Three Sisters – 7th August

Kevin Bryant

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We (Ian and I) just love the Three Sisters circuit meetings. Simon and David in their more powerful TR7 V8 thought otherwise. It was a single lap, you see, using some of the twistier bits of track. This meant that in the dry the TR3 flowed from one corner into the next with only the occasional short bit of straight to get in the way. I imagine it is somewhat different and frustrating in a TR7 V8...

David Hardcastle says: “Indeed it was. Having driven the "original" course many times in kart races it was a shock to find we were to drive a completely different course, although reading the program might have alerted us to the change had we taken the time to read it (****** paperwork). The TR7 V8 is a very physical car to drive so just working the steering wheel with eight inch front tyres is a real effort on tight twisty courses. There has never been an abundance of grip here and the wet conditions made it particularly perilous, just getting off the start line was very tricky. In the wet I was just concentrating on getting from one end to the other without making a fool of myself but at least I was learning the course and in the drier conditions it was easier to stay on the back stuff but it was almost impossible to get any power down and make it count.

Simon was using third gear a lot which meant he was pulling seven thousand rpm on the straight, which, with the right hand bias on the faster parts of the circuit, was pumping all the engine oil into the top of the engine and starving the hydraulic lifters, causing some worried looks upon returning to the pits as the car came clattering in. I on the other hand was more mindful of the engine and used fourth gear but it hurt my times. It was good to have so many runs but the much shorter down time between them meant you could not wander off for refreshments and our engine was running hot because it had so little time to cool down between runs. Either way we had a thoroughly unsatisfactory day and vowed that although we like the venue we would not to do this ever again if this course was used; the lack of grip and numerous tight corners just made the TR7 V8's power a liability and a waste”.

The day started in the wet and consequently the practice times were all over the place. With only about forty entries we were ready for the timed runs at about 11.00am. I think all the competitors would have preferred it if the organisers had broken for an early lunch as it was still raining but unfortunately they ploughed on with an announcement that we would be going for two timed runs before lunch. Fortunately, good sense broke out and we stopped after just one wet run.

So how much difference does a wet track make? Well in the morning, in the wet, the car never went where I pointed it. I was never on the right bit of tarmac with the car pointing in the right direction. Sometimes I would be in the right place but with the car pointing the wrong way. More often than not I would be in the wrong place with the car pointing the wrong way. Just occasionally I would be in the wrong place with the car pointing the right way. The car was very twitchy, the acceleration non-existent and the wheel spin excessive. OK, Jenson Button and Gerry Marshall can / could drive fast in the wet, but most mere mortals cannot. If you think you might be able to, contact Roger McEwen and join the championship.

Over lunch it stopped raining and started to dry out. We took the opportunity to walk the circuit and find out where the car should be on the track and I visited parts of circuit I had not seen all morning.

What a difference an hour and a bit of summer sunshine can make. Immediately the car was more responsive and well behaved. I could now position the car where I wanted it to be and the times dropped with each run. The dash from the start line round the first open right hander became one smooth slide out to end of the outer kerb at the exit; the hairpin became the very wide and late turn in that almost all the other drivers seemed to ignore; the nightmare that was the Esses became a flowing series of corners; and for the final bend it became a lift only with no braking.

Simon and David’s final runs were their fastest runs of the day with 52.56 and 54.86. Mine and Ian’s were 63.45 and 64.16 with Ian enjoying a big spin over the line on his final run.

Normally that would be the end of the report, but not this time. We loaded the car onto the trailer and made our way back to Ackworth, Ian’s home town. We arrived, unloaded the car and I headed off to Nottingham. About two miles from Ian’s home I slowed for a roundabout using the brakes. Something was wrong. I tested them again. As I broke I lost control of the steering. I crawled back to Ian’s. Up on the jack the problem was clear. Three of the four bolts at the top of the suspension turrets had sheared. Anyone else had that problem before?

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