First time sprinter

[Galveston]

Hello,

I've foolishly entered a couple of sprints this year, one in a couple of weeks and one in May. I'll be using my bog-standard Clio 172 Cup, running in the "road going series production" class.

I've done a fair bit of club motorsport in my time so I'm not a complete noobie, however I've realised that I have no real idea how sprints are organised and feel it would be helpful to fill a few gaps in my knowledge before the big day. So here are some questions for those with a bit more experience than me...

1) Will my runs be grouped together, or is it (as I imagine) that I'll do one run, then wait while everyone else does theirs, then do my next run, and so on?

2) Are competitors asked to marshal between their runs?

3) Will the entry be seeded? If so, how? Do plebes go first or last?

That'll do for starters.

Thanks, Rob.

[Galveston]

Thanks for the responses - I'm feeling a bit more like I know what to expect now!

mozzerS said:

Nothing "foolish" about that! 172 cup will be a great production class car.
Agree with other answers.
Where are you sprinting?

The "foolish" bit is about having done no research or prep. With 2.5 weeks to go until Sprint No.1 I've hardly given it a second though - 2016's being a bit too busy so far.

The first sprint is at Hullavington, and the second at Llandow.

[Galveston]

Vocal Minority said:

1). You'll do one run, then everyone will have a turn, then you'll do your next runs

Follow-up question... are you given a time to arrive at the start 'control' (you might be able to tell that my background's rallying) for each run? Or do you have to keep an eye on what's going on and turn up when it seems about right?

I'm over thinking this aren't I...?!

[Galveston]

Thanks all.

Next daft question... what's the start system? Is there a countdown system with a green light as per rallying, or is it an "in your own time" set-up like AutoSolo?

Trev450 said:

I would guess that you are doing the ASWMC championship in class A3

I haven't registered for the championship, just picked a couple of local-ish events to dip a toe in the water.

[Galveston]

I've got the timing strut sorted, but perhaps it's a good idea to run through the list of other stuff I need to do/take...

Licence and club card
Timing strut
Helmet (need to get a new one as my old rally hat has been culled by the MSA)
Overalls
Fireproof gloves (but weirdly not boots)
White door squares and numbers (although looking at lots of photos on the web most people don't seem to bother with the white backgrounds...?)
Tyres (from List 1a for Hullavington and 1b for Llandow)
A sticker to show which way the ignition key turns off (because they're all different, obviously).

Anything else? Do I need a tarpaulin to park on and a spill kit?

I'm currently weighing up whether to drag along the other-half with another car full of tools and stuff, or just to travel light in the Clio. The latter approach may benefit my relationship.

[Galveston]

LordHaveMurci said:

For hillclimbs I print race number on A4 sheets & stick inside back windows.
No great need for masses of tools etc, ignition sticker I just use making tape & write it on!
Do you need to make - battery terminal with yellow tape?
A pump/tyre pressure guage will be useful to make adjustments between runs, what wheels/tyres are you using?

Thanks, its good to know that a bit of informality is tolerated. Good point about the battery terminal.

I've got a growing collection of 15" OZ F1 wheels from the early 172s, which I'll use with Michelin Pilot Sport 3s for List 1a and probably Toyo R888Rs for List 1b.

Cheers.

[Galveston]

Thanks again for all your help with this, it's appreciated and I really do feel much more prepared than I was.

New helmet and gloves purchased this morning, overalls are hanging on the washing line, tyres are being fitted tomorrow... all I need now is to find the motivation to drag myself outside and nail a new exhaust system onto the car and I'm just about sorted.

Cheers.

[Galveston]

LordHaveMurci said:

What exhaust have you gone with?

A horrible pattern system. I wanted a proper Renault system but they're not available anymore. That leaves (as far as I can tell) a choice of cheap and nasty pattern systems or overly loud boy racer systems. I went for the lesser of those two evils until I can source something better.

[Galveston]

D_G said:

I usually run in A3, doing single seater this year though. Have a chat with the guys you are parked with, I've always met great people who are always ready to help, Hullavington is a great track.

Are you still doing AutoSolos this year or do the rest of us have a chance of a win?!

LordHaveMurci said:

I went for a BTB after a LOT of research, sounds nice but not too loud, unlike many others.

When did you get your BTB? Their Clio specific website(s) seem to have been closed down, and there's nothing on their generic website. I need to find five mins to give them a call to see if they're still available.

Edited by Galveston on Sunday 6th March 14:02

[Galveston]

Thanks all. I'll let you know how I get on...

[Galveston]

So the car and I survived our first sprint... and we did alright too, 2nd in class A2 (standard series production - List 1A tyres).

I was beaten to the class win (by a third of a second) by a nice chap driving a Clio RS200. We were both a couple of seconds ahead of the rest of the class (all Clio 172/182/197s) and also beat the Clio 172/182s running in the modified classes. I was particularly chuffed after the first practice run when I was 20th overall (of about 65) but I dropped back as the day went on and finished 31st.

My chuffed-ness was eradicated when I got home and downloaded the GoPro. My mental images of nicely aggressive but controlled driving were replaced by the reality of watching a lunatic flail at the steering while bouncing up and down in his seat...

Video of my fastest run

Never mind, it's a good way to learn!

Already looking forward to the next one at Llandow in May.

Thanks again for the advice above, it definitely helped.

[Galveston]

carl_w said:

Was the winner a pleasantly spoken chap with a yellow RS200?

No, a pleasantly spoken chap with a silver RS200. Andrew Bisping.

[Galveston]

I thought it would be nice to update this having completed another three sprints and a hillclimb since my last post.

Llandow #1

A few weeks after the Hullavington event I did the Bristol and Bristol Pegasus Motor Clubs sprint at Llandow. This time the class allowed unto 2600cc (or forced induction equivalent) so I was up against a Lancer, a couple of Fiesta STs, a mental little Toyota Starlet, an Audi S3, a Mini JCW plus a few normally aspirated cars including Andrew Bisping’s Clio RS200 that I’d been neck-and-neck with at Hullavington. Andrew was still on List 1a tyres whereas I was using R888Rs for the first time.

The day started wet which wasn’t ideal for my first experience of the R888Rs, and I was five seconds off Andrew’s pace, but still about 6th in the class of 13. As the day went on I narrowed the gap to Andrew, ending up about a second off his pace. Annoyingly on the last timed run a couple of people found more time than I did and I dropped from 6th to 8th in class. My fastest time was 90.94s. Interestingly (because of what comes later) I was about a second quicker than the Starlet.

Llandow video - May

Llandow #2

At Llandow Andrew had mentioned that he was off to Llys-y-Fran in Pembrokeshire the following day to do a hillclimb, and that the Llandow and Llys-y-Fran events were usually organised as a pair on the same weekend. The events would be run again in July. This sounded like a good plan to me, so on 16th July I got up early and headed off to Llandow once again.

This time Llandow was being organised by a different club and with slightly different rules. I was running in the Standard Production class, using List 1a tyres again. Again the day started wet but this time I was quickest in class by 2.5 seconds in first practice. Andrew narrowed the gap to half a second in second practice as it dried up. It rained again over lunch, and the track was hilariously slippery for the first timed run. Andrew was 0.15s quicker.

Llandow video - July (Wet)

There was more-or-less a dry line for the second and last timed run. I managed a 91.07s, but Andrew sneaked the class win by 0.16s. Git. Despite losing by such a small amount I was more than happy to be second in class and 57th (of 98) overall. Andrew and I were both quicker than the majority of the modified production classes too. Not bad for a 13 year old bog-standard Clio.

Llandow video - July (Dryish)

It’s perhaps interesting at this point to compare times between the two events at Llandow. Andrew was about a second slower than at the first event (the track was still a bit damp in places) but I was only fractionally slower than I’d been on the R888Rs. I’d probably have been a second quicker had the track been dry. Some of that I’m sure will be more experience of the track, but I definitely prefer the way the car handles on the Michelin PS3s - definitely more feelsome, adjustable and confidence-inspiring. I also suppose the R888Rs don’t get much chance to warm-up in a 90 second sprint, but I thought it surprising how quick the PS3s were. Amazing when you consider that they’re only about £50 a corner.

Llys-y-Fran Hillclimb

The next morning we reconvened at Llys-y-Fran reservoir in Pembrokeshire. This was a completely different type of venue, a short hillclimb through the twisty narrow roads of the country park based around the reservoir.

As per the previous day’s event at Llandow I was running in the Standard Production class, this time against a Focus RS (Mk2), Focus ST170, a Puma, a Clio 197, Andrew’s Clio RS200, a 206 GTi 180 and a VW Lupo. Andrew is the class record holder at Llys-y-Fran and I think everyone else in my class had been to Llys-y-Fran before so I was expecting to struggle, especially as the day started wet again…

After Practice 1 I was 5th in class and about 4 seconds behind Andrew. After Practice 2 that was 2nd in class and 1 second behind Andrew. After the first timed run I was three-quarters of a second ahead of Andrew, who’d made a mistake…. All down to the last run…

Llys-y-Fran video

I won by 0.27 seconds.

The long left-hander hadn’t dried up and was really slippery, but I was only 0.25s off Andrew’s class record. I guess the little Cup had a weight advantage over her competitors that helped her up the hill, but I was really chuffed.

Dick Mayo Sprint at Castle Combe

The Dick Mayo Sprint at Castle Combe was the following weekend. Slightly knackered and rather too busy at work, it was only about 8pm on the evening before the event that I had a chance to give the car a quick check over and bolt on the R888Rs.

Although Combe’s my local track I hadn’t driven it before. I’d hoped to do a track day this summer to get familiar but didn’t get a chance. Despite arriving early I didn’t have time to walk the track, so I set off on my first run not really knowing where I was going so was a bit surprised to be 4th of 19 in class after that run. My second run felt infinitely better - I thought I’d found five seconds - but I was amazed that I was only a couple of tenths quicker. Everyone else had improved more so I’d dropped to 6th in class.

I found 1.5 seconds after lunch, but was fractionally slower on my last run - the first time that’s happened - so my first timed run was my best and put me 6th in class and 90th of 153 overall. Not too bad, but after my recent successes I was a bit disappointed. The Starlet I’d beaten by a second at Llandow in May had thrashed me by 4 seconds around a lap of Combe. I reckon I could find a couple of seconds with a few more laps, but not enough to beat the front runners.

Castle Combe video

Anyway, all good fun and I’ll definitely be back for more!

[Galveston]

andylaurence said:

You sound like the ideal candidate for the Bristol Clio Cup next year. 5 rounds; 2 AutoSolos and 3 sprints.

Yep, I've already expressed my interest. Thanks!