VF-Racing

Vaughan Fletcher No: 16 @Rockingham 30th June/1st July 2012
BRSCC Euro Saloon Classic Championship Rounds 7 & 8


Pre Race:

Going into the latest event at Rockingham, Vaughan and the Subaru sat 3rd in class.

Following the last outing at Brands, it was decided that it was time to look at increasing the braking efficiency of the Impreza. Scoobyclinic were tasked with fitting a pair of late model 2pot calipers and grooved discs to the rear hubs, replacing the original single pot RA calipers that have been on the car up until now.

With the addition of the 6 speed gearbox adding an unwanted 30kg to the car, the suspension was checked, and the car corner weighted to take the extra weight into account.

Cosmetically, the front wings have been re-designed to help improve the air flow, and to release trapped air from within the wheel well. The rear edge has been opened up, and for safety reasons a mesh has been installed in the resulting gap.





Qualifying:

Class A for the event was made up of:

02 – Rex Stamp – Lotus Exige
14 - Doug Ellwood - Marcos Mantis
16 - Vaughan Fletcher - Subaru Impreza RA
19 – Ian Froggatt - Subaru Impreza RA
62 – Alex Sidwell – Holden Commodore
96 – Garry Prebble – Evo 9

Facing up against some of the top flight cars and drivers currently racing in tin tops, it would be an all out battle to get towards the front of the grid. Alongside the usual entries, we were going to be joined by an invitational class of Saker sports cars which would be hard to beat.

Running anti-clockwise, the car’s set up needed changing completely in order to take into account the large section of oval banking that goes to making up the circuit.





Keeping an eye on the gathering clouds overhead, it was decided to go with a slick tyre.

With the call to qualifying announced over the tannoy, Vaughan took the Impreza to the pit lane and joined the rest of entries.

Out on circuit, and after a lap or so to bring everything up to temperature, and it was time to start looking for that fastest lap.





However it was soon apparent that not all was well with the handling, as the car looked to under steer on some of the slower corners, and over steer on the way out. Not being able to push on with the usual level of confidence was hurting the lap times, but not as much as the next problem.





7 laps in and the car began to lose power and misfire. So as not to risk any possible damage, there was no other option but to pit.

Qualified 3rd in class
Qualified 9th overall
Fastest lap: 1:38.433 on lap 6 of 7

Back in the paddock, and work began on trying to find out the cause of the problem. The car’s log was removed from the ECU, where it was found that the coolant temperature had broken a pre-set safety limit.

Further checks showed water loss from the header tank, which when combined with the rapid temperature rise, pointed to a failed head gasket.

To confirm the diagnosis, it was decided that the car would be made ready for the first race, and should any further signs be seen the car would be retired.

In order to try and address the handling issues from qualifying, some time was spent changing the anti-roll bar settings, and changing the camber on the front wheels. Upon checking the tyre pressures, it was noticed that the passenger side rear was a lot lower than the other 3, pointing to a slow puncture which would have upset the car’s handling.

With the fuel topped up, it was only a matter of time before we would find out if the car was ok or not.


Round 1:

Starting in 9th place, and the Impreza lined up on the inside row, alongside Doug in his “A” class Marcos Mantis, and directly behind Ilsa *** in her WTCC Seat Leon. With a customary green flag lap to get everyone up to race speed, the lights went out and the noise sky rocketed as all 23 drivers began racing.





Straight away the Impreza began to break free from the slower cars behind, and chase down those that had qualified ahead.

With the Sakers pulling out a commanding lead from the moment the lights went out, Vaughan was soon challenging Ilsa and the rapid bike engine Suzuki Cappuccino of Wayne Schofield.

Passed the Suzuki, and Ilsa was already putting some distance between her and the Impreza.

All too soon the race was over, as a couple of laps later the car again showed the same symptoms as it did in qualifying.





With the lap top hooked up, the news was confirmed that the water temperature had risen beyond the safety limit.

With nothing more able to be done, the weekend’s racing was over.

DNF
Fastest lap: 1:36.884 on lap 3 of 3