|
|
Last  on
Mallory Park (test), July 10th 2002
Well, Mallory Park was absolutely fantastic. I completed about 40 laps over two 30 minute sessions. Taking care not to rush in to things, I started off gradually increasing the speed, lapping the 1.35 mile circuit in 1m15's, and after coming back in and checking oil and water levels, I set off again on the 2nd session, consistently lapping in the 1m05's, chasing two 1300 Mini's round and round the circuit. The mini's were awesome, 3 wheeling round the bends, right on the limit. I don't have the commitment yet to stay with them. After I've checked the suspension for signs of stress, I'll have a bit more confidence about hanging on in the corners. Two cars crashed in the first 30 minute session, resulting in two red flags. Both were pretty badly smashed up, and this just reminds you that you're never that far away from making a mess of your car, and it is only a test session after all.
The Fiesta isn't exactly geared for circuit racing, and I was pulling 7000 rpm in 5th along the main straight after Gerards, and man, does she fly! I was being overtaken all the time by much faster machinery, ie TVR's, Morgan V8's, BMW M3's etc, but it was such good fun. I managed to fill the oil-breather bottle with collected oil on the second run (I was trying much harder this time). This was caused by oil collecting at the end of the rocker cover under the very long flat right hand corner (Gerards), which lasted about 10 seconds each lap. So I need to relocate the breather hose to prevent oil from draining out the rocker cover under hard cornering. But apart from that, no faults on the car occured, the gearbox is an absolute delight, and the LSD makes the car just pull and pull, with no wheelspin out the corners. Tremendous fun. I'm sooo glad I fitted mirrors to the car. If you've never raced on a circuit, you just wont realise how quickly traffic comes up on you, so you really need to keep your whits about you so they have room to pass safely.
The front brakes weren't very confidence inspiring. Either the HiSpec 4pot calipers were a complete waste of money, or the EBC Greenstuff pads are not up to the job. Apart from covering the front wheels in brake dust, the front brakes really didn't operate that well. I'll fit the Hawk Ferro-Carbon pads for the next event. These are allegedly much better from cold, so I'll soon see when I'm next out and about.
Clip 1 Starting the 2nd 30 minute session
Clip 2 Flat in fifth
Clip 3 Racing a Morgan
Clip 4 That Morgan again
Clip 5 Traffic galore
Clip 6 Flat in fifth again
Clip 7 Catching some Mini's
Clip 8 Another fast lap
Clip 9 Returning to the pits
|
