http://www.completekitcar.co.ukKIT CAR MOTORSPORT
September 2019 75thanking me for the drive and asking, if I ever decide to sell my
Riot, could he have rst refusal. By lunch time Richard had bought
a 1700cc Sigma for his Caterham.
Our next outing was a new event to the calender in Wales run
by Rhyl and District MC. It was the rst outing for the green
Striker since the gremlins of the last few months had been sorted,
so Chris was looking forward to it. e three tests took a lot of
learning as the manoeuvres were so unconventional, some lines
we had to cross with all four wheels, the next line we had to cross
with just two wheels. It was very confusing. It took everyone
the morning to get to terms with them. We had more than your
average number of wrong tests! Once they’d sunk in and you could
concentrate on driving, they were really good fun to drive. Chris
had got to terms with them quickly and was ying despite the
Striker’s gearbox/clutch still playing silly buggers – Chris has got
good at driving around problems. Philip’s suggestion (youngest
son) was to drive the pants o it. When it breaks we’ll know what
to repair! It worked – Chris took his rst FTD of the year. Taking
Richard’s advice, we’d modi ed the Riot’s throttle pedal and clutch.
e throttle is great, the clutch is not so great and, after three tests
I had to move it back. It really was horrible!
e Striker was still running after Rhyl, so we decided to stick
with Plan A and run it until it breaks. Four autotests and three
top three nishes later and the Striker is still plodding on! We
discovered one of the noises turned out to be a large piece of clutch
plate that had got down the back of the ywheel. We’re sure the
main problem is a knackered clutch release bearing. Unlike Ford
ones that work ne when their noisy, Mazda bearings don’t. Watch
this space!B
ack in April we were at Silverstone for the CSMA
round of the championship. After the event, I invited
the ex-British champion Richard Pinkney to drive
my Riot for some feedback. Richard had managed
to embed a valve into the head of his Vauxhall
1600 8v engine early doors. He’d spent all day spectating. It was
obvious he was sick of the Vauxhall’s unreliability and was looking
elsewhere for a powerplant. Fellow competitor Dave Evans had just
purchased an Irish championship winning Striker and arguably one
of the fastest sports cars currently autotesting. He also had invited
Richard to have a spin in his new toy. Richard didn’t need asking
twice and was soon in action in Dave’s car.
His feedback was all positive and he was in awe at just how good
it was. But, as I pointed out, it also had the 1600 8-valve Vauxhall
engine. He needed to get in my Riot and try the 1700cc Sigma
engine. Richard is old school and thinks that 16-valve engines don’t
work in autotesting! After a few random manoeuvres to get a feel
for the Riot, he completed his rst test and came o beaming from
ear to ear, he loved it. e marshal timed him and he’d matched the
fastest time of the sports car class on the afternoon test. at was it,
I couldn’t get him out!
I was over the moon when he said that Dave’s Striker was
awesome but my Riot was a step above that and, in his view,
a championship winning car. Now, I may be thick but I think
Richard’s inferring I’m a rubbish driver! He did say that if I could
make the throttle more progressive and less switch-like it would
be easer to drive and the clutch is a tad erce. I think it was a good
exercise for both of us, as Richard is now a 16-valve convert and
I’ve a shedload more work to do. On Monday morning, I got a textChris (right) picks up his trophy at Rhyl.Chris in action at Silverstone before the green Striker was xed.Richard Pinkey’s Caterham in bits at Silverstone. The noisy bit of clutch plate from behind ywheel.CONVERTING THE FAITHFUL
Championship winning driver Richard Pinkney suggested some improvements
to Ian’s car, while also becoming a convert to the 1700cc Sigma.
IAN & CHRIS
CHAPMAN
Discipline:
Autotesting
Race:
Sylva Riot and
Raw Striker
Championship/series:
BTRDA Autotest
Championship
Ages:
59 and 30
Occupations:
Cabinet maker and
ArchitectChris (right) picks up his trophy at Rhyl.074 Race Diaries.indd 75 01/08/2019 12:47 pm