It was also destined to be a trying weekend, with the NZ Time Attack Series running at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on the Friday and Saturday, and our final of GT Racing New Zealand running at Taupo Motorsport Park on the Saturday and Sunday of Easter Weekend, which meant 3 days of consecutive racing!

After arriving at Hampton Downs on Friday there was a strange whining noise coming from the power steering pump, after a quick bleed from our stand in mechanic, Tony Satherley, we headed out for the first session. Unfortunately after going around the first corner there was essentially no power steering and the car would not turn at all! After some further attempts at bleeding the system it was agreed that we would try and find a replacement pump to resolve the issue, after a few phone calls we managed to get hold of a replacement thanks to Shortty Racing Team in Auckland. This meant a trip up to Auckland to remove the pump from their race car, and a battle back through the Easter traffic.

Time was always going to be tight to make the 3rd and final session of the day and after a valiant effort we unfortunately missed the final session and weren’t able to register a time (given we would be missing the following days racing due to the clash with our other series). Thankfully the series organisers were able to secure us with a quick out and in lap to test whether the power steering pump had resolved our issues. Thankfully the replacement pump did resolve the issue, and a smile quickly came over Stephens face as he felt the newfound power in the very short blast before coming back into the pits. This was obviously a disappointment for the team, who packed up, loaded the car on the trailer and headed for Taupo, arriving late on Friday evening hoping for a better day tomorrow.

The forecast for the weekend was for torrential rain and storms, which the team were excited about given our historically good results in the wet. Unfortunately the experts had got it wrong again and the sun was shining! We were first up on the grid, and on a cold and dirty track we managed to qualify 8th which the team were happy about. The first race on Saturday afternoon quickly rolled around, where Stephen was now able to hold his placing off the rolling start with the new power, and managed to maintain position and finish in 8th place. This race also resulted in a new personal best lap time, which the team were pretty ecstatic about given the Kumho tyres were now completing their 10th event and were certainly no longer giving optimum grip, like when they left the factory! The team is pretty confident of dropping lap times another 1.5-2.0 seconds across all tracks with new rubber on the ground, and are looking forward to further testing!

Sunday dawned as another stunning day, with the first race a reverse split grid handicap, Or in layman’s terms 3 groups starting 15 seconds apart, slowest cars first. We were starting off the 2nd grid of the final group, and after a fantastic launch off the line we managed to carve our way through traffic and only be passed by one fellow competitor and finished in 2nd place. A great result, however our tyres did suffer from this and one had to be replaced with a spare for the final race.

The final race of the season was to be a full reverse grid handicap race that is designed to have all competitors cross the finish line at the same time. Again we were starting towards the back of the field, and managed to make a good start, however quickly got stuck behind some of the slower traffic, and struggled to find opportunities to pass. Eventually however we got past this traffic and were making good progress through the field, unfortunately this success was to be short-lived however as with two laps to go coming onto the front straight the car lost all power. Given the dash displayed no warning lights Stephen assumed that an intercooler hose had popped off and continued for the final two laps in naturally aspirated form to ensure those valuable series points weren’t thrown away. Surprisingly we managed not to finish in last place as the majority of the field went past us! It certainly was a disappointing end to a fairly frustrating season that had its fair share of highs and lows. Some post race investigations are leading towards possible head gasket failure on the car, and a faulty fuel sender giving the team a misleading interpretation of the fuel level (which cuts power if fuel goes below a certain level).

Points were quickly tallied by our team manager Mark Brown-Thomas who confirmed we had finished 6th overall out of 44 competitors within the GT Racing New Zealand series. We also got confirmation that we had finished 3rd overall in the NZ Time Attack series within the Pro Class. The team certainly are pleased with these results given this was the cars maiden season, and we have had numerous issues! The car certainly is an evolving project that still has some issues to work through. We are going to take a short break over winter before getting back into some testing in another couple of months ready for another assault on the Summer Season!

The BT Motorsport team would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of our sponsors, technical partners, supporters, followers, fans and fellow competitors for the ongoing support and encouragement provided to us over the course of the season. Personally as team principal I’d like to extend my thanks to our team manager Mark for always going above and beyond to provide anything the team requires, and team mechanic Tim for always making sure the car is on tune throughout race weekends.

Best Regards
Stephen Brown-Thomas &
The BT Motorsport Team

The benefits of E85 are clear to see, more power and torque everywhere at the same boost, and around 50kw more at 3,500rpm – 4,000rpm and it comes on earlier. The only parameter left to test is fuel consumption!

We’ve also just ordered some new 9″ wide ROTA rims which will hopefully stop our fantastic Kumho tyres from rolling over on the rim and wearing the outer edge as much as they have been.

Whilst the car is at Dtech were also getting the brake ducting tidied up and improved, and looking at installing the rear diffuser that weve had sitting in the shed for a few months to improve aero performance. All in all the car should be in excellent shape for the final round of both NZ Time Attack and GTRNZ over the Easter weekend!

Cheers

The BT Motorsport Team

Saturday dawned and it brought the sun with it! Given the lack of testing the day before with the new wheel alignment we were a little behind the pace and only qualified 9th. We made up for this at the start of the 1st rolling start race by gaining two positions, unfortunately this was short-lived however; as in the 3rd lap we picked something up on the track and promptly got a puncture putting us out of the race, with the DNF robbing us of valuable points.

The weather on Sunday continued in Saturdays footsteps with no rain clouds in site! We had replaced both front tyres with a set of the older spare Kumho slicks we had. Unfortunately the tyres had completed almost a year of racing (testament to the quality and consistency of these tyres!) and were getting quite tired. In hindsight we probably should have put the replacement tyres on the rear of the car, as during the 2nd race we suffered from quite bad understeer slowing us down which meant we didn’t quite gain the places we should have in the handicap race and ended up finishing in 12th place.

Lesson learned we promptly changed the tyres front to back for the final race, and the difference was immediately noticeable! However with rear grip decreased now the rear brakes were locking up which led to a couple of interesting moments, like this:

Half way through the race a safety car was despatched as a car had gone off in a dangerous position, this unfortunately meant that the field became bunched effectively taking the handicap formulas out of the equation! Once the flag dropped on the restart it was all go and we managed to pass two cars through the first corner and put some space back to the faster cars. Unfortunately time ran out and we did get passed by a couple of the faster cars in the last laps and crossed the line in 5th position.

Luck clearly didn’t go our way this weekend, with our worst points tally to date from all 6 rounds. The poor performance has dropped us back to 6th in the overall points, however there is one saving grace in that we can drop our worst points round effectively making it a 6 round series. This of course all depends on the final round going our way at Easter!

The car is going back to Dtech Motorsport shortly for some further works to provide additional cooling, which will allow for more power, and to try and resolve our electronic differential issue by tuning this via the Link ECU. Hopefully these works will put us in good stead for the final round.

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

Like at the NZ Time Attack event our lower HP car was never going to suit Pukekohe, however we were able to qualify mid pack of a 25 car field, and finish the first race in a similar position. Thankfully Sunday dawned and brought the rain with it, equallying the field for us! We managed to get up to 2nd place in the second race, and lapped cars in the process! We have never raced in such torrential conditions, and relying on rain lights at 220km/h + down the back straight in these conditions was certainly a new experience for us!

The weather for the third and final race improved, however our windscreen managed to fog up seriously limiting visibility. This combined with a pit lane start, a lap down on the first car was always going to make the race a challenge! Unfortunately there was an administrative error in the handicapping and the final result was a disappointing 11th. After the 4th round we were sitting 5th in the championship, which the BT Motorsport team are extremely happy with given the numerous teething issues we have been having with the car.

After the 4th round of the IRC series we were straight back to Taupo Motorsport Park for the 2nd round of the NZ Time Attack Series. Track conditions on Friday were challenging, with the team struggling to put our limited power to the ground. After playing with setup on Friday we managed to get down to a 1:17.461 which was good enough for 3rd in Pro, and 4th overall.

Regrettably on the first session on Saturday about half way into the lap the oil filter failed and the motor lost all oil pressure instantly. Due to a software error within the computer the engine ran a few hundredths of a second longer than it should have before cutting out due to the oil pressure loss. Obviously nerves were high for the team given the previous piston issue and the high km’s that this standard engine had suffered during its life! After a quick oil and filter change it appeared that the motor hadn’t run the bearings which was a positive sign! However there was a significant clean up required which put us out of contention for the rest of the competition. Luckily our average performance from the day before was enough to secure 3rd place on the podium in pro class.

The festive season gave the team a welcome break from the back to back schedule, and catch up on some regular maintenance on the car. Time moved quickly however and we have just returned from Round 5 of the IRC Summer of Thunder Tour at Taupo Motorsport Park.

Despite a few of the teething issues still rearing there head (notwithstanding measures taken to improve them!), and a new driveline issue the team managed a consistent weekend with 6th, 5th, 4th and 6th place finishes. We’ve now got 3 weeks before the 6th round of the IRC series and hopefully we will be able to resolve the last few remaining issues, and take care of the new driveline issue we have been experiencing.

As of right now we are sitting in 5th place in the championship, we are extremely pleased with the results to date considering the continual issues we have been having (which is to be expected with a new car), and with two rounds left in the series anything could happen!

We are also pleased to announce that we were able to raise $366 for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust in our fundraising promotion in late 2011, and will be looking at other ways in which we can contribute to this invaluable organisation.

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

“Taranaki is a dynamic and diverse area with the region’s new brand defining Taranaki as ‘like no other’ reflecting this unique quality. This blend of natural beauty, attractions and activities offers something for everyone, all year round. But when accident or medical emergencies happen, the attractions of the province can become major hurdles for emergency services. The availability of a helicopter allows large areas of the Taranaki district (and beyond if necessary) to be reached without delay, facilitating rescue operations and ensuring the sick or injured get the right medical attention at the right time.”

www.trht.org.nz

We are kickstarting this association with a fundraising drive, with the help and support of our major component supplier Roger Clark Motorsport. RCM have kindly donated a scale model of their Time Attack winning car the ‘Gobstopper’ signed by proprietor and driver Olly Clark. Olly stormed to 3 consectuitve ‘Ten of the best’ wins between 2007 and 2009, plus two Time Attack Championships in 2008 and 2009 driving the ‘Gobstopper’, possibly the most extreme and exciting modified car ever built in the UK. Aptly named as it silenced all critics with its performance. With a limited edition of 1,000 units being produced this model will become timeless like the ‘Gobstopper’ itself.

The highest bidder on the signed model will also get the opportunity to join BT Motorsport in a hot laps session at Hampton Downs raceway on the 6th of April 2012 at the penultimate round of the NZ Time Attack series.

All proceeds from this fundraising initiative will go to the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust.

On an ongoing basis a percentage of any sponsorship funds received by BT Motorsport will be donated to the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust, as well as ongoing donations for future campaigns and activities.

You can join BT Motorsport in this fundraising campaign for this invaluable cause, by bidding on the auction HERE

You can also make donations direct to the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter Trust HERE

Kind Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

The NZ Time Attack series is a new initiative being run in conjunction with the D1NZ National Drift Series, which has an almost cult like following of loyal supporters. BT Motorsport were pleased to see that both competitors and spectators alike were embracing the new series and curious of the new cars on the scene, a positive sign for the future of Time Attack racing in NZ, which is extremely popular worldwide.

It has been around 18 months since BT Motorsport has been to Pukekohe Motorsport Park, which is an extremely fast and bumpy circuit which favours the brave. During the Friday practice sessions we were able to re-familiarise ourselves with the track and adjust the setup of the new car to suit. We were relatively happy with the setup of the car, only wishing for some more power as we were around 100kw down on the next least powerful car!!! With around 70% of the track being straights this obviously wasn’t going to suit us too well at all!

Saturday dawned and the weather was overcast with a few dribbles of rain… we were hoping for poor weather which would have favoured our lower HP car. Unfortunately the weather cleared and the sun came out. Running in conjunction with drifters meant that the track was fairly dirty, with a lot of rubber being picked up on our tyres. We made the decision to bolt on our new set of tyres and give it a decent crack!

We managed to pull just on 2 seconds out of our practice times, down to a 1.06.185 which we were extremely happy with, and which was good enough for 2^nd in class overall! With a bit more bravery we are confident that another second could be pulled out of this time… which we will try and find out this coming weekend when we return to Pukekohe for the 4^th round of our Summer of Thunder tour!

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

Photos courtesy of MGN Inc and KAZ Photography

We had changed the spring set up in the car to make it much harder which we had hoped would assist with the handling issues we had at the first round. Initial feeling was much better; however the car kept pouring oil out of the breathers which made it impossible to do more than a lap at race pace before oil would overflow onto the front tyres. Once back at the Dtech Motorsport workshop the oil problem became apparent… there was a cracked ringland on one of the pistons which was allowing oil to get past (and effecting performance, and a time bomb for further catastrophic damage!).

This lead to a frantic piston change in the few days before the second round of the series, with thanks to chief engineer and tuner Dave Heerdegen @ Dtech Motorsport and our mechanic Tim Robinson for the few late nights in turning the car around ready to make the grid come Saturday.

We were then able to use the race meeting as a further test session to develop the car, as it became apparent that the handling issues still weren’t fully resolved. We were able to compete and consistently finished mid pack in all races, except the first race which we had to DNF due to the windscreen fogging up.  This was unfortunate and disappointing after all of the hard work during the off season to build the new car, but comes with the territory when the car is untested, and in its maiden season.

A few suspension and wheel alignment settings were altered in the 3 weeks before the third round @ Hampton Downs Motorsport Park which we were confident would resolve our handling issues. Unfortunately when we got to the track for testing it was apparent that the handling still wasn’t where we wanted it to be, and that we weren’t using all of the brilliant and consistent Kumho tyres.

A quick trip to nearby Auckland and we returned with an uprated 27mm Whiteline rear swaybar to replace the 24mm rear bar on the car. Unfortunately we ran out of time to complete any further testing however we were confident that this solution would work.

Fortunately our suspicions were correct and the new rear bar completely transformed the balance of the car, and the handling was now exactly where we wanted it to be! Unfortunately the joy of the team was short-lived as we came across another issue which was sapping us of valuable power! Data logs were showing inlet air temperatures reaching a peak of 76 degrees Celsius, which is significantly over the 35 – 45 degrees expected! This was pulling timing out of the motor, and robbing us of around 40kw or 17% of our meagre power! A few phone calls later, and more trips to Auckland and we had our hands on a standard intercooler as a temporary solution to the issues. Luckily this solution worked and was implemented for the last race, which we promptly won!!! We also managed to go only 0.6 seconds slower than the old car around the circuit in the final race, which is extremely promising of future potential given this car is significantly down on power at present. We were also taken by the consistency of the Kumho tyres, with most laps within 0.4 seconds of each other, even with traffic across the course of the weekend.  

We are now quite excited about the future of this car, once we put a decent engine and cooling package into the car, and some wider wheels and Kumho rubber we are confident that lap times will tumble even further! It might not all happen this season, but it will certainly happen!

Surprisingly however with the consistency that we have been running we are 7^th overall in the championship out of 27 competitors. This does bode well with another 4 rounds of the series to run and our worst round being dropped from the point’s total. We have set ourselves a goal of a top 6 finish and we are confident that we can achieve this result.

The next round is the ever popular Thunder In The Park meeting at Pukekohe Raceway on the first weekend of December. This is a very high speed track which doesn’t suit our lower power car, but we will certainly give it our all!

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

We were plagued in qualifying with power steering issues, which meant we were well off the pace. Thankfully this was an easy fix of just changing the fluid. This allowed us the first race to actually get a feel for the car, and it’s potential. Unfortunately the median setup we had opted for was resulting in rather poor handling meaning we were still off the pace, which resulted in a median final placing in the first race!

This was a good opportunity for us to adjust the setup for the second race to see how the changes affected the cars handling, unfortunately the race ended up being in the wet which made it rather difficult to compare any changes we had made! Fortunately though given we were one of only a few 4WD cars in the field we were able to be competitive in this race despite the poor setup and managed a 3rd place outright.

For the 3rd and final race we took the suspension setup to the utmost extreme to try and get a real feel for the adjustment range and effect it would have on the car and its handling. The changes certainly improved the handling however further work was needed to make the car competitive and get back to where we were last season. Unfortunately our competition has quite a head start on us, and a lot of them are already 1.5 – 2.0 seconds a lap quicker than last year! The BT Motorsport team are going to work hard on improving the setup on the car to ensure we can be a contender for the championship this season, fortunately the championship allows for your worst round to be dropped from your total points tally.

The car is now back in the Dtech Motorsport workshop with another list of amendments to be made, before our first test session at Taupo Motorsport Park in a fortnight, giving us a further week before the second round of the season to make any further changes. We have already learnt a lot about the new car, and what changes we need to make to ensure it is competitive.

On a very positive note the car received exceptional attention and exposure thanks to the fantastic graphic scheme by Sign Fusion, with a number of comments received throughout the weekend. Further exposure opportunities are currently being pursued by the BT Motorsport team, and we will keep you all updated in this regard.

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

The car will then be transported to Dtech Motorsport in Tauranga where the talented team will start work on a new loom, integrated fire extinguisher system, fabrication of new interior panels, and taking as much weight out of the car as they can. They will then install all of the new components, set up the new chassis and suspension, and tune the car based on the new setup.

We also have some exciting new bodywork changes to make to the car, which need to be fitted into this busy schedule somewhere as well before the new season kicks off on the 2nd and 3rd of October!

Our brilliant graphic/signage partner Carl at Sign Fusion is working on a new and improved visual scheme for the car as well, ensuring a new and fresh look.

We will continue to keep you updated with the build-up to the new season, and progress on the new project. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to the new (and hopefully more successful!) season.

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team

Following on from our last update, it was decided after pulling the car apart after the ITM400 that it would be quicker and more economical to buy a new vehicle and transfer any salvageable components from the current car across to a new shell. On the back of this, and thanks to fellow competitor and all round good guy Kester Olivecrona @ Automotive Direct, in Fielding, BT Motorsport has purchased a 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Spec C.

We will start work on this car in the near future, stripping and prepping it for a more extensive and lighter roll cage, and start transferring various components across from our previous Spec C, and accumulating new parts to ensure the vehicle will be ready for racing later on in 2011.

Watch this space!

Best Regards

The BT Motorsport Team