JOHN CHASEY: EVERYONE RECOGNISES A TVR!

After a thirteen-year absence, the TVR badge is back on a Le Mans race car. Both of Rebellion’s LMP1s are TVR-branded, while in the paddock the all-new Griffith road car has been turning heads. This was the ideal opportunity to have a chat with a very proud John Chasey, Operations Manager at TVR.

 

 

 

TVR is back at Le Mans. How does it feel?

 

It’s an amazing feeling! I’ve been to Le Mans and Le Mans Classic numerous times as a spectator, but never while representing my own brand. It’s just incredible. We’re also really happy with the results and performance of the Rebellion guys.

 

How did TVR and Rebellion actually come together?

 

Well, that’s a pretty interesting story. When we first took over TVR, we moved into our new offices in the same building as the former version of the Rebellion Racing team, which was still based in the UK at that time (they are now run by ORECA in France). We’ve kept in touch with them since then, but it was actually Motul who got the whole conversation started. Just before the Super Season, someone came up with the idea of linking both parties together and having the TVR brand on the Rebellion LMP1. For us it was a no-brainer and a perfect match, as well as a great starting point for any future racing endeavours.

 

 

 

Future plans? Will there be more TVR race cars in the future?

 

That’s the plan. When we launched the Griffith last year, we made no secret of the fact that we want to take it to the racetrack in some form of GT endurance racing platform. TVR has always had a one-make racing series and we really want to keep the door open in that direction and build a platform that can easily be adapted to any GT endurance series. At this point, these are all still long-term plans and ambitions. We haven’t put a timeframe on it yet, but it’s definitely a direction we are investigating.

 

Speaking of the road car, the Griffith starred in the Le Mans parade. How did Le Mans fans react?

 

They loved it! The new Griffith is definitely a head-turner. I also loved the fact that people were so delighted to see a new TVR back on the road again. We heard a lot of responses like, “Hey, look, that’s a TVR!”. That really makes my day. Everyone really recognises it as a proper TVR, which is what we hope the new car will be.

 

 

 

The Griffith was launched at the Goodwood Revival last year. How are the plans coming along?

 

Everything is pretty much going according to plan and the car is generating a lot of interest. Production will start next year, so the first cars should hit the roads later that year.

 

We can’t wait!