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2CV racing: 2023 season


chaseracer

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On 18/11/2021 at 21:48, motorpunk said:

Magnificent! I am 100% up for mucking in on future shenanigans. I have the facial hair of Mansell, the thirst of Kimi and the sponsorship clout of Perry McArthy. Oh, I’ve crashed at the ‘ring in an Alfa, Spa in an Audi, Oulton in a Mazda, Curborough in a Porsche, Llandow in another Mazda, a Cossie at Cadwell, I’ve been black flagged at Zandvoort, caught fire at Donington, later crashed at Donington, busted by the pigs at Monaco and was called a twat by Noel Edmonds at Goodwood. I’m happy to be your tea boy! 
 

How do I get involved? 

😁

PM me!

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Moar.

I would do a meme, but I've done a fair few MOAR memes now.  Maybe on the next update.

So.  Driver change to GB.  Here he is looking TEH SERIUS while adjusting mirrors:

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Check:

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Check other side:

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Car waiting for the next thrash round the track:

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As mentioned earlier, the ECAS sponsored car had a fairly large off in the first race,  It bent one of the front arms and needed a fairly significant re-build.  Parts were available, so it was going to race again.  Some gentle panel beating was also needed to make the car more 2CV shaped:

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Everything is an anvil when you need it to be:

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Straight.  Er.

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Off goes the car for the second race:

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In the gap between first and second race for the 2CVs, there was some other racing on.  Specifically these very fast "super karts" which were astonishingly quick, and really very loud indeed.  The 2CVs were positively quiet and smooth in comparison.  I know very little about them:

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Posting this.  Next, the final race.

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Last race of the year, and a better vantage point:

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Sun started to come out and the track dried out.  Some great racing by a very close field, and a rainbow to boot:

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went into this bend a bit "hot"

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Ryanair overhead:

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Bit more 2CVage

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The of-course car came back again.  Of course.

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And that was it.  Loading back up at the end of the day:

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Winching on backwards with a willing* steerer:

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Citroen towing duties too:

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And that was that.

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  • 3 months later...
On 30/08/2021 at 11:39, chaseracer said:

What an utterly mad thing to do.  Sign me up for next year.  Probably...!

Entry fees for 2022 are paid.  

We are rebuilding the 'grey' and 'red' engines, and will build up a third race engine at some point.  Each will have slight variations in power and torque curves to suit specific circuits in the sprint races.  Shit is officially serious this season.

https://www.2cvracing.org.uk/2022-race-calendar/

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  • chaseracer changed the title to 2CV racing: 2022 season
  • 1 month later...

Cadwell Park, as a season opener (and even if it wasn't the season opener) is a lovely track, purpose built into some fairly rolling countryside, so unlike so many other racing tracks which were originally the perimeter road for an airfield (and hence flat as a pancake) this one is really interesting.  It has a wooded area, hills, great vantage points and quite a nice feel to it.
Having been told that my presence would be welcomed* at the racing meet, I gained a car access pass that would get me in for free this time (grumble, mumble, sixteen pounds etc..) and with some expectation of a decent meet, left West Sussex after work on the Friday for the easy* quick* jaunt up the road to Lincolnshire.

Arriving in absolute pitch darkness at a track you've never been to before is always good for a laugh.  Having had a a very nice welcome from the guy on the gate, I drifted into what I would later discover is basically the entrance to the track.  Oops.  Quick turn-around and back up towards the several-acres-of-paddock-and-camping that there was, and started looking for anything familiar.  Fairly quickly spotted some 2CV shapes in the dark, and then one in blue that looked very familiar.  Journey over.  Tent up quickly, time to say hello to everyone, and then it's time for bed.  A long week, a long journey, and then putting a tent up in the pitch dark is enough to make anyone "a tadge worn out".  It was bleddy cold that night, but I'd cheated and had a duvet with me, which I was able to roll up in like a burrito, so it was tolerable*.

Next morning, it was clear that a fair bit had been done in the dark, as the camp area wasn't exactly what you would call "planned".  Nevertheless, there were plenty of participants ready for the racing:

All three cars that we had teamed up with last year at the 24hr:

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Yes, the muffins car had googly eyes fitted:

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Which will move about as the car rolls from side to side.  Much hilarity with this car giving the side-eye later.

Tarts car was rather "blind" in comparison:

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Team 28 had become (for good reasons that I can't remember right now) team 48.  Apparently this car had in the past worn no.48, so no-one was too worried about the change.  Does mean we all need new merch now, but there you go.  didn't get a pic of it until later.  Some other cars in the paddock:

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Remember the ECAS car that had some quite nasty damage at Donnington:  It's back, and looking just the same as it did pre-accident:

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The camp area was amusing.  Clearly some people don't like being right next to the cars, like billy-no-mates here:

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Open practice was quite early in the day, so GB driver had to get sorted early.  Here he is, ecstatic* about having a photo taken so early.  Also, clearly now a SUPER driver:

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Got the car off to register for open practice.  At that point there is absolutely nothing more that you can do as if the car breaks down, we have no pits, so just have to wait for recovery to bring it back.  In the meantime, other jobs that needed doing was the erection (snigger) of the shelter tent:

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Nice.   The wind, however, was not.  It was absolutely relentless all weekend and was pretty tiresome.  This did at least provide some shelter from it, even if  every bit of nylon on both it and every tent around would just not stop flapping.

Car ready in the holding area to go out for practice:

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Yes, that's a terrible shot, but hey.  And yes, that's a lotus europa in the background.  There was a fairly eclectic mix of cars there for the weekend.  Open practice starts:

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The area of the track that I got these from is like a leisurely drive in the countryside.  You're properly close to the track, and with the trees and grass around it feels very "cosy".:

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It's also a very wiggly bit of track, so there can be some pretty good action going on.

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Shortly after that, there was qualifying for a single-marque saxo race.  These were quite fast, but it did just look like a McDonalds car park circa 2005:

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More later.  I'm going to do this in chunks again like last time for fear of losing a post before it posts.

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Moar.

With less waffle maybe? (Ha! Right.)

After practice, there was an opportunity for some work to be done.  Car 82 appeared to have a bit of an issue with a lean run at times.  Was tracked down to an inlet manifold stud pulled out of the head, so a swift helicoiling was in order:

 

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I am always amazed at the access available when the front clip comes off a 2CV.  It's truly excellent:

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Helicoil fitted and stud-and-nut replaced.  All in about 10 minutes.  The work that goes into keeping these going is impressive.

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Next, time for qualifying.  As there are two races and these were to be split between the two drivers, that meant two qualifying sessions were needed.  Here's the team boss off to go and qualify:

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And the holding area where cars are kept before being let onto the track.  This is a bit of an oddity, as it's essentially "halfway" around the track, which kinda works, as it means that the cars only have to go around half a lap to get onto the grid, and then after the race is completed, they can have just a half-lap to then come in, but that isn't at the pits, which keeps things quite smooth running.  It also means that with two holding areas (more later) then once one race is completed, the next lot of cars can be almost out on the track before the last race is done.  It's not quite that quick as the course car does a lap just to check for debris on the track, but it's certainly quicker than I've seen before.

Holding area to go out on the track:

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and some action from a different vantage point:

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Nicknamed  "the mountain" this bit of the track is *properly* steep.  I've never seen a racetrack so steep before now.  It's quite a spectacle.

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This is just before the mountain, at what is the lowest point of the track.  I suspect the cars are quite near their maximum speed here, but I don't know:

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Moving further "back" up the track, there's a lovely vantage point where not only can you see multiple racers at the same time but also some good close racing action:

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But it's also just after a downhill section and fairly fast bend, meaning people sometimes over-cook it and go wide:

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Meaning you then get an overtake from the car that was behind, as they are suddenly faced with someone off the pace:

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And that's 24 photos, which is enough to make the uploader take over too much of my screen and I can't see to write the post properly, and hence a good point to break the thread.

As always, if (by some miracle) there is a photo here that anyone really likes, there are full-resolution camera-raw images held for every single one of them, and anyone is welcome to either that or the .jpg, as long as no-one is trying to pass it off as their own. (Ha!  I wish I was that good.)

The sharp-eyed photographers here (and there are several) might notice a general change since the last batch of pictures from last year.  These are now full-frame sensor images with a moderately half-decent lens, compared to last year when they were crop-sensor images through a dusty and fungused-up piece of snot.  I am absolutely stunned how inexpensive older DSLR camera kit is now, so have taken full advantage of that!  All I have to do now is use it properly.  Which I still can't.  Not really.

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On 23/11/2021 at 21:58, Talbot said:

these very fast "super karts" which were astonishingly quick

Sorry to drag this out of last year but these are brilliant. 100bhp, 250cc two stroke engines with 6-speed gearboxes, they'll crack 150mph on a track and can lap many tracks quicker than an F3 car does. I have marshalled several meets with these as a support series, and the sight of superkarts rounding a corner 6 abreast, flat out, is mind boggling.

My hazy memory of these is that they'll do 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and more worryingly, 60-0 in under 2 seconds. The drivers are all pretty unhinged, presumably from excessive g-force!

They are utterly magnificent in every possible way

Really like the 2cv racing updates, its something I'm a bit sad I never got to marshal before I gave it up - it looks absolutely brilliant and exactly what grassroots/clubmans motorsport should be.

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50 minutes ago, Crackers said:

What was the "main event" here? These and the Saxos are normally support races for some form of headliner - or was it just a mixed club meet?

Mixed club meet as far as I can tell.  There wasn't anything that was massively stand-out.  The programme may still be online at the Cadwell park site.

37 minutes ago, Stanky said:

Sorry to drag this out of last year but these are brilliant. 100bhp, 250cc two stroke engines with 6-speed gearboxes, they'll crack 150mph on a track and can lap many tracks quicker than an F3 car does. I have marshalled several meets with these as a support series, and the sight of superkarts rounding a corner 6 abreast, flat out, is mind boggling.  My hazy memory of these is that they'll do 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and more worryingly, 60-0 in under 2 seconds. The drivers are all pretty unhinged, presumably from excessive g-force!

Well.  Funny you should mention that, as they made a comeback here too.  They are UNBELIEVABLY noisy, smoke like laboratory beagles and look utterly lethal.  To be able to run around a track as fast as these go with no harness, a fuel tank under your knees and an engine that doubles as an arm-rest strikes me as complete and utter lunacy.
They also weigh absolutely nothing.  Like under 150kg.  I saw several of them lifted up by two blokes with relative ease and they are really really tiny.  And frightening.  And awesome.  I'm glad they exist, but I wouldn't drive one for all the tea in China.

So.. how did they look at Cadwell?  Like this:

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The truck seemed a little excessive when the guy could have essentially just shoved the kart in his pocket and walked back...

Irritatingly I was using a far-too-fast shutter speed for these, so they just look like they're parked on the track rather than actually in motion.  I fixed that later in the day, but hadn't realised at this point.  Ah well, every day is a school day.

 

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A few more oddities that were running around in free practice earlier.  I missed these as I was using two camera bodies, and the files aren't recorded as date and time, which is more of a ballache than I initially thought.

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This Xsara was massively quick and quite a surprise.  It didn't look or sound anything amazing, but it shot around the track faster than a greased fast thing with extra fastness:

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Finally realised the shutter speed issue and got a car that actually looks like it's in motion.  There's more of that to come later:

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The top of "the mountain" was quite a transition from steep hill to flat, and the faster cars were lifting wheels all the time.  Almost all of them had a little "blip" of the engine revs as the rear wheels lost grip.  Not easy to get a picture of though:

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But I got one.  That front left wheel has daylight under it, and not a small amount either:

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Couldn't get the bleddy car in focus though, could I?  Jesus wept...

That'll do for tonight I think.

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On 07/05/2022 at 10:42, Pieman said:

Car is currently on track and qualifying at Pembrey - the weekend is live streamed on BARC TV, starting today at 11:45am.  2CV race is scheduled to begin at 2:45pm.
 

 

2CV race at 3:15:50...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Pembrey.  It's a long way from nowhere and a very old track.  It's also lacking somewhat in sineage and is a bit rough-and-ready.  It's also quite short, but I guess for a sprint race that's a good thing.  So, another friday evening was spent driving away from home.  It's immaterial how long it took, it's more the expectation of what you find when you get there.  So of course there are no photos from that evening.

Next morning:  I have started bringing a bike with me to all the meetings, as it's a very quick way to get about, plus I can't walk very far or very quickly, so this is much better:

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I've got this dodgy little bit here for you:

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Eh?

Next thing to do was walk the track.  I had inadvertently ended up cycling it the night before while looking for the loos.  There's very little lighting in the paddock area, and as it's within the track and there's no bridge, you can very easily find yourself on the track.  And I did.  So took full advantage of that.  Only took about 5-6 minutes, but it was pitch-black, and I barely saw any of it.   Saw a lot more the next day, but it took a bit longer to walk though:

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No, the other way!

Start/finish straight:

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Bend at the end of start/finish, leading into the hairpin:

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At which point the marshals were running around stocking/checking the marshaling huts, hence the white Nissan thingy on the track.

"Now, this black bit of tarmac is the track".

"No shit, sherlock".

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Hairpin:

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Most of the "kerbs" at Pembrey are actually just painted:

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Walking past the cafe/bar:

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Cameras being set up for the racing action:

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The one kerb that *isn't* just painted on is a bit of a bastard.  Hit this in a 2CV and you're going to have a bad time.. it was at least 150mm high and solid concrete.  Nicknamed "the sausage of death" by GB, here he is modelling just how high it is:

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While we were out doing that, one of the site ambulances was being re-purposed as a grounds maintenance vehicle, and a bloke was going round strimming bits of grass as necessary:

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On to the cars.  You've seen them all several times now in this thread, so no explanations needed:

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"Your door's missing mate."

"Thanks.  Bog off!"

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This poor car was rather falling apart in places.  It struggled for a lot of the weekend:

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Shelter for team 48:

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Tarts and Muffins cars kept undercover for the weekend:

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What has happened to the Muffins car eyes?

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Not just googlie eyes... it now has ANGRY googlie eyes.  Pfft!

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"... and this is where we keep the engine:"

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This car needs another team car called custard:

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Not even sure what this is, (other than a motorised bike).  It looks very 1970s and suited the event very well indeed:

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Before realising there's a camera pointed at her:

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After:

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Breakfast being cooked up by RB.  And superbly tasty it was too:

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Cleaning the windows:

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Anyone who even hints that motorsport is a "man's domain" could not be more wrong:

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(they weren't racing 2CVs.. something much faster and scarier!)

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"come on then, where's the racing???"

Next post.  Keep your hair on!

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Zoooooom:

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Arse.  it's broken:

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End of Qualifying session:

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Some of these pictures might be better developed and then cropped.  I'm quite pleased with how some of the blur effects have come out on a few of them.

Next Session:

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All done and time to come in again:

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Then, as happened a couple of times over the weekend, some aircraft took off.  I had a silly-long lens with me and got a few marginally poor shots of them:

 

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Slightly menacing skies.  And flaps.

Full flaps:

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I need a break.

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Moooooore.

Once the qualifying for 2CVs had been done, it was time for some other racers.  These apparently are called "legends".  No idea why...

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I then met up with one of the people who ACTUALLY know what they are doing taking photographs:

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and got a load of pictures of the truck racing.  These are like racing with thunder on wheels.  I've never heard anything like it.

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Once these had finished shouting their way around the track, we had some american pickups.

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