Beetle Challenge

The Official Beetle Challenge Website - Aircooled VW Circuit Racing in the UK

The full race calendar has been announced:

The BeetleChallenge will again be running as a ‘Beetle‘ class in the CANNON’S MOTOR SPARES AND ACCESSORIES 2009 TIN TOP CHALLENGE in association with TOYO TYRES

MARCH 15 - BRANDS HATCH
(Might only be a couple of bugs at this race)

APRIL 13 - CASTLE COMBE MAY 9 - BRANDS HATCHMAY 24 - MALLORY PARK

JUNE 27/28 - LYDDEN HILL 
(50th anniversary of the Mini)
Beetle Race likely to be on 28thAUGUST 22 - SNETTERTONSEPTEMBER 5

- LYDDEN HILL 
(festival of motorsport) OCTOBER 3 / 4 - SILVERSTONE GPNOVEMBER 14 - BRANDS HATCH

We will keep people posted on who’s going to be at the races etc.. and if there are any spare paddock tickets up for grabs!
Both the Orange ‘Monster’ bug of Simon’s and the Blue ‘Nasty’ Bug of Triggers won’t be able to make the first race in March due to expectant partners who’s due date are within a week of the first race

April however will debut some new race bugs aswell so should have a healthy grid of bugs! (By the end of the season we should have around 10 Bugs racing… fantastic news!)

The first race will be at Brands Hatch on the 15th of March.

The series will also be visiting Lydden, Rockingham, Silverstone and Snetterton over the course of the season. More information as we get it.

Have you got an old Beetle Cup car or a circuit racing project that never got to see the light of day?

An engine or even just a roll cage that never got used.

We have drivers looking for cars and parts to complete projects so they can get out racing with us.

Please contact us with details of what you have.

Now sold……. hope we see it back on track this time.

Look on Ebay item number 320317910943

The Old Mark Lloyd Jones ex Cup car is for sale again.

The car is virtually race ready and currently has a 1600 installed

The previous owner also has a serious engine available if required. sold.

Will write up a full report..

but for starters here are some photos

More photos in the Gallery


 



 

 

 

   

 


More photos in the Gallery

Our second race and we should be seeing more cars join us on the grid. In true Beetle style we expect to see plenty of side ways action around Paddock Hill bend, always a challenging corner in a Bug!

Will they be able to beat the old Beetle Cup lap record of 58.48 for the Indy circuit????

Qualifying     10:00

First race      12:40

Second race  14:30

Brands Hatch Circuit
Fawkham,
Longfield,
Kent DA3 8NG
Tel: +44 (0)1474 872331
Fax: +44 (0)1474 874766
http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk

Just had through the below information about the bug…. 

“Here is history and spec. Only one picture we are hunting for the old rally ones (boxed up in a safe place which at the moment is so safe we cannot find them!)   so here we go :- 

   

Once upon a time (in history) David had a dream to go rallying

Limited funds so he bought a little MOT failure beetle for £50Self built it and result being (picture of pretty nice and clean ready to go rally car) Little did it know what he had in store for it!!

It was tried it a couple of rallies in 1988 and all was well so ahead to 1989 with a BIG PLANNorth East Rally Championship consisting of 10 rounds

What a super little car it finished the championship 4th overall and only crashed out of one round through no fault of its own. David parked it in a stone wall for some reason best known to himself!!

It went on to compete in 4 rallies in 1990 - 3 in 1991 and 2 in 1992.Work commitments meant that it was parked up at the end of 92.

So years passed and he decided to bring it out again to rally. Then on the net one day he see’s THE BEETLE CHALLENGE !!  

That was it. Yes its a rally car but hey lets just make a few tweeks and put it on a circuit.Lydden October 2008 - Brilliant little car.Next episode due Brands November 9th 

Spec of car 88

Engine - 1600  
44/45 webber IDF
Dry sump with front coolers 
Tank holding 8 lts of 0-10 oil

Gearbox - Bears Motorsport competition gear box with Quafie LSD special gear ratios(If your ever in Birmingham visit Bears it is fantastic)

Safety devices rollcage
Seam weld to floor pan and front suspension points
Leda 2 1/4″ front race struts with adjustable ride height
Brake standard disc front and race pads rear  oversize piston with type 4 drums
Hydraulic hand brake with adjustable biase value in line 

Simon’s ‘Monster’ bug has had it’s gearbox transplant (after snapping an axle!) and it ready to race

Trigger’s new circuit racer - the ‘Nasty’ bug - is nearly ready to race and is undergoing a pre-race shakedown
 (You might have gathered that I am starting to get excited at the prospect of hitting the track again!)

 

  

What’s this? A week to go to the next race at Brand Hatch (Sunday 9th) and rumor has it (Supported by this blurry photo taken by a vigilant motorist) that Trigger has got his race car on the road, all running  and being shaken down prior to the race meet! 

  

We are pleased to hear that David Charlton has got to the bottom of his ‘Austin Powers’ smoke screen under hard braking (which made for some spectacular viewing from the grandstand - and some interesting moments for the cars behind him! - Mechanical issues can be likened to be as annoying as a ‘hole in the head’ - but in David’s case it really was a ‘hole in the head’ which was the culprit! 

We will get some more details, specs, history and heritage of his bug after our next race at Brand Hatch on the 9th November - it’ll make for some interesting and inspiring reading. Meanwhile here are some photo’s of his dub in it’s natural environment - a forrest rally stage! (The car pretty much looks exactly the same now, as it did in 1992 when these photo’s were taken during the Trackrod Rally in the North Yorkshire Forest, with all the battle scar’s and even the very same red headlight rim! - Apparently it went for 4 years (88-92) driven in anger on off-road surfaces with the associated flying debris without having to change the windscreen - then go to Lydden on Tarmac and it needs a new screen and headlight glass on it’s first outing! (That just doesn’t make sense!)  

This car has real motorsport heritage and we look forward to seeing it out on the track again at Brands Hatch.

 

  

There has been a flurry of activity in the lead up to Brands Hatch on the Sunday 9th Nov (It clashes with the Slough Swap-Meet.. .but hey go to Slough early and pop down to Brands for lunchtime (Bring us a bacon-butty pretty please ) - It’s only a 45-60min drive… 

Simon’s “Monster” Bug survived it’s debut race at Lydden in October…

…then on the Monday afterwards, he lunched the gearbox and snapped a driveshaft ’show boating’ - so it was straight back into the workshop to swap out the gearbox (Cheers Craig for the box!) 



 

Snap! - When your engine blows you cry…

… but when you snap a driveshaft you have a perverse kind of pride and laugh!



Above is Trigger’s race car - in progress - which will debut in the 9th at Brands Hatch 

Craig has had a frustrating couple of weeks, as the ‘missfire’ gremlins keep raising their ugly head on his No ‘78′ car - He has submitted his entry for the Brands Hatch race s0 we are all hoping that the issues are resolved and he can come out and enjoy the race day.

They say “All press is good press” and even if it it “Positive controversy”…. 

Well Simon made it into the motorsport press with his debut antics on the track at Lydden! LoL!



Don’t believe the press…

This wasn’t a ‘Big-off’… 
…the big off was during qualifying when a breather pipe came loose on the rocker cover, and sprayed oil all over his driverside rear tyre.. resulting in a 80mph spin just missing the armco! 

Bill Richards now owes Simon a beer for the ’strategic driving’ which gave him the race win - it was all choreographed and had absolutely nothing to do with sh*t driving abilities!!

Wacky Racers

Read the full race review here

The date of the next race at Brands Hatch has been confirmed as the 9th Nov 2008. 

The exact race day itinerary is not yet confirmed, but I would imagine that the Qualifying and 2 Races will take place between 10:00 - 16:00 due to the early sunsets in November!

We are hoping to have 5-6 cars out there on the track, racing in the BARC Cannons Tin Top Races, as a ‘Beetle Class’ - the same as our recent race at Lydden. 

Craig N078 Has a mysterious Miss-Fire issue to resolve, Simon in No68 has blown his gearbox, but has another one going in next week, David in No88 - the Forrest Rally Spec Car should be on the track so long as it doesn’t pile into a tree on a rally! plus three other cars which will fingers cross be finished in time (1 car is 95% done the other two are about 80% done!)

Can’t wait for November to come now.. as it will be the last time we have a chance to shakedown the cars this season in a legitimate race! - then next year we hope to continue the momentum with a full seasons race calendar and have more cars make it to the grid over the season.  

The first video clip supplied by Kev (Chief Engineer on the Day!)


This is actually the first race and the final two corners - then the dash for the checkered flag (you can just about make out the Orange No68 bug fish-tailing across the line… just three hundredths of a second faster than David in the Red/White No88 bug.. that was a close race! 





Pre-Race Prep - Simon got his ‘Monster’ Bug on the rolling road just before the debut race - below are a few snippets from it on the rollers…

There are lot’s more in the Gallery Section

More photo’s in the gallery - click here  

 Read the full race review - click here 

It finally happened - after months of prep we got some cars out there on the circuit! and had a brilliant rollercoaster day, filled with the classic mix of anticipation, excitement, disappointments and elation.

We got three cars onto the qualifying grid (there will be more next time hopefully at Brand Hatch as other builders finish their cars!)

But unquestionably the biggest result is that we actually had some bugs out there on the circuit mixing it up!





It was a day of thrills and spills (Literally!) and the best thing was seeing that the control tyre amongst other factors meant we saw very differently spec’d cars within a fraction of each other in lap times… 

David Charltons frankly awesome 1600cc Forest Rally Spec IRS Beetle (Hastily tweaked for circuit racing) was spectacular to watch race - with 130bhp (way up the rev range!) it screamed like a banshee round the circuit!

It was strong in some places of the track (That straight cut IRS Gearbox and LSD proved handy!) but the larger capacity swing axle bugs, clawed back his advantages on other parts of the track, out torquing him up the hills!

This ultimately led to position swapping, nose-to-tail action on the track, and the drivers came out ‘pumped with adrenalin’ due to the fact that they were dog-fighting… BRILLANT!

We will post more photos and some video footage shortly… but in the mean time you can read a full race review here. 

Well here we go… there will be at least 3 beetles mixing it up with the other Manufacturers in the Tin Top races this Saturday! (3 other cars were within a millimeter of being ready - but will be there for Brands Hatch in November!)

Simon’s Car spent this morning on the Rolling Road, dialing in the carbs and Air/Fuel - and made a total of 8 successful runs on the Dyno at full chat! (Which is somewhat of a relief / minor reassurance!) - Now we have a day (Friday) to finish the pre-race preps on the ‘Monster’ beetle - Relocate Battery (90% done!), Fit FIA Kill switch (and external pull) - grommet those pesky accidental/redundant holes in the bulk heads - Wire up the High Intensity Rear Light - Wire up the 3 Quart Accumulator - Re-fit the Tow-Eyes -  put on the novice sticker!

Craig’s Car - All done - with the exception of a frigging brake issue which will be resolved tomorrow (Friday)

and we are all keen to see the other beetle which is running a highly tuned 1600cc motor that is making humungous horses way up the rev-range - can’t wait to hear that screaming like a banshee! (This is one to watch!)

Cheers for all your support.. we are getting there (remember we are doing this off our own backs, for fun (and a little bit of ‘red mist’ competition on occasion I am sure!), and now that we are getting out on track, we hope to start attracting some more sponsors and even more cars to the grid! See you Saturday Trackside 

We are at Lydden Hill circuit on Saturday October the 4th & racing in the Cannons Motor Spares Tin Top Challenge in our own Beetle class.

Start engines  09:00

Sign on          11:20

Scrutiny         11:15

Qualifying       13:40-13:50

We are to run in races 3 & 8 which are to be started from a rolling start, a first for Beetle’s at Lydden so should make for an interesting race.

The Beetle Cup cars with there 1641cc motors running on road tires have a lap record of 52.04 from back in the day. How much quicker will the revised cars be?

Lydden Hill Circuit
Wootton,
Canterbury,
Kent CT4 6RX.

Tel: 01304 830557

How to get there: Just off the A2 between Canterbury and Dover.

Circuit Length: 1 mile

The entry’s are in and our grid is building, the final race preparation work is being done.

Race format and times will be posted soon!

 

It’s been a challenging few months in the lead up to our debut races.. we were so close to getting out this weekend, and frustration set in for a short while, but hey this is the our ’set-up’ year and in all honesty we are all putting far more effort into the build & setups of the cars than we first anticipated.
(Only Craig has had the pure courage to adopt the ‘Slam it in and see what happens on the day’ approach - does he know something we don’t?! - at least he has got the type1 motor out of his Scooby’s boot and into it’s rightful place in his bug!) -
That said a couple of us received a late night txt from Craig - ‘Bollx, My carbs are f**ked’ - so it hasn’t been plain sailing that’s for sure. 

Simon’s car ‘Monster’ is now taxed’n'tested and is fully <ahem> street legal - and has been quote ‘A blast to run-in and shake down’. After a recent scrutineer once over it was give the ‘race ready’ thumbs up - apart from one detail - the exhaust was too loud and didn’t meet the MSA regulations as it protruded more than 150mm from the rear valance and didn’t have the 40mm minimum ground clearance. (See photos in the gallery) - A real bummer… but a new ‘legal’ muffler is in the works this week so his car will be 100% race ready for the next meet, as will a lot of the other racers - so we will be out for sure!
  
 
  

 P.S. Racers - if you want any car graphics / stickers contact us and we can send some out (Custom sizes etc..)If anybody else want’s some www.beetlechallenge.com stickers contact us 

Unfortunately we wont be running at the week end, several of the cars have suffered unforeseen mechanical problems and an eligibility problem that have not been able to be rectified in time for the race.

This has been a great disappointment as we had everything in place and were ready to go bar the final tweaks and race setups.

We will however definitely be at the next round and the entry’s are already going in.

The full race schedule will be posted as soon as we get the information.

CAR NOW SOLD
Gone as road car, potential racers missed out on a bargain and a cheap way to get out racing in a Bug!

Due to being over ambitious with our plans and encountering a few hold ups along the way, we have decided to start racing later in the season. This is to ensure we can get more cars on track together at the same time, and provide more entertaining racing for the drivers and fans.
This will give those that have decided to join us time to get their competition licences and get the cars fully prepared and race ready.

We will be getting as many cars together for a pre race test session prior to the race at Lydden on the 6th September (date and venue to be announced nearer the time). This will help all of us work on set up and hopefully make for some better racing, as it is felt that those that have never raced before would benefit from getting some track time prior to race.

Hope to see you track side when the racing starts and we should have updates on the cars and competitors coming soon.

The mad rush is on to make it to the grid… Blimey this pre-seaon race preparations are intense… There is still a lot to do, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Quick update on Simon’s car.. it has just undergone a transformation, never mind Chip Foose and the Overhaullin’ team… Stu, Andy and the team at the College of North West London, pulled out the stops and got the car into it’s new guise in an afternoon! (A massive thanks to them for all the effort, energy and enthusiasm the ploughed into the car with such an intense deadline - respect is due!)

by 2pm - The car is prepped for paint :

by 4pm - it has an entire white base coat:

by 6pm it’s in Honey Monster Orange!

There are loads more photos in the Gallery section - Click here to view them.

Now for the final build up. Simon collected the engine parts from the balancer today (http://www.basset-down-balancing.co.uk/ ) It’s going to be 2165cc - Built from parts collated from various trips to the states, and has some of the new Cheepie Chinese parts starting to come onto the market and some CB Stuff, and a load of bits purchased from Triangle Auto Parts in Florida (00 1 407 644 5688  Stephen has been a massive help sourcing parts for great prices!)

Full specs and info will be posted later…

There has been a hive of activity in the lead up to the first race at the end of the month. We have updated the Gallery with more photos back from some of the racers, with shots of their motors having a ‘refresh’ or buildup ready for this debut season.

A fresh paint job, and now back in the workshop for the interior fitting and engine/running gear, this car should have an MoT in the next week or so, so that it can get some mileage and testing!

Again thanks to everyone who has contacted us… looks like we will have an impressive grid line up by the later part of the season which is fantastic. (We know of at least 5 more cars which are being prepped to come racing over the past couple of weeks!)

Toyo have agreed a tire deal with us giving a discounted rate to registered drivers. The tires are available from a dedicated supplier for a highly preferential rate of just £51.76 including vat and delivery. The required tires are R888 in 195-50-15 in the GG compound, look under sponsors for the supplier. Cars are expected to carry Toyo stickers which will be supplied.