VUDU Performance Clinches The 2019 TIME ATTACK CHAMPIONSHIP

VUDU Performance Sales Director and sponsored driver Nick Cook takes the 2019 Time Attack Championship crown in style at the final round at the Snetterton race circuit!

Follow the full Time Attack Championship journey on our blog HERE.

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 Ups And Downs Of Round 6:

With changing East Anglian conditions ahead, the VUDU team arrived with some work to do. We had previously set the chassis up for dry conditions and been quite aggressive with the camber on the front of the VOODOO car whilst teammate Ben Copson remained somewhere in the middle.

Practice:

Starting out with a greasy circuit on cold tyres, both Cook & Copson desperately tried to find some grip from the cars and generate some much-required heat in the tyres. Mid-session both drivers found the desired heat and times began to tumble with Cook and Copson competing against each other at the very top of the practice times.

After a very impressive lap from Copson, given the conditions, it was then on Cook to bring the VOODOO car home in 2^nd place….and in one piece. An equally impressive lap from Cook came in just a few tenths of a second behind Copson’s time but more importantly, the car rolled into the garage without sustaining any damage or mechanical failure.

Cook expressed that the car was struggling in the wet conditions that came towards the end of the session and that he should have posted his quicker lap time earlier on in the session, however it was not point a scoring round and that concentration was to be made on adjustments prior to qualifying. With minutes to go before heading out for qualifying, technicians, Callum and Patrick were still pushing on with camber adjustments trying to enhance the cars drivability in what looked to be a very wet afternoon session. This is when It all started to unravel…

Qualifying:

Well this was going to add enormous pressure to what was already a nerve-racking experience for the whole team!

Having strapped Cook in the car whilst the techs were still plugging away trying to get everything ready, the car was dropped and Cook set about driving out onto the pit lane. This is where it all was about to go belly up! The car was driving shockingly on the front end attempting to go straight no matter which way the wheel was turned and ultimately had to be limped back round to the garage and sit out qualifying.

Final:

Having worked frantically to re-adjust the chassis set up back to how it was after the mechanics had worked out it had massively affected the TOE out on the VOODOO car, we were back to a straight edge and ready to rock and roll.

Whilst it wasn’t ideal conditions for our dry set up, the circuit was beginning to dry, and the ambient temperature was nice and cool. The VT330R was in its element and both cars were performing faultlessly, lapping at some serious pace and only getting quicker and quicker. Cook led the field by a small margin over Copson mid-session but with one lap to spare this is where Copson shone through and smashed the quickest time by 7 tenths of a second and taking the lap record.

Disqualification:

Copson’s joy was short lived as he was pulled in and disqualified by the MSA scrutineers following a complaint from a competitor that Copson was using a decat and therefore in breach of the MSA blue book.

Whilst this was true it was nothing more than an oversight for us along with every other car in the pocket rocket class.

This led to a driver’s discussion where it was agreed that none of the Fiesta drivers would compete on the Sunday saving the hassle of fitting catalytic converters overnight. This therefore rendered the Championship in the favour of Cook with an unfortunate slide to 3^rd place for Copson with another Fiesta driver moving up to replace him in 2^nd place.

The Unknown Pressure Of Round 7:

Let’s skip straight to the qualifying and final with a brief overview of why Cook was now racing.

One competitor, who still technically had an opportunity to pull the championship back by two points decided to overlook the driver’s gentleman agreement by sourcing and fitting a universal catalytic converter overnight.

This was a disaster at the point where we had no catalytic converter and it was well into the second practise session. We were losing valuable running time and desperately trying to source any kind of sports cat downpipe or stock catalytic converter to allow us to compete. Between Fast Eddy and Gareth from Stealthworx kindly going above the call of duty, we obtained a cat and the team had it fitted with time to spare before Qualifying and the Final.

Qualifying:

With a lovely dry circuit, cool conditions and a car that was ready to dominate we knew the restrictive cat would get things hot quickly, so the team decided that Cook would need to drive steadily to ensure we had a banker lap then push to within 75% of the potential of the car.

Even at a reduced pace we annihilated the competition with a time of over 2 seconds a lap quicker than the next car in the field. This raised the morale and confidence within the VUDU Team knowing that all we had to do was nurse the car around the circuit and bring the championship crown home for the team.

With qualifying closed we were scrutineered with flying colours and sent back on our way to the VUDU Performance team garage to give the car a brief once over, check tyre pressures and refuel.

Final:

Here it is!! The last push for the whole season and it all came down to this! All we had to do was put one clear lap in at any pace to collect the points and take the 2019 Time Attack UK Championship title home to sunny Yorkshire!!

I think everyone knows that’s not the VUDU way and having banked the lap and ultimately become champions, Cook’s eyes were firmly set on the top step of the podium…

A slight slide into turn one, we lost a small amount of time but would soon make that up with a blinding entry to turn 2 allowing for excellent exit speed.

Having come to the famous Corum corner for the very last time, all we needed was to keep it tight and smoothly exit the tight left hander and of course drive as close to the pit wall as humanly possible to take the chequered flag right in front of the onlooking team!!

An amazing experience for the driver, team and everyone involved. It goes without saying none of this would be possible without our fantastic customers, suppliers, sponsors, team and family.

We’d like to give a HUGE shout out to our headline sponsors for this year.

Cobra Sport | TAROX Brakes | Pro Alloy Motorsport | Turbosmart | Eibach | AIRTEC | Milltek Sport | Scorpion Exhausts | Bilstein | AET Turbos | PERON Tuning