This is a short video of my pole position qualifying lap at Donington on Sunday 3rd April 2011. It is quite easily my best lap in a racing car, though it was far from perfect. Only Anglesey 2010, when I managed to muscle a misfiring car around like a go-kart to pole position comes close. Do enjoy it. And if anyone has videos or datalogging they want me to look at for my two-pennies worth of advice, then get in touch, I’ll be happy to help if I can.
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Apologies to those that actually visit this site in the vain hope that I’ll write something. I’ve been meaning to for months, but never actually finished writing a post. I have several drafts, but by the time I get anywhere near finishing it it’s out of date. So the quietness has continued. Hopefully until now (if I finish this!).
The last time I wrote about the cars we were just reassembling the new car for Tony Bishop. Well, that car is now complete, and has been raced at the last two meetings of the 2011 championship.
Once the car was finished, and seats were made, and engines were dyno’d and mapped etcetera, Tony had a test day at Snetterton on the 2nd March. Most things seemed to work quite well, despite old tyres and being new to H-pattern gear changes, and 
Tony was getting more and more comfortable in the car. A few things that weren’t good enough we’re noted to be fixed, one of which was the gear change that Tony was finding very awkward. Alas, during the penultimate session of the day, Tony accidentally shifted from 4th to 3rd rather than 5th; the revs jumped to 8500rpm, the valves touch the pistons, and an overhaul was needed.
In the two weeks between that test and the first race the engine was fixed, and more stuff was done to the car, partly to improve stuff that was discovered in the test, and partly to implement stuff that we didn’t have time to do properly during the proper rebuild. But we finished the car, and arrived at Snetterton for the first meeting of the year.
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Comments OffAfter all the preparation, travel and expense of getting to Donington, and unloading and preparing at the circuit, and assisting Yunus Amiere with the setup of his car, and braving the heavy rain all day on Sunday to the point where all were shivering and wet to the bone, the Donington meeting was cancelled…
It had rained non-stop since 8am. Racing was stopped at 10am. The meeting was officially cancelled at 2pm. The reason was the F1 tunnel (the one that has caused so many problems for Donington this year already) started to collapse because of the rain water. They tried to pump the water away, but it was a futile effort.
Judging by the condition of the buildings, paddock surfaces, runoff areas, track widths and all the other stuff that would be needed to host an F1 race safely and successfully F1 will never return to the circuit. At least not until every part of the current track is destroyed and rebuilt entirely from scratch. But as they can’t build a tunnel without it falling to bits I don’t see them converting it all to suit the desires of Little Bernie.
Nobody seems to know what’s going to happen now. Is the meeting going to count in the championship (i.e. a zero which can be dropped if you have enough scores – 10 rounds to count remember)? Is the non-championship race going to be ‘upgraded’ to championship status? That’ll be annoying, as I don’t think I can do that day really. Or will the CSCC/BRSCC/MRC come up with a new date later in the year at another circuit? We’ve just got to wait. As it is we are due out next on the 1st August at Silverstone (on the boring National circuit). With only 5 rounds remaining it’s looking less and less likely that I will be able to challenge Magic Motorsport for the championship – but I’m not giving up until it’s over!
More Comments OffThe weather forecast suggests we might be in for our first wet race meeting of the year. That’ll be interesting, as I’ve not really driven quickly in the rain in the Dallara yet, although we did have a wet session in testing, but it was fairly inconclusive as I was still learning the car and overcoming the teething problems we encountered that day… Gulp!!
MoreWe are racing at Donington Park on the 7th June (please attend and support club level motorsport, as well as watching some superb racing), as we head into the second half of the championship. I’ve spectated at Donington back in 2001, but never driven the track, so I’ve got my work cut out to get up to speed. Other drivers have probably got experience of the circuit, so they won’t be starting from scratch.
The practice session is just 15 minutes long, so I’ll have about 12 laps to learn the circuit and set a competitive time. Fortunately, this is where computer simulations can really help, as I have a pretty good idea of corner speeds and braking points already that just need to be refined. Needless to say I’ll be at Donington aiming for nothing less than a win, otherwise Neil Harrison will become very difficult to catch in the points standings.
The car has had some work done to it since Mallory, notably improving the throttle return spring mechanism and replacing the throttle cable itself, changing the clutch master cylinder to increase pedal travel and improving a few of the brackets and stays on the car that haven’t quite been good enough. He’s hoping for a great race, and as usual a full (but probably late) report, along with pictures and onboard footage will appear on this site in the days (weeks) following the race.
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