Fintray Hillclimb 21st August 2011

Fintray Hillclimb 21st August 2011, a set on Flickr.

A class win and a new class record on the Sunday. 28.26 seconds, 0.5 under the old record.

Fintray Hillclimb 20th August 2011

Fintray Hillclimb 20th August 2011, a set on Flickr.

Class win on the Saturday but no record.

Another video from the weekend

3 runs combined into 1.

 

Fintray Hillclimb – 20th and 21st August 2011

Another weekend. Another new B4 record – 0.5 seconds quicker than the old one.

Here’s a wee video of the winning run and a couple of quick clips found on youtube. More photo and video to follow.

Kames Sprint 31st July 2011

Kames Sprint 31st July 2011, a set on Flickr.

2 posts in one day? Shocker! Photos from Sunday at Kames. No record, but close, and a solid class win again.

Kames Sprint 30th July 2011

Kames Sprint 30th July 2011, a set on Flickr.

Long time no update! Here’s some photos from Saturday at Kames. New B4 record for the Ninja Bogey.

Boyndie but no sprint championship….

Nice to be back north on the kart circuit that gave the bogey its first win. What a year it has been. I needed two stonking times to be in with a shout of the sprint championship.

Ross and I both smashed the record earlier in the year but I just missed out on the record with Ross setting a 64.21 to my 64.28. I had managed a 64.17 in practice and new that it was possible. I really wanted to get my name back on the record sheet but it was unlikely that I could find the 62 that I needed.

After my poorish showing at Golspie, I decided to invest in some new rubber for the rear of the car. Ever after a few miles on the back road around my house, the tyres were not worn in. I don’t share the opinion of some that the tyres work best right out of the box.

Saturday turned out to be a bit of a disaster, was off the pace for both practices and rued the decision not to buy the new rears for Golspie and get them worn in properly. I just couldnt get the tyres to work enough and didnt really do that well. The colder conditions didnt help, but a class win was not enough and essentially my challenge for the overall sprint championship was over.

On Sunday, with tyres beginning to work and warmer track conditions I took the win by a good margin and all important record, taking 0.15 off Mr Napiers record. Not enough to affect the Sprint Championship but good enough to secure second place and fastest road car awards. Very difficult to compete with last years champion who has the ability to score maximum points whenever needed. Received loads of support and nice compliments regarding my years sprinting and hope to be out again next year.

It transpires that my record and extra point was enough to then take the Highland Speed Championship, which is a fantastic result.

So with all of the championships decided, this is how I ended up.

Sprints – Fastest Road Car award, 1st in Class A4

Hills – Class A4 champion

Scottish Lowlands Tyres and Exhauts champion, Highland Speed champion.

I hold class records at Kames, Fintray and Boyndie. Sitting only a 10th off the pace at Forrestburn, but have 0.7 and 0.8 to find at Doune and Golspie.

So 5 awards and a fantastic result. Big thanks to everyone who has been so supportive this year. You know who you are! See you all at the awards dinner.

Golspie 12th and 13th of September

Just a quick update to say that I did well enough to still be in contention for the overall Scottish Sprint Championship.

Saturday turned out to be a slight dissapointment, primarly down to a poor driver choice of using my really old and worn tyres for pratice and then puttng on the better set and the car handling completely differently in the timed runs. My foot slipped off of the brake pedal on the first timed run and decided to do some rallycross for a few seconds. Got the hammer down on the last run by failed by 0.02 of a second from Bill Lambie Jnr in his new Holeshot 1400 Busa. Boy does that car look quick off of the line. People are now investing serious amounts of money to keep up with the bogey.

On the Sunday, stuck to the better set of rear tyres for the day and managed to take first place and take 30+ points against the bogey. More accurate times to follow.

I am two seconds ahead in the championship and it all comes down to the last event at Boydnie this weekend. Fingers and toes crossed 🙂

Trackside View: Forrestburn in August

Sideways out of the bottom hairpin

Anybody who thinks that the strip-of-tarmac-on-the-side-of-a-hill that is Knockhill is a crazy anathema in today’s business-case-obsessed world, should compare it with Forrestburn. Knockhill looks positively commercially viable in comparison with Forrestburn.

I arrive en famille in the battle bus. The place is rammed with trailers, plus a few spectator cars. Someone’s been out with a can of spray paint to mock up a car park. It’s full. I make my own space, out of the way, where there will still be some traction should the rain come. The Dear Lady’s heart sinks when she sees the container that houses the lavatories. For someone who can just about get out of bed to go to the BRDC club house, this is quite not the thing. But, God love it, for the grassroots motorsport fan, Forrestburn has a magic that Silverstone can only dream of. I feel a bond with the place that isn’t worth going into just now, and when I first came I felt true joy as the cars howled ‘twixt the wall and the bank, negotiated esses that you can’t appreciate from the side, outbraked themselves for both hairpins, and ran the gauntlet of the tunnel. It’s all there for you to see (sadly though, you now need to sign on to get the access). Yes, there’s just the one burger van, and yes, the toilets are in a container illuminated by light from a 12 volt car battery, but just look at that strip of tarmac.

When I took them to Kames, the beast collective (also known as Emma, Jonathan and Jessica) were less than fully whelmed. Emma liked the chips; Jess liked the Bogey revving, but that was about it. At Forrestburn though, we stood at the top of the hill, where the wind was strongest, and Donald, Alan, Craig and the rest did their stuff. While the Dear Lady voiced her distress through an iPhoned Facebook Status update, and Jess froze in the wind, the larger beasts totally got it. There was motorsport, right there.

The beasts and the Bogey

Anticipation built as the Bogey trundled down to the start line, its greenness serving as a useful marker to my collective of inexperienced spotters. Away from the line, hidden from view, but the shouting of the Ninja all too evident. To the bottom hairpin, and big sideways on the exit, your snapper grateful for an effective 520mm of focal length. Then, bursting from the tunnel, engine and paint blaring. Braking too late, apex missed, tail out, some time recorded. Beasts enthralled.

Using all the road at post three

First timed run was more of the same. The class system heightening the tension. Paul takes the class record, good enough for the win. The beasts return to the quiet of the car, with its music, Fruit Shoots, warmth and crisps. The Logistics Manager (Windscreen & Washer Fluid) and I sign on, and wander to the ridge. Here, the white noise from the M8 parlays across the valley on the ubiquitous wind, the same wind that ripples the loch in front of us. And then a Ford CVH complains its way from the start line. Second timed run is a go.

The signing-on lady looked frazzled, and we can’t see the start, so we’re playing “guess the running order” again. John H goes through, and we know the Bogey’s a-comin’. Paul’s pushing now, pulsing the throttle between each apex, hunting for time. Neat through the bottom hairpin, then quick up to the tunnel, Paul doesn’t know he’s already won. He’s record-hunting anyway. Another missed apex at the top hairpin and pesky bumps on the exit rob a hundredth off the earlier time.

Hunting Time

Championship’s safe though, and after we watch the single seaters run, that’s another day in North Lanarkshire’s premier motorsport venue done. Awesome.

A dab of oppo

Forrestburn – IMG_2335

Originally uploaded by Stephen Hynds

All crossed up when coming out of the top corner at Forrestburn.

A quiet few weeks

Since Fintray things are looking pretty good in the championships. With only 3 days of hillclimbing and 4 of the sprints to go, I am leading my class in the hills and currently leading the overall Scottish Sprint Championship. I really dont want to jinx things and would love to win both of these titles after a fantastic opening year for the Bogey.

The hills will require John Hamilton (last years champion) to beat me into second place in the three remaining rounds to draw on points but then beat me on the number of wins. So all I need it one victory or for someone else to pip John to take class A4.

The sprints is much more of a surprise with only a few people really capable of taking the title from me unless I really screw things up. Fingers crossed. Graeme Bremner is the primary challenger in his supercharged Exige and needs to take three records out of the remaining four days to pip me to the title. Either way I have had an awesome year and would love to finish with a win. If I can also take records at Golspie (less likely) or Boyndie (more likely) I could take the title.

Meanwhile the car has had an oil and filter change, further suspension tweaks and also a general maintenance session to see the rest of the year out. One major addition which unfortunately isnt working yet is the Racelogic traction control box that I picked up off ebay. The unit is installed but I am having problems picking up a valid rpm feed and also the tests of the ignition cut has shown the age of my spark plugs, so a new set is on order. Essentially the plugs foul and the car ends up running on three cylinders. 

David from team Xoomspeed is helping with the rpm feed and we hope to have the system ready for testing at Forrestburn, if not Golspie. I have suffered in wet conditions to the cars with TC and hope this will level the playing field a little. So a big thanks to David, who is a bit of an electronics wizard. Check out xoomspeed.com to read all about their Vauxhall powered Westy with David’s own traction control and data logging system the Xoombox.

The wheel sensors proved to be tight fit on the Raceleda uprights and extra bolts needed to be fitted to allow enough pulses per wheel rotation. Essentially if you are fitting this to your car, feel free to get in touch. I cant wait to get the launch control working, never mind the full TC.

More posts soon.

Fintray 8th and 9th of August

The Clerk of the Course introduced Fintray as “Welcome to Sunny Fintray”, how right he was. As a resident of Dyce for many years and having watched the Fintray hillclimb for many years as a youngster I always enjoy doing my home from home event.

To win here last year in the blade was fantastic but to lose earlier in the year to Ross due some silliness on my part needed to be remedied. Unfortunately Ross wasn’t to be there for my revenge and was on his stag night (silly bugger) but John Hamilton who is leading class A4 was to be there on the Sunday. So my strategy was to beat the record for a full 6 points on the Saturday and then try to beat it again the following day. 12 points would see me catch John and put it all down to who wins at Forrestburn at the end August, with hopefully Doune not being needed and I could go for the record there too.

The track was in fantastic condition, much respect to Grampian Automobile Club, the track is essentially an access road for a working farm with a barn placed in later year right on the corner of turn 1 – Ruin which see’s loads of cow manure and takes some cleaning. Big thanks to the chaps who put in the hours to make this all possible.

So a nice and gentle 31.06 to start, I knew there was loads more to come, so felt confident. Pushed harder in next practice to beat Ross’s record with a 30.01. Third practice introduced my first 29, which is a bit of a barrier at Fintray and into the respectable times. So a 29.66 left me confident with a Matty and Russ sitting just under 2 seconds behind. Russell was very much on the pace with a 30.5 only a few tenths behind my best time in that car, so I was really happy for him. More seat time and he could really be there.

It was good to see the Morrison’s out again and we all worked away on getting them more competitive over the weekend. It’s always fun to play with a different car, setting up dampers, ride heights and also get those really naff poly bushes working properly. Much respect to the father and son team for improving throughout the weekend, especially good to see young Stuart gunning the car away from the line and dropping by over 6 seconds on day one alone.

Gran and Mum arrived during lunch, so with my 92 year old gran in the crowd I wanted to put on a good show. It was great to have the whole family there, with Jen and the kids enjoying the sunshine too.

So down to the line, much to prove, I did exactly what I needed and set a new record of 29.70. I was now carrying good speed through Ruine and taking a much tidier line through the hairpin . To be honest, I didn’t want to beat the record again and make it harder for myself, so I thought I would enjoy the next run but nearly beat it with a 29.80. So a fantastic day with lovely weather and good banter saw me back to Russell’s tired but confident for the Sunday.

Up early and to the track on Sunday morning. Weather not looking so good, with maybe a few showers due, so I would need to take my opportunities if the entry point was to be realised.

First run saw a tidy 30.30 and I felt on the pace, would the weather hold out. Next run say a slower 30.51 with the weather beginning to break. Unfortunately the third run was with a 35.73 with everyone closing in the wet where I couldn’t use the power of the car. What was to happen after lunch?

I put in a really nice 29.41 on the first timed run to John’s new pb of a 30.59, Matty was back in a low 31 and Russ on a 31.75. Could anyone really help me out and beat John. Matty had been looking better and better and thought he had pipped John with a 30.30 in his last run. This would have been good enough for a win earlier in the year and set a new record which shows real improvement from him. Good going mate. John pipped him with a 30.19 and good enough for 4 points and second place. I put in another good run and lowered record by another 5 100ths of a second to 29.36. This time was good enough for 2nd fastest road car behind Donald in that brute of an Evo. Very pleased with this result and puts the pressure back on John for Forrestburn.

This can be regarded as my best result of the year, with Fintray being such a short hill (around 30 seconds) and taking a whole 0.98 off the record and being second fastest road car was a real boost for Ninja Bogey Racing and leaves me confident for the sprint and hill class awards which are now very possible. Fingers crossed.

One of the many highlights of the weekend was watching the big cars out on track. Good to see the continued presence of two contrasting cars, the Robb’s with the big Judd and also Jonathon Rarity throttling that Ghost of his. Stuart Robb Jnr finally beat the record with a stunning 25.28 with Snr also getting under the record. This record had stood for 20 years and needed sorting. They were not to be in attendance on the Sunday as the last run had bust the clutch, but well done to the father and son team.

Two new cars were also in attendance which by the end of the weekend were challenging for FTD. First the Raptor, developed by Graeme Wight Racing, an all new chassis and design based on the Predator with a 1600 Busa installed. Lee drove very well over the weekend was both surprised and delighted to take the C5 class win the Sunday just behind James Brimm’s in a Gould who took Sunday’s FTD. A car with much more to come and only a few 10th’s behind was the awesome Indy Car Cosworth powered DJ Firestorm of Wallace Menzie’s. This car is very early in development and will in my opinion be the fastest car on the hills next year. Lets just hope that Wallace does some Scottish events to keep us all entertained.

No official NBR photographers were in attendance so I will have a rake around flickr for some shots in include in this post.

Kames – 1st and 2nd of August

Kames hosted rounds 10 and 11 of the Scottish Sprint Championship, and also two rounds of the British Championship. The British Championship had previously came north of the border to East Fortune but this year Kames was quite rightly given the nod. The EACC organise an excellent event and I’m sure we’ll see the British guys back for a visit next year.

Paul hadn’t originally been able to make Kames but after a change of plans he managed to get a spot on the reserve list before being promoted into the runners and riders. It was a first for Kames to have so many cars that a reserve list was even needed.

In the time between the last event and this one the car underwent some work including the removal of the suspension. The dampers were sent to Procomp Motorsport who overhauled them and supplied some new springs. The suspension only arrived back on the Wednesday as there had originally been no rush to get it done. However putting it back together was a relatively straightforward. I guess the Ninja Bogey crew are getting pretty used to rebuilding things now. Even I have my uses. Another modification was purchased during the break but this will be the subject of a larger post once it’s installed and working.

The early forecast for the weekend had been for rain, rain and thrice rain but by the time Saturday came the forecast was looking a bit better but not great. As I headed down to the circuit it was heavy rain until we were only about 5 miles from Muirkirk where suddenly the skies cleared and the sun shone through. When we arrived at the circuit Paul had already completed his first practice run on a wet but drying track. By that point the cars that had been out on track and the aforementioned sunshine had dried the track nicely.

The second run was much more promising with a time of 77 seconds, just shy of 4 tenths off Paul’s own record of 76.63. By the first timed run the conditions were perfect and a time of 76.33 lowered the class record by 3 tenths.

Surely a sign of good things in the second timed run? Unfortunately it wasn’t to be as a small rain shower happened to coincide exactly with class A4 being out on track.

A real case of what might have been, but a class win and good points none the less.

Matty managed a good time but was pipped for second by British Championship competitor Ian Parr in a rather interesting double entered Sylva Riot. Unfortunately the Lambies suffered a mechanical issue after their first practice runs and didn’t make it out for the timed runs.

Ross and his dad Roy weren’t out with Ross’ Westfield but had instead brought Roy’s Gould GR375 to compete in class C5. The car is a real work of art and very quick. Kames isn’t as big and wide as some of the southern sprint venues but the big C5 cars looked awesome.

Ross qualified in second for the run off to decide the British Championship points but was beaten by Stewart Robb Jnr. and Snr. in the end. However his time was nearly a second under the old circuit record and wasn’t too far off the Robb’s which is very impressive indeed.

As is traditional at Kames the track is run in the opposite direction the next day. The Sunday layout is slightly longer trial than the Saturday one as it is run over 3 full laps rather than 2 and a half. If the weather had been good on the Saturday then on the Sunday it was positively glorious. I was sporting the usual red face on Monday as evidence of that. It was even said that for some of the later runs the track was getting too warm for the big single seaters!

Unfortunately the Lambies hadn’t resolve their mechanical issue so there was only to be the four challengers for A4 honours again. The first practice run to shake off the cobwebs delivered a reasonable time but the second saw an 84.74, just half a second behind the class record.

Paul’s dad cooked up a storm with bacon, sausage and egg for everyone at lunch and we were all eagerly anticipating the timed runs to see if Paul could claim the clockwise record to go with the anti-clockwise one.

The first of the timed runs was an 84.31, 7 hundredths of a second shy of the mark. Surely it was on for the second run? I was stood at the far end of the circuit armed with the camera and it looked like a good run was in progress. As Paul rounded the hairpin for the 3rd time I knew it was going to be close. The car crossed the line and as I looked to the clock I couldn’t quite believe it – 84.27. A 4 hundreths improvement, but still 3 hundredths short. So close but yet so far. It’ll just need to wait to next year now.

Matty came out the victor in the battle with the Parrs for second place with a great time of 86.06. If my calculations are correct this is 2.7 seconds faster than his previous best at Kames in that direction. Very well done indeed.

Ross managed to dip a tenth under the circuit record on his second practice run in the Gould but the timed runs and the run off weren’t quite as fruitful. A 4th place finish is certainly nothing to be sniffed at against some very experience competitors. Stewart Robb Jr once again took the overall honors as he dropped the circuit record by 1.3 seconds.

So all in all a great weekends racing at Kames, and a good points haul for Paul.

For all my pictures from Saturday look here.

I’ll update the post with some pictures from Sunday when I get them finished.

Alford 11th and 12th of July

I didnt do Alford last year, too many people saying that it was boring and just a simple oval. Alford isnt a classic sprint venue like say Boyndie, but it is fast, grippy and good fun. Also good for spectators and a overal was a well run event hosted by Grampian Automobile Club.

Alford is about 26 miles West of where I was dragged up in Dyce, so decided to go and see Gran and the folks on the way up and discuss the next set of upgrades with Dad. After a good nights sleep in my old bedroom from 20 years ago I was up nice and early and very much ready to take on a new track. The record looked unattainable which turned out to be the fastest of all the road car classes at 51.50. So I thought I was unlikely to make any massive inroads in to Mr Bremners lead in the sprint championship this weekend.

Walked the track as a newbie with the ever helpfull Alan Nicol and thought the layout was pretty simple. To be fair to Alan he did say that I should take it easy first run and try to get the cross overs right. Someone always makes a mess of it he says. Not me I stated triumpantly.

So on to my first run.  Fast off the line with the old tyres on, round the first 180 and fast down the back straight. Way too fast in, gathered it up with an armful of lock and drifted nicely past the strart line then back up the straight. Wait a minute, was I not meant to turn left there…. oops.. crawls back to the paddock in disgrace. Being such a quiet shy chap no one took the mickey and they were all very supportive.

Second run. Much to prove and I still hadnt learnt the track. Set off quickly and put in a tidy enough run to much applause from the paddock. It turns out that both Matty and Drew, two good racers had also made a mess of their first time at Alford, so not in too shabby company.

After 3.1 runs and a decent days racing I got it down to a reasonable 53.50 with loads more to come from switching to the newer/wider rear tyres and another three runs on the Sunday for points.

Images courtesy of Chris Grieve – http://www.grievephotography.co.uk

On the pace

This is the correct line, everyone else is wrong!

It was not to be, after a lovely bbq and a few beers with the Sugdens the heavens opened and we knew we were in for a wet Sunday.

It held true to the forecast of rain and delivered one practice and two timed runs with only the last run with a drying line. Everyone gave it there all but by the end of the day I was looking to get the car into the trailer and home safe and sound.

For the timed runs I had been amalgamated with class A5 as I was on my lonesome, which as usual was the home of the 1.6 Caterhams and a nice cream coloured Fury. I managed to take the class win by a nearly a second with a very tidy 60.50. So a good weekend was had and another prize for the bulging cabinet.  Shame the Fury had two accidents, both from a guest driver, so not sure if they are quite such good friends now. I do hope big boys rules were in place.

Next outing is Fintray on the 8th of August.

Boyndie Report 4th and 5th July

Boydie has always been a fruitful hunting ground for me, with both Ross and I taking wins here in our blade powered cars last year.

Boyndie Drome as the name suggests is an old airfield and is now a very successful kart track. I particularly enjoy this event both as a driver and the social side of things. Having hurt my back earlier in the week,  I decided to drop out of the go-karting extravaganza planned for Satuday night.

The first timed run turned out to be a bit of a surprise and didn’t feel particularly fast but I put in a 64.17 which was 1.97 seconds under my record in the blade from last year. Especially pleasing as I decided to put on the worn tyres and save the good ones for the timed runs. Ross was also under the record with a mid 65. Temperatures continued to rise and after a tidier buy slower second run in the 65’s both Ross and I were ready for the timed runs.

First up was the bogey, I put in a respectable but way too safe 64.8. Ross set a new record and put in a sterling 64.21 after removing his supertrap and going back to his normal exhaust. I knew I could go faster – but could I raise my game? It was not to be, temperatures continued to rise with track temperatures above 40c, for the first time our road tyres were overheating. As a result, some of the single seaters didn’t even bother going out and times were all slower in the afternoon. I took a much more aggressive run that felt loads quicker but only managed a 65.03, so the win was to Ross. JR came up to me after and commented on the run and said that it should have been a win, but that’s the way racing goes. A well deserved win for Ross but another instance where a tentative/safe first timed run is not the way to go if you want to win. The only positive being that I got some really good points from this event towards the overall sprint championship.

Photo courtesy of sirs_eg6 on Flickr.

To the Sunday. We wont talk about the Saturday night other than to say that much ale was consumed and that this probably affected Ross’s performance 😉

Matty joined us for the Sunday, which is always a pleasure. He wasn’t here to make up the numbers and was looking up for it. Many thanks to his father in law Keith for the pies.

I was out first again and decided to take a bit more kerb and brake later for turn one. Ross was having a bit more trouble and was struggling for grip. Practice times were pomising but with the heat building, could we go quicker.

So when it came to the timed runs, I decided to be a bit more aggressive and put in a solid 64.3 run worth 31.8 points , Ross was still complaining of the car being loose in the heat and managed a 65. So it was all down to the second timed runs, but was ruined due to a sudden down pour. I lost my record, but I took the win and another good haul of points. Matty put in some great times and got down to the previous record pace and bodes well for future events.

Photo courtesy of sirs_eg6 on Flickr.

So as per my result at Golspie, my first practice run was the fastest of the whole weekend. Am I over driving – probably is the answer……. much to ponder.

No official team Ninja Bogey Racing photographers were in attendance, so I will have a scour of the net to see if there are any more action shots. Videos to follow next week.

Forrestburn. Or is that Foggyburn?

Rounds 6 and 7 of the Hillclimb Championship were held at Forrestburn in North Lanarkshire. Expectations were high for a strong showing from the Bogey after the excellent string of wins at the previous rounds.

I arrived at the circuit at about half 9 armed with supplies for the day ahead and the evening’s BBQ to find that proceedings were slightly delayed due to the presence of Frogmen at the Resevoir at the bottom of the hill. Once they cleared the scene it was time for first practice on a track that was pretty moist and very green as it had not seen any racing in 9 months.

Things didn’t start off well for the Bogey as the engine was initially (barely) turning over and running very rough before then refusing point blank to catch. Panic set in at this point as the usual suspects of helpful volunteers gathered round the car. The fuelling system was initially suspected of being the issue and checks were carried out to see what was and wasn’t working. The fault was eventually traced to the power commander unit. This was removed from the electronics system and the car fired back into life immediately. The fault with the unit itself is still outstanding and will be covered in a later post. With the engine running standard fuelling maps Paul felt it wasn’t running as strongly as it had been previously. This is likely as it will be overfuelling due to leaving the factory with a safe map.

Paul was slotted into the first run a bit later in the queue than planned after the issues were resolved. As mentioned earlier – the track was damp at best, and as such times were slow to begin with and there was a few people who fell off the track. To make conditions even more interesting Forrestburn’s traditional unique weather system made its presence felt by introducing fog to the equation. Luckily most of the corners are blind anyway, so a bit of fog isn’t going to hurt anyone!

The track dried and although conditions weren’t ideal the times fell to more normal levels for the second run. There was a touch of rain for the third practice run but it soon cleared for lunch.

After lunch it was time to set about the business end of the day. The first timed run saw a dry but cool track. Ross (aka Bananaman) was the front runner after this with a 48.19, a whole 0.01 under the previous record. Paul had a 48.24 and wasn’t far behind, with John Hamilton in third on a low 49. It was all to play for in the second timed run with Paul second on a 47.6 and Ross third on a 47.8, but it was John Hamilton with a stunning 46.8x that took the points, a full 1.4 seconds under his record. The top three all getting a bonus point for being under the old record. So a great time, but an end to the winning streak.

On Saturday evening the planned BBQ with the Napiers and the Ninjabogey Racing Collective merged with another one that was going on. A great time was had by all and I’m sure the wine and beer was still flowing well after I left.

The Sunday morning saw a return of the fog that had made a brief appearance the day before. This time though it was thicker and delayed the start of the event by a while. The call also went out for some extra marshall’s for the day and I decided to give it a try for the first time. Nicola and my cousin Scott also decided to give it a go, so the three of us were scattered round the circuit to help out. I ended up on Post 4, just before the Hairpin. It was a great place to watch, and photograph, from and thankfully didn’t see quite as much action. Nicola was in the tunnel section of the track and saw a couple of cars get acquainted with the barriers, and John Roddick in the Saxo doing a 180 without hitting anything! Scott saw the most incidents at post 9 at the last hairpin with a few cars being collected by the tyre barrier.

The conditions throughout all of Sunday were changeable – between foggy and miserable! Times weren’t brilliant throught the day with the top runners not able to get down to the record breaking times of the day before. Paul wasn’t quite on the pace and afterwards commented on the unburnt fuel pouring out of the cat, here’s hoping no permanet damage has been done.

So John took the win with a mid 47, Ross a couple of 10ths behind and Paul on a mid 48. Matty and Russell both put in good times just over the magical 50 second barrier. More to come from those two.

Trackside View, Britishers at Doune, June 2009

Doune is an attractive village just north of Stirling. It’s one of those places you drive through on the way to Scotland’s stunning scenery, but to pass it by is to do it an injustice. It’s a lovely place, with antiques shops, tea rooms and free parking. But every year in June the place reverberates to the sound of hundreds of horsepower tearing up a narrow strip of tarmac.

My companion and I arrive shortly after nine on the Sunday morning, after a pleasant blast up the motorway. He’s driving, and by the time we arrive I feel I’ve thrown off the last vestiges of last night’s fine dining and fine wine. Paul by contrast is suffering from the exuberance of others, and is tucking in to a strawberry cheesecake/trifle thing, for which tasting worse than it looked would be an impossibility. Scott and I walk the paddock, spotting the regulars from the Scottish championship, and taking note of the more interesting machinery that’s playing the British game. There’s a beautiful Audi Sport Quattro (see http://giles-guthrie.com for pictures in due course), and the collection of serious Goulds is something to behold.

Cars are running already, so we make our way up the hill, settling just beyond half way ‘twixt Oak Tree and Garden Gate. Seems a good place to be, although from the commentary it seems that everyone’s going off at junction, including the aforementioned Quattro, which comes down the hill sans chin. Easily confused as we are, Scott and I lose count of the batches, and the fact that the cars are coming up out of numerical sequence doesn’t help. Some seriously quick cars have been up already, and my complete failure to take decent pictures of most of them is testament to the error of judgement I made about shaking off last night’s wine. That and the fact that Doune’s tight confines make the speed so much more apparent than at other venues.

Consequently, we’re not entirely sure when Paul’s due up. However, when he starts his run, I confidently pronounce to Scott that this is the Bogey. Indeed it is so, and whilst Paul’s not massively quick through Oak, the acceleration towards Garden Gate is inescapable. Too early on the brakes into Garden Gate, then two bites at the gas on the exit before finding confidence and traction, flatshifting at big RPMs through the tunnel. Gone.

Charging the Garden Gate

Doune’s busy today, working its magic on an increasing number and cross-section of observers, from the nail-fiddling, Buckfast-drinking besoms at the bottom of the hill to families with barbecues and foldaway chairs in the Meadow. A senior chap in tie and shooting jacket gets a respectful nod.

The Return Run

For the first of the timed runs, we’re up high, looking out over Junction and the Meadow, and then spinning round to watch them through Esses. Everyone seems slow through Junction, even though we’d surveyed the corner on our way up the hill, noting its narrowness and unhelpful crest in the braking zone. Not everyone is slow enough though, Neil Marshall emerging unscathed from a double roll in his Fisher Fury. Paul’s pulsing the throttle through Meadow, we hear screeching at East Brae, and then he blasts through the Esses on his way to another personal best.

Running the Esses

I have to leave early, and so miss the final timed run. Paul hadn’t exuded confidence that the time was there, so it is all the more pleasing to get the 47.30 text message a couple of hours later.

Doune Hillclimb – National A event 20th and 21st of June 2009

Doune is a scary place, and the one event on the calendar where I am not on the pace. I know the car has the ability, but that place really is an awesome challenge and with the record set at a low 46s (more than three and a half seconds better than my best time) I have a lot to do.

Last time at Doune, I had terrible propshaft vibrations, so knew I could go faster with the new propshaft in place, but how much quicker would I go?

Camber was reset after Kames and with the new boots on (thanks to Drew) expectations were of getting a decent 48 second run. Hopefully that would be enough to match Ross from earlier in the year. Scoring two 3rd places previsouly really hurt my chances of taking the A4 hills title so the pressure was on.

The main event was a National A event, so I was bumped down into a class of National B license holders and was very fortunate to end up with a paddock place next to Mac, Andrew and a fellow Paul in a lovely 600bhp Evo from Yorkshire. We had a good if not somewhat tight spot but we had a good laugh during the weekend and some good banter on the Saturday night. Due to the number of cars and the big single seaters being in attendance, the Saturday was scheduled for 3 practices and the Sunday had one practice, two timed runs and two top 12 run offs on the schedule.

Under the old oak tree

I was pleased that I had no nerves on the Saturday morning, but with a wet track and changeable conditions I decided that I didn’t need to break any records and to try and get some confidence on the lower half of the track. Analysis of earlier results showed that I was losing all of my time to Ross and John in the first 18 seconds — up to the split at Garden Gate. With new 245 rubber on the rear and very little scrubbing in, I decided to take it easy on the first couple of runs and get my eye in.

My first run was on a damp track, which is often slippier than when fully wet, so taking it easy I put in a rather sedate 57 second run. The earlier A4 runners, John Hamilton and Colin Hodge had dry runs and put in 55 and 54 second runs respectively.

Second practice was on a drying track with the run up through Oak, Garden Gate and the Tunnel being dry – only to discover that the meadow had rain and looked damp. This shook me a little and I slowed through out the later half of the run. My time ended up at 51.82 against John and Colin’s 50.29 and 53.06 respectively. I wasn’t sure where all the time was going, but knew I could go faster.

The last practice of the day was my opportunity to state my intentions for a victory on Sunday and managed to slightly better his last practice time of 49.59 with a 49.52 and a new personal best. Tyres were scrubbed in nicely now and weather permitting knew that I could go quicker.

Without any help from the noisy buggers from the Scottish Kit Car Club (SKCC) I managed about 3 hours sleep and felt pretty tired but motivated in the morning.

First practice was a pb of 48.73 against John’s 50.48. The track was perfect. This run really lifted my confidence and I started to believe that I could go faster again. The car was beginning to come alive and move around underneath me, which was really good but a little bit scary as you don’t want to explore beyond acceptable levels of grip at Doune

Through the meadow

Time for the first timed run. John put in a fantastic 48.37, his best run for the last few years anyway. I was in the fortunate position of knowing what I needed to do and managed to raise my game and put in a 48.29 which beat Ross’s and John’s times from earlier in the year. I was chuffed and actually thought that I had it in the bag.

Standing in the paddock with GWR and the A6 guys, John put in a stunning 47.60 on his last run and my heart sunk. That was a good six tenths quicker than he had ever been before and way beyond my expectations for the weekend. I was the first to congratulate John and he was clearly elated.

It was fantastic that so many people came up to me and said I could do it, many thanks to them. But also amazing how many people commented on the cooling conditions and how grip levels were dropping by the second. I knew I could go faster, but could I go that much faster?

The big Goulds take priority and due to overheating and double entries, the clerk wanted to leave the Nat B running until last, but after some sense by Vernon the clerk of the course we were allowed our runs. Yes the track was cooler, yes the grip levels were lower but I was up for it. I’m sure that Giles or Stephen will say that I was quiet, but I was in the zone as they say. Melodramatic, but I honestly felt the best I had in the last couple of years. A heady mixture of adrenalin and the challenge.

My start was perfect, just the right amount of wheel spin, then a slight lift over the first bend then buried the throttle right up to 10k through 2nd and 3rd gears taking the first sweeping right bend faster than I ever thought I would, I actually scared myself a little and had to cover the brake before Oak. I was then back on the power through Oak up to Garden gate with the car right on the limit. Never had that amount of movement in the car at Doune before but it felt great. Had a couple of bites at Garden Gate, but I knew it was quick so buried the throttle again and carried loads of speed up the hill with the car going light over the crest then hard on the brakes for Junction. A little bit of oversteer on the exit, perfect I said to myself – now get back on the power. Again going faster than ever before I had to lift before East Brae. Late on the brakes, snicked second and off again after some opposite lock. Brake hard for the Esses, selecting second to help me stop. A good exit and over the line nearly flatout in 3rd gear. Gobsmacked – I had smashed my own best and beat the listed record of George Coghill Snr of 47.60 and sneaked in a 47.30 to take all the points. We all know that Wallace went faster, but for some reason the record is not used. Will have to wait and see if I get the record and the additional point or not.

Kames Sprint 13th and 14th June 2009

Next up was a double header at Kames only 30 minutes or so South of the house, so an easier journey than Golspie last weekend. The event ran anti clockwise on the Saturday and the more favoured clockwise direction on the Sunday. Both days counted in the Scottish Sprint Championship so I needed to get down to near record place to stay in touch with the leaders.

The car was running well, no major problems, just a small oil weep near the front of the car that only persists at very high oil pressures and the steering rack has some play that will need some attention during the next break after back to back events at Doune, Forrestburn and then Boyndie.

After another flawless event run by the lovely Lesley at EACC (East Ayrshire Car Club) we managed five runs during the day and although my tyres were past their best after Golspie, I thought records were possible with the right conditions. After some strong practice times I set about the timed runs. I managed to get below the record on both runs and in the end lowered the record to 76.63 from 76.99. So good points scored. Only the Lambies were in attendance and were suffering badly from second gear vibration problems and I am sure they wont mind me saying that they couldn’t get near me all weekend. Billy Snr actually had a big moment going losing control over the finish line and ripped his exhaust and rear wing off on his last run. Ended up 10th overall, so another class win and point in the top 10 championship.

Sunday weather forecast promised rain, but another good day transpired and weather looked promising. Kames is very abrasive and after my complaining about lack of grip, again on the rear and around right handed bends, I spotted after the event that my camber setting on the rear left of the car was way out and must have affected the car at Golspie too. Due to the really low ride height, when the suspension is fully extended when up on a jack the springs are popping out of their collars and when setting the camber the spring had clearly been unseated and I had ended up with way too much camber. Silly mistake.

Now that the excuse is out of the way. I didn’t manage match my previous best time and ended up 1.19 seconds off of record pace and pretty disappointed. We only managed one proper timed run though as the rain came in nicely for the second ones. I decided that new rubber was required and have since stepped up to 245’s on the rear. Especially important as the mighty Doune is next week. The very competitive A6 class were on fire this weekend lowering the clockwise record. Congratulations to Les in the mighty GWR Dax.

So two class wins and extended my lead in the A4 class. After normalising the scores on the overall championship I am sitting 3rd overall behind Graeme Bremner and Les Mutch which is way above expectations. A top 5 finish would be a great result from an A4 runner. Very much looking forward to Boyndie in a three weeks time where I currently hold the record and have high expectations.

Golspie: a view from the pits

As Paul said previously – it’s quite the journey to Golspie, especially if you go via Aberdeen. The trip north via GWR on Friday was well worth it though. I was a bit lax in my responsibilities to take photos of everything but I was too busy taking in all the nuggets of information that Graeme was dispensing. The fact the car got a clean bill of health is testament to all the work put in over the winter and since the start of the season.

The rest of the journey up was pretty relaxed with us convoying up from Aberdeen with Matty. It helps that the scenery in that part of the world is so nice.

The racing weekend itself was great fun, despite what the weather threw at us on Saturday afternoon. It was nice to see the fireblade out in the hands of Paul’s brother Russell. It’s still an awesome sounding car. 900 and odd ccs of opera singer.

It’s still shy on power obviously but Russell looked like he was having plenty of fun.

Saturday started dry and Paul was straight in to the thick of things and it looked good for a decent attempt at the record in the afternoon.

The commentator at Golspie, who was initially (but not laterally) an amusing addition to the proceedings, was very interested by Paul’s car. I’m not sure if I could reprint his description of the car’s colour on a child friendly website. He was soon eating his words though when the times came up.

Unfortunately when lunchtime came the weather closed in on the circuit much to everyone’s chagrin. The track was well rubbered in by that point and the addition of the rain left it extremely slippy.

A class victory is always good but the car is chasing class records too so it was tinged with disappointment.

Saturday night was spent at the clubhouse of the local golf club where we were very well fed and watered for much cheapness. My penchant for sticky toffee pudding had clealry preceeded me as the slice I was served could have fed an army.

Sunday morning soon arrived and the threat of rain was ever present. Paul’s first time surprised just about everyone, not least himself. Surely, to paraphrase Yazz, the only way was up?

As Paul said on his post Matty had a pretty big off on the second practice run. I was only standing about 10 yards from where it happened but I was waiting with the video camera to catch Paul’s run and so never caught any of the incident on camera.

Once the dust had settled and the tyres were back in place I did my best to avoid being Mr Shaky Cam who seems to film everything on youtube. I’m quite pleased with the results:

After a lovely BBQd lunch we set about the business of the timed runs. Paul put in a solid, but not earth shattering first run as the skies dulled and rain could be seen in the distance. It looked good for a class win at that point unless anyone could really up the pace.

The rain never arrived but the last timed run saw Paul fighting with his tyres and colder weather. This was a big moment out of the beach corner that put the nail in the coffin of a record attempt.

We’d prepared the tow car and the trailer for a sharp exit so after the final run the bogey was immediately tucked away for the journey home. It’s not quite as smooth as KITT driving into the F.L.A.G, but we’re getting pretty efficient at it now.

Other highlights of the weekend were Donald in his evo managing second fastest time of the day on the Saturday. I suppose the endless supply of grip from 4wd helps with that.

The large turnout of single seaters was also welcome. The turnout at Kames of late hadn’t been brilliant. My own personal favourite was this one in what can only be described as a timeless livery.

The GWR dax was up to its usual tricks – lifting the rear wheels clean off the ground over the jump on the Sunday.

With 2 class wins and plenty of war stories we said our goodbyes to the rest of the competitors and started the journey back down. It seemed to pass by pretty quickly. I guess it helps that we took the more direct route. Overall a good weekend of racing and fun that was well worth the trip north.

See Flickr for the rest of Saturday’s Pictures and Sunday’s Pictures. They’ll be up on Photobox in the next few days if anyone would like prints.