Dream Comes True: From Sim To Circuit

[Bram Hengeveld]

By Phil Rose:

On Friday the 9th November, a sim racers dream would come true. After years of online racing and the occasional spot of karting, Gareth Messham, a current RaceDepartment member, would make the jump from a makeshift rig in his living room to behind the wheel of a race prepared BMW E36 around the formidable Oulton Park race track.

Built over the space of a year, the striking Demon Tweeks liveried car has been transformed from a standard, tired road car into a race prepared track day machine. The first thing to be taken out was the interior; road seats, door cards, speakers, carpets, everything except the dashboard. Then, the lightweight OMP harnesses and ultra supportive Cobra Sebring Pro seats were added to provide the best in safety and feel. Then, after a thorough wash a surface preparation, it was sent on a trip to APM Graphics for a full vinyl wrap which would turn the original pale blue into a vivid red design that would reflect the iconic Group A BTCC touring car of 1988 driven by Alan Minshaw and the late Roland Ratzenberger.

Now sporting a new look, it was time to improve the handling! So into the workshop it would go to fit a full coilover kit, Brembo brake discs and pads and Powerflow exhaust to allow the2 litrestraight six to breathe more easily. To complete the makeover, the 320i would be given a new set of boots in the form of Federal 595RS-R’s and some17 inchTeam Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 wheels.

Soon, along with a number of smaller improvements, the car would be ready to hit the track. Gareth, himself a Demon Tweeks employee and previous GT Academy national finalist, had never been out on a full size race circuit until this point. This had served as a motivation during the agonizing wait while preparing the car. Soon enough the day would come, when a glorious autumnal morning would greet him at the picturesque Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire. “Out of the pits for the first time was weird, it didn’t seem real.” he told me later that evening. “It was a massive buzz on the first lap, massive!” The car ran solidly all day and never missed a beat, even with an afternoon rain shower causing the track to get very greasy. “I had a huge tank slapper out of the chicane” he would later report, “Only just kept it together!”

After a very successful first outing, Gareth now turns his attention to a second track day on the 24th November as he looks to gain experience in driving the car. But was it what he had hoped for? “It was a million times better than I thought it would be” he claimed, I’ll take that as a yes!

Gareth would like to thank Demon Tweeks, APM Graphics, Cobra, Federal, Team Dynamics and Brembo for making it all possible.

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[Alex Perkins]

Fair play nice one gareth

 

[James Hemp]

Good luck friend. I hope one day to follow your footsteps

 

[Chris Howie]

Wow! Well done Gareth!

 

[Ihsan Ulusoy]

Looking forward for your progress. Well done mate.

 

[Dave Stephenson]

Sounds like epic fun, keep us updated Phil.

It's always great to hear about one of our own making the step up.

 

[James Shakespeare]

Keep up the good work Gareth! O and Don't forget to keep us informed on your progress.
Thanks to Phil for the good read!

 

[Caleb Sott]

All the best! keep on progressing and hope to follow your footstep one day .

 

[Gareth Messham]

Cheers guys very much appreciated. It's just the start but there's a long way to go yet. Big thanks to work (Demon Tweeks) espesially Jon Minshaw the owner. Out again on the 24th. Will try put some videos up at some point
Thanks Phil!!!