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IRC ACE BRYAN BOUFFIER SECURES VICTORY IN POLAND
Bryan Bouffier continued his preparations for Barum Czech Rally Zlín, round seven of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge at the end of August, by claiming victory on Rajd Rzeszowski in Poland last weekend.
Running one of VP's powerful and reliable rally fuel blends, VP EXPORT, the 32-year-old, winner of the centenary edition of the IRC-counting Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, topped the leaderboard on both days of the Tarmac rally to move to the top of the Polish championship standings, a title he has won on three occasions in the past.
Driving a Peugeot 207 Super 2000, Bouffier, who was co-driven by Xavier Panseri, said the result would serve as a boost ahead of the Czech round of the IRC.
“I never start a race completely confident and Zlín will not be so easy because it is a very specific rally and because of the weather,” said the French ace. “But I had a good battle in Poland especially on the final day so this always helps. However, the set-up we used in Poland will be different for Zlín so we will see what can happen.”
Firmly involved in the IRC Championship, VP Racing Fuels will not only supply the fuel but arrange the associated logistic and refueling service on behalf of the teams.
Export, and the rest of VP's rally, drag race, motorcycle and jet ski products are immediately available throughout Europe via multiple VP warehouses and distributors, minimizing freight cost and delivery time.
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BRITISH SUBARU DRIVER DAVID HIGGINS WINS 2011 RALLY AMERICA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru Rally Team USA driver David Higgins, running one of VP's powerful and reliable rally fuel blends - VP RallyMax, won the 2011 Rally America National Championship with a 2nd Overall finish at the season finale, the New England Forest Rally, a few weekends ago. In a hotly contested season Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew piloted their BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car to three victories and two 2nd Overall finishes in the six-event Rally America National Championship. The 2011 driver’s title is the third for Higgins in the USA having won the SCCA ProRally Championship in 2002 and 2003. Higgins also won the British Rally Championship in 2004.
“It’s amazing and hasn’t really sunk in yet,” explained Higgins at the podium celebration. “The level of competition was really fierce all year, and it was a big challenge for me to come back to the USA after seven years away and adjust to new events, a co-driver I had never worked with before as well as new car. But everything meshed really well and our Subaru STI was a joy to drive fast. Driving for Subaru is every rally driver’s dream as the brand is so famous for rallying, so this is something really special for me.”
”Both David and Craig have done a stellar job the entire season extracting the utmost performance from their STI, supported by the solid car preparation by our team,” noted James Han, motorsports marketing manager for Subaru of America, Inc. “With the championship comprised of only six rounds against defending titleholders Antoine [L’Estage] and Nathalie [Richard] with their experience on those events makes SRT USA’s successful effort in regaining the championship that much more special. The effort of our team members and supporting sponsors has been exceptional, and the superlative performance of our STI was properly showcased.”
Higgins joined Subaru Rally Team USA at the start of the 2011 season, replacing longtime Subaru team driver Travis Pastrana who had earned the Rally America National Championship from 2006 through 2009. A season-long rivalry quickly ensued between Higgins and Canadian rally ace Antoine L’Estage, the defending Rally America Champion and Canadian Rally Champion. Higgins and L’Estage were at each other’s heels at every rally with the rivalry coming to a dramatic head last month at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally where Higgins came from behind late in the event to beat L’Estage by a mere 1.3 seconds.
The victory last month in Pennsylvania earned Higgins enough of a points lead over L’Estage that Higgins only needed to finish fourth or better at the New England Forest Rally this weekend to secure the driver’s title. A tactical fight ensued in New England with Higgins maintaining a 2nd overall position behind L’Estage while driving just fast enough to keep the chasing pack comfortably behind him.
In addition to three event victories and the driver’s title in the Rally America series, Higgins recently won the re-born Mt. Washington ‘Climb to the Clouds’ Hillclimb. He smashed the course record by over 30 seconds, driving the same Subaru STI he utilized in the Rally America Championship. Higgins has little time to celebrate, earlier this month he was invited to compete at ESPN Summer X Games 17 in Los Angeles. He will compete in both the Rally Car Racing and RallyCross competitions taking place on July 30th and 31st respectively.
Subaru Rally Team USA is proudly supported by Subaru of America, Inc., Subaru Tecnica International (STI), Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT), BFGoodrich Tires, RECARO, Vision X, Alpinestars, Motul, Exedy, VP Racing Fuels and Vermont SportsCar.
VP RallyMax, and the rest of VP's rally, drag race, motorcycle and jet ski products are immediately available throughout Europe via multiple VP warehouses and distributors, minimizing freight cost and delivery time.
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VP INTRODUCES NEW 4-STROKE “VPR” FUEL Performance Without the Premium Price!
VP Racing Fuels announces the introduction of “VPR,” its latest fuel for 4-stroke powersports applications. "VPR bridges the gap between pump gas and race fuel—easier on the wallet while providing increased performance!” said Jim Kelly, VP's Corporate Director-Sales & Marketing. “The ‘R’ is a nod to ‘riders’ of motorcycles and quads, but the reality is this product will pick up performance in off-road vehicles of all types.”
“While VP makes power in all forms of racing engines, we’re aware that professional grade race fuel is not necessarily required or economically practical for budget-conscious competitors with stock 4-stroke bikes, quads, UTVs, SXSs and other off-road vehicles,” Kelly continued. “The dilemma is that while the equipment is getting better, street gas is getting worse. Street gas is a commodity not necessarily made to the highest or consistent standards that VP’s products are.”
“Diluting race fuel with less expensive street gas takes a lot of time and effort, and is still subject to the shortcomings of street gas,” Kelly added. “Street gas doesn’t necessarily give riders the octane they need, tuning involves constant guesswork due to its inconsistency and they’re frustrated with the problems ethanol causes. Until now, race fuel has been perceived as too expensive for the performance gains enthusiasts want when they start their ride.”
“New VPR is designed as a direct pour-in replacement for premium pump gas, to which riders have been forced to add octane boosters or race fuel to bump up its octane and performance. VPR offers 1-2% more power and better throttle response with the increased consistency and long-term savings customers have been looking for. It’s competitively priced, fitting in between premium pump gas and race fuel. We have other race fuels that make more power but they also cost more, so VPR offers a good compromise for economical performance.”
Compared with more expensive performance parts that increase power along only a small slice of the power curve, VPR increases power throughout the rpm range. Riders can also be confident in VPR’s consistency pail after pail, regardless of where or when it’s purchased.
“Besides improving performance, VPR protects your investment,” Kelly pointed out. “VPR vaporizes better, thus burns cleaner and more efficiently. It will extend the life of your engine, increase the time between rebuilds and lower your long-term costs. It also won’t cause corrosion problems in EFI or carbureted fuel systems.”
While VPR is leaded and oxygenated, it will be followed in the coming weeks according to Kelly by another new fuel, christened “T4” and designed by VP with the same objectives in mind but which will be unleaded. “The two blends will provide complementary options offering the economical performance riders have been looking for.”
VPR and T4 have both been designed by VP’s own in-house “Mad Scientist,” Steve Burns, who throughout VP’s history has engineered the fuels that put VP on top of every podium in AMA Road Racing, Supercross, Motocross, NHRA Drag Racing and the many other forms of racing in which it has achieved dominance.
Like all of VP’s race fuels, VPR and T4 are only legal for use in a competition vehicle not used on public highways. The fuels may not be used for recreational offroading or other non-competition uses.
In addition to racing fuels, VP recently introduced SEF Small Engine Fuel, formulated specifically for portable gas-powered equipment to ensure quicker, more dependable starts and worry-free long-term storage. More information is available online at www.vpracingfuels.com and www.SEFfuels.com.
-CONTACTS -
EUROPE:
Jerome Duche - +33 6 69 28 96 58 - jerome@vpracingfuels.com
NORTH AMERICA:
Bruce Hendel - 1.951.696.5100 - brucehendel@vpracingfuels.com
Steve Scheidker - 1.210.635.7744 - steves@vpracingfuels.com
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PROTON, FUELED BY VP, TRIUMPHS AT THE RALLY DE NOUVELLE CALEDONIE
In a repeat of the results in Malaysia, PROTON Motorsport, running one of VP's powerful and reliable rally fuel blends, VP EXPORT, rallied to a first and third place finish overall at the Rally De Nouvelle Caledonie to clinch its second successive victory after three rounds of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
Scoring his second win of the season after winning the season-opener Malaysian Rally in April, Chris Atkinson and co-driver Stephane Prevot claimed victory in the Satria Neo S2000 finishing the three-day event ahead of Pertamina Cusco Racing’s Rifat Sungkar in the more powerful turbocharged Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
Team mate Alister McRae’s perseverance and determination paid off when he drove to a hard-fought third place after having conceded his early lead in the rally due to a puncture.
Victory in New Caledonia saw PROTON claiming not only the overall victory, but also top honors amongst the APRC contenders and finishing first in the Pacific Cup. PROTON also clinched the APRC Team Trophy at the event.
“It’s a phenomenal result for PROTON, the entire team and for Stephane and I personally. Our rally wasn’t exactly trouble free especially with a broken driveshaft in day 2 but we were lucky we had built a big enough gap to have it replaced and still hang on to the lead,” said Atkinson.
“In terms of power, performance and reliability, the Satria Neo S2000 performed like a gem this weekend.”
With maximum points scored in New Caledonia, Atkinson moves into the lead of the APRC Driver’s Championship with 58 points, just two points ahead of team mate McRae. McRae also reclaims the top spot in the Asia Cup Driver’s Championship ahead of Gill.
PROTON also stretches its lead in the APRC Teams Trophy with 128 points ahead of Team MRF.
“We are definitely very elated with this victory. Two victories in three rounds of the APRC certainly prove the competitiveness of the Satria Neo S2000. We’ve endured our fair share of misfortunes and mechanical issues but the car has nevertheless proven time and time again that it is able to take on the more powerful turbocharged cars and more importantly win rallies,” said PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Seri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
“We have channeled a lot of effort towards development in terms of achieving both greater performance and reliability since the last rally in Australia and this has indeed paid dividends here in New Caledonia…This is a big step forward and with all the mechanical issues hopefully behind us, we now look forward to our next immediate event which is the Ypres Rally in Belgium in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and New Zealand in the APRC.”
VP's rally fuel blends, and the rest of VP's auto, motorcycle and jet ski products are immediately available in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Be sure to visit vpracingfuels.com for more information.
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PIERRE CAMPANA DOMINATED THE CITTA' DI SCHIO RALLY RUNNING VP EXPORT
Pierre Campana, running one of VP's powerful and reliable rally fuel blends, VP EXPORT, enjoyed the best possible preparation for next weekend’s Tour de Corse after he dominated Saturday’s Citta’ di Schio rally in Italy.
The last evolution of the Peugeot S2000 mapping, specially designed for VP Export, gave Pierre an extra boost.
Pierre, alongside his co-pilot Sabrina di Castelli, won five of the six stages of the one-day event to claim overall victory by a margin of 47 seconds in their Peugeot 207 - S2000.
The rally, which was made up of two stages, Santa Caterina and Passo Xomo, repeated three times, proved the perfect practice for Pierre and the Munaretto Team with less than a week until the start of the legendary Tour de Corse.
The team has been able to build up important competition experience in advance of the Tour, which will be the most important rally of the year for Pierre, as he looks to use it as a springboard for the rest of the year. Despite impressive performances against a competitive field at Citta’ di Schio, Pierre is not taking anything for granted, knowing just how important and challenging the Tour de Corse will be.
Pierre said: “With just a week until the Tour de Corse begins, it has been a great opportunity to take part in the Citta’ di Schio rally and to build up our preparation in actual competition. It was a highly enjoyable day and we were able to show good performance against tough competitors. We won five of the six stages and had a comfortable margin at the head of the classification, which is obviously a nice psychological boost, even if Tour de Corse will be a completely different challenge. It has been great to work further with the Munaretto team, who always do a great job, and to get more accustomed to the Peugeot and Michelin tyres. We have also been working alongside VP Racing fuel, who have developed an excellent and competitive fuel for us.
Tour de Corse is next up and I cannot wait to get started!”
Firmly involved in the IRC Championship, VP Racing Fuels will not only supply the fuel but arrange the associated logistic and refueling service on behalf of the teams.
Export, and the rest of VP's rally, drag race, motorcycle and jet ski products are immediately available throughout Europe via multiple VP warehouses and distributors, minimizing freight cost and delivery time.
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FIRST VICTORY FOR VP FUELED RENAULT MEGANE RS N4 AT DRUGEON RIVER RALLY
FRANCE (APRIL 11, 2011) After a first lap where he discovered the unusual roads of this rally, Manu GUIGOU, running on VP EXPORT Racing Fuel, was already leading the race.
"We have tried and compared (on the dyno and on the road) 6 different fuels from 4 different fuel brands and VP Export gives the best performance" says Guigou. The next Service Park assistance gave some time to his team to change the settings of the Megane RS. Those changes allowed its pilot to make the difference even more and thereby lead to the first victory of the Renault Megane RS.
"It's a great satisfaction for me and Renault" says Manu GUIGOU. "The roads here, very similar to the one in Lyon, allowed us to work on the set up of the car. I am confident for the next week-end because we have found a good compromise".
Indeed, in a week, the Megane RS N4 prepared by Chazel Technologies Courses will be in Lyon for the second round of the French Rally Championship.
Compared to other fuels that conform to FIA specifications, VP Export offers significantly more power and torque. It improves transient rates due to its faster burning speed and superior energy value, offering faster accelerations and shorter turbo response time.
VP Export is immediately available throughout Europe via multiple VP warehouses and distributors, minimizing freight cost and delivery time.
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MALMGREN AND VP TAKE TROPHY AT FIA AWARDS BANQUET
(JANUARY 18, 2011) Michael Malmgren has undoubtedly made a name for himself as one of Europe’s greatest drag racers ever, so there’s no surprise that he chooses VP Racing Fuels to power his Pro-Stockers. Does he plan on quitting anytime soon? We think not. Some racers have to train endlessly to become “good” or “above-average” at what they do. Malmgren just seems to have greatness embedded in the genes.
The racer listed “winning another drag racing championship” as a top goal for 2010. He had done it in 2002 and followed with another the next year, but had the playing field changed? Not enough to defeat Malmgren’s skill set. The racer stated this in a press release following some exciting news, "I am very proud to confirm that we did clinch the 2010 FIA European Pro-Stock Championship," adding, "and we are invited to the FIA Awards in Monaco."
Malgren admitted that it was truly an honoring experience to be called up to receive a trophy before legends like Michael Schumacher and Jaen Todt, as well as Monaco Royalty. He recalls what a special feeling that was to receive his first championship title in 2002.
After clinching the title in the final race at Santa Pod Raceway in England this year against rival Jimmy Alund, Malmgren was called to the stage once more to receive applause from what now are his peers – a roomful of racing greats.
The final race didn’t consist of a dramatic finish. In fact, Alund wasn’t a threat to Malmgren’s impressive points lead. Malmgren really just needed to show up to Santa Pod, throw down a couple of decent runs and take his champ trophy. Malmgren doesn’t play that way though. Even though the title was his he put his all out on the track, coming out a runner-up that day against Alund (6.731 @ 205mph), but a champion of the season.
"Jimmy was the faster car this weekend, but I got the hole-shot on him with six-hundreds on the lights, and I had him, but lost traction, too much second gear and that hurt us," said Malmgren. "But four straight final round appearances is something we are very proud of too."
When asked if anyone of the three championships stands out Malmgren says "Well, when I did win the first time that was of course a truly strong memory, and a real highlight, but winning again in 2010 also feels very, very good." Then, after giving it some thought he adds, "I must say I may have been even more thrilled and excited about winning it in 2002."
CLICK HERE to learn more about VP Racing Fuels’ drag racing blends – the fuels of choice for many FIA & FIM champs.
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VP-FUELED PROTON CONFIRMS 10-EVENT IRC CAMPAIGN
Malaysian manufacturer PROTON, running on VP’s reliable and powerful blend of VP Export, will embark on a 10-event IRC campaign in 2011, starting with the centenary edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo next month.
Run by the British MEM squad, PROTON will support a brace of Satria Neo S2000s on the asphalt event, which runs from 18-22 January. It will be the first time that PROTON has contested the rally, which will receive extensive live television coverage on Eurosport.
The cars will be driven by Australian Chris Atkinson and Sweden’s P-G Andersson, who will begin their testing programme shortly. Both drivers have previous IRC experience and have both tackled Rallye Monte-Carlo in the past. Scot Alister McRae, the younger brother of rally legend Colin McRae, will contested selected IRC events during the season.
Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, the Managing Director of PROTON, said: “We are extremely proud to be able to reveal our plans for the 2011 rally programme. This development represents yet more exciting news from PROTON, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year. It’s incredible to think how far we have come for such a relatively young company. But this is just the beginning for PROTON. Thanks to the close alliance with MEM in the UK, the rally team will go from strength to strength, embracing the cutting-edge technology which runs through the PROTON road car range. Competing at such a high level of rallying across the globe offers PROTON the perfect opportunity to showcase its range of road cars. And all of those cars sold to our valued customers contain a little piece of our rallying DNA; the same spirit of performance, expertise and reliability which will undoubtedly carry the Satria Neo S2000 to the greatest of heights next season.”
PROTON will finalise its schedule of IRC events for the coming season in
due course.
Firmly involved in the IRC Championship, VP Racing Fuels will not only supply
the fuel but arranges the associated logistic and refueling service on behalf
of the team.
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VP INTRODUCES NEW RALLY FUEL - VP EXPORT
VP Racing Fuels, an industry leader in race fuel technology, today introduced its newest fuel for rally racing—VP Export. With its popular RallyPlus fuel for turbos already well established in the rally world, VP Export is specifically designed for 4-stroke naturally aspirated engines, e.g., S2000, S1600, R1, R2, R3 and Maxi, although it also will work well in Group N turbo engines. Engineered to FIA technical specifications, VP Export reflects the latest technology in rally
fuel development.
”Compared to other fuels that conform to FIA specifications, VP Export offers significantly more power and torque,” said Jim Kelly, European Regional Manager for VP. “In particular, it improves transient rates due to its faster burning speed and superior energy value, offering faster accelerations and shorter turbo response time.”
“VP’s fuels are famous for their extreme consistency, and with the top quality of its components and high degree of purity, VP Export is no exception,” Kelly added. “It has already been tested and recommended by top engine builders and manufacturers in Europe. Engineers are always searching for more performance and we’ve worked with many to deliver what they recognize as the best new rally fuel on the market. As a result, several fuel mapping guidelines are readily available at no cost to teams around the world”.
VP Export is immediately available throughout Europe via multiple VP warehouses and distributors, minimizing freight cost and delivery time.
For more information, to obtain fuel for testing or to become a VP distributor, interested parties should contact Jerome Duche at +33 6 65 22 32 19 or email jerome@vpracingfuels.com.
VP Racing Fuels powers 2010 Rally America Champion Antoine L’Estage, the prestigious American LeMans Series, Star Mazda, NHRA Championship Drag Racing and FIA European Pro Stock Drag Racing Champion Michael Malmgren as well as a remarkable number of champions in motorcycle road racing, motocross, jet ski and quad competitions, including Motocross des Nations and the Isle of Mann TT.
Contacts:
Jerome Duche at +33 6 65 22 32 19; jerome@vpracingfuels.com
Jim Kelly - +1.302.368.1500; jimkelly@vpracingfuels.com
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COUNTDOWN TO AUTOSPORT ENGINEERING –
JANUARY 13 & 14, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, UK - Autosport Engineering is an annual pre-season Motorsport event, firmly established as Europe’s largest dedicated trade-only exhibition for specialist technical suppliers to the motorsport and performance
engineering sector.
This dedicated trade show embraces the crossover of technology from other industries and showcases new suppliers and manufacturing expertise, creating new business and networking opportunities.
Regarded by many industry figureheads as motorsport’s primary motorsport
technology show, Autosport Engineering is the must-attend event for
motorsport businesses.
To find out more about VP’s latest developments, innovations and products come and visit us booth E553!
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