Eastlmark Spider Race season (title changed)

will that 2nd September be at Lydden or Brands ....you did not stipulate?

Si21

22nd down the hatch mate.

oh thats my phones fault that date thing mistake thingy

Great stuff; I may be able to be there, 22nd why does that date ring bells


Si21

will that 2nd September be at Lydden or Brands ....you did not stipulate?

Si21

22nd down the hatch mate.

oh thats my phones fault that date thing mistake thingy

Great stuff; I may be able to be there, 22nd why does that date ring bells


Si21

it was the date of the ill fated Festival Renault. BTW if you fancy a weekend in Paris that weeked I still have a room booked there! (thats not an invite you understand, Simon)

Will proabaly have some tickets for brands, let you know nearer the day.

this is next weekend, 22nd September. Not long now, pit box booked.

have very limited tickets available for this, so will only offer to those who can definately come. Entry is by ticket only so you will have to pay £13 to enter on the day without one.

Remember racing is in the afternoon and a sprint in the morning. Highlights of the sprint will be Tony Hart in his 5 Gt turbo and even a Lancia 037 on the entry list.
I will have to post these out so get your name on the list if you want one and make sure I have your postal address. pm me the details.

1) Simon G

have very limited tickets available for this, so will only offer to those who can definately come. Entry is by ticket only so you will have to pay £13 to enter on the day without one.

Remember racing is in the afternoon and a sprint in the morning. Highlights of the sprint will be Tony Hart in his 5 Gt turbo and even a Lancia 037 on the entry list.
I will have to post these out so get your name on the list if you want one and make sure I have your postal address. pm me the details.

1) Simon G
2) S Dell

May have one more free ticket if required. Let me know with your address ASAP if you want it.

Ooops, just remembered about posting a report on this one.
Thanks to those who turned up in support (about time!) namely, Simon G, Stefan D and Tony S.
Such is my limited budget, I am trying to make my slicks last the season so took the decision to qualify on some old Michelin 16 inchers that I used to good effect on the Brands track day late last year. So, with these mounted I came out of the pits slowly, oiling the gears and just checking everything felt right when half way around paddock hill the thing just decided to do a twirl on me and I ended up in the gravel .
Thankfully at such a slow speed that there was no damage and the helpful mashals pushed me out but it knocked my confidence for the rest of the day. Seems those Michelin slicks, while fine when hot are a handfull when cold and take a lot of warming. I recall last time I used them when sprinting I ended up in the mud at Hethel so I should have known better but do not believe I could have been going any slower than when they got away from me.
Practice then was a bit of a washout but got 21st on the grid of 27 and with trusted Dunlops now on for the race it could only get better...and it did, picked up 5 places on the start and then spent the rest of the race trying to fend those 5 off. Sadly fuel issues put paid to it as the engine cut going in to the hairpin and I pitted rather than facing the possibilty of being caught out on track with a dead engine.
So, started 2nd race in 24th spot due to the DNF in race one. Again picked up a few places at the start and was at the point of passing the Clio in front when it caught a slowing Jaguar which waved us both past, however I noticed the yellow flag at the hairpin and lifted off but the Clio went past and I couldnt pass the Jag until the green flag by which time the Clio had gone. Did pass a few cars though including one of the Bill Richards run Minis that normally are way faster than me at Lydden. The driver may have had a problem I dont know but she still finished the race. Ended up 14th overall, not bad from 24th I guess. A good days racing but the added cars we dont normally see in our series made it a day of keeping an eye out in the mirrors as there were some seriously fast cars out there.

Lydden again on Saturday 20th October, Sprit AM and racing PM.
Name can be put on the gate if you want to come. Last race of the season.

A solid mid field end to the season, stuck behind a very "wide" Honda Integra in race one, along with one of the usual pace setting Mini,s who could not get past either, to finsih 12th. Again the Honda casued me issues at the start of race 2 as I had to brake to avoid hitting the tning letting a mini and MG through in the process but somehow I got past all 3 cars before the end of lap one, need to see the video before commenting exactly how that happened. Brought the car home in 11th then to complete the season with a fastest lap of the year too at 48.902.

End of season-the costs

So, the cost of a seasons racing, I am always being asked this one:

Entry fee's (SEMSEC):£1430.00
includes 6 meetings of 2 races and 1 practice/qualifying session. The cheapest Lydden event was £195.00 while the most expesive Brands Hatch event was £335.00.
Transponder hire: £90.00 (£15 per meeting x6, not yet seen a used transponder at under £200 so still viable to rent)
Fuel: £210.00 must admit an estimate, working on 25 litre per race day @ £1.40
Series registration: £45.00
Race licence £56.00

so grand total so far: £1831 (£1426 had I skipped the Brands hatch race)
other extras spent: Hotels £167 ( 3 nights, the others we camped in paddock for freee or came on day of event- as most were on Saturday afternoons then this is easily possible)

Proffesional services (car set up etc- all other work done by me and Riku.) £350.00

No car failures all season other than a re weld of an engine mount (done foc by JL engineering, thanks!), 2 x brake discs fitted, spark plugs, engine oil changes (4) gearbox oil changes (3) wheel bearing (1)Alternator (used one fitted)
Tyres: made a set of slicks last the season, as well as a season of sprints in 2011. Budget on average £200 each tyre. Had no wet races all year.
Damage: slight damage to rear bodywork, not yet fixed but could be patched reasonalby well for £100, will probalby spend more getiing done properly though over winter.
Obviously I already had: the car,Trailer, tow vehicle, helmet/safety wear, ARDS etc.

Hope the above makes sense and maybe help someone decide whether to go racing or not. Have to say its much more of a buz than you will get on any track day. I was a solid mid field runner, finished I think 8th overall and 3rd in class
Regrets? none. am already planning next year....now a bit more power......