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Index

Time Attack Round 5: Brands Hatch, August 2008

Time Attack Round 4: Oulton Park, July 2008

Time Attack Round 3: Silverstone, June 2008

Time Attack Round 2: Knockhill, May 2008

Time Attack Round 1: Donington, April 2008:

ZEN Performance took first place in Round 5 of Pro Time Attack at Brands Hatch on Sunday 10th August. Philip Glew led the field all day and on his first hot lap of the final set the new lap record at 48.901s! In spite of a difficult start to the year, ZEN are now tied for 4th place in the series title battle.

In the run up to the August event, ZEN worked hard to finish a new engine for the car capable of sustaining more power, in the hopes of reducing the power deficit ZEN had to some of the other front runners such as Roger Clark Motorsport and R C Developments. A fifth injector was also added to the engine set-up, fed directly in to the intercooler pipe to increase fuelling at higher boost and reduce inlet charge temperature. Further improvements for the Brands event included a prototype full length flat floor and rear diffuser.

Team ZEN approached Brands quietly confident that the car would perform better than ever in terms of power and handling. Brands Hatch is known as a technical / handling circuit and as such the ZEN Impreza (faster through the corners than the rest of the field at Silverstone and Oulton Park) is well suited to the challenges of the track - with the increased aerodynamics and Philip Glew (lap record holder form 2007) back in the driving seat it was set to be a great weekend.

 

 

 

Despite or perhaps even because of the quiet confidence, tension was running high in the ZEN garage all day. Fortunately, both car and driver performed more or less faultlessly all day so the team focused on making improvements to set up. In the warm up, Philip was sent out for his first drive in the car since Round 1 for a general shakedown and familiarisation session, with the car running at low boost. On his first full lap he put in one of the fastest times of the session with a 51.697s lap, immediately followed by a 50.305s lap, opening up a lead of 0.266s over second fastest Ward in the RSE Evo and a 1.046s over the third fastest Lotus of Guglielmi. The Imprezas of Autosportif and Roger Clark Motorsport chose not to show their hand too early by running without transponders. Phil returned to the pits on lap 3 to report that the car was 'awesome'. No surprise given the extensive development of the 'Green Goblin' since Round 1. The car was sent straight back out picking up time in sector 2 on the first lap but going no faster for the remaining 6.

During the break between sessions Philip and Paul discussed set up changes, the brakes were bled and the boost turned up a notch. As the practice session opened Phil was instructed to return to the pits after one hard lap to enable the team to check the Impreza was not being strained in any way. A 52s lap time set and happy with the first round of checks, the team sent Phil out again for one hard lap - a 50.212s time was bagged and the Green Goblin pitted for a second time. Paul gave the green light for a banzai lap and half the team rushed out to the fencing behind the pit garages to watch Druids, Graham Hill Bend, Cooper Straight, Surtees and McLaren / Clearways. As Philip wound the car up to take the pit straight, commentator Maz took to the microphone to commentate the lap. Phil pushed hard and certainly got Maz excited, with team members holding their breath as the car flew around the track, visibly quicker and more composed than the rest of the field, despite one slightly hairy moment as Phil took a fair bit of grass exiting Graham Hill Bend on to Cooper Straight (giving the team flashbacks of 2007!) Catching up with the traffic through Clearways a quick lap was in doubt. But as the Impreza thundered over the start / finish line Maz declared the fastest lap time yet at 50.026s but it was clear that Phil was not about to cool down! Picking up time in the second sector, ZEN went on to be the first to break 50 seconds, with a 49.971s lap to the excitement of Maz and smiles of the team.

 

Phil returned to the pits and asked if there was anything that could be done to reduce understeer so Sam and Paul adjusted tyre pressures and damper settings. ZEN completed their 8th and final lap of the session and Phil returned to the pits. Unfortunately, by this stage the RSE Evo had retired but the remaining front runners were all going strong.

Over lunch the damper settings and tyre pressures were re-adjusted, as the 8th lap of the practice saw the understeer worsened rather than improved. Data from both of the morning sessions was downloaded and analysed. On to the qualifying session and the strategy remained as before - increase the boost again (now up to 2.3 bar) and set some quick times. On his first hot lap Philip hi t the 49s again, with a 49.367s time, beating the lap record set by ZEN in September 2007, enough to take the number one qualifying position. Lap 2 was also in the 49s at 49.542s. The car returned to the pits again and Philip commented that the car was amazing and just stuck to the track. A couple of checks and minor adjustments were made and Phil went out for one more lap, in the 49s again! Clark and Guglielmi qualified with 50s runs, Stanley, Seddon and Tappy with 51s runs. Unfortunately, Tappy in the Autosportif Impreza was forced to retire after 2 trips in to the gravel.

Going in to the final with fresh rubber and 2.4 bar of boost, some might have thought ZEN had it in the bag but the team knew that in Time Attack, anything can happen. Clark and Guglielmi always pedal hard in the finals and had been going faster all day. The anticipation in the garage was immense and with the only TV monitor picking up the times for what must have been miles around (!) representatives of all the top teams, along with Time Attack officials and media bods were crowding around. In a re-run of the 2007 final, Matt Clark got Olly out first in the queue before ZEN could manage the same with Phil, with Steve Guglielmi's Lotus lining up third. As the track went green the team's collective heartbeat got faster and louder! Looking out from behind the pit garages it was clear that Olly had let Phil past so he could follow his line. Both Imprezas and the Lotus were looking strong as they gathered speed for the first hot lap. As thousands of horsepower roared around the track, the team strained to hear the commentating but Phil continued to look solid and maintain the advantage of a clear track.

 

 

As the green Impreza took the last bend the tension mounted... Phil crossed the line and the time flashed up on the screen - 48.901s! the team let out a collective breath and allowed themselves a little cheer as Maz declared that ZEN were the first Time Attack car to record a 48s lap at Brands Hatch. Clark and Guglielmi chasing were in to the 49s. Perhaps unnerved by such an outstanding lap himself, Phil (being chased down by Olly Clark) was no sooner in the gravel trap on the exit of Paddock Hill Bend. Fortunately, like a skimming stone, the flat-floored Impreza was able to continue out of the gravel and back on to the track - minus front splitter and sidelight!

 

The ZEN car returned to the pits for a damage check. Dangling bits were removed, loosened parts tightened and the top element of the rear wing removed to balance out the lack of front splitter. As the work was carried out, Guglielmi, Clark and Seddon continued to lap, with Steve really beginning to breathe down the neck of the ZEN time with a 49.253s lap on his fifth attempt. With around 4 minutes remaining in the session, ZEN sent Phil out for 2 more laps. He pitted again and the team were on the car to see what could be done.

 

The last moments of the session seemed to tick by slowly, with the people standing 3 deep at the monitor, whilst Liz paced at the back of the garage. As the chequered flag came out, the congratulations began. But the win was yet to filter down to Paul, who was still at the car planning his next move - WE DID IT PAUL! The cheers, smiles and hugs ensued.

 

 

 

The final standings were:

Phil Glew, ZEN Impreza: 48.901s
Steve Guglielmi, Guglielmi Motorsport Lotus: 49.253s
Olly Clark, Roger Clark Motorsport Impreza: 49.810s

Team ZEN finished the day with many accomplishments under their belt - the prototype aerodynamic additions had proven their value; the car's power disadvantage had been reduced (the trap speeds showing the difference between the Clark Impreza and the ZEN Impreza reduced to 6.3mph at Brands compared to the 10.7mph deficit at Oulton); and most importantly the team had proved that they had built and developed a car capable of beating some of the best in the business!

 

Time Attack Round 3: Silverstone, June 2008

ZEN Performance took the third spot on the podium at Round 3 of Time Attack at Silverstone on June 1st with a fantastic 59.068s lap of the National circuit, just a fraction off the first place lap time of Olly Clark running a 58.877s lap, moving up from 11th, to 8th position in the championship

Once again the team had worked hard on the development of the car since the second round two weeks previously. On returning from Knockhill technical director Paul Blamire had dyno tested the car to find it running at sub-500bhp. On removing the engine, damage to the turbo turbine wheel housing was discovered. Running such low power at Knockhill had surely been the reason that Tom struggled to find any extra time in the superbattle, despite the increase in boost that was mapped in. Fortunately, ZEN had already planned a turbo upgrade for Silverstone with AET Turbos! Work was also completed on refining the brake set-up: changing master cylinders, brake bias and switching to a development caliper on the front K-Sport discs. Time was also spent on fully setting up the Neetronics electronic diff controller for the centre diff and replacing the rear diff crown wheel and pinion that had failed in Scotland. Finally, the engine was thoroughly tested and mapped on ZEN's Dastek dyno.

As Sunday dawned, Team ZEN were feeling confident that the car had been brought on another stage and it was running a healthy 600bhp. However, with Silverstone such a power-hungry circuit and some of the front runners packing considerably more horsepower, it was clear that the results ZEN wanted would be hard to come by.

The morning warm-up session passed without incident with Tom focussing on testing the chassis set-up, ready for circuit specific tuning. In the practice session things began to hot up with the laptime positions constantly changing, with a series of 1:01 and 1:02 minute laptimes being set and the ZEN crew furiously working the pit board to keep Tom updated on position. Tom posted a 1 minute dead time and then returned to the pits with a blown off boost pipe. Tom was sent back out as Olly stormed through the start/finish line with a 59.721s lap! Just as the commentator finished declaring with great excitement that the 1 minute barrier had been broken by Olly, Tom flew past the pits to trump Olly with a 59.266s time on his 5th lap! Team ZEN could not contain their excitement at being so visibly at the top of the game again. Tom happily declared that if we could keep the boost pipe on (it popped off after the 59s lap), the car would be capable of a low 58s lap.

Although ZEN went in to the lunch break sporting the fastest time of the day so far (and with the boost pipe issue now sorted), Tom and Paul were discussing a problem that had developed during the practice session. The tyres were squealing on entering the corners with considerable understeer. Uneven tyre wear was evident and so the investigation began. Brake discs were examined for warping and the hubs and bearings checked. Team Orange (at the time having their gearbox replaced by ZEN supplied technicians) graciously agreed to lend the ZEN Impreza one of their spare hub and flange assembles, as there was visible damage to the front offside hub flange on the ZEN Impreza. With this work completed and subtle changes made to the suspension set-up, Tim adjusted camber and toe using the Roger Clark Motorsport Super Tracker (many thanks to Matt Clark for this). The decision was made to keep the worn rubber on for the qualifying session, saving the new rubber for the final.

Tom was sent out only to return to the pits straight away for a mapping adjustment. Once again the fastest time changed hands amongst the front runners of Clark, Guglielmi, Stanley and ZEN's own Ferrier. On his third lap Tom posted a 1:00.284 minute lap and knowing it was good enough to qualify the team called him in. Clark qualified 1st with a mere 0.081s lead over the ZEN Impreza.

In anticipation of the final the team changed the rubber on the wheels and Tom took a well-earned rest. The atmosphere in garage number 1 (home to some of the fastest cars of the day) was charged and the Roger Clark Motorsport team were working furiously to change the gearbox in their Impreza. The team expected that both Roger Clark Motorsport and Gugliemi Motorsport would run nitrous for the final, giving them a distinct power advantage and so Paul adjusted the ZEN map to take the boost up to a (still conservative) 1.8 bar.

The pro cars were called to queue for the Super Battle and the anticipation of an action packed final was huge. The cars were kept waiting for what seemed like an age, increasing an already charged atmosphere! Finally, the Imprezas of ZEN, Roger Clark and Autosportif and the Lotus of Guglielmi were out on the track. Tom pulled a fantastic 59.068s lap on his first full lap to take the lead but was then straight back in to the pits. There was an airlock in the coolant system and the team struggled to sort it and cool the car down. It seemed as if everyone was crowded around the TV in the garage as Guglielmi stormed past with a 59.689s run. Next to fly past was Olly with a 59.596s lap. The times were tumbling and beginning to threaten our lead. Guglielmi was then back in the pits whilst Ferrier went out to post another low 59s lap. Returning to the track for his 4th lap, Guglielmi then amazed the crowd with a 5 8.911s lap, with Olly still struggling to better his 59.3s lap and still third to ZEN. Ferrier returned to the ZEN pits struggling with temperatures once again and as David Wallis and Tim Farmer battled to get the airlock sorted and the car back out, Olly scraped the lead from Guglielmi with an awesome 58.877s run. With just 3 minutes session time remaining, ZEN sent Tom out for a last ditch attempt to crack in to the 58s. With Guglielmi, Roger Clark and ZEN crew all crowded around the monitor, it was a truly nail biting finish. As the chequered flag was waved, it was a first place finish for Olly Clark, second for Steve Guglielmi and third for Tom Ferrier. ZEN had proudly taken the number 3 position on the podium, just 0.191s off Clark! Once again, all previous lap records had been smashed and the ZEN 2008 car put in a laptime over 3 seconds faster than the blue ZEN car had managed in 2007 !

ZEN Performance are extremely pleased with the results of the weekend and the full timing analysis proves that the ZEN machine has huge potential: the ZEN speed traps were 9.3mph down on the front runner and the sector breakdowns show that the ZEN Impreza was the fastest car through the complex. With more time spent on fine tuning the chassis and the steady progress up through the power band, Team ZEN should continue to contend for podium positions. The next round is Oulton Park on July 5th, which is a truly challenging circuit and round 4 will, without doubt, be the most exciting yet!

The photography featured here is the work of Jon Moss Photography

Time Attack Round 2: Knockhill, May 2008

Team ZEN began a return to form at Round 2 of Time Attack, which took place at Knockhill, Scotland on Sunday 18th May 2008. Piloted by GT driver Tom Ferrier, the ZEN Impreza finished a creditable 5th place, less than 0.7 seconds off the top spot.

Development since round 1 at Donington had been significant. Most visibly, the installation of a rear-radiator set-up, designed to improve cooling efficiency, redistribute weight and make room in the engine bay for future specification changes, along with aerodynamic additions of rear wing and front splitter. Time had also been spent on refining the chassis, including new anti-roll bars to front and rear. To ensure reliability, subtle changes to engine specification had been made, which combined with a dyno mapping session were intended to eliminate some of the issues experienced at Donington. The final change was a new driver, an experienced GT and touring car racer Tom Ferrier, who had raced at Knockhill just 2 weeks previously in the Tech 9 Lamborghini Gallardo.

Team ZEN arrived north of the border on Saturday 17th May 2008, ready to take part in a track day organised by John Stewart of the Subaru Impreza Driver's Club (SIDC). Having suffered through lack of testing at Round 1 and with no time left to do so beforehand, the Team planned to spend Saturday testing, tuning and refining the set-up.

Technical Director Paul Blamire took the opportunity to drive the car for the first time on track in the opening session of the day. Despite wet conditions, Paul was able to push the car and was extremely pleased with the performance and drivability. Unfortunately Paul experienced a sudden drivetrain issue on the last lap and returned to the pits expecting to find driveshaft damage. Nevertheless he couldn't wipe the grin off his face after his first proper on-track drive in over a year!

Pit crew (Gareth and Sam) began the investigation in to the drivetrain issue, along with a couple of test / diagnostic laps with Tom behind the wheel. Nothing was immediately obvious, apart from a chattering from the rear. The tentative diagnosis was broken transfer gears, so the team immediately set about sourcing a replacement transfer box, with thanks to Pat Herborn. On stripping the transfer box it was very quickly apparent that the gears were fine and so attention was turned to the rear diff once more. With the prop and transfer case off, play in the diff was more noticeable and so it was stripped down. As two great big pieces of crown wheel fell out the diff, the team had their diagnosis. Andy Forrest graciously donated a replacement diff which was transported from Andy's workshop on the other side of the Forth and back to Knockhill by Mark Aigin and Moray MacKenzie. The team had the car back together and driving by 8:30pm on the Saturday.

In the warm-up on Sunday, Paul and Tom decided to take it slow and steady to get a feel for the car in terms of performance as well as handling. With the whole of Saturday lost to the diff breakage, only minimal testing had been carried out. Struggling with handling and breaking, and running very conservative boost, Tom posted a 55 second lap in the first session, good enough for 6th.

Subtle changes were made to the chassis set-up and engine management, giving Tom the chance to post a 54.7 second lap in the practice session. In the ensuing break between sessions, the team worked hard under Paul's direction to make some significant changes to the suspension set-up and re-bled the brakes. In the qualifying session, the ZEN Impreza then began to show its true potential with a 52.890 second lap - in the same ballpark as the front runners and significantly for ZEN, a good deal quicker than the fastest time of the day and record ZEN had set at Knockhill in 2007 (53.450). Unfortunately the qualifying session was dogged by red-flags and stoppages and so Tom was unable to push on any further. Nevertheless the team was thoroughly pleased to have not only qualified 4th but also improved laptimes by 2.112 seconds since the first session of the day.

Going in to the Superbattle the team were confident of a solid performance but knew it would be tough session, with the front runners fully on form whilst ZEN were still struggling with a brand new car. Tom worked hard, pitting several times to check tyre pressures and temperatures but could only squeeze a fraction more time out of the car. The session ended for ZEN as a coolant hose popped off and seconds later the chequered flag was waved. In the final standings, ZEN were 5th with a 52.879s, staggering close to Steve Guglielmi in 4th with 52.876s, with just 0.693s separating the top 5!

Team ZEN left Scotland with a well-earned 16 points and yet another long-list of improvements to be made to the car. Currently lying in equal 11th place, ZEN are looking forward to Silverstone on June 1st, where the team will also be running the Team Orange Drift Performance cars of Tanaka and Kumakubo - should be a great day out!

The photography featured here is the work of Power Images and Rich Sams

Time Attack Round 1: Donington, April 2008

The ZEN wide-body Impreza made an unscheduled debut at Round 1 of Time Attack at Donington Park on the 5th and 6th April 2008.

A last minute rule clarification meant that Team ZEN were forced to make the difficult decision to prepare and run the British Racing Green car at Donington, some 6 weeks before schedule!

Completing what preparations time allowed on the car, at 8am on the Saturday after several sleepless nights, the team were in garage number 1 at Donny just one hour later, ready to begin practice. Having slashed the specification list the car was far from finished: It was visually distinct from lack of aero (not even a front splitter or rear wing) and lack of racing livery (which had the commentators confused!) But it was also disadvantaged dramatically by the unseen – no front or rear anti-roll bars, no set-up time on the new custom suspension or brakes, minimal mapping on the fresh engine and absolutely no testing of the complete package. Clearly not how ZEN intended to begin the season but the team felt that it was important to contend for points given the number up for grabs (and to lose out on!)

Saturday was promising, with driver Phil pleasantly surprised at the handling of the car straight out of the box and in such a raw state. He was thoroughly impressed with the new driving position and pleased to report that the car felt quicker, more responsive and full of potential.

In the first session on Sunday, team timing showed Phil second behind the Tein/Autosportif Impreza although sadly the official transponder was not working at this stage. The ZEN car was also recorded by the chief scrutineer as having the second highest top-speed on the approach to the Dunlop bridge.

Unfortunately ZEN suffered with various problems in the remaining sessions, largely due to pushing an untested car too hard. As the team left the track on the Sunday evening moral was definitely low, not helped by the bitter wind and snowy conditions but true to the spirit that keeps the team going, plans were already afoot for development of the car for Round 2. See you there!

The photography featured here is the work of Jon Moss Photography