The loneliness of the long distance club racer
Discussion
It’s 2016, and poor Cobalt hasn’t turned a wheel on track since last year’s race at Brands. Silverstone in April would have been my first race of the year but work and family have taken priority. I know, it’s criminal of me not to use the car in the way Dr. Ing. Porsche intended and I had fully planned to do a couple of track days over winter but no such luck.
So I bit the bullet and paid my race fees for Brands – I would go there come hell or high water. Car prep took a week or so (on and off) and being time poor this has become the biggest headache for me. It took an hour and a half to swap out the seats (yes, it really did take me that long with accompanying obscenities and skinned knuckles, mostly due to an absolute b/tch of a bracket on the race seat), plus a full morning harassing the Hunter alignment man at my local tyre emporium (“I know it’s not in spec, I want it very not in spec”), then discovering on the drive home that the battery check light flicks on at high revs – so it’s back to a Bosch specialist, another morning spent investigating and… nothing. Seems absolutely fine. Let’s hope those words don’t come back to haunt me as I coast ignominiously to a stop at Paddock Hill bend.
Then there’s the trailer hire – so that’s another hour picking it up. Don’t forget to fill the tank (two trips: one for the tow car, one for the race car). An hour selecting and loading tools. (Don’t know why I bother, I am barely fit to work with gaffer tape). A ludicrous 1.5 hours loading the trailer on the morning of the race due to an inclined driveway, an unusual height difference between the trailer hitch and tow bar, and some kind of Krypton Factor-like test to release the red lock on the hitch. By this stage (and it’s only 5:30 in the morning) I’m thoroughly hacked off and have already decided this will be my last race. Ever. f
king trailers.
But as Daniel Bruhl’s brilliantly brooding Niki Lauda says in Rush, “Happiness is the enemy”. If the prep had been a breeze, perhaps my expectations for the day would be too high. That said, at this point in time, I’m thinking let’s just get this out the way, get back home in one piece, and tell my disapproving missus I’m hanging up the racing boots for good.
And so to Brands.
Once again, there is a frightening level of prep from some of the teams present.
Here’s a couple: a 997 Cup in my class plus gazillion tyres (boo hiss) and a Seat Supercopa in the class below. I’m guessing the Supercopa is more my natural opposition today so let’s not worry about classes.
.
Steve Rance has been kind enough to dispense some of his immense wisdom on set up and circuit. Quali is the usual pottering around getting my bearings so it’s no surprise to find myself in 23rd place out of 28 on the grid. No matter. Pressure in the Cup 2s are set a little bit high to start off (lots of tyre squeal at the second gear Druids), but a quick pit stop to bleed air down to 2.1 bar all round and now the car’s starting to behave. These tyres are now on their 4th race, and seem quick to go off in quali so probably well past their best. Still, most of the time to be found is in me, no point blaming the car or the tyres.
Sadly I’ve completely lost the art of trail braking: I’m doing exactly what Steve told me not to do – I’m throttling into the apex because I’m comfort braking too early and scrubbing off too much speed in a straight line instead of into the corner. Half way through quali my brakes are smoking hot (literally) as a graphic reminder my technique is way off. No wonder Porsche sell lots of PCCBs on their road cars – why learn to brake properly when you can let technology do the work?
It’s probably a good idea I didn’t follow Steve’s set up advice to the letter: I’ve left the front anti-roll bars at one off full stiff instead of full stiff (which works with a proper trail), and the rears on one off full stiff as well. I’ve got a lot more camber than last year so I’m hoping that will make a big difference although I’ve left the ride height sufficient to navigate my driveway at home.
The race itself is as manic as expected with quite a number of retirements, one safety car period (with resultant frantic restart), and a briefly alarming moment of target fixation on a Focus pirouetting in front of me into the gravel trap at Hailwood Hill. Bursting out of the dust cloud on the other side was trippy and highly recommended on any driving bucket list.
I’ve spoken about the visceral thrill of racing last year so I’ll not repeat myself. But today feels a bit like being in a BTCC meet without the contact. It’s life affirming to go barrelling into the tight Druids three at a time, only to be shocked by a pack leading TVR Tuscan trying to muscle its way past all three, spitting great globs of tyre back at you and smearing its mark across your windscreen. For much of the second half of the race I find myself dicing with a Ginetta G50 GT4, dancing over his tail for perhaps 15 laps. Back in the day, Cobalt Blue faced off against G40s on a regular basis and found them close competition so it’s good to be hunting its successor. He’s running Trofeo Rs today and like my Cup 2s, they seem to have gone off. At each twitch from the back of his car I’m looking for my chance to shoot past and it’s on the last lap that his concentration finally lapses and I get my break. Result!
I’m greeted back in the pits by the ever helpful team from the Classic Sports Car Club who also generously acted as my mid-race pit crew. They seem as delighted as I am that I’ve somehow made up 13 places to finish 10th overall and 3rd in class. I was really not expecting that. They’re obviously tickled by the idea of a competitor finishing the race then screwing his number plates back on (although I am of course not insane enough to drive this thing home).
Could I do better? Absolutely. The trail was vaguely starting to come back to me towards the end but I need more seat time to nail it. I’m currently running a 55 second lap on the Indy circuit which is 2 seconds off the Supercopa and 3 off the 997 Cup (although I suspect that can go a lot quicker). Let’s say a decent trail is worth another second. I’m not sure how realistic that is. Perhaps one more second on fresh tyres? Let’s say 53 seconds should be a par time. A proper driver will be quicker still I’m sure but that’s my personal target.
A miserable early start to a long hot day has ended fabulously. On its first tow car duties, the Audi proves a relaxing place to unwind on the drive home.
I drift off into sleep that night oddly still experiencing the rise and fall of the dips and cambers of Paddock into Hailwood. In my dream I am teetering on the edge of oblivion out of Clearways and telling myself this is not my last race. Maybe happiness really is the enemy. It’s only through sweat and toil that we get to taste sweetness. And indeed to appreciate what I think is one of the finest cars that Porsche ever produced.
So I bit the bullet and paid my race fees for Brands – I would go there come hell or high water. Car prep took a week or so (on and off) and being time poor this has become the biggest headache for me. It took an hour and a half to swap out the seats (yes, it really did take me that long with accompanying obscenities and skinned knuckles, mostly due to an absolute b/tch of a bracket on the race seat), plus a full morning harassing the Hunter alignment man at my local tyre emporium (“I know it’s not in spec, I want it very not in spec”), then discovering on the drive home that the battery check light flicks on at high revs – so it’s back to a Bosch specialist, another morning spent investigating and… nothing. Seems absolutely fine. Let’s hope those words don’t come back to haunt me as I coast ignominiously to a stop at Paddock Hill bend.
Then there’s the trailer hire – so that’s another hour picking it up. Don’t forget to fill the tank (two trips: one for the tow car, one for the race car). An hour selecting and loading tools. (Don’t know why I bother, I am barely fit to work with gaffer tape). A ludicrous 1.5 hours loading the trailer on the morning of the race due to an inclined driveway, an unusual height difference between the trailer hitch and tow bar, and some kind of Krypton Factor-like test to release the red lock on the hitch. By this stage (and it’s only 5:30 in the morning) I’m thoroughly hacked off and have already decided this will be my last race. Ever. f
king trailers.But as Daniel Bruhl’s brilliantly brooding Niki Lauda says in Rush, “Happiness is the enemy”. If the prep had been a breeze, perhaps my expectations for the day would be too high. That said, at this point in time, I’m thinking let’s just get this out the way, get back home in one piece, and tell my disapproving missus I’m hanging up the racing boots for good.
And so to Brands.
Once again, there is a frightening level of prep from some of the teams present.
Here’s a couple: a 997 Cup in my class plus gazillion tyres (boo hiss) and a Seat Supercopa in the class below. I’m guessing the Supercopa is more my natural opposition today so let’s not worry about classes.
.
Steve Rance has been kind enough to dispense some of his immense wisdom on set up and circuit. Quali is the usual pottering around getting my bearings so it’s no surprise to find myself in 23rd place out of 28 on the grid. No matter. Pressure in the Cup 2s are set a little bit high to start off (lots of tyre squeal at the second gear Druids), but a quick pit stop to bleed air down to 2.1 bar all round and now the car’s starting to behave. These tyres are now on their 4th race, and seem quick to go off in quali so probably well past their best. Still, most of the time to be found is in me, no point blaming the car or the tyres.
Sadly I’ve completely lost the art of trail braking: I’m doing exactly what Steve told me not to do – I’m throttling into the apex because I’m comfort braking too early and scrubbing off too much speed in a straight line instead of into the corner. Half way through quali my brakes are smoking hot (literally) as a graphic reminder my technique is way off. No wonder Porsche sell lots of PCCBs on their road cars – why learn to brake properly when you can let technology do the work?
It’s probably a good idea I didn’t follow Steve’s set up advice to the letter: I’ve left the front anti-roll bars at one off full stiff instead of full stiff (which works with a proper trail), and the rears on one off full stiff as well. I’ve got a lot more camber than last year so I’m hoping that will make a big difference although I’ve left the ride height sufficient to navigate my driveway at home.
The race itself is as manic as expected with quite a number of retirements, one safety car period (with resultant frantic restart), and a briefly alarming moment of target fixation on a Focus pirouetting in front of me into the gravel trap at Hailwood Hill. Bursting out of the dust cloud on the other side was trippy and highly recommended on any driving bucket list.
I’ve spoken about the visceral thrill of racing last year so I’ll not repeat myself. But today feels a bit like being in a BTCC meet without the contact. It’s life affirming to go barrelling into the tight Druids three at a time, only to be shocked by a pack leading TVR Tuscan trying to muscle its way past all three, spitting great globs of tyre back at you and smearing its mark across your windscreen. For much of the second half of the race I find myself dicing with a Ginetta G50 GT4, dancing over his tail for perhaps 15 laps. Back in the day, Cobalt Blue faced off against G40s on a regular basis and found them close competition so it’s good to be hunting its successor. He’s running Trofeo Rs today and like my Cup 2s, they seem to have gone off. At each twitch from the back of his car I’m looking for my chance to shoot past and it’s on the last lap that his concentration finally lapses and I get my break. Result!
I’m greeted back in the pits by the ever helpful team from the Classic Sports Car Club who also generously acted as my mid-race pit crew. They seem as delighted as I am that I’ve somehow made up 13 places to finish 10th overall and 3rd in class. I was really not expecting that. They’re obviously tickled by the idea of a competitor finishing the race then screwing his number plates back on (although I am of course not insane enough to drive this thing home).
Could I do better? Absolutely. The trail was vaguely starting to come back to me towards the end but I need more seat time to nail it. I’m currently running a 55 second lap on the Indy circuit which is 2 seconds off the Supercopa and 3 off the 997 Cup (although I suspect that can go a lot quicker). Let’s say a decent trail is worth another second. I’m not sure how realistic that is. Perhaps one more second on fresh tyres? Let’s say 53 seconds should be a par time. A proper driver will be quicker still I’m sure but that’s my personal target.
A miserable early start to a long hot day has ended fabulously. On its first tow car duties, the Audi proves a relaxing place to unwind on the drive home.
I drift off into sleep that night oddly still experiencing the rise and fall of the dips and cambers of Paddock into Hailwood. In my dream I am teetering on the edge of oblivion out of Clearways and telling myself this is not my last race. Maybe happiness really is the enemy. It’s only through sweat and toil that we get to taste sweetness. And indeed to appreciate what I think is one of the finest cars that Porsche ever produced.
As someone who has raced a fair bit ...... and always run ourselves even in competitive series and 24 hour events , I love this column ....... as is the reason we do do it ........ the pre-start nerves the ups and downs .... high and lows ......joy and pain ..
After two laps on a track day ...... boredom sets in ..
Peter
After two laps on a track day ...... boredom sets in ..
Peter
Great result. Well done Old Chap.
Glad that you kept the front softer. Full stiff would have not been good.
Im doing more corportate rides at Silverstone soon. Give me a call and i'll go through the dates with you. If it helps, I'll find a way of squeezing you in for a ride and demonstrate the trail on all of the differet corners there. Hopefully it may help
Glad that you kept the front softer. Full stiff would have not been good.
Im doing more corportate rides at Silverstone soon. Give me a call and i'll go through the dates with you. If it helps, I'll find a way of squeezing you in for a ride and demonstrate the trail on all of the differet corners there. Hopefully it may help
Really enjoyed reading the article on Brands.
I recognise all of the symptoms and experiences described. I have often considered giving up after a particularly fraught weekend racing but a couple of days later I am inevitably only remembering the good bits, I'm looking forward to the next race and scouring RaceCarsDirect for a (possibly) better car! It's a drug.
It was inevitable that the New Millenium series would attract some serious bits of kit, and it was meant to attract things like the GT3, Ginetta G50 etc, but there are also plenty of people running more accessible cars such a Clio Cup and G40. And in other CSCC series there is plenty of opportunity to run some actually quite cheap cars from tin tops to Elise, to Porsche 924 to things like the Ginetta G20. Something to suit most wallets and experience.
And it's a good club, with a good paddock atmosphere and decent driving standards.
I am considering taking my newly acquired 944T to Anglesey for the CSCC Modern Classics race (although it's on the same day as the Future Classics race at Brands GP, I have never been on the GP circuit and don't want to race there without a track day first). And I will definitely be out in either The Future Classics or Modern Classics race at Donington.
Hope to meet up some time.
I recognise all of the symptoms and experiences described. I have often considered giving up after a particularly fraught weekend racing but a couple of days later I am inevitably only remembering the good bits, I'm looking forward to the next race and scouring RaceCarsDirect for a (possibly) better car! It's a drug.
It was inevitable that the New Millenium series would attract some serious bits of kit, and it was meant to attract things like the GT3, Ginetta G50 etc, but there are also plenty of people running more accessible cars such a Clio Cup and G40. And in other CSCC series there is plenty of opportunity to run some actually quite cheap cars from tin tops to Elise, to Porsche 924 to things like the Ginetta G20. Something to suit most wallets and experience.
And it's a good club, with a good paddock atmosphere and decent driving standards.
I am considering taking my newly acquired 944T to Anglesey for the CSCC Modern Classics race (although it's on the same day as the Future Classics race at Brands GP, I have never been on the GP circuit and don't want to race there without a track day first). And I will definitely be out in either The Future Classics or Modern Classics race at Donington.
Hope to meet up some time.
Edited by andy97 on Friday 10th June 17:08
I'm going to have to stop reading your race reviews or they'll end up costing me a small fortune! I miss seeing the Cobalt Blue GT3 up close and personal on a race track and reading your reviews I find myself doing sums in my head about how I could afford to buy a Cup car and get out there again....
I would say 3 seconds a lap off a 997 Cup car is pretty good going, good luck for the next round; its good to hear you're still at it.
I would say 3 seconds a lap off a 997 Cup car is pretty good going, good luck for the next round; its good to hear you're still at it.
Steve Rance said:
Great result. Well done Old Chap.
Glad that you kept the front softer. Full stiff would have not been good.
Im doing more corportate rides at Silverstone soon. Give me a call and i'll go through the dates with you. If it helps, I'll find a way of squeezing you in for a ride and demonstrate the trail on all of the differet corners there. Hopefully it may help
I will get in touch Steve. Very much appreciate the advice.Glad that you kept the front softer. Full stiff would have not been good.
Im doing more corportate rides at Silverstone soon. Give me a call and i'll go through the dates with you. If it helps, I'll find a way of squeezing you in for a ride and demonstrate the trail on all of the differet corners there. Hopefully it may help
andy97 said:
And it's a good club, with a good paddock atmosphere and decent driving standards.
Agreed. I'm impressed how I experienced no contact despite the dog fights at close quarters. At one point I thought I would rear end one of the TVRs into the braking zone and locked up briefly. The ABS threshold on the 6GT3 seems quite high for a road car (which is a good thing).From memory we got 51's on Toyo's in Tim Chandlers 996RS which wasn't far off cup spec. We thought that 50's were on with Cups but his control tyre was the toyo which was horrible on the 911. A Gen 1 997 cup will be around 46-7 on slicks so may get into the 49's on road rubber with the right geo.
I think that a trail will find you more than a second because it lengthens the time that you are on full throttle and effectively shortens the entry zone of the corner. Also you can control your apex speed to ensure that you are on full throttle earlier on exit. Shorter braking zone and faster exit all adds up to a big chunk of time. The downside of course is that it can also add up to a big chunk of accident if you get it wrong. A lot will also come down to set up as well as technique
I think that a trail will find you more than a second because it lengthens the time that you are on full throttle and effectively shortens the entry zone of the corner. Also you can control your apex speed to ensure that you are on full throttle earlier on exit. Shorter braking zone and faster exit all adds up to a big chunk of time. The downside of course is that it can also add up to a big chunk of accident if you get it wrong. A lot will also come down to set up as well as technique
After your next set up with Parr just take it to a friendly team with a flat patch. You can then check the corner weights and toes, rake (chassis height) etc. You can see the camber, roll bar settings anyway. Damper settings are an easy check.
It's silly they won't just tell you. I get that it's IP for them, but most numpties couldn't set it up properly even if they had the information. They should know that and have enough belief in their skills to be sure of people coming back.
However, as long as the car is basically all pointing straight and the set up is sound, there'll be more time to come from the driver than the car in most cases. For me the set up needs to be dialled into my driving style and preferences for a particular circuit only to unlock the last half second or less. A lot of club racers (not saying you) are multiple seconds off the pace and provided the car isn't wildly off in terms of balance, more of the performance comes from just getting the driving basics nailed. So many drivers cause the issues they describe themselves. I race in the G55 Supercup on BTCC, I was accidentally given another drivers on board from qualifying the other day by race control. I couldn't believe how technically poor his style was, he's actually quite quick. But in my opinion he'll never be really fast. Nail the basics and you'll always be competitive, you'll also always have a reference then to what should be happening and what the car should be doing. Also allows you to be consistent. Another key ingredient.
It's silly they won't just tell you. I get that it's IP for them, but most numpties couldn't set it up properly even if they had the information. They should know that and have enough belief in their skills to be sure of people coming back.
However, as long as the car is basically all pointing straight and the set up is sound, there'll be more time to come from the driver than the car in most cases. For me the set up needs to be dialled into my driving style and preferences for a particular circuit only to unlock the last half second or less. A lot of club racers (not saying you) are multiple seconds off the pace and provided the car isn't wildly off in terms of balance, more of the performance comes from just getting the driving basics nailed. So many drivers cause the issues they describe themselves. I race in the G55 Supercup on BTCC, I was accidentally given another drivers on board from qualifying the other day by race control. I couldn't believe how technically poor his style was, he's actually quite quick. But in my opinion he'll never be really fast. Nail the basics and you'll always be competitive, you'll also always have a reference then to what should be happening and what the car should be doing. Also allows you to be consistent. Another key ingredient.
Steve Rance said:
The downside of course is that it can also add up to a big chunk of accident if you get it wrong.
That's what was playing in my mind at Paddock Hill. Towards the end, I was starting to get some trail into Graham Hill which is a much lower risk corner. Shame I completely forgot to strap my phone to the dash and log the laps.pistolp said:
Nail the basics and you'll always be competitive, you'll also always have a reference then to what should be happening and what the car should be doing. Also allows you to be consistent. Another key ingredient.
Yup. About 5 or 6 years ago I had the basics nailed and then life got in the way and barely even ran a few track days. I think confidence also takes a knock with lack of practice. I'm not yet comfortable taking the risks I used to.As I'm hearing from a lot of the other club racers on this thread we seem to have a shared experience of just not having enough seat time and what time we do have has its share of challenges.
In any sport we would all improve with a combination of good coaching and quality practice of the things we have learnt. Unfortunately, motorsport is time consuming and expensive and so for the vast majority of us we just have to accept that our best possible performance willnever be achieved. We therefore have to just enjoy what we do and make the most of it. Certainly i feel very fortunate to even race 5-6 times a year, and i have had some great battles to finish 16th!!!
This side of a reasonable lottery win i dont see that changing!
This side of a reasonable lottery win i dont see that changing!
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