Armstrong: Pirelli crucial to Scottish Championship successThe new MSA Scottish Rally Champion, Jock Armstrong, has praised the role his Pirelli tyres played as he secured his first national rally title.
“The Pirelli tyres are predictable and that gives you confidence,” said the Subaru Impreza driver. “If you want to win the championship the Pirelli is the better tyre out there. It’s faultless and you know what you can do on it.”
Armstrong added that his team was a vital part of his success this year: “It’s not just about me, it’s the team and my navigator too. I’ve only been co-driven by Paula Swinscoe for the past two years. We have a good laugh and you need someone talented in the co-driver’s seat alongside you. It’s a very competitive championship. We may not have had the best car, but it was well-prepared by TEG Sport and we had the best tyres.”
Armstrong and Swinscoe won the season-opening Snowman Rally and the Jim Clark Reivers Rally. Further second-place finishes confirmed them as champions. The pair will be back to defend their crown in 2016.
Carlin joins Pirelli-supported BRDC F4Carlin, one of the most successful single-seater teams in European motorsport, will field a three-car team in the 2016 BRDC F4 series.
The Tatuus-Cosworth cars run exclusively on Pirelli tyres, which is familiar territory for Carlin. The team also enters cars in the Formula 1-supporting GP2 and GP3 series and they both run on Pirelli tyres too.
Surrey-based Carlin has also been successful in British F3, Porsche Supercup, Formula Renault 3.5 and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. It helped many Formula 1 drivers to reach the pinnacle of the sport, including Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo.
Trevor Carlin, Team Principal of Carlin, said: “We know it’s important to go where the drivers want to race, and the new 2016 MSV F4 car has created real interest amongst young drivers. We know how important it is for young drivers to prepare for the incredibly competitive FIA F3 European Championship and GP3 Series and we believe that the BRDC Formula 4 Championship is a very useful step in that process.”
Pirelli-supplied Mini Challenge titles to be decidedChampionships will be claimed at the final round of the Pirelli-supported Power Maxed Mini Challenge this weekend. The venue is the historic Snetterton circuit in Norfolk, with the action taking place on the 300 circuit on October 31 and November 1.
Favourite for the ultimate F56 class, which runs on slick Pirelli tyres, is David Grady. But his lead was eroded at the previous round at Donington Park as Charlie Butler-Henderson won both. There’s a 57 point margin, and with three races this weekend anything can happen.
Poor start in race one at Donington for R56 JCW class leader Neil Newstead meant he fell to fourth place. But he recovered and climbed back to second behind Hamish Brandon. Following that with a win in race two means Newstead has one hand on the trophy.
It’s a similar story for Nathan Harrison in the entry-level Cooper Class. His Donington double win last time out means he is odds on to secure the championship.
Pirelli ready for BRDC F4 Autumn trophyThe BRDC Formula 4 Autumn Trophy begins on November 7/8 with four races at Snetterton in Norfolk. Four races will take place and the teams, who are all supplied by Pirelli, are planning their entries for two-weekend series.
Indian racer Ameya Vaidyanathan will continue with Hillspeed, the team with which he ran in 2015. The 15-year-old enjoyed three podium finishes and, like all the teams, Hillspeed will run him in the new-for-2016 Tatuus-Cosworth car.
“We’re all determined to build further on the sort of pace and racecraft which helped Ameya deliver impressive multiple podiums in the main championship,” said Hillspeed team principle Richard Ollerenshaw. “The arrival of the new car brings a fresh challenge, but that’s going to be the same for every driver.”
The second four-race Autumn Trophy weekend takes place at Brands Hatch on November 14/15. The champion will receive a free entry to the 2016 season.
AmeyaAmeya Vaidyanathan has entered the Pirelli-supported BRDC F4 Autumn Trophy
Coming up next time: We report on the outcome of the final round of the Power Maxed MINI Challenge, and we talk to some of the Pirelli runners ahead of Wales Rally GB
