Moran to debut new car for 2016 season

2014 and 2015 Britpart MSA BCCC champion Mike Moran will be debuting a new Lofthouse Motorsport-built car this season having sold his title-winning  AT 4x4 Indy Challenger.

The new car will use the same basic spaceframe as the Lofthouse Freelander which won the BCCC in 2013 in the hands of Dan Lofthouse. However, the frame will be substantially lighter.

Continuing the weight saving theme, the large capacity engine usually used in "prototype" offroaders has been replaced with a 450bhp Mitsubishi Evo 9 unit built by AMS, driving through a Drenth gearbox, Milner reverse transfer box and Nissan Skyline differentials.

"We are going against the grain by using a 2.0 litre engine in a lighter-framed car," said Moran. "We should get much better braking performance and a faster corner exit speed though."

"The bodywork will be different from the Lofthouse Freelander, it'll be more in the style of an American Trophy truck with an open pick-up style rear. Again, this is to keep the weight down. All cooling elements will be supplied by Allisport and cab seats and belts by Motordrive."

"The UK offroad scene is rapidly changing with more European-spec cars and UTV buggies coming into the sport. The new car is designed to let us try and compete with these machines."

The car is expected to debut at round 2 of the championship in May.

Entries levels already higher than 2015



With one month to go until the start of the season organisers of the Britpart MSA British Cross Country Championship have released information on the drivers who have entered the BCCC, BCC Trophy and Freelander Challenge so far. Entry levels are already higher than 2015, with 31 cars spread across the three championships.

In the BCCC Mike Moran will be returning to try and make it three titles in a row. With his championship-winning car sold Moran is having a new machine built by Lofthouse Motorsport which will hopefully be ready for round 1. Joining Moran will be several championship regulars such as Paul Harris, Richard Green and Steve Smith together with some drivers who are either new to the championship or are returning after a break. Amongst these is Martin Gould in his new Rivet-BMW and brother Colin who'll be driving the Audi-engine Clio previously raced by Martin. Richard Coleby will make his BCCC debut in his factory Polaris and Justin Birchall will make a full return to the championship in his Lofthouse Freelander.

2015 BCC Trophy winner Nick Pritchard will defend his title and he'll be joined by the likes of Jon Damrel in his Insanity Racing Tornado and Phill Bayliss who'll be out in his Land Rover.

Ten cars have so far registered for the Freelander Challenge including 2014/15 champion Ian Linford who has fitted a V6 engine in his car for this season. Ravenol's Brian Chase will be joining in the Freelander fun along with several other new crews.

All three championships start in April at Myherin forest, entries are still available - regulations can be downloaded from www.marches4x4.com.

In addition to the championships a Clubman event will also run at each round. Interest has already been strong in the round 1 Clubman event with Phil Ibbotson, Toby Jefferson, Sian Rogers and Martin Cox planning on entering.

Entries as at 11th March:

BCCC
Martin Gould
Colin Gould...
Paul Myers
Mike Moran
Richard Wynne Williams
Justin Birchall
Paul Harris
Richard Green
Steve Smith
John Thorne
Alan Thomas
Richard Coleby
Ben Duckworth
Mark Jacques
Neil Davey
Andy Powell

BCC Trophy
Jon Damrel
Nick Pritchard
Steve Anning
Phill Bayliss
Ben Clay

Freelander Challenge
Ian Linford
Louisa Felice
Pat Masters
Brian Chase
Alastair Myers
Michael Wilson
Paul Cumpstone
Alex Howard
Richard Roberts
Graham White

Regs now available for download

Regulations for the Britpart MSA BCCC, BCC Trophy and Freelander Challenge can now be downloaded:

Britpart MSA BCCC/BCC Trophy

Britpart Freelander Challenge

All championships will have the following calendar:

R1 - 9/10 April - Myherin
R2 - 7/8 May - Bovington North
R3 - 4/5 June - Forrest Estate
R4 - 23/24 July - Ceri or Hafren
R5 - 10/11 Sept - Bovington South
R6 - 5/6 Nov - Walters

Exciting season planned for Team Sheepie

Offroad racing outfit Team Sheepie have announced that they will once again contest the Britpart Freelander Challenge.

A very successful 2015 for the team saw one of their cars, driven by Ian Linford, win the Challenge title for a second time while the other car finished third in what was driver Louisa Felice’s first season of competition.

Linford is undertaking major revisions to his Freelander including fitting a new engine and gearbox. As well as the car changes Linford will also have a change in the passenger seat as 2014/2015 navigator Demelza Scholes is unable to compete this year.

Felice’s car will be running in the same specification as last season and she’ll again have Jess Reynolds navigating.

“Other than the usual preparation work there hasn’t been much done on the Louisa’s car, it's ready to go,” said Linford. “In contrast mine is in bits as I work on fitting the new engine and gearbox. We’ve still got a lot to do but we’ll be ready to start the season!”

“It’s a shame that Demelza cannot join us again this year, we had a great two seasons together. I’ll have a new navigator in place soon.”

“As well as the Challenge we’ve also got a plan to run both cars on Wales Rally GB at the end of the season and we're looking at doing some BTRDA rally rounds too so it’s looking like it will be a great year.”

The Freelander Challenge season starts in April at Myherin in Wales. There will be a further five events spread between the south coast of England and South West Scotland.