7.11. 2006 - The final rounds of the British Championship took place at the UK’s most spectator friendly circuit Brands Hatch.

Ross went into the meeting with a nine points lead over the rookie of Chris Levett in the Birds MAN and with Stuart Oliver only a few points behind Chris he knew he had a fight on his hands.

Saturday morning saw some confusion in the pits during the timed practice with everyone thinking Ross had the fastest lap time but when the official results came out he had just missed out by 0.025 of a second giving the pole position to Chris Levett. Ross had to settle for the second position, which put him on the outside of the track for the first corner at Paddock Hill Bend. Ross knew he had to have a good start and get the bend first as you do not want to be on the outside line there!
The lights turned to green and Ross let the Foden have the full 1050 brake horsepower but was still unable to get across in front of Chris. Reaching the bend still on the outside he had to get off the power quickly allowing the MAN of Chris to take the advantage with Ross settling into the second position with the rest of the field of 18 trucks following on behind. After a few laps Ross was gradually closing on the back of Chris’s MAN but they had quickly caught up with some back markers who were having there own race. These took some time to pass and Ross had to be content taking the chequered flag in the 2nd position. This meant that Ross would go into the last race on Sunday with a seven point advantage for the Championship.

Sunday’s grid was determined by the finishing position of the previous day this meant that once again Ross would be starting alongside Chris on the front row. Ross knew that with his lead of seven points he did not have to fight for the win but just finish the race. But try telling that to a racer, they go out to win and I knew that he would go for it. Once again the MAN was able to hold his line at the first corner leaving Ross in second, Ross tried to get the inside line at Druids but had the door firmly closed. After a few laps Ross was relaying to the mechanics that the back end of the truck was sliding out at bends and he was unable to get any grip. This meant that he could not challenge for the lead and had to be content with second but he did pick up an extra point for the fastest lap, which meant that he retained the Championship with a lead over Chris of seven points.

7.11. 2006 - After missing the 7th Round at Jarama in Spain at the beginning of October through an illness in the family, the team arrived for the last round of the year held at Le Mans, France.

The weather was mild but on Saturday thick fog in the morning meant that all practices and races had to be put back until the afternoon. The timed practice on Saturday gave Ross the 11th position on the grid for the Qualification race. The first chicane saw plenty of action with several trucks coming together Ross also was involved getting pushed onto the gravel, he managed to keep the truck going but lost four positions which he was unable to regain this left him finishing 15th.

The Cup Race meant a big hurdle to get over for Ross starting in 15th but again a lot of the trucks in front made contact in the first chicane leaving Bosinger in a MAN stranded in the middle of the track. This left Ross in 8th position as he had managed to keep out of the action this time but the race was red flagged to allow Bosingers truck to be recovered. The trucks were lined up on the grid in their original positions for the restart and Ross managed to take the chequered flag in 10th.

Ross started the Sunday Qualification race in 14th position but the race proved uneventful for him, as he was unable to make up any places and had to settle for this which is where he started in the Cup Race.

The Cup Race started but unfortunately so did the wet weather making the circuit very slippery. After two laps Ross had overtaken two trucks taking him up to the 12th position and closing up on the back of the MAN of Rodrigues. But Ross was pushing hard and on one corner the back wheels caught the painted white lines which sent him into a spin and across the grass and unable to finish the race.

A disappointing finish to the season but Ross managed to hold onto the 12th position in the fiercely contested Championship.

15.9. 2006 - This weekend was one to forget for Ross, Saturday morning warm up saw the offside front wheel water sprayers breaking off which resulted in the brake discs overheating. Whilst taking the hub off the thread stripped off the nut, this was a three hour job for the mechanics and resulted in Ross missing the time practice. Ross was allowed to start the Qualification Race on the back of the grid in 28th position which meant a lot of hard work to get through the back of the field but he managed to finish in 14th. Things looked brighter for the Cup Race starting in the 14th position Ross thought he would be able to progress up the field easier and by the 5th lap he found himself in 5th position and challenging Frankie Vojtisek in the Renault for the 4th slot. Unfortunately on the 7th lap the turbo decided that it had enough which left Ross having to park the Foden on the grass beside the track. More work for the mechanics, which meant a late dinner but thankfully not too late a night!
The early night proved to be good as in the timed practice Ross was achieving better lap times and the truck felt good. But this was short-lived as in the Qualification Race on the 6th lap the turbo boost sensor packed up and Ross again had to watch the remainder of the laps parked on the grass. More work to replace the sensor but this was completed in time for the Cup Race and the organisers again let Ross start at the back of the grid. Unfortunately on the way from the paddock to line up on the grid the turbo went again and Ross was unable to start the race.
No points for this weekend but Ross is hoping that he has now had his share of bad luck and is looking forward to the next meeting in Jarama, Spain on 30th September/1st October

6.9. 2006 - Ross had to start Saturday Qualification Race in 20th position after having his times cancelled from the timed practice for hitting the corner markers. This race was a wet race and Ross soon managed to work his way through the trucks getting up to 16th after the first lap. Unfortunately his windscreen wipers then stopped working and with the poor visibility from the spray from the vehicles in front Ross had to be content with holding this position.

The Cup Race saw a lot more action and after having to start in 16th Ross managed to work his way up to 11th after 4 laps. This brought Ross onto the rear bumpers of the two Allgauer MAN’s who were running in 9th and 10th, which were proving harder to get past. After 4 laps he managed to get past one of the yellow machines but was unable to pass the second, but was pleased that he had at least been able to finish in the points taking 10th position.

For the Sunday Qualification Race Ross was starting in the 10th position alongside the Renault of Vojtisek. Ross had the better start but in the first corner there was contact between the two trucks with Vojtisek’s mirror crashing into the Foden’s drivers door breaking the side window covering Ross with glass. This put both trucks off the circuit and in the gravel and while both were recovering from the impact the two MAN’s of team Allgauer had passed and with Vojtisek coming out of the gravel trap in front of Ross this left him in 12th position. Ross then had to fight his way back up the order but this time managed to pass both of the MAN’s, and eventually passing the Renault of Vojtisek to finish in 9th position.

Ross started the Cup Race in 9th position, but on the first corner Vojtisek managed to get past, fortunately Ross managed to pass the Renault after one lap with the MAN of Rodrigues following him. For 10 laps Ross knew that he could not make a mistake as Rodrigues was right behind and was close enough to take advantage of this. But after a hard fought race |Ross managed to hold his position taking the final chequered flag of the weekend in 9th.

The next meeting is the weekend of 9th/10th September and is being held at the circuit in Zolder, Belgium.

Nuerburgring, 26.07. 2006 - The fourth and fifth round of the British Championship was held at a hot and sunny Nurburgring in Germany alongside the Truck Masters Germany meeting. This is where Ulla one of the organisers a few years ago gave Ross the name of Rocket Ross. There was an impressive turnout of trucks and the number of spectators was estimated to be in the region of 184,000.

Ross started the weekend well qualifying in pole position for Saturdays race with Chris Levett impressively (as this was only his second meeting in the truck) qualifying 2nd on the grid in the Birds/Atkins Racing MAN. At the start of the race the MAN was beside Ross as they approached the first bend fortunately for Ross, Levett left his braking too late and went wide leaving the way clear for Ross to power ahead. While Ross went on his way to the finishing line with no more trouble Levett had to contend with the two Sisu’s of David Jenkins and Matt Summerfield which led to a fiercely contested battle to the end of the race. Ross finishing comfortably in 1st with Levett in 2nd and Jenkins finishing 3rd.

The race on Sunday saw the trucks lining up on the grid in the position that they finished the previous race. This meant that again Ross was on the grid besides Levett with Jenkins and Summerfield behind. This time Ross got away well leaving the battle for the second spot to be hotly contested by the following three. This time Levett lost out and the two Sisu’s passed with Jenkins finishing 2nd and Summerfield 3rd. But due to a technical infringement Jenkins was disqualified handing the 2nd position to Summerfield and Levett being promoted to take the 3rd position.

This gives Ross five successive wins in the Championship and with the next two rounds being held at Thruxton, which is the closest circuit to home on the 5th/6th August, he hopes to continue on his winning form.

Nogaro, 21.6. 2006 - The fourth round was held at the Armagnac Circuit in Nogaro, yet again a narrow circuit with even more corners than the previous circuit in Albacete.

This again meant more set up changes for the team which unfortunately was not very successful and the timed practice was disappointing which left Ross having to start the first qualification race in 13th position. During the first race he managed to make up one position overtaking Buffa in a MAN but besides this move the rest of the competitors finished the race in the position that they started.

The Cup Race provided a bit more action at the start of the race with several trucks being pushed off on the first lap leaving Ross in 6th position but amongst the trucks that had been left behind was the Freightliner of David Vrescky. He was soon charging his way through the pack and onto the back of the Foden. Ross managed to keep the Freightliner behind for 3 laps which saw some good side by side racing and a little contact but eventually managing to pass this left the MAN of Albacete behind but he also got by leaving Ross to finish the race in 8th position.

After a lot of alterations on Saturday evening adjusting and changing the setup Ross managed to achieve a faster time in the timed practice bettering Saturdays time by 2.5 seconds. This meant a starting position of 8th on the grid for the Qualification race. Once again the first corner saw a lot of action but unfortunately Ross was one of the trucks to lose some positions and after a hard race with the Man’s of Altenstrasser and Rodrigues had to settle for 9th position.

After the Qualification race there was a break of 3 hours before the Cup Race giving Ross time to give a short interview to the Eurosport TV crew and time for the team to reflect on the racing so far this season. We knew that this year was going to be difficult as the truck now in its third year of racing and through lack of funding has not had any developments on the chassis and suspension which is needed to take the extra power that the upgraded engine produces which is certainly capable of putting the truck up amongst the frontrunners. Looking back over the last meetings and also this one our finishing position seems to be at this time to be between 7th and 10th, which of course Ross would like to change.

The Cup Race saw Ross starting in 9th position, but the narrow circuit found Ross boxed in at the start losing a place but the second corner saw some vehicles come together which allowed Ross to get past them. This meant yet again a battle to keep the position from the MAN of Rodrigues and the Renaults of Vojtisek and Crozier. Ross made a mistake out of corner 2 allowing Rodrigues to get by. Then for the second time over the weekend had to contend with a challenge from the Freightliner of Vrsecky who got past at the end of the long straight and out braked Ross into the corner, once again there was some contact but Ross managed to finish the race in 9th position.

The next meeting is at Nurburgring in Germany on the weekend of 22nd/23rd July.

13.6. 2006 - After some considerable repairs to the battered bodywork panels we arrived in Albacete on Wednesday 31st June. During the journey from Misano to Albacete Ross was suffering with severe stomach pains and on arrival in Albacete was promptly despatched to the nearest hospital by a very concerned team. Luckily the manager of the Cepsa team drove him there and was on hand to translate to the doctor his symptoms. Ross was eventually diagnosed as having torn his stomach muscles which seems to have occurred while he was helping to pack everything up in Misano. He was told that he would have to rest for a few weeks and the weekends racing was in doubt. But after resting Thursday and Friday and with heavy strapping the officials cleared Ross for racing.

Ross started the Qualification race in 14th position and managed to gain two places this meant him starting the Cup Race in 12th which again he managed to gain two places finishing in 10th. Both of the races at this demanding and narrow circuit with 13 corners to manoeuvre and leaves very little space for overtaking was for Ross quite uneventful, apart from a few knocks on the newly repaired side skirts the truck seemed to be working well, which was more than could be said for the driver who found that it took more out of him than he expected and after an early dinner retired to his bed at 19.00 hours leaving the mechanics to prepare the truck for the next day.

Sunday morning Ross was feeling slightly better still struggling with stomach pains, but feeling more positive about the approaching races. Ross was not so positive about the truck’s handling though as the new set of front tyres gave him severe under steer and the practice sessions meant having to get the set up as best as possible in the time available. Ross started in 12th position for the Qualification race and again managed to gain two places finishing in 10th after a very hard race with the Renault of Crozier, the MAN of Rodrigues and the Mercedes of Pulic.

Starting the Cup Race in 10th he again had a very hard race and fought his way upto 7th position overtaking the Mercedes of Pulic, the MAN of Altenstrasser and the Renault of Crozier and for three laps was closing up on the bumper of 6th placed Vojtisek’s Renault. But Vojtisek drove very defensively to protect the corners and Ross was unable to pass him before the chequered flag.

The next outing is 17th/18th June at Nogaro, in the southwest region of France.

1.6. 2006 - The 2nd round of the European Championship was held on the weekend of 27th/28th May at a hot and sunny Misano race circuit in Italy and was well received by an enthusiastic crowd of 30,000.

The qualification race on Saturday saw Ross starting 8th on the grid but he got a good start, which put him in 5th position as the trucks emerged after the first bend. Ross had several lorries pressurising him during the nine lap race but managed to hold this position right until the last lap when on the last lap the Foden drifted wide on the last bend when the Buggyra Freightliner of Vresecky and the MAN of Bosiger passed leaving Ross to cross the line in 7th position.

The Cup race saw the Foden develop further handling problems on the bendy circuit with the truck drifting on the corners he was unable to keep his 7th position in which he had started and lost out to three trucks finishing in 10th. Back to the paddock for repairs overnight and hopefully better handling for the following day!

Sunday saw Ross start the qualification race in 10th but again due to a fantastic start emerged out of the first bend in 5th position. Again Ross kept this position until the last lap when the MAN of Lacko who was immediately behind left it too late to brake in a bend took to the grass and unfortunately emerged back on to the track just as the Foden was going by and made contact, this sent Ross spinning and allowed Lacko and three other trucks by before Ross could get the Foden pointing in the right direction and finish in 9th position.

The Cup race brought more or less the same scenario for Ross who thought that someone had painted a target on the Foden because again Ross had fought his way up from the ninth position start up to a credible 5th position when the MAN of Bosiger came into the side of him again sending him spinning off the circuit. This time however Ross emerged well down the pack and spent the remaining laps working his way back up to 9th position as he took the chequered flag. As Ross remarked later not a good day at the office!

Hopefully there will be enough time to straighten some of the battered panels before the next race at Albacete in Spain on the weekend of 3rd/4th June.

19.04. 2006 - Ross´s defence of the British Championship started in Pembrey South Wales over the Easter weekend. Although the weather was overcast it thankfully stayed dry for both days.

With 18 trucks entered it was the largest field that has been seen in the Championship for many years. There was three races over the weekend and Ross secured pole position for all of them by recording the fastest lap times on the timed practices. He managed to keep the rest of the trucks behind on the rolling starts and got to the notorious hairpin bend at the end of the start/ finish straight ahead of the chasing pack. Once in front he was able to control the race and gradually pulled away finishing comfortably in the first position for all three races. The best possible start to the Championship challenge.

The next round will be held at the famous Nurburgring in Germany at the end of July, and Ross is hoping that the truck performs as well there. He is also competing in the European Championship and has three races to attend before the German event.

11.04. 2006 - The first round of the 2006 Championship was held at the Catalunya Circuit just outside Barcelona.

Saturday timed practice saw Ross getting a black flag for smoke and his best time which would have seen him starting in 9th position was cancelled unfortunately in the remaining time he could not match this and the time that was registered saw him starting the Qualification Race in 11th. Ross lined up besides the ex MAN of Seiler now raced by Buffa which he kept behind him at the start and with a few trucks falling by the wayside on this first race of the season Ross finished in 8th position.

Starting the Cup Race 8th on the grid alongside new driver Altenstrasser for the MAN Allgauer team. The rolling start saw a frantic scrabble between Ross, Crozier (Renault), Rodrigues (MAN) and a charging Pulic (Mercedes) approaching the first bend four in a line with Pulic’s rear wheels at one time parting company with the track as he was sandwiched between Ross and Crozier. The first corner also saw contact between Hahn (Mercedes) starting in 2nd and Rodrigues (MAN) starting in 4th leaving them both losing several positions and rejoining the race behind Ross who found himself promoted up to 5th position after the first lap. Hahn recovered quickly and overtook Ross after a further two laps putting Ross back to 6th. Rodrigues caught Ross up but could not overtake and the two trucks were battling for eight laps Rodrigues then dropped back as he had to go defensive as the Mercedes of Oestreich caught him up.
Oestreich won that battle and then closed up on the back of Ross he overtook Ross on the first bend only to lose the position after the chequered flag as he failed to notice the waved yellow flags. Ross also gained another place as Bosiger’s MAN also incurred a penalty.

Sunday did not go well as in the timed practice the Foden was put back on the grid to start the Qualification race in 25th position due to speed infringement. This proved difficult to pull many places back as there was a lot of bumping in the midfield and Ross had to pull over on the first bend to avoid contact with several other trucks. This let the field in front to get well ahead and although Ross managed to catch up with and overtake several vehicles only managed to finish in 17th.

This also made the Cup Race difficult as again starting that far down the grid there was a lot of work to do catch up the leading pack. Again Ross managed to overtake several vehicles but could only manage finish 11th just missing a points paying finish but at the moment thanks to a good performance on Saturday lying 9th in the Championship.

The next European race is to be held in Misano Italy May 27th/28th but this weekend (April 15th/16th) sees Ross start his defence of the BTRA championship which is being held at Pembrey, South Wales.

7.11. 2005 - The final meeting of the British Championship took place at Brands Hatch over the weekend of 5th/6th November after a ten year break for the circuit.

Ross went into the meeting lying in 3rd position six points behind David Jenkins in 2nd who was only one point behind the leader Steve Horne.

Saturday was a quiet day for the team with the Foden only taking to the track once for the timed practice which resulted in Ross qualifying in third position due to a front tyre breaking up on the second lap. Richard Walker taking pole position for the race with David Jenkins beside him in 2nd position, Steve Horne lining up alongside Ross in 4th.

Sunday saw the weather change for the worse as the wind and rain came over the Brands Hatch circuit. The first race saw Richard Walker take the lead with Ross settling in behind him taking the second position but within a few laps Ross was reeling in the MAN and managed to pass to take the first position which he held onto until the chequered flag. This gave him 10 points for the win and an extra point was awarded for obtaining the fastest lap. Meanwhile Dave Jenkins took the 3rd whilst Steve Horne had to settle for 4th this meant that they were going into the final race equal first with Ross three points behind.

This race proved to be a thrilling one with plenty of action, Ross starting on pole with Richard Walker beside him. When the lights turned green at the start the Foden powered to Paddock Hill bend keeping in front of Walker. The MAN stayed on the back of Ross for several laps but eventually lost it on Graham Hill bend when he got two wheel on the grass which sent him spinning off. This left Ross well in the lead and out of trouble to the end but the championship was to be decided with the two battling trucks of David Jenkins and Steve Horne behind in 2nd and 3rd respectively. On the penultimate lap Steve Horne was beside David Jenkins at the hairpin at Druids when there was contact between them leaving both trucks in the gravel. David Jenkins managed to rejoin the race finishing in fifth but this was not enough points to secure the championship, but Steve Horne remained stranded in the gravel. Meanwhile the second position went to Matt Summerfield and third place Ricky Collett. Ross was completely unaware until he pulled into the pit lane at the end of the race and was met by his excited team that besides the race win he also had won the 2005 Championship

28.10. 2005 - The final race of the season was held 22nd/23rd October at the famous circuit of Le Mans. For the qualification race on Saturday Ross started in 13th position but during the first two laps managed to overhaul the MAN of Seiler and the Iveco of Lenz. The track started to get slippery after the rain started to fall and Ross closed up on the back of the MAN of Eduardo Rodrigues and managed to secure the 10th position, with Albacete taking 1st, Bosinger 2nd, Hahn 3rd..

The Cup Race saw Ross starting in the 10th position but again the Foden overpowered Vrsecky, in the Freightliner, and Fournier in a Renault at the beginning of the race. After a couple of laps Hahn in the Mercedes had mechanical problems and dropped out elevating Ross upto 7th Ross then had to contend with Vrsecky who had caught up to the back of the Foden and eventually managed to pass. Just after this Korber in the other Freightliner was challenging for the position and although Ross tried to keep him behind the Freightliners can handle the corners better than the Foden and Korber got by. But with a couple more trucks having problems in front of Ross he still managed to take the chequered flag in 7th position with Albacete again taking 1st position with Allgaeur taking 2nd and Pulic 3rd.

On Sunday Ross started the Qualification Race on the fifth row of the grid in 10th position after three laps he had passed Fournier in the Renault the race continued with Ross holding the 9th position but with two laps to go Vrsecky who had started way down the grid due to a penalty in the timed practice was on the back and once again Ross was unable to keep the Foden in front as the Freightliner got past. But shortly after Vrsecky retired with a mechanical problem allowing Ross to take the 9th position with Korber taking the honours in 1st Hahn 2nd and Albacete 3rd.

The final race of the season had Ross starting on the fifth row of the grid in 9th but he once again had a good start and managed to pass Jose Rodrigues to emerge after the first lap in 8th. Rodrigues kept on the back of the Foden for four laps but Ross started to get brake fade and was unable then to keep him behind any longer, he also had to let Fournier by but after this managed to stay in 10th position until the end.

The end of season saw Ross finishing in 10th position in the Championship and with 52 entries in the Championship this year was quite happy with this final result.

19.10. 2005 - The 4th round of the BTRA Championship was held on the weekend of 15/16th October at the Pembrey circuit in South Wales.

Ross went there lying in 4th position as he was unable to get any points from the two rounds in Nurburgring due a mechanical failure in the first race held on the Saturday and Sunday saw the truck stranded in Parc Ferme after completeing the FIA round and not being released in time for the start of the race.

On Saturday there was two timed practices held in the morning in which Ross obtained fastest time, this was the grid for the two races which was held later in the day. In the first race Steve Horne in the ERF was alongside Ross on the first row, although Ross got to the first corner in first position Steve battled to stay on the back of the Foden for the first five laps of the ten lap race but his challenge then lost momentum and the Foden gradually pulled away. Dave Jenkins in the Sisu came through to challenge Steve Horne for the second position and managed to pass leaving Steve having to settle for third.

The second race saw Dave Jenkins alongside Ross on the front row, the Foden again getting the better start to the first corner but the Sisu put up a good fight trying to pass and Ross but after four laps Ross had pulled out a lead which he held until the chequered flag. The third position was taken by Matt Summerfield in his Seddon Atkinson.

Sunday timed practice was held on a damp track and Ross had to settle for starting second on the grid alongside pole sitter Matt Summerfield, with Steve Horne and Dave Jenkins third and fourth respectively. Once again the Caterpillar engine showed its power as Ross outgunned the Seddon Atkinson arriving at the first corner ahead and pulling out a good lead. For the first four laps Ross pushed the Foden hard trying to beat the lap record but missed it by four hundreths of a second. Once again the Dave Jenkins had to settle for the second position with Matt Summerfield taking third.

With the final round taking place at Brands Hatch on the weekend of 5th/6th November and only seven points between Steve Horne who is leading the Championship with Dave Jenkins one point behind and Ross six points behind Jenkins it should mean an exciting finale to the season.

7.10. 2005 - The 9th and penultimate round of the championship was held on the weekend of October 1st/2nd at Jarama, just north of Madrid. This circuit may not attain the largest audiences but the 46,000 that did attend are certainly among the most enthusiastic supporters.

On Saturday Ross had a miserable timed practice which put him starting the Qualification race on the seventh row of the grid in 15th position. But due to a series of bumps which involved several of the trucks in front Ross managed to escape unscathed and emerged out of the mayhem in 5th position. But after the third lap the race was red flagged as Spanish driver Manuel Gozalo had a horrific accident which saw his truck roll over several times and eventually landing on the other side of the barriers. This took over an hour to clear up before the race could be restarted and unfortunately Ross lost his 5th place as two of the front running trucks which had been involved in some of the action was able to catch the Foden leaving Ross having to settle for the 8th position.

For the Cup Race Ross started on the 4th row of the grid but had Hahn in a Mercedes and Bosinger in a MAN starting behind as they had been involved in the first race incident and were unable to take part when the race was restarted. Within a few laps Hahn and Bosinger were on the back of the Foden but Ross was unable to keep them behind and lost two positions. The race continued fortunately for Ross there were no other trucks in contention for the 10th position and he finished comfortably. He was then placed in 9th as Vrsecky in a Freightliner was disqualified after being scrutineered at the end of the race and was found to be underweight. This was due to him being involved in the fracas of the previous race and had lost most of his bodywork! This race saw Abacete in a MAN claim the first position closely follwed by Korber (freightliner) and Pulic (Mercedes) taking an easy 3rd position. This unfortunately for the team means that Pulic has taken the 9th position of the championship and put Ross back to 10th but with one round left and at the end of the weekend only a few points in it there is still the possibility of reclaiming the position.

Sundays Qualification race saw the Foden starting on the 6th row of the grid in 11th position but with Hahn unable to take his first position on the grid due to a steering box failure and a tactical drive from Ross he was able to overhaul Eduardo Rodrigues (MAN) and a struggling Vojtisek (Renault) who then had to retire on the last lap due to a mechanical failure, Ross was able to take the 8th spot finishing behind Pulic in 7th, Vrsecky 6th, Jose Rodrigues (MAN) 5th, Allgauer (MAN) Albacete, Bosinger (MAN) and Korber (freightliner) taking the 1st position.

The final Cup Race of the weekend saw the Championship being secured by the home driver Albacete much to the delight of the crowd. Although he started in the 3rd position he managed to overhaul the MAN of Bosinger in the first series of bends and was happy to follow the freightliner of Korber to the finish. The race was quite uneventful for the rest of the competitors but Ross lost his 8th position to Eduardo Rodrigues ,after missing a gear due to a clutch problem, and had to settle for 9th spot.

The last round is being held at the Le Mans circuit in France on the 22nd/23rd October.

20.9. 2005 - The 8th round of the Championship was held at Zolder at the weekend to a enthusiastic crowd in the late summer sunshine. Again the entries were high which meant that the trucks had to be split up into two groups for the qualification races and the top 13 from these groups racing together in the Cup Race.

Ross started from 4th in his qualification race with Vojtisek (Renault) beside him in 3rd, Koerber (Freightliner).
In 2nd and Vrsecky (Freightliner) on pole. The race progressed with everyone holding these position until the chequered flag.

This put Ross 7th on the grid for the Cup Race having to contend with Hahn in the Mercedes coming through the field as having failed to finish in his Qualification Race due to a mechanical failure had to start 15th. Hahn was on the back of the Foden by the 5th lap of the 12 lap race and although Ross put up a fight to defend his position for over a lap was unable to hold Hahn back and lost the position only for the Mercedes to retire again a lap later. This allowed the Mercedes of Pulic to close up on the back and Ross again had to defend this position which he was able to do for 4 laps until the brakes started to fade, at one point flames were seen coming from the back, wheels this meant that he had to brake earlier for the corners and Pulic took advantage of this and managed to pass Ross managed to hold onto the eighth position to the end behind Koerber 1st/ Albcete (MAN) 2nd Vrseckey 3rd Bosiger (MAN) 4th Vojtisek 5th Allgauer (MAN) 6th Pulic 7th.

The timed practice on Sunday saw Ross fighting to keep the truck on the track as another shock absorber bolt broke.
The result of this saw the Foden starting on the 3rd row beside Blaise (Freightliner) Pulic, Vojtisek, Bosiger with Vrsecky on pole. Ross got a good start and managed to pass the Freightliner for the 5th position this led to a few laps with the Freightliner all over the back of the Foden. This also resulted in a few nudges and at one point the Freightliner got alongside and hit the Foden with some force damaging the side rails, panels and smoke box. The Freightliner came off worse damaging its front axle and having to drop back as he tried to control the truck and with no one else challenging Ross kept the 5th position.

The final Cup Race of the weekend saw the Foden starting on the 5th row in 10th position again he had a good start and came out of the first series of bends in 9th overhauling the MAN of Seiler . For 10 laps Seiler was fighting to regain the position but had to do with 10th as the race was red flagged due to a bundle of tyres being knocked onto the circuit and the officials deciding it was too dangerous to continue.

The results from here have moved Ross up to 9th position in the Championship with Seiler only 4 points behind and Pulic 15 points behind so a good performance is needed to retain this position at the next meeting in Jarama Spain on the 1st/2nd October.

6.9. 2005 - The 7th Round of the FIA European Truck Racing Cup saw the team making the long trip to the Czech Republic. The circuit is at Most which is about 75 kms from the capital of Prague. The circuit has had some alterations made to it over the winter and it now has a mean chicane at the end of the start/finish straight which is wide enough for two trucks to enter but narrows and only allows enough room for one truck to exit.

Again there were a good number of trucks entered for the race, which meant running two groups for the Qualification race, and the combined results of these would decide the grid for the Cup Race. Saturday was cloudy but warm and Ross got a good run in the timed practice which put him second on the grid in his group for the Qualification Race, alongside the Buggyra of Vrsecky. Ross managed to keep his position coming out of the new chicane and held on for all of the eight laps but had to defend this position for six of these laps as Rodrigues in his MAN tried unsuccessfully to pass.

This gave Ross a starting position of 4th on the grid for the 11 lap Cup Race alongside Hahn in the Mercedes and behind Albacete (MAN) and Vrsecky (Freightliner). At the start Ross made some ground on Hahn and was challenging for 3rd position but had to back off at the chicane and settle for 4th. As the race progressed Pulic in the much improved Mercedes came up on the back of the Foden which again led to Ross having to drive defensively for 8 laps allowing the three in front to pull ahead. Ross began to feel more pressurised as the brakes began to fade after the days hard racing and had the back brakes lock up enabling the Mercedes to pass and with three laps left to go found the following pack of Korber (Freightliner) and Lacko (Freightliner) to close up and despite some nudges and at one point having the Freightliner of Korber hooked up on the back of the Foden, managed to defend the 5th position.

Sunday was hot and sunny but although Ross managed a faster time in timed practice than he achieved on the Saturday a lot of the other competitors found that the conditions suited them as well. and Ross started the Qualication Race in 5th position which left a lot of work to do to progress up the field. Unfortunately a schock absorber bolt broke off which made the truck unstable while braking and Ross had to back off on the corners but despite this was able to hold the 5th position until the end, once again holding off the advances of the battling MAN of Rodrigues.

This put Ross 10th on the grid for the final race of the weekend but the new chicane saw the coming together of several trucks in front of Ross in the first lap putting Hahn (Mercedes) and Korber (Freighliner) out of the race with Ross emerging unscathed and in 7th position. Rodrigues (MAN) was once again behind Ross for several laps but this time managed to pass, this allowed Pulic (Mercedes) to challenge and come up on the inside on the start/finish straight. Fortunately for Ross the Merecedes driver tried to unsuccessfully outbrake the Foden going into the first part of the chicane, causing him to do a 360 degree spin narrowly missing the front of Ross, this allowed Ross to pull away and give himself enough of a gap to finish the race in 8th position.

The weekend saw Ross getting a total of 26 points which leaves him 1 point behind Daniel Seiler who holds 9th position. All to go for in Zolder in Belgium on the weekend of September 17th/18th.

12.7. 2005 - After a disappointing start to the 2005 season Ross had high hopes that his luck would change for the biggest race of the season held at the Nurburgring. The event not only attracts the biggest audiences of around 180,000 but also has the biggest number of entries this year there being around 50 trucks entered.
The Nurburgring is situated in the Eifel mountains and the circuit is renowned for the unpredictability of the weather and how quickly this changes. Friday when the free practices and timed practice for Saturdays racing is held was a prime example with rain one minute and then sunshine making the circuit wet one minute then drying quickly, a headache for the mechanics trying to get the truck set up correctly.

Because of the number of entries the Qualification races were held in two groups with the top 14 from each group then going into the Cup Race. Ross fortunately managed to get a dry run on his timed practice which put him starting 3rd on the grid for his Qualification race. On the first corner Ross was unable to keep Allgauer (MAN) the championship leader at bay and lost one position but for several laps battled with Vojtisek (Renault) to keep the 4th position. This meant starting 7th on the grid for the Cup Race when the two groups were amalgamated unfortunately on the first corner the back of the truck came round causing Ross to lose his position and regaining the circuit close to the back of the grid. Ross battled on but had to come to a stop when an air pipe burst leaving him with no clutch and only 40% braking.

Sunday Qualification saw Ross starting in 5th position behind Lacko (Freightliner) this led to an exciting battle for most of the 9 laps with Ross gaining the 4th position at the end. This meant Ross starting 8th on the grid for the Cup Race, the race produced lots of spills and thrill with several trucks coming together and losing position but Ross managed to keep out of the trouble and brought the Foden taking the chequered flag in an impressive 4th position.

This at last means that 24 precious point was accumulated over the weekend which has saw Ross jumping up to equal 10th position with Crozier (Renault). There is a eight week break now until the next European race, which will be held in the Czech Republic in Most on 3rd/4th September.

This weekend was a demanding one not only for Ross but also the Truck as the 3rd and 4th round of the British Championship was also being contested. Ross had to start at the back of the grid for the Saturday race this was due to the lack of time between the end of the European round timed practice and the start of the timed practice for the British Championship. The truck was held in parc ferme and could only manage to get out on the circuit to complete two laps. Although he got 2nd fastest this did not count, as there is a minimum requirement for there to be three laps completed. At the start of the race Ross was quickly gaining positions when on the fourth lap he noticed that the clutch was again getting harder and when coming down the start/finish straight doing 100 mph quickly realised that the brakes were not working. The only way to stop was by pulling up the handbrake resulting in the truck doing a 180 degree turn in front of a very appreciative audience. This was consequently found to be yet another burst air pipe and Saturday night saw the mechanics having to re-route these pipes well away from the exhaust which was found to be perishing the pipes. Sunday saw further problems with Ross unable to start as yet again the truck was not out of the parc ferme in time for the start of the race.
The next round of the British Championship will be held at Thruxton 20th/21st August.

23.06. 2005 - In the weeks between Round 3 which was held in Misano, Round 4 held in Albacete and most recently Round 5 in Nogaro, Ross has been complaining about the engine not being responsive coming out of corners. Parts were changed after the weekend in Albacete but at the beginning of the weekend in Nogaro it soon became clear that the problems were still there.
On Saturdays time practice at Nogaro the problem developed,into something major unfortunately not leaving any time for any work to be done he had to settle for going out in the races and just hanging on in there.
Saturday night the engine was replaced and on Sunday Ross found there was a vast improvement in the performace of the new engine.
This season there has also been an issue for the teams as no tyre manufacturer has produced a racing compound for front tyres, but Kraiburg one of the sponsors this year produced a front tyre in time for Nogaro.
Unfortunately due to the late production of these tyres there was no time to test these and the tyres were going off after 2 or 3 laps which caused a great deal of understeer. They are hoping to get this corrected before the next meeting which is at the Nurburgring on July 9th/10th.

15.6. 2005 - Aquila-Racing launches new website