British Rallycross 2024

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by leonidas

Is there a case for phasing in a change to make the Modified 4X4 class the premier category in British rallycross so that the national championship can go everywhere?

I'd personally rather see Super National elevated to the premier class. Any sort of "open" modified 4x4 class would surely end up in Supercar territory for anyone with a big enough budget and the idea of having the premier class as something closer to production 4x4 is a hugely underwhelming prospect in my mind.

Looking at the entry list for the opening weekend...



...and Supercar is actually the healthiest entry of the lot (with some fairly modern Supercars in the mix there).

Super Retro looks good and I'd expect that Junior field to give us some decent racing as well. Good thing that RX150 was opened up to Crosscar or that would surely have got canned with two entries?

In my opinion All4 desperately needs the boost in entries it promised at its inception.

[BertMk2]

That's not a bad entry - obvious ommisions are Woloch with the BMW and no Bellerbys. No 4wd cars in the retros either - thought we might have seen Andy Grant and maybe a couple of others in there.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by BertMk2

That's not a bad entry - obvious ommisions are Woloch with the BMW and no Bellerbys. No 4wd cars in the retros either - thought we might have seen Andy Grant and maybe a couple of others in there.

Guess the 4WD retros are all saving themselves for Lydden Legend?

[steve_r]

Originally Posted by leonidas

I've been living outside the UK for a while so I've rather lost touch with British rallycross but... how has it got as bad as this?

The "main" GB championship seems to be a Lydden track championship. The BTRDA is barely getting about 40 entries. Entry fees are up to around £500 a round for Minis. Wow.

This looks like a sport that seriously needs a sustainability plan with a single championship and event structure. Having so many events in a small corner of the south east is just going turn off the rest of the country.

Is there a case for phasing in a change to make the Modified 4X4 class the premier category in British rallycross so that the national championship can go everywhere? Very few UK drivers seem to have serious European campaigns and I suspect very few existing drivers can afford to step up to a full spec Supercar. Existing Supercars could eventually go into an outlaw / Retro class to be run at the few venues that allow them.

At the other end of the scale, what about engaging with the large Autograss community and having a rallycross class to cater for class 1 and 2 production cars? There is a desperate need to get more into the sport and appealing to those who already have competition cars in their garage may be one way to do it.

It's been pretty bad for a long time.

There used to be highlights on terrestrial TV and there were lots of different classes, each with a only handful of old out of date cars in them. Often all you had to do to get on the podium was still be running at the end of the day. It was almost embarrassing to watch.

I don't think it has improved significantly since then, but I am perhaps being too critical? I always thought that it needs just two main classes, plus 1 junior championship and maybe 1 retro - otherwise it is too diluted. The supercars are fun to see, but too unreliable, too expensive and too rare.

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Looking at the entry list for the opening weekend...

I was half considering biting the bullet and making the trek. However, my company has decided to sell my company car (it was getting old to be fair) and dumped a former Directors EV on me for the next few months until they source me something else. Lovely car way, way above my pay grade, but total pain in the a**e running it. Would need to charge twice en route to get there and back and at over an hour per charge on my journey time, it is somewhat off putting! Entry at British GT at Oulton looks a lot less hassle, just one charge needed!

[flatlandsman]

When you look at that and remember the old says of Formula's A, B, C and maybe Minicross, it makes you weep.

This series and BTRDA will run a grid for anyone and anything if they can scrape 5 or more cars together.

To me it is a little embarrassing how far this series has fallen, the show is still OK and the drivers work very hard at it, but it has needed root and branch overhaul for about 20 years not just going through the motions. That is no fault of the drivers, it needs better management.

[CS1]

Pretty good meeting.
Having not attended a BRX event I was pleased to see the championship has some great potential now. Shame about Ian Barrett and Oli Bennet - anyone know what happened ?

Such a shame it doesnt have any rounds closer north or they would have another competitor

[geordiecriag101]

From what was said on Sunday, Barrett had engine problems and decided to not risk it and Bennet had accident damage from Saturday.

For me personally, it was an average days racing. The Retro (Super and Normal) were great to watch, tho were have the 4WD cars gone? The super Cars were great fun as always and the biggest surprise was the Cross Cars being added to the RX150's, they were equally matched and looked great fun.

The biggest disappointment was the BMW Minis and Swifts, even after all these years of running, they still were more than a few mechanical issues. I would have thought they be bomb proof by now! Those issues together with small entries that after the first lap were spread out made them rather boring to watch and just uninspiring unfortunate.

Here's my Trackside vid for anyone who interested:

https://youtu.be/UBDUo6_3npI?si=r-4O346uTTwKj-oN
https://youtu.be/UBDUo6_3npI?si=r-4O346uTTwKj-oN

[Barrie]

Oliver Bennett for me got taken out by POD, POD not reprimanded as usual. Bennett nearly got car repaired for the next race but organisers didn’t allow him any more time. Heard he decided to pack up and go.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by CS1

Shame about Ian Barrett and Oli Bennet - anyone know what happened ?

Barrett dropped a valve (or two) during Q1 on Saturday, think he was packed up by lunchtime. Real shame as I thought he could be a bit of a dark horse. Hopefully he can get the engine sorted.

Seemed to be a couple of different stories doing the rounds about Bennett (as is the case in the paddock! ). An issue with the car which prevented it from making the semi-final seems to be the story that has made it to the press release.

As said above, it was a bit of a mixed bag of racing. Some of the single make classes ended up pretty strung out on both days which wasn't great to watch. Really enjoyed Super Retro, some lovely cars out there and some good action.

Supercars were definitely the highlight, though I was a little irked by the final on Saturday; real shame that Godfrey jumped the start and had to double joker as he had fantastic pace throughout the day and I think he could have challenged for second or even first. However it was the position swapping that really miffed me. I can understand why RX Racing wouldn't want to squabble for positions, but I don't like seeing team mates surrendering positions in any motorsport discipline: it annoyed me at the November meeting and it annoyed me again here.

The Supercar final on Monday was definitely a good one though. Massive shame for Michael Leonard (the pole spot seemed cursed in the Supercar finals this weekend!), but a fantastic charge from Patrick to recover from a stall to take the win. I was surprised that Patrick didn't better his fastest lap from Saturday in the Monday final as he was absolutely on it.

It was a shame that McCluskey couldn't hang on for the win, but still a well deserved second. Love those Murray Motorsport Fiestas, fantastic addition to the Championship. Pity that Donoghue didn't last the weekend in his Fiesta. Encouraging start for Sellar in his new Polo as well. He looked quicker than Harris in the semi-final, but he couldn't find a way around him to make it to the final.

Looking at the Supercar championship though you have Ollie O'Donovan, Godfrey, Leonard, McCluskey and Ovenden all trading times. If Patrick isn't going to run the full season then it could be a really interesting fight between those guys.

Agreed about the crosscars as well. An RX150 looks like a ton of fun, but the crosscars look a little more dynamic to me. Just good to see that class with numbers again. Sounds like there are a lot more crosscars expected this year, so that class has real promise.

Originally Posted by geordiecriag101

tho were have the 4WD cars gone?

Being kept for Lydden Legend I think.

[CS1]

I heard Bennet had a water pump issue on Saturday but you cant tell me they dont carry enough spares to be able to fix that car for Monday. Real shame as he was superb to watch.

It should be a great weekend at the Legend event if they are all out.

Are there an roumours of any more supercars for this year?

Any rumours for the Legends? Wonder if Martin has been asked by Charlie French......?

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by Barrie

Oliver Bennett for me got taken out by POD, POD not reprimanded as usual. Bennett nearly got car repaired for the next race but organisers didn’t allow him any more time. Heard he decided to pack up and go.

Yeah, him leaving after the spin was the other story that seemed to be doing the rounds. As frustrating as it must be to get spun out, I real hope that isn't the truth.

Also, I think Godfrey was the one to blame for that spin: he cut across from the outside and set off a chain reaction.

Originally Posted by CS1

Are there an roumours of any more supercars for this year?

Not rumours as such as they are already confirmed, but Flitney should be out when he has an engine in the car and Priddy will be driving once the car is back together.

Originally Posted by CS1

Any rumours for the Legends? Wonder if Martin has been asked by Charlie French......?

Dan (Wright) actually mentioned this on the commentary; apparently Schanche was asked about driving the car (not sure if it was for Lydden Legend or just in general), but he said no.

[flatlandsman]

For goodness sake Martin is well over 70!

The guy i would like to see is Matti, if they get those French 205s over again especially the one like his. But again he is a working man heavily involved in Finnish youth racing, so I doubt he has time.

[tbtstt]

Few pictures from Lydden...











...and a few more here:

Flickr - 5 Nations Rallycross Championship 2024 - Rounds 1 & 2

For anyone who is interested!

[AndyS]

Anyone get to the last round of the season at Lydden last weekend? The entry looked half decent.

[Barrie]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Anyone get to the last round of the season at Lydden last weekend? The entry looked half decent.

I did Sunday. Was in two minds due to the entry but glad I did. Supercars particularly were pretty decent. Drivers had lots of track time what will hopefully encourage new teams.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Anyone get to the last round of the season at Lydden last weekend? The entry looked half decent.

Some of the classes were a little lacking in numbers (and I was surprised how few Crosscars entered), but I thought there was some good racing.

As Barrie said Supercars were decent. Obviously a shame not to have the Champion there, but it made picking a winner much tougher. Great to see what Barrett is capable of when the car is running properly and Bennett put on a good show. Was a shame that we didn't see a prolonged head-to-head between those two in either of the finals, but still great to watch.

Super Retro was close up front; Stewart, French and Doran in the mix on both days. Some respectful racing between those three (plus a lot of flamage from French which was pretty entertaining in the dark).

Retro was entertaining as well. I think Swayland had the fastest car, but you had Lynch, Moore and Venning all getting involved.

[AndyS]

Sounds like it was fun. I'll have to watch out for some videos on You Tube and Facebook.

[AndyS]

Meant to add, how were the Autograss Cars?

Autograss is reasonable big in this neck of the woods and I have two tracks within 30 minutes of me. It's the only racing on the loose stuff I can easily get to since Croft canned rallycross.

The class 7's and 5's have always been my favourite and I've often wondered what they'd be like on a rallycross track. Surprised nobody's tried it before to be honest.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Sounds like it was fun. I'll have to watch out for some videos on You Tube and Facebook.

geordiecraig101 has uploaded a great video of the racing from Sunday here...

YouTube - 5 Nations

...sure the official videos of the finals will start getting released on the 5 Nations Facebook and YouTube pages in the next few days.

Originally Posted by AndyS

Meant to add, how were the Autograss Cars?

So I know it isn't "proper" rallycross, but I was really pleased when they announced these: I had been fully intending to get to my first autograss event this year but it just hasn't worked out. Liam was pretty entertaining when he was on track during Lydden Legend and I have watched a fair few videos of the Class 7 cars in action, so I had pretty high expectations...

...I was forgetting though, that not everyone drives out of the pits and goes full Liam on their first lap. Four cars turned up (from seven announced) and I would say all of them were pretty cautious on Saturday.

They all looked quicker on Sunday though and were a bit more racy. I guess it must have been a pretty steep learning curve for all of them as I imagine the setup needed some significant adjustment to work on a mixed surface circuit. Not for a minute suggesting that British Rallycross needs another class, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing them again (especially if I continue to fail to get to an actual autograss meet!).

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

geordiecraig101 has uploaded a great video of the racing from Sunday here...

YouTube - 5 Nations

...sure the official videos of the finals will start getting released on the 5 Nations Facebook and YouTube pages in the next few days.


So I know it isn't "proper" rallycross, but I was really pleased when they announced these: I had been fully intending to get to my first autograss event this year but it just hasn't worked out. Liam was pretty entertaining when he was on track during Lydden Legend and I have watched a fair few videos of the Class 7 cars in action, so I had pretty high expectations...

...I was forgetting though, that not everyone drives out of the pits and goes full Liam on their first lap. Four cars turned up (from seven announced) and I would say all of them were pretty cautious on Saturday.

They all looked quicker on Sunday though and were a bit more racy. I guess it must have been a pretty steep learning curve for all of them as I imagine the setup needed some significant adjustment to work on a mixed surface circuit. Not for a minute suggesting that British Rallycross needs another class, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing them again (especially if I continue to fail to get to an actual autograss meet!).

Thanks for the link.

Shame the Autograss Cars weren't giving it the full beans. You are right on the set up. They usually only turn right!

Class 5 is very similar to class 7. I think I'm right in saying just smaller capacity engines. The Specials in Class 8/9/10 are pretty spectacular too.

[FIRE]

The autograss cars are fun to watch.

[A20 YBP]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Sounds like it was fun. I'll have to watch out for some videos on You Tube and Facebook.

Can you give a link, I wanna see it too

[flatlandsman]

The issue you have with autograss now which oddly does not affect rallycross, is that the cars are identikit. Most classes have a dominant car/package. And in Class 7 its a Mini based spaceframe with bike engines or a big V8, Class 5 is EXACTLY the same, all the cars look the same, sound the same and are built by about 3 or 4 different people.

The variety has all gone, some classes add a sprinkle, but it has become very bland.

Oddly this has not been mandated, it has just happened naturally. Largely through subtle rule changes and attempts to make autograss safer and more in line with other motorsport.

[AndyS]

Originally Posted by A20 YBP

Can you give a link, I wanna see it too

If you scroll up a bit tbtstt posted a link. Watched it last night, it's about 1 hour 15 long.