News in brief, October 2007

The week-long Silver Fern Historic Rally in New Zealand will be run for the second time from October 16-23, 2008. The event will start in Christchurch and concentrate on gravel special stages in the Queenstown and Dunedin regions before finishing at Blenheim. The eight-day rally will focus on historic cars and cover much of the South Island in a route covering more than 700 stage miles.

Michael Lyons made his Grand Prix Masters debut at the Nürburgring at the age of 16 when he raced his family’s Surtees TS9 alongside parents Frank and Judy. The youngster (left) showed well, but retired from both races with car problems.

One single stage on the East African Safari Classic Rally will be longer than many complete WRC events. A competitive section of more than 100 miles, passing near the entrance to the famous Ngorogoro Crater, will test crews’ endurance on the 2600-mile marathon. “The stage is a mix of virtually everything. It is twisty in some places and then becomes a high-speed affair before becoming rougher and finally climbing up into hills,” said event director, Surinder Thatthi. The event runs from November 25-December 6.

British Touring Car racer Mike Jordan will make his Group C debut at Donington Park in September when he shares the Porsche 962 of Mark Sumpter. The pair were formerly team-mates in GT racing.