PCGB Championship Hartech Boxster S Debut Video
Discussion
Here's a video of Ben Demetrio racing our Hartech Boxster S to victory in it's first competitive meet at Brands Hatch at the weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzAZ6eZvRqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzAZ6eZvRqw
It was a brilliant drive, everything worked well together: the team, the car and the driver. A great result by any measure, but even more so for the car's first ever meeting.
I'm looking forward to racing the other Hartech car at Oulton (should be sufficiently recovered from injury by then) so both cars will be out.
I'm looking forward to racing the other Hartech car at Oulton (should be sufficiently recovered from injury by then) so both cars will be out.
Ben told me he shouted "see yah" when he passed!
The engine is actually bog standard apart from the fact that we fully rebuilt it. You are not allowed to touch anything (not even clean a burr from an inlet etc) and we cannot risk doing so. Owners who don't expect to get to the front often do stretch the rules a bit because they never expect anyone to challenge but legitimate businesses who anticipate complaints if they do well - would be silly to risk anything outside the rules.
Consequently cars further down the field are often more powerful and faster - but not driven as quickly and don't appear so.
Having said that we are allowed to alter the ignition timing, fuelling and remove or change the rev limiter.
We are also limited to a maximum bhp (with a 5% tolerance).
Usually a good tuner can increase the ignition advance a little and to stop it detonating - increase the fuelling to create a little more torque before the revs that provide maximum bhp - so you don't break any rules but may have slightly more torque (which is different to bhp and occurs at a different rev range) and raising the rev limit can help if the gear ratios don't suit particular corners. They also may increase the number of step changes in the programming - but these engines are so well developed these days - it is actually very difficult to make many gains within the rules.
Unfortunately our preferred dyno man could not fit us in yet so our engine is standard - even to the 7,200 rev limit. It looks like it will be standard for Oulton park as well - after which we hope to have a bit more grunt (still within the rules which we will then check at the series control dyno - as we did last season when our cars were quite a bit inside the limits)
Racing is more about handling, braking and more than anything else - the quality of the driver and their confidence in the car and the team support.
We are lucky to have two brilliant drivers, the cars should handle well once we have had a chance to race them in the dry and learn about settings etc and the brakes have turned out to be very good indeed. As a team we are keen and capable but lack racing experience that only time can provide - so we don't always expect Ben to be able to compensate when we inevitably will get them wrong. With sometimes only 20 minutes qualifying on new circuits for us and the car - there is little time to change much so it can be a lottery until you return later (or next season) and refer to your records.
Damper choice is free (as long as the mountings are standard) and we chose the best available (and they cost more/set/car than the cars cost to buy in the first place) - so they should work well once we have found the best settings - but with only wet testing before Brands Hatch we are not there yet.
Actually - as brilliant as that win was - it increases expectations that are probably a bit premature - so we now feel under some pressure to provide a car as well set up as Ben deserves.
Finally - if you look at the video - you will see that Ben's progress was more by craft and relentless consistent lap times (helped by some clever positioning) than anything else and his car was equal in speed to a 968 and had a bit less grunt than the 993 and 996's - but it may handle better - probably brakes better and should keep the tyres in better shape for longer (once we learn what pressures etc to use).
Perhaps we were lucky at Brands Hatch - time will tell.
Baz
The engine is actually bog standard apart from the fact that we fully rebuilt it. You are not allowed to touch anything (not even clean a burr from an inlet etc) and we cannot risk doing so. Owners who don't expect to get to the front often do stretch the rules a bit because they never expect anyone to challenge but legitimate businesses who anticipate complaints if they do well - would be silly to risk anything outside the rules.
Consequently cars further down the field are often more powerful and faster - but not driven as quickly and don't appear so.
Having said that we are allowed to alter the ignition timing, fuelling and remove or change the rev limiter.
We are also limited to a maximum bhp (with a 5% tolerance).
Usually a good tuner can increase the ignition advance a little and to stop it detonating - increase the fuelling to create a little more torque before the revs that provide maximum bhp - so you don't break any rules but may have slightly more torque (which is different to bhp and occurs at a different rev range) and raising the rev limit can help if the gear ratios don't suit particular corners. They also may increase the number of step changes in the programming - but these engines are so well developed these days - it is actually very difficult to make many gains within the rules.
Unfortunately our preferred dyno man could not fit us in yet so our engine is standard - even to the 7,200 rev limit. It looks like it will be standard for Oulton park as well - after which we hope to have a bit more grunt (still within the rules which we will then check at the series control dyno - as we did last season when our cars were quite a bit inside the limits)
Racing is more about handling, braking and more than anything else - the quality of the driver and their confidence in the car and the team support.
We are lucky to have two brilliant drivers, the cars should handle well once we have had a chance to race them in the dry and learn about settings etc and the brakes have turned out to be very good indeed. As a team we are keen and capable but lack racing experience that only time can provide - so we don't always expect Ben to be able to compensate when we inevitably will get them wrong. With sometimes only 20 minutes qualifying on new circuits for us and the car - there is little time to change much so it can be a lottery until you return later (or next season) and refer to your records.
Damper choice is free (as long as the mountings are standard) and we chose the best available (and they cost more/set/car than the cars cost to buy in the first place) - so they should work well once we have found the best settings - but with only wet testing before Brands Hatch we are not there yet.
Actually - as brilliant as that win was - it increases expectations that are probably a bit premature - so we now feel under some pressure to provide a car as well set up as Ben deserves.
Finally - if you look at the video - you will see that Ben's progress was more by craft and relentless consistent lap times (helped by some clever positioning) than anything else and his car was equal in speed to a 968 and had a bit less grunt than the 993 and 996's - but it may handle better - probably brakes better and should keep the tyres in better shape for longer (once we learn what pressures etc to use).
Perhaps we were lucky at Brands Hatch - time will tell.
Baz
It's generally accepted that due to the engine layout , the boXster can carry more speed into a corner than a 911 , the 911 has great grip exiting a corner once the apex has passed , whereas the boXster has to be balanced on throttle and steering to prevent a spin. It looks like Ben hit the sweet spot on this drive , with only one case of a slight twitch from the rear. The boXster is a fantastic car to drive when it's set up well and the driver is sympathetic to it's characteristics , its capabilities are awe inspiring. I ve been lucky enough to have passenger laps in race prepped boxsters with capable drivers , keeping up with gt3's is more than possible in corners , and in many cases hustling them on the way in.
As has been said earlier , a lot of the success comes down to technique and consistency. Keep hounding the 911 on every corner and ultimately they will either lose concentration or make a mistake. Congratulations to Hartech and the Team , I'm sure this will be the first of many podium finishes.
As has been said earlier , a lot of the success comes down to technique and consistency. Keep hounding the 911 on every corner and ultimately they will either lose concentration or make a mistake. Congratulations to Hartech and the Team , I'm sure this will be the first of many podium finishes.
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