John Bradshaw

Driver Class: 3G

'I became hooked on competition cars when, at the age of 12 in 1966, I
watched the RAC Rally as it travelled behind my home in Wareham Forest.. The
smell, the noise and the atmosphere took hold of me instantly.
So at 19 I started road rallying in the days when it really was a fast paced
type of event. Over the years as an undergraduate engineer I saved all my
pennies to compete in road and stage events such as The Cilwendeg, Gremlin
etc in a 998cc Imp which had an ex-works engine and rev'd to 11,000rpm! This
gave way to a Mark 2 Escort Sport but then a young family took priority for
15 years or so.
In 2004 I purchased a Silva Striker with standard crossflow engine with the
wish to compete in Sprints and Hillclimbs. Over the years I developed the
car and had some reasonable success in it as a 1660cc car eventually with a
Toyota 4AGE engine on fuel injection and a dog box.
18 months ago I was given a day at Palmer Motorsport driving a range of cars
mostly fitted with paddle change and it set my mind in motion to have a car
with a similar system. So now, at the age of 63 I have the Westfield with
sequential box and slick tyres. I am not certain if I will match my
roadgoing Striker times as grey hairs and slowing reactions mean I will be
competing for fun and am looking forward to the new challenges that
competing in the 'modified' class will bring!'