MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Race day TLM & Abbey Motorsport I have taken notes from the weekend so i will split this into days for those that want a taste of what happens behind the scenes or if you prefer skip to race day (sunday) Apologies for the length of the post Thursday 6am - Car packed but woke up with a stinking cold! Then had to work all day! 11pm - arrive at thistle located on track at brands hatch with a car load of stuff for the weekend. Friday 6am woke up feeling really ill but arrived at the pits to see abbey already there, unpacking the car 8am car warmed up, r888's on the car now after last weeks test with the federals, also the springs have been increased in stiffness by 400lb's 9am - 4pm sessioned test day, running with some fairly quick machinery, a selection of m3's and clio cup cars but the main alocation was lotus' or loti? Some incredible examples flying around the track but only two were quicker than us and only one quicker through the corners, the new diff and suspension was proving to be fantastic Session 3 however did giveus some concern, grease settled on the track from a few short showers and the car was very indersteery, still turned in but immediately struggled for grip, we were trying to run on a semi dry setup again just incase the weather changed, backend snapping to oversteer the moment any power went down. Eventually we managed to find some grip off the racing line and once heat went into tyres laptimes did start to come down. We also practiced our pitstop changeover and timings as there is a minimum pit stop time of 1.50 from pit in to pit out, basically the speed limited bit, which usefully is in kph ? So we were limited to 37.5 mph ish which next year we hope to have on a button so we can nail the throttle and have the ecu limit the speed. The last session of the day (im feeling really rubbish now) we decide to run the car for an hour, i go out on a drying track and we put in some 55 second dead lap times, i come in after 20 minutes and mark goes out, he gets quicker and quicker and puts in a 54.9, coming up to the end of the session and Mark says he can smell somethings wrong, diff has blown (or so we thought). Disaster! Running the diff for an hour saw the temps get to 180deg, we quickly jack the car up and abbey had brought a huge fan with them as well so that is aimed squarely at the diff, oil is spraying out of the diff all over the place!! comments such as, "its buggered" and "were out of biscuits" were heard... A snap decision is made by abbey to take the car back to the workshop immediately and to look at the diff to see the damage Saturday I feel like manflu has properly got a hold of me, Mark calls me to tell me that the Motul oil Abbey used essentially saved the diff, Tony rebuilt the device and Will and Mark designed a diff cooler to be mounted atthe back and built and fitted and tested it! Abbey absaloutley went the extra mile with this, it looked like we might have to borrow another diff, un tested. In other news i had drank more vitamin C than i knew possible and my mrs was doing everything possible to make sure i was better for sunday, thanks rosie! The lotus 6 hour race was under way and i can see clearways from the bedroom, i see three people spin out in the first 5 minutes and a safety car is seen multiple times, the weather is hurrendous, we are praying for better weather on the Sunday. Race day in next post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Sunday - Race day Some of the team had come 70 miles to the track and got there at 7am, i had probably 1/2 a mile to tavel and managed to be 20 minutes late but i am essentially useless so thats not too bad Abbey had brought quite a team with them, which was much appreciated, in addition quite a few friends had also turned up to watch the days racing. A man called John offered to help in the pitstop to pull me out of the car and had apparently been pulling Mark out of cars for years so we agreed that and off we went to qualification. Quali Both drivers must complete 3 laps in 30 minutes Car ran 40 litres of fuel, track damp but drying, brake pads need bedding in. I started the session, 2 laps past the board and in, car felt horrible on the damp and im struggling to get heat in the tyres, i come in for a quick pit stop, Will flicks the switch for the diff cooler to on (now the oils warm) and im back out, immediatly a safety car is out, stuck in traffic. I complete 3 laps but the only lap i had a clear run i am called into pits. John removes me from the car quicker than you can blink and Mark is in ready to go, Mark starts building pace and really starts to push getting a 55.5 that puts us 2nd though we end up 5th when the session is done, pole gets a 53.8! but we are only a few tenths from 4th...... 4 M3's in front of us... Pack to the paddock Race time Feeling quite nervous now but i always get this way before a race, there is no warm up to grid for this race or green flag lap so everyone is on cold tyres and cold brakes, unsure why but them the rules.... thoughts of 32 cars sliding off paddock goes through me head We are directed to grid slot 4, bonus, someone from the first 5 isnt here, the pole sitter wheel spins his M3 all the way down to the grid, stalls it and his car wont restart, karma? i sit there whilst his car is recovered watching the water temp rise with my nerves. The 1 minute board appears shorlty followed by 30 secs 5 secs and the red lights flick on and off quicker that i think i have ever witnessed. The cs porsche 968 launches like a complete beast from 4th and almost takes 1st before paddock hill. I slot in behind the porsche but with a bit of ground to catch, i manage to reel the yellow porsche in and notice he is wide into paddock for a couple of laps, the porsche looks leary, i wait until im right on him and take the decision to nail him into the apex of paddock, balls out, side by side into druids and i give him no where to go on the exit as i have the inside line. Im in third as MarkB/Jamie/Will are telling me from the pit wall, laptimes seem to be almost consistently 55.low each lap, i can see the yellow M3 in the distance and i seem to be slowly reeling him in, we are only 7 or so laps in but we are starting to catch Class D cars, some fairly agressive driving see's me right on the tail of the M3, a Clio spins out on the last corner bringing out yellow flags (no overtaking) for that one corner, which also seems to be my only chance to take the M3. I am praying for the flags to get put away and the second they are I throw it up the inside and drive between the M3 a Honda Integra and a Renault Megane (?!) Im in 2nd, i cant believe it!! I try and pull away from the Yellow M3 but he seems to have the bit between his teeth now, attacking hard, sything through traffic that has its own fights is hard whilst defending from this car. I get stuck behind another M3 in a lower class and a Porsche 944, they are shown 6 blue flags and still dont move, the Yellow M3 of 3rd place is right on my tail. Coming down into Graham Hill bend the back marker M3 moves twice, ignores the blue flags and essentially brake checks me at 100mph, choice is hit him hard or go to the grass. I choose grass, frightening a few marshalls (sorry!)... brakes....BRAKES!!!!.... OMG no abs on wet grass!! decide to turn and put the throttle down instead, turn the car around and rejoin the track in 5th! I dont know what happened but the M3 back marker had lost control on the exit of the corner and slammed in the side wall writing the front and back end off... Safety car comes out, the back end of the zed feels a bit off but im hoping its just mud on the tyres, grip is coming back but we are backed up, behind the yellow porsche again! all that hard work gone. Pit crew tells me to come in, i signal to tell them i saw/understand (no radio yet!) It sounds odd when your going flat out but forcing yourself to do the top end of the speed limit in the pits is strange! I slide into our slot which is short because the guys infront and behind us in the pits have both over and undershot their pit boxes respectively!! John, who I met one hour earlier physically pulls me from the car. (this is actually a practice we did in qually) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Abbey Mark jumps in and is set to go, i tell him the tyres feel a bit like they are starting to go off, and there is a quick check under the car to make sure ive not broke anything going offroad. Mark then manages to cleave his way through the traffic and the field, breifly making it into 1st place! Really pushing hard the car is still as solid as ever! The Seat does manage to slip past him and pushes him back to 2nd place, evidently the M3's in 1st/2nd decided to go a bit touring car on each other and spun each other out. Mark puts in 30 minutes of consistently quick laptimes and even starts catching the Seat back up nearer the end of the race bringing the car home in 2nd overall! I cant believe it, we have managed to bring the car home in 2nd overall after its first 1 hour race, what a car, what a day! Feels like a dream come true, completing my first endurance race with a fantastic result. Its been a year and a half since my accident and since i was racing. Huge support from all my friends, both on and off the forum and family especially my awesome girlfriend and not forgetting Abbey Motorsport as well who without we would not of stood a chance. The car was so much fun to drive and I cant wait till we do it all again next year now! www.facebook.com/tlmotorsport http://www.youtube.com/user/teamlizardmotorsport/videos?view=0 Never insult a man holding a bottle of open Champagne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Awesome write up great vids and well done Keep it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernspeed Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Great write up and great results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 thanks was concerned no one would want to read the background stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Excellent Moar like this please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Excellent post mate, that's a really good read and a top result, well done all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 That looks about the most fun you can have in an hour, good work! and an excellent result for a zed - next time out its a winner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Well done guys. p.s: Do you have a 350z-uk sticker on the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 haha, a win would be insane! we will keep pushing, mark was starting to catch the supacopa in 1st as it looked like they had overheated their tyres pushing too hard, who knows what another 15 minutes could have given us! in saying that i could of not gone on the grass too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Well done guys. p.s: Do you have a 350z-uk sticker on the car? we dont at the moment, if any of the traders or members would like to support the team in some way then i would be happy to run a sticker on the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 although the car wont look anything like it does now by next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 What a great write up - very interesting. Congratulations to all concerned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Nice one, Steve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robzracing Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Great write up Steve and well done! Is that series the next step from the Trackday Trophy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 That was a brilliant read and well done Steve and Mark for getting that result. Please post up nexts years events that you will be taking part in - I and expect many others would love to get along to give you some added support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 thanks colin, I will definitely let everyone know. Trackday trophy is novice only but teamtrophy allows for both as a sort of natural progression, quite a lot of good teams taking part, I will post the TSL timing sheet when I get hold of it but there were 32 teams and 3 in reserve, so a good grid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 More info on the race here: http://www.team-trop...d-seven-of-2012 Well done again guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 We also had a panic on how to time the total time of the race, spent an hour thinking about where to mount a stop watch until someone remembered there is one built into the bloomin dash, when i upload the full race you can see me mash the buttons and change the display to temperatur whilst going around paddock, will start it pre race next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 For the stat hunters out there this is the official timings from TSL http://www.tsl-timing.com/msvr/2012/124551cmv.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 That was a brilliant read and well done Steve and Mark for getting that result. Please post up nexts years events that you will be taking part in - I and expect many others would love to get along to give you some added support. +1, I can feel some meets coming on. Great write up and vids, excellent result too :yahoo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.