Tel's Tales Issue 064 Snetterton weekend May 2016
Entry posted by Terry Everall
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TEL's TALE's 064/16
Snetterton 21st and 22nd May 2016 ( B19 event)
For me this round trip of 400 miles is worth it as Snetterton is a great track with 2laps and some very tricky and technical corners. Particularly novel for me was the use of my newly purchased Motorhome which would provide fantastic accommodation over the weekend event. I did not find the fact that my total vehicle length was about 13m a problem but my god it does use some fuel and recorded about 24mpg!!! Having said that it would easily travel at the legal limit and was a comfortable drive along the A1, A14 and A11 to the circuit. When we arrived in the paddock my new aquistion had detailed inspection by Jane Loudon, Julie Hodder and Sandra Bunn who all gave it the thumbs up and asked why I didn't do it earlier. There was a decent attendance by the Speed Series guys and gal including a few single seaters and about 1800hrs I walked the track with Steve Everall, Dave Cleaver and Mark Anson. Snetterton is a quick track and wide but even though we discussed apexes and the correct lines most of us would find it difficult to adopt them as the track seems to have a poor grip level so late apexing is nigh on impossible and a visit onto the green stuff is waiting if you get too brave.
It was good to see Dave Cleaver and my brother Steve out for the first time this season after engine rebuilds. Dave's Honda is now stroked and bored and pushing out some serious bhp and torque. I do know the figures but I would have to kill you if I told you. I think it was also Simon Broadbridge's first outing this season so he was keen to get stuck in.
Saturday
P1 as expected saw quite a bit of slipping and sliding as the lack of grip was the talk of the paddock and posted times were quite a bit off the targets. Dave Cleaver was having a few problems with the engine (I think it was the traction control settings ) which he sorted by switching traction off. I dont think it can have been that bad as he was the quickest Westfield. Steve Everall found it strange using a 5 speed syncro box and the new, less sticky, Avon ZZS tyres. In the single seaters, I think Pete Goulding in his FF Ecoboost had all four wheels off whilst Matt Hillam was straight on the pace. It was Mark Anson's first visit to Snetterton and he was taking it easy and nearly got lost twice.
P2 saw very little improvement in track grip and maybe some of that was due to Dave Cleaver trying to beat me by dropping oil around the circuit from his oil filter housing. At the end of T1 we managed to fabricate a clever blanking plate from alloy sheet and some quick setting sealant did the trick and stopped the oil leak. Mark Anson came back to the paddock complaining about a big vibration at the back of the car. We got it up in the air and got the engine going and spinning the wheels but could only see a slightly imbalanced left rear wheel and a tight halfshaft. As nothing was loose and all bolts ok it was safe for him to go out again but it did seem strange that we could not find anything major on his OMS 2000M.
Nick Algar (not in speed series) had a blown supercharger so set off to the midlands on a five hour round trip to get a replacement only to find that there was too much damage and itcould not just be bolted on and required further work.
T1 was before lunch and Mark had a good run but all was not well. Just before the finish his Kwazaki engine let go and punched a big hole through the block and nearly set fire to the car and Mark who was still sat in it! It was a frustrating end to his weekend, which is not what you want having driven 270 miles to get to the event from Blackpool Both Pete Gouding and I offered him a double drive on Sunday, for which he thanked us but he was more concerned about concentrating on getting his own car sorted. We were all finally getting our heads around the track now and times started to tumble.I think Steve Carpenter had a moment as he did not record a time as he tried to stay ahead of Roz Kennett who was double driving. They were also camping in a tent on site as the cost and lack of nearby B&B meant they had no option. In the end Roz said she quite liked it, apart from the noisy bikers who were camping and they may also camp at the Blyton weekend. John Loudon was the first to set a new (class E) record.
T2 Dave Cleaver (class F) and I (class G) both set new class records on this run so we banked good points and were ready for the final runs. Derek Hodder and Gary Bunn were having the usual ding dong and its never over until the last run.
T3 It was now obvious that to get good times you had to be very brave and trust the car when you threw it into Hamiltons, a tight lefthander at the end of a short straight with not a lot of run off on the exit. The left hander called Palmer's was also technically difficult and getting to the apex or on the inside rumble strip took some doing at high speed. There were a few examples of late braking that did not pay off as people overshot corners or locked up the wheels. In the end John Loudon improved on his record time and quickest Westfield was Dave Cleaver on 90.29secs closely followed by Gary Bunn with 90.53secs and Del on 91.05secs.
In the single seater Pete Goulding went well but Matt Hillam in the SBD Dallara was very quick with 83.15secs.
Just after we finished the rain started !!! Phew. During the day it was good to see a few spectators from the Westfield club supporting us and they included Denis and Andy Silman of Siltech racing who produce some very nice wishbones etc for Westfields.
Sunday
Paul Beesley joined us in his class F busa to get a piece of the action. The weather forcast was a bit unpredictable but in the end we had a dry and quite warm day. The warm day brought a few more spectators including our old mate Martyn Van Zeller who now lives fairly close having emigrated from god's own county.
P1 Despite the overnight rain the track was dry but still people complained about a lack of grip so it wasn't just my driving style that was causing me to oversteer. Gary and Del immediately suffered from a lack of power which Del quickly diagnosed as a faulty TPS. Off with the old and on with the new and they were back in business in no time at all. Dave Cleaver set off like a bat out of hell to show his intentions again.
P2 Nothing much to report here except for Paul Beesley starting to chip away at his times.
T1 The big issue to report here is that Gary Bunn produced a blinding run of 89.21 secs (new class H record) which he would not better and nobody else could get near it. As the trcak now got a bit warmer it was clear that there would be some good times and records would be beaten again if we were brave enough and had a heavy enough right foot whilst ignoring the brake pedal and any survival instincts.
T2/T3 In T2 Dave Cleaver showed us how not to do it as he ran out of tarmac pushing too hard at Hamiltons bend. Dave Cleaver's, John Loudon's and my last runs were quickest and beat the class records/target times again. Steve Everall, Steve Carpenter, Roz Kennett and Simon Broadbridge all improved on Saturday's times and Paul Beesley saved his best run until last.
In summary it was a great weekend for most of us and excellently run by Borough 19 MC. Steve's time would indicate that the ZZS tyres are about 3% slower that ZZR and the car suspension may need changing to allow for the different grip level.pOn my way home my driving skills were put to the test as a pheasant tried to commit suicide by walking out in front of my new motorhome.....there is no way I would allow that to happen as my pristine coachwork would be smashed to bits ….so a reactionary swerve at 60mph on the A1 saw me miss the stupid bird JUST!. Steve was behind and culd not believe I managed to miss it and said if it had been a cat it would have lost one of its nine lives.
Terry Everall
Class G
competitor
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4
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