Black Cat Racing
Black Cat Racing is a racing team set up by Graham and Ian Walden who have run and raced TVR’s since 2001.
As well as building and racing cars we also started to produce specialist GRP panels and other parts for racing cars.
The team behind Black Cat Racing are the same team who have built Black Cat Panels and taken on the TET and BCR moulds.
The Begining
We started out racing a Tasmin in the TVRCC Tasmin Challenge. We found a left hand drive, American spec convertible Tasmin that needed some restoration. Over the next 12months this was totally stripped down to the bare chassis and rebuilt as a racing car. First competing in 2001.
We would go on to have success with this can winning the Class with it in 2004.
Whilst racing the Tasmins we saw a need for replacement body panels and lighter parts so we had a number of moulds made to supply these parts. Complete standard front ends, 1 piece s1 and s2 Fronts. lightweight bonnets and boot lids along with s1 and s2 front splitters in road and race specification.
Winning
In 2005 the Team bought an ex Tuscan challenge car and fitted a 4ltr engine to run in power to weight class of the TVRCC championship. this had expanded from the original Tasmin challenge to allow later more powerful cars in a different class.
The combination of car and driver would prove to be very successful with many wins. In 2006 Graham won both the overall and class Titles and since then has gone on to take the class title a number of times. The car has evolved and now runs a much more powerful 5 ltr engine to the current class B regulations.
With more TVR models racing we started to make specialist racing parts and parts such as Tuscan headlight covers that nobody else was supplying.
We have developed a number of parts for racing Chimaeras including a 1 piece removable front end with integral front splitter and mk3 lights. This is lighter than the original bonnet on its own. we also do lightweight mk1 and mk2 bonnets and boot lids, along with out Le mans style fastback hard top designed to fit over a roll cage.
The Future
At the end of 2016 Black Cat Panels was born to produce parts for road and race TVRs, and some other race car and rare parts. The Race Team Black Cat racing will continue independently running a number of TVRs and also some other interesting cars such as a 1967 Vixen VB1 formula four single seater racing car, and some other marques in Historic racing.
The race team and the Panel company will continue to work together to develop and test new race specific panels and also other parts.
2017 Should see two cars at most of the TVR Challenge races, the teams original Tasmin re-engineered with a 24v Cosworth v6 and the Tuscan Challenge car.