1994 Harrier LR9C #002 Group C

Harrier was a race car manufacturer producing cars designed by Lester Ray. The most notable was the competition LR9C powered by the Ford RS500 YB 1995cc turbo engine introduced in 1993 together with a road-going version powered by an Alfa Romeo 3.0litre V6 engine.

Most famous of all Harriers is LR9C#002 which was built in 1993 for the owner of Astratech Instrumentation. It took part in the 1994 Le Mans 24hrs in the open top LMP Class. It was run by the renowned preparers Chamberlain Engineering and driven by Rob Wilson, William Hewland and Dave Brodie. Unfortunately, suspension failure forced car no.63 to retire after half distance.

LR9C-002 was then converted to closed coupe configuration and built to GT2 specification for the BRDC British GT championship. In 1995, 96 & 97 it raced in the Privilege Insurance British GT championship with Orion Motorsport, driven by Michael Vergers with sponsorship from the Joe Bloggs group, and for 1998 with Natty Racing driven by Soper and Giordanelli. It was sponsored by glamour magazine, Score, and appeared in a film entitled Phil's Fantasy. Between 2000 and 2003 it competed in the historic Group C championship, Jaguar Car Club and various open sports and GT races driven by Ian Stinton.

Between 2004 and 2010 it raced in the BRSCC saloon and sports car championship (with LMA sponsorship), as well as occasional appearances in Castle Combe special GTs and other open races. It competed in just one event in 2012.

The current specification is: •Cosworth YB200 motorsport block, completely overhauled in 2008 by DTW engines, Harlow, Essex and bench dyno tested to 464bhp @ 7000rpm, with 380lbft torque at 5500rpm, using a peak of 29psi boost pressure, mapped using 98 Ron super unleaded fuel (Shell Optimax etc);•Currently fitted with the original Weber Marelli Pectel ECU (with wasted spark), but comes with a conversion harness to allow a Motec M4 ECU to be connected if required; •The Hewland DG300 transmission has been regularly maintained by JP at Silverstone and currently functions as it should;•Steel space frame construction with integral roll cage; •Aluminium 12mm honeycomb flat floor in two sections, bolted to the chassis;•Non-stressed GRP or Kevlar/carbon panels;•Front and rear clams can be lifted off, all other panels are secured to the chassis with threaded fasteners. Front splitter extends to toe board, made from marine ply and easily replaced;•Rear lower diffuser made from carbon fibre; •Rear aerofoil is carbon, full width to GT2 regulations;•All moulds for the panels are still available with Lester Ray; •The car comes with a new and unused front clam; •Macrolon front windscreen;•Retains original carbon clad interior and dashboard and instrumentation from 1994, fitted with a Sparco Evo seat & in-date FIA harness, electrically triggered fire extinguisher;•Fitted with a 90 litre FT3 fuel bladder cell located between cockpit and engine, made by Premier or ATL, with dump churn fill sockets on each side of the car. The fuel cell is approx 10 yrs old;•External lift pump and Bosch pressure pumps feeding the 4 injector fuel rail via a 1 litre swirl pot;•Repackable stainless steel silencer;•Hewland DG300 5spd manual dog box with integral powerflow limited slip diff & oil cooling circuit, 10/31 final drive ratio, car is geared to approx 155mph @ 7000rpm; •Race specification driveshafts, Lobro joints on inner and outer;•AP twin plate 7" clutch, very light flywheel; •Comes with a spare & unused main input shaft for the gearbox; •Koni type 3012 two way adjustable dampers (last rebuilt in 2010 and only 6 races since then) with coilover springs (5.5" length and 800 / 1000 lb/in rate);•Centre lock hubs, Aluminium uprights (using ford wheel bearings which are readily available), Steel fabricated wishbones, spherical joints, NAS spec fasteners, Ford Sierra steering rack, with high ratio; •AP rotors bolted to Alloy bells, front are 315mm x 28mm, rears are 304mm x 28mm, AP master cylinders, Alcon 4 pot front calipers, Willwood superlite rear calipers, floor mounted pedal box with driver adjustable brake bias; •Two sets of mounted slicks, one set of mounted Wets, two additional spare mounted rear wets;•Bespoke wiring harness, with integrated Astratech data logging system, all operational and as fitted in 1994; •Internal & external Anderson jump start sockets, Varley red top battery; •Front mounted aluminium radiator, engine & transmission oil coolers, Ford RS200 intercooler, Forge dump valve, full dry sump system with belt driven Titan pump.

Very seldom does a race car come to the market with genuine Le Mans 24hrs history or with the original engine and Hewland transaxle. This surely represents an exciting prospect for further competition with eligibility for various sports and GT events or as a collector's item with the opportunity to return it one of its original liveries ... the Score Magazine being one of note!