Brands Hatch GP

Posted by ambaraj / at 3:04 PM / /

As an extra event in the TTRS calendar there was a single race at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit.

Arriving in the paddock I discovered that the car is very hard to start with its new map. Heading for the 15 minute qualifying session the car was running very badly and I headed out onto the circuit with very limited power and an engine that seemed like it would only run on three cylinders. Suddenly after three laps it burst into life and decided to perform flawlessly.

In qualifying I spent a few laps getting used to the new part of the circuit and scored a time of 1.51.2 for a grid position of 14th. During qualifying I noticed that the brake bias means that the back likes to come loose during heavy braking and when the tyres get hot the back gets very ragged making it difficult to get on the power in the exit of corners.

I called Luke from Enhanced Performance who set the car up about the poor running and he came with his laptop at short notice to adjust the cold fuelling map. This had the effect of making the car run better at lower temperatures.

Joe my racing partner and I softended the rear damping to try to cure the power on oversteer and we elected to ignore the rear brake bias for now.

The race itself was great. The first and second laps I spent trying to pull away from better handling lower power cars and eventually got free on the third lap to spend the next four laps chasing Brian Jordan in his big BMW 635. I followed him getting closer and closer and took an opportunity at the sharp Surtees bend where he ran wide. I pulled through on the inside, controlled a small powerslide and pulled away to the chequered flag half a lap later.

A great image of the Cosworth following Brian Jordan's BMW 635:



And the Cosworth in qualifying and trying to escape from Matt Knight's Corsa:

Having started 14th I was pleased to finish 11th. Best lap 1.51.4. All timings from the TSL Timing site.

Here's a video of the race from a BMW E30 further down the field:

And some action in qualifying showing my car at the start of the vid:


And another view of the race, just behind me at the start: