We recently hired out Blyton Park for a private test day with none other than BTCC driver Daryl De Leon. Fresh off the back of a double podium at Snetterton, Daryl was brought in as an independent driver against our development driver, Tom Simpson, in our Junior Fiesta race cars. The goal of the day was back-to-back testing and data gathering in order to hone a new race kit for the cars - with a bit of friendly competition included! One Fiesta sat on our one-way damping adjustable development coilover kit, with the other equipped with a different brand to give us a direct comparison during testing.

A bright, sunny and very warm morning greeted us, with temperatures eventually rising to 32 degrees on the day. Daryl & Tom were quickly out in the cars, supported by data engineer Ryan Lindsay and driver coach Alex Fores for advice and analysis. The two cars ran smoothly throughout the morning, performing several sessions without fault. Both drivers provided feedback in great detail, and it was especially interesting to hear Daryl’s thoughts on the cars. Adjustments were frequent and productive, with both drivers getting quicker and quicker as the day progressed. The data and feedback from the sessions proved extremely beneficial and the setups continued to be improved.

Even our lunch break proved to be productive, with the opportunity to get both the Fiesta pair and Porsche GT4RS Clubsport race car out on track for some media runs. Our photographer / videographer was hanging out of the boot of our support vehicle (harnessed in of course!) waving wildly with hand directions and walkie talkies to get the shots we wanted. 

Once the circuit went live again, it was time for some hot laps. Daryl & Tom were straight back out in the Fiestas to put in their lap times. Tom had gained valuable insight from Daryl’s feedback and data which became evident during these sessions. After a few successful stints, one of the Fiestas developed an issue and became down on power, but luckily by this point, everything we needed to achieve had been accomplished. Tom took a bit of a dramatic detour through a field with the other Fiesta not long afterwards, and so attention was turned to our GT4RS Clubsport for the remainder of the afternoon whilst the Fiestas were inspected and repaired. Keep an eye out for our next blog on that! 

And so, after a bit more media gathering, the day was brought to an end. It had been an incredibly successful day, achieving everything we needed and more. The results from the testing had not only met our goals for the day, but blew them away. It was a pleasure to have Daryl with us for the day and his insight and feedback was of great benefit - we wish him the best of luck for the rest of the BTCC season!