On going and stopping

Race cars have two main purposes in life. One is to go as fast as possible and the other is to stop as quickly as possible. There is also a handling thing, but we will gloss over that for now since it would dilute my point here.

Diving into turn 5. Photo courtesy of Quintin Smit.

The Harper Type 6 has no issues with going fast. At 850kg and 205kw you can do the sums, but to help you out, that gives a power to weight ratio of 252 Watts/kg, close to a Porsche GT2. Quick it certainly is. Of course it could be, and will be, quicker later on, but for now it does of fine job of scaring the willies out of me on the back straight.


What it is not so good at right now is the stopping bit. Now, this is no real fault of the car. No, we decided to fiddle with the brakes. The obvious question of course is why, to which the simple answer is "they were, quite frankly, crap for racing". Even Craig was less than impressed on driving the car at speed a while back.


In actual fact the brakes originally worked well, perhaps too well. The car was fitted with boosted brakes. The disks are large 275mm vented jobs off the Toyota RunX and when boosted could lock all four wheels up with ease. This made driving fast a little tricky since there was not a whole lot of feedback prior to the afore mentioned lock up. Cars don't steer well on locked wheels, in fact they don't steer at all, and instantly convert driver into passenger. Not a great scenario when you are pretending to be a race driver. Somehow "race passenger" does not have the same cool ring. But I digress.


I said we fiddled. We removed the booster for a whole lot of good reasons and the car was faster, well actually I was faster with the car since I could now brake with more confidence and hence later. But the brakes required inordinate amounts of pedal pressure. Leverage ratio was diagnosed as the problem here. The pedal operates a shaft since the master cylinder is offset to the centre of the car for space reasons. This shaft creates the leverage to transfer the pedal pressure to the master cylinder and hence the brake pads. A new shaft was made with adjustable leverage, the master cylinder was dropped in line with the actuator shaft and everything was generally beefed up. The brakes felt infinitely better, maybe a little spongy, but my right leg was very happy with the improvement. 

Now much stronger and lower MC location. Previous holes were for the late booster.

So, it was for the second time in a row that I arrived, bright eyed and bushy tailed, at race day with untested brakes. I was starting to get used to testing out new developments during qualifying. Four Harpers where running again, Craig in his orange "original", Ant in the Turbo dragon (it spits flames!), Haydn in the supercharged, and by far best looking, Harper and me in, what the kids have nick named, Toothless (after the night fury dragon from the Train your dragon movie). Well at least I hope that's were it comes from and is not related to my driving style!


The Sports and GT field was a little thin. Around 25 cars were entered, way down from the 38 at our previous race meeting. It is a busy time of the year with Easter and all, but the consensus along pit lane was that is was the impending rain that had scared folks off. Especially the ones who race on slicks.


We were racing in a late slot so qualifying was at a leisurely 9:30am. Craig opted for an even later start and was due to join us around 10am. We were all casually getting dressed and ready when the PA system surprised us and announced we were on 15 minutes early. This was to become a bit of a trend for the day.


Mass panic ensued as cars bearing half dressed drivers burst forth onto the holding grid. The marshal blew his whistle for us to leave and more chaos ensued as drivers feverishly tried to attached helmets and gloves while trying to maintain their place in the first come first serve qualifying grid. Eventually we all ended up on the track. The Sports and GT folks are generally a considerate bunch with the quali grid being "understood" to go on a "fastest first" basis allowing the fast classes to qualify together. However, with the rather abrupt start, the field was wonderfully mixed, making for some really interesting action as sub 1:20 cars who had been sitting with tyre warmers humming away all morning mixed with slower folk on ice cold rubber. In the end nothing serious happened, but the session only lasted 5 laps and a clear lap was as scarce as the preverbal rocking horse poo. 


I was not particularly phased by all this since my primary goal was to feel out the new brake system. Things were looking, or actually feeling, good. The pedal pressure was now matching the expected rate of deceleration and the car was feeling stable under hard braking. The pedal was a bit more spongy, but the car was certainly stopping consistently. 


This was a good thing! 


Back in the pits it was good to see Craig had decided to roll in, not only because he's a nice chap and fun to have around, but also since this meant he would be bringing up the rear of Class D and not me for a change.


We grabbed some coffee and stood around discussing the possible cause of the spongy pedal. Craig had taken the entire brake system apart a couple of time in search of the cause, but to no avail. Theories were floated and discounted in vast number until we decided we had no idea and headed off for a bacon and egg roll breakfast. 


Race one was called 45 minutes early. We had learnt from the morning qualifying session and were all ready in time. Management was furiously trying to move things up to miss the forecasted lunch time rain showers. We were not particularly concerned about the rain, its actually quite fun racing in the wet, but apparently the guys that race on two wheels don't have quite the same view. 


The race proceeded without much excitement while I tried to adjust to the new brakes. The track was a bit cold and slippery. My brake markers from the last race were all wrong with the now better brakes and I found myself braking too early for the first couple of laps. This saw me pretty much out on my own at the back of Class D. Finally towards the end of the race I started to get the hang of things and managed to squeeze out a 1:25.6, my fastest lap ever.


Back in the pits drivers were all abuzz with excitement. Slippery track aside everyone had had a good race. 

Ant and Craig mixing it up with the GT3's. Photo courtesy of Quintin Smit

All, that is, except for Ant who had broken a drive shaft. Tools emerged and willing hands appeared resulting in the quickest removal of a drive shaft I have even seen. It was summarily dispatched for repairs.


Lap times would later confirm things, with virtually everyone posting their best lap times to date. Sadly, or not, for some this meant they broke the hallowed 1:24 barrier and were summarily shunted upward into Class C for the rest of the season. We lost both the leading Porsche drivers in this way thereby shrinking Class D regulars down to myself, Craig, Hennie in his blistering Lotus 7, Martin in his screaming rotary 7 and Paul in the grand (and indecently fast) GT40. I might even score a couple of point this season if things carry on this way.


We all stood around chatting, kicking tyres and listening to the tick of cooling engines until hunger drove us to the clubhouse for lunch.


We now had a rather drawn out wait until a scheduled 4:30pm for our next race.


After the lunch break the clouds that had until then been hanging around and taunting the organisers finally decided to join the party and gently sprinkled the track with just enough wetness to really irritate those trying to decided which tyres to use.


The Fine Cars race after lunch, and on said damp track, was carnage with some seriously shortened versions of the cars returning on flatbeds after the race. The bikes who ran a bit later miraculously missed the isolated showers and had a pretty dry track, much to the joy of the riders.


As expected our second race was called early. Craig and I had bled my brakes again just for the hell of it and predictably produced a no firmer pedal. Ant's newly welded up drive shaft had also arrived during the down time and a reverse of the disassembly process produced a running car in record time. I swear Ant works on his car in his dreams at night. He could put some of the F1 crews to shame, but then he does tend to take his car apart quite often. 


Rain had fallen just prior to our race being called which left Paul and his 500hp of slick tyres sitting things out. In typical Cape Town style the sun broke through as we sat on the grid waiting to start. I had drawn second on grid in Class D for this race so was keen to try and keep a respectable place in the field, buoyed of course by my just achieved fastest lap.


This was not to be.


The lights went out and turn one loomed large and .... oddly shrouded in a cloud of dust. Mike in his Nardini was doing a fine impression of a farm implement on the inside of the corner while a Porsche was trying to outdo him on the outside of the corner. 


One thing you don't really want on the first corner of the race is a lack of visibility. I plunged into the cloud of dust praying feverishly that everyone else was doing the same and facing the same direction. Brake lights loomed very large and bright in front of me as I almost rear ended Martin in his Lotus. It would have been just revenge for him punting me last race day, but that  would really have been childish and expensive so I jump hard on my squishy pedal. I was vaguely aware of a black Porsche spinning off to the right and the rest of the field filing through past me on the left. By the time we all emerged from the dust cloud Martin, myself and the Porsche were virtually last. The Porsche quickly rectified the situation for himself, however Martin and I then proceeded to have a nice little battle for a couple of laps. He's normally much quicker then me so I was wondering why I was catching him. I finally concluded it must be my sudden new found driving skill and eventually blasted past him on the back straight. He disappeared into the distance behind me. Of course, I was to discover later that he had opted for a set of intermediates thinking it might rain and was being heavily penalised for his choice with his rotary powered 7 trying desperately to exit every corner in reverse. I do so despise reality some times.

Me about to subdue Martin for the final time. Photo courtesy of Quintin Smit

Once I was past Martin there was no one in sight ahead of me. Memories of my days in Class E flooded back as I circulated all alone in no mans land. Still, it was a good time to try some new lines and wave to the family who were watching in the stands. The race ended without incident or excitement and yielded a couple of 1:26's. Not as good as race 1, but still decent times.


Craig had turned out another fastest lap leaving him just 4 tenths shy of the all important 1:24 Class D barrier. With the two Porsches having been evicted up to Class C his times now put him at the sharp end with Hennie and Paul. 


My car goes back to the doctor again this week to finally remove the sponge from the brake system after which I seriously plan to go and give them all a flippen good hiding.


Famous last words!


Next race is scheduled for 5th of May and if the current Cape Town weather cycle remains (hot weekdays, rainy weekends)  we should be racing in the rain. Bring it on!


The rather mundane race videos are available on the links below for those interested.


April 14 Sports & GT - Race 1

April 14 Sports & GT - Race 2

Be careful what you ask for

Race day again! They were coming thick and fast at the start of the season, but there were no complaints from me. The previous Monday had seen us on the track doing some testing on three of the cars. Haydn was having some overheating issues when his car was being driven in anger and Craig had just completed a complete rebuild of his pedals. I was primarily there to try and sort out my brake bias. 

Our race weekend playground

After a couple of hot laps I had mostly got things balanced, but was still locking the brakes up with ease going into fast corners. At least now I was locking up all four wheels instead of just the front ones. 


Just before the hour session ended I convinced Craig to take my car for a spin. I hopped in to the passenger seat and was treated to a exceptionally fine display of driving skill. The boy has talent that's for sure! He managed to drift the car effortlessly out of corners and drove on the limit almost all of the time. This in a car he had only ever driven once before on the track.
We arrived back in the pits and Craig climbed out declaring my brakes crap and the suspension too soft. Ah well, that's why I was so slow! Of course, I knew that!


There is an old adage in racing, not only motor racing, that says "never make major changes just before a race". So with this ringing loudly in my ears I arrived at the track on race day sporting a new stiffer set of springs and a brake system minus the booster. I had collected the car the previous evening so to all intents and purposes I might as well have been driving a new car. Qualifying was going to be a "seeing if the mods have worked" kind of affair. I hoped no expensive Porsches were near me when I came out of turn 5 backwards...


As it turned out, qualifying was not that bad. I managed to keep pointing forward and ended up third on the grid in Class D behind Hennie in his Seven and Paul's GT40. 


The race start was called and we rounded turn 5 and formed up for the rolling start. I had the GT40 directly in front of me and Matthew's GT3 next to me. The lights went off and 38 cars roared into turn 1. 


At this point I should recall for you a comment I made some time back about wanting to be in the mix of things. I had lamented the fact that my days in Class E had been fun, but rather lonely, as I often circulated on my own. I was about to experience the effects of close racing first hand.


Turn 2 is quite tricky. Its virtually a hairpin, but has a wide sweep so can be taken quite fast when your tyres are warm. However, being only the second corner of the race most folks' tyres were still cold. Add to the mix a car that was starting to dump its entire oil load due to a failing oil cooler line and things are bound to go pear shaped.


The first warning I had was the sound of screeching tyres in my right ear. This was followed by a solid thud at the right rear of the car just as I committed to the corner. A split second later I was facing the rest of the field, watching folk expertly duck and dive to miss the carnage. I  managed to roll the car off the track to avoid any serious front end damage and got a sheepish wave from Martin as he limped past in his soon to be three wheeled Lotus 7.  Well that was racing in the pack for you. Class D ain't for sissies!

The net result was that I was now stone last by some way. There is nothing like a unscheduled "off" to focus the mind, especially when you had started well up and with great expectations. It was hammer time!


I dusted off my tyres, wiggled the car around a bit to make sure no serious damage had been done and blasted off down the track. Two turns later I caught up with the unfortunate Martin, a shower of sparks emanating from the rear of his car as he pulled off the circuit. I was later to discover that he had collected my rear quarter panel with his front wheel and had sheared off his lower suspension bush. Low swung Lotus 7s do not race well on three wheels. 


As I rounded turn 4 and entered the back straight I could see no cars ahead of me. This meant I had at least 500m to make up before I arrived at the back of the field. At least I still had 9 laps in which to achieve this somewhat lofty goal. I put the hammer solidly down. Or at least I thought I did. Lap times would show otherwise, with me only managing to lap in the 27's. Still I though I was going really fast and I did seem to be catching the Class E guys slowly. Around lap 6 I caught and passed Cyril, who was piloting his LS1 engined 944 for the day, and then Di in her Lotus 23. Just ahead I could see Martin in his JPS coloured Seven chasing down William in the second LS1 powered 944 on the track for the day. I snuck up behind Martin at the exit of turn 4 and unleashed V8 power all over him. He didn't stand a chance. The red Porsche was a bit of a different matter having some V8 power of it's own. I managed to haul him in under brakes at the end of the straight and we exited turn 5 almost side by side. I somehow out dragged him down the main straight and took turn 1 first. I was getting cocky now, four cars in one lap, oh yeah!


It's usually about this time that reality is sent along to give you a swift little slap to keep you in your place. Today was not going to be any different. I could see Matthew's GT3 disappear into turn 2. That was the back of Class D and where I needed to be. Two or so laps left, what could possibly go wrong. I flew into turn two, cut towards the apex on my usual line and suddenly remember the oil. It was too late. The rear of the car let go and I slid sideways off the track amidst a shower of stones and sand. I did manage to stay pointing roughly forward so hooked second gear and booted the throttle just as both William and Martin shot past, no doubt chuckling to themselves. 

For the second time, out of the same corner, I dusted off my tyres and checked the car for damage. Everything seemed to be fine so it was hammer down again as I filled my helmet with blue air. I had just over one and a third of a lap to catch and pass the two cars again. Turn 3 greeted me with a cloud of dust as Martin involuntarily parked his Lotus up against the wall on the exit, no doubt filling his helmet with his own brand of blue air. The red Porsche disappeared around turn 4 ahead of me. I managed to chase him down over the rest of the lap and we finally exited turn 5 nose to tail on the last lap, but as I pulled out to try and take him he expertly squeezed me towards the wall. We crossed the line as we had left the corner - nose to tail.


Back in the pits the damage was assessed and declared cosmetic. Thankfully the Harper is designed with wide side pods that act as crumple zones to protect the driver and chassis rails. My side pod had take the full force of the impact and sustained minor damage that would be easy to fix.

A Lotus 7 wheel shaped imprint

We headed to the club house for some lunch and a chance to calm the nerves. Ant had lost his clutch in the closing laps of the race while Craig had had a fantastic dice with Hennie and Matthew. Paul in the GT40 was the star of the class disappearing into the distance and leaving us all in his dust. I must ask him what he has for breakfast.


Race 2 was no less frenetic, except this time without the spinning, sliding and full contact aspects of race 1. We started in our "lucky draw" grid placings which saw me fourth on the grid with Craig right next to me. Hennie, Matthew  and Paul were up ahead. The race started and immediately Craig snuck past me into turn 1 while Paul bolted off into the distance. I managed to keep up with Craig as he traded places with Hennie all the way around to turn 4. At this point I unleashed some V8 goodness onto them and passed them both on the back straight only to be immediately passed again by both of them into the corner. I really need to sort my brakes out, oh and maybe find some talent somewhere too.


After a couple of laps it became apparent that they were simply quicker than me on the twisty bit of the circuit and they progressively shrunk into the distance. At this stage I had a stern word with myself and decided to settle down and focus on hitting apexes, braking late and generally driving properly. I spent the last five laps of the race trying to get the basics right. This saw me slowly catch the trio in front of me to the extent that I finished half a car length behind Craig. Now if I had just done that from the start of the race ...


Ant had managed to join the race clutch-less and somehow pulled out his quickest laps of the day. He does seem to rise to a challenge!


All around it was a great day of racing with some hard lessons and good close racing. My brakes are infinitely better than before, but still need a little tweaking. Things are definitely moving in the right direction as I managed to break into the 25's, a target I had set myself for mid season only. Next up, 24's !!


For those who want to watch the complete races, grab some popcorn, a bucket of broadband and click on a link below


Killarney Sports & GT Race 1 - 17 March 2012

Killarney Sports & GT Race 2 - 17 March 2012

Tracking straight and true

It was the first regional race of the season. This was for points so I had to get serious now. The last time we had raced was at the Historics day three weeks back where we had all returned home medium to well done due to the heat. The Type 6 had only had one outing since then and that was to take my youngest down to Hout Bay for an ice cream the previous weekend. I had forgotten how much attention the Harpers attract as I watched folk crowd around the car in the beach side parking lot. We had sat on the low stone wall eating soft serves and solving world issues after which we had enjoyed the fabulous Chapmans Peak drive. It really is a road best experienced in an open top sports car.

On Friday evening I decided I had better do some race prep. In the garage there was disappointingly little to do. I checked the oil (it had used none), check the tyre pressures and torqued the wheel nuts. That was pretty much it. I then decided to make a new shift gate since the last one had flown off during a race. It would seem double sided tape is not as robust as I had hoped it might be. I had been having some issues with gear selection. The centring spring on the Toyota shifter we were using was not up to the job of pulling the lever back to the middle. This caused me to grab 6th from 5th instead of 4th. Not a major problem on the road, but a little hairy when diving into turn 5 at 200+ on race day. Craig had made up a new spring which had transformed the shift and made the whole driving experience much more pleasant. You see, like I said before, its the small things.

Anyhow, there was still the issue of not knowing if you had selected first or reverse. The Audi six speed box has reverse and first next to each other up and to the left. In normal cars there is a complicated lock out system that stops you inadvertently selecting reverse and careering into the car behind you at the stop street. We had looked into all manner of lock out mechanisms for the Type 6, but in the end I decided on a simple shift gate that would show you visibly which gear you had selected. The first one I made worked well, but I had attached it to the centre console with double sided tape just in case I needed to removed it for some reason during the racing. As it turned out it decided to remove itself. I just caught a flash of aluminium as it exited the car. The new one would be screwed down for sure.

About an hour later I was done and happy with the result. It's no Ferrari gate, but does the job and I think suits the car, which is all that really matters in the end.

Thus, race prep was done. I packed in my tool box and headed off to bed.

Saturday morning was clear and calm. Predictions for the day had us only enduring around 25 deg C which would be great. I packed in my race bag and headed off to the track. The new covered area opposite the Harp Motorsport workshops had been completed at last and I arrived at my pit bay to the sight of four other Harpers parked and waiting for the days festivities to begin. Craig was going to have five of his cars racing on one day. An all time record and proud day for dad.

New covered pit area

Ant was of course present in his 2.0l Turbo powered Porsche killing Type 5. Haydn was doing his first race in his supercharged and beautifully prepared red Type 5 and Didier the frenchman was racing the white factory car. Lastly, Craig had managed to finish the rebuild of his engine and fired his car up for the first time only the night before. He said he was going to run the engine in during qualifying!

I grabbed my documentation and when to scrutineer. No issues where found so back at the pits I attached the stickers of our new sponsors for the season (thanks BigFoot Express Freight and Execuline Insurance!!). Qualifying was looming large so I suited up and when off to the holding area. There were a lot of cars lined up. Thirty five to be exact. This was close to a record field for Sports and GT's and certainly the largest field of the day. It was going to be busy out there.

Qualifying was a blur of Porsches, Nardinis and other assorted fast machinery. It was over far too quickly and I had managed to qualify second from last in Class D. Not great, but I was still battling with the car under heavy braking. It was squirming about causing me to brake far to early on the two fast corners. This was costing me seconds per lap. However, brake bias is not something you setup during a race meeting so I was going to have to drive around this for the day. 

The family had arrived so we wandered over to the clubhouse for and egg and bacon roll to calm the nerves before the first race. Race 1 was called and I saw the family off to their view site before heading to the pit to get ready. Parked up in the holding area I was again struck by how many cars there were. The holding area was almost full. I had Paul in his GT40 parked next to me and the two V8's idling away sounded superb.

The marshals signalled us to leave and we threaded onto the track for our warm up lap. Sports and GT's do one warm up and one formation lap with a rolling start. The field entered the main straight in close formation. I was in 3rd gear and had my eyes on both the start lights and the car in front of me, out of the corner of my eye I could see Craig's orange Type 5 just next to me. The lights went off and I floored it. The car shot forward and Craig disappeared from my peripheral vision only to appear a split second later when I hit the rev limiter. What a noob error, to forget to change gears, for goodness sake!

Craig made full use of my stupidity and snatched the corner from both myself and Paul's GT40. He then spent the rest of the race dicing it out the Steve Humble who was wringing the preverbal neck of his Lotus Europa. Steve normally drives a scary quick Opel powered Mallock, but was in the Europa for the day and I could swear he was having more fun with us in D than he does when threading the needle at the sharp end.

I spent my race locked in a titanic battle with the GT40. It had more grunt than me on the straights, but I was quicker in the corners. On the second last lap we came out of turn 5 side by side. The sound of both V8's coming onto the power at the same time gave me goose bumps. I can only imagine what it must have sounded like to the spectators. We crossed the line a couple of hundredth apart. 

This was racing! For my previous season in my Lotus 7 I had spend most races sprinting around the track all by myself at the back. Class E was a lonely class and often there was only one or two cars racing. While this was great for getting to know the car and the track, it was not very exciting. If my first race in Class D was a sign of the season to come, it was going to be a brilliant season!

Grid positions for race 2 are drawn from a hat per class. This helps to mix things up a bit and creates more of a spectacle for those watching. I had draw second last on the grid again, but had the rather quick Lotus 7 belonging to old hand Hennie behind me. The race started and I managed to get the drop on Hennie....briefly. By the third corner I could hear the buzz of his Lotus in my right ear. I tried to make my car as wide as possible, and managed to keep him at bay for two laps. On the third he had clearly had enough and dived past me under brakes in turn three. I decided to use this as a learning experience and tracked his racing lines for the rest of the race, well at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Again, it was fantastic racing with cars around you all the time. I was going to enjoy this year very much.

Back in the pits I collected my kit and packed the car. Ant had a fantastic day and was lapping consistently in the 24's giving him a great battle with his Class C Porsche friends. Haydn, who was racing in Fine Cars for the first few races of the season, had had a great day out too. Sadly Didier, also racing in Fine Cars, had spun while in 4th place and damaged his rear suspension while Craig 's car had developed a short and was continually blowing the fuse that fed the fuel pumps so he had not raced in the second race. 

I arrived home late in the afternoon, tired but happy with the outcome. The Type 6 had now complete five full pace 8 lap races with no apparent ill effects. Long may this last!

The next race day was on 17th of March and I still had the brake bias issue to sort out. Some track time has been booked so, all things being equal, I should be able to start braking much later next time around. Hopefully this will show in the results!

The first real test - track time

We had up to this point done around 150km on the road and a scant 30 laps on the track with the new Type 6. Nothing had as yet fallen off or broken so with a little trepidation I entered the car into the International Historics Race day at Killarney race way in Cape Town. 

(Thanks for the awesome photo Diedier!)

The Owen Ashley APV 347is, a Mustang-ish, 5.5l, 360kw, loud and leery beast. They form the basis of a one make race series here at Killarney and are driven by, as the website says, “40 and older” drivers. Personally I think they are all a little crazy!

Anyway, for the first race outing of the Harper Type 6, we are pitched with some 10 of these snorting monsters. The International Historics Race weekend held in Cape Town over the 4^th and 5^th of February does not really cater for the more “modern” style car, but to enhance the viewing pleasure of the spectators, all those folk that don’t fit into the “historic” category are fielded together in the somewhat amorphous “GT Invitational” class.  This means I’ll be taking the T6 out amongst traffic for the first time together with some of the meanest and fastest racing machinery to be found in Cape Town. No pressure then.

The goal of the weekend was to get to know the car, not to break anything and to generally have a good time. Not coming stone last would be a bonus of course.

The T6 sailed though scruteneering on Friday and as Saturday dawned sunny and clear we lined up in pit row for qualifying. There was no sign of the promised V8 Masters with only myself, Ant in his turbo Harper Type 5 and a clutch of Porsches idling away. The whistle blew and we all rollicked out of the pit exit. It only took around half the track for me to notice the garish colours appearing in my mirrors. Oh yes, the V8’s run out of the new pits and would have left after us. Great, this should be fun.

The rest of qualifying was spent keeping clear of V8’s, assorted Porsches and a couple of other odd and rare vehicles, most notably a screaming F1 powered Alfa 156.

Thankfully I managed to avoid harm and the T6 was feeling great. By now I had my new tyres, generously provided by Haydn off his own Type 5 (thanks Haydn!), so at least I had more grip and less flat spots than the my previous track outing. I had dropped the tyre pressures and the handling had moved from slight understeer to almost perfectly neutral. Things were looking good for the first race. I had also resigned myself to running at the back of the field as my paltry 200-odd kilowatts put me firmly on the lower rungs of the ladder. This actually suited me as I could focus on learning the car rather than trying to race somebody.

By now it had started to warm up quite a bit, an ominous sign of things to come.

Race 1 was called and once again we trundled off to line up in pit lane. Since most of the cars entered were running from the new pit area across on the other side of the track we Harpers were only joined by the Porsche brigade for the wait. It was now seriously hot and sitting in full race kit in the baking sun was fast losing its fun factor.

Finally we were sent out for our warm-up lap. The format was to run one warm up lap then stop and place on the grid. This was then followed by a formation lap and rolling start. We dutifully formed up on the grid and rolled around for the start. At the start I let the couple of APV’s behind me go past on the main straight and was also passed by a yellow E36 M3 in turn one. As the field dwindled into the distance I set about getting to know the T6. The brake bias still needed a bit of tweaking and I had yet to get the hang of the torque and handling. It was a very different drive when compared to the scruff of the neck style I used with my Lotus 7. Smoothness was everything and you were rewarded for precision and smooth braking. By contrast you were similarly punished for being ham handed. Thankfully punishment was not severe, a good thing considering the event was being filmed by national television. Sudden steering movements in corners or excessive application of the right foot produced predictable oversteer. Grip and cornering was awesome, but by far the best was the acceleration out of corners and the speed down the straight.

I was getting into a nice groove, still doing slow 1:30’s, but chopping chunks of time off each lap. Thus it was both surprising and slightly annoying to come around turn 3 and be met by the sight of the BMW on fire next to the track. The race was promptly red flagged and we formed up on the grid to wait for the track to clear. Some twenty minutes later we headed off on a formation lap again somewhat par boiled from sitting on the hot track in the baking sun.

The rest of the race proceeded without event and I was more than happy to have finished my first race and to have not been lapped by the insanely quick lead 911 apparently fitted with some new kind of warp drive.

All round the T6 had performed flawlessly. Temperature had held constant in the, what we were later to discover, 36 degrees ambient. Oil pressure had been stable and it seemed like it was only the rather sweaty driver that had taken strain. With the days racing done and dusted we packed up and I headed home. We were racing again on Sunday so had decided to leave the cars at the track rather then drive them out and back the next day.

Sunday morning arrived even clearer and brighter that Saturday had been, if that was possible. Epic temperatures were being predicted and I really felt for the European visitors that, just weeks before, had been dusting snow off their cars. I had already seen a number of lobster hued folk walking the pits the day before. Africa ain’t for sissies! I bundled the family into the car bright and early and headed out to the track.

The 10:30am race was called. It was already over 30 degrees and windless. At least we would not have to content with the South Easter headwind on the back straight. We would start according to the previous days placing. I though this would mean the back of the grid for me, but I had been unaware of some of the carnage during race 1, leaving me with around four APV’s and the BMW, which had somehow been revived from it’s fiery doom, behind me.

Turn 1 was going to be a hoot.

Turn 1 was a hoot, I let the APV’s and BMW go and then dragged up to turn 2 with a Nardini that had also come out to play. I surrendered the corner deciding discretion and cold tyres being the better part of valour and having to fix a new car. Things settled down from there on with the Nardini disappearing into the distance (as he should) and me maintaining the somewhat considerable gap between myself and Ant who was having a ding dong battle with some Porsches. The car was feeling really good and I was finally getting the hang of the handling. I think I actually hit a couple of apexes for a change. The only real excitement of the race was when I met Ant’s Type 5 parked on the edge of turn 2 missing a rear wheel. He had broken a wheel stud leading to the failure of the rest of the studs and the subsequent parting of car and wheel. Luckily there was not serious damage to either car or driver.

All too quickly the race was over and we where back in the pits. Again the car had performed flawlessly and I had managed to squeeze in a couple of 1:26 laps, the best of which was a 1:26.059 topping out at 213km/h on the back straight. Oh so close to breaking into the 1:25’s. The car should be capable of doing 1:23’s in the right hands so plenty of room to grow. I changed out of my rather soggy race kit and headed off to Wesbank Corner to join the family for the Springbok Series 45 min endurance race during which not one, but two cars caught fire. It was really hot.

The temperature was now well into the high 30’s and we high tailed it to the relative cool of the club house for some lunch and cool drinks.

The last race of the day was called so I donned my sweat suit and headed for pit row. Ant had managed to re-attach his rear wheel and joined the line up, but a number of drivers had decided call it quits and watch the race rather. The by now familiar warm up/form up/sprint for turn 1 ensued and I tried valiantly to stay with Ant as he progressively became smaller ahead of me. It was just too hot to concentrate so, while the car was up to the conditions, sadly the driver was not. I was almost relived to see the chequered flag call an end to my sauté session.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend of racing. We had managed to start and finish all three of the races run over some of the hottest conditions Killarney had seen in quite some time. Rumour has it that track surface temperatures on Sunday hit a dizzy 60 degrees. Still, Ant and myself ending up 8^th and 9^th respectively out of a starting field of some 30 odd cars, not bad considering the field. Granted only 16 cars finished the last race, but therein lies the story. Both Harpers had started the weekend and both had finished.

The T6 had performed incredibly when you consider that it had competed a mere 30 laps in testing up to this point. The important measures of oil pressure and water temperature had maintained throughout the weekend and nothing had broken or fallen off. This was indeed a testimony to the design and build quality of the cars. It was truly a pleasure to pack my race kit into the same car I had been thrashing around the track the whole weekend and then drive it home. 

It’s the Harper way – Drive it to the track, race it and drive it home again.

Road tripping

I spent some of the holiday finishing up the interior. While this was going to be a road going car  it was also going to race. Creature comforts would be kept to a minimum. I opted to clad the aluminium interior panels with 2mm think rubber sheeting as this not only suited the stealth look, but helped with sound deadening and was easy to clean. A couple of days and a couple of glue induced headaches later the interior was done.

The Tillett seats had really turned out to be a good choice.

Now that the car was home and I was working on the interior I had the occasion to sit in the new Tillett seats for extended periods. The choice was turning out to be a good one. While the seats have no padding as such they are exceptionally well designed complete with ridge indent for your spine and set back headrest to accommodate a helmet. Very comfy and definitely worth the outlay in my mind. Time will tell if they remain comfy after a long trip.

View of the working environment 

Passenger side

Just short of the shift gate now and all is done

 January rolled on and the dyno opened again for business. This was the last step needed before a full blown road test. A slot was duly booked and we headed down to Mace to see what the 4.0l V8 could be convinced to produce.

We were running the locally produced Spitronics engine management system. Spitronics make a "package" specifically for the Lexus V8 and you get everything you need to get one going including the wiring and chopper wheel. All that is then needed is for the engine to be finally mapped on the dyno. Herman set things up, jumped into the car and gave it horns. Seconds later clouds of steam appeared from the front of a car and things where brought to a hasty halt. Investigations showed nothing more serious then a loose hose clamp on the front radiator pipe. This was sorted out, system was bled and act two kicked off. 

Herman did a number of runs getting progressively better figures until we settled on a very decent 205kw and 391Nm of torque at the flywheel.  The power curve was almost like a straight line rising diagonally across the plot while the torque curve was like a straight line across the plot. There was a slight peak in the torque curve at around 5800rpm after which it started to drop slightly. All good stuff. Considering the sub 900kg weight of the car this was going to be quite a fun drive.

Now it was really time for said fun drive to take place.

On the chosen saturday morning the weather was fantastic, howling South Easter aside, as three Harpers set out towards Stellenbosch on the N2. We had Craig in his own Type 5 (the original Type 5 now with over 30,000km on the clock) and Ant Cocks in his 2.0l turbo powered Type 5 for company. The trio of cars cut a fine spectacle on the N2 highway as we played Top Gear to allow photographs and video to be taken.

First impressions of the Type 6 where excellent.

The car is very civilised and easy to drive at low speed. Although it sports a 5 puck racing clutch, the weight of the car (or rather lack there of) makes pulling off very easy. First gear is a little short and hardly required given all the torque the engine has at low revs. Trundling around in traffic is a no fuss affair with no driveline shunt or bucking bronco antics often associated with lightweight, high power cars.

We lead the string of Harpers down the N2 towards Spier wine farm checking engine vitals as we went and pulled over at the petrol station for a chat. The car is rock solid at highway speeds and was virtually unaffected by the howling side wind. The quick steering rack fitted to the car makes for very precise handling without it being nervous. Its very comfortable driving down the N2 with an elbow on the side pod and a couple of fingers hooked into the steering wheel. You don’t have to work too hard to drive the car, which is a “good thing”.

Once all vitals were checked and confirmed at the stop we set off again out over the N1 and onto some lesser used roads behind Bellville. Here we did a couple of rolling runs in successive gears to get a feel for the torque and acceleration. This was the first time the Type 6 had seen some decent “wellie”. 

The acceleration is, how shall we say, startling! Third gear is the most impressive. Planting the right foot from around 40km/h in third results in a little squirm at the rear and ballistic acceleration. The Lexus V8, with it’s 390Nm of torque, is designed to lug an almost two ton car around. So, plugged into a chassis weighing quite a bit less than half that results in furious and relentless pace. The rev limiter intrudes awfully quickly and snatching fourth just produces more of the same. Even a planted foot in fifth gear produces a surge more familiar to superbike riders than car owners. All the while your ears are been treated to a heavenly V8 soundtrack.

Impressive as the engine’s power and torque is, what’s possibly even more impressive is the car’s road manners during these antics. Under hard acceleration the car always tracked dead straight and pulled up as if on tracks under hard breaking. There was no lurching or diving just a good solid feeling with excellent feedback through both the wheel and seat. You get the distinct feeling that, while the engine would love to rip your head off and pee down your neck, the chassis has everything under control and is totally unfussed by the raging caged beast in it’s belly.

All in all, Craig has created a very evenly balanced car that manages to combine brutal, if slightly terrifying, performance, unique looks and an everyday usability aspect all wrapped up in a package that tends to attract quite a bit of attention regardless of where you happen to be.

The trip was over all too soon and by the time we arrived home we had done some 150km. The car is great fun to dive, and nowhere near as scary in traffic as my Lotus had been. It's bigger and wider and other road users tend to see you more easily.

But you find yourself giggling like a girl every time you just so much as nudge the throttle. I think I’m in love with third gear.