SCOTS endurance racer Sandy Mitchell will make his debut in America’s big 24-hour race, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, later this month.
The 21-year-old, from Forfar, will partner Lamborghini development driver Corey Lewis and fellow Americans Jeff Westphal and Robert Megennis in the No39 Peregrine Racing Huracan GT3 Evo.
The crew will contest the ultra-competitive GTD class in the 61-car field of the 60th running of the Daytona on January 29-30. Mitchell said: “It’s always a great feeling going into a 24-hour race and, with our team, we head to the start line prepared to win.
"We know anything can happen in a 24-hour race but a good bit of strategy, allied to good pace, can propel you to be one of the main contenders. It’s a race that I’ve always wanted to do. It’s one of those big ‘Bucket List’ GT races.”
And Airdrie’s Ryan Dalziel is keen to defend his LMP2-class win from last year with the Era Motorsport Oreca at the Florida circuit.
Dalziel said: “We’ve the same car, team and drivers but the field is massive for 2022, so it’s going to be really tough. But we are ready to fight to keep our crown.”
Meanwhile, Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO racer Finlay Hutchison made a highly competitive start to his 2022 season in the Middle East last weekend, with an impressive seventh place finish in the Hankook Dubai 24H.
As one of four pilots for German squad Attempto Racing, the Dundee 22-year-old held his own in various stints during the 24-hour contest to get the new year of international GT racing under way very fruitfully.
He said: “Our pace was strong all the way throughout the race and I’m happy with the way we’ve started our racing year – especially in such a challenging event.
“The Attempto guys did a fantastic job, the Audi R8 is always very reliable and it goes the distance in big endurance races – it’s one of the strongest features of the car.
“It’s been a positive start to 2022 and now we’re all looking forward to the Asian Le Mans Series next month with the EVO II version of the Audi.”
Back on home soil, Scottish Rally Championship organisers are delighted that Alford-based firm KNC Groundworks has agreed a fourth year of headline sponsorship.
The SRC has seen KNC owner Kevin Crawford develop from a rallying newcomer to a regular top 20 contender during the last five years.
Crawford said: “As a competitor, I can appreciate first-hand the work and dedication that goes into the running of the events, all undertaken by volunteers.
“Competition is always fierce but just as important is the friendship and camaraderie that is a great feature of the championship.”
SRC chairman Roy Campbell added: “Kevin’s enthusiasm for the sport is fundamental to the new agreement that, along with all the other existing and new championship supporters, will greatly assist us and the events to deliver a series for all competitors.”
The season starts on March 5 with the Snowman Rally around Inverness.
In an interesting development, rally cars powered by agricultural waste have claimed second and fourth place in the Dakar Rally while saving 28 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) was the first major motorsport team to compete with a new generation of advanced sustainable fuels.
The Prodrive Hunter driven by nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb and Fabian Lurquin battled 12 stages of dunes, cliffs and canyons in the Saudi Arabian desert to claim second place.
Two further similar team vehicles managed to finish in fourth and 54th positions. They were powered by a biofuel from UK-based specialists Coryton that could be used as a direct replacement for unleaded petrol in almost any vehicle.
Coryton boss Andrew Willson said: “Through global stages such as Dakar, we hope to raise awareness of just how effective and efficient renewable fuels can be.”
