We are now less than 2 weeks away from the first meeting of 2024! The first 3 rounds of an epic 28 round season.
Did you read that correctly? 28 rounds! What an amazing year 2024 is going to be. All of the rounds are now up on the calendar page including the links to each events for tickets and so forth.
Once again, many rounds will be available live on YouTube so we’ll keep you posted with that each race weekend they are available.
Well race fans, here’s the 2024 calendar in all its glory! Sadly there’s no Mallory which will dissapoint some which is a testament to the pickups on the Mallory Mile but, it’s a great calendar even if we do say so ourselves.
So back in lockdown, myself and fellow members of the 93 pickup team got into sim racing, I was building gaming PC’s as fast as I could procure parts (yep there was a shortage 🙄) and we took to it well. Fast forward to 2021 and the question was first asked by the 93 driver “could we make like a pickup?” And my usual response “I’ve no idea where to start”. But it sparked something, an interest in the idea and I batted it around my head a little before late 21 or early 22 I decided to see what was possible. I started with an MX5 Cup car in Assetto Corsa and modified it to suit, weight, wheelbase, power, gears and rations and everything in between.
I tested it for a lot of laps and I was getting reasonably close to existing real life times, gear changes were inline with onboard gopro footage but…it always looked like an MX5! It kind of sat just like that for a while and by chance at Croft in 2022, a young chap called Mateusz Maj approached me and asked if he could take a lot of detailed images of the truck including underneath etc. Naturally I was suspicious why so I was amazed when I asked, he said he wanted to make a Sim Model! I explained where I was with my project, he came onboard and within 2 months we had our first model! I was blown away.
Over the next 10 months Mateusz would go on to create all front ends, 12 liveries and then came the general release onto Race Dept for anyone to download for free and use! Feedback has been good, it will continue to be a work in progress as new liveries become available, tyres are tweaked etc. unfortunately I didn’t have the means (and it’s a big project) to get the accurate engine noises so I got as close as I could.
So if anyone fancies getting behind the wheel of a pickup in the comfort of their home, the link is below.
https://www.racedepartment.com/downloads/barc-pickup-trucks.61911/
This weekend sees the championship back on track at Thruxton! Our last 2 visits here have seen temperatures soaring on and off track so hopefully the weather gods will have a little mercy this weekend and make it more bearable.
Thruxton is a fast circuit and the drivers chasing Dale Gent are going to have to be at their very best to peg him back and stop him running away mid season. If my mind serves me correctly, Dale was on the podium for both races and Reece made an appearance for race 2.
Don’t forget, if you can’t be there in person then catch it live on YouTube (Links will be posted on Saturday & Sunday on Facebook.
What an amazing return to the Mallory Mile!
Once again the pickups steal the show with their phenomenal close racing and multiple lead changes.
Race 1 on Saturday saw Dale Gent jump into the lead position by lap 2 and he held the position all the way to the chequered flag despite a number of challenges from both Allen Cooper and Reece Jones. Reece had managed to hold onto 2nd place until Lap 17 which saw Allen Cooper in the 72 machine snatch the position away and remain there until the final lap, Reece then took his opportunity and the race ended with Dale, Reece and Allen finishing in that order.
Race 2 on the Sunday once again saw some fantastic close racing with Aaron Thompson leading up until Lap 3 when Reece Jones took the lead but, this was to be short lived as the hard charging Mark Willis took the lead on Lap 6. Reece settled into second and bided his time whilst following Mark before making his move on lap 10 to retake the lead. Unfortunately for Reece, Allen Cooper fancied his turn and on lap 17 he dived into the lead but as things are in pickups, Reece dived back into the lead on lap 23 with Cooper and Willis following him to the flag. Unfortunately, Reece had a 10 second time penalty for a jumped start which gave a revised podium of Allen Cooper, Mark Willis and Dale Gent for the podium.
Race 3 was much like race 2, Reece Jones jumped into the lead on lap 2 but once again, Cooper felt the need to have a try upfront himself and took the lead on lap 11 but by lap 19, Reece was back in front by lap 19 and held off both Dale and Allen who finished 2nd and 3rdrespectively by 0.889 covering the first 3. The standard of racing between the drivers has been second to none, they’ve given each other space, the bare minimum which has ensured some very hard but clean racing and showcased why, pickups are one of the greatest spectacles on UK circuits.
This may be our only visit to Mallory Park in 2023 but be assured the two race heats and grand final will be a spectacle you will not want to miss.
Eighteen Pickups racing the one mile oval centimetres apart at over 100 mph, setting laps of just over 35 seconds is motorsport at its absolute best!
Mallory Park is the only oval on the calendar this year and it is difficult to predict who will collect the silverware as this circuit is not for everybody, the drivers either love it or hate it. We will leave it for you to pick a favourite, it can be the colour of the Truck, your favourite driver or just your lucky number.
Four different drivers collected trophies at the previous event, Brands Hatch, although #65 Mark Willis had a luckless weekend plagued by a permanent misfire but he is the driver with the most experience at Mallory Park so he will be out to put the record straight.
Joining our three Rookies that started at Brands Hatch we have a fourth joining them this weekend #68 Eric Boulton, racing the ex-Pat Kiely Truck.
On and off track the Pickups put on quite a show and in the paddock the drivers, teams and officials are the most hospitable people you will meet.
Come to the paddock for photos, chat to the drivers, sit in a Pickup, maybe even holding a trophy at same time. Share your photos, tell your friends and visit our website www.pickuptruckracing.com and check out our new partners Ravenol from the link on the Pickup website. You can also share your photos on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/pickuptruckracing and hopefully we will see you again soon.
Race Fans!! We’d love to introduce you to our new friends and Technical partners, Ravenol UK.
Ravenol UK are the sole distributors of Ravenol in the UK and Ireland. Ravenol come with a great pedigree which you can read about here. https://www.ravenol-direct.uk/about-us.html
Ravenol also wrote a blog post about our new partnership which you can read about below. We hope you’ll take the time to take a look and see what Ravenol can possibly help you with.
Well well well! We’ve hit 2022 running.
George Turiccki made a statement of intent with his title defence didn’t he? Fastest in both qualifying sessions, won both races but he was certainly pressured in the second by Reece Jones! Not an inch asked or given by either driver but they produced some fantastic close and hard racing whilst avoiding contact!
Massive respect to this years rookies too! They came through this unscathed and showed great potential. I for one was very happy with the standards on show across 36 laps and 2 races! I’m also 99% sure Geoff Dixon was testing a new hybrid engine as he came into pit Lane and wasn’t making a noise 🧐.
Well onto Pembrey in 3 weeks time.
What have all these images got in common? Ok many things but 1 in particular…Reece Jones Racing is the name after position 1 in every image! Take a bow Reece that’s the Mallory sweep completed. I actually paid quite a bit of attention to Reece yesterday and I noticed something him and Lewis Hamilton have in common (no Reece doesn’t live in Monaco) but his ability to manage his tyres was unbelievable! He banged in a fast time in quali then cooled his tyres and went again! He pushed George hard in the race and when he wasn’t getting past him he let off and managed tyres again and came back with another surge and tyres that seemed as fresh as lap 1 due to management.
Onto best of the rest, defending champion George Turiccki was fast and showing he means business in defending his title, after some contact in Race 2 George done well to recover back to 3rd and ensure a good points haul for the weekend.
Pickup Truck Racing with MJS Motorsport managed to pick up a 3rd in Race 1 but unfortunately became a victim of others incidents in race 2 thus ending his race early with damage.
Dean Tompkins was looking fast and was rewarded with a 2nd in race 2 and certainly one to watch after his performances this weekend.
Dale Gent Racing showed his speed again that he’s shown previously but contact in race 2 left him with damage and down the field.
Petters Racing had another good showing and his win must be coming this season!
Many rookies started this weekend and Danny Hunn Racing had the highest finish of the rookies with a 6th in race 2 but all gave a good account of themselves.
All in all it was fantastic to be back, we missed the fans, we’ve missed racing and we’ve put on a fantastic grid and everyone should be applauded for their hard work in making this happen. A special thanks to Pascara Productions (can’t tag you) who also went live this weekend, I had battery issues for race 2 so couldn’t go live.
Onto Brands in 5 weeks time!
So we appreciate not everyone can get to a race but BARC have released their TV schedule for the 2021 season and the following pickup meetings will be covered live and available to watch on YouTube.
Donington – August 21/22
Snetterton – September 18/19
Pembrey – October 9/10
Brands Hatch – November 6/7
Pickup Truck Racing 