Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit |
After some great results throughout this season, everyone old and new on the team was excited for the final weekend of the HRDC season where the OUMF Riley 1.5 racer would be competing in the HRDC ‘Touring Greats’ and ‘Allstars’ races. Alongside the racing on the Sunday, the team were invited to visit Halls Garage on Saturday. |
The unexpected news of our invitation to debut the Riley 1.5 racer at the Goodwood Revival took the team very pleasantly by surprise, some time after our return from an astonishing performance on the Ypres Rally in Belgium in the Riley rally car. After all, the Revival is without question one of the most prestigious, exclusive and well-known events in the world of historic and classic motorsport, and it was a tremendous honour, and a privilege, to be asked to compete. It is famous for evoking the atmosphere of racing events back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, as well as attracting some very famous names, and indeed, some very famous cars. Needless to say we couldn’t wait to see our student-built Riley racing on the same track as 250 Ferraris, D-Types, pre-war Alfa Romeos and the cigar- shaped Grand Prix cars of the 60s. |
In the midst of the full time preparation of the OUMF rally Riley for Abingdon Stages and the Ypres Rally, the Summer of Love race weekend at Brands Hatch circuit in Kent snuck upon the OUMF team fast. At the Donington Historic Festival, a number of worrying pieces of steel shim were found in the racers oil after the post-qualifying oil change. Due to the lack of options on the table, and the fact that the engine seemed to be running ok, it was decided to race on, and give the engine a full inspection after the event. It was suspected that the shims could be from behind the timing sprocket, since the front pulley was loose on the crank and may have caused some damage. |
The Donington Historic Festival has fast become one of the most anticipated events of the year, with star-studded grids and three days of nail biting race action. This year was no different and the OUMF boys' hopes were high following on from the teams’ successful first race of the season at Brands Hatch.
Since that first meeting, the Riley’s engine had been equipped with a new Kent camshaft, and been re-tuned on the rolling road at Pitstop, thanks to the generous support of Andy Burns at Kent, and John Yea at British Motor Heritage, and Ralph Saunders respectively. Our excellent new Lifeline control systems were in place, and what tread remained on our tyres had been balanced and deployed on the car to best advantage with the help of Phillips Tyres. We had also fitted a rear anti roll bar for the first time, and the superbly crafted BTB side exit exhaust system had been fitted for the unsilenced Donington Historic Festival.
Since that first meeting, the Riley’s engine had been equipped with a new Kent camshaft, and been re-tuned on the rolling road at Pitstop, thanks to the generous support of Andy Burns at Kent, and John Yea at British Motor Heritage, and Ralph Saunders respectively. Our excellent new Lifeline control systems were in place, and what tread remained on our tyres had been balanced and deployed on the car to best advantage with the help of Phillips Tyres. We had also fitted a rear anti roll bar for the first time, and the superbly crafted BTB side exit exhaust system had been fitted for the unsilenced Donington Historic Festival.
On the hottest weekend of the year so far, everything was looking good at the HQ on Saturday ahead of OUMF's first race of the season. The Riley was running beautifully, and by mid-afternoon all prep was done, bar adjusting the clutch - which appeared to need simply bleeding to fix. However, it didn't respond, and with the help of our new Easyview inspection camera inserted into the bellhousing (what a superb bit of kit!), we were able to see that the inaccessible clutch pivot bush had collapsed. Rather than remove the engine at this late stage to get to it, the team ingeniously adapted a smaller diameter clutch slave cylinder to fit. This gave a heavier pedal, but a longer throw - and proved an excellent temporary fix. This allowed us to leave Oxford later than planned, at 7pm, but to still reach the Rising Sun pub near the circuit in time for food and a good evening before quickly setting up in the Brands Hatch paddock and retiring to bed.
Our 2016 HRDC race season has come to an eventful close, full of many spectacular highs and a few emotional lows, but rounded off with a spectacular finale at the superb Donington Park circuit on October 15th. For the Oxford Universities Motorsport Foundation it was an event that will be remembered well by many a veteran and newcomer to the team, for a long time to come.
Leaving earlier on Friday evening, Ding, Vlad and Jack O’ Connell formed the OUMF ‘vanguard’ and successfully secured a pit garage at the circuit. They dropped off the Riley race car and trailer before rendezvousing with the rest of the team at a great local pub called The Plough, a few minutes from the circuit. Following a hearty meal there, the team of 16, in 4 cars, had very little trouble making the 4 tickets and one car pass go a long way on re-entering the circuit! Our thanks to Dave Constable Berry, Andy Parsons, and Jack Swarbrigg for driving and helping the rest of the team with lifts.
Leaving earlier on Friday evening, Ding, Vlad and Jack O’ Connell formed the OUMF ‘vanguard’ and successfully secured a pit garage at the circuit. They dropped off the Riley race car and trailer before rendezvousing with the rest of the team at a great local pub called The Plough, a few minutes from the circuit. Following a hearty meal there, the team of 16, in 4 cars, had very little trouble making the 4 tickets and one car pass go a long way on re-entering the circuit! Our thanks to Dave Constable Berry, Andy Parsons, and Jack Swarbrigg for driving and helping the rest of the team with lifts.
OUMF races in the HRDC ‘Allstars’ and ‘Touring Greats’ in the Riley 1.5 at Thruxton Circuit
24/9/2016
We had successfully signed on a happy bunch of students by mid-afternoon, so Iury and I ‘wobbled’ over to our idyllic Oxford countryside HQ (aka ‘the barn’) in the back of Dominic’s ‘road racing’ Morris Minor…having hot-wired it to get in going. Safely there, we swiftly completed the race preparations as the rest of the team arrived, loaded the Riley racer onto its aged trailer transport, and packed the van with way more than needed before setting off at 7pm – almost as planned!
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