Spire GT3 RGB Racer
Discussion
.Unfortunately no live stream, live timing here
https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/20...
Sat
Quali - 10.50am
Race 1 - 3.20pm
Sun
Race 2 - 9.55am
Race 3 - 3.00pm
Ready to rock
Forecast looks very iffy. I'm fairly confident wet or dry but there are things I wanted to evaluate in testing, so that may skew things a little.. same for everyone though.
Just had the testing schedule through .. 6x20 min sessions, normally we get 4x30 at all the MSV circuits which is too few and too long, also MSV test days this season have been a good 100-150 quid more. Gotta love Anglesey.
https://www.theresultslive.co.uk/750-motor-club/20...
Sat
Quali - 10.50am
Race 1 - 3.20pm
Sun
Race 2 - 9.55am
Race 3 - 3.00pm
Ready to rock
Forecast looks very iffy. I'm fairly confident wet or dry but there are things I wanted to evaluate in testing, so that may skew things a little.. same for everyone though.
Just had the testing schedule through .. 6x20 min sessions, normally we get 4x30 at all the MSV circuits which is too few and too long, also MSV test days this season have been a good 100-150 quid more. Gotta love Anglesey.
I'll take the time to respond to the above properly when my heads straight, but what a s
t weekend I've had. I'm exhausted and got very little to show for it.
You know how I said 3 races this weekend so lots to gain and lose. I guess I'm kinda somewhere in the middle but mostly it was a loss.
Bad qualifying with traffic, bit annoying as my GPS laptime on dash said it was good for pole but my transponder said 3rd??
First race wasn't terrible just couldn't make progress forward. Pretty much followed eachother round, Matt in the lead did a good job and it was impossible to push forward as the dirty air just washed my car out from the two in front. Every lap I gained on them then lost them in the same place.
Came home in third but importantly beat my two championship rivals. Got fastest lap which gave me pole for this morning's race.
I have a pretty good wet setup and was looking forward to it but my clutch cable failed on the first lap. DNF.
Third race starting way back because fastest lap of previous race sets grid and I didn't even complete a lap.
Carnage on opening laps, lots of questionable driving at the back to be honest so just tried to stay out of trouble then work forward, at which point my gear selection problems came back. I couldn't even get gears and set the 3rd fastest lap... just shows what could've been.
Feeling very dejected at the moment. It's one thing having a good battle and being beaten but to be fast and not finish or have technical issues is really not good. I've had more reliability issues this season than all my others put together and without taking anything away from the other competitors this is the main thing keeping the championship open. Very frustrating and it's not for lack of effort or time put in.
Now all going down to the wire at Silverstone GP end of October, not entirely sure what my lead has diminished to now.. need to work it out.
t weekend I've had. I'm exhausted and got very little to show for it. You know how I said 3 races this weekend so lots to gain and lose. I guess I'm kinda somewhere in the middle but mostly it was a loss.
Bad qualifying with traffic, bit annoying as my GPS laptime on dash said it was good for pole but my transponder said 3rd??
First race wasn't terrible just couldn't make progress forward. Pretty much followed eachother round, Matt in the lead did a good job and it was impossible to push forward as the dirty air just washed my car out from the two in front. Every lap I gained on them then lost them in the same place.
Came home in third but importantly beat my two championship rivals. Got fastest lap which gave me pole for this morning's race.
I have a pretty good wet setup and was looking forward to it but my clutch cable failed on the first lap. DNF.
Third race starting way back because fastest lap of previous race sets grid and I didn't even complete a lap.
Carnage on opening laps, lots of questionable driving at the back to be honest so just tried to stay out of trouble then work forward, at which point my gear selection problems came back. I couldn't even get gears and set the 3rd fastest lap... just shows what could've been.
Feeling very dejected at the moment. It's one thing having a good battle and being beaten but to be fast and not finish or have technical issues is really not good. I've had more reliability issues this season than all my others put together and without taking anything away from the other competitors this is the main thing keeping the championship open. Very frustrating and it's not for lack of effort or time put in.
Now all going down to the wire at Silverstone GP end of October, not entirely sure what my lead has diminished to now.. need to work it out.
RiknRoll said:
Hi Yazza,
Funny thing this post - I've been researching a bit into a few different formulas, including S1000 - I literally log into Pistonheads wondering if anyone is talking about it, and lo and behold yours is one of the first! I've had a good skim through so far (I'll read in more depth when it's not 3am!).
But I can't hold back my questions so long for that - Wanted to ask a few specific ones:
I notice you changed cars along the way since you started (I'm not quite sure if that's once or twice now?). I sort of expected cars to be very even so it surprises me a bit to see someone changing cars. How much difference do the latest cars make compared to older ones, and what would you say are the better models to look out for? Are there significant price differences in used cars as such?
Secondly overall how have you found reliability to be, for yourself and the grid as a whole in both engines and other componentry?
Thirdly (of course I understand totally if you rather not answer this, or rather not openly on the forum and rather via pm), but how much in maintenance do they take to run generally, and what sort of cost might those jobs create? Any specific jobs or components you'd take note of? I have a reasonable idea of some of the main costs of racing in S1000, but general maintenance and components is a very difficult factor to take account of. Likewise crash damages are something I'm wary of.
Really appreciate any insights you might be able to give - fwiw I race Vee also in 750mc, in fact I own with your fellow competitor Paul Smith's ex-Vee (which unfortunately has seen better days), but have been having a torrid time of it the last couple of years and am starting to very seriously look around at alternatives. I've been speaking a bit with Mittell so far, but I'd love some neutral insights and real world experiences from a current driver such as yourself!
Have a good race at Anglesey this weekend - unfortunately I'm not racing it myself, otherwise i would come to find you and say hi in person! (combination of difficulty in travelling, budget, and the fact my engine is once more in bits...
)
Huge thanks, and great thread!
I'm no good at splitting quotes up so.. Funny thing this post - I've been researching a bit into a few different formulas, including S1000 - I literally log into Pistonheads wondering if anyone is talking about it, and lo and behold yours is one of the first! I've had a good skim through so far (I'll read in more depth when it's not 3am!).
But I can't hold back my questions so long for that - Wanted to ask a few specific ones:
I notice you changed cars along the way since you started (I'm not quite sure if that's once or twice now?). I sort of expected cars to be very even so it surprises me a bit to see someone changing cars. How much difference do the latest cars make compared to older ones, and what would you say are the better models to look out for? Are there significant price differences in used cars as such?
Secondly overall how have you found reliability to be, for yourself and the grid as a whole in both engines and other componentry?
Thirdly (of course I understand totally if you rather not answer this, or rather not openly on the forum and rather via pm), but how much in maintenance do they take to run generally, and what sort of cost might those jobs create? Any specific jobs or components you'd take note of? I have a reasonable idea of some of the main costs of racing in S1000, but general maintenance and components is a very difficult factor to take account of. Likewise crash damages are something I'm wary of.
Really appreciate any insights you might be able to give - fwiw I race Vee also in 750mc, in fact I own with your fellow competitor Paul Smith's ex-Vee (which unfortunately has seen better days), but have been having a torrid time of it the last couple of years and am starting to very seriously look around at alternatives. I've been speaking a bit with Mittell so far, but I'd love some neutral insights and real world experiences from a current driver such as yourself!
Have a good race at Anglesey this weekend - unfortunately I'm not racing it myself, otherwise i would come to find you and say hi in person! (combination of difficulty in travelling, budget, and the fact my engine is once more in bits...
) Huge thanks, and great thread!
Edited by RiknRoll on Saturday 16th September 02:50
1. Cars - it depends what you want / expect from your racing. The older cars can be picked up for around 15k and are still fast, but are a bit more draggy aero wise than the newer cars. All the spires and mittells from 2016 onwards have lower drag/lower frontal area and are faster in a straight line but other than that, not much different. A good driver in a well setup older car can still be hard to beat but naturally the best drivers want the best cars. I bought my old car very cheap as an entry into the formula and when I got the bug and confirmed to myself I still had the skills to be at the front I made the jump early.
2. Reliability - honestly very good. I have had a number of issues this year but all stupid stuff. A clutch cable broke, a freyed wire on cam sensor, and an exhaust cracked... this can happen on any racing car.
3. Maintenance is pretty basic, checking for play in joints etc. One chain per season. Engine rebuild every two seasons, new throttle and clutch cables etc, most parts are cheap enough and everything on the car is easy to get at. Best to life a lot of the consumable parts like cables etc than wait for them to fail.
S1000 is a development formula too, but it's heavily controlled. Engines are not an issue as they're all much of a muchness. You can make your own suspension and aero mods within the comprehensive regulations but ultimately the cars are very well designed as standard and what tends to happen is you're constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul. Want less drag? Sure, you'll lose some downforce though. Want more mechanical grip? You'll probably compromise your high speed stability. And so on.
They are very interesting cars to try and get the most out of, because fundamentally they are a little under tyred and running higher ride height and less aero than your typical sports prototype, but that's what makes them affordable and tricky but rewarding to drive on the limit.
A good driver can, have and will still be able to podium an older shape car. The driver makes the biggest difference along with the drivers feedback or own setup ability. That's probably something that you can relate to with fvee.
I'll see you at Silverstone if you're there on the Sunday. I'm not testing as the birkett is in the middle of the weekend plus the test will be super expensive. I've also come to realise that I need to stop beating on the car on Friday and wearing it out for the race day/s!
They are very interesting cars to try and get the most out of, because fundamentally they are a little under tyred and running higher ride height and less aero than your typical sports prototype, but that's what makes them affordable and tricky but rewarding to drive on the limit.
A good driver can, have and will still be able to podium an older shape car. The driver makes the biggest difference along with the drivers feedback or own setup ability. That's probably something that you can relate to with fvee.
I'll see you at Silverstone if you're there on the Sunday. I'm not testing as the birkett is in the middle of the weekend plus the test will be super expensive. I've also come to realise that I need to stop beating on the car on Friday and wearing it out for the race day/s!
Edited by Yazza54 on Wednesday 20th September 00:15
F1natic said:
Racing is a cruel mistress, looking forward to seeing you overcome the reliability setbacks and getting back to smashing it 
.
Cheers. Here's a video of what it's like further down the grid... pretty scary stuff when you're in my position desperately trying to stay out of trouble and bag whatever points I could. The ideal thing would've been a much better start to catapult me away from the carnage but alas the opposite happened, couldn't get any traction. Either way, the gearshift issues would've halted any further progress anyway.
Our rules used to be that second race grid was based on second fastest quali time and so on. It was changed to help people qualify for race 2 if they had issues in qualifying but ultimately the current format also punishes you if you have issues in the race. There's no such thing as perfect when it comes to regs and points formats etc, but DNFing from pole on the first lap in the previous race basically double f
ked me by putting me back there for the next race. https://youtu.be/m-fS4so804c?feature=shared
AWRacing said:
Out of interest why couldnt you carry on with the broken clutch cable?
Assuming rev matching is slightly harder on a bike engine for down shifts then in a car. I only ask as i had a clutch fail in a race once but managed to continue - was a car engined car though.
Doesn't like going down the box clutch less. Especially not for a full race and not at any kind of pace. I tried as I was coming back in and it was having none of it. There's also the aspect of potentially blowing a gearbox up with another race that afternoon..Assuming rev matching is slightly harder on a bike engine for down shifts then in a car. I only ask as i had a clutch fail in a race once but managed to continue - was a car engined car though.
You really work the box hard in these cars, constantly up and down the gears at pace. I'd have either broken something or had someone go up my arse.
Edited by Yazza54 on Wednesday 20th September 09:55
Ills said:
Just watching a couple of your videos on YouTube, are you using a bike handle bar as a gearstick? Or does the brake lever looking thing serve a purpose?
For the regs we have to have a "hand brake" that's what that is. It's literally a bike lever with a cable to the back of the pedal that I never use. Hence why you see it moving when I press the brake pedal. Morning 
So this Sunday marks the end of the season and due to me having such a crap time of it at Anglesey it's all to play for.
I still have a 20 something point lead, but given the recent bad luck I've had it's not a foregone conclusion at all.
To make matters worse we are sharing the grid with bikesports, which is less than ideal, this is due to time pressure scheduling everyone in. I'm not happy about it, but it is what it is. We are supposed to be starting with a relatively healthy gap to the back of them.
Their cars are much faster, loads more aero and stickier tyres, yet when we've done this in the past on the odd occasion weve found our front runners catching their slower drivers... And vice versa eventually their front runners may come round to lap us. Not something I really wanted to have to navigate on a championship decider.
As for the circuit, it is the Silverstone GP layout, which I've only done once on a track day 2.5 years ago. Have raced international and national layouts a number of times, so not too worried.
I'm not testing as I'm more concerned about reliability than outright performance. Also the test day was an absolute rip off, as is the entry fee for the race, especially to share a grid, can you tell I'm not happy?
to be fair I doubt the bikesports guys are happy about it either.
I did fix the car and take it to blyton where I did about 15 laps and it felt great so I threw it back in the truck and went home.
Weather wise, it's looking wet. I am happy wet or dry, changeable conditions however are not welcome, chances are that's exactly what we'll get, but from my point of view I'll be going with whatever seems the safe option. With a points buffer there's less sense in taking a gamble, but we'll see what happens on the day.
It looks like it's being live streamed via alpha live, so should show up here
https://www.750mc.co.uk/live.htm
& here's the race timetable
So this Sunday marks the end of the season and due to me having such a crap time of it at Anglesey it's all to play for.
I still have a 20 something point lead, but given the recent bad luck I've had it's not a foregone conclusion at all.
To make matters worse we are sharing the grid with bikesports, which is less than ideal, this is due to time pressure scheduling everyone in. I'm not happy about it, but it is what it is. We are supposed to be starting with a relatively healthy gap to the back of them.
Their cars are much faster, loads more aero and stickier tyres, yet when we've done this in the past on the odd occasion weve found our front runners catching their slower drivers... And vice versa eventually their front runners may come round to lap us. Not something I really wanted to have to navigate on a championship decider.
As for the circuit, it is the Silverstone GP layout, which I've only done once on a track day 2.5 years ago. Have raced international and national layouts a number of times, so not too worried.
I'm not testing as I'm more concerned about reliability than outright performance. Also the test day was an absolute rip off, as is the entry fee for the race, especially to share a grid, can you tell I'm not happy?
to be fair I doubt the bikesports guys are happy about it either. I did fix the car and take it to blyton where I did about 15 laps and it felt great so I threw it back in the truck and went home.
Weather wise, it's looking wet. I am happy wet or dry, changeable conditions however are not welcome, chances are that's exactly what we'll get, but from my point of view I'll be going with whatever seems the safe option. With a points buffer there's less sense in taking a gamble, but we'll see what happens on the day.
It looks like it's being live streamed via alpha live, so should show up here
https://www.750mc.co.uk/live.htm
& here's the race timetable
RiknRoll said:
FuzzyLogic said:
Today was £529. It was open pit lane and there was a lot of guys testing for the Birkett relay so a big difference in the performance of some of the cars and drivers. I didn’t know this when I booked - more planning required on my behalf..
It felt like we didnt go longer than 10 minutes without a red flag this morning. This afternoon was better because it was drying out..
I loved the test day personally - yeah the start was sIt felt like we didnt go longer than 10 minutes without a red flag this morning. This afternoon was better because it was drying out..
t with the fog delay etc. and the string of red flags (3 different incidents in the exact same spot exiting Club onto Hamilton Straight!?) but to have an open pitlane... ... ... AMAZING!!! Yeah lots of cars at different speeds, but it was no more than a minor annoyance for me.I'm so used to test days where we pay around £370-400 for just 4 x 30 min sessions (and given my usual race car doesn't want to run more than about 10 mins without a cooldown to protect engine life, and there's still plenty of flags, we often don't get anything like that in actual seat time). I was out in a Mazda Locost this time which can run for longer, and ended up doing lap after lap... so good! Must have done 40 odd 2min30-3min laps throughout the day! It was absolutely great!
And congrats Yazza, but I said that in person on Sunday
Hope to join your grid one of these days.Mum says don't meet strangers off the internet but what does she know
So just to elaborate on how it all went. I was really unwell all week, think I'd come down with some sort of virus but it wasn't covid. Bloodshot eyes the works. Thought here we go again bad luck incoming!
It just about cleared up by Saturday and Sunday I felt pretty good.
Tricky meeting with the birkett going on the Saturday, bit of a logistical mare getting their cars out and ours in on sat evening in time to get settled and get some kip. Some teams seemed completely unaware that there was a day of racing on Sunday, the garage next to me had a full blown BBQ starting at 7pm when people were trying to get in and setup.
Woke up early for 7.45am scrutineering, all good other than the scruit saying half my gear needs replacing soon
Onto quali, it hadn't rained since the middle of the night but it was cold and everyone was saying how slippery the track was on Friday and how it didn't dry until late afternoon, so I took their word for and wet for wets, then when I saw the recovery truck go by on the national pit straight throwing loads of spray up that confirmed it.
It also confirmed the theme of the day because even though the track didn't look too wet it was mega wet and slippery all day.
So anyway onto quali, having not tested I was pleased that I got out there and was straight on it and felt comfortable in the car. I do like the wet but the car didn't feel quite as good as the last time I drove it in the wet, again I think it was simply just a very low grip day rather than anything wrong with the car.
Pushed on as much as I could and got pole by 0.6s. Whilst a decent margin, not huge on a 2.30 something lap.
Race 1, lots of deliberation about tyre choice but I decided to take the safe option. It was that cold that I figured even if it dried out I probably wouldn't destroy my wets. It looked patchy but overall still damp and the problem with our dry tyres is that it's impossible to get heat into them if it starts off remotely damp and the ambient temp was already cold.
Did our green flag lap and it felt slippy which I was pleased about as my main champ rival had chosen the not so safe option of dry tyres. One of the radicals broke down on the first green flag lap so that brought about a slight delay. During this delay the heavens opened and that kinda sealed the deal really. I knew it wouldn't even be a battle at that point, but even if it hadn't have rained, it wasn't properly dry to begin with, and I was prepared to just follow him home if I had to anyway.
Not withstanding this, these are tricky cars to drive regardless, it rained very heavily and I couldn't see a bloody thing in my mirrors. As I mentioned in my last post we were out with bikesports and I caught and passed a few of them, and didn't get lapped by one in race 1, which was good as I was struggling with vision behind.
The only ones that did overtake me were ones that came in for wets and went back out. I think in the end I was the only sports 1000 car that wasn't lapped by the leading bike sports car with their much stickier tyres, downforce etc. To be honest I was surprised that I caught and passed a few... That shouldn't happen particularly in the wet.
So it was a case of managing it and bringing it home. I enjoy the wet but it was fairly tense.. eventually saw the chequered flag and that was that.
Race 2, everyone was on wets. It didn't actually rain again but was still mega slippy. Straight forward win and lead from the start.
I really wanted to upload some footage but all I've got is quali because my camera shat itself annoyingly. I'll get my best quali lap up... Watched it before and it feels so slow but it was like driving on ice!
Already looking forward to next year, had a few people ask me what next but simple answer is I can't afford anything else. Anything faster involves tuned engines, slicks and wings. We aren't talking double the cost, more like quadruple.
I'm not even convinced the racing is as good elsewhere anyway. So that's that really. Kind of bittersweet, I feel like I should try something else but unless I get some help I simply can't.
The other thing is that the challenge for me is competing in the first place, I fund everything myself, the transport, engine rebuilds I do myself at home and so on. It takes a lot out of me just to turn up and be in with a shot and because I have now won this championship a few times I think some people look at it as though it's easy for me and let me tell you now it absolutely is not.
I also put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and do as well as I know I can, meaning sometimes when I do well it's more relief than elation, and I have to tell people I'm happy because I probably don't look it. It's a strange thing when you achieve something and you don't really feel any different about yourself or your life. I'm in a decent place now but the last time I won the championship I dipped massively over winter and put about 3 stone on, so I need to make sure that doesn't happen again!
Anyway enough rambling, thanks for reading.
It just about cleared up by Saturday and Sunday I felt pretty good.
Tricky meeting with the birkett going on the Saturday, bit of a logistical mare getting their cars out and ours in on sat evening in time to get settled and get some kip. Some teams seemed completely unaware that there was a day of racing on Sunday, the garage next to me had a full blown BBQ starting at 7pm when people were trying to get in and setup.
Woke up early for 7.45am scrutineering, all good other than the scruit saying half my gear needs replacing soon
Onto quali, it hadn't rained since the middle of the night but it was cold and everyone was saying how slippery the track was on Friday and how it didn't dry until late afternoon, so I took their word for and wet for wets, then when I saw the recovery truck go by on the national pit straight throwing loads of spray up that confirmed it.
It also confirmed the theme of the day because even though the track didn't look too wet it was mega wet and slippery all day.
So anyway onto quali, having not tested I was pleased that I got out there and was straight on it and felt comfortable in the car. I do like the wet but the car didn't feel quite as good as the last time I drove it in the wet, again I think it was simply just a very low grip day rather than anything wrong with the car.
Pushed on as much as I could and got pole by 0.6s. Whilst a decent margin, not huge on a 2.30 something lap.
Race 1, lots of deliberation about tyre choice but I decided to take the safe option. It was that cold that I figured even if it dried out I probably wouldn't destroy my wets. It looked patchy but overall still damp and the problem with our dry tyres is that it's impossible to get heat into them if it starts off remotely damp and the ambient temp was already cold.
Did our green flag lap and it felt slippy which I was pleased about as my main champ rival had chosen the not so safe option of dry tyres. One of the radicals broke down on the first green flag lap so that brought about a slight delay. During this delay the heavens opened and that kinda sealed the deal really. I knew it wouldn't even be a battle at that point, but even if it hadn't have rained, it wasn't properly dry to begin with, and I was prepared to just follow him home if I had to anyway.
Not withstanding this, these are tricky cars to drive regardless, it rained very heavily and I couldn't see a bloody thing in my mirrors. As I mentioned in my last post we were out with bikesports and I caught and passed a few of them, and didn't get lapped by one in race 1, which was good as I was struggling with vision behind.
The only ones that did overtake me were ones that came in for wets and went back out. I think in the end I was the only sports 1000 car that wasn't lapped by the leading bike sports car with their much stickier tyres, downforce etc. To be honest I was surprised that I caught and passed a few... That shouldn't happen particularly in the wet.
So it was a case of managing it and bringing it home. I enjoy the wet but it was fairly tense.. eventually saw the chequered flag and that was that.
Race 2, everyone was on wets. It didn't actually rain again but was still mega slippy. Straight forward win and lead from the start.
I really wanted to upload some footage but all I've got is quali because my camera shat itself annoyingly. I'll get my best quali lap up... Watched it before and it feels so slow but it was like driving on ice!
Already looking forward to next year, had a few people ask me what next but simple answer is I can't afford anything else. Anything faster involves tuned engines, slicks and wings. We aren't talking double the cost, more like quadruple.
I'm not even convinced the racing is as good elsewhere anyway. So that's that really. Kind of bittersweet, I feel like I should try something else but unless I get some help I simply can't.
The other thing is that the challenge for me is competing in the first place, I fund everything myself, the transport, engine rebuilds I do myself at home and so on. It takes a lot out of me just to turn up and be in with a shot and because I have now won this championship a few times I think some people look at it as though it's easy for me and let me tell you now it absolutely is not.
I also put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and do as well as I know I can, meaning sometimes when I do well it's more relief than elation, and I have to tell people I'm happy because I probably don't look it. It's a strange thing when you achieve something and you don't really feel any different about yourself or your life. I'm in a decent place now but the last time I won the championship I dipped massively over winter and put about 3 stone on, so I need to make sure that doesn't happen again!
Anyway enough rambling, thanks for reading.
Edited by Yazza54 on Tuesday 31st October 11:53
already suffering withdrawal!
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