Bizarre reasons for non-starting your race.

[TimD]

By a happy coincidence, I read Crash Test's thread on the Gravel Trap about avoiding jury duty last night. Today, I find myself perusing the Brooklands reports for the Walton Junior Handicap.

And I found an entry the like of which I never saw before.

At the Brooklands BARC meeting of March 1934, Douglas L. Briault failed to turn up at the track to race his Alta sports car. After a little investigation, the organisers were forced to admit that Douglas had deferred his jury service one time too often, and he was obliged to be at a court case, as one of the "twelve good men and true".

The fact that he was down for a national motor race, or that he had paid his entry fees, cut no ice with the court. Hence, Douglas Briault was a non-starter in his event.


Last month, a car en route to the Goodwood Revival meeting was assaulted on a cross-channel ferry by an untethered mechanical digger. Fortunately, much midnight oil was burned, and the car, a Mini Cooper, was repaired and presented to the scrutineers in time for qualifying. But it was a close run thing.


I wonder, has anyone else got any bizarre reasons for an entry being scratched? Perhaps one of our competitive members has an embarrassing story they may be prepared to own up to...?

[Crash Test]

I know I've told this one before, and I know that I'll tell it again...

At the Lakeside Historic earlier this year, I happened to be in the timing room, which is next to race control in the tower adjacent to the start finish line. Anyways, at the start of a race for old pre-war type vehicles, the car on pole clearly jumped the start- by a long way. So on the first lap around, the flag marshal in front of the tower held out the back flag. The driver signaled that he saw the flag and continued around.

Now at Lakeside the pit entry road is to the right of the circuit, before the final turn. After the final turn is the start finish straught past teh conrol tower, which has double yellow lines painted down it's entire right hand side to protect cars exiting the pits. Under no circumstances can this be crossed, the Clerk of Course rams this down everyones throat at every drivers briefing.

Anyways, our friend rounded the last turn, and crossed the double yellow lines. Hands were hitting heads in race control, "what on earth is he doing?"... He proceeded to tour down the right side of the lines, until he pulled up at the flagstand, where the black flag was displayed.

You could then see him in a rather animated conversation with the marshals, who insisted that he took his stop-go penalty in the pits. He finally decided that the marshal was right, and he started to move off....before stalling. The marshals then jumped over the fence to give him a push, and I swear one of them burnt their hand on his exhaust.

On the next lap around he pulls down the pit lane. However, he still had no idea what he was doing. After weaving half way down the lane, he pulls over to the side and stops. The paddle pop person at the end of the pit lane was jumping up and down madly where he was meant to take the stop go, at pit exit. It took until one of the other crews to tell him that he was meant to stop at the paddle pop person...

Adventually he served his stop-go, and hit the track as the winners went by to take the chequered flag...unfortunately as he entered the track, he once again crossed the double yellows...

By this stage everyone in the tower was rolling around ont he floor...when the laughter died he was called up to give some reasons for his actions. Unfortunately (again) he got into a rather lengthy discussion with the stewards and by the time he was released, the cars were once again on the grid. He ran to his car, gunned the engine, and bolted towards the dummy grid...a little too late, and he drove back to his tent a little angry/sad/dejected...

[Vandas]

Late last year, the night before we headed down to Phillip Island for the Nationals, we were working back late, due to some slight hiccups in the preparation. I hadn't been involved with the car much up to this point, but I was starting to try and do more work on it. Anyway we wanted to start up the car to purge the coolant of the bubbles in the hoses, but the battery was dead. No one had recharged it. So they asked me to drive my car up to the passenger door, because the battery is housed under the glovebox well cover (as there is no glovebox). Anyway I did, so bu they needed me to move it closer, so they told me to throw it into neutral so we could push it as close as we needed. anyway I didn't jump in to do this. I just pushed it back two clicks, but unfortunately went past neutral and put it into drive, and smashed the passenger door. (luckily my dad, and the other owner/driver at the time weren't there) It took us another hour to try and make the door look as if it hadn't been hit. We made it down for the weekend and had a better than expected outcome, but I tell you what if it had hit any harder it would have thrown our plans into chaos.