Silverstone, Ring, Monza And Spa In 8 Days

[Marlin]

That is such a crying shame mate, I do really feel for you

[NickR33]

hey Roy try playing the footage using VLC (its a media player you can download)... its sometimes good at playing buggy files... its a long shot but might be worth a try

[Snowman]

"Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file."

The POV Files can give the same error message if the files/recording was stopped via any method other than pressing stop. Aka - if the power went off or if the card was suddenly ejected. But I was finding that the card issue was occuring occasionally if it was bumped around a lot. It seemed to register that the card was missing when it wasn't. Not sure if that is that same thing?

But I did it a few times also when I pressed off instead of stop which caused the same issues.

[Roy]

Well when the controller hangs it doesnt capture that vid so that supports your experiences Snowie. Oh well, will just have to go back next year and do it again (maybe sooner)

[Neil]

I've been dealing with Byron who's been very helpful, nice guy. I'm really keen to try one with the sequential box without the paddle shift, and would love to try out one of the cars they have for sale.

I saw that SR3 from Fricker for sale, very nice looking car and a good spec too. Do you know how much he sold it for by any chance? If you do and could PM me it would really be helpful in knowing what to pay!

Troy,,,great thread mate,,,love the vids. Yep heaps of Radicals there as would be expected at an open track day. I watch all the goings on here

http://www.pistonheads.com/

phunky,,,are you going to track day a Radical or race it ???. Frickers car started at $11800.00 and it ended up in the 80.000.00 mark,,,which is still rip-off money.

Cheers

Neil.

[Tektrader69]

try a couple of these video file repair utilities Roy.

Usually the file wont play becasue the header hasnt been filled in cause the file ended abruptly.

http://www.repairvideo.com/

http://3d2f.com/tags/repair/video/file/

There's lots of others. Do a search.

I wanna see em.

[Roy]

Thanks Graham, I will certainly be giving those a try when I get a moment and clear up some space on my laptop.

So, a few observations from the last few days at Nurburgring and Spa. When you turn 18 in Germany your dad gives you a pork knuckle, a stein of beer and the keys to a 996 or 997 GT3RS. If you are a busted ass uni student you seem to have to make do with just a Carrera. If you do well in your exams then you get a GT2 or a Turbz, leaving you the option of driving it to the track where you park it and swap to the race car....or just for the hell of it punt the GT2.

I saw plenty last year, but this year as you will see from the pics, every car park in the surrounding burbs were full of GT2/GT3 and combinations of RS/CS versions. BMW really need to pull their finger out and ge the M3 up to speed as there were very few M3s, Ferraris and Lambos. Funny enough Astons seemed to out number the Italian jiggers.

So, the weekend at Nurburgring was not without drama. Good thing we got two days of running, (Fri/Sat) as the Sat was a bit of a debacle. But first the Friday. After using RentaRacecar last year (http://www.rent-racecar.de) I again ponied up and went for a VW Scirocco 2.0 TSI. It is caged, DSG, suspension work and has road tyres or semis depending on the weather on the day. I wanted BMW 120i Coupé but it was booked out for both days. Baron had gone for the Alfa option from RSR, based on the advice that it is fun to drive, makes good noise and has good tyres.

The Scirocco is a good thing, and if ever released here in Aus you would have to seriously think about getting one for a daily

The Alfa, well , presentation was not great and a bit of a shame as RSR turn out all their other cars in top condition. Barons first Alfa did not last a lap. A failed fuel pump left him stranded by the side of the track and took about 120mins to retrieve the car from the circuit, return to RSR and get a replacement...you guessed it another Alfa. RSR were good about getting him another car and back to the track. But losing 2 hours of running on a 7 hr day means it makes it a challenge to get value for your day's car hire. (An important thing to remember when hiring cars at the Ring, track closures, car breakages can make a mess of plans) We later found out they have about 20 spare Aflas to use for parts so the old Alfas wont be going anywhere anytime soon.

So, I had already done something like 3-4 laps whilst Baron was stranded and trying to get another car. Then the rain came as Baron returned to the track. Looking at the condition of the second Alfa, there was mutual concern that Baron would suffer the shame of breaking down two laps in a row in two different cars. So i gave him the keys to my modern little pleasure of a car and I took the Alfa out. I had driven it all of 25mtrs through a car park before trying to drive it at speed on a wet Nurburgring.

So after a giggle attack which saw tears rolling down my cheeks, I ventured out to realised the Alfa did not have 200hp, it would be lucky to have 120hp. Second was that whilst it stopped ok its brakes feel terrible. Visibility was terrible as the Italians installed hamsters that spun a fan in the dash to try and demist the windscreen....so within 30 seconds and a few corners the thing was scary. But the revelation was it is a sweet handling car. As the tyres got some resemblance of temperature it was starting to corner sweetly, until I got to the evern wetter back half of the track where it was a real handful with understeer and with very prevalent lift of oversteer meaning I had to try and be very smooth...something I am not known for behind the wheel.

But it turned out that Baron was right and the thing handled great, and whilst a completely different experience to the Scirocco, was still great fun. When it started to dry out a tad it was even more entertaining when you were able to use the grip of the chassis and tyres. I sat out the last few sessions of the day whilst Baron went out to try and catch up for some lost running before the track closed

So the next day rolled around with great anticipation of picking up the keys to a race prepp'd E36 M3. Only to be told at the point of collection that it's engine had blown up and the car had not returned from the mechanics. They were going to give us the 996 Cup Car instead but it got binned two days earlier by a crazy Russian...and of their 7 cars only 1 was running Seems they were having a tough season with car breakages. So after some running around we were back at the track in another Scirocco...but due to track closures with the usual crashes etc on a full weekend tourist day....we probably should have just gone to Cologne and hit the sauce. Instead we got 2 laps each , including me getting lost on the track and going flat through a blind left only to realise it was a long way from flat and giving Baron a scare as i tried to keep his side of the car off the armco So, lesson learnt. Don't let a situation frustrate you and try and go too quick on your fist lap fearing it will be your only

Factory Astons, Rapide and DB9 kitted out with cages and race seats, which were lapping in the morning when the track was closed and only open to manufacturers. So i can only explain gutted and caged Astons that appeared to be otherwise standard as test/development mules

Edited September 16, 2010 by Roy

[Roy]

Seems Europeans use slightly more interesting drift cars compared to us back home. This is a turbocharged M-Coupe

Don't worry about breaking the Alfa, they have plenty of spares...

Sorry, RSR and Alfa fans...they are great fun to punt around Nurburgring...but my pride and inner demons still must scream "Say NO to anything Alfa"

But I did see a cool Lancia Integrale at RSR, and it seems they have a spare car for odds and ends on this as well....Crime as these are one of my favourite cars and its a shame to see it sitting there not being loved! It had cage, race seats, 2-pce rotors and aftermarket calipers. It just needed some love!

It was late in the day by the time we go to hunt around the Industrial complex neihbouring the town, with all the tyre manufacturers, some race teams, Aston Martin, Ohlins etc all having factories/offices there it would be interesting to roam around

But the best thing I saw Saturday afternoon was our chariot for Tuesday at Spa...a little Red Exige 240

Edited September 16, 2010 by Roy

[Roy]

So after Nurburgring, it was time to head to Milan for the Italian GP.

So, having heard so much from friends who had been to Milan for holidays and work, I was expecting big things. Turns out its like any other major city. Mostly greay building and graffiti...but has a great town centre. The ability of the Italians to run a good GP must also be questioned. The facilities were pretty poor compared to the other GPs I had been to. They did run a pretty effective train service to the track, but its a massive track to get around and there is no way of getting to any gates once at the track. So left with the proposition of walking about 6kms to the gate, or jump into a taxi who in true capitalist form will rape you simply because after walking streets of Monza for 50 minutes you simply dont give a fark anymore and will pay anything to get to your gate.

The other thing is there are more ticket scalpers then actual GP attendants and volunteers. So god help anyone that is trying to find the stand where you want to collect your pre-paid tickets from. So after 90minutes of being told by people over there...no over there....no idea....over there....it was easier just to buy new tickets. But, we were in Monza and this wasn't going to kill my day. But the travel to the gate and fight to collect tickets meant we only had limited pre-race time to stroll around and then try and get a good vantage point.

But, all said and done it was still a great day, it would have been torture if not for my last two years of working in India where I have learnt to accept that some things jsut are not meant to work, hell even see the charm in things being a little backwards.

The biigest surprise was just how quiet the Tifos were. There was still a good atmosphere, but I dare say all the one eyed Aussie kids of Itlain descent are more vocal and colourful on race day. They loved booing McLaren, cheered when Lewis parked it in the gravel trap...went a bit crazy when Alonso got the better of Button....but all in all about the most vocal guy in the crowd was Baron as he cheered on our Webber from 9th to 6th (Much to the amusement of most fans around us as Baron chose the quietest moment to scream "COME ON WEBBER!!!!")

A lot of roads were closed around Monza so took public transport to the track (I think it was still the right choice and suggest public transport is the way to go, only make sure you are entering at the gate closest to the train station)

After a train ride, a 50 minute walk, a cab ride we had the final 300mtr walk to the gate

Sitting on the inside of Parabolica, you may have only seen the cars for a fleeting moment, but its much a muchness and similar to watching a race at a place like Albert Park. Still have to say that Sepang is awesome for spectating, ditto Silverstone!

The punters were happy with the Ferrari 1-3

With all too good a memory of the problems getting to the gate, and looking at the crowd walking to the bus and train stations...it was decided a cab was the call of the day....(opportunistic or capitalism, either way, cab price was criminal....but saw some truly inspired driving as he sped over town, abusing other people who dared use his road...ran one car off the road because he beeped him all whilst listening to Toto/Africa and other 80s music )

And lastly, dinner capped off a long day...was a good feed ...

[phunky_monkey]

Troy,,,great thread mate,,,love the vids. Yep heaps of Radicals there as would be expected at an open track day. I watch all the goings on here

http://www.pistonheads.com/

phunky,,,are you going to track day a Radical or race it ???. Frickers car started at $11800.00 and it ended up in the 80.000.00 mark,,,which is still rip-off money.

Cheers

Neil.

Hey Neil, if I do decide to go that way it would be mainly track day use, with the occassional race day depending on whether the series just continues in NSW or moves down here to Vic, and what other series become open to it. Part of the appeal is to be able to race it one day as circumstance affords.

I've been meaning to give you a call to chat about your Prosport/experiences so will still do that if you don't mind? I wouldn't be paying 80k that's for sure!

[NickR33]

makes you appreciate how easy Albert Park is to get to... I've spoken to a few pom F1 fanatics who come over for the Aussie grand prix and reckon its the best location anywhere in the world

thanks for sharing Roy, pity things didn't go completely smooth but at least you have some interesting stories!

I spotted this Intergrale in Italy... don't put stickers all over a classic noooooo... love these cars, dad has always had Lancias so I have soft spot for them

[Russman]

Good to see you're having fun Troy. Live it up!

[phunky_monkey]

That is 911 heaven! I'm a touch excited in the pants...

Love the M-Coupe too - tough as nails!

[Ant97GTR]

Great read mate and can't wait to hear about the Spa experience

[Roy]

And with no footage of the Exige with A048s on it I cant compare the lap times with the Caterham R400 from last year. But based on the pace of the Exige on road tyres on a slightly damp track, I still think the R400 is actually quicker then the Exige. Not surprising considering their hp is not all that different and the R400 has a 300kg weight advantage.

Would have loved to been given a few laps in the Exige Cup car with cage, less weight, more power and better suspension. It looked quick when I was trying to love with it in the final session

[fatz]

barron/roy

your all arsehats

f**ken, kunts!

wish i was there abusing locals and getting us kicked out of pubs!

[Roy]

It would have made things a little interesting if you were the canned up ring leader

[SABBAi]

barron/roy

your all arsehats

f**ken, kunts!

wish i was there abusing locals and getting us kicked out of pubs!

I agree with Manboobs.

Looks like you boys are having a blast. Keep the pics coming Bris!

[fatz]

after ten pints i shit you not i can speak french!

[Roy]

After 10 pints I have a very limited vocabulary: Dog, C#@T, Fark'n, Old Son, Turn Left, Horrible things in horrible places.... thats about it