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KARTING - Pure motorsport. Identical machinery, super-close racing and great handling machines -nuff said!
TRACKDAYS - These provide the best opportunity to shake the car down and hone driving skills. However, equally important to me is the chance to share the joy of high-speed driving with other people, and I have had some excellent days taking people round in the car. Marisa Le Masurier, my parents, my brother, Sean Elliot, Fletcher jnr, Rob Leather, Leighton Rowe, Barnaby Smith, Phil and Marion Ball (from 'The Track' holiday) Peter and Ruth Fryatt and even some random kids (who were watching the action) have all seen oversteerin', late-brakin' red-linin' laps with me at various times!
SPRINTING - 2003 was my 1st year as a competitor in car (rather than kart) racing. The RAFMSA sprint series consists of a calendar of events all held at a purpose built sprint track on Barkston Heath airfield Lincolnshire. From my point of view, 2003 was very much a learning year where I practiced driving skills and developed the car. I was consistently a frontrunner and was encouraged by being on the pace against some established drivers in 'out and out' competition cars. The camaraderie amongst the drivers, organisers, safety crews and spectators makes these RAF MSA events a real pleasure to attend. By the end of the year I was happy that the roadgoing Hornet had the potential to become a racing kitcar with the help of its designer and constructor Billy Fletcher, which will hopefully lead on to the graduation to 750MC circuit racing.
750 Motor Club
The Car and the Series
I am hoping to move up into circuit racing, the Kitcar championship being the best series for my vehicle. It produces about 110-120Bhp from the 1.6l 8v engine (tuned up Ford X-flow) which will put me down on power against the front of the field (155Bhp 1.8l 16v Ford Zetec engines), but this is less critical in season 1 when I'm learning the ropes as a driver at this level, anyway. A Zetec engine upgrade is underway with the National Motorsport College.
Promotion of the Alpha course
I am passionate about the Alpha course Alpha weblink as a means of bringing people to faith. The course consists of a series of evening classes offering a shared meal followed by basic intro talks on the component parts of the Christian faith. The aim is to create a relaxed and unintimidating way of learning more about what being 'Christian' actually means.
As a result, I have sought permission to promote the Alpha course through featuring it on my racing kitcar.
I intend to use a substantial proportion of the advertising space on the car
to promote the course and thereby reach a large public audience with Alpha
publicity at no cost to the course's organiser (Holy Trinity Brompton).
That said, the operation still has to be funded from somewhere and so I am
looking to develop 'strategic partnerships' with firms. This involves
providing commercially competitive advertising (via the car and media),
corporate entertainment (guests at races and driving the car on trackdays).
See the 'Strategic partnerships' area of the website for more information on
opportunities in this area.
As expected, this plan met with an enthusiastic response from HTB, who were delighted with the potential exposure that would result. The car (and the racesuit) will be seen by 1,300 people each event, (13,000 over the year's season). The car will also gain publicity in the media, including the motorsport press, RAF News, RAF Active magazine, my RAF station's magazine and five different websites.
The aim
The plan is to go to races with enough people to cover the substantial logistics of racing and have plenty of time left to get to know the racing crowd in the paddock. This will hopefully lead to opportunities to witness and evangelise. The church as a whole struggles hugely to reach the male population, and this project will hopefully present the Church in a modern and relevant way through 'first contact' and 'friendship evangelism' by Christians that 'the man on the street' can relate to.
The reasons behind the idea
I have been involved for 3 years with the 'Christians in Motorsport' (CIM) organization, which is assisting my project and will also be featured in the car's livery. CIM have organised training from full-time ministers who work exclusively with North American racing series,
I am a committed Christian having come to faith 15 years ago and have, for some years, been keen to use the skills I have been blessed with for God's glory. Being entirely free of any form of musical talent (or any other of the traditional giftings usually found within the church for that matter), I resolved to use the skills I do actually have -motor racing.
Opportunities to get involved
If you wish to support by coming along to the events, you would be very welcome, and I have a limited number of complimentary tickets for guests.
Opportunities to actually get involved would include taking photos + video of the racing, writing race reports for the website, mechanical work at track and between events, distributing Alpha fliers in the paddock, seeking sponsorship contacts, and 'team manager' (planning+organisation). However, the mere presence of people at events who can chat with others in the paddock would achieve the overall aim.
Why?
Winning on the track is a fantastic feeling, but Motorsport is only a game at the end of the day.
1. It is not life and death, despite how seriously some people take it. Life is for running the race that God has laid out for us i.e. serving Him faithfully. Death is no longer an issue when Christ is accepted into one's life, and Heaven is assured after death. These are the important things in life, not material success in this transient world or anywhere else:
"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3: 14
2. How can I say the above with such certainty? I've read the 'owners manual' -the Bible. If you haven't, I would certainly recommend you do. You wouldn't drive a new car without reading its manual, so how much more important is the meaning of life itself?
"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" Galations 5: 7
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