SR&GT Silverstone 1 April

[erictharg]

After the miserable attempt to the set up with the 1.5 rockers I was glad to make it to the race today at all. Bit of a cold start but the sun came out and we had a glorious day weather wise. No problems at scrutineering but nearly failed the noise test. My new exhaust manifold is letting a lot more noise out than the old one. At least 4 dBA higher. Must do a repack before Brands. Practice was OK. Didn't get a good clear lap but still ahead of Paul's Tiger 23 replica which was the only other car in my class today. At least I had someone to race against. Practice was red flagged after only one lap with John Dickson stuffing his RAM Cobra into the pit wall after having his gear lever lock in neutral coming out of Luffield. Looked terminal but...
The new rear end feels much better. Less nervous - easier to push to the limit.
Back in the paddock they've got the Cobra in bits and are going to try and get it ready for the race (we were to be the the last race at around 17:00). Front clam and mounting subframe all stuffed along with radiator and oil cooler.
As the day goes on the smashed Cobra takes shape and is literally ready as we roll out of the marshalling area onto the track for the race, and so has to start from the back. Held together with duct tape and ty-raps but running OK it seems.
I totally mess up the start - too few revs and bog badly. By the time I've got moving both the cars behind me have gone. Try to keep calm as I know I can beat them. After two laps I've reeled them in and am back where I started. Lap three and I see John spin his repaired Cobra again, but hits nothing this time. I hold my position and the only other action is being overtaken by a group of three cars coming out of Luffield. Two on my left and one Vortec up the inside on the right. Really close - did we touch?
Car ran well and felt good but the best lap not as good as hoped. 1.14 something and I did a high 1.12 last year. Didn't feel as if the A021's were lacking grip either. Main thing is that I stayed in front of Paul's 23 and get a pot for actually beating someone this time. Big news is that John Dickson managed to win overall in his repaired Cobra - good effort. Cheng's Cobra was leading by a mile but blew the g/box or clutch. That's what 600hp+ does for you!
Noticed big black tyre colour stripe on my bodywork from the Vortec overtaking. Ho hum - could have been worse. Shame he didn't even check my car was OK afterwards though.
Next race is Brands Hatch last weekend of April. Need to sort out the silencer and hopefully the rockers by then. Really should replace the brakes too as I meant to do that over winter, but they were OK today. Hope we get the same weather.

[sgrant]

Any idea why the slower laptimes? I was wondering if you felt the engine was down a bit on power this year?

[LA 11 builder]

Great report, too bad about the contact. I am sure there are at least 129 reasons why that should never have happened. As far as the brakes go I would not worry too much: after all they only slow you down!

[adamwilkinson]

^^ haha.

Charles, make sure you dont pack the silencer too tightly!

[erictharg]

The slower laps could be tyres as I'm on A021's instead of the ACB9's, but they don't feel to have much difference grip wise. Interesting thing is that my best practice lap was 1 sec better than my best race lap, despite my feeling I was being held up behind Ken's D Type as he was taking it easy with a fresh crank. Am I overdriving already? I've agreed to go halves with Stephen Grant on a day's tuition with a pro driver he's used before. Given all I have had to date is the ARDS it has to be money well spent.
The contact was fine - it was after all perfectly judged (or very lucky...). Down to the millimetre. So credit to the Eclipse driver for their judgement. A tyre mark I can polish out! Although it does illustrate the difference in risk that an out and out sports car driver might make compared to your more typical SR&GT guy.
Adam - I've ordered some stuff from an outfit Thermal Velocity in Manchester. It comes stitched together and then when you run the engine the stitches burn off and is expands to provide the ideal density fill for sound reduction. At least that's the theory. Plus it's cheaper than the dense glass mat that comes from Demon Tweeks. I'll keep you posted on it. They shipped it next day as promised, so that's a good start!
Head off over the weekend to check spring heights and likely install some shims to get it spot on. Should cure the valve bounce.

[erictharg]

I believe there's a link on the SR&GT facebook page to filmed coverage of the race. I'd missed it not being a facebook person. If you watch it you'll see the "ooh err" overtaking by the front runners coming through Woodcote about 2/3rds through the race. Next event is Brands double header 28/29 April.