I am getting a little tired of young boys belting through the village in their `go faster` cars, so if any of them belong to people on the mailing list do please encourage them to come and see REAL men driving the
SPEED HILL CLIMB AT LOTON PARK, ALBERBURY
7-8 June British Leaders and Midland Championships and Porches
12-13 July 500 Owners, Ferraris, MGs, Allards, Morgans, Formula Junior & Motorcycles.
If there is a `Go Faster` car in your drive why not buy the lad a day`s driving tuition at Loton Park, Alberbury.
This is what it is like to drive Loton
by John Morris
SPEED HILL CLIMBING - My experiences
I've been meaning to tell you about my Hill Climb and sprint events.
I remember visiting Loton Park as a young boy with my father, now 85, who has always enjoyed cars but mainly motor bikes; he still owns a 1939 ex MOD Norton 16H 500cc that we restored 25 years ago meaning he's probably owned it for 60 years or so.
So you could say my love of cars & motor bikes is 'in the blood', fortunately I've kept to 4 wheels allowing me to 'still be here' to write this article!
Hill Climb & Sprints; after many years of wanting to compete and having owned a long list of 'hot hatches' there never seemed to be a 'right time' but in 2005 a bit of luck brought a 1993 Metro GTI my way, a friend of a family member had a white model she wanted to 'get rid of'` and following the exchange of less than £100 it was mine.
A wheel arch tidy up, new clutch & cam belt soon followed to get the car into a tidy condition & following a trip to Loton Park the always helpful scruitaneers pointed me in the right direction regarding compliance with the MSA regulations. This might sound daunting but in reality the required modifications to comply with the 'road going' regs are minimal.
From memory this consisted of an ignition key 'on' & 'off' position label, correct tyres that are listed in the 'blue' book, timing strut & of course your non race national B licence.
For me the major expense was a good quality Nomex race suit, a Snell approved helmet, fire retardant gloves and boots. These to me where an investment in my personal safety and if looked after will last for many years of competing.
The entry process is very straight forward and in May 2005 I entered my first event in class 1A. This class is for road legal cars up to 1400cc. Staying within the regs allows for quite a few modifications to the engine and suspension but most must remain in their original configuration.
The Metro GTI was of course fitted with the quite remarkable K series engine. Perhaps best known unfortunately for head gasket failure this engine really is of a 'radical' design and remains one of the lightest production car engines manufactured. Of course Caterham & Lotus used the engine in most of their models and is testament to it's suitability for motorsport.
During the following 2 years the car was developed and improved with the major difference being the fitting of a Caterham Supersport engine. This culminated in a Loton Park time in the 65 second region using 'blue book' list 1A tyres, and I managed a third place in the 'Loton Park' championship. The road going classes are now allowed to use list 1B tyres these being the road legal 'cut slick' type tyre as used by Caterham on factory supplied cars.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the sport (apart from winning) is the gradual development of the car from standard to a level that embarrassed many road cars that people consider to be quick. Hill climbing makes most standard production sports cars look very humble!
Unfortunately you reach a point were most affordable modification have been done and to get to the next level a big chunk of money is needed, at this stage I sold the car & still regret it!
The next step for me was into 'specialist production cars' or to most of us a kit car. I decided on a 'Stuart Taylor' Lotus Seven type kit car a few years old with most of the much needed competition parts such as an LSD. However this particular car used a Honda Fire Blade engine with the sequential bike gearbox. Seriously lightweight but giving away a big margin of BHP and torque compared to the car engined machines. This still managed to run a 61 second time on 1A tyres but mainly due to it's extreme on road manners (no windscreen, no reverse gear, no weather equipment & very low gearing) the car was sold.
This made way for our present motorsport, I say our because my 13 year old son has enticed me into the world of Karting something I'd dabbled with for many years. We both race 2 stroke Karts with power-to-weight ratios and grip levels that never fail to amaze.
If you are considering a 'dabble' in motorsport, Hill Climbing might just be right for you. It can be very affordable, lots of fun and you will make some very good friends who will 'talk cars' all day long. I love it.
If you need any clarification or help pop along to Loton Park, competitors and officials are always willing to help guide you in the right direction.
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Many thanks for that John, lets hope it get`s someone else interested in taking part in motorsport.
It is a known fact that some young men spend as much tarting up their cars as it takes to build a kit car like John`s se7en!!!
-- Yoland Brown Brownhill House B&B, Ruyton XI Towns, nr. Shrewsbury SY4 1LR ShACC - Shropshire Alternative Car Club www.eleventowns.co.uk www.eleventowns.com www.ShACC-uk.org Tel: 01939 261 121 Fax: 01939 260626
