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| Richard Hope, EMKA-Aston Martin C83/1, Le Mans Classic 2016 Group C racing. |
For more photos of the Group C cars at the Le Mans Classic 2016.
EMKA, Godalming, UK. EMKA was the initials of Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke's daughters. He invested in this Group C racer in partnership with Michael Cane who managed the program and assembled the car. The body was a very aerodynamic design by Len Bailey. The chassis was an aluminium monocoque but the innovative part that Len Bailey did was redesigning all of the engine accessories so that the bulky Tickford tuned Aston Martin V8 could fit into this small package. In May 1983 it made its debut at Silverstone and qualified 17th but failed to finish. At Le Mans it finished 17th driven by Tiff Needell, Steve O'Rourke and Nick Faure but was hampered by lack of top speed and many reliability issues. The EMKA did not run in 1984 due to lack of funds but reappeared in 1985 as the C84/1 at Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Spa and Le Mans. It retired in all of these except Le Mans. There with the same driving team as before but with aerodynamic changes it went much better, achieving 216mph on the straight and finishing 11th ahead of the Group 44 Jaguar and the Tom's-Toyota. With more funding this could have been a good car.
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