Jacer

Jacer

Australia

http://www.jacer.com.au/

The Jacer Formula Vee was born in 1995. Jason Cutts aged 19, decided to design and build a Formula Vee that encompased all the performance qualities of existing Vees, however the biggest goal was to make it look like a Formula Ford and be extra safe.

The “Cutts” was first concepted in early 1994, construction went from August 1994 to August 1995. Although Jason studied Telecommunications, he studied and topped Engineering Science at school, along with Metalwork. In fact, Jason’s first braze weld was done on the original chassis, and he took to Nickel Bronze welding like a duck to water. Originally, the name would be ” Cutts” , however, Jason wanted the car to have his name in its identity, so as not to confuse a chassis he built with one his brother David would build.

The original car was named Cutts – Jacer, a combination of Jason and Racer, and also standing for the above acronym. However, all other cars were named Jacer, and a chassis identity described its year of manufacture and chassis number, for example, 98-8 is a Jacer constructed in 1998, and being the 8th Jacer ever built. In 2000, the naming changed to being the category initial and the year of manufacture, eg, V2k, with the chassis number only appearing on the chassis plate. The change was introduced as Jacer was preparing to enter Formula Ford as a manufacturer, until Ford announced changes, and the project was halted.

The Cutts – Jacer debuted in October 1995, at Eastern Creek . It qualified last after teething problems, however qualifying was actually the cars first ever run on a circuit. By the feature race, the Jacer had won, and so began a successful history for the marque.

This one event created a great deal of interest in Jacer, and a customer order was placed. At this time, Jason had no intention of becoming a production line, and had to be talked into building a second chassis! In fact, the original car was still running with the plug as the bodywork, and Jason had to build a new body, the 97 shape for the new cars. This mold was far better than the original, as Jason and father Alan had become very good at Fibreglass and composite manufacture.

The second chassis was completed in 1996, along with a third chassis for his best mate, Mark McHenry, and these two cars debuted in 1996. In the same year, Jason competed in the NSW State Championship, with results always in the top 6. The car was gradually becoming sorted, and by the time he travelled to Victoria for the Nationals , he had qualified on pole, well under the lap record.

In 1996, David Cutts constructed the only Jacer to date which featured a completely round tube chassis, an experiment which proved only to add time to chassis construction with little gain in performance. Terry Southall purchased the kit, and his son Cade used the car to win several titles, this car was known as the Jacer SC1. In the 1996/1997 off season, a further three chassis’ were constructed as kits for customers, impressed by the form and look of the car.

By 1997, Jason was working full time, and building the kits at night and on weekends, single handed. That year, David Cutts, Jason’s older brother took on Jacer full time, as he would combine the kit building with his already extensive engine and race preparation work. A partnership was set up between David, Alan and Jason, and operated as ” Jacer”. David has done the bulk of the work since that time, however in busy periods, Jason has built chassis also, along with doing all the fibreglass and carbon fibre work for the kits. Jason also does all evolution work, such as new projects and sourcing new components.

In late 1999, Jason designed and built the new Jacer V2k. The car was the first evolution since the 97 model.( The 95/96 chassis had a tucked under lower chassis rail, which evolved into a flat sided chassis with the 97 model. Since that change, only minor bracing and material changes have taken place until the V2k). The V2k’s styling was a direct result of the rear cowling failures which had taken place on several Jacers. Jason eliminated this fault with a streamlined roll hoop and cockpit surround on the V2k. By 2000, 21 chassis had been produced, and David has also built 7 of these chassis’ into complete cars.