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Many thanks

2009 End of Season Report With the Arosa now off-road (and track) for the Winter it’s time to recap and update on the years events and activities for the little ‘Ring meister. Following the comprehensive rebuild and repair at the end of the 2008 season, the first outing for the Arosa in its ’09 guise was at the start of April at a CGTI sprint event at Curborough. Here the benefits of some weight loss and the R888 rubber were immediately evident, allowing the 1.4 16v to get right in amongst the lap times of the more powerful 2.0 16v’s and 1.8T’s. Only a week later, I took the Arosa over to Germany for the first of many ‘Ring trips this year. Once I had my new JahresKarte in hand I set about reacquainting myself with the thirteen odd miles of track draped over the Eifel Mountains; which proved to be quite a task.. the Winter improvements to the car resulted in me having to re-learn lines, braking points and appropriate corning speeds when compared to 2008. Put simply, the Arosa now had so much more grip, I was not only able to brake later and harder, but less! The car could carry so much more speed through the corners that the improved experience took me 30 or so laps before I felt comfortable and back as one with the car and what it could now do. It was also great to catch up with a number of regulars and familiar faces over the course of the weekend, of which many got to enjoy one or many laps in the passenger seat of the Arosa. There were a few camera crews knocking about during the course of the weekend, and I found out during a later trip that some clips of my car approaching the barrier and driving by were featured within a looped video in the new Devils Diner! During the six day trip I clocked up 67 laps, which coincidently was the break even point for buying a JK in 2009 – the rest of the year would be a bonus then! Following the Easter trip, I drove the car back to the UK in order to check it over and fix a few things before returning to Nurburg a month later at the start of May – following which the Arosa would then remain in Germany for the rest of the season. The first week of May saw my second trip to the Green Hell of the year, also set to last for six days. This was to be the quiet trip of the year; and also the wettest! Although rain did prevent track action for me on a couple of occasions there were the usual mix of familiar faces and also some nearby places to visit that helped occupy me during times of closure or bad weather. When conditions were good, some fantastic lapping was had due to the lack of crowds during the week.. some of which were neck and neck with Dale from RSR in his MX5 (which was a co-member of the 116bhp club until he stuck a turbo on it later in the year!). Very entertaining stuff, with ducking and diving occurring throughout the laps we had together – something that could not have gone on if it had’ve been busier! All this action bears a price though, and before the trip was out another new set of front discs and pads were fitted as the previous set expired at Bergwerk and subsequently I had a nice set of scored discs by the time I exited the track! How long did the set last? Trackdays at Cadwell Park, Donington Park, Curborough and about one-hundred ‘Ring laps – so not too bad, but certainly not as long as those the year previous, the extra grip was resulting in increased wear. So far, so good; I returned home leaving the Arosa where it belongs, in Germany. Later in May saw the Arosa featured on www.speedhunters.com as part of their Nurburgring special, see article link below: http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/05/21/car-feature-gt-gt-seat-arosa-nurburgring-special.aspx My third trip of the year wasn’t until the 20th June, some six weeks after my previous trip. This was a short four day trip, but basked in great weather and decent opening times. Once again the Arosa was put to good use, putting in back-to-back laps, providing plenty of passengers with an alternate ‘Ring experience and embarrassing much greater machinery! With a season and a half’s track activity in hand however, a time had to come where things started to wear out.. Towards the end of the trip I noticed how at times (usually just manoeuvring) I was struggling to cleanly get gears. Needless to say, it required looking at before the next trip, so I booked the car into a local Nurburg garage and expected the clutch to be at fault. This being the Eifel (where German efficiency does not apply), progress was slow; however the mechanic and I agreed that things looked OK for another sixty or so laps, so we left things as they were for my August trip. Another six weeks then passed between my trips until the usual SCN/CGTI August trip rolled around. I returned to Nurburg and the Arosa, happy that all seemed well for another five days of action as upon inspection, gear selection seemed OK. I opted to monitor as the trip progressed. Once again, the usual barrage of laps ensued, and with two new R888’s up front after finally wearing out two of my original four from the start of the year; things moved up a gear. Combined with my experience over the year thus far, and the new-found front end grip, I was able to push on to what felt like another level. The car really was giving everything I had hoped it to do. Plenty of ‘Ring regulars joined me for several laps at a time, and I was chuffed with the comments that were being placed upon the cars abilities and (believe it of not) me! Many commented on just how fast the car rounds the Karrussel, or how flat it can take sections of the track – the run up to Hatzenbach, over Schwedenskreuz or into Adenauer Forst for example. Also noted was how I seemed to be comfortable taking some unusual lines at places like Schwalbenschwanz, it was all just working. Fantastic stuff. Now, this is all well and good, but a video would help. Below is a stunning early morning lap; not the quickest as I was driving at about 85% and met some unhelpful traffic, but one of the only high quality videos I have of me lapping the ‘Ring and it’s still only just over a nine minute lap. YouTube HD anyone? Enjoy. As the August trip reached its end, and I notched up my 191st lap of the year, so did an original component of the Arosa. The drivers-side outer CV had sheared. Luckily this didn’t happen on track and the problem was easily identifiable; so parts were ordered and I made arrangements for the car to be picked up by a returning regular (NigeP), and get it fixed the following week whilst a the same time taking a look at the ever-present gear selection issue (which by now was starting to look more like a broken pedal box as opposed to clutch). I packed for home and said goodbye to the Arosa once again. The following day, Nige picked it up and collected the new outer CV’s (for both sides – not worth the risk!), bearings and a new hub; and then got to work on restoring two-wheel drive! With the pedal box firmly diagnosed by Nige as the cause of my troubles, and a collective decision made to leave replacement until the car returned to the UK, my final, and 5th trip of the year in September would be a tentative one – the car needed to be driven home! The Arosa wasted no time in rising to the challenge and with my cautious approach of only doing up to three back-to-back laps before letting it cool off (which helped with gear changes as the clutch cooled and contracted slightly!), the lap count and passenger total kept rising during what was a four day trip. Only on the final day did things take a turn for the worst with my pedal box. Suddenly getting the car out of reverse, and getting it into first and second gears became a serious problem; to the extent that brute force was the only solution. At this point, and given the eight hour drive required to get the little one home, it was time to put my 2009 JahresKarte to bed, and with two-hundred and twenty laps completed in 2009, the Arosa had done well! In celebration, I treated myself to one litre of Bitburger: Then for the final time in 2009, I bid farewell to Nurburg and loaded the Arosa up with the last instalment of Winter beer supply for the return journey home. Talking of Winter beer supply, here’s what I’ve amassed for consumption before I return next year: There was one final honour to be had for the Arosa in 2009 – a major feature in Septembers Golf+ Magazine, following a photoshoot earlier in the year before the car was resident in Germany. Scans below: Having made it back to the UK with only a couple of tricky moments (boarding ferries is difficult when you can’t get into 1st or 2nd!), I gave the car a much needed proper wash and swapped on some Winter wheels for it to be parked up on. Since its return, the Arosa has now had a new, reinforced pedal box fitted to ensure that I don’t have to go through a repeat of this saga. It has also had a gearbox oil change to verify all is well with the ‘box following the selection issues I’ve had for half of the year, and to refresh what was original fluid.. both of which mean that the car is fully operation again. For the time being, that’s it as no major modifications are planned for the 2010 season. The main focus will be the renewal of original parts that may now, at 45,000 miles (10,000 of which have been extremely abusive!) be nearing end of life. I am investigating the fitment of a flat floor to assist with top end speed, so we’ll see if that becomes a go-er! There are many things that can be said about my Arosa; it’s certainly lived up to and exceeded my original expectations, it is the only one of its kind, but even more uniquely: it’s the only SEAT Arosa to be able to claim that it has been ‘Developed at the Nürburgring’! Until next time, Ian 2009 thanks go to: Paul, Nige, Chris, Martin, Heidi, Andy, Dale, Dave, Sim, Olli, various Northloopers, Steve and Mark. All my passengers throughout the year (bar one, you know who you are!) http://www.burgstube.com http://www.rsrnurburg.com http://www.csnuerburg.com Hewitts of Stourbridge WN Sales & Engineering

I've just had a failed pedal box diagnosed on my Arosa out in Germany, can anyone advise/provide tips on how you replace it without removing the dashboad? I can't remove the dash as the rollcage is welded in place.. Thanks, Ian!

That would be ringmini.de no doubt.. he's had a fair bit of practice I'm back next Thursday after a 7 week break.. looking forward to rolling the Arosa out of the garage!

That makes 2 of us !

My Arosa: Currently Featured in Golf+ Magazine Yup, the little beast is currently on the cover of Golf+ magazine (September 2009 edition) - go and buy your copy now Makes a nice read, especially given I haven't seen it for 7 weeks! That will all change next week, when I'm back at the 'ring for trip number 4 of the year

Big cost for the privilege though.. Sabine hardly does it anymore, only seen here a couple of times this year. 142 laps in 2009 and counting.. For those who've never been before, read Ben Lovejoys site (although getting out of date a bit now) and trawl through my project thread. I'll say it again, take it easy out there and don't try and beat JC: He's a cock anyway

That's rubbish: If you're involved in an incident, you hand over your driving licence/passport and you don't get your car back until you pay up. Simples. Take it easy over there people.

Excellent, one of Dale from RSR lapping with me Always makes for some great, close tussles!

142 laps this year + 128 in 2008 = 270 laps for the Arosa through 2 JK's - with 2 trips left to go this year! JK's are expensive, but it's fuel that's the killer! The car's not very far from the track so it's very likely

Get them posted up.. back at the 'ring in 4 weeks: 142 laps completed by the Arosa so far this year!

If I'm to go for it I think it'd be with the bolt set also

Just been so busy of late..! Can you check with them whether the 085C is OK? Bonus payment due this month so I may be able to 'justify' this!!

Not been on here for quite a while and just stumbled across this... Will these be suitable for the 1.4 16v Arosa Sports 085C 'box? Ian

I can't stnd what Labour have done either and never have, nor never will vote for them.. if you and others believe the country would be better under the BNP, I'll start to fast-track my emigration papers now and leave you all to it...