Mr Happy posts again
Discussion
All right so you think I`m a whining pain in the arse at times (James & the gang), but check through my posts on here and you`ll see I actually give credit where credit is due. I also instigated the creation of this part of pistonheads but that isn`t why I`m posting.
Recorded part 2 of the Brands Hatch meeting the other day and sat down to watch it this evening. What a load of b
ks. I`m sorry, but are there any other cars out there than class 1a ? 4 hours of watching a Mosler and a V8 star going round (I lost the will to live after the first 20 minutes or so so lost track of time 
).
The race I competed in had 4 classes (granted class 3 & 4 were a little underwhelmed but in hindsight little wonder). The programme I watched featured the top 2 or 3 cars with the odd random guest appearance. Now as luck would have it we featured in one of those guest slots. For 6 seconds or so you saw a fleeting glimpse of our car and the commentator announced number 27 was the car of Henry Firman and Pete Morris. Oh no it wasn`t pal, Pete had jumped ship earlier on in the week and we moved heaven and earth to turn up despite that fact. As it turns out it was to be our finest hour with not one but two class wins. The story behind those wins was awe inspiring given we weren`t sure we had an engine prior to the event. My road GT3 engine was taken out just in case but in the end Jaz found a GT3 cup engine pretty much from thin air !
Even at the end of the programme all we saw was the top 10 finishers, given the size of the Class 1a and 1b grids we were nowhere to be seen despite our double victory. The Dutch supercar championship on which Britcar is so closely modeled make sure they cover all the classes and show class results at the end of each programme. It will come as something of a shock to the millions of Britcar fans on the telly when the eventual winners of the championship are announced and they have not featured on the extensive programming shown (I am of course assuming the eventual winner will come from class 2 given the obvious depth of talent contained within it ) As for the class 3/4 champions - well the viewer will not even have known those classes existed up to that point.
And whilst I`ve got my moaning head on let`s call a spade a spade. Britsports has bailed out (as no doubt will current class 2, 3 & 4 next year leaving 1 & 1a to fight out bel-britcar if current media favouritism is anything to go on), leaving us to enjoy "better value" racing. How so is that ? A bill for £400 plus vat (or thereabouts) for the additional race length and more importantly another £1,000 in the pot for a second set of Dunlop rubber (assuming the Spa fiasco was just a glitch and the tyres would have lasted the planned 2 hours).
Oh, and a final point - this technical bulletin number 2 I fished out of the email drawer Wednesday afternoon telling us about a button and light available so that we don`t have our qualifying / race results scrubbed when the DL1 fails to start. How is that "in time for teams to implement before Brands" ? We`re local and will be loading up the truck Thursday lunchtime, teams who need to travel will have loaded up Wednesday night. Between Julian & the gang you really did make a pig`s ear of those teams who`s DL1`s inadvertently failed to record qualifying times at Spa. I felt so sorry for them and still feel there but for the grace of god went us all. I`m not privy to all the facts but can vouch for the fact that in team Tatey`s case it wasn`t a case of the machine "not being turned on". Given the minuscule current drain I would imagine we all either have them wired in to the battery cut off or the ignition. Just for the record it is NOT ok to have them wired in so as to bypass the battery master cut off as I was told by someone who should have known better at Spa. The whole idea behind having a battery isolator is that if the fuel tank ruptures covering the driver in fuel marshals can totally isolate the electrics so as to reduce the chance of spark ignition. A live wire to the DL1 is potential death in those circumstances.
Mr Happy signing out
Sorry if I sound like an ahole but it really did piss me off not seeing our efforts shown in the results on the telly and the rest just flowed (so much so that I`ve got up early to get it off my chest).
Henry
Recorded part 2 of the Brands Hatch meeting the other day and sat down to watch it this evening. What a load of b
ks. I`m sorry, but are there any other cars out there than class 1a ? 4 hours of watching a Mosler and a V8 star going round (I lost the will to live after the first 20 minutes or so so lost track of time ). The race I competed in had 4 classes (granted class 3 & 4 were a little underwhelmed but in hindsight little wonder). The programme I watched featured the top 2 or 3 cars with the odd random guest appearance. Now as luck would have it we featured in one of those guest slots. For 6 seconds or so you saw a fleeting glimpse of our car and the commentator announced number 27 was the car of Henry Firman and Pete Morris. Oh no it wasn`t pal, Pete had jumped ship earlier on in the week and we moved heaven and earth to turn up despite that fact. As it turns out it was to be our finest hour with not one but two class wins. The story behind those wins was awe inspiring given we weren`t sure we had an engine prior to the event. My road GT3 engine was taken out just in case but in the end Jaz found a GT3 cup engine pretty much from thin air !
Even at the end of the programme all we saw was the top 10 finishers, given the size of the Class 1a and 1b grids we were nowhere to be seen despite our double victory. The Dutch supercar championship on which Britcar is so closely modeled make sure they cover all the classes and show class results at the end of each programme. It will come as something of a shock to the millions of Britcar fans on the telly when the eventual winners of the championship are announced and they have not featured on the extensive programming shown (I am of course assuming the eventual winner will come from class 2 given the obvious depth of talent contained within it
) As for the class 3/4 champions - well the viewer will not even have known those classes existed up to that point.And whilst I`ve got my moaning head on let`s call a spade a spade. Britsports has bailed out (as no doubt will current class 2, 3 & 4 next year leaving 1 & 1a to fight out bel-britcar if current media favouritism is anything to go on), leaving us to enjoy "better value" racing. How so is that ? A bill for £400 plus vat (or thereabouts) for the additional race length and more importantly another £1,000 in the pot for a second set of Dunlop rubber (assuming the Spa fiasco was just a glitch and the tyres would have lasted the planned 2 hours).
Oh, and a final point - this technical bulletin number 2 I fished out of the email drawer Wednesday afternoon telling us about a button and light available so that we don`t have our qualifying / race results scrubbed when the DL1 fails to start. How is that "in time for teams to implement before Brands" ? We`re local and will be loading up the truck Thursday lunchtime, teams who need to travel will have loaded up Wednesday night. Between Julian & the gang you really did make a pig`s ear of those teams who`s DL1`s inadvertently failed to record qualifying times at Spa. I felt so sorry for them and still feel there but for the grace of god went us all. I`m not privy to all the facts but can vouch for the fact that in team Tatey`s case it wasn`t a case of the machine "not being turned on". Given the minuscule current drain I would imagine we all either have them wired in to the battery cut off or the ignition. Just for the record it is NOT ok to have them wired in so as to bypass the battery master cut off as I was told by someone who should have known better at Spa. The whole idea behind having a battery isolator is that if the fuel tank ruptures covering the driver in fuel marshals can totally isolate the electrics so as to reduce the chance of spark ignition. A live wire to the DL1 is potential death in those circumstances.
Mr Happy signing out
Sorry if I sound like an a
hole but it really did piss me off not seeing our efforts shown in the results on the telly and the rest just flowed (so much so that I`ve got up early to get it off my chest).Henry
Hi Henry, you were up early 
I have some sympathy for some of your view here, I agree, for instance, that the TV coverage was very average, singular in it's bias to the leading class 1 cars, and very limited on information regarding the class structures. The only time we were seen is when we had a puncture, leading one to assume that unless you have a incident, you really don't get a look in. Those that have to support sponsors will be very disappointed and could well suffer financially, so perhaps a word in the TV production teams ear would assist. They will no doubt reply that the viewing public want to see the winning cars and us lesser mortals are not really prime viewing.
Based on the format of the program, I could see why they might defend their stance, but if they represented the real britcar content, clearly identifying the classes, then they would create a proper refection of the series, and in my opinion increase the viewers interest. Far more viewers have road cars that are much more likely to be in classes 2,3,and 4, not many have Moslers, V8 Stars, Lambo's or Vipers and therefore the direct association is lost.
At the moment, and let's hope it can stay that way
, class 2 cars make up 4 of the 5 cars leading the overall championship, I've not seen a single mention of this fact, and can't recall any interviews other then with class 1 teams, so as you say mate, credit where credits due and lets hope they listen to those that feel that at the very least, the present coverage is a touch unrepresentative and a little unfair. I don't doubt that the efforts made by all teams in all classes is immense in order to get their respective cars on the grid, and I don't think that most of us want to be interviewed in depth or make a big fuss if the TV company centres on the "Names" but a mention here and there based on involvement, and by achievement, coupled with an acknowledgement of earned merit, wouldn't go amiss
Some weird artist fellow, Andy someone hole, once said that everyone is entitled to 15 minutes of fame, 15 seconds will do
Personally, I believe this is the key point of your post and a justifiable complaint, the other issues you raise might confuse this very valid and supportable argument, so I'll not comment further as more thought is needed.
See you tomorrow.
Oh, one final point, The image that Britcar wants to promote is effectively one where no matter what you choose, car wise, to race, if you compete in Britcar, you will have every chance of the most level playing field possible, the current TV coverage does nothing to promote or underline this very basic message, in truth, the complete opposite seems to be the case based on the preoccupation with class 1 cars.
Absolutely finally, the data logger problems can be solved by having them checked during scrutineering, if they pass and are signed off as working as they should, that puts an end to any further argument bar not turning the bloody things on !!!
I have some sympathy for some of your view here, I agree, for instance, that the TV coverage was very average, singular in it's bias to the leading class 1 cars, and very limited on information regarding the class structures. The only time we were seen is when we had a puncture, leading one to assume that unless you have a incident, you really don't get a look in. Those that have to support sponsors will be very disappointed and could well suffer financially, so perhaps a word in the TV production teams ear would assist. They will no doubt reply that the viewing public want to see the winning cars and us lesser mortals are not really prime viewing.
Based on the format of the program, I could see why they might defend their stance, but if they represented the real britcar content, clearly identifying the classes, then they would create a proper refection of the series, and in my opinion increase the viewers interest. Far more viewers have road cars that are much more likely to be in classes 2,3,and 4, not many have Moslers, V8 Stars, Lambo's or Vipers and therefore the direct association is lost.
At the moment, and let's hope it can stay that way
, class 2 cars make up 4 of the 5 cars leading the overall championship, I've not seen a single mention of this fact, and can't recall any interviews other then with class 1 teams, so as you say mate, credit where credits due and lets hope they listen to those that feel that at the very least, the present coverage is a touch unrepresentative and a little unfair. I don't doubt that the efforts made by all teams in all classes is immense in order to get their respective cars on the grid, and I don't think that most of us want to be interviewed in depth or make a big fuss if the TV company centres on the "Names" but a mention here and there based on involvement, and by achievement, coupled with an acknowledgement of earned merit, wouldn't go amissSome weird artist fellow, Andy someone hole, once said that everyone is entitled to 15 minutes of fame, 15 seconds will do
Personally, I believe this is the key point of your post and a justifiable complaint, the other issues you raise might confuse this very valid and supportable argument, so I'll not comment further as more thought is needed.
See you tomorrow.
Oh, one final point, The image that Britcar wants to promote is effectively one where no matter what you choose, car wise, to race, if you compete in Britcar, you will have every chance of the most level playing field possible, the current TV coverage does nothing to promote or underline this very basic message, in truth, the complete opposite seems to be the case based on the preoccupation with class 1 cars.
Absolutely finally, the data logger problems can be solved by having them checked during scrutineering, if they pass and are signed off as working as they should, that puts an end to any further argument bar not turning the bloody things on !!!
Edited by Racing Rod on Thursday 12th June 14:55
Very eloquently put Rod.
In terms of people wanting to see winning cars is winning your class not the same as winning the race. You beat all the other cars on the circuit that were similar in performance terms. You and I will never beat a Mosler on level terms it`s simply impossible so do we simply throw the towel in now?
The answer is of course not, you and I are competing against each other not Moslers or V8 Stars, (and clearly you realise we`ve beaten you hands down, why else would you secure the services of a professional racing driver to bolster your failing lap times
).
Looking forward to some more great racing this weekend.
See you at Brands my friend.
Henry
In terms of people wanting to see winning cars is winning your class not the same as winning the race. You beat all the other cars on the circuit that were similar in performance terms. You and I will never beat a Mosler on level terms it`s simply impossible so do we simply throw the towel in now?
The answer is of course not, you and I are competing against each other not Moslers or V8 Stars, (and clearly you realise we`ve beaten you hands down, why else would you secure the services of a professional racing driver to bolster your failing lap times
).Looking forward to some more great racing this weekend.
See you at Brands my friend.
Henry
Henry-F said:
Very eloquently put Rod.
In terms of people wanting to see winning cars is winning your class not the same as winning the race. You beat all the other cars on the circuit that were similar in performance terms. You and I will never beat a Mosler on level terms it`s simply impossible so do we simply throw the towel in now?
The answer is of course not, you and I are competing against each other not Moslers or V8 Stars, (and clearly you realise we`ve beaten you hands down, why else would you secure the services of a professional racing driver to bolster your failing lap times ).
Looking forward to some more great racing this weekend.
See you at Brands my friend.
Henry
He is good isn't he In terms of people wanting to see winning cars is winning your class not the same as winning the race. You beat all the other cars on the circuit that were similar in performance terms. You and I will never beat a Mosler on level terms it`s simply impossible so do we simply throw the towel in now?
The answer is of course not, you and I are competing against each other not Moslers or V8 Stars, (and clearly you realise we`ve beaten you hands down, why else would you secure the services of a professional racing driver to bolster your failing lap times
).Looking forward to some more great racing this weekend.
See you at Brands my friend.
Henry
I think Piers is in with his brother and Chris Wright this weekend so there's another one for you to worry about, that boy's quick, even snatched away our fastest race lap at Spa
but it won't happen again, "He does this only once" according to Jay And if that wasn't bad enough Dom is back with an interesting driver line up but as he's in our team we have done a deal
So, all in all, you will have your work cut out and as Jan and I are now honed to a knife edge of near fanatical fitness, you're doomed I tell you, Doomed
See you tomorrow
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