My foray into the world of motorsport in a Cooper S!
Discussion
I always wanted to compete in motor racing in whatever discipline I could. Autocross, rallycross, autotesting, racing, hillclimbing or rallying whatever it was, it didn't matter to me! The minute I had the means, I was going to compete somehow!
So over quite a long time, my father and I had been rebuilding a 1972 Cooper S, with a view to competing in rallies. My father decided to do the hillclimb championship as a way to get back to match fitness. He hadn't competed in any sort of competition since before my older brother was born, over 25 years at the time. However in the mean time, the cost of rallying in Ireland sky rocketed. The entry to a International rally now is around 1000 euro alone, we could do 4 hillclimbs for 1 rally. So with that in mind, hillclimbing became our main interest with rallying as a secondary goal instead of the other way around!
So last year, my father competed in the Irish hillclimb championship and I was his "service crew". Which really, is a generous term, cause I just checked tyre pressures and made sure there was fuel in the car! We did 4 hillclimbs last year and dad was able to get back some match fitness again. The car had been ultra reliable during the season, never missed a beat! After this season, dad decided to do the Galway International Rally, this is our local rally and had always been the target of my father. He and his friend, who traveled back from China to do the event, co drove for him and my brother and I were service crew. That was a baptism of fire to say the least! Dad took quite a relaxed attitude to the rally and kind of left me to organise things around the service area, despite this being my first time ever doing something like this or the fact my mechanical knowledge is quite lacking. Despite all the things which could go wrong, nothing did! Dad finished the first in class after two days, and while his race pace was quite slow, the fact he never made any mistakes and kept it on the black stuff meant he had a finishing time which would have put us in the top 20 in the national section!
The car during scrutiny the Friday before the event;
And in the middle of battle!
And after a long weekend, earned itself a well deserved break!
In the meantime, I managed to get a job and now had the means to go racing
So I planned to do a few hillclimbs this year double driving with my father. The first of which being the double header weekend that was Galway/Clare in April, the first round of the championship. I had only planned on doing 4 rounds of the 7 while dad was going do to all of them.
I'll update this tomorrow as I need to get back to Le Mans!
So over quite a long time, my father and I had been rebuilding a 1972 Cooper S, with a view to competing in rallies. My father decided to do the hillclimb championship as a way to get back to match fitness. He hadn't competed in any sort of competition since before my older brother was born, over 25 years at the time. However in the mean time, the cost of rallying in Ireland sky rocketed. The entry to a International rally now is around 1000 euro alone, we could do 4 hillclimbs for 1 rally. So with that in mind, hillclimbing became our main interest with rallying as a secondary goal instead of the other way around!
So last year, my father competed in the Irish hillclimb championship and I was his "service crew". Which really, is a generous term, cause I just checked tyre pressures and made sure there was fuel in the car! We did 4 hillclimbs last year and dad was able to get back some match fitness again. The car had been ultra reliable during the season, never missed a beat! After this season, dad decided to do the Galway International Rally, this is our local rally and had always been the target of my father. He and his friend, who traveled back from China to do the event, co drove for him and my brother and I were service crew. That was a baptism of fire to say the least! Dad took quite a relaxed attitude to the rally and kind of left me to organise things around the service area, despite this being my first time ever doing something like this or the fact my mechanical knowledge is quite lacking. Despite all the things which could go wrong, nothing did! Dad finished the first in class after two days, and while his race pace was quite slow, the fact he never made any mistakes and kept it on the black stuff meant he had a finishing time which would have put us in the top 20 in the national section!
The car during scrutiny the Friday before the event;
And in the middle of battle!
And after a long weekend, earned itself a well deserved break!
In the meantime, I managed to get a job and now had the means to go racing
So I planned to do a few hillclimbs this year double driving with my father. The first of which being the double header weekend that was Galway/Clare in April, the first round of the championship. I had only planned on doing 4 rounds of the 7 while dad was going do to all of them.
I'll update this tomorrow as I need to get back to Le Mans!
skeggysteve said:
Good result for your Dad - well done and to you for being a great service crew!
You do realise that when you do your first event that you will be hooked, motorsport is the most addictive drug know!
Oh I know, I've done two events now and all my plans for a nice road car/holiday have long since been thrown out the window. I just need to get them written down now lol!You do realise that when you do your first event that you will be hooked, motorsport is the most addictive drug know!
Nightmare OP!
I learnt that lesson long ago. I write my posts out in pages (Mac) or notes (iPhone) then copy them across as there's a time limit on most forums for writing replies.
Anyway great story and awesome little car. It's great that you've got that in common with your dad too. Good times that will become great memories.
I learnt that lesson long ago. I write my posts out in pages (Mac) or notes (iPhone) then copy them across as there's a time limit on most forums for writing replies.
Anyway great story and awesome little car. It's great that you've got that in common with your dad too. Good times that will become great memories.
So lets try this again without it getting deleted!
Thanks for the comments guys!
I've put the spoiler in since this is quite a long read!
Now to pick up from where I left off, I decided to do some hillclimbs this year and well, nothing was going to dissuade me So dad and I planned on double driving some of the hillclimbs this year, initially I hadn't planned on doing them all but as someone already said above, once the bug bites, it bites hard . The first hillclimb was in April around the 25th. I got my gear together courtesy of Murray Motorsport who do a beginner deal. Everything bar a helmet and HANS for 700 euro and it comes in three colours which was nice! I had only driven the car twice before, at a vintage track day. That was at our local karting centre and basically, in truth, it probably wasn't enough seat time for me. It didn't help that during one of those two trackdays, I ended up in the gravel trap....something about a Nissan Micra, the red mist and cold tyres....
Anywho, the car was made ready by myself, my father and Ray Cunningham, of Galway Mini Centre. We replaced the brakes as the ones on at the time had done 4 hillclimbs, 2 trackdays (though I had barely done enough to get them warm...) and an International rally so while there was still actually plenty of thread left in them, Ray advised us to change them as a lip can develop. We were using Carbone Lorraine and decided to stick with the same brakes for the time being despite the fact you couldn't get them warm over the short distance of a hill. I striped the extra fire extinguishers from the car that would no longer be needed for hillclimbing as well as the extra seat, and intercom. Next was just some cosmetic work, I hate "sloppy" work in regards to visual details. So I washed the inside of the car out as during the rally, one of the rubber gromits had come out and muddy water had got into the cabin so that did need a good wash. I then pulled the wheels off and gave them a quick paint and sanded the wheel nuts as they had a bit of surface rust. The car was then given a wash and wipe down and was looking nice for the first round.
So we headed down to Clare, to the Burren for rounds 1 and 2. This would be a jointly hosted event, by the Galway and Clare motor clubs. Day one was the Corkscrew hill, named because it twists and turns up the mountain like a corkscrew, hairpin after hairpin before it opens up into a quick section. Irish hills are not like their British counter parts, they are basically small stages. The road is lined with stone walls with trees (occasionally a ringfort or two in Clare) behind them so any mistake is punished heavily. Moreover, tyre warming is strictly prohibited in Irish hillclimbing, no burnouts or practice starts are allowed and as far as I'm aware tyre warmers are illegal too (not that we'd use them with a mini). The second hill Ballinalacken is a much faster hill, a lot less technically difficult than the Corkscrew but given it's much faster it requires more bravery to gain time. Again, this is lined either side by stone walls that have been there for a long time and don't have much give, not to mention the telephone poles but thankfully big bales of hay block them off (well try to anyway!). Reccing the hill is also banned, you get one practice run before timed runs begin, so watching onboards from previous years is essential I've found.
Here is what the Corkscrew looks like; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ5fVITv2IE and this is what Ballinalacken is like; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqwO00BLKM&in...
As you'd expect I was quite nervous on the way down. We left the morning of the first day and arrived down at around half 8 for scrutiny. We compete in class 4 Historics. This is the only class not decided by capacity but by age and because of this there is a handicap system to make it fair. For example, last year our main rivals in the class would be a 1.8 MGBT, a 1.6 Lotus Elan 2+2 and a 1.6 Ford Anglia. The Ford and MG would normally be 10+ seconds ahead of dad last year on scratch times but with the handicap, we could actually fight for wins against these more powerful cars. This year however the Ford had changed classes and a new Lotus Elan had entered the class, driven by an experienced driver who had taken a break from competing for a few years following a bad crash. Knowing how far off we were last year, my plan for this year was to take it easy for the first few rounds and get some seat time under my belt. Then hopefully by the end of the season, I might challenge for a podium on scratch times. Scrutiny went well-ish, at the moment there is a complication, we are still in class 4 but if the complication isn't sorted out, we might be forced into class 1a for modified cars up to 1400. The solution is actually simple but well.. it's kinda a matter of principle at the moment. Anyway, the car got through scrutiny and I donned my race gear.
All of a sudden I became aware of the situation I was in, sitting at the top of a hill, next to a race car, MY OWN race car, getting ready to go racing!! For those of you who haven't competed before, you feel like a bit of a superstar People walking up and down the paddock treat you slightly differently, like you are someone important, clearly a man of knowledge regarding cars if you here racing one, even though I hadn't the slightest notion of what the f
k I was at, I was still regarded with a sort of palpable respect by other spectators and drivers. People come up to the car and take pictures and admire it and ask about it. It is probably the thing I like most about it all. Conservatively, it took 14 years to build this car, 14 YEARS. So when people walk up and want to know about it, talk about it or get pictures of it, it really makes me happy. While you are thinking of this time speeds up, next thing a bike marshal flashes by and tells you it's time for practice runs. All of a sudden you get hit by this wave of nerves. This is it, the moment I've dreamed about for my entire life. At that moment in time, no matter how well you think you've prepared, a panic sets in. Where are my gloves? Where is my helmet, balaclava and glasses? Oh right, I wearing my glasses...Into the car I go so. It's fueled and engine is warmed, tyre pressures checked, Ok lets go! Press the start button, car splutters and dies. Eh, O.K lets try that again! Same thing...PLUGS. Our car is running rich and is fouling the spark plug on the extreme left. Out I get and changed the plug. Get back in, the car starts and doesn't die, but for some reason if it goes below three thousand revs it begins to struggle. Like it's getting flooded. The car just had the timing adjusted and engine tuned before the event so this shouldn't be happening. The solution is just to keep the thing constantly revving. Don't let it go below 1.5 thousands revs or she really begins to struggle. Oh great I think to myself, I'm about to run my first ever competitive event, having never driven the car on country roads before on a course made up of hairpins...and the thing is dieing at low rev's? Fuarck...
Some of my class rivals!
Because space is at a premium, the paddock is at the top of the hill. This means that cars must line up at the top and travel down together to the bottom before coming up at racing speed one by one. Good, this means I can try to get some warmth in the brakes. Ray's advice is ringing in my ears, stand on those brakes to get them warm. They are designed for a 20 km stage not a 2 km sprint. You need to stamp on them to get them warm or else you have no brakes. My mind flashes back to October the year before, I experienced the feeling of having no brakes and ended up in the gravel trap. No such luxury here, make that mistake again and I'll be met with a stone wall. We take off at a snails pace, I press the brakes coming up to the first bend..car doesn't slow down...I was doing about 30. O.K the brakes are really really cold...Down to the start I go, line up and wait for my turn. One car after another goes up and next thing it's my turn. The marshal, who know's I'm a novice says to me "Remember, it's practice, take your time". The marshal puts his hand in front of my windscreen and counts me down. This is it, revs climb, engine begins to scream, cabin really begins to get hot, all eyes are on you. fk me this is it! Marshal waves his hand up, rev's reach their peak, dump the clutch and everythings over in a flash. I'm sorry the practice was slow and uneventful and I actually don't remember what happened. Sensory overload or some such haha. The good thing was that the car was fine, the problem isn't as hard to managed as I thought and there is more room out there than I thought.
Here I am at the top of the hill
Some of the other fine machinery on display!
Dad had a nice run up as well though he said he missed a gear once or twice. Since we were double driving there wasn't really any down time. Between adjusting the seats belts, changing the numbers, fueling the car it was go go go all day! But now, well, it was serious st time. Practice was one thing, but now the competition was about to start. The nerves came back hard. My emotions were a mix of excitement, anxiety, being utterly terrified, anticipation and everything in between. One benefit we didn't forsee about double driving is that the car was constantly in a warm state. Brakes and tyres were actually a lot warmer than we expected because the car was getting used twice as much as it normally would. That's not to say they were hot, just warmer than the otherwise would haha. We are ordered again to line up to go down to the start line. Off I go to down the hill. Back to that celebrity feeling as all the spectators watch the convoy of cars head down to the start line, people pointing and waving as we go down, it's great! Balaclava on, helmet on, gloves on, harness check car is good, bring the car up to the start line. Handbrake up, clutch in, select first gear, marshal puts stick on the rear to stop the car rolling back, handbrake down, foot off the brake, bring the rev's up, give the harness one last pull, close the window slit, get you head pysh'ed up, marshal counts you down, all eyes on you. COME ON LETS HAVE IT!
Marshal waves you off, dump the clutch, car lurches off the line and the revs die...fk..the car splutters and coughs as it goes below the two thousand revs threshold I was meant to keep it at. Car struggles for about 50 meters but then coughs to life again. This car is not easy to drive. It is not a friendly car. It weighs around 600 kilos with a full racing S Oscielle (sp?) engine with a Downton 45 Weber carburetor. It pulls hard after 2 thousand revs and the LSD pulls me across the road. Floor it all the way up to the first hairpin, first, second, let it rev up to 8 thousand instead of switching up as I brake for the first hairpin. Leave it in second? No, down to first, Ray said keep the rev's high. Come off the brake, feather the throttle, I'm hesitant to floor it because I don't know if I'll make it around! Are the brakes or tyres warm enough?! The car grips, the hairpin opens up and so does the throttle but the front tyres spin as the revs climb up towards 7 thousand in first. Into second, hug the right hand side of the road so I can brake straight into the next hairpin. This one is more open, leave it in second but again the tyres spin on the exit as the weight transfers across the car, tyre pressures too high Dad tells me afterward but right now I just come off the throttle so they grip and then I'm back on it. Floor it up to the next hairpin, open entry but it tightens on the exit. Floor it out of the hairpin and the hill begins to open up, this next part is nice and flowing. The revs climb, switch up at 7 thousand, into third, flat through a quick left, straighten the car up and brake late, down into second, the is probably the most open hairpin so on the throttle early. Floor it out of the bend, second into third, brake as late as I can and try to carry speed through the quick right left. The right is flat but the left tightens, I brake and push the car into the right hander and aim for the left hander, clipping the apex and suddenly, the car lurches to the right. The LSD pulls me over towards a lovely welcoming bail of hay with a telephone pole behind it. Christ all mighty, keep the throttle pinned and pray. Fly past the bale with inches to spare as the car reaches 7 thousand revs, into 4 for the first time, don't have a speedometer to don't know what I'm doing but I'm hitting 6 thousand in 4, brake early for the last open square right, down into 3rd then 2nd, spectators line the banks all watching you. At this moment in time, you can see them talking about you, commenting on your driving. It may seem daft but your adrenaline has slowed time so you can actually tell whats going on. Aim for the apex and floor it, second, third, fourth over the finish and relax....
I glance in the mirror while braking as I approach the paddock....WOOOHOOOO that was unreal!!! That was everything and more!! I made mistakes but who cares! I've never experienced anything like it! So fun, so scary, so exhilarating! My heart is beating wildly, this is it, this is the real st I've looked forward to all my 23 years. I get back to the Dad, and tell him thats the best thing I've ever done. I was trying hard and flat everywhere I could go. There probably isn't much more to get from the car for me I think! Dad nods and is called down to do his run. 40 minutes later he's back in a flash. Everything went fine he says though he fluffed a gear he thinks. I nod thinking "haha, I've got him!".
The times come in...I'm 10 seconds of his pace and at the back of the cluster of our main rivals.....Fuarck...76.71 seconds, fourth in class and 10 seconds off dad. Damn, I knew I'd be off the pace of the quick guys but 10 second of Dad as well? Then I notice, Dad's pace has increased massively since last year, he's only 2 tenths off second in class! I was happy because of that, its a team effort and to see such a difference in pace was genuinely delightful! I knew I could get more time if I got the start down but apart from that I didn't know where the time was going to come from. Next run, I nailed the start. This time I let the clutch up when the car was at around 6 thousand revs instead of the 4 the first time. Car grips off the line and pulls, first, second, third and down to second and leave it there for this hairpin. But I didn't carry enough speed, so she dies a little coming out. The run goes by in a flash. Get the times back, I must have been faster but by how much?! I managed to knock 8 seconds off, down to a 68.97. YES, that's more like it!! Dad improved and did a 67.27. Hooh, the game is on now I thought to myself! Dad decides to sit the next run out, the car needs some work. Fuel and lower the tyre pressures. I head down to do my next run. I'm much calmer now, I know the story and am developing a routine. Well, I think I am until I approach the start line without my gloves on If I can replicate the previous run, but just nail the first hairpin I'll be quicker. I do just that and actually go into first again, the car is noticeably quicker exiting the corner. I finish the run and am quite happy with it. I must have gone quicker. Get up to the paddock, get out of the car and as I'm taking my helmet off, the bike marshal calls me over. The timing system didn't catch me. I've lost that run but I can do it again. No problem says I, as long I get to go fast I'm happy!
Down I go again. But this time, I'm the sole car heading down to the start. Now, I really feel all the eyes are on me! Again, if I do what I've done before I can be quick. Nail the start again, fly down to the first hairpin, brake later but go down to first to get the drive out of the bend. I do just that and switch up to second as soon as I get to 7 thousand revs, the car flies up the rev range I go to put it in third but I couldn't find it! The screech from the gearbox screams my failure back at me! Dammit, there's still time to make it up! I finish the run without any further drama's. The time to beat was Dad's 67.27, what did I do? 67.94! 7 tenths of a second! The fluffed gear! What might have been!! Good enough for 4th in class on scratch. I was delighted with it and our result overall We were only 1.5 seconds off second place on scratch times, the blue MG pictured above. This car had been 10+ seconds ahead last year, but we were getting faster by the event!
With the handicaps factored in, I got third in class on my first ever competitive event!!! To say I was delighted was an under statement! Couldn't believe it, I had planned to be here by the end of the season not at the first event! Dad I second in class which was topped the first day off nicely!
My gopro died on the practice run so I didn't get any video but this is the youtube coverage for the championship, there's one done for each round and it does every class! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PHAXXOvZ0g&t=...
Hopefully this somewhat intelligible and not a load of waffle! Well done for making it this far!
Thanks for the comments guys!
I've put the spoiler in since this is quite a long read!
Now to pick up from where I left off, I decided to do some hillclimbs this year and well, nothing was going to dissuade me
So dad and I planned on double driving some of the hillclimbs this year, initially I hadn't planned on doing them all but as someone already said above, once the bug bites, it bites hard . The first hillclimb was in April around the 25th. I got my gear together courtesy of Murray Motorsport who do a beginner deal. Everything bar a helmet and HANS for 700 euro and it comes in three colours which was nice! I had only driven the car twice before, at a vintage track day. That was at our local karting centre and basically, in truth, it probably wasn't enough seat time for me. It didn't help that during one of those two trackdays, I ended up in the gravel trap....something about a Nissan Micra, the red mist and cold tyres....Anywho, the car was made ready by myself, my father and Ray Cunningham, of Galway Mini Centre. We replaced the brakes as the ones on at the time had done 4 hillclimbs, 2 trackdays (though I had barely done enough to get them warm...) and an International rally so while there was still actually plenty of thread left in them, Ray advised us to change them as a lip can develop. We were using Carbone Lorraine and decided to stick with the same brakes for the time being despite the fact you couldn't get them warm over the short distance of a hill. I striped the extra fire extinguishers from the car that would no longer be needed for hillclimbing as well as the extra seat, and intercom. Next was just some cosmetic work, I hate "sloppy" work in regards to visual details. So I washed the inside of the car out as during the rally, one of the rubber gromits had come out and muddy water had got into the cabin so that did need a good wash. I then pulled the wheels off and gave them a quick paint and sanded the wheel nuts as they had a bit of surface rust. The car was then given a wash and wipe down and was looking nice for the first round.
So we headed down to Clare, to the Burren for rounds 1 and 2. This would be a jointly hosted event, by the Galway and Clare motor clubs. Day one was the Corkscrew hill, named because it twists and turns up the mountain like a corkscrew, hairpin after hairpin before it opens up into a quick section. Irish hills are not like their British counter parts, they are basically small stages. The road is lined with stone walls with trees (occasionally a ringfort or two in Clare) behind them so any mistake is punished heavily. Moreover, tyre warming is strictly prohibited in Irish hillclimbing, no burnouts or practice starts are allowed and as far as I'm aware tyre warmers are illegal too (not that we'd use them with a mini). The second hill Ballinalacken is a much faster hill, a lot less technically difficult than the Corkscrew but given it's much faster it requires more bravery to gain time. Again, this is lined either side by stone walls that have been there for a long time and don't have much give, not to mention the telephone poles but thankfully big bales of hay block them off (well try to anyway!). Reccing the hill is also banned, you get one practice run before timed runs begin, so watching onboards from previous years is essential I've found.
Here is what the Corkscrew looks like; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ5fVITv2IE and this is what Ballinalacken is like; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MqwO00BLKM&in...
As you'd expect I was quite nervous on the way down. We left the morning of the first day and arrived down at around half 8 for scrutiny. We compete in class 4 Historics. This is the only class not decided by capacity but by age and because of this there is a handicap system to make it fair. For example, last year our main rivals in the class would be a 1.8 MGBT, a 1.6 Lotus Elan 2+2 and a 1.6 Ford Anglia. The Ford and MG would normally be 10+ seconds ahead of dad last year on scratch times but with the handicap, we could actually fight for wins against these more powerful cars. This year however the Ford had changed classes and a new Lotus Elan had entered the class, driven by an experienced driver who had taken a break from competing for a few years following a bad crash. Knowing how far off we were last year, my plan for this year was to take it easy for the first few rounds and get some seat time under my belt. Then hopefully by the end of the season, I might challenge for a podium on scratch times. Scrutiny went well-ish, at the moment there is a complication, we are still in class 4 but if the complication isn't sorted out, we might be forced into class 1a for modified cars up to 1400. The solution is actually simple but well.. it's kinda a matter of principle at the moment. Anyway, the car got through scrutiny and I donned my race gear.
All of a sudden I became aware of the situation I was in, sitting at the top of a hill, next to a race car, MY OWN race car, getting ready to go racing!! For those of you who haven't competed before, you feel like a bit of a superstar
People walking up and down the paddock treat you slightly differently, like you are someone important, clearly a man of knowledge regarding cars if you here racing one, even though I hadn't the slightest notion of what the fk I was at, I was still regarded with a sort of palpable respect by other spectators and drivers. People come up to the car and take pictures and admire it and ask about it. It is probably the thing I like most about it all. Conservatively, it took 14 years to build this car, 14 YEARS. So when people walk up and want to know about it, talk about it or get pictures of it, it really makes me happy. While you are thinking of this time speeds up, next thing a bike marshal flashes by and tells you it's time for practice runs. All of a sudden you get hit by this wave of nerves. This is it, the moment I've dreamed about for my entire life. At that moment in time, no matter how well you think you've prepared, a panic sets in. Where are my gloves? Where is my helmet, balaclava and glasses? Oh right, I wearing my glasses...Into the car I go so. It's fueled and engine is warmed, tyre pressures checked, Ok lets go! Press the start button, car splutters and dies. Eh, O.K lets try that again! Same thing...PLUGS. Our car is running rich and is fouling the spark plug on the extreme left. Out I get and changed the plug. Get back in, the car starts and doesn't die, but for some reason if it goes below three thousand revs it begins to struggle. Like it's getting flooded. The car just had the timing adjusted and engine tuned before the event so this shouldn't be happening. The solution is just to keep the thing constantly revving. Don't let it go below 1.5 thousands revs or she really begins to struggle. Oh great I think to myself, I'm about to run my first ever competitive event, having never driven the car on country roads before on a course made up of hairpins...and the thing is dieing at low rev's? Fuarck...Some of my class rivals!
Because space is at a premium, the paddock is at the top of the hill. This means that cars must line up at the top and travel down together to the bottom before coming up at racing speed one by one. Good, this means I can try to get some warmth in the brakes. Ray's advice is ringing in my ears, stand on those brakes to get them warm. They are designed for a 20 km stage not a 2 km sprint. You need to stamp on them to get them warm or else you have no brakes. My mind flashes back to October the year before, I experienced the feeling of having no brakes and ended up in the gravel trap. No such luxury here, make that mistake again and I'll be met with a stone wall. We take off at a snails pace, I press the brakes coming up to the first bend..car doesn't slow down...I was doing about 30. O.K the brakes are really really cold...Down to the start I go, line up and wait for my turn. One car after another goes up and next thing it's my turn. The marshal, who know's I'm a novice says to me "Remember, it's practice, take your time". The marshal puts his hand in front of my windscreen and counts me down. This is it, revs climb, engine begins to scream, cabin really begins to get hot, all eyes are on you. f
k me this is it! Marshal waves his hand up, rev's reach their peak, dump the clutch and everythings over in a flash. I'm sorry the practice was slow and uneventful and I actually don't remember what happened. Sensory overload or some such haha. The good thing was that the car was fine, the problem isn't as hard to managed as I thought and there is more room out there than I thought.Here I am at the top of the hill
Some of the other fine machinery on display!
Dad had a nice run up as well though he said he missed a gear once or twice. Since we were double driving there wasn't really any down time. Between adjusting the seats belts, changing the numbers, fueling the car it was go go go all day! But now, well, it was serious s
t time. Practice was one thing, but now the competition was about to start. The nerves came back hard. My emotions were a mix of excitement, anxiety, being utterly terrified, anticipation and everything in between. One benefit we didn't forsee about double driving is that the car was constantly in a warm state. Brakes and tyres were actually a lot warmer than we expected because the car was getting used twice as much as it normally would. That's not to say they were hot, just warmer than the otherwise would haha. We are ordered again to line up to go down to the start line. Off I go to down the hill. Back to that celebrity feeling as all the spectators watch the convoy of cars head down to the start line, people pointing and waving as we go down, it's great! Balaclava on, helmet on, gloves on, harness check car is good, bring the car up to the start line. Handbrake up, clutch in, select first gear, marshal puts stick on the rear to stop the car rolling back, handbrake down, foot off the brake, bring the rev's up, give the harness one last pull, close the window slit, get you head pysh'ed up, marshal counts you down, all eyes on you. COME ON LETS HAVE IT! Marshal waves you off, dump the clutch, car lurches off the line and the revs die...f
k..the car splutters and coughs as it goes below the two thousand revs threshold I was meant to keep it at. Car struggles for about 50 meters but then coughs to life again. This car is not easy to drive. It is not a friendly car. It weighs around 600 kilos with a full racing S Oscielle (sp?) engine with a Downton 45 Weber carburetor. It pulls hard after 2 thousand revs and the LSD pulls me across the road. Floor it all the way up to the first hairpin, first, second, let it rev up to 8 thousand instead of switching up as I brake for the first hairpin. Leave it in second? No, down to first, Ray said keep the rev's high. Come off the brake, feather the throttle, I'm hesitant to floor it because I don't know if I'll make it around! Are the brakes or tyres warm enough?! The car grips, the hairpin opens up and so does the throttle but the front tyres spin as the revs climb up towards 7 thousand in first. Into second, hug the right hand side of the road so I can brake straight into the next hairpin. This one is more open, leave it in second but again the tyres spin on the exit as the weight transfers across the car, tyre pressures too high Dad tells me afterward but right now I just come off the throttle so they grip and then I'm back on it. Floor it up to the next hairpin, open entry but it tightens on the exit. Floor it out of the hairpin and the hill begins to open up, this next part is nice and flowing. The revs climb, switch up at 7 thousand, into third, flat through a quick left, straighten the car up and brake late, down into second, the is probably the most open hairpin so on the throttle early. Floor it out of the bend, second into third, brake as late as I can and try to carry speed through the quick right left. The right is flat but the left tightens, I brake and push the car into the right hander and aim for the left hander, clipping the apex and suddenly, the car lurches to the right. The LSD pulls me over towards a lovely welcoming bail of hay with a telephone pole behind it. Christ all mighty, keep the throttle pinned and pray. Fly past the bale with inches to spare as the car reaches 7 thousand revs, into 4 for the first time, don't have a speedometer to don't know what I'm doing but I'm hitting 6 thousand in 4, brake early for the last open square right, down into 3rd then 2nd, spectators line the banks all watching you. At this moment in time, you can see them talking about you, commenting on your driving. It may seem daft but your adrenaline has slowed time so you can actually tell whats going on. Aim for the apex and floor it, second, third, fourth over the finish and relax....I glance in the mirror while braking as I approach the paddock....WOOOHOOOO that was unreal!!! That was everything and more!! I made mistakes but who cares! I've never experienced anything like it! So fun, so scary, so exhilarating! My heart is beating wildly, this is it, this is the real s
t I've looked forward to all my 23 years. I get back to the Dad, and tell him thats the best thing I've ever done. I was trying hard and flat everywhere I could go. There probably isn't much more to get from the car for me I think! Dad nods and is called down to do his run. 40 minutes later he's back in a flash. Everything went fine he says though he fluffed a gear he thinks. I nod thinking "haha, I've got him!".The times come in...I'm 10 seconds of his pace and at the back of the cluster of our main rivals.....Fuarck...76.71 seconds, fourth in class and 10 seconds off dad. Damn, I knew I'd be off the pace of the quick guys but 10 second of Dad as well? Then I notice, Dad's pace has increased massively since last year, he's only 2 tenths off second in class! I was happy because of that, its a team effort and to see such a difference in pace was genuinely delightful! I knew I could get more time if I got the start down but apart from that I didn't know where the time was going to come from. Next run, I nailed the start. This time I let the clutch up when the car was at around 6 thousand revs instead of the 4 the first time. Car grips off the line and pulls, first, second, third and down to second and leave it there for this hairpin. But I didn't carry enough speed, so she dies a little coming out. The run goes by in a flash. Get the times back, I must have been faster but by how much?! I managed to knock 8 seconds off, down to a 68.97. YES, that's more like it!! Dad improved and did a 67.27. Hooh, the game is on now I thought to myself! Dad decides to sit the next run out, the car needs some work. Fuel and lower the tyre pressures. I head down to do my next run. I'm much calmer now, I know the story and am developing a routine. Well, I think I am until I approach the start line without my gloves on
If I can replicate the previous run, but just nail the first hairpin I'll be quicker. I do just that and actually go into first again, the car is noticeably quicker exiting the corner. I finish the run and am quite happy with it. I must have gone quicker. Get up to the paddock, get out of the car and as I'm taking my helmet off, the bike marshal calls me over. The timing system didn't catch me. I've lost that run but I can do it again. No problem says I, as long I get to go fast I'm happy!Down I go again. But this time, I'm the sole car heading down to the start. Now, I really feel all the eyes are on me! Again, if I do what I've done before I can be quick. Nail the start again, fly down to the first hairpin, brake later but go down to first to get the drive out of the bend. I do just that and switch up to second as soon as I get to 7 thousand revs, the car flies up the rev range I go to put it in third but I couldn't find it! The screech from the gearbox screams my failure back at me! Dammit, there's still time to make it up! I finish the run without any further drama's. The time to beat was Dad's 67.27, what did I do? 67.94! 7 tenths of a second! The fluffed gear! What might have been!! Good enough for 4th in class on scratch. I was delighted with it and our result overall We were only 1.5 seconds off second place on scratch times, the blue MG pictured above. This car had been 10+ seconds ahead last year, but we were getting faster by the event!
With the handicaps factored in, I got third in class on my first ever competitive event!!! To say I was delighted was an under statement! Couldn't believe it, I had planned to be here by the end of the season not at the first event! Dad I second in class which was topped the first day off nicely!
My gopro died on the practice run so I didn't get any video but this is the youtube coverage for the championship, there's one done for each round and it does every class! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PHAXXOvZ0g&t=...
Hopefully this somewhat intelligible and not a load of waffle! Well done for making it this far!
Edited by confucuis on Saturday 24th June 20:39
Edited by confucuis on Tuesday 1st August 23:10
Galway is a cracking event. Great write up. I feel your pain on the cost of rallying in Ireland. My brothers in law run an ae86 corolla and vti civic which I do the basic maintenance on and service.they also have a Talbot sunbeam which the father in law drives once in a blue moon. Last year insurance went sky high and the cost of entering three cars has almost turned them off rallying. They came to the conclusion that buying a kp starlet and using the best bits from the three cars and building it between them. So far the plan is to use the jre red top engine from the sunbeam, sequential box and axle from the corolla, seats and harnesses and a few bits from the civic and sell off the rest. It's a very expensive hobby. Certainly when running 280 ponies from a 20 grand engine through a 10 grand gearbox to 15 inch tyres. It was costing 800 euro on tyres and fuel alone never mind entry fees. I look forward to your progress and future updates. It seems to becoming a thing where the most enjoyable forms of rallying are in small and relatively cheap to run cars like your own.
Bdevo3 said:
Galway is a cracking event. Great write up. I feel your pain on the cost of rallying in Ireland. My brothers in law run an ae86 corolla and vti civic which I do the basic maintenance on and service.they also have a Talbot sunbeam which the father in law drives once in a blue moon. Last year insurance went sky high and the cost of entering three cars has almost turned them off rallying. They came to the conclusion that buying a kp starlet and using the best bits from the three cars and building it between them. So far the plan is to use the jre red top engine from the sunbeam, sequential box and axle from the corolla, seats and harnesses and a few bits from the civic and sell off the rest. It's a very expensive hobby. Certainly when running 280 ponies from a 20 grand engine through a 10 grand gearbox to 15 inch tyres. It was costing 800 euro on tyres and fuel alone never mind entry fees. I look forward to your progress and future updates. It seems to becoming a thing where the most enjoyable forms of rallying are in small and relatively cheap to run cars like your own.
The cost is getting massive, and we are doing it on a shoe string budget. We did the Galway international with only 2 spare tyres, one of which was in the car. The trailer we use is actually borrowed but I'm going to buy one from a friend who has no use for his one anymore. But the value of a car is quite high so I'm thinking of buying a 106 or the like and doing class 1a for modified cars up to 1400. Just something relatively standard. That or what I'm really thinking about is going drifting with some sort of banger. Just something I don't have to care about for a bit of cheap fun!Didn't mean to write so much for the first write up, got a bit excited there!
So the second day of my first hillclimb event was held on the Ballinalacken hill, a fast hill requiring some brave pills to get fast. However, I felt the hill was less "technically" challenging as the corkscrew. It seemed to be more a matter of bravery to get a good time. Having got 4th on scratch times and 3rd on handicap, I was already very happy with my results so far so was quite relaxed coming into the first few runs.
What's more, my gopro actually worked this time so I managed to record all of my runs!
Starting the timed runs I was wary of the first left hander before the chicane as it is a big braking zone, at that point I am in 4th gear so braking with tyres and brakes which may or may not be cold is a bit dodgy. Like the first day I wanted to take it easy and build myself up to speed. The first run was decent, I missed a gear in the quick first section which distracted me and momentarily destablised the car which gave me a bit of a fright but in reality it was no real problem. The second "danger" area was the long right hander after the bridge, it has a very fast and bumpy entry into the bridge however right in the middle of the apex of the bend just after the bridge, there was a huge bump which pushed the cars out wide towards the bank and a telegraph pole, the bank itself actually begins to protrude just where the cars get pushed out to. Last year I was stood at that bridge spectating and a Fiat bit that bump and was pushed out to the bank which it hit and rolled. It was the only one to hit the bank, one car managed to ride the bank but come off unscathed! So I was very wary of it for my first timed run.
Here is my first timed run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIK3O4OVKC0&t=...
It was good enough for 70 seconds and third in class on scratch times. I was only a second of second place, the Lotus Elan and 2 seconds of 1st, the MGB GT. I was delighted with that time as I knew there was more to come since I had made mistakes.
I also noticed during the first run that if I stayed wide during that right hander over the bridge and took a late apex, I actually avoided the bad bump and could accelerate earlier while the car would remain stable. So for the next timed run, I did exactly that and took a late apex. I felt far more confident in the car and at this point the brakes were warm so I pushed on and managed to take 2 seconds of my first time and post a 68 seconds to move myself into second place 4 tenths up on the Elan in third and around 1.5 seconds off first place.
Here is my second timed run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF2KYR8J580
Whilst I had improved enough to take 2 second off my first time, there was still room for improvement. I was not fully flat during the first section which I should have been, also I backed off slightly coming after the chicane coming down into the bridge as it was very bumpy and well, quite frankly terrifying lol.
So again, I went into the last timed run of the day knowing that if I repeated what I had done in the second run and just fixed my mistakes, I would go faster again. At this point my main concern was keeping second place, the Elan was only 4 tenths off me and I knew he was going to improve his time so I needed to as well. The run was much better than the second run, the only scary moment was when the LSD took over and pulled me over to the wall while flat in third. You can just see the car move over slightly in the video below 0:38 seconds but it was enough to give me a fright!! I arrived up to the top of the hill where the cars queued up to return to the bottom to find out the printer for the timing had broken down!!
But as an aside, this was probably my favourite part of the weekend. You see this hill is on the Atlantic coast, right beside the cliffs of Moher and the sun was shining with a fantastic view of the ocean and the Arran islands. So when you arrive up and could breath a sigh of relief that yes, that run was over and it was great craic and you feel like nothing could ever match the run you've just done, it really was a sort of strange feeling. I thought it was like paradise, at that moment as you step out of the car and take the helmet off, I felt like a racing driver, like I could walk up to Vettel or Hamilton and be able to say, "ah yes, I'm a driver too" and they would acknowledge you as one of their own!
But back to reality, we had to wait an hour before the times were announced. I felt that the longer it went on, the more sure I was that the Elan probably caught me. So when the times were given out, I started from the bottom up, looking for my name around my fathers name. However, I was not there. fk I thought, the timing screen didn't catch me like the day previously. That was until I looked at the MGB GT who had been in first, there my name was, with a bloody number 1 next to it. I managed to get first place! I took 2 seconds off my time again and leaped the MG into first, beating him by 3 tenths of a second. I set a 66.28 while second place was on a 66.51, I was right about the Elan as well, it had gone a second faster to set a 67.64.
So I managed to win the second day of my first event, I was fking delighted haha! My father couldn't quite believe it when he saw my time, he took a double take and needed a minute to take it all in
Here is my final run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1FwJ737MJw&t=...
So at the end of my first weekend of competing, I managed to get 3rd in class and best novice on Saturday and won the class out right and best novice on Sunday!
So the second day of my first hillclimb event was held on the Ballinalacken hill, a fast hill requiring some brave pills to get fast. However, I felt the hill was less "technically" challenging as the corkscrew. It seemed to be more a matter of bravery to get a good time. Having got 4th on scratch times and 3rd on handicap, I was already very happy with my results so far so was quite relaxed coming into the first few runs.
What's more, my gopro actually worked this time so I managed to record all of my runs!
Starting the timed runs I was wary of the first left hander before the chicane as it is a big braking zone, at that point I am in 4th gear so braking with tyres and brakes which may or may not be cold is a bit dodgy. Like the first day I wanted to take it easy and build myself up to speed. The first run was decent, I missed a gear in the quick first section which distracted me and momentarily destablised the car which gave me a bit of a fright but in reality it was no real problem. The second "danger" area was the long right hander after the bridge, it has a very fast and bumpy entry into the bridge however right in the middle of the apex of the bend just after the bridge, there was a huge bump which pushed the cars out wide towards the bank and a telegraph pole, the bank itself actually begins to protrude just where the cars get pushed out to. Last year I was stood at that bridge spectating and a Fiat bit that bump and was pushed out to the bank which it hit and rolled. It was the only one to hit the bank, one car managed to ride the bank but come off unscathed! So I was very wary of it for my first timed run.
Here is my first timed run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIK3O4OVKC0&t=...
It was good enough for 70 seconds and third in class on scratch times. I was only a second of second place, the Lotus Elan and 2 seconds of 1st, the MGB GT. I was delighted with that time as I knew there was more to come since I had made mistakes.
I also noticed during the first run that if I stayed wide during that right hander over the bridge and took a late apex, I actually avoided the bad bump and could accelerate earlier while the car would remain stable. So for the next timed run, I did exactly that and took a late apex. I felt far more confident in the car and at this point the brakes were warm so I pushed on and managed to take 2 seconds of my first time and post a 68 seconds to move myself into second place 4 tenths up on the Elan in third and around 1.5 seconds off first place.
Here is my second timed run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF2KYR8J580
Whilst I had improved enough to take 2 second off my first time, there was still room for improvement. I was not fully flat during the first section which I should have been, also I backed off slightly coming after the chicane coming down into the bridge as it was very bumpy and well, quite frankly terrifying lol.
So again, I went into the last timed run of the day knowing that if I repeated what I had done in the second run and just fixed my mistakes, I would go faster again. At this point my main concern was keeping second place, the Elan was only 4 tenths off me and I knew he was going to improve his time so I needed to as well. The run was much better than the second run, the only scary moment was when the LSD took over and pulled me over to the wall while flat in third. You can just see the car move over slightly in the video below 0:38 seconds but it was enough to give me a fright!! I arrived up to the top of the hill where the cars queued up to return to the bottom to find out the printer for the timing had broken down!!
But as an aside, this was probably my favourite part of the weekend. You see this hill is on the Atlantic coast, right beside the cliffs of Moher and the sun was shining with a fantastic view of the ocean and the Arran islands. So when you arrive up and could breath a sigh of relief that yes, that run was over and it was great craic and you feel like nothing could ever match the run you've just done, it really was a sort of strange feeling. I thought it was like paradise, at that moment as you step out of the car and take the helmet off, I felt like a racing driver, like I could walk up to Vettel or Hamilton and be able to say, "ah yes, I'm a driver too" and they would acknowledge you as one of their own!
But back to reality, we had to wait an hour before the times were announced. I felt that the longer it went on, the more sure I was that the Elan probably caught me. So when the times were given out, I started from the bottom up, looking for my name around my fathers name. However, I was not there. f
k I thought, the timing screen didn't catch me like the day previously. That was until I looked at the MGB GT who had been in first, there my name was, with a bloody number 1 next to it. I managed to get first place! I took 2 seconds off my time again and leaped the MG into first, beating him by 3 tenths of a second. I set a 66.28 while second place was on a 66.51, I was right about the Elan as well, it had gone a second faster to set a 67.64.So I managed to win the second day of my first event, I was f
king delighted haha! My father couldn't quite believe it when he saw my time, he took a double take and needed a minute to take it all in Here is my final run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1FwJ737MJw&t=...
So at the end of my first weekend of competing, I managed to get 3rd in class and best novice on Saturday and won the class out right and best novice on Sunday!
The next event was Wexford and we decided that the current Carbon Lorraine brakes we were using were just overkill. We could never get them warm and subsequently struggled to get the tyres warm. So we changed them for Green stuff pads which were a fast road going brake, this meant we could now actually get the brakes warm and have some confidence going into a run that the thing would actually stop! While getting the brakes changed I chatted to Ray who helped us build the car about winning the Galway round of the first hillclimb. He, no stranger to competing and winning, joked that racing can provide the highest highs but it can also bring the lowest lows....
We arrived down to Wexford to lovely blazing sunshine and I was in a good mood coming off the win. The course we were competing on was quite the challenging "hill" (there was no real incline so wasn't actually a hill...). Around 2.5 km in length with banks on either side, it was very fast and the camber played havoc with the mini. During the practice run the car really was moving at speed, practically sweriving across the road during the last section of the hill so much so that I had to back off because I just did not feel comfortable. These thoughts were echoed by the other front wheel drive cars in other classes. The rear wheel driven cars didn't seem to be trouble by it at all though!
We lowered the pressures to help eleviate the problem and I went out for my first run, we I felt really happy with, so much so I yet a yell of excitement out when I pulled into the paddock. I got out of the car and turned to my father and said I don't think I'll be able to get much better than that! Then we got the times back...5 seconds off the MGB GT which was in third in the class, itself around 10 seconds off the first place mk1 Escort (which I was never going to catch anyway so I ignored him). It's funny isn't it? You sometimes think that your run was the best ever only to be slow, then other times you think your run was terrible and it turns out great!
In hindsight that disappointed me more than it should have, it was a long fast hill which suited the more powerful cars and I was never going to be quickest out of the blocks, I should have built myself into it like I did during the first weekend. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing. It did piss me off to be so far back. I decided I needed to push harder, to carry more speed in, brake later and to accelerate earlier, and well..eh..I had a "bit of a moment"....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AULdUYIJeVM
BUT SOMEHOW I GOT AWAY WITH IT!
No damage to the car at all. Besides the huge amount of grass that was stuck in the grill, engine bay, front tyre wells, in the fan and stuck to the sump. The sump ate turf, if there had been any sort of rock it would have gone straight through the sump (we had taken the guard off the week previously). I actually braked quite early but then accelerated WAY to early as well and the minute the front left touched the bank I just got pulled up.
While the car was alright...I was not. It shook me badly and I just lost all pace for the next few runs. My stomach just sank, I just stared at the gauges in the car waiting for the envitable oil pressure light or water temp to go through the roof but neither happened thank God. Dad went straight out for the next run and thankfully reported that everything seemed to be fine. I managed to scrap a run together and finish 4th in class but because of the way the handicap works and due to winning Galway, I got hammered by it and ended up last!
Here's my quickest run from the first day; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbK9WZJcsVw
The Sunday was ran on a shorter route the last 300 metres or so was cut, this probably would have suited our car better than the previous day but I just wanted to surivive the weekend at this point. First run was slow but again I had another slight scare, during the last chicane the car just didn't turn in when exiting and I tipped the bank slightly. Nothing major but it was just another scare I did not need at that point. I only learned after that a milk truck had been allowed to exit a field, the exit of which was at that chicane, I was the first car up after that. It seemed that it had dragged lots of dust onto the racing line and it seems as though I just got caught out slightly by that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WtDeCLYLg
I only did one more run after that as there were quite a few delays and we had a 5 hour drive home so we cut the day short. I went down to spectate at the last chicane and just enjoyed the last few runs of the day!
Here's my fastest run from day two; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zz_ktJdi5Q
Unfortunately, I had to work during round 3/4 Imokilly and round 5/6 was postponed till September so I didn't get to compete till last weekend! Which I'll post tomorrow!
We arrived down to Wexford to lovely blazing sunshine and I was in a good mood coming off the win. The course we were competing on was quite the challenging "hill" (there was no real incline so wasn't actually a hill...). Around 2.5 km in length with banks on either side, it was very fast and the camber played havoc with the mini. During the practice run the car really was moving at speed, practically sweriving across the road during the last section of the hill so much so that I had to back off because I just did not feel comfortable. These thoughts were echoed by the other front wheel drive cars in other classes. The rear wheel driven cars didn't seem to be trouble by it at all though!
We lowered the pressures to help eleviate the problem and I went out for my first run, we I felt really happy with, so much so I yet a yell of excitement out when I pulled into the paddock. I got out of the car and turned to my father and said I don't think I'll be able to get much better than that! Then we got the times back...5 seconds off the MGB GT which was in third in the class, itself around 10 seconds off the first place mk1 Escort (which I was never going to catch anyway so I ignored him). It's funny isn't it? You sometimes think that your run was the best ever only to be slow, then other times you think your run was terrible and it turns out great!
In hindsight that disappointed me more than it should have, it was a long fast hill which suited the more powerful cars and I was never going to be quickest out of the blocks, I should have built myself into it like I did during the first weekend. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing. It did piss me off to be so far back. I decided I needed to push harder, to carry more speed in, brake later and to accelerate earlier, and well..eh..I had a "bit of a moment"....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AULdUYIJeVM
BUT SOMEHOW I GOT AWAY WITH IT!
No damage to the car at all. Besides the huge amount of grass that was stuck in the grill, engine bay, front tyre wells, in the fan and stuck to the sump. The sump ate turf, if there had been any sort of rock it would have gone straight through the sump (we had taken the guard off the week previously). I actually braked quite early but then accelerated WAY to early as well and the minute the front left touched the bank I just got pulled up.
While the car was alright...I was not. It shook me badly and I just lost all pace for the next few runs. My stomach just sank, I just stared at the gauges in the car waiting for the envitable oil pressure light or water temp to go through the roof but neither happened thank God. Dad went straight out for the next run and thankfully reported that everything seemed to be fine. I managed to scrap a run together and finish 4th in class but because of the way the handicap works and due to winning Galway, I got hammered by it and ended up last!
Here's my quickest run from the first day; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbK9WZJcsVw
The Sunday was ran on a shorter route the last 300 metres or so was cut, this probably would have suited our car better than the previous day but I just wanted to surivive the weekend at this point. First run was slow but again I had another slight scare, during the last chicane the car just didn't turn in when exiting and I tipped the bank slightly. Nothing major but it was just another scare I did not need at that point. I only learned after that a milk truck had been allowed to exit a field, the exit of which was at that chicane, I was the first car up after that. It seemed that it had dragged lots of dust onto the racing line and it seems as though I just got caught out slightly by that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WtDeCLYLg
I only did one more run after that as there were quite a few delays and we had a 5 hour drive home so we cut the day short. I went down to spectate at the last chicane and just enjoyed the last few runs of the day!
Here's my fastest run from day two; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zz_ktJdi5Q
Unfortunately, I had to work during round 3/4 Imokilly and round 5/6 was postponed till September so I didn't get to compete till last weekend! Which I'll post tomorrow!
Edited by confucuis on Sunday 13th August 00:15
Edited by confucuis on Sunday 13th August 00:15
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