Snetterton - 25/26th October 2014 - PBMW rounds 13 &14

After a positive day so far in the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons races I once more took to the track on Saturday afternoon to qualify for Sundays Production BMW races. As always a top 10 qualifying position was the aim and looking at the times from the earlier races looked like it might be possible.

I was a bit of a shock but a very welcome one to finish the session in 5th place with my best time falling further to 2:26.932, As the F4 championship was at the event TSL timing where also able to provide speed trap data at 3 points on the circuit, as I was in the top two through each of these I can at least confirm that Climax Motorsport as expected have built a very good engine.

Main aim at the start of race 1 was to keep 5th position, off the line Matt Swaffer and Mark Palmer in 6th and 7th got passed but Andy Baylie in 4th got a poor start so existing turn one I was down to 6th, however when Matt Swaffer out braked himself into the hairpin for the first time I was able to snatch 5th place back.

The rest of the race was probably the best race I've had to date, the first few laps involved desperately battling with Mark Palmer for 4th, at least twice going through the tight lift, right of bundle and nelson side by side. Unfortunately battle with Mark allowed Matt Swaffer to catch back up and would end up getting passed around the outside of Coram and under braking into Murrays. The last couple of laps was spent defending against Rob Cooper which unfortunately ended when I missed my breaking point into Agonstini on the last lap allowing him to get a better run out towards Hamilton. Ended up finishing 7th which was my best ever result in 3 years of trying with the best lap time falling to 2:26.367

The second race was again a close battle between myself, Mark Palmer and Rob Cooper with Andy Baylie and Dave Graves catching us up over the last couple of laps and really putting the pressure on. Not sure I'd have been able to hold them off for much longer but when the chequered flag was waved I was once again chuffed to have achieved another 7th place. Really was a great end to the season after a few difficult races.

Snetterton - 25th October 2014 - TTRS Rounds 13 & 14

It was off to Snetterton for the last 2 round of the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons series on the 25th October  and we arrived to welcome reports of a sunny Weekend.

Awoke Saturday morning to find the track still very wet from Fridays rain but set out for qualifying promptly at 9a.m. and was shocked at quite how slippery the surface was, even managed a couple of spins to keep the marshall entertained.

Ended up qualifying a slightly disappointing 17th out of 19 and 3rd in class out of just three but as there were only three class F cars in the race qualifying was as important as tomorrows PBMW races.

For some reason Gary who'd qualified first in class F started from the pit lane with myself and Julian Newman in the other class F PBMW next to each other in 16th and 17th, first lap went well and I'd managed to make up a further 2 places leaving me 14th. Had a relatively quite race with Julian Newman in the M5 comfortably in front but with the Honda Civic of Steve Allen slowly closing in threatening to come past. Ended up finishing a respectable 12th overall and took the class win and achieved a best lap time of 2:29.975 which I believe was better than the last 2 years.

Started Race 2 in 12th with only 1 other class F car taking part, this time being used by Matthew Newman so starting from the back of the grid. Had another reasonable start and at Palmer curve on the first lap the BMW compact running to the side of me had a spin which delayed all cars running behind us. I had a great battle throughout the race with Steve Allan in the Honda Civic, although with a slight straight line speed advantage he was able to keep 12th place this time and I had to make do with 13th and a second class win of the day. Also manage to improve my best lap time to 2:28.064

The good results left me with the class F win in the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons series and 3rd overall

Lydden Hill - 4th October 2014 - PBMW Rounds 11 & 12

It had been several years since my last visit to Lydden Hill despite it being the second closest circuit from home and I had been looking to the event, although the limited track width and largely non existent run off was in the back of my mind.

Arrived Friday night to find a fairly small grid of 17 for the race on the following day, Slightly disappointing compared to other events although it did mean all finishers would score championship points.

Headed out for qualifying and the car generally felt good, I'd used some older tyres as I'd  been warned of how abrasive the surface at Lydden was and want to save my better wet of tyres for Snetterton at the end of the month.

All in all qualifying went reasonably well, I was to start the first race in 13th on the grid.

Initially got a good start but a tight grid and the car in front failing to get a decent start meant I had no choice but to lift off before I'd even got into 3rd gear, slightly annoying but one of those things. Ended up dropping a couple of places.

By the time the second race came the rain was falling heavily, I got an unusually poor get away due to a little to much wheel spin and things never really got all that much better, further highlighting my hatred of wet conditions, still I finished both races without any additional alterations to the cars bodywork so I guess things could have gone a lot worse, still regretting not changing the tyres for less worn set.

 

Silverstone GP - 20th September 2014 - TTRS Rounds 11 & 12

The TTRS rounds at Silverstone this year would also host what is planned to become an annual challenge between the class F production BMW's and the mk2 golf GTI series. This meant a huge grid of 53 cars 28 of which would be running in class F (more than the 2 headline Britcar grids put together)

Went out to qualify with light rain / drizzle which never inspires all that much confidence but at least Silverstone has the advantage of large run offs compared to the likes of Cadwell or Oulton. The 30 minute session was a welcome change to the normal 15 minute qualifying which gave much more opportunity to try and remember the way round. I finished in a respectable 37th / 53 overall, 17th in class and 7th out of the 14 Production BMW's with a time of 3:09.885. I think it's fair to say the 16v mk2 golf gti's had the advantage in class F. 

Got a good start to race 1 but by lap 5 it was all going a bit wrong as one of my front wheels had come loose so I was forced to retire, glad I'd used wheel studs rather than bolts and avoided any serious damage. 

Luckily rather than staring the second race in the position we'd finished the first race there'd had been a change of plan and the grid for race two would be decided by the second fastest lap in qualifying, for me this was quite a fortunate change to our normal procedure.

Had great race with Tom Ibrahim, Rob Manger and Steve Carter and eventually finished 36th overall, 15th in class with a best time of 1:47.681

Brands Hatch - 17th August 2014 - PBMW rounds 9 & 10

After the 2nd race of TTRS I lined up at the front of the pack for PBMW qualifying with Harry Goodman behind, Initial plan was to let Harry passed and as one of the front runner try and follow him and hopefully lean a thing of 2. The firs part of the plan was executed with pin point precision the following (and keeping up) didn't go quite as well. A number of the other front runner came passed and  in moving off line to allow this I may have slightly hampered by lap times, Ended up qualifying 21st of 35 which was reasonable with a time of 1:55.302. Even if I'd matched my best time of the weekend so far I'd have only been 19th.

As with the first TTRS race the day before I got a good start and made up a number of places however due to a large pile up involving 10 or so cars on the exit of Clark Curve the race was red flagged after just 1 lap. The restart didn't go quite as well and the remaining time was spent battling over 21st and 22nd places with Steve Turtill, Lots of close and clean racing which was great fun and what makes these's long tiering weekends worth while.

Again got a good start in race 2 although whilst turning into Surtees to start the Grand Prix loop for the first time Steve carter moved across to the left to try and pass Ian Francis and in doing so didn't really leave me anywhere to go as I was on the inside, my front wing just caught his rear and resulted in a spin for Steve. Had another great race with Mark Palmer which again was close at times without any trading of paint. Ended up just about managing to keep Mark behind and finished 17th with a best time of the race and weekend of 1:54.241 if only I'd managed that in qualifying.

Brands Hatch - 16th August 2014 - TTRS rounds 9 & 10

The 16th of August arrived and another great opportunity to race on the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch was here, been looking forward to this after a very poor showing on the gp circuit last year in part due to the suspension issues with the car. 

Annoyingly had issues with the tail lift on the truck on Friday night but luckily the car was already out so we put those worries to one side and set about qualifying for rounds 9 and 10 of the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons, having not run at brands hatch for a while I approached the first session a little too cautiously and ended up qualifying 38th of 47 and 14th out of 21 in class which was a reasonable result. The time of 1:59.102 was also faster than I'd been on my only previous visit to Brands GP although some way off where I wanted to me, looking at last years times I was hoping to lap around 1:53.000 to 1:55.000

Had a great start to race and by the end of the first lap I had moved from 38th to 28th including a brief time in front of one the M3's (until the first chance he could use the 150bhp advantage on a straight) unfortunately dropped a few places as the quicker cars got passed but it would appear front runners were retiring at the same rate so ended up finishing 28th overall and 7th in class with my best lap time falling to a much more respectable 1:55.036. 

Race 2 didn't really go as well, got another good start, was gaining on and starting to pass the two cars in front when bother moved across slightly leaving me nowhere to go, this resulted a a little contact and me somewhat loosing concentration for the lap. Think I ended up in last place by the end of the first lap before regaining concentration and picking the pace back up. Had a great battle with Kevin Hodgin and Declan Russell for the rest of the race, although shortly after passing both I managed to spin at Dingle Dell and had to do it all over again before the end of the 15 minute race. By the time the chequered flag was in sight I'd only moved up to 31st although on a more positive note my fastest time had fallen to 1:54.978. 

Oulton Park - 19th July 2014 - PBMW

As with TTRS races the heavy rain seamed to really cause me issues. Went out to qualify, luckily the standing water from the TTRS qualifying was starting to disperse but still significant, A few mistakes on laps 4 and 5, running wide at turn 1 and missing my breaking point at the knickerbrook chicane meant the last lap had to be pretty reasonable if I was to qualify well. Managed a 1:28.890 which meant I qualified 16th out of 27th.

Got a reasonable start in race 1, but with 15 cars on a wet track in front of me the first couple of laps was about keeping the car in one piece and avoiding any issues in front, pleased to say it was a very clean race, much more so than last year where a early accident left a number of cars damaged. ended up staying 16th until the end.

By Race 2 the track had dried out a fair bit but I still struggled under breaking not to lock the fronts, again got a reasonable start but locked a ran a little wide ingot the knickerbrook chicane allowing 1is not two cars through. Had a great battle with Jerry Brown for most of the race effectually managing to pass at Druids.

As always cam home having had a great day but still with a lot to learn.

Oulton Park - 19th July 2014 - TTRS rounds 7 & 8

Rounds 7 & 8 of both TTRS and PBMW were both to be held on a single day, As the last round at Cadwell Park this proves to be a very busy day indeed. Arrived at the circuit on friday night and despite poor weather reports was greeted by glorious sunshine.

However this had all changed by Saturday morning and we face intermittent heavy rain, never good for me as I always seam to struggle with confidence on a wet circuit. Conditions in qualifying we horrendous so was quite content with qualifying 11th Overall out of 22 although 5th in class out of 8 wasn't as good as I'd hoped for. 

A couple of the class F cars who had qualified in front of me didn't make it to the grid for Race 1 meaning I effectively started 9th O/A and 3rd in class. A good start meant I managed to pass Julian Newman in car 170 for 2nd in class although Adrian Tuckley in the class F lead was pulling away, that was until lap 3 when coming round the first corner I saw Adrian having spun. The rest of the race involved trying to keep Julian behind which was a challenge I just about managed to do resulting in my first ever class win and a respectable 8th Overall. 

Race 2 didn't go quite as well, still struggling with the wet weather but without a great start I had to settle for 3rd in class behind Julian and adrian and 14th overall, still good fun but further confirming that me and rain don't get on, maybe some winter track days might be a good idea.

New addition

After many weeks and months of deliberation I finally took the plunge and opted to buy a 7.5t truck for the race weekends in the form of a Iveco 75E15. Very handy as it came complete with a sleeper cab (so no more camping) and would provide much needed storage for the car and parts as the current garage is at breaking point

Picked it up two days before rounds 7 & 8 at Oulton Park, so it was a rush to pack everything up ready for it's first run out which was the 500mile round trip from Sussex to Chester. 

Cadwell Park - 28th June 2014 - TTRS Rounds 5 & 6

Having the PBMW and TTRS races on the 28th June made for a very busy day, certainly less time to stand around chatting than normal, also meant that going into the PBMW qualifying I hadn't had the chance to get some track time in as I'd not done the Friday test day.

Went out to qualify, the track had dried since the TTRS qualifying and managed to improve my time slightly with a 1:51.218, after the last couple of meetings I was a little disappointed with 17th on the grid but with little experience of Cadwell it was nice not to be right at the back as had been the case last year.

Didn't get the best start in race one managed to get up into 16th but was re passed by Arron Morgan and ended up finishing 17th.

Got a much better start to race 2, made up a couple of places off the start, a busy race trying to attack the guys in front whilst defending at the same time, ended with a much more positive 13th.

Left Cadwell having had a great day, not the best results but really enjoyed the circuit

Cadwell Park - 28th June 2014 - TTRS rounds 5 & 6

It was about a year since my first ever visit to Cadwell, which unfortunately ended up with a valve head dropping off and destroying the old engine before I'd hardly had a chance to learn my way around. Last year had been a disappointment having qualified last on the grid with a time of 1:55.692 and then having only managed 1 lap in the first race. Looking at the results from last year I was aiming for a sub 1:50 lap.

We were very lucky this year, the weather forecast had promised rain but in reality this was replaced with sunshine for tyne majority of the day, only a little dampness in the first qualifying session. Headed out for my first few laps of qualifying an it was quite apparent I didn't really know my way around, maybe a test day on Friday would have helped.

Ended up qualifying 4th in class, however Robin who qualified 3rd in class wasn't going to be racing so I lined up next to the 205 GTI. Qualifying time was 1:52.291 so already 3.5 seconds up on last year.

Got a good start in race 1 but wasn't fast enough to keep up with the two other cars in my class of Andy Strong and Simon Bassford, managed to get in front of the 205 but couldn't keep him behind to the chequered flag, ended up finishing 11th overall and 3rd in class with a best time of 1:50.376 which was getting close to my goal.

Race 2 was much the same have a bit of fun with the 205 to start with again finishing 11th overall and 3rd in class but this time at the chequered flag I was a lot closer to Andy Strong and Simon Bassford in the other 2 PBMW's which was very positive, and I also managed a sub 1:50 lap with a 1:49.814

Rockingham - 25th May 2014 - PBMW Rounds 3 and 4

After the TTRS race on Saturday it was a very welcome change to see the sun come out before the PBMW qualifying session started at 9am. Headed out on track behind Jack Gabriel which was a useful judge of pace throughout qualifying. Ended up qualifying 10th out of 26 .


Come race 1 I had a great start and was running well (despite a huge lock up in to Deene trying to pass Kevin Welsh) until half way through lap two when I started to struggle to select gears, coming out of Tarzan for the second time it was apparent that something was very wrong so I pulled off before causing an issue for other people behind, back in the pits it was discovered that the clutch was destroyed.

Massive thanks to Robin at Raw motorsport who managed to fit a new clutch between races 1 and 2.


Unfortunately as I retired from race one I started race 2 from 25th on the grid, was great fun seeing how far up the pack I could get in 15 minutes, Eventually ended up 14th which I was happy with given the starting position.

Rockingham - 24th May 2014 - TTRS Rounds 3 and 4

Having never been to Rockingham I was looking forward to ticking another track off of the to do list so had really been looking forward to rounds 3 and 4. Arriving at Rockingham Friday afternoon there was a large grid of PBMWS competing for class F in the Toyo Tire Racing Saloons race so should be a good race at the back.


Unfortunately come Saturday morning the weather had turned from light showers to pretty heavy rain, we were first out at 9am for qualifying, the rain tends to level the field a little as the front runners with upwards of 300bhp can't use all of their power advantage. Managed to Qualify 13th in front of one of the M3's and a number of the big jags which gave me third in class behind Gary Feakins and Matt Smith

Race one was almost as wet and slippery as qualifying and it was a bit of a case of just keeping it on the road, lining up next to an E36 M3 with a 130bhp E30 was slightly odd feeling but I got a good start, an early accident on the exit of Gracelands brought the safety car out which bunched us back up, but come the restart I managed to hold position and was pleased to keep it on the road finishing a respectable 13th overall and 3rd in class.


By the time we lined up for race two the track had dried significantly a number of higher powered car which finished race 1 behind me were coming passed off the start, despite me again getting a reasonable start. Annoyingly and quite stupidly I hadn't changed the suspension setting from the morning so it was far to soft and boaty. Was running 15th and 3rd in class until Mark Priddy in class F made his way passed shortly before the end of the race, so I ended up finishing 4th in class and 16th overall but it had been valuable experience for the PBMW race the next day

Some Progress on the E36 M3 build

Following the positive result at Donington and seeing the guys from Climax motorsport head off to the nurburgring for their first VLN race in an E36 M3 I found some inspiration to crack on and make some progress on the E36 M3 build, which had sat largely untouched for the last few months.



So over the weekend the side skirts, mirrors, bonnet pins were fitted along with the AP racing 4 pot front calliper and stud conversion to one side.


The wiring loom is boxed and ready to send to CR Mtech to be reduced from circa 20kg's down to closer to 3kg.

Donington Park - 27th April 2014 - PBMW Rounds 1&2

having had an enjoyable Saturday racing in TTRS it was time for the PBMW qualifying, as before I went out aiming to be around the 1:30 mark.


The weather was good and I went out trying to chase down Dave Graves, at the end of lap 7 I glanced across at the lap time to see 1:28.760 followed by 1:28.770 on the next lap. I assumed the lap timer was broken and even when hearing the positions come across the tannoy as I pulled in to parc ferme I didn't believe that I actually qualified 6th, I think my pervious best qualifying was late teens. 

Lining up next to Harry Goodman on the 3rd row of the grid was a welcome change from some of the starting positions of last year. Managed a pretty good start but not quick enough to keep the fast starting Dave Graves behind me heading into the first corner.


Had a great battle with James Foard, Jack Gabriel and Tom Ibrahim and ended up finishing 9th, slightly disappointed to dropped back but still very happy to have achieved my first ever top ten finish and improved my best lap time to 1:28.689


By the time race 2 started the rain had begun to fall again, Starting 9th and opting for a sensible approach to the race in order to keep the car in one piece I initially dropped back but made up a place or 2 as people spun in the tricky conditions, a brief safety car period after an accident at the Craner Curves bunched everyone up but shortly after the restart the red flags were out due to a second accident at Red Gate.


Ended up finishing 11th which was again a great result and left Donington extremely happy. Looking forward to my first ever visit to Rockingham for rounds 3 and 4

Donington Park - 26th April 2014 - TTRS rounds 1 &2

Having arrived at Donington much later on Friday night than expected thanks to the joys of the M25 I awoke on Saturday morning to be greeted by grey skys and light rain, which unfortunately was still around for our qualifying session at 9am.

Given that there were only 4 PBMW's entered into class F of Toyo Tires Racing Saloons qualifying was about getting some experience of driving the car in the wet (quite annoying having spent the week studying the dry line, breaking points etc) and experiencing being on track with a variety of cars, One thing which stood out was how much earlier the big jags had to break for corners and how much quicker they were in a straight line.




I ended up qualifying 20th of 26 overall and 2nd in class a fair way behind the fastest class F car of Tony Maryon.




By the time Race 1 started the rain had passed and the track had dried, the race started badly with me being caught slightly napping as the lights went out. The more powerful jag and Capri which started behind me got passed before the first corner but realistically they were always going to.




Managed to hold on to my 2nd in class position from start to finish and ended up 16th overall as a number of the faster cars had issues. Going into the weekend I had aimed to break the 1:30 for a lap of the national circuit and after race 1 I was getting close with a 1:30.440.




The results of race 1 determines the grid for race 2 so started in 16th place on the grid, in a similar way to race one the M3's and Volvo T5 that hadn't finished race 1 came pasted before the first corner leaving me to run 2nd in class from start to finish, finishing 19th over all with the fastest lap time dropping to 1:30.223 a little closer to the goal of sub 1:30

Castle Combe - Trackday - 21st March 2014

With the 2014 season rapidly approaching I thought it was about time to chuck some used R888's on the car and head off to Castle Combe for some pre season testing.

Only other major change to the car was that the rear shocks were rebuilt and re-valved and at the same time we changed the rear spring rates and added some tender springs to try and stop wheel spin whilst cornering.

I was lucky enough to be joined by last years champion, Matt Parkes who was on hand to give me a few tips and pointers. I wasn't sure how I'd get on with someone sat next to me but after a couple of runs out I could see the instructions was well worth doing.

Both sitting in the passenger seat advising and showing me how it should be done was invaluable and immediately after I found myself much more confident with the car.

After lunch there were a number of heavy showers meaning there was to be no more dry running, whilst in a way this was annoying as I just started to gain in confidence and wasn't going to be able to continue improving the chance to get some wet laps in is always worth while.

left the circuit a lot happier than when I'd arrived and now really locking forward to the start of the season.

Busy Year planned for 2014

Having shared the car with Ben Woodcock for the last two seasons it looks like I'll be on my own in 2014, This should baring incident give me the opportunity to race the car in all rounds of the Production BMW championship and the Project 8 Racing saloons series.

The organiser have managed another great calendar, Looking forward to Brands hatch GP without the suspension issues of 2013 and a first visit to Rockingham.

26/27 April - Donington Park National
24/25 May - Rockingham
28 June - Cadwell park
19 July - Oulton park international
16/17 August - Brands Hatch GP
6 September (P8RS only) Silverstone national
4 October (PBMW only) Lydden Hill
25/26 October - Snetterton 300

There will also be a new sponsor on the car AAG Design

A bit of bodywork before the 2014 season starts

As the winter blue set in it was time to call upon the services of the guys at SPR coachworks once again to fix the damage to the rear wing sustained at Brands hatch last year. Brand new BMW wing and battery tray being installed and painted along with the roof being painted as the sunroof infill panel has always looked a bit ruff.

Also finally getting round to replacing the rather well used windscreen and repainting the inside of the floors.