Power aims to climb Legends championship

Paul Dancey on 06/04/2012

Mid Wales racing driver Ben Power aims to climb to the top in the coming season – by combining circuit competition with hillclimb events.

The 22-year-old from Guilsfield, near Welshpool, recently gave his Legends Car its hillclimb debut at a practice day at Loton Park, Shropshire, and plans to be back for real competition.

At the same time, he is planning a serious assault on the Legends Car championship, which takes in prestigious venues such as Silverstone and Brands Hatch.

“I’m definitely not going to be happy with making up with numbers any more,” said Power, who finished a career-high sixth in the televised 2011 Legends championship. “We are going all-out to win races and compete in every round for the best shot at the championship.”

“We have changed the engine in the car and are going to try some new things with the set-up as part of a serious assault on the championship.”

He will combine the Legends series, which includes rounds throughout England, Wales and Scotland, with several hillclimbs at local venue, Loton Park.

“I really enjoyed the practice day,” he said. “The car attracted a lot of attention, as people had all seen it on TV. My times got better through the day, and the regulars told me that was impressive considering I had road tyres and a welded differential, while they had super-soft slicks and limited-slip diffs. I’ll definitely be back to have a proper go.”

Legends racing originated on the US oval tracks, and the cars have an American look, being 5/8-scale replicas of classic US models. Guttercrest Racing runs a Ford Coupe 1937 replica, with a 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle engine.

With identical cars and the fastest drivers having to start at the back of the grid, there is said to be more overtaking in a single Legends race than in a whole season of Formula 1. Motors TV broadcasts most rounds of the series.

Guttercrest Racing is backed by the family-owned aluminium guttering company Guttercrest, based in Oswestry. The team has further support from Cardiff-based PR consultancy Weltch Media, as well as Ripla Designs.

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