Tuesday 23rd June 2015

Ford Escort RS Group 4: PH Fleet

The learning curve continues as a newly invigorated Yellow Peril takes to Abingdon Carnival Stages

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Abingdon Carnival Stages, one of the biggest events of the year for the single venue boys. Fast, furious and usually pretty damned baking hot too. The Yellow Peril's front panel and spoiler had been nicely repaired by Spraytech Aylesbury after the aquaplaning incident at rain-soaked Woodbridge Stages and we were raring to go again.

We would run harder compounds because of the long stages, speed and abrasive surface this time. So the Kumho K51s we normally run on the back went on the front and the harder K61s on the back. This is the only venue at which we use the K61, the surface is that nasty.

Wait, isn't rallying meant to be about mud and rain?

This time last year we'd finished 11th overall against some heavy metal like an ex-WRC car and some 2.5-litre Escorts (the Peril is 2.0-litre). They score on torque, so where the 2.5s can haul through in third, I might have to shift down to second and keep it screaming for a tight corner, That's fine but the lower gear multiplies the torque much more and excessive sideways stuff becomes hard to avoid. OK, I know we all like sideways but on tarmac, the car that's getting power down and pointing in the right direction will always go quicker.

The Yellow Peril was in good shape for the day. The JRE engine has been freshly built by KSP and it's torquey with the new style SBD throttle bodies. The brake change on the front last year, to the massive AP 5040 'Pro 5000 Plus' open back radial calipers are brilliant in terms of stopping power. I'd never believed how crucial the choice of brakes can be until I found myself stopping the Yellow Peril from 115mph on the fast straights when diving into solid chicanes.

Fighting fit and ready for action!

The brakes take a right old hammering but you just have to be sure they'll stop you with no fuss otherwise it could all end in many, many tears. Along with the gearbox oil change (Millers limited-slip diff oil for that) the brakes get a quick bleed before each event. Some fresh Millers 300 racing fluid (300 degrees plus boiling point) goes in with enough pumps on the pedal to get the old stuff out of each calliper.

So, happy in the knowledge everything was immaculately prepared, Dave and I sat on the start line of SS1, me with that odd mixture of cold fear, excitement and fear of failure competing for head space. The fear of failure bit always makes you get a hurry-up on, but it's not worth letting it push you to near the edge and run the risk of making a mistake. The first stage is always tough, you want to get going, but being quick out of the box is difficult without having got the feel of the grip on any given day. Stage layouts are two laps each, run twice to make two separate stages. Virtually everyone is quicker on SS2 than SS1 for obvious reasons so it's important to get on it right away and get the best possible time without binning it.

Freshly rebuilt engine feeling strong

Mechanical casualties soon started to appear on the side of the stage but we were off to a good start. The tyres were new and unscrubbed so the first half a lap was a bit wild. There are lots of very fast straights punctuated by 'hard points' like wooden pallets and in keeping with the site's military status, very large bits of concrete. Last of the late of the brakers are welcome to it but if I'm approaching any of that hard stuff with no run-off, I leave a bit of a margin.

The new roof vent was working OK, a relief after last year when we nearly suffocated and things were looking good. Then on the last lap of the second stage, that tell tale smell of spirits stared to filter into the cabin. I knew it couldn't be an injector popping out like last year and that the plumbing was all sound up front so hoped for something daft like a missing filler cap in the boot. The engine was pulling as strongly as ever, so we pressed on and hoped for the best.

Hang on, can you smell petrol again? Oh...

Once off the stage it became apparent something bad was happening and a check revealed a cracked fuel rail which meant game over for the day as I wasn't carrying a spare and there wouldn't have been enough time for a fix anyway. The injection system is pressurised at three bar and although still feeding the engine OK, was hosing out all over the place. This was down to a previous engine build at JRE when the engine was returned with a fuel rail-mounted pressure regulator instead of my inner wing-mounted original. The weight of it had cracked the new rail and that was that.

Much grinding of teeth; we were having a lot of fun and going well. It's all fixed now and ready to go again, with a new rail and the fuel regulator back where it should be. Better luck next time. The video is of the full second lap of the 11-mile SS2. It's a bit long but hopefully gives a proper feel for what Abingdon is like.

Watch the video here.
 

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FACT SHEET
Car: 1978 Mk2 Ford Escort RS
Run by: Jesse Crosse
Bought: January 2010
Mileage: 1,000 (or so) stage miles since 2009
Purchase price: £36,000
Last month at a glance: In fine fettle and ready for action at Abingdon

Previous updates:
Enter the Yellow Peril! An intro to Jesse's Escort
A solid early outing, or would have been if not for electrical gremlins
Abingdon stages a proper workout for Jesse and the Yellow Peril
Summer break? Perfect time for some upgrades then!
Brands Hatch Summer Stages gives the Escort a proper workout
The coolant issue returns and a winter project beckons
Yellow Peril heads to the stages after a winter rebuild
Summer tyres for a rain-shodden rally

[Images: Neill Barnard]

[ALBA MELV]

Will watch the video later. The fuel rail is a bit of a pisser but at least it's an easy enough fix. I bet there's going to be a spare in your support vehicle from now on!

[dinkel]

Why do Mk2's look so damn cool?