G20 for 750 mc road sports

[carreraplanes]

Had been considering a G20 for 750 mc Roadsports. Now I'm looking into it I can see that there are several variations. I think the road cars were 125bhp but having seen one for sale with a roof I now realise that is a Junior and looking at the Irish junior regs they look to be restricted to about 90bhp. I was under the impression that the UK G20 racers were 140bhp and that the extra 15bhp over the road car was virtue of a different induction set up. Is there a restrictor plate on the junior that can be removed and combined with the UK racer induction system would give the UK racer 140bhp or (as is mostly likely) I've got it all wrong....

Then there is the question of other bits is the junior gearbox, rear end, chassis etc., different?

Some guidance would be much appreciated....

[andy97]

carreraplanes said:

Had been considering a G20 for 750 mc Roadsports. Now I'm looking into it I can see that there are several variations. I think the road cars were 125bhp but having seen one for sale with a roof I now realise that is a Junior and looking at the Irish junior regs they look to be restricted to about 90bhp. I was under the impression that the UK G20 racers were 140bhp and that the extra 15bhp over the road car was virtue of a different induction set up. Is there a restrictor plate on the junior that can be removed and combined with the UK racer induction system would give the UK racer 140bhp or (as is mostly likely) I've got it all wrong....

Then there is the question of other bits is the junior gearbox, rear end, chassis etc., different?

Some guidance would be much appreciated....

The Ginetta g20 junior coupe had a 1.4 litre engine I think. The later g40 junior had a 1.8 litre Zetec with a restricted plate.

The g20 open race cars had the unrestricted injected 1.8 litre Zetec - 2 versions I think. Silver top and black top but I think that to all practical purposes the performance was very similar. Later versions (post 2008?) of the g20 had a quaife close ratio gear kit and possibly a slippy diff(not sure).

The 1.8 Zetec gave about 140 bhp and should be very reliable. The cars are quick due to low weight and low frontal area but are built on a budget. Nevertheless should be a good value car. I had one and should have kept it. Also eligible for CSCC Modern Classics and we had 3 or 4 race with us last year and interest from a similar number this year.

Edited by andy97 on Wednesday 29th January 06:19

Edited by andy97 on Wednesday 29th January 06:22

[carreraplanes]

Thanks Andy. I see the CSCC regs allow fairly heavy modifications whereas the 750mc works on power to weight ratio. How competitive were the G20s that raced with you assuming they were in G20 one make series spec as opposed to heavily modified?

[andy97]

They were VERY competitive, quicker than most of the 1800-2500cc class cars as well as their own class, although one ran with a 2 litre engine in the 1800-2500cc class and was very quick in comparison to the other cars in that class, too.

CSCC do allow mods but there are plenty of "straight forward" cars racing too, like MX5s, Lotus Elise, Porsche 944 or 924 which are not heavily modified beyond the regs for their own original club series.

You could race a G20 in a mix of Roadsports, Modern Classics, SR & GT (also a 750 series), the 360 MRC 6 hour race etc.

Edited by andy97 on Monday 3rd February 10:45

[MattSmith]

I've raced a G20 in both 750 Roadsports and CSCC Modern classics.

We have two different G20's that we run one is a 'GT5' spec 1800cc, and a slightly beefier 2000cc engined one.

Both series are incredibly good fun and very good value for money. The only thing I've found is you can find yourself a little frustrated with the lack of straight line speed of the car.