Ripped from the TTRS forum, here is my short report of the Silverstone GP races..
Can't remember much from Qually... front end was a bit 'hoppy' on its first new pair of tyres since March 07. Can't have been too bad as it was good enough for 16th overall out of 70 odd cars and within striking distance of Mr McAteer.
Race 1: Reasonable start I think, managed to stave off the Jags behind me for the first few laps and set about chasing Will down. Kept up a decent pace and waited as Will seemed to be losing his. Finally got a run at him going onto the last lap into Copse but echoed my April passing attempt on James Hebditch at the same spot, stuffing it up the inside (oh yes) but leaving my braking too late, resulting in a big squirrely moment on the exit which handed it back to him. Gathered it up and got a decent run out of Becketts to move past down the straight and take a very satisfying Class win.
Race 2. VERY WINDY! Didn't seem to get a bad start, but Loz Ball got a flyer through the middle of a load of us so we all crowded in for a better look. First few laps were the closest racing I've ever had.... with Will, Gail, Tom M, Loz, Mike C, Brian Jordan and little ol' me falling over each other and swapping around several times every hundred yards or so. Amazing fun!... I remember heading flat out into Becketts three abreast with Gail and Mike, and hearing myself say something incoherant..... 'mummy' I think it was ;-) Things spread out a bit mid race, which left me to pick up the pieces as both Mike and Will hit problems. Spent the last 3 or 4 laps JUST holding off a very menacing Ben Winrow. How is he doing that?
Video of Race 2, again in car with Tom Murphy... I'm in this one a lot more!
Part 2
All in all, a very nice way to finish off my partnership with the greenest Astra on the planet. I never had much time for Vauxhalls, but that car has been a bloody marvel. I've barely touched it since picking it up from bloke who lives in a place called Mynyddislwyn on a windy hill top farm in deepest darkest Wales (no I can't say Mynyddislwyn either), but it's never let me down.
....so long my glowing little friend.
The Astra is now for sale. Advert can be found here: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1305657.htm
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Brands and Brands again..
So what’s been going on?
Well, since the VLN round in June it’s been TTRS all the way. In August we had the pleasure of the Brands GP circuit – which was a long way to go for 12 minutes racing, but very satisfying nonetheless. Then, during September we were invited to support the DTM meeting at Brands again, where I got the chance to try out my Dad’s latest Alfa 33. This is the ex-John Strickland car I’ve mentioned previously here, that Dad bought earlier in the year. He’s had quite a few issues to sort out, mainly centred around leaky fluids, so this was the first time out since getting to the bottom of all of the problems. As we were sharing the car across two races, I was only permitted to run the mandatory three laps in qualifying and told that I mustn’t set a time. Also, I would be starting my race from the back of the grid…. Loads of fun! Dad took a bit of video of my progress which you can see here (red, number 41)..
And Oliver Davies had a camera in his Renault 5 that got a good view of my progress and also gives a good view of the fun he was having in his little turbo.
The Alfa was much like the Astra to drive, but had better brakes and was quite a bit more stable. I felt at home in it immediately, but that’s no surprise really as I’d spent plenty of time behind the wheel of a similar car he owned a couple of years ago. Towards the end of the race, the engine seemed to lose top end power and I lost a load of pace, allowing Ken Lark in the Vento to drive back past me but it didn’t matter as I’d had my fun by then.
Following this, we made the journey to Goodwood for another fantastic Revival meeting, which I might cover in another post if I feel like it. Got some groovy pictures so I might just make that a ‘photo’ post.
A couple of weeks back, Vaughan and I realised that time was getting short for us to ready ourselves and the 318is for the next planned VLN race at the Nurburgring, so we’ve decided to can the trip. Unfortunately that car won’t be eligible next year as it’ll be too old, so we’re hatching a plan for a new build that should be good for us well into the future. The plan at the moment is to build an E46 325i. The base car will cost a bit more than an E36, however the build cost will be much the same. The bonus will be that we’ll have a very contemporary car, with lots of power and air con! But anyway, I’ll cover this properly in another post when I know more.
Well, since the VLN round in June it’s been TTRS all the way. In August we had the pleasure of the Brands GP circuit – which was a long way to go for 12 minutes racing, but very satisfying nonetheless. Then, during September we were invited to support the DTM meeting at Brands again, where I got the chance to try out my Dad’s latest Alfa 33. This is the ex-John Strickland car I’ve mentioned previously here, that Dad bought earlier in the year. He’s had quite a few issues to sort out, mainly centred around leaky fluids, so this was the first time out since getting to the bottom of all of the problems. As we were sharing the car across two races, I was only permitted to run the mandatory three laps in qualifying and told that I mustn’t set a time. Also, I would be starting my race from the back of the grid…. Loads of fun! Dad took a bit of video of my progress which you can see here (red, number 41)..
And Oliver Davies had a camera in his Renault 5 that got a good view of my progress and also gives a good view of the fun he was having in his little turbo.
The Alfa was much like the Astra to drive, but had better brakes and was quite a bit more stable. I felt at home in it immediately, but that’s no surprise really as I’d spent plenty of time behind the wheel of a similar car he owned a couple of years ago. Towards the end of the race, the engine seemed to lose top end power and I lost a load of pace, allowing Ken Lark in the Vento to drive back past me but it didn’t matter as I’d had my fun by then.
Following this, we made the journey to Goodwood for another fantastic Revival meeting, which I might cover in another post if I feel like it. Got some groovy pictures so I might just make that a ‘photo’ post.
A couple of weeks back, Vaughan and I realised that time was getting short for us to ready ourselves and the 318is for the next planned VLN race at the Nurburgring, so we’ve decided to can the trip. Unfortunately that car won’t be eligible next year as it’ll be too old, so we’re hatching a plan for a new build that should be good for us well into the future. The plan at the moment is to build an E46 325i. The base car will cost a bit more than an E36, however the build cost will be much the same. The bonus will be that we’ll have a very contemporary car, with lots of power and air con! But anyway, I’ll cover this properly in another post when I know more.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Back soon
I've not given up doing this blog. Honestly. I just haven't had much new to blog about and figured that my race reports probably weren't that interesting anyway (not that I'll stop doing them either).
I'll be back with a few tales including the moment last weekend when I came face to face with a real life space ship. Yeah I know its got nothing to do with racing...
More to come soon.
I'll be back with a few tales including the moment last weekend when I came face to face with a real life space ship. Yeah I know its got nothing to do with racing...
More to come soon.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
First race at the Nurburgring
Just got back from my first race at the Nurburgring in the 318iS with Vaughan. We were challenged in so many ways its difficult to know where to start so I'll stick to the bottom line for now. We didn't finish the race, but we did do over half of it before the vulnerable sump of the M42 engine finally bit the dust at the Karussel in a cloud of smoke on the last lap of my stint. We just ran out of time prior to the event to get a guard fitted. It was very disappointing as we'd overcome many challenges just to get the thing on the grid at all, but on balance we can deem the attempt a success I think. The car was nice to drive, very consistent and if it wasn't for the lack of sump guard, would have finished the race ahead of many much more expensive machinery that didn't.
Anyway, I enjoyed my 4.5 laps of the ring immensely which is what it's all about!
Not sure where on the Nordschleife this is exactly but I've got my head down and am having a go ;-)
Anyway, I enjoyed my 4.5 laps of the ring immensely which is what it's all about!
Not sure where on the Nordschleife this is exactly but I've got my head down and am having a go ;-)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Le Mans 2009
Yeah yeah... been ages since I put anything on here.. so here we go.
I'm heading off to the Nurburgring on Thursday where Vaughan, Jonathan and I will attempt our first VLN race as planned. My head is all over the place at the moment, not in a bad way, but I'll not be posting about this race until I return. The preparation has been going on for a while now, which included a test day at Silverstone earlier in the month. But apart from that, the bulk of the stuff we've had to do has been administrative and safety related so its not very interesting blog material unless you're fascinated by the ins and outs of dealing with an organisation that mainly operates in another language. Babelfish hasn't known what's hit it in the last few weeks.
In the midst of this, I made my annual pilgrimage to Le Mans as planned and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Audi actually LOSE at Le Mans. YES REALLY. Peugeot scored a well deserved 1-2 after a fairly straight forward race from the front. Audi never really looked like taking it from them despite the French team's effort to scupper themselves by crashing their cars into each other in the pits. The first few hours were pretty frantic all round really with a number of entertaining incidents and cock-ups affecting many of the 54 car field.
Out and around the circuit I reckon I did a much better job behind the lens than I managed last year. Not that I've been practising much. Anyway, here are the best of the bunch...
Friday pit walk about:
First few hours of the race:
For me, the star of the show. Looks fantastic, sounds even better...
Loooooooooserrrrrrrrsssss..... (biggup respeck to these guys though, they know what they're doing)...
It woudn't be Le Mans without the sight and forceful bark of a few 911's:
Oh go on then... lets have another look at that Lola Aston Martin... hooooohhhhhh...
This was one of a pair of privateer run Lola Astons that were very pleasing also:
And finally, a bit of vid from someone who's got to place you're not supposed to go... but well worth the effort I reckon. Look out for the pair of Aston's screaming through at about 1:25..
Over and out.
Tom.
I'm heading off to the Nurburgring on Thursday where Vaughan, Jonathan and I will attempt our first VLN race as planned. My head is all over the place at the moment, not in a bad way, but I'll not be posting about this race until I return. The preparation has been going on for a while now, which included a test day at Silverstone earlier in the month. But apart from that, the bulk of the stuff we've had to do has been administrative and safety related so its not very interesting blog material unless you're fascinated by the ins and outs of dealing with an organisation that mainly operates in another language. Babelfish hasn't known what's hit it in the last few weeks.
In the midst of this, I made my annual pilgrimage to Le Mans as planned and thoroughly enjoyed seeing Audi actually LOSE at Le Mans. YES REALLY. Peugeot scored a well deserved 1-2 after a fairly straight forward race from the front. Audi never really looked like taking it from them despite the French team's effort to scupper themselves by crashing their cars into each other in the pits. The first few hours were pretty frantic all round really with a number of entertaining incidents and cock-ups affecting many of the 54 car field.
Out and around the circuit I reckon I did a much better job behind the lens than I managed last year. Not that I've been practising much. Anyway, here are the best of the bunch...
Friday pit walk about:
First few hours of the race:
For me, the star of the show. Looks fantastic, sounds even better...
Loooooooooserrrrrrrrsssss..... (biggup respeck to these guys though, they know what they're doing)...
It woudn't be Le Mans without the sight and forceful bark of a few 911's:
Oh go on then... lets have another look at that Lola Aston Martin... hooooohhhhhh...
This was one of a pair of privateer run Lola Astons that were very pleasing also:
And finally, a bit of vid from someone who's got to place you're not supposed to go... but well worth the effort I reckon. Look out for the pair of Aston's screaming through at about 1:25..
Over and out.
Tom.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Nurburgring Nordschleife
That's it. I'm moving house. I've fallen head long for the Nurburgring and I don't see it changing for a very long time. It fully lives up to the all the reports you read and hear about it so regularly. Every lap unfolds like a complicated but captivating movie plot as it twists through the valleys and forests. The story develops and unwinds into a hypnotizing series of sub-plots each with its own satisfying resolution. Towards the end of the lap it stretches out and gets a lot faster as you're sucked into a car sized groove in the centre of a tunnel of Armco and trees. You're spat out at the other end going 'woooooooooaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!' like you've just stepped off the finest fairground ride on the planet. The greatest circuit in the world bar none I think. All this AND in the most stunningly beautiful setting. All this has been said and written a thousand times before, but I really must express how true the glowing reports are. It's a bloody fantastic place.
Vaughan's 318is ran perfectly after we had an emergency water pump change when it sprang a leak during the performance test at Manthey Racing. Despite spreading oil and water over the works Porsche rolling road, it passed the test and we headed to the pit area to get the car pre-scrutineered and checked over by the organiners of the VLN events. On the basis of what we found and dealt with, the trip was well worth the effort and expense on that day alone.
We spent most of Saturday spectating at the VLN race and enjoying the sun and countryside, finally rounding off the weekend with some public laps on the Sunday.
I'd not driven an E30 at speed before, but true to the reports from other drivers, found it very easy to handle and a real joy to deal with, especially when compared to the Astra. That car requires a curious mix of patience, brutality and an ability to get several things happening at once in order to get the best out of it. The 318is was a total contrast in that cornering was all about calmly going through a smooth staged process and treating it gently so as not to upset the rear end. The result is that you feel more like you're driving a proper racing car, which is what its all about about as far as I'm concerned. Getting results is the icing on the cake if you can do it, but the underlying reason being out there has to be the enjoyment of driving the car. This is something I've not always had with the Astra .
Not sure I can wait until June 27th to drive either an E30 or the Ring... I'm thoroughly sold on both.
Vaughan's 318is ran perfectly after we had an emergency water pump change when it sprang a leak during the performance test at Manthey Racing. Despite spreading oil and water over the works Porsche rolling road, it passed the test and we headed to the pit area to get the car pre-scrutineered and checked over by the organiners of the VLN events. On the basis of what we found and dealt with, the trip was well worth the effort and expense on that day alone.
We spent most of Saturday spectating at the VLN race and enjoying the sun and countryside, finally rounding off the weekend with some public laps on the Sunday.
I'd not driven an E30 at speed before, but true to the reports from other drivers, found it very easy to handle and a real joy to deal with, especially when compared to the Astra. That car requires a curious mix of patience, brutality and an ability to get several things happening at once in order to get the best out of it. The 318is was a total contrast in that cornering was all about calmly going through a smooth staged process and treating it gently so as not to upset the rear end. The result is that you feel more like you're driving a proper racing car, which is what its all about about as far as I'm concerned. Getting results is the icing on the cake if you can do it, but the underlying reason being out there has to be the enjoyment of driving the car. This is something I've not always had with the Astra .
Not sure I can wait until June 27th to drive either an E30 or the Ring... I'm thoroughly sold on both.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Its all happening...
Not had much chance to do anything on here for a bit and can't see myself doing anything soon either!... other than this of course.
Times are busy, but its all going very well so I'm not complaining. Had the car going really well at Silverstone last week and managed to grab a couple more TTRS Class wins. That car is at its best on quick circuits and was a hoot to chuck through Copse corner, so I really enjoyed driving it. Found a couple of new issues that have reared up due to the increased cornering speeds its now capable of. More on that stuff another time.
In the meantime, I spent all of last weekend working on Vaughan's 318is which is now more or less ready for the Nurburgring VLN races in the summer. We're heading out there this Thursday to have the car performance tested (mandatory dyno measurement), watch the VLN race and do some public laps on Sunday. Its going to be cool to finally visit such an iconic circuit, having spent countless hours hairing round it on the Playstation over the last 10 years or so.
After that, I'm thankfully going to have a bit of spare time to chill out and do some stuff on my own BMW... unless of course, the summer proves to be unlike the last 2 years and I'm busy doing not very much other than eating, drinking and enjoying the sun.
More next time.
Silverstone TTRS:
The 'ring machine awaits its fate:
Times are busy, but its all going very well so I'm not complaining. Had the car going really well at Silverstone last week and managed to grab a couple more TTRS Class wins. That car is at its best on quick circuits and was a hoot to chuck through Copse corner, so I really enjoyed driving it. Found a couple of new issues that have reared up due to the increased cornering speeds its now capable of. More on that stuff another time.
In the meantime, I spent all of last weekend working on Vaughan's 318is which is now more or less ready for the Nurburgring VLN races in the summer. We're heading out there this Thursday to have the car performance tested (mandatory dyno measurement), watch the VLN race and do some public laps on Sunday. Its going to be cool to finally visit such an iconic circuit, having spent countless hours hairing round it on the Playstation over the last 10 years or so.
After that, I'm thankfully going to have a bit of spare time to chill out and do some stuff on my own BMW... unless of course, the summer proves to be unlike the last 2 years and I'm busy doing not very much other than eating, drinking and enjoying the sun.
More next time.
Silverstone TTRS:
The 'ring machine awaits its fate:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
