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BTCC |
12/08/2001 |
JSM 147s |
Definitely Getting There |
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Croft, Sunday morning: Tim Harvey was very positive about progress with the Alfa 147s at this meeting, but he's always seen the potential of the little car. "You have to remember that we've probably done less running in total than the Vauxhalls and Peugeots have done in testing. This car is actually very good. It's got good balance and good grip, which is exactly what you need with front wheel drive."
As an example, Harvey pointed out that Tom Ferrier's car was second fastest through the start line speed trap in Qualifying yesterday. "That's not down to engine power, but purely the speed you come out of the hairpin. We've got good traction, but for obvious reasons we're running conservatively on power for now."
So if you're losing out a little on power, where else do you lose out, Tim? "We've got work to do on damping, the kind of work that Vauxhall did well before the season started. We've done no development on the diff., while others have had time to develop their own settings. The car is good on the brakes in a straight line, but into Sunny here for example, where we're not braking in a straight line, we can feel the car leaning over. That's costing time."
Into the Complex (above) as well, presumably.
Work on dampers, springs and the diff. hasn't taken place because of the severe engine troubles the team have been going through. "We've got some good people helping us with the engines now," he explained, but he was reluctant to actually name them.
"The team are very upbeat. Oulton Park (third place) has kept us all going, they're learning all the time, and we feel we're really starting to turn the corner now."
This afternoon's two races should provide the first real guide to the form of the two JSM 147s. |
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