Clio Nearing completion

It's been a bit of a while since the last update on the clio 182 championship car I've been slowly building. Since the last update in April we've manged to pretty much finish the car, the original aim was to have it entered into the victor Meldrew race at brands hatch but unfortunately it was looking like a bit to much of a rush and when your expecting to be hitting over 100mph rushing the last few bits probably isn't the best idea. Instead the plan will be to have it ready for a trackday at Snetterton on the 3rd of December.  

Since the last update we've carried out the following:

1) Fit a nice carbon Corbeau revolution seat with extra low mounts and TRS six point harnesses 

2) Fit a 4 litre OMP plumbed in fire extinguisher system 

3) Fitted the new K-tec racing championship spec coilovers and solid front top mounts 

4) converted the front hubs and driveshafts to cup spec to allow for the championship spec coilovers to be fitted

5) Convert the car to the cup alternator set up which removes the ac pump as required by the championship regs.  

6) Installed the MSA electrical cut off switch

7) Installed a rainlight 

It looks like  

Thruxton - 24th September 2016 - PBMW rounds 15 and 16

Well it's been a few weeks since the last rounds of the 2016 Production BMW championship rounds at the Thruxton circuit near Andover. My first visit to the circuit since a Ferrari driving day almost 20 years ago. Due to the limited number of race days on the circuit the Production BMW championship hadn't had the opportunity to visit the circuit in some time.

The chance to race at Thruxton brought out a couple of old faces, Stuart Waite and Rob Manger who just happen to instruct at the circuit along with some chap called Tiff Needell.

Due to restrictions on track time at the circuit there was no Friday testing although we were fortunate to be driven around the circuit for some sighting laps, Many thanks to Rob Manger for being on chauffeuring duties.

On Friday afternoon a number of cars were power tested on Ray West tuning's rolling road in order to provide data for the championship coordinators. At this time it was discovered that my car was running lean on full throttle due to a worn airflow meter, wonder if this had contributed to the slight down turn in results in the second half of the season. Being a simple device Ray west was able to make a temporary repair.

The results at Thruxton meant I finished the 2016 championship in 5th position just 1 point behind David Graves in 4th.

I already have a long list of changes and maintenance jobs to be done so that I can start the 2017 season with the best chance possible of building on the positive results of 2016.

Silverstone GP - 11th September 2016 - PBMW rounds 13 and 14

There had been some confusion as to whether the Silverstone even would be a points scoring event for PBMW and unfortunately in wasn't  until a few weeks before that it was confirmed. This presented a couple of issues as I'd already committed to entering the revolve 24 hour bike race on the brands hatch GP circuit with 3 friends and as the number f rounds had increased to 16 we would all now drop out 3 worst rounds, reducing the advantage I had due to constancy (although Matt Swaffer had more reason to be upset as he'd effectively won the championship had Silverstone not been included) Unusually the TTRS and PBMW grids would race at the same time with the PBMW's starting 10 seconds behind.

The busy weekend was never going to be the best preparation for Silverstone,In order to not let down the rest of my revolve 24 team I did 4 hours on the push bike around brands hatch between 3pm and 11 on Saturday and then jumped in the truck to drive up to Silverstone, eventually arriving a 2.30am and desperately trying to get some sleep before qualifying. 

Ended up qualifying 11th out of 20 PBMW's with a time of 2:46.493 a little off of the times I was expecting. 

Had a good race 1 battling with Owen Darch  and Paul Beaurain eventually finishing 8th on the road although this will become 7th for championship points as the 4th place finisher Ben Anderson was a guest driver.  Fastest lap had also dropped to 2:45.908 which was a little closer to my expected times. 

Race two was a long battle with Mark Palmer and Rob Cooper, another great clean race where I finished 7th with  my best lap time falling again to a more respectable 2:45.054 unfortunately not quite able to drip into the 2:44's which the car is more than capable of.  

We now have just 2 rounds left at Thruxton in a couple of weeks. When dropped rounds are taken into account Will Davidson and Matt Swaffer will go into the event tied on points and battling for the championship. Harry Goodman lies in 3rd with myself, Mark Palmer and David Graves battling for 4-6th positions in the championship 

Brands Hatch GP - 28th August 2016 - PBMW rounds 11 & 12

After the disappointment of the accidents in the previous days TTRS race in was time to put that behind us and get on with the qualifying session for PBMW. Ended up getting stuck in a bit of traffic in qualifying which was going slightly slower than I'd have liked but not slow enough to make passing easy. Eventually found some space and was able to qualify in a slightly disappointing 12th position with a time of 1:53.391 which is my best ever time around the GP so that was some good news.

Race 1 was non stop close but fair racing with Andy Strong and Gregor Pryor, Ended up finishing 10th o/a my worst result of 2016 although one I'd have been happy with in 2015.

Race 2 didn't really go to plan as I headed into paddock hill side by side with Harry Goodman he locked up and went straight on into the gravel. I think this slightly put me off my line and I ended up loosing the back end, felt like I might get it back but unfortunately in wasn't to be and I to found myself in the Gravel at Paddock Hill, so having rushed back from holiday to make Brands Hatch at the moment neither of the races would count as we all have to drop 2 rounds each year.

Brands Hatch GP - 27th August 2016 - TTRS rounds 11 & 12

As in previous years both TTRS and Production BMW were lucky enough to have the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on the calendar in 2016. Unfortunately there was to be no testing due to holiday commitments.

Headed out for my first run on the GP circuit in a year during the TTRS qualifying session and was please to qualify 2nd of 12 entrants in class F and quite shocked to have out qualified Will Davidson although still a way behind Matt Wileman, best time was a 1:54.257 which was a little off of my best lap times in 2015.

Race 1 saw Matt pull a decent lead (although a brief trip into the gravel nearly ended his race) whilst myself and Ross Stoner battled for 2nd and 3rd. As the chequered flag dropped Ross finished just 1.3 seconds in front of me

Race 2 was a little more eventful, as the start lights went off one of the cars on the 2nd or 3rd row didn't get away, with cars darting left and right there was some unfortunate contact and the race was red flagged. the second start was a lot better and all cars made it off the line cleanly

However on the first run up towards Pilgrims Drop 2 of the front running BMW E36 M3's of Nigel Innes and Steve Pearson had a coming together at substantial speed leaving a trail of carnage and resulting contact well into the mid field as people tried to slow. I think this is the first (and hopefully last) race I've been in where 1/2 the grids had to stop mid circuit because there's no clear route through. It was a real shame to see so many friends with damaged cars.

Oulton Park - 23rd July 2016 - PBMW rounds 9 & 10

Unfortunately the TTRS and PBMW races take place on the same day at Oulton Park due to the circuits restrictions on Sunday events. This means that in order to run it both series you'd have very little time between races to let the car cool down or fix and issues / damage.

Deciding the risk of missing a race wasn't worth it I onky entered the PBMW race for this weekend.

Having tested on the Friday I already knew my lap times were a huge improvement over the last dry event we had at Oulton Park, best laps were in the region of 2:08.5.

Unforunstely after the first flying lap of qualifying the session was red flagged, really annoyingly this was caused by a competitor in another series being allowed out to complete 3 laps in order to be allowed to race in his own race. So to have red flagged our session by crashing when his lap times would ahve counted fror nothing was rediculous (rant 1 over)

Anyway back out for a few laps to try and set a decent time and ended up behind a slower car, not a problems as the marshalls were waving the blue flags so surely I'll get through, Nope blue flags completely egnored for the remaining 2 laps of qualifying. ended up with my best lap being good enough for 9th on the grid, looking at the results my times from the test day before would have been good enough for 6th.

Race 1 and the entire grid got a way cleanly, by the time I turned into turn 2 I was up to eighth having over taken Owen Darch, unfortunately Rob Cooper ran wide at the exit of cascades and Harry Goodman did the same on the exit of Island bend meaning by the end of lap 1 I was runing in a much more respectable 6th place. The rest of the race was fairly quiet early on I was holding onto the back of the fight between Mark Palmer and David Grave whist pulling a cumfortable gap back to Edd Giddings. However as the tyres started to go off the concentrateion was soon diverted to keeping Edd behind as Mark and Dave managed to pull a bit of a gap. Finished the race in 6th place.

Race 2 saw another good start managing to pass David Graves and head off in 5th position. Unfortunately the pace wasn't there to keep the ever fast Harry Goodman from coming past after he started 9th, recovering from his race 1 spin so after a few laps I dropped back down to 6th. Had another great and very fair race with Dave Graves but quite annoyingly on the last lap I loked up whilst braking for shell and he got the better run out of the corner to snatch 6th.

Over all a reasonable result which along with earning my marshalling ponts see's me promoted to 2nd in the championship behind matt Swaffer.

Rockingham - 19th June 2016 - PBMW rounds 7 & 8

After the previous days results in the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons races I lost a bit of the confidence gained over the last couple of rounds. Headed out for qualifying having made a very set up changes. The car felt better and the times were falling, although annoyingly what was best time was lost as I had to pass another car through the last chicane . Ended up qualifying 11th which was a little further bak than expected but I wasn't the only person who seamed to the struggling a little.

Race 1 got a reasonable start passing Matt Wileman but was passed through turn one by both Gregor Pryor and Ross Stoner. By the first coner of lap 2 I'd moved past Ross Stoner, Jamie Jeffery and Pete O'conner. The rest of the race consisted of trying to chase down Gregor Pryor whilst defending against the always fast Matt Wileman. Managed to pass Gregor into turn one on lap 6 but was unfortunately passed by Matt on the second to last lap and ened up finishing 10th.

Race 2 was a little less eventful, after I good start where I passed Rob cooper the whole race was spent either chasing Pete O'Connor or defending from Gregor Pryor, the latter of which I only just managed to do, finished the race in 9th position.

Pleased to have left Rockingham still in 4th position in the PBMW championship although Harry Goodman has already claimed his 50 Marshalling points hwich everyone else is yet to do.

Post Rockingham the top of the championship looks is

Matt Swaffer            380
Harry Goodman       348
Dave Graves            329
Andy Gay                320
Edd Giddings          284

Rockingham - 18th June 2016 - TTRS rounds 7 & 8

It had been a couple of years since the last time the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons and Production BMW championships had been to Rockingham but on the last visit I'd had a reasonable weekend.

After a couple of very good results in the prevous meetings at Brands hatch and Donington I arrived at Rockingham running 4th in the championship so opted for a bit of Friday pratise time. Car felt ok in practise although the times were not really where I hoped, this carried accross to the TTRS qualifying and I ended up qualifying 5th in class F.

Race 1 brought a good start and I was quickly up to 3rd in class F but could quite keep up with Edd Gidings or Andy Strong, maybe slighty down to running older tyres for the TTRS races but I dont think this was the key issue.

Race 2 I started 2nd in class as Andy Strong was not running, again got a reasonable strat but was again frustrated to find I didnt have the pace to worry Edd. A few laps in and I was battling with Matthew Newman in his Lexus IS200 which ended up with us being caught and passed by Calum Noble and Jamie Jeffery, with the main event being the PBMW races on the following day I opted not to turn a two way PBMW battle in to a three way one as it would have been silly to risk damaging the car and either miss or compromise the PBMW races.

Brands Hatch Indy - 15th May 2016 - PBMW rounds 5 & 6

The PBMW's set off for their qualifying session on Saturday evening, Luckily as we set off in championship position order I was to follow Harry Goodman and Matt Swaffer for the entire session, always good to follow the front runners and study their breaking points and line. I was fairly lucky with traffic and managed to get some very consistent times in. Of the 16 laps we did only 3 were outside of the 58.xxx seconds, the best of which a 58.425 was good enough to qualify 6th on the grid 0.411 seconds behind the pole time set by Harry Goodman.

Lining up on the grid I'd already decided the plan (should I get a decent start) was to be heading straight between the 4th and 5th place qualifiers Jamie Jeffery and Ian Shepperd. As luck would have it I again managed to get off the line cleanly and as was the plan made the move between Jamie and Ian stick and also managed to pass the 3rd place qualifier Rob Cooper before Druids. The race from then on was a mixture of trying to hold onto the back of Matt Swaffer and Harry Goodman who were battling for the lead, whilst defending against the always fast Rob Cooper. Managed to hold Rob off until about 2 laps from the end when he got a better run along the main straight and took 3rd place away, I had been quite looking forward to another trip to the podium but it wasn't to be. 

For race 2 I'd moved up to 4th on the grid for the start, was lucky enough to get another clean get away and get into 3rd place again.As with race 1 the whole race was spent trying to hang onto Matt and Harry whist having my mirrors full. However this time the pressure was coming from Dave Graves and Sam Strong as Rob Cooper had, had a poor start and then retired with mechanical issues. It has to be said this was one of the exhausting races I've ever had, Dave drove very cleanly but was feet away for the entire race meaning there was no option for me to make any mistakes. Luckily after 15 minutes of this I exited clearways for the last time ecstatic to see the chequered flag waving in the distance. Pleased to have proven to myself that the podium at Donington wasn't a complete fluke. 

4th and 3rd place finishes at Brands Hatch means I remain in 4th place in the championship although closed up slightly on David Graves who is currently running in 3rd. 

Brands Hatch Indy - 14th May 2016 - TTRS Rounds 5 & 6

Following on from the high of my first Production BMW podium at Donington a few weeks Prior I arrived at Brands Hatch looking for another positive weekend.

As always I'd opted to enter the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons event on the Saturday. Headed out for qualifying with the aim of beating last years best time of 59.5s and hopefully qualifying towards the front of the 10 Production BMW cars in the field. Ended up qualifying 18th out of 29 and 3rd in class F behind Will Davidson and Mark Palmer,also Just behind one of my oldest friends James Salmon in his first race in his 306 GTI6. Pretty pleased to have made a significant time improvement over last year with a 58,800 second lap.

With Will opting to start the race from the pit lane it looked like the class F race was likely to be between Mark Palmer, Sam Strong and myself as we'd all qualified within 0.3s of each other. I got a reasonable start but couldn't find a way past Mark so had to settle for 2nd with Sam never far behind, at the end of the race just 1.642 seconds separated the 3 of us. Best lap time had again dropped slightly to 58.664.

Race 2 didn't go as well a poor start meant that Sam and Jamie Jefferys in class F along with the Lexus and mini cooper S of Matthew Newman and Richard Ibrahim got passed. Not wanting to risk the car for the PBMW Qualifying session later in the day I opted for a conservative run to 4th in class.

Donington Park - 24th April 2016 - PBMW rounds 3 & 4

After a pretty good day on Saturday in the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons races I headed out for the Production BMW qualifying session. Headed out behind Harry Goodman and made a point of trying to sick with him during qualifying as I knew he'd be near the front. I pleased to say I managed to stay close and Harry was on pole with a time of 1:26.464. I ended up 4th on the grid with a time of 1:27.129.

Unfortunately Rob Cooper who had qualified 2nd didn't make the grid as during qualifying he'd smashed the sump on a curb, despite managing to change the sump itself it turned out that the engine wasn't sounding good.

Robs loss however was my gain and as a result I'd line up on the grid with a clear view of the first turn. As with the TTRS races I managed to get a great start, looking back at the videos I may have lead a PBMW race for the first time (all be it for about 2 seconds and by about 200mm) However Harry held on to the lead through the first corner. Finished the first lap in 2nd place but through out the rest of the race dropped to 5th overall as Will Davidson, Matt Swaffer and Alan Wileman managed to get passed. Finished 5th but was promoted to 4th When Alan received a penalty for exceeding track limits. 4th was my best finish in a PBMW race to date so along with my best lap dropping to 1:26.601 I was pretty chuffed.

As with race 1 I started race 2 4th on the grid. Had another great race, Will Davidson and Harry Goodman managed pull a slight gap leaving myself, Matt Swaffer and Alan Wileman fighting over 3rd place. On lap 7 Alan made a small mistake and was out of the fight for 3rd. By this time I was starting to think about the possibility of my first PBMW podium. All I needed to do was keep Matt swaffer behind, Although Dave Graves was close enough that if we'd got to scrappy it would have been a 3 way battle again.

Please to say that I managed to keep the 3rd place and after over 4 years of trying I finally made it onto the podium.

Massive thanks to Rob at Gary Feekins Racing who have got the car handling fantastically and Jody Halse at Climax motorsport who built me the engine which has powered the car pretty much untouched for the last 3 years.

Donington Park - 23rd April 2016 - TTRS rounds 3 & 4

Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2016 championship took place at Donington Park on the 23rd April, unlike 2015 we would be running on the shorter national circuit which leaves on the Melbourne loop, Personally I much prefer the national circuit as it avoids the two slow hairpins.

Having had a rare chance to test on Friday morning I was feeling pretty confident in how the car was handling although wasn't aware of the exact times as the track time on Friday was a trackday so timing wasn't allowed.

My previous best time on the national circuit was around 1:27.7 so I was happy with a qualifying time of 1:27.537 which gave me 13th on the grid and first of the 12 class F production BMWs.

Race 1 - After a great start I was fortunate enough to build up a bit of a gap to the remaining PBMW cars in class F however whilst battling hard with Johnathon Atkinson in the E36 318ti, both Ed Giddings and Alan Wileman managed to close up the gap and eventually pass leaving me with 3rd in class. Best lap time had dropped to a 1:27.096 leaving the chance to break into the 1:26's looking like a possibility.

Race 2 was much of the same with a good battles with Alan Wileman and the 2 E36 compacts, Ended up finishing 2nd in class behind Alan Wileman

Clio Progress

Between rounds 1&2 at Snetterton and 3&4 at Donington we have somehow managed to find time to crack on with preparing the clio 182 for the 750 motor clubs championship. A decent days work and the Saftey devices 6 point bolt in cage was installed and we even found time to change the brake hoses for some Hel performance braided lines and bleed the brakes with some race fluid. 

Snetterton 28th March 2016 - PBMW - rounds 1 & 2

Set out for qualifying in what was probably the worse conditions I've ever experienced on track, Heavy rain before and during qualifying meant the circuit was completely water logged, unfortunately after a couple of laps this brought out the safety car which stayed out until the end of the session. This really mixed up the qualifying results as some were still able to set respectable times whilst catching the safety car. I ended up qualifying 13th but moved unto 12th after penalties were applied for people exceeding track limits. 

Race 1 I managed another good start despite the damp conditions, managed to avoid the clashes on the first lap and ended up finishing the first lap in 7th place. Had a good although slightly reserved race, ending up in 9th, however was then promoted to 8th when someone was disqualified for contact. 

With a dry track for race 2 and a starting position of 8th I was looking forward to another good race. Managed to find some space early on which although it was nice to not be constantly pushed from behind I did rather get into the trap of not pushing as hard as I could. Finishing a respectable 7th was good news for the championship but my best lap was down on the previous days TTRS race. 

All in all very happy to leave the first  event 6th in the championship and looking forward to rounds 3 and 4 at Donington Park. 

Snetterton 27th March 2016 - TTRS rounds 1 & 2

Qualifying was always going to be a slightly compromised as I hadn't driven the car since Gary Feakins Racing had fitted the new AST suspension, Steering rack, wishbones and set the car up. Headed out on a thankfully dry track. The car definitely felt different, turn in seamed better than I recall from last year and the wheel spin that constantly caused issues in 2015 seams to be very much reduced (only issue now is a reducing number of excuses for not finishing well). Ended up qualifying 16th / 30 overall 3rd / 13 in class F behind David Graves and Matt Swaffer. Happy enough with the result although times were a little off what I'd hoped for however after just 6 laps it was just a case of needing to get used to the new set up. 

After a pretty respectable qualifying session it was time for race 1, The track was dry so opted to head out on a dry stiff set up. All seamed to work well until the 5th lap when it satrted to rain by which time I'd set a best lap of 2:26.448 which was a good improvement of my best lap of 2:27.268 in 2015. At this time I was running 2nd in class behind David Graves with Gianluca Maretto close behind. Unfortunately the rain started to get heavier and the track became very slippery, especially on a stiff set up. On lap 6 heading into Riches I locked the  brakes allowing Gianluca Maretto through who immediately spun in front of me allowing me to regain 2nd in class, Unfortunately another lock up into Ogies and a brief venture onto the grass allowed Will Arif through which demoted me to 3rd in class, still a respectable result and happy to return to the pits without damage.  Certainly confirmed that running the AST's on a reasonably stiff setting was not the way to go in the wet.

By the time race 2 started the weather had started to improve although the circuit was still pretty wet and slippery, a fairy uneventful race just making sure the car survived the wet weather and trying to get a feel for the car in the wet whilst running the AST's on the fully soft setting. 

Winter 2015

Having finished in the top 10 of the 2015 PBMW championship the winter was time to look at moving forward in 2016, a podium is still the ultimate aim so fingers crossed.

The man change has been to sell the GAZ gold coilovers which were at least 6 or 7 years old and pretty old technology compared to the latest offerings from the likes of GAZ, AST and Avo. I'd often felt the rear suspension was the weakest link in the car through 2015 with me suffering Wheel spin in some very odd places and still hitting the bump stops more often than I'd like.

The decision was made to go for a used but fully rebuilt set of AST from Mike Tovey's 2013 championship winning car. The car is as I type with the 2015 PBMW champion Gary Feakins having the suspension fitted and a general look over. If nothing else I should have at least 1 less excuse

As well as the change to AST I've gone back to the Performance friction pads which I Personally preferred to the Mintex 1166's pads they replace.

For 2016 the Production BWM's have a choice of running the old Toyo R888's or the new R888r's. General consensus seams to be that the R888R is gong to be the better tyre so a set of those are also in the garage ready to be fitted before the first rounds at the end of March.

Also worthy on a mention is the end of year bash last weekend which took place in Northampton and as ever was a fantastic evening which remind me what a great much of guys make up the Production BMW and Toyo Tires Racing Saloons Paddock. I was chuffed to come away from the evening with a cracking trophy for first in class F of the Toyo Tires Racing Saloons for the second year running