WELCOME
Welcome to the foxdenracing sprint and hillclimb website, which covers my motorsport history from 1996 to 2003. I ran a Westfield from 1996 - 1998, then a Jedi-Suzuki single-seater and ran in the NSCC Championship, WSCC Championship, Midland Speed Championship and British Sprint & Sprint Leaders Championships.
This page is a diary of my competitive events (written 2001-2003) but please explore the whole site.
1996-7
After a couple of years of road use, including a trip to Le Mans, I
realised the car was far too quick to use at the limit on the road,
despite its mild tune. In 1996, I tried my hand at sprints and hillclimbs in the
Nottingham Sports Car Club (NSCC) Speed Championship.
The car spec was -
1700 Crossflow, BVH, 244 cam, twin 40DCOEs, giving a very driveable 122 flywheel horses, live axle with 3.54 diff, rear drums, standard Cortina front brakes, Spax shocks, 'standard' Westfield springs, in fact, almost everything standard except nice 7x15 Compomotive TH alloys wearing 195/50 Yokohama A510s.
I was well off the pace in the seven events I did, but finished in the
top ten (despite eight scores counting) in a poorly supported year for
the championship. I knew I needed more experience, but the car could
also benefit from some tuning.
For 1997, the Westfield had Quaife 4.44 torque-biasing diff, Tran-x
5-speed close ratio gearbox, AVO shocks, shorter, stiffer 'competition'
springs, quicker steering rack, four pot front brakes on bigger discs
and rear discs. The car was also treated to a professional suspension
set up. The handling and brakes were transformed and I felt more
confident to throw it around. At each event, I shaved about 2.5 seconds
per minute off my previous personal bests but, due to work commitments,
only did seven rounds again. That year, the championship was better
supported by competitors doing more rounds and my better times counted
for nothing as I finished outside the NSCC top ten. To be really
competitive, I needed to do more events and the car needed MORE POWER!!!1998 - a power hike
For the 1998 season, the unsuspecting Westfield underwent some major
heart surgery. I had sourced an all steel, fuel-injected, dry-sumped,
1700 Lotus Twin Cam engine - built on a crossflow block and reputed to
put out around 165bhp - and set about fitting it.
Although the engine mounts were the same, very little else was! The fuel
plumbing needed rethinking to accommodate a high pressure pump, return
lines and a swirl pot, which meant goodbye to the bootbox. A home also
had to be found for the dry sump tank and remote filter. A new wiring
loom had to be incorporated. A new exhaust was required and could only
really exit through the bonnet. Trickiest of all, the (alloy)
bellhousing needed modifying to accommodate the twin plate, competition
clutch.
Finally on the road, I was pleased to receive a call from Aldon
Automotive, who were re-mapping the injection, to say they had got
180bhp at 7000rpm. Now that's more like it - an 'instant' 50% hike over
last year's power!
I entered the NSCC championship again and also entered the inaugural
Westfield Sports Car Club (WSCC) Speed Championship. I also blew the
budget on a trailer - no more getting soaking wet driving to and from
events in the race car!
First driving impressions were - wow! The extra pace meant sections
previously taken as straight now had hairy kinks, but it was now
competitive. I won a class award at the first event of the year and
success continued. After five events I was leading the WSCC series, but
had planned to concentrate on the NSCC championship, so wouldn't be
doing enough rounds to stay on top. I was doubly proud to take my first
class win at the Donington Park Anniversary Sprint - a British Sprint
Championship round and the joint anniversary of Donington Park (21years)
and NSCC (50 years). Another win later in the season at the more twisty
Three Sisters showed it wasn't a fluke. I ended the year runner-up in
the NSCC championship and 2nd in class in the WSCC championship.
I had a sneaking suspicion it couldn't last and sure enough the engine
dropped a valve at an end of season track day at Cadwell Park.
A house move meant the engine rebuild was put on the back-burner and the 1999
season was spent marshalling and planning something faster for 2000...
2000 - caveat emptor
Late in 1999, I bought a 1993 Jedi Mk2, powered by a standard Suzuki
GSXR1100WP motorcycle engine. I paid about as much as the previous owner
had paid another constructor (which I won't name, but wasn't Jedi) to
carry out the engine installation (the car previously having run a
Suzuki 500). At the time, I thought I had a good deal, but all was not
as it seemed...
Through the season, a number of problems arose, including -
- A competition fuel pump was solid mounted to the floor and pumping 5+psi, flooding the engine. It very quickly shook itself to bits and was replaced with a rubber mounted pump and a regulator to give around 1.5psi. No fuelling problems all season since.
- The rich(!) mixture had blown most of the packing out the exhaust, so it was INCREDIBLY LOUD. However the peashooter silencers failed a noise test even after repacking, so were replaced with secondhand road bike silencers as an emergency measure.
- The handling was fairly dreadful. This turned out to be a combination of the following: unequal offsets for the two rear wheels (so any set up measured off the wheels was lopsided), Toyota Corolla rear shocks (designed for a car 4-5x heavier), front springs on the back, rear springs on the front.
- Worst (and ultimately most expensive) of all, the chassis was a fake, having been built by the above, unnamed constructor and given a Jedi chassis plate! Compared to a genuine car, the spaceframe was of lighter steel, narrower and shorter overall and the suspension pickups were in slightly different positions, but with standard suspension components attached. When I dismantled the car at the end of 2000, it was clear that some of the less visible welding was of poor quality, too. All of this compromised safety, handling and value and explained a lot!
Determined to make the best of it, I corrected what I could, replaced
seat, steering wheel, instruments and tyres, fitted a small engine
cover, bought a wider front wing and changed the colours. I tackled the
NSCC Championship again and the Midland Speed Championship for the first
time.Some events were enjoyable, Croft circuit in particular, where I was third in class in a time which would have qualified for the British Sprint run-off, if I were registered. A wet MIRA was also interesting; four seconds quicker than the rest of the class in torrential rain (but an off in the later dry run meant I finished nowhere). The season was marred by a number of such mechanical failures or handling scares, thwarting timed runs. An off at the top of Loton Park's 'straight' at over 90mph certainly woke the marshalls up!
The last straw was a broken halfshaft 100 yards into the very first
practice run of a gloriously hot Harewood in August. I had already
resolved to strip and rebuild the car at the end of the season for some
Jedi factory input on the chassis, so this breakage was my incentive to
start early... Nevertheless, I won my class in the Midland Speed
Championship (the only other competitor blew his engine up!) and
collected a quality award, so all was not in vain.
2001 - a brand new chassis
8th April 2001 - 3 Sisters. NSCC , Midland Speed
The very first turn of the wheel for the new Mk6 Jedi (foot & mouth
having put paid to my planned testing). Bedding in the brakes on the
practice runs. Poor calculation of gear ratios (based on 2000 data)
meant a change after practice. Forgotten how brutal the acceleration is
after 9 months out! Ran a second quicker than last year before the rain
which wrote off Martin Vesty's Jedi in the tyre wall. Off the pace so
only small points tally for both championships. Pleased to be quicker
than last year 'straight out of the box'.15th April 2001 - Harewood. NSCC, Midland Speed
Cold, grey day with occasional very light shower. Gearing wrong again (so changed again over lunch). Overconfident of the grip and handling I stuck it in the gravel at Orchard in practice, bending front wing and carrying 20lbs of gravel back to the paddock. Timed runs without front wing still 1.5 seconds quicker than last year and mid-field. Modest points tallies.16th April 2001 - Croft. NSCC, Midland Speed, British Sprint, Sprint Leaders
My favourite venue. Cold, grey, dry. Repaired front wing before first
run. Everyone complaining of less grip in first corner than 2000 (so
it's wasn't just me). Fuelling problems under heavy decelleration
throughout day finally resolved by heavy heel & toe. 5+mph quicker into
Tower than last year. 1G acceleration from standing start (2.01 secs
64ft). Second in class. Qualified for well supported British Sprint
run-off on debut. Finally under last year's time to finish 10th for a
point, ahead of some serious kit. Good points score in Midland Speed &
Sprint Leaders. Well pleased. Video clip in the video area.5th May 2001 - Aintree. NSCC, Midland Speed, British Sprint, Sprint Leaders
A lovely, sunny day. Only been here once; 5 yrs ago and it p###ed down
all day. Walking the course today was the first time I realised how
close the Grand National fences are! Very dusty track, no valid past
experience, no landmarks for braking, turn in, etc are my excuses for
being pretty much off the pace. Oh, and the eager startline marshalls
broke my rear wing by pushing on it.20th May 2001 - Hethel, Norfolk. NSCC
FANTASTIC! Beautiful sunshine, challenging, grippy circuit including 1.25 revolutions of a large roundabout on the Lotus Test Track. Good spectating from the paddock. No cameras allowed so no pictures. Only class opposition had a tuned engine and traction control, but I got NSCC 2nd FTD points. Engine cover blew off at over 90mph which spoiled one timed run and left the panel in less than perfect condition. Looooong drive home.26th May 2001 - MIRA. British Sprint, Midland Speed
Gloriously hot & sunny day. Ran without engine cover because still being repaired. On a high from previous weekend, attacked course from the outset. First practice run a second quicker than last years best. Reached a plateau 3.5 seconds quicker than in 2000. Qualified for British Sprint run off and finished 10th, a further half second quicker on hot tyres and beat the great Roger Kilty (because he had an off). Very pleased with myself.10th June 2001 - Curborough. NSCC
Cool, grey day. Lowly turn out meant a rapid turn round, leaving little time to tinker between runs. Relying on 2000 data, had wrong gear ratios for practice, but changed over lunch. Cold track meant lack of grip and a slippery time with much understeer. Finally shaved half a second off last year (a time set on a more favourable 'scorcher'). Class winner was two seconds quicker and set FTD, although he does have a 40+ bhp advantage...17th June 2001 - Curborough double lap. British Sprint & Leaders
Another cool, grey day threatening rain. A few tweaks to limit the understeer and a previous visit only a week earlier helped. Led the class through practice and although beaten on the first timed run, took my first '1100cc racing car' class win by 14 hundredths to qualify 10th for the Top 12 run off, half a second quicker than last year. Just missed out on a point despite shaving a further second off my time.24th June 2001 - Carnaby2, Leconfield. Non-championship
An airfield site, promising wide open spaces and 1.5 miles each run. Unfortunately, this was cut to 1 mile in the final instructions and on arrival much of the interesting stuff on the map was coned out very tightly at the request of either the landowner or the MSA. Nevertheless, the overall layout and grippy surface showed promise, with some tricky corners. Lovely weather, too. Hayfever retaliated with a vengeance. Immediately on the pace - fastest overall on first practice, 2nd fastest on 2nd practice but then set almost exactly the same time for the next four runs, finally nibbling half a second off to finish 4th overall but take home a 2nd in class award.14th July 2001 - MIRA. NSCC
From my previous visit, I knew I could get a maximum score in the Nottingham Championship - if the weather was dry. The forecast was awful all week but, on the day, the weather was fine. I took a further chunk off my personal best but only finished 4th in class as all the 'tuned engine' boys turned up. Still, being only half a second off the winner shows how tight it was at the top...22nd July 2001 - Curborough double lap. NSCC, Midland Speed
Gloomy forecast and grey cloud indicated this might be the first wet event of the season, but it was not to be, so the new wets are still unused! Shaved another 0.4 seconds off my personal best to finish... 4th in class but less than a second off the lead and with the least horsepower in the class (again). Car handling beautifully and I've tweaked the gearlinkage which was previously sticky when hot.12th August 2001 - Stowe Circuit, Silverstone. Midland Speed
Absolutely p!$$ed down. Standing water like you wouldn't believe. A chance to try the new wets. And the scuba gear. I've never had the car so sideways so often! Incredibly, a dry line for the last run of the day but, as the most expensive meeting of the season, poor value for money with only three runs including practice. No idea on the points as no results sent out unless one provided an SAE on the day. Can't BARC afford 19p out of my £85 fee?26th August 2001 - Harewood. NSCC, Midland Speed
Excellent weather and the grippiest Harewood I've ever experienced. Trackrod Barbeque Hillclimb, usually run on one day only, but this year they spilt the oversubscribed entry over two days to give two, smaller fields of cars. This gave 5 timed runs on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. Took 1.5 seconds off my feeble PB on the first practice run and finished a total of almost 4 seconds quicker at the end of the day (60.78). Very pleased.27th August 2001 - Colerne, nr Bath. British Sprint, Sprint Leaders
A very early start but well rewarded by a very fast airfield sprint of 2900 yards in glorious sunshine. Expecting 5 other 1100s as competition, but the only one to appear on the day was a 900cc kit car entered in the wrong class. Still, no point trundling round for the Leaders' points so I set a time to qualify 9th for the British Sprint run off - my best qualifying form yet (I think!). Unfortunately, the car didn't want to play and gave me an offbeat, down on power engine (which turned out to be a failing fuel pump) so I finished out of the points and a little disappointed. Still, I won my class!1st September 2001 - Anglesey. NSCC, Midland Speed
A tricky track to learn, but with 1.75 laps each run and 5 runs in the day I'd hoped to get the hang of it. Unfortunately the dry start turned into strong winds and horizontal rain, then back again. Let's just say it was 'a challenge' to drive on a surface like an ice rink! Spun on driest run after overambitious estimate of the braking distance for the hairpin which was still wet. Finished 3rd in class and 5 seconds off the local expert (who got a drier run).2nd September 2001 - Anglesey. NSCC, Midland Speed
A brighter, dry second day. Important to get on the pace immediately because all the runs counted for points (no practice). The large fried breakfast at the B&B obviously helped because I immediately went 4 seconds quicker than yesterday and chipped more away through the day to go half a second under the NSCC target. Still 3rd in class, but closer to the front and significantly faster than a well-respected, national 1100cc 'expert'. Tried far too hard on the last run and took a very brown car home (soil, not fright!).8th September 2001 - Aintree. British Sprint, Sprint Leaders
5th consecutive 'day off' spent sprinting and I'm beginning to feel the pace... Rain forecast all week fails to materialise, but it's blowing a Force 4 wind. This is a tailwind along the first straight in the morning and a headwind on the finish straight in the afternoon which feels like it's going to pull my head off. Track nice and clean. Immediately quicker than in May, but qualify 13th for the top 12 run off (bugger!) after a spin at Beechers on the first run (double bugger!). Happy enough with 2nd in class, a new PB (2 seconds quicker) and an early finish.30th September 2001 - Three Sisters. British Sprint, Sprint Leaders
Finally got the engine cover fitted. Poor weather forecast and poor past performance, so not expecting to qualify for the run off (or enjoy the day much). Standing water on the track on arrival, but this cleared after the first practice run and the threatened storms never came. Took almost two seconds off my PB (from April) on first timed run, enough to qualify 6th for British Sprint run off and finish 3rd in class. Finish 7th in the run off - a season's best. A great end to the season.Overall positions at end of 2001
- NSCC - 12th overall
- Mid Speed - nnth overall, 3rd in class
- Sprint Leaders - nnth overall, 1st in class
- British Sprint - nnth overall, 2nd in class
2002 - tweaking the aero
12th May 2002 - Curborough. NSCC
Glorious weather. I was anticipating improving my modest personal best
with the modifications over the winter... Coupled with the aerodynamic
mods, I'd tried 300lb rear springs (I had them in the garage) in place
of the standard 200lb to overcome some understeer. The result was
fantastic turn in with no hint of understeer, but the car wouldn't sit
down so traction out of corners was poor and my finish line speed was
down on last year. I was nearly two tenths outside my personal
best so had a rethink and a call to John Corbyn (Jedi).19th May 2002 - Hethel, Norfolk. NSCC
Poor forecast, but actually superb weather again. Slightly different layout (chicanes straighter) so always going to be a bit quicker. Car handling superbly with new springs (illogically stiff at the front and back to 200 at the rear) and aerodynamics. Tyres look like they've worked harder than ever before. Top speed down a few mph, indicating more drag, but a whopping 6 seconds faster than last year, so must be making up for it in the corners. Class win. Video clip in the video area.25th May 2002 - MIRA. Midland Speed
Aah, the lottery that is the running order at speed events. Dry
practice, slower that last year. Wet then drying for first timed run and
I'm quickest in the class by running on slicks. Very wet before the
second timed run but strong wind drying it out slowly. Opt for wets
(risking the wheel I discovered was bent when I checked two days
previously). The world and his wife have an 'off' so we're all stuck in
a queue on wets on a drying track. Shaken to death on bent wheel.
Finally beaten into third by shared drive who ran almost twenty minutes
later on dry track...9th June 2002 - Curborough. NSCC
The wet weather running order lottery played into my hands this time! Second in class on a wet day when the heavens opened shortly after my driest run, although I was second after the only dry practice run, so you never know.13th July 2002 - MIRA. NSCC
Warm and sunny, so the promise of a crack at my personal best (47.34). Close to it in practice, then down to 47.05 on the first timed run. It was so close; I had to try to go below 47 seconds. Pushed very hard second timed run to finish in... 46.99! Very pleased. Second in class for more glassware. That's a class award on 3 of 4 visits to MIRA with this chassis.21st July 2002 - Curborough double lap. NSCC, Midland Speed
Warm and intermittently sunny. A tough class, so not expecting to win any awards. Broke a half-shaft in practice and my spare was... at home (oops!). Offered two alternative drives and chose to share Glynn Sketchley's 500cc two stroke Jedi because that class has a 'soft' target in the NSCC championship. Only just reach the pedals and I can still feel the crutch straps 24 hours later (ouch). Apart from that, and loads more gearchanging, the driving experience wasn't too alien and I managed a time 1.5 seconds inside the NSCC target for a maximum - my best points score of the season. Thanks, Glynn.30th August 2002 - Anglesey. NSCC, Midland Speed
Fabulous weather. Mad panic in the paddock before scrutineering as I tested the car to make sure the hasty repairs (holiday got in the way) were still okay (un-necessary diff rebuild, new half-shaft) only to find exactly the same symptoms as at Curborough. Finally diagnosed the problem as having the suspension on one corner too long so the push fit CV joint on the half shaft was separating. Why it's only become a problem now, I don't know. Took the corner off, shortened all the links and improvised a quick 'n' dirty set up with some cable and metal bars. Got quicker all day and took home 1st in class award when the real 1st in class got FTD.1st September 2002 - Anglesey. NSCC, Midland Speed
Wanted to get under last year's time today. Quicker on each run because I stopped over-driving and started braking earlier but carrying speed. Less dramatic to watch but more productive. Finally 2/10ths under last year and the same award as the Saturday. Fantastic venue, beautiful countryside, great weekend, especially when the sun shines!14th September 2002 - MIRA. Non-championship
A dry but grey day and a small turn out so all finished by 3pm. Only two in the 1100cc class and the winner took over a second off the class record. I was slightly quicker than last year but no new personal best. Last year's British Sprint Championship runner-up Mark Harrison had a 'fun' day out, managing a mere 159mph through the speed trap! If you've been to MIRA you'll know that's quite quick...Now it's time to take the engine out...
2003 - a tuned engine
13th July 2003 - Three Sisters (layout new to me)
Poor attendance (66 cars) so offered a ludicrous 4 practice runs and 4
timed runs. Over 30°C and cloudless. This had an interesting effect on
the times. Almost everyone was quickest on 2nd or 3rd practice, after
which the heat meant tyres too hot and engine power down. I ran three
practices and was second quickest of 9, 1.5-2 seconds gap to cars above
and below me. Same on first timed run. On second run, car made a noise
like an exhaust valve had gone (great! My lovely new engine!) then got
very loud. Closer inspection revealed the collector had fallen off the
primaries in the exhaust and a stud or two was missing. This takes ages
to put back together, so I elected to retire.Ended up with 1st in class award (because winner got FTD) and I was 2nd FTD. A reasonable start to the season.