BTCC Event 8 Knockhill

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Gordon Shedden Matt Neal and Jason Plato shared the wins in today’s highly-unpredictable three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the spectacular Knockhill circuit in Fife.

Plato’s victory in the third in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze means he has stretched his championship lead over Neal as the UK’s favourite motor racing series now heads south for its penultimate three races of 2010 at the Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire on Sunday 19 September.

Honda Racing Team driver Shedden’s victory on his home track in race one was just what the crowd wanted but he was lucky to survive two sideways moments on the opening lap as (pictured above) Plato’s young team-mate Alex MacDowall who’d started from pole position attacked him before settling for a best-ever second position. Third was Airwaves BMW’s Steven Kane.

It was Neal’s turn to taste the victory champagne in race two as he overtook the sister Civic of Shedden on the opening lap to lead his Scottish team-mate across the line for a Honda 1-2 ahead of Plato who took third after a robust move on Kane in the closing laps.

Plato then took the spoils in race three after eventually figuring a way past Tom Onslow-Cole’s Team Aon Ford Focus which having led from the reversed grid pole position took second spot ahead of a fast-closing Neal in third. Notably behind both Shedden and another of the chief title protagonists Aon’s Tom Chilton suffered spins and could only come home in ninth and tenth positions.

As a result Plato leaves Scotland with an increased 20-point advantage over Neal who has moved five points clear of third-placed Onslow-Cole. Shedden is a further nine points behind with Chilton a distant fifth another 26 adrift with a maximum of 104 still available from Donington and Brands Hatch’s (10 October) final six races.

Oxford-based Plato the 2001 Champion said: “We’ve been there or thereabouts today but it’s been thirsty work and to grab a win in the final race of the day is a big bonus for our championship. Donington should suit our car better than here but I’m not counting my chickens… I’ve lost this thing far more times than I’ve won it.”

Worcestershire’s Neal Champion in 2005 and 2006 commented: “I’ve taken the biggest points score of anyone here today and it was important to capitalise on what we knew would be a great circuit for the Civic. Gordon had a rough time in race three but I wouldn't rule him out at all either. I get the feeling though it’ll be the turn of the Fords at Donington – their LPG-turbo engines might have the beating of us on the long straights and the uphill sections there.”

New Malden racer Onslow-Cole still only 23 and who now finds himself embroiled in a title battle against two giants of the series in Plato and Neal added: “It’s been a very tough weekend – I was playing catch-up after some issues in free practice yesterday and then I woke up ill this morning! But still we’ve picked up a healthy dose of points. I hope what Matt says comes true and it swings back our way at Donington!”

Meanwhile Shedden’s and Neal’s results at Knockhill have taken Honda/Dynamics past Arena/Ford to the head of the Manufacturers/Constructors standings by the slender margin of just two points. The Honda Racing Team though has significantly increased its HiQ Teams Championship lead over Team Aon from four to 31 points. Onslow-Cole has now egded 22 points clear of Kane at the top of the Independent Drivers’ table and Team Aon is also edging nearer the Independent Teams’ title its lead over Airwaves BMW having gone out from 16 to 21 points.

Pre-Italian GP interview with Tonio Liuzzi

Lucy Genon, Force India — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tonio discusses his Force India race debut at Monza one year ago and how he has progressed since that weekend. He also gives his thoughts about racing in front of his home crowd and his hopes for the rest of the season and beyond.

Auto Mundial 36-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As the car industry continues to implode it's small-car city here on Auto Mundial but though small may mean beautiful it doesn't necessarily mean boring - or cheap.

We're staying in the jewellery department next two more tiny cars you need a magnifying glass to mend - but in the future of course cars will never break. But first up the headlines.

In the show this week:-

NEWS

FIAT 500 ABARTH

FIAT PUNTO EVO ABARTH

HYUNDAI ACCENT

MINI COOPER S

MAZDA 2

WTCC Oschersleben - HLTS International Sound and Commentaries

Viviana Dal Palù, Eurosport — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Alain Menu and Andy Priaulx won one race apiece in Oschersleben today. The Swiss driver gave Chevrolet their first victory on the German track while the Briton scored his sixth win of the season and moved further ahead in the Drivers' Championship. In the two latest meetings Priaulx has recovered 38 points from the leader Yvan Muller reducing his gap to 11 and now he has also jumped ahead of Gabriele Tarquini (who has scored only 2 points in the three latest races) in second position.
The first race was a Chevrolet show. Rob Huff and Menu took control from the beginning but the former was later black-flagged for hitting the poleman Augusto Farfus at the start. This enabled Menu to claim his first victory of the year from Farfus and Muller.
In Race 2 Priaulx dashed ahead of the SEAT pair of Michelisz and Nykjær and kissed goodbye to the rest of the field on his way to a solo flight. Farfus and Muller finished far behind him in second and third after Monteiro was given a drive-through for hitting both Nykjær and Michelisz.

Motorsport Mundial 36-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On Motorsport Mundial there is breath taking motorcycle road racing from the Ulster Grand Prix in Northern Ireland we take to the skies over the Euro Speedway Lautzitz in Germany with the Air race and also in Germany DTM and the FIA European Truck racing championhsip are at the Nurburgring.

Fiesta World Tour - Leg 1 - Part 2 - VNR

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Firearms Boots and Dirty Cars as Canvases

As the Ford Fiesta World Tour continues on the journey through the States and we can confirm that The Wild West is still wild!

As the team pull into Scottsdale Arizona during Ford Fiesta World Tour 2010 they get word there’s automatic gunfire coming into El Paso Texas from across the border. This is worrying as El Paso is the next stop in this round-the-world jaunt. Good thing then that they have a rendezvous with some serious weaponry at Scottsdale Gun Club. The fine folks there have offered to let them loose on the range...!

In this second news release catch up with the team as they continue on leg 1 of their journey around the globe in the Mexican-built 2011 Ford Fiestas.

Auto Mundial 35-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We've a brace of BMW's to start us off this week and we'll be totally honest and say most of us can't afford either of them nor could we get the best performance out of them.

Honda's Insight - a hybrid but hardly a planet-saver and then two top-of-the-range cars from Hyundai which hint at a new level of luxury even a new brand. But it's news time first.

In the show this week:-

NEWS

BMW M3 GT2 ART CAR

BMW M3 GTS

HONDA INSIGHT

HYUNDAI VERA CRUZ

HYUNDAI AZERA

IRC Barum - HLTS with International Sound and Commentaries

Viviana Dal Palù, Eurosport — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Freddy Loix has become the most successful driver in the history of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge by taking a record-breaking sixth win and his third in as many starts this season after a dramatic climax to Barum Czech Rally Zlin today (Sunday) when the lead changed hands three times on the final four stages.

Juho Hanninen claimed second to maintain his title advantage while third place for local hero Pavel Valousek not only ensured a Skoda Fabia one-two-three but also enabled the Czech firm to clinch the 2010 IRC manufacturers' crown for the first time with three rounds remaining.

Motorsport Mundial 35-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This week on Motorsport Mundial we've got high speed action from Northern Ireland at the Ulster Grand Prix but we start in the Isle of man with the British Rally Championship.

BTCC Event 7 Silverstone

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole won all three of today’s Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at Silverstone to make it a clean sweep for their Team Aon squad. Chilton won the day’s first two races before Onslow-Cole took victory in the third – a result that has enabled him to slash the gap to championship leader Jason Plato to just 14 points as the BTCC title race moves to the spectacular Knockhill circuit in Fife for its next round on Sunday 5 September.

Onslow-Cole led races one and two but in each was overtaken by Chilton before the chequered flag. In race one their Ford Focuses powered by LPG turbo engines crossed the line first and second ahead of Plato’s Silverline Chevrolet Cruze. But in race two WSR BMW driver Robert Collard was able to split them as he muscled past Onslow-Cole on the final lap to take a hard-fought second place. Plato finished this race in fourth.

In race three Paul O’Neill led away from the reversed grid’s pole position but was eventually overhauled by Onslow-Cole who drew clear for a comfortable win. O’Neill was still a hugely popular second in his Honda Integra run by the small Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport team. Airwaves BMW driver Mat Jackson crossed the line in third after a robust move on Chilton.

Behind Oxford-based Plato could only manage ninth after a tangle with old rival the Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal sent him into a spin at the first corner. Having gone into the day 20 points clear of Neal – at one stage today his lead was out to 29 – Plato leaves Silverstone still on top of the table but by a much reduced margin over new nearest challenger Onslow-Cole. Warwickshire's Neal who today achieved eighth fifth and fourth places in his Honda Civic is third in the standings a further nine points adrift.

New Malden-based Onslow-Cole who also set the fastest lap in all three races – one of them a new lap record – said: “To make so much ground in one day on Jason and Matt is amazing and to be up to second and to be not so far off the lead in second feels fantastic. Snetterton two weeks ago seemed to suit the Chevrolet here it was the turn of our car so it could be Matt’s turn at Knockhill where everybody expects the Civic to be strong. With just three rounds to go things are bound to start getting tense so it will be really important to take as many points as possible and keep up the pressure.”

Meanwhile Arena/Ford has moved past Honda/Dynamics into the lead of the Manufacturers/Constructors Championship. It has closed in on the Honda Racing Team at the top of the HiQ Teams’ standings as well the gap between them now down to just five points. Onslow-Cole’s Silverstone results have hoisted him back into the lead of the Independent Drivers’ title race. Team Aon has also taken over the lead of the Independent Teams’ table from Airwaves BMW.

Fiesta World Tour - Leg 1 - Part 1 - VNR

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A 60-day 21-country 15 000-mile circumnavigation of the globe has kicked off on Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles. Between now and mid October the 'Fiesta World Tour 2010' will cross the U.S. Canada Europe the Middle East China Southeast Asia and finally Australia -- on the other side of the Pacific from the Baywatch beaches of L.A. where the tour started.

Regular VNRs will be available for download via the Dystribute network.

Auto Mundial 34-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We'll start the week with the news headlines as usual and then we'll have a look at the Five Series BMW a hugely important new car for the German manufacturer battling to stay top of the executive pile. Piles of a very different nature next and we're talking French and meaning batteries as we have a look at the very bottom of today's car market and the very pinnacle of tomorrow's.

In the show this week:

NEWS

BMW 528 Li

DACIA LOGAN VAN

GM ENV

LAND ROVER EVOQUE

RENAULT DE ZIR

Post summer break interview with Adrian Sutil

Lucy Genon, Force India — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Adrian Sutil discusses what he hs done over the summer break in the F1 championship including his trip to Goa India. He also reviews his season so far and gives his thoughts ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix which was the scene of the team’s first-ever podium last year. Also available is rights-free footage of Adrian on the beach in Goa and onboard a Kingfisher plane.

British Rally Championship 2010 - Round 5 News

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Craig Breen and Gareth Roberts won International Rally NI part of the Toddsleap.com Ulster Rally by a margin of nearly a minute and a half after two days of competition not only his debut event win but the first UK victory for the awesome Fiesta Super 2000.

Keith Cronin and Barry McNulty took second strengthening their bid for back to back victories in the Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship after a fierce fight with Gwyndaf Evans and Phil Pugh ended when the Welshman hit a wall and cooked the engine.

Cronin’s second place helps Pirelli TEG Sport move back into the lead of the prestigious Dulux Trade MSA Teams Rally Championship as his team-mates Adam Gould and Craig Drew finished the event in a creditable fourth place.

Sandwiched between Cronin and Gould respectively current and past winners of the Pirelli Star Driver competition were Alastair Fisher and Rory Kennedy. The local crew had a frustratingly lonely rally the youngster unable to find the last ounce of commitment on the ultra fast sections but sufficiently quick to take top Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge honours.

Taking the Pirelli Star Driver nomination on Rally NI was absolute newcomer to the championship. Having registered before the last round Rally Isle of Man Irish duo Daniel McKenna and his co-driver Andrew Grennan set some excellent stage times beating Fisher on several of the two days’ stages. Despite retiring on the penultimate stage his performance was all the more impressive as the event was his first in a four wheel drive car the Mitsubishi Evo 9 hired just for this event.

Still leading the championship and still surprised to be doing so was Jonny Greer. Who ably guided by Dai Roberts finished sixth registered driver despite a broken gear linkage on the final stage.

Certainly worthy of note although not registered for the Dulux Trade BRC was Frenchman Bryan Bouffier who finished first two wheel drive and fifth overall on the stunning Citroën DS3 R3 rally car’s International debut. The car ran faultlessly and could be a force to be reckoned with in next year’s championship.

Leading championship two wheel drive runners were Elfyn Evans and Andrew Edwards who survived a notchy gearbox late on to take not only seventh place of the DTBRC crews but secure maximum points in the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy. The sixth straight win is more than enough to seal the series for the youngster who only needed a single point to take the title.

Also running in the Rally 2 class were top placed Citroën racing Trophy crew Mark Donnelly and Aiden Friel who kept their heads while many of the other one-make series runners lost theirs. They counted themselves lucky though to be at the Antrim finish having suffered a total electrical shutdown and subsequent misfire on the final stage.

The sole finisher in the Swift Sport Cup was Tom Clark with new co-driver Chris Brooks. They had a fraught weekend using three gearboxes in their Suzuki and forced to use Super Rally to re-start on Saturday when the second replacement proved time-consuming to change.

The only registered finishers in the Rally 3 class were yet again brothers Steve and Tony Graham who nursed their diesel Astra round on Saturday with a standard differential their competition one uncharacteristically failing.

Motorsport Mundial 34-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In Motorsport Mundial this week there is the opening round of the world Supermoto championship at Castelletto Di Branduzzo. The British Rally championship continues with round 3 at the Jim Clark rally while the British Touring car championship is at Snetterton and the World Motocross championship goes to Uddevalla.

Auto Mundial 33-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We start with a ride in the Mazda 3 a small car with a big job on its hands a look at Honda's hybrid coupe that's not so sporty after all and a tricycle concept that will never be made. Then we're speaking in hushed whispers so we can hear the clock ticking in our Roller going all-electric racing with Westfield and offroading with Hyundai - but it's news time first.

In the show this week:-

NEWS

MAZDA 3

HONDA CRV

HONDA 3RC

ROLLS ROYCE GHOST

ROLLS ROYCE PHANTOM

WESTFIELD i-RACER

HYUNDAI TUCSON

Motorsport Mundial 33-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On the program this week fast pace road racing at the Southern 100 in the Isle of Man despite the far from perfect conditions. The British rally championship holds its second round of the year as heads to Carlisle in the North of England while in Belgium we find out how United Autosports got on when they made their début at the 24 hours of Spa.

BTCC Event 6 Snetterton

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden were the winners of today’s three Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the high-speed Snetterton circuit in Norfolk. Plato won both races one and two and with chief rival Matt Neal experiencing mixed fortunes it means the Chevrolet driver has turned an eight-point deficit into a 20-point lead over his Honda rival as the BTCC heads for its next round at the world-famous Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire in a fortnight’s time (Sunday 22 August).

Plato led both the day’s first two races from start to finish – despite his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze being laden with 36kgs of success ballast in race one and then the maximum 45kgs in race two. He also set the fastest lap in both to ensure he took a pair of maximum scores. Neal meanwhile retired from race one with a puncture and could only manage ninth in race two.

In race three Neal’s team-mate Shedden was gifted a clear run to victory when early leader James Nash’s Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra span off the track. Neal took third to give the Honda Racing Team a 1-3 result with Plato backing up his two earlier wins with fifth. Shedden’s result following fourth and eighth places in races one and two keep him third in the overall standings and he has in fact closed to within just four points of Neal.

Auto Mundial 32-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

It's the conversation you hear in every office - if you won the lottery what would you buy first - so here's our list which sadly doesn't include a Caribbean island in case we don't quite win that much. Spend spend spend - we're still throwing away cash like there's no tomorrow and in case you're lacking inspiration our news headlines this week are all about lottery winners' cars.

In the show this week:

NEWS

BMW X6

FISKER KARMA

BENTLEY MULSANNE

EMOCEAN CHARM 27

MV AGUSTA

IRC Madeira - HLTS International Sound and Commentaries

Viviana Dal Palù, Eurosport — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Freddy Loix took victory on Rali Vinho Madeira which finished in Funchal last Saturday (7 August) after going fastest on 14 of the 21 all-asphalt special stages that formed round eight of the 2010 IRC season.

What was all the more remarkable about his performance in his works Skoda Fabia S2000 Facelift was the fact he was recovering from a dislocated shoulder sustained when he fell off his motorbike a fortnight before the rally. He received several painkilling injections to numb the pain as he charged to his second victory in as many starts in the IRC this year.

Motorsport Mundial 32-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Welcome to the program where the British Rally championship competes on stages in Wales the The World Motocross championship holds its ninth round in Latvia while the Ferrari challenge has two races in Valencia Spain. The three-point-five litre World series by Renault is in Hungary.

Auto Mundial 31-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We start this week with the news headlines followed by an unusual story of elegance and luxury - we're at a lakeside renaissance villa for a concours showing of some of the greatest cars ever made. Then it's business as usual as Mini gets a mini facelift and Mini E turns boy racer with some success - and we end with a double bill from the most prolific and successful race car maker of all time.

In the show this week:

NEWS

CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE VILLA D'ESTE

MINI COOPER

MINI E RACE

PORSCHE 911 GT3 HYBRID

PORSCHE 911 GT2 RS

United Autosports at the 24 hours of Spa

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

United Autosports scored a stunning top-three GT3 rostrum finish on the American-owned team's 24 Hour race début when Mark Blundell (GB) Zak Brown (US) Eddie Cheever (US) and Richard Dean (GB) steered their Audi R8 LMS home into third place in the annual and historic Spa 24 Hours this weekend (Jul 31-Aug 1).

The Leeds (GB)-based team's "sister" Audi of Emil Assentato (US) Stefan Johansson (Sw) Alain Li (F) and Mark Patterson (US) added to United Autosports' superb achievement by finishing fourth in class the team's brace of R8 LMS GT3 sports cars claiming ninth and 10th overall in the 40-car field.

A power steering issue on the #68 Audi of Blundell/Brown/Cheever/Dean just four hours from the finish with Cheever poised to re-take the class lead cost them a possible GT3 victory following a lengthy pit-stop for repairs.

At one-quarter distance the #68 and #67 United Autosports cars were placed fifth and 10th in class respectively – the latter surviving two harmless spins. Cheever's 128min stint saw him remain on "slick" dry weather tires the American reveling in the treacherously slippery conditions as rain fell in varying degrees of intensity which saw the #68 hovering just outside the top-three.

With 6hr 25m gone Dean who had qualified 10th in class on Thursday evening and who had begun the race was up to third in the #68 (9th overall) with Johansson who qualified the #67 Audi 13th eighth as heavy rain fell.

The #68 Audi enjoyed a relatively trouble-free night apart from a puncture and lay third (eighth overall) in the 16th hour in contrast to the "sister" #67 Audi which endured a more eventful night. Assentato visited the gravel trap at Les Combes twice the second resulting in a Safety Car to retrieve the Audi (0115hr) Li suffered a harmless spin Patterson contacted a backmarker necessitating an 11mins pit-stop for bodywork repairs (0324hr) while Johansson had a puncture (0445). Despite these dramas Li was sixth (14th overall) at 0800hr.

Blundell swept the #68 into second place (sixth overall) during the pit-stop phase shortly before three-quarter distance (1000hr) prior to his own scheduled stop with Patterson placed fifth (12th). But the honor of taking the GT3 class lead (fifth overall) for the first time fell appropriately to United Autosports' Chairman & Co-Owner Brown 19hrs into the race (1100).

With four hours remaining Cheever and Assentato lay second (sixth overall) and fourth (10th) in class but moments later Cheever in the #68 Audi and poised to re-take the GT3 lead Cheever controlled a massive "moment" exiting the high speed Eau Rouge a power steering issue diagnosed after two subsequent pit-stops costing 43mins and dropping the #68 to third in class (ninth overall) – one place ahead of the "sister" car – with three hours remaining.

WTCC Brno HLTS International Sound and Commentaries

Viviana Dal Palù, Eurosport — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

British drivers won all today in Brno as Rob Huff took his first victory of the season for Chevrolet in Race 1 and Andy Priaulx scored BMW's 50^th WTCC win in Race 2.

These results joint with the bad luck that hit Yvan Muller and Gabriele Tarquini meant a big leap forward in the championship classification for both Priaulx and Huff.

In Race 1 Huff claimed a lights-to-flag victory despite a short safety car period interrupting proceedings. He crossed the line ahead of reigning world champion Gabriele Tarquini and his teammate Alain Menu.

In Race 2 BMW Team RBM's Priaulx came from fourth on the grid to take an extra special victory at the place where he scored his first win for BMW back in 2003. Colin Turkington finished second after holding off the charge from Menu who obtained his second podium finish of the day.

Yvan Muller did not score this weekend and remained on 199 points with Tarquini (who retired in the second race) now just 5 points adrift on 194. Priaulx lies third only 16 points behind the leader whil Huff is fourth and reduced his gap to 32.

Darryl O'Young the young rookie from Hong Kong dominated the Independents' category taking two wins. He has now closed the gap in the standings to Sergio Hernández who still leads. O'Young and Michel Nykjær shared victories in the Rookie Challenge that is now led by Fredy Barth.
The championship will resume after the summer break for rounds 15 and 16 at Oschersleben Germany on September 5.

Motorsport Mundial 31-10

Aisling Ridout, Greenlight Television — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In this episode this years VLN series continues on the awesome Nordschleife in Germany Elite League Speedway with Wolverhampton taking on Peterborough. The World Supermoto championship holds it first round at Castelletto Di Branduzzo while DTM tackles its only road circuit of the year on the Norisring in Germany.