Neil Says
Hello all, another month has clicked by and what a dramatic
month it has been not just here at AMS but all over the world.
We have been on the road again, to Castle Combe for Rally
Day, to Llandow (again!) for a private track day, hosted many visitors
including Dutch magazine GTO (think similar to EVO in another language), spent
time running in the engine in Mike Palotas’ black beauty, all the while
watching the Western economy crumble and waiting to see if there is an effect
on us down in the deepest West Country.
And the simple answer is no effect to speak of. We have
continued to make new sales, received a lot of new enquiries, particularly for
competition cars (with the motorsport teams looking at detailed plans for next
season), and generally been very busy in both the workshop and paint shop. I
am certainly not trying to say that the ’credit crunch’ is not happening or
taking its toll, but people are still spending money and ignoring the general
doom and gloom being cast around in the media. Perhaps this weekend we can all
smile a little, enjoy the falling petrol prices, the best sunshine of the year
and let the bank managers feel the pressure for once!
Lots of news for you so read on and enjoy. Why not join
us (in spirit at least) on Sunday morning? Get up at 6am, fill up the tank and
hit your favourite roads for a couple of hours before getting home for
breakfast and live Grand Prix coverage at 8am! We will be!
Neil.
News
Murtaya—Too Fast To Race!
Following our recent testing time had come to take the plunge
and get the Murtaya out competing on the circuits. An entry was placed for the
season finale of the All Nippon Challenge, a series with an invitation class
for Japanese Powered Kit Cars. Everyone at AMS was really looking forward to
heading to Brands Hatch in early November to watch works driver James Harrison
piloting the car against some expensive and exotic pieces of race machinery.
It all came to nothing however when the entry was rejected with the following
reasoning;-“not let you run with us as we suspect you would win and dominate”.
So much like the old Group B rally cars—Too Fast To Race!
So the hunt is on for a race championship that will let us out to play next
season.
Another Month Another Magazine
It is always interesting to get the opinions of
mainstream motoring journalists as their views are often harsh toward our
industry, judging our cars against the mainstream manufacturers and leaving no
excuse for being a small business taking on the big boys. A four day trip had
seen them drive the Atom 300, Caterham R500, Brooke 260RR and finally the
Murtaya. As the magazine is yet to go to print I can not say too much about
the outcome but suffice to say it was not a good day for the flyweight and
skeletal cars! Drive a Murtaya and change your perceptions of performance
motoring.
Chasecam Equipment
We have been appointed as agents for the superb Chasecam
in car equipment. This has been used in so many disciplines from the Redbull
F1 team to extreme sports and is the best camera system we have come across.
Murtaya specific fitting kits now available – the best way to remember your
track day or competition fun. Take a look at
www.chasecam.co.uk for
details and get it onto your Christmas list!
Toniq R Moves On
After a year and a half helping Colin develop the Toniq R I
am delighted to announce a brilliant next step for the car with Colin entering
into an agreement with Phil Squance of Caged and Rainbird Racing which will
see the Toniq R line up alongside the Phoenix project. We know Phil well as
his Caged business supplies the roll structures and sub-frames for the Murtaya
and he has engineered a superb new round tube chassis to sit under the Toniq
R’s stunning bodywork. We will be working with the guys in the future, sharing
stand space at shows and assisting with the assembly of fully built cars. For
more info give Colin a call on 07818 057 643.
Exeter Kit Car Show
It is almost the end of the show season which means the
excellent Exeter Kit Car Show is once again almost upon us. Run by John Cooke
we find Exeter to be one of the nicest shows of the year (and not just because
it is the closest one to the factory!). We will have an never before exhibited
Murtaya on show and we hope to see lots of you here. CKC magazine will be
displaying their car and we have several customers who have promised to be
driving their cars to the show so expect to find some in the car parks as
well.
Track Day At Llandow
Saturday 27th September saw us once again heading up the M5
and over into South Wales to the wonderful Llandow circuit. This time it was
to unveil a new Murtaya built for an expectant customer. Showing a car
at a circuit for its first outing is always a risky business as any issues are
very public but the Murtaya ran faultlessly all day and we had even managed to
arrange for superb weather. With a collection of very nice cars in attendance
a great day was had by all. And most importantly Bill was very happy
with his new toy which will soon be tearing around the Derbyshire countryside.
Enjoy it Bill!
