I had fitted uprated whiteline flatout droplinks fitted all round, a whiteline flatout 24mm rear anti-roll bar and a whiteline flatout 22mm front anti roll bar fitted since my last sprint so I was hoping to be even more competitive than I was last time.
I was quickest all morning with my 5th run at 11:30am producing a time of 44.79s. What was odd though that the next 4 runs I did between 11:30am and 12:30pm were all in the low 45s. Now the track was drying out and I was learning the course more and more which usually produces faster times so I was a bit confused.
However by the 12:30pm break I was still fastest and the only person to break the 45s barrier !!! - and not just in my modified 4WD class but in ALL classes including the Pro Class. This had Andy Forrest in (renound as the best Subaru Tuner in the Country!) - Google him ;-)
Having a look over the car during the break I found out why I wasn't improving. 2 of my tyres were over worn and one was down to the canvas. I put my road tyres on but I was 2.5 seconds slower so no point wrecking them as well so I was just a spectator in the afternoon.
The track dried up more, and people started to learn the track better and better as they got more familiar with it.... I ended up 6th. Which isn't the worst position but nevertheless frustraiting when I know I could have been contending for the win.
New tyres will be bought for the next one in August which is a double header on 20th and 21st.
Bizzarely though, I am now joint 2nd in the championship with 2 others.
To fulfil a childhood dream (and to resist growing up responsibly) I have decided to Race my Car (WRX STi) in a sprint series called Grudgement Days. I will use this blog page to update followers with developments but please feel free to post questions, ideas, advice or simply just words of encouragement here..... and don't forget to add your name to the list of followers....
Saturday 2 July 2011
Sunday 19 June 2011
Race Day - Round 2
It's wet on the ground with a bit of standing water. Can't decide whether to star on my wet tyres FK452s, or my dry tyres R888?
Monday 18 April 2011
Sunday 17 April 2011
Round 1 write up
Was a little daunting to say the least seeing the quality of cars in the paddock. Every cat seemed to have a front mount intercooler and roll cage so I was little worried I was going to be out of my depth.
Due to the amount of competitors it took me nearly an hour to sign on and go through scruteneering so didn't have time to walk the track. I decided to watch a few cars go through to try and get an idea of the track formation from what looked like a sea of cones. Helped a little but couldn't really form a mental picture of the layout let alone lines so decided to just go out there and get a run in more as a sighting lap than anything. I posted a 47.43s lap.
I quickly decided i need to harden the suspension all round. So dialed in 15 of a possible 30 clicks as a starting point. My next lap was over 3s quicker at 44.23s. Followed by 43.63s, 43.20.
I was now starting to get a little understeer in a few corners. A quick measure of tyre pressures revealed the fronts were gaining 3psi from the cold temp pressure of 32psi so decided to drop them to 29psi. This seemed to work as next lap was 42.35s and put me into 5th going into the break for lunch. Top 4 go into a final shootout of one lap each so I was keen to gain the extra place. 4th had posted a time of 42.05s, just 0.3s quicker so I felt it was maybe within reach.
This confidence was short lived however due to my first lap after lunch I aborted due to missing a gear going into a long straight and posted 46.55s. I was now in 6th (going the wrong way to be in the final)
I soon got back up to got back up to 5th though by posting a 41.85 followed by 41.65s.
Then seemed to get into a bit of a rhythm as the next 5 times ranged from late 41s to late 42s and still in 5th place. Times were varying mainly based on how good my standing starts were.
Now I was familiar with the track layout I could start concentrating on balancing the car more (something I learnt from recent instruction at Oulton Park) so I took a few of the higher revving corners in a higher gear. It seemed slower so I thought I'd revert back.... Until I saw my times drop a little to 41.37s, 41.35s and 41.46s. I was quite surprised but I do remember the instructor saying to me "if it feels fast it isn't" I now know what she meant.
I was now in 4th and therefore qualifying for the final but only by 0.23s. I decided that if I was going to improve further then something needed to change. So I decided to play with the centre differential. Leaving it in Auto for the start and then slipping it into full rear (70/30) for the rest of the circuit before changing it to auto for the last corner which was proving tricky. Wow! The car felt completely different, a lot mor comfortable in terms of grip coming out of the corners. This showed in the times tumbling by over a second to a PB of 41.05s which was good enough for 3rd and Theroux qualified to the final.
I was very nervous on the start line as you only get 1 chance to post a good lap time in the Final. Unfortunately I totally messed up the start by bogging down and subsequently missing the diff switch and therefore was late breaking to the first corner and missed the apex. I struggled to recover from that and posted a time of 42.99... Ouch. Luckily one of the 4 spun off so I still ended the day in 3rd... Phew.
I had a great day and was really pleased with the performance of the car. I will be practicing my starts for the next race so I can post some more consistent times and hopefully not fluff a a final next time.
Due to the amount of competitors it took me nearly an hour to sign on and go through scruteneering so didn't have time to walk the track. I decided to watch a few cars go through to try and get an idea of the track formation from what looked like a sea of cones. Helped a little but couldn't really form a mental picture of the layout let alone lines so decided to just go out there and get a run in more as a sighting lap than anything. I posted a 47.43s lap.
I quickly decided i need to harden the suspension all round. So dialed in 15 of a possible 30 clicks as a starting point. My next lap was over 3s quicker at 44.23s. Followed by 43.63s, 43.20.
I was now starting to get a little understeer in a few corners. A quick measure of tyre pressures revealed the fronts were gaining 3psi from the cold temp pressure of 32psi so decided to drop them to 29psi. This seemed to work as next lap was 42.35s and put me into 5th going into the break for lunch. Top 4 go into a final shootout of one lap each so I was keen to gain the extra place. 4th had posted a time of 42.05s, just 0.3s quicker so I felt it was maybe within reach.
This confidence was short lived however due to my first lap after lunch I aborted due to missing a gear going into a long straight and posted 46.55s. I was now in 6th (going the wrong way to be in the final)
I soon got back up to got back up to 5th though by posting a 41.85 followed by 41.65s.
Then seemed to get into a bit of a rhythm as the next 5 times ranged from late 41s to late 42s and still in 5th place. Times were varying mainly based on how good my standing starts were.
Now I was familiar with the track layout I could start concentrating on balancing the car more (something I learnt from recent instruction at Oulton Park) so I took a few of the higher revving corners in a higher gear. It seemed slower so I thought I'd revert back.... Until I saw my times drop a little to 41.37s, 41.35s and 41.46s. I was quite surprised but I do remember the instructor saying to me "if it feels fast it isn't" I now know what she meant.
I was now in 4th and therefore qualifying for the final but only by 0.23s. I decided that if I was going to improve further then something needed to change. So I decided to play with the centre differential. Leaving it in Auto for the start and then slipping it into full rear (70/30) for the rest of the circuit before changing it to auto for the last corner which was proving tricky. Wow! The car felt completely different, a lot mor comfortable in terms of grip coming out of the corners. This showed in the times tumbling by over a second to a PB of 41.05s which was good enough for 3rd and Theroux qualified to the final.
I was very nervous on the start line as you only get 1 chance to post a good lap time in the Final. Unfortunately I totally messed up the start by bogging down and subsequently missing the diff switch and therefore was late breaking to the first corner and missed the apex. I struggled to recover from that and posted a time of 42.99... Ouch. Luckily one of the 4 spun off so I still ended the day in 3rd... Phew.
I had a great day and was really pleased with the performance of the car. I will be practicing my starts for the next race so I can post some more consistent times and hopefully not fluff a a final next time.
Monday 28 March 2011
Live results
The grudgement day website now has a live results section so you can see progress as it happens....
http://www.grudgement-days.co.uk/events/index.php/live-results
http://www.grudgement-days.co.uk/events/index.php/live-results
Sunday 27 March 2011
Competitors
Was speaking to one of the competitors online yesterday.... He's got a 550bhp impreza with a very good suspension set up and came 3rd last year in the modified class.
Don't think I'm going to have much chance of a podium with my 330bhp
Don't think I'm going to have much chance of a podium with my 330bhp
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Toyo R888 Semi-Slick Race Tyres Purchased
Hopefully these will give some much needed grip. I've gone for the GGG compound which is a med/ soft compound. Hopefully they will heat up quick enough for the sprints but not degrade so fast that they eat into my wallet...
That's the thoery anyway hahaha
That's the thoery anyway hahaha
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