Mike Tregoning - MP88 We started the season with the Loton Park test day in early April in order to try and test /understand the ex Tom New Pilbeam MP88. Early season drives soon showed me that this was not going to be as easy to drive quickly as the old MP87 that we used last season. However we love the V6 engine note which really gets your attention when opened up to 10000 rpm, this coupled to the six speed sequential gearbox was a very different car to the old MP87. This season has really been about getting used to the chassis and at the halfway point a quick trip over to the Pilbeam factory at Bourne for Mick to work his magic on the chassis settings proved very worthwhile with the times starting to get much better. At the start of the season at the Midland and British rounds we were sometimes as much as three seconds off the pace of the winning car / driver combinations but with the car becoming more familiar and now easier to drive we have managed to half that gap. I guess we have to remember that we are competing against the fastest guys in the country and I'm at least twenty plus years older than them, with not a lot of single seater experience, so all in all very encouraging and most enjoyable. The V6 engine and complete transmission is under going a full end of season rebuild, and after that a trip over to Bourne for another one of magic Mick’s chassis checks will hopefully see further improvements next season. This really is the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on, so if your wondering should I get involved just don't wait any longer buy a Pilbeam and go for it. - Mike Tregoning 16-10-09