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Patron: Brian Redman |
Charity No 1062559 |
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Patron: Brian Redman |
Charity No 1062559 |
WELCOME
Joe at a slippery Pembrey
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PODIUM for Joe! Playstation Ginetta Winter Series
“Nigel
Moore (left), In his first year of racing of any kind and in only his 8th ever race weekend, Joe has claimed the 3rd place on the podium behind the 2007 Playstation championship winner and runner up! This is a real confidence boost for the ever improving Joe, and with the two boys alongside him on the podium moving on in 2008 as they are too old for the Junior Championship, a clear indication that the podium is where Joe can expect to be next season. Rounds 11 and 12 – Brands Hatch Indy 7th October 2007 Top 10 again. Joe shows he is quick in the dry too with P9 and P6 qualifications for rounds 11 and 12 just 1.006 and 0.9 seconds off the Pole positions.However poor starts and mid race incidents would mean Joe had to battle hard for his 11th and 9th place finishes. Full report will follow Rounds 9 and 10 – Pembrey 23rd September 2007 5th place for Joe! Joe masters the rain to storm from 15th to 5th in race 10 in a clear demonstration of his ability. Go here for full report Rounds 7 and 8 – Croft 26th August 2007 Nobody said it would be easy!
Another mixed weekend for Joe. Now less than 2 seconds off the pace although 13th and 14th places not what was hoped for but a lot of lessons learned.
So overall not a bad weekend. Joe closed the gap to the front end again. Two starts, two finishes, more championship points and Joe came away very happy so that's a result in my book.
Go here for full report Rounds 5 and 6 – Donnington Park 5th August 2007 Further progress but problems too. Donnington park 4/5 August - Joe makes Good progress but not without problems AND Whizzo too! We had the great privilege to meet and chat with Barrie "Whizzo" Williams. Barrie was a founding father of the Under-17 Car Club, with whom Joe has learned to drive. Go here for full report Rounds 3 and 4 – Silverstone National Circuit 22nd July 2007 Joe closes the gap during a trouble free weekend. Joe's first dry races see him improve his lap times by 2 seconds closing the gap to the leaders. More championship points. Go here for full report 2nd July 2007 ANGLESEY Circuit - RACE DEBUT for Joe Shaw. Good steady performance by Joe in is first ever competitive motor race weekend. Two starts, two finishes and championship points! Go here for full report 15th June 2007 Gallery page added Just a few shots of our historic rallying and pre season Ginetta Testing 5th June 2007 Dan Shaw joins the team SPEED MERCHANTS are pleased to welcome Dan Shaw to the team as no 2 spanner and logistical support. Dan is a young man with fantastic drive, determination and can do attitude (yup another typical Shaw) and he will be a tremendous asset to the team. Go here for more about Dan 30th May 2007 OULTON PARK TEST DAY Oulton test day went well with the new stiffer sidewall tyres. Joe was much later on the brakes and getting peak revs in all the gears. He did really well as it was pretty slippery and he was sharing the (open pit lane) track day with Lotus's, Caterhams, Westfield's, some ferociously tuned Subaru's and Mitsubishi EVOs, Ferrari F360 Challenge and GT3 Porsche race cars plus a host of other cars of every conceivable type apart from open wheelers. It was quite nice that a few people came up and said how quick our little Ginetta was! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 20th March 2007 MEET THE SPEED MERCHANTS TEAM +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A very warm welcome and many thanks to all our partners ++++++++++++++++++++ 2007 Junior GT Championship dates announced (see calendar link mid page) Link to DUNLOP GREAT & BRITISH Festival web site added (at bottom)
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SPEED MERCHANTS is a brand new venture setup specifically to run a car in the 2007 Playstation Ginetta Junior race championship. For those who don't know, Ginetta Junior is an ideal way for youngsters to move from Karting into racing cars. It offers a controlled and economic environment in which 14 to 16 year olds can learn race-craft in proper GT Race cars on circuits up and down the UK. SPEED MERCHANTS are an enthusiastic band of amateurs, so the whole experience is motivated by the desire to have fun, but we are keen to learn and who knows, today Ginetta Juniors, tomorrow Le Mans?..... well maybe not. The team name is inspired by the Book and Film "The SPEED MERCHANTS" of the late 60s early 70s that followed the World Sports Car championships of that era. The film featured a number of star drivers who are now legendary, in particular Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx, Vic Elford, Dr Helmut Marko and Brian Redman. Our particular favourite is Brian Redman and we had the great pleasure of meeting him at Oulton Park in 2005. Born in Lancashire, he is a man who should be a UK household name like Stirling Moss et al. In fact he is very well known in the USA where he won back to back F5000 championships in 1974, 1975 and 1976 beating stars Mario Andretti, Alan Jones, Jody Scheckter, Al Unser and others along the way. Brian is a member of the Motor Racing Hall of fame in the USA. Brian also has numerous major International endurance race victories. The one big race that eluded him was the Le Mans 24h, coming close to victory more than once. Although Brain's F1 career with teams such as Cooper, McLaren, Williams, BRM and Shadow, did not bring him universal fame, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest sports car racers of the 60s, 70s and into the 80s and a multiple F5000 champion. He is also the only man Enzo Ferrari ever asked twice to drive for his team!!! Brian is now a leading organiser of historic events in the USA. Have a look here for further information. The site is great and gives details of the events Brian organises stateside. Make sure that you explore all the links. The Biography page lists all his major successes.
Joe meets the legendary Brian Redman at Oulton in 2005
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We have now got the dates for the 2007 races so put them in your diary. Click on the button above. Don't forget, the Junior championship is part of the fantastic Dunlop GREAT & BRITISH Festival, so there is lots of other high octane action to see!
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Please have a look at the Ginetta Juniors mini site. It will give you all the background on what is an excellent championships. If I were to mention the names Williams, Surtees, Walkinshaw, I am sure you would recognise them. Well if the dads of these youngsters chose Ginetta juniors as the training ground for their offspring, that speaks volumes.
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The under17-carclub - Learn to drive at aged 12 Dunlop GREAT & BRITISH Festival
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Copyright speedmerchants.co.uk 2007
Prop M J Shaw
