Race Report!

First session I got black flagged due to excessive smoke from the wheel arches rubbing on the wide arch. We raised the car which half fixed the problem. We decided to adjust the fuel pressure for full power and the threads shat itself rendering it useless (Cheap £15 eBay job).

Luckily i chucked in the Expensive FMU I’ve been meaning to fit for months but we lacked some hose and clamps, quick call to Parkers in Louth and we had some delivered to the circuit and installed the FMU.

Fitting the FMU Massively improved how the car ran and performed. By this time we had missed a couple sessions (Today was a 20 minute session per hour, not open pitlane) and we didn’t get back on circuit till the afternoon.

Next session our was going alright, Tyres and brakes started to bed in and more and more confidence was gained with the car, Still going take corners with aggression as the tyres were still rubbing and I didn’t want to get black flagged again. As the session went on I noticed going into coppice, the car became unsettled mid corner, I had concluded at the time the wheels were bottoming out on the wide arch’s, but towards the end of the session the water temp gauge warning started to go off and the coolant needle on the cluster was pinned past the “Oh Shit Son” point… A couple of cool down laps did little to fix it and the session was chequer flagged.

Pulling into the pits, a quick look around the car concluded the overflow tank had puked all over the passenger front tyre, which explains the skittish behaviour into coppice! We concluded the Factory fan relay had failed not allowing the fan to run, we determined this the cause of the overheating. Let her cool down, checked and topped up fluids and waited for the next session.

Next session went about the same, brakes felt better and better, still couldn’t push 100% due to the tyre rubbing. Again towards the end of the session it overheated again with the overflow puking over the passenger tyre. We checked again, nothing obvious, We had concluded at this point that maybe the water pump impellor was not working correct, maybe due to missing fins or corrosion. As the coolant when drain has a weird, dark ish black colour to it. But it isn’t oily, nor smells of oil or exhaust gases.

By this point a late finished this morning was taking its tool, we decided not to do anymore adjustments at this stage and just go out and potter round for the last session, which was going fine until the point I decided I’d had enough and came off a few minutes early before the session ended. By this point i had been watching both coolant temp gauges like a hawk on the previous session. As I passed under the Comma bridge, temp was fine, but just a mere 50ft further on as i was entering the escape road for the pits, both coolant meters spiked, suggestion overheating again.

As i pulled in, the bonnet was opened and we discovered the Radiator was stone cold, yet both gauges (OEM and aftermarket) Showing overheating. So we concluded that the thermostat was the cause – Which makes sense as the Both gauges were fluctuation temperature no matter if going hard or going slow…

So some adjustments to make tomorrow and we should be good for Monday to claim that last place trophy!