Racing

Street & Ballesteros excited for 2023 116 Trophy campaign

News, Racing /

April 30th 2023 will see the start of a new GAZ Shocks 116 Trophy season, as Rochdale racers Matty Street and Sandro Ballesteros join the grid for the forthcoming six-round calendar.

It will see drivers be tested in an endurance format between late April and early October. They will all be heading to five well-known tracks in the United Kingdom that includes the “Home of British Motorsport,” Silverstone.

This championship, which is part of the 750 Motor Club, provides close and competitive racing, with a big emphasis on cost effectiveness. It has even attracted the likes of legendary racer-turned-broadcaster Tim Harvey, who competed with his son Jamie last July at Silverstone.

Street has already had proven success in racing, especially with Team BRIT in the Britcar Endurance Championship Trophy class in previous years, and makes a welcome return to competitive action this year.

Along with his current workload that includes owning and running a successful UK karting team in the form of X-Kart, the Team Karting indoor facility in Rochdale and other projects, he is very much looking forward to getting back in a race suit and compete at some great tracks.

“To be honest, I am just really happy that I’ve gotten another chance to get back behind the wheel. It has been a lot of hard work to get back into this. ,” Matty admitted, as he’s also pleased to be partnering up with Sandro.

“The excitement is climbing up another level as we get closer to the beginning of the season. We’ve known each other for so long, and it felt like the perfect fit for us to get to race together as a team.

“Sandro and his family have also worked so hard to get to this stage of his career as a racer. The fact that this is now happening just is testament to all those long days and weekends away. I’m just so proud of what he’s done so far.“

Ballesteros has also been gaining welcome experience through his karting endeavours, which also saw him compete with X-Kart around the country in the Cadet Kart Championship, and has also raced with Matty before as part of the #RacingWithAutism team at various charity events.

“I’m really buzzing about the season alongside Matty, as he’s pretty much like an older brother to me,” he said, explaiing that he is also excited about competing in the 116 Trophy, having moved up from the Junior Saloon Car Championship last year.

“He’s an amazing driver, and was also my tutor for my ARDS test, helping me out a bit lot, plus his BMW 116i was the first car I ever drove – so it’s a no brainer and I can constantly learn with someone I can really trust.

“Endurance racing is the step I want to take, and it’s going to be a big challenge. I’m putting in a lot of time on the sim, along with an exercise program, which includes neck training, as the G-forces in this cars can be overwhelming.“

Stay tuned for further news as it happens about this dynamic duo teaming up and heading into a great competitive series like the GAZ Shocks 116 Trophy.

To find out more on the GAZ Shocks 116 Trophy, head to: https://116trophy.com

2023 GAZ Shocks 116 Trophy Calendar:

30/04/2023 – Silverstone National

21/05/2023 – Brands Hatch Indy

25/06/2023 – Croft

30/07/2023 – Snetterton

20/08/2023 – Silverstone International

07/10/2023 – Oulton Park

Street & Ballesteros excited for 2023 116 Trophy campaign Read More »

Halow Project

Matty takes on F1 stars in charity karting event

News, Racing /

TeamKarting and X-Kart founder Matty Street has joined his Team BRIT team mates in a charity karting event, taking on the likes of F1 legends Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert.

Matty is a driver for all-disabled Team BRIT, which on Tuesday took second place in the Halow Project’s Damon Hill Kart Challenge.

Matty joined  Team BRIT drivers Bobby Trundley, Aaron Morgan, Andy Tucker and Luke Pound, lining up against a host of other teams, which took to the grid at Sandown Park in Esher to support the community-based charity. The Halow Project supports young people aged 16+ with learning disabilities on their journey into adult life. It helps give young people the chance to enjoy an active social life, make new friends, and find further education and employment training.

Former F1 superstar Damon Hill, who is a Team BRIT supporter, is also a patron for the charity.  Every year a karting challenge, led by Damon, is held to raise crucial funds.

It was at a Halow kart race in 2018 that Team BRIT first discovered current team GT4 driver, Bobby Trundley, who was competing at the event.  Bobby was racing alongside former Team BRIT driver Warren McKinlay who instantly recognised his incredible talent and introduced him to the team.

The team set out with expectations high and qualified in a superb P4.  The race then got underway with Bobby taking the opening lap, followed by Luke, Andy, Aaron then Matty.

A tough-fought battle ensued with the team being pipped to the P1 spot by Graves Motorsport, a team that included the drivers’ Team BRIT Coach, Max Coates.

Throughout the day, the drivers spent time with Damon, as well as fellow F1 legend and team supporter Johnny Herbert and Daytona Motorsport CEO Charles Graham.

Matty said, “What a fantastic day and a great way to raise awareness of the Halow Project and the amazing work it carries out with young people.

“It was brilliant to see my Team BRIT team mates competing in my usual workplace – a kart track!  We knew we’d be able to pose some serious competition and it was amazing to race against some F1 legends.

“Finishing on the podium just topped off the day – a huge thanks to the organisers for inviting us to take part.” 

To learn more about the charity and to donate, visit the Halow Project website.

Photo credit: Paul Cherry

Matty takes on F1 stars in charity karting event Read More »

Karts to cars BMW

Matty launches new route to racing for karting stars

News, Racing /

Matty is proudly launching a major new project to help young kart racers progress to the next stage of motorsport.

‘Karting to Cars’ will see Matty and business partner James Austin offering grassroots, entry level racing and coaching for drivers looking to move from karts to cars.

More than 80,000 customers currently use Matty’s TeamKarting kart facility in Rochdale, with many starting their racing journey from as young as 6 years old.  Now, those who want to take the next step in their racing career will have the support of Matty and his team, who are passionate about lowering the barriers for entry into car racing.

The project has also had support from local sponsor Creation Signs based in Bacup, which has wrapped the new track car available for rookies to use. The firm, which designs, prints, builds and installs outdoor and indoor signs, has covered the BMW 116 car in impressive new TeamKarting / X-Kart branding.

Matty, who was diagnosed with asperger’s, dyslexia and dyspraxia as a child, drives for all-disabled Team BRIT, and raced the BMW in his 2019 rookie year.

Initially being offered to drivers on test and track days, the car is also fully prepped to race in the BMW 116 Trophy – a race series Matty and James plan to compete in as part of their calendar of motorsport.

Matty explains, “This is a really important project in our overall aim to support young people and rookie drivers into competitive racing.

“Over the years, I’ve built up a number of businesses, aimed at developing grassroots motorsport. From TeamKarting, to the Cadet Kart Championship, I want to help others who share my passion for racing but who may also need support in getting involved.

“I’m proud to have helped 100s of young drivers progress from indoor karting to outdoor racing. This is the next step to help them on their way towards racing cars.”

Contact us to find out more.

Matty launches new route to racing for karting stars Read More »

Busy weekend at Snetterton for Matty and Team BRIT

Busy weekend at Snetterton for Matty and Team BRIT

News, Racing /

The Britcar Trophy round 2 was held at Snetterton, in Norfolk, and some brake issues didn’t stop Matty Street and his teammate achieving two top 5 finishes.

Here is what Matty said about his race weekend…

Friday: Testing

Friday testing went well, Snetterton is one of my favourite tracks and I felt at home straight away.

The team had made a few set up changes to the car compared to the previous outing at Silverstone a few weeks ago. It certainly felt great and was a huge step forward.

After my stint in the car my teammate, Andy Tucker, went out for his. Unfortunately, the car suffered a brake issues which meant retiring it for the rest of the day.

Not only was it a big loss of track time for us but it also required a big logistical effort by the team to get some parts overnight to repair the car.

Saturday: Team BRIT on the podium

While our class races on Sunday, Team BRIT also races in the Saturday Britcar Endurance event.

It was great to see Team BRIT drivers, Bobby and Aaron, doing a great job and finishing in P2 & P1 in their races.

Sunday: Race day

Sunday is race day, with Andy Tucker and I racing in the team BMW 240, while Luke Pound is in the BMW 118.

Qualifying gremlins

Going into qualifying I was very confident, as I love Snetterton. With new brakes fitted Tucker went out to warm the car up and bed the brakes in.

A few minutes into qualifying we swapped over to me to set the fastest laps. However, on my out lap the car developed a gremlin and this meant I was unable to set any flying laps. As a result we qualified a P6 for race 1 and P30 for race 2.

Race 1 – progress

Our Race 1 the strategy was for me me to start and Tucker to finish. It was a tough race but we managed to finish P5 after a P6 start… progress made.

Race 2 – another audacious start

Starting prom P30 on the grid left us with a challenge but everything to gain. I started once again, with the strategy of getting as far up the grid as possible… we certainly did that!

Thanks to some amazing overtakes and brave moves we managed to make up 19 places in the first lap. We reached P1 with 20mins to go.

Check out some of Matty’s overtaking moves

After the mandatory two minute pit stop and driver change, Andy kept up the battle and brought the car home in P5. With a P30 grid position to make it to the top 5 was a great result.

Write-off to race car

The technical issues are frustrating but everyone at Team BRIT is working hard to get a handle of them.

Our BMW 240i race car is a former write off that the team have rebuilt to create a race car… an awesome write-off to race car project for the team.

Take a look at the video below to see how it came about… it’s an amazing bit of kit and I can’t wait for the next outing.

Busy weekend at Snetterton for Matty and Team BRIT Read More »

Matty Street, driver of the day at Silverstone

Matty voted Silverstone driver of the day

News, Racing /

In an action packed weekend at Silverstone, Matty Street had great drives in both races of the Britcar Trophy that saw him voted driver of the day.

  • Team BRIT, raceday
    Team BRIT, raceday
  • In action at Silverstone
    In action at Silverstone
  • Leaderboard: P2 for Matty
    Leaderboard: P2 for Matty
  • Leaderboard: P1 for Matty
    Leaderboard: P1 for Matty
  • In the pits with Team BRIT
    Pitwall
  • On the Silverstone circuit
    In action

Eventful debut in the BritCar Trophy

Here is what Matty said about his race weekend…

Some times you have good days some times bad days. Today we had both. 😩 🏆

There are huge positives to take away from the weekend. In race we qualified P7 got up to P2 after the start [check out the first lap here: Silverstone first lap]. I was even leading the race at one point🤩.

Race 1

A safety car bunched the pack back up and I dropped to P4. We had a small issue at the pit stop with refuelling and so we lost a bit of time during the driver change. After the pit stop we came out P8 and then Andy did a great job to claw pour way back to P7.

Race 2

In race 2, due to making such a good start in race one, we decided I should start the race. I am pleased to say I got another great start from P7 to P4 in the first few corners. From there I had a solid defensive drive. When I came Into the pits, the team nailed the refuelling and driver change but then the car didn’t restart 😩

The crew did an amazing job to get the car going again but we had lost so much time that we ended up back of the pack. Overall, the main thing is that we finished the race and still got a top 10 in class finish.

“Not driver of the day it’s team of the day“

Aside from that I got awarded driver of the day! 🏆

Not the result we’d have liked but still great to come away with something.

Today as been a true team effort. So as far as I’m concerned it’s not driver of the day it’s team of the day!

Matty voted Silverstone driver of the day Read More »

Sensational first lap from Matty at Silverstone

Sensational first lap from Matty at Silverstone

News, Racing /

Wow, that’s how to nail the first lap when starting from P7… Matty Street’s first lap at Silverstone was sensational! Relive it here…

Eventful debut in the BritCar Trophy

Matty was competing in the 2021 Britcar Trophy (April 25th 2021) that takes place at the UK’s leading circuits (including Silverstone & Brands Hatch). Driving for Team BRIT, the only race team in the world that only has drivers with different disabilities, Matty’s team mate, Andrew Tucker, had qualified them in 7th place.

P7 to P2 on first lap

Driving the first stint at the race, Matty made a brilliant start getting to the inside for turn 1 and then making the advantage count as he cut through the pack to P2 by the end of the first lap.

As you can see from the footage, a battle to hold that 2nd place was well underway when a safety car brought the pack back together while damage lower down the order was cleared.

1st… momentarily!

As racing resumed after the safety car, pulled a moved to momentarily gain P1… heady times! Unfortunately Matty was caught out shortly afterwards and this saw him slip back to P4 in a very competitive race. Matty held 4th place throughout the remainder of his stint.

What might have been

Unfortunately a slight issue at the pit stop during refuelling meant that my team mate left the pits in P8. During his stint he was able to claw back a place and so we finished P7.

  • Team BRIT, raceday
    Team BRIT, raceday
  • In action at Silverstone
    In action at Silverstone
  • Leaderboard: P2 for Matty
    Leaderboard: P2 for Matty
  • Leaderboard: P1 for Matty
    Leaderboard: P1 for Matty
  • In the pits with Team BRIT
    Pitwall
  • On the Silverstone circuit
    In action

Sensational first lap from Matty at Silverstone Read More »

Racing at Silverstone in the Brit Car Trophy

Racing at Silverstone in the Brit Car Trophy

News, Racing /

Matty Street competed in round one of the BritCar Trophy at Silverstone over the weekend of the 25th April 2021.

Matty had a busy weekend with practice on Friday and 2 races on Saturday. The exciting racing saw him drive a sensational first lap, solid race performance and being voted driver of the day.

The 2021 Britcar Trophy that takes place at the UK’s leading circuits (including Silverstone & Brands Hatch). The Trophy runs under a class structure, with shorter races and no re-fuelling. The format of the day is 1 x 20 minute qualifying and 2x 50 minute races. Matty is driving for Team BRIT, the only race team in the world that only has drivers with different disabilities.

Take a look at images from the weekend below (images courtesy of Darren Cooke):

Racing at Silverstone in the Brit Car Trophy Read More »