Lanes/Targa Rallies

[Mel]

Just a wee heads up for the couple of locals if you're interested in catching any of this tomorrow.. @zafturbo , @Mel

This is shaping up to be a good one with a full entry and a good show of top drivers coming up from the South too.

I was looking at the entry list last night on Facebook, great to see so many entries for it, I would normally head with my Dad to watch the Motor Club's events but he's away in Fermanagh for the weekend.

 

[gibbo-66]

I'm out tomorrow and looking forward to another good days craic. Bit of a rookie question here but is there any issues with taking the back seats out of the car for these events to save a bit of weight? Ive seen a lot of car with them remove but do different clubs take different views on these sorts of things?

Thanks

 

[OZ10]

According to the rules full interior needs to be in the car but every club is different. I don't have them in my car which I will be in tomorrow. Hoping to get through OK

 

[zafturbo]

Any updates on how today went.my plans changed and never got to see any off it.@DavyC how did you get on and did Michael Johnston get out a run in his new mx5

 

[cauld1]

Fantastic event, great tests. Credit to all involved with the running of it!

Managed to get through unscathed bar a bit of an exhaust blowout and an alternator that didn't want to play ball, just got home on what electric was left!

 

[Mel]

Spied several cars heading around the millbrook roundabout yesterday and they all looked like they were having a great time, have to say I was surprised at how well turned out they all looked, was expecting total heaps to be honest.

 

[FM155]

Had a great day, great tests and good craic but team MG went home at the end of a towrope unfortunately. Suspect a battery that has some loose plates inside it as we were loosing power / going into limp mode etc and eventually on the second last test it quit altogether.
Still enjoyed the event enormously.

 

[John_MK5]

Disaster of a day yesterday. That's 2 years in a row i've had bad luck in Larne which is crap as they are brilliant tests.. 4 brand new calipers onto the mx5 3 events ago. Burst a rear one on the queens lanes and burst them again yesterday, didn't want to go home so i clamped the pipes with vice grips and cable tied them on. Then on the last test the alternator belt broke and i didn't realise until we were finished and driving down the road that she was cooking the head of ourselves.

Think its time to take a break for a while.

 

[FM155]

^ Unlike.
We might be out of action for a while too as the intermittent battery connection appears to have fried the ECU / imobiliser / both.
We had a puncture on one of the earlier tests and ended up using a space saver on the rear for the rest of the tests we did. Poor wee thing had been comfily tucked up in the boot for 13 or 14 years and gets yanked out and shoved on the car and handbraked around a load of tests. Sure did a lot of screaming lol.

 

[peter wilson]

Try a pair on the back. Should be dead easy to do a handbrake turn

 

[DavyC]

That was a great days craic! Proper farm lanes!... Tho not so much craic yesterday scraping cow sh1te from wheel arches etc.

Any updates on how today went.my plans changed and never got to see any off it.@DavyC how did you get on and did Michael Johnston get out a run in his new mx5

We'd a great day and managed a 4th place tho I picked us up a few penalties touching a couple of cones which I wasnt that chuffed about. I clipped a blue barrel in a chicane too but thankfully they werent giving penalties for that. I seen a Michael Johnston in the entry but dont know how they got on etc.

Sorry to hear about others bad luck with mechanical trouble.. it's gutting when something gives up. @John_MK5 , you may get that russian tank entered for the next one.

The only drama we had was another diff fire... Smelt something on the road between tests so kept an eye out and pulled in when we spotted a decent branch to poke the smouldering grass / mud / sh1te out of the diff guard. This time when I looked under tho, it's was fully alight! (licking up round the fuel tank)... So had to crack open the wee fire extinguisher. We're really glad we had it, and for the sake of a few quid I'd encourage others to carry one too.

Havn't had a chance to look through @peespeed 's phots yet, but have seen a few nice ones with plenty of sideways and smiles.. @cauld1 , The one of you and the old fella is a cracker!..

 

[zafturbo]

@DavyC nice one.your well on the pace ,is it the car or the driver.??

 

[FM155]

Diff fire.. ?

Is that a torsen unit or a plate diff you've got in there? Wouldn't expect a torsen unit to get that hot I'd have thought..

@zafturbo I'd say it's the driver / nav combo. Not that the car is a heap or anything but there are some serious spec cars out there and being up amongst them is a bloody impressive show. Lack of mistakes puts you in contention and speed gets you to the sharp end imo..

We got a test max on the very first test due to both of us being asleep and going round a cone the wrong direction which put us down to 44th on the first timecard. We had got up to 29th when our mechanical troubles started but hey-ho, still a great event to take part in.

@peter wilson I was afraid of the wee narrow tyre being pulled off the rim as it was on the rear left and most of the 360's were clockwise but it stayed the course and got us home. Gave us a few squiffy braking moments with such a big difference in tyre widths on the rear. Full sized spare next time out then. Our first puncture in 7 events though.

 

[Liam Shaw]

^^ Yea the navigation bit is much more important and easier to balls up that I ever anticipated. Car and driver speed isn't near as important as I thought although it is required to a certain extent if you want to be in the trophies (in any class). Like even if my mazda had 400bhp on saturday I wouldn't of won the class due to the penalties from navigational mistakes. We've done 3 events so far and everyone of them with several minutes of penalties and all hope of a good result gone on each one (still had plenty of fun, which is 100% the main priority). Although on Saturday to be fair our mistakes where much narrower than the other two events but where very avoidable and shouldn't of happened. I thought the fail times where a little harsh and didn't need to be as extreme as they where but I suppose that's all the more reason to avoid them. Missed the first 360 on Stewart's 3 as i wasn't expecting the 360's to arrive as quick and didn't hear them mentioned from the navigator (I'll not go in that lol) and lost 2 minutes with the penalty (based on the time on Stewart's 4) and a very similar time loss on Tweeds 4 for going around the triangle bit after the pylon in the wrong direction (didnt gain any time from it, but still got a fail. Different marshal, different decision maybe). So there was the best part of 4 minutes gone due to two tiny mistakes.

Although no matter the result in any lanes rally as long as we come home with a straight..ish car we're always guaranteed to come home happy with plenty of smiles and craic along the way

 

[peespeed]

Sure it's all smiles in S59 KUA on the events

even when they knock over barrells

but nothing like having a few hoonigans out on the tests

but @John_MK5 has a bit of competition when it comes to pebble dashing the photographer

oh who said fwd was boring?? Matthew Mason was on a mission yesterday until the wishbone parted company with the chassis

 

[peespeed]

@DavyC nice one.your well on the pace ,is it the car or the driver.??

Davy will say it's not down to him but in fairness he is a good driver and has much improved since he first started. He's not afraid to be committed in his driving and despite a few small errors on a few events (we won't mention Cookstown earlier in the year ) he is always there or thereabouts at the end of the day. Judging by the amount of smiling and laughing Davy and Barbara do when I see them on tests they seem to have a good system going in the car and enjoy every minute of it

 

[FAKER]

Was a spectator at the larne event and it was a very well run event, with great lanes.

 

[DavyC]

..Stop it, I'm blushing!.. We're happy to have pulled off some good results, but it's going to take a few more to make up for the likes of Cookstown... trading a little of that commitment for some common sense would help.

Have seen a couple of clips of Matthew in the Micra and it's brilliant to watch him throwing it about... Proper FWD rally driving techniques being used there.

@FM155 , It's the standard Mk2 torsen in ours. The exhaust runs above the diff gaurd, alongside the diff so that would be the main heat source. I could try to add a vertical lip to the leading edge of the diff guard to stop it gathering grass, tho it would need to be able to take a thump and still not interfere with the drive shaft... in the meantime I'll make a decent a 'poking stick' and keep it in the boot.

 

[KevM]

It's going to burn you out some day @DavyC , I have witnessed your smoldering diff before!!

I sold the Golf last night, so do I do the sensible thing and stick to Dirt Rally in the safety of my own home, or do I try to get another Lanes car???

 

[DavyC]

..you really think you need to ask that question?!

 

[FM155]

After seeing those pics above, I want my MX5 to appear soon or I'm just going to build a proper engine and diff equipped box for the ZR and get out there again. There's some class FWD cars out there anyway but I think the MG is a bit too big to compete on the same terms as a sorted micra or 106. Anyway, it'd be good craic..

 

[peter wilson]

After seeing those pics above, I want my MX5 to appear soon or I'm just going to build a proper engine and diff equipped box for the ZR and get out there again. There's some class FWD cars out there anyway but I think the MG is a bit too big to compete on the same terms as a sorted micra or 106. Anyway, it'd be good craic..

Wack an 1800 VVC into it Fergus, in fact I think there's one on Gumtree for £895 at the moment.

 

[peespeed]

Regs and entry form for the Ballynahich MC Vanilla Black supported Targa Rally are now available. The event will take place on November 14th with scrutiny, sign on and start at the Temple Golf Club with the tests in the Ballynahinch, Dromora and Crossgar area.

Regs: http://www.svsproductions.com/badmc/regs_2015_e3_autumn_lanes_rally.pdf
Entry form: http://www.svsproductions.com/badmc/entry_form_2015_e3_autumn_lanes_rally.pdf

 

[KevM]

My home event, on my birthday too... (No car)

 

[peespeed]

My home event, on my birthday too... (No car)

plenty of time to find something suitable and get it ready