You can find a gallery of pictures at the bottom of this blog post
2015 was destined to be a season of highs and lows, but ultimately it turned out to be quite successful in the end.
Autosport International Show
January 8-11th 2015
The year began early in January as the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship had been invited to appear in the Live Action Arena at the Autosport International Show, so the car had to be pristine if it was to appear in front of tens of thousands of spectators, and help showcase our sport to the general motorsport fans.
Over the winter a new gearbox had been fitted, upgrading the old BMW e36 one to a stronger e46 version. The car was checked with a fine toothed comb front to back. The panels had been removed, stripped down and refitted, and when we were happy with it all it had a full respray. Two days before the show all was finished, and the car looked immaculate.
The morning of day one arrived and we all turned up bright and early, signed on, were scrutineered, and given our instructions for the next four days. There were eleven other drivers and we were split into three groups of four, with two groups going out each performance. We had two practice runs to check the timings, and then it was time for the first public show of the four days.
Having been a regular visitor to the Autosport International Show and the The Live Action Arena it was a very surreal experience to see things from the other side of the curtain. As the show progressed we all fell into our routine, and everything went smoothly over all four days. When we were not out in the show we spent most of our time talking to the visitors who had back stage passes, giving out posters and signing autographs. The feedback we got was amazing. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the show, and were keen to see Rallycross out on the circuits. By the time the final show finished on Sunday evening we were all exhausted, but had had an unforgettable experience, and all hoped we would be invited back again at some point in the future.
Mechanical woes (part 1.)
As the car had performed well at the Autosport International we thought that the pre-event check over would be just a formality before my first meeting of the year, which was to be the third round of The British Championship at Pembrey on May 10th.
Indeed everything did seem to be fine, until we tried to get a gear, and there appeared to be no clutch whatsoever. After investigation it seemed that the clutch cylinder had come apart inside the gearbox. Unfortunately it couldn’t be fixed in time for the first event and so I had to withdraw.
Coventry Motofest or Mechanical woes (part 2.)
May 30th/31st 2015
The BTRDA had been asked if any of their drivers would like to take part in a brand new event; Coventry Motofest 2015. The Motofest had been run for the first time in 2014, but in 2015 they had been given permission to run cars on a closed section of the Coventry ring road. The organisers had hoped to do this as a competitive sprint, but permission wasn’t given in time so cars were to do non-competitive demonstration runs.
The chance to legally break the speed limit on public roads, but more importantly give the car a proper test, and also the driver a chance to blow the cobwebs away, was too good to miss.
The morning of Motofest came and it was an early start as we had to be at the access point between 11:00 and 12:30. Unknown to me there was quite a bit of chaos at the access point, so when I hit a traffic jam half a mile away at 11.45 I wasn’t too worried. As time ticked by and I hadn’t moved for twenty minutes I started to become concerned. Things started to move with ten minutes to go, but unfortunately I reached the access point five minutes late. A very zealous official refused me entry even though I had the correct paperwork. I decided to try to go around the open section of the ring road and see if I could get in at the other end of the closed section. A very helpful official at the end spotted me in a queue of traffic, moved some cones and waved me in.
Once in I met up with the rest of the guys, signed on and was briefed as to what was going on. My plan was to have one quiet run today and be a bit more aggressive the following day.
As I approached the start area I could see the closed bridges and slip roads were lined with hundreds of people. The show off in me took over and thoughts of a quiet run completely went out of my head. Once I was given the go-ahead it was a full speed start down towards the underpass, as I came out of the other side I could see even more people, so a change down, blip of the throttle and it was sideways around the roundabout and off down the course. Once I got to the far end it was a hairpin turn and back down the other side of the duel carriageway, with every opportunity to put the car sideways taken. I crossed the finish line and was very happy with the way the car had run, so it was back to the van with time left to enjoy the rest of the show ahead of a few good runs on the Sunday.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, so after breakfast it was back to the car and I was looking forward to a good test session. Unfortunately on arriving back at the transporter I noticed a puddle of what looked like clutch fluid under the car. On investigation it was clutch fluid and once again I couldn’t get any gears, it seems that the problem hadn’t been fixed after all, and with the next event only a week away it was going to be a busy time in the workshop.
BTRDA rounds 2&3 Pembrey
June 6th/7th 2015
With only five days between the Motofest and the BTRDA Pembrey meeting it was straight to work on the car to try to get to the bottom of the clutch problem. Peter (who looks after the car) checked the gearbox and clutch assembly, and it appeared that the cylinder had come apart again. He couldn’t work out why it was doing this as it had been no problem in the past. All we could put it down to was the fact the new clutch plates he had fitted at the start of the year were a few millimetres thicker so more adjustment was needed to keep it intact. Once repaired and readjusted, we went for a few test runs up and down the drive and all seemed to be ok, so we loaded up and I set off for Pembrey.
Saturday morning started bright and fine at 07.30 with signing on and scrutineering. Once those formalities were completed it was time to check the track to see if anything had changed since my last visit. Everything looked as I expected, so it was off to the drivers briefing, and then out for practice. Happily everything seemed to be working perfectly, so I was ready for my first competitive outing of the year.
As there were nineteen Super Modifieds entered we were split into three groups; my group for the first heats looked pretty quick, with three of the Irish drivers including Tommy Grahams spectacular mkII Escort.
We lined up on the grid and my plan was to take it steady for this race as it was a two day meeting and I just wanted to make sure the car and I were up to speed. The lights went out and sure enough Tommy Graham and Gordon Lynch were off the line like a rocket. I slotted in behind Todd Crooks and Peter McGarry, and spent most of the race watching them battle, ready to pounce if either of them made a mistake. They both managed to keep it clean and tidy however, so I finished fifth in the race. It was as I had thought a very quick heat, and the time I posted was good enough for eighth overall. I was very happy with that considering I hadn’t been pushing very hard, and was looking forward to improving on it in the second set of heats.
I pulled onto the grid for my second heat full of confidence, but I realised I would have a lot of work to do as I was on the back row, and the dust was going to be a problem. As it turned out that was to be the least of my problems. I spent the first couple of laps tussling with Marc Griffen who was also in a rear wheel drive Fiesta, his being a zetec engined mkI version. As we approached the first hairpin for the third time I was slightly ahead but on the outside, I wanted to give him plenty of room so I went a bit too far into the corner and ended up going on to a dirty section of the circuit lost traction and slid into a crash barrier. The engine was still running so I went for reverse gear and tried to continue, unfortunately I couldn’t engage any gear and my race was over.
Once back in the paddock it was lunch break, so hopefully there would be time to fix the problem before third heats. On first investigation it didn’t look good, it seemed the clutch problem I had been having all year was back again. Paul Hodgson from the Keith Rylands team came over to see if he could help, and as Keith was also out for the weekend with terminal engine problems they said they would give me a hand to see if we could get the car going for the next day. When nothing we tried seemed to work it was decided that the gearbox had to come out. Once we had done this the root of the whole problem became obvious. The threads on the adjuster screw had been getting progressively more and more worn and the screw had been moving with the vibrations and causing the cylinder to overreach itself, the impact with the barrier had been the last straw and the adjuster threads were now almost worn away.
That was it, game over for the weekend. On the positive side, however, we had finally got to the bottom of the clutch problem, and we knew how to fix it!
2015 was destined to be a season of highs and lows, but ultimately it turned out to be quite successful in the end.
Autosport International Show
January 8-11th 2015
The year began early in January as the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship had been invited to appear in the Live Action Arena at the Autosport International Show, so the car had to be pristine if it was to appear in front of tens of thousands of spectators, and help showcase our sport to the general motorsport fans.
Over the winter a new gearbox had been fitted, upgrading the old BMW e36 one to a stronger e46 version. The car was checked with a fine toothed comb front to back. The panels had been removed, stripped down and refitted, and when we were happy with it all it had a full respray. Two days before the show all was finished, and the car looked immaculate.
The morning of day one arrived and we all turned up bright and early, signed on, were scrutineered, and given our instructions for the next four days. There were eleven other drivers and we were split into three groups of four, with two groups going out each performance. We had two practice runs to check the timings, and then it was time for the first public show of the four days.
Having been a regular visitor to the Autosport International Show and the The Live Action Arena it was a very surreal experience to see things from the other side of the curtain. As the show progressed we all fell into our routine, and everything went smoothly over all four days. When we were not out in the show we spent most of our time talking to the visitors who had back stage passes, giving out posters and signing autographs. The feedback we got was amazing. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the show, and were keen to see Rallycross out on the circuits. By the time the final show finished on Sunday evening we were all exhausted, but had had an unforgettable experience, and all hoped we would be invited back again at some point in the future.
Mechanical woes (part 1.)
As the car had performed well at the Autosport International we thought that the pre-event check over would be just a formality before my first meeting of the year, which was to be the third round of The British Championship at Pembrey on May 10th.
Indeed everything did seem to be fine, until we tried to get a gear, and there appeared to be no clutch whatsoever. After investigation it seemed that the clutch cylinder had come apart inside the gearbox. Unfortunately it couldn’t be fixed in time for the first event and so I had to withdraw.
Coventry Motofest or Mechanical woes (part 2.)
May 30th/31st 2015
The BTRDA had been asked if any of their drivers would like to take part in a brand new event; Coventry Motofest 2015. The Motofest had been run for the first time in 2014, but in 2015 they had been given permission to run cars on a closed section of the Coventry ring road. The organisers had hoped to do this as a competitive sprint, but permission wasn’t given in time so cars were to do non-competitive demonstration runs.
The chance to legally break the speed limit on public roads, but more importantly give the car a proper test, and also the driver a chance to blow the cobwebs away, was too good to miss.
The morning of Motofest came and it was an early start as we had to be at the access point between 11:00 and 12:30. Unknown to me there was quite a bit of chaos at the access point, so when I hit a traffic jam half a mile away at 11.45 I wasn’t too worried. As time ticked by and I hadn’t moved for twenty minutes I started to become concerned. Things started to move with ten minutes to go, but unfortunately I reached the access point five minutes late. A very zealous official refused me entry even though I had the correct paperwork. I decided to try to go around the open section of the ring road and see if I could get in at the other end of the closed section. A very helpful official at the end spotted me in a queue of traffic, moved some cones and waved me in.
Once in I met up with the rest of the guys, signed on and was briefed as to what was going on. My plan was to have one quiet run today and be a bit more aggressive the following day.
As I approached the start area I could see the closed bridges and slip roads were lined with hundreds of people. The show off in me took over and thoughts of a quiet run completely went out of my head. Once I was given the go-ahead it was a full speed start down towards the underpass, as I came out of the other side I could see even more people, so a change down, blip of the throttle and it was sideways around the roundabout and off down the course. Once I got to the far end it was a hairpin turn and back down the other side of the duel carriageway, with every opportunity to put the car sideways taken. I crossed the finish line and was very happy with the way the car had run, so it was back to the van with time left to enjoy the rest of the show ahead of a few good runs on the Sunday.
Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny, so after breakfast it was back to the car and I was looking forward to a good test session. Unfortunately on arriving back at the transporter I noticed a puddle of what looked like clutch fluid under the car. On investigation it was clutch fluid and once again I couldn’t get any gears, it seems that the problem hadn’t been fixed after all, and with the next event only a week away it was going to be a busy time in the workshop.
BTRDA rounds 2&3 Pembrey
June 6th/7th 2015
With only five days between the Motofest and the BTRDA Pembrey meeting it was straight to work on the car to try to get to the bottom of the clutch problem. Peter (who looks after the car) checked the gearbox and clutch assembly, and it appeared that the cylinder had come apart again. He couldn’t work out why it was doing this as it had been no problem in the past. All we could put it down to was the fact the new clutch plates he had fitted at the start of the year were a few millimetres thicker so more adjustment was needed to keep it intact. Once repaired and readjusted, we went for a few test runs up and down the drive and all seemed to be ok, so we loaded up and I set off for Pembrey.
Saturday morning started bright and fine at 07.30 with signing on and scrutineering. Once those formalities were completed it was time to check the track to see if anything had changed since my last visit. Everything looked as I expected, so it was off to the drivers briefing, and then out for practice. Happily everything seemed to be working perfectly, so I was ready for my first competitive outing of the year.
As there were nineteen Super Modifieds entered we were split into three groups; my group for the first heats looked pretty quick, with three of the Irish drivers including Tommy Grahams spectacular mkII Escort.
We lined up on the grid and my plan was to take it steady for this race as it was a two day meeting and I just wanted to make sure the car and I were up to speed. The lights went out and sure enough Tommy Graham and Gordon Lynch were off the line like a rocket. I slotted in behind Todd Crooks and Peter McGarry, and spent most of the race watching them battle, ready to pounce if either of them made a mistake. They both managed to keep it clean and tidy however, so I finished fifth in the race. It was as I had thought a very quick heat, and the time I posted was good enough for eighth overall. I was very happy with that considering I hadn’t been pushing very hard, and was looking forward to improving on it in the second set of heats.
I pulled onto the grid for my second heat full of confidence, but I realised I would have a lot of work to do as I was on the back row, and the dust was going to be a problem. As it turned out that was to be the least of my problems. I spent the first couple of laps tussling with Marc Griffen who was also in a rear wheel drive Fiesta, his being a zetec engined mkI version. As we approached the first hairpin for the third time I was slightly ahead but on the outside, I wanted to give him plenty of room so I went a bit too far into the corner and ended up going on to a dirty section of the circuit lost traction and slid into a crash barrier. The engine was still running so I went for reverse gear and tried to continue, unfortunately I couldn’t engage any gear and my race was over.
Once back in the paddock it was lunch break, so hopefully there would be time to fix the problem before third heats. On first investigation it didn’t look good, it seemed the clutch problem I had been having all year was back again. Paul Hodgson from the Keith Rylands team came over to see if he could help, and as Keith was also out for the weekend with terminal engine problems they said they would give me a hand to see if we could get the car going for the next day. When nothing we tried seemed to work it was decided that the gearbox had to come out. Once we had done this the root of the whole problem became obvious. The threads on the adjuster screw had been getting progressively more and more worn and the screw had been moving with the vibrations and causing the cylinder to overreach itself, the impact with the barrier had been the last straw and the adjuster threads were now almost worn away.
That was it, game over for the weekend. On the positive side, however, we had finally got to the bottom of the clutch problem, and we knew how to fix it!