The plan for Oulton was to be composed, relaxed and ready for anything. I had new slicks to be fitted to replace the now hard Hoosiers and 2nd hand Avons that I had used for two years and a new set of wheels on which to put them. No major work was needed on the car other than to straighten up the o/s/r suspension, blank off a lot of holes in the front firewall and get rid of some brake judder resulting from a mildly warped front disc.
Of course nothing ever works out quite that well, the wheels didn't turn up and I was forced to have the new slicks fitted on the current rims and even that didn't work as the new rear slicks are an inch wider than the old ones and the tyre fitters refused to try on the basis that it looked very dodgy. I chased the wheels down on friday to the local parcelforce depot (where they had forgotten to put the parcels on the delivery lorry) but the tyre depot closed early so no new slicks for the rear. The new wheels are magnificent it has to be said and suit the car beautifully and well worth the wait (even if it has messed me around somewhat this year already).
I drove up to the circuit on Friday night on the basis that it simply wasn't worth trying to get there early enough on Saturday and a decent night's sleep before was a real novelty. A number of other competitors had done the same and our strip of the paddock was already well populated with tents and caravans everywhere. Rather reassuring that there are still people dedicated enough to make the effort. Race day turned out to be beautiful weather, a light breeze, broken sunshine and very pleasant air temperature (if a little warm for the engine's liking). Given the terrible weather we have seen for the past two weeks this was a welcome relief.
Before starting there was a compulsory official briefing for all drivers (not just newcomers to the circuit) with some stern words on driver behaviour which was repeated again for the race series by our own organiser. Qualifying was tricky - the old rear slicks took a good 4 laps to warm up enough to become sticky but then the car became quite nicely hooked up and much more stable and I managed a few good laps before the session closed. Sadly it just showed how slow the car is at Oulton and how much more I have to learn still. My nearest competitor was Trevor in his Lancia Kappa (once again) just 1 second ahead of me. He might have done better if not for a torn-up front tyre (brand new so a bit of a shame).
The first pleasant suprise of the day came in the shape of a tyre specialist setting up shop (we had looked earlier and found none) so the new slicks became viable once more and proved to fit the rims beautifully. Trevor solved his tyre problem by opting to use his wet tyres at the rear and making the most of the opportunity to test his new car in a race.
The race itself was most entertaining but somewhat frustrating - off the grid I thought I had beaten Trevor to the first corner but a pair of tangling Golf GTi's ahead forced me to hold back and gave Trevor a break. The next four laps were spent trying to get close enough to Trevor to pass him but the extra grunt from his Alfa V6 made sure that I could never quite manage it. The new slicks were proving much better especially on the stability front, the new brakes finally starting to work adequately. With returned confidence in the car's behaviour I was still pushing hard though - making sure Trevor earned his place. It only took 5 laps though before the Primeras and the Harrier came flying past disrupting our little battle and ultimately putting Trevor too far ahead to mount a challenge. My own class challenge was a lost cause from the start with Tim Lewis' all conquering Alfasud Sprint given the class A race leaders something to think about although I am now within 15% of his laptimes and he does have a significant weight advantage (actually lighter that the class allows but while I am still nowhere near him in terms of performance I am willing to let it ride).
We lost a few people through the race - Chris's new Uno dying on lap 5 and a pair of the production saloons Golfs given up the ghost mid-race. The important thing though is that despite some very close wrangling there were no incidents and I believe every one made it home without bashed and dented panels.
Overall a very enjoyable day with confidence in my car returning and some restored faith in the series. The unusual aspect of running side-by-side with the production saloons made for some entertaining views as they struggled with grip in places.
Next stop is Silverstone in two weeks!
See the results page for the current scores.
