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?!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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.

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

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

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

12345►

As I entered the main marquee I was immediately greeted by ‘our’ Jaguar, gleaming in the central display. Next to it stood a lovely pale blue 1954 Jaguar XK140 Drophead Coupe and a 1989 Porsche 911 Carrara Speedster, and opposite an imposing 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. Each car received attention, but every time I looked at the E-Type someone new was checking her out, investigating under the bonnet and in the boot and even sitting in the driver’s seat to try her out for size.

I joined the auction as lot 624 was under the hammer. I soon found it can be quite a spectator sport watching the auctioneer build up the interest in his wares, then eek out every last penny from his audience and to see discreet nods and slight waves of hands bearing numbers signifying a bid is placed.

As lot 658 was announced, I actually stopped breathing … this was it! The auctioneer gave the potential purchasers a brief synopsis of the car; how modification work had just been completed by Tester Engineering and that it had successfully gained its FIA Technical Passport. And so the bidding commenced! As with all the lots no one was willing to commit early and the auctioneer eventually got bidding started at £80,000 and then they were off. It seemed to me that there were several people in the room bidding and also someone via the telephones. The bid went up by £2,000 or so at a time and peaked at £100,000. Unfortunately on this occasion, it didn’t reach the reserve set by the client but I have learnt that in the world of the auction this isn’t the end. The offer of £100,000 can remain in play and potential buyers can come back to see the car after the auction, as happened with the E-Type when it was viewed on Sunday.

So there you have it. A Tester car has reached six figures at auction, something we are immensely proud of. The build up seemed to take forever and then our lot was over within minutes!

I’m certainly looking forward to my next visit to the auction house and one day I will be there to buy! Have you experienced the thrill of an auction?

Claire Tester

If you missed the auction and are interested in viewing this Jaguar E-Type ‘Lightweight’ please contact us.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Would you like to own a stunning car like this?

Tester Engineering are please to offer for sale a 1951 Jaguar XK120.  Works are currently ongoing, which means this would be an ideal moment to stake your claim on this beautiful car and incorporate your own wishes. The minimum specification we include is as follows:

 • XK120 Roadster style with all aluminium body
• Fully adjustable suspension with rose jointed Watts linkage rear suspension system
• Powerlok differential
• Chrome wire wheels and spinners
• 3.8 litre xk series engine running 45 dcoe’s producing approx 320bhp
• All synchromesh 4 speed gearbox
• Lightweight aluminium high efficiency water radiator and header tank
• Aluminium long range fuel tank and Monza filler cap
• Period leather trimmed bucket seats and dash
• Mota Lita leather rimmed steering wheel and quick release boss
• FIA approved safety harness
• 2.25L electric fire extinguisher system
• Removable rollover bar
• Free flowing tubular exhaust

Total cost £POA

Our cars can be tailored for racing or road use, but all come with Fun, Excitement and Passion as standard!  Contact Tester Engineering now to discuss this exciting opportunity.  Alternatively, if this isn’t the car you are looking for, call 01327 315048 to ask about our source and build service.

~ Please note the above picture is for reference only, LYS 818 isn’t for sale! ~

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]