Competitors hail 2013 Tour Britannia a hit

  
The ninth edition of Tour Britannia, Britain’s only classic race and rally tour, has been hailed a success by competitors after two full days of competition (10/11 May). Races at Mallory Park and Silverstone and 18 asphalt special stages from a base at Warwick made up the 2013 route. 
 
For the sixth time in a row, a Porsche won the Competition Category as Phil Hindley and Andy Bull became the first crew to take back-to-back wins on the event. While Hindley took his Tech 9-built 911SC to victory by two and a half minutes, the later 911 of Duncan and Cate Buck won the Targa Category for post ’81 cars and the 356 of Melissa Raven and Jeremy Haylock won the concurrent Regularity Category by the narrowest of margins from the Jaguar XK150 of Richard Dresner and Colin Mackenzie.
 
Three Porsche 911s battled for the remaining podium places and it was Adrian Kermode/Sarah Bennett-Baggs who took second, with Kermode tackling the stages and Bennett-Baggs doing the races. Third was a great result for the 911 of John Spiers/Susanne Niedrum, although Tony Robinson and Mark Witherspoon were in the contest until they dropped time with an electrical fault at Stoneleigh. First non-Porsche home was the Ford Escort Mk2 of Philip Dolby and Mick Worrall.
 
Event winner Hindley paid tribute to the unique challenge of Tour Britannia. “It’s a fantastic event,” said Hindley. “It’s a lot of things rolled into one and it’s a real test to build a car to win this event.”
 
Despite clutch problems, Stephen Radcliffe and Peter Gunson finished second in the Targa event in their later Porsche 911. “We had loads of fun,” said Radcliffe. “It is just a fabulous event.” “It’s been a brilliant event,” said Cate Buck, the winning co-driver in Targa, while Sarah Bennett-Baggs described the tour as ‘fantastic’.
 
Despite an early retirement with fuel problems in the Jaguar E-type of Philip Walker, former BTCC and GT racer Mike Jordan was full of praise for his first experience of such an event. “I absolutely loved what we did,” said the BTCC team boss. “I hope to come back again next year.”
 
Event director Alec Poole recorded his gratitude to the organising team and the volunteer marshals who support the event to make it possible. “Many people work to make Tour Britannia a success and I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them. Of course, I would also like to thank the competitors, old and new, who entered the event.”

 
For press information, please contact Paul Lawrence on 01952 510382 or by e-mail: paul@tfmpr.com Copyright free images available upon request.

 

Hindley heads Tour Britannia field

Porsche ace Phil Hindley heads the field for this year’s Tour Britannia (10/11 May), which starts from Warwick on Friday morning (10 May) and finishes back there late on Saturday afternoon (11 May).
 
The ninth edition of Britain’s only classic race and rally tour runs will feature scrutineering and documentation on Thursday evening before two full days of competition. 
 
The most compact route so far lies in store for competitors in the Competition, Targa and Regularity sections. Friday’s route takes in special stages at Arbury Hall, the Porsche Centre at Silverstone and Mallory Park. There will also be a race at Mallory Park and a special test at Gaydon. Saturday’s route includes special stages at Packington Hall, Stoneleigh and Arncott, with double visits to Packington and Stoneleigh. Saturday’s race will be on the Silverstone International circuit.
 
Hindley and co-driver Andy Bull will campaign the immaculate 911RS from Tech 9 and Hindley is unbeaten to date on the event and its little brother, Mini Britannia. His established pace on the race tracks and emerging pace on asphalt rally stages make him the pre-event favourite, but a gaggle of crews are lining up to try and prevent Hindley completing a hat-trick of tour victories.
 
The stand-out rival to Hindley in the Competition event is Morgan Plus 8 of Richard Plant/Leigh Sebba and Morgan is one of the only marques to have prevented a clean sweep of Porsche wins on the event. Plant will be particularly keen to capitalise on the Morgan’s pace during the race at Silverstone. Meanwhile, switching to a Ford Escort from his regular Lotus Elan is tour veteran John Sheldon, partnered by Richard Kirby. Also in an Escort, and likely to be a contender, is Mike Smith, who is co-driven by Peter Thomas.
 
Stuart Scott and Steve Wood have a great record on the event with their ex-Richard Lloyd Chevrolet Camaro and would love to repeat their 2012 podium finish, while the pairing of Adrian Kermode and Sarah Bennett-Baggs (Porsche 911SC) will be very strong. More quick Competition entries include Jerry Bailey (Ford Escort Mk2), John Spiers (TVR Griffiths) and the strong pairing of Philip Walker and Howard Redhouse in Walker’s Jaguar E-type.
 
In the Targa category for post ‘82 cars, it is the Porsche 911 of Stephen Radcliffe and Peter Gunson that leads the way. Although running in a different section to Hindley, Radcliffe would love to be trading times in a sporting rivalry with his good friend.
 
Finally, a glorious array of cars will line up for the Regularity section, where the emphasis is on timing consistency and navigation rather than all-out speed. The Lotus Elan of Melissa Raven and Jeremy Haylock should set the standard given their impressive record on the event.

Tour Britannia route plans announced

Plans for the route for this year’s Tour Britannia (10/11 May) were unveiled at Race Retro, the International Historic Motorsport Show, at Stoneleigh Park (22-24 February).
 
Event director Alec Poole showed confirmed and prospective competitors details of what lies ahead when the ninth edition of Britain’s only classic race and rally tour runs in the spring. The 10/11 May tour will be based at Warwick, with scrutineering and documentation on Thursday evening before two full days of competition on Friday and Saturday. 
 
The most compact route so far lies in store for competitors in the Competition, Targa and Regularity sections. Friday’s route takes in special stages at Arbury Hall, where crews will make two visits, the Porsche Centre at Silverstone and Mallory Park. There will also be a race at Mallory Park and a special test at Gaydon.
 
Saturday’s route includes special stages at Packington Hall, Stoneleigh and Arncott, with double visits planned to Packington and Stoneleigh. Saturday’s race will be at Silverstone, while at least one more major venue is still to be added to the schedule. 
 
“We had a very positive response at Race Retro,” said Poole. “Our stand seemed to be the stop-off point for all sorts of well-known people from within the sport. At one point, we had Yvonne Mehta, Stuart Turner, Paul Easter, Fred Gallagher, Barrie Williams, Neil Oatley and Barry Lee all on the stand.”

Tour Britannia 2013 route to be unveiled at Race Retro

Details about the route for the 2013 Tour Britannia (10/11 May) will be unveiled at Race Retro, the International Historic Motorsport Show, at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry (22-24 February).
 
Using the annual kick-off event for the historic season as an informal launch, event director Alec Poole will be showing confirmed and prospective competitors details of what lies ahead when the ninth edition of Britain’s only classic race and rally tour runs in the spring.
 
The 10/11 May tour will be based in Warwickshire and Poole is inviting past, present and future competitors to visit the Tour Britannia stand to find out more about the event. As usual, the event will include Competition, Targa and Regularity sections to suit all tastes.
 
With 27 cars already entered, including overall 2012 winner Phil Hindley, the prospects for the 2013 event are excellent. Now is the chance to talk to the organisers and find out more about this unique event and the planned races and special stages for this year.
 
On display on the Tour Britannia stand at Race Retro will be Datsun 240Z of regular competitor Brad Mottier, a perfect car for either the Competition or Regularity event.
 

May date for Tour Britannia in 2013

 A two-day format, a May date and a base in Warwickshire are among the key early details of the 2013 edition of Tour Britannia. The ninth running of Britain’s only classic race and rally tour will be held on Friday/Saturday 10/11 May.
 
The initial plan is to have documentation during the late afternoon of Thursday 9 May at the event’s Warwickshire HQ hotel so that Friday and Saturday can be two days of full-on competitive action.

On Friday the route will form an anti-clockwise loop to include special stages at Prodrive's test track and at Arncott near Bicester. Competitors will then head to Silverstone for a race and a special stage on the superb track at the Porsche Experience Centre. Friday evening back at the HQ hotel will include the usual happy hour, dinner and light-hearted motorsport quiz which have become signature Tour Britannia features.

On Saturday, the action will start with a special stage at Mallory Park, a visit to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon and special stages at two more stately homes before returning to Mallory Park for the second race ahead of the finish, prize-giving and supper back at the HQ hotel.

“With no Monaco Historic GP in 2013, we have found a good slot in May,” said promoter Alec Poole. “In consideration of the economic climate, Tour Britannia 2013 will have two full days of action rather than the previous two and half or three days, and this will be reflected in the entry fee. Our target entry fees are £1,745 plus VAT for Regularity and £1,995 plus VAT for Competition and Targa.”
 
Alec has also set a date for Mini Britannia, the one day version of the event. This will run on Sunday 8 September.