DICK TAKES STUNNING VICTORY

Speedworks Motorsport Team Principal Christian Dick bagged his first Ginetta G50 Cup race victory with a superb drive from third on the grid in race two at Silverstone.

Dick ran third on the first lap, passing Chris Dittmann on the second lap and then taking the lead from Tom Dunstan into the hairpin. But once he had the lead, Dick, in his first race meeting after his marriage to team co-owner Amy Dick, had to absorb intense pressure for the remaining 17 laps.

He was never able to pull more than a few car lengths clear of Dunstan, but continued to turn in consistent and fast laps which made it impossible for the chasing car to make a move for the lead. With four laps to go, newly crowned champion Nigel Moore barged his way past Dunstan, who ended up in the gravel as a result of the move, to run third. Despite having a new driver chasing him, Dick made no mistake and claimed his first victory for one year and 280 days!

"It's certainly been a long time, but the best thing about this result is that we've beaten everyone on merit," said Dick. "We haven't relied on others going out and have finally turned the pace that we've had all season into a first win. With the amount of work the guys have put into getting this car as good as it is I owed them a win!

"Once I had the lead, it was just a case of trying to set a good consistent pace. It was always close, but I always felt reasonably well in control because Tom was never quite close enough to have a go. I had a feeling all weekend that this time we would get our first win - fortunately that feeling was justified!"

Richard Sykes recovered from his Ginetta G20 being destroyed in a first lap accident to take ninth.

"I didn't have anyone to battle with but I really enjoyed the race," said Sykes. "The car was handling well and I was able to get a decent result."

Team-mate Tony Hughes failed to finish after he lost fuel pressure in the early stages of the race.

RACE 2 RESULTS
1 Christian Dick, 20 laps in 30m10.967s
2 Nigel Moore, +2.266s
3 Frank Wrathall, +3.498s
4 Toby Newton, +12.458s
5 Clive Richards, +12.981s
6 Henry Fletcher, +23.682s
7 Tom Sharp, +24.072s
8 Chris Clayton, +39.650s
9 Richard Sykes, +56.932s
10 Jon Cook, +74.932s
11 David Dove, +1 lap
12 Tom Dunstan
13 Chris Dittmann
14 Tony Hughes - fuel pressure

DICK BOOKS SECOND ROW SLOT

Speedworks Motorsport Team Principal Christian Dick will start tomorrow morning's 15th round of the Ginetta G50 Cup at Silverstone International from fourth on the grid.

Dick held a place on the front row for much of the session, but was shuffled down to fourth in the closing stages.

"A couple of others improved late on which pushed us back a bit but it was a solid session," said Dick. "We're struggling a bit for grip in the final sector, but we're in the mix for the races tomorrow."

Richard Sykes will start from 13th, while team-mate Tony Hughes rounded out the top 15 qualifiers.

QUALIFYING
1 Chris Dittmann, 1m28.951s
2 Tom Dunstan, +0.251s
3 Frank Wrathall, +0.366s
4 Christian Dick, +0.393s
5 Toby Newton, +0.700s
6 Clive Richards, +0.709s
7 Mike Robinson, +0.923s
8 Nigel Moore, +1.032s
9 Tom Sharp, +1.224s
10 Henry Fletcher, +1.329s
11 Rod Carman, +1.731s
12 Chris Clayton, +1.887s
13 Richard Sykes, +1.970s
14 Jon Cook, +3.038s
15 Tony Hughes, +4.069s
16 David Dove, +4.133s

SPEEDWORKS SEEKING DRIVER FOR BRITCAR 24

Speedworks Motorsport is seeking additional drivers for its attack on the Britcar 24 Hours race at Silverstone on September 20/21.

The team will run a Ginetta G50, equipped with the full endurance racing package including rear wing and engine upgrade, in Class 2 of the race with Joachim Ritter and Paul Sheard already confirmed to drive.

Any experienced drivers with the appropriate budget interested in joining the team should contact Amy Dick on 07825 036 312 or amy@speedworksmotorsport.com.

SYKES DOMINATES AT SILVERSTONE

Phil Sykes claimed his second race win of the year with a dominant lights-to-flag win in wet conditions at Silverstone yesterday.

Sykes, making a rare appearance in the Club Ginetta series, won the first race from pole position by a massive 34-second margin from championship leader Stuart Pearson. With the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship visiting Silverstone this weekend, it was the best possible preparation for Sykes.

"It's a good boost for the weekend to have another win under my belt," said Sykes. "I was able to control the race relatively easily - you can't ask for more than pole position, fastest lap and a win!"

Sykes followed up his success with second place behind Pearson in race two after being delayed by a spinning Paul Morgan.

“I was sitting back behind Stuart waiting for the last couple of laps to have a go at him and Paul got past,” said Sykes. “Then he spun in front of me and the delay meant that the gap between us was too large.

STRAW TAKES 16TH IN 24 HOURS

Speedworks Motorsport's Edd Straw finished 16th in the Citroen 2CV 24 Hours at Snetterton driving for Team Fine Print.

Straw, sharing with 2001 Formula Renault UK Champion Carl Breeze, car owner Martin Harrold and German Nordschleife specialist Said Baloui, overcame a late-race engine failure to take a solid finish.

"We would probably have been 12th without the engine failure," said Straw, who was competing in his fifth 2CV 24 Hour race. "That said, we were fortunate that the engine went in a scheduled pit-stop and the team was able to pull off a very fast switch to get us back out there.

"Considering the speed of the car, 16th is a reasonably satisfying result. If the rain had stayed throughout the race it would have favoured us, but all things considered it went well. It is a very enjoyable race to do, particularly when you've got such a good team behind you."

DIFFICULT QUALIFYING FOR STRAW

Speedworks Motorsport driver Edd Straw will start the Citroen 2CV 24 Hours from 23rd on the grid after gearbox problems struck his Team Fine Print entry in qualifying.

Straw, who is sharing the car with former Formula Renault UK champion Carl Breeze, car owner Martin Harrold and German Nurburgring specialist Said Baloui, was unable to make a qualifing attempt after the gearbox started losing oil early in the session.

"Said set the time after going out first, and although it's not a great position to start from it at least gets us a third of the way up the field," said Straw. "Qualifying was never going to be the car's strong point, and the positive thing is that it's a problem we shouldn't have in the race now!

"I just did three laps holding it in third gear to make sure I qualified - the important thing is to be in the race rather than a few rows further up the grid.

"The strategy for the race is simple. Although we haven't got the fastest car out there we should have a reasonably reliable one with one of the better driver line-ups. With a bit of luck, we can hit our target of a top ten finish."

The race starts at 1700 today.

PODIUM FINISH FOR TIGER

Speedworks Motorsport's Sunbeam Tiger claimed a podium finish in class in yesterday's Guards Trophy event at Castle Combe.

The car, shared by Neil Merry and Christian Dick, finished third in Class D and 17th overall in the endurance event. It was only the fourth race start for Speedworks with the Tiger, and the team shaved another four seconds off the car's fastest lap.

"We've made good progress with the car this weekend and had a good time," said Dick. "It's an interesting challenge expanding into historic racing but every time we take the car out we're learning."

TIGER QUALIFIES THIRD IN CLASS

Speedworks Motorsport's Sunbeam Tiger will start this afternoon's Guards Trophy race at Castle Combe from third in class.

The car, shared by car owner Neil Merry and Speedworks Team Principal Christian Dick, set a time one second faster than yesterday's previous best around the Wiltshire track.

The duo will start the race 17th overall.

TIGER MAKES IT TO THE GRID

Neil Merry and Christian Dick made it to the finish of this afternoon's 45-minute Cloth Cap event at Castle Combe after working flat out to repair the car following a qualifying crash.

Merry, who crashed at Quarry on only his second lap of the day, made good progress through the 34-car field after starting from the back of the grid. Only a delay during the driver change pit-stop, when Merry came in to hand over to Dick after ten laps, prevented a strong result and the Tiger came home only 27th.

But despite losing almost two laps trying to restart the car at the pit-stop, Merry was delighted with the performance of the car.

"After frantic repair work we were allowed to race," said Merry. "I was a bit tentative for the first five laps after the qualifying crash, but I really enjoyed it. In my defence, it was less than two laps before Christian spun it as well so I wasn't the only one!

"The really positive thing is that we were setting times good enough to run strongly in the middle of the pack, which bodes very well for tomorrow."

Merry and Dick will share the Tiger in tomorrow's Guards Trophy race.

MERRY IN QUALIFYING CRASH
Speedworks Motorsport faces a race against time to repair its Sunbeam Tiger in time for this afternoon's 45-minute Cloth Cap race at Castle Combe after Neil Merry suffered an accident in qualifying.

Merry crashed on his second lap at Quarry corner, suffering significant, but repairable, front-end damage.

"On the rise just before quarry the front end got really light," said Merry. "It just went straight on into the barrier. I guess you could say I understeered off.

"It's mainly bodywork damage so we're working flat out to get it fixed in time."

The race is due to start at 1545.

STRAW TO CONTEST 2CV 24 HOURS
Speedworks Motorsport's Edd Straw will make his annual appearance in Citroen 2CV racing in the 24 Hour race at Snetterton on August 9/10.

Straw, who races for Speedworks in the Texaco Havoline Ginetta G20 Championship, will drive for Team Fine Print for the fifth year in a row alongside team owner Martin Harrold, 2001 Formula Renault UK champion Carl Breeze and Nurburgring Nordschleife specialist Said Baloui.

Straw has contested the race with Fine Print since 2004, and is hopeful that the team's bad luck will finally come to and end this year to deliver a top ten finish.

"Realistically, we know we haven't got the budget of the big teams so a podium isn't possible, but we're aiming for a top ten finish," said Straw.

"Over the past four years we've been close - we ran third early on in '04 and should have been well inside the top eight last year but for one of my team-mates getting caught up in someone else's accident.

"The team really deserves a top result. Martin puts in an enormous amount of work to get the car on the grid and the team we've got in the garage is as good as any in the field. With a bit of luck, this will be the year they get a top result to celebrate!"