At Snetterton, I confirmed to myself that my brake pedal was too long for me to be able to heel and toe successfully and at Brands, it became clear that the car picks up a lot of understeer, especially on power and with 2 people on board. Obviously, the car isn’t going to have 2 people on board, although I do weigh twice what some other guys I’m racing against do.

Just as well then that the car was booked in for a setup session with DPR Motorsport!

David at DPR talked me through what they would be doing on the car and took my driving weight. I asked them to take look at the braking system to see if there was anything that could be done to firm it up before I handed over the keys and left them to it. Throughout the day, I had several calls to explain the things they were finding on the car that could do with some attention and to clear any work required.

I was back in the workshop the following morning and took the opportunity to have a pedal setup done. Jumping in and out the car with David adjusting, bending, and tightening. Obviously, it’s yet to be track tested but in the workshop, it certainly feels the business now.

I’ve been given a couple of sheets of paper showing the starting geometry and weights that I delivered the car with, and another showing the end results after the setup . Included was the race start fuel level required.

It’s great to know that the cheesemobile is now ready for the season ahead. There was nothing spectacularly wrong with the car but everything is now far more balanced and symmetrical. She got an oil change at the same time and some attention was paid to the brakes — with a bleed and system check.

Chris Hutchinson -  www.academyracer.co.uk