MrLizard Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Hi All, Long time coming this report as the race was now a few weeks ago, so firstly I apologise for that, my own fault! We had a cracking weekend and shall do my usual ramblings before getting to anything interesting so please read on Saturday the crew in two cars and the Mrs and I in another, all get to the Dartford Bridge and hit a 10 mile tail back! ARGH, finally get to the hotel (Hilton this time as the Thistle had no rooms and helpfully suggested that we could stay the next weekend instead...) So, arrived and started the chill-out before the big day procedure, lobby look at the menu having moved rooms to find that a sandwich cost £15.... :s horrendously overpriced and tasted like rubbish but we did get to see the F1 qualifying... Up the next day we get to the paddock at 7:15am! had the usual argument with the man on the gate about us losing our tickets (which we had) and thengot in to see a sea of lovely machinery which i took no photo's of at all... sorry! 2 lotus esprit's seperated by a M12 Noble... drool. Abbey arrive at 7:30am with the car and we set up ready for qualification.... Qualification: Having only driven Brands GP virtually I knew which way the corners went but that was about it, so with no practice i set out first, having cold tyres and for a change quite a bit of confidence - usually when i first go out im a bag of nerves and it takes me a while to start really concentrating but this time i felt like i could immediately start to concentrate, potentially down to the banana that i ate before hand as i used to live on Arcacia avenue in coventry.... anyway... Struggling to get the car around the left hander at Surtees there seemed like there was more and more grip the further out I went, however, I ran out of grip and slid off the track and into some gravel, video's on youtube The gravel really does slow you down quick and i was immediately trapped, tried to keep the wheels spinning but went in too deep! Some pictures when we got the car back to the paddock Good view of the new gearbox cooler that worked a treat even in this really hot weather! Mark asleep under the car... Unbelievable team effort to clear all the stones out of the car, we had to remove the bumper and the splitter and the brake ducts to get at it, the pictures dont show the amount of work that went in really, Abbey Motorsport just went at like a bunch of well oiled nutters all the time making sure we had enough time to get Mark out behind the safety car for 3 laps before the race as he didnt get a shot at qualifying, without those three laps you are not allowed to race (unless you have raced on the gp circuit within the last 12 months)... Qualified 34th as I put no quick laps in! Race Time: Weather is so hot, inside the car is like an over, I am ushered onto the grid completely out of position but oddly surrounded by other class A and B cars as well as some class C/D, grid is 44 cars strong.. I make a good start launching well off the line but immediately hitting the concatener effect of 30 other cars going into Paddock hill, 4 wide flat out in 4th gear!!! I head for the inside of the track knowing the next corner is a right hander and hope to sneak around the inside and the go wide into the first left. I could talk for hours on this but i wont, I overtook 22 cars (8 in our class) and ended up 12th for the changeover, i was pushed off the track and onto the grass at 130mph by an Alfa that didnt want to play by the rules, i had to stick my hand out of the window to push my wing mirror back, didnt really occur to me just how dangerous this was til after i had left the car. Handed over to Mark who I had yet again left with a lot of work to do... Mark immediately started knocking in quick times despite not actually having driven the car in anger around the circuit, he obviously had the bit between his teeth and was pushing hard making 4 overtakes having had to catch seconds each lap to get to the next car and was in fact still catching 7th when the race ended. Another pass by Mark being hassled by a supercharged Integra type r (with sequential box!) When I had come into the pits I had said that I felt the car was 'ok' but had heard something whining mid race. This turned out to be a broken reservoir to the left rear shock and one of the 2 fuel pumps had given up meaning that at the end of the race on a track with more right turns than are really necessary Mark was experiencing Fuel starvation and had essentially ran out of fuel coasting in on the parade lap! A great weekend that was just mesmerizing for me, driving in a race on that famous circuit was truly an amazing experience with some heart in mouth moments and with a total overtake of 26 cars was full of action at every step! Abbey dont surprise me anymore with their dedication to the cause because I have seen it so many times but no matter how large the issue is they always seem to make it work and make it work well, from having to strip the front end to rebuilding a diff in unreasonable time scales it just happens! Thanks very much to all the sponsors primarily Abbey Motorsport - www.abbeymotorsport.co.uk RevMarketing - www.revmarketing.co.uk and all the crew who came down and the forum members who showed up. Hope you enjoyed the show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Sounds a great weekend . Good Report. Well done, I spent years hammering around Brands. I used to work at the Racing School Zed v Alfa...Lean on him, Zed heavier.. !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 That was eventful! Thanks for the report and sorry I could not get along to this one (house move having to get priority) but the race sounds quite something with the number of overtakes you and Mark did and a decent result in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinyflier Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) There was a LOT of gravel in that car after qualifying! Good drive from you both. David Edited August 13, 2013 by Tinyflier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Interesting write up - as always - good stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLizard Posted August 13, 2013 Author Share Posted August 13, 2013 There was a LOT of gravel in that car after qualifying! Good drive from you both. David Good to see you there buddy Was indeed eventful, we fought back hard after my initial screw up! also forgot to post this picture trying to get the camera to work but i quite like it - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.