There is a link between parts supplier Brezan and Westfieldracerij. And that link is Ivan Kok. He regularly sends the match reports of 'his' brand. So something about Westfields ...
Westfield is a British sports car manufacturer. The company supplies kitcars and ready-to-use finished copies. It builds cars based on the legendary Lotus Seven. There are different model lines, the SEiW, the eleven and the XTR. Since 2008, Westfield has started its own racing series. And so Ivan is involved in that.
A matter of rights
While Caterham Cars bought the rights to Lotus Cars, Chris Smith founded a competing company producing kits of similar design and construction. An approach that the Chinese perfected. This led Caterham to threaten lawsuits (based on industrial design rights) in the late XNUMXs that were eventually settled out of court and led to Westfield improving and changing the design of their cars. Although the Westfield and Caterham cars externally have the same looks and feel, they are somewhat different in construction. Westfield prefers the same fiberglass body build that Lotus has traditionally used for their other models, such as the Elise, Esprit and Elan. Instead of the aluminum used by Caterham.
Technical innovations
Westfield has also pioneered technical innovations, such as independent rear suspension and a wider chassis, which other manufacturers have since adopted. The company recently introduced a version of its SEi kit that uses donor parts from the Mazda MX5 Miata. This is generally referred to as a Single Donor Vehicle (SDV) kit. There is also an SDV kit that uses a Ford Sierra as a donor. The wide range of drivetrain configurations available to Westfield customers now includes the Honda S2000 engine and gearbox as part of the MegaS2000 kit and the company's vehicles.
Production nowadays
According to figures from Total Kit Car magazine, Westfield produces about 450 SEi and XTR chassis every year. In the first series of BBC's Top Gear, a Westfield XTR2 driven by the black Stig set a faster lap time than that series' reigning record holder, the Pagani Zonda. In December 2006 Westfield became part of Potenza Sports Cars Limited. In December 2007 it was announced that GTM Cars also became part of Potenza Sports Cars.
In June 2009, Westfield became the first niche vehicle manufacturer to achieve European small series production status with its Sport Turbo model, and subsequently produced the iRacer - an all-electric race car - as well as a hybrid vehicle version of the Sport Turbo model. But we keep that quiet further.
It is bravely raced with it
The first event of the 2021 Van Wezel Westfield Cup, held at Circuit Zandvoort, was won by Jonas Wintermans (MDM Motorsport). His teammate Willem Vriend takes second place before Sander Dullaart on the third podium position. With a real event finally ready to be settled, it was not surprising that as many as 24 Westfields showed up at the start of the time practice session. After fifteen minutes, Willem Vriend was the fastest ahead of Jonas Wintermans and Frank Hoekstra. Jonas Wintermans outwitted Vriend at the start and drove to victory unthreatened. This was because Vriend was dueling with Sander Dullaart the entire race. Only in the last lap Vriend took second place, ahead of Dullaart. However, Wintermans lost the victory after a penalty that put him back to fourth place, making Hans Wellink third.
Call for the second round
In race two, Dullaart took the lead and was able to lead for a long time through the duel between Vriend and Wintermans in second place. Dullaart tasted the sweetness of the victory, but this time too this changed due to a penalty that promoted Wintermans to the victory, for Vriend and Jan Frensch.
… And the third round
The third race was a true spectacle. Wintermans had the head start, but every subsequent lap he drove with Dullaart next to him on the straight. The lead was switched between the two more often until Dullaart made a braking error at the Tarzan corner and had to give up terrain. Wintermans won before Robert Andriessen, who kept handsome Vriend behind him after an equally exciting fight. Wintermans wins the event for Vriend, with Dullaart third and Robert Andriessen four. Willem Vriend now leads the championship, ahead of Robert Andriessen and Jonas Wintermans. If there are no changes, the next event will take place on June 27, again at Zandvoort.
Want to know more or participate?
www.westfieldcup.nl
In the early 90's we were done with those old English key and rust buckets. My step mate, bosom friend and key brother with his Triumph TR4 and me with my Spitfire Mk4 and GT6 Mk2. We sold the lot and were going to build 2 Westfields. He an SE, because he wanted to stay close to the Lotus original and I the more modern SEi. My drinking brother had his car ready and registered and I had little time. But he would help me build. The help evenings became very pleasant drinking evenings and the building did not progress. But our great friend at the RDW (known from a TV program) had thought that it had to be over with those life-threatening kit cars. So then the pressure got bigger and my Westfield was registered in January 1993. Less than a year later we were invited via the Super Seven Club to “race” at MG Noord on the Assen circuit. That has brought about a great turnaround. This drove us crazy and immediately obtained our racing licenses that year. These cars are the ultimate racing pleasure for the budget budget. Well, that's when it started. Sperdif, straight gears in the gearbox, Delrin buses in the wheel suspension, double Webers and a 2 liter Opel (Vauxhall of course), helicopter tank, roll bar, etc etc. 8 years of fun, many races won, culminating in the British Race festival in '97. Stopped in 2001, but what a killer memory of this super fast car!! In retrospect, life-threatening with the safety measures in force at the time, but yes you were young…..