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RALLY DAY 2008

Rallyday 2008 held at Castle Combe on 20th September was yet again a great success, arguably the most successful yet with in excess of 10,000 attending.

PIAA UK has supported this event for the last 5years and sees it as a most important date for the event calendar. In 2007 it was the host of the 21st anniversary of the PIAA brand being established in the UK and then Europe. 2008 saw PIAA join forces with Autopassion to sponsor the VIP hospitality area. This was a great success and was used all day by the many guests and stars of Rallying.

This year featured the Mitsubishi WRC who were joined by British Rally Champion Guy Wilks who demonstrated the awesome power of the WRC Lancer to the crowds great delight.

Ford also were a major supporter of the event and had Mikko Hirvonen driving the latest version of the WRC Focus, it was amazing to see the Focus off the line with superb launch control in operation.

PIAA’s display in front of the hospitality area featured the Historic Rallysport Escort MK2 that Hannu Mikkola was to drive on the McRae Stages Rally; this was to be Hannu’s last Rally. The car was brand new and brought to the event by Mark Solloway, Mark was amazed at the interest, he should not have been as he builds the finest Rally Escorts in the world.Joining the Escort was the EVO6 that Tommi Makinen drove to victory in the World Rally Championship, this was only the second time the car had been on public display, the previous time was PIAA’s 21st anniversary. There was also the ex Hendy Ford development RS2000 and the EVO 9’s of Paul James and of course the amazing Super 1600 Saxo of Andy Gwynne.

The PIAA staff were n hand with local PIAA dealer at the PIAA road show shop and they had a record day for on event sales.

Take a look at some of the images in the Rallyday gallery and feel free to download any image.

Press Release: 27th May 2008

Stuart Bliss from Zero to Hero

Stuart Bliss Weston Motor Club member Co driven by Richard Marsh in their first ever event in the Betta Sponsored EVO of Paul James had a dream start for there new sponsor and the team.

The only practice available to Stuart before the event was a brief 2 hour practice kindly arranged by Dynamic Drivers of Weston.This helped Stuar'ts confidence as driving the new Mitsubishi EVO 9 is such a difference to driving his normal rally car a Peugeot 205 1.6 Gti.

The event was a round of the National Asphalt Championship held at the Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire. Stuart starting in a very lowly seeded position of 49th was soon the talk of the Rally as he was instantly showing his talent by lying 20th out of 100 competitors after just the first stage, and on the second stage while still on slick tyres as the conditions had been dry the heavens opened Stuart then even went faster finishing 18th.

Feeling more confident as the day went on Stuart recorded a 5th and 6th fastest stage times to eventually finish a tremendous 8th overall and first Group N car.

Paul James who lent Stuart the car stated “When Chris Hutchings persuaded me to get involved with Stuart he said that he had real talent and just needed the right car to show how much, I must say I am so impressed with Stuarts performance as he was up against some serious opposition and I know Stuarts ability was not fully on show as he had so little time in the car before the event. To bring the car home without out a mark on it in such treacherous conditions in the top 10 is tremendous.

Chris Hutchings, Paul James and Stuart are now working on the 2009 season which will see Stuart compete in the top level of Rallying with a new car provided by Betta.

Press Release: 19th May 2008

Stuart Bliss is awarded a “Betta” Drive

Ever since Stuart's Rally debut on the 2007 Brean Stages Rally he has impressed many people in Rallying with his Championship and Class results despite his limited budget and the limits of his machinery, currently an 18 year old Peugeot 205.

In his first year in the sport he won the under 25 award in the Cotswold Championship, in which he also finished 2nd overall, also winning the under 25 in the Association of South West Motor Clubs Championship.

Since Stuarts Rally debut Chris Hutchings of PIAA UK who has a major involvement with many up and coming Rally drivers has taken a keen interest in Stuart and has been determined to broker a sponsorship package for 2009. He introduced Stuart to Paul James a successful businessman from Taunton and after meeting Stuart in January at the Autosport show, held in Birmingham Paul has taken a keen interest in Stuart and has been so impressed with the results Stuart has achieved in his Peugeot 205 1.6Gti that he has made available the use of his “Betta” sponsored Evo 9 Group N Rally Car for the Millbrook Stages a round of the National Asphalt Championship, which is held at the Millbrook proving ground in Northamptonshire on Monday the 26th of May.

Paul James has stated that he will also be helping Stuart in 2009 and “Betta” will become Stuarts title sponsors. Paul commented, “it is great to be in a position to assist a young talent and it will help us bring the Betta brand to a wider audience and Stuart will be on hand for the corporate days we have for our customers during the rest of 2008 and then into 2009 Rally Championships.

Stuart is naturally delighted and commented; “That after competing in Karting and Circuit Racing it is so good to get this break and I can not wait to compete in the Mitsubishi Evo, a £90,000 car, it will certainly be a very different experience than my £6,000 Peugeot. I can not thank Paul enough for this opportunity and of course Chris Hutchings for his introducing me to Paul.”

Stuart is also supported by Psycho Racing of Cheddar, Questmead and West End Precision Tool.

For further information please contact Chris Hutchings on 01943 818430 or 07836 701578

9 April 2008

AUTOSPORTIF

The Autosportif developed Race car won the first round of Time Attack UK at Donnington Park April 6th.

Driven by current British Formula Renault champion and A1 GP rookie Duncan Tappy the 530bhp Subaru Impreza topped all the sessions by 2 seconds a lap even though we were giving away at least 200bhp to the opposition.

For more information or if you want to rent a drive contact www.autosportif.co.uk

11 March 2008

MITUSBISHI EVO 10 LAUNCHED

The EVO 10 launched in Europe this month is set to be even more successful than its legendary predecessors. With over 300 pre orders customers are now just receiving their long awaited new model. PIAA has always had a very strong and successful relationship with Mitsubishi in Japan and of course in the UK.

PIAA products have been featured on all of the previous EVO's and are available from the UK Mitsubishi Dealerships as part of the enhancement range that the has been put together by the UK Mitsubishi Ralliart team.

PIAA are proud to be supporting yet again the Works Team that will compete in this year's British Rally Championship and of course the Mitsubishi EVO Challenges in Britain, Sweden and Ireland.

Visit Mistubishi UK for PIAA products on EVOs

PRESS RELEASE: 14 February 2008

PIAA HYPER LED *PIAA Exclusive*

- The PIA HYPER TERA LED operates at an amazing 6500K which produces a very white HID look with minimal battery drain and can be used in W5W side light fittings.

- PIAA has incorporated a revolutionary adjustable resistor into the HYPER TERA LED for the parking/side light on major European vehicles.

- By incorporating the adjustable resistor PIAA HYPER LED becomes invisible to the highly sensitive on board computer bulb failure systems on most major European vehicles. This prevents the activation of the bulb failure warning, which occurs when using normal LED bulbs with such a system. This adjustable resistor can also prevent abnormal light function of the HYPER TERA LED on certain vehicles.

The retail price is; £78.30 + VAT

NEW SIZE SPOLIER WIPER

PIAA are pleased to anounce that Size 7 - 18 inch/ 450mm wipers are now available in the PIAA Black Sporza Spoiler range of wipers.

This means that there is a Spoiler Blade for both the drivers and passengers side of the BMW Mini and also the Nissan 350Z.

Size; 7

Part No; WS45EFB

Retial Price: £18.37

PRESS RELEASE: 28th January 2008

Brean Stages Rally 26th & 27th January 2008

- Kynaston in control at Brean
- David Kynaston scores second consecutive victory
- Great weather sees crowds enjoy successful 12th running of popular south west event

Last weekend’s UK Farm Finance sponsored Brean Stages Rally was won by David Kynaston and co-driver Andy Russell in their Audi A3 Quattro who scored a resounding victory by a margin of 1m 34s, ahead of Steve and Yvonne Furzeland in a Subaru WRC.

Based in the grounds of the Brean Leisure Park on the North Somerset coast, the 12th running of this highly popular two-day event featured six stages around the twisty asphalt roads of the holiday venue’s caravan and camping sites on Saturday and another six, in the opposite direction, on Sunday. The weekend’s good weather saw 1000s of spectators visit the park to enjoy two-days of fierce competition and spectacular driving from the event’s full entry of 85 crews.

Kynaston stamped his authority on proceedings right from the start by winning the opening stage and then never lost the lead. However, things were close on the first day, when five-times previous winner of the event, Karl Broad in a Metro 6R4, matched Kynaston’s times by all but a second on four of the stages.

Broad almost took the lead prior to the overnight halt when Kynaston collected a puncture on SS5 and then subsequently broke a driveshaft on SS6, the time lost seeing him just one second ahead of the Metro driver for the start of Sunday’s competiton.

But Broad’s charge ended on the second stage of the second day, when a steering arm snapped – thankfully on a slow section of the course. With Furzeland driving a cautious event - his car refusing to start without a push - Broad’s demise left Kynaston with a comfortable lead - and even two broken anti-roll-bar couplings did little to break the Audi driver’s stride.

Another 6R4 driver and former winner of the event Duncan Holder also struck problems when, on Saturday’s last stage whilst holding fifth place, a sticking throttle linkage caused his car to run on three cylinders. Dropping to 12th place, he fought back on Sunday to finish in seventh. Ahead of Holder, James Harvey in a Subaru Impreza and David Jones in a Mitsubishi Evolution IX, both delivered solid performances to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

The battle for third and fourth was between the two Mk I Escorts of Dave Parnell and Kerry Michael. Parnell went into the final stage with a two-second advantage, but admitted to have been waving to the marshals and emerged on exactly the same time as Michael, therefore only securing the final place on the podium after the tie break rule of fastest on the first stage had been invoked.

Fourth place meant that Michael won the over two-litre category, whilst in the other classes Stuart Fossey won the up to two-litre class in his Escort Mk II and, when Andy Gwynne was delayed by two broken suspension joints, Mark Watkins stormed through to collect 1600 honours in his Escort Mk III.

Julian Wilkes posted another giant-killing performance by being the quickest 1400cc car by far and finished 11th overall in his Nova, but confessed to being a little disappointed not to have recorded a top-ten finish after lying eighth earlier in the day.

After recording his second Brean victory in as many years, a delighted David Kynaston said: “Although we won by a reasonable margin, it wasn’t as easy as it looked. It was a shame that Karl (Broad) was unable to continue as we were having a great battle on Saturday and I had to push hard from the start. Even without so much pressure on Sunday I had to maintain my pace to keep concentration and just in case I hit problems too. It’s always great to win events - and especially when its one as competitive as it is here at Brean.

Results
1 David Kynaston/Andy Russell (Audi A3 Quattro) 1h03m50s
2 Steve Furzeland/Yvonne Furzeland (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h05m24s
3 Dave Parnell/Pete Bold (Escort Mk I) 1h06m24s
4 Kerry Michael/Mark Phillips (Escort Mk 1) 1h06m24s
5 James Harvey/Paul Arberry (Subaru Impreza) 1h06m33s
6 David Jones/Paul Sanders (Mitsubishi Evo IX) 1h07m13s
7 Duncan Holder/Nick Reeves (Metro 6R4) 1h07m33
8 Steve Snook/Chris Snook (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1h07m37s
9 Kev Carr/Bret Wookey (Ford Escort) 1h07m50s
10 Brian Lee/Neil Davies (Subaru Impreza) 1h07m52s

Class Winners
A (up to 1400cc) Julian Wilkes/Will Rutherford (Vauxhall Nova) 1h08m12s
B (up to 1600cc) Mark Watkins/Paul Drew (Escort Mk III) 1h11m39s
C (up to 2000cc) Stuart Fossey/Theresa Fossey (Escort Mk II) 1h08m51s
D (over 2000cc) Kerry Michael/Mark Phillips (Escort Mk 1) 1h06m24
E (over 2000cc 4wd) James Harvey/Paul Arberry (Subaru Impreza) 1h06m33s

visit: www.weston-super-maremotorclub.com

24th September 2007

PIAA CELEBRATES 21 YEARS IN THE UK

Lympsham-based high performance automotive lighting manufacturer PIAA celebrated its 21st anniversary of trading in the UK, when it held a presentation event at RallyDay on Saturday (22nd September) at Castle Combe racing circuit.

Having made its name in rallying, PIAA UK invited a number of guests well known in the sport to a reception marking this milestone in the company's history.

Special guest for the occasion was rally legend Hannu Mikkola, who had travelled from Finland especially to attend the event. Besides being swamped by autograph hunters, the 1983 World Rally Champion got back behind the wheel of a MkII Ford Escort built by Historic Rallysport – a replica of the car he used in the late ‘70s – to thrill the crowds watching the feature rally stage.

To acknowledge their support of PIAA during the past 21 years, Managing Director Chris Hutchings presented over 20 awards to particular guests who had supported and promoted PIAA lamps during the past 21 years:

Hannu Mikkola - 1983 World Rally Champion.
Peter Collinson - Co-ordsport.
Mark Deans - formally Ford Motorsport.
John Taylor - formally Ford Motorsport.
David Richards - Prodrive.
Martyn Spurrell - Autosportif.
Pentti Airikkala - RAC Rally winner 1989.
David Williams - driver management.
John & Dilys Trevethick – ANCRO.
David Campion – formally Prodrive.
Mark Solloway – Historic Rallysport.
David Sutton – David Sutton Cars.
Richard & Jan Asquith - Asquith Motorsport.
Alex Burns - Richard Burn’s father.
Gwyndaf Evans - works driver for Ford, Seat. MG & Mitsubishi.
Guy Wilks – Suzuki & Mitsubishi works driver.
Ian Robinson - Suzuki GB.
Paul Brigden - Mitsubishi UK Ralliart.
Julien Gallier - PIAA Director.

After the event Mr. Hutchings said: “What a great day! I’m delighted that so many of the guests attended – we had a 95% acceptance rate for the invitations, which for me made it a very special occasion indeed. To be able to acknowledge many of the people who have supported me since I established PIAA in the UK was a perfect way of celebrating our 21st anniversary.”

In addition to his guests from the world for rallying, Mr Hutchings also made presentations to members of PIAA UK’s directors, staff, key customers and suppliers.

For further details, please visit: www.piaa.co.uk

ENDS

Photo: MVG Photographic. (copyright free)

Notes for Editors

Constant development in both performance and quality has made PIAA a leader in the automotive lighting market. Its innovative product ranges set new standards for bulbs, auxiliary lamps and professional lighting systems.

Many of its products have been tried and tested by the world’s leading rally and racing teams - in some of the most arduous of conditions. Having surpassed the demands of competition, performance and durability are now hallmarks of PIAA, the benefits of its technology and design built-in across its range of lighting products.

For ultimate vision PIAA also manufactures its revolutionary range of Super Silicone Wipers, which coat the screen with a minute and invisible layer of silicone and causes the rain to ‘bead’. Subsequently the droplets maintain a smaller surface area, resulting in a clearer screen and improved visibility.

Also, just launched, is PIAA’s range of VISION screen care products, comprising a powerful cleaning solution, a wash additive and a screen protect and coat fluid.

Available from December 07

HEW PIAA LAMP PO DS

PIAA UK is pleased to announce that the following new Lamp Pods will be available from December 2007

- PLP1616WL Suzuki Swift 06 on model Halogen Bonnet Pod - RRP £369.75

- PLP888WL Vauxhall Astra 06 on model Halogen Bonnet Pod - RRP £398.75

- PLP5558WL Subaru Impreza 08 on model Halogen Bonnet Pod - RRP £398.75

- PLP1010WL Mitsubishi EVO 10 Halogen Bonnet Pod - RRP £384.25

- PLP10101RWL Mitsubishi EVO 10 Halogen Right Hand Corner Pod - RRP £181.25

- PLP10101LWL Mitsubishi EVO 10 Halogen Left Hand Corner Pod - RRP £181.25

Click on PODS for more details

PIAA PRODUCTS: June 2007

H89 Platinum Competition bulb

PIAA have redeveloped the most popular competition bulb, PIAA’s unique gas mix which includes Xeon and the glass tube colour enable the bulb to produce equivalent output of 150 watts on dip and main beam yet only drawing 80/80 watts. The application for this bulb is competition/off road use.

Ideal for historic rallying were HID lamps are not permitted and regulations that limit the auxiliary lamps to 80 watts power draw.

H89 H4 P43T 80/80=150/150 RRP £37.70 per bulb

WHEELERS TRANSPORT

Wheelers transport all kinds of heavy machinery.

Wheelers Transport