A Danish car enthusiast racing his 1963 Triumph Spitfire in hillclimbs and circuit racing
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Kop&Kande sponsor for 2006
TriumphRacing has entered an agreement for 2006 with the Kop&Kande-stores in Randers Storcenter and Aarhus City. Both stores are run by Claus Hagstrøm, who is a great car enthusiast with a preference for British cars and - by pure coincidence! - especially Triumph. He plans to participate in the Danish hillclimb championship in his rally-prepared Triumph Herald 1962, and enjoy the summer in his newly acquired original Triumph TR6. As sponsorship with TriumphRacing means the right to do spannerwork on the car at the races (other sponsors queue here!), and because of this and our new sponsor's general enthusiast support for the Spitfire I feel that the team is significantly stonger with Claus on board. I am looking forward to our cooperation.
Saturday there was a training session at KTI in Roskilde. I'll wait with my first training until Padborg Park in a week, but I carefully observed the competitor list at KTI. Spotted a surprise, at it seems that division A2 will see a new competitor: Alfred Mindegaard apparantly drove a Mini Cooper in A2. On one hand that is a car I've always feared should join A2, because it could be a very fast car in the division. On the other hand more cars is always positive, and I find it refreshing that someone would prepare a Mini with the smaller engine - all others on the grid are 1275's. As there was no official timekeeping at the training it is not possible to make objective comparisons of lap times. I am very interested in seeing those Matra Bonnet Djet-times. The day was a great succes with around 50 competitors, old as new, which seems a good thing for the season. Unfortunately some competitors had rather severe problems with their newly prepared engines. This makes me somewhat anxious with regard to my own engine - I still have a trauma from 2005.
Removed the cylinderhead yesterday evening, delivered it to Carl Christensen this morning, and collected it again this afternoon: New valve guides, new valves and seat, cleaned up ports and skimmed the head itself. Great service! Unfortunately I am off for Copenhagen tomorrow, but will refit the head this weekend, and hope the oil weep has stopped. Booked for rolling road next week - interesting. The bad news: The guy rebuilding the gearbox has only started today, and discovered some parts missing. The hunt is on!
You might have noticed that most of the mentioned competitors listed here are listed with lap times faster than me. This would seem to make it impossible to reach my ambitious goal for the season. However I have only listed the lap times in order to lull my competitors into the belief that they have nothing to fear! The trick is that my lap time is from the season 2004, where my car ran an engine with less than 80 horsepower. This season my engine will be much stronger (how strong is still a well kept secret, but keep an eye on this space), it will be coupled to an improved gearbox, the rear axle will be better geared - and there are even more tricks up my sleeve. In fact, I can't wait to see the effect on the lap times: I am sure that they will be very significantly improved. But don't tell anyone yet!
Again a French car, but quite another genre: This classic Citroen 11 was in production even before World War Two, but the yellow model of Frits Trøst Hansen is newer, and therefore runs in the same class as the Spitfire. Best lap time at Ring Djursland i 1:14,0 - 3 seconds slower than the Spitfire.It would be fair to say that the Citoen looks rather older than it actually is: The design is pre-war, but being a Citroen it was quite ahead of its time, which is most visible in the drive layout. Unlike most contemporary cars it is front wheel drive. The standard car had very fine handling, and these were tranferred intact to the racer version. But the car is very heavy in relation to its power, and must even make do with only 3 gears. Acceleration isn't the best feature, but the handling was demonstrated for me in e very wet race at Jyllandsringen, where we lapped within tenths of each other, and had a fine duel. Unfortunately we probably will not see that much of the car this season, as Frits has build a Ford Escort 1300 for the 1971-klassen.
This rarity is a real joker in the 2006 championship: Erik Jensby bought this Matra from Sweden, and we have yet to see what lap times it can run. Its specifications are a frightening read, though: The engine is the famous Gordini, which in this 1100-form is said to deliver 127 bhp. In a car as this Matra, weighing just over 600 kilos, that means terrific power-to-weight ratio. But that is not all: The Matra has an advanced chassis, where - as the first road car in the world - the engine was placed centrally behind the driver, pure race-car practice. And there is even more to come: Brakes are discs all round, and the suspension is all independent. Top all this technology off with a body that is as beautiful as it is aerodynamic, and what do you have? A fantastic race car is my guess! I mean, just look at it - even standing still it looks terrifyingly fast. It would seem almost impossible to beat this French wonder with a traditional English sports car such as a Spitfire. However, the car is in its first season, and reliability could be an issue.
These classic italians are in my humble opinion some of the best looking cars in the class, and the grid has seen 3 of this model the last couple of years. Per Wistoft (pictured) is so fond of the model that he has owned 2, and Lennart Henjer also visited the grid. Best lap time at Ring Djursland is 1:10,3 - 1 second faster than the Spitfire.Since the two drivers live in Belgium and Sweden respectively they are in reality guest drivers, presumably again this season. As such they play no role concerning the championship, but have very much done so on the track, where I have enjoyed good battles with both of them.Like the Porsche 356 the oldest Alfas can run a large 1,6 liter engine - well, large compared to the 1,1 of the Spitfire! The white Giulietta is a newer 1,3 liter engine, which is in a high state of tune. As the Alfas are much heavier they are not as much faster as you would think. And while Alfas are generally renowned for their fine handling it is actually my experience that the Spitfire corners faster - even though that car is more known for terrible handling. So much for prejudice.
No less than 3 Porsche 356 have seen battle in my division during the last 2 seasons, and this mini-portrait cover them all: Niels Nordendorff (pictured), Carsten Risgaard Nielsen and Torkild Stamp. They have great speed in common: Best lap at Ring Djursland was Carsten with a 1:06,7 - 4,5 seconds faster than the Spitfire.
They have another thing in common as well: They have only done a few races per season, and therefore not collected enough points to make an impact on the championship stand. They could have, though, as they usually are more reliable than the even faster Ginetta. Nothing seems to change this season, as international races and drives in other classes are also on the calendar this year.
Since the Porsches are older than 1961 they can run a bigger engine than the newer 1961-1965 cars are allowed. The 356's use a 1,6 liter engine, but weigh only around 800 kilo, and as there is also tremendous knowhow from many years of racing the model the result is a fast and reliable car. And please note - these cars use a rear swing axle, like the Spitfire. I just thought I would mention that, as some people think that racing and swing axles do not mix. They must have forgotten the 356...
Next portrait is of Palle Krag Rühe, who debuted in his Midget in 2005. His best laptime on Ring Djursland is 1:08,7 - 2,5 seconds faster than the Spitfire.
The MG Midget is very like the Spitfire in layout and concept - both are small, sporty, british, rear wheel drive carbriolets, with small 4-cylinder engines. In period they were rivals both in the marketplace and on the racetrack, and I am really looking forward to revive this rivalry, which I believe will show some very close racing. My Spitfire might have the edge powerwise, but the Midget is lighter, and legend says it handles better as well.
I've seen Palle race in hillclimbs, and know that when he is behind the wheel he gives everything he's got. Last year we became direct competitors, when he bought this Midget for track racing. The car is a former Swedish champion for several years, and turned out to be much faster than the Spitfire - not least because I only drove a few laps of training before having to stop. In spite of this Palle has made several improvements over the winter - follow his progress on his Danish Only-homepage hére (I do!). Status now is that the Midget delivers almost 100 horsepower and weighs under 700 kilos. And that Palle generally seems to attack the task very seriously, and even got himself a servicevan and a trailer. Is it possible to compete with this, when driving to the races by public road in your race car? I hope so - he didn't believe me when I told him that service vehicles and trailers aren't allowed for cars under 1300 cc!
In the series of short portraits of competitors I start with the fastest: Palle B. Pedersen in Ginetta G4. For comparison his lap time at Ring Djursland is 1:02,5 - 8 seconds faster than my Spitfire.
The Ginetta is from 1964, and one of the few cars on the grid with an engine smaller than the Spitfire - its 1-litre screamer is from a Ford Anglia. Why is the car that much faster than mine, then? Simply because everything is optimised for racing. The Ginetta has a stiff frame of small diameter tubes, ideal weight distribution, good aerodynamics and not least it is an ultralight car. There is absolutely no flab on the Ginetta that weighs in at a fraction over 450 kilos - almost 300 kilos less than my Spitfire. And it might have a smaller engine, but it is in a higher tune, and develops around 100 horsepower. These key figures mean that the G4 is the king in the division - NOTHING can touch it on lap times.
How did I beat it in the 2004 championship, then? Solely on reliability, as I finished all races, the Ginetta only half of them. Better reliability is the only way to beat it, also in 2006. Its driver is an experienced racer, who doesn't make mistakes. In all fairness the Ginetta should win, and should that happen, it really would be no shame. A G4 is a formidable tool on a racetrack, and just having it on the grid pleases me.
Even when racing for fun you can have ambitions. Not least because of my terrible 2005-season I want to do my best in 2006 - and preferably repeat my super-result from 2004, where I won the division and came 3rd overall in the Danish championship. But since 2004 the grid has grown and cars have generally become faster - also in my division. It will therefore be a very difficult task - but also an exciting challenge, which I will attack as seriously as an amateur can.
To illustrate the task I will write a series of short portraits of the sompetitors in the division of me and the Spitfire: A2 in the 65-class. As the name almost says, all cars in the 65-class are from 1965 or older, but there are 5 sub-groups within the class, called divisions. In each division competitors collect championship points within the division, and the winner of the championship can in principle come from every division - also from A2. As you will see from the coming portraits there are at least a couple of title candidates: To be continued...
Since I finally had the car back on the street, I was searching for driving opportunities. The first longer trip had the Spitfire heading for Fredericia, where the car was to be exhibited at the stand of the Dansk Triumph Automobil Klub. Here it was placed in a quite motorsports themed display, with a TR5 and a Herald that both are to compete in the Danish Hillclimb Championship in 2006. There was also a Dolomite 1850 (quite rare in Denmark) and another Spitfire - these two cars between them presumably covers a lot more mileage than the three racers on aggregate.
The drive down there was on a cold Saturday morning, and I kept the top up - and the earplugs in. This year I plan to put a lot of miles on the engine before the season starts. I want to run the engine in properly, before taking it to the rolling road for final tuning in. As I parked the car in the garage Sunday evening I had covered 200 kilometers, and the engine was running perfectly. Come to think about it: Those 200 kilometers are more than I covered all 2005.
My halfyear-insurance finally allowed driving again, and for the first time since August 2005 I took to the roads. The car should have had its mandatory road worthyness test in 2005, but broke on the race track before I had a chance to drive it to the test. So, as I was mobile again, the test was first priority. I booked the test to March 30th, and in the morning I drove the 7 kilometers to the test station - my first road drive in half a year. I'd say it was highly unlikely to happen, but just as I pulled up in front of the test station, a police patrolcar parked directly behind me, and before I knew what had happened, a young officer asked to se my drivers license - which I had forgotten. The already knew that my test was long overdue, and I must admit that this wasn't my proudest moment. They could have taken my registration and number plates on the spot and fined me for the forgotten license. Instead the followed me into the reception - to check if my also unlikely story of having a booking for testing in 5 minutes was really true. When they had that story confirmed, they let me go with a warning. The test station personnel found that whole show very amusing, but the officers did not laugh.
Actually I thought that was a bad start to a test, but the Spitfire sailed through. YES! I am rolling again.
TriumphRacing has entered an agreement for 2006 with the Kop&Kande-stores in Randers Storcenter and Aarhus City. Both stores are run by Claus Hagstrøm, who is a great car enthusiast with a preference for British cars and - by pure coincidence! - especially Triumph. He plans to participate in the Danish hillclimb championship in his rally-prepared Triumph Herald 1962, and enjoy the summer in his newly acquired original Triumph TR6.
As sponsorship with TriumphRacing means the right to do spannerwork on the car at the races (other sponsors queue here!), and because of this and our new sponsor's general enthusiast support for the Spitfire I feel that the team is significantly stonger with Claus on board. I am looking forward to our cooperation.
