Entries build for Mini Britannia

Entries are building rapidly for Mini Britannia as the entry closing date of 14 September approaches. The one-day classic race and rally tour, the little brother of Tour Britannia, will run on Saturday 13 October from a base at Silverstone.
 
Jonathan Turner will return to the event, this time in his semi-lightweight E-type, in a bid to rival the Porsche 911s of Phil Hindley, Mike Smith and Gary Morris. Hindley won Tour Britannia in June with his 3-litre 911 and will now tackle Mini Britannia for the first time, when Smith in his potent 911RSR will be a major rival. Early entries in the Competition category include Philip Dolby (Alfa Romeo), Mark Freeman (AC Cobra), Andy Dee-Crowne (Lotus Cortina) and Harvey Death (Mini Cooper). Back in his Porsche 911 for the car’s first outing since the 2011 Safari Classic Rally will be Richard Jackson.
 
Stephen Radcliffe is another newcomer who has entered his Porsche 911 in the Targa class. Stephen visited Tour Britannia in June to watch his friend Phil Hindley win overall and liked the look of the event so much that he has decided to enter his potent Porsche. Stephen has extensive racing experience in Porsches and, more recently, a Jaguar E-type. Joining him in the Targa category is Harry Sherrard in a Mini Cooper S.
 
Angus Forsyth and Marcus Atkinson have bravely joined the Britannia spirit and have entered their 1930 Austin 7 Ulster in the Regularity category. Sholto and Willie Gilbertson-Hart are both entered for Regularity, in Jaguar E-type and Bentley 4.5-litre respectively, and will be joined by Richard Dresner in a Jaguar Mk2. The wonderful variety of the Regularity category is demonstrated by entries including John Cook (Sunbeam Rapier), Michael Hanson (Porsche 928) and Andrew Brodie (Citroen SM).
 
Spectators are most welcome to see the Mini Britannia cars in action at Silverstone on Saturday 13 October. The first car will be flagged away from outside the BRDC Clubhouse at 9.30am and will tackle a stage which exits Silverstone onto the Whittlebury to Buckingham road before heading north into Warwickshire for stages at Stoneleigh Park and Packington Hall. The route then heads south past the Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre back to Silverstone for track action between 2.30pm and 3.30pm on the International Circuit, based at the ‘Wing’. They then go out again for another series of stages, returning to Silverstone for the final stages on the Stowe Circuit between 5.15pm and 6.15pm. Spectators are also welcome at the Heritage Motor Centre where the Regularity competitors will have a special test between 1.30pm and 2.30pm.

Tour Britannia Newsletter launched

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Tour Britannia Coffee Table Book

Paul Lawrence has put together an excellent Tour Britannia 2012 coffee table book. Should this be of interest, please contact Paul on paul@tfmpr.com 01952 510382 as he has the flexibility to tailor the book to your requirements. Costs will start from £60 per book and each book will contain at least 10 images of the competitor placing the order. Unfortunately, this only applies to Competition Category entrants this year.

Mini Britannia 2012 is unveiled

Tour Britannia’s one-day classic race and rally tour, Mini Britannia, was announced today at Silverstone (Wednesday 27 June). Based at Silverstone, Mini Britannia will run on Saturday 13 October 2012 and will give regular competitors some late-season fun and new competitors the chance to sample this type of event.
 
Like its big brother, Mini Britannia will include Competition and Regularity events and will run on asphalt roads. A race at Silverstone and a series of special stages in the Silverstone area will make up a full day of competition, both starting and finishing at Silverstone.
 
Following the format of Tour Britannia, crews in the Competition event will tackle a series of asphalt special stages and a race at Silverstone, while the Regularity competitors will follow the same route with straight forward average speed tests on the same stages and track. As there will be no road regularity sections, the category is simple to follow without tricky navigation or timekeeping. While Regularity entrants are fully fledged competitors, competition licences are not necessary.
 
“The first car will start from the BRDC Clubhouse at 9am and head north into Warwickshire,” said event director Alec Poole. “There will be stages at a stately home and a private test track before returning to Silverstone for another new stage.  We will then use the International race circuit before venturing out on another loop for more special stages. When the event returns to Silverstone at the end of the afternoon, the prize-giving supper will be in the BRDC Clubhouse.”
 
In keeping with the present financial climate, entry fees have been cut to a minimum with Regularity costing £750 and Competition £995, both including VAT. 
 
“We have planned a full day of action and may have to limit numbers to get everyone round the route before it gets dark,” said Poole. “It is an ideal opportunity for some action before winter sets in or, if you are interested in trying a race tour, it is a great chance to sample this type of event.”

Hindley, Meaden and Raven score on Tour Britannia

 The eighth running of Tour Britannia has been judged another success by competitors after a field of 50 cars competed across two and a half days in Britain’s only race and rally tour.
 
When the tour ended in Harrogate on Friday evening (8 June), the major winners were confirmed as Phil Hindley/Andy Bull (competition), Richard Meaden/Nathan Blewer (targa) and Melissa Raven/Jeremy Haylock (regularity). The battles were close across all three elements of the event as Tour Britannia took crews to ten venues, seven of them new to the tour.
 
As well as a clutch of new venues, the event welcomed a number of new competitors to tackle the challenge of Tour Britannia. Significantly, more than a dozen crews were family pairings on this event where the social side is an important part of building a unique atmosphere.
 
In competition, Hindley and Bull took victory in their Porsche 911SC over the Ford Escort Mk1 of Roger Kilty and Lynette Banks with the Chevrolet Camaro of Stuart Scott and Steve Wood completing the overall podium. The result marked the fifth win in a row for Porsche, while Kilty’s drive to second was a highlight of the event. His crowd-pleasing style netted eight fastest special stage times.
 
The works-entered Radical SR3 SL of Meaden took a commanding win on the targa event as the road-legal car showed its on and off-track prowess in style. Meanwhile the regularity event was won and lost by just over two seconds as the Porsche 911S of Raven and Haylock narrowly pipped the Lancia Fulvia of brothers Steve and Tony Graham after a fierce battle.
 
“I’d like to thank all our competitors, old and new, for their support on the 2012 Tour Britannia,” said event director Alec Poole. “Of course, I must also thank all the officials and marshals for their help in some rather changeable weather. Without the army of volunteers we could not run this unique event.”
 
Now, Poole and his team are finalising plans for Mini Britannia, the one-day event in October, as well as the ninth Tour Britannia in 2013. More details on both events will be announced in due course.