Favorite Racecar? 1988 F3000 Reynard 88D-Cosworth

The 1988 season was one of those years when I was truly up against it, my wife was pregnant with our daughter and I desperately needed to race. All other options had failed, so I went back to my roots in England and spoke with some teams Iโ€™d previously raced with who were in the market for paying drivers. After a time searching, Bromley Motorsport became my only chance. Their engineer, Gary Anderson, a man Iโ€™d worked with in Indycars some two years before, had so much confidence in my driving ability. He said I should try and get hold of a free engine and chassis to race in the first three races of the F3000 Championship, if I were successful in those races, he could convince the owner that it would help them find a paying driver. Very much easier said than done!! However, I drove to the Reynard factory in Bicester, near Silverstone, and spoke to Adrian Reynard, but he wouldnโ€™t give me a free car. I left the factory and drove around a bit, I was very emotional and crying in my car. Eventually, I found a lay-by, stopped the car, and phoned Gary Anderson at Bromley Motors. I told him Iโ€™d failed to get a car and would have to give up, โ€œBollocks! If you give up Iโ€™m out of a job, you canโ€™t give up. Go back and get a car!โ€ he said.

By now the Reynard factory was closed, so I parked my car and slept in it until the next morning. I kept the engine running for some time to keep me warmโ€”after all it was winter. The next morning, as the factory opened I asked to use the Reynard toilets and washroom, I had a โ€œcat bathโ€ and cleaned my teeth. Once refreshed, I went to see the sales manager and told him I wanted to buy a F3000 racing car. He looked very happy. After carefully working out the price he showed me and asked, โ€œHow do you want to pay?โ€ I was anxious to see his face when I answered, โ€œAt the end of the year, of course.โ€ As the words left my mouth, I saw his face drop lower and lower. He dragged words out of his mouth, โ€œYou mean to say, Iโ€™ve wasted over an hour of my time for you to tell me you have no money?โ€ Our conversation continued around the possibility of me finding a guarantor to allow me to pay for the car at a later date. Itโ€™s at times like this when it is good to have real friends in and around the sport. I made a phone call and explained the whole scenario to my friend, the sales manager took the phone, spent one minute on the phone to my friend and then said to me, โ€œOkay, you can have the car.โ€

No Subscription? You’re missing out

Any Text Here

Get Started