Contents:
- Editor's welcome
- Interview with John Holder
- Steve Brown: Rally driver turns to rallycross »
- Dippy in Rochdale
- Rochdale Borough Youth Cabinet member goes international
- A warm welcome from WHAG
- Five reasons why you should spring clean for charity
- Julia Heap - Hopwood Hall Principal
- Bombay Brew: Masala Chicken Legs Recipe
- Bees
- Fairies Chapel & Witches at Healey Dell
- Hairdressing Trend - Precision Haircut
- Take part in the challenge of a lifetime for Springhill Hospice
- Joanne Timperley pens debut children’s book
- Spring clean your medicine cupboard
- A beginners’ guide to running with Andy O’Sullivan
- Cookies recipe
- Reside Estate Agency celebrates five years in business
- Successful year for PDS
- Take a walk in Ashworth Valley
- Still running Windows 7?
Spring 2020Steve Brown: Rally driver turns to rallycross
Podium finish for ‘Best Newcomer’ Steve Brown in rookie rallycross season
Rochdale driver Steve Brown ended his debut year in the Toyo Tyres British Rally Championship in triumph, securing an impressive third place overall in the BMW MINI series standings and being named Best Newcomer.
Brown switched circuits for the 2019 season, transitioning from rallying – racing on closed public and private roads – to rallycross – a circuit on tarmac, not public roads, against other people – making his debut in March 2019 at Silverstone Circuit.
Previously contesting stage rallies in Europe behind the wheel of his familiar Nissan Micra kit car, Steve was given the opportunity by one of his sponsors to try rallycross when the Micra was due a full engine rebuild.
Thanks to the support of Tom Watson at 710 Oils and the Bellerby RX outfit, Brown enjoyed a full assault on the eight-round British Rallycross Championship, which took in four circuits from Silverstone to Croft during the year.
His new 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.
Brown said: “I had a lot of nerves. I didn’t have the best of races, finishing sixth. It was a bad experience for the first time, but the plan was always to finish the season.”
A rally sales engineer at his father’s company Questmead Ltd – competition friction specialists in motorsports based in Rochdale – Brown has been racing since the age of 12 and said his passion began when his father, Alan Brown, started the company over 30 years ago.
“I started working for my dad in the holidays from school, doing the odd jobs here and there.
“I was bought my first car (a Mini grass track racer) at the age of 12 by my parents who took me to a family friend’s farm where, in the space of a weekend, I learnt to drive.
“We sold the Mini and got a Nissan Micra 1 Litre for rallying and by 17, I was driving the car in a championship, and progressed from there.”
From the early days in the F1000 Rally Championship, Steve became used to winning ways, being named the 2006 Formula 1000 Co-Driver champion and securing many titles and class wins along the way.
After successfully campaigning a F1000 specification Micra in the UK for many years, Steve built and developed a new Micra kit car in 2015 and headed for the MSA National Asphalt Championship. Narrowly missing out on the class B9 win in the series, he turned his attentions to the Belgium based FIRC in 2016, enjoying significant success on the stages.
Now 32-years-old, Brown launched into one of the biggest challenges of his motorsport career last season, as he shifted into British Rallycross, competing in a two-car team alongside regular RX protagonist Drew Bellerby.
“This was an amazing opportunity and one I really couldn’t pass up,” Steve continued, “I am a rally man at heart, but I really loved my rallycross chances and the atmosphere was pretty special.
“It is a totally different aspect of motorsport so I had to learn everything all over again: adapting my whole way of thinking; getting used to other people around me; how to deal with other cars on the track; and managing the car; but it’s one of the most progressive motorsports out there, so it was great to be part of it.
“I mainly practiced by playing rally games on the Xbox!”
His career-best equalling result netted him third place in the series, ensuring the rookie ended his season on the championship and race podium after securing second place in the final round at Croft Race Circuit in October.
Reflecting on his rallycross season, Steve finished: “To have come away with third in the championship in our first year, and so many race podiums, was well beyond my expectations, but the Best Newcomer 2019 was a massive shock. I wasn’t expecting good results as the people who I was up against had been competing in rallycross for years.
“I have to thank all of my supporters for helping me get this result. I certainly would not have been able to compete so closely with the regular rallycross drivers if it wasn’t for their backing.
“It has been a super year and I’m looking forward to seeing what next season holds.”
Starting off in the UK for a small test on the Questmead Stages, then off to Belgium for the Flanders International Rally Challenge Championship and to Ypres Rally, Brown will return to rallying for the full 2020 season, all back in the trusty Micra kit car.
His first rally will be held the first weekend in March, and the first round mid-April.