Snetterton Race Preview
Snetterton Race Preview. So, as we head to Snetterton in Norfolk for the latest round of the BARC South East Quaife Cannons Tin Tops (2nd October) we are optimistic for a better weekend of racing compared to our last race at Brands Hatch on 17th September.
We left Brands Hatch with a feeling of might have been. Following the summer break, we qualified on pole for a our first race since the end of June, but that’s about as good as it got.
On pole by almost half a second from championship Chris Whiteman in his Honda Civic, we traded first and second for the first nine laps – the power of the Honda passing us on the straight but us, out-braking going into Paddock Hill bend and ahead for the rest of the lap until we reached the main straight.
And so the game Continued until the Peugeot developed what seemed like a misfire. We limped home in third place, picking up some vital points along the way. Still not a bad result considering the problems and another trip on to the podium.
During the break in-between race one and two, Tom Motorsport changed the coil pack, ignition leads, spark plugs and checked everything over to try and cure the problem. We headed into race two third on the grid, not knowing if the problem was fixed.
Snetterton Race Preview
We made a great start and squeezed between the two Honda’s of Chris and Daniel Fisher and into the lead. We began to build up a lead over the course of the rest of the lap while they squabbled for places and held each other up.
As we approached the start-finish line, the misfire returned and we lost two places to Daniel and Chris. Chris then passed Daniel a lap later and built up a comfortable lead he didn’t lose.
The misfire appeared to fix itself from the third lap for two laps and I was able to close back up to Daniel, until entering Paddock Hill Bend, The back stepped out, the engine spluttered and lost power, and a trip across the grass on the opposite side of the track was unavoidable.
I returned to the track back in 6th place and over the next two laps worked my way past Ken Angell’s BMW 3 Series and Graham Richardson’s Honda Civic. While closing in on Daniel Adams and his Proton Satria, a moment of brain fade (again going into Paddock Hill Bend) cost us any further points.
I’m still not quite sure why I thought it would be a good idea, but suffice to say, you can’t take the corner flat in 5th! A trip into the gravel, and so much lost time as a result, cost me another podium finish and we limped home in 14th and with the misfire returning.
The week after Brands Hatch, I was hoping to race in the Tricolor championship (a series specifically for French cars) at Mallory Park in Leicestershire. Tom Motorsport, who prepares the car, changed some of the parts which we thought might be causing us the problems and we decided to go testing to make sure we had the problem cured.
Unfortunately, the same problem persisted and we went home with even more problems than what we came with at the beginning of the day!
Snetterton Race Preview
A few phone calls and a trip to Leicester to Peugeot specialists Spoox Motorsport (which is where we purchase the majority of our spares and modifications from) and we felt we might have an answer. Both Darren and Ben from Spoox (along with Tom Burgess from Tom Motorsport) have been invaluable as we look to develop the Peugeot. Anyone with a Peugeot 205, should get in touch with them. What Darren and Ben don’t know about them isn’t worth knowing.
Before we traveled over to Norfolk for the next race, we felt it important we had another shake down test day at Brands Hatch – it’s the only place where we could replicate the exact same thing on the exact same piece of Tarmac – I just don’t think that a session on a rolling road would have been any help in this instance.
So, another day at Brands Hatch was booked, and fingers crossed, we think we found the problem – a faulty fuel pump. New pump fitted, along with a few other parts, and we effectively completed three race distances with no problems.
We’re now ready for our trip to Snetterton and looking forward to a better race weekend. Fingers crossed, but you never truly know – the race car is French and has a habit of surprising us!
A massive thank you to Tom Motorsport and Spoox Motorsport, along with my racing partners – Complete Weed Control, Complete Ice Control, Etesia UK and Fusion Media, for without their help, racing would not be possible.
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