2011 has been an exciting year for Team Tester racing.  We have competed in five events now, each with their own little bit of soap opera drama!

Posing in the pits at Brands Hatch, May 2011

Our first race of the year was 7th/8th May at Brands Hatch in the Jaguar Enthusiast’s Club Jaguar E-Type Trophy racing against names such as Mike Adams and Tony Jardine.  This was a real test for Jim as he was second driver in both the E-Types we have built.  This was going to mean some slick organisation for the pit stops by Iain!  Andy Dee-Crowne’s car qualified 4th out of the E-Types and Gary Morris 9th.  After an hour of racing the cars finished 8th and 9th.  During the race Andy’s car showed itself to have a faulty fuel vent valve, which meant pitting from 3rd to fix the problem losing any chance of finishing high up.  However both cars finished their maiden races so we were really proud of the weekend’s results.

Lining up for the race at Donington

The second E-Type outing was again in the JEC E-Type Trophy, this time racing at Donington on 29 May.  This particular race included Mr John Cleland, who once had a young whipper snapper for a mechanic on his Vauxhall BTCC car that went by the name of Jim Tester!  During the race Jim had a spin and spectacularly passed Clelend! Sadly John’s car didn’t finish but ours finished 8th out of the E-Types for Gary and 5th overall for Andy and 2nd in Class.  A fantastic result! (Check out some onboard action!)

Our third event, and second race at Brands Hatch, was competing in the E-Type Challenge at the Brands Hatch Historic Super Prix over 1-3 July.  In this race Jim was the sole driver.  Qualifying was difficult with a lot of traffic and Jim didn’t get a good clear lap.  This meant he was in 20th position on the grid 8.2 seconds behind pole sitter Jon Minshaw.  Race one was awesome though with Jim making up 11 places to finish 9th.  This was his starting position for race two and he spent a very pleasant half an hour duelling with Mike Adams!  Mike and Jim finished 7th and 8th with just 2.1 seconds separating them.

Our display at the Silverstone Classic 2011

And so we came to the Silverstone Classic.  This was the highest profile race of the season (so far) for us, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the beautiful Jaguar E-Type.  Preparation for the event was long and extremely hard with an unforeseen engine issue arising.  This was put right though and we set up stall in the new International Pits “The Wing”.  Qualifying on Friday went smoothly, with Andy and Jim completing their required laps for the two races we were entered for: The E-Type Challenge (Andy driving) and The Gentlemen Drivers Pre’66 GT Cars (Andy and Jim driving).

Andy and Jim qualified 29th for the Pre’66 GT race.  On lap 10 Andy pitted and handed the car to Jim who brought our lovely E-Type home in 33rd out of 63 cars.

Andy’s position for Race 1 in the E-Type Challenge was 21st.  Race 1 took place in my favourite timeslot, 7.45pm (there is something very evocative about evening racing!).  Sadly, halfway through the race Andy unexpectedly arrived in the pits with a large hole in the sump and so our weekend ended.

So there you have our race year so far.  Jam packed and busy but oh so much fun!  We were due to be out at Mallory next but an engine re-build beckons first.  We plan on racing next at Oulton Park .. see you there!

CT

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Hello All!  After a year away I am back!  I haven’t just been off with my feet up though, I have been at home busy raising the next generation of Testers for you. Here are my three boys with some of their toys ..

James, Jim and Harry Tester

Anyway, I could gush over a whole post about how gorgeous and wonderful my baby boys are but enough baby talk .. you want the CARS!

Team Manager, Dave Moore

So much has happened over the last year I could write pages and pages, so I will condense it for you. First, a workshop update for you. Sadly our Apprentice decided to leave us (and no Jim didn’t say “You’re Fired!”). We are very, very pleased to introduce you to our Team Manager David Moore. David/Dave has worked many events with us over the years and we are delighted he is taking more of a full time role with us to help develop and continue to expand the business. Dave will be at events and in the workshop so feel free to have a chat or contact him if Jim isn’t available about any way we can help you.

Le Mans Classic 2010
Last year Jim and Iain enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Le Mans Classic event over 9th to 11th July 2010. This was a nice jolly for the boys, with a couple of “busman holiday” moments! To join in the fun Jim and Iain had travelled with good friend Roger Ludgate after preparing his Jaguar Mark II.  The car ran like a dream save for the ‘boulder’ that attacked the windscreen! All the boys needed was a local French equivalent of B&Q to purchase a sheet of perspex, a saw, a marker pen and a roll of tape and hey presto! A new windscreen emerged in the car park! Then there was the oil tank for a Ferrari P3 Jim welded up in the pits…

Tour Britannia 2010
This prestigious race tour for historic cars took place in September and took in some wonderful places including Aintree, Oulton Park, the Great Orme, Eaton Hall, Cholmondeley and Mallory Park. The event was the first outing for our then most recently finished Jaguar E-Type (more later on that) for our clients Historic Autosports. We finished a very respectable 1st in class.

Track Days
Over the last year we have taken part in a number of track days, driving our own cars and preparing cars for clients to drive. The most memorable one for me was getting a passenger lap at Silverstone just as The Wing was finished. I particularly remember the rain lashing down and getting very soggy in a Cobra!

Racing in 2011
This year we have taken part in four events: one at Anglesey, one at Donington and two at Brands Hatch. At Anglesey Jim drove with Gary Morris in his Tester prepared Jaguar Mark II and received the Spirit of Racing Award. There will be more regarding the E-Type racing at Donington and Brands Hatch later.

The view from the top of the ferris wheel!

24 Heures du Mans 2011

After a very busy year, Jim and Iain enjoyed a trip to Le Sarthe enjoying some great racing, camping and barbecue-ing! Great seats in the grandstand over the pits allowed them to enjoy fantastic views of pit stops and be in the centre of an electric atmosphere. I feel this trip may become an annual event .. !

"Team Tester": (L-R) Iain, Dave, Gary, Mick, Jim, James and Andy

So that’s the news pretty much up to date. There will be some more detailed posts with pictures to come on the racing.

Coming up we next we have the Silverstone Classic on 22-24 July, where we will most definately be Rocking and Racing with the best! This event is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the iconic Jaguar E-Type and we can’t wait to be a part of it. Will we be seeing you there? We certainly hope so .. be sure to stop and say hello if you are!

Claire

The 5th and 6th June were already pretty well booked up, with a baby scan (oh yeah .. we are expecting Tester Junior number 2!), a family wedding and a family Christening so we thought “what the heck .. let’s throw in a race at Silverstone too!”

Silverstone were hosts to MG Live!, the UK’s biggest and best event for all MG owners and enthusiasts, celebrating the MG Car Club’s 60th anniversary. Our XK120 was entered into the 40 Minute Pit Stop Race For One or Two Drivers, with Jim driving alongside our very good friend and colleague Iain Purves. As Iain had not driven the Silverstone GP circuit before the boys took part in a test session on Friday afternoon and with Iain being the first driver out on Sunday, his test time set the grid position in this handicap grid, rather than a qualifying session.

The race was WET .. Very wet! Thankfully we had shelter watching from the grandstand at Brooklands. From here we could see the cars coming out of Bridge and through Priory, Brooklands, Luffield and Woodcote. An incident on the formation lap meant a second was needed and after that it was just a case of keep it on the black stuff guys!

Here is our confession .. we really only took part in this race for a bit of a jolly and so that we could get our last signatures and finally get rid of that blinkin’ novice cross!! So Jim and Iain were really just out to enjoy themselves as best they could in the conditions. From P31 on the grid they finished P15 in the handicap system.

Thanks in particular to the marshalls and volunteers at the track as it can’t have been that much fun in the rain! We really appreciate all you do.

Now we have finally burnt the cross it’s time for serious play! There is talk of a race at Spa next month so .. stay tuned folks!

Claire Tester

Our second race outing of the year took place on Sunday 29 May at the Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch. We took part in the Top Hat Raceday’s Cloth Cap and XK Challenge on the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit.

After an epic journey down the M1 and M25 on Friday afternoon (5 hours in Bank Holiday traffic, how dedicated are we?!) the hospitality unit and support vehicle made camp in readiness for an early start on Saturday. The forecast was for rain and we were all prepared for it but the day started off quite nicely!

Track conditions for qualifying were bright and dry for the 1.19 miles of the Indy circuit. Our XK looked awesome coming through Clearways and Clark Curve from our viewing point on Brabham Straight. The session went well once again with no traffic or yellow flags; driving standards were very good. The car handled fantastically and with a 58.4sec lap Jim was 6th on the grid for the race.

Thank you to Alex Cleland for the use of his photographs.

Grey clouds loomed as race time approached and we donned the macs! For the race we watched from the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend to see the cars come round and down the first corner going up Hailwood Hill into Druids Bend. This was where Jim was held up on the first lap and lost a place. Unfortunately there wasn’t anyone in particular for us to “race” against for the 40 minute race, with Jim being over 2.5 seconds quicker than the nearest XK120 and over a second slower than the first four cars (an AC Cobra, Lotus Elan 26R, Jaguar E-Type and Corvette Stingray). A pitstop window meant that everyone had to come in and during this stage Jim was even P1! After his stop though he was back in 7th place and with no need to push he cruised to the end to finish in the same position.

A soggy Tester camp came away from Kent happy with the day’s events. The rain made the race .. interesting and our ‘Louise’ (that’s our XK’s name for new readers!) handled supremely in conditions that were completely new to her.

Thanks to the Tester Team, all at Brands Hatch, the marshalls and The Master’s Team for a great weekend.

Claire Tester

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Saturday 22 May 2010 saw Tester Engineering’s first track outing of the year, attending the Aston Martin Owner’s Club St John Horsfall Race Meeting at Silverstone. At this meeting the XK Challenge joined in with the Lackford Engineering Austin Healey Championship and our XK120 entered the Jaguar Enthusiast’s race complying with the Invitation Class regulations.

Conditions on the day were perfect, a sunny and dry track, with the action taking place on the National Circuit. Driver Jim Tester had some concerns at the start of the day with the diff set up on the car, which was really for the GP Circuit, and with the tyres, which were an old set that was last used at the Silverstone Classic in August 2009

Qualifying was really a bit of a shakedown for the engine, which had had a rebuild of late. The 17 minutes of the morning session turned out to be relatively easy, making sure all was as it should be and that those tyres were going to last. The session was incident free and traffic was on our side and Jim finished happy with the result of 7th place on the grid overall and the first qualifier of the XK’s by over 2 seconds.

Because of the diff ratio being used it was a little difficult for Jim to make a good start off the line and so with big revs and wheels spinning he set off knowing that he was going to lose some places. Jim dropped to around 9th place but was up to 5th by the end of the first lap. The rest of the 20 minute race was trouble free with just a couple of spinners to avoid.  A fantastic dual took place on the last lap with the Austin Healey Sprite of Patrick Harris and provided a photo-finish style end with Harris pipping Jim to third spot by 0.026 of a second! Well done Patrick!!  Second Jaguar home was the XK120 of Andrew Moore (5th overall) and third was Stephen Skipworth in his XK120 (10th overall).

Next outing is at Brands Hatch this weekend at The Masters Historic Festival at Brands Hatch. We will be taking part in Saturday’s action, the Top Hat Raceday on the Indy circuit. We’d love to see you there!

PS.  How could we resist introducing you to our “mechanic” James Tester Jnr!  And a big thank you to Linzi at www.smartpics.co.uk for the gorgeous picture of Jim in the 120 at the top of this report!

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We love a challenge and we certainly have one, or should that be two, on our hands!

Just before Christmas we were commissioned to build a Jaguar E-Type for a client and just a few days later our client’s friend decided he would like one too! Both clients requested a roadster modified to Lightweight specification (our favourite). Obviously, as anyone who sets their heart on a new toy knows, we always want them as soon as possible and our clients set the deadline of wanting their cars ready to take to the Le Mans Classic 2010, over the weekend of 9-11 July. No problem!

Car Number One

Preparations had already begun on this car and we were asked to take over the project. First up for us was to install the roll cage and align the roof. We then had to prepare the car for the painters by ensuring a perfect line in the aluminium bodywork and carry out bespoke modifications requested by the customer.

This car is currently at the painters.

Car Number Two

Originally this car began life as a coupe however the customer requested a roadster so off came the roof! Let’s hope he doesn’t change his mind!

Currently we are working on preparing the body shell ready to be sandblasted, so we truly have a bare metal blank canvas with which to create our masterpiece.

Already we have begun the process of ordering all the parts we need for the cars; some parts we have in stock, most we make ourselves (like fuel/oil tanks, exhausts, seats and radiators etc) and others such as the Mota Lita steering wheels are made to order. Once we have the cars back from painters we’ll have an E-Type production line going on!

And while Jim and Marc are busy building the cars, Claire will be keeping a photo diary and updating you regularly on progress.

In the meantime we have a ferry to book to Le Havre, accommodation at Le Sarthe to source and some passports to renew. Well, it would be rude to send the latest batch of Tester cars out into the world and not accompany them to France. Wouldn’t it?!

One of motorsport’s most successful racing names returns to Formula One!  And Tester Engineering get to be involved!

Like many racing fans, Tester Engineering were incredibly excited when we heard the name Lotus Racing was returning.  Imagine our extreme excitement then when Lotus Racing’s Chief Mechanic called to ask US to build their pit equipment!!

And so the metal arrived, wheels were ordered and out of our workshop emerged some beautiful nose stands and quick lift jacks. Now all we had to do was sit back and wait for the Bahrain Grand Prix to start so we can shout at the TV when we spot our products in a Formula One pit lane!!

This was the picture we took of the equipment..

And here’s some shots taken by Chief Mechanic, Phill “Ben Beagle” Spencer from Bahrain.  A little more exotic than outside our workshop in Daventry!

We will be avidly following Lotus Racing this season at http://twitter.com/MyLotusRacing and from their website at http://www.lotusracing.my/ and wish them the very best of luck for their debut.  Who are you rooting for this year?!

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We promised you some exciting news regarding upcoming E-Type racing and here it is!

In 2011 the iconic Jaguar E-Type celebrates its 50^th anniversary and to celebrate Jaguar Heritage has announced a series of races with FIA specification E-Types to run during that year.  The races will be run with the Historic Sports Car Club and are planned to be held at prestigious race meetings around the UK (Silverstone, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch are already confirmed) and also one in Europe.  See the attached press release for more details. Press Release from JDHT

And just to get us all in the mood, in 2010 the Jaguar Enthusiast’s Club and Aston Martin Owners Club have pencilled in an FIA E-Type versus Aston Martin DB4 race at Oulton Park on September 18^th. This will be a 20-minute practice and 30-minute race.

50 years of the glorious E-Type .. is it your ultimate historic sports car?  It’s definitely near the top of our list!  We are so excited about these events; we can’t wait to join in the celebrations and hope to ensure as many people as possible get to take part!

If you are looking to take part in any of these events you still have time to have the ultimate machine built, or have your own thoroughbred prepared.  Contact Jim Tester for further information.

Hello All!

Firstly we’re sorry for not keeping in touch.  Today we’ll update you on what’s been happening and future plans.

We’ve had a change of staff recently.  After our previous fabricator left for pastures new we welcomed a new member to the team.  Marc Cannell has joined as our very first Apprentice Fabricator & Welder.  A keen motor enhusiast and biker, Marc’s hard work enthusiasm has already cemented his place in the team.  Marc attends Northampton College one day a week and we look forward to helping him achieve his qualifications and build a solid career for his future.

 Our F3 wishbone project has gone from strength to strength this year.  Our pilot scheme began with Fortec Motorsport and spread to Carlin Motorsport, now 2009 National Champions and 2009 International Champions respectively.  We’ve already had requests and enquiries for 2010 from more teams and we are very excited about furthering this product line as Championship winning components!

On the historic side we have keenly followed the progress of the Jaguar E-Type we built as an investment project for Booker Motorsport earlier this year.  After a brief sojourn to an Irish owner the car has just been sold again.  We hope the new owners are very happy with the car and it provides them with success and enjoyment.

We are now working on Andy Dee-Crowne’s Jaguar E-Type.  At this stage we are completing a roll cage and various bits of metalwork before the car goes to painters for it’s coat of glorious gunmetal grey.  Andy will be using the car for tours, trackdays and the occasional race thrown in for good measure!  Stay tuned for progress updates on our work with Andy.  A keen historic car fan, Andy is in the process of selling his Jaguar XK120 and you can check out the details here.

On a similar note Tester Engineering is currently promoting it’s Jaguar XK120 and Jaguar E-Type for sale.  If you’re in the market to have a stunning car built just for you, check out the links and give us a call.  We’ve just had some really exciting news regarding forthcoming E-Type racing and we’ll bring you further information very soon.

I think that brings us up to date!  All that remains is to wish you all Season’s Greetings.  2009 has been a very difficult year for our proud Nation; we hope everyone has the opportunity to finish the year with a Merry Christmas and we wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010.

Kind regards

Jim and Claire Tester

A Triumph Over Adversity for Tester!

Preparations for the Silverstone Classic last week were .. interesting!   We were due to race our 1953 Jaguar XK120 in The Daily Express Trophy for Production Jaguar Cars and at the last minute we were unable to get parts completed on the race engine.  At the last minute, our good friend Roger Ludgate came to the rescue and loaned us his engine!  Jim immediately got to work fitting it but unfortunately not quite in time for Thursday’s testing.

We made our way to the circuit on Friday morning and set out our stall in the paddock marquees.  We were opposite the Ferrari and Honda NSX display areas and just across the road from the Jaguar zone.  We had a leisurely sign on at 1.00pm and then the car was scrutineered at 4.00pm.  We had a slight issue over the rear bulkhead not completely separating the driver from the reinforced fuel pipe going into the tank, but the official allowed us to go out to qualify on the proviso we had extra reinforcement before the race.

Qualifying was at 5.40pm and Jim was feeling pretty chilled considerating we hadn’t tested the car!  Conditions were cloudy but dry on Silverstone’s Historic GP circuit however the session was a bit difficult with traffic and Jim didn’t get full clear laps.  He still managed a very respectable 5th place on the grid with a time of 2:25.936.

Friday evening was all about relaxing and having a good time and we certainly did that!  With the loan of an awesome motorhome, courtesy of the 2008 British Ginetta Champion Dino Zamparelli, we camped in comfort and style and enjoyed barbecues and the Pussycat Dolls in concert.  Luckily we weren’t needed too early on Saturday morning!

A sunny raceday began by solving our issue with the fuel line.  The concern was that should the fuel line split there was no “back up” to stop fuel spilling onto the driver.  This was easily rectified by inserting an aluminium tube into the reinforced fuel line.  With our signed scrutineered sticker on display we were able to complete our regular spanner checks and fuel her up.  Then we headed once again to the assembly area.

From this point in, Jim was head down getting into ‘the zone’; Iain, Loz and our fantastic support team were soaking in the atmosphere; family and friends had located their favourite viewing spots and me?  Well, I was a bag of nerves reminding myself every now and then to breathe (regular readers will notice a pattern here!).

Jim then disappeared from view down the pitlane.  A rolling start got the race underway and pole sitter Darren McWhirter from Scotland took the lead and kept it through to the end.  Jim immediately made up one place in what turned out to be an incredibly exciting 25 minute race.  There were a couple of spinners and the safety car was required when Dave Coynes’ XK120 caught fire.  By this time Jim was third and he and Nigel Webb certainly gave the crowd a good race dicing closely for second.  On the last lap, Jim overtook Nigel coming out of Bridge and kept the place through to the chequered flag, just 3.4 seconds behind the winner.  Fantastic!

Pat Quinn, daughter of Sir William Lyons the founder of Jaguar Cars, presented McWhirter with the winner’s trophy and our top three then threw some perfectly good champagne over each other!

After the race Jim said “I am so pleased with my second place.  At the beginning of the week it was hit and miss whether we would be able to compete as my proper race engine was not going to have certain parts back from machinists in time.  I was able to borrow an engine which was 100 horsepower lower than my own so I was just hoping for a top ten finish.  It wasn’t until we were heading for the assembly area before the race that the owner of the engine told me it had been under his workbench and not run for 11 years!”

Jim’s father, Jim Tester Senior, was well known for his work tuning and preparing Jaguar XK’s and an emotional result was emphasised with the top three cars of the race all originating from the Tester stable from one era or another.

We had a fabulous weekend; were you rockin’ and racin’ at Silverstone?  What was your favourite bit of action?  Let us know!  If you did miss all the fun on the track it’s being replayed on Motors TV over the coming weeks so be sure to catch it!

Claire Tester

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