MY TYRES ARE DIRTY, MAKING THE OVERSTEER EVEN MORE DRAMATIC

After a whirlwind start to the season with three race weekends in the space of one month,  we have settled back into the more regular pace of things with a round every three weeks.  Going into Round 4 of the Gulf Radical Cup, the SR8 has been almost totally reliable, the only matter of concern has been the rapid rate at which I have been consuming brake pads. Compared to last year, when the SR3 got through the whole season on two sets of pads and a single set of discs, this year I have needed new front pads after every round in the SR8! I expected the combination of a heavier car arriving at the braking zones at much higher speed to be harder on brakes, but I didn’t think it would be this extreme of a difference.  The other area where wear and tear has been significantly higher is in the area of tyres. I had been hoping to change rubber every other round to reduce costs, particularly as I have had a significant pace advantage over my competitors this season, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way as the SR8 has been chewing up its rears at a much higher clip than I ever experienced in the SR3.  These are minor gripes though, as everything else has worked faultlessly on the SR8 so far. Fingers crossed, I hope that will continue for the rest of the season.

Round 4 saw us racing on the National circuit configuration of the Dubai Autodrome for the first time this year. I had been really looking forward to this as it incorporates the high speed complex that we have so far not competed on this season.  Consisting of a series of 4th and 5th gear corners that allow us to really use the massive downforce of the Radical, it is an exhilarating stretch of race track where you can really feel the G-forces that distinguish these racers from lesser cars.  This weekend my biggest challenge appeared like it would come from former Lumina series champion Tarek Al Gammal, who has been drafted in to replace Cabell Fisher in the Khaleeji motorsport SR8. 

Testing went reasonably well with me finishing at the top of the time sheets for 2 of the 3 sessions, although the SR8 is displaying an overall lack of grip and a very loose rear end.  This is put down to the state of the tyres on the car, which appear to have taken a beating the last time out. The next morning we swap the old rubber for a set of shiny new Dunlops. The difference is incredible; the car is suddenly planted and my morning warm-up time is almost 3-seconds-a-lap quicker than the previous day and well ahead of my rivals. Much to my surprise, though, the grip disappears an hour later in qualifying and I find myself back at the previous day’s pace, struggling badly with a lairy car.  The difference is profound and leaves me scratching my head as I find myself out-qualified by Tarek.  Going into the first race of the day, I overtake him at the start and take the lead. The car continues to oversteer wildly as I struggle to fend him off. Within a couple of laps, though, I settle down and start to pull away from the chasing pack, eventually winning comfortably and setting fastest the lap along the way. Race 2 starts in similar fashion with me pulling out a healthy six-second gap after just four laps. As the car is increasingly twitchy I decide to back the pace off. Bad idea. A few laps later I am stunned to look in my mirrors and see the blue SR8 of John Stanley sitting under my rear wing. In my panic I get on the throttle too early and oversteer badly allowing John to overtake me.  Having gone off line, my tyres are now very dirty, making the oversteer even more dramatic. To make things even worse I am about to lap back markers and there is no sign of a blue flag anywhere.  I am badly held up and by the end of the lap find myself almost the length of the main straight behind John.  I put my head down and give it everything I’ve got and claw back most of his advantage, but unfortunately I run out of laps as I cross the line a second behind, in a highly disappointing second place. A combination of over-confidence and bad luck with traffic has led to me throwing away a sure win.  I am now looking forward to the next round in late January to try and make amends for my cruel defeat.