As I put this bulletin together we were 5 weeks away from our first meeting of the 2023 season. It sounds like there’s plenty of time to get your cars ready but the time will soon evaporate so crack on with your preparations. A strong competitive grid will get our season off to a great start at Silverstone!
More about Tyres
The last Paddock Bulletin focused on tyre arrangements for the 2023 season, but it is important to note that our sponsorship contract with Yokohama is for one year only, and looking forward beyond this season there will be issues to resolve and decisions to be made. Taking a wider perspective for a moment, Avon Tyres’ parent company Goodyear has been in public consultation for some time now about possibly withdrawing from the UK race tyre business altogether. A decision has still not been made but if this does go ahead it will have a significant effect on tyre availability throughout UK Club Motorsport, not just those championships and series that currently use Avon tyres. Goodyear is committed to fulfilling all existing contract agreements but beyond that is still an unknown.
A few years ago we switched the Twin Spark Cup control tyre from Toyo to Yokohama and the change has proved positive. At the time the A048 tyre proved quicker than the Toyo equivalent tyre and durability was roughly the same. New lap records were frequently set which always gives a driver kudos; however, the A048 tyre will almost certainly be unavailable to us from 2024 onwards and restricted availability has already led to the 750 Motor Club’s Classic Stock Hatch, Clio Sport, Cup 200, and Ma7da moving across to the Toyo 888R tyre. We will need to review the options available and aim to test those options and make decisions for 2024 by mid season, not just between the Toyo 888R and Yokohama 052 but other makes could also come into play.
Driver and Car Update
We now have 24 drivers registered for the 2023 season with more known to be still to come. The most recent registrations have come in from Roger Evans (147 GTA V6 class), James Ford (TS Cup 156) and Ian Stapleton (GTV6). Ian tells me that his car hasn’t turned a wheel since 2018 so no doubt some refettling will be needed but it’s a great pleasure to welcome him back. Ian was a regular competitor between 1999 and 2008 and last raced with us in 2014 when outright race victories accrued to him with ease. The last time I saw him race it was at Brands Festival Italia not long after that in an Invitation race when he trounced the entire field including some very quick Ferraris and club motorsport legend Rod Birley. His car? A GTV6 powered by a supercharged 3.8 litre V6….
Here are the registrations up to 24th March:
MODIFIED CLASS
- Richard Ford Giulia Veloce
- Scott Austin 156 2.0Turbo
- Riccardo Losselli MiTO 404
- Barry McMahon 156 1750 tbi
- Mike Hilton 4C
- Mark Skeggs GTV 3.2
- Jamie Thwaites Giulietta TCR
- Andy Page Giulietta 116 Turbo
- Daniel Wood 164 3.2
- Keith Waite 75
- Gareth Haywood GTV 3.2 s/ch
- Ian Stapleton GTV6 3.8 s/ch
V6 CLASS
- Gabriele Iaccarino GT
- Tom Hill GT
- Roger Evans 147 GTA
POWER TROPHY
- Mark Sullivan Alfasud
- Tom Waite 33
- Emma Karwacki Giulietta 1.4T
TWIN SPARK CUP
- Stacey Dennis 147
- Andreas Georgiou 156
- Adrian Norman 147
- Toby Broome 156
- Simon Cresswell 156
- James Ford 156
If you haven’t yet registered get your entries in!! We know you’re out there….Grid numbers are critical for us this year.
End of an Era
Bryan Shrubb has raced in the Alfa Championship in 23 of the last 30 seasons, initially I believe in a 75, but for the most part in the BLS Automotive 16 valve 33 with its distinctive orange livery and Bryan’s number 25 on the doors. The car is a real high revving screamer always superbly prepared and presented by Tom Shrubb and the rest of the BLS team.
Bryan himself is a top driver and has proved himself capable time and time again of beating cars that were much quicker in a straight line, optimising the braking and handling capabilities of the car to great effect. Cadwell was his home track for most of those 30 years and he was superb around the many twists, turns and gradients of that tricky circuit.
I suppose that all good things must come to an end, however, and the car was put up for sale a few months ago. Very recently it was sold to someone based in Europe, so it looks unlikely that we’ll see it back competing with us again which is a great shame… but c’est la vie. As for Bryan himself he’s too good a driver not to be racing so hopefully we might see him back competing with us in something else at some point who knows?
Anyway, here’s a big thank you to Bryan, Tom and the team for many great performances and great memories!
ARCA Flags
We have recently splashed out on a pair of very nice ARCA-badged teardrop type flags with water filled bases which should improve our visibility and ‘presence’ at circuits. Our thanks go to Alan Bunter (himself a racer in the 750 Formula) and his team at Remous Print who also supply the 750 Motor Club.
Andy Robinson – Championship Coordinator