F3 Cup first race meeting - Oulton Park
Discussion
Afternoon all,
The first race meeting of the year for me was easter weekend and it certainly did not go to plan, to say the least!
Session 1 of the test day on the Friday ended abruptly when i touched the 2nd apex curb at Druids, on full power, and slammed into the tyre wall at just over 100mph. Went in backwards which wiped out pretty much everything at the back of the car (rear wing, engine cover, side pod, wheel, 1 corner of wishbones/driveshaft, diffuser, gearbox nappy). lots of broken carbon fibre :-(.
Ego bruised but i was fine, that was the end of the test day. we managed to locate enough spares to rebuild the car over the weekend and we were ready for qualifying on Monday morning... so was the rain.
unfortunately i went out for qualifying and the engine was only running on 3 cylinders with occasional misfires. This ruined quali and i was back in 15th place out of 18 that survived qualifying. I gained some places off the line and held 12th, including being hit from behind on lap 1 and using the escape road. after a safety car period the engine started to drop off and i was overtaken by 2 cars before i slipped off the track at druids.
here's how the first race went on board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrDGZLaWh_Y
a new engine is in the car now and should be getting mapped early next week. Donington next weekend after a test at Snetterton on Friday should be a different story... hopefully.
cheers
James
The first race meeting of the year for me was easter weekend and it certainly did not go to plan, to say the least!
Session 1 of the test day on the Friday ended abruptly when i touched the 2nd apex curb at Druids, on full power, and slammed into the tyre wall at just over 100mph. Went in backwards which wiped out pretty much everything at the back of the car (rear wing, engine cover, side pod, wheel, 1 corner of wishbones/driveshaft, diffuser, gearbox nappy). lots of broken carbon fibre :-(.
Ego bruised but i was fine, that was the end of the test day. we managed to locate enough spares to rebuild the car over the weekend and we were ready for qualifying on Monday morning... so was the rain.
unfortunately i went out for qualifying and the engine was only running on 3 cylinders with occasional misfires. This ruined quali and i was back in 15th place out of 18 that survived qualifying. I gained some places off the line and held 12th, including being hit from behind on lap 1 and using the escape road. after a safety car period the engine started to drop off and i was overtaken by 2 cars before i slipped off the track at druids.
here's how the first race went on board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrDGZLaWh_Y
a new engine is in the car now and should be getting mapped early next week. Donington next weekend after a test at Snetterton on Friday should be a different story... hopefully.
cheers
James
indeed, fast druids at Oulton Park (essentially the second to last corner, fast right hander after the bridge).
looking at the data i was doing just over 120mph before braking, dropped to about 98mph in the middle of the corner, then back on the throttle and she was clear of 100mph quick enough. ouch at 102.1mph to be precise.
plenty more speed to come through there though, i had only done 6 laps. i was pulling just over 2g and i'm pretty sure she's good for closer to 2.3/2.4g when the tyres are fully up to temp etc.
It's Spa i'm looking forward to, 135mph through Eau Rouge and 145 through Blanchimont :-)
hopefully i'll get some video up with all running well from Snetterton and Donington next week
cheers
looking at the data i was doing just over 120mph before braking, dropped to about 98mph in the middle of the corner, then back on the throttle and she was clear of 100mph quick enough. ouch at 102.1mph to be precise.
plenty more speed to come through there though, i had only done 6 laps. i was pulling just over 2g and i'm pretty sure she's good for closer to 2.3/2.4g when the tyres are fully up to temp etc.
It's Spa i'm looking forward to, 135mph through Eau Rouge and 145 through Blanchimont :-)
hopefully i'll get some video up with all running well from Snetterton and Donington next week
cheers
RobP said:
Sorry to hear about your big off at Druids, but well done for geting back out. Thought I might catch you at Donny on Friday, but I guess you can't practise with open wheelers on normal track days. Good luck for the weekend.
Donington is a nightmare for testing. Every other track in the country puts a test day on the friday before a race meeting (both open and closed wheel), Donington on the other hand puts on one the Tues/Wed before! who is going to travel to the track with all the lorries 3 days ahead of time only to pack up, to come back again. seems stupid to me. I'm sure they lose money due to it as well. I'm now testing at Snet on the friday which is money that should be in their pocket!anyway, rant over, have a good day on track mate
cheers
James
FUNKSTER UK said:
James...... Looks great!
I feel hard done by when it's raining on track and I have to put the wipers on........ It's easy to forget what a luxury they are against you guys in the thick of it with a visor and a glove to wipe it with.
Good luck testing Friday.....
indeed mate, bring back tin tops that what i say, looks like i'll get plenty more wet weather driving practice over the next few days as well. what about that BBQ this weekend Matt lolI feel hard done by when it's raining on track and I have to put the wipers on........ It's easy to forget what a luxury they are against you guys in the thick of it with a visor and a glove to wipe it with.
Good luck testing Friday.....
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
Does RainX work on visors?
It does to some degree but when its really really wet the spray is relentless and you just get huge amounts of water building up. I don't seem to get on with tear-off visors either. Anti fog is good but you need to keep everything bone dry for it to work, any moisture when applying will kill thatGassing Station | Noble | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff