The 2023 Season came round quicker than we always remember. 2022 saw us take the Turismo-X Class A Championship with the Golf, and come 2nd in the ClubEnduro. The TTs gave us many nightmares but seem to be getting somewhere now.
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. 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:

So the first weekend of the season is the BRSCC ClubSport Trophy at Silverstone in the TTCR, it's first run out with only a few hours at Silverstone under it's belt!
Below is the layout of Silverstone, we would be doing the full GP layout:

The TT would be running in Class B - Sport Pro, which is a maximum of 205bhp/tonne with the driver. Class A - Elite is 206bhp to 235bhp/tonne. Tyres are MSUK 1A / 1B/ 1C so I will be using the Yokohama A052 instead of the TTCR spec Nankang NS-2Rs.
The BRSCC uses TSL for all the timing info, so the results can be found using TSL link.

Testing

We did none. Real men don't test...
We arrived at the circuit just before 6pm and our garage was free so we unloaded, then headed to BINN for some BBQ goodness.

Qualifying

I've not been back to Silverstone since the Birkett, and never driven this TT around here, so it was a step into the unknown. It had also rained overnight so it looked a bit greasy still just before we headed to the assembly area. We were at the front of the queue so perfect to get some decent laps in before hitting any traffic (61 cars on the grid meant was going to be busy!) or it started raining again.
I pushed immediately as the assembly area releases you onto the track at Brooklands, meaning you get a few corners to warm the tyres up before you cross the start line. The car felt great, really stable so I was confident to keep pushing and it felt like I was on for a really good laptime, right up until the end of the Hangar straight when the splitter started flapping in the breeze! I knew it would eventually work it's way off and cause a load of hassle, so despite having clear track ahead of me, I dove into the pits for them to rip it off and send me on my way. That lap was still a 2:37.869 despite me crossing the finish line in the pits, and also backing off on all the straights to prevent the splitter detaching.
The guys quickly set to work, removed the offending item and I was back on my way. My first proper flying lap was then a 2:28.168 which put me firmly at the top of Class B, and 2 tenths ahead of Liam Crilly in the Z4 for Pole Position. Crilly then had the laptime removed due to track limits, and he lost another 2 as well, before my second lap of a 2:27.572 increased my advantage further.
As I struggled to get some decent space for the next few laps, Matthew Bolton in his E46 M3 put in a 2:27.466, so I had a tenth to find. Rob was on the radio to tell me, I said I could get a tenth into Turn 1 if there was no traffic! He said "well f**king do it then!". I spent another lap finding some space then pushed hard on the last lap, settling for a 2:27.178, almost 0.3s ahead of the rest of the field and almost 2.8s ahead of the next nearest Class B car. I was pretty happy with that. The A052 Tyres showing how much of an advantage they give against the other manufacturers.

I was pretty quick straight out of the box, and I think my first lap would have been a sub 2:30 had I not been in the pits!

The lead swapped a few times through the session but that was mainly as I was out of sync due to the unplanned pit stop. We had also fuelled for me staying out for the full 25 minutes, as with changeable conditions, you just need to be on the track at the right time to string a lap together when the conditions are best.

Qualifying Lap

My fastest qualifying lap is shown below, you can watch my Delta tumble in the Loop as it has started to rain a little over that side of the track, and I was cautious not to get on the power too early and wheelspin. I knew I only needed 0.1s so played it safe. My ideal over the session was a 2:36.3 so a fair bit quicker still.

Race

The whole race was Live Streamed by the BRSCC, which you can see below:

It has been a while since I was on the front row, as not being in the highest class usually means starting behind a few quicker cars at least. I was struggling to see the lights under my sunstrip!

I had a BMW E46 to my right and a Z4 directly behind me, so I knew I was not going to be in 1st position by turn one, but would have an advantage through Maggots and Becketts with faster warm up of the tyres on the FWD TT. This proved to be correct as the E46 got a great launch, however into Becketts he pushed quite a bit too hard, lost the back end and was sideways across the grass and back onto the track, I managed to avoid him by millimeters !
This allowed Crilly in the Z4 and Bilimoria in the Scirocco to pull on me down the straight. I was able to get back past the Scirocco into the Vale Chicane, then set about the Z4. However, this was short-lived, I braked into Village and when I went back for the power, the revs rose but I didn't move. I suspected a driveshaft failure. The same thing occurred to Max Verstappen at the Saudi GP Qualifying on the same day, so I guess it happens to the best of us!

So after the high of putting the car on pole in it's first race, I was back with the low of a DNF, not even completing a lap. The guys had a quick look at the car, and the outer CV had failed internally. A strip down will hopefully tell us more!

The E46 also retired, damaging it's oil cooler as it went offroading. The race was eventually won by the Z4, so I think we would have had a good battle had this not gone down the way it did. Ah well, that is racing!

Thanks to Luke, Rob, Tom and Dave from Area Motorsport who supported the car this weekend, as well as Luke from our workshop attending his first race meeting.
Big shout to Luke Handley, who did the majority of the build on this car (not the shafts!) as I was told I was not allowed another Race car as the guys are too busy, so Luke was there to take up the slack and make it happen.
Also thanks to our main sponsor in this car, Partly, who are helping us with fitment data for some exciting changes to the website, coming this year!

Photos courtesy of Mick Walker and BRSCC, with extra footage courtesy of PescaraProductions.

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