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Racing driver competition
10:25am Friday 9th May 2008
IF YOU dream of becoming a racing driver but feel your current course is unlikely to steer you in the right direction, Vauxhall's VXR Racing Driver of the Year 2008 competition could be just what you're looking for.
The winner of this year's competition will become a fully-sponsored racing driver, competing in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup in 2009.
The entry qualifications are simple. The only requirement is that you must be aged over 21 and never previously held a racing licence.
Simply visit www.vxrdriver.co.uk and complete the online questionnaire by Friday, June 27. 1,620 successful applicants will be selected and put through their paces in the karting semi-finals, before 15 finalists are selected for the intensive three-day boot camp-style final.
Vauxhall's group marketing manager Richard Hughes said: "The competition gives one member of the public a chance to become a racing driver, with a fully paid drive for the 2009 season."
"One of last year's finalists is now working as part of the Vauxhall VX Racing team, competing in the British Touring Car Championship."
The competition winner will be fully supported and mentored throughout his 2009 season: the new racing driver will even have full use of a brand new Vauxhall road car as part of the prize.
Last year's winner, 34-year-old mortgage consultant John Allison from Beverley, East Yorkshire, represented Vauxhall VXR for the first time last weekend at Snetterton circuit in the 2008 Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup.
For further information on the competition, a profile of last year's winner and to enter the 2008 contest, go to www.vxrdriver.co.uk
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Prehistoric walk
The interesting brochure you can obtain from the car park at Foulshaw Moss says that more than several thousand years ago the Witherslack Mosses were part of an extensive wetland in what is now the Lyth Valley and on the flat ground west of the Kent Estuary. The Mosses - Meathop, Foulshaw and Nicols - are raised peat bogs brought about by sphagnum moss that draws up, acidifies, and holds water like a giant sponge, creating waterlogged conditions as it grows. Sphagnum grows from the tip, leaving the lower part to die. Waterlogging halts decay of these dead bits that build up and up over thousands of years, to form deep domed mounds of peat that are raised many feet above the surrounding ground. The Witherslack Mosses have dried out partly as a result of forestry and the invasion of scrub. Over time, drainage and peat cutting led to the loss of more wetland and now only significant fragments remain. Specialised peatbog flora and fauna have been unable to thrive because of the area being too shaded and too dry. Recently conifers have been removed and also masses of rhododendrons have been cleared. Hundreds of peat and plastic dams have been installed to bring about the ‘sponge’ effect of the peat. At Foulshaw, the remains of a 15ft to 16ft wide prehistoric trackway has been uncovered. This is believed to have been constructed in the mid-Bronze Age to allow people to cross the once huge wetland. Trunks of ash and birch were laid side by side and supported on logs. Foulshaw Moss is open to the public. Nichols Moss, a really squelchy one, is only suitable for a hundred yards or so before you encounter pathless very wet moss. It is a delight to stand and look ahead but as there is no walkway do not continue. Pause just on its edge from where you might spot red deer. Meathop is a lovely walk but only for those with a permit from Cumbria Wildlife Trust or if you are a member. The parking is difficult. After the first short grassy track, follow a wider track, left, that winds round right by a pasture and into fine conifer woodland. Beyond this a wide walkway takes you out some distance into the moss, from where you will spot all sorts of interesting lowly plants. To visit Foulshaw Moss, on the A590, it is best to approach the entrance from the direction of Kendal. If coming from the opposite direction continue on past the entrance and make use of the Levens underpass to make a U-turn and approach from the north. This avoids trying to make a right turn across a narrow section of the busy A-road. The entrance is not signposted until you have turned off the road. The entrance turn, a cart track, lies just before a large layby on a narrow section of the A-road. Just beyond the turn, stands a huge sign saying ‘Dual carriageway a mile ahead’. To approach the entrance, drive the dual carriageway at Levens until it ends. Continue a short distance along the two-way road and begin to signal your left turn. Watch out for the large sign ahead. If you reach the layby you have gone too far.
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