Fishy Dave Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Hi, John Chasey and I are both racing this coming Sunday at Silverstone in the BARC Intermarque league. Feel free to come over and say hi " class="smiley" /> . Only my third race so praying for no accidents and a car I can drive home at the end of the meeting! I will post up video afterwards. David Smitheram, Wiltshire (South) AR, 07718 368173. 1400 supersport race car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchasey Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Rain is forecast and when I did a test day 2 weeks ago it also rained the the track was like ice - managed 2 spins ...one at Woodcote and one at Copse...fortunately plenty of space at both. Once the rain stopped the grip came back much quicker than I expected. Will make for some interesting racing! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Dave Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 Sorry for the delay, I've been away on Jury service, and have no web access at home until next week (changing to plus net). Since my first races at Castle Combe in April I had only driven the Caterham a couple of times. New rear brake pads were bedded in on the drive up to the circuit (!), with unknown balance as a result. The tracking was still out, but no time to sort it out! Well, the day started off VERY wet, and the drive to the circuit was done in full waterproofs (no roof and an aeroscreen remember). By the time I arrived Sunday morning I had around a half inch of water in both floors, and I was sat in a puddle in my Tillet seat! Qualifying was truley horrible, with Silverstone (still) being the most slippery track I have driven in the wet. Despite driving very gently I managed to spin at Copse, but thankfully I hit nothing. I can see why you spun too John! Sadly the camera remote was waterlogged so I couldn't switch it on once strapped into the seat. I qualified fourth from last, and prayed for a dry track by the afternoon (more rain forecast). The clouds stayed dark, but other races soon dried the track so we took a gamble on slicks. I had a good deal of support with Beth, my Father, Mother, Step Father, sister and best friend there amongst others which was great. Race time loomed, and I was very nervous again. I was determined to make a good start, but I still got left behind. I need to be a bit quicker off the mark and stick to the rear of the car in front at the rolling start. I had a good fight with the 2 litre Tigers again, with the same cat and mouse game of me catching them under braking, and them pulling away on the straights. This race taught me a bit about slipstreaming, and when to pull out to make an overtake (and when not to). Due to a number of retirements I finished higher up the order, which determined my start position for race two. You will be able to see from the footage Johns cycle wing in the middle of the road, which survived the whole race so I was able to give it back to him! Race two was more of the same with a rubbish start, not helped by a lack of horsepower and tall gearing. More fun with a Tiger and then a chase to catch two more. Given one more lap I would have caught them, but it wasn't to be. My lap times were slightly quicker than the first race once I learnt just how hard I could brake. Next time I am there I will concentrate on carrying speed through the two corners leading onto straights, as I could have made more time here I'm sure. Another class win, as again I was the only driver in class D, so I'm back in the lead in the class championship. Are their no other 1400 Sevens who would like to join in? Next race I will do is not until October at Snetterton, where I will really need to slipstream on the long straights. I'm spending the time and money in the mean time firstly on the trailer and then on the odd trackday for a bit of practise, and so Beth gets some tracktime too. I have some good video footage (although rear facing camera got a bit foggy with the soaking it got), which I will upload next week. Cheers, Dave David Smitheram, Wiltshire (South) AR, 07718 368173. 1400 supersport race car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Dave Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Video footage from the first race HERE As mention above, the rear camera got very waterlogged in the monsoon conditions on the way up! Cheers, Dave David Smitheram, Wiltshire (South) AR, 07718 368173. 1400 supersport race car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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