Monday 23 January 2012

A little bit of Track Action!

Last year when buying a new car I wanted to buy something that allowed me to have just a bit of fun in it. It also needed to be reasonably sensible on a size and practicality front too. So, I ended up with a 2001 Vauxhall Astra 1.8. I've loved driving it since. It is hardly a 'fast' car, but is quick enough to have a wee bit of fun in. One thing I wanted was a car I could do a track day in without it being too embarrassingly slow.

I've never been on a track day before, and the thought of doing a full day was quite scary. What if I cooked my brakes? What if I stacked it? What if I was a mobile road block and hated it? However, I saw an advert on the Rockingham website for a 'track taster session'. This is basically a half hour on track while everyone on the full day is having a lunch break. It was £30, and so I thought I'd have a crack.

The session was on Saturday, and I was full of trepidation - especially when the road conditions on the M1 made me think I'd taken a wrong turn into a car wash! When I got to Rockingham we had some time on the race simulators before getting a briefing and getting out on track. I was pretty nervous, especially when learning we were on the ISSC circuit which includes Turn 1 of the Rockingham Oval. Sitting in the pit lane before going out the banking loomed up at me - it looked a damn sight more intimidating than it did when I've spectated and marshaled at Rockingham! The guys running the session were friendly however, and gave a thorough briefing, explaining the track and conditions and so, after 3 laps behind a pace car, we were let loose on the circuit.

I'd let the other three cars go ahead of me, still worried was I that I'd just be a mobile chicane to everyone. But I needn't have worried so much. It was pretty nerve-racking at first being on a proper track (especially that banking!), but pretty soon I started to feel more confident and enjoyed feeling the car moving about underneath me instead of feeling threatened by it. I was keeping up with the Porsche in front, which was pretty pleasing. The poor Astra didn't have the grunt in a straight line to really catch up to pass though! Just as well really considering I'd started enjoying it so much that I put the car into a lazy half spin in the Pif Paf corner. The guys from the circuit had told us Rockingham is like ice when damp, and they weren't wrong. I struggled for traction in all the corners, although Pif Paf was the one corner they said we wouldn't struggle on. It's typical of me to then spin the car in it!

The point really of this story though is that soon the value of a shorter (and lower cost) session really came home to me. Shortly after the spin, about 15/20 minutes into our 30 minutes of track time (which included the paced laps) a warning light came on in the car. With only 10 minutes left I didn't really car to stop and come in. I did slow down a little though, not pushing quite as much. If that had happened on a full track day, I think it would have freaked me enough to do very limited running. This is especially true when I rely on the car for getting to work and other things too (the sensible part of my purchasing decision). As it was, I was able to enjoy my session, tested myself on a slippy track, and didn't have to worry about wasting my money for only part of a day - or worry about breaking my car!

All in all, I thought the 'taster' day was great fun, and good value for money. I just wish more circuits did shorter sessions like this. The only other place I've really seen it is at the PPC Magazine 'In the Park' event at Mallory Park, where you can book 15 minute track slots for £20. You have to pay entry to the event too (£15), but its a good day out, where you can enjoy the track displays, the off-track action and have a bit of a blast getting your car out on a racing, without worrying about needing new brakes and tyres (or worse!) afterwards and only £35 lighter (well, £45 if you do the Autotest too, which you really should!). I'll definitely be trying to get along to Mallory Park for PPC's event and getting myself out on track again now I've got a bit of a taste for it! No doubt I'll get along to do another half-hour at Rockingham too. I just wish more circuits offered similar ways of getting on circuit without making it a £100 plus 'all or nothing' choice! I can't think, for example, of a better day out than half an hour out on track at Donington Park followed by lunch and a trip round the museum. Hint hint!

(The light, by the way, went off of its own accord after I stopped for a sandwich on the way home. I think the poor thing just wasn't used to being chucked around!)

Friday 13 January 2012

Still no nearer a decision!

A couple of days ago BBC announced their new line up for the F1 coverage in 2012, and while there were few surprises in there it is a strong team. I like Ben Edwards a great deal. He has a broad knowledge of motorsport, including F1, and has a strong reputation in the sport. I don't think he'll miss many tricks, and I can see him gelling pretty well with DC too. I love Eddie Jordan (mentioning my love of Jordan GP and therefore Eddie will probably be a recurring theme in my posts!). He speaks his mind, and, while not always on the mark he always entertains. He's definitely good value to have on the box. And then there is James Allen on the radio coverage. James still comes in for a lot of criticism for his commentary. He had the thankless job of replacing Murray Walker, and for the first couple of seasons went too far down the line of trying to replicate him, with forced over-excitement at the starts especially . But I grew to really enjoy James and Martin Brundle together and am glad we'll get a chance to hear him again. Maybe after the time away people will be able to give him a fair hearing. recieved

Despite the BBC having a good team however, I expected the fact that Sky had all the races live and a commentary dream-team in David Croft and Brundle to make it an easy choice to fling a few fivers a month in their direction. I'm finding it a harder choice to make though at the moment.

I don't mind paying extra for my F1 coverage. I'm not happy about it, and I'm still not sure its right for the sport. But at the end of the day I love F1 and, like fans of other sports, it seems I have to accept a charge to see the whole lot live. However, the ongoing indecision about having the coverage on Virgin is really disheartening, and not a great sign about how the two companies may work together. They have past history of stupid decisions, punishing their collective viewers, so I'm really not putting it past them doing it again. And I really can't leave Virgin. My house is so far from Skys' transmitter (or whatever the tecnical-mabob is!) that their sales have told me the best broadband I'll get is 1mb. 1mb! I get over 10mb on Virgin on a cheap package! So I'd have to split my services, having Sky for the telly and Virgin for the web. That adds even more cost as you lose the package deal - and I'm not sure I'm prepared to put up with that extra cost.

Secondly, I feel Sky are missing a real trick if they fail to include more motorsport than F1 - and all the signs are so far they may do just that. They could move their Indycar coverage to the F1 channel, bring in GP2 and GP3 (which rumour would have you believe is virtually free once you have F1), and you have a top quality motorsport channel starting to develop. The addition of a wider variety of motorsport really would be a key factor in deciding whether to sign up.

Then, if you add in the fact the Beeb have a quality team lined up for the coverage they do have, and maybe I should give the extended highlights a go and spend the money I save on an evening's karting every month?

What does everyone else think they will do?


Tuesday 10 January 2012

Donington Collection Visit #MGPdonny

For the past few months I've been 'intending' to start this blog. As with much in life however I've been struggling to find the effort required to move from 'intending' to 'doing'. But the events of the last weekend have inspired me to jump in and have a crack and see where it goes - as often doing things you intend to do but haven't yet done can be a rewarding experience!

As I live only 30 short minutes away from Donington Park, I've always 'intended ' (that word again) to visit the Donington Collection of Grand Prix cars, but somehow I've never quite gotten round to it. But on Friday night, at literally the 11th hour, I noticed vague posts on Twitter where people I follow were telling others to 'enjoy their day at the Donny Collection'. Hating missing out I made quick enquiries as to what was going on and found out another blogger (Garry Marshall at MarshalGP) had organised a trip to the collection, with a track walk too with a £2 saving on the ticket price too! So I shoe-horned my way into the event and headed to Donington on Saturday morning.

As soon as we were in the museum, I realised what a fool I'd been not making the effort before. It's like stumbling into the worlds best garage, with rows and rows of classic Grand Prix machinery lined up - and each a cracker! Most era's of Grand Prix history are represented, from the flaming-spitting brutes of the pre-war years right through to the intricately designed cars of 2008 (I didn't see any cars from the years after the reg changes 'smoothing' out the cars and adding big front wings). Many people say they don't like the cars from the mid-00s due to having too many flutes and funnels and attachments. I must admit though I love seeing them, and the intricate details they employ to shepard the air to the right places. I can't say I like them more than the cars from other eras, but I certainly don't like them less, so it was great to see the 2007 McLaren and the 2008 Red Bull.

I've always loved the old footage of Donington from the 1930s (see the You Tube Video above!), so it was a particular pleasure to see one of the famous Auto Unions, looking as gorgeous in the metal as it does in the newsreels (pic below!). Then there was the Cosworth 4 Wheel Drive test car from 1969 - so completely alien to the designs of any era that it looks like a prop from a Batman movie rather than a car that was ever intended to race in the World Championship (pic opposite)!

The F1 Twitterer @GrandPrixDiary recently had a shout out for recollections of ugly F1 nose designs, and plenty of the nominees were present and correct at the collection, inlcluding the Cosworth, the 1995 McLaren and the 'tea-tray' March 721. I must admit to having a fondness for the out-there design of the March and the Cosworth - but not so much the Macca, but then I don't think its even anyone at McLaren's favorite McLaren!

The absolute highlights for me however were all grouped within a few meters of each other in the Williams hall. First to mention were two of Damon Hill's car - the Brabham he just qualified for his first F1 start (Silverstone 1992) and, just opposite, the Williams I watched Damon race in the 1993 Donington Grand Prix when I was 12 years old. Senna's race winning car was sadly away at the Autosport show, but such was the sheer weight of cars on show I didn't miss it.

I started watching F1 as an 11 year old in 1991 and my first memory of the sport was seeing a Jordan 191 being lapped by two battling cars at the French GP, with all three side by side. The image seared itself (no doubt not entirely accurately) into my impressionable brain and a sporting obsession was born! I supported Jordan until they left the sport, and it was truly moving to see the car up close.As much as I supported Jordan as a team, Mansell really was my man - and I'll still fight any man who suggests he isn't a true Grand Prix legend! In only my 2nd year of watching Grand Prix Mansell took his title in the FW14b. So seeing these two cars together, within feet of each other really did leave me star-struck. I had to watch myself on the day for fear of sounding like a teenage fan at a Westlife concert (or whatever it is teenage fans get giddy about these days!).

If there is any criticism of the Donington Collection, it is that for the most part it is just that - a collection of cars. The changing designs and liveries are explained on the supporting information, but it would be good to see more groupings of cars to really show the evolution (you get quite a good effect in the McLaren and Williams halls where the cars are lined up) to explain F1's evolution from front-engined to rear-engined cars, through the various aerodynamic trends and regulation changes. A windtunnel model was tucked away between two of the cars - it would be great to see more made of this, in a recreated windtunnel maybe, to show how car design process works. The best example in the museum of how this might work is shown in the display of two of David Purley's LEC cars - one in good condition, and one obliterated by a crash in the 1977 British GP meeting. Its amazing to see the two side-by-side, leaving you marvelling at how anyone could ever survive the accident. It would be fantastic to see more displays that tell a story like this.

I'd personally also like to see more of the history of Donington itself. There are some boards giving some detail - but they are consumed by the ever encroaching collection, making them hard to give any attention. I suppose I should remember this is a Grand Prix Collection though, not the Story of Donington, but some of us are never satisfied! Its hard in any sense to feel any disappointment or criticism when you have the sheer amount of historic cars displayed that they do. I know I'm already planning my next visit when some of the cars are back from the Autosport show, and if you are a motorsport fan it really is essential viewing.

The Collection's most poignant exhibit brings together cars and items that belonged to Roger Williamson, who was tragically killed in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. David Purley (the amazing crash escapee from described above) earned the George Medal for his heroic efforts in trying to save Williamson. The scene is featured on the recent documentary Grand Prix: The Killer Years and is one of the saddest sights I've seen from F1's often dark history. Tom Wheatcroft, the engineer of Donington's 1970's rebirth, and enigmatic founder of the Collection, funded Williamson's career, and you can feel the personal sadness in the displays. There is a statue outside (right), which at first glance looks hidden away, dwarfed by the memorial to Senna and Fangio, but on discovering it is Williamson, and knowing the story, its more secluded site seems entirely appropriate and moving.

Thanks need to be passed on again to Gary Marshall for organising the day. There was a great turnout (around 35-40 people), and hopefully there will be plenty more gatherings in the future! There are alreday rumblings to that effect, so I suggest if you aren't already you follow @MarshallGP on Twitter! Its always fun to meet up with other people with a passion for motorsport, and new social-media sites like Twitter are making this ever easier - Viva la Future!

And, the moral of the story again is - don't 'intend' to do things - start 2012 off by doing some of them!

My photos from the day are below - my apologies for being as good with a camera as I am with words! Practice makes perfect...!