<< Prev Page 2 of 2 To further improve the competitiveness of the car, particularly the handling, British Leyland brought in Tom Walkinshaw for the 1981 season. The initial plan was to use him and his expertise as a driver only but Walkinshaw seized the opportunity and not much later his Tom Walkinshaw Racing team would run the project. The switch to TWR came relatively close to the start of the season, so they started the year with cars built by David Price Racing. Allam would go on to win three rounds, while Pete Lovett also scored a pair of victories in 1981.
Before the contract with British Leyland expired, DPR also produced at least one SD1 3500 to the slightly more lenient Group 2 regulations. It featured a quad-Weber version of the V8, which raised the power by over 100 bhp. To keep the car on the road, much wider tyres were fitted, which required substantial fender flares. Sold to South Africa, the Group 2 SD1 was campaigned in several editions of the Kyalami 1000km race.
Following the inconspicuous debut in 1980, the SD1 program gained momentum in 1981 with five victories. TWR took the program to the next level for the introduction of the Group A for which the new Rover Vitesse was developed into a regular race winning machine. In addition to the British Isles, the Group 1 Rovers were also raced on the European mainland, notably by Rene Metge in France. Today, there is a renewed interest in these early SD1 Rovers as they are eligible for one of the blue ribband races of the annual Goodwood Members' Meeting. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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To further improve the competitiveness of the car, particularly the handling, British Leyland brought in Tom Walkinshaw for the 1981 season. The initial plan was to use him and his expertise as a driver only but Walkinshaw seized the opportunity and not much later his Tom Walkinshaw Racing team would run the project. The switch to TWR came relatively close to the start of the season, so they started the year with cars built by David Price Racing. Allam would go on to win three rounds, while Pete Lovett also scored a pair of victories in 1981.