Keeping up to date

Now the season is underway life is hectic once more and the months we had off seem a long forgotten thing of the past.   Even when you don’t have much to do to the car it’s amazing how many hours you spend in the workshop - even if it’s just tying up loose ends or doing the jobs you put off when the car requires a bit more attention.    I really think that the amount of time and dedication people put into their Hot Rods is the equivalent of having a second full-time job, and I know in our workshop and probably lots more the world over, the phrase ‘not enough hours in the day’ is used regularly.

We’ve been talking about replacing our lorry with something a bit smaller and newer for quite some time and the other day an opportunity arose that was too good to miss.   Hence we now find ourselves the proud owners of what can only be described as a huge Iveco van.   We obviously don’t have enough to do already and have decided to convert it into a camper van ready for the start of next season.    It’s a completely standard van that’s had a hard life carrying tyres so there’s plenty of work needed to turn it into something we can use for racing.

The car is sitting in the workshop ready to go.   We changed the diff and did all the routine checks after Birmingham and have finished it with a night to spare - first time for everything!   All we have to do is order a new battery and load it into the trailer and we’re ready to go.    I’m sure things won’t be quite so relaxed next week with only five days between meetings again.

I’m sure some of you will have already seen them but there’s a few videos kicking about from the Birmingham meeting:  one of the final here – http://www.rollingstart.net and one with the Spedeworth camera mounted backwards in my car here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y6KbkYiMDs&context=C46fc297ADvjVQa1PpcFOroPaFRN_UCDYtSKsSHwlVL2Q4Wz-294o= .   There are four Spedeworth videos from the meeting with cameras pointing at various angles and they can all be found at http://www.youtube.com/spedeworthtv .

Whilst on the subject of websites there will be some exciting changes to www.mikeygodfrey.com  over the coming weeks.   Without giving too much away it will hopefully involve more photo galleries, videos and a merchandise section.     Please keep checking back to see what’s happening and a quick thank you as ever to Jay and Sarah of TPR Signs for keeping the website up to date for me.

At the moment I’m still sitting outside the top twenty and even having missed two meetings qualifying for the world final is still a possibility.  I have nothing to lose but plan to push as hard as I can and see where I end up at the end of the season.    Long term we’re planning another full blown assault next year with the aim of making the 2013 world final grid.

I know this is a cheeky thing to say but if there’s anyone out there who would be interested in having their name on the car and trailer, along with a link on my website please feel free to get in touch, any help is always greatly appreciated and I certainly wouldn’t turn anything away!   The best way to get in touch would be via the sponsor’s page on the website or email me at mikey@vanspares.co.uk

It’s set to be a hectic few weeks with two meetings in a row and then over the Easter weekend I’m off up to Scotland again.   I look forward to catching up with you all along the way.

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time

Mikey.

A gift and a lucky wetsuit

With three outings in the car in seven days it’s fair to say it’s been a hectic week.   As the car was finished and ready we decided to head up to Birmingham for a last minute practice session to iron out any problems and bed in the new tyres.   Even going round on my own I love the track and the car felt great straight out of the box.   I did three sessions then brought the car back into the pits, checked everything over and loaded it back into the trailer ready for the first meeting at Northampton.

The first meeting of the year is always great because you get to catch up with people you haven’t seen over the winter and everyone’s secret rebuilds become apparent!   Northampton has always been my problem track and to my delight the car felt good round there so I headed back in from practice pleased.

It wasn’t going to turn out to be my day however, and although the car still felt brilliant nothing seemed to come together.    After failing to finish the first heat, followed by a sixth in the second heat, I had a lot of hard work to do in the final - this coupled with the added pressure of the Premier Sports camera strapped to the side of my car meant I really had to go out and give it everything.  Things went wrong straight away though with a spin on the line relegating me from 8th on the grid to last.   I had nothing left to lose from here so set out to salvage whatever I could from the race, finishing 13th after 35 action-packed laps with cars going off and chaos on pretty much every corner.

A bit of a day to forget overall but I survived without any major damage and it was good to see everyone again.   I’m also really pleased for my mate Shaun Taylor (#152) who picked up his first win in Nationals which is long overdue in my opinion.   I also want to thank everyone who helped on the car and also to Pam and John for the picture and the card they gave me, I know you read this and will be pleased to know the picture is on the wall of my workshop and the card is on my desk at work.

From Northampton it was back home and a busy six days getting the car ready for Birmingham.  We were lucky compared to some of the other drivers and didn’t have that much to do to the car.   It was still pretty hectic though.

Even with the uncertain weather I couldn’t wait to go to Birmingham and get racing.   We left nice and early but we encountered a long diversion on the way which meant we arrived a bit later than we normally would.   We got unloaded and I headed straight out for practice, where once again the car felt brilliant.

The rain was pretty much holding off by the time my first race came and the track was still dry and very fast.   I know a few of the drivers don’t like the track but for some reason I have always really enjoyed racing there and seem to get all of my good luck there too.    After quite a good race where everyone seemed to be more sensible than the previous week I crossed the line in fifth.

I had the Spedeworth Motorsports camera on board for heat two, pointing backwards underneath my spoiler and the track was still dry so the racing was great again.   I crossed the line third this time after a great race with Carl Waller-Barrett having had him battling on my outside for a good number of laps and very nearly beating me over the line!

The final was easily my favourite race for a long time.  With a bit of a shower before we went on track - but not enough to even consider wets - I was a bit nervous as to what the track and the car would be like.    It turned out the track was still dry though and the car was just as good as it had been for the rest of the night.    Luck was obviously still on my side and I found myself moving up the grid as the laps passed by until I found myself in 3rd with two laps to go.   After overtaking Dickie and moving into second I could see Danny but would never have caught him.  So that’s how we crossed the line, only for Danny to be docked two places gifting the win over to me.  The purple Hoosier wet suit I’d been wearing all night in a bid to scare the rain off is obviously lucky.... maybe I’ll wear it every race from now on!

Even though I wasn’t the outright winner I was still over the moon and after the terrible year I’ve had it has moved me up the points to at least be in with a chance of qualifying in July.    It’s going to be a close battle all the way and one I look forward to sharing with you all.

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time.

Mikey

The Chopper (for those that know!)

Looking back I think the stag-do lived up to everyone’s expectations.   We drank beer, made idiots of ourselves and shot each other!   We arrived on Friday morning and left again on Sunday evening and it was chaos right from the off.   By the time it came to head home it was fair to say we were all broken men.

As well as the drinking we actually had some activities planned, the first of these was paint balling. This was guaranteed to be a free-for-all and sure enough after Gav (who was dressed in a pink tutu) had upset various other players in the game we were let loose in a wood on our own and left to get on with it until we ran out of paint balls.   I will just say that when a paint ball hits you it hurts, and when the two people shooting at you are ex-marines who don’t miss - coupled with Carl hitting you square on the back of the head - then ouch!   They definitely shot us more times than we shot them!

From there we went go-karting.   Sadly this wasn’t my finest hour and I managed to finish last in all three races.   Considering it was racing people out there it was pretty calm with no major contact or anyone buried in the wall.   We chose to upgrade to twenty lap races and I think I speak for everyone by saying we were knackered when we finished, it felt like my arms were about to fall off.   We did two qualifying heats and a final with John being the overall winner.

The next morning, after another hectic night out dressed as doctors and Gavin as a ‘not so sexy nurse’ (he looked more like a school dinner lady), we headed to watch the Hot Rods at Lochgelly.   It was my second time there in as many weeks and it wasn’t any warmer this time round!    It’s a shame there weren’t a few more cars racing, and with Willie Hardie watching too there were almost as many Hot Rod racers in the stand as there were on the track.   It was good racing from the Hot Rods nonetheless, and some great stuff from the 1300 Saloons with them rolling and hitting the wall all over the place.

We left Lochgelly and headed back to Cowdenbeath.    It was the first practice since the track has been finished and the first time John has been out in his new Lightning Rod.   Just as we arrived disaster struck with something coming adrift in the engine and putting a hole in the sump, ending John’s day early and meaning he’ll miss his first meeting at Birmingham on Saturday.

We went straight from the track to the airport.  We were all booked onto different flights and everyone except Danny (Gav’s best man) and I were on an earlier flight.    We got the bum deal and were there for 5 hours as our flight got delayed.   It was a brilliant weekend though and I think it’s fair to say that after all these years Gavin and I are at last ‘on equal points’. . . although he says it’s just his turn again now so God help me I suppose!

A bit closer to home everything is nearly ready with the racing car, and with few days to go it won’t be long until the winter break is a long-forgotten thing of the past.   I’m looking forward to getting back out there racing.    My attitude is positive and I’m planning to give it my best shot and try and salvage something from what can so far be described as a disastrous season.    I look forward to seeing you all along the way!

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time.

Mikey

Test Night 2012

In just over a week the racing gets underway again for another nine months of what will no doubt be non-stop action!   This winter seems to have flown by and it really doesn’t seem like five months since the last meeting and even more scarily two months since the NEC!

Our plan was always to do the Ipswich practice night as long as it was dry so when we looked outside to see brilliant sunshine in the morning the car and spares were quickly loaded back into the lorry ready for us to come home from work and head straight off to Foxhall.   The sun was still shining when we got there and with a fair turnout of cars it had all the makings of a good evening.

The practice is laid out like any race meeting with a running order and a timeslot for every formula; each formula has three runs of approximately the normal race length and although it‘s only a practice everyone out there tends to treat it like a race pushing as hard as ever possible from the off.

It felt great being back out in the car, racing in the NEC is brilliant and the atmosphere is amazing but no matter what you do nothing beats Foxhall Stadium under the floodlights.  Whether it’s a race or a practice, it is just the best and really sums up what Hot Rod racing is about for me.

As soon as I set off in the car I knew all our hard work over the winter had paid off and even after the first few laps I knew the car was the best it’s ever been.   It seemed to get better and better as the night went on and I would certainly say that’s the fastest either me or the car has ever been.   It’s easy to get carried away though - after all, a track with 8 cars for practice and one with 32 cars for a race is an entirely different game.

It certainly was a lot of fun and a great way to prepare for the coming season.   I must admit I was a bit disappointed with my lap times though - the quickest I managed being a 14.9 and the quickest time of the night being a 14.5 set by Chris Haird.   I don’t think the lap times mean everything however, and as I said earlier it would be a different story in a race with everyone’s times being a bit slower.

With the practice over it was straight back in the trailer with the car and off home.   We even managed to do this in record time – we’re normally always one of the last to leave, messing about loading things into the trailer long after everyone else is on their way home.   It’s a three hour trip home from Ipswich for us and by the time we’d stopped for some food we arrived home at 1.30am.   Ipswich is the furthest track for us with all the others less than 2 hours from our door.

We don’t really have that much to do to the car before the first meeting and with it going so well I certainly don’t want to change much, just all the usual checks, change the diff and fit the new tyres. There is also an incredibly annoying brake fluid leak that needs sorting.   Every time you drive the car fluid leaks out leaving a small lake on the ground that I spend the entire race meeting paddling around in.

I also started the monumental task of clearing out the lorry on Sunday; we’ve had our lorry for a long time now and it’s not really been sorted out since we stared to race Hot Rods.   I’ve cleared the back out starting with the 44 spark plugs I found in there!  It’s now tidy and organised ready for the new season.   The living quarters and the cab are the next areas on my hit list!

Along with some mutual friends I am heading off to Edinburgh early on Friday morning for Mr Murray’s ‘stag do’ and I’ll be back with another blog next week as long as I survive the antics of this weekend . . . .  Gavin has pulled his fair share of pranks over the years so maybe this weekend they might all come bouncing back at him!

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time

Mikey.