112.8mph Lucky Poos Needed

RiftAmps

Nitefly said:

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

Yup.

I've realised that I've got a few more jobs on the 'to-do' list but that don't need to be done before the first race

- Clutch slave cylinder and hose

- New brake hoses and swap out/rebuild NSF brake caliper

- Refit a tiny bracket the sits between the gearbox and the PPF

I've also decided to finally run ITBs next year, so have started the prep work on the next engine

steer

Looks better now with the new fatter wheels.

I love this thread, as I am a big motorsport fan. Unfortunately I have almost no mechanical skills, but it is fascinating to read about the work that goes on behind the scenes of a club racer.

RiftAmps

Silverstone National - 24th April

First round of the 750MC Roadsports series, pushed back from Easter Weekend.

Amazingly, MSUK allows 41 cars to race on this 1.6-mile circuit so we're looking forward to a busy race. There are just 4 cars entered in my class with a 5th in reserve which means I could be in with a chance of a podium if things finally go my way.

I last raced on this layout last September in the Clubsport Trophy, sharing with Nick. If you remember, we were on for our first podium but the clutch let go in the final two laps and we finished fourth. As you can imagine, I have unfinished business on this layout so trying everything I can to get a good result.

My fastest race lap was a 1.15:35 but I hope to be into the low 14s, high 13s. We did 33 laps last year with two safety cars so 36 laps should be possible. The Class A leaders will be lapping me 3-4 times so need to be clever with strategy.

Prep

Chassis setup on Thursday before testing on Friday.

Who's racing?

- Raceparts 750 Formula Championship

- Tegiwa Type R Trophy

- BMWCCR Championship

- Hitek Alfa Romeo Championship

- Tegiwa Roadsports Series

- Swallow Hill Homes F1000 Championship

Tickets

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

Live Stream

There is a Live Stream of the race weekend

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

Live Timing  - 

https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2021/silverstone-national-24-25-april

RiftAmps

Silverstone National Race Report

Friday Testing

As the new engine still hadn't had enough running in, I decided to lower the rev limiter to 6000rpm for the first session. I figured that 30 minutes of running around was enough to check everything out and to ensure it was happy.

It was, although with the 6-speed gearbox's short ratios I was quickly hitting the limit and chucking it through Copse in 6th gear is a strange feeling - still, the car was happy.

For the second session, I raised the limiter to 7500rpm so I could finally stretch its legs. Checked all fluids, nuts, and bolts and went out. The car was noticeable faster, both in a straight line and in the corners where the new wider tyres give phenomenal grip. I was pulling much higher Gs through Luffield that I started to feel it in my neck. With relative ease, I was lapping 1 second faster than last year, and I still had much more time in hand.

After 20 minutes or so, I did a few cool-down laps in prep for a qualifying run. Wanted to do two flying laps with the car fully up to temperature to see how it'd go. As I came out of Copse corner I put my foot down and noticed that I was quickly losing time relative to my faster lap so far...I was over 2 seconds slower by the time I reached the next corner, Maggots. I thought I heard a noise from the engine so backed off and cruised down the Wellington straight. Glancing at my oil pressure gauge, it was reading approx 10psi - it should be around 30-40psi when cruising and 60ish at WOT. A dodgy gauge perhaps? No.

I heard an almighty bang, like a bomb going off and saw chunks of something flying down the track and white smoke plumes coming from the exhaust. Please, please, please don't be my new gearbox!

Coasted around to the pitlane entry and almost made it back to my box but the car stopped short.

A marshall came over and said he couldn't see any fluids leaking, so wasn't sure what had happened. We pushed it back to the garage and I had a look underneath the bonnet.

If you could name the worst thing that can happen on a race weekend, this was it.

Yup, a conrod #3 had exited the side of the engine block on both sides. My race weekend was over.

But of course, it wasn't, I don't give up that easily, do I?!

I had a spare block back at the workshop (10-minute drive) that was partially stripped down. I jumped in the van and headed to work.

Loaded the engine crane, engine stand, block, and ALL of the spare parts that I have into the van before realising that I didn't have a set of piston rings and big end bearings. Thankfully, BOFI Racing in Peterborough had them on the shelf and like the heroes that they are, delivered them to Silverstone for me. You can't ask for better customer service.

Got back to Silverstone at mid-day, unloaded the van and started removing the old engine and gearbox from the car. As I'm a bit of an expert now, it was out in just 1 hour and 20 minutes...incredible right?

With it all out of the car I could start assembling the replacement block, transferring everything over that I needed. By 6 pm the engine was back in the car and running well. I drove the car around the paddock to check that everything worked and then heading home for a shower and bed. I was bloody knackered!

RiftAmps

Qualifying

Queueing for qualifying, the car was ticking over nicely until my pit crew noticed a rather large coolant leak under the car. Bollocks.

It was fine the night before but now was leaking? Eh?

I decided to just do my three laps to qualify then bring the car in. I wasn't going to risk blowing a head gasket going for a fast lap so just cruised around to get my laps in. Pulled into the pits and there was a lot of steam coming from the engine bay. Thankfully, it looked far worst than it was as the Alternator belt had rubbed through a secondary coolant hose. We replaced it and topped it up with coolant.

I qualified in last place, but that doesn't matter as at least I was on the grid.

Race

Starting at the back has a few benefits...one of which is that you can hang back a little on the opening lap and avoid any incidents, of which there were quite a few.

I managed to get past Matt Footman in his Puma around the outside of Luffield and then up the inside of Kiefer Del Piero in the BMW 116 into Copse. Love overtaking, it feels so damn good. Spent the next few laps creating a gap and dodging the leaders. I was in P2 and a podium was definitely on.

Unfortunately, the race was red-flagged owing to a number of incidents around the circuit, so after a 16-minute stoppage the race was restarted under the SC and my 8-second gap to P3 was wiped out. Never mind, I knew that I was quicker.

The rebuilt engine was definitely down on power (maybe 10bhp or so) and I was lapping in the high-15s, low 16s. About 1.5 seconds slower than in testing. At least it was running and had good oil pressure

After a few laps, I came into the pits for my mandatory stop and all was going well until my spotter was distracted just at the moment that another car was coming down the pitlane. He released me into his path and we made light contact. Crap, crap, crap.

Rejoined the race and despite another overtake around the outside of the orange Puma, my race to the flag was fairly uneventful. Drove my ass off to stay ahead of Matt and after what felt like a million laps, crossed the line in P2 with my hand firmly on some silverware.

But race #13 still had another cruel twist in store for me, as I was summoned to the Clerk of the Course to explain the pitlane shunt. I was DSQ'd and given 4 points. FFS.

Here's the full race footage:

RiftAmps

RiftAmps

Engine Damage

Back at the workshop, I stripped down the engine and comfirmed that cylinder/piston/conrod #3 was indeed the problem, not that there was much doubt about that!

Now, this was the same block that spun a bearing last year, remember? In fact not only is it the same block, but also the same cylinder...interesting.

A full investigation revealed the cause of both failures, a seized oil pressure release valve in the oil pump. The plunger should move freely up and down the bore but it might as well have been welded in place, had to hammer it out! It was seized in the open position, meaning the OP couldn't deliver the pressure required at high load, hence our failures. Very annoyed as this was a brand new pump, will stick with OEM next time. Lesson learned.

the_jaffa

You’ve done a great job on that rod and piston. Wow! Makes a cool paperweight with a story. 

Impressed you came back from that to race at all. I continue to be impressed and inspired by this thread. 

RiftAmps

Croft - 29th April

The second round of the 750MC Roadsports series. This is one of the few remaining UK circuits that I've not driven, so despite being an 8-hour round trip I definitely wasn't going to miss out on this one.

Weather is looking good with no chance of rain. There are 4 entries in Class D, with a 5th in reserve, hoping for another close race.

Prep

I've not had the chance to touch the car since Silverstone, so will be racing with the hastily rebuilt engine again. Might give it a quick wash...

Who's racing?

- RLM Bikesports

- Tegiwa Type R Trophy

- 5Club MX5 Cup

- Formula Vee

- Tegiwa Roadsports Series

- Sports 1000

- Locost

Tickets

Spectators are allowed - http://www.croftcircuit.co.uk/racing/750mc

Live Stream

There is a Live Stream of the race weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDlPc7iH5MI

Live Timing  - 

https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2021/croft-29-30-may

RiftAmps

CROFT RACE REPORT

Qualifying

I didn't test before race day so it was straight into qualifying on an unknown track. Thankfully, it was 20ºC weather and Sunny so wouldn't have to take it that easy...I could attack the circuit as I wanted.

The track is mega, just unreal. It's a real driver's circuit that rewards you the harder that you push. Another driver said that every time you go through any corner you think "Damn, I could have gone faster through there" which turned out to be true. Every lap you just go faster and faster and it doesn't stop.

I had a little spin going into Sunny In which comes upon you very fast after Barcroft. Never mind, you don't know where the limit is until you cross it, right?

I qualified P3 in class and 7 seconds ahead of P4, finally on for a podium then?

Race

I knew that I was on for a podium if I could beat the Puma, but I wanted 2nd place. The Vauxhall Nova was driven by both the 2020 Classic Stock Hatch Champion, Pip Hammond, and his partner Esther. Pip is monstrously fast in that car (4 secs per lap faster than me) but Esther was 5 seconds per lap slower and was starting the race. If I could get passed her early enough and pull a big enough of a gap, maybe Pip wouldn't be able to catch me before the end of the race.

The race start was uneventful as usual and I pulled away from the Puma with ease. There was, however, a Class C car (Fiat Punto) between myself and the Nova, he wasn't particularly fast and was struggling to get past her. I decided to divebomb him into the hairpin as I couldn't afford to lose any more time behind them.

Just as I was accelerating down the pit straight the SC came out and the race was neutralized. Unfortunately, the Punto didn't see the yellow flags until too late and overtook me - he was eventually DSQ'd for that but I was back behind him again.

A few laps later the SC came in and the Punto managed to get past the Nova quite quickly. On the next lap, I pulled the same overtaking move again and divebombed into the hairpin.

Now that I was past her I could drive as fast as I could and set my fastest lap on the following tour. I eventually pulled a good 10ish-second gap before I pitted.

After the stop, I just drove as fast as I could to the end. Pip not only caught and passed me but also the other MX5 of Douglis Inglis too to win the race...incredible speed.

I came over the line in 3rd place, and despite a quick trip to the stewards to hand over my footage for the Punto SC incident, I was finally able to collect this...

Yup, I finally friggin' did it. I don't think I would have been able to achieve this in my first year of racing, both myself and the car were too slow. Now, however, I've been in contention for the last few races which only bodes well for the rest of the year.

Here's the full race footage:

steer

Well done! I was scrolling down your post waiting for the bad news that your engine fell out or something - hope you enjoyed the champagne.

RiftAmps

RiftAmps

steer said:

Well done! I was scrolling down your post waiting for the bad news that your engine fell out or something - hope you enjoyed the champagne.

Thanks man! The engine was down on power as it was the botched one from Silverstone and was definitely overheating. Thankfully, it held out

RiftAmps

Brands Hatch Indy - 12th June

The third round of the 750MC Roadsports series.

Back to the scene of my very first race and a good opportunity to right the wrongs of that day (finished P2 but DSQ'd for track limits). It'll be interesting to compare lap times and see how far both the car I've come since then, 14 races ago. My fastest race lap was 1:04.63 so ideally I'd like to be in the 1:01s.

At just 1.2miles long, it's a very short lap so looking at 41ish laps during the race.

Weather is looking good with no chance of rain. There are 4 entries in Class D, two of which I know I can beat, the other is a question mark

I've booked 1/2 day testing on Friday afternoon to get my eye in on the circuit. Paddock Hill bend is mega and I want to get it right.

Prep

I built up a new cylinder head and fitted that to the car. The other one did have a bent valve after the Silverstone blowup but I couldn't really confirm that until it was removed. The new head has had a full port and polish, along with new valve springs and seals.

Took the car to BBR for a quick Dyno tune and she's back to running as she should be.

Who's racing?

- RLM Bikesports

- BMW Car Club Racing

- Classic Stock Hatch

- F1000

- Tegiwa Roadsports Series

- Hot Hatch Championship

- Ma7da Championship

Tickets

Spectators are allowed but tickets must be purchased in advance, no tickets on the gate - https://brandshatch.msv.com/BH-21-750MC-1

Live Stream

There is not a Live Stream of the race weekend

Live Timing  - 

Qualifying - https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2021/brands-hatch-indy-12-13-june/qualifying-4-saturday

Race - https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/2021/brands-hatch-indy-12-13-june/race-4-saturday

RiftAmps

Haven't updated this in a while, partly out of embarrassment but mainly because I've been flat out busy with other stuff

So, where to start?

Arrived at Brands Hatch on the Friday morning ready for testing. I had only booked the afternoon sessions rather than a full day...I didn't need that and two 30mins was enough to get my eye in.

The first session was busy on track but I managed to get some clear laps in, started to push a bit more and found some good lap times, much much fatser than when I first drove here on my very first race.

The second session - Went even faster, was properly dialled into the track and then bang...engine let out the magic smoke and all was lost. Got recovered back to the pits but couldn't see any engine damage, no holes in the block, no oil leaks, nothing.

Took the cam cover off and all valves were moving up and down, nothing looked bent but something was clearly wrong. Either way, I didn't have a spare engine so packed it all up and went home. I wasn't racing at Brands.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the workshop, I removed the cylinder head (again) to find this...

Yup, I'd dropped valve on a particularly aggressive downshift and after bouncing around in the combustion chamber for a while, it welded itself into the piston.

The block, head, and pistons were written off. New engine then.

BTW, I still keep the piston on my desk



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Decided it was time to do what BBR had been saying all along, fit a 1.8 VVT engine from the Mk2.5 MX5...I already had the correct ECU so I bought an engine on eBay, replaced all of the seals and we installed it into the car.

BBR mapped it three times, once for Max power, once for 139bhp (Clubsport Trophy), and finally once for 133bhp (Roadsports).

In Roadsport spec, I now have my max allowed power at 5500rpm, and we just run that flat all the way to redline at 7500rpm. To put simply, whatever gear I'm in at racing speed, I've always got my maximum bhp.


This all took quite a long time, so I missed four races but made it to Snetterton for the Roadsports season finale.

I qualified 5secs faster than my previous best, with very little effort. The VVT engine is revv, torquey, and just pulls thorough the gears.

I qualified in P3/6 and came within 5 meters of winning the race before the SC came out for the second time.

Full video here

RiftAmps

.....that's two trophies this season so far, would be nice to get a third!

The following weekend was the Birkett Relay, and I was able to turn the engine up to the full 145bhp (phwoar).

Unlike last year's attempt, we now had six cars and six drivers in the team, and the race went swimmingly well for 5.5 hours when my power steering shat itself all over my exhaust manifold. Thankfully, we didn't lose too much time and finished an impressive P12, up from P25 last year.

Scarily, my fastest lap time around the Silverstone GP circuit was 9.81 seconds faster than the year before. Same tyres, same gearbox and diff, just a much better engine.

steer

Shame about the end of the Snetterton race,you were having a great battle with the Puma when the yellows came out.

Very impressive improvements.

the_jaffa

Are you racing again this year? Any updates or car progress?

RiftAmps

the_jaffa said:

Are you racing again this year? Any updates or car progress?

Hell yeah, I am!



Managed to put together a pretty awesome calendar with all of the tracks that I wanted to do. The only event that I'm not 100% sure about is Track Attack at Silverstone but we'll see.

After the power steering failure at the Birkett, I've removed the system and now running a depowered rack. Feels fine at low speeds so high speed will be no problem.

Still need to upgrade the brakes to the larger 1.8 discs and pads...I've got them sat here next to me including new front calipers so just a case of installing and bleeding.

I've installed a digital radio system into the car so I can communicate with the pits, it has a 5-mile range so easily covers a race track. The radio license is £75 for 5 years.

Just a corner weight/alignment and new fire suppression system then it is ready to race.

bertie

I got caught doing (average) 101.3 MPH on the M4 in 2000  (117 top whack apparently)