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Audi Driver International 2008
Saturday 11th October say the sixth running of Audi Driver International which is an Audi only track day, trade show and Concours d’Elegance all rolled into one.
CBP took part in the event by means of exhibiting with a trade display for the many track day drivers, club exhibitors and spectators that turned up for a very sunny and unusually warm October day. We were there to highlight the products that PAGID and ZF SACHS have to offer which are specifically tailored for high performance road and track day use, to improve there track day experience.
The trade section had many stands from all the leading Audi/VW tuners including many CBP customers, such as, APS, Jabbasport, JBS, Milltek Sport, MRC Tuning and QST to name just a few. Also there were stands from Autoglym and Meguiar’s to keep the Concours and detailing fans happy with the latest products on offer.
On the track there were all manner of vehicles covering Audi’s heritage from NSU, DKW, a large number of UR Quattro’s, right up to the latest R8 model, giving plenty of variety for the many spectators that turned up. There was also an opportunity for children to be driven around Castle Combe circuit during the lunchtime break at slower speeds following a pace car in convoy, this proved very popular!
Audi International is also a focal point for almost all Audi related car clubs, with club stands for A2 Owners Club, Audi Owners Club, Audi-Sport.net, Classic Audi Forum, DKW Club, TT Owners Club, and many more. This gave visitors the opportunity to view almost all Audi models new and old, and see some very special examples in the Concours d’Elegance.
The day ended with a Grand Parade of all the Track Day, Club and Concours cars being driven in convoy around the 1.9 mile race circuit. Trade and Club exhibitors were then invited afterwards to the annual Gala Dinner at the Swindon Hilton Hotel.
The evening begins with a champagne reception at Swindon Audi, followed by a Gala Dinner attended by personalities from Audi UK, staff from Audi Centers, members of Audi clubs and Audi enthusiasts, along with representations from all the major Audi tuning and aftermarket industry.
The evening finishes with the Audi Driver Annual Awards which are voted for each year by the Audi Driver Readers.
Strong results for PAGID customers at Britcar 24 hour race
The 4th running of the Britcar 24 hour race got underway in dramatic fashion at 4.30pm on Saturday 20th September. The pole sitting #3 Eclipse Mosler spun under acceleration at the rolling start before he had crossed the start line, in the resulting avoidance the #7 TVR Sagaris took to the grass to avoid contact, lost control, hitting the wall and bouncing back onto the track under the bridge, only to be hit very heavily by the Works Team LNT Ginetta G50.
The remaining 49 cars that took the start made it through the wreckage and debris of the accident and were taken up by the safety car that had been deployed. Our attention went out immediately to the 2 drivers of the cars, Richard Dean in the Ginetta got out of the car and although shaken was able to walk up the pit lane back to his garage, with no obvious injuries. Unfortunately Andy Neate in the TVR had suffered injuries, the medical support was soon on hand and the marshals and doctors made him as comfortable as possible while the crew removed the roof and roll cage of the car to be able to extract Andy from the car, he was then taken to the medical centre and then on via air ambulance to hospital.
We wish Andy a speedy recovery and our thoughts are with his wife and family at this time.
The race continued under the safety car for the first hour while the unfortunate incident was attended to by the marshals, the lead car at that time was the Chris Beighton Marcos Mantis, having only completed 16 laps in the first hour.
By the 3rd hour the #6 Paragon Porsche 997 GT3 RSR running a Sachs carbon clutch and PAGID RS29 brake pads had taken over the lead, followed within 2 laps by the #26 Strakka Racing BMW E46 GTR also running on RS29 pads, which was voted the best looking car in the race by the commentators. On the same lap and another PAGID customer was the Top Cats Racing Marcos Mantis, having another strong run this year. It had proved a very eventful first 3 hours and many of the expected front running GT3 spec cars encountering various problems with transmission and engine, which meant the leader board was almost constantly changing.
Hour 6, the top 3 were unchanged, but he Paragon Porsche had increased the lead to 3 laps and the 3 Aston Martin N24’s were climbing up the leader board due to the amazing reliability and good fuel economy, with all teams sticking in consistent lap times, keeping all 3 Astons comfortably in the top 10. Good news as all 3 cars were running PAGID RS29, which is what the N24 Prodrive built cars come fitted with as standard. Considering the N24 models have the same brake calipers and the same diameter discs as the road cars, the brake performance and durability is testament to the quality of the components fitted.
Between the 6th and 7th hours, the Paragon Porsche developed a problem and came into the pit garage, the resulting stop and repairs dropped the car from 1st to as far down as 15th place, and had lost 21 laps as a consequence. When the car got back out on track it began to put in consistently quick lap times, and steadily climbed back up the leader board, and by the 12th hour was back up to 12th place. By now the Top Cats Marcos Mantis had taken over the lead, and it would stay there into the 18th hour of the race, by which point the Paragon car had fought its way back to 3rd place overall. And by this point there were not many cars that had not suffered some king of problem, but the teams worked hard and many cars managed to get back out on track to continue the race.
During the 19th hour the #6 Paragon car was back at the head of the field, a lead which it kept until the end of the race, easing off to take the chequered flag by 3 laps from the #24 Beachdean Aston Martin N24, this was followed by the #20 Autocar Aston Martin N24 and then the Beachdean #25 sister car, some 10 laps down on the winning car.
During the 24 hour race, the Paragon team had a few technical problems with their car, but no such issues with the brakes. The car completed the race with the same brake pads and discs it started with, in fact the brake pads still had 7mm of friction material remaining. Some competitors using other manufacturers brake friction needed to change pads several times, and also change discs during the event.
This proved very beneficial to Paragon as a brake pad change on the car meant that they had to remove the calipers before they could extract the brake pads, which would have taken several minutes. And reports suggest that at least one team that had to change brake pads, suffered further set back when a caliper piston popped out while changing pads, making the process even longer.
The result gave a PAGID RS 29 clean sweep of the top 4 positions, and ultimately out of 51 starters 25 cars chose PAGID as the friction material. So again the race proved that for performance, endurance, consistency and low disc wear, PAGID RS is the only pad to use, particularly in this kind of environment. Some of the competitors not using PAGID RS, did not see the advantage that helped the top 4 teams to there finishing positions. Perhaps next time they will consider PAGID RS as the only choice!!
On behalf of PAGID RS and ZF Sachs Race Engineering, we would like to send out our congratulations to Mark Sumpter and the rest of the Paragon Porsche Team, that brought a new un-tested car to them, into the 24 hour race and take away victory!
IF Motorsport win in VdeV UK with PAGID RS brake pads
IF Motorsport tried PAGID RS5 brake pads for the first time at the recent VdeV UK round at Brands Hatch, they literally fitted new RS5 brake pads and brake discs went out for the official test and qualifying and taking pole position. The team were very impressed by many aspects of the brake performance over there previous pad supplier, mainly the constant friction level, extremely good control against wheel lock, and the additional life the pad gave.
This is particularly pleasing during the race, given that the conditions where more suited to power boat racing at times, the 3 Ligier’s of IF Motorsport dominated the field, setting a blistering pace and the 2 lead IF Ligier’s taking turns in leading, only for the car of Wilson/McKeever to suffer a gear selection problem, meaning they had to run the later part of the race with only 4th gear, but still managing to bring the car home in second, giving the IF team an excellent 1-2 finish.
Pretty impressive given that the team was not familiar with performance and feel of the new PAGID RS brake pads.
IF Motorsport are the UK importers and distributors for Ligier Race Cars, and also supply on event parts sales for this car, as well as other associated Motorsport products.
We look forward to working with IF Motorsport in the future to develop a customer base in this growing area of endurance motor racing.
Performance VW Magazine ZF Sachs Performance Clutch Feature
We were approached by David Kennedy, staff writer on “Performance VW” magazine, to give our recommendations for a high performance clutch that would handle the additional torque achieved form his re-mapped Tdi engine. The common problem he was experiencing was the clutch/flywheel shuddering under load, and from his experience, Sachs Race Engineering offered the best solution to this problem, based on the number of tuners and owners using this kit. So we advised that with his level of tune, it was still advisable to stick with dual mass flywheel, mainly for comfort reasons, and he would need an up-rated Sachs clutch cover, matched to a rigid organic drive plate, which gives a virtual OEM pedal response, but is rated at 407 lb/ft torque when used in combination with the up-rated organic drive plate. On higher torque applications Sachs now have a complete billet steel flywheel and clutch module, but due to the loss of the dual mass flywheel a little more vibration transfer from the engine can be expected, but the flywheel will never fail, which can be a problem with the dual mass flywheel, when subjected to high torque loads.The following article from Performance VW looks at the installation of the clutch and flywheel, and David gives his thoughts on initially driving the car post fitment.
Audi / VW Driver Track Day - Castle Combe July 26th
We attended the popular Audi / VW Driver track day on Saturday 26th July at Castle Combe in Wiltshire. This was done in partnership with APS of Brackley, Northants, a very respected Audi / VW tuner who have attended several of these track day events, who had a trade stand. Audi / VW magazine track days are very well organizes and give the track day enthusiast contact with tuners and specialist product providers at the race circuit, as well as club stands from various model owners clubs, and also a “Show and Shine” detailing section. So quite different from the normal track day!
The day started with signing on and driver briefings shortly before the track opened at 9.00am, and attracted all manor of VAG group vehicles which ranged from Race Prepared Golf Mk1, and a Race Prepared Bora with R32 engine and transmission, through numerous RS4’s to the “Milltek Sport” Track Prepared Audi R8. The Milltek guys reporting that they are very happy with the brake system after changing to “PAGID Blue” RS4-2 pads, no sign of fade, and very consistent brake performance even with the very hot conditions and running all day with passenger rides.
Also on show was the Golf MK5 GTi 30 edition of APS, this car runs as a demo car with many of the companies modifications, including the ZF Sachs Race Engineering coil-over suspension system which has proved very popular for them. This kit which is both height and force adjustable, offers very subtle road manners whilst set on a soft setting, but is very easily adjustable to alter the damper stiffness in order to make the suspension work better during a track day. We received several enquiries about this system on the day, and had a set on hand to show potential customers the build quality and ease of adjustment of these dampers, that are taken from the design of the Porsche Supercup suspension.
We also had several enquires regarding the best brake pads to use during track days, so we were happy to advise on each individual instance, as it is important to look at each application and driver to give the most accurate assessment. We aim to offer this service at future Audi /VW track days, to make drivers more aware of the extreme conditions that there brake systems are subjected to during a track day, so hopefully more drivers will be able to drive for more than 2-3 laps during a session, without experiencing brake fade and associated thermal stress.
We will be attending the next “Audi Track Day” on 11th October, also at Castle Combe.
Something a little different...
We have been involved in providing braking solutions for the Fiat Coupe Club (FCCUK) for few years now, supplying PAGID brake pads, DBA discs and performance brake fluid to members who have previously found it difficult to find a good pad and disc combination to work on this difficult platform.
Unique operating conditions and design criteria meant that the 20v Turbo models in particular have a heavy front end, bags of power and poor cooling to the front brakes, create an environment that gave the brake system a hard time. This normally resulted in low pad and disc life, and during track day use often brake fade and disc cracking, etc.
We worked for a while to get the best combination of disc and pad, both for road and track use, the results have shown a major increase in both pad and disc life, and no fade or cracking / warping issues.
This involvement led us to come into contact with Marco Haig, a member of the Fiat Coupe Club who had been developing his car to compete in the Time Attack series. The time attack series attracts mostly highly modified Japanese road cars, such as Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, etc. So a Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo is certainly an usual and welcome sight in the Club Class of this popular championship. Marco currently uses a larger than standard Brembo brake disc and caliper set-up which is bespoke designed and manufactured, and runs PAGID RS29 (Yellow) brake pads.
We wish Marco and his team the very best of luck in the Championship, and we congratulate him on bringing such an unusual car to the series.
PAGID WINS 10th CONSECUTIVE SEBRING 12 HOUR RACE
Twelve cars from nine race teams and four manufacturers, Porsche (911GT3 RSR), Ferrari (F430 GT), Ford (GT40) and Chevrolet (Corvette) run on PAGID racing brake pads.
The Flying Lizard Porsches claim a terrific 1-2 finish with the #45 factory Porsche GT3 RSR of Jörg Bergmeister; Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb, taking the win over their teammates in the #44 Porsche GT3 RSR of Darren Law, Seth Neiman and Alex Davison.
The #61 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT of Eric van de Poele, Nic Jonsson and Tracy Krohn completed a sweet PAGID podium sweep.
The Porsche win was the 10th consecutive victory for PAGID in the 56th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, America s oldest and most prestigious sports car race.
This is a result of doing what we do best making just racing brake pads.
Multiple Champions Jamun Racing Dominate First UK Formula Ford Weekend 2008!!
24 March, 2008
Race 1
Team-mates Wayne Boyd and Tim Blanchard gave reigning champion team Jamun Racing the best possible start to its British Formula Ford Championship season at Oulton Park today, Ulsterman Boyd winning two of the day's races and Australian Blanchard taking victory in the third to establish a slender points lead. Jamun Racing rely on the PAGID Brake Pads to give them the advantage over there closest rivals, and this has helped them to be the benchmark in this class over the last 3 seasons.
The first of the three Oulton Park openers provided a thrilling but all-too-brief duel for victory between Boyd and Blanchard, with the race curtailed after just six laps after a three-car crash.
The tricky damp conditions may have caught out some but there were no mistakes from 17-year-old Boyd, the reigning Ulster Formula Ford Champion, nor from '07 Australian Champion Blanchard, 20. Wayne's Mygale led away from the pole and was leading again - just - when it mattered, as the red flags flew. "Tim gave me a bit of a hard time, passing me on the second lap," said Wayne, "but I managed to repass him and once I'd made a bit of a break I knew I'd be OK."
Race 2
A full 18 minutes of racing in round two gave Boyd the opportunity really to underline his pace. Wayne simply blasted away from his second pole of the day and by the end of the opening lap had opened out a 1.5s advantage over Blanchard, whose pursuit was vigorous but ultimately futile.
Echoing the 2007 performances of his Jamun predecessor and reigning champion Callum MacLeod, Boyd banged in fastest lap after fastest lap, lowering the circuit record by half a second as he pulled clear; by the seventh of the 11 laps Wayne was a full 5s clear of Blanchard. "It went really well," said Boyd. "I got my head down early and made the break, and then I was able to slow the pace towards the end."
Blanchard was a gracious runner-up: "Wayne drove very well," he said, "and I need to find a little more pace in my car if I'm to stay with him."
It might well have been a Jamun 1-2-3, with young Brazilian Victor Correa (a spinner in race one) keeping well in touch with his team-mates and fending off Barber until a sixth-lap error at Knickerbrook handed third to Sorensen. Barber's hopes of a podium finish had meanwhile ended on the fourth lap with mechanical problems.
Race 3
Boyd made another superb getaway in race three and pulled a useful early lead over Blanchard once again, only to see all his hard work negated by another safety car deployment, this time after the sleet-slicked track triggered a multi-car crash accounting for Hamilton, Wood and De Wit.
Blanchard came under severe pressure from Sorensen towards the end but failed to yield, crossing the line to take victory ahead of the Dane by three-tenths of a second. Brown was an excellent third, hauling his way up from eighth on the grid and reveling in the slippery conditions.
Correa survived a spin under the safety car to recover to seventh, ahead of team-mate Cole, who had been forced to sit out race two. Boyd, who had dropped virtually to last, set fastest lap on the final tour on his way to ninth, just ahead of Maliepaard.
Provisional results
British Formula Ford round 1 (of 25)
Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 5 laps / 13.46 miles
1, Wayne Boyd, GB/Templepatrick, Jamun, Mygale, 8m 39.916s
2, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, +0.932s
3, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +1.571s
4, Matt Hamilton, GB/Hemel H'stead, JTR, Mygale, +9.204s
5, Westley Barber, GB/Saffron Walden, Comtec, Comtec, +9.336s
6, David Brown, GB/Glasgow, Fluid, Van Diemen, +9.380s
10th & Scholarship class: Garry Findlay / GB/Eye / Mygale +14.418s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 41.351s / 95.62mphRound 2 / Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 11 laps / 29.61 miles
1, Wayne Boyd, GB/Templepatrick, Jamun, Mygale, 18m 39.777s
2, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, +4.233s
3, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +5.782s
4, Victor Correa, BRA/Sao Paulo, Jamun, Mygale, +5.978s
5, Matt Hamilton, GB/Hemel H'stead, JTR, Mygale, +9.492s
6, Linton Stuteley, GB/Hitchin, Getem, Mygale, +12.261s
13th & Scholarship class: Alex Jones / GB/Anglesey / Van Diemen +42.824s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 40.683s / 96.25mph RecRound 3 / Oulton Park 24/3/2008. 9 laps / 24.23 miles
1, Tim Blanchard, AUS/Victoria, Jamun, Mygale, 19m24.557s
2, Marco Sorensen, DK/Sudbury, Fluid, Van Diemen, +0.293s
3, David Brown, GB/Glasgow, Fluid, Van Diemen, +1.170s
4, Adrian Campfield, GB/Godalming, KMR, Spectrum, +4.439s
5, Westley Barber, GB/Saffron Walden, Comtec, Comtec, +4.949s
6, Linton Stuteley, GB/Hitchin, Getem, Mygale, +5.491s
11th & Scholarship class: Garry Findlay / GB/Eye / Mygale +17.830s
Fastest lap: Boyd 1m 43.760s / 93.40mphZF Sachs partner Ford with strong season opener at Monte Carlo
ZF Sachs Race Report, 27.01.08
Manufacturers’ world champion Ford successfully started to the 2008 World Rally Championship season. Mikko Hirvonen, who competes for the factory team of ZF Sachs’s partner, finished the legendary Rally Monte Carlo as the runner-up behind Sébastien Loeb. The Focus RS WRC fielded by the Ford customer team Stobart, which are fitted with clutches from Schweinfurt as well, showed an equally convincing performance: after a brilliant final offensive that included four best times, the Belgian François Duval finished in fourth place, barely missing a podium position by 1.1 seconds. Finishing in sixth place, his team-mate Gigi Galli scored valuable championship points as well.
Result Rally Monte Carlo (MC), 1st WRC round, 24Jan-27Jan 08:
1. S. Loeb/D. Elena, Citroën, 3h39m17.0s
2. M. Hirvonen/J. Lehtinen, Ford, + 2m34.4s, ZF Sachs
3. C. Atkinson/S. Prévot, Subaru, + 2m58.6s
4. F. Duval/E. Chevailler, Ford, + 2m59.7s, ZF Sachs
5. P. Solberg/P. Mills, Subaru, + 4m40.9s
6. G. Galli/G. Bernacchini, Ford, + 8m46.5s, ZF Sachs
7. J.-M. Cuoq/P. Janvier, Peugeot, +10m24.8s
8. P.-G. Andersson/J. Andersson, Suzuki, +11m19.5s
Drivers’ standings:
1. S. Loeb, 10 points; 2. M. Hirvonen, 8; 3. C. Atkinson, 6; 4. F. Duval, 5; 5. P. Solberg, 4; 6. G. Galli, 3; 7. J.-M. Cuoq, 2; 8. P.-G. Andersson, 1.
Manufacturers’ standings:
1. Citroën, 11 points; 2. Subaru, 10; 3. Ford, 8; 4. Stobart-Ford, 8; 5. Suzuki, 2.
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Regal Autosport take victory in the 2007 VW Racing Cup
27 year old Tony Gilham has been crowned the 2007 VW Racing Champion. He claimed the victory in the penultimate round, despite racing with a failed turbo, after his nearest rival retired due to mechanical problems. Tony finished the season with 462 points, 38 points ahead of Steve Wood who took 2nd place. Joe Fulbrook managed to hang on to 3rd with 398 points.
The Regal Autosport team have had a fantastic season and prepared a stunning car, "We've scored in every race and thats what wins championships. We've had bad luck along the way, like starting three races from the pit lane, but the golf has been consistently quick and reliable".
The Regal Autosport Mk5 Golf GTi has proven to be one of the most reliable cars in the series and Tony was the only driver to secure points from every race. We supplied Regal Autosport with a Performance clutch from ZF Sachs. The Performance Clutch range has proven itself on many occasions and the team have been very impressed with the quality and reliability of the system.
Race Report - Silverstone Britcar 24hr Race
Report by Paul Wilkinson, photography by Barry Gilbert.
This years Silverstone 24 hour race was taken to a new level with a much stronger entry list than the previous 2 races.
59 cars made it to the start, although the Top Gear entry started from the pit lane after a catalogue of problems in testing and qualifying.
IIn fact it seemed like the only thing working for them was the PAGID RS29 brake pads, which performed faultlessly throughout the qualifying and race. 37 of these 59 cars were relying on the very popular (Yellow) PAGID RS29 endurance compound brake pads, used by many teams due to there excellent level of fade free brake performance, long pad life and very low disc wear, resulting in fewer pad and disc changes than other manufacturer’s brake pads.
Possibly due to the Team Top Gear Car, the crowd was much bigger than previous years and indeed there was always a large crowd around the Top Gear Pit garage, making it very difficult to get near the car in the garage and pit lane in order to take brake temperature and wear readings.
The race this year also attracted a much stronger list of possible race winning cars, with the Red Bull backed Duller Motorsport BMW Z4 M Coupe (Last years winning car), and Rollcentre Racing’s Deutsche Bank backed Corvette powered Mosler (2005’s winning car) being the 2 prime candidates.
However there was also a long list of other possible race winning machines, providing a welcomed wide variety of vehicles, which in the top GT3 class included 3 thundering 7ltr Moslers, an equally thundering 7ltr TVR Sagaris and a 7ltr Marcos Mantis, mix with this the Duller BMW Z4M, a Prosport LM3000, Porsche GT2, , Viper, Porsche 997 Cup, a massive 7.5ltr Dodge and the debut of the Jaguar XK GT3.
The GT Cup class was full of various BMW M3 offerings, several Porsche 996 Cup, several Marcos Mantis, a Nissan 350Z GT4 spec car and a beautiful Aston Martin N24V8.
Class 1 again was full of lesser tuned BMW M3’s, along with a wide variety of other marques from Morgan, a Lotus Exige complete with a Honda Civic Type R engine, a Nissan 350Z and a much older Porsche 964 RS, which eventually won it’s class. The rest of the field was a mix of more standard vehicles such as the popular Honda Civic Type R, Honda Integra, MG ZR, and a diesel class with a VW Gold Tdi, several BMW 330dti Sport and a BMW 120d.
Some of these competitors had traveled not only from within the UK, but also from Austria, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Italy and Denmark to take part in this event, now growing in stature.
At 4.30pm on Saturday 7th September, the race got underway with the Rollcentre Mosler on pole with the Duller BMW Z4M just behind. The Chad Racing Mosler gained the lead on the opening lap with Michael Vergers at the wheel, but Stuart Hall in the Rollcentre Mosler got the lead back on the following lap, only for the Duller BMW to take the lead on lap 5 and gradually draw clear of the rest of the field.
The Top Gear Car meanwhile suffered several small problems during the race, and one big one with a collision during the night with the recovering Mosler of Chad Racing on hangar straight which resulted in damage and delay to both cars, but the Top Gear Car did finish with it’s celebrity drivers in 39th place, 3rd in class out of 5 cars.
Some cars however did not fair as well with the J&S Porschce 993 GT2 only managing to complete 3 laps before retirement, and the Lotus Exige from Germany only managing 7 laps.The Duller Z4 M Coupe once again proved far too strong for the rest of the field and ran out winners by 29 laps over the Rollcentre Mosler. The resulting distance between the field highlighted the pace of the BMW and the weaknesses of the opposition. The car ran without any problem apart having to stop for a pit lane infringement. Plans are already underway for the Duller car to return next year for a hatrick.
We wait eagerly to see if any team can come in and compete with Duller at the Silverstone 24 hour race 2008, that Duller have now made there own.Paul was joined at Silverstone by our newest addition to the Team, Steve Liversedge. Here is Steve's report.
This was an excellent opportunity for me to meet our customers and see our pads attached to many of the cars competing at the “Home of British Motorsport”. We got there for testing on Thursday and spent the day delivering, meeting and greeting, and even managed to fit in a bit of spectating
Friday was another day of delivering Pagid RS brake pads and fulfilling more orders. It was a scorching hot day and I rather foolishly kept my sunglasses on, resulting in the panda look for the remainder of the weekend!
Saturday was the big race day, with a full calendar of support races and aerial displays leading up to the big finale. The Dutch Supercar race is worth a mention with the Ex - Dtm Audi TTs dominating the field, with the eventual winner coming from the back of the grid to take the chequered flag from its twin car which had lead from the start despite running on only 7 cylinders!Further excitement was provided by the air displays including a mock dog fight between a Me109 and mk5 Spitfire and a Yak 35 piloted by Will Curtis hovering in mid air, and Will fresh claiming second place in his Juno V6 during the Britsports championship race earlier that day
A lot ofTV crew and 'hangers-on' surrounded garage one for the whole weekend as the Top Gear team made its preparations for their entry in the diesel class of the 24hr race, and we spent quite a while laughing at the sponsor logos attached to their BMW.
Unfortunately their preparations were in true top gear style panicked and frenzied approaching the start of the race, meaning they missed the pit lane walkabout, parade lap and ultimately ended up starting the race from the pit lane. I wont reveal their final position but as reported recently, the race was not without incident for them especially Richard Hammond! All in all it was an excellent way to spend the weekend and topped off an excellent first week in my employment for the company!
Silverstone Britcar 24hr Race
Now firmly established in the UK's race calendar, the 3rd 24 hour epic endurance race delivers all the awe-inspiring thrills and spills of racing twice around the clock.
The competitor list looks like a who's who of motor racing, and a number of teams will be looking to emulate their success from last year and maybe even take the title.
One of the new teams includes a group of drivers from Top Gear. Jeremy, James, Richard and the Stig will be racing in a BMW 330 Dti running RS29 all round. The BBC is filming their efforts for a Top Gear Special to be aired later in the year. We will be providing technical support to the team throughout the race.
www.silverstone.co.uk/php/rm_britCar.php
Victory for Ferrari F430GT on PAGID pads at the Twelve Hours of Sebring
Sebring, Florida March 17 2007
Cars on Pagid Brake Pads dominated the GT2 class by coming in one to seven.
That marked the 8th straight Sebring win for the yellow Pagid endurance pads.
At the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring the battle between the Ferrari and Porsche lasted throughout the entire day, one of the most thrilling editions of the Florida classic. The Risi Competizione's Ferrari F430GT of Mika Salo, Johnny Mowlem and Jamie Melo beat the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3RSR of Jorg Bergmeister, Marc Lieb and Johannes Van Overbeek to the finish line by 0.20 seconds, the closest finish in Sebring's 55-year history. "It was really tight with the Flying Lizard Porsche," Mika Salo said. "We were absolutely flat out the entire way. The GT2 class is the best racing in this Series; it's going to be like this all year."
Tafel Racing's Porsche of Wolf Henzler, Robin Liddell and Patrick Long finished third.
www.sebringraceway.com/12hour.lasso
From the race track to the road: the new Performance Coil-over Suspension
The Performance Coil-over Suspension developed by ZF Sachs Race Engineering is now also being made available for road use. The so-called “upside-down“ principle offers tangible benefits in day-to-day application and proves, yet again, that successful technology transfer from racing to the road is possible.
Precise and robust
The new Performance Coil-over Suspension from ZF Sachs Race Engineering for use in road vehicles is a special combination of dampers and suspension springs. The suspension design consists of “upside-down“ dampers with coil springs for the front and multi-part aluminium height adjustments for the rear suspension. Not only does this clearly add precision to turn-in behaviour but traction, as well, is significantly improved.
The limit range, which has been notably raised, also impacts on lap time. With this “upside-down“ design the piston rod does not travel upwards in the direction of the upper mounting point, but downwards in the direction of the suspension.
The benefits
The heavier assembly components are connected to the body, the lighter ones to the suspension. This reduces un-sprung mass. The system also absorbs high lateral forces very well, is very robust and stands for long service life. Also, this system has already proved its viability in racing in various cups such as the Porsche Carrera Cup.
The Performance Coil-over Suspension features two adjustment parameters, meaning that bump and rebound damping can be variably adjusted by means of 20 clicks. Damper characteristics can thus be adjusted very simply and conveniently to the respective damping force.
The upside-down design uses a mono-tube system and offers numerous benefits:
- Quick response
- Wide adjustment range
- Low weight (aluminium)
- Easy handling
- Quick assembly
- Low-cost installation
Complete coil-over suspension kit includes:
- 2 x upside-down struts with height and performance adjustment, mono-tube system
- 2 x front suspension springs
- 2 x rear suspension dampers with performance adjustment, mono-tube system
- 2 x rear suspension springs
- 2 x rear suspension height adjustment
to Contact us for the current application list and prices click here.
Pagid Ceramic Brake Friction - Leading the Field
With almost a decade of research and a constant focus on development, TMD Friction is leading the field in ceramic friction technology. Ceramics may be a buzzword in the industry in 2006 - but as a material compound ceramics have been used in brake friction for many years. The key is not in using ceramics materials but in making them work effectively, and this is a process that requires years of careful development and co-ordination between the friction and the vehicle manufacturer. Developed in partnership with Porsche, Ferrari and other high performance vehicles fitted with ceramic brake discs, Pagid ceramic friction materials have been approved for original equipment for many years. Ceramic technology is not a static field and continues to evolve; TMD Friction with Pagid high performance materials moves forward in step.
With the ceramic RS pad range, PAGID Racing is the official supplier to the Porsche Super Cup and Ferrari Challenge, running on ceramic discs. For the second year now Porsche continues to utilise this technology in the Super Cup, consistently achieving higher performance and improved results.
The Pagid RS racing material portfolio also includes many compounds developed and engineered for use with steel discs, used today at the highest levels of Motorsports and approved as original equipment with Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, AMG, Bugatti, Lamborghini and many more of the worlds most demanding brake platforms.
Achieving Constant Torque - "The Holy Grail" of Race Braking
Road Racing Brakes have increased in diameter over recent years and consequently are more efficient.
In developing a predictable, consistent friction, PAGID racing has engineered brake pads with excellent modulation characteristics, which provide not only a very good pedal feel but also limit tire lock up. Preventing flat spots is critical in achieving race success, especially on long distance races such as the Daytona 24h race 2006 in which 60% of the field used PAGID's RS brake pads.
More race series are also now using low grip standardized tires (lower road adhesion) leading to racing brakes having better modulation, controllability and drivability rather than ultra high friction levels. High initial bite very often feels fast for the driver but this is mainly subjective while the ability to trail brake often leads to quicker lap times or out-braking possibilities.
Through the use of very high ceramic material content coupled with years of development and testing PAGID has engineered compounds that increase the adherent friction level. Rather than using abrasive friction as the basis for stopping as with most other current racing brake pads, the engineers at PAGID chose adherent friction as the foundation. Whilst abrasive friction works by having abrasive particles dig into the disc, adherent friction creates a transfer layer of non-abrasive particles on the disc. The result is excellent disc and pad wear coupled with performance proven by numerous wins in endurance races such as Le Mans, Daytona, Spa and Sebring.
West Tuning VW R32
Ray West and his team at West Tuning have hit the headlines again with a superb tuned R32 Golf. The 3.2 V6 underwent a number of modifications including custom modifying the engine management software, boring out the throttle body, fitting a full length stainless steel exhaust, and a pair of special high lift cams. The final output figures were 271 bhp with 244lb.ft of torque. Obviously with this much power, stopping the car takes a high priority. West Tuning developed its own big-brake conversion - 380mm drilled and slotted discs, Porsche GT3 RS four pot monobloc calipers fitted with PAGID RS29 Racing Brake Pads.
Volkswagen Driver magazine ran a four page article on the car. You can read it here.
Tech 9 Motorsport – Porsche European Champions
A very wet Mugello race circuit in Italy provided the perfect platform for Liverpool (UK) based Tech 9 Motorsport, to secure two race wins against very strong competition in the FIA GT3 European GT Championship, with a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. We supplied Tech 9 with ZF Sachs Tripple Plate sintered clutch.
www.tech9.msPorsche unveils 997 GT3 RSR
Using the full resources of the Porsche engineering staff at its Weissach motorsports facility, and combining the racing technology developed over 50 years of motorsports competition, Porsche Motorsport in Germany tested the car at the 24 Hours of Spa in late July with Manthay Racing entering a two-car team, with both cars finishing the event.
The brake system features six-piston aluminium callipers and 35 mm thick brake discs measuring 380 mm in diameter at the front and 30 mm four-piston aluminium callipers with 355 mm diameter discs at the rear.
Like every Porsche race car delivered by Porsche Motorsport also the 997 GT3 RSR comes originally equipped with PAGID racing brake pads.
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product news//New ZF SACHS Formula 1 clutch with additional reserves
The introduction of 2.4 litre V8 engines in Formula 1 two years ago presented the ZF Sachs Race Engineering clutch developers with a huge task due to the changed power data, different oscillation characteristics and new peculiarities related to starting. Another change to the regulations once again necessitated new developments for 2008.Improved engagement behaviour and more favourable slip times already proved to be important optimisation factors during the change to 2.4 litre engines. Greater and longer lasting differences in revs during the start load the clutch significantly more. New gearboxes requiring a different shift strategy also affect clutch wear. From the 2008 season on the demands increase yet again: Traction control is prohibited, and, furthermore, a manual start is now stipulated instead of the automated procedure. However, the loads also climb as a result since the driver can potentially overheat the clutch faster during the start than an automatic system. The new gear shift strategy “seamless shift” increases the demands still further: The gear shift is made without power interruption because the gears engage and disengage simultaneously. So, the clutch also acts as an overload protector for the gearbox.
ZF Sachs Race Engineering provides the Formula 1 grid with different clutches:
A 97 millimeter diameter version as well as the smallest Formula 1 module of 86 millimeters. Three or four friction discs can be used in each unit. The company expects greater demand for the 97 millimeter version in light of the latest change to the regulations. In the material technology field the engineers achieved greater safety margins through even more heat-resistant solutions. A significant improvement in the starting behaviour for 2008 is achieved by a new carbon-fibre friction material, in which the friction coefficient remains constant over temperature change when compared to the previous material. As a result, the starting behaviour is easier to reproduce – a factor of significant importance in 2008 as the age of manual starts returns
2008 ZF Sachs Race Engineering F3 Clutch Package
New for 2008, the latest development from Sachs Race Engineering is a specific development for International F3 Racing.
A new carbon friction material is the starting point for the developments from the engineers from Sachs, the new material offers a very constant friction level throughout the temperature range, offering better engagement characteristics and improved feel to the driver.The second stage of development incorporates a new “Releaser Spring Ring” that fixes to the diaphragm spring between the release bearing face. Tests have shown that this new concept provides approximately 30% more modulation in the engagement of the clutch, giving the driver greater control over the clutch during a standing start, resulting in improved start performance. A major advantage when the start of an F3 race is extremely important as overtaking during the race is very difficult with cars of equal performance.
The system can also be further enhanced with the use of a specific Sachs Concentric Slave Cylinder that incorporates a high quality, low friction bearing contact ring. In order to accept the new “Releaser Spring Ring” a shorter releaser adapter tube is required. The new replacement adapter tube and concentric slave cylinder from Sachs offer improved release characteristics, optimized reduced pedal pressure compared to the standard releaser, and both items are much lighter than the standard items.
The final addition is a new in-line “residual pressure valve” which is incorporated in the hydraulic release system. This valve allows a pre-load in the system, resulting in a constant contact between the release bearing face and the spring release ring. This results in a constant pedal pressure for the driver and the ability not to loose system pressure due to vibration between the engine and gearbox, resulting in the clutch to be disengaged every time!
This system is now available for 2008 Spec Dallara to Mercedes engine spec, but can be easily adapted to suit any F3, or similar application.
Please contact us for more details.
ZF Sachs Performance Coilover Suspension
The new Performance Coilover Suspension from ZF Sachs Race Engineering for use in road vehicles is a special combination of dampers and suspension springs. The suspension design consists of “upside-down“ dampers with coil springs for the front and multi-part aluminium height adjustments for the rear suspension. Not only does this clearly add precision to turn-in behaviour but traction, as well, is significantly improved. The limit range, which has been notably raised, also impacts on lap time. With this “upside-down“ design the piston rod does not travel upwards in the direction of the upper mounting point, but downwards in the direction of the suspension.
The benefits: The heavier assembly components are connected to the body, the lighter ones to the suspension. This reduces unsprung mass. The system also absorbs high lateral forces very well, is very robust and stands for long service life. This system has already proved its viability in racing in various
cups such as the Porsche Carrera Cup.The Performance Coilover Suspension features two adjustment parameters, meaning that bump and rebound damping can be variably adjusted by means of 20 clicks. Damper characteristics can thus be adjusted very simply and conveniently to the respective damping force.
PAGID RS5: The new 'Blue'
RS5 is the latest development from the engineers at PAGID, the design criteria was for a material specific for F3. However initial feedback shows that this compound is a great all rounder.
While still in prototype stage in mid 2005 test sets were issued to a major F3 team, with no prior testing the pads were installed into 2 cars, one of these cars qualified on pole for both races and took lights to flag victories.
This compound displays exceptional control, a higher average friction level than RS4-2 and an increased operating temperature and increased pad life at higher temperatures.
ZF Sachs Race Engineering - New Products 2007
ZF Sachs are keen to start 2007 at full pelt, 4 new products are available; GMFZ 4/86 Y Formula clutch, Group N Rally four-way adjustable suspension, worlds first patented flywheel with freewheel system, and a performance height-adjustable suspension kit.
All of these innovative products are covered in more detail in the new ZF SRE magazine available for download here.
These and many more products will be on display at the Autosport International Motorsport Show in the NEC 11-14th January 2007
DBA Discs
DBA Discs feature a patented kangeroo paw® cooling system, wiperslots and thermal paint indicators.
We have been receiving superb feedback on these discs."OK, got my DBA 4000 wiper slots fitted today, with Pagid Blue 4-2 pads. My previous setup was Mintex solid discs front and back with Mintex 1144 pads & Dot 4 fluid. I took em out for a bit of abuse this evening, jammed on the anchors at 100 down to 40, did this maybe 5 times in succession, took a break and tried again. Performance was exceptional, I thought the car was going to do a bunny hop or whatever they're called .. no fade & exceptional braking. My old mintex fast road pads are good, but suffer from fade (definitely pad fade not down to the fluid) ... there was none of this with the new combo." Fiat Forum UK
Stock includes discs for: AudiS4, BMW M3, Fiat Coupe, Honda, Mitsubishi EVO, Subaru, Vauxhall, and VW. Call us now on 01748 831200 or drop us a line paul@racepads.co.uk or click here for more on DBA discs
