Time Attack Brands Hatch 2014 Final Arriving at the circuit on Friday evening we were greeted by Steven, David and Trevor of SD Motorsport. The Legacy was offloaded and sat alongside the awesome Subaru Impreza known as The Banana. The only work carried out on the Legacy since Silverstone was reinforcing the splitter mounts otherwise we were good to go. Whilst having dinner we received news that Simon our mapper was not going to be available for Saturdays competition due to ill health. Simon has been mapping the Legacy since it was first put together over 10 years ago and has been in attendance at almost every competition entered over that time. After a restless night we woke to a damp to get Brands Hatch and the weather was looking to be very unpredictable. At the driver briefing we were informed that Channel 4 were in attendance so we may be caught on camera. Warm up. Leaving the pits and out onto the track it became apparent very quickly that there was almost no grip on the damp track. We have completed many laps of Brands Hatch over the years but this was different. The surface felt greasy and unpredictable, this resulted inevitably in some casualties throughout the session and the entire day. We stayed focused and managed a 1:03.36 on our last lap giving us the top spot. Practice. We had a short break in the rain so made sure we were out at the front of the pack. On lap 2 we managed a banker of 1:01.89 behind Kevin Jones in the Noble with 1:01.87. After stoppages and rain we made our way back to the pits, it wasnt worth the risk of damaging the car in the rain so after 5 laps we parked up and watched the live timing. The session ended with us top of 4wd and 2nd overall. Qualifying A fuel change from regular V power to our Nimbus Motorsport provided Torco 120ron race fuel and a tad more boost was on board for this session. Getting out early again behind a very keen Eric Holmes we found a drying track and some amazing grip in places and thanks to Eric paving the way we knew exactly where the slippery bits were. Squeezing past a sideways Eric out of Clearways we pushed on for a banker, building speed we were greeted by a red flag. After a couple of stoppages the session was getting incredibly frustrating and Rob Barnes tells us if there are any more reds the session will be binned. Light rain on the screen and again the grip levels were in question, pushing on a little we banked a 57.7 giving us P1, after a couple of cool down laps some space on track was found and a 56.6 gave a fairly comfortable lead. Again taking it easy and tucking in behind Mark Flook in the GTR the session was drawing to a close, time for another go? Yea why not. Making some space behind Mark it was onto the loud pedal and the grip levels were great, onto the main straight, up into fourth we were closing on the GTR incredibly quickly. Considering the cost of a GTR rear bumper against the desire to get a good time we compromised and maintained around 6 inches of space between the cars into the braking zone at Paddock Hill Bend. The session was over and we bagged a 54.2 second lap, 3.5s quicker than anyone else in that session. Final Out onto the track for the final and the grip levels are much better but still not ideal. After putting a little heat in the tyres and finding some race space on track but still only running 2bar of boost we cracked a 53.098. The track space was still there and adrenaline took over, 4 flying laps and a couple of cool downs then back on it smashing in a time of 52.381 the team were on the pit wall urging me to slow down. The rain was back so after a pit stop we ventured out for the remainder of the session ready to get back on it if someone pulled ahead. Up came the chequered flag and the session was over as was the 2014 Time Attack Championship. WE WON 😃 Night Time Attack Totally exhausted we set about preparing the car for the night event, Chris Grinstead and many others grafted to get lights fitted, numbers lit up etc etc Out we went on track which felt totally alien but great fun. The track was still wet and it impossible to see the dry line but we made it round safely and back to the pits ready for the first of two finals. Out onto the track for the final and confidence was building, we managed two 1:02 laps in a row but Dave Coe was upping his game and was hot on our heals with the National Grid fed flood lights on his car. The session was stopped but we got back out and managed a 1:01 almost 2 seconds faster than 2nd place. Unfortunately the alternator then let go and we didnt make the 2nd final but as it started to rain it looked as though we had done enough to win the first ever Club Challenge Night Time Attack. Then it was confirmed at the podium. Brands Hatch 2014 Time Attack Club Challenge overall winner Brands Hatch 2014 Night Time Attack Club Challenge overall winner Time Attack 2014 Club Challenge Championship 2nd place We have completed the entire season of Time Attack, the BHP show, Rallyday and several Dyno runs on the amazing Mike Latimer built 2.35 engine. We have run in excess of 650bhp at almost every event at boost levels of upto 2.4bar and the engine has not missed a beat. The oil provided by Millers Oil has maintained the engine throughout 2014 to perform at such a high level over and over again. The Torco race fuel provided by Nimbus Motorsport has given us a huge advantage in both performance and reliability. The build parts and machining by Stephen Guirey of SMG/Rolland Allsop have been faultless and taken a battering at every event. We have been incredibly lucky to have worked with Steven Darley of SD Motorsport throughout the 2014 season. Even when it looked like all was lost, Steven worked his magic and we were back out on track covered in duck tape and winning trophies. We couldnt have done it without you Steven, Thank you. One of the most significant influences in our entering Time Attack has been our mapper and Friend Simon Roe of jollygreenmonster. Simon has been with us every step of the way and his mapping skills have been proven through the 100% reliability of the engine and gearbox on the Legacy. Once again a huge thanks to my fantastic sponsors in no particular order Keith Michaels Insurance Jollygreenmonster SD Motorsport Whiteline UK Nimbus Motorsport ABW Motorsport Millers Oils Latimer Engines Rolland Allsop Part-box R&R Vehicle Detailing Ruislip Tyre Service Torco Racefuels AS Performance Thanks to all the Photographers for the great snaps of the Legacy. Thanks to all the Time Attack Staff and circuit Marshals and Staff. Thanks to my Family, Friends and everyone on here for the support throughout 2014.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:18:22 +0000
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