Turbos.
Was at Oulton last weekend in the GT Cup, for the first time! Have to say, this is probably now my favourite circuit. Unlike most UK tracks, its not airfield based so had plenty of dips and crests. It was also technically challenging, the camber meant apexes weren't also as obvious as they first seemed. For a taste, check out the old BTCC race below:
[youtube]rfmwdrDiAQw[/youtube]
So we weren't complete noobs, we rented out an Exige on the Wednesday which was brilliant thanks to the nice weather and the fact we were one of about five cars on track!
On Friday, we had the official test day to get to grips with the circuit in our own car. At the last round at Brands, a new rear clam was needed after a Marcos rear-ended my dad. Other cosmetic work was done, and we now have a rear view camera!
The weather was mixed, so setup and tyre changes were par for the course!
Unfortunately the gearbox was being a bit troublesome, changing from 3rd to 4th. Seemed to be the selector fork. Annoying as the gearbox has been perfect for over a year now, right up until just a week ago! The head scratching began...
To make things a bit sweeter, our mate who works nearby at Bentley sorted out a new Supersports for us. Has over 600bhp but is incredibly easy to drive! Camera didn't do the colour justice...
Qualifying was the following morning. We found the car in it's new dressing gown!
I needed to do my minimum amount of laps (out lap, fast lap, in lap) to give my dad a proper run (we only get 20 mins) but he couldn't improve as the gearbox was getting worse. Over to the boys once again!
I made my dad do the first race as he hadn't had any time in the car, but sods law was that the gearbox locked up on him and he had to retire after just a few laps!
I was a bit nervous starting my race (from the back) as my testing time was slower than everyone's qualifying laps! We were feeling a bit aggrieved that we had been moved up a class a few rounds ago when in reality we were fine where we were.
Fortunately, the team had got the car working as long as i short shifted to fourth. I occasionally had problems but overall the car was good and i managed to get my best times despite the issues. We didn't finish high up the order, but at least i lapped a Honda'd Exige!
Managed to lose a mirror, but not sure how! Too 'in the zone' to notice!
Check out the pick up on the tyres after the race...
Then it was a case of packing up and dreaming of a Hewland box to replace the crappy Quaife!
[youtube]rfmwdrDiAQw[/youtube]
So we weren't complete noobs, we rented out an Exige on the Wednesday which was brilliant thanks to the nice weather and the fact we were one of about five cars on track!
On Friday, we had the official test day to get to grips with the circuit in our own car. At the last round at Brands, a new rear clam was needed after a Marcos rear-ended my dad. Other cosmetic work was done, and we now have a rear view camera!
The weather was mixed, so setup and tyre changes were par for the course!
Unfortunately the gearbox was being a bit troublesome, changing from 3rd to 4th. Seemed to be the selector fork. Annoying as the gearbox has been perfect for over a year now, right up until just a week ago! The head scratching began...
To make things a bit sweeter, our mate who works nearby at Bentley sorted out a new Supersports for us. Has over 600bhp but is incredibly easy to drive! Camera didn't do the colour justice...
Qualifying was the following morning. We found the car in it's new dressing gown!
I needed to do my minimum amount of laps (out lap, fast lap, in lap) to give my dad a proper run (we only get 20 mins) but he couldn't improve as the gearbox was getting worse. Over to the boys once again!
I made my dad do the first race as he hadn't had any time in the car, but sods law was that the gearbox locked up on him and he had to retire after just a few laps!
I was a bit nervous starting my race (from the back) as my testing time was slower than everyone's qualifying laps! We were feeling a bit aggrieved that we had been moved up a class a few rounds ago when in reality we were fine where we were.
Fortunately, the team had got the car working as long as i short shifted to fourth. I occasionally had problems but overall the car was good and i managed to get my best times despite the issues. We didn't finish high up the order, but at least i lapped a Honda'd Exige!
Managed to lose a mirror, but not sure how! Too 'in the zone' to notice!
Check out the pick up on the tyres after the race...
Then it was a case of packing up and dreaming of a Hewland box to replace the crappy Quaife!
