To be honest I'm surprised how open the regs are, there are loads of things that aren't allowed in the official championships (3rd party parts, more setup options etc.) but I guess that comes with an aging grid.
It's been great reading about your exploits and hopefully I can learn from your experience next year. Not envisaging that I will have the results you have achieved as I'm going to spend most of the time being cautious even if that comes at the expense of positions. My goal is to have an incident free first season and try to get a bit of racecraft under my belt. I'd like to not come last but we will see how it goes as I'm a complete novice entering into a very experienced field
Cats - something I know nothing about. Just taken delivery of a new Klarius exhaust with the (trusted) supplier's comment (on the cat) 'it's OK for the first year'. Not music to my ears for £400, with race cats around £300.
There may be something to write about if I finish the car!
To be honest I'm surprised how open the regs are, there are loads of things that aren't allowed in the official championships (3rd party parts, more setup options etc.) but I guess that comes with an aging grid.
It's been great reading about your exploits and hopefully I can learn from your experience next year. Not envisaging that I will have the results you have achieved as I'm going to spend most of the time being cautious even if that comes at the expense of positions. My goal is to have an incident free first season and try to get a bit of racecraft under my belt. I'd like to not come last but we will see how it goes as I'm a complete novice entering into a very experienced field
You'll love it Steve. The grid next year is going to be even bigger than this year as there's quite a few expected to come across from the official championship as the rules there start to exclude the 'older models'. The great thing is, wherever you are on the grid, there's others there to race against and 15th place is every bit as hard fought as 1st!
My intention was exactly the same as yours - nice clean year with no damage and just learn the ropes. Sometime stuff just happens in such close racing. I think the best racers get better at anticipating whats going to happen and position the car accordingly, as a novice there's so much other stuff going on that having the brain capacity to think like this is tough and comes with seat time.
I think the best racers get better at anticipating whats going to happen and position the car accordingly, as a novice there's so much other stuff going on that having the brain capacity to think like this is tough and comes with seat time.
I've experienced this first hand. I was getting some tuition from a two time British Radical champion on a circuit I know very well. I was focused on the next corner when he started shouting 'slow down, oil on track'. I slowed and after the corner we got a good slide on but thanks to the speed didn't go off circuit. Whilst monitoring my driving he was looking so far ahead he had seen a car three in front step out too quickly and recognised the danger well before we were anywhere near it.
He has been racing since childhood so obviously has a lot of experience.
Apparently racing gets cheaper - I'll let you know!
Here's qualifying from Snett. It was a tactical battle. We had to wait all day Saturday to get out for qualifying after the trucks crashed the barrier twice and stopped the racing while it was repaired. It had been a wet/dry day but we got out JUST as a mighty black cloud was coming across.
There was clearly only going to be time for 1-2 laps before the heavens opened. On the out lap it was clear the gaggle of cars in front of me were slow(er) and falling over each other so I opted to drop back a little to create space for 1 flying lap BUT in our racing series we qualify for 2 races in one session. The fastest lap is where you start in race 1, the 2nd fastest is where you start for race 2.
Ideally I'd either start at the very front for qualy or drop right back to create space for 2 flyers. I didn't get out first and couldn't drop right back as (a) the rain was coming and (b )we had the slower race series start just behind us and I didn't want to get in among them.
I did my best but ended up compromising race 2 for a good race 1 start. I managed my best finish in race 1 so can't complain.
It started to rain on my one flyer but the grip mostly held up. I did still catch another car and had to pass at the end of the Bentley straight but was happy enough with a 2:16 in the conditions even though it was well behind the 2:13's I was running on the track day (in perfect conditions).
Edited by Captain Vimes, 10 October 2017 - 07:56 PM.
Rockey Racing have a Mega that they hire out. There are some racers that will hire their car too. However, I think youll need to be a full racing member of Caterham graduates, join Barc, obviously race license and in date kit. So theres some up front cost if you were thinking of just dipping your toe in.
Theres a pre-season track day (like a .org national) on 25th Feb at Silverstone. All the race support teams will be there drumming up business as well as plenty of the racers. No cost for additional drivers or pax rides... its a good opportunity to come and find out more if your interested.
Right, it's been ages since I updated this so have some catching up to do....
The off at Snetterton last year meant I needed to strip the car for some chassis work and a rebuild over the winter. Did some off season jobs like changing the sump foam, oil, filters, fluids, serviced the fire extinguisher, changed the steering rack, bought another set of wheels (now have too many tyres/wheels and nowhere to put them) etc. Sounds easy but took many hours..
First race was Oulton but I couldn't make the test day so I got on a track day in February... it snowed! Wasn't the way I hoped to test my rebuilt car but it turns out it was just what I needed!
First race of the season was at Oulton on Saturday in the snow. The results of which are on the other thread but for completeness I'll add here along with the footage...
Qualifying
After the crash at Oulton last year (brake failure), I only managed a few slippery laps in Feb so really wasn't expecting to be on the pace. Snow in the middle of the qualifying session and a mixed group meaning lots of cars from the slower class to pass didn't raise my expectations so it was a pleasant surprise to hear I'd managed to bag 5th on the grid in both races.
The video just picks up on the interesting bits (making my way past slower cars).
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]Race 2 started in a blizzard. I still cant believe they started the race. It was -1c when I got back to the tow car and the snow had frozen to the windscreen. Not ideal in a race Caterham on AO48s! Anyway I started and finished in P5 (in class) and I was happy to just keep it on the black stuff and have the car in one piece. [/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]There's not much footage as the GoPro was covered in snow but this gives you a feel for the conditions.[/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]My intention coming into the weekend was to just chill out and have some fun. No pressure - enjoy the drive and the result is whatever it is (that's still my attitude for the rest of the season).[/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]My experience of Oulton prior to the race was:[/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]- Mar-17: x2 30 minute sessions in the damp before the brake pedal broke and I crashed heavily at Shell Oil Corner[/color]
- Feb-18: Track day in -2c with snow/sleet. The circuit was treacherous and all I was doing was looking at the crash barriers waiting to slide off with the ghosts of 2017 haunting me at every turn. I headed home early with lap times of between 2:10 to 2:30+
- Mar-18: Race day x1 lap of testing in the wet/cold. Time: 2:24..
- Mar-18: Race 1 - Light snow at the start of the race...
It's fair to say that I wasn't expecting a great result and was the most relaxed I've been going into a race.
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]I managed to get a clean start from P5. The car starting ahead of me (in P4) had throttle cable failure and the guy in P3 missed a gear which gave me P3 into turn 1. Not being that familiar with Oulton and with an aim of finishing rather than winning, I settled into what felt like a safe but quick pace at 8/10ths effort leaving plenty in reserve to avoid errors. The last thing I wanted was to push too hard and have a lock-up or spin whilst trying to find another 5/10ths. [/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]The two guys in front of me are really fast and experienced racers [/color][color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;](Declan won the Mega championship last year, Ben was 2nd in the Sigma championship) so [/color][color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]even if I could stay with them there's every chance they'd beat me to the line anyway. [/color][color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]The guy behind me in 4th place (Toby) won the supers championship last year and holds a lap record around Oulton. I was feeling lucky to be in 3rd place and it was my position to lose. [/color][color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]I built a nice gap over 4th early on and was then managing my pace to try and keep the gap. Occasionally pushing a bit harder if it looked like Toby was gaining but mostly trying to maintain it at a constant but comfortable level and avoid taking risks. [/color]
We were running a mixed grid with the classic class (100bhp 8v cars with headlights/screen) and some guest racers (in newer/faster sigma & sigmax cars). so we were always going to catch and lap the slower cars and deal with traffic. The key is to get past cleanly and as quickly as possible - there's no expectation that they'll let us through and they're in their own race, so it's a bit luck of the draw where you catch them and pass. This was the risky bit as my 4 second lead over 4th place could easily have been lost getting through the slower traffic. It's also the first time I've had to do this in a race situation.
I managed my way through the back markers successfully and actually increased my lead over 4th slightly in the process and finished the race in 3rd place. What followed was a novice having no idea where the podium is or what I was supposed to do! I've included some pics of the podium and interview at the end of the video below..[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;] the champagne (cheap fizzy wine) tasted good![/color]
[color=rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;]Sara recorded the commentary from TSL so I've added that to the video and cut-out a fair bit to keep it interesting. Here's the short version:[/color]
Cracking work Kev. Just shows that you have some genuine speed and keeping relaxed is key. Not sure I could do that!
Hope you’re next race is a tad warmer. I was ‘working’ on my car on Saturday in a blizzard and can’t imagine what it’s like to race in an open car in those conditions.
Really, properly jealous though
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Had a good qualifying. I managed P4 for Race 1 with a 1:39.4 lap and P5 for race 2 (1:39.7), both of which were 0.7s off of pole and nearly 6 seconds ahead of last placed man. Last year in bright sunshine pole was 1:39.5 so my lap time would have given me pole in 2017... In the race itself I managed a 1:39.2 so the raw speed is getting there but race pace needs some work still...
Race 1
An eventful start as the car in front of me messed up so I had to go round him and lost 4 places. I then missed a gear coming through Barn, lost the back end and dropped another place. I spent the rest of the race stuck behind a driver that's 2 seconds a lap slower but seemed to have more poke down the straight. Cadwell is a really narrow track and notoriously difficult to pass. I managed a slip stream down the straight and pass through turn 1 (feeling brave) but he was able to drive round me down the back straight before I could create a gap grrr... I was then tagged in the back by another car coming into Mansfield and lost a wheel arch (and gained a dent) before the bolt fell out of the gearbox mount and the car sounded like someone was underneath with an angle grinder... As I didn't know what the problem was I retired the car for a DNF.
Some good battles and some experience gained. In the same race 4 cars managed to get pretty badly damaged (see video) so I did OK to have a straight car at the end...
Race 2
The car was checked over and given a clean bill of health and I couldn't replicate the grinding noise in the paddock so went out for Race 2 just to discover the same grinding noise right from the green flag lap. I carried on anyway in the hope it was nothing major. Had a terrible start which I'll partially blame on the gearbox not being bolted to the chassis but mostly it's just me needing to get some practice launching. It has an open diff, a tall 1st gear and no torque at all so needs some revs but too much will spin a wheel and not enough will bog/stall. Something I need to focus on!
I finished P6 but was with the lead group, just 12s from the winner and 23s ahead of P7. Hopefully Silverstone will be a bit more forgiving of a bad start as there's opportunity to overtake. Suggestions on how to practice race starts on a postcard!
It was a great weekend at what has to be my favourite track in the country (to drive, not to race at) and the weather was kind to us too. The whole weekend was topped off watching Steve make up places in his race with my whole family cheering him on!
Highlight video here:
Fastest Lap:
Edited by Captain Vimes, 17 April 2018 - 10:34 PM.
Especially through turn 1, 100mph+ corner there absolutely mighty! Watching from the stands it looked proper hairy and I was honestly expecting contact but from the car view it looks like you both gave each other space
Some decent crashes in that video, real commitment there!
The crash at 1:16 was caused by the white car changing into 1st instead of 3rd causing a consertina effect and a couple of very damaged cars - a consequence of small margins and close racing.. All cars were fixed and back out for race 2 on Sunday. The black car needed chassis repair, wishbones replaced, fuel tank patched up, wings etc. etc. It was a late night for the race support teams!
Edited by Captain Vimes, 18 April 2018 - 09:45 PM.
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