Return trip to Loton
park with a car running perfectly after a trip to the local Integrale
specialist, yes we have one just up the road ! No Audi quatro this time, but the RS Cosworth was there to give
a benchmark, first practice saw a slight improvement over the times of the
previous visit, but the track was slower (apparently according to those that
know) Practice 2 saw a significant improved time by 5 seconds, that’s a lot in
hillclimbing, but it was now apparent that with full power, the handling issue
returned, it was very difficult to get the car to turn in, it just wants to
straight on.
Race 1 saw a drop of
half a second , a lack of confidence with handling in the narrow twisty track,
and a missed gearchange on the last bend didn’t help, and playing with tyre
pressures after practice may not have been a good idea.
Race 2 … wow ! had a good start, almost perfect first
corner and held good speed through the second third and fourth corners, fifth
corner through nicely controlling the understeer, the next kinks right and left
held well with excellent exit speed into the straight, I was so amazed at how
much more speed I had on the straight, almost flat in third over the brow that
braking was left a tad late and off I went to visit the grass, no serious
damage and a lesson learnt … if you don’t go off your not trying !
