Dave Coveney’s Geek Out

I’m not going to be challenging for anything much this year, but on April 26th I ambled along to the Aintree Spring Sprint and took some snaps. A selection of them are available here. Use them as you like, but don’t remove the tag. If you’d like to receive a higher quality image, just let me know and I’ll mail it to you.

Almost worth it for the ooh-la-la.

Sorry David Coulthard, but when I saw this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7191512.stm

I saw red.  I mean, apart from some of his astonishingly patronising comments directed towards younger drivers, he did nothing but confirm that his F1 career has been a long period of journeyman mistakes.

His ability to spin off during warm up laps was once something quite special in F1.  Of course, with traction control and other driver aids this era finished.  And now TC has gone, he’ll have to learn throttle control once more.

Good.

I’m looking forward to F1 that could actually be exciting for once.  And as Nick Heidfeld put it - ”For me, it doesn’t cross the line of being too dangerous. If you want you can just sit on the outside, and then it’s safe.”

If you’re in Britain you’ll already be aware that for the past few weeks we’ve been getting rain of near biblical proportions, with floods causing a lot of damage in the Midlands, and just a lot of heavy rain in the rest of the country.

Aintree wasn’t much different, though not quite so bad as last September where going out on my worn out tyres I felt as if I was powerboat racing. The rain came, and stayed on all day with some strong torrents. Ultimately my car span, but I can’t take too much of the blame… more later….

I’ve always loved the Aintree sprint. On the surface of it, it shouldn’t be a great event. The circuit is relatively simple, albeit surprisingly technical, and the weather can sometimes be dreadful, but I still love it. So in this season where I’ve really cut back on the events I’m doing, I’ve made sure I get in the odd event here. And I need it, on days I do a sprint or a trackday, that’s all I think about. Although some may think motorsport is stressful, to me I love the fact that for one whole day I’m not really stressing about business - I’m forever reading books, networking with people, keeping an eye on our servers to make sure they’re behaving, trying out new software, thinking about how to build new leads. A lot is done in the office of course, but as anyone who’s started a business will know, you don’t get much relaxation in the early days.

Back to the event… well, being a wet day, no records were going to be broken. The car was, however, in good form with the rebuilt dampers freshly fitted. Of course, I hadn’t had a chance to set them up right. And I wasn’t going to fiddle with the settings at Aintree either - I ain’t grovelling in the rain!

For the practice runs I was on a conservative 60.62 and 57.78, getting me second and first fastest times in the class. David Sykes, a newbie at Aintree, showing that he gets into the groove incredibly quickly with 60.35 and 58.03 times. The other close competitor here, Russell Thorpe who beat me here in the rain back in September set 61.12 and 57.93 times. I knew it’d be close between the three of us.

I knew my first competitive run would be critical - with the rain potentially getting harder, the chance of improving wasn’t high. So I went out with my teeth gritted (you can buy suitable grit from all reputable sports shops, in case you wondered) and did everything almost perfectly. The start, the three corners. In fact, everything was going just so until about 100yds from the finish line I decided a change from fourth to fifth would help as the engine was running out of puff. So it’s a shame I manage to select third….

It’s at this point I’d like to thank the people who used to work at Rover, to thank David Andrews who built my head, and all other people who’ve bolted my engine together in the past. Because in spite of being buzzed, momentarily, to over 9000rpm, it survived! I did listen carefully for new rattles but no, everything was great.

That spoiled my run, rather - I pottered over the line about ten miles an hour slower than I should have and set a 56.81… Russell, a car behind me, set a 56.73, and David Sykes was a second behind at 57.94.

The next two runs were basically the same, but without the mistakes. Myself finding 56.18 and 55.92, Russell a consistent pair of 56.62 and 56.61 and David Sykes failing to respond until his final time of 57.30 - damn good for someone new to Aintree and in the rain. But then we suspect he may not have seen just how solid those Grand National fences are. I was happy and relieved to get the class win - like all wet events, the Elise always makes you work hard for a win. Which Russell proved when I let him borrow the Elise for the ‘fun’ run that Liverpool Motor Club often manage to fit in at the end of the day. And I got to go and have a go in his Renault 5GT Turbo - and confirm that it has a handling problem, perhaps due to an over-aggressive differential, which makes his times at the moment all the more impressive.

Ok, it’s supposed to be video of the week… yet since Christmas I’ve not been updating this section. My Bad!

Now, I’m not about to go back to updating weekly. I’ve been busy, I’ve got trips planned, and it’s hard to update this section every single week unless some of you start sending me quality material!

But I enjoy trawling the netterweb and have come across some gems to share with you until normal service is resumed.

The Paris-Dakar rally isn’t the safest one in the world, even for photographers

Safety standards on track days have improved somewhat since the seventies. I especially loved the four-up driving in the Beetle Cabrio…

Streetluge shows that even if our beloved internal combustion engines are banned by green requirements we’ll still have ways to race. This video nicely explains what it’s all about although there’s a bit of overuse of words like dude, buddies, and the like but they’re American so you have to make allowances. I’m trying to find videos of the rather less slick Brazilian stuff I saw years ago - that was amazing. But for now:

Bike messengers are some of the most hardcore cyclists in the world. They ride day in, day out, in the busiest cities. They dodge between the traffic, pick up speed by grabbing onto trucks and cars… and they deliver stuff. Quickly. They may have a disrespect for the rules of the road, and even for pedestrians and other more sedates cyclists but you can only respect the skill of some of them. Sometimes they even arrange races:

Thanks for everyone’s patience while the site went quiet. There’ll be more soon.

They start tuning things other than cars and motorbikes. Things like, I dunno… chainsaws:

Car stunts have never had the flash factor of motorbikes…now it’s changed! It’s a viral, but good… here’s the two that have been done so far:

The first event you ever do is a great experience. Don’t make yourself sick with worry, and ignore the people making fun of you and suggesting you’ll go out in a big ball of flames or similar! Accidents, in particular serious ones, are rare in sprints and hillclimbs, and if you take it easy while you learn they shouldn’t become a problem for you. At the end of the day, you’re doing this for fun!

You may have already read my article on competing in your first hillclimb or sprint. This gives you the lowdown on how to prepare yourself and your car.

Entry and final instructions

To enter an event you’ll probably have been sent an entry form by your club or championship - however, not all clubs send out entry forms and you may need to download them from their website.

Once you’ve entered an event you’ll generally receive what are called the ‘final instructions’ for the event. These will show the entry list, information about times things happen at the event, and depending on the club there’ll be other information such as where you can park, places to stay, what facilities will be on site, and so on.

Most events have their driver’s briefing at about 9am. Personally I like to arrive by 8am so that I’ve had plenty of time to find my bits and pieces, fix my numbers on, sign on and maybe enjoy a cup of tea. I don’t think it’s good to be stressed or in a rush at a motorsport, especially your first one.

Sign-on and scrutineering

Once you’ve unloaded your car (if it’s on a trailer) you’ll generally need to sign-on before your car is scrutineered. For signing on you’ll need your race license, club and championship membership cards and a warm smile. Don’t forget that if you want to upgrade your license for higher level events you’ll need to leave your license with the stewards for the day, and collect it at the end.

Now, the scrutineers are busy at this time of day so it’s a good idea to be as nice to them as possible - most cars will have something minor which may generally be unimportant but if you annoy the scrutineer he can usually make your morning difficult! These guys are volunteers and have to be up very early to do their job…. They check your car for safety, looking for anything that could hinder rescue if the worst happens, that could hurt you, or that could fail and cause an accident. They’re also looking to see if you’ve followed the rules. One of my tips for making scrutineering painless is to make the engine bay of your car as clean as possible - if it’s badly presented they’re more likely to go looking for problems.

Once the scrutineer is happy (and usually they are!) he will give you a sticker for your car which shows it’s been checked. Place this somewhere easily visible like the top of your dashboard, door sill or roll bar. You won’t be allowed to compete without this sticker.

Depending on the event and club, there will usually be a drivers briefing, and there will always be one for new competitors. This will usually cover any peculiar aspects to the way the event is run, as well as advice on tricky parts of the course. There may be an additional briefing if you’re new to the venue.

And now you’re ready to compete!

The competition

This is, of course, what you’ve come for. First of there’ll usually be two practice runs during which you can assess the layout of the course. You may as well take it easy during these runs as the most important thing is learning where you can go quickly and not actually going quickly! Setting a record time isn’t important.

When your class is called out it will usually be announced over the tannoy. A steward may also arrive to usher you out. At most events it helps if the cars are in numerical order when lining up ahead of the start. Again, stewards tend to assist, but do what you can. Drive slowly in the paddock, get in order, and watch for instructions. Normally you’ll have the ability to follow a car in front, which can help.

At this point nerves may start to kick in. But do your best to relax. At the same time, try to visualise the circuit as best you can. As cars leave you’ll move forward in your queue. This time is also good for warming up your engine.

As you reach the front you’ll find yourself approaching the tyre warming/cleaning area just ahead of the start line. Here you can spin your tyres and brake hard in order to warm up those tyres and clean off any muck acquired in the paddock. Given that some paddocks can be pretty dusty or muddy this is surprisingly important. Give the tyres a good spin if you can, and then break hard. If you have enough space you can do it again. Be careful to stop before the end of the warming area.

Now, as the tension builds, you’ll move forward to the start line. The start line marshalls will gesture you forward and, once approximately in place, you will depress the clutch so the marshalls can line you up with your strut just breaking a timing beam. A second beam, just an inch or so ahead, will trigger the start of the clock.

In front of you now there’s usually a red light or board. Once the course is ready you will then always get a signal to Go! It’s often a green light, but may just be an electronically controlled green board. You can then leave in your own time. The clock won’t start until you break the second light beam. If you have a dragging clutch it may be beneficial to leave right away anyhow as your car might have moved forward slightly and started the clock.

And start! Do those first practice runs, check out the course, and then come back to the paddock. At most hillclimbs and some sprints you’ll be held in a holding area as you need to use part of the course to return. It’s important to complete one practice run or you won’t be allowed to compete. If your car can be run in different layouts (eg, a removable hardtop) then you should compete in both if you want to have a choice - unless you have agreement from your class rivals you can only compete in the state you practiced in.

Following practice there may be a break, quite possibly for lunch. It depends on the time and how the club runs its events.

Competitive timed runs

This is where it gets exciting and the tension reaches its climax. You’ll have at least two or three competitive runs. At some events it’s not unknown for there to be as many as eight - but that’s rare. It’s also normal that only the first two or three timed runs actually count for awards.

So… the competitive runs are managed in exactly the same way as the practice runs. But this time it’s for real. I find that while waiting it’s useful to close my eyes and visualise my run along the course. This way I feel like I get more practice time. It’s hard to do, but I think it’s incredibly important and lets me become quicker, sooner.

Between each run I think it’s important to check over the car, even if only visually. It’s especially important if you were rough over any kerbs, or left the circuit. Look for anything that might have come loose in the engine bay (at my first event the battery went flying into radiator!) and give the tyres a visual check. I don’t believe in too much fussing, but do what works for you. It’s also a good time to chat with your rivals - most are friendly at these events but there’s a ribaldry and joshing in there too… don’t take all advice and joking too seriously. Especially if it’s from Gary Thomas!* If someone says a certain corner is flat out then it may well be for them, in their car - but it might not be for you. Find your own limits.

The awards

Don’t get too excited - there’s no money in this part! Some awards are nice and well worth showing, some are a bit tacky. But no matter what, that first time you receive a cup, plaque or strangely shaped piece of stone will be in your memory for ever. Most events give prizes down to third place in each class, but it does often depend on the turnout. Usually this is described in the regulations.

And now, completely tired, you can go home. Or if it’s a weekend event, go and party with fellow competitors, get drunk, and try to compete the next day with a hangover!

Checklist

To help you along, I’ve created a checklist of items that you must have with you at each event. You can find it in the Motorsport/How to section of this site, or simply by clicking on this line.

* Sorry Gary - couldn’t resist ;-)

Second in a series of humorous, interesting or scary motorsport videos I’ve found on the internet. All I’ll say is that trees are hard, but for at least one person involved in this crash it was probably a good thing.



You can also view this clip on Google Videos.

Approximately every week I’m going to try and find a neat, interesting or just plain scary motorsport video and post it into this site. Some will be from Google and Youtube, and others will be sourced elsewhere. I’ll always give credit where due and if you ever find a video that shouldn’t be here please let me know.

And now the first - a fine example of how it can all go wrong in racing if your attention wanders. Watch closely :

Or you can view it directly on Google Videos. It’s a viral video to advertise a new Renault model, but I feel it’s done well enough to warrant inclusion.