11th April Oulton Park Test Day Dave Billington

Friday 11th April saw the first outing for Dave Billington’s Van Diemen RF86 ff1600 after its winter rebuild. A lovely day weather wise but a very busy day out on circuit due to the capacity entry the following day. To exaggerate the problem of finding space out on the circuit, we were on the shortest layout of the track or Fosters circuit. Our first session went very well with Dave soon getting back into the groove and he posted some very competitive times straight out of the box. A slight oil was discovered and soon rectified and Dave was out for his second session. Unfortunately, Dave snagged an incorrect gear out of Fosters corner and the resultant engine over-rev sheared all the flywheel bolts. Despite stripping the car down and sourcing some new bolts, the damage was to the flywheel was too severe for us to complete a satisfactory repair. So, it was came over for us and we had to with draw from the following day’s race.