UKDRN

Anything Nostalgia Related.

Moderators: timetravel, ukdrn

 #15285  by Flying Phil
 
This series ran in the late 80's and early 90's for Rover V8 street cars. It was sponsored by Real Steel/Street Machine,Custom Car. It soon split into two classes:- Group 1/Pro Rover and group 2/Street Rover. Some cars are still around in original or different forms. Could we use this thread to build up a database of the cars and memories of what was a great class of racing.
 #15301  by ritchi101
 
i,ll start with my consul capri it was owned by bill gysin and alot the work was done by bob nixon the car ran a j.e engineering 3.5 rover with 5spd rover box it with an 8in mustang 2 axle and alot of nitrous, i bought it as a roller from ricky carter in uxbridge he had only bought it for the motor which he put in a orange mk2 escort, when he bought it it had sat under a sheet in brentwood for a number off years seemingly unloved.
i have good memories of the rover challenge and there were some great cars, where are they all now, ones that are still racing, steve wells and his pickup, he really is a true rover pioneer hes gone from running 15s to high 8s in super comp, steve green his cortinas have provided huge entetianment over the years.
 #15319  by Flying Phil
 
I started racing in the V8 championship in 1986(?) in the Black painted "Super Sprite V8". I got a sponsorship "deal" with a local young entrepreneur so resprayed/renamed the car as the brown painted "Quick Cleanse Sprite"for 1987. For 1988 it was again Super Sprite and painted BRG with metalflake. But it was being outclassed and I then built the MGBGT based "Super B". However the class split into two:- Group 1 for highly modified cars and group 2 for less modified and road legal cars.
Thus the Sprite would again be reasonably competitive so in 1989 John Wilkin drove the Sprite for three rounds as I got the B running and slowly sorted. I drove both cars for the final two or three rounds.
I drove and modified the BGT in 1990,91,92 and 93 when it was sold. It was Black initially, then Blue, then British Racing Green with flames.
I still have the V8 Sprite and it was MoT'd and resprayed two years ago
Attachments
V8 Sprite May 08 pic 9.jpg
V8 Sprite May 08 pic 9.jpg (292.99 KiB) Viewed 32362 times
V8 Sprite 85 Bitteswell,PDRC86.jpg
V8 Sprite 85 Bitteswell,PDRC86.jpg (158.36 KiB) Viewed 32364 times
 #15320  by Flying Phil
 
Just noticed in the last picture (PDRC) is Tony Beadle - with the beard, from Street Machine magazine (who were part of the main instigators of the championship)
 #15331  by muddytalker
 
Just found some publicity photos of the legendary Steve Green and his Infamous JWR Pro Rover. What a beast, and a screamer too!

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Last two photos from the Paul Duxbury Collection
 #15332  by Flying Phil
 
Great photographs Muddy! Steve was always the man to beat in the Rover Championship - and very few ever did!
The pictures show his later car, the original car evolved from a street car but a blown core plug put water under the tyres on one side going through the lights at Santa Pod? in 92/93? which caused the car to crash and was a total write-off.
 #15334  by muddytalker
 
Soon after finding the article about Dave Carpenter’s Mk1 Cortina in a pile of old Street Machine magazine out popped this 1986 race report from the first round of the JWR/SM Rover V8 Championship held in conjunction with the NDRC’s North Weald meeting on 7th/8th June. Here’s some of the highlights:

This meeting became the first round proper after the aborted meeting at Santa Pod (guess it rained then?). Eight cars entered but there were two noticeable absentees - Steve Green & George Leitch. Steve had apparently wrecked another rear axle and had put a piston through the block at a Pod meeting in May. In the meantime Edinburgh’s George Leitch was discovering that the VW transaxle was not up to the power he was extracting as, after a sensational 12.08/119 mph at York Raceway, he broke two gearboxes trying practices launches outside his workshop and he didn’t make the two South.

In the event, six people made qualifying attempts although Martin Cowell bent all his pushrods on his first pass and was unable to race. Qualifying ended up like this.

1, Martin Cowell (‘65 MG Midget) 12.98/101
2. Tim Hines (MK1 Escort) 13.13/103
3. Steve Richardson (Morris Marina) 14.37/95
4. Phil Herrick (Sprite) 14.68/99
5. Neil Hall (TR7) 15.84/86
6. Caroline Grace (Morris Minor) 16.10/81

Because only five cars showed for the first round there were three byes, and only one race between the two slowest qualifiers. In a tight finish the TR7 of Neil Hunter just squeaked past our first female racer, Caroline Grace in her Morris Minor ‘Minor Seduction’.

Tragedy struck Steve Richardson’s Marina when he ripped the centre out of the clutch after a 14.22. This gave the semi final opponent Neil Hall a bye into the final to meet Tim Hines with his 100- Escort who easily disposed of Phil Herrick’s Sprite (sorry Phil), 13.31 to 14.14.

The final looked to be a foregone conclusion, and so it proved - Tim waited for a definite green, allowing the TR7 to gain a slight advantage out of the gate, but the time show the margin at the finish, a winning 13.67/99 to a losing 15.89/87.

Winner Tim Hines was understandably pleased to pick up the £100 from JWR but runner up Neil Hall with his dead stock engine was also happy, “Just to compete and have fun”. Nice one Neil.

Points after round 1
1. Tim Hines 32 points
2. Neil Hunter 20 points
3. Phil Herrick 12 points
4. Steve Richardson 10 points
5. Caroline Grace 0 points

Low ET in Competition: Tim Hines 13.31 secs
Top Speed in Competition: Phil Herrick 103 mph
 #15335  by MARSHO
 
This is a great bit of history being dug up, hope some more keep coming , David.
 #15336  by Flying Phil
 
As racers in the Championship, we all got copies of those race reports, they then appeared in Street Machine-( Steve( Day?) wrote them in 89 to 92). We should also remember the tremendous support of Charles Pinion MD of Real Steel, who sponsored the series and held an annual prizegiving at their Slough Office.
From the series was also born the "Rover V8 Drag Racing Association" which had for a time, a regular newsletter and a series of Tee shirts printed.
 #15341  by muddytalker
 
I think Phil I still have some of Steve's Rover V8 Club newsletters around somewhere. Also how many season review video's did DD productions produce for the championship? Was it just the one season or more. Again I think I've still got a copy floating around somewhere!
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