Thursday 3rd September 2015

Leaders Hillclimb Multi Car Challenge - GT86

How to follow that crowd-pleasing S8 run? Al tries his luck at Gurston with a GT86

---

Changeable weather is part and parcel of motorsport in the UK, but we had hoped Gurston Down might remain dry for the next instalment of the Multi Car Hillclimb Challenge in a Toyota GT86.

Saturday gave the Primo plc sponsored team hope as we rolled up to a cold but dry track that dips down and then up along its 967-metre course through the Wiltshire countryside.

Oranjeboom!

My first run also happened to be the very first of the whole weekend, so I was the range finder for everyone else. That's daunting at any hill climb, but when Gurston's fearsome Hollow Bend is waiting for you it focuses the mind rather sharpish.

As it was, the track was far from ideal. A slow start was the result of too much wheelspin, which carried on when second gear was selected on the run down to Hollow.

In good conditions, all that's needed for Hollow is a slight lift before this right-left kink. For my first run, a dab of the brakes made sense as I had no idea how much grip was on offer from the Toyota's Continental ContiSportContact 3 tyres. As it was, there was much more grip than I thought, but better to put in a sluggish 44.51 second run and survive for another run.

Team-mate David Finlay, aka Mr David, learned from my run to put in a 44.04 time, so I knew what to aim for. A second run saw my time drop to 42.81 seconds before Mr David lowered it again to 42.23.

GT86 fun but not that fast

This was all going in the right direction, so we experimented with first gear for Ashes Bend. This comes after the slingshot of Karousel and the Deer's Leap launch pad. To get enough drive out of Karousel, we were dropping to first gear, taking second just before Deer's Leap and then leaving it there for Ashes. However, this felt very slow, so using first for Ashes made sense. Only it didn't.

Studying the split times after these third runs, where I managed an improved 42.55 seconds and Mr David slipped to 42.49, we realised we were wasting more time with the two gearchanges at Ashes than was being gained by leaving the car in second.

All of this came about because the GT86 may have 200hp, but it makes do with 151lb ft of torque and that doesn't peak till 6,400rpm. Until the engine was above 5,000rpm, it just felt tardy. On the road, this GT86 felt great, especially as it sits 40mm lower and has a Milltek Sport stainless steel exhaust system, so it handles and sounds better than stock. It also has very handsome Rota alloy wheels and there's the small matter of its Esso Ultron Tiger Toyota Supra homage wrap as one of the six created by Toyota to celebrate its most iconic racing liveries for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This eye-catching livery drew lots of positive comments and helped us promote the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes to Gurston's competitors and visitors.

Field as diverse as ever!

We could have done with a tiger in the tank come Sunday morning. Cold and damp, conditions had changed overnight and were far from ideal, which showed in a very ginger 47.46 second time for my final practice. Mr David managed 46.65 but shared my concerns over the greasy track surface and tail-happy handling of the GT86. This latter point is a hoot on quiet roundabouts, but not so good for tight hillclimb corners.

Also not so good was the competition in our class. There was little doubt Paul Webster would win in his well driven Mazda MX-5 and Gary Pitt was putting in a great performance first time out in his Ford Escort Mk2. John Davey was ferociously quick in his MG Midget, while Anthony Record was as smooth and fast as ever in his Proton Coupe. Add in a Nissan Micra and you can see how diverse the class was.

Weather not grrreeeeat, sadly

The weather was just as diverse, with the sun coming out for the first competition runs. At last a chance to shine on track, but a 43.92 second run for me was disappointing and Mr David was also dismayed with 42.95 seconds. Then the rain reappeared and that was it, the second competition runs were more about bringing the car back safely.

It would be easy to be disparaged by this weekend, but Gurston Down is an involving hillclimb and very well run. The Toyota's stand-out livery raised plenty of smiles and we had the use of a Toyota Proace with G&P camper conversion, so we had somewhere to shelter from the rain.

Next up is Prescott in a Subaru WRX STI, so another change of pace. Let's just hope the weather stays the same for once.

---

Previous reports:
Mercedes A45 AMG
Abarth 695 Biposto
BMW i8
Vauxhall Corsa VXR
Ford Fiesta ST
Seat Leon Cupra ST
Audi S8

Watch the video here.

 

[bassett]

Great write up guys, would be interested to hear more on how you found the lowered springs and exhaust on the road and track as I'm looking to upgrade mine in the near future.

Adam

[Ved]

That exhaust sounds much better than the standard one too. Very nice and looks like a lot of fun. Very keen to see what the WRX STI does next time!

[LordGrover]

bassett said:

Great write up guys, would be interested to hear more on how you found the lowered springs and exhaust on the road and track as I'm looking to upgrade mine in the near future.

Adam

Be careful. It's easy to screw up the day-to-day handling - I tried lower Tein springs which felt great initially, but soon becomes tiring - made it too harsh for my taste, although I've retained stiffer ARB.

[alisdairsuttie]

Hi Adam. I was worried the lowered ride height might spoil the GT86 as a road car, but in this instance I think the balance is spot on. I completed two 100-mile trips on the road in the car on mixed roads and both were comfortable. There's a little more road noise from the different tyres fitted to this car, but it's still a very sound everyday proposition, though I suppose it does depend to some extent on personal preferences. The best bit is the changes to the suspension and exhaust didn't detract from the GT86's essential feel or character.

The Subaru should be an impressive car as we have proper Toyo R888 tyres for the first and only time this season.