THE STAGE IS SET FOR RETURN
Fans and competitors in national rallying will be enjoying the news this week that the discipline will return after its extended lay off as the governing body has given the green light for it to recommence. It has been a bewildering time for rallying in the UK. While competitors have looked on enviously at their racing counterparts, the mixed-surface discipline was always going to be harder to reintroduce given the geographical spread required to run such events. However, regulations have been stitched together to enable it to happen, although it is likely to be predominantly single-venue based to begin with. These are small steps, but they are encouraging ones.
Lewis Hamilton took plenty of encouragement from his victory in the first Styrian Grand Prix, and it seems the writing is on the wall for his rivals in Formula 1. Mercedes-benz has once again provided a car which is head and shoulders above the rest, and that, allied to Ferrari’s stumbling start to the season, means that another title seems destined for the Briton’s back pocket.
Our Q&A victim this week is Andy Priaulx, the three-time World Touring Car champion is a driver who proved that determination and enormous self-belief can take a racer to the very top, regardless of how shallow their pockets are. His is a truly inspirational story, and he tells MN readers all about it.
Luke Barry looks at the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on some of the grassroots industries in motorsport and discovers that the resumption of action has come at a crucial time for many of them.
Deputy editor Graham Keilloh discovers a shining light on the national racing scene with Formula Ford 1600 bosses reporting strong interest ahead of the compressed 2020 season. Bumper grids and a checklist of some of the category’s most impressive performers means that the discipline is set for a memorable season.
Also this week, we introduce our troubleshooter feature. We’ve co-opted ace engineer Carl Faux to guide us out of some of the pitfalls that can afflict race, rally and short oval competitors. He starts out by demystifying understeer and offers tips on how to overcome the issue.