Back on track with AW Tracksport!

Apologies in advance for the length of this, but I'd like to keep you informed of what's been happening since Lydden.

Following a season, which I can only describe as being nothing short of a success, despite my recent acquaintance with a tyre wall, I now have the chance to get back on track in partnership with a well established company in the motor racing industry!

Since my crash at Lydden, I have been frantically searching for a replacement Mk1 shell. I already knew of Andy Waters at AW Tracksport from earlier in the season, when he advised us on our suspension set up. His advice marked a turning point in my performance, as I?d went from being just another novice at the back, to being genuinely competitive among some high calibre drivers, and that's in a car 10 years behind anything else out there! If anyone were to have, or know of a shell available, it was Andy! A quick phone call confirmed I need look no further!

Upon arriving at his workshop in Lincolnshire to view a mint black Mk1 shell he had, I was made a proposition. Andy wanted to do more than just sell me a shell. Before I?d even arrived, he had already planned out a sponsorship deal to get me back out racing! To me, this is the first big milestone in my racing career! An essential factor to being successful in motor racing is who you know in the industry, and in being offered this opportunity from AW Tracksport, I have obtained a valuable relationship that I?m sure will benefit me in years to come! Andy Waters, himself, competed very successfully in motor racing during the 80s in Formula Fords and various other single seater and saloon car series. Now an ARDS approved racing instructor, he focuses on racecar preparation and hire, driver coaching and customisation of road going VWs. The quality and attention to detail of his work is nothing short of exceptional!

What I?m being offered is the chance to race a Mk1 Golf, prepared by AW Tracksport for the Stock Hatch Championship. Andy had planned to run it himself in 2006, but business commitments and other projects mean that he simply won?t have the time. He had been following my season and thought I was a quick and capable driver. After learning of my crash at Lydden, he thought I was worthy of a second opportunity!

The car itself is Andy?s own car. He has numerous race prepared cars, which he hires out to drivers as part of his business, but this particular silver Mk1 was not even kept at his workshop. I followed him back to his house, where he had it tucked away in a barn. The shell is a masterpiece, in terms of its condition. It is structurally as sound, if not more so, than my car was, with full LEDA suspension and better roll cage. It also has the added benefit of being the original LHD model, which is lighter than it?s RHD equivalent, better under braking with improved weight distribution. It was all nicely garnished in AW Tracksport livery.

In addition to the car, which has had thousands spent on its development, Andy is also offering technical support and coaching at the trackside where he can. This whole deal will cost me ?2,500. It?s obviously a lot of money to me, but when I consider what I?m getting for that, it becomes a small price to pay for what is a genuine opportunity to take my racing to the next level, most rare in one?s first season in motor racing!

This package will really give the Mk1 Golf the representation and presence it deserves in a series currently dominated by Peugeot, Citroen and Ford. With my newly formed partnership with AW Tracksport, my aim is to propel the Mk1 Golf up to the front in one of the most popular saloon car championships in the UK! When you consider that it has already proved itself capable this year, and that?s with plenty of room for improvement in both car and driver, the possibilities next year are palpable!

I am currently seeking sponsorship, in order to raise the money to take advantage of this offer, and also for the running costs required to compete next year.

My first ever sponsor, A&A Business Supplies of Southampton, have already agreed to support me again next season, which is fantastic!

I have had a tremendous response from the members of Club GTI, one of the largest collections of Golf GTI enthusiasts in the UK. They have been following my season with huge interest and, indeed, have even been motivated to take up the sport following my antics! One chap has purchased a Mk1 Golf to race in Stock Hatch in 2006, purely because of me, so I may not be alone next year!

I will post up pics of the new car when I have them.

Cheers for reading!

Keith

Great to hear, so we'll be seeing a golf on the podium next season I see?  :mrgreen:

Good to see you're not discouraged after that painful crash next year. What you doing with the broken car from last year?

Hope you get the money together it's going to be great to see you racing again. With abit of luck I might see you race as I plan on joining the racing marshalls valunteers in october!

Congrats Keith - good to hear you'll be back on the track again - perhaps we'll have to get a MK1 Golf Owners Club crowd along to cheer you!

One favour to ask though, PLEASE try and look after this one so we can see it at Gaydon next year!!

Cheers
Andy

excellent news.
glad some thing good came of the crash then and should prove even better as you said.
Good luck with getting the cash together

Hairyarse said

One favour to ask though, PLEASE try and look after this one so we can see it at Gaydon next year!!

Cheers
Andy

 

I'll do my best!  I certainly can't afford to have that happen to me again.

Well done keith - be good to see you back on track!

All good :y: Congratulations!

Only thing I'd say is pics, pics, pics!!!

Any you've got of this race-spec'd car would be cool, and very much appreciated by everyone on here I'm sure  

Take it easy

Rich

Good news there Keith!  :clap:

Hairyarse said

perhaps we'll have to get a MK1 Golf Owners Club crowd along to cheer you!

that would be cool! Club meet to support one of a few remaining Mk1's in competition

Cheers, guys!

I will post up pics as soon as I have them!