Martin Galpin | Racing Driver | number66.net

It was a difficult first day. In fact, it wasn’t much of a day at all. After ten laps during the morning session we struggled with a misfire until the clutch failed in the pit-lane. After so much effort, day one ended in disappointment.

On Tuesday we had taken the car to a nearby airfield for a shake down. The car hadn’t moved for over a year and so it made sense to do a basic systems check before we arrived at Brands Hatch. It would also serve as a nice opportunity to get many of the “first times” over with and get a feel for what is new and what is different.

After an hour or so of running up and down the disused runway there didn’t appear to be any major problems. The battery was unable to retain a charge and so needed replacing and we also attributed this as also being the likely cause of a misfire.

Arriving at Brands Hatch for a full days testing the overriding objective was to get comfortable in the car and become familiar with the new environment. The plan was to do a exploratory day on Thursday, one more test during the week of the Festival and then to enter qualifying giving it our best.

We set out for the first session of testing at 0930. Despite a new battery, the curious misfire remained. After a couple of laps I came in searching for a cure and we made a few tweaks with the electronics, switched rotor arm, coil and plug leads, none of which made any difference.

Session two didn’t last very long either. The misfire had moved up the rev band now, from 6200RPM to somewhere around 6600RPM. Sadly, the Swift had had enough for the day and as I selected first gear in the pit lane, the clutch failed. With no spare, and no other FF Kent teams present, reluctantly it was time to go home.

Overall it was a frustrating debut. If I make an effort to draw positives from the day it was encouraging as I felt at home within the car. Whilst seat time is now a priority, it is not intimidating and whilst I still know very little about the ultimate competitiveness of the car, I think I will be able to reach its limit very quickly.

A new clutch will be installed early this week and in the meantime, I need a strategy to get this project back on track.

Related posts:

1. Festival Fever: It’s tomorrow
2. Festival Fever: Review
3. Festival Fever: Looking to Sunday
4. Festival Fever: The beginning.
5. Festival Fever: Get Your Diary