Masters Brands Hatch 27th-28th May

[Paulaweybridge]

Just heard from Brands that the Formula One cars are not being allowed out due to the attrocious conditions and a lot of rescheduling is being done to the timetable.

I was going down but I am glad that I decided to stay in the warmth of my home.

Good old English weather eh?

Just a great shame that an otherwise awesome meeting is being spoilt.

Still we shouldn't have a water shortage this summer !!!

Hopefully it will be drier and warmer in Chicago when I arrive there this Wednesday..:-)

Paula Hamilton

[petestenning]

Some fine cars there , pity the weather was so bad, i decided not to go today as the forecast was for more rain than yesterday.


Pete

[Peter Mallett]

A massive shame. I'm glad I was racing last weekend.

Still, if it allows, the smaller cars will show up the big stuff in the wet.

[jonbryant]

Permission requested to feel smug that I only went yesterday and am sitting on the sofa watching it not rain outside?

Sympathy to all the marshals who have had to stand through it.

JB

[zefarelly]

dreadful weather, and not the best atmosphere either, by Lunchtime today I wanted to go home. many thanks to Mrs Zef and young Arthur for being so co-operative and helpful.

Qual was awful, very wet, not a problem per se but there was so much oil on the back half of the circuit I was wheel spinning in a straight line, struggled like hell to record 19th on the grid with a 2:18 lap.

lowered my tyre pressures a bit, and remembered to get the rear dampers on full soft for the race! made 5 places at the start and got moving, again very wet, and standing water in a lot of places, started to get the hang of the new steering set up and managed a 2:12 dead on lap 6, car wouldn't start after pit stop ( which seemd like an eternity, who ever came up with standing still in the rain for 20 seconds after running round the car is mad, whats the F'ing point of making a good stop!) received a welcome bump from Mr & MRs LAK, got going then started to over heat, figured I was near the end so backed off to finish, temp hit 130 !!!! but made it to the end without loosing a place, only puffing oil, so knackered engine ( I know why) but finished 11th so pretty pleased, especially as I raced 6 secs faster than I qualified and beat some posh cars !

oh, Roger, sorry My indicators packed up so you didn't know I was pitting!

and last but not least, a massive hats off to all the marshalls, some, if not many of them looked damp before they went out this morning, thanks for sticking aroung so we could race!

[jonbryant]

I've hardly found any shots of today. I reckon the weather kept a lot of people inside and away from the track.

And well done Zef for beating some of the big boys!

[johngee]

Joe - well done. I know I shouldn't (in my position! LOL) but Claire and I were following your progress with a special interest! Sorry I didn't get to see you more socially, together with Louise and Jason but the weather put paid, not only to some of the racing (as you know) but also to a bit of socialising. Hope to catch up with you at another meeting.

Agree with you about the marshals - above and beyond the call of duty.

[MartinSmith]

Originally Posted by johngee

Joe - well done. I know I shouldn't (in my position! LOL) but Claire and I were following your progress with a special interest! .......

Yes, I must agree with Mr Smith (for a change!..lol) well done Joe! and all actually....the weather was awful so hats off to the Marshalls who stood on post and all who worked as best they could for the meeting.

[Stephen Green]

Weather awefull...Racing great.

I got home about 19.15 and stipped off several layers of soaking wet clothing, all of which is now residing in the linen basket for washing tomorrow. It was a huge shame the weather was so grim as it spoilt what would have been an absolutely fantastic weekends motorsport.

I missed waving to you Zef, sorry (was at Druids all weekend). Have to say the group C cars brought back some fond memories.

Well done to drivers and marshals alike who braved the atrocious conditions. Someone reminded me that this weekend last year was the WTCC meeting and look back at the weather then!!!!!

[Peter Mallett]

Well done zef. Intrigued with the comment re "atmosphere".

[johnh875]

I'm glad I was out here at Winton on Sunday (~18°C and perfect sunshine) rather than over there! I'll have to spend a bit more time taking in the photos of some very spectacular machinery, thanks for sharing them guys.

Good to see an Aussie car (and driver) over there doing well - Wayne Park in the Lola T70 owned by Rob Sherrard (this one)

[zefarelly]

well I'm sure it was on whole due to the weather but it just felt a bit empty and hollow, with a facade, not like HSCC or Top Hat race meetings, nothing wrong with the people we know and Like however!

having said that our little awning served us all well, we dined in fine style Sunday evening, and had guests for Lunch on Monday

[Stephen Green]

And you obviously made it home in one piece last night

If you watch Motorsport UK on August 5th you might see a few of the cars as we had an ITV film crew on post 5 Monday filming 2 FBMW guys doing a dats marshalling with me. It was a shame the weather was so lousy for everyone though.

[johngee]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

Well done zef. Intrigued with the comment re "atmosphere".

Obviously, I can't speak for Zef, but I rather suspect the flaw in the atmosphere was due, almost entirely, to the weather. Masters and MSV had put a lot of planning into the meeting but so much of the 'social side' had to be abandoned or curtailed due to the appalling weather. Also the timetable was thrown on Monday afternoon with the abandonment of the F1 race and the subsequent 'knock on' effect and the difficulties of communicating the minute by minute changes to everybody (radios and speaker systems together with heavy rain, don't mix!). I think it was a great tribute to the marshals and the MSV staff and officials, that we got through the meeting as well as we did.

[Randy]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Look forward to that James!



That's a pity. Good driver that he is, it is really about time that someone gave that Spice a run for its money. Were none of the Nissans or Jaguars on the pace?

Good photos, guys. Good to see Zef's car in action, too.

Actually the quickest car of the weekend was Ian Stinton in a very similar Spice. Quick cars those C1 Spice's.

[zefarelly]

well said John, the other killer from a paddock point of view was people packing up and dissapearing home as soon as they could, quite understandable given the weather, I was soaked after loading and drove home ASAP still wet . . . we're airing and drying everything now!
subsequently the paddock, often the best place, was a very wet semi deserted place by lunchtime yesterday

[zac510]

Sure sounds like everyone agrees it has good potential and great variety of cars.

I got bitten by the weather too. My feet still ache - from having to ride from the train station and back with sopping wet shoes and socks!

Anyway I've put the rest of my Saturday photos up in my gallery:
http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rands%20May07/

[SZRacer]

Well, a brief follow-on to my previous post....albeit a personal perspective on Monday's events.

Just when it seemed that Sunday's weather could not get any worse, it was topped by Monday's! We arrived at the paddock on Monday morning, to find that my 'super-cheapo, made in China by 5-year olds, eBay gazebo' had completely collapsed in the wind, and been blown against the car. Luckily no damage, but I've learned that you get what you pay for!

Strong winds, driving rain, and it was bloody cold to boot! I wasn't particularly looking forward to racing in those conditions, nor i'm sure were many of my co-competitors!

The Gentleman Drivers race started in these conditions, and the huge amount of spray, poor visibility, rain, and condensation from inside the car, meant it was like driving with cataracts!! Conditions were very slippery to say the least, and a major off on the second lap at Paddock, saw Robert Barrie's Porsche and (I believe) two TVRs in the gravel. a brief period under the safety car, and we were off again.

I had to actually remind myself that we were racing, so great was the temptation to just follow the car in front! However, I did enjoy some great dices with people, despite being able to see almost nothing in my rear view mirrors or rear windscreen (these Alfas are definitely not water-tight - I had water running down the INSIDE of the windscreen, and was constantly having to swipe at the screen to clear it with a cloth!). Unfortunately tried to overtake a TR4 before Surtees, which culminated in a brief excursion on the grass, as he 'shut the door'. Despite feeling like giving up after 20 mins., so bad were the conditions, after 30 mins. I started to get into the groove a bit, and really enjoyed the remaining 20 mins. more driving before our driver change. Nick was a safe pair of hands, and we were happy to bring the car home safely after 90 mins., with a best time of 2'14. Slow(!), but fast for our little car, given the conditions. And somehow (but not according to the results sheet, confusing me), we even got a second in class!

There was some great driving at the front of the field, with the two Cobras of Chiles and Bill Wykeham fighting it out. Maximum respect on such a slippery track! The Alfa TZ1 of Mullen and Blakeney-Edwards had a cracking race, especially as I know how twitchy TZs are! The race was won by the Chiles/Ingram Cobra, a great bit of driving!

Regarding the event itself, I think that, whatever your personal view of Masters (and for whatever reason people do seem to have a particular distrust of them, as a purely commercial venture - as opposed to HSCC etc.), there is no doubt in my mind that a huge amount of work had been put in to make the event a success, both from Masters and MSVR. Undoubtedly with better weather, it would have been a great success, and the crowds would undoubtedly have been much much larger. The paddock seemed strangely empty, although the grids were full enough, and the turnout of cars, especially given the conditions was superb! Had we all been relaxing in the sun on deckchairs, I'm sure the whole atmosphere of the event would have been perceived totally differently. There is no doubt that the Masters organisation is a very 'professional' outfit, and this has both good points and bad points.

What I will say is that they are at least trying to involve competitors more in the decision-making process and take criticism on board. They have created drivers' representatives for each race series (and yes, since you ask! I am the representative for the Gentleman Drivers lot), and the idea is that people feed gripes, suggestions and ideas to us, and we thrash them out with John Quenby et al, in a bid to improve things/implemnent ideas. None of the drivers' represntatives have any link with Masters, financial or otherwise, and the idea is to improve things for all competitors.

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked! IMHO, the weekend was a potentially great meeting, with lots of effort put into it from both drivers and organisers, and I really enjoyed it despite the weather. Didn't manage to catch up with Zeffarelly, despite seeing him in the paddock, but next time I will! A special mention must be made of the Marshals, who stood out for two days in cold, damp conditions, and still managed to be relatively cheerful! Thanks, guys. I'm out again next weekend in the AMOC St. John Horsfall meeting. Surely the weather must be better??

Regards,

James

[Belmondo]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

well said John, the other killer from a paddock point of view was people packing up and dissapearing home as soon as they could, quite understandable given the weather, I was soaked after loading and drove home ASAP still wet . . . we're airing and drying everything now!
subsequently the paddock, often the best place, was a very wet semi deserted place by lunchtime yesterday

I agree with Zefarelly - it was lacking something, as was the Masters meeting at Donington a few weeks ago. It's a shame this has replaced the HSCC's second meeting on the Brands GP circuit. For the spectator, it offers much less - not the same variety of races, and they're just too long. 20 minutes is fine - or even better, 12 laps or whatever. And worst of all is the unsavoury commercial feel of it all and the infuriating attempts at branding. But still, I enjoyed myself. What a circuit!

[johngee]

James. I go along with everything you say. Knowing HSCC very well and now having worked with Masters, I think they both have their place, are positioned in a different 'marketplace' and can coexist quite happily. Where there IS a similarity, is a culture that the meetings are run for the benefit of the competitors (not the organisers LOL!). I hope that's coming over well and I hope that, if it's not, through here and other lines of communication we can address any issues and concerns. I'm not going into the 'commercials' of either organisation, other than to say that, with the costs of circuit hire etc., we're all on a 'knife edge' and anybody who thinks that there's money to be made needs to 'wake up and smell the coffee'.

[zefarelly]

Likewise James, now I know which cars yours!

I think MAsters are trying hard, and its good they're appointing competitiors to advise/relay info etc etc. and appear to be acting on it? I shouldn't really comment as I'm not a Masters member !

alienating valuable crew members from proceedings is highly questionable though, no crew, no race cars, and I didn't see many people in the tent on Sunday lunchtime who looked like they could check tyre pressures let alone build an engine in a paddock ( and yes we did see that happening )

the paddock seeming empty was also, in part, due to the nature of the weekend, all the races where long, so rather than a 'club' meeting with say 300 cars there where half that.

My First race with U2TC was a good one, despite the conditions I had a good dice with several cars, most notably Richard Lawsons Lotus Cortina, and it was good clean family fun from flag to flag!

[zefarelly]

a good point Belmondo, but from a drivers point of view we want track time, so, as John says, its all covered by the two main 'clubs' and we as competitors pay for the track time at the end of the day

Q: Why is a 50 minute hard faught saloon car race with a host of overtaking and leader changes boring when people rate watching F1 cars following each other around for 2 hours ?

[Stephen Green]

I guess the Group C and Masters GP cars were in the garages in the F1 Paddock, which would explain the empty feeling of the outer paddock. It would have been nice if we marshals had been aloowed to park our cars within the circuit, but that's a minor gripe really.

Several marshals I spoke to also commented on how long some of the races were. 1.5 hours and 1 hour can be a tad tedious, but I am sure much of that was down to the slow racing due to weather conditions. I will reserve full judgement until I have attended a dry race weekend.

I thought the Group C and under 2 litre TC's were among the highlights for me and I look forward to coming to the next meeting. Maybe then it will be easier to find the time to pop over and meet people.

[Belmondo]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

a good point Belmondo, but from a drivers point of view we want track time, so, as John says, its all covered by the two main 'clubs' and we as competitors pay for the track time at the end of the day

Q: Why is a 50 minute hard faught saloon car race with a host of overtaking and leader changes boring when people rate watching F1 cars following each other around for 2 hours ?

I suppose it's inevitable that as a spectator I don't want exactly the same thing as the competitors. With Masters though I get the feeling that spectators are completely redundant, which I find depressing.

[rogerwills]

Originally Posted by petestenning

John ,

Pole was taken by Leo Voyasides and an DFV engined Lola T280 with Gitanes paint job looks naff to me but still.

I agree it doesn't look that great, but it gets my vote as the best sounding car of the weekend!

When they fired it up in the pits the crowd that formed were like bees to a honey pot. Lovely noise!