The EMKA Aston Martin was a

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for Touring car racing, touring cars and ''Group B'' for Grand tourer, GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 (motorspor ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

built for EMKA Production's owner Steve O'Rourke by Michael Cane Racing and powered by an

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

engine. The EMKA C83/1 was initially introduced in 1983 and competed in the

1983 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans was a motor race staged at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France on 18 and 19 June 1983. It was the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 51st Grand Prix of Endurance and was also the fourth round of both the 1983 World Sportsc ...

, finishing 17th overall. The car was modified for 1985 and raced at the

1985 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 53rd Grand Prix of Endurance, as well as the fourth round of the 1985 World Sportscar Championship season, 1985 World Endurance Championship. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, France, on 15 and 16 Ju ...

, finishing in 11th place after briefly leading the race in the opening hours. The EMKA Aston Martin failed to finish any of the other races it appeared at in 1985, and Steve O'Rourke of EMKA Racing decided to take a break from international motorsport.

Development

EMKA Aston Martin was designed by Len Bailey for the manager of the Pink Floyd, Steve O'Rourke. It was named after Steve O'Rourke's company EMKA Productions Ltd. The car was built by Michael Cane Racing. The monocoque was built by Maurice Gomm and the fibre glass body constructed by Protoco. The car was powered by an

Tickford 5,340 cc V8 engine, which was redesigned by Bailey. It featured a relocated

alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

and water pumps to allow for large ground effect tunnels to be used.

Racing history

1983

EMKA C83/1 debuted at the 1983 Silverstone 1000 km race, with drivers

Tiff Needell Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951) is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of '' Lovecars'', and formerly served as co-presenter of '' Top Gear'' and '' Fifth Gear''. Biography Needell attende ...

, Jeff Allam and Steve O'Rourke. The car failed to finish the race, retiring on the last lap due to a failed rear wheel bearing. The car next appeared at

with drivers Needell, O'Rourke and Nick Faure. Despite losing 2 hours due to a suspension problem, the car finished 17th overall and received the 'Motor' Trophy for being the first British car home.

1984

The car did not race in 1984.

1985

In 1985 Michael Cane Racing carried out extensive modifications to the car with design work being done by Richard Owen. The car now featured a revised rear suspension, a new bodywork and the removal of the ground effect. The car debuted at the 1985 1000 km of Silverstone race with drivers Tiff Needell, Steve O'Rourke and Bob Evans. The car qualified almost four seconds faster than it had done in 1983, but they did not finish the race. The EMKA's most successful appearance was at the

. With drivers Needell, Nick Faure and O'Rourke the car lead the race for nine minutes during the opening hours and finished 11th overall. Again being the first British car across the line. The EMKA Aston Martin failed to finish both the 1985 Spa and Brands Hatch 1000 km races. Steve O'Rourke decided to take a break from international motorsport, not returning until 1993 in the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

Chassis

*EMKA C83/1 competed 1983 ** 1983 Silverstone 1000 km- ret ** 1983 Le Mans 24 Hour- 17th *EMKA C84/1 competed 1985 ** 1985 Silverstone 1000 km- ret ** 1985 Le Mans 24 Hour- 11th ** 1985 Spa 1000 km- ret ** 1985 Brands Hatch 1000 km- ret

External links

Aston Martin Picture Gallery
- EMKA Aston Martin

- Aston Martin chassis numbers
RS Classic Racing
- EMKA Aston Martin {{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers Aston Martin racing cars Group C cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars