Diary of a sprint season in a TF part1

Those who have seen my intro thread will know ‘I’ve picked up a fairly unique TF for sprinting in the curborough sprint championship (www.curborough.co.uk/chammain.htm)

(link to the thread below for those who want to read up the background)
www.the-t-bar.com/en/forum/3-welcome-introductions-please/41294-hi-from-soon-to-be-owner-of-pretty-unique-tf-1

I’ve been sprinting for two years in a golf gti but missed last season due to illness so am making up for lost time.
The golf was getting on a bit ,200,000 miles still on original engine and going strong but at 112 bhp it struggles to be competitive against the clio 182s and more modern hatches which dominate the class.

So after much internet searching and reading I’ve now got a well sorted and proven TF for this season
The car and I had our first event last Sunday at Shenstone & District Car Club's practice sprint so I thought I'd let people know how I got on and if people are interested ‘I’ll add updates as the season progresses.
The car is ready to go but not sure about the driver, I’m switching from front wheel drive to mid-engine RWD a pretty big change in dynamics to adapt to and I haven’t driven in anger for about 18 months, so..
I entered the practice event and the MG car club sprint on the 1st to get acclimatised to the car and get some practice in before the championship proper starts on the 28th of April.
Arrived in what I thought was good time for scrutineering only to realise Id left the timing strut at home- fortunately don’t live far from curborough so whizzed back home to get it and was still putting the numbers on when the scrutineers arrived-
Got me ticket….

….. just as the heavens opened
Marvellous! :bang:
weeks of dry weather and it was actually sleeting!
Not the conditions you want to learn a new chassis in particularly mid-engine configuration which takes no prisoners at the limit, especially with its former owner watching!
Fortunately I was in batch 4 so had chance to see how the others were getting on and a feel for the conditions..

Not well as it turned out :sick: t , the track was as greasy as hell and people were spinning and coming off left right and centre, and these were mostly experienced competitors who I know aren’t numptys behind the wheel.
To say I was bricking it first run out was an understatement - I really did not want to stuff it on the first run how embarrassing would that be
so I literally toured it round to get a feel for the car- time was laughable but I had drilled it into my head before setting out not to worry about times and just get a feel for the car and its limits.
Safely round, (unlike sum) and reminded myself of lines apexes and breaking points.
Off to get a bacon butty and ran into the course secretary who gave me a ribbing about trickling round “off to Tesco’s were you?”
Fair comment but you have to take it with a pinch of salt, there’s no prizes in a practice sprint and my mentor had told me to take my time to adapt to the car
Second run was five seconds quicker but still treacherous so still taking it easy
3rd run was difficult as the track was mixture of dry and wet no way of predicting when the grip was going to run out, frankly these conditions are worse than wet
Afternoon and the sun had come out, track was drying out and the times were dropping
Started to match the times I managed in the golf for the last two runs, not bad but 4 seconds slower than I know the car is capable of
Still, have to tell myself mission accomplished, got a feel for the car and brought it home in one piece.
I had this Friday off and spent some time in the car on the road getting more of a feel for it, have done about 200 miles over the weekend and now have far better feel for the car although only at road speeds, you can’t really explore the limits on the road safely
Have got her booked into Austin garages the local MG specialist for an oil change and check over next Friday ready for the MG club sprint
She has a squeaking rear wheel bearing, owner did warn me about it but its getting worse so going to get it checked, need to keep on top of these things, apart from the embarrassment of the racket when trickling through villages!
Will give an update on how we get on at the MGCC sprint

TTFN
Lewis

Sounds great, you'll soon be flinging it around and finding those 4 seconds. :broon: Keep the info coming.
Conditions sound similar to the KL GP. :yesnod:

yep keep the info coming.. its always good to see how these car fare when in competative mode

I agree with David...Sounds just like the GP!
When you think of it the conditions were probably ideal for your first time out in the car.
You were able to explore the RWD dynamics at a slower speed. An off would have caused
a lot less damage than at the dry limit. Sort of like finding the break away point on a wet skidpad.
I am really looking forward to your reports through the season, and frankly, I am green with envy! :broon:

Very interesting, please keep the reports coming :broon:

Look forward to reading the next installment :yesnod:

Thanks for all the encouragement

Next event is MGCC sprint this sunday, quiea few Tf and ZR 160s so competition will be stiffm forecast doesnt look too bad so we'll try to make some inroads into the times from last time

Just taken her to austin garages http://www.austingarages.co.uk/

for an oil change and a realy good lookover

Must say they deserve their reputation! superb

Nick was incredibly helpful- He clearly knows the cars inside out and a real enthusiast- just the kind of person you want looking after a car like this

Weve agreed to bring her back for some minor bits and pieces just to keep her in tip top condition but basically shes the minter she appeared to be

Worst thing is a rear wheel bearing on its way out ( knew about it when I bought it), which is ok for sunday, but booked in for a change in a fortnight as it doesnt want leaving

Oh and we confirmed that wahtever the paint code says shes is definately old english white, he has the factory paint sample panels and it was a direct match

So far so good just got to keep it on the black stuff! :broon:

All good :yesnod:

try and get someone to get a couple of pics of you in action at the meet :thumbsup:

What exactly do you do in a sprint

Softly~Softly wrote: What exactly do you do in a sprint

Seen top gears "star in a reasonably priced car"?

Well basically thats a sprint , ( same as hillclimbing but on the flat)

one car at a time round a course fastest car wins

The advantage over racing is that theres only you and the scenery to worry about if it goes wrong, less requirement for safety on the car and lower costs

you can compete in a standard car without having to strip it install cage etc,

just need helmet gloves and suit say £400 ish (should last a good few years , Non race msa licence £40 quid, club membership eg MGCC or shenstone and district car club which is (obviousley the best) :bust: for the princely sum of £20 ish, entry fee say £70 and your rolling

You can do a whole season 8-10 events for under £1000

Anyone interested and able to travel to the Lichfield area north of Birmingham our intro day at curborough is on the 15th April http://www.curborough.co.uk/introtosprinting.htm

Free instruction on the track and induction into the sport but arrive early to get your place as it fills very quickly

NO, you must not go on the green bits at all, Good luck this weekend, a couple of pics would be good too :hugs:

One of those Go-Pro cameras would be just the ticket.
There is a fellow on the North American MGA forum that vintage races an MGA and he
posts some fantastic videos. Really exciting stuff!
It lets us punters see what it's like. :broon: