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Now over the last couple of years a question kept arising. “When are you going to race her?” The seed was first sown when the TVRCC Challenge was proposed at Spa in 2006. A Challenge event at my favourite Circuit? I would have to be there. So I started on the preparations. As it turned out the Challenge didn’t go, though we did ofcourse! But I was now ready to progress. So first came the ARDS test, then Roll Cage. Fire System and cut off’s, followed by a race seat. All that remained was to join the Dunlop TVRCC Challenge Drivers Register and the BRSCC. Then I was eligible to race.

Due to work and Trackday commitments, the first race possible would be Pembrey in South Wales. It’s a great little circuit, with every type of corner. A hairpin, fast and slow corners along with a decent couple of fast sectors thrown too. Now, preparations didn’t finish until 04:30 on the Thursday morning so we were a little late arriving at the Track on Friday and by the time we had put up the Marquee etc, we had missed practice. It then transpired, that at about 03:00 my son (who was helping out with preparations) accidentally drilled through one of the oil lines. An easy fix on Saturday morning thanks to a quick trip to “Pirtek” in Swansea and we were ready for the next hurdle - Scrutineering.

The car has always been locked after by “Big Col” at Dulford Automotive through it’s various stages of development and I had every confidence that we would be OK, but there’s always the chance of something being missed. So it was with no small measure of pride that “Cols baby” passed with flying colours. He couldn’t contain his pride! Big softy.

We were finally ready to race!

Mercifully the afternoon was dry. A short break in the horrendous weather had presented a dry (briefly) track, so it was out with our fresh slicks. Only 15 mins of “Qualy” were available so I put in the four “banker” laps that were required before coming back in to check tyre pressures. Pressures set, I went back out for my hot laps, only to be sent straight back in by a Red flag…that was it. But, I had managed to qualify in 7th so I was very happy with that as only Sam Head in his very quick Group C Tazmin had snuck by other than the much faster Tuscans and GTFs. Race day was tomorrow.

Race day dawned…and it was belting down. My worst fear, stacks of water with brand new competition Wets, that I had never driven on…ever! I think Col was more worried than I was though. I have done the Nurburgring in rain, sleet and snow, so I was reasonably confident that I would survive. That’s all I wanted to achieve at Pembrey. To get around without getting in the way and bringing the car back in the same basic shape with none of the corners “knocked off”.

Next thing I knew, I was sitting on the Grid, with a brace of very quick tvr race cars driven by some very talented people around me. As the relentless rain bounced of the windscreen, I looked left and saw Sam Head in his Tasmin. In front I had Howard Bryan’s beautiful white Tuscan along with Dean Cook (Tuscan), Steve Glynn (GTF), Hui Marshall (Tuscan) and of course Tim Hood in his Stealth Style black GTF.

Oh Dear. The phrase “playing with the big boys now” and “out of my depth” flowed through my head. Having only done a couple of race style starts, I was conscious of not stalling on the grid and getting away cleanly, so that was my focus. Four thousand revs…feed the clutch in…no wheelspin…don’t hit anyone! I said it over and over again trying to stay calm and composed. I have done thousands of laps in this car I told myself, these are just the next 20.

Sufficed to say, I did OK. The car’s balanced had changed slightly due to the removal of a lot of weight and the addition of a roll cage etc, but generally I was more than happy with her. Some great starts and the absence of Group B big guns Marc Hockin and Graham Walden meant that I had the midfield to play with along with Steve Hall in a Turbo “Cossie” Tasmin. In the first race I had Steve pegged until I ran wide (and 90 degrees sideways) on the grass allowing him through, still finishing 2nd in class and 5th overall. My first race was done. The worst conditions for many years and I was 5th. I guess I can now call myself a very happy tvr race driver!

The second race was also wet, but not raining. The Tuscans would be much faster in these conditions so I was less sure of how the race would play out. Fifth on the Grid, another great start and I was up behind the GTFs. They tangled and I snuck through with Dean Cook. As the pack came through, Howard out braked himself onto the grass and the red flags came out while he was recovered. We waited on the Grid. Initially annoyed (as I was happy with the way things had panned out for me) I found myself third on the restart Grid behind Hui Marshall and Dean Cook. My starts were good and the big guys were having difficulty with all that extra power in the wet. Fingers crossed.

The lights went out and I hooked up well. The car powered past the Tuscans and headed towards the hairpin. I was leading a round of the TVRCC Tuscan Challenge! Unbelieveable. Braking as heavily as I dared, I checked my mirrors for the Tuscans, I felt sure would be all over me. In the spray I couldn’t see them but they weren’t on top of me, so I pushed on through the next few corners. Soon Dean and Hui powered through followed soon after by the GTFs, but to be honest…I didn’t care, I knew I couldn’t hold then for long! I checked the dials in my leather covered walnut dashboard, turned the blower and wipers on and pushed on finishing 1st in Class and 6th Overall. I was beaten only by Tuscans and GTFs. Happy…I should Cocoa.

As always with these things, it’s not something that is achieved on your own. A huge amount of work has been put in by “Big Col” Apps at Dulford. He really has built this winner with his own two hands from the bottom up. Thanks mate. Thanks also to Rich Smith, Dulford and tvrcarparts Boss and Chris Davey who have sponsored the car and been unstinting in their general support. A Manning UK Ltd and Topcoatprint who have also been behind the “tvrmonster.com racing” project since January. Without their support it really would not have been possible.

So there you have it. Pristene Sunday rocket to tvr Challenge Racer. Its not a unique story, everyone out there on the Grid last weekend has a similar story/journey and you can do it too. tvr racecars can be had on the Internet for a few thousand pounds and with a bit of effort you could be out there too. But why not come along and watch in the meantime? It’s a great day out and a fiting reason to pull your own “monster” out of the garage over the summer. They’ll be lots of top racing by some very friendly guys who would love to show you the best of tvr racing. See you soon?

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Click for video two

Andy
Tvrcc TDO
TVRCC Tuscan Challenger.