Home
Sep 06
Monday

Welcome to Dallara398.com

Welcome to our website.  We compete in the UK’s Monoposto Racing Club, which is intended to allow older single seater race cars to be used by ordinary folk at affordable prices. In 2007 we joined the club to begin our single seater racing career with a 1998 Reynard 883 Formula 3 car, and learnt very quickly that it’s not easy to become or remain competitive. With a part-season behind us we launched into 2008 with the Reynard, our sights set on championship victory in the Classic Class. Our goals acheived, we acquired a 1998 Dallara F398 with which to compete in 2009, and finished our ‘learning year’ in 3rd place, with a couple of wins and several fastest laps. Our hope is the 2010 is our championship year but, as ever in motorsport, you can never be sure of anything…

Who’s Online?

Users: 2 Guests

Standings

1Jeremy TIMMS102
2Tristan CLIFFE76
3Malcolm SCOTT60
4Richard PURCELL56
5Anthony BISHOP41
6Graham READ40
7Tony COTTON31
8Adrian HOLEY28

Tweets

Site Functions

excel2007

Championship Points Analysis

Monday, 5 July 2010

I’ve had a brief look at the championship points and worked out (using Excel to calculate the permutations):

  • If I win every race with fastest lap from now on, and Timms finished 2nd, I win the championship with one round remaining
  • If I win every race, but Jeremy is 2nd with fastest lap in all, then I’ll win after the final round (equal scores, but I have more wins)
  • If Jeremy wins two more races then I need to win all the remaining races with fastest lap….

In other words – the championship is very much alive, and far closer at the moment than the pure 24 points deficit would suggest!

Car on the trolley, throttle bodies already off

Work for Mallory

Monday, 5 July 2010

We’ve been sidetracked by another Dallara here for some work, mainly to improve the setup, but also to get a gearbox failure resolved and to improve the brakes. But now we can start on our F398 once again. The engine is due to come out over the next few evenings to check it over and give it a mid-season refresh. The throttle body set up is due back soon with modified extension pipes to better support the airbox. The camera system needs to be repaired again, but that’s a case of sending it back for testing/replacement. And I might need a new front-left tyre, as I didn’t do it any favours in the Sunday race, desperately trying to remain competitive despite being down on power.

Oh, and the race truck is back, with new cables for the tail lift. We’ve got the cabin heater and dashboard lights working again. The side door handle has been replaced. And some of the paintwork has been neatened up. We’d quite like to remove the old stickers and have our own put on there, but the old stickers are proving hard to get rid of entirely. And we’ll need to do a practice day with the awning and the packing of the load space. It’ll be a lot easier to learn at home rather than in a rush at Mallory!

Read More
Leading the race... until the last lap!

Snetterton, Round 5/6 – June 2010

Sunday, 27 June 2010

After the slight disappointment of Anglesey, we were keen to show our speed at Snetterton, our ‘home’ race. The misfire woes from earlier in the season were, we hoped, behind us, although we had fitted a lambda sensor to the datalogger to help us get around the problem should it recur.

However, all that didn’t go quite according to plan…

Saturday’s practice session was damp. There was, in places, a dry line, but the overall feeling was that wet tyres were the way to go. Most people felt the same, but a few remained on slicks due to lack of time and manpower. I went out and had to pick my way through the traffic to find some clear air, whilst Jeremy Timms went out last due to clutch problems. This meant he was immediately on a clear track and banged in a 1m19 second time. Then it started to rain…

Read More
Attempting to put up the awning...!

Work continues and a new development…

Monday, 14 June 2010

We’ve been working hard. Not very hard at updating the website (though I still tweet occasionally) I admit, but in the workshop we’ve been busy.

  • The floor has come off, been cleaned properly, slightly modified with a belt sander and refitted. The bulge seems to be better now.
  • The camera was tested, sent off and testing by DogCamSport, and is now back with us and working. All fitted and ready to go.
  • The silencer was inspected, and the new packing is holding up well. Hopefully no noise problems at Snetterton!
  • We have had a chat with Specialist Components (the ECU people) with datalogging and video evidence of the misfire, and we think it’s more likely a mapping issue – the fuelling going rich or lean at various points. So we’ve fitted a lambda sensor, and will be able to log the throttle, RPM and fuelling to see what happens. Hopefully this will help reduce any misfires. We’ll also make sure the battery is fully charged just in case battery voltage is the cause.
Read More
Victory

Anglesey, Round 3/4 – May 2010

Monday, 14 June 2010

GarlandA fortnight after the disappointment of Thruxton (where I cleverly turned pole position into a second place via 29th position and the lead, in the space of a dozen laps) we set off for Anglesey, the farthest track from us in the UK.

Another circuit that we haven’t been to with the Dallara that both Timms and Harrison have been to several times with theirs. Thus we arrived with a realistic frame of mind, hoping for a win but knowing that I would be very difficult to actually achieve. The usual preparation showed nothing that was unduly concerning, other than a slight bulge in the floor and plank possibly caused by the Thruxton kerb launching incident (although the bulge might have been there before and I just hadn’t noticed it!). We tried to rectify it as well as we could, but it’s still there, so we have to run a slightly higher ride height than we’d like.

Read More
Anglesey Circuit Map

Anglesey Preview

Friday, 14 May 2010

Anglesey Circuit Map

In a week’s time we’ll be well on our way to Anglesey for the third and fourth round of the 2010 Monoposto championship. Last time we ventured that far west for racing was in 2008 with the Reynard 883 during our championship challenge, and we came away with two class wins, two class poles and two class fastest laps.  We missed 2009 because it was too far to go with a new car and no championship ambitions, but 2010 demands it. Of course, I hope to repeat my class domination of 2008, but Jeremy is never easy to beat, and so far this year we’ve not make life easy for ourselves either, whether it be a ‘technical’ failure (Brands) or a ‘driver’ failure (Thruxton).

Read More

Next Races

 

Please offer your support to the team's efforts by donating towards our budget. Any donations received will be used solely within the racing budget, and go towards making us quicker, and not squandered on luxuries in the paddock or on the car!


Home