The Embassy Radical showed more of its promise recently as it was taken through its toughest series of tests with the team at Snetterton and Rockingham some days ago.
With a full complement of drivers, race engineers, electronic technicians, engine builders and tyre specialists, the tests were designed to take the car to its limits to ensure all the hard work following Valencia has paid off.
The schedule began with a shakedown style test at Snetterton to check that the upgraded electronics, improved components and general engineering improvements made over the past few weeks were all working as they should and produced the expected benefits to the car. Aside from a few minor issues which were resolved quickly, this stage went very well and meant that the team could move into the second phase of the test and spend time trying out and refining aerodynamic ideas.
The day was most productive and set the tone for the continued programme which saw the team arrive en-masse at Rockingham for two further days testing.
On day one, more chassis, suspension and handling development was undertaken, with the specific remit of dialling more pace and reliability into the set up. It was clear that this was working simply from the amount of time the car spent running and not being worked on. Both drivers, Neil and Warren were delighted with the changes in the car and felt comfortable and quick.
Day two at Rockingham was all about endurance. The previous couple of days testing had presented the team with a well sorted fast and seemingly reliable car - now it was time to see how long it could run in race style conditions. The team was not disappointed.
In one continuous stint with stops for driver changes and fuel, the Embassy radical managed five hours of uninterrupted racing. For the first time in Embassy ownership, the Radical showed its true potential as a race winning LMP2 machine and the quiet satisfaction, not without the odd sigh of relief it has to be said, was clear on the faces of the whole team.
The upcoming LeMans Series round at the Nurburgring on July 1st will be a big test for Embassy. As the Radical has undergone development in our workshop with our ideas and our people, it can now truly be called an Embassy Racing car - so we will be looking to take all the glory from a good performance, and all the blame from a poor one.
