HSCC Oulton Park Gold Cup 28-30th Aug

[p261brm]

Hi Mike somehow managed to miss you, three reasonable day's allowing for the rain! why bother with the journey to Spa when the Cheshire T pot will do. Time allowed close inspection of a number of B8's remind me, this was a 'Historic' meeting was it not?

[Paulaweybridge]

Morning Mike,

Looks like a great meeting which I miss having last attended in 2002.

Eeekk has 8 years gone by ....

Some great fotos there guys....

Have a good week.

Paula

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Richard, after our discussion, where were you watching from? ................

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Richard, after our discussion, where were you watching from?

Thought we'd keep you safe, Mike - we were watching at the bottom of the Avenue, overlooking Cascades - which also gives good view of Knickerbrook. On one of the last laps when you looked to be closing on the D-type he managed to sneak past a back-marker which hindered you a bit there.....Well done on a none-damaging spin at Lodge.....it can bite!

It was certainly the busiest I've seen Oulton for a long time - when we arrived they'd closed the main entrance over the Bailey Bridge and sent us in to the Knickerbrook entrance - which was OK - just a bit of a hike to the Paddock...and inconvenient when you've left your butties in the car

Discovered for the first time there is now a "woodland walk" behind the rally stage to allow access to the inside of Druids - not great spectating but listening to the sound of F5000s echoing through the trees was something special - if only you could bottle it!

[TorqueWench]

Morning all - the Rees/Hutchison Lotus 23 in the Guards A race had a lot of fun on Monday morning - and gave lots of time to actually WATCH some racing for the a change in the afternoon! We sat on Clay Hill, where my Dad used to take us to watch Jim Clark and Innes Ireland et al - good memories (honestly, I AM old enough to remember!)

Excellent meeting in excellent company

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by p261brm

Hi Mike somehow managed to miss you, three reasonable day's allowing for the rain! why bother with the journey to Spa when the Cheshire T pot will do.

Sorry to have missed you Stuart, although did catch sight of a gent in Chevron jacket that could have been you?

Spa will always be on my list for the 6hr weekend, Oulton I expect from now on for the Gold Cup meeting. Certain events at certain tracks just seem to have the buzz

Question re Oulton. How often is the full circuit used, and what would be normal layout?

[Colin McKay]

Sounds like a great weekend, could have been my first ever dry race at Oulton if the weekend hadn't stopped short at midnight on Friday on the M40.

Stopped for a bite to eat and noticed the trailer didn't look right, found the towbar brackets on the RV hanging on by about an inch of metal - another few miles and the trailer would have overtaken us. Short version, by the time we had come up with a solution I would have missed qualifying so we turned round and went home, thoroughly off.

And it was my birthday!

[skentellytubby]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Sorry to have missed you Stuart, although did catch sight of a gent in Chevron jacket that could have been you?

Spa will always be on my list for the 6hr weekend, Oulton I expect from now on for the Gold Cup meeting. Certain events at certain tracks just seem to have the buzz

Question re Oulton. How often is the full circuit used, and what would be normal layout?

Mike

For most historic racing the full Circuit gets used nearly all the time. Certainly all the HSCC races and the CSCC used the full circuit earlier this year too.

The only other configs are straight on at Cascades or a right turn at Island.

There are a couple of You Tube videos of more modern races that do carry on at Cascades (....shame they werent running this config, would have saved myself some paintwork!!!)

Oulton seems to split opinion, some people love it and others think its a bit of a cut and shut with fast smooth sections and then irritating chicanes that mess up your rhythmn.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Colin McKay

Sounds like a great weekend, could have been my first ever dry race at Oulton if the weekend hadn't stopped short at midnight on Friday on the M40.

Stopped for a bite to eat and noticed the trailer didn't look right, found the towbar brackets on the RV hanging on by about an inch of metal - another few miles and the trailer would have overtaken us. Short version, by the time we had come up with a solution I would have missed qualifying so we turned round and went home, thoroughly off.

And it was my birthday!

That's extremely bad luck Colin, though better in the end than it might have been both for you and others on a road somewhere.

I really enjoyed my first ever visit to Oulton Park yesterday. Extremely well presented facility, friendly and helpful stewards, great weather, etc., etc.

Also some excellent company and it was a pleasure to meet up again with delta and crew, Alan Morgan, Mike Bell, Nick JM and to be able to add faces to names for Lancsbreaker and Rudernst and maybe others I have temporarily forgotten from the day. I'm sorry I missed meeting so many others - but that seems to be the way of things on busy days. Whole weekends required for the full social side, or indeed just to be able to take in a few minutes of all the things that were going on.

FWIW I hung around until a little after 7.30 chatting to delta and crew as they fitted a weekend of racing back into the transporter - that seemed to require some expertise to say the least - and then managed to retrace most of the satnav's cross-country route form the morning and home by 9pm. No traffic excitement really other than meeting a large tractor with trailor coming the other way on a slightly blind bend on the single lane track cross country section. I thought about waiting for him to back up .... then thought better of it.

Photos to follow - far too many to process really, but I'm working on it. Some of them may be presentable.

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by skentellytubby

Mike

For most historic racing the full Circuit gets used nearly all the time. Certainly all the HSCC races and the CSCC used the full circuit earlier this year too.

The only other configs are straight on at Cascades or a right turn at Island.

There are a couple of You Tube videos of more modern races that do carry on at Cascades (....shame they werent running this config, would have saved myself some paintwork!!!)

Oulton seems to split opinion, some people love it and others think its a bit of a cut and shut with fast smooth sections and then irritating chicanes that mess up your rhythmn.

Yeah, CSCC has always used the full circuit in my experience - BTCC use Island configuration for some reason....maybe because spectators can't get down to Shell? - and a lot of clubbie races use the cut through (Fosters) from Cascades to Knickerbrook......I love the circuit as we use it, largely because of its variety, although I'd have liked to have raced there before the introduction of Britten's chicane......I remember co-driving on a Single Venue stage rally there in an XJS many years ago, before Brittens - or Hislops....I remember the driver changing into top gear as we went over hilltop at 115mph and accelerating hard down to Knickerbrook. overtaking an Escort on the way - next thing I knew we were sideways on the grass rapidly approaching the tyres on the outside of Knickerbrook - with Charlie's foot still buried as he looked over his shoulder to ensure he found a gap to rejoin the circuit - which he did, overtaking the Escort again going over Clay Hill. It was only when we got back to the paddock that I noticed that we'd pealed off the rubber bumper cover on the tyrewall at Knickerbrook - the marshals kindly retrieved it and we got a paddock announcement to go and collect it. The marshals liked Charlie Belfield - he was always entertaining.

[skentellytubby]

115mph at the top of the hill in an XJS must have been, what, 135 by the time you hit the grass??

Holy crap...

[Lancsbreaker]

Couple of ropey pix featuring Mike Bell:


Early on, viewed from the Avenue



Penultimate lap, IIRC - Backmarker Merc getting in the way of Mike's chase of the D-type

[Lancsbreaker]

Originally Posted by skentellytubby

115mph at the top of the hill in an XJS must have been, what, 135 by the time you hit the grass??

Holy crap...

Don't know, think I had my eyes shut by then......

Thinking of all the useful things I could say like "Mind the tyres....."

Charlie came to Rallying from off-road moto-crossing - he just wasn't used to travelling in a straight line...... had very good balance and car control, though!

[Mike Bell]

Top pic! Crossing Point? What's next, pedestrian controlled traffic lights!

To be fair to the Merc he did what most people advise- held his line- although if I had been him I would have gone slightly wide to let the other 'dicing' car through as well. Would have made no difference though as Fergy power no match for Jag 6 on straights- only way I was going to get past was by outbraking into a bend.......

[simon drabble]

to be fair the 190 was driven by one of the Goldsmiths of Aston fame who are both (husband and Wife) experienced drivers and I believe I am correct in saying the wife is an instructor.... mind you "Our Tel" is as well and he is quite pedestrian so I guess that counts for nothing hahahah

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Lancsbreaker

Yeah, CSCC has always used the full circuit in my experience - BTCC use Island configuration for some reason....maybe because spectators can't get down to Shell? - and a lot of clubbie races use the cut through (Fosters) from Cascades to Knickerbrook......

Just about everything now uses the full (International) circuit. Apparently BTCC uses the Island circuit because Shell doesn't suit their cars; dunno why. . .

There's still no spectator access right up to Shell, but they have extended access at Foulstons by 50 metres or so, which gives a reasonable view of Shell.

The only clubbies using anything other than the International circuit this year are BARC meetings - for their three meetings they are using all three circuits (one at a time, of course!).

[rogerwills]

Originally Posted by simon drabble

to be fair the 190 was driven by one of the Goldsmiths of Aston fame who are both (husband and Wife) experienced drivers and I believe I am correct in saying the wife is an instructor.... mind you "Our Tel" is as well and he is quite pedestrian so I guess that counts for nothing hahahah

haha, in fairness he seems to race a modern car with orange flashing lights most of the time. Racer and loving it......

[TerryD]

It was nice seeing and meeting the great man himself, Sir Stirling Moss!

[john ruston]

Shepherd also fully sponsored to drive that flashing car.

Expenses and free lunch?

He's certainly better than the blokes who were flashing badly at May Silverstone.

[gary396]

Mike,
Sorry for not getting across to say hello as promised - I was trying to photograph all of the races and didn't get much time to come into the paddock. Managed a few photos of your Morgan to add to those above though.

Gary

[gary396]

Originally Posted by morninggents

Dropped oil at Knickerbrook chicane took out two cars; Harry Wyndaham couldn't restart his hot engine after a spin; a broken manifold and a broken 'A' bracket accounted for two more. The only retirements due to contact to my knowledge were a Mini spinning to avoid a spinning Abarth and both rear-ending each other. Not sure of the reasons for the other five.

Peter,

A few of car 30 as promised. Gary

[Mike Bell]

Gary, very disappointed not to have met you but understandable!

Great pics thanks- the little white and blue Cooper behind Morgan is Jeremy Cookes drum braked T39. He only did 4 laps practice due to bad wheel vibration and started several cars behind. In race he gradually caught up and tagged onto my tail, then took advantage of pitting traffic through Lodge to get past. After all that effort 3 corners later fluids emerged from the rear of the Cooper and his race was over.

Car 118, the D type is shown as a C type in programme and results. I was confused to say the least At least now have pictorial evidence!

The other little blue car is first pic is the Rejo Mk4. In practice, possibly first lap, it put a rod through the block in middle of Druids, leaving a lovely slick in the wrong place. Full marks to the guys getting car in the race after engine swap.

Look forward to your pics af other races, Gary. Cheers!

[gary396]

Originally Posted by TorqueWench

Morning all - the Rees/Hutchison Lotus 23 in the Guards A race had a lot of fun on Monday morning - and gave lots of time to actually WATCH some racing for the a change in the afternoon! We sat on Clay Hill, where my Dad used to take us to watch Jim Clark and Innes Ireland et al - good memories (honestly, I AM old enough to remember!)

Excellent meeting in excellent company

Sarah,

A couple of photos of car 23. Gary

[dikko]

Just back from Oulton Park from a drive of a lifetime..probably never to happen again...

I was very generously given a drive in a 600 horsepower. 170 MPH Surtees TS11 F5000. It was Greg Thorntons car and all I did was arrange a Formula Ford I'd rebuilt so he could race at Dijon. He was so pleased with it he said I could race at the Gold Cup.
I have been living on my nerves since... As F5000 driver Keith Norris said " It's just like taking a pet Dinosaur for a walk....... Was I nervous? Most definitely. Pre-occupied? Absolutely. Did I love it? Only AFTER I got it home safely after the 4th 20 minute session (2 practice 2 races)...came last 30 seconds off the pace but couldn't give a hoot ...IT WAS FANTASTIC!..Apart from being relieved it still has four wheels..it is worth about 10 years of my income...I now have a smile that can only be removed surgically.......

ecstatically yours, Dikko.
Thanks to John Hewitt, Ken Emmett and all the marshalls for seeing me through it

[terence]

Originally Posted by rogerwills

haha, in fairness he seems to race a modern car with orange flashing lights most of the time. Racer and loving it......

Just to put you both on the right track,firstly doing the SC bit lets me give back a bit of what I've had out of racing.Secondly,if I had not sustained the injury I got last year,[unfortunately some on here don't have barrels of disposable] which put me out of work,no income? it's fun,you should try it for a year!.Thirdly talking of 'pedestrian',next time the SC is doing a 45mph lap,please try harder to keep up,it's only fair on the other competitors, Simon! .Capri at Spa last year comes to mind
As for getting back out racing again,if I could get the three ****s who owe me quite a large wedge,I'd be racing considerably more than yourself Roger.

[terence]

Originally Posted by john ruston

Shepherd also fully sponsored to drive that flashing car.

Expenses and free lunch?

He's certainly better than the blokes who were flashing badly at May Silverstone.

Thank you John,no 'Black Art',it help's if you have experience of the car's that are behind you.