RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

Don’t miss this race when it is shown on Motors TV. For eleven and a half laps the top eight cars ran within a couple of seconds of one another, attacking Copse and Brooklands three and four wide. Unfortunately, there was a coming together at Brooklands on the last lap and the championship leaders, Scott Mittel and Tom Coller sustained damage and were unable to finish.

The top ten were covered by a second in qualifying. Tom Coller took pole from Alex Von Erheim and Scott Mittel.  Dave Black was on P4 from Mark Glover and Llynfel Owen.  Sian Stafford, Richard Jenkins Vicky Pickles and James Pinkerton made up the top ten.  Former Locost champion Declan McDonnel was struggling for speed and could only manage 17^th fastest on his return to the class.

The ever-changing lap chart can only hint at how good this race was.  This was hard, fair, multi-car racing at its best. There are, inevitably, several versions of the final lap accident but the Clerk of the Course decided that no one could be held responsible and the result stood. Mark Glover emerged from the chaos to win from Dave Black who has now dragged himself back into the championship battle. Alex Von Erheim was third fromn Vicky Pickles who had been running just behind the lead group. James Pinkerton and Llyfel Owen survived impacts to come home fifth and sixth.

Scott Mittel leads the championship from Tom Coller by five points after dropped scores with Dave Black another five points behind. Hopefully the championship won’t be decided until the last lap at Oulton in October but before that we will have another slipstreaming double header at Snetterton on 18^th and 19^th of September.

Full lap charts, championship positions, Motors TV schedules and information on Locost racing at http://750mc.co.uk/ .

Report: Maurice Dudley

Popularity: 2%

This series is intended to help you make your 750mc Locost safer, more reliable and (perhaps) quicker.

The cooling system should be fairly straight-forward but we still manage to have a paddock full of steaming, bubbling cars on any hot day.

The ideal running temperature for the crossflow engine is low to mid 70s centigrade – any hotter and the power goes down.

The waterways in the block and cylinder head should be thoroughly cleaned during the initial build. If the waterways are gunged-up then it will always be a struggle to stop it from overheating.

Use the largest radiator you can fit under the nosecone. The mark 2 escort rad, modified with an extra deep core is still a popular choice. The aluminium and plastic ones from cars such as VW polo and Nissan Micra seem to work ok. You need to be able to bleed the rad close to its highest point.

Plumbing should be kept simple. Blank off the hot water feed to the inlet manifold. Run a hose from the thermostat housing to the top of the rad. Run another hose from the water pump to the bottom of the rad . This hose should have an 18mm Y piece going to the bottom of a header tank. The header tank should be mounted as high as possible so that the water level in the tank is higher than any other part of the cooling system. Use a fiesta type thermostat housing with a plain cap. Run an 8mm bleed hose from the top outlet of the thermostat housing to the header tank.

Use a 74 degree thermostat if you can find one. Otherwise use a dummy ‘stat to maintain water pressure in the cylinder head. If you do use a ‘stat, drill a 3mm hole in the plate to facilitate bleeding.

All of the above will be a complete waste of time if there is nowhere for all the hot air to go. Put vents into the side panels and bonnet. Vents above the exhaust manifold are particularly useful for dispersing heat during red flag stoppages.

Some people like to have a fan behind the radiator but they do restrict the airflow during normal running.

All comments and suggestions welcome via this site or locostbuilders.co.uk .

Written by Maurice Dudley.   Part One, Electrics, can be read here

Popularity: 25%

750mc Locost Championship Rounds 9 & 10 Pembry July 30^th 2010

The three way battle to be this year’s Locost Champion may have lost a contender after Dave Black picked up only a single point at the Pembry double header.  Although he is only 14 points off the pace when dropped scores are taken into account, he requires Scott Mittel and Tom Coller to have a run of bad luck. Scott is almost immune to problems in the last four rounds as his two worst scores just now are 12 and 18 points. This does mean that his impressive overall lead of 16 points over Tom translates into a one point deficit when their two lowest scores are removed.

I haven’t done a full report as we decided that Pembry on race day was not the ideal place to try to fix our erratic brakes and we headed for home after qualifying. It appears that there was quite a bit of carnage at the hairpin. Hopefully everyone will have their cars running again and we will have a full grid for round 11 at Silverstone on August 28^th.

Full results, lap charts, championship positions and information on Locost racing at http://750mc.co.uk/

Part two of “Build A Better Locost” coming soon.

Popularity: 25%

Photo: Steve Spurr

It’s easy to take for granted just how entertaining Locost racing is when compared to what is on offer at other race meetings.  Just three days after watching some thrilling racing at Cadwell I packed my bag of hammers and spanners and headed south again to Brands Hatch. My driver kept  out of trouble and I was able to watch FIA f2, Seat Eurocup, Trofeo Maserati and the Lotus Elise series. As exotic, expensive and powerful as some of this machinery was, only the lotuses provided consistently close racing. The WTCC on Sunday might have been interesting but by then I was back at Cadwell for the Kart GP – proper racing.

The large entry of 42 cars meant that once again Locost qualifying would be split into two groups and there would be a heat and final format for the racing.  Matt Cherrington took pole on his second flying lap. Scott Mittel took second spot. Both of them had taken part in the all-comers race on the previous day. Dave Black was in third, alongside Mark Glover who was making his return to Locost racing after breaking his wrist at Donington in 2008.Tom Coller managed fifth place despite a fractured front wing stay and Alex Von Erheim was sixth.  Llynfel Owen, Paul Bryant, James McAllister, Steve Evans, Sian Stafford, Simon Wood and Vicky Pickles made up the top fourteen who all went straight through to the final. Notable absentee from the top qualifiers was Nic Morley who qualified 21^st and would be one to watch in the heat.

Matt Gilmore was on pole in Ali Garrett’s car beside Steve Kimber who had an identical qualifying time of 1.50.730. Matt posted his time two laps before Steve.  Gilmore led the first three laps before being passed by Kimber. Next time round, Kimber was easily passed on the Park Straight by Gilmore and James Pinkerton repeated the manouver on lap five.  Steve struggled on with an over-heating engine until lap nine.  Nic Morley slipped from seventh to ninth on the first two laps then charged up to fourth on the third lap. The leaders were six seconds ahead of him but he began to close on them at over a second a lap. Nic set the fastest lap of the race on lap seven and took the lead on lap nine.  He won from Pinkerton and Gilmore. The top fourteen went through to the final. Fifteenth placed Ernie Gushlow just missed out after spinning away a comfortable tenth place.

Matt Cherrington, Scott Mittell And Dave Black pulled away from the field and ran close together for the whole race.  Even Tom Coller struggled to stay with them before he had another front wing stay failure. This time the stay damaged the tyre and Tom went off at the bottom of the mountain on lap six. Cherrington was able to pull out a small lead in the middle of the Park Straight which was usually enough to give him some breathing space for the braking area. Even when his exhaust broke this pattern was maintained until the last lap when he slowed on the run down to the gooseneck and Mittell and Black slipped by. Black then made an over-ambitious lunge for the lead at Mansefield but his tyre-smoking trip to the infield only managed to drop him back to fifth. Nic Morley again set the fastest lap on his way to third place from grid fifteen. Alex Von Erheim was fourth, Vicky Pickles had her best ever finish in sixth place.

A huge grid, no red flags and two great races – Locost goes from strength to strength.

Full results, lap sheets, championship positions and information on Locost Racing at http://750mc.co.uk/

Report by Maurice Dudley.

Popularity: 31%

Build A Better Locost  - Part One  -  Electrics

This series is intended to help you make your 750mc Locost safer, more reliable and (perhaps) quicker.

Electrical problems are one of the commonest causes of DNFs and they are almost always preventable.

Batteries should be securely mounted and foam strip or rubber used to protect the casing.  Mount the battery as low as possible to help keep the centre of gravity low. If it is sealed or a gel type, lay it on its side for the same reason.

While it is always tempting to save a few pounds I don’t believe in buying cheap ignition, starter or battery master switches . Only use switches with screw-on connectors. Push – on connectors can fall off very easily with vibration.  Screw – on connectors should be loctited and, if not easily accessible for checking, further secured with a blob of silicon or nail varnish. Use non – insulated eyelet connectors so that you can see that they are properly crimped, then insulate with heat-shrink. Throw away the plain nut securing your ignition coil terminals and replace it with a nyloc.

I prefer to take a supply for the fuel pump and starter which does not come from the ignition circuit. If you want to drain the fuel tank or check the compressions there is no danger of burning out the ignition.

Make sure you have a good earth connection between the engine and the chassis.

Arrange your fused circuits so that a short in a non-essential circuit or component such as indicators or horn won’t take out your ignition or fuel pump. Position your fuses so that they are easily accessible and clearly labeled.

Always use a grommet when a cable goes through a panel.

Wires and looms should be secured to the chassis or body every few inches, particularly at the ends so that the terminals are not placed under strain.

Use flexible mounts for ignition coil and fuel pump.

For a detailed guide to designing and making your own wiring loom I would recommend Jim Horner’s “Automotive Electrical Handbook” by HP Books.

All comments and suggestions welcome via this site or locostbuilders.co.uk .

Written by Maurice Dudley

Popularity: 58%

750mc Locost Championship 2010.  Round 7 Brands Hatch  June 20^th

We decided to skip the 840 mile round trip for the single header at Brands Hatch so this report is based on contributions from Ivan Gilmore, Paul Bryant, Steve Hills, Martin Gambling, Vicky Pickles, Matt Cherrington, Ian Mittell  and James MacAllister.

41 drivers signed on for the largest Locost grid of the season which meant that qualifying would be split into two sessions and there would be a heat and final. The surprise of qualifying was Sian Stafford who was third fastest, just a tenth behind Ali Garrett and Scott Mittell. Paul Bryant and Matt Cherrington  made up the rest of the top five who all came from session A. Dave Black and Tom Coller were the only  drivers from session B in the top nine.  Tenth place driver Richard Jenkins would be on pole for the heat.  Martin Gambling should have been alongside him but he trashed the front end of his car after he lost control at the exit of Druids and withdrew from the meeting. Martin was unhurt and he has decided to build a new car for 2011 rather than try to repair his 10 year old chassis.  Simon Wood would also miss the heat after a suspected head gasket problem in qualifying.

Llynfel Owen took the lead on the first lap of the 20 lap heat and he fought  with Nick Morley and Richard Jenkins  until he was left with only fourth gear in the latter stages of the race. By that time James MacAllister and Vicky Pickles had joined the lead group. MacAllister took second place from Morley at Druids on the last lap but, having missed the last lap board, didn’t attempt a move on Jenkins who won by two tenths. Castle Combe winner Lee Bankhurst went out of the race on lap four while in fourth place after having set what would be fastest lap of the race on lap three.

Sian Stafford undid her good work in qualifying by spinning in the middle of the pack at Paddock on lap one. Everyone made it through the chaos but the incident did establish a slight gap between the leaders and the rest of the field. Garrett, Mittell, Jenkins, Bryant, Coller, Black, Morley, Cherrington, Bradley And Von Erheim were all involved in a typically hectic Locost lead group in the early laps. MacAllister, some three seconds behind, led the second group. By lap eight the top ten were still covered by two seconds but some people were slipping down the order.  Paul Bryant  blamed “rusty racecraft” for his slide down the order after having been as high as third and Scott Mittell  began to lose places as he suffered from a slight loss of power. Matt Cherrington took the lead on lap 11 and held it until he had “a lapse of concentration” at Graham Hill bend on lap 17 which dropped him to seventh.  By this time Coller, Black and Garret had opened out a three gap to the next group. Black missed a gear on lap 19 which left  Coller and Garret in a drag race to the line. Garret nailed the exit from clearways to come from behind and win by  0.01 seconds.  With only Sam Bradley And David Morrow posting DNFs, 30 cars made it to the finish.

Full results, Championship positions and information on Locost racing at http://750mc.co.uk/

Report: Maurice Dudley

Popularity: 54%

750mc Locost Championship Rounds 5&6 Anglesey 28^th&29^th May 2010

Most circuits have one or two corners which are crucial to a quick lap but as we walked around Anglesey to familiarize ourselves with the track on our first visit it became clear that the biggest challenge would be the surface.  My hiking boots were sliding on the dry sandy surface and there appeared to be very little rubber on the racing line. The slower part of the circuit, from Rocket to the corkscrew, looked particularly tricky with several off-camber sections to reduce traction even further. A softer than usual set-up and sensitive use of the 85 or so bhp seemed to a reasonable starting point….and then it rained.

Those of us taking the locost option of sleeping in vans and tents were woken by the rain in the early hours of Saturday morning and it carried on for most of the day. Light rain was falling during qualifying but, apart from a few grassy moments, everyone made it through without damagealthough Campbell Cassidy suffered an engine failure.  Scott Mittel and Dave Black were running together and looking strong. They tried a variety of lines around The Banking to find traction before settling on the conventional racing line for the best exit. Tom Coller was running quickly and Ali Garret, making his 2010 debut, was looking tidy. Mittel took pole from Black by 3 tenths. Garret and  Coller were on the second row with James MacAlister  in a personal best sixth place. Glen Boyer missed qualifying and the Saturday race because of a faulty brake light switch. Make sure you put one in your spares box.

Mittel lead of from pole while Coller made a poor start and finished the first lap in seventh place. Mittel pulled away from the pack until, after five laps, he had a five second lead from  Garret and Coller who had cautiously passed Woods, O’Donnel, MacAlister, Jenkins and Black. From this point Mittel began to slow up with his full wet set-up  on the damp track as Coller passed Garret and began to close on the lead at over a second a lap. Coller took the lead on the last lap and looked to have secured the win, but he hesitated behind a back-marker as they approached Rocket and Mittel dived up the inside to retake the lead. Coller stayed calm and took the higher, drier outside line from Rocket to Peel and was able to cut inside to take the lead as they ran down to The Corkscrew and on to the chequered flag. An impressive display of mature non-contact driving. The rest of the field seemed to be following their example in what was the most damage-free wet Locost race I have seen. Ali Garret was third and Dave Black recovered from a mid-race indiscretion to take fourth. Simon Wood , who had been having his best race for a long time, retired from fourth place on lap eight with clutch problems. Nick Morley was the first Team Challenge finisher in eighth.

Saturday evening featured an excellent bbq by our awning and live music in the paddock bar. I’ll skip the gig review on humanitarian grounds.

Dave Black was on pole for Sundays  18 minute + 1 lap race from Mittel, Coller And Garret.  Black held the early lead and an accident at Rocket allowed the front runners to make a break. The driver who reversed out of the resultant traffic jam and into the path of the on-coming cars should have a little think about his actions. Ali Garret picked off one car per lap and took the lead on lap four. He then proceeded to put in a series of  ten laps within a second of one another including three consecutive laps within three hundredths. By the end he had a very comfortable lead of five seconds from Black, Coller Mittel and Woods. There was a seventeen second gap from Woods to Owen, MacAlister, Bryant, O’Donnel and Stafford. Another great weekend of Locost  racing.

Full results, lap charts,championship positions and information on Locost Racing at 750mc.co.uk

Popularity: 61%

750mc Locost Championship Rounds 3 & 4 Brands Hatch 24&25/04/10

The 2010 Locost Championship is shaping up to be the most open for many years.  There have been four different winners in the first four rounds and several other drivers are showing competitive pace. The title may ultimately go to the driver who makes fewest mistakes rather than the one who has a few hundredths of ultimate speed.

Thirty six cars (including four reserves) took to the track for qualifying on a warm Saturday morning.  There is not a great view of the track from the pit wall at Brands but listening for the point at which the driver grabs fourth gear is usually a pretty good guide to how well he or she has exited clearways. The usual front-runners were all shifting at similar revs and within a few feet of one another. The planned fifteen minute session was cut short by a red flag after only 9 minutes and the cars were sent back to the paddock. Tom Coller had repaired the accident damage from Castle Combe and, after spending the Friday test working on set-up, was rewarded with pole position for race one. Tom set five sub one minute laps which was more than any other driver managed. Martin Gambling, Scott Mittel and Dave Black made up the rest of the front two rows for the first race. There were nine drivers under one minute and all covered by less than one second.

Tom Coller led race one from start to finish as the fight for second place among Martin, Scott, Dave and John Lanceley gave him just enough room to drive his own lines and pull out a comfortable lead. By lap eight John had managed to break away in second place after Martin had run into the back of Dave’s car at Clearways.  Martin began to drop off the pace as his engine temperature climbed. Lee Bankhurst ran off the road at Clearways, narrowly avoiding a couple of cars which had been parked in the gravel. The leaders began to lap the back-markers from lap ten but seemed to clear them without incident. Tom took the chequered  flag by nearly three seconds from John with Scott and Dave a further three seconds behind.  Martin limped home in fifth in front of Stephen Ross, the first of the Team Challenge cars. The long list of drivers with sick and broken cars had 23 hours to be ready for race two on Sunday.

Tom Coller was on pole position, again, for race two. Behind him were the TMC-run cars of Gambling, Lanceley and Ross. Tom made a good start but this time the following cars concentrated a little more on chasing the lead than blocking one another. John Lanceley took the lead on lap two and then retired with what appeared to be a very sick engine. Dave Black progressed steadily from grid eight and was in second place by lap three. For the next twelve laps the leading four cars of Mittel, Black, Coller and Gambling continued to swop places until they finished in that order. Nicholas Morley took fifth place as well as being the highest Team Challenge finisher.

The first five cars had their cylinder heads removed for post-race scrutineering.  All were legal.

Rounds 5 & 6 will be at Anglesey on the 29^th & 30^th of May.

Full results, championship positions and information on Locost racing at 750mc.co.uk

Report by Maurice Dudley
Photography: Az Edwards, AE Photography

Popularity: 85%

750mc Locost Championship rounds 1&2 Castle Combe April 5^th 2010

There are few less inspiring sights in motorsport  than a Locost  running alone on the track – but there are few more exciting ones than watching a full grid of them attacking Quarry corner on their first racing lap of the season.  Thankfully they all made it through in one piece and the 12^th year of Locost racing was under way.

Qualifying produced variety of approaches and racing lines as some drivers made their racing debuts and others such as Ian Mittel and Trevor Faunch returned to the track after long absences. Many of those who had driven at Combe before were noticeably tidier  through Quarry. The  number of possible lines caused many to scramble around some distance from the long apex.  It was a similar story at the first chicane – while many were screeching tyres and banging  kerbs, those who ended up near the front of the grid were avoiding heroics on the entry and making a better exit. Pole position was claimed by Locost debutant Lee Bankhurst  driving Dave Black’s old car. Dave  himself was second fastest in his newer car. Ernie Gushlow and  Simon Ironside were already finished for the day with, respectively, chassis and engine damage.

Race one was the usual mix of frantic overtaking and near misses .  After sticking close to Dave Black for most of the race Lee Bankhurst   re-took the lead to  take a very impressive win  in his first locost event. Alex von Erheim took fastest lap on the way to third place, closely followed by Scott Mittel. The first four were covered by 1 second at the finish. TMC drivers Matt Cherrington, Martin Gambling and Tom Coller took the next three places. The large Bank Holiday crowd seemed suitably impressed.

Race two was shaping up to be a similar spectacle when Lee Bankhurst  ran into the back of Martin Gambling  who was still hard on the throttle on the approach to Tower corner. The impact threw Lee’s car into the barrier. Lee was unhurt but the safety car was brought while the marshals dealt with the incident.  Some drivers took advantage of the chance to make up places while others, perhaps less familiar with the procedure, left a huge gap to the car in front as the race restarted.  Leader Martin Gambling  opened out a gap at the restart but the following pack of Mittel, Black, Coller, von Erheim, Morley and Cherrington soon slipstreamed back into contention.   Matt Cherrington lost his chance with a spin.  Scott Mittel took the lead with a decisive move at Tower on the last lap to win fom Dave Black and Martin Gambling .

Dave Black’s two second places give him the championship lead from Scott Mittel.

The initial lead in the Team Challenge was taken by Doulas Hannah who will be partnered by Patrick Dudley for the season.

Rounds 3&4 will be at Brands Hatch on April 24^th & 25^th.

Results: Here
More Info on Locost Racing: Here

Text: Maurice Dudley
Photo: Glenn Summerbell – click link for a full gallery.

Popularity: 84%