Spa 6 Hours but really "Five" Hours 2007 merged

[Tim Falce]

Yep, I think I have gt it totally wrong, I just had a quick look at the video and the blue Tiger was at Fagnes maybe????

[Peter Mallett]

John,

I'll move some posts for you to the other thread as this one has gone away fromm its intended purpose. I'll get to it tomorrow togather with a bit on our weekend.

However to answer Tim's question. The car developed a misfire at 6k revs when Ken was driving it, I got in and the temps went up due probably to the safety car lap, so when it hit 110 degs I parked it, to save any serious damage. (We'd already won a pot that morning so not too sorry for this). Glad you enjoyed it (now you know what we've all been banging on about).

[jamesl]

personally I think the new bus stop is crap!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by zefarelly : Today at 18:17.

Thats down to Bernie, to try and encourage more F1 overtaking. Typical modern F1 outbreaking zone.

[esper]

first movieclip is online now!!!! the producing could be better but for the sake of being the first!!! Ofcourse the producer cant be held responsible for the shootage.........just look what our cameraman made about it.
I am sorry for not taking shots at the watering hole with all the 10 10ers. I had my first beer at 19.30h after 2.5hurs in the Healey, hope that explains something.
cheers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM9H8mJCTt8

I made a small clip on the prewars (I loved it) to be posted later,

[esper]

and there it is the prewar race clip John Ruston is probably in it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egsDmh3W78U

have fun!
Esper

[terence]

Been home about 20 min,s,shagged out.Read thru quickly,John R,sorry about walking past,did not think you were going.Grgor,sorry to dissapoint,but some of us complie with whats writen down!others DO NOT,plus I could not use more than 6thou because of waterpump prob,s.Will give a better account tomorrow,I,m off to bed it,s been a ------- long day and hard drive!.

[SZRacer]

Got back late last night....absolutely shattered!

Had a weekend of mixed emotions/fortunes. The Giulietta went well in the Top Hat race (I know a time of 3.31 is not considered 'well' by most of you, but for our little car weighing 830kg, with 120-something BHP we were pleased). Gave Richard Frankel his first co-drive in the SZ (well, he didn't have many drives that weekend ), and I think he liked it!

My U2TC race was less enjoyable. Unfortunately, I hit some oil on the track during my stint in Nick Savage's GTA, and put it into the tyre wall backwards. The impact wasn't that great, but there is no structure or rigidity to the back of a GTA, so it looked a bit sorry ofr itself. Felt really bad as it was the first accident in 5 years of driving each other's cars.

Was my first time at Spa in 8 years, and therefore got my first taste of the atmosphere of the Six Hour race. Got to say, I'm tempted!!

Also got my first taste of the new bus stop, which caused me some 'issues' until I worked out just how much I had to brake for it.

Also, after my crash in the GTA, the car was still driveable, and I tried to bring it into the pits, but failed on the first attempt, as various cars cut inside me at Bus stop, blocking my exit. What a stupid position for a pit lane exit!!!

Finally, after booking my garage space in the new F1 pits, spent most of the first two days walking up and down hills trying to get the car in and out. Every bloody garage exit was blocked by an artic. In the end I gave up, and moved the car 'downstairs'. Next year I get a proper pit bike!!

Weather was fantastic, and most 'un-Spa-like'!!

Was so busy trying to get everything done, and wasting time walking up and down hills, that completely missed saying hello to other 10/10thers. But I will rectify that next year, if not before!!

[Marcus Mussa]

As you may or may not know, Iain Rowley is lying in hospital in Verviers, having hurt his back in the second FJ race. He is fine but will probably not leave until the end of the week. However his mobile phone is dead – can anybody out there (Verviers is in Belgium!) lend him a mobile phone (and battery charger!) until he leaves? He is at St Elizabeth Hospital. He has the SIM card obviously. I am sure it would be much appreciated.
All the best
Marcus

[John Turner]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

John,

I'll move some posts for you to the other thread as this one has gone away fromm its intended purpose. I'll get to it tomorrow togather with a bit on our weekend.

Many thanks, Peter!

Originally Posted by Marcus Mussa

As you may or may not know, Iain Rowley is lying in hospital in Verviers, having hurt his back in the second FJ race. He is fine but will probably not leave until the end of the week. However his mobile phone is dead – can anybody out there (Verviers is in Belgium!) lend him a mobile phone (and battery charger!) ................

Sorry to hear this about Iain, Marcus; please convey our best wishes for a speedy recovery from 10-Tenths, and I hope that someone can respond to the mobile need!

How did you get on, in the race, yourself?

[Al Weyman]

However to answer Tim's question. The car developed a misfire at 6k revs when Ken was driving it, I got in and the temps went up due probably to the safety car lap, so when it hit 110 degs I parked it, to save any serious damage. (We'd already won a pot that morning so not too sorry for this). Glad you enjoyed it (now you know what we've all been banging on about).

Electric water pump Peter??? :-)

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by terence bower

Been home about 20 min,s,shagged out........I,m off to bed it,s been a ------- long day and hard drive!.

I think were parked in front of me on the ferry, I noticed Peter's name on the side of the MG but it did register who you were until the ramps were going down. I would have said hi if I had been with it

Originally Posted by jamesl

personally I think the new bus stop is crap!

A few people I spoke to thought the same, it didn't seem to flow with the rest of the track and what a stupid place to put the pit entry.
As for lap times, some of the guys from our contingent thought it was faster than before but I was very pleased with a time of 3.07 after 3 laps of practice having never seen the track before

[Simon Hadfield]

For me the Spa Six Hours is the best historic meeting in the world and this weekend was one of the best ever. The weather was outstanding, the new pits (athough possibly lacking in the carisma stakes) wonderfull to work from,the driving standards possibly the best I have seen ( and yes, better than Goodwood). I have no idea why but there always seems to be a good "vibe" at the Six Hours and the atmosphere during the Six Hour race itself is astonishing, the smells, the noise, the bustle in the pitlane, the magical moments as dusk arrives then darkness falls, it really is the business!

[terence]

I,m in 100% agreement Simon,I don,t think that anywhere else generates so much of the Feelgood Factor! Shame about that Falcy,would have been good for a beer.

[esper]

allthough we all speak abvout the six hours......................there was no six hours Still can't see why it happened this way?

[terence]

First and formost,I wish Iain a speedy recovery,and thank Esper for the hospitality,and aiming the Champers away from us!.So good to finally put faces to names,quite a few as it turned out! Now for the excuse,s.After going thru absolutly everything,to be let down by something such as a New/Old stock"Absolutly Bullet Proof" Genuine Mucas Condenser-------!

Wheres THE DRIVERS EXCUSE,S thread ?????

[johngee]

Originally Posted by SZRacer

Was so busy trying to get everything done, and wasting time walking up and down hills, that completely missed saying hello to other 10/10thers. But I will rectify that next year, if not before!!

It was the same for me and I'm really sorry I didn't get to see enough people on here. I hope I was able to help with the 'organisation' and tried to make sure that things happened as much like 'home' as possible. I hope I'm invited back next year!!!!

[terence]

O.K,Here goes.First off is this performace issue,Had a long chat with an incensed Whizzo concerning some of the lap times being posted.Whiz and I both know that my car will do a 12,we were with-in 2.5 tenths of each other last time out at Spa in very low 13s!.It looked as though we were in for a good scrap with him being in Alan Newton,s similarly legal version,we had been looking forward to it for week,s!
Peter took the first stint,progresively taking 2/4 cars per lap,his times were coming down nicely,so it started to look pretty good[He now knows that Eau Rouge IS flat!]At 1.25 hrs he came in with a water problem[No ,not him,the car]Very hot,so we topped it up,I jumped in and all seemed O.K after a reccie lap,time to get on it.However,after three the temp crept up so fan on and see what happens,eased off and kept it down to 6thou.Water started spraying back onto the screen,so in again,this happened every five laps or so,water top ups,screen clean etc,better have some lights now,trundling around and around,got the In in 1,O.K,it needs water ,so thats fine,try and make up a bit fot the driver change,fully commited into Pouhon in forth having turned in with the usuall one application of lock,and then Nothing,totally cut out ,so after executing a 1180deg spin and parking six feet from the tyres next to the Marshalls post[Many thanks for the Smoke Boys]Had the bonnet up,no torch,no nothing.Game over!!!! Sorry !Peter,I must say many thank,s for looking after the car,and next year?You,r welcome!

[terence]

Originally Posted by johngee

It was the same for me and I'm really sorry I didn't get to see enough people on here. I hope I was able to help with the 'organisation' and tried to make sure that things happened as much like 'home' as possible. I hope I'm invited back next year!!!!

If my beer is not good enough,well,that is a very sorry state of affairs

[zefarelly]

well I slept well last night ! I have to say the driving standards in U2TC where superb, I had a really good race for the first half with an LC and a GTA, trading places sometimes several times a lap, all of it good clean family fun!
I over ran a few lines and got away with it mostly through outbraking into La Source/stupid new chicane and once at the top of Eu Rouge, my brakes wheren't up to scratch from the outset and the old understeer problem has resurfaced, I think due to a bent centre draglink, eitherway I think I had a good race despite being frustrated by the overall result/pace of the car and being out dragged for a position on the last lap!!!

The new Pit complext certainly looks impressive although I thought the atmosphere was more F1 than historic racing up their, too much money and not enough charisma! the open paddocks and 6hr pit garages are far better in that respect.

I think driving standards are up on last year, and although we haven't raced much in the last 2 years probably as good as I've seen for a few years

[Marcus Mussa]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Sorry to hear this about Iain, Marcus; please convey our best wishes for a speedy recovery from 10-Tenths, and I hope that someone can respond to the mobile need!

How did you get on, in the race, yourself?

Iain has a direct land line to his bed so I think the mobile panic is over. He is going home on Thursday. He sounds quite cheerful and thanks everybody for their concern.

I went quite well in qualifying as it was very oily, which is the next best thing to a wet track and suits me fine. (My third place became 2nd as the man on pole in a Tecno F3 crashed and took no further part in the proceedings). In the first race I went backwards (literally at times) and discovered afterwards the front callipers were not functioning properly – amazing how fast one can go with no brakes! However whenever I turned into the really slow corners (La Source and the first bus stop), the car would start to spin as only the rear brakes were working – I must have half spun 3 or 4 times, including the last lap).

The second race, with brakes, was working out very well, a battle developing with Urs Eberhardt and John Fyda, but the race was stopped on the 3rd lap due to the Rowley incident.

I hated the new Bus Stop in the first race, but with front brakes working it was starting to make a bit of sense in the second race. The run up to the new Bus Stop is much better than the previous one where one could not really see the entry point. The two corners themselves are a bit aggravating, even slower than La Source it seems.

Marcus

[zefarelly]

La source is 2nd gear for me if I brake early enough and get a good line!

the new bus stop is 1st gear, screaming and spinning wheels . . or 2nd gear and still snotting along at the pit wall

Pit entry is woeful, especially with shagged brakes and hitting the kerbs on the outsiude before turning back !!!

[tatounet]

Originally Posted by esper

allthough we all speak abvout the six hours......................there was no six hours Still can't see why it happened this way?

Just because noise must stop at 10 Pm !

[zefarelly]

so why are they so stupid as to star at 4 even though it was 5 !!!! surely it would make sense to start at 3pm, everyone gets the full race and theres no curfew on post race partying !

[rpj]

Terence Bower = Sat Nav?

[esper]

Originally Posted by tatounet

Just because noise must stop at 10 Pm !

If you have to stop early or earlier you have to start earlier, thats what my mother always told me.