Autosport – 18 April 2019

ST

YL

ES

Race win 100 finally

happened for Ahlers

CLUB AUTOSPORT NATIONAL NEWS

68 AUTOSPORT.COM 18 APRIL 2019

MORGAN CHALLENGE

A year after his 99th Morgan

Challenge race victory, Keith

Ahlers finally achieved the

landmark ton last weekend

during the VSCC’s meeting

at Silverstone.

Not only that, but Ahlers

doubled up over the course of

the weekend in his Morgan +8.

“I had two DNFs last year,

a broken leaf spring and a

blown engine, and a deserved

whipping from Olly Bryant

at Silverstone, so it’s taken

a while,” said Ahlers.

“I’ve owned the +8 from

new in 1993 and did 106,000

miles before rebuilding it

into its current pure racing

guise, with full cage, glassfibre

wings and 4.6-litre John

Eales Rover V8 engine.

Fundamentally, though,

the centre section and ash

frame are as they were.”

Ahlers made his race debut

in 1997 and scored his first

victory at Brands Hatch in

1999. He has won rounds every
      season since – 10 in 2014
      alone – and the title in 2002
      and 2009. The combo also
      won 750MC Roadsports
      crowns in 2001 and 2002.

“I’ve done lots of other

racing, including GTs with

an Aero 8, but the Morgan

Challenge is my roots,”

added Ahlers. “I always go

back, because you shouldn’t

forget where you started.

Rob Wells looked after the car

until 2005, when we set up

on our own, since when Billy

Bellinger has prepared it and

co-driven the historic cars

very successfully.”

MARCUS PYE

Ahlers finally reaches 100 wins in Morgan +8

VW RACING CUP

Volkswagen Racing Cup title-winning

squad Team Hard has withdrawn from

the series and will now place its drivers

in other championships.

The Kent-based team was planning

to run up to eight cars in the series

this season, but has instead decided to

focus on other areas of national racing.

Team boss Tony Gilham said:

“Unfortunately, the evolution of the

championship over the past couple of

years has made it increasingly difficult

for it to work commercially for us, our

drivers and our partners.”

Gilham added that a calendar change,

which meant that the VW series would

race at Croft instead of at Brands Hatch’s

Deutsche Fest event on 7 July, was a major

blow. “Several of our drivers are based

locally to Brands Hatch and losing that race

was a major dent to their sponsorship

prospects,” said Gilham, who was the

series champion himself in 2007.

Team Hard drivers have won the past

two titles: Bobby Thompson in 2017

and Jamie Bond in 2018.

The VW Cup is run by Maximum

Motorsport, and its boss Stewart Lines

said that there have been other changes

to the way the series is operated this year.

“We are going to have control fuel, and

mandate that everyone runs the same dash

so we can monitor things inside the car,”

said Lines. “We also have a new rolling

road to measure power outputs.

“The move to Croft was done to maintain

our position as the headline act at the early

July meeting, so it has met with the approval

of the majority of our competitors. Most

people are all for the changes and we expect

more than 20 cars on the grid for the

opening round at Oulton Park this weekend.”

MATT JAMES

Team Hard quits V W Racing

Cup on eve of 2019 season

HA

WK

IN

S

Team Hard has won

the past two titles