Spa Franchorchamps, Belgium, 30th September 2013: Rounds 5 and 6 of the SPEED EuroSeries at Spa Francorchamps brought mixed results for AD Team Tiga
During free practice and qualifying, good progress was made with both the 12A and 12B. The innovative rear wing on the Tiga 12A was finally beginning to work as planned with the rest of the car, after the problems with a failed front roll bar at Brands Hatch now addressed.
Alex Champkin was also progressing well, and learning the challenging Spa Francorchamps circuit. A series of small setup changes helped to dial in the car as Alex progressed.
On Sunday morning, both cars lined up for Round 5 as showers started across the circuit, presenting an interesting challeng for the drivers, as neither car has been run in its present from under wet conditions before.
The race start was remarkably uneventful at the first corners, and Mike in the '61' car soon established a clear gap for himself clear of the following cars previously behind him on the grid. Alex in '59' was also had a good start to the race, although initially losing some time to the leading group as he familiarised himself with the car in wet conditions. Just after the 30 minutes mark, Mike handed over to Alan in an uneventful pit stop, and Alan continued on for the second half of the race, continuing to hold the same overall position.
Towards the end of the race, Alex had begun to settle into the groove, and started closing the gap rapidly to the leading trio, each of which was only separated by a less than a second. With two laps to go Alex had closed right up with the group into Eau Rouge when disaster struck, as he lost grip in the tricky conditions, to hit the barriers at the top of the hill, bringing out the Red Flags and the end of the race.
Fortunately Alex emerged unscathed, with the the car having withstood the impact well. While the damage was modest, it was however too great to repair before Round 6.
Only '61' lined up on slicks with Alan Bonner at the start of the second race as the weather improved. Alan made a good start, and started to move up places as the race progressed. At the half way point Alan handed across to Mike, who also made steady progress until the end of the race. While still not finding the pace the team were looking for, the improvemnt in pace in race trim had continued, having made up seven places overall from the starting position.
QUOTES
Mike Newton (Tiga Cars) : “As always Spa presents certain challenges, however it was really encouraging to see Alex find a competitive pace with the 12B, before his unfortunate accident, and before that he was firmly on course for a good podium finish. With the 12A we achieved a good balance, and a car that is great fun to drive, in both wet and dry conditions, giving great confidence even around a challenging circuit such as Spa. We will be revieiwng after this race whether to continue development on both designs, or to shift focus to the 12B which is showing great promise.”
Pauline Norstrom (AD Group): “The Spa event demonstrated the potential that Speed Euroseries continues to hold, and we found the event an excellent platform to promote to our customers. We wish to congratulate the Team on a great performance under difficult conditions, and see great potential moving into the 2014 season.”
About Tiga Race Cars Ltd.
Tiga cars were initially designed and built from 1974 and supplied varying formula: Formula Ford, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Atlantic/Pacific, Thundersports, Can-Am, Sports 2000, Formula K, IMSA, Group "C".
The cars scored numerous wins over a 15 year period.
Most notable championship wins were British Sports 2000 1979 to 82 and European Sports 2000 1983 to 85, SCCA U S National Championship 1980, Le Mans Group C 1985, World Championship Group C 1985, Daytona 24 Hours Camel Light 1987 to 88, IMSA Camel Light Championship 1988.
Almost 400 cars were built and sold in this period.
The company is now producing current generation race cars, including CN2 cars for the Speed Euroseries, and is also making Heritage parts available for the cars from 1974 to 1989.
The new Tiga LMP car has also just been confirmed as an active project being taken forward.
For further information please contact:
Mike Newton