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| March 2002 |
| New Stories |
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  POLE!
POLE! POLE! Artur Costa has secured his third consecutive pole in the IGP3C, on a weekend that saw all three BSR teams compete for the first time. Costa was only forty-six hundreds in front of championship rival Arto Rissanen and three tenths ahead of Aki Koskinen. It was again the Alcoholica team that consolidated their position at the top of the team championship with two drivers in the  top
four. The second BSR driver, Matt Maple, struggled yet again, and found
himself a lowly 16th on the grid and nearly two seconds off the
pace. Power Horse Racing had Graydon up in seventh place having continued his consistent improvements race on race. With Brain Crowley driving well to thirteenth. Saunders commented 'The great thing about the PHR drivers is that they seem to be so consistent in the races, and the I feel confident of more points this coming weekend'. Crowley had these words after qualifying, 'I knew that the midfield boys, which is where I think my level is, were doing 1 minutes 16's and I was there unable to get out of the high 1:17's. I had to go and seek some set-up help, which fortunately I got, and that's helped me to a respectable position in what is fast becoming a very competitive field. I think there are possibly 4 groups in the IGP3 races at the moment, the Costa-Rissanen-koskinen battle for the title, then the Graydon's and Wilkinson's just behind, then a big midfield group where the times are very close for about a dozen drivers, and then the slower group off the back of that. What each group has to try to do is close the gap to the next, and to be within 7 tenths of Andy, as well as the likes of Daniel who is known to be super quick makes me think that I am achieving that. To be within 2 seconds of Costa also gives me heart.'  But
the performances of Daniel Wilkinson and Pablo Arteaga in their first
IGP3C outings was the real talking point, with both drivers on the first
four rows. Wilkinson again showed his ability with a fantastic sixth, and
Arteaga, only half a second behind, was eighth. Arteaga commented, 'I'm
really happy even I just could get and 8th because all drivers behind me
use wheel so I prefer to think I got the key-pole, and even could finish
in front of other wheels too. I really worked hard for this last qual and
put my best at driving and getting the right setup so I can't complain.
Great debut at FOX-BSR for me. The race will be other thing, specially
with that weather'. Ben Saunders was said to be absolutely
delighted with his new signings.So the BSR teams are well poised to score some good finishes this weekend, and Artur Costa has again given himself the best chance of all of stealing the glory.
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24/03/2002 |
 FOX-BSR
Announce No.2 Pablo Arteaga has today been officially unveiled as FOX-BSR's second driver, alongside Wilkinson. The Argentinean, currently fourth in the Championship, drove for the Monato team in Australia and Malaysia, but now moves to FOX-BSR for the remainder of the season. Arteaga was delighted with the move, as he feels that the enthusiasm of a large team will increase his chances of securing vital points. Boss of BSR, Ben Saunders, was also in an upbeat mood after the announcement, having been impressed by Arteaga's performances in his first two outings. He also admitted to having been extremely close to contacting Arteaga earlier in the season, but at that time it was unfeasible. Saunders is confident that the two drivers he now has in place, will push one another to achieve increasingly competitive results. |
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 FOX-BSR
Join the IGP3C It as been announced today that Fox Racing, a former team of the GPGRL, will now be re-launched and will race in the IGP3C. Daniel Wilkinson will become a full time BSR Driver and will occupy the No.1 seat in the new team. The livery of the car will be retained and the team will move across to the new league. FOX-BSR have yet to release details on the second driver, but reports from the pits are pointing to one of the current IGP3C crop. For the presentation of FOX-BSR, click here. More details will follow shortly. |
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FIRST
WIN FOR COSTA AND BSR! It is with great pleasure that BSR Grand Prix bring you the news that Artur Costa has secured his first dry weather win and BSR Grand Prix's first ever win. Although their was a certain amount of controversy surrounding this result, the IGP3C rules clearly lay out weight limits for cars. Having found Aki Koskinen's Alcoholica car to be under the lower weight limit, he was given a 20 second penalty in the Australian GP which moves Artur Costa up to first place. Ben Saunders, owner and manager of BSR offered these comments. 'This is a great day for BSR, a mile stone in our history! It has made all the hard work worth while, and all the testing miles covered by the BSR cars pay off. I would like to thank Artur for his hard work, enthusiasm and input to the team. I would also like to thank everyone involved in BSR and its subsidiaries for all the hard work since our launch, back in August of last year! This maybe a great achievement for the team, but I believe it is just a taste of things to come!' This now places Artur Costa top of the drivers championship standings after two races. |
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20/03/2002 |
GPGRL
Shuts its Doors It has been announced that the Grand Prix Gamer Racing League will be closing after the Sepang Race due to an excessive work load on the league management. This has come as a great shock to the GP3 world and leaves many teams and drivers without races for the 2002 season. BSR's links with GPGRL are via the Fox Racing team, and this comes as a great blow to all concerned. The BSR management are currently in talks with Daniel Wilkinson about the future of Fox Racing. |
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20/03/2002 |
  IGP3C:
Second
Place for Costa Artur Costa has again been piped to first place by an Alcoholica drive, this time it was Arto Rissanen who stole his thunder with an aggressive drive from 3rd on the grid to take his maiden victory. Costa, always in touch with the finish drive, was unable to make the telling move and finished a mere 3 second behind Rissanen. Aki Koskinen took the final odium position to continue the Alcoholica onslaught. Meanwhile, Matt Maples terrible start to the 2002 season continued with an event filled drive to 15th. The pressure is now mounting on the young Brit as his stock is starting to fall in the IGP3C paddock. Ben Saunders has backed Maple all the way by stating that he is more than happy with his driver line up and feels that at this stage their is no need for concern.
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20/03/2002 |
IGP3C:
Graydon Impresses Andy Graydon continued to impress in the ever improving PH1 this weekend with one of his best performances to date. An inspired drive to 5th place has made some of the more established drivers in the league sit up and take note. Consistency was again the key, with Graydon finishing only 35 second behind the leaders, a marked improvement over previous times. Brian Crowley has unfortunately been affected by personal issues and was released by the team prior to the start of the Malaysian race. Brian should be back in action for the next race in Brazil.
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IGP3C:
Second Pole for Costa Having finished second in Australia, Artur Costa came straight back with a second consecutive pole position, this time in Malaysia. Still looking for his first dry weather victory, Costa has again given himself a great opportunity to visit the top step of the podium. Matt Maple again drove well to qualify in 10th place for the BSR Grand Prix team. Alcoholica are again the team pairing to beat with Aki Koskinen taking 2nd on the grid and Arto Rissanen 3rd. Overall this takes Costa back to joint first in the drivers championship, but extend the gap between BSR and Alcoholica in the constructors championship.
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11/03/2002 |
IGP3C:
Graydon's Personal Best! Andy Graydon drove the qualifying session of his life this week with a fantastic 5th place on the grid and 1 point for Power Horse Racing, consolidating their third place in the constructors championship. Brian Crowley also drove well to line up 11th, one place behind Maples BSR-02. This bodes well for the team, as Crowley drove from the back of the grid, to 7th in the last round. Overall an encouraging performance from the Power Horse Racing team and a fantastic result for the IGP3C rookie, Andy Graydon
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11/03/2002 |
GPGRL:
Technical Woes for Fox! A rain soaked Sepang circuit saw Daniel Wilkinson's worst qualifying performance for a long time. However, this was not down to his driving skills, but to  technical problems
affecting the Fox Racing Team! These problems continued from the last race
and left Daniel feeling frustrated that he could not demonstrate his true
abilities. Mario Rodriguez, in his first qualifying session, drove well to
line up only three places behind the more experienced Wilkinson. Wilkinson
commented after the session: 'We had major technical
problems in Melbourne which have carried on here in Sepang, but I'm
pretty confident we have it sorted'.
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11/03/2002 |
 GPGRL:
Van Driel Sacked from Fox! The rookie Dutch driver, Jeroen Van Driel has been sacked from the Fox Racing team after failing to show up for the Malaysian round of the GPGRL season. The Fox Team were delighted to welcome the Spanish charger Mario Rodriguez to the team only hours before the start of qualifying. |
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IGP3C:
BSR & PHR Dominate in Malaysia BSR Grand Prix and Power Horse Racing are dominating the early qualifying at the Sepang circuit. Artur Costa leads the way, with Brian Crowley and Matt Maple in second and third respectively. Although there is still a long way to go, this looks very good for team boss Ben Saunders. |
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04/03/2002 |
 IGP3C:
Second
Place for Costa Having dueled with last years sparing partner, Aki Koskinen, for the majority of the race, Artur Costa finally had to settle for second place, his first dry weather win still eludes him. Costa made a excellent start and led for four laps until Koskien finally past him. Costa retook the lead on lap 11 and maintained it until just  after
the single pit stop. Costa then regained the lead twice until finally
Koskinen past him with two laps to go and went on to take the win. Maple
was less fortunate, he drove well to maintain his sixth place for the
first seven laps, but then things turned sour and he was engulfed by the
rest of the field. After the pit stop he rejoined in 18th. He fought his
way back up to 12th but lost time during the closing laps to finish 15th.
Maple was clearly disappointed with his race and feels that there is a lot
more in the car, he commented that this was not what he expected for the
rest of the season. Team Boss, Saunders, was far more upbeat after the
teams performance, he said 'The team have performed
well today, but Alcoholica have established themselves as the team to
beat. Personally I feel that Costa is the quickest driver in the pit lane,
and Maple has far more skill than this result suggests. Together they are
a formidable team and to be lying second in the championship at this stage
is no disaster! We have the car, we have the drivers, we can win this
World Championship!.'
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04/03/2002 |
IGP3C:
PHR
a Surprise Package Brian Crowley and Andy Graydon both drove fantastically this weekend to put the Power Horse Racing team third overall in the IGP3C. Crowley drove especially well to seventh place having started from the back of the grid. He was up to 12th place by lap ten, and was in eighth by the time he pitted on lap 15. With two laps to go Crowley took 7th place from Kristof Leys of the Cooper F1 team. Graydon also drove smoothly, but a mistake on lap three left him trailing in 15th place. As always, Andy's consistent style saw him climb through the pack and he also claimed Kristof Leys with two laps to go. Over all a fantastic result for the Power Horse team on their debut. Team Boss, Ben Saunders was overjoyed to see both his teams in the top three in the constructors standings
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04/03/2002 |
GPGRL:
Wilkinson
on form again! The first race of the 2002 GPGRL kicked off with reigning Champion François Dupart taking another win. Wilkinson started from 5th on the grid and worked hard during the race to produce a promising 6th place finish for the fledgling Fox Racing team. The team were not as happy about Jeroen Van Driel's situation. Having qualified an encouraging 9th place on the grid, he was then unable to start the race due to technical problems. Overall the team were more than happy to be lying 6th in the championship on their maiden showing.
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