The last time the Golf and TT were driven in anger at a Race weekend was late October last year in the Birkett Relay. The TT did not perform as planned, but the Golf was out for the longest of any vehicle all day. You can ready about that below. The Golf has remained pretty much unchanged since the end of the season, but the TTs have had constant development over the winter, with one receiving the same CUAA diesel engine as the Golf. Some testing at Croft proved that it was as quick as the Golf with the same power to weight, and we believe we can just about squeeze it to the top of Class A.
The RS3 had a new Bilstein livery for the Autosport Show that we decided to keep after getting great feedback.

During the off season, we pondered long and hard over what to do in 2023, and came to the conclusion that we still had a lot to prove in the 750MC Club Enduro , so would do the full season again in that. On most weekends the RoadSports Series races the day before, so we have commited to all the rounds for that also.
After doing a load of other single make series in 2022, I knew I wanted to do something that would not be a vehicle development exercise, so when I learnt about the new BRSCC Audi TT Cup Racing, that had been started by SW Motorsports I figured it would be a perfect fit for us. A new series, VAG, Mk5 Golf Chassis and a potential big grid, it sounded perfect. The series also follows the ClubSport Trophy for most rounds, which means we could squeeze another race in on the same weekend!
So we decided - Golf and TT 8Ss in the 750MC races, then the TTCR in the BRSCC events. There is not much time to do anything else, but I am sure I will find a way!
You can check out all the dates and circuits on the Darkside Motorsport Calendar page. Feel free to pop in and say hello if you come to watch!
Details of each series can be found below:

A layout of the Croft Circuit is below. This track has a combination of some fast flowing corners, as well as some tight, technical areas.

For both races, the Golf would be running in Class B, which is 240bhp/tonne without the driver. This worked out ~280bhp at the flywheel with a 1220kg minimum weight. Diesels have a 1.05 power multiplier, so theoretically we can only have ~228bhp/tonne.
The TT TFSI which Danny and Dylan would be driving this weekend can have a maximum of 295bhp/ton due to Petrol Forced Induction cars having a 5bhp deduction, then the RS3 TCR being driven by Brad needs to be kept at the factory 290bhp/ton.
The 750MC uses TSL for timing at some rounds, but also TheResultsLive.co.uk for others, so the results can be found using TRL link for this round.

Full Race Day Vlog

We have a full Vlog from the weekend, with snippets of the races:

Testing

We only really tested at Oulton last season for the final round, and it was a bit of a disaster with the weather. This weekend was looking like it would be the same! Luckily it stayed dry in the morning for the first 2 sessions, which was the same condition we expected the track to be for the races on both days.
With Brad unable to make it on Friday, I took the RS3 out for a couple of laps to make sure it was working as expected. With a Red Flag interrupting the session, I only did 1 flying lap, so was happy to punch in a low 1:29 which was not bad considering I have not driven the RS3 much, and for only a handful of laps in the middle of last year at Croft.
Danny and Dylan shared the 2nd session and were on pace (the laps seem to be all over for them below, so it is not really representative), but considering Dylan had never driven Croft, and had only tested the TT for a few laps at Donington the week before, he did great.
The Golf felt as good as it ever had, a massive improvement on last year here when surge at low RPMs made getting out of the low speed corners almost impossible. I'd only got 1 lap in the first session as I had done the first half in the RS3, but in session 2 I did a 1:30.37, the quickest the Golf had even gone around here, and well under the lap records set last year.
The afternoon was a complete write-off. It rained super hard and we all decided not to risk smashing the cars to pieces when there was little to no chance of rain for the rest of the weekend.

Roadsports Qualifying

As expected, it was bone dry by the time we were getting ready for qualifying, and since the lads had a load of time to prepare the cars in the afternoon on Friday, there was nothing to do other than get in the cars and send it.
Brad was on the back foot as he arrived at the track Saturday having not driven at Croft since last season. He was using the Roadsports race as a test session in anticipation for the 2hr race on Sunday. After a few laps he was into the 1:31s and settled for a 1:31.25, enough for P13.
Danny was driving the TT solo for the Roadsports race, and was pretty quickly into the 1:28s which we knew would put us in the top 5 realistically. After a quick pitstop to adjust pressures, he got down to a 1:28.26 which secured P3, 0.15s behind the Capture Motorsport TCR and 0.44s from the Hampson / Schulz E46 M3.
I didn't get a flying lap before coming into the pits for tyre pressures adjusting. I went out to find space and was able to punch in a 1:31.86 with a bit of traffic on my first flier, before getting screwed again by so many cars on the track. It looked like I was on for a good bit of space on the next go round, but as I turned into Hawthorn, the car understeered and felt wrong. I radio'd to Reuben and said something wasn't good with the front left. I cut the circuit and headed down the pits. As soon as they jacked the car up, it was obvious the subframe had snapped right on the end where the wishbone bolts to it. Qualifying over. Luckily I stayed P1 in class but I dropped to P14 overall.

You can see from below, I only really got 1 good lap without traffic or a snapped subframe! Brad built it up slowly and it took Danny a while to get some decent space for a flier. Croft is difficult as there are a few pinch points where you can lose multiple seconds behind a slower car.

Qualifying Laps

Our fastest Quali laps are shown below:

Roadsports Race

The whole race was Live Streamed by the guys at AlphaLive which you can see below:

Danny was on row 2, just behind the orange BMW. We had been told that the slower of the driving pairing was starting, so the pace would be a bit slower in that at the start. I was alongside Brad on Row 7. I knew it was going to be difficult to make much progress against the much faster Class A cars.

We all got away well, with Danny closing in on the BMW as the Capture TCR went for the outside line. Hampson must have panicked a little and moved to the right, causing him to jump over the massive kerb in the inside of turn 1. This sent him sideways, and when he caught it, his front bumper piled into the side of the TT. How Danny avoided everyone else and got it pointing the right way again was a miracle! Half the car was on the grass!
Brad and myself managed to negotiate the melee unscathed and I was directly behind the TT as he got back on his way. Danny made good progress getting back towards the leaders, but the bodywork was rubbing on the tyre and by lap 9, it had rubbed through. His tyre decided to part ways with the rim just as he turned the final corner. He headed to the pitlane as the tyre rolled down the straight! Unfortunately this was 2 minutes before the pit window opened, so he would need to make another stop at some point during the race.
I came in as soon as the window opened, which was not ideal, but I was stuck behind some Class A cars and the tyre pressures felt way too high, with the front end pushing on.

Brad was making good progress, with some high 1:29s and low 1:30s pretty consistently. The key to his race would be to stay out of trouble and let the results come to him.
With the pressures lowered, I was flying, with most laps in the mid to low 1:31s when I did not get a load of traffic. Danny was on a mission, almost breaking into the 1:27s whilst praying for a safety car, as he had dropped off the lead lap with his second stop.
Being used to the 2hr races now, 45 minutes went by like a flash and that was it.

I'd managed to get a 5s penalty for track limits, probably on the exit of the Esses as the road pulls you out wide. This was still P1 in class and P7 overall. Brad was just off the podium in 4th place. Danny had lost a full lap in the pits when changing his wheel, and no safety car meant he was still a lap down by the end, finishing in 12th place.

Danny showed the TT had race winning potential, with the fastest lap of the race, a 1:28.08, so close to the 27s!

Fastest Laps

Our fastest race laps are below:

Danny's time was enough to beat the 2022 lap record, so even though the result was not what we wanted, it was a positive step from last year being miles off the pace. My 1:30.64 was 0.07s from beating Rob Boston's record from 2022. If I had got that, it would have been Pole, Win, Fastest Lap and Lap Record. But we can't be greedy!

ClubEnduro Qualifying

The Golf needed some new tyres and a quick check as everything seemed pretty good. The RS3 was more or less the same. The TT was another story, the damage at the start meant it needed the front bumper patching up, the door bending back into shape, as well as a new front wing, side skirt and rear arch. Luckily we had all the parts to hand (with the TT TDI being a donor for the wing!) and then a full alignment. The wheel, despite doing the length of the pitlane with no tyre, was undamaged!
I went out and had clear air immediately, so punched in a 1:30.76 then a 1:30.27, which is the quickest the Golf has ever done around Croft. I decided to park it and save the car for the race.
Dylan was in the TT first, pretty quickly finding space and getting to a 1:29.53 and then a 1:28.83 a few laps later. Mega to say he was new to the circuit on Friday and was back at work on Saturday while Danny raced solo. When Danny jumped in, he did a 1:28.06, which matched the P3 position of the Ginetta G20 that it had set earlier. This wasn't enough to get Pole, with the Area Golf of Rob Baker and Carl Swift managing to improve their Saturday best of a 1:29.4 to a 1:27.8. Being less than 0.3s off Pole, we will take that!
Brad managed to set a 1:28.77 on his last lap to jump to P7.

Lap times are below. 2 fliers for the Golf and Class B Pole, it was on fire this weekend!

Qualifying Laps

Our fastest Quali laps are below:

ClubEnduro Race

The whole race was Live Streamed by the guys at AlphaLive which you can see below:

Row 7 again for me, and Row 2 for Danny and Dylan, but this time no BMW in front of them to cause any chaos. Brad was up to Row 4, so a great improvement on Saturday.

Dylan started in the TT as we figured it would be better for him to follow the pace of the guys in front, instead of coming out of the pits in no man's land if he drove the second half. He didn't get the memo and by the end of lap 1 was at the front of the pack!
I was quickly swamped by the Class A cars behind, who then seemed to hold me up in the slower speed corners, but my race was with Plaskett in the Area Golf behind. I'd pulled a decent gap, but a few early safety cars before the pit window had closed us back up.
Brad was trying to stay out of trouble again, but still managed to cause some nasty damage to the front corner of the new bumper on the RS3!
New rules this season meant that we could not take advantage of a Safety Car for pitstops, in an effort to make the success penalties actually be penalties. The issue with this is that if someone anticipates a safety car, then they could gain a massive amount. This is exactly what Chris did behind. A car was in the gravel and he pitted. Halfway through his stop the safety car came out, meaning I could not pit with him. Even though in the briefing we were told doing this would likely hamper our race, he came out in front of me so after my stop, I had 12s to catch up!
Dylan had dropped behind the Elise of Will Stacey, which has always gone well around here, but had struggled during qualifying. When Danny took over, they were on for a solid 2nd place if they got to the end. However, the curse of the TT continued. With around 20 minutes left to go, what seemed like a driveshaft failure put an end to their race. On closer inspection, it was the drive flange in the gearbox. We have never seen one snap before, so are thinking it may have been damaged in the Roadsports race and finally let go after another 2hrs of running!
A late safety car bunched us all up again, and on the restart Plaskett was screwed by an MX5 at the chicane, so I was able to get the run on him and pass easily. He followed me pretty well for a while, doing his best laps while I showed him where to go!

Brad brought it home in P4 again, always the bridesmaid never the bride! a 5s penalty for both Area Golfs meant he was nearly on the podium, but a bit of blocking by Handley kept him behind Baker/Swift and also damaged that front bumper a bit more!
I was P6 overall and just ahead of Plaskett to take 1st in Class B. Danny and Dylan were back in 20th, having lost 18 laps. The TT was on pace again, Danny improving to a 1:27.70, the 3rd quickest lap of the day behind the Lotus and a very trick M3 driven by Nigel Greensall.

The positive we can take from the race is the speed and consistency of the TT. It still hurts it's tyres more than we would like, but I think we are nearly at the limit of what 265s with a heavy DSG gearbox will take.

Fastest Laps

Our fastest laps from the race are below:

This time I got all 4 results, Pole, Win, Fastest Lap and Class B Lap Record! My 1:30.49 just pipping Chris Freeman's 1:30.52 time from last year!

Will Stacey also beat the record from 2022 this year!

After the terrible start we had to the season last year (engine melting at Donington!), this season has been a dream so far. It is a testament to the hard work put in by the team on the build up to this, working all hours to get the cars ready for the busy testing schedule, then preparing them for the gruelling race weekend.
Brad was happy with the RS3, it performed faultlessly all weekend, and the TT showed promise, but it needs to finish a race cleanly to get the results.
Ryan is back for R2 at Anglesey and will be sharing the TT TDI with Dylan. The RS3 and TT TFSI look like they will be getting a rest for the next race or two, unless someone reading fancies a drive?

The standings took a while to be released as they had sealed our ECU in a bag and took it away, ready for us to take it to the championship dyno to ensure we have the correct power to weight.

Photos courtesy of Jonathan Elsey Motorsport Photography and 750MC

All the details and dates for future races we are entering can be found on the Darkside Motorsport Page.