#@deekssteve

Festival Italia - Two wins at Brands Hatch

What a day – actually, what a year. This time last year was also ‘Festival’ time, The Silverstone Festival – I had a hell of a race then, in the forty-car televised ‘Roadsports’ grid – a forty minute affair which saw me run as high as fourth, before eventually taking fifth at the flag …

2024, and after the excitement and drama of our European ‘sortie’ - the ‘Spetacollo Sportivo’ weekend at Zandvoort, where following qualifying and three red-hot races we took second on the track, catching the leader – which became third after my 20 second penalty for accidentally clipping a car I was lapping … We reconvened at Brands Hatch for the UK’s premier Italian Car Festival. I managed a total of twenty laps of testing at the circuit I last raced at 26 years before – then, unceremoniously dumped it in the Paddock Bend gravel!

Ludicrous – I gave myself and the hard-working team a lot of work to do before qualifying, and the two races on Sunday. Everyone had warned me this one would be tough, all the big guns of the Alfa racing community turned out for Italia – and so it proved. We had everything from the 700 BHP Quadrifoglio through to the 455 BHP TCR to contend with …

In testing I was quick – before the spin – managing a 51.29 – but the excursion tore up a tyre – completely, it disintegrated – forcing us to rim our only well-used spare from the workshop, and this tyre didn’t have enough life left in it for me to under 52.5 in qualifying, ending us up 3rd on the grid for race 1. We got lucky, taking the R1 win after a fierce opening battle with Lee Penn who drove exceptionally well in the opening laps, never letting me breathe for a moment. R2 was a matter of just conserving what remained of the rubber – and bringing the car home unscratched. Well almost. Sorry Jamie …

Off-track the road-going Alfaworkshop 4C starred at The Broadway Car Show, whilst the race car was on display at the National Alfa Day at Bicester Heritage. Great events both – and new sponsor SAGE joined the party, eating up the rapidly diminishing space on the little 4C’s bodywork.

In amongst all of this, I headed East for Lexus Europe, taking the superb new GX to Kazakhstan – discovering a wonderful country and people along the way – then upon returning, straight into Volvo at MIRA – followed by a 24hr ‘sortie’ to Mousehole to road-test and write about the new Triumph Rally Pro for Pure Triumph. That was an absolute blast, brilliant bike, beautiful day.

Next up planning the ‘Present to Win’ course I will deliver for a Senior Leadership Team in the Southwest in October/November. My signature course has been somewhat neglected with my return to racing, it’s time to put it back centre stage – the little pusses need to eat, plus its my chance to make a difference in the World. I love presenting this training – I’m known for my technical, dynamic and product expertise, but empowering people is also what I love to do. This is my arena.

The weekend after next I will be hosting garage tours for Ferrari at Silverstone, then a week later, the plan is back in the Alfaworkshop 4C development car at Oulton Park for the final round of the British Championship.

Meanwhile, I can reveal one all-new adventure for 2025: I am in negotiation to host and present talks onboard a cruise liner for a week – bringing motorsport to a whole new globe-trotting audience. Come to think about it, I’ve been doing that all of my life … cruising and talking ...

Steve Deeks – September 2024

Breathe ...

We move forward at a pace - the Viking has returned from pillaging and sacking Munich, despite the best efforts of European Winter to intern him, and I am holed up in the Drakar Kapp office writing inspirational training courses...

So what is new? Well, some shocking discoveries from the Viking’s lair. First a shout out; Phil Hindley. What a gent. - lots of great advice and encouragement from a Porsche driving and building legend - indebted.

No question; if money was no object, we’d throw £20k at one of Phil’s magnificent bespoke motors, and maybe even be on the grid for the season opener at Donington Park. And then build our own fire-breathing unit in the background to test later in the year. But given that I am somewhat brassic with a minus cashflow right about now, that ‘aint an option.

Sp Phil’s patience and good nature is being tested by a flow of questions that I’ve loosely translated from Nordic: ‘Phil, what if.... Phil, which is best..., Phil, could we...’ and so it goes.

One of the pieces of exotic art Phil tempted us with from his ‘Tech9′ catalogue, was his free-flowing £2700 exhaust system, an object of extreme beauty. Out of reach at the moment. So, we wanted to know, how much better would it be than our own, as supplied, by the previous ‘builder’?

Verniers out.

The result was a shock, to say the least. A standard SC has 42 mm exhaust ports. Our exhaust bore measures 35 mm. It’s from a 2.0 - or maybe a 2.2? Or, maybe a hippy’s beach buggy. It wouldn't even work on on a 2.7. The back pressure inside that 3.0 engine must have been off the scale at rpm - no wonder she wouldn't rev at all... add in that crushed crankcase breather pipe - the Viking’s amazed it hung together at all. Oh, hold on, it didn't ...

I’m guessing some of you are thinking ‘he’s making this up’.? But we are not. You couldn't make THIS up. So now I need to find the money for a new exhaust system. As well. As all the other bits, (I’ve already paid for).

The race is on to get the beetle built - we have, in 2017, TWO races at the best race meeting in the World - The Silverstone Classic. I present that, I love the event, and it’s my home circuit. It’s a race against time - and budget.

Du-babylon. And preparation to race.

I may have mentioned that we need a great deal of filthy lucre’ to completely rebuild this old beetle? I did - well, that’s an understatement, so you will find me globetrotting in pursuit of the gold bars. and where better than Dubai - rejoining the ‘old firm’ to train the region’s dealer staff in the art and technicalities of the brutal but effective Nissan GTR. When I say ‘old firm’, I mean back in 2007 I presented the first ever series of the ground breaking ‘GT Academy’ television programme that was, basically, built around the high-tech Japanese supercar.

The Dubai Autodrome is an impressive facility, Dubai itself has improved considerably since my last visit five years ago to present the ‘24hrs’, the team of people were great, Emirates is the best airline, and the highlight - we had a 1500 mile GTR NISMO  to play with - quite a car. As collectable supercars go, the NISMO is a hell of a thing for the money - and beautifully made to boot.

So, to fitness. I’m amazed at how much harder it is, when one become’s a ‘classic’, to keep the level I have been used to all my life. Five years ago, at a push, I could turn 7.45 min. miles over 6 miles - now my regular 5.4 mile ‘jaunt’ is run at between 8.35 and 8.45. Godammit - I need to find some ‘pace’! I shall be pushing ever harder as we head towards our first race...

The rather haphazard ECG above was done by my new doctor buddy, Mike, for both my flying and racing medicals, and the good news looks to be that at least my ‘engine’ will take some rpm. - it may feel uncomfortable but at least the ‘pump’s in good shape :-) 

I’m eternally grateful.

You may notice little mention of the beetle - the Viking is all over it - we are making decisions on engine components and the like. Basically... everything’s *****d, and I need ‘a new one’. Despite having already paid for it once. Those following this sordid saga will be amused to know that my cams just came back from the cam shop - they are, predictably, NOT 964 cams - they are worn out standard cams. I’m actually very relieved. Had I have stayed where I was, I would, eventually, have tried to race a wreck. 

Oh, come to think of it, I did. In October 2016...

Full Circle

When I started driving proper race cars, circa. 1984, I couldn't afford a decent road car, much less a racer. But I knew, after an abortive debut year, running myself in karting, (more seizures, snapped chains and fractured chassis than racing laps...), that I had to get behind the wheel of a single-seater, but how in hell?

The hotel business had taught me how to front myself, (’Ladies and gentlemen, would you please be upstanding...’), and I was encyclopaedic about the sport, so I combined the two skills, and went chasing sponsorship - and I mean with a vengeance. ‘Apex Racing School’ at Mallory Park was a small operation set up by future BTCC and Classic star, Mike Jordan, and I duly attended, and went pretty quickly in the school’s ageing RP26 Rpyale Formula Fords. I was hooked from day 1, game over. I set their fastest ever ‘school’ lap around the simple Mallory Park circuit on my second, and last fee-paying, visit, and we struck an ‘accord’. Mike, ever with an eye for a deal, said that for every day I worked as an instructor for them, I would get ten laps in the Royale in exchange. What a lifeline - a way ‘in’. A chance to build ‘seat time’. I really owe Mike Jordan, he helped me a great deal to realise my ambition. Motorsport ‘Professional’ from that moment on.

Scroll forward thirty-four years, and on a bitterly cold February day, I essentially revisited my past: I spent the day coaching a promising young driver, James, in the art and technicalities of racing a Rotax Max kart around the very physical Whilton Mill circuit. All In exchange for a day of testing in the same, when my 911 is back together and heading for the HSCC Roadsports Championship. Karting is exceptional as a training ground to speed up your brain, reactions, and thought process - and invaluable, if, like me, you don't have a budget to do serious ’testing’ pre-race.

Welcome to the lifeboat party

I’d like to think we have hit rock bottom. Call on the way into the Academy - the Viking. A bit of banter... then the serious stuff: ‘I think we’ve got to open her up’

Quite. I’d been wrestling with this for some time. The engine has always been SHIT. In 2016, testing for the HSCC Finals meeting, I remember having to use the whole of the National Straight to tow my way past an MX5 Challenge Car - two-up.

No matter what, it won’t rev out. It feels odd - sounds wonky - overruns in a weird, unbalanced way. No torque. No power. It has compression. But little else. I have no idea what is really inside it. Certainly not all the trick bits I paid for. In fact I doubt if it was ever really was.

Trust. You have to have it. But I should’ve been so much more careful where I placed mine - a lesson for me. I’ve been lucky throughout my first incarnation of ‘racing driver’ - I worked with - and for - some fantastic people - and teams. I drove some quick cars.

Coming out of ‘retirement’, I should’ve approached the subject with the same intensity I did first time around - and project managed the whole thing myself. Classic example of ‘if it smells like...’ So many let-downs, so much bullshit. But, I take responsibility. Totally. I should’ve broken ranks the first time we didn’t deliver. That, also, is the job of a racing driver. Work with the best people. Expensive lesson. Lost four years and all the $$ I earned during that period.

So the Viking is going to rip it apart. The old girl is in the bodyshop having the wings reprofiled. Then it’s crunch time. God knows what’s in there - but you will. Because I’m going to blog it for you. Let’s see what bits of scrap wash up.