Wheelspin Summer 2024

Editor:  Kevin Pick            Photos:  Jim Moir

In this issue….

• Chairman’s address
• Notes from the Competitions Director
• 2024 season so far
• Anglesey preview
• EcoRally Scotland preview

 

Chairman’s Address

We are well into the 2024 racing season and I am pleased to report the action on the tracks we have raced at has been as thrilling as ever. From the Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons to the Scottish Fiesta ST Cup, from the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup to the Scottish C1 Cup, entries have grown and the championships standings are close, promising more daring do for the remainder of the season. As Chairman, I want to remind all SMRC Racing Members of the Motorsport UK Driving Standards Review as detailed below.  In addition, I write to assure members that the Committee and myself view communications with Motorsport UK as a two-way street and it is our intention to provide robust feedback on the Driving Standards Review, National Competition Rules and Judicial Process Trial as detailed below and recently implemented. I look forward to seeing you all trackside.

 

Notes from the Competitions Director

In the previous edition of Wheelspin (https://www.smrc.co.uk/news/wheelspin-january-2024/) I outlined a few new procedures pertaining to our Championship Regulations and events, namely the Motorsport UK ‘National Competition Rules’ (NCR), Judicial procedures trial and Driving Standards review.   With us now at the mid-point of the 2024 season it is prudent to provide an update and share with you some of the feedback received.

When analysing the feedback it is important to consider each of the above procedures separately, so let’s start with the Motorsport UK Driving Standards review and the severity of penalties being applied by the Officials.

 

Motorsport UK Driving Standards review

Over the last few years the Sport’s Governing body, Motorsport UK, have become increasingly concerned about deteriorating standards of driving within ‘club level’ circuit racing.  This is highlighted in the July edition of their online magazine ‘Revolution’ where Chief Executive, Hugh Chambers writes “One other element which has come to the fore in the past month is that of Driving Standards in circuit racing. I hope you have noticed that Motorsport UK has been conducting a much more overt approach to both Race with Respect and Driving Standards across our circuit racing activities. This move resulted from research we did in the race community in 2022 and the insights were stark. The overwhelming majority of our community fed back that they felt driving standards had deteriorated in recent years and the result of this was that they had experienced material contact from other drivers, being forced off the track and damage to their vehicles. This provided enormous cause for concern, not only from the safety point of view, but also because our community expect that they are able to take part in the sport in a way that is enjoyable and fun. At the point where driving standards deteriorate it most certainly stops being fun and introduces the potential for huge accident-related costs that should be avoidable and prevented. In some recent cases the community directly involved with some championships and races have decided to take further action above and beyond that of Motorsport UK, and I think this reflects the consensus of the wide community that poor driving standards and lack of respect for one and other has to be stamped out; there simply is no space in our sport for people who do not show respect for others and who behave in a way that can cause damage to their fellow competitors vehicles. Motorsport UK is fully committed to using our judicial system to enforce this principle and will work closely with race organisers and championship promoters to ensure that everybody adheres to the highest standards of behaviour.”

At the beginning of this season Motorsport UK held a series of seminars to which all licenced Race Clerks of the Course and Stewards were required to attend.  At these seminars it was explained that car to car contact and poor driving is simply unacceptable, potentially dangerous, costly and legally difficult to defend in an increasingly litigious and safety conscious world for a sport that is regulated as being “non-contact”.  In order to combat this a revised (harsher) penalty structure was outlined which is published on the Motorsport UK online resource centre (pages 32 to 35 of this document; https://motorsportuk.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Judicial-Procedures-Guidelines-2024.pdf).  A specific version of these guideline penalties relating to the new NCR and Judicial trials (see articles below) has also been produced and approved by Motorsport UK (the penalty guidance is the same but the regulatory references are different) and this is available on the regulation pages of our website (https://www.smrc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Guideline-penalties-Stewards-judicial-trial.pdf).

Of course, preventing incidents occurring in the first place is preferable to handing out penalties afterwards, and driver education plays a big part in this.  Motorsport UK are currently working closely with the ARDS members schools, such as Knockhill, to review and revise the current Novice Driver Training Course (often referred to as the ‘ARDS Course’).  Motorsport UK are also in the process of collating video evidence of incidents which they can re-create using their simulator (in order to de-personalise the footage) to form driver training material.  Hugh Chambers refers to “some championships and races taking further action above and beyond that of Motorsport UK” and the “Know your Sport” multiple choice regulatory assessment that Knockhill have introduced as a mandatory requirement for all drivers at KMSC race meetings this year is a good example of this.  MSVR have a similar test in place for some of their championships.  I’d also remind all drivers to familiarise themselves with our Driving Standards Code of Conduct document and abide by this for the benefit of all.

 

National Competition Rules (NCR)

Throughout 2023 Motorsport UK, via their various Specialist Committees have been re-writing the General Regulations (commonly referred to as the ‘Blue Book’) into a new digitally based National Competition Rules document.  Further details are available on the Motorsport UK website https://www.motorsportuk.org/the-sport/trialncr/. Originally intended to come into force for 2024, but following consultation with member clubs last Autumn it was decided to defer mandatory introduction until 1^st January 2025, with 2024 being used to trial the 2025 NCR at a wide variety of events and championships across all disciplines of the sport. With the support of the Motorsport UK Regional Association (Scottish Association of Motor Sport Clubs) the Scottish Race Championships along with a number of other motorsport disciplines in Scotland and several stand-alone events south of the border were approved to use the trial 2025 NCR during this year.  Scotland lends itself to such a trial due to the limited number of venues available and commonality of Officials and competitors across events, compared with the more disparate calendars south of the border.  It’s important to note that the NCR is a dynamic document that is being updated and revised following feedback received from Officials at each NCR trial event, so please always check the latest version published on the Motorsport UK website.  The final version is due for publication this Autumn and will include numerous hyperlinks to improve digital navigation of the document ahead of the mandatory roll out across all of UK motorsport next year.

 

Judicial Process trial

You will also be aware that the Scottish Race Championships are trialling a revised judicial process, making greater use of the Stewards at events to investigate incidents, and which broadly aligns with the procedures laid out in the FIA International Sporting Code operated by most other countries around the world.  This system was previously trialled in UK karting where it has now been adopted as standard practice and was introduced to circuit racing in 2023 via the British Truck Racing Championship. 2024 sees the Scottish titled Championships join the trial and it is envisaged that other Motorsport UK ‘titled’ championships may be added in the future.

Full details of the trial are detailed in the January edition of Wheelspin and the system has been put to effect at all Scottish Championship circuit racing events held so far this year.  As I mentioned earlier it is important not to confuse the Judicial Process trial or NCR with the severity of penalties being applied.  The imposition of penalties for breaches of driving standards is in accordance with the latest Officials guidelines issued by Motorsport UK (see Driving Standards review article above) irrespective of whether it is the Clerk of the Course or the Stewards making the judicial decisions.  The main benefit of this trial system is that decisions result from a thorough hearing by a panel of three highly experienced officials, acting on a report from the Clerk of the Course, rather than the Clerk of the Course being ‘Judge, Jury and Executioner’ in a sometimes rushed hearing held alongside their responsibilities to keep the event running.  By being able to refer incidents to the Stewards, the Clerk of the Course is able to concentrate on the safe running of the event leaving the Stewards to handle the judicial investigations.

A consequential benefit of this system is Officials recruitment, particularly in attracting new Stewards who now feel more engaged in the event, rather than simply being a rarely used appeals body.  Stewards, who are often active or previous competitors themselves, are able to share their experience as a member of the Stewards panel and ultimately follow the Motorsport UK training programme to become the ‘ASN Steward’ (who Chairs the panel) which is a licenced role appointed by Motorsport UK.  The Stewards (appointed by the governing body) are also independent of the Organising Club, so having them act as the judicial body removes any perceived conflict between the Organising Club’s appointed Officials (i.e. the Clerks of the Course running the event) and the Organising Club’s customers/members (i.e. the Drivers).

Under this trial system the ability for an appeal against a decision to be heard during the event no longer exists, but competitors may still appeal certain decisions to the ASN National Court when there are sufficient grounds, which are;

1. A gross miscarriage of justice has occurred, or
2. The penalty is wholly inappropriate for the breach of regulations

Such appeals will be heard post-event (often online), thereby allowing all parties additional time to prepare and submit evidence.  Please note though that notification of intent to appeal must be submitted within 30-minutes of the decision being announced (NCR Chp. 2 App. 7 Part B refers).  Lodging an appeal carries an undertaking to pay a deposit fee, which is normally returned if the appeal is successful. The deposit fee is determined by the ASN (Motorsport UK) and is currently set at £895 as detailed in NCR Chp. 1 App.2.  On behalf of our members we have suggested to Motorsport UK that this figure is disproportionately high and potentially incorrect for ‘club level’ events and Motorsport UK have agreed to review this.  Feedback such as this is valuable during these trials and affirms the importance of trialling new regulations before they become ‘set in stone’.  This ensures that we all play our part in shaping the rules that govern our sport.

In cases where new evidence comes to light after a decision has been made, competitors have the ability to petition for a ‘Right of Review’ as detailed in NCR Chp. 2 App. 10.  The time limit for a ‘Right of Review’ is 7 days from the date of the original decision and carries the same deposit fee as a Protest at an event, currently set by the ASN at £155. Again this is normally refunded if the Right of Review is upheld.

Breaches of Championship Regulations, such as failing to provide onboard footage, are not adjudicated on by the Event Officials, but are instead heard by the Championship Stewards following receipt of a report from the Championship Co-ordinator.  These hearings will often take place away from events, usually online, and penalties may include fines or loss of Championship points.

Other comments received are that competitors and the wider membership are unaware of the decisions taken by Officials for incidents that were placed under investigation.  All Stewards decisions are published on the Official Noticeboard of the relevant event organiser.  However due to our Championship events being hosted by a number of different event Organising Clubs (KMSC, 500 MRCI, DDMC, BARC etc.) there has previously been no central online resource for these decisions, and in some cases the Official Noticeboard is a physical noticeboard at the event with no online reference for post event review.  We have therefore developed our own SMRC digital noticeboard where all relevant Official Documents pertaining to the SMRC Championships are available.  You can find this at https://noticeboard.smrc.co.uk/ and a link has also been added to the regulation pages of our main website.  This will provide greater transparency and understanding of what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ both at, and in between events in the same way that we have begun publishing a review of the eligibility scrutineering inspections carried out at each event.

Please continue to provide any constructive feedback via your Championship Representative or if you prefer, directly to me at steve.burns@smrc.co.uk as we continue with these trials for the remainder of the 2024 season.

 

Steve Burns, Competitions Director

 

2024 Season so far

Kevin Pick’s mid-term review of the SMRC racing season.

The season started in March with Minis at Kirkistown, then we had all classes at Knockhill in April. May saw Fiestas C1s and Classics at Croft, with Minis racing in June at Knockhill. Then in July all classes were at Knockhill. There are still plenty of races to come, with Anglesey on 3-4 August, providing all classes with popular away rounds.

 

Scottish C1 Cup

This championship for the C1 hatchback kicked off in April at Knockhill.  The double Champion Sam Corson hasn’t returned so far. So we will have a new champion this season. There have been keen battles throughout the grids. The C1 Cup is led at half way by newcomer Murray Scott, who competed last season. He has taken 3 wins from the first three races. He has led the title chase from round 1 and continued his good form, with two 2nds and a 3^rd. He is chased by two drivers who are under 20 points behind him. Ayden Wilson last year’s top Rookie. He started with a 3rd in round 1 and since then has taken three 2^nd places, and a win in round 5. His lowest finish was 4^th. Just 2 points behind him is 2023 runner up Dan Martin, who has also been the runner up a couple of times in previous years, so has lots of experience.  He had a 2^nd then 3^rd in the first two rounds, so he and Ayden were tying the points table after 2 races. Dan then had a 5^th but bounced back to win round 4. He took another win in round 6, with a 4^th in between these wins. These three look like the main title contenders. But the experienced James Hitchen is 4^th overall, he needs a charge to catch the top 3, but that’s quite possible. He has had two 3rds and four 4ths, so is consistently near the front. Andrew Davidson in 5^th overall has taken a 3^rd as his best result in round 3, plus two 5ths, then a 6^th, 7^th and 8^th are in his results. Marc Nisbet has been very consistent, he’s 6^th and has one 5^th and five 6^th place finishes.

13 drivers are registered for the championship and all have scored points.

Provisional Points (after 6 rounds):

1. Murray Scott 131 Ayden Wilson 115  3. Dan Martin 112  4 James Hitchen 88  5. Andrew Davidson 68   6. Marc Nisbet 62

 

C1 Newcomer’s Cup

There are 5 n

There are 5 Newcomers’ racing and they have all scored points. Does experience help, well Murray Scott was 4^th overall in the rookies last season. But he has hit the track in great form. He has won the class at all 6 rounds held so far, and is the only driver to have a 100% race finish record. He’s also leading the Championship C1 Cup. In 2^nd place, Dale Edwards has had three 2nds,  a 3^rd and a 4^th but a dnf in round 1 has hurt his score. Matthew Baldie had done 4 rounds, with a 2^nd, two 3rds and a 4^th. Brayley Shore has also done 4 rounds with two 3rds and two 5ths. Gregor McPhaden has raced twice, starting at the July Knockhill, but had two class 2nds, and took a fine 5^th overall on the road.

Provisional Points

1. Murray Scott 150 Dale Edwards 90  3. Matthew Baldie 66   4. Brayley Shore 56  5. Gregor McPhaden 40

 

Scottish Fiesta ST Cup supported by Toyo Tyres

2024 has seen larger grids, with plenty of good racing from the 2.0 litre Fiesta ST cars. There are 3 classes this year. The ST and the STC or Challenger car which is built to a slightly lower spec. Plus new for 2024, a Newcomers Cup.  Liam McGill is the defending champion, who also won the Cup in 2022, but he hasn’t been out in STs 2024. Whilst Steven Gray was runner up in 2023 & 2022, having been champion in 2021. There have been 20 drivers scoring points so far this season.

Gerry Hendry is dominating the ST Cup this year, after finishing 3^rd last year. He has started really well, winning 5 of the 6 races run, and coming second in round 5. Last year he also started well leading the Cup early on.  He is 49 points ahead of Kieren Preedy, who has been driving well, with two 2nds, two 3rds, as well as a 4^th and 6^th place. In 3^rd place is Andy Mackie, he has a 4^th, four 5ths and a 7^th. While veteran and former champion Dave Colville is 4^th. He has 5 finishes so far, two podiums with a 2^nd and 3^rd plus a 4^th, 6^th and 9^th. Jamie Dickie is 5^th with two 3rds, two 6ths and a 7^th. Broddy Orr is 6^th, with two 2nds his best scores.

Top Challenge spec car is Lorn Murray 7^th overall with a 4^th his top score. Further down the order in 10^th is former Champion Steven Gray who has only raced in 2 rounds at the July Knockhill meeting, scoring a win and a 3^rd.

ST Cup   Provisional Points

1. Gerry Hendry 155  2.Kieren Preedy 106  3. Andy Mackie 81  4. Dave Colville 77  5. Jamie Dickie 70   6. Broddy Orr 61

 

ST Challenge

This year we have 5 drivers scoring points. It’s close at the top of the class table. Lorn Murray is just 5 points ahead of Sophie Kinghorn. Lorn has 2 class wins and four 2nds, while Sophie has scored 3 wins, a 2^nd, a 3^rd and a 4^th. In 3^rd overall is Duncan Steele a 2nd and three 3rds are his best results in class so far. Kenneth Lees in 4^th has two 3rds and two 4ths as his top scores.  The other class winner is Stuart Murray, who has finished 3 rounds with a class 1^st, 4^th and 5^th.

Challenge Provisional Points

1. Lorn Murray 140 Sophie Kinghorn 135  3. Duncan Steele 102  4. Kenneth Lees 94  5, Stuart Murray 65

 

ST Newcomer’s Cup

This is a new competition, continuing the Newcomer tradition in Fiestas. It was many moons ago when we had full grids of Fiesta XR2s, that the very 1^st SMRC Newcomer’s Cup was introduced, and it was for Fiestas. This is the first year we have had this competition in STs. So far 7 drivers have scored newcomer class points.

This has followed Fiesta Newcomers’ battles of old, it’s tight at the top. The lead is shared halfway through the season b y two drivers. Jamie Dickie and Sophie Kinghorn were tied after 2 rounds with a class win and 2^nd each. Then Jamie pulled ahead scoring 60 points to Sophie’s 50 at the Croft rounds 3 & 4. But at July’s Knockhill Sophie raced back to level the competition. Jamie has 4 wins, a 2^nd and a 6^th. Sophie has 2 wins and four 2nds. In 3^rd place Kenneth Lees has a 2^nd, three 3rds and a 4th as his scores. In 4^th Michael Gordon has two 3rds in class as his top scores.

Newcomer Provisional Points

1= Jamie Dickie + Sophie Kinghorn 140  3. Kenneth Lees 106  4. Michael Gordon 82   5. Daniel Forbes 76   6. Angus Ross 66

 

Scottish Mini Cooper Cup supported by Project 21 and Yokohama Tyres

The Scottish Mini Cooper Cup has always been very competitive and 2024 is no exception. The cars race 3 times at each Knockhill meeting, the first two with the more powerful Cooper S cars, but their third race of the day is only for Cooper cars. This also featured a reversed grid for the top 5 to 8 finishers in the previous race. This season there are 21 races in the Cup, competitors highest 18 scores count.

Oliver Mortimer has returned to defend his title. The very experienced racer has also won the Cooper S Cup few times. Last year in was Jack Irvine and Chad Little who chased him all year.

There have been 12 races so far this year. Oly Mortimer leads the title race by 22 points. He has scored 5 wins, one 2^nd, one 3^rd then a 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, as his top scores but also has a no score and a 14th. In second so far is Ian Munro, he has three 2nds a 3^rd, a 4^th and five 5ths in his scores. He’s the only driver to score in every round. In 3^rd is Robbie Dalgleish, a former champion who has completed 9 races. He has three 1st, a 2nd, two 3rds and three 4ths. He’s 26 points behind Oly. In 4^th equal overall mid season is Jason Ballantyne. He’s scored in 10 rounds. He has a win, three 2nds and 3^rd as his top scores so far. Daniel Paterson also shares 4^th he has two wins a 2^nd and a 3^rd in his 10 scores. The top 6 are rounded out by 2023 runner up Jack Irvine. He’s also scored in 10 rounds, one 1st two 2nds and a 3^rd being his top scores.  Chad Little is 7^th but has two 2nds and four 3rds in his 9 scores. Top Newcomer Martin Wijetunga is 8th overall, having taken a 5th and 6th as well as four 7ths as his top scores. There have been 5 race winners this year so far. Mini Cooper racing is always close, so anything can happen. There is plenty of racing still to be done, so the winner at any race could come from the top 7 or 8 drivers.

There are 19 drivers who have scored points, a couple more than in 2023.

Mini Cooper Cup Provisional Points

1. Oliver Mortimer 197 Ian Munro 175  3. Robbie Dalgleish 171   4=. Jason Ballantyne + Daniel Paterson  158    6. Jack Irvine 147

 

Mini Cooper Newcomer’s Cup

There were 3 novice drivers in 2023. Martin Wijetunga led for most of the season from Jack Barnett.  Later in the year Wijetunga missed the final two meetings, so Barnett came through to beat him and  Ross Foster. This season there have been 9 Newcomers’, the most for a couple of seasons. Martin Wijetunga again leads, this time from Ross Forster and Jacob Heap. Martin Wijetunga has a 50 point lead, having four wins and a 2^nd and a 3^rd as his top scores, as he’s finished 11 of the 12 races. Ross Forster has one win, three 2nds and a 3^rd as his top scores in 10 finishes. While Jacob Heap has one win and four 2nds plus three 3rds in his 9 finishes. In 4^th is Michael Williams, one class win, two 3rds and a 4^th being his best so far. Blair Dryburgh, Stuart McPhaden and Ralph Sturrock have all won the class at least once. So there’s plenty of talent in the newcomers.  Martin Wijetunga has a good lead, but can Ross Forster and Jacob Heap close the points gap. Class wins have been shared out amongst the field, so someone could mount a charge in the second half of the year.

Newcomer’s Provisional Points

1. Martin Wijetunga 212 2. Ross Foster 162 3. Jacob Heap 158  4. Michael Williams 126       5. Blair Dryburgh 123   6. Stuart McPadden 110

 

Scottish Mini Cooper Cup – Knockhill Cup (Only races at Knockhill count)

New last year, this is a competition that in 2024 is held over 12 race,s run at Knockhill from April to October. Oliver Mortimer took the Cup last year. This season Robbie Dalgleish leads by 28 points from Oly.  All 19 drivers have scored in this competition so far. Ian Munro is a close 3^rd with Daniel Paterson and Jack Irvine only separated by a point in 4^th and 5^th. Robbie has three wins  2^ND and a 3^rd, while Oly has 4 wins, one 3^rd and a 4^th plus a surprising 14^th in his scores.. While Ian Munro is very consistent, finishing in the top 6 with three 2nds, a 4^th and four 5ths in his scores. This Cup will probably go down to the wire, as Knockhill rounds are well supported, and the top drivers are very competitive.

Knockhill Cup provisional points

1. Robbie Dalgleish 171   2. Oly Mortimer 143   3. Ian Munro 133    4. Daniel Paterson 113   5. Jack Irvine 112   6. Jason Ballantyne 97

 

Scottish Mini Cooper S R53 Cup

Mini Cooper S cars are the most powerful cars in Scottish one make racing. They also run on slick racing tyres. They start ahead of the Cooper cars, twice at each meeting.

This year only Jamie Blake and Rich Flett are racing. Jamie has won 5 of the 6 rounds he’s done. While Rich has one win and five 2nds. .Craig Blake was runner up last year, but hasn’t scored any points this year. Hopefully more cars will come out, as they are fast and usually closely matched on track.

R53 Cooper S Cup Provisional  Points:

1. Jamie Blake 116   2. Rich Flett 100

 

Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons Championship

There are several classes available, with Saloons and Sportscars racing each other. Cars that were manufactured before 31^st December 1989 are eligible, and must remain predominantly in period specification.

Competitors are racing against each other, but scoring only against drivers in their own class. Their scores are then put into the overall points table, to find the champion. There were 22 registered competitors. Class racers needed 3 drivers to start a class in order to score full points, if 2 or fewer start then points are reduced. There are 12 rounds, with away rounds at Croft in May and Anglesey in August.

Last year the overall winner for a third time was Alastair Baptie, with his fast Fiat X1/9 sportscar, which he also used to win this title back in 2017 & 2018. He led the title race all season, but it was often close between him and runner up Andrew Graham in his TR8 sportscar and 3^rd placed Charlie Cope with his VW Golf.

This season the title race is led by Ian Mitchell in his Vauxhall Nova. The class A racer has scored 6 class 1sts. He had 9 points more than Andrew Graham who also has a maximum of 6 class wins in the TR8. But class A has been better supported at the first Knockhill so Andrew scored fewer points. But he got a bonus point at Croft for setting a new class lap record. In 3^rd is Michael Longstaffe with his MG Midget another class A racer,  scoring two 2nds, three 3rds and a 4^th in class. In 4^th is Craig Houston driving the Lotus Eclat, he’s scored in 4 rounds with three 1sts and a 2^nd in class B. Fifth place is held by classics stalwart Jimmy Crow, running in class G he’s scored two 1sts and two 2nds. The top 6 is rounded out by Barry Easthaugh with his MGB GT V8 scoring four 2nds in class E.  Other drivers scoring well include the three tying for 7^th place on 60 points. Paul Bowers in class A taking three 2nds with his Fiat Coupe. Niki Dickson has scored two 2nds and two 4ths in class B in his Lotus Cortina. With Classics front runner John Kinmond having taken his big Rover SD1 to three class E 2nds. There are several drivers who have scored at just one meeting so far, Alasdair Coates having a Class B 1^st and third, while John Marshall in a Lotus Elan took a class B 2^nd and 3^rd.  Defending champion Alastair Baptie has one 2^nd in Class E with an MGB GT V8 so far.

It looks like an interesting second half of the season, with the top two having pulled out a lead, but there are plenty of rounds to go, so the points gap can be reduced.

17 divers have scored points so far this year.

Classics Provisional Points

1. Ian Mitchell Class A 150 Andrew Graham Class E 141  3. Michael Longstaffe  Class A 102      4. Craig Houston Class B 85  5.  Jimmy Crow  Class G 74  6. Barry Easthaugh Class E 64

 

Scottish XR2 Championship

The venerable XR2 hot hatches race with classics, but have separate regulations. Last season 3 cars were registered and Duncan O’Neill won the Championship again. Runner up was Paul Green.

This season we have three drivers again fighting for the title. Paul Green has taken 6 class wins from 6 starts. He is chased by the defending champion Duncan O’Neill, who has three 2nds and three 3rds. While new to the class this year, Sonny Gray has scored three 2nds.  So its all to play for with the XR2s.

XR2 provisional points

1. Paul Green 140   Duncan O’Neill  100  3. Sonny Gray 60

 

Kevin Pick

 

Anglesey Preview

The weekend of 3/4 August sees the SMRC’s annual away round to the beautiful circuit of Ty Croes on Anglesey.  As an SMRC organised event the meeting features all of the Club’s Championships, including a triple header format for both the Fiesta & C1 Cups.  Following the success of last years event we will again be joined by a selection of Championships from across the Irish Sea together with our friends from the Darlington & District Motor Club’s Northern Saloon & Sports Car Championship.  Making their SMRC debut are the Welsh Sports & Saloon Championship who will join our own Classic Sports & Saloons plus stand-alone races for the MG Car Club’s Cockshoot Cup.

Click here to download the provisional event timetable.

 

EcoRally Scotland

     

Do you want to compete in an FIA sanctioned Road Rally in Scotland? This is a navigational event for Electric and Hybrid road cars (Ethanol or Methane using cars are welcome). Its organised by SMRC, and entries are welcome before the event starts on 22^nd August.

No cages or race spec equipment required, as you are on public roads in standard road cars. It’s a driver and navigator event and is explained below. Normal speed limits must be adhered to.

Following the first event last summer, the Scottish Motor Racing Club will again be organising EcoRally Scotland. This year it takes place over two-days (Thursday 22nd to Friday 23rd August 2024). The event is running as a Candidate Event for the Bridgestone FIA EcoRally Cup.

Starting and finishing in Inverness, the route for this second edition totals approximately 420 miles (670 kms) and takes in much of the famously scenic ‘North Coast 500’.

If you would like to take part in this event, please read our information guide below and complete the entry form found on the SMRC web site.

If you have any questions about the event, please email us on,  info@smrc.co.uk

What is it?

EcoRally Scotland will see teams of two (driver and navigator) and their Electric ot Hybrid Vehicle, tackle a 420-mile road route around the Scottish North Highland countryside, on Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd August.  As well as highland scenery and some of the world’s best driving roads, there will also be a competitive element to this event. Think orienteering in EV’s!

There are no off- road or closed road stages, so speed limits must be observed as it takes place on public roads.

On each morning of the event, you will be provided with a map and clues to highlight the route for the day. There will be checkpoints which teams will need to record, within an allotted time. This is to prove they have completed the right route. The route will also be interspersed with ‘regularity tests’. Teams will need to complete a specified section of road at a prescribed average speed, which will be recorded by a GPS App installed on your mobile device.

The objective is to complete the route correctly. Your team should record at all the check points, at the right times and by completing the regularity tests, as close to the prescribed average speed, as possible.

Whilst there is a timed element, this competition is not about speed – precision navigating, problem solving and teamwork is the aim of the game here!

The Route

Day 1 – Thursday 22nd August;  Following Registration & Breakfast at Fairways in Inverness, crews will head North West towards Ullapool and on to the picturesque fishing village of Lochinver, where lunch will be provided and EV charging facilities are available.  The afternoon follows the North Coast via Scourie, Durness and Tongue, before an overnight halt in Thurso.  Dinner, Bed & Breakfast will be provided at the Premier Inn in Thurso based on two-people sharing a Double or Twin room.  EV Charging facilities are available close to the hotel.

Day 2 – Friday 23rd August;  Crews will head South via Helmsdale, with a lunch break in Golspie (charging facilities available), before returning to Inverness for a buffet dinner and presentation of awards.

What do I need to take part?

This is an easy event for anyone with access to an electric or hybrid vehicle to take part in. Our team will be on hand to help you through the event and no past rally / motorsport experience, is required. All you need is:

• Access to any road legal Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)
• A road driving licence (driver)
• A team-mate to navigate on the event
• Both driver & navigator will need a Motorsport UK RS Clubman Licence (or equivalent from another ASN); this is free and easy to obtain via the following link: https://www.motorsportuk.org/competitors/rs-clubman-licence/
• Complete the entry form below with secure online payment

What cars are eligible?

Any road legal electric vehicle can take part. The event is entirely devoted to normal road production vehicles, with an electric or hybrid drive train. Vehicles must have valid registration documents for public road use, without any kind of modification to the car, thus allowing competitors to use their vehicles intended for daily use.

Ethanol or Methane powered vehicles (E85/CNG/CBG) are also eligible.

To enter please complete the entry form at https://www.smrc.co.uk/ecorally-scotland/

You can also contact SMRC Competition Director Steve Burns for more information. Email:  info@smrc.co.uk