Stuart McLaren had a fantastic race at Silverstone today and brought it home in P5. After a less than optimal start he put some great lap times in especially as he is running on last years tires. There was some elegant cornering with the car being well held. Stuart probably heard his family shouting at the TV as they followed live on YouTube even though they are two counties away! Great effort we are really proud.
After missing Thruxton due to family commitments Stuart was keen to get back into the Coupe Cup series and get some good tarmac time after the truncated Snetterton weekend.
Although Stuart has worked as a Supercar instructor at Mallory Park his most memorable visit was in 2005 for a Suzuki Rizla Bike Track Day. Fantastic tuition from James Hayden, ‘Shakey’ Burns and Nial McKenzie made for an awesome experience. I was supposed to be on photo duty but as the sparks flew from Stuart’s ZX-6R exhaust with his knee down I was stood there with my mouth open and missed nearly every shot.
So let’s get right back to 2021 and Hyundai Coupe Cup. Paid practise turned out to be well worth it and flushed out an issue with the car that was dealt with by the Misty Racing team.
So what was the outcome?
Qually: P11
Race 1: P7
Race 2: P6 – some amazing battles that saw p4-6 swapping several times. Overall a good weekend for Stuart with some close racing.
But it would be remiss not to give our condolences to the marshal who lost his life at Brands Hatch on Saturday 31st July Stuart has many good friends in the Orange Army and knows the passion they have for the job they do. He’s been pulled from cars by marshals and knows when it all goes wrong how quick they get to you with help. McLaren0to60 send their love and prayers to the family at this time of loss.
So the first round of Hyundai Coupe Cup is done and Stuart is a happy man. He was competative across qually and both of the races. He landed a 5th place in the last race of the day so that’s a decent way to close off his maiden weekend . Unfortunately he took some damage but managed to keep the car on the track and bag some championship points.
Stuart said “I absolutely loved it and cant wait for the next round” – well there’s not long to wait with the next round at Snetterton 8th/9th May
It just remains for me to say a massive thanks to all our supporters and sponsors – see you all in 2 weeks.
First race done and Stuart secured an amazing 4th place. Great job for your first Coupe Cup race.
Today is Stuart’s season opener in the Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup at Cadwell Park with Misty Racing The car has had a shakedown but testing for this round was not an option. So it’s straight in to qually at 9:20.
Follow the action: livetiming.tsl-timing.com/211621
P2 in race 1 and fastest lap. Thanks to everyone that’s help with this cracking start to the season.
mad4mini you have pulled a blinder – nice one
A few weeks ago I went to meet the team at Virtual Reality Racing Club VRRC and to try out their sim technology. The technology is top quality and all key circuits are available. Its fully immersive with headset and motion seat. I drove a couple of cars and had some fun on the Brands Hatch circuit. I’m pleased to say that after such a great and informative day mclaren02to60 are now affiliates of VRRC. You can find me on the driver coach web page where I am in some good company.
To learn more about what is available and how you can improve your racing skills please visit: VRRC or mclaren0to60
For any racer that’s slid round Graceland with their heart in their mouth or only realized after crossing the finish line just how close to the wall you actually get its a sad farewell to Rockingham Circuit as it closes its doors as a racing venue.
My first visit to Rockingham was in 2001 to attend the FexEx CART World Series. The oval track was really fast and when there wasn’t racing to watch there were plenty of celebrities to spot.
I often take private clients to Rockingham to put themselves or their car through their paces. The international sports circuit is fantastic for teaching on. With so many different types of corner and camber, you can really see and feel the effect of using different techniques.
I often work for Supercar Drive Days and have driven a number of vehicles; but amongst my favourites are the Ariel Atom and of course driving the M3 Drift taxi is a real scream generator.
MINI Challenge included Rockingham as part of their season. In 2017 I was winner in my class – Cooper Am and scooped up 2 podiums that weekend. As my team in 2017, Hybrid Tune, will recall I was limping round with a broken gear box so it was a good achievement.
Running in 2018 in the Cooper S Class I took another podium. Even on the second place step I’m still the shortest!
For 2019 MINI Challenge will swap Rockingham out for Croft Circuit.
Thanks to Thrillpic Media for some of the images used.
6 days until MINI Challenge Round 3 at Rockingham on the ISSC (24th June)
Come and support Stuart and Sam and the Hybrid Tune racing team as they seek some more podium finishes.
The action starts for Am and Pro at 11:20 with qualifying. – Timetable_24_25_June_Rockingham
The final MINI Challenge Cooper race at Silverstone was action packed. Both Stuart and Sam had recovered from a bad day on Saturday and finished 3rd in race 2. The first 5 places were flipped on the grid so they both started in 3rd. The racing was really close and a crash just before the end saw Sam and Stuart in P1 when the red flags came out.
This has been a great weekend for the Hybrid Tune racing team. Well done to Stuart and Sam and a huge thank you to the team (Mattie, Rob, Lee, John) for all their hard work.
Stuart McLaren 