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R O A D
T R A C K
R A C E
A N N U A L 2 0 1 6
013
Billingsley came in and com-
plained that the windscreen was
fogging up, so we switched on
the heated screen, which quickly
cleared up the problem. Excuse
number one was out of the way,
and number two wasn’t far be-
hind, with our clubman represent-
ative complaining about the cold.
The heated seat was switched on,
with Clucas commenting: “That’s
a tenth slower…”.
Next up it was Clucas’ first
turn on track. Like Billingsley, he
adjusted his mirrors, got himself
set and sped off for his 10-minute
session. He looked calmer, but
you could see him searching for
the grip, forcing the car into situ-
ations to try to find the little grip
available and to gain an under-
standing of the surroundings and
conditions.
GOING FOR THE WIN
With the first session down
and the drivers back at base,
both gave their first thoughts on
the car, with the brakes, power
and comfort all under discus-
sion. Billingsley said he was
struggling with the stiffer brake
pedal. Clucas was quiet, said
he enjoyed the first session, but
wasn’t giving anything away.
No hints or tips for the clubman
competitor! MSD downloaded the
data as Billingsley readied for
his second run.
The next two sessions ran
back-to-back, so Billingsley set
out for 10 minutes, came back
in and waited for five minutes,
then headed straight back out.
The conditions at this point had
improved and the relentless rain
had eased, throwing up another
challenge. The circuit became
greasy, but didn’t completely dry.
In jest, Billingsley suggested this
would play into Clucas’ hands.
After his final session, Billing-
sley had done everything in his
power to record a much covet-
ed victory, but Clucas still had
his final two sessions to go,
and once he started his second
10-minute stint it started to be-
come easier to compare the two
drivers from outside the car, with
variants on speeds and lines
becoming apparent.
With Clucas’ sessions now at
an end, it was time for a quick
catch-up. We were impressed
that on a new track, in a new car
and driving in the wet, neither
driver spun, even though both
were clearly giving it their all.
THE ALL-IMPORTANT
DATA
By now, we were all desperate
to find out who had won. On
first impressions, both drivers
looked to be giving it everything
and committed to every corner,
so on that front they seemed to
be level pegging. To make the
test accurate and fair, however,
we turned to the data logger
and used the Circuit Tools soft-
ware from Racelogic to evalu-
ate each driver’s sessions, lap
charts and delta.
It turned out that the fastest
session for both drivers was the
third, so we decided to hone in
on this one. Billingsley’s fastest
lap was a 50.24 on lap seven,
with a 6.53-second split be-
tween his fastest and slowest
laps. Clucas’ fastest lap was
a 46.59 on lap eight, recording
just a 0.99-second split be-
tween his fastest and slowest
laps. So, there was quite a dif-
ference in times.
Over the course of 10 laps
Clucas was extremely consistent
from the off, with his first record-
ed time just 0.61 seconds off his
fastest. In comparison, Billing-
sley wasn’t quite as consistent,
but we must remember that
Clucas, as a professional racer, is
used to high-pressure situations
and having to quickly evaluate
the conditions.
For the purposes of this test,
it was also interesting to look at
the racing lines used. From afar,
the drivers appeared to use sim-
ilar lines, but when we accessed
the data it became clear that on
entry to the slow hairpin Clucas
took a much wider line, which
helped him achieve a higher en-
try speed, which he could main-
tain through the corner.
Billingsley, however, took a
tighter line, which meant he had
to slow the car down to make
the turn. Considering neither
driver had been on the Colt-
ishall Airfield track before, we
also paid close attention to how
they adapted over the course of
the three sessions. Of course,
they couldn’t cut corners as that
would show up on the teleme-
try, but they could adapt their
lines to benefit their times. To be
fair, the differences in the lines
were minimal, but the difference
between pole and mid-pack
is always negligible and as a
driver you are always trying to
find that extra something to get
ahead of the crowd. Being able
to do so is what sets you apart.