Hindley Heads The Field

As the Tour enters its final day the Porsche 911SC of Phil Hindley and Andy Bull leads the competition field by nearly one and a half minutes with Roger Kilty and Lynette Banks in second place in their Ford Escort RS1600. Jeremy Cooke and Mike Dowd complete the top 3 in their 3 litre Porsche RSR.

Yesterday produced a number of retirements with mechanical problems including the Shelby Mustang of Robert Hartley and Evelyn Boscawen on the opening stage of the day while Mark Freeman and Kevin Kivlochan suffered gearbox failure on their Shelby Cobra in qualifying for the race at Croft. In true Tour Britannia spirit, however, they restarted the event this morning in a 2.7RS Porsche.

Mike Smith and Ian Ashley suffered transmission issues on their RSR Porsche after former Grand prix race Ashley put in an impressive performance in the Croft race which was win by the Targa category Radical SL of Evo journalist Richard Meaden with Hindley second in the Porsche. Another Porsche duo to hit problems were Philip Walker and John Clark who put their RSR in a ditch on the final stage of the day at the Yorkshire Showground.

Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon dominate the Targa category in their Radical ahead of the Aston Martin DB7 of Liam Brady and David Shepherd after John and Duncan Freeman were side-lined with electronic problems on their Mazda MX5 in qualifying at Croft and Renault 5 duo Tony and Pia Bianchi had engine problems before the Raby Hall stage.

Steve and Tony Graham lead the Regularity category in their Lancia Fulvia just 5.6 seconds ahead of Melissa Raven and Jeremy Haycock. The Porsche pairing lead their class as do third placed Neil Oatley and Fred Gallagher in their Volvo P544.

Friday sees competitors visiting Harewood Hillclimb course twice, at the start and end of the day, and taking in Blyton and Newark as well as a race at the beautiful Cadwell Park circuit. The event finishes back at Rudding Park in Harrogate.

Porsches head 2012 Tour Britannia entry

A quintet of Porsche 911s will bid to make it five wins on the trot for the German marque when Tour Britannia starts in Harrogate tomorrow evening (Wednesday 6 June).
 
Competitors in the eighth running of the classic race and rally tour will tackle 20 special stages and two races during two and a half days of intense competition in an event based at the Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate.
 
As well as the classic cars in the all-out competition event, later cars will contest the concurrent Targa Britannia and a field of fabulous classics will take part in the regularity rally that runs on a similar route.
 
Heading the competition field away will be former GT racer Phil Hindley in his 911SC. The former Porsche race winner and TVR Tuscan champion will be driving his latest project in competition for the first time, but is sure to be particularly quick in the races at Croft and Cadwell Park.
 
Porsches have won five of the eight tours run to date, and Hindley will lead the 911s of Mike Smith/Ian Ashley, Philip Walker/John Clark and Jeremy Cooke/Mike Dowd in a very competitive field. Smith and former Grand Prix driver Ashley make a very strong combination in the 911 used by Sean Lockyear to win Tour Britannia in 2010, while 2011 overall winner Clark joins Walker in another very competitive package.
 
Taking on the Porsche ranks will be some V8 American muscle headed by Robert Hartley/Evelyn Boscawen and Mike Thorne/Jonny Todd in Shelby Mustang GT350s, along with the Chevrolet Camaro of Stuart Scott/Steve Wood and the AC Cobra of Mark Freeman/Kevin Kivlochan. British power includes a pair of Austin Healey 3000s for David Smithies and David Grace. Among the smaller-engined cars, the multi-discipline experience of Roger Kilty, partnered by Lynette Banks, will make their Ford Escort Mk1 a leading contender.
 
Heading the Targa Britannia field will be the spectacularly fast Radical SR3 SL of Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon, which will be challenged by Liam Brady and David Shepherd in their Aston Martin DB7.
 
The regularity field is wonderfully varied and leading runners should include Neil Oatley, who has former WRC co-driver Fred Gallagher alongside in his Volvo PV544, and brothers Steve and Tony Graham in their fabulous Lancia Fulvia. Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Bentley are all represented in this element of the event.
 
After the opening two stages on Wednesday evening, two full days of competition will take crews across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire before the finish at Harrogate on Friday afternoon.
 
On Thursday spectators are welcome at Croft (from 10am) and on Friday at Harewood hillclimb (from 07.20 and 17.00) and at Cadwell Park (from 10.10).
 
Former Tour Britannia winners
2005 Ray Bellm/Paul Lanzante (Ford GT40)
2006 Bruce Stapleton/Alastair Cowin (Morgan Plus 8)
2007 John Grant/Charles Elwell (Chevron B16)
2008 Sean Lockyear/Roy Stephenson (Porsche 911)
2009 Nick Whale/Harry Whale (Porsche 911RS)
2010 Sean Lockyear/Ian Reed (Porsche 911)
2011 John Clark/Emma-Jane Gilbart-Smith (Porsche 911)

Late Entries Still Available

Despite a late influx of entries for this year’s Tour Britannia there are still some places available on the event.

Confirming that the Tour can still accept entries, Event Director Alec Poole said, “We are delighted with both the quantity and the quality of entries that we have already received but we have the flexibility to accept even more cars if competitors discover at the last minute that they are able to take part.

Anyone who has not yet entered Tour Britannia but is interested in taking part can contact Alec on 01295 268888, e-mail him on info@tourbritannia.com  or download an entry form by clicking here.

Works Radical to contest 2012 Tour Britannia

Tour Britannia will have its first works entry when the classic race and rally tour runs for the eighth time on 6-8 June. In the concurrent targa category for post ’75 cars, Radical will field its fully road-legal SR3 SL for journalists Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon.
 
Neither Richard nor Jethro have driven the SR3 SL before, but its race and track-proven pedigree - including scooping EVO's Trackday Car of the Year - should make it ideal for the task. Both drivers have experience in a wide range of disciplines, both contesting the Nurburgring 24-hours amongst other events, and will be aiming for lap and stage records at every venue.
 
Targa Britannia is open to any post ’75 road legal car, including sports, GT and saloon cars capable of carrying a crew of two, and complying with MSA race regulations. The competitors will tackle 20 asphalt special stages as well as races at Croft and Cadwell Park, with the car being driven on the public road between the venues. It will be a real test of a car’s ability to perform in competition and be used on the road, all within the same event.
 
The Radical SR3 SL is a fully road-legal track car without compromise. The SR3 SL scores on all levels: performance, handling, styling and specification. It is powered by the advanced turbocharged Ford EcoBoost engine, delivering 240bhp, with direct fuel injection and a fly-by-wire throttle, coupled to a six-speed paddle-shift gear change. Confidence-inspiring handling comes from bespoke adjustable dampers, developed specifically for the car's unique race-proven suspension arrangement.

It features a lightweight spaceframe chassis that's been tested and approved to sportscar racing standards. Fully-floating 280mm disc brakes front and rear provide stopping power beyond the abilities of any other supercar. Despite a dry weight of only 725kg, the SL comes with trimmed bucket seats, a wraparound LCD dash, electrically-adjustable wing mirrors, cockpit heating and courtesy lighting.

Twenty special stages for 2012 Tour Britannia

Competitors in the 2012 edition of Tour Britannia (6-8 June) will tackle 20 special stages and two races during two and a half days of intense competition following final sign off of the route for the eighth running of the classic race and rally tour.
 
As always the stages are interesting and novel, with four of the venues completely new to motorsport. There are unique variations at some venue, including the Harewood Hillclimb course being tackled in the opposite direction to normal. Meanwhile, the team at the event HQ hotel of Rudding Park in Harrogate is surfacing a new road in the grounds to be used on the first stage of the event.
 
Tour Britannia will visit 10 venues, with another new to Tour Britannia special stage venue confirmed as Blyton Park Driving Centre near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. “The stages for 2012 are new and interesting and should provide a great challenge and a lot of fun for our competitors,” said event director Alec Poole.
 
Full-on asphalt stages like Blyton Park, and another recent addition at Tockwith, contrast nicely with the beautiful parkland roads at Raby Castle and Aske Hall and the iconic stages at Harrogate and Newark Showgrounds. There really is something for everyone in the 2012 route.
 
Meanwhile, the organisers are dealing with a flurry of entries as the closing date approaches, including 2011 winner John Clark and rallying crew Tony Robinson and Jon Cropper in one of nine Porsches already on the entry list for the competition event.
 
In the concurrent regularity rally, a fabulous array of classic cars will compete, ranging from a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud to a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso and, marking the 50th anniversary of the model, an MGB. Also represented in the regularity entry are classic marques liker Porsche, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Austin Healey, Lancia and Bentley.

An interesting entry in the Targa class for modern cars is the Radical of motoring journalists Richard Meaden and Jethro Bovingdon.

Some places are still available on the event. You can download the entry form here.