NEWS: Cholmondeley Pageant of Power/WalesRally GB Rally Star List Grows

The list of amazing WRC and BRC stars and cars attending this year's Cholmondeley Pageant of Power – thanks largely to a fab new association with Wales Rally GB – is growing nicely and now includes the Qatar M-Sport Ford Fiesta, which just came third in Rally Acropolis.

On top of this, the famous Rally Village to host famous historic models driven by Colin McRae, Jari-Matti Latvala and others and a host of top WRC and BRC drivers to race at the Pageant, including British WRC Academy-winner Elfyn Evans and junior rally champions, no to mention legendary Group B cars to carry out full-acceleration demonstrations for crowds.
Visitors to the 2013 Cholmondeley Pageant of Power (www.cpop.co.uk; 14-16 June) will be able to get up close and personal with some of the biggest names from both the World Rally Championship (WRC) and British Rally Championship (BRC), as a host of star drivers and their 2013 championship-contending machines descend upon the Cholmondeley Estate.
An exciting new partnership with Wales Rally GB will see the Pageant of Power – the UK’s biggest celebration of power and speed – play host to a packed schedule of on-track action featuring a number of British rally drivers.
Amongst them will be rising Welsh star Elfyn Evans, who will take to the course in his Qatar M-Sport Ford Fiesta R5. Throughout the 2012 season, hot shot Evans secured first place in the FIA WRC Academy, the one-make feeder series to the WRC, along with the R2 title in the BRC and the UK Fiesta Sport Trophy.
Other notable British stars lining up to compete around the 1.2-mile track include Tom Cave, who finished second in the 2012 BRC, and reigning Class 3 Welsh National Champion Benjamyn Mckay, while James Ford, Alex Parpottas and Gary Wright complete the BRC entry list.
From further afield, the Proton R3 Motorsports rally team will also be participating in the Pageant of Power, entering the Satria Neo S2000 into the event. Proton Motorsports has enjoyed a great deal of success across Asia with the vehicle, which took the 2011 Asia-Pacific Championship title and finished runner-up in the 2012 Super 2000 World Rally Championship.
Away from the latest rally cars, over twenty iconic Group B cars and drivers will go head to head in machines from an era that many consider to be the ‘golden age’ of rallying. The line-up of these incredible machines will include an Audi Sport Quattro, Audi Quattro A1 and a Peugeot 205 T16, with ex-Peugeot works driver Kevin Furber behind the wheel.
Also on display in the Pageant’s Rally Village – a new addition for 2013 – visitors will be able to view some of the most iconic cars from rallying history, including Colin McRae’s 1996 WRC Subaru Impreza and his 1999 Safari-winning Ford Focus. Also confirmed to be on display will be Jari-Matti Latvala’s 2010 Ford Focus, which took a podium finish in Rally GB that year, and Mikko Hirvonen’s 2010 Monte Carlo-winning Ford Fiesta S2000.
With 2013 seeing the twentieth anniversary of its first win, Francois Delecour’s Ford Escort Cosworth WRC – winner of four rallies between 1993 and 1994 – will be on display to the public for the very first time. There will also be the 1970 Ford Escort which took Hannu Mikkola to victory in the gruelling 16,000-mile London to Mexico World Cup Rally.
James Hall, Event Director for the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power, said: "The rally display is going to be one of the highlights of the event and we’re really excited to be hosting some of the greatest cars and drivers from all eras of the sport. Out on track, visitors will be able to witness some of the fastest, most versatile racing machines in the world, while the new Rally Village will showcase some of the most successful and iconic vehicles from the rallying history books."
Now in its sixth year, the 2013 Pageant will take place on the Cholmondeley Estate in Cheshire from 14 to 16 June, celebrating power and performance in its many forms. Until 13 June, adult tickets start at just £24 for the Friday Preview Day, and £32 to see all the action on Saturday or Sunday. Under-16 tickets are currently available from just £5 for the Friday Preview Day and £7 for Saturday and Sunday tickets.
To buy tickets or find further information, visit www.cpop.co.uk.

Wales Rally GB takes place from 14 to 17 November, moving to North Wales in 2013. For event and ticket details go to www.walesrallygb.com.
For the latest updates follow Wales Rally GB on Twitter @walesrallygb, join the conversations on Facebook at www.facebook.com/walesrallygb or visit the website www.walesrallygb.com

NEWS: Bonkers Red Bull Soapbox Race Hits London

In honour of my late father-in-Law, Barry Coupland, who was a huge soapbox fan, creator of 'the Bentley boys' legendary downhill racing cart (see below) and would have loved the forthcoming Red Bull Soapbox Race 2013 at Alexandra Palace on July 14th... an update on the big fun, leftfield London city event run by Red Bull below:

The late, great, Barry Coupland giving it large in his 'Bentley' at Cadwell Park:

Red Bull racers – soapboxes including a Beatles-inspired yellow submarine, a police car and a black cab are taken for a test drive ahead of the Red Bull Soapbox race at Alexandra Palace, London on 14 July.
The vehicles, which each took three weeks to make, are made from BMX bicycle wheels and a steel axel steering mechanism. They were customized using plywood, polystyrene and cardboard tubing, and are covered in coloured plastazote foam with details such as number plates and other branding created using vinyl.
After a nine year hiatus, the world’s wackiest road race returns as 70 human-powered soapboxes compete for glory as part of a festival of music and fun. Judges Rob Marshall (Chief Designer at Red Bull Racing), Danny MacAskill (street trials pro-rider) and Gee Atherton (multi-award winning mountain biker) will be assessing entries on their speed, creativity and crowd-pleasing antics.
Entrants include a loaf of bread baked to soapbox size, Elvis’ blue suede shoe and a Royal baby carriage.
Off the race track, there will be plenty of action to keep the crowds entertained including face painting, ‘people pit-stops’ and live music from DJs.
Chief Designer at Red Bull Racing, Rob Marshall; street trials pro-rider, Danny MacAskill and multi-award winning mountain biker, Gee Atherton; will be the judges on the day.
The course opens to the public at 10.30am, racing commences at 12pm and the winner is crowned at 4pm.
Red Bull Soapbox Race 2013 is at Alexandra Palace on Sunday 14 July to book your £5 ticket please visit www.redbullsoapboxrace.co.uk.

Get involved. You've honestly not lived until you've seen a soapbox derby I promise! I've raced all sorts of drag, race and rally cars and my runs out in Barry's 'Bentley' at Cadwell Park still take some beating for that four-wheel buzz. Such fun. 

NEWS: Manthey Racing 911 GT3 RSR Legend Limited Edition Model

Are you a Manthey Racing 911 GT3 RSR N24 fan but can't stretch to the real thing? Why not collect this ace, deadly accurate endurance racing model of the legendary 2011 Manthey Racing GT3 RSR – record-holding multiple N24 winner. 

The car that ran to victory that year – making history with five N24 wins in six years – was driven by Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr, aka the 'Manthey dream team.' They drove a blinder and won the 39th edition of the endurance classic in the now iconic yellow-green Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Team Principal and Green Hell legend, Olaf Manthey recalls the special value of that historic success: "That victory is particularly valuable for me because we made it against so many strong competitors as never before!" 

To celebrate that special victory, Manthey has launched a 1:43 scale limited-edition model of just 500 die-cast models (of which only 450 will go on sale). And it's really rather cool – with the car on the left being what it looked like at the start of the race (all shiny and new) and the car on the right being post-24-Hr-race (all battle-scarred, dirty and on different rims). And there's all the facts and figures from the race printed on the base and display case. Nice work!

You can purchase the limited edition model on the newly created web site – www.manthey-shop.de – for €189. 

And see more images of the model on our Facebook page – and read all about their 2013 N24 campaign in the next issue of Road Magazine, out very soon.

NEWS: Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak Test

Peugeot has let their 875bhp 208 T16 Pikes Peak beast loose on a full-chat altitude test – in preparation for the Colorado "ascent to the clouds" hill climb June 24-30th.
The gruelling test took place at Le Ventoux – an ultra-demanding and famous stage of the Tour de France.
"You’ve got a much bigger chance of seeing me drive to the top in a car than on a bike," quipped the reigning world rally champion Sébastien Loeb before the test, however.
Peugeot say: "You only need to drive a couple of kilometres up the road which leads from the test team’s basecamp to the summit to understand why this barren mountain has become such a huge legend among cycle racing fans. The steep slope and numerous turns do not permit the slightest respite as it strikes out towards the summit. The reward is a stunning panoramic view of France’s Provence region, while the vegetation becomes much sparser and the landscape more lunar as you approach the barren peak at an altitude of 1,909 metres.
"The last six kilometres – which we at Peugeot Sport used for the test – are simply breathtaking! It’s little wonder that ‘Le Ventoux’ is seen as one of the Tour de France’s most prestigious stages, and it comes as no surprise, either, to learn that it provided the backdrop to one of the most famous hill climb events in the pioneering days of the automobile industry. In 1902, even before the Pikes Peak Hill Climb was organised for the first time, the most advanced vehicles of the day would compete here, and the venue is perfectly suited as the location for Peugeot Sport’s last run ahead of next month’s showdown in North America."
"This is an important run because Pikes Peak is very different from a nice, smooth race track," noted Sébastien Loeb. "It is vital for us to evaluate the car on a terrain that is more like what we will find in the States. This road will give us a reasonably accurate idea..."
The world champion was visibly pleased to be back in the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak car, now sporting its aggressive livery: "It’s not the power that impresses me anymore; I’ve got used to it," he reported. "It’s the speed at which the corners leap out at you which is more striking than round a circuit where there’s always a ‘100-metre’ board to show you where to brake. Here, you can be in fifth or sixth gear and you suddenly see mountainside ahead of you; you have to work out for yourself where you need to brake…"
With a power output of 875 horsepower, this car is no ordinary 208. "The steering is still very, very responsive, so it can be a little hairy keeping your foot to the floor though the fast portions," observed the French driver. "On wide slicks like this and at the sort of speeds I am getting up to, the slightest imperfection in the road surface really unsettles the car."

A switch to softer Michelin tyres and revised calibration for the steering helped to improve the situation.
Peugeot Sport’s Jean-Christophe Pailler, who is in charge of the project’s technical aspects, saw the open-air session as a dress rehearsal both for the team and the 208 T16 Pikes Peak car: "The mechanics and engineers need to familiarise themselves with working on the car in real-life conditions. They are getting an increasingly better grasp of how it responds to set-up changes and are analysing the tiniest detail or piece of feedback from Seb to refine its settings. It’s a learning process for everyone…"
The visit to Mont Ventoux also provided the team with the possibility of running at altitude. "Okay, the altitude isn’t as extreme here as it is at Pikes Peak which reaches 4,301 metres, but it’s a valuable intermediate step," added Jean-Christophe. "It allows us to see the differences in the way the engine functions, although we hope to suffer less from altitude-induced power-loss than our rivals because of the turbochargers we have chosen."
The next step is the journey to Colorado for more testing on the course which will only be available on a section-by-section basis on 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th and 16th June. After this final preparatory phase, the event will run in earnest from 24th June until 30th June, which is when Sébastien Loeb and the Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak car will at last get their chance to reach for the clouds for real!

Prior preparation prevent poor performance! We expect nothing less than something truly spectacular at Pikes Peak with this combination of Mr Loeb, Peugeot Sport & 875bhp, right? 

See more images on our Facebook page.

BLOG: Pirelli World Challenge by Ashley Van Dyke

Our USA correspondent, Ashley Van Dyke reports on the double top 10 finishes at the newly re-vamped Circuit of The Americas for JCR Motorsports' Audi R8 LMS in the Pirelli World Challenge.

Ashley says:
Jeff Courtney and the No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS rolled into the newly built Circuit of The Americas feeling confident coming off a very successful test just a few weeks prior to the event. Thursday allowed for more testing and Courtney was showing great pace heading into the Pirelli World Challenge race weekend, which was a scorcher – with temperatures reaching the high 90’s. And on Friday afternoon Courtney qualified the car P10 on the starting grid for Round 4.
"The car was great and I think we could have qualified near the front of the field had I not had a slight bobble on my best flyer lap," stated Courtney. "The lap times are so close from the session that less than half a second splits us from P3."
Courtney had a well-executed standing start in Round 4 and was able to get a pass in before the first red flag caution came out. When the field came to take the restart, Courtney started to experience overheating issues with the No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS that would continue throughout Saturday’s race.
"The crew did a good job keeping my head in the race as it was very frustrating having to short-shift and find clean air to keep the car at a temperature that would allow us to finish the race," said Courtney.
The No. 99 Kenda/RecStuff.com Audi R8 LMS was able to withstand the 50 minute sprint race, despite overheating issues, and score a Top 10 finish.
The crew worked hard to make changes and best cool the car for Sunday’s race. Another strong start allowed for Courtney to jump from P14 to P11 by Turn 1.
"We had a great car again on Sunday," said Courtney. "For the first part of the race we were able to push hard up to P7. Unfortunately, we started experiencing overheating issues again and from that point forward it was just a matter of trying to hold our position."
Courtney finished P7 in Round 5. Watch the Pirelli World Challenge Live Stream from Rounds 4 & 5 here, www.world-challengetv.com.
Check it out!

NEWS: Matt Dawson Success In Shell Eco Marathon

Shell has just crowned England and Lions rugby star, Matt Dawson ‘Shell FuelSave Celebrity Driver of the Year’ after he recorded an astounding 94.86km on just one litre of fuel, pushing fuel efficiency limits to the maximum in the Shell eco-marathon.
Driving an ultra-energy efficient Shell Eco-marathon vehicle designed by students, on a challenging urban track, Matt Dawson battled it out against three other famous faces from across Europe. The head–to-head challenge put driving skills such as braking, accelerating and cornering to the test to see which celebrity could drive the furthest on the least amount of fuel.
Matt Dawson said: "I’m delighted to be named ‘Shell FuelSave Celebrity Driver of the Year’ but the real stars are the students. I’m so impressed by the creativity and skills of the student teams in approaching future energy challenges."
The celebrity challenge took place at the opening ceremony of Shell Eco-marathon Europe in Rotterdam. Shell Eco-marathon brings together thousands of young students from around 24 countries as they compete in ultra-energy efficient cars they have designed and built. The event sparks debate about the future of mobility and inspires young engineers to push the boundaries of fuel efficiency.
David Moss, Shell Retail General Manager UK and Nordics said: "It was great to see the celebrities perform and their success shows just how easy it is to save fuel and reduce fuel costs. That’s why Shell has launched Target One Million, which that aims to help one million drivers learn how to save fuel. Via a series of online games atwww.shell.co.uk/targetonemillion, drivers can discover tips to help improve fuel efficiency."
Bravo to Matt. More silverware for the mantle piece!

NEWS: RAC Car Sales Website Launched

The RAC has launched a website for car sales – RAC Cars (www.raccars.co.uk) – this week "promising to give consumers a new level of trust, transparency and confidence in the purchase of their next used vehicle." Interesting! 

Created following the acquisition of Netcars.com, RAC Cars offers the motoring public access to quality cars from quality suppliers packaged with its unique 3-2-1 Go! reassurance plan, all of which is included in the price to customers. Every one of the 40,000+ (and growing) number of vehicles on the site come with a minimum of 3 months’ complimentary warranty, 2 months’ RAC Rescue and 1 five-day drive-away insurance plan. The RAC say: "This will allow buyers to enjoy driving their new vehicle with confidence as soon as they purchase."
The RAC Cars proposition was developed in response to extensive research with RAC members and motoring consumers around their concerns when buying a used vehicle. The research* revealed that nearly three-quarters (73%) of men and women fear buying a ‘lemon’ and a similar number (74%) want a warranty in case something goes wrong.
As a result the site will not include any private sales, traders or independent dealers that do not adhere to the 3-2-1 Go system!
As every car on sale comes from franchised or RAC approved dealers, the traditional used car worries around mechanical soundness are significantly reduced because vehicles are prepared to a consistently high standard. In addition, the majority of the stock will be between six months and five years old, and will have been well-maintained with an excellent service history.
A growing number of the cars on the site will be supplied through RAC approved dealers who comply with the 80-point RAC BuySure preparation standard. Going beyond 3-2-1 Go!, RAC BuySure includes a minimum of three months’ RAC warranty, three months’ RAC breakdown cover** and use of the RAC Accident Care service.
RAC Cars chairman Rupert Keane says: "The used car consumer finds the acquisition process fraught with anxiety and mistrust so the RAC’s decision to bring its name and skills to improve this experience is excellent news for anyone looking for reassurance when buying their next used car. That’s why we are positioning RAC Cars as ‘the safer way to buy a used car’ on our website.
"Our members listed quality, peace of mind and outstanding value for money as their top criteria and we aim to offer this. In order to achieve that goal we have to ensure the suppliers on www.raccars.co.uk are of the highest standard possible, their cars are the best available (we won’t stock every vehicle they have) and that there is a reassuring ‘safety blanket’ wrapped around each car. We call it 3-2-1 Go! Used car buyers have been in desperate need of a trusted service like RAC Cars for years. We are the only search engine with seven million driving members that focuses on providing such peace of mind to those acquiring their next vehicle. It’s what you expect from the RAC. It’s the RAC brand promise.”