TheCracker's 2011 race season - Silverstone Finals - Video up!

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For anyone who was planning on going to the HSCC meeting at Cadwell this Easter weekend, Speedster502 and daan potentially, it looks as if i'll be doing the Monday race and my step brother's doing the Sunday one. I'll still be doing practice/qualifying on the Sunday though.

Here's a short in-car vid of most of the second lap at Donington from the same Imp as the Silverstone videos from last season. Again following behind me closely, right up to the point that i went off :dunce:
 
Opps, here it is:



It's interesting to see this since my memory of such a short race is quite hazy. Certainly looks as if i'm taking the nonconformists approach to racing lines, on this lap at least, probably due to me spending far too much time looking in my mirrors!
 
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Great vid 👍 The Imp driver must be knackered by the end of a race, looks like he goes sideways if he even thinks about steering into a corner!

I'll also try and get to Croft later this year 👍 I don't actually think I've ever had a good look at a Lotus Cortina...
 
Just google Jim Clark and that tells you all you need to know, and the actual Jim Clark, not the guy who ironically has the same name and race's in Crackers series.
 
Was the race series you compete in the one an guy from Autosport Mag guest starred in at Oulton Park in a Yellow Mustang?
 
Cracker does the Historic Touring Cars in the HSCC if I remember correctly.
 
No, that's the Top Hat/Masters Series. They strictly run to Appendix-K regs. Some drivers with cars eligible for both (we have separate classes for Appendix-K) will run in our races too, if it doesn't clash with a Masters round. The yellow Mustang you're talking about is either Jeremy Cooke's, the one with two red stripes. Or Roy Stephenson's with no stripes, both are quite a pale yellow. I don't know who from Autosport co-drove with them?

*edit* Just noticed that the video i posted isn't the complete lap (and doesn't show me in the kitty litter) must have been an issue when i converted it :odd: - i'll try and post the complete one latter today.
 
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HOW did I miss this?! Awesome, really quite jealous.

Need to get onto my buddies about joint-funding a race project methinks.
 
TheCracker
No, that's the Top Hat/Masters Series. They strictly run to Appendix-K regs. Some drivers with cars eligible for both (we have separate classes for Appendix-K) will run in our races too, if it doesn't clash with a Masters round. The yellow Mustang you're talking about is either Jeremy Cooke's, the one with two red stripes. Or Roy Stephenson's with no stripes, both are quite a pale yellow. I don't know who from Autosport co-drove with them?

*edit* Just noticed that the video i posted isn't the complete lap (and doesn't show me in the kitty litter) must have been an issue when i converted it :odd: - i'll try and post the complete one latter today.
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It was Ben Anderson who drove for them and it was the stripeless one. Yep Roy Stephenson's (just re-read article).
 
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Not going to be able to make Cadwell this weekend. I'll try and get to a race later in the year though.
 
daan
Not going to be able to make Cadwell this weekend. I'll try and get to a race later in the year though.
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No probs daan, it's been roasting all weekend, as a scotsman you'd have got sun-stroke anyway ;)

I've just got back so i'll post a report and a vid when i get chance tomorrow.
 
TheCracker
No probs daan, it's been roasting all weekend, as a scotsman you'd have got sun-stroke anyway ;.
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As you all know, us Scots start off pale blue. It takes a week of sunbathing to get white!

[/Billy Connolly]
 
Thought I'd share a couple of shots of Dan and the car running on Sunday...











And finally, some of the other cars.





Last but not least, simply because. Well. In the words of Danny 'sexy Alfa is sexy.'



I'll stop hijacking your thread now. :lol:

Psst. More can be seen here.
 
Was Leo Voyazides driving on the weekend Cracker? I imagine his Falcon wouldn't have as much of an advantage at Cadwell, apart from maybe the couple of uphill slogs there.
 
Nope, he isn't even listed in the Event Guide for the entry list. The Mustang wasn't there either, seems they wimped out. ;)
 
Well I know Leo was doing something in the Falcon at Catalunya the other week.
 
Thanks for brightening up the thread with your excellent photos Adam 👍 - feel free to post more!
(Even though none of them have me driving)

adam46
Did you jump the hill at Cadwell?
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No, not quite. Although the back end does go light which leaves you squirming for traction.

Duffers917K
Was Leo Voyazides driving on the weekend Cracker? I imagine his Falcon wouldn't have as much of an advantage at Cadwell, apart from maybe the couple of uphill slogs there.
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Speedster502
Nope, he isn't even listed in the Event Guide for the entry list. The Mustang wasn't there either, seems they wimped out. ;)
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Cadwell's not a good track for the Falcons and Mustangs, it's too twisty and narrow for them. It's also a pain in the arse to get to, so they usually give it a miss.

To illustrate how narrow and twisty the track is, and as a precursor to me actually getting round to editing the in-car footage and writing up a report, the Sunday race should have been won by an Imp, the one that features in the Silverstone and Donington videos i posted previously. He had about a 9 second lead before he slowed and dropped out with cylinder head problems.
 
TheCracker
Thanks for brightening up the thread with your excellent photos Adam 👍 - feel free to post more!
(Even though none of them have me driving)
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Apologies for that, when me and my friend turned up we were wandering around the pit and missed you out on track (although I did see your car heading out) but we thought it might have been someone else at the time. :dunce:

Cadwell's not a good track for the Falcons and Mustangs, it's too twisty and narrow for them. It's also a pain in the arse to get to, so they usually give it a miss.

To illustrate how narrow and twisty the track is, and as a precursor to me actually getting round to editing the in-car footage and writing up a report, the Sunday race should have been won by an Imp, the one that features in the Silverstone and Donington videos i posted previously. He had about a 9 second lead before he slowed and dropped out with cylinder head problems.
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I can imagine, it didn't suit the Jaguar particularly well either (last if I recall in R1?). The Imp was actually mental around Hall Bends in particular, I have never seen a car take to those curves in quite the same manner as what he took to them at. For the entry of the Hall Bends he was practically sideways most the time! Was incredible to watch. Shame it dropped out later as you mentioned.

Must also be said the Mini's seemed to work really well at Cadwell too. I will look forward to your race report. :D
 
Historic Touring Car Championship Rounds 2 & 3 - Cadwell Park

After a pretty disastrous outing at Cadwell Park a couple of seasons ago i didn't really have particularly high hopes for this years race. I knew the car was running well and i'm finally feeling 'in the grove' again with it, but i still felt that Cadwell wasn't a circuit i have a decent handle on yet. Added to that the fact that the two races we had over the weekend were to be shared (one each) with my step bro, which ment the single 20 minute qualifying session would also be shared. With an almost 2 minute lap, that doesn't give two drivers much time to acclimatize to the car or track or complete a driver change including in and out laps. Thankfully a close look at the final instructions pointed out an option for teams sharing the two races to have the driver pencilled in to compete in the Monday race qualify 'out of session' in one of the earlier qualifying sessions (for Historic Road Sports). I wouldn't be able to set a time and would have to keep out of everyones way, but at least we'd both have the chance of running for more than the 4 or 5 laps that we'd otherwise be able to do. The grid positions for the 2nd race on Monday would be determined on the finishing positions of race one on the Sunday.

Sunday - My out of session practice was fairly uneventful. the 5 or 6 laps i completed doubled the amount of laps i've managed in the car at this circuit and at least gave me a better idea of lines, something crucial at this track. I was the last car out onto the circuit at the start of the session, so after about 5 slowish laps the quicker cars began to appear in my rear view mirror, as i was obliged to not spoil their qualifying efforts i slowed an let them past. A lap later and i could see another gaggle closing in. I wasn't likely to learn much more if i was to spend the remaining laps looking behind me so i pulled off back into the paddock. The car hadn't been perfect either. The brakes were still not giving me the stopping power they had in the past and gear changes into 3rd and 4th had felt odd. The engine also felt a little wooly higher up in the rev range. A quick check in the engine bay showed that one of the bolts on the passenger side engine mount had worked loose, letting the engine and gearbox cant over to the drivers side under power. This slight rotation was likely the reason why the gear changes felt 'different' and undoubtedly caused the woolliness in the power delivery since the engine on the carburetor side would have been leaning towards, and probably hitting, the inner wheel arch, effectively starving the carbs of air. A new bolt was a quick and thankfully cheap fix. The brakes we'd just have to live with.

My step brother's qualifying session was less eventful, apart from a bit of difficulty finding 4th gear on a couple of laps. He's done countless trackdays at Cadwell in his Exige, but had never driven the Cortina there before. In fact, for one reason or another, he hadn't driven it for almost a couple of years, and found it tricky getting used to the foibles of the historic Dunlop tires we run. Although he didn't manage to complete too many clean laps, he still qualified towards the middle of the field.

With his race latter on that afternoon and nothing much to do on the car, it gave us the unusual opportunity of actually having the chance to watch some of the other races and check out the lines other cars were taking through the tricky Hall Bends. Come race time my step brother was pretty nervous. He'd be starting mid pack on a very narrow track in a car he didn't feel entirely comfortable with. Not only is Cadwell narrow, but they pack the cars together very closely on the grid with barely a car length between grid rows. He didn't get the best getaway when the lights went out and was soon swallowed by a handful of cars that had qualified behind him. He spent the next three or four laps cutting back through the field before getting back upto the position he started in with a good bit of clean air ahead of him. The lap times began to tumble and he started gaining positions further up the field. Unfortunately progress was halted when he was unable to get 3rd or 4th gears and he pulled off at the bottom of the mountain. The race should have been won by the same Hillman Imp that featured in the videos i'd posted from my last two races, he was flying and had pulled out a nine second lead before dropping out with a damaged cylinder head. Those Imps are quick - but often very fragile, just as they were back in the day.

Back in the paddock the gearbox was dropped out and checked over. Turns out that the baring at the clutch/engine end had partially shattered. Nothing that could be fixed at the circuit. My dad does have a spare box, earmarked for the Appendix K Cortina he's building up, but it's a standard box, not a dog box like the one our regulations allow us to use, so it would unlikely be able to take the torque of the 2ltr engine we run. Thankfully one of the other Cortina drivers had a spare box he could lend us, but was back at his farm. By the time i'd taken a four hour round journey to pick up the box and bring it back it was late and dark so it would have to be fitted the next morning.

Monday - My race wasn't till later that afternoon so we had plenty of time to fit the new box. Although it's a similar straight cut, non-syncro box, the ratios were different, so all my changing points along the circuit were likely to be different. The first lap of the race would be the only opportunity i'd get to find out.

Because the car failed to finish the first race, i'd be starting the 2nd one from the back of the grid. With an unproven and borrowed gearbox fitted, this wasn't such a bad thing. The warm-up lap gave me the reassurance that at least the box was working (and it wasn't jumping out of 4th when you ease off, unlike our box!). I lined up on the grid behind an S-type Jag that had been slow all weekend. Forgetting for a moment just where i was on the grid i was somewhat taken by surprise by the start lights coming on as soon as i stopped at my spot. Unable to balance my revs i didn't get the best getaway and was soon balked behind the Jag and another slower car. A space opened up just as we got to the first turn and i was through. The next 2 or 3 laps were spent mopping up some of the slower cars before a sizable gap appeared. By this time it was apparent that the gear ratios were not ideal for this circuit. The fast first corner (Coppice) that i'd previously taken with a change down to third, was now only possible in top, which ment trying to find time to slot down to third before the blind double right hander (Charlies) that appears soon after, unsettling the car at a part of the track where you really want the car to feel planted. The corner after the back straight (Park) which i'd previously managed in third was now best taken in second otherwise you'd have been a little off-cam. Unfortunately this leads to a mid-corner change back up to third at the fast, almost flat out Chris Curve which was costing me a lot of time. Second gear was thankfully ideal for the section up over The Mountain and through Hall Bends and i could see that i was picking up a little time there. Through the Hairpin and into Barn, again second gear just wasn't ideal, i just couldn't get the power down efficiently.

I spent a good deal of the race running on my own which didn't really help me with lines and braking points which i'm still fairly unsure of. Eventually i caught sight of the pack in front of me and with three laps to go i started to reel them in. The S-Type Jag that i'd started behind appeared at the far end of the start/finish straight and i caught to lap him just as i got to the double apex second corner. There was a big difference in closing speed and i probably could have taken him before the first apex but just wasn't sure if he'd even seen me - Coppice isn't a corner where you have time to check your mirrors to be fair, so i ended up sat behind until the corner opened up onto the back straight. By this time i'd lost too much momentum and i only managed to latch back onto the pack in front at the end of the last lap.

I ended up 12th out of 22 starters, which wasn't too bad but i still felt disappointed considering the promise the car's been showing of late. The brakes were also still poor, This hasn't been so obvious at the previous three races, Oulton, Silverstone and Donington all mask this issue to an extent, with few places where a big stop is followed by a tight corner, but Cadwell has three such places and i really struggled to get the car stopped and turned in sufficiently. With the previous gearbox and it's better spread ratios, and with brakes that i could really lean on, i should have been able to lap at least a second and a half quicker, which would have been back up with the sharper end. Frustrating.

Next round: Silverstone (GP Circuit) 14th/15th May.
 
Cadwell video. Finally!!!



There's about 3 laps cut from the middle of the race to keep the file size down, but nowt happened anyway.
 
All the best for Silverstone, Dan. I'll have some "activity" this weekend also ;) so I guess we'll both have something new to share next week! :) 👍
 
Watching the video I wondered why you had qualified behind so many slower but the write up explained it, I thought you might have sand bagged qualifying to look like a demon in the race for the vid ;) I loved the slide at 12 minutes and the following lairy lap :lol: again the write up explained the problem with the ratios causing a unsettling mid corner change...looked cool though :D:tup:

I'll admit to being quite jealous reading about and watching your racing, I'll have to start dropping hints I want a track day when my birthday is getting closer.
 
Imakuni
Nice one, looks like hard work! How is the 'Tina to drive?
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Like you said, hard work!

Apart from being very stiffly sprung, the suspension is very old school with a leaf sprung 'live' rear axle and a very tight LSD. It's the tyres, as i'm sure i've mentioned before, which make the biggest difference between it and a modern car. As a replica 60's racing tyre they're a soft compound but since they are a cross-ply construction, they have a high side wall which flexes a great deal. At speed you have to gently settle the car into a corner before you can really lean on the tyres, but as soon as you do that they begin to loose traction and the car will begin to slide. Thankfully it's a gentle progression and you are always expecting it so you can just balance your forward and sideways motion with throttle modulation. It took me a good few races before i got my head around always trying to drive the car beyond the level of grip available, as obviously it's an unnatural way to drive (even quickly) in modern cars.

Hun200kmh
All the best for Silverstone, Dan. I'll have some "activity" this weekend also ;) so I guess we'll both have something new to share next week! :) 👍
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I look forward to your next write up 👍 - in the Morgan i presume?

Neal
Watching the video I wondered why you had qualified behind so many slower but the write up explained it, I thought you might have sand bagged qualifying to look like a demon in the race for the vid ;) I loved the slide at 12 minutes and the following lairy lap :lol: again the write up explained the problem with the ratios causing a unsettling mid corner change...looked cool though :D:tup:
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We've been waiting on some parts from America to fix the other gearbox but they've not arrived in time, so we'll be borrowing the same gearbox as we had at Cadwell. Looking at some videos of in-car laps on the new Silverstone GP circuit, the way the ratios are stacked might not be as much as an issue as they were for me last time out. The first turn (Copse) is the only corner i can imagine they'd be a hindrance at. I'd usually brake and change down to third for it, but i think third might be too high, unsettling the car too much, which leaves us probably taking it in top hoping that the torque will be sufficient to not leave the engine too off-cam. We will see.
 
Silverstone GP Circuit - May 15th 2011

A 40 minute, 2 driver race on the new Silverstone GP circuit is what my step brother and i had to look forward to this past weekend. It had been a two day meeting but thankfully both our qualifying and race were on the same day. The entry list was a little disheartening, apart from an unusually short entry list of 23 cars, the regulars from our series who had entered were all the quicker cars with the remaining entries being made up of the fast Mustangs and Falcons that tend to only run at our bigger more prestigious meetings.

As i'm slightly bigger than my step brother, and therefore needing the seat harness looser (it's much easier to tighten the belts than it is to slacken them off), i elected to start the qualifying session first. The session was set to last only 25 minutes and with an approximate 2.50 lap it ment we'd only get 4 or 5 laps each, not much to learn a circuit neither of us knew.

When qualifying began, i found myself out on track just behind a group of those Mustangs and Falcons. They were quick on Silverstone's many long straights, but not nimble enough in the corners to pull out much of an advantage. They were also battling amongst each other enough for me not to want to try a crafty lunge, not with brakes that still lacked some ultimate bite and not in a qualifying session. After a couple of laps i decided to drop back and make myself enough space to have at least a single clear lap to set a decent time. Unfortunately one of the Falcons had the same idea and that opportunity never arose. I've since checked the qualifying session lap chart only to find that our quickest lap, which wasn't counted' was my 'in' lap which includes a slowish run out from the last corner and in through the pitlane entrance, stopping just after the start/finish/timing line. Had i not pulled in at the end of that lap our quickest time would undoubtedly have been a second and a half or more quicker. In the end we qualified 15th which we were both disappointed with, but since we only had 4 or 5 laps to learn a new circuit, compared to most of the others who had 10 lap runs, we couldn't really of expected any more.

Come race time, again i elected to start the 40 minute race, with a signal to come in and swap drivers at a suitable moment at some point between the 15 and 25 minute pit 'window'. Unusually the race had a rolling start, something we rarely do, and something that caused a little confusion as to where and at what point you can make a move on the cars in front. True to form, the car that qualified directly in front of me didn't make the best start and i ended up getting balked when the lights went out and a couple of cars behind got passed, including the Jag that held me up at Silverstone at the end of last year :rolleyes:

Still, it was a 40 minute race, plenty of time to make places back up. In the next two laps i managed to pass half a dozen cars and latch onto the back of the Mustang and Falcon pack before the yellow flags were waved to indicate that the safety car was being deployed due to one of the Anglias dropping all it's oil on the run down to Copse. It stayed out for two more complete laps whilst marshals did their best to clean it up before we were underway again. I passed a Falcon on each of the next two laps emerging into some clear space on my 'in' lap. I pitted and changed over with my step brother. He ended up loosing a place or two during the pit stops (cars with only one driver were obliged to stop for a timed minute too) but ended up having a great dice with one of the Falcons for the last 3 or 4 laps, just loosing out to him by a couple of tenths at the line. We finished 8th in the end, which although not a fantastic result, we were both chuffed about, feeling we'd driven well and knocking 5 seconds off our qualifying time as well.

I've got 50 minutes of in-car footage to try and crop down to a more Youtube friendly 'edited highlights' that i'll post up once i've done so. With it being quite an action packed race, that might prove difficult. Watch this space!
 
Long gone are the days when a lot of text in your writeups was about mechanical gremlins and how to overcome them! No more, and that's great! :)

I don't know the entry list but from all I read, I'd say your 8th place finish (all over 7th placed car) was a great result, congratulations! :cheers:

Looking forward to the video edit!
 

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