PRESS RELEASE: 24th February 2022

Brown endures stormy rallying return

Rochdale driver Steve Brown made a return to the stages on Sunday [20 February], tackling the Questmead Stages at Three Sisters near Wigan, but endured a weekend of mixed fortunes as he tackled his first competitive event of 2022.

Guiding his popular Nissan Micra Kit Car through treacherous conditions as the UK was battered by Storm Franklin, Brown and co-driver Andy Rose had built an impressive one minute and thirty second class lead, before aquaplaning on a tricky part of the circuit, sending the car into the barriers and instant retirement.

After securing the British Rallycross BMW MINI title in 2021, Brown would elect to make the switch back to stage rallying this season. The Fuchs Lubricants backed driver had enjoyed two full seasons in the popular race series, culminating in the championship spoils after a tense end to the series.

After honing his racing skills across the two-year campaign, Brown would set his sights on returning to the stages in 2022 and would head to the Three Sisters Circuit to tackle his first stage rally in the car in over a year and was well aware that he would need to bed himself back into the discipline.

But the difficult weather which gripped the country during the weekend had meant conditions would be the biggest challenge of all, with high winds and driving rain bringing standing water and an ultra slippery surface for the crews to deal with.

Twelve stages would make up the day's action and Brown wasted no time in acclimatising back to the sport and soon built up a substantial gap to his nearest challengers. As the confidence grew, Brown extended his lead but with four stages to go, the Nissan hit a large river of standing water, sending it into the tyre wall at high speed and into instant retirement.

Despite the premature end to the day, Brown was happy to make his rallying return.

“It was great to finally be rallying again after so long in the rallycross championship and although today didn’t quite go according to plan, I`m happy with our pace in what was pretty horrific conditions,” he said.

“The car had been running well all day and we were just settling into a good rhythm for the second half of the day and I just got caught out a high speed on a large amount of deep water, which sent us onto the grass and into the wall. It was an unfortunate end to the day, but it's just cosmetic damage and we will be out again soon. A huge thanks to our partners for their support this weekend, I`d certainly missed the sport!”.

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, 710 Oils, PIAA, Questmead, Mintex, Brake Prep, CD Heritage and Magnum Motorsport.

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 4th October 2021

Knockhill takes its toll - but Brown’s still leads British Rallycross category

Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy contender Steve Brown endured a tough weekend in Scotland, managing only one podium spot in the BMW MINI double header at Knockhill Race Circuit [24-25 September].

Brown was fresh from a scintillating performance at Pembrey last month when he took his maiden British Rallycross Championship wins on both rounds of the weekend, which subsequently vaulted him to the top of the championship standings. But the tricky Knockhill circuit proved a little tougher to master and Brown could only scoop third place on the second day of competition.

The Rochdale driver would head to the Scottish circuit near to Edinburgh for the very first time and would understandably take a while to settle into the undulating hillside track. Although Brown has enjoyed a confidence boosting career in rallycross after switching from stage rallying in 2019, he had never tackled the Knockhill counter before and would start the weekend on the backfoot.

In only his second season in the ultra-competitive BMW MINI championship, the Fuchs Lubricants backed driver could only manage sixth and fourth places at the first meeting of the year at Lydden Hill but returned a blistering performance at Wales to win both rounds and take him into the lead of the championship.

However Knockhill offered a different prospect with a new circuit layout to learn and Brown would struggle with the layout over the opening heats of the weekend. Taking fourth on all but one heat, he managed third in semi-final on Saturday, only to be edged out to fourth by the all-important round five final.

Sunday would bring a new opportunity for the MINI pilot but once again Brown struggled with the tightly packed circuit and finished down the order in the heats. Second in the semi-final was a sign of improvement and the hard-fought final brought him his first podium result of the weekend, taking third place. His result means still leads the championship points tables, but with just four points in hand as the season enters its final three rounds.

“It was a really difficult weekend all round really and I have to hold my hands up” said Brown.

“I simply wasn’t quick enough and it really does highlight how important track knowledge and race craft at these circuits are. It makes a huge difference to how the whole weekend plays out and I was just on the back foot from the word go’ having not been here before.”

But Brown is eager to take the positive away from the long trip north.

“By the end of the weekend I was starting to get much quicker and grabbing a podium on Sunday was a sign that things were improving. It could have been a lot worse really so more points for the title campaign is really important at this stage and to be honest at the start of the year I would have bitten your hand off for a third place. All is not lost and the focus is certainly now on the next round in November and returning to a more familiar track”.

Lydden Hill in Kent hosts the penultimate meeting of 2021 at the beginning of November.

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, 710 Oils, PIAA, Questmead, Mintex, Brake Prep, CD Heritage and Magnum Motorsport.

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 2nd September 2021

Brown secures maiden British Rallycross victory and championship lead

Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy contender Steve Brown took his maiden victory in the closely fought BMW MINI series last weekend, scooping an impressive double victory at Pembrey Race Circuit in Wales (29-30 August).

Brown enjoyed a confidence-boosting weekend behind the wheel of his Fuchs Lubricants backed MINI to win both Sunday and Monday’s Final at the double-header weekend, which puts the Rochdale driver at the top of the Championship standings as the season approaches the halfway point.

“I`m buzzing,” said an elated Brown at the podium celebrations.

“It was a tough start to the season so I really came here with the plan of just getting some positive points on the board. But to win not one, but two Finals is pretty mind-blowing to be honest. It’s not quite sunk in yet”.

Brown made his return to the ultra-competitive single-make formula which runs as part of the prestigious British Rallycross Championship after a year away from the circuits due to the pandemic. Despite spending much of his career as a rally driver, in 2019 he made the switch to the race track and in his debut season on the British Rallycross, took a positive third overall in the championship.

Returning in 2021, a bumper grid would make repeating his success an uphill task and the opening round at Lydden Hill was a tough start to his campaign. As he settled back into the hotly contested series, Brown could only manage sixth and fourth at the first meeting of the season.

In a bid to hit the ground running in Wales, Brown headed to the non-championship BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross encounter at the Pembrey Circuit in early August, hoping to gain valuable seat time and hone his racecraft ahead of the all-important British Championship round. Third place was the reward and he headed back to the track a few weeks later eager to improve on his opening event score.

The weekend got off to the perfect start with heat one victory and took third in the Semi-Final. But the last race of the day is where it matters and Brown battled hard throughout the Final to take his maiden British Rallycross Championship win.

The second day offered the prime opportunity to repeat the accolade and Brown duly delivered. A solid performance throughout the heats saw him seal the valuable win in the Semi-Final’s, putting him in pole position for the all-important Final. And Brown made it stick, storming to a mighty second victory of the weekend and the lead of the Championship as a result.

“I came to this round with a different mindset, to race harder and with more confidence,” says Brown.

“Along with better starts from the line it all came together this weekend and to take my first British Championship win was just fantastic, but to do it all over again the next day is very special. I’ve not had it easy in any of my races in the championship over the years and I was delighted with third in 2019. So to be leading the series is a welcome surprise and puts me in a great place for the next round.”

The series now heads to Knockhill in Scotland at the end of September for rounds five and six.

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, 710 Oils, PIAA, Questmead, Mintex, Brake Prep, CD Heritage and Magnum Motorsport.

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 11th August 2021

Brown enjoys double BTRDA podium at Pembrey

British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy contender Steve Brown aims to hit the ground running at the next round of the series, thanks to securing a double podium at the non-championship BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross event at Pembrey in Wales last weekend (7/8 August).

After enjoying a positive start to his return to the British Championships in May, Brown elected to head to the Welsh circuit to keep match fit ahead of his next outing at the circuit which forms a British round at the end of the month. And his decision was well rewarded, scooping third place in the hotly contested BMW MINI series double-header and a confidence boost heading into the upcoming national qualifier.

The Rochdale driver elected to mount a second assault on the competitive single-make formula in 2021 after being forced to sit out much of the previous season due to the pandemic. Brown had made the switch from stage rallying to rallycross in 2019 and his debut season in the British Championship saw him take third overall in the MINI series.

A return to the circuits in May this year at Lydden Hill’s double-header, saw Brown face a bumper grid of 17 MINI contenders in equal machinery and despite a tough start to his season, recovered strongly to take sixth and fourth place in the first and second rounds respectively.

With an extensive gap to the following round, Brown would head to a one-off round of the BTRDA Clubman series, in a bid to gain further knowledge of the circuit layout and continue to hone his racecraft on the tricky mixed surface.

Contesting the Super Modified Category, Brown enjoyed a strong practice session and despite the changeable weather, was third fastest MINI in the opening heat of the weekend. Going quicker still in the second heat of the weekend saw him qualify for the competitive A-final which took place under largely dry conditions.

After a difficult mixed Final where the MINI contingent would go head-to-head with the more powerful Super Modified machinery, Brown knuckled down to scoop third place and an impressive podium result on day one of the competition.

Sunday was a much drier affair but Brown suffered a slower than usual start to the opening two heats of the day. Thankfully, he recovered in the third and final heat to secure the fastest MINI and once again make the coveted `A Final` to round out the day, where he would repeat Saturday’s effort and secure yet another podium position.

“It’s been a positive weekend all round really” said Brown.

“It's nice to be able to come to another series and still be competitive and when you are not chasing championship points it allows you to relax a little. The idea was simply to get seat time ahead of the next British outing due to the enforced gap so from that point of view it has been a successful weekend. The main focus of course is now the next British round when we return here on 29th August”.

Brown heads back to Pembrey for the British qualifier in seventh place in the BMW MINI series standings.

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, 710 Oils, PIAA, Questmead, Mintex, Brake Prep, CD Heritage and Magnum Motorsport.

All image credits: Matt Bristow

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 1st February 2021

Brown to mount British Rallycross campaign in 2021

After a successful debut season in the British Rallycross Championship in 2019, Rochdale driver Steve Brown will once again swap the rally stages for circuits as he makes a return to the popular BMW MINI series in 2021.

After his rallying plans were put on hold last year due to the pandemic, Brown only managed two stage events and one circuit outing, meaning much of the season was spent on the side-lines. With the uncertainties continuing over the return of stage rallying in the UK in 2021, Brown has elected to switch his attention back to the track and a second campaign in the BMW MINI championship.

“I certainly didn’t think I`d be returning to the British Rallycross Championship so soon but now we have put the final piece of the jigsaw in place I`m very excited to head back to the series for a second time” said Brown.

“Rallying is going through a tough time at the moment and I wanted little more certainty to my 2021 season after a nightmare in 2020. I`d been considering a return for a while and the more I looked into it the better proposition it became and it soon became an easy choice”.

As part of the 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship, the hotly contested single-make BMW MINI formula will provisionally visit five different race circuits in the UK, plus a visit to the iconic SPA Francorchamps track in Belgium to close out the season.

After spending most of his competitive career contesting stage rallies, a one-off guest appearance in the BTRDA Rallycross series in 2017 offered a new avenue to explore with a full campaign in the British Championship being offered in 2019.

His campaign didn’t get off to the best of starts, with power and steering failure in the opening round final at Silverstone putting him on the back foot from the off, but a host of podiums followed which led to Brown finally securing an impressive third place in the BMW MINI series standings on his maiden rallycross season.

Brown has his sights set on going one better in the championship this time around.

“I learnt a lot about rallycross in a very short space of time in 2019 so hopefully that means I can hit the ground running this time,” he says.

“It wasn’t so much about the car control or handling, it was the race craft aspect of the discipline which was tough to get my head around but I soon learnt how to get the most from the qualifying sessions and final. It would be nice to do better than third and with my previous experience that’s certainly going to be the aim. It’s really great to be back and big thanks must go to my long-standing backers for sticking by my throughout the season once again”.

Steve is sponsored by Fuchs Lubricants, Mintex, PIAA and Questmead, 710 Oils, Magnum Motorsport, Brake Prep and Wired Remote for Go Pro.