Spa Six Hours

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by MartinH

Nice to see 2 Alfas topping the u2tc qualifying ; haven't seen that for a while !

Yes I noticed that too.

Originally Posted by MartinH

..........but the second car driven by young Oli Hart, shows what a great talent this lad is. He drove the car for the 1st time, l think, at GW & won his part of the St Mary's race, after a distinctly average drive by Tom Coronel in the 'pro' part, in the same car.

He's also handy in the family cobra & entered in a GT40 for the main race: could be the youngest winner of the 6hrs this year ??

Could be interesting.

[Juha]

A few photos from today. I'll be back tomorrow.

[356sc]

Good lap time in the +4 Mike....as expected GT40s dominate!

[Mike Bell]

Well I for one are delighted to see the Alfa being competitive again. Now we just need the Tisas to find some more speed to make the grid a bit more interesting. Wall to wall Cortinas is bad for the series. From my understanding the Beemer carries a lot more weight, and the engines are already making as much power as they are capable of.

Anyway, to the important matter of the 6hrs. I wonder if the single qualifying session in the dark will be repeated next year- it was chaos!

We had a simple plan to get all 3 of us qualified and then to our booked table at the pizzeria on time. The +4 was second out onto the track, and first time past us was leading car, with a clear track in front. Red flag. A car stopped on track and it’s dark. So we’re now near the back of the queue. Green flag and all on circuit again. One lap later red flag. Another recovery needed. This time we’re lucky to be near the front of the queue. One flying lap achieved with a 3.06 putting us P1 in the class for now. Too much traffic to improve so we swap drivers and Simon does 3 safe laps, then it’s my turn. Again, 3 safe laps keeeping out of the way of some of the manic Es, Cobras at GT40s. Then on my in lap, as I’m passing the medical centre the engine dies as if out of fuel. Pull off in a safe place while switching on second pump. Engine pulls again so carefully rejoin and get to pit lane entrance. Make it down the hill to our box, where we find tank is dry! Turns out the the extra laps needed to achieve a time meant we had used more than predicted...... I’d actually put in 3 more litres than had been calculated, so very pleased that I did!

So we had to use the whole 90 minute session to each do 3 laps, which is daft. Turned out that our time was beaten by 3, with class pole (1 sec faster) taken by the brand new build Triumph SLR copy. I haven’t had a look at it but apparently the roll cage would be worthy of a modern BTCC car....

But after all that we were only 3 minutes late for our table reservation, with the pizza excellent and welcome

[Gerard C]

Thanks for the pics, really nice. Le parti pris d'un angle assez original est sympa, merci beaucoup et bonne continuation.
Mike did I see that you dare to be faster than your client? As to car colors, you meant one red and one shiny" I guess…
By the way, who buys the beer for two tens?

[Gerard C]

Nothing is faster than a GTA in U2TC. I never drove a real tisa, but a modified TI is a dog even if non compliant. Whatever you do, overbore, contra-rotative camshaft, and so on, weight is an issue and the power remains modest for a 2.2 litre… Bearing in mind that at this stage you can experience some unreliability And a Cortina is so much fun to drive!

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by Juha

A few photos from today. I'll be back tomorrow.

And I think these photos show why Historic racing is so wonderful. A more diverse and exciting group of cars you couldn't hope to find in one meeting. Marvellous!

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[john ruston]

The qualifying for six hours was crazy
Red flags yellow flags
Drivers not knowing what they are doing as their first race of weekend
Our box of bolts did a 2 49 Thursday but did whole six laps in qualifying before being barged off track by a long hopeless bloke in a tank

Hour in light plus hourin dark was so much more sensible

[Peter Mallett]

I noticed there were quite a number of red flags in many of the qualifying sessions yesterday.

[john ruston]

The qualifying for six hours was crazy
Red flags yellow flags
Drivers not knowing what they are doing as their first race of weekend
Our box of bolts did a 2 49 Thursday but did whole six laps in qualifying before being barged off track by a long hopeless bloke in a tank

Hour in light plus hourin dark was so much more sensible

[zefarelly]

Too many people been watching Goodwood highlight in preparation?

Car ok I hope, best car there!

[zefarelly]

2:42.

2:30's next year?

[Gerard C]

It seems that Mike and his mates are having a tough time, specially during the first two hours. Never saw so many penalties during a race. I very much doubt they will really make 6 hours while so many started for a 2/3 hours race …
By chance the real SLR is now ahead the Triumph one!

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

It seems that Mike and his mates are having a tough time, specially during the first two hours. Never saw so many penalties during a race. I very much doubt they will really make 6 hours while so many started for a 2/3 hours race …
By chance the real SLR is now ahead the Triumph one!

The new Triumph is very quick with one driver, but John’s Morgan SLR is 2nd in class at the moment. Still an hour to go! Keith Ahlers’s +4 TOK258H broke or bent a push rod, now fixed, and we had (during my stint) a brake lining come off the shoe. Interesting! Spoiled our race but c’est la vie...... Looks like Iain has had problems in the Marcos, as they lost a lot of time early on, and sadly the Elva is no longer running. Another tenther James Owen is sharing a TR4, but not sure how that is doing, and MGDavid is doing pitwall duty for an E Type. So several other tenthers involved!

[tomboyd]

We prefer the word 'recreation' for the 'new Triumph SLR...

Just finished its maiden race in the 6 hrs..... 18th overall and 1st class

What an event

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

....Another tenther James Owen is sharing a TR4, but not sure how that is doing....

I seem to recall meeting James Owen at Phillip Island a few years ago (2011?) He had brought a Triumph down under to do a couple of events.

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

a brake lining come off the shoe. Interesting! Spoiled our race but c’est la vie......

Incredible you carry this kind of spare with you and can change it fast during the race! Good mechanics, you have. Do you use an american green compound sold by CMS? I guess the lining is glued not riveted.

[delta]

I will sit down tomorrow and give you full report . I’ve had a Fantasic time with Richard and his crew . We finished and they are all so happy . Well done to all the tenthers.

[tomboyd]

What an event!!

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by delta

I will sit down tomorrow and give you full report . I’ve had a Fantasic time with Richard and his crew . We finished and they are all so happy . Well done to all the tenthers.

Well done Iain. Look forward to your report.

[Juha]

Today's action.

[Gerard C]

Merci Juha, c'est super sympa. Les deux derniers docs font penser "instantanément" Ã* une lithographie de Alain Mirgalet. La T Septante est dans le ton du repos entre deux actions. Je pense que tu vois Ã* quoi je fais référence Ã* moins que tu ne sois comme je le suppose très jeune. Bonne continuation.

[Mike Bell]

Apologies for not including Sam Binfield, his Dad and Will Nuttall on the list of tenthers in the 6hrs! Looks like best result so far in the event for the family Gilbern GT.

We had no more issues after the earlier brake shoe failure (apart from a couple of minor contacts- not when I was in the car), but with a lengthy SC period in the last two hours no chance of climbing back up the order much! 3 finishes from 3 starts for the car is a result in itself is my book.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by tomboyd

We prefer the word 'recreation' for the 'new Triumph SLR...

Just finished its maiden race in the 6 hrs..... 18th overall and 1st class

What an event

Welcome to the forum tomboyd! Congratulations on an excellent result. A well built, well prepared and well driven car.

Agree that the definition of recreation could apply, but in my book, a new body built on a new buck created from measurements taken off the one original car, that then mounted on a period TR4 chassis, makes it a copy. Even the owner described it as a replica during conversation......

No different of course to all the new Daytona Coupes etc now gracing grids, and adds diversity, which is good. However, the 3 Morgan SLRs- which are all here at Spa- have provenance and period history, which a new ‘copy’, if ever produced, can never have......

[Mike Bell]

Exhibit A....