Paul Thompson 'Hooligan'
Admin
Well - after a few hectic days, I got back from the Nordschleife (Nurburg Ring) after taking the TVR Griffith out for a 300Km race there - The ADAC Eifelrennen.
For those of you who remember - we went last year too but having 'buzzed' the motor previously at Cadwell, were unsure whether it would hold up and it didn't it blew up on 2nd lap of GP circuit..
Anyway, this time was different. I took car and two drivers and van load of spares out last Thursday and we arrived at the circuit, in time for a couple of hours unofficial practise being as the circuit was open in the evening for public testing.
Having had all suspension off it and having reset higher ride-heights to cope with the infamous Karousel corner, which can knock hell out of a low slung sump, all was working ok and the drivers came back after about 6 laps with big grins on their faces, they approved of the new setup..
So Friday saw the first session of qualifying and our main opposition was a rather nice E-Type Jaguar (4.2L) and a very well prepared TR8. There were 185 entries for the race and they would be setting off in 3 groups at 2 minute intervals in order to hopefully negate any major incidents early on. The cars ranged from little NSU's to Mighty Ford Fairlane 500 (with HUGE V8) and also included many many other notable marques, all pre 1986.
So - after qualifying 1, we were placed about 28th out of 185 and fastest in our class by some 55 seconds... so things were looking good.... We had a few issues with fuel starvation on the long (2mile) straight and the car dropping power above 7000rpm.. So I bridged the pumps so both ran together (10Litres every 3 minutes would surely be enough!)
Saturday saw the second 60 minute qualifying session and after fixing a front wheel-bearing issue and checking fuel flow rates, we were placed 31st out of 185 and again, pole in our class by some 30 seconds.. Some of the other cars were absolutely flying and kin noisy too, esp the BMW M1's which must have been on all but open exhausts.. Another full nut and bolt check, 4 new tyres fitted (and scrubbed in by a short blast to garage to fill up) and we were just about ready.
Sunday came - Raceday and we had rain, hmmmm - this might be interesting but fortunately the drivers have 1000's (yes 1000's) of laps of experience on the Ring and know very well how the weather can change - corner to corner but MORE importantly, where you can 'push your luck' and where you MUST not...
We started on pole of group 3, with about 100+ cars in front and 50+ behind us and after a 20 min sighting lap, a rolling start saw us start chasing down the cars in front. The weather changed from rain, to drizzle, to drying, to drizzle continuously but Matthew shook it all of and pulled 59 seconds on 2nd place on the first lap, then stretched that by 3 minutes on the second - holy crap he was flying!!. After a manic 6 laps, I pulled him in for refuelling and driver change and out went the second driver.
Eventually, the superfast Porsches in group 1 completed the 300Km and the chequered flag was then shown to subsequent cars...
We finished - first in class - by 1 minute 8 seconds (+ a lap!) so about 14 minutes ahead of our nearest class competitor but also finished 39th overall out of 185 entered and 159 finished. A few didn't and a few more were pretty much destroyed in accidents - but fortunately no-one badly hurt.
All this from a 1965 Road car - that looking at the data logging was managing 150mph in places..
The drivers were over the moon and promptly got pissed on the way home as I made a mad dash to the ferry at Calais to catch the 23:00 ferry. So 4 days and about 900 mile across two of them has left me tired but satisfied with the outcome.... Next year they are now talking about taking the 964RS Porker as well and running two cars, swapping drivers midway though - could be interesting...
A few random pics of the weekend and I may try to put up some video at some point if anyone is interested.
For those of you who remember - we went last year too but having 'buzzed' the motor previously at Cadwell, were unsure whether it would hold up and it didn't it blew up on 2nd lap of GP circuit..
Anyway, this time was different. I took car and two drivers and van load of spares out last Thursday and we arrived at the circuit, in time for a couple of hours unofficial practise being as the circuit was open in the evening for public testing.
Having had all suspension off it and having reset higher ride-heights to cope with the infamous Karousel corner, which can knock hell out of a low slung sump, all was working ok and the drivers came back after about 6 laps with big grins on their faces, they approved of the new setup..
So Friday saw the first session of qualifying and our main opposition was a rather nice E-Type Jaguar (4.2L) and a very well prepared TR8. There were 185 entries for the race and they would be setting off in 3 groups at 2 minute intervals in order to hopefully negate any major incidents early on. The cars ranged from little NSU's to Mighty Ford Fairlane 500 (with HUGE V8) and also included many many other notable marques, all pre 1986.
So - after qualifying 1, we were placed about 28th out of 185 and fastest in our class by some 55 seconds... so things were looking good.... We had a few issues with fuel starvation on the long (2mile) straight and the car dropping power above 7000rpm.. So I bridged the pumps so both ran together (10Litres every 3 minutes would surely be enough!)
Saturday saw the second 60 minute qualifying session and after fixing a front wheel-bearing issue and checking fuel flow rates, we were placed 31st out of 185 and again, pole in our class by some 30 seconds.. Some of the other cars were absolutely flying and kin noisy too, esp the BMW M1's which must have been on all but open exhausts.. Another full nut and bolt check, 4 new tyres fitted (and scrubbed in by a short blast to garage to fill up) and we were just about ready.
Sunday came - Raceday and we had rain, hmmmm - this might be interesting but fortunately the drivers have 1000's (yes 1000's) of laps of experience on the Ring and know very well how the weather can change - corner to corner but MORE importantly, where you can 'push your luck' and where you MUST not...
We started on pole of group 3, with about 100+ cars in front and 50+ behind us and after a 20 min sighting lap, a rolling start saw us start chasing down the cars in front. The weather changed from rain, to drizzle, to drying, to drizzle continuously but Matthew shook it all of and pulled 59 seconds on 2nd place on the first lap, then stretched that by 3 minutes on the second - holy crap he was flying!!. After a manic 6 laps, I pulled him in for refuelling and driver change and out went the second driver.
Eventually, the superfast Porsches in group 1 completed the 300Km and the chequered flag was then shown to subsequent cars...
We finished - first in class - by 1 minute 8 seconds (+ a lap!) so about 14 minutes ahead of our nearest class competitor but also finished 39th overall out of 185 entered and 159 finished. A few didn't and a few more were pretty much destroyed in accidents - but fortunately no-one badly hurt.
All this from a 1965 Road car - that looking at the data logging was managing 150mph in places..
The drivers were over the moon and promptly got pissed on the way home as I made a mad dash to the ferry at Calais to catch the 23:00 ferry. So 4 days and about 900 mile across two of them has left me tired but satisfied with the outcome.... Next year they are now talking about taking the 964RS Porker as well and running two cars, swapping drivers midway though - could be interesting...
A few random pics of the weekend and I may try to put up some video at some point if anyone is interested.
