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Graham Parsons
Class:
Race number: 0
The 2008 Club champion is looking to step up to S class over the season with a few guest drives, with a full S class season in 2010
Dave Nixon
Class:
Race number: 0
Keith Issatt
Class:
Race number: 0
Chris Knox
Class:
Race number: 0
Josh Waddington
Class:
Race number: 0
Ben Harvey
Class:
Race number: 0
Chris Smith
Class:
Race number: 0
Justina Williams
Class:
Race number: 0
Tim Crighton
Class:
Race number: 0
Jason Greatrex
Class:
Race number: 0
Michael Cullen
Class:
Race number: 0
Chris James
Class:
Race number: 0
Martin Depper
Class: S Class
Race number: 1
This is Martin's 5th season in racing since starting, and they have just got better every year. Martin has been really looking forward to this season as the competition just gets better each year within the MINI Challenge.
With old and new rivals it's going to be a close-fought season and an entertaining one for all you spectators.
Fresh from hist first championship Martin will have his head down and going for it - one to watch this year.
Luke Caudle
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 2
Luke started Kart racing 2001 and has an impressive race record.
- Rye House club champion 2002 TKM
- Midland champs 2005 TKM
- Festival cup winner 2005 TKM
- 7th British championship 2006 TKM
- 1st Kimtbolton championship 2006 TKM
- Runner up British champion 2007 TKM
- Senior British open champion 2007 TKM
- Senior 177 British open champion 2008 Senior Rotax
- 7th in Europe Rotax Max2008 Senior Rotax
Racing 2009 – Euromax challenge (spain, italy, czech republic, and france) Will be making the transition to car racing with the Mini challenge club class planning to move upto the S class in 2010.
Dean Raymond
Class: S Class
Race number: 2
2010 is Dean’s first season in the MINI Challenge. Dean is a young, talented and exciting driver who will be a strong contender in his green and silver Cooper S.
2009 was Dean’s first race season. At just 19 years old and in his standard Astra GTE 16v he finished 3rd overall (out of 36 competitors) and Class Champion in the Classic Thunder Modified Saloon Car Championship.
He also contested the Pre '93 Touring Car Championship finishing 4th overall (out of 47), 2nd in Class.
Fantastic results for a first season driver.
His personality, daring, and sheer driving skills mean Dean is definitely one to watch.
Roger Bates
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 3
Roger owns several quick road MINI's and decided that 2008 was the year to become a race driver. Supported at the races by his sons and grandson Roger always has a big smile on face in parc ferme.
Shaun King
Class: S Class
Race number: 4
After 7 years away from racing Shaun joined the Mini Challenge in 2007 and competed in half the races. With a podium and some front row starts this was a good return. Shaun was a part time racer again in 2008, racing at just two meetings, but winning one of the rounds at Donington. For 2009 Shaun is doing the whole season and looking to be a serious challenger at the front of the grid.
Phil House
Class: S Class
Race number: 5
Phil is a full time driver coach and has had a successful few years in racing. 2009 brings a new challenge with the Mini Cooper S.
Joey Powis
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 6
Joey enters the 2009 Mini Challenge as a circuit racing novice. His previous competitive experience came in 2004 when he won the Junior British Rallycross Championship during his first full season of motorsport. Following the initial success, lack of funds put him on the sidelines for the next 4 years.
Joey has returned to racing through the Race Star scholarship (www.racestar.tv). Having come out on top after 4 days of tight competition, the Race Star prize sees him enter this year's Club Class as a fully funded driver.
With the experience of team mate Phil House alongside him as his driver coach, Joey will be hoping to improve throughout the year and end the season with some strong results.
Arthur Forster
Class: S Class
Race number: 7
Arthur Forster lines up on the MINI Challenge grid this year with an already-impressive MINI track record. The 39 year old from Newcastle began racing more than twenty years ago, starting his career in karting before moving on to the Ford Fiesta challenge in the mid-90s and then turning his attention to MINIs in 2002. Arthur is the 2005 MINI Challenge Champion, but had to settle for 2nd in the S Championship last year after a season-long battle with Freddie Nordstrom. The 2007season was one to forget, but Arthur is one to watch - he will be a strong contender in 2008.
Kevin O'Connor
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 9
Kevin is a retired bike racer and enduro rider, who saw the MINI Challenge as a great way to still get his speed fix. Will be looking for a podium by the end of the season. He enjoyed it so much he talked his friend Craig Freeman into the Challenge.
Jack Stanford
Class: S Class
Race number: 12
Jack Stanford is followed up his impressive debut in the last meeting of 2006 at Donington with some strong performances in 2007. The 19 year old race instructor from East Yorkshire has been racing since 1991 and has had four years' karting experience in Rotax Max 4. Jack started his car racing career in the Classic Touring Car Racing Club Group 1 Touring Car Championship (finishing 3rd in his class) racing alongside his father Roger Stanford, historic touring car champion! He will be competing in the S class and his car will be liveried in the "Stanford Team" classic colours of green and yellow. His ambition is to move into touring cars in a few years. 2008 could well be Jack’s year.
Carl Bennett
Class: S Class
Race number: 17
Sarah Parsons
Class: Club Class
Race number: 19
Sarah, 20, started racing in the MINI Challenge in 2007 alongside her father Graham. This year sees Sarah signing up for the season without her Dad and with a radical change in the appearance of her Club Car.
Outside of motorsport, her other great loves are boating and skiing.
Chris Panayiotou
Class: S Class
Race number: 23
Lee Allen
Class: S Class
Race number: 26
Lee got talked into racing again by a mate of his called Frank, he said Lee used to race Ford's and won a few championships that it was about time that he got back in the chair, at the time Frank had a JCW Cooper S, so that was it, 11 years away from racing, and only 48hrs to get back into racing a Mini Cooper S.
Its the first time Lee's participated in a 1 make championship, and said "I am really enjoying it, we have had a very steep learning curve as the competition is very quick, but that only makes it more fun because even newbies can get a win if you prepare yourself properly".
Obviously Lee wanted to win the championship this year, but thinks 2010 will be a more realistic, "learning curve of this championship is huge and we will have all this years data and experience to enable us to be running from the 1st race next year".
If there is one word to sum up this race series it would be; Great!
Just need Frank to get a Car!
Laurence Sait
Classes: S Class, Novice
Race number: 33
Laurence is a BMW Group Technician at Cooper Maidstone trained by BMW Group UK.
Having raced Karts professionally for several years, and as an avid MINI R53 modification enthusiast - Laurence has decided to race in the MINI Challenge this year with Coastal Racing.
Laurence's ambition is to convert his road going R53 to a Challenge car within the next few years!
Jason Richardson
Class: S Class
Race number: 50
Craig Freeman
Class:
Race number: 52
Craig, 39, has run his own Accountancy practice in Cardiff for the last 7 years.
This year is his first attempt at racing, and hadn’t been on a race track until 3 weeks before Donington. He is using the remainder of this season to gain experience.
James Blyth
Class: Club Class
Race number: 55
Nick Booth
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 57
Nick enters his first year of motor racing in 2009 with the MINI Challenge. Previous experience of track driving was limited to a number of track days culminating in a visit to the Nurburgring in a classic 911. Competitive driving was always a dream, but time, money and lack of talent had always been used as excuses not to start. The opportunity to be involved in a new team set up by Formula Tanker Rental proved to be just the kick start required. The fact the chosen championship was the MINI Challenge was an added bonus as Nick's first car was a mini, which he still has 20 years later!
Nick's aspirations for this season are to have some fun, get on the podium a few times and maybe get spotted by the Red Bull Junior Team for an F1 drive in 2010!
Steven Liquorish
Class: S Class
Race number: 66
This is Steven's second season in the MINIs. Having had an enjoyable baptism to motor sport last year he is looking to improve on his fourth place best finish last year. With the strong team to support him (Interceptor racing) and help from sponsor "Connection Seating", 2009 should be a season to look forward too!
Ollie Mortimer
Class: S Class
Race number: 70
Rob Ladbrook
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 76
Nigel Johnson
Classes: Club Class, Novice
Race number: 77
Roger Grimshaw
Class: S Class
Race number: 97
Roger Grimshaw is a 44 year old Law student at Staffordshire University. He first raced in the 1990’s in Formula Ford, Formula Vauxhall Junior and Vauxhall Astra and I have returned after some late season endurance saloon car racing in 2008 culminating in a 3rd placed finish in a 6 hour race in Italy.
Roger is trying to use experience gained in a career in sales and marketing to give partners a massive return on their sponsorship pound by using the “aura” of a race car to gain publicity, editorial coverage and new business.
This is a new venture for all the parties involved and although our aims for 2009 are lowly, we hope we can improve at every race and would like to see some silverware during the year.
Beacon Racing are a relatively new race team formed in January 2009
Our main purpose is to provide work experience for 12 students on a Fast track Motorsport Foundation degree at Staffordshire University for a period of 8 months between January and August.
During this time the students will learn and participate in all aspects of being part of a racing team. This will include preparation of the car prior to a race, support for the race car at the race meetings and also the important job of how to make a cup of tea.
Please take some time to look at all our partners’ websites – they are each putting a great deal of effort into making the season a success and deserve your support.
The Newlife Foundation
I am pleased to be able to offer this wonderful charity our backing. They help huge numbers of children with birth defects and have a massive research program that they pay for from their fundraising activities. Please look at what they do and help if you can.
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University have a range of degree programs running in Motorsport. They are training our race engineers and race car designers of tomorrow. It is these students you will see at the pit crew, race engineers, everything actually apart from the driver!
Lohen
Lohen are the countries best aftermarket race and road preparation company as voted by Modern Mini two years in a row. Their expertise in MINI preparation has helped us enormously and our race MINI showcases some of their products.
Knights MINI
Knights MINI is the flagship site for MINI sales in the UK. A large new showroom, with a huge display area for new and used MINI’s, has just been built on the A50 close to the Stoke City FC football ground and if you are in the market for a MINI, their quality and range of stock is second to none.
Gunk
What can I say about a ubiquitous product? It keeps us clean!
Fuchs Lubricants
These guys keep the engine turning and the gearbox gearing! They have helped the team with specialist racing oils from their brands Silkolene Lubricants and Titan. They are also suppliers of Industrial Lubricants, Automotive and Engine Oils, Mining Lubricants, Specialist Motorcycle Lubricants and ancillary products.
MINIMATT
Matt Pike supports a lot of the MINI Challenge racers from his business as a MINI recycler in Shropshire. If you have broken or damaged your MINI then MINIMATT is likely to have the part you need.
Great & British - Pre season Media Day
March 30th
Castle Combe circuit.
See flyer [pdf] for details.