Brands track Invasion
Discussion
Page 15 of the Sun has a story covering the two jokers who invaded the Fun Cup race with there girlfriends Polo with her in the back 
Got to say i'm gobsmacked that this can happen especially when you take into consideration what we have to go through to get out on track in terms of car and driver checks!! Constantly reminded at Brands about track limits,safety etc and yet these ******* are able to just drive onto the circuit during a live race endangering there's and other drivers lives!!!
Not Cool and fortunate for them that it was not during DTEC as they might of ended up getting a nasty surprise!!
Got to say i'm gobsmacked that this can happen especially when you take into consideration what we have to go through to get out on track in terms of car and driver checks!! Constantly reminded at Brands about track limits,safety etc and yet these ******* are able to just drive onto the circuit during a live race endangering there's and other drivers lives!!!
Not Cool and fortunate for them that it was not during DTEC as they might of ended up getting a nasty surprise!!
If you haven't seen it there is a thread on the UK CLUB MOTORSPORT forum discussing this as well...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Maureen - aka Mrs Hui
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Maureen - aka Mrs Hui
I fear it will be the likes of us legitimate racers and team that endup bearing the brunt of the fallout from this.. with difficulty in getting cars with team members and tools in the paddock,
just before the 2nd race 3 of us had to dash out to Robs and change a tyre we had no tickets no id etc as we just grabbed what we needed and headed out in a private car.. can you imaging doing all that and then not being able to get back int he circuit.
That knobber wants his hands cutting off, It that had been my daughter in the car I'd be hiding the lads body currently....
They were very lucky to get on the track and very lucky with the fact it was an endurance race( which i think helped them with the ease they got on track as cars are constantly on and off the track and the pit lane is open. the cup cars all have race control to car radio so they were informed quickly what was going on and the red thrown. if it had been our race, and they had come out in front of tim and deeno on full chat it could have been very nasty, or even worse got mixed up with 2 lots of overtaking cars , or maybe next to ivor with his locked diff and drift car !!!
just before the 2nd race 3 of us had to dash out to Robs and change a tyre we had no tickets no id etc as we just grabbed what we needed and headed out in a private car.. can you imaging doing all that and then not being able to get back int he circuit.
That knobber wants his hands cutting off, It that had been my daughter in the car I'd be hiding the lads body currently....
They were very lucky to get on the track and very lucky with the fact it was an endurance race( which i think helped them with the ease they got on track as cars are constantly on and off the track and the pit lane is open. the cup cars all have race control to car radio so they were informed quickly what was going on and the red thrown. if it had been our race, and they had come out in front of tim and deeno on full chat it could have been very nasty, or even worse got mixed up with 2 lots of overtaking cars , or maybe next to ivor with his locked diff and drift car !!!
Graham said:
I fear it will be the likes of us legitimate racers and team that endup bearing the brunt of the fallout from this.. with difficulty in getting cars with team members and tools in the paddock,
just before the 2nd race 3 of us had to dash out to Robs and change a tyre we had no tickets no id etc as we just grabbed what we needed and headed out in a private car.. can you imaging doing all that and then not being able to get back int he circuit.
That knobber wants his hands cutting off, It that had been my daughter in the car I'd be hiding the lads body currently....
They were very lucky to get on the track and very lucky with the fact it was an endurance race( which i think helped them with the ease they got on track as cars are constantly on and off the track and the pit lane is open. the cup cars all have race control to car radio so they were informed quickly what was going on and the red thrown. if it had been our race, and they had come out in front of tim and deeno on full chat it could have been very nasty, or even worse got mixed up with 2 lots of overtaking cars , or maybe next to ivor with his locked diff and drift car !!!
Very true graham like wise if it had been one of my daughters they would be less there dangly bits now😡just before the 2nd race 3 of us had to dash out to Robs and change a tyre we had no tickets no id etc as we just grabbed what we needed and headed out in a private car.. can you imaging doing all that and then not being able to get back int he circuit.
That knobber wants his hands cutting off, It that had been my daughter in the car I'd be hiding the lads body currently....
They were very lucky to get on the track and very lucky with the fact it was an endurance race( which i think helped them with the ease they got on track as cars are constantly on and off the track and the pit lane is open. the cup cars all have race control to car radio so they were informed quickly what was going on and the red thrown. if it had been our race, and they had come out in front of tim and deeno on full chat it could have been very nasty, or even worse got mixed up with 2 lots of overtaking cars , or maybe next to ivor with his locked diff and drift car !!!
The incident looks far less dramatic than it could have done precisely because the CoC could communicate instantly with all the (race!) drivers, so racing ceased immediately. Otherwise as you say a pack of cars could have descended upon him. We're often 3 abreast coming down Paddock Hill. With quicker cars with no radios and the thing could have had a different outcome.
You're also right that the duration of the race played a part. The gate to the collection area was open along with the garage with the weighbridge. In an endurance race when cars are recovered from the track via the exit at Graham Hill bend they are taken past the back of the garages and down the pit lane. In a sprint race this access isn't required (and marshals are most likely in there sorting out the cars for the next race). It was very unfortunate that there appeared to be no-one stationed there at the time he tried this stunt. Whilst he claims to have big balls I suspect he'd have meekly complied had he been challenged. The lad is the real issue here, but it should not have been possible to get onto the pit lane unchallenged. I really hope the reaction by circuits is proportionate (in terms of tightening access controls) and the lad is punished to the max to reinforce the seriousness of the incident and prevent copycats.
Sadly I now foresee a situation where the 'no private cars in the paddock' rule, which is already in the Finals for every race meeting, will be enforced. So for us coming into the paddock with fuel or food etc on a Saturday morning will become far more difficult.
As a result of all this our 4hr race was ruined (albeit we had the mitigation of a podium). It was well set up for the final half hour with some great battles going on. It was stopped when the idiot joined the track and eventually we were re-gridded for a 10 minute sprint - with all the previous lost laps etc cancelled out. So in theory you could have been 12 laps down in 10th after 3 hrs 30 mins, but have a shot at an overall race win in this sprint thing. It is crazy to determine a 4 hrs race with a separate 10 min sprint, and the CoC needs to have a think about this. That said the circumstances were exceptional and he was doing his best to give the competitors the track time they had paid for.
The inevitable happened - too many cars sensing an opportunity to go for glory and we had multiple accidents in the first 2 laps. We were lying third as the first red flag fell - then we were taken out at Clearways on the first lap of the sprint, which was also red flagged after 2 laps. We then had a very tense 30 mins whilst we waited for a result to be declared. Fortunately sense prevailed and the result from the first race was declared and the 10 min thing ignored, otherwise we could have been nowhere.
An utterly bizarre and disappointing thing to happen....
You're also right that the duration of the race played a part. The gate to the collection area was open along with the garage with the weighbridge. In an endurance race when cars are recovered from the track via the exit at Graham Hill bend they are taken past the back of the garages and down the pit lane. In a sprint race this access isn't required (and marshals are most likely in there sorting out the cars for the next race). It was very unfortunate that there appeared to be no-one stationed there at the time he tried this stunt. Whilst he claims to have big balls I suspect he'd have meekly complied had he been challenged. The lad is the real issue here, but it should not have been possible to get onto the pit lane unchallenged. I really hope the reaction by circuits is proportionate (in terms of tightening access controls) and the lad is punished to the max to reinforce the seriousness of the incident and prevent copycats.
Sadly I now foresee a situation where the 'no private cars in the paddock' rule, which is already in the Finals for every race meeting, will be enforced. So for us coming into the paddock with fuel or food etc on a Saturday morning will become far more difficult.
As a result of all this our 4hr race was ruined (albeit we had the mitigation of a podium). It was well set up for the final half hour with some great battles going on. It was stopped when the idiot joined the track and eventually we were re-gridded for a 10 minute sprint - with all the previous lost laps etc cancelled out. So in theory you could have been 12 laps down in 10th after 3 hrs 30 mins, but have a shot at an overall race win in this sprint thing. It is crazy to determine a 4 hrs race with a separate 10 min sprint, and the CoC needs to have a think about this. That said the circumstances were exceptional and he was doing his best to give the competitors the track time they had paid for.
The inevitable happened - too many cars sensing an opportunity to go for glory and we had multiple accidents in the first 2 laps. We were lying third as the first red flag fell - then we were taken out at Clearways on the first lap of the sprint, which was also red flagged after 2 laps. We then had a very tense 30 mins whilst we waited for a result to be declared. Fortunately sense prevailed and the result from the first race was declared and the 10 min thing ignored, otherwise we could have been nowhere.
An utterly bizarre and disappointing thing to happen....
You need to stop unauthorised vehicles accessing the pit lane, not access from the pit lane to the track. It shouldn't be too hard to do without making everyone's lives difficult. In this case have the gate closed to the collection area unless there is someone stationed on it. Job done.
From what I heard I think one of the issues was the marshals were attending to other vehicles, and knowing these idiots, if a marshal tried to stop the car they would have carried on driving anyway.
From a spectator / enthusiast point of view I hope they don't ruin the enjoyment people get from being able to get close to the teams / mechanics / drivers. Unfortunately I think this event will.
From a spectator / enthusiast point of view I hope they don't ruin the enjoyment people get from being able to get close to the teams / mechanics / drivers. Unfortunately I think this event will.
Which is why there should be a barrier.
those guys have been on the entry for years.
they only didn't see them because they were helping someone out.
I'm sure training up to now hasn't included "what if some tosser..." though I reckon it will now. If they'd left a closed barrier behind them...
those guys have been on the entry for years.
they only didn't see them because they were helping someone out.
I'm sure training up to now hasn't included "what if some tosser..." though I reckon it will now. If they'd left a closed barrier behind them...
Graham said:
Indeed Im not sure you can expect a volunteer marshall to put his life at risk standing in front of an on coming car...
I marshalled both days - Post 23 at McLaren.The culprit was noticed in the pit lane, but by then was accelerating hard onto the track. The (lady) marshal said exactly that...who would want to jump out on a car doing 60-70mph? I believe the eejit even posted on Facebook bigging up his exploits on the day! I don't know, but it was suggested that Kent police might get involved, but personally, I can't see them being interested.
The main issue here is that there were so few marshals available on the Saturday. The CoC takes a view on the spread of people, but some posts had only 2 marshals manning. It becomes a bit of a juggling act to flag, respond to the radio and maybe hold the safety car board up!
Nick
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