A little bit late on the update due to a busy week at work, but better late than never.
I woke up around 4am on Saturday (9th June) to head out for our first event of the weekend, Barbon Manor. Having got the car prepared the night before I made myself a coffee and head straight out the door to meet up with Ray. Google maps said Barbon would be a 2hr+ journey. Being our first time at Barbon we wanted to be early, being prepared for getting lost and leaving enough time to walk the course. A leisurely run saw us at Barbon inside 1hr 50Mins to be greeted by a fairly empty paddock and a bunch of cows. Dusting off the timing struts, we prepared the cars and ventured up the hill.
On the cut of the valley, the road climbs nicely through several sweeping bends climaxing at the hairpin. In the sun the scenery is gorgeous, with a pretty village down in the basin and church peering through the middle.
First corner is very much like Scammonden, its barely into 2nd gear before chucking it to the left. The Armco looks pretty intimidating, but once we got pedaling it doesn't even enter your mind. Well.... apart from the last bend, that's one scary piece.
Below you can see the climb's "straight" section. I say straight, its pretty much a sweeping left hander into a very blind left. The 2nd bend is pretty much based on faith, hoping that the rest of the corner is still there once you've entered it. With the grass banking covering the visibility of the bend, it took a few goes to feel confident attacking it.
Peering in the distance is the black and checkered markings of fear, the hairpin Armco. Watching a number of YouTube videos before setting off to Barbon, cemented the fast this is where it might go wrong.
Arriving at the Armco section you can see why. There's about a 1-2ft section of concrete between the tarmac and barrier. Its raised up by a small kerb stone. Stood there in the flesh you can see the problem, get it on the kerb/concrete and it'll draw you into a lot of body repair. We both said seeing it, stay away.
Looking back through the valley is stunning. Very picturesque. Certainly a great place to spend a day racing cars and relaxing in the sun.
The day ran extremely smoothly with the organizing committee. This is only the second event I've attended with Liverpool MC as the hosting club, and again very efficient in the turn around/organization. They are an absolutely fantastic group of people who just love Motorsports, which make the events seem quite special and fun to attend. With that being said with a couple of delays due to incidents, they pushed on and managed to give us two practice session and three timed runs. Pace was building throughout the event, learning the corners and gain confidence in attacking them. Ray and I were in a pack of some very quick MX5's (MK1/2/3's). Some of these cars look very unassuming but you can see under closer inspection how many modifications and details have been put into these cars. Some of the quicker cars look completely standard until closer inspection. With that said we managed to fend of most of the pack with one MK1 MX5 splitting Ray and myself. I ended the day on a 29.20 taking 1st place, and Ray took third with a 30.36.
Having packed up with ventured home to rest before the next day, where we were competing at Curborough.
Weary eyed, we spent the morning against the clock just to get to Curborough. Ray in his wisdom read the notes in the morning, to realize the local roads were shutting due to an Iron Man event. To be honest I had completely glossed over the notes and missed this, good job one of us was paying attention. Ray called me and we set off 20 minutes earlier than scheduled, which was fortunately as the police literally shut the roads behind us.
Not the usual greeting you want at an event, tap tap tap. As Ray pulled up he noticed his engine was knocking. Sounds like the little ends are tapping away. It was either pack up, or punch it and prey. Needless to say, Ray being Ray, decided he was going to race anyway. To make things a little safer, he raced short shifting to ensure the engine wasn't buzzed to blow.
Practice one was steady away to get back into the Curborough rhythm. I was complaining to Ray about the front tyre grip. I seem to struggle with the Extremes compared to the Nankang's, as the Nankang's just seem happier at the limit and don't break away as easily. Practice two was a little bit better but still not overly happy with the front end performance. Whilst dropping the tyre pressures ready for the 1st run, Graeme who was spectating came over to chat about the run. He said Ray did a 67 something and Mike did a 65 something. "What???? No way. French off." I think that's close to what I said anyway. I couldn't believe what felt like such a steady relaxed run turned out to be fastest run I've done at Curborough. That completely smashes my previous PB by a second. Its also around a second faster than the current HSA records held by a very notable Elise driver.
With that in my head, the sun beating down and two days of pedaling, I was tired and scrappy. Unfortunately I wasn't able to replicate the P2 time of 65.52, but put in two consistent 65.70's timed runs. That successfully secured 1st place. Ray put in some cracking times despite engine worries and a fantastic tank slapper on the cut through. Once a car problem is in your head its very hard to shake.
What an absolutely amazing weekend. Gorgeous sunshine, over 300 miles driven, two 1st places and a new PB.
I really can't say enough how much I enjoy Hill climbing and sprinting. The community of people is incredible, really friendly and great to talk to. The events are fun for everyone, even as a casual competitor to the hardcore championship chasers. A massive massive thank you to Ray for getting the car prepared and making the days laugh. Also, a big thank you to everyone we know who attends. Its good to have your support and have you cheering us on.
Next up, Aintree. Can't wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment