Diary of a sprint season in a TF part1

your right on costs. entrant numbers are down so we are doing what we can to contain costs
two lap entry for a sprint with shenstone car club is £75 which is cheaper than most

standard car class just needs some numbers yellow tape on your battery timing strut (peice of black painted hardboard)

some stikers to tell them how to turn you ignitiion off good service and some decent meat on your pads and thats the car sorted

club membership £20 which includes 5 or so free club afternoons (non timed trackdays but with only one car at a time)

MSa licence non race b £40

biggest expense is suit and helmet and gloves (boots are a good idea but not mandatory)

, although we are trying to set up s scheme so new comers can borrow a suit for their first eventand trying to do a payments package to buy safety gear over the season to spread the cost ( but thatll be next year)

Once youve got your safety gear I recon you can do a season of the curborugh championship for under £1000

for motorsport thats cheap

(plug over) :spank:

Lewis thanks for taking the time to set out the costs for us, it is always nice to have an insider view on these things.

I think the helmet approvals for track used changed recentley, mine is to the old BS6658 Type A and ACU but I dont think they are track legal now. I know you change them every few years anyway so I guess these will flush out of the system in time anyway. It was still a bit irritating after going for a nice Arai, but then money spent on safety gear is never wasted. I can still walk thanks to buying a decent pair of motor cycle boots, and with 20/20 hindsight I should have them in a glass case in the hall with a great big RIP and thank you note.
BTW I second the thank you for the entry details, that is a serious good deal for what you get.

No probs guys more people should try this and the club will do everything to help

It took me ages to actually get round to entering a formal event and having done the first wish Id started years ago#

So bite the bullet buy the gear and get out there you wont regret it

when it all comes together and you cross the line and see a new PB its just :woohoo:

It has its frustrations but!

as the great Steve McQueen once said

"racing is life,

anything that happens before or afterwards is just waiting"

Ive beaten my number one rival at the BMMC sprint on the 25th and took first in the class :woohoo:

Hes a good mate actually but always faster than me(until now) and put me in second place at the last one- finally I pipped him by a quarter of a second
:drive:
I had a class win earlier in the year- beat two competitive drivers for first place but they were in a suzuki swift sport with a 40 horsepower deficit so although I was pleased I felt a bit of a fraud

Matt runs a Clio 182 a very competitive car so this win was a" real" one although his PB time is still better than mine

So the 16th september season finale will be the showdown to see if I can do it again :whistle:


and then we start planning for next season

2.5 seconds to find next year this is getting obsesive

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Well done you :hugs:

:woohoo: Best news I've heard this week, well done Lewis.

You need to start posting when and where your next race is in case any of us can get down and give you a bit of support.

The money you spent with Don is paying dividends now.

Look forward to the next instalment. :drive:

Thanks for the support folks

Next one which is the final is 16th September Curborough sprint course

Entry for spectators is free!! :welcome:

www.curborough.co.uk/curbloc.htm
www.curborough.co.uk/curbcnr.htm

Kick assssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss :broon:

Thats the Plan! :drive:

So today was it

the showdown

the big one

the finale

TF 160 vs Matt's Clio 182 half a second between us

Could I repeat last times win and take the class?

Last time I just pipped him and was saved by the weather preventing a quick second run

So did I really win or was it just a one off fluke? Am I an also ran who just got lucky

This time we had perfect conditions- no excuses- head to head- winner takes all :sick:

First practice run- a new personal best 39.94- vs 40.6 to matt so far so good lovely and smooth felt as good as it ever has even Steve my mentor is impressed-but can I repeat it?

Second practice run 39.77 for me another PB vs 39. 16 to matt damn its slipping away I cant get another PB can I?

third timed -(counting for the competition) run - flat out and......


arghh no time shown :bang:

Timing didnt work properly

Have to go again- back into the queue, heater on full to make sure the engine doesnt cook- not sure which is going to melt first me or the car but I got a chance to visualise the run and rethink the slightly rough section round the molehill from trying too hard

Matt does a 39.04 oh boy this isn't going my way- relax relax

and

38.94 to me!! Another personal best by over a second but is that going to be enough?!?

Second and last timed run- 39.16 new it couldn't last

its all down to matt now

Sadly for him he just couldnt beat the 39 second barrier

So Ive done it! :woohoo:

:bust: Ive won the class for today and also taken the class win in the championship!

Been trying for three years- spent whole seasons floundering around in the midfield and not finding any speed

First half of the season was pretty disastrous (till I went to see The DON see previous posts) and I just thought it would never happen

Was a really good contest- both Matt and I were setting personal bests and in the end there was only 0 .07 of a second between us- could easily have gone the other way but today was my day.

Still not satisfied as I know there are faster boys out there and the car is capable of more but for the moment Im sipping on glass of champers and forming my plans for next year..

Cheers all :beer:

What a way to finish the season :woohoo:

Lewis, that was a great read, you had me in suspense speed reading down to see the final outcome, Congratulations.





Continuing the fine tradition of MG racers, you could well end up in our MG T-Bar Quiz, now there is real fame for you :lol:

Enjoy your celebrations and if you have any how about a few pics from the season