Silverstone, 9-10 August 2008
With Silverstone being our local circuit, it was felt important that we attend this race. After much deliberation, we went with the choice of renting a car for the event. Mardi Gras Motorsport supplied a Renault Clio Cup car for Simon Taylor last season so we contacted tham, found the rate for rent for the weekend to be very reasonable and that was that - we were racing a Clio.
With Mardi Gras Motorsport being based at Silverstone, it was agreed that we could pick up the car at the circuit rather than mess about collecting it and trailering it backwards and forwards. The weather forecast had been looking like rain was a certainty for Saturday morning, so I requested it be ready for collection on wet tyres. Its always better to change over to slicks than it is to change to wets - in the former case it is obviously not raining, so you don't get wet changing the wheels!
Saturday qualifying:
The qualifying sessions were running early - this had a major effect. We almost got caught out by the announcement calling us over to the assembly area, and it was at this point we made the decision to go with slicks. Cue a quick wheel change with much help from Rich Ellingham's support crew, Tim and Nick (thanks guys). We should perhaps have paid more attention when the rain started very lightly while changing the wheels, and while we were sat in the assembly area the wisdom of the tyre change was still in doubt. The plan was to get a banker lap in fast - while the more sensible drivers left the pit lane and weaved around trying to warm the tyres, we got straight on with it. An opening lap from the pit lane gave us 1:22, slow but we didn't realise at this point just how slow qualifying times would be in general. The track was that slippery that Mike Hurst spun the Vectra at Luffield as he left the assembly area!. A bit more effort on lap 2 saw us spinning the Clio as we turned into Luffield, we stayed on the track (just) but were facing the wrong way so had to wait for some cars to come by before it was safe to do a U turn across Luffield and resume qualifying. Just as we got back in the right direction, we saw Richard Hawken also rejoining after a spin.
A couple of cars came past on the inside at Brooklands and we rounded onto the start-finish straight just in time to see Angus Dawe's BMW M3 spinning round and crashing side on into the pit wall, leaving debris across the track. We slowed as we waited to see where the car would end up, and had to swerve around a part of the BMW's undertray. No surprise that the session was red-flagged almost immediately, not much more of a surprise that most of us came straight back into the paddock to change back to wets - thanks again guys!
Photograph courtesy of James Roberts
This not being F1, the wheel change still took a good few minutes. The rain was coming down hard now, in all truth we only went back out to ensure we had done the required 3 laps, and then once out drove around fairly gingerly trying to get a feel of how the Clio behaved on wets. We were expecting the worst as far as grid position went, something so far last as to need another sheet of paper. A good surprise was to be 30th from 37 cars, our lap time of 1:21.955 being 2-3 seconds faster than most behind us despite just "pootling" around.
Saturday race:
The rain did not relent, at least there would be no messing about changing wheels again. We lined up on row 15, far too far back to see the gantry lights. As the lights went out up front, we heard the roar of the lead cars and just hit the throttle. We thought we would gain some ground on slower starting cars in front, but suddenly everyone slowed as Doug Ellwood was fishtailing the Marcos Mantis down the straight. We followed the pack round for the first lap staying in touch with the 2 Vectras in front, then coming through Copse at the start of lap 2 saw Alex Schooledge parked against the pit wall, but moving off. We passed three cars through Copse including Clive Anderson's fearsome turbo V8 BMW - we didn't realise at this point that the rear wheel drive cars were struggling so much. The right hand side of the straight from Becketts to Luffield was all but flooded, and with the spray flying up and the windscreen misting up, there was no visibility.
We had got a decent drop on the cars behind us, Simon Jackson had got through on lap 2, and Antony Harrison was following closely in his Rover Tomcat. This was important, this was a race for class position. On lap 5 we were gaining fast on Ian Craig's BMW m3 coming out of Copse and passed him going into Becketts, only for superior power to blast the BMW back past us going into Luffield. We had visions of a race long battle swapping places as the BMW would always get the better of down the straights, but the BMW was sliding all over the place through Luffields and Brooklands, we exited onto the straight with more momentum and this time made the move stick. Still Antony's Tomcat was glued to our rear bumper. The Clio would pull out of corners really well creating a gap back to the Tomcat which would just close up by the end of each straight. I felt comfortable, that I had the measure of the Tomcat so long as I didn't bin the Clio.
Photograph courtesy of James Roberts
Lap 6 and the blue flags were out as we went into Becketts, and as we rounded Becketts there was Mal Davison already coming through to lap me - and suprisingly a long way clear of anyone else. How he could get the Noble to stick in these conditions was anyone's guess. It was another two laps before second placed Rhys Lloyd came through along the start-finish straight, then it was Richard Gould's Noble next up going into Luffield. More cars came through lapping us, but we were surprised to come up on Alex Schooledge and put a lap on him - the Vectra had hit the pitwall on lap 1 and was touring round as a result. Still the Tomcat was behind us, and we even survived a big wiggle through Copse when I thought the Clio was going round.
While a lot of cars were lapping us, the rain had really spread out the field and slowly but surely we were lapping the cars behind us, next up for us was a black Sierra. Then it all went wrong for us, Mal came through to lap us again while lapping other cars. In the swarm approaching Copse we had to lift, that was all the invitation the Tomcat needed to get the jump on us down the straight and join the gaggle of cars passing. Antony was pulling away fast, but now we were lapping Dean Irving's Sierra Cosworth and Jason Tarling's Clio was visible not too far in front. The red mist came down, we could pass a Clio! Now we were willing the chequered flag not to come out. After following Jason for a lap we outbraked him into Becketts, but he got better drive coming out and passed up the straight. Going into Brooklands, we were bumper to bumper, but Jason had caught one of the black Sierra's, the other was off the track on the outside, causing a yellow flag to be waved. So no overtaking until we passed the stricken Sierra, then hard on the throttle to pass the other Sierra, Jason having already gone by, maybe a little early. Coming into Copse, Jason moved over to the left but this caught him behind Clive Anderson who was struggling in the corners. I kept on the throttle and took Jason going into Copse, lapping Clive as we went through the corner while I watched the BMW weaving everywhere. This was the final lap, just a case of keeping it altogether and I would be "not last Clio"!. We made it to the finish line a second clear of Jason, 4th Clio, 12th in class and 23rd overall. All that effort for zero points as class points only run down to 10th! But it was an exhilarating race and reminded us how much we have missed racing this season.
Photograph courtesy of James Roberts
Sunday qualifying:
There was a feeling of deja-vu in the air. After arriving back at the circuit bright and early, and in sunshine, the wheels were changed back to the ones with slicks on. Yet the rain kept threatening to start up again, and drivers in other races out before us were saying the track was still quite damp up the back straight. Just as we were called to the assembly area - and with a 20 minute wait for "church bells", it started to rain again. But it was only a little shower and by the time we got out on track, the track was dry and we were on the right tyres after all.
We felt we were going to struggle more in the dry, there just wasn't enough confidence in what the Clio was doing. It wasn't much of a surprise that we qualified back in 30th (again), this time from the 32 remaining drivers, but we were disappointed to be a whole second adrift of Rich Ellingham's Fiat Tipo that would share row 15 with us.
Sunday race:
Plainly Rich was going to storm away if he got the drop on us from the start. 15 rows back we could barely see the gantry while in grid formation, knowing we would be more spread out on a rolling lap, there was no chance of seeing when the lights went out. Coming up the back straight, the grid at the back was already spreading out and as we came into Luffield I made sure I was ahead of Rich, then moved over towards the right giving him less space to come back through. As we rounded Brooklands there was no point in worrying about the lights, the front cars were already gone so I just nailed the throttle and got the drop on Rich from the start. Rushing down the straight, cars appeared in three rows heading for Copse, most down the centre of the track, one running down the outside so we went inside, partially because outside didn't look like it would work, and partially to protect against Rich going down the inside and getting by.
There was good and bad news, Rich was stuck behind us, but we failed to gain any other places and did no better on the run down to Becketts. Richard Hawken missed qualifying so started at the back, looking in the mirror while rounding Copse, I thought he had Rich had collided (they hadn't), but the Primera powered past coming out of Becketts, and Antony Harrison's Tomcat did the same coming out of Brooklands. Now it was just the two of us at the back. Rich was gamely hanging on, no, he was closer than that. The Clio was awesome braking into Becketts and pulling out the other side, but we were having to defend through the complex and were arriving at Copse closer than was comfortable on most laps. On lap 2 we gained just 1/1000th second, many other laps the difference was less than a 1/10. We even both did our fastest lap on the same lap, it was that close.
This went on for 12 laps, the gap remaining mostly consistent, the only variation when one or other of us lost time being lapped. But on lap 13 it all went wrong! Going into Copse Andrew Neal arrived to lap us just as we wanted to turn in, so we ran in with a wider line than ideal. But by now the "marbles" (pieces of tyre rubber) were littering Copse off line, this sent us wider still and the offside wheels of the Clio ran over the outer kerb, a serrated shape rather than a flat kerb. No worry, foot was kept hard in and although Rich was getting very close, as in almost alongside, we could outbrake him at Becketts. Simon Jackson was plainly having problems in his MG ZR as we were gaining quickly on him, might even get him going into Becketts.
The straight flicks left, still foot flat on the floor, 6000+rpm in 6th, then BRAKE - followed by "oh sh*t" as the pedal went to the floor. A couple of pumps later and the Clio was slowing now, but was never going to make the corner. We went straight across the track at Becketts, across the gravel trap (felt like we skipped over it rather than through it) and some way across the grass behind the trap until the Clio came to a halt. We were so far from the track we half expected to show our ticket to get back on! A drive across the grass to Becketts, then a wait for a gap so we could rejoin the circuit. A slow run up the straight to the sound of gravel splashing about under the car and an even slower run into Luffield to confirm we had brakes (we did). Rich was long gone, so was Simon.
We cruised around for a couple of laps to make sure the brakes wouldn't fail again. We had been pulling 6000+ in 6th at the end of all three straights, at least at Becketts there was somewhere to go, at Luffield we would have beached in the gravel (if we were lucky) or hit the wall (if we were not), and with no gravel trap at Copse these days, another car/wall interface situation may have occured. Slowly we regained the confidence that the brake failure was a one-off - we later learned Clios have a tendency for pad knock-off if you run over kerbs! But the race was over, and although we did overtake Tony Soper's stricken Harrier (turbo actuator failure) near the end, he retired leaving us to finish last.
Another finish, but 12th in class B again, so zero points. As this was our last race this season (it really is!), we played our joker - double zero points is still zero - but at least we scored some points in the Mark Fish Clio Cup Challenge, our joker has helped us move up to 6th!
So what is happening with the kappa? We are making plans for 2009 and have started picking up parts, making enquiries, etc. We have enough parts in place to build a new engine, have been promised a Motec M800 to replace the M48 we have been using (the M48 doesn't like 5 cylinders even though Motec say it will work), we have some bigger brakes (although they will need new bells and brackets). And we have rekindled our enthusiasm, which is probably more important than anything else.
In the meantime, Geri has taken delivery of his new kart and we hope to get out on track next weekend (16th) for initial running in abd acclimatisation. We are targeting his ARKs test for 23rd August and first race at Rye House on 7th September all going well.
Visit the LMA site for details of the LMA Euro
Saloon and Sports Car championship and standings so far.
Check out the current points
standing.
Send comments to: webmaster@nyssaracing.com
