The series proved a real hit in its opening year, attracting former British Touring Car Championship drivers Gareth Howell, Stefan Hodgetts, Fiona Leggate and Charlie Butler-Henderson, as well as proven tin top racers like 2008 Clio Cup Champion Ben Winrow.

It was Winrow who took the inaugural title, after picking up with three wins and eight other podium finishes in the twelve race season. Hodgetts took seven of the race wins, but lost out on the title after missing the opening rounds, while Howell was the other race winner, taking two wins.

The series, backed by Selenia, was set for another twelve race season in 2011, supporting a variety of series including Formula Two, DTM and British GT and F3. Races were set to take place at Oulton Park, the new Snetteron 300 circuit, Brands Hatch twice and Donington Park, as well as its first International race at the world-famous Spa Francorchamps.

However the series won’t be continuing, with David Scott, Race Operations Manager of MSVR, commenting: “After being advised by Abarth of the decision, we are extremely disappointed that the championship will not take place in 2011. After all of our efforts it is a great shame that Abarth could not make this work at this time, as it has great potential to be a very successful championship in the UK .”

MSVR continues to grow and this year will now include Radical UK and Clubman’s Cup, Mini Challenge, MSV F3 Cup, Club MSV Team Trophy and the new EV Cup for zero emission electric cars. These join the already impressive programme which includes the likes of the GT Trophy, Lotus on Track Elise Trophy, the Trofeo Abarth 500 GB championship and the Heritage Grand Touring Car Championship. This year will see 32 MSVR events around the country, not just at MSV owned circuits but also at the likes of Silverstone, Donington Park and Rockingham.

Lord Drayson attended the event to announce that Drayson Racing will be entering into the New EV Cup this year. This series is the world’s first exclusively for zero emission electric cars and will set a precedent in eco-friendly racing.  The EV Cup will be split into three classes, one for race prepared urban THINK cars, one for a sports EV class using 185kph Westfield iRacers and a prototype EV class which will operate in a time trial format which will showcase the latest non-production electric vehicles.  Lord Drayson has been a big supporter of eco friendly racing and whilst running the Westfield iRacer, Drayson Racing also hope to develop a prototype racing car for future racing series. Four races are lined up in the UK this year for the EV Cup with hopefully three more held in Spain, Portugal and the USA.

Paul Drayson announced Drayson Racing's entry into the EV Cup

With the success of the Club MSV Trackday Trophy last year, a series in which Novice racers can get their foot on the first rung of the racing ladder, a new Club MSV Team Trophy has been announced as a new series. This is designed as the next step for drivers after the Trackday Trophy as well as offering experienced club racers with a cost effective opportunity to race.  Catering for production and production based saloons, hatchbacks and sports cars, there will be four power to weight categories up to 200bhp per ton.  The inaugural Team Trophy will consist of three rounds at Snetterton, Donington and Brands Hatch and will follow the same format as the Trackday Trophy, but with no novice stipulation for teams.

Two other affordable racing series to join MSVR are the Production BMW Championship and the Project 8 Racing Saloons. The BMW Championship will provide a one make series designed for close, friendly and cheap racing for beginner to advanced drivers whilst the Project 8 Racing saloons will be for pre 1994 two wheel drive saloon cars. A simple class system will allow a great range of cars to compete from BMW M3’s and Sierra Cosworth’s, to Ford Capri’s and Vauxhall Corsa’s.

An expanding Sportscar portfolio within MSVR see’s the arrival of Two series by Radical. The Clubman’s cup and the UK cup. The latter of these two, open to professional and amateur driver, will see over 30 Radicals, taking on each other in a 40 minute two drive race format. The Radical Clubman’s cup also joins MSVR this year and proves a popular series with rookies and established racers alike providing affordable racing for the range of four cylinder cars.

For more information on MotorSport Vision Racing head over to their website www.msvracing.co.uk and if you want to witness some great wheel to wheel racing then why not visit one of their many race weekends.

The UK Trophy, once again using the 190bhp Abarth 500 Assetto Corse, will take place over six events, including a visit to Spa-Francorchamps alongside the European Trophy. Each weekend will see two races, with the season kicking off at Oulton Park in April, before it’s first visit to the new Snetterton 300 circuit in late June. Two meetings at Brands Hatch sandwich the trip to Spa, before the season finale at Donington Park in October.

The European Trophy will also run over six events across Europe, with trips to Valencia, Misano, Hockenheim, Mugello, Monza and Spa. Abarth are also set to run their Formula Abarth single seater series in Italy.

2011 Abarth 500 GB Trophy Calendar

Oulton Park (23 and 25 April)

Snetterton 300 Circuit (25-26 June)

Brands Hatch GP (22-24 July)

Spa-Francorchamps (7 August)

Brands Hatch Indy (3-5 September)

Donington Park (29 October)

It was Hodgetts who looked to have secured pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session, before Ben Winrow trumped him late on in the session, with championship leader and double winner from Oulton Park, Gareth Howell in third, albeit a second adrift.

The only change between the top three in race one was Hodgetts getting the jump on Winrow to claim his maiden Trofeo victory with Charlie Butler-Henderson following the trio home in fourth place ahead of Josh Wakefield and Benny Simonsen. Hodgetts also managed to post the fastest lap of the race to ensure he would start from pole for race two.

Winrow, starting from second in race two powered past Hodgetts at the start and the two pulled clear of Howell until Hodgetts retired with an engine problem, promoting Howell to second and Butler-Henderson to third, with Wakefield and Paul Smith rounding out the top five. It was a deserved first win of the season for former Clio Cup champ Winrow, who had been luckless in the opener in Cheshire, after falling off on lap one of the first race had left him with an uphill struggle for the rest of the weekend. “Stef’s a great driver, so once I got him, I just had to concentrate and put my head down and try to build a lead,” said Winrow after race two, “then it was a case of protecting the tyres and hanging on for the win.”

Howell leads the championship after four rounds, with a sixteen point lead over Advent team mate Butler-Henderson, Winrow is in third a further four back. Howell knows, however, that he needs to be closer to the pace of Hodgetts and Winrow, “I’m in front now, but I can’t keep following the boot-lids of these guys for much longer or they will creep ahead.” He will get the chance to put things straight when the series resumes at Cadwell Park in support of the British Superbike Championship on May 23rd & 24th.

Photo credit: Trofeo abarth 500 GB

The Trofeo Abarth 500 GB is unique in the respect that it has cherry-picked events to support including DTM and British Superbikes.

Championship Organiser Paolo Callea said today:

“This is a great racing calendar for our first season. We are running alongside some of the most recognisable racing series in the world and at the same time we are trying some new things. We are really excited that we can offer our teams and drivers the opportunity to drive on six fantastic, different race tracks and be part of some of the UK’s biggest racing weekends.”

“The calendar is well spaced, and by racing with events like British Superbikes and the Silverstone Classic, we expose the series to a wide variety of motorsport fans.”

The first round of the new series kicks on during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at Oulton Park, running alongside the British F3 and British GT event.

Round 2 sees the series head to Silverstone supporting the FIA Formula Two race on the new Silverstone GP layout before the British Grand Prix.

Round 3 is where things start to get diverse on the calendar, the series heads to Cadwell Park to support the MCN British Superbike round and gives organisers the chance to show the series off to a whole new crowd.

In June the series joins the GT Cup Championship and Formula Palmer Audi at Snetterton before heading back to Silverstone to race at the Silverstone Classic weekend.

The last race in the UK will see the Abarths head to Brands Hatch to support the DTM series as they head to the UK.

This leads us to the last race of the season, a special one-off finale at Monza, with fans being promised a ‘World Cup Final’ featuring drivers and teams from Europe, Italy and Great Britain.

Callea concluded:

“It’s great to be able to combine with the European and Italian championships and create a great spectacle for fans. Being able to race the new Abarth 500 Assetto Corse at Monza is a great tribute to the long racing heritage that runs through the ethos of what we are trying to create with the Trofeo GB.”

“With the calendar confirmed, we are looking forward to putting on a great show in 2010.”

The Confirmed Trofeo Abarth 500 GB Calendar – 2010

* 3/5 April Oulton Park (British F3/ British GT)
* 17/18 April Silverstone GP (FIA Formula Two)
* 22/23 May Cadwell Park (British Superbikes)
* 26/27 June Snetterton (GT Cup Championship & Formula Palmer Audi)
* 24/25 July Silverstone GP (Silverstone Classic)
* 4/5 September Brands Hatch Indy (DTM / Trofeo Europe*)
* 23/24 October Monza, Italy (Trofeo Europe / Italy / GB)

Advent Motorsport announced in October that they would be running TV personality Vicki Butler Henderson in the team with support from James Blyth plus a fourth driver to be announced soon.

Team boss Andrew Crighton was more than happy with his latest signing: “Advent Motorsport are delighted to welcome Josh Wakefield as a team-mate to Vicky Butler-Henderson and James Blyth. We feel that Josh’s youth and enthusiasm will compliment the experience Vicky has from racing and her promotional and marketing expertise. Josh will also benefit from Jame Blyth’s race-craft, derived from two seasons in the Mini Challenge.”

“We believe the combination of drivers will provide a competitive package in 2010.”
Wakefield, from Essex was awarded the Saxmax Challenge Rookie of the Year in 2009 and has been tutored by BRDC member Chris Hodgetts. Josh tested the Abarth 500 Assetto Corse at the Trofeo series launch in October and has worked hard behind the scenes to get onto the grid in 2010.

Wakefield added: “I am very happy and privileged to have the opportunity to be driving in the new championship. I am excited to be working with Andrew Crighton of Advent Motorsport and Chris Hodgetts, BRDC. I am also very pleased to have Vicky Butler-Henderson and James Blyth as team mates and am looking forward to some close racing this season.”

With the announcement of Zing Digital Media as the title sponsor of the series last week the Trofeo Abarth 500 GB is gaining momentum.

Championship Organiser Paolo Callea said “It’s really great that Advent Motorsport can announce a four car line-up in the championship. It shows that there are drivers out there who have the budget to go racing in this series. Andrew Crighton has been very pro-active with the Trofeo Abarth 500 GB launch and test events and Advent are reaping the rewards of that commitment.”

The series gets underway at Oulton Park on 3-5 April supporting the British Formula 3 & GT championship round.