EBC-Equipped Semprini Racing – Mid-Season Round-Up

“A mixed first half of the season!

“Semprini Racing’s EBC-equipped Honda Civic has had a busy and mixed start to the season. Electrical gremlins in pre-season testing meant the first round of the BRSCC Supersport Endurance Cup was missed, with the season starting instead with the MSV Trackday Trophy at Silverstone.

“This season, the Civic is once again with the tried-and-tested combination of EBC SR-11™ front pads and Bluestuff rear, giving that great combination of stopping power and pedal feel.

“Solid mid-class pace at Silverstone, but importantly, reliability from the first race with a new engine wiring loom gave the team a huge relief.

“Next up was the delayed return to the Supersport grid at Oulton Park, a great track and firm favourite of both Jeremy and Phil. Tricky, changeable wet/dry conditions saw the pair again solidly mid-class without taking undue risks. The feel from the SR-11™/Bluestuff combo meant braking in the changeable conditions was predictable and the drivers could concentrate on finding grip on the damp track. Despite a last lap clutch failure, the Civic was classified as a finisher and we breathed a sigh of relief, only to have the recovery truck pull the front of the car off and damage the oil cooler, meaning a bigger repair job than hoped for!

“With clutch and oil cooler replaced and the car put back together, it was off to Snetterton – a circuit the Civic has performed well at historically. Qualifying was tricky with both drivers unhappy with the feel from the car and unable to match times from previous visits. We started the race a bit further back than hoped for and after 20 minutes alternator failure ended our race early. We subsequently found a leaky shock absorber to explain the poor handling. Surely our luck had to change soon!

“Onwards to Brands Hatch and back to the Trackday Trophy on the iconic Grand Prix circuit. Jeremy is driving these races solo this year as Phil shares another Civic with his sons in this series. Putting in competitive lap times in an extremely close top Class B, Jeremy improved on his previous visits to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit and was comfortable in the car, now complete with new shock absorber and alternator plus some other setup changes. A fresh set of each of the SR-11™ and Bluestuff pads completed the car prep.

“A poor start by Jeremy saw him drop a couple of places and settle in to a battle in the middle of the class B pack. A safety car just as the pit window opened where Jeremy decided to stay out and gain a lap over those ahead who pitted backfired when the Safety Car picked up Jeremy as the leader and slowed him right down. Pitting next time around, the circuit went green as the Civic was stationary, compounding the loss in time!

“Now in 18^th, Jeremy set about overtaking anything in his path, leaning on the EBC brakes as never before to overtake a total of 10 cars – including three in once corner – and finish in 8th overall, 7th in class, with a new personal best lap time. The car felt great and performed well – the driver could do better!”

“Back to the BRSCC and Donington Park, where Phil re-joined Jeremy for a double-header Clubsport 45-minute race we used as a test for the main event, the 2-hour SuperSport race on Sunday.

“Another solid mid-class outing in wet conditions on Saturday set us up well for Sunday… or so we thought! Going out first in qualifying on Sunday, Jeremy set out for an early push lap while the track was quiet, unaware a helpful Mini had dropped coolant at the top of the circuit at the fast right hander at Coppice. Full of confidence, Jeremy turned into the corner fully committed to have the car go straight on and into the gravel trap, beached! The lovely marshalls hooked us up to a telehandler and dragged the Civic out so Jeremy could put in another lap to get the requisite three before handing over to Phil. As we’d received ‘mechanical assistance’ to get out of the gravel trap, none of our subsequent lap times counted, so we were plum last on the grid!

“Not to be deterred, Phil took the start and had overtaken five cars before the first corner as he set off to make up places. During his hour-long stint, Phill got us up to an incredible 2nd in class by the time of the change-over. Keeping it consistent and battling fading tyres and diminishing fuel, Jeremy had a good battle for position with the fast Mazda MX-5 in our class and brought the Civic home in 2nd for our first podium and trophy of the season! Finally a good result where car and drivers had combined well,

“Our travels took us to Croft circuit next – the first time Jeremy had been to the new layout, having last raced there on the rallycross circuit over 20 years ago! A fresh pair of SR-11™ front pads and it was into a free practice session to iron out any issues and do a bit of set up work followed by a good qualifying in P2 in class behind the all-conquering Audi TT that is dominating this class, but in front of the MX-5 we are battling with.

“Jeremy took the start and actually overtook the Audi into turn 1, but was soon back down to 2nd as the rocket ship Audi took off and joined the battle with the cars in the classes above. Keeping an eye on the Mazda’s pit board, Jeremy could see the gap increasing as he pulled away and settled into a nice rhythm. The Civic then threw its latest curveball by losing 3rd gear as Jeremy came out of the complex towards the final hairpin after 20 minutes. Despite this – and a couple of excursions – he managed to maintain 2nd in class and hand over to Phil with a very useful buffer. Phil duly maintained and then extended the gap before a late safety car which – this time – played into our hands and increased the gap to the Mazda. We crossed the line for another P2 and another trophy, plus a front left tyre down to the cords!”

“Back to Donington and back with MSV for the double header weekend of Trackday Trophy and Trackday Championship. For the first time this season, Jeremy was entered in the TDC and duly strapped on a set of the control Toyo R888R tyres for the wet/very wet qualifying session. Driving on these tyres in the wet for the first time, the Civic Jeremy kept his head and didn’t push things too hard, to come in mid-grid. 

“The race started even wetter and after a reasonable start, Jeremy was battling in a group of cars when one – another MX-5 – spun in front and into the path of an evasive-action taking Jeremy who had nowhere to go, slamming into the spinning Mazda and sustaining considerable damage to the front left of the car. 

“It’ll take some time to repair the Civic, but the aim is to be back out this season, at the very least for the season-ending Birkett Relay, but hopefully for a couple more events before that.

“Big thanks to EBC Brakes for the support again this season – we may not get through as many sets of pads as we’d have liked to due to our enforced absence for a while, but the SR-11™//Bluestuff combo has been one thing we haven’t had to worry about in this challenging season!”