A different scale of fun

DURING a 30-year spin at the top of the record industry, marketing guru Phil Cooper advised such music legends as U2, Robert Palmer and the late Bob Marley. However, his latest venture into motor racing has cars that look as if they are from the era of gangsters like Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone or Bugsy Siegel.

Legends Racing is a large slice of America razzmatazz that serves up bite-sized cars and a hearty helping of thrilling action. In fact, it makes the bump and bang of the British Touring Car Championship look like a minor shunt in the office car park.

Legends are replicas of 1930s coups and sedans which would be more at home burning up the Santa Pod drag-racing strip, except for one small point - they are 5/8th scale replicas. The roof is no higher than the average man's waist and under the tiny bonnet is nothing more sinister than a Yamaha 1200cc motorcycle engine. So why are these pocket rockets already so popular in America? Every- thing about Legends is designed to entertain. Each car has equal performance and the reverse start grid means even the top drivers have to battle through the field to claim a podium place. With races no more than 10 laps long, the action comes thick and fast. That 1200cc engine is put to good use, too. The 125bhp power pack catapults the car to 60mph in four seconds because the car weighs just 1,100 lbs and will rev to over 10,000rpm. There's so much power going to the back wheels that beginners find it hard to pull out of second gear. Phil Cooper spotted the potential on a business trip to New York five years ago. "I flew off on the weekend to watch a race and I couldn't believe it. The crowd was going wild and I couldn't understand why it hadn't taken off in Britain." He teamed up with music industry veteran and Columbia executive Fraser Kennedy to put together a package which would ultimately tempt the American organisers to bring Legends Racing over to Britain. At first it wasn't easy. For the past three years the Ford and Chevrolet silhouettes have been something of joke in racing circles. "There were hard times and people just didn't want to take it seriously," said Cooper. But for the 1999 season, Old Spice after- shave has splashed out a small fortune to bring Legends to life, with a 15-race series that will be broadcast on Sky and backed by a major publicity drive, which started last week at Brooklands Motor Museum in Surrey. Television motor racing commentator Tony Jardine explained: "Once people see these 20 cars on the track they will be hooked. There are no long races like in Formula One and you get all kinds of spills. It will also prove a breeding ground for fresh new talent, as go-karting has in the past." Compared to most forms of organised motor racing, Legends are considerably cheaper to buy and run. Each pocket rocket costs GBP 5,000 and season costs can be as low as a few thousand pounds - if you manage to stay out of trouble. Driver Des Chandler is a convert to Legends. The service director from Leicestershire was a Formula One Stock Car champion who put too much time and money into his old hobby. "I think my wife will be happier now because I won't have to spend hours preparing my car and there'll be more funds left over for holidays. My V8 stock car cost GBP 25,000 and around GBP 10,000 a season to race, so it's easy to see the attraction of Legends." The cars might look funny but get behind the steering wheel and they demand serious attention. Driver skill and track craft are vital in vehicles which are deliberately Dillon Bryden Driver skill and track craft are vital in vehicles which are deliberately designed not to stick to the road. Hard compound tyres combined with a short wheelbase help to provide plenty of power-slides and pirouettes. The noise from the engines is equal to anything blasted out at Formula One meeting and the single-seat arrangement puts drivers in the perfect spot to throw the vehicle around. There will be 16 rounds to the 1999 UK championships at circuits across the country. Each consists of two qualifying rounds and a final. Performance enhancements are not allowed so every car is able to race competitively. "It doesn't matter how rich you are because there's very little you can do to modify the car. It's going to bring motor racing within the reach of the ordinary man in the street," says Des. There are currently 2,500 cars in regular competition in North America and an average of 10 new drivers join the circuit every week. The cars are running in Sweden, Norway, Finland and France too. Phil Cooper believes the time will come when Legends begin to live up to their name. "I see many similarities between the music industry and this style of racing. The drivers are the stars and they all want to grab the public's attention. Their cars are like records and they all want to be number one," he says.

Copyright 1999
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