Preparation
Once again there was much to do before race day. After the suspected engine problems at Donington the car was stripped to remove the engine and sent to GAC for overhaul. My concern for the engine was well founded with a broken compression ring and oil control ring missing on one piston. While the engine was out it was a good time to get the gear linkage overhauled by AHS. I was quite surprised when Alan from AHS saw the linkage and said the wear in the UJ’s was the worst he had seen in a long time; now that I have the linkage back the difference is quite remarkable. Also from Donington was a bad vibration from the front that I suspected was a flat spotted tyre. There was indeed a flat spot and whilst inspecting the tyre I noticed what appeared to be a small crack in the brake calliper mounting which turned out to be a clean break all the way through! On further inspection one of the brake pads was missing the friction material which would explain the cause of the lock-up. Along with a knackered front wheel bearing and crimped brake hose there wasn’t much left to replace on the front corner…
The first race was to get the car ready in time for the Friday test session at Silverstone. With the engine being collected only the weekend before there were going to be some late nights. Long story short, things transpired to thwart my attempts to get to the test session including a burst rear brake hose while bleeding the brakes. I would just have to hope that the installation and running in of both engine and brakes would be trouble-free for qualifying on Saturday.
Qualifying
As soon as I had got out on track I was making my way back in with a slipping clutch. Fortunately Alan from GAC was on hand to brave the hot exhaust to adjust the clutch, thanks Alan. Back out on track and I took it easy for the first few laps to bed the brakes and engine in. The plan to ease the new engine in took a bit of a nose dive when I couldn’t select 4th gear on the straight and the engine bounced off the rev limiter. This continued throughout the session with 4th gear being very much hit and miss. I was unable to gain the confidence required to set a competitive time but at least the car had made it through qualifying without significant problems. Qualifying in 21st position was roughly where I thought I would be but left me ruing not being able to make the Friday test session.
Heat
I had relocated several components that required new hoses and fittings but all looked well after qualifying. Some subtle tweaks to the gear linkage and the car was ready to race.
Off the line and a slow start resulted in several lost places and I found myself wallowing in 15th place. Being in the middle of the pack meant there was some frantic action whilst everyone jostled for position with at times 4 cars abreast down the straights. I was steadily picking off cars but soon came across my race long sparring partner, Tim Probert. Tim & I slipstreamed each other and exchanged places every lap for the remainder of the race whilst also working our way up the grid. We had overtaken so many cars including backmarkers that it was hard to tell what positions we were in. We had a great battle with me eventually getting past on the final lap to take an enjoyable 3rd place and fastest lap. The battle was worthy of a mention in Motorsport News for “an entertaining battle for third place with Forster emerging on top.”
Final
I was looking forward to a solid top ten finish right up until the point where I couldn’t select second gear off the line and ended up last in to the first corner. My effort to make up places was hampered by continuous waved yellow flags at the end of the straight, the main overtaking place on the circuit. It was slow progress up through the field and I soon came across my nemesis from the heat, Tim Probert. We once again found ourselves working our way up through the field together but this time it was Tim who took the honours with some crafty use of backmarkers. 15th place was disappointing but it was great experience.
My next race will be Mallory Park on October 12th.
