Barbon Speed Hillclimb - Fantastic

14/06/2008, originally uploaded by kevham.

The hillclimb course at Barbon is one of the shortest in Britain but it has a great atmosphere and is set in wonderful Cumbrian countryside.
It's quite a distance to travel but the atmosphere makes it worthwhile. So it was that Is set off at 5am this morning and trundled down the M6, stopping only for a comfort break at Southwaite.
I arrived at Barbon in plenty time to get unpacked and scrutineered. The weather looked promising and everyone was sure of a good day's sport.

I set out with three aims for today:
1. Beat my best time from last year of 34.35 secs
2. Beat my championship competition, Andy Suter in his Saxo
3. Get home in one piece without any damage!

There's only three corners at Barbon. A blind left hander just off the start line, a third gear 'flat left, maybe' with some eye watering old trees right on the trajectory of errant drivers and a very tricky right handed, uphill hairpin. Lots of folk focus on the fast left but I reckon the hairpin is where lots of seconds are lost (for me anyway!)




My first practice was fairly good. I got off the start without too much wheelspin and pulled good speed through the first bend. I lifted early for the fast left but it's a real confidence corner so I was quite happy. Coming up to the hairpin, I forgot I have to change down to first and had to snatch it. This caused the rear wheels to chirp but I kept it tidy and fired over the line in 34.82secs. Not bad - only half a second off last year's best.

Then the heavens opened and it looked like the day might be a washout. Second run was very wet and after a poor start (I am rubbish in the wet), I managed only 36.65secs.

Andy in the Saxo had managed 36.25 on the first run and 37.32 on the wet second run so I was hopeful that if I could keep it neat I would beat him.



Lunch next and I made the mistake of having a burger and chips. I put tomato sauce on the burger but it wasn't tomato sauce - it was chilli sauce!

First timed run and the track had dried up a bit. I got away ok but again, I lifted way early for the fast corner and I muffed the hairpin. My time was 35.07. By this time, Andy was on 35.67 secs - the competition was hotting up.

By the time of the final run, the sun was back out and the temperature was hotting up. I made some minor adjustments to the tyre pressures (26PSI all round) and was ready to go. I got a reasonable start and kept on the gas through the first corner. I lifted a little less for the fast left and headed up to the hairpin. Later on the brakes, down to first , a chirp from the rear wheels, turn in and floor it. The car gripped bettter than it ever has and i could see the clock at the line was on 32 secs! Up to second and over the finish line in 33.78 secs. Objective 1 complete!



I got up to the top paddock and headed down to watch the rest of the batch come up the hill. I got there just in time to see Andy and waited with, on tenterhooks, as he crossed the line. A short delay and the commentator announced his time - 35.5secs. A cheer from me and Objective 2 complete (sorry Andy!) . The result gets me 25 class championship points which takes me to the top of the class by 1 point.

So, a good day in all. The car felt great - the Toyo T1-Rs are bedding in and hopefully the trackday at Llandow next weekend will shave off enough tread to bring them to their peak.

On the journey back, I got to thinking of some new ideas for extra speed. Maybe I'll be able to implement some before my next competitive outing at Scammonden on 13 July.

I got home at 6.30pm - in one piece with no damage - objective 3 complete.

Bring on Barbon !

The postie brought the final regs for the Barbon Speed Hillclimb today. I'm car number 8 and up against some serious competition including the super quick Renault 5 turbo of Russell Thorpe, three Lotus Elises and a couple of Clio 172 entries.

However, there's only one other competitor in my championship class (Andy Suter's Saxo VTS) so as long as I can get a timed run in, I'm guaranteed at least 24 points. Of course, I'm aiming to beat Andy and claim the full 25 points which will see me rise to the top of the R2 class for the time being.

The other Northern Speed Championship class competitors are off doing other things this weekend. I notice that the MG Trophy race series is at Silverstone so i guess the Rigg/Hope combination is competing there and Chris Harris in his S2 Elise is missing too. All good news for the RacingFive push for the R2 class championship in 2008. It's shaping up to be quite close this year.

Alignment Fixed

I knew that my excursion over the grass at Forrestburn had knocked my carefully developed alignment settings out but until today, I hadn't realised by how much!

I took the car back to good old Claire and Paul at Dreadnought in Callander to have the alignment re-set. Turns out that I had 1.2mm of toe OUT at the rear right. This might explain some of the twitchiness under braking I've experienced of late.

Since I'm now mainly running standard road tyres (Toyo T1-R) as opposed to the stickier Toyo R888s and I'm back on looser anti-roll bars, I've toned down the camber settings a wee bit. Settings now are:
Front axle
Caster = 5 degrees
Camber = -1.2 degrees
Toe = 0.3mm IN per side
Rear Axle
Camber = -1.8 degrees
Toe = 0.6mm IN per side

On the drive back, the car felt very nicely planted with no adverse behaviour. The clunking appears to have subsided as well so I wonder if one of the alignment bolts was a wee bit loose before. I had thought it was the drop-links so I have ordered a new set from Steve Heath which should be here for fitting before Barbon next weekend.

Wigton Motor Club - Kames Sprint - MY FIRST WIN !

My aim today was to get close to my 100secs best but alas, that was not to be. However, I also had the task of picking up points in the TJ Services Northern Speed Championship.
Last week saw me trash my trusty Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres so I had to get new tyres fitted during the week to stay legal. I plumped for Toyo T1-R in 195/50 15 as many other competitors use them and thay are cheap (£32 each). Time constraints meant I only managed to get them on the car on Friday.
I'd noticed clunks from both the front and the rear when I took the car for a spin after fitting the tyres so I spent much of Saturday trying to identify what it was. I narrowed down the front clunk to a loose ARB droplink but the rear seems to be the ARB moving about - more investigation needed. Anyway, I've had the tyres on and off about 4 times over the weekend.
I had a spririted run down to Kames this morning to try to get some heat in the tyres and to try to scrub off the greasy film that new tyres have. Weather was overcast but dry to start although the forecast was for rain.
I reckoned that my best chance was to get a couple of fast runs in early on and hope for rain before the competition had 'learned' the track.
My first run did not go especially well. The tyres felt very vague and 'squirmy' - no real feeling of grip or any idea of what was happening - especially at the front end. I managed 105.9secs which was well off my standard first run times of around 104secs. I checked the tyre pressures and noticed that I had the front tyres on back to front (they are directional!) . A quick change and all was sorted. Next run wasn't much better though. The car felt a wee bit more responsive but still nowhere near as sharp as it felt in April. I managed 105.64secs. Someone suggested dropping the pressures so I backed them off to 26psi all round.
First proper run and the car was feeling a bit better. The tyres still felt a bit vague but there was definitely some grip there. I managed 104.00 seconds. My main competition, the Elise managed 104.14 and the faster of the two MGF drivers got was down to around 105secs. So I was in the lead for the moment but the Elise was getting into it now.
Second timed run and I tried a wee bit harder. It didn't really work though. I still couldn't get the confidence to really push on the fast paddock bend and as a result, I managed 104.12secs. I got back to the paddock in time to watch the Elise run. He was on a flyer and I was sure I was going to get beat but, luck was on my side as he outbraked himself at the hairpin and went off. The MGF driver had done 104.6secs so I was still in front.
Then my prayers were answered and the rain came on. The MGF tried to get out quick in the hope that he could get a fast run in before the track got wet but it was not to be. He managed 108secs before the rain really came on. Although I could have packed up there and then, I decided to go out and after a terrible start (I reckon I was at the startline, wheels spinning for 5 seconds - better to do a 'granny start'), I posted 114secs. It didn't matter, I'd already achieved my very first class win and a full 25 points! So, a day of highs and lows. I need to find out why my car is so much slower than it was last year. Could it be the lack of the K&N Typhoon??? Could it be the suspension kit???? Could it be the fresh tyres (definitely a contributing factor)??? Could it be the knackered alignment???? Next event is at Barbon in Cumbria in 2 weeks. Hopefully I'll have sorted out the gremlins by then..............

(photo: D Hunter)