Ed rides again!

[Iancider]

Well I had the great pleasure of sharing an afternoon with Ed at the Combe today and what fun we had.  I've got some pictures for you below but some of it just could not be captured - like the stair-rod rain-storm at 13:00 as I arrived,  the VERY exciting and skittish drive around in the puddles, and then a few laps later the spectacle of a hot steaming track that looked like something out of a Hollywood special effect.

The most interesting laps were on a track that was very wet on one side and bone dry on the other - I learnt a lot about rapid correction there! 

And then it all changed - bright sun, the dry track became a bone dry track and we put the slicks on - wow what a change! Ed could now let rip and he did too.  The car was very imprerssive and LOUD.  Even with my helmet on I felt an earplug on the engine amplifier side would have been good.   

When Ed felt I was fully braced, he piled on the G forces and gave me quite a physical workout just staying in the seat.

This is just after the Great Storm.

And Ed feeds the hungry Beast

After our first exciting run on the puddled track - the car was pretty hot but the oil cooler did its job

We wanted to joust with this track-king but it went up and down on its airjacks and changed its wheels a few times but we didn't see it on the track!





Then when the track was drying Ed felt there was something wrong and he was lacking at least 10mph on the straights - it turned out to be the rear brakes partially locked-on.  So the wheels came off to investigate and he changed the pads back to older worn ones.




But the brakes were still locked-on


But Ed was eagle-eyed and spotted this little critter -a stone smaller than a pea stuck under the brake adjuster


Problem solved - out we went again and more than regained the 10mph .  Passing up Quarry it was as much as I could do to to keep my head straight in the wind and to prevent my chin hitting my chest in the dip but I think I glimpsed
125 mph

The last laps were the best and the fastest - I know one was faster than the previous record but my eyes could not focus long enough on the gauges. 

On our final lap something made an odd noise and there was a mild thump and up came a warning light just 1/4 mile from the exit lane -oops, recovery required
In the pits we found an overflow from the oil catcher but it wasn't anything to do with that - Any guesses what this is?


Well its not easy - that is all that reamins of a fanbelt!


So all well that ends well - nothing too serious.
Thanks for a great day Ed.

[Lucky Ed]

I'm pleased you enjoyed your afternoon, it was quite eventful really, but things never run that smoothly on my track days

I feel like I've had a workout too, my arms are pumped tonight

[Pilgrim Anna]

Thanks for sharing the pics! Wow 125mph, don't think I could handle that speed. Too much of an  adrenaline rush for me LOL

[benchmark51]

Well its not easy - that is all that reamins of a fanbelt!

mmmm, looks pretty worn
Yep, that's definitley an ex fan belt!

[garry h]

Great story and pics