301 replies to this topic

[Captain Vimes]

We raced at Thruxton this weekend and it was HOT but what a great circuit to race on! It's all about slip stream, slip stream, slip stream and braking into the tight corners that follow. Often 3 abreast down the back straight so the lead can change multiple times per lap whilst doing 115mph. It's the fastest circuit in the country so we spend circa 80% at full throttle and average 95mph+ over the lap.

 

I finally managed some decent starts this weekend after replacing a roll pin in the gearbox linkage, which allows me to change from 1st to 2nd without the gearbox balking. Made up places at the start of both races

 

Managed a 4th and 5th in the two races but was in 2nd/3rd for a good few laps in race two, before getting caught out when lapping the classics and falling into the clutches of the following pack. A last corner pass round the outside saved me 4th (in class) and helped with the championship position.

 

Here's the finish from a spectators view of the last corner where there was some excited cheering..

 

 

Full on-board race here:

 

 

[SteveA]

Watched the race this morning, great watch and all about strategy it seems as the top 5 were changing places all the time. I've just booked Snett 👍

Edited by SteveA, 09 July 2018 - 07:54 PM.

[Captain Vimes]

::

Thruxton was the complete opposite to Cadwell - great to race on but dull to drive on a track day. Shame you didn’t join the Sigmax race - it was so close through the whole pack.

Looking forward to Snett now!

[Zoobeef]

Apparently my mum gets that excited 😂

 

Watched the race this morning, amazing how much extra speed (or loss of speed) getting a corner slightly better than the others gets you.

[Captain Vimes]

The screaming was Andy’s Mum..who I passed... I get on well with Andy. He was under my car with me 40 mins later helping change the alternator and lending me tools (the heat of race 1 killed my alternator and I needed a bump start in the assembly area just before race 2). It’s a great group of people to race with.

The gaps are tenths of a second... every braking point, gear change, apex point has to be right otherwise you lose/gain - so much fun

I also discovered this weekend that following closely through high speed corners means less air under the car which gives MORE grip AND more speed. Until you pull out and hit a brick wall. If you get the chance, race at Thruxton!

[Pidgeon]

Thruxton's a great circuit.  Ask Foxy Jnr about his off at Church

[Captain Vimes]

The 6th Caterham race weekend of the year was at Snetterton this weekend.

 

Great to meet up with Steve, Mark and Nat again - I've decided they bring me racing fortune! Last time we were all at a Caterham race I got a 3rd and 5th, which I repeated this weekend!

 

So... race report...

 

Testing/Qualifying

As I 'know' Snetterton I decided I'd be fine with just half a days testing. We were allocated 2x30 minutes sessions (I prefer 3x20 minutes but there you go).

 

In the first test session I was all over the place, locking the back axle up onto corners and generally over driving the car. Ended up over cooking it at the end of the Bentley straight and spun onto the grass. The times were inconsistent but I'd managed a high 2:13, which was close to my quickest times previously.

 

The second session was much better. Figured out how to get consistent and got into the high 2:12's. Then got caught up in traffic and practiced some overtaking.

 

Qualifying is only 20 minutes and with the laps taking over 2 minutes and a mixed group with the classic Caterhams (100bhp and road tyres) the key was finding some space to get 2 clean flying laps without messing up or getting caught up with other cars (getting a tow is ideal but I didn't get that one nailed)... 

 

Fastest lap was 2:12.8 and second fastest was 2:13.2, which put me 5th in both races. 

 

Race 2

Working backwards as I processed the footage for race 2 first...

 

I seem to have sorted out my poor starts from earlier in the year and this race was no exception. I managed to go from 5th to 3rd by the first corner, snuck up to 2nd through the infield but back to 3rd by the end of Bentley straight. There's more commentary in the video so I won't repeat it here but the short story is that I finished 3rd for another podium!

 

This one felt more deserved than the last two as there were no crashes/spins/breakdowns in front of me that gifted it to me. I got there and held the place on raw speed (I even managed to go off track and lose 5 seconds passing a back marker but I'd built enough of a gap to hold the place).

 

Anyway here's the video:

 

 

 

Race 1 was closer than race 2 and much more manic, footage to follow..

 

[MAXR]

Great driving! It's surprising how much the cars in front move around. It must make it difficult to trust them to see you, should you decide to lunge into a corner or try to pass. Way different from a mere track drive.

[SteveA]

Great weekend and an absolute scorcher. In testing I was putting in very similar laps to Vimes 2:13.2 in the first session and 2:12.9 in the second, had a REALLY close call with a Ferrari who decided to dive in front of me and slam on the brakes. I was millimeters away from touching him (will upload the clip later). My class is a quicker one than Kev's though so I should be a good 3 seconds quicker but I think that will come with more seat time, the correct setup and race craft. I was really in the thick of it this time and was attacking and defending pretty much all the way through the race. I do need to be a bit more aggressive, start slamming the door more and taking any opportunities for overtakes but my focus at the moment is clean racing as I need to finish the entire race to get my signatures to be able to upgrade my license.

 

In race one my quickest lap was 2:13.37 and in race two it was 2:13.33 so I'm pretty consistent, that is however consistently slower than the front runners who are doing 2:10's and in a few cases 2:09's    my class is so competitive that I'm not sure I'll ever challenge the top 5 but if I can get close to the top 10 I will be happy.

[SteveA]

[The Batman]

oooo that was close!! i guess he was carrying alot more speed than you though so had to break earlier

[Captain Vimes]

Great driving! It's surprising how much the cars in front move around. It must make it difficult to trust them to see you, should you decide to lunge into a corner or try to pass. Way different from a mere track drive.

 

I trust the cars around me a lot (except for one of them but I won't name names). As you'll see in the next video, when I do manage to get up the inside they always make space. They're a good bunch of guys to race with.

 

I need to get a rear camera so give a better view of what I'm defending against and why I'm moving around at times as well!

 

Steve that was VERY close - pleased you missed him. It might have cost you a fiver to fibreglass up your nose cone!

 

 

Footage from race 1 which I've chopped down to focus on the first couple of corners and overtakes only... 

 

[The Batman]

i hold you responsible for taking my zoobeef away

[Firthy]

Looks like totally brilliant fun congrats on podium 👍

[SteveA]

i hold you responsible for taking my zoobeef away

Maybe for good 😉

[Captain Vimes]

i hold you responsible for taking my zoobeef away

Maybe for good 😉

It’s all your own fault, you didn’t treat him right! Have you ever let him hold your umbrella?

[Captain Vimes]

Looks like totally brilliant fun congrats on podium 👍

Thanks and it’s as fun as it looks!

[SteveA]

 

 

i hold you responsible for taking my zoobeef away

Maybe for good 😉

It’s all your own fault, you didn’t treat him right! Have you ever let him hold your umbrella?

 

 

Haha deffo, we provide food and drinks too

[SteveA]

Another great weekend racing and the last one for me this season. I decided to dip my toe in the water this year with four race weekends (8 races) which is exactly half of the race calendar and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Anglesey was the venue for my final event and it was a very changeable weekend. The only time i'd been to Anglesey in the Caterham before was over 3 years ago at the National and my best lap then was a 1:19.8. I realised I was going to have to be a lot faster than this if I stood any chance of not being last. In testing on Friday it was lovely, 23 degrees with sunshine all day. I managed a 1:17.2 (within my four 15 minute testing sessions) which is pretty much where I wanted to be and meant I'd have some good racing on my hands.

 

Saturday morning came and so did the rain, it was wet, then dry, then wet again. It was really difficult to decide what setup to use so I went with wet which was a big mistake. 30 mins before my quali it stopped raining and was slowly drying, I left my setup as it was but by the time I got out the track was bone dry. My tyres got too hot and started sliding all over, the best I could muster was a 1:18.1 which put me second last. I knew I was out of place but both of my races were on Sunday so I was hopeful that it would be a nice day and I could get the setup right to make up some places.

 

Sunday came and so did the rain (none of it forecast by the way) my first race was at 10am and the rain stopped just before 9. Everyone put on a dry setup and rolled into the holding area ready to go, then the rain came again! Those with team support had their tyre pressures changed while they were strapped in but most of us just sat there knowing it was going to be tough. It was my first wet race and I needed to survive it to get my final signature and lose my novice status. The race was good, two very near misses and I finished the race one place up which I was happy with.

 

Race two was at 15:50 and by then the whole track was dry, so I setup for the conditions and rolled out. Off the starting line I made up 3 places straight away and then was in the hunt for more, I got another one 7 laps later and got past a final one on the last lap. I finished up in 15th and won a trophy for best improver (most places gained in a race). Out of the 20 laps I did, 15 were in the 1:17's so ignoring the standing start lap I'm pretty consistent. I Am really happy with the result and although 15th out of 21 doesn't sound great, it is a massively competitive championship. The race winners fastest lap was 1.3 seconds faster than mine and he's a karting champion who has previously beaten F1's Lando Norris, and a few current BTCC racers so he's a very talented lad. I will post the race 2 footage up tonight when I get home.

 

All in all it's been a fantastic introduction to racing, not a great start but I've been making improvements all the time and hopefully that will continue with more seat time. In my first half season I've met some fantastic people, won two trophy's,  only had one accident and am now a proper amateur racing driver (no more excuses )

Edited by SteveA, 03 September 2018 - 03:58 PM.

[SteveA]