Kelvin's Profile

Racing History

Kelvin Hassell was born on the 13th September 1978, son of Rallycross star Alan Hassell. When Alan made the step into professional saloon car racing in the late 80’s, a young Kelvin looked set to follow in his footsteps. The purchase of a Sierra Cosworth, and its subsequent success in the Firestone Production Car Championship, lead Alan to start his own race team. Alan Hassell Motorsport was born and he and his other team drivers carried on Alan’s success. Kelvin would join the team in 1993 when his own racing career began in Karting.

In that same year, Kelvin won his first race and later his first championship. After competing enough club races to compete in the nationals, AHM and Kelvin began an assault on the Super One Series, the British Karting championship. But Kelvin already had eyes on racing cars and on his sixteenth birthday, Kelvin went to the Jim Russell Race School at Donnington Park to learn to drive single seaters. The weekend after the course Kelvin set pole position in his first Vauxhall Junior race.
By the time Kelvin was seventeen, the cost of racing single seaters was spiralling out of reach and the one make saloon car series that had replaced Group N and Production car racing of Alan's day were following close behind. Life-long friend and rally guru Ray Deacon stepped in with the answer, rallying.

Ray had already made a name for himself in almost all forms of motorsport including Production car racing and Rallycross. An expert rally driver in his own right, he none the less gave the wheel to Kelvin, took the navigators seat and guided Kelvin on to three more championship victories and even a quick foray into Autotesting. In 1998 the long circuits called Kelvin back. The AHM garage still had a Ford customer base and to build on it they need to race in a Ford championship. Kelvin was to become Mike Webb's team mate on the AHM team in the Modified Ford Saloon Car Championship. Consistent good results that year netted Kelvin fourth with three visits to the podium.

1999 saw the introduction of a Production car class within the MFSCC. Alan rewarded his son’s efforts in the previous season with a Group N specification Escort Cosworth for the new class in the familiar black and yellow of his own racing Sierra. It was a successful package, setting lap records and race wins almost everywhere they went. But it all went horribly wrong at Snetterton as the season was coming to a close. Kelvin lost control on the exit of the fast right-hand corner, Coram, and left the track at over 100mph and hit a marshal’s post on the inside of the circuit.

The next few years saw the cost of Ford racing escalate so the team started looking around for other championships to enter. Eventually they settled on the 750 Motor Club Stock Hatch Championship. Kelvin was the first out of the box and took a Fiesta XR2 to Mallory Park for the first round of the 2003 Stock Hatch Championship. Whilst building the Fiesta, he had tested a BabyGrand Stockcar at Arena Essex. Seeing the need for American style racing in the UK and the potential of this fledgling formula, he quit the Stock Hatch Championship and started testing BabyGrands for the 2005 Ian Gosling Ltd. AutoSmart International Baby Grand Challenge.

2005 saw Kelvin take 2nd overall in his debut season for Currall Motorsport in the Baby Grand Championship with 2 race wins and several podium finishes. A test drive in a CAMSO V8 NASCAR for Roots V8 Racing in Belgium followed.
The end of 2006 marked Kelvin's move to the CAMSO V8 Championship full time and was on the podium within three races.

Kelvin attacked the 2007 Championship with help from Ready2Race and Windmill Garage, Rolvenden in a Ford Taurus. Several wins landed Hassell with 5th in the championship overall.
In 2008 the Ford was replaced by a Chevrolet Monte-Carlo. Hassell again finished 5th in the championship taking three victories on his way. During the year Hassell also experienced some Lightening Rod racing for Roots V8 Racing and also went back to circuit racing with a one-off drive in the MWR/AHM Citroen Saxo

In 2009 Kelvin competed in the European Late Model Series as seen on Motors TV in a Pontiac Grand Prix NASCAR Super Late Model. Kelvin finished 5th overall in the series. His results also netted him first place in the ERMC Speed Championship and Overall Home Trophy.

Kelvin Hassell is licensed to race in any championship up to International ‘C’ status. He uses his wealth of motor racing experience to assist young drivers into the sport, as well as helping old hands go faster. Kelvin builds and prepares cars for motorsport for several race teams both in the U.K and abroad. Kelvin also writes for several Motorsport related magazines and websites and is an instructor at the Roots V8 Racing NASCAR School. Contact us to become part of the 2010 schedule.