Monday 5 December 2011
MGCC Autosolo 2011, Videos
Just a couple of videos to compare Niall's and my fastest runs on Test 1 and Test 3 of the auto. Pity I didn't have the camera on for Test 2 where I beat him because on just this video evidence I beat me every time.
Monday 21 November 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday 15 November 2011
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
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
Tuesday 8 November 2011
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
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
Thursday 3 November 2011
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
The tyres were £55 each fitted for a 185/60 R14.
Ciaran
Wednesday 2 November 2011
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.
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
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.
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
Monday 31 October 2011
Circuit Retro 2011 - In-Car Videos
I'm finally starting to get my head around video editing so hopefully there should be a lot of videos going up on YouTube over the next few weeks.
This is the in-car from the Tollymore Forest, it was one of the best of the rally. The full stage was used later in the day for the Down Rally but we only got to use a small section of it.
This is the in-car from the Tollymore Forest, it was one of the best of the rally. The full stage was used later in the day for the Down Rally but we only got to use a small section of it.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
Circuit Retro 2011
Another full weekend of motorsport, that's 2 in 3 weekends, October has been a great month.
This time it was the Circuit Retro, organised by the UAC, which for the first time were running a class for modern cars. Andy Hughes had asked me to sit with him as his regular navigator was unavailable and I jumped at the chance. My Nova isn't ready for a 3 day lanes rally so sitting with Andy is the next best thing. He had sources a short ratio gearbox from a 1300cc 106 Rallye for his 1400cc XSi 106 and was excited about how much quicker it made the car. Unfortunately it was the new gear box that let us down. After just 2 tests the gearbox started to whine and had trouble selecting gears. We battled on for another few tests and then decided to pull out and head back to Tandragee to investigate.
It didn't take long to find the problem. This is the bolt hole where the gearbox mount joins to the gearbox.
So with the rallye gearbox being scrap we started swapping it out for the old reliable GTI 'box that had come out just the week before. With some guidance from Mark, Andy's friendly local mechanic, and the use of his lift we had the broken 'box out and the good one back in by 20:30 and were ready to tackle Saturday and Sundays tests.
And what tests they were! The first 2 tests were part of stages from the Down Rally, Tollymore and Castlewellan. Getting the chance to experience those stages was brilliant, I've never seen a forest stage from the inside and they were well worth the early start. From there we spent the rest of the day doing 9 tests on the stages in Slieve Gullion Forest Park. The GTI gearbox was geared too long for the Gullion tests as they were mostly uphill but we still enjoyed the hoke.
On Sunday we did several tests on our way down to Kirkistown race circuit, the best of which was Dunleath Farm. I hadn't a clue where we were going but Andy knew the test as he had set it up in previous years and we set a great time. The Kirkistown test were a chance to stretch the cars legs with some longer tests and they where the best of the weekend. There are enough tests at Kirkistown for it to host a whole lanes rally within its grounds so I hope that is something that can be organised in the future, I for one would be very keen to go back.
From talking to people at the end everyone really enjoyed the event and the UAC did a great job of running it. The weather was about as bad as it gets and still the marshals stood out in it and I didn't hear any of them complain about it. Hopefully I can support the event again next year and get my own car out. I was very impressed with Andy's driving and I'd have to admit that it felt like he is quicker than me, much more attacking and confident, I really enjoyed sitting in with him, he's good craic too. I had the Go Pro in for most of the tests so I'll link to the videos when I get them edited down.
Ciaran
Circuit Retro
Graham Curry's Photos
Peespeed's Photos
This time it was the Circuit Retro, organised by the UAC, which for the first time were running a class for modern cars. Andy Hughes had asked me to sit with him as his regular navigator was unavailable and I jumped at the chance. My Nova isn't ready for a 3 day lanes rally so sitting with Andy is the next best thing. He had sources a short ratio gearbox from a 1300cc 106 Rallye for his 1400cc XSi 106 and was excited about how much quicker it made the car. Unfortunately it was the new gear box that let us down. After just 2 tests the gearbox started to whine and had trouble selecting gears. We battled on for another few tests and then decided to pull out and head back to Tandragee to investigate.
It didn't take long to find the problem. This is the bolt hole where the gearbox mount joins to the gearbox.
So with the rallye gearbox being scrap we started swapping it out for the old reliable GTI 'box that had come out just the week before. With some guidance from Mark, Andy's friendly local mechanic, and the use of his lift we had the broken 'box out and the good one back in by 20:30 and were ready to tackle Saturday and Sundays tests.
And what tests they were! The first 2 tests were part of stages from the Down Rally, Tollymore and Castlewellan. Getting the chance to experience those stages was brilliant, I've never seen a forest stage from the inside and they were well worth the early start. From there we spent the rest of the day doing 9 tests on the stages in Slieve Gullion Forest Park. The GTI gearbox was geared too long for the Gullion tests as they were mostly uphill but we still enjoyed the hoke.
On Sunday we did several tests on our way down to Kirkistown race circuit, the best of which was Dunleath Farm. I hadn't a clue where we were going but Andy knew the test as he had set it up in previous years and we set a great time. The Kirkistown test were a chance to stretch the cars legs with some longer tests and they where the best of the weekend. There are enough tests at Kirkistown for it to host a whole lanes rally within its grounds so I hope that is something that can be organised in the future, I for one would be very keen to go back.
From talking to people at the end everyone really enjoyed the event and the UAC did a great job of running it. The weather was about as bad as it gets and still the marshals stood out in it and I didn't hear any of them complain about it. Hopefully I can support the event again next year and get my own car out. I was very impressed with Andy's driving and I'd have to admit that it felt like he is quicker than me, much more attacking and confident, I really enjoyed sitting in with him, he's good craic too. I had the Go Pro in for most of the tests so I'll link to the videos when I get them edited down.
Ciaran
Circuit Retro
Graham Curry's Photos
Peespeed's Photos
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Hero to Zero
What a weekend, absolutely brilliant! Two events in two days is a great way to spend a weekend.
First up we had North Armagh Motor Clubs Orchard Navigation Rally. It was the first nav' to run in the second half of the season, everyone was well up for it and the club didn't disappoint. The event ran in the area south of Armagh City for the first time and it was a worth while change, the roads were great. I had to press on most of the night and the roads took a lot of driving. It had been fairly wet leading up to the rally so there were large puddles on most route with us having to wade through a couple of flooded sections. Having not had the Nova out on a nav' for almost a year it took a bit of getting used to, I've grown used to having power steering in the Passat, but the Nova coped very well with a couple of miss judged yumps. The first was just before the relaxed section and as I was following another competitor I only had my dipped lights on, which are very poor and I didn't notice the bump, so didn't slow down for it. We got launched feet into the air, well it felt like that anyway, and then landed hard. The Bilstein dampers I have in the back of the car seem to be a great job as it landed nice and sweet and without drama, unlike some other crews I talked to who also got caught out and then had the back of the car bounce back off the road again. Or that might just be the famous 106 torsion beam rear end. The second bump was just after relaxed and had a dip just before it so this time it launched us up onto our nose, there are scratches on the front of the bumper! Our underbelly served as a warning to Clifford Auld who was following as he just managed to get slowed down in time and avoided doing the same thing. Great nights craic and it was fantastic to see all the old faces out again. Speaking of which, Paddy McCollum came out of retirement and put in his usual high quality performance to finish first overall. In doing so he has completed the full set and has now won all of the rallies in the navigation championship. To my knowledge he is the only person to have done this. And to top of the night we won our class, happy days.
So after a late night and then up early to get the car washed it was down to Larne for their first running of a lanes rally. Larne Motor Club had organised a very compact route with the total mileage for the event being just 55 miles and with most tests being lanes rather than autotests I was very much looking forward to the days motoring. The morning was very wet but it had mostly cleared up for the start. The rain had left the tests in a bit of a state and all were very slippery. This wasn't helped by my front tyres being almost completely worn out. I have to admit that I wasn't happy with my driving. I wasn't aggressive enough, I had no confidence in the grip and I was just rolling up to stop lines rather then attacking them, a very poor effort on my part. Other than that I was enjoying the rally, I love being out in the Nova no mater what I'm doing. Unfortunately my lack of confidence in the front end grip and my general poor driving on the event led to me getting stuck for 8 minutes. I was on a bad line coming into a 90 right and understeered into a soft bank that I couldn't reverse out off. I have it on video so I'll upload it in the future so we can all enjoy my mistake. Luckily a marshal and the land owners sons came to my rescue and got me out so we could carry on. There wasn't a mark on the car but the time loss was massive and meant we finished the rally in last place. My brother, Niall, was out on the rally as well in his newly acquired Sierra. He got on well and put up some very competitive times but he suffered the same fate as I had and got stuck in the scenery. The first test had a deep gravel section and and the Sierra just dug down into it until it was sitting on its belly, game over. He wasn't the only one to get caught out on that section as the Fletchers Escort ended up the same way. All in all we both enjoyed the rally and will be back next year, even though we finished last and second last.
Few things to sort out before the next event. I need to adjust my spot lights, they are shinning a bit high. I need to get 2 new front tyres, probably go for Pirelli P6000s again. And I need to work out a better way to mount my jack as it rattles a lot where it is and isn't actually very secure.
North Armagh Motor Club
Results
Larne Motor Club
Results
First up we had North Armagh Motor Clubs Orchard Navigation Rally. It was the first nav' to run in the second half of the season, everyone was well up for it and the club didn't disappoint. The event ran in the area south of Armagh City for the first time and it was a worth while change, the roads were great. I had to press on most of the night and the roads took a lot of driving. It had been fairly wet leading up to the rally so there were large puddles on most route with us having to wade through a couple of flooded sections. Having not had the Nova out on a nav' for almost a year it took a bit of getting used to, I've grown used to having power steering in the Passat, but the Nova coped very well with a couple of miss judged yumps. The first was just before the relaxed section and as I was following another competitor I only had my dipped lights on, which are very poor and I didn't notice the bump, so didn't slow down for it. We got launched feet into the air, well it felt like that anyway, and then landed hard. The Bilstein dampers I have in the back of the car seem to be a great job as it landed nice and sweet and without drama, unlike some other crews I talked to who also got caught out and then had the back of the car bounce back off the road again. Or that might just be the famous 106 torsion beam rear end. The second bump was just after relaxed and had a dip just before it so this time it launched us up onto our nose, there are scratches on the front of the bumper! Our underbelly served as a warning to Clifford Auld who was following as he just managed to get slowed down in time and avoided doing the same thing. Great nights craic and it was fantastic to see all the old faces out again. Speaking of which, Paddy McCollum came out of retirement and put in his usual high quality performance to finish first overall. In doing so he has completed the full set and has now won all of the rallies in the navigation championship. To my knowledge he is the only person to have done this. And to top of the night we won our class, happy days.
So after a late night and then up early to get the car washed it was down to Larne for their first running of a lanes rally. Larne Motor Club had organised a very compact route with the total mileage for the event being just 55 miles and with most tests being lanes rather than autotests I was very much looking forward to the days motoring. The morning was very wet but it had mostly cleared up for the start. The rain had left the tests in a bit of a state and all were very slippery. This wasn't helped by my front tyres being almost completely worn out. I have to admit that I wasn't happy with my driving. I wasn't aggressive enough, I had no confidence in the grip and I was just rolling up to stop lines rather then attacking them, a very poor effort on my part. Other than that I was enjoying the rally, I love being out in the Nova no mater what I'm doing. Unfortunately my lack of confidence in the front end grip and my general poor driving on the event led to me getting stuck for 8 minutes. I was on a bad line coming into a 90 right and understeered into a soft bank that I couldn't reverse out off. I have it on video so I'll upload it in the future so we can all enjoy my mistake. Luckily a marshal and the land owners sons came to my rescue and got me out so we could carry on. There wasn't a mark on the car but the time loss was massive and meant we finished the rally in last place. My brother, Niall, was out on the rally as well in his newly acquired Sierra. He got on well and put up some very competitive times but he suffered the same fate as I had and got stuck in the scenery. The first test had a deep gravel section and and the Sierra just dug down into it until it was sitting on its belly, game over. He wasn't the only one to get caught out on that section as the Fletchers Escort ended up the same way. All in all we both enjoyed the rally and will be back next year, even though we finished last and second last.
Few things to sort out before the next event. I need to adjust my spot lights, they are shinning a bit high. I need to get 2 new front tyres, probably go for Pirelli P6000s again. And I need to work out a better way to mount my jack as it rattles a lot where it is and isn't actually very secure.
North Armagh Motor Club
Results
Larne Motor Club
Results
Sunday 18 September 2011
Circuit of Down Nav Rally 2011
Unfortunately the Circuit of Down navigation rally rally didn't run on Friday night. Again the reason was a lack of entries. I thought that this one might have ran, there seemed to be a bit more movement towards people entering on Monday but it still wasn't enough. I've been putting posts up on Really Mean Sounds about the rallies so I think word is getting out, very slowly though. Not much we can do but keep plugging away in the hope that things will pick up again. There is a nav rally section on this years Circuit of Ireland Retro so if people enjoy it then they might think about doing a purely navigation event, we can but hope.
Really Mean Sounds
Newry and District Motor Club
Circuit of Ireland Retro
Really Mean Sounds
Newry and District Motor Club
Circuit of Ireland Retro
Sunday 4 September 2011
September Trial 2011
Some friends of mine were going down to the September Trial organised by the Four Wheel Drive Club NI today so I tagged along to see what the craic was. I've never been to a 4x4 trial before so it was pretty interesting. The trial is set out on the side of a hill and there are a series of gates that have to be passed through in the correct order, the more gates you pass through the fewer penalties that you receive, simple. The vehicle of choice seemed to be the small Suzuki SJ/Jimny with quite a few in action today. I was amazed at the hills they could climb and the amount of abuse they were able to take without complaint. A good mornings fun and we got away just before the rain started properly, happy days.
The photos don't really do the slope justice, it's actually much steeper than it looks here.
The photos don't really do the slope justice, it's actually much steeper than it looks here.
Friday 2 September 2011
Moonraker Nav Rally 2011
I'm not supposed to be in front of the computer right now. I should be out competing in Dungannon Motor Clubs Moonraker Rally but unfortunately it was cancelled due to lack of entries. DMC usually get a good entry for their rally as they run a popular rally school, so the fact that even they couldn't get enough crews to make the event viable is a very bad sign for Navigation rallying in general.
Entry numbers were down towards the end of last years championship and it was decided that if 2011 was also a bad year then there would be no championship in 2012, which looks very much like it is going to happen. I have been talking to Davy McElroy who runs Newry and District Motor Clubs Circuit of Down Navigation Rally and he didn't seem optimistic about the chances of it running either. Bad times ahead for Navigation rallying.
The Moonraker being cancelled is even more disappointing because I've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks getting the Nova ready for it. Got some new spotlights fitted and my rally timer installed, all ready to get stuck into the second half of the championship. I'm now left in the situation where the championship that I built my car for doesn't exist anymore, not sure what I'm going to do. There are a few more Lanes rallies popping up on the calender so I can do those as the car is now, but to do anything else I'm going to need to get the Nova log booked. That's not a big problem because I have most of the bits to get it up to spec but it's the extras that will require a bit of money. I'll need to upgrade my competition licence and get a rally suit and helmet. I think that will have to wait till next year.
Entry numbers were down towards the end of last years championship and it was decided that if 2011 was also a bad year then there would be no championship in 2012, which looks very much like it is going to happen. I have been talking to Davy McElroy who runs Newry and District Motor Clubs Circuit of Down Navigation Rally and he didn't seem optimistic about the chances of it running either. Bad times ahead for Navigation rallying.
The Moonraker being cancelled is even more disappointing because I've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks getting the Nova ready for it. Got some new spotlights fitted and my rally timer installed, all ready to get stuck into the second half of the championship. I'm now left in the situation where the championship that I built my car for doesn't exist anymore, not sure what I'm going to do. There are a few more Lanes rallies popping up on the calender so I can do those as the car is now, but to do anything else I'm going to need to get the Nova log booked. That's not a big problem because I have most of the bits to get it up to spec but it's the extras that will require a bit of money. I'll need to upgrade my competition licence and get a rally suit and helmet. I think that will have to wait till next year.
Sunday 31 July 2011
Lurgan Park Rally 2011
Rachel and I went along to the Lurgan Park Rally yesterday, it's only 2 miles up the road so it would have been rude not to really. I've been going to the rally since I was a child, my Dad would take us every year so it's almost a family tradition. As you would imagine the weather makes or breaks the event so we were lucky this year with some lovely sunshine, it's not often we got two sunny Saturdays in a row to enjoy some motorsport.
We got there on time to see the first stage which was just as well as I wanted to see Clive Latimer and Davy McElroy in action and they broke down in their Mini Clubman on the second stage. At least we got to see their only run of the day.
The highlight of the rally as far as I was concerned were the retro machines that Slowly Sideways Ireland had brought along. Beautiful looking and sounding cars, and the drivers were really going for it. I love how they all sound different, from the V6 of the 6R4, to the in-line 5 of the Audi, to the flat 6's in the Porsche's and the V8's in the TR7 and Jimmy McRae's 5.0 Firenza Can-Am, brilliant.
This Avenger rally car even had an Avenger service car to complete the period look:
Nicely turned out Nova engine bay:
Results:
http://www.anicc.org.uk/Resources/Documents/20110730_NAMC_LurganPark_Results.pdf
Slowly Sideways Ireland:
http://www.slowlysidewaysireland.com/
We got there on time to see the first stage which was just as well as I wanted to see Clive Latimer and Davy McElroy in action and they broke down in their Mini Clubman on the second stage. At least we got to see their only run of the day.
The highlight of the rally as far as I was concerned were the retro machines that Slowly Sideways Ireland had brought along. Beautiful looking and sounding cars, and the drivers were really going for it. I love how they all sound different, from the V6 of the 6R4, to the in-line 5 of the Audi, to the flat 6's in the Porsche's and the V8's in the TR7 and Jimmy McRae's 5.0 Firenza Can-Am, brilliant.
This Avenger rally car even had an Avenger service car to complete the period look:
Nicely turned out Nova engine bay:
Results:
http://www.anicc.org.uk/Resources/Documents/20110730_NAMC_LurganPark_Results.pdf
Slowly Sideways Ireland:
http://www.slowlysidewaysireland.com/
Tuesday 26 July 2011
QUBMC Summer Lanes 2011
Saturday at the Summer Lanes was great fun. I haven't done a flat out bit of driving for ages and it was brilliant to be back in the Nova again and even better the sun was shining. The Summer Lanes is open to all cars so there was quite a mix of cars among the 40 crews that started. My Nova, MX-5's, 1980's Starlets, a BMW CSL, Minis, Midgets, a Manta and the ever present RWD Fords. We completed 16 tests and everyone seemed to be having a great day out.
Rachel and I had a good run but made a mistake on the first run through the long Evervale test and incurred a test maximum which meant we posted a 5:31 rather than our 2:19. Losing over 3 minutes put us well out of the running but we kept our heads and didn't make anymore mistakes for the rest of the day, ending up 18th overall at the finish. Without our penalty we would have been 9th which I would have been happy with. Some of the lower cars had problems with the rougher sections of the route but as the Nova sits quite high my main worry was punctures. I didn't hear of anyone getting a puncture so maybe I was worrying about nothing.
I have a few things to look at before the next event. The engine felt a bit down on power, I'm not sure what was wrong but if felt a bit "flat". We turned down the fueling to pass the MOT emissions so maybe we went a bit too far. The handbreak wasn't as tight as I've been used to so I had to reverse a couple of times, not very tidy, or quick. Traction was also a minor problem, some new tyres might help or it might just have been that the lanes were greasy from lack of use.
I filmed the rally on my in-car camera so if I ever work out how to edit the footage I'll put up a link to it.
My Favourite photo is from Peespeed, I swear that's the way I meant to do it:
http://public.fotki.com/speedy/2011/qubmc-summer-lanes/img-4095.html
Results:
http://www.anicc.org.uk/Resources/Documents/20110723_QUBMC_SummerLanes_Results.pdf
Photos from the Pros:
Peespeed
http://public.fotki.com/speedy/2011/qubmc-summer-lanes/
Pete Moore
http://pete-moore.co.uk/?p=1514
Rachel and I had a good run but made a mistake on the first run through the long Evervale test and incurred a test maximum which meant we posted a 5:31 rather than our 2:19. Losing over 3 minutes put us well out of the running but we kept our heads and didn't make anymore mistakes for the rest of the day, ending up 18th overall at the finish. Without our penalty we would have been 9th which I would have been happy with. Some of the lower cars had problems with the rougher sections of the route but as the Nova sits quite high my main worry was punctures. I didn't hear of anyone getting a puncture so maybe I was worrying about nothing.
I have a few things to look at before the next event. The engine felt a bit down on power, I'm not sure what was wrong but if felt a bit "flat". We turned down the fueling to pass the MOT emissions so maybe we went a bit too far. The handbreak wasn't as tight as I've been used to so I had to reverse a couple of times, not very tidy, or quick. Traction was also a minor problem, some new tyres might help or it might just have been that the lanes were greasy from lack of use.
I filmed the rally on my in-car camera so if I ever work out how to edit the footage I'll put up a link to it.
My Favourite photo is from Peespeed, I swear that's the way I meant to do it:
http://public.fotki.com/speedy/2011/qubmc-summer-lanes/img-4095.html
Results:
http://www.anicc.org.uk/Resources/Documents/20110723_QUBMC_SummerLanes_Results.pdf
Photos from the Pros:
Peespeed
http://public.fotki.com/speedy/2011/qubmc-summer-lanes/
Pete Moore
http://pete-moore.co.uk/?p=1514
Sunday 26 June 2011
MOT Pass
Brilliant news, the rally Nova passed it's MOT yesterday. All I need now is some road tax and I'm fully legal again. It feels like the car has been off the road for ages so it was great to take it for a drive. I love driving it, it's raw and noisy but I get a kick out of every mile I do in it. There is still plenty of work to be done to tidy the car up but at least I can use it again now. I have bought all the equipment that is needed to build the car up to MSA spec so I can get it log booked, then I can use it in any event I want.
I would never have got it finished without all the work that Niall has done on it. He is really enthusiastic about the rally car and he mechanics at 10 times the speed I do.
I would never have got it finished without all the work that Niall has done on it. He is really enthusiastic about the rally car and he mechanics at 10 times the speed I do.
Monday 6 June 2011
Engine Running Again
Got the engine fitted back in to the rally car on Saturday and got it all plumbed and wired. I was very pleased to see that it started first turn of the key and seems to running sweet. The radiator from the donor car has a leak so I picked up a new one today, £54 and they even had one in stock.
The four branch exhaust manifold got bent by the tie bar during the crash and it has closed off one of the branches by about 50%. It doesn't look like it will be easy to fix so I'll leave it as it is for now, I hope it doesn't cause any damage to the engine.
The four branch exhaust manifold got bent by the tie bar during the crash and it has closed off one of the branches by about 50%. It doesn't look like it will be easy to fix so I'll leave it as it is for now, I hope it doesn't cause any damage to the engine.
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Neat and Tidy
I read this article last week and it gave me some hope. I wouldn't be a very flamboyant driver so to hear that the two men who I regard as being the fastest rally drivers in the world (Meeke and Loeb) have a neat and tidy style was a great relief. Also it seems like I should get the front anti roll bar installed on my Nova.
Sordo and Meeke talk style and set up
Sordo and Meeke talk style and set up
Updating the Tax Book
I sent the Nova rally cars tax book to the DVLNI yesterday so that the engine change can be record and everything can be kept above board and legal. The engine came out of a red Nova I bought years back so I sent a copy of its tax book too to show where I had gotten the engine. That's not one of the methods that the DVLNI list as proof of an engine swap but hopefully it will be good enough, however as they are a large government organisation I don't expect it to be that easy, no doubt it will turn into a whole saga. I hope it doesn't cause too much of a hold up though as I can't get the rally car MOT'ed until the tax book comes back.
Monday 30 May 2011
Nearly There
I had another great Saturday. Picked the Nova up from Nigel's workshop near Kilrea and was blown away by the work that he and Hargie had done in only two weeks. I was only really interested in getting the car straight and I wasn't that worried about how the car looked but it's good as new, all the panels have been repaired and there isn't a mark on it anywhere, amazing work. We got the car home and built it back up again from where it had been stripped for painting. Got all the glass back in, seats and harnesses back in, build up the "new" drivers door and other wee bits. Just need to get the engine back in and it should be ready to get back out on the road. Niall is servicing the engine this week and refitting it so when I get down on Saturday it should be all ready to fire up. It's great that Niall is so keen to help out, I wouldn't get anything done without him pushing me on, and also doing the work.
So to add up the costs of the rebuild:
New front panel, £123
Drivers door, £35
Nova saloon donor, £40
Hargie for the bench work, £170
Nigel for body work, £380
Service parts and oils for engine/gearbox, £80
Radiator, £54 + £20 coolant, added 06 June 2011
So a current running total of £902, not including diesel for towing the bent shell about the country, not too far away from my £1000 estimate. I think this was the cheapest option. If I had chosen to re-shell the rally car I don't think I could have done it for under a grand, and I would have struggled to find a shell as solid as mine.
So to add up the costs of the rebuild:
New front panel, £123
Drivers door, £35
Nova saloon donor, £40
Hargie for the bench work, £170
Nigel for body work, £380
Service parts and oils for engine/gearbox, £80
Radiator, £54 + £20 coolant, added 06 June 2011
So a current running total of £902, not including diesel for towing the bent shell about the country, not too far away from my £1000 estimate. I think this was the cheapest option. If I had chosen to re-shell the rally car I don't think I could have done it for under a grand, and I would have struggled to find a shell as solid as mine.
Wednesday 25 May 2011
The Nova is Straight Once More
I got the good news yesterday that the jig work is finished on the Nova and everything (well not everything, but the important parts) are back pointing in the right direction. I haven't seen it yet but my brother tells me that Hargie has done a great job with it, and for £170 I'm delighted. Niall and my Dad did me a huge favour last night by collecting the car and taking it round to Nigel's. He previously sorted out the bodywork and painted it last year, he did a great job in 4 days so hopefully he can work his magic again. There is a fair bit more work this time but I'm not in a rush so he can take as long as he needs.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Niall's Corolla Rebuild
My brother has finally got his Toyota Corolla coupe restoration finished. He has put a lot of time, effort and money into it and it really is a credit to him, it look brilliant, factory fresh. I don't know what he's going to do with it now though as it's too nice to drive.
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