Post by grumpynorthener on Jul 22, 2023 9:39:31 GMT
Our first main race of 3 starts in the late afternoon of Saturday - whilst the drivers compose their selves the rest of the team continue to ready the car
And once works & checks on the car are completed we can all chill out for a while
Entry to our paddock
And what you have to fight your way through coming back from the campsite / Loos etc - At various times you can only access the paddocks with a pass
A few of the field that we up against in our grid
The trolley - this gets trundled down to the pits garage and back every time we race
Our pit garage
Includes a telemetry screen that lists the first 30 + cars - all cars are fitted with a unique transponder with signals collected around the circuit then collated by computer which in turn creates the listing - other messages will appear at the bottom of the screen such as pit window timings / yellow flags in the circuit area / oil on track / driver penalties etc
Some of the action from the plateau / grid 1 (Immediately before our race)
The race is a rolling start from a formation lap - we are placed to row 26 of the grid with a lap time taken from our qualifying race of 6.36.259 which is a mid pack placing of 43 grid rows
The Jupiter is immanent at this stage and we ready for the driver change with Harry taking up the role
The French team sharing our pit garage decide to play their 'Joker card' and bring the families including children to block the pit garage
And then you have to fight amongst the teams service vehicles of the previous race whilst they depart from the pits to find a pit lane slot for your incoming car
Our change happens in a blur
Other teams have problems
But before we know it the 43 minute race is over and we finish intact but way down in 48th position our best lap time being 6.40.905 - we have work to do yet !
Post by grumpynorthener on Jul 23, 2023 10:08:33 GMT
Our race schedule - we have 2 more races - next is the night race which is scheduled for 01:29 hours on Sunday morning - we have the usual checks along with refuelling to undertake which should take a couple of hours then we need to eat - I doubt that any of the team will get any sleep with the exception of cat napping before the next race - its after 22:00 hours by the time we had eaten
Meanwhile some pics from my travels between camp & paddock
There was a race exclusively for classic Porsche - predominantly 911's but a smattering of 906,910,914/6, 930, 935
Post by grumpynorthener on Jul 27, 2023 8:04:06 GMT
Dusk falls and we are ready for the night race
The Plateau 1 teams are part way through their race as we take the trolley down to the pit lane garage - the race car is already in the pre race holding area - Still a good number of spectators about but nowhere near the huge crowds that you have to fight through during the day
Various race teams have installed their own pit wall screens & telemetry - this was the kit of the race team with the Triumph TR2's that were sharing our pit garage & pit wall window - They had given us a hard time but regardless their kit was pretty handy for knowing where our car was for the pit window timings - We are the bottom entry on the first of 2 screens
The cars numbers within the boxes move around the screen circuit according to the cars track location - Quite often the numbers cant be seen due to the amount of cars / boxes in a group / pack but you just have to look for the cars in front / behind on the screen readout to work out the track location of your car - At this stage the Jupiter is just behind / under car 64 at Marshal Point 26 in Sector 3 (7 0'clock)
Car returns intact - we started on row 28 of 42 - 55th placed and finished 28th with a much better best lap timing of 6.22.811 - some work to do before we disappear to bed and we will only manage a few hours before returning to the paddock
Well, there's a coincidence - that belongs to a mate of mine who is in my local multi-marque car club, and I've been parked alongside it today at Oulton Park Gold Cup.
Well, there's a coincidence - that belongs to a mate of mine who is in my local multi-marque car club, and I've been parked alongside it today at Oulton Park Gold Cup.
He was a handful of pitches down from us on the same campsite
Post by grumpynorthener on Jul 31, 2023 6:56:08 GMT
The next race comes way too quickly - 09:13 hours on the Sunday morning and we've only merely snatched a few hours sleep - the other plateaus / grids continue through their race schedule and the campsite is virtually alongside the track hence there is all the racetrack noise that you need to cancel out and you only have a tent for your sleeping quarters - Here's the car heading out of the paddock to the pre race holding area - Timing wise its a little too close for comfort bearing in mind that we still have to refuel - crucially we only carry just enough fuel for the race - excess fuel is weight that you don't want to be adding to the car
Some of the other teams have quads / motorbikes for travel between the paddock / campsite / pits - no such luxuries for us we walk everywhere
A few shots of the other teams undertaking their own pit stops whilst we await for the Jupiter to make its stop / driver change - Note the driver watching the timing of the stop on the phone that a crew member is holding - The car has to be static for 60 seconds - leave before that and you are subject to a 1 lap penalty
Last minute team strategy still being discussed
We have a much better grid position of row 16 for our final race
It all happens within a blur but our strategy plays out perfectly - We opt to be very tight on the timing with our pit stop & driver change and come in within the last minute of the pit window in doing so we plan to have a clear run without the bun fight of loads of other cars in the pits / pit lane. It's very tight given that our lap duration is 6.30 mins (ish) but is executed to perfection - We enter the pit lane with seconds to spare and being the last car in on the window have a absolutely clear pit lane
We finish in a well placed 39th with a intact car and a best lap time of 6:19.245 min
We wonder back to the camp for a well earned breakfast
Post by grumpynorthener on Aug 1, 2023 6:14:07 GMT
With our final race completed we can go on wonderings around the paddocks - we cant move the Jupiter & our kit out of the paddock until after 17:00 hours but we can do some packing up a little later we are staying overnight on the campsite and will pack that up in the morning (Monday) our ferry doesn't depart until 23:00 hours Monday evening so everything can be undertaken in a relaxed manner rather than the hideous rush that others subscribe to
All & everything is used for paddock / pits transport
From fancy quads
To cut down vans
Smart pick ups
To homemade creations along with Bicycles, E Scooters, Motorbikes, Petrol Scooters etc
The larger cars get a larger paddock space and in some teams even a carpet !
For someone who didn't have a lot of time to take pics I appear to have a lot pics from the event but I'm just a point & shoot man when it comes to pics - no fancy camera (just the phone camera) no fancy artistic shots - just seize the moment (I can always delete it if it turns out rubbish) - Still a few posts to come before I round up on this thread and I have a few videos to come yet
Well, there's a coincidence - that belongs to a mate of mine who is in my local multi-marque car club, and I've been parked alongside it today at Oulton Park Gold Cup.
That's the colour of the one I owned in 1984. Absolute rot box but what a fabulous car. Two litre twin cam with twin 40 or 45 Dellorto carbs, five speed box, lsd, discs all round and just stunning to drive. If I win the lottery and have a good one bought asap.
Post by grumpynorthener on Aug 19, 2023 10:33:08 GMT
Need to wrap this thread up but so many other things getting in the way - we headed out on the Sunday evening to a local village restaurant
French privately owned historic military vehicle turned up as we started to order - they had the vehicles running around the circuit perimeter as transport for guests / VIP much like they do at Goodwood Revival - But this lot were fairly rowdy but very friendly - sort of on par with rugby spectators whose team had won the finals
Classics are still dotted around everywhere you look - some pretence stuff and others very real
The toll on the team had very much set in though
Following morning it was just a matter of packing up camp
Before heading off for our evening ferry - we could take our time
Which after a few days of little sleep is the best way to do it
A few stops along the way for coffee / lunch / sightseeing etc
Before our evening / overnight ferry returned us back to Blighty
So was it worth it ? - Well its always great to work as a team and get the car out there - we would have been happy with a result similar to last year which was a mid placed 48th from a field of 86 cars in the plateau
One year on and the team gulped at the entries in our plateau - there were a good number of far more competitive entries that the previous year - still we had come for the experience and to participate after all we didn't come to win or then again did we ?
We were placed 35th overall which is excellent given the field that we up against and the fact our budget is much reduced from that of a good number of the teams - Then the performance index rating comes into play which promoted us to 25th overall from a field of 82 entries - 25th place - wow - well that's a win in our book - The Jupiter is such a underestimated little car and whilst the much larger capacity cars can pass us on the long straights the Jupiter is very nimble whilst retaining the stability that a lot of larger capacity cars don't hold - Still more improvements to be had on the currant race Jupiter and maybe some vision for Classic Le Mans in 2025
