WHAT’S IN THE WORKSHOP – RAVAGE RACEWORKS

What’s in the workshop – Ravage Raceworks

Spread across a variety of categories, the enforced break has enabled Victorian-based operation Ravage Raceworks to focus on a variety of long-term projects ranging from Touring Car Masters to tarmac rally.

By HEATH McALPINE

Owner Dean Lillee has focused his time on further developing leading TCM competitor Jim Pollicina’s Holden Torana SLR/5000, one of two prepared by the team.

“I’ve built a new exhaust system on it and found a bit more power on the dyno,” Lillee said.

“The stuff that we’ve been doing to the Torana is what we wanted to do anyway, but don’t have the time in between the rounds.”

The Blue Oval is also represented within the workshop, an AU Falcon built by Lillie in 2006 and raced by Rick Newman to the Victorian Improved Production title the next year was severely damaged in a tarmac rally crash three years ago.

The layoff from on-track action has enabled the team at Ravage to repair and continue updating the Falcon to current specifications

“Rick raced it for years until he tried a tarmac rally up at Lake Mountain three years ago and had an off that ruptured the fuel tank,” Lillee told Auto Action.

“That basically cut the car off and nearly burnt it to the ground. However, Rick loves it that much we actually fixed it and rebuilt it rather than throwing away.

“That’s coming back in a really good spec with a lot newer thinking than there was the first time round, which promises to be a weapon.

“Before the crash, it raced in sports sedans, it did World Time Attack, it just evolved. Compared to when it was first constructed there is an independent rear end, nine-inch diff centre, revised body kit, engine management, wiring loom is all current spec instead of what we had in the mid-2000s.”

An older XE Falcon is a new build, which has multi-purposes as an Improved Production and tarmac rally competitor. It features a 6-litre Ford motor, an in-house designed and built wiring loom, the latest in MoTeC electronics and achieves the goal of being constructed to the full extent of the regulations.

Other big builds include the full rebuild of an ex-production car Lotus after an accident during last year’s Targa Tasmania where it was leading prior. This has required a new chassis and bodyshell, which is slowly being completed in the background.

Ravage also has two ex-Tasman Motorsport Holden Commodore VEs in its workshop, prepared for when the V8 Touring Cars get back on track and a 15-year AC Cobra replica is another currently receiving some work.

Lillee and his two workers have had plenty to do, which has kept the factory busy.

“We’ve been doing a lot of dyno tuning as well while this has been going,” Lillie concluded.

“Normally we knock back a fair bit of work during the season because we can’t fit it in, but we’ve accepted a fair bit and that has kept the wheels turning as well.”

The team will also prepare and run six cars at the Snowy River Sprint in September.

What’s your team currently working on? Let us know at [email protected] and we could feature your team in our next ‘What’s In The Workshop’ feature

Also for more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.