Caerphilly racer Graham Cole is raring to go in 2022 after engine damage knocked his 2021 programme off track.

While competing at the Covid-hit three-race programme in France, Cole’s Richwest Engineering BPS7 Prototype suffered irreparable damage.

After successful test runs at Silverstone, confidence in the car’s performance was high before heading to France, where Cole was to compete in three races promoted by the French TTE/Free Proto organisation.

During the first race, held at the Nogaro circuit in southern France in October, Cole suffered a tyre puncture in qualifying.

The second race was held at the F1 circuit in Magny Cours. There, Cole suffered similar misfortune, with his car having to be towed back to the pits.

Cole said: “We were optimistic of a good result as the car, fitted with many aerodynamic improvements, showed good potential at Nogaro when we finished seventh after starting from the back row of a 34-car grid. 

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be. Starting seventh in the first race we were battling our way though the field when an oil-pump drive belt broke, triggering instant retirement and an embarrassing tow back to the pits on the back of the rescue vehicle.

“Nevertheless, with more than two hours before the next race we had time to fit a new oil pump drive belt in the hope that the oil pump failure had not done too much damage to the K20 engine.”

After looking at the data-logging information stored in the engine control unit fitted to the car, Cole and the team were confident of a strong result in the next race.

However, Cole said: “We were on the fourth lap when the engine let go causing catastrophic internal damage and another tow back to the pits. By sheer coincidence the blow up was at exactly the same spot on track as the first – much to the surprise of the jovial French track marshals.

“The engine problem was so bad that repairs were impossible to be carried out before the next race at Le Mans, so that effectively ended our season.”

Preparing for the new calendar year, Cole said he and his team will build a new engine better suited to race in the new UK Zeo Proto series.

The new engine is being designed by Caerphilly-based Richwest Engineering

Cole said: “With their help we should just make the start of the 2022 season. As it happens, racing in France again is in question as Omicron is restricting activity there along with travel from the UK.”