It is difficult for me to write something nice about Ian. I like him but he is much quicker than me ! This causes a deep conflict within me.
Having very nearly won the drivers standings trophy in 1998 , Ian had a bad year in 1999 and although he drove the same car in both years it didn't seem to do as well in 1999. A new car for 2000 & some stiff competition saw a relatively Quiet/unsucessful year, But he is back with avengance for 2001 !
I usually reckon that if I can keep up with Ian I have had a bloody good race & if I can beat him, it wasn't real life it was a dream !
As far as I know Ian started his "racing" career doing sprints & hill climbs which teaches you (says Ian) to learn the lines very quickly. He has been racing with the FISC cars for a number of years now as a full time member.
Another clean, fair & fast driver. It is always good to watch Ian race because you can bet there will be lots of close & fun racing going on round him.
Ian's Cars
This man has more racing Spridgets than underpants !!
His 1998 & 1999 car is the silver/blue car (#72) shown in the picture gallery & all over on this site. It had a Sebring front end & Ashley hardtop (similar to Mark Dols). What you can't see in the pictures is that almost every external panel on the car was made of fibreglass, & the windows are all thin perspex (with the exception of the laminated front screen). The petrol tank was located IN FRONT of the rear axle & the wiper motor was located almost on the floor on the passengers side. I don't think there has ever been a Midget with a lower centre of gravity ! It is also the only FISC car I have seen with a Watts linkage - like a Panhard rod but much better.
This car has been "retired" & a new one built for 2000. Unfortunatley it wasn't finished for Spa 2000. So Ian drove in his "Spare" car. I'm not sure what the specs of the car were but judging by his lap times in Spa 2000, it wasn't that highley tuned.
His regular car for the 2000/2001 season was the light blue open Midget with a Lenham front end, shown above. This is more like it !! & Ian can regularly be found on the podium (or at least in the 1st 5).