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Ah, Cadwell. Can be quite an unforgiving track. not much margin for error. (Ask me how I know - I think the young kids say!)

Snetterton Prep. brought the car out of storage with one week to go before Snetterton on the 19th July, next weekend. Main job was the clutch change, so yesterday morning got the car up on the quickjacks and started the strip down. The car is still disgustingly filthy after Donington but that...

Where was this? Combe?

This exact leaking union is what finally pushed me to EPAS.

With a 40 minute qualifying too, it was the equivalent to doing 4 races in one day! Or 8 sprint races! So yes, pretty happy the car survived. plenty didn't. Engine was running quite hot though, so not sure how much longer it's going to last. Need to get the race engine built ASAP now!

Thanks mate. but don't read too much of it, there's plenty of heartbreak in here too!

Donington 2 hour endurance 21st June Well that was stressful! This was the first event of its kind at Donington and the CSCC had put a fair amount of effort in to its smooth running. There were actually to be 2 endurance races. One for the modern stuff, (including us in the Tin Tops) and a...

A short film made by my youngest daughter who is a first year film student at Brighton Uni. Hoping to get her to a few more meets in the future. Its great for those who don't have the attention span to watch one of my on-board films (most people I'm guessing - me included!)

Right, not the full race report or even video yet. But - a little montage of every time we were passed by the outright race winner. While we won our "TinTops" class race, we were far from the quickest on track with some seriously quick GT cars on track. With the slowest being the Ford Pumas...

Race report to come. It was not without its drama!

The weekend has arrived and we're about ready. (I think) New lift pump assembly arrived in the week along with the front hub with a far better quality SNR bearing from PMS pressed into it. Feels much tighter. Need to check the camber setting once on some level ground but much happier now...

Agreed, one looks like its 180 degrees out.

As long as the bolt spacing on the front struts suit your car they are a good upgrade for sure.

Preparations for Donington 2 hour race started this week starting with retrieving the car from its new storage space. A mate of mine has just had a storage unit built for his car collection so I had to ask if he might have room for one more! A Clio takes up very little space after all! And in...

Messing around with AI today. Don't look too closely!

No GoPros for the Brands Hatch race. They hate the heat! So I cobbled together the VBox footage. If you can stomach the poor quality the racing gets more interesting about 15 minutes in.

More to come soon!

Was definitely a fun race! Not sure on the fueling issue yet. Possibly fuel vapourisation due to the heat, or possibly more crap in the system. I've got a Walboro uprated lift pump to fit in the tank which I'll do in the next couple of weeks in the run up to Donington on the 21st. Someone has...

Great to hear someone is reading it! People rarely seem to comment but to be honest I find it good post race therapy! Yes it was a busy weekend. the CSCC race meets always have a mix of classic to contemporary racing and the "Brands Brittania" is always on the May bank holiday and is always a...

Brands Hatch 24th & 25th May What a weekend! Not withstanding the ridiculous temperatures on track and in the car, it was an eventful weekend. Not the result we wanted but a great couple of days all the same and by all means not a disaster. Sunday morning I was in the paddock at 6:20 with a...

Looks great but its the same weight as the fibreglass ones that are only £180. Admittedly probably stronger and look great if you like the bare CF look. I'd be interested to see one in the flesh.

The hub is back and back on the car. So last night I set about ticking the last items from the list. The problematic fuel system being the main focus. After finding the filter blocked at Snetterton a couple of months ago and not checking it at Brands last week I was expecting it to be clogged...

Back in the workshop today, I've strated working through the, thankfully quite short list of things to address before next weekend. With the remnants of the trip into the gravel still evident under the car I started with getting it up on the Quickjacks and giving the underside a jetwash. After...

8 days to RACE DAY Earlier this week John and I convened at Brands Hatch for a day of practice. Little did we know what biblical weather lay ahead. I arrived early to try and grab a garage only to find that every one had been reserved. Fortunately though, I recognised a name on one of the...

Craners is fantastic... until it isn't. I rolled at Craners about 10 years ago and it took me a good few years to find my confidence there again. Now I absolutely love it again.

The gearboxes are made of chocolate so don't try and rush gearchanges. If it starts crunching into 3rd then start saving for a rebuild! And these engines love to bend valves if you over rev them or miss a gear. You can change the bottom pulley for a keyed version (from a Megan) that will stop...

Pre Brands Hatch prep has started today. Hinge reinforcement being first on the list. After removing the hinge from the door it was clear that the fibreglass was starting to fatigue with some noticeable flex. Definitely needs reinforcement although to be fair its lasted this long, so it can't...

I've been racing one of these for 13 years. I think I've had pretty much anything these engines can do thrown at me at one time or another!

It is possible that its not the cam cover leaking. The heads are prone to leak from the core plugs between the exhaust ports (I've fixed this with silicone before) and also from the seal around the dephaser solenoid on the top. Worth checking both first.

Welcome to Clio ownership. Sadly, unlike Hondas a cam cover leak is not an easy fix but if you don't know the service history you can tie it in to a cambelt and dephaser change. Other than that, you'll find answers to any questions in this community and some might even be right!