AVS Motorsport - Motorsport Preparation 

Press Information

British Rally Championship preview 2012

"AVS seek success in British Rally Championship campaign 2012!"

Wrexham based AVS Motorsport will kick off a busy British Rally Championship campaign next weekend, as they travel to the south coast of England for Rallye Sunseeker.

The motorsport preparation specialists will be running three cars on the event - all identical specification Ford Fiesta ST150's.  Two cars will feature in the main British Rally Championship section of the rally, whereas a further car will run in the hard fought BRC Challenge championship.

2012 sees AVS shift up a gear in terms of their rally involvement, with an exciting new Renault Twingo R1 category car available for hire in addition to a Suzuki Swift R1, ex-Challenge car.  Having attended the recent British Rally Championship launch day, the whole team are now looking forward to getting some competitive action under their belts in the Dorset and Hampshire forests, where crews will battle it out for honours over 60 miles of hard fought special stage action.

The two Fiesta ST's in the main BRC event will be crewed by the vastly experienced Gethin Jones and co-driver Kevin Devine, hotly pursued by the welcome return to the championship of Cornish driver Matt Cotton, who has enlisted the services of Glyn Thomas on the pacenotes for the season.  The two cars will represent AVS Motorsport in the Teams Cup this season, and both drivers are looking forward to the challenges ahead of them.

AVS will be represented in the BRC Challenge event by Liverpudlian Tony Simpson and co-driver Stefan Arndt.  Having competed in the championship in 2011, Simpson is looking forward to the new season ahead and with a fully rebuilt Fiesta ST at his disposal, confidence is high within the team of a positive campaign for 2012.

Director Gary Jones commented:  "We've assembled a very strong team for this year and I think all drivers really complement each other and bring a lot of experience due to their rallying careers to date.  We've invested heavily in the infrastructure to support the team both in the workshops and on-event, so we're very confident that our drivers can do well and really enjoy their rallying this year.  We've had a lot of interest in both our Renault Twingo R1 and Suzuki Swift R1 hire cars so we hope to see those cars out on the stages this season - so hopefully we could see up to five AVS Motorsport built and run cars on the British Rally Championship this year!"

Based in Wrexham, North Wales, AVS Motorsport offer a complete range of motorsport preparation services from complete car builds through to rally car sales, service, corporate days, rally car hire and on-event support.

 

The 2011 season was the debut of the DOT Seacon supported Fiesta ST and Tony brought point consistancy rather than the class wins of 2010 campaign.

The early part of the 2011 season was spent building confidence in the M-Sport built Fiesta ST and getting stages miles in the much more powerfull machine. Returning back to a right hand drive rally car, learning the Reiger suspenion and the return to Pirelli tyres was also thrown into the mix and both Stefan and Tony worked on getting all these aspects working for them rather than risking the car on every rally.

By mid season this was also boosted by the return of working with Colin Ridgway and Garry Jones. Thier work ethic of testing and always trying to find the perfect 'window' of setup information was the perfect tonic for running stock setting that were provided with the car.

Tony continues "By no means was i happy with the pace that we had last season but i had to maxiumise every stage mile in the car in order to learn it, its how i become so comfortable driving the Polo GTI's and its how i will do it with the ST. The ST is a fantastic car it is a group N car similar in that sence to the Polo but aside from the power aspect it was so much more than the Polo in terms of the 'dogbox' which you have to log every mile you do with it in order to keep it from VERY expenise rebuilds to just about managable rebuilds. The dampers need to be looked after in fact i look at every espect of the car after every test and rally. The tie up with Garry's company (www.avsmotorsport.co.uk) is the perfect situation for us as team DOT Seacon as they now have two Fiesta ST's they are running and we all work well as a team. This year will be VERY tough for us we have a fraction of the budget we had last year and that wasnt the largest. We are working every day in order to ensure we will be doing all the rounds of the British Rally Championship Challenge and the Fiesta Sporting Challenge we will never give up.

Simpsons ‘bullish’ on rally return!

For Immediate Release

28 March 2011

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson returns to competitive rally action on the Bull Dog rally on April 2nd, which is the opening round of the British Rally Championships. The event will start in Welshpool before taking in some classic stages in and around the region.

Simpson returning this year after a successful 2010 winning his class 4 our of the 7 rounds of the BTRDA national championships at the wheel of the Delivered On Time backed Volkswagen Polo GTI, has recently taken delivery of a new Fiesta ST group N rally car which was built and run by M-Sport the company behind the Ford World Rally team, prior to Simpsons team acquiring it for this season.

Along with competing for class honors in the highly competitive R3 class of the Challenge section for the championship the team are also competing in the highly competitive one make championship ‘The Fiesta Sport Trophy’ which runs along side the British Championship where 12 similar spec Fiesta’s will battle out for championship honors.

This will be a second appearance of the season for Simpson and his long term co driver Stefan Arndt having contested the opening round of the BTRDA national series back in March which was a tough first event for the team Simpson takes up the tale “We had a very tough first event out in the DOT supported Fiesta ST for me with very limited time to adjust to the new car prior to the event we had to treat it very much as an extended test. I was happy with our pace on the first couple of stages I accepted we would drop a little time to the ‘young guns’ at the front of the field in their Fiestas and we were comfortable in the middle of the pack until we lost second gear completely. With the specialist type of gear box these cars have it can make them very tricky to drive and sure enough when fighting with the car to keep it in a straight line we clipped a back quite hard and that was event over for us sadly. But lots of positives were taken from the first 3 stages and we hope to take them into the forth coming opening round of the British Rally Championships this coming weekend”.  

Simpsons on event support is from the Rally 4Real team that he drove for last season and all will be hoping the TotalRally.com presenter will get some of the luck that they shared last year.

“I had a great season last year and we missed on becoming national champions on the very last event, we know we have taken another step up competition wise as this championship is where every young driver from the UK has to go to prove themselves and we don’t take that challenge lightly we work very hard behind the scenes to make sure everything we do is right. I have been physically training harder than i have for the last 5 or 6 years which is a massive help in 15 or 16 mile stages. But we also understand that the Delivered on Time Rally team has a very tight budget this year and every second in the car costs us money and we have to be sensible and responsible to our sponsor’s kind generosity to support our campaign”   

Tony will be supported this year by, Delivered on Time, Seacon UK, TotalRally.com and Teamcoordin8.com

New Season, new car!

After many months of hard work we can finally announce that we have acquired from M-Sport (the company behind the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team) a Fiesta ST Group N rally car.

Following our 2010 campaign which gave us 4 class wins from 7 events it was disappointing when in our final event in which we only had to finish, our trusty Volkswagen Polo sadly suffered its only failure of the year and thus we didn’t win the overall 1400 group N championship. This despite winning more rounds than any of our rivals, but it was one of my favourite seasons.

 We had a great team behind us, Tim Rogers and his staff at Rally4Real looked after us so well, Stefan fantastic on the notes in the car and my fellow presenters on Totalrally.com along with our valued support from SNT group, Delivered on Time and Service & Sport and all of these people played their part in giving us a near perfect season.

We are delighted that we will be again working with Tim Rodgers and Rally4Real team running our Fiesta ST and also my team from last season Becky Kirvan (BTRDA national ladies champion no less!) who also has a Fiesta ST for this season.

Currently we are working very hard talking to our sponsors in order to secure a full budget for a full season in the British Rally Championship Challenge, competing in the M-sport run Fiesta Sporting Challenge one make championship. Currently we know we have funding in place for the first 3 gravel events in the high competitive series.

We will be regularly updating the website, so keep everything crossed for us that we have a full season ahead! You can hear about our team and the people behind it regular on TotalRally.com which is broadcast every Wednesday night at 8pm UK time or available as a podcast via itunes.  

7.9.2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson took an impressive fourth class win in a row on the Ludlow-based Woodpecker Rally at the weekend. Simpson drove the Rally4real.com Volkswagen Polo GTI on the penultimate round of the BTRDA National Rally Championship.

The cars were flagged off from Ludlow Racecourse on Saturday morning and visited stages in the classic welsh forest of Radnor and Haye Park

The crew piloted the SNT Group Volkswagen Polo to achieve fastest class times on six of the seven demanding stages,despite never having done the rally before..

Partnered by regular co-driver Stefan Arndt from Hampshire, the pressure was on for the pair to get a finish in the points, as problems encountered earlier on in the season meant that the crew would need to take away maximum points to still be in the running for the championship.

The opening stage of the rally began with drama as the in-car intercom used by the crew began to fail on the start line. As a result, Tony was unable to hear the pacenotes being delivered by his co-driver and so had to drive the stage entirely by sight, with no advance notice of what was coming up. This meant Simpson was unaware of a hidden rock, which would have been called to him by his co-driver. The TotalRally Polo clipped the solid rock on the inside of the corner, damaging the steering and also a headlight. However this didn’t hinder the crew, as they still set a stage time one second ahead of their closest rival. 

Tony and Stefan continued their assault and successfully extended their lead by a further 14 seconds in the following two stages. The Delivered On Time crew found a comfortable pace and were able to control the rally from the front.

Going into the final two stages, the crew had built up a 29 second advantage over their class rivals, so the plan was to protect their lead and not to make any silly mistakes. Many crews battled to try to make time up on the pair, however many came into difficulty on the final stage.

 Tony and Stefan won their class by a massive three minute margin.

Tony said at the finish: "We knew coming into this rally that our championship rivals had to win and we could remain at a steady pace and watch them take risks that we didn’t need to. It was important for us to finish the event with a solid haul of points to take into the final round, the Cambrian Rally on the 16^th of October to keep our championship hopes alive.

Tyre choice was critical and we were advised of all of the options available to us and I think that made all the difference.  It give us confidence early in the rally when our rivals were still working out how hard they could push.

To win our class 4 rallies in succession makes me very proud of the team of people we have around us. They have all kept us going through the tough times.

I would like to say a big thank you to Tim at rally4real.com for supplying us with a car which, once again is taking the fight to newer machinery and showing them the way!"

Simpson is now turning his attention to the final round of the ultra competitive BTRDA national series where he could clinch the 1400 group N championship. For further news on Tony check out his website on www.simpsonrallying.com 

The team would like to thank, SNT Group, Cefar.co.uk. TotalRally.com, Seacon UK, Rally4Real.com and Silverstone Tyres for their support.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RALLY HATRICK HERO!

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson made it an impressive three class wins from three starts in the BTRDA National Rally Championships on this weekend's Quinton Stages Rally driving the Rally4real.com Volkswagen Polo Gti.

On his filth rally of the year in the SNT Group Volkswagen Polo, the scouser is now dominating the 1.4L class and demonstrated some impressive commitment over 45 miles of demanding forest stages close to the Epynt Military Ranges.

Partnered by co-driver Stefan Arndt from Hampshire, Tony was making his first start on this event in Wales after previously winning his class on both the Dukeries and Plains Rally within the past 8 weeks. Needing to score points on all the remaining rounds of national series the team added this event to their calendar after a mistake on an early round forced to the team to rethink their schedule. 

After a steady start on the opening stage but still beating their nearest rival by 9 seconds the pairing struggled to find a solid rhythm on the second stage also despite nicking another 2 seconds from their main rival. Fortunately for the team they had a service interval were they could regroup and thing about the stages ahead.

Tony and Stefan now found a comfortable pace and where able to control the rally from the front of their class averaging over a second a mile on the remain 30 miles to win the class by 43 seconds in the end and win fastest in class on every stage. 

Tony said at the finish: "To complete a hat rick of class victories on the Quinton Stages has been very special for me. The stages like Halfway, Crychan and Route 60 are world famous and to have a good battle with Malcolm (Hague) made the victory all the better. Our Silverstone Tyres have been fantastic today with many crews suffering excessive ware and punctures our tyres just kept working throughout the day. I must thank James at Service and Sport for our perfect tyre choice again."

Simpson is now turning his attention to the final two rounds of the ultra competitive national series. With only this events on the calendar left to do talk of winning the national 1.4L Btrda Championship has been talked down but is fast becoming a possibility. For further news on Tony check out his website on www.simpsonrallying.com 

 

The team would like to thank, SNT Group, Cefar.co.uk. TotalRally.com, Seacon UK, Rally4Real.com and Silverstone Tyres for their support. 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson scored a second class win in a row on the Dukeries Rally last Saturday. Using the rally4real.com Volkswagen Polo GTI Simpson and co-driver dominated the 1.4L class leading home 9 similar specification cars and fastest on 8 of the 9 stages that the event run.

The fifth round of the BTRDA National Rally Championships started off at Southwell Racecourse before the crews headed off into a short 2 mile Blidworth stage, Simpson beat his nearest rival by of 3 and half seconds a mile which set the strong pace for the day in his SNT supported Polo.

 

“I drove as hard as we could on the first stage in order to find the level of grip with our new Silverstone S55 Tyres and with out doubt they really worked on the very mixed surface we encountered and built our confidence for the day”

 

The pace of the TotalRally.com Polo continued through the next 4 stages, and by the mid point services of the rally the Cefar supported Polo was a clear 56 seconds clear of its nearest rival.

 

“Overall both Stefan an I were pleased with our pace we opted not to look at our rivals times during the course of the morning and just driving our own event. I surprisingly enjoyed the stages, I had been warned by Tim Rodgers our team boss and also one or two others that my driving style wouldn’t suit the stages and before hand from the video footage I had seen I was inclined to agree. But the car behaved so well over the jumps and ruts it inspired good confidence.”

The rally continued with another 5 stages for the crews to tackle and the SNT Group Polo was immediately back on the pace and controlling the class from the front again. Simpson again built up another cushion of time on the Watchwood and second visits to now very rough and rutted Sherwood Pines, Clipstone South and Portland and barring any mistakes the rally was theirs. Simpson only dropping time to his rivals on the last visit to the Portland stage after being slowed to a stand still by another crew who had a puncture on a tight section of stage.

 

“As a team and a driver you always want to try and dominate a rally as we did today, it was almost the perfect rally competition wise failing to be fastest in our class on all but one of the competitive stages we did. I want to thank Stefan and the Rally4Real team for giving me such a perfect days rallying.

Although following our return to the finish ramp to hear a fellow competitor Martyn Lewis had been killed on the rallying was devastating for every driver co-driver and service crew member on the event. I wish to dedicate our class win to Martyn and as a team we all wish to express our deepest condolences to the friends and family of Martyn”

Simpson’s championship challenge will continue in Jully on the Quinton Rally in Mid Wales.

The team would like to thank, SNT Group, Cefar.co.uk. TotalRally.com, Seacon UK, Rally4Real.com and Silverstone Tyres for their support.

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson scored another class win on the Plains rally last weekend to keep up his hopes of challenging for BTRDA 1.4L rally championship title this year. Simpson and co-driver Stefan Arndt using the Rally4Real Volkswagen Polo GTI took an excellent first in class on last Saturday’s event (15/5/10)

The forth round of the BTRDA National Rally Championships started off in Welshpool before the real business of the legendary Welsh stages started. Gartheiniog double as both first and the filth stage, but first time through Simpson was disappointed with his performance with a spin and stall at a hairpin.

 “I drove steady and trying to build confidence but after the spin I thought we had dropped that much time the event was already over for us”

 It was far from over and despite these issues Simpson was a second quicker than his nearest rival.

 The pace of the TotalRally.com Polo continued through the next 2 stages, and by the mid point services of the rally the SNT group supported Polo was a clear 14 seconds in the lead of the class

 “Overall though I was pleased with the times and I enjoyed the stages, we were confident and felt comfortable that we could control the class from the front despite the pressure of the chasing pack.”

The rally continued with another Gartheiniog stage which Simpson total a massive 38 seconds out the time from his first visit on the very first stage of the rally.

Going into the final short 1.7 mile spectator stage Simpsons lead had been cut to 9 seconds and despite agreeing with the team before hand not to take risks on the tricky stage a burst of extra pace was required to see them home as class winners on the rally.

7“As a team Stefan, Tim Rodgers (Rally4Real team boss) and myself always discuss the stages which suit me and the car, the final Wood Yard Spectator Stage has claimed many victims over the years and we all agreed that we would just get the car home in one piece. But 9 seconds is a spin or even a half spin so we decided we had to have a final push and taking another 4 seconds out of Malcolm Hauge in second place to ensure a very satisfying victory.”

Simpson’s championship challenge will continue in June on the Dukeries rally in Nottinghamshire.

The team would like to thank, SNT Group, Cefar.co.uk. TotalRally.com, Seacon UK, Rally4Real.com and Silverstone Tyres for their support.

Liverpool rally driver Tony Simpson suffered misfortune in the opening round of the British Rally Championship Challenge. 

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