RACE MANAGEMENT FOR 2009

Following an initial meeting yeaterday, Matt Wisher, the general manager for Everyman Racing and owner of the 106 Mike used in 2008, has offered to assist Mike in 2009. Matt plans to race himself in the 106 and assist Mike in a two driver Michael Comber Racing team. Matt is very busy preparing for the 2009 Track Day season, but plans to test with Mike in January and then to share race day information. Matt has raced in the series before and assisted Mike in his Silverstone and Mallory rounds this year and is fully aware of his potential and pleased that Mike has decided to prepare a SAXO VTR for himself for 2009.

STOCK HATCH COMPETITOR ON TV

Follow this link to see one of Mike's competitors getting onto TV
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7737913.stm
By coincidence this is very similar to what Mikes car will be like.

REBUILD WEEK - 4 GETTING THE CAGE FITTED

Pictures quickly taken of a fellow competitors car being completed as we arrived.

The first picture shows the front legs being braced and linking into the front bulkhead.
The second picture shows that they don't link to the struts as we have to stick to the regulations.

This picture shows the final two pints of contact on the passenger side. We can only use a six point cage, and any other welding to the pillars or roof section as will multi-point cages isn't allowed. I assume that is on the grounds of cost, as I would have though the addition of a few more welds to the shell would have made the car much stronger in the event of an accident, but again we have to abide by the rules.

The cage is very closely fitted to the shell and the gaps to the shell are minimised. The tape is only there to hold the tube in place while welding! There is a cross bar above the driver as another safety feature. Finally the rear mounting is over the rear suspension, but still allows access to the bolts to drop it.

Our two sets of AO48's arrived from Polley Motorsport and we purchased a second set of VTR alloys, so the road tyres will come off this week and the rims pinted and their new rubber fitted. We also took delivery of a the LIFELINE system. While the main car is a way we will try and locate a bsic Saxo for its roof panel, window winders and other spares, as we need a spare windscreen and body panels.

REBUILD STARTS WEEK - 3 PRIMING THE SHELL

First the inside was de-greased and all the insulation and general wiring tags removed together with their metal studs. The inside was then given two coats of grey primer over the original primer and blue over-spray.

After allowing 24 hours between coats, by the third evening the car was ready for its first coat of matt black which easily covered the primer. Such was the success of the spraying that on the second night we decided to prime the outside ourselves!

Having given the the outside as second coat at the same time as the inside, and we couldn't resist giving that an initial test coat on part of the outside just to see how the paint covered.

As the reflections show, the paint covered very well, which has inspired us to completely respray the car black ourselves. Obviously when the cage is fitted, we expect to touch up any scratches. The car will be away for all of week 4 .We only have a couple of hours spare per night on the car, but that is enough for a complete coat and any further preparation work. While the shell is away we can concentrate on the doors, bonnet and boot. In week 5 we will attempt to add a few coats of laqueur to bring out the shine.

CITROEN SAXO STRIPPING - WEEK 2

Having removed the front bonnet and wings and stored them, the engine and gearbox were easily removed, having disconnected the battery, electrical conections, fuel lines and gearlever selectors. Getting the driveshafts out and but keeping the front suspension located, was a fiddle, but worth the benefit of keeping a rolling shell.

The interior was removed in a couple of hours. Very little will be needed, just the dash to replace with the instruments. We spent a couple of hours removing the glass and doors to make access easier. We also removed the rear bumper and lights to free the loom. Most of the interior will end up on E-Bay as it's in really good condition.

With the exhaust system removed, the petrol tank was an easy removal as was the sun roof and any other interior furniture. The steering wheel was removed, but slotted on for ease of mobility. The suspension and brakes look good will be replaced with new or upgraded units in accordance with the Stock Hatch regulations. We are undecided on suspension units at present, as most favour LEDA, but drivers have won in the past with GAZ, which has been set up by DAve Lyon formerly of LEDA. SPOOX will make the final choice for us.

With the car fully stripped except the suspension, we had the chance to double check the structure and then give it a thorough power wash. I think this will be one of the newest SAXO shells in the championship, which is important as some of the older ones are showing signs of rust on the inner wings and suspension pionts. Having said that the SAXO and the 106 do have a good reputation for avoiding the rust bug.

The windscreen has been retained pending the arrival of a screen removal tool. The rims look good and we have already purchased two sets of ADVAN AO48's on a special deal from Polly Motorsport. We bought the last two sets, so they have no more tyres until January. We also purchases a LIFE-LINE FIA approved extinguisher system and have booked the car in for a cage, which means the car will be gone for a week to Tornado Motorsport.

LET THE STRIPPING COMMENCE - WEEK 1

First of all we found a low mileage (37,000) near standard Citroen Saxo VTR

It has had M3 mirrors fitted and been lowerer 40mm, but thats the only changes from standard.

There were some minor signs of light parking damage to the front, as the bumper was poorly fitted, but everything was straight and where it should be.

The rear box had been changed and just made a loud noise rather than any great performance gain, but the remainder was standard, and all the electrics worked.

Of the 5 previous SAXO's we have stripped this was easily the smartest, and would probably have sold on a used car lot for over £2500 with such low mileage and general condition. All it needed was a wash and service, as it had clearly stood for a couple of years under a windy carport.





The engine fired up first time with a new battery, and having checked the brakes and fluids, it easily topped the legal limit down our lane. The head showed signs of standing water, but all the air intake was standard, which is just what we need in Stock Hatch. Being a MK2, it came with the silver topped roller-rocker engine, which we may use as it is, or we may purchase a MK1 black top, as we are told they are more poular and produce more power. We will do our own comparison tests in consultation with SPOOX Motorsport.

The car was given a quick power wash beore Mike started to remove all the front panels in his workshop.

SAXO PREPARATION STARTED FOR 2009 SEASON

As part of his plans to race in Stock Hatch in 2009, Mike has purchased a MK 2 2003 VTR . The car was in mint condition and probably too good to strip, but Mike needed to be sure he had a good base. The vehicle had only covered 37,000 miles and ran very well having been lowered all round.

Pictures of the stripping will follow as and when the tasks progress.

A WET SUNDAY AND A 500 BHP LAMBO MAKES DRIVING INTERESTING!

After spending Sunday on a soaking wet Bruntingthorpe track, Mike was pleased the Track Days are over for 2008. This time the drivers he was instructing generally struggled with the conditions, but the car wenr well and all at Drivers Dream Days seemed to enjoy the fireworks afterwards. Unfortunately Mike missed out on getting to Rockingham to gain another signature for his upgraded licence with no meetings left in 2008, but following an initial meeting Saturday evening, he seems to have gained some racing assistance for the 2009 Stock Hatch Championship.

SUCCESS AT WHILTON ON SATURDAY

Mike, was back at Whilton amongst the Natska crew on Saturday. Mike was once voted the best ever driver of all time in Natska, so he was warmly welcomed as he was no longer competing, but assisting. Abi seemed to be a keen and positive girl, who had previously had some success in Class 11, which was for the single engined Prokart. With the track starting wet and then slowly drying befor a last minute deluge, driving conditions were greasy. Abi managed a 2nd, 3rd and 1st in her first three heats, and was 1st equal at that stage. Unfortunately in the 4th heat, she tried a bold overtake at the top of Xmas and was collected by ther slower driver. She then tried too hard to recover and slightly over drove, dropping her down th pack, but she recovered well. Unfortunately she had to drop that heat and her main rival won it and counted it as a victory, so she just drooped back to 2nd overall. A good result also by other members of the team, who quickly adopted the tyre pressures and general set up Mike was recommending.

BACK TO KART INSTRUCTION AT WHILTON MILL

This Saturday Mike returns to the track he still holds the Intermediate Lap record - Whilton Mill. He is there to assist with the running of the next Natska round, assisting with the Prokart and TKM classes, for Ian Whitts daughter Aby and her friend Jackie. Sunday will be a visit to Bruntingthorpe in the Lambo for Ross.