In a major success for the Wildcat’s new constructors, Qt Services, saw a clean sweep of the first three places in the gruelling Pharaons International Cross-Country Rally, held over seven days and 3,000 kms in Egypt’s Western Desert.
In what was a thrilling finish, Jérome Pélichet and Eugénie Decré took the honours in their Team Raid Lynx 4-litre Wildcat 200, which was raced for the first time with its new Sadev/Qt developed six speed sequential gearbox.
Beaten narrowly into second place after a tough battle with the Raid Lynx car, were Roberto and Nicola Tonetti in their Team Pro Race 4-litre Wildcat 200, who had led for much of the rally but fell foul of some treacherous terrain during the last stage.
However, the third-placed Wildcat was probably the most satisfying placing for Qt Services, as boss Dave Marsh explains: “Michel Visy’s third-placed Wildcat, built in our Liskeard, Cornwall works, was a considerable achievement for both Qt and Michel’s Cantal Events team, as we only delivered it six weeks before the rally. I suppose it says a lot for the ease of setup, even for the Pharaons. It was also the first event for our new Jaguar 4-litre V8 installed in Michel’s car; it ran faultlessly throughout and for him to bring it home in third place is a terrific bonus.”
It was a satisfying win for Pélichet and Decré in their winning Raid Lynx Wildcat and Eugenie Decré was complimentary about their achievement: “For sure there were some impressive cars at the technical check but in the end, we can say that the reliability of the Wildcat is more proven. We hope to repeat the success in December on the Eco Rally Africa Race.”
Qt Services are the sole manufacturers of the Wildcat, having acquired the rights in 2008 and they provide worldwide customer support for all Wildcat variants.
QT SERVICES LTD
Qt Services is a company well established in the off road competition market. Formed in 1996, it is run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts who are able to offer a range of specialist products for both the standard and competition off road vehicle.
Many of the products in their range are designed and manufactured in house and have been extensively tested at national competition level enabling customers to benefit from the increased reliability and performance which it brings.
Just over 18 months ago, Qt purchased the rights to the Wildcat brand from Bowler Offroad and are now the sole manufacturers of the Wildcat and distributors of an extensive range of dedicated parts. Qt have also embarked on an intensive development programme for the Wildcat, the results of which are being brought through to market now.
NEW WILDCAT
The all new Jaguar engined Wildcat has now had its first successful taste of competition. The new car features many upgrades from the previous version to improve its performance.
Central to this is the all new Jaguar V8 4-litre engine which has given a significant increase in power and a much wider and flatter torque curve. This has vastly improved the car’s driveability.
Coupled to the engine is the newly developed close ratio, straight cut gearbox which is matched to the characteristics of the engine.
Revisions have also been made to the steering with a new quick ratio steering box requiring less input resistance making the car easier to control over the long Rally Raid stages.
The new car also features 60mm Donerre lithium fast rebound dampers which vastly improve traction and control.