The 2012 PCGB Club Championship
- Thread starter paulf968
- Start date
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Yes, well done Paul. You're coming on leaps and bounds now. Really looking forward to seeing all you boys in action at Oulton in a couple of weeks time. [ORIGINAL: ChrisW Well done Paul Ward !! Second season, different car, picking up the pace .... What's not to like []
]
paulf968
New member
The draft timetable for the next round at Oulton on Sat June 2nd is now available see: http://brscc.co.uk/assets/timetable---oulton-park-2-june-2012---issue-1.pdf I am told we might have the pit garages, so that will be civilised. Anyone coming to look see? --- a number of us will also be there on Friday testing, so come if you can and watch that. (if you do come on the Friday there is always the chance of blagging a free ticket for the Saturday!)
Steve Brookes
Moderator
I'll be there. May try and get over Friday too. []
]
paulf968
New member
Stuff happens.............. went to my lockup today and it looks like my landlord has problems ........ locks changed, notices up from lawyers, entry forbidden etc etc there is the small matter of my racecar, the trailer and loads of other stuff in there AND me needing to race this weekend. ....... ouch ! As you might guess I am trying to sort something out pronto !!!
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Sounds a horrid/messy situation Paul! Fingers crossed you can get it sorted out!
paulf968
New member
Steve & Barry Thx for your concern, my landlord got the keys back today from the owner. So I went over this afternooon and pulled all the things I need for this weekend .......... like the racecar and trailer !! Phew, drama over for the time being... ......... but don't speak to me about what I ended up doing to help my landlord , I am in danger of being burnt big time!
Neil Haughey
New member
Been bored so doing my usual "analysing" stuff. Surprised the early 2.7 boxster has been overlooked. It has a 185 Kg advantage over the S in the regs but can run the same size wheels and tyres etc. It sits bang on Baz's line of equality and has a small Bhp and torque disadvantage to the 3.2 carrera but it has perhaps every other advantage you could get with the S. But hey 185 Kg is an enormous amount of weight.
Well Spotted Neil - and I agree - particularly as they are probably the most reliable (except for the IMS bearing that can be fixed). However it is only 5 speed and at the moment it would be expensive to get it down to that weight. Next season with the general weight reduction across the board I guess there will be more lightweight panels available etc and this could be the dark horse of the series then! With the general shake up of models and rules - I would have liked to see a more positive move to class 2 for more of the smaller engine'd models - i.e. anything under 3 litre and anything 3 litre and over running in class 1 and newer cars allowed in like the Cayman S and the 3.6 and perhaps even the 3.8 engine'd cars in class 1. Or perhaps that limit should be 3.2 for class 2 and over 3.2 for class 1. Another way of looking at it would be the age of the car - i.e. under 3.2 or older than 25 years in class 2 - 3.2or over or newer than 25 years in class 1. It must be a nightmare however for the organisers to change things and try and please everyone - but I think our Championship would benefit from splitting the more classic car types from the newer ones - somehow! - glad I don't have to do it!! Baz
Neil Haughey
New member
Its interesting that boxster racing both here and stateside use the hardtop whereas all MX5 racing bin everything and just have the cage. In a low power boxster the argument could be made that the weight reduction from binning all the heater box and roof stuff is worth more than the drag reduction from the roof. ISTR Mk1 MX5 racers hit a brick wall at about 110, my S2 has tended to be around 120ish when it starts crawling. I would guess that whilst only a 5 speeder the 6 speeds in the S are a bit long anyway? Anyways I have seen enough now from Brands to see pretty clearly that the newer cars represent a big step forward whichever variant or model is chosen. Ppl forget that cars like the 968 have been honed over many many years to get to where they are now, the new cars are only just starting to be used and are already as quick or quicker.
Having seen the MX5s in the rain at Snetterton, there's no way I'd sign up to that! But it would be nice to be allowed to have the roof off when its baking hot!
Haven't felt the need to use 6th at Snetterton, Silverstone or Bedford. The provisional timetable for Saturday is now on the BRSCC website - and the Club are in the garages! http://www.brscc.co.uk/OULTON-PARK---BRSCC-RACEDAY-04-02-28
Neil Haughey
New member
That doesn't surprise me at all, same as for the 968 then where the 6th gear may as well not be there. Its worse than not having a roof for those guys, no windows either so a proper soaking is guaranteed. Thing is I can recall from when we had a MK3 road car that even in fairly heavy rain as long as the car was moving at 60+ with the side windows up you stayed dry. The reason why the 2.7 stands out so much in the regs is comparing it to the S and making the same comparison between an S2 and a 968 running in class 2. Both comparisons have about 30 Bhp between the cars yet for the boxster comparison there is about 100 Kg more weight difference than that between the S2 and 968 (185 Kg versus 95 Kg). There is no doubt that either one difference is way to big or the other two small as no logic can explain such a huge anomaly.
A good point well made Neil. Very few people understand the straight line performance is directly linked to the torque curve at the rear wheel in each gear - but you do - so you know why the analytical systems or games that enable you to input car details and then send them round a track - can reveal very accurate lap time results. Have you tested this with the two cars mentioned? You may well not use 6th in a Boxster S but how useful would 5th be in a 2.7? the more gears in there the higher rear wheel torque that results through the range. I will have a look at the two myself next week and see what the results are. Braking and handling are the other two issues. I think the "new cars" and the "old cars" do not have engines that make the performance so different - but they do have improved braking and handling (as they should have after all) following the more complex link suspension systems they incorporate. I think if the 2.7 was allowed in class 2 it would be a great car to develop. Baz
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Sounds like you're considering moving on from the 944?
Neil Haughey
New member
True Steve, however most likely route would be into something which I can properly afford to drive and race on a regular basis such as a Mk1 MX5. Leaving aside my unbelievably bad luck so far with the car (and then crashing it), fundamentally I am and have just not had enough track time in the car. ISTR my total track time across track days/test days/race weekends is currently about 11 hrs spread over 2 and half years and that includes several changes/refreshes in the car as well. Whilst I think the boxster and 996 are definitely the future everything so far indicates those cars represent even more of a money pit than the old cars.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Beautiful sunshine at the test day today. Here's a few snaps from the paddock:
Posts made and opinions expressed are those of the individual forum members
Use of the Forum is subject to the Terms and Conditions
