Club Racing in a Barge and other Stupid Decisions

Club Racing in a Barge and other Stupid Decisions

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seiben

2,343 posts

133 months

Sunday 29th December 2019
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Just caught up. Looks like you've been having fun biggrin

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Saturday 29th February 2020
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I was reminded of this thread by a PHer who recognised the Jag, I figured I'll keep it rolling for this season. Not much has changed in the fleet, so it'll be exclusively racing.

First, a summary of last year:

Races 1 & 2- Thruxton

I chose to attend Thruxton as my first race with the JEC as it's my most local round, and the timing worked nicely to get the car prepared and tested. The MAN race rig saw it's first use in anger and it was superb. The journey was effortless and we occupied a cosy spot in the paddock which was a warm and pleasant 'home'. Soon the rest of the Jags started turning up, and a good day was spent making introductions and discussing the cars. I discovered a lot about the potted history of my XJ40, which having been known to the championship for many years campaigned by Howard Kirkham and Gail Hill, had gone 'missing' via a number of dubious circumstances and odd surroundings. I knew I'd bought into a grizzled old warrior, but I had no idea quite how grizzled it was! After being pointedly reminded that my car was a championship winner in Gail's hands, I settled into a beer and barbecue put on by this most inviting circle of racing comrades.

Before I discuss the racing, I'll provide some information for context- the Championship runs in four classes:

Class A- standard or close to standard production specification
Class B- modified from standard with some provision for engine and drivetrain improvements (this is my class)
Class C- further modified from standard with a number of modifications allowed
Class D- the bloody fast monster class!

We qualified for race one on Saturday morning, race one was Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday we ran the second race with the grid set by reverse draw between 1st-6th from the results of the first.

Saturday greeted us with summer sunshine, the track was grippy and dry and I was rearing to go for qualifying. Strangely I didn't feel nervous at all for qualifying, I'd run the Jag at Thruxton a couple of times and pounding round putting laps in, well it's basically just like a trackday- go fast! The car felt good, but I was struggling a little with traffic- every time I had a lap on, I ran into a gaggle of class A & B cars. I dropped back a few times for another run, but didn't manage to put things together and the 15 minute session was fast expiring. Finally, on my very last lap, I managed to get it hooked up and though I had to pass one car it fell kindly at the Woodham hill and a good exit from Church saw me sweep past. As I pulled into the pitlane I saw my mate waving fingers at me frantically- four of them! I had been lagging in 10th for most of the session, but that one blinder of a lap had put me first in class and fourth overall. No pressure for race one!



I was still in suspended disbelief when I lined up 4th for race one- if I hadn't been nervous for qualifying, well I absolutely was now! When the lights went out I was slow to react, and dropped the clutch with too many revs spinning the rears through 1st. in my panic I grabbed 2nd far too quickly and with a chirp of the tyres finally started gaining speed- but it wasn't a fast start and being stuck on the outside line through Allards saw me drop to 9th, drag racing Tom Lethall in a Class C XJ-S for 8th. Me and Tom went side by side through the complex and I finally managed to shake him off by Goodwood and was now fixated on the two Class B cars of Chris Boon and Simon Lewis ahead. Tom Robinson had an almighty off at Church in the Class D XJR6 and scattered the field, I took advantage to get the run on Simon Lewis up the hill- but so did Tom Lenthall who swept around the other side of Simon and reappeared on my inside at the chicane. Conceding 7th to Tom, I tucked in behind him looking to follow as he made his way past Chris Boon- I couldn't make it up the inside at Goodwood, then a flash of dark green appeared in my mirror- Tom Robinson in the recovering Swallows car! Tom dived for the inside at Church and I hung wide on entry then tucked behind him for a monster run through Church and past Chris Boon on the inside. I was now back to 1st in class! Finally the race started to settle and I found some rhythm, I had enough pace to gap Chris for the Class B lead and was making marginal gains on Tom Lenthall ahead. Soon we found ourselves wheel to wheel, and some chaining of cutbacks through the complex followed by a drag race and a sweep around the outside of Noble saw me past. We had similar speed for the next few laps, though I found enough of a gap to be comfortable- now the pair of us were closing on Lawrence Coppock in the beastly V12 Class D XJ-S. Lawrence was armed with plenty of horses, though his penalty was a slightly more heavy and unwieldy car than mine or Tom's. This actually made him a nightmare for me to race, as our lines, strengths and weaknesses were so different. I made a couple of mistakes facing up Lawrence, locking a brake and running wide into the complex and clambering all over the kerbs. I was relatively close at the bottom of the circuit as we ran into lapped traffic just as a yellow flag came out for Derek Pearce's stranded XK8. We had to pull up the anchors, but at high speed in 5th gear once we accelerated again the V12 disappeared up the road! All this time Tom Lenthall was hunting me down, and by the time we reached the chicane he was right on my tail. I kept him behind with a decent exit but then- bks- missed 4th gear on the start/finish! Tom didn't need asking twice, and shot past for 6th. The race played out with me chasing him down again and putting a do or die move on around the outside of Noble on the last lap- which miraculously stuck! As a result I finished 6th, and 1st in class, after 20 minutes to get me hooked for life.

Full onboard race footage of Race One is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVjxtu7aINM&t=...

The reverse grid saw number 1 come out of the bag- so as you were for race two. Overnight we were battered with stormy weather and the circuit was soaked come Sunday morning. The CSCC qualifying sessions helped dry the track a little, but come our race there was still drizzle in the air and very mixed conditions on the circuit. Starter motor issues nearly saw me miss the start entirely, but some jiggery-pokery saw me finding my spot on the grid with the 4 litre straight six rumbling away happily. The lights went out- and I got a near perfect launch. I had momentum on my side as I went for 2nd- and missed it. And missed it again. And again. bks! Where's it gone? Quick- 3rd. Too late! I was totally mobbed by the field, and by the time I entered Allards I was last, with a lot of work to do. A move-by-move account of this race is simply going to use up too much internet, so I suggest you head straight to the video below- it was a humdinger! Yes, those are flames from the rear of Colin Phipott's awesome XJ-S. And yes, that Swallows XJR6 really does have 450bhp! And no, R888Rs aren't ideal in the wet. But they're certainly fun!

Full onboard footage of Race Two is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCF_lc3nowQ

I left Thruxton with two class wins, and absolutely no doubt at all in my head that I was exactly where I needed to be. Big, RWD muscle cars going wheel to wheel and sideways at will, I'd found my calling!



Races 3 & 4- Donington Park

We headed up to Donington for the final event of the season, and the weather was god awful. Overnight in the paddock it was a scramble to keep cars safe as the floodwater ran and gazebos, umbrellas and stray children were blown across the paddock. We awoke on Saturday to find the conditions no better. Qualifying was a torrid affair, with water running across the circuit in various places and settling into a swimming pool at the bottom of the Craners. I'd never run Donington before, and this was not what I needed! I qualified 10th, happy just to have the car in one piece still...



Race one was borderline terrifying- I'd never driven on a circuit in conditions this bad, and the tyres were absolutely overwhelmed. Visibility was nil, and somehow I'd found myself surrounded by drivers who were actually capable in these conditions! I certainly wasn't, but I suppose that's the benefit of experience. I spent the race following Tim Morrant in another XJ40, trying to work out how I could ever find the pace to catch him. The truth is that I just didn't have the skill, and was having real trouble putting the power down- using the wrong gears like a dope! I had several really hairy moments, and though I did find some speed- 9 seconds quicker than quali in conditions that really weren't that much better- I was pretty much just hanging on and waiting for the flag. I never saw it! Simon Lewis was behind me and giving me the hurry up, and my response was to drop it at Coppice- changing gear too harshly with too many revs flung the car sideways, and although I caught the slide my trajectory took me onto the grass on the inside of the circuit. The grass was soaking wet, and anyone who's ever done similar will know the result. I was halfway from Coppice to the chicane by the time I finally backed into the inside wall. My first DNF, my first ever crash, even if it was a bit of a wet one (pun intended).



Full onboard footage of Race One is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8ReWjOZnew

And the CSCC's superb coverage of our race is at 2:45:30 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssylNn9SGXw&t=...

Sunday was a totally different day to Saturday. We awoke to blue skies and a track that was well on it's way to being dry. We'd spent the previous evening getting handy with the cable ties and tape, and we were left with an almost presentable- but crucially, intact- race car.



I was starting 18th after my DNF, and although I was glad to see some dry weather- it meant learning the track all over again! A decent start saw me take two places around the outside of Redgate before getting up the inside of Roger Webster on the left hander of the Craners- though he kept his nose in and came back at me through the Old Hairpin. I was struggling for front end grip through Mcleans and Coppice and Roger gapped me as we headed into the chicane. I got a good exit and managed to throw it up his inside into Redgate. Now I was chasing Simon Dunford, after taking a lap to catch him I tried to get the cutback off the Old Hairpin but didn't carry enough speed. I hung on his rear corner up to Schwantz then threw it up the inside for Mcleans. Dean Sewell was next, up the inside into the chicane. I was now behind Simon Lewis and Nic Strong who were having the battle to end all battles. Simon compromised Nic's run through the chicane and I managed to get the run on the exit, we ended up side by side through Redgate and I managed to make it stick. Now I was behind Simon who was defending as if his life depended on it! He had it well covered through Mcleans and Coppice, so with him on the inside line for the chicane I hung wide and tried to go as late on the brakes as possible. I couldn't outbrake him entirely, so I cut back through the first and second elements and got the run onto the start/finish. Finally, for the first time, I had clear track ahead of me, and could concentrate on finding some pace on a circuit that I still didn't feel too familiar with. Tim Morrant was in the distance in his XJ40, 3rd in Class B, and made a great yardstick as I went looking for laptime. By the last lap Tim was still a few car lengths away, and it wasn't going to happen... Until Coppice. Tim got all sorts of sideways on entry and it escalated into a spectacular battle for control that seemed to go on forever and dragged him wide of the tarmac- once he dipped his wheels into the mud the car started to rotate on him, and I managed to squeeze through on the inside before his car came back across to the inside of the circuit. One chicane later, and I saw the flag- 10th overall and 3rd in Class B after another great race.

Full onboard footage of Race Two is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNSiWZ22UCY

And the CSCC's superb coverage of our race is at 0:54:30 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4jrO5tkKM4&t=...

Fair to say I left 2019 with a number of highlights to say I'd only done 4 races! I tried to summarise them as best as I could in this shonkily edited video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBHG_s6_UZw

You'll find better coverage of our goings on and more regular updates on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mikeseabourneracing

So that's how the races went in 2019, and how I got totally hooked. Not a dull moment so far! Next time I revisit this thread I'll summarise what's been done over the off season, how we're getting on putting the car together, and share a very exciting calendar for a very exciting 2020....

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Saturday 29th February 2020
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Brilliant update - thanks OP. thumbup

I'm looking forward to seeing what your plans are for this year!

alfabeat

1,102 posts

111 months

Sunday 1st March 2020
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Just read this thread from the start - and watched the racing vids!

Fantastic read.

That jag looks brilliant fun! Keep the updates coming!

therealsamdailly

328 posts

62 months

Wednesday 4th March 2020
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CanoeSniffer said:
Life is too short not to have a race car! thumbup
Somehow I've never opened this thread before. Absolutely awesome stuff

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Wednesday 1st April 2020
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Well the racing plans came to an abrupt halt frown

Probably for the best as pre-season testing has been, erm, interesting!

I’ve consoled myself with a new toy.. a lifelong dream of mine!


Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Thursday 2nd April 2020
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CanoeSniffer said:
!

I’ve consoled myself with a new toy.. a lifelong dream of mine!

Wow, that looks lovely. thumbup

I just hope you get to use it!

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Saturday 6th March 2021
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Slow to update this thread again!

We did manage to squeeze a year's racing in, though it was compressed into a few months which made it very manic indeed! I've made a warts'n'all highlights video for the year which is here: https://youtu.be/Ve7OKWlObYM

Best viewed with a cup of tea in hand as it's an hour and a half long! But what better is there to do during the pandemic hehe

As someone who took the plunge and went racing with a shortage of skill, money, and time- (I'm told you need all three!)- it's been quite challenging and I've tried to make the highlights video as honest as possible to show what it's like, and that you can do it too! A lot of club racers present it as being all sunshine and glitter, maybe that's the case when you've oodles of money or a workshop with all the toys, but I'm trying to show that digging deep and being passionate about it really can be a valid substitute!

My thoughts on the years racing, for those who've watched the video or for those who can't be bothered hehe
I'm absolutely delighted to have won the class with the XJ40. It hasn't changed much since it was last properly campaigned, 7 or 8 years ago, and it's quite well outclassed amongst the field now. My class caters for the XK8 which (as you can see from the video!) are simply in a different league. I was fortunate with the way things played out, whether I could have won the class over a full season's slog I'm very doubtful. But I've achieved what I wanted to with the XJ40, I'm open minded now about moving on to a different car. Nothing has come up in the meantime so this year I'll be in the big ol' brute again, but I'm pessimistic about my chances. I haven't invested much into improving the car as there has always been the prospect of something else on the horizon. I'm of course excited to race in 2021 but anything other than second or third best is going to be nigh-on impossible. A new start for the JEC Saloons & GTs is beckoning, with every race covered live it'll hopefully rejuvenate the series.

As for my own little fleet, well the Alfa is gone. I pledged to myself that I wouldn't tolerate any more suspension issues, and come MOT time it was plagued- a number of items were repeat offenders and I couldn't bear chasing my tail over and over again. It had also started to deteriorate in a number of other ways, the electric windows had failed, it had a mystery untraceable boost leak, it was time for it to go. It was creeping up towards 150,000 miles though and it hadn't had easy treatment, so I'm calling it a reasonable innings.

As for it's replacement? Well, I was pretty open-minded! It was going to be shed money, as I feel like that's the safest ground for a daily driver- and I've always maintained that it's where a lot of interesting cars are hiding! But I didn't know what it would be- a motorway cruiser would be the most sensible thing, like the Alfa something to sink into the seat and hoover up miles. I was looking at Saab 9-5s, BMW E60s, Subaru Legacys, Alfa 159 if the budget could stretch to it- but the right car never popped up.

What did pop up and catch my eye, was not a car- but an advert. Scanning Facebook marketplace for the cheapest local cars usually dredges up some absolute ste. It doesn't usually provide you with a fantastic well-written advert, a repertoire of detailed pictures including the suspension and underbody,
and an account of all the completed maintenance with dates and mileages. Well that's what I found!

2 owners, 60,000 miles, cambelt, waterpump, head gasket, new clutch, full polybushing, strut braces, proper sound system, spotless MOT, all within the last 12 months? For £1000 including spares? Yes please!

The car? An MGZS120+. Something I never knew I wanted. Here it is!



And here it is a day later (did I mention my daily drivers get rough treatment?) hehe



I can't believe how quickly I grew fond of this thing! It's got a subtle exhaust on it, and some intake modification, and the noise is great! The K-series has a great little attitude on it for a four-cylinder, it's keen if not powerful, and that's half the battle! The car handles great, and drives like new (I suppose it would do given the mileage and how rigorously it's been maintained). This isn't the motorway cruiser I'd bargained on, but it will settle happily into a cruise and return 40mpg, so it'll do for the boring trips- especially when it tackles corners with such vigour on the interesting ones! It's comfy, has the best aftermarket sound system I've ever heard, and should hopefully be pretty futureproof.

Oddly enough a large part of it's appeal was in it's simplicity, I've spent so long chasing mysteries, moving pipes, roaming through hidden fuseboxes, trying to diagnose things on the Alfa- that little petrol engine sat happily in it's bay unencumbered by complexity made me feel invincible, nothing could possibly go wrong on this MG that I couldn't have sorted in 5 minutes!

...Right?

banghead
banghead
banghead









bangheadbangheadbangheadbangheadbanghead

... One day when I was leaving work it failed to start. Over two months ago, towards the end of December. Just wouldn't fire. My ropey mechanical skill got as far as to confirm that it had no spark. No OBD codes, fuelling fine, power to the coils, injectors firing, but no spark. After all the obvious was tried, fuses, relays, coils, plugs, etc. I gave in and decided to fall back on my AA membership. AA man came out, wrestled with it for an hour, told me he was very sorry but he had absolutely no idea what was going on, and left. At this point I was well and truly beaten- I trailered it to a specialist, and that's where it's been ever since. The specialist contacted me the other day to say that despite bringing a donor car on site to swap bits between, and putting over 8 hours diagnosis into the car, they're still none the wiser. Now truly admitting defeat, the auto sparky has been called in at a no doubt exorbitant rate.

And that's where we're at. I haven't seen the car in two months, and at this point I'm as intrigued as I am infuriated as to what on earth has happened to my 'mechanically simple' MG. Fortunately, there's a very good reason that when you sell cars you sell them to mates- I daily drove my Cerbera for a while but when it became clear that the MG was out of the picture long term, I made a couple of phone calls and soon enough-



-this little slice of joy was back in my hands! ... A little damaged but that's a story for a different day. As far as getting around, it'll do.

As for the Cerbera? Well it's been great cloud9 it was the realisation of a childhood dream and the giggle factor hasn't worn off yet. I don't regret getting the Speed Six as my car is just so damn beautiful, and with a Str8six rebuild and impressively healthy to the eye and ear, I don't have any nerves about it going kaboom! I'm not feeling like I would need any more power, that's for sure! It takes off like the roof off a hot scalded tin, or something like that.



There's an old Clarkson quote about 'relentlessly clawing at the horizon' or somesuch, I think it referred to an AJP at the time but I can confirm that's exactly what my Cerbera does smile it's been impeccably reliable, right up until a couple of weeks ago when my indicators went non-comprende. I've been pointed in the direction of the ribbon cable hiding under the steering binnacle, hopefully it's not too trivial to sort out.



Three very different straight sixes here! The lorry has had some love ready for the new season, and as a reward for my efforts VOSA put a fking prohibition on it!!!! Nothing more dramatic than some welding needed and some new brake pads, but what a bloody ordeal. Never again!



That'll do for a brief update! Follow the Youtube channel for more distinctly unglamorous racing content, and give me a pester if you want to find out any more about the slightly bizarre and mostly broken fleet. Race season starts on April 24th at Silverstone. I should probably start prepping the race car...

Scrump

21,889 posts

157 months

Saturday 6th March 2021
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Thread title updated for you Mike.

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Saturday 6th March 2021
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Scrump said:
Thread title updated for you Mike.
Thank you thumbup

Note to self- don't title thread after cars within, if the cars are constantly changing hehe

therealsamdailly

328 posts

62 months

Monday 8th March 2021
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Bloody marvellous stuff

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Friday 23rd April 2021
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Live at Silverstone this weekend! I’m racing with the JEC Saloons & GTs on Saturday and the CTCRC pre93s on Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsJLOfRYG-o

Saturday qualifying, my session at 10:25


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUZukWqZR0

Saturday races, my races at 13:15 & 16:30


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cnIvY1Mzbc

Sunday qualifying, my session at 09:55


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sOSKGotoSs

Sunday races, my races at 13:05 & 15:15

But really I suggest tuning in for the whole thing as the weekend is set to be great, 400 odd cars I believe on a bunch of near capacity grids- pre 66 touring cars, classic Minis, thunder saloons, Britcar.. all worth a watch!

dbdb

4,311 posts

172 months

Friday 23rd April 2021
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Good luck this weekend.

roadie

593 posts

261 months

Friday 23rd April 2021
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What a cracking thread. Thank you for all the detail, it is a really interesting read.

Would you be willing to share what funds all your racing and purchases? I've always wondered how people combine that with other life things.

CanoeSniffer

Original Poster:

926 posts

86 months

Saturday 16th October 2021
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roadie said:
What a cracking thread. Thank you for all the detail, it is a really interesting read.

Would you be willing to share what funds all your racing and purchases? I've always wondered how people combine that with other life things.
I’m sorry I didn’t reply to this. I’m an electrical engineer, on a good salary but not spectacular. I started working full time at 17 and started on my current wage at 19 which is probably why I’m able to afford to do this sort of thing. I’m also a scruffy fker and extremely tight with money, I very rarely buy a new anything as long as I’ve got something old that does the job. I’ll only ever invest a lot of money in something if it’s either appreciating, or if I can see a good return (the race lorry and Cerbera for example would sell for more than I bought them for). First bonus I got from work I used as a house deposit whilst still under my parents wing and renting that out did me some favours as well.

I haven’t kept this thread very well updated with the racing, but our championship finale is tomorrow and I’m leading by a gnats whisker, ie; I need to perform if I want to bring it home! Live coverage is here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-JXUIo37lf8

I’m qualifying at 10:20, racing at 13:20 and 15:50.

driving