112.8mph Lucky Poos Needed

RiftAmps

the_jaffa said:

I'm still loving this thread. Sorry to hear about all the misfortune but that's the way with motorsport. Hope you can get it all together soon though. That podium definitely sound on to me

The ups and downs are all part of the experience. I love it.

I've got 5 more race meetings this year to try and make it happen. Speaking of which, BRSCC have put on an extra race at Croft on Saturday 31st October. It's a circuit I've not been to yet and have always wanted to drive. So the entry is in.

Remaining races this year:

Snetterton 300 - Roadsports - 17th October

Silverstone GP - Birkett Relay - 24th October

Croft - Clubsport Trophy - 31st October

Donington Park - Roadsports - 21st November

Mallory Park - Plum Pudding - 26th December

Yup, I've got a triple header in October.

RiftAmps

Snetterton 300 - 17th October

Back to the scene of our headgasket failure last year in qualifying, we're heading out east to Snetterton in Norfolk.

As you may remember, we didn't get to race last year so looking forward to it. I have to admit it's not my favourite circuit but a podium would change that

I'm running the MX5 on my own and Nick is in the BMW. Weather is looking dry but very cold.

We're testing on the Friday, my fastest lap last year was a 2:35 and ideally I should be breaking into the 2:29s. Lets see how I get on.

Prep

Clutch - After the failure at Silverstone, we've upgraded the clutch to a race-spec model. Hopefully, it'll last a lot longer

Tyres - I decided that the NS2Rs were too hard and slidy, so have swapped to AR-1s instead. They're pretty much a slick tyre so grip should be plentiful.

Who's racing?

- 750 Formula

- Bikesports

- F1000

- Historic 750 Formula

- Hot Hatch

- Roadsports

- Sports 1000

Tickets

The club meeting is open to the public, tickets must be bought in advance - no sales on the day.

https://snetterton.msv.com/SN-20-750MC-2/Admission-Tickets

Live Stream

Qualifying at 9:25am, Race at 2:40pm.

Live Timing  - 

http://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2020/snetterton-300-17-18-october

RiftAmps

A great day's testing yesterday, I finished the day 3.6seconds faster than my best time from last year.

5 cars in my class, and I'm hopefully on for a podium, but we'll see.

Finger's crossed!

the_jaffa

I don’t know if you already subscribe to the Bad Obsession YouTube channel but it would be worth checking out their video that will come out tonight. It’s all from the race at Cadwell so you may well spot yourself. 

(I saw it last night due to Patreon privaledges)

RiftAmps

the_jaffa said:

I don’t know if you already subscribe to the Bad Obsession YouTube channel but it would be worth checking out their video that will come out tonight. It’s all from the race at Cadwell so you may well spot yourself. 

(I saw it last night due to Patreon privaledges)

I've been watching the series, so good.

I wasn't racing at Cadwell but did at Silverstone for their second race. Hopefully, they do a video on that one too.

RiftAmps

Snetterton Race Report - 750MC Roadsports - Car #22

Qualifying

Qualifying was held in greasy conditions so I went out with Dry tyres and softer damper settings rather than our full wets.

Big mistake. There was so much more grip than I thought and it dried up almost instantly. Qualifies 2 seconds off my best and P4 in class.

Race

It rained lightly on and off throughout the day so had no idea what to do with the car setup. I eventually opted again for Dry tyres with softer dampers and this proved to be wrong again. The race was fully dry. As a result, my pace wasn't good and P3 got away from me quite quickly.

However, I ended up having a great race with a MK3 MX5 and an MG Maestro - both in the class above me.

Here are the last three laps of the race from the rearview camera, as I'm being hunted down by the MG. Excited stuff as I'm driving my ass off trying to stay ahead, whilst lapping traffic and also being lapped by the leaders. Difficult stuff.

And here's the whole race onboard - Finished P4 again, which seems to be my default position now

RiftAmps

Silverstone GP - Birkett Relay - 24th October

Probably the best thing I'll ever do.

This weekend is the 70th running of the Birkett Relay - a 6-hour handicapped relay race held on the Silverstone GP circuit.

70 teams of 3-6 cars, running in relay format. The slower teams are given a headstart by way of credit laps over the 'scratch' team. Most laps wins, simple. We'll find out our credit laps after qualifying.

We're team #22 - St Winifred's School Choir

Three cars, 5 drivers.

Mazda MX5 - Chris Fantana

BMW E46 328 - Nick Ramsden, Jonathan Atkinson

Ford Puma - Jon Glover, Alex Hughes

The plan is 2 x 35min stints for each driver, let's see how that goes.

Car goes out, completes a stint then enters the pitlane. Once the car has passed the garage, the next car can go out, passing over the baton, as it were.

Prep

Just a nut and bolt check and we're testing the day before.

Who's racing?

EVERYONE!

Tickets

The race is being held behind closed doors, so no spectators allowed.

Live Stream

 You can watch the entire race live on YouTube. Race starts at 11:45am, finsihes at 5:45pm.

Live Timing  - 

http://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2020/silverstone-gp-24-october

Nitefly

That long straight at Snetterton looks like it goes on forever!

RiftAmps

Birkett Relay Race Report - St Winifred's School Choir - Team #22

The picture above sums up the Birkett Relay pretty well - multiple cars, variable weather, close racing for 6 hours.


The grid order for the race is determined by your team's handicap position with the scratch team at the front and the team with most credit laps at the rear of the field. We were given 36 laps so lined up in 62nd position, 8th in the handicap.

Qualifying then was just that, to qualify both the car and driver for the race. Complete 3 laps and you're in, regardless what time you set. Easy.

All 5 drivers qualified with no problems.

Race Time - let's go!

Our friend Jon Glover started the race in his yellow Ford Puma. His plan was to do 35 minutes and then see how he felt, if his pace was dropping off he'd come and we'd send another car out. If he was still on the pace he'd continue and do a double stint. A good plan then, nice and flexible.

Jon drove a cracking opening stint, staying out of trouble and setting fast lap times in the process. We moved up a few positions and after 35 minutes, he radioed in and said it was time to swap cars.

As he crossed the pit entry line, his head gasket let go and he smoke-bombed the pitlane!

5 hours and 20 mins to go, already down to two cars...





Nick went out in the BMW next for a 45-ish minute stint, again kept out of trouble and lapped consistently. He had a great battle with a Porsche throughout his stint.

When he came in, it was my turn to go out. I was going to do a mammoth 1-hour stint to help make up for the Puma. I felt slow but somehow managed to overtake quite a few cars so was clearly on the pace with those around me. It was dry, then it rained, then it dried up, then it rained again.

Here's the full stint onboard

When I came in, the BMW went out in the hands of our other driver, Jonathan. As I pulled up to the rear of the garage Nick ran over and told me that the BMW had run out of front brakes, so I was to turn the MX5 around as quickly as possible and be ready for another stint. Unfortunately, after doing a whole hour I was a bit sore, to say the least. We got permission from Race Admin for the Puma's second driver, Alex, to drive the MX5 for a stint. It was looking like he wouldn't get a drive so thankfully, the stewards said yes.

Fuel the car up, nut and bolt check and get Alex into the car ready to go out.

In the meantime, our Team Manager, Mark, had jumped into his car and driven to Euro Car Parts in Northampton to grab some more brake pads for the BMW. We didn't have any spares at the track so this was our only choice. We had already fitted our backup set the day before in testing but was caught out but how quickly road pads wore out compared to race pads.

On his way back from Euros, his Peugeot decided it didn't need oil pressure and broke down on the A43.



A failing BMW on the track waiting to come in, a Mazda MX5 loaded with a driver who'd never driven the car before, and our parts delivery stuck on a dual-carriageway slip road. Oh, and it had started to rain again

RiftAmps

We waited until the brake warning light came on in the BMW and then pitted that lap. Alex went out in the MX5 to lap for as long as it took for us to change the brake pads on the BMW. In the meantime, someone had gone out to collect the pads from Mark and bring them back, whilst he walked back to Silverstone.

I stood on the pitwall and coached Alex as he lapped the circuit each time. Can you imagine driving an unfamiliar car, at race speeds, in the wet around the Grand Prix circuit? He's a bloody hero and just kept going faster and faster. He found another mk1 MX5 and stayed with him, figured that if he could do that, he'd be doing OK.

The rest of the team set to work replacing the BMW's brake pads and turning it around ready to go out. When they gave me the signal that it was ready, I called Alex in (he did 35-40 minutes in the end) and Nick went out. It had stopped raining at the point so he put on his dry tyres and the plan was to do an hour.



At around the 50-minute mark it started to rain heavily. Nick's lap times started to tumble as a result so I jumped into the MX5, fitted my wet tyres and setup and then went out for a 45-min stint.

I spent that entire stint nose-to-tail with the black and orange MX5, car #70. We had a great ding-dong battle in the wet where he was faster than me through some corners, and I faster through others. It doesn't matter if you're racing at 100mph or at 200mph, if it's good racing then that's all that matters. I had a good chat with him after the race and he said he really enjoyed it too. So that was my day made.

I ended up in the front in the end

After my 45-mins I came into the pit and Jonathan went out in the BMW  for the final 30 minutes of the race. Lap safely, bring her home, job done.

He did just that.

Somehow, some way, we finished P25 in the handicap, and 9th in class. Unbeliveable.









120 laps in 6 hours with all of the problems that we had is just amazing. The Birkett Relay is a great way to end the racing season. Every year for me thanks.

Except...I'm off to Donington Park in November for the final Roadsports race. And maybe the Plum Pudding on Boxing Day.




Oh, and Mark got his car home eventually.

Nitefly

Epic! 

rsvmark

What a laugh! Great thread Chris

RiftAmps

Donington Park National - 12th December

Owing to the 2nd lockdown, our race at Donington has been moved to this weekend. Donington in December? Chilly!

Last race of the season for me as the Plum Pudding races at Mallory on Boxing Day has been cancelled.

A standard Roadsports affair although there's a record Class D entry of 13 cars which hopefully should make for some close racing.

Testing on Friday.

Prep

Discovered a blowing exhaust downpipe after the Birkett so I've got a replacement, easy fit, no bother.

That's it really, just check fluid levels, nut and bolt check and then get out on track

Who's racing?

- BMW Car Cub Racing

- Clio 182 Championship

- Hot Hatch Championship

- Type-R Trophy

- Roadsports

Tickets

The club meeting is being held behind close doors, so no spectators are allowed.

Live Stream

There is no Live Stream on the race weekend but live commentary online

https://www.750mc.co.uk/live.htm

Live Timing  - 

https://www.tsl-timing.com/event/205092

RiftAmps

Donington Park National Race Report

Testing

Friday testing was wet for the first three sessions so went out with a wet setup and drove around 16 seconds slower than my dry pace. The track is just under 2 miles in length so it's amazing how much slower it is in the wet. As the track next to East Midlands Airport and directly underneath the flightpath it gets covered in airplane crap which doesn't mix well with rain. It's the same for everybody though, just quite tricky to not go off into the barriers.

Final session was drying so opted for semi-slicks and had a good ten minutes of fun before an exhaust bolt came loose and curtailed my session.

Back to the garage, fixed the exhaust, changed the diff oil and also the front brake pads ready for race day.

Qualifying

Wet qualifying, rubbish peformance. The track was so cold and slippery I couldn't get any heat into my rear tyres. I spun at the final chicane under the safety car and recieved two points on my license for the privilege. Ended up P10 in Class, and P39 overall. A session to forget then.

Race

It started raining 10 minutes before our race start, so went for a wet setup on the car. It definitely wasn't going to be dry and as water was coming down, wets seemed to be the obvious choice.

It was still raining in the assembly area, still raining on the grid, and still raining as we embarked on the green flag lap. The cars around me at semi-slicks on, so I was looking good.


As we neared the start/finish line for race start, the rain stopped.

The next 45-minutes was just about survival. Our full-wet tyres only really work in standing water, so just overheat and slide around when they're not. My first 3 laps were OK and then my pace just dropped off. I was in a race with a BMW 116 (green #28) up until the pitstops when they did the undercut and came out ahead. It didn't matter though, I was on the wrong tyres, they were on the right ones.

Nothing much else to report after that, it was tricky and quite honestly, it was the first time I wanted a race to be over. Finished P10 in class and P31 overall.

I guess I need a set of intermediate tyres for conditions like that?

Anyway, 2nd season of racing is over and the car is still in one piece.

Here's the race footage from Saturday.

RiftAmps

2021 RACING RETURNS

Ok, we should have had our first two races by now but lockdown has pushed everything back. Thankfully, Club motorsport was allowed to resume on 29th March and therefore our first race of the season is at Silverstone on 24th April.

This year, I'll be entering races in both 750MC Roadsports and BRSCC Clubsport Trophy. The race format across both is the same although the class structure is slightly different.

As it currently stands, my 2021 calendar looks like this:

24th April	Silverstone National	Roadsports
29th May	Croft	Roadsports
12th June	Brands Indy	Roadsports
20th June	Silverstone National	Clubsport
17th July	Snetterton 300	Roadsports
7th August	Silverstone International	Roadsports
26th September	Donington GP	Clubsport
10th October	Snetterton 300	Clubsport
23rd October	Silverstone GP	Birkett Relay

Currently, both Croft and Snetterton #2 are provisional.

I might enter the Plum Pudding on Boxing Day again, but will leave that decision to the end of the year

THE CAR

Once again, I'll be racing in the MX5 with no plans for any shared races. Nick is firmly into the BMW now and is taking it on a development path so the MX5 has become firmly my territory now.

As I look back on my first two seasons, and after talking to other guys that race non-cup spec MX5s, I realised that I've been trying to develop the car with the wrong mindset. Instead of asking 'What should the car have to be as fast as a cup car?' I should be asking 'What does this car need in order for me to drive it faster?'. It's a subtle difference I know, but the answers are quite different.

This car is 60kgs heavier than a cup car, so can't compete on that front. However, in the series that I race it doesn't need to be the same spec as one, so why am I trying to make it so? In fact, Roadsports and Clubsport are pretty much DO WHAT YOU LIKE.

So I will.

Gearbox

One of my main frustrations with the standard 5-speed box is the huge jump between 2nd and 3rd gears.

1st and 2nd are very short, yet 3rd and 4th are quite long. Great for spirited B-Road blasts, but awkward for racing as on slow hairpins neither gear is perfect. The answer is to fit the 6-speed box from the mk2.5 MX5, which is a direct fit.

With the change, 4th and 5th become 5th and 6th with identical ratios, and 2nd and 3rd are split equally between the new 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears. Shorter gearing means the engine will be in the power band more often, which is faster.


Engine

If I'm fitting a new gearbox, I might as well swap the engine out too! The old engine was starting to use both oil and coolant and I was getting quite tired. You will remember it's the original block from the car but with an upgraded cylinder head that been's swapped in and out a few times.

Remember the brand new rebuild that we spun a bearing in last year? Well since I re-rebuilt that it's been sitting in my workshop gathering dust waiting to go into the car, now's a perfect time.

Picked up another lightweight flywheel for it too.

Old engine out...

...and the new one in

I've also decided to try running a stainless exhaust manifold again, but this time I've had it welded up super-strong at every joint to see if it'll last.

RiftAmps

The exhaust backbox had developed a crack so had that welded up too and will keep as a spare. I picked up another that was on sale at MX5 parts

RiftAmps

Pull Cables

Our electrical cutoff and Fire ext. pull cables were mounted at the base of the windscreen at the scuttle panel. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a shit install job by us and frankly, I'm surprised that it passed scrutineering every time.

Always wanted to do a better job so had a L-bracket made up that would bolt directly to the passenger B-pillar and would allow a neater install/routing of the cables.

RiftAmps

Wheels/Tyres

Looking at photos of the car on track, I've never been happy with the way that it looks. The wheels look too narrow but also they're too far inboard, giving it an odd stance

15x7 wheels are pretty standard for MX5 racers with 195/50 tyres. Currently, the car runs 7" with Dry tyres and a minuscule 6" on wets. To top it off, the preferred offset for 15x7" is ET25, ET28, or E30.

Our Team Dynamics are ET38, so are 8-12mm more inboard each side that than normal. No wonder it looks odd!

In Roadsports Class D, we can run a maximum wheel width of 8" so why are we not running that?

I found these Style 51s from 7Twenty which are a 5 spoke 15x8 with a ET20 offset. They have both the look and stance that I'm after, with the bonus that I can run a wider, gripper tyre!

I ordered up 9 wheels, 4 wets and 5 dries and wrapped them in 205/50s (AR1s and Rainsports). I did have to roll the arch lips to get them to fit but with a £40 eBay roller it was a piece of cake.\

205/50 is probably the most tyre that I'd want to run with the power that I have, when I add more and move up a class then I can go to 225/45 like the green car above has.

They look great, I'm sure you'll agree.

RiftAmps

Other Stuff

The shock absorbers we well overdue for a service. In the three years that I've driven the car, they've never been done so finally got them off to Gaz Shocks who serviced them at just £30 each. Amazing.

I've moved the battery back to its original location from the centre of the boot floor using a great mounting clamp from G19 engineering

Also sorted out some dodgy wiring and redid some of the ignition connectors.


Finally, I took the car back to BBR for a tweak of the tune with the new engine. It made 5.6bhp more on average across the rev range, but made 1.8bhp less at peak power. I guess that's a good thing but we'll take it back after a few race weekends for a dyno run to see if it's just a break-in thing.

What's next? Well, it's booked in for a chassis setup next week to make sure it's absolutely ready to go racing. Apart from that, just gotta add fuel!

Nitefly

Looks like it's been a busy ol' winter...