The head of a Swindon-based specialist security firm is preparing for a motor race in aid of veterans.
StubBurn Motorsport is entering two cars in the Race of Remembrance, a 12-hour enduro at the Trac Mon circuit in Anglesey, split over the two days of remembrance weekend - November 13 and 14.
The team is made up of drivers David Stubbs, his son Kyle Harmon and Jake Fraser-Burns.
Mr Stubbs is the CEO of award-winning security firm SSGC, title sponsor of the event, which is run in turn by its nominated charity.
The former military police officer has pledged a minimum of £30,000 to Mission Motorsport in 2021/22 via SSGC, which will help armed forces veterans and service personnel who have been affected by their service reintegrate into society.
Competitors race for six hours on each day, pausing at 11am on Remembrance Sunday for a unique pit lane service when they will fall silent for the Last Post.
However, preparing to take part in the event turned into a race against time for the team, with its Honda Civic EP3 needing urgent upgrades to make it race-ready.
Fortunately, Chris Tye of Shadow Motorsport in Nottinghamshire was able to take on the job on late notice, burning the midnight oil to finish the vital preparation.
Kyle said: “The Race of Remembrance is a great event for a wonderful cause and Chris has done a fantastic job to get the car ready for us. It needed a huge amount of work doing to it.
“We gave the car a shakedown at Anglesey last week, working through some teething problems such as high oil temperature and overinflated tyres.
“Chris has had the car back and tested it on a rolling road, which shows the new engine is giving us just under 240bhp per tonne. This is definitely better than we expected it to be!
“It’s our first time at this track in a car we've never raced before, but we will put everything into it. We don't know how to do anything else!”
Among other jobs, the car needed an engine rebuild, new fire extinguishers and a new fuel tank – all under huge time constraints and with a shortage of stock of the required parts.
Chris said: “Revamping David’s Honda Civic was wonderful but a challenge nevertheless, especially considering the three-week deadline we had to the Race of Remembrance, but not one that we shy away from here at Shadow Motorsport.
“After the initial examination of the car, we got on to the phone with our suppliers straight away and hit a few roadblocks owing to stock issues, but with some diligent research and hours on the phone we got everything we needed and got into the swing of things very quickly.
“I am happy to report we have revamped the Honda Civic to the highest endurance spec and have made sure the vehicle is safe and secure ahead of the big day.”
The finished vehicle has a new remembrance-themed livery courtesy of MW Graphics in Hull, with the day-to-day maintenance of the car being completed by Bilton Service Station, also in Hull.
SSGC has a long-standing link with the armed forces community, and has more than 4,000 employees working as security staff, many of whom are veterans.
More information about SSGC can be found at www.ssgc-net.com and on social media.
Mission Motorsport is attempting to raise £100,000 through Race of Remembrance. To donate, visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?charityCampaignUrl=YourRoR2021.
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