Ralf Firmans RF01

[RussMcB]

Russ,

Did you hear that "these guys are not going to build a production model" or that "Van Diemen" is not going to build a production F1000 / FB / F? model?

Looks to me as though "these guys" are going forward!

I heard second (third?) hand that Van Dieman does not have an interest in building an F1000 race car.

[Purple Frog]

Folks,

Ralf Firman and Van Dieman are two completely different entities. No association between the two.

Elan distributes Van Dieman in the U.S.

Maybe Ralf will get somebody like Baytos to handle RF in U.S.?

[RussMcB]

Can we see pictures of the engine installation, differential and rear suspension?

[jonbaytos]

Frog , are you on my phone?

[TheStag]

[FONT=Calibri]
Gentlemen,

I read with interest last week’s chat regarding a new F1000 car and was very pleased to read the enthusiasm of a new car into the market place. I would like to make the following comments:

1 I sold the Van Diemen Company in 1999 and resigned as a director in 2004. Since then I have worked on some other projects building some factories and houses. However, I realised there is nothing like building a car and spending one’s life working to improve a chassis to go round a black piece of tarmac a few tenths quicker.

2 Seeing the F1000 category begin to come to prominence in the US it began to appeal to me as an interesting car both from an engineering and cost point of view.

3 The regulations allow both aero and mechanical modern race car thinking. With the competition cars I have built over the years I have always maintained a generous development budget to gradually improve the car from year to year which I found keeps customers happy and interested in the class – F1000 meets this criteria.

4 David Baldwin agreed to design the car. From day one he had great enthusiasm both from the regulations and the fact he had a clean sheet with no compromise having to carry over parts from previous models. David was a Director and share holder of Van Diemen for thirty years and he designed almost all the competition cars which I built over the years.

5 We tested the car at Brands Hatch on Tuesday and it ran trouble free for 84 laps. Unfortunately, it was wet but at the end of the day the driver (Joey Foster) was very happy with the balance. We still have to finish off and if the diffuser and barge boards then conduct a 4 day test in France before shipping the car to the US for further tests.

6 I trust this clears up any confusion as to what Company has built an all new F1000 in conjunction with Larry and Sandy at Quicksilver on the engine side. The name of the car will be RFR and the Company will be Ralph Firman Racing. Should anyone require further information or are interested in buying a car you can contact me on ralphfman@aol.com or johnupr@gmail.com or jonbaytos@yahoo.com tel 727 289 7005

Ralph Firman
[/FONT]

[Garey Guzman]

I would think that there would be interested people/customers at the ARRC on Nov 7-9. Is this a good place in the US for testing?

[jonbaytos]

We had planned to be there,but we have decided to concentrate on running the car at our new winter home located at MSR Houston.
The plan is to deliver 3-5 before Dec 20 and continue delivery's in the first part of February 2009.
As usual distrubution will be handled through Brad Baytos and myself at Primus Racing. Technical and Racing will be overseen by Dominic and Nicholas Cape.
Parties interested in more info can contact us directly.We would also enjoy inquiries for dealer's in various areas of the US and Canada. Thanks Jon

Jon Baytos
727-289-7005 office
727-744-5255 mobile
727-368-4368 Home
jonbaytos@yahoo.com
www.primusracingparts.com
www.capemotorsports.com

[Sean Maisey]

Jon,

I am glad to hear that you and Brad (as well as the Cape boys) are going to be involved. I think that F1000 is the place to race, and I am glad to have such great people involved.

My only worry is that we demonstrate to the SCCA soon that F1000 is a serious ongoing concern. The recent economic meltdown coupled with the cost of gas, has many staying home. We need to get the message out that F1000 is a growth class for the future and get into the Runoffs ASAP.

Regardless, that new car looks sweet. I look forward to seeing one in person soon.

Regards,
Sean Maisey

[jonbaytos]

Hi Sean, thanks,were happy to be involved in F 1000.

I think that we have a plan that will help spread the word. My hope is to draw from some markets that are not just the traditional Apexspeed person. This is great place to start but there is a lot of racing going on outside of this. We just need to get out there with a little education as to the benifit of SCCA club racing and the Runoffs at Road America
I think it is important to reach some new areas as we have done in the past.

We have not sold racing cars in a few years but when we have, I think we bring something new to offer.
Thank's for your kind words on the RF01,Congrats to Ralph,Angie,David, Geoff,Big John. Indy, Colin,Chris,and Hairy Ralph. The same people produced the RF-90 which IMO changed 2 Litre in this country for many years. I believe this design will do the same for Formula 1000./// Jon

[billwald]

Sweet!

[Misterkris]

More pictures of the RF01 with barge boards, diffuser and some more goodies will be posted soon.

Updates? You spoiled us with constant updates at the begining. Best thread on Apxspd!

[Misterkris]

The website is up with some new info

http://www.rfrcars.com/

Im really excited about this car!

[Lee Stohr]

Too much aero drag for American tracks. Compare the frontal area to the Coops old VanDiemen.

[Keith Roberts]

It looks pretty slippery compared to the F1000 that has your name on it.

Keith

[RussMcB]

Hmm. I wonder if there is a new Stohr F1000 on the horizon - one that will be very different. I've heard rumors of a new Stohr ...

Back on topic: When might we see an new RF01 at a race track here in the US?

[Blair Robertshaw]

I received an email this morning that one chassis has now been shipped to the USA today.

It is coming by air. They had to remove the fire system bottle and battery to comply with air safety. Hopefully the new owner will post a few pictures and impressions of the car once delivered.

[ghickman]

More than likely the car coming over is the Prototype....RFR is scheduled to have a display booth at the PRI Show in Orlando Dec.11-13.

I'll be there at the show and I'll go by the RFR Booth and get the lowdown on all this and report back here on Apexspeed. I'll bring my spy camera with me too!

Gary Hickman

[SSR Engineering]

do you have a booth number

[BWC54]

do you have a booth number

613

[Misterkris]

Hmm. I wonder if there is a new Stohr F1000 on the horizon - one that will be very different. I've heard rumors of a new Stohr ...

Yes i would like to know this too. I have a wishfull plan to buy this spring, and it would make a big impact on my decision. Very cool if there was a new RFR, Phoneix, and Stohr to choose from. Woo hoo!

[Jnovak]

My rumor sources tell me that the new Stohr is a brand new Atlantic design. Carbon tub & all.

I do not doubt that they may want to rebody the current F1000 car but the biggest expense in doing a new race car is the body & the tooling. They may bite the bullet though.

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Rick Ross]

Yes i would like to know this too. I have a wishfull plan to buy this spring, and it would make a big impact on my decision. Very cool if there was a new RFR, Phoneix, and Stohr to choose from. Woo hoo!

While you are waiting for the FB market to settle down......why not just buy something like that Reynard 90H Atlantic that is currently for sale for $19K? Faster than an FB, and comes with a nice safe carbon tub. The $30K you save on the purchase price (vs. a new FB) will pay for quite a few engine rebuilds. After a couple of years you will know which FB is the one to have, and you can then sell the Reynard to the vintage guys. In the meantime you get to go faster than FB for half the "price"!

[Misterkris]

While you are waiting for the FB market to settle down......

it would make sense to some. But i really like the concept of this class and would like to add my support to it. Also outright competitveness of a chassis is not imparitive to me because of how small the class is,and my yet to be harnesed "talent" does not appreciate tenths.