Controversial post!
Discussion
Who is the greatest TVR Tuscan driver ever?
Here are a few candidates:
Jamie Campbell-Walter - won quite a few races but not the championship.
Colin Blower - previous champion and top team owner.
John Kent - long time TVR racer and 1995 champion.
Ian Flux - 1996 champion and multi race winner.
Martin Short - Race winner and now Le Mans driver.
Gerry Marshall - Race winner and top touring car driver.
Lee Caroline - Double champion but suffered from poor oposition.
Who is the best? You decide!
Here are a few candidates:
Jamie Campbell-Walter - won quite a few races but not the championship.
Colin Blower - previous champion and top team owner.
John Kent - long time TVR racer and 1995 champion.
Ian Flux - 1996 champion and multi race winner.
Martin Short - Race winner and now Le Mans driver.
Gerry Marshall - Race winner and top touring car driver.
Lee Caroline - Double champion but suffered from poor oposition.
Who is the best? You decide!
[quote=jamesc]
Lee Caroline - Double champion but suffered from poor oposition.quote]
You mean like people he was regularly beaten by in hot rods and Le Mans drivers?
There is an lot that can be said about his 'racing style' which I shall refrain from posting here to spare Ted's blushes (and me from the sinbin).
I have to agree that what now appears to have been the last two years of the TTC were a sad reflection of its former glory days in the mid to late '90's but the sharp end was always had at least a few stars.
Lee Caroline - Double champion but suffered from poor oposition.quote]
You mean like people he was regularly beaten by in hot rods and Le Mans drivers?
There is an lot that can be said about his 'racing style' which I shall refrain from posting here to spare Ted's blushes (and me from the sinbin).
I have to agree that what now appears to have been the last two years of the TTC were a sad reflection of its former glory days in the mid to late '90's but the sharp end was always had at least a few stars.
rude-boy said:
I have to agree that what now appears to have been the last two years of the TTC were a sad reflection of its former glory days in the mid to late '90's but the sharp end was always had at least a few stars.
Isnt it the last few years that have had its drivers end up at places like sebring and Le mans ?
Regardless of the competition, most would agree that Lee Caroline, Richard Hay, David Mason and Philip Keen are all pretty tasty drivers.
Michael Caine showed everyone how it was done at Silverstone in the wet in 2004. However Lee was messing about with a completely different set up early in the season (Silverstone was the second race), and it wasn't until Knockhill that he and his Dad got it right and he regained his form.
All it highlights is how pointless it is trying to compare different drivers from different times.
Of course as numbers have declined there is not the strength in depth through the grid. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to experience racing a Tuscan - and to have a piece of racing history sitting in my garage.
Michael Caine showed everyone how it was done at Silverstone in the wet in 2004. However Lee was messing about with a completely different set up early in the season (Silverstone was the second race), and it wasn't until Knockhill that he and his Dad got it right and he regained his form.
All it highlights is how pointless it is trying to compare different drivers from different times.
Of course as numbers have declined there is not the strength in depth through the grid. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to experience racing a Tuscan - and to have a piece of racing history sitting in my garage.
yellow peril said:
I think Lee was a just a cut better than the rest!
Glad that's just your opinion, cos it certainly isn't mine.
...YP
Phil Keen and David Mason were good but they were just not in Lee's class. You have to take in their records in other series. After all Lee was a double champion.
None of the above, err, below. I vote by a narrow margin Chris Hodgetts. Consistently very very quick.
A close second is Mark Hales, not least because he could literally step into the TVR from something completely different (eg: the light aircraft he flew to the circuit in) and go very quickly.
Third up is my old man. He was as fast if not faster than anyone when his car was right hence the '95 season where he won something like the first 10 or 12 races in a row. Not that I'm biased.
Young boys don't count as they drive with their b0ll0cks...!!!
PS : I whipped all the circa 1993 TVR drivers in a go-kart race, do I win anything...???
PPS : I then pasted Shorty in a kart at the NEC Autosport show, do I win something else...???
A close second is Mark Hales, not least because he could literally step into the TVR from something completely different (eg: the light aircraft he flew to the circuit in) and go very quickly.
Third up is my old man. He was as fast if not faster than anyone when his car was right hence the '95 season where he won something like the first 10 or 12 races in a row. Not that I'm biased.
Young boys don't count as they drive with their b0ll0cks...!!!
PS : I whipped all the circa 1993 TVR drivers in a go-kart race, do I win anything...???
PPS : I then pasted Shorty in a kart at the NEC Autosport show, do I win something else...???
jamesc said:
Who is the greatest TVR Tuscan driver ever?
Here are a few candidates:
Jamie Campbell-Walter - won quite a few races but not the championship.
Colin Blower - previous champion and top team owner.
John Kent - long time TVR racer and 1995 champion.
Ian Flux - 1996 champion and multi race winner.
Martin Short - Race winner and now Le Mans driver.
Gerry Marshall - Race winner and top touring car driver.
Lee Caroline - Double champion but suffered from poor oposition.
Who is the best? You decide!
jamesc said:
jamesc said:
I think Lee was a just a cut better than the rest!
Glad that's just your opinion, cos it certainly isn't mine.
Phil Keen and David Mason were good but they were just not in Lee's class. You have to take in their records in other series. After all Lee was a double champion.
You now assume I'm thinking of Mason & Keen.......I'm not....
Keen has never won a Championship (correct me please if I'm wrong
) Being a great racing driver takes more than winning Championships......it's HOW you win them that goes a long way too.
...//P// 
No, I wasn't allowed in the actual race at the Birmingham event because the track wasn't insured for me (I think I was too young). So I only got a few laps beforehand.
It was at Mona Hill in Manchester for a bit of an end-of-season bash. Were we there all afternoon and night doing qualifying and such. There were mechanics as well as drivers. I won the competition outight. Quality.
>> Edited by roop on Tuesday 22 March 13:46
It was at Mona Hill in Manchester for a bit of an end-of-season bash. Were we there all afternoon and night doing qualifying and such. There were mechanics as well as drivers. I won the competition outight. Quality.
Terminator said:
roop said:
PS : I whipped all the circa 1993 TVR drivers in a go-kart race, do I win anything...???
Was that at the kart track in Birmingham after the Halford Super-Prix? If so, you never beat me!
>> Edited by roop on Tuesday 22 March 13:46
blackpoolwedge said:
Ian Flux
Yep i agree, i dont care how many championships anybody won all i know is that in all the years i've watched tuscans '90 onwards he was the guy who stands out from a spectators point of view, always seemed to conjure up some excuse to start from the back of the grid and still dice with the front runners at the end of the race. A big bravo from me.
oh by the way sorry james but i cant remember you having raced in a tuscan.
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