That be Lucy. She's my grid-girl Actually, she's my girlfriend

6th/7th July 2007
Spa (Belgium)


Are you coming to Belgium ?
I think we have a new meeting date & place
and bring your girlfriend with you

Unfortunately not

To race in Europe as part of a UK Race Series, you need to have a National A licence. I have a National B licence at the moment. To upgrade I need 6 signatures on my licence, and I can get one from finishing a race (Combe, but Mallory doesn't count). You can also get one from Marshalling for a day, and one for completing a driver training day.

I need 5, and there is no way I get them before Spa, so we're not going. Hopefully next year there will be another event at Spa, and I'll be able to go

She's nice

She looks alot like the lady on the right...relation?

Her mother.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Mother

Your mother, her mother, or your mother and her mother? :eek:

I know what you Norfolk people are like.

Any relation to you?

Any pics of her looking grid girl like

Tristan, it seems like your and Andrew's pictures have been mixed up here.

Damn, could you have not have found a better photo for yourself?

Zombie alert!

Quote from Bob Smith :

Damn, could you have not have found a better photo for yourself?

maybe he likes the whole dragonball character after getting a beating look

makes him look sinister rather than like hes got a broken back (which btw is a much better photo)

Tristy, where's your LFS sticker on the car? Also, your LFS link on the main page is broken twice (needs http:// at the start of it) and should be www.lfs.net.

Quote from The General Lee :

Any relation to you?

Any pics of her looking grid girl like

Nope, no relation. My girlfriend wanted to come and watch, and so did her mother. They took the trackside video though (which explains the quality!)

Quote from felplacerad :

Tristan, it seems like your and Andrew's pictures have been mixed up here.

Thanks - fixed.

Quote from Bob Smith :

Damn, could you have not have found a better photo for yourself?

I chose some of the worst photos of us I could find on purpose. Wouldn't want people to think it's a serious website, or that I take myself too seriously

Quote from Shotglass :

maybe he likes the whole dragonball character after getting a beating look

makes him look sinister rather than like hes got a broken back (which btw is a much better photo)

But now I'm tempted to change the photos...

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

Tristy, where's your LFS sticker on the car? Also, your LFS link on the main page is broken twice (needs http:// at the start of it) and should be www.lfs.net.

No LFS sticker on the car. To be worthwhile it'd need to be huge. Maybe one day. Main page? Hmmmm. Do you mean the links page? I'll go find it and fix it!

Quote from tristancliffe :

I'm back!!!!!!

Wow, that was amazing really... Lots of hard work, lots of waiting around, lots of dampness, and a smidgen of track time...

As previously mentioned, qualifying was wet. And I mean WET! With a car in front of you it was difficult to see anything other than their rain light, let along braking points or people behind you in the mirrors... But out of about 36 people on track for qualifying, about half spun at some point, and I wasn't one of them. Admittedly I was 11 seconds off the 'pace' but for a first time at the circuit in that car, the first wet track session ever (other than a bit of drizzle in a kart once), and being a bit scared of crashing I think I did okay... A few bit moments, either out of Camp (I wanted full throttle, but the rears didn't), or braking for Quarry (big fishtail, somehow kept it on the track and then whilst running wide had a Formula Ford spin inside me in slow motion...).

I was about half way down the list of qualifiers, but once the classes were split up again it left me 12th out of 14th on the grid - the only novice (i.e. person with less than 6 races) on the grid.

By race time it was dry, so we put the (very old) slicks on, and off I tootled to the grid. The formation lap was very slow, with a bit of pushing and shoving so I didn't weave much or spend time getting heat into brakes - I was too busy making sure I didn't run into someone or do something unpredictable. Formed back up on the grid. Waited for 1 light, 2 lights... 5 lights, GO! Nearly stalled, but a quick whack of the clutch brought the revs up and converted stall into wheelspin. Didn't lose a place at the start, and didn't want to be stupid into T1 so kept back a bit. To start with the two people behind me gave a bit of pressure, but within a lap or two I was pulling away, and going faster each lap!!!!!! At one point I left my braking (I brake like a pansy at the moment) too late, and had to unintentionally trail brake into a chicane, which was scary and exciting at the same time, and showed how good F3 brakes really are. At no point did the car step out of line, despite me braking later and later, getting on the power earlier and earlier (often before the apex towards the end), and carrying more speed through the corner.

My best lap was just three seconds shy of the winners (and he is VERY quick, with a much newer cars, and slicks that aren't 19 years old). I finished 51 seconds behind the winner - over 10 laps (our race was shortened for some reason, and I'm cross about it) that's 5 seconds per lap - sounds a lot, but trust me it's not for a novice!!

Martin, my Dad, reckons if I hadn't been such a girl for the first two laps I'd have caught (and maybe passed!) at least two cars... I finished 10th in the end, only because two cars ahead retired...

I loved it. I want to do it again!

But I have to go and do some work, so I can't talk about it any more. Photos are still on Andrew's camera. The camcorder trackside footage was a bit crap. The onboard camera didn't work - I've got 7 seconds of footage of me in the paddock checking the camera works, but none of the car driving. Bugger!

I'll do a write up on my website after work, and put as many photos online that I can, as well as my datalogging (I got all of qualifying, but forgot to turn it on until half way round the first lap of the race - there's a lot to think about when it's all new)...

To quietus, karl, chris and callous hooper - thanks for coming, thanks for finding me and I hope you liked what you managed to see...

A bit late on this post. Just wanted to say:

:bowdown:

I'm rather jealous

Quick post to hide this link in here. You can forget about this thread again

[/mind_control]

http://www.reynard883.com/videos/rockingham_highlights.wmv (66MB)

Would love to come could you pay my airfare? Should only run a couple of thousand dollars.

I've been here longer, I get first dibs on airfare from Canada

Quote from tristancliffe :

I need 5, and there is no way I get them before Spa, so we're not going. Hopefully next year there will be another event at Spa, and I'll be able to go

Sad to hear, but do not forget to pm me before you're going to Spa, so I can leave a spot on my agenda

It pains me to say this Tristan but You know what your doing, although your Reynard doesn't have a Flat4 Volkswagen engine wedged in there, its good enough for me GO TRISTAN!

Quote from BlueFlame :

You know what your doing

NO I don't! I blunder from race to race, blindly filling in cheques in a groggy haze, desperately trying to make it look like I know what I'm doing and thinking of witty things to write on my website!

Quote :

although your Reynard doesn't have a Flat4 Volkswagen engine wedged in there, its good enough for me

Don't - I've only just got over shoe-horning this engine in - a flat four would be a nightmare!!!!!

Quote :

GO TRISTAN!

Go where?

Quote from tristancliffe :

NO I don't! I blunder from race to race, blindly filling in cheques in a groggy haze, desperately trying to make it look like I know what I'm doing and thinking of witty things to write on my website!

Don't - I've only just got over shoe-horning this engine in - a flat four would be a nightmare!!!!!
Go where?

Just GO in general... do you really want me to spell it out? what with the cheerleaders uniform and what not? seriously?

Thanks for the nice video. The car seems to be a real handful! Lucky for you the RSC/ISI crowd were so wrong all the time, otherwise you wouldn't last a single corner.

What was the reason for the second spin? Too fast? Too hard on the brakes? Downshift problem? Glad to see you're pushing the car like you're supposed to and that you didn't hit anything during your incidents.

Do you know what your next race will be?

It was quite a handful at the Rock, and I'm not sure why really. Didn't feel like that at Mallory, so perhaps a faulty set up on the car (don't think so, but will check it anyway), or just a peculiar track.

Yes, oversteer should be correctable

The second spin was two-fold. First I was braking a bit later than usual in an attempt to go faster (!), and trail braked too much. Secondly, there is a really evil camber change there as you come off the oval onto the infield. Novice error really, but then I am a novice, so it's allowed.

Got to push - I won't learn much fannying about at the back...

Should be Silverstone International (i.e. leave the GP circuit at Becketts and rejoin at Abbey) on the 25th or 26th August... Shame it's a month away, but I wouldn't be able to afford more than that, so...

Blueflame - post a pic of you in a cheerleader costume and I'll... blow you a kiss on the next onboard video

and this from the guy who refuses to drift

nice video looks enjoyable whilst slightly terrifying

Quote from tristancliffe :

Go where?

Don't tempt me.

That thing looks like a total nightmare in the wet. I bet it was reassuring to see the other cars spinning!

Looks like quite a bumpy ride, too.