Race 356 at Paul Ricard and Imola

[356sc]

Paul Ricard - Well that was hard work!!

Thankfully we were blessed with better weather than the biblical storms we got last year!

Free practice on the Friday went well, although the engine was breathing hard....we tried to kid ourselves that the oil was being blown out of the dipstick tube.....hmm with hindsight who were the dipsticks?!!!

Quali also on Friday went pretty well, although with 80 odd cars on track it was busy, and there was some pretty forceful driving going on! Looking at the engine in parc fermee confirmed our worst fears, oil still being blown everywhere...cracked piston diagnosed pressurising the crank.

We therefore had to set too on the Saturday morning to swap the engine in readiness for the race on Saturday afternoon.

Race started under clear skys, and with the spare engine running clean, we made good progress early on, getting past most of the hoard of 911s (including a couple of DDK regulars) making up 20 odd places before the driver changes started. Our driver change went well, although soon after the old man had got on board, he spun with several others on some dropped oil, and somehow managed to get the boot of a cobra that had been deposited on the run off area lodged under the front wheel, locking the steering.....yes I have no idea how he managed it either!!

We saw him slow into the last corner, get out the car, and from where we were positioned looked to be kicking the car in frustration.....the reality was he was trying to get the offending cobra boot dislodged and or move the steering so he could drive into the pits.....he then proceeded to drive down the pits in a shower of sparks....ever the showman!!!

Although we turned him round quickly, we lost a couple of laps in the process, so ended further back than we would have liked although after all that we made it safetly to the flag.

We (that is the Royal we aka Dad) then needed to set to and rebuild the engine in readiness for Imola two weeks later!

Imola

After the trials and tribulations of our last outing at Paul Ricard, we were hoping for an uneventful event at Imola, and thankfully that is exactly what we got!

This was our first trip to Imola, so free practice on the Friday was very much finding our way... to get a quick time it needs total commitment.

Quali was first thing on the Saturday morning, the bright but cool weather suiting our little engine, and we managed to hustle the old girl around in 2.20, only 8 100ths behind a Morgan, and 2 10ths behind a Lotus Elan 26r (are they all 26r's ??)...P30.....we were well chuffed!

The race was last thing on Saturday, and apart from some fairly forceful driving from various people (some of the faster cars assume that as soon as they are alongside you, you vanish and they can move back onto the racing line forcing you off the track!!) the race was pretty uneventful....had a great time annoying one of the 911s for most of my stint in the car, until he eventually outbraked himself at the first chicane. We finished 20th on the road, although after the race several of the leading Cobras were deemed illegal , and excluded, so final official position was P16.

We had a wander down to the Senna memorial, and although very poignant, were slightly surprised to find that the resemblance was more to Michael Jackson than Senna!

All in all, a great way to end what has been a pretty successful season for us.

Winter project is already under way, the car is stripped down and with Bruce at Sportswagen for a respray, the gearbox has been rebuilt, just the engine left to do......roll on March of next year when the fun starts all over again!

For anyone wanting to see what it is like from the hot seat, I have posted a couple of videos...

https://youtu.be/ebfSTJSE_SE


https://youtu.be/JL2IjN7U9lQ

[Ashley James]

Great videos, lovely noise! Thanks

[Mike Smith]

Two Fantastic dives Will - in a properly prepped 356 - There must have been some well p--ssed off E Type drivers!

I should have imagined that Barry also enjoyed his season

Congrats to you both

[356sc]

I should have imagined that Barry also enjoyed his season

Congrats to you both

Thanks Mike ....it was good to have Louis and Hollie come along to Imola as well.....the Curtis connection still runs strong!!!

[LouisCurtis]

Great videos and a great weekend!
(Although I was hoping one of them would show your old man running over a Cobra boot lid....)


Cheers

[356sc]

...I am trying to spare his blushes!!!!

[hot66]

Those pesky etypes . Great vid

[neilbardsley]

Thank you for sharing. Great driving.

[Burma-Shave]

Great stuff, I enjoyed that. Thanks for posting..nice driving, do I count 5 gears?

[356sc]

Nope, is still a 4 speed box...albeit with a higher 1st gear, making it useable rather than just for pulling away.

[neilbardsley]

Nope, is still a 4 speed box...albeit with a higher 1st gear, making it useable rather than just for pulling away.

What ratios are you running? The 3/4 gears sound longer than the BBBD that road cars seems to run.

[356sc]

Trying not to give too much away, we are not too dissimilar to what you have listed, although we do change ratios depending on which track we are at...

[Mike Smith]

What ratios are you running? The 3/4 gears sound longer than the BBBD that road cars seems to run.

Neil,
It depends on the Power Band of your Engine and, as Will says, what track

[neilbardsley]

Without giving too much away do you swap gearboxes, with different ratios, around or change the ratios in a single gearbox? Opening an changing the gearbox after each race sounds like a pain that creates the risk of making a mistake. However, perhaps you strip down and check everything pre/post race so that you don't have a wasted trip?

[356sc]

...both!

We have a spare engine and gearbox that we take with us...Italy or Portugal is a hell of a way to go racing for something to go bang on the 1st lap of free practice.

We are also pushing a >50 year old car way beyond what it was originally designed to do, so we are meticulous about prepping the car between events.....it is like anything though, the more you put in, the more you get out!