We set off just before 06.00 for the hour or so journey down to Rockingham and after about half an hour it started to rain. When we got to the circuit we decided to switch tyres and put on the Uniroyal rainsport tyres, by this time it was raining fairly heavily. Secretly we had hoped that it would be wet but not this wet as we felt that this would give us an advantage over the competition. We new that we would have one of the lowest bhp cars out there but we also new that the guys running around 300bhp would not have much more torque than us 280 lb/ft. Time would tell
As we queued up for our first session it had not rained for the last 40 minutes and the track was drying up well. We discussed long and hard about weather we had made the right tyre choice but decided to run with the uniroyals.
As the session began it soon became clear that our choice of tyres was correct as the more powerful cars struggled to get their power down, we were off. The track was still very slippery especially through the tighter corners with the car sliding about. After about 10 minutes the track had dried enough to now cause a problem. Our Uniroyal's were getting to hot and as we turned into the first hairpin coming off the high speed banked circuit the backend started to come round. We were into the first 90 of a 180 degree bend and the back end was already out
I thought to myself 'This is going to be our first spin'. Alan, who was driving, calmly balanced throttle input with steering angle and managed to hold the car though the bend whilst keeping it pointing in the right direction. Words were exchanged, but the session completed. It was time to change back to our Khumo's.Session 2 and there were a few more cars going out this time. As the track was still slightly damp in places we knew that the big boys would be able to get their power down more in this session. On the banked straight they would pull away from us but as we entered the high speed bend of turn1 we would close up, thanks to our improved down force set up, and as we approached the 180 degree hairpin we could close up under braking. Once infield on the twisty circuit we were able to stay with and chase quicker cars. Choosing slightly different lines through 2 particular bends allowed to close up before the banked straight. A tighter line out of the chicane and onto the banking allowed to get the power down earlier. They would again pull away but as we entered turn 1 at around 110mph we would close allowing us to pass them (safely) under braking.
Session 3 and a totally dry track..... We were passed early by a very quick and loud Talbot Sunbeam that had being struggling with traction in the first two session. As the Khumo's got up to temperature cornering speeds increased, with us going through turn 1 at 115mph
8-[ The increased cornering speeds did highlight a minor problem. As we go through tighter right handers we suffer what at present i believe to be a form of oil surge, where some oil gets forced into the catch tank then sucked into the turbo resulting in smoke coming out the exhaust and also filling the interior of the car
The second problem that was highlighted is fuel surge. The original Ford fuel tanks are baffled but the after market ones are not, so even though we had just over
