25 Years of Autosport International

Paddock42 arrived at the NEC Saturday morning for the penultimate day of the Autosport Show, for many associated with UK motor racing its an annual pilgrimage to the largest multi-motorsport trade show in the UK. With a some well known drivers attending the event, McNish, Coultard, Solberg, Davidson, Neal, Shedden, Jordan, Huff to name a few, the public poured in to meet teams, clubs and organisers and make their plans for the 2015 season.

The show is a great opportunity for racers to network and develop relationships that will can lead to sponsorship or drives in future seasons and along with clubs and organisers its a chance to work with sponsors and promote new/ existing championships. Representing the karting fraternity were British Super Karts, Super One Series and various karting businesses retailing spares and new karts to those preparing for 2015. Super One held their 2014 season Trophy presentation which is always a good place to spot the new talent that may well, one day, be on the F1 grid.

HSCC put on a fantastic display of Brabhams which drew plenty of attention and as always the public jostled for position at BTCC stand and the F1 Racing grid where they were able to get up close and view the cars from the pinnacle of the sport. Wales Rally GB also put on a fine display with stunning historic rally cars including the legendary Rothmans Escort and its predecessor the latest WRC Ford RS. FIA Rallycross was represented by Petter Solberg’s Citreon DS3 which could be viewed on the Motorsport News stand – the publication celebrated its 60th Birthday at the event. Solberg could be also be found in the live action arena getting through some tyres in a 600hp Citreon Xsara…

The car companies where out to impress, Radical launched their incredible SR8 RSX an open top racer boasting a power to weight ratio of 558bhp per tonne, along with Renault showing off their new 1,100 kg Sport RS.01 which we are told delivers some 500bhp and will be out on track later this year. Others included the Sin R1 GT4, the race version of the R1 GT which was launched at the show in 2013 and packing a LS7 Chevrolet lump this is a Bulgarian flyer but expect to spend £110k if you want to secure one and enter British GT this season.

Taking a peruse on the British Drift Championship stand, one thing was certain, the preparation of these cars at the top level is stunning. It is great to see this motorsport discipline develop and become so popular – maximum respect has to be shown to these drivers who flick the handbrake and pop it side ways at 100mph. If you get a chance to attend a meeting this year go and keep an eye on Paddock42 as we will be trackside whenever we can capturing the moment and publishing results.

“One thing was certain, the preparation of these cars is stunning…”

Talking of preparation, BriSCA stock cars showcased some stunning engineering feats, incredible paint work and attention to detail, it was a real pleasure to get up close to these dirt track racers. Interestingly in the same hall was a lone British Truck Racing truck and a quick look at the beast proved that there was not much similarity to the tractor units that we see hauling goods all over the country on a daily basis – these things are serious racers.

Talking with the clubs there are some great new championships for 2015, two that did stand out included the Classic & Retro Time Attack Championship which is a new series that is open to cars over 25 years old. This is a foray into the historic world for the club that is universally acclaimed for super modern machinery with mega engineering prowess and already it is proving a huge success with large numbers of drivers signing up. Classic Sports Car Club have launched the New Millennium Series this season and it is a championship for post 2000 production cars and their race variants with 5 classes to cover engines up to 3500cc. More news on both these championships to follow on Paddock42.com.

As always a good show and great to catch up with contacts old and new – see you in the Paddock in 2015.