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30th June - Knockhill SMRC Pictures & Points...

29th June - Knockhill SMRC

That’s us done - round 4 of the Scottish championship and a most eventful weekend it was after coming late Saturday night / early morning following the big smashes from Oulton Park. We were looking after six cars at Oulton and of course it was the two we needed for the following weekend at Knockhill that needed the most work. The good side of things is that the strength of the cars could be seen in the National newspapers as The Sun covered it last week and also Motorsport News had Legends on the front cover in the best selling issue of the season - the British GP report!

So after working flat out pretty much all week we made it. Both Nick and Ross (sounds like the combination shouls be on Crimewatch) had to be ready for Saturday so that the cars could be shook down. Both seemed OK.

When we arrived at the track on Sunday it was back to Knockhill drizzle and all misty for the practice session and we were not sure it would run as you could hardly see the marshal's posts let along the circuit. Things did get underway however and Nick had the hard task of getting in some decent laps on newly buffed tyres.

David Hunter started his third meeting with us and he is really settling in with us and the car. Lance Gauld joined us as well for the weekend and he too was running well. Ross did just the minimum three laps in practice which showed us all was well with him.

The first race was a bit of a lottery tyre-wise as it was somewhere between raining and not raining.

After a chat with the drivers they all decided on wets.. apart from Lance who made the brave decision to stick with what he had. Ross got 2nd from Frank Hynds after a great scrap - Frank is certainly one to watch in the wet. Lance took 8th whilst Nick had a superb third from Alasdair Gauld. David got a finish as well - right from the very back into 17th.

The 2nd heat had to be a race for Ross from the record books after he and Frank got to the front and then fought hard throughout before crossing the line together - you could not tell who won! Tony Caig lost it at the hairpin and Nick got caught up in that.

As for the final, David was on it when his engine let go big time. Lance finshed 3rd - what a result! Nick was just trying to get back into his car and get his buffed tyres in order but having major grief with with neck and shoulder pain - it was hard weekend but great to get back out there. Overall what a fab weekend!

22nd June - Oulton pictures

21st June - Oulton Report by Kiaya Brace

Well what a day we had yesterday at Oulton park. Round 6 was full of the usual excitement and more crashes than we’ve had so far in one round. A very different turn out from our visit to Oulton Park last year. Instead of #1 John Jon Higgins turning out another set of wins, the fast and furious #2 Lee Fitzpatrick came out on top with his first ever hat trick in Legends Racing. With major crashes from #8, #3, #16, #24 and #12 the teams have a lot of work to do to get their cars up and running for croft. Even sooner for Burnetts #8 and #3 Ross Marshall for this weekend as Ross is leading the Scottish Championship so far and Nick is contesting the rookie championship there.

Winners of The Day

With a lovely set of 3 wins and fastest lap in qualifying, the 2nd heat and the final, the overall winner of the day went to, who was known as ‘Dangerous Brian’ when he first started racing legends, the fantastic fast #2 Lee Fitzpatrick. “Congratulations Lee you most definitely deserve it and all your team mates are very proud and happy for you. Phenomenal racing throughout the day from you.” 2nd of the day went to #19, Lawrence Davey with a 3rd in heat 1 and 2nd in heat 2. Again wonderful racing and as always a cheeky smile to go with it. “Well done Lawrence!” 3rd place to team Kartcher’s #11 Simon Belcher. In heat 1 he turned out 5th and an improving 3rd in the 2nd heat. “Congratulations Simon and to your team, a lot of hard work from you all to get #12 up and running for the final after an unfortunate crash in heat 2 and a DNF.“ A great turn out from the day winner wise.

Driver Of The Day

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Driver of the Day went to the well deserved Sir Gerard Mc Cosh. An absolute joy to watch as always but an amazing turn out from him this weekend. Our most respected Gentlemen walked away from the day with no damage to his car, one of few, and 8th place in heat 1, 6th place in heat 2 then 11th in the final. Wonderfully clean driving with many, many over takes. With Napoleon behind him it seems he’s one to look out for. A lovely interview from Gerard as well for AJK Television as always a pleasure to talk to, thank you. “A massive congratulations to you Gerard, you’re a wonderful character and we’re all very pleased for you.”

Crashes And DNF’s

“Safety Car coming out.” Became a very popular saying this weekend. Unfortunate crashes to quite a few drivers at Oulton. In heat 1 Safety Car was called out due to an accident of which we’re still unsure the main cause. But it involved Ross Marshall #3, Stephen Whitelegg #66 and #24 Matthew Pape. They all DNF that heat. As did Richard Pocklington #16 due to a broken half shaft. #40, Roger Cousins due an engine fault that was unable to be repaired for anymore races that day. DNF also for Glenn Burtenshaw #72. Safety Car was not called out for heat 2 although it was a close call as there was a large collision with #3 and #16 as Ross Marshall had a brake failure coming down towards Cascades taking Richard Pocklington with him head on into the tyre wall. #1 John Jon Higgins was out in the 1st lap with a suspension failure after having already changing his engine twice this meeting. Peter Morton #32 was out as his steering jammed whilst manoeuvring through the last corner. #24 Matthew Pape, #12 Stephen Treherne and Paul Mansell #59 all DNF heat 2. In the final the Safety Car was very much needed as #8 Bracey (Nick Brace) clipped the grass and hit the tyre wall, bounced off and flew tumbling through the air before landing back on the armco. Smashing up most of his car including both the front and rear chassis bent, extensive repairs will be needed to his car before the next round. Thankfully other than feeling a bit battered and bruised Nick is fine and will be back for round 7. Unfortunately Roger Cousins, Ross Marshall, Richard Pocklington and Paul Mansell were unable to participate in the final due to previous crashes. Brian Cooke sadly also DNF the Final.

Jamie Clarke

Welcome Back to Burnett’s #7 driver Jamie Clarke. Did you enjoy your first weekend back? I’m sure you found it as thrilling as we all did. A very efficient and quick driver to have back on the team. As the 2003 winner of the Scottish Championship I’m sure you have plenty more to show us with your driving standards. 6th in the 1st heat, 5th in the 2nd and, disappointingly, a DNF in the final. We look forward to hopefully seeing you again at Croft. Another great weekend despite the accidents!

20th June - Hat Trick for Lee

Lee Fitzpatrick not only maintained his early season form but improved on it taking his first ever hat trick in Legends Cars today on the Island circuit at Oulton Park and taking the championship lead in the process. John Jon Higgins was fourth overall despite a retirement whilst Darren Gaulton bagged a superb career best 6th overall - well done Darren. Jamie Clarke's return to Legends showed he had lost none of his skill or speed as he took 6th and 5th in the two heats. Nick Brace was out of luck in the final with a retirement but took 9th and 4th in the heats. Ross Marshall had a disappointing day with two retirements - the Scottish Championship leader may well be releived that the bad luck did not befall him on home soil.

16th June - Marshall Still On Top

Ross Marshall extended his lead in the Scottish Legends Cars Championship over the weekend. The cars were racing on the British Formula Three and GT programme. Ross won two heats with the other going to Alex Knight - congratulations on your first win Alex - that was great to see. Nick Brace had a good start to the weekend - taking 8th place in race one along with the fastest lap (a first in Legends for him). Sadly Nick had a DNF in the final after a wee bit of contact.

Ross was running with a 1200 engine for the first race but he felt it was not on the pace and the team changed to a 1250 for the other races which of course produced the goods and two wins in race two and the final.

The results meant that Ross won the day from Ben Mason but only by 30 points so we cannot let up. You may remember that David Hunter won Driver of the Day at the last meeting and that meant that he had to pick the winner at this one - the award going to the superb Gerard McCosh.

Ciaran Peden normally races in Ireland but took the chance to try out some new parts and also scrub in some new tyres.

Team chief Steve McCall reckons that one to watch is young Alisdair Gauld who seems to have got it all together getting a 5th 4th 11th - that’s another 4th place overall - yet again very consistent drivein for a young driver especially when the standard is so high throughout the grid.

4th June - Jamie Clarke rejoins Legends

The Burnett Motorsport line up will be further strengthened at Oulton Park with the addition of 2003 Scottish Champion Jamie Clarke. Jamie has been away from the circuits for a wee while as he has been looking after his family and business but he has been persuaded to rejoin the field at Oulton by John Jon Higgins. Jamie will be racing the #7 Burnett Team Car.

The website editor would like to apologise to Darren Gaulton for not mentioning him in the text a couple of day's back. Darren was back with the team last weekend at Cadwell and bagged his best score of the season so far - 320 points.

4th June - David Hunter Profile

We would like to welcome David properly to the team and have now uploaded his profile. We have also taken the opportunity to update Ross Marshal's profile.

3rd June - Latest Points

The latest points charts are now online here at Burnett Motorsport. SMRC and National.

2nd June - Great Weekend for Burnett Motorsport

A very successful weekend for the team. Lee Fitzpatrick won the overall round at Cadwell Park - well done Lee on taking the win at a real drivers circuit! John Jon won the first heat and was second overall so it was a great day for us. Let's also not forget Nick Brace who was 'Driver of the Day' and becomes the first man to take the honour in both Scottish and National Legends this year.

Talking of the Scottish Legends, Ross Marshall has maintained his lead in the championship after winning the second round up at Knockhill on Sunday. The team decided that Ross should concentrate on the SMRC Championship after his very successful opening round. Ross's cousin, David Hunter made his debut with us as well and won driver of the day. With Steve and co at Cadwell it was down to (and thanks to) Colin James and Big Tom for doing a great job for our lads up at Knockhill.

Things could not really be much better for the team right now! Photos, points and a profile for David will be added in the next couple of nights!

27th May - Weekend Preview

This weekend sees the National boys return to Cadwell Park. Steve McCall is off to the Lincolnshire circuit with John Jon, Lee, Darren and Nick to chase the National points whilst Colin goes to Knockhill with James to look after Ross who is of course leading the Scottish Championship. This should be good for Ross he has improved so much over the last year now that he leads the chase North 'o the border he will have to go to Knockhill and drive the car with the great skill he has learned in such a short space of time. I am sure some of the top Scottish drivers are not going to make it so easy for him - I'll keep everone up to date after this weekend - Steve McCall team manger burnettmotorsport.com

21st May - Knockhill Wednesday Night Races

Steve McCall, team manger from Burnett Motorsport changes things a little and goes back his roots - the only diffeence is it's at Knockhill (not Cowdenbeath) after not being in the racing seat for about 20 years. Steve has never actually raced a Legends Car but decided to go out and have a play with the toys so to speak on the Tri Oval at Knockhill on Wednesday evening (this being a new initiative by Aly Hunter for 2009).

The team set about getting the car together - thanks to Colin and Jim - after few late nights the car looked great and Steve took to the track. No spares, no tools just the car and Steve's race kit from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Steve took to the track with regular circuit Legends drivers Aly Hunter, Alex Knight, Gerard McCosh, Steve Coull, Ross Mickel, Andrew Donald, Ben Mason and Colin Atkinson. Steve tells us there was also a saloon car driver but he's forgotten the name...

Anyway, the Burnett boss says he had a fab night although he did not figure in the results as high as John-Jon, Ross, Nick and Lee usually do... Steve says: It was in at the deep end just go and race. I have to say I have never been on a track in a Legends Car or any other race car for long time it worked out great. So it looks like I'lll be back for a bit more of that on the Wednesday nights at Knockhill!

10th May - Mondello day one...

Steve McCall says: "There was a bad start to the track time on Saturday - the amount of rain on the circuit meant the session was red flagged - it was impossible to drive. After a 45 minute wait it finally got back underway and the team were happy. This weekend we had John Jon Higgins, Lee Fitzpatrick, Nick Brace, and local man Ciaran Peden. Ciaran was trying to sort his car. The circuit is still new to Ross, Nick and Lee. They all did well in race one with Lee taking the win with the top Irish driver Niki Meredith chasing him hard. JJ got caught up with Stephen Treherne and former Burnett man Matthew Pape. Nick Brace made excellent progress and is making his mark as a future winner. Nick had a gearbox problem but still retained the lead of the rookie championship.

Ross Marshall is still only in his second full season and of course is leading the Scottish Championship. He is maturing a great deal and took some god placings despite a back axle problem. Ross wound up dicing with other front runners Niki, Lawrence Davey, Simon Belcher, Bracey and the impressive Richard Pocklington.

All in all what a great weekend for everone and such high driving standards. You'll all be able to see it for yourselves when it airs on Motors TV in the future."

Conculsion to a great weekend for Burnett. JJ takes the first hat trick of the year and afer Lee's win on Saturday JJ is the overall winner with Lee third today.

9th May - Mondello day one...

John Jon and Lee cleaned up today - Lee winning race one with JJ winning race two and the final. More news when we have it but here are the points as calculated by us (therefore provisional). Please note that the Irish drivers have been taken out of the points scoring positions as it is assumed they are not registered for the National Championship.

28th April - Scottish Results Breakdown...

27th April - Scottish Opener at Knockhill...

Steve McCall's report from the opening round of the Grattan and Hynds Scottish Legends Cars Championship. Several cars were running with us at the weekend - here's how they went. Ross Marshall had a great weekend winning the first race and taking second in the next. In the final Ross had a great dice with multi champion Ben Mason and the pair of them raced hard and fair to the flag with Ben just getting the verdict (by eight hundredths of a second).

Well done to Frank Hynds on winning race two. Frank drove brilliantly with Ross second in that one.

All in all it was a great weekend's racing and has to be one of the best meetings ever. All the drivers showed a high very standard in this the first round of the season - certainly no cobwebs to blow away.

Back to Burnett Motorsport matters - Nick Brace was having his first meeting at Knockhill and as a rookie had to start at the back of all the races. He'd had an off in testing on Saturday but then that's the best time to have such luck and he was really on top form on Sunday taking 12th in the first race, 9th in the second and then a very good 7th in the final. As I said this was all from the back of the grid and he earned the recognition of his colleagues winning Driver of the Day.

Alasdair Gauld had his new car out and was running with us getting help and advice from three times National Champion John Jon Higgins. Of course JJ was helping all our drivers. Lance Gauld was driving the ex Daren Hills car which we have prepared for him. The car has been out of action for some time although Lance had raced it when he picked up the car at Brands Hatch a few weeks back.

The Scottish Champinship also welcomed Simon Belcher who is planning to do some rounds north o' the border this year and he did extremely well too taking third overall.

The race action was all filmed and will be shown on Motors TV in a few weeks time.

8th April - Meet Nick Brace...

Thanks to Nick Brace for sending through a brief bio which you can read here.

30th March - Pictures & Report...

Team Boss Steve McCall reports on the opening weekend of the season: As you have already seen the weekend was pretty good. John Jon's car developed and electrical fault on the last lap on his way to the flag on Saturday. That's motorsport - you always get the unforeseen when not wanted. He did break the lap record twice on the day though. Lee had some fantastic racing with his buddy Ross Marshall and a slight coming together in the first race as Ross had got a slight tap in the rear that then collected his team mate taking them out the race (see the following photo). Ross also got taken out in the second race but by some great skill got it together and finished.

It finished as a 1-2-3 for the team. Ross and Lee had a fantastic time then John Jon got in there fighting with Ross for couple laps but what a result for the team 1-2-3 and what a great weekend Lee had after being pushed by Ross for a lot of the time. Overall the 3 guys had a fantastic weekend with a fair bit of damage and a lot of work for the team. As for Darren Gaulton, he felt good with his new engine and was getting all the cobwebs blown away. Darren a great weekend except for perhaps over-driving his car a little. He also took a fair bit of damage on the front but another great weekend. John Marshall had a good time overall as he had been complaining of what he thought was buckled brake discs. We did not find anything wrong as I had the brakes apart on Saturday night - it must have the prop joint as it gave out in the first lap in the final on Sunday. So hard to spot.

Nick Brace seemed to have a great day out in his newly prepared car by taking what we set out to do - the rookie trophy on the day of the first round. Lets hope that keeps up as he is trying to win the rookie championship. He took a fair bit of damage in the 2nd heat on Sunday but finished with the rear suspension wrecked on his car. We set about rebuilding the rear of the car to get out in the final and as he did achieve what he set out to do that would be a happy driver. Plus he learned on the day - lets hope it goes that way all season. All in all a great start to the season. I did think it was not going to be so hard for the first 2 rounds. Who was I trying to kid?

29th March - Round Two at Brands...

Here are the provisional (again) scores from Brands. Lee takes race win number three of the year and wins the day outright. JJ wins the first heat and is second on points. Heat two saw Burnett take a 1-2-3 for the first time in the National Championship. John Jon Higgins also broke the Brands lap record.

28th March - Round One at Brands...

Here are the provisional scores from Brands - day one. I say provsional as I don't know if any of the drivers were non championship but would suspect that possibly Lance Gauld in the ex Daren Hills car might be a non scoring driver in which case there will have to be some adjustment. In any case it was a good day for the team with John Jon Higgins winning the opening heat and the round overall on points. Lee Fitzpatrick won the second heat and the final. Nick Brace was top rookie. More from the team later.

25th March - Round One Preview by Richard Neil...

The team are very much looking forward to the opening round of the season this weekend at Brands Hatch. Brands has become a traditional opening venue for Legends over the years and once again we are racing on the same bill as the big BTRA Trucks. For those of you who have not seen the Trucks they are the big articulated truck cabs which are prepared for racing but are limited to 100mph. The crowds flock to see the Trucks and in doing so also get to enjoy the Legends which are the complete opposite - nible, purpose built out and out racing cars.

This year sees another quality line up from the Burnett Motorsport Team with John 'Jon' Higgins already in command of most of the Legends Cars records. He's a three time National Champion and is looking to take an unprecedented fourth crown. This year as reigning champion John sports the number one and also a new livery replacing the traditional stars and strips for green and white.

In actual fact Burnett Motorsport provide the top two seeded returning drivers this weekend as Lee Fitzpatrick, who was third in the championship last season also returns for another season. Lee won the opening race of the season last year and went on to have his best season ever. Also joining us are reigning Rookie Champion Ross Marshall who will be looking to have a first National Championship race win. Ross already acheived that feat in the Scottish Championship last year and is the favourite to be a first time winner in the Nationals in 2009. Ross's Dad, John is another Legends race winner and the former Rallyman will be another to watch.

Now that Ross Marshall is in his second season he is of course not eligible to win the 'Big John' Edwards Memorial Trophy which is presented to the top newcomer. However the Burnett Team are aiming to keep the trophy at home as Nick Brace, the multiple former Motorcross Sidecar Champion joins us for the new campaign. The team are also looking to welcome back Darren Gaulton who celebrated an addition to his family over the Winter.

Rounds one and two of the Championship take place at Brands Hatch on 28th and 29th March. The action is being filmed for future broadcast on Motors TV.

14th March - Just Testing...

Here we are just back from testing at Knockill. Burnett Motorsport is truly a nationwide team now with John and Ross Marshall (Scotland), Lee Fitzpatrick and Nick Brace (England), Kieren Peddan (Ireland) and John Higgins (Wales). The day went went well although as ever there were a couple of slight set backs but there were all sorted and all were showing great pace. Cobwebs all brushed off and we are now a busy workshop geting sorted for Brands Hatch on 28th and 29th March - it will be hear shortly

6th March - BARC Big Night Out

Three pictures from the BARC's Big Night out held recently where John Jon Higgins was formally presented with the 2008 National Legends Cars Championship Trophy.

22nd February - Knockhill Test Day

Our test day at Knockhill will take place on Thursday 12th March. Full details of the entir e2009 Calendar can be found here.

Great news from the Scottish Championship - the Legends will have a stand alone TV show on Motors TV this season.

Also the SMRC is delighted to announce that the Scottish MRC Legends Cars Championship has a new sponsor for the 2009 season in the shape of Grattan and Hynds Ltd. Grattan and Hynds is a successful Scottish company in the building sector. The Hynds name is already well known to many in the Legends community thanks to Frank and Pat and the younger generation Chris and Scott who have been racing in the series in recent years. The company have agreed to invest £5,000 in the Scottish MRC Legends Cars Championship, the proceeds from which will be used to reduce the entry fees for competitors in this Championship throughout the course of the season. The SMRC sees this as fabulous news and a welcome addition to sponsored Championships in Scotland. The reduction in fees is also sure to be welcomed by competitors in the series, especially given the current economic climate. The SMRC looks forward to its association with Grattan and Hynds.

6th February - 2009 National Championship Dates

Revised dates have been issued for the National Championship - the round at Silverstone has been dropped in favour of an earlier double header at Mondello Park

Mar 28/29 Rounds 1/2 Brands Hatch (with BTRA Trucks)
May 9/10 Rounds 3/4 Mondello Park
May 31 Round 5 Cadwell Park
Jun 20 Round 6 Oulton Park
Jul 11/12 Rounds 7/8 Croft
Aug 8/9 Rounds 9/10 Anglesey
Sept 13 Round 11 Mallory Park
Oct 17/18 Rounds 12/13 Pembrey (with BTRA Trucks)
Oct 31/Nov 1 Rounds 14/15 Brands Hatch (with BTRA Trucks)

To be confirmed: Winter Series/European Trophy

29th January - Legends Awards Night Pictures

29th January - more from the Autosport Show

17th January - Autosport Show

11th January - 2009 Preparation