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Post by Blair on Jun 1, 2003 20:42:15 GMT
Another warm day today. I haven't been at a race meeting at Knockhill yet this year that's been wet. That must be a record!! Actually, it could do with a little bit of rain to keep the dust down! Also back with a sunburn today  On to the races and the highlight of my day has to be the 2nd Legends heat. Those boys are really starting to entertain me this year, and on this occasion I'd say they were maybe a tad slightly better than the XR2's(but not by much!) Nice to see Alasdair Thom on pole for the final, albeit being there as a result of the wrong reasons. :s I also hope the fella who rolled his car was OK? I just saw the crowd running to see it, and then the red flags and at that I decided just to go. Mini's again I heard from the commentators were being naughty again! No wonder due to the amount of dust being thrown up at McIntyres, it was reminiscent of last weeks Rallycross dust extravaganza! I have to say Jillian Butcher was very professional around the track, I can't remember her once going wide at McIntyres and she got her reward for it too! But overall, I'm not too impressed with the Mini's, every driver seems far too cautious 99% of the time. Formula Fords were actually very good today...I kept my eyes open during them for once!  Well done to Julian Taylor for keeping Stuart Thorburn behind! Top job! Even bigger well done to the race winner! It was good to see the XR2's out and a few new cars to go with it this time out. Really encouraging to see Nick in 4th for the first several laps and managing to keep up with the leading trio. I think he got 7th at the end, it appeared as if the performance of the car tailed off during the race, and the suspension looked really bouncy...  Also well done to Derek McDougall cos he managed to keep a nice little pack of cars behind him for an age (sorry don't know where you finished ?) Can't wait till June 22nd!  |
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Post by Catriona on Jun 1, 2003 20:56:21 GMT
Another warm day today. I haven't been at a race meeting at Knockhill yet this year that's been wet. That must be a record!! Actually, it could do with a little bit of rain to keep the dust down! Also back with a sunburn today Me too - I even used suncream, for once, as I could see it looked like being a hot day, but I'm still looking rather red... not as bad as Nick and Charlie were by the end of the day, though!  Yeah, he was fine - his car was a total wreck, though  Me and KF were hanging round the scrutineering area after the final, and first James Wantling came along covered in dust, but ok, and then his car arrived on the back of a truck, looking very battered... as was the #30 car which apparently Wantling was trying to avoid when he rolled. Saw a shiny new plain white Legend outside Aly Hunter's garage earlier - I get the feeling that one will soon become a #5 or a #30... Try watching from the hairpin then  Race 2 was fairly calm, but in race 1 on the first lap Alasdair McCaig did an interesting divebomb move into the side of Alan Keith, which caused something of a pileup... and then as soon as they got going again after that, Jillian Butcher gave Steve Mitchell a pretty big whack as well  Great day's racing overall - had a great time out there! Here's hoping the weather's as good next time  |
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Post by NS-R on Jun 2, 2003 8:19:40 GMT
TL - the cars performance didn't tail off - mine did! I made a couple of mistakes which really cost me time. I was just about to have a good go at Alex Knight coming out of the hairpin and missed 3rd which cost me a lot of time. Problem is, when you have a couple of cars right on your bumper, you lose time defending instead of trying to attack. Finished 6th after Colin Robertson was excluded for a technical infringement. Pretty godd weekend as I got my fastest ever lap in qualifying (64.97) and even got to see the chequered flaq! My "bouncy" suspension is supposed to be like that. I've got a new setup with harder springs and it certainly seems to work. The car is fine - it's just the driver that needs to sort it out! Nick www.ns-r.co.ukPS I thought the FF Zetec races were excellent this weekend. Alan Kirkcaldy's win in the morning was excellent - great move through MacIntyres/Butchers to get the lead. |
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Post by NS-R on Jun 2, 2003 11:22:56 GMT
**Copied from NS-R website** Race Report - Round 3 - Knockhill - Sunday 1st June We changed the suspension set up on the car so I did a couple of test sessions on the Friday. The car handled very differently but felt much better, especially going into Duffus Dip. 26 cars went out on Sunday morning for the 15 minute qualifying session. It was very difficult to get a good clean lap in due to traffic but I managed to put in a couple of 65.2's and then got a really good lap which was timed at 64.97 - finally into the 64's! That lap put me on the second row of the grid in 4th place overall. We lined up on the grid in what can only be described as scorching conditions - unusual for Knockhill! I got a decent start and went into Duffus side-by-side with Ian Forrest. He had the inside line so I slipped back into 4th place. For the next few laps it was a mixture of having a go at Sandy Forrest for 3rd and defending from Andy Allan who was all over my rear bumper. Andy got past going into Duffus and Dave Colville made a good pass after I went wide at the hairpin. I then had a great three way battle for the rest of the race between Alex Knight, Andy Martin and myself. I was really struggling for grip and made a mistake on the last lap and Derek Pierce nipped past at MacIntyres. I eventually finished the race in 7th place on the road but got 6th place as Colin Robertson was disqualified for a technical infringement. That must have been one of the closest & cleanest XR2 races for some time. The top 10 or so stayed close together for most of the race. The only real damage that I saw was John Findlay's new car which he buried into the tyres at Clarks after losing a wheel. Hopefully I've used up all the bad luck and can now progress in the championship. I get 10 points for 6th which puts me 16th in the standings after the two DNF's Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by Blair on Jun 2, 2003 12:23:29 GMT
Good to see you finally off the bottom of the points tables! I assume the new suspension will give you more grip and make the car less nervous than it was before? LOL I didn't want to say the driver had "tailed off"  Blame it on the car is what I'd do |
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Post by stuntdriver on Jun 2, 2003 14:49:01 GMT
I was told Alasdair McCaig had total brake failure and that's why he collided with Alan Keith. There was quite a lot of bashing under the yellow and black flags as well I noticed - people seeing the flags and jamming on their brakes and the person behind ramming into the back of them. Someone was saying Ronnie Klos was on his roof in Saturday's practice as well. Maybe he'd would have been more suited to being a stunt driver given his current track record!
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Post by NS-R on Jun 2, 2003 15:16:37 GMT
The pace car flag in the Mini race could have resulted in a big accident - either most of the mini drivers didn't see the flag or didn't know what it meant! Some of the Minis were still racing past people when they got round to the chicane! Both the ICR minis were having problems yesterday. Jamie's car is down on power for some reason and the rear of alan's car was badly damaged. We changed the suspension and he managed to finish about 7th after having to start at the back of the grid. Excellent drive by Jillian though... Roland rolled it at MacIntyres on Saturday but fortunately his car wasn't too badly damaged.. Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by JapaneseElvis on Jun 2, 2003 17:02:50 GMT
I was told Alasdair McCaig had total brake failure and that's why he collided with Alan Keith. So how does he explain the 100yard set of skidmarks that his car left immediately prior to the impact? While I'm here, did you all know that the clan McCaig tried to get Gillian booted out of the guest car for the second race so Alastair could race it instead? Unfortunately, due to them not really grasping the fact that motorsport has rules, they failed. Very sporting. Well done Gillian! |
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Post by NS-R on Jun 2, 2003 18:41:27 GMT
JE - I think that there mahybe something in the mini rules that if someone cannot fix their car, the guest car may be used - I remember that happening before in the old TOCA Fiesta Si champs. The problem on Sunday was that McKever, McCaig and Keith all needed another car for the second race - the decision was made for Jillian to keep it which in my opinion was the best decision. Luckily, we managed to fix Alan's car in time for the race. Brilliant drive by Jillian anyway... Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by akirkaldy on Jun 2, 2003 20:27:00 GMT
Formula Fords were actually very good today...I kept my eyes open during them for once! ![]() Cheers for making the Formula Fords sounds so boring to watch!! Every race this year has been good with lots of things going on throughout the field, as well as comments on how exciting they were to watch. Thanks to everyone for the good comments |
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Post by Catriona on Jun 2, 2003 20:30:01 GMT
This year they've been great, I have to agree :up: Last year, though... :snore:;D
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Post by jaffa6 on Jun 2, 2003 20:59:01 GMT
Hey everyone, Sounds like I missed a good day on Sun. Great weather, great racing....the lot  Damn. Of course I have to say a HUGE :up: and well done to Nick. Maybe I should stay away more often Nick...lol. Jaffa6 |
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Post by NS-R on Jun 2, 2003 21:23:16 GMT
Cheers Jaffa6 - so my bad lucks been your fault then! Alan - Zetecs were great this weekend - I got to watch most of the races as we were on late in the programme - some of my mates travelled up from Leeds and they really enjoyed the Zetecs, Legends and XR's. Nick www.ns-r.co.uk |
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Post by Blair on Jun 2, 2003 21:48:50 GMT
Cheers for making the Formula Fords sounds so boring to watch!! Every race this year has been good with lots of things going on throughout the field, as well as comments on how exciting they were to watch. Thanks to everyone for the good comments Generally, I'm hardly ever impressed by single seaters to tell you the truth - I'm a tin-top fan at heart! I suppose last year's show from the f-fords left a bad impression of them in my mind, but it's changing. |
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Post by stuntdriver on Jun 2, 2003 23:57:31 GMT
I am lead to believe that all three mini drivers that could not partake in the second race were going to agree on a fair way of using the celebrity car for the second race. If "Japanese Elvis" knew the rules he would know that any drivers with mechanical failure or other damage are allowed to use the celebrity car, so it was not a case of a certain individual taking benefit of the situation at someone elses lose. In the first Mini race there were two victims due to brake failure, McCaig being one of them and not sure who the other was but they were both down to burst brake hoses!! I am sure that doesnt do much for driver confidence.
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