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#93 OCTOBER 2011

NORWEGIANS TAKE CLEAN SWEEP IN EUROPE AGAIN

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Contributors: Eddi Laumanns, Hal Ridge, Henk de Winter, Johan DingenenThis issue published : October 1Next issue published: November [email protected] myriorama

BriefingNorway dominant on track as Poland looks for a restHaving three Norwegian champions in the ERC may not be a total surprise: for most of the year Lars Øivind Enerberg and Andreas Bakkerud have been clear favourites for the TouringCar and Super1600 titles, and you could never discount Sverre Isachsen in Supercar. The surprise is in the way that Isachsen eventually made such light work of winning his third consecutive title. This has been an incredibly closely fought year; five different event winners and a handful more looking like winners, but Isachsen is already champion and we still have the last round to come.

The continued success of Norwegian drivers is one of the topics covered this month, as is Poland’s plan to withdraw from the 2012 series. That will be good news for another organiser as now only two of this year’s events will be forced out of 2012 calendar which should be set by this time next month…

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#93 OCTOBER 2011

RallycrossWorld.COM #93 – October 2011 | 32 | #93 – October 2011 RallycrossWorld.COM

Contents5 Top Story 7 Diary Gallery 12 Diary September 18 Poland to sit out 2012 ERC 20 Why Norwegians keep winning 24 Godfrey looks to S1600 ERC bid26 Exhaust notes30 Shoestring stories


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Assuming that Poland does not plummet to the bottom of the ranking for some unexpected reason, those 2011 ERC organisers ranked in the top eight will retain their place in the calendar next year.

Three events are set to rejoin the championship in 2012, Finland, Germany and Hungary, so it was expected that the three lowest graded of this year’s event would get the chop. That has changed, however, following Poland’s move to withdraw its application (p18). Poland, ranked second in each of the last two years, is likely to be within the top eight, meaning that only those events ranked ninth and tenth this year will now be dropped on rotation; the third vacancy provided by the withdrawing Polish event.

Competition between organisers this year has been more intense than ever with the majority appearing to have understood that it is no longer good enough to simply go

through the motions of running the event, and that small details and improvements will make the difference at the end of the day.

At this point there is no indication from the FIA as to how the events in the 2011 championship have performed. To most regulars on the championship trail there have been problems or complaints at most events – even the mighty Höljes was found wanting when the weather turned for the worse and it may count itself lucky that it did so on Friday and not one of the main race days.

With the final round of the championship still to run, there remains a nervous waiting period for event organisers. An additional piece of the calendar jigsaw will be provided after the French championship event at Dreux on October 15-16, an event at which the organiser and track will be observed and inspected for inclusion in the 2012 ERC.

Top eight look safeTwo out, three in as decision day nears for ’12 calendar

RallycrossWorld.COM #93 – October 2011 | 5

JULIAN GODFREYCosworth YB – 543bhp, 810Nm torqueBritish Rallycross Champion 2011

JOS KUYPERSCosworth YB – 543bhp, 920Nm torqueDutch Rallycross Champion 2011

KOEN PAUWELSDuratec 2.0 – 304.7bhp, 256.8Nm torqueBelgian Rallycross Champion, TouringCar 2011

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JULIAN GODFREYDuratec 1.6 – 225bhp, 181Nm torqueWinner, 2011 Super1600 ERC Belgium

SVERRE ISACHSENCosworth YB – 543bhp, 920Nm torqueEuropean Rallycross Champion 2009European Rallycross Champion 2010European Rallycross Champion 2011

Top story

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Diary galleryHomeboy’s near missChristian Petrakovits starred in his home ERC round, qualifying on pole in Super1600 and leading the final until his car suffered a component failure and he was forced to retire. Son of PS Racing Center boss Erich, Petrakovits had his best ever ERC run in the event, the first at the track since 2008.


Diary galleryThat’s my boySet Promotion boss Jussi Pinomäki congratulates his Norwegain driver, Andreas Bakkerud on clinching the 2011 Super1600 European Rallycross Championship. The title is the fifth for the Finnish team, Pinomäki having won three himself as a driver, before guiding Timur Timerzyanov (2010) and Bakkerud to the title.


Diary galleryRemember the first time?As the return of the British Rallycross Grand Prix is confirmed, it seemed an opportunity to think back to the first GP in 1982. Rolf Nilsson won the event at Brands Hatch in his Porsche 911. The Swede would be the only driver ever to win in a two-wheel drive car, by the following year the 4x4s had exerted their grip.

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September 1Mallory Park issues a statement cancelling the seventh round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship that was to have taken place at the track in the English midlands on October 16. The statement blamed “a lack of aggregate materials to make MSA required track changes” and explained the decision to cancel by saying: “The Rally Cross (sic) track operated on a short term license from the MSA that was subject to the extension to the run off areas at Gerards corner. Despite its best efforts, Mallory Park has been unable to secure the materials needed to complete the landfill due to the shortage of building works in the area. The MSA has now withdrawn the track licence until these and other track works are completed and the decision has been taken to cancel this year’s event as there is no chance of securing supply of materials in time.” The relatively late cancellation of the event meant that it was not possible for championship organisers to find a replacement. The champion thus drops from eight to

seven rounds with competitors still dropping one score.

September 3In an event struck by heavy rain, Stian Haugan takes the Norwegian Rallycross Championship with victory in the final round at Dokka. While Haugan won both event and title, Terje Morstad was excluded from the event. Despite taking no points, Morstad managed to place second in the championship. Ole Håbjørg takes victory in the TouringCar category and puts his name to the title while the Super1600 class is won on the day and in the championship by Trond Wilhelm Marthinsen.

September 4The PS Racing Center at Greinbach in Austria returns to the European Rallycross Championship as host venue for round eight of the 2011 series. Updated and improved since last hosting an event in 2008, the compact track provides the stage for a closely fought and competitive event which is won by

DiarySverre Isachsen. The defending title holder’s third victory of the year changes the face of the championship and moves him to within striking distance of a third consecutive crown. Timur Timerzyanov emerges from the B final to lead the chase of Isachsen and, with second place, marks himself out as the man with the best chance to deny Isachsen the hat trick. Krzysztof Skorupski takes the Super1600 victory but the star of the show here is Jaroslav kalny who, at the wheel of his old 206, does a mighty job to place second. Third is taken by impressive Russian newcomer Vadim Makarov. Roman Castoral has to give best of Lars Øivind Enerberg and appears set for second in the final when Enerberg goes off while leading and hands Castoral his third win of the year, the Czech coming home ahead of Koen Pauwels and Derek Tohill.

» Perhaps the only black mark against an otherwise strong event in Austria come son saturday afternoon when the first qualifying heat is interrupted by a fire in Morten Bermingrud’s Citroën C4 Supercar. The Norwegian had suffered engine problems in practice but started in the first heat and was running strongly when the car caught fire. Bermingrud later said his engineers had indentified the cause of the fire as a leaking o-ring in the fuel system. Admitting that he was in a state of shock when he stopped the car and got out of it, Bermingrud said: “I was shocked by the heat and how quickly the car caught fire, I couldn’t get my belts undone easily and I just wanted to get out; I forgot to cut the electrics or to use the onboard extinguisher but I was very surprised how slow the fire and rescue team was, the safety here is not good.” The engine bay of the car was damaged in the fire but Bermingrud hoped that it would be possible to return to competition before the end of the year.


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Diary September

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September 9Former ERC event winner Tommy Kristoffersson finally confirms that he would like to race the VW Scirocco Supercar that his team owns but has so far used only for sponsor and guest enterainment days. First seen in the winter when Kristoffersson Motorsport used the car to give media ‘hot laps’ on a frozen lake, the Jernberg Motorsport-built Scirocco is now eligible for Rallycross following its addition to the approved list of non-homologated cars. Kristoffersson is not talking about a full championship season but says he would “like to race in some events, but only have the possibility when there are no date clashes between Rallycross the Swedish Touring Car Championship” in which his business is a prominent player.

September 10Ken Block signposts the possibility of a move away from rallying, or at least a reduction in his rallying programme and more Rallycross outings as he talks openly about the commercial needs of his activities. “I’m obliged to my partners and sponsors in the first place, and they want to see me racing in the US. Therefore it could be possible that I change over to the American Rallycross scene. Everything there is very compact, a motor sport completely to my taste,” said Block.

» The final round of the six-event Finnish championship takes place at Hyvinkää where Atro Määttä claims his third event victory of the year and lifts the national title for a fifth time. The Focus driver leads home Sami Pakkala (Honda Civic) and Jukka Lautamäki (Focus). Swedish raider Fredrik Tiger (BMW E36) beat all his Finnish neighbours in the Supernational class. The title was decided as Jonu-Pekka Rajala (Escort VII) placed

second and snatched the crown from favourite Jari-Pekka Kokko (Escort VII) who could not better sixth place.

September 11During the penultimate round of the 2011 ERC season, the first champion emerges at the end of the third qualifying heat for the Super1600 class. Having been with a shot at securing the title during round eight in Austria, Norwegian Andreas Bakkerud finally puts his name to the crown by qualifying for the A final in Poland. A place within the top six is all that Bakkerud needs to deny his rivals any possibility of the title. The title also marks a notable achievement for Set Promotion,

» The biggest Rallycross event on the planet is won by Fabien Pailler. The young Frenchman chooses the jewel in the crown of the French championship, Lohéac (right) , at which to take his first event win. Driving one of the Peugeot 207s run by his father, Jean-Luc’s, team, Pailler Jnr. gets the drop on pole qualifier Samuel Peu and leads the A final from start to finish. Gaetan Serazin pips Peu to second in the last lap while Francois Duval, driving another Pailler Competition 207, places fourth. A puncture brings Stephen Bossard’s remarkable and long unbeaten run in Super1600 to an end, his C2 slumping to fifth because of the problem which gifts Julien Febreau the class win. Marc Morize take the Division Three win while Rudolf Schafer gives his new Citroën Saxo a winning debut in Division Four. Evan Libner wins the Logan Cup A final.

September 7British Super1600 racer Andy Knowles announces plans to contest an increased programme of European championship events in 2012 after securing backing from Battery Energy Drink. With a deal running through to the end of 2012, Knowles hopes to post some good British results in late 2011 before planning next year’s campaign in bis self built Citroën C2 S1600.


Diary September

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the Finnish team that runs Bakkerud’s car and which guided Timur Timerzyanov to the Super1600 title in 2010. Taken together with team boss Jussi Pinomäki’s own successes as a driver (2004, ’05 and ’08), it is Set’s fifth European title. The team marks its success by wrapping Bakkerud’s Clio in gold vinyl before the final.

» Later in the afternoon Norway gains two more European champions, Lars Øivind Enerberg leading the TouringCar A final from lights to flag to secure the championship before Sverre Isachsen staves off a strong challenge from Davy Jeanney to collect his fourth event win of the year and complete a hat trick of European championship titles.

» Organiser of the Polish ERC round, the Automobilklub Rzemieslnik confirms its intention to withdraw its application to host a round of the European championship in 2012. The club wants to refocus on its business activities and plans to develop and expand the Tor Slomczyn track but wants to leave the door open on the possibility of returning to the ERC in 2013. To this end it is seeking an assurance from the FIA Offf-Road Commission that in withdrawing voluntarily from the championship, it will be treated in the same way as an event that is replaced under the grading scheme, and be allowed to return by the simple method of applying for an event in the future.

» The third round of the NEZ championship takes place at Momarken in Norway where home drivers made hay, although not in sunshine, this being another wet event, and won in all four classes. Local racer Svein Roger Andersen beats a thin Supercar field in his Volvo C30. Among the championship regulars, Estonian Sten Oja (Mitsubishi Lancer E8) takes second ahead of Camilla Antonsen (Fiesta). Terje Morstad (BMW E46) wins the Supernational (Open) category with Erik Svartas (BMW E30) topping the 2000 class and Robin Bakke Andresen (Corsa B) taking a notable Super1600 win over better equipped drivers. Vaidas Navickas (Fabia II) and Vainius Zulys (VW Polo IV) take second and third.

September 15The return of the MSA British Rallycross Grand Prix at Croft is finally confirmed. The event will take place on November 6,

meaning the final round of the British championship moves forward one day to November 5. Last run in 2004, also at Croft, the Grand Prix was, between 1982 and 1994 when run at Brands Hatch in December of each year, a major end of season international event.

September 18The penultimate round of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship takes place at Knockhill where Julian Godfrey takes his first Supercar win. When the dust, or rain spray, settles on the event it becomes clear that the win has given Godfrey enough of a points advantage at the head of the championship to put the title beyond the reach of his rivals. David Binks (Fiesta VII) makes it home in second place ahead of Kevin Procter (Focus II). Another first time winner is Michael Boak (Audi TT TDi) who gets his first Supernational victory. Ollie O’Donovan (RX150), Dave Bellerby (Swift) and Aidan Hills (Junior) also take class wins in the event while Michael Duke (Peugeot 106 GTi) gained his fifth class win of the year and with it sealed the Hot Hatch title.

» The German championship visits Maasmechelen in Belgium for its fifth round where René Münnich (Fabia II Supercar) and Rolf Volland (Fabia II Super1600) each maintain their unbeaten run and continue to share the points lead in the series. Jan-Philipp Kappler (VW Golf III) takes his first win in the Supernational class, beatig Hans Kirchhof ’s Porsche. Silva Winterhoff (Peugeot 106) and Frank Lehman (BMW 318) take victories in Divisions Four and Five.

» The sixth round of the Belgian championship runs concurrently at Maasmechelen and is won by Dutchman Jos Kuypers (Ford Fiesta VII) who made light work of overcoming pole qualifier Patrick Van Mechelen (Subaru Impreza) and Ron Snoeck (Seat Leon). Denis Remans (Fiesta VI) started from pole and led the Super1600 A final until his car failed. Andy Martion (VW Polo) took up the lead but was passed in the last lap by Davy Van Den Branden (Citroën C2). Koen Pauwels (Ford Fiesta VII) took a clear TouringCar victory and with it secured the Belgian title. The Supernational race was less clear cut, Kristof Bex (Volvo S40) leading, but being passed by Luc Maris and Michael De Keersmaecker before the pair collided and spun, allowing Bex to regain the lead.

» The French championship moved on to Mayenne for its ninth round where Gaetan Serazin (Peugeot 207) led the way home ahead of Jerome Grosset-Janin (Renault Clio III). Having become mired in the B final at Lohéac, Grosset-Janin’s result here breathes life into his title hopes as leading rival Samuel Peu this time fails to make the top six. David Olivier gives his Renault Twingo II a win in Super1600, Steven Bossard down in fourth place here. Laurent Jacquinet (Fiesta VII V6) and Marc Poueroux (Peugeot 306) take victories in Divisions Three and Four while the Logan Cup win is again collected by Evan Libner.

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» The Portuguese Rallycross Championshio reaches its conclusion in round five at Montalegre where second plaec for Pedro Matos (Citroën Xsara) is sufficient to claim the title ahead of event winner Rui Sirgado (Peugeot 306). Joao Sousa (Peugeot 306) wins Division Two on the day and in the championship, Bruno Lima (Citroën AX) taking the Division Five win but losing the class title to Ana Matos (Mitsubishi Colt). The Junior class is won by Pedro Ribeiro (Ford Puma) but second place on the day brings enough points for Rafael Lobato (Toyota Starlet) to seal the championship.

» NEZ championship competitors move from Norway to Denmark where the final of the final of the four-round series takes place at the Nysumbanen. Victory in the final round gives Sten Oja (Lancer E8) the Supercar championship crown over 2010 title holder Camilla Antonsen (Fiesta VI) who places third behind Dennis Rømer (Seat Cordoba) here. Ola Frøshaug (Volvo S40) topped out the Supernational category and, alongside compatriot Erik Svartås (BMW E30) in the 2000 class put his name to an NEZ title. The Super1600 class gained a couple of notable extras, Mattias Thörjesson (Corsa C) and Ulrik Linnemann (Peugeot 207) leading the way on a rain soaked track while champion-elect Vaidas Navickas (Fabia II) took third place and enough points to seal the championship.

» The Knockhill BRC event also forms the final round of BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship. At the end of a year in which he has dominated the Stock Hatch class, Martyn Peters (Citroën Saxo) clinches the overall championship title. As series rules do not permit the overall champion to also keep the win in his class, the Stock Hatch class title passes down to David Ellis (Saxo) who ends a successful debut season in Rallycross with a championship to his name. The SuperModified class also goes to a newcomer, former Autograss racer Gary Cooke (MG ZR) winning the final round to clinch the title.

» Running alongside the BTRDA series all year, the Minicross Drivers Association championship also has its final round at Knockhill. The title is resolved as the season-long battle between Tommi Edwardes and Richard Wakeling continues. Edwardes wins two heats, Wakeling havig been ahead in the first. The final then also falls to Wakeling but Edwardes’ second place is all that he needs to put his name to the title.

September 22With a gap in his calendar following the cancellation of the Mallory Park British championship event, David Binks is entered for the European championship finale in the Czech Republic. Binks will drive an OMSE Best Buy Fiesta VII in the event where he will partner Tanner Foust.

» In a move that also brings reversion to its previous Rally America name, the organisation known as Rally Car for last year or so, announces that it has a new owner in entrepreneur and rally enthusiast Bill Fogg. Rally America ran the first Rallycross events in the US in the Autumn of 2010 and appears to retain an interest in the sport despite having cancelled three events it was due to co-promote with TORC this year. “I want to expose as many people as possible to Rally and turn them into rabid fans. Rally America is in a unique position to put Rally and Rallycross in front of the mainstream public,” said Fogg. The first change is a reorganised schedule and extra event for the US Rally Championship. JB Niday retains his role as MD under the new ownership.

September 23With the British championship title secure, Julian Godfrey begins to make plans for 2012. The engineer and racer won the British championship at the wheel of Supercar Ford Fiesta rented from Pat Doran. Godfrey also raced his own Super1600 Fiesta this year, becoming the first British driver to win a European event in the class in Belgium in August. Godfrey now hopes to be able combine a BRC title defence with a full ERC campaign in the Super1600 class.

September 24The final round of the five-event Swedish championship took place at the Kinnekullering. The championship, a shadow of its former self, has been run for two-wheel drive cars this year and although this final round had been pumped up and had a Supercar entry, arguably the Supernational cars remained the main attraction. Stig-Olov Walfridson dominated the day, but when his Renault Clio III suffered a puncture in the A final it was Per Eklund who came through to win the event. The Supernational win went to Norwegian Terje Morstad (BMW E46) but sixth place in the A final was enough for Patrick Ydrefalk (Toyota Corolla) to win the championship. The 2400 class was won by Per Berglund (Volvo S40), his first win of the year also sealing the class title. Anton Marklund (Fiesta VII) has been the only regular TouringCar racer in the series but was joined in the final round by a healthy entry including ERC regulars Lars Øivind Enerberg and Derek Tohill. Norwegian champion Ole Håbjørg (BMW 1) wins the day ahead of Lars Rosendahl (Fiestya VII) and Tohill. With fewer than eight cars in the series no championship is awarded, this rule also responsible fore the absence from the event of all Super1600 racers. The Junior championship is won by Tommy Johansson (BMW E36) who signs off his championship with an event win.

The Automobilklub Rzemieslnik is to make a request to the FIA Off-Road Commission (ORC) to be allowed to withdraw its application for a round of the 2012 European Rallycross Championship. The club has a number of reasons not to run an event next year, but is seeking an assurance that in withdrawing at this stage, it will be able to return to the series in 2013 without the need to first run a candidate race; in other words to be treated in the same way as if it had been dropped from the series on rotation with a waiting applicant.

Club official and Polish ORC member Wlodek Szaniawski made the plan known at last month’s ORC meeting and, after Sunday’s event, confirmed that the request would be made. “There was a chance that we might delay the request but we know now that we need to make the changes to the track that we plan and also take a break from organising the European championship event so that the club can put more effort into its car recycling business,” said Szaniawski. Automobilklub Rzemieslnik, which has run the Polish event since its addition to the ERC in 2000, has previously relied heavily on the market that takes place adjacent the Slomczyn circuit for much of its income but with this now at around one quarter of the size and value it had five years ago, the club has diversified into recycling cars and parts. “The way the club runs is changing and we must pay attention to that. It’s not just the market and recycling business, we have plans to expand the track; the Rallycross will stay but we want to add an asphalt circuit so we can do drifting, track days, training – a wider range of events. We also have to think about the European Football Championships that will take place in Poland next year. Such a big event will make it hard to attract sponsors for our events and at the moment almost all the financial support that a club like ours might get to help redevelop and keep an event is being put into football,” said Szaniawski whose words were echoed by club president Piotr Tonderski, “It’s a difficult decision for the club to take, but we think it is the best one for us and also for the championship,” he said.

If the club is successful in its request and withdraws from the 2012 championship, its absence will represent a lucky escape for whichever organiser is ranked as eighth of this year’s ten ERC events. Until this point everyone had expected that three of the 2011 rounds would be dropped as there are three events with confirmed applications waiting to rejoin the series next year; Finland, Germany and Hungary. If Poland withdraws that automatically makes one space in the calendar, and means that only two events will be forced out, those ranked ninth and tenth at the end of this year.


Polish to request ERC break in 2012

Poles seek an ERC breakTime out for business, redevlopment and football

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For the second time in three years the European Rallycross Championship titles have been hauled off to Norway. The Supercar, Super1600 and TouringCar champions all hail from the north and have stamped their mark on the 2011 championship in, if anything, an even more dominant style than in 2009. We are not unfamiliar with Norwegian drivers becoming champions; some of the greatest in the sport are Norwegian. But how, in a period that is among the most competitive the championship has known, is it possible for this group of drivers to exert such a grip on the series?

Norway may be a small nation in terms of population (4.8 million according to the World Bank) but within the ERC it is numerically dominant. Before the final of the 2011 championship 187 drivers have taken in the series, 38 (20%) of them being Norwegian. The only other country that comes close is France which also registers 38 this year, but the figure there is artificially skewed as the French ERC round also counts as a points event in the French national championship, pushing in a rake of one-time participants. Refine the numbers and focus on those who compete regularly and Norway is leagues ahead of any other country; four of the top ten in Supercar are Norwegian...

So, statistically Norway has a better chance of winning titles than any other country represented in the championship. So why do so many drivers emerge from such a small population to contest the championship?

There are several factors at work here. As a motor sport discipline Rallycross enjoys a relatively higher profile in Norway than almost any other country. This is, of course, very difficult to measure, but becomes relatively easy to see when viewing different media. For many years rallying was banned in Norway so that particular sport did not gain the following that it has in other countries. Circuit racing has not developed in Norway as it has in other countries, partly perhaps because of the climate. Both now exist, but Rallycross exists alongside pretty well as an equal and there are few, if any, other countries in which Rallycross would regularly feature in the highest selling national newspapers.

The relative strength of Rallycross as a sport in Norway, allied to this media recognition, gives it the lifeblood of popularity and publicity. In very simple terms, the ERC has a public profile in Norway comfortably exceeding that of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK and perhaps up there with something like the Andros Trophy in France. In relative terms it can even be compared to the DTM in Germany.


Norwegian domination examined

Why Norwegians winHow is it that such a small country wins so much in Rallycross?

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Norwegian domination examined

Norway is, also, a wealthy country. In terms of GDP per capita it ranks within the top four as measured by the International Monetary Fund (2nd), World Bank (4th) and CIA World Factbook (4th). It regularly features close to the top of economic indicators and surveys.

Here is a country with a small population but with high levels of income and a buoyant economy and in which Rallycross enjoys a higher than average profile in the media. Finding commercial backing, sponsorship, for motor sport is not easy but, relatively, it is an easier sell in Norway than anywhere else.

Taking the Supercar class in isolation for a moment, the national championship in Norway does not currently, and has not regularly, offered a place for these cars to race. Those who have either climbed the ranks and want to take the step

in to Supercars or who have just been attracted to the sport and want to enter at the highest level, have no option but to race at International level – and for most that means the European championship. It is an unusual scenario – although the collapse of the neighbouring Swedish championship has created a similar situation there – but one which does not appear to have devalued or weakened Rallycross at a national level, although it could be that the lack of opportunities to race in Norway is beginning to make the job of securing money to compete in Europe a little harder for those taking this route. On the other hand, there is no pressure on them to show up and support a National championship so all resources can be directed towards the ERC, something that is in marked contrast to many of their rivals in the series.

That National championship has progressively taken and

adopted both the Super1600 and TouringCar formulae from the ERC, working them into the Supernational structure in such a way that both classes have become popular. The result of this is that both are now beginning to feed drivers into the ERC either as drivers graduate to the European series and leave national events behind or those who dovetail a handful of ERC events into their national season.

To return to those figures, France has the most consistently well promoted and contested national championship anywhere in Rallycross, in almost every respect it is a model series. But France is a vast country and even with artifice of its ERC round also being a national qualifier, it can only just match the numbers entered in the ERC by Norway which, in population terms, is less one-tenth its size.

There is no evidence to suggest that Norwegian drivers are,

per se, better than those from any other country, and certainly no indication that Norway holds any engineering or technical advantage: of this year’s three champions Sverre Isachsen drives a car built and regularly serviced in Sweden that is powered by engines built in Britain. Andreas Bakkerud relies entirely upon a Finnish team and while Lars Øivind Enerberg has built his own car, it too has engine supplied from Britain.

Norwegian drivers have been a factor in the ERC for most of its history. There are numerous factors involved in this but one that should not be overlooked is the invaluable groundwork laid by those who first ventured to Europe and, standing head and shoulders above all them as the man who contributed more to the public profile of Rallycross in Norway than anyone else is Martin Schanche. This year’s three champions owe him at least a nod of recognition.

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Having won the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship, Julian Godfrey is laying plans to tackle a season of European championship events with his Super1600 Fiesta in 2012.

Godfrey’s first win of the season, at Knockhill in round six of the British championship, gave the engineer enough points that, with the final round at Croft on November 5 now the only event left to run, he has an unassailable points lead.

“I wasn’t sure about the points situation and had to work it out several times, it’s been very close all year so I wasn’t really expecting to be in a position to win the championship before the final round,” said Godfrey who is in his first year racing a Supercar. “I’m delighted to win, it’s been a brilliant year, better than I could have hoped for. Things have not always gone very well for in the finals at events, but I’ve scored points in every round and that’s made a difference. The championship also has five bonus points for setting fastest time and I’ve earned those four times this year which has also been an advantage. It’s great to win the championship early, but I still plan to go to Croft and will race for the win there.”

Godfrey is the first driver ever to win the British championship at the first attempt and also the first driver to have climbed the ladder through different classes, winning at every level: he was Supernational champion in 2010 and Stock Hatch champion in 2006 and ’08.

In August Godfrey became the first British driver to win the Super1600 category, topping the podium in the Belgian round of the ERC at Maasmechelen. Feeling his Fiesta is now fully competitive in the class, Godfrey hopes to extend his programme in 2012. “I could not afford to race a Supercar in Europe but it would also present me with quite a lot of problems because I have so many customers racing Supercars; at a national level it’s not so difficult, but in Europe I need to be there to give service and backup, not to be a rival on the track,” he said, “I don’t have any customers in Super1600 yet and the running cost is much more manageable so it’s an ideal way for me to race in Europe and possibly expand my business. I hope to continue with the Supercar in the British championship too, so I’m working out all the details now.”

Julian Godfrey Engineering supplies engines to competitors in many countries and, in addition to his success as a driver, Godfrey has enjoyed further success as an engine builder this year, winning the European championship for the third year in succession with Sverre Isachsen, powering Jos Kuypers to the Dutch championship title and winning the TouringCar class title in the Belgian championship with Koen Pauwels.

Godfrey gets success as driver and engineer

The power of successBritish title crowns successful year for Julian Godfrey

Main pic: Godfrey has won the 23011 British championship as a driver. Above: Godfrey’s engines powered Sverre Isachsen to a third straight European title. Below left to right: The engineer wants to race his Super1600 Fiesta regularly in the ERC next year. Work with customers in the ERC remains a priority. He has also enjoyed national sucess in Belgium with Koen Pauwels and Holland with Jos Kuypers.

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Power from the exhaust

Each and every component in an engine set-up is as important as the next, but when it comes to trying to squeeze as much brake horsepower from the motor as possible, some are more important than others, and without the correct combination of parts you will be struggling. You could have the best engine in the world in respect of its internal components, but if the air trying to make its way in and out to fulfil the process of internal combustion is restricted in any way you will be seriously disadvantaged. Air making its way out is something that I feel is often overlooked. Many people have fitted their cars with a four branch exhaust manifold. However, having the right type of exhaust manifold is critical. Don’t get me wrong, any four branch has got to be better than the massively restrictive exhaust manifolds that manufacturers produce as standard and which is designed to do a very specific job. But if the manifold you are using isn’t designed specifically for your tuned engine then you are doing your power or torque figures an injustice.

Nestled away on an industrial estate in Leeds is a company that can help with the flow of your exhaust gasses once they have left the cylinder head. Tony Law Exhausts has been for around for over 30 years, and specialises in performance, handmade exhaust systems and manifolds for almost anything you can think of. A well known British Citroen C2 Super1600 had a power increase of 40bhp after a visit to the small workshop in Yorkshire, which is amazing.

“It’s all very well having the right parts in your engine, but if the flow of your primaries and secondaries isn’t correct then the overall power can be seriously restricted,” Explains Paul Walton, manager at Tony Law Exhausts.

I recently visited the home of Tony Law, and it is fascinating to watch the craftsmen at work as they bend exhaust tubing using heat to form the desired shape. The walls are adorned with hundreds and hundreds of jigs for various different exhaust systems, along with racking containing what seems to be thousands of miles of exhaust tubing in all sorts of diameters.

“We have to have so many jigs because a lot of our work goes to Europe and Ireland now,” Walton says, “Years ago we spent a lot of time making manifolds for Ford Escort Mkl and Mklls, then it died off for a few years and we just assumed that we were through the Escort period, as with so many other types of cars we see. But recently it’s all changed again and we must have around four Escorts a week actually here at the workshop, and that’s on top of all the manifolds we make in the jigs to

Exhaustive knowledgeThe power of a good exhaust should not be neglected, Hal Ridge learns

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“The more room there is, the smoother you can make the pipework, with shallower angles. This all helps the flow. It also gives you more options as to where you want your primaries and secondaries to be, which allows you to design the best set-up for each particular engine. We have worked closely with many engine builders for years, and we can use this experience to tailor make exhaust manifolds that make a big difference.”

From personal experience, an exhaust manifold is also a relatively cheap way of unleashing more power, in the big scheme of things. A new manifold on my Clio found another 15bhp straight away and, as a sign of quite how good Tony Law Exhausts are, I recently got hold of a copy of the works Renault diagrams for the Super1600 Clio exhaust manifold. The primaries finish just under the bulkhead and the secondaries finish halfway down the length of the door, using particular diameter tubing. And, you know what? So do the one on my car, made in a small workshop in the heart of Yorkshire.

tonylawexhausts.co.uk

Power from the exhaust

Traditional craftsmanship combined with decades of working knowledge and experience means that Tony Law Exhausts continue to be much in demand across a wide range of motor sport disciplines.

send abroad. It’s incredible. Today we actually have a car in that we first saw over 15 years ago, and I think it must have been sat in a shed for at least the last six or seven. It’s not just rally cars either, we do loads of historic single seater circuit racers now too.”

Historic motorsport is certainly increasing in popularity at a massive rate of knots. You only have to open the pages of any motorsport publication to read of people who are giving up their top of the range WRC type cars to go back to the simplicity of a historic car. This means that work is certainly not in short supply.

“I think the waiting list is about four weeks at the moment,” says Walton, “People ring up and are disappointed that we can’t get their car in sooner, but there is a lot of work at the moment. We can’t complain, we generally prefer to make the manifolds and systems in situ, it makes life a lot easier for us. You know what people are like in motorsport, each and every car is different; if someone says that they have a car similar

to one we have a jig for, we could make a manifold only to discover that their engine has been dropped by two inches, and then obviously their manifold fowls something and doesn’t fit, but people sometimes don’t realise what effects where the exhaust goes, so its easier to just make them to fit each car.”

I travelled to Tony Law Exhausts to have an exhaust manifold made for my own Clio Super1600. Previously, we had used an exhaust manifold from a 2.0 Cup Clio and changed the flange that bolts onto the head to make it fit my engine. When we were building the car this is all I could afford, but equally I didn’t realise how restrictive it could possibly be, with its tight bends to fit into the confines of a standard engine bay. To get over this problem prior to having my new manifold made, we made a massive effort to lower the steering rack and subframe to allow more room for the wizards at Tony Law Exhausts to work with, and indeed they used all the space available.

“The more space the better when trying to make the exhaust turn from manifold towards the rear the car,” Walton says, Ke

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www.tonylawexhausts.co.uk

Its been a last minute decision, but thanks once again to the generosity of several, we are going to the final round of the ERC in the Czech Republic this coming weekend.

As I write this the car isn’t yet ready to go, but then there’s nothing new there. There is just bodywork to finish repairing after Holland, and a few odds and sods to sort out. The only other thing is the suspension geometry, but I am still awaiting the return of the front damper that broke in Holland that has been away for repair, I have been promised it for Wednesday at the absolute latest, which is handy as we are leaving for Czech on Wednesday, so the damper may have to be swapped and the geometry done at the circuit on Thursday night. This isn’t a big problem, one of the nice things about the European events is that there is a lot of time. In the British championship, instead of the event being spread over three days, a single day is all you get to do all the administration, practicing and racing, making things far less relaxed.

Czech will be only the second circuit we have visited twice with the Clio, the other of course being Lydden. Although we

didn’t get a huge amount of track time in our visit to Ceska Lipa in 2010, I at least did enough laps to start to find my way around, so hopefully we can build on that experience from the start. Czech is one of the faster circuits on the European tour, and a commitment track at that. The entry in Super1600 for the weekend looks quite widespread, so we should have some good racing given our form from the previous few events. The entry overall is impressive, especially in Supercars. I assumed, wrongly, that people might not be so keen on going as it is the last round of the season, a standalone event and all the titles are wrapped up, but the list is strong by any standards.

Another reason to go to Czech is to research further for our plans for next season, and the changes we wish to make to the car over the winter months. There is no better experience than talking to people who have already made mistakes and changed ideas, as well as seeing different people’s interpretations of the best way of doing things. On top of this I also have to deliver some cylinder head parts that are heading to Sweden for development.

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Shoestring stories – the life of a low budget racer in the European championship

One more runCzech return to complete Euro season

Over the last few months I have been trying to do more with the promotional side of my Rallycross adventure. When I first started with the Clio project I was very good at finding the time to write and publish stuff about what I was doing, but then I had less to worry about, and ironically there was also less to write about and inform people of. I have recently re-launched my website, and also had flyers made to give out on events. The website is just a guide about who I am and what we have done, and a way of giving something back to my sponsors, and keeping people up to date with news. The flyers are to give

out on events, it again showcases sponsors and also gets more publicity, you never know who is going to read or see what you put on there, and it might always land you some sponsorship or support if people like what they see.

Of course, results always help your sponsorship hunting cause, and after this coming weekend we will hopefully have some more good news to send out to people who are on the cusp of giving us some backing for the 2012 season.

halridge.com

http://www.halridge.com/

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