MGCC Autosolo

I've never done an autotest before so when I heard about the MGCC's autosolo I thought it sounded spot on as there is no reversing. My car is pretty hard to see out the back off due to the bucket seats so forwards only suits me great. As you were allowed dual entries I asked Niall to come up to have a spin too. He built most of the car so really it's about time he got a run in it.

The first test we were to do was Test 2 and it was pretty complex. For a couple of people who had never autotested before it was very difficult just trying to remember where we were going, never mind concentrate on trying to drive the car. Once we had our heads round the correct route it became very clear very quickly that traction was going to be our biggest barrier to quick times. We weren't that bothered though as we were only there to race each other.

During the day we both got a few penalties and a few failed tests but it was great craic. The weather stayed good so that makes any motor sport day much more enjoyable. My nice new Quatrac tyres didn't enjoy the day much though and they were pretty torn up by the end, I'd say they are down to half their tread depth already.

Unbelievably in the final results we both finished up with the exact same total time, a joint 7th in class!

There were some real nice cars there on the day, I'm a big fan of the Sebring body kit on a MGB GT.

Suz Graham's video of me:



And Pete Moore's video of the event:


Costs:
Entry fee £17
Petrol £23, it wasn't all used.

Ballynahinch Autumn Lanes Rally 2011

Saturday past (12th November) saw the second running of the Ballynahinch Autumn Lanes rally. It was a good event last year but it was even better this time round. BADMC had managed to reduced the road mileage and found a lot of new venues. Most of this years lanes were new and less autotesty than last time. Those were the only 2 issues that let the event down previously so with both having been worked on it turned out to be a great rally.

I have been out in the Nova a lot this last month so I was feeling very comfortable and was able to push pretty hard right from the off. The new tests were good proper lanes tests that I could get my teeth into, and not too many 180's round cones which really kill my times. As well as that the tests were well set up and most of the cones were taped to show which way round to go so we were clean all day and I really enjoyed all the tests. We did get a bit caught out though with there being no lunch halt. The tests were well scheduled so we only had a couple of minutes to wait at each so there was no chance to eat until things got held up a bit due to a faulty clock on the last loop.

I had installed a steering wheel knob for the first time to see if it would help me steer through the tight sections more quickly, but I couldn't really get into the way of using it. Normally when coming out of a tight section I loosen my grip and let the steering wheel slip through my fingers to straighten the wheels, but with the knob on I can't do that very easily. I found myself changing between my normal "quarter to three" grip and using the steering knob much too often, sometimes in the middle of corners, and it was just making thing more awkward. I can see the benefits of the steering knob though I think I'll persevere a bit longer and see if I can get used to it.
Andy Hughes had replaced his 106 for a 306 GTI before the rally so I was really pleased to see that we weren't too far behind his times considering he has twice the power, and due to a Quaife ATB diff, twice the grip. Having said that it was his first time in the car so I'm sure hes not fully up to speed yet. I think that traction is one of the things that is holding me back most so I will have to look into getting an uprated diff for myself. There is currently a used one on eBay that I've my eye on so I will see how the auction goes.

I had the GoPro in for all the tests so I will try get the footage uploaded soon.

Costs
Entry fee: £65
Club membership: £10
Petrol: £25 to fill the tank before the start.

Ballynahinch Motor Club
Results
Peespeed's Photos
Neillpics Photos

Firecracker Nav Rally 2011

Well that is the championship over for another year with the Firecracker Rally on Friday night having been the last round.

It was a good night for trying out my new tyres as it was dry and clear and the Class 2 championship had already been decided. There had been heavy rain in the days leading up to the event so from TCB to TCD had been scrapped due to flooding and so we had a relaxed section instead. This suited me fine as it meant I had a chance to explain to the following crews why I had been driving so slowly!

I wasn't getting on at all well with my new tyres. I had no feeling from the front of the car or from the brakes so I was being extra super cautious in the corners. I've heard that there is a releasing agent used at the factory to get them out of their moulds and it takes a few miles to scrub it off but it's not something I've ever noticed before. I have to say though that by the end of the night either the tyres improved greatly or I had just got used to them because I though they were working great. On the few dirty sections of road it definitely felt like they were biting in harder and giving me good grip. All in all I'm very pleased with my new Quatrac 3's.

We were getting on pretty well, there where a some tricky sections and Rachel was deciphering the instruction quickly, but Andy and Neil where right with us all night. We swapped road positions several times but it wasn't until they missed a junction, leading to a wrong approach and a couple of missed secrets that we could put some space between them and us. Once we seen that they had made a mistake we knew if we kept it clean for the rest of the night they couldn't catch us.

The navigation for the second half of the rally seemed to be easier and we didn't need to push too hard but we did get caught out when the road turned 90 right after a crest and we carried straight on up a farm lane. We were leading a convoy of 4 cars at that point and 3 of us went up the lane before we got stopped. My panic braking knocked off the shelf above my peddles and it was hanging down round my feet which make it very difficult to drive but I get it wedged back into place somehow and we didn't lose too much time.

At the end of the night we were 1st in class 2 which makes it 3 class wins from 4 starts this year, a record I'm very proud off. The only one that let us down was getting stuck in that field in Tyrone on the Erne Safari. We pulled the championship back to make it look like it was tighter than it really was with Davy and Clive beating us by a single point in the end. I had great fun at the nav rallies this year and with more wins than anyone else I feel pretty confident we would be in a good position for the 2012 championship.

Before the next outing I need to look at removing the shelf above the pedals and relocating the switches that are mounted on it. I need adjust the exhaust to stop if touching the body as it is making a terrible racket and I need to reattach my rear view mirror as it has fallen off.


Firecracker Results

New Tyres

I was in fairly desperate need for some new tyres on the Nova, the ones I had on it were well past their best. I had been planning to just get another pair of Pirelli P6000's but Andy Hughes changed my mind. He had used Vredestein Quatrac 3's on his 106 for the Circuit Retro and was really pleased with how they performed. The Quatrac 3 is an all seasons tyre, half snow & mud and half dry tarmac. I think it should suit the style of rallying I do very well. Most of the nav rallies are in the winter, on dirty back roads, so the more open tread pattern should work well for clearing the mud and water. And the more solid, dry tarmac biased outside edge should help the tyre handle and wear better. The M&S section of the tyre should also be an advantage on the very dirty lanes and farm yards I find myself in on lanes rallies. Hopefully it will be a winner all round.

The tyres were £55 each fitted for a 185/60 R14.

Ciaran

Bit of Work on the Nova

There was some work needed on the Nova before the Orchard nav rally. First on the list was to get some more light. I'd toyed with the idea of buying some expensive spotlights, but then I caught myself on and bought some much cheaper and 80% as good Ring Rally Giants from eBay. Spotlights are much to vulnerable on a night nav car to spend a lot of money on. They would be the first things to get wrecked if I ended up nosing into a hedge somewhere. As there is plenty of space between the bumper and the front panel on a Nova I decided the best/easiest way to mount them would be to weld a couple of plates to the bumper steel and then make up some simple "L" shaped bracket to come up over the top.

All the wiring was still in the car from the previous small spotlights that I had so I only had to ran a bit of new cable to the lights and tidy up the existing wiring and I ready to rock.

I'm really pleased with how the brackets turned out and the lights are now mounted very solidly. I might even get away without having to fit any stabiliser bars.

The next job was refitting my front mud flaps to the new wings. I made up some small brackets from aluminium angle and used Rivnuts to attach them to the car. Rivnuts are brilliant. They are similar to a rivet but have a threaded insert to allow you to screw a bolt into sheet metal. I intend to use them in many other places on the car.

The final job was to make up a bracket to mount my trip and rally timer. I wanted to move the instruments closer to Rachel as she was having trouble reaching them while belted in. The easiest way to do that was with a simple folded bracket.

However this wasn't up to the job. It bounced about and vibrated so much it was next to useless. Rather than scrap the bracket and start again I thought that a brace at the top would hold it all together much more firmly. I made up this wee steady bar and it has done the job perfectly.

So that's a few job checked of the list, but as always there are plenty more to do.

Ciaran