Weekend review - Pembrey 31 July/ 1 August 2010
After Cadwell it was obvious that the engine had a problem with the amount of oil it was breathing, so with time short both between the races and personnally, as a complete "blueprinted" engine had been offered to us at a good price from a fellow stock hatch racer it was decided to go with that and do a direct swap instead of faffing trying to resolve the issues with the previous engine. That could be done over the winter.
With the new engine fitted (and sounding quite good as far as running in the garage would allow) I was feeling pretty confident that of a good weekends racing at Pembrey and scoring some good championship points. However that wasn't exactly how it turned out.....
Qualifying - Saturday 31 July 2010
Heading out onto the track for the first time in qualifying the car felt pretty strong. Oil pressure and temperature were stable so the confidence began to increase. It was a long way to come for things to go wrong. After the first couple of laps familiarising myself with the track it was time to pick things up abit. My pit neighbour (Stokesy) had given me an idea of a good lap time so I knew what I was aiming for - somewhere in the 1min 11's
I was quickly in the 1min 13's but couldn't seem to get the car any quicker than that. After lap 4 and 5 it started to become apparent something wasn't right with the engine. It was struggling to pull in the top gears and although the temperature seemed to remain constant, by lap 6 the oil pressure started to move around alot more than in the previous laps. Eventually after 7 laps i noticed steam coming from the bonnet, close to the expansion tank location and knew it was time to pull over.
There had also been a strange whirring/ whistling sound in the left hand bends. This seemed to go away around Lap 6 (not to return for the rest of the weekend) but not sure if it was the gearbox, driveshaft, part of the airbox inlet that fell off rubbing on altinator belt or the water whistling through the expansion tank cap. What ever it was it didn't return on the Sunday and so abit of checking to be done to ensure all is good for Silverstone!
Qualifying highlights
Heat and Final - Saturday 31 July 2010
Following qualifying and the fact that no water remained in the expansion tank it was time to do some investigating. With the plugs removed it was apparent that water had gotten into Cylinder 1, so it was off with the cylinder head. Not for the first time so once cooled that was a pretty quick operation. Since the last race i'd sourced a new radiator so to be on the safeside, now that it had been delivered (came with the competitors!!) that was fitted also.
The initial inspection of the head gasket didn't show any convincing signs of damage. Certainly not to the extent that would have allowed water into the cylinders. Attention was then turned to the cylinder head where it soon became very obvious where the problem was! There was an erroded channel, approx 10mm long, 10mm wide and 5mm deep between the combustion chamber of cylinder 1 and the water channels! Not a happy moment as it effectively meant without another head we'd have driven 500miles and spent a considerable amount of money to do 6 laps of Pembrey!
Initially we tried to repair the hole with a bit of liquid metal, kindly sourced from one of the fellow competitors. Unfortunately although we were re-assembled just in time for the call to assembly the car wouldn't start and we found water had still got into the cylinders. At that point we called it quits with that head.
Luckily (remaining positive here) Bill, whom I bought the engine from had come down to see how I, and the other were getting on. I think when he saw the head he perhpas wished he hadn't. However full credit must go to Bill as he offered me another cylinder head from the XR2 he had back at his local garage. The downside was that it was 110miles away. So off we set and 5 and 1/2 hours later I was back with a new cylinder head. On arriving back I parked the car and headed straight to the bbq and bar! Sundays race was not till 12:50!
Heat and Final - Sunday 1 August 2010
Firstly, appologies again for the lack of race video. With all the rushing around to get the car going when I got round to thinking about the video there wasn't enough time to charge it. To add to the complications of the day before the head I now had had been over skimmed in the past and a spacer plate had been produced to fit between the head and the head gasket! I think I put it together correctly but i'm not 100% convinced just yet about its long term reliability.
Anyway, the Pinky was reassembled in plenty of time for the race. To ensure all was working properly I ran it up to temperature until the fan kicked in twice and and it seemed good. Feeling alittle happier that the decission to desert the wife and my friends ,who'd travelled 200miles to watch, was the right one I lined up for the heat race in 27th out of 32, 4th in Class B, 15 places behind Lee (XR2i) 1st in class. Sarah (205) and Russell (XR2) where the others in front of me. (i'd never been so far back on the grid!!!)
During the warm up lap Pinky felt pretty good so I was looking forward to giving the fans a good show. I carn't remember too much about the race and who I over took and when, but at the point it was red flagged (Alan Duly had a heavy impact with his XR2 into the pit wall. He was OK, the car was dead) I was classified 19th! The other point that clearly stood out in the race was Pinky's first racing scar. After a sweet overtaking move around the outside of Daniel Spencer (Saxo No. 62) at the hairpin at the start of lap 3, although I'd left plenty of room on the inside he still ran into Pinky's drivers side door, leaving a rather large dent as you can see in the picture! Oh well, Rubbin as they say is racin'.
Lap Chart
| Lap | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| Position at lap end (Class B) | 21 (2) |
19 (2) |
19 (2) |
19 (2) |
| Places behind 1st in class | 15 |
13 |
11 |
11 |
Best lap 1:12.10, fastest class B lap - Lee No. 42 - 1:12.06
The performance in the heat earnt me a starting position of 25th for the final equalling my best final grid position of the season.
After the strong performance in the heat and a quick check over the car showing fluid levels were good I was pretty confident of a good result in the final. This time I had Class leader, Lee Scott in sight. The change was ambitious though as he was starting 11 places higher on the grid but did say his tyres were past their best. Sarah and Keith had made it into the final as well so I was keen to ensure they stayed behind me.
My starts have definately improved and getting away cleanly at the end of the first lap I was up to 23rd and just 8 places behind Lee. The car remained strong and I was able to move steadily up the field and by lap 4 was in 19th and only 4 places behind Lee. As confidence and experience of the track started to build i perhaps got a little carried away around turn 5, the esses, and ran a little wide, bouncing across the grass. With my foot planted I was able to rejoin the cicuit with enough time ot brake for the Brooklands Hairpin without lossing any places.
Unfortunately however this little trip could have been the cause behind the demise of the race. About a lap and a half later, that start of lap 6, i noticed the temperature gauge getting higher. My first thought was surely not and with regret I trundled round to the pits and out of the race. Back in the paddock, at the end of the race, I got a few questions from the guys who'd been behind me as they were struggling to keep in a straight line! The fact the expansion tank was empty would explain that!
Back in Bradford and it was found a core plug, worth about a quid, had popped out of the cylinder head behind the cam belt pulley. I guess with the head having been sat for a couple of years nature took its toll and corrosion set in. If i hadn't come off perhaps it would have lasted the race and maybe even gained that 1st in Class. Oh well. With all the engine related costs, siliverstone is likely to be the last race of this season so I'm hoping for a good reliable race.
| Lap | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| Position at lap end (Class B*) | 23 (2) | 23 (2) | 21 (2) | 19 (2) | 19 (2) | + 1 lap |
| Lap time | 1:26.82 | 1:12.92 | 1:13.15 | 1:12.93 | 1:13.15 | 2:16.65 |
Best lap 1:12.92, fastest class B lap - Lee No. 42 - 1:11.80 (lap 6)
Check the few photos from the weekend here.