Alfa Championship at Croft 12/13 September

[BS25]

The Alfa Championship visits Croft next weekend for the first time since 2005, which is a shame as it's a great circuit! I've added a link to the Alfa Championship site below. I'm the only 33/flat four there but the modified entry is very strong with a combination of 3.8 V6's and 2.0 turbo 147's/156's. A car of interest is an ex-Tim Harvey BTCC Alfa 147 that now runs a 2.0 turbo. All the V6's and turbo's run close to and in some cases over 400bhp so I'll have my work cut out but the 33 goes well round there - my quickest lap is 1.34.8 which is only 0.2 off the Championship lap record. That was back in 2005 though so I'd expect that to be lowered if its dry!

For those that haven't been to Croft, it's just on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors and it's a great spectator circuit thanks to it hosting the BTCC - lots of spectator banking especially round the first corner (s) complex.

Here's the information:-

http://alfaracer.com/events/croft-2015/

[PETROLHEAD]

As you say Bryan, a tough grid isnt,

Should make things spicey round croft.


Nice to see that the 75s are out, they always sound fantastic too, and i see Keith is out again aswell,

Should be a good meeting then this, so fingers crossed on the weather front, anywhere around the moors can be a bit unpredictable!

[Veesix75]

Croft is in my top 3 favourite circuits since going there a few weeks ago.

As for spectating its one of the best, lots of areas to see large sections of track, very similar to Cadwell in that respect.

It's also very easy to get to, 10 mins from the A1 scotch corner- well if you live north of Nottingham it's easy anyhow !

I will see if I can make it up there to watch.

[BS25]

An ultimately good weekend's racing though it could have been very different!

The weather played a starring role - awful weather on Saturday with rain, wind, hail - right up until about an hour before our race (5.15 Saturday evening)! Qualifying went well enough on a wet track (on wets, easy choice), in touch in 4th overall behind the two 147's and GTV 3.2V6 s/ch. When the rain eventually stopped later that afternoon I was pretty much the first to decide it would be slicks at some stage during our race an hour later, so we made the switch to slicks - soon followed by everyone else.

The green flag lap revealed plenty of wet patches but I was happy that they would dry through soon enough. I wasn't happy with the immediate grip levels though! I've mentioned before my tyre woes, only having the option of a hard compound slick in my size - not ideal for cold damp circuits! Nonetheless, I got a good start and ran second on the run down to Clervaux but was on the outside and conceded to the two cars on my inside. 40 metres later I was stationary, facing the opposite direction and looking straight at the rest of the grid heading in my direction! As can be seen from the video below, as soon as I turned the wheel right the car swapped ends with no warning - clearly as a result of stone cold rear tyres. Thankfully everyone avoided me and I turned round and joined the track stone last. I wasn't convinced that something hadn't broken so I did a slow lap to check, deciding that it was just cold tyres. As soon as I started to catch the rest of the race, there was a safety car period to recover another competitor so I was two from the back on still cold tyres when the green flag signalled the restart. There were only 4 laps to go and in that time I managed to motor through the pack to get back to 4th overall, with 2nd and 3rd less than a second in front. As I got some heat in the tyres I was lapping between 2 and 4 seconds a lap quicker than the leaders (and got the fastest lap of the race) so it was very much a case of what could have been.

The next day was at least dry, we softened the rear bar and reduced rear tyre pressure in preparation for what was hopefully going to be a more consistent track. I made a good start, going from 4th to 2nd but still taking time to get some heat into the tyres. Initially I lost a couple of seconds to Graham's GTV but was able to chase him down and get past on lap 4. I pulled a gap and then just made sure I maintained it throughout - in case of getting delayed whilst lapping other competitors. It was great to take a win on merit - going some way to make amends for spinning it away during Race 1 (I haven't spun since 2008 so I guess it had to happen again sometime!).

In terms of performance, the car performed really well, no problems at all other than tyre struggles. The last time I was at Croft (2005) the chicane on the run to Tower, the Jim Clark Esses and Barcroft were all taken flat. This time (albeit with 16v power) it just wasn't possible on the tyres I have. Many were saying how the track wasn't quick that day (and times of the local championships back that up) but I was losing lots of time through the above sections. However, it was still good enough to be the quickest both days so that was at least a relief! More tyre investigations due this winter!

Anyway, here's some video footage:-

Race 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqBfLgHfjxE

Race 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEmWweJQMlM

[KevJTD]

that spin reminds me of mine at cadwell

gave you some entertainment to get back through the field though bryan


on the tyres, are you thinking of changing them for next season?
if so would it be worth putting a cut in them for now, create some tread movement and thus heat. at worst you could then cut them further and use for inters in the future...
if you need them re-cutting just shout, i seem to be doing plenty at the moment. truck tyre/race tyre...all the same

[BS25]

Thanks Kev - definitely need softer tyres for next year, not many options but following a hopeful lead at the moment. Many manufacturers list something suitable but rarely do they have stock and not one currently at the right compound! Fingers crossed over the winter!

I could have got away with wets on the rear for Race 1 at Croft - may well consider cutting grooves at Donington if it's inters - I'll not be using the current set of tyres after Donington so if thats where they are finished then it's fine by me!

[Kegsti66]

Thanks for sharing the footage with us Bryan, I love watching it.

[BS25]

Thanks for sharing the footage with us Bryan, I love watching it.

Thanks - glad you enjoy it!

[Oxfordshire driver]

Great footage Bryan. A racing drivers worst view I reckon, pointing the wrong way staring and hoping the pack have the talent to avoid you.
Brilliant drive through the pack after the safety car.

All the best,
Malcolm

[Marlow Sud]

Thanks for sharing this Bryan.
Race 1 I learnt - never give up.
Race 2 - You see precisely when the guy in front is feeling the pressure and starts making mistakes.

Brilliant.

All the best,
Simon