Sports 2000 Pinto

[chris bailey]

Hello everyone!

Just thought I'd bang the drum for Sports 2000 Pinto. In an age when costs are rapidly getting out of hand, and some series appear to be degenerating into crash-fests, Sports 2000 is a surprisingly good series to race in. I started this year, in a self-imported Swift DB2. I prepare the car, and run it with the help of a friend. The races are 25 minutes long, we also get to run with the Duratec cars in their race, for a small additional fee, everyone is very friendly and helpful, and the cars are just brilliant to drive. 2:05 round Silverstone GP circuit is pretty swift (no pun intended). Grid size can be anything up to 40 and the racing throughout the field is clean. Next year, we're going to Spa and Dijon, and will be back to Brands and Silverstone GP circuits as well.

[R59]

If that ain't a rhythmic bashing of the drum, I don't know what is.

Good sales pitch!!

Do they make them with V8's?

Oh no, that was Can-AM. Now you're talking...

What I've seen of them - it looks like good racing - and as you say - they be quick.

Not wishing to be the harbinger of doom, but do you think that VdeV will hit it at all?

I'll stick with what I'm doing. Cars are great to drive, do 36 seconds around Rockingham, sound really angry, the fans love them, everyone is friendly and VERY helpful, and we may be going to Lausitz next year.....

Just by way of curiosity, how much does a Sports 2000 sell for these days?
There was a time when they were worth peanuts, and had little or no support. It's great to see them as a growing series, filling the void left by the National Supersports.

Above all, have fun in what you do. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it. If you do, tell your friends!

Rob.

[rcarr]

I love Sports 2000 cars, they are beautiful.

We had a Tiga SC79 for about 10 years, 5 of which were as a Sports 2000. We bought it as the 89 or 90 Sports 2000 championship winner. Dad found the acvert in Autosport on the way to Le Mans in 1992. We bought it in Liverpool and brought it home, we went on holiday and left our racing team to sort it out. We came home and Dad opened the garage at the middle of the night, it was beautiful, freshly painted in bright red. We ran it for the last few races at Knockhill but as with the previous Mallock it was way off the pace. Over the winter our chief mechanic, was going through a rough time at home, stripped the engine down and spent almost every free hour working on the engine, taking it to his work to get machining done etc. He claimed that he must've spend 100s of hours on the head alone.
The 93 season came and Dad was straight on the pace, rather than qualifying 2nd last, he was coming 2nd or 3rd. That season was great. His 10th anniversary of starting racing was the October meeting in Ingliston. He had qualified 2nd and had a ding-dong battle with Bill Wood driving his vastly more powerful ex-Tony Bridge Mallock with a 2 litre Vauxhall in it. Half way through the race he passed him round the back of the circuit, when he came into sight I went balistic! For the last 6 laps or so I was so excited. The flag dropped and Dad won his 1st and sadly only race outright. We got home and the team celebrated with champagne, Dad squirted it over the mechanics and covered the kitchen in it too! What a day! Dad won the championship because he was the most consistant competitor of the championship and he was alway there or there abouts.
In 95 Dad had a silly idea of getting a Cosworth engine fitted. It was a major step back in my opinion because it was always misfiring and it was practically standard!
We went to Croft for the opening meeting in a November and we all got soaked to the skin. Dad couldn't get dry and he was going blue before the race. He decided that day he wanted a roof over his head. That winter our "body man" fitted the old Lancia Stratos body of Ron Cumming which we had bought the previous year.
We ran it with the Cosworth engine still almost as standard, had a few class wins etc but nothing big. By 99-00, our team had almost disbanded, our chief mechanic had gained a new wife and new DIY jobs to do, the other was helping to run a hotrod stockcar and was travelling south almost every weekend. Dad decided to call time on the ownership of the car in 2002, I think. I got annoyed because he swapped that car with the Tiga body, the old fantastic pinto engine, our race 2cv and a road 2cv for a Formula Junior Mallock which was sold to us as a FJ but had a 1500 engine. We sold that without an engine a few months later to John Fyda now he wins FJ races now and again with a proper FJ engine in it.
I have always held it against my Dad about that Tiga deal because a few months later I saw a similar spec'd car to ours being sold for nearly £20k!



Here is me with the freshly painted Tiga in 92, I apologize for the top, it was a "dirty day" I need an old top so I could help out with the car, I was only 10!

[chris bailey]

Originally Posted by racing59

If that ain't a rhythmic bashing of the drum, I don't know what is.

Good sales pitch!!

Do they make them with V8's?

Oh no, that was Can-AM. Now you're talking...

What I've seen of them - it looks like good racing - and as you say - they be quick.

Not wishing to be the harbinger of doom, but do you think that VdeV will hit it at all?

I'll stick with what I'm doing. Cars are great to drive, do 36 seconds around Rockingham, sound really angry, the fans love them, everyone is friendly and VERY helpful, and we may be going to Lausitz next year.....

Just by way of curiosity, how much does a Sports 2000 sell for these days?
There was a time when they were worth peanuts, and had little or no support. It's great to see them as a growing series, filling the void left by the National Supersports.

Above all, have fun in what you do. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it. If you do, tell your friends!

Rob.

Sports 2000 with a V8? Hmmmm....

Actually, no. Much as I can appreciate the attraction of SCA on the Rockingham oval, my budget wouldn't come anywhere near. A Sports 2000 will set you back between £15-20k depending on condition and history. Historic S2000 cars (pre-83) are generally more expensive, but have wider possible use, particularly in Europe. My Swift cost me @ £15k with spare engine included. However, US spec engines are completely different, so I ended up having another built here. No difference in performance, but 100% legal. I've gone from near the back of the grid to near the front since the start of the year, and its the most fun I've had in years. Racing at Oulton this weekend, so come and have a look.