Racing car builders Praga of Slovakia say that competing in circuit racing nowadays doesn’t need to be as horrendously expensive as common sense tells you it is. The R1, their idea of a cheap but highly modern mini-LMP racer, is an interesting proposition, which up until now we were only able to see in photos; not any more, as it’s been taken around the UK’s Donington track by EVO’s Henry Catchpole.
Through this car, the company wants to eliminate the preconception that “affordable racing is thought of as second level engineering,” using “high-end materials” in its construction that are “no longer restricted to factory teams.”
Is the result worthy? Well, Catchpole seems to like it, though he did say it’s not necessarily his preferred cup of (racing) tea. Still, he rates it as being “quite relaxing” to drive noting the fact that one can really feel the car’s downforce through the corners, though he concedes that it may very well be down to the fact that it only has a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter Renault RS motor in the middle.
The company has announced the R1 Turbo that will eventually be released, so the power problem will be addressed – at least we know it exists and is a runner.
By Andrei Nedelea
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