1986 Van Diemen RF86 FF2000 (#1113)

Van Diemen International Ltd. was a British racing car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk which built cars for a number of racing championships over the years and are probably best known for their many years of success with Formula Ford, remaining at the forefront of that class of motorsport for over 20 years and becoming the largest manufacturer of bespoke racing cars in the world. The company was founded in 1973 by Ross Ambrose and Ralph Firman Sr., whose children Marcos Ambrose, Ralph Firman Jr. and Natasha Firman have since gone on to have successful racing careers. The company's name comes from the island of Tasmania, Australia, which was formerly known as Van Diemen's Land and is where Ambrose was born and lived before moving to the UK to co-found the company.

Introduced in 1986, the RF86 was to prove to be one of the company's most successful models ever. This particular RF86 was bought new from Van Diemen and raced by Paul Tracy in the 1986 Canadian Tire F2000 Series with backing from Rothmans cigarettes finishing fourth overall, with one win at Sanair Super Speedway and three podium finishes for 164 points. Tracy went on to drive for Penske and Newman/Haas amongst others, winning the American Racing Series in 1997 and the CART/Champcar World Series in 2003. The car was subsequently sold to the US where it ran in various regional championships.

After a period in storage, the car was purchased in 2017 by its present owner and shipped back to the UK prior to commencing a total chassis-up restoration and rebuild. The chassis was fully stripped and refinished by Gerry Wainwright Motorsport, fitted with new laser cut panels, and a new foam-filled tank supplied by Alloy Racing Fabrications. It's powered by a zero-mileage Quicksilver engine fully rebuilt by Toovey Race Engines in Cannock, with media-blasted and refinished headers, a new stainless steel collector and a correct Ford Motorsport silencer. The original Hewland Mk9 gearbox was also fully overhauled with new bearings, splined input sleeve, selector fork and Hewland wing-mounted rear cover. As you would expect with any comprehensive rebuild, the suspension and brakes have also received attention and a full list of completed works is available upon request. 

With all new lightweight URS bodywork finished in Oxford Blue as per the original specification, the car now presents superbly and, being eligible for various race series within the UK and Europe, it presents an opportunity for a new custodian to become involved in wheel to wheel racing at a very affordable level. Your early inspection is welcomed and encouraged to fully appreciate the prospect on offer.