MLRSS 2013: Round 5- Castle Combe *MLR Video added*
Well, where to start?
Gary was feeling rough on Friday morning after spending the night throwing up, and after loading the truck ready for the 4 hour journey South, he wasn't feeling much perkier. After crawling through the stop-start mess that is Elveden, we decided to cut across county to avoid the M25, but this meant we fell foul of Milton Keynes and it's many roundabouts, so it probably wasn't much of a time-saver in the end!
Ross and a few others had made it to Combe early-on to take part in a cheap trackday beforehand, but by the time we were in the area they'd almost finished, so we made our way to the hotel to freshen up and await the pre-sprint get together in the bar. Logan had taken a similar route to pick up his "race engineer" for the day and arrived a few pints-in and just in time for food. Gary was still not eating much, and after Chris had arrived and we'd sunk a few pints later, we all retired for the evening to be up at 7am to dig into the usual Premier Inn cooked breakfast trough.
Onto the circuit, and the layout had changed slightly from last year's- the start was further back in the pitlane with a tight chicane before heading out on circuit, and utilised the small bike chicane just before the final bend as the finish. However, it was clear on the sighting lap that the quickest way to finish was to straightline the final chicane and dive across the infield, so a small delay was had while the MLR organisers altered it into a chicane further back with a straight into the finish.
First practice run, and Gary immediately set the benchmark time to beat, until another MLR member lost control through the start chicane and pelted the pitwall nose-first. Another (longer) delay while that was tidied up, and more alterations which lead to the start now being nearer the pit exit and was now a flying run to the bus-stop chicane before Quarry. With practice now down to 4 runs, it would limit the learning of the track and everyone was improving little by little before the afternoon timed runs. Gary would end up a close 2nd, with Logan struggling to get his head around a new boost controller that was spiking into the MoTeC boost cut and meant he would end up 6th, just in front of a very happy Chris, and Ross 10th in his resurrected Evo X RS (now strokered to 2.2 and running the MHI turbo to 500+bhp, along with full road-trim and air-con).
Barely any break for lunch (Chilli, chips and cheese= yum) and we were fully into the important part of the day where the race fuel goes in and the softer slicks go on. Once again Gary was quick out of the box with a low 1:11, until Logan dipped into the 1:10's. The next run out saw Gary slip down another place as TA competitor Brad (sponsored by MA Developments) claimed the top spot, and again as Liddy improved. Logan had nailed his Boost issues, but this run saw some odd misfires/engine cutting which cleared after the Quarry. We decided it was high fuel temps caused by running low in the tank and what was being used was heating up as it quickly passed around the system. A top-up with more Sunoco 109 and all was fine again on run 3, with Gary claiming 1st again until Brad narrowly improved to bump him back to 2nd. This was clearly going to be a close one to the end!
Run 4 saw Logan edge closer to Gary, but at the same time, saw Brad creep further ahead with a 1:09.41. Run 5, and Gary was now utilising some NOS to aid spool out of the tighter bends and catapult the car onto the straights with a 1:09.62, Logan also was now into the 1:09's just behind Gary while Brad set a near-identical time to before, indicating he was near his limit.
Run 6 saw the APT Evo claim the top spot again with a 1:09.17, while Liddy improved to knock Logan back one place, as both he and Brad made small errors in their laps. By this time, both Ross and Chris had peaked, Ross finishing up joint 14th overall, and Chris just out of the top 10 in 11th- the white VII now slightly battle-scarred after getting too close to the final plastic motorway-style barrier.
Run 7- the last run of the day, and the final chance for anyone to knock Gary out of his first podium position. It started badly, the car before Gary was late arriving to the line, before realising he had forgotten his helmet
- needless to say Gary was seething at the long wait, when he finally got the green light to go. Now... it turns out that the red mist can work wonders- despite it being a scruffy lap with a few wrong gear choices, he crossed the line with the only lap into the high 1:08's! Liddy had thrown in the towel with a higher 1:09 that left him in 4th. Logan was next to go- and after draining the last dregs of race fuel into the tank and swapping the tyres left to right, managed a stonking time in a car with around 80-100bhp less to claim 2nd place from Brad. Gary couldn't bear to watch, but Brad's time finally flashed up on screen- a 1:31, meaning he'd made a mistake on-track and he'd have to settle for 3rd, leaving us with a long awaited win for Gary and an APT 1-2! 
(Credit for most of the pics to their respective owners)
Gary was feeling rough on Friday morning after spending the night throwing up, and after loading the truck ready for the 4 hour journey South, he wasn't feeling much perkier. After crawling through the stop-start mess that is Elveden, we decided to cut across county to avoid the M25, but this meant we fell foul of Milton Keynes and it's many roundabouts, so it probably wasn't much of a time-saver in the end!
Ross and a few others had made it to Combe early-on to take part in a cheap trackday beforehand, but by the time we were in the area they'd almost finished, so we made our way to the hotel to freshen up and await the pre-sprint get together in the bar. Logan had taken a similar route to pick up his "race engineer" for the day and arrived a few pints-in and just in time for food. Gary was still not eating much, and after Chris had arrived and we'd sunk a few pints later, we all retired for the evening to be up at 7am to dig into the usual Premier Inn cooked breakfast trough.
Onto the circuit, and the layout had changed slightly from last year's- the start was further back in the pitlane with a tight chicane before heading out on circuit, and utilised the small bike chicane just before the final bend as the finish. However, it was clear on the sighting lap that the quickest way to finish was to straightline the final chicane and dive across the infield, so a small delay was had while the MLR organisers altered it into a chicane further back with a straight into the finish.
First practice run, and Gary immediately set the benchmark time to beat, until another MLR member lost control through the start chicane and pelted the pitwall nose-first. Another (longer) delay while that was tidied up, and more alterations which lead to the start now being nearer the pit exit and was now a flying run to the bus-stop chicane before Quarry. With practice now down to 4 runs, it would limit the learning of the track and everyone was improving little by little before the afternoon timed runs. Gary would end up a close 2nd, with Logan struggling to get his head around a new boost controller that was spiking into the MoTeC boost cut and meant he would end up 6th, just in front of a very happy Chris, and Ross 10th in his resurrected Evo X RS (now strokered to 2.2 and running the MHI turbo to 500+bhp, along with full road-trim and air-con).
Barely any break for lunch (Chilli, chips and cheese= yum) and we were fully into the important part of the day where the race fuel goes in and the softer slicks go on. Once again Gary was quick out of the box with a low 1:11, until Logan dipped into the 1:10's. The next run out saw Gary slip down another place as TA competitor Brad (sponsored by MA Developments) claimed the top spot, and again as Liddy improved. Logan had nailed his Boost issues, but this run saw some odd misfires/engine cutting which cleared after the Quarry. We decided it was high fuel temps caused by running low in the tank and what was being used was heating up as it quickly passed around the system. A top-up with more Sunoco 109 and all was fine again on run 3, with Gary claiming 1st again until Brad narrowly improved to bump him back to 2nd. This was clearly going to be a close one to the end!
Run 4 saw Logan edge closer to Gary, but at the same time, saw Brad creep further ahead with a 1:09.41. Run 5, and Gary was now utilising some NOS to aid spool out of the tighter bends and catapult the car onto the straights with a 1:09.62, Logan also was now into the 1:09's just behind Gary while Brad set a near-identical time to before, indicating he was near his limit.
Run 6 saw the APT Evo claim the top spot again with a 1:09.17, while Liddy improved to knock Logan back one place, as both he and Brad made small errors in their laps. By this time, both Ross and Chris had peaked, Ross finishing up joint 14th overall, and Chris just out of the top 10 in 11th- the white VII now slightly battle-scarred after getting too close to the final plastic motorway-style barrier.
Run 7- the last run of the day, and the final chance for anyone to knock Gary out of his first podium position. It started badly, the car before Gary was late arriving to the line, before realising he had forgotten his helmet
- needless to say Gary was seething at the long wait, when he finally got the green light to go. Now... it turns out that the red mist can work wonders- despite it being a scruffy lap with a few wrong gear choices, he crossed the line with the only lap into the high 1:08's! Liddy had thrown in the towel with a higher 1:09 that left him in 4th. Logan was next to go- and after draining the last dregs of race fuel into the tank and swapping the tyres left to right, managed a stonking time in a car with around 80-100bhp less to claim 2nd place from Brad. Gary couldn't bear to watch, but Brad's time finally flashed up on screen- a 1:31, meaning he'd made a mistake on-track and he'd have to settle for 3rd, leaving us with a long awaited win for Gary and an APT 1-2! 
(Credit for most of the pics to their respective owners)
Finishing off the Ford 
Final results-
Logan's video of his final run which earned him 2nd place-
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AQJPN8c1dWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And Gary's winning lap, for anyone who missed it-
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CGWDm2qS03c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Logan's video of his final run which earned him 2nd place-
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AQJPN8c1dWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And Gary's winning lap, for anyone who missed it-
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CGWDm2qS03c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Finishing off the Ford
A cracking write up mate; well done 
Big respect to Gary for his perseverance. I remember the dark days after Time Attack way back in 06 or 07, and how the disappointment hit him so hard back then (the same feeling hit many of his mates too ). With the much needed seat time and enhanced development of the Evo, a win was always a possibility but the MLRSS is such a tough event with so many great drivers and cars.......
To go all of the way to Wiltshire with food poisoning, to drive a track for only the second time when several others had a day's extra practice and still win? Amazing.
Great to see Logan battling away for second spot and maintaining his place on the top of the points table too. Well done mate.
Shame to hear about Chris Davison's issues with his Evo; if any of you guys speak to him let him that I'll be happy to help if I can
Thanks again Danny. With great write ups like this, top photos and video links too, it's a great insight into one of the country's top sprint championships for those that can't get along to support or take part (and for those that are too busy on the beach )
Big respect to Gary for his perseverance. I remember the dark days after Time Attack way back in 06 or 07, and how the disappointment hit him so hard back then (the same feeling hit many of his mates too
). With the much needed seat time and enhanced development of the Evo, a win was always a possibility but the MLRSS is such a tough event with so many great drivers and cars.......To go all of the way to Wiltshire with food poisoning, to drive a track for only the second time when several others had a day's extra practice and still win? Amazing.
Great to see Logan battling away for second spot and maintaining his place on the top of the points table too. Well done mate.
Shame to hear about Chris Davison's issues with his Evo; if any of you guys speak to him let him that I'll be happy to help if I can
Thanks again Danny. With great write ups like this, top photos and video links too, it's a great insight into one of the country's top sprint championships for those that can't get along to support or take part (and for those that are too busy on the beach
)http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing