Race Report - "Autoglym Classic
Festival"
- 20th July 2010
Kelvin Hassell managed to salvaged a win out of a relatively poor
weekend for the Sussex driver. The European Late Model Series returned
to Lydden Hill in Kent, where Hassell had taken a brace of wins less
than a month ago, for the Autoglym Historic Festival on the 17th and
18th of July. Hassell went a lap down in the first heat, clearly
struggling with the handling on the #13 Ready 2 Race Pontiac. After the
race Hassell said, "We don't know what is going wrong, the car was
excellent here last time and we have hardly changed a thing." in the
second race Hassell dropped to 9th and the final race of the Saturday
Hassell came home fourth. "We have been adjusting the car all day but it
doesn't seem to be getting better. The traffic helped us in that last
race. We will see what tomorrow brings."
The Sunday didn't improve things as Hassell dropped to 10th in the first
two races but seemed to find some pace in the third. At the start
Hassell took advantage of his starting position on the inside of the
Simpson Toyota driven by Belgian Wim Verloo to snatch third place.
Hassell then caught the Racecar Direct-UK Pontiac of Keith Whalley and
pressured him into a mistake. The Revolution Racing car of Andrew Knight
was next on Hassells list and an error by Knight gave Hassell the lead.
Wim Verloo followed Hassell through but came under pressure from
Dutchman Rodger Twikler in the Monster Energy Drinks Chevrolet. This
allowed Hassell the breathing space he needed to win the final. "That
was simply lucky," Said Hassell "but a win is a win and I'm not giving
it back!"
The Autoglym Classic Festival will be shown on Motors TV (Sky channel
413) at the end of August, meanwhile the European Late Model Series head
for Ipswich for some night racing on the 7th of August.
Race Report - "The BIG One"
- 15th July 2010
Kelvin Hassell took a mixed bag of results away from Warneton Speedway,
Belgium, at the weekend. The "Big One!" Organised by Belgian race
promotor, CAMSO, is the biggest event on the European Late Model Series
calendar. 120 laps spread over four races. Hassell missed the warm up
for the first race along with fellow Roots V8 Racing driver Gary Ellis
as they were helping members of the Raptor Racing Team get their cars
ready for the unexpectedlly early start. Both drivers were told to start
a lap down. Ellis retired but Hassell carried on and caught the tail end
of the pack just as the chequered flag flew.
In race two Hassell quickly gunned his way to the front with Frenchman
Jean Vasseur in hot pursuit. Hassell caught the leader, Dutch racer
Rodger Twikler, and began to put pressure on the Monster Energy Drinks
driver. Eventually the Dutchman cracked and Hassell went through with a
lap to go to take the win with Jean Vasseur second.
Hassell moved up to 6th from the back of the grid in the third of the
heat races with Jean Vasseur taking the win.
The final looked as if it would shape up to be a titanic 50 lap battle.
Hassell got to the front and quickly run down the two lead cars, both
from the Raptor Racing stable. Kurt Dujardyn was fighting side by side
with team mate Anton Gonnisson with Hassell looking for a way through.
Hassell was soon Joined by Ellis and then Belgium driver, Xavier
Vandermeersch. By 25 laps There were two snakes of side by side Late
Models circling the Speedway at high speed. Ellis hit Hassell knocking
the Englishman sideways. The Race Director through a caution but Hassell
caught the back of the Roots V8 Racing Pontiac and carried on for the
restart.
The green flag flew for the re-start and Dujardyn cut his team mates
race short by knocking him into a spin Gonnisson was then collected by
Hassell, Jos Jansen in the third Raptor Racing car, Jean Vasseur and the
third Roots V8 car of Tony Roots. All retired. Ellis went on to win the
race after a second re-start with Dujardyn second and Vandermeersch
third.
Round 5 Race Report
- 14th
June 2010
Kelvin Hassell had a less than fortunate
weekend when he failed to finish all three of the European Late Model
races at Foxhall Stadium on Saturday night.
A deal was put together late last week to put Hassell in the #08 Chevrolet for the RCD Racing team rather than his usual #13 Pontiac belonging to the Roots V8 Racing stable. Hassells' first drive of the car would be in practice just before the first heat race of the evening. Hassell was impressed with the car and put forward a few adjustments to make it quicker for the race. The first heat started with Hassell losing ground to Tony Roots and Shane Bereton. It quickly became apparent however, that all was not well with the #08 car and Hassell retired to the infield with a split power steering pipe. In the second race Hassell completed three warming up laps before he retired with another power steering related failure.
The final race of the day Hassell looked on good form on the opening lap until the #97 car of Andrew Knight spun in front of Hassell leaving him nowhere to go but into the side of the #97 car. Tony Roots hit the wall on the outside of the track trying to avoid Knights car. Both Knight and Hassell escaped with minor cuts and bruises and are expected to be back in action at Warneton Speedway in Belgium on the 20th of June. All three of the days races were won by last years series champion Gary Ellis.
Hassell said "We had
some freaky bad luck today that no-one could have foreseen, but the RCD
team worked wonders to get us out for the final and the #08 is properly
fast. We should have won today."
Round 4 Race Report
- 18th
May 2010
Local racer Kelvin Hassell was back on the podium again on Sunday, after
an epic battle with European Late Model rival, Paul Bowman. The 16th of
May was the final Belgium round of the series before a three week break
to allow the teams to prepare for racing in England in June. With
everyone intending to finish this leg of the season on a high, carnage
descended on the first race. Hassell stayed out of trouble and picked up
a fifth position whilst the race was won by team mate Tony Roots.
The second race was incident free but proved to be dictated by slower
cars controlling the traffic. Ben Anderson from Autosport Magazine won
the race with Hassell finishing 7th. Anderson was tutored by Hassell at
the Roots V8 Racing School on the Friday before the race, "Clearly I
taught him too much!" remarked Hassell afterwards.
The final was action packed from start to finish. Hassell Moved up to
third place when a collision between Frenchman Jean Vasseur and reigning
champion Gary Ellis bought out the yellow flags. Hassell was able to
capture second as the yellows flew again. This time Wim Verloo in the
only Toyota in the series had hit the wall hard in turn one. Hassell was
taken at the restart by "The Flying Dutchman" Wim Moonen in his
Chevrolet Monte Carlo who grabbed the lead and gave Hassell the opening
he needed to get along side Paul Bowman in the ASBF Chevrolet. The pair
battled for lap after lap until Hassell moved his Roots V8 Racing
Pontiac in to second position with five laps to go. Xavier Vandermeersch
in the Dodge Intrepid followed Hassell through the gap to take third and
the pair began to hunt down the leader. Two laps later, Anderson was
involved in an incident with American driver Bruce Andrews, stopping the
race for a third time. Due to time restraints, the race was declared
over with Wim Moonen taking victory for the Netherlands, Hassell taking
the second step of the podium and Xavier Vandermeersch of Belgium in
third position.
Round 3 Race Report
- 25th April 2010
Hassell put in some solid results with the #13 Roots V8 Racing Pontiac
Grand Prix at Warneton last weekend taking fifth position in the
prestigious CAMSO Cup. The race is one of the longest on the European
Late Model Series calendar at 60 laps and is a true test of stamina for
the cars and drivers. The event has two qualifying heats the first of
which was was won by Dutchman Rodger Twikler in the Monster Energy
Drinks sponsored #177 Chevrolet. Hassell finished 12th after getting
caught behind lapped traffic and losing several positions.
A setup change and better use of the back markers moved Kelvin up to 8th
in the second heat closely followed by team mate and boss, Tony Roots in
the #77 Roots V8 Racing Pontiac. Second team mate Gary Ellis won the
race in a third Roots V8 Racing machine.
In the CAMSO Cup race there were many incidents before the flag finally
dropped. Hassell battled his way through to second behind Frenchman
Bertrand Zore but was unable to snatch the top spot before Raptor
Racing's Jos Jansen attacked, opening a door for the next group of cars
to pass. Hassell droped back to eighth but was able to use the
backmarking traffic to shuffle up to sixth when the yellow flags came
out for an Incident between Elis and his rival Xavier Vandermeersch in
the #19 Dodge. There was two laps to go when the race restarted and
Hassell just managed to sneak in to fifth position as the flag dropped
on Frenchman Jean Vaseur to take the win.
Rounds 1 & 2 Race Report
-
8th April 2010
What looked set to be
a bad weekend for Kelvin Hassell was turned in to a success story at
Warneton Speedway in Belgium last weekend as it played host to the
opening round of the European Late Model Series 2010, during the Easter
bank holiday. The Roots V8 Racing Pontiac of Hassell Failed to finish
the first two heats on Sunday with fuel pressure problems. Sundays
feature final race was delayed until Monday when the heavens opened and
washed out the afternoon's Late Model Racing. This gave the team on the
#13 car to diagnose and rectify the problem, which transpired to be an
incorrectly installed fuel cell. On Monday morning the efforts were
rewarded as Hassell stormed to victory in the first European Late Model
Series feature race of 2010, beating Bruce Andrews from the U.S.A and
France's Jean Vasseur. However, Hassell's luck had not entirely turned.
The first of Mondays heat races ended for Hassell in a major wreck at
turn 3. The damage to both Hassell and the car was minor despite the
size of the incident which involved 6 cars. Hassell retired to prepare
the car for heat two, where the Sussex driver thread his car up the
order through to a fine fifth position. The last feature final of the
day was longer and allowed Hassell more time to pick his way through the
traffic finishing in second place behind Frenchman Jean Vasseur and
ahead of Belgium's Xavier Vandermeersch.
The next round of the
championship will also take place at Warneton Speedway and will include
two heat races and a 60 lap feature final for the coveted CAMSO Cup.
The event takes place on the 25th of April. You can find out more at
www.latemodel.eu.
Hassell Prepared for 2010
-
Media information: 8th March 2010
Kelvin Hassell is prepared for his 2010
European Late Model campaign. The Sussex driver has spent the winter
with friends in Brighton and has said recently that he feels mentally
and physically ready for the coming championship season. "I was
disheartened at the end of last season for many reasons, including the
accident that finished our season, but being with friends is good for me
and I feel ready to take on the best of Europe's Stockcar elite."
Hassell's 2009 season ended abruptly at the final round of the
championship in Warneton Belgium. Race leader Paul Bowman driving the
#39 Ambulance Benevolent Fund car, lost control and smashed into the #13
Ready 2 Race car of Hassell who was passing him to take the lead. Both
cars were eliminated from the race. "It wasn't a huge wreck, but I
didn't want to end the season that way." Said a reflective Hassell,
"However, it did give us an excuse to tear the #13 car down and give it
a thorough going over before this season!"
Hassell needn't have been disappointed, his results this season salvaged
him a 5th place overall in the European Late Model Series and won him
the Eastbourne and Ram Motor Club's Speed award and Home Trophy. Race
wins and controversial interviews also made him a star in the European
Late Model Series television show.
It has been a busy 'off season' for Hassell, starting in January with an
appearance at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham's National
Exhibition Centre. Hassell displayed one of the European Late Model cars
for new parts sponsor, Aurora Bearings. After four days of meeting race
fans from all over the country, the Sussex star was interviewed on the
live stage for the amassed Stockcar fans by Motors TV commentator Dave
Richardson.
The #13 Pontiac Grand Prix that Hassell drives in the European Late
Model Series, has also had a busy close season:- "The car is having a
total rebuild." said Hassell, "We have been given a lot of help to get
the car ready for this year. Chimp Tune Developments, BMS Auto Services
and Aurora Bearings have had a big hand in helping us get ready for the
coming race season, not to mention the continued support of Ready 2
Race."
The car is part of the Roots V8 Racing Team, who run the Belgian racing
school where Hassell instructs. It is powered by a 5.7 litre Chevrolet
V8 engine producing 450 BHP provided by his father's team, Alan Hassell
Motorsport of Polegate.
The European Late Model Series is not the only place you can see Hassell
in action. "This season I will also be Rallying with the local
Eastbourne and Ram Motor Club, Drifting with the Norwich Drift Team and
racing select rounds of the Stock Hatch Championship with my dad's
Citroen Saxo VTR."
The 2010 European Late Model Series kicks off on the 4th and 5th of
April at Warneton Speedway in Belgium with six races taking place over
the two days.