Beetle Challenge

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Cookie’s car has gone from this….

to this….

after a does of magic in the College of North West London’s Paint and Body repair centre.. thanks for their ongoing support of the series in helping us get cars painted. The car has now been transported back to the workshop for final pre-race prep.. so we hope to see him out on the track shortly… (With a 1600cc motor initially.. he has a 1914cc in the pipeline.. but is just keen to get out)

Nick ‘The Vicar’ has his car in the bodyshop as I type and we are due to collect his this Friday (in a bright Diablo Red!) then it’ll be the case of bolting everything back in, and doing the pre-race prep to get through scrutineering (Nick will be running a 1641cc ex-cup engine initially - albiet with twin 40’s etc.. but he has a 2332cc sat in the corner ready to put in at some point!)

Phil (of Perftec fame.. you have probably seen him at many VW shows over the years selling his great range of clothing) has just picked up an ex-cup car and is feverishly working to bring it up todate and out on the track ASAP… (it has been stored in a Barn for years - which at some point had a fire - no damage to the car.. but he thought it was painted black… until he noticed it was a dense layer of soot! - the car is yellow LoL!!!) His plan is to get it out ASAP (the next race hopefully) to shake it down a bit.. then give it a fresh paint scheme for next season. (He too will be running a 1641cc initially)

Dave does it again.  Two Beetles came out for Brands and it looked like Dave was going to have some competition this round. Unfortunately for Trigger what initially looked like a minor oil leak, turned out to be a pre curser for something more terminal. This then led to his engine expiring during race one, leaving Dave unchallenged to take any points that were on offer for first race and handing the points for the second race to him on a plate.

 

Once again it was Dave the Beetle Challenge’s lone crusader flying the flag for the Beetle drivers, unfortunately no other drivers have been able to start there season yet leaving Dave to get valuable track time in and get a good head start in the points table.

Dave Chartlon - Has hit the ground running, and is stacking up some well earned championship points, having made it to the ‘09 season opener at Brands Hatch. He will also be campainging for more points at Castle Combe.. hopefully building his lead to give him a buffer over the remainder of the season when we will see a lot more Bugs out on the track..

The Honey Monster (AKA - Simon Sergides) - Has been progressing the development of his car no: 68 ‘Monster’ over the winter - in between building nursery’s and baby-proofing his home  - and is pleased to announced a new member to his pit crew baby George! - This welcomed addition to the family has slowed things down over the past couple of months, and the HoneyMonster is planning to be back out on the track at the May Brands Hatch Race, sporting a fresh rebuild of his 2165cc motor (after torching a rod on the last lap of the last race last year!) This year will see some new CB Wedgeport Heads added, and we will be trying some 45 & 48 Dells to see which gives the most ‘driveable’ motor.  The engine is going to dump the semi-exotic ‘accusump’ system, which just didn’t cut the mustard! and replacing this with a deepsump and a raised gearbox to increase ground clearance, in the short term and hopefully the addition of a dry sump system mid season (got everything apart from the pump.. if anybody knows a good source for a 3 stage pump please contact us!) Other changes which will happen this season are: Tarrox 6 pot & Vented front disc’s, and a new Bear’s tall geared IRS box with a Quaife LSD installed (Which I picked up 2nd hand but un-used!)

Trigger -  He too has been building his pit crew, with the birth of baby girl ‘Tasmin’ which has slowed down the development of the race car for obvious reasons. This season will see his No.89 car ‘Nasty Bug’ get an IRS conversion (Mainly because the HoneyMonster ‘borrowed’ the car and in true destructive style annialated the gearbox - at least he is consistent with his carnage.) - Trigger aims to be back out at the May Brand Hatch event with the car given the once over for the coming season.

Craig Winfield - Work and Home commitments, have delayed his ‘09 season start - but he will be back out in his immaculately prepared No.78 car at the May round at Brand’s Hatch

Nick Whitty - With the purchase of Mark Lloyd Jones ex Cup car (as seen in some of the below posts) and a 2332cc motor! Nick will join us real soon on the grid (He is targeting the May Race at Brands Hatch for his debut) There will be a flurry of activity to do the final pre-race prep on the car, so if anybody fancys helping out with spannering and having some fun in the pits then do drop an email (use the contact us page)

Tony Sharpe - Is building ‘the’ car to be reckoned wit, by all accounts.. details are being teased out by Tony.. but it will look like we will have to wait until his debut race to see it in the flesh! - spy sources have unconfirmed (but pretty certain!) reports of a 1303, with custom brakes, a monster 2332cc engine of a high spec and a lot of effort and engineering over the past 10 months during the build of the car… can’t wait to see this one in the flesh… Tony’s aim is to make it to the Brands Hatch race in May for his debut.

Steve ‘Cookie’ McGillivray - Has been frantically building his 1303, and can see the light at the end of the tunnel (It’s just about to go into paint!) then it will be a furious push to bolt everything back on, and install his fresh built 1914cc Motor, with Twin 45 Dells, 9.5:1 Compression, Big Valve 044 Heads, Engle 130cam, Straight Cut Gears, H-Beam Rods, Lightend Flywheel, 1″ 5/8 merged header - (Cookie is gunning for his debut at May’s Brands Date also - may the force be with you!)

Johnny ‘Ace’ - The ex-cup racer, is threatening to finish the build of his race car with the intention of joining us shortly

Do you see a pattern emerging here!!!!… most racers will be out from the May Brands Hatch Round! (Who will then be playing catch up to Dave Charltons early lead!)

So it looks like the May Brands race will be a fantastic round for the beetles, with the biggest grid of Beetles to date, mixing it up with all the other manufacturer cars in the BARC South East Region TinTop’s Race Series which we are piggy-backing until we build enough cars to have our own dedicated bug only grid.

There are several other cars in the early / mid stages of being built at the moment, so we will bring more details on them once their respective owner/builders release information on the spec they are building them too.. if you would like to get involved contact us as we may have some ways to help you (We have access to some ex-cup cars which unquestionably are the quickest route to get on the grid!)

Props have to go out to all the racers who are building cars at the moment, especially given the economic climate, as ALL of us are doing this out of passion, ambition, and enthusiasm, as we have done this all off our own backs as this is not a big sponsored series - just a bunch of like minded individuals who want to go racing… so the fact that we have expanded to 8 cars and increasing over the past 12 months is pretty incredible… well done guys (and girls!)

Only Dave Charlton was ready for the first race of the season and arrived with the car smartened up with some fresh paint and sporting a few mechanical developments. Unfortunately some of us other drivers have not had the time for one reason or another to get the cars ready due to various distractions (congratulations Trigger & Simon who have both had new arrivals, nappy changing had to take priority over car preparation) we will all be out soon now the weather has started to brighten up and the preparation can get back on track.

Dave’s car looked a little lonely as the only Bug out on track and we all looked a little guilty watching from the side lines having not got ready in time, but it means Dave will get a good head start in the points and gives him a good chance to get the track time in and work on the cars set up.

Over the next few rounds we should see more cars out with several new cars and drivers joining the grid. Congratulations and thanks to Dave for making the effort to get the car out, he was rewarded with 2 drama free finishes and no mechanical problems for his trouble.

 

The ‘09 Beetle Challenge regulations have been approved, and can be found on the regulations page - click here (Download the PDF Regs here)

Please note that we also have to comply with the BARC South East Centre’s Tin Top Regulations, as we are currently running as a ‘Beetle’ class in their host championship (To keep costs down and offer driver/builders the opportunity to join us racing at any time in the season when they finish their car builds) Once we have suffcient cars we will look to have our own exclusive grid - hopefully during the 2010 season as we anticipate 10+ cars by the end of this ‘09 season.

For more details on the regulations and general information surrounding them and the BARC requirements - view the ‘regulations’ page here.

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…