Serpent UK team driver Mark Stiles headed to the West London track to conduct some pre-season shakedown/test running with his S411 last weekend. For 2012 all competitors at BRCA nationals will be using 10.5 motors, so this was the first time Mark had run a pro-stock setup, having previously driven in the modified class.

The grip levels were very low in the morning as the temperature was low and the surface was quite dusty. Things improved throughout the day as cars laid down some rubber and the track warmed up though.

After a familiarisation practice run, Mark made a few subtle changes to his S411 in the early qualifying rounds including a change of body shell and cutting a slot in the top deck. These modifications improved the consistency and on power stability of the car allowing Mark to put in some smooth and consistent runs on used rubber. Fine tuning of tyre treatment and preparation followed and the result was a stable looking and easy to drive car that several other competitors commented upon.

Mark was fastest in all four of the qualifying runs and was the only driver to achieve a 20-lap qualifying run. In the finals Mark was almost unchallenged and took comfortable wins in both of the A final legs to give him a perfect championship score to start the summer season. He will conduct further testing in the coming weeks to evaluate the new v2 gear diff and steering rack assemblies before the BRCA nationals start in May.

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