10.05.2008

Castle Combe 5 May 2008

Tom Roche takes second round victory The second round of the Max5 Championship took place at Castle Combe with a full complement of drivers from the Sheard camp. Qualifying; Conditions Dry Mahinder Vaswani was having his first race of the season and in qualifying turned in a sparkling performance to start the race on the second row of the grid with a time of 1:25.259. There were solid performances from Joachim, Justin and James but Paul was suffering from suspension issues which caused him to make a short stop in the pits. The changes to the setup did not appear to have made any significant difference during the remainder of qualifying, however, the pit crew found the problem during the break ready for the race. Qualifying times: 4 Mahinder Vaswani 1:25.259 8 Joachim Ritter 1:25.777 9 Paul Sheard 1:25.795 10 Justin Newnam 1:25.989 14 James Maxfield 1:28.397 Grid Positions: 1 Tom Roche 1:24.039 2 Matt Robinson 1:24.624 3 Andy Burge 1:24.816 Race: Conditions Dry Straight from the start Tom Roche, winner at Silverstone in the first round, took the lead closely followed by Mark Pierrpont and Brett Walter. Mahinder, Justin, Joachim, James and Paul were away steadily but were no match in the early stages of the race for the leading group who were pulling away from the rest of the field. Paul started to move up slowly catching Justin by the end of lap 6 and the pair of them continued to battle it out with Jon Halliwell. Up at the front the leaders had been caught by Charles Plumley and the three of them, including Roche and Walter continued to change places right up to the chequered flag with Roche again taking the win. Joachim suffered a mid race spin taking him down the field before joining the small group of Justin, Paul and Jon Halliwell. On lap 12 Justin and Paul made contact coming into the finishing straight and Paul retired half a lap later, his first Max5 non finish in over 50 starts. Mahinder had a solid first race consolidating his position in the middle of the chasing pack finishing in 9th position and James Maxfield in 13th. The next round will be at Snetterton on 25th May. Result: 1 Tom Roche 21:35.600 Average speed 77.10 mph 2 Charles Plumley 21:35.712 Average speed 77.10 mph 3 Brett Walter 21:35.863 Average speed 77.09 mph 7 Justin Newnam 21:56.094 Average speed 75.90 mph 9 Mahinder Vaswani 21:57.963 Average speed 75.79 mph 10 Joachim Ritter 22:00.130 Average speed 75.67 mph 13 James Maxfield 22:31.171 Average speed 73.93 mph Fastest Lap Richard Breland 1:24.604 Average speed 78.72 mph DNF Paul Sheard To view the pictures click here.

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24.04.2008

Castle Combe MaX5 Championship May 5th

Two weeks to go to round two of the MaX5 Championship, come and support Paul and the team at Castle Combe on Monday May 5.

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09.04.2008

Silverstone 5 April, 2008

Super drive by Justin earns first podium. Qualifying – Conditions dry On a dry circuit 17 cars went out with 4 cars from the Sheard camp, James Maxfield, Joachim Ritter, Justin Newnam and Paul. Early in the session Joachim had an issue with a loose wheel and after a quick stop was back out on the circuit meanwhile Justin was having a super session keeping well on the pace and finished with a time of 1:14.852 to put him on the front row of the grid. In the last 5 minutes of qualifying Paul’s engine blew and ended his session early with added pressure of an engine change before the race. Grid positions: Justin Newnam 2nd Joachim Ritter 5th Paul Sheard 14th James Maxfield 15th Race – Conditions wet As the cars came out on a very wet circuit and the rain still coming down there was no sign of Paul who had been struggling right up to the last minute to get the replacement engine fired up.Luckily with two green flag laps, because of the wet conditions, Paul made it onto the grid. Justin, on the front row of the grid got away well but Tom Roche, in his second season, was away even better from the second row. Tom was soon in the lead and pulling away from the field, Justin settled into a battle for second and third place with Charles Plumley and Brett Walter, Joachim, in his first full season, making steady progress with Paul and James towards the rear of the field As the race progressed Paul moved steadily through the field to be in 9th by mid race. Justin continued his race in the close attendance of Charles Plumley but on lap 14 it was almost disaster for Joachim who spun coming out of Woodcott and crossed the start and finish line backwards after a close encounter with Andy Burge and almost taking Paul with him, he recovered well without loosing his position. At the end of this 16-lap race Tom Roche was a run away winner with a very creditable result from Justin taking a well-deserved third place and his first Podium place. Joachim finished in eighth, Paul ninth and James fourteenth. Final Positions: 1st Tom Roche 2nd Charles Plumley 3rd Justin Newnam 8th Joachim Ritter 9th Paul Sheard 14th James Maxfield Fastest Lap: Tom Roche 1:26.579 average speed 70.59 mph The next round will be at Castle Combe on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May. To view the pictures click here.

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04.04.2008

Sheard makes surprise appearance at Silverstone

Following a week of intense pressure to get the car ready Paul will be in the starting line-up on Saturday at Silverstone, the car build has only just been completed with the engine going in this week. Paul will also be competing on Sunday at the Ginetta Festival at Cadwell Park in a Ginetta G20. Pictures of showing the car's progress can be seen here click here.

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02.04.2008

Four Days to go..........

Four days to go to the start of the new season, come along and enjoy some really close wheel to wheel racing at Silverstone.

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28.03.2008

Not Long Now.......

Just over a week to go to the first round at Silverstone, all dates are now confirmed and remain as the previously advised. Four cars are ready for the first round with the only exception being Paul’s which will not be available for a couple of weeks but will definitely be ready for Castle Combe. Paul was always planning to miss the first round due to a clash with the meeting at Cadwell Park where he is competing in the Genetta G20 Championship. At present we have no idea of the grid size for Silverstone but, weather permitting, it should be an exciting opening round to the 2008 season. A short report will be posted on this website during the week following each round in order that the fortunes of the cars developed by Paul can be followed.

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19.02.2008

MAX 5 Racing 2008 Provisional Calendar

Round ................. Circuit .............................. Date 1 .......................... Silverstone ......................... 5th April 2 .......................... Castle Combe .................... 5th May 3 .......................... Snetterton .......................... 25th-26th May 4/5 ....................... Brands Hatch ..................... 7th-8th June 6 .......................... Cadwell Park ..................... 22nd June 7 .......................... Rockingham ....................... 12th July 8 .......................... Mallory Park ...................... 20th July 9/10 ..................... Anglesey ............................ 2nd-3rd August 11/12 ................... Croft .................................. 30th-31st August 13/14 ................... Pembrey ............................. 13th-14th September 15 ........................ Oulton Park ........................ 27th September With just 7 weeks to go to the start of the 2008 season preparations are well under way for Paul and the team with a new car being built ready to defend his joint MAX 5 Championship win of last season. As the preparations continue we hope to bring you progress photo’s of the new car as it takes shape and also details of any testing which takes place, view the latest here.

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17.10.2007

Sheard and Greensmith tie the Championship

After a hard fought season both Paul Sheard and Jonathan Greensmith finish on 827 points and tie the Championship. The trials and tribulations of the season are now over after a stunning finale was played out at Snetterton last month. Congratulations and thanks to all for another year of close racing! Final Championship standings: Joint 1st Paul Sheard & Jonathan Greensmith 3rd Tom Roche 4th Jez Clark 5th Jonathan Blake 6th Brett Walter 7th Steve Greensmith 8th Dan Rochester 9th Matthew Robinson 10th Wayne De Lecq Le Montais Official results

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18.09.2007

Track Day - 25th November - Cadwell Park

For existing voucher holders and new customers alike ... we have a track day on offer at Cadwell Park on Sunday 25th November. Come and join many other MX5's on track and receive tuition at one of the most exciting UK circuits!

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19.08.2007

Paul Sheard Autos have 3 MaX5 Race Cars for sale.

Car 18 – The immediately recognisable Mongoose car driven by Paul Sheard for the last 4 years. One of the most successful cars in the championship with 2 lap records and an impressive array of race wins, podiums, and championship classifications to its credit. Supplied ready to race and available after Snetterton, the final round of MaX5 2007. Price £5995. Car 33 – Currently in Alfano livery and first built for the 2007 Championship. Raced by Ben Taylor to date, this car is a proven front runner and will be supplied ready to race. Available immediately at £4995. Car 78 – A proven machine having run as high as 7th at Oulton Park this year with Paula Sheard behind the wheel. This car has nothing holding it back and is supplied ready to race … currently in Alfano colours and available immediately. Priced at £4495. For further details please contact Paul on 01260 279797.

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19.08.2007

Track day update.

We are glad to announce we have arranged 2 extra dates at Oulton Park in September giving our track day customers another chance to enjoy one of the premier UK circuits. We strongly encourage existing voucher owners to take advantage of one of the following dates as summertime track days at Oulton Park always come at a premium. Dates available at Oulton Park are: Tuesday 4th September Wednesday 12th September Please ensure you make use of your vouchers whilst they are still valid. Contact the office on 01260 279797 to reserve your place. Many thanks, Paul Sheard Autos.

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07.08.2007

The gap narrows after Oulton Park

Read the race report 1 Jonathan Greensmith 710 2 Paul Sheard 703 3 Tom Roche 666 4 Jez Clark 666 5 Dan Rochester 603 6 Jonathan Blake 593 7 Steve Greensmith 587 8 Brett Walter 583 9 Wayne De Lecq Le Montais 533 10 Kevin Middleton 496 Official results

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28.07.2007

Championship table after rounds 9 / 10

Here's the top 10 in the Championship after last weekends Silverstone races ... 1 Jonathan Greensmith 591 2 Paul Sheard 583 3 Tom Roche 554 4 Jez Clark 553 5 Steve Greensmith 532 6 Dan Rochester 498 7 Brett Walter 481 8 Jonathan Blake 478 9 Wayne De Lecq Le Montais 433 10 John Diffey 415

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03.07.2007

Sheard falls back to 2nd place in the Championship

Jonathan Greensmith leads MaX5 by just 1 point, Paul Sheard retains 2nd place after rounds 7 and 8 at Mallory Park last weekend. Read the race report Official results

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27.06.2007

Sheard and Greensmith tie MaX5 Championship lead

Round 6 of the MaX5 Championship took place at a rain soaked Rockingham last weekend. Paul Sheard qualified 7th for the Championship race, one place ahead of nearest rival Jonathan Greensmith. A good start was had by Sheard who entered the 2nd corner in 4th place, however, he came off in the run down to turn 3 allowing a good number of the field to pass … he ended up back down in 14th place. Conditions worsened during the race and he was only able to make a 9th place finish. Ben Taylor was in a first corner coming together which didn't help the start. After a race full of mid field drama Ben brought the car home in 16th Position. Justin Newman and Steve Price both started the race mid field. They swapped places a good number of times before the finish … Steve was ahead at the chequered flag. Steve came in 23rd, Justin 24th and James Maxfield 26th. Overall Rockingham was a challenge for the team, but all held it together to finish and put some points on the board. The Championship is now jointly led by Sheard and Greensmith on 352 points … it’s tempting to look at the scores that could be dropped now, but in reality too much of the Championship is still to play out. The outstanding performance of the weekend was from Tom Roche who took his second win in the Championship. Tom finished the race 12 seconds ahead of 2nd place man Jeremy Clarke in very challenging conditions. The next race is at Mallory Park on Sunday 1st July - a double header, both races on the Sunday. Read previous race and event reports in the Reports section. Link to MaX5 Photo Gallery for Rockingham.

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13.06.2007

Sheard Leads after Pembrey, Rounds 4 / 5

1 Paul Sheard 300 2 Jonathan Greensmith 295 3 Tom Roche 277 4 Wayne De Lecq Le Montais 276 5 Jez Clark 266 6 Steve Greensmith 262 7 John Diffey 255 8 Dan Rochester 255 9 Alyn Robson 253 10 Ben Taylor 221 race report

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21.05.2007

Sheard Leads the MaX5 Championship after Round 3

Paul Sheard had a successful weekend at Croft taking a race win, a second place finish and the fastest lap points in both races. Sheard also set the new MaX5 lap record at the circuit ... the full race report can be read in the reports section. Professional images added courtesy of www.srh-motorsport-photography.com

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01.05.2007

MaX5 Round 1 Report

MaX5 Round 1 race and testing report added, pictures will follow soon ... see the reports page to read about a great start to the season. We are also in the final stages of compiling our track day promotional DVD in order to give you an insight into the days we offer ... check back soon for more information.

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20.04.2007

Build up to round 1, Donington Park, 29th April

The first race of the Championship is just over a week away and frantic preparations continue at Paul Sheard Autos. This year we have 6 drivers with us for which we are providing full race-team support … to introduce you to them all, here’s the rundown … Firstly we have Steve Price who is looking for a good result at Donington. Steve has done a sales rep’s mileage round Donny and is eagerly anticipating the start of the season following a personal best time of 1:29.8 in pre-season testing … good luck Steve, no pressure! Next we have James Maxfield, the owner of MKG3000 a Mazda dealership in Twickenham. James is looking forward to getting the best out of his car during this, the first round. Although Donington is an unfamiliar circuit for James, he draws on a wealth of kart racing experience to carry him through. Justin Newman looks forward to starting the season with us, this being his first year under the guidance of a professional team with his car prepped to match - a top 20 finish is the goal for Justin. Ben Taylor, son of BTC Racing touring car team boss Bert Taylor, joins the team and has performed well in pre-season testing. Ben has endeavoured to reduce the weight of his car of-late, and with dubious encouragement from his father, “you’ll never get a full Biffa out of it”, he still seems to be succeeding! Andy Boulton will race in the Paul Sheard Autos guest car. This will be Andy’s first experience of competitive motorsport, having taken to the track for the first time at an MX5Racing.com track day a little over a year a go. Delusions of grandeur motivate Andy but this seems to keep him happy. Finally, but by no means least, we have team owner and life-long racer, Paul Sheard. Paul is aiming to secure a podium finish at Donington to kick the season off to a flying start. This year will be his 4th in the Championship, where notable results have been achieved to date: 6 wins, 10-2nd and 7-3rd place finishes in all. Last year saw second overall and he hopes to go one better in 2007! Paul will also compete in numerous other race series’ throughout the year for which we’ll do our best to keep you up to date. Paul and the team look forward to seeing you at Donington over the weekend of 28th and 29th April, for the track day and the first MaX5 race of the year.

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02.04.2007

Oulton Park track day report added.

25 guests enjoyed a day at Oulton Park in March, read the report and see a selection of photos here.

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09.02.2007

Welcome to MX5Racing.com.

Welcome to MX5Racing.com, in association with Paul Sheard Autos. We'll be covering all the MX5 racing events throughout the forthcoming season, whether it be the MaX5 Championship, hill climb or sprint. We'll keep you up to date with the latest news as it happens, give you an insiders view to racing and provide you with technical articles on the sport. We'll also be bringing you vital information in car preparation and performance modifications, both from a fast road and track perspective. Best of all, we'll be running events throughout the year enabling you to get involved in the action, take a look at our track days page for more details.

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