Rockingham Speedway July 13th 2013: This is the first time I’ve driven this track so reading up on the circuit guide was a must and it did pay off. I was much more sure of what to expect than even Pembrey which I have been to before but as it was 6 years ago I wasn’t too sure of which lines to take and I suffered as a result. I qualified for both races with 1:44 laps.

So, how did the car feel? Well, the rear end feels a little loose but manage-able whereas the front end is still suffering from massive understeer. I reduced the negative camber and reduced the tyre pressures for the first race… Oh dear, that was a mistake. The understeer was truly catastrophic. I finished 4th in class. For the 2nd race I left the camber as was and upped the tyre pressures with more pressure in the front tyres than the rear. Ah yes, that felt a little better. I managed to get up to 7th place within 2 laps until the race was red flagged. The restart wasn’t quite as good but I still managed to claim a 3rd in class. My best lap was 1:42.7.

The million dollar question is then… What is causing the understeer?

As part of the testing for the new Suspension Geometry Calculator I have been analysing my own suspension and the first thing that jumped out was the roll centre being below ground level by quite a distance. This could be causing a jacking effect which I’ve had to combat using a very stiff front suspension set-up. So I’m wondering if I can move the roll centre up i can reduce the anti roll bar stiffness and spring rate which in turn may give me some more grip? It’s just theory at the moment but over the next week I’ll be looking into it further and I’ll publish an article of what I’ve found.

Following on from Pembrey I’ve discovered:

• It’s not the wet tyres, it’s the car causing the understeer.
• Second, I definitely need a new 1st/2nd gear synchro but as I did okay without a second gear I’m thinking I’ll leave it till the winter.