A few months ago I introduced you to Camber & Combustion, a United Kingdom-based YouTube channel that posts some absolutely epic track footage. Lengthy FWD drifts, scaring the hell out of passengers on the Nurburgring, up-close track day battles, it’s great. I couldn’t help but revisit it now because it’s recently dropped some new videos that take its brand of no-holds-barred momentum driving to proper endurance racing, and no surprise: it makes for great footage!
I’m not talking about the slow, late-Fall endurance race C&C did in an old EK Honda Civic — this is full-on, race-prepped endurance racing. The car they’re pedaling is an enduro monster: the minuscule Mark 1 Ford Ka; one of Europe’s cutest and cheapest economy cars ever created. It’s got a 1.3-liter four-cylinder, something like 60 horsepower, as well as tiny wheels, tires, and brakes, therefore it’s one of the ultimate slow-car-fast platforms. I don’t want to even quote a 0-60 time. Who cares?
I’m trying to think of an accurate comparison in the U.S. market of the same 1996-2008 vintage (holy cow that’s a long generation)… maybe the Kia Rio?
The Best Spec Racer Ever?
The reason why C&C is wheeling a Ka is because it’s a part of a spec, British racing series: EnduroKA. From a quick look at their site, this series makes for very inexpensive endurance racing. Based on the aforementioned hyperlink, plus its Twitter and Facebook pages, it’s a very popular series, too. And it ought to be; the more cheap, reliable, low consumable-cost amateur/grassroots racing series, the better! I’m also getting a heavy, comic-book-energy-like vibe from their website and social media… kind of like what we strive to do here at Car Autance!
The video series that C&C created is good fun. In part one they talk about their plans, a bit about the series, what the driver line-up shall be, and then give their car a proper test-romp on the circuit they’ll be racing it on, Cadwell Park. Part two is race day, which is chocked-full of entertaining footage.
The C&C crew take their high-momentum FWD experience to the next level by slicing through Cadwell as efficiently as possible. Also included in the driver lineup is a young, up-and-coming pro by the name of Blake Angliss. He’s normally behind the seat of a Ginetta GT4 car; it’s rad to see how he goes to work behind the wheel of the slow (yet incredibly fun) Ka.
Despite some setbacks during the race they finish strong! The fact that the little Ka finished without much issue is a testament to its brilliance as an enduro car; it may have lost a front bumper, had exhaust issues, the and rolled across the start/finish on corded tires, but it survived!
Check out part one and part two above, it’s a lot of fun!
