GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

[Tazman]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Longcross is Sunday 22nd November, unusually for me I've got some Service Crew (a few from Tavern MC as there's a lot of Tavern crews out, and Teresa is bringing Ian and has also arranged a backup codriver / service crew in case she doesn't make it back from holiday in time )

But you'd be more than welcome if you want to come

fiddle sticks I am back in Essex that weekend

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Carfax Stages, Longcross, Sunday 22nd November

A slightly different look to Longcross from what I remembered in the past as there was a large film set taking up the large circle area which has traditionally been used for the Service Area. So the Service Area was split into 2, the top half of the field servicing at the top of the truck slopes, and the other half at the bottom, which meant the slopes could not be used competitively. But there were still 10 stages totalling 55 miles

SS1 & SS2
A lot of rain during the previous weeks and a lot of leaves on the ground meant it would be slippery everywhere although it wasn't actually raining, we started off sensibly on a good set of wet tyres, and were lying just inside the top 20 after these two stages

SS3 & SS4
Queuing up to start SS3, we had a torrential downpour with some hail and lightning, it was so heavy that the organisers delayed the stage for 15min until the worst had passed. Having done a couple of hillclimbs this year in the rain I knew DVY's windscreen gets badly misted up so before Wexford I'd fitted a couple of computer fans to some air vents - unfortunately these weren't powerful enough to clear the screen, so I spent these 2 stages trying to wipe the screen with one hand whilst driving with the other - we didn't have any moments but lost a lot of time which dropped us to 26th

SS5 & SS6
It was still raining but not as badly so the screen stayed clear until the last 1/2 mile of the stage where there was a lot of standing water but we still set a good time on SS5. Trying a bit too hard on SS6, I cut the exit of a "bus stop" chicane and the rear left tyre dropped into a hole with a loud bang and I'd bent the rim. The next couple of miles were round the outside which was fine but as soon as we split into the snake for the last 2 miles to the finish, the tyre came off the rim and we had an interesting few corners, nearly spinning it on the finish straight and we were 12s slower than SS5

SS7 & SS8
At the start of SS7 we were told that SS8 was cancelled as we were running out of time, which meant this was the last long stage, so I went for it, braking very late everywhere (so late into one chicane Teresa thought we weren't going to make it, but they were working perfectly, just a slight rearward bias giving a nice drift into the chicanes ) and we set 7th quickest time

SS9 & SS10
These were both just one lap of 3 miles, SS9 it was just starting to get dark so the spots were fitted but not really needed and a time of 2:55 was just outside the top 10. SS10 was properly dark and I'd forgotten to bring a potti (to read the stage diagrams with) so we did the stage from memory and went 1s quicker

After the better times in the afternoon, we finished 18th O/A and 6th in class

DVY was running well, apart from changing the puncture all we did was put petrol in and a spanner check halfway through showed nothing had come loose and the gearbox was still full of oil There was a bit of vibration at high speeds but no obvious cause so I'm getting the porp reconditioned just to be sure

Thanks to Paul and Ian for servicing and Teresa for keeping me going in the right direction

So that's it for events in 2009, but there'll be a few mods to DVY over the winter to try and find a bit more speed up the hills

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

In car from Longcross

No SS1 or SS2 as I was concentrating on the conditions, and no SS7 as the tape had run out and I didn't have time to change it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu02BOg1cbcYouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYjc6kOpSocYouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=461L9OzpUlkYouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXLRPLkZA_YYouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS6.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gewvxIyL8g4YouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS9.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkzEt7Ila6oYouTube- Carfax Stages 2009 SS10.

[PaulAlex]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Great write-ups as usual mate

You doing Goodwood?

[STEVE H]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I see the new gearbox is working ok gavin ,and you had a good result at longcross. spoke to an old friend of yours the other day Lee williams. am trying to get him to come out and play in his escort like the old days

[Paul C]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Yep, well done Gavin

Are you in a differnet time zone? As all your posts seem to be around midnight

[STEVE H]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I going to to goodwood ,new co-driver ,are well see i can scare the the shit out this one

[JonSegger]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Great write-up, footage and driving as always

I've navigated for Tony a couple of times at Longcross and driven there once (which resulted in a retirement due to a snapped half-shaft). I know from experience how close those trees look on the outside of the corners through the slippery twisty bits. Never done a stage there in the dark though - that looked great fun.

I'm aiming for Goodwood as my next event, so hopefully there'll be a few of us 'Turbosporters' there...

[Paul C]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I've posted my entry off for Goodwood today

[JonSegger]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I've posted my entry off for Goodwood today

Nice one

(So how's your car coming along then? your posts have dried up a bit....)

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I'm not planning on doing Goodwood this time - I'm saving up to go to Ireland again in March

Gearbox was working well, I just need to adjust the central gearstick position to be a fraction further forward - a couple of times I went for the next gear and it didn't change but by pushing the stick slightly forwards before pulling it back it would always change up, so not a major problem

I haven't seen Lee for years but good to hear he's still got his Escort - used to have some good battles with him

[STEVE H]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

gavin can`t remember who had the best opposite lock lee or you

[PaulAlex]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

I've posted my entry off for Goodwood today

Top man

[GavinR]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Some pics from Longcross courtesy of Andy at M&H Photography

[PaulAlex]

Re: GavinR's Mk2 Stage Car - DVY

Some great pics there Gavin