The day started well with being handed a little trophy for 10th place in this year’s 4wd regionals. I think I might concentrate on 4wd at Mendip over the winter, and 2wd at Cardiff. And maybe, that’ll stand me in good stead for a more concerted attack on next year’s championship.
Onto today’s meeting. Didn’t bother with Practice, it was always going to dry out between practice and the heats starting. I hadn’t quite got round to finding the best B7 config for Tivvy yet, so I left the Optima Mid at home so I could make today a Performance tweaker session. Yesterday, I shortened the rear wheelbase, cranked 4Deg of Toe-In on the back axle, which also took a little bit of rear track off at the same time. The first heat showed this more or less did what I wanted, making for a car that was more stable at the back on the off cambers and faster turns.
Qualifying – Round 1
Race 6 – 2wd
| Pos | Car | Driver | Result | Best10 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Halsey | 13 / 323.08 | 24.40 | 23.73 |
| 2 | 4 | Chris Law | 12 / 301.05 | 24.72 | 24.29 |
| 3 | 5 | Alistar Munro | 12 / 309.82 | 25.45 | 24.64 |
| 4 | 8 | Wayne James | 12 / 319.08 | 25.63 | 24.48 |
| 5 | 2 | Andy Nelson | 12 / 321.13 | 25.75 | 24.82 |
| 6 | 6 | Steven Hull | 12 / 322.30 | 26.19 | 25.31 |
| 7 | 3 | John Farringdon | 11 / 306.51 | 27.31 | 24.89 |
| 8 | 7 | Jamie Stringer | 9 / 302.82 | 0.00 | 31.88 |
Before Heat 2, I felt the back was bottoming out a bit too much for comfort in the dip in the straight, making Turn 1 a bit random. So I changed out the 300wt shock oil for 350wt. Here’s how much difference it made…
Qualifying – Round 2
Race 6 – 2wd
| Pos | Car | Driver | Result | Best10 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Chris Law | 13 / 324.97 | 24.72 | 24.15 |
| 2 | 1 | Michael Halsey | 13 / 327.49 | 23.86 | 22.96 |
| 3 | 8 | Wayne James | 12 / 300.62 | 24.73 | 24.17 |
| 4 | 6 | Steven Hull | 12 / 302.63 | 24.80 | 23.93 |
| 5 | 2 | Andy Nelson | 12 / 308.05 | 25.12 | 23.65 |
| 6 | 5 | Alistar Munro | 12 / 309.20 | 25.13 | 23.81 |
| 7 | 3 | John Farringdon | 12 / 310.33 | 25.38 | 24.53 |
| 8 | 7 | Jamie Stringer | 10 / 315.04 | 31.50 | 29.92 |
So definitely net faster, take out the couple of annoying tangles, and that’s a good gain.
For Round 3, I raised the inboard front camber link mounts up for a bit more roll and turn in. Also upped the brake force to full on the ESC.
Qualifying – Round 3
Race 6 – 2wd
| Pos | Car | Driver | Result | Best10 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Halsey | 13 / 305.75 | 23.33 | 22.61 |
| 2 | 4 | Chris Law | 13 / 323.75 | 24.53 | 23.89 |
| 3 | 2 | Andy Nelson | 12 / 303.20 | 24.41 | 23.42 |
| 4 | 3 | John Farringdon | 12 / 303.75 | 25.03 | 24.38 |
| 5 | 6 | Steven Hull | 12 / 310.63 | 25.38 | 24.90 |
| 6 | 5 | Alistar Munro | 12 / 319.68 | 24.97 | 23.79 |
| 7 | 8 | Wayne James | 12 / 321.60 | 25.85 | 24.28 |
| 8 | 7 | Jamie Stringer | 11 / 324.79 | 29.19 | 28.02 |
Which looks like a 10 seconds slower disaster, but that’s not the whole story.
The car was going like a stabbed rat, But at the start of Lap 8 (as you can clearly see) I caught a bump awkwardly at near top speed, sending the car cartwheeling down to Turn 1, and just as it got down to the catch fencing down there, it just caught another bump and bounced unluckily over the fence and down behind the bushes. Poo. But, not to worry, it did prove that much of what you read on the web about the B7 being fragile, is myth.
Round 4, no changes, just focus on a solid clean run.
Qualifying – Round 4
Race 6 – 2wd
| Pos | Car | Driver | Result | Best10 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Halsey | 13 / 309.47 | 23.35 | 22.82 |
| 2 | 4 | Chris Law | 13 / 322.13 | 24.55 | 23.84 |
| 3 | 2 | Andy Nelson | 13 / 323.52 | 24.76 | 23.56 |
| 4 | 5 | Alistar Munro | 12 / 309.29 | 25.50 | 24.83 |
| 5 | 3 | John Farringdon | 12 / 313.67 | 25.58 | 24.62 |
| 6 | 6 | Steven Hull | 12 / 316.97 | 25.77 | 24.70 |
| 7 | 7 | Jamie Stringer | 11 / 313.28 | 28.12 | 25.31 |
| 8 | 8 | Wayne James | 9 / 266.46 | 0.00 | 25.04 |
Just before the Finals started, there was a short light shower. I bolted on a set of Silvers to the B6.4d because it looked for all the world like a wet race. But a bit of Sunshine meant was just a shade (geddit?) premature, and with a minute to go, I swapped back to the B7.
And good job I did. The Final was a very competitive affair. I made a good start and was trading jabs ith Andreus and Johnny F for a bit before settling into quite a nice 2nd with the car feeling stable and sharp. However, young Harry Porter seemed to have found a bucket full of pace, and pushed his way onto my tail. Full credit where it’s due, he bided his time until I made a wide exit on the off cambers at the top of the track and took his place neatly and fairly. From that point, I was quite happy to just keep a respectable pace home for 3rd.
Finals – Round 1
Race 5 – 2wd – C Final
| Pos | Car | Driver | Result | Best10 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andy Nelson | 12 / 302.50 | 24.80 | 23.93 |
| 2 | 6 | Harry Porter | 12 / 303.31 | 24.76 | 24.28 |
| 3 | 3 | Alistar Munro | 12 / 307.24 | 25.28 | 24.57 |
| 4 | 4 | John Farringdon | 12 / 311.49 | 25.41 | 24.49 |
| 5 | 8 | Barry Norris | 12 / 320.02 | 25.78 | 24.92 |
| 6 | 7 | Steven Hull | 12 / 323.77 | 26.16 | 25.54 |
| 7 | 10 | Jamie Stringer | 11 / 309.09 | 27.55 | 25.38 |
| 8 | 9 | Matt Martin | 11 / 311.24 | 27.50 | 25.87 |
| 9 | 2 | Andrius Zilevicius | 10 / 315.84 | 31.58 | 28.04 |
| 10 | 5 | Wayne James | 3 / 101.07 | 0.00 | 32.25 |
| Driver | Alistar Munro |
| Position | 3 |
| Result | 12 / 307.24 |
| Average | 25.60 |
| Best10 | 25.28 |
| Best | 24.57 |
| Consec3 | 74.79 |
| Lap | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 26.55 |
| 2 | 27.86 |
| 3 | 24.76 |
| 4 | 25.72 |
| 5 | 24.93 |
| 6 | 25.29 |
| 7 | 24.57 |
| 8 | 25.60 |
| 9 | 25.75 |
| 10 | 25.24 |
| 11 | 25.15 |
| 12 | 25.82 |
So eneded the day with my best round of the day, a clean drive with nice consistent lap times. The car’s best Tivvy setup is nearly there and there’s a trophy in the boot as a cherry on top.