SHP TO RUN THREE CLASSES
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The organisers of the Pickup Truck Racing Championship are planning to create a mini-package of three series to run at the popular British Truck meetings next year.
In addition to its successful Pickup series, SHP Engineering will also run a Super Silhouettes championship and a series for American-style sprint cars at truck meetings, with the focus on providing entertaining racing for spectators.
SHP will take over organising the British Automobile Racing Club-run Intermarque series and will rename it to reflect the category’s original title – although the existing Intermarque organisers still intend to have their own separate series too.
“We had a meeting with the Intermarque drivers and they seemed on board for it,” explained SHP founder Sonny Howard. “Carl Boardley had a new Ginetta out at Brands Hatch [built to the new series’ regulations] and he’s got two or three others on order and Ricky Hunn had a new Mazda RX-8.
“We have rewritten the rules so it will be for spaceframe chassis, frontengined, rear-wheel drive cars. I think it relates it back to what it was in the first place [when the series was founded off the back of short oval racing]. We’ve also changed the name to Super Silhouettes and it’s now what it says on the tin. By rewriting the regulations, we’ve ended up bringing them in line and they will use the same points system and qualifying [format] as the trucks.”
Richard Smith, a long-standing Intermarque racer, along with his brother Simon and sons Lewis and Daniel, welcomed the change. He believes it will help attract new entries and added: “We want it to be run professionally and to race at some bigger meetings so we have to be prepared to travel a bit more.”
Super Silhouettes won’t join the Pickups at Thruxton, with Howard describing the Hampshire circuit as “not really suitable for them”, but will appear at the other rounds.
Howard is also launching a third series for American-style sprint racers – and cars from all three categories will be at Autosport International in January.
“It’s a new concept with entertainment value and it’s something different,” said Howard. “It will be quirky. But they don’t run big engines so haven’t got the big top [section]. We’ve got six in build and they will also be at the Autosport show.
“There’s lots of kids and families that go to the big truck events and I think these cars will appeal to these people.”
Howard also plans to create a special event for the classes at Croft in September.
“We are hoping to go into Darlington shopping mall and end up putting the trucks and Super Silhouettes on show,” he said.