Saying goodbye to an old friend (aka a motorsport day)

People can be forgiven for thinking that as the motor racing season ends, things go quiet for a few months. In reality more work is done in the close season than during the months we actually race. Between now and March next year we need to rebuild one existing car, source and build a new car for racing in Germany next year, source and build a spare race chassis for the German series and more importantly build our main UK race car for 2009, so we certainly have our work cut out this winter.

In November 2003 I somewhat impulsively bought a Nissan 350z having seen one sat in a showroom when I was thinking about changing my then car. At that time the first batch of 400 UK cars had been sold for some time, but I was lucky enough to be able to get hold of a cancelled order and luckily found myself in one of those first cars. Prior to the 350z I had changed my car almost every year, but this one saw me through almost exactly five years. During the course of 2008 thoughts turned to changing the car and what car we would use as our primary GT race car in the UK for 2009. The 350z seemed a perfect fit. With a 3.5l V6 engine, it has plenty of torque and is also quick. Once it is stripped of 1/3 of its weight and the engine tweaked, it will be quicker still, perfect for an endurance race car where reliability is paramount.

On Wednesday this past week I had to take the car over to the workshop so that the guys can start work. Ideally we need to start shaking the car down in early February and get our drivers testing it on a race track in March. For the past week the car has been sat in the garage as I’ve been using the Jeep to not only pollute the environment but also take the dog out and about.

As I hit the key fob to open the car, nothing happened. I tried a little closer, nothing. I tried the spare fob, nothing again. She was not going anywhere, surely some form protest at the impending ’simplification’. For the first time in five years I had to open the door with the key and set the alarm off to get her moving.

We then had a very enjoyable run from Oxfordshire to Suffolk. A friend of mine was with me to give me a lift back and we had an enjoyable final hour of twisty country roads as we went the scenic way to the workshop. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to the car in her current guise. She will remain road legal after all the work, just so that she can be driven round the Nurburgring on tourist days (cars must remain road legal on tourist days and those days will be ideal for endurance testing), albeit being transported there and back on a trailer, because it will not be easy or comfortable to drive her on the road.

It was quite a sad moment to park up and hand the keys over to the mechanics. They have a list of what needs doing and a budget to work to and we’ll talk every week about progress until it is time to meet at Snetterton, don the race suit and boots and start testing.

We then drove from Suffolk to Gatwick to have a look at a race car that someone is selling. I wasn’t too impressed, it was front wheel drive and just didn’t click when sat inside it. I couldn’t imagine where it would fit into our plans for 2009 and figured that it wasn’t worth diverting budget from other areas to have it sat in a garage not doing much.

The it was time to head home. I got handed the keys to the car my friend was driving, which is a new Jaguar XF that has been ‘breathed on’ by some Jaguar Nurburgring testers. It was a phenomenal drive to say the least, even more so considering it was a diesel too. It was very quick, a sheer delight to drive and the tiptronic gearbox was just subliminal. In fact it was almost as good as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage one that I drove earlier in the year. However such a car would hep me lose my licence as its natural motorway cruising speed seemed to be the wrong side of three figures. I always thought that you had to be over 50 to own and drive a Jaguar, but I was really impressed. Hopefully I will get a longer test drive and possibly get to keep the car for a few days so I can really give it a good drive round some roads that I know.

I need to find a replacement for the 350z for my normal day to day car. The Jeep is great but not exactly economical for long journeys. In a direct reflection of the state of the economy I have been offered a tremendous deal on a brand new Audi S5, but even with a very hefty discount I still think that it will be a depreciating timebomb. My Aston Martin dealer, who I upset earlier in the year when I told him I felt their prices had a long way to drop, is now coming back with some realistic prices for the V8 Vantage. What I need to do is wait a little longer, prices will only go one way as people become desperate to get out of cars they can no longer afford to run. Come January prices will be even keener, so for once I am going to hold off from doing anything and see where prices fall to early next year.

The legend of one man

On 26th September the great actor Paul Newman sadly lost his battle with lung cancer. Whilst he was known around the world for his acting work, he was less well known for his passion for motorsport. Such was his love of the sport that he entered and came second in the 1972 running of the Le Mans 24 hours in a Porsche 935 and in 2000 completed the 1,000 mile / 10 hour Petit Le Mans near Atlanta, Georgia.

Previously this year, on the 21st August, the Lime Rock Park race track in Connecticut was hired for the day so that he could drive some of his cars for the final time and say goodbye to the sport. At the time it was said he wouldn’t live past September.

On the weekend of 4th October it was time for the 11th running of the Petit Le Mans race, and I found myself at the track with one of the teams who had entered. I’ll write more about the race experience in another post, because for now I want to concentrate on the tributes made to Paul Newman.

As you entered the circuit, the first part of the track you see is the magnificent turn 10.

Trackside advertising hoarding tribute

As a gesture, they had his initials on the advertising boards all round the track. Then, each car had his initials as a decal somewhere in the bodywork.

Car decals on nose piece

Before the race started, the main tribute took place. First of all a minutes silence was observed. From where I was stood in the pit lane, everyone was on their feet and I have no reason to doubt that everyone one of the 130,000 crowd gave their respects. Even mechanics working on cars prior to the race stopped what they were doing.

Then the rumble of an old Porsche GT1 engine was heard and then a car came out onto the track and did a single, solitary lap. It was a truly magnificent sound of an old race car doing what it does best – racing. I didn’t take a picture of it as it went past, more so because I didn’t think it would be appropriate.

Later on I went scouting round the paddock and found it proudly sat on the asphalt -

PLN GT1 Porsche

There are times when as an outsider to the USA I’ve scorned at its patriotism on occasion, but I can honestly say I was proud to be there to witness those tributes that weekend and to be part of a great race that celebrated his life as a race car driver.

Paul Leonard Newman – 26th January 1925 to 26th September 2008.

Actor, race car driver and humanitarian. May you rest in peace.

Adrenalin drinking

We discovered this phenomenon last Wednesday after a long, tiring, frustrating and ultimately successful day testing one of our race cars.

Luckily, the workshop and mechanics live nearby to the circuit, unluckily myself and one of my drivers live some three hours drive away, so we stayed in a very good yet cheap hotel near to the track, so that we could not only have a beer after a long day, but also wouldn’t be faced with a long drive home at the end of the day.

We walked into the hotel at 6pm, checked in at the bar (surely a bad sign? ), and then had a pint. Never has a beer tasted so good. We had endured a very slow morning with the car on jacks trying to find a kink in the fuel line so that we could get the car running and then a fault free afternoon where the ran ran for three hours without skipping a beat.

Naturally the first beer didn’t touch the sides, neither did the second and it could be argued that the third didn’t really do the job either.

The bar closed at midnight and we were the last to leave, staggering up the stairs to the room before passing out in an alcohol fuelled haze. Much hilarity ensued as we saw the lighting on the stairs and naturally assumed we were being beamed into a space craft -

After breakfast and much coffee the next morning, we settled the bill to find that we had spent more on alcohol than we had on the room*, and thus the phrase “Adrenalin drinking” was born.

*In our defence, we had bought the three mechanics a couple of beers too, but it appears that we ourselves were exceptionally thirsty.

The sound of a purring V8 with a smooth gear change

So, Friday was Aston Martin testing day.

The day started early, as I needed to be there for 8.30am to sign on and it was a 70 mile drive to get there. Having not been able to get a new pair of racing boots in time, I opted for the thinest pair of trainers that I had and took those with me, along with helmet, racing suit and various other bits and pieces.

I got slightly held up in traffic and arrived fifteen minutes late which wasn’t a problem. Although security at the gate took my camera off me   Some other car manufacturers were testing cars and all photography was forbidden in case pictures were made public.

Once I was signed on and my driving licence had been checked I had bacon sandwiches, pastries and coffee whilst being briefed on the activities planned for the day. I’d was going to get to drive the cars not only on the high speed bowl, but also the mile long testing straight, the apline course and the city track too. On each course I’d be accompanied by a race instructor who after demonstrating what we’d be doing, would then hand the car over to me.

First up was the alpine course. This is a track layout that simulates fast, tight and blind bends that up and over hills. The track itself is very tight, no more than two lanes wide at any point and for the tricky bits it also has armco on both sides to stop you going over the edge. For the movie buffs amongst you, it was where this scene in Casino Royale was filmed -

So, off we go and do a few laps with the instructor showing me the lines for some of the corners. Then he hands over the car and off we go. The first thing I notice is that the steering is really nimble, I can turn the wheel and the car responds immediately, with a dab of the accelerator the car hunches down onto the road and explodes forward. The first lap I take quite slowly, as I’m not sure where the corners are, but for the second lap onwards I start to open the car up a little. It handled amazingly well, going over a blind crest I managed to get all four wheels off the ground at one point. The alpine course gives you a good idea as to how the car will handle round a tight circuit where you need to steer a lot and quickly move between two gears most of the time. I got some very positive feedback for my car control and the lines that I took for the laps that I did.

Next up was the city course, this was a series of very low speed exercises to demonstrate the capabilities of the car not only at low speeds, but also the effect of the turning circle and just how easy it is to flick the car through tight bends whilst still keeping control of the car. Out of everything we did that was the one exercise that I least enjoyed, although it did help me understand what the car could do.

Then after a little break for pastries and coffee I got taken out onto a handling circuit and shown what the car could do round a 3/4 long fast twisty circuit. I wasn’t allowed to drive the car, but we did 10 laps at increasing speeds. What made me laugh was that the recommended speed was 50mph and on the last lap we hit 90mph a couple of times. This really gave me a good feel for just how well the car could be steered through corners without losing traction with the road. I would really have enjoyed being able to try this myself, but would have needed a couple of hours at least to learn the bends and the layout to get the best out of it.

Next up was the high speed bowl. This is a track that is a perfect two mile long circle, where the lanes slope upwards. The idea being that aside from doing high speed test runs, you can also drive the car with no hands!

We got out onto the track and the instructor demonstrated that in the fourth lane at 75mph you could drive with no hands on the wheel, simply by feathering the throttle with your foot you could control the car. So I jumped into the car and off we went. It is very strange to take your hands off the wheel of a moving car, especially at that speed and it took me a couple of laps to relax enough to enjoy it. Just when I had started to enjoy it the instructor told me to put my hands back on the wheel and plant the accelerator to the floor. The car moved up into the top lane and we hit 147mph or so and it just felt completely planted on the road surface. I did a handful of laps at that speed, with the armco just inches away from the car before we slowed down and finished the excercise.

Finally we went out onto the mile long straight to to do a number of tests. Firstly with a shorts shift (flappy paddle) gearshift we did a number of high speed runs. This involved taking the car from 0 to as fast as possible down the mile long straight and then brake testing to slow down. I hit 141mph on the first run and braked way too early, the second run I managed just a shade under 150mph. Then we did some braking tests to see how easy it was to slow the car down. I suprised the instructor by cadence braking (old instincts never go away) , but the car was very easy to control from 140mph down to a standstill.

Then we had a late lunch, and at around 3pm it was time to head home. Twice on the way home I had to remind myself that I was no longer on the high speed bowl but rather a public road.

It was a very enjoyable day and the car was everything and more than I expected it to be. I just need to find a decent sponsor for next year, then we’ll race one.

Pleasant phone call

Ring ring…

Perpetual “Hello, this is Perpetual.”

AM “Hi this is Aston Martin, would you like to come test drive some of our cars next week at Millbrook proving ground? We’ll have a range of cars there, including the N24 Vantage which we understand you might be thinking of racing next year.”

Perpetual “That would be great, thank you very much.”

AM “We’ll provide you lunch as well.”

Perpetual “Brilliant, I look forward to seeing you then.”

AM “Someone will contact your PA in the next few days to arrange the details, remember to bring your race overalls and helmet.”

Perpetual “I am packing my bags already.”

I suspect the rest of the day will be somewhat anticlimactic now.