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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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.

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Would you like to own a stunning car like this?

Tester Engineering are please to offer for sale three Jaguar XK120’s.  Works are currently ongoing, which means this would be an ideal moment to stake your claim on one of these beautiful cars 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! ~

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We love the stuff and right now are like the proverbial pigs in muck! One of our favourite cars is the Jaguar Lightweight E-Type and in particular the Briggs Cunningham cars.

Cunningham, an American car collector, first entered the Le Mans race in 1950 in a special-bodied Cadillac and a year later embarked on a production run of cars in his own factory to qualify as a manufacturer with the FIA. Cunningham’s best finish was fourth in 1952, while the best year for the team was 1954 when cars finished third and fifth. The last year that Cunningham’s featured at Le Mans was 1956; this was also the year that Cunningham first ran a Jaguar at Le Sarthe.

In 1960 Cunningham made an unsuccessful return to Le Mans, this time with Corvettes and one Jaguar, the E2A prototype. It was in 1963, when the iconic blue stripes appeared on three Lightweights entered by Cunningham but sadly success was still out of reach.

These three cars (5114 WK, 5115 WK and 5116 WK) have helped to shape Jim Tester as they have been a part of his life since childhood and, to come full circle, are the “muck” us pigs are surrounded by today!

In the mid 1980’s Jim Senior (in the first incarnation of Tester Engineering) worked on 5114 WK from his Scottish base. The car, then owned by Campbell McLaren, was notoriously unreliable and was re-built and run at tracks like Knockhill and Nurburgring.

Here’s a seven year old Jim Jnr out in the workshop learning his craft!

Today’s Tester Engineering is now recreating these beauties for a valued customer and Jim’s experience with his father is helping to make sure every detail is taken into account.  This particular car has re-built for the customer and modified to Leightweight specification with certain aluminium bodywork parts, racing suspension geometry and lightweight aluminium high efficiency water radiator and header tank .. to name but a few modifications!

Both Jim’s lost count a long time ago of all the cars they worked on and its this experience that can be yours if you bring your classic cars (be they road or race, Jim has seen them) to Tester Engineering.

Jim with 2009 recreation of the beautiful Jaguar Lightweight E-Type

The car we are currently building is but hours away from completion now and will then hit the track day scene to hone the ride and engine sounds.

Is this the ultimate E-Type?  Tell us what you think in the comments below!

If you’ve got a classic car that you would love to turn into your dream racer contact us at Tester Engineering on 01327 315048.

Welcome to Part 2 of our Fitness feature. Jim and Iain have been following the professional advice of Liz Linford of Body Technology, to help prepare them for the 2009 racing season.

Liz is a qualified chiropractor, therapeutic masseuse, osteopath and reflexologist. Liz also has a Bachelor of Science and a Diploma in Management of Sports Injuries and is able to give advice on exercise and diet.

As well as an impressive collection of qualifications, Liz has participated in rally driving and rally cross; has undertaken the Peruvian and Himalayan Mountain Treks in 2002 and 2003 and the London Marathon in 2004. All this, and a passion for all forms of motorsport herself, means Liz is better able to understand the needs of her patients who enter our beloved sport.

Liz has spent the last five years as the official physiotherapist for the Porsche Cup Championship and before that fulfilled the same role for TOCA looking after BTCC drivers. Liz has also helped some of motorsport’s top names including Richard Burns, Nigel Mansell, Rubens Barichello, Alistair McRae and Arron Slight. And now us!

For this month, Liz asked us to think about the liquids we consume.

“Just as an engine can’t run without oil, our engines can’t run without water; it’s needed for all bodily functions, especially elimination and to regulate body temperature.

Think back .. are you often thirsty? Feel tired? Have difficulty concentrating? Are you overheating? Have joint problems or dry lips or mouth? And next time you pop to the loo, is your urine dark yellow?! Any combination of these things could be your body crying out for water. We should all aim to drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, and of course drink more if you exercise.

Next time you are reaching for a drink consider that most soft drinks are high in calories and those energy drinks that so many people consume contain caffeine, which will dilute the blood vessels, giving an instant spurt of energy but then you are tricking the body with chemicals. Fizzy drinks have had the caffeine removed allowing them to be marketed as caffeine free but this has simply been replaced with other chemicals so they have just the same effect as energy drinks. Diet or low calorie drinks provide little or no energy. Tea, coffee and alcohol all act as diuretics, causing your body to lose water as well as robbing it of natural minerals.

So remember, water is always best. If dehydration is a problem, choose an isotonic drink for energy or a hypotonic drink for rapid fluid replacement.”

Thanks Liz!

Check back in with us next month for Liz’s next Top Tip for Drivers.

If you like what you’ve read and would like more personal advice from Liz you can contact her at liz@body-technology.com(remember to tell her you met her through Tester Engineering).

This has us seething here at Team Tester.  The British Grand Prix is part and parcel of the British summer and an historical date on the Formula One calendar.  Being local to Silverstone it is sad enough that our ‘home’ circuit is losing the Grand Prix anyway, but is Bernie so desperate in his loathing of Silverstone and it’s imcumbants that he would rather there was no British Grand Prix at all than allow one more year in Northamptonshire?

There’s also British industry to think about.  Daventry and Northamptonshire is at the heart of Motorsport Valley; most of the teams are based within a 50 mile radius.  What would happen to our ecomony, which is already in and out of intensive care?

How do you feel about no British Grand Prix?  Are you a regular visitor at the main British motorsport event?  It’s an outrage to us here .. let us know your thoughts.

Check out the full story at www.crash.net/Formula+One/News/146693/1/gap_year_for_british_gp_at_donington

The lights go out!

You’re …running?!

On 3 June, I shall be donning my trainers to complete one lap of Silverstone’s GP circuit (3.2 miles or 5k) for Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK. This year we marked the 15th anniversary of the passing of Jim’s Dad from cancer and what better way to commemorate him and raise some vital funds for this incredibly worthwhile charity at the same time.

If you would like to support Cancer Research UK then please sponsor me at visit www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/testerengineering

Thank you!

Claire

If you would like to win the chance to come along to a weekend of racing with Team Tester

To Enter:

• Enter your email address below.
• You will recieve a confirmation email
• Click on the confirmation link in that email and your entered.

Team Tester’s own timing had driver Jim Tester posting about 2.27min around the track with the likes of the Aston Martin GT Prototype Project 212 car about 2.16.  However the awesome Group C cars, including the Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9LM (winner of the 1988 Le Mans) driven by Andy Wallace, we clocked at anywhere between 1.58 and 2.03min!

Team Tester were due to give the media a thrill in the XK120 but sadly a vibration on the car meant she had to be pulled out of the rest of the day.

All that was left to do with the day was ogle the rest of the cars out on display ~ take a look at the snaps in the gallery!

We know which cars we can’t wait to see rockin’ and racin’ at the event .. how about you?

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