August 2019
28Aug
What news?
I phoned MIRA on Tuesday, and spoke to their track manager who confirmed that they didnt have a Nat A license, and said MAC `got a bit ahead of themselves`, by announcing that there was one. It didnt sound like they really wanted to get a Nat A license either. Odd? The problem now is that the license has to be in place, 30 days before the event, so whatever happens now, we're screwed as the event is less than 21 days away. Meanwhile MAC has sent another email out, apologising again, but not really explaining how the situation arose in the first place.So what can we do? Nothing really. Boycott MIRA? Not really, as I need to go there for the Sprint Leaders class in the HSA, and the track is only 35 miles away, so its local and I do like driving there. So I've no choice really. Survive Knochkill, then go to MIRA, and the final event of the year is at Anglesey in October where I'll be trying to salvage my position in the championship. Four wins in four events? Not likely. Worth a try? Absolutely.
25Aug
MIRA Cancelled
When this year was already considered to be 'out of the ordinary', with mechanical issues, crashes, lots of WTF moments, and an EcoBoost engined car leading the championship for the majority of the season, suddenly out of the blue, with five rounds remaining, the HSA Chairman drops a bombshell, announcing on Friday afternoon that we would only be counting the best 9 rounds, not 10, as "MIRA cancelled".
That message on my post on Facebook started a furious debate on the BSC Facebook page, leading to a meltdown by several individuals and posts being deleted by admins (I was swimming with the kids so missed it all!). On Friday evening, SBD the championship sponsor also spoke their mind, understandably, as their championship positions also looked to be completely foobared by this last minute decision.
And on Sunday we still dont know the reason why the Japanese owned MIRA facility has decided that the HSA event can still run, but the British Sprint Championship are not welcome.
Yep, that means as a member of the HSA, and being registered in the Sprint Leaders Championship, I will still go and race my unlimited sports car class 1600T EcoBoost around their track. Like I've done many times before. And if others in the championship were registered in the Sprint Leaders, then they would also compete. But not under the banner of the BSC.
So on what grounds could MIRA have decided that the BSC cannot compete? And what does this do to my season?
Safety? Maybe after the accident in Ireland, MSUK and Japanese owned MIRA has inspected the circuit and decided that they cannot protect a driver from serious injury in the more powerful V8's? Unlikely. The same drivers in the same cars can still compete if they register for the HSA Sprint Leaders Championship. And on the short track the 2.0 and 1600T cars are not likely to be significantly slower than the V8's.
Top 12 run off, taking them beyond a curfew? Unlikely. Midland Automobile Club (MAC) run a very strict `two practice two timed run` event, and by 3pm everone is packed up and ready to go home, so allowing 30 mins at the end of the meeting, for the two Top 12 run offs, isnt likely to take them over a curfew.
Liability Insurance? The BSC can only run under a National A permit. Therefore, drivers can still compete at a National B event, and compete with their National A licenses in the big single seaters. However, if no National A permit is issued, then it cant be counted as a BSC round. So has MIRA stepped in and decided that it isnt a National A event? It sounds like it. When I spoke to MAC they said it was the `landowners decision`. Since when did a landowner have the power to decide which championships could run at their venue? And why has MSUK allowed MIRA to throw the BSC out?
So three weeks before the event is to run, the landowners, MIRA, have chucked us out, putting in to jeapordy many peoples championship hopes.
The impact on my season is huge. I had only done 9 rounds from 11, and had 5 scores I wanted to drop. With the championship now dropping to Best 9 scores, I have just 4 events where I can replace my low scores, leading me with hopefully 8 good scores, and one low. But thats now preventing me from moving back up the table. I dropped to 6th after missing both ireland rounds, and with just 4 events remaining, I'm now ruled out of the title race completely. I might end up 5th overall, but that one dropped event stops me trying to get in to the top 3. Season over. Whats the point in going to Scotland in two weeks time? And Anglesey in October? None at all if you look at the championship standings. And its not just me in this position. Drivers plan their seasons around family commitements and budgets, and for the late starters this year, they've not only lost a round, but with the 'best 10' dropping to 'best 9', with 3/4 of the season completed, thats the biggest kick in the balls.
And having just spent £2000 on new wheels and tyres for a strong finish to the year, I'm especially pissed off. Understandably.
We need MSUK to get involved, and reinstate this event, urgently. The championship coordinator has already thrown in the towel and declared the event cancelled, but thats not acceptable. We need MIRA to allow us back in.
More news as I get it.
17Aug
Updates
The wider rims are built, and they'll be fitted with the wider Ultrasoft tyres next week. The car will need the ride height adjusting, and I'll need to measure the circumference of the tyres and update the ECU for launch and traction control. No big deal.I've been busy recently working on improvements to the live BSC timing. I've created a MySQL database in the cloud, and I've built a page in PHP that interrogates a table in the database, and displays the results. Its working well, I just need to work out how to send updates from Excel to MySQL, for when changes take place in the spreadsheet. It'll be an SQL Update command, I just need to work out the most efficient way of capturing the changes and sending the updates, to keep network traffic down to a minimum.
My Wiggly lines graph that I produce for the championship shows that I dropped to 6th place after Ireland. I've only done 9 rounds from the 11, so following Knockhill I expect to rise back up to top 4, maybe top 3, since I can drop a low score too since Knochkill will by my 10th and 11th round, and only the best 10 scores count this year.
6Aug
Ireland
Colin Calder was exceptionally fortunate to walk away from an accident on Saturday at Kirkistown which des****ed the Gould GR55a. A rear suspension component failed which lead to a trip in to a tyre wall and several rolls later the car landed heavily. It doesnt sound like Colin was injured, but the car sounds very second hand, and wont be back out again this year. Our best wishes go to Colin, and Heather, on their lucky escape, and we hope to see you out again next year, possibly with a new car?Whilst all that was going on, the live results appeared to work, most of the time. There is an issue whenever the internet connection from the laptop is iffy, and thats something I need to work on. All in all it was interesting to watch from afar, and I'm pleased it mostly worked. It'll be in use again at Knockhill, and without the Calders, there are more opportunities for points for the rest of us.
