CSCC Magnificant 7s - 2018

CSCC Magnificant 7s - 2018

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andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Thursday 18th January 2018
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I signed up for the 2018 Magnificent 7s race series at the autosport show. I'm intending g to race my relatively recently acquired K Series ex Mega Graduate car in Class B (125-140Bhp).

This will be my first foray into Caterham racing, although I have raced FWD tin tops and RWD Porsche 924/944 before with CSCC and others.

Mine will be one of the lower power cars in the races. Anyone else coming out to join me? It would be good to have a few people to play with in the lower power classes (Classes A upto 125 bhp, B upto 140 and C upto 156 bhp) at the blunt end of the grid.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Friday 19th January 2018
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CaterhamBalders said:
If your car is an ex mega graduate why don't you get yourself on the Caterham Graduates grid too? They still have a healthy size grid and you'd be racing with identical cars.
I have thought about it, but can't do 2 day meetings, which I think the Graduates are? Not family friendly, and therefore would rather do the 40 min race meetings of the cscc. Can also maybe share the car to offset some of the cost.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Friday 19th January 2018
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HustleRussell said:
You’ve probably got 135bhp at least? Should be pretty handy.
Hmm, pity the driver isn't!

Nevertheless, looking forward to my first experience of a Caterham on track.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
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HustleRussell said:
Call me biased...

The grads did a membership survey at the end of the '17 season and the feedback suggested among other things that the two day format was a turn-off for some (but not all). In '17 there was one single-day double header in the calendar at Oulton. This season there are two. Have a look? Perfect opportunity to dip a toe. I'm sure if you e-mail Chairman Roger Ford you can race as a guest without paying anywhere near the full club membership fee. Then maybe you can decide whether you could stand two days of it hehe

I would strongly disagree that the Grads is not family friendly, although I realise that you were probably specifically talking about the weekend format. Certainly there are plenty of families participating. Making a weekend of it means you have more time to mill about and socialise, and watch some of the other racing on the bill. OK you have an extra night camping or in the hotel but the Sundays are great- If your race is early you can pack up and leave in the early afternoon with no mad rush to get home before sensible bedtime. If your race is later, lie in leisurely fry up!

I don't dislike the one day format as such but if you're going to sign on, scrutineer, qualify and race in one day it's probably going to be 5pm or later by the time you're all done. Coming home from Oulton is over five hours for me. Once the adrenaline has worn off you're going to be dropping off.

I'm single but those with partners seem to find it easier to plicate them by spending two nights over it, be it a slightly posh hotel nearby or the wholesome camping approach, you'll fall in with people who want you to come to dinner with them on Saturday night... plenty to talk about with qualifying and race 1 done and race 2 to come.

Fams on tour!

Sorry if all the Grads club evangelicalism seems to be following you around but there's a reason people are enthusiastic about it.

Edited by HustleRussell on Friday 19th January 21:05
The family friendly comment was specifically a response to the largely 2 day format - it's a barrier to entry for me. I have no doubt the people are great, but Mrs 97 has done enough standing around at race meetings over the years to know that she isnt going to come away for full race weekends any more; plus I often work away in the week so being away all weekend isn't likely, and we have dogs to consider, too!

If 2 day meetings suit the majority then that is fair enough, but it's not possible for me, except maybe once a year. And that's probably taken up with the C1 24 hour race this year!

I have raced with CSCC for about 10 years in a number of their series; I was on the committee for 6 years and their Modern Classics coordinator for 2. I, too, am biased but I think it's a fantastic club with great paddock atmosphere, camaraderie and driving standards. The 30 min practice and 40 minute races on one day suit me, and sharing the car occasionally allows me to cut costs and I enjoy the sense of teamwork. 40 min races are an interesting and different challenge.

I am hoping that there are a few Class A, B and C (classes upto 156 bhp) cars to play with, though.

Anyone in the Grads Club that fancies a longer race or two would be extremely welcome and they won't have to change their cars one bit to be competitive in the appropriate class. Membership is only £39 and series registration is £99. Entry fees vary from about £350 to 390 depending on circuit. Can also enter a second 40 min race, the Open Series, on the same day with a £100 discount on the race entry.

Spa and Magny Cour both on this years calendar.


andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
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sfaulds said:
I'm planning on doing Snett in a class C car, so you wont be last!
Stuart, I wouldn't be on it! And I know how much experience you have of running 7s so your set up should be good.

We need to encourage a few more lower power cars out.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Monday 19th March 2018
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Have just entered the first race of the season at Snetterton on saturday April 7.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Wednesday 28th March 2018
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32 cars entered for Snetterton on Sat 7 April, and 10 in Class B with me. Hmmm, busier than I thought.

Hope the guys in front are tolerant of this mobile chicane.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Thursday 29th March 2018
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MR2_SC said:
Good luck!

If you’re up against the newer supersport/sigmax spec caterhams, while they make similar power to the mega and are in the same class, they have a broader spread of torque, an LSD and light flywheel so manage to get out of the corners a bit quicker. The Mega has better gear ratios but still manages to lose around 1 second per lap vs the newer cars.
In the middle of the field it doesn’t really make much difference and there’s good racing to be had.

I suspect a Mega with the LSD and flywheel would make a very competitive and fun package in Mag7 class B.
Thanks

Who said anything about the “middle of the field”, i fully expect to be at the back, treating it like a test session, but keeping an eye on my mirrors when i am being lapped.

And please dont try to persuade me to spend money on LSD and light flywheels etc!!!!!!

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
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Really enjoyed my first experience of Caterham racing yesterday at Snetterton.

Had a challenging morning with a split tyre (done whilst fitting) and a hairline crack in the ali fuel tank but once sorted the results were as predicted!

Qualified 38th (& last; 10 in my class) and finished 29th (& last!) but what the hell, it was great fun and it's a proper race car. Had a great battle with another car for much of the race but sadly he retired towards the end with a tech issue or else I would have beaten one person lol!
He was quicker than me on the straights (similar engine, K Series Supersport I think) but I was quicker through the corners.
I have a reasonable amount of club racing experience (but never been quick!) but have only a few laps of Caterham experience. Who knew that you could have this much fun coming last!

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
quotequote all
Thanks. I just hope that the series can maintain (or build on) the 10 car Class B, and add some Class A and Class C cars so that there is even better competition.

If enough lower powered cars come out to play, CSCC may even be persuaded to have another grid?

I even found the 40 minute format ok.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Sunday 8th April 2018
quotequote all
Can any of the Caterham experts out there tell me if there is a difference in engine spec between a K Series Supersport and a K Series Mega Grad engine? I assumed they were the the same.

The car i was battling with yesterday was faster down the straights but i was quicker through the corners and on rxit speed.

Not had the car on the dyno but all seems healthy enough. Just seems odd thst the other car was faster in a straight line!

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Monday 9th April 2018
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sfaulds said:
andy97 said:
Can any of the Caterham experts out there tell me if there is a difference in engine spec between a K Series Supersport and a K Series Mega Grad engine? I assumed they were the the same.

The car i was battling with yesterday was faster down the straights but i was quicker through the corners and on rxit speed.

Not had the car on the dyno but all seems healthy enough. Just seems odd thst the other car was faster in a straight line!
From memory the only difference was that the grads stuck an ali plenum and bigger throttle body on them. As far as I'm aware it only really achieved an increase in noise and vibrations (I think it moved the peak power further up the rev range too).
Thanks, Stuart. Must be my incompetence then!

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
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MR2_SC said:
Maybe a silly question but are you using all the revs? Rev limiter is circa 7800rpm so change around 7500.

Even with sealed engines in the grads some cars are quicker on the straight - maybe a recent head rebuild for the other car? Maybe the other car has some tweaks over a standard supersport spec?
Must admit i was changing up at about 7000 as thought rev limit was 7200. Spoke to McMillan Motorsport yesterday and they told me that rev limit was 7600 with peak power virtually near the end.

Must admit that i am more used to racing torquey engines (inc turbos) with peak power lower down the rev range. It sort of seems difficult/ scary to convince myself to rev almost to the red line.

Interesting!


Edited by andy97 on Tuesday 10th April 11:07

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Wednesday 11th April 2018
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HustleRussell said:
It’s worth saying that without an LSD there is a real skill to getting the power down in a mega and in some corners avoiding spinning the inside wheel can influence your line.
If it requires "real skill", that's me knackered then!!!!!!

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Friday 13th April 2018
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MR2_SC said:
I suspect a Mega with the LSD and flywheel would make a very competitive and fun package in Mag7 class B.
Just out of interest, what is the recommended LSD and flywheel combination...........?

Tran-X 5 speed Type 9 'box.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Tuesday 29th May 2018
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Racing in Mag 7s at Oulton Park this coming Saturday. Not been out in the car since Snetterton. Sharing it with a F. Vee driver of my acquaintance, too, so it will be interesting to see how he gets o compared to me.

The only change to the car has been the fitting or a large convex rear view mirror to improve my view of those lapping me, LoL!

A good entry overall, and 10 cars in my Class B again.

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Tuesday 17th July 2018
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Thought I would bring this up to date.

Oulton Park was a massive challenge - hideously wet in the morning and survival was the order of the day. I think everyone did well to get through qualifying without a red flag. I qualified last but one but way off the pace. 38 cars on the grid, including 10 Class B cars and 4 x Class C cars (Class B is where I sit) so plenty of relatively lower powered cars. One of the Class B cars, Harry Senior, qualified 5th - ASTONISHING.

The race was dry and I got away well ahead of a couple of people but missed a gear after the first corner and dropped back. I struggled to be honest and didn't drive very well. I had a spin at Druids after putting a wheel on the wet grass but everyone missed me, and then I went off at Lodge as well. I thought something had broken but all seemed OK and maybe it was just crap on now wet tyres meaning I went straight on. Confidence lost, I struggled round a couple of more laps before I came in for my pit stop and changed drivers. I was sharing the car for the first time. Mike brought the car home but the race was cut short and that was that. We finished last but one in 29th place; several others didn't finish.

Must admit I felt very disappointed in myself afterwards and was all for giving up! I was way off anyone else's pace and way off the sort of lap times that the car had previously done around Oulton with the previous owner. We had had several tech challenges which didn't help my mood either, and the car needed a new fuel tank (a crack), an intermittent starter issue needed investigating and I decided to investigate the set up (I have driven it as I bought it up to now, but I am 20Kg (ish) heavier than the previous owner and he had had ballast in the passenger footwell too).

A few weeks later, with the corner, cross weights, ride heights and toe out adjusted, and I was out at Donington on a track evening with an instructor for company. The instructor spotted a few basic flaws in my technique and we worked on those and I felt a lot happier.

I raced at Brands Indy last weekend, driving on my own again. Another packed grid and some awesomely quick front runners, but 9 in my Class and a Class A car and 3 Class C cars for company, too. Its getting close to the time when the "Group 1" Mag 7s (Classes A, B and C) might be able to have their own grid. Come on folks, come and join us! It would be fantastic to get our own grid and would mean we don't have to spend so much time looking in our mirrors for rocket ships.

This time I qualified ahead of 2 other cars. Success!! (apart from one trip in to the gravel when I tried to use more of the road on the entry to paddock Hill than was there!!).

The race was a bit lonely but I finished 29th out of 32 finishers. More importantly, perhaps, I was quicker than the driver I had been nip and tuck with at Snetterton and only a second off the last owners previous pace. Maybe I am getting a bit less poor! The instruction certainly helped and I enjoyed it. I am no longer contemplating giving up and back in love with racing a Caterham. I do need to get the hoover out, though, to try to get rid of the last of the gravel! And there were some low oil pressure indications (c19 psi) in the corners for 2-4 seconds on most laps; see my "I have just agreed to buy a MegaGrad" thread.

I am not doing Thruxton, sadly, but may have 2 races to come at Donington and one at Mallory.





Edited by andy97 on Tuesday 17th July 10:31

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Wednesday 18th July 2018
quotequote all
It was all pretty good to be fair. I was surprised on a couple of occasions (outside of Paddock Hill Bend exit, once :-O ) but the overtaking cars were good, and i found that a panoramic mirror helps!!!

It would be great if we could get back to 2 x big grids though!

By the way, i am not annoyed by the high powered cars, just jealous and slightly in awe of being able to race a Caterham with that much power and (usually) a sequential ‘box!

Edited by andy97 on Wednesday 18th July 10:22

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Monday 17th September 2018
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Another update, if no one minds.

Raced at Donington Park yesterday and had a good day by my own (low) standards!

39 cars practiced. 12 in Class, the largest group.
Qualifying was a challenge as someone dumped oil all round the track after about 4 laps and I think I was the first to experience it at Redgate (survived ok, with just a wiggle) and then at Old Hairpin I turned in and went completely broadside into the edge of the gravel, quickly followed by a couple of other pirouetting cars and a red flag. Before the red flag, though, I was worried that I was going to get hit, but fortunately luck was on my side.

After a significant delay whilst the marshals used up a sizeable quantity of Blue Circle's finest, we had another 4 laps, which was a bit of a waste of time but seat time is seat time.

I qualified 37th and 10th in class.

Rain before the start of the race led to some anxious moments and thoughts about changing tyres but I stayed on the semi-slick Nankang AR1s. We started behind the safety car because of the damp track and I then proceeded to have a good battle with another Class B car. Good, clean fun as we traded places until the pit stops. In the second half of the race I had no one to really battle with but I did start to drive quicker and settled into a good smooth rhythm, pushing the car, and me, quicker than I had previously thought I could. I had had some instruction at Donington recently and I had Jordan Sanders' advice ringing in my ears.

Towards the end I was catching the car of my close protagonist from the early part of the race, although I had no way of knowing whether that was a battle for a place or not, after the pit stops were taken in to account. I did fail to overtake him on the last lap, but the results showed that I was already ahead by most of a lap anyway. Finished 31st.

My fastest race lap was 4.7 secs quicker than my qualifying lap! The lap analysis showed that in my first half of the race I had been a couple of secs per lap slower than my fastest lap, but consistent, but after the pit stop I picked up pace and was lapping consistently near my fastest race lap. No idea why! The times also showed that if I could have lapped throughout at, or near, my later stint pace I could have been battling with 2 or 3 cars ahead of me, in theory.

My fastest lap is also nearer the pace of the previous owner on the same circuit than I have been hitherto. Progress anyway.

I really enjoyed the race and driving standards were excellent. The lapping front running cars were really good to us slow coaches, too. I really like racing a Caterham - from thinking about giving it up at Oulton, I now wish I had done it years ago!!!

Mallory Park next on October 7th.

Photographs of the event are here:

https://www.davidstallardphotography.com/ClassicSp...

My trip to the beach is in page 14/15 and the Mag 7 race photos start on page 77.

I like this one, as I braked later for the chicane. I am car 36!

https://www.davidstallardphotography.com/ClassicSp...

Edited by andy97 on Monday 17th September 21:09


Edited by andy97 on Monday 17th September 21:22

andy97

Original Poster:

4,703 posts

222 months

Monday 8th October 2018
quotequote all
Sunday 7 Oct was my last race of the season; 5 Mag 7s races completed, 2 half track days in the 7 and 1 C1 24 Hour race at Rockingham, but the less said about the latter the better.

Mallory Park had 24 cars entered and 8 in my class, Class B. Qualifying early was very cold and there was just a single dry line throughout the track after Saturday rain. I spun at the Esses on the Green Flag lap. Cold tyres and cold greasy track. I hardly touched the throttle!!!

On my next lap round, 3 other cars were broadside or on the grass having done the same thing! I took things very carefully from that point onwards and didn't have a great deal of confidence. I qualified 20th out of 23 in 1 min 01 something. Class pole was 53.9. Hmmmm, he doesn't have enough imagination! At least I had 3 cars behind me.

The track dried really well and it warmed up a fair bit. I got a poor start and then had a fairly lonely race to finish 16th out of 18 finishers. Unfortunately the 2 usual people I get to battle with were not entered at this meeting and I am not quick enough to trouble the rest of the people in the class. I still lapped nearly 6 secs faster than qualifying but the class fastest lap was 3 secs quicker again. Oh well, I still enjoyed it and drove faster around Mallory than I have ever gone before in a variety of cars, and Gerrards in a Caterham is great fun.

Overall It's been a good season, and I will definitely be back in Mag 7s next year. I do love racing a Caterham. A couple of spins throughout the year but no damage at all. Driving standards have been fantastic and no contact, and it's a good Paddock to be part of.

On average Class B (125-140 bhp) has been the biggest class in each race with between 8 and 12 entrants. There has usually been 2 or 3 Class C cars and one Class A car as well. If we could just get 5-6 more cars out regularly amongst this group then maybe we could persuade the club to put on a separate race for the lower powered cars.






Edited by andy97 on Monday 8th October 14:31