Tuscans: Knockhill #1
Caroline promised a win - was it within his grasp?
Ten cars. Ten cars? Ten cars! TVR, you really need to get on the case. The Tuscan Challenge remains one of most exciting race series available to view today. Yet today at Knockhill we saw a paltry ten cars fight it out. They fought tooth and nail. They span off, they bumped each other, they overtook each other, they overtook each other again before muscling side by side though the narrow Scottish turns. The front five drivers fought the first five laps within feet of each other. It was spectacular, exciting, dramatic and yet had the air of a series struggling to stay in existance.
We might have had eleven cars if Nathan Freke hadn't had problems finding spares. The newcomer made the haul up to Scotland on a budget tighter than Eddie Yates' G String only to suffer binding brakes which eventually caught fire. No problem, TVR's spares lorry and the man from Mintex were on hand. TVR's spares deparment resembed a pre-perestroika baker's shelves, whilst the man from Mintex packed up shop at lunchtime and was unobtainable on a golf course. 
Putting those gripes to one side, we were treated to another Tuscan spectacular. David Mason flew off the front of the grid and into the lead. Keen followed followed by Richard Hay. Lee Caroline had promised that his setup would be sorted by Knockhill but it wasn't obvious from the off. He took up position in fourth followed by the ever present Ben Samuelson.
It didn't take long for Phil Keen to pass David Mason and behind him Caroline lunged up into third, even threatening second in the same move! Richard Hay faltered, dropping out of top pack briefly and had to work hard to wind his way back up through the field.
Samuelson and Caroline battled and Samuelson succeeded in passing but Caroline still had to prove that he could live up to his word and win at Knockhill. He chased and chased, lunging hard, taking risks that other drivers wouldn't and larging his way into second place to chase Phil Keen. David Mason had looked like being a winner but without provocation he span off and threw away his chances for a podium.
Caroline chased down Phil Keen and despite the youngster's skill at acquiring the lead, fending off Caroline was beyond him. Lee passed into the lead and led to the flag leaving Keen in second. Second was good enough though, building on his consistency to date and still looking like favourite for the title in 2004.
Richard Hay had recovered to take third, followed by Samuelson, Hood and Mason.
Two more races follow tomorrow.
. The cost of running the car though is a different matter. Finger in the air here, but I'd imagine that the cost of a season is in the £50k plus bracket (I was off the cuff quoted £60k by someone who should know a few months back). That's a lot of money, and there are alot of more attractive options available to drivers with that amount of cash.
Also, much is made about the positives of the format being largly unchanged for fifteen years. If the series wants to be anything other than a gentlemans series, then it has to be more up to date technically. If it is happy being a gentlemans series (an why not), then the costs have to come down.
The problem is that there is a lot of choice out there for the Clubman racer. Ginettas cost about £10k a year - at the same meetings as the Tuscans, with racing that is just as close - but with a grid of 30 cars. Radicals are there for those that want pace and downforce. The list goes on.
I'll admit that there is nothing quite like a TVR race car, but without turning the series into a proper GT feeder (more up to date machinery) or reducing the costs to open it up to more clubman racers (how many owners would love to have a go, but simply couldn't entertain the costs), the future looks bleak.
This is not meant as an anti TVR rant - the series is great to watch, and the paddok is operated in a friendly way. However, with what is possibly a growing list of things TVR these days, PW really needs to start thinking about the desires and budgets of more than just himself as a typical customer.
[flameproofjacket].
Rich
Ex29 They wouldn't have to subsidise it if they had listened to the competitors over the last few years.
We told them that if they didn't change their high handed attitude then teams would leave,they didn't belive us and unfortunatly, they didn't change.
Prehaps they just didn't care............
whatever,their reasons, their lack of consultation, consideration, and seeming disregard for the series,and for the competitors/sponsors is a major contributing factor to the low grids.
10,.....
.. and three of those are factory cars. sshhhiiittttt. Its not just Tuscans that have a numbers problem. Many series/championships are down on numbers this year, and many of them big name championships. The shame of it is some series are doing very well and would love the racing slots that these lagging series are taking up. Im off to Snetterton this weekend to race with a 29+ grid single seater challenge..... yeeeha.
murcielago said:
10!?
Well there were nine Formula Ford Cars at a Castle Coombe event a few weeks ago
MORE DRIVERS!
There was a domestic Scottish FF race at KH the same weekend as the national series. Only one Scottish driver entered the National series race which is not surprising as I believe the entry fees were well over £800 compared with £140 for a Scottish Championship race. Needless to say the racing was better and with more cars.
daydreamer said:
Also, much is made about the positives of the format being largly unchanged for fifteen years. If the series wants to be anything other than a gentlemans series, then it has to be more up to date technically. If it is happy being a gentlemans series (an why not), then the costs have to come down.
I'll admit that there is nothing quite like a TVR race car, but without turning the series into a proper GT feeder (more up to date machinery) or reducing the costs to open it up to more clubman racers (how many owners would love to have a go, but simply couldn't entertain the costs), the future looks bleak.
Rich
Not sure I fully agree here Rich. The Tuscans have been updated over the years. We use the latest dampers and brakes, for example. However the beauty of the series is the high power, limited grip and no aero aids - that contribute to close and spectacular racing.
The result is cars that are faster than most of the GT cars, and if you look at the number of current GT drivers who graduated from Tuscans, it is quite impressive. I'm not sure what technical advances you'd like to see? If we have aero aids there will be less overtaking and higher speed accidents. Its a tried and tested formula that works well, but it is getting a little tired and it needs a shot in the arm.
In my view it needs some additional promotion and PR. Some high profile guest drivers, maybe more prize money, a SEAT style docu-soap - something that raises the profile by several notches so that we all have something new to offer sponsors. Unfortunately this costs money, and it is down to TVR whether they want to invest in it. The competitors cannot do it, we are stretched to breaking point as it is.
It is not really a gentleman's series (by which I assume you mean you need a certain amount of wealth to take part). It's not true of Phil Keen, David Mason, me and many others of the field.
It is still an awesome spectacle - and I really hope it can be sustained.
What I was trying to say was that most of the competitors pay to race for fun, rather than to forge a career. At the end of the day, it is not a cheap series, and there is a lot of choice out there for people with sufficient budget. I don't think that there are enough people that 'get it', would be prepared to get into one of those things, and could afford to race, to bring it round though.
As to how to modernise - The saggy arse is chomping at the bit to race. Bringing that shape in would make the cars more relevant (as spectators could go out and buy one), but you could keep the Power >> grip format.
I wouldn't want aero, but as has been pointed out here, the GT cars do tend to be quicker on a lap, but with much less power to weight. Grafting in the cheaper end of the difference may also raise the profile somewhat, and attract some more guys who are seriously on the way up.
There are many people out there with far more idea than myself about how to run a race series. Unfortunately though, as has been said above, if something isn't done to either address costs, or move the series up the perceived ladder (or both), then its calendar is at risk - and if the slots were lost, then I think that it would be game over.
I think that that would be the last thing that the racing fans want (weather TVR die hards or not) - so now is the time for action.
Glad you're still in one piece btw Andy - lets hope that the in depth diagnosis on the chassis brings good news!
Rich
Not the case... bad luck seems to follow him and the reason for his spin was a broken shock absorber. David did well to even finish the "Silverstone" race as the car would not have passed an MOT handling like that!!!
hui said:
The report above says "David Mason had looked like being a winner but without provocation he span off and threw away his chances for a podium."
Not the case... bad luck seems to follow him and the reason for his spin was a broken shock absorber. David did well to even finish the "Silverstone" race as the car would not have passed an MOT handling like that!!!
Ex29 Great driver, crap budget, nough said. What a shame, better luck next time David, keep on slugging mate.
http://richardfrancis.fotopic.net/c183576.html
afraid there mainly of 2 cars though there is a variety.
If any of you Tuscaniers are tempted by the other side there are a few (at the moment) F3 here..
http://f3.fotopic.net/c184592.html
>> Edited by racingdick on Tuesday 18th May 17:44
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