MacDowall Reckons Brands Hatch is his last chance for glory in 2011 BTCC.

Alex MacDowall believes that the trip to the iconic Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch is his last chance of securing his maiden victory in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship this season.

October 1^st/2^nd marks the penultimate round of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship and the visit to the Kent circuit should suit MacDowall and his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze – the 2.43 Mile circuit should suit the Carlisle racers driving style and the superb chassis of the RML prepared cars.

MacDowall has gone well previously at the Kent circuit. It was the venue of first BTCC podium during the wet round last season and he has also secured victory there during the 2009 Elf Renault Clio Cup race weekend – so he is sure that the circuit can give him his best weekend to date in just over a week.

“I think Brands Hatch GP should be our best track yet”, said the Silverline Chevrolet driver, “The GP loop requires a very stable chassis which is good on high speed corners and that’s one of the Cruze’s strong points. I’ve gone well at the track previously too – I out-qualified Jason (Plato) last year and won there in Clio Cup, so it’s a place I enjoy and a track where I know we’re quick.

“I’ve got to have a high scoring weekend at Brands because Silverstone will be the worst track for us. This is my last chance for a win this year and I don’t want to get left behind, I need to get that monkey off my back. I’m going to Brands Hatch aiming for pole position and at least one win.”

The second season in the BTCC for MacDowall has been a character building experience for the Carlisle racer as he has been on the end of some robust contact during the season and this has meant that he has lost out on a large amount of points.

As well as the aforementioned contact, the performance disparity between the turbo charged cars which make up the majority of the field and the normally aspirated engine cars, such as MacDowall’s Chevrolet Cruze – it is plain to see why the season hasn’t gone according to plan. Despite this, he is still as quick as ever and he has the backing of the RML, so he is determined not to let any opportunities slip away at Brands Hatch.

“I feel like I’ve been robbed once already this season from a pole position and I don’t intend to let that happen again, I really feel like this could be our weekend”, he added, “I excel on high-speed corners and Brands Hatch GP is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. There are no team orders either so I can go out there, do my own thing and focus on my driving.”

Two free practice sessions will kick-off the BTCC action at Brands Hatch on Saturday, 1st October, with qualifying getting underway at around 15.40. Rounds 25, 26 and 27 will take place on Sunday, 2nd October, at 11.30, 14.15 and 17.05 respectively and all three of the races will be screened live, as ever, on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4 and in High Definition on ITV4 HD.

There will also be live online streaming of qualifying and racing at www.itv.com/touringcars

Idafar has trouble free start at Donington Park.

T-Sport’s Menasheh Idafar got his preparations for the penultimate round of the 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series at Donington Park Grand Prix circuit off to a solid, trouble free start during the official testing at the East Midlands circuit yesterday, 22 September.

The twenty year old driver posted a best time of 1m24.906s during the morning 55 minute session to finish fourteenth fastest but within 0.4s of breaking into the top ten.

Session two, held in the afternoon and once again, in dry conditions saw the British born Bahraini driver slice 0.9s off his morning time to finish thirteenth fastest on a 1m24.062s. All of his rivals also posted improvements.

The result pushed Idafar closer to the top ten but he ended the test disappointed as he didn’t finish higher up the timing sheets, but he’ll work with the T-Sport engineers to find the extra speed required to push him inside the top ten when he takes to the track once again on Saturday, 24 September for qualifying and the opening race.

“Overall it was an ok day but we’re not where we wanted to be”, said Menasheh, “We’re going to look through all of the data to see where we can make some improvements with the car and see where I’m losing time. Hopefully we can make some good changes before qualifying on Saturday.”

10.40 Saturday Morning will see the British Formula 3 drivers return to the track for qualifying ahead of round twenty five, which will take place at 15.40. Sunday, 26 September will see round twenty six get underway at 10.15 while round twenty seven is due to get started at 13.40.

Four drivers for iSport at Jerez GP2 Test.

The two day Jerez test for the GP2 Series will see iSport International run two different driver combinations for the two days in Spain.

Wednesday will see the team run Jolyon Palmer, who competed in GP2 for Arden International last season and Carlos Iaconelli, who competed in GP2 back in 2008 and more recently has competed in Auto GP while Thursday will see GP3 contender Tom Dillmann step up alongside Formula Renault 3.5 regular Nathanael Berthon.

Gavin Jones, Chief Engineer at iSport International explains the plan for the two day test at Jerez: “We will be running a driver evaluation program with all drivers, running through qualifying simulations and full fuel race simulations to get a good idea of their strengths and weaknesses. It will be the first time at Jerez with the new car and Pirelli Hard tyres, so will be a good challenge for the team and drivers to find the best set-up to produce the fastest times.”

Trident Confirm Jerez Line Up.

Trident Racing have announced their driver line up for the forthcoming two day GP2 test at the Jerez circuit in Spain, which takes place over the 28/29 September.

With the season having finished just two weeks ago at Monza, the teams’ and drivers’ have had a short break before the first test after the conclusion of the season.

Joining the Italian outfit for the two day test at Jerez will be Julian Leal, who spent the 2011 season in the Rapax car, while the second car will be shared by Josef Kral, who secured a podium finish for Arden International and Sam Bird, who was a title contender for iSport International.

Kral will be in the car for day one while Bird takes over on day two, while Leal will test for the team both days.

“We’re really satisfied with our driver line-up for the test at Jerez. We’ll have three really talented drivers, experienced in the series and really familiar with its Dallara-Renault racecar. That will allow us to complete a huge amount of work in the two days on-track. The testing schedule will then bring us to Barcelona, where we plan to have also some younger racers looking to make their championship approach. We’ll keep following our tradition of relying on the talent of promising youngsters,” said Trident Racing Managing Director, Luca Zerbini.

British Rally Championship Confirms Isle of Man Cancelation.

The Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship has confirmed that the Isle of Man Rally, due to be held over the 27/28/29 October has been cancelled due to a number of factors, which were announced by the Board of Directors.

The rally organisers cited a number of factors in their decision to cancel the event, including the move from their traditional summer date to the autumn date as well as potential problems during the popular Castletown spectator stage.

Brian Walton, Chairman of the rally organising committee said about the cancelation: “It is a desperately disappointing decision that we have had to take and certainly not one that we make without earnest consideration. Having looked at all the issues and available options we feel however, that we have made the right move for our event. We have been placed in a difficult position, mainly by circumstances and decisions over which we had little control.”

Mr Walton continues: “We have established a reputation down the years for running a world class event, a true test of man and machine on some of the best rally roads anywhere. We do not want to run an event unless it can be to the highest standards and would reflect well on the Isle of Man. We regret any inconvenience caused to those who had made plans to attend the rally and thank all those who have supported us to this stage.”

Mark Taylor, Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship Manager responded by saying: “It is a great shame, but given the current circumstances and having been party to all the factors that led up to the decision, I believe it is a sensible option to take. We will continue to work with the rally organisers and the Isle of Man government to find a sustainable solution and we will give the event every opportunity to return to the BRC calendar in 2013.”

This means that the 2011 BRC Season and the support series will be decided this weekend on Rally Yorkshire.