June 24th 2007, Fradley Park, Staffordshire
For the first time in the 2007 Speed Series I was going to a track Id actually driven round before. My second visit to the "B" shaped track of Curborough would see us using the 818 meter Short Course.
Also for the first time I met Peter there as he had chosen to pack his entire family into a little wheeled box and stay overnight so he could attend the first WSCC Sprint School being run on the Saturday.
Having located the Cox’s (Aka Clampetts) campsite and dug the Westie out from underneath a wide variety of kids toys we headed down to the Paddock. Or would of if the Westie hadn't decided it was far too early for all that and refused to start.
A bump start later and we arrived at the paddock, the Westie being left to run to dry off any dampness from the night before.
Signing on, Scrutineering and Drivers Briefing
All took place with very little fuss other. The lady organising the signing on asked if anyone had ever said I look like………………not Dave Grohl this time but……a young Eric Clapton!!
Practice Runs
Sadly the weather was a bit hit and miss. Sometimes it was spitting with rain, sometimes it was raining quite hard (Not Shelsley Walsh hard though), other times it was quite warm.
The track was damp and incredibly slippery. Trying to get off the line for either of the Practice Runs saw lots of spinning wheels in first and then second gear before slithering down the track trying to gain momentum.
Having crashed last time I raced in the rain I took it easy on both Practice Runs just wanting to get round in one piece. As a result I was quite a bit slower than nearly all the other drivers.
Practice 1 time 51.42
In between Practice runs the Westie decided to switch itself off again. After a long push back to the Paddock several people tried to get it going using a variety of methods, including the old favourite of hitting it with a hammer.
The problem was traced to the power lead no longer being attached to the starter motor even though the bolt that held it on was still in place, accusations of sabotage became the next obvious step.
Practice 2 time 47.10
Timed Runs
There ended up being 4 timed runs and for the first time since I started doing this racing lark I managed to go faster on every one of them.
Some of that was because, now Id told both Tracie and Chris not to come because of the rain, it was getting warmer and dryer, some down to me becoming more confident and going faster, and some down to Peter making some car set up changes.
In fact on his third Timed Run, he’d made so many changes that he clearly didn’t recognise his own car and promptly span off in Turn Two.
For my Timed Run One it was still damp making getting away from the Start line difficult and all the corners a bit tricky.
Sprint 1 time 42.11
Ave Speed 43.0 mph
There was more grip by the time Timed Run Two came round and I used fewer revs to get better traction off the Start line.
Sprint 2 time 40.71
Ave Speed 44.48 mph
Video courtesy of Brayspeed
Timed Run Three was pretty smooth as the track was almost dry now. Dry that was except at the hairpin which I emerged from sideways before going on to the finish straight.
Sprint 3 time 39.58
Ave Speed 45.75 mph
Video courtesy of Brayspeed
Timed Run four was my best and my fastest so I was pretty pleased with the day. I hadn't spun off, I went faster each time and I didn't come last!
Sprint 4 time 39.15
Ave Speed 46.25 mph
Due to an camera operating error (Peter forgot to bring it) there are is no in-car video footage – Boo! However, all of the timed runs were filmed by Brayspeed a proper TV production company - Hooray!
Class E Novice Championship
To see the current Championship Points standings, click here.
Lessons learned for next time
Even though learning the track so you know which way it goes helps its much, much better to have driven round it before. Roll on August 19th when we are back here again.
I still need to learn more about racing lines, I’m sure that will help me put the car in the right place for each corner so I can go that little bit faster.
For a summary of the entire WSCC 2007 Speed Series season click here.