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Automotive Art Shakedown Stages Rally

With the knowledge of how the Toyo 888 tyres worked (or didn't) at Luke Hill, we wasted no time picking out the best of our Toyo RA 1's for re-grooving into wets for the shakedown rally. I went for a slightly wider and deeper groove on the existing pattern since a new RA 1 is pretty good on wet anyway. With that out of the way, the radiator fan promptly packed up. Investigation showed a cold solder joint on the fan. Out with the soldering iron and....where the heck is the solder? Eventually found it and re-soldered the connection. Next up - having knocked off the left side rear view mirror on the first event of the year, and not having an interior rear view mirror, it was time to fit one of the other. Since we had no spare left side mirror the windscreen mounted mirror that had come off at the end of last year was modified to fit on the panel over the windscreen. Also on the agenda was to finally fit the roof scoop. With the weather looking very ominous for Sunday in terms of rain, we thought it was the best way of keeping the screen fog free. Some measuring and drilling later along with a quick trip to the local gas station for some clear silicone sealer, the scoop was installed, and to quote Robin Bradford the car now has "a little white pimple". On to the rally.

The morning of the rally looked very wet and overcast making the choice of wets to start with seem quite good. SS1 was Canefield, albeit a bit shorter than used in Rally Barbados, and apart from a bit of mud on the long straight past Vaucluse it was dry. The road did not seem quite as grippy as I remember it from previous rallies, but the RA 1's held OK. On SS2 which was Bawdens to Rock Hall our rally almost came to an end. Jackie (wife and co-driver) wrenched her back going over the first crest on the stage when the car landed awkwardly and was in pain for the rest of the day. This stage was incredibly bumpy throughout and did Jackie no favours at all. Canefield was smooth by comparison, and having changed over to the molded slicks for the second run through - we were finally able to see how they worked. The tyres were probably marginally on the narrow side at 180/580 X 15 but they worked well and were an improvement over the RA 1's we had been using for the past couple of years. I tried as best as I could on the second run through Bawdens to pick through the worst of the bumps and backed off substantially to nurse her through it since she was adamant she wanted to continue the rally. A third Canefield marked the end of the morning session.

The afternoon stages were Pickerins (run twice) and a reverse of Bawdens finishing a bit earlier than the morning starting point. Pickerins is a lovely stage - quick and above all smooth, and apart from a slightly mal-positioned chicane that was able to be taken flat in 6th, the times were good. Turners Hall (the reverse of Bawdens) was not quite as bad as the morning run in terms of bumps, and Jackie now had a pillow stuffed behind her back to cushion things a bit. We finished the rally 13th overall and 1st in group, but kudos must go to Jackie who literally gritted her teeth and stuck with it. The injury seems to be muscular and two days later she is a bit sore and stiff but otherwise OK. The car worked faultlessly as usual, and I am quite pleased with the grip that the molded slicks offer. The roof scoop also works well and although no rain fell to test its defogging ability, it certainly helps to cool me down on the transit sections.

Looking forward now to King of the Hill and Rally Barbados 2009 but first - the Sachsen Rally!!! Germany here we come!!!

Rally Sachsen - Entry List Issued

While Adrian is making preparations for the Automotive Art Shakedown Stages Rally on 3 May, the Kickastra Team have been confirmed as start #32 of 59 entrants for the Sachsen Rallye, the 4th Round of the German Rally Championship.

The major competitor is expected to be car #31, a Renault Clio Ragnotti driven by Mark Muschiol of Chemnitz, Germany. This car is much better prepared and much better suited to Tarmac, as the Kickastra's OPC will be running on gravel suspension, and has not been developed to its ultimate BHP potential.

The team is looking forward to the event, as it is more to get "seat time" in the car, try out the new HANS devices, and to shake the car down for further possible events.

Roll on the warm-up rally!!!

Luke Hill Speed Event

After a week of bright sunny weather, the day before the Luke Hill speed event was overcast with light sprinkles of rain and a 40% chance of rain the day of the event according to one weather source. With this event marking the beginning of the tarmac season, and having taken the decision to run on molded slicks this year, we were presented with a minor challenge that I hoped would show up much, much later - wets. I had a choice of cutting either some part-worn Toyo RA 1's or Toyo 888's into wets. I picked the 888's due to the width and depth of the existing grooves (wide and deep). This event would also be the opportunity to try out the new radiator. On the Searles loose event the car had been bordering on overheating after each run and we had made the decision the upgrade the radiator for this event. We had twin core unit built and were eager to see how it worked.

Although the night before the event was clear and starry, the morning was wet and miserable. The sky looked a bit clearer towards the north west which was where we were going however, so all was not lost. On arrival at the service area the road was damp, but the rain could be seen in distance and we quickly put on the wets. On the way from service to the start of the stage for the practice run I could smell rubber burning, but put it down to the car ahead (and now out of sight) "warming up" his tyres. I smelt it again immediately after the stage but again put it down to another car since we had no clearance problems or issues I was aware of.

The practice run itself was taken with an abundance of caution as the road had standing water in some areas, and mud in others. The tyres worked surprisingly well considering they were re-cut pre-loved tyres from two years ago. It was waiting at the start of the first official run that I had another good look at the car trying to figure out the burning rubber smell that I found the cause. The 888 tyres were 215/50 x 15 size - wider than anything we had used since putting the Proflex on the front at the end of last year. This extra width was just enough for the inside edge of the tyre to rub on the lower spring. I had used the RA 1's with the Proflex, but these were 205/50 x 15 and had cleared the spring platform. Anyway, the rubbing was slight and we continued.

The first official run was taken a bit more aggressively, but still feeling out what the tyres could do. I locked up the front coming into the wide corner by the big trees on this run but got round OK. After this is a kink right and a fast left hander. It was on this corner that the back came out a bit - something to look out for. On the second run I did not lock up on the approach to the trees, but had a huge moment exiting the corner - full sideways with the front left on the embankment. It was all caught on camera for posterity - both incar and outside. I still went quicker than run 1 but it definitely cost time. The last run was clean, but the tyres showed their limit. We definitely need to look at some decent wets for the upcoming events this year. On a good note, the engine temperature was right where it should be, and although Luke Hill is a short stage, with the other radiator the temperature would have been much higher - mission accomplished.

Roll on the warm-up rally!!!

Kickastra Team Enter 4th Round of German Rally Championship

The Kickastra Team have officially entered the AvD Sachsen-Rallye, the 4th round of the 2009 German Rally Championship to be held on 7-9 May, 2009. Based in Zwickau, in the South-East of Germany, the all-tarmac rally will be the first event for the team's Opel Astra OPC since the Wales Rally GB in 2007. The Rally consists of 14 Special Stages over two days, with 150km of very technical tarmac stages with a nice mix of high speed sections, blind crests and tight corners.

Invaluable to facilitating the event, the team's German engineers AutoScharf located close to Lauter will be providing all on-event support. Also invaluable, the organizers have graciously agreed to allow Adrian to arrive at the event within a few hours of the start, meaning that he will be driving the rally without doing a recce. Pacenotes will be done by Jonathan prior to the rally - a good test of Jonathan's ability to write pace notes!

This rally will give Adrian plenty of seat time leading up to the SOL Rally Barbados 2009. The rally will be opportunity to test HANS devices, that the Kickastra Team will acquire for this event. Finally, it will be also be a good shakedown for the car following a full top to bottom refresh by the German engineers AutoScharf, as the team is planning a major rally in the near future...

Check back on our website for updates on our progress and preparations.

Searles Loose Event

We were looking forward to the Searles loose event with great expectation. Not only had the problems been sorted from the last event and required testing, but the new Proflex rear suspension was now installed.

A good portion of the course was renew for me, having missed the event when it was last run in this configuration. At 5.3km it would be a very interesting test. The course offered an good mix of challenges, with the first corner being a medium fast left with a drop outside and the rest of the course included among other things a nice jump, a road that dropped sharply away, a couple of fast sweepers and a high speed kink - it was a joy to drive, especially with the preparation that had gone into it - it was smooth for the most part.

And as for the car - gearbox mount was rock solid, fan belts stayed put and above all the rear suspension now felt like it actually stayed stuck to the road. The disconcerting hopping up and down from the rear was gone. The times reflect the potential the car now has as we move into the tarmac season. What a difference!

Some further testing will be needed to fine-tune the suspension for tarmac, and this year we will be running molded slicks for the first time so it looks like we will have an interesting time. Next event is the Luke Hill sprint on April 19th.

The Kickastra Rally Team

Update

With the first event under our belt, some work was needed. Also, the new rear Proflex (thanks to Ravensden) had arrived and needed to be fitted. First up was the gearbox mount. Closer examination showed that the failure was metal fatigue due to excessive flexing. The chassis rail in this area was plated and a new mount fabricated, this time completely boxed in and and with gussets. Over-engineering at its best. Next was the belt issue. The power steering pump bushes were found to be worn allowing the pump to flex and move on the bushes. The bushes were modified for the upcoming Searles
event after which they will be ditched and solid bushes machined.

Finally the Proflex. The bottom rose joints were a perfect fit and bolted straight up to the standard mounting point. The upper ones were slightly wider than the AVO mounting that the car had been built to accept. In order to fit the Proflex, one of the side plates had to be cut off and moved outward by about 3mm and rewelded to accomodate the rose joint. The remote cannisters were cable-tied to the rear of the beam out of harms way. Interesting to note were the AVO shocks that came off. One was wet with oil and offered little resistance, the other was dry, but not much better. No wonder the back of the car hopped around so much. A short test drive across a very bumpy and rutted road close to home immediately showed the difference proper suspension can make. Some adjustments will undoubtably be needed at the Searles event, but the car now feels so much more settled and controllable.

Looking forward to a good event...

The Kickastra Rally Team

BRC/MCBI Loose Event

With the engine in the car and everything set and ready, we were looking forward to the first event of the season with anticipation. It would be the first time out for a long time with the big engine, and we wanted to do some suspension testing as well. The event was originally carded as a speed event but was changed to a double header, the afternoon course at Guinea being a reversal of the morning run.

The practice run went fine and although the time for this run did not count towards the championship, it was on par with the front running 2WD cars. The first official run was also a good one and again, the time was right where we expected. The course was interesting but had a number of sections with sharp undulations and bumps which was quite hard on the car. On the second run the power steering belt came off and took the alternator belt with it. The ecu apparently did not take kindly to the lack of voltage that and this resulted in what felt like and sounded like a misfire. Also, with the power steering the car was a real handful and we ended up with a slower time than the first run. With belts replaced it was off for run 3 and ... same again. Threw the two belts and on the road section back to service there was now a worrying vibration in the left front wheel.

Investigation at service showed that 2 wheel studs had sheared off and the other two were finger tight. Fortunately we were able to "borrow" 4 studs from a fellow competitor's car after they had retired from CV joint failure. Having now got the car back together in time for the afternoon runs, the salt gremlins kicked in. I had cramps in my entire arms from fingers to shoulder, and sent Dominic on an urgent hunt for salt. The belts again came off a few corners into the stage, and with no power steering and bad muscle cramps I had to back off. I literally could not move the steering wheel fast enough to control the car. I opted not to do the second run in an effort to ease the cramps and absorb the salt I had eaten. With all the power steering belts used up, the third run would be without power steering from the word go. This was a better effort, but still a good way of the potential of the car. The result - in spite of the challenges a class win on both the morning and afternoon run, a belt tension/alignment issue to resolve, a gearbox mount to refabricate where it had ripped out of the chassis during the day, and some useful information from the suspension adjustments.

The Kickastra Rally Team

The engine is in!

We had a productive weekend and now have the QED engine back in the rally car. The car was propped up on jack stands on Friday night and work started on disconnecting everything in preparation for dropping the engine out on Saturday. Once out, we had to transfer alternator/starter/oil filter sandwich plate/throttle bodies/crank sensor and the flywheel/clutch assembly over to the other engine with new bolts/gaskets and Locktite as required. Everything went smoothly as well as the refitting of the engine which took place on Sunday evening. We fired it up for the first time late Sunday night. No puddles of oil, no drips of green fluid, just a slightly more raspy (and dare I say exciting) engine note on part throttle.
Just need to put a few miles on it and then we can open her up and see and hear what's really happening. One thing we plan to do is to check/sort out the fueling. I still think it is running a bit on the rich side, and some testing will I think improve things a bit more. Looking forward to the first event....

The Kickastra Rally Team