Turner Automotive Design (TAD) www.turner-auto-design.com has a lot to look after as the year end approaches. Steven Turner (owner-designer) of the Scottish company that has been in the automotive news lately would welcome an opportunity to chat with you about the exciting developments that are already afoot.

One of TAD's charismatic LMP-S model has been purchased as a fleet track car by Stephen Docherty, Director of Track-sense Limited in the Castle Combe area www.track-sense.com. One of the more fascinating aspects of the deal is that he made his purchase sight unseen! Having read a track test in Evo Magazine he immediately put in his order!

"Evo rarely pulls it's punches when niche manufacturers are brave enough to give them a car that is still undergoing development so for the LMP to get 4 stars was something that we thought was impressive. We also liked the user-friendliness; at track-club we need people to feel confident in the car very quickly so something with neutral handling coupled with commitment to reliability led us to select the LMP-S as a car that I am confident will delight track-club members."

Steven (Turner) and Stephen (Docherty) and the LMP-S will be at the Autosport International show in January on the Track-sense stand (Hall 7, Stand 7004 to the left of the Autosport stage). Please come and talk to them about the joint and individual plans for 2006.

Steven Turner has fascinating news about TAD's international racing schedule in 2006. An LMP is being prepared for young Canadian driver Dan McMullen who has already raced for several years in Renault F2000 open wheeled pro championship cars. Dan's LMP will contest the Super Unlimited class in the North American Sports Association's west coast championship. To find out what sort of engine Steve Turner is going to put in the car have a chat with him!

For 2006 Turner Automotive Design are actively planning to offer a one marque LMP endurance championship series under the auspices of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) who have already sanctioned the series. This will be an endurance series with races of around three hours and with two drivers per car. One driver will be a seasoned pro who will act as a mentor throughout the series to a young "rookie" driver. The series will conclude with a 24 hour race.

As if all this was not enough Turner Automotive Design are instituting The Turner Challenge worldwide in 2005. Committed to grassroots enjoyment of the sport, Chris Beddows (Turner's Marketing Manager) has come up with a formula that will allow owners of LMPs and visitors to track days to compete against each other in a fastest lap competition.

Turner Challenge:

By directly tapping into the inherent competitiveness of the human species the Turner Challenge is designed to raise media interest, develop sales in the medium to long term and increase the general public's awareness of the brand. It will be an annual event and something that can be developed worldwide because potentially it adds a new element to track-days.

Formula:

The Turner Challenge is based on a unique formula that allows lap times on any circuit in the world to be directly compared and contrasted. Whether it be Laguna Seca or Silverstone, Sebring or East Fortune - all circuits have official lap records recorded and in the books.

Any Turner LMP model with any driver can enter the 2005 Challenge and enter his/her best lap at any world circuit. The lap time achieved is expressed as a percentage of the particular circuit's outright lap record. In this way the skill of the driver in driving close to the record is calculated as a %.
e.g. Although an LMP lap of Silverstone at 124 mph is fast (outright lap record 136 mph) it is not as "fast" as an LMP that laps East Fortune at 98 mph (outright lap record 101 mph). In this example the Silverstone lap is 91.17647 % and the East Fortune lap is 97.029702 %

To be eligible:-

The Turner Challenge can be run for at any track in UK, Canada or the continental USA (or worldwide - wherever there is an LMP). Claims should be submitted by January 5th 2006 at the latest in order for there to be a public and media announcement at the Autosport Show. A driver can submit any number of lap times for a UK track or a North American track or both with no restriction on number of submissions.

The TAD web site will carry a Turner Challenge inter-active data base for general interest but also to allow participants in the challenge to keep abreast of laps being achieved. A weekly update will be sent electronically to all participants in the Challenge.

PRIZES:

The fastest driver/LMP combinations in 2005 receive