Anyone interested?

[Podd37]

I'm curious to see if there would be any interest for a 4 event non championship series in Ireland,England, Scotland and Wales among drivers of small engined (1350cc max ) saloon and sports cars built before 01/01/1975. In other words the guys that normally race lower down the grid waiting for the V8's to lap them!
I have in mind a very simple set of regs:
Max of 1350 cc in race trim.
Engine must be from model range (ie no ohc where there should be pushrods.)
751kgs (with driver,in race trim) or over ( no weight ballasting allowed), max wheel width 6 inches, any road legal/trackday tyre.
Up to and including 750kgs (with driver,in race trim, weight ballasting allowed) max wheel width 5.5 inches Dunlop L or M Historic race tyres.
No fuel injection
I know there are bound to be a few of you that would like a go at running up front for outright honours rather than just class wins and I am certain I could get a good event over here and possibly in Wales. Any interest?

[midgetman]

Could you increase the capacity to 1400? Would allow in a whole host of Appx-K legal A-series cars ;-)

Seriously, there's a lot of Spridgets running 1380/1399. I could be tempted (mine's 1380). Would there be a minimum weight?

[IAN #51]

I would be up for that i know my own Spitfire would meet the criteria and can think of plenty of other guys who would like to race for the overall win.

Count me in

On the same basis i have always wondred why we have never had a Spitfire VS Midget VS Sprite challenge i reckon that could be really good fun.

Ian

[MGDavid]

I might well be up for this - my non-FISC spare engine is 1330. What are these Dunlop fancy special tyres then, are they expensive and do they grip better than 048Rs?

[Podd37]

Hi Max. 1350 cc is just an idea so yes if the interest is there 1400 could be on. My only reasoning is to give the people that run smaller engined cars, Imps, real (if they exist)1000/1275 minis, more road based sprites/spitfires or whatever a fair crack and to try and weed out madly developed A35's etc!! No lower weight limit but I would not be accepting a full modsports car that ran at 450kgs with the driver!! Big arches and skinny wheels look silly!!
David, as far as I know, those Dunlops offer less grip than say a Yoko A048, hence my idea to put them on lighter cars with skinnier wheels and give a heavier car a bit of a chance by allowing a wider wheel and more grip.
Keep it coming guys. What circuit in England would suit best? Would you all run on a road (for the irish round) circuit? Would you prefer 2 races on 1 day rr would people prefer 1 longer race, maybe for 2 drivers. How much would you be realistically prepared to pay for say 2x20min races.

[MGDavid]

Road circuit? - not 'arf !
English circuit - suggest Cadwell
If all on 1 day then practice plus 1 (longer) race, but 2 separate races over 2 days is an attractive format.
Ballpark for 1 hr track time - £275?

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

I might well be up for this - my non-FISC spare engine is 1330. What are these Dunlop fancy special tyres then, are they expensive and do they grip better than 048Rs?

they're proper historic racing tyres £100 a corner, but saves a fortune in not making your shell crack and fall apart, unless you have a multi point cage!

[Fred Gallagher]

What about start at Oulton, road section to Knockhill with a hill climb on the way, ferry to Ireland, race at Kirkistown, on to Mondello, ferry to Anglesea for a race there and finish. Cheap hotels and pubs, 5 days........sounds a bit like Tour Britannia lite!

Fred

[SZRacer]

Sounds Interesting! Might be up for this, if the wife lets me, and assuming a 1300cc Alfa Giulietta is eligible.

By the way, Ian51, still got the Astro?

James

[IAN #51]

WARNING OFF TOPIC

Yes James still got the Astro passed the M.O.T so twelve months of killing the planet is back on.still got yours ?

Back on topic Oulton would be good as for the Dunlops i would prefer just any list 1B tyre as i would have to shell out another £400 just for tyres i would gladly spend £300 on a hours tracktime.

As for engine capacity a lot of Spitfires out there racing are 1500s thay dont actually gain anything in terms of power cos of there heavier cranks not allowing them to rev as high as the 1300S.

Podd 37 were you racing a fiat at the CSCC visit to Anglesey this year ?

[Podd37]

Yes Ian, that was me with the Fiat 128. A woeful effort then but now fully sorted and a match for most minis and midgets. With regards tyres and or engine sizes the last thing that interests me is to force someone to buy new stuff for one off events so perhaps tyres from certain lists would appeal more to people. Same with engine size, if it can be demonstrated that 'x' car does similar lap times with a larger engine as a (nominal)1350 then let it in. What I dont want, however, is a large engined ultra lightweight mini on 9inch slicks blowing away the rest of the field. That is why I suggested a weight /wheel size restriction. I will also be the 1st to admit that this is something that suits my car and that the idea came from having some great scraps with similar small engined cars
SZ your Alfa would be more than welcome. I would love to get cars that are not so often seen.
And Fred, if I thought my better half would allow me go play (pretend!)racing driver for 5 consecutive days I'd be doing the real Tour!!! Great schedule though.....
All this is very tentative at the moment and approaches are being made to clubs and to ferry companies so I do need all your continued input. Realistically to keep the entry fees to about £275 (which, David, was the figure I had in mind) for a double header, practice and 2x20min races, of which at least two would be over two days, I can only do this with more than 15 cars so that is why I am on this early. But remember, perhaps in a similar vain to FISC events, the ultimate aim is a short series of races where the cars are reasonably closely matched without all the 'that person is cheating' talk. Hence the 'flexible' regs. Racing is supposed to be fun!

[MGDavid]

all sounds good, keep going Podd. We're off to Holland in the morning for the FISC dinner, so will have a much better idea of what we might be doing (or not) next year once we are back...

[GBRM]

I'd love to be interested but my car (2.3) is too big.
I know my Dad loved coming over to Ireland in the early '80s (in the Capri and Monza) and then 7/8 yeas later in the Tuscans; I'd love to do it too!!
If ever you have a '70s type (or even early '80s!!) of race then I'll come over!!

[Motormouth]

GBRM,
we have a new pre '79 Historic class at Mondello, your car would slot right in and it'd be great to have you over. I have a video somewhere of your Dad in a 2.8 Capri at Mondello.

As for this proposed class Paul, sounds fantastic. Must have a root in the lockup and see if I have anything that fits the bill, I'd love to race on a new (to me ) Uk circuit. Spaceframe Imp, 1300 Fiat 127, Mk1 Golf GTi???? Fiat 124 Special T?? Nope? It's off to Ebay for me then....again!!

[Podd37]

GBRM we have to get you over for one of the pre '79 events!! I have heard rumours of a 40th anniversery event at Mondello next year so maybe Leo can find out more for you. Your Dad had many Irish fans so I think it would be a great tribute to him.
Leo, you really need to get rid of some of that fleet. Even you can only drive one at a time!

[GBRM]

Originally Posted by Motormouth

GBRM,
we have a new pre '79 Historic class at Mondello, your car would slot right in and it'd be great to have you over. I have a video somewhere of your Dad in a 2.8 Capri at Mondello.

Well that sounds perfect; can you let me have some details? Would love to come put there, plus there's quite a few Droop Snoots in Ireland.

Is the video you have the one where Dad gets spun on the first lap?

[GBRM]

Originally Posted by Podd37

GBRM we have to get you over for one of the pre '79 events!! I have heard rumours of a 40th anniversery event at Mondello next year so maybe Leo can find out more for you. Your Dad had many Irish fans so I think it would be a great tribute to him.
Leo, you really need to get rid of some of that fleet. Even you can only drive one at a time!

That definitely sounds like a plan and I'd love to come over for it if someone can send me the details that would be great.

[Motormouth]

Originally Posted by GBRM

Well that sounds perfect; can you let me have some details? Would love to come put there, plus there's quite a few Droop Snoots in Ireland.

Is the video you have the one where Dad gets spun on the first lap?

The '08 calendar is being finalised at the moment, as soon as I have definitive dates, I'll let you know. The regs are reasonably loose, with classes for Modsports, Production Saloons, and pretty much anything in between so your car should slot right in......
Yeah, I think the video is the one where he got spun at the first corner. It's an amateur one, taken from the stand but includes an interview afterwards.