Ricci Concept takes the grid at Zolder circuit in Belgium

Nick Sanderson took his SEAT leon supercopa to Belgium to take part in the Dutch supercar challenge. This was a great experience to take the grid at the famous Belgium grand prix circuit.

‘A historic grand prix circuit steeped in the history of the old F1 races’

The grid consisted of a great selection of race cars from Porsche GT3, BMW silhouette, Leon cupra TCR and lotus.

The Weather was extremly hot which made great close racing

You can watch coverage of the race here:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7etPtxfbp04

Here is our race calendar for 2018

Rockingham                                     –      April 14^th/15^th    BGS classic vw cup

Brands Hatch                                   –      May 12^th/13^th    BGS classic vw cup

Pembrey                                            –      June 9^th/10^th     BGS classic vw cup

ZOLDER Dutch         –     June 29-30 / July 01 Dutch supercar challenge

ZANDVOORT Dutch DTM –     July 13/14/15^th  Dutch supercar challenge

Snetterton 300                     –      August 18^th                   BGS classic vw cup

Croft                                       –      August 25^th/26^th (non-championship round)

Cadwell Park            –      September 8^th/9^th            BGS classic vw cup

SPA             Dutch –     September 28/29/30th   Dutch supercar challenge                              

Oulton Park                                        –      October 20^th     BGS classic vw cup

You can find more information on the BGS classic vw cup at https://www.classicvwcup.com

And Dutch supercar challenge at http://www.supercarchallenge.nl/

Ricci concept chosen as preferred power testing centre

We are proud to have been chosen to by the BGS classic vw cup as the chose dyno to power test race cars for the championship in 2018. They chose us for the accuracy and repeatability of the rototest hub dyno. In the past we have also tested for MSVR championships

Ricci concept takes triple podium at pembrey race circuit

Round 3 of the classic vw cup took place at the scenic Pembrey race circuit in south wales

Located close to Pendine sands where many land speed record attempts have been made, Pembrey was one of Ayrton Senna’s favourite and many race teams test here due to the technical mix of slow and fast corners.

The weather was set to be fabulous for the weekend and we were spoilt by the crowds who were treated to 3 races. All races took place on Sunday with Practice and qualifying taking place on Saturday using the new circuit layout.

Qualifying 3^rd meant the Seat Leon had a good grid position into turn 1 for the 1^st race.

Race 1 was close fought battle with the vw Vento of Alex kite after Ken Lark jumped into the lead at the 1^st corner and lead to the finish with Nick Sanderson following close behind to take 2^nd place

Race 2 finished with the same result as race 1, but after a crash at the first corner hair pin between Mark Shepherd’s vw Golf and Peter Kaylor’s seat Leon which held the pack up allowing the VW Corrado a slight lead from start to finish.

Race 3 was a different affair as Nick Sanderson in the Ricci concept Seat Leon supercopa had a great start, pushing Ken Lark’s Corrado until on lap 3 he had gearbox problems and pulled off, leaving the seat to take the lead closely followed by the Vento of Alex Kite.

The lead change hands on lap 6 as Nick Sanderson ran wide giving away position to the Vento and the lead. Desperate to take the lead back The Seat Leon took a daring late brake manover into the 1^st corner hairpin to take the lead back. A close battle ensued as spectators watched on between the Seat Leon and vw Vento with Nick Sanderson taking the chequered Flag and the end to a great weekends racing.

Thruxton classic vw 03-04 october 2015

The season finale of the 2015 classic vw challenge end at the fastest circuit in the uk…. Thruxton.

This was a new circuit to us and with the golf not showing good results at Snetterton this was the final chance of the season to improve the VW Golf before the winter break.

The Weather was dry and with a circuit walk the day before and 2 other qualifying sessions before it all looked promising. Qualifying was a busy affair with 35 cars on circuit. Nick was having a hard time with the car as handling and braking problems were leading to poor lap times resulting in a disappointing 32nd out of 35 cars. Drastic changes were made including brake pad compound change and we would see what that brought.

Race 1 -32nd on the grid at the start the car showed instant improvement and with the high speeds of the circuit. Result at the end of race 1…24th

Great start with more to come..

Race 2 Starting mid grid allowed Nick to make more progress towards The front. With the track still dry The VW Golf immediately made more progress carving through the cars ahead passing a grand total of 10 more cars finishing the season on a high in 14th place with the owner of the golf very pleased with the progress of the car thanks to the engineers at Ricci concept.

Snetterton Norfolk classic vw 19-20 september 2015

Snetterton brought a new challenge for us as we were asked by a customer to develop his race car which had never raced in anger!

The car itself was a good base. A Volkswagen Golf 1.8T but required a power upgrade to compete in this championship

Ricci concept gave this power increase courtesy of APR tuning to take the car from 150bhp-214bhp

The weekend would be interesting to say the least making small adjustments to improve the cars handling but inevitably the weekend would fall wanting with braking problems and a lack of track time in the car.

Pembrey on the welsh coast 15-16 August 2015

Qualifying was an exciting one with many drivers having not race at the circuit before and testing ditterent settings and lines. The Seat Leon eventually qualifying 5th for race 1. Very good for a new circuit.

Race 1 Started with a very fast pace with cars jossling for position over the 1st lap, but distaster struck on the second lap after Len Simpson failed to stop going into the hairpin on the second lap causing damage to the seat leon and stuart mcmaster’s honda accord which caused the red flags to come out as the cars were removed and the grid reformed for the restart. Nick nursed the damaged seat leon back to the pits for running repairs and started at the back of the grid. As the race started nick fought through the field eventually fighting back to the front and challenging the vw corrado of Ken Lark for 2nd before a damaged boost hose failed causing retirement.

Race 2- The seat leon started from the back with a group of other cars which failed to finish the 1st race for one reason or another. this race followed the 1st in style with the leon eventually finishing 11th.

Brands hatch classic vw challenge 25-26 July 2015

A damp circuit greeted the classic VW challenge for qualifying as they were 1st out on the Indy circuit. Unfortunately qualifying was short as a coil failure only allowed the seat Leon to complete 6 laps dropping Nick Sanderson down to 17th position.

The circuit dried for race 1 but retirement on lap 8 brought disappointment but there was race 2 on Sunday

Race 2 started with Nick taking position 20 on row 10 of the grid. As they pulled away for the green lap the heavens opened up with torrential rain which would play to the Seat Leon’s advantage. The lights went out and the grid raced away admittedly at a cautious pace and the Leon slowly cut through the grid lap after lap as the rain pounded down on the track before eventually running out of time as the chequered flag dropped finishing in a respectable 9th place after making up 11 places over the course of the 15 minute race.

Ricci concept secures Podium finish at Donington Park 6-7 June 2015

On the weekend of the 6/7 June Donington Grand prix circuit hosted the CBT VW Challenge sharing the weekend with the British super kart grand prix.

With the weekend turning out to be a mini heatwave and good crowd numbers all weekend, the racing did not disappoint.

Qualifying was a hectic affair as the SEAT Leon of Nick Sanderson set good early times chipping away as the session went on to secure a 4th place on the grid with a 1:49.902 for race 1

Race 1 continued the excitement as a poor start from the 1st row of the grid left the Seat Leon on Nick Sanderson 2nd into the 1st corner and fighting hard down through Hollywood and Craner curves for 1st place. As the race panned out positions changed many times before eventually finishing where he started in 4th place for the second race. Determined to do better in race 2.

Race 2 started well as Andy Thompson lead into the 1st corner in his Seat Toledo followed closely by Olly Allen’s Fiesta and Nick in the Ricci Concept Seat Leon. Lap after lap passed as the 4 cars closed up on each other, then on lap 4 the Honda integra of Jim Mcgloughlin slowed and pulled to the side of the track putting the Seat Leon in a podium 3rd place as the chequerd flag dropped. A great end to the weekend and a 1st podium finish for the Ricci Concept Seat leon of the season.

New circuit-New challenge at Mallory park 23th-24th may 2015

As the championship moves to round 3 on the weekend of 23/24 may we arrived at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. This is a new track to us and with no testing, qualifying would be a steep learning curve with the circuit only being a short circuit with sub 1 minute lap times and average speeds over 90 mph!

Qualifying proved eventful as we learned the track eventually finishing 9th overall for the 1st race.

With a downpour before race 1 many cars started on wet tyres with only Steve wood in his VW golf starting on slicks but on pole. As the race went on the slicks turned out to be the better long term choice as the track dried over the race distance, but the Seat Leon of Nick Sanderson got used to the track he started to move slowly up the grid eventually finishing 6th . A good position for race 2 and 3rd in class.

Race 2 was dry and late in the day so everyone was on Slick tyres. The race started well as The Seat Leon headed into the first corner, picking his way through the front cars and eventually up to 3rd place. Then late into the race chased closely by Andy Thompson in his SEAT Toledo touring car, Nick missed a gear going into the Shaw’s hairpin which gave the Toledo the run on him through the devil’s elbow and down onto the start finish straight. Later as the chequered flag dropped that was the way the race finished with the SEAT Leon in 4th place overall behind the Toledo. Great weekends racing.

Silverstone brings 1st trophies of the season in the CBT classic VW Challenge

The 2015 season starts with a bang as the Ricci concept seat Leon takes 3^rd place in the 1^st and 2^nd races of the season at Silverstone national circuit.

With a dry qualifying, which turned to a changing/ wet track for races 1 and 2 Nick Sanderson drove well with stiff competition from a mixed grid shared with Burton Power Blue Oval Saloons and VTEC Direct Pre 03 Production Touring Cars to cement 2 great results for the start of the season finishing 3^rd in class and 6^th overall in race 1.

Dunlop VAG Trophy heads to local round at Cadwell Park

Fondly nicknamed the ‘mini Nürburgring’, Cadwell Park celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2014. It remains as held closely in the hearts of many motorsport fans as ever. Located 10 miles north of Horncastle and five miles south of Louth, the Lincolnshire circuit is especially popular with racers nationwide.

Cadwell Park’s twisty and undulating nature, winding through open park and woodland, has marked it out as one of the best circuits in the country. Once discovered, it is often a firm favourite amongst many who visit, whether as a spectator or participant

Nick Sanderson Records his best result of the season so far with a double 4^th place just missing out on the podium after start line accident removes 3 cars from the restart in race 1.

Race 2 started poorly being held up on the start. As the race unfolded Nick Sanderson in the Seat Leon chased down the leading pack only to enter into a hard fight over the last laps with Richard Morgan in his VW Golf 5 eventually finishing 4^th. Great racing was enjoyed by all especially the local crowd who came to watch.

4 seasons weather of racing in one day at Rockingham

What can only be described as a monsoon engulfed the Rockingham circuit just before qualifying began, so

nobody was thinking about setting lap records. Just completing a good lap in one piece would suffice. Getting a

clean lap was well nigh impossible.The seat leon of Nick Sanderson qualified 12 back on the 6^th row of the grid.

Race 1 Drizzle and wind greeted the field on the grid and as the lights went out caos ensued as the cars reached the 1^st corner and cars went In evert direction

The Ricci Concept Seat leon progressed throught the field eventually finishing 10^th for race 2.

Race 2 started much dryer which made the race much closer. Nick battled through the field much the same as the 1^st race with the only drama, a full spin coming out of gracelands which dropped him back 2 places. These were recovers quickly finishing the race a respectable 7^th close behind the vw beetle of martyn culley.

The 2014 Dunlop VAG Trophy brings new sponsors and a new look

The new 2014 race season gets under way for the VAG Trophy and now Confirms ‘Dunlop’ as the Title sponsor and tyre supplier.

Ricci concept prepares for the 1^st round at the famous Silverstone GP circuit.

New Look for Ricci Concept

Ricci concept unveils new livery for its Seat Leon Race car for 2013 Super pro VAG trophy