8 minute read
We Are Going Racing - Praga Cars
WE AREGOING
Miles fills us in on the exciting partnership between and Praga Cars UK which will see us going racing.
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Written by: Miles Lacey
If you’re thumbing through this magazine right now, there’s a good chance you have an unhealthy interest in cars. We all share this same ailment, and what a glorious problem it is! You’ve driven some spectacular cars in some even more spectacular locations, you’ve driven your cars on track days and probably wondered at times why a hot hatch is a little closer in the mirrors than you would have hoped, but where do you go from here? has recently announced Praga Cars as their official racing partner. It will see an exciting journey ahead that members will be fully involved in to bring them exclusive opportunities and experience what the 114-year-old brand has to offer. Praga has committed to their plans for the UK market in a big way, and their brand new HQ based in Cheshire will be home to the five Guest Driver cars including the R1. The grand opening will see members take an exclusive tour of where the magic happens including the very car we’ll be racing! At the end of last year, was invited to drive and review the championship-winning Praga R1 at Donington Park. Little did we know, this was quietly a test to see about offering a seat to race in the Britcar Endurance Championship in 2021 with full factory support. I was the lucky sod that was strapped in and told to go shout at a camera as I was driving Praga’s prized possession at a reasonable lick around the famous circuit. I brought the car back into the pits, bellowed something about how insanely quick it is and allowed a few moments for my organs to assume their usual position.
The test went well, and the next morning a phone call arrived from Mark Harrison, MD of Praga Cars UK, “How was it?”, he asked, “Really quite good”, I replied, trying to play it cool, “You went quite well I see”, he said, “Oh did I?”, I asked, “Yes, how would you feel about a season racing the new R1 next year?”. Need I say what my response was? Adam and I had a chat, the deal was done and we’ll soon be on the grid doing our very best to drag it towards the front of the pack! The Guest Driver programme is a cornerstone of Praga’s plan to show the world what they can do. Before last year you’d, be forgiven for asking who on earth this boldly named company from the Czech Republic was and what business they had in the world of motorsport, especially in the UK, but they have since made their statement by winning the Britcar Endurance Championship last year in their Praga R1T. That’s not bad to have on the CV on its own, but they’ve followed up with even bigger ambitions by creating a Praga class of its own in Britcar for the 2021 season. A total of five Guest Driver cars and five customers cars will make up the grid with entering the all-new 2021 R1 in a bid for glory. Endurance racing is a test of man and machine, or should we say men and machine. will be racing with long-time friend of and supercar virtuoso James, or Mr JWW as you most likely know him. Having competed in academy motorsport last year, James is taking on the challenge to progress to elite level endurance racing in spectacular fashion. As teammates, we’ll be working closely over the course of the season to extract the most out of the R1. We’ll be bringing you along the way to talk about the thrills and spills of racing and how you can get yourself on the grid in the near future too. James is the perfect match for this partnership given he has some racing experience already, so I’ll have a solid foundation to work on and progress his skills behind the wheel. was given an exclusive chance to take a look around the new car we’ll be racing this year. The moment the first customer car arrived in the UK, we whisked it off to take an in-depth look around its new features for this year. We were so eager, it still had the cellophane on it! The development team at Praga haven’t left a single element untouched in the new car; the previous-gen car has been around for a few years now, competing in various forms of circuit racing, and over that time they’ve taken the feedback from the teams, engineers and drivers to improve all aspects of its design. Not that it needed it, but the new car has a redesigned aero package consisting of a new floor, front splitter and enormous rear wing which will further increase its ground effect. More ground effect means more downforce which means more cornering speed. In fact my neck is starting to hurt just writing this piece. There are new endurance headlights so we can see where we’re going at night and flash those slow GT3 cars out the way, a new turbo and intake system which is now even more efficient and powerful, new fuel tank up from 60 to 90 litres, new seat, new ergonomic cockpit, a more advanced data logging system and an improved exhaust for significantly increased reliability and performance. There’s a whole list of other new features I’ve forgotten, such is the level of work they’ve put into the new R1! All these incremental improvements come together to offer essentially an entirely new car, ready to go even faster and harder than any R1 before. You can’t help but admire the ambition and Praga are bringing to this campaign; imagine trying to launch a brand new racing car or run a supercar owners community when the entire planet has pressed pause. The sector we operate in is the definition of discretionary spend, yet it holds a value and a purpose close to our hearts — it’s more than a passion. For the longest time, racing has appeared to be a guarded clique that requires suitcases full of cash and a lineage of racing in your family in order to have a go. The partnership between the two companies is designed solely to break down these walls. The R1 is developed so it doesn’t need to be run by a crew of 20, four trucks and a team of strategists and engineers back at HQ. Not only can you run the car as humbly as you like with a small crew, but the start-up costs are in no way comparable to other cars and racing series which deliver the same level of performance and pace. It’s GT3 quick at a fraction of the price — what more could you want? Having driven the car and gained a measure of its capabilities, it’s not a car you can just jump in and expect to be able to drive up to pace straight away, but by the same measure, it’s not the most difficult car to drive once you get your head around how it operates and what it wants from you as the driver. We’re working closely with Praga to deliver their driver development programme which has been designed with the sole purpose of getting you race ready for the R1. members who put their interest forward will have the entire journey mapped out to get them in the driving seat of the R1. The bespoke driver development programme covers everything from obtaining your race licence, full support in acquiring the necessary experience to qualify to race the R1 by competing in a lower class of car, all whilst having exclusive test days in the R1 and coaching from experienced factory drivers. It’s astonishing the traction they have achieved so far with car orders flying in from across the globe, however has secured limited places for its members to embark on their racing journey for themselves.
Praga’s goal for 2022 is to curate their own one-make series that will present racing opportunities across the UK with flagship rounds at famous circuits around the globe. Before then however, we’ve got an entire year ahead of us with some exciting events on and off track including our own Britcar campaign. Who’s up to the challenge of driving an R1 I wonder? If you decide you are, I personally guarantee you won’t regret it, but maybe recommend you start doing a few neck exercises each morning. If the race car is a little much for now, however, they also make go-karts! @praga_cars
We can’t foresee the future. We can’t foresee the future. But we can guarantee its quality. But we can guarantee its quality.
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