The Healey endurance car completed a third set of speed tests at Bruntingthorpe on Tues 14 Oct 2008 with great success. The car achieved its target speed of 145 mph just 2mph below the theoretical maximum calculated by wind tunnel analysis. The track was only just long enough to attempt this feat so the brakes were give surface.
This project has been developed by Classic car Expert Jeremy Welch from his business Denis Welch Motorsport in Yoxall, Near Burton on Trent, and has been recreated in memory of a previous record-breaking car that took the 24-hour record in 1954. This research and development work is typical of the type of classic car race an good testing at the end of each run as the terminal speed was co-incident with the braking point. No place for the faint hearted on these runs then!
This is a great result for the team after the summer tests at Millbrook, which achieved a maximum of 138mph. The Millbrook track is noted for scrubbing off speed some reckon by as much as 7mph. and this recent test confirms this opinion.
Following the August test, minor aerodynamic work was put into smoothing airflow across all major features including the fitting of a works under tray plus a revised exhaust with fewer restrictions. It is estimated that 30% of the improved speed came from this work but the rest came from using a flatter and less abrasive consultancy that the company specialises in.
"We had some reservations about the speed recorded at Millbrook in August 2008 and felt aerodynamics were only a part of the solution. We thought that the track was robbing the car of some outright speed and this flat road test has confirmed our opinions that the car is capable of the speed necessary to make a challenge on the 50-year-old record. It looks as if we need a bigger track to attempt the endurance record so our next task is to find that track and the funding to make the record attempt. We remain committed to this effort, so those who are interested can keep up to date from our website" commented Jeremy Welch after the test day
Keep up to date on progress on www.healeyendurance.com
