Fighting 5th… (Race report for Tin Top race at Castle Combe 04/10/2008)

Pat Buss finished in 5th place overall and 4th in class despite a distinct power dissadvantage to the competing cars!

In fact Pat almost never made the start of the race at all! Ten minutes into the morning quaifying session, just as the track was beginning to dry out Pat lost 5th gear and was forced to drive the remainder of the session missing top gear (not ideal on a circuit with such a long flat out section). After qualifying it was all hands to the pumps and after sourcing a replacement gearbox from the very helpfull “Volksmania” who are luckily based just down the road from the circuit. The gearbox was changed by Saxon Motorsport in under two hours and Pat was ready for the afternoon race.

Pat was particularly happy to have qualified 8th on the grid ahead of some much more powerfull cars especially considering the problems already detailed!

The skies were threatening as the cars lined up on the grid for the 40 minute mini-enduro. Indeed Pat was hoping for rain as that would level the playing field a little by negating the power advantage held by cars built to the more open regualtions of this championship. As it was the race started dry with only a light shower making an appearance about two thirds of the way through the race.

Pat got an excellent start and up into Quarry corner for the first time he was challenging the leaders, by lap three however Pat had slipped back a little but was still holding 6th position! Once the the more modified cars got in to their stride however, no matter how hard Pat defended he was fighing a losing battle against cars such as a Honda Civic Type R, Porsche 944, Triumph TR7 V8 and even a Jaguar XJS V12! Indeed Pat had a great battle over the first 15 minutes of the race, with his car being quicker through the corners but his competitors faster down the straights. Positions were swapped merrily between them with not a hint of contact depsite their very close proximity to each other at times!

As fun as the battle was, as soon as the pit window opened 15 minutes in to the race Pat took the wise desision to come in to the pits and change drivers to himself!!! This decision, combined with a very quck pitstop and fast outlaps proved crucial to the out come of the race as it enabled him to jump several cars and put him back into 6th place overall. That was later to become 5th as the Triumph TR7 V8 that Pat had been following closely in the closing stages spun exiting Quarry with only a couple of laps until the flag!

All in all this was a very sucessfull race for Pat and given the pace of his car. Barring any problems for the other cars 5th was the best that he could have achieved!

Roll on next season and more success for Pat Buss…

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One Man Endurance…

On Saturday Ocotber 4th at Castle Combe Circuit Pat Buss will be comepting in the “Tin Tops” series for the first time. This series is run by the Calssic Sports Car Club and is based around a mini enduro format featuring a 30 minute qualifying session followed by a 40 minute race. The series is aimed at madified, production based saloon cars to be shared by two drivers.

Pat will be using the same Golf GTi which he has entered in a couple of rounds of the Golf GTi racing championship this season, run by the ever efficient Saxon Motorsport. Although, as mentioned this series is aimed at two drivers sharing the car, Pat is doing the race on his own. While the car may not be built to the rules of the championship and therefore lacking a bit of pace compared to the front running cars in the series Pat is hoping that with a bit of local knowledge and hopefully a little bit of help from Lady Luck herself that a strong result can be achieved.

Also look out for Pat and his fmaily competing in the “Tour De Combe” cycle race during the lunch break!!! 

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Donnington Park race report 20th July 2008

So to my second foray into the Volkswagen Golf GTi racing championship at Donnington Park on 20^th July 2008.  

Due to time constraints I only had enough time to enable me to undertake 30 minutes of practice around the future home of the British Grand Prix on the Friday prior to the race day. After the 30 minutes of mixed wet and dry running that I had available to learn this challenging but ultimately very flowing and rewarding track I felt that I was reasonably conformable with the circuit. I also felt that I would be able to get on with the business of learning the more intricate details of the circuit during the 20 minute qualifying session on the race day, enough to be able to set some competitive lap times.   

The race day dawned dry and bright, if a little breezy and cold for what was supposed to be the height of the British summer time! In all honesty I wasn’t actually too worried about the weather for the race day, in fact after thoroughly enjoying my first wet running in the car on Friday’s test session I was almost hoping for a little bit of a sprinkling, anyway dry it was to be for qualifying. After some last minute rushing thanks to having to add some extra lead ballast to the car (I did offer to grab a quick circuit burger to ease the hassle) I found myself last in the queue for qualifying, not ideal with 35 other cars on the circuit all trying to set a time! 

I tried very hard to make my way though the field of cars and create enough clear track to enable me to set a good lap time but it was to prove very difficult. I was, therefore not to upset when the times were released to find myself lining up in 8^th (soon to become 7^th thanks to a grid penalty applied to another competitor) on what was a very large and competitive grid full of drivers who have had plenty of time to hone their skills and set ups in their Golf GTi’s.  

Come race time the clouds were beginning to form and I was starting to think that my outside hope of rain might materialise but alas, my rain dance being conducted very badly within the tight confines of my race seat were to no avail! I made a good start, but had to get out of the throttle on the run to Redgate to avoid becoming the filling in the sandwich between by team mate and a fellow competitor. Despite this I held my starting position and followed the lead bunch around for the first lap. On the second lap, despite my best defensive efforts I fell victim to a great slipstream down the main straight and lost a position in to the Goddards chicane. This move would set the pattern for the rest of the race. I was struggling to engage second gear meaning that every time I was slowed up into the chicane in the heat of a battle I was left to attempt to get the car moving in third gear and therefore losing a few car lengths on my competitors down the start and finish straight.  Speaking of competitors from lap two, right the way until the chequered flag I was involved a fantastically close and exciting battle with Jamie Packaham, John Hillon and Luke Schelwitz. There was nothing to choose between us in terms of lap times, however we were all quicker than each other at different points on the circuit. I was struggling through the Goddards chicane and out of Redgate with a car that didn’t appear to have the low end grunt of my rivals out of these third gear corners, however I was able to carry more speed down through the Old Harpin, thus setting myself up nicely for a move into Macleans. Two or three times I was able to pull off passing manoeuvres into Macleans only to loose out again as we exited the chicane. It was a fantastic and very fair dice that ultimately ended with me in 10^th position but with the fastest lap time out of the four of us, which goes to show it could have gone any way. I was not disappointed however, far from it as this had proved to be one of the best battles that I have been involved in. Indeed one memorable moment involved going side by side down through the Craner Curves at around 100mph with Luke Schelwitz, without even the slightest of touches despite being only millimetres apart!  

As at Anglesey I thoroughly enjoyed the racing and was pleased to be able to run very competitively and with more time in the car feel that I would be able to progress right to the sharp end of this championship. There is however a small problem with this point as now due to time and money constraints it looks as if I am going to have to miss the remaining rounds of this series. I am hoping to be able to get out again at the end of the season in the Golf, however this time in an endurance race! As ever more details soon…

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Golf GTi race at Anglesey 8th July 2008 - race report.

After a day spent testing in glorious weather at the spectacular Anglesey on Friday 6^th July it seemed implausible at the time that the weather might continue to be so nice in North Wales for the rest of the racing weekend. Implausible as it may have seemed but the weather did indeed hold out for the weekend making what is a stunning circuit with breathtaking views look any day look extra special! 

Unfortunately the reliability of the car was not quite as good as the weather come race day but the pace was definitely there and, this combined with the both the competitive but clean nature of the racing and the friendliness of all the competitors in the championship has spurred me on to tackle more rounds of this exciting series. 

The grid for race 1 was to be determined by the fastest lap set by each driver in qualifying and the grid for the second race was set by the second best times set by each driver in the same session. I managed to get into a clear space on the track early on in the qualifying session and therefore managed to set a number of consistent laps. This clear track time early on proved to be invaluable as I had to cut the session short when the car started to loose oil pressure. This was frustrating seeing as the car had proved to be reliable throughout testing on the Friday. The laps that I managed at the start of the session enabled me to qualify 5^th on the grid for both races, which considering this was my debut in the championship left me pretty pleased with my efforts. With no obvious explanation for the loss of oil pressure experienced during qualifying a decision was made to start race 1 and hope for the best! 

Having never attempted a standing start in the car the start of the first race was also going to be “interesting” and so it proved. I made a shocking start and was in 10^th position by the time we had all made it round to the banking for the first time of asking! From there I made my way back up to 6^th place and was challenging for 5^th when the car lost oil pressure once again on lap 9 and was forced to retire. One memorable moment in my fight back up through the field was going door handle to door handle with a fellow competitor for half a lap, including down through the spectacular “corkscrew”.  With very little time between the two races, a bit of improvisation relating to the airflow to the oil cooler was necessary in an attempt to get enough cold airflow to hopefully keep the oil temperature low enough to complete the race! Unfortunately despite the resourcefulness shown by Saxon Motorsport I was unable to coax the car to the finish despite driving at around 85% in my best efforts to do just that. I did however manage to run just behind the leading group in 5^th position and even challenged for 4^th before once again having to retire the car, this time on lap 12.  Despite the two non-finishes, the fact that I was able to lap just off the pace of the leaders whilst not driving at 100% has inspired both myself and the team to get back out there for the next round of the series at Donnington Park on 20^th July and challenge for the podium that I now believe is in both the car and myself! 

Watch this space for more updates…

A big thank you must go to Saxon Motorsport and John Hillon from the championship organising board for getting me sorted with a car after some last minute dramas realting to the car I was due to drive for the meeting. Also a big thank you goes out to my family and firends for their much valued continued support!

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Plenty of pace but again reliability deserts…

At a bright, sunny and stunning Anglesey circuit over the weekend of the 7th and 8th June Pat Buss proved he has the pace to run at the front of the Golf GTi racing championship.

New to both the car and the circuit, Pat qualified the Saxon Motorsport Golf GTi 16V 5th on the grid for both races! Unfortunately Pat had to retire from both races while running in the leading group due to oil pressure difficulties.

Despite the fact that Pat failed to finish either race, bouyed on by both his pace and the freindliness of the championship Pat will be back in the car soon to take on further races in the series!

A full race report will be published soon…

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Fun by the sea…

Pat Buss has now confirmed the first race that he will tackle in the 750 motor club administered Volkswagen Golf GTi championship. Pat is set to contest the two races due to be held at the recently revamped Anglesey race circuit in North Wales over the weekend of June 7/8^th. 

Last year the coastally situated Anglesey circuit was the subject of a large investment. The circuit was completely redesigned and relayed and now boasts a number of challenging layouts, of which the appropriately named “Coastal” layout will be in use for the aforementioned race weekend. Pat will be racing on both the Saturday and the Sunday in the championship guest car and is aiming to make a good impression on his debut in the series.  

Pat says,  

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of racing at a new circuit in a new championship, the costal circuit looks to be a great layout!” 

Pat is hoping to be able to test at the circuit prior to the meeting to enable him to be able to perform to the best of his abilities but this (as ever) all depends upon funds and time. More details of the race weekend, including a full timetable and entry list will be published nearer the time.

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Pat plays Golf!…

Pat Buss is set to contest a number of rounds of the new and exciting Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk2 racing championship in 2008. 

On a bright but chilly February 15^th Pat Buss was out testing the press car of the Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk2 championship at Silverstone. Pat took part in the test with the view to assessing the potential of taking part in a number of rounds of the series this season. “After the disappointments of last season I wanted a fresh and exciting new challenge!” Pat also went on to add that, should the test go well he may also consider racing the car in the televised ‘Powernight’ events being held at Silverstone later in the year. 

After setting consistently fast lap times, fast enough to have put him on the front row of the grid at Silverstone last season. Pat declared himself “over the moon” with the way the test session went and the general handling and balance of the car. 

The next step is now to secure the funds to enable Pat to mount a successful attack on the rounds that he enters this season. More news on what races Pat will be entering will be announced shortly… 

Pat wishes to thank Adam Stevenson, organiser of the Golf GTi racing championship (www.golfgtiracing.com) for his very professional service and help that he provided on the test day.

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