The West Thurrock-based team enjoyed a solid start to the new campaign in its home event last month, with Isle of Wight-based racer James Kaye becoming the first driver to take victory in the new Jack Sears Trophy – created this year for teams running Super 2000-based machinery.

Despite this year marking his first full season in the BTCC since 2006, James was on the pace throughout the Brands Hatch weekend on his debut in AmdTuning.com’s turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf, with a gearbox issue the only thing that prevented him from adding to his race one success.

With that gearbox issue having now been resolved, James heads to the East Midlands for the second race of the year eager to add to his Brands Hatch victory as he looks to reclaim top spot in the Jack Sears Trophy standings, with his one win to date meaning he currently sits second behind Ford rival Liam Griffin.

“We put in a good performance at Brands Hatch and it was a shame that the gearbox issue we had prevented us from taking at least one more win in the opening round of the year,” he said. “However, we’ve now solved the issue there was with the ‘box and we go to Donington Park looking to try and improve on how we performed in the opening round.

“Although I’ve driven the car at Donington Park during the media day, the conditions were so cold that we weren’t able to learn too much but I’m confident about how we’ll perform given the speed we showed last time out.

“Donington is a circuit that I enjoy as it is very fast and flowing, and it is one where the Volkswagen has always run well in the past. As ever, I’ll try my best, and hopefully we can come away from the weekend with more silverware.”

Team principal Shaun Hollamby said he was confident of another strong weekend for the team at a circuit where the Volkswagen had always been strong, with the team also seeking to bring home more silverware to celebrate the signing of a new sponsorship agreement which will come into force from the Donington Park weekend.

“The gearbox has had a rebuild since Brands Hatch so we’ve solved the issues we had there and we are looking forward to Donington,” he said. “For whatever reason, the Golf has always been strong at Donington and James did a good job during the test on media day, despite the conditions and the fact that he wasn’t really pushing.

“The target for this weekend has to be to come away with three wins in the Jack Sears Trophy, but we know it won’t be easy as there are five other drivers hoping for the same result. Donington suits the car as it changes direction well through the fast and flowing corners and we’re confident about our chances.

“It would also be good if we have a strong weekend as Donington is the home circuit for one of our partners, Milltek, and this weekend we also have a new sponsor onboard in the shape of F1K Indoor Karting. They will shortly be launching a new indoor go-karting circuit down the road from our base, so a deal between us is something that makes sense for both parties. It would be fantastic if we could start our relationship with F1K with a trip to the top of the podium.”

The new sponsorship deal with F1K comes as the company prepares to add to its portfolio of indoor go-karting circuits with a new venue in West Thurrock set to open next month.

As part of the deal, F1K logos will feature prominently on James’ Volkswagen Golf, while the company will play host to a series of AmDTuning.com karting events at its various venues over the course of the year to tie in with the remaining events on the BTCC calendar.

“This is the first time we have undertaken a major sponsorship deal in motorsport and is a natural progression in our marketing strategy,” F1K director Julian Henton said. “AmDTuning.com are new neighbours for us in West Thurrock, where we are opening our new fifth indoor karting circuit in May. We are delighted to team up with them as we launch the new site.

“The BTCC is the pinnacle of saloon car racing in the UK with a UK TV audience of 17 million views last year and over 350,000 race fans attending the races themselves, so it is a perfect fit for us. I wish James, Shaun and the whole AmDTuning.com team a successful and safe season and look forward to our new partnership getting underway.”

Lucas Oil Team Geriatric driver Lynch went into the weekend buoyed by a fine podium finish in the season opener at Lydden Hill last month on what was his maiden appearance in the BMW MINI class.

In the weeks between events, Tony and the team had worked hard on making improvements to the car, with a revised suspension set-up fitted ready for the second race meeting of the campaign.

Despite his car still being down on power compared to his rivals, Tony’s weekend started in fine fashion with victory in the opening heat, and a brace of fourth place finishes in the remaining two heats were good enough to earn him a front-row start for the final.

An early race clash with Keifer Hudson as the pair battled side-by-side at the start of the final saw Tony lose valuable time, with a half spin later on in the opening lap also dropping him away from the fight for the lead. Despite that, Tony was able to fight back to fourth spot for another solid points haul on his second outing in the MINI.

Despite missing out on a second successive podium finish, the progress made over the course of the weekend means Tony can now prepare for the third round of the year at Knockhill confident about his chances of victory, with further improvements to be made to his car prior to the trip to Scotland.

“Obviously I don’t come away from the weekend pleased with the end result, but when you look at the performance, I’m delighted with how we got on,” Tony said. “Although we’d made improvements to the car in time for Mallory, we know there is still work to do with it, so to show the kind of pace we displayed on track at the weekend is very encouraging for the remainder of the year.

“Winning the first heat is an indication of the potential we have, but we made a lot of progress over the weekend and are in a good position moving forwards.

“Scoring points in the early part of the season was always our aim as we knew it would take time to get used to the MINI after three years running in the Swift series. With our performance this weekend, and the work we have planned before Knockhill, I’m confident that we’ll be able to take another step forwards in Scotland.”

The West Thurrock-based team heads into the season opener on home soil seeking to challenge for honours in the new Jack Sears Trophy, introduced into the BTCC this season for teams running cars to the older Super 2000 regulations.

Isle of Wight-based driver James Kaye will be making his debut at the wheel of the team’s turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf as he starts his first full season of BTCC competition since 2006.

The 49-year-old makes the trip to Kent buoyed by an impressive display during official testing at Donington Park last week, where he posted the second fastest time amongst the S2000 runners.

James, a two-time winner of the BTCC’s Independents’ title, will now aim to replicate that form on his first full weekend in AmDTuning.com colours, with hopes high of a strong start to his championship campaign.

“I’m feeling very positive about my debut,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised how good the car was when I tested it last week at Donington Park and I’ll be going out there to do my best at Brands Hatch.

“Brands Hatch is circuit I enjoy as it is very intense and the racing is always action-packed. It’s a good indicator for the remainder of the season, and if we can put on a good display at Brands Hatch, then we know we will be in good shape for the rest of the year.

“Qualifying is going to be vital because it’s difficult to overtake around the Indy circuit, but even though this is a very new relationship, I’m confident that we can be in the mix for Jack Sears Trophy honours when the action gets underway.”

The Brands Hatch weekend will mark the start of AmDTuning.com’s fourth season on the British Touring Car Championship grid, with the team having worked hard over the winter to improve the ever-popular Volkswagen; which has become a firm favourite with fans in recent years.

With the introduction of the Jack Sears Trophy having given the team a realistic chance of securing championship silverware during the year ahead, team principal Shaun Hollamby said he was hopeful of seeing AmDTuning.com on the BTCC podium for the first time this weekend, with the performance in testing having given cause for optimism about the year ahead.

“Over the winter we have worked on improving the reliability of the car to put us in a stronger position for this season, and I’m feeling very good about the weekend ahead,” he said. “James was happy with the car during the test at Donington last week and I was very happy with his performance considering it was his first time in the Golf. When you add the fact that we didn’t run on new tyres in the test, he did a great job to be so close to the top of the S2000 times.

“We know that Lea Wood in his Vectra and Liam Griffin in his Ford are going to be strong competitors, but I’m confident that both James and the Golf are up for the challenge. There would be nothing better than to see him standing on the podium by the end of the weekend.”

The Grantham-based 21-year-old will make the move into single-seater competition for the first time with the Richardson Racing team, which will also be embarking on its first season running an open-wheel machine.

Andy and the team are due to take delivery of the Ford EcoBoost-powered Mygale chassis that he will race in 2013 at Brands Hatch, ready for the opening rounds of the new season at the circuit this weekend; where Formula Ford joins the support package for the British Touring Car Championship.

Due to the late nature of the deal, the two test sessions due to be held at the Kent circuit on Friday will mark the first opportunity that Andy has had to get behind the wheel of his new car, while it will also be the first chance that the team has had to work with the Mygale.

Three races of 20 minutes in length will then take place over the course of the weekend, with race one due to take place at 14.45 on Saturday 30 March, and the remaining two races being run on Sunday 31 March at 11.00 and 17.45.

“When the opportunity arose to enter Formula Ford, it was too good to turn down and this is a great way for me to try my hand at single-seaters,” Andy said. “We have been working hard to make the deal happen for some time, and have to thank Ford, Mygale and ATL for their support in putting it all together.”

Andy’s only previous experience of the new Formula Ford 200 machine came in a brief run behind the wheel at Silverstone during a sampler day held late last year. As a result, he is realistic in his targets for the weekend ahead as he embarks on a new phase in his career.

“There is no doubt that this is the biggest challenge that the team has faced,” he said. “We are going straight into the first race meeting of the season with no testing and with a car we will have just collected, so we are going to be learning all weekend.

“As a racing driver, I only go on track to win, but I have to be realistic this weekend given how late everything has come together and the main target has to be three solid races so I can make the most of our time on track and learn as much as possible about the car.

“While I enjoyed my time racing in Ginettas in both the Challenge and then the Supercup, I have always had a desire to race in single-seaters and now the opportunity has come along, I can’t wait to get started.”

After three years of competing in the Suzuki Swift category, Tony and Lucas Oil Team Geriatric have switched focus to the equally competitive BMW MINI series, with the opening round of the new season marking Tony’s first appearance in the class.

With the late nature of his deal to contest the MINI series meaning preparation of his own newly acquired car is still ongoing, Tony took the decision to lease a car from elsewhere for the first meeting of the year, with his team working to prepare the car for the Lydden weekend.

Running in a striking new Lucas Oil livery, Tony set the fifth quickest time in practice before the team set to work on making improvements to the MINI, with Tony then making forward progress throughout the three heats to secure a place on the front row of the grid for the all-important final.

Despite the fact that his leased car was down on power, Tony produced a solid performance in the final to secure third place behind siblings Keifer and Kris Hudson, ensuring a strong points haul with which to start his championship campaign.

“After three years in the Suzuki, we felt it was time for a change and the BMW MINI class is an exciting challenge for us,” Tony said. “The MINI is also a good fit for us with Lucas Oil and is a car that people can relate to as it’s so popular with drivers on the road.

“With our new car being built up at the moment, we decided to lease a car to use for the early part of the season. The car was down on power a bit which didn’t help us at Lydden Hill and we’ll rectify that for the next round, but the boys worked hard to improve it over the weekend and we improved every time we went out which is a real positive.

“While it is always nice to win, I think we did everything we could this weekend and to finish on the podium is a job well done. We know there is a lot more to come as we learn about the car, and when our own car is ready, so to be third in the first meeting of the season is a good start. We can take a lot of confidence from our performance this weekend.”

The Grantham-based team stormed to the teams’ championship in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup thanks to a campaign that featured no fewer than 18 race victories, while the team also wrapped up the drivers’ title in the G50 category after a flawless season where it’s championship-winning car was the class of the field.

In only its second season in the series, having stepped up from the Ginetta Challenge, the team also broke numerous lap records and finished the season as the team to beat with victory in three of the final five races of the year.

Three of the team’s four drivers during 2012 – Mark Davies, Andy Richardson and Louise Richardson – tasted victory champagne over the course of the season, while Giles Dawson made the most of the team’s extensive knowledge and expertise to run strongly at Silverstone in what was his first outing in a race car for some two years.

“Having been team manager and race engineer for the most successful Aston Martin GT4 campaign since the cars inception, I look for the same level of commitment and quality in a team when on the other side of the fence as a driver,” Giles said. “What Richardson Racing has proven to me over the past two seasons, both in my support of them and as a customer, is that they have these same qualities and their results reflect that fact. Racing with them is a pleasure and I look forward to continuing my support of the team through 2013.”

On the back of such an impressive campaign, hopes are now high of further success when the new season gets underway at the end of March, with the team working on putting together a new-look line-up for the 2013 campaign.

Discussions with drivers seeking to compete in the both the G55 and G50 classes of the British Touring Car Championship-support series are ongoing, with a number of racers having declared their interest in competing for the team that led the way throughout 2012.

“Last season was a fantastic one for the whole team and we were obviously delighted to win two championship titles,” team boss Gwyn Richardson says. “We were strong in both the G55 and G50 classes and are confident that we will be able to build on the success we enjoyed in 2012 during the season ahead.

“We are in discussions with several drivers who have shown an interest in racing with us this season and we are looking to run cars in both classes again this year. In the past few years, we have built a strong team both on and off track and have shown that we are more than capable of providing drivers with a car that will allow them to run right at the front of the field.

“As things stand, after two seasons in the Supercup, Andy is considering other options on offer in the TOCA paddock but, even if he elects to compete in another series, he will still be involved with the team and will work alongside our drivers to share the knowledge and experience he has gained behind the wheel of both the G50 and G55 in recent seasons.

“Everyone involved is excited about what the season ahead holds, and having finished 2012 as the team to beat, we are aiming to hit the ground running when 2013 gets underway and maintain our position at the front.”

While discussions are ongoing with prospective drivers, Richardson Racing are happy to speak to anyone looking to compete in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup during the season ahead.

Drives are available in both classes in the championship, with further information available by contacting the team on info@richardsonracing.co.uk

While things have changed somewhat since the interview took place – such as with Fifth Gear – it might make interesting reading for those either not familiar with Ben and his career, or those who are fans of Top Gear…

Ben Collins: My life as The Stig 
First published 2010

In recent years, he’s been one of the most famous racing drivers around, fighting against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button for column inches in the national press.

However, in the case of Ben Collins, his true identity was shrouded in mystery through his role as The Stig on the hit BBC show Top Gear.

Unless you live on the moon, you’ll be well aware that Collins’ identity is a secret no longer after he was unmasked as the ‘tame racing driver’, which in turn led to a somewhat acrimonious split with the show earlier this year prior to the publication of his autobiography ‘The Man in the White Suit’.

The BBC ultimately lost its legal challenge to suppress the book, and with the threat of legal action now at an end, Collins is focused on making a name for himself once again in his own right.

However, there is no doubt that his time as The Stig is something Collins will forever be famous for.

Prior to securing the role of The Stig, Collins had forged a career in single-seaters having competed in British F3 and Indy Lights before the opportunity arose to make a move to sportscars; racing as part of the factory Ascari team at Le Mans in 2001.

However, it was a role away from the race track that was to then catch his eye and lead to a career change that would last much longer than he initially expected.

Perry McCarthy had just seen his character of the original Stig killed off by Top Gear bosses, with Collins one of the men given the chance to impress as the BBC looked for a replacement. After impressing in his trial, a deal was agreed that would change his life for the following years.

“There was an element of being in the right place at the right time,” he recalls. “A few drivers I knew had been doing things on the show and I became aware that the producers were looking for someone new to take up the role of The Stig. I went along and set some times around the track and it was then that I saw the episode where they fired Perry McCarthy’s character off the aircraft carrier.

“Watching that, I knew that one day my character would follow the same route, so my aim was to try and beat Perry’s record. He did it for a year so in all honesty, I felt I would be lucky to manage a couple of years at most.”

Of course, a key element of the role was the secrecy that surrounded the character and it was this fact that meant Collins faced a daily challenge to achieve his aim of beating McCarthy’s record. Unfortunately it appeared that beating a year in the role may not happen after filming with a Dutch TV crew saw his voice appear on camera; and kickstarted the chain of events that meant his new role became one of the worst kept secrets within motorsport circles.

“The game was given away pretty quickly to people within motorsport, although it’s important to look at the motorsport side of things and the general public and press in a different way,” he admitted. “At the time the Dutch piece was filmed, I hoped that it wouldn’t come back to haunt us. In 2003, I was competing in ASCAR and no-one knew a thing, but in 2004, people knew what I was doing as they’d seen the video online and recognised my voice. The penny started to drop from that point onwards and I can remember Michael Vergers saying to me that he’d see me at Dunsfold as he was going to be there doing some driving. I just had to maintain the same story that I used when journalists came up to ask me about it – and that was that I wasn’t The Stig.

“Keeping up that pretence was what really worked as I never actually came out and admitted it to anyone. No matter how convinced people were that they were right, I looked them square in the eye and flat out lied about my involvement. After a pregnant pause they tended to revert to the theory that it was Damon Hill. It would have been easy for me to say to a few people that it was me, but then they would have been able to verify it to others and the whole thing would have snowballed from there, so it was important to nip it in the bud from the start. I always wore the white helmet on set so no-one could see it was me and I donned a balaclava at mealtimes, which was messy on occasions! The general media was always intrigued about who The Stig was, but realistically there were more important things on the world’s agenda than finding out who I was.”

To the general public watching on, The Stig would be a popular figure as he set times around the Top Gear Test Track in a variety of exotic cars and took on a role of mentor to the celebrities acted as Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Clearly though there were differing views on how The Stig should be portrayed, with Collins keen to take the character to a racing audience and series bosses seemingly happy to keep him within the confines of the show.

“When I took up the role, I wanted to both fulfil the position of The Stig but also boost my own career,” he said. “I had the idea for The Stig to be an anonymous racing driver who would compete with various teams and while we did the Britcar race, I do regret that we couldn’t take it to a higher level. I’d have loved it if The Stig had raced in NASCAR or Le Mans but for whatever reason it never happened. Perhaps there was an element of not wanting The Stig to be beaten but in motorsport, things happen which are beyond the control of a driver that ultimately affect the result – it happens all the time even with superhumans like Schumacher or Senna.”

Aside from the various challenges faced on the show, the only race Collins was able to carry out in character was the infamous entry into the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone in 2007, when Top Gear entered a diesel-powered BMW into the race.

Competing in a ‘proper’ race provided a new challenge to keep the character under cover, although the fact Collins had to sign on in order to compete only served to widen the sphere of people who knew his secret. With the mainstream press watching on, no risk could be taken to allow people to find out who Collins really was which in turn created its own issues.

“There was no real way round things at Silverstone when it came to signing on for the race as I had to do that in order to compete, but it wasn’t easy from that point onwards,” he said. “I had a little room in the control tower which became my home during the weekend as no-one knew it was there; it was just somewhere they used to keep a lot of junk! But when I came out of the tower, it was back into the ‘uniform’ and I even had to tackle the night stint using a dark visor so no-one could get a picture which could give the game away.

“That race was something fun to do and in all fairness, Jeremy, Richard and James did well for novice drivers. The BMW was a forgiving car without a lot of power but everyone knows that the Britcar 24 is a wild race because of the different classes and different speeds on track. You need to be a competent driver to keep out of the way of the faster cars and I have to take my hat off to the three of them for the way they performed. Of course, Richard had the incident with the Mosler but that wasn’t his fault and they all did well. There was no weaning them off the Top Gear diet though. The presenters stuck religiously to a packet of crisps and a can of coke through the night! There were trips into the gravel when the fog came but they weren’t the only ones to do that and they were overtaking well on track. It was certainly a lot of fun.”

While the Britcar race was a one-off, that hadn’t always been the plan with an initial idea of putting The Stig into a car at Le Mans. However, when those plans fell through, Collins began to question his position on the show.

“There was a plan to race at Le Mans but then it came down to possibly bringing in a driver with money to take on the role for the event instead of me,” he said. “With that, and the increasing media frenzy, the writing was on the wall and it was time to go.”

With more and more media reports that Collins was the mystery figure, it was only a matter of time before his role was at an end and in Autumn 2010, he was named in various papers; just before the publication of his book.

That was it as far as The Stig goes and was followed by the BBC’s legal threats, but Collins refuses to look back on his time on the show with anything other than fond memories.

“It was all a bit silly really and you can only laugh about it – there is no point in me getting twisted up over what has happened,” he said. “The anonymity was gone and it was the right time for me to go. The guys at the BBC could have given me the send-off I deserved for the time I dedicated to the role and hopefully in time they will be able to see my side of this. I have to accept what has happened and move on from it now.

“I don’t find it difficult to still watch Top Gear as I had a blast on the show, made a lot of friends there and I know I’m lucky to have been able to live the dream in recent years. I’m not going to let some of the legal stuff that followed get in the way of that and damage the memories of a fantastic period of my career. The overseas challenges in places like Poland and Romania in particular were brilliant.”

Amongst the many memories from the show are two cars in particular; one which Collins feels is amongst the best he has driven and one where things didn’t quite go to plan…

“The Ferrari 458 was an unbelievable car and I’m sure it will be a real weapon as a racing machine,” he said. “I can remember driving the Scuderia version of the 430 and thinking that it would be a hard car to be beaten, but the 458 does just that. These new supercars have so much grip that the tyres just fall apart.

“On the other side of things was the incident with the Koenigsegg when I went off the track. It was very embarrassing. Christian von Koenigsegg was one of the first people on the scene and we had to treat the whole incident with kid gloves. We knew at the time that the car wasn’t quite right and had its faults but I felt I could get more from it. As The Stig, I had to push all the cars to their limits and the Koenigsegg was no exception. If I hadn’t had the white suit on, I might not have done it but my role got the better of me because there was a real sense of duty to give every manufacturer their best shot on the day. Looking back at that long list of cars we tested I can honestly say that I dragged every tenth of a second from every one of them.

“In all fairness to Koenigsegg, it was brilliant that they went away, modified the car and then came back again. Hopefully they see what happened as being something that helped to develop the car!”

As well as making a return to racing, marked by a Championship win in LMP2 in the 2010 Le Mans Series, Collins also has a new element of his broadcasting career to focus on after making the switch to rival show Fifth Gear; something which will run along the various bits of work he carries out as a professional driver on major Hollywood films.

He readily admits there may be an element of the Five show seeking to benefit from the exposure of having The Stig onboard, Collins is keen to push ahead with a career under his own name both on and off the race track.

“Top Gear has moved away from being factual to being more entertainment based but it has grown in popularity, is still a great show and I believe is one of the most watched on the planet; which is an amazing feat,” he says. “Now I’ve switched to Fifth Gear with the likes of Jason Plato and Tiff Needell, which has a totally different format. It’s more direct from people who are professional drivers.

“I’m sure there is a publicity element to them signing me up and I can see things totally from that point of view. But for me, The Stig is in the past and now it’s time to see what this Ben Collins character can do.”

After three years running its Super 2000-spec Volkswagen Golf, the West Thurrock-based team is to undertake development of its first NGTC-spec machine for the new season, making it the latest team to embrace rules introduced into the series to reduce costs.

Following careful consideration of the options available, the team has selected the latest incarnation of the Vauxhall Astra as its weapon of choice.

Due the late nature of the deal to build the new Astra, the team will start the 2013 season running its VW Golf before introducing the Vauxhall for the second half of the campaign. Final specification of the car is still to be decided, although the team plans to use the TOCA engine seen in a number of machines on the grid.

“When I first saw the Astra I thought it would make a fantastic BTCC car and I’m excited about this new programme,” team boss Shaun Hollamby said. “While this is a privateer programme, Vauxhall has been an integral part of British Touring Cars for a long time and we are fully focused on producing a car that will be capable of challenging at the sharp end of the grid.

“As a company, AmDTuning.com is known for its work with cars from the Volkswagen Audi Group, but we work with cars from a wide range of manufacturers and thought long and hard about the best model to use for our first NGTC machine. The Astra is a good size with strong aerodynamics and fits well into the regulations, which seem to favour the smaller and more nimble cars.

“While we have been thinking about this move for some time, the fact that the programme has come together now means we will focus on developing the Astra for the second half of the season, giving us the chance to build the car and do some testing before giving it its race debut.”

Drivers for the new programme are still to be confirmed, with the possibility that the team could end up running both its existing Volkswagen and the new Astra when the NGTC-spec car is ready to hit the track.

“We are talking with Ollie Jackson and would love to keep him onboard as he did a great job last year and showed that he deserves his place in the BTCC,” Hollamby continued, “but we are also interested in speaking to other drivers who are interested in competing in the series this season.

“While our plan at the moment is to start the year with the Golf before introducing the Astra, we could run the Volkswagen for the full season if the right driver comes along who wants to compete for the Jack Sears Trophy. With the reduced boost levels that the S2000 cars will run to, it will be a competitive package for a driver who doesn’t quite have the budget to go with an NGTC programme.

“With that in mind, there are various options for us to explore on the driver front and we will make an announcement in due course when the final decisions have been made.”

AmD Tuning.com are supported by AmDtuning.com, Beavis Morgan, Corbeau, Showtrax, LUKE, Milltek, Superpro, SFS, Airtec, Legend Vehicle Specialists, Pipercross and KW.

The new store, located a stone’s throw from its former home in the village of Eccleston near Chorley, has given the business the opportunity to further showcase its extensive product range – which offers riders from across the North West a one-stop-shop to meet all of their needs.

2013 kit from the likes of Fox, Shift and Troy Lee is now on sale – with on-site shirt printing available – while POA Racing also stocks a wide range of safety equipment, bike parts, oils and lubricants, graphics and tyres.

The high-quality GoPro camera range used throughout motorsport is also available both in-store and online, while POA Racing has also introduced a range of balance bikes and scooters for the younger customer.

A family-run business since its formation over 18 years ago, POA has long prided itself on providing a personal touch to customers, all of whom are invited to see the expanded range of products now on sale in the new store.

“After more than twelve years in our old home, the opportunity to move into larger premises that will allow us to showcase a wider range of products was too good to miss,” POA Racing’s Tom Duddle explains. “The new store also gives us more visibility thanks to its location and the reaction has been hugely positive so far.

“We already have 2013 kit in stock from some of the leading names in the industry with more to come, giving riders a range of choice when it comes to the new season.

“At the request of customers, we’ve also brought in new products aimed at younger riders and children, with the balance bikes and scooters we now stock being ideal gifts for Christmas.

“These are exciting times for us as a business, and we look forward to welcoming customers old and new to our new home in future.”

POA Racing can now be found in its new home at the address below:

POA Racing Ltd
209 The Green
Eccleston
Chorley
Lancashire
PR7 5SX

It’s extensive range is also available to order online via www.poaracing.co.uk, with postage throughout the UK. Extended opening hours for the festive period will see the new store open seven days a week.

The Lucas Oil Team Geriatric driver made the trip to the North East seeking to wrap up third in the championship standings, while he also retained an outside chance of lifting the title if results went his way.

Tony’s performance in the three heats saw him secure seventh on the grid for the season finale, with his main aim in the final race of the year being to finish ahead of James Knight-Coney – the man who headed to Croft as his closest challenger for third overall.

A strong start saw Tony go from seventh to third as the field headed into turn one for the first time, but contact from one of his rivals saw him sustain damage to the rear beam of his Swift.

Rather than going for a victory to round out his season, Tony instead found himself battling to bring his damaged car to the finish, and a solid performance saw him take the chequered flag in fourth spot.

Finishing ahead of Knight-Coney, Tony secured a top three finish for the third successive season, although he was unable to score enough points to overhaul Jonathan Bean in the race for second place.

“Going into the weekend, the main aim was to wrap up third spot, so in that respect it was mission accomplished,” Tony said. “Qualifying seventh for the final meant I was right in the mix when the final got underway and I made a good start to get up to third, but then got hit and picked up damage to the rear beam.

“With that damage, it was all about making it to the finish and I’m chuffed to bits that we were able to wrap up third in the championship. Although it wasn’t the aim at the start of the year, I’m pleased to have been able to maintain our record of finishing inside the top three for a third successive season.”

Tony’s championship campaign included a victory – with bonus point for fastest lap – at Knockhill back in May and another podium finish at Nutts Corner in June, although a series of incidents not of his making ultimately ended his chances of lifting the Suzuki crown.

“This has been the most difficult season I’ve had in Rallycross since I started doing it back in 2005,” he said. “I think we’ve done something like four rear beams and two driveshafts this year which really dented our championship challenge and meant we headed to Croft fighting for third rather than trying to secure first.

“It’s been tough, but we have persevered with it and the team has done a great job to keep us on track. They never let their heads drop and it’s a sign of how good the team is that we were able to finish the year in third spot despite everything that was thrown as us.”

With his season over, Tony then handed his car over to Craig Lomax for the British Rallycross Grand Prix event on Sunday, with Craig having secured the opportunity to race the car thanks to his performance in the Lucas Oil Team Geriatric-backed BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Stock Hatch Class.

After a test at the Three Sisters circuit near Wigan prior to making the trip to Croft, the weekend marked Craig’s first experience of competing at the wheel of the Suzuki and he secured an impressive third place finish, beating Suzuki champion Chris Mullen in the process.

Tony and everyone involved with Team Geriatric wish to thank Lucas Oil, Pemberton Tyres, Sign-Tec, Apollon Music, Rye Motors, Bloor Homes, Delmo Salvage, Procare and Driveme.net for their continued support throughout the 2012 season.