EBC Bluestuff brakes work perfectly for championship winning Vulcan team at Silverstone

Posted by admin

June 30, 2011

Dan Ludlow and Peter Burchill of Vulcan racing had fantastic success last weekend at Silverstone race circuit during the MG Live event.

Both drivers use EBC Brakes new Bluestuff NDX compound and EBC GD series sport brake discs in their race winning MGZR and MGZS cars.

Here is a race report of the day:

MG Live – Silverstone GP Circuit.
The team arrived on mass on Thursday night to set up camp in pit garage 4 in preparation for racing at MG Live. This year we had entered 3 cars:

MGZR 190	Dan Ludlow with special guest Slim Borgudd	PBIC races & Enduro
MGZS 180	Peter Burchill with special guest Anthony Reid	PBIC races & Enduro
MGZR 160	Dave Brown & Sarah Budby	PBIC races

We set up the garage and got the cars unloaded and carried out full spanner checks and set changes to suit the fast flowing F1 circuit that we would be testing on in final preparation for testing on Friday.

Friday testing:
All 3 cars tested giving each of our drivers the chance to learn the circuit and for Sarah to get in the car for only here second time and put in some good consistent testing times, however due to red flags the session were not as productive as we would have liked, but that’s testing for you.

Saturday:
For the team this was a great day of networking and meeting sponsors who had joined us for the weekend at the MGCC premier event. However our mechanics were busy as from Fridays feed back and times. With all cars being re set up and corner weighted and suspension tweaks in anticipation of Sunday’s busy racing schedule.

Sunday:
The main events were with us with 2 qualification sessions and 2 championship races followed by a 45 minute endurance race. Red Bull was on tap for the mechanics and pit lane helpers as with only 10 minutes between events to fuel check and change tyres it was busy to say the least.

We are very proud that we had been joined by Slim Borgudd and Anthony Reid. Who had agreed to share 2 of the team cars for the endurance race. Special thanks o Steve Carr at the MGCC (for allowing this).

With the sun burning through it was set to be a good day.

PBIC Qualifying – 45 cars filled the holding area, 27 from our championship and 21 from Cockshoot Cup so for our drivers we faced a new circuit and a mass of cars we did not know.

Sarah for the first time qualified in session with Peter and Dan leaving Dave to qualify out of session due to car sharing for the 2nd PBIC race.

Dan qualified on Pole 2.29.079

Peter qualified 16th 2.44.717

Sarah qualified 19th 2.45.296

Endurance Race Qualifying – We had a small gap to get the cars ready for the session our guest drivers were ready and Dan and Peter did 3 required laps to allow Slim and Anthony to get used to the cars…..
And did they…

Slim put the car on P3 with a stunning 2.27.793 beating a full spec Britcar to be the fastest ZR of the day.

Anthony put the car on P9 on road tyres with a 2.33.444 the fastest ZS of the day.

We can’t thank our guests enough as the help and suggestions given to all members of the team, which will stand us all in good stead for the racing ahead.

Anthony “It’s clear the MGZS shares the same DNA as that of the touring cars I drove”
Slim “One of the best prepared club race cars I have seen or driven”

Race 8 PBIC – 28 degrees with tarmac searing the PBIC /Cockshoot formed up on the GP Circuit ready for the 5 sec board and the lights went out and the battle started, all 3 made good starts and the fighting for places started. What a circuit hard on cars, hard on brakes and tyres however all 3 of the team cars performed well. With such a variety of cars it was a real test for Sarah who in here second race drove superbly to a good result. Peter pushed hard and fault past a very wide V8 to move up the grid, while Dan stole the show with starting Pole and winning the race, however fastest lap went to Ollie again.

Dan finished 1st overall 1st in PBIC fastest lap 2.30.051

Peter finished 10th overall 7th in PBIC and 2nd in class fastest lap 2.40.712

Sarah finished 19th overall 14th in PBIC and 5th in class fastest lap 2.45.675

Race 12 PBIC – 39 cars lined up for the 2nd race of the day with Dan and Peter having already experience the charge for first corner this time it was down to David Brown in the ZR to start at the rear 39th (due to car share). The lights went out and Dan was piped to the first corner by Ollie while being chased by the pack, one of the cars had a spin into the wall but the driver was unhurt and we all charged round the 3.6 mile circuit.

Peter was tied in a battle with a V8’s MGF and Midgets from his 14th starting point; however Dave was on a charge from the back of the pack. By halfway through the race all cars had made good progress and with the high temperatures on track tyres we going off and handling was key. The flag was a waved and the team cars had finished all in one piece (David suffered a few rubs going through the pack).

Dan Finished 1st overall 1st in PBIC fastest lap 2.28.639

Peter finished 11th overall 7th in PBIC and 2nd in class fastest lap 2.42.209

David finished 16th overall 10th in PBIC and 5th in class fastest lap 2.45.675 (That’s 23 places made up)

Endurance Race – With only 20 minutes to get the cars ready and tyre changes the boys worked flat out, both cars were ready fuelled and on the grid. This was Peter’s first race on slicks and was to prove eventful on the first lap. Thanks to Anthony & Slim, Peter and Dan started right in the thick of it.

Go go go and the battle began, both cars got a great start and held station into turn one, buy hanger straight the field was spreading out with Dan in the thick of the pack at the front, Peter was defending and struggling with cold tyres, but with lap one complete Dan had a alternator failure resulting with him coasting into the pit lane, and having to push the car the last 150 yards until in sight of the pit crew, some clever use of a jump pack and gaffer tape saw the car rejoin 4 laps down. Buy this time Peter was finding grip and racing with another ZS of Ewart Kitson trying to make up places after a trip across the grass at the end of the new start finish straight.

The pit lane was due to open and when Peter was given a board with a P on he mistakenly dived into the pits on the following lap not before dispatching Kitson through Maggots. However on arrival it was clear that the pits were not open and in frustration Peter rejoined the track to put in one of his fastest laps.
The Pits are open! Peter and Dan dived in to let the guest drivers take over…

The pace of both cars was superb with lap times tumbling the boys cut there way through the pack. Anthony put on a storming pace and got us into P3, in fact he drove the bumper of the car much to the crowds amusement in a touring car style dragged it with him for several laps. Anthony tried driving full chat down hanger straight on the grass to try and shack it off, however an additional pit stop was required to rip it off a lap before the end of the race. At the Flag Anthony took P6 for the team with a flying 2.31.576. Mean while Slim drove to the flag with a best lap of 2.30.426.

I would like again to thank our guests and sponsors for the support to allow us to run the cars for this event. We look forward to Thruxton and the next rounds in July.