September 2024
20Sep
Apex Markers reminder
MSUK has issued a repeat of the Apex Markers warning, in the latest Clerks and Officials Bulletin for September 2024. Either the message is getting through, or it isnt.
https://motorsportuk.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/clerks-stewards-bulletin-2024-09-september-3.pdf
16Sep
Front wing support plate replacements
I've drawn a pair of wing support plates, which are away for printing at the moment. If you remember, the Plays Kool plate which took the brunt of the impact, prevented the FIA crash box from absorbing any energy. It was massively over engineered, and so I've split the plate in to two seperate pieces, which will be held on with two rather than three M6 fasteners, and have collapsible sections to allow them to absorb the energy of an impact, and not impede the crash box should it hit armco again. They also include a slot, to allow the angle of the front wing to be adjusted, not something I could do previously. When I'm happy with their fitment I'll get some machined from aluminium.The original plate weighs 625g and these replacements will weigh 123g each, saving ~375g in the process.
XR2 pictures
I found the images from the Shelsley Walsh photoshoot in 2010, which I ran through LightRoom to add a filter to, and the images are now on flickr. These are the full resolution images, so if you're after a desktop wallpaper, help yourself :D
Physio
I had my first physio session today, to try to resolve the back pains I've been experiencing since the crash. The physiotherapist quickly found the issue, and I've got another session in two weeks time, and some exercises to perform to try and prevent the pain from repeating.15Sep
Tin Top Challenge Cup winner
Congratulations to Simon Bainbridge on securing the Tin Top Challenge Cup at Doune yesterday. It was a tense battle, where Simon needed a top 3 finish to clinch the title, and after Damien Bradley set the fastest time, there was then a delay of over an hour after one of the Porsche 911's had a terrible looking crash, requiring medical attention off-site, and lengthy barrier repairs. It then started raining before Simon set off, but he remained calm, and drove up as fast as he dare, and scored 2nd overall to take the title :DIf you haven't see the clip of the accident, watch this clip below. I have to ask the question; how has Doune passed safety checks when the armco and gravel boards are clearly not capable of protecting drivers from serious injuries? I wonder what the MSUK team are looking for when they inspect a track. Maybe we need drivers represented when these inspections take place?
BHC news
Alex Summers took both wins at Doune to take the title fight to the final round at Loton Park at the end of September. I will be going, to watch the battle unfold. Its either Alex or Matt for the title. Who is your money on? Which car is best suited to the bumpy Loton track? The big works Gould GR59 or the light DJ Firestorm? I think Matt can do it, he's young and fearless, and has an incredible car underneath him.Four BSC wins for Jones
Congratulations also go to Chris Jones for again winning all the run offs at Pembrey over the weekend, and taking double FTD. He's now firmly in second overall, and has only completed 28 runs out of the maximum 30 that are used for scoring, so he has another two rounds or 50 points to add to his tally at Anglesey in October. The second Force TA driver is now relegated to 3rd, and I expect will drop to 4th if Steve Miles pulls his finger out. It was again another very low turnout, with just seven single seaters running in the BSC. And the entry for the Anglesey event doesnt look great either. Which means points galore again for anyone who just turns up.9Sep
Prescott Hillclimb
I visited Prescott again, to see the BHC guys in action. Simon Bainbridge was there with his SBR Crono, competing in the tin top runoffs, and he kindly signed me in as his mechanic to save me having to pay the £19 ticket price. I took around 900 photos in the tricky conditions. It was wet all morning, I had to shield the camera from the rain, eventually drying out around 1pm. I had a quick chat with Alex Summers, Ian Dayson and Laurence Marks plus a few others and it was great to see Matt Ryder take another pair of run off wins.The new Force TA V6 was in action too, and in the afternoon in the dry, the car was being pushed very hard and sounded fantastic.
My photos are on flickr
I believe Sundays British Sprint round at Knockhill comprised of just one practice and a pair of timed runs, both of which counted as run offs. Thats ok, it's in the rules that this can happen, but I hope they communicated it to the drivers to treat each run as a run off, with best tyres fitted etc.
I think its about time Knockhill was dropped and a cheaper venue found for the Scottish rounds. Maybe a return to Kames instead?
8Sep
Knockhill
Would you believe that only 5 registered BSC single seaters competed at Knockhill this weekend? What does that say about the championship? At Prescott they had 19 cars in the 1100cc class. It will die unless the rules are radically changed, and the number of rounds significantly reduced, to make it affordable. The writing is on the wall. Will the HSA take any notice?4Sep
RAF Coningsby visit
A trip over to Lincolnshire this week, my first visit to RAF Coningsby, to photograph the Typhoons. The weather wasnt great in the morning, very overcast and quite difficult conditions to photograph fast jets, but the results came out OK. Its a far quieter airfield than Lakenheath, but the Typhoons usually left in pairs, so when they did appear there were opportunities to try and take pictures.The public viewing area is at the end of the runway on Dogdyke road. When I arrived at 09:20 there were just a few parking spaces left. Its not the best place to take photographs from, the planes take off over your head, whereas the Lakenheath viewing area is along side the runway, so from that point of view, opportunities for interesting pictures was quite limited.
After I arrived, I had a chap come up to me and introduce himself, his son was making his first solo flight in the Typhoon, and as a surprise he had driven up to try and get some pictures. He asked me if I could try and get some too, and although there was confusion as to which aircraft he was going to be flying, we knew it was departing around 10:10am. I took lots of pictures. The next day he confirmed it was ZJ947, and as luck would have it I did get some photos and video of that aircraft, which are now shared on the flickr album. His son flew over to RAF Valley on his first solo trip, and performed some aerobatics, before he returned to Coningsby. What a privilege it was to be asked to take pictures, which have all been shared with his dad.
My photos are on flickr
