Whilst
the Xsara was still being built, Daniel decided to blow some cobwebs away
with a sprint at the historic Goodwood race circuit.
The 200bhp diesel Bora gave some of the little petrol
cars something to worry about, but a serious challenge couldn't be mounted
due to braking issues. Trapped air in the master cylinder was the culprit
but could not be rectified until the day after the event.
No Photo :-(
Sprint
26th August
North Weald
Citroen Xsara VTS
The
first competition outing for the Xsara VTS in a Sevenoaks and District
Motor Club sprint at the North Weald airfield in Essex.
The soft compound Toyo R888 tyres were great. The rear
brake pads didn't quite get hot enough to be very effective, a typical
sprinting problem, but this was expected as they were selected to be suitable
for racing.
Otherwise the car was very well behaved, with no
problems encountered!
A few different tyre pressures and damper settings were
tried on this undulating venue, not ideal preparation for the first race
but a good prove-out of the car.
Somewhat academic, the result was 6th in a very competitive
class of 8.
Races
8th
September
Lydden
Citroen Xsara VTS
Daniel
and the Xsara were entered in the BARC SEC Tin Tops championship. This
first outing at Lydden was to be Daniel's first race for 5 years, albeit
at one of his favorite tracks.
With a mixed field of 13 cars, including the Southern
Sports & Saloons championship, it had the potential to be very
interesting indeed. Daniel managed to qualify 10th on the grid and would
start alongside a big Jaguar for the rolling start.
Race one started well with a solid start and getting
into the thick of the pack right away at the first corner. Once the
quicker cars escaped, Daniel found himself basically alone on track to
explore the limits of the Xsara's abilities, which he thoroughly enjoyed!
Despite the lonely drive they finished 8th out of 11.
Race 2 started in the same way, with the grid decided
from the race 1 results. This meant a straight repeat of the rolling start
with the Jaguar nearby and only a minor change in front. Again, once the
first lap was completed it all spread out quickly and Daniel was left
almost alone save for faster cars coming through from a poor grid
position, or lapping. The result was also a straight copy of race 1
finishing 8th out of 11.
Sprint
6th
October
Lydden
Citroen Xsara VTS
Well,
the racing was in the afternoon only and there was a sprint being run at
one of our favorite circuits... it just had to be done!
From a technical point of view we were looking to
improve the setup of the car on a smooth sprint venue and in preparation
for more racing.
The pace was frantic and the grip was superb, but the
class result left a little to be desired, being 8ht out of 9. Solace can
only be taken from the fact that all of the other class runners were using
cars prepared solely for sprinting, this racer is heavier and less
powerful.
Races
6th
October
Lydden
Citroen Xsara VTS
A
quick change of wheels to save the soft sprint tyres and a few minor tweaks
over lunchtime... we were ready for BARC SEC Tin Tops practice.
The weather was great and the track bone-dry. Daniel
qualified 15th on the grid with a good variety of cars around him thanks
to the combined Sports & Saloons and Tin Tops field.
With a standing start in prospect we all lined-up in the
sun. The sprint practice paid-off with a blistering start and straight
into action. Unfortunately an incident at the hairpin meant the race was
stopped before the lap was complete. A repeat of the first start was
spot-on and the racing soon got very interesting. Not forgetting that the
Xsara runs road legal tyres and a standard engine, it was great to have a
10 lap battle with the slick-shod Renault 5 GT Turbo. The two cars were
side by side for corner after corner, lap after lap, never touching as can
be seen in the photos. Sadly this ended
after 11 gripping laps, a missed gearshift allowing the pesky Renault to
pass. The cause? Soggy old engine mounts. The cure? More concentration and
care in race 2! Daniel finished 11th out of 12.
With the grid decided from race 1, Daniel made a
blistering start in at attempt to catch and pass the Renault, but it was
not to be. No mistakes were made or could be forced, so the result was a
repeat of race 1 - 11th out of 12 finishers.
Sprint
7th October
Debden
Citroen Xsara VTS
Just
for fun, the Xsara traveled to Debden airfield in Essex to take part in
another sprint.
Sadly this day was always destined to end Daniel's 100%
class win record at the venue, due to the very serious machinery we would
be up against, but it's such a good course the temptation was too great!
The car handled really well and the cornering grip was
proven even with cold tyres... even use of the handbrake at "the
roundabout" couldn't unstick the rear wheels.
Races
11th
November
Brands Hatch
Citroen Xsara VTS
Practice
was wet and very slippery. Whilst being held up behind a mini, the Xsara
demist fan heaters failed, leaving Daniel with a rapidly misting
windscreen which took only the length of the pit straight to turn from
slightly annoying to utterly useless. Sadly this lead to a missed braking
point and the car ended up parked backwards at the bottom of the hill in
the infamous Paddock gravel trap! Practice was continued behind the safety
car but there was soon another incident elsewhere on the track and the
session was stopped, causing some drivers a lot of frustration.
Several hours of hard work was required to extract as
much gravel as possible from critical areas and re-assemble the car ready
for racing. Just as Daniel reached for his lunch, the paddock announcer
called the cars to the collecting area for race 1!
Despite the gravelly excursion and completing the
minimum 3 laps of practice, Daniel had managed to record a time good
enough for 15th on the grid of 35 cars.
With no functioning demisters the car had to be run with
the rear side windows open, the front windows have to remain closed unless
a window net is in place. Luckily this produced just enough throughput of
air to keep the windscreen clear on this damp day. The rain had stopped
and a clear dry line was available. Some very quick cars, that had been
handicapped by the truncated practice session, made their way past the
Xsara early in the race and things soon settled down with Daniel chasing
down Gary Cole in his Citroen BX and avoiding the aftermath of various
incidents throughout the race. Daniel finished race 1 in creditable 17th
place out of 27 survivors.
The grid for race 2 was formed by the results from race
1. Again, some normally quick cars were starting behind us due to
incidents during race 1. This time Daniel was able to stay in touch with
the other Citroen and keep the pressure on until Gary made a tiny mistake
on lap 7, allowing the golden Xsara to slip by. Again, there were several
incidents to avoid during the race.
Extra recognition came later in the form of a
"dynamic drive" award for Daniel's efforts in getting from the
gravel trap to the grid and putting a good fight. It was a good day!
