Unfair competition?
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III With a race series of seven rounds this year, and at least 12 vehicles prepared for racing, the Uniroyal/Brands Hatch Ford P100 Pickup Challenge gets underway on 26 June at the Truck Grand Prix round the Brands Hatch circuit. There is, however, already controversy about the series that aims to be "cheap and very simple".
Competing very much within the spirit of the series is 18year-old Scott Redding, whose Ford P100 has been modified with the £1,000 worth of extra parts required, but is still used as a workhorse by the family's crash repair business Webster and Lancaster. The vehicle is driven to the circuit after a week's work, the exhaust is swapped, and then the pickup is raced alongside unofficial "works" cars.
At the other end of the scale is the semi-professional approach that may be taken by truck racing teams looking for additional coverage at a meeting, and the organisers who will supply prepared cars for "celebrities", and race vehicles for hire. Although the regulations are strict (allowing set modification to the engine to boost power to around 82kW and only minor suspension modifications), there is little doubt that there is still room for manoeuvre within the regs, and that money and experience, rather than pure skill, will get contestants to the front of the grid.
Series sponsor Uniroyal is adamant that the pickups should remain as similar in specification as possible. The company is supplying road tyres to competitors at a discount, and is hoping "for good close racing". It remains to be seen whether two distinct classes of amateur, and semi-professional P100 racers will emerge from the infant series.