Mike was joined by Darren from Spoox today at Mallory Park to give the new car a test, still using the standard engine, road catalyst and exhaust. The track was damp until about 11am, so Mike took his time to settle the car in and manage seven 15 minute sessions between 9 and 12.30. Mike started with sub minute times while Darren sorted out the suspension rebound rates and pressures, and by session 6, Mike was clocking regular 57 second laps, culminating in a 56.9, which compared well with a lap record set back in June 2003 of 56.6 seconds. The new engine and race exhaust etc should add a further 10bhp, which the Race Technology data showed it needed. In theory Mike could have managed a sub 55 second lap today had he combined his best sectors, but the tack was still quite damp until the lunch break. Based upon the vector G forces Mike was generating through the corners and braking, has he sufficient power from the engine he could achieve a sub 46 second lap. Working back fom the data to the required power output, Mike would need to double the 90bhp of the standard motor and this equates to what the hot hatches producting 200bhp were managing last season.
The Race Technology DL1 and Dash 3 performed as expected, giving us lap and sector times. This week we need to interface the ECU output to allow the cars sensors to give us more information. With the exception of a loose exhaust fitted in haste to make the car legal, everything ran reliably. Mike was delighted as was Darren on his first venture into circuit racing and many thanks for the photographs.
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