At the end of May 2008, Jim turned 30 and celebrated the occasion by competing in his first round of the season in the Jaguar Enthusiast’s Club XK Challenge at Brands Hatch, Kent. Sadly the car didn’t make it to the end of the race; we caught up with Jim to find out why and a bit more about the man behind the company…
So, Jim, what happened at Brands Hatch?

Well, we took the car down on the Friday to test and so that I could get a feel for the circuit as it was my first time round there. The car behaved well and we got some very respectable times in. Then on the Saturday morning when we arrived at the circuit we had an oil leak, which we rectified with a minute to spare before qualifying! The first half of the session went well, the second half was dogged with yellow flags because of spinners. We got a 60.** lap in which got us third on the track. When the race came round something just didn’t feel quite right. We were held on the grid when the pole sitter stalled and couldn’t re-start his car. At the end of the first lap I’d lost about four or five places as I had no acceleration and then as I came out of Surtees corner I heard the engine go. It was hugely disappointing not to finish the race but we have to take a really good qualifying performance away as a positive and say a huge thank you to all the crew who attended and worked brilliantly together.

What’s next for the engine and car?

The engine is being rebuilt as we speak. We were really lucky in that I’d felt it go and stopped immediately so the damage is not as bad as one would think. We will get the engine done and back in the car, although I’m very sad that due to time constraints and customer’s work we have in, I probably won’t get back on the track with the XK until the 2009 season.
What happens at Tester Engineering while you are working on the XK?

Although the XK is the company’s show piece, a lot of the work done on her is in my own time so customer’s work and projects are still in progress during the working week.
Tell us a little about your background and how Tester Engineering came about..

Originally, Tester Engineering was a company my father started. He was renowned for his work and in particular with the Jaguar and XK marque. When I came along I spent every waking moment with my Dad and watched and learnt with the plan that I would work alongside him when I left school. When he passed away, instead I left Scotland, where I grew up, to work with an old family friend Malcolm Green at Mendel Autosport. Malc had taught me to weld and I worked as a fabricator with him making Formula One show cars. From there I went to work at Sporting and Historic Race Engineers, not only as a fabricator but also working on and running a variety of prestigious Ferrari’s and Aston Martin’s. We travelled all over Europe on events such as the Ferrari Challenge, Mille Miglia and the Historic Le Mans. After a family bereavement, my wife and I decided that life was too short to waste and I left S&H to set up Tester Engineering. We had talked about our own business for quite a while and took the bull by the horns and just did it! I have always wanted to start a next generation Tester Engineering and develop what my Dad had started and I’m really pleased that I have that opportunity now.

What has been the highlight of Tester Engineering so far?

I am extremely proud that customers entrust me with their cars, especially the very prestigious Aston Martin DBR1 and Ferrari P3 for example. Its also very rewarding knowing you’ve played a part, however small, in helping customers achieve their goals such as Fortec Motorsport winning two championships.

What is the future of Tester Engineering?

This year and next year will see us really pushing Tester Engineering forward. As well as continuing to work with our current customers, we are looking to expand the products we currently offer to the Formula racing; to further the historic side of the business with the re-builds and cars we have for sale and build on our customer base. We will be continuing to support our client’s and their racing and of course fit my own racing somewhere in there!