MX-5 Cup Round 1 Wrap Up

[MX5CupRacing]

2015 MX-5 Cup Round 1 Wrap



Not that anyone was counting, but It had been 75 days since since the end of the 2014 season.

For all of us it felt like an eternity, but unfortunately for some of us it wasn’t quite long enough. With the Wakefield 300 two weeks later and a variety of work/life/car issues getting in the way, we were down quite a few regulars for the first round. Regardless we had a good field of 10 eager racers lining up for qualy on Saturday, old faces and some keen new ones. Tony King was lining up on the grid for the first time, making the most of the ‘win a drive’ prize offered by Deckspeed Racing at the MX-5 Club track days. Father and son team of Keith and Ron Hammond were making their first appearance too, the first of many we hope.
Those regulars that couldn’t make it were sorely missed… for about as long as it took for the rest of us to realise that this was a good opportunity to get some strong early season points in the bag!



The headline event for the weekend was the 50 year anniversary of Formula Vee, but since they were after a mostly social weekend and the less some 50 year old cars are run the better, there was plenty of track time left over for the other categories, MX-5 Cup included. So we had long races 8, 10 and 12 lappers.



Saturday threw up a bit of a mixed bag weather wise (not quite as mixed as some of us were hoping for though!) which did great thing for the racing. Matilda Mravicic Lead the way in qualifying and the first 3 races, but the results read more boring than the racing. There were great battles up and down the field with a sprinkling of rain in some races compressing the field right up, with 4 cars bombing into turn 10 vying for the lead at one point (keep an eye out for the videos soon of that one). Further back the usual Andy Harris - Steve Green death-match was in full force. Tony King making great progress throughout the weekend in an unfamiliar car and on slicks for the first time, trimming 5 seconds off his qualy time by the end of the weekend.



Sunday was hot. Three more races, the longest being a 12 lapper, really tested everyones off-seasons training regimes (or complete lack there of). More great racing with Scott Walker taking out the final race in style pushing his little NA to times and angles of opposite lock that were impressive to watch. It was weekend long run of consistent performing by Scott which left him at the end of the weekend at the top of the points table, followed by Steve Green and Stuart McFadyen on equal second. Full results can be found on the MX-5 Club website shortly.



A big thanks to everyone involved, it was a great start to the season, lots of support and helping each other out. Looking forward to Round 2 being even bigger and better!

[mazmad]

Nice one Stu. Well done to all competitors, some challenging conditions and a few curve balls thrown mechanically! I look forward to the vid, and getting out there for the next round.

[Tony]

From agony to ecstasy (almost) – a report on my weekend in Deckspeed’s NC race car

As part of their commitment to both the MX5 Club of NSW and to the MX5 Cup, Deckspeed Racing offer Club members an amazing opportunity to win an “arrive and drive” package in one of their NC race cars at a round of the MX5 Cup.

Much to my astonishment (as I’ve never won anything before!) , my name was drawn out of the hat at the Club’s September 2014 track day for a drive at the November round of the MX5 Cup. Unfortunately the car was damaged at the Winton 300, so my drive was postponed to Round 1 of the 2015 season that was held at Wakefield Park on 14 & 15 February 2015.

Apart from spending the weekend hanging around a race track with like minded folk, I was really looking forward to the opportunity of benchmarking the performance of my homebuilt SE track car against that of professionally prepared NC race car. I often look at the drivers setting quick times and wonder how much of their speed is due their ability and how much is due to their car.

After what seemed like an eternity, race day eventually rolled around and with a moderate degree of apprehension, we were ready to go. I’d never had the opportunity to drive a race car on slicks before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Obviously I didn’t want to embarrass myself by running off the track or worse still, by bending Daniel’s freshly rebuilt car (this was its first run since Winton).

With some final words of encouragement from Daniel, I set out for qualifying. Having run a 1:10.8 in my car at a Club day the weekend before (with a PB of 1:09.8 prior to that), I had what I thought was a realistic potential qualifying time in the back of my mind. After warming the tyres and generally getting the feel of the car for a few laps, I began to pick up the pace (or so I thought!).

Going by the seat of my pants, I figured that I had run somewhere between a 1:12 to 1:13, however I’m the first to acknowledge that I’m an overly cautious driver at the best of times, and even more so when in someone else’s car and when learning to drive on slicks. My heart sank when I looked at the time sheet to see a fastest lap time of 1:15.6. Crikey, I had some work to do!

Needless to say, this had me starting off the rear of the grid, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as it was my first door to door race start in over thirty years. Amazingly I managed a clean start and stuck with the pack... until the second corner when they all proceeded to race off into the distance, never to be seen again.

By virtue of starting off the rear of the grid I naturally wasn’t too concerned about losing track position, so my focus was simply to improve my lap times and to keep all four wheels squarely on the track. For me it was essentially a Supersprint from a standing start and my best time for Race 1 was a somewhat pleasing 1:11.9; still a fair way from where I had naively though that I’d be.

I was exasperated that the lap times didn’t really reflect how hard I felt I was driving the car. Upon reflection I think the stripped out interior, carbon fibre hardtop, race exhaust and hard spring rates made the car sound and feel at least two or three seconds faster than the times I was actually achieving.

By midday the clouds were building and my apprehension about potentially driving a damp track on slicks was growing by the minute. A few light drops of misty rain started to fall as we assembled in the marshalling area for Race 2 and visions of last year’s Sydney 500 began to flood my mind (pardon the pun).

Old Mr Conservative here was deadset scared of doing something silly, whereas the rest of the field knew it was absolutely nothing to worry about and proceeded to power off into the distance once again. My times suffered accordingly and my best lap was a painfully laboured 1:13.2. A few sprinkles in Race 3 psyched me out again, delivering another disappointing result.

Saturday evening was spent bench racing and enjoying a meal with fellow MX5 Cup competitors at a local pub. At one stage during the evening, I was asked how the Deckspeed race car compared to my old SE track car. Not surprisingly, my initial answer was “ït’s different”; and after some further consideration this answer was expanded to “it makes its speed in an entirely different way to my SE”.

At the time I really didn’t appreciate the significance of this comment and it only became evident later in the evening while watching some B-grade Tom Cruise movie at the motel. It occurred to me that the fundamental mistake I was making was attempting to drive the naturally aspirated NC race car on slicks, the same way that I’d been driving my turbo track car on semi slicks.

I turned off the TV and began to make a mental list of all the differences between the two cars and then started to analyse the relevant strengths and weaknesses of each at various points around the track. While the NC’s drive train was relatively standard, compared to my car it did have superior chassis stiffness, better suspension, much wider and stickier tyres, plus a locked diff.

I eventually formulated a strategy to amend my driving style to better utilise the race car’s strengths into, through and out of the corners. I figured that I needed to carry much more corner speed to maximise the benefits provided by the chassis and the slicks, and to get on the power earlier and more aggressively to maximise the benefits provided by the diff. I also planned to change my lines in several corners to better allow me to achieve this.

Sunday dawned a cool and bright day, with a light mist lingering in the valleys. A perfect start to the day’s racing. Armed with a fresh game plan I eagerly lined up for Race 4. I worked very hard on trying to convince my brain that it was OK to go into the corners far quicker than ever before and that it was OK to power on rather than feathering the throttle when running out of track at corner exit.

It felt as though I’d dríven the wheels off the car in Race 4 and I was satisfied that my times would eventually become more respectable. I was absolutely shattered to find that my fastest lap was 1:12.2; it felt like a 1:05 from where I was sitting!

More introspection was had during the break and I recounted a conversation I’d once had with Terry Bowe (John’s brother) regarding overdriving, and the benefits of smoothness and precision. Plan B was quickly formulated and that was to do everything that I’d done in Race 4, but this time I’d relax and consciously focus on being smooth and consistent in the hope that the lap times would come to me.

Race 5 was a ten lap race and Race 6 was a twelve lapper, so I had plenty of time, but this was the last opportunity I had to redeem myself. I sat quietly in the car for at least a half hour before each of the last two races and simply chilled out.

Something must have worked with Race 5 yielding a best time of 1:10.8 and the best lap in Race 6 was a 1:10.4. More important perhaps, my lap times were also much more consistent. In the last race I actually managed nine laps in the 1:11’s and keep in contact with the pack the whole way. I even passed poor Bill as he missed a gear in the run to the chequered flag.

Wow… what a weekend! Memorable for a whole variety of reasons. Apart from spending the weekend with Daniel and Deckspeed’s race car, perhaps the most satisfying aspect was (semi) successfully working through the process of acknowledging the cars strengths and subsequently adapting my driving technique to suit. The most disappointing aspect of the weekend was that it took me two days to work out what a talented driver would probably have done in two laps!

It was certainly a character building exercise and I hope that my experiences might benefit some other aspiring drivers in the future.

Thanks again to Daniel for his time, patience and good humour; and thanks again to Deckspeed Racing for their generous support of the MX5 community.

[zossy1]

Really sorry to have missed the fun folks - sounds like it was a great weekend.

The good news is, I should be there for round 2... Car started for the first time on Saturday and ran in on Sunday... Off to tune this week hopefully.

[forcedfive]

Good right up Tony. Looking at the results I bet race 6 was a great end to the weekend. Well done. See you at the track soon

Cheers

Verne

[lightyear]

Good write up Tony. It shows that you have to be always thinking when driving, so as to learn the quickest way to get the car around the track.

What time does the car do with Deckers driving?

[little decks]

Good write up Tony. It shows that you have to be always thinking when driving, so as to learn the quickest way to get the car around the track.

What time does the car do with Deckers driving?

I Did a 1:08:6 in the car towards the end of the wakefield 300 B main last year: http://racing.natsoft.com.au/635973259/ ... /Result?24

Dad claims to have done a similar time at a track day, albeit without official timing .

That time was on some used Michelin slicks that still had a little wear left in them though, so a fairly decent tyre.

[Deckspeed Racing]

Tony thank you very much for the summary of the weekend really glad you enjoyed it ,we'll be giving away more drives this year through the club to members I hope they enjoy it as much as you did.
David I ran this car at an mx5 cup round in May last year I did a 1.08.3 on a slick tyre that's the best recorded time for this car.
Daniel

[little decks]

Tony thank you very much for the summary of the weekend really glad you enjoyed it ,we'll be giving away more drives this year through the club to members I hope they enjoy it as much as you did.
David I ran this car at an mx5 cup round in May last year I did a 1.08.3 on a slick tyre that's the best recorded time for this car.
Daniel

I stand corrected, 1:08:35 natsoft official... you win this round Dad...http://racing.natsoft.com.au/635979257/ ... /Result?35

[Boyracer]

I might have to do a few MX5 club track days to try and win the drive, congrats to Deckspeed for again for offering such a great opportunity.

[Tony]

Normally I'm not one to worry too much about photos, but I would mind getting one or two of me in the NC just to keep for posterity.

Does anyone know the names of any of the photographers that were at the track?

Many thanks in anticipation...

[Charlie Brown]

Fantastic write up Tony, everyone in the Club appreciates what Daniel has done to give a few members the experience of running door to door.
Yes I find it very frustrating following turbo MX5's. Catch them through the bends and under brakes only to loose out down the straights. Glad you figured that you need to drive the NC's hard in the corners, getting onto the power early, the same as you need to do with a 1600 NA.
Catch you at EC.

[Celluloid Retina]

That was a great write up Tony. Really good insight into what you go through in a new car and a new environment when the pressures on... I can really relate to it. I totally agree on the Deckspeed prize, only people who have sat on the sidelines wanting to get involved can appreciate what an opportunity it is! I don't have any photo's of the weekend to add though i'm afraid.

Chris, Great to hear you're shaping up for Round 2. I get the feeling that the intensity has ramped up a notch for the new season. I was looking back through some old youtube clips from the start of last year and I think everyone is driving better now than they were just 12 months ago! Looking forward to seeing Blue Thunder in the mix.

Which reminds me... everyone, get your videos up of this round. I'm working on getting my highlights video together in the next couple of days so it'd be great to see the action from everyone else perspective. It doesn't need to be fancy, just put your races up on Youtube and post the link here (if you're not sure how PM me), there's enough interested people here to pour over them. I'm going to struggle to condense mine into 15min, there was that much good racing on the weekend!

Next stop: Round 2

[Celluloid Retina]

Great video from Scott Walker of his best bits from last weekend



"mx5 cup at wakefield park raceway. Was having problems with the gear box an with a 5 second penalty for a so called jump start.
finished up 1st in class an 1st outright"

Great to see the action from another perspective.

[mazmad]

Just making me even more impatient for the next round!

And it just keeps getting better. I am a huge fan of Wakefield, it is our 'spiritual home'. But I can't wait to have the first MX-5 Cup round in Sydney on May 31st!