Oulton Prep

As i mentioned in the snetterton race report the car had started jumping out of 4th at the bombhole, this left me with a big decision to make!  RGB regs are changing next year, pushing the formula into a simplier  class structure and hopefully boosting the grid numbers for the classes. From next year there will be 2 main classed F (front engined) and R (rear engined) using any 1000cc motor prdoduced before 01/01/09. So this means there is still a class for my fireblade, but i would be competing directly against the late CBR's and R1's with 45BHP more, meaning absolutley no chance of a top 3 finish. Initailly i decided that over the winter i would upgrade the engine to a later type, but with Andy Bates introducing a prize (a 919 blade engine) for the highest finishing 919 (919 cup) in 2011 i decided i would stick with the blade for another season. I love the engine, its bullet proof (apart from the gearbox) and creates some great racing against identical cars. But the need for a gearbox rebuild threw this decision up in the air again. I have a spare engine which had completed less than 2 seasons so not a problem just to throw that in for Oulton (rather than rebuild the box), but it leaves me with no spare unless i rebuild it for next season. Also the engine will have completed 2 seasons since its last refresh so probably could do with a full strip down if i'm going to start putting new gears in etc. Another option was to take a punt on an ebay special and keep that as a spare. Trouble is with all this is that the plan was to upgrade at the end of 2011 anyway, so i'd be spending more money in the long run. So i decided to take the plunge and upgrade this winter.

Next decision was which engine. Initially i was going to go for a 2008 R1, but after seeing and hearing of a fair few all failing the same way in car installs (cylinder head melts between 2 and 3) i decided against it. I then turned to the new CBR, but was put off by the height of the engine. I'm only short and worried that the huge airbox sticking out the top of the bonnet would reduce my field of vision too much. So i finally decided on an 04-06 (RVY) R1, its nice and compact and tried and tested in RGB. The gear ratios of the R1 are also slightly better suited to the live axel than the CBR, so all in all it was the best choice. After some hunting i eventually plumbed for an engine off Malcome from Yorkshire Engines. The engine is now sat in the garage awaiting the start of the transplant. Luckily the sale of my current engine and spares will virtually cover the cost of the new engine, so all in all i'm glad i've done it sooner rather than later and can't wait to get started on the install over the winter.

Anyway, back to the oulton prep,over the 3 evenings Dad and I took out the old and fitted the spare engine, filled with fluids and gave the car a good check over. The need for the engine removal also meant i could remove the bodged up engine mount repaired at snetterton and sort it out.You can just see the web and plate added by andy, but can see the extent of the crack from underneath.

I was going to make a new mount, but seeing that it only has to last for Oulton and the Birkett i opted to fill the crack with weld and add another web

It looked so nasty i had to spray it black to try and hide the offensive material, it didn't really help!!!