May 2011 - 2011 MGCC TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUNDS 3/4, OULTON PARK 7th May - as anticipated the sun had gone into hiding as the MGCC Trophy Championship travelled to the exciting Cheshire circuit of Oulton Park for rounds 3 and 4 of the 2011 Championship. Preptech's Oliver Barnard had a good outing there in the wet last year and was not daunted by the prospect of the forecast wet race. Overnight rain left the track slippery and wet for qualifying. Oliver made the decision to go out on wet tyres and was leading the session until the last few minutes when a drying line enabled his time to be beaten and resulted in him qualifying in second place. The rain returned for the start of the first race. Oliver made a good start and emerged from the heavy spray at the end of lap 1 in first position. He continued to increase his lead and eventually won the race with a lead of 6 seconds. His efforts were further rewarded by being declared Driver of the Race by the commentators! By the second race the sun had returned and the track had dried. Being blocked at the start and an excursion onto the grass left Oliver 3 seconds behind after the first lap, and, with the race time reduced to 17 minutes, Oliver set about catching the leader. Despite putting in faster lap times and driving all over the back of the leading car during the final laps Oliver had to settle for second place, by just 0.5 seconds. Oliver commented "It was a good weekend with some close and exciting racing. I was really chuffed to get the Driver of the Race award and to end the meeting heading up the Trophy Championship table. I’m really looking forward to the next meeting, the MG Festival at Silverstone in June". April 2011 - 2011 MGCC TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUNDS 1/2, BRANDS HATCH 9th April - the MGCC Trophy Championship got under way on a glorious spring day at the famous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. Preptech's Oliver Barnard was hoping for a good weekend to start his 2011 campaign. Qualifying saw him with 2nd place on the grid for both races with times looking very close and considerably quicker than last year's. Oliver made a good start in race one and was soon leading his class and building a comfortable lead lap by lap, eventually taking the chequered flag for the 20 minute race some 7 seconds ahead of the 2nd place man. In the process Oliver also managed to set a new race lap record, knocking a second off the previous record held by the 2010 Champion! Race 2 started later than scheduled and, as a result, was reduced to 15 minutes. Oliver didn't get the start he had hoped for and by the end of lap one he found himself 2 seconds behind the leader. An exciting chase followed seeing the gap closing gradually but by the chequered flag Oliver was still 0.9 seconds behind the leading car. After the race, Oliver commented "I could have done with that extra 5 minutes!". All in all a good weekend with a decent accumulation of points leaving Oliver leading the MG ZR160 championship by 5 points! Oulton Park is next - 7th May. March 2011 - 2011 SEASON UPDATE As the 2011 race season approaches Preptech is not only busy preparing it's own MG ZR160 race car, being driven by Preptech's Oliver Barnard, but is also working on two customers' cars for the same race series. Preptech is to provide race preparation and race day support for MG ZR190 driver Gary Wetton and MG ZR190 driver Ben Jacques for the 2011 season. The ZR190s are the original MG factory race prepared cars and differ from the ZR160, which is a race prepared road car. Whilst the cars share many features and outwardly appear the same the 190s have specially built body shells, a Janspeed prepared K-Series race engine, slick tyres and limited slip differential. Preptech's MD, Oliver Barnard, is enthusiastic about developments for this year - "It's great to be working with Gary and Ben and using our expertise on these thoroughbred race cars. This is a move that we have been looking to make for a long time and we have an enthusiastic and experienced team eagerly awaiting the season start. We will be carrying out final testing and set up on the cars at Brands Hatch on Friday 8th April in readiness for the two races scheduled for Saturday 9th. As usual, at this time of year we have lots to do and the first race weekend always seems to arrive quicker than expected. We've been busy ticking things off of the list and are well prepared for the first race weekend". Keep checking our news updates for further information on the MG Car Club Trophy Championship. If you can make it to any of the race meetings come along and have a close up look at the cars - visitors are always welcome in the Preptech garages. New photos to be added soon! December 2010 - PREPTECH NEWS UPDATE Following excellent results in the 2010 MG Car Club Trophy Championship, Preptech's Oliver Barnard is busy rebuilding his car and has entered for the 2011 season. Oliver commented: "Unfortunately we didn't manage to complete the 2010 season due to limited funding, work commitments and getting married, but the results from the races that we took part in were extremely encouraging. I am building a fresh engine after the Knockhill blow up and am hoping to get the car ready for some testing early in the New Year. We are continuing our search for sponsors and are also very hopeful of running a second car in the 2011 championship. The MG marque is making a comeback in the UK next year and there has been considerable interest from MG in supporting the race series in 2012 so we are looking forward to a good 2011 and waiting for final details of what's in store for 2012!". The first meeting of the 2011 MG Car Club Trophy Championship takes place on the weekend of 9th/10th April at Brands Hatch and Oliver is looking forward to improving on 2nd place finish achieved there this year. Watch out for further Preptech race news in the new year. 29 June 2010 - MGCC TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIP - KNOCKHILL Preptech's Oliver Barnard, made the journey to Scotland's Knockhill Race Circuit for the MG Car Club's Trophy Championship 4th round on 26 and 27 June. Having missed the last round at Silverstone, due to getting married, Oliver was keen to get back to scoring more points in his challenge for the championship. Qualifying on Saturday morning was an exciting 20 minute session that saw Oliver grab pole position and set a new lap record in the closing seconds! The first race was closely fought with a tenth of a second covering the three leading cars for most of the race. Oliver lead from pole and for 19 of the 20 lap race, but a dive through on the last corner by Paul Streather, left Oliver finishing in second place by a fraction of a second! For the second race of the meeting Oliver started from 3rd place, as determined by his 2nd best qualifying lap, and emerged from the first few corners in 2nd place and was on the bumper of the leading car when the race was red flagged due to an incident which left a competitor's car in a dangerous position. The race was restarted from the original positions and by the end of the first lap Oliver had gained the lead. Over the next 5 laps he was able to extend the lead but then found his engine losing power and a lap later Oliver disappeared in a huge cloud of blue smoke as the engine finally gave up! Oliver commented "Knockhill is a great circuit, very demanding and exhilarating to drive. I was very pleased with the car and the changes we had made to the suspension and set up seemed to have worked. It's a closely fought championship as all the cars are the same but Knockhill was the closest racing we've had this season so far. I was determined to get a win this time, having been second in every other race this season so far, but the engine had other ideas! We've two months break now so I need to take the engine out and assess the damage but hopefully the car will be back together for Cadwell Park in September". 10 May 2010 - MGCC TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIP - ROUND 2 The 2010 MG Car Club Trophy Championship travelled to Cheshire on 8 May for the second round of the competition at Oulton Park. Oliver Barnard and his Preptech-built MG ZR race car, were looking forward to their first ever visit to the circuit and hoping to improve on the 2nd place finishes obtained at Brands Hatch last month. Qualifying took part on a cold and wet track, but despite the adverse conditions Oliver out-qualified his rivals to achieve pole position for both races, an amazing achievement for someone who had never driven round this demanding track before! Race one saw Oliver make a good start and by the half way stage of the 20 minute race he had managed to open up a lead of 5 seconds, however fuel surge problems during the closing laps slowed down his charge and resulted in a 2nd place finish. Race two, once again, saw Oliver leading from the lights and remaining unchallenged until tyre wear caused his pace to drop off going into the last two laps - ultimately allowing second place man, Paul Streather, to catch and pass Oliver on the final lap of the race. Oliver commented "I'm pleased that, having never driven here before and not having had the budget to carry out testing, I managed two pole positions in qualifying. The 2nd places are no disgrace but do emphasise that I need to carry out some testing to get the best out of the car. In the first race I had fuel surge problems due purely to the fuel level in the tank - I now know to carry more fuel! In the second race my lap times were consistent until the last two laps when I began to lose grip with the tyres - that means we need to work on car set up. I desperately need to find some sponsorship to enable me to spend a bit more on testing etc. I shall be missing next round at Silverstone as I am getting married but am looking forward to going to Knockhill for the 4th Round, another circuit that I've never raced on before". Oliver Barnard's race exploits can be followed on Preptech's website at www.preptech.co.uk. 12 April 2010 - STOP PRESS!!! "The 2010 MG Car Club's Trophy Race Series got underway at Brands Hatch on 10/11th April. Farnborough's Oliver Barnard, driving an MG ZR prepared by his own company, Preptech UK, qualified in 3rd place, with only three tenths of a second separating the first three drivers. The first race saw Oliver make a good start and he emerged from Paddock Bend in second place and challenging for the lead, however a five car pile up resulted in the race being red-flagged so he wasn't able to improve on his second place position. Oliver's start in the second race was hampered by wheelspin but after four laps he had caught and passed the two cars in front of him to take the lead and then lead for the rest of the race (7laps), gaining a half second advantage, but a problem with 4th gear on the last lap resulted in the second place man passing Oliver on the finishing straight, leaving Oliver in second by 0.081 of a second! Oliver said "It was difficult going straight into qualifying with no testing but overall I have to be pleased with the weekend and the end result. It would have been good to win on my first time out but we have learnt a lot and can now look forward to sorting out the car further before the next race at Oulton Park, next month." Oliver is still looking for a sponsor to assist with the running of his race car. For details email info@preptech.co.uk. 31 March 2010 - Preptech's 2010 MG ZR Trophy challenger hit the track for the first time at Abingdon Airfield recently for a general shakedown and running in session. The new car managed to do 2.5 hours running without missing a beat all day long (and actually clocked the fastest lap of the day in the process!). The new engine feels strong and is due on the rolling road this week to see what power its putting out. The car is now going through a full spanner check and having the finishing touches completed prior to its first race meeting on 11th April at Brands Hatch, Kent. We aim to make it to a test day at Brands Hatch prior to the meeting to do some more tyre testing and fine tune a base setup. So far so good! 24 February 2010 - Preptech's 2010 MG ZR Trophy challenger is almost ready to hit the track for its pre-season shakedown and testing. The car is having the last of its paintwork finished prior to hitting the track in early March with pictures to be released soon. After its running-in period is complete the MG is off to be Superchipped and rolling roaded to make sure the engine is strong. With the start of the season only 6 weeks away Preptech are keen to see what its capable of and start to develop the car ready for the first round at Brands Hatch, Kent on April 10/11th. 1 October 2009 - Preptech is pleased and excited to announce that it will be entering a Preptech-backed team into the 2010 MGCC MG Trophy. With one car built and ready to go, we are looking for a second driver to enable us to put a second Preptech car on the grid. If you're looking for an inexpensive route into motorsport but with the benefit of a professional engineering outfit behind you, this could be your chance...any interested parties should feel free to email info@preptech.co.uk for further information. Preptech UK - Professional Road, Track and Race Car Preparation Preptech UK - Professional Road, Track and Race Car Preparation Text File Text File