Build

In 2014 at Snetterton the Mustang had the SLP loudmouth exhaust, which the noise scrutineer complained could be heard over the single seat racing cars when I was around the far side of the circuit! This year to avoid issues, I had the quieter BBK Varitune. Although this disappointingly didn’t give the full Mustang roar which the crowd love, it did have the side effect of providing much more low end torque, very important for accelerating out of the low speed corners.

Performance

The new RAM clutch was a revelation, it didn’t snatch and judder under hard gear changes as the previous Spec one did. I still have a problem with heel and toe as there is a massive flat spot in the throttle response, where significant throttle depression produces no increase in revs for a second or so. I need to see if this can be cured with an updated ECU tune.

In the practice runs I had several problems with the prehistoric Mustang gearbox that would not go into third or fourth gear at high revs. For the timed runs this left me with the dilemma of either changing conservatively at lower revs or whether to risk everything for maximum performance. I need to find more sponsorship to be able to afford to fit a Mustang GT500 gearbox or more modern Tremec TR6060 to help cure this problem.

Unusually Snetterton is an anti clockwise circuit, which suits the left hand drive Mustang as I am sitting on the inside of corners and have a better view of the curbs.

Throughout both days the weather was overcast and the track stayed cold, so I was unable to get much grip with the tyres. I was sliding around corners and will spinning on the exist, unable to use my power which might give me an advantage of the Porsches. The brakes had been significantly improved by Redlines changes to the master cylinder and servo, but were still not very effective. One observer in the crowd noted that my braking distances on the main straight were longer than the other cars in my class.

Results

Since I have started sprinting in the Mustang, I have mentally drawn up a list of my rivals to beat, all of whom have been faster and beaten me in the past. They made achievable targets to gradually pick off one by one as I got faster. At the time of the Snetterton event only two remained, Brian Winstone and Bill McKenna, both in Porsche 911 GT3s. At the start of the 2015 season Brian had purchased a lightweight Ferrari 458, but was having trouble getting to grips with it. This gave me the hope that I might be able to catch him. However, for Snetterton he had returned to his Porsche that he felt more comfortable with.

I made a very good start with little wheelspin, the 573BHP launching the car forward like a rocket in the first corner, Agostini. I hit second gear just before the apex but then have to feather the throttle slightly on the exit to avoid running wide at this tight hairpin. I change up into third before Hamilton corner, working hard to find the right turn in point to let me run over the inside curb. I brake as late as I dare and am really pleased as I pull off a perfect exit keeping the car surprisingly smooth as I apply the power and just avoiding the very bumpy outside curb.

I had learned last year that staying in third and avoiding a slow change on the very awkward Mustang gearbox was half a second quicker, despite sacrificing the extra kick of going down to second. As I accelerated on to Oggies corner carrying a lot of speed, I brake really heavily and the car feels very unstable as if the back is trying to overtake the front, so I dare not risk trying to trail brake around the corner. I nurse the car round the very tight bend an gingerly try to the power in second, but the rear wheels light up and the back end steps out sideways, I catch it quickly and accelerate up to third over the short straight into Williams corner. Again braking straight into another tight hairpin I pick a wide line just touching the inside apex and accelerate out as all hell breaks loose. A lot of dust left on the track by earlier cars cutting across the grass has made the track here very slippery and the car fishtails wildly, but I tame it and manage to get the power down and back into third for the long Palmer corner.

This decreases in radius so that you find although your entry speed may have been OK, as you get round the corner you find that you are running out of road – I just touch the end of the inside curb and accelerate out with the supercharger screaming as I pray that I will be able to find fourth gear this time. Fortunately it slams in and I power across the finish line and immediately have to stand on the brakes in order to make the pit exit lane, without colliding with the next car waiting on the start line. The end result was that I had achieved the goal I had set myself two and a half years before, by achieving second place in class I had managed to beat Brian Winstone’s Porsche 911 GT3 – he did not take it well. Why waste your money on a supercar when you can have a Mustang that is faster ?

Saturday Results

1st Bill McKenna Porsche 911GT3 101.23 secs	2nd Alex Peters Ford Mustang GT 106.79 secs
3rd Brian Winstone Porsche 911GT3 108.09 secs	4th Nick Attridge Aston Martin DB7 122.83 secs

Sunday results

I put in similar times on the second day, although I didn’t feel I drove so well. Brian picked up his performance massively, and I now have a new rival on my list – tim Simpson in his supercharged Honda S2000 – up a much lighter more agile car.

1st Bill McKenna Porsche 911 GT3 99.06 secs	2nd Brian Winstone Porsche 911 GT3 103.62 secs
3rd Tim Simpson Honda S2000 supercharged 105.23 secs	4th Alex Peters Ford Mustang GT 106.74 secs
5th Andrew Innocent Nissan 350Z 107.88 secs	6th Nick Attridge Aston Martin DB7 122.65 secs