British Rallycross Championship 2017

[tbtstt]

The British Rallycross Championship have announced the calendar for the 2017 season:

http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/news/br...nges-announced

R1 - 19 March - Croft
R2 - 17 April - Lydden (Easter Monday)
R3 - 25 June - Pembrey
R4 - 22 July - Mondello Park
R5 - 23 July - Mondello Park
R6 - 28 August - Lydden (Bank holiday Monday)
R7 - 23 September - Pembrey
‪R8 - 24 September - Pembrey
R9 - 22 October - Croft

Also included in the article are some changes for 2017, most interesting of which is the decision to run BMW Mini, Super 1600 and Hot Hatch classes together for 2017 (though the individual titles will be retained).

Seems a sensible decision and a step in the right direction. Everyone with a competition car still has an individual trophy to race for in 2017, but there should be less heats with just a handful of cars running.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

to run BMW Mini, Super 1600 and Hot Hatch classes together for 2017 (though the individual titles will be retained).

FINALLY!

[WJM]

No Grand Prix? 22 October is a Sunday...

[chunder]

there hasnt been a Grand Prix for decades mate!

[coppice]

What was I watching at Croft yesterday I wonder?

[chunder]

It is not a rallycross grand prix, it is a very poor imitation.

It should be called a Superprix or something, because a Rallycross Grand Prix it certainly is not.

The GP used to attract the biggest names in the sport from Europe, the current one doesn't.

[coppice]

You may be right about the entry but as it is termed the Rallycross GP I will call it that . By your argument the 2005 Indy GP wasn't one either then ?

[chunder]

You can call it by whatever you like son, just as you call call baseball or football stadiums the Emirates or the Vitality arena.

I will never do it, it will never be a GP if its anywhere but Brands with a cracking entry.

And sorry, I havent watched an Indy whatever race in my life, so I have no idea what you are talking about, i watch a lot of oval racing stuff, but if it doesn't involve contact I cant be bothered

[geordiecriag101]

Just to add a lil bit info for next year, i managed to get a quick word with both Julian Godfrey & Dan Rooke on Sunday. Julian is staying with his trusty Fiesta again next year and doing British RX plus the odd other outing, Dan hopes to do the British series again to defend his title and the home WRX round and maybe a few more but it all depends on budget.

I really hope Dan can get the backing sorted as after a very brief 5 min chat he comes across as a very mature young man who has so much enthusiasm for the sport and also the natural ability to drive that it would be a crying shame if he had to give it up due to lack of funds!

[coppice]

Dan is extraordinarily gifted and one of the biggest talents I have seen in many years - and not just in rallycross either . I would love to see him in a singe seater.

[leonidas]

Originally Posted by FIRE

FINALLY!

Hallelujah! I don't usually have much praise for organisers but bringing these classes together is an excellent decision. Hopefully there will be an overall national champion too in what in essentially now the production class.

It is also good to see a decent calendar with evenly-spaced rounds. It would be nice to get some more tracks on the calendar (presumably Mallory is dead?) but that is probably unrealistic at the moment.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by FIRE

FINALLY!

Originally Posted by leonidas

Hallelujah!

Early signs are that is going to prove a popular decision

I fully agree with the statements concerning Dan Rooke. At the very least I would like to see him running the British Championship again, but I really hope he can find the backing for a World/European round or two.

Originally Posted by geordiecriag101

Julian is staying with his trusty Fiesta again next year and doing British RX plus the odd other outing

There was talk earlier in the season that he would be switching to a newer chassis for 2017, guess that isn't happening?

[chunder]

I went to Mallory a few weeks ago to watch a stage rally, place wsa in very good nick, quite a few improvements being made to restrict the noise issues and move it upwards rather than across.

The rallycross track is still there, it hasn't been allowed to grow over, but not sure if it will ever be used again, I think the Dorans were involved last time it happened and a few things went wrong for some reason.

It is a great little venue and should be used more often but sadly gets overlooked for a lot of events these days.

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by chunder

The rallycross track is still there, it hasn't been allowed to grow over, but not sure if it will ever be used again, I think the Dorans were involved last time it happened and a few things went wrong for some reason.

Mallory Park was where a spectator got blinded by debris from the loose section, wasn't it? Sure there were also a lot of drivers complaining about damage to their cars the last time they ran there as well?

As you say, an overlooked venue, but with the stigma attached to it now, I doubt we'll see rallycross again there any time soon: be nice to be proven wrong though!

[chunder]

I was not really trying to sound hopeful, but I think the reason they went for it is because they have lost a lot of dates of other series like BSB.

So, they have lost a lot of revenue over the years,

[leonidas]

Mallory? There were problems with noise and the old management were not entirely without blame. Suffice it to say there is now a new management who seem to be getting the circuit moving forward again. I thought the rallycross track looked quite neglected when I visited earlier this year but its probably not too serious and you would have to regrade it anyway. There were some complaints about the track but I think some drivers have got used to racing on billiard tables. Take a look at some rallycross videos from the 1970s...

I just haven't heard any local rumours about a rallycross return so I assumed the circuit hadn't been approached?

[Hickey]

Will they adjust weight limits to ensure those 3 classes are fair? That would be a good idea...

[silver bullet]

Originally Posted by leonidas

Mallory? There were problems with noise and the old management were not entirely without blame. Suffice it to say there is now a new management who seem to be getting the circuit moving forward again. I thought the rallycross track looked quite neglected when I visited earlier this year but its probably not too serious and you would have to regrade it anyway. There were some complaints about the track but I think some drivers have got used to racing on billiard tables. Take a look at some rallycross videos from the 1970s...

I just haven't heard any local rumours about a rallycross return so I assumed the circuit hadn't been approached?

I don't think many people complained about Mallory the last couple of times we were there, they had sorted the track problems out by then, and to be fair nobody was complaining about the roughness of the track. It was the fact that the stuff they used to make the loose had not been graded for size and content of the material used, there were half bricks coming up to the surface!!
Also the transitions from loose to tarmac were far too severe, there was no graduation at all, it was a totally square edge, and as the loose dug out it was like hitting a big kerbstone flatout. But fairplay to the track management, got it all got sorted out.
It would be great to see Mallory back on the calendar, it was central and easy for everyone to get to. The problem is who would run the meetings as it is not a BARC circuit? Would any of the clubs currently involved in rallycross want to do it (LHMC, MDA, DDMC), or would a local motorclub like to get involved?

Originally Posted by Hickey

Will they adjust weight limits to ensure those 3 classes are fair? That would be a good idea...

Looking at the times from Croft the BMW Minis and Hot Hatches are doing very similar times, and so are the Swifts.
The Super 1600 times are more like Supernational

[Hampton Caught]

Originally Posted by WJM

No Grand Prix? 22 October is a Sunday...

Fear not! Steve's first post on this thread only had the dates of the 2017 British Rallycross Championship, which finishes on Saturday 21st October.

The Grand Prix is a stand alone event and will be on Sunday 22nd October, immediately following the last round of the British Championship, as it has done the past few years.

Hope that helps, WJM.

Cheers, Steve

[leonidas]

With regard to Mallory, I don't know if anyone has talked with Rugby Motor Club? They still run a lot of local events and I get a lot of emails from them. I was a member but work in recent years has meant motorsport stuff has taken a backseat.

[smudge2031]

Hi, quick question......whats the the maximum cc allowed now in the clubman rallycross....it used to be 4.0cc I think....is a 3.0 v6 turbo allowed nowadays??

thanks

[tbtstt]

Jake Harris confirms full season in a DS3 Supercar:

http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/news/ha...ercar-campaign

I assume this is the car used by Steve Harris?

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by smudge2031

Hi, quick question......whats the the maximum cc allowed now in the clubman rallycross....it used to be 4.0cc I think....is a 3.0 v6 turbo allowed nowadays??

thanks

All the regulations for the BTRDA (Clubman) Rallycross Championship can be found here:

http://clubmansrallycross.weebly.com/regs--forms.html

I don't think the 2017 regulations have been uploaded onto the British Rallycross Championship website yet, the 2016 regulations can be seen here:

http://www.rallycrossbrx.com/competitors

[Hampton Caught]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Jake Harris confirms full season in a DS3 Supercar: I assume this is the car used by Steve Harris?

Yes Steve, that's right, and it's being reworked by LD Motorsports, so maybe a little more competitive this year after a refresh!? Maybe! Jake deserves a good, competitive motor to go play with the big boys. The DS3 will have to do for now!!!!

Cheers, Steve

[chunder]

To be brutally honest the LD cars have never really been that good in the past. Skorupski, Tohill, Henning, Jeanny, not many guys have done much in any of them, despite being good drivers.

Probably OK for British rounds, but I would steer clear of any of his cars really, their reliability record is abysmal.