On the timetable it was shown that our qualifying was on Sunday morning and practice was on Saturday afternoon.  We were told it was the opposite prior to going on track on Saturday.

Saturday Qualifying and we were only allowed to do three flying laps as we had radio problems.  Before we completed our first flying lap, the red flags were out and the session stopped as there was an incident involving Julian Arnold (#3) and Tony Mumford (#7).  It happened on the opposite side to the pit-lane and so we couldn’t see what happened.  From what I heard, the #7 truck spun on a corner and the #3 truck couldn’t avoid a collision.  Julian Arnold is ok and he continued to race on Sunday.  Tony Mumford suffered a dislocated shoulder and will not be able to race for six weeks which means he will not be racing at the season’s finale at Brands Hatch in three weeks time.  It took approximately 25 minutes for the marshals to clear the track and the session then continued.  Richard’s fastest lap was 1:09:104 on his last flying lap available.  Richard said that the front end of the truck was pushing and so we decided to do some setup work on the front end after qualifying.  End of the session and Richard was having trouble starting the #24 truck so we decided to charge the battery overnight.  We also found we have a clutch problem as well and it was all sorted by 2am on Sunday morning.  Thanks to Poodles (#54) for his assistance and especially the whole Michael Smith’s team (#93) for their help and for us to borrow their equipment.

Sunday morning and I woke up at 7am to do the normal checks on the #24 pickup truck as we had to get ready for practice just after 9am. 

Sunday Practice and Chris Dawkins (#10) and Lee Rogers (#69) missed this session.  Richard’s fastest lap was 1:07:099.  A big improvement to Saturday qualifying time.  Richard was saying that the front end of the pickup truck is better but can still be improved.  After practice Richard was having problems starting the pickup truck again.  As there is only a short time before Race 1 we decided to concentrate on the setup work and leave the starter motor problems until after Race 1.

Sunday Race 1 and Richard started 4th and finished 13th.  Richard was keeping up with the leaders until lap 3 where he was 3.5 seconds slower than the previous lap and got dropped down to 14th place.  He gained back a place on lap 6 where he overtook Neil Tressler (#37).  Richard’s fastest lap was 1:07:177.  After the race we had the starter motor problems again and this time we had enough time to change the starter motor and the battery.  Thanks to Tony Mumford (#7) for his battery.  Richard also complained that the #24 truck is now not totally balanced and so we altered the setup again to reach that sweet spot.

Sunday Race 2 and Richard was on pole position.  He got a good start and like Race 1 he lost a lot of places on lap 3 down to 11th place but this time Richard only lost 0.7 seconds from the previous lap.  Richard would battle the rest of the race with Julian Arnold (#3) and Chris Dawkins (#10).  Richard finished 11th with a fastest lap of 1:07:180 with Michael Smith (#93) beating Richard at the finish line in 10th position.  After the race has ended, Paul Saunders (#26) received a penalty and was penalised 25 seconds and this put Richard into 10th place in the final results of Race 2.

In the end, we survived an incident-packed weekend and Congratulations to Gavin Seager (#54) who now has won both the Oval and the Overall 2008 Pickup Truck Championship.

Many thanks to the following teams for their help:-

#3 Julian Arnold

#7 Tony Mumford

#9 Pete Wilkinson

#10 Chris Dawkins

#26 Paul Saunders

#54 Gavin Seager

#63 Phil White

#69 Lee Rogers

And a special thank you for everyone at Michal Smith’s team (#93) for everything and sorry for waking you guys up on Sunday.

See you all at the season’s finale at Brands Hatch on weekend beginning 31st October 2008.

Yung

Mechanic

Friday morning when I got there, we had to put all the small parts back on the pickup truck as the paint was still drying on its way to Brands Hatch.  We tweaked around with the clutch all day as we were continuing to put things back on.  Only had half the decals on the pickup truck before Friday practice began. 

End of practice Richard was 13th fastest and just over 2 seconds slower than the fastest pace setter that was Gavin Seager (#54).  Richard was pushing on all the left corners and was spinning the inner wheel on Clearways.  The fan motor was also loose as one of the bolts holding it in place was missing.  Got it tightened as soon as the pickup truck got back in the paddock.

Friday night we done some setup work on the rear to improve traction on Clearways and on Saturday morning we altered some of the settings on the clutch.

Saturday Race 1 and we started in the middle of the pack and was going well until Richard stopped just after Druids.  When the #24 pickup truck got back in the paddock the alternator belt was snapped off along with the cam belt.  As we dismantled the engine head, we found 12 bent valves.  A new engine is required to get the pickup truck back out and running again.  Richard and Chris Millett decided to head back to Bedford to get his old engine from last year while Michael, Chris Stubbs and I get started on removing the rest of the engine from the truck.  Richard and Chris got back to Brands around 9:30pm and we fitted the engine and connected the clutch and gearbox back on by 11:30pm.  We all decided to have a few drinks and relax a bit with Michael Smith’s (#93) team.

Sunday morning came and we refitted all the hoses, wires and cables back on the engine.  Started it up for the first time and a lot of smoke was coming out.  If I remember correctly, that’s what happened when the last time we changed an engine at Rockingham October 2006 so I was hoping all the smoke was normal.  After a while the smoke stopped coming out and the engine was running smoothly.

Sunday Race 2 and the predicted thunderstorms didn’t materialise and all we got was bits of rain now and then.  We were starting last because we changed an engine but we didn’t break any seals as the seal from last year was still on the old engine.  The officials only asked us if we broken any seals which we didn’t.  Richard was battling with Neil Tressler (#37) during the race until Richard reported of clutch problems over the radio which set him back behind the #37 truck.  Richard nearly got pushed off the track by Kelly-Jayne Wells (#21) as he was letting her through but then later on Tony Mumford (#7) got a coming together with the #21 truck and Tony drove back into the pits and retired from the race.  Richard finished the race 16th and behind the #37 truck in the end.  After the race the #24 pickup truck was leaking clutch fluid and so will need to be sorted before the next race at Rockingham at the end of September.

A big thank you to the following teams for helping over the weekend:-

#2 Dave Briggs

#7 Tony Mumford

#9 Pete Wilkinson

#10 Chris Dawkins

#22 Nic Grindrod

#37 Neil Tressler

#54 Gavin Seager

#63 Phil White

#93 Michael Smith

#98 Antony Hawkins

See you all at Rockingham weekend beginning 26th September!

Yung

Mechanic

Matt was back for this weekend as well as Phil Harris.  That makes it a full team for the weekend so whatever that needs doing on the pickup truck, it should be done quickly.  As we unloaded the lorry on Friday night, we had a punctured tyre and also two tyres that was leaking air.  Had to wait until Saturday before Avon arrives at the circuit to sort our tyres out. 

Saturday morning and it was raining although not as heavy as Friday night.  We did some setup work on the back of the pickup truck to improve traction and was ready for Saturday practice.  The rain stopped before we got on track and it was drying up so it was decided to go out on slick tyres.

Saturday Practice and Richard was 12th fastest which included him flying, quite literally, as all four tyres was off the ground and two excursions at Village corner.  There wasn’t a dry line as the pickups went on track and Richard first missed the chicane and hitting a big kerb which made him fly and at Village corner, he went wide off the dryer part of the track and onto the grass both times.  Besides minor bumper damage and a lot of grass, there was no problem so Richard continued after the first excursion at Village corner.  The second happened just before the end of practice so we got it back in the garage.  Work started to check everything since these pickup trucks are designed for racing on the road and not for flying or running on grass.  Everything was good so we were all ready for Sunday Race 1.

Sunday Race 1 and was raining at the start so we went on track with full wet tyres on.  The rain died out during the course of the race and so everyone was going faster.  We was starting 14th out of 17 pickup trucks and we finished 14th.  We was as high as 12th before Richard radioed in saying there was a clutch problem.  After the race, we found that a half-shaft was broken on the right side of the differential so we had to change the whole differential for Race 2.  There wasn’t a problem with the clutch luckily.

Sunday Race 2 and it was dry but cloudy.  Slick tyres were put on the #24 truck and we started 13th.  Richard was battling for 12th place with Tony Mumford (#7), Neil Tressler (#37) and Damien Carr (#14) for most of the race.  That is until the #7 truck got in contact with #14 and ended up in the tyre wall on lap 8 and Richard having a misfire on lap 10.  Finished in 14th place again and it started to rain again after the race.

Looking at the lap times, if there weren’t any problems with the truck, Richard would have finished 12th in both races.  We are currently in 10th place in the overall championship followed closely by Julian Arnold (#3) who is only 10 points behind.  Michael Smith (#93) is 9th with a 85 point gap.

The next race will be at Brands Hatch with the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) on 30th/31st August.

See you there!

Yung

Mechanic

Arrived at the track on Saturday night as all the pickup truck action on track was timetabled for Sunday only.  This means practice and both races squeezed into just the one day.  Decided to do some setup work in preparation for race day and with a few minor mistakes on my part, took a while to complete.  Learnt things the hard way which should help me remember for next time.

Sunday morning came with a few wake-up calls from the airplanes from the Nottingham East Midlands Airport.  They woke me up before my alarm and when I finally got up, me and Chris Stubbs got the truck ready for morning practice.

Richard done 2 flying laps before he suddenly stopped on-track for no reason.  Thoughts of Mondello came to my mind but thankfully it wasn’t.  End of practice and he was classified as 14th fastest out of 19 runners.  Richard got back and he said that there is no throttle so something has broken.  Got the truck in the garage and found that a small bolt in the throttle linkage was snapped off.  It was replaced as well as some extra setup work on the rear of the pickup truck as Richard was saying he had no grip on Coppice corner.  Besides that, the truck was well balanced and we were all looking forward to a good race result.

Race 1 and Richard was starting in 6th place.  He completed 2 flying laps before coming into the pits with a problem again.  This time it was clutch problem so the pickup truck was hastily pushed into the garage and work began to fix the problem.  All completed with an hour to spare thanks to everyone including Richard.  We all had a little break before getting hyped up for Race 2 as there is a good setup but no final result to prove it.

Race 2 was delayed as two BTRA Trucks ended on one another during their race and so everyone in the pickup series was waiting for the marshals to clean up the track.  They took longer than expected and so the remainder of the races on the track, which included us, was reduced by two laps.  Richard was starting second from last and behind us was championship leader Gavin Seager (#54).  We finally got underway and as the green flags came out for the start of Race 2, not a minute later there was yellow flags as three pickup trucks got involved in a incidence on the first corner.  It was Julian Arnold (#3), Michael Smith (#93) and Anthony Hawkins (#98) who all got off on the first corner.  Richard was going good and was as high 12th place until the last lap where he suffered a puncture.  He crossed the line 14th place with the front left tyre going flat.

Overall the weekend was good besides the results.  A top-10 finish is potentially possible in every race if there is a bit of luck with reliability.  Thanks to Matt for his advice and Michael Smith’s team for helping me all the time.

Bring on Thruxton!

Yung

Mechanic

Friday night got to Rockingham and it was raining. New member of the team starting this weekend – Chris Stubbs.  A marshal looking to step up to the challenge to be a mechanic for the team.

Saturday morning came and it was drying but cloudy.  Normal procedures as usual but now showing the procedures to Chris Stubbs because it’s his first time.  Since we have a few more members of the team than Mondello last time out, (see previous blog entry,) there was less work for me and back to my usual routine of being just a mechanic.

For practice, I was hoping the weather to stay dry unlike Mondello and it did.  Although there wasn’t much sun, the good thing was that it didn’t rain.  Richard finished the practice as 4th fastest with a 41.124.  Best result for the season so far.

Race 1 and Rich started 2nd and finished the race 11th.  Got bumped by Nic Grindrod (#22) on the first corner of the first lap and this put Richard behind many places but he got his rhythm back before the yellow flags came out due to Michael Smith (#93) releasing oil on the track.  If Nic didn’t bump Richard, we would probably get another top 10 finishing.  Pete Wilkinson (#9) had engine problems during the race and was replaced with a new one for Race 2.  At the end of Race 1, Richard Novell went his official fastest lap around Rockingham with a 40.630.  There were no major problems with the truck after the race.  Just a small oil leak from the speedy engine.  This season’s engine is a major improvement to the previous year’s engine where it was dogged with mechanical problems all the time.

Race 2 was on Sunday morning just before lunch.  The weather was hot at times when the sun was shining and considerably less windy.  This race was quite eventful as at the end of lap 3 on turn 4, someone put Phil White (#63) into a spin and this caused minor damage to Antony Hawkins (#98) but major damage to John Stant (#18) and Rob Butterfield (#6) as both was facing the wrong way but Stant’s truck was hit heavily by Rob’s truck.  Thankfully, both drivers were fine with no major injuries.  Started Race 2 in 5th place and was 8th for most of the race until the last three laps.  Finished the race in 11th place again.  During the race, Richard and other drivers reported that their pickup truck was pushing during the race so we altered the setup a little for Race 3.

Race 3 on Sunday afternoon and the only missing pickup truck was Tony Mumford (#7).  He’s having mechanical problems with the pickup truck again.  Pickup truck #6 and #18 got repaired and was out on track again for the last race of the weekend.  Richard Novell started 5th again and lead at the end of lap 1 while Pete Wilkinson (#9) retired with a problem with the new engine while John Stant (#18) retired with a mechanical problem later on in the race..  The #24 pickup truck was still pushing in the corners.  Richard finished outside the top 10 again.  This time finished 12th just behind Michael Smith (#93). 

Besides minor oil leak in the engine all weekend, there were no other problems.  Just have to keep changing the setup to coincide with the ever-changing track conditions at Rockingham.  Overall the weekend was good as the most important thing was to finish all the races.  There is definitely a potential of top-10 place finishes in every race when the track is dry.  Lets hope this continues and if not, improves in the next race weekend at Donington with a back-to-back at Thruxton the weekend after.

See you later.

Yung

Mechanic

——————–

Return to the Rock – Chris Millet, Crew Chief

After a brilliant showing at Mondello the RMN team were full of enthusiasm
for this meeting. First things first though and the damage obtained at
Mondello had to be fixed. Richard set about sorting the bodywork and
fitting new dampers to the front, I popped up over the weekend to lend a
hand and between us we set the truck up in a very respectable time. Both
being not only proud how fast it was done but also that we had it exactly
as we wanted it for the race. With a few other long awaited tweaks being
completed this merely added to the confidence we all ready had.

With Yung doing such a fantastic job at Mondello (noticed by much of the
paddock!) and a trial run for a new mechanic Chris, we had a full
compliment to begin our weekend including a stand in Spotter in the form of
Ian. Once again it seemed the weather was against us as the heavens did
their best to wash away Rockingham. On the Saturday morning Chris and Yung
set about checking the truck over in readiness for the first practice.

Saturday Practice

The practice began reasonably well despite Richard and his drafting partner
not managing to leave the pits together, think we need to work on this a
little guys! 
Richard got on with the job in hand and set about putting in some lap times
that would see us reach 7th place. Not being suitably impressed with that,
as our best placing ever, there was more to come. This would not only shock
me but also half the paddock. Richard pops up on the timing screen in 4th,
yes 4th  place!  (I will admit it took me a while to find him as I was
looking a little nearer the bottom, sorry Richard) 
Richard pulled in so we could check the truck over and record our data, a
quick chat about the truck and how amazed we were to be that quick, the
session ended with a final 15 minute stint to make the most of the track
time.

Well with such a positive first run we were all pretty happy. Richard set
about telling anyone who would listen that he was 4th fastest in practice
while we prepped the truck ready for the “Fans Race” later in the day.
A small discussion with Richard about setup and a few minor changes were
made to the truck. It is probably a good time to note here that as a team
we are learning a lot about the truck this year.

Did he mention we were 4th quickest in practice? 

Race 1, Saturday

With the truck working so well Richard was more than happy to be starting
this race at the front of the grid. When the lights turned to green and the
pedal went to the floor I have to admit to being more than a little excited
about the prospect of what this race could bring. Unfortunately what
happened was the beginning of a trend that would persist all weekend.
Richard was doing a fantastic job but the front-runners were carving there
way through the field and when it came to passing Richard we got hung out
on the high line and could do nothing but watch as the line of trucks
passed by! 
This dropped us to 12th but with all due to Richard as soon as we got back
on the line he reeled the pack back in and fought his way back to 8th. As
the race progressed it became apparent that we had the pace to challenge
those in front but alas this wasn’t to last. In the last 8 laps Richard
began to lose pace and with just 3 laps to go we were hustled out of our
prided 8th place and slipped down to 11th, which still isn’t a placing to
be snubbed at especially as in this race Richard chalked up a personnel
best lap time of 40.6!

After a chat with a very sweaty Richard (he reckons he is losing weight!)
it turned out that the truck developed heavy push towards the end of the
race. This coupled with the unfortunate case of being put wide when being
passed is what would hamper our weekend.

Did he mention we were 4th quickest in practice? 

Race 2, Sunday

With another small tweak to the truck to try and dial out some of the push
that developed in race 1 we lined up for the first race of the Sunday. Once
again Richard drove a fantastic race and we settled into the battle that
would see us coming home for a second 11th place of the weekend. Once again
numerous places were lost to being put on the high line as the faster guys
came past and this allowed a much faster decent through the pack than we
believe was deserved. The lap time suggested that the changes we made
didn’t help as a 40.9 was the best Richard achieved. 
Although not one of the most exhilarating races for us a good on track
battle was had by Richard who was thoroughly enjoying being on track and
having the pace to keep with the middle runners.  

So another good finish to be chalked up for RMN Motorsport but a bit more
work to undertaken on the truck to try and find a solution to the ever
present problem of a truck that develops push throughout the race.

Did he mention we were 4th quickest in practice? 

Race 3, Sunday

We lined up 5th for this race and when the race started Richard was looking
feisty and for another shock of the weekend for all emerged in the opening
laps to lead the pack! Although it wasn’t held for long it was yet
another great achievement for the team in what was proving to one of our
best weekends to date at the Rock. Not long into the race and Richard once
again found himself out wide as the faster guys made their way through the
field. This again saw us drop more places than deemed fair until we could
get back in line and resume racing.
There was then to be a frightening experience as an incident happened ahead
that would see trucks being strewn across the circuit. Everyone from every
team held their breath as the field scattered in avoidance and thanks some
purely magical spotting by Ian, where he guided Richard through the scene
in an almost “Day of Thunder” like way. Great thanks goes to Ian here
for keeping us damage free, well apart from some rear damage (thanks Nic)
and some front bumper damage (pushing people round!).
Richard ended up fighting for 10th,11th and 12th the entire race where we
tried our absolute best to help Michael Smith round the circuit until a
unavoidable circumstance with some back markers saw us drop to 12th with to
few laps remaining to claw our way back.

Did he mention we were 4th quickest in practice? 

What we achieved this weekend as a team we are immensely proud and
deservedly so. During the weekend there were 13 trucks covered by just ½ a
second in lap times and Richard proved he had the pace to mix it up with
the majority.
We will continue to tweak the truck to find the ideal setup but all weekend
we ran consistent times and a very credible pace with our fastest lap times
being only a few tenths apart.
There are areas in which we know need to be worked at and the atmosphere in
the team is such that all will strive to make them happen and progress our
march through the pack lifting us from back runners to contenders for low
top 10 finishes.

Chris Millett
Crew Chief

Ps. Also a well done to Yung for his increased ability in keeping the truck
in tip top condition and a well done to Chris for his performance at his
first weekend with RMN Motorsport. Without you guys doing a fantastic job
with the truck I wouldn’t be able to chase Richard for data and decide
what to change. Did he mention we were 4th quickest in practice? 

A big well done I feel also needs to go out to Richard for driving a
faultless weekend, job well done!

The excitement almost turned to despair thought as the engine was delayed
for a few weeks and concerns over which engine to use for Rockingham
mounting.
On the Saturday before however the phone calll came and Richard set off to
pick up our new power plnt which would be hot off the dyno when he arrived!

All that can be said is that the wait was well worth it and the RMN Pick Up
boasts some of the most impressive power and torque figures in the field!

With the engine cooling in the car Richard set off to the workshop where he
would meed the rest of the team to begin the task of making the new engine
feel at home in the Pick Up. This proved to be more of a demanding
challenge than first realized with a whole host of modifications being
required. This delayed our departure to the circuit and after two full days
in the workshop and one rather “robinson” looing alternator bracket later
the truck was loaded and off we set.

Despite the trouble getting the engine into the truck it seems to have
benefited us as the rest of the Pick Up circus spent two days being rained
upon! Content with the knowledge that we were dry and fresh upon entering
the circuit the Truck was unloaded and prepared for the morning practise.

Disaster struck as Richard left to join the others with the clutch decided
it wouldn’t dis-engage and thus rendering the Truck with no drive! Back
into the garage and once again the team had to remove the gearbox (3rd or
4th time this weekend) and investigate why. With the rest of the field
returning from practise (20 mins) the RMN team wre already preparing to
refit the gearbox having deciphered the fault, one to many spacers on the
thruxt bearing. With fault proportioned onto Chris’s shoulders the Truck
was rebult and happily drive returned in readiness for the first race.

Race 1

The weather have been so dismal all weekend it apperared that mother nature
was trying her best to give us a wet race. despite her efforts how ever the
rain stayed away long enough for the race to be declared dry if not a
little damp and 17 trucks thundered round the Rock looking as impressive as
ever. the RMN Pick was running well and due to a faulty water temperature
gauge and our own concerns over the engine it was decided that Richard
should pull in after 5 laps so we could ensure the engine was not over
heating. This unfortunately hindered our race considerably but the overall
result was that the engine was good, Richard being able to stay with the
faster trucks and the Truck only suffered with push.

The first race being out the way we took shelter in the Lorry as mother
nature finally delivered her threat and the heavens opened! With the Truck
checked over and a minor adjustment made to try and cure the push Richard
was bolted into the driving seat as the field made ready for race 2.

Race 2

Our confidence now running a little higher despite the damp conditions it
was decided to try and make the most of our pole position grid place. The
general plan being to allow the faster trucks past, on the inside line, and
then to latch onto the back and be pulled round hoping to pick up a
respectfull placing.

The weather being a major factor in this race and grip levels impossible to
guess from lap to lap, Richard did an outstanding job of running the Truck
at a comfortable pace in 13th and always looking like 11th was possible.
due to the lateness of the day however the full 35 laps were not to be
reached and un-known to us the race was cut to just 15 laps which meant
that the final push for 11th was never acheived.

All in all and despite the problems the team came away happy knowing that
there was more pace to be found in the Truck and we now have an engine that
can keep us on the back bumper of the other Trucks.

Lets just say this is proving to be a great year for RMN Motorsport and the
whole team energized and excited about the remainder of the season!

Chris 
Crew Chief