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Britsport Double Win for TFL Racing’s Caterham CSR
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TFL Racings Caterham CSR was driven to double victories by the TMJ Joinery pairing of Oliver Taylor and Graham Fennymore at the Britsports inaugural race for Caterhams at Brands Hatch at the end of 2009.
This was the trial event for the all new 2010 Britsport series for Caterhams, consisting of 2 x 40 minute races at each of the popular Britcar events. In the first of the 2 races Graham set a blistering pace and came home first by over a lap! No mean feat in Caterham racing where the racing is famous for being both frenetic and closely fought. In the second race Oliver took the car over and again finished on the top step of the podium after a hard fought race.
Graham is a former Caterham Superlight champion and although Oliver is relatively new to Caterham racing, he has already made his mark by winning 2 of the highly competitive Caterham R300 rounds in 2009.
TFL Racing are looking for interested drivers with appropriate budgets for their race winning CSR for the 2010 Britsport season. This car has extensive race setup history to draw on and driven competitively will certainly be the car to beat in 2010. The first round of the 2010 season is at Brands Hatch on 13th March and the series features popular UK circuits and 3x40 minute races at Zolder in May.
For further information on hiring this car please contact Simon Reader on 07771 900648 or at simon@tflracing.co.uk
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Reader and Fennymore race to second place again
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For the second time this month Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader and her team-mate, Oxfordshire's Graham Fennymore, are celebrating a resounding second-place finish at the wheel of their TFL Racing-prepared Juno sports car.
This time the duo were contesting Saturday's (22 Aug) demanding six-hour endurance round of the SPEED Series, at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk - a track on which Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 26, has excelled before.
Reader and Fennymore, who lives at Weston-on-the-Green, qualified an excellent sixth on the grid thanks to recent suspension and brake modifications which have dramatically improved the performance of their 150mph machine.
Unlike the early-August Brands Hatch round, where changeable weather played into the TFL team's hands thanks to inspired tyre selection tactics, the Snetterton weather was hot, dry and sunny throughout the gruelling 300-lap event.
Graham started the race and soon made up a place, battling to overcome a mystery lack of straightline speed which has plagued the team. By mid-distance, after Sarah had taken her first stint and Graham had retaken his place in the cockpit, the TFL Juno was up to third.
The final hour of the race was one of high drama; after all the runners had completed their scheduled pit stops for refuelling, tyres and driver changes, Fennymore found himself third, 30 seconds adrift of the second-placed car and reeling it in at the rate of two seconds a lap.
After overcoming a heart-stopping glitch, which saw the TFL car cut out momentarily with an oil pressure problem, Fennymore closed on to the tail of his opponent. Then, just as Graham lined him up for a pass, he saw him peel off into the pits. "They had to call for more fuel," said team boss Simon Reader, "because they had used more than expected trying to defend against Graham's charge for second."
The Reader/Fennymore machine crossed the Snetterton finish line three laps behind the winning Ligier and two laps ahead of their closest challenger. Their car was the best-placed Juno of the three taking part.
Both Fennymore and Reader were delighted with the team's third podium result of the year. "It's a fantastic result for all of us," said Sarah, "not least because of the lack of top-end power that we were suffering. We had to force people in front to make mistakes, and get by that way.
"We spent the last hour worrying that the car might cut out again and that Graham wouldn't make the finish. All credit to the team: the pit stops were fantastic, as always, and we both drove well in what were very difficult, hot and exhausting conditions.
"The great set-up the team gave the car made it consistent to drive and it was very satisfying to beat several professional teams."
The SPEED Racing Series features seven events ranging in length from three to six hours and visiting top UK tracks as well as European venues. The final round of the series is a three-hour event at Silverstone on 10 October.
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Reader and Fennymore second at Brands Hatch
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Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader and her driving partner, Oxfordshire's Graham Fennymore, came close to a SPEED Series race victory on Saturday (1 Aug) at Brands Hatch but were foiled by the weather.
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 26, and Weston-on-the-Green's Fennymore may have missed out on victory in the Le Mans-style sports car series but were more than happy to achieve a solid second-place finish - their best result of the season so far.
With the cancellation of last month's Dutch rounds the Brands Hatch race was the TFL Racing duo's first outing since Spa-Francorchamps in May, at which event mechanical problems robbed them of a worthwhile finish. Since then, much testing and workshop time had been spent on the team's Juno machine to provide an excellent set-up.
Changeable weather conditions were a factor throughout the three-hour race; Sarah started from seventh position and coped well on 'slick' dry-weather tyres despite occasional rain to hold sixth for much of her stint. After 75 minutes, however, the rain became heavier and Reader pitted for treaded tyres, fuel and to hand over the controls to Fennymore.
Graham then made excellent progress: by two-thirds distance he had risen to fifth, and then made up a further position when a rival dropped out.
"In the last half-hour Graham got up behind the third-placed car and by some inspired driving took both third and second places on the same lap," said TFL team manager Simon Reader. "We were now second, on wet tyres, behind the leading works Juno, which was on slicks."
Just 10 minutes from the end the rain started to get heavier. "We knew that the works Juno would not be able to cope with the conditions and we were anticipating inheriting the lead when it pitted. However, it was not meant to be - four cars on slicks went off the circuit on the same lap and the race was red-flagged to a halt.
"But second was more than we had hoped for after our disappointing result at Spa. We've now taken two podium finishes from three races, and a 1-2 for the 2009 Juno cars is a good result and showed that strategy and good teamwork is a major part of endurance racing, as well as good consistent driving."
The SPEED Racing Series features seven events ranging in length from three to six hours and visiting top UK tracks as well as European venues. The next round, a six-hour marathon, takes place at Snetterton in Norfolk on 22 August.
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Reader and Fennymore enjoy a podium debut
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Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader and her new driving partner, Oxfordshire's Graham Fennymore, made an excellent start to their SPEED Series title bid on Saturday (16 May), finishing third at Anglesey in the opening round of the Le Mans-style sports car series.
It was a dream result for Stratford-upon-Avon based Sarah, 26, and Weston-on-the-Green's Fennymore, who were at the wheel of a new and unraced Juno chassis in which they had had minimal testing time.
In addition to this, they had to contend with several major dramas, including a fire, heavy rain and strong gusting winds which did their best to destroy the TFL Racing team's pit set-up during the four-hour marathon at Anglesey.
Pre-race testing for the event was dry, but the TFL team knew the likelihood was rain for the race, which hampered their hopes of finding the optimum settings for the new car. "The radical steps forward taken by Juno for the new car meant we could not just transfer the settings form last year's car," said TFL team manager Simon Reader. "Graham and Sarah and their considerable expertise made the job easier, but we were still left with a long list of jobs to do at the end of testing. This was compounded by a small fire which burned a hole in the centre floor section, but with everyone's help we managed to get the car repaired and ready in time."
Fennymore and Reader qualified seventh on the grid, and Graham took the opening 90-minute racing stint, quickly making up places thanks to a swift start and the early retirement with mechanical problems of one of the team's rivals.
Despite frequent squalls of heavy rain, Fennymore stayed out on slick tyres for the duration of his stint and was able to hand the car over to Reader in third place. A slick pit stop - achieved despite the wind's best efforts to blow away the team's awning - allowed Sarah to maintain third, which she then improved to second, latching on to the tail of the leading car.
Frustrated in her attempts to pass for the lead by some severe weather, and further hampered by the loss of radio communication with her team, Sarah nonetheless enjoyed her stint: "It was a fantastically enjoyable drive," she said. "Really hard work and exhausting in the conditions but it was great to be back racing again."
The TFL car settled in to a solid third in the closing stages, Fennymore back at the wheel, but there was drama in the final 15 minutes when the pneumatic paddle gearshift system started to malfunction, which allowed the fourth-placed car of Phil Bennett to close in. "Graham's considerable skill allowed him to deal with the problem," said Simon Reader, "and he brought the car home third, much better than we dared hope for.
"The winning car was another of the new Junos - first and third on its debut is a great result and all credit must go to the designer, Ewan Baldry, for producing such a competitive and reliable new car."
There was a further boost for TFL Racing when their car won the Turtle Wax award for being the best presented, an accolade the team puts down to the immaculate livery work of Simon Hopkins Design.
The SPEED Racing Series features seven events ranging in length from three to six hours and visiting top UK tracks as well as the Dutch circuit of Assen and Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Grand Prix. Spa is the TFL team's next port of call, at the end of May.
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Reader & Fennymore get up to speed
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Having failed by the slenderest of margins to beat her chief male rival in endurance racing last season, the UK's leading female sports car driver, Sarah Reader, has opted to join forces with him for 2009.
Reader's TFL Racing team will therefore welcome multiple champion Graham Fennymore to the squad for the opening round of the SPEED Racing Series at the Anglesey circuit on Saturday (16 May). They will share driving duties in the latest 2-litre Juno prototype and will start the season as a favourite for title honours in the Le Mans-style series.
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 26, tied on points with Fennymore at the end of the 2008 season but Graham won the title on a tie-break. "He had two second-place finishes to our one," said Reader, "which was a horrible way to lose the championship. But we're over that now and, working on the principle that if we can't beat him then we had better join him, we are really looking forward to working with Graham and benefiting from his massive experience and professionalism. His reputation speaks for itself and we are very lucky to have him on board."
Reader and Oxfordshire-based Fennymore, 44, both have long and impressive racing CVs. Graham was a Formula Ford and F2000 champion in the 1990s before turning to sports cars five seasons ago. He won the Caterham Roadsport Challenge title in 2005, was Caterham Superlight Challenge Champion in 2006 and '07 and also the 2007 Caterham Eurocup title winner.
Sarah cut her racing teeth at the wheel of a Caterham in the Academy starter series in 2000. She progressed through the Roadsport Challenge to the Eurocup, in which she claimed third place in the Roadsport class in 2003.
In 2005 Reader claimed her maiden pole position at the wheel of a Caterham, going on to championship fifth at the wheel of her R400. The following season, with co-driver Olly Bull, she finished third overall in the Caterham CSR Masters, and in 2007, driving solo, claimed an impressive fourth place in the championship.
"We believe that Sarah and Graham will be a formidable combination," said TFL Racing team manager Simon Reader. "We proved last season that we have the organisation and professionalism to claim podium results in endurance sports car races and we are looking forward now to taking race victories."
The SPEED Racing Series features seven events ranging in length from three to six hours and visiting top UK tracks as well as the Dutch circuit of Assen and Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Grand Prix. This weekend's opener is a four-hour race.
"The new Juno is great to drive and a big step forward from last year's car," says Sarah. "But we have not had much opportunity for testing. It will be a tough event."
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It feels like the long winter is over as TFL Racing complete a successful shake down test with their new car at Donington.
This is the first CN-2009 car to be built by Juno and whilst it retains the proven mechanical parts of the previous CN car, it has a much improved aerodynamic body with a lowered engine and gearbox.
Straight out of the box the car proved to be quicker than the old model and everyone was very impressed with the step forward that Juno have made especially as this was a shake down with no significant tuning of the set up.
The car has been returned to Juno to be painted and it will then be out testing before the first SPEED 3 hour race at Donington on 18th April.
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Sarah Reader nominated for BWRDC Gold star
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tfl racing are proud to announce that Sarah Reader has been chosen as a nominee for the new BWRDC Gold Stars. These prestigious awards are to be presented at Autosport International in January where the BWRDC have secured a large stand.
The Gold Stars are the BWRDC way of flagging up talent within the sport & helping to promote & progress the winners careers.
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TFL to join the BWRDC at the Autosport International Show
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The BWRDC have secured a prime position opposite the David Coulthard Display at this years Autosport International show. The BWRDC have invited tfl to display this years VdeV joint championship winning car driven by Sarah Reader. TFL would like to thank the BWRDC for this opportunity and their continued support of Sarah’s career.
We hope to have as many members of the team present at various times throughout the show. Sarah Reader will also be working for Mercedes giving drifting demonstration rides in their AMG range.
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The TFL team enjoyed a excellent evening out when they collected their second place trophy in the UK VdeV championship. Team owner Simon Reader commented; “It was a great night out and collecting the second place trophy having come so close makes us more determined than ever to go one place higher next year, when we contest the full European championship”.
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Sarah misses out on dramatic championship finale
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Warwickshire's TFL Racing is celebrating a second-place championship finish in the VdeV Endurance sports car series after claiming another points-scoring result in yesterday's (Sun) final round at Silverstone.
But the squad was without star driver Sarah Reader after the Stratford-on-Avon racer developed an eve-of-race illness which prevented her from taking part. "Sarah was in pain during testing on Friday," said her father and TFL team manager Simon Reader, "and by Saturday night the infection had spread to her kidneys and she was virtually immobilised. There was no way she could race."
That left Sarah's regular driving partner, Ryan Hooker, stuck for a team-mate. Luckily one of Sarah's friends, former Caterham winner and LMP2 driver Simon Pullan, was able to deputise. "Fortunately Simon had tested our car at the beginning of the year and was familiar with it," said Simon Reader. "Luckily also the car was well set up after Friday's work at the circuit." Hooker and Pullan qualified the Juno SSE-CN ninth on the grid for the three-hour endurance event.
The TFL team needed to finish two places ahead of their rivals Graham Fennymore and Chris Bialan in the Piranha Racing-prepared Juno if they were to clinch championship victory, and things went Hooker's way in his opening stint when Bialan spun while trying to pass him for sixth.
When Fennymore took over driving duties from Bialan he wasted no time in making up the lost ground, however, and come the fall of the chequered flag their car was back up to fifth - just one place behind the Hooker/Pullan machine. "We ended the season tied on points with the Piranha team, but they win the championship on the tie break because they had two second-place finishes to our one," said Reader.
"Sarah was obviously distraught at not being able to take part in the final race when she had done so much to get us to the top spot. Our success in our first season was truly a complete team effort: two consistent and skilled drivers achieved excellent results in every race and the team ensured a consistent car with faultless reliability. Great pit stops gave us the edge over some formidable professional competition."
Sarah is well on the mend after her enforced track absence and is looking forward to doing some European endurance events before the year end.
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Sarah on track for dramatic title fight
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Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader and her co-driver Ryan Hooker are heading for a dramatic final-round championship shoot-out next month after another strong result in the VdeV Endurance Series yesterday (Sunday).
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 25, and Ryan raced their TFL Racing-prepared Juno SSE-CN sports car to fourth place in the Croft round of the championship. Their points haul for the season to date puts Reader and Hooker in second place in the championship with only the 19 October Silverstone round remaining.
“Second in the championship is better than we dared hope for at the start of our first season in the championship,” said Sarah, “and our aim for Silverstone is to finish well and to at least secure the runner-up spot. That said, we will of course push to win the title if we can.”
The TFL Racing team’s slick preparation and pit work ensured that Sarah and Ryan enjoyed a trouble-free outing at Croft. They qualified seventh after some good work in setting up the Juno to cope with the North Yorkshire track’s notorious bumps.
Reader raced first and handed over to Hooker in sixth place after 90 minutes in the hot seat. Ryan improved their position to fourth, thanks to another car suffering problems and a masterly pass which Hooker pulled off at the end of a safety car period. The TFL Juno continued in fourth to the chequered flag to finish two spots behind their title rivals, Graham Fennymore and Chris Bialan in their Piranha Racing Juno.
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Warwickshire driver takes championship lead
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Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader and her co-driver Ryan Hooker have claimed a narrow overall lead in the VdeV Endurance Series following another strong result at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands on Sunday (7 Sep).
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 25, and Ryan were racing their TFL Racing-prepared Juno SSE-CN sports car in the three-hour Dutch round of the championship. They finished fourth overall after some clever tactical work by their team in predicting the tricky weather conditions.
Reader and Hooker qualified seventh on the grid - the best of the Juno runners - and Sarah took the wheel for the first driving stint, on a dry track threatened by heavy clouds. The rain arrived before the end of Reader's shift, forcing her and the rest of the field to the pits to switch to rain tyres, but the team made a good stop and no time was lost.
Sarah handed over the TFL Juno and seventh place to Ryan, who then stayed out on wet tyres despite a drying track. "We gambled that there would be more rain," said TFL team manager Simon Reader, "and there were several nail-biting laps for us as the track continued to dry and those cars which had changed to slick tyres started to gain an advantage. Then the anticipated shower came and we were able to capitalise as other cars were forced back to the pits for wet tyres."
The weather's intervention helped secure fifth place for Reader and Hooker, a lap ahead of their nearest rival, and they were promoted to fourth towards the end by the retirement of one of the frontrunners. Their car was the leading Juno finisher.
With only two rounds remaining - at Croft and Silverstone - Reader and Hooker have assumed a slender lead in the championship, but the team is not counting its chickens just yet: "The championship is very tight at the top," says Simon, "and any one of three teams could win it - there is everything to play for."
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2 podium visits for Reader at Donington
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Stratford upon Avon driver Sarah Reader returned to her racing roots at the weekend (30/31 Aug) at Donington Park, where she went back behind the wheel of the TFL Racing-prepared Caterham CSR which she last year drove to third place overall in the evo Caterham Eurocup.
And Sarah quickly proved she has not forgotten how to succeed in the Eurocup. In the first of the weekend's 40-minute races she survived a spin to take fourth place, behind the cars of title protagonists Nick Payne and Clive Richards, and that of Lee Cunningham. There were no mistakes in race two, and Sarah's reward was a third-place finish behind Richard Hay and Kurt Hoffmann. For good measure she rounded out her weekend with another third-place finish in the event-closing feature race.
Next weekend Reader returns to the cockpit of her Juno sports car for the Dutch round of the VdeV UK series, at Assen.
Backers for Caterham Motorsport's UK and European race series include Bilstein, Brian James Trailers, Cooper-Avon Tyres, The Daily Telegraph, Demon Tweeks, evo, HSBC, insuremotorsport.com, Motorsport News, Quaife and Stack.
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Sarah Reader claims another podium in six hour endurance race
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Stratford-upon-Avon racer Sarah Reader and her co-driver Ryan Hooker continued their impressive run of form in the VdeV UK Endurance series when they competed at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk on Saturday (19 Jul).
They were contesting their longest race of their season so far - a six-hour endurance marathon - and came home an excellent third to record back-to-back podium finishes. Reader and Hooker maintain second place overall in the championship standings.
Sarah, 25, and Ryan arrived at Snetterton less than well prepared, as driveshaft problems had limited pre-event testing in their TFL Racing-prepared Juno SSE-CN; they achieved 11th place on the grid in qualifying.
With just over 60 minutes between qualifying and the start of the race, TFL Racing had to pull out all the stops to get the car prepared for the grid. They made the cut and Hooker took the first 90-minute stint, making steady progress before handing it over to Reader for the next hour and a half. By half distance the Reader/Hooker Juno was up to sixth.
It was shortly after this that the weather came into play: "Towards the end of Ryan's next stint it was obvious that rain was coming," said TFL team manager Simon Reader. "We were able to keep Ryan out on track until the rain started, so that we could refuel the car and change on to wet-weather tyres at the same time as swapping the drivers over. The team made a superb pit stop, refuelling and changing tyres in record time."
Sarah then took over for her stint in heavy rain and spray, the weather causing a number of incidents and resulting in a period with the race controlled by the safety car. Sarah did not put a wheel wrong and, after the safety car came in, she put in some impressive times in the wet, maintaining the team's overall position and keeping the opposition at bay.
"By now some other teams were experiencing reliability problems, but our car was running faultlessly," said Simon Reader. "Then the sun came out and in the drying conditions we were able to keep Sarah out until her hour's stint was up and we could bring her in for a driver change, refuel and go back on to slicks."
Sarah handed over to Ryan for his final stint with the car in fourth place, and Hooker proceeded to chase down and pass the third-placed runner. He went on to open up a useful lead over it and cruise home to a solid third. Theirs was the leading Juno finisher; the race was won by Phillips/Garofall in a Norma.
"Driving in the wet was the best time I have had in a car for ages," said Sarah after her triumph. "The car felt fantastic, a reflection of all the hard work the team had done on set-up to produce a balanced car for the wet/dry conditions we had been expecting. It was a fantastic team effort: the crew's faultless pit stops contributed a major part of our success."
The next round of the championship is a three-hour race at Brands Hatch, Kent, on 9 August.
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Reader takes endurance race second place
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Warwickshire driver Sarah Reader scored her best result of the season on Saturday (28 June) when she and her co-driver, Ryan Hooker, scored a second-place finish in the VdeV UK Championship at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire.
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 25, and Ryan were racing their TFL Racing-prepared Juno SSE-CN sports car in a four-hour endurance round of the championship, the longest event they have so far tackled.
Hooker took the first stint, climbing from 11th on the grid to ninth place after 75 minutes work in the cockpit. Reader took the wheel for the following hour and three-quarters, Sarah working hard to conserve brakes and tyres and improving their overall placing to fifth by the third hour and her hand-over to Hooker.
Sarah was left to bite her nails in the pit lane for the final hour as Ryan battled towards the finish. "There was a lot of nervous pacing up and down for me," said Sarah, "but I needn't have worried as Ryan drove brilliantly and the car ran faultlessly all afternoon thanks to the impeccable preparation work of TFL Racing."
The Reader/Hooker Juno crossed the finish line in third place, but was later promoted to second when one of the cars which finished ahead on the road was found to have been running incorrect tyres. "I am overjoyed with the result," said Sarah. "To take second place in only our third race in this championship is fantastic."
TFL team manager Simon Reader was delighted also: "The whole team is very pleased. A four-hour endurance race is always fraught with problems and there was a succession of cars coming into the pits throughout the race for attention to mechanical problems, but ours ran perfectly. Sarah and Ryan looked after the car well and our driver changes were among the quickest, which enabled us to make up places at each stop."
With five rounds of the championship to go - the next is a six-hour epic at Snetterton in Norfolk in three weeks time - Reader and Hooker hold second place overall in the championship standings.
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Sarah takes fifth in sports car debut race
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Warwickshire racer Sarah Reader enjoyed a superbly successful start to her season on Sunday (13 Apr) at Donington Park, where she was making her debut in the VdeV UK Championship.
Stratford-upon-Avon-based Sarah, 25, and her co-driver Ryan Hooker finished the Donington three-hour endurance event in fifth place overall and were delighted: "We had targeted a top-10 finish for our first race," said Sarah, "so fifth was very pleasing - and it could easily have been third."
Tyre problems in qualifying beset Sarah's TFL Racing team and their 2-litre Honda-powered Juno SSC-CN sports car. "We suffered massive vibration problems which left us unable to get any higher up the grid than 15th, which left us with a lot of work to do."
There were further problems before the race, when Hooker was unable to find a gear and missed the start of the warm-up lap. Ryan eventually managed to get off the line but incurred a drive through penalty for taking up the original grid position instead of starting from the back.
That dropped the Reader/Hooker Juno to 21st and dead last on lap four, from which point Ryan staged a superb fight back to climb into the top seven by mid-distance and the hand-over to Sarah for the final driving stint.
"The pit stop took longer than it should have done because we lost time changing the seat and with a refuelling problem, but in the closing laps I was able to make up a couple of places. Fifth was a pleasing result and really we couldn't have asked for more.
"That said, the officials ended the race 15 minutes early and the winning car we discovered later had been running out of fuel and the second-place finisher had problems also. Had it gone the full distance we could have wound up third."
The next round of the VdeV UK Championship is at the Anglesey circuit in North Wales over the weekend of 17/18 May.
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tfl racing successfully test their new Juno
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tfl’s Sarah Reader successfully shook down the Juno she will be racing in the UK and European VdeV championship. The car ran faultlessly straight out of the box which bodes well for the rest of the season.
“The car felt fantastic and we are feeling confident about the year ahead” said Sarah.
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tfl launches new website.....
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If you are reading this, welcome to the new website which provides an insight into our race team, instruction and car hire.
We are sure you'll find it informative. It's taken a lot of effort to get here!
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tfl to race Juno in 2008 VdeV.....
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tfl racing are exited to announce that in 2008 we will be competing in the V de V Europeon and UK Endurance Racing Championship
in a Juno SSE-CN.
The championship is being run throughout Europe and is made up of 4, 6 and 12 hour races. Durability is essential from both the
car and our drivers but with Juno winning the 2007 VdeV championship we are confident in the car and it goes
without saying, we are confident in our drivers!
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