Thursday 15th May 2014

TVR Tuscan Superprix: Time For Tea?

Great racing, loads of noise and some showing off gone wrong in one video

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The Birmingham Superprix looks like an event that should be recreated very soon. Who wouldn't want to watch motorsport on a fast street circuit in Britain? Forget the F1 in London, let's resurrect the Superprix.

Anyway, for now we'll pass the afternoon trudge with a snippet of Tuscan action from the original. The cars themselves look wild, squirming out of bends just a few centimetres from the barriers and thundering along straights. There's a superb battle between Michael Kent and Jimmy McRae that's the focus of this video.

But stick around for the end also. Chris Hodgetts won the race and was understandably pleased at his success. Let's just say his celebrations got a little out of hand. Not massively so, but certainly enough to cause some (hilarious) embarrassment.

Watch it here.

 

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[Hat tip to PHer Paul Ruddock for the link and, yes, the lead image from LAT is a later Tuscan but the video quality meant a screen grab wasn't viable.

PH Rating:

[Burnham]

Doh. And he lost his wing mirror to add to the embarrassment.

[Graham]

If you want you can own the very car Chris Hodgetts is racing there... in almost totally original condition...


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Tuscan-Race-Car-PETR...

Then you can come out and play with the rest of us ..

[FairfieldSteve]

What a lovely video!
Are there up to date videos of the guys who still race these?

[Howrare]

Love how much these are moving about even down the straights. Used to watch the series on the telly, and it was always great racing.

[topless360]

I'm probably far to young to know this even existed, but I find it amazing that they used to race through the middle of Birmingham. And big crowds too by the looks of it, maybe things really were better back in the day...

[oliverb205]

I just want to be the first to say "I was there"... Top racing and a great day out.

Oliver.

[Quhet]

Sadly I'm too young to remember these but you can still see evidence of the SuperPrix in the city centre. The kerbs all the way up Belgrave Middleway still have the bolt holes for the barriers and in the spring up until a couple of years ago, the daffodils along bristol Street selt out Birmingham SuperPrix.

I want it to come back!

[Midgster]

Graham said:

If you want you can own the very car Chris Hodgetts is racing there... in almost totally original condition...


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Tuscan-Race-Car-PETR...

Then you can come out and play with the rest of us ..

I like how in the advert they say "THIS IS AN ORIGINAL CAR FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SERIES IN 1989- WHEN I SAY ORIGINAL, I MEAN ORIGINAL. THIS CAR HAS NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY OF THE RACE TRACK FRACAS THAT MADE THE SERIES A SPECTACULAR SPECTATOR SPORT"

Well, this video proves otherwise!

Should I send the seller a link to the video?

[Hoppelemine]

Midgster said:

Graham said:

If you want you can own the very car Chris Hodgetts is racing there... in almost totally original condition...


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TVR-Tuscan-Race-Car-PETR...

Then you can come out and play with the rest of us ..

I like how in the advert they say "THIS IS AN ORIGINAL CAR FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF THE SERIES IN 1989- WHEN I SAY ORIGINAL, I MEAN ORIGINAL. THIS CAR HAS NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY OF THE RACE TRACK FRACAS THAT MADE THE SERIES A SPECTACULAR SPECTATOR SPORT"

Well, this video proves otherwise!

Should I send the seller a link to the video?

The mirror is even still missing...

[Gorbyrev]

Safety cars are for wimps - that was a good watch.

[soad]

Fantastic! Exciting to watch.

[rogerhudson]

A nice looking sports car (TVR) crashed into a building site and a lot of scaffolding fell on it.

[7 TVR]

We will be out racing @ Rockingham this weekend along with 8 other race series and Rockinham Rocks festival

[GC8]

My uncle raced in this event.

[rigga]

Remember it well, would love a road going Tuscan.

[LasseV]

Dooo-riftoooooooo! !!

Beautiful cars but what model are those? I bet those are totally monsters even today standards: lightweight and 400hp!

[Travs]

I lived in Birmingham at the time and went to all of these events. Could hear the engines as I left the house! Would love to see something similar return.

[rtz62]

rigga said:

Remember it well, would love a road going Tuscan.

I do believe at least one car was converted to road use, iirc it took a bit of work but was definitely 'do-able'.

£30k for that Tuscan? Why would you want to spend that on an Awrial Atom which are positively common in comparison when you could have a track car that is the epitome of 'thunder and lightening', other than you could use the Arom on the road ....
Stunning racing, I remember the Tuscan Challenge well, and it only goes to reinforce my thoughts that in comparison today's Motorsport is sanitised and not anywhere near as interesting....

[coppice]

Forget the TVRs at Birmingham- they were a bloody good sideshow but watching F3000s at extremely close range- 6 feet at one point separated only by Armco- was a highlight I won't forget . The Sierra Cosworths were also mighty around there

[Digga]

I've watched racing of many types, all over the world and, personally, nothing is as spectacular as a full-grid TVR Tuscan race. The series attracted some seriously talented drives as well as some pretty hand amateurs. I feel very grateful to have enjoyed a good few seasons as a spectator and to have also driven the Top Cats Tuscan (their track days are a must for any TVR nut!) around the full (old) Silverstone GP circuit.

How anyone can call any surviving car 'original' is beyond me - they were generally driven like they'd been stolen and bodywork was a wear item.

IMHO, although the AJP V8s were a wonderful piece of engineering, nothing matches the soul and spectacle of a pack of RV8 Tuscans, flat out into Sliverstone's Copse or Donnington's Redgate on the start of a race.