The trials & tribulations of racing a Clio

[robzracing]

I've been thinking about starting a thread on here for a while but as most of you will know time is never on our side when it comes to these things. But I thought some of you might be interested in my story of how I got into racing and of course as I continue to persevere with one of the most frustrating, expensive and yet still most rewarding pastimes anyone can undertake I hope to tap in to the wealth of knowledge and experience everyone on here has to offer in my quest to maybe one day actually win some silverware!

To start with I have pasted in my blog on my website that sums up the last 2 and a half seasons and brings me to where I am now; about to start assembling a new race engine in time to get at least one or 2 races in this season.

As Photobucket has decided to get greedy I have yet to find a new site that I can hotlink to for images (recommendations welcome) so the first images below may not be the best resolution. Before I post again I should have something sorted.

This story begins after having already done one season with the Clios. In 2014 I raced at Brands, Cadwell, Castle Coombe and Snetterton finishing every race either in the top 10 or just outside but no podiums. For 2015 we decided sponsorship was the way to go to fund the racing and run 2 cars.

A brief (not that brief) review of the 2015 season
It's always good to approach a new season with a plan. In January 2015 we had a plan. By February it had changed and by March it had changed again. It's always good to have a flexible plan.

As 2014 drew to a close we had a couple of sponsors lined up for the next season, both having agreed a deal in principal "verbally". So the first lesson of 2015 was, always take verbal agreements with a pinch of salt. By the end of Jan one sponsor was out and the deal with the other was moving forward albeit slowly.

A friend of mine, David runs a company with his wife called CommsQuest. An internal communications company that helps big companies communicate between departments or train staff or assist in transitions with mergers. That's about all I understand about it. Check them out if you're interested. www.commsquest.com

While we were still lining up this deal we headed to Brands Hatch in March for a pre season test day with Ollie Jackson, BTCC driver and friend of Portal Motorsport joining us to put down some benchmark times.

Activity in the garage at Brands

Despite technical problems I did get a few laps in

Sadly, the day didn't quite go to plan with the engine blowing on Ollie's first outing in car number 73 and No 74 suffering fuel surge prblems throughout the day. It left us with a lot to do before the first race, starting with sourcing a new engine.

New engine going in to 73, Graphics removed from 74 for new sponsors

David and his team at CommsQuest had already spent a few days with us over the past couple of years on our corporate days under the Portal Motorsport banner and he was enjoying refining his track driving skills. By the end of 2014 he was keen to take his race license test and start a bit of racing.

So we put a deal together where CommsQuest would sponsor one of our cars for the season and David would share the driving with one of us in the endurance series that we enter each year. This took far longer than we had anticipated but we got David through his ARDS test after a day of tuition with Jake Hill (BTCC driver 2016) in our Nissan 350Z and finally we were ready for our first race weekend at the end of June at Cadwell Park.

Clio getting wrapped in CommsQuest branding.

Looking slick in gloss yellow and matt green wrap.

Race 1 Cadwell Park 20th June
We had both cars entered into the 750mc Roadsport series on the Saturday but booked onto the test day on the Friday also as David hadn't even driven the car up to this point. Ryan and Antonio were paired up in the other Clio with Antonio also a race virgin after a gearbox failure at the end of the last season put an end to his first race without him getting into the car.

Camping at Cadwell for Ryan and me. David and Antonio took the soft option and stayed at a B&B down the road

Testing went well on the Friday with the weather holding and both cars behaving. Saturday however was a different story.

David getting some seat time on the test day

David drove first in qualifying and put in some decent times and keeping the car on the tarmac. I went out second and posted a couple of decent times before the car lost all power and left me stranded at the pit lane entrance at the end of the session.

After much panicking and rallying round we located a slighly frayed wire that was shorting out in the engine bay and blowing fuses. Thankfully a simple fix.

So after lunch as the race approached the heavens decided to open and more panic ensued as we rushed to change the tyres to wets. We had no time to adjust suspension settings and my car had a set of used wet tyres on it that we had never run on before. So as I lined up on the start line I wasn't the most relaxed.

I had a terrible start, wheel spinning pretty much all the way up to the first turn which in the dry is a flat-out corner. Less so in the wet and I had already lost a lot of places including being passed by Ryan in the other Clio. That didn't last long though and I was back past him after turn 2. Caught up in the pack though had left a large gap between me and a bunch of front runners and on lap 3 in my enthusiasm to catch them my unknown tyres ran out of grip a millisecond before I ran out of talent and found myself sliding over wet grass with a tyre barrier fast approaching.

In hindsight I should have restarted the car and try to carry on. But at the time the impact was pretty shocking and I had no idea what damage I had done to the car until I got dragged out by the marshalls. It turned out to be mainly cosmetic and with the radiator having escaped being punctured I finally got back in the car and limped back to the pits. Only to find Ryan had also retired with a puncture.

So neither of our race virgins got to race that day which is not a good start for a sponsor.

Making up places

Not looking so slick now

Race 2 Donington Park 6th September
After various conflicting personal commitments we didn't visit a track again until September when we trekked up to Donington Park for a spot of testing a couple of days before and then racing on the 6th.

Testing went well again and with some tuition from a young lady racer, Sarah Reader for whom Donington is home from home we both were making good gains around the circuit.

Race day arrived and a bright sunny day promised some great racing. Alas, not for us (again!).

It was decided that I should drive first. I can't remember who decided that. It may or may not have been the right decision but either way I wanted to get a clear quick lap in as early as possible so that David could get out there too. And after 2 or 3 laps working through traffic I finally had a clear track ahead as I came over the start finish line. Out of turn one and heading into the Craner curves I was already half a second up when, before I knew what was happening I was sliding sideways across the tarmac, then the grass and finally the gravel which unceremoniously tipped me over onto the roof. BUGGER!

The wavey windscreen gives away what's happened here.

I've never felt so angry with myself as I ran it over and over in my head. What had I done differently? Was I really just pushing on too hard? Only on inspection many days later did we discover a big power steering leak had coated the underside of the car in fluids which we now think got on to one of the rear tyres. (not everyone believes this theory but I'll take it)

Either way, I had another dissapointed sponsor and a lot of work ahead of me.

Race 3 Donington Park 3rd October
The upside down action a month previously put paid to our appointment with Silverstone unfortunately so our 3rd race was a return to Donington to "try again".

This time we had a "Race Manager" with us in the form of David Roucka-Brown our race instructor at Portal Motorsport. The strategy this time was for me to drive first again! But only a short stint and then get David out for as much time as possible.

So I did my minimum number of laps and brought the car in for David. All was going well...

Until, after a few laps David didn't come around again and we had to wait for the end of the session to find out what had happened. This time it was mechanical failure. The bottom pulley had slipped and bent all the valves. Game over again and yet more spanner time for me.

We had a spare cylinder head and a quick strip down revealed no damage to the bottom end so a rebuild ensued with tips and pointers from Mark Fish along the way. A fortnight later and we were ready once more.

Race 4 & 5 Brands Hatch 31st October
We were determined to go out with a flourish. The last meet of the season and we had secured a second driver to partner Ryan in the No73 Clio. Alex Roberts is the proprietor of GPG Signs in Stevenage, www.gpgsigns.co.uk and the man responsible for the lovely CommsQuest livery on our car. He also happens to be a veteran of MX5 racing and fancied getting his racing boots on again.

We had 2 races lined up this time and the phillosophy was "JUST BLOODY FINISH".

Which I'm glad to say we did. With both cars! no lap records were set and no trophies were brought home but we finished! with our families watching and the sun shining it couldn't have been a better end to a somewhat crap season. And, as is the way with this addictive sport a finish like that leaves you chomping at the bit for the next season to start.

Watch this space for the 2016 season...

A test day the day before gave us the pick of the parking lot to set up in

Feeling a lot happier at the end of the day here.

The car didn't escape totally unharmed though.

 

[robzracing]

Trigger's broom

At the end of last season we finally managed to successfully complete a couple of races but if you read my roundup of last season you will also know that number 74 didn't come away unscathed.

David's argument with a Lotus Evora left the car with a deceptive amount of damage.

In fact no part of the right hand side of the car was undamaged, so during the off-season (and part way into the current season) the car has had a fair amount of work done to put it straight.

The bulk of the work involved cutting out the rear quarter panel and welding a new one in. this has certainly challenged the old welding skills. And when I say old it is probably close on 20 years since I was welding and fabricating on a daily basis, so apart from the repairs follwing the roll at Donington last September the welder has been sitting idle for a very long time.

Finally after a couple of months of evenings and weekends the car was finally back together and ready for re-wrapping (half of it at least).

Since the start of last season then, no 74 has had 2 new doors, 2 new wings, a new front bumper, 1 new back bumper, a new roof, a new rear quarter, a new side skirt and new windscreen and side windows. Hence the title of this post. I wasn't planning on having a new car for this season but barring a tailgate, one rear quarter and a bonnet I'm almost there.

Back at GPG Signs for the 3rd time!

2016- the season that wasn't and 2017 - Cautious Optimism



Well here we are again, another season round-up and more tales of woe! This time a little less dramatic thankfully but also a little shorter.

With the disbanding Portal Motorsport at the end of 2015 due to increasing work commitments for Ryan and me and other changes in circumstances we entered the 2016 season in slightly unchartered territory and so decided not to get stressed about it but just to have a relaxed season and fit in a few races around the rest of our lives and see where it took us.

This began in April with a trip back to Snetterton for an unusually sunny weekend.

Loaded up and ready for Snetterton


We took the car number 73 which needed very little doing to it over the winter months so after a check over at Mark Fish's we headed straight into qualifying on a chilly, drying track early on Sunday morning.

With Ryan having been driving this car for the last couple of seasons he headed out first and set a respectable pace putting us firmly in the middle of the pack. And this is where I start with the excuses!

This car is a very different animal to 'my' number 74. With no throttle bodies but a lightened flywheel and fairly lumpy cams its power delivery is quite different for starters. It's also considerably lighter, has a much more aggressive suspension setup and no power steering. Consequently it can be a bit of a handful, locking up very easily (especially on a damp track) and hard work on the arms through the bends. That being said, this used to be my favourite one to drive too so my lack of pace I can only assume was down to lack of practice. But I was hopeful for the race where I could look forward to knuckling down to 20 minutes of solid racing.

On this occasion the CSCC had decided that a rolling start was the order of the day and again we opted for Ryan to start.

With the race beginning straight after lunch the track was nice and warm and the sun was shining. Ryan made a solid start taking a couple of positions on the first lap and hunting down the next victim. But after lap 2 I waited for him to come round again, only to see him back in the position he started in. Another lap down and he was heading in to the pits with the car sounding less than happy.

Being the first car into the pits drew attention however, and before I knew what was happening I had a microphone shoved in my face while I frantically looked for the gremlin under the bonnet. It seemed Snetterton’s very own Karun Chandhok was keen to keep the crowds informed. Unfortunately for us though the exposure was short-lived and minutes later we were wheeling the car back into the garage with a failed injector.

This was the second time an injector on this car had let us down although previously it had happened straight after a qualifying session and so we had been able to replace it before the race.

So, an early bath and not a great start to the season.

June was the next time I got out on track. This time back in 74 with David for the first test after the rebuild over the winter.

Ready for testing at Brands Hatch

David and I spent the day getting back in the swing of things and the day was only hampered mid-afternoon by a power steering leak which after a run out to pick up a replacement pressure switch failed to cure the problem. So we managed a few more laps and then called it a day.

This year the CSCC had managed to secure a race meeting at Thruxton. The fastest circuit in the UK and rarely available for club motorsport race meetings. I was keen to do it of course and to add a further carrot the event was going to be televised and shown on Motors TV!

With Thruxton being a fast circuit a further helping of jeopardy is added to the standard racing jeopardy by being rather unforgiving if you make a mistake. And with so many race entrants never having driven there before and very few track days ever held there we jumped at the chance to secure a day there in early July. However, the only caveat being that race cars were not allowed. Road cars only.

So I pulled the covers off my trusty Seat Leon Cupra R track car, that hadn't been driven for about 8 months and gave the fluids a change and loaded it onto the trailer.

At thruxton where they have the narrowest garages ever!


So David joined me and we spent the day spanking the Seat around Thruxton and gradually getting quicker.

Fortunately our friendly ARDS instructor regularly teaches at Thruxton so although he couldn't join us for the day he had given us plenty of pointers.

At about 3.30 with David behind the wheel the Seat decided it had had enough and unceremoniously dumped its coolant over the track. At about 3.35 David finally realised that my frantic waving from the pit wall was to indicate something was wrong but by that time the engine was beyond help.

With help we pushed it on to the trailer and headed home. But we felt confident that we stood half a chance when we returned there in August.

A week later and I was back at Snetterton, again for testing and this time with our friendly ARDS race instructor primarily to get David up to speed on a track that he hadn't driven before. But it's always useful to get some professional input into my driving too.

The car ran without fault and all in all we came away feeling positive. David by the way, was racing there that weekend, but not with us this time. I think he felt far happier about it, having had the day with us though.

Ready for a day at Snetterton


Following our day at Snetterton I had one more thing to do before our next race at Thruxton. The car had not been mapped since we bought it but I had always wanted to return it to Emerald for them to do it. The down side to this was that they are based in Ipswich and when I called them, they couldn't do anything for about 6 weeks. Luckily though my local garage, Perfect Touch (dodgy name but really great guys who know their stuff) knew someone who could work with the Emerald ECU. So I duly booked the car in for a day on their dyno and cleared my diary so I could keep an eye on proceedings.

I wasn't disappointed! This was the ignition that was on the car... (The injection map was similar)

And this was after a day of mapping on the dyno...

After mapping the print out suggested a slightly optimistic 226bhp and much better torque curve. Definitely an improvement though.

Thruxton came around before we knew it so David and I headed down to the very swanky Holiday Inn near Stonehenge the day before. Doing this enabled us to drop the car off in the paddock at the circuit at the end of Saturday's racing ensuring us a good spot for the following day. Pit crew consisted of David's brother-in-law.

The next morning we had a fright. We were signed on, scrutineered and ready for a cup of coffee with plenty of time to spare! This has never happened before and subsequently I spent the whole time panicking that we had forgotten something.

Anyway, we hadn't and it turned out that it was to be all in vain anyway...

We were on fresh tires and David opted for me to go first into qualifying and out on track the car was feeling great. I was getting faster and looking quite competitive until the engine went bang.

And that was it. Over as quickly as it had begun. No drive for David and a whacking great hole in the side of the engine and the radiator.

Conrod exit here..


Unless you have a spare engine and a team of mechanics there was no question that this was the end of the day for us.

My last outing for 2016 was back teamed with Ryan again for a trip to one of our favourite circuits, Cadwell Park.

I've had one good race and one DNF at Cadwell, but every time I go there I like it more and more. It's well suited to the Clio and rewards bravery if you know the track. (It bends you over and smacks your bum if you don't treat it with respect though)

As per our usual routine Ryan and I convened at Cadwell complete with tent and stove the night before and prepared number 73 for action the following day. Ryan had had a local garage replace all the injectors and test them. The car seemed ok although the mechanics had not been 100% happy that all was well.

Qualifying was fractious to say the least. Coming to the end of the season many of the teams seemed to be wearing their 'all or nothing' t-shirts this weekend and Ryan's qualifying session was cut short by another Clio hitting the tire wall. So after about 20 minutes stoppage it was decided that the 2nd drivers should now go out and complete the rest of the session. After a quick swap I headed out on to track. One lap to warm the tires and then get my head down. That was the plan anyway but someone else had other ideas when one of the nicest prepared cars in our series, (and one of the fastest) a fluorescent green Peugeot 306 ex-touring car also decided to explore the tire wall. With quite considerable force this time which ended qualifying and leaving us in the back half of the grid. Thankfully no injuries though.

Ready for qualifying

There was a long wait between qualifying and our race so we soaked up some autumn sun, watched a bit of racing and had some lunch. All very relaxed.

Then we were called to the assembly area and Ryan jumped in. (he was starting again)

As I wandered down behind the car I finally caught up to a worried Ryan as the car seemed to be misfiring. We got the car into the assembly area and then got stuck in under the bonnet. It seemed to be an injector again but we couldn't fathom why it should happen now when it ran fine in the morning.

The marshalls were being patient and we had a little bit of time. Various participants or other pit team members came to offer advice but all to no avail and then finally someone spotted fuel pouring out under the car. Bizarrely nowhere near the fuel lines which added further puzzlement until we realised that it was coming out of a joint in the exhaust!

It turns out that a fault was causing one injector to permanently squirt fuel into the engine, which of course was far more than the engine could ignite hence the misfire and the unburnt fuel exiting below.

Needless to say, at the site of fuel on or near an exhaust the marshalls decided to call time on our day and we were duly towed back to our pitch.

So, for me 2016 was very much a 'non' year when it comes to racing. Equally frustrating for Ryan who still just needs to complete 1 more race to qualify for his National A license and no longer have the 'Novice' yellow and black X on the back of his car.

There is some uncertainty for 2017, (which could be said for the whole world really) but I have registered with CSCC for the year which should spur me on. I have decided that we need a proper engine in the car now and have been spending time getting advice and putting together a specification for an engine that should make the car competitive and reliable. This of course is going to take a bit of time as it's an expensive proposition if left to the experts completely. So as I’m not a total buffoon on the spanners I will be doing as much of the work as I can.

And of course, while the car is apart I will take the opportunity to make other improvements, like more weight reduction, new fuel lines run internally and the same with rear brake lines and at the same time adding a brake bias valve.

So if I don't race until the second half of the season so be it. There is a meeting at Castle Coombe this year which I'd love to make, as I had one of my best ever races there a few years back. Only time will tell though, so watch this space.

We may not have raced but at least we got on the telly!

 

[Jimbo1990]

I really enjoyed that, thank you! I'd love to get into racing, what would you say is a decent budget to get a standard 'track spec' car to 750 standards?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[robzracing]

I really enjoyed that, thank you! I'd love to get into racing, what would you say is a decent budget to get a standard 'track spec' car to 750 standards?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Jim. The cost to get a track car ready for racing would really depend on how much of the work you can do yourself really. Assuming your track car doesn't have a cage that's going to be the biggest expense, so if you're not fitting it yourself you should allow £1500-£2000 for that at least. After that it's just cut-off switches and fire extinguisher whch are the main things which are not hugely expensive. Finally you need a race license of course! I think the test is about £300, but fit it into a trackday and its a good day out anyway.

 

[Ricardos]

Brilliant thread, an enjoyable read through. It's certainly been testing at times for you but commend the effort gone in to keep them both on track. Subscribed for updates, love threads like these.

 

[Jimbo1990]

Thanks dude!
Also, you must have some of the worst luck with cars in general!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[haimsey]

That was a good read, thanks for sharing.
Certainly been an eventful few years for you! Fair play for persisting and not quitting!

 

[Johnc172]

Very good read! I'm trying to make the leap into racing for next season. Tried this year but budget and time didn't permit!

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Excellent read, very enjoyable. The car looks excellent with the yellow wrap too. I think I would say that though. As you can tell from my avatar, I like yellow lol. I hope you have a better 2017 anyway. Will follow this with interest!

 

[robzracing]

Very good read! I'm trying to make the leap into racing for next season. Tried this year but budget and time didn't permit!

Do it if you can John. You won't regret it!

 

[JKING3008]

Enjoyed reading that!
What is the spec of the engine to get 226bhp?

 

[robzracing]

Enjoyed reading that!
What is the spec of the engine to get 226bhp?

To be honest I don't think the car was anywhere near 226. Just very generous rollers! At that stage the engine had a standard bottom end, a small amount of fettling in the head and Jenvey Throttle bodies and running Emerald ECU. It even had standard cams so around 210 I think was more realistic (which is what it had been dyno'd at previously).
The new engine has a forged bottom end with High compression pistons and the same CAT cams that Pure Motorsport run in their 240bhp motors. In fact, apart from the CNC machined head that they have on theirs, the spec will be very similar so I have high hopes!

 

[robzracing]

So to bring this thread up to date, since the catastrophic failure at Thuxton I have spent the last 11 months stripping the engine bay, cleaning and painting it, tidying up the engine loom, heat shrinking and labelling all the plugs and wires so it will be easier for the engine to come in and out in the future.

I’ve also converted all the fuel lines to black braided hose with AN-6 fitting right through and routed them through the car rather than underneath.


While doing all this I spent some time working out a spec for the new engine and then slowly accumulating all the parts, stripping the block ready for machining and sending most of the rest of the engine components, brackets and the front subframe etc off to be sand blasted and powdercoated.

Head survived thankfully

Strip down of replacement block begins

After the failure I wondered why the wing appeared to have melted in one spot…

Until I discovered part of the exploding conrod had lodged itself somehow managed to pass behind the headlight and lodge up against the wing after exiting the block!

Subframe out and just block and gearbox to go. (This was before I got an engine hoist for Christmas!)

Another clearer shot of the hole. There was also one on the back of the block.

Starting the strip the engine bay.

And getting organised ready for reassembly

New block being prepared for paint.

And a little video of the painting process

Very happy with the results and ready for machine shop now.

New Powerflex Black bushes to go on as these have seen better days.

Every part that has come off the car has been either stripped and powder coated or cleaned up and repainted.
Steering rack has come up very nicely although I’ll be looking to go EPas next year.

VHT wrinkle black finish which I find is a bit more hard wearing.

Preparing the block for the machine shop meant removing the oil jets from under the cylinder bores. Not the easiest job as they are pressed in.

The solution was to drill and tap the ends, screw a bolt in and then use a dent puller to extract them. It worked a treat although it was slow going as one false move with the drill could have rendered the block scrap!

In March I finally received my pistons and rods. I’ve gone for 83mm 3 ring PEC (Supertech) High comp race pistons, PEC H-Beam Rods with ARP2000 bolts and King Race bearings throughout.
I’ll be using an Athena 1mm head gasket to bring the compression ratio to 12.5:1.

So with these I took the block along with the complete rotating bottom end off to the machine shop to be bored, line bored and dynamically balanced.

Once there they soon discovered that the crankshaft was bent so another was quickly sourced and dropped off to them.

So while the engine was off work continued on the engine bay.

Servo needs some attention

New radiator from Pure Motorsport will be going in so hopefully some additional cooling with these 75mm holes drilled into the crash bar. (I wouldn’t recommend this on a road car!) I’ll also be running an oil cooler now which could also obstruct some of the airflow to the radiator so anything to help.

 

[robzracing]

bracket for fuel pressure regulator

New fuel lines started

Looking much better already

With everything back from the powder coaters I can start some reassembly. The Powerflex Black series bushes are a bugger to install though.

Really liking this silver finish.

New radiator requires a small amount of trimming of the tinwork.

New live power distribution bar

 

[bloke]

i'd bin the power steering set up and go epas.

 

[JamesBryan]

i'd bin the power steering set up and go epas.

He is, next year.

 

[bloke]

He is, next year.

it's the internet, you don't expect me to read everything that someone posts do you...skim read and look at pictures :tongueclosed:

 

[JamesBryan]

it's the internet, you don't expect me to read everything that someone posts do you...skim read and look at pictures :tongueclosed:

😂

I'd be doing it now though like you say. Good opportunity while everything is out.

Although going off the early posts in the thread, it won't be long before it's being stripped down again :tongueclosed: (sorry Rob).

 

[bloke]

Although going off the early posts in the thread, it won't be long before it's being stripped down again :tongueclosed: (sorry Rob).

every time anyone picks their car up from me that's competing last thing i tell them is 'don't break it'...this actually seems to work!!

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Engine bay looks great. Should go nicely with that engine in it too. The problem is, the more threads like this I read, the more I want to do it to mine 😂

 

[robzracing]

😂

I'd be doing it now though like you say. Good opportunity while everything is out.

Although going off the early posts in the thread, it won't be long before it's being stripped down again :tongueclosed: (sorry Rob).

You're probably right! So I'm trying to mount everything so it's easy to pull the engine out quickly in the future.
And yes it is tempting to do the EPAS now, but I'm running out of time to try and get a race in this year so I've made a list of the next improvements to be done over the winter which includes EPAS, re routing rear brakelines and fitting a bias valve and refurbishing the rear subframe, polybushing and fitting PM rear ARB. I have already bought everything to do all this but just don't have the time.

 

[robzracing]

every time anyone picks their car up from me that's competing last thing i tell them is 'don't break it'...this actually seems to work!!

How far from me are you so I can drop trhe car off and then pick it up again so you can say it to me! I'm desparate!

 

[bloke]

How far from me are you so I can drop trhe car off and then pick it up again so you can say it to me! I'm desparate!

probably miles away!!! i'm on the wirral. i can shout it down the phone to you if that helps:wink:

 

[Aydon182]

Good old reliable french cars :tonguewink:

May i ask, what do your sponsors bring to the table? Do they cover all your racing fee's or a percentage of them?

 

[robzracing]

Good old reliable french cars :tonguewink:

May i ask, what do your sponsors bring to the table? Do they cover all your racing fee's or a percentage of them?

The CommsQuest sponsor is a company owned by a guy I know. He did a few corporate trackdays with us (Me and a couple of partners used to run them) and then when we started racing he said he'd like to get involved. So in 2015 they paid £20k to partner me in the car for a season and in return we laid on a couple of promotional events with the car for him and of course we wrapped the car in his corporate colours. It pretty much covered our costs for the season even with all the dramas!
After the rather disasterous season and at the same time we dispanded the corporate trackday company I decided just to offer him a arrive and drive deal for 2016 so he just paid for the races that we did. His fees covered about 75% of my costs so that's how I intend to carry on now with anyone who wants to come and race. (unless another bigger sponsor comes along of course, but they are very difficult to pin down and it certainly puts you under a lot more pressure to perform)

 

[Aydon182]

The CommsQuest sponsor is a company owned by a guy I know. He did a few corporate trackdays with us (Me and a couple of partners used to run them) and then when we started racing he said he'd like to get involved. So in 2015 they paid £20k to partner me in the car for a season and in return we laid on a couple of promotional events with the car for him and of course we wrapped the car in his corporate colours. It pretty much covered our costs for the season even with all the dramas!
After the rather disasterous season and at the same time we dispanded the corporate trackday company I decided just to offer him a arrive and drive deal for 2016 so he just paid for the races that we did. His fees covered about 75% of my costs so that's how I intend to carry on now with anyone who wants to come and race. (unless another bigger sponsor comes along of course, but they are very difficult to pin down and it certainly puts you under a lot more pressure to perform)

damn, thats awesome. im going to ask my ex boss if he would like to sponsor me through next years 750mc 😂
its probably a tax write off for the sponsor anyway!

 

[@Josh]

@robzracing
Great read!
I race in the Tricolore Trophy in the production plus class.
Like a few people have said up here really unlucky with the car on some occasions!
Are you still in the 750mc now?

 

[robzracing]

damn, thats awesome. im going to ask my ex boss if he would like to sponsor me through next years 750mc 😂
its probably a tax write off for the sponsor anyway!

It is a tax write off, but if your ex boss wants to drive with as well you (or he) has to tread carefully as the tax man doesn't look so favourably on it if they think it's for personal gain. We had to make sure the wording on the paperwork wasn't too specific.

 

[robzracing]

@robzracing
Great read!
I race in the Tricolore Trophy in the production plus class.
Like a few people have said up here really unlucky with the car on some occasions!
Are you still in the 750mc now?

Thanks Josh. Had my eye on the Tricolore Trophy for a while and will definately enter it if I think I'm going to do a season on my own. Isn't Tony Hunter in that with you? His "Burpspeed" antics are what swayed us towards Clios in the first place.
I'll still be splitting my racnig between 750MC Roadsports, CSCC Tin Tops and MSVR Trackday Trophy/Championship. I usually plan the season's racing around my personal diary and pick tracks that I enjoy.
As you know, if you're just racing for silverware on the day it doesn't really matter who you race with and as all these series are 40 or 45 minute endurance races I can always have a second driver to ease the financial pain!

 

[robzracing]

Nearly ready to begin assembly

 

[Steven103]

Really interesting read, the customer racing element really differentiates the thread from every other PMS this Kamracing that racing thread!

 

[robzracing]

Really interesting read, the customer racing element really differentiates the thread from every other PMS this Kamracing that racing thread!

Thanks Steven. I'll try and keep people entertained with my woes!

 

[@Josh]

Thanks Josh. Had my eye on the Tricolore Trophy for a while and will definately enter it if I think I'm going to do a season on my own. Isn't Tony Hunter in that with you? His "Burpspeed" antics are what swayed us towards Clios in the first place.
I'll still be splitting my racnig between 750MC Roadsports, CSCC Tin Tops and MSVR Trackday Trophy/Championship. I usually plan the season's racing around my personal diary and pick tracks that I enjoy.
As you know, if you're just racing for silverware on the day it doesn't really matter who you race with and as all these series are 40 or 45 minute endurance races I can always have a second driver to ease the financial pain!

That's the one @Tony Hunter is with us he is a bad influence to us all haha
Depending on your diary we have an invitation day at Silverstone in October anyone is welcome.

 

[robzracing]

That's the one @Tony Hunter is with us he is a bad influence to us all haha
Depending on your diary we have an invitation day at Silverstone in October anyone is welcome.

That could be tempting Josh. If the car is ready and I've managed to get a test day or 2 under my belt I may consider it, thanks.

 

[robzracing]

Assembled components of one combustion chamber today so I can check compression ratio is on target. I'm aiming for 12.5:1 which in theory is what all the parts I have bought should give me but we need to be sure.
Once measured Thurston Engineering who have done all the work on the block can machine either the pistons or skim a bit off the block to adjust it. I'm hoping that it will be about right though otherwise it's more expense!

Shims to correct for pre-load.

Everything you need to check compression ratio. (and a bit of maths!)

Just need to measure bottom end now and we'll have an answer.

 

[robzracing]

According to Facebook it's 4 years ago today that I picked up the Clio. Looks a bit different now!

 

[Coops Mk1]

great thread!

 

[Tony Hunter]

Phew!!

 

[Greeny.]

Love this, great read.

 

[robzracing]

A small update as I'm expecting the bottom end back next week.
The head is now finished with all valves lapped and all assembled.

Also been looking at where to mount the oil cooler. There's not much space with the PM radiator and all its shrouding but I think it will fit just to the left of it behind the lower grill. It's a 16 row so slightly bigger than most people use but as I'm not sure how good the airflow will be to it I want to give it the best chance.

I have seen one mounted above the rad on the right hand side behind the upper grill but I just don't think a 16 row cooler is going to fit.

Next was to modify the oil pump to help keep the pressure up at high revs.
This mod simply alters the tension on the relief spring by cutting a new slot in the retainer pin not quite as deep as the existing one. The existing slot is about 4.6mm deep so I've cut a new one 3.6mm deep but this is really just going to be guess work. If it looks like this is pushing pressure too high I'll just go back to the standard one. Other than having to remove the sump it's not too much of a headache to change it later.

Still a few things to do before the engine goes back in. Next I think will be connecting the new fuel lines at the tank.