Bigpower

Well what a day. First MSV race on the new 300 circuit.

Due to my involvement recently supplying some tyres, i was sent a team pass to see the guys race.

The weather was lovely for Tommy & Chris's first race! The car had been prepared well as some have seen from the build thread although i had a call first thing from Tommy saying that one of the pushbutton cut offs was not working and they may need help sorting it. I had planned to get to circuit by mid morning, but started to get parts/tools together in case they could not fix it. Luckily it was sorted by their race support, but they missed practice.

I was delayed and arrived just after lunch to the good news that even without a practice, they has qualified 4th! I had a few words and went to have my lunch that i had not had yet and watched the last half of the racing Saloons.

I then got myself a vantage point at the new raised viewing area inside Riches which is an excellent position to see lots of the circuit.

The race started cleanly and the first four placings remained as they had been off the grid for a good few laps. Chris then crept up into 3rd and kept that position for a while.

Part of the rules is that there is a pit stop/change of driver during the race. Tommy was apprehensive about when to call Chris in as the stop is not for fuel tyres etc.

Well he need not have worried, Chris came in and Tommy went out ending up closer to the car ahead. Tommy really went for it and after a few laps took 2nd. He was really flying and was gaining ground on the leading car. He was pushing really hard and got fastest lap at this stage, so had a couple of 'moments' but handled them very well. One of them was just a few laps from the end so he was unable to catch up again before the chequered flag.

So, 1st in class, second overall and the fastest lap. not a bad day's work seeing as they had no practice session!

Very well done guys. They are happy with their power and weight, but still have some suspension tuning to do to improve their laps times. These are the guys to watch although the winner had less power and more weight so he is obviously a good driver too.

A few pics i took on my phone.





I think this one should be the subject of a caption competition.



Eddy

I enjoyed that Thanks Eduardo.

I think the guy in the black suit is saying 'that puff in the blue better not come onto me!!!!!!'

Thanks for the report and the help today. I'm too whacked out but kind of still buzzing to be able to write anything. Maybe tomorrow. Vids will be up tomorrow too.

Damn fine day! Thanks again and to the Fletchers too for coming down and having a laugh about bull semen! (private joke)

Awesome result for your first race. Come on then show the silverware:D

Cracking day we ended up helping a guy in an mx5 with his pitstop timimng as he was there alone .Congratulations to Tommy and Chris .

I too have a couple of pictures (people dump there crap anywhere ) i think a good spanking from James will be coming your way

Yes Jason, James did have a pop about it. Did not see that it had been given a notice untill later on though. Perhaps it was not towed away as the scrap value is not high enough due to it not weighing anything lol.

Eddy

Here's a first part to the report I'm writing and the first video. Enjoy.

Trackday Trophy 2011 Race – Snetterton 19 March

We arrived to a clear but frosty morning at Snetterton and quite refreshed having stayed at a little hotel in Attleborough the night before. The buzz entering the paddock was electric with the sound of cars being warmed up, checked over and worked on. Since we had a full grid (38 cars plus) our paddock area was chocka with all manner of cars from MX5s, Mk2 Golfs, lots of E36s and Porsches and two Clio Cup racers.

We made our base next to a blue Clio Cup race car which would turn out to be a Northlooper and a very close rival in qualifying and the race.

After sign on at race control we took the car over to scrutineering. We were confident of this being a formality as the car had just come from Geoff Steel Racing with the express requirement of ‘make it MSA race ready’. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case when the scrutineer tested the cut off switch and it didn’t work! He told us to take the car away and sort it out then come back and he will give us a sticker. At this point Chris was livid but we had to make our way to the driver briefing so there was no time to get onto a repair.

At the briefing we were given lots of encouragement but warning also that the great majority of us were first timers and the track quite green so, give each other space and watch out for each other! At the end of the briefing, as I looked over to see a dejected Chris, Nick from Bubble and Kick Racing made an announcement about the free support his company were providing to the series. Result! We’d completely forgot about this so as the briefing was wound up we made a beeline for him and he told us to get the car to him asap as practice was about to start.

After about 15 minutes of their spannering (and a stern phone call from Chris to GSR) the cut off was working and we sped over to scrutineering, got the car passed and went to the assembly area. Unfortunately just as we arrived, our practice session finished. Not good. Neither of us have driven the 300, only the original track and that was nearly 4 years ago. Damn.

Qualifying

Roll on another hour, tyres pressures set and suspension settings checked we then roll out for qualifying. Chris was to take the first stint of 15 minutes. I’d then call him in with a pit board and we’d change.

Knowing the practice times (leader was an M3 Evo Class B 2:15.423) I had an indication of what to look for as I timed Chris from the pit wall. I didn’t know what to expect but for the last couple of days I’d been hoping the car could do 2:15s considering BTCC were testing there and doing just under 2:00s. From the pit wall, it wasn’t looking good. I knew that the car was stone cold and Chris would take it easy over the first couple of laps and learn what he could of the track:



After lap 6 I called Chris in and was starting to feel nerves well inside me. As he got out he mentioned how long the track was and how much there was to take in. Knowing the car was hot I let the adrenaline take over and just gave it what I could:



On my 3rd lap I posted our best of 2:17.569 which got us 4th on the grid. We were very happy with that.

However my stint didn’t go without incident. It was actually my out lap, with the adrenaline rushing I made a big mistake in trying to take the inside line for a hairpin, overtaking an MX5. I judged it very wrong and was alongside about half of his car as he turned in. Luckily (thank fuck!) he saw me and swerved so there was no contact. I remember that calming me for the next few corners but then the adrenaline took over again.

Overall Qualifying Classification




The Race!

We’d already agreed that Chris would start the race and have the buzz of the start line. I was very happy with that as I felt intimidated by it and am not the best with using race clutched. Over lunch we discussed a pit stop strategy and came to the conclusion that without a team, live data nor the need to change tyres or add fuel, there wasn’t really much to discuss! In the end we agreed that once the ‘Open Pit Lane’ board was displayed, we (Chris’s brother Duncan and I) would look for a time when the pit lane was the least busy, to call Chris in.

Duncan and I waited at garage 4 and could see the cars lining up on the grid. We weren’t allowed on the pit wall at this stage so it was difficult to see how the race would start. I genuinely started feeling nauseous now as I could see Chris at grid position 4 with the blue Clio Cup directly in front of him and the M3 of James Britton on the other side. To Chris’s side was the other Clio Cup racer. As I saw the various ‘time remaining’ boards displayed I remember going over and over in my head ‘Don’t stall, don’t bog it! Don’t stall, don’t bog it!’.

The lights went out and the race was on! I stretched to see as far down the straight as I could and from what I could see, Chris had held his position – great start! It was then a VERY tense couple of minutes waiting for them to emerge from the end of their first lap.

Watching the video of Chris’s stint, he took it easy on the out lap and was able to overtake the P3 Clio on the back straight. P1 and P2 also swapped position at the end of the straight. Coming on to finish their first lap, the more nimble Clio took Chris’s inside line entering the start/finish straight but, again, the 328M had the power to outdrag the Clio. They then continue to trade places throughout most of Chris's stint. Here's the video (25 minutes long) so I'll post up highlight points to watch later on today when I get a chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv2HMkuNIc0

Briiliant write up Tommy
That looks like a whole heap of fun, Especially the battle with the Clio.
Great result for you guys

great write-up, i really enjoyed watching the on board footage

you had the m3 in the second part of the video licked...not gonna be long before you're winning guys, very impressive !!

Cheers guys. We are certainly on cloud 9 right now:thumbs:

Continuing the report, so, looking at Chris's half of the race it was a solid, measured and accurate performance if a little lacking in fire at times - he agrees with me before anyone says that's unfair He had nice lines throughout and never pushed the car over its limits. Very cool, calm and collected 8)

Chris's lap times are shown below. His best was 2:15.335 on lap 9 (although we don't have a time for lap 11 - maybe a transponder fault)




We then called him into the pits as he started lap 12 since the pit lane was empty. I got myself ready by putting on my helmet and gloves and all of a sudden EVERYONE starts piling into the pits! We couldn't have called a more worse time! I remember being very panicky when he arrived - getting him out of the seat, getting myself in, adjusting the harnesses and constantly asking for the time on the stopwatch that I had handed Duncan. I wanted to make sure I left the pit lane dead on 2 minutes 45 seconds - earlier and we risked a penalty. Later and that's lost time.

In the video you can see the blue Clio Cup has pitted at the same time as me and he shoots off down the pit lane. The speedo in the car isn't working so I didn't want to take any chances going over the 60kph limit. However, as soon as I'm clear I put my foot down and am intent on catching that Clio! Straight away I'm too hot headed and cross the pit lane exit whilst it's still a solid line and manage to lock up the rear on turn in to Montreal hairpin (35 seconds). At 1:10 I misjudge Hamilton and hit and ride over the outer kerb. That is definitely where I put an egg on that front tyre. Luckily there's not even a scratch on the wheel itself.

The next couple of minutes were fun picking through back markers and at 3:25 you'll see a car ahead at the next corner leave the track and rejoin. I catch that car up and who is it? The M3 that was originally leading. Sweet - the race is on! We're chasing the Clio Cup who took the lead when James came off track who we catch at 9 minutes 30.

In summary, my driving was well off. Way too hot headed, turning in too violently and inducing understeer and generally, a bit crap but quick Enjoy it. I know I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyAkcqzTfhw

FINAL STANDINGS

2nd Overall, Class A Win and Fastest lap.