UKGPL Season 16 (2008-9) Novice '65 - Zandvoort (1967) - Jan 20

[bernie]

Blimey, hope he goes in the right direction!! cos' that same A38 comes right through the centre of Bristol!!!!...could be a long drive ...
and anyway what a cop out..   

 "I can do 1:28's around Zandy and will wup yer asses"
 oops! forgot I can't make the race I HAVE TO GO AWAY ON BUSINESS!!??... how jolly (in)convenient

 

LOL

Just started snowing in Preston.  Maybe my trip will be cancelled. 

suprising what one little digit can do to ruin well planned motoring trip 

Meant to be the A83 "rest and be thankfull" for those that know it  , though its prolly full of speed calming measures these days just like all the other classic routes 

Been a while since I terrorised the locals up in them there hills 

 

[Turkey Machine]

Hristo, if you're gonna be in this race, can you make it a bit more competitive for others by slowing down?

[Phil Thornton]

Jack

Password hasn't been posted for this race 

[Jack O'Ferrall]

It's up- since Clive might be away UKGPL4 might have to be used for the later Amateurs race tonight, and UKGPL5 for the Novices..

[Phil Thornton]

OK just let me know what you want me to do in chat

[ginsters sponsored]

Another stinker from me Poor pace in quali and too many offs pretty much put paid to any fun. Typically, I would work like hell to catch gent in front, relax and go off. Not overdriving just not concentrating. Much more fun than Brands though.

Congrats to podium and enjoyed seeing a few of you (until I binned it ).

[miner2049er]

Results and Replay here.

http://www.jamesonline.net/ukgpl/2009.01.20_Zandvoort_Novices/

[vosblod]

Firstly congrats to winners (in amateurs and novices).
Qually was good (for me) and looked like I was set for a nice bit of racing at the back with Al and Graham.
Sadly Alastairs connection problems put paid to that duel following which I did an over enthusiastic brake at Tarzan on lap 2 which put Graham through.
After that I concentrated on closing Graham but got a screen freeze on lap 11 - fearing I could still be on track took the safe option and ended race via ESC.
A race that promised much but delivered little...

[Hristo Itchov]

Hristo, if you're gonna be in this race, can you make it a bit more competitive for others by slowing down?

Lol, look who's talking, mr. Pole position and Fastest Lap!

[Geoff65]

A good, steady race without being spectacular....although the last 5 laps with Clutch and myself trading laptime blows was quite fascinating to watch in replay. Tossing up wether to start in Italy, as it seems I have pejudiced Asbjeurns chances of taking the title from Sam at the last race. I didn't realise that he was numerically close enough to snatch the title if Sam DNF's next race and Asby wins. I was under the impression that Steve alone, was close enough for a tilt. Bad luck today Steve, with that blown engine on lap 5. And a bloody black flag for track cutting?........Absolute rubbish. Can you look into that please Dave, I think it was a false black flag, that on top of the blowup,  cost Steve any chance of a good finish and decent points.

After Clutch ran wide in turn 1 and handed the lead to Asbjeurn on lap 9, Asby wasted no time in gapping the field by quite a substantial margin. But there must have been a cost, as we all came across him facing the wrong way and off the track just on the exit of the hairpin on lap 15. He chased me for a lap as he got himself up to speed again, and as he had been faster than me overall when he came a knockin' again I'd let him by. A lap later he spun at T1 and it was the last I saw of him....he eventually finished some 33 seconds adrift of Clutch. There must have been a few more.....moments.

Two of my Clark-Hill Racing team mates didn't complete, due to a disco in Bartosz's case and a screen freeze in Tim's case, and poor Mike showed the effects of a very busy week and interrupted preparation.
Both Bartosz and Tim worked hard all week to bring the new cars up to scratch, and both were doing very well til their untimely demises. Bartosz in particular was a bit hard to catch early, without stressing the rubber unduly.... When I first saw Bartosz whilst practicing for Silvy I had to invite him to join UKGPL and ultimately into the team. He's without a doubt a rough diamond, good work there mate. And Tim and Mike's improvement just this season has been astonishing. Both are thinking like racers now, and with every outing they get better and better......bodes well for next season I reckon.....

Can't take anything away from Clutch's performance tonight, after his lap 9 bobble his race was pretty much flawless. Even when I piled on the pressure in the last 6 or so laps, he responded with faster, tidy laps of his own. I was forced to drop into the 29's on lap 22 to try and pick him up, but wasted it by nearly blowing it thru Scheivlak on lap 23. I held opposite lock there for what seemed like a age, before the car came back underneath me and I could continue. I just kept my head down trying to produce a mistake from Clutch that might have brought him close enough to attack, to no avail. The margin at the finish was under 2 seconds. A very satisfying race in one respect, manageing to drive a groove that kept some car under me towards the end and 96% of on track laps. Obviously the key to any good performance. The lesson for today chaps is: accept slightly lower lap times, for better consistency and 100% on track laps.....and you WILL be somewhere up near the front at the finish. Don't know where the concentration came from....I'd been awake all night, due to 'night-shift syndrome'.

We need to get Alastairs' connection sorted out too.....his season has been marred by constant discoe's for the latter part of the season. Hate to lose a driver because of a fixable problem.

Great race everyone, no incidents to report as far as I'm aware, and a wonderfully clean L1-T1. Excellent work guys. Grats to Clutch for a cracking race, and Asbjeurn for a fighting 3rd place. Well done all that finished, what has been one of the cleanest and best Novice races this season. Upstairs may be a bit crowded next season, as there are a few lads capable of stepping up. I think there is a need for a mezzanine below the top storey.........
Nearly forgot to mention NHance!! Excellent qually for third on the grid.....just to disco as we formed up for the start. Bloody disappointing really, would have added another dimension to an already classy race.
Hang in there mate.

Oh, and thanks greatly to Steve and Dave for agreeing to let us run the new cars.

Geoff.



BTW: I had really bad stutters behind the pits all race, and the odd ones at other places around the track. Could simply be a case of tightwad corporate ISP's skimping on bandwidth to protect their (boo hoo) dwindling profits, or some other reason entirely......

[b_1_rd]

Oh dear, that didn't go well, and puts me out of reach of the championship if I'm not mistaken.  

Engine blew, didn't feel I was pushing too hard, have driven much harder than that before and the motor didn't give up.  One of those things.  I pulled off track to allow everyone past and reset, and then hopefully persue the pack down again.  Went to do a S&G and noticed too late to dive into my own pit box that I had a black flag.  I know I could have probably continued and hope the mod may have over ruled GPL to revoke any disqualification but I don't like doing it so decided to dive back in the pits again to see if I could clear the black flag.  The board said cut course! Not sure where that was.  Only thing I can think is when I pulled off track with a blown engine, but I was far from gaining any advantage from that.

All that lead to me being in 10th and way down from anyone.  Pushed on regardless.  You never know.  By virtue of disco's by VV and PZ I recovered to 8th.

Lesson learned, always S&G next to your own pit board, just in case!  I would have needed to only stop once.

Grats to all finishers and the Podium.

P.S. Can we go back to Brands yet

[NickyIckx]

 
Ickx short race report on his lucky 3rd at Zandy :

Just watch the replay , thx for upload  .

Well , to me qualification worked out good . 0,3sec off my PB but good enough for 5th on grid.
Considering days test results , my goals in order where:
1.   watch the engines temps . don’t blow up
2.   watch both left tyres temps , no wide walks on to the greens
3.   try racing

the race :
as expected EvilClive overtook me at start , so I settled down on 6th.
Bit hunted then by Sam Blood  till he spon. Meanwhile my engine decide to love 121 Celsius, so no way to lay on any sort of aggressive driving style. Man I lift throttle all that gently while shifting…felts more like cruising then racing.lol.
J.W went wide , pitty.
Nothing spectacular till L14 : Tim spins two times dropped him on 6th ,me lifted to 4th.
Ginsters starts to hunt me but lost somewhere at L16.
L19 lapped unlucky pitter B.Darwin.
L20 EvilClive slipstreamed Natan ,second then.
L22 Natan tried to slipstream right side defending EvilClive but touched those exit-pitwall slightly . Thatwhy he chrashed into EvilClive  in front of T1.
Unbelievable  ,both cars survived those heavy chrash without any damage !!! wow.
L22 still ,  Natan slipped twice and I earned 3rd.
L23 Natan did his fastes lap.
L24 Natan`s engine explodes. Luckily in front of the pits entry ,where he pitstoped. Wd !
L25 my so called fastes race lap 1-30-32 .  wooooooooooooow.
Tim starts hunting me , so I prepared myself to eventually  right side defending line on the long straight . like I did noticed EvilClive did with success during test races.
Well but Tim didn’t come that close. Slipped somewhere on  L26 at least.

Couldn’t believe , 3rd in the end. What kinda lucky result   !!!


Congratulations goes to J.Walters and Hristo ; outstanding  !!! class of his own.
As well to Natan , EvilClive and Tim , who have been a class off his own too.
And of course big hand to winners of Novices and to all taken part.


See ya all at Monza for the  last race of this great funny season.
(will modified slipstream be ready for 65mod till then  ? ) that would be nice.

Regards
Nicky Ickx

[Podkrecony_Ziutek]

Zandwoort is one of my favorite tracks, and I was waiting for this race.

On practise I was struggling to make a good clean lap, but finally at the end of session I've cleared my head, and finish second on the grid with 1:30.48 

The race started with a bad start witch cost me second place(this Ferrari was very fast ).
At the first few laps i was struggling to find my rhythm. Leaders was running away from me, so I've concentrated on keeping my third place. Steve was pushing me very hard, but he had an engine problems, and now my only thread was Geoff. Luckily He didn't push as hard as He could, so I was able to keep distance between us.
On lap 13 C.Clutch made a mistake and gap between us were just 3 second. Two laps later leader Asbjeurn Tverberg spin on Hugenholtzbocht(just love the name ), and I was second .
Unfortunately half lap later I have a disco, and that was the end of the story  :'(

Bartosz in particular was a bit hard to catch early, without stressing the rubber unduly.... When I first saw Bartosz whilst practicing for Silvy I had to invite him to join UKGPL and ultimately into the team. He's without a doubt a rough diamond, good work there mate.

Thanks mate. Hope to perform better for the team at Monza

[Clutch4]

Enjoyed this one obviously.. my first win. Was it easy.. No it wasn't! There were guys out there faster than me who could have also taken victory, so there was a fair bit of luck in my win.
Qualified with an unexpected pole and was first into turn 1. had a smile on my face as i saw Asbjeurn had done one of his usual lightning starts to jump from 5th? to 2nd by turn 1. After our coming together at Brands Hatch (which was my fault - many apologies) i knew i had to be extra careful. I could hear his Ferrari breathing down my neck for the first few laps and was going cross-eyed watching him in my mirrors but eventually gapped him by a couple of seconds.
On Lap 8 (i think) i missed a gear shift at the end of the main straight, lost the back end and ran wide whilst grabbing a gearbox full of neutrals (Bit like Hakkinen at the Monza Chicane in 1999. Couldn't find any trees to cry under though). Asbjeurn got past, and after i had another spin due to trying to push he gapped me by quite a few seconds and i couldn't catch him.
A few laps later saw some yellow flags and a Ferrari facing the wrong way at the hairpin and i regained the lead. I knew he easiliy had the pace to catch me so kept my head down and concentrated. Asbjeurn must have lost his Rhythm a bit as he seemed to drop back and Geoff passed him.
I had quite a margin to Geoff so thought i'd ignore Pribluba and take the last 10+ laps nice and steady, enjoy the scenery..etc.
Unfortunately, Geoff decided to ruin my pleasant drive by punching in some very quick laps and before i knew it i was getting loose trying to match his times and begging the lap chart to get to zero as he closed right in.
I could pretend i was pacing myself and letting him catch me so i wasn't putting too much stress on the car, but the truth is, 2 more laps and he would have been on me and it could have been anyone's race.

Well done to all, even NHance who came out of nowhere with a 3rd place on the grid only to have an internet connection problem or something and couldn't do the race.
Next race Monza where i expect my BT11 will struggle.. with me driving it that is!

[Asbjeurn Tverberg]

Well done, Clutch and Geoff, and well deserved podium to you two! I feel bad for Steve and Bartosz who would have beaten me if it wasn't for their technical problems.

At the qually I wasn't up to my best. I set a time that put me on second for a while, but soon was surpassed by Clutch, Bartosz, NHance and Steve. I wasn't able to take back the position, although I tried very hard - too hard. I messed up almost every lap, and only managed to get .08 seconds behind Steve on the last lap. Clutch on first, Bartosz on second, NHance on third, Steve on fourth, and then me.

NHance got a disco just before the start, which left a wide open space between me and Clutch and I could really pull away at the start and took the second position into T1. The first few laps I managed to follow Clutch, but still wasn't able to close in on him. With a few bad turns, the gap soon opened from 1 second to 2 or 3 seconds, and there was no way I could close it. Clutch was too fast, so I just had to settle in for second, and hope for Clutch to make a mistake. The gap back to Bartosz on third was increasing, so I figured I just had to keep steady laps, and the second place would be mine.

Then I saw in the distance that Clutch missed the braking into T1, and he didn't regain control before I was past. I kept my pace without trying to pull away. It was more important to stay on track and get as many points as possible, than taking chances on fighting for the win, so I figured that if Clutch caught me, I wouldn't fight too hard for my position, but you never know what happens when the fight is on...

Strangely enough the gap increased, and I started hoping for a win, but of course I messed it up in the hairpin and Clutch got past before I could start driving in the right direction. Damn 65 cars don't have enough power to spin around, so I had to take a three-point turn, which cost me a lot of time. Another mistake, and Bartosz and Geoff passed me. I was pretty soon up on Geoff's tail, and noticed that Bartosz in front of him again warped all over the place. I thought that Steve, who I had lapped when I still was in second place, had tried to pass Bartosz and crashed because of a warp, but that wasn't the case. Anyway, Bartosz suddenly was gone, and I was just wating for him to reappear somewhere right in front of either me or Geoff. Luckily that didn't happen, 'cause he was gone for ever.

After that I messed it up again, this time in the exit of Tarzanbocht, and Geoff disappeard in the distance. Now all I could do was concentrating on keeping the cars behind as far behind as possible. I did my best not to let that happen though, and had four or five really bad laps before I pulled myself together for the last laps,  and hauled in the last podium place.