First Track Test - 23 January 2022

The goal was to get the car ready for the Passion of Speed on 28/29 January, and the first track test took place on the Saturday before this event.

It was amazing to finally see the car out of restoration and there were some nerves on Nick's part that everything would be right. In spite of his anxiety, everything turned out well and there were a few things to attend to, as was expected.

The idea was to go out and slowly and check the car out - that it braked and steered properly. The car seemed good - oil pressure was good, it didn't overheat, brakes were good and it steered properly. It did waddle in a straight line, which was a bit unnerving, so the speeds were kept low, even though the basic wheel alignment had been checked before the test. Revs were also kept to below 4000rpm bearing in mind that the engine needed to be run in.

Back in the pits after the first outing, the car was inspected and there were no leaks of any kind from the car, which was a good sign. We removed the anti-roll bars off the rear suspension and it seemed to improve the handling a bit. 

The brakes were binding, caused by the brake light switch, but no amount of adjustment could fix the problem. This would be fixed before the next event by replacing the brake light switch with a hydraulic switch, like Nick fitted to the 745i. Nick also fitted tow straps front an rear.

All in all, it was a successful first test. It goes without saying that further development would be required to gain the full potential of this car.