With a heritage of racing and road success, PETRONAS Lubricants offer an amazing range of lubricants for all cars, from everyday vehicles to high-powered performance and racing cars.

PETRONAS Lubricants offer a level of accuracy and dedication never seen before on the tuning market. Sumo Power and PETRONAS Lubricants recognize that customers demand not only the highest quality products, but also excellent technical service and so we are pleased to have teamed up with PETRONAS to make the range more widely available to our customers.

So in order to find you the right lubricant recommendations for the right applications – and with such a comprehensive range of lubricants on offer – we can specifically product match the technical specifications of your car to the most suitable lubricants on offer from the PETRONAS range.

Bred on the track for optimum performance on the road, the Syntium range is the result of advanced R&D carried out by PLI as the official technology partner to the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, meeting the most stringent industry standards, designed to deliver exceptional engine performance even in the most extreme conditions.

For the range of PETRONAS Lubricants on offer, check the Sumo Power webshop by clicking the link:http://www.sumopower.com/brand/petronas

For any other information, pricing and availability, please call our Sales team on 01797 222281 or email sales@sumopower.com

These superb new designs are aimed at a wide variety of vehicles, with diameters, widths and fitments covering almost every car you can think of, from prestige and sports marques, through to tuner and mainstream manufacturers.

The first wheel is the AEZ Valencia. Proving that a classically designed multi-spoke will never be out of fashion, the Valencia features an attractive ‘pinched’ design at the end of each spoke, combined with an beautifully sculpted inner bowl around the bolt holes to create a timeless design that will suit almost any car. Available in either Premium Silver or Black with a polished face, the Valencia is a true ‘OEM+’ design.

Size wise, Choose from either 7×16, 7×17, 8×17, 8×18, 8.5×19, 9.5×19, 8.5×20, 9×20, allowing for the perfect fitment to be obtained, and the popular ‘staggered’ look to be achieved in 17” and 19” sizes. Prices start from £135 + VAT.

The Dezent RE also follows another classic genre, being an elegant 5 spoke. This too has a choice of colour options; silver for those looking for a more ‘factory fresh’ demeanour, or moody satin black for those that aren’t. Not only does this wheel represent excellent value, starting at just £90 +VAT, but it also comes in no less than 12 different sizes, ranging from 5.5×14” right up to 8×19”.

Both designs are fully TUV approved and are finished to Wheelwright’s own stringent quality control procedures. Best of all, thanks to Wheelwright’s innovative ‘Shopatron’ technology, you can browse for your wheels in the comfort of your home, before having them delivered to your local dealer for mounting and fitting. What could be more convenient than that? Click to www.wheelwright.co.uk for more details.

AEZ’s designers paid special attention to the larger Bavarian variants, creating a wheel design that complements the Munich manufacturer’s design language perfectly, whilst being the exact size, offset and dish to endow each vehicle with a decidedly ‘OEM+’ flavour.

Based loosely on the timeless ‘cross spoke’ genre, the new Antigua offers a modern day interpretation of this popular style, with the added attraction of a deeply concaved face and ten slim spokes that run right to the very edge of the rim, to enhance the optical size of the wheel. The design of the wheel gives it little visual ‘weight’ in the centre, making for an elegant, balanced design that will enhance any BMW.

Two finishes are available, and both enjoy full TUV approval, Choose from either the perfect silver hues of the Antigua or the sultry satin tones of the Antigua Dark. Size wise, an impressive array of five fitments offers plenty of choice, whichever model of BMW is the intended recipient. 8.0×18”, 8.5×19”, 9.5×19”,  8.5×20” and 9.5×20” versions are available in both colours.

Prices start at £200 For the 18” version – and thanks to Wheelwright’s innovative ‘Shopatron’ technology, you can browse for your wheels in the comfort of your home, before having them delivered to your local dealer for mounting and fitting. What could be more convenient than that? Click to www.wheelwright.co.uk for more details.

Respected American transmission company Competition Clutch is building on the sales success of its diverse race-quality clutch range by opening a dedicated UK sales office and logistics centre.

Competition Clutch has partnered with industry leading logistics provider Universal Automotive to allow UK end-users and retailers to enjoy the same levels of stockholding and customer service that has made the brand so popular in its native USA.

Based in Kidderminster, Universal Automotive’s state-of-the-art, 40,000 square foot, computer controlled facility will carry all popular Competition Clutch lines for immediate delivery, with the ability to rapidly order more specialist products from the states with very short lead times. Universal are also the logistics partners for household names like Denso, Brembo and Monroe.

At present the Competition Clutch range covers literally hundred fitments and includes fast road and motorsport clutch kits, discs and flywheels. The range has already found favour in the UK, being the first choice of many drag racers and drifters as well as being specified as a control part for one-make racing series like the Buddy Club Civic Cup.

Commenting on this latest development, Dan McCarny, sales manager for Competition Clutch said ‘We are delighted to be able to offer our UK customers a dedicated call centre and customer service team, as well as the fact that by working with Universal, we can increase our inventory of parts and improve our speed of delivery. This is a great partnership for us that will allow us to build on the success and hard work of our existing UK dealer network.’

For more details on the Competition Clutch range, please visit www.competitionclutch.com or call the UK team on 01562 512 512

Shimmin was driving the Pro-R backed car, prepared by Cross Roads and TDRacing.

This very same machine had been piloted to outright victory in the Club AWD Class by Cross Roads dealer principal Jon Mathers during the 2011 season, so after a refresh over the winter, complete with a stunning new orange and white colour scheme, all eyes were on Shimmin to see if he could repeat the same level of success.

Despite Cadwell Park greeting the drivers with a deluge of rain upon their arrival – which stayed for much of the day, Shimmin was quick from the get-go, showing his competitors a clean set of wet-weather Uniroyals and the time-keepers a brace of fastest laps, to top the time sheets in both the warm-up and initial practise sessions.

With a driving style and car set-up that clearly suited the prevailing conditions, Shimmin also scored well in qualifying, setting several fastest sector times during the build-up of the round.

As the lights went out for the final, the track had dried significantly, which allowed many of the higher-powered cars to exploit their advantage on the more open parts of the challenging circuit. Despite this, Shimmin kept things neat and tidy, chipping away at his times, to net a third overall behind the capable and well-pedalled Evos of Steve Peel and Marc Kemp.

Commenting after the race, a clearly delighted Shimmin said ‘For my first ever event I am ecstatic to be on the podium. The team at Cross Roads and TDRacing have built a phenomenal car, and even this early in the season, it’s feeling very easy to drive. We’re a little bit down on power compared to some of these cars, but that’s no bad thing at Cadwell in the rain! My main focus now is to get my head down and focus on the task ahead at Knockhill. It would be great to try and repeat our success there!’

The Time Attack circus rolls into Knockhill on the 10th of June. Don’t miss it

For more details on Pro-R, please click to www.pro-r.co.uk

For more details on Cross Roads, please click to www.subaruvehicles.co.uk

The BILSTEIN B16 kit represents the pinnacle of suspension performance, allowing the owner to fine-tune the ride height and stance to suit their own needs. Each damper unit has nine steps of adjustment, with bump and rebound being changed together in a carefully pre-set ratio to ensure that the car retains impeccable manners. With a damping range that offers either limo smoothness, track control or indeed, anything in-between, the B16 kit truly allows you to have two cars in one.

This latest kit offers OEM levels of fit, finish and ride quality, coupled with significant improvements in handling. Everything included in the kit has been designed and produced entirely in-house in BILSTEIN’s cutting-edge German production facilities and uses many of the material and production techniques that the firm has developed from its extensive motorsport programme.

Thanks to precision-machined threaded steel bodies, the BILSTEIN B16 kits offer 20mm of ride height adjustment from a lower starting point, which equates to a drop of between -30mm and -50mm. This is regarded by most engineers to be the most that it is possible to lower a vehicle before handling becomes adversely affect and safety is compromised.

As with all BILSTEIN performance products, this kit has been extensively proven. Not only in BILSTEIN’s extensive laboratory set-up, but more importantly, at the Papenburg test facility, where the firm has its unparalleled research centre. Here, both kits were ‘shaken down’ by real, live test drivers, to ensure that these upgrades don’t just work well in a computer simulation, but can offer ride quality and peerless handling whether fully loaded or on the poorest of surfaces.

As you might expect from the World’s leading original equipment manufacturer, both kits carry full TUV approval and 12 months warranty. The complete B16 is priced at £1530.00 + VAT.

For more details, please visit www.BILSTEIN.de or call the UK office on 0116 2478930

The E30 version of the BMW’s capable 3 series is considered by many to be one of the finest platforms for development, due to its light weight, neutral handling and wide range of tuneable engines. BILSTEIN’s B8 damper package helps to significantly enhance the dynamic abilities of the car, working in perfect harmony with either the OEM springs or better still, with any quality aftermarket offerings. The units are set to work particularly well with lowered and uprated spring packages and are available in a variety of fitments to suit the many power-plants available across the E30 range.

The BILSTEIN B8 range is designed for those looking for more damping capability, with improved handling and reduced squat and dive, without ruining everyday ride comfort. Using the very latest in BILSTEIN gas pressure technology and inverted monotube construction, each unit is hand finished in BILSTEIN’s German factory to surpass even the most stringent of OEM production standards.

The monotube BILSTEIN dampers in this kit draw heavily from the firm’s motorsport heritage and are vastly superior to the twin-tube design fitted by most manufacturers. After full dyno analysis, each kit application has been signed off by BILSTEIN test drivers and engineers at both the Nürburgring as well as the industry-leading Papenburg test facility – hence the reason that the BILSTEIN B8 kit offers such a peerless ride and handling balance.

Offering significantly greater service life than the standard part, the BILSTEIN B8 dampers also increase active safety through more efficient braking, better traction and improved handling.

Improve comfort, safety and driving enjoyment from just £124.00 each (front) + £95.00 each (rear). All prices exclude VAT.

For more details etc please click to www.bilstein.de or call BILSTEIN UK on 0116 247 8930.

JRM Racing overcomes the challenges of Spa
FIA World Endurance Championship Round Two
6-hours of Spa – 5th May 2012

Race report

Today’s round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit saw JRM Racing deliver another strong performance and an impressive result by finishing fourth in the LMP1 Privateers category in the 6-hours of Spa. The achievement was made even more rewarding as the team had to overcome a series of challenges during the build up to the event.

JRM Racing arrived at Spa earlier this week, intending to use the first two practice sessions on Thursday to set up the car for the unique characteristics of the Belgium track. An issue with the brakes meant the only time available for the team to dial in the settings was during Friday morning’s one-hour practice session. Karun Chandhok drove the 20-minute qualifying stint in the afternoon and was able to put the car a strong eighth on the grid.

With the onset of rain on Saturday morning and, with six-hours of competition ahead of them, the team was comfortable that good progress could be made during the race. However, the relentless rain had made levels of grip even more unpredictable than normal and, whilst the exit of Eau Rouge posed no problems on the first of the formation laps for Chandhok, he suddenly found himself on the grass on the second. The car then clipped a barrier, with the impact severely damaging the car’s bodywork and rear suspension.

Fortunately, Chandhok was able to nurse the car back to the pits, where the team set about repairing the damage before the start of the race. After a supreme effort, the HPD was ready to go in time for the green light, although Chandhok had to start from the pit lane and, in keeping with the regulations, was required to wait a full lap before being allowed to exit onto the track. He then set about the task ahead and, lap-by-lap, scythed his way past slower cars and, after the first hour and his first pit stop, was sixth of the Privateer LMP1 runners.

With the rain slowly retreating and the track drying out, the initial set of wet tyres were swapped for slicks, which saw the lap times improve further. But then, after a further 40-minutes, contact was made with another car as he went to overtake it on the entrance to the ‘Bus stop’, the incident damaging a front wing. The next scheduled pit stop saw the affected parts replaced and, after a storming stint that lasted two-hours and 45-minutes, Chandhok came into the pits to swap with David Brabham.

Following a Safety Car period due to another competitor going off the road at the same point that Chandhok did earlier – but this time in a big way – Brabham them proceeded to deliver one of his customary solid performances, the car getting quicker as the laps clicked past. And, after nearly two hours and with one-hour and 20-minutes of the race left, he came in to hand over to Peter Dumbreck.

Continuing as his team-mates had left off and, just before the five-hour mark, Dumbreck caught and passed the first of the LMP1 category cars to put JRM fifth of the Privateers. And, even though the power-steering ECU was changed at the final scheduled pit stop with 50-minutes to go, the position was held.

JRM’s HPD continued to circulate for the remainder of the race without issue – and Dumbreck even gained another place in the closing stages – to provide the team with it’s second strong finish of the season and a final position of fourth in the LMP1 Privateers class.

The team now prepares for the big one: the 24-hours of Le Mans, which takes place on 16th & 17th June.
JRM-Racing’s 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign is supported by Michelin.

For more information, visit the team’s website: www.jrm-racing .com 

Team Quotes

Karun Chandhok
“I think I gave the boys a bit too much work to do today. It’s been a tough weekend for everybody in the team and the guys have done a fantastic job to get the car ready in time. I couldn’t be a mechanic, that’s for sure. Even though there were some issues to resolve earlier in the week, the car was very good today and you can tell there’s definitely more to come.”

David Braham
“Considering the challenges that the team has faced this week, there are a lot of positives that we can take away from Spa with us. Overall, the car ran very well in the race and its clear to see that we can achieve more pace. And, with the way the whole team has performed this week, I have been proud to be part of it.”

Peter Dumbreck
“I had a really good run and it was great to drive the car at a circuit like Spa. At the beginning of the stint I was eager to get into a good rhythm and start setting consistent times. Other than a quick pit stop, everything went perfectly and considering the set backs the team’s had this weekend, we can come away from the event knowing it was a job well done.”

Nigel Stepney (Team Manager and Head of Engineering)
“We’ve had two races and twice we’ve started from the pit lane, so it would be nice to start one from the grid! It’s been a tough week for the team and there’s been lot of effort from everyone. This season, every event is a learning exercise and that was certainly the case for this one. We will leave Spa with a lot more data than we had before, which is important, bearing in mind our next race is Le Mans.”

James Rumsey (Team Principal)
“This really has been a team-building weekend and I’m pleased the car has run so well in the race. The lads have done a mega-job, especially to get the car ready in time after the off on the way to the grid. Of course, it would have been better not to have started from the pit lane and then have to fight our way through the field again. Perhaps it will be third time lucky for Le Mans!”

JRM Racing qualifies in strong position for Spa 6-hour race
FIA World Endurance Championship
Round Two – 6-hours of Spa
4th & 5th May 2012

Qualifying report

In this afternoon’s qualifying session for round two of the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving JRM Racing’s Honda Performance Development ARX-03a, Karun Chandhok set the eighth-fastest time for tomorrow’s race – the 6-hours of Spa – amid an overall grid of 41 cars.

Having arrived at the ionic Belgium circuit earlier this week, the team prepared the car for it’s first competitive outing since the opening round of the championship at Sebring in March. And, with three practice sessions – two on Thursday and one today (Friday) – the intention was to build on the car’s proven performance on its first outing and set up the car specifically for Spa’s unique layout.

Although running well in the first of the 1.5-hour sessions, with David Brabham and Chandhok behind the wheel, the car developed a braking issue that caused the rear wheels to lock momentarily. Deciding that fixing the problem would be more important than continued running, the team opted not to complete the second-session.

But with everything working 100%, Peter Dumbreck took the car out for the third and final practice period this morning, with Chandhok finishing off the driving in readiness for his qualifying stint. Having ran perfectly for the full-hour, all that was left for the team to do was hone the car’s set up and, although eighth fastest in the 20-minute qualifying session was a step in the right direction, the team knows there is still more to come for the race tomorrow.

Following a half-hour warm-up session tomorrow morning, the six-hour race gets the green light at 14.30 CEST (13.30 GMT).
The race can be watched live at: www.fiawec.com

For more information, visit the team’s website: www.jrm-racing .com 

JRM Racing’s 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign is supported by Michelin.

Team Quotes

Karun Chandhok
“The car ran well, even though we were trying different set-ups during the practice sessions and qualifying, which had an effect on our pace. I feel there’s more to come and, with a good clean run tomorrow, I see no reason why we won’t be able to improve on our start position.”

Nigel Stepney (Team Manager and Chief Engineer)
“The problems in practice meant we didn’t do all we wanted in terms of set-ups, so to start eighth is very promising. Six hours of running at Spa is a long time and, if we can make a few more improvements, then we should be on target for another good run. Of course, at this track the weather can also play a part, which could certainly shake things up.”

James Rumsey (Team Principal)
“Even with the reduced running time so far, we have been able to gather a great deal of information and data, which is not only good for Spa, but Le Mans too – which is valuable, as it’s the most important race of the year and the next round of the championship. However, we have a six-hour race tomorrow, and a lot can happen in that amount of time and we therefore have every opportunity of getting a good result.”

Having long been regarded as the benchmark in high-performance road and track suspension across a wide range of performance and tuner cars, the Road and Track range brings Öhlins unparalleled competition knowledge and peerless build quality to the Porsche marque. Owners of the 996 Carrera and GT3 models, as well as the much vaunted 997 Carrera already know a thing or two about handling finesse, but the Öhlins kit allows dedicated drivers and true enthusiasts to really test the limits of these capable cars – as well as finally solving the puzzle of how to achieve a truly comfortable ride from competition-quality units.

Stuttgart’s finest exports make a superb blank canvas with which to enjoy the artistry of Öhlins hand-finished damper units. Each damper uses the very latest motorsport-derived material choice and manufacturing techniques to offer superb longevity, exceptional performance and infinite adjust-ability.

Although both front and rear coilovers follow a loosely conventional shock absorber design, this is where all similarities to other commercially available contemporaries end. With single bleed and preload adjustment, the Öhlins units also feature inbuilt height adjustment. Build quality is exceptional, with carbon-steel bodies and flawlessly anodised detailing. Öhlins pioneering dual-flow valve technology means that despite their lighter weight and slim-line profile, the Road and Track kit responds to road undulations in exactly the same manner as a traditional Macpherson strut set-up. The use of needle valves in the damping unit also means that even when the oil becomes hot after a hard session on the circuit or ‘B’ road, the damping rate is kept absolutely consistent, even when the viscosity of the damping fluid changes. Better still, the Öhlins units keep height adjustment separate from spring seat adjustment, ensuring that spring rate is kept constant, throughout the full range of suspension travel.

Height adjustment is achieved by simple adjustment of the precision-machined threaded body.  Compression and rebound are tweaked simultaneously in one simple twist of the easily accessible knurled knob; allowing the daily commute to be clicked off with OEM smoothness.  However, after a few seconds of adjustment, track days can be dispatched with racecar precision. Both front and rear units feature full dust and weather protection, making them the ideal upgrade for cars that are used in all seasons. Being designed for one of the harshest of European climates, the Öhlins dampers have been proven to surpass the gruelling ISO 9227 Salt Spray test, making them the ideal fitment for cars that are enjoyed in the ‘real world’ and for 12 months of the year.

This unparalleled quality helps to explain Öhlins 2 year warranty and thanks to their racing heritage, each unit is fully serviceable and even upgradeable, should requirements or car specs change. Remove your interior and strip out for weight? No problem. The units can be revalved and changed, as well as being able to accommodate a wide variety of proprietary aftermarket springs for cars that spend more time on track and require a custom spring rate.

The prices are as follows:

Porsche 996 Carrera, full set £2354.20+VAT

Porsche 996 GT3, full set £2185.60+VAT

Porsche 997 Carrera, full set £2342.70+VAT

For more information on this kit, please click to http://www.roadandtrackbyohlins.com/en/ or call Öhlins UK on 0203 286 3127.