The Vee thread

[bradenc]

I'm going to dabble in Vee a little this year. I have a couple of friends already racing in it. Just wondering how many people out there are/will/have raced Vee's?

[MurrayP]

Hoping to in QLD next year.

[bradenc]

C'mon Vee ppl, Im trying to get something going here......or am just misled about the popularity of this formula. Either way I wanna Talk about it with ppl.

Murray, forgive me, what/where is QLD?

[aussie_f3]

Queensland, Australia

[av8rirl]

Hey Brad, talk away. what do you want to know or talk about? Its very hard to start a conversation when you start the thread with a poll. There are some people here that know about Vee's, whether from racing, building or watching. Where are you hoping to race? How are you friends? What are you going to race? Theres a start...

[woodyracing]

im hoping to race Vee in the UK next year.

[DNQ]

I'd love to race a FVee one day, nice step into motor racing, and they produce some great racing The Australian FVee Website has some nice onboard laps in Quicktime format at one stage, you might like to take a look.

[av8rirl]

The url is www.fvee.org.au

Some UK and Ireland websites:
www.formulavee.co.uk
www.vwracing.net
www.leastone-racing.com

General Vee site with loads of links:
www.veeracing.com

[woodyracing]

where are all the Vee drivers anyway? there must be loads of them hiding somewhere.

[av8rirl]

Maybe not... Brad wanted to talk but has disappeared now... Hate when that happens

[FilW]

I'm racing in Formula Vee this year as much as my (tight) budget will allow. I've never done any form of motor sport before and this looked like a good point to start. Every thing I've read & the people I spoke to said it is friendly yet competitive with costs lower than other single seater series. The mechanics are fairly standard VW so even I can cope with most jobs on the car and the emphasis seems to be on driver ability and car set up. I spent this weekend getting the car ready and finally drove it!! Only a 1st & 2nd gear blast round the yard but at least I know it goes!
I'm planning to go to the test day at Mallory on the 25th just hope I don't make a prat of myself May see you there Braden.

[woodyracing]

what chassis brand did you get FilW ?

[bradenc]

I'm back, I'll do this from time to time- disapear. Part of my job I'm afraid.

I am racing a friends (Mark Dunham) Sheane 96, I am definatly doing donnington in may and a couple of others yet to be set.

Thinking that I'm going to be slow though, got 15.5 stone (100k) of my fat behind to drive around. Thats gotta make a significant differance in a vee, right?

[av8rirl]

In 2001, I was about 14.75 stone. When I jumped out of the car at Snett after winning the commentator could only say "so he's not a small lad then". We were consistently 22kilos over the min weight. We had 5 fastest laps (including lap record at Donington GP) that year and about another 5 front row qualifications.

They say that every 10kilos is about .5sec per lap but then it depends on how long the lap is and the nature of the track. So maybe you should get off the fat ar$e and get into the gym (sorry only slagging - he in the glass house shouldn't be throwing stones).

I just tell everyone that I'm keeping the weight to make the car stick better to the track. Its my little secret...

[bradenc]

are you sill racing vee av8? In ireland? Or in the UK?

I reckon 10k is about what i need to lose to be a healthy weight. It will remain to be seen if it will give .5s.

Any tips on settin gup the car for the more cuddly driver?

Have you found anything to drive yet woody?

[av8rirl]

Didn't race last year because I've been too busy with work. Hopefully I may get out for the Phoenix Park 100 year anniversary this year in Dublin.

Should be plenty of room in the Sheane for the more cuddly driver. Try to get a seat molded (using two part expanding foam - don't have the exact name to hand). Make sure everything fits without having to stretch (i.e. gearshift, steering wheel, pedals, switches, etc....). This is very important.

Will you have someone run you or are you doing it yourself? Donington will be very difficult to qualify at if you don't have any experience. Generally at Donington Vee's get two qualifying sessions with the quickest 30/32 going thru to the race. There might be up to 8 people that won't get to race (depending on entry numbers). So you'll be setting yourself a hard target. Make sure that you get some seat time before Donington and I'd recommend booking Friday testing at Donington too.

[woodyracing]

Originally posted by bradenc
Have you found anything to drive yet woody?

Im hoping to get a car towards the end of the year, but i have a lot of things to sort out before then (like a house!). I might do a hire drive next year if nothing else happens, but i'll have to wait and see. But this year I'll definetely go to as many Vee meetings as I can.

by the way, do they still make Ray cars?
they look quite nice. any thoughts about them?

[bradenc]

For the races I do Mark Dunham is going to run me in his car. As for a molded seat......I assume Im going to wedge into his.

I hope to do a race before donnington, but that one is firm. And I will certainly go testing there before the race.

I would hate to not qualify for my first race. The SHAME!

Any recomendations for an easy race for my first one.

Round Fixture Date

1 Mallory 9th March
2 Donnington 29/30th March
3 Brands Hatch 12/13th April
4/5 Snetterton 26/27th April
6 Donnington 10/11th May
7 Cadwell 28/29th June
8/9 Pembrey 26/27th July
10 Silverstone 23/24th August
11 Oulton 8th September
12/13 Cadwell 27/28th September
14 Mallory 19th October

[FilW]

Woody. I bought an ARI Mk4 raced my Ricky Cole over the last couple of seasons. I didn't research the diferent cars available but the price was right, the engine was good and I was impatient!
I've got my number now, 50, so if you get to any meetings come and say hi.

[woodyracing]

ok cool. you'll probably see me wondering around trying to take photos for my website.

[av8rirl]

Originally posted by woodyracing
by the way, do they still make Ray cars?
they look quite nice. any thoughts about them?

I think that there may be three Ray Cars available. The best person to contact is John Bowles in Seven Oaks. He has a VW garage there. I can PM you his number if you want.

The Ray's that may be available:
Owned by Ray Moore (Ireland). Previously owned and raced with success by Simon Robinson. Not raced in the last 2/3 seasons.
Previous Vee Champion Martin Browne has not raced for the past 1/2 seasons due to work/family commitments. Car may be available. John Bowles (JB) can give you more information.
Quite new car owned by gentleman racer (not raced hard) who passed away in 2001. Car may still be available as I haven't seen it on track since. I know that JB was looking after the sale.

Also, if you contact JB, he will be able to put you in contact with Ray who will (probably) build you a car.

I have to agree, I love the look of them too. They look heavier than other Vee's but they actually come in on the min weight.

[av8rirl]

Originally posted by bradenc
For the races I do Mark Dunham is going to run me in his car. As for a molded seat......I assume Im going to wedge into his.

To mold a seat takes about 20mins and costs about £20. The small effort/money is definitely worth it. It can be made in two parts and be re-used.

Originally posted by bradenc
Any recomendations for an easy race for my first one.

Round Fixture Date

1 Mallory 9th March
2 Donnington 29/30th March
3 Brands Hatch 12/13th April
4/5 Snetterton 26/27th April
6 Donnington 10/11th May
7 Cadwell 28/29th June
8/9 Pembrey 26/27th July
10 Silverstone 23/24th August
11 Oulton 8th September
12/13 Cadwell 27/28th September
14 Mallory 19th October

Mallory should have a good entry. The track is easy (although I hate the place) and laptimes quite close (because of the short lap).

Snett is a great track that is easy to learn. Its got plenty of long, quick straights and some nice balls out overtaking spots (at the end of the straights, around the outside of the Bomb Hole and outside of Coram - loads of grip even in the wet). The most important corners being Sears and Russell.

The difference between front row and back row can be huge at Cadwell because of the nature of the circuit (you need big balls).

Pembrey is another great track. And Oulton is my second favourite (after Donington). Again at Oulton difference between front and back can be big (especially in the wet). Check out this link to wet qualifying in Oulton
http://www.motorsnippets.com/750mc/r...h%20August.pdf

[woodyracing]

thanks for the Ray info, i'll make enquires closer to the time.
The Sheane chassis is very popular, does this mean that parts are cheaper than something like a Ray?

[av8rirl]

I wouldn't say that parts are any cheaper. All of the engine/carb/gearbox costs will be the same no matter what you drive. Front beam and steering should also be the same. The only real difference between cars is track rods, trailing arms, pushrods, etc... These don't cost much and can be made by your local workshop. After that each builder has different suspension layouts which should all cost about the same.

I do know that replacement nosecones for the Ray are about three times as expensive as a Sheane nosecone.

You might consider both the Irish chassis - Sheane and Leastone - because of the advantagous sterling/euro rate. Both have good history and both have their merits. The Sheane would probably work out cheaper. I know that I went quicker in a Leastone. Check out Alan Harding at www.formulavee.co.uk and he can organise a test in both (he can also sell both to you).

Let me know if you get a price for Sheane/Leastone. I should be able to buy one in Ireland a lot cheaper and we could do a deal for cheaper than you'll buy in the UK (approx GBP£4350 brand new rolling chassis less engine).

[BillStenning]

Originally posted by bradenc
I'm going to dabble in Vee a little this year. I have a couple of friends already racing in it. Just wondering how many people out there are/will/have raced Vee's?

Always good to see new people getting out..... Am running my 4th season in Vee this year.... hoping to improve on 9th in the Champs last year, but it's getting tougher.... There's a lot of guys going very quickly at the front....

Interesting to note that the lap record has come down, say at Cadwell, from 1Min40.0 to 1min36.2 over 5yrs or so - Even though the cars havent really changed too much (my car is 6 yrs old itself)...

I reckon that Vee is a good place to learn to race.... 40 plus entries all in the same class, racing is always close right down the field and, if you run yourself, £6k for a season is quite feasible (includes some testing). Some people stay in Vee forever, others move on - either way, to win in Vee is pretty tough - witness the guys from FRenault this year who had a go... went well (as you'd expect) but didnt win anything.... - I think that surprised them....