Circuit Racing: There is a replacement for displacement! (Dover race cars)

Motor racing and car enthusiasts have a mindless obsession with horsepower. One of the questions which will appear in most discussions about a modified machine or a race car is – ‘How much horsepower it a mek?’ Very few people will ask about the suspension, brakes, weight etc.

If the horsepower figure is similar to that of one of NASA’s retired rockets, the ignorant conclusion is then drawn – ‘IT FAASST! But, how often have we seen (I am talking to the informed now) a machine with several hundred horsepower and 300 in reserve, blasting along the straight at light speed and when it realizes that a corner is approaching it (the machine) launches into panic mode and in true ‘Scary Movie’ fashion, it frightens the racing suit of the drivers back. No one remembered in the build process, that the machine will be required to stop on a dime and turn like a go-kart, if pride delivering lap times are to be achieved.

So instead of chasing horsepower with a mega-displacement motor, packed with Arabian horses, some astute individuals adopt a different strategy and focus on the other factors in the equation and still produce a rather feisty machine. So, is there a replacement for displacement?

To answer the question, I will show you 3 machines not yet mentioned in earlier Dover Independence of Speed blogs, which have small displacement motors, but still stunned their transponders with impressive times.

Sheldon Morgan’s Mivec.

Tariq’s Ignis

Patrick Gore’s SR5-1

SR5-2

These machines were ripping low 1:30′s! According to Patrick Gore – “the car kinda light and the driver foot heavy!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer