Introduction

[georgep]

I race a Maserati 450S replica - or should I say, I take part in races and sprints in a 450S replica ...

I bought the car last year, did my ARDS course and used it in the Manx Classic - great fun apart from the straw bale that leapt out in front of me at Signpost! Being a replica (it's road registered as 1957 but was put together in the 1980s), the car is ineligible for any of the historic series so I'm looking for a suitable newbie series to build up some experience. I would rather not do open wheelers but the Classic Clubman's series looks interesting. That or the Tin Top Challenge. If anyone here has experience of these or can point me in another direction I'd be pleased to hear from you. All advice gratefully received!

George

[TimD]

Hi George, welcome to ten-tenths.

That sounds a wonderful machine you have there. The 450S is a wonderful looker. What do you have powering it?

It occurs to me, not being a racer, but recognising the predicament of the owner of a potent and good looking car that doesn't easily fit into a recognised race series...

Have you tried asking the Bentley Drivers Club for an entry in their annual Silverstone meeting? Last year, amongst others, I saw Lynx D Types, a beautiful 250F-inspired monoposto racing car built from a Lagonda 2.6 chassis frame and an XK140 engine, and a glassfibre bodied open sports prototype based on Bentley T-series mechanical components. All of these had been turned away by some of the more precious race meetings, but the Bentley boys welcomed them with open arms.

It may be a little late to get an entry for this year - the event is September 1st - but it may be an option worth considering.

[georgep]

Tim,

Thanks for your greeting and advice. I hadn't considered the Bentley Boys but I will contact them to see if my car meets with their approval.

As to my car - it is a reasonably faithful replica of the orignal - minus only the original transaxle (unobtainable) and original drum brakes (ditto). It's powered by a Maserati V8 of 4.2 litres - an engine derived from the original race unit. I have "only" about 340BHP compared to the original cars 400 but, believe me, 340 is enough for now. Wheelspin is an option in the first 3 gears in the dry as it is. As I used it last year, the car is geared for about 180MPH top speed which makes for relaxed (I can't believe I just said that) road use but is possibly too high for the sprints and circuit action it sees.

There are more details about the car on my web site at http://www.maserati-rc.org/450Srep.htm along with video of me in the car at the Auto Italia weekend at Brooklands last year.

[Peter Mallett]

Welcome to the forum George,

If you are looking for a championship but not race your replica, you could try the new BARC sportscar championship. Tel: +44 (0) 1264 772696.

How about posting some pics of your car?

[georgep]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the info on BARC. Which sportscar championship are you thinking of? I have been looking at their web site and they list several.

I'd be happy to post some pictures of the car (there are some on the web site already) but for the life of me I can't see how to do it! Maybe I should paste the HTML code in here directly?

George

[Peter Mallett]

The BARC Classic Sportscar championship has its inaugural round at Thruxton 2 July. Not sure what's entered but they plan to promote it as a pre 1983 championship. I mention it purely because whilst your car would probably not be suitable. It is sportscars so it may suit you in an alternative machine.

Have a look at my post in Francesca's Mark One Capri topic. If you click on edit, it will show you how I posted the pic.

Good luck.

[Slowcoach]

Hi georgep , I was faced with a similar dilemma with my car , although I did have more alternatives than you , but wanting to race mine against similar cars from the same era.
The Jaguar Enthusiasts club have just started a new race series for replica and kit "Jaguars" it may be that you can guest in their series - although if they consider it it will probably not be until next year. They seemed eager to consider me to 'guest' in their saloon challenge next year - but obviously this was just the comp. sec.'s opinion and would have to be appoved by other members of the committee. However it might be worth contacting them via the website http://www.jec.org.uk . Someone else who may be able to offer help/advice is Richard Culverhouse at the AMOC - I have been a member for 4 years and they have a very active competition side his number is 01353-777353 - worth a try , even if he is only able to point you in someone else's direction.

[georgep]

Peter / Slowcoach,

Thanks for the advice and intros - I'll follow them up and post here what I find. As requested, here are some pictures of the 450S before it went into the "beauty shop" for a little cosmetic surgery after its dance with a straw bale last year.

George

[marcus]

WOW ...great looking car georgep..bet that set ya back a few pay packets...oh yeh i will throw my welcome out to ya as well

[Peter Mallett]

NICE

[TimD]

Verrrry pretty. Looks like the creators have caught the lines just right.

[Gerard]

Hi georgep, welcome to 10 Tenths.
On your website it says the car has been constructed by Chris Lawrence.
Is this the same Chris Lawrence who raced a Cooper-Ferrari in the 1966 formula 1 season?

[georgep]

Thanks to everyone who has posted welcome messages - my, you're a friendly lot!

I don't know whether Chris raced a Cooper - I'll have to ask him.

George

[SNH]

Lovely car, can I borrow it to race instead of my Capri?

[georgep]

SNH - Yes you can borrow it - provided you deposit the rebuild costs up front. Call it £120k. Deal?

[SNH]

mmmm, maybe I'll give it a miss until I do some weekend overtime....

[josvandeperre]

Not sure how this got mentioned in the context of a Maserati replica but if you've got a pre 65 tin top in vaguely standard nick you're welcome to come to Spa in September for our next one hour race - contact series organiser Julius Thurgood 01926885835