Time Attack 2024 Round 4 – Brands Hatch
After the very disappointing trip to Cadwell Park last time out, the first time I had been off of the podium for over a year, the aim heading to Brands hatch was to bounce back with a positive result.
When we arrived home following Round 3 I checked the car over to try and work out why it didn’t feel quite right. The only thing I could find was a slightly loose steering joint, but it wasn’t something which would have made a huge amount of difference. Other than we installed a new set of rear pads along with a brake fluid change.
Warm Up
It had been raining overnight so there was a good chance the circuit would be slippery going into the first session. Just before the warm up session it started to drizzle again but not enough to soak the track. Despite the conditions my plan hadn’t changed, I always spend the session getting re-acquainted with the car and the circuit. Thankfully the car was feeling good in all areas, completely different from the feeling I had at Cadwell Park, so it was game on for the rest of the day. I wrapped the session up with a steady 53.464 lap time.
Practice
There was no need to touch the car after warm up and it was time to push on to see what was possible. Unfortunately, a red flagged brought the session to an early end but with no points to be earned it wasn’t a problem for any of the drivers. The practice session backed up my early confidence although we where around a second off the lap time I wanted to be at.
Qualifying
As always, qualifying is the first session of the day where points could be scored. being 20 minutes long, it also provided us with more opportunities to get a good lap time on the board. Overall, I clocked up 19 laps in total including a short stay in the pit lane. However, the car was starting to develop small misfire. It was decided there wasn’t enough time left in this particular session to fix it so would wait for the gap between qualifying and the final. When the chequered flag came out I had managed to set a time of 52.087 which was just enough to clinch 1st in class, scoring maximum points.
Final
After qualifying we left the car to cool down before swapping the spark plugs for a new set to try and resolve the misfire issue. We also dug out the spare coil packs just in case the new plugs didn’t fix the problem. it was also another part that could be changed quickly mid-session.
Out on track, the plan was to get an early banker lap in and build on that. Initially I was out on a lower boost setting to ensure I could get some running without the misfire. Frustratingly it was still there but I continued as a time was needed to get the session rolling. The banker lap was a 51.964, my quickest lap time of the day so far and enough to put me into 1st in class despite the car running on one of the lowest power settings available. After this lap I turned up the power to the next level but the misfire was getting worse lap after lap and I could only manage a lap time of 52.598.
Eventually we pitted to change the coil packs, luckily for us while in the pits the red flag came out giving us more time to get them changed without losing any time out on track. Unfortunately the new coil packs hadn’t resolved the issue either and as a result we could not build on the initial banker lap set earlier in the session. When the flag finally came out I was thrilled to see our banker lap was enough to keep hold of 1st. Ending the day with maximum points and putting me right back in the championship battle.
This event proves how much a good day at the track can change your entire season. I now head into the second half of the championship in a strong position with my weakest rounds, Anglesey & Cadwell Park, behind me and four strong circuits ahead. All we need to do is to try and work out what is causing the misfire and give the car a mid-season service ready for Round 5 in July at Oulton Park.