Austin/MG Metro/Metro Turbo Challenge (split from Grp A Turbo thread)

[Steve E]

A nice field of MG Metros, Silverstone GP circuit June 1986. Best one-make series ever!

[DAVID PATERSON]

I'm currenty tuning these cars for a popular PC based racing sim and I need some specs. What power did they make? What was the rev range? Did they use the standard gearing? What did they weigh?

[colin77]

hi ,
my father used to race for the metro turbo challenge in the 80's in France and in UK. We still have the car without his engine... if someone is interested... in the early 80's it was a non turbo challenge (the beige one) and he stopped in 88 with the red turbo.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by DAVID PATERSON

I'm currenty tuning these cars for a popular PC based racing sim and I need some specs. What power did they make? What was the rev range? Did they use the standard gearing? What did they weigh?

I reinstalled these cars last night and got the graphics working much better, but i'm still trying to tune the physics to get more accuracy in the performance of the cars.

Can anyone tell me how much power they made and at what revs?
Also, how much torque, at what revs?
What did they weigh?
What were the gear ratios?

[mab01UK]

Found a couple of photos I took in the paddock at the Brands Hatch British Grand Prix (17th July 1982) of the Unipart Metro Challenge Mini Moke support vehicle which may be of interest.
(The Datapost Metros racing on the day in the GP support races were the Group A turbo cars running in the RAC British Saloon Car Championship).

[mab01UK]

I have lots of photos from the 1980's 'Metro Challenge' years from when my brother Steve Bell was Chris Tyrrell's race mechanic.
Chris was a former Mini Se7en Champion who switched to racing Metros for a few seasons before returning to Mini 7. The Metro Challenge replaced the previous Mini 1275GT Challenge race series and was sponsored by Unipart.
I will post more photos in this thread over coming days and weeks as I sort them out from my boxes of old photos

Austin Metro Challenge - Silverstone paddock photos - 3rd May 1982

[mab01UK]

Mini 7 Champion Chris Tyrrell raced in the Metro Challenge for a few seasons. Here are some photos I took of his Metro and battle scarred Mini 7 loaded up to go racing and in the paddock at Brands Hatch & Silverstone. My brother Steve Bell also a future Mini 7 Champion was Chris's race mechanic in the 1980's and both are seen here working on the Metro and Mini. The photos are from different race seasons so the Metro evolved from an Austin to an MG Metro as the championship rules changed when BL wanted to promote the newly introduced MG Metro and Turbo.

[VIVA GT]

Now there's a name from my Mini Se7en racing past, Chris Tyrrell! (Sadly, I was down the other end of the grid from him!).
His Mini was never really that tidy, but it was damned quick (not just the car, he could obviously peddle). I even bought one of his highly rated cylinder heads for my car, the workmanship in that was excellent.
I was also sadly sitting in the Silverstone Woodcote grandstands when he had that career ending accident at the British GP Meeting in his Metro.

[mab01UK]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

Now there's a name from my Mini Se7en racing past, Chris Tyrrell! (Sadly, I was down the other end of the grid from him!).
His Mini was never really that tidy, but it was damned quick (not just the car, he could obviously peddle). I even bought one of his highly rated cylinder heads for my car, the workmanship in that was excellent.
I was also sadly sitting in the Silverstone Woodcote grandstands when he had that career ending accident at the British GP Meeting in his Metro.

This was his Metro after the Silverstone crash, my late brother Steve was one of the first on the scene and thought Chris was a gonna.....had hit his head hard on the steering wheel and later ended up with a metal plate in his forehead I think.
I can't remember if Chris ever raced again, I know he wanted to get back racing in his Mini 7 and he was trying to work out how he could get his doctor to sign him up again for his racing licence, as he had some double vision as a result of the accident. Chris eventually retired to Spain but a few years later he fell ill and Steve and some other drivers paid and organised to get him brought back to the UK for hospital treatment. He died around 2001 or 2002 if memory serves me right?

[mab01UK]

Some more of my Metro Challenge photos from the 1980's


Photo above - Silverstone - May 1981

Photos below Brands Hatch

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

Some more of my Metro Challenge photos from the 1980's


Photo above - Silverstone - May 1981

Photos below Brands Hatch

Great pictures, thanks for sharing them. Nigel Gaymers BoopSpeed cars were always very well turned out.
One totally off-topic question: What on earth is the vehicle Peter Baldwin was using to tow his Metro?

[mab01UK]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

One totally off-topic question: What on earth is the vehicle Peter Baldwin was using to tow his Metro?

KJE 914P or R?

[exit13]

Mab01UK, I was at that Brands meeting and the silverstone one where Chris crashed.
I was only a young lad though! Remember Steve too, a sad loss both of them. On the front of Chris' metro is Winter Racing, my old man and uncles input into the Metro racing with Chris. The LRV plated Sierra in the background is my dads. I remember him cutting out the Tudorsale decals on the tailgate by hand from fablon!
Some great pics, remember Malcolm Harrison's cars, also him invading the hotel room with a soda squirter at one awards dinner too!
So, you may well have seen me at Brands, I was only about 3ft high though! My dad has a VHS tape of some cine film shot at that meeting.
As an interesting aside, first ever metro challenge meeting at brands, I believe Chris stuck the car on the front row during qualifying, then promptly stuck it in the barriers...front end pulled out with a land rover and a post in the paddock, it went on to the grid for the race...they paid start money in those days you see!

[Malcolm Smith]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

KJE 914P or R?

Could it be a Marina pickup?


Great to see the Metro photos, reminds me of seeing them at Ingliston.

[mab01UK]

Originally Posted by exit13

Mab01UK, I was at that Brands meeting and the silverstone one where Chris crashed.
I was only a young lad though! Remember Steve too, a sad loss both of them. On the front of Chris' metro is Winter Racing, my old man and uncles input into the Metro racing with Chris. The LRV plated Sierra in the background is my dads. I remember him cutting out the Tudorsale decals on the tailgate by hand from fablon!
Some great pics, remember Malcolm Harrison's cars, also him invading the hotel room with a soda squirter at one awards dinner too!
So, you may well have seen me at Brands, I was only about 3ft high though! My dad has a VHS tape of some cine film shot at that meeting.
As an interesting aside, first ever metro challenge meeting at brands, I believe Chris stuck the car on the front row during qualifying, then promptly stuck it in the barriers...front end pulled out with a land rover and a post in the paddock, it went on to the grid for the race...they paid start money in those days you see!

I was also at that first Metro Challenge race at Brands......I have photos of my brother Steve repairing the qualifying damage in the paddock......I will dig them out and scan/post them on here. If you have any way of transferring that VHS tape onto a dvd I would love to have a copy?

[mab01UK]

Found another Metro photo from Silverstone 3-5-1982

[Finbin]

Originally Posted by Malcolm Smith

Could it be a Marina pickup?


Great to see the Metro photos, reminds me of seeing them at Ingliston.

Using the GOV.UK web site, KJE 914P is/was Austin, first reg 11/11/75 1275cc, petrol, 2 axle rigid body in blue. So could it be a Martina pickup like this one http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum...602766e2c6d59b

or one on sale http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/morris-mar...#ht_226wt_1192

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Finbin

Using the GOV.UK web site, KJE 914P is/was Austin, first reg 11/11/75 1275cc, petrol, 2 axle rigid body in blue. So could it be a Martina pickup like this one http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/forum...602766e2c6d59b

or one on sale http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/morris-mar...#ht_226wt_1192

OK, thanks, so a Marina pick up with some sort of canvas covering over the bed? That works I suppose as Peter was working for Marshalls of Cambridge (a huge Austin-Rover dealership) at the time.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

OK, thanks, so a Marina pick up with some sort of canvas covering over the bed? That works I suppose as Peter was working for Marshalls of Cambridge (a huge Austin-Rover dealership) at the time.

Funny, I remember writing a letter to Peter to Marshalls' address as a boy but got a return to sender from the PO!!

Never got to the bottom of that one.

[WOCCOWAYCER]

Originally Posted by mab01UK

Found a couple of photos I took in the paddock at the Brands Hatch British Grand Prix (17th July 1982) of the Unipart Metro Challenge Mini Moke support vehicle which may be of interest.
(The Datapost Metros racing on the day in the GP support races were the Group A turbo cars running in the RAC British Saloon Car Championship).

I have been guided to this thread by mab01uk on the Mini Forum as I have a keen interest in the Metro Challenge.

I think I can add a few names to some of the photos
The Challenge Moke photos show John Foden, (sporting a very dodgy moustache), who was the Metro Challenge co-ordinator at the time.

I think the guy with him in the TAG shirt is the late Sheridan Thynne who was responsible for collecting sponsors at Williams Grand Prix, I cannot think why he would be there unless it was because another Williams GP employee
Peter Windsor actually raced in the series, (the Richard Grant car in your photos), not sure if it was that year though.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm fairly sure the Longman/Curnow BTC Metro's were normally aspirated, not turbo'd, as was the Castrol/Wadham Stringer car of Roger Saunders.

[Peter Mallett]

This was the last year of Group 1 in the UK. So the Metro's were N/A.

[WOCCOWAYCER]

Thanks for the conformation Peter.

Found this clipping of another major Metro crash, anyone remember who it was ?

[VIVA GT]

Hmm, the car looks familiar but I can't think of a name to go with it. Certainly looks like quite a bump seeing how the screen pillar (and steering column) have moved. I guess the circuit is Silverstone?

[VIVA GT]

I've just checked through the Metro racing pictured I've scanned to see if I could find any clues for that mystery car, but couldn't.
I found this picture I took at Mallory Park many years ago, you may recognise this car:

[VIVA GT]

Also on the subject of crashes, I was in the Woodcote Grandstand when Chris Tyrell had his accident, and took these two pictures: