HELEN FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT

HELEN pre-Oulton

Head gasket changed, and that’s all Helen gets. Well, a new old engine mount too. She ripped one in half at Anglesey, the entire tower on the subframe came loose on the nearside, and the offside pulled itself apart with the torque. How on earth she was handling with the engine not fastened in I don’t know. She was rather better on day 2 when I’d fixed that!

Still really needs a nice new one, but time was against us. With Stewert’s car to cycle in and out for some exhaust gaskets and general spannering, and Bear’s car needing a head gasket, the amount of time for poor old Helen was rather limited.

New front tyres, 45 profile this time instead of 50, and she looks a bit daft on little tyres, but hopefully they won’t destroy themselves the same way. Two tyres died at Anglesey. Nearside front was ripped apart, nearside rear not far behind it, it did race 2 only because I switched the rears side to side and ran them backwards.

45s on the front, what’s left of the 50s on the rear, she’s a bit dragstery, but it’s good to go again. Pads don’t need changing, everything still appears tight in the nut and bolt department, so it’s just the head gasket and away. Needs an oil change of course, but that’ll have to wait til we get to the track and Dermott brings the Millers supply.

Looking forward to Oulton, I like the track, tend to go well there, and I have a feeling the Bear is going to assault the place. It is Brands Hatch-ish in that its technical requirements also require a committed attack, and a bit of power. He might not have ever seen the place in the dry, but he’ll fly there, I know it.

The plan is the usual one, tow him round for a bit showing what I think the way round is, and then he applies the class E advantage to blow me into the weeds. Did it last year at Cadwell. Might be time I stopped helping.

Helen is just that bit too heavy and underpowered to do anything truly startling there, Cascades and the chicane exits are going to show her power to weight ratio up, but they pale into insignificance against the deficit she has going up the hill under the bridge, that’s where Coppock door-handled me last year to batter past with sheer power, and modified car within sniffing distance of me can pass there.

Still, we’ll give it go, always game for a challenge. 

Scrutineering

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HELEN gets head.

Most-played in the garage this week - Aerosmith, the early stuff.

Injury of the week - does anyone have a spare spine?

Helper of the week - The Bear, it's a double head gasket symphony.