Tyre brand Maxxis is the current title sponsor of the ACU British Motocross Championship – in addition to sponsoring several teams individually – and has pronounced itself delighted to see more close racing when the third round of the Championship took place at the sandy Cadders Hill circuit in in Lyng, Norfolk on 17 April. Maxxis also said its sponsored teams put in “a strong showing to deliver some solid top ten finishes”.
Title-sponsor Maxxis reports that the 2011 Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship got underway in Exeter on Sunday 6 March with five different winners from six races, leaving both the MX1 and MX2 classes “wide open”. Despite the cold weather, Maxxis says the season opener drew a large gallery of spectators who watched Shaun Simpson on the LS Racing Honda CRF450 take victory in the MX1 Class ahead of Buildbase CCM-Racing’s Tom Church and Jason Dougan of the Bike It Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha team. Despite a win in race three, the fact that pre-event favourite Stephen Sword did not finish the first two motos means he is lying in 14th position with some catching up to do.
Bridgestone’s penultimate Formula 1 race saw the three major contenders for the Formula One Drivers Championship take the podium places. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both closed the gap on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari with a one-two that helped the team seal the Constructors’ Championship. All three drivers used the same super soft – medium Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy. In contrast to the damp qualifying session, the race saw hot and dry weather conditions.
Red Bull Junior driver Jean-Eric Vergne has become the first Frenchman to win the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 Series, after wrapping up the title with three races still to run at Brands Hatch on 25-26 September. Vergne could break the all-time record number of British F3 wins in a season. “To be the first Frenchman to win such a prestigious championship feels incredible,” said Vergne. “It's been an amazing season so far; big big thanks to all the guys from Carlin. We didn't make any mistakes this season; they provided me with a fantastic car, which is why we have been able to win the championship so early.”
Pan Autos, part of the First Stop network of tyre dealerships, has raised over £1,900 for a local charity at its annual charity golf day.
Formula One’s off-track happenings continued to rival its race-days in terms of drama as the sport’s longest running and most successful team issued a stunning ultimatum, threatening to end its involvement if proposed budget cap rules are implemented next season.
FIA chief Max Mosley has proposed a system that would allow teams remaining within a £40 million budget cap to operate with fewer technological restrictions than those that chose not to. Ferrari argues that this would create a two-tier championship stating, “The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of… endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula 1 are priorities for the future. If these indispensable principles are not respected, and if the regulations decided for 2010 will not change, Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars.”
Brawn’s Jenson Button was once again successful in the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, having pursued a super soft – super soft – medium tyre strategy. The heat on the circuit had made Brawn’s continued dominance seem unlikely, as the team was forced to modify the car’s underside for necessary engine cooling. However, Button’s ability to use the consistently faster super soft tyres, thanks in part to the Brawn car’s comparative gentle treatment of its rubber, allowed the Briton to claim maximum points again, finishing 7.1 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who used the same tyre strategy in his Red Bull. The Toyotas meanwhile, fresh from their first ever all-front row qualification, faded in the heat, as pole-sitter Jarno Trulli used a super soft – medium – super soft strategy to finish third.
Jenson Button scored his first Formula One victory last weekend in what Michelin called a “topsy-turvy Hungarian Grand Prix.” Michelin’s partners dominated the early stages of the rain-affected race and Button swept to the front of the field on lap 52, when world championship leader Fernando Alonso stopped with a rear wheel problem.
Drivers are being warned to avoid caffeine excess after a man was jailed for dangerous driving after drinking 20 cans of Red Bull. Peter Edwards, 48, from King’s Lynn, was jailed for four months on Friday after Norwich Crown Court heard he was pursued across Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. His car was seen “swerving from side to side” across the A10, the court heard. Edwards car was then involved in a 50-mile police chase, according to a BBC report.
Tyre supplier Michelin is set to shed at least two F1 teams next year, online news sources have reported. Michelin currently dominates the Formula 1 grid, supplying tyres to 70 per cent of entrants. Michelin CEO Edouard Michelin is expected to announce which teams will swap suppliers to Bridgestone at Spa this weekend. Further speculation has suggested that Michelin may pull out of F1 completely at the end of 2006. Teams tipped to move to Bridgestone include Red Bull and Williams. Toyota is also reported to be under pressure to team up with the fellow Japanese company.
The FIA senate has recommended that the World Motor Sport Council reverses the guilty verdict it imposed on seven Formula One teams following the US Grand Prix. It is anticipated that this recommendation will be put to the World Motor Sport Council by means of a fax vote in the next few days.
Tony Purnell, boss of the former Jaguar and soon-to-be-renamed Red Bull Racing, has hinted that the team will use Michelin tyres next season. “The team is in negotiations with Michelin for next year,” confirmed Red Bull Racing team principal Tony Purnell adding, “the 2005 (Jaguar) car was designed around Michelin tyres and we are hoping to continue that relationship.”
Speaking to the officical Formula 1 web site, Mr Purnell insisted that the whole Jaguar sale process had made only minimal impact on development of the team’s 2005 car, with Ford having continued to invest in facilities right up until the sale to Red Bull. “A going concern we have been – it’s been business as usual,” he said.
With Formula one’s team submission deadline looming, the future of the Jaguar team hung in the balance. That was until today, when Austrian owned drinks company, Red Bull, stepped in and rescued Jaguar from motorsport extinction. The new Red Bull Racing team’s tyre choice remains unclear.
At the same time as selling the Jaguar team, Ford has also sold engine manufacturer and Formula 1 supplier, Cosworth, to Mr Kevin Volkhoven, known for his associsiton with the Champcar series. Cosworth will supply Red Bull Racing with engines, while Minardi will receive identically constructed engines. Minardi however, will use old Cosworth engines for the first four races of next season. Jordan, a team that also had a question mark over which manufacturer would supply its engines, will now be supplied by Toyota.
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