The 2016 has finally kicked off, and for Mansbridge Racing it was a disappointing start.
After a gearbox issue started to appear the night before the first round, a late night before and overnight travelling culminated into a worrying first outing for us.
As it turned out, a gearbox was the least of our worries as Qualifying came round. After just one full lap the car started to overheat and we retired the car. Deja-vous of the final round here last year meant our winter checks and changes hadn't cured the problem.
Thankfully we had the experience of Mike and Sean of Hurley Engineering on hand, who helped try to cure the problem.
Race one saw us start from the back and despite rebleeding the coolant system, the car once again overheated after one lap.
Race two saw us again at the back, and this time we tried eliminating the thermostat completely, but the inevitable still happened after lap two and we retired.
So it turns out from our investigations that a blocked radiator must have contributed to the faulty filler neck and caused last years overheating issue. Now we are going to replace and flush the lot ready for round 3 & 4 at Brands Hatch on 24th April 2016.
The good news is the car felt great, fast and balanced...and thanks to the new gauges, supplied and fitted through Hurley Engineering, we were able to minimise any damage to the engine.
Below is the one video covering both of our very short races, showing a few overtakes as we started to make progress from the back. Enjoy.
Cya at Brands!
Shane #34
After a gearbox issue started to appear the night before the first round, a late night before and overnight travelling culminated into a worrying first outing for us.
As it turned out, a gearbox was the least of our worries as Qualifying came round. After just one full lap the car started to overheat and we retired the car. Deja-vous of the final round here last year meant our winter checks and changes hadn't cured the problem.
Thankfully we had the experience of Mike and Sean of Hurley Engineering on hand, who helped try to cure the problem.
Race one saw us start from the back and despite rebleeding the coolant system, the car once again overheated after one lap.
Race two saw us again at the back, and this time we tried eliminating the thermostat completely, but the inevitable still happened after lap two and we retired.
So it turns out from our investigations that a blocked radiator must have contributed to the faulty filler neck and caused last years overheating issue. Now we are going to replace and flush the lot ready for round 3 & 4 at Brands Hatch on 24th April 2016.
The good news is the car felt great, fast and balanced...and thanks to the new gauges, supplied and fitted through Hurley Engineering, we were able to minimise any damage to the engine.
Below is the one video covering both of our very short races, showing a few overtakes as we started to make progress from the back. Enjoy.
Cya at Brands!
Shane #34