Diary Update - October 2008

Snetterton 2008

Well it was yet again a very early set off to enable us to complete the 170 mile journey to the Snetterton race circuit.

We found that on arrival to the circuit we were caught up in the tailbacks of modified cars all awaiting to compete and show off there machines, when we arrived we unloaded the RX7 off the trailer and met the organisers of the modified live event and went through the noise test for the track (ooops....... 128db on and circuit that is regged to 105db ) time to change the silencer and shave off some noise, pity but never mind.

Many people at the event commented on how well the RX7 sounded going round the track on full song, then we went over to the passenger section on the Snetterton skid pan / play pen (large oval), the passengers that were lucky enough to grab a ride in the only rotary powered drift car commented on how well the revs picked up and loved the experience but sadly in the second session (mid afternoon) the organisers noticed there was a small oil leak and therefore ended the rotories reign!

Donny custom and sports car show

We were very pleased to receive an invite to the Donny custom and sports car show show by Rob Telfer the main event organiser for car shows in the UK, luckily for us the Doncaster show was only about 25 miles from home so the travel time was to our liking.

We had a very good position directly across from the newly built grandstand at the Doncaster racecourse which enhanced the sound of the RX7 whilst pleasing the crowds.

Shock of the day was when we were having lunch and who should appear?? it was Bernie and Leapu from the Bengla Bangers series and Chop Shop on the Discovery Channel looking under the engine bay of the RX7, my dad greeted them both and was very pleased when Bernie asked for the RX7 to be started and the smile on their faces said it all (top guys).

They stood and chatted for a good 5 mins whilst filming the car for the series, realising we were caught off guard and totally forgot to get the camera out it was up to my dad to go on a mission and track the two stars down, upon asking them to have their photos taken with the car they gladly accepted and came across within minutes even though they had an hectic schedule filming for numerous channels / interviews.

We managed to get various photos of them around both the front and the side of the car which we are very pleased with, sadly we didn't manage to get Johnny Vegas with the car however my young relative had his photo taken with the star (top man).

On the whole this was yet again a roaring success for ourselves and Swinton Specialist team thanks to Bernie, Leapu and Rob Telfer for making our last event of the season one to remember, roll on 2009.

Cheers Pete

Diary Update - September 2008

After suffering quite a large mechanical failure and therefore missing the last 2 rounds of the European Drift Championship the RX7 is finally back! The problem with the car was that one of the engine seals gave way and caused same internal parts to get damaged.

I collected the car from Hayward Rotary on Friday 19th September and drove the car to the nearest MOT station where thankfully it passed. This allowed the vehicle to be taxed and complete the 1000 mile run-in period. The car seems to be pulling very strong up to the rev limit which is currently set at 3500 rpm. The car has covered around 700 miles up to now and will have completed the final 300 before Wednesday of next week. The car will then return to Hayward Rotary to have the ECU (Engine Control Unit) re mapped and running to its full potential once again.

This weekend (21st September) I took the car to a local show which was mainly American Hot Rod and Ford-orientated but this was pretty good as I was the only Japanese competition car on show so the attention was focussed even more on the RX7. I had many people asking questions about the sort of competitions the car was built for and most importantly how Swinton Specialist were supporting me within the sport.

Here are a few pics of the event.

Next week we will be attending the Donny Show on Saturday 27th and also the Japanese Tuning Festival on the 5th October where the RX7 will be doing the drift demos at Santa Pod. We hope to see you there!

Cheers, Pete.

EDC round 4 - Santa Pod
13-07-08

Sorry for the delay with the write up. been pretty hectic with all the car stuff and work etc.

Well here goes. With only a week to go to Santa Pod I had a phone call from Carl at Hayward Rotary informing me that the rx7's engine parts hadn't arrived and were currently held up in customs. This was a pretty big blow to us as we'd spent countless hours on the car developing it and it was finally coming together as for as results were concerned. So within a week we had to prepare a Nissan 200sx ps13 Silvia for the event ahead, this consisted of a new clutch, roll cage, engine cut off switches, fire extinguisher, steering angle spacers, fuel pump, suspension and more.

We went to the event with the car having trouble from the start, for some reason the cars boost was playing up and therefore only allowing the car to run 0.5 bar of boost when it should be running 1.1 bar, this meant the car was only producing 200bhp ( stock power ) instead of the 280bhp it should have been running. The event started with practice which was a complete disaster. I felt really uncomfortable with the car and together with the lack of power this was proving very difficult to master.

Qualifying

It was time for the qualifying runs and I was the 5th driver out to try for the best score possible. I had my 3 runs and felt pretty happy compared to the practice session. I thought I'd done enough to reach the top 16 but sadly this wasn't the case. I qualified 18th overall which meant I was the 2nd reserve driver for the event. 1 guy dropped out with engine trouble so I became the 1st reserve but sadly for me everybody's cars performed as expected- leaving me on the sidelines as a spectator.

Overall the event was a good eye opener for me and I think its spurred Carl on to make the engine for the rx7 even more powerful with extra porting and fine tuning. All being well, Silverstone should see the rx7 doing what it does best.

See ya soon,
Pete

EDC round 3 - Silverstone
14-06-2008

Following round 2 at Knockhill race circuit where the car suffered some pretty major damage, the car was sent away for the repairs to be done and the alignment of the wheels was also carried out. At Knockhill the car felt like there was zero traction and was therefore giving me as the driver no feedback as to what the car was doing.

We went to Silverstone with the car feeling totally different and with masses of traction compared to usual so it took a little getting used to. Qualifying on the Friday went very well, seeing an 11th place finish and me going into the top 16 for the Sundays main event.

I was put against the winner of round 2 at Knockhill (Tim Marshall) in his V8 powered Nissan Skyline. Tim is a very cool customer who keeps his cards very close to his chest and is very capable of adjusting his driving style to confuse the chase car as much as possible - whilst maintaining good speed and lines. We ran the 1st 2 runs scoring 6-4 to Tim then 6-4 to myself which makes the pair run a best-of-three battle.

On the second runs Tim was the lead car. Knowing Tim rarely makes mistakes when leading, I had to apply as much pressure as possible. Tim made a big mistake on the entry to turn one and therefore handing me a huge advantage (8-2).

In the last run I was the lead car so all I had to do was get round the circuit smoothly and without spinning. I managed to pull off another great run which put me into the top 8.

In the top 8’s I was against the reigning champ Bret Castle, who was on form as always. The 2 runs went well and without incident but Bret was deemed to be the better driver on the day scoring 2 (6-4) runs against me.

I was very pleased with how my day had gone and I finally proved the RX7 still has plenty to give. I went into this round just wanting to qualify for the top 16 but managed much more and securing an 8th place finish which puts me 11th in the table and just one point shy of the 2006 champion... and my nemesis Phil Morrison.

EDC round 2 - Knockhill
19-05-2008

The trip to Knockhill race circuit got off to a flying start in the practice session on the Saturday, we were allowed an hour free setup time on the circuit to perfect the cars handling and get the lines just right for Sunday’s main event.

Saturday was an early start as we were the first onto the track for the 30mins morning practice, this turned out to be a very disappointing session for the car and me.

During the practice session all the drivers were doing twin runs (twin battles) to prepare for the main event, I went against Danny Eyles who is a very consistent and experienced driver so I thought I’d picked the best guy to go against, how wrong I was.

We did 2 runs together, one with me leading, which went without any issues, and one with me being the chase car. We entered the first corner at just over 85mph that saw Danny carrying too much pace and he lost control of the vehicle and sadly I had no place to go. I hit his car at around 60mph, which caused some fairly extensive body damage and, worst of all, bent the rear lower arm that caused the rear wheel to face inwards.

We managed to get the car back to the pit area where we stripped the rear end of the car down to see if we could fix the problem. After around 2 hours of hammer and spanner work we had the alignment as good as it could be without replacing the bent lower arm.

We went into the top 16 twin battles but the car just didn’t feel 100% and so couldn’t drive the car to its full potential. I was against Danny again in the top 16 but was eliminated after a 5-5 run and a 6-4 to Danny.

This was an annoying blow for us as I’d qualified 2nd and was looking set for a cracking day. Here’s a few pics of the event and the car as it currently stands and looks.

Pro Drift Round 1 - Donnington

After spending all winter rebuilding the rx7 for the 2009 season we finally got the car completed in time for the Prodrift super series round 1 at Donnington Park, this was a fantastic event for me and a huge learning curve as many of the car habits had changed drastically. main 2 was the fact the engine used to be normally aspirated and now has a 13b bridgeported turbo engine in there, the other main change was the weight distribution as the car has one less rotor than in the 2008 season so the weight is now further back in the engine bay which means less weight over the front wheels.

the track was a very fast entry with a swooping right hand bend with the clipping point/ scoring zone being on the outside line close to the wall. this was the first time I had to get close to the clip with the rear of the car but after a few runs I had it cracked, in the qualifying my first run was a safe run which meant my final run was pretty crazy and bang on the button. I managed to qualify in 3rd place overall and with that can a place in the top 16 twin battles.

my competitor was Dean Kearny or dean carnage as he is nicknamed, dean is a fantastic driver and really is an all or nothing kind of lad, in the first run I was the lead car and dean was matching me move for move and he took a 6-4 advantage over me going into the 2nd run, when it was my turn to chase I found that dean had way more traction than myself and I was doing everything in my power to keep up but it was no use, dean progressed to the next round and went on to win the event.

this meant a 5th place finish for the Swinton and Hayward rotary team and puts me in a very strong position for the rest of the season.

EDC Round 1 - Oulton Park

This event got off to a rocky start for me when the track officials came rushing over to tell me the car was way too loud to be running on the track, luckily for us we had taken our spare exhaust system to make the car quiet enough to be allowed on track.

the event was yet again a great event for us, we went into the top16 twin battles against a BMW m3 with a huge turbo strapped to the side of it, this battle went all my way as the BMW span after the first corner and with this came a 10-0 advantage into the second run, all I had to do was put in a safe run but I still gave it my all and yet again scored a 10-0 advantage and a place in the top 8.

This battle was epic and by far my best so far this year upto now, I was against Alan McCord in a V8 600bhp powered S15 Silvia, Alan is no pushover and is a really experienced drifter from Ireland, in the first battle I was the chase car and was following Alan move for move and also managed to close the gap giving me a 6-4 advantage going into the next run, for this run I really needed to be flat out and as committed as possible as I knew Alan would be giving nothing away and would be hot on my heels, I entered the first corner way too quick and turned the car into a very expensive lawnmower and with this I gave away the possibility of being in the semi's. The battle was great and got the crowd on the feet and cheering for us and the battle was so intense.

Alan went on to the finals and managed 2nd overall, my position was 7th overall and again puts me in a strong position for the rest of the season.

We had overwhelming support from both the crowd and the competitors which made the even all worth while.

EDC Round 2 - Knockhill

Well what can i say about this round other than it was fantastic, the event was by far my best to date and also my best result.

We arrived at Knockhill (Scotland ) on Saturday the 16th to heavy rain and quite strong winds, all the drivers had the same feeling and that was that the event was going to be utter carnage and worst of all no spectators to cheer us on. we had an hour and a half practice session starting at 5pm and this proved to be a challenge as the conditions were not good at all, after the practice and with the bad weather we decided to get an early night and I’m sure many of the drivers were praying for better weather for the main event.

Sunday came and the prayers were answered, we awoke to find a nice clear blue sky and a glowing sun. The event kicked off with driver practice and new driver licensing at 9am, at first the track was pretty patchy in terms of the large scattered puddles on the racing line which proved to be pretty difficult for many drivers onto the twin battles

Top 16 twin battles

The twin battles were announced and I had a very difficult competitor, he was the Ulster drift champion from Ireland 3 years running and was proving his worth in the practice session, the battle went pretty well but my competitor was slower than me through the section which made it tough for me to adjust my driving style to suit, the battle had to go to a sudden death round and that luckily went in my favour as I clinched the victory and progressed to the top 8

Top 8 twin battles

I went into this battle feeling pretty confident as I was starting to settle into the car and track layout, I was put against Bret Castle who was the 2007 EDC champion so was a very tough and well experienced drifter. This battle was once again sent to sudden death as there was nothing to call between us, I knew that this was my only chance to progress further and I had to give it my all. We both went flat out from the start line and hit 94mph at the point of pulling the handbrake to initiate the slide, I kept very close to Bret and was pleased with the run but I knew once he was the chase car he wasn't gonna give me an inch, this run also went in my favour and I progressed into the semi finals.

top 4 twin battles

For this battle I was up against Mark Luney in the SVA Nissan 350z, this car is truly mental and cost close to 100k to build, I knew this battle was going to be once again a close call, we set off with me as the chase car and this run was very close and the result was a 5-5, when the table was turned I once again had a good fast and clean run but luckily for me mark made a small error and therefore gave me a 6-4 advantage and along with that my place in the final.

Final

By this time I was still in shock and was over the moon with the way the event had gone, I knew that the least that would happen was a 2nd place finish, I felt like I needed to just play it cool and try to put on a good show for the spectators and not spin out. I was against James Russel in the DCY Nissan Skyline, again James is a very good competitor and trying to make his presence known, I went out in the chase run and was glued to the skyline and produced a 5-5, however in the chase run I was able to stretch the rx7's legs and gained a fairly substantial lead giving me a 6-4 advantage and the win.

This was like a dream come true for me and was a long awaited victory in the EDC

Please click below for a few action pics from the event. Cheers, Pete.

EDC Round 3 - Silverstone

Well what can I say, another cracking result for me but this time in a borrowed car.

The day started off extremely well with the rx7 fd running better than ever, we had a new 2way diff fitted, grooved rear discs to aid the handbrake and once again Carl worked his magic and gave the engine some more bhp. practice went well and I felt at one with the car and track but this was to be short lived as on the parade lap to the top 16 the gearbox decided enough was enough, it had done pretty well at holding together when it was designed for 231bhp in an rx8 and was being abused and under the strain of nearly 500bhp.

Luckily for me Phil of team green was on hand to lend me his rx7 FC for the top 16, the car is pretty much the same as mine setup wise but with around 400bhp. the car felt fantastic and was a pleasure to drive.

Top 16

I was drawn against Andy Cooper from Ireland, Andy is a new competitor this year to the EDC and is already showing he's no pushover, he held me to a 5-5 in the first run when I was leading but the rx7 showed its worth and took a 6-4 advantage on the chase run.

Top 8

For this one I was against Dave aka “Royal” in the gold Nissan Skyline R32. Dave is also new to the EDC this season and has come on leaps and bounds since the beginning of this year. On the outlap I was the chase car and took a 7-3 advantage as I made a swift overtake round Luffield, on the lead run Dave matched me move for move and managed to hold me to a 5 -5, this result put me into the top 4.

Top 4 semis

This battle was very tough, I was against Bret Castle who I had eliminated in round 2 at Knockhill, I was the lead car on the out lap, I saw Bret coming into my line and not being in my own car I decided to avoid potential contact which put me off line and gave away a 7-3 advantage to Bret, on the chase lap I held Bret to a 5-5 but sadly couldn't pull enough back to allow me to progress further

3rd and 4th battle

for this I was against Steward Hansford, I was again the lead car, this run was a close call as Steward stayed relatively close but couldn't quite match my speed so gave me a 6-6 advantage, on the chase lap I made full use of the rx7's mechanical grip and reeled Stewart in and once again gave me a 6-4 lead, overall I placed 3rd which I was over the moon with considering the car wasn't mine and was the 1st time I had ever drive the car.

Overall this put us joint 1st in the championship with Alan McCord and leaves us in a very strong position for round 4 Brands Hatch

EDC Round 4 - Brands Hatch

Well after the problem at Silverstone with the gearbox parting ways it was all hands on deck to prepare the car for round 4 of the EDC at Brands Hatch, with massive thanks to Steve Garbutt and Carl Hayward for the continued support in keeping the car in top shape. Also I would like to say a massive thanks to Clive at Mazda rotary parts for supplying the new exeddy twin plate clutch which has definitely done the trick and transformed the car no end.

This was a fresh circuit that's been added to the championship and was by far the toughest to date. Brands Hatch is one savage track and takes a lot of speed and skill to pull off good consistent runs without over doing it and ending up in the kitty litter or even worse a metal barrier. In the first session I managed to get to grips with the track pretty quickly but had a few minor tweaks to do after each run to get the car just right.

For this event we managed to secure a tyre deal with Derek at Maxxis international to supply us with the drift specific track tyres. I found the tyres to be the best I have ever used to date and after each run the grip level just got better and better until the car wouldn't spin them in 3rd around the final corner. I feel this has been a very good move for us as a team and all I need to do now is experiment with different sizes of tyres and also the tyre pressures to get the balance just right.

Top 16

For this battle we drew Steve evens of team Autoglym. Steve or Stiggy as he is more well known was having some car issues throughout the morning session which put him on the back foot practice wise going into the battle. On the 1st run I was to lead out and was giving it my all. I entered the 1st corner at 101mph and managed to gain a substantial lead going into the chase run. I came back around to the start line and was told that Steve had retired again due to car troubles so I progressed to the top 8.

Top 8

I was drawn for this battle to go against Keith Hammond. Keith is an up and coming driver from the BDC and is a formidable opponent. In the 1st run I was the chase car, Keith led out and for some reason braked quite heavily into the 1st section causing me to make a correction to avoid contact but this run was scored 5-5 as me and Keith both made mistakes. This made me more determined to show the crowd and the judge what I was made of, with the new Maxxis tyres and the great mechanical grip of the RX7 I managed to really put the hammer down and scored a 6-4 advantage and gained a place in the semi final.

Semi final

This battle was a very tough one and the one I had been waiting for all season. I was up against Phil Morrison of team Driftworks. For the 1st battle I was the chase car and gave the run my all. Phil entered the first corner a fraction faster than I did due to having nearly 120bhp more than I have and therefore pulling away very slightly but I closed the gap easily in the transition as this is where the RX7 uses the weight and traction best. On the chase run I went hell for leather but this time it was me that suffered a mechanical problem ( handbrake not locking ) causing me to make a huge mistake in the 1st section and handing Phil the place in the final.

Run for 3rd place

This was a very strange one really. For this battle I was against Paul Conlan. For the 1st run I was the lead car and again did a strong run with Paul not too far behind but scored 6-4 to Paul then as I came around to the start line I was told Paul had also retired, thought this was strange but hey this means I'm 3rd overall so great. I spoke to Paul after the event and he told me that he had retired as the tyres were worn to the wires and he didn't know he had 5 minutes that was timed in which to solve the problem. This one is strange due to the fact Paul has been a competitor for the last 3 years and knows the rules as well as anyone.

So that's the event taken care of and yet again a very strong finish and also our 3rd podium finish out of 4 events. This 3rd place finish places me in second overall just 5 points shy of Mark Luney in the SVA Imports 350z.

JDM Allstars - Silverstone 2009

Well what can I say other than this was a weekend of mixed emotions and many many miles of travelling up and down the country.

The weekend started off with a 7.30am set off to arrive at Silverstone in good time for the afternoons practice and qualifying for the JDM Allstars event at Silverstone. the car was running really well and I was starting to get to grips with the track in the practice session when after five runs the car started to lose power and for some strange reason had a slight misfire when under full load. we didn't have time to get the car off the track to check out what was wrong before the qualifying session started so we had to soldier on and make the most of the power available. Luckily I managed to gain 7th place by raising the tyre pressures and clutch kicking like mad.

After the session was run the car was really struggling to re start and was popping a little bit when revved so we decided to take the car on a 170-mile round trip to see Carl Hayward of Hayward Rotary who after spending some considerable time on the car found the problem to be a faulty spark plug, this was very good news as it was a cheap and simple solution to a rather large problem. I then drove the car from Hayward Rotary back to Silverstone to make sure everything was ok for Sundays main event.

Main event and top 16

We arrived at Silverstone at 7am to be greeted by traffic jams which was fun (not) but on the flipside this was a good thing as it showed that this event was gonna be huge. The morning practice and demo session started at 11.40am and to me the car was running better than ever and once again I could lower the pressures to gain maximum traction.

I was drawn against a Dutch driver in a yellow BMW M3 (I’m poor at the best of time remembering names but I can't even spell this one. The first run went very well and I managed to pull around six car lengths distance on the BMW and gaining a small advantage too. On the chase run I found it difficult to gauge the speed and grip differences between my car and the BMW as I was running the super sticky MAXXIS Z1 drift tyres, I made a small mistake but managed to pull it back and gained a 5-5 run and also a place in the top 8.

Top 8

For this battle I was drawn against Remmo the series leader. We both got to the line and for some reason my car decided it no longer wanted to work and cut out, the event organisers were very good about this and moved our battle to the back to allow time to solve the problem. I must say within this a massive thanks to three drivers and other team members for trying everything possible to get the car running but sadly the problem was not resolved and along with this our chance to progress was dashed.

The car was again taken to Hayward Rotary late last night to be dropped off to have the car serviced and to take a look at the running issue.

Carl has been working hard on the car today and I’ve been informed that the problem was an air leak on the inlet plenum. this was a small problem but sadly has a massive effect on the car's ability to run so once again a massive thanks to Carl for all his help this weekend and for getting the car back to working order.

I would also like everyone to note all the hard work put in by my dad too as without him none of this would be possible, he has driven around 800 miles this weekend to ensure the car was at this event.

Roll on Snetterton where the car and myself will be on full form.

EDC round 5 – Snetterton

Well we have come to the grand finale of EDC 2009 at Snetterton.

On Thursday,a few days prior to the event, we decided to take the RX7 out for a little run to make sure everything was running as it should be. The car seemed OK at the start then halfway through the road test the map sensor decided it wasn't going to play.

Nice! This meant that the car ran lean on fuel and ultimately destroyed itself!

Friday

The car was in at Carl Hayward’s being stripped and rebuilt ready for the event, the engine was in the car and all the ancillaries connected up ready for starting, when the starter motor engaged the engine locked up with no warning. End of play Friday meant we had no car for the event unless it could be sorted on Saturday.

Saturday

Carl got up at 5.30am along with three of his staff and headed over to the workshop where by 7.30am the engine had been completely removed from the car again to strip the block down and solve the problem. The solution was found after a good hour or so of head scratching and the engine was ready to return to the car. By noon the engine was refitted and just needed the rad and intercooler pipe work sorting out for the new turbocharger, after all that it was ready for mapping (tuning) on the road and the car felt great once again.

Sunday’s main event

It was great to finally arrive at Snetterton ready to do battle.

The practice session proved to be very difficult for me as the car had a fresh engine and different turbocharger which had a different response level to get used to. I found that the power wasn't quite enough as this was the only 4th gear track of the season with speeds in excess of 125mph.

I found the key to the track was to adjust the boost level slightly (more power) and to adjust the tyre pressures to suit.

First battle in the top eight

In this battle I was up against Kieron Camron from Scotland. I found this battle really tough as the speed differences between my car and his was massive (mine was by far quicker and to adjust to a much lower entry speed whilst maintaining a good enough speed to link the circuit).

The lead run was judged as a 5-5 as both drivers made mistakes. On the chase run Kieron spun out allowing me to progress to the top four.

Top four battle (semi-finals)

In this battle I was against Paul Conlan from Northern Ireland. On the lead run I made a huge mistake on the entry which caused the car to under steer nearly all the first corner, I tried my best to recover but it was no use. A 7-3 advantage was handed to Paul.

On the chase run I held my own and clawed a 6-4 advantage but not enough to progress.

Battle for 3rd / 4th place

For this battle I was against James Russell from Bournemouth.

On the chase run the speed were again different and I could only match James with a 5-5, I kept in nice and close but made a slight adjustment to my line so had the slight advantage removed.

On the lead run I was able to use the full extent of the power at my disposal and hit the corner flat out in 4th gear. I thought I was going to be heading for a trip along the grass but luckily I made it stick. This impressed the judge and was said to be by far my best run of the day and handed me a place on the podium in 3rd place.

With this great result came a fantastic overall finish to the season, I had achieved 3rd overall in the championship. I set out at the beginning of the season wanting a top 10 finish so this was a dream come true and to be honest hasn't really sank in yet.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Swinton Specialist for their continued support.

Hayward Rotary for all the hard work during the course of the season in keeping the car where it should be (sideways with smoke pouring from the rear tyres). Replikit for when my ambition far outweighs my talent. Network blinds for the support both on and off the track.

Without all you guys this would not be possible and for this I thank you all once again.