Post by NS-R on Sept 4, 2007 9:04:02 GMT
Ford Fiesta Championship
Rounds 12 & 13 – Brands Hatch 1 & 2 September 2007
General
The next rounds of the championship saw the team visit the famous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. There were 28 Ford Fiestas entered which would ensure some close and exciting racing over the weekend. Again, neither John nor Nick had raced at this circuit before so a full days testing was run on the Friday with both cars gaining faster lap times as the day progressed. After testing, both drivers were lapping the 1.2 mile Indy circuit in the low to mid 58 second bracket. Paddock Hill Bend was the most difficult corner to master and both drivers felt there was more time to be gained for the overall lap time at this corner.
Qualifying
The qualifying session began in good weather but the session was red flagged very early on as James Styles in one of the Si cars went wide at Paddock Hill Bend, ran into the gravel trap and barrel-rolled twice, bending most panels on the car. Fortunately, James was OK although he went to hospital for precautionary checks as standard procedure. The Daniels Motorsport mechanics did an amazing job of rebuilding his car and James made the grid for the afternoon’s race.
At the re-start, Nick realised he needed to get some decent laps on the board and made an uncharacteristic mistake at Paddock Hill Bend. The rear end of the car slid out and although Nick tried to correct the slide, the natural camber of the corner worked against him and he speared off to the inner side of the track and hit the tyre barrier head-on at an estimated 70+ MPH. The car went into the tyres up to the windscreen and then shot back in the air and spun around, facing back up the hill. Nick was just a passenger in the high speed impact which managed to bend the Armco even although it was protected by a three-deep tyre wall!!!
John was following close behind Nick when he went off so had a grandstand view and was relieved to see Nick out of the car when he came round again. John was understandably cautious at Paddock for the rest of the session but put in one quick lap to qualify well. Nick reported that he struggled to get his breathing back under control as the harness had winded him due to the hard impact.
John continued to improve his lap times and put in a creditable best lap time of 58.645 resulting in 8th position for the grid. As Nick didn’t manage a clean fast lap, his best time was well down the grid but the main concern was whether the car could be repaired in time for the race.
Qualifying Result
John Findlay – 58.645 – Position 8th.
Nick Sanderson – 1:00.251 – Position: 20th.
Round 12
The ICR mechanics had a lot of work to do to get Nick’s car in shape for the race but amazingly, the damage wasn’t as bad as first feared as Nick hit the tyres head-on so the impact was spread across the front of the car. Fiesta ST rival Ben Roper also came along and helped fix some of the damaged components which shows the friendliness of the www.dees.co.uk Ford Fiesta Championship – Dan Rose also supplied some fittings later in the weekend to help the team and our thanks go out to both.
John had the Motors TV Television camera installed in his car for the race. Both cars would be starting from outside berths on the grid - a major disadvantage at Brands Hatch as cars usually get ‘hung out to dry’ at both Paddock Hill Bend and the tight Druids hairpin. This was to prove the case for John who was unable to get to the inside of the track and lost several places by the exit to Druids.
Nick was flying through the field on the opening laps and was catching John who got tangled up with Gordon Tomkins at Graham Hill bend and both lost momentum up to Surtees. This let Nick who had another blistering start alongside and it was three abreast going into Surtees, with Nick passing both with two wheels well onto the grass. Something had to give and unfortunately Gordon came across John, who with no place to go could not give him enough room resulting in Gordon spinning off. This delayed John and a gap opened up in front of him. He closed down on the next cars and was then catching Nick who was having power steering problems – a result of the morning’s accident.
John continued to close on them and was only half a second behind when he came across a back marker at the top of Paddock Hill Bend. The back marker did not seem to see John and forced him wide and made him put one wheel into the gravel. John got past at Druids but Nick and Co had opened up a gap which John would not be able to close in the remaining two laps however coming out of Druids, John had lost all drive and he had no option but to park his Fiesta ST on the exit of Graham Hill Bend. A broken drive flange was later diagnosed as the problem, possibly as a result of the short gravel excursion at Paddock Hill Bend.
Nick continued behind Terry Upton and Tim Bennet to finish 11th overall as he could not make up the positions with the steering becoming progressively worse. Nick actually waved Terry past earlier in the race as he felt it was unfair to defend due to the steering problems as Terry was fighting an Si battle with Tim – Nick getting a great seat to watch all the action!
Round 12 Result
Nick Sanderson – 11th (3rd in ST class) - Fastest Lap 58.280
John Findlay – DNF - Fastest Lap 58.468
Round 13
With race one resulting in a DNF for John, he would start in 24th position on the grid. The drive flange would prove to be a very difficult repair which resulted in the car only being ready one hour before the start. The ABS warning light indicated a problem but with Nick’s car still not ready to race, there was no time to diagnose what was wrong, far less fix it. John would have to drive with whatever problem was there. Worryingly, if the problem only affected one front wheel, the car was likely to spear off the track under race conditions.
Nick was having serious dramas as the front-end of the car was missing when the final call for the Ford Fiestas was made over the tannoy. The mechanics were working hard and as soon as the car was dropped off the jacks, Nick raced up to the grid and just managed to join the grid before the green flag lap – panic over!
It turned out after the race that the BRSCC Clerk of the Course actually allowed an extra five minutes which effectively allowed Nick to join the race. A big thanks to the BRSCC for this action – Nick visited race control after the race to thanks the officials personally.
John got a decent start and made three or four places by Paddock Hill Bend. He also got to the inside in the run up to Druids but found his path blocked although one or two cars were hung out to dry and John made a couple more places up the inside. John almost ran into the back of Jamie Ackers as his ABS simply did not work and he had trouble stopping the car in a straight line. Braking was to prove a race long problem for John as he could not stop the car in anything like the previous stopping distances. This resulted in minor contact with Barry Edwards in his Zetec. One of the STs main advantages over the other cars is the ABS and without this John was to struggle. He did however improve his position up to 15th place - the braking problem meant his lap times were approximately one second slower than the Saturday race.
Nick had the Motors TV television camera installed so the whole race was captured from his position. Nick had a storming run in a patched up car which did not handle quite as it should. There was no time to even check the tyre pressures or tracking so he just drove the car as best as he could. Starting 11th, he made up many places and eventually finished the race in 5th position, having great battles with series stalwart Peter Daniels and David Ellesley.
Round 13 Result
Nick Sanderson – 5th (3rd in ST Class) – Fastest Lap 58.101 + Driver of the Day Award
John Findlay – 15th (4th in ST Class) – Fastest Lap 59.343
Summary
A torrid weekend for the team with both cars requiring major surgery to get them anything like fit for racing. John’s DNF in Race 1 was particularly hard to swallow and his Race 2 problems limited the progress he could make from the back of the grid.
For Nick to get two finishes over the weekend was an achievement in itself due to his high speed exit in qualifying – the biggest accident of Nick’s career.
The team worked magnificently to get the cars out racing but both cars require further work to be ready for the last meeting back at Brands Hatch in seven weeks time.
A big thanks to our fellow competitors Ben Roper and Dan Rose (and their teams) for helping out with the repairs to our cars. Also, a big thanks to Orion Engineering, Petrofac and the ST Owners Club (www.stownersclub.com) for supporting the team over the course of the weekend.
Current Standings
Total Championship Points
Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 182
2 Ben Roper 162
3 Nick Sanderson 128
4 John Findlay 83
5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24
Points with two ‘dropped scores’*
Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 156
2 Ben Roper 152
3 Nick Sanderson 128
4 John Findlay 83
5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24
*All rounds score points but the final total is all rounds minus two ‘dropped scores’.
The final championship rounds are at Brands Hatch on 20 & 21 October at the Formula Ford Festival Meeting.
Rounds 12 & 13 – Brands Hatch 1 & 2 September 2007
General
The next rounds of the championship saw the team visit the famous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent. There were 28 Ford Fiestas entered which would ensure some close and exciting racing over the weekend. Again, neither John nor Nick had raced at this circuit before so a full days testing was run on the Friday with both cars gaining faster lap times as the day progressed. After testing, both drivers were lapping the 1.2 mile Indy circuit in the low to mid 58 second bracket. Paddock Hill Bend was the most difficult corner to master and both drivers felt there was more time to be gained for the overall lap time at this corner.
Qualifying
The qualifying session began in good weather but the session was red flagged very early on as James Styles in one of the Si cars went wide at Paddock Hill Bend, ran into the gravel trap and barrel-rolled twice, bending most panels on the car. Fortunately, James was OK although he went to hospital for precautionary checks as standard procedure. The Daniels Motorsport mechanics did an amazing job of rebuilding his car and James made the grid for the afternoon’s race.
At the re-start, Nick realised he needed to get some decent laps on the board and made an uncharacteristic mistake at Paddock Hill Bend. The rear end of the car slid out and although Nick tried to correct the slide, the natural camber of the corner worked against him and he speared off to the inner side of the track and hit the tyre barrier head-on at an estimated 70+ MPH. The car went into the tyres up to the windscreen and then shot back in the air and spun around, facing back up the hill. Nick was just a passenger in the high speed impact which managed to bend the Armco even although it was protected by a three-deep tyre wall!!!
John was following close behind Nick when he went off so had a grandstand view and was relieved to see Nick out of the car when he came round again. John was understandably cautious at Paddock for the rest of the session but put in one quick lap to qualify well. Nick reported that he struggled to get his breathing back under control as the harness had winded him due to the hard impact.
John continued to improve his lap times and put in a creditable best lap time of 58.645 resulting in 8th position for the grid. As Nick didn’t manage a clean fast lap, his best time was well down the grid but the main concern was whether the car could be repaired in time for the race.
Qualifying Result
John Findlay – 58.645 – Position 8th.
Nick Sanderson – 1:00.251 – Position: 20th.
Round 12
The ICR mechanics had a lot of work to do to get Nick’s car in shape for the race but amazingly, the damage wasn’t as bad as first feared as Nick hit the tyres head-on so the impact was spread across the front of the car. Fiesta ST rival Ben Roper also came along and helped fix some of the damaged components which shows the friendliness of the www.dees.co.uk Ford Fiesta Championship – Dan Rose also supplied some fittings later in the weekend to help the team and our thanks go out to both.
John had the Motors TV Television camera installed in his car for the race. Both cars would be starting from outside berths on the grid - a major disadvantage at Brands Hatch as cars usually get ‘hung out to dry’ at both Paddock Hill Bend and the tight Druids hairpin. This was to prove the case for John who was unable to get to the inside of the track and lost several places by the exit to Druids.
Nick was flying through the field on the opening laps and was catching John who got tangled up with Gordon Tomkins at Graham Hill bend and both lost momentum up to Surtees. This let Nick who had another blistering start alongside and it was three abreast going into Surtees, with Nick passing both with two wheels well onto the grass. Something had to give and unfortunately Gordon came across John, who with no place to go could not give him enough room resulting in Gordon spinning off. This delayed John and a gap opened up in front of him. He closed down on the next cars and was then catching Nick who was having power steering problems – a result of the morning’s accident.
John continued to close on them and was only half a second behind when he came across a back marker at the top of Paddock Hill Bend. The back marker did not seem to see John and forced him wide and made him put one wheel into the gravel. John got past at Druids but Nick and Co had opened up a gap which John would not be able to close in the remaining two laps however coming out of Druids, John had lost all drive and he had no option but to park his Fiesta ST on the exit of Graham Hill Bend. A broken drive flange was later diagnosed as the problem, possibly as a result of the short gravel excursion at Paddock Hill Bend.
Nick continued behind Terry Upton and Tim Bennet to finish 11th overall as he could not make up the positions with the steering becoming progressively worse. Nick actually waved Terry past earlier in the race as he felt it was unfair to defend due to the steering problems as Terry was fighting an Si battle with Tim – Nick getting a great seat to watch all the action!
Round 12 Result
Nick Sanderson – 11th (3rd in ST class) - Fastest Lap 58.280
John Findlay – DNF - Fastest Lap 58.468
Round 13
With race one resulting in a DNF for John, he would start in 24th position on the grid. The drive flange would prove to be a very difficult repair which resulted in the car only being ready one hour before the start. The ABS warning light indicated a problem but with Nick’s car still not ready to race, there was no time to diagnose what was wrong, far less fix it. John would have to drive with whatever problem was there. Worryingly, if the problem only affected one front wheel, the car was likely to spear off the track under race conditions.
Nick was having serious dramas as the front-end of the car was missing when the final call for the Ford Fiestas was made over the tannoy. The mechanics were working hard and as soon as the car was dropped off the jacks, Nick raced up to the grid and just managed to join the grid before the green flag lap – panic over!
It turned out after the race that the BRSCC Clerk of the Course actually allowed an extra five minutes which effectively allowed Nick to join the race. A big thanks to the BRSCC for this action – Nick visited race control after the race to thanks the officials personally.
John got a decent start and made three or four places by Paddock Hill Bend. He also got to the inside in the run up to Druids but found his path blocked although one or two cars were hung out to dry and John made a couple more places up the inside. John almost ran into the back of Jamie Ackers as his ABS simply did not work and he had trouble stopping the car in a straight line. Braking was to prove a race long problem for John as he could not stop the car in anything like the previous stopping distances. This resulted in minor contact with Barry Edwards in his Zetec. One of the STs main advantages over the other cars is the ABS and without this John was to struggle. He did however improve his position up to 15th place - the braking problem meant his lap times were approximately one second slower than the Saturday race.
Nick had the Motors TV television camera installed so the whole race was captured from his position. Nick had a storming run in a patched up car which did not handle quite as it should. There was no time to even check the tyre pressures or tracking so he just drove the car as best as he could. Starting 11th, he made up many places and eventually finished the race in 5th position, having great battles with series stalwart Peter Daniels and David Ellesley.
Round 13 Result
Nick Sanderson – 5th (3rd in ST Class) – Fastest Lap 58.101 + Driver of the Day Award
John Findlay – 15th (4th in ST Class) – Fastest Lap 59.343
Summary
A torrid weekend for the team with both cars requiring major surgery to get them anything like fit for racing. John’s DNF in Race 1 was particularly hard to swallow and his Race 2 problems limited the progress he could make from the back of the grid.
For Nick to get two finishes over the weekend was an achievement in itself due to his high speed exit in qualifying – the biggest accident of Nick’s career.
The team worked magnificently to get the cars out racing but both cars require further work to be ready for the last meeting back at Brands Hatch in seven weeks time.
A big thanks to our fellow competitors Ben Roper and Dan Rose (and their teams) for helping out with the repairs to our cars. Also, a big thanks to Orion Engineering, Petrofac and the ST Owners Club (www.stownersclub.com) for supporting the team over the course of the weekend.
Current Standings
Total Championship Points
Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 182
2 Ben Roper 162
3 Nick Sanderson 128
4 John Findlay 83
5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24
Points with two ‘dropped scores’*
Position Name Points
1 Daniel Rose 156
2 Ben Roper 152
3 Nick Sanderson 128
4 John Findlay 83
5 Richard Kemp 37
6 Stewart Scott 24
*All rounds score points but the final total is all rounds minus two ‘dropped scores’.
The final championship rounds are at Brands Hatch on 20 & 21 October at the Formula Ford Festival Meeting.
;D, 
Sounds like a sore yin, and I'm impressed that the car was back together and out for the race, good work - last time mine looked like that was in December, and it took till August to get back on the track