Croft Race Event

We traveled north; a 300 mile trip for me, to Darlington on the Friday morning.   The Croft circuit is pretty basic in terms of facilities. Portaloos, a stand-pipe and burger van.  What more could you need?  
 
Arriving at lunchtime we grabbed a section of tarmac as our base, next to the TF Motorsport truck, who'd transported the car ahead for us.  Not having an awning meant we'd work out of the boot of the Freelander and expect to get wet over the weekend.
 

We had to get a new left front tyre fitted in anticipation of wet weather, the others are half worn (3.5mm tread) and will do for a while yet.  Heading out for the first of two 30min practice sessions, the track is flat and fast with some 4th gear 100mph corners.  I managed several 5 lap stints, reducing tyre pressures as the temperatures increased.  I finished the day setting times a couple of seconds down on the front runners and pretty happy with how I ran given the limited time to learn the track and make setup changes to suit conditions.

A bonus in the evening was a Mexican food and drink night put on by some of the driver's families which went down really well with everyone.

Saturday Qualifying: 
We awoke to torrential race on Saturday morning, so arriving at the circuit we hastily changed the roll-bar and damper settings back for wet conditions.  Qualifying was very difficult with standing water in many corners and all the way down the start finish straight.  I qualified 13th as the slowest Boxster, 2 seconds off the next best.

Afterwards we found that in my haste I'd set the dampers wrong and the settings were all over the place. This married with the fact almost everyone else has a spare set of wheels with new tyres gave me some solace.

Race 1

The first race is before lunch. We guessed the track would be partially dry, but on the green flag lap it's fully dry.  On the grid I somehow missed the lights and got passed by all 3 production spec Boxsters down to turn 1.

I'm thinking I'll pick them off one by one, but coming into the last section of the lap mud got sprayed up across my windscreen.  In my efforts to get the wipers to clear it I managed over rev out of the hairpin, put two wheels on the wet grass and a 180 spin was inevitable.  Luckily following cars avoided me and and I got the car onto the grass out of thier way.
On rejoining I was dead last so spent the race picking off the slower Porsche 924's.
 
Race #1 Spin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HaxuQ0A9I8U#t=180
 
Race 2
The weather was again changeable, but I went with a full dry setup, determined to make the best of it.
 

I got a much better start gaining a position and keeping up with the battle for 7th place ahead and making it a four way fight down to 10th.  With stiffer suspension settings I found I could push harder through the faster corners to keep up and trail-brake into the slower ones to gain on the cars in front.  I felt confident of attacking for position towards the end of the race.

 

Unfortunately a car went off into the barriers and the safety car was inadvertently put out onto track and we all followed it round for the last 5 laps.  I finished 9th, much happier that I could run with the mid pack of cars.  

Silverstone Race Event

The first event of 2014 was at Silverstone using the International circuit layout and "The Wing" Grand Prix pits and garages.

Friday testing was initially a shakedown test for the work we had done over the winter.  In the second session the headlight unexpectedly flew off, bouncing off the top of the car and up into the sky as we braked into the first corner.  Lucky no major damage done. 

I got faster in the afternoon and tweaked the car setup for dryer and faster conditions ending the day pretty happy. 

Qualifying - Saturday AM  

I got an early banker lap in but after finding space on track oil went down at the first corner and nobody could set faster times. I qualified 8th a little disappointed especially since most people went faster than Friday. 

Race 1 - Saturday PM

I got a reasonable start but being on the outside got pushed wide and lost momentum leading up to and onto the long hanger straight.  

My manic first lap continued as I had to fend off a strong challenge from the leading Class-B boxster before going three abreast around the final turn.   It took a couple of laps to get back past, but by then a big gap had opened in front.  I was lapping very consistently for a 7th place finish. 

Photo AJB Photographic http://www.ajbphotographic.co.uk/

Race  2 - Sunday PM

Wet conditions made it a tricky last minute call on rollbar and damper settings.  It had stopped raining - the track was wet in places - but would it dry out?  

I got a flying start as others bogged down with wheelspin moving into 4th at the first turn.  The front runners were pulling away on the straights but I managed peg them back in the corners and under braking. The back section of the track was very slippy.  I got very sideways in the first two laps being to eager with my right foot. 

I got passed for 6th place but managed to keep pace and put the driver under a lot of pressure mid race.  We reeled in the battle for 4th & 5th but the car in front spun at the final hairpin. I had to take to the grass to get by and so settled for 6th. Very happy with an equal best ever finish. 

Only a short break 5 weeks until the next round at Croft which is also a new circuit for me. 

Race Ready for 2014

With our first race of 2014 less than than a week away the car needed some final checks, a good clean and the championship decals to be fitted.

The final setup included setting and checking the ride height using the adjustable spring perches on the GAZ Gold dampers and choosing our initial damper and roll-bar settings for the Silverstone International circuit.  Half a tank of fuel was also added so we can go straight out on track during testing.

We encountered a slight hitch initially when the car wouldn't start - despite a fully charged battery.  We traced this to a poor earth connection from the battery to the car chassis, and after cleaning the connection everything worked perfectly.

The mandatory in-car camera was checked.  We are using a BlackVue 12vpowered model which records constantly whilst the ignition is on.  Our LUKE safety harnesses were adjusted, before the car was given a thorough clean inside and out.  The amount of dirt and dust which accumulates inside is amazing.

The BRSCC Porsche Championship which we run in has a number of sponsors for 2014 (Toyo Tires / Jasmine PorschaLink / Fuchs Titan Race Fluids), whose logos must be displayed in the correct places.  In addition we need the race numbers on each door, windscreen and dashboard, plus the safety stickers for the towing loops, electrical cut-off and fire extinguisher.

Final Preparations for 2014

Finishing the Winter overhaul took a bit longer than planned.  

On replacing the leaking coolant hose, we found another leak, this time in a different hose. After this was replaced we were still dripping coolant, and this time we traced it to the water pump.

This is a time consuming job, since the front seat has to come out to get access through to the engine compartment.  The pump was replaced with an uprated OEM part as well as the thermostat (which you have to remove to get access) and new gaskets.  The thermostat is a low temperature version which is one way of limiting bore scoring in these Porsche engines.

In all we have refilled the coolant 3 times now - and hopefully that is the last time for a while.  We are far too familiar with the process of bleeding the system, which takes around 45mins each time!

Our front brakes were worn down to 2-3mm, so these have been changed along with new brake discs.  The pads are Mintex race pads, but the discs are OEM standard fit drilled and vented ones for a 3.2S Boxster.

  

A new sports exhaust has also been purchased and fitted, saving around 10KG's of weight.  This is significant, given the minimum weight limit is reduced this year by 20KG's.

The final servicing work was to replace the engine oil and filter.  We have used the last of our Mobil 1 15-50 Motorsport oil. This oil is no longer being produced so an alternative is needed for next time.  Whilst the oil was out we also changed a leaking seal on one of the camshaft chain tensioners.

The replacement front bumper has been resprayed and fitted, giving the front end of the car a nice shiny look, ready for the updated 2014 championship decals to be fitted.

Start of the Winter Overhaul

Constantly alternating between full throttle, hard braking and high g-force cornering will take its toll on any car. The Porsche Boxster handles this better than most, so our winter overhaul is more akin to a full service and some preventative maintenance. No full strip down and rebuild needed!

First job was to remove the starter motor.  This has been getting more and more sluggish recently, struggling to start the car when the engine is hot.  

 

It sits on top of the engine so removal of the throttle body and air intake make it easier to get to.  These are cleaned up as we go, as is the BMC performance air filter which is has to be washed and re-oiled.   A two- foot-long 2 foot socket extension is needed to get to the last bolt, which is accessed through the engine cover behind the seat.

Top of the engine minus throttle body and starter motor

While we are in this area of the engine, the oil air separator is notorious for failing, allowing oil to be sucked into the engine.  Our intake showed some signs of oil residue. There is a motorsport version - but this isn't available for our earlier model car.  Special hose clips and small arms from above and below are needed to replace this. 

Lastly we turned our attention to underneath the car where we've been seeping fluid.  A length of hose had to be cut out. Initially we thought this was power steering fluid, however it turned out to be coolant. Porsche factory fill with a yellow liquid which isn't available any more. Given the potential problems with mixing different coolant types we'll flush the system completely and refill after replacing the hose.  

Phase two in the new year will be to change the oil and filter, then replace the front bumper.   Finally we'll be removing more unnecessary wiring and getting a lighter weight exhaust fitted. 

BRSCC Finals at Donnington Park

We arrived at Donington Park late Friday evening and unloaded into a Pit Garage.  We'd hired a different trailer this weekend and found out too late that you cannot open the car doors due to the high wheel arches.  This meant climbing in though the roof to get the car off the trailer which was entertaining.

Qualifying (Saturday 11am)

The track was wet from overnight rain and the single seaters before us were out on full wet tyres kicking up spray down the main straight.  I expected it to dry out, and my lap times increased throughout the session as a dry line appeared in places. Everyone went fastest on the last lap, but I was hampered a little by traffic so could have gone quicker. I qualified 12th.

Photo Courtesy of @Sportscarfan917

Race 1 (Saturday 4pm)
I got a decent start off the line but several cars jumped the start, rolling before the lights went out. As I rounded the first corner (Redgate) the cars in front suddenly all swerved left (to avoid a spinning car). I had to take avoiding action, ending up with two wheels in the gravel and two in the mud verge going nowhere fast.  By the time I rejoined the circuit I was almost dead last.

The 20 min race saw me pass all of the 924 runners, the two production boxsters and catch the race spec boxsters. There were no blue flags to help as we were racing for position. I crossed the line side by side with 13th place (0.2 secs behind). Both of us gained an extra place when the jump start penalties (10 secs) were applied. 

 

After the race we noticed the exhaust was sounding pretty rough. On stripping the bumper off we found the lambda probe had corroded and blown out of the catalytic converter leaving a 50p piece size hole.  With the help of Tony from Southshore Tyres we managed to weld it back on, racing with a blowing exhaust.

Race 2 (Sunday 12pm)
Having rained in the morning the track was still wet for our 12pm race.  I knew it would dry quickly so set dampers fairly stiff, mindful it would be slippy off-line.

The race was red flagged at 2/3 distance and restarted for an accident. I finished my best ever in 6th having great battles with other cars for that position in both parts.  The car handled really well and my driving was quite smooth - although my lap times were 1 second slower than 2012.

Race 2 - Part 1 Video / Race 2 - Part 2 Video

Race 3 (Sunday 4pm)

With confidence high we stiffened roll bars and dampers for the last race which was a reverse grid (starting 8th in boxsters).  Just before we went out a torrential downpour soaked the track so we hastily changed to a wet setup.

On lap 1 visibility was almost zero from spray and I got stuck behind a train of cars whilst faster cars overtook all of us. On lap two I used the wet race line with good effect to take 3 places back and open a big gap. I was now in 6th place.  A car spun on the oil immediately in front of me resulting in a very close call.

I eventually got caught on the last lap - finishing a very happy 6th place again!