SUMMER NATIONALS - SANTA POD

SATURDAY
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It was an early start for both teams, when we arrived at around 9:30am Ian Hook had already been scrutineered and Andy Frost was in the queue to be scrutineered. The first round was scheduled for 10:25am so we took the opportunity to have a quick chat with Ian Hook. Ian races a black 34 Ford, the car being the first street legal hot to run into the eights. Ian team is called FB Racing. The FB Racing team had made only slight changes since the last round at Shakespeare County Raceway. Today they were going to try the same tune on the first run as they used at Shakey. The team have been slightly off their best pace at the moment and desperately want to get back into the eights. Ian said "Our aim this weekend is to run eights, if we can go one more round than Alan Curtis then we will move up to 4th in the championship. Considering we had a bad time at the Excitement Nationals we will be happy to be in 4th place."

Whilst we were chatting the rest of FB Racing were making the final preparations to the car. The transbrake and nitrous were both checked. The team want a consistent nitrous bottle temperature so they have no surprises on the run. The bottle had a heater on it this morning but just before the run they found it was too hot so it was cooled using and airline and a wet towel.

At 10:25am the class was called to the fire up road but unfortunately Andy Frost was still in the queue for scruteneering.

Ian Hook was in the left hand lane for his first qualifier. Ian performed quite a tame burnout and then moved to the line. The rear wheels span as the car left the line, it hooked up at about 60ft but the the car started popping at 3/4 track. Ian cruised through to record a 11.672 at just 83.66mph. We spoke to Ian when we got back to the pits. He felt that the weak burnout had caused the tires to spin away from the line. At half track he hit tire shake, he was so busy steering that when the shift light came on he missed it and the car went onto the rev limiter, and that was the pops we heard. The run was effectively messed up then and so Ian lifted and cruised across the finish line. The team then sat down with a coffee and discussed what to do now!

Andy Frost campaigns a red Vauxhall Victor (called Red Victor 2)  in the class and like Ian he is another 8 second runner. Although Andy missed the first qualifier Race Director Darren Prentice kindly let him and some other CCSE competitors (who were also stuck in the scrutineering queue) put in a test run. Andy has made a lot of changes since the last round. He has installed a much larger and more more advanced nitrous system meaning that the team must now find a base line to tune from again.

At around 11.25 Andy was ready to run. After a strong burnout Andy launched well and ran through to record a 9.355 at 157.49mph. The team were pretty happy with this as it gives them a good baseline to work from. The car launched quite flat so they know they can put some more power in. To get a better launch the team are going to up the launch rpm and put more nitrous in at the first stage.

Andy burns out before his test run.

Both teams told us that the most important part of the run is the first 60ft and then the first 1/8th. Compared to people like Steve Pateman, Colin Lazenby, and John Hales, Andy and Ian have quite small engines. These small engines are not capable of pulling hard at the top end, unlike the larger engines, meaning that to run a good number the first 1/8th must be perfect. To illustrate this consider a typical run by Andy, by the 1/8th he will be hitting around 130mph but he will only put on around another 30mph before the finish line. So if Andy or Ian spin the tires or launch softly it will be very hard for them to run an eight.

In the second qualifying session Andy and Ian were paired together, just a coincidence? We couldn't possibly comment! Although it was just a qualifying session who reached the finish line first would definitely matter to both teams. There is a friendly rivalry between the two teams, they match raced each other earlier in the season at Shakespeare raceway. The score stood at 2-2 so both really wanted to get to the finish first. Despite the rivalry there is no bad feeling between Andy and Ian, they both help each other out at and away from the track (Andy supplies Ian with his fuel additive and Ian fills Andy's nitrous bottles).

Ian and Andy line up in the pairing lanes. 

As we mentioned earlier Andy has made a few changes to the setup. In the end FB Racing decided not to make any changes, instead they will try a stronger burnout and see if that helps. Ian explained that the problem is if he decided to change something and did a stronger burnout and ran a good run he wouldn't know which change had solved the problem. Equally if the same problem happened he still wouldn't know what caused it.

Both cars put in good burnouts before coming to the line. However just as they reached the line the track crew spotted something on the track which had fell off of the previous car. Chief Starter Ian Marshall had no option other than shutting the cars down whilst the item was retrieved. Both cars went back and burnt out again. The cars came to the line, the tree burnt down and both left the line well. It was a really close race, both cars virtually side by side all the way. Ian Hook just took the win running a 9.176 at 157mph to Andy Frost's 9.274 at 156mph.

Ian Hook's burnout.

Andy Frost's burnout.

Hook launches.

Ian was delighted, he had took the lead, being 3-2 up on Andy in their mini series. He had also pushed Andy down into 4th qualifying spot and put himself in the number 3 spot. No eights yet but both teams are moving closer.

Ian Hook gave us some interesting statistics about there burnout. After the first burnout the tire temperature was 84°. After the second burnout the temperature had dropped to just 56°. The team have several theory's on why the temperature drops so quickly, one being the increase surface area the tread pattern gives also with the tires being warm from the first burnout it is more difficult to perform a good burnout on the second.

Ian Hook tells us the best analytical tool they have is the video they take of every run. They find this very useful as Ian finds that everything happens so quickly during the 9second run he cannot remember every little thing about how the car launched etc. By videoing the run the team can check exactly what happened.

During the run there was a puff of smoke from Ian's car. At first it was thought that is was just the breather, but to be sure the team checked the plugs and did compression and leak down tests to see if a bigger problem caused the smoke. The teams tests gave them some bad news. There was no compression on the number 2 cylinder. After removing the head they found  the piston was intact and valves were ok, even the sealing and the bore looked fine so the piston was removed for further inspection. The team found that the piston ring had been pinched. The box of spares was checked but they could not find a spare that they would be happy to run with. They could have put the old piston back in after repairing it but didn't want to take the risk. The extra heat generated on the cruise could pinch the ring further and damage the cylinder bore in the block. If this happens they will probably be out for the rest of the season, but, if they don't run again this weekend they will be able to fix the car properly over the next two months and definitely be able to go to the next round. Tough decision, but probably the best one.

The stripped down FB Racing Car.

It's a great shame to see Ian Hook and FB Racing out after just putting in two passes. However their achievements on such a tight budget are to be commended. Ian is a great guy who is really enthusiastic about his racing and it would be a great shame if he had to give up for financial reasons. With the team the phrase 'every little helps' really is true. The team run an Affiliates Scheme where for £25 a season you can have your name on the car, regular updates and a FB Racing Freebie. They still have a few spaces left so please pop along to www.fbracing.co.uk and help a great team carry on racing.

Back in the Red Victor pit problems were also occurring. When the plugs were checked after the run one had lost a tip. This could signify a problem such as the cylinder running lean. A leak test on the cylinder gave a good reading but the compression test was slightly down. The team don't think it is too much of a problem and will just change the plugs. The new nitrous system is still taking some getting used to so the team have decided to switch back to the settings that worked well for them at the Easter Thunderball. Andy tells us that it is unusual for them to have to do that much work between rounds. Normally the car is very reliable and only needs a few quick checks between rounds. The nitrous set up now has more away from the line and less further up the track, this is an attempt to get a good speed and time at the 1/8th which as explained earlier influences the run heavily.

Andy and Steve Potter re-fuel the car.

The time between rounds goes quickly and it was soon time to go down to the startline again. Not the best burnout from Andy who was in the right hand lane. He launched hard but the tires span slightly, however he soon picked up speed as he went down the track and recorded his best time so far this weekend, a 9.124 and 161mph. After the other runs in the class had been completed Andy was confirmed as having 3rd qualifying spot, as long as he completed the cruise.

Note the tire squatting on Andy's car.

The cruise is one of the most exciting parts of CCSE racing, no matter how fast your car is on the track you must be able to complete the 25 mile cruise on the local roads. Fail the cruise and you are out of the race. I (Gary) was lucky enough to get the Red Victor passenger seat for the cruise! One Andy's crew, Steve Potter, would be driving. The first problem I encountered was getting into the car. The relatively small door, laid back position of the seat and the roll cage bars made clambering in rather ungracefully the only option. Once in the fit was tight to say the least (you should not have eaten so many pies - Phil). There was very little leg room and my head was very nearly touching the roof. The roll cage around the drivers seat also meant there was little room around the top of my body. The car was started and we drove up to the scrutineering area ready to parade down the track. The cars rumble was loud but by shouting I could still communicate with Steve. I was warned before getting in the car it would be hot... and they were right. Sitting at the top end waiting for the racing to end I was sweating buckets! After about ten minutes there was a gap in the racing  and we drove down the old fire up road by the side of the pits. Lots of spectators waved us good bye, it was also nice to see all of the guys from FB Racing saying goodbye as we came past the CCSE pit area, its a real shame they couldn't be out with us. As we went past the startline John Price was standing at the barrier with a microphone, although I couldn't hear what he was saying he did look rather surprised when he saw Andy wasn't driving!

The cars parade down the old fire up road.

As we made our way along the road to the gate Steve was becoming increasing worried about the reading given by the engine temperature gauge. It was reading 240 and is normally much lower than that. As we went though the gate Andy's other crew man, Tony Grayston, was waiting in his car to follow at the back of the cruise. Steve shouted the temperature across to him and they decided to carry on and take a look at the petrol stop. As we drove down Airfield Road the temperature was not coming down. As we got about halfway down Airfield Road I felt a splash of water on my arm that had come through the window... water was coming out of the gap between the body and the wing! Steve had noticed it also... we had a big problem. The temperature was not increasing but it was also not going down. Steve could not work out what the problem was, the car is normally so reliable on the cruise. We decided to push on and see if the temperature came down as we picked up a bit more speed.

After a few minutes Steve decided we would have to stop and see if we could spot a problem. However the roads were so twisty and narrow it was hard to find a place to stop. We knew that there was a long, straight piece of road after the next junction so we decided we would stop there. Just as we went round the junction Steve shouted out, "I know... the water pump's not plugged in". He told me I would have to jump out and lift the bonnet whilst he plugged it in. We had to act quickly as we have to be at the petrol stop within five minutes of the last car. As soon as we stopped we both jumped out. Steve quickly undid the dzus fasteners and I held the bonnet open whilst he plugged the electrical lead to the water pump in. I jumped back in and Steve did up the fasteners. As I got back in Tony pulled up behind us. He came running up to the car and thinking we still had a problem was about to undo the fasteners that had just been done up! Steve told him the problem had been sorted and we jumped back in. The car started and the temperature started to come down almost straight away. 

Steve was understandably relieved and we headed off to the petrol stop. The temperature was still higher than normal but we put this down to the water we had lost. As we pulled away Andy Frost came past in the DragsterWorld Mobile! He had gone ahead with Phil and had been waiting in a village to see us come past but when we weren't with the pack we left with Andy got really worried and drove back up the road expecting to find us broken down. Now Steve was more comfortable with the cars temperature he stretched its legs a little. We passed though a small village, being waved by children on the way. The car handled a lot better than I was expecting. I was ready for a really bumpy ride but it wasn't much more uncomfortable than the ride it my Nissan Micra! The car seemed to hold the road well and corners could be taken a lot more easily than I was expecting. A few minutes later we got to the petrol stop. Our support crew some arrived and thought about topping up the water but as everyone was ready to move on and any outside assistance to work on the car is not allowed they decided to leave it. We got in £11 of petrol, more than Andy was expecting. The guys were sure that the problem had been solved and were confident we would be able to complete the cruise. It was soon time to drive off and head to the hot start stop. This was the longest stretch between stops and it gave Steve a chance to show me what the car can do, obviously the local speed limits limited what he could do with the car but the acceleration is absolutely phenomenal.

Because of how quickly the racing had run through and therefore the cruise left earlier than normal we reached the hot start stop earlier than usual and the store was still open. The look on some peoples faces as we pulled in was brilliant. Colin Lazenby limped into the hot start area last. His alternator belt had been lost along the way but some brilliant engineering using a shoe lace allowed him to at least get to the next stop. After a few minutes wait CCSE Coordinator Lee Child goes round to all the cars and makes them fire up, those that fire up prove they are capable of performing a hot start. Steve had a little trouble getting Red Victor started up, it took a few seconds and a quick tap of the gas to get it to spring to life. A detour to the normal route on the way back to Pod because of road works took us past a village pub where get more locals stood and stared! It wasn't long before we were back in the pits, despite an early scare the car had passed the cruise and the team had qualified for the next day's eliminations. Going on the cruise in a CCSE car was a fantastic experience. Its what makes the class so exciting for spectators and certainly adds a great challenge to the builders of these fantastic race cars.

At the hot start.

So to sum it all up Saturday had its highs and lows. FB Racing were delighted to have beaten Andy Frost but were very disappointed when they found out the couldn't carry on with the meeting. Andy had not found the low times he was looking for but he had got a good qualifying time and a good base to work on tomorrow.