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Old 14 Jun 2002, 13:26 (Ref:313540)   #1
pinki
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pinki should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Lydden 15th & 16th

I know I've been a little quiet of late but I'll be down at Lydden this weekend playing with the cars

Anyone else ???
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Old 14 Jun 2002, 13:50 (Ref:313555)   #2
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EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!
yey welcome back pinki *hugz*

Working this weekend, with bikes on Sunday if I can get out of working!

Can I tempt you to Anglesey for the 29/30th?
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Old 14 Jun 2002, 16:37 (Ref:313663)   #3
pinki
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pinki should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Anglesey, now there's a thought Maybe one day when I'm not too busy. Oh, I am also at Buckmore Park on Monday and actually racing, should be good for a giggle

And I give up, what does 'Stercus Tauris' mean ???
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Old 14 Jun 2002, 20:20 (Ref:313866)   #4
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EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!EvilPumpkin is going for a new world record!
Um...cattle excrement
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Old 16 Jun 2002, 21:26 (Ref:315102)   #5
Rod Birley
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Rod Birley should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Sorry that some of the races were cancelled. Unfortunately the entry fees were a bit high for most people, which also meant some grids were a bit thin. I have had a problem with my tow vehicle as well which looks like it will be expensive. Still at least one Birley went and won a couple of races, well done Julian!!!
Incidentally, the BARC have sent out an interesting questionaire...trying to find out what is happening to our motorsport and what we think!!
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Old 17 Jun 2002, 09:57 (Ref:315301)   #6
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pinki should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Yeah some of the grids were a little on the thin side but there were a few good races. I must admit it was nice to have a sensible finish time on sunday too. I still think the way to go with meetings such as these is to make up decent grids from different classes of car and give the guys more races.

Just a thought
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Old 18 Jun 2002, 13:12 (Ref:316086)   #7
Stephen Green
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Rod, I also got the questionaire and have already filled it in and sent it back.

As for Lydden, me thinks some politics had come into play somewhere along the line, given Bernie Cotterels comments at the briefing Saturday. The idea of a 2.25 hour lunch break so 'some' could watch the footy was hastily snuffed I'm glad to say. If we want to watch football we could stay at home in front of the TV and save ourselves the 100 mile round trip etc etc.

Sorry to hear about the tow vehicle Rod, lets hope it's not too expensive to repair.

One moment of myrth: Sunday lunchtime and it goes a little like this:

Post 7 to control, a marshal has fallen down and injured himself, may we have a doctor.

(I will omit the reply from the doctor as it was siad on a channel I didn't have access to and so cannot vouch for it's authenticity)

Needless to say, Rescue 1 and doctors car sent to the scene where the unfortunate marhsl had slipped down the bank and broken a bone in his foot and also broke his leg. St John ambulance called and said marshal gingerly lifted into said behicle and gently driven to Canterbury hospital.

Ambulance stationed at Post 3 (opposite end to the circuit from the pits) is then asked to move to the pitlane to act as the main ambulance while we await the arrival of a replacement ambulance.

Post 3 to contol: Are you aware the ambulance on its way to the pit lane/paddock has a flat front left tyre?

To make matters worse, on arrival at the paddock area the ambulance then broke down.

I have to admit that I will think twice before marshaling Lydden Hill again. Don't get me wrong, I love the place and it's very friendly etc etc. But to do a two day meeting, travel in excess of 200 miles to see some grids of 7 cars is not my cup of tea. Rod, I understand the reasons from your earlier comment, but why do any club run races with that number of cars? In the program there was one race with 1 entry, yes ONE, and another with 2 entries. Thankfully both races were cancelled. I even heard the guy on the entrance gate telling paying public that the entry was poor and were they sure they wanted to pay to watch!
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Old 18 Jun 2002, 19:12 (Ref:316365)   #8
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KayBee should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Stephen surely the people you should be blaming for poor equipment and lack of competitors is the organising club and not the cicuit unless they actually organised it.
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Old 18 Jun 2002, 19:24 (Ref:316383)   #9
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Originally posted by KayBee
Stephen surely the people you should be blaming for poor equipment ........................is the organising club and not the cicuit unless they actually organised it.
Clubs pay extremely high fees to hire the circuits these days. Lydden Hill is no exception. Unfortunately, at many circuits, the facilities, equipment, etc., is often of a poor standard and/or faulty. Items such as fire trucks, fire extinguishers, etc, are the responsibility of the circuit. Kaybee, if you hired a car from Avis you would expect it to have tyres and that they would be roadworthy!!

As far as the ambulances are concerned, at Lydden Hill (as at most other circuits) they are supplied and crewed by the St John Ambulance Brigade. As far as I know (and I could be wrong) they receive some renumeration for attending. Again, a club would expect these to be in a roadworthy condition and kitted out for the job they are required to do. I am not knocking the St John Ambulance Brigade; they generally do an excellent job, and I suspect that this incident was just the fickle finger of fate.

Last edited by Peter Scillitoe; 18 Jun 2002 at 19:26.
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Old 18 Jun 2002, 19:38 (Ref:316396)   #10
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Originally posted by Rod Birley
Sorry that some of the races were cancelled. Unfortunately the entry fees were a bit high for most people, which also meant some grids were a bit thin.
Rod, I cannot accept this arguement. Motorsport has never been cheap, and if drivers are planning to do a championship season they should budget for the entry fees. What these absent competitors are doing is bringing motorsport into disrepute! What do you think the punters feel when they turn up and see empty grids and cancelled races. Ditto the marshals who may have travelled many miles at their own cost to assist and to risk their lives for a sport they love to be let down by a bunch of petulant

We are told that club racers want and need circuits like Lydden Hill. If so, it might be nice if they actually turned up to race at them!!!

I am not alone in withdrawing my labour from any meetings (not just at Lydden Hill) which include these particular championships! Hopefully, they will die a quick death and next season they can be replaced by championships where the drivers actually want to race.
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Old 18 Jun 2002, 21:23 (Ref:316520)   #11
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The simple truth is the BRSCC wanted to charge £240 for two races. The BARC,for the same length of race (15 laps) charge £150 for two races. The circuit hire is about the same each time (approx £4000) unlike Brands which is nearer £18000. So we know we are going to pay more to race at Brands but why the big difference at Lydden. Why should drivers pay Brands prices to race at Lydden. Even the Alfa series which has over 70 registered drivers struggled to get decent grids. The Formula Fords were given a £40 discount and the 1600s told the organisers they did not want to be there for two days which is why they only raced on Saturday. Last year I did this meeting and had to be there on two days,nett result 240 miles of travelling. Don't get me wrong I like Lydden and have supported many meetings there and written to the council to keep it open, but the BRSCC have been told that their entry fees are a lot higher than other clubs which is why drivers are not coming out. I took time to speak to Bernie about this and raised it at the local AGM, and we had a drivers forum last year where the subject was raised.
Stephen mentioned that politics have crept in but unless the clubs co-ordinate things better we are all going to lose out. Back in May there were 3 car meetings in six days at Lydden all trying to attract similar categories, is this the drivers fault.
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Old 19 Jun 2002, 09:49 (Ref:316792)   #12
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I read this last night and thought it better to sleep on my views rather than rant and rave as I was about to do at the time.

There seem to me to be several issues here.

1. The disparity of entry fees between organising clubs
2. The size of grids (possibly related to point 1)
3. The willingness of marshals to make a committment in both time and travel, to attend meetings where there are very poor grids. You notice I didn't say poor racing!

I would like to think this could be easily sorted out with the organising clubs coming up with a 'set scale of entry fees' so that drivers and teams knew from the outset of the season what their fixed overheads were. Unfortunately I doubt this will happen.

What I am going to say next is bound to upset a few people, but it's something I believe needs to be said. Much as I love Lydden Hill for it's friendliness and because you can see the majority of any race from almost anywhere on the circuit, the circuit has become dangerous (in my personal view). There are virtually no armco barriers, gravel traps are woefully inadequate in most cases, tyre walls are made from old tractor tyres that give the driver little morte than a slight cushion effect if he has the misfortune to spin off. On top of that you have the picket fencing to stop spectators from accessing the track, most of which is rotten. There are no debris fences to protect the spectators and I feel quite strongly that it is only a metter of time before someone is seriously hurt, either racing or marshaling.

We have already witnessed the poor marshal sliding down the bank last weekend breaking his foot/ankle and his leg. My best wishes go to him for a speedy recovery by the way. How long is it before we have a multi car crash and debris flying straight into the crowd (such as they are at Lydden)?

Rod, I fully understand why you have made the comments above and I support them totally. Let's hope the 'powers that be' can get together and do something about the small grids and the disparity in entry fees. Lets also pray that McLaren can/do something about the state of Lydden Hill, because in it's current state I don't think it deserves a track licence!
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