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Off To A Flying Start At Brands Hatch

The life of a racing driver may seem glamorous on the track, but to prepare a car for tip top performance requires a lot of work behind the scenes. For the second year running, HMD Kontro is delighted to be sponsoring one of our team, Neil Jessop, Test Engineer, in this season’s Modified Ford Series, with his car displaying the company logo and branding.

Neil’s 1978 Mark 2 Ford Escort has been completely refitted with modern racing components. He has had a particularly busy winter, not only in his day job at HMD Kontro, but also in his role as chief mechanic, as well as the driver, for his racing car. Any improvements to the car are all down to Neil himself!

He has been undertaking a lot of work modifying the suspension geometry on the car with a view to finding more grip on the track. This involved fabricating some new parts and buying others with a lot of time spent setting the car up in the workshop. Time constraints didn’t allow Neil to test the car before his first race and so he admits it was a bit of a lottery to how the car would perform.

Just over a month ago, Neil raced at the famous Brands Hatch track and it was a huge relief that the car felt good immediately in the qualifying round. The car had increased grip, which he had hoped for. Neil managed to qualify in third position overall.

 

 

The slightly complicated racing format at this weekend meant Neil started on Pole for his first race, as he had been the fastest car in his class. With some skillful driving, Neil had a great race and finished in second position overall. It took a 700bhp Ford Escort Cosworth from a higher class to beat him. And that doesn’t count!

In the second race Neil was second on the grid and took the lead right from the start. Although he was overtaken after a lap, some expert driving meant he finished third overall, which was another class win.

“Overall a great weekend for me. The car was totally reliable and performed better than I could possibly have expected.” Said Neil.

He has already got off to a winning start and HMD Kontro would like to wish him every success this year and. We look forward to updating you with all his racing news. And of course, don’t forget if you want a great day out, why not go along and support Neil racing his shiny black 1978 Ford Escort Mark 2 classic car. It really stands out with its new livery including red and yellow stripes and white HMD Kontro branding.

 

Here are the links for the onboard footage from both races.

The Life And Times Of A Racing Driver

HMD Kontro is delighted to be sponsoring our team member Neil Jessop again this year in the Modified Ford Series. Motor racing is an expensive sport and Neil says the financial support he gets from the company is a huge help. The series is growing every year and the provisional calendar, consisting of nine races has already been published with the first race at Silverstone scheduled for 20 March. The racing is starting much earlier than last year, so it must be a good sign that we are moving on from Covid.

The Life And Times Of A Racing Driver

 

Changing the suspension geometry for faster lap times

During the racing season Neil admits that there are always mechanical issues with the car, some more major than others, with some jobs being able to be put off until winter. These include issues that are either not that critical or an improvement is required that will be a big job and cannot be fitted in between meetings. This means Neil has been working through the small jobs over the winter period. He has also had his hands full changing the suspension geometry of his Ford Escort, to quite a large degree, involving new suspension components and altering the car itself to make it all fit. This is aimed at giving the car more grip on the track for even faster lap times.

 

Brands Hatch, Silverstone, Donington and Snetterton

Neil is hopeful he will be racing at the first meeting although he is currently on the reserve list for the event at Silverstone, as the grid is oversubscribed. His plans include racing at six of the meetings, namely:

  • Silverstone – 20 March
  • Brands Hatch – 9-10 April
  • Donington – 28 May
  • Snetterton – 23-24 July
  • Brands Hatch – Ford Power Live – 18 Sept
  • Brands Hatch – Formula Ford Festival – 22-23 October

This means he will only be missing out on Knockhill, Cadwell Park and Oulton Park, which are the races that are furthest away from Neil’s base in East Sussex.

 

Staying fit and eating healthily are all part of the job

Neil puts a lot of effort into staying in shape, as he believes this gives him an advantage over his fellow competitors. That hundredth of a second can make the difference between winning and losing! He also believes if you get tired during a race, you can lose concentration and make mistakes. The secret to staying fit is actually enjoying it and Neil has been participating in CrossFit for many years. This is a combination of strength and conditioning which involves Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, gymnastics, running, rowing and more. CrossFit advocates sound nutrition and Neil incorporates a good diet into his healthy lifestyle.

 

The mechanics of the Ford Escort

Although Neil’s Ford Escort is a classic, everything on it is built to modern specifications. The engine is a modern all aluminium 2 litre machine that you would typically find in a new Ford Focus or Mondeo. However, it has been rebuilt to include lots of racing parts to produce around 280bhp. The car has a 5 speed racing gearbox with the shock absorbers having been custom built by an American company.

 

Wheels and tyres designed for speeds of 140mph

The wheels are custom alloys specially designed for the car. Tyres are Avon racing slicks, which take up a big part of the budget, but are worth the expense as they make a massive difference to the performance of the car. They are the only bit touching the track so all the other modifications would be wasted if inferior tyres were used and with speeds reaching up to 140mph, depending on the circuit, good tyres are a must. The tyres actually cost £360 each and last for about three to four meetings depending on the circuit surface with some race tracks being more abrasive than others. Another salient factor on wear and tear is the weather with hot conditions causing tyres to lose their edge more quickly.

 

Before and after a race

The pre race procedure usually involves travelling the day before the race and staying in a hotel close to the circuit. As you might expect, a lot of Neil’s friends are keen on racing so he has help when going to an event. However, even when things go well at the race, there is still a lot to do including some fine-tuning before the next race, but hopefully no major mechanical work.

 

HMD Kontro wishes Neil every success in the Modified Ford Series

We would like to wish Neil every success this year and we look forward to hearing all his racing news. We aim to keep you informed throughout the season and of course if you are near to any of the circuits, we hope you might go along to support Neil racing his shiny black 1978 Ford Escort Mark 2 classic car. It really stands out with its new livery including red and yellow stripes and white HMD Kontro branding.

Fastest Ford

HMD Kontro Engineer Neil Jessop Wins At Brands Hatch

Ford Power Live returned to Brands Hatch for a special day’s entertainment devoted to one of the planet’s great automotive manufacturers on 18/19 September. Entertainment on and off the circuit was Ford themed and included a busy race programme featuring two grids from the Modified Ford Series.

Fastest Ford

 

A ‘must attend’ event for Ford enthusiasts

Ford Power Live is the newest and most exciting event to arrive at Brands Hatch. It entered the calendar in 2017 and for enthusiasts it quickly became a ‘must attend’ event. It arrived at Brands Hatch in 2019 with a race timetable and track sessions. And on the starting grid this year in his Modified Ford was none other than HMD Kontro’s test engineer Neil Jessop driving his Ford Escort with the HMD Kontro logos.

 

Fastest in qualifying to take pole position

In the B Class, Neil clocked the fastest lap in qualifying. Wow! This gave Neil pole position in his shiny black Ford Escort with the HMD Kontro branding prominent to all the spectators. Unfortunately, the track was slightly greasy, so Neil wasn’t able to set a new lap record, but was naturally delighted to be quickest. However, he does hold the lap record of 51.141 seconds, which was set at this event in 2019.

Race 1 went well and despite a clutch issue he was able to stay at the front throughout and win. He was pretty pleased with that as you can imagine! And on his favourite race track too! Unfortunately, the clutch issue was too bad to take part in Race 2 so he had to watch from trackside. That must have been tough!

 

Ford Fair at Silverstone

Neil was also at Ford Fair at Silverstone on 8 August. This was not a competitive event, but more of an opportunity to showcase the Modified Ford Series. The event proved to be a big success with a lot of coverage of the cars on and off the track.

 

Fast Ford magazine profiles Neil Jessop

The Modified Ford Series also featured in the December issue of Fast Ford magazine. If you are into fast Ford cars, then this is the ‘must read’ magazine as it’s packed with features on cars and the latest news, with this issue featuring individual profiles on some of the drivers including Neil.

 

Roll on 2022 for the next Modified Ford series

The season is now finished for Neil in terms of racing but he’s not taking the winter off as he is already working on improvements for next year. He reports that it’s nothing major that needs doing to the car, just small tweaks that will hopefully make a difference. As a competitive racing driver, he is always trying to go faster and of course that fraction of a second could make all the difference.

There is also more good news as the 2022 racing calendar has been released and is looking good. Neil is planning to take part in as many races as his budget will allow. It’s an expensive hobby including transportation and maintenance costs.

The team at HMD Kontro congratulates Neil on a really successful season and we hope that the car goes even faster next year.

 

Further details about Neil’s racing in his modified Ford series have been shared previously on the HMD Kontro blog in both the ‘Fasten your seatbelts! The view from inside Car 63‘ and ‘On The Grid‘ posts.

Fasten your seatbelts! The view from inside Car 63

With lockdown restrictions easing, our race driver team member, Neil Jessop, has at last now been out racing once again, although at the moment without spectators. In his heavily modified 1978 Mark 2 Ford Escort, sponsored by HMD Kontro, Neil has achieved some great results, despite a few mechanical issues.

 

9 May Donington – Winner of Class B in both Race 1 and Race 2

With thirty-seven cars on the grid, Neil won his class in both races and also finished ninth and tenth overall respectively, beating many cars from higher classes. He also set the lap record in his class of 1:17:486.

 

13 June Mallory Park – Third in Class B in Race 2

This was an amazing result, as Neil had to start Race 2 from the back of the grid after an electrical issue earlier meant no result in Race 1. With skilful driving, he made his way through to eleventh at the finishing flag, giving him third in Class B. He also recorded the second-fastest lap of 51.773 seconds.

See the full video from Race 2 at Donington over on YouTube (it is not for the faint-hearted).

 

The series continues with races in July at Anglesey and Cadwell Park and then it’s on to Oulton Park and Brands Hatch with the last race at Snetterton in October. We will keep you updated with Neil’s progress!

On The Grid

HMD Kontro is delighted to be sponsoring Neil Jessop in this season’s Modified Ford Series. Neil was ready and almost on the starting grid for last season’s series when you could say the pandemic literally threw a ‘spanner into the works’. Not surprisingly, there was no racing last year, but Neil is more hopeful that there will be meetings this year as the UK begins to open up. He is prepared and raring to go and race in the Modified Ford Series in his Ford Escort sporting the HMD Kontro logo and brand.

Neil Jessop Car

 

HMD Kontro Branding Doing The Circuit

The series was established to provide ‘the place to race’ for the huge variation of modified Ford (production) cars that have been developed over the last fifty years. The classic Ford cars which must be pre-2010 race in various categories determined by their engine size. Neil and his Ford Escort will be racing in the 2.0 Litre class B, which also features Ford Sierras and Capris. The shiny black Escort is a 1978 Mark 2 classic car. However, Neil points out that all that remains of the original car is the shell as it has been completely refitted with modern racing components. The shiny black Ford Escort certainly stands out with its new livery including red and yellow stripes and orange HMD Kontro branding.

 

Modified Ford Series

The Modified Ford Series will comprise eight races at famous racetracks including Lydden Hill in Kent, Donnington Park and Mallory Park, both in Leicestershire, the Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire referred to as the ‘Mini Nurburgring’ and Brands Hatch. Neil intends to go to as many as he can although distance sometimes dictates that this is not possible. Although the cars do not have speedometers, they can reach speeds of up to 140mph. Races involve fifteen minutes of qualifying to establish a grid position followed by two fifteen-minute races.

 

A racing love affair that started at Arlington race track

Neil Jessop joined HMD Kontro in 1998, just over twenty-two years ago and today he runs tests on the sealless pumps once they have been produced. Coincidentally, his love affair with cars and racing started at this time. It was at Arlington race track near Eastbourne where he first started racing stock cars and then went on to hot rods, racing on different tracks in the south east. A progression to circuit racing from the oval racetrack followed some ten years later. It was then that Neil started building his own cars including a Silhouette, based on a Peugeot 206, which is all pretty technical stuff involving a tubular chassis with fibreglass panels. However, for a pump test engineer, it’s just what comes naturally!

 

Opportunities with HMD Kontro

HMD Kontro is delighted to sponsor Neil in the forthcoming season of racing and demonstrates another way of how we help our staff. If you are looking to work for a progressive company that manufactures sealless pumps, please see www.hmdkontro.com/recruitment.