Post by Stewart on May 2, 2013 11:14:04 GMT
Ok, after spending the last 3 days recovering the deleted and corrupt race 2 footage, I’ve finally managed to get it sorted.
I’ve not actually raced at Silverstone before, and the experience I’ve had of it was back in the day before the new arena section was built, so knowledge of the track was limited, and outdated!
The plan was to head over on Friday for some testing, but as always, finances got in the way, so practice would be lap 1-3 of qualifying… not great when I spent the first lap trying to find the entrance to the assembly area leaving me only enough time to do 5 laps. Even so, I managed to qualify 10th overall, 5th in the Ma5da class and only 1 second behind Chris in the orange MX150R. I was happy with that.
So, race 1.
We’d been looking at the clouds all morning, watching the black ones come and go and getting occasionally hailed on before the race, but just as we were strapping in, the clouds parted.
Off we went to assembly (without getting lost this time!) and onto the grid for formation and green flag.
I got another very good start, managing to pass Chris and the red Mk3 of Mark Coomber before we got into Copse and tucked in behind the Production Class 200bhp+ Civic Type R of Rob Williams thinking he would carve a very nice hole in the air in front. However entering Hangar straight he disappeared off into the distance until the braking point. Those things are quick in a straight line but until they’re fully up to temperature, we‘re all over them in the bends.
I spent the few bends getting the lines right and trying to claw back some of the gap to Blakey in car 99 (red/green MX150R) and by the start of the new pit lane I was catching him nicely. A good exit out of the second gear The Loop bend meant I had a good run down Wellington straight and made the move into Brooklands. However it was short lived and being too careful through Copse gave him the inside line.
A long run down Hangar straight saw me reeling him back in but trying to outbrake someone who’s already braking later than normally only means one thing! Oh, 5th is the wrong gear to be exiting Stowe, no matter how many times I tried coming out of that corner!
This pushed me back into the clutches of Mark and Chris in the Mk3 and MX150R so spent the rest of the race with one eye in the mirrors and one on the road. This means you’re not concentrating on hitting the lines and at one point I was back to 4th in class. Not again!
Chris and I had another good battle for the place, with the added bonus of Mike in the Mk3. Another wheel to wheel 100mph move through Abbey ensued. By now I was suffering from lack of front left grip which meant I was struggling through fast right handers. Not ideal, but found the fast lefts were much better!
By the end of the race, Chris and I crossed the line 0.16 seconds apart, with me just in front!! A solid 3rd in class, 8th overall.
Between race 1 and 2 I swapped my front left to a slightly less worn tyre hoping this would sort the understeer out. I think it did
Race 2. The best of the weekend!!
As usual, you start race 2 where you finish race 1. So starting 8th next to last year’s champion Kevin, in car 1 - the Red and black MX150R. I knew I had to get a good start but got too much wheel spin and Kevin jumped ahead, fortunately he hit the limiter in 2nd meaning I had the inside line for Copse. I had my eye on Blakey’s car and managed to get past the Civic again through Maggots and Becketts but Kevin got a better line and went round the outside onto Hangar straight.
I knew the Type R would come steaming up behind so the plan was to let him past, tuck in behind and use the tow to get back past Blakey and Kevin befofre Stowe. It was close, but it worked… only to find Kevin sailing past even later on the brakes again!
I managed to stick with him and the Type R through the Arena complex, how we didn’t touch there I don’t know, but again got a good drive out of the hairpin and got past Kevin on Wellington… only for him to be later on the brakes AGAIN into Brooklands. I took a different line and got a good exit from Luffield and was on his ass all down the pit straight and was side-by-side going through Copse. Not sure what racing line Blakey was taking as he appeared from the left to take us both on the exit, but I thought I’d use that one next time!
A scrappy exit from Becketts again saw me being hassled by Chris so spent the whole straight defending but managed to hold him off. Now my concentration turned to those two in front. Start putting some bends together and hope for a good exit from The Loop again and I should be back with them. What I didn’t factor in the equation was the Type R!
Kevin’s racing line through Aintree meant mine was slightly off track, but kept the foot in, positioned the car for the exit and we made it out without any contact… again no idea how!
The exit from Luffield was blistering, I was again on Blakey’s ass over the line and took to the pit wall… a little closer than I realised! I don’t think Kevin saw I was there as he dived over to the apex into Copse. Another miss by millimetres.
For some reason the exit of Becketts was my Achilles heel that day. I properly stuffed it up and took to the tarmac after the grass, but a quick check to my right saw I had the room to keep my foot in and try and regain something only to mess up 3rd to 4th. After the 3rd attempt it went in. Frustration evident with the beating the gearknob got! I was MAD. I’d gone from battling for the lead of our group to being 4th! Again outbraking myself into Stowe and screwing up Vale and Club showed. I need to have a time out, recompose myself and settle down. So after telling myself off down the pit straight I was back in the game, only to do the same again in Abbey!!
Right no more messing, I’m not coming 4th. It seemed impossible the distance I was behind, and with Luffield having yellows all through it I had to back off as well I was over 2 seconds behind Chris!
I remembered Blakey’s line through Copse and inadvertently used it (still suffering from understeer Mr Clark of the Course!) By the end of Wellington I was back with Chris. A smooth exit from Woodcote saw me have a good run on him down the start/finish and could hassle through Maggots and Becketts. Using what little tow I could get down Hangar straight I close the cap a bit more and looked to make the move through Club and down the new Pit straight. 2 x 2 we headed down there, and I found myself staring at a wall of MX150Rs with nowhere to go. I picked a spot somewhere in the middle of them and aimed for the apex. Move made, now to get back past the two in front. I could smell there was 1st for the taking. Kevin and Blakey were too busy battling with each other, and knowing the mess that was still at Luffield, I hoped yellows would be there for the rest of the race!
Another good exit from The Loop meant I had the run on them both down Wellington, and with yellow flags in sight I made it past both.
They couldn’t do anything until we passed the green flag on the exit of Woodcote so I made sure I hit the apex just right and was on the power early to get the drive down the start/finish. I hugged that pit wall defending the line all the way down to Copse. Thinking this is the last lap, I just need to be smooth, no mistakes and watch my mirrors. Again defending all the way down Hangar saw a compromised and slower line but still in front.
Way too early on the power coming through Vale and into Club nearly saw it all thrown away, with massive opposite lock made sure I had mirrors full of MX150Rs through the arena, then lots of understeer through Village I nearly threw it all away again. But I had the inside line for the Loop so parked it on the apex and got the power down for Wellington – hoping and praying the yellows would still be there… They were!! Just needed to get a good exit from Wodcote and I’d done it… !! To say I was a please was an understatement.
I’ve only been racing for 1 season, but that was the race of my life (up to now ) of the 5 cars in our class, the top 4 crossed the line less than ½ a second covering us! We’d all raced hard, had a few close calls but not one of us had come into contact with each other. How… I have no idea, but the quality of racing on show there was some of the best I’ve had the pleasure to watch (and be part of!) I finished 1st in class, and 4th overall, which looking at the top 3, all 200bhp+ race cars just shows how well these little “scrapheap challenge” cars can compete.
I’ve not actually raced at Silverstone before, and the experience I’ve had of it was back in the day before the new arena section was built, so knowledge of the track was limited, and outdated!
The plan was to head over on Friday for some testing, but as always, finances got in the way, so practice would be lap 1-3 of qualifying… not great when I spent the first lap trying to find the entrance to the assembly area leaving me only enough time to do 5 laps. Even so, I managed to qualify 10th overall, 5th in the Ma5da class and only 1 second behind Chris in the orange MX150R. I was happy with that.
So, race 1.
We’d been looking at the clouds all morning, watching the black ones come and go and getting occasionally hailed on before the race, but just as we were strapping in, the clouds parted.
Off we went to assembly (without getting lost this time!) and onto the grid for formation and green flag.
I got another very good start, managing to pass Chris and the red Mk3 of Mark Coomber before we got into Copse and tucked in behind the Production Class 200bhp+ Civic Type R of Rob Williams thinking he would carve a very nice hole in the air in front. However entering Hangar straight he disappeared off into the distance until the braking point. Those things are quick in a straight line but until they’re fully up to temperature, we‘re all over them in the bends.
I spent the few bends getting the lines right and trying to claw back some of the gap to Blakey in car 99 (red/green MX150R) and by the start of the new pit lane I was catching him nicely. A good exit out of the second gear The Loop bend meant I had a good run down Wellington straight and made the move into Brooklands. However it was short lived and being too careful through Copse gave him the inside line.
A long run down Hangar straight saw me reeling him back in but trying to outbrake someone who’s already braking later than normally only means one thing! Oh, 5th is the wrong gear to be exiting Stowe, no matter how many times I tried coming out of that corner!
This pushed me back into the clutches of Mark and Chris in the Mk3 and MX150R so spent the rest of the race with one eye in the mirrors and one on the road. This means you’re not concentrating on hitting the lines and at one point I was back to 4th in class. Not again!
Chris and I had another good battle for the place, with the added bonus of Mike in the Mk3. Another wheel to wheel 100mph move through Abbey ensued. By now I was suffering from lack of front left grip which meant I was struggling through fast right handers. Not ideal, but found the fast lefts were much better!
By the end of the race, Chris and I crossed the line 0.16 seconds apart, with me just in front!! A solid 3rd in class, 8th overall.
Between race 1 and 2 I swapped my front left to a slightly less worn tyre hoping this would sort the understeer out. I think it did
Race 2. The best of the weekend!!
As usual, you start race 2 where you finish race 1. So starting 8th next to last year’s champion Kevin, in car 1 - the Red and black MX150R. I knew I had to get a good start but got too much wheel spin and Kevin jumped ahead, fortunately he hit the limiter in 2nd meaning I had the inside line for Copse. I had my eye on Blakey’s car and managed to get past the Civic again through Maggots and Becketts but Kevin got a better line and went round the outside onto Hangar straight.
I knew the Type R would come steaming up behind so the plan was to let him past, tuck in behind and use the tow to get back past Blakey and Kevin befofre Stowe. It was close, but it worked… only to find Kevin sailing past even later on the brakes again!
I managed to stick with him and the Type R through the Arena complex, how we didn’t touch there I don’t know, but again got a good drive out of the hairpin and got past Kevin on Wellington… only for him to be later on the brakes AGAIN into Brooklands. I took a different line and got a good exit from Luffield and was on his ass all down the pit straight and was side-by-side going through Copse. Not sure what racing line Blakey was taking as he appeared from the left to take us both on the exit, but I thought I’d use that one next time!
A scrappy exit from Becketts again saw me being hassled by Chris so spent the whole straight defending but managed to hold him off. Now my concentration turned to those two in front. Start putting some bends together and hope for a good exit from The Loop again and I should be back with them. What I didn’t factor in the equation was the Type R!
Kevin’s racing line through Aintree meant mine was slightly off track, but kept the foot in, positioned the car for the exit and we made it out without any contact… again no idea how!
The exit from Luffield was blistering, I was again on Blakey’s ass over the line and took to the pit wall… a little closer than I realised! I don’t think Kevin saw I was there as he dived over to the apex into Copse. Another miss by millimetres.
For some reason the exit of Becketts was my Achilles heel that day. I properly stuffed it up and took to the tarmac after the grass, but a quick check to my right saw I had the room to keep my foot in and try and regain something only to mess up 3rd to 4th. After the 3rd attempt it went in. Frustration evident with the beating the gearknob got! I was MAD. I’d gone from battling for the lead of our group to being 4th! Again outbraking myself into Stowe and screwing up Vale and Club showed. I need to have a time out, recompose myself and settle down. So after telling myself off down the pit straight I was back in the game, only to do the same again in Abbey!!
Right no more messing, I’m not coming 4th. It seemed impossible the distance I was behind, and with Luffield having yellows all through it I had to back off as well I was over 2 seconds behind Chris!
I remembered Blakey’s line through Copse and inadvertently used it (still suffering from understeer Mr Clark of the Course!) By the end of Wellington I was back with Chris. A smooth exit from Woodcote saw me have a good run on him down the start/finish and could hassle through Maggots and Becketts. Using what little tow I could get down Hangar straight I close the cap a bit more and looked to make the move through Club and down the new Pit straight. 2 x 2 we headed down there, and I found myself staring at a wall of MX150Rs with nowhere to go. I picked a spot somewhere in the middle of them and aimed for the apex. Move made, now to get back past the two in front. I could smell there was 1st for the taking. Kevin and Blakey were too busy battling with each other, and knowing the mess that was still at Luffield, I hoped yellows would be there for the rest of the race!
Another good exit from The Loop meant I had the run on them both down Wellington, and with yellow flags in sight I made it past both.
They couldn’t do anything until we passed the green flag on the exit of Woodcote so I made sure I hit the apex just right and was on the power early to get the drive down the start/finish. I hugged that pit wall defending the line all the way down to Copse. Thinking this is the last lap, I just need to be smooth, no mistakes and watch my mirrors. Again defending all the way down Hangar saw a compromised and slower line but still in front.
Way too early on the power coming through Vale and into Club nearly saw it all thrown away, with massive opposite lock made sure I had mirrors full of MX150Rs through the arena, then lots of understeer through Village I nearly threw it all away again. But I had the inside line for the Loop so parked it on the apex and got the power down for Wellington – hoping and praying the yellows would still be there… They were!! Just needed to get a good exit from Wodcote and I’d done it… !! To say I was a please was an understatement.
I’ve only been racing for 1 season, but that was the race of my life (up to now ) of the 5 cars in our class, the top 4 crossed the line less than ½ a second covering us! We’d all raced hard, had a few close calls but not one of us had come into contact with each other. How… I have no idea, but the quality of racing on show there was some of the best I’ve had the pleasure to watch (and be part of!) I finished 1st in class, and 4th overall, which looking at the top 3, all 200bhp+ race cars just shows how well these little “scrapheap challenge” cars can compete.
