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Last  on
Midland Speed Championship, Silverstone Stowe circuit, August 4th 2002
The competition debut of the Fiesta, and what a day!
Well, I'm very pleased to say that we had an excellent run at Stowe Circuit. No problems with the car, aside from the brakes still not working properly. The Silverstone Stowe circuit is fun to drive on, if a little short at 0.8 miles per lap. My first practice I trundled round at 97 seconds for the 1¾ laps, having a quick play at getting the braking points and turning-in points right.
My first timed run I posted 90 second's, which was only 7 seconds slower than a modified 3200cc Porsche 911. Having then psyched myself up for the second and final timed run of the afternoon, it started raining, and by the time I got the green light, the track was very wet and I had the windscreen wipers on. This time I recorded 97 seconds again, but the best news was that I was only 1 second slower than the Porsche. Rain is a good leveller isn't it 
In all, we didn't disgrace ourselves. Another 10 laps and I'd be down in the low 80's in the dry. I really underestimated the levels of grip from the sticky Yokohama tyres. I should be carrying a lot more speed in to the corners, braking much later, turning in later on some of the 45° corners too. I need to get some more testing under my belt. Really learn how to chuck the car round corners, get some more confidence in how she reacts.
My times weren't too bad compared to other cars. I was faster than a group of Peugeot 205 1.9 GTI's, a Lotus Sunbeam, Lotus Elan etc. I should be running rings round them, and with some more practice I probably will be. I'd like to get some slick tyres for the car, and get the front brakes working properly for next season. The Hawk Ferro-Carbon blue pads still don't stop the car. I guess theres just not enough hydraulic pressure for the HiSpec calipers to work properly. I spoke with the owner of a Triumph TR8, and he said he had exactly the same problem, and he cured it by fitting a remote servo. I think I may do the same.
 A short (3MB) MPEG video clip of a portion of my first timed run is available for download. Click the icon to view the car in action, with sound too.
Modifcations on the day
Altered the position of the front strut tops, to give me some more camber for the second timed run of the day. But it rained so I'm not sure if it really made any difference.
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