Race report - Craigavon Winter Series Round 4, Feb 13th 2010  13/02/2010

First test of the new car and new engine. We were not expecting too much from the test today because of it being a new car and just 'out of the box'.

We were lucky with the weather throughout the whole day. The sun was out most of the day and the temperature reasonable.

Rd. 1 of qualifying went well. Although I missed 2 laps through faulty timing, the car was smooth and easy to drive for most of the heat. It was only when the tires really warmed up that the rear end started to slide out a bit. But that was kind of expected and we knew what to change.

Rd. 2 was better. The car was smoother again and the engine was really loosening up. I could feel it getting a bit better compared to the first round. The car only had a slight rear end slide at the very end of the heat. We had adjusted the car from the last round by giving the rear end 2mm more toe in on the rear and moving the shocks down to the 3rd hole on the front. It was definitely noticeable. I did manage to 'Christen' the car by rolling it at the chicane. It was the case that I approached the chicane at just the wrong point and clipped the curb which just lifted the car up and it rolled onto the grass. There was no damage to the car though. The car was also diffing out a little too much for my liking.

Rd. 3 was very good. After round 2 Nick swapped diffs and put the RS5 LS Diff in as well as giving an extra 1 degree positive camber on the outside front. The car was much more consistent than the other rounds and I felt myself getting used to it and a bit more confident with the car. The diff change also made a difference. I found the car could accelerate out of corners better because of the less wheel spin. This also helped the tires from wearing out too much. Unfortunately my transponder was playing up with the timing system so I only qualified 3^rd for the final.

Main Final: The main final started a bit late than usual so the track temperature had gone down. I got a good start and was 2^nd by the fifth corner, just behind Michael Sloan. The car was sliding out slightly on the rear because the tires had yet to warm up fully. Once I got a decent hold of the cars handling I started catching up Michael, although not by much. It took some hard driving to get up close to him. It was through a slight mistake by him which gave me an easy pass into 1^st. From there I didn't have too much hassle. One or two back markers got in my way by accident and I hit a car head on at the entrance of the straight after his car rolled past me. I finished 1^st, two laps ahead of Michael.

The first practice of my new RS5 T10 RDK was a complete success. I had some luck with the weather on the day which allowed me to push the car and bed it in as best as possible. The GRP C's all around worked perfectly helped make the car very smooth and easy to drive. The car was near to perfect. We know there is obviously more in the car at Craigavon and other tracks but that will take time. For now I am very confident of the car and what it can do. It will just be up to me at the races.

My new Oddified 2-Bolt engine was brilliant all day. With it being its first run it was the best I expected. I definitely noticed it getting looser and faster in the final and it was brilliant on acceleration, middle and top end.

Car set up today was:

Front ride height: 4mm

Caster: Middle

Front outside camber: +2

Front inside camber: +1

Front Springs:  Red

Rear Shock Oil: 10000

Front Upper shock position: No. 3

Rear camber: -3 pressed down

Rear ride height: 6mm

Roll Bar: Soft

Rear Toe In: 115mm

Rear Shock Oil: 8,000

Rear Spring: Purple

Axle Heights (on set up gauges): 66mm Front. 63.5 Rear.

Gear Ratio: 24, 40, 15, 48