Curborough Sprint Day Report: 11/05/08

[trackdaynova]

In my usual way, I'll do a post-day report.

05:00am, beep beep beep, the alarm goes - 'snooze', again and again. Woke up, out the door for 06:00am. Me in the Nova, Michelle in the Jeep loaded with the kit.

07:00am, arrive at Curborough and greeted by some really friendly people standing around chatting, so we were advised to walk the circuit, so off we went to see how the land lies, as today was the short circuit day, it was only 950yrds.

07:45am, scrutineering, everything on my car absolutely spot on, and in place as it should be, bonus, apart from "sorry sir, your helmet isn't FIA approved so you can't race today" balls :mad: , luckily a chap I had met next to me said he didn't mind me borrowing his, which was awesome, although he was racing directly in front of me, so we juggled the Sprinting order out so I had time to grab it off him.

08:30am, briefing starts, we were told what to, and not to do, and the intinery of the day, with it being quiet (only 49 cars) we got 2 practice runs, followed by 5 timed runs which was awesome, as usually you only get 2 and 2.

09:00am, so racing starts, nerves set in, had lots of support from friends & family - thanks all for coming. Cracking pitcrew once again, nova_ian, ben21, benji, Andy Clay, Matt Newey & Rob Hirst thanks all for coming and helping out.

So I do my first 2 practice runs, feels good, was trying way too hard, wasn't particulary smooth - but it was the excitement, despite them being practises you still get timed, I think they were 37.99 with 90mph terminal, followed by a 39.12 with a 87mph terminal, cocked up on the second, missed a gear and basically fluffed it up.

On with the timed runs, first run of the day, with a 0-64ft of 2.58s, and a final speed of 36.99 @ 93mph, followed by a AFWO (All Four Wheels Off), meaning the black stuff, quite an understatment, as you'll see later lol (or Benji's post on my WiP - cheers), in short these adjustable tiebars are fapping brilliant, so much turn in, my nearside wheel went over the curb and touched turf (turned in too much), and obviously with still a little lock on my offside wheel still had plenty of grip which sent me straight infield after 'The Molehill', and then I just slid towards some foliage lol

Fire engine came, ambulance, tow truck, marshalls, the lot lol I had removed my steering wheel and got out the car, they asked if I was fine, but rear wheels were off the floor and front was in a ditch lol, so I got dragged out, started the car, and continued my lap around lol Came in, looked around it, mirror had come off, but timing splitter was still in tact, and just a few scratches (polishable). Me & nova_ian measured all the geometry both sides, and both read equal which was nice. I got re-scrutineered, and I got back on the horse :thumb:

Then my three final times were 37.37s @ 91mph, 37.22s @ 92mph and finally after having a fiddle with suspension and tyre pressures, I managed to crack my PB of 36.66s @ 95mph. Which, bearing in mind is my first sprint, and first time at Curborough as pretty good by all accounts as the record for my class there is 36.44s set in 2005.

Cracking day out - very burnt lol great experience, definately back again in 4 weeks, and then again another 3 weeks after that.

I won my class which only consisted of 3 cars unfortunately, and I got a trophy.

Cracking photos my Michelle, thanks very much, will be posting more when I speak to Bobb, and also sorting footage out shortly

Thanks for reading my drivel once again :thumb:

You Tube Vids

Sprint #1, 36.99s @ 93mph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUWDfWonLdw)

Sprint #2, AFWO (All Four Wheels Off) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5q1kwgMWcE)

Sprint #5, 36.66s @ 92mph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dUWG2DTi8g)

[trackdaynova]

Thanks to Michelle for taking these

I was actually on the black stuff here, despite it not looking like it lol
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0714.jpg

Again
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0715.jpg

Major tripod action, couldn't cock its leg up any higher surely lol
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0716.jpg

[corsakid]

wewll done for winning the class you can only beat whats in front of you top bombing good to see you got straight back out there for more death lol after the trip in the bushes time seems really good aswell you reckon you can crack the record for your class next time?

[Adam]

Sounds like you had great fun then, certainly had the weather for it :cool:
Good times too, being right up there with the course record.

What sort of other cars were in your class??


Nice pics, especiallly the last one with the rear wheel about 6" off the floor :cool: lol

[dhdev (Oli)]

Super :cool:
Extremely well done Olly!

I wanna go, I wanna go!!! :D

[Will F]

Awesome matey!
What cars were in your class then? And what set the record?

[MC]

Mucho Respecto!

[Lee]

Good skills Mincer, especially 'bushing' it lol Look forward to the footage :)

[nova ian]

Well done on the win Olly! Good stuff, shame you missed out on that .2 of a second hey, but Top marks to you never the less:thumb:

Kat, Tom and I had a mint day, slightly burnt but its all part of the fun! and no worries on helping you out, enjoy it and big thanks for taking me on a blast down the road... Naughty boy!!:roll:

Speak to you soon mate

Ian

Couple of pics I got

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/cruisindude/DSCN1943.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/cruisindude/Image005.jpg

[dhdev (Oli)]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/cruisindude/Image005.jpg

No wonder you were so quick Olly, you must weigh nothing, you're tiny!! :eek:

[trackdaynova]

The other cars in my class in the end were:

Lada Samara - 1575cc
Vauxhall Nova - 1998cc
Bond Equipe - 1496cc

The other cars I previously said were in my class (on my WIP) were actually in Class 1B, which is cars with full interior and full road trim.

The record was set by a Curborough Veteran by the name of David Marshall in a Pug 205 GTi

I personally reckon I can crack the record, going by vids, another 2 runs would have had my lines down to a tee, next time gadget!

[trackdaynova]

lol @ Oli, yeah, and they're my rollerblades I took off to get in the car lol

[dhdev (Oli)]

lol @ Oli, yeah, and they're my rollerblades I took off to get in my rollerskate lol

lol:p

[CP]

Great effort mate well done!:thumb:

[R1CH]

Sounds like you had a belter of a day, unlucky with the off but at least nothing was damaged ... if you don't crash then your not trying hard enough ! haha
Nice one on winning your class as well.
:thumb:

[benji]

Post some vids up matey. I was watching the racing and the lines that some of the cars wer taking through the olehill were very different to what most were taking. they were the quick ones. I'm not sure how you was doing it as i only saw 1 run.

[trackdaynova]

Thanks for the comments everyone, will be sorting more pics and vid tonight :thumb:

[craig green]

Sounds good. Great result for 1st visit.

[trackdaynova]

Been messing about with Windows Movie Maker, and managed to some videos PiP, on both footage internal and external, they've come out brilliant, but for some reason YouTube reduces the quality quite severly. So I'll host them seperately so people can Right Click, Save as...

But for now, they're up on YouTube

Sprint #1, 36.99s @ 93mph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUWDfWonLdw)

Sprint #2, AFWO (All Four Wheels Off) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5q1kwgMWcE)

Sprint #5, 36.66s @ 92mph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dUWG2DTi8g)

[Adam Moran]

Excellent Olly :)

Arnt you glad you finally bought those tie bars lol

[Lee]

LOL @ commentator on second one.. 'Spectacular breaking' lol

Liking the PinP mate :)

[Adam]

The PinP is a cool feature. Which version of movie maker do you have, cant remember seeing that option on the version i have.

Nice driving, the track does look very tight and twisty

[nova ian]

Good stuff Olly, Videos are mint, good to see the lines you take on the outside and whats going on inside.

I approve! :thumb:

[Dar]

Good show. Fun isn't it ;)

[NovaNeil]

Awesome mate! Very well done.

[trackdaynova]

Thanks All,

Just sorting some more pics taken by my Brother In Law, Bob. Also some more videos.

For those interested, I shall also be competing on the following dates at the following locations:

4 Sun 11th May Curborough
7 Sun 15th June Curborough
10 Sun 13th July Curborough (long)
16 Sat 13th September Thoresby Park
17 Sun 14th September Thoresby Park

[trackdaynova]

Bob has just left and gave me a CD of his photos - awesome job.

Here are four of my personal favourites of his

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0718.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0717.jpg

Looking a bit squiffy here, wrong lock, sliiiiiiiiiiiide
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0720.jpg

Love this photo, especially the awesome DOF, helmet in one hand, wheel in another lol
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q161/neocapture/nc0719.jpg

Thanks again Bob :thumb:

[Adam]

Sweet pics.
So the 15th June is the next event, i'll pop along :)

[trackdaynova]

Thats right mate, will be good to see ya again :thumb:

In between those, I'm going to try and do the Llandow trackday on 24-05-08

[novashed]

ill have to come and have a nose at you in action mate, dont evne ask about mine lol.

[trackdaynova]

i give up asking about yours, and you've ignored my last 3 calls lol so i kinda took the hint :thumb: lol

[novashed]

did i?? really sorry dude not intentional, i dont have it on too often in the day so work cant get hold of me when im out on a job lol.

it does move btw!

[trackdaynova]

cant get hold of me when im out on the job lolI wouldn't want to get hold of you whilst you're on the job! lol

[novashed]

lol

[trackdaynova]

Just noticed something on YouTube that I've not noticed before, bottom right hand corner below the vid, you can click to watch in 'High Quality', which is what I uploaded it in, PAL.

Should be able to view in full screen in top quality then.

Cool :thumb:

[dhdev (Oli)]

Do you have plans to increase the stiffness of the suspension, or is it a compromise for road comfort at the moment? Think there are definate improvements to be had from a stiffer setup.

[Adam]

Ive never noticed that before either, cool feature.
Improves the quality a lot

[trackdaynova]

Oli - definately wanting to stiffen it up even more to be honest, don't really care about road comfort, so please advise away if you feel you can offer me some pointers.

I currently run Spax RSX Coilvers with 313lb front sprints, which were on 12clicks out of 28 hard, and standard 150lb rears (soon to be increased) which were on 20 clicks out of 28 hard.

Any more advice?

[Adam]

May be an obvious suggestion, but adjust the dampers stiffer???

[trackdaynova]

lol i know thats how to get them stiffer, i meant front to back comparison to elimiate understeer (judging by how it handled on Sunday, I think i've already done that lol)

I felt that having the back too hard made it very skittish, but then, i like liftoff oversteer for trackdays, but not for speed on Sprints etc

[Adam]

Ahh, i get ya.

I think spanish fly on mig is now using some very high poundage rear springs on his.

[dhdev (Oli)]

As Adam has just said, MUCH higher poundage rear springs. The rear poundage on most hatchback race cars is higher than the fronts as far as I'm aware. The rear wants to be very stiff to try to take some of the work off the front end. Plus weight-loss (maybe a smallblock :p ). Have u got a FG bonnet, wings etc?

[Adam]

Fly is now using 400lb rears! :eek:

http://www.migweb.co.uk/forums/projects-restorations/287511-nova-1-0-build-trackday-car-71.html

[trackdaynova]

lol lol lol @ smallcock

you're a comedian

no fibreglass panels at the moment, although they're in the pipeline

the rear springs I have are 500lb'ers so they should do the trick :thumb: little 5" ones

[dhdev (Oli)]

the rear springs I have are 500lb'ers so they should do the trick :thumb: little 5" ones
Now we're talking! :thumb:

[dhdev (Oli)]

I was intending to PM you Olly asking about what's involved in going sprinting, but thought it'd be better to have it on here if that's ok?
Like i said before, I've been to Curborough before and chatted to marshals etc, but always end up coming away a little confused. Especially when it comes to the millions of different classes. The way I've always understood it, I'd end up in a class of custom built racecars, due to the fact that I use an engine block that is not from the original car, plus the highly stripped interior. But now you have come back with a victory in class against some more even competition (not taking anything away from you, but I imagined I'd be running against westfields and the like :eek: ).
So what do I need to go racing! Overalls?, MSA B licence?, Gloves?, Boots?, What about car prep, I understand electrical cut off of some form is necesary, but not extinguishers...

Cheers in advance!

[trackdaynova]

Yeah - it's cool having it in here for all to see.

Firstly, you'll need to apply for your 'Non-Race National B' licence which is £36 per year (always expires on 31st December), along with the licence, you will recieve the 'Blue Book' which is basically the MSA Bible, '2008 Competitors & Officials Yearbook'

Then you'll need to become a member of a Hillclimb or Sprinting Club (ie: NSCC, I believe Dar is in the Bristol Car Club) etc.

Then you need some FIA approved fire resistant overalls, OMP, Sparco, whichever you feel fit

You will also need an FIA approved helmet, with a SNELL number, either BS no, SA2000, SA2005 or K98 or K2005 etc.

Regarding racewear - thats the absolute minimum, but they will always advise more, I have FIA gloves, boots and balaclava. They're recommend getting the underwear, longjohns etc.

A cut off switch for hillclimbs or sprints isn't a necessity, the minimum again is just to have an sticker indicating where cut off is (ign barrel) and which way to turn if off.

You will need a timing strut attached to the front of your car to break the beam at the start and finish of a sprint or hillclimb.

Regarding class, all car clubs do it differently, in the NSCC, you will be in Mod Prod, which is Modified Production Car. Which basically is as it says, you drive a Production Car, a Vauxhall Nova, but it has been modified, ie: interior removed, and a different engine.

Any thing else you need to know, just ask - hope you've found this remotely helpful?

[trackdaynova]

Just an addition to your class confusion.

Things like Caterhams, Westfields, Locusts, Super 7s are in a class of their own, something along the lines of 'Sports Libre (Kit Cars)'

Anything else - just ask! :thumb:

[dhdev (Oli)]

Definately helpful, Cheers! :thumb:
It does confirm that I won't be going sprinting this year though. Can't afford licence, suit and membership to club. .......or can I lol Visa sponsorship lol

[R1CH]

Regs / classes seem to vary between clubs from what i can tell, the club i'm with mostly run production car classes, so anything with an engine conversion ends up with daft kit cars, Radical, Westfeild Megabusa ect ...
Before you get entered into an event pop along and let the scrutineers have a look over your car and then they can tell you exactly what you need / don't need to do to it.
Again, scrutineers will have different ideas on exactly what you need to do as well, i was told i had to have a minimum of a 1.75l extinguisher fitted and also that i ahd to get an MSA logbook (£27) as it wasn't the origional engine fitted ... neither of these ended up getting checked on the day.
Reckon your car will be well suited to Sprinting, definatly worth giving it a go.

[smcgsi16v]

And in general, how much does it cost to enter an event?

[R1CH]

Between £60 - £80 from what i've seen, some clubs maybe give a small discount to their members if its an event that their organising (mine gives a £10 discount).
Its awesome fun, but i think its a bit pricey tbh especially if your wanting to compete in the whole season.