Club Enduro – Tegiwa Automotive Blog

NSX BUILD PART 6 – THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF SPA

Dave Varley — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 11:06:06 +0000

Spa Francorchamps, one of the world’s most famous circuits located in the heart of Belgium, with arguably some of the most well-known corners on the planet. It’s been the home of the Belgian Grand Prix an incredible 74 times and now it’s just played host to our NSX on it’s debut race weekend. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

However, with that being said, it hasn’t been plain sailing by any stretch of the imagination up to this point. The K24 that Jim wrote about previously in this build thread wasn’t quite ready in time, so we decided to run a standard EP3 engine with various bolt-on modifications and enter it into class B (240bhp/ton) rather than class A (300bhp/ton). With the K20 installed, we’d only had chance for one half day test session to get the car dialled in as best we could. Chris, took the car up to Oulton Park and the car performed way better than anybody could have ever expected, with oil temps being the only issue that we encountered.

With the cooling issue being rectified and adjusting some final pieces, the team were ready to head off to Spa. The NSX was going to be piloted by Adam Burgess and Chris Nylan from CN signs who takes care of applying all the liveries to our race cars.

There was a test session on the Thursday so we could make final adjustments and get the car setup for qualifying on the Friday. However, the guys only managed to qualify in 61st overall due to a throttle position sensor giving us some grief. Although it was frustrating, we still had plenty of time to rectify the problem before the start of the race.

With the TPS now fixed we were ready to head back out onto the track, eager to make up as many places as we could during round 3 of the Club Enduro Championship. As a spectator, the conditions were perfect, the sun was blazing down and we were stood at the top of the famous Eau Rouge, ready to see the NSX’s first race action, and we weren’t disappointed.

Chris and Adam made magnificent progress throughout the duration of the race, and worked their way up to 12th overall, whilst setting the fastest time in sector 2, and finishing ahead of many of the class A cars too. This was a great achievement considering the heavens decided to open three quarters of the way through the race, making the NSX look like something straight out of a Gran Turismo game, flaunting its pop-up headlights to the rest of the pack.

With round 3 out of the way and filling us with confidence heading into Saturdays round 4, there was a good feeling around the team and a great sense of optimism towards the NSX. It was fair to say that round 4 definitely had a considerable amount of potential. As the cars headed out onto the grid, the NSX took up its position and looked absolutely unreal as it pulled in to its righteous place.

Unfortunately it was to no avail. The car only managed 5 laps before we had to retire the car from the race. A driveshaft had worked itself loose and completely fell out part way through lap 3 and meant that it did its remaining 2 laps with power to only one wheel. The only saving grace was that I managed to capture some decent shots of it in action whilst it was challenging the pack.

The car is now sat in the workshop undergoing a diet, with various bits of loom being chopped down to save some weight and have a fancy new Racelogic VBOX camera kit installed, so we can bring you some in-car footage next time out. Although Spa was frustrating in itself, we’re all eager to see what the car is really capable of. We know that when we get the formula right, it’s certainly going to be a front runner and give the class A cars a huge run for their money. We’re excited for the future of the NSX and hope to bring you some good news next month when the NSX heads to Silverstone.

Check out all of the weekends images over on my Flickr.

M4 BUILD PART 11 – SPA FRANCORCHAMPS

Dave Varley — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 10:00:47 +0000

After our victories in the opening two rounds of the 750MC Club Enduro Championship, we were feeling pretty confident going into rounds 3 & 4 at Spa Francorchamps. We were sitting pretty comfortably at the top of the points table too, taking a maximum of 15 points at both Donington and Croft.

However, what started off as what looked set to be a promising weekend for the M4, soon turned into frustration for the team. After having a fantastic test session on the Thursday, managing a best time of 2:46 on old tyres and with both Dave and Luke not having any real experience navigating their way around Spa before. Heading into qualifying we knew that we had the potential to go even faster and challenge for pole position. We started the session with new brake pads, and spent a couple of laps bedding them in. Then our problems started. The car developed a fuelling issue which sent it into limp mode, which meant we couldn’t put in a proper flying lap, with that being said, we still managed to qualify in sixth place overall and we had a couple of hours before the race to try and rectify the problem.

Round 3 was soon upon as and the underlying fault still hadn’t been found, which was highly frustrating. Even so, we were still optimistic about the race ahead and hoping that the problems we’d looked at during the break had somehow sorted it out. Well, did it sort itself out I hear you ask, in a word, no. The car put itself back into limp mode on the starting grid and by Blanchimont the car had lost all power completely and we found ourselves on the back of a lorry getting towed back to the pit lane.

Not all hope was lost though as we still had Round 4 the following day and plenty of time to take another look at the car overnight and put it right. It wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination though, starting from the back of the grid in a measly 74th place we’d basically got our work cut out to make any real progression.

Well, we made progression all right, working our way up to 14th position overall in only 2 laps, (which made for some of the best in car footage I’ve ever seen, check it out here) only to be cursed again with the dreading fuelling issue and the car jumped straight back into limp mode. We headed back to the pits and reset the car and luckily managed to get back onto the track. Unfortunately, the car kept putting itself back into limp mode every 4 or 5 laps which meant that we had to return to the pit every time to reset it. Was it frustrating for everybody involved, yes. However, the one blessing was that it made for some incredible pictures every time it reappeared heading towards the garages.

Overall, we finished 7th in class A and 31st overall, which meant that we still managed to accrue some points in an otherwise disappointing race weekend. The M4 is currently sat on our dyno undergoing diagnostic work so that we can find the root cause of the problem and we can come back better than ever at Silverstone next month.

Finally, I think it’s fair to say that the new kid on the block, our Honda NSX, stole some of the lime light from the M4 this weekend as it made its maiden appearance. So, here’s a few images of the M4 looking mean as hell to remind you that it’s still an absolute weapon of a car and when we restore it to its former glory it’s still certainly a contender and going to give all the cars on the grid a run for their money. I for one still remain firmly in the Team M4 camp and look forward to bringing you future news on what I’m sure is still going to be a great season for it.

If you’d like to see all the coverage from Spa, then please feel free to check out my images on my flickr account below.

M4 BUILD PART 9 – VICTORY AT CROFT

Dave Varley — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 13:07:43 +0000

It’s been another great weekend for the Tegiwa team as we headed up north to Croft for round 2 of the 750MC Club Enduro Championship. We should probably start by addressing the battle scars that adorn the M4’s front end. We unfortunately had an off during wet conditions in testing on the Friday afternoon, but due to the teams hard work, the car was swiftly repaired and put back together ready for race day.

Sunday’s weather forecast was forever changing and we knew we’d have our work cut out in qualifying. The heavens opened just as the session started but the rain didn’t hang around for too long, much to the delight of the drivers. With lap times falling as the track began to dry out, Luke managed a 1:32.84 which saw us get our first pole position of the season.

Similar to qualifying, the rain began to fall as the cars made there way out onto the track which made for some great excitement for the start as the cars roared down into Clervaux.

We looked to build an early lead from the front during the three-hour race, which is the longest outing on the 2019 calendar. However, that lead was hard to come by as the safety car was called out after the second lap due to a fire onboard the Seat Leon of Rob Smith, professional driver of the Excerl8 BTCC team.

A strategical quick pit stop during the safety car period saw the Area Motorsport team look to be early favourites and they looked like a real challenger for the BMW’s, until damage saw them return to the pits after suffering an impact with the barrier.

The lead for the Class A podium was challenged throughout, with BMW E92 driver Darren Ball and the Porsche Cayman of Lance and Alistair Gauld along with debutant Joe Taylor in his Lotus Elise fancying their chances.

It was the consistent pace of the M4’s that saw them push on at the front of the pack though, with the Autobahn M4 being manned by Andy Marston, Chris and Mika Brown in the Jackpot Racing M4 and ourselves playing catch up after receiving a stop and go penalty.

The reappearance of the safety car saw both ourselves and Autobahn dive into the pits to complete our mandatory 3 minute pit stops and battle for victory for the remaining 45 minutes of the race. A technical fault for us saw Andy build an eighteen-second lead, but with Luke catching him at a significant rate we knew we were in with a shot.

Luke managed to find a way past, and soon after the Autobahn M4 returned to the pits nursing a puncture which meant we could build a healthy lead from the rest of the pack and focus on keeping the car cool and bringing it home for our second race win of the season.

Sure enough, Luke bought it home for the team in a convincing first place with a 48-second margin over Andy Marston in second who finished just ahead of the father-son combination of Chris and Mika Brown who completed the class A podium.

Again, another congratulations to our drivers Dave and Luke, (not a bad way to top off Dave’s birthday), Motion Motorsport for building and repairing the car, and everybody else involved. We’re off to Spa next for rounds 3 & 4, were we’re hoping we can bring you more positive news!

Check out the all of the action from the day here.

M4 BUILD PART 8 – VICTORY AT DONINGTON

Dave Varley — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 09:04:37 +0000

It’s been a busy few months for the M4 since our last update back at the end of January. The car has seen plenty of track action over the course of the past 3 months as we’ve been attending various test sessions to get it dialled in correctly and achieve its maximum potential.

So, with that being said, let’s cut straight to the chase and tell you about the good news. Last weekend saw the M4 out for its maiden race in the 750MC Club Enduro Championship at Donington Park. The car performed faultlessly throughout qualifying and the race, with a victory for the team in class A!

We were pipped to the post for pole in qualifying earlier in the day by the team in the garage next door to ourselves running a Porsche Cayman GT4, manned by a team of two, one of half which was a pro driver. Half a second split ourselves and the Cayman, with another four-tenths splitting us and the M4 in third place, albeit the GT4 version. All things considered, a great qualifying session was had and we knew we had great potential to finish on the podium later in the day.

With all the preparation and months of hard work that the guys had put it into the car, it was time to see what the car could really do in a race environment. Club Enduro has a rolling start, which is quite a sight to behold witnessing the full 53 car grid go hell for leather down the pit straight. Second place saw us on the outside of the track going into Redgate, David Whitmore did the first stint for us and did an amazing job to get in front of the Porsche over the course of the first few laps.

However, it was evident that the Cayman had real race pace and soon took the lead a bit later on, however, endurance racing is about more than out and out pace, it’s about the whole strategy over the course of the 2 hours. Fortunately for us, a couple of accidents saw the safety car make its appearance, whilst also bunching the pack up. We took the opportunity to pit for fuel and swap drivers which put us in good stead for the rest of the race.

With a fresh tank of fuel and Luke now behind the wheel, it was time to put some fierce lap times in and make headway. Unfortunately, the team running the Porsche were hampered with penalties and decided to retire the car which meant that we were now able to build a decent lead over the rest of the field.

The two hours quickly passed, and before we knew it Luke was bringing the car home for its first victory! We’d like to thank the chaps at Motion Motorsport for keeping the car in tip top condition over the course of the day and all their help in building it. Finally, we’d also like to say a massive congratulations again to Luke and Dave and wish you good luck for the next round at Croft at the beginning of June.

You can check out all of the images from the day here.