416 replies to this topic

[AliM]

Thanks Alex, It would be great to have you join us and any help will be much appreciated.

[Duncan_F]

I'll also speak to Mrs B about Brands if you want someone in the pits that knows Saxo's?

That would be a great, anyone who can help us will be more than welcome and will be duly rewarded with tea and biscuits.

I agree with you. I think our biggest gains once we're going are going to be found on how the car is set up, so yeah, any help or advice in that department will be greatly appreciated.

[Duncan_F]

Ok so it's the test day @Snetterton this coming Tuesday

We had a look at the entry list today at the other racing cars that are going to be there on our test day. A couple of the ones that stand out :

Ferrari 328GTB
Ferrari 360 Challenge
Ferrari 360 GTC
Ferrari 458

And we're going to rock up with a Citroen Saxo being towed by an £800 Volvo , our whole outfit will have cost less than the wheels/tyres on those 360's.

We're so out of our depth, still, they better not hold us up

Looking forward to seeing them on track, but more importantly, hearing them

[Nelly Vx]

I bet you'll have a right blast , good luck to the both of you , will have to come down and see how you get on :-)

[AliM]

Well working on the car in 8" of snow this weekend seriously tested our commitment! It was bitterly cold, but after shoveling all of the snow off the driveway we managed to get the dash back in, refit the battery (to it's original location, still need to relocate the cut off) fit the seat and drill the holes ready for the harness. We had a set back in that the new Sparco harness only came with eyelets, no nuts and it would appear that nowhere on the face of the planet holds stock of 7/16" UNF nuts. Duncan luckily has a mate who works on a race team who was able to find some weld plates with captive nuts for us, which we can use with thread lock for the test day but we're going to have to weld them on before the first race. Due to the fact we lost the will to live on Saturday with it we still need to sort the fire extinguisher, the battery cut off and then sort out the swirl pot/pump set up in the 3 weeks between the test and the first race. Anyway, aside from fitting the harness at the track on Tuesday morning we are as ready as we can be for the test day. All 3 spanners and the roll of gaffa tape are packed, and we're setting off after work tomorrow for a 3.5hour drive down to the track. We'll post up a review of the day after we get picked on by the big kids. Keep everything crossed for us!

Edited by AliM, 24 March 2013 - 09:23 PM.

[techieboy]

Fingers crossed for the weather on the drive down and at Snett on Tuesday.

[ianrm]

Good luck guys.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Will be thinking of you.

[rob999]

Good luck today guys

[Mangham54]

Good luck. Get plenty of pics and post them up when you get chance.

[chris_uk]

Good luck

[Kieran McC]

Went to see Ali & Duncan at Snetterton today on their first outing with their car.Looks good they should do ok.

Edited by kieranmcc, 26 March 2013 - 07:16 PM.

[mbes2]

Good luck guys! Show them how to do it on track!

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Come on Ali/Dunc, we need to know... Update please.

[Duncan_F]

Apologies for the delay, we didn't get back until late last night and I've been crazy busy in work this morning. It was a bit daunting to begin with, on a normal track day there's the whole sit down and have a safety briefing, be told about the tricky corners, about track day etiquette (passing with consent only etc), but on the test day, we just showed our race licences, signed the form to say we wouldn't sue if we died, and that's it, back out the door and away you go. It really did feel like being thrown in at the deep end, especially when you see much more expensive and quicker cars in the paddock. Then on track you've got cars out braking you onto the inside of corners, passing however they want, for the first time in that sort of situation, it's pretty sh*t scary. Still, once the helmet is on and you're flooring it out onto the pit straight all those nerves just disappear. It was good to drive the Saxo in anger for the first time, it's pretty quick and it turns in really well. We didn't really get 'that' much track time though, I managed 4 corners into my first session before it was red flagged to recover a breakdown, and 1 whole lap of my second session before the red flag came out again. Then they wouldn't let Ali go out later on because we weren't wearing full race suits (been ordered, haven't arrived yet). We did get a couple of good sessions in though so we're now much more familiar with the car/track. What was invaluable was that 2 MSA scrutineers came over very early on (they probably saw that we looked like we had no idea what we were doing ) and they went over the car explaining what we needed to do to get it race ready, and what they would be checking on race day. They were really nice and very helpful, but our list of what we need to get done has increased dramatically. I liked the track, Snetterton 300, it's a lot of fun and I'd love to take the VX round. There were a couple of corners that I couldn't quite get to grips with though, Coram for example, it was like I was trying to apex the corner far too early and then I just ended up hugging the inside until the need to turn into Murrays. I reckon I'll need to get onto youtube and find some videos of people who actually know what they're doing. So yeah, massively shattered, but had huge fun and can't wait until our race on the 14th April. Oh, and it was nice to meet Kieranmcc who came to say hello, it was good chatting with you.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Anything I can help with Dunc?

[Duncan_F]

Anything I can help with Dunc?

Thank you for the offer.

We'll be working on the car over the Easter weekend so if we get stuck with anything I'll let you know.

[chris_uk]

did you get any videos?

[Duncan_F]

did you get any videos?

No, neither of us have a camera or mounts. I'd love to get one but it's just added cost that I can't afford at the moment.

Saying that though, even if we did get any footage I'm not sure I'd be keen on posting it up. Bearing in mind that it was my first time actually driving the car at any speed, and also my first time ever driving Snetterton I bet it would actually be quite embarrassing/boring.

[Boombang]

Don't worry Duncan, Snetterton looks slow in anything with less than 300bhp.