Snetterton Track eve place available

[Peter Empson]

As I've a slightly weepy head gasket I've decided I'm not going to risk everything and will have to bail out of going to Snetterton on Thursday evening [] I was really looking forward to it, so will have to make up for it at the Silverstone Evenings later on.

However my loss could be someone else's gain, as my space will be available for what I paid for it, a tiny, measly £83 (assuming Circuit Days let me swap the place, but they've done it for me before so there shouldn't be any problems).

First person to respond gets it, go on, you know you want to...

 

[Diver944]

This is the 2nd Circuit-Days we've both been on that you've had to drop out of - I won't take it personally.

Hopefully Neil H or Andrew S will take you up on it - they have both talked about coming, or it could just be me and Mark K

 

[Peter Empson]

Yes, I've had a bit of a bad year for mechanical problems and the financial ruin that inevitably follows...

Oh well, it's nothing that can't be recovered from, but I was really looking forward to experiencing Snetterton for the first time. I promise you it has nothing to do with the fear of two on 400bhp 944's lapping me several times every session []

Roll on Silverstone, I might even have an extra couple of HP by then to reduce the difference in straight line speed. LMAO!

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

Roll on Silverstone, I might even have an extra couple of HP by then to reduce the difference in straight line speed. LMAO!

Ooooooh you big cheater, its unfair to be lightweight AND have more power [8D]

 

[AndrewS]

Hi Peter / Paul,

Not sure if I can make it down to Snetterton (I am currently in Norwich, so only half and hour away, but car and tyres etc. are in Milton Keynes) - I hope to be there, but won't have my car :-(

Might see you both on the evening.

Regards,
Andrew

 

[MarkK]

How did the Snett day go,Paul??,sorry i was unable to make it i was gutted[]

 

[Peter Empson]

Yes, what did we miss Paul?
How much exotica did you muller down the straights? []

 

[paulf968]

deleted

 

[Diver944]

Well it's been two days now and it's time to type up the dreaded trackday report where I managed to put LIL into the tyre barrier [8|]

The evening started well with only 20 cars booked in and we were all looking forward to plenty of tracktime with very little traffic. After the safety briefing, there were 5 minutes of sighting laps behind a pace car at a slow speed and then the circuit went open pit lane. I immediately did 5 laps to get some heat into everything and then came in to the pits to lower the tyre pressures as I could feel them starting to get a bit squirrelly. At this point I then met Richard (UKporker on the forum) and his friend Jim, both in their 944s, along to spectate for the evening. I offered Richard a passenger ride but he had no helmet (something he was very glad of a bit later on).

After a 15 minute cool down I went out again. Now that the Kumho V70 track tyres were back down to their normal pressure (32psi hot) I had lots of stable grip and could start seeing how the car felt in comparison to when I was here last time with 280bhp but on full race slicks. I was only running 12psi boost as we had discovered a small detonation problem at higher boost levels and she was due down at Jons on Saturday to have the ignition curve properly setup to remove that problem. Nevertheless, at an estimated 330bhp at 12psi the car was much faster than last time I was here.I remember that I could not get up to 5th gear along the pit straight and the long long Revett straight, but now I was in to 5th gear before the end of the pit exit and also for about 5 seconds down the Revett straight [8D]

Track conditions were perfect and there was so little traffic that I knew tonight was going to be special and after 10 laps or so I decided to come in for another rest. Those of you that know Snetterton will remember a very slow chicane called Russell Bend just before the start/finish straight, it requires quite a big brake to get down to a safe speed. Once past that a slowing Subaru let me past along the pit wall, but I was already shortshifting so I could do a slow cool down lap. At the end of the straight I lifted off at the 300 yard board for a gentle brake brake before the first corner. At full speed this is a sharp dab at the 200 yard board and a change down to 4th gear, however when I went for the brake pedal it went straight to the floor. The rest of this tale is recalled from my confused and addled memory but also with the use of the in-car camera that I generally have running on-track [&:]

Panic quickly set in and I pumped the pedal a few times but absolutely nothing happened. I was now past the the 100 yard board and approaching the turn in point still carrying way too much speed. In desperation I changed down to 4th gear hoping to scrub some speed off but I knew if I tried to turn in I would just spin and there was not much run off towards the barrier. As I left the track there was a small strip of grass before a small gravel trap and I was pointing straight at the barrier behind. I knew this was going to hurt a lot if I hit straight on so I turned the wheel hoping to get the car slightly sideways. I then flew almost straight across the gravel trap, I let go of the wheel, folded my arms, closed my eyes and purposely tried to totally relax before I hit the barrier [&o]

Miraculously I did hit it exactly side on, there was a huge bang, lots of flying glass and I bounced back some 20 feet from the tyre barrier. The Marshalls were running towards me before the car even came to a rest and were by my side within 15 seconds. The Medics were there shortly afterwards and started checking me out whilst the car was loaded on to the recovery truck. Back at the Medical Centre I wasn't entirely sure that it was neccessary to strip to my pants but they checked me out thoroughly. I had a few glass cuts to my forehead and left hand, a small bruise to my left thigh and left arm but the biggest injury was a very big bruise to the inside of my right elbow (I have no idea what that could have hit). I am just so impressed with the safey staff at Snetterton and MotorSportVison as a whole. []

Back in the paddock, poor old LIL was looking a bit sorry for herself if you looked at the Nearside but she still looked amazing from the Offside. The front wing, door and rear quarter are very crumpled, there is a small crease in the badge panel and the nearside popup is a bit bent. The roof seems flat, the bonnet is fine, the tailgate is totally in one piece. The bonnet opens and closes, so does the hatchback and also the sunroof. The floor of the boot apears to be uncreased and from underneath it looks like only the outer (rusty) sill is crumpled. The wheels are still round, the tyres still inflated but some of the black paint has scratched off. The only window that actually smashed was the one of the door. She is already down in Bournemouth and the very early reports are that it could well be panel damage only (with some bent suspension) which will be fantastic news. [] Next week she will be measured properly so I can decide whether to rebuild or reshell. She lost no fluids and the engine started first time with full oil pressure as I drove her on to the recovery truck next day. I have no doubt that Simon will be checking over his first born 3.2 engine very carefully before he lets me play with her again [8|]

Porsche really do build these cars so fantasically strong that I just can't thank my lucky stars enough that I got out and walked away with minor bruising and just a dented ego that all those stories of bigger brakes turned out to be true depsite my dogged belief and constant harping on about how I have never had a brake problem. If asked again I might just have changed my mind a little [] and Jon and I have already talked about Big Blacks. Thanks must also go to Richard and his friend Jim for helping me out so willingly and ferrying all my paraphanalia from my pit garage to the paddock area whilst I waited for the recovery truck. Richard still wishes he had brought his helmet that night - NOT []

I only have a few pictures but I'll post them in a second and if you really want to see the in-car video I should have that uploaded over the weekend. It actually looks pretty boring in comparison with being there, I'm happy to demonstrate on other peoples cars if they really want to experience the full effect

 

[Peter Empson]

Wow, I'm so terribly sorry to hear that Paul.

At least you're alright, and I'm sure LIL will be feeling better once Jon's given it his full attention.

It sounds like a very sudden problem, could it have been a pipe or cylinder failure?

Best regards,
Peter

 

[Peter Empson]

It may sounds daft but the shock of reading this is bad enough, so god knows how you feel. I've re-read it and realised where you went off. It doesn't bare thinking about if you weren't on a slow down lap, or if you didn't have the composure and experience to get it turned side on.

 

[Diver944]

Jons going to have a look and see if there was some sort of mechanical breakdown. Personally I've never experienced brakefade but it sounds like a classic example. I had a fairly big brake down to the chicane, accelerated down the subsequent straight, then at the next corner nothing []

I checked the fluid reservoir when I got home and it's still pretty full so I dont think it's a catastrophic failure, Jon mentioned the possibility of a seal blowing in the calliper [&:] we shall see.

 

[sawood12]

OMG!!! what an unfortunate tale of disaster! Sorry to hear about it Paul, i'm gutted for you. I really do hope you get her up and running sooner rather than later and the bill is not too painful - or if you are insured, the insurance company do the honerable thing and pay up. The question is are big blacks man enough for your 3.2? Maybe GT3mk1 or GT3mk2 brakes might be more appropriate given the GT3 like torque your car is chucking out. Suddenly Castrol SRF looks very cheap indeed! Fingers crossed the damage is only cosmetic.

 

[MarkK]

Paul,just read this,so glad you are ok,so sorry about LiL.
All the best for LiLs swift recovery,keep your chin up.
MarkK

 

[944Turbo]

Shhhiiiiiiiitttt
thats awful, glad you are ok though, does sound like a possible failure some where, it would be unusual for fade to be that terminal, well done on getting it sideways - it saved the engine,
All the best,
Tony

 

[RC18B 911 turbo]

Wow that is a nasty crash glad you and the car are ok though

 

[hotblack944]

Paul, gutted to read this mate [] Most important thing is you walked away. Jon and Simon will no doubt bring LIL back, better than she was before. Better... Faster... Stronger...

 

[burrow01]

Hi Paul

Really sorry to hear about this after all the work you have done on the car - glad you are OK

Are you insured for Track days?

Pete

 

[paulf968]

Paul - so gutting. Phew! I am most relieved that you are OK and the car apparently not massively damaged. How you worked out what to do was brilliant, especially as it is one of those incidents we all fear so much on trackdays. All the best for the coming days.

Coincentally was looking at some old photos that John S took at Snetterton in Aug 2004. LIL is ever present - please keep it that way!

paul f

 

[dlknight]

Hey Paul,

Glad you're Ok, I agree that the 944 is a very strong car indeed and it does sound promising if the bonnet and sunroof are opening without any binding. Hope all goes well and Jon has it back together soon for you.

Dave K.