Congratulations to Bruce Tigwell who took the class win for the unlimited engine size and 3rd overall in the All Wheel Drive Club Britpart Safari Championship 2016.
These Events are held nationwide and the best 7 results from 8 events are used to work out the final positions. There is a maximum of 700 points available and Bruce achieved 671 and was tied with another competitor for second in the championship. The complicated tie break rules put Bruce in third overall but with an outright win in the unlimited engine size class.
After adding a supercharger to the BMW V8 engine over the winter of 2015, Bruce brought the car to Northampton Motorsport for an engine management upgrade. Whilst the existing Webcon Alpha system was reliable it was nearly 20 years old and had very limited scope for further development, so this was removed and a Life Racing F88 RS ecu was fitted.
The Life Racing ECU uses twin wide band lambda and twin knock control to ensure the engine is continually performing at its full potential. This along with the supercharger allows the engine to develop a reliable 480 BP. The powerful on board data logging on the Life Racing ECU has allowed us to check and modify the calibration remotely throughout the year as Bruce has increased the boost and added water meth injection.
Bruce built the car from scratch in 1990 and the frame and cage is made from 4130 chrome moly. The entire car and suspension set-up is Bruce’s own design.
He won his first event in the car outright and then went on to win 5 consecutive MSA British Off Road Championships, 7 All Wheel Drive Club Championships, and the famous South Downs Hill Rally, all in the 1990s.
Since then he has dipped in and out of the sport, still achieving event wins on a regular basis, and has been competing in the AWDC Championship for the past 3 years, and has achieved a 3rd and 2nd in the overall championship for the last 2 years. Lets hope next year its the top step of the podium.