Format this time was 6 tests, 3 in the morning, then lunch, then 3 in the afternoon, and you had 3 attempts at each one (so 9 runs in morning, 9 in the afternoon!). Slowest time of the 3 gets dropped, so you can only make one bad run per test
Classes were fwd production under 4m long (so mini's, mk1/2 golfs etc), fwd production over 4m long, rwd production, 4wd production and sports cars. The only ones that went into sports were my mates mazdaspeed supercharged Eunos, and a turbo'd mk2 mr2.
I'd not driven on wet grass before (well, not in any kind of competition type thing anyway...) which showed, on my first run I lost momentum 5 times, rear wheels spinning and not getting anywhere, putting in times around a minute more than the others. Considering the best time for that test was 2mins, it wasn't looking good for our plucky young hero
Luckily the style of the tests enforced a passenger to navigate you round the course, and my passenger had driven wet before, and started telling me some of the tricks. He was also in the rwd class in an e30 325, and I was navving him alternately, plus we are good mates, so helping each other was going to happen!Second round of the first tests, and using some of the magic tricks (drop tyre pressures to ~20psi at the rear, and using the handbrake as a cheap slipper
) my times plummeted. Finished at lunch somewhere around 5th or 6th out of 12, and either 2nd or 3rd rwd behind an X1/9 and the turbo MR2 (didn't realise he was in a different class at this point). Other rwd there being the Eunos, and a gaggle of Wessex MC BMW's, the above 325, an e30 318i and my housemates e36 320 (which was being driven by him and Nick_C for those who remember Nick) Around this time, the e36 did what it does best, and broke, it couldn't deal with being hooned by 2 people constantly, and I coolant was making a bid for freedom. The silicon hose fix I'd done on my top hose on Sat worked perfectly, and held up well all day.So, onto the afternoon tests after lunch and laughing at (sorry, helping) the e36. Tests this time were the same as the early three, but run in reverse. Things started ok, I was 10 seconds off the pace on the first test, so I went at the 2nd test like a bat out of a toasty place. Fastest time had just been set by a mk2 golf gti at 39 seconds, which as it was fwd I wasn't expecting to get near. I got a good launch, no wheel spin, and kept accelerating through the first slalom, made the donut, and booted it down the finish straight slalom. Maybe booted it a bit too hard, as the back end was only just in time with the cones on the way down and I entered the finish gate at around about 45 degrees off, but I didn't clip the cones on the way in. Marshall looks at me expectedly, so I told him I hadn't clipped the cone my side, and it was still upright. He kindly tells my that whilst the cone may be on my b pillar on the drivers side, my front wheel wasn't past it on the passengers and the clocks still running. ARGH. About 7-10 seconds lost there, overall test ended up being 46seconds. Wow
So, I got bored of going quite so slowly, and booted it for my second run. 3secs off fastest time for the 4th test overall, THE fastest time for the 5th test (the one I described above, next two runs I got the 39 secs, then I finished off with a 38sec) and not too bad on the 6th test.
Overall... well, provisional results last night showed I was 4th overall, and first in the RWD class
I really am going to have to do something with the steering though, 4.5 turns lock to lock is waaaay too much when slaloming or doing dumbells, and in the afternoons runs when I was trying I got to the point I'd come off of a set of the three tests and need a few minutes before I could steer again. I've never really had that trouble before, not sure whether it's the tightness of the tests or the grass. I did take my camera, but didn't have time for any pics, hopefully someone else did.
(parts).
