Snet 24H

[topwelshman]

Doesn't seem to be any drive available so looks like I'll be watching. If anyone knows of any spare spaces give us a shout.

[Chris Y]

Have you contacted all the people on www.snet24.co.uk who have cars possibly for hire/sale?

Mick Storey still has a car available apparently, and Christian Callander still has a seat available. There's a fair few more cars that remain unaccounted for this year.

It may be a little late in the day now, with the closing date being monday and the first day of the race weekend only 11 days away, but it may still be possible to get a team together for the race.

[topwelshman]

Yes, awating responses from a few

[Stinky]

Best of luck seeking a drive! My first 2CV 24hr drive became available at the last minute, it wasn't the best team, but we had a great time.

Even if you don't manage to get a drive, do pop over and say Hi.

:-)

Christine

[topwelshman]

No news as yet, still hoping! I will

[Stinky]

If you can come along on the Friday anyway, bring your kit along and just ask in every garage. Somebody, somewhere might have dropped out at the last minute and needs a replacement.

Christine

[JustinDawkins]

What is the going rate for a drive in the 24hrs?

[Chris Y]

Anywhere between £700-£1000, depending on the team.

The bulk of that is the entry fee is £1250, split between 3 or 4 drivers. Fuel is around £220, 2 tyres are £50. Then there's engine work and spares, food for the team, etc.

However, if you're in a 3 driver team, you can expect perhaps 8 hours of driving each. If you paid £800 for the drive, that's £100 per hour's driving, and you get over 2 hours testing, and 3 hours 40 mins practice/qualifying. Plus hospitality, atmosphere, and a great time, spread out over 3-4 days. Bloody bargain if you ask me. Compare that to how much a standard 15-20 minute race costs.

Then there's the experience itself. Nothing quite matches driving in the dark, mostly door handle to door handle, bumper to bumper, and 3 abreast round corners. They might not be the fastest cars in the world, but actually that acts in their favour. Overtaking moves need to be planned carefully, and the slipstream from cars in front (and behind!) is very important, as is keeping the momentum and rhythm up.

If anyone gets the chance to race in a 24 hour event - jump at it. They don't happen every day.

[JustinDawkins]

That sounds pretty good value. What is there top speed at Snet?

[graeme]

Rumoured to be about 90mph down Revett Straight

[Chris Y]

..with a tail wind

Just kidding - really they can top 90mph, but no matter how fast they're going, it always seems faster when you're getting a tow off the guy in front, and there's 3 or 4 other nutters next you aiming for the grass on the inside..

[Yimkin]

I would be interested in taking part in this next year - could anyone PM me the names/emails I need? P.S. a) How much testing/practice do you get bearing in mind I've only ever driven RWD b)Is the track floodlit as per the BTCC races at Snett? What about licences - I have an Int Historic which is equivalent to Nat A - for next year I could have either, although I think (probably wrong) that Int Hist is slightly higher than Nat A since 2002?

[JustinDawkins]

Chris,

Have you done the 24 hrs before? Are all the cars fairly evenly matched, or do teh front running guys have good engines, new tyres etc?

[Chris Y]

Yimkin, there'll be a new organiser next year by the sounds of it, but all you need to know (pretty much) is on http://www.snet24.co.uk - names of the guilty and innocent are usually posted there.

Testing - this year, for the entry fee, we get 2 hours of 'free' testing, and a further 3 hrs 40 mins practice/qualifying. Obviously that's shared between the 3 or 4 in a team, but it's still quite a lot for the money. There's also a test day on the Friday, with 4 x 50 min sessions for £200.

Lighting - well the pits are brightly lit with huge gantries, and I was sure that some of the Esses was lit, but my team mates are telling me this isn't so - so I wonder whose memories I'm reliving Anyway, if you're in a well set up car, you don't really need external lighting, the 2CV has 2 lights pointed straight-on, and 2 spotlights to see 'round the corners.

Licence - you only need a Nat B, so you should be fine, Yimkin.

Justin, yes, I did the 24hr last year. Our team came 12th out of 34, and we beat the Top Gear team as well

The cars are fairly evenly matched, yes - but the guys at the front tend to run their engines a little closer to the breaking point, just to extract more power. However, in the 24hour race, this is not the best strategy, as witnessed by the 5 or so engine changes in the 1st hour of last year's race.

A good tow off the car in front (and/or the car behind) it just as important as a 'fast' engine - possibly more important. Most of the time, that's what seperates the front runners from the mid-field - the front runners will all be in a tight little group towing off each other and not fighting tooth and nail into every corner. Sometimes on the straights it's worth backing off a little on the throttle, to save running into the car in front. There isn't much point in diving for the inside if you're not carrying enough speed to make a comfortable pass, and it'll slow you both down. Best back off and conserve a couple of ml of fuel, let the guy in front carry you through the corner, and then you can take over on the next straight, and he'll tow off you In this way, some of the tactics are more akin to NASCAR than production saloon racing.

Tyres are dirt cheap, and are road legal/treaded, so you don't have to worry about them going off every couple of laps and needing new ones. I think last year we changed the front left twice (I could be wrong about that), but we didn't really suffer a lack of grip at any time.

Whoa, I've written an essay :O

[Chris Y]

I should also point out that there is still time to get into a race seat for this year. My sources tell me there are still cars and seats available, if you can get organised quickly enough. Martin Harrold, the organiser, should be able to pull a few strings at short notice, as the entry for this is a little lower than anticipated.

There's a few famous names racing in the 24hour as well. Alan Gow (ToCA) seems to do it every year if he can. We also have Colin Stancombe (I think he's done it before too), Julian Griffin (Clio racer) and Michael Vergers (not entirely sure if it's the same one). In the past, Ian Flux (former Touring Car master and now drives Radicals) has driven one, and was quoted as saying: "The Touring Car Championship would kill for racing like this..."