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EAST FORTUNE 16th/17th AUGUST 2008

In the last report we listed a few chores needing done to the sidecar and the lorry. Well we got stuck in and in the 3 week gap stripped the front end off the sidecar to replace the bearings. Jen took the hub round to Moray Firth Precision Engineering to get the bearings pressed. Unfortunately, this turned out to be not as straightforward as first hoped. It turned out that the play in the front end was not due to worn bearings but that the shaft was slightly too small for them. The MFPE boys came up with the solution and built up the shaft with weld before turning it back down to the precise diameter, sorted. Thanks folks for such a rapid turnaround, the front end was put back together the following weekend.

The lorry was not such a straightforward job. Bob made some adjustments to the front brake shoes and the rears looked ok through the inspection hatch. Then we finally fathomed out the issue with the brake warning light – the fluid in one of the reservoirs was like sludge. Swiftly replaced with clean fluid and all the lights went out! Phew. Thanks Bob. We also bit the bullet and put on a whole new set of slicks – if that wasn’t a cue for rain….Thanks to Ness City Tyres for doing all the change overs. We put the part worn rear on the spare 14” rim so that we wouldn’t get stuck without rubber at the racing.

So with all this work done we set off for East Fortune, early for a change as Bob was on holiday and Carol took a half day. We arrived at 6 o’clock instead of in the dark which was great. Young Mark Gibson had only just marked out a space for us when we arrived to set up (cheers Mark!). The forecast for the weekend was terrible, according to the BBC – heavy rain, heavy showers, heavy rain. Didn’t look too bad on Friday night. We were just a bit late to get signed on and scrutineered on Friday night so we checked everything over for the following morning.

Saturday dawned fair, where was all this rain that was forecast? Maybe we weren’t too optimistic putting on 3 new slicks. We went out for the warm up session and after a few good laps Kerr pulled back in thinking that there was a bit of movement in the front. This was probably due to the bearings settling in to place and the front wheel needed torqued up again. The next session was qualifying and we were flying. Perhaps the new tyres, perhaps confidence in the front end, we broke our fastest lap with a time of 1m 08.92s. This put us in a respectable 7th place on the grid.

The first race after lunch was the Jim Silver Memorial Race with a substantial prize fund and also a round of the Scottish championship. We lined up in the middle of the third row between Davie Annan, Kerr’s old driver and James Neil. We got an excellent start straight into fifth place. Tried really hard to keep Ian and Colin in our sites but after a few laps Davie Annan and James Neil both passed and we were back to 7th. Kerr’s hand was getting really pumped up in the last three laps till he could hardly feel the throttle or brake. We succumbed to Steve Charlton and then at the last chicane a missed gear and Steve Kershaw sneaked past. We were disappointed to have lost those two places right at the end and something will definitely need done with the brake system to try and alleviate the fatigue. Still the times were even faster at 1m 08.23s next target 1m 07s.

As we pulled back into the awning after the race the engine started to boil. This didn’t look good and, given Kerr’s pumped up hand, we decided to forego the last race and change the engine instead. The Ross-shire Engineering motor was finally coming out to play, tuned by BSD. The team set about the task of engine changing while Carol set about the dinner. Our awning squatters, Mac Keenan and Alan MacKinnon didn’t fair so well and broke down in the second race.

All change for the engine

Sunday morning and we got ready to go out in the Sunday only riders practice which you can do if you have had major problems such as an engine change. Unfortunately, in an early run of the engine it started to overheat. We had a cooling problem. We added more warm water to the system and with some assistance from Gordon Shand’s mechanic and Bill Davie we managed to get the air lock free. Then the first race was held up due to an accident in the race before it and the club decided to break early for lunch. That would be perfect we thought to get a run out in the ‘Be a Passenger’ session at lunchtime. Unfortunately, Jen had not connected the quickshifter to the right mark and there were no gears. This was a disaster as Kerr was supposed to take Brenda Mitchell from Digby Brown, our sponsor, out for a hurl. All hands to the pump and between Bob, Mac and Alan the quickshifter was corrected. Thankfully, a call from Brenda, stranded at the wrong side of the track – her spin would be postponed till the Jock Taylor meeting in October!

Cooling problems, Kerr or engine??

The first race came after lunch and it was the first run of the new engine. A bit of a catalogue of catastrophe however – a fluster on the line as just before he lights it stalled and a quick restart led to a poor flight from the line. The power delivery was quite different with the new engine with a lot more low down torque and less top end, perhaps the gearing would need to be changed. Still managed to finish although the times were not anything like as good as Saturday. Pulled back into the awning and the engine was roasting again. Something was not right with the cooling system. It had to be the radiator so rather than wreck our new engine we pulled the radiator off – it would need repaired before running it again.

That’s not where the story ends however! On the road home we had another blow out – this time in the dark at Aviemore and there was no way it was going to get home without replacement. The final team effort of the weekend was to change the inside wheel in the darkness – should get a start with Formula 1 – within half an hour of the blow out we were back on the road. Had to get Carol home to pack her bags for Canada as she was leaving Inverness at 7 am for Toronto!!

Well the radiator is sorted already thanks to Highland Radiators, our newest sponsor. It’s been re cored, re sealed and painted and looks like brand new.

Next stop Knockhill in September!

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