Porsche Racing Snetterton 21/22 April
Discussion
Further to someone's request last week, here's a brief report of my races this weekend. I hope that Henry-F & Steve Rance will give their reports from the Open races too, but here's mine from the Club Championship:
Testing
I'd tested on Friday with very few others from the championship and no-one quick from my class (2). I didn't test last year but got the class fastest lap in the second race (1.21.71) and only one other car in class got under 1.22 at that meeting. I got a few laps in the 1.21s, which I was really pleased with, particularly the consistency, a 1.21.7x followed immediately by a 1.21.8x, then later a 1.21.28 i.e. nearly half a second faster than anyone in class (me) got last time.
Qualifying
I obviously felt confident in qualifying and was hence not pleased to only get class 2nd, exactly 1/100th second behind Richard Lambert (outright champion 2004, runner up last year).
Race One
I was 6th on the grid, which meant I was looking at a gap no wider than my car between 2 class 1 968s on the row in front, Tom Segrue (2005 champion) to the left, Mike Clapham to the right. Given that 911s get off the line so much better than front engined cars I was wondering about going around the outside of both these if needed, thereby likely to avoid much trouble/contact at the first corner (Riches). As it happened, Tom got a great start and was away past the front row & into the lead. I got a cracking start too and past the pole-sitting 964 of James Neal into Riches, leaving Lambert trapped behind him. From 6th to 3rd by the 1st corner was some result. Out of the second corner (Sear) and onto the Revett straight and Neal with much more power easily passed me, then dived down the side of 2nd placed Mark McAleer (968) into the Esses - a very brave a decisive move which he pulled off well, catching Mark by surprise. Meanwhile, I was left a bit on my own and this continued for most of the race. I found out later that Lambert spun at Riches. Luckily there was no contact but it slowed the field down, which explained why I was so far ahead of them all. I maintained 4th overall until lap 13 (of 15) when I let by some slightly quicker class 1 cars (no point fighting them off). The problem with running largely in your own space is that you have little reference of how fast you're lapping compared to others (in your class). Eventually Brian Robinson (944 S2) was in my mirrors (but a bit in the distance) with Lambert hot on his tail. I saw the last lap board and took the last lap quite steadily, being cautious of back markers, who weren't always aware of the quicker guys needing to pass them. Due to passing through such traffic Ian Oliver (class 1 911 2.7) was hot on my tail around the Bombhole & Coram (long left hander) and dived on the inside into Russell (the last chicane and followed immediately by the start finish straight and the chequered flag). There was no need for him to do this, as he was nowhere near catching any class 1 cars in front (they may even all have finished by this point), but likewise there was no need for me to try and stop him. Anyway, it was very close but a clean move that worked for him. All I had to do was drive out of Russell and over the finish line to secure the class win. Unfortunately as I accelerated away I changed out of 2nd gear and couldn't find 3rd, or anything else. I searched frantically, even hitting first gear briefly and seriously over-revving the engine. I got going again, but not quick enough to stop the others getting past, Richard Lambert from 3rd actually getting past Brian Robinson by 25/1000th of a second at the line. I was another 1.005secs behind and ABSOLUTELY GUTTED!!
I was robbed etc etc but have only myself to blame (that and Porsche's bloody 915 gearbox 
). Another 1.5 seconds later came next in class Trevor Lewis, who had started from the back of the grid (he failed scrutineering purely on his helmet type, borrowed a suitable one but had to re-queue and missed the session) and hence got a great result, especially as it's his first season and a new car (to him).
Race Two
It seemed my engine had actually survived my, ahem, mishap
without problem. However, I no longer had 1st gear
. Somewhat of a worry being 9th on a grid of 30, I would either just start slow or worse still, stall it and get collected by the oncoming pack 
. I made sure some of the guys behind knew so they could be aware of me. When the lights went out I got it off the line OK and the class one cars of Mike Clapham (968) & David Botterill (964) from the row behind came through fine, as did some others. James Neal, on pole, missed 2nd gear (I found later) so I was amazed to be upon him again before the first bend. I had an OK race, passing some slower cars who'd had me at the start and then passing Brian Robinson and getting away (I heard later he'd had some problems, but he seemed to be going full tilt when I passed him) and was then on my own again. I had a fantastic view of the extremely close battle for the class 2 lead between Richard Lambert & Trevor Lewis. It was all clean but VERY close, they had a superb race and it was great to watch. It also meant I was closing in on them bit by bit. There were moments when passing back markers, but no clear opportunity until Trevor missed a gear out of Russell (tell me about it 
) and Richard went past but it was still nose to tail between them at the flag. Richard said later he was expecting me to come barrelling through at the start (I usually fly off the line), rather than having Trevor to deal with. He didn't know I had no 1st gear - I said I'd kept it on a "need to know" basis 
. He and Trevor both had huge grins afterwards, great to see racing so close and so well-spirited. They looked literally like just one orange car going 130mph or more down the Revett straight. The race wasn't long enough for me to close in and make it a 3 car battle but I did get fastest lap chasing.
I think I made the best of a bad job and had a great weekend's racing with no contact or damage (cosmetic anyway), although I was hoping for better than the two class 3rds I got (along with a suntan
).
I will add photos when I find any.
Next race Silverstone Sunday May 20th, 2 races on 1 day.
Testing
I'd tested on Friday with very few others from the championship and no-one quick from my class (2). I didn't test last year but got the class fastest lap in the second race (1.21.71) and only one other car in class got under 1.22 at that meeting. I got a few laps in the 1.21s, which I was really pleased with, particularly the consistency, a 1.21.7x followed immediately by a 1.21.8x, then later a 1.21.28 i.e. nearly half a second faster than anyone in class (me) got last time.
Qualifying
I obviously felt confident in qualifying and was hence not pleased to only get class 2nd, exactly 1/100th second behind Richard Lambert (outright champion 2004, runner up last year).
Race One
I was 6th on the grid, which meant I was looking at a gap no wider than my car between 2 class 1 968s on the row in front, Tom Segrue (2005 champion) to the left, Mike Clapham to the right. Given that 911s get off the line so much better than front engined cars I was wondering about going around the outside of both these if needed, thereby likely to avoid much trouble/contact at the first corner (Riches). As it happened, Tom got a great start and was away past the front row & into the lead. I got a cracking start too and past the pole-sitting 964 of James Neal into Riches, leaving Lambert trapped behind him. From 6th to 3rd by the 1st corner was some result. Out of the second corner (Sear) and onto the Revett straight and Neal with much more power easily passed me, then dived down the side of 2nd placed Mark McAleer (968) into the Esses - a very brave a decisive move which he pulled off well, catching Mark by surprise. Meanwhile, I was left a bit on my own and this continued for most of the race. I found out later that Lambert spun at Riches. Luckily there was no contact but it slowed the field down, which explained why I was so far ahead of them all. I maintained 4th overall until lap 13 (of 15) when I let by some slightly quicker class 1 cars (no point fighting them off). The problem with running largely in your own space is that you have little reference of how fast you're lapping compared to others (in your class). Eventually Brian Robinson (944 S2) was in my mirrors (but a bit in the distance) with Lambert hot on his tail. I saw the last lap board and took the last lap quite steadily, being cautious of back markers, who weren't always aware of the quicker guys needing to pass them. Due to passing through such traffic Ian Oliver (class 1 911 2.7) was hot on my tail around the Bombhole & Coram (long left hander) and dived on the inside into Russell (the last chicane and followed immediately by the start finish straight and the chequered flag). There was no need for him to do this, as he was nowhere near catching any class 1 cars in front (they may even all have finished by this point), but likewise there was no need for me to try and stop him. Anyway, it was very close but a clean move that worked for him. All I had to do was drive out of Russell and over the finish line to secure the class win. Unfortunately as I accelerated away I changed out of 2nd gear and couldn't find 3rd, or anything else. I searched frantically, even hitting first gear briefly and seriously over-revving the engine. I got going again, but not quick enough to stop the others getting past, Richard Lambert from 3rd actually getting past Brian Robinson by 25/1000th of a second at the line. I was another 1.005secs behind and ABSOLUTELY GUTTED!!
I was robbed etc etc but have only myself to blame (that and Porsche's bloody 915 gearbox ). Another 1.5 seconds later came next in class Trevor Lewis, who had started from the back of the grid (he failed scrutineering purely on his helmet type, borrowed a suitable one but had to re-queue and missed the session) and hence got a great result, especially as it's his first season and a new car (to him). Race Two
It seemed my engine had actually survived my, ahem, mishap
without problem. However, I no longer had 1st gear. Somewhat of a worry being 9th on a grid of 30, I would either just start slow or worse still, stall it and get collected by the oncoming pack . I made sure some of the guys behind knew so they could be aware of me. When the lights went out I got it off the line OK and the class one cars of Mike Clapham (968) & David Botterill (964) from the row behind came through fine, as did some others. James Neal, on pole, missed 2nd gear (I found later) so I was amazed to be upon him again before the first bend. I had an OK race, passing some slower cars who'd had me at the start and then passing Brian Robinson and getting away (I heard later he'd had some problems, but he seemed to be going full tilt when I passed him) and was then on my own again. I had a fantastic view of the extremely close battle for the class 2 lead between Richard Lambert & Trevor Lewis. It was all clean but VERY close, they had a superb race and it was great to watch. It also meant I was closing in on them bit by bit. There were moments when passing back markers, but no clear opportunity until Trevor missed a gear out of Russell (tell me about it ) and Richard went past but it was still nose to tail between them at the flag. Richard said later he was expecting me to come barrelling through at the start (I usually fly off the line), rather than having Trevor to deal with. He didn't know I had no 1st gear - I said I'd kept it on a "need to know" basis . He and Trevor both had huge grins afterwards, great to see racing so close and so well-spirited. They looked literally like just one orange car going 130mph or more down the Revett straight. The race wasn't long enough for me to close in and make it a 3 car battle but I did get fastest lap chasing. I think I made the best of a bad job and had a great weekend's racing with no contact or damage (cosmetic anyway), although I was hoping for better than the two class 3rds I got (along with a suntan
). I will add photos when I find any.
Next race Silverstone Sunday May 20th, 2 races on 1 day.
Me with 2 class one cars behind coming out of Russell. Note the wild flames out of Ian Oliver's exhaust.
Same place, again with a class one car behind:
Race 2, David Botterill (class 1 964) made an error at Russell to allow me through at last (hard to pass a car with better brakes & more power, even if you can lap quicker). Notice he's on just 3 wheels:
I didn't see this but it's one of the slower class 1 964s having a spin & rather dramatic recovery:
Same place, again with a class one car behind:
Race 2, David Botterill (class 1 964) made an error at Russell to allow me through at last (hard to pass a car with better brakes & more power, even if you can lap quicker). Notice he's on just 3 wheels:
I didn't see this but it's one of the slower class 1 964s having a spin & rather dramatic recovery:
Here's the official report:
www.msdpcgb.co.uk/pages/cla07/cla07round2result.asp
And here's the one for the Open series. Well done Mr Rance!
www.msdpcgb.co.uk/pages/open07/open07round2result.asp
www.msdpcgb.co.uk/pages/cla07/cla07round2result.asp
And here's the one for the Open series. Well done Mr Rance!
www.msdpcgb.co.uk/pages/open07/open07round2result.asp
Edited by thegoose on Monday 23 April 15:01
My Race weekend followed the same pendulous theme of Oulton but finished with a happy ending.
Testing Friday.
Sent out to bed in new front pads in session 1 and buzzed yet another clutch. Its the 4th 5th upchange that is the problem. Away from the body and it doesn't help that I'm left handed. The over rev isn't that high (9000 -9100) but just enough to buz the clutch. That is the 4th clutch in 1 hour of running. With my regular engineer and mechanics at Rockingham, we were relying on Parr's 2nd team for the weekend. How about this for a 2nd team? Roger my mehanic comes from FIA GT and Williams F1, Giles the data engineer, Mclaren FIA GT, and Lawrence the race engineer, International FIA GT. Everyone at Parr comes from a high level motorsport background, even the race transporter driver John, worked for Bernie Ecclestone. Amazing. Anyway, the second team took 15minutes longer to fit a new clutch than the first team and got me out for the last session but due to stoppages only got 7 laps of testing in which was very dissapointing.
Qualifying.
We were aiming at 996 cup times as a qualifying guide but we are weight penalised in the open to keep the cup car class even so I carry over 40kg of balast. This makes data benchmarking with cup times difficult but luckily Richard Westbrook drove my car earlier in the year at Snett with the weight added and we used his data as a guide. Most cup drivers flat shifted in the 996 car (flat throttle, button the cluch to change gear) as it is very effective in high horsepower cars like a cup car. The downside is Geabox damage which is all but inevitable. We dont have the budget to flat shift so we factored out the time benefit on the lap to set a guide. At Snett, with it's long straights flat shifting finds 1.3 seconds on a lap. Richard set 1.11.3 in my car flat shifting so my qualifying target was 1.12.6. We had 15minutes to qualify so starting tyre temps are critical. We needed to leap frog as many cars as we could in qualifying as passing the quicker 997 cup cars and a like in class one is very difficult in race conditions due to thier power advantage. After a lot of head scratching Parr set my cold pressures and told me to bring the tyres in over 2 laps and then push hard. My first flyer was a 1.13.3 and my second a 1.12.9. The next two laps were spoiled by traffic but the time was good enough for P3 on the grid overall so the team brought me in to save my tyres. Although they were right and I understood the reasoning, I really could have used the extra track time. We were happy with qualifying and looking forward to race 1 in the afternoon. Ahead of me was a 996RSR and Rupert Lwein's GT2 but there over a second between me and P4 so we hoped for a podium finish for a good grid position in the hour race on Sunday.
Race1.
As I joined the grid for the green flad lap, my engine stuttered and died. After what seemed like a lifetime sitting in the car surrounded by mechanics frantically working to get me out I was pushed off of the line in into the pit lane. The feul pump had failed, I would be starting the hour race from last position. It was an incredibly bitter pill to swallow after qualifying so well. We really needed a good finish in race 1.
Race 2.
We decided to treat the whole race as one sprint divided by a pit stop. Race pace was to be low 1.15's but we changed to 1.14s for the whole race which, on cold deflated tyres and full feul to start and shagged tyres to finish is a tough average. The plan was to attack from the second corner work up the grid as far as I could and if neccessary defend in the last 10 minutes. I got a good start and managed to get to P8 by the bomb hole. I tried a move on Henry which I honestly though was on but we made contact and both went off. It was a tough one, the car following me saw it and thought it was on but it was at best 50/50 and on refection I think my mistake. We both manged to join the circuit again with minor panel damage but I was concerned that my nearside front geometry was out. I was pleased to see Henry joining the circuit but by the end on lap 1 i was last by over 30 seconds. Enter plan 2. The race was now a super sprint, I could no let up for one corner. I drove as hard as I could and banked on getting a small rest in my obligitory pit stop. I seemed to spend the whole of the first 30 minutes planning passing moves so that they wouldn't lose too much time and trying to push the car as hard as I could as the feul load lightened. It was hard to judge because you can find a little more lap speed in Coram, Riches and Sear but it means several oposite lock adjustments and that is not good for tyre preservation. A driver is constantly weighing up these decisions during an endurance race and it makes the whole thing so much more interesting and challenging. By 35 minutes I had passed the grid to P3 which was may objective and the team called me in to pit. Inside The car was so hot but i had some cold water remaining in my drinks bottle and the team bled my tyres while the marshal counted down the 30 seconds. I exited the pits exhausted to see A hard charging Peter Morris in my mirrors. He was about a lap into his stint and charging hard. His co driver Craig had started P4 and I knew that Peter would fight hard for P3. I could tell from my pit board that Peter was slowly catching me but I didnt want to respond until the gap was about 2 seconds as my tyres were going off and I hoped I could make the end of the race without pushing them too hard. Whe the gap got down to 2 seconds I pushed hard for 4 or 5 laps and Pete and I swapped fastest laps for a while before he dropped back. In the end I finished third overall and first in class. It was a great race and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Afterwards I went and spoke to Henry Firman. He felt that it was his corner and as I was not entirely sure that it was mine, I apologised. He took it in good grace and I am glad to see that he finished a strong race.
Fantastic racing and what is even more encouraging is that I didn't miss one gearchange for the entire race..
Steve R
Testing Friday.
Sent out to bed in new front pads in session 1 and buzzed yet another clutch. Its the 4th 5th upchange that is the problem. Away from the body and it doesn't help that I'm left handed. The over rev isn't that high (9000 -9100) but just enough to buz the clutch. That is the 4th clutch in 1 hour of running. With my regular engineer and mechanics at Rockingham, we were relying on Parr's 2nd team for the weekend. How about this for a 2nd team? Roger my mehanic comes from FIA GT and Williams F1, Giles the data engineer, Mclaren FIA GT, and Lawrence the race engineer, International FIA GT. Everyone at Parr comes from a high level motorsport background, even the race transporter driver John, worked for Bernie Ecclestone. Amazing. Anyway, the second team took 15minutes longer to fit a new clutch than the first team and got me out for the last session but due to stoppages only got 7 laps of testing in which was very dissapointing.
Qualifying.
We were aiming at 996 cup times as a qualifying guide but we are weight penalised in the open to keep the cup car class even so I carry over 40kg of balast. This makes data benchmarking with cup times difficult but luckily Richard Westbrook drove my car earlier in the year at Snett with the weight added and we used his data as a guide. Most cup drivers flat shifted in the 996 car (flat throttle, button the cluch to change gear) as it is very effective in high horsepower cars like a cup car. The downside is Geabox damage which is all but inevitable. We dont have the budget to flat shift so we factored out the time benefit on the lap to set a guide. At Snett, with it's long straights flat shifting finds 1.3 seconds on a lap. Richard set 1.11.3 in my car flat shifting so my qualifying target was 1.12.6. We had 15minutes to qualify so starting tyre temps are critical. We needed to leap frog as many cars as we could in qualifying as passing the quicker 997 cup cars and a like in class one is very difficult in race conditions due to thier power advantage. After a lot of head scratching Parr set my cold pressures and told me to bring the tyres in over 2 laps and then push hard. My first flyer was a 1.13.3 and my second a 1.12.9. The next two laps were spoiled by traffic but the time was good enough for P3 on the grid overall so the team brought me in to save my tyres. Although they were right and I understood the reasoning, I really could have used the extra track time. We were happy with qualifying and looking forward to race 1 in the afternoon. Ahead of me was a 996RSR and Rupert Lwein's GT2 but there over a second between me and P4 so we hoped for a podium finish for a good grid position in the hour race on Sunday.
Race1.
As I joined the grid for the green flad lap, my engine stuttered and died. After what seemed like a lifetime sitting in the car surrounded by mechanics frantically working to get me out I was pushed off of the line in into the pit lane. The feul pump had failed, I would be starting the hour race from last position. It was an incredibly bitter pill to swallow after qualifying so well. We really needed a good finish in race 1.
Race 2.
We decided to treat the whole race as one sprint divided by a pit stop. Race pace was to be low 1.15's but we changed to 1.14s for the whole race which, on cold deflated tyres and full feul to start and shagged tyres to finish is a tough average. The plan was to attack from the second corner work up the grid as far as I could and if neccessary defend in the last 10 minutes. I got a good start and managed to get to P8 by the bomb hole. I tried a move on Henry which I honestly though was on but we made contact and both went off. It was a tough one, the car following me saw it and thought it was on but it was at best 50/50 and on refection I think my mistake. We both manged to join the circuit again with minor panel damage but I was concerned that my nearside front geometry was out. I was pleased to see Henry joining the circuit but by the end on lap 1 i was last by over 30 seconds. Enter plan 2. The race was now a super sprint, I could no let up for one corner. I drove as hard as I could and banked on getting a small rest in my obligitory pit stop. I seemed to spend the whole of the first 30 minutes planning passing moves so that they wouldn't lose too much time and trying to push the car as hard as I could as the feul load lightened. It was hard to judge because you can find a little more lap speed in Coram, Riches and Sear but it means several oposite lock adjustments and that is not good for tyre preservation. A driver is constantly weighing up these decisions during an endurance race and it makes the whole thing so much more interesting and challenging. By 35 minutes I had passed the grid to P3 which was may objective and the team called me in to pit. Inside The car was so hot but i had some cold water remaining in my drinks bottle and the team bled my tyres while the marshal counted down the 30 seconds. I exited the pits exhausted to see A hard charging Peter Morris in my mirrors. He was about a lap into his stint and charging hard. His co driver Craig had started P4 and I knew that Peter would fight hard for P3. I could tell from my pit board that Peter was slowly catching me but I didnt want to respond until the gap was about 2 seconds as my tyres were going off and I hoped I could make the end of the race without pushing them too hard. Whe the gap got down to 2 seconds I pushed hard for 4 or 5 laps and Pete and I swapped fastest laps for a while before he dropped back. In the end I finished third overall and first in class. It was a great race and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Afterwards I went and spoke to Henry Firman. He felt that it was his corner and as I was not entirely sure that it was mine, I apologised. He took it in good grace and I am glad to see that he finished a strong race.
Fantastic racing and what is even more encouraging is that I didn't miss one gearchange for the entire race..
Steve R
The first time out in a race car since September`s 24 hour race I was looking forward to this weekend. Friday`s test went well. The morning was spent pottering round for a couple of hours adhering to a 5,000 rpm limit so as not to upset the newly re-built engine. Everyone seemed to be shooting past on the straights but the car felt great. In the afternoon I was free to drive the car properly and I was able to dust down the car from it`s winter hibernation. There was a lot of traffic around, much of it slower Jaguar and other GT cars, whilst some complained it limited their chances for datum laps I used it as a chance to freshen up my overtaking skills. On a trackday you drive the perfect line, in a race (or a test session) someone else is on that line so you look for different ways round the moving obstacle of the slower car. You also quickly spot where a car is slow and use that to your advantage. You also have to learn the skill of being assertive through your car`s body language. It`s like playing chess at 140mph. Anyway the car was running well straight out of the box, testament to the skills of the Jaz crew in Wembley.
The one problem I knew I was going to be up against from the entry list was straight line speed. We have always been slow against the newer GT3`s (mine is a 2001 car) and Snetterton is a real power circuit with 2 huge straights. As it was the cars pulled away along the straight but I was able to play catch up going under the bridge, through the esses, the bombhole, corum and down towards The Russell chicane. I could also brake late into richies and try to get the power down early to close the gap into Sear, knowing I was going to lose ground again down the revett straight. We had tried to address the power problem with a re-map but this rebuild had thrown up detonation problems with the pistons so we were forced to use standard mapping giving us around 370bhp against the 400 plus we really needed.
The first race of the weekend was something of a farce. Reduced from 20 to 15 minutes George Brewster span his GT3 mid corner at sear, and whilst I was able to avoid it Colin Ingram made contact. As a result the race was stopped. When it re-started it was for 10 minutes (though no one told me). A quick potter round, overtake a couple of cars and all of a sudden the chequered flag is being waved. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
Sunday`s race was more my thing. A few years ago a one hour race was a big undertaking, 2 seasons of endurance racing later it`s all in a day`s work. I`ve actually trained over the winter this year as well so the sunshine was a bit of a bonus. The less fit in the field would be feeling the pinch and losing concentration towards the end of the race especially in the heat of a Porsche racecar cabin, although a fair number of teams were fielding two driver entries.
The race got off to a good start with everyone being sensible. I suffered a bit down the straight & I couldn`t lean on the cold tyres too hard at the end to compensate for lack of straight line speed but no matter, there was an hour to go. Into the Esses I noticed Steve Rance behind me and thought he`d done well to charge through the pack from the back of the grid, Rome wasn`t built in a day though Steve. I moved the car to the right heading towards the bombhole so as to let Steve know he wouldn`t be diving up my inside, I turned in then at the apex there was a loud bang as Steve hit me just in front of the rear wheel. I span, left the circuit and he tapped my front wing as we were on the side of the track. A schoolboy error and possibly you need to focus a little more on race craft rather than absolute lap times !
No matter, it`s easy to let the red mist descend at this point and drive like a loon. I stayed calm, pulled off and checked to see if there was any obvious damage. All seemed well so rather than pull into the pits I did a slow drive past of the pit wall to alow the team to scan the car. They told me all was well and so off I went. Slowly the cars started to come into view and I just spent the next hour making steady work through traffic and climbing back up the class 2 grid. I was pleased that no one took too long to get past even when the lap times were not that fat apart, there was always somewhere on the track where they were a bit slower and I managed to slip past. There was one moment when I overtook two cars at sear, one on the outside, one on the inside more or less at the same time. Thanks to both guys for allowing me the corner, I was on a charge to catch up the next person on my list !
Towards the end of the race the car was still in great shape and the tyres were lasting well (I hadn`t driven for and hour on these Michelin tyres before so didn`t know how they would be), I had one last person ahead to catch, Paul Winter and put in a few quicker laps to catch up then took him going into Corum. I was hoping that I might slip past Tommy Dreelan`s 997 GT3 ut was beaten by the chequered flag.
A great weekend in the Norfolk sunshine. Good to meet some new faces, the Apex boys seem fun, and to re-acquaint some old friendships. It was good to see Colin Ingram make the start of race two and fitting that he took the third step of the class 2 podium. We`ve got to see about re-mapping the ECU although most of the other circuits are less outright power dependent.
Next stop Silverstone in May & it would be good to see a few more Porsches in the outfield parking (although a very respectable showing this time). On a final note it was good to see two of our old cars out in the Club championship. Brian Robinson was driving Tom`s old trackday 944 and Malcom Jones was running a 964 he bought from us (almost exactly as it left us !) and it must be surely the cleanest car in the club championship. A concours entry and a race entry at the next Porsche festival with the same car, how cool would that be - could this be the car that brings the club together ?
Henry
The one problem I knew I was going to be up against from the entry list was straight line speed. We have always been slow against the newer GT3`s (mine is a 2001 car) and Snetterton is a real power circuit with 2 huge straights. As it was the cars pulled away along the straight but I was able to play catch up going under the bridge, through the esses, the bombhole, corum and down towards The Russell chicane. I could also brake late into richies and try to get the power down early to close the gap into Sear, knowing I was going to lose ground again down the revett straight. We had tried to address the power problem with a re-map but this rebuild had thrown up detonation problems with the pistons so we were forced to use standard mapping giving us around 370bhp against the 400 plus we really needed.
The first race of the weekend was something of a farce. Reduced from 20 to 15 minutes George Brewster span his GT3 mid corner at sear, and whilst I was able to avoid it Colin Ingram made contact. As a result the race was stopped. When it re-started it was for 10 minutes (though no one told me). A quick potter round, overtake a couple of cars and all of a sudden the chequered flag is being waved. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
Sunday`s race was more my thing. A few years ago a one hour race was a big undertaking, 2 seasons of endurance racing later it`s all in a day`s work. I`ve actually trained over the winter this year as well so the sunshine was a bit of a bonus. The less fit in the field would be feeling the pinch and losing concentration towards the end of the race especially in the heat of a Porsche racecar cabin, although a fair number of teams were fielding two driver entries.
The race got off to a good start with everyone being sensible. I suffered a bit down the straight & I couldn`t lean on the cold tyres too hard at the end to compensate for lack of straight line speed but no matter, there was an hour to go. Into the Esses I noticed Steve Rance behind me and thought he`d done well to charge through the pack from the back of the grid, Rome wasn`t built in a day though Steve. I moved the car to the right heading towards the bombhole so as to let Steve know he wouldn`t be diving up my inside, I turned in then at the apex there was a loud bang as Steve hit me just in front of the rear wheel. I span, left the circuit and he tapped my front wing as we were on the side of the track. A schoolboy error and possibly you need to focus a little more on race craft rather than absolute lap times !
No matter, it`s easy to let the red mist descend at this point and drive like a loon. I stayed calm, pulled off and checked to see if there was any obvious damage. All seemed well so rather than pull into the pits I did a slow drive past of the pit wall to alow the team to scan the car. They told me all was well and so off I went. Slowly the cars started to come into view and I just spent the next hour making steady work through traffic and climbing back up the class 2 grid. I was pleased that no one took too long to get past even when the lap times were not that fat apart, there was always somewhere on the track where they were a bit slower and I managed to slip past. There was one moment when I overtook two cars at sear, one on the outside, one on the inside more or less at the same time. Thanks to both guys for allowing me the corner, I was on a charge to catch up the next person on my list !
Towards the end of the race the car was still in great shape and the tyres were lasting well (I hadn`t driven for and hour on these Michelin tyres before so didn`t know how they would be), I had one last person ahead to catch, Paul Winter and put in a few quicker laps to catch up then took him going into Corum. I was hoping that I might slip past Tommy Dreelan`s 997 GT3 ut was beaten by the chequered flag.
A great weekend in the Norfolk sunshine. Good to meet some new faces, the Apex boys seem fun, and to re-acquaint some old friendships. It was good to see Colin Ingram make the start of race two and fitting that he took the third step of the class 2 podium. We`ve got to see about re-mapping the ECU although most of the other circuits are less outright power dependent.
Next stop Silverstone in May & it would be good to see a few more Porsches in the outfield parking (although a very respectable showing this time). On a final note it was good to see two of our old cars out in the Club championship. Brian Robinson was driving Tom`s old trackday 944 and Malcom Jones was running a 964 he bought from us (almost exactly as it left us !) and it must be surely the cleanest car in the club championship. A concours entry and a race entry at the next Porsche festival with the same car, how cool would that be - could this be the car that brings the club together ?
Henry
Great reports Steve / Henry, very interesting to read and put a real world perspective on racing, where it's not all about the fastest car getting past, looking forward to further reports over the season,,,best of luck guys
Henry, looking back over your sales records, you haven't sold a Porsche in a funny colour or savannah interior in the past to a Mr Rance have you???
Henry, looking back over your sales records, you haven't sold a Porsche in a funny colour or savannah interior in the past to a Mr Rance have you???
Well there was that one in..... bloody hell now I remember.
We`ve all done it & there was no point in being too hard on the old boy because it might be me in the doghouse next time. But I ask you - the first lap with 59 minutes to go !
An excellent weekend and hopefully the first of many more.
Henry
We`ve all done it & there was no point in being too hard on the old boy because it might be me in the doghouse next time. But I ask you - the first lap with 59 minutes to go !
An excellent weekend and hopefully the first of many more.
Henry
Henry-F said:
Well there was that one in..... bloody hell now I remember.
We`ve all done it & there was no point in being too hard on the old boy because it might be me in the doghouse next time. But I ask you - the first lap with 59 minutes to go !
An excellent weekend and hopefully the first of many more.
Henry
We`ve all done it & there was no point in being too hard on the old boy because it might be me in the doghouse next time. But I ask you - the first lap with 59 minutes to go !
An excellent weekend and hopefully the first of many more.
Henry
Its years of racing in single seaters where even a chink of space is a gap. Its been done to me so many times from a lot further back. Gareth Rees Obliterated me at druids in a FF junior race and he was about 10 feet behind me in the braking area. I agree with you Henry, it was a dumb move in an hour race. I felt pretty bad when I re played it in my mind. You did well to get back in the thick of it because we seemed miles back when we re-joined the circuit. To be honest your car looked pretty good down the back straight. You didn't look too down on power but you were losing time on the exits. a hole in the torque curve maybve? I think that you are right, it looks like a mapping issue Henry.
looking at the damage on my car, I think i tapped you on the rear then again on the front as you span?
Kind of like a spit roast......
I like you but not that much!
Steve
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