Team Highlights - 2001: Four podium positions, Summit Motors Award of Excellence.      2002 - Two podium positions.    2003 - Two podium positions.   2005-Oulton Park - Most Improved Driver   hello@dr-motorsport.co.uk

                              

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Road testing - preliminary race prep

 

Story so far...

 

June 7th 2008 - Installed FRP handling kit

One of the cheapest and easiest upgrades to the handling is to fit the genuine Ford Racing Puma rear axle handing kit.  This widens the rear track by 20mm with a couple of alloy spacers installed between the rear beam and hub.

Although easy to fit in theory, it required using various combinations of sockets and extensions to remove the 4 bolts from the hub as 2 of the bolts were partially obscured by the damper which also made removing the ABS sensor a pain.  Once the drum was removed it was also necessary to drill out the 2 rivets holding the hub backplate onto the rear beam.  Now came the tricky part of threading through the new longer bolts through the beam, spacer, backplate and drum while keeping everything lined up.

Once fitted though there was a noticeable reduction in understeer and a more solid feel to the rear.

 

May 3rd 2008 - Upgraded air intake

Removed the inner wheel arch to completely remove the massive and restrictive ducting for the factory air box which stretches all the way back to the door and weighs quite a bit.  Some fire resistant ducting was then run from the fog light hole in the bumper up to the K&N filter to provide a clean and cool air supply to the engine.

 

March 29th 2008 - Prepared for road

The Fiesta is now roadworthy!  a new crossmember was welded in place and the passenger wing pulled back into place after it emerged that it had pushed into the A pillar causing the windscreen to pop out and the door to leak.

It's received a new bonnet, bumper and grille and some paintwork as well as other bits and pieces like lights etc.  As the airbox was smashed up somewhat we replaced it with a K&N filterkit and will use some ducting from the fog light holes to feed it with fresh air for a tad more power.

It passed the MOT first time and is now on it's road trials to make sure there's no hidden problems.

Sadly as Dominic has changed jobs and is trying to develop a new business, the car will be confined to the road for the time being until funds permit.  With great sadness we've also had to say goodbye to our tow car the Audi S8 as part of the fundraising exercise.

Hopefully we'll be back in action in a years time and maybe even ready for the new season in time!

 

January 21st 2008 - Road preparation

We've started stripping down the front end to get the car roadworthy ASAP.  Once the car's bank on the road we will then start race preparation.

Unfortunately the damage is slightly worse than expected and we were not able to pull out the bent crossmember as we had first hoped.  Also the bumper is too mangled to be repaired.  The bonnet could also do with replacing but it's not essential.

List of parts required:

  • Bumper
  • Both headlights
  • Radiator grille (all 3 parts of it)
  • Radiator
  • Radiator Fan
  • Crossmember
  • Gear knob
  • Drivers wing mirror adjuster
  • Steering wheel

The old crossmember did not want to be pulled back into shape so all the spot welds have had to be drilled out and the beam manhandled away from the car.  The backing plate left behind, along with part of the passenger side wing needs pulling sideways so that the front inch of the chassis leg can be bent back into shape.  Once the metalwork is back in alignment we will then spot weld the new crossmember and then everything else is just bolt on.

 

January 12th 2008 - Bought Fiesta Zetec S

We've found our new project!  It's a 2001 Fiesta Zetec S with the revised 1.6 Zetec SE engine which is stronger and puts out a bit more power than the earlier engine.  Sadly it's an insurance write off after having a small prang with it's last owner but that made it cheap enough to buy.  It only really needs a new bumper, a couple of headlights, and a radiator in addition to the race preparation.

 

25th November 2007 - Sold XR2

Well after a lot of head scratching and replacing most of the brake system we've called time on the XR2.  The brake pedal essentially had no resistance from the master cylinder/servo and so kept going to the floor with almost no braking force getting to the wheels.  We bought the last new master cylinder in the country and did a major bleeding marathon but this had little effect.  Due to a lack a parts it's just not feasible to repair any longer and so we're now looking for something more modern.

 

October 6th 2007 - Lydden Hill race report

Our first event for 2 years didn't start well.  The fact that this was a car that had never been raced before, strapped onto a hired trailer that we had never used before, towed by a car that had never been used to tow before, and going to an event organised by a club that we're not actually member of...was maybe a hint that things would not go too well.

Just collecting the trailer Dominic managed to swing the larger than usual 500kg object around a tight corner and into some chaps Toyota fortunately only resulting in a scratch.  The morning of the event our foot pump disintegrated followed by the air compressor, leaving the XR2 with completely flat tyres.  A trip via somewhere that sold pumps was now required but this was not enough bad luck as we got halfway out of town before we realised that we had forgotten all the paperwork for the event.

Eventually we got our act together and survived the trip down to Lydden with no further drama.  Signing on and scruitineering went well and qualifying then occurred after a very civilised break.

Qualifying was a bit of a shock to the system as Dominic struggled with tyres that refused to grip after being unused for 2 years.  Being buzzed by some rather fast Mini's it was clear that something special was needed to get a decent lap time.  Eventually Dominic recorded a best lap of 54.749 seconds to start in a 18th position in the first race.

Race 1 was fairly uneventful apart from the crash between a couple of cars at the hairpin which caused the red flags to be deployed within just 2 laps.  After the restart Dominic got on with the job of improving the lap times and testing the car and although never managing to catch up the rest of the he did improve the lap time  to 53.327 seconds and finished in 12th spot.

For race 2 we lowered the tyre pressures to attempt to get a bit more traction as the car was suffering from quite a bit of understeer, also Dominic decided to raise the rev limit and see how the engine coped.  Again the race was uneventful for us but we gained some useful testing time and further improved the times now down to 52.582 seconds - just a second off the car in front and also 1 second off our best ever time at the circuit which last time was done with a proper race engine!

 

September 29th 2007 - Entered race

We've now entered the BARC SEC Tin Tops round at Lydden Hill which is a Double Header event on the 6th October.  We've entered in class T3 which is for cars up to 1600cc and with slick "List 1B" tyres.

We'll let you know how it all goes for this first race in the XR2 this year!

 

July 15th 2007 - XR2 Ready

The XR2 is now race ready!  we're hoping to enter some of the last races of the season - finances permitting.  We've still also got to get a new trailer though as driving the XR2 to the circuit is not a very sensible option even if it's still road legal!

Over the coming months we will be slowly upgrading the engine to extract some more power as well as other minor tweeks that all race cars undergo.  Our first upgrade has been the installation of a Kent CVH33 camshaft with all new hydraulic followers and topped off with uprated dual titanium valve springs and seats.  This has already lead to a noticeable increase in performance and once we get some more upgrades in place we will be getting a rolling road session arranged for the final tune up.

Some photos will be following soon as well as an update to the technical spec page.

 

Project: Fiesta Zetec S

 

 

Source suitable car

A 2001 Fiesta Zetec S was acquired from a local salvage dealer via eBay for the reasonable sum of £1200.  It has the stronger series 2 Zetec SE engine with only 60k miles, no sunroof, no air con and is in excellent condition except for the crash damage!

We shall keep the car standard for the time being which should allow us to race it in Class E of the Ford Saloons hopefully.

 

Fix Faults

The crash damage needed to be sorted out first.  Although the engine runs, there is no coolant in the system due to the bent radiator and as there is no history with the car there are some question marks.

  • Removed the broken bumper, grille and lights. 
  • Pulled out the top of the front panel and bottom radiator support to allow removal of fan and radiator.  Fortunately there does not seen to be any damage to the engine from the crash impact.
  • Removed the crossmember from the backing plate after drilling out all the spot welds. 
  • Tried pulling the chassis leg and backing plate back into shape but no joy.
  • Ordered new lights and fan.
  • Ordered new grille, bumper and radiator.
  • Removed damaged air box.
  • Changed oil and spark plugs - much easier to do with no bumper and radiator in place!
  • Bought slightly used K&N induction kit via eBay.
  • Fitted radiator and filled with coolant - engine now operational.
  • Hired trailer and took car to a bodyshop on Canvey to have the metal work properly straightened and painted.  New bonnet ordered to be fitted at the same time.
  • Ordered Gearknob.
  • Ordered steering wheel and boss kit.
  • Car now back at base and looking good!
  • Fitted assorted bits.
  • Now concentrating on getting the car road legal so am worrying about the airbag light on the dashboard - will it pass an MOT like this?
  • MOT inspector likes the car and it passed first time with only a slight tweek to the headlight beam.
  • Taxed and insured - now can test properly!

 

Test

All appears well except for a slow puncture in the front nearside tyre.  The car is fun to drive and engine is perfect.  Have now put about 2000 miles on the car.

The airbag light is still annoying.  Have tried removing SRS fuses and attempting to remove the bulb - but it's an LED.  May have to try the Homer Simpson technique of using some tape over it.

We may have joy by finding the SRS control unit which lives somewhere behind the dash but is nowhere where the manual says it is - will have to wait until the dash comes out during preparation then.

Also annoying is that all 4 wheels have completely different tyres on them - makes for interesting handling!

We will be keeping the car on the road while we are race preparing it as it's useful as a runabout.

 

Prepare

We are now planning the preparation and what toys to buy for the job.

Will need:

  • FRP Rear handling kit.  Done.
  • Cat back exhaust - possibly with sports Cat if budget permits.
  • Coilover suspension units with suitable springs.
  • Engine bay tidy up.
  • Strip and reduce weight.
  • Roll Cage.
  • Seat.
  • Harness.
  • Fire Extinguisher.
  • Electric cut off switch.
  • Timing transponder.
  • Engine gauges.
  • Proper tyres.
  • Race brake pads and disks.

 

Race

 

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