Nigel's class 2 Nissan Micra.
Nigel bought this Nissan Micra from Wayne Field mid way through the 2009 season, and is a newcomer to Autograss racing.
Nigel and Caroline have had some good results from the Micra in their first season of Class 2, including some wins. The engine is one of the sweetest sounding out there. We did help a little bit with a fueling problem, and setting the cam timing at the meeting.
Nigel was also brave enough to let Heidi have a go ( pictured above ), and she was running out front until running wide after a very wild moment, and losing the lead, but still finished third.
We have been asked to pull down the engine and check it. We will also refit it and rewire the car to ensure a trouble free season.
Nigel is re-shelling the Micra for 2010, and Caroline will again be sharing the car. While the engine and gearbox are waiting for the new shell, we will strip it down and have a look, make sure it is ready to do another season without any problems. We want to extract some more power, but need to check the new rule book first, to make sure it remains legal. Nigel finished 3rd in the championship, which is very impressive in his first season on racing.
Due to a car being declared illegal, Nigel was elevated to 2nd place in the Class 2 championship, and won the best Newcomer trophy. A very good result considering just how brutal the Class 2 field is. This shows how important it is to have the car completely within the rules in these restricted classes.
The rebuild begins!
A very sad looking lump in the trailer, but this is a very quick motor
Engine on the bench, the before picture!
Engine and gearbox reunited and almost done! The (almost done) after picture!
Engine now ready to be fitted. Just waiting for a new K&N filter to arrive!
Nigel has sent a few pictures of the new car build.........
The end of the 3 door micra...
This fell out of the front bit...
The engine bay of the outgoing Micra....
Nigel and the new 5 door Micra.
Nearly finished, just waiting for the gold alloys, and the stickers!!
Engine refit is progressing nicely
A nice big, open engine bay makes this task much easier than most cars.
A nice big, open engine bay makes this task much easier than most cars.
Before the dash is made..........
And now we have switches and gauges...
And a steering wheel!!
The car is now ready to do battle in the 2010 season, and Nigel is
aiming at the top spot after finishing 2nd in his
rookie year.
Should be an interesting season!!
Nigel
would like to give thanks to .......Mum and Ray for fixing and sorting
the seat........Wayne and Mark for their help on many occasions, and
especially to Caroline for keeping us supplied with sandwiches and
coffee.
Also thanks to JRE for sorting the car.
Also thanks to JRE for sorting the car.
More to follow when the racing starts.
South Somerset 11th April 2010Cool dry conditions for the first meeting of the season at Highbridge.
Nigel
gets a 2nd and a 4th in the heats and comes in 4th in the final. These
results don't really show just how hard Nigel raced, even driving past
the marshalls post on the wrong side after getting a nudge in the top
corner.
Caroline gets 4th and 2nd in the heats and 2nd in the final. Very good results for her first race in the new car!
Wessex Raceway 25th April 2010
Dry and overcast in the morning, constant rain showers after lunch.
Nigel gets 4th place in both heats, and then the clutch breaks and thats the end of racing for today.
Caroline
gets 3rd in both heats and due to the bust clutch can't get out for the
final. Car is now in the workshop to see what caused the failure!
Wessex 09th May 2010
Dry and cloudy with a cold north wind blowing. Good weather for keeping engine power high.
Nigel scores a 3rd and a 4th in the heats and is 6th in the final.
Caroline wins both of the ladies class 2 heats but gets some tyres jammed under the car in the final .
We
are now developing a manifold and big SU carb for the Micra, to see if
we can get some more air into the engine and produce more power. A trip
to the rollers at Sigma on friday should let us know if we have any improvement.
Nice and shiny!
Off
to the rolling road to see what improvements we have made.
I think this refers to the driver!
Here it is at Sigma Engineering to have the fuel and timing set up.
And then it's run up to 6500 rpm in 3rd gear to see how many horses it has. The noise is frightening!
After
3 or 4 runs with some minor teaks to the needle between runs, we now
have 76bhp at 6500 rpm and 76 ft/lbs of torque from 3000 rpm. Not bad
for a standard 1235cc Micra !
Sunday will show if it's now quick enough to win.
Race day 23rd May 2010
Very hot and dusty.
Heat 1 and the Micra is much faster, and the 4th place does not show the true potential of the car.
Heat
2, Nigel is on the outside lane at the start and thinks he is last
into the top bend but turns in and hits a Corsa who was last.
The impact breaks the new inlet manifold, causes a leak in the radiator and bends the lower wishbone.
Day over and a trip back to the workshop to put it all back together!
It's all sorted now, and we wait for the next meeting.
Follow Nigel and Carolines progress on the race day pages!!
Final positions for 2010.
Nigel, 2nd place in the Southern League, and also 2nd in the Wessex club championship.
Caroline is 1st in ladies Class 2 for Club and League.
Two very nice trophies, a good season for WS70!
The
engine was stripped and checked at post season scrutineering, and now
has to reassembled with a few extra little tweeks to gain a bit more
power.
Off to the rollers, but first a few mods needed.
The Micra gets put through some severe stress, but the results are good.
First meeting March 20th.