RACING EXPOSURE :: Club level motorsport e-magazine

The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) stages a bumper 18-race programme at Snetterton this weekend (7-8 April), with a varied range of motorsport on offer on the two mile 200 circuit. The Easter races include classic racers, single seaters and sportscars.

The MG marque is represented with the Lancaster Insurance MG Owners Club Championship, which features the best of British sportscars and saloons. Meanwhile there’s more of a German flavour to the Kumho BMW Championship, where a wide range of propeller-badged tin-tops can be found on the grid.

Porsche fans will enjoy the GT3 Cup Challenge, which features the more extreme variant of the classic rear-engined Sportscar.

There are classic touring car races aplenty on Easter Sunday, with events for the Classic Thunder series for saloon cars built before 2005, Post Historic & Classic Group 1 Touring Cars, Pre ’93 Touring Car Championship and the Classic Saloon & Historic Touring Car Championship.

Meanwhile single seaters also feature heavily over the weekend with the Formula Renault BARC Championship and Classic Formula Ford 1600 and 2000 classes.

Tickets for the BARC Club Car Championships are available from £10, with free entry for children aged 12 and under. For more information, call 0843 453 9000 or visit www.snetterton.co.uk

Vaughan Fletcher No:16 @Rockingham 2^nd October 2011

On the 2^nd October, Rockingham played host to the final round of the 2011 BARC’s “Classic Thunder” Championship, which was part of a full weekends racing.

The season has unfolded at such a pace, and now we end our “CT” year at Rockingham in Northamptonshire, on the “International Super Sports car Circuit”.

The most commonly used configuration combines long straights, sweeping high-speed bends and a lower speed, but highly technical infield section that would allow the less powerful machinery to close up the gaps.

The international motorsport venue was the first purpose built race track in the UK since the famous circuit of Brooklands was opened back in 1907, and 2011 marks the 10 year anniversary of the circuit that lays claim to being “Europe’s Fastest Racing Circuit”. This is due to the yet unbeaten lap record for the 1.5 mile oval set on the 22nd September 2001 by Tony Kanaan in his Ford/Lola Champ Car. The resulting record stands at 24.719 seconds at an average speed of 215.397mph! not something any of the Classic Thunder entrants would be close to beating.

Rockingham’s International Super Sportscar Circuit is the layout used by the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, whose recent event saw the fastest lap set by Frank Wrathall in the DynoJet Toyota Avensis with a 1.24.550.

Pre Race:

Following Cadwell, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that Vaughan had received “Driver of the Day” for his part in the “Classic Thunder” event at Cadwell, so a big thank you to “Track Driver” for their award.

In addition to this, the car needed a bit of work before we ventured out at Rockingham.

A new Screen was needed, following the appearance of a huge crack due to flying debris, and the brake cooling was also on the receiving end of some cosmetic changes. The oils in the engine, gearbox and diff’s were also replaced as a preventative measure.

Race Day:

Having never raced at Rockingham before, it would take some time to set the car up and for Vaughan to get accustomed to the circuit. With the challenges of the high speed banking, along with the tricky infield section, qualifying would be a hard fought task.

With the mercury rising, it was decided to change the car’s settings to allow for maximum airflow into the engine bay.

We checked the suspension and made some minor adjustments to the camber to get what we thought would be the best set up. The tyre pressures were also lowered in an attempt to keep them from overheating later on in the session.

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of:

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

We rolled onto the circuit at the start to “Turn 1” ahead of Keith Butcher and his super quick Nissan Primera Super Touring.

With 31 cars on circuit, it didn’t take long to be among traffic as they looked to set their own fastest lap time. Fortunately around the banking, the Subaru could stretch its legs and power past some of the slower machinery without them causing any hold ups.

5 laps from the end, we started to encounter problems with the brakes, and they needed pumping to get a pedal firm enough to scrub off the speed carried around some of the quicker sections of the circuit.

Qualified 1st in class

Qualified 6th overall

Fastest lap: 1.30.982 on lap 5 of 9

Checking the condition of the tyre’s showed that there were some small changes we could do to help the car’s handling, but the pressing issue was that we had no brakes and not enough spare fluid to bleed the system fully. (Oh, there was plenty in the motor home!)

There were no obvious signs why the brakes should have stopped working, so bleeding them was the only reasonable solution.

Thankfully fellow competitor Craig Rainer from the “Pro-Driver Blue Oval Saloons” became our saviour with enough fluid to complete the task.

Round 12:

With 28 cars on the grid, getting clean away would be the key to holding position, or indeed making up a place or two around the banked circuit.

On the outside of the circuit, and alongside Joss Ronchetti in the “Bullet”, we knew it’d be hard fought to overhaul him, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

As the safety car peeled into the pits, and the lights went out, the thunderous roar of all 29 cars echoed around the bowl of the Rockingham circuit and everyone peeled around “Turn 1” for the first time.

Andy Robinson in his Australian Falcon touring car, used all of the V8’s torque to slingshot him into the lead.

Vaughan held his position on the banking, before dropping down for the first corner “Denne”.

With everyone safely through, Vaughan soon caught up with Joss, and challenged for 5^th place on the run into “Chapman Curve”, however when Vaughan checked his mirrors, the front of the Bullet was just far alongside to allow him to take the line and Vaughan chose to ease off instead of risking contact with his fellow competitor.

Coming up from behind was the Sierra Cosworth of Graham Wait, who looked up the inside at “Tarzan”, but was unable to pass as Vaughan accelerated up towards the “Brook” chicane. Graham retired the following lap with a very smokey engine.

Fellow A4 competitor Ian Froggatt then began to close up on Vaughan, and was visibly quicker around the banking, however he was unable to capitalise on his advantage. Battling over the course of several laps the duo drove a close fought, but clean race. Unfortunately, mechanical gremlins crept in and Ian was forced to retire on lap 8.

For the remaining laps, Vaughan drove through traffic, closing up to the 5^th place Alfa of Adrian Hawkings and Keith Butcher who was marginally ahead in 4^th place.

With a 3 way battle for 4^th place, the traffic was working in Vaughan’s favour, however the loss of braking again meant the last few laps required more concentration than normal to anticipate each move, and combined with the tyres beginning to loose their grip, a finish was more important than the risk of a DNF due to going off.

Finished 1^st in class

Finished 6^th overall

Fastest lap: 1.32.112 sec on lap 10 of 10

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Pictures: Lindsey Bridger

Vaughan Fletcher No:16 @Cadwell Park 3^rd September 2011

On the 3^rd of September, Cadwell Park played host to the penultimate round of the BARC’s “Classic Thunder” Championship.

Known affectionately as the “mini Nürburgring” due to it’s scenic setting and the circuits twisting layout, it remains a popular circuit with far reaching appeal.

Add the fearsome “Mountain” into the equation, your left with a venue that provides fantastic racing for drivers and fans alike.

Pre Race:

Following the problems encountered at Thruxton, the car had its gearbox removed for inspection and repair.

Upon emptying the gearbox of its oil, the remnants of 5^th gear also dropped through the drain plug. Not a good sign.

It looked as though a hub carrier had broken up, and the subsequent debris had become lodged in the 5^th gear cluster while doing around 120mph, resulting in all of the teeth being stripped from 5^th gear. Thankfully the rest of the gearbox was untouched, with the PPG gear kit looking like it had only just fitted, which is testament to the regular servicing the gear box receives.

Race Day:

A favourite circuit for Vaughan, it welcomed the crew with a dry and sunny outlook. Round 11 would just be a single header event, with a qualifying session run in the morning, followed by one race in the afternoon. As with Thruxton, the “Classic Thunder” Championship would be run alongside the “Boss” Ford Championship.

We checked the suspension and made some minor adjustments to the camber’s to get what we thought would be the best set up. The tyre pressures were also looked at, so that hopefully we would achieve optimum pressure and temperature after a few laps, and not overheat the tyres before the session ended.

The car was given a final going over and was then ready for qualifying.

Given the narrow nature of the circuit and limited overtaking opportunities, getting a good grid position is perhaps more important at Cadwell than any other circuit.

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of:

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

32. Martin Davies Sierra Cosworth

Running with “Davies” and “Froggatt” it looked like it would be a close run thing to qualify at the head of our class. It was all to play for when we made our way to the track, and with a big grid turnout, finding the clear track we needed in order to set a quick lap time would be hard to come by.

Joining the track in 5^th and just ahead of Joss, we were well placed to get a decent distance around the circuit before the last of the cars exited parc fermé.

With lower tyre pressure taking some getting used to, it wasn’t until 3 or 4 laps had passed that we could start to push on, and start taking the kerbs in anger.

If tyres aren’t allowed to come up to temperature, they are too soft and impacts on kerbs can put stress fractures in shoulder which can then develop into a blow out later in session or the race.

After a few laps the track was becoming more congested, so it was decided to ease up and create some space. With a decent window available it was time to look for the fastest time.

Coming into the “Gooseneck” on a hot lap, Vaughan was a bit late on the brakes and took to the grass, rejoining on the run into “Mansfield’s” and shortly after the chequered flag was put out to signal the end of the session.

When the results came in, they showed that despite the traffic, our fastest lap was before deciding to create some space.

Qualified 1^st in class

Qualified 4^th overall

Fastest lap: 1.38.277 on lap 3 of 9

Given the competition, we were pleased with our grid position and that we had placed at the head of our class.

Checking the tyre pressures and temperatures indicated there was a little adjustment needed to the suspension, and for the longer race session, we would need to amend the tyre pressures so that they would perform at their best.

Round 11:

With all but 2 of the cars from qualifying on the grid, it was going to be a good race, and if we could keep with Joss through “Coppice” we would have the line for “Charlie’s”. Well, that was the plan, but unfortunately it didn’t come to fruition!

With the M3 safety car peeling off at race control, the grid prepared to let fly just as soon as the lights went out.

Starting in 4^th place on the inside of the grid, we were alongside Joss Ronchetti and his Sunbeam, and behind pole man Whittaker and Andy Robinson in his Ford Falcon.

With the lights out it was Robinson who catapulted towards the horizon first, followed by Whittaker, Ronchetti and then the Subaru.

It soon became all to apparent that our plan had just gone out of the window as the leading trio shot off at a great rate, leaving us in a comfortable but lonely 4^th place.

As each lap passed we remained sat in 4^th place, not making any ground on the leaders, but equally holding and building a lead over 5^th place.

All was going well until lap 9 saw the current championship leader “John Edwards-Parton” in his Zetec powered Mk2 Fiesta expire in a ball of smoke at “Hall Bends” leaving the racing line dripping in oil.

Coming up the mountain and past the club house, there were no flags or warnings about what lay ahead, but team members were poised to indicate there was a problem and the appropriate action was taken.

The rest of the race continued without incident, and we finished in 4^th place, 18 seconds ahead of 5^th placed Andy Robey in his E36 M3.

Finished 1^st in class

Finished 4^th overall

Fastest lap: 1.37.772 sec on lap 9 of 13 (New Class A4 lap record)

Summary

The points achieved from Cadwell have cemented 1^st place overall in the four wheel drive class of the 2012 “Classic Thunder” championship, with one event still left to run.

Our final round will be at Rockingham in 4 weeks time on the 2^nd of October.

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Pictures: Slater O’Brien

Vaughan Fletcher No:16 @Thruxton 13^th & 14^th August 2011

Like a badge of honour, Thruxton proudly puffs out its chest with the title of being the “Fastest circuit in the UK”, and it would be home to the latest rounds of the “Classic Thunder” races.

At 2.356 miles in length, up until the re-developed “300” layout at Snetterton, it also lay claim to being one of the longest circuits in the UK.

As with the majority of circuits in the British Isles, the circuit at Thruxton began life as a WW2 airfield, and still operates a small airport today.

A popular circuit with fans and racers alike for the huge speeds reached through “Church” “Brooklands” and “Woodham Hill”, down to the last minute lunges for position through “Club”.

Pre Race:

Following Pembrey, it was obvious that we needed to look into the handling issues, that had spoilt an otherwise good weekends racing.

With a short amount of time between Pembrey and Thruxton, it was a matter of urgency to try and understand why we were having the problems we were.

Having spoke to our suspension provider, and inspecting the units themselves, we have hopefully got to the bottom of the problem, and also got some more set-up information to try along the way.

Race Day:

Having not raced at the circuit before, it would be a big task to become familiar with the daunting circuit and confirm the cars set up in just 15 minutes of qualifying.

We checked the suspension and made adjustments to set up the car the best we could, but only our lap times and driver feedback would tell us if we were close or a million miles away.

Race day dawned dry after heavy rain on Friday night, but as we were not qualifying until later on in the day, the circuit would have plenty of time to dry out.

The car was given a final once over and enough fuel was added for the session.

Qualifying:

A4 was made up of:

09. Nick Williamson Ford Escort Cosworth

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

32. Martin Davies Sierra Cosworth

For the rounds at Thruxton, the “Classic Thunder” championship would race on the same grid as the “Boss” Ford Championship, which would mean we would be in competition with some fast Ford’s as well as our usual rivals!

With Williamson joining our class for Thruxton, we knew there would be added challenges to add to “Davies” who romped past us at Pembrey in race 2, and to “Froggatt” who was returning to CT with a freshly rebuilt car following a dramatic engine fire a few weeks earlier.

With 23 cars lining up for race 1, we wanted to get a good grid position, however there would be at least half a dozen other cars looking to do the same!

With a lap estimated to take around 1 min 26 sec, we’d have a maximum of 10 laps to record our best time. However with having to take the time to warm up the car and tyres, as well as learn the track, there wouldn’t be a lot of time left to set a quick time.

Initially there was a harsh vibration from the steering, which nearly ended the session before it had really begun, but after a few laps it had gone, and Vaughan was able to push on.

When the results came in:

Qualified 3rd in class

Qualified 5th overall

Fastest lap: 1.27.683 sec on lap 6 of 7

Checking the tyre pressures and temperatures highlighted we hadn’t put enough air in the tyres to start with, which was likely to be the culprit behind the earlier vibrations.

With this knowledge we adjusted the car accordingly.

Round 9:

With the course car safely off track, the grid snaked its way through “Club” and onto the Start/Finish.

Starting in 5^th place on the inside of the grid, we were alongside the blisteringly quick (and fragile) Mitsubishi Starion of Neil Philpotts and behind Ilsa Cox in her Seat Leon Cupra and Davies in the Sierra Cosworth. Pole man Williamson was alongside the über quick BMW M3 of Garrie Whittaker.

With the lights out, “Williamson” and “Whittaker” lead the pack, whilst “Philpotts” cut through the grid to take 3^rd.

The Cosworth powered Mk2 Escort of Craig Rainer followed “Philpotts” through the gap, which put Vaughan back down to 7^th before the pack entered “Campbell”

Already fighting back, Vaughan re-took 6^th place from Cox and was back into 5^th having passed “Rainer” at “Cobb”.

Ahead was now class rival “Davies” in the Sierra, who was going to make it as difficult as possible for Vaughan to take his position.

The Sierra was showing better straight line performance over the Subaru, but through the corners and under braking, Vaughan was able to close the gap significantly. Pushing hard lap after lap, the Sierra was twice shown the driving standards flag for cutting the curbs, but he was still defending well.

The stricken Starion of Philpotts presented itself on the start finish straight at the beginning of lap 9, which provided Vaughan the opportunity to make a run up the inside of Davies around “Allard”. At the very same time, “Davies” suffered a puncture, which meant his race was run and he pulled off the circuit out of harms way.

Now in 3^rd place, Vaughan could see “Williamson” in the distance, and could see that he was closing the distance between them at a great rate. With the bit between his teeth, the Escort would be the next milestone.

Unfortunately, the driving gods had other ideas, as whilst rounding “Village” there was an almighty bang, and all drive in 5^th gear was lost.

Dropping to 4^th gear provided relief in that it wasn’t an engine failure that caused the problem, but it was the destruction of 5^th gear.

Without 5^th gear, the pack that Vaughan had driven so well to leave behind soon began to fill his mirrors.

Back into 8^th place, it looked like we could hold that position until the chequered flag was waved. However, having just passed us, fellow A4 competitor Ian Froggatt in the 2^nd ScoobyClinic Subaru span between corners “Segrave” and “Noble” which allowed one place to be taken back.

Finished 2nd in class

Finished 7th overall

Fastest lap: 1.25.665 sec on lap 2 of 15

Summary

Even though the weekend was over for us, it had provided some excellent racing, and allowed us to try out a new way of setting the car up.

The circuit is certainly fast, and both driver and car felt at home until the gearbox failed.

Up until the point of failure, it had been Vaughan’s best race to date, with some huge battles.

The gear that had broken was the only standard part within the casing, as all other gears were from PPG.

Cadwell Park is in 3 weeks, so hopefully everything will be resolved for then.

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Pictures: Oliver Read

Pembrey 30^th/31^st July 2011 “Classic Thunder” Round 7 & 8

It’s been over 2 years since we last ventured to Pembrey, and those memories aren’t fond ones.

Coming to the 2^nd round of the 2009 Nippon Challenge, we had a freshly built engine to bed in. With a test day booked on the Friday before, all began well until mechanical gremlins crept in which meant we were unable to race. So apart from a few laps on the test day, we were yet to confront the track in anger.

Following a great weekend at Mallory, we’ve spent some time reviewing the information from the data logger, and we were able to see that the oil temperature was above where we’d like at 118°C.

To help rectify this, the air feed to the oil cooler has been removed and the bumper has been opened up to provide maximum airflow to the oil cooler and the air filter on the opposite side. Short of removing the bumper altogether, we won’t be able to get any more cold air to either, so hopefully this will have done the trick.

In addition to this, it was just a case of changing all the fluids in readiness for race day.

Race Day:

With no data to work from, it was a case of setting up the car in the way we thought best.

With feedback from the driver, and by checking the condition and heat of the tyres after qualifying, we would see if any changes were needed.

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of:

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

32. Martin Davies Ford Sierra Cosworth

With scrutineering carried out, everyone was waved out on to the circuit for the allotted 20 minutes of track time.

Not really knowing the circuit, it was all about becoming familiar with the layout and the levels of grip available.

Coming into “Dibeni” on lap 2, it became apparent that grip was still a bit scarce, and despite Vaughan’s best efforts to hold the slide, the Subaru spun and came to rest on the outside of the circuit.

Back on track, and allowing for a few more progressively quicker laps, soon everything was ready for setting the qualifying times.

With the exception of the early spin, the rest of the session was trouble free, and the car ran well.

When the results came in we were really pleased to see that we had qualified well with:

Qualified 1^st in class and 3^rd overall. Fastest lap: 1.02.607 sec on lap 15 of 18

Back in the paddock, the tyre temperatures and pressures indicated the need for some fine tuning, but worryingly there was some play in the passenger side front hub.

With the wheels removed, the fault was found to be due to a problem with the front strut and not the hub. A simple fix, that once rectified, meant it was just a case of topping up the fuel and adding some more camber to both sides to try and get the car turning in a bit better.

The data from the logger was reviewed to see what had been happening during the session, and it was pleasing to see that the oil and water temperatures were positive, with a good safety margin before any limits were reached.

Round 5:

Placed in 3rd on the inside of the grid, Vaughan needed a good start to capitalise on the excellent result in qualifying.

With the hairpin of “Hatchets” being the first corner at the end of the long start/finish straight, it serves as a “pinch point” for the fast approaching racers.

With everyone jostling for position, it would be a close run thing to get everyone through unscathed.

When everyone was assembled on the grid, the course car led the pack around the circuit in preparation for the rolling start.

In 4^th place alongside us, was the RS500 of Craig Davies, and with the absence of Martin Davies behind us in his Sierra Sapphire Cosworth, Joss Ronchetti had a clear run at us when racing began.

With the course car peeled off into the safety of the pits, the racing could get underway. As soon as the precession rounded “Honda Curve” the Sierra of “Davies” was on full chat and chasing down the lead pair of “Butcher” and “Whittaker” before the lights had gone out to signal the start of the race.

With “Ronchetti” nipping at our heels, it was going to be a hard race to stay ahead. Already the local supremeo “Butcher” in his Nissan Primera ST was pulling out a commanding lead, closely followed by Garrie in his BMW M3.

The battle to hold off Ronchetti came to an end between the “Esses” and the “Brooklands Hairpin” around lap 5, when the black and orange Sunbeam got up the inside Vaughan and took 4^th place.

On lap 7, the “Esses” claimed the Sierra of “Davies”, when the back end of the Cosworth got sideways exiting the long left hander. The resulting spin sent the duo on a ride into the tyre wall, which ended up with a hard impact and a heavy repair bill.

This left Joss ahead, and Piers Grange in the XR8 hunting us down for the rest of the race. From about half distance the car was beginning to suffer with handling and cornering issues. The tyres were beginning to loose grip, meaning the car was under steering heavily and washing out on the corners due to the lack of grip.

Driving to try and conserve the tyres as best as possible, and not risk going off track meant it was a challenge to hold off the fast closing “Grange”.

With the last lap board shown, it looked like it would be possible to hold on to 4^th, but a massive lock up going into “Hatchets” allowed the Sierra to nip through while Vaughan corrected his mistake.

It was then impossible to close back up on the Sierra in such short time, and he held on to 4^th.

Finished 1st in class, Finished 5th overall, Fastest lap: 1.03.658 on lap 6 of 20

Upon inspection, the tyres had run their last race. Heavy wear was apparent across all 4 corners, with the outside edge wearing to the canvas on both front wheels. The pressures and temperatures also showed that there was some work to do with the settings.

It was decided that we would run fresh tyres all round, and try and dial out some of the handling issues with a revised set up.

In addition to fitting the tyres, it was decided to bleed the brakes for peace of mind, and check over the brake pads front and rear.

Round 6:

Despite the fine rain falling minutes before the start of race 2, it was decided that we would run with slick tyre choice.

Placed in 5^th on the inside of the grid, Vaughan was directly behind Ronchetti, with Denis Bassom and his Toyota Corolla on his left.

Rounding the “Honda Curve”, the XR8 of Grange began misfiring badly which led to his race ending before it had begun.

Chasing hard to “Hatchets” the BMW of Whittaker spun, allowing Vaughan to take the 3^rd place and follow the lead pair of Butcher and Ronchetti around the first lap.

Already recovering, Whittaker was carving his way back through the field and was back up to 2^nd by lap 5, dispatching Vaughan and Joss in the process.

Having missed race 1, the Sierra of local racer Martin Davies was also on a charge, and by lap 8 had caught and passed Vaughan.

For the rest of the race, it was a good honest contest between Vaughan and Joss for 4^th place.

Again from the mid-race point, the car had gone past its prime, with the tyres loosing grip and not providing the required confidence to allow the car to be thrown hard into the corners.

Not being able to push hard for fear of an off track excursion, it was a case of driving to get to the finish, rather than for position.

Finished 2nd in class, Finished 5th overall, Fastest lap: 1.03.857 on lap 9 of 20

Again all four tyres were showing signs of hard use, which meant we didn’t get the set up correct for this technical circuit.

Both race’s had been hard fought, and had close battles. The main thing being the car was in one piece (Unlike quite a few from the weekend’s event)

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Pictures: Jonathan Fletcher & Ben Jones

Mallory Park 18^th & 19^th June 2011 “Classic Thunder” Round 5 & 6

Vaughan Fletcher: No:16  Class A4 Subaru Impreza

It had been well over a year since the team last visited Mallory Park, and a lot has changed in that time, for both the circuit and the car.

The Leicestershire circuit was playing host to the annual CTCRC festival, which had moved north from Lydden Hill in Kent for this year’s event.

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA
16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA
32. Martin Davies Ford Sierra 4×4
33. Paul Nevill Ford Escort RS2000
97. Andy Wilson Ford Escort Cosworth

With the weather being decidedly “wet” tyre choice would be critical. With two heavy down pours prior to qualifying, the track conditions were changing by the hour. With rain falling in the distance, and time running out we had to make a decision.

With a damp track, and the possibility of further showers during the session, we opted to run with the Toyo 888 tyres and a wet setting on the suspension. Only our lap times would tell if we’d made the right choice.

With the circuit still holding onto a bit of moisture, the set up on the car worked well initially.

Towards the end of qualifying, the tyres were beginning to loose traction when pushed through Gerrards and the Esses, so we knew we’d got our best time recorded.

When the results came in:

Qualified 1st in class and 6^th overall*

Fastest lap: 52.262 sec on lap 16 of 16

Back in the paddock, the tyre temperatures and pressures indicated that the set up hadn’t been working at its best, so there was still some more to come from the car.

The telemetry was downloaded from the data logger, which showed our lap times were consistent, with overlays showing almost the same data on each lap.

*After the first results were published, the driver on pole was later disqualified, which moved Vaughan to 5^th on the grid.

Round 5:

With the weather looking like staying fine, it was decided that we would be running the slicks for round 5.

The suspension was set to allow for a better turn in around Gerrards, and the rest of the preparation was thankfully limited to just adding enough fuel for the race.

Due to the original pole man being dq’d, we now lined up on the inside of the grid, behind Neil Philpotts in his Evo engined Starion, alongside Martin Davies in his Sierra Cosworth (who is 2^nd in class A4) and in front of Joss Ronchetti in the Sunbeam Lotus.

With Brett Winstanley in the Porsche dictating the pace of the rolling start, everyone held their position until the red lights went out.

With the lead 4 cars ahead and charging, we tucked in behind Whittaker in the BMW M3, holding off any advances from behind.

Cleanly around Gerrards for the first time, the pack was quickly becoming strung out, with Winstanley, Robinson, Philpotts and Whittaker streaking off towards the Esses.

Ronchetti had dispatched Davies to sit in 6^th place behind us and was charging to catch and pass us.

For half a dozen or so laps, we held a lead over Ronchetti and the Sunbeam, until an Alfa back marker decided to let go right in from of Vaughan which blocked his line and allowed Joss to capitalise and drive around the outside at Gerrards.

Traffic now played a major part in the race with slower cars making overtaking difficult and costing Vaughan dearly in terms of time. By the time he was passed, Joss had pulled a good lead out, and we knew barring any mishaps, we would be finishing the race where we stood.

Finished 1st in class

Finished 4^th overall

Fastest lap: 49.118 on lap 21 of 25 (Fastest lap in class)

Round 6:

Looking to the skies, we were going to stay running with the slicks for round 6.

A couple of adjustments to the tyre pressures and the front suspension were all that were needed before we headed out for the grid.

Now on the outside of the grid and with Joss alongside us, we knew it would be a fight to get ahead going into the first corner.

With race 1 winner Whittaker and Robinson in his Ford Falcon on the front row, we were looking for them to make the break when the lights went out.

With the race underway, the thunderous Falcon powered ahead with Whittaker, Ronchetti and then the Subaru tucking into the train that was leading the race.

Down the back straight, the sheer pace of Robinson couldn’t be matched and he quickly got into pulling out a commanding lead.

Keith Butcher in the Super Touring Primera was now behind us followed by Kev Wendt in his V8 BMW, although neither seemed to be closing.

Having failed to finish race one due to a broken throttle cable, the Porsche of Winstanley was charging through from the back of the grid, and we could see he was closing at a pace. Coming out of Gerrard’s at just over half distance he made his move to pass. Getting out of shape as he got on the gas, Vaughan gave him the space he needed to pass going into the Esses.

A couple of laps later, he made the same move on Ronchetti, but in doing so he clipped the rear of the Sunbeam, spinning off in the process and firing Joss into the Armco just before the Esses.

With Joss coming to a standstill in the middle of the track, the red flags came out and the grid was brought into Parc Ferme while the debris was cleared away.

The race was restarted behind the safety car and with us in 3^rd place behind Robinson and Whittaker.

On the restart we held position from Butcher who was quickly on the inside looking for a way through, and continued to the flag in the same formation.

Finished 1st in class

Finished 3rd overall

Fastest lap: 49.601 on lap 3 of 8 (Fastest lap in class)

Brands Hatch 15^th May 2011 “Classic Thunder” Round 4

Vaughan Fletcher: No:16  Class A4 Subaru Impreza

May 15^th saw the VF-Racing convoy head south for the next round of the Classic Thunder Championship, one of the races in the BARC’s Classic Touring Car Racing Club event.

For round 4 of the Championship, the shorter “Indy” layout (1.198 miles) was being used, which is located entirely within a natural amphitheatre, providing views of almost the entire circuit.

Home to the iconic and fearsome “Paddock Hill Bend” the circuit was all geared up to provide some close racing.

Following an incident during our last race at Silverstone, there was worked needed to get the car ready before Brands Hatch.

Having been used to help slow down a fellow racer, the rear bodywork of the car required repairing, and to add to this the same shunt had bent the exhaust, causing a loss of power.

As a result, the exhaust has now been replaced with a “Mongoose” system, which has helped bring the car back to full health.

To help improve the airflow through the radiator, and in turn the cooling (which has blighted the cars performance previously), the oil cooler has been moved and fitted with a dedicated air intake, which feeds directly from the old front fog lamp position.

Also, to help prevent the air filter suffering from heat soak, it has also been moved to an external position where it will pick up the cold air it needs to feed the engine.

Race Day:

Having raced at Brands Hatch a number of times of the past couple of years, we have built up a library of suspension settings, and we used these for our qualifying run. We would check the data after the session to see if any changes were needed though.

A late addition to the entry list showed that Brands Hatch supremo Rod Birley in his 650 bhp monster WRC Escort Cosworth would be in our class.

Pic: Karl Ladd

Qualifying:

Class A4 was made up of:

12. Ian Froggatt Subaru Impreza RA

16. Vaughan Fletcher Subaru Impreza RA

44. Rod Birley Ford Escort WRC Cosworth

With a grid of 14 cars we wanted to get a position for the start of the race.

With the allocated time upon us, all cars were waved out on track for the 15 minutes of track time.

Allowing time for everything to come up to temperature, Vaughan piloted the Subaru cleanly around the circuit. After about 4 laps, the tyres were up to temp and the job in hand could get underway.

Results:

Qualified 2^nd in class

Qualified 4^th overall

Fastest lap: 51.653 sec on lap 16 of 17

Back in the paddock, the tyre temperatures and pressures indicated the need for some fine tuning, but other than some extra fuel, nothing else was needed.

Round 4:

Placed in 4^th on the outside of the grid, Vaughan needed a good start to make sure he wasn’t hung out to dry on the 1^st run into “Paddock Hill Bend”. With quick cars all around there would be a lot going on during the first few corners.

With Rod dictating the pace of the rolling start, everyone held their position until the red lights went out.

With lights out, the race was underway with 2^nd place Neil Philpotts in his Mitsubishi Starion taking an early lead over the black Escort of Birley. Keeping ahead of the chasing pack, Vaughan tucked in neatly behind Ronchetti to hold position and follow the leaders up to Druids.

On the run into “Surtees”, Joss was held up by the battling pair of Philpotts and Birley which allowed Vaughan the opportunity to take the Sunbeam for 3^rd place. On the drag back down the “Brabham straight”, the roles were reversed and Vaughan was back into 4^th.

Over the next 4 or 5 laps the Subaru kept in contention with the lead 3, but it was soon apparent that they had the extra speed on the straights to pull out a lead.

With a comfortable position of nearly 15 seconds ahead of 5^th place, it looked as though this would be the end of our battles. That was until we started to see and hear the problems that Neil was having in his Starion.

Birley and Ronchetti had pulled cleanly away to leave the 3^rd place man limping around the circuit.

With a misfiring engine, Vaughan was able to see that he was closing on the stricken Philpotts, and was reducing the distance between them lap after lap. Unfortunately for us, the chequered flag came out a lap too soon to allow us to make one last ditch attempt for 3^rd place, and we crossed the line 1.5 seconds adrift.

Finished 2^nd in class

Finished 4^th overall

Fastest lap: 51.654 on lap 6 of 24

To put this into perspective, the last time out at Brands the car lapped in a 53.723 sec. so we were really pleased with the improvement.

Words: Jonathan Fletcher

Vaughan Fletcher returned to competitive racing at the weekend in the first round of the BARC’s “Classic Thunder” race series at Oulton Park in Cheshire. With four wheel drive being a new class within the series, all eyes were focused on the “new boys” to see how they would perform.

Lining up against GT touring cars, and ex-works prepared Super Touring saloons the task that lay ahead was a sizeable one.

With oil and debris on the circuit from a previous qualifying session, the conditions meant that care was needed in order to set a quick time, without any incidents.

At the end of qualifying Vaughan had secured 5th on the grid, behind the aforementioned “Touring Cars”, but was 1st in class and comfortably ahead of the following grid.

With light’s out, the “ScoobyClinic” prepared Impreza showed its pace to those competing and with flame’s licking from the exhaust it proved to be a popular choice with the spectators

After running 13 laps, the chequered flag dropped and Vaughan was rewarded with a class win and 6th place overall.

The next race is at Silverstone on the 9th and 10th April