Quick thanks from Snetterton
Discussion
To all those drivers / teams who came up to us during the race today at Snetterton to ask a) how Leigh was, and b) how the Ginetta was - thank you very much, it was much appreciated.
Leigh was shaken but is absolutely fine. The Ginetta less so.
Shame because we were in the mix again. Victims of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as were the Kinfaun boys - destroyed their race also.
Congrats to all our Class 2 rivals - another good and close race weekend (while it lasted). See you all at Silverstone.
Thanks to all once again for taking the time to ask about Leigh.
Andy
Jemco Racing
I've removed my comments borne out of frustration. I will address these direct. Happy days!
Leigh was shaken but is absolutely fine. The Ginetta less so.
Shame because we were in the mix again. Victims of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, as were the Kinfaun boys - destroyed their race also.
Congrats to all our Class 2 rivals - another good and close race weekend (while it lasted). See you all at Silverstone.
Thanks to all once again for taking the time to ask about Leigh.
Andy
Jemco Racing
Edited by Jemco Andy on Sunday 17th August 21:37
I've removed my comments borne out of frustration. I will address these direct. Happy days!
Edited by Jemco Andy on Monday 18th August 16:14
I think we're quite a close knit little family out there and so there is genuine concern when someone comes to grief. I think it's that same closeness that keeps the racing clean between us. It goes without saying that we were all concerned. Thankfully the coin landed heads up. Clearly they're a tough old girl them plastic bathtubs !
Look forward to seeing you all out again. You've made huge progress if you compare this weekend to April's visit both in terms of pace and reliability, a shame you weren't able to capitalise on it.
All the best
Henry
Look forward to seeing you all out again. You've made huge progress if you compare this weekend to April's visit both in terms of pace and reliability, a shame you weren't able to capitalise on it.
All the best
Henry
Glad to hear that your driver was safe, sorry to hear that you suffered the incident in the first place, you chaps were going very well, such a shame. Didn't have a chance to see you after the race as we were hauled up in front of the C of the C which seem to take hours to sort out, in the end it turned out that it was the officials that cocked up, didn't leave the circuit until about 9 in the evening, finally got home at 1 o'clock on Monday morning !!
I don't think we will be entering the 24, still two drivers short and with ever limited chances of signing up a deal in time, the cut off date will be in the next 48 hours, I think in real terms we are almost certainly out.
I don't think we will be entering the 24, still two drivers short and with ever limited chances of signing up a deal in time, the cut off date will be in the next 48 hours, I think in real terms we are almost certainly out.
Ahonen said:
Rod, we found our last two drivers on the Wednesday afternoon before the race last year, so it'd be a bit premature to pull out this early (so to speak).
If you enter it, they will come.
I hear what you say, but we don't run Hawthorns Motorsport as a business, we have no sponsors, we just run it for ourselves, we can't therefore take a chance on spending out all the money needed to set up for the 24 hr on the off chance that we get the additional drivers we need. We would have liked to do it, but we don't need to do it, and I don't want to put additional financial strain on our small racing outfit that then compromises our proposed 2009 season.If you enter it, they will come.
I've been literally inundated with people wanting to hire stints in our Honda. This has led me to the realisation that there are two issues to overcome with hiring rides for this great event.
1. The vast majority were comming to us for no other reason than we have a record for doing the 24hr successfuly, most people were happy to step down significantly in performance and pay a premium just to be with a proven package. For anyone to invest thousands of pounds into an unkown/unproven fun event is high risk so under very carefull thought. It would seem ultimately most people want a sniff of a result not just a finish and lets face it a finish isn't hard unless you blow the motor or crash heavily!
2. The other issue is the sheer cost to performance ratio. The bar for car performance at the front is simply to high which makes the lower classes (number making up stuff) seem so expensive, even when subsidised by the cars owners.
One last FOC tip for the Hawthorns of this world. FPA is on the same package and they are precisely the sort of people who randomly stump up for drives if you let them know they are available. In my experience most people who do FPA have no idea that you can buy drives in Porsche's and BMW's etc;)
1. The vast majority were comming to us for no other reason than we have a record for doing the 24hr successfuly, most people were happy to step down significantly in performance and pay a premium just to be with a proven package. For anyone to invest thousands of pounds into an unkown/unproven fun event is high risk so under very carefull thought. It would seem ultimately most people want a sniff of a result not just a finish and lets face it a finish isn't hard unless you blow the motor or crash heavily!
2. The other issue is the sheer cost to performance ratio. The bar for car performance at the front is simply to high which makes the lower classes (number making up stuff) seem so expensive, even when subsidised by the cars owners.
One last FOC tip for the Hawthorns of this world. FPA is on the same package and they are precisely the sort of people who randomly stump up for drives if you let them know they are available. In my experience most people who do FPA have no idea that you can buy drives in Porsche's and BMW's etc;)
Simon Mason said:
One last FOC tip for the Hawthorns of this world. FPA is on the same package and they are precisely the sort of people who randomly stump up for drives if you let them know they are available. In my experience most people who do FPA have no idea that you can buy drives in Porsche's and BMW's etc;)
Simon, thanks for the tip but we started to plan this event 6 months back, 3 months ago in earnest, and spread the word by way of direct contact and website advertising. Jay Shepherd has many contacts within the Palmer set up as he has worked and is working for them on a regular basis, he spent some time doing FPA driver training as an instructor and despite making many drivers aware that we had seats available, no one could actually commit apart from the original 4 drivers of the 6 we needed.Maybe I was wrong to look at a 6 driver team instead of 4 but with costs at £42000/£45000 all in, the seat in a 6 member team came out at £7500 as opposed to £11250 for a 4 driver team, a saving of £3750. I thought that at £7500 for a drive in a class leading 996 with a proven reliability record, 100%, for this season, in fact, 100% in mechanical terms since it came out of the factory in 2004, that I was on the right track, so to speak.
The current credit crunch, as they like to call it, has undoubtedly had an effect but the expectations of a number of drivers were unrealistic and somewhat surprising bearing in mind that they are generally aware of the costs involved. I again admit to being selective about the drivers I wanted for the available seats, I needed them to fit in with our team and not unreasonably, required some proof of track record as I wasn't about to accept just anyone with a race licence and a wad of cash. I had 14 enquires, 7/8 were either a waste of time or not suitable in terms of experience and attitude, 6 were very acceptable on all levels but none of these were able to find the budget needed within the time frame I set, so I had no alternative but to call it a day as the preparation needed could not be undertaken in the time then available to us, passed my cut off date.
The above reflects my experience of trying very hard to put together a team that would have had every chance in not only finishing the race but also had the distinct possibility of a class podium or better, we were not going into this to be an also ran, we intended to put ourselves in the best position we could as we have consistently done this season in Britcar. The two Britcar series drivers that were joining us were not only very capable and experienced peddlers, they were also able to sign a cheque there and then, unfortunately, they were the only ones who could stand up and be counted.
I don't really know why we were not able to put together this team but I suspect that it is not as simple as having a reliable car with a proven success record, a reasonable cost structure, and a great possibility of a good result, there must therefore be other factors that have come into play and budgets will be very high on the list as costs seem to be rising in Motorsport month on month, never mind per season.
I can see one issue straight away, £7500 for share in a 6 driver entry does not exactly equate to much mileage and therefore good value, instead it equates to £7500 for a weekend in Porsche a where you may only drive for a couple of hours if your lucky. That leads me to think why should anyone pay £7500 to be a 6th driver in a 996 when you can be one of 4 in a BMW or a Honda or whatever, if taking part is the key factor?
In my experience the only way 5 or 6 drivers benefit from racing together is because they are all good mates to start with and just want to have taken part.
As for the FPA boys they need to see it, with all due respect to Jay there are certain perceptions in selling anything in motorsport, once its seen in the flesh and ready to go things change but £7500 for share in a 6 driver team is big money and thats where your problem lies, if I may say. More than ever with the current financial doom and gloom its not about how much can I afford, but what am I getting for it surely!!
Your absolutely right though costs for racing in a series such as Britcar have become daft but then we choose the cars and therefore the costs and one has to start taking a look at what we want from racing, a fast car or competition. That is perhaps why series like the VW Fun Cup are booming!!
In my experience the only way 5 or 6 drivers benefit from racing together is because they are all good mates to start with and just want to have taken part.
As for the FPA boys they need to see it, with all due respect to Jay there are certain perceptions in selling anything in motorsport, once its seen in the flesh and ready to go things change but £7500 for share in a 6 driver team is big money and thats where your problem lies, if I may say. More than ever with the current financial doom and gloom its not about how much can I afford, but what am I getting for it surely!!
Your absolutely right though costs for racing in a series such as Britcar have become daft but then we choose the cars and therefore the costs and one has to start taking a look at what we want from racing, a fast car or competition. That is perhaps why series like the VW Fun Cup are booming!!
Simon Mason said:
I can see one issue straight away, £7500 for share in a 6 driver entry does not exactly equate to much mileage and therefore good value, instead it equates to £7500 for a weekend in Porsche a where you may only drive for a couple of hours if your lucky. That leads me to think why should anyone pay £7500 to be a 6th driver in a 996 when you can be one of 4 in a BMW or a Honda or whatever, if taking part is the key factor?
In my experience the only way 5 or 6 drivers benefit from racing together is because they are all good mates to start with and just want to have taken part.
As for the FPA boys they need to see it, with all due respect to Jay there are certain perceptions in selling anything in motorsport, once its seen in the flesh and ready to go things change but £7500 for share in a 6 driver team is big money and thats where your problem lies, if I may say. More than ever with the current financial doom and gloom its not about how much can I afford, but what am I getting for it surely!!
Your absolutely right though costs for racing in a series such as Britcar have become daft but then we choose the cars and therefore the costs and one has to start taking a look at what we want from racing, a fast car or competition. That is perhaps why series like the VW Fun Cup are booming!!
Again Simon, I appreciate your input and see your point of view, however, I for one would not want to buy a drive just to take part, I would at least want to feel that I had a chance of being part of a team that could do well, in a car that I would enjoy driving, and one that would last the distance.In my experience the only way 5 or 6 drivers benefit from racing together is because they are all good mates to start with and just want to have taken part.
As for the FPA boys they need to see it, with all due respect to Jay there are certain perceptions in selling anything in motorsport, once its seen in the flesh and ready to go things change but £7500 for share in a 6 driver team is big money and thats where your problem lies, if I may say. More than ever with the current financial doom and gloom its not about how much can I afford, but what am I getting for it surely!!
Your absolutely right though costs for racing in a series such as Britcar have become daft but then we choose the cars and therefore the costs and one has to start taking a look at what we want from racing, a fast car or competition. That is perhaps why series like the VW Fun Cup are booming!!
You may well be right though, certainly in this current climate, perhaps most drivers just want to be involved and at the lowest possible cost, a fully understandable argument.
One can never guarantee any drivers time in any car involved in a 24 hr race but I was extremely confident based on our cars record that each of our would be six drivers could have counted on 4 hours in the car during the race due to the factors I explained in my last post. I can also see why you would consider £7500 per seat expensive when set against other drive costs, but when looking at it like for like, it was, in my book, reasonable value for this type of car. The costs of running the 996 are going to be much higher then running a lower class car, I guess that the perception of cost verses car type may have been the issue.
I did look at buying in a more basic car where the costs of running and preparing for the race were about 20/25k or lower but decided that there was little point in doing this for as you say, I would have been just as well off taking a drive in a fun cup car in their 24/25 hr race if all I wanted to do is take part with a bunch of mates and have a good laugh.
Ah well, perhaps a bridge to far on this occasion, maybe next year.
Rod.... I don't think its about lowest cost in such an arena. I think its about value, something our sport has been blindly ignoring over the years and we continue to ignor at our peril.
With all due respect the only thing you were selling with 6 drivers is a ride in a Porsche 996 your not selling value. There are not actually many people around who absolutely have to race a GT car and frankly thats just about the only reason to spend £7500 to be in a 6 driver car as I see it.
I hope you get a ride in something else, its great event and frankly the results only come in 24hr races from experence of the specific event. If you want to get the best out of it next year you have to do it this year to iron out its foibles
Beating the experienced crews like of Henry's Porker or the Maserati 996 will be down to lots of tiny little details you won't have even considerd until you've done it.
With all due respect the only thing you were selling with 6 drivers is a ride in a Porsche 996 your not selling value. There are not actually many people around who absolutely have to race a GT car and frankly thats just about the only reason to spend £7500 to be in a 6 driver car as I see it.
I hope you get a ride in something else, its great event and frankly the results only come in 24hr races from experence of the specific event. If you want to get the best out of it next year you have to do it this year to iron out its foibles
Beating the experienced crews like of Henry's Porker or the Maserati 996 will be down to lots of tiny little details you won't have even considerd until you've done it. Simon Mason said:
Rod.... I don't think its about lowest cost in such an arena. I think its about value, something our sport has been blindly ignoring over the years and we continue to ignore at our peril.
With all due respect the only thing you were selling with 6 drivers is a ride in a Porsche 996 your not selling value. There are not actually many people around who absolutely have to race a GT car and frankly that's just about the only reason to spend £7500 to be in a 6 driver car as I see it.
I hope you get a ride in something else, its great event and frankly the results only come in 24hr races from experience of the specific event. If you want to get the best out of it next year you have to do it this year to iron out its foibles Beating the experienced crews like of Henry's Porker or the Maserati 996 will be down to lots of tiny little details you won't have even considered until you've done it.
I don't think Jan and I will take another drive for to be honest, both of us find that after a 2 hour stint in daylight, never mind night driving, we are just about at our limit for two "mature" fellows with a combined age of 117 who do no training or any real exercise other then walking the dog With all due respect the only thing you were selling with 6 drivers is a ride in a Porsche 996 your not selling value. There are not actually many people around who absolutely have to race a GT car and frankly that's just about the only reason to spend £7500 to be in a 6 driver car as I see it.
I hope you get a ride in something else, its great event and frankly the results only come in 24hr races from experience of the specific event. If you want to get the best out of it next year you have to do it this year to iron out its foibles
Beating the experienced crews like of Henry's Porker or the Maserati 996 will be down to lots of tiny little details you won't have even considered until you've done it. 
Part of the plan in having 6 drivers was that Jan and I could opt for shorter stints, avoid the night driving and have plenty of drivers who would have gladly taken additional time from us, hell, we have trouble seeing during daylight hours so night driving was going to be a challenge
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff