Motorsports and sports in general have one thing in common, it gets competitive real quick. But being competitive in motorsport is a whole different ball game than any other sport.
You see being competitive in motorsports is the result of man working in harmony with the machine. A cliché statement but it is simply the truth. Just by hearing the engine rpm you get a rough feeling if the driver is working with the car, or the car is working against its driver.
Driving style, vehicle dynamics, engine mapping, aerodynamics, are just a fraction of the things that one must take into consideration to adapt to the track when trying to achieve the prefect lap and being competitive.
Luckily, Christos Hadjigeorgiou, is no stranger to this world. Working as a trackside-engineer at NIO 333 racing that competes in Formula E and having plenty of experience in time attack using this impressive ae86. He has the knowledge and experience to be competitive.
Recently he has equipped his weapons arsenal with something ridiculously fast.
Born for the track
If you don’t know, what are you looking at, I don’t blame you. This is a Prosport Radical, made by the British company Radical motorsport that they focus on creating some incredibly fast track cars.
The benefits of driving something that was made strictly for the racetrack as opposed to a streetcar turned race car, are beyond words.
But to help you put it into perspective, this car uses less than 200hp and it is significantly faster than a 1000hp track focused evo. Just stupidly fast.
Purpose built
So, what makes the radical so efficient around the racetrack?
To begin with under the lightweight bodywork the radical uses a steel spaceframe with an integrated FIA approved safety cage to provide maximum stiffness at the minimum weight.
The body work itself is made from fiberglass and uses the little surface area it has very cleverly.
Upfront a massive splitter extends beyond the nose cone, and this is something that Racetech further fettled with by doing their own CFD work on.
Down the side, wheel louvres relive high pressure that builds up from the fast-spinning tires, whilst side-pods direct air to the radiators.
Out back a generous sized spoiler in collaboration with the rear diffuser make sure that the radical is stable and grippy under any speed.
Under the hood?
Sitting behind the offset driver’s seat is an engine from a Suzuki Hayabusa. 1300cc of pure Japanese reliability revving just below the stratosphere, an excellent powerplant for this lightweight machine.
The standard sequential Suzuki gearbox is used, and power is sent via a chain to the limited slip differential.
Contact with the ground is made with single nut 3-piece magnesium wheels that measure at 8”x13” front and 10”x13” rear and are wrapped around in some sticky Hankook rubber.
Helping bring this speed machine to a halt are some small but mighty will-wood brakes, which frankly are more than enough considering this thing weights less than what the scale shows after Christmas eve.
The suspension design and geometry are a thing of beauty utilizing double wishbones front and rear and custom suspension providing all the grip necessary to break track records.
Race day
We were fortunate enough to witness Christos break the Achna speedway lap time record, and what a show it was!
On that day, Racetech campaigned two vehicles, the radical and Christos sister Maria was piloting an awesome integra that we will see soon. The Racetech team handled both vehicles like absolute pros and kept pushing for excellence even after breaking the record.
Around the track, Christos was working in harmony with the machine. Putting the pedal to the metal and just simply leaving the competition behind.
A screaming Suzuki engine powering a single seater that was nose diving into each corner was really a thing to behold.
The celebrations of Christos father once he realized that they broke a 10-year old record was also a noteworthy moment.
1.01.301 is now officially the new Achna speedway track record.
”A special thank you from Christos to the entire KingTony – RaceTech Family for taking great care of the car when he is abroad but for the excellence in performance on and off track. Great appreciation to Nick’s Garage, DynoJet Larnaca, Christos Loizou and Michalis Angelis for their support and contribution to success. Lastly a massive shout-out to Cyprus on wheels and Odisseas for covering the event from the team’s garage with their amazing energy and unique passion.” – Christos Hadjigeorgiou
- Photography by Odisseas Sophocleous
- Words Odissseas Sophocleous
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