Superlight

The summer continued for Glen Denny with a superb weekends racing in July at Brands. Finishing Round 6 at the top of the championship. Round 7 & 8 at Silverstone saw Glen go head to head with Graham Fennymore, both claiming a win apiece in two hard fought 30 minute lap epics. Glen who had claimed his first Caterham win in the Eurocup at Spa a week earlier, kept Fennymore behind to win by less than two-tenths. A brilliant, clean race. On to Croft in September, Glen finished the first race in 2nd place, unable to finish the 2nd race meant Glens top spot was under threat. Chasing at Rockingham for Rounds 11 & 12 didn’t quite go Glens way. With his mind on home, expectant father Denny, nonetheless had a good result in third place ensuring his fifth podium finish of the season. Glen, in 2nd place in the Championship has all to race for at the final rounds in October at Brands if he is to stay in front of Rachel and Craig. Clive Cootes busy summer of work commitments meant his time in the car was less than he would have liked. Concentrating on the Eurocup instead, Clive will be finishing the season at Brands in October.

Going for Gold

Colards triumph at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations held at Donington Park 2/3 June.

CSR Eurocup

A superb weekend of racing for Colards and a fitting venue to acknowledge Richard Hay and Clive Richards truly are the ‘Masters’. Winning all three Rounds, the duo now command a very impressive 47 point lead at the top of the Eurocup Championship. Michele Tommasi continued his front running form with his best results this season. Making the podium in all three events, Michele finished 2nd in both the sprint races and 3rd in the 1 hr race. Michele is 3rd overall in the Championships and snapping at the heels of 2nd place Olly Bull.

Superlight Eurocup

Colards team of 3 drivers, Chris Bialan, Clive Coote and Gary Halcrow, successfully finished the weekends racing and maintained their top four places within the Sprint Championships. The Endurance race saw Chris Bialan drive a solid race, finishing 2nd.

UK Superlights

Glen Denny in only his 3rd outing showed what a promising newcomer he is by qualifying 2nd Following a very strong race, Glen finished with a Podium victory at 3rd. Chris Bialan fought hard and finished 6th. fastest and starting Race 1 on the front row. Through various incidents, Race 2 was shortened by 4 laps. Glen Denny finishing 4th and Chris Bialan in 7th. After tangling with another car, Clive Coote was taken to Hospital suffering from memory loss and bruising. Fortunately both were temporary and Clive is back to full health. Gary Halcrow, 2006 RS Champion, had mixed fortunes over the weekend. Having written off his car the previous week, Colards worked night and day to rebuild a new car, unfortunately, the car was not to his liking and Gary’s best result being in the top 15.

Roadsports

The Grid was so large all 40 cars had to qualify together. Within the three different races, Colards driversToby Dicker and Mike Robinson qualified in the top 4 for their races. In the first race, Mike Robinson finished 4th, Graham Johnson 6th and Jason Crow who was in 5th place, was involved in a spin and unfortunately dropped to 17th place. Enjoying every moment, Paul Glenister, back in his car for the first time in six months, finished 20th. The 2nd race saw Toby Dicker driving very well again, finishing with a Podium victory at 2nd. Mike Robinson raced solidly and finished 6th. Jason Crow was racing well until an unfortunate spin left him back in 20th place The 3rd race had Toby Dicker again in the top 3 to 4 in every lap, Toby’s grit paid off as he overtook Jeremy Ellis on the last lap to take his first Roadsport win. The first, (but not the last!) time, Jeremy has been beaten. Graham Johnson finishing another strong race in 6th, and Paul Glenister 13th place in only his second race. Toby Dicker sits proudly at the top of the Championships in 2nd place.

Season Update

Caterham Roadsport Challenge

The first of seven meetings began at Snetterton on 1st April, with a memorable start for Colards. With so many drivers the field had to be split into three groups and three races being held, each driver taking part in two of them. Both Mike Robinson and Graham Johnson taking their turn in the lead ensured them third and eighth position respectively at the end of the meeting. Toby Dicker proved solid, finishing in sixth place overall after completing the fastest lap in the third round. Chris Bialan had mixed fortunes today, finishing in the top 10. Gary Halcrow’s 2006 lap record of 1:21.206 still stands. The second meeting at Silverstone at the end of April brought more tense drama for Toby Dicker, managing another fastest lap. Race two saw Toby duel for the duration and finish in third place, less than a second behind the leaders. At the end of the second meeting Colards are in a strong position, with their drivers Toby Dicker and Mike Robinson 2nd and 3rd in the championship. Park Caterham Jubilee.

Caterham Superlight Challenge

Oulton Park, 7th April, proved a great start for Gary Halcrow getting the fastest lap in race two on only his second outing in the Superlight. Driving a Cosworth-developed 2-litre Ford Duratec engine boasting 220 bhp, the Superlight is the front running machine, enthralling many circuit-goers. A fantastic start for all Colards drivers finishing in the top seven positions. New driver, Glen Denny, proved he will be one to watch as the season progresses. Experienced drivers Chris Bialan and Clive Coote both looked at ease during this the first of twelve scoring rounds for the 2007 championship. At the end of a great weekends racing, Colards finish a very respectable second place in the championship.

Caterham Eurocup

A trio of exciting evo Caterham Eurocup races at Hockenheim 13th / 14th April brought an early CSR Masters championship lead for old hands Clive Richards and Richard Hay. The new format this year of two 30 minute sprint races plus a one hour feature race worked to their advantage with both Richards and Hay gaining poll position for their races. Fellow team mate, Michele Tommasi, fought hard and gained the record for the fastest lap in Round 2 in 1:49.993 and went on to complete the fastest lap in Round 3 of 1:50.710. Saturday’s Feature Race ended disastrously in the eighth lap for Tommasi. Unable to avoid the car in front which had misfired, Tommasi badly damaged his car on impact with the barriers. Luckily the only damage was to the car not the driver. Next stop France at Val de Vienne. The GB/Superlight series newcomer, Clive Coote finished in an excellent fourth place for the Endurance and sixth place for the Sprint helping put Colards Motorsport in second place overall in Eurocup 2007.

Val de Vienne 5th May.

The Colards Motorsport team won both the first of the single-driver sprint races and the one-hour feature race. A first class Colards team pulled out all the stops to ensure Michele Tommasi was back behind the wheel again in time for the second Eurocup meeting. CSR Masters, Tommasi fought hard finishing in third place with a very close +1.088s behind the leader. Still managing yet another fastest lap Tommasi again made his way to the podium. The first ever visit to the Val de Vienne circuit, and its twisty, technical nature played into the hands of the more experienced racers of Clive Richards and Richard Hay. Race one brought Clive Richards one of the most commanding wins of his long Caterham racing career. Clive made the most of his grid advantage to romp away from the rest of the field and continued to extend his lead further to win the race +8s ahead. Richard Hay went head to head with Oliver Bull in the second sprint race switching lead several times. With four laps to the end, Bull snatched back top spot by a half-second lead as the Richards/Hay car’s gearbox failed. Reigning Roadsport Champion Gary Halcrow, who was making his Eurocup Superlight debut, was able to hold on to second, surviving a spin and staying just ahead of another championship newcomer from Colards, Chris Bialan. Clive Coote soldiered on to gain fourth place despite a gearbox problem. The expertise of Colards support team ensured that a replacement gearbox was fitted in time for Clive to be back in for Race 2. Sadly, having made contact with another car, Gary Halcrow had to come into the pits and finish his race with damage to the front suspension.

Richards & Hay Runners Up in Masters

Saturday the 14th October saw Richards / Hay and Colards Motorsport being crowned runners up in the Cosworth Caterham Masters Championship for the second year running. Only 4 points separated the Colards car from their long-time rivals Bell and Jenkinson. Cruel luck was the order of the day race day Saturday at the French circuit of Pau-Arnos. Leading for 33 of the 42 laps with impressive pace, Richards was left coasting into retirement with an electrical fault. The 10 laps prior to Richard's demise were spectacular, Clive using every trick in his repertoire to keep Jenkinson at bay. Rob was moved to comment:

"Those 10 laps were probably the greatest Caterham racing ever..."

The starting grid was a front row Colards whitewash with Richards / Hay on pole, and Colards' sister car of Simon and Cameron Jackson on the second spot. Richards was philosophical about the electrical fault

"As I tell the Roadsport Challenge novices my team looks after, that's just motor racing..."

The Championship was now out of reach for Richards / Hay. That, and car damage resulted in a decision to sit out Sunday's race, having already secured the runner's up spot. Colards' Michele Tommasi had an excellent weekend and brought home a respectable fifth place on Saturday along with a 3rd place podium finish. Tommasi hunted down and passed third place Reader four laps from the finish despite spinning in an early-race assault from another car.

Solid Performance at Donington for Richards & Hay

Just like in Germany back in April, the third round of the 2006 Masters championship provided an epic dual for victory between the Colards Motorsport car of Richard Hay and Clive Richards and the Hyperion machine piloted by Bell and Jenkinson. The early retirement of pace-setter Philip Gladman settled Richards and Jenkinson into a 20-lap dogfight to the quequered flag. The 20 laps didn't matter - there was only one corner that mattered, on one lap - the final charge through Goddards Chicane. "I got a good run on Clive down the straight," said Rob, "and so it was a question of who would be the last of the late-breakers into the chicane..." Jenkinson appeared to be a fraction more brave, and Richards felt it necessary to take avoiding action: "Rob got crossed up and I didn't want to hit him, so I took to the grass." The Colards Motorsport Hay / Richards car finished round 3 in 2nd place. Sunday's enduro race denied the crowd of another Richards / Jenkinson battle. A gear-selection problem manifested in Richard's car. "Richard struggled with it in his stint," said Clive, "and it got worse for me. There wasn't much I could do about Rob." At the end of the enduro race, the Colards Motorsport machine finished in another respectable 2nd position, a mere 3 seconds behind Jenkinson depsite the mechanical difficulties.

Colards Start the Season with Victory

Colards Motorsport enjoyed success in many disciplines during the opening rounds of the Caterham CSR and Eurocup on the 21st and 22nd April, and in the Roadsport championship on the 29th and 30th April. Hockenheim played host to rounds 1 and 2 of both the Cosworth CSR Championship and the Autosport Caterham Euro Cup. Both Friday's and Saturday's race in the Euro Cup Championship were won by David Knox in his Colards Motorsport-prepared machine. The CSR results were no less impressive, with Clive Richards & Richard Hay taking the 1 - 2 on Friday and Saturday respectively. Over in neighbouring France the following week, the opening rounds of the Caterham Roadsport Challenge were held at Criox-en-Ternois, and a dramatic drive by Clive Coote earned him the Motorsport News Driver Of The Day Award. Colards will be looking to continue this great start to the season at Donington Park for Rounds 3 and 4 on the 17th & 18th June (Euro Cup and Cosworth CSR) and on the 27th May for the Roadsports.

Clive Coote (Roadsports)

Clive Coote, number 69 is no stranger to high-octane sports. The 51 year-old "definately single" driver from Barnet graduated from the Caterham Academy in 2005 with a 2nd in class B and also races power boats in the Honda 150 series. In 2006 Clive has joined Colards to persue another successful season in Caterhams by moving up to the Roadsports.

Norman C Crighton (Roadsports)

Norman Crighton (number 38) is another graduate of the Caterham Academy in 2005. The 38 year old Investment Banker from London (although originally from Scotland) joins Colards Motorsport for a season in the Caterham Roadsports (Inter) Championship. Norman claims his worst motorsport mistake was the disastrous start to this year's season at Criox with 2 spins and in contrast: his ultimate motorsport dream is to win a race - any race! Norman has no claims to fame "clean" enough to share with you, and he currently drives a Subaru Forester XT with "slight modifications". Eddie Irvine, or rather his lifestyle is Normans motorsport hero and his favourite circuit is Brands Hatch.