News archive 2008

20th December - John Jon in the Media & Merry Christmas

Congratulations to John Jon Higgins on making position 4 in Autosport Magazine's listing of National Racing Drivers of the Year. JJ also features in the BARC magazine Legends review.

Click here to see both articles.

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and successful 2009.

2nd December - 2009 Preparation

It may be just over a month since the last round of the 2008 Championship but we are already preparing cars for next season. Lee's car ready for bodywork after damge at Brands. Rebuild for former Motocross Champion Nick Brace and Ciaran Pedan from Ireland.

27th November - Stevie’s 2008 Burnett Motorsport Season Review

Things kicked off early for us with a Scottish Championship test day on 6th March at Knockhill. John and Ross Marshall, Lee and Gary Fitzpatrick all went well and we used the track time to sort out any teething problems in the cars and also get everyone back into the groove. John Marshall was out in the ex Jim Clarke car and to be honest JM was later committing to the championship so there was a bit of work to do to get his car into Burnett Motorsport standards. It was certainly great to welcome John back to the Legends fold after such a long break. Ross was finding his way well in the newly prepared car and our day went pretty well. We were then getting ready for the first National Championship round at Brands Hatch on 23rd and 24th March – this was to be the start of our busiest season yet…

After Brands I had a call from Pat Hynds who asked if we could look after him and his boys in the Scottish Championship. Rather than being a two car addition to the championship Pat’s brother Frank also rejoined us and Pat’s sons Scott and Chris came on board as well. With such a commitment to both National and Scottish Championships the team would have to work hard – especially when a date clash occurred. I have to thank Kev and Bob for helping out that particular weekend!

Another busy weekend was the Touring Car meeting up at Knockhill – 10 cars out for us at that event and three engine changes for Lee. There was damage to sort as well and it really stretched the team but we all pulled together as usual and it must have produced one of the most exciting weekend’s racing. By the time the National Championship ventured to Anglesey Ross was looking good at the head of the Rookie Championship whilst John Jon and Lee were working hard trying to chase for the championship lead and 3rd place respectively. JJ won the Welsh cup and started to look like he would overcome Dave Newsham for the lead in the championship. JJ peaked at just the right time taking the championship lead just around mid season. He built a good lead and Dave Newsham effectively conceded the title at Pembrey – two rounds from the end of the Championship. JJ, being JJ, wanted to race Dave all the way to the title so was disappointed that Dave went off to race his Clio instead of doing the penultimate round at Brands. Dave was back for the final day at Brands however and the pair enjoyed battling in front of a big crowd as JJ took the title. Lee bagged third place in the championship – not too far away from Dave’s points tally despite a DNF in the last race – that’s the thing about Legends – you never know what to expect.

What a year it turned out to be in Scotland for us. Scott Hynds found himself in the frame for the Scottish Rookie Championship and he drove hard in those last few rounds to take some race wins and also the title. The Scottish Championship was fiercely competitive this year – there were no less than seven first time winners! Frank Hynds looked like he could get second place in the championship and he chased Tony Caig all the way but had to settle for third despite being all dominant at the last round. Perhaps the two most improved drivers this year were Pat Hynds (who challenged Frank strongly at that last round) and his son Chris.

Darren Gaulton had good start to 2008 but took a fair bit of damage at Mondello and Anglesey so the car was needing a litle bit of jig work and sorting out. With that complete he settled back into the car and went very well at Pembrey. Darren had it all together at Brands Hatch – he was bang on the pace and driving well inside the top ten. John Marshall’s season went well too. He took several wins in the Scottish Championship and came second in the team car trophy in the National Championship. He also did a bit of rallying on the Tour of Mull.

I’ll finish of by saying it’s all thanks to my race team and the drivers and their families who have supported and been there form start. Thanks everyone.

17 November - Mega Picture Update...

Many thanks to those who have sent pictures through to the team - especially Mark Baxter-Jones and (as ever) George McNeill. The following pictures are from the finales at Brands Hatch and Knockhill.

We will be posting a season review in the next couple of days so please visit the site again.

You can catch the final round of the National Legends Cars championship on Sky Sports in the next couple of weeks...

04/12/08, 18:00, Sky Sports 3
05/12/08, 00:30, Sky Sports Xtra
05/12/08, 03:30, Sky Sports Xtra
05/12/08, 10:00, Sky Sports 3
05/12/08, 13:30, Sky Sports Xtra
15/01/09, 10:00, Sky Sports 3
15/01/09, 14:30, Sky Sports 3
15/01/09, 17:00, Sky Sports Xtra
15/01/09, 19:00, Sky Sports 3
16/01/09, 01:00, Sky Sports 2

The Scottish Championship coverage has concluded for the season although there may be a highlights or round up programme as well. DVDs of the Scottish Championship are likely to be available for purchase as well.

2 November - Higgins is Champion for third time!.

John Jon Higgins became the first ever driver to win three UK National Championship titles in Legends Cars this weekend. JJ wrapped up the silverware in race one of the weekend and proceeded to assist his team mate Lee Fitzpatrick to try and secure second in the standings. Lee had a stunning weekend taking three race wins and overall victory on Saturday although a non finish when he was taken out in Sunday's final meant that he had to be content with third overall. Both Lee and the team were nonetheless delighted with the result! Saturday saw John Marshall win the driver of the day trophy whilst Darren Gaulton continued to bolster his confidence with some fine drives - he was 14th from 29 starters overall on Saturday from the back of the grid. Sunday saw him suffer a blown engine in the first race but he was 11th and 10th in the other two races. Ross Marshall had six more mature races - the 2008 Rookie Champion also ending the season with the distinction of being the only driver in the National Championship not to have a retirement all season - an amazing 54 races without a breakdown or retirement!

19 October - SMRC Legends - Wins Means Hynds...

Burnett Motorsport acheived an historic double by adding the Scottish Rookie Title to the National one in a rain soaked meeting at Knockhill on Sunday. Scott Hynds also won the first heat whilst Frank Hynds, on top form in front of his ex Super Kart colleagues who were also on the bill, won heat two and the final to take overall honours. Ross Marshall finished second overall on the day whilst Pat Hynds had a career best second behind Frank in the second heat.

13 October - Legends - One Won, Another Title Within Reach...

John Higgins has the title within his grasp as he won Sunday's round at Pembrey. An engine failure for Dave Newsham in Sunday's second heat means that JJ's rival is likely to miss the finale in favour of an outing in the Renault Clio Winter Championship which he will move to next season. Both JJ and Lee Fitzpatrick were on top form over the weekend taking race wins once again. The team have also wrapped up the Rookie Championship - the Big John Edwards award is coming home to Burnett Motorsport as Ross Marshall cannot now be beaten (or should that be Beat-son?) in the Rookie Race.

Ross lost second gear after the 2nd race on Sunday so the team set about changing the engine to make him more comfortablel with the car and just in case it was going to cause more damge. Darren is just getting some confidence back and his car was littile bit down on power but he dealt with it well Darren had opted to start in the Gentlemen's group for this meeting and drove exceptionally well in the final - he was the top finisher in that group getting into the top ten from the back of the group.

05 October - Legends - National Championship Oulton...

Pictures from our last National Championship outing at Oulton Park. Don't forget to watch the Scottish Motor Racing programme at Knockhill on Motors TV this week - a Burnett Motorsport hat trick with Scott Hynds and John Marshall taking the race wins. Updated Championship positions for National and Scottish Championships are also online.

29 September - JJ Hat Trick

Well that's another race gone and in the bag. As I told Ross before we went he was going to the hardest race track ever - that's what I would call Oulton Park. Ross did find the track harder than he thought but true to form he did finish all his races while to trying hard find a balance on his car. He must have done well because he won 'Driver of the Day'. That award could have also gone to John Marshall as he drove fantastically all day as well. Lee was 12th fastest in familiarisation but from there on in did very well - it was his Knockhill set up being used initially but changes to the car meant he got 6th in the first race despite not being able to turn in properly. Further changes from the team saw him take third in the next race. Darren's car has been re-jigged and his engine had had some top end work done. His first race saw a gearbox failure but a fresh engine for race two saw him take 13th place from the back of the grid - evidence of a strong performance. John Jon was still happy with his car after taking the championship lead back from Dave Newsham at Croft and this meeting was pretty much perfect for him. He was to take all three race wins and in the process extend his lead over Dave. JJ is well aware, as are the rest of us, that nothing can be taken for granted however in the last two rounds which are coming up at Brands Hatch and Pembrey! Unquestionably then JJ took the overall win with Lee a very impressive second ahead of the two Karcher cars of Stephen Treherne and Simon Belcher.

15 September 2008 - Knockhill Report...

The latest report from Stevie McCall..."That's the next round done and out of the way with Carol Brown winning the Scottish Championship - she has driven with great consistency and has now taken the title with a round to spare. We had another busy day with 4 Hynds and 2 Marshalls (that's Chris, Scott, Pat and Frank with Ross and John). Scott drove superbly and took control of the first race with Frank fighting so hard and coming second with old rival Ross Mickel coming back to try out Legends again in third. Ross was 7th and Chris 12th with Pat 14th. Conditions were slippery with John having a DNF due to Ross and him having a controversial coming together at the hairpin. The second race, after lunch, was cut short after a 'big one' involving Ali Thom and Scott. John won with Ross second, Pat fourth and Scott in eighth It was anther very quick and eventful final with a busy 25 car race John taking a well deserved first after driving his car superbly and getting to grips with it after a some early morning damage..Chris took a well deserved 5th place with a fantstic hard drive. Frank took 8th The overall positions on the day saw Carol Brown take the win with Scott 2nd (and winning the most improved driver award), John was 3rd from Ross with Frank in 6th. All in all a great day for Burnettmotorsport - the team worked so hard all weekend."

01 September 2008 - Higgins Leads The Championship...

Stevie McCall says... "Here we go - well past the half way mark now and the championship becomes so much tighter after 1 dnf on JJ's car (but he won all the other races this weekend) with the reverse gear box breaking at the drive flange. Who would have thought that it would be at the same time when Dave Newsham did not even get to start - he had major engine hassles over weekend. As for Lee Fitzpatrick he is still trying hard to stay in front and is now 3rd in the championship despite not having a set up ideal for Croft. Lee was in blistering form just as much as JJ getting 2nd overall on Saturday and 3rd overall on Sunday. Ross continues to learn at every race meeting he goes to and he has increased his lead in the rookie championship over Richard Pocklington.J

John Marshall has a good weekend but in his last race on Saturday his car developed a slight misfire so the team went to work on the car (after the body was stripped off JJ's car for scruteenring and the diff taken out of Ross's car - all was ok with those and we then got JM's car sorted but could not try it out as there is noise curfew at Croft after 6pm and we could not run before noon on Sunday either!

Sadly this did prove a problem as the engine was still misfiring in the first race on Sunday although John did get to the finish. We then found a problem with the fuel pipe whch we cured for the second race."

18 August 2008 - JJ Closes In...

John Jon Higgins took overall victory on Saturday and two wins on Sunday to close in on Dave Newsham in the championship chase. With the team running nine cars over the course of the weekend it was a hectic affair.

Stevie Says: "That's another weekend's racing over - what a busy, busy weekend running 9 cars in the Burnett Motorsport camp this weekend and with such a calibre of racers out there it was the best racing by far all weekend. We had few dramas on Saturday with 3 engine changes then a bit of damge for Darren at the last race. Ross has come on so much - with a little more of raceraft he would have got the better of Peter but that will come. Lee had a few hassles on Saturday with 2 engine changes but had some fantstic racing. After his engine changes he drove superbly. When it's not quite raing or sunny it has to be drivers choice on tyres - as JJ made choice on wets so did Ross, JM and Lee. But after a slight bit of hassle from Lee changed his mind and that did pay off with such a drive and results getting 2nd place and to be fair to Ross drove so good that he came in right at the back of Lee."

Don't forget to watch the Scottish Motor Racing programme on Motors TV next week with some of the best motorsport you will see on television and including stunning wins and drives from Ross and John Marshall.

Results:

05 August 2008 - Two Marshall Wins at Knockhill...

Another action packed day at Knockhill with a nice healthy fast grid and a fantastic turn out of 25 cars and the TV presenter Sasha Pearl running in the number 08 team car. It was action packed from the start to the end of the day. We had seven cars running including new driver Scott Braidwood.

It was fast racing all weekend with Ross Marshall winning the first race, Scott Hynds in 5th, Frank Hynds 7th, Chris Hynds 13th, Pat Hynds 14th and newcomer Scott B in 25th. John Marhsall was going well at the start but had a coming together with Carol Brown and he broke a plug cap which made his engine misfire. John was 4th in the next race with Chris 5th, Scott H 8th and Ross 11th but with a new lap record! Frank was 9th and Pat 7th. Scott B had a misfire.

The final was very good with John Marshall adding another win to his career tally. Scott H took third whilst Pat and Frank were 6th & 7th respectively and Ross 8th. Scott B finished in 18th with a five second improvement in his lap times over the whole day.

29 July 2008 - Busy Weekend Ahead at Knockhill...

We will be fielding seven cars in this weekend's Scottish Championship races at Knockhill. In addition to the Hynds family (Frank, Pat, Scott and Chris) both Ross and John Marshall will be competing along with first time racer Scott Braidwood.

28 July 2008 - JJ wins twice, Lee second overall...

Lee Fitzpatrick took second place overall at Donington Park on Sunday. Normally three podium finishes would be enough for overall victory but Dave Newsham just pipped him to the trophy. John Jon was fourth overall after winning both heat two and the final - he had suffered a non finish in the first race after engine problems. John Marshall had his best points haul of the year with 6th overall whilst Ross was down in 13th but still leads the Rookie Championship. Darren Gaulton had two difficult heats but came home 13th in the final. Latest points.

22 July 2008 - Burnett Still Busy...

As you can see from the photos below we are busy getting ready for the next meeting at Donington Park this Sunday... By the way we have the lastest points online from both the National and Scottish Championships.

07 July 2008 - Higgins is Welsh Cup Winner...

A superb weekend for the team at Anglesey as John Jon won four of the six races and was the overall winner of the Lee Group Welsh Cup for Legends Cars. Burnett's excellent day did not end there however as Lee Fitzpatrick took third place overall on Saturday and Ross Marshall extended his lead in the Rookie Championship with third overall on Sunday. John Jon has also extended his record of the most wins in Legends and now has over 100 to his credit.

We're able now to provide a mammoth photo update from the last two Legends National Championship meeting...

30 June 2008 - Flying Hynds...

The Hynds family had a superb weekend in the latest round of the SMRC Championships at Knockhill - notably the second race when Scott Hynds was second followed by Frank and Chris with Pat in 8th. It's believed this is the first time that three family members have finished together so highly in a race!

17 June 2008 - Lee's Charity Collaboration...

Lee is supporting the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice - a charity set up in 1999 whose aim is to establish a children’s hospice service for children with life-limiting conditions living in the communities of North London and South Hertfordshire.

08 June 2008 - Higgins into second...

John Jon Higgins bounced back to form at the weekend winning both rounds of the National Legends Cars championship at Mondello Park in Ireland. JJ bagged three race wins along the way and has jumped from sixth to second in the championship. Burnett Motorsport still have all our regular National championship drivers in the top ten - Lee Fitzpatrick is fifth, Ross Marshall is eighth (and leading the rookie championship) whilst Darren Gaulton continues his best season to date in 10th place.

20 May 2008 - Burnett Motorsport - The Next Generation...

Video here.

06 May 2008 - Knockhill Double Header...

The latest rounds of the Scottish Championship at Knockhill stretched us to the limit as two rounds were held in just one day. We proved able to look after the six cars - the team did a great job - and thanks to Kevin for helping us out at the last minute. Frank and Pat Hynds and his two sons enojyed their day. John Marshall took a bit of damage but got out again and seemed to have good time. Ross Marshall had great final - one of the best drives team boss Steve McCall has seen from him - along with championship leader Carol Brown the two of them had the final to themselves and changed places for the leed more than once - that’s what you call proper racing - it was lap for lap. Pat Hynds took some silverware on the day as well.

25 April 2008 - Rockingham pictures...

Check out the following FlickR Galleries from George McNeill and Kevo Thunder - these feature the racing from Rockingham at the weekend

20 April 2008 - Wins at Rockingham...

The team had four more race wins at Rockingham this weekend - two each for Lee Fitzpatrick and John Jon Higgins and so can be pleased to have won two thirds of the weekend's Legends races!

Ross Marshall maintained his Rookie Championship lead and has also jumped into the top ten of the overall championship - Rookies have done this before but it usually takes several meetings to do so. We are also pleased for Darren Gaulton who is 8th in the championship - his best ever standing since joining Legends.

John Marshall's scores are getting progressively better and it won't be long before he will be adding to his Knockhill SMRC win. For the record JM's scores in the first four National rounds have been 135, 160, 185 & 245. Lee's scores are progressing as well which is particulary gratifying as he is still fourth in the table.

16 April 2008 - Second Round of the Scottish Legends..

Latest pictures from the team of the Knockhill round shared with the British GT Championship.

14 April 2008 - Ross Bags First Win..

Ross Marshall took his first win in Legends Cars in the final of the day at the F3 / GT meeting at Knockhill yesterday. His two heats saw a non finish due to a vibration traced to the gearbox in race one whilst in the second heat he took 9th place. Frank Hynds, in his first meeting with us took a win in the opening race of the day and he backed that up with 6th and 7th places in the other races to go second in the championship to Carol Brown who scored her first Legends race win in race two. Pat Hynds grabbed a couple of top ten finishes whilst his two sons Chris and Scott are almost locked together in the championship with 235 and 225 points respectively..

31 March 2008 - 'The other' Marshall gets a win...

We're sure John won't mind us calling him 'the other Marshall' in what is a rather tongue in cheek headline. John, like his son Ross at Brands Hatch, got himself into a winning position by taking first place in one of the races at Knockhill this weekend. Well done John. John was second overall on the day - congratulations to Carol Brown who won. Ross was 4th in heat one, 5th in heat two and 10th in the final. Keep up to date with the Scottish points here.

24 March 2008 - Marshall Top Rookie at Brands

A good opening weekend for the team at Brands Hatch and already the first silverware of the year as Ross Marshall won the Rookie Trophy awarded to the top newcomer over the two day event. As a newcomer Ross had to start all his races from the back of the grid and as a result his finishes were all the more remarkable... He was 14th, 16th and 7th on Sunday (and placed 12th overall from an entry of 29 cars). Monday's racing saw him take 12th, 13th and 12th with an overall result of 13th - again all from the back of the grid. Having successfully made six race finishes Ross will be able to join the main group at the front of the grid at the next meeting, Rockingham in April.

The first race win of the year however went to Lee Fitzpatrick - continuing where he left off at Brands last August and making it his third National Championship race win. His new car was well up to the task of challenging the leaders but following the win he suffered a blown motor in race three on Sunday. Monday went a little better although an under par first race was balanced with fourth and second in the other races to secure him fifth overall on the day.

John Jon Higgins opened his account with second behind Lee in the opening race (making a Burnett one-two) but a misfire in the second race was cured in time for the third race which is duly won. Even with a race retirement JJ took third overall on the day. Ironically three race finishes on Monday did not yield as many points mainly because of an off at Druids at lap one of race three which had been cut to six laps so the #5 car had little chance of recovery.

It was good to welcome John Marshall back to the team. John took 12th, 15th, 13th, 14th, 17th and a non finish as he settled back into Legends Cars racing. Darren Gaulton was setting some good times in the #3 car and had another top ten finish to his credit with 8th in the final on Sunday. Monday was a very consistent day for him taking a brace of 11th place finishes and 10th in race two to finish 10th overall.

The Burnett team are looking strong in the championship table - Lee is fourth, JJ fifth and Darren 12th with Ross leading the Rookie Trophy.

06 March - Ready for Brands Hatch...

03 March 2008 - Still Gearing Up For 2008 Legends

We will be fielding six cars at the opening rounds of the season at Brands Hatch on Easter Sunday and Monday. The line up will be: #2 Lee Fitzpatrick; # Ross Marshall; #4 Darren Gaulton #5 John 'Jon' Higgins; #6 John Marshall; #7 Gary Fitzpatrick.

Check out the new 2008 images page to see how the cars are coming together.

22 January 2008 - Gearing Up For 2008 Legends

Stevie and the team are working hard to prepare cars for the forthcoming season but also looking forward to theis weekend's Legends Presentation Evening in Stratford. We will bring you all the news from there early next week.

21 January 2008 - GMC-MOTORSPORT In association with FOX CONSTRUCTION

Since our recent "excursion" at the Keith Knox stages back in November 2007 the car has made surprisingly good progress over the last 8 weeks. We have now taken delivery of the car back from the Coachworks having had the structural repairs completed and it's now back in our garage awaiting fitting of the new parts purchased over the Christmas break

Those include a new rear beam currently being modified & strengthened to accommodate the uprated disc brakes, a new fuel tank and underbody protection, complete new front Bilstien suspension, track control arms, front tie bars, hubs, driveshafts, ball joints and a new power steering rack.

The gearbox is currently at a specialist being overhauled to ensure we have a 100% efficient Quaife unit.

The engine was one of our biggest worries with the oil being dumped at such a high temperature and high revs it was almost certain that the engine had sustained some degree of damage. To our relief the damage was indeed minimal, however, to confirm this a partial engine strip down was required and the following components have been replaced:

Big end bearings
ARP big end bolts
Oil pump
Water pump
Timing belt & pulleys
Clutch

Once the engine is refitted, a new custom build exhaust system will be fitted after the existing system was damage beyond repair in the accident.

As expected by GMC motorsport, all components & replacement parts are being replaced with the latest available and where possible upgraded parts and expect the car to be even more competitive once complete.

We expect the car to be 'ready to race' from February onwards.

We will be updating everyone in the next 2-3 weeks on how the car is progressing along with some photos.

Davie Hatrick/Gerry McCafferty