We took the Porsche out on track for a pre-race shakedown but realise that there is still more work to do!
With most of the difficult jobs now complete on the 944 it was
time to get it out on circuit for an essential shakedown ahead of
our planned race debut at the Donington round of the Team
Trophy.
The Bubble and Kick boys kindly delivered the car to the MSV car
park one Sunday afternoon so we just had to move it from there down
to the pit lane the following day. Unfortunately for us the 944 was
being a bit stubborn and initially would not start. Maybe it felt
unloved since its outing in the hands of a former F1 driver, but
with signing-on time looming and both Ian and I drawing blanks, we
put a call in to Nico for some advice. He explained that as the car
had been sitting in their workshop for a while it might take
slightly longer than normal to get it going. He also said that it
was prone to flooding so with us repetitively turning the key we'd
probably have to leave it for a while before trying again. I went
to sign-on and on returning 20 minutes later, the car fired first
time. Typical!
After the undignified act of getting into a race car and
tightening of the race harnesses, I felt that things were not right
with my seating position. I remember that when I originally fitted
the driver's seat it was fairly well placed for all four of us.
However, with the amount of work that has taken place the seats
have been out for a while and not replaced in the same position. No
big problem, but it meant that I wasn't able to give it the full
beans around the circuit. Also, both Alex and I thought the rear
suspension looked a bit high and on circuit it didn't feel as
though the rear of the car was as dedicated to the cause as the
front! Both of these factors led to a fairly unproductive time on
circuit, but in hindsight that was exactly the purpose of the
outing. We have learnt so many things along the way with our 944
and this was just another one of them. Just because you have
all of the parts fitted to a car, it doesn't mean it is ready to
race. Looking at the amount of testing race teams put in, we now
realise why they do it. Small adjustments make such a difference
and I am sure that when the seat is re-set and suspension set-up it
will give us a better indication of what it will perform like in a
race environment.
The next day we report back to B+K with our findings. The seat
is an easy fix, but the suspension takes a bit more work. Nico said
that 944s were originally fitted with a torsion bar rear suspension
set-up which means that to make it lower and ultimately handle
better, the bar needs removing (which will drop the ride height)
and then re-set. If it was a road car you would drop the rear
suspension completely, but Nico said that most race cars have a
hole drilled in the side of the body which gives easy access to the
end of the torsion bar. He quickly added that the other three 944s
in the Trackday Trophy have had the same process which put our mind
at ease! I know Porsche made cookie cutter wheels, but I didn't
want us to be the first with cookie cutter body work! Whilst these
jobs could be done fairly quickly, there was still uncertainty
surrounding our wheels and tyres and whether they would be with us
by Donington. We had a new set of wheels on order, but at the
eleventh hour were told that they did not make them in our fitment.
It's at this point we decided not to enter the Donington race to
make sure we got the correct wheels and give the B+K boys more time
to sort out the final modifications.
The standard Porsche D90 wheels on the car were 7x16" on the
front and 8x16" at the rear. Before purchasing any new rubber we
again checked with some of our Trackday Trophy competitors to see
what they were running as we were struggling to find something
suitable. All cars had sourced further 8" wide wheels for the front
so they could run the same tyres all round and be able to replace
like with like if necessary. It also financially makes a lot more
sense. A quick check on ebay I found that there were quite a few
sellers with D90 wheels for sale, but as we were only after 8" wide
rims (most are sold in sets 7" front and 8" rear) it did initially
prove tricky. A couple of emails later a deal had been done with
Lodge Sports in Manchester who have previously run Porsche 924's
and 944's in various series. They understood our problem and said
they could make up a set of four 8" rims for us giving us two
spares as well.
Nick Rice
Boring, boring, boring. Have I got to race this car yet?
Er..no. Admittedly, my input on the 944's rebuild has been
virtually zero, so I only have myself to blame. And I am very
grateful to Nick, Alex and the boys from Bubble and Kick who have
done all the work so far. But all I want to do is rag the
thing!
My old Dad used to say 'Concentrate on what you're good at, and
pay other people to do the things you're crap at.' So I hired a
Mini Cooper from Bubble and Kick for the Donny Team Trophy race.
It's not the fastest thing in the world, but it was fun to try out
a modern front wheel drive. And it was pretty idiot proof.
Hiring a race car is an easy, commitment free way of going
racing if it's only for the odd outing. Some people are often
shocked by the price to hire a race car, but when you add up the
fuel, tyre wear, brake fluid costs, general wear and tear,
transport of the car and having a spannerman at the track to mend
things that I wouldn't have a clue how to fix, actually it makes
perfect financial sense. And you haven't had to buy the thing in
the first place! The only tricky bit is what happens if you crash
it.
Most teams will ask that you pay for the car to be insured, and
although this adds to the upfront payment, it does give the driver
piece of mind. Beware of the excess though. Or you can do what I do
- convince them to trust you, and just hope that you don't throw it
off. To be honest, I'm comfortable with my own ability and self
restraint, and for sure I drive someone else's car differently to
the way I drive my own racecar; apply less risk, leave more room
for error, and don't take it too seriously. Whereas my faithful old
BMW has rarely come back to the paddock without a new dent or
three. My only other concern really is the other "adventurous"
drivers, but one can usually spot them early on, so just give them
a wide berth. I guess it would be a difficult conversation with the
owner if something on the car let go and threw you off, smashing it
up in the process. But luckily it's never happened to me.
The other advantage of hiring a car is that you don't have to
tow it home at 50mph in Sunday evening traffic with all the inept
billies that block up our motorways at weekends. Just jump in your
road car and bash home in time for tea.
Ian Berry
Ian failed to mention that I had in fact hired a race car of my
own for the Donington round of the Team Trophy. With the 944
needing further tweekedge and a milestone birthday on the race
weekend I felt I had to break my duck and get out there.
Advent Motorsport's Proton Coupe was my weapon of choice and
while it was not going to challenge for an outright win, it was
conveniently also in class "D" and almost exactly the same
power-to-weight as the B+K MINI piloted by Ian and co-driver Hugh
Chambers. My co-driver (and Motorsport News journalist) Rob
Ladbrook were fairly confident after our trackday on the Friday,
especially as most of the other teams in our class had not
previously driven at Donington. Unsurprisingly we qualified right
next to Ian and Hugh in 23rd and us 24th.
Ian's karting mind games didn't faze us as we knew we had the
slight performance advantage, but after the start and a ridiculous
amount of tyre smoke, I found myself last into Redgate. Ian did say
to take stock of where you were after the first corner, and being
last there was really only one option. I quickly overtook the two
MX5's that sailed past me off the grid and by the time Rob took
over 20 minutes into the race we were one place behind our target.
Pitting on the same lap as the MINI, the frantic driver changes
added to the tension as Hugh and Rob headed out on to circuit. The
18 second gap soon fell away and with Rob putting in a great
display in the little Proton and then putting a move on Hugh out of
Mcleans, we eased into 3rd in class with the MINI in
tow. We prayed for Rob to keep it tidy as 2nd in class
was along way ahead and not attainable with two laps to go. As the
chequered flag went out for the overall leaders we waited patiently
for the Proton to appear through the Esses, which it did still
3rd in class.
Hiring a car is a great way of getting out onto the grid with
minimal fuss. The team will know the car inside out so can fix any
issues, but they will also be able to give you specific information
on how to get the best from it which is essential especially for
your first race. You have enough to contend with at your first race
meet without the car throwing a wobbly so to have this element
removed will add to your overall enjoyment.
You can read more about Nick's race weekend by CLICKING
HERE
Nick
