Junior Durdin Delivers A Win In Wales

The MSA British Rallycross Championship made its first visit of the season to Pembrey, South Wales, where PGM Motorsport ran three cars in the Power Maxed Swift Rallycross Championship and MSA Junior Swift Rallycross Championship.

 Andy Pecover makes debut in Swift Sport Championship

Former Stock Hatch rallycross racer Andy Pecover returned to the sport at Pembrey in a PGM run Swift and impressed with his pace amongst a strong field of experienced Swift racers. With improved lap times each time he went on track, Pecover was sixth fastest in the third qualifying heat and finished third in the B final after a close encounter with Stockton-on-Tees driver, Andrew Hawkes. Jeff Hankin had another strong event in his first season of rallycross, he finished fifth in the B final and climbed to ninth of 17 competitors in the championship standings after the opening three rounds of the season.

Strong performance by Jeff Hankin, gaining confidence every time

Essex racer Bradley Durdin claimed victory in the MSA Junior Swift Rallycross Championship final to close the gap on championship leader Drew Bellerby to just one point. Durdin was fastest in the second qualifying heat and second in heat three to line up on the front row for the final, alongside pole sitter Sam Jones. Durdin made a great start to go on to win the race from newcomer Sam Jones and 2014 junior vice-champion Drew Bellerby.

Brad Durdin heading for victory

Peter Gwynne:  Great driving by Brad today.   He has proved from the start of the season he was going to be a strong contender in the juniors, he was just struggling with his starts a little at Lydden so we had some time in the car and practiced those before Pembrey and he has given a strong drive all day.  Unlucky with a puncture in heat one but delivered a win and fastest time of the day so cant complain at that.  He was clutching his plate with pride!

 

Brad Durdin taking his first British Rallycross win

Brad Durdin:  After pushing so hard all year it was great to finally pick up the win that we've been so close to getting at the past few rounds. We had some ups and downs throughout the day such as the puncture in the first heat but that was outweighed by a strong finish in the Final.

World Rallycross debut for Danny Way and Dave Mirra with JRM Group

 

The JRM Team with US driver legendary skateboarder Danny Way

The FIA World Rallycross Championship Team from the JRM Group running #TeamUSRX drivers, Multiple X Games Gold Medallist, Skateboarding legend Danny Way and equally decorated Star of the BMX world Dave Mirra, can certainly go back from #HockenheimRX with enthusiasim from their first ever #WorldRX outing.

With 2015 being all about development, the all-new team headed out to Germany to get an understanding of Rallycross and see how their new #MINIRX would perform against the likes of Petter Solberg, Timmy Hansen and Liam Doran on the world stage.

With Danny's ride straight out of the factory, his impressive start for his first ever launch raised eyebrows from onlookers, whilst Mirra was greeted with approving smiles a he returned to the paddock having delivered a chequered flag in his heat.

This can only be a very positive start for the team and working with these guys, it is clear to see they are by no means here to make up the numbers. Improving every time out and further development planned, they will certainly be ones to watch for the future

Bradley Durdin ready for MSA Junior Rallycross at Lydden Hill

Chatting with junior driver Bradley Durdin after his debut in the MSA Junior Swift Rallycross...

Bradley taking the win in the third heat

"As a kid I've always looked at the British rallycross championship and though just how cool it must be to race in one of the various different classes. I never thought I'd actually be at the party. Only just a few weeks ago I found myself sitting on the grid at croft behind some of the biggest names in rallycross such as the likes of Pat Doran and Julian Godfrey as I waited for my race to go out.

Having never been to a Rallycross event I really didn't know what quite to expect. How I ended up in a rallycross car I will never know. I was apart of the junior swift category which doesn't have the most cars on the grid but for sure produced some of the best races of the day. As they say, it only take for 2 cars to have a motor race. I'd never sat in the car before but quickly got up to speed to go and give Drew Bellerby a run for her money in the final. It's great to be able to race hard and fair between us for the win in the final.

A close 2nd at Croft

The British Rallycross Championship heads to its spiritual home of Lydden Hill for round 2 which happens to be the home race for me.  I'll be hoping to win this for the team and gain some more valuable championship points.

To ensure I give myself the best chances for Lydden I've been getting in as much seat time in anything I can. I'm looking foward to Lydden and can't wait for some more close racing."

 Close racing with Drew Bellerby

On track action starts at 9 am at Lydden Hill on  Monday 6th April 2015. 

www.swiftrallycross.com

www.britishrallycross.com

www.lyddenhill.co.uk

New Drivers Show Potential in Rallycross Opening Round

Suzuki Swift preparation experts PGM Motorsport ran four drivers in the Power Maxed Swift Sport and Junior Swift categories at the opening round of the MSA British Rallycross Championship, held at Croft Circuit in Yorkshire.

Adam Weaver in his Power Maxed Branded Swift

In the highly competitive Swift Rallycross Championships, BTCC Power Maxed team owner Adam Weaver had a strong run to get his season underway by qualifying directly for the A final in seventh position. Weaver climbed to an impressive fifth place in the final in his distinctive Swift by the fifth lap of the race and will be knocking on the door of the podium in events to come. 

 Jeff Hankin first time in British Rallycross Event

Fellow PGM driver Jeff Hankin started on pole position in the B final and ran in second place on lap two. Hankin pushed hard to catch leader Nathan Heathcote, but just missed out on promotion to the A final in the first event of the season. He finished third. Scottish driver Ryan McAdam had an exciting day in his Swift, improving his pace every time he got in the car. As he got to grips with the Croft Circuit, he made it into the B final and enjoyed a close race with more experienced Swift racers Alex Spencer and Dave Ellis, proving his potential for coming events.

Ryan McAdam in his Rallycross debut

In the Junior Swift category, Bradley Durdin shone on his debut. The rallycross newcomer found his feet around the Croft rallycross track in the opening heats, and by heat three was right on the pace, beating championship favourite Drew Bellerby. In the final, Durdin pushed Bellerby hard and led on lap two, before being re-passed by Bellerby. The fight continued until the end, Durdin finishing in second place, less than a second behind Bellerby.

 Impressive first appearance by Bradley Durdin in Junior Rallycross

“It’s been a cracking first round for our drivers.  Jeff was consistent all day and narrowly missed out on the A final.    Young Ryan, with his first time out on gravel improved every heat and showed real potential and Adam was right in the mix and had some really good battles for position out there.

Brad too put in a really impressive performance, first time out in the juniors.  This is Drew’s home track and she and Charlie (2014 MSA Junior Champion – Charlie Bean) were battling all season and we know she is quick, so for Brad to come and win a heat here shows he has good pace.  He was unlucky in the final having taken the lead, a common mistake in running wide on the hairpin here just cost him, otherwise it would have been a win first time out.  He and Drew drove a great race, it was close all the way, think these two are going to provide some great racing if this is anything to go by.” said Peter Gwynne

Another highlight to the weekend was PGM Rallycross Challenge Europe driver Kris Fruru made the trip across from Belgium to be on hand to assist the new drivers on the day.  Great to see him catching up with Rob Maynard and the others he did battle with back in 2013 when he came 3^rd in the Swift championship himself.

The team only have to wait 3 weeks until the next rallycross outing for Round 2 of the British Rallycross Championship at Lydden Hill Race Circuit, Kent.

New Junior Driver Brad Durdin Set for Season in MSA British Rallycross

We chat with out new junior driver to find out why he chose Rallycross...

I've always appreciated any kind of Motorsport weather it's Sportcars, single seaters or even truck racing. At the age of 7 I was given a chance to drive a go-kart at the well known Rye House Karting circuit as part of my friends birthday party. It was a typical dark and gloomy day in February as well as absolutely pouring down with rain. I had never driven a kart before yet alone in monsoon like conditions. It was great fun and I really enjoyed it. On the 27th November 2007 my dad bought me my first go-kart. I had many years of fun in karting and progressed through the various different ranks. 

After taking my Arks racing licence I quickly found myself taking my first ever win in conditions very similar to that of my first ever go in a go-kart. My dad had a few goes in a couple of racecars and just like my dad I wanted to make the transition to car racing. In 2012 I was part of the Silverstone Rally School youth Academy which was great fun and taught me a lot. I enjoyed rally but it never really ticked all the boxes for me. The year after I joined the East Anglia Mini Centre autograss team and had a lot of success with them. Since then I've played around in various different cars weather it's formula ford or Ginetta Juniors.

Rallycross is a sport which I've always had a bit of a soft spot for. It's great to see a sport that is moving on with the times and has so much potential. I've always wanted to have a go at rallycross and it seemed to make sense to make the move into rallycross this year. With Peter Gwyne Motorsport I will be taking on the British Junior Rallycross championship and hope that we can bring much success to each another. I'm not here this year to be maybe third or second, I'm here to win! So watch out, there's a new kid on the block!

Motorcycle Racer Ryan McAdam joins Peter Gwynne Motorsport Team

After a successful first test, Scottish Motorcycle racer Ryan McAdam makes the switch from 2 to 4 wheels this season, racing in the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship with Peter Gwynne Motorsport Ltd.

As a complete novice in motorsport, the youngster from Aberdeen started racing motorcycles in 2011 at the age of 16.  In his first season, he managed a top ten race finish in the British Superteen Challenge which, the following year he improved upon making it into the top five with the highlight of taking 3rd overall at Rockingham.  McAdam then moved up to the Aprilia RRV450 after signing with JDF Racing, to double head an attack on the Bridgestone Supertwin Championship and the Aprilia RRV450 Challenge. 

At the age of 20, Ryan was invited by John Surtees (Formula 1 & MotoGP World Champion) to race in his charity event mixing racing drivers with celebrities in a team endurance race. His team '2n4 Racing' finished 10th out of 35 teams, racing wheel to wheel with established names in motorsport! After the race, there was a champagne reception, in which he discussed with John Surtees the opportunity to switch to 4 wheels, as he had done in his career.  “I was very lucky to be invited to race in the Henry Surtees Challenge. It is a solo race event with the best young drivers in Europe racing for amazing prizes. By the end of the day, I had made the decision that I wanted to race cars and focused on making that happen for this season.” enthused McAdam.

He continued, “I tested the Swift Rallycross car last month, and was immediately very impressed with the car. It was an interesting start to the day, with snow appearing before the first session, at a very cold airfield in Shropshire! The Suzuki was fantastic all day, and I finished every session with a big smile on my face! It was great to have so much confidence in the car from the first day, and I'm very excited to see what will happen this season!”

Peter Gwynne:  "We are really pleased to have Ryan joining us for the Swift Rallycross Championships. He showed a good level of car control when he came for a test recently, but with him only looking at the championship a week before entries closed, I am really impressed at the focus he has shown in approaching sponsors and finding the budget to make it happen. 

The Swifts are an extremely competitive class within the British Rallycross Championship and being a one make series, one small error can cost vital seconds you cannot find back.  If Ryan shows half as much focus and determination out there on track as he has in getting this far, he will certainly be one to watch for the future."

Ryan will make is debut at Croft Circuit this Sunday (15th March).