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News & Events Archive 2006 Event Reports

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Jap Show Report

Sunday 25th June 2006, Santa Pod, Northants

The first event of the season would not be complete without working into the wee small hours the night/morning before, so this is what Paul did! Thanks go to Tim (Zen mechanic), Roy (www.pro-valeting.co.uk) and Sam (TSL) for their help on Saturday and Sunday.

The main aim of the day was to get out there, drive the car and have fun. Paul had not driven the car since November 2005 and had sadly seen many events pass without Zen participation - frustrating to say the least. The secondary aim of course was to run the car in anger and see what happens, and with a bit of luck, go as fast as last year.

Aim one was achieved on the short but exhilirating drive to the Pod from the Zen workshop. The car felt good. The Pro-Shootout format is great when your car is bang-on performance: No queueing (and overheating), get called up, blat your car down the strip and then back to the pits. Not so great for testing though. With only 1 go at the strip on the hour and just three such goes to 'qualify' (no opportunity to try out any tweaks) the pressure can get a bit much.

On the first run the launch was great but almost immediately there was a problem, which resulted in a stutter. In the pits we were thinking perhaps a missed gear. The remainder of the run was lacklustre, with the Impreza posting a 14 second run at 56mph. On returning to the pits Paul related a launch control problem (launch control kicking in for a second time) and we found the boost hose had popped off. Paul gave himself a good talking to re. driving and launching technique and hoses were tightened.

Second run: Launch control problems were repeated again and another poor run along the same lines as the first. Paul returned and confirmed the launch control issue and worryingly, clutch slip. We hoped that this was due to the clutch having no use over the last 7 months, as on inspection in the winter the clutch was in good condition. Quick inspection of the engine bay revealed the map sensor had popped off - well that explains a lot!

The third qualifying run and the last chance to qualify... Paul had decided to abandon the launch control, so fingers crossed all round that he could start well. Just to add to the pressure, Zen was lined up against the Norris Designs Evo beast! The Zen car bogged down on the line and we were all holding our breath for the rest of the 1/4. But Paul posted a very respectable 10.5s @ 144mph (and qualified second behind Norris) - what a flipping relief!

Over lunch and ponderings over the laptop, Paul altered the ECU to run a more conservative map, due to concerns regarding overboosting earlier. He also decided not to risk running the launch control and so on to the eliminations...

In the first elimination round Paul had a bye run, so all he needed to do to progress to the next round was get cleanly away and saunter over the line. But Paul had decided he needed all the testing time he could get, so he went for it. The launch was careful but the run was awesome and Zen posted a 10.3s run at 138mph. Paul returned to the pits with a huge grin on his face.

The 1/4 final run was against the fabulous Fensport Celica. In all honesty, it could have been anyone's run but on paper Zen had the edge. But it wasn't to be! By the 1/8 mile it was clear Paul had a major problem in the Impreza and he pootled over the line. It was an agonising wait in the pits for his return. Disappointment abounded in the Zen camp but we were happy to hear that the problem was 'only' the dog box stuck in 2nd gear, which Paul discovered as he attepted to change from second to third.

Given past difficulties in getting out of the Pod (a memorable 4 hours in the exit queue at Flame & Thunder, when normally it would be a short 15 minute drive home), we decided to pack up and go home, and get an early night in. Besides, we had to drive 8 miles stuck in second gear!

We were happy with the day. We achieved all of our aims: we had fun, we got the car out on the strip and the road, and we went as fast as last year. Now the fun really begins as we fine tune and test ready for TOTBV.

All photographs of the ZEN Impreza taken at Jap Show, are copyright of Blackett Photography.

Jap Show Finale Report

Sunday 8th October 2006, Santa Pod, Northants

Jap Show Finale is the last competitive event of the season for us and an event we always enjoy - its local, its well organised and the competitive spirit is spot on. This year the weather forecast was good, the Pro-Shootout entry list was a corker... and we had high hopes for fast times from the ZEN demo car but also our fellow competitors.

Athough the car has been running fantstically all season, that is no good reason not to try new things in the quest for faster and stronger performances. So Paul spent Thursday and Friday night and most of Saturday making some choice additions to the set-up: namely direct port N20 injection with progressive control and some soft drag radials. The afternoon and evening was spent doing some last minute testing but we still had time for some R&R with a fellow Subaru competitor though!

When running this kind of car, it is always tough deciding whether to ease yourself in gently or go for it from the off. Anytime you make a significant change to the spec, you want to err on the side of caution whilst you set the car up and see what is going on. At the same time, at an event like this you also have to qualify and give the crowd something good to look at. Paul decided he would 'take it easy and build up slowly, but quite quickly really...' Right!

For the three qualifying sessions the Pod had decided who out of the 22 entrants (in the combined RWD/4WD class) would run against whom and in what lane. We were chosen to run against Dee Ieland's Supra; not as scarey as it might be as Paul often seems to run against Dee at Santa Pod. On the first run the launch was poor - a combination of a slow creep over the line, followed by lots of wheelspin - but with a teensy bit of N20 the car made a good solid 10.298s run @ 142mph. Meanwhile the crowds were treated to a fantastic clutch of 9 second first runs from others in the field.

Second run: Handbrake issues (possible incomplete disengagement) and plenty of wheelspin meant the launch suffered again but Paul completed another solid run of 10.15s @ 145mph and came back to the pits happy. This point in the proceedings seemed like a good time to ramp up the power so the laptop came out and the map tinkering ensued.

The third and final qualifying run and we hoped to set a much improved time. Once again Paul just couldn't get the launch right and literally gave away time to Dee. Combined with an absence of the planned power increase, the run was disappointing but consistent with the first two: 10.055 @ 145mph. Importantly, ZEN had qualified 6th out of 16 and so concentration was turned to doing something about the set-up. Much umming and ahhing later, Paul decided to run a more conservative map for the eliminations. Boost creep seemed to be causing problems in the morning session, but mapping changes could have the counter-productive effect of causing the car to over boost anyway, so it was a risk.

In the first elimination round Paul lined up against Adrian Smith in the Fensport Celica (one of my personal favourite cars), in what was almost a repeat of the 1/4 finals of the first Jap Show of 2006. As with then, it was Paul's on paper, but eliminations do funny things. Adrian's reaction time was superb and he was away 0.206 seconds faster than Paul. Once again, Paul bogged down on launch but by the 1/8th of a mile was gaining on Adrian. Watching was agonising (albeit rather vocal from the ZEN supporters) as it really was neck and neck to the very end, but unfortunately for Fensport, ZEN had it, posting another consistent time of 10.205 @ 144mph.

By this time the Pro-Shootout drama was in full swing. Tim had done the first 8 second run on UK soil in the Duke R33, Andy Forrest had run three 9s in his Subaru, the Dragon RX7 had posted a personal best of 9.386 and many cars had suffered failures with varying degrees of finality.

Due to breakages and time-out rules, Paul was without an opponent for the 1/4 finals: Determined to get back on 9 second form, Paul took his time and didn't race the lights. The launch was better (the drag radials really squealing now) although the 60 foot time was still down on Paul's top form but a 9.79s pass at 146mph was the result. Although the ZEN car has gone faster, this is a record for us at Santa Pod and proved to all present that the car can compete with the big boys!

So we made it to the semi-finals. Paul's final elimination opponent was Steve Whittaker in the D J Craig Supra TT. Again, a ZEN win on paper, but remember what I said about funny things? Paul's reaction time was a slow 0.602 seconds versus a 0.464 from Steve - Paul had everything to make up. It was a valiant effort from the ZEN car and I was screaming like a banshee in the grandstand but it wasn't to be. Steve crossed the line less than a cars length ahead and our competitive day was over.

The other semi-final was a battle of the giants - Tim in the Duke versus Simon in the Evo beast: The drama continued as Norris suffered a failure at launch, leaving the Duke free to cross the line at a leisurely 124mph. In my book there could only be 2 possible results in the ensuing final - Tim Webster would do something astounding, or break. The best possible end to the day was a staggering launch (check out Ian Blackett's photographs and see the evidence for yourself) and a stonking 8.808s pass at 162mph. Cheers abounded and all of the pro-drivers and team members I could see were 100% behind Tim. Steve Whittaker should be proud to be a runner up to such a car.

Paul rounded off his day with a few sneaky extra runs with the RWYB cars (with 10.005 and a 10.001 second runs) before joining the exit queue to drive the ZEN car home.

Jap Show Finale

Thanks go to Roy (www.pro-valeting.co.uk) and Sam (TSL) for their help on Sunday; and to our new sponsors RJMS and Blackett Photography.

Missed the Jap Show report from June? Read it here!

All photographs of the ZEN Impreza taken at Jap Show Finale, are copyright of Blackett Photography.