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FunKtion Takes Delivery of 2 New
Radical SR3’s for Testing at Summit Point Motorsports
Park!
Summit
Point (October 5th) FunKtion Auto Group,
owner, Walid Achi took delivery of two brand new fully
optioned Radical SR3’s racing cars this past week and
brought both cars to Summit Point Motorsports Park for
private testing and shakedown.
On hand
were a number of professional racers, mechanics, and
friends to evaluate and test the cars on Summit Point
Motorsports Park’s highly technical 2.1-mile main course.
Summit’s main course is known for offering a wide variety
of technical corners, with a mix of high-speed corners,
low speed corners and frequent elevation changes. Many
professional race teams typically utilize the main course
to test their cars because of the ability to simulate many
different track conditions.
“We picked up
the cars from the port of Baltimore on Friday October 1st,
and dropped them off at Brian Downing’s shop, for
prepping. We successfully concluded a 4 hour private
testing and power seating session at Summit Point Raceway
this past Tuesday. The cars performed flawlessly around
the 10-turn 2.1miles track. They exceeded all our
expectation to a point where we could not remove the grin
off of our faces” stated an elated Achi.
The
SR3 is produced in England by Radical Motorsports and has
proven to be the world's fastest one-make sports racing
car, lapping circuits at Formula 3 lap times. In addition
it had been certified as the "World's Fastest Track Day"
car by several British car magazines and has rewritten
many lap records all over Europe for its class. Theca SR3
smashed the production car lap record at the famous
Nürburgring on its first attempt by an amazing 13 seconds.
Similar versions have dominated SCCA's C and D Sports
classes, setting new lap records and winning races nearly
every time out. The SR3 hits 0-60 in a little over 2
seconds, 0-100 in under 6 seconds, and can out accelerate
almost anything this side of an F1 car.
In
addition the car has been lauded by British and US car
magazines for its user-friendly nature. While most purpose
built racecars conjure up images of extreme limits and
high speed, they often times are also associated with poor
low speed drivability and user friendliness. The Radical
SR3 combines the thrill of extreme racecar handling and
speed, with none of the poor “usability” issues associated
with purebred racecars.
One of
the professional racers on hand, Mitch Piper, of Piper
Motorsports, Inc. commented on the easy usability of the
SR3. “I have raced motorcycles so I am very familiar with
sequential gearboxes and this one is one of the best I’ve
used. The gear ratios are extremely well suited to the
powerband and the shifter feel and throw length are
perfect” noted Piper, who has raced everything
professionally from motorcycles to competing in sports
cars in Grand Am Cup. Piper also complimented the great
steering feedback and overall balance of the SR3 which
should suit everyone from hard core racer to those simply
looking for a great track day car.
Flatoutracing.net’s Jon Kofod, who has competed in
everything from 400 horsepower Ferrari GT cars to small
open wheel formula cars, was also amazed. “I got into the
car with some hesitation but within two or three laps it
was clear that this was not a hastily designed race car
but something that had been designed with painstaking
detail and ease of drivability" stated Kofod. "The thing
that impressed me the most was that the faster you drove
the car, the better it responded. The brakes are truly
phenomenal and the balance was extremely good. It
basically felt like a de-tuned LMP car" commented Kofod
"For
the money there is nothing out there that can touch it and
even track day novices will be able to wring out most of
the performance available with the SR3. When you consider
the price of a 675 LMP car ($150-$250,000) the SR3 is a
bargain for a quarter of the price and it can be 100% used
as a track day lapping car. An LMP car or similar racecar
would require a crew of mechanics, engineers, and support
staff. The SR3 is a car that one person can operate. Just
pull it off the trailer, add gas and have fun” noted
Kofod.
Both
SR3’s will be on hand for further testing and evaluation
at FunKtion Auto’s track day on October 27th at
Summit Point.
For
more pictures visit our
Gallery.
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