Snetterton 11.06.24, with Open Track – What a day?
The weekend of 8th/9th June was really nice, so when I checked the forecast for Tuesday the 11th, I could hardly believe it - Lots of showers throughout the day. I checked again at lunchtime on Monday & it had not improved, so off came the Avon ZZRs and on went the Toyo R888Rs with the necessary wrestling with the front cycle wings to get the wheels mounted due to the higher profile of the Toyo’s. The rear fixing, on the left hand cycle wing came a bit loose – they are bonded with some sort of rubber compound, so I got out the trusty gaffer tape & secured the wing.
I also decided not to take the aero screen. A decision I came to regret.
The drive up was awful, with loads of delays. When I could drive at a decent speed, I could feel the rear wheels were out of balance.
I checked in to my overnight accommodation, went for some food, filled up with petrol and then got some sleep.
Tuesday morning dawned quite bright. I drove to the circuit, signed on, attended the briefing, did the sighting laps and then dashed off to the closest tyre place to get the wheels balanced.
Back at the circuit, I set up the GoPro with a suction mount to the windscreen (with the screen fitted, the rear-view mirror obscures the camera shot from my usual roll bar mounting position), put some air in the Toyo’s and went out for my first proper session.
There was the odd sprinkle of rain, but nothing of note. After a few laps, I was blasting along the start / finish straight when a pigeon took off from the track at just wrong moment. Cue one smashed screen and one dead pigeon. I returned to the paddock, removed the screen & put my GoPro on the roll bar.
Next session, the front, left cycle wing made a bid for freedom. With the extra sideways loading on the tyre, the sidewall had rubbed through my gaffer tape.
Two helpful guys with a 420 Caterham and a very impressive set up in the garage of tools etc. let me try some bonding adhesive they had. It said only 15 minutes to set on the packet. I also backed it up with gaffer tape, better placed this time to avoid rubbing by the tyre.
It then started to rain quite hard, so the same gents let me share their garage for a bit. Lunch was called early due to the rain, which was much appreciated.
After well over 20 minutes, I tested my handywork and the adhesive had just not bonded – probably the wing was not clean enough, even though I’d had a go with a damp bit of blue roll . I asked if I could run without the wing and got a firm no, so very reluctantly I drilled holes in my lovely carbon cycle wing & secured it with cable ties.
After lunch, the rest of the day was fantastic. It was dry & bright and I was going well. My best time previously at Snetterton was last year, in the Exige & with Mike Wilds instructing me, I managed a 1.18.9. My best in the 620S was a 1.13.01, on Toyo R888Rs and looking back at the video I made a few mistakes, including making a mess of the first hairpin. I think a 2 second improvement is very doable on Avon ZZRs (or similar). Apart from out and in laps I did not have to let anyone past. Just as well with no mirrors!
This is the short "lows & highs" video showing the 2 incidents & my best, although far from perfect lap
https://youtu.be/ylzuXslrFcM?si=8Ns4p5hIZPx09pq-
At the end of the day I had little choice but to refit the standard screen. Rain was likely and I didn’t see how else I could transport it home anyway.
Having done an overnight stay Monday evening, the car was completely full of stuff. I again reached for my gaffer tape and did what I could to reinforce the glass, while still leaving enough clear (apart from the cracks) screen to see out of.
I drove home at, for me, very modest speed but the number of cracks kept increasing. Then it started to rain and I thought enough’s enough. I pulled off the M11 into some services with about 100 miles to go and called GEM Recovery. After being on hold for ages I was told, “you’re not covered, but we can recover you for £580!!! My response was less than polite.
I tried an independent recovery firm and they wanted £390.00 plus it would be over an hour before they reached me. The day had been expensive enough already, so after beefing up the gaffer tape a bit more I set off again, keeping to 50mph and whenever possible slipstreaming big artics to mitigate wind pressure on the glass.
When I finally got home I was mentally exhausted and I needed a stiff drink before bed.
I’m hoping the screen replacement can be sorted quickly as I have other track days soon.
I’m also after a replacement second hand cycle wing, but that’s not urgent.
After my drenching on the way home from Cadwell, I’m hoping for smooth running the rest of the season.
It’s a massive irony – Had I been braver with the weather forecast and driven up with my ZZR’s still on the car and taken the aero-screen, I’d still have a perfectly good standard screen and a nice pair of carbon fibre cycle wings. I’d have also enjoyed driving even more on the ZZR’s.
Running the Toyo’s at around 30 psi, they were certainly better than my first try with them on a damp but drying Goodwood, but I’m yet to try them on track in properly wet conditions. They seem pretty good on the road in the rain, but on a dry track, they are nowhere near as good as ZZR’s.
