The Story So Far

Officially we are now two rounds into the 2011 MR2 Racing Series season but I’ve already competed in eleven races. Firstly, there was an initiation race in April; a double header of Nippon Challenge cars and Mr2s at the Silverstone National Circuit,. Next came the 750 MC MR2 Challenge race which half a dozen of the regular MR2 series drivers entered. This was a double header with heats and I ended up driving in three races there. The first round of the MR2 series proper was a couple of weeks later and back at Brands Hatch followed at the end of May by the second round at Castle Combe where I entered the Nippon Challenge as well to gain more experience on the track and benefit from the drastically reduced entry fees.

What I have realised is that my car is crap. I’m not saying that the whole of the problem is the car, I’m still trying to drive it like a Mk 2 Escort on gravel and it’s an MR2 on tarmac so there’s a vast difference. Both the car and myself are improving though, slowly. What I have been doing is messing about with the suspension. Lowering it, raising it, trying different track and tow angles, adjusting the camber and fiddling with the tyre pressures. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t really know what I’m doing.

At the Silverstone race in April I’d qualified the second MR2 on the grid. Some of the main protagonists were absent but there were still some quick lads behind me. In race 1 I held on to finish 3^rd MR2 but had some serious handling problems while trying to keep pace with the flying Jon Winter who was the eventual MR2 winner. Race 2 was much worse!

Brands Hatch for the MR2 Championship with the 750 Motor Club and the car had been put back to standard suspension. The standard height springs made it look like a 4x4 and the uprated road shockers were struggling to keep the wheels on the road. Having said that, the car was gripping a lot better, didn’t eat any tyres but did seem to lean a bit. Half way through the day, an angle grinder was procured and the springs shortened a bit to a more suitable height and a class A record lap was set.

A fortnight later, on the first of May we were back at Bratch; this time with Red Dragon for the MR2 Series. Now if I was a gambling man, I would have put a couple of quid on myself here, three races worth of sneaky practice and some suspension mods a fortnight before should have made me one of the favourites but a second covered the top ten qualifiers and I was down in 8^th. Should I be disappointed with this when I was 6 seconds quicker than the 38^th qualifier? The race went quite smoothly but I was disappointed not to be able to match the pace of the front-runners and although I made a few places up, I also had a couple wrestled from me to finish 8^th. Race 2 was a similar story, places gained and places lost, a bad start due to getting pushed off the road in the congestion at Druids dropped me half a dozen spots before we reached Graham Hill Bend and the next few laps were spent gaining places and avoiding the carnage Jonny White was leaving in his wake. A trip to the scenery along with Simon Garderer to avoid a rotating Chris Shackle put paid to catching any more cars up and when Paul Corbridge spun and rejoined in front of me, he was able to pull away and leave me to hold off Gardener.

Castle Combe was the next round on Spring Bank Holiday Monday and I had done some homework. I’d managed to get some suspension settings that they use for Autocross racing in America so, armed with the tracking gear and a camber gauge, my mate Pud and myself wound the suspension settings on to the car. In fairness, we didn’t even have to move the rear and the front was within a fraction of a degree but we were safe in the knowledge that it was pointing where it should have been. All the work seemed fruitless when Monday morning dawned and it was drizzling profusely. The type of rain that wets you through. I spent the couple of hours between scrutineering and practice unbolting suspension bits and strut braces to try to soften the car a bit. The rain also wet the track and made everyone drive like girls, except for the girls. For the Nippon Challenge, I was second MR2 in a respectable 7^th but behind MR2 rookie Charlotte Burridge who’d shown us all the way round. MR2 qualifying was not so good. Every quick lap I attempted was thwarted by someone spinning, a yellow flag or simply catching someone that was driving like a nonce.

Nippon Race 1 was wet through. I escalated myself to fifth overall and had a couple of attempts to pass the Celica in front for 4^th but it wasn’t to be, his straight line speed was way too quick so I spent the race fending Richard Avery off instead. Fifth and first in class was quite an achievement though.

MR2 Race 1 was always going to be interesting with 34 cars on the grid so caution was the order of the day. By simply avoiding spinning cars I exited the first bend in fifth place and was in shouting distance of the leaders. Matt Smith had held on to 4^th from his second spot on the grid and was inches in front of me when he backed off mid corner and I headed for the grass to avoid him and I rejoined in 9^th just behind Steve Hennessy and Dave Thomas. Dave was disposed of at the very next bend and Steve was more than a handful with his similar Cogsport engine but I had a better line into Camp Curve where Steve gave me loads of room and I nailed it down the start straight and up to 7^th. Richard Avery had taken a visit to the scenery at Quarry and Charlie Budd was taken Buffalo Girl style at quarry to put me up to fifth and a couple of laps later I was gifted fourth as Aaron Pullen took to the grass in front of me. In front I could see that Matt Smith was now in second followed by Mark Woods and Dave Pittard had decided that he didn’t like us and had just buggered off. I closed the gap to Mark and was thinking about how I might get past when we started to encounter back markers on lap 5. Despite being quite close at one point, a podium was never on the cards but I was close enough to see Matt Smith take second place.

Nippon Race 2 was simply a futile attempt to fend off faster cars as they streamed past on a drying track. I retained the GT150 class lead however from Nathan Harrison who came in second a handful of seconds behind.

MR2 Race 2 was shaping up to be quite interesting. I had time to fuel the car after the Nippon race before they were calling us to the assembly area and then on to the grid for what was now a quite dry track. Some drivers had the time to bolt their suspension back on to give a dry set up but mine was still on Mr Soft mode. Despite this, I was able to catapult the car from the second row of the grid and follow Dave Pittard into Quarry and settled down behind him in second place. I was able to follow Pittard quite closely but he was carrying more speed through the faster corners and pulling away on the straights. I was dropping about a second or more to him but then catching it all back up around quarry and the Esses where my car seemed more settled. But Dave was a fast learner and he was getting quicker lap by lap and I was over-driving trying to keep up and had started to make mistakes. With me off his bumper he was able to concentrate on his driving and eked out a few seconds lead as I bounced it over the kerbs on the exits of the corners. Lap 7 was to be my downfall as with second place almost in the bag, I managed to spin it through 720 degrees on the oil slick Matt Smith had left behind after his engine self destructed and by the time I’d managed to restart it and weave my way through the wrecked cars on the grass, I’d been demoted to 10^th and behind Nathan Harrison. Lucky for me that I got it going again as the bit of grass I’d spun on to was occupied by half a dozen interwoven cars the next time I passed it. I was just able to pip Nathan for 9^th place before the chequered flag dropped  a couple of laps early to give the marshals some extra time to clear the wreckage up.

So the season so far has been a bit of a learning curve. The main points I’ve learned are that KYB shockers are not as good as everyone makes out; and they won’t last a full season in a race car; and despite everyone telling you that a set of cut down Apex Springs accompanied by KYBs and Red Stuff pads are all you need to be competitive, no one actually does this. It looks like there’s still a bit of room for improvement after all.

They say that qualifying is everything in a one make series and we’d done everything right in preparation for this event. The usual, turn up and drive philosophy had gone out of the window, we’d been to the circuit on the Wednesday before the event and messed about with suspension settings and learned the circuit. Although on the track day we weren’t allowed to time ourselves, we were aware that we were doing speeds that would get us to the pointy end of the grid. One unfortunate incident was that Matt Coggins blew a head gasket so had to pull out of the event, there being insufficient spare time before the event to comfortably put a new one in. You may say it was better to let go on the track day than at the race, however.

Qualifying is a bit of a lottery what with 32 cars on the circuit and everyone trying to go as fast as possible and yellow flags being waved vigorously as people were visiting the scenery. My opening couple of laps were, as usual quite steady, working the car and the tyres up to temperature whilst trying to find a gap in the traffic for a few quick laps. Towards the end of the second lap, I was considering dropping back to avoid a group of slower cars that I was catching but as I approached them, the blue flag waved and I could see a good patch of daylight in front of them. I passed the last of the bunch as we hit the start finish straight and the road ahead was completely clear. The next four laps were all quick ones with an empty track but eventually I started to catch traffic, the rear gunner of the bunch being Richard Avery who promptly spun directly in front of me on the exit of Charlies, the start of park straight thus ruining the lap completely. Cruising round the remainder of the lap and waiting for a substantial gap to appear in front of me, I noticed the chequered flag being waved at the finish line so exited stage left content in the knowledge that I could do no more.

Race 1 saw me take the highest place I have ever occupied on the grid, the qualifying session albeit shortened substantially had put me in fourth place and on the second row of the grid. Alex Gassman (48) in his now customary pole position had pipped Sarah Wherry (4) into second with Ross Stoner (22) alongside me on the second row and other regular front runners Chris Shackle (77) Adam Lockwood (51) Aaron Pullen (26) and Mark Scott (40) headed the remainder of the capacity grid and were all snapping at our heels as the lights went out to signify the start of the race.

All got away safely albeit I was engulfed by the following pack after a massive bout of wheelspin off the line but we exited Charlies pretty much in grid order. Adam Lockwood had overcome Chris Shackle and was putting me under pressure and I was able to pull alongside Ross at the end of Park Straight. Ross promptly put me on the grass which put paid to my buffalo girl manoeuvre at Park Curve. I regained the circuit in time for Chris Curve but was unsettled so took to the grass once more and then enjoyed further attention from Adam as we rounded the Gooseneck and we watched Ross take a mad lunge at Sarah into Mansfield which he somehow made stick. We completed the lap and headed round Coppice, Charlies and onto Park Straight once more. I checked my mirrors and there was no sign of Lockwood and however he exited the circuit must have hindered the rest of the field as I was a handful of seconds clear of my nearest pursuer.

Somehow, Sarah seemed to have the legs on me and I think this made me try harder and go slower, as is usually the case. I steadied my pace and calmed down and started putting the laps in and the gap was coming down gradually, too gradually in fact.

On lap six, we rounded Charlies to discover that Steve Woolfe (88) had managed to put it in the barriers, I backed off but started to reel Sarah in before the inevitable red flag came out and the results wee declared. 4^th overall and my best result to date, not counting the B race at Mallory.

Race two and there was no way I was going to mess the start up this time and I fled the line like a scalded cat leaving Sarah in my wake and hot on the heels off Ross before Alex impolitely came across the front of me and slammed the door. The lift was not enough to allow Sarah past but we rounded Charlies and the two orange cars seared into the distance. Late braking into Park and a good line round Chris and the Gooseneck and I was back with them but my bad technique round the mountain saw them pull away once more and it wasn’t until the hairpin that I was back with them.

The gap was yo-yoing from 200 yards to nothing for the first two laps but on the third time down the start straight, I had a good run out of Barn and as the car gathered momentum, the gap to Alex was dwindling. Alex moved right and Ross went to block him and I could see straight up the inside. I didn’t know if Alex was expecting me and I didn’t get fully alongside so the split second decision was not one of bravery and I backed out of it.

A bit later in the lap, I thought I’d try a different approach to the mountain as I always seemed to drop a few yards but on this occasion, I dropped even more and Miss Wherry didn’t need asking twice and was alongside me. Again, bravery not being an option, I opted to slot in behind her and wait for one of the now leading trio to make a mistake.

My strong point on the laps was at the end of the long straights, the power of the Cogsport engine in evidence (blatant plug). I could exit Charlies and Barn quite well and had the straights been longer, a podium would have been inevitable but so evenly matched are the cars that passing is very difficult, especially with my lack of experience.

With three laps to go, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, the main engine light being the most obvious of the plethora of illumination. Backing off and checking the gauges lost me time and concentration and some lairy moments were had whilst trying to evaluate the situation and keep up with the leaders and I took to the grass dropping back by a couple of seconds. By the time I had decided to “drive round the problem” I had a large deficit which I set about regaining and after a relatively short period of time was back in the hunt and making opportunistic but alas unsuccessful dives up the inside and outsides of the corners. The three leaders maintained their positions and I was stuck with another fourth place albeit only 1.4 seconds adrift of the lead and extremely satisfied with myself for upping my game and being there to mix it with the big boys and girls.

Mallory Park 2010

Thank You Ash Cloud
My 2010 season was scheduled to start at the end of May with the MR2 Racing Series round at Snetterton and before the event, a host of work is planned for the car, including replacing the ageing and smoky 120k mile engine with a completely freshly rebuilt one, a respray and full stickering job and some set-up work done to the suspension, including lowering the back end which seems to stand an inch or two higher than most on the grid, and to get all the wheels pointing and leaning in roughly the tight direction.
The reason for missing the first round of the series at Mallory on 18 April was a business trip to Italy but due to an untimely ash cloud issuing from Iceland, the trip was thwarted at the last minute.
As the available spaces on the grid and also on a second grid, scheduled to run at the back of the Nippon race were all taken, it was unlikely that I’d be able to fill the weekend racing but a phone call to series co-ordinator, Steve Vince was slightly encouraging at the expense of a fellow competitor who had found himself at the other end of the flight cancellations with no return flight from the Caribbean.
So, I’d manage to secure myself a place on a grid at Mallory but unfortunately, I was destined to be in the B Race. As Mallory only has a licence for 30 cars at a time to race and there were 42 entries, the field was split. The first 36 entries received were allowed to qualify for the 30 places on the grid. The last six entries and the slowest six from the qualifying session were destined to compete in the B Race.

Qualifying
We were to qualify with the Nippons and then be joined on the grid by the slower of the MR2s. Qualifying was a bit of a farce really. The power differential between the faster Nippons and the slower ones, and ultimately the MR2s is vast and as we exited the pit on what should basically be a green flag warm up lap, some of the Nippons were away like diarrhoea with pumps on and we were four abreast down the back straight and being outbraked into the Esses. I backed off and had a couple of steady laps until I found a gap with no cars in front or behind and I was able to stick a couple of good laps in. (This doesn’t sound like rocket science to me but there weren’t many out there seemed to grasp that we weren’t racing yet)

MR2s
The first main MR2 race was absolutely excellent as a spectator. We had a vested interest in the race as team mates Matt Coggins and John Winter had qualified on 8^th and 6^th on the grid, vast improvements on last season possibly as a result of the work that had gone into the cars. A first corner incident lost Coggs a handful of places and Jon was able to make up a couple of spots. Coggs was able to climb from 14^th to 10^th during the race and as Jon lost power during the race he dropped from 4^th to 8^th.

Race 1
Race B was not quite as incident packed and in true Nippon style, the fastest of the turbo cars sped off into the distance followed by a line of chasers, the gap between each slowly increasing as the procession continued. These were followed by a gaggle of MR2s who’d started a few rows behind on the grid and were still all on top of each other and I’d managed to maintain the advantage of sticking the car on pole despite a couple of cars looking like squeezing up the inside around Gerrard’s.  I settled down to a reasonable pace and opened up a sizeable gap between the rest of the MR2s and myself and apart from having to keep out of the way of the faster cars as they lapped me, that was pretty much how it stayed until the finish. My maiden victory, albeit in a B race. 

Race 2
Race 2 was a completely different story. Dave Morgan in car 70 had taken a flier of a start and had out dragged me into Gerrards and then held me on the outside all the way round it losing me some speed for the back straight and I was forced to nip in behind him for the Esses. Some strong defending had him in front round the hairpin and it was after that that my lack of power showed as I was a good 30 yards or so behind as we hit Gerrards once more. Unfortunately, about 50 yards into Gerrards, I discovered that my strong point was my cornering speed and the differential was such that avoiding action was necessary and then all the momentum was lost for the following straight and into the Esses where once again I closed the gap but had the door slammed in front of me on the approach to the hairpin. With 15 laps left, there was no rush to get past so I planned to stay behind Dave and time it so that I exited Gerrards with a load of speed and pass him on the main straight. All was going to plan until we started to get lapped by the Scoobies and they had absolutely no respect for the fact that we were racing ourselves and pushed us wide on corners, backed off half way round Gerrards and were generally ill mannered. All this avoiding had allowed Geraint to close up and he easily overtook me on the back straight and then out-braked Dave into the Esses. Gerraint looked to be going well so I nipped past Dave in the second part of the Esses and made chase. Once more, I’d got the legs around the corners but was struggling to keep up on the straights and getting close to Geraint was proving difficult as the Nippons were rudely squeezing in between us. On lap eleven, tow Nippons squeezed between us and the gap was looking unassailable but the second of the cars hassled Geraint that much that he put a wheel on the grass and had the car rotating down the length of the braking zone into the hairpin. I was back in the lead, upped my pace by a second a lap and set about opening up a safe cushion which I kept to the flag. Another victory in race 2

This year I’ve embarked on a relatively new pastime of circuit racing. I say relatively new because in 1996 following a slight indiscretion on The Premier Rally in 1995 where we had a little accident at the end of Harlow wood, rolling five times before coming to rest inverted and pointing the wrong way, and the lack of funds to rebuild the ruined shell, I stuck some numbers on my kit car and took it racing. The results weren’t good as I retired on every race due to overheating and broken engines so I packed in and went rallying again.
The racing bug stayed with me though. The close fought tussles I had with other competitors before dumping my oil on them and parking up were a complete new line in adrenaline rush.

So, come 2009 and good friend of mine, Matt Coggins has built himself a Toyota MR2 race car and is intending to race it in the MR2 racing series. I offered to help him and with a little moral support and the loan of a van and trailer he was away to Mallory Park for testing. I had a few laps in the car as well and following a successful day, Matt offered me a drive in the supporting Nippon Challenge at his first race at Silverstone.

Race 2 saw us racing in pretty much grid order for the first three laps or so. The strange thing was that this time, the leaders hadn’t scampered off and left me. I could still see them circulating in front of me. Jason Jesse in the New York Police car had occupied the lead for a while but suffered mechanical problems so was coasting to the pits but held me up slightly on the chicane. A gap then opened between Lockey and myself and then just seemed to grow and grow. Annoyed by this, I drove harder and harder and with circuit racing, this is not necessarily the best way. The gap in front increased to 5 seconds and the gap to the car behind which was previously five seconds was now down to a couple of seconds and it was Matt who was knocking on the door to come by. By lap 7 the gap was down to a second and on lap 8, Matt carried more speed through turn 2 and sailed by on the straight to an accompaniment of mutual “V Signs”. The look on his face was a picture as I crossed over and took him on the way into the chicane and he hovered a couple of inches off my rear bumper through the Bomb Hole and into the Esses, pulling out to attempt an overtaking move on the start / finish straight. Matt had the legs on me and managed to do me under braking into turn 2 and I was too far behind for my late lunge at the chicane to do any good but I pushed him all the way through the Bomb Hole and in to the Esses. Matt frustratingly pulled away up the start straight and through turns 1 and 2 but I carried good speed through the latter and was again swapping bumper paint through the chicane and the bomb hole. Late braking by Matt into the Esses left him wide open but he slammed the door as I attempted a dive up the inside and the avoiding manoeuvre I took sapped my speed for what turned out to be the last drive up the finish straight where we finished nose to tail in 10th and eleventh spots.