COVID-19

My plans have been altered by COVID-19 - as I suspect everyone's have. I'm staying at home and staying safe; as should everyone else who possibly can!

So from doing very little I'm now doing the Azores DIRT 2.0 Rally plus various other events that come along. I've not got pedals and a wheel in time but it's just a bit of fun!

Other projects are still coming along well and I might even start a Rally Round event after Easter.

Short 2020 season...

Well that was a short season!! A couple of interesting, exciting but highly time consuming projects have just landed in my lap - that's my 2020 season put to bed before it started!

I might get some use out of my shiny new licence but not quite as much as I had planned!

Hmmm....

So here I am sat having had a wonderful family meal and a lovely Kasteel beer thinking:-

"Do I want to be on a road rally tonight?" - shockingly it appears that I'd rather spend quality time with my family instead of meander down damp and treacherous lanes in the pitch black! 

Have I grown old? Undoubtedly, I have also come to appreciate that adrenaline is wonderful but it doesn't feel anywhere near as wonderful as the love of your family! It doesn't open Christmas present in excitement, it doesn't learn to ride a bike and it certainly doesn't ask you questions about common denominators!

Balancing the need for speed and the love of a family is difficult and we all have to choose our proportions - I've discovered mine is less about mud and gears and more about love and tears!

 

2020 season.

What does the 2020 season hold? Well...

In all probability I'm going to do the same amount of events as 2019 but without using the M5! My first event should be in February with my final foray in December. 

I'll be forming a new team in 2020 and we'll probably be quite slow - my days of chasing trophies have passed so I don't mind (the loft is full and my wife wants no more to appear!!). It's going to be a long term partnership so we'll get used to each other and select events that are close to home to start with. We're aiming for fun, experience and then results - although fewer retirements than 2019 is certainly hoped for...

Will I road rally this year? If I do start a road rally I will be properly rested and will have to cross a border to do it. I enjoyed winning the championships I did but that was then and this is now...

Luckily I'll be carrying over some of my sponsors for this season too; where would I be without my Granite Anchor hoodies or my Belgian buns and beer?

Should the right targa car come up for sale then yes it will be coming home with me but am I looking seriously? No, not really. I know what I want and if it magically appears then great, if not I'm not fussed - for the next few years at least.

I'll be out marshalling on events too this year so I might just see you on a stage, section or control!

 

2 targas and 1 road rally

I finished 2019 off with another two targas and one road rally. Unfortunately not one of them was a good result!

The Exmoor Targa was the complete antithesis to the Washingpool - it rained, then rained heavier and then it became a deluge! Awful conditions saw the tracks muddy and water logged which made our first multi-venue targa even harder. 

We settled into a sensible pace and were gaining experience until a fast right threw the Saxo off and into the trees! Luckily all bar a small holly tree were avoided so damage was minimal, ironically the holly tree kept us from vanishing down a steep drop so actually saved us from extra damage. 

We spent 55 minutes trying to extricate ourselves (which we eventually did thanks to a Land Rover and our tow rope) but were able to complete every remaining test within OTL so at least we were still classified as finishers at the end of the event.

Next up was the Bustard targa which was (for the short period we were competing) a great event. The tests were fast and challenging but, above all else, great fun. We caught at least 2 cars on each test (except the tiny autosolo style test) and were gaining confidence as we got used to the muddy conditions. All that came to a sudden end when the Saxo's rear started bouncing like some demented trampoline! 2 exploded rear dampers ended the event early for us.

After a frantic search for parts the Saxo was re-fettled in time to take the start of the Barbara carter road rally. Almost immediately I was struggling to keep on time with the regularity sections, 19 years of retirement, a lack of vari-focal glasses and being far too tired took their toll and we had a large cut-and-run to petrol. The second half of the event had a plot-and-bash section and more tightly plotted route - I chucked in the towel and (for the first time ever) gave up! I've never felt it worthwhile risking damage to a car for no reason and that's what we would have been doing.

Three very disappointing results; to quote Metallica "sad but true".

Getting ready...

 

So, once again, it's time to dust of the clipboard; sharpen the pencils and find my Co-Pilote watch. Next weekend sees me sat next to James Graham (once more - he must be brave) on the Exmoor Targa Rally in his trusty Saxo. 

The Exmoor offers 40 miles of challenging forestry tests in some wonderful scenery and the entry filled up in hours!

Wish me luck, here's hoping the rain stays away!

I'm now a brand ambassador for Granite Anchor Clothing; they're with me as I get back into motorsport which is really great! As an added bonus there's a discount code for all my followers which will drop a nice little 10% reduction on your orders with Granite Anchor. Put ERIK10 in before you check out and away you go; quality, cutting edge Scottish clothing at a bargain price!!

Long time no write...

So...

Currently I'm undertaking no motorsport at all (except for marshalling). There are numerous reasons for this - one is 12 years old and one is 8 years old for a start, naturally there are plenty more too.

One of the plus points of having a 12 year old is that we have been closely looking at Targa rallies and both agree that sometime soon we should venture out and do one together. We marshalled on a couple and have been lucky enough to get the road books to a few as well. Junior is now looking at what is expected from him to see if he really wants to give it a go!

To my mind Targa rallies offer excellent value for money and are a perfect starting point for those more interested in being in the silly seat. It's almost a natural progression from targa to road rally then stage event (particularly as you can start at the tender age of 12 on a Targa event!).

Not only are Targa events a good starting point they (amazingly) work out better value than slot car racing. I know, who would believe plastic toy car racing could prove to be more expensive than full scale rallying. I crunched the numbers, then did them again and concluded that to race slot cars was a huge waste of money - for me at least!

I can buy a Targa legal car and run it for a season for the same cost as a year of slot car racing... I can sit in and feel the adrenaline flow or press a controller and watch a toy zip round a track; no brainer really!!! Don't get me wrong slot car racing can be exciting and provides intense excitement for many but I never got away from the fact that I was driving a little car round and round in 'circles' (some more complex than others...)  whilst needing to spend a lot of money to even become competitive...

I've not missed it so far and can't see me missing it any time soon... If it was better value I guess I'd still be racing but the cost really did reduce the enjoyment to minus figures. Also slot car rallying is just not like the rallying I've done thus I was left with roundy, roundy racing which doesn't interest me any where near as much.

Open GT class entry for driver #7

Well the drivers are ready...

The drivers are ready, the cars are being finished we just need the Wales and West calendar published so we can enter the events!!!

Winter rebuilds...

Thanks to work and my son's membership of Cubs it looks like I'm already into the winter rebuild process - I'll be lucky to race 3 more times this year!

The Aston has undergone a bit of fine tuning whilst I was blatting up and down an Autobahn or two so I'll be focusing on using that every Thursday to improve my driving ready for 2016...

Where does the time go?

Well I've done a few more races and picked up my first final win... I'm still off the pace (I've only been doing this since May not the years everyone else has!) but my laps times are dropping every week!

Interestingly I had a run with the class leading Aston recently and was able to knock a second a lap off my times - time to put plenty of effort into car preparation me thinks...

All being well I should be racing my Aston again tomorrow even though the tyres are shot and too hard to be fully competitive. To be honest I'm just aiming for consistent, error free laps before I strip the car and rebuild it.

Onwards, ever onwards...

I raced my new (to me any way) NSR Aston Martin GT3 last night with ever improving results - yes I'm still somewhat off the pace but I'm edging ever closer! Each race sees less errors and better times; proving perfectly that there's no substitute for experience.

For that reason I'm grabbing every chance I can to get controller time so can be seen at Wolverhampton Slot Car Club (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wolverhampton-Slot-Car-Club/1618828841737256?fref=ts) on Thursdays too!

Along with learning the track I'm also learning my cars - the Aston is great fun to drive and reasonably competitive as it is. There are tweeks that need doing though; the tyres need to be replaced with softer versions, smaller front wheels are needed (here we go again...), it really needs some form of subtle sponsorship/colour scheme, etc, etc... Having said that my son managed to win his first race using the Aston which pleased us both!

Christian also managed to set a fastest lap in his first ever race using my Mosler (only a lat off prevented him from claiming first overall) so the preparation side of slot car racing EWR seems to be doing quite well already ;)

I'm expecting to add a few more steeds to my stable as the season progresses - all will be for racing though so there'll be no show ponies I'm afraid. Having said that I'm sure they'll all be pretty spectacular, like my new NSR Ford GT40...

Wheels...

Wheels, every car needs them - this includes slot cars... However it appears the bigger the wheel the easier it is to select one! My Mosler GT3 car needed new front wheels so I sat down to order a set and that's when I realised that ordering a set for a full size GT3 Mosler would actually be easier; a lot, lot more expensive but far easier!

Not every manufacturer measure their wheels the same way which makes life just that little bit more interesting... Can you image Speedline, BBS and B-Star wheels all measuring their wheels differently?

It appears that some slot car wheel manufacturers have chosen to measure wheels to the rim (as you do with a full size wheel) whilst others measure to the hump in the middle (see pictures)... There's only a few mm difference but that's more than enough to catch the unwary!

Neither is necessarily incorrect but it does mean the buyer has to keep a list of how each manufacturer measure their wheels otherwise you end up with a wonderful selection of wheels that are the perfect size for cars you don't own!

Once you've decided which size you actually need you also have to remember that some manufacturers produce front and rear axles that are metric and others use imperial axles - oh yes imperial is alive and well in the slot car world!!

Luckily I did lots of research before buying and am reasonably happy with the end result. I did however, get a wheel and tyre package (yes they're alive and well in 1:32 scale too) and think I was just a bit conservative on size - a couple of mm more would possibly work just as well and look a lot better.

Next up for new front and rear wheels is my Porsche GT3 rally car.

Better than expected!

I was able to borrow an NSR Ford MK IV for the classic races last Friday (Thanks Nick!!) so was able to make my slot car racing debut. Throughout the event I had great fun (not as adrenaline filled as real rallying but far easier to prepare for, to get to and much, much cheaper) and I wasn't quite as awful as I expected... Yes I came last and yes I was slowest but I managed to knock 2½ seconds off my lap times during the evening and won the sprint from the lights in 3 out of my 4 races!

Having watched as others drove it was clear I was accelerating out of the bends in the correct places but was braking like a granny, shedding way too much speed way too early! I still have a huge amount to learn but was happy to keep dropping my times and reduce mistakes as I went along.

Racing fever starts to take hold...

In two weeks time I will have (finally) undertaken my first race meeting in my new form or motorised sport!

Whilst not as adrenaline filled as rallying slot car racing certainly is enjoyable and getting a good result feels just a pleasing as in a real car. Another plus is that there is (currently) very little likelihood of environmental and spectator issues stopping the sport in its tracks... I can also easily undertake a race meeting a week without my better half moaning I'm always in the garage or away plus it is far, far more competitive than pretty much every form of 1:1 scale motorsport! Genuinely a £15 car bought off Ebay fitted with the correct tyres and driven properly can and will beat new cars that cost 3 times as much, skill isn't held back by bank balance and there's no silly Prima Donnas either!

There is, however, a huge amount to learn - sadly it isn't just a case of turning up, pulling the trigger and being competitive. Rear tyres need to be glued, trued and then softened for a week, fronts need to be the exact opposite. The chassis/motor/body need just the right amount of movement and flex and then you need to get the braking right - too much and you slide ( a la handbrake turns) too little and you have to brake too early. These 1:32 cars are as difficult to set up as a 1:1 - probably more so because you don't ever feel the speed/grip/accident (!!) through your body. Once the car is optimised you then have to drive it - against far, far more experienced drivers who take no prisoners! - which is no simple task on its own.

Well I must away as I have a date with Ebay and a couple of hot looking GT cars as well as a classic or two! More to follow once I know what I'm going to be racing...

A change of focus...

It looks like I WILL be doing driving in some wheeled competition this year and the car I'm going to be driving is 4wd :) As my boys have grown they're keen to race and we're about to embark on a season's racing in 2015! Luckily we're aiming small at the moment so..... I'll be driving an SCX Audi 90 Quattro GTO plus to yet two be unveiled French rally cars!

As a team we now have Porsches, Lamborghinis, Minis, Lancia Delta Integrales and even 2 Metro 6R4s in build... Daddy seems to be doing all the building whilst the boys do all the racing!!

It's not quite as exciting as rallying but just as competitive, allows all 3 of us to compete on the same day and is a fair bit safer - it's cheaper too!

World of Tanks

I'm still playing WoT sporadically {link} and now can be found blasting away in a Ferdinand which is amazingly good fun - I'd certainly recommend giving the game a play. My eldest son is having a ball playing as my commanding officer too.....

Long time no type.....

Well a year has pretty much gone by and I've had no actual motorsport activity at all. I've watched and worked in motorsport this year but sadly but not competed in 2013.

That is all due to change in 2014 as I've just secured a personal sponsor. This makes life far more interesting as I now have a budget to spend! Where I'm going to spend it remains a little bit cloudy at the moment.....

I missed out on doing the Jersey Rally this year when Compomotive Wheels went bust this September so I would love to be on the island for next year's rally but I also have a few other boxes that need ticking - decisions, decisions!

I'm not expecting to have any firm news until March or April, I'm certainly not committing to any championships nor do I see myself actually "suiting up" for any one-off events before the first quarter of 2014 has passed.

Expect a lot (make that a LOT) more blogs from me now and expect to see my face at plenty more events in 2014 as well as my name on the odd entry list too!

See you on the stages and circuits.....

Happy Christmas, fröhliche Weihnachten, joyeux Noël, buon Natale, feliz Natal, feliz Navidad, god jul, hyvää joulua, vrolijk Kerstfeest, glædelig jul, gleðileg jól, Nadolig llawen, bon Natale, с Рождеством Христовым. I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can on stages and in service areas during 2013!