dbRacing - NSSCC Race Report Knockhill 18th July 2004

NSSCC Race Report Knockhill 18th July 2004

Car - 944 Turbo

Practice

I had arrived at the circuit on Saturday afternoon just 10 minutes before the first test session was due to begin. The ability of the guys at Strasse to get the car jigged, painted and rebuilt after the Oulton Park accident within two weeks is simply amazing, with the final work being completed that very morning. So there I was, at Knockhill ready to go again. I took to the track and was quite tentative at first as we still did not have any explanation of how the car had spun off two weeks earlier. I had new brake discs to bed in and no experience of damper settings since they had been rebuilt so the first few laps were taken slowly, as though I was running in a new engine. Satisfied the car was running true I began using full throttle and was soon rewarded by a sudden pop as an intake pipe blew off. Now this had happened when the car was first put on the rolling road so all that was needed was a quick tweek on the retaining clip.

For the second session I had a new tyre to bed in and like the first session I gave it three laps before pushing again. Almost as soon as I did there was a pop as the pipe popped off again. A swift trip to the pits and the pipe was refitted with the help of Gill who is getting a real dab hand at removing the bonnet. Try as I might I simply could not get the hose to stay in place and so the final session ended without me completing a single flying lap. Oh well, never mind, lots of time to sort it properly before leaving for the hotel that evening.

Like at Oulton Park I triggered the response for everyone to go to the collecting area for official practice, as within 30 seconds of arriving in the noise testing area there were 8 cars lined up behind me.. Being first on track I again took two laps to get some heat into my tyres and started to push to string some laps together for a grid position. Accelerating down the back straight I was gaining speed then it happened again. This was getting beyond a joke. Another trip to the pits showed that the hose that had been popping off the previous day was still soundly in place. The next weakest link in the chain had been found, no doubt due to the fact that I had disturbed it yesterday evening. Another quick fix was unlikely to work but I had to hope that the fix would work and set out for another lap before the session ended. It didn't work, yet again as the car came on boost there was a sudden whoosh as the pipes separated again. I had no choice but to continue to finish that lap and get the best time I could. The best time I could, was in the 1:05's and good enough for 13th on the grid. Back to the paddock for another attempted fix. What was most frustrating was that the pipe arrangement which had been problem free until Oulton Park was now failing and seemingly not fixable, or was it ?

Race

At the risk of stating the obvious Knockhill is not like Croft. Going from the halfway down the grid was not going to be easy and it would likely be almost 2/3 of a lap before the power of the car could really contribute to gaining places. The lights turned green and all the cars moved together as one. Understandably slightly cautious at the start I entered Duffus Dip behind Terry Wright, but ready to pass on the outside should the opportunity present itself. The only opportunity that I was given was to avoid Harry Vaulkhard who had either overcooked it or been assisted into a spin right in the middle of the track. That was another 5 seconds lost to the leaders I thought. I passed Terry on the run out from Glenvarigill and for the next two laps picked off car after car as I worked my way to the front, apparently to much acclaim from the commentator. Significantly I was still not using absolutely full throttle.

On lap 3 I had one of the Scottish Cosworths in front of me, ahead of him was John Parton and only another 10 yards down the road was Tony Caig. Wow, last time I was here it was all I could do the stay with him. On the run down to the hairpin I planned to overtake both the Cosworth and Integra in one move but the Cosworth driver had other thoughts and took the inside line to pass John Parton. I followed through, relaxed enough to take an easy place and followed the Sierra round the hairpin, trying to to be distracted by his rear breaking away. Now it was time to use the power of the car . Second into third went well, the car pulling smoothly and strongly as we crested the hill. I had my nose level with his rear wheels as he moved to the left in an attempt to deprive me of full use of the circuit. I wasn't going to be intimidated and stuck to my guns.

The time was right to make the change from third to fourth, and just as I dipped the clutch there was a load bang as the intercooler pipe popped off again. That was it, no chance of making further forward progress as I carried out my predetermined plan to carry on racing despite having no boost. The remainder of the race was also interesting. The cars I had just passed retook their positions quite quickly, but it was about 2/3 distance before Terry Wright zipped past me on the finish straight. Even with no power racing could still be fun as I closed up on him under braking. Down Duffus Dip I actually caught him and had to brake to avoid hitting him. We carried on up to Glenvarigill as I carried more speed through again and almost passed him on the exit. Once the track was clear he simply drove away into the distance. The final piece of fun involved Helen Allen in her 1800cc Fiesta. She had spun in the braking area for Duffus Dip with about 5 laps to go and I passed her to lap her. Then on the penultimate lap of the race I saw her ahead of me again. In a straight line she was still faster than me, but I decided to set myself the target of catching her again. One lap later I was closer, braked late for Duffus and carried more speed through and drove round the outside. I must enjoy this motor racing lark as even in such an off spec car I was still having fun and finding a race.

The race ended with me in 13th place, right back where I started. Talking to Terry afterwards he commented that the car was still handling well even if the engine was below par. I hope to do better at the next NSSCC round in 4 weeks time back at Knockhill. I'll have a redesigned intake system by then !