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Thread: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

  1. #201
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I was out at Pembrey a couple of weeks ago...

    Saturday was 1.75 laps and it was very hot all day. My class was made up of Gary Thomas (the current Midland Speed Champion) in his Lotus Elise and a local guy in a Peugeot 309

    For Practice I went out on my rally slicks, getting a 132.16 and 130.17, but the Lotus was doing 124s along with Windy and CossieMatt in their Mk2's so I thought I should be a bit closer to them

    During lunch I removed the sumpguard and lowered the front suspension back to the normal Sprint setting (I put it higher for Millbrook), and fitted my sticky tyres

    1st Timed Run I did 130.32, slower than 2nd Practice and the 2nd Timed Run was only a little better on 129.78s, the Lotus got down to a 122.89s and the Peugeot was well behind

    Fly was all over the place, not getting much grip from the tyres and the conclusion was it was just too hot for the soft tyres but I doubt I'd have been any quicker on the rally slicks

    The other problem with doing 1.75 laps of Pembrey is that the main straight is too long for my gearing - my top speed is 110mph, whereas Windy and Matt were getting to 123mph and I assume the Lotus was going even quicker

    Sunday was nice and cool so everything was working better and it was only 0.75 laps

    1st Practice was 56.60s, a second quicker than 0.75 laps on the Saturday and the Lotus was only on 56.18s so that was a bit more like it

    2nd Practice was 56.02s, but the Lotus had woken up by now on 54.60s

    I didn't improve much after that, setting 56.08s and 55.95s in the Timed Runs

    But I got some good points for the championships (the Lotus isn't in my class) and the brakes were working perfectly

    Next plan is to get my rev limit increased so I have a higher top speed with the same rear axle so I'm off to HT next weekend to get this done

    Next event should be Shelsley Walsh on 5th July if I get an entry
    GavinR

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  2. #202
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I popped into HT on Sat and got my Rev Limit increased now to 8600rpm (Ron said that 8750 would be too much for my engine ) but this still gives me a theoretical top speed of 119mph and should allow me to hold it in 3rd over the line at Loton without worrying about changing to 4th

    And I met a few Turbosporters there (Clint, Broadmoor and a couple more) which was good

    I managed to get an Entry for Shelsley on 5th July (not sure how as I know a lot of people who didn't ) so that's my next event, just need a bit of sunshine as it rained both times I went there last year
    GavinR

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  3. #203
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    The foods good tho uncle Gav

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Matt revved his YB on standard crank and rods to 8750 for years Gav, did Ron give you a reason as to why you couldn't rev it beyond 8600? Still another 600rpm is good

  5. #205
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by mervhill View Post
    Matt revved his YB on standard crank and rods to 8750 for years Gav, did Ron give you a reason as to why you couldn't rev it beyond 8600? Still another 600rpm is good
    That's what I was thinking of when I asked for 8750, but Ron knows my engine inside and out so if he says its not a good idea then it isn't

    8600 should be enough to be a bit quicker on the Fat Albert at the end of July and I won't need to change the axle
    GavinR

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  6. #206
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I was out at Shelsley Walsh yesterday for the first time this year

    The weather forecast was not good, rain early on followed by heavy showers, but when I arrived it wasn't too bad and a walk up the hill showed it was damp but nothing worse, so I put the slicks on and ready for 1st Practice

    There were 3 other cars in my class, Peter (JamieCRX's dad) in his Honda CRX, Tony Hart in a Renault 5 Turbo (who'd beaten me at Loton in the damp, and is currently leading my class in the Midland Speed Champ) and a Blue 205 who I'd beaten a couple of times last year

    1st Practice and the track was drying out nicely, but there wasn't much grip off the line, so I only managed 3.00s to 64ft, carefully up through the left handers to reach the Esses split in 25.77s and 71mph, drifted through the Esses and up the Finish Straight to set a time of 39.65s and 81mph (finally beating my 79mph from last year ). This left me quickest, with Peter setting a creditable 40.65s on his first time there and Tony was on 42.74s with the Blue 205 well behind

    Practice at Shelsley is always a bit strange, they run 12 batches and you pick 2 batches to Practice in - I thought I was being clever and picked Batch 4 and 9, hoping the track would be completely dry by Batch 9, only to have a heavy shower dampen the track as I was queueing up

    Peter had set 39.28s and Tony 38.24s in Batch 8, but all I could do was go carefully again, 3.09s off the line, 26.08s at 69mph into the Esses after braking very early, got some good traction out of Top Ess and went over the line in 39.59s at 83mph. I was happy with this, going slightly quicker in wrose conditions

    Barney and Sarah arrived in time to see me getting serious during the lunch break, removing the passenger seat, intercoms and Plumbed-in Fire Extinguisher to save some weight and they bought me a nice fry up to get me going for the Timed Runs

    1st Timed Run and although there were still a few spots of rain around, the track was completely dry even through the Esses under the trees, but worried that there might be another shower before the 2nd Run, I thought I'd best get my foot down on this run . Fly picked up nicely off the line in 2.51s, tried not to brake on any of the left handers but just lift slightly, I arrived at the Esses in 23.25s at 79mph, a good line out of the last one and over the line in 35.90s at 82mph - to say I was chuffed would be an understatement, especially when Tony only did 37.26s and Peter a 38.32s

    2nd Timed Run and it was dry again, so another quick time was needed just in case Peter or Tony went a few seconds quicker. Even more grip off the line this time, but not enough revs so Fly bogged down slightly, but 2.58s was still good, a bit more bottle through up to the Esses in 23.10s and 79mph, and better out of Top Ess to cross the Finish in 35.62s and 83mph
    Peter went quicker again with 37.54s as did Tony on 36.50s, but I got maximum points for the Championship

    On the day, I was 2nd in Class behind Martin Depper's 166bhp 16v Mini as all the Mod Prod Classes were amalgamated
    GavinR

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  7. #207
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    And a bit of in car

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZClhaDzHLyEYouTube - Shelsley Walsh 5th July 2008.

    Next weekend I'm out at Loton Park on Saturday and Curborough on Sunday
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Jees thats one quick Escort Gavin. Nice driving too. Glad the rain didn't spoil the enjoyment.

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    cool vid Gavin

    Sounds like you have some busy times ahead

    That reminds me I must pop down and see the rest of the in car from Millbrook

  10. #210
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Nice vid Gavin - it looked a bit slippery for RWD cars!

  11. #211
    World Champion Decade Plus User alladdin's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    that 1st timed run looked very sweet.

  12. #212
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Are you all reaady for Fat Albert Gavin? You've got a good seeding.

    Do you know if muddylanes, Van Roy is going again this year?

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Just sat a watched them videos and throughly enjoyed them

    Lovely car Gavin and great to meet you the other day !
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  14. #214
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul C View Post
    Are you all reaady for Fat Albert Gavin? You've got a good seeding.

    Do you know if muddylanes, Van Roy is going again this year?
    I think I'm ready, loaded everything up last night after refitting the passenger seat, harnesses, fire extinguisher, so Barney can be comfy

    We're seeded at 7, one higher than last year when I came 6th overall but they're some quick late entries appeared so we'll see what happens, looking forward to it now

    Van Roy's not going this year, he's got something else on

    I did Loton Park and Curborough 2 weeks ago, but have been very busy sorting houses out, so I'll write about them later
    GavinR

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  15. #215
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Finally got some spare time to do some reports on the last few events - I moved house from West Wales yesterday and now I'm renting a little cottage near Bristol, only 3.5 miles from work instead of 110 miles

    Loton Park Sat 12th July

    This was my 5th event at Loton this year, trying to do 6 events there for the Loton Park Championship, and I was up against Steve in his Mk1, a double driven MR2 who are normally 5s behind and Karl Stevens was back in his very quick Mk2 so I was expecting a good battle

    1st Practice, a nice dry hill but not much grip on the corners so we all had a steady run, I was on 62.76s, Steve on 62.52s and Karl on 61.94s

    2nd Practice, and the hill was now clean and I was happy with 61.38s, Steve was down to his usual 61.81s and Karl set an amazing 59.88s

    1st Timed Run - Over lunch there was a quick shower but it was drying nicely so I was surprised when Karl fitted some wets for this run, but he must have known something as there was a torrential downpour as we lined up for the run. I did 73.92s, just pleased to get up the hill in one piece, Steve had a few big moments as well (also on slicks) and did 78.37s while Karl did 71.87s nearly going off himself. After this I was 3rd in class behind the first MR2 driver who had gone up in the previous batch when it was drier

    2nd Timed Run, the hill was mainly dry so it was flat out again, but I wasn't expecting to get that close to Karl as I've never been under 60s. I tried my best, 2.36s off the line, 23.61s to Triangle (2/10th's off my PB) and finished with 60.86s (4/10's off my PB) and I felt I couldn't have gone any quicker so I was happy, finishing behind Karl who was just ahead with 60.60s, and Steve was back in 3rd on 63.02s

    Fly was going well as always, but the starter had been getting lazy for a few events and I needed a bump start for the last run (thanks to Dave and Gaz), so I loaded up and headed back to Dave's that night where we built a new motor and solenoid into the starter housing ready for Curborough on the Sunday
    GavinR

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  16. #216
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Curborough 13th July

    Another round of the Midland Speed Championship, 2 laps of Curborough Sprint Track and just 2 other cars in my class, Tony Hart in his Renault 5 Turbo who is currently leading the class and a 1500cc Bond Equipe who was just out for a play

    1st Practice, a sensible 65.75s with Tony on 66.61s so that was a good start, and 2nd Practice was a good improvement to 64.64s but Tony had his foot down this time, setting 62.33s

    1st Timed Run, and a disappointing 64.72s but Tony had Four Wheels Off going too wide to start the 2nd lap so this was a failed run for him

    2nd Timed Run, very consistent with 64.73s but nowhere near Tony who was down to 62.49s to win the class easily and extned his lead in the Championship, but I should have got some good points in the Old Ford Sprint Championship which I am currently leading, as no-one else has done that many events
    GavinR

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  17. #217
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Some in car from Loton Park, I thought I'd uploaded all the runs but I must have missed the wet Timed Run

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCwi8FHaiYEYouTube - Loton Park 12th July 2008.

    I must sort out a better camera mount for next month as there's too much vibration at the moment!
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Excellent posts again Gavin.
    The vid seems OK to me, I think a bit of vibration adds to the feel of speed.

  19. #219
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Thanks Dave

    Fat Albert Stages Sat 26th July

    Barney was in the hot seat for this rally as his car wasn't ready and seeded well at 7 we were hoping to improve on my 6th place last year

    The event is run at Keevil near Trowbridge and we arrived bright and early and passed scrutineering without any comments. Behind us in the queue was Mark Ellis in an immaculate orange Mk2 seeded at 11 which Barney recognised as the shell had been built by Meirion of West Wales Motorsport Fabrications, so we had a closer look...

    We thought it was a 2.3 Duratec, but no it was a "2.4 with 296 bhp", the front suspension was very fancy "£3.5k a corner" and Mark proudly informed us that he had invested £72k in this car

    Onto the 1st stage out of 10, all about 8 miles long and we started with the soft Matadors all round. The stages were very similar to last year but a few tighter chicanes meant the handbrake was well used and after the first lap the rear tyres seemed to have lost all grip, whenever I put my foot down, Fly just disappeared sideways, and near the end of the stage coming round an open 60 left flat in 4th, the back end stepped out in a big way, which might have scored us plenty of points in a Drift competition but took a bit of sorting out before the next chicane

    But we had set 14th fastest time and decided harder rear tyres might be a better idea for stage 2 and we set a time 20s quicker, moving us up to 11th, and Fly was back to handling as she normally does

    3 & 4 passed without incident but by now the weather was really hotting up, we were finishing the stages with an oil temp of 120 C and water up to 110 C not that there was anything we could do, so we carried on knowing a lot of cars would break in the heat.

    In between stages we would just check the tyres and fuel then retire to sit in Barney's air-conditioned pick up

    We went to go out for stage 5, but the starter wouldn't engage, so we rounded up a few people and bump started Fly, which is fine, but then there was a 15 minute delay while they extracted a few cars from the bushes, so Fly wouldn't rev freely when we left the line (the plugs foul after idling for too long) but it cleared quite quickly and we were away again. Stage 6 was similar, not being bothered to look at the starter and we went into the lunch break 8th overall and 3rd in class, behind a very fast RWD Corsa and quick Peugeot 205, but 15s ahead of Mark Ellis's £72k Escort

    After lunch, with the stages reversed, I decided to have a little charge and try and pull back some time on the 205 who were gradually pulling away from us. All was going well, braking as late as possible everywhere, until halfway round the second lap, coming round a very wide left flat in 5th on the rev limiter (about 120mph ) I braked a fraction late for a 1st gear chicane and slid into it pulled Fly round and came out again, went to turn right round the apex of the chicane and went straight on, the fornt left tyre not doing anything After a bit of toing and froing, we got going in the right direction and by the end of the next straight everything felt better and I put my foot down again and just as we crossed the finish, a large cone popped out the back of Fly, which explained all the problems

    Looking at the times, we dropped about a minute from this, going down to 11th and 5th in class, so a slightly more sensible stage 8 was called for, and on this one we passed the 205 who was struggling and had to take a maximum, so that was 10th and 4th in class.

    The last 2 stages passed without any more incidents and we finished 9th Overall and 4th in Class but without the cone we would have been a couple of places higher up

    Anyway, thanks to Barney for co-driving and Sarah for the encouragement
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I love watching cars competing, but I readily admit to rarely knowing what is going on ie. who needs what time to beat who in what class against who did what in the last round etc etc. Generally all that stuff just escapes me. (luckily, at Oulton Park the very nice man on the pa explains it for me )
    Reading your excellent posts give the likes of me a much greater insight into what is going on, both inside the car and out on the track/circuit/stage.
    A big thanks from me for taking the time to share your experience and enthusiasm.

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User merp0's Avatar

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Great vid and right up.

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Nice one Gav, good write up mate, and well done

  24. #223
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Loton Park Sun 27th July

    I was in 2 minds whether to enter this one the day after doing a rally but Fly is usually reliable and it was the last National B meeting of the year at Loton so the last chance I'd have to compete there this year, maybe next year I'll try some of the 2 day National A meetings

    So another early start after emptying the van of rally tyres and adding the hillclimb slicks I set off for Shrewsbury, but coming into Bridgnorth there was a loud hissing noise from the front of the van which I'd never heard before and when I came to the next junction I found the brake pedal was solid and not very effective and realised that the vacuum pump had failed so the servo had stopped working

    I drove very slowly after that and arrived a bit later than planned, but found my paddock space and started to fit the hillclimb slicks. I'd changed the rears when a rather 'picky' scrutineer turned up and started off by complaining about the grubbyness of my overalls, so I explained I'd done an 80 mile stage rally the day before and got a bit sweaty and he proceeded to give Fly a thorough going over, not being impressed by the metal wires showing on one of the front rally tyres, so I gave him the slicks to check instead. And he said my seats wouldn't be allowed on rallies next year as they aren't homologated, and reluctantly gave me a sticker

    I finished changing tyres, did the pressures, got changed, organised Steve with the Mk1 to tow start Fly with his Discovery (I still hadn't bothered to look at the starter) and was ready just in time for first practice. I warmed the tyres as usual and pulled up to the start line with the marshals looking a bit puzzled Then they asked where my Timing Strut was and I realised it was still in the van - maybe the scrutineer should have spotted this instead of complaining about everything else

    1st Practice - They let me go without the strut but just said my time wouldn't be 100% accurate. There was a surprising amount of grip for the first practice and I was happy with a 62.61s, as I don't normally start off that quickly

    My main challenge today would be from Steve in his Mk1, who had become cheesed off with setting consistent 61.8s runs and had bought some new hillclimb slicks which were slightly narrower but worked better on his 6" rims. On Sat he had set a new PB of 60.33s, quicker than I'd ever been up there. The rest of the class was a Seat Ibiza Gti, a Saxo, a 205 and a Tigra, mainly from Liverpool Motor Club as this event was co-promoted by them

    2nd Practice - Tow started again, got nicely into the first couple of corners only to be Red Flagged as the 205 had a big moment further up the hill, so I came back and had another go. The weather was boiling again and after the previous start the tyres were nice and warm and I got 2.31s off the start, quickly round to Triangle in 23.53, nicely up the hill to finish on 60.85s and this was still practice so I was well chuffed, hoping to improve on my PB of 60.47s in the afternoon

    By this time, Dave had arrived to spectate as usual was happy to help me remove the sumpguard and have a look at the starter over lunch. So we jacked Fly up and removed the front wheels and he dived in to look at everything - "Why's the starter sitting on the sumpguard?" was the next thing I heard - maybe that's why it wouldn't engage, it wasn't even attached to the engine anymore

    Ten minutes later, the sumpguard was off, the starter cleaned up and fitted with new bolts and Fly started under her own power

    1st Timed Run - I'm not really sure what happened on this run, but Fly just didn't feel as stable as normal, maybe because it was really really hot now and the tyres were starting to overheat, but I only managed a 61.26s whereas Steve set another PB with 2.32s, 23.24s and 60.24s

    Before the next run, I sat in the shade for 30mins, drank some Red Bull and cooled down a bit and wioth a couple of minutes to go, played with my tyre pressures, Steve having said he was running 26 front and 22 rear, where I had 22 all round, so I pumped up the fronts to 26, and thought about where I could gain a second up the hill

    2nd Timed Run - Steve was running at the start of the class and I could see he did a 60.59s, so I decided to see what I could do A serious tyre warming session and plenty of revs off the line got me to 64ft in 2.32s and I tried to carry a bit more speed through the first square left, along short straight into a long left hander which tightens about halfway round, before a 30 right 45 left kink onto the straight going down to Triangle. Previously I'd spotted a good marker for the tightest point on the left hander and apexed the corner here, then found I was going a bit wide on the last bit, so put 2 wheels on the grass on the 30 right, giving me a better line down to Triangle with a split of 23.40s, just 0.01s ahead of my previous PB. I didn't feel that I got out of Triangle that smoothly (although Dave said it looked very good from the outside) so I made up my mind to take the crest at the top of Cedar Straight completely flat - all year I've tried to do this but have always braked or lifted just before as it looks a bit tight and is only 75yds before an open hairpin left . But this time I kept it flat in 4th and braked enough for the hairpin left, up another hill, round a hairpin right and over the finish

    And the time was 60.31s, just 0.07s behind Steve but a new PB for me and the first time I've taken time out of him on the second half of the hill. Now I know the crest is flat, there should be more improvement next year

    Even though I finished 2nd in Class, I was very happy with the time and how everything had gone over the weekend

    Thanks to Dave again, and also to everyone who helped me move house last weekend

    Next events are in September, starting with a Midland Speed Championship Track Day at Curborough where I'll take some of the Sponsor's round in Fly, so I'll dig out some old tyres and see how sideways we can go

    Then I've got a weekend at Wiscombe, one at Shelsley, one at Curborough and the last round at Prescott, all in September

    No videos from Fat Albert or Loton Park this time, I never got round to fitting the camera as it was so hot
    GavinR

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    Racer mervhill's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Nice one Gav, well done mate, gonna come to Anglesey to watch end of this month?

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    He's got more imprtant things in his diary for that day
    Excellent writeup again Gav. Don't know where you get the bottle from to go flat out in a place you aren't sure about.

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Yes, the TS bbq, that I can't make, because I'm at said race meeting, rub it in why don't ya!

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    From Anglesey to my house is 2 right turns and a left into my drive. You can do it in 80 minutes easy.
    And that is sticking to the speed limits, they are a bit keen in North Wales.

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    Racer mervhill's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    I have considered that actually Dave mate, but it's a bit of a family trip this one, and I don't think they'd appreciate being left.

  30. #229
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Midland Speed Championship Trackday Thurs 4th September

    Every year this championship organises a Trackday where a dozen drivers are invited to give the sponsors and their guests a taste of Sprinting

    So I loaded up Fly behind the Scorpio and headed off to Curborough Sprint Track early Thursday morning, ariving in time for the complementary Bacon Buttie breakfast

    I'd found some 10 year old Michelin Slicks and the day started dry so I fitted them and got Fly ready for my first unsuspecting passenger. The guests decided which cars they would like to have a ride in then the organisers sent them over to us in the paddock and we took them round the usual 2 lap sprint track. Most of the drivers were showing how quick their cars were, I was just seeing how sideways I could go everywhere

    After a few times out it started to drizzle which made it even better, so I took Alan Cox's wife Juliet out as she'd always wanted a ride after watching the way I drive Fly over the last 2 years - I found her a helmet with an intercom so I could hear what she thought - after a bit of swearing the first time we went sideways, she couldn't stop laughing by the end of the run as it was such a strange sensation

    By lunchtime I'd been out 9 times but after a heavy shower I put the wets on, finding that one of the slicks was down to the canvas, carried on drifting, and every time I came back with one passenger, there was another one waiting for me, and all of them got out with big smiles By the end of the day I'd been round 21 times so when I do my next sprint there in a couple of weeks hopefully I'll be quicker

    It was a very enjoyable day but unfortunately the journey home took a bit longer than expected after the Scorpio overheated and the AA had to recover me back home so I'll be changing the head gasket tomorrow
    GavinR

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Did you spend the whole day making the girls giggle gavin?

    fair play mate, nice to have a bit of practice and entertain guests at the same time.

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by Dave View Post
    Did you spend the whole day making the girls giggle gavin?
    Yes, 7 of them I think it was, only one of them was scared and hanging on to everything - her husband drives a very quick Westfield and she said she wouldn't go round with anyone, but by the end she went in that as well
    GavinR

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    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Wiscombe Hillclimb Sat 6th September

    This wasn't a round of the Midland Speed Championship but Sunday's event was so I went down for the weekend and stayed with friends Paul and Tina on the edge of Exmoor

    Paul used to Hillclimb a Westfield in the Midland Hillclimb and British Leaders Championships in the 90's and earlier this year had bought a Caterham 7 as a road car and was competing on both days as well

    I was a bit worried that the event would be cancelled as Wiscombe does flood sometimes and the paddock is a sloping grass field which gets quite interesting when it is wet

    I still had the wets on after Curborough, so after strapping down the battery well enough to keep the scrutineer happy, I lined up for 1st Practice on a damp and greasy hill. The first part of Wiscombe is quite open and dries quickly but the second part is through trees and needs a couple of days to dry, but in these conditions I had trouble even getting off the line (4.05s to 64ft), had to back off quite a few times to let the back end come back into line but I made it up the hill in 57.21s which was similar to the other 9 cars in my class

    2nd Practice and the hill was starting to dry so I put the slicks on, this time doing 3.93s to 64ft, still too much wheelspin, up over Bunny's Leap and into the trees to the split in 25.83s, then tried to drive sensibly round the final 2 hairpins to cross the finish in 53.58s which was a bit more like it (last year my best time was 46.79s in perfect conditions)

    1st Timed Run - after a heavy downpour during lunch, it took 4 marshalls to push Fly out of the paddock onto the tarmac so I could get to the start line and although it was very wet I left the slicks on as there was no standing water. I drove off the line as gently as I could, only flooring it when I had a bit of motion which worked a lot better with 3.68s to 64ft, very sensibly up the hill to the split in 26.49s and got Fly drifting nicely through the trees, tried both hairpins in 2nd gear so I wouldn't get too much wheelspin, but the first one was a bit too tight for this, and recorded a time of 55.44s which put me 6th in class

    Meanwhile Paul was doing well, the wet conditions making up for his lack of power (standard 1.6 K-series with 125bhp) and was leading his class with a 53.07s run

    2nd Timed Run and the track was still wet, although it had stopped raining just before I went up, so I left the slicks on again, drove sensibly off the line getting 3.62s to 64ft (if the finish was after 64ft I'd have won my class comfortably ) steadily up the hill to the split in 25.14s, through the trees and took the 1st hairpin in 1st gear this time, got going quickly up the next straight, round the last hairpin in 2nd and finished with 51.66s which I was very happy with and moved me up to 4th in class, beaten by a double driven Astra and a Clio, but beating Mike Griffiths 2.3 cossie powered Mk1 for the first time

    Paul was slightly slower going in worse conditions but his nearest challenger in a 180bhp bike engined Sylva Stryker kit car decided not to bother with a second run so Paul took the class win

    Tomorrow I'll write about Sunday and put up some in-car video of it
    GavinR

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  34. #233
    Way too much free time Decade Plus User Retromotorsport's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Gavin, did you really do a when you beat Mike Griffith's Mk1 ... as you always seem so laid back i was thinking more like a quite to yourself ..

    Well done anyways and look forward to Sundays report ... as i have a feeling that your holding back on something good

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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Good work Gav!! Nice to see you did well against Mike, that's a serious car! 300cc and about 50bhp less too, well done indeed!

  36. #235
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Wiscombe Hillclimb Sun 7th September

    Luckily there was no more rain overnight and the organisers let us come out of the paddock wherever we wanted to give the muddy bit a rest, which worked quite well

    The hill was drier but still slippery under the trees, so a 1st Practice time of 50.41s was a good start as I was hoping to beat last year's time of 46.79s

    2nd Practice and I was getting better at the starts (Wiscombe has a very short tyre warming area and the tarmac is not that grippy) with 3.07s to 64ft, not quite flat over Bunny's leap and still sliding through the trees to the split in 23.28s, a quick blast between the 2 hairpins and over the finish in 47.70s

    1st Timed Run, off the line in 2.99s, pretty much flat over Bunny's, found a lot more grip through the trees to the split in 22.65s, into 3rd before the first hairpin and 4th before the second gained a bit more time to finish in 46.70s, which I was very happy with, until I saw Mike Griffiths had done 46.61s - slower to the split than me but quicker between the hairpins with his extra power, and the double driven Astra was ahead of this, so I was 4th again

    2nd Timed Run and I took the passenger seat and fire extinguisher out to save a bit of weight and try and get up to 3rd. Off the line in 3.04s, pretty flat over Bunny's but I really need to be flat on the next bit to get Fly settled before braking into the gate and the trees. A bit messy through the trees, not quite as smooth as usual but reached the split in 22.52s, cut the hairpin a bit too tight and braked too early for the second hairpin but finished in 46.49s. Not one of my best runs but 0.3s quicker than last year on a day when most people were 1s or more off their best

    Looking at the results, Mike had gone a lot quicker with a run of 45.5s to get 2nd between the 2 Astra drivers leaving me in 4th again

    Paul had done a first run of 47.2s I think but this was 2s behind the bike engined Sylva Stryker. He went for it on the second run getting down to 46.10s which was very good and took 2nd in class

    Thanks to Paul and Tina for looking after me all weekend

    And a bit of in car from 2nd Practice and the Timed Runs
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DsAqSCD87UYouTube - Wiscombe Park Hillclimb 7th Septmber 2008.

    Next event is Shelsley on Sat 20th Sept followed by Curborough on the Sunday
    GavinR

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  37. #236
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Quote Originally Posted by Retromotorsport View Post
    Gavin, did you really do a when you beat Mike Griffith's Mk1 ... as you always seem so laid back i was thinking more like a quite to yourself ..

    Well done anyways and look forward to Sundays report ... as i have a feeling that your holding back on something good
    It was definitely a as Mike is someone who's been Hillclimbing for years and I've never even been that close to him before. Maybe next year I'll beat him in the dry
    GavinR

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  38. #237
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    great writeup gavin cracking result too

  39. #238
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    loving the in car vids

  40. #239
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    Shelsley Walsh Sat 20th September

    Another sunny weekend so I was looking forward to improving my times but unsure whether I could beat Tony in the Renault 5 Turbo again

    1st Practice, a good start and a steady run up the perfectly dry hill to finish in 35.74s at 84mph, only 0.12s off my best time

    2nd Practice, after talking to Alan about how many starter motors I'd been through this year, the current one packed up, so he parked his Mini in the queue for Practice, grabbed a couple of spectators and ran back to give Fly a bump
    Another good start and a lot quicker up through the first corners to Bottom Ess nearly a second quicker (22.43s at 80mph), tried to keep it smooth out of Top Ess and over the line in 34.82s at 84mph

    This put me slightly ahead of Tony, but during lunch he fitted his best slicks while I changed the starter on Fly

    1st Timed Run, off the line in 2.39s, through the left hander at Kennel (Windy tells me this corner is flat but I'm not even close, maybe next year), upthrough the next right left with the shift light on in 3rd, into 4th and reached Bottom Ess in 22.12s at 82mph, neatly out of Top Ess and a short blast to in 34.49s at 85mph
    Unfortunately, Tony put in a very quick time of 33.34s at 91mph

    2nd Timed Run, I didn't think I could get anywhere near the Renault 5 but was hoping to be a bit quicker into the Esses. Another good start with 2.39s again, through Kennel slightly quicker, but the back end stepped out on the right left just as I was changing to 4th, and by the time I'd sorted that out I was 3/10th's slower to the Esses and finished on 34.74s at 84mph

    Not one of my best runs, but a good improvement over July's time, so I loaded up Fly and headed home for a good night's sleep before Curborough the next day
    GavinR

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  41. #240
    Pit Crew Decade Plus User GavinR's Avatar
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    Re: GavinR's Mk2 Rally Car - FLY

    And the usual in car video

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PEr-_zyyIycYouTube - Shelsley Walsh 20/09/08.
    GavinR

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