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.
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
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