Well, the only thing that's been done since the last update is the installation of a new clutch! The old one had literally exploded in the housing which comes as little surprise seeing as it was a cheapo job. Managed to get hold of (well actually, my brother got hold of) a Borg and Beck replacement which should last a bit longer with luck. So with that installed (again, by Stu - cheers mate), the car got a thorough clean and now looks like new! Stu also rewired the ignition part of the loom which was a bit suspect and the whole lot looks a lot more reliable. So basically, I've done bugger all as I've been away in Switzerland and Stu has done the lot! What a top bloke - cheers bro ;)
Still not a lot happening so here's some music while you hold: tum-te-tum-te-tum-te-tum, hmmm-hm-hmmm-oooh-aaah etc.
Blimey - some news at last! Well, today I went testing at Snetterton to try and get some practice in before the final race of the year on the 28th. The day started down at the workshop as usual. I'd only booked to do the afternoon testing as a) It gave me time to get there in the morning, b) I didn't want to overstress the car before the race and c) it's bloody expensive (thanks Octagon - NOT!). The car was loaded up and ready to go so I hitched her up and got going. Three hours later I was at the circuit where I found fellow racers Darryl Beckwith and James O'Donnell. Will Mitcham was also around waiting patiently for a car to turn up so it was good to see some familiar faces and to try and compare notes. Darryl and James were on the track when I arrived so I got the car unloaded and warmed her up a bit, checked tyre pressures and did a nut and bolt check. I then got myself signed on and we grabbed a bit of lunch before the afternoon session got underway at 1:30. First lap out and the car was running like a dream (must be something about Snett for me!). The laptimer was working for a change and I put in a 1:39.43 - which was dog slow. My aim was to get as close to, or even better improve upon, my qualifying time of 1:33.532 which I set earlier in the year. For those of you who follow my progress you'll know that Snett ended at the first corner last time in a big crash! So bit by bit, I tried new lines, braking and gearchanges to try and improve. After a comprehensive study of the Autosport Circuit Guide the night before, I had some new ideas of how to improve and I tried these out. Sure enough, the times came down until I was consistently in the 1:34's with a dip into the 1:33's. Getting closer to my goal, I went over in my head the notes I'd made and concentrated on the trickier corners, again the times came down and with a great deal of satisfaction I saw 1:33.16 appear on the lap timer which was a couple of tenths quicker than I'd ever gone before. Job done? Well, not quite, Will Mitcham managed a 1:30 odd last time so I aimed to go even quicker! A couple more laps and a 1:32.74 appeared - woohoo! I was running out of revs more frequently on the back and start straights so something was going right. I was getting a concerning amount of vibration at these speeds though and with a strong headwind up the back straight I wass wary of overstressing the engine. Anyway, before I had time to do much about I got concerned over fuel consumption so I drove back to the pits where I refuelled. With about 5 minutes of the session to go, I managed a few more laps and played with my lines some more. Traffic stopped me from improving on the 1:32 and with old Jags wallowing around the corners (where you'd zip past them) then getting past me on the straights (where you could get frustrated at being held up at the next corner :( !) so I did a cool down lap on the end of session flag and came in. After comparing banter and doing the general wind-up in the pits, we were out again. I decided to let Darryl get ahead so I could see if I could keep up with him. Initially I was going to take it easy so that James (Snett will be his first race as brother Dominic will be spannering) could follow me - 'cos I'm nice like that. Except, well, as soon as I let Darryl go by the old red mist came down and I got the bit between my teeth and gave chase! We lost James pretty quickly and I was keeping with Darryl without any problem - well, except getting stuck behind that bloody jag again!. After getting good drive out of Sear I caught a tow from him down the back straight and made my move, I got by with about 200 yards to spare before the bridge by the esses, I could see Darryl in my mirrors making for the inside line, distracted for a moment, I braked a bit late and pushed my line wide into the first left-hander, I kept it together and managed to flick it back the other way (with quite a bit of wheel twirling!). Darryl had got eased onto the grass and whilst we were side by side, as we were only testing and not trying to kill each other racing, I backed off to let him back on the track into the Bomb Hole. I followed him through Coram and we finished the lap within yards of each other. I was well happy, I'd kept with one the best drivers in the series and felt totally confident about it. This was reflected in my times which were now in the 1:31's!!! If you compare this to the grids earlier in the year this would have put me in 2nd place OVERALL just behind Will Mitcham!!! To say I was happy was an understatement. I was chuffed as butty. With even more in reserve, a misfire stopped further play. I could have carried on, but with almost 2 seconds taken off my previous best and with another test next Friday, I called it a day. Back in the pits I couldn't help but give Darryl a bit of stick (sorry mate), but I really was holding off. James wasn't too chuffed when he came in as we'd pissed off and left him (sorry mate!), but, with some gearchange suggestions that I'd given him he'd managed to get into the 1:34's! A great result for his first time out. So the upshot of all this is that (misfire providing) I can improve further next Friday with a view to putting in a blinder next Sunday. There's a long way to go but my head's certainly in the right place! Maybe my luck will change at last? Stay tuned for the grand finale!!! :)
What are you doing here? Go and read the race diary!