DMN Brands Hatch, 06 May 2007
Auto Integrale had been to work. The new radiator from Allisport turned up and had been fitted along with a replacement fan (one was found to be u/s), and to try and cover all our bases, an electric water pump was added to push the water round faster. Time to see if this worked!
So back out with the guys formerly known as Dunlop Track & Race Cars, now with sponsorship from Motorsport News and thus called the Dunlop Motorsport News series.
This series is hugely successful, luckily we put our entry in early for this first championship crack at Brands Hatch and round two of the 2007 season (race 1 was at Lydden Hill which we did not attend) as there was a full grid and 10 reserves listed.
Qualifying:
Even with people pulling out, 35 cars started the qualifying session so its a given that it was going to be crowded out there. Auto Integrale had also fitted a new pair of front discs, proper Alfa 166 ones rather than el cheapo copies like the ones I found on eBay last time. So not only did I have a crowded track to deal with, I also had to bed the new discs in first. The plan was to warm everything up for two or three laps and then step on it - I got out early for me so was not far from the front at first, but people in more than a hurry than I got past and it didn't seem to take long before there was almost continuous traffic around the track. Even so, I should have done better. 14th from 35 was hardly anything to get excited about, even if it was 3rd in class B. I was over a second slower than last time out here when the weather was a whole lot colder, and that day I didn't have 3rd gear for the race and went quicker still!
I was too far adrift of Andy Thompson in the Seat Leon Cupra - I know Andy from the old Auto Italia days and know that when the mood takes him, he's as fast as anyone. Graham Bahr was 2nd in class in the mid 54s, surely I could get down to that if I put my race head on? It never became an issue - Graham had missed a gear during qualifying and suspected more than a few bent valves - he wouldn't be out again today. So maybe second was on the cards? My adversary from last time out at Brands, Steve Weatherley, had problems in qualifying that means he would start from the back of the grid - and hopefully take a long time to catch up!
Race 1:
I may have qualified 14th, but one of those in front was Andy Williams (not THAT one!), a reserve who started from the back at the last moment, in a Sapphire so that put me 13th, the place in which I lined up in the assembly area. But two of those in front (one of whom was Graham Bahr) didn't make the race, so make that 11th then.
I had one hell of a start - almost got past one of the Imprezas at Paddock, managed to avoid the spinning ex-DTM Mercedes 190 Evo on the run up to Druids, took the Impreza on the way to Graham Hill. Round the corner and it was inside one car, then round the outside of Bill Richards' Mini as the Clio span off to the inside - the other Impreza went left onto the grass around Bill and joined just in front of me going into the Esses. Round Clearways and power told as I blasted past the second Impreza, and into 6th place. I could make no impression on the Cosworth powered Escort Mk1 in 5th, I gained about 2/10ths on one lap, but otherwise he just steadily pulled away from me.
Behind me was a different matter. Stephen Craig's Impreza was not giving up and would close up towards Graham Hill and through Clearways, and disappear backwards on the two straight bits. Four laps in and Stuart Thomas' Clio had caught back up again and I had the pair of them climbing all over me. The Impreza was getting that close round Clearways as I waited for some traction (the kappa redefines wheelspin, even with the Quaife ATB) that many times I was waiting for the bump at the rear that never came. A couple of times he got his car alongside but once the front wheels found some grip I was able to pull away again.
Pictures on this page by kind courtesy of Snappy Racers
So when I saw the Clio had got by the Impreza on lap 12 I was hoping for some respite - yeah right. Now the pair of them were all over me. The following lap we were three abreast round Clearways with the Impreza trying his customary inside line, the Clio going round the outside. The Clio didn't make it, I lost him in my mirrors down the straight and found out after that he had run out of grip and gone off (and got back on again). Back to only the Impreza to worry about. We had been in amongst the back markers for a couple of laps by now, when I reached the first of these I timed my pass well and pulled out a chunk on the Impreza, and then lost it all the following lap when I got baulked by the Alfasud Sprint into Graham Hill. Coming round on the last lap, I caught the second Impreza (plainly having problems) leaving Druids and got past Barry Vincent's Rover Vitesse (as unlikely a race car as the kappa, but with more history as Tony Pond did the first car 100mph lap of the Isle of Man in this car) before Graham Hill helping me out again. I reached the chequered flag just 6/10th clear of a fast charging purple Sapphire (Andy Williams) which had suddenly appeared from nowhere after starting at the back, with the Impreza just half a second further back. What a race!
Race 2:
This was a record breaking moment - my fourth double header race at Brands Hatch and the first time I ever got to start the second race! And from 6th on the grid as positions were based on the previous race's result. This left me on the outside, behind Peter Wilkinson's Primera (wearing MY number 10). A typically slow pace lap (why can't we get these right like this in our LMA Euro Saloons races?) meant second gear for take-off. I tried to find a way past the Primera but just ended up losing a place to Andy Williams (now starting from 7th). I chased the Primera up to Druids, we both went wide round the outside and that pesky Impreza got by. Until coming out of Graham Hill that is, he moved over to cut down the room left for me, but there was just enough space without having to resort to the grass and I was back up into 7th again. This time it was even sillier behind me - there was a group of 8 cars including me, a couple of Minis, the DTM Mercedes, both Imprezas, the Clio and Steve Weatherley's Cossie Sapphire all in a tight bunch. Behind me it seemed they were swapping places everywhere and every lap. Each time I looked back, someone different was closing in!
I gained a place (so back to 6th) when the Primera fell off infield after Graham Hill, but now Steve had got up behind and was determined to get passed. I was concerned that he has spent enough time chasing me round Brands to know where I am weak, and sure enough, eventually he made a move round the outside at Clearways and was able to hold me off. We went into Paddock side by side by any exit speed I hoped to have was compromised by having to leave Steve room too - he beat me to Druids as the kappa bogged down out of Paddock.
Nigel Craig's Impreza was next behind me now, and giving me the same sort of attention he had done the previous race. I was struggling in the later stages of the race, water temperatures were on the up despite the new radiator and electric pump, and the kappa was beginning to slow a little. More than once the Impreza got alongside exiting Clearways (deja-vu momemt, see race 1) but I managed to hold him off. Then Martin Johnstone in the DTM Merecedes 190E got by the Impreza and became nearest chase car. I actually thought about just letting him by, but once I outdragged it down the straight decided quite rightly that was a stupid idea and made him work for the place instead. The following lap he got better drive out of Clearways and just got enough nose alongside into Paddock that I had to concede the corner. The same lap, about 2 from the end, Stephen Craig's Impreza disappeared and Nigel took up the cudgels. He was taking a tight line round Clearways and coming up the inside, I was struggling for grip - unknown to me at this point was the fact that for the last few laps of the race, the steel cords were hanging out of my o/s front tyre leaving a trail of sparks. How the tyre didn't deflate completely until I put the car on its trailer, I'll never know.
Last lap, one more lap to hold off the Impreza and keep 8th place. I'd been lucky this time with back markers, none had an adverse effect on the gap between myself and the next following car. But one was to prove very helpful - as we rounded Clearways for the last time, the Impreza positioned in its customary inside line, we raced to the finish line. Only Tim Dodwell's Scirocco was circulating slowly, I managed to pass outside him, but the Impreza had to lift momentarilly assuring I reached the line first by 4.5 tenths! The two Minis arrived within a second of that - our 8 car battle had been the talk of the race and even got mentions in both weekly motor sport publications.
On the slowing down lap I realised the car was slowly filling with smoke! Oops! The engine was leaking oil which was then cooking on the exhaust - by the time we got back to the paddock, the leak was quite bad. By the time I got home the engine was empty of oil. Not good - the kappa is predictably back with Auto Integrale for investigation and repair.
And that means no Pembrey round of the LMA Euro Saloons for us next weekend. We need to investigate further why we are still having cooling issues - is it that air cannot flow through the intercooler because all the fins are squashed, or is it a fundamental aerodynamic problem that requires us to cover up the headlamp apertures? Amongst other issues, we need some more tyres and need to understand whether the monster torque steer that has not previously afflicted the kappa was down to worn tyres, suspension alignment not being just so, or something else.
We need time to fix all this so will not be entering the DMN race at Snetterton at end of May, this gives us 5 weeks to be ready for the LMA Euro Saloons race at Cadwell Park. At the time of writing, it looks like we may do a Classic Modified Saloons race the week after Cadwell at Silverstone as we would not otherwise be racing there this season.
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