Irrational about race numbers?

[Racer 35]

Do any of you have any favourite numbers and/or superstitions regarding them?
I only ask as I seem to have adopted the number 35 as my own, even though I’m not at all superstitious. The story behind 35 for me is as follows:

-Bought my first racecar aged 35
-When I went to see it, prior to buying it, it carried the number 35
-Entered first race, and was allocated 35
-Did 2 seasons with HSCC, as No35
-Decided to buy a second car a couple of years later, and found my Elva Mk4 in Atlanta, Georgia. It carried 35 in the first pictures I saw of it.
-Got serious about buying the Elva, and went to see it, it was still 35
-Checked it’s history and found that whilst it was a works car it was raced by Frank Baptista, and he always raced with number 35. (Except at World Championship events)

So, somehow, I now have to ask for 35 whenever possible, and get a little twitchy when I can’t have it. At the Revival last week I was number 9. Now what sort of a number is that?

It’s not that I do any better when racing as 35, or any worse, for that matter. It just seems to have happened.

Any other irrational people out there?

[Al Weyman]

26 I am in the CTRCC races and funny enough the other day I was looking through a photo album from the 70's at my old HotRod racing and guess what number I was running back then? 26!

[Suze]

can non-historics answer this? if not please delete mods!

Number 9 is actually my lucky number, but can't choose it as it's one of the numbers allocated to the person who came 9th in the championship.

Funny Al's lucky number is 26 - Sam[ss_collins]'s lucky number is also 26, because it was the first number he had when racing and rallying. Now he requests it.

[zefarelly]

in 04 I was

HSCC 51
CTCRC 53
Top Hat 49

then for several years I was 71, its the year I was born and it wqas an oft used Willment No on the Cortina GT in 63

unfortunately at the moment I'm 31

was 16 last weekend

71 is my fave.

[Suze]

I've used the year I was born this year, glad I'm not the only one!

[Adam43]

I like 43. I have mostly been this and have developed an affinity with The King. It isn't a requirement, but I will request it. My website also plays on it.

I have bought a new car and will race 43 in its first race. It has done a couple od track days first and I have decided not toput the number on until it gets to my first race in it.

Again not a big thing, but the photos will differentiate a track car from a race car for me.

[terence]

I have a thing about 7,it has proven to be a good number for me.This year is my seventh 6hr. I have race number ------- 7!!

[Adam Ruddle]

My father raced Grasstrack and Longtrack, mostly around Europe in the 50's and early 60's as #36 (or 136 if there was a clash) so I've always tried to get that number when I'm racing. Managed to get it on the Clubmans and ARP F3 but most historics have been one off events so harder to get organisers to play ball.
Adam

[zefarelly]

as Johngee pointed out at Goodwood, In following period livery I've always had a flagrant disregard for the regs on Numbers, (Usually white, but ) sky blue numbers on red roundels . . . .

As good a reason for a one way ticket to the Towers as your likely to see he thinks

[Peter Mallett]

The only time I've never run 36 is 1995 when I ran as 18 ................................................ and rolled my car into a ball at Cadwell.

[GBRM]

Playing football I've always wanted a number that has no significance, something like 12 or 14 as I am pretty superstitions and was trying not to be so slly!! With racing I wanted 55 as that was my late father's lucky number and was the number of his competition license, whcih the MSA very kindly re-activated for me and let me use.
I would have liked 55 to race with but it was taken in my championship, so I went for 96, which was my Dad's third luckiest number after 55 and 69 (I won't explain that ) and when Dad raced for Geoffrey Marsh and couldn't have 55 he wanted 69 but Geoffrey wouldn't allow it (for some strange reason ) so raced as 96.
I'm hoping his lucky numbers will be lucky for me too

[terence]

96 would deepend on you position Gregor I used to have 55 years ago,it did me no harm!

[Alan Raine]

I ended up using my house number - no real reason but I had to think of something.

When I first started in FF1600 in 1982 I wasn't really doing any specific championship but could race at several meetings in a weekend (those were the days!). My record was 4 races at 4 different meetings over 8 days (Easter Bank Holiday and the following Saturday). Each race with a different number - and about 2 rolls of black Fablon!

And I still had change from £180 for entry fees

[ensign14]

Slightly germane to this topic, but I prefer it in the more modern historic F1 if they have historically correct numbers. Somehow it fits to see a 3 on a Tyrrell P34. Would look rubbish with 29.

[col rooney]

Oh this is a great tread i have raced my imp with the number 14 for 4 years and the number was used by my dad in the same car when he raced it in ireland for some 20 years. So it was great to keep it on his car until half way trough the season this year i got my finals only to find i was 41. So i phoned to see what was happening as im registered in the championship as 14 and was told just change the number as the other driver who would be running 14 on his car had entered before me to which i tried to put my case forward the the number meant a lot to me. I decided to pull my entry only to have the clerk of the course say i was now being stupid and he was not prepared to listen to me anymore and hung the phone up .My wife rang him back to see how i would get my entry money back to be told that i had rang him at 9.40 at night and the dead line for phoneing was 9.30 so she appolagised and was told i could run as 14 for the rest of the year .So the next day when i got in from work i had an Email saying that i was very un helpfull over the matter and that i should realise that he does his job for free. What he dosent realise is that whithout people like me spending money there would be no racing and i know for a fact that without people like him and the marshalls there would be no racing .I think he was trying the guilt trip with that one any way i phoned him again to say i was sorry for ringing after 9.30 which he excepted but there was no appolagy from him for hanging the phone up on me so i pulled my entry and told him that due to his attitude i would no longer be putting my imp on there grid and asked if i could collect a trophy that i had won for winning my class in 06 and was told that as i never went to the prize giving that i was no entiteled to it so i now have a car that sits in the garage collecting dust due to being pig headed about my number 14 but i have my principles and will use my car for track days. Well it seems to me that this is an easy way of the people in charge getting rid of the cars they dont realy want in there race series . And so im now building a new car for a different series it wont bother me what number i get as it wont be my dads car


col

[dereklola]

For years I've used #77 on my Lola T460 (Atlantic) in US vintage racing. I just wanted an easy number to make since I'm too cheap to buy numbers. #1 and #7 were often taken by early entries so I settled on 77.

Several years ago now I was idly looking at a Lola F3000 (Toshio Suzuki's T9150 from the Japan series) for sale in the paddock at Mid Ohio when someone pointed out it already had "my" number 77 on it - so I bought it and am still renovating it to this day. It'll be ready 'next year' for sure - it better be or I'll be too *** old to drive it soon.

Er - no - I'm not supersticious

[SZRacer]

I always used to be car 58, until a fateful day in 1999, when I rolled my Alfa Giulia SS at Paddock bend at Brands Hatch.

The following season was an 'off' season, and when I returned in 2001, my race number had been allocated ot someone else. The only race number available was number 69.

I took it. Of course after a few minutes, apart from the 'fnarr, fnarr' aspect, I realised that 69 read the same upside down as well. I had to see the funny side of it!!

Ever since then, in most race series my cars have been number 69, which I'm quite possessive about now. And it breaks the ice with continental scrutineers, who usually see the funny side of it. 'Oh, soixante-neuf, zut alors!' etc. etc.

James

[GBRM]

I'm sure 69 is a lucky number for a lot of people for a lot of differant reasons!!

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by GBRM

I'm sure 69 is a lucky number for a lot of people for a lot of differant reasons!!

68 is better, then they owe you one.

[esper]

Originally Posted by GBRM

I'm sure 69 is a lucky number for a lot of people for a lot of differant reasons!!

The orange car we had a the Spa six hours just needs the 69. we had 71 but that was the sum of our (the drivers ) ages. But for me personal it was a great honour to have 39 on my TVR. MG people might not like it , but it was a tribute to my MGs raced before.

[ensign14]

I'd like to use phi, if I could. The golden ratio.

[delta]

For years i liked to have 44 on the cars i drove. Too be honest i could not give a monkeys what no i get these days. Sometimes i have been given no 1 and i have to say i allways try a bit harder to give the no a bit of credit