Brands Night Race & the Championship
Discussion
Congratulations to Rod Jan & Jay for taking the 2008 Championship. Even starting from the pit lane!
The organisation was a typical shambles with the usual 'letting cars out under the safety car as the train was passing, missing yellow flag infringements. just like Snetterton?
Then not too sure how Rod Jan and Jay would have felt with the presentations, another shambles. JT was rude when questioned why he had given a class 2 win to a 997 and not Hawthorns.
But still the best thing about Britcar is the teams and drivers, wonder who will come back in 2009?
The organisation was a typical shambles with the usual 'letting cars out under the safety car as the train was passing, missing yellow flag infringements. just like Snetterton?
Then not too sure how Rod Jan and Jay would have felt with the presentations, another shambles. JT was rude when questioned why he had given a class 2 win to a 997 and not Hawthorns.
But still the best thing about Britcar is the teams and drivers, wonder who will come back in 2009?
From an outsiders/spectators perspective - last night was superb. I'm a big fan of Britcar and apprecitate the efforts made to put on a good show. There was a good crowd last night - hopefully a sign that the series is getting the recognition it deserves.
Looking forward to next year...
Looking forward to next year...
I thought it was a fantastic event. Took two 3 year olds and a 2 year old and they were fascinated for longer than I thought. I haven't been to a GT race for years and I was really impressed by the driving standard, maybe I'm getting old but the cars seem much more lairy/quick than I remember.
Also - the sound those Moslers make!!! I was grinning inanely everytime they lapped so much so that my eldest told me to stop as I looked 'silly.'
Will definately go again.
Also - the sound those Moslers make!!! I was grinning inanely everytime they lapped so much so that my eldest told me to stop as I looked 'silly.'
Will definately go again.
Any team may enter the race... Belly,
The porsche was entered as an invitation car, what was on their entry form was what we believed the car to be, that information we get in the post. The scruts do the eligibilty, I have said to you at various times once the meeting starts I have no control, that is at 9 am in the morning, I can advise but that is all, it is down to you the drivers to bring anything to the attention of the clerk, before qualyfing and not afterwards....that is your job, so dont blame me.
The prizes were put in my hand, and I handed them to whom I was told to give them from the results, and that is that.
The start will be altered for every race from now on in the regs, I was appauled by what went on, again I have to stand there and take the ....., due to things not working because lack of experience in race control. There is no reason why the minute board at the beginning of the pit lane cannot be switched on at 4.30 counting down to 4.48/49/50/-51 it easy, then the pit lane closes, it is not rocket science. We are only able with your help, to improve things or by the bad expierences from each race meeting.
So far endurance race meetings have had no-one person in the race control, who have run night races, the trend is to make their rules up as they go along, or how they feel it should be done, they do not ask the one person who started it all and who has done every night race in the last 6 years, that has to change and will, I thourght it had, but I did not know that until the drivers briefing, as you are aware. I hope that helps.
I am very pleased by the improvements made from last year, and the fact the Championships went to the wire. 2.8 seconds between 1st- 2nd is good,the new trophies were good. The crowd is new and has come from Davids' work on the supporters club, I went into the stands to find Britcar24hr tee shirts, we have 4500 members now , this will grow....
Things will only if you can be positive...Re- numbers next year, I am today thinking after the 24hr annoucement,things will be ok....but it is going to be hard....no-one can predict what is going to happen tommorrow. Good luck
sportingly
jt
The porsche was entered as an invitation car, what was on their entry form was what we believed the car to be, that information we get in the post. The scruts do the eligibilty, I have said to you at various times once the meeting starts I have no control, that is at 9 am in the morning, I can advise but that is all, it is down to you the drivers to bring anything to the attention of the clerk, before qualyfing and not afterwards....that is your job, so dont blame me.
The prizes were put in my hand, and I handed them to whom I was told to give them from the results, and that is that.
The start will be altered for every race from now on in the regs, I was appauled by what went on, again I have to stand there and take the ....., due to things not working because lack of experience in race control. There is no reason why the minute board at the beginning of the pit lane cannot be switched on at 4.30 counting down to 4.48/49/50/-51 it easy, then the pit lane closes, it is not rocket science. We are only able with your help, to improve things or by the bad expierences from each race meeting.
So far endurance race meetings have had no-one person in the race control, who have run night races, the trend is to make their rules up as they go along, or how they feel it should be done, they do not ask the one person who started it all and who has done every night race in the last 6 years, that has to change and will, I thourght it had, but I did not know that until the drivers briefing, as you are aware. I hope that helps.
I am very pleased by the improvements made from last year, and the fact the Championships went to the wire. 2.8 seconds between 1st- 2nd is good,the new trophies were good. The crowd is new and has come from Davids' work on the supporters club, I went into the stands to find Britcar24hr tee shirts, we have 4500 members now , this will grow....
Things will only if you can be positive...Re- numbers next year, I am today thinking after the 24hr annoucement,things will be ok....but it is going to be hard....no-one can predict what is going to happen tommorrow. Good luck
sportingly
jt
Edited by james tucker on Sunday 16th November 17:53
Edited by james tucker on Sunday 16th November 17:56
Edited by james tucker on Sunday 16th November 17:58
Many congratulations Rod, Jan and Jay, and commiserations to Henry and Steve. We all thought the Hawthorn boys had blown it when they missed the pit window, but Rod drove an excellent stint and combining the driver change with a safety car period made all the difference.
Great race up front too.
Great race up front too.
teamHOLDENracing said:
Many congratulations Rod, Jan and Jay, and commiserations to Henry and Steve. We all thought the Hawthorn boys had blown it when they missed the pit window, but Rod drove an excellent stint and combining the driver change with a safety car period made all the difference.
Great race up front too.
Thanks Andy, Your input was very much appreciated, the mini screen really help us to keep track on what we needed to do having been forced into a completely unnecessary rush and panic by the officials, JT must have been pulling his hair out when he saw that debarkal unfolding. It's high time we actually got some people with racing experience in race control, for if that had been the case on Saturday, he/they may have told the rest of the headless chickens to calm down as in real terms there was plenty of time to get everyone on the grid and start when we needed too, what a farce !!!Great race up front too.
Never had to drive as quick as I was then forced too, low 51's in the pitch black and the danger level that you then expose yourself too was a little uncomfortable, yes, it had to be done as the championship was at stake, and I had to go to the "zone" to achieve it, but for Christ sake,the whole event would have been a lot safer for all of us if we had started probably, the officials were damn lucky they didn't end up with a major incident, the fact we didn't was 100% down to the superb standard of driving from every single competitor. In the half hour of my stint, starting from the pit lane, I was forced to overtake countless numbers of cars early in the race in very tricky conditions, and keep an eye on the fast class 1 cars who by the time us lot in the pit lane got out, were only half a lap behind.
What a total cock up !!
james tucker said:
Any team may enter the race... Belly,
The porsche was entered as an invitation car, what was on their entry form was what we believed the car to be, that information we get in the post. The scruts do the eligibilty, I have said to you at various times once the meeting starts I have no control, that is at 9 am in the morning, I can advise but that is all, it is down to you the drivers to bring anything to the attention of the clerk, before qualyfing and not afterwards....that is your job, so dont blame me.
JT, if there had been a 997 in Class 2 then we would have seen it during the Qualifying and Race on the Timing Screens with a PINK DOT denoting Class 2.The porsche was entered as an invitation car, what was on their entry form was what we believed the car to be, that information we get in the post. The scruts do the eligibilty, I have said to you at various times once the meeting starts I have no control, that is at 9 am in the morning, I can advise but that is all, it is down to you the drivers to bring anything to the attention of the clerk, before qualyfing and not afterwards....that is your job, so dont blame me.
We just pay our entry fees and drive the cars! We had no idea that there was a 997 in Class 2, surely it is the job of the Britcar staff and MSA to police who goes in what class?
Also not sure what happened with the Top Cat Marcos, it was performing like a class one car, gained 150m on me just on the pit straight in one lap????? They did actually make the race more interesting by taking pole and fastest lap, but when their times were equal to the Ferrari 430, I would suggest that they have 'had some modifications' since Snetterton when our 996 managed to overtake them!
No doubt the datalogger will say they are 'right on the regs' - just like the 400+ BHP Intersport BMW was at Snetterton??????
Finally, after the cock up with Safety Car proceedures at Snetterton and my protest, not much was achieved? Still exactly the same cock up this weekend!
Edited by Bellly on Sunday 16th November 18:29
What I don`t understand is that the previous weekend was one of the best run meetings I`ve ever attended in the hands of MSVR and Dave Scott at the helm. I have commented to a couple of people that I was quite taken a-back when the safety car waited for me and others to pass before joining the circuit so as to pick up the leader.
Henry
Henry
Bellly said:
We thought they had too, but I could not believe the pace Rod showed during his stint. Especially as he must of been aware that any mistake would be a potential loss of the Championship!
Well done Rod!
That's a very generous comment mate, it does prove that there's life in the old dog yet, but as you know, I prefer to race at 90% pace, that's when I enjoy it most, last night was very hard on me and it's taken most of today to recover. You chaps were lucky to get on the grid but after that, your race got bogged down, a driver change, when we did during the SC would have helped you no end and I think that with you stinting last, you could have given us a shock or two.Well done Rod!
I saw your name along with Simons, engraved on the GT Championship Cup last night, being the 2007 champions, our names will now be added to a list as winners for 2008, we are very proud to be in such exalted company
Edited by Racing Rod on Sunday 16th November 18:42
An unusual race, but very enjoyable from our point of view.
The countdown to the race start should have been in the Final Instructions. The race start time was decided, so the pit lane opening and closing times should have been in the FIs too. It's not difficult to organise and whoever was running the meeting should have made sure this was clearly laid out. Then, when the extra pace lap was included, they could simply have subtracted 2 minutes from the pit lane closing time. I had a feeling it would be a little chaotic and so it proved...
The changing of the 997 to Class 2 was extraordinary. The car, if it's the Geddie one, was down as a Class 1 in the entry list and, as it was an '08 spec Cup, should probably have been in C1.
As for the SC, well, words almost fail me. Toby, Barwell's engineer, and I were chatting after the race and it seems the green light was on at the end of the pit lane as Jonny approached it, so he carried on and was somewhat surprised to find himself pop out 2nd in the train - right at the front! There is no way this should be allowed to happen.
Something in British motorsport needs serious examination with regard to SC usage. It doesn't seem to matter what championship or circuit is involved, there is always a cock-up somewhere. I know Brands is a short lap, but the guys operating the pit exit light must've seen the SC approaching, so why on earth they left it on green is a mystery.
Anyway, it was a fun race and nice to end the year with another win. Poor Sean was battling with no dash and only two out of six headlights working from lap two onwards, so he did a sterling job in the circumstances.
Steve @ Eclipse.
The countdown to the race start should have been in the Final Instructions. The race start time was decided, so the pit lane opening and closing times should have been in the FIs too. It's not difficult to organise and whoever was running the meeting should have made sure this was clearly laid out. Then, when the extra pace lap was included, they could simply have subtracted 2 minutes from the pit lane closing time. I had a feeling it would be a little chaotic and so it proved...
The changing of the 997 to Class 2 was extraordinary. The car, if it's the Geddie one, was down as a Class 1 in the entry list and, as it was an '08 spec Cup, should probably have been in C1.
As for the SC, well, words almost fail me. Toby, Barwell's engineer, and I were chatting after the race and it seems the green light was on at the end of the pit lane as Jonny approached it, so he carried on and was somewhat surprised to find himself pop out 2nd in the train - right at the front! There is no way this should be allowed to happen.
Something in British motorsport needs serious examination with regard to SC usage. It doesn't seem to matter what championship or circuit is involved, there is always a cock-up somewhere. I know Brands is a short lap, but the guys operating the pit exit light must've seen the SC approaching, so why on earth they left it on green is a mystery.
Anyway, it was a fun race and nice to end the year with another win. Poor Sean was battling with no dash and only two out of six headlights working from lap two onwards, so he did a sterling job in the circumstances.
Steve @ Eclipse.
From my spectating postition halfway down Paddock Hill bend, it was a thrilling race, especially in the latter stages when Cocker's Aston was catching Sean's Mosler. I bet the Barwell boys were wishing the race was an extra 5 minutes or so! Nevertheless, well done to Sean on a brilliant solo drive.
Congratulations to Rod and Jan too. Sterling performance from both drivers this weekend, as well as the whole season. After Henry's statement on here that he'd be driving alone, we were surprised to Steve in the paddock, let alone racing the grey Porsche. Was there a problem with their car as it seemed to be making some strange noises when it came past us at paddock?
A very good season's racing all in all. As has been mentioned, with some ironing out of details such as safety car deployment and class structures, next season should be just as good if not better. Looking forward to it already!
Congratulations to Rod and Jan too. Sterling performance from both drivers this weekend, as well as the whole season. After Henry's statement on here that he'd be driving alone, we were surprised to Steve in the paddock, let alone racing the grey Porsche. Was there a problem with their car as it seemed to be making some strange noises when it came past us at paddock?
A very good season's racing all in all. As has been mentioned, with some ironing out of details such as safety car deployment and class structures, next season should be just as good if not better. Looking forward to it already!
We saw Angus's M3 bouncing off the barriers between Graham Hill bend and Surtees after what I gather was a coming together with a 'white Porsche'. Looked quite a hefty shunt so I trust Angus is in better shape than his car. Do we know which white Porsche it was, and whose chunk of debris was on the track down there which triggered the accident?
And who the hell was the bird doing the commentary from the pitlane? I think even Brian Jones was getting a little exasperated with her when HenryF had a long pitstop and he was asking her to go and find out why. As far as I know, she never did!
And who the hell was the bird doing the commentary from the pitlane? I think even Brian Jones was getting a little exasperated with her when HenryF had a long pitstop and he was asking her to go and find out why. As far as I know, she never did!
The debris was a light pod from a Marcos..... which ended up going through the radiator of another related Marcos. All rather unfortunate! I thought Angus said afterwards that it was a Ferrari that put him off not a Porsche. They came up to the debris and he swerved one way and expected the Ferrari to go the other, but was a little surprised that it swerved his way too and into him.
teamHOLDENracing said:
The debris was a light pod from a Marcos..... which ended up going through the radiator of another related Marcos. All rather unfortunate! I thought Angus said afterwards that it was a Ferrari that put him off not a Porsche. They came up to the debris and he swerved one way and expected the Ferrari to go the other, but was a little surprised that it swerved his way too and into him.
Thanks for that, Andy. We couldn't quite work out what exactly the debris was from over at Paddock; suffice to say it did look pretty big!I only said 'white Porsche' as I'm sure that's what Angus himself said when he was interviewed by the pitlane dolly...
Trackside said:
After Henry's statement on here that he'd be driving alone, we were surprised to Steve in the paddock, let alone racing the grey Porsche. Was there a problem with their car as it seemed to be making some strange noises when it came past us at paddock?
Read through my posts, I didn`t actually say I`d be driving alone. I said Steve and I had discussed his plans at Snet, ie. he was planning to race with me, we`d spoken on the phone regularly and nothing he`d said had alarmed me or indicated his plans had changed. Never believe everything you read on t`internet I`m surprised about your pit stop time comments and keen to have a look at the lap times when they are published on TSL`s website. The regs stated we had to do a single 130 second pitstop, 2 mins 10 seconds in the pit lane. We have a way whereby the driver knows when that time is up and it`s safe to cross the line. No problems during the stop, all routine - in fact it`s such a long time we were twiddling our thumbs.
The noise was something we were fully aware of. Nothing alarming, just a by product of the way our car runs and present all weekend.
Have to say I really enjoyed my stint in the car. Needed to get on the pace early on, was aiming to lap in the 0.51`s and managed to do so barring traffic laps. Didn`t want to let Rod have things all his own way. The safety cars didn`t help our cause as it undid a lot of my hard work with chasing cars but that`s racing. Next year I`m going buy Top Cats a stronger bit of string to keep their light pods on
Henry
You can`t beat the atmosphere of a night race both inside the car and out.
Henry
Henry-F said:
Trackside said:
After Henry's statement on here that he'd be driving alone, we were surprised to Steve in the paddock, let alone racing the grey Porsche. Was there a problem with their car as it seemed to be making some strange noises when it came past us at paddock?
Read through my posts, I didn`t actually say I`d be driving alone. I said Steve and I had discussed his plans at Snet, ie. he was planning to race with me, we`d spoken on the phone regularly and nothing he`d said had alarmed me or indicated his plans had changed. Never believe everything you read on t`internet 
t stops here' thread and it appeared to quite apparent that Steve was not driving, including his own post saying so. Oh well, maybe you're right then, Henry, we should never believe anything that's written on t'interweb... 
Henry-F said:
I`m surprised about your pit stop time comments and keen to have a look at the lap times when they are published on TSL`s website. The regs stated we had to do a single 130 second pitstop, 2 mins 10 seconds in the pit lane. We have a way whereby the driver knows when that time is up and it`s safe to cross the line. No problems during the stop, all routine - in fact it`s such a long time we were twiddling our thumbs.
We were going by the (innacurate, as it transpired) commentary so apologies if we were wrong. Or is that something else we shouldn't believe... Henry-F said:
You can`t beat the atmosphere of a night race both inside the car and out.
Now this statement is true! Brilliant race to watch!Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff