Oulton Park International 鈥� Round 4

鈥淲eather looked warm for the weekend 鈥� a nice change from the monsoon conditions of Donington where we scored the car鈥檚 maiden victory! We readied the car for qualifying. With very little changed from the last round apart from basic setup changes to adapt to the dry conditions, the 乐播传媒 RP-X front pads combined with the Apollo 6 pot brake kit barely showing any signs of wear from the last round up front. The Ultimax 2 pads in the rear also showing signs of fantastic durability after 2 rounds in the rear. Again, we didn鈥檛 test prior to round so we had to make sure everything was on point prior so we could hit the ground running in Qualifying.

鈥淭he car instantly felt good, with a nice balance. This was the first proper use of the 6 pots in the dry. With some big braking zones at Oulton, it was clear good stopping capability would be essential as well as consistent feel for optimum performance. Managing to put the car right in the mix at the front was going to be critical to ensure we could capitalise. With 3^rd place secured we did exactly that.”

鈥淎 quick bleed of the brakes to ensure fresh fluid was in the system, Henry lined up for the race start. With an aim of consolidating a podium finish, he set about the race start. Managing to defend some early attacks round the first corner he settled into the rhythm of the first lap. A committed move from fellow 乐播传媒-backed stablemate, Nicole Drought, into cascades saw us momentarily drop down to 4^th place. The first 4 cars pulling away from the pack it was clear this was going to be a race of 2 halves! With a safety car intervention, the cars streamed into the pits bumper to bumper. A mis-judged stop by the Civic of Nicole would leave them unfortunately out of contention from that point onwards. Leaving the top 3 cars battling for the top step after Kev had taken over from the pit stop. With an impressive move on the Mk6 Golf of Jack and George Wright into Lodge Corner on the brakes early in his stint Kev set about chasing the super consistent Matt Swaffer in his 130i BMW. His pace was to be rewarded with the victory having defended a late charge from Kev finishing a mere 2 seconds behind. 2^nd聽place! A great result. Making it 3 podiums finishes in row from the newly acquired Golf.

鈥淭he back-to-back podiums feeling very rewarding after all the hard work and early development with the car. 鈥� There鈥檚 still so much more to come too! Safe to say we鈥檙e very much in the right ballpark in the braking department though. The ability to drive hard all race long with such consistent pedal feel, and wear characteristics that are extremely impressive given their use and weight of the car. Next round Cadwell Park!鈥�

Cadwell Park 鈥� Round 5

鈥淐adwell Park: not a firm favourite of Henry鈥檚. However, Kev seems to enjoy it! You can guess who will be starting the race here for us鈥� Despite not having a bad record here and generally going well, it鈥檚 not been a place I鈥檝e ever really gelled with. This all changed a little bit when we rolled the car out for qualifying. Again, with no testing prior, we bolted a set of new tyres (the first new set since we started testing in April) and set about trying to get ourselves in contention with the host of front running cars that had tested the previous day. The car felt absolutely superb, With Henry and Kev both managing to lap within 2 tenths, albeit making time in totally different ways and sections of the track having looked at the data! The session finished with us 4^th聽overall. Knowing that there was plenty left on the plate performance wise. The car鈥檚 brake balance with multitude of different corners and elevations was confidence inspiring to say the least.

鈥淜ev started the race with it being one of his preferred tracks, and immediately got off to a good start making short work of 3^rd place round the outside into turn 1. Immediately setting his sights on the BMW of Matt Swaffers who appeared to be struggling to get up to speed straight away. A challenge that lasted another 4 corners before Kev committed an excellent move down the inside into the downhill left hander at Mansfield, finishing the move into the entry of the mountain section. Up to second place on lap 1.”

鈥淭his set the tone for the whole first half of the race. With Kev and the Mk6 Golf of Jack and George Wright pulling clear of the rest of the pack. With the pit stops completed, Henry jumped in hoping to consolidate to great work Kev had started. After a couple of laps of adjustment to how the car was handling, and the gap to 1^st聽stable, Henry set about narrowing the gap to the Golf. Keeping an eye on the hard charging Civic of Nicole behind. With 1 lap to go, Henry was right on the bumper of the Golf having stabilised the gap to 3^rd. A back marker decided to place himself right in the wrong place into turn one defusing any chance of lining up a pass at the end of the Park Straight frustratingly! With the narrowness and twistiness of the Cadwell Park Circuit, another passing opportunity wasn鈥檛 to present itself. Crossing the line a mere 0.2 seconds off the winning Golf. 聽

鈥淎nother fantastic result in the bank. With the championship starting to take place, this leaves us leading Class B and 2^nd聽overall. With 2 rounds to go, it鈥檚 going to be important to maintain the momentum! It鈥檚 all to play for! Next round Croft Circuit!鈥�

Round 3 鈥� Donington Park GP聽

鈥淩ound 3 of the Trackday Championship took us to the not so sunny Donington Park circuit in GP format.

鈥淭he Clubracer Golf had been subject to some upgrades after its impressive 3^rd聽place at Silverstone, where it had shown good pace throughout the weekend despite its lack of testing, and our familiarity with the platform.

鈥淭he newly fitted 乐播传媒 Apollo 6-pot Motorsport Big Brake kit grabbing the attention of many as we had the car up on stands preparing a full wet weather setup for the days racing. The 355mm x 32mm floating disc setup looking menacing behind the 18鈥� wheels. With our old tried and tested 乐播传媒 RP-X pads up front, combined with some Ultimax 2 rear pads, we had all the reason to be confident going into the weekend on the hardest track in the country on brakes.”

鈥淲ith the rain falling hard before qualifying, and our total lack of testing in the wet with the Golf, it was a case of applying previous experience in setup and wet racing line to try and get the best of things. Championship leader Nicole Drought, in her 乐播传媒 Racing Apollo-equipped Civic Type R, was straight out the gate into provisional pole in the wet conditions, getting up to pace almost instantly. The first few laps were a case of finding the balance and grip for聽Henry, who handed the car over to Kev at the session halfway point. With the Civic in the pits assuming it was job done, Kev set about the final lap in the session having the got familiar with the car and conditions very quickly as the rain eased slightly. A blistering lap putting the 乐播传媒/Helix Golf on pole by 2 tenths of a second as the flagged dropped, before Nicole could get a chance to respond. Locking out the front row with the 乐播传媒-equipped cars.

鈥淲ith the rain falling harder and harder, Kev strapped himself into the car, ready to do battle. With the conditions as they were, race control opted for a rolling start to try and minimise risk. Kev got a great run and maintained the lead from the hard-charging Civic of Nicole. As the two leaders pulled a 14-second gap together away from 3^rd place, the rain was still falling harder. Kevin showing absolute composure under pressure. A rare error from the Civic entering the infamous Craner Curves on standing water and proceeding impact with the tyre wall prompted a safety car, then a red flag as multiple cars required recovery in dangerous positions.”

鈥淎s the red lights fell for the standing restart, Kev again managed a faultless getaway, pulling clear of the field before pitting to change over to聽Henry. The rain having eased slightly at the point he left the pits only to find a hard charging Charlie Palk in the distinctive lime green Scirocco (also equipped with 乐播传媒 pads all-round on our recommendation) who was up to speed after his stop and filling up our mirrors. The gap changing constantly with the flow of back markers and traffic, with聽Henry聽managing to find some imaginative gaps along the way eventually breaking free slightly. With the hard work done, a few more laps managing the situation led to us bring the car home for its maiden win in the TDC.

鈥淭he new Apollo Big Brake Kit having performed faultlessly in combination with the standard ABS system. Untested and unknown, bolted on two days prior to the race meeting. Taking pole and the overall and class win a testament to the quality and performance we鈥檝e relied on for the last four years.聽

鈥淲ith the championship all of a sudden blown wide open, it鈥檚 all to play for heading into Round 4 at Oulton Park鈥︹��

Round 2 鈥� Silverstone GP聽

鈥淩ound 2 took us to sunny Northamptonshire and Silverstone Circuit 鈥� home of the British GP. A rare club motorsport visit to the full GP circuit.

鈥淲ith the engine issues of Round 1 behind us, and the car clad with some new 乐播传媒 SR-21 pads, and new two-piece floating discs in combination with the beautiful hard anodised four-pot callipers up front, as well as 乐播传媒 Yellowstuff matched with Ultimax grooved discs on the rear, we were confident of a better weekend!

鈥淨ualifying is always a compromise with two drivers, due to the required mandatory driver change. Once you鈥檙e up to speed, you have to change drivers. All within the 25-minute session time. This made even harder with a long lap time, with the in and out laps. That said, we quickly got to grips with task in hand and made the best of the 3-4 laps we had each… Putting the car on the second row of the grid in 4^th.”

鈥淭he race itself started with a sizable safety car period after a start-line collision which neutralised things whilst they recovered cars, and ensured drivers were ok 鈥� thankfully that being the case.

鈥淥nce the safety car peeled in, the top four cars including our Golf, made a break from the rest of the pack. Henry had the best view of the battle between 2^nd聽and 3^rd聽place which he positioned himself in prime position waiting for any opportunity. Carefully waiting and watching the battle unfold, aware that they were compromising themselves in the hunt for the lead!

鈥淭he battle headed all the way into the pits, where the swift driver change, and perfectly timed exit saw us come out in a favourable 3^rd聽position overall. Kev making the sensible decision to manage the race and get some very good points and podium finish under our belts by not getting in any trouble and confirm our position as a top Class B contender this year.

鈥淎 very respectable finish in our first race finish with the car! There is so much more to come, and development to exploit yet.

鈥淭he braking package is testament the 乐播传媒 products we are used to. Being able to sustain the temps and harsh usage required to be the front. The confidence in the package is critical to any success.鈥�