Competing in the Llandow Sprint in my T-5

[IC]

Yesterday I competed in the Llandow sprint organised by the Bristol Car Club. I made the decision a couple of months ago to take part in the Volvo Speed Challenge which is a series of races held throughout England and Wales during the year. The first thing I needed was a car as although my V70 T5 is modified and holds the road very well I didn’t want to take the chance of stuffing it against a wall! Two days later I had bought an 850 T-5 saloon which happened to be for sale locally. The T-5, one of the first in production needed a new radiator and turbo return pipe as well as a bit of TLC, the car was duly dispatched on a two hundred mile round trip on a trailer thanks to a good friend and was duly sorted by a very good specialist.

In order to compete I had to get a National B Speed Licence from the Motor Sports Association as well as get a timing strut manufactured to fit to the car’s bumper to break the timing lazer at the start and finish of the race. John Griffiths lent me a Nomex race suit and Keith Wilson lent me a suitable race helmet as they both felt that it would be unwise to spend hundreds of pounds on the equipment then find I didn’t like racing! Thanks to you both! As well as the timing strut I needed to put yellow tape on the negative of the battery terminal as well as have an on/off sticker on the ignition and that was that.

I left London at 4 .45 yesterday morning to arrive at Llandow which is near Cardiff in south Wales in time for 7.45 to sign on and walk the course. Funnily enough my bland T-5 sat between a fully equipped Cosworth and a Scooby got some strange looks especially when I found out that I was supposed to bring my own numbers so had make up my own with a hastily provided stickers and a felt pen! The people I met were very encouraging and friendly and gave me the info on the track as they were quite experienced with its ins and outs!

My first timed run was rather better than I expected as I managed to give a reasonable account of myself by pushing the car hard as I could with caution on the corners! On the second run I managed to change my approach to a particular corner as a friend had advised me that I had taken the wrong racing approach on my first run. By the third run I had begun to reach the limits on some corners and increase the speed on the straights knowing how the car handled under braking on the course. At one point at about 80mph I felt the car wobble to the left and to the right – I just took my foot off the pedal and the car straightened up. By the third run I felt that I had met the limit for one long sweeping corner as I was really pushing it. This event was an excellent opportunity for me to gain experience at driving near and on the limit in a competition. I just need to gain more experience on the different race tracks that I'll be driving on to improve my driving skills and track times!


The experience was fantastic! I will be competing in a number of events over the Summer. I must thank the friends who have supported me in the preparation for the event as I could have not competed without your support and encouragement!

[warthog]

Sounds like you had a fun day out. With T5 saloons fetching so little money, it's a cheap way of starting in competition with a car that, as standard, has enough poke to make life interesting.

Look forward to hearing how times and the car control improves.

[IC]

Brian thanks for your interest! I'll post up my times as I compete in each event and give some sort of account of how I do! as long as my times are not too embarassing lol!

[Engineer]

Nicely done Ian, I hope your competition driving improves better than my instrument playing ever did lol.

[SIAMBLUE]

Good on you Iain, see you are never too old try new things lol,

Gary.

[IC]

Lol, see you on the track!

[Sprintman]

Well done Iain, glad someone else has been mad enough to have a go at some proper motor sport with their Volvo, it's darn good fun, isn't it! I've sprinted my 855AWD a few times locally [but get stuck in the same class as the Skylines, Subarus and Mitsubishis], got some funny looks at scrutineering or on the start line but surprised quite a few people - and myself! Keep up the good work and keep us informed of your exploits. There's also a guy that rallies an 850 T5 [ex-police, rally prepped, full roll cage and all the goodies], seen him at Oakington several times.

[IC]

Hi Sprintman, thanks for your encouragement! It's great fun isn't it as people don't really know what you're driving and don't expect the performance from a Volvo, so it's interesting to see peoples' reactions! It is a challenge competing against Scoobies and Cosworths but that's what I like about It! I've entered for the next race and I am just waiting to see if I have a place!

[davebslater(uk)]

well , youve got my time to beat at curborough and loton park , then ill judge ya !!!!

[IC]

When I compete at these tracks I'll post my time if it's not too embarassing!