PPC £999 Challenge 2013... July 6th

The idea is uncompromisingly simple and theoretically foolproof. Take one car – it must be currently road legal, and even have one of those nice green sheets of paper issued by the Ministry of Transport for good behaviour. Most importantly it must be bought, built or both for under £1000.
This is the PPC £999 Challenge

The Challenge


"Throw money at a problem, it’ll usually fix it. Ask any F1 team, or Michael Jackson. Going fast is the same – if you write enough cheques the chances are you’ll have a fast car. But take away the money and things become a lot more interesting . Bravery, ingenuity, skill and a healthy dose of luck are your tools." PPC Team 2007

Now in it’s sixth year the PPC £999 has begun to take on a life of it’s own, with a dedicated band of contestants, plus a healthy dose of new entrants each year. The machinery last year was wacky with home brewed supercharging seeming to be flavour of the day, but big turbos nailed to little engines, big engines in cheap barges and a smattering of inscrutable Japanese engineering all added to the healthy mix of ingenious ways to get down the drag strip and round the handling course the quickest.

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The idea is uncompromisingly simple and theoretically foolproof. Take one car – it must be currently road legal, and even have one of those nice green sheets of paper issued by the Ministry of Transport for good behaviour. Most importantly it must be bought, built or both for under £1000. We don’t care how this is done as long as the total cost is under a grand, and you’ve obtained parts and services through means that any of your competitors might follow. You might work at McLaren and be able to borrow Lewis Hamilton’s spare engine but if you turn up with it nailed into a rusty Mk 2 Fiesta you’ll be disqualified.

We’re going to test straight-line speed in a quarter mile drag race, then check out handling over a timed slalom course. And where better than one of the UK’s top drag strips - Santa Pod.

The most important part in this event is to keep to the spirit of the event. No one has yet been signed up by Ferrari because they’ve done well in past PPC £999 events, so don’t try and win by bending the spending limits, knobbling other competitors or whinging to the organisers about the weather.

All cars need to be entered before hand - sign-up on the PPC Website or call Kate on 01780 763841 / 07933 704270 to book your place. It costs £50 per driver but you get two additional entrance tickets (normally £5) and camping the night before is £10 per person. Spectators tickets are £5 each available on the day.

Enter

Want to take part? Each year we have a range of different people entering - those who have competed before and others who are new to the event. All you need to do is book your place in advance & make sure your car is ready for July 7th. All entrants have to complete an entrance form, pay their entrance fee and complete a questionnaire about their car.

You can enter 3 ways:

  • Here on the PPC Website >>>>
  • Call the PPC office on 01780 763841 / 07933 704270
  • Download the forms below and send to a cheque to PPC Magazine, 8 Mill Lane, Cadecott, Rutland LE16 8RU

It costs £50 per driver but you get two additional entrance tickets (normally £5) and camping the night beforeis £10 per person.

Spectators tickets are £5 each available on the day.

To enter is not the end of the booking processyou will also need to complete the entry form below and to submit a questionaire about yourself and vehicle

£999 Challenge Entry £50.00
Camping at PPC £999 Challenge £10.00
Click here to Download entry formClick here to Download Questionaire (Download Available Soon)

Rules

The PPC £999 challenge has only got two simple rules:

  • The cars must be road legal with a current MOT
  • They must be bought and/or built for under £1000

Please keep to the spirit of the event. If you have any questions about what you can and can't do, you can contact us. Or there is a good community of PPC £999ers on the PPC forum that will tell you if your idea is crazy and is not in the spirit.

Below explains our two rules a little better....

  • All competing cars must have an MoT certificate current on the day of the event. That can mean either 12 months or 2 day’s MoT remaining.
  • Competing cars do not require tax or insurance.
  • Competing cars must be in a roadworthy state ie. Treaded tyres, silenced exhausts, and full complement of lights. Basically the car must be in a condition that you could drive it to the event in.
  • Competing cars will be adequately silenced. Open trumpets are a no-no.
  • Competing cars will not be scrutinised however they will be subject to a brief visual check by the track monkeys to ensure that they comply with the rules and are safe enough to compete in. We won’t be too strict but please don’t bring something that has no floors or sills and seats held in by cable ties. The staff at Santa Pod ARE the law.
  • Competing cars are to be bought and built for under £999. That means what you paid for the car and the cost of the modifications you’ve done should be £999 or under. Please don’t confuse this with the ‘end value’ of the car ie. If you bought a 200SX for £500, repaired it where necessary, MoT’d it and tuned the engine for £450 the car is certainly eligible for the Challenge even if you could then sell the car on for £1200.
  • We all manage to acquire parts/services for ‘mates rates’ at one time or another, however please keep within the spirit of the competition when acquiring parts/services and please cost your build in accordance with what parts/services would cost the average Joe. We realise there is not a hard and fast line in this matter but what we want to prevent is someone who, for example, works for Prodrive turning up in a car that has been built from ex-works parts their boss has ‘lent’ to them or let them have for £999.
  • All cars and light vans are acceptable with whatever engine (car, bike or truck!) you like but no motorbikes, motorbike-derived trikes or quad bikes. Three-wheeled cars (eg. Reliant Robins) are acceptable if you’re brave enough.
  • We will not ask for receipts from everybody as we realise that would be unrealistic as many parts/cars will be bought for cash, however prior to the event we will require a full costs break-down to be sent to us via e-mail. Any doubtful items should be verified but some form! If you cheat the only person you’re cheating is yourself and no one will be impressed with you.
  • Up to £250 of unnecessary parts from your car may be sold in order to bring your costs within budget, however we WILL require receipts for parts sold. This and the previous rule are to prevent entrants buying £2k cars to start with and folks claiming they sold their 1988 Cavalier’s interior trim for £600!
  • Please count the cost of the MoT if you need to get one.
  • Don’t count the cost of oil/filter, odd screws or any workshop consumables in your costings – it will all get very boring if everyone has to work out the value of one cable tie.
  • All drivers/passengers must wear a crash helmet. If you have one please bring it with you.
  • All drivers must have a current, full UK driving license.
If in doubt please ask in the PPC £999 Challenge forum

Gallery

2010

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2009

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2008

Will be here soon

2007

Will be here soon

Results

2011

Find below the complete results from the 2011 PPC MAG £999 Challenge

Mr2 Nick Pickup 14.4362 24.41 38.8462
Impezza Simon Bridge 13.3349 25.72 39.0549
Scooby Dmitrij Sribnyj 14.4653 25.47 39.9353
Prelude Richard Judge 14.1362 26.16 40.2962
William Cheesebrough 14.5631 26.16 40.7231
BMW David Hill 14.5604 26.2 40.7604
Gary Parkes 14.3529 26.42 40.7729
Fiat Coupe Perry Stephenson 13.863 26.97 40.833
Astra Mathew Ridler 14.9022 25.94 40.8422
Metro Russell Crawford 14.593 26.47 41.063
Polo Tommi Healey 15.6303 25.53 41.1603
Chris Moon 14.777 26.41 41.187
MR2 MK1 Paul Kay 14.4418 27.03 41.4718
Magenta Owelly 14.3549 27.19 41.5449
Jamie Goucher 14.6295 26.97 41.5995
Astra Kevin Forester 14.4539 27.34 41.7939
Peugeot 406 Frank Hall 15.1756 27.15 42.3256
Saab Graham Hilton 15.3 27.34 42.64
Focus Adam Whittaker 16.085 26.63 42.715
Prelude Steve Robinson 15.1101 27.63 42.7401
Carlton Eddie Wretham 16.0595 26.88 42.9395
Puma Micheal Finlayson 16.4588 26.56 43.0188
MGF Trev Borg 16.057 27.13 43.187
GTM Laurie Hobbs 17.52 26.09 43.61
Fiat Uno Austin Gunn 16.464 27.41 43.874
Sierra Martin Gray 16.809 27.31 44.119
Fiat Uno Jai Kothari 16.106 28.25 44.356
Skoda Stephen West 16.3138 28.25 44.5638
Soarer Peter Thompson 15.195 29.56 44.755
BMW E36 James Cook 15.3851 29.63 45.0151
Celica Pete Walsh 16.5002 28.58 45.0802
MX-5 Richard Sargeant 17.0092 28.62 45.6292
Polo Arseniy Beliy 18.3843 27.78 46.1643
Acclaim Lee OHara 18.2158 29.22 47.4358
Nova David Sharp 18.5126 29.03 47.5426
Alun Sharp 18.2867 29.59 47.8767
Simca Mick Ward 17.8269 30.2 48.0269
Panda Jason Noiles 19.5513 28.78 48.3313
Panda Damon Gunn 17.1416 34.31 51.4516

2010

The full results are in the table below but the highlights of the morning racing were a Skoda becoming an external combustion engine halfway down the strip after running stupid times for a Skoda and then being rebuilt in the pits and being able to carry on. Robert Peel in his BMW 328i and Jamie Groucher in a Pug 106 concentrating hard enough to run in the 15s but forgetting who was driving at the end of the run and having a collision as they tried to exit the strip. Dave Firman, a previous winner, in his bog standard looking Saab 9000 running a 13.25sec which even pricked up the ears of the Santa Pod team.

2010 PPC £999 WinnerTop prize went to Stuart Flanagan in his Celica GT4. He was very nearly knocked out early on when the clutch packed up but some mechanicking from his dad so him complete the day and repay his dads hard work by knocking two seconds of his best time in around the handling course.

Drag Results

1 David Firman Saab 9000 13.25
2 Stuart Flanagan Celica GT4 13.81
3 Richard Flanagan Celica GT4 13.88
4 Clive Stedman Toyota Supra 14.39
5 Frank Hall BMW 328i 14.44
6 Russel Crawford Rover 114 Sli 14.49
7 David Smith Saab 9000 14.54
8 Robert Peel BMW 328i 14.65
9 Andrew O'Donoghue Honda Prelude 14.7
10 Owelly Magenta/Alfa 14.85
11 Simon Growcott BMW 535i 14.96
12 Patrick Given BMW 323i 14.97
13 Nick Pickup MR2 15.07
14 Bob Fletcher BMW 320 15.3
15 Gary Parkes MR2 15.38
16 Cornelius Lynch 218 VVC Turbo 15.39
17 Laurie Hobbs Lotus Excel 15.42
18 Paul Kay Porsche 924 15.7
19 Dave Hill Citroen Saxo 15.71
20 Phil Donabie Suzuki Baleno 15.8
21 Tommi Healey BMW E31 323i 16.03
22 Stephen West Skoda Rapid 16.05
23 Chris Millar Peugeot 306 16.06
24 Kev Forster Vauxhall Astra 16.17
25 Austen Gunn Fiat Panda 16.23
26 Damon Gunn Fiat Panda 16.3
27 Dazzler Toyota Corolla 16.4
28 Kirk Taylor 218 VVC Turbo 16.42
29 Jaffa Magenta/Alfa 16.5
30 William Cheeseborough Vauxhall Astra 16.57
31 Rob Brockwell BMW 320 E36 16.7
32 Jamie Goucher Peugeot 106 16.84
33 Luke O-Neill Citroen Saxo 16.95
34 Mick Ward Simca 1000 17.99
35 Ian Portsmore Peugeot 106 19.33
36 Stephen Utting Skoda Rapid 20.35


The Handling Course


The handling course was set up pretty much as a very simple autotest. The idea being to test the car’s blend of power and agility rather than the driver’s mental ability at remembering where to go. A simple slalom through the cones away from the start line and a more exaggerated slalom back again in around 30 seconds was the estimate before we started. As it turned out two thirds of of entrants beat the bogey time and despite PPC staffer’s efforts no cones were killed or maimed in the action.


1 Stuart Flanagan Celica GT4 26
2 Nick Pickup MR2 26.5
3 William Cheeseborough Vauxhall Astra 27.3
4 Clive Stedman Toyota Supra 27.6
5 Cornelius Lynch 218 VVC Turbo 27.6
6 Dave Hill Citroen Saxo 27.6
7 Chris Millar Peugeot 306 27.6
8 Gary Parkes MR2 27.7
9 Phil Donabie Suzuki Baleno 27.8
10 Richard Flanagan Celica GT4 28.06
11 Russel Crawford Rover 114 Sli 28.1
12 Kev Forster Vauxhall Astra 28.4
13 Dazzler Toyoya Corolla 28.4
14 Kirk Taylor 218 VVC Turbo 28.6
15 David Smith Saab 9000 28.65
16 Jamie Goucher Peugeot 106 28.75
17 Laurie Hobbs Lotus Excel 29
18 Patrick Given BMW 323i 29.01
19 Andrew O'Donoghue Honda Prelude 29.03
20 Paul Kay Porsche 924 29.1
21 Luke O-Neill Citroen Saxo 29.37
22 Bob Fletcher BMW 320 29.4
23 Frank Hall BMW 328i 29.5
24 Owelly Magenta/Alfa 29.53
25 Ian Portsmore Peugeot 106 29.81
26 Tommi Healey BMW E21 323i 30
27 Austen Gunn Fiat Panda 30.4
28 Stephen West Skoda Rapid 30.6
29 Stephen Utting Skoda Rapid 31.06
30 Simon Growcott BMW 535i 31.5
31 Rob Brockwell BMW 320 E36 31.6
32 Robert Peel BMW 328i 31.9
33 Jaffa Magenta/Alfa 32.1
34 Mick Ward Simca 1000 32.3
35 Damon Gunn Fiat Panda 35.1
36 David Firman Saab 9000 39.44

2009

NO

Name

Car

Drag 1

Drag 2

Drag 3

Sprint 1

Sprint 2

Sprint 3

Sprint 4

Sprint 5

Sprint 6

Sprint 7

Sprint 8

Result

Place

14

Prelude

10.77

10.78

10.76

1.05.72

1.04.70

1.04.31

1.02.75

1.00.72

1.01.31

1.11.49

1

19

MX5

11.9

11.9

11.17

1.24.46

1.15.43

1.36.38

1.02.76

1.01.56

1.00.32

1.11.49

1

21

Reliant SS

11.49

11.43

10.93

1.13.85

1.12.70

1.12.00

1.05.62

1.04.01

1.02.98

1.03.27

1.13.91

3

2

Fiat Coupe

10.96

11.33

10.94

1.12.77

1.12.13

1.12.81

1.10.17

1.11.56

1.04.26

1.03.04

1.13.98

4

12

Fiesta

12

11.52

11.59

1.12.51

1.12.94

1.13.62

1.09.62

1.02.71

1.02.88

1.03.60

1.14.23

5

3

535is

11.59

11.17

10.89

1.14.50

1.15.52

1.14.52

1.13.13

1.08.02

1.05.43

1.04.74

1.03.36

1.14.25

6

16

320i

10.85

11.8

11.49

1.12.21

1.12.53

1.07.85

1.05.14

1.05.03

1.03.45

1.14.30

7

18

Peugeot 205

12.32

12.09

12.15

1.08.56

1.14.41

1.18.02

1.06.08

1.03.93

1.03.03

1.02.21

1.14.30

7

6

Metro

11.79

11.4

11.11

1.13.01

1.12.34

1.12.12

1.09.27

1.05.39

1.04.59

1.05.02

1.15.70

9

10

MX5

11.34

11.32

11.27

1.25.29

1.15.45

1.14.65

1.14.15

1.05.04

1.04.93

1.07.19

1.16.20

10

9

Prelude

11.79

11.73

12.11

1.14.05

1.16.38

1.17.36

1.06.74

1.05.07

1.05.37

1.16.80

11

1

Skoda Rapid

10.84

11.38

10.24

1.17.46

1.14.37

1.15.75 + J

1.13.61

1.08.36

1.07.28

1.06.59

1.16.83

12

22

Dazzler

Mini-ota

12.93

12.81

12.93

1.17.73

1.16.65

1.16.03

1.11.24

1.06.40

1.04.03

1.04.76

1.05.22

1.16.84

13

15

RX-7

12.57

12.2

11.54

1.23.88

1.28.12

2.04.19

1.29.58

1.14.42

1.19.95

1.05.84

1.08.59

1.17.38

14

5

Saab 9000

13.56

12.34

12.01

1.32.69

1.23.77

1.17.35

1.23.56

1.08.07

1.05.50

1.05.57

1.17.51

15

13

Owelly

Magenta

13.75

11.55

11.63

1.16.67

1.16.12

1.14.54

1.08.30

1.19.85

16

23

Golf Gti

12.35

12.37

12.07

1.15.03

1.17.18

1.14.58

1.11.74

1.12.19

1.08.17

1.09.52

1.20.24

17

7

Scimitar

12.54

11.37

11.77

1.20.80

1.19.43

1.19.45

1.17.25

1.09.10

1.09.11 + J

1.08.89

1.20.26

18

17

Mini

12.9

12.78

12.7

1.20.80

1.23.11

1.16.24

1.26.27

1.08.35

1.08.71

1.07.89

1.20.59

19

4

Simca

11.62

11.63

11.37

1.15.02

1.14.22

1.11.62

1.22.99

20

19A

MX-5

12.85

12.46

11.25

1.27.42

1.16.38

1.12.42

1.13.18

1.23.67

21

20

Cinquecento

12.83

13.23

13.2

1.17.88

1.17.57

1.16.62

1.16.17

1.12.85

1.11.17

1.11.18

1.24.00

22

8

BMW 316i

12.97

13.09

13.06

1.21.94

1.20.21

1.19.66

1.16.20

1.13.00

1.12.46

1.11.66

1.11.56

1.24.53

23

11

Cinquecento

14.44

13.31

14.32

1.24.79

1.24.57

1.23.86

1.21.13

1.14.96

1.14.51

1.11.89

1.25.20

24

Ed Hall

Porsche

1.13.61

1.06.60

1.05.24

1.04.62

2008

Will be here soon

2007

Will be here soon

Winners

The PPC £999 Challenge hall of fame

2010

PPC-999-Challenge-Winner

2009

ppcinthp1

Mazda MX5
You've got to make your £999 work for you if you want it to do well. Richard Flanagan squeezed every last drop of potential from his budget.He bought a light and sweet handling MX-5 with a load of spare parts for £550 then made £250 back by selling spares, including the engine and box. That left him enough spare cash to pick up a 200SX 2 litre turbo engine, box and ECU for just £425. Okay, the engine needed new crank bearings but at just £37.50 they hardly broke the bank.With a couple of hundred still in the kitty Richard splashed out on a pair of new tyres, a roll bar and a Volvo T5 inter cooler. Squeezing the engine under the Mazda's bonnet required the sump and the bulkhead to be cut and reshaped, plus some engine mounts made up and the prop modified.

ppcitpwinner2

Honda Prelude

It's not got a turbo, it's not got a massive engine and it's not got four-wheel-drive, but that didn't stop Andrew O'Donoghue coming joint first. As we found out last year, Honda's 2.3 litre VTEC is a very quick engine in a light weight car. Andrew picked up this '93 Prelude for £400, knowing they go and handle well, then proceeded to throw everything away that wasn't needed, even cutting huge holes in the boot and bonnet and replacing the skins with alluminium from a scrap caravan. A free-flow exhaust and air filter was all that helped the motor but Andrew made the wise decision to spend £285 of his budget on a set of sticky Toyo R888 track-day tyres and brought the Prelude a couple of inches closer to the asphalt by cutting down the stock springs which cost nothing. Low weight, speed and grip all came together around Curborough's tight and twisty track, making the Honda hard to beat.

2008

Will be here soon

2007

Will be here soon

Directions

Santa Pod Raceway
Airfield Road
Podington
Wellingborough
Northants
NN29 7XA
England

Sat Navs

If you are coming north up the A6 then Sat Navs are unreliable, please come off at Wymington, you CAN NOT get to Santa Pod via Souldrop or Milton Ernest.

 

Directions From All Major Roads

Key: R/A = Round about , # = Land mark

From The North Via M1
  • Exit M1 junction 15 turn LEFT onto A45 towards WELLINGBOROUGH
  • R/A (# McDonalds) 3rd exit (A45)
  • 1st exit to WELLINGBOROUGH (# past Tescos)
  • Next R/A 3rd exit to A509 towards IRCHESTER
  • R/A 1st exit 'Gypsy Lane' past Irchester Country Park (please adhere to speed limit)
  • 1st RIGHT 'Wollaston Road' follow road for about 1 mile
  • 1st LEFT to Hinwick and Podington stay on this road until the cross road
  • Straight over to 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The North Via A1 and The East (Cars)
NOT SUITABLE FOR HGV1, 12'6" BRIDGE

  • Leave the A1 at junction 17
  • R/A take the 4th exit onto the A605
  • R/A 2nd exit onto A45 towards RUSHDEN
  • R/A 1st exit onto A6, continue straight over next 4 roundabouts
  • (#John Whites) RIGHT to 'Wymington'
  • Follow road through village (please adhere to speed limit) until reaching 'NEW INN' pub
  • 1st LEFT 'Wymington Road' follow the road, you will reach the village of Podington (please adhere to speed limit through the village)
  • Go through and past the village 400 yds
  • At cross road LEFT into 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The North Via A1 and The East (HGV1 AND LARGE VEHICLES)

  • Leave the A1 at junction 17
  • R/A take the 4th exit onto the A605
  • R/A 2nd exit onto A45 towards WELLINGBOROUGH
  • Exit slip road WELLINGBOROUGH
  • R/A 2nd exit
  • R/A RIGHT 2nd exit (# Past Tescos)
  • Next R/A 3rd exit to A509 towards IRCHESTER
  • R/A 1st exit 'Gypsy Lane' past Irchester Country Park (please adhere to speed limit)
  • 1st RIGHT 'Wollaston Road' follow road for about 1 mile
  • 1st LEFT to Hinwick and Podington stay on this road until cross road
  • Straight over to 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The West

  • Follow M40 to junction 11
  • Pick up A43 (SILVERSTONE BYPASS) follow until you go under M1
  • Junction 15A NORTHAMPTON
  • Then A45 to WELLINGBOROUGH
  • R/A (# McDonalds) 3rd exit (A45)
  • 1st exit to WELLINGBOROUGH (# past Tescos)
  • Next R/A 3rd exit to A509 towards IRCHESTER
  • R/A 1st exit 'Gypsy Lane' past Irchester Country Park (please adhere to speed limit)
  • 1st RIGHT 'Wollaston Road' follow road for about 1 mile
  • 1st LEFT to Hinwick and Podington stay on this road until cross road
  • Straight over to 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The South VIA M1

  • Exit M1 Junction 14
  • R/A 3rd exit A509 NEWPORT PAGNELL
  • Next R/A 3rd exit (# 'Land Rover' Garage)
  • Straight onto dual carriage way
  • R/A 2nd exit to A509 OLNEY town (please adhere to speed limits)
  • Straight out of town over next R/A, stay on this road
  • R/A 2nd exit (# BP fuel station)
  • R/A 1st exit towards WOLLASTON
  • R/A 2nd exit towards IRCHESTER
  • R/A 2nd exit 'Gypsy Lane' past Irchester Country Park (please adhere to speed limit)
  • 1st RIGHT 'Wollaston Road' follow road for about 1 mile
  • 1st LEFT to Hinwick and Podington stay on this road until cross road
  • Straight over to 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The South VIA A1 (Cars)
NOT SUITABLE FOR HGV1, 12'6" BRIDGE

  • Exit A1 at Sandy R/A 1st LEFT A603 towards Bedford
  • Follow road straight through villages (# Willington Garden Centre) stay on this road
  • R/A 3rd exit BEDFORD under fly over
  • Follow sign posts for A6 towards RUSHDEN
  • Follow A6 towards RUSHDEN through Milton Ernest
  • R/A 2nd exit
  • Follow road for about 2 miles take 1st exit 'Wymington'
  • Follow road through village (please adhere to speed limit) until reaching 'NEW INN' pub
  • 1st LEFT 'Wymington Road' follow the road, you will reach the village of Podington (please adhere to speed limit through the village)
  • Go through and past the village 400 yds
  • At cross road LEFT into 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

From The South VIA A1 (HGV1 AND LARGE VEHICLES)
NOT SUITABLE FOR HGV1, 12'6" BRIDGE

  • Exit A1 at Sandy R/A 1st LEFT A603 towards Bedford
  • Follow road straight through villages (# Willington Garden Centre) stay on this road
  • R/A 3rd exit BEDFORD under fly over
  • Follow sign posts for A6 towards RUSHDEN
  • Follow A6 towards RUSHDEN through Milton Ernest
  • R/A 2nd exit
  • Carry on up A6 past Wymington turn towards IRTHLINGBOROUGH
  • R/A 2nd exit onto A45 towards WELLINGBOROUGH
  • Exit slip road WELLINGBOROUGH
  • R/A 2nd exit
  • R/A RIGHT 2nd exit (# Past Tescos)
  • Next R/A 3rd exit to A509 towards IRCHESTER
  • R/A 1st exit 'Gypsy Lane' past Irchester Country Park (please adhere to speed limit)
  • 1st RIGHT 'Wollaston Road' follow road for about 1 mile
  • 1st LEFT to Hinwick and Podington stay on this road until cross road
  • Straight over to 'Airfield Road',
  • Santa Pod Raceway is sign posted, ¼ mile up the road on the LEFT
  • WELCOME TO SANTA POD RACEWAY

We hope you have a safe journey and thank you for adhering to the speed limits set within our local villages.

Camping

The PPC £999 challenge is not just a competition it is also a great social event, and every year the "PPC £999ers" like to get together the night before to chat, eat jaffas and try to milk a badger. Anything can happen on the camping take a read of last years fun here

This year PPC has secured the camping at Santa Pod on the Thursday night before the event (28/06/12). The camping space is limited so please do not leave this to the last minitue to book!

Camping is £10 per person, you can not pay on arrival this is pre-booked only.

Camping at PPC £999 Challenge £10.00

Forum

Keep up to date with the PPC £999 Challenge entrants on our forum. There’ll be build profiles, logs of how much money has been spent and general banter about preparing cars for the event.

Latest in the PPC £999 Challenge forum:


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Practical Performance Car (PPC) is a monthly magazine aimed at real car enthusiasts interested in affordable performance tuning. At PPC we pride ourselves in providing the most entertaining, informative and inspiring features for petrolheads everywhere. Each month we feature an eclectic mix of affordable performance cars, great driving adventures and world-class technical features for the DiY tuner. Our editorial team is headed up by well known Will Holman who has a deserved reputation for 'stick a V8 under the bonnet' attitude to life. His editorial team is stacked with experience including Dave Walker (speciality engine management), of the sadly missed Cars and Car Conversions (CCC) magazine, David Vizard, the legendary engine tuning guru, and Kevin Leaper - ex technical editor of Practical Classics.

Have a look at the online Staff Cars section to give you a flavour of PPC but for the real thing go to your local newsagent, WHSmiths, Asda, Tesco or Sainsburys - PPC is on sale the last Thursday of every month. Better still visit our subscriptions page for the latest offers and discounts to have PPC delivered direct to your door at a fraction of the cost.

Examples of magazine features: brakes uprating, suspension improvements, engine transplants, buyers guides, ECU management, kit car builds, car event coverage (including PPC's own show, PPC in the Park) and much more. Examples of some of the staff's cars: 27 litre Rover SD1, 5 litre Capri, track day Rolls Royce, MK1 Transit and more.