After a very tough weekend’s rallying in the Scottish Borders at the the Jim Clark Rally, Daniel and Co-Driver Arthur Kierans finished a very impressive 7th overall, won the R2 category and an extra bonus was securing the much coveted Pirelli Star Driver (PSD) nomination based on his performance on the weekend’s event. At the wheel of his Scanbitz Ltd and Ravelol Motoroil Lubricants Ford Fiesta R2, Daniel had a mixed weekend. After a very tough recce on Thursday the crew used the shakedown stage on Friday morning to fine tune the settings on the car before the car passed scrutiny on Friday afternoon prior to the event starting at 7pm Friday evening. The first stage was a short blast around the town of Duns before heading to the mammoth 16 mile stage Abbey St. Bathans. Then a shorter 4 mile test, which were all then repeated. Daniel set the joint 2 on the town stage with no drama, but about 6 miles into the Abbey stage the car dropped down on power getting progressively worse as the stage went on and the crew found themselves 15 seconds off the pace with no chance to repair the unknown problem until after the stages on Friday night were completed before overnight service back at Kelso Racecourse. After some investigation a faulty fuel pump was diagnosed as the problem and Daniel and Arthur knew they could do nothing but struggle with the intermittent problem until the service crew could change the faulty part. So Daniel and Arthur put in a massive effort on the remaining stages that were completed in the darkness of Friday night doing their best to minimize their disadvantage and finished leg 1 of the event 2 seconds behind the leader, local man Gary Pearson despite the car being very uncompetitive. The service crew then kicked into action and after a late night, a second hand fuel pump was fitted to the car with the hopes of the power loss problems eliminated before Daniel and Arthur could launch their attack for the lead of the R2 class. Leg 2 of the event was a scheduled 90 stage miles, but with the longest stage of the day being cancelled due to Marshall Problems the route was reduced by 27 miles which was going to make Daniel’s job even harder. However Daniel attacked undeterred and set fastest R2 time taking 8 seconds of the leader reducing the gap to 10 seconds but unfortunately the power loss problem was not fully rectified but was a lot more manageable than Friday night.For the next test Daniel found himself on the front foot and was confident of taking the lead from Pearson and the pressure applied to the leader was enough as Daniel was promoted to the lead as his leading rival had a spin and dropped 30 seconds, so Daniel and Arthur had a 20 second lead. On the next test the battle was over as Pearson crashed out of the event and Daniel and Arthur had a 58 second lead over the next R2 car. So with a car not at 100% Daniel kept pushing hard with a string of fastest R2 stage times throughout Saturday to keep the concentration levels high and also trying to impress the secret judging panel who would decide which driver would become the PSD nomination winner. Daniel stretched his lead to a 1min 40 secs n the R2 category and 7th O/A by the finish with hopes of securing the coveted nomination. At the finish ramp in Kelso town centre, it was announced that Daniel was the chosen nominee for the PSD competition which was the perfect way to cap of a brilliant performance on a very challenging event. Daniel and Arthur now find themselves jointly leading the R2 category in the championship and lying joint 5th overall in the main championship.      

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Pirelli Star Performance from McKenna at Jim Clark Rally!

The British Touring Car Championship has been running, in one form or another, since 1958 and is now the UK’s biggest motor racing championship. Those of us old enough to remember the series when it was in its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s will remember names like John Cleland, Will Hoy, Frank Biela, Rickard Rydell, Alain Menu, Tim Harvey and Joachim Winkelhok. Back then the grid was full of works teams from the likes of BMW, Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault, however by the late 2000s the only works team left on the grid was Vauxhall with the rest of the teams being independently run. The series has undergone somewhat of a revival in recent years and with the introduction of the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) specifications it has become cheaper for both manufacturers and privateers to run a competitive car, resulting in one of the largest grids ever at 29 cars for the 2013 season. Long gone too are the days when the grid was full of international drivers. With the exception of Aron Smith, the entire grid is made up of British drivers. MG and Honda are the only works teams left in the championship, while there are 15 teams competing for the independent teams’ championship. 6 drivers are also contesting the newly introduced Jack Sears Trophy for drivers of Super 2000 cars. The leading Super 2000 driver in each race receives a cup and at the end of the season the driver with the most cups will we awarded the Jack Sears Trophy by Jack Sears himself. Jack was the winner of the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship in 1958. The 2013 season got under way on Easter Sunday at Brands Hatch with Jason Plato winning races one and two and Matt Neal picking up the win in the final race. I have been following the BTCC for as long as I can remember and have always wanted to attend a race weekend. I finally got around to it last weekend when I went along to watch the second round at Donington as a guest of the AmDTuning.com team who run a Super 2000 spec Golf GTI. The first thing that struck me after arriving at the track on Saturday morning as I was ferried into the paddock on the AmD team’s golf cart was how open everything was. The support paddock was in the middle of what would normally be the car park and the public were milling around watching the teams put up their tents and unpack their cars while in the touring car paddock the drivers were wandering around happy to stop to chat to fans, pose for photos and sign autographs. There were no F1 style barriers and drivers hiding away in air conditioned motor homes. Fans were free to walk up to the back of the garages and peer inside. The drivers even use the same public toilets as everybody else – at one point both Mat Jackson and Sam Tordoff were in the queue behind me! After being shown around the AmD garage and chatting to the team I went for a walk down the pit lane. As one of the smaller teams AmD are at the top end of the pit lane, near the pit entrance and as I walked down the pit lane towards the MG and Honda teams, who occupied the first two garages, the thing that was most obvious was that the further I walked along the busier the garages became. AmD and the other Super 2000 teams had perhaps 6-8 people on the team while the likes of MG and Honda have maybe 20-30.  The larger teams also have large hospitality tents that hold around 100 people while the smaller teams have a table and chairs at the back of the garage with a box of tea bags, paper cups and a tin of biscuits! Saturday morning consisted of free practice for BTCC and the support series and then the afternoon was taken up by qualification and ended with the first race in the Clio Cup series. I was in the pit lane for most of the day on Saturday and got to walk in and out of the garages watching the teams tweak their cars between sessions. I also got to stand on the pit wall for the BTCC sessions. The noise of the cars as they drive by is amazing and like nothing I have heard before – I could feel the sound wave from the exhaust as the cars backfired when changing gear on the straight. The sound is something that simply does not come across on TV. As the drivers sat in their cars preparing for the first free practice session thinking, some took the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the circuit! Sunday morning got off to a hilarious start as we made our way from the main gate to the AmD garage – four of us and a box full of sponsor goodie bags on a two seater, underpowered golf cart with James, the driver, unable to use the brakes as we would not have got going again if we slowed down. People were jumping for cover, although I’m sure that while it seemed like we were doing 100 miles per hour from the inside, it had all the speed (and danger) of Fr. Dougal on his milk float from the outside! As we made our way out to the infield to watch the first couple of support races the BTCC teams were busy with final preparations for their first race of the day. First up on Sunday were the Formula Fords followed by race 1 of the Porsche Carrera Cup championship with Irish interests represented by brothers Karl and Michael Leonard driving for Team Parker Racing in the Pro-Am1 category. Karl and Michael had a close battle with Victor Jiminez with Karl taking the category win in the motorsport.ie liveried car and Michael finishing third following a spin that allowed Jiminez to get by. Karl made it a clean sweep by picking up the category win in race 2. In addition to the two race wins, Karl was also awarded the driver of the weekend trophy. The BTCC cars took to the track at 1125 and we got to go onto the grid as the cars formed up. While the pit crews swarmed around the cars carrying out last minute jobs the photographers swarmed around the grid girls – no prizes for guessing where I ended up! We watched the first race on TV from the AmD garage. It was a different experience watching a race on TV with no commentary. The hard work was done at this stage and all the team could do was watch. One team member had a notebook where he logged each of driver James Kaye’s lap times with a comment next to it – either a time difference to the car behind or a note about something the driver did or didn’t do – while team manager Shaun was on the radio to James updating him on events on track that he had gleaned from watching the TV. It’s not like F1 where there is car to pit telemetry and GPS driver tracking, if the team don’t see it on the ITV4 live feed they don’t know about it. Race 1 was won by Gordon Sheddon, ahead of Andrew Jordan and team-mate Matt Neal. The holding area for the winning cars was right next to the AmD garage so at the end of the race we made our way over and were right in front of Gordon Sheddon’s car as he pulled in and got out of the car. It was really interesting to see the reactions and hear the comments between the drivers as they chatted about the race. ITV’s Steve Rider and Louise Goodman were on hand to carry out the post-race interviews. I’ve not watched the races back yet, but I’m sure we managed to get into the background. Following the interviews the drivers were taken out into the paddock where the podium presentation was carried out on the back of a truck for all the fans to see. AmD’s James Kaye came home in first place in the Jack Sears Trophy – here’s a shot of his empty champagne bottle. I don’t think they’re supposed to drink between races! During the lunch break there was a thirty minute slot where the pit lane was opened for the public to walk about and get photos and autographs. About 20 minutes before the gates opened the queue was easily four or five hundred people deep. Luckily, we had access through the AmD garage so we were able to bypass the queue and line up at the Honda garage to wait for Flash and Matt Neal to emerge. When the public were allowed in the biggest draws seemed to be the MG and Honda teams followed by the Airwaves team and BMW with the crowds dwindling the further down the pit lane you went. I know the drivers are probably contractually obliged to sit outside their garage and sign autographs, but it is a great idea and gives the fans an opportunity to get up close to the drivers. I suspect the drivers don’t get hassled as much over the weekend if the fans know they’ll have an opportunity for an autograph at this session. For race 2 we ventured out of the pitlane and took up a spot near the Craner Curves. I was amazed at the number of families that were sitting around the banks – it really is a family day out. There were first timers who arrived in t-shirts and shorts along with people who appeared to be regulars who brought picnics and tents to shield themselves from the wind. This was Matt Neal’s 500th race start and it was fitting that he reached that milestone at Donington, scene of his first ever win in 1999 when he picked up a cheque for £250,000 as the first independent driver to win a race outright. He ran with the number 500 on his car for race 2 to commemorate the occasion, while Jason Plato ran number 400 as this was his 400th race. Unfortunately for the AmD team, a start line collision between James Kaye and David Nye saw both men pile into the pit wall and retire from the race resulting in the safety car being deployed. Following the restart, Andrew Jordan pulled out a big lead after lunging down the inside of Shedden at the start of lap 7. Behind Jordan was a close battle between Plato, Shedden, Neal and Morgan with Plato eventually passing Shedden for second place and Shedden finishing in third. Matt Neal finished his 500th race in 4th place. We made it back to the AmD garage just as they were finishing patching up the Golf – a new front end, wings, doors and lots of red tape and the car was ready for race 3. Not a bad effort for a team of 8! We took to the grid for the final race of the day and as James had not finished the second race he was last on the grid, just behind Warren Scott who had put his car into the gravel trap at the Old Hairpin in race two. Due to the size of the field, the back of the grid is almost at the exit of the final chicane so this allowed us a great opportunity to get a close up look at the cars as they exited the chicane and did a quick burnout to warm the tyres. Then it was time to take another walk along the grid to check out the cars and the grid girls! As we were getting booted off the grid I managed to get a quick photo of Gordon Shedden as he prepared for the start. Again, we watched race 3 from the AmD garage. It didn’t go too well for the AmD team. Unfortunately, despite the sterling job by the team to get the car ready, an electrical failure caused James to stop out on track. Dave Newsham had a major wobble on the way through Craners on the opening lap that almost took out several of the top drivers, but luckily everybody managed to avoid him. Former WTCC champion Colin Turkington shot into the lead from second on the grid in his eBay BMW and remained there to the end, finishing four seconds clear of Gordon Shedden with Matt Neal coming home in third. At the end of the race we made our way again to the holding area to watch the cars come in and had the opportunity to eavesdrop on the drivers as they congratulated each other and chatted about the race, including asking each other how they managed to avoid the spinning Dave Newsham at Craners. We said our goodbyes to the AmD team and walked along the pit lane inspecting the cars and emerged into the paddock just in time to catch the end of the podium presentation with Colin Turkington taking his young son onto the top step with him – something you won’t see on your average podium. Now that I’ve experienced a BTCC weekend, I definitely plan to go back. I would recommend it to anybody. Donington is a great track as there are plenty viewing spots and no matter where you stand you have a view of three or four corners. It is also very easy to get to as it is practically at the end of the runway at East Midlands Airport and if you book early enough you’ll get return flights with Ryanair for less than forty quid. I’ve included a selection of photos below. For me the first image captures the spirit of British Motorsport perfectly.

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BTCC Donington- with Marc Quinlivan

For the second time of asking this year, preparations for Daniel and Co-Driver Arthur Kierans on their approach to the 1st round of the British Rally Championship (BRC) has all been completed and the duo are pumped up and raring to get tackling the massive challenge that is the BRC. The unusual weather that Ireland and the UK have been experiencing in recent weeks, led the organisers of the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales no other option but to cancel the event due to hard packed ice and snow making the stages impassable. Therefore one month later than scheduled, all the crews are again in the final stages of preparation for the forthcoming 1st round of the BRC, the Pirelli RBF International Rally, based in Carlisle on the 4th/5th of May. After this unusual late start to the championship all of the competing crews found themselves ready to mount their attack on the championship, with months of hard work completed behind the scenes but nowhere to rally. As a result, most of the competing crews have taken advantage of the extra preparation time, by competing in a smaller local or national event in an effort to be more competitive for the new beginning to the championship. Daniel was no different in this case and managed to secure 0 car duties in the Willie Loughman Carrick on Suir Forest Rally on the 14th of April to shake down the newly prepared car and get some valuable stage miles under his belt. The event was a valuable experience to Daniel and his crew as they incurred some minor problems that may have been enough to retire them from their first event in the UK. He was also able to develop his technique for driving the car on the gravel roads, as well as making some vital set up changes to the car itself. As a result this leaves himself and his crew in an even stronger position now approaching the opening round of the BRC. Daniel received more good news during this period, as Ravenol Motoroil, High Performance Lubricants Ireland/UK, have decided to support the young up and coming driver with some vital sponsorship that will help with his endeavours this year. All goals remain the same for the entire crew and they are hopeful of securing a good haul of points while also trying hard to impress the Pirelli Star Driver Shootout judges, to gain a coveted nomination for the competition held at the end of the year.

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McKenna Pumped up and Raring to go for the Pirelli RBF Rally

WALLER, Texas – April 2, 2013 – As the son of a race driver, Conor Daly spent most of his life watching the Indianapolis 500 from the grandstands. This year the 21-year-old rising star will be seeing the race from the cockpit of an Indy car. Daly has been hired to drive A.J. Foyt’s No. 41 ABC Supply Honda in this year’s Indianapolis 500, joining  Takuma Sato who pilots the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Daly, who grew up in nearby Noblesville, Indiana, will be making his formal IndyCar debut in the 500 on May 26th although he did test the ABC Supply Indy car in December.   “I almost can’t describe what it means to have the opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500,” Daly said. “I have been to the 500 every year of my existence except for last year when I raced in Monaco. It is truly my home race since I was born and raised in the Indianapolis area.  I am so thankful that A.J. and Larry [Foyt] have given me my first shot at the greatest race in the world.  I know this will sound cheesy but I’ve never been happier in my life; this race means so much to me.”   Daly will participate in the Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) on Thursday, April 11th along with three other rookies: Tristan Vautier, Carlos Munoz, and A.J. Allmendinger, who has won Indy Car races while competing in Champ Car but has never raced in the Indy 500.   “I’m excited about bringing Conor to Indy for his first race at the 500,” said Larry Foyt. “I’ve been watching him come up through the open wheel ranks, and when we met at the F-1 race in Austin, Texas last year, we hit it off immediately. Doing the test at Sebring confirmed he could make the step up to an Indycar, and with my dad’s guidance, the potential is there for a great month of May.”     Young Daly recalled his first experiences at the track, saying, “In my early years I spent most of my time at ‘Racing Babies’ under the Tower Terrace suites watching the races because my whole family was busy working the race weekend. When I got older, no matter how hot it was I was always sitting in the front row of one of my Mom’s Tower Terrace suites watching every single lap of the race. The Indy 500 is part of my life; I love everything about the month of May.”   Although Conor’s father Derek, an ex-Formula 1 and IndyCar driver, retired from competition before Conor was old enough to watch, his family has remained active in motorsports.   “I’m thrilled that Conor was A.J.’s choice,” said Derek Daly, who is also Conor’s manager. “With A.J. and the engineering talent within the team it will be an ideal learning environment for Conor. This year’s 500 will be a highly emotional event for me and my family.”   Daly, who turned 21 two days after his Dec. 13th IndyCar test at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway, has spent the last two seasons competing in GP3, the European-based single-seater series which is a forerunner to Formula One. Daly has won races in every series he has competed including GP3, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda and Skip Barber. He won national titles in the Mazda and Barber series.   For the senior Foyt, the decision to hire Daly was based on the positive experience in testing with him at Sebring.   “He ran well at Sebring when we needed someone to do some testing in the off season. He was fast, smooth, and didn’t get in trouble,” Foyt said. “When we made a change on the car he felt it. I found him to be very savvy on the chassis setups. In fact, when we made a minor change which was really nothing, he thought about it and said it felt no different. I told him that was the right answer because we didn’t do anything he’d be able to feel, so that impressed me too. I’ve run a lot of rookies at Indy and I think Conor will do a good job for us.”   Daly must pass two of the three phase speed test during ROP at Indy April 11th. Drivers must run 10 laps at 200-205 mph, another 10 laps at 205-209 mph, and finally, 15 laps at 210+ mph. The drivers may complete the third phase during the first week of practice and must do so before attempting to qualify on Pole Day, May 18th. The rain date for the ROP is Friday, April 12th.   The 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be held Sunday, May 26th. The race will be broadcast live by ABC starting at 12 noon ET. Daly, the 2010 American Formula Star Mazda Champion, is sponsored by:  VBrick Systems, Inc ., Delavaco Capital Inc ., Callcap , Merchant Services LTD , and   Tom Lange Company with additional support from; St. Vincent Sports Performance , Alpinestars and Aspin Group .                                           A Dash of Daly * 2012 Won MRF Formula Challenge, India with four wins * 2012 Scored 1st GP3 win in Barcelona, Spain * 2012 Participted in two F1 data aero mapping tests with Sahara Force India * 2011 GP3 Series – Carlin Racing * Indy Lights – Sam Schmidt Motorsports * Led Indy Light championship after three rounds after winning at Long Beach, CA before heading to Europe * 2010 Formula Star Mazda Champion * Record setting year – 9 Poles, 11 Podiums, 7 Wins, most laps led and largest points winning margin in history of series * 2009 Formula Star Mazda – Finished 3rd in Championship – 1 Win, 1 Pole * 2008 Won Walter Hayes Trophy (FF1600), Silverstone, England    – First American and youngest ever winner at that time    – Part of Team USA Scholarship * 2008 Won Skip Barber National Championship – 5 Wins * 2008 Won Canadian Formula Ford 1600 Rookie of the Year – 5 consecutive wins * 2006 Three time World Karting Association Champion * 2005 Kart Racers of America Junior Driver of the Year For more information and downloadable photos, please view: www.conordaly.net Facebook: Conor Daly Official Page Follow Conor on Twitter:    @ConorDaly22  

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Conor Daly to Drive in Indianapolis 500 for A.J. Foyt

Former World Rally Champion, Norwegian- Petter Solberg is moving from the special stages to the Rallycross tracks this season, as he contests the European Rallycross Championship (ERC). He will be at the wheel of a Citroen DS3 super-car which has been hurriedly constructed at Petter Solberg Engineering, and it’s all go to get everything ready for the opening round this weekend at Lydden Hill. In a work-shop on the outskirts of Galway, two men, Brian Grealish and Sean Hession of Galway Carbon have also been playing an essential role in helping Petter to make the start this weekend. They have been putting in 16-20 hour days over a three week period being to manufacture the specialised Carbon-Kevlar light-weight panels for the Citroen DS3 rallycross weapon, having been chosen for the job by Petter. Brian Grealish was naturally thrilled. “It’s been one of the most intense projects that we have ever completed, and on a very tight time scale, with just three weeks to turn the whole thing around. It’s been very exciting however to be working with Petter and what is a great team on this project. We had been making products for Phil Mills of Viking Motorsport, and Petter was over to check progress on his own Historic MK2 Escort, when he spotted our products in Phil’s workshop. Then we got a phone call in January from Petter to ask us to manufacture the panels for the DS3, and naturally we were delighted. It’s the sort of work we have been aiming for since we started three years ago, and it’s come a lot sooner than we thought.” Indeed the Galway Carbon team had three weeks to virtually start from scratch to make eleven separate panels for the 600 horse power monster DS3. “In the ERC the roof and the driver’s door must remain in steel, so bumpers, bonnet, boot, wings, quarter panels and so on can all be made from Carbon. We have used a special state of the art resin to manufacture these panels, for super strength and weight saving. Thanks must go to East Coast Fibreglass supplies for always providing the most technologically advanced products available.” commented Brian. Indeed the Scott Bader- Crestapol 1250LV resin, and a Carbon/Kevlar mix also unique to the Galway boys has resulted in some impressive weight saving. How about a front bumper weighing just 2.17 kgs! Or a front wing at 629 grams! With the first batch already fitted to Petter’s mean machine, a second batch of panels is being prepared and Brian and Sean will be delivering them to Lydden Hill this weekend. It’s the start of a two year project with Petter Solberg Engineering, and Petter speaks very highly of the products from the Galway work-shop. “This is the best looking carbon I ever saw. Great fit to my car and this will enhance the level of what can be produced to cars. I appreciate the hard work the boys have put in to make the panels ready in such a short time and I look forward to a great and long cooperation!” says Petter. Of course this is not all this company caters for, as a wide range of panels and parts are available in Carbon and Fibre-glass, catering for MK2 Escort’s, Honda’s, Toyota AE86, and many more vehicles. Despite the recession this relatively new venture has provided exceptional standards in quality, standards that have now been recognised by the 2003 World Rally Champion. For more information on this innovative company check out their new website- www.galwaycarbon.com Type in Galway Carbon to bring up their Facebook page which has more pictures of the DS3 project, and follow them on Twitter @GalwayCarbon

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Petter Picks Galway Carbon for ERC Effort!