Jon Beech Snetterton Time Attack
14 October 2009, 12:15 AM
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Jon Beech Snetterton Time Attack
Going into the final Time Attack round there was only one person that mattered… Marcus Webster! He was 40 points behind us in the overall club championship and the only person who could take 3rd place away from us. We were too far behind Russ to catch him for 2nd place, so Sunday the 11th was strictly between two cars. A big power Skyline, and L55BAT, our 450hp Impreza.
The day started off damp with some light drizzle which we were told would turn to dry weather very soon. We had some laps under our belt from the day before, so the first warm up session of the day was to go out and make sure that there were no issues with the car. We ran a 1m 18s lap the day before and were impressed how fast some of the cars were even in the first session. 1m 16.8s being the fastest lap. We knew we had some ground to make up as people would get faster through the day, but we had new tires to put on and the ones we were running were almost down to the wires!
Practice was only an hour later, and we had made some minor changes to the car. The two Club groups were going to be reorganised based on times in the morning so we wanted to make sure we stayed in the 'A' group. A fast time was required.
The track was nice and dry with good grip levels, we went out almost last to leave some space in front of us. It was a good move as straight after my warm up lap I had two flying laps with no real traffic. We had different fuel in so I could get used to it prior to the qualification session and it made quite a difference. Where I was seeing just under an indicated 140 mph down the back straight in the warm up I was now getting 155 at the same point. We did some good times with the best being 1m 16.856s. We were right behind Marcus Webster. A finish like that would give us the 3rd place we wanted.
The long break between practice and qualifying was taken up by getting the tires changed and trying to relax. I spent some time arranging some photos for the afternoon and meeting some of the many supporters that had come along to see us.
With new tires fitted we were hopeful of a good time in qualifying. Again, I went out almost last and made some space for a couple of laps. I got the space but the tires weren't scrubbed properly and the car slipped around all over the place for a couple of laps. Suddenly the grip arrived! I still had space so wound up for a fast one. Sadly, as I was going for it, the red flags came out and the lap was lost. I went back into the pits and fed back to the team that the tires were just coming to life. From experience, we knew that the tires were best on about the 3rd lap but we were stuck in the pits with them cooling off. After 10 minutes we were allowed out and I was at the front of the queue. I went fast enough to get the tires warm again, but not overheat them. At the last corner I went for it and tried to string some laps together. There was traffic on every lap, but I'm not sure if they affected my times as none were mid corner. For the second part of the session we were fast, but we still didn't match the times of the fastest cars before the red flag. 1m 16.662s was our best on lap 9 of 10. We were two behind Marcus. He got 30 points and we got 10 for qualifying. Only 20 points separated us now overall going into the final. The pressure was on!
We spent quite a lot of time before the final doing a photo shoot for sponsors with a race truck. Michelle Westby (the face of Time Attack 2009) came and spent a lot of time with us to get the right picture so thanks very much for that. It was a welcome distraction away from the final that was looming.
Some real effort was needed for the last run and I tried. I really tried! The car was so well setup that I could get it settled and on full power most of the way round Coram, all four wheels just drifting. The brakes were awesome! So good in fact that the fastest speed of the day was recorded by us in qualifying at the Revett speed trap (in the braking zone) 138.4 mph!!! Even faster than the pro guys. Not once did I miss the line through the next corner. The car was just setup so well. Have to admit though it was close a couple of times!
I drove as hard as I could and we managed a 1m 16.490s Marcus had a 1m 15.240s which meant he had 3rd place on the day and we had 5th. But, for the championship, we were level on points. After a long wait, we were informed that due to the rounds completed and the points prior to the final round, we were officially 3rd in the championship! What a result, the team were over the moon. We had aimed for a top 10 finish for the year, we managed a round podium at Silverstone, and 3rd in the championship.
All that from a very heavy type UK newage Impreza with a standard 2 litre engine and gearbox with some special bolt on parts and some very well setup suspension and brakes. I can't really say enough to thank the sponsors and team that have contributed this year. Special mentions have to go to Chevron Motorsport, who have made such an amazing car, no-one can quite believe what the car can do until they have been in it. Fuchs lubricants, for providing the oil and fluids that kept our standard engine in one piece without issue for all the rounds and test sessions we did. In total, around 950 flat out circuit laps, and 8000 road miles.
Thanks also to...
Superpro for their bushes
Radtec
F1 Tools Track Range
John Felstead for encouragement and driver wisdom
Simon Stanley for being Simon and pushing me and the car
Andy (Millie) Milward for being the only member of the team that actually did any hard work on the race days
And of course the rest of the team and people that helped us...
Little John, little Matty, Gary Milward, Rose, Gaz, Paul B, Mike, and my lovely wife Karen.
The day started off damp with some light drizzle which we were told would turn to dry weather very soon. We had some laps under our belt from the day before, so the first warm up session of the day was to go out and make sure that there were no issues with the car. We ran a 1m 18s lap the day before and were impressed how fast some of the cars were even in the first session. 1m 16.8s being the fastest lap. We knew we had some ground to make up as people would get faster through the day, but we had new tires to put on and the ones we were running were almost down to the wires!
Practice was only an hour later, and we had made some minor changes to the car. The two Club groups were going to be reorganised based on times in the morning so we wanted to make sure we stayed in the 'A' group. A fast time was required.
The track was nice and dry with good grip levels, we went out almost last to leave some space in front of us. It was a good move as straight after my warm up lap I had two flying laps with no real traffic. We had different fuel in so I could get used to it prior to the qualification session and it made quite a difference. Where I was seeing just under an indicated 140 mph down the back straight in the warm up I was now getting 155 at the same point. We did some good times with the best being 1m 16.856s. We were right behind Marcus Webster. A finish like that would give us the 3rd place we wanted.
The long break between practice and qualifying was taken up by getting the tires changed and trying to relax. I spent some time arranging some photos for the afternoon and meeting some of the many supporters that had come along to see us.
With new tires fitted we were hopeful of a good time in qualifying. Again, I went out almost last and made some space for a couple of laps. I got the space but the tires weren't scrubbed properly and the car slipped around all over the place for a couple of laps. Suddenly the grip arrived! I still had space so wound up for a fast one. Sadly, as I was going for it, the red flags came out and the lap was lost. I went back into the pits and fed back to the team that the tires were just coming to life. From experience, we knew that the tires were best on about the 3rd lap but we were stuck in the pits with them cooling off. After 10 minutes we were allowed out and I was at the front of the queue. I went fast enough to get the tires warm again, but not overheat them. At the last corner I went for it and tried to string some laps together. There was traffic on every lap, but I'm not sure if they affected my times as none were mid corner. For the second part of the session we were fast, but we still didn't match the times of the fastest cars before the red flag. 1m 16.662s was our best on lap 9 of 10. We were two behind Marcus. He got 30 points and we got 10 for qualifying. Only 20 points separated us now overall going into the final. The pressure was on!
We spent quite a lot of time before the final doing a photo shoot for sponsors with a race truck. Michelle Westby (the face of Time Attack 2009) came and spent a lot of time with us to get the right picture so thanks very much for that. It was a welcome distraction away from the final that was looming.
Some real effort was needed for the last run and I tried. I really tried! The car was so well setup that I could get it settled and on full power most of the way round Coram, all four wheels just drifting. The brakes were awesome! So good in fact that the fastest speed of the day was recorded by us in qualifying at the Revett speed trap (in the braking zone) 138.4 mph!!! Even faster than the pro guys. Not once did I miss the line through the next corner. The car was just setup so well. Have to admit though it was close a couple of times!
I drove as hard as I could and we managed a 1m 16.490s Marcus had a 1m 15.240s which meant he had 3rd place on the day and we had 5th. But, for the championship, we were level on points. After a long wait, we were informed that due to the rounds completed and the points prior to the final round, we were officially 3rd in the championship! What a result, the team were over the moon. We had aimed for a top 10 finish for the year, we managed a round podium at Silverstone, and 3rd in the championship.
All that from a very heavy type UK newage Impreza with a standard 2 litre engine and gearbox with some special bolt on parts and some very well setup suspension and brakes. I can't really say enough to thank the sponsors and team that have contributed this year. Special mentions have to go to Chevron Motorsport, who have made such an amazing car, no-one can quite believe what the car can do until they have been in it. Fuchs lubricants, for providing the oil and fluids that kept our standard engine in one piece without issue for all the rounds and test sessions we did. In total, around 950 flat out circuit laps, and 8000 road miles.
Thanks also to...
Superpro for their bushes
Radtec
F1 Tools Track Range
John Felstead for encouragement and driver wisdom
Simon Stanley for being Simon and pushing me and the car
Andy (Millie) Milward for being the only member of the team that actually did any hard work on the race days
And of course the rest of the team and people that helped us...
Little John, little Matty, Gary Milward, Rose, Gaz, Paul B, Mike, and my lovely wife Karen.
14 October 2009, 09:21 AM
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Well done matey, 
I was in the same pit garage as your team with the grey skyline, our man also managed to grab 3rd place in Club RWD and we were only hoping just to take part and have a good time.
So it was a welcome surprise to pick up a championship tropy!
You competing next year?
I was in the same pit garage as your team with the grey skyline, our man also managed to grab 3rd place in Club RWD and we were only hoping just to take part and have a good time.
So it was a welcome surprise to pick up a championship tropy!
You competing next year?
14 October 2009, 06:46 PM
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Congratulations Jon on your great season result. For a car that was quite basic, but importantly set-up right and driven well, is an awesome achievement. You should be very very proud! 
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14 October 2009, 08:46 PM
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great write up and very interesting to hear from the people we watched on track.
we watched your car squirming around under heavy braking as you approached the chicane before the pit straight and it looked well planted around the chicane and out again.
top work, well done.
we watched your car squirming around under heavy braking as you approached the chicane before the pit straight and it looked well planted around the chicane and out again.
top work, well done.
14 October 2009, 09:27 PM
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14 October 2009, 11:29 PM
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A great effort for the season Jon and the team from Chevron.
The budget was extremely tight with not even one spare wheel on hand, so to finish with third in the championship at the first attempt is highly commendable in what is a genuinely used daily road car fitted with a stock spec 2.0 litre engine with bolt on turbo, standard gearbox, diff, driveshafts etc, it has standard bodywork, no aero appendages bar a stock style front lip, it even uses a TMIC which keeps it a really nice drive for road use.
If the funds were there no doubt the spec could have been expanded further, but it goes to show what can be done with well chosen suspension, brakes, engine ancillaries and excellent setup and support with some serious commitment behind the wheel.
100% reliability for the year both on track and road is also a superb testament to how the car has been prepared and maintained.
It was a pleasure to be a small part of the team.
The budget was extremely tight with not even one spare wheel on hand, so to finish with third in the championship at the first attempt is highly commendable in what is a genuinely used daily road car fitted with a stock spec 2.0 litre engine with bolt on turbo, standard gearbox, diff, driveshafts etc, it has standard bodywork, no aero appendages bar a stock style front lip, it even uses a TMIC which keeps it a really nice drive for road use.
If the funds were there no doubt the spec could have been expanded further, but it goes to show what can be done with well chosen suspension, brakes, engine ancillaries and excellent setup and support with some serious commitment behind the wheel.
100% reliability for the year both on track and road is also a superb testament to how the car has been prepared and maintained.
It was a pleasure to be a small part of the team.
15 October 2009, 06:16 AM
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Excellent write up Jon, a very worthy position.
Things surely can only get better from here though pal
Can remember at Oulton last year, seeing you buzz past everyone, i knew great things were on the cards.
Well done
Scott.
Things surely can only get better from here though pal
Can remember at Oulton last year, seeing you buzz past everyone, i knew great things were on the cards.
Well done
Scott.
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