Grass roots racing

[wishy]

Had a great day today with our own "Le Mans" reunion at Gurston Down.

Ian .One of our fellow Lemanners won his class at Gurston today and is now leading the championship.

But,on the downside.I have been to watch quite a few meetings at Guston and was suprised at the amount of..........what could be called ......nearly seious accident.

A New Mini Cooper rolled and was completely trashed.....then an Audi Quattro ended up in the trees ,narrowly missing the marshalls,and then a Westfield spun and hit the bank at speed!!!!

The competitors were either ..........trying too hard ,or just nutters!!!


The good thing was that they all walked away from the accidents .....

Wishy

[Andy Zarse]

Ever was it thus!

Having followed for twenty odd years, and on the odd occasion competed in hillclimbing and sprinting , I can only say it is the home of many "game amateurs". I would include myself in this bracket.

The hills don't have the money to spend on safety; anyway, where can you put a gravel trap on the side of a hill? The Clubs have no Bernie in the background with a big cheque book. A good thing too i'd say. It is a proper clubmans sport and keeps it's charm because of this attitude. But people have been killed in the past and I reckon it may well happen again. The fact that these three drivers walked away must be a testament to the safety improvements taken. Maybe they would have been carried off in the meat wagon twenty years ago? However, you will never stop some fool, who has a bigger ambition than talent, chucking his car into the crash barrier.

As it says on the entrance gate, "Motorsport is Dangerous".

[Andy Zarse]

Very sadly, I understand someone was killed at the GP at Silverstone yesterday, driving an old Lotus in the historic sportscar race.

Seems that even with all the crash protection of a modern GP curcuit, if your luck runs out there is little to be done.

[pretzel]

Seems that even with all the crash protection of a modern GP curcuit, if your luck runs out there is little to be done.

I have to concur with this view. No amount of safety features can prevent the worst if your luck has run out. There are just too many variables.

I was with Wishywashyman at Gurston yesterday and it struck me that maybe particular conditions on the day may have contributed to the problem. All of the offs occurred on the same section of track, perhaps grip was diminishing as dust was being blown around, just speculation but who knows..... I'm sure there will be some kind of investigation by the race officials and BRSCC representatives.

Regarding safety precautions - in general I think the organisers do a reasonable job at these events, after all if you ripped out all the trees, widened the track, put in gravel traps everywhere etc. etc. it would no longer be the type of event that it is. And so long as the competitors vehicles are equipped with the necessary safety equipment long may these events continue.

Having said that I thought I saw some road cars competing without rollcages, didn't think about it much until afterwards. Maybe I was mistaken but these should definitely be required. Perhaps someone could correct me on this?
 

[Bobblehat]

Oh god now you are all scaring me. Im preping my Scimitar (SE6) for next season -  already has CA sticker in back - RSOCC sprint championship.

As its road class cage is optional!  

I was at Stow track at Silverstone and there were 3 or 4 road cars Honda, MGF and TVRs wich turned up, stuck some numbers on and went out. The guy I was with was saying that there was one guy at the last meet who turnd up with a Citron Zantia DEISEL!  

We all got to start somewere

[BigH]

Quite right you should be scared,
A mate of mine took his Dolomite to Donnington in the drizzle without a rollcage, and it was a disaster. There were f*cking rolls everywhere. The salami ones were the worst, the little b*stards ran for miles. The cheese and onion ones weren't so bad, just waving a piece of lettuce had them scampering back. The peanut butter ones however are lost forever, I think they've assimilated.
For the small outlay, it's worth it. If only for the peace of mind...
H

[Matt Harper]

Please forgive my ignorance, but where and what is Gurston Down?
I thought it might be the feathers of some obscure wading bird - but when I learned through these auspicious scriptures that it was associated with motor racing, I became curious - never having heard of this venue.
On the subject of cashing in one's chips, owing to possession of more bravado than driving ability, I shudder when I remember my own (in)experience. For two seasons I raced a Jr Competition Altered Ford Model B Rep, powered by a 460cu in (7.6 litre) big-block Ford, owned by occasional CA contributor, Ricardo.
It was a fast muthafuckah, running a quarter in around 9 secs and 150mph + through the traps. The car weighed less than a Mini and put around 400bhp through the flywheel.
We actually removed the cage (to reduce weight) and put in a vestigal roll hoop. If it had ever got away from me, beyond mid-track, I'd have been brown bread - no question about it. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to take significant risks to eke out another tenth, when you're on a tight budget. Sometimes, sadly, we get bitten.

[wishy]

Hi Matt

Just for your info Gurston Down is about 10 miles south west of Salisbury,Wiltshire.Out in "the sticks".

The paddock is actually a farm yard......so it's the sort of palce where you find sthe local "rednecks".....Joking apart....the location is fantastic for a hillclimb. The track seems to have been built with spectators in mind.....unlike Prescott.

Mind you both have their individual qualities!


Wishy

[Andy Zarse]

The track seems to have been built with spectators in mind.....unlike Prescott.

Mind you both have their individual qualities!


Wishy

Why would anyone want to build a viewing area to watch john prescott? Or have i missed the point again?

[wishy]

Ho Ho!!!!.........Andy