2CV racing with car #48 - the 2026 48hr race is nearly on us.

[chaseracer]

Good commentary - thanks 😎

[chaseracer]

https://fb.watch/dtUptpQDxO/

George, mixing it with the frontrunners in race 2 yesterday, before an involuntary 'granular excursion' while skilfully avoiding someone else's accident.  He had third at one point, very briefly.

Good man.  PROPER BLOODY RACING DRIVER.

😎

[brownnova]

Gave race 2 a watch last night on the BARC YouTube channel, lots of excitement! 

[Pieman]

It was bloody mental.  FIVE-wide into Brooklands at one point with George sending it up the inside - go and watch it back on YT!

Sorry the comms weren't perfect, but I got no sleep on Saturday night and especially by race two was completely out of it.

[Talbot]

With utter incredulity:  "is that George Broadhurst??!?!"

Yes, it was.

The in-car of that race is superb.

[chaseracer]

1 hour ago, Pieman said:

It was bloody mental.  FIVE-wide into Brooklands at one point with George sending it up the inside - go and watch it back on YT!

Sorry the comms weren't perfect, but I got no sleep on Saturday night and especially by race two was completely out of it.

Dave, it was great, as ever.  You should come over and see the car sometime.

[richardmorris]

Saw the video today. Brown trouser moment !

[Crackers]

Did the terrible weather materialise on Sunday morning? I was thinking of coming up the road to have a look around but the mixture of a downpour forecast and windscreen wipers from the 1820s scared me off early.

[Talbot]

14 hours ago, Crackers said:

Did the terrible weather materialise on Sunday morning? I was thinking of coming up the road to have a look around but the mixture of a downpour forecast and windscreen wipers from the 1820s scared me off early.

No.  It hit on saturday night with a vengance.  I think we probably had a couple of inches of rain overnight.  It was astonishingly heavy for a couple of hours.  Sunday was mostly just misty damp rather than rain, but of course everything was soggy from the rain the night before.

Also, Silverstone really is a windswept barren businesspark with a track attached to it.  I can see why it hosts F1 meetings, but for club racing it's far from ideal.  Cadwell park is infinitely preferable.

[Crackers]

4 hours ago, Talbot said:

Silverstone really is a windswept barren businesspark with a track attached to it. 

I don't enjoy Silverstone as a venue. It used to be far nicer and less corporate. The National circuit side still has a taste of the old Silverstone, but the International end is pretty bleak. It's also a massive pain in the arse to get around, unlike the smaller circuits. 

The Pasty and chips from the cafe in the National pits are a winner's lunch, though. *chefs kiss*

[Pieman]

6 minutes ago, Crackers said:

It's also a massive pain in the arse to get around, unlike the smaller circuits. 

Spot on.  Getting to and from the paddock, especially the International/Wing paddock, is a joke.  This is particularly bad when both layouts are in use at the same time, and you can't cut through the link road in the middle (it goes across Becketts) so you have to do a full lap of the perimeter road to get to the Wing.

[Talbot]

On 5/29/2022 at 12:33 PM, Talbot said:

.  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. 

 

On 5/29/2022 at 12:58 PM, Talbot said:

Seriously.  Did no-one get the reference or the joke here?

[Talbot]

24 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

I chose to ignore it.

[Talbot]

Despite having been to Silverstone, I haven't yet finished doing Pembrey, which is a bit slack of me.  So, without waiting any longer, and so that I can do the (limited number of) silverstone pics in order:

 

After the truck racing.  Having a wander about... some of the teams were pretty impressive in how much of a workshop they can put together in just a couple of hours, with nothing more than some concrete to work on:

 

Not quite the same facilities in the 2CV camp:

But then 2CV racing is a far friendlier and more pleasant group as far as I can tell.  The racing is pretty intense, but it's a lot of fun too.

Also... what does a racing driver like this:

... drive on a daily basis?  This fine* specimen of motoring prowess:

Ahem.

As happened a lot over the weekend, there were impromptu airshows.  I have a feeling they were practicing rather than it being an actual show, as there were often hours of gaps between the aerial displays.  Captured with a very old manual-focus lens from the 1970s  500 prime if anyone's wondering.  and yes, it needs a thorough clean-out:

Next photo is *not* upside-down.

Same lens used to take a picture of a car that was probably at least 50 meters away from me:

It's a tadge tooo long for anything other than aircraft really...

A few random pics of "stuff" at Pembrey:

Ikea?

Broken Mini being recovered:

Tie the exhaust up?  Nah, we're only going a few hundred yards.  Not worth it:

Then this truck came out, presumably to try and clear some of the debris off the track.  Not entirely sure how effective it was really:

More "legends"

A line-up of the 2CVs

And aircraft in the air again.  Five this time:

Some of those aerial shots might process and crop to better images.  I'm not really very impressed with any of them, although the lens was shockingly dirty, and the weather was rather filthy too.

Quick break, then some more racing.

[chaseracer]

29 minutes ago, Talbot said:

But then 2CV racing is a far friendlier and more pleasant group as far as I can tell.  The racing is pretty intense, but it's a lot of fun too.

Also... what does a racing driver like this:

... drive on a daily basis?  This fine* specimen of motoring prowess:

Ahem.

He did his ARDS test at Donington in that! 

[Talbot]

Next up, the pickup racing.  As mentioned above.  I missed the first race, where there was a bit of a coming together, with this being the aftermath:

 

 

Not sure what occured in the race, but these three ended up parked up together.  Were they they 1st 2nd and 3rd?  No idea!

Ready the start-finish straight:

For:

Which will come in the next post.

[chaseracer]

Oh, you tease... 😁

[Pieman]

Yes, the three Pickups were parked there as they were the top three finishers, for post race interviews with the PA commentator and with our livestream pit camera

As for the Legends cars, I'm not sure why they are so called, but they are built in the US and are powered by 1250cc Yamaha superbike engines.  Given that they are built to 5/8ths scale of 1930s American hot rods and therefore weight about the same as a large suitcase, that makes them bloody quick in a straight line.  Their grids are drawn by ballot for the first race, then reversed for race two, and the third race is gridded by the aggregate results of the first two but with everything reversed again, which makes for a ton of overtaking.

[chaseracer]

Have we seen this before?  Can't remember...

Anyhoo... Brands, '92.  

At 0:54 and 2:10, a couple of background views of #48 in its original yellow/dark blue form.

[Crackers]

Bloody good pics there Mr T, the legends one with the differential blur especially!

[chaseracer]

Croft this weekend.  Unfortunately, I will continue this season's unbroken no-show record thanks to the unerring efficiency of the NHS surgical appointment system.

Never mind.  The Team Principal and I have been proper busy - Grey and Red (engines) are now complete, with new camshafts, and have both been run and timed dynamically in the car.  They'll both be track-tested on Friday.

Hmmm, cams... bit of a saga.  It was discovered earlier this season that the supplier of the 'club cam' - ie. one reground to the spec defined in the series rulebook - had managed to transpose the inlet/exhaust lobe profile information.  The original supplier - Kent, of Ford OHC fame - managed to turn around two new cams for us in quick time, ready for us to build up two engines last weekend.

[chaseracer]

We find ourselves a bit light on personnel for the 24 Hour race at Snetterton over the August bank holiday weekend, specifically refuellers.  

This involves refuelling the car as required during practice, qualifying and race, using the 25litre TuffJug specified in the series rules.  Also, collecting fuel (in the TuffJug, with a trolley, from the central fuel distribution point in the paddock) to ensure its availability when required.  Fire-retardant PPE and any necessary training will be provided.  

Ideally, we need two refuellers to provide full cover and support during the race itself.  Occasional sleep is nice.

We are likely - as last year - to be operating as part of a 4-car 'superteam', sharing personnel and adjacent garages as necessary.  This works well, but means you may well work on other cars as well as #48.

We will need you Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  You will be fed and watered.  Just bring tent, bog roll and beer for the after-party on Sunday night.

Please PM me if interested.

[chaseracer]

On 02/08/2022 at 09:57, chaseracer said:

We find ourselves a bit light on personnel for the 24 Hour race at Snetterton over the August bank holiday weekend, specifically refuellers.  

This involves refuelling the car as required during practice, qualifying and race, using the 25litre TuffJug specified in the series rules.  Also, collecting fuel (in the TuffJug, with a trolley, from the central fuel distribution point in the paddock) to ensure its availability when required.  Fire-retardant PPE and any necessary training will be provided.  

Ideally, we need two refuellers to provide full cover and support during the race itself.  Occasional sleep is nice.

We are likely - as last year - to be operating as part of a 4-car 'superteam', sharing personnel and adjacent garages as necessary.  This works well, but means you may well work on other cars as well as #48.

We will need you Friday/Saturday/Sunday.  You will be fed and watered.  Just bring tent, bog roll and beer for the after-party on Sunday night.

Please PM me if interested.

Une petite bompe pour un vrai fred... 😎

[Crackers]

Talbot tapped me up for this, but I'm afraid I can't help out over that weekend. Does sound bloody good fun though, so I might make an appearance some other time if permitted!

[chaseracer]

As the 2023 season approaches, this is how we did it 30 years ago.  How young do I (and the Team Principal) look at 19:16 (bottom right)...? 😄

 

[brownnova]

I believe both Anglesey and Oulton are on the cards this year! Planning to be at at least one, hopefully both! 

[chaseracer]

A long weekend of car prep.  Cadwell beckons.

[High Jetter]

Obscene!

[808 Estate]

On 6/11/2022 at 1:33 PM, Talbot said:

More "legends"

 

I do like the legends, there is something cool and funky about them. Do they use the complete Yamaha engine/gearbox unit?

[chaseracer]

Cadwell Park last weekend.  George placed 5th in race 2, his best finish so far!

Have some footage courtesy of our new in-car camera/data collection thingumajig...