Just signhed up for a 24hr race this weekend ...

[Maxx]

... in a 2CV

Now, I know this forum is all about BIG POWER but with the latest HOT cams these babies can kick out around 70bhp!!!!!

Should be fun actually, did it once before in 2003 (when Hammond/Stig & Rasta also did it). It's a team that already had 3 very experienced drivers and ideally wanted a 4th who had done endurance races before. Should be a good car as was commisioned by Simon Leith and built by Christian Callandar who have had success before in 2CV Racing.



Bit last minute as we have quali tomorrow (day & night), race is 17:30 Sat to Sun.

Live commentary and "gripping" onboard footage streamed live here : http://www.2cvracing.org.uk/24hrlive (from 17:00 Sat onwards)

[AdrianP]

Good luck,

That looks like it should be great fun (except for the 24hr bit... )

[Stuart]

I had the dubious honour of being involved with this event a few years ago (probably around the same time Maxx) I had a large stand there promoting a game, had the posh Mustang in the games colours, hired the VIP suite and about a dozen PlayStation demo units, sorted the catering, invited Atari down etc etc

The racing was only interesting for those doing it, no one turned up to watch therefore my budget was wasted and the bloody game we were previewing for public sale two weeks later had already gone on sale the day before due to Virgin breaking the release date.

Bitter? Me?

Have a great time Maxx. Watch out for the kerbs at Russell's. Not even the compliant suspension of the 2cv will like that too much for 24 hours.

[Safety_James]

Ill be on the nightshift so if someone can please make it interesting i would appreicate it..
If not BBQ's at Unit 3 it is!!

Having just watched some of the first session of testing today the 2CV's are out in force. Russell doesnt seem to be casuing any complications.. i expect that will change when i gets dark.

[Maxx]

Stuart,

The year I did it (2003) was the first one at Snett, Top Gear where there and it was the hottest weekend of the year, loaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaads of 2CVs all parked up opposite the s/f straight with picnics and such, guess you have to be a fan. I agree with you though, not a spectactor sport.

Anyway, to my day so far ..


Ok, not a great start, more later.

We are in Car 5, it is almost totally orange (the only one), the bits that arent orange are brown ... rust

We are in garage 25 (last but one, pit entry end). Some pics below.

Team seem very unprepared. Not even entered, we did the entry this afternoon. Of the 4 1/2 hr test sessions I drove 3 laps, 1 outlap, exhaust weld broke, had to be towed in (thought it was more serious), next session, another outlap, one slightly quicker lap, red flag. thats it, other driver only done 2-3 laps as well as car was never ready in time, lots of fettling.

Hopefully they will get the car good, bit disappointed with lack of prep and running. Quali is 8:30-9:30, then 10:30 till 11:30 we have to do 3 laps in both.

Spelt my name wrong, as usual ...



Looks like we ran ove this fella at first glance ...



Not exactly the startship enterprise inside ...



One thing I lke about the 2CV comunity is the odd cars they come up with, this has done UK-Turkey-UK recently, probably took a very long time



We do seem to have a good team of drivers and the guys do seem to know what they are doing, just wish they had prepped better.

Maxx

[Mr Fletcher]

best of luck maxx

[Maxx]

Cheers Fletch.

Little more encouraged, managed to do our required 3 laps quali in each session, we are 17th on a 1:52.656 which was my time, on my 2nd ever flying lap, a second quicker than any of the other drivers, inc the engine builder, 5 times entrant and previous race winner

Not about speed, that time was done realy easy, nowhere near perfect but very safe, no curbs, kind to engine.

All times slower in the dark, only about a sec off though.

Had the DL1 in and can find time from other and others from me, plan is to try and get all into the 1:52s with easy laps < 1:54. If we have no issues (highly unlikely) thats podium pace.

Gotta try and get some sleep tonight so off now.

Maxx

[Stuart]

That's quite encouraging though Maxx as that's the first time I've seen a worse prepared track car than mine

The very best of luck. Staying awake I mean! Endurance racing must be tough on concentration; harder still when you're not going quick enough for there to much in the way of stimulation. How will/ are you going to deal with it when you're not in a tight pack of cars. Surely 70mph flat out down the back straight will be a recipe for disaster when tired?

[Maxx]

Team cost us big time at the start, they didnt have the car ready in time for close of pit, we had to start from pitlane, = no tow and you NEED a tow, best our first driver could do without was 1:57-1:59, we were soon lapped by the train, and we dont have the power to keep in their tow. Eventualy, prob after 1hr+ and 2-3 laps behind we got a compatable tow and straight into the 1:52s. Lost best part of 3 laps.

I took over just before 8, and managed to get an early tow but the guy was a liability, went past and picked up another, again, too slow, was quicker without, in the 1:52s with no tow. Then caught a fast pack and had a good few laps of tow, faster, 1:50s and dead easy, so was mainly fuel saving, got dark, lights on.

1hr30 in and I get the meatball flag with no 5, decide to ignore hat lap and look for pitboard for info/guidance, no-one there, then next lap, board said "light" checked and all switched on, came again, " lights on dash" again checked, next lap "in" turns out the little

[Maxx]

Stuart, it actually starts to feel fairly fast after a while, i am at a local b&b just 6mins from circuit,decided to try and get a few hours kip early so not too bad tomorow. I got in my Proton Impian 1.6ad it felt like a 400bhp GTR!!

Looks lke we are holding our own after the light disaster, we have good fuel consumption so if we can run well we can climb higher.

Maxx