Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Monty Goes to Prescott

My Mother could have gone quicker in her Austin Seven.

Give it some welly lad.

Sir P

Thanks for the excellent Video. I was trying to see your speedometer to get an idea what the speed is, at 1:26 in the video it look like 30mph or 50kph. Google says the track is 1031metres long so at 1 minute it is an average speed of 62kph so I am guessing you must be hitting about 60mph/100kph is sections.

Just avoid going off at Semi-Circle (the last sweeper before the finish) you can go a looooong way down that slope .... recovery is more like an expedition to find a lost city!! 😀

That's how it starts! ... "I could shave a second off" .... 15 years later .... "with that new engine I could knock a tenth off!!" 😄

K

Ok chaps, lets study the facts shall we, the ECU logs do not lie


Here I'm launching off the line, Monty hits 6,637rpm as I snatch second gear.




There's plenty of fuel going in as the Duratec takes a big drink running my target 12.5:1 AFR at full spank, those big old Green Giant injectors I went with were definitely the right choice.




To burn that nice rich mixture of 99Ron as effectively as possible and build maximum cylinder pressures at 17 degrees after top dead centre, I'm lighting the fire 27.5 degrees before top dead centre at 6,532 rpm, this is just on the limit of knock so my timing is perfect too.



But Im changing up 600 rpm too early, holding to 7,250 rpm is the answer boys, taking it to 7,250 rpm I should hit 28 degrees of ignition angle at the same nice rich 12.5:1 AFR target to deliver my ultimate peak horsepower potential, Monty the Morgan definitely has more to give


Throttle is 100% wide open as I go over the finish line at 6,443 rpm and my injectors are still only at 47% duty, those Bosch Green Giants are proving themselves once again, but I need the engine to build speed faster, this way I will reach peak power at 7,250 rpm just as the flag comes down.




Despite pinning it as early as I dare exiting the final bend, and being at wide open throttle as soon as I can, there's simply not enough straight before the finish line for the engine to get to 7,250 rpm. But here's the answer, this 3.2kg Titan steel flywheel is set to replace Monty's 12 kg millstone, it'll make the Duratec spin up like a motorcycle engine so l'll cross the line at 7,350 rpm just as I bounce off my rev limiter calibration.




So Monty's engine has more to give, and I've estimated losing the passenger, the luggage rack and the spare wheel will also save me 120kg. Removing the 120kg is easy, it's free performance and given it's a big percentage of Morgan's claimed weight of 927kg removing all that ballast is going to make a massive difference to my time, add in some practice and some training and I see no reason why I can't slice a number of seconds off my current best time.

Watch this space

Oh dear ... another poor soul lost to the pursuit of tenths!! .😁


I went to a hillclimb one day because I couldn't play music due to a snapped finger-tendon .... that was that ... spent the winter building a hillclimb car from an old circuit racer .... only missed one meeting in the next 15 years (broke another finger and when it was splinted it stuck out so much it hit the dash when I tried to steer!! 🙂) ... only not racing now as I skelped the barriers at 100 mph chasing a tenth up Doune and the car's a pretzel !! 😁

It's the most friendly motorsport you'll find anywhere ... whether it's road-cars or the sharp end 'hundreds of grand' single-seaters ... cracking bunch!

K

There is more straight line before the finish if you don't turn in so early. Stay out wide, to the left, on entry and turn in tighter once your view of the corner starts to open out. Should mean you kiss the curb just at the ext of the corner giving a longer straight line to the Finish line.
But as Keith says don't go too wide. A long time ago (long before my time) there used to be hedge around the outside. However. one day one Sidney Allard went through the hedge, which became known as Allard's Gap. Eventually others widened it (or created their own) so the whole hedge was removed. So long as you are upright that slop is not a major problem, with a bit of a track at the bottom of the steep part and a gate out into the top paddock
I've turned in too late here and should be a couple of feet closer to the dragons teeth:

Thanks Graham, thats a good tip

Actually, I've just seen on a seperate logged run I did hit 7,239 rpm, which is right where Monty's peak power lives, this was on the hairpin once I'd realised it was better to take it in first not second gear.



It was also my best sub 60 second time, but on the last straight dash to the finish line I'm still only reaching 5,300 rpm, that lightweight flywheel should see me pulling over 6k at that point in future

Prescott is adictive

"Prescott is addictive"

Not sure if they had the full timing going when you were there but on competition days there's six 'splits' , speed under the Bridge and Finish time .... means you can beat yourself up about the time you threw away on every section of the track!! 🤣 ... then it really gets a grip!



K

Non-competition day Keith - no timing

It is!
I presume your reference to hairpin is to Ettore's, the right hander. Again your turn in was far too early. There is an adverse camber here, to carry best speed through the corner your entry point is fully out to the left hand side (in this view I've already started the turn in just after the start of the corner):

By the time you are half way round you should be roughly centre of track, your exit at the end is also your apex - not reached it here:

You then straight line kissing the track edge on the left by the left hand kink on the downhill towards Pardon hairpin.
You can already guess what I'm going to say about entry to this from my other comments. (and it's not entry on the left hand side.. )