Totb 2014 - after the successful test day on the Saturday
9.95 run on the sarturday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPpRfjsLllM
I set off to the hotel and got a needed early night leaving TFS Racing to do a couple of jobs on the car, was such a help to have their assistance all weekend.
The Sunday morning came and unfortunately the morning was spoilt by niggles on the car (cam sensor failure and the extra heat causing noise on the crank sensor, plus other little things I forget but all cost time) so lunchtime comes and goes and the cars working again, in one run to test the car where it worked I kept my foot in and the car gets very lively and weaved the whole width if the strip, the commentators reaction says it all really.
http://youtu.be/4QFQ2KqmZXs
the incar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvVQTeb6sU
But a lot of the launch specific data from the day before testing is now no longer valid as the strip is now a lot gripper as there is more and more rubber being laid down on it.
Start getting there but the stress of it counting and the time slipping away take it's tole and I just cannot get a clean run. A couple of people point out that I could score points easy in the high speed. I think at this point I had matched a 9.95 quarter time same as the test day - there was a head wind so despite mid boost rather than low with the odd mistake it should have still been quicker.
So I line up to do a flyer and managed 180mph putting me in the points straight away and manage a faster quarter time of 9.82 on that run. Do another flyer and hold it in 5th longer this time and am happy to see joint 5th at 183.7mph and again a faster quarter of 9.75 @ 149mph which is a new PB for me, despite clipping the limiter in 3rd. Was planning to do another and try and miss the limiter in 3rd when Ian pointed out the smoke on the high speed runs is the rear tyres expanding and touching the bumper and I now have two deep groves in the rear tyres so no point risking it. I should have been running my other wheels for flyers as the drag tyres swell about two inches at 150mph lol but then I wouldn't have go the quicker quarter times. No time left to swap them so day over.
So a very pleasing weekend and I believe I came 10th overall too.
9.75@149 and the 183.7mph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh_bGte0SX4
incar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp0SoFQQO8Y
Roll on next year
Simon