Thrustyjust Posted May 19, 2018 Posted May 19, 2018 Answer later on, when I have moved some pictures of my morning . But there is a link between a Westie crossflow and a Williams FW car................... Quote
Popular Post Thrustyjust Posted May 19, 2018 Author Popular Post Posted May 19, 2018 Well today , the whole family went to Williams GP factory near Wantage. Santa was kind enough to give us some tickets ( on my card !!) to have a look around at the place and the cars. Now, I dont actually like F1 and find it a bit circus like to me. So, bear that in mind in this thread. We were late , with 2 women giving me directions , it went pear shaped , but luckily they hadnt started the tour. and we miss anything. The site is vast, from the security gate , to negotiating which building on the map we were in and which car park. The grounds were very neatly cut and the place was spotless. We parked up and walked to the conference and museum building. We were met by this hedge outside the building. Walking into the reception, we had a couple of cars in front of us. The one on the ground was the 2016 race car We discussed the cars evolution through time and the current designs and aero changes through the years. The 1.6 litre 4 cylinder engines and all the electrical systems and motors and regulations were touched on. We then went into the hall of fame of all the drivers and their crash helmets and how they had changed with safety in mind through time. From there, we saw a video , with the infamous Murray Walker wailing away and clips of Williams wins and Jacques overtaking manouvres . This , we were told we werent allowed to record as poison drawf aka Bernie Ecclestone had copyright of the film . Sad really............ So, then the doors opened to the museum of cars. Alan Jones cars from the very beginning all the way to the 2016 cars in there. We then headed through the cars and saw the changes from designs with fibre glass and alloy tubs to carbon fibre . NA cars to turbo cars to NA cars and back to turbos. Fuel tanks on either side of the drivers to now being in a cell behind them, to now sitting on loads of batteries. We had a Laguna Touring car there , which interests me more and a fantastic 6R4 , which Patrick Head was lead designer of it . The cars all smell oily and thats because they all ( well mostly) work and get used. The 6 wheeler and some of the others were away for a classic french race , so there were a few empty spots. Interestingly , when Honda pulled out of Williams, as they were chasing Senna to Maclaren, they took every engine away and the car stood with an empty engine bay up until about 6 years ago, when Honda let Williams have an engine and wished them luck to get it running, which they did manage to do. So, we headed into the Honda era of cars ( via Judd ) and the turbo time, which some cars in later years ran over 1300 hp. Seems quite frightening, when there was still no real interest in safety , other than moving the drivers a bit further back to stop them loosing their legs in a front impact. Aero wasnt really catching on and the first carbon parts were appearing. This was mainly wings and later tubs . We then headed into the Senna, Mansell, Prost days. Very much technical changes with carbon appearing on wishbones, extra wings and downforce appearing and NA engines again. Interestingly , we headed into the Coulthard era. He took over from Senna after his death. When he jumped in the car, he found out that in the early days , he was paid £5k a race !! Bear in mind that Senna had commanded a million per race. He wasnt happy and approached Frank Williams and asked for a rise, to which Frank said, you signed the contract at that pay ! Then into the BMW era and these cars looked amazing. We also have a Le Man car , which was raced. After this, we then headed upstairs to the trophy room, which they admitted was a bit dusty currently. They also had some cars in there, so we had a picture with Ayrtons winter test car We then proceeded to have a fabulous lunch laid on, which we all enjoyed and then went back into the trophy area ( via the IT department as we got lost ) and you could sit in the test car and take a picture, which we got Mini TJ to do. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable few hours for all of us and from an engineering perspective was just mind blowing. The finish and detail on the cars and the passion you could see in all the staff was incredible. If you want something for a birthday or christmas, then this is the best 2 1/2 hrs of petrol head heaven going. As for the Westfield and FW link Even the most advanced cars can leak like a crossflow !! Note: I am not an F1 geek, so may have confused a few things, but hopefully its a good insight into Williams 10 1 Quote
Rory's Dad Posted May 19, 2018 Posted May 19, 2018 Wonderful - thanks for a great description of a great day! Quote
MarkS2 Posted May 20, 2018 Posted May 20, 2018 Looks like a great day out, lovely pics thanks for posting them. Quote
Alan France Posted May 20, 2018 Posted May 20, 2018 Super pictures, we used their facilities for a conference a few years ago. My company “forced me” to check out the place beforehand, so I got backstage and the full tour twice. The food, service and organisation was exceptional. During the first visit they quietly mentioned that the topiary F1 car at the entrance was grown by, and bought from, Ferrari, then nicely adjusted to their car. Quote
Thrustyjust Posted May 20, 2018 Author Posted May 20, 2018 I did ask about Guy working with them and he said he was fantastic and a real proper enthusiastic bloke. He said the team wanted him to stay , because they could see he had knowledge of a decent engineer and was always in the team to help . Frank Williams started his work as someone selling ex race cars and never had a bean to his name . So, interesting from his beginnings as to where it went . Also after his accident , he could have thrown it all in and said game over , but was focused 100% with carrying on , even though his life was now massively changed. Quote
BenD Posted May 20, 2018 Posted May 20, 2018 Have you watched the film about Williams on netflix. Well worth it if you haven't Quote
Thrustyjust Posted May 20, 2018 Author Posted May 20, 2018 If you wish Ian. I have some other photos too, which can be used.Let me know Quote
Blatman Posted May 24, 2018 Posted May 24, 2018 The BMW Le Mans car is one of my favourites. Didn't know there was a Williams connection Quote
Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO Posted May 25, 2018 Posted May 25, 2018 Excellent write up on what sounds to have been a great day. Thanks for taking the time TJ. 1 Quote
Thrustyjust Posted May 26, 2018 Author Posted May 26, 2018 10 hours ago, AdgeC said: Excellent write up on what sounds to have been a great day. Thanks for taking the time TJ. Your very welcome Sir Quote
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted May 26, 2018 Posted May 26, 2018 Absolutely, great write up, too late for this one, but would make a great submission for the next magazine 2 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.