Hi Mate , great too see you last weekend , some cracking photoβs .
Well what a weekend , preparation for Snetterton had been tough , basically after Oulton park it became apparent that the Noble was just not quick enough too keep with the VXR , a combination of its lightweight and plenty of power made its apex speeds 2mph quicker than we could achieve and itβs straight line speed was fast also .
I sat in the garage with the Noble and we had a chat , the girl had given her everything over the last 2 seasons and been pretty unstoppable but I think we both new we were facing a massive battle to beat the VXR !!!! There is some scars of battle on her , the body is battered in places , the window screen is cracked in 2 places and the wheels need a refurb but the heart of her the engine is still sounding superb π
Considering together we had been up to 3 seconds quicker this year than last there was no fault with the green machine !!!
So ............... fuckit we are not giving in without a fight so I got stuck in , full service on the engine , gearbox oil change , brakes stripped and serviced , Dampers sent back and serviced , body polished and a thorough clean !!
New stiffer springs ordered to try and stop the aero loads squashing the suspension down , full geo setup done and we are ready !
In between that Iβm still doing miles on my bike to get fit and a 5 hour enduro Race in a Citroen C1 to learn the Snetterton 300 Circuit !,
We arrived Friday night and I was nervous , we needed to win the weekend outright to stand a chance of winning the championship, thatβs a massive ask but I was going to give it my all .
Thankfully the sun shone sat morning and the Noble seemed to be smiling as she peaked out the front of the garage , it was showtime ππ
First and second practise went well and we both enjoy the 200 Circuit , still had a problem with the nose hitting the floor when braking hard but nothing we could do about that , best lap last year was a 1.20 so the aim was to beat that , the Engine felt faster for some reason and 100mph around Corum confirmed that things were working well , running med boost (622 bhp) we banged in a 1,18 lap , fantastic 2 seconds faster than last year and a new Time Attack lap record !!!!
Job done pole position.
An hour wait and checkover and we are sat in the pits ready to go out for the final , still running med boost out we went again the Noble felt awesome and we just went for it , no easing off or cool down laps just 20 minutes of flat out , running to the Rev limit in every gear the engine absolutely singing we smashed in the 1.17 Lap time π 3 seconds quicker and beating our own lap record , the VXR just could not match the pace we had so we took the win ππππππ
Day 1 Done β
Sunday morning and Iβm up early , Car is checked over And fuelled up and we are ready to go , the braking issue is getting worse and Iβm concerned about the front Dampers , they are brand new but donβt seem to be working that well add to that some understeer that is creeping in and Iβm not totally sure what to do .
Go out for 1st and 2nd practise and the Noble is not happy , with the 300 having lots of corners the understeer is bad and again the nose is bashing on the floor at the end of the 2 straights !!!
Alan my pit engineer gets out my old Dampers and after a chat we decide to change the front Dampers only problem is we only have 25 mins to swap them over and we needed to swap the springs over as well !!
While aAllan get the Dampers off I prep the old Dampers , quickly everything is changed and I set the Dampers up as per my notes from when I last run the Dampers .
On the floor with 5 mins to spare and Iβm strapped in and ready to go .......... suddenly as Iβm pulling out the garage Dawn comes on the radio telling me to stop as the nose is very high , turns out I had forgotten the new springs are stiffer than the old springs so the ride height is all wrong π©π© instead of 3 inches of clearance on the splitter I have 51/2 inches ! Oh curse word π© .
Nothing I could but carry on so itβs down the pit lane and wait .
At this moment I had a decision to make , go back into the garage and miss quali to resett the Dampers or head out on track and give it a go ............. there was also a risk to the car , with speeds of 145 mph down the Bently straight would the Noble be at unstable with the high nose , if we missed quali the points lost would mean we could not win the championship ...... suddenly the lights went green and we headed out on track , 2 Laos warm up and we started to push .....then something very strange happened , the understeer that had plagued me for 2 days had gone and the braking felt so much better , more stable so we pushed , the times came down , still P2 after the VXR so I eased up and did a couple of cool down laps , Iβm tired itβs been a busy weekend Dawn tells me that we will cross the line with 30 seconds to go to do our last flying lap so for the first time this season itβs up to full boost and we just went for it , 680 bhp we are in full Attack mode , the Noble just gripped like never before ,
Sector 1 is a green sector as is sector 2 we are flying , twice I run straight into the Rev limiter no choice but to keep my foot to the floor ............. as I cross the start finish line I know itβs one of the best race laps I have ever driven in Time Attack , Iβm sweating and breathing heavy , the Noble is sweating also π© I look over and the engine oil temp gauge is bright red 120 degrees oil temp is very high and the gearbox oil temp is 130 degrees and glowing red also ............ I limp around the track waiting for Dawn to give me the time 2.03 P1 we beat the VXR buy 1 second π
I get back to the pits and Iβm elated but exhausted I also feel guilty as hell , the noble is literally smoking , the heat when we open the rear clam nearly takes my eyebrows off so we grab all the fans we have and start to cool her down , the laptime is a new lap record but itβs only quali and we still have the final to do !!
Nobody can believe the lap time considering the stupidily high nose but it just worked !!!
We put in another 25 litres of fuel (total fuel usage for the weekend (175 litres π±)
Suddenly we trundle down the pit lane and we are queuing for the final , if we win this we can go to Rockingham on equal points and means we stand a chance .
2 warm up laps done and we smash out a fast lap , P1 with a 2.04 still going for it when suddenly the exhaust goes noisy , no time to worry so I keep on it heading onto the Bently straight flat chap and a smell hits me ............. something is very hot !!!!!!!! at that moment I realised
Winning did not matter , killing the Noble was not a option we have both been through too much together , I lift off brake hard and head for a marshal fire point , the final is over π’
We finished P2 , the front Turbo to manifold gasket has failed and the red hot exhaust gasses weβre burning everything around it , had I carried on there is no doubt it could have got vary serious !!
2 pole positions , 1 lap record and a win and a second is a pretty impressive weekend in anybodyβs book , add to that the team I race for ACMR Motorsport won the best team award and Iβm pretty chuffed with the weekend .
Thankfully the damage to the Noble is not serious and we will be at Rockingham but Iβm afraid to say Rockingham will be our last Time Attack round , I have decided to on advice from the transplant team itβs time for me and the Noble to take a year off .
Itβs been an amazing 4 years but I need to protect me and the Noble .
Thanks for reading guys .
Tux