Round 4 Of The Time Attack Championship At Donington Park

Following our previous success in the earlier Time Attack Championship rounds, the pressure was on with all eyes on Team VUDU as the team to beat…

After another hard week in the VUDU Performance workshop working away on all three of our track vehicles, both our drivers and mechanics were fired up and ready to roll for this one in attempt to beat off the competition and retain our Time Attack Championship crown. With the competition getting stronger and temperatures surpassing 30 degrees, we knew this was going to be our toughest test so far.

We were realistic enough to know Andy won’t be winning the Championship, that’s a given. We’d therefore be using this time more for testing and data logging the vehicle to see exactly where it’s at. The data received from the logs will be crucial for further track events, especially when running that little extra power.

The Warmup

All three Team VUDU drivers exited the pits under strict instructions from returning workshop manager Patrick, not to push the cars too hard and cause damages so early in the day. When the cars reached their desired temperature, the lap times began to tumble which instilled some much-needed confidence in the team that we were ahead of the pace of the other drivers on the track.

The Practise Laps

As we rolled out from the pits, the temperature really started to heat up causing both the cars and drivers to suffer. With this in mind, returning workshop manager Patrick advised the drivers to build slowly and to keep a watchful eye out on the heat management.

The practise lap times were in our favour, even with Andy reporting that the race car was starting to feel somewhat sluggish…Little did we know that this was the start of much larger issues to come later in the day.

Qualifying Laps

Full of confidence from the practise laps, we flew into qualifying very confident that a 1,2,3 place finish could well be on the cards for the team, something we’d yet to achieve in the previous rounds. Our hopes of this achievement took a significant dash when Andy in the race car experienced some issues with the pedal box, putting an end to his qualifying run. Nick and Ben however did manage to put some much-needed points on the board for the team with a fine 1,2 finish.

The Finals

It was time to push for the Round 4 Time Attack crown and neither of our drivers were holding back. Perseverance from technicians Elliot and Patrick also meant that Andy’s race car was patched up and ready to go for the battle ahead.

With over 33 degrees ambient temperature this was by far the hardest showing we’ve had with plenty of failures up and down the field. Ben and Nick swapped places on several occasions whilst Andy maintained a healthy 3rd place gap meaning the 1,2,3 finish was well and truly on the cards. All our drivers had to do was maintain the pace and keep an eye out on the competition behind them.

With just a few minutes to go, Nick took the lead once again, closely followed by Ben and Andy to finish in the well deserved 1,2,3 podium lockout.

Key Modifications on The Time Attack Leading Voodoo Car:

• VT330R Hybrid Turbo
• AIRTEC Stage 3 Intercooler
• Kaaz Differential
• VUDU Engine Mount
• Powerflex Bush Kit
• Turbosmart Recirculation Valve
• ITG Cold Air Intake System
• ITG Crossover Pipe
• VUDU Downpipe
• VUDU Short Shift
• VUDU Oil Plug
• Eibach Front Anti Roll Bar
• Whiteline Rear Anti Roll Bar
• Peron VT330r E Software
• Airtec VT330R Specific Boost Pipe Kit
• SUMMIT Bracing

The Aftermath

We caught up with all three of our drivers to get their own take on the day.

Andy Taylor in the Race Car:

“It’s about time I got hold of some silverware! Credit to the whole team, especially Patrick and Elliot who have worked tirelessly to get the race car up to the standard required to compete at the very top!”

Ben Copson in his own VUDU Powered Stage 3 Fiesta:

“Happy, really happy! I almost had Nick at the end there but for the team to come away with a 1,2,3 podium finish shows how far the team has come from day one.”

Nick Cook in the Voodoo Car:

“That was hard work, extremely tired and extremely hot but obviously buzzing for the whole team once again, especially Andy whose had a real hard time of it in the previous rounds. We want to show the Fiesta community that you can put a car together, drive it to the circuit, compete and potentially win before driving home. Our very own Voodoo car demonstrates this perfectly, leading the Time Attack standings without us having to spending an enormous budget.”

As always, the team at VUDU Performance would once again like to say a HUGE thank you for all your recent support, with a BIG shout out to all our suppliers and sponsors for helping us on our way to our fourth straight Time Attack Championship silverware.

Roll on Round 5 at Mallory Park! We are now extremely confident the Time Attack Championship will be won by a VUDU powered Fiesta. Will it be Nick or Ben? Find out on the 13^th of October!