2012 Dash Cup Brno GP

The 2012 Brno GP was the seventh race of the 2012 Dash Cup season. It was held at the Masaryk Circuit in Brno, Czech Republic.

The race at Brno marked the first time since Round 2 at the Norisring that the series raced somewhere other than England.

Watch
q2A89ARjQkU

Mallory Park fallout
The incidents at Mallory Park, in which drivers Jakob Hughes and Ashley Ambercroft were injured, drew varied reactions from those in the paddock. Some drivers, including Atlantic Motorsports driver Carla Rosinki, placed blame for the injuries on the design of the car. "These cars are really unsafe," she said. "I don't think we should be driving these anymore. We've had people die this year, and we've never had that in the history of Dash Cup! The officials and drivers have become too complacent over the last few years, and they've continued to be complacent into this year! Even after my crash at Neva Ring in 2010, which nearly killed me! The car should have been developed then, but the officials are too stubborn to change anything! And that caused two deaths, and several broken bones for drivers in different accidents! If nothing changes within the next few months, I'm saying goodbye to Dash Cup, and I'm sure other people will too."

Others, among them Willard Stanton and TM Master Cup driver Ryan Matthews, who was in attendance making preparations for his own team's debut in this event (see below), instead chose to cite inadequate safety measures at the Mallory Park oval as the reason for the injuries. "The fact is, this track should've made safety enhancements after last year," Matthews said, referring to the disastrous pair of VSCC races which saw several major incidents, including the one that eventually cost Kristjian Jankovic his life. "There should be SAFER barriers around the entire outer perimeter of the track at minimum. Obviously the track management didn't learn their lesson. Either that, or just stay the hell off the oval tracks entirely. There's no shame in being a series that's strictly road courses."

For what it's worth, the Dash Cup officials seemed to side with Stanton and Matthews, as it was announced that Mallory Park, along with Rockingham Motor Speedway, would not receive dates on the 2013 calendar. League officials cited driver safety concerns as the reason for the deletions. It was also announced that for the Motegi GP that restrictor plates would be used to slow the cars down. Officials announced testing sessions would be held at Eurospeedway Lausitz to determine the best method of implementation.

Driver updates
Verity Logan was sacked from her ride at Atlantic Motorsports prior to the Brno GP, citing poor performance as the reason for the firing. Harriet Wallace and Matt Tremblay will fill the races left open by Logan's departure. It was also speculated that Atlantic Motorsports' sponsor Vodafone would leave the team upon Logan's departure, but the telecom firm restated its commitment to the team.

MRD Motorsports finalized its takeover of Scuderia Perugia, purchasing the now-bankrupt operation for $1.1 million in a bid approved by an Italian court. Team head Tom Delgado said the team would be part of MRD's European driver development program, adding, "This will allow us to have an even bigger talent pool to choose from, and thus allow us to expand our horizons past North America and Asia. MRD Motorsports is committed to bringing forth only the best drivers in the world, by developing young talent this will ensure that the entire organization will be competitive and successful in all forms of motorsport." It is also believed that Delgado would attend season finale in New York, and might even enter a car for the event if permitted.

In other MRD developments, driver Carlo De Pretto was called up to drive the No. 26 Nemoto in the ARLA Elite Series. Replacing him in the No. 77 car for the rest of the season will be – surprisingly – none other than Logan, who was signed to a deal which covers this and the 2013 season.

Making its Dash Cup debut in this race was current ARLA, TM Lights, and RROL Elite Series team Matthews Motorsports, fielding the No. 46 Canadian Tire STS for rookie Kellan Rogers, the sister of current ARLA and TM Lights driver Tiffany Matthews.

Finally, Terra International Motorsports announced it would replace Ashley Ambercroft, who was injured at Mallory Park (see above), with Charles Darson for the foreseeable future, while Ambercroft is on the mend.

Summary
coming soon...

The top 10

 * For the complete results, click here.

Justin Keith claimed his third career win with the victory.

Points

 * For the complete points standings, click here.

Radomir Stanoytchev maintained his points lead after Brno, leading Patrick Arceneau by 58. Anto Markov moved into third, just eight points behind Arceneau. Rounding out the top five are Daniel Miller and Reuben Vogt.