TORQ  BAR  CHALLENGE   -  24th  October  2005

Well known rally navigator and purveyor of energy bars, Paul Robinson, asked me at the end of the Targa if I would make my car available for a track test day , to compare a few of the most successful Historic Rally cars in a safe and fast environment i.e. Bruntingthorpe.

I readily agreed and to add spice the event was to be covered Track and race magazine with a celebrity driver to do a Top Gear “Stig” and compare the cars impartially.

The six cars invited were:
-- Triumph TR3 ............................ of Terry Pickering
-- Escort RS2000 Mk 1 ................ of Jim Deacon
-- Porsche 911 Carrera ............... of Paul Hernaman
-- Triumph TR7 V8 ....................... of Michael Pedley
-- Vauxhall Chevette 2300HS ...... of Chris Batty
-- Alfa Romeo Guilia Sprint GT .... of Rob Dance
-- Mini Cooper S (277 BRX) ......... of Peter Horsburgh

On the day the tow car for Michael's TR7 V8 broke down - a big disappointment to my son Spencer who prepares and services the Mini and is building a TR7 V8 and was coming along to try this one out. Also the Alfa could not make it.

The day was very wet and windy but the atrocious weather was compensated by the fact that the test driver was Penti Airikkala, winner of the RAC rally.

The Mini was still in Manx spec with a 4:3 final drive and not suited to the long straights at Bruntingthorpe, however the other drivers would still get a feel for the driveability of the car, and I was not expecting fastest lap times.

Terry Pickering was the fastest driver on the day demonstrating his natural ability and skill in all the cars, beating most of the other drivers.

I enjoyed the TR3 most and was amazed by its traction off the line and incredible braking, much better than the Mini.
The Porsche was very quick but understeered through the deep water on one long corner.
The Chevette was very tail happy but huge fun.
The RS2000 one of which I used to rally in the 1970s was a bit surprising and lacked brakes and power.

The fastest times were as follows:
-- TR3 ........... 2 mins 22 secs (Terry) ... Penti could not get in !
-- RS 2000 ....... 2 mins 24 secs (Penti)
-- Chevette ...... 2 mins 33 secs (Terry)
-- Porsche ....... 2 mins 19 secs (Terry)
-- Mini .......... 2 mins 22 secs (Penti)
-- All the drivers were asked which car they would most like to take home - this should be revealed in the current issue of Race and Track magazine out now. I haven't seen it yet but my unofficial exit pole suggests that 277BRX was favourite, but I'm biased.