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24 April 2010
0630 the alarm went off, time to get up for the big day. We were trackside at 0800 and straight into driver briefing. After the briefing we had 30 mins to prep the car, do the usual checks such as fluids, torque the wheels, warm her up and get on to the track for the 0900 Warm Up session, still with the pesky bung in. We were on fresh wider rubber than we were running yesterday, running 265/35/18 all round.
Marcus Webster, another driver I know well running his Skyline in the Club Pro Series, came to our rescue. He managed to pass the noise test without his de-cat silencer, and gave it to us. Bung out, silencer in, amazingly we managed 98db !
1130, back on track for the Practice. OMG springs to mind. Without the huge restriction of the bung, we were hitting 1.5 bar boost, the external wastgate was opening fully, and we were unleashing the full 600 BHP. The car was spinning the wheels all over the place, the slightest bit of power on the corners, with the useless standard viscous diff, the car was being sent sideways ! A little bit of work huge amount of work on our hands. Due to the size of the turbo, full boost is achieved at 4,600 revs, which is when the wastgate opens, and literally hell is unleashed. You get a huge kick in the back, and you only need to blink before it is time to changed gear, where you are straight back on full boost, before blinking and reaching for the gear stick again.
During practice, we were motoring, not necessarily always pointing the right way, but it's a start !
Due to the limited time in the car with this power, low boost, 1.3 bar was selected, after the second lap in practice, reducing the BHP and torque available. Remember, there has now been a total of about 40 mins behind the wheel in this car with the new engine.Speed Traps - Practice
Sector 1 - 2nd 115.1 MPH
Sector 2 - 8th 101.4 MPH
Sector 3 - 5th 113.6 MPH
Fastest Lap - 1:44.096
1430, time to qualify. We needed to come 5th or better to make the final. The car getting quicker and quicker nearly every lap as the driver and car were beginning to work more and more in harmony.
We did it, we were in the final, so were Nick, Marcus and another friend Walter, so great news all round.
Speed Traps - Qualifying
Sector 1 - 6th 104.0 MPH
Sector 2 - 8th 96.4 MPH
Sector 3 - 1st 113.7 MPH
Fastest Lap 1:42.988
1700, time for the final. Still running on Low boost. Off we went, feeling a lot happier with the car, but a long way from really being able to push the car to its limits, this will come over time, the more and more we get used to the car.
End Result.....5th place in class. Great work all that helped, especially Alex Flower, without whom, we would not have even been here this weekend.
Speed Traps - Final
Sector 1 - 11th 112.6 MPH
Sector 2 - 11th 100.6 MPH
Sector 3 - 6th 113.6 MPH Fastest Lap 1:42.146
What a great day, back to Nicks for some champagne, many celebratory drinks and a very late night !
Details on where the speed traps were and the map layout below.
Oulton Park Conclusion Looking back on reflection, the weekend was fantastic, the weather was wonderful, some parts were very stressful and others very enjoyable. I never realised how much energy and effort would actually have to go into getting a car ready. A week is never as long as you think to complete the final changes !!
We are happy with our results from round 1. First time out on the track in the car, with only 20 mins practice on the track day the day before
Warped front discs by qualifying, a rear strut with lost gas, the standard viscous diff, which was not putting down any power in the corners. These will all be replaced (we hope) before the next round somehow, there may be a lot of calling to companies, begging and borrowing !
Total Spend for the weekend excluding the entry into Time Attack, tyres or the Track day. £965. I can see this being an expensive year !!
Time until next round, 20 days, lots to do, not enough money and not enough time, but the amount of enjoyment, the friendliness of the other competitors makes it worth it.
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