2012 Britcar British Endurance Championship

[macgtech]

So, once again the die has been cast, and we have had our entry confirmed for the 2012 Britcar British Endurance Championship, dates of which are as follows:

24th March - Silverstone GP
21st April - Donington Park
12th May - Snetterton 300
2nd June - Brands Hatch Indy
23rd June - Oulton Park
14th July - Brands Hatch GP
18th August - Snetterton 300
2nd November - Donington Park (Night Race)

We will be at all of the above rounds with two exceptions - Brands Hatch Indy and the August Snetterton Round, which are TBA.

In addition, we will once again be competing in the Silverstone 24hr race on 22nd - 23rd September, and we are looking at the feasibility of competing in a round of the British GT at some point though the year, as well as the 2013 Dubai 24hr.

We are over halfway through our pre-season development, and we have made some dramatic changes to the Ultima, with modifications being made to pretty much every aspect of the car to improve speed, driveability, and above all, reliability.

More details to follow soon...we will post updates and news items on our website (http://www.macgracing.co.uk) periodically.

Jonny

[Storer]

Good to see you are able to have another season, in, what I know is a very expensive series.

I doubt I will get to the first round in my newly refurbished Ultima (might bring the TVR instead) but hope to make most of the other races (doubt I will get to Dubai either) to cheer you on.

All the best.


Paul

[UltimaCH]

Wow Dubai... now that's going places. Great job and keeping fingers crossed.

[macgtech]

UltimaCH said:

Wow Dubai... now that's going places. Great job and keeping fingers crossed.

Thanks very much. We had a LOT of interest for the Dubai race this year but we simply did not have the resources in place to take part. With our first season of endurance racing behind us, we are really excited about the forthcoming season, especially with all the great work that has been done to the car over the winter.

[Graham-P]

I know this is a bit cheeky, but if any of us get to a meet (I'm looking at BH/Silverstone)in a Ultima, is there any chance of parking with you to show support?

Graham

[Gulf LS3]

How much of what is left is an Ultima?

[macgtech]

Graham-P said:

I know this is a bit cheeky, but if any of us get to a meet (I'm looking at BH/Silverstone)in a Ultima, is there any chance of parking with you to show support?

Graham

We only get two parking passes, both of which are used as support vehicles, however if you decide which round you will come to we can speak to the organisers to see what they can do.

[macgtech]

Gulf LS3 said:

How much of what is left is an Ultima?

Plenty - whilst the car has been modified for endurance racing, it is certainly not indistinguishable from the standard road car. The chassis is currently 100% standard (although we are adding in a brace before the start of the season) and the engine is 'pretty much' a standard LS7 - with some minor mods to improve reliability. The fundamentals of the Ultima are excellent - we have merely adjusted details to suit our application and the higher loads that are placed on the car.

Clearly we have carried out a significant amount of work to improve speed, but most of the work has been carried out has been done for ease of maintenance and enhancing cooling (of the brakes, engine bay etc) and to comply with the regulations.

Jonny

Edited by macgtech on Friday 20th January 12:28

[356Speedster]

macgtech said:

Gulf LS3 said:

How much of what is left is an Ultima?

Plenty - whilst the car has been modified for endurance racing, it is certainly not indistinguishable from the standard road car. The chassis is currently 100% standard (although we are adding in a brace before the start of the season) and the engine is 'pretty much' a standard LS7 - with some minor mods to improve reliability. The fundamentals of the Ultima are excellent - we have merely adjusted details to suit our application and the higher loads that are placed on the car.

Clearly we have carried out a significant amount of work to improve speed, but most of the work has been carried out has been done for ease of maintenance and enhancing cooling (of the brakes, engine bay etc) and to comply with the regulations.

Jonny

That's genuinely a great thing to hear, Johnny. There's often challenges / chatter about the Ultima's construction on here, but to hear first hand feedback from a race team using a relatively lightly touched factory car is brilliant and testamony to the quality of the product.

Good luck Johnny and if you can post any pics of the race car (without giving away any competative advantage of course!), I'm sure it's something many of us would like to see

[macgtech]

356Speedster said:

That's genuinely a great thing to hear, Johnny. There's often challenges / chatter about the Ultima's construction on here, but to hear first hand feedback from a race team using a relatively lightly touched factory car is brilliant and testamony to the quality of the product.

Good luck Johnny and if you can post any pics of the race car (without giving away any competative advantage of course!), I'm sure it's something many of us would like to see

Well we are more than happy with the fundamentals of the car, along with the support the Ultima Factory have given us thus far.

We will get some information up in due course showing some of the work we have carried out over the winter - but the car is in around 1000 parts at the moment!

[356Speedster]

macgtech said:

We will get some information up in due course showing some of the work we have carried out over the winter - but the car is in around 1000 parts at the moment!

Cheers Johnny... as a current builder, I'd love to see the 1000 parts, it'll make me feel better about my part built Can Am, LOL

[macgtech]

356Speedster said:

Cheers Johnny... as a current builder, I'd love to see the 1000 parts, it'll make me feel better about my part built Can Am, LOL

In that case - we will get some snaps over the weekend and post them up!

[macgtech]

We got a few pictures if various bits of the car this weekend which you can see on our Facebook page at the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/MacG-Racing/16075831...

Modifications currently underway include a full flat floor, new splitter design, improved fuel system, enhanced telemetry, brake and damper upgrades and airjacks installed. Enjoy!

[Storer]

Jonny

What is your new front splitter made of. It looks quite thick. Are you expecting it to wear away during the race?

Still a lot to do I see. Good luck



Paul

[macgtech]

Storer said:

Jonny

What is your new front splitter made of. It looks quite thick. Are you expecting it to wear away during the race?

Still a lot to do I see. Good luck



Paul

Hi Paul,

It's only thick at the back - its 9mm thick at the front. The bodywork is being lowered by 40mm all round and the thick part of the splitter is part of this. It's a 9mm marine ply sheet with a foam and GRP sandwich panel bonded to it - its reasonabley light, incredibly stiff and cheap, should it need replacing. It's also attached directly to the chassis rather than the clam.

[356Speedster]

Thanks for the pics, Johnny, it looks fantastic I've liked the page and I look forwards to further updates, as the build progresses.

Mark

[macgtech]

356Speedster said:

Thanks for the pics, Johnny, it looks fantastic I've liked the page and I look forwards to further updates, as the build progresses.

Mark

Thanks very much - the number of 'likes' or 'fans' the page gets is actually something that potential sponsors look at (we have been asked about it before), so every little helps!

[356Speedster]

macgtech said:

Thanks very much - the number of 'likes' or 'fans' the page gets is actually something that potential sponsors look at (we have been asked about it before), so every little helps!

Fair enough! I've liked it from my own Can Am Build page too, so that's 2 likes from me

[macgtech]

Even better thanks!

[UltimaCH]

I've "liked" it. Great work you guys and nice to hear the Factory is involved also.