals and society as a whole can respond.

This season in the BTCC, of course, Motorbase driver Sam Osborne – son of team owner Pete – is competing as No.77 in the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan entry in memory of late racing driver Tom Walker, who tragically took his own life in 2018 and raced as No.77 in the VW Cup.

Prior to the current campaign, Sam raced with a ‘77’ decal on his car in remembrance and to also show support and he continues to do so on the rear of his Ford Focus ST – a message reading #77TomWalker – along with a decal supporting mental health charity Mind.

Pete’s other son Jamie, who drives in BTCC feeder category the MINI CHALLENGE, is also racing as No.77 this year and the family as a whole is determined to do as much as possible to highlight awareness of mental health challenges and the variety of struggles people face.

Pete Osborne – Motorbase Performance Team Owner and Team Principal:
“As a team we place a huge amount of importance on mental health awareness, particularly with our links to Tom [Walker] who I used to sponsor in the VW Cup, and so I am very proud Motorbase is supporting such a vital cause. Mental Health Awareness Week is incredibly important to help highlight the serious difficulties so many people face, and the support networks which are available.

“People need to be able to talk, to share their feelings and concerns without being judged, and anything we can do at Motorbase to promote this and to provide support we will do. You never know the struggles people might be facing, even if they seem happy on the outside, so I really do hope we can help to bring that to light and do our bit to assist in some way.”

This weekend, the BTCC and MINI CHALLENGE will both be in action at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit in Kent – Motorbase’s home track. All three BTCC races, which will feature Motorbase’s NAPA Racing UK drivers Ash Sutton and Dan Cammish and Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan racers Sam Osborne and Ollie Jackson, will be live on television.

Round four will begin at 11.30 on ITV4, round five at 14.10 on the main ITV channel and round six will start at 16.15, back on ITV4.

The post MOTORBASE HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORT DURING MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK appeared first on Alliance Racing.

Achieving a podium finish with NAPA Racing UK driver Ash Sutton at Donington Park on the reigning champion’s maiden race weekend with the team, the target now for the Motorbase prepared squad is to mount a sustained challenge for trophies on home ground just a few days from now.

Based in Wrotham, less than four miles door-to-door from Brands Hatch, the team has already shown the potency of its quartet of hybrid powered Ford Focus ST cars with one-lap qualifying pace particularly noteworthy.

Since Donington, work has been ongoing to unlock more pace from race set-ups and to also prolong the performance from the Goodyear tyres and the team is quietly confident of a step forward at the 1.2-mile Indy Circuit.

Sutton goes into the second event of the season third in the overall championship after a very good start to the defence of his third BTCC title, his first season back in front-wheel drive since his BTCC debut back in 2016. Fourth in round one and then sixth in round two, he wrapped-up the Donington weekend with second place in the final contest.

Dan Cammish, of course, experienced wildly contrasting fortunes to those of team-mate Sutton during the curtain-raiser. Having shown strong pace in practice, a dramatic fire in qualifying – caused by a split fuel line – threatened to end his involvement there and then. Outstanding work overnight by the Motorbase mechanics got Cammish on track for raceday, where he took a best of 13th place.

Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan driver Sam Osborne will be hoping to replicate the terrific qualifying performance he delivered at Donington, where he lapped within 0.7 seconds of pole and only 0.2 seconds shy of the top 10. Racing to a best finish of 17th, his weekend impacted by throttle issues, Osborne is aiming higher this coming Sunday.

Team-mate Ollie Jackson is determined to bounce back as well as possible from a frustrating opening weekend where two non-finishes, the result of a software glitch impacting the throttle system, cost potential points results. In race three Jackson did post a finish in 19th but, let’s not forget, he is a former podium finisher at Brands.

Rounds four and six this coming Sunday will be broadcast live on ITV4 as usual, with online streaming at the www.itv.com/btcc website, while round five will be screened live on the flagship ITV channel.

Oly Collins – Motorbase Performance Team Manager:
“We love coming to Brands, it’ basically racing in our back yard! Being our home circuit, we know the track really well and it’s the first circuit we tested the 2022 car on this year so everything is familiar. Unfortunately, this won’t give us an advantage as much as we would like it to. Expectation is high in the camp this year, but so is the competition! As expected, Donington was a tightly fought weekend and it will continue to be all year as usual. Ash is sitting in a nice position in P3 in the championship but, let’s face it, that’s two spots away from where we want to be this year.

“All four drivers came away from round one with a bunch of positives but some weren’t transferred into results through no fault of their own. Now we aim to build on those positives this weekend and get some more silverware in the cabinet. Brands is a very different circuit to Donington, certainly with regard to Hybrid deployment, and we’ll also get to see the effects of the Hybrid restrictions in qualifying for the first time, it will be interesting to see how that plays out this weekend.”

Ash Sutton – NAPA Racing UK, No.1:
“Donington Park was very much a weekend of learning and to come away with a podium at the end of it was a real reward for the team and a step in the right direction. Heading to Brands Hatch we’ve been able to dig into the data and hopefully we can unlock even more from the pace. I always enjoy driving Brands, it’s a mega circuit and always produces great racing. It’s going to be interesting to see how the hybrid deployment plays its part in qualifying – I’m looking forward to getting there!”

Dan Cammish – NAPA Racing UK, No.9:
“Our season starts here really, after the dramas of Donington! I’ve got to say again what an incredible job everybody at NAPA Racing UK and Motorbase did to get me on the grid after the qualifying fire, it really was an amazing effort. I’ve enjoyed a lot of success at Brands in the past and I know the team has been working double-hard to extract as much as we can from the Ford Focus, so I’m really looking forward to being back there and, hopefully, challenging for our first podiums.”

Ollie Jackson – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.48:
“I always love racing at Brands, it’s a great challenge and is obviously my home track and also the team’s home venue so I’m looking forward to a strong weekend. Donington was a tough start to the year for us with the software issue, just one of those things unfortunately, but all of the boys worked so hard. I’m hoping to reward them with some good results on Sunday, we’ll be pushing hard to get some good points in the Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan car.”

Sam Osborne – Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, No.77:
“Brands can’t come soon enough to be honest, I’m really excited for the weekend and taking a lot of positivity forward after we showed such good pace in qualifying and the races at Donington. In terms of the results there we didn’t come away with what we wanted, but the overall performance was strong and so we’ve got a lot to build on at the weekend. If we can qualify as well again, I’m sure we can put together three strong races.”

Free practice at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit will start at 09.30 on Saturday, 14th May, with session two following at 12.05 ahead of qualifying – which will be streamed live online at the www.itv.com/btcc website – at 15.50. On Sunday, 15th May, round four is set to commence at 11.30, round five will start at 14.10 and round six will begin at 16.15.

2022 BTCC Drivers Championship
3rd Ash Sutton, 40pts; 17th Dan Cammish, 3pts; Ollie Jackson/Sam Osborne, 0pts

2022 BTCC Manufacturers/Constructors Championship
2nd Motorbase Performance/Ford, 69pts

2022 BTCC Teams Championship
4th NAPA Racing UK, 44pts; Apec Racing with Beavis Morgan, 0pts

2022 Jack Sears Trophy
5th Sam Osborne, 35pts

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