Subaru Upon Avon - Damien Bradley's Hillclimb Legacy

Damien Bradley is a huge fan of Subaru Legacy’s but that was not the reason he chose the Legacy over the more popular motorsport oriented Impreza.

The forty-three year old Construction Project Manager from Purley, Surrey said, “It was mainly because the Legacy’s were more affordable back in the early 2000s and attracted far less attention from the UK’s boys in blue. When you consider the Legacy shares most of its drivetrain with the Impreza it is not a big deal, the main difference being the Legacy wheelbase is 60mm longer which requires a 60mm longer propshaft (driveshaft in North America) It may weigh a bit more but the added wheelbase does it no harm in the handling department, as Colin McRae proved in rallying. And that is how Team Legacy UK was born.

It was in 2003 that Damien bought his first Legacy. As a standard turbo saloon (sedan) the plan was for it to be his daily driver. The current race car is not the only Legacy that Damien owns, he also has a collection that includes two Legacys which are very rare, a 1990 RSRA and a 1989 RSR.

The current car stated life in 1991 as a 2.0 normally aspirated automatic Subaru Legacy GL that Damien obtained with 73k miles on the clock and only one careful lady owner from new. Paying the princely sum of $500 meant there was a lot of money saved on the original purchase that could be put to better use.

In 2013 Damien competed in his first Time Attack event which was at the famed Silverstone Race Circuit, we finished 3rd in class with what

was considered a very low spec car in Time Attack circles. That event was all it took to get hooked on Time Attack and the car would go on to a huge transformation with a wide arch kit, large rear wing and front splitter. Steven Darley then joined the team and that led to some significant improvements to the car and Damien’s driving performance. We finished 2nd in class for the championship but after good friend Simon Roe (AKA Jolly Green Monster) passed away we lost some love for Time Attack as a team and we started to look elsewhere for another venue or motorsport to compete in. We continued to develop the car and competed in occasional sprint and Time Attack events when in 2018 Steven qualified for a team GB place at the European Masters hillclimb in Gubbio, Italy. With Stevens own car out of use, Damien generously lent his pride and joy to Steven for his turn at the wheel.

In 2019 Damien had a big off at Cadwell Park putting the car on its roof at Park Bend, after an extensive rebuild we decided to have a try at hill climbing but Covid 19 limited things significantly. With Covid 19 fading the team went into 2021 with a new focus, we decided to enter the British Hill Climb Championship and compete in every event of the championship. That decision proved to be correct with the team achieving multiple class wins, some where we set class records and most impressively Damien qualified for the Top 12 run off which was something a tin top car had never done before at Harewood Hill. Damien also scored class wins at Shelsley Walsh – twice and a record, Barbon Manor - record, Harewood - record, Prescott – twice plus a record and Wiscombe Park. Steven took a win at Gurston Down and at Loton Park also setting a new record as well as winning class. On the International front the team again qualified as part of the British team for the European Masters that this time was held in Braga, Portugal. The result was another podium finish with 2nd in Category 3 this time with Damien driving. His time of 1m26.382 was an astounding 2.5 seconds quicker that his previous best, signaling him truly getting in the zone on the longer Portuguese hill.

Into 2022 and things really took off, the decision was made to significantly improve the cars handling, looking to the world of single seaters which are the fastest hillclimb cars in the UK, capable of out accelerating F1 cars! The front runner and 2021 British Champion Wallace Menzies was running Ohlins dampers supplied and maintained by Russell Walton of Mick Gardener Racing, the decision was made and the Legacy would have to have them too. A four way adjustable TTX46 damper with a completely bespoke setup was ordered in the hope that we could find that 0.1 or 0.2 of a second on the hills…. How wrong we were!

The new suspension absolutely transformed the car with both Damien and Steven taking seconds off long standing records and Damien even being crowned the fastest man on the Isle of Wight at an event full of WRC cars, one driven by the rally legend Miki Biasion. As great as the car was on the UK short complex hills, the real test would be a fast flowing European venue. A trip to Saint Goueno would see Damien take the title of the fastest ever UK/Irish tintop/saloon car. The Ohlins suspension has been a complete game changer, transforming the car into one of the fastest tin tops in the history of UK hillclimbing.

With plans for more of the same in 2023 and another shot at the European Masters, the aims are improve the car over the winter with a paddle shift system, a revised AET turbocharger and an all new Alcon motorsport brake system. He would like to see some aero improvements but that has to be within the class rules. He told me, “I love the aero that Time Attack and Euro hillclimbers can get away with, there is no doubt in my mind some radical aero would provide some gains where we could reduce records even further but the British series is a bit restrictive in that way. So the plans are to maximize the rules as far as we can go and with added power we should be able to achieve our goals. Every racer screams for more power but we believe everything has to be designed as a package where everything works together. Steven is a huge asset to the team with his knowledge but we also have great support from our partners.

They provide us with knowledge, parts and friendship, we cannot thank them enough. Steven Darley (Team Captain/mentor), Paul Blamire (ECU calibration), Michael Latimer (Engine builder), AET Turbos, Whiteline, Keith Michaels Insurance, CSK Race Exhausts, Nimbus Motorsport, Torco, Design Engineering Inc, Radium Engineering, Syvecs, Nitron Suspension, Roger Clark Motorsport, Samsonas Motorsport, Xona Rotor, HEL Performance, Turbosmart, Alcon Brakes, ASNU Fuel Injectors, SMG Roland Alsop, Roose Motorsport, Antigravity Batteries