Roversport Rover Tomcat/Vento Turbo Please Help

Hi, I have an original Roverpsort Tomcat Race car that was from the Dunlop Turbo Cup / Tomcat/Vento series

I'm after as much information on the cars from drivers or engineers, spare parts for sale, complete cars, pictures, items related to the cars and the series etc as possible.

Any considerded or of interest.

Thanks in advance

Dave Harasym

What I remember of them, they (bodyshells) fall apart, they eat driveshafts, brakes, gearboxes, clutches, and they handle like something evil on drugs.

There used to be one at Donington in the race school, I believe it was a prototype, and it was absolutely dreadful. If it were an animal, I'd have shot it. It was oversteer city unless you really kept your foot in, and that was difficult when you were expected to be going steading as the pace car for the single seaters at the school. Evil. Nasty nasty thing.

Still, I must have been mad because I once tried damn hard to get the budget to run in the series (Dunlop Rover Turbo's), but decided that 80K was far too much (that's what a front running drive would have cost back in those days!).

You could always contact Enterprise Racing, Rollcentre Racing, and the like who ran the cars in the heydays of the series.

and they handle like something evil on drugs.
You could always contact Enterprise Racing, Rollcentre Racing, and the like who ran the cars in the heydays of the series.

MMMM We must have been lucky then - when I used to share my brothers Tomcat in sprinting, the handling was superb. very neutral, no nasty traits and very predictable. I think it's the ex Martin Short Rollcentre car.
It's now out of mothballs and he had his first race for about 5 years at Lydden on saturday - 7th in first race, and on for 4th in second race when he had a puncture on the last lap. I'm trying to persuade him to come out in the DTRC before the end of the year !

It didn't like anywhere bumpy like North Weald or Pestalozzi though - rear end spent half the time in the air, but a proper track like goodwood - excellent !

Thanks for the replies.

35ish cars where built as Race cars and a few others used as pace cars etc.

The pace cars are basically a road car with bolt in cage, nothing at all like the race car and handle not very well to be honest. The road car does need some upgrades to make it an ok chassis IMO.

However as most of the chassis is as per an Integra they do handle quite well.

But agreed the rear springs in particular are very stiff and re-bound badly.

Dave

Richard Gane (Integra driver in the DTRC) used to race one in the Super Coupes, and sold it relatively recently (last year or so). I'm pretty sure he's posted on here in one of the DTRC threads, he might be some help.

Richard Gane, Nick Reynolds & James Thorpe - all of whom used to race Tomcats (James is constantly reminding Nick how he beat him by a point to the championship!), are driving for Jemco Racing in the Britcar 24 Hours. If you contact me via my profile I can put you in touch.

Andy

Ahh so that's who Mr Whippy's driving for......

I could give him a bell and see if he has any setup info, if you'd like...

(Richard Gane's first race car was a Citrine Yellow Nova, No.99 - hence Mr Whippy)

That's a coincidence, my Nova was nicknamed The Ice Cream Van, tho for garish paint-job reasons rather than race numbers. The chap who got Richard into motorsport also did the same for me (by parking his rally Nova in my school car park).

/hijack

Dave - there's a few guys in LMA running tomcats, have you spoken to them?

MMMM We must have been lucky then - when I used to share my brothers Tomcat in sprinting, the handling was superb. very neutral, no nasty traits and very predictable. I think it's the ex Martin Short Rollcentre car.
It's now out of mothballs and he had his first race for about 5 years at Lydden on saturday - 7th in first race, and on for 4th in second race when he had a puncture on the last lap. I'm trying to persuade him to come out in the DTRC before the end of the year !

I have to agree with you, Just come to Castle Combe and Watch Gary Prebble!
There are 2 in the CCSCC, It would be worth a trip down on the next race day to have words with him!

That's a coincidence, my Nova was nicknamed The Ice Cream Van, tho for garish paint-job reasons rather than race numbers. The chap who got Richard into motorsport also did the same for me (by parking his rally Nova in my school car park).

/hijack

Dave - there's a few guys in LMA running tomcats, have you spoken to them?

Aha... one of "Mr Gravestock's" pupils?

Back to the thread..

As I understand it, the Tomcat that was at Donington as a pace car for the race school was one of the cars that were used to evaluate the package that became the race cars, and was gifted to "Drive" by Roversport. Still, it was (is) a dog.

I have to agree with you, Just come to Castle Combe and Watch Gary Prebble!
There are 2 in the CCSCC, It would be worth a trip down on the next race day to have words with him!

Good point. Prebbs has had an inordinate amout of success with his Tomcat in the Combe Saloon championship. He would be a superb contact to cultivate, because he's had more experience than most getting his to go very fast.

In fact it's only the advent of massively powerful and complex Mitzi Evos, Scooby Imprezas and Keith Murrays A4 Quattro (IE 4WD & big turbos) that the Tomcat's not looked dominant.

There are a couple racing in the Northern Saloon & Sport car championship. One is drived by David Birkett, the other by Roy Johnson, both have come via David Cox I believe.

Friends of mine ran a couple in 1998. One if not both cars were prep'd by Mardi Gras Motorsport.


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b108/PaulCherry/rt01.jpg

Nice picture, do you have anymore?

Do you know where these cars are now?

Dave

The Tomcat at Donington was a left hand drive with narrow tyres on. I have a pic somewhere. It was basicaly a road car which do understeer badly.

I got to race a Tomcat again on saturday after putting a hole in the block of my Astra. My brother very generously lent me the car for the 2nd Tin tops race at Lydden ( he came 2nd in first Tin top race ).
I hadn't driven the car fo at least 5 years ( had to start from back of grid as it was a different car to the one I qualified in. Roadholding was still excellent - even on the mandatory road tyres (Toyo Proxes) - Brakes even sharper than I remembered.
Bearing in mind that I had to start dead last,the driver is old and fat, and I thought bringing it back in one piece pretty important, 4th overall wasn't too bad - Thanks Brother !

I got to race a Tomcat again on saturday after putting a hole in the block of my Astra. My brother very generously lent me the car for the 2nd Tin tops race at Lydden ( he came 2nd in first Tin top race ).
I hadn't driven the car fo at least 5 years ( had to start from back of grid as it was a different car to the one I qualified in. Roadholding was still excellent - even on the mandatory road tyres (Toyo Proxes) - Brakes even sharper than I remembered.
Bearing in mind that I had to start dead last,the driver is old and fat, and I thought bringing it back in one piece pretty important, 4th overall wasn't too bad - Thanks Brother !

I think another couple of laps and you may have been third... My mirrors were getting full and my fuel pump playing up meant I had no power up the hill!

I got to race a Tomcat again on saturday after putting a hole in the block of my Astra. My brother very generously lent me the car for the 2nd Tin tops race at Lydden ( he came 2nd in first Tin top race ).
I hadn't driven the car fo at least 5 years ( had to start from back of grid as it was a different car to the one I qualified in. Roadholding was still excellent - even on the mandatory road tyres (Toyo Proxes) - Brakes even sharper than I remembered.
Bearing in mind that I had to start dead last,the driver is old and fat, and I thought bringing it back in one piece pretty important, 4th overall wasn't too bad - Thanks Brother !

I did threaten to chase Alan all the way across the paddock if he bent it. There is a subtle flaw in this approach, as he can almost certainly run faster than me.

Nice one Alan, have you any pictures of your Tomcat.

There is a picture of the Tomcat from Lydden last saturday at http://www.snappyracers.com/album/Lydden090906/slides/09th%20Sept%20298.html .

It is me (Andrew) driving the car not Alan.

The kind photographer managed to take it at the Devil's Elbow on the one lap of practice when I messed up and went barreling into the corner with everything locked up.

Andrew Cherry