Ben Evans Racing

Its been a long, long time since I posted on here largely because I have barely had a moment to stop over the summer. If last seasons combination of racing and commentary was busy, then focusing on commentary for 2009 has kept me extremely active.

To pick out highlights from the summer is near impossible as pretty much every meeting I’ve been to has had its outstanding moments - the Britcar 500 meeting as we raced into the night had its usual intoxicating atmosphere, whilst the F3/GT event at Brands had some great racing and the added dimension of major championships being decided. Other highlights would include the FPA and GT Cup meeting at Oulton Park in July or the SPEED race at Brands in August where banks of showers upset the order on every lap.

However the best race I’ve seen this year was last Saturday at Silverstone, where the Lotus on Track Elise Trophy cars, in front of the BBC cameras (Jake Humphrey was racing) had an absolutely stunning six way fight for the win. Watching from Becketts I had a priviledged view of some great dicing. It was also fun to work at a club meeting with a big media presence as the podium festivities were filmed as we got Jake up for a special presentation and some interviews.

As the season begins to wind down I have a busy run in - Fun Cup at Oulton Park, organising the Vee Festival at Brands Hatch, the Truck Superprix at Brands and then finally the BARC Winter Series at Rockingham on November 7th.

Coupled with this I have several TV voiceovers to do before the end of the season, starting with the GT Cup 100km race from Knockhill which premieres on Motors TV on Friday 16th October at 19.10.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been kept very busy by once again organising the Vee Festival. The good news is that we have an entry matching the 2008 level and this time around, thanks to the generous support of SCS, highlights of the event will be shown on Motors TV. It is good that the event has consolidated into 2009 and its great to have the support once again.

Looking forward to the winter it would be good to get involved in commentating on some other sports to keep my eye in until the racing season kicks off again. Please contact me on 0797 11 00 465 or benfrombristol@hotmail.com  with any opportunities

Its been a while since I posted here, perhaps a reflection of my busy 2009. My commentary year kicked off with a thoroughly enjoyable CSCC two-dayer at Anglesey before moving on to Brands Hatch for the A1GP weekend. An epic three days of action, I was all on my own for Friday’s Practice/Qualifying day before teaming up with Mark Werrell for the race action, which was excellent. Mark and I had a great weekend helped no end by the superb racing on offer. The second Lurani Trophy Formula Junior encounter was probably the best race, but other memorable moments include Ireland clinching the A1GP title and Paul Hogarth’s monster GT Cup shunt.

Following a much needed weekend off, next up was Silverstone for CTCC/BARC meeting. A eclectic mix of cars and some enjoyable dicing made it a good couple of days, although my burgeoning cold meant I was worn out by Sunday night. May Bank Holiday and it was up to Oulton Park for the BARC on the Saturday and BRSCC on the Monday. The BARC meeting was one of the most enjoyable I’ve covered in a long time, a wide variety of machinery and some cracking racing ensured the 9 race programme disappeared in the blink of an eye. The BRSCC meeting on the Monday was Caterham heavy, but delivered some top dicing, although the R400’s could have done with a few more cars. Whilst it was the Roadsports that had the grid nos the R300’s looked the most fun to drive.

Next up on the Circuit Public Address diary is the Lotus Festival at Snetterton on June 13th/14th, Thruxon on the 28th June, and then the World Series by Renualt at Silverstone on July 4th/5th. July, August, September and October are now all looking extremely busy. In fact pretty much the only weekend I have off is that of the British GP, although I am open to offers of free tickets.

A diary that is now even fuller due to the news that I will be part of the commentary team for the F3/GT season finale at Brands Hatch on September 19/20. I am really excited about this meeting as I love F3 and Formula Ford.

Last week however it was away from the circuits and into the studio for my first TV commentary commitment of the year, covering the World Series by Renault for Renault TV. The programme is produced by KPC Media and presented by Gemma Scott, keeping together the team who made last years’ BT Vision and Setanta shows. I have to say I’m biased by this year’s programmes are a big step forward and well worth searching out when they appear on Renault’s website and their satellite channel in a few weeks.

If you are looking at putting a race series on TV or need a commentator for any event, then please contact me - benfrombristol@hotmail.com / 0797 11 00 465

I am delighted to confirm that I will be commentating at next month’s A1GP meeting on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. It is a great opportunity to commentate at such a large event and I am really looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic festival of motor sport.

Before then I will be at Anglesey on the weekend of April 18th/19th for my first commentary dates with the Classic Sports Car Club which I am really looking forward to - a great circuit and some packed grids means that it should be a highly entertaining weekend

After a great 2008 both on and off the track, I decided over the winter that trying to combine racing with an increasingly packed commentary schedule was simply untenable.

As a result I have decided for the time being to step back from racing. Last season I had to miss a couple of races due to commentary work and it seems unfair to sign up for the season only to have to pull out of most races.

The 2009 season looks like it will be an extremely busy one. On the commentary side I have a quietish start to the season but then it is non-stop thereafter. If you want to come and listen, I am currently booked for the following dates and meetings:

May 16-17 - Silverstone BARC

May 23 - Oulton Park BARC

May 25 - Oulton Park BRSCC

June 13/14 - Snetterton MSVR

June 28 - Thruxton BARC

July 4/5 - Silverstone World Series by Renault

July 11/12 - Croft BARC

July 25 - Oulton Park MSVR

August 1 - Brands Hatch MSVR

August 15/16 - Thruxton BARC

August 22/23 - Brands Hatch MSVR

September 5/6 - Rockingham BARC

September 12 - Oulton Park BRSCC

October 11 - Thruxton BARC

October 17 - Oulton Park BRSCC

October 31/Nov 1 - Brands Hatch BARC

November 7 - Rockingham BARC

Needless to say I can’t wait to get going with my circuit commentary commitments.

I will also be involved in organising two meetings this season, both of which I am looking forward to. On June 6&7 the European Formula Vee Championship will be coming to Silverstone to race as part of the MSVR meeting that weekend. Having enjoyed the Championship’s hospitality last season it is good to be able to give something back.

The Vee Festival is back again in 2009 on October 24 and 25 at Brands Hatch. Full details including entry fees etc will be released soon. At the moment everything is on track for another great event, and it would be incredible to get a capacity field. More soon.

Already I’ve had a pretty busy start to the season. I was the trackside interviewer for the Eurosport coverage of the British Supercross Championship at the O2 back in January. I’ve also contributed interviews, comment and commentary to a review programme of the 2008 World Series by Renault season, together with a preview show for 2009. Both of these will shortly be premiering on Renault TV’s internet channel. Obviously I am hoping to get on site for most the World Series by Renault races but nothing is confirmed yet.

Overall I hope the 2009 season is a good one, with grids holding up despite the economic circumstances. Needless to say I’m looking forward to catching up with all my friends and acquaintances in paddock throughout the year

Its been a long time since I’ve posted on here, and the past few months have been hectic, but highly enjoyable.

At the start of the year the main project was the Formel Vau Championship. I had a hugely enjoyable time racing the car and after claiming my win at Varano in June went on to score another podium at Hockenheim and would have scored another but for being punted out on the last lap by a backmarker. Although I didn’t know it at the time Hockeheim would be my last Vau outing of the year.

I had to miss the Magny Cours round after getting the opportunity to commentate for the VdeV meeting on the Brands GP circuit with Brian Jones. Despite the weather it was a hugely enjoyable day and easily as much fun as the day Brian, Richard Neil and myself had spent at Thruxton commentating on the Trucks the week before. Then moving into October I had to miss the Nurburgring season finale as I was off to Barcelona to commentate on the World Series by Renault for Setanta. Even so I ended up 5th in the overall standings and had a great time.

From August onwards my commentary life has become really busy, which has been enjoyable and pleasing. In 2008 I’ve been pinging all over the country commentating at Pembrey, Anglesey and Croft, together with Silverstone, Brands, Lydden and Thruxton. It has been a great year, especially as it has also been my first. Highlights have been working the pits through the night at the Britcar 24hrs, the big truck meetings at Brands and Thruxton and two great clubbie meetings from the BRSCC at Brands and the BARC at Croft, where everyone was welcoming and friendly. Hopefully in 2009 I can build on this year.

Somehow I also managed to stumble into to being a TV commentator, covering the World Series by Renault on BT Vision and Setanta. This has been awesome, especially travelling to Estoril and Barcelona to cover the last two meetings live, after having done most of the others as highlights from the studio - a great experience nonetheless. Nothing is set in stone yet but hopefully this will continue into next year. A big thanks to Nick Kennerley and Martin Perry for their support and help.

Faced with a weekend off in October and based on a couple of conversations with David Willey at MSVR the Vee Festival came into being, with just six weeks between the concept to the event. The meeting itself was mega (congrats to Sam) and ran like a dream, as my anticipated weekend of spearcatching turned into one of gossiping and commentating. However the reason I belive the event was a success was becuase of all the effort put in beforehand particularly from David Willey and David Scott at MSVR, and Gethin Jones and John Townshend from the Vee Centre. David Willey’s help was invaulable in ensuring the event took place, and didn’t bankrupt me in the process, whilst Gethin did an amazing job in marshalling the entries and getting some very generous sponsorship from Strategic Communications Services (SCS). Likewise a big thanks to all the competitors involved for turning up with their enthusiasm and making the event a success. Without the support of the drivers there would not have been any Vee Festival

The crowning moment of the weekend was the announcement from Jonathan Palmer that the Vee Festvial would be back in 2009. 2008 has been a great start for the Vee Festival and I’m looking forward to consolidating the meeting into an annual event in 2009.

So now I’m faced with a winter break. I have to say I’m in need of one, having spent more weekends than not at racing circuits since April. That said it won’t be all rest and play as I will have to sort out commentary dates for 2009 and begin to put the groundwork in place for next years Vee Festival.

Finally, a huge thanks to everyone who has made the 2008 racing season such an enjoyable one for me, as a driver, commentator and event organiser, without their help and support none of the above would have happened.

In 2007 nothing in my motorsport world went right, if something could go wrong or if there was bad luck going round, I got it.

This year it has been the opposite, in the past couple of weeks I have had two great opportunities and experiences come my way.

Firstly there was the trip to Varano for rounds 5 &6 of the Formel V Championship. After testing and first qualifying on the Friday I hated the place. I was down in 8th position and miles off the pace, the circuit was slow and boring. Qualifying on Saturday morning was wet, but the car felt very good and I was confident if the race was wet or damp.

Saturday’s race was sunny but I made a good start and was soon in the battle for 3rd. With overtaking difficult, I was delighted to have fought my way up onto the podium, only to miss a gear and have to do it all over again. Eventually I made it back to 3rd and held my position to the line, for my 4th 3rd position in a row.

Sunday was wet, but by the time of the race the track was drying out nicely, but we had no choice but to start on wets. I made a rubbish start and stalled setting off 10s behind the field. However by the middle of the first lap I could feel that there was lots of grip available and set about charging through the field. By lap 3 I was in 3rd and but midway through the race I was in the lead. However my tyres were overheating and I had no option but to fall back into 2nd. On the last lap it was 3 for the lead and into the last corner I found a gap and took the win. I was absolutely delighted and it was a great feeling to get my second ever win under my belt.

This now puts me 2nd in the Championship ahead of Hockenheim next weekend where I will be hoping for another two podiums.

The commentary has also been going amazingly. A call to do the MSVR Supercar Sunday meeting at Anglesey led to a quite unbelievable chain of events which means that I am now the official UK TV Commentator for the World Series by Renault. The first two programmes have gone out on Setanta and BT Vision and the rest will appear the Thursday after each meeting. I also did the world TV feed commentary at the Silverstone meeting and this went very well, meaning that it is quite likely that I will fly out to the remaining meetings to the on-site TV commentary. This is an incredible opportunity and one that I am seizing with both hands and a huge thanks to everyone who has helped facilitate my first steps into TV.

Its been ages since I last posted here, largely because I haven’t had a moment to sit down and write.

The start to the 2008 season has been my best yet in motorsport, the racing is going well and the commentary is growing and growing.

The European season got off the best possible sport, when we had a title sponsor - Spring Group (www.spring.com) sign on for the year, which is fantastic. Already we have a great relationship and it is working out very well.

On track it has been even better. The first meeting of the year at Dijon was mixed as I was learning both the car and track, whilst trying to shake out the winter cobwebs. The first race was a bit of a disaster when I managed to both jump the start and get taken off in a first lap incident. Luckily I recovered without damage and eventually with the penalty time added finished 9th. The following day I made amends in the second race to take 3rd position in arctic conditions where I was under pressure from a gaggle of cars for the whole race.

On to Most in the Czech Republic for another good weekend. Throughout the meeting I never had truly competitive pace over a single lap and qualified down in 6th. The Most circuit was flowing with a lot of high speed entries into slow corners and not unlike Croft in characteristic. The first chicane in particular was devilishly tight!

Having watched some of the other races I knew to expect carnage at the first corner. Sure enough, following a poor start I held back into turn one and watched everyone else fall off, leaving me 6th once again. From then on the remainder of the race was about picking the cars in front off to claim another podium with 3rd position. Needless to say I was delighted, especially as racing at Most we got grid girls, garlands and champagne all for the same entry fee as a UK meeting.

The plan for race 2 was to repeat the exercise and that’s exactly what I did, this time making a good start, and following a good dice with Joe Wezel for 4th place I was out on my own promoted to 3rd when James Birch’s engine failed mid race. So another strong podium, leaving me 3rd in the Championship after 4 races.

Out of the cockpit things have been going equally well, as my first couple of commentary dates have led to a lot of successive work and very positive feedback including several e-mails from spectators which is very pleasing. Having attended a number of meetings as a spectator and as a race, my aim is to combine being entertaining and informative and so far it’s working. My first TV show will be airing some time in June and I’ll be posting the date up on this site as soon as I know it

Anyone following Formula Vee this winter will know that all is not well in the Formula. At the instigation of 12 individuals (and allegedly one team), 750mc decided to introduce a class B for the 2008 Championship. Due to the fact that the consultation period was negligable and that the rules exclude the very cars they were supposed to support, it is no surprise that Class B has been met with stiff opposition from most competitors.

Throughout 2007 it was clear that something would have to be done to curb costs and development in FVee. With top-10 budgets frequently in excess of £30k and special engines reving to 9,000rpm and being rebuilt after 20 minutes running, there was no way the garden shed competitor could even hope to get a look in. During the season there was some discussion about the introduction of Class B, but at Snetterton at the final round a definitive ‘no’ came from 750mc.

It was with some surprise then that Class B was included in the 2008 technical regs, following some off-season petitioning, largely I’m led to believe from AHS. Certainly AHS were best placed when the rules came out with a Class B car ready to go into the wind tunnel. Due to the success of the Challengers in recent years, there are some who would unkindly suggest that the only way they would win a race is if a class was created for them.

I went along to the AFD last sunday largely because most boxing is pay-per-view and this promised to be a free of charge punch-up. It was grim stuff. In the face of both facts and logic Keith Messer seemed determined not to give any ground to the competitors, of whom there was a large contingent. If the vast majority of the competitors, who lets not forget keep the club in business, don’t want class B imposed then arguably it is a good idea to scrap the whole thing. Not least because 750mc needs to be smart in picking its battles - ie water cooled engines, 107% qualifying rule on some circuits.

Throughout I was hugely impressed with Steve Glasswell, who amidst a cold shoulder from the club, and a potential coup from the competitors took the moral high ground, and stayed calm and coherent amidst what was a fierce debate.

So where does all this leave us. Well its not pretty. The Vee Centre forum is censoring posts (yes I noticed Gethin’s post disappeared, even though it told the facts as I understood them), the club is determined to show who’s boss, and Class B has as far as I understand three legal chassis’ - Spyders, Leastones and modified AHS Challengers. Pete Belsey, Gethin Jones and Tim Hill should be fighting for Class B honours then.

Formula Vee has a huge amount going for it - the consistently best single seater racing in the uk, the best value single seater racing in the UK, a strong competitor and spectator following. So why do the 750mc seem intent on driving a wedge into a formula that works and those within in seek to deepen the wounds.

The paddock at Mallory Park in two weeks time will be a fascinating place. As I’m not racing in the UK this year, I will be at as many races as possible with the aim of reporting the action, news, gossip and scandal on this site

It’s been a long time since I have written anything for this website, that for a number of reasons, firstly the 2007 season petered out so disappointingly that I couldn’t face writing anything and secondly I have been busy putting in place my plans for 2008.

In 2008 I will be competing in the European/German Formula Vee Championship racing in the ex-Patrick Sherrington Scarab, run by Martyn Donn and Andy Storer. I cannot wait for the season to get underway as I think that we have a very good chance to challenge for the title overall and a number of wins along the way. In 2007 my car wasn’t at the cutting edge of the field, in 2008 it definitely will be.

Although the calendar is not 100% confirmed, it looks like there will be races at Dijon, Most, Spa, Hockenheim, Magny Cours and Monza - in other words a dream calendar. Quite simply I cannot wait to get stuck in. I’m currently searching for sponsors, so if you are intersted please get in touch (benfrombristol@hotmail.com) and I will send you a proposal.

However my plans for 2008 are not just confined to driving. Towards the end of 2007 I began to pick up the commentators microphone and thanks to the incredibly generous support of Brian Jones and David Addison had the opportunity to commentate at several high-profile end of season events including the Formula Ford Festival and Formula Palmenr Audi Shootout.

My commentary schedule for 2008 is not yet finalised, however I will be commentating in at least 4 weekends during the season and hopefully more - if you know of any potential commentary opportunities please get in touch.

All told 2008 looks like being a cracking year of racing and commentating coming up, and quite simply, I cannot wait for the season to get underway

Anyone who knows me will be well aware of the fact that Pembrey is far from my favourite place, in fact it is only kept off the bottom of the list by Swansea. As a result my expectations for the weekend were roughly those of Tim Henman going into Wimbledon. Consequently it was a great feeling to come away from the weekend with a hard fought 7th and a very hard fought 5th.

Qualifying has never been my strongest suit, so I was delighted to end Saturday’s session 8th and 9th respectively which meant I would actually get to watch the heats.  After a seemingly endless wait Saturday’s final was a cracker, following a good start I was up into 5th place, before Ryan Lindsay used James Birch as a brake bringing out the reds. The restart saw me make another good start and I was again in 5th dicing with Martin Farmer, Ian Buxton and Simon Robinson. Ian and Martin were able to break away leaving me dicing with Simon for 6th. Coming into the hairpin on the last lap Simon grabbed the place and as I tried to take the place back on the twisty bits we touched, both of us spinning scattering the cars behind. Amazingly I wasn’t damaged and recovered to 7th, which is where I had been anyway. Apparently it was quite a spectacualr accident and from where I was sitting seeing bits of cars through the tyre smoke was not fun. On balance it was probably my fault, as the move was optimistic, but at the same time Simon did turn across me at a point where I was 80% alongside and on the inside.

After all that excitement as I was amazed when Sunday was even more spectacular. Spending the whole race dicing with Ian and Simon was by turns exhilerating and terrifying, as few come harder. I eventually found my way past Ian with a do or die move at the Crossing and then held Simon off by 0.03s on the line, after some scary moments with backmarkers - not their fault, but rather that of the marshals whose use of any flag, let alone a blue one was sporadic and random. Given the speed differentials in Vee at the moment, safe and correct use of the blue flag is essential or there will be a very serious accident.

Coming into the weekend with such low expectations, to come away with two solid points finishes was all I could have hoped for and leaves me well poised heading into my favourite tracks Cadwell and Brands.

Finally a note on the circuit staff and officials from Pembrey who for the 3rd year in a row I found to be nothing but impolite and unhelpful.