AdamR Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 Paul not impressed with coming second! Phil's car (Phil Don?) - spot the not so deliberate mistake... this was how the car finished quali! Getting ready for the race. On the start line. And into the first corner. Everyone got through fine, no contact Lots of close racing throughout the pack: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 Jon taking the chequered flag. Rodders coming back to the paddock... gearbox failure Luckily saw the funny side - ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 The other cars returning. Phil looking pretty happy with a class win! Sorry, don't know your name! Dean in the Satzoomer with a class 3rd. Phil showing off his trophy. Final results. Can't wait to get stuck in now! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLiNK Motorsport Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 Not sure which of the two series they went to, but I know John and Will Chappell went MX5 racing after several years in Westys. They have been racing with the Ma5da MX5 Championship that we compete in for the last three years (which is different to the MaX5). Just got back from a soaking wet Snetterton after a superb weekends racing! The conditions were atrocious but there was only one safety car in the five races with 34 cars/grid - that was incredible with races being won by 4 hundreths of a second! Will be on the TV in a few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone - it worked! To be honest the test is very simple, written bit slightly nervy but we got some good 'strong advice' from our instructor, Malcolm Barfoot (who is one of the founders of ARDS). These included 'All the flags are on the front of the form, each answer is only used once, tick them off as you go if you want...' and 'if unsure, just go for the most safety-conscious answer!'. There are 17 flag questions and 8 multi choice (A-E). You need to get all the flags correct but you are permitted to get 2 of the 8 other questions wrong. The one that caught me out was about use of mirrors, I selected 'use them when changing direction or speed', but the correct answer is 'use them on each straight and wherever necessary'. The other 3 answers were obviously wrong! The practical is pretty much 'Are you a hooligan? No. That's a pass then' affair. You get a couple of laps in the passenger seat to show you what's expected, then 3-4 laps getting used to the car (usually use one of the circuit's cars, in my case a Pug RCZ, which was alright but a bit 'numb' and had VERY light controls) with tips if you need them, and then 2-3 laps driving on your own with a silent instructor. I did the test at Oulton (full) and it was a pretty quiet day, so not much traffic to worry about, didn't see a single flag and luckily the rain held off. Just kept it smooth, concentrate on lines and consistency, 80-85% maximum pace and passed with 'well above what is expected'. So yeah, there we go. Not too scary They are apparently making the test harder soon so anyone thinking about it, get stuck in! Other news: HANS device and new gloves are on the way, window nets arrived this morning. Hopefully picking the car up within the next few days, and it'll be stickered up with number 28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Excellent news Adam. Congratulations. Have you thought about your first race? Where are you planning on competing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 1, 2012 Author Share Posted May 1, 2012 Thanks! Yes - hoping to get to Anglesey, weekend of 16/17th June. Probably need to book a trackday between then and now, really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLiNK Motorsport Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Well done Adam If you need any advice on anything just drop me a PM or give the workshop a call. Good luck - we are at Angelsey in ten days if you want to spectate. (might be able to get you a ticket) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SootySport Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Congrats on your ARDS pass Adam and a race booked. No. 28 has got to be lucky, it's my birth date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Congrats on your ARDS pass Adam and a race booked. No. 28 has got to be lucky, it's my birth date. Thank you! It is very straightforward though, I have no doubt every single member of this forum could pass! 28 is my birth date too (and current age), hence me choosing it Not a hugely exciting update, but I have a spare bit of time now so thought I would stick some words and pics up! Here's a picture to break up the wall of text that is about to follow... haha. First up, the boring 'admin' side of things. I've now registered for Max5 with the help of Jon and Rodders, pretty easy really but I was being a mong! I also spoke with Nicola Bush at BARC and it turns out I can race as a guest of Max5 no problem, however it means I won't get any championship points - no worries there though. Just registered on the BARC website, which will allow me to pay for/fill out race entry online. Takes a few days to all go through apparently but should be plenty of time before Anglesey. On the 'mechanical' side of things, I've done a few bits, namely: service brakes and rebleed all round, checked/tweaked the geo (front upper wishbones appear to be too long, so I can only get a maximum of 1.7 neg camber up front, but need to chat to Rodders about that), check/tweaked the corner weights (one of the spring platforms hasn't got a locking collar so it appears to have wound down about half a turn - marked that up with some tippex to see if it is moving), designed and ordered graphics, made and fitted camera, phone and GPS mounts (lap timer app), lubed the battery/fire extinguisher cables, sorted a wobbly high-vis rear light, fitted a Mong Mirror™ (you'll see, haha), fitted window nets, spanner checked the important bits and added some more padding to the cage in the driver's footwell. So, there has been a fair bit of this in the mornings before work and also in the evenings afterwards... Luckily I have a very understanding fiancée, thank you Claire! Also noticed the crank pulley wobbling rather a lot. Gulp. Turns out the bolt was finger tight, and had been copper greased rather than threadlocked in, so I've ordered a new bolt. I had a quick look and the woodruff key and slot seem to be ok, so fingers firmly crossed it's not been like that for long... Once that's torqued up I think the car is ready to go! I also said above I would do a running total. I don't really want to think about it, but here goes! Car: £5k (I saw one go on eBay for £3500 the other week!) Kit (second hand overalls, helmet, boots, gloves): £400 More gloves (others were too big): £75 Underwear (sadly not as flamboyant as Alan's): £75 Window nets: £70 HANS device and helmet clips: £430 Misc bits (diff oil, cage padding, brake fluid, grease, wiper blades, etc): £50 Max5 Membership: £75 ARDS Test: £250 Medical: £30 MSA License: £65 (ish) I think that's it so far... A smidge over £6500. Luckily I already had a trailer and tow bar (approx £1500-1750 if you don't have one) and suitable tow car or that would have bumped it up a bit! Other handy things I already had was stuff like jerry cans, jack, axle stands, pump, pressure gauge, tool set, oil filter wrench, which you could easily spend £500+ on if you buy decent stuff that'll last. So, starting from scratch, you should budget about £9k to get all 'tooled up' I reckon (plus a car that's capable of towing ~£1400kg+ if you need one). For a competitive car and all the stuff you need, I reckon that's not bad value - and don't forget race cars hold their value extremely well too, so nearly all of that outlay could be recouped if needed. Next up: Donington trackday on 30th May. Hoping for decent weather or I'll have a very miserable passenger for most of the day Claire loves being strapped into the other seat (will have to fit one actually! haha) but I'm going to have to be harsh and try and get at least a couple of stints with just me in the car I think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Mini update... Entered Anglesey for 16/17th June. It's a two race-two quali weekend, with the Coastal one day and International the other. Still haven't driven the car though... Got some graphics made up, slapped them on and got a few pics, this is probably the cleanest the car will be for the forseeable future (ever again?) Huge thanks to Jonny at http://www.ubersticky.co.uk (for all your vinyl cutting needs) and http://www.carpromos.co.uk (check out his track day / sprint / race vids, they are excellent) for the graphics! Donington was cancelled, so booked Blyton Park for Monday instead. Can't wait to drive the bl**** thing now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onliest Smeg David Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 No update for a while Adam !! How's it going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 I think 'mixed' sums it up! If anyone is interested I'll copy and paste in full from the MX-5 forum, but in short: - Blyton trackday went fairly well. - Anglesey was WET and windy, ended up having to sleep in the driver's seat of my car. - Came 2nd in class at first race, although there were only 4 in our class and 2 of them spun off on the first lap. - Knackered the engine (low on oil, my fault) during qualifying for the second race. - Car now sorted for less than £200 all in. - Was invited to MX-5 Owners Club weekend and did passenger rides / informal 'tips', plus rides out for the Mission Motorsport guys. - Can't make the next race weekend cos my mate is getting married Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevip6 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I'll read the whole report if you post it. Find this interesting, cheers for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Alrighty! Here goes... might not make a lot of sense as some of it may be out of context - sorry in advance. Well, my first race weekend was an interesting one. I was on a bit of a downer Saturday afternoon/evening and most of today, but have finally been able to put a positive spin on it. Left work a bit early on Friday (4) so I could get to Anglesey for some tea and in time to put my tent up. Arrived about half 7, to nasty greyness and wind. Couldn't find anyone at first, but turned out they were walking the track so I just bummed about for a bit til they were back. Got myself set up in a corner of the paddock where Rodders and Chris (SEO Musketeer) were, stole some of Chris' sausage and buns (thanks buddy!), then spent a fair bit of time chatting with Chris about anything and everything until it was nearly dark. At which point I realised my tent wasn't up yet, d'oh. It was pretty bl**dy windy at this point, but luckily Rodders' race shuttle was in a good position for a wind shelter, so I got my tent put up behind that. I had forgotten the little cap that goes over the top, so had to bodge one out of a bit of tarpaulin and some zip ties or I'd have got very wet! Went back to pester Chris and was pretty shocked to hear we had managed to beat Sweden in the footie - all good! We set the world to rights for a bit, then I headed to my tent about 11:15. Now, this tent was fine for camping in my back garden when I was 8, but the airbed I'd brought with me didn't really fit, and neither did I. So, there I am curled up diagonally in my tent, raining, feeling like the tent is going to collapse at any point, with the top 'cap' I'd made flapping about noisily. Briefing at 8:15 in the morning, followed by sign on, followed by scrutineering, and I still had to change my wheels over so thought I'd better set my alarm for 7... It got to 2am, at which point I'd not had any sleep, and I'd had enough! Managed to get relatively comfortable in my car (as comfortable as you can sat in the driver's seat of a car that won't recline cos the boot is so full - side note, I have been looking at vans today!), put some earplugs in and got to sleep about half 3. Woke up at about 5 due to the daylight, so put a hat over my face and tried to nod back off again until my alarm... Woke up again, thought I'd have a quick glance at my phone. 07:56. Eh? 07:56. ****! Phone on silent and earplugs means you ain't gonna hear your alarm is it, idiot. So, in a bit of a panic I chuck some shoes on and set about changing my wheels over, and head to the caf for briefing at 8:15, just. I'll let this photo of Crocodile Alandee describe the weather at this point: So, briefing over, got through sign on with no issues, and then to scrutineering. Now, there had been a 'no engines started before 10am rule' on the paperwork, but they let us drive to scrutineering luckily, as pushing cars across the paddock in the p******** rain would not have been much fun! Car went through scrutineering after a bit of umming and arring from the main guy, apparently there are still a few small holes through from my boot to the cockpit which they weren't too happy about, but let it go anyway. Needed an MSA sticker for my helmet too, so you can add £1.80 to the motorsport tax list earlier in the thread! Qualifying 1 - on the International Circuit: It was chucking it down as I was getting into the car, but I absolutely love track driving in the rain so wasn't bothered at all. In fact, I felt extremely calm, as I knew I would get about 7 laps so I could just take it steady at the start and build speed. In fact, Rodders made a very good point that you need to complete 3 laps of quali in order to make the race, so I took it really easy at the start. Managed to find some free track towards the end of the session (passing Mark Theaker after he'd got a bit of a slide on), and qualified 2nd in Mk1s, with Rob Chilcott 7s faster than me and on overall pole! That cheeky track day on Friday paid off then Seriously though, impressive stuff mate, nice one! After quali, we did the usual thing of grabbing some time sheets, sharing hero stories, and hanging our gloves out to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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