:)

Wow, that was great. Test session went brilliantly, had loads of fun, learned the track, met lots of the other RGB racers, had loads of fun and came back in one piece. Oh and had lots of fun by the way. More info when I have recovered from the long day and long drive.

Packed and Wet

Got back from traveling on work today with the single job of replacing a missing magnet for the speedo sensor before the car was ready for the test at Brands Hatch tomorrow. Whilst I am working on the car, lets put the suspension setup back to the default setting, I thought to myself. All sorted and ready to load the car on the trailer and guess what - it's raining!!!!! Wow, do I love loading the car, hitching up the trailer and strapping down the car in the rain at night :)
Oh, well a good test for the car cover, now more substantially tethered to the car so hopefully it will work ok when towing. Weather forecast is for sunny spells tomorrow, where as yesterday they were forecasting showers for tomorrow so that's a bit better. The forecast for the race on Friday is for showers at the moment but hey, that could change as well! Early start tomorrow fro the drive down but actually I am quite excited and looking forward to nailing the track this time. :)

Thanks to Dan for reminding me that you can get an RSS feed of updates from this site. I have place a link in the links section if you are interested.

Brands Test part 2!

I have just signed up to do the Friday test at Brands which precedes the first race of the season this weekend.
Lets hope all of the fueling issues have been solved and I can proceed as per my aim for 2 weeks ago and learn the circuit. I know quite a few others in the RGB championship are going to be down there so it should also serve to get to know a few others.
I am not quite sure what to expect from the weather. The forecast is all over the place for this weekend but I am guessing it will be similar on Sunday to that on Friday so as long as I can get to grips with the track in the test it should play out ok for the race. It will definitely be good to be back on track and even better if that is with other guys in similar cars. As in most things in life, being prepared is a good idea so that's the aim for Friday. Reduce the number of unknowns and of course have some fun. At the start of each season whether it be trackdays or I guess racing, its hard to remember just how much fun it is out on track. Let that fun restart again on Friday!

Decals

I now have a few more advertising decals on the car as well. A Pistonheads.com sticker on the rear and front, along with the novice cross (or should that be target) and of course the championship sponsors. Both sides and the front now have the number 25 adorned all over, the drivers side has a union jack and next I need to call the doctor to get my blood type and put that on the driver side to help the marshals if it all goes pear shaped!

Winch

I now have a winch installed on the trailer. A few comments from friends about it being useful when I punt the car into the barrier and need to drag it back onto the trailer!
The actual plan is to enable me to bring the car backwards onto the trailer so I can work on under the bonnet with the tyre rack installed at the front of the trailer. Normally this stops the race cars bonnet from being opened up enough to work under. It may also enable me to winch the trailer back into the garage with the car still on board. Currently I have to unload the car, bring the trailer in and then load the car back again. A bit of a pain after a full day on the track.

Is this final prep for the first race?

After non stop traveling for work this past week, I was able to spend a morning in the garage on Saturday to prep the car for the season opener at Brands hatch this coming Sunday. I am hoping to get a quick test in before Sunday to check that I have resolved the fuel starvation issue.

The diagnosis for the fuel starvation was a fault fuel pump so I installed a new one along with a new in-line see through fuel filter just before the pump which takes replaceable filters so I can ensure it is in top condition.
A little orientation for the image here, at the top is the Fireblade airbox, to the bottom left is the power regulator and in the middle you should be able to make out the inline glass filter (1 feed on the left and 1 output on the right) which feeds into the pump (1 feed, 1 output on the right hand side).

Saturday, I also managed to rewire the Digidash so that it should now pick up the timing beacon signals and actually show me some lap times. I am thinking this will be rather useful during qualifying and the race!

I have diagnosed the speed sensor issue to a missing magnet on the prop-shaft. The DigiDash2 uses a speed sensor which picks up the magnetic fields from 2 magnets located at 180 deg from each other on the prop. It find its quite hard to just have one spinning around. Ordered some replacements today so I hope to fit these mid week and then we should be all set.


If I have time, I might try to work out a better fixing for the rear under-tray although at brands this should not be a major issue due to the low overall speeds. I think with the modifications, the ballast and then video camera I will probably on weight even if I leave this alloy sheet off the car completely.

Brands Test Report

Well the testing at Brands last Friday was an experience. I will try and write up more when I finish a rather hectic week of travel for work but in short, I had a chance to sort of learn the track, some parts on the car worked well but others didn't. Oh and I did not race on the Sunday in the end.
The paddle shift worked brilliantly. I changed to the middle adjustment hole to make the shift a little lighter but never had a problem using the paddles instead of the normal stick.
Learning the track was quite hard because of the number of other cars and the fact that some were much much much quicker so almost every lap including letting somebody past. Not too much fun and I would have learnt a lot more on a trackday.
The laggy throttle and car wanted to stall after a long straight which started to appear at Snetterton last outing was back and made balancing high speed corners really hard. In the end it was also causing problems on gear changes into the hairpin as the engine died on some occasions. In the afternoon we changed up 2 jet sizes which made a slight improvement but the overall diagnostic was a failing fuel pump.
So new pump installed and in line filter ordered and hopeful will get another test in before the season opening race in 2 weeks
I have some telemetry but no speedo readings or timing due to a few other problems that are easy to fix but I don't think I was too far off the pace. Maybe I can work out some times from the telemetry I have.

Packing up for 1st testing day

Well the cars all packed up on the trailer, in preparation for the early morning run down to Brands. The trailer is once again sporting it's tyre rack and the car for the first time is wearing the number 25 (well on one side and the front, have not had a chance to do the passenger side). The rear also for the first time has a novice cross stuck on, or as some in the RGB series call it, a novice target. As it looks like there will be a number of rather fast cars and drivers at the Brands test tomorrow, I thought it was wise to warn them that I was a novice! I will be running the video and taking some pics tomorrow and hope to run some analysis from the telemetry after the testing and I might even get something up here on Saturday before we go for the rear race on Sunday. :)
So the aims for tomorrow are:
1. Shakedown of the car since Andy redid the gearbox and checked over the engine.
2. Learn the track and do some basic changes to the car setup to test it behaves like I expect (Anti-roll bar sweep)
3. Set some base lap times at brands and learn as much as I can from the other racers (esp RGB racers) present.
4. Learn the art of being on a small tight circuit with lots of other (and faster) cars.
5. Don't crash!
Saturday I will do a spanner and fluids check on the car.
Sunday, ably assisted by Tony, the aim is to gain as much practice as possible in the qualifying and 2 races that hopefully will stand me in good stead for the start of the RGB championship in April. I don't have an aim to come above a certain position except that I think there are Locust racing in my group so it would make sense to beat them! Of course one new items to all of this is the ability to have the timing on the DD2 working and tie that up with the telemetry. I will no doubt spend many hours post this weekend reviewing the data so I had better do a good consistent job of the driving and remember to switch on the data logging!

Scary Post

Just had a call from Motorsports Vision - I have a place in this coming Sundays season starter race. 2 races in fact. ooooh

Setup Sheet

Developed a testing setup sheet so I can record each test session and what changes I have made to the car. More importantly it will hopefully enable me to synch up my test sessions, setups and DigiDash2 telemetry. If you would like to use or adapt this for your own use, leave me a comment and I will email you the original XLS file.

Learning my way around Brands Hatch

Well last night was 'getting to know Brands'. In the end I managed a 51.5 in a Motorsport Elise on GTR. I don't think I will manage quite that lap time in real life but it was good fun. It was definitely a good lesson on the importance of Clearways/Clark Curve for reduce the lap times. I the one area that the simulator does not help with is gaining the nerve to drive Paddock Hill Bend fast.
I keep thinking I would like to improve the paintwork on my Fury. It's rather bashed after a few years of competing with it's previous owner. Most of the other racers keep commenting that it will get knocked about once on the track anyway, especially as its my first racing season. Hello Mr Tyre Wall! Thoughts of a better paintwork crept up on me again after seeing Tim Hoverd's new colour scheme. Nice work Tim

Prep for Brands Test

So in light of the upcoming test day at Brands (getting excited now :) ) I think I have a few things to do before we head out.
Here is the compiled to do list.
The major two items for the test itself of course is to learn the track, get used to the new padde shift and beat the times of Paul of course!

Here is a picture of the padde shift installed and the temporary dash and no comments about the loose wires behind or the mirrors pointing in all directions! You might also be able to spot the new FIA approved roll cage padding. Boy is that hard, lets hope it gives correctly in a large crash as it feels about the same density as the metal roll cage.
I had another go at bringing the car on and off the trailer to do some items under the car yesterday and I am now much more comfortable with the new clutch arrangement and finding Neutral with the paddles.

Priority Items

• Connect all switches on dash DONE


• Check all earth connections DONE


• Attach dashboard DONE


• Tighten ballast mounting bolts DONE


• Attached fire extinguisher pull REMOVED


• Air intake hoses DONE


• Attach transmission tunnel panel DONE


• Stick on Novice Cross! DONE

Remaining Items

• Check wiring for Rain light DONE


• Test timing beacon for DD2


• Wire lap reset button for DD2


• Check full beam headlight wiring into DD2


• Record current suspension settings before making any changes


• Check fan running light on switch DONE


• Rain light on feed into DD2 DONE


• B&Q for toe eye cable

Car Cover

So as previously mentioned, I purchased a complete car cover from Fishers. Excellent for when the car needs to be out of the garage for a short time or when on the trailer overnight. It's also so quick to put on, I guess I will use it between sessions when at the circuit as well. Although really for this I would like to use my Gazebo that has sides as this would enable me to work on the car at the same time. For that I just need to work out how to transport the thing as it is rather large. Maybe some combination of the tyre rack and a side support on the trailer.Here's a picture of it on the car, without any additional ties, just using the centre adjustable tie that comes with it. When being towed, the wind gets under the sides about 2/3rds of the way back and created a rather nice but very un-aerodynamic balloon!

Collection Day

Collect the car from Andy Bates this afternoon :)

As always, Andy has done a fantastic job. Engine back in and all the cable routing is spot on. He re-routed the throttle cable to make is smoother and obviously a new route for the gear change to go with the paddle shift.
Paddle shift is a nice item, very slick and well integrated. Feels good on the initial test - which totaled a couple of gear changes sufficient to get the car on the trailer at Andy's and then back in my garage. Not a very extensive test, I know, but that fun will have to wait until Brands on Friday. One other item that was very evident in the on/off trailer test drive was how much improved the new clutch arrangement is. Almost the same as the volvo!!! Lots of pictures and more details of each of these in the next coming days.
Good to have the car back at home. A few things to complete before the test on Friday but quite a hectic few days at work so that will be fun.
I tried out the new 'Fury car cover' on the way back from Bury. It defiantly fits well and stays attached but ends up ballooning quite a bit at speed as the air gets in underneath, this leads to drag and some buffeting you can feel inside the car. Might try a few other tethering ideas at some point but for now I will keep it for stationary weather protection when on the trailer, drive or at a race meeting where we are not using the 'Tent'.
Looks like Andy will be at Brands accompanying Oliver Hume, so with Paul, myself and Colin Duce we should have some fun.
Well at least it will give Paul and myself some idea of benchmark times even if the weather is a little unpredictable.

Paddle Shift

So the aim for this weekend is to get the car back and finalise anything needed before the Brands Test day this coming Friday.
The car is currently with Andy Bates (AB Performance in Bury St Edmunds) have one of his new paddle shift installed as well as a few smaller items like a check of the engine and something about the gearbox (more on this later!!). Andy is hoping to have it finished Sat pm so thats good. All I have to do then is rebuild the dash, which means I can finish the wiring, get the rain light working and work out how I want to attach the rear undertray.
We included the undertray in the weigh in so the ballast is set to complement this, its just that it has badly designed attachments at the moment. I am thinking of some Dzus fasteners or something.
Weather forecast for tomorrow is not good but I have a new Fury car cover from Fishers which will work nicely if its wet. No better way to test it!

First Post

The idea of this Blog is to record the 'adventures' of going racing for the first time!
The Series is the 750 Motor Club (based in the UK).
The Championship is RGB (Road Going Bike-engined cars)
My Name is Derek