Cadwell Park Saturday 3rd Sept Classic Touring Car Racing

[Retired]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Flagwaver if you guys would listen to me I told you I knew exactly what it and had only just filled the reservior and the thing only holds half a pint of fluid and by the time I line up that was it it had already gone which I appologise for, if you had just let me do one lap and seen how it went and if still dropping oil flagged me in that would be fair enough but you wouldnt you take my word for it I know the car and there is absolutely NO WAY I would have taken it out if that oil was coming from the engine as those things cost big money. I knew the fluid had gone as the power steering stopped working but it is OK for me to drive it like that I wouldnt have risked anyones safety. Thats why I was angry and somewhat immaturely swearing but it was the fact I knew what the problem was and it would have cleared up immediately but there was no telling anyone and I suspected just maybe it was because someone else from the club had dropped oil all round the circuit and you guys lost your lunch break and I was the whipping boy. As for reporting me, well what can I say. I had a camera in the car maybe I will youtube it

OK Al - you were bang out of order by verbally abusing the marshals. The fact is that oil was reported leaking from your car in the assembly area. The clerk of the course asked the scrutineers to have a look and they decided it should not start the race. The clerk then ordered the startline marshal to remove your car from the grid. They were merely acting on instructions from race control. I feel you owe an apology to Cadwell Park marshals in general and the startline in particular. I noticed that somewhere you said you would not go to Cadwell again - that's fair enough but don't abuse people who were only doing their job. It was nothing personal you know.

[dulon]

they were acting in the safety interests of the other users of the track remember, no one wants slippery fluids on the track. Its a dangerous enough sport as it is. hope you can get the car fixed for the next meet, doesn't sound as expensive a fix as some of the cars that crashed out.

[morninggents]

Swearing at marshalls under any circumstances isn't on as I'm sure Al realises.

But don't forget he stood to lose the value of the entry fee and had expended a considerable amount of effort loading up and getting there for no return on that effort, not to mention the work he had put in on the car prior to loading up.

Perhaps the scrutineers should have made more effort to find the source of the problem and listened to what Al was saying.

[Moosehead]

Firstly let me make it clear that I don't condone what Al did or didn't do.

However, earlier in the yr I posted on the Marshals section about them recieving abuse from drivers specifically referring to an incident involving BTCC driver Plato at Thruxton. Most of the replies were saying the same thing in that although they don't like it (obviously) they do sort of accept it and tolerate it as they understand that in the heat of the moment things do get said which aren't really meant. Surely that is the case with Al's 'incident'. Somewhat ironic looking at the 2 examples is that the guy who has paid everything out his own pocket and therefore is losing the most by others decisions is the one handed penalties (not being allowed to start and points on licence) whilst the other guy who is paid to be there whether he takes part or not gets away scot free.

Once again one rule for the BTCC guys, one rule for us............seemingly

[Al Weyman]

OK I have already appologised and will do so again, it was out of order swearing.

I won't labour on about the fact I knew it would stop in a few seconds and certainly by the first lap but surely they could have let me keep the car running in the pit lane for a couple of minutes to see if it would clear (it would trust me and did) as I asked again if I could start from the pit lane but no. That little dribble of oil would have made little difference I got seriously out of shape on Len's oil he put down then proceeded to a lap empting out the sump, thats unforgiveable and I stress again I would have held my hands up and said fair cop its just I knew what the fault was but no one seemed interested all presumable assumimg it was an engine oil leak why one of the guys even said that they had probably saved me an engine so obviously no one was listening. As I say if I had been threatening thats a different matter as it would if it was an engine oul leak but I did back off the grid which in fact if everyone was so concerned about this massive oil slick I was presumably leaving can I ask why I was not asked to kill the engine and they push it back?

Anyhow I still love you all so no hard feelings and I will make sure the ruddy thing is fixed next time out so I can get on the pace with Dave Scriven in the Toyota Supra.

[SAMD]

Originally Posted by Moosehead

Firstly let me make it clear that I don't condone what Al did or didn't do.

However, earlier in the yr I posted on the Marshals section about them recieving abuse from drivers specifically referring to an incident involving BTCC driver Plato at Thruxton. Most of the replies were saying the same thing in that although they don't like it (obviously) they do sort of accept it and tolerate it as they understand that in the heat of the moment things do get said which aren't really meant. Surely that is the case with Al's 'incident'. Somewhat ironic looking at the 2 examples is that the guy who has paid everything out his own pocket and therefore is losing the most by others decisions is the one handed penalties (not being allowed to start and points on licence) whilst the other guy who is paid to be there whether he takes part or not gets away scot free.

Once again one rule for the BTCC guys, one rule for us............seemingly

Well said that man. Including the first bit.

[Al Weyman]

BTW the main reason I will not do cadwell again is the journey invariably on a Friday afternoon from Watford is a 168 mile nightmare, never again. Can you wonder after that and £210 entry fee I was a tad disgruntled, it would have made the pope swear

[joss Ronchetti]

You will hate the reminder of this then Al:
Still my, and many others's favourite Uk circuit :'0)
....although I must say it is awfully hard to pass there, if a car just simply sits in the middle of the track & will not assist...as you will see:
incar of the Bullet in Classic Thunder chasing M3/Falcon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bGVtjQg0rM

[Al Weyman]

Blimey and I thought I was going along nicely, you CT guys are in the next league. BTW just pulled the power steering pump off and its wasnt anything to do with bad prep, the front pully bearing is shot causing the fluid to pee out but only when running, all the connections were sound. Just bad luck alround I do seem fated somehow in this lark.

[Gerry Taylor]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Swearing at marshalls under any circumstances isn't on as I'm sure Al realises.

But don't forget he stood to lose the value of the entry fee and had expended a considerable amount of effort loading up and getting there for no return on that effort, not to mention the work he had put in on the car prior to loading up.

Perhaps the scrutineers should have made more effort to find the source of the problem and listened to what Al was saying.

Excellent. Common sense. Good Post.
"We ARE all in this together. ( That should read..YOU are all in this together). Al, I had days like that, and felt just the same as you, and maybe used similar language, all in the heat of the moment, and in frustration. I'm sure the Marshalls realise that. It happens matey.
Hang in there Buddy.

[Al Weyman]

I think they were acting from instructions from the clerk so in that respect I shouldnt have bad mouthed anyone. I think if Len hadnt dropped a sump full in qually then maybe I would have been given the benifit of doubt but they had probably had enough of oil slicks by then. Btw the irony is I nearly lost ot big time on Len's oil in qually and that was a slick I tell you! I'll stick a tenner in the fund in way of an appology.

[paddy]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

BTW the main reason I will not do cadwell again is the journey invariably on a Friday afternoon from Watford is a 168 mile nightmare, never again. Can you wonder after that and £210 entry fee I was a tad disgruntled, it would have made the pope swear

You've got my sympathy there Al. I attended a family funeral in the St Albans area on Friday. A steady 1hr 50 minute run down Friday morning and 4 hours of total chaos back to Nottingham in the afternoon.

[Tim Falce]

Al, last time I went Cadwell I got up at my normal work time and got up there in 3.5 hours from SE London. I try not to race there mainly due to the distance but also because I hate the track.

[Al Weyman]

Thats interesting Tim, I hear so many people say they love the place. I am a bit gutted as well because I was well up for it when I lined up on the grid and the way my cars take off the line I would probably have got infront of three or four cars by the first corner and with the torque going up the hills I would probably have held it till the mountain and no one gets past wide tubs through there! I quite like the track as it happens but there are several things MSV need to address as a matter of urgency and one reason I got hauled in front of the clerk a few years ago. The first thing is lets have some hard standing in the paddock. The only hard standing there is taken up by motorhomes so an interim thing would be ban them from there and have race cars only in that section, all motorhomes, tow vehicles and trailers park on the grass. The second thing is the absolutely ridiculous exit from the track to the paddock. This is where I came unstuck in the past as I HAVE to boot it up the hill when I have a close ratio box and a sintered clutch fitted I have no choice with an in or out clutch but that got me hauled in front of the clerk previously. If I had taken the yellow car I was fully prepared to 'break down' on the slowing down lap and get towed in. Sorry marshals I would have had no choice as a hill start and 5 mph up a 20% incline with a gearbox with an 80mph 1st gear is not doable!

Hey on a positive note I am still thinking just how good the car felt under me in 10 laps of qually people were even coming up to me and saying how good it looked through the Mountain, awesome. I would really like to do a test day somewhere now and maybe invite someone like Iain to have a drive and advise on some tweeks to the shocker settings. I would never let anyone drive it before as it was so damned unpredictable. In fact Mark Hales did when I first built it for C&CC I had better not post what he said but its now a totally different beast!

[John Turner]

A few shots to be getting on with:-

[Peter Mallett]

That looks like a JAP (TVR) powered escort! Don't see too many of those around.

[John Turner]

Am I missing something of the PM humour there? Prog says 1700cc Mexico.

[Al Weyman]

Originally Posted by Peter Mallett

That looks like a JAP (TVR) powered escort! Don't see too many of those around.

Thats not the 360 car Pete, slightly different colour and tidier. It wouldnt be allowed in the Ford Boss series with the JAP unit.

[Al Weyman]

It was good to see the immaculate Wolseley going well, he seems to be getting the car going better each meeting. Lovely little car.

[scott19]

Was a good meeting after the initial delays in repairing the barriers. I was in the classic ff2000 race which i think may have got a bit spaced out but hopefully I entertained some people by making a right hash of the start and spending the first half of the race trying every over-taking move going to get back through the field!

[John Turner]

Just a few from the 90 minute interrupted qualy sessions:-

[Al Weyman]

Nice pictures John thanks for that, see I can get in front of an e36 M3 however briefly! Shortly after that was taken we both nearly went off on Len's oil slick! What about that old Humber eh? How unlikely a race car wasnt it but it kept on going.

[andy robinson]

yes Al the humber was something different to see, he was out in the 40 minute race but was so slow was down as a dnf as was so many lap behind ! however during the race he kept well out of our way unlike some I race with

[Al Weyman]

Who would ever have dreamed of seeing a Humber Super Snipe on the same track in the same shot as the Bullet???

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Who would ever have dreamed of seeing a Humber Super Snipe on the same track in the same shot as the Bullet???

Ha Ha I used to work on those when they were new, the competition dept at the garage I used to work at had an estate as a support vehicle for the mechanics on the big rallies, including the Monte