Snetterton July 2024

Another Race weekend that didnt go to plan.

We went to Snetterton Early to get a test day in on the Thursday prior to racing at the weekend, however we only manged about 5 laps in our initial warm up session before we had an alternator failure.

The Car was showing some good speed potential, albeit also showing up a water temperature issue with the water getting far too hot.

some quick calls and diagnoses a new Alternator was on its way to the circuit to be delivered Friday, so we could get it installed and still race at the weekend, as we assumed it was just a random failure.

Sadly with the new alternator fitted we went out for Qualifying on the Saturday morning and only managed about 3 laps before the new alternator failed again. this showed us this time that there must be more to it, however sadly that was our weekend done.
we did attempt to find something to make do by visiting a couple of local motor factors, but it wasnt to be.

After some investigations back at base we now believe we were pushing the 70A alternator to its limits and the battery was also getting tired so both combined caused the failures.

Se have also got a plan for the excessive water temperatures which will have some visible and non visible changes to the exterior of the car.

So keep your eyes peeled for the changes we will be making to the car before its next outing.

Castle Combe Race 6th May 2024

well the race at Cable Combe on the 6th May did not go to plan.

we knew going into it that the car wasn’t really ready, after the mapping session on the Thursday didn’t go to plan with an alternator failure, but after discussions with the mapper who said it was safe and mapped enough it should be ok.

so we sorted the alternator and headed out for qualifying only for it to look like it was running lean. we weren’t sure if this was just a part throttle issue which would be ok under full load on track so out we went, but at no point did it feel right and even got worse.

we came in after 2 laps to find that the boost pipe from turbo to intercooler had come off at one end, so after sorting this and adjusting a couple of settings on the fuelling to try and help the transient fuelling, we headed back out to do a couple of other laps in another qualifying session.

However after 3 corners the brake hose to the front driver side didn’t want to be sealed anymore.

we aren’t sure if this was rubbed through from the alternator belt causing the failure, or if the belt failed and took out the hose, but either way that was the end of our day.

fortunately there was no major damage caused, so we are now sorting an uprated alternator not just a standard one so we can get back to finish mapping.

we wont be rushing back to a race day, and are planning some testing before racing at Snetterton at the end of July.

Castle Combe Race Dates 2023

The Race Dates have now been released for 2023 Castle Combe Race Club, of which we will try to attend as many Hot Hatch Series races as possible.

These dates are:
April 10th Easter Monday Howards Day
May 1st (will only change if we get Coronation bank holiday changed to Monday 8th)
June 10th/11th
July 15th
August 28th
September 23rd Autumn Classic
October 7th Finals

AJU Motorsport/Underhill Racing Modified Ford Brands Hatch 22/23 October 2022 Race Report

This was our first and likely last race of 2022, however it was a great weekend.

Qualifying was on a damp and greasy track however was easily dry enough for dry tyres. We were on out semi slick tyres whereas some of our competition were on proper full slick tyres giving more performance.

However, we managed to get an 8th overall in class out of 25 with a 57.5s lap and on our first ever proper trip to brands hatch I’ll take that.

This meant we were in group A for the racing, so we had a race Saturday afternoon and Sunday Morning.

Race 1 – Saturday

The track was pretty much dry now, although still a bit greasy in places especially on the entrance into clearways which was the last corner.

We were starting 13th overall on a grid of 31.

We managed to get a good start and gained 2 places on the first lap.  Then gained another place on lap 2 putting us into the top 10.

There was then a spinner in front of us on lap 3 moving us up to 9th overall and 4th in class, this however then brought out the safety car for the next 3 laps.

At the restart we had 2 cars of Lewis Clark and Chris Baker both also in class B on our tail which meant we had a fight on our hands to keep 4th place in class B. we managed to hold them both off for 5 laps and then a small mistake into clearways the last corner meant Lewis got along side and through into paddock hill bend, with Chris also trying to get up the inside, we then put our car around the outside of Druids hairpin which meant we could keep Chris behind, unfortunately Lewis locked his brakes down into graham hill bend putting us off line and slow on the exit, Chris then managed to out drag us up to Surtees and after that our front tyres just went away and they both pulled clear.

We therefore ended up 6th in class and 11th overall, with a best lap of 56.2s which meant we had beaten our target time before the event of a 56.5s even with the handling not as we wanted it due to quite severe Understeer on turn in, but nevertheless we were happy with the result.

Saturday night we made a few changes to the car set up to try and help the understeer from race 1, however with the weather turning overnight we weren’t able to truly test it, although it did feel sort of better.

Race 2 Sunday morning was quite wet.

For this one we started 14th out of 32.

Again, we got a good start gaining 2 places on the first lap, but then lost 1 again on the second lap, unfortunately again there was a spinner bringing out the safety car.

After the restart we gained another place back in the next 2 laps before pushing too hard and loosing the back end going into Surtees, we managed to catch it, although this put us offline and over the grass. We opted to re-join in a safe place after the last corner which sadly meant we dropped all the way down to 21st place.

This left us 4 laps to climb back through the field, which we were doing at a good rate of meaning we got back up to 15th overall at the finish, and almost into 14th but not quite as was only 0.297s behind at the finish.

Whilst not the result we were looking for as a podium was on if we had stayed on the track due to holding 3rd place at that point, but it was good experience and the first time we had driven the car in the wet in its current configuration.

Massive thank you to our build partner AJU Motorsport for building the car and supplying all parts,
Squishy Detailing for the cleaning products to keep the car shiny
SuCo Designs for the awesome Stickers/Decals
Alloy Magic Poole for refurbishing our wheels
SH Mobile Tyres for fitting our race tyres.

Bring on 2023 season and hopefully a lot more racing.

If you want to get involved with the team via sponsorship get in touch with adam@underhill-racing.com

2022 Race Dates

We now have provisional race dates for 2022.

We are looking to do as many of these rounds as possible, mainly trying to Focus on the CTCRC Pre. 03 Championship, and also slotting in Castle Combe Race Days where possible.

We are looking for partners to join us for 2022. Mainly to help with race entry fees, Tyres and Fuel both petrol for the race car and Diesel for the Race Support Van.

However we of course are happy to discuss all options.

Current Race dates are:
26/27 March – CTCRC Pre. 03 Silverstone International
16 /17 April – CTCRC Pre. 03 Brands Hatch
18 April – Castle Combe Easter Monday Race Day
2 May – Castle Combe May Bank Holiday Race Day
28 May – CTCRC Pre. 03 Oulton Park (Full)
11/12 June – Castle Combe CCRC Summer Race Weekend
2/3 July – CTCRC Pre. 03 Thruxton
6 August – Castle Combe Race Day
13 August – CTCRC Pre. 03 Brands Hatch GP
29 August – Castle Combe Bank Holiday Race Day
17/18 September – CTCRC Pre. 03 Snetterton
8 October – Castle Combe Grand Finals Day
22/23 October – CTCRC Pre. 03 Donington GP

Note. The race dates are provisional and may be subject to change.

If your interested in joining us we have more information on our website https://underhill-racing.com/sponsorship-opportunity/
Although a few details such as race series need updating.
Get in touch with us here or email adam@underhill-racing.com.

2022 Sponsorship Opportunity

Hi Everyone

In this Post we are going to talk about Sponsorship Opportunities with us for 2022.

we have lots of information on our Sponsor Opportunity page, which although it references 2021 everything is pretty much still valid for 2022.

Our Ford Focus race car still has loads of space for new partners, we could even completely redo the graphics on the car for a single large partner if required.
we still have our Race support vehicle plain, so again plenty of scope to brand this as needed, Team Clothing again can be updated to add new partners logos, we have space available all over, although less space on the back than elsewhere.

We aren’t totally sure exactly what our racing plans are for 2022 currently, however we will certainly be attending Castle Combe circuit for as many of the race days there as possible, plus we are looking for a championship that travels around the country that we can fit into.

The car proved competitive when we got out on the 30th August at Castle Combe in the Hot Hatch series, so with a few things we have planned along with improvements through the data analysis we are looking forward to a strong 2022 (we are still hoping to get out in the last part of this year (2021) although there isn’t long left of the season.

If you are interested in coming on board we would love to have a chat and see what we can do for each other to form a strong, lasting partnership.

August 30th Race Day

firstly sorry for the late post, but just not had time to sit down and update.

so our first race day of 2021 started well with everything all set up the day before. we found a few small issues in the final preparations but all were sorted.

we headed out to Qualifying about midday and instantly Adam knew there was an issue, the engine was running lumpy and missing. he pressed on whilst keeping a close eye on all temperatures and pressures, as he had to do a minimum of 3 laps as required by the regulations. he tried a few different things in the car but only managed to do a 1.27.5 laptime which is well off his best time of a 1.19.7, of which we were hoping to improve upon.

over the next couple of hours we went over the car and made some changes, which seemed to improve the running when testing in the pits, but its hard to truly know.

Adam headed out for the race and before he got to the grid to line up thought it felt better than qualifying.

The Green Flag lap allowed more revs and load to be put on the engine and again all seemed to be ok, so he took up his starting position (a lowly 29th overall).

The Lights out and Adam got too much wheel spin and lost a couple of places initially, however once moving he moved to the outside and passed a number of cars on the way up to Avon Rise, with a few cars having issues and pulling over to the side. another car went straight on and into the barriers at Quary corner, adam continued to make places until the yellow flags and Safety Car launched at the end of the first lap. a couple of laps behind the Safety Car and the race was red flagged whilst the stricken cars were removed.

Everyone still running was re-gridded back into their original starting positions (back to 29th). This time Adam got a better start and managed to maintain and even move forwards initially. This time Adam went to the Inside at Folly which allowed him a nice run up the inside of a few more cars going into Quary Corner.

From here it was steady progress was made, and then BOOM a new PB of a 1.18.2. after this the tyres got abit too hot and Adam wasnt able to improve further but did manage to keep catching and passing cars.

Adam ended up 11th overall and 4th in class and the new PB 1.18.2 was the fastest lap for Class F. Adam was faster than 6 of the cars ahead which bodes well for next time out.

At the Time of writing we have had to withdraw from the next race on 18th September due to lack of funds for the Race Entry which is a massive shame as we were looking forward to getting back on track.

If anyone would be interested in supporting us there are a few other races we could do this year, so please get in touch and we can sort out a package, otherwise we will continue with a few changes and get ready for the 2022 race season.

New Site

Welcome to be new and improved website for Underhill Racing.

We will be using this website to update our exploits with in season and off season updates.

Make sure you check for regular updates.

please also check out our Facebook page at Facebook.com/underhillracing