Twenty-Ten (part 1)

2010 was a very mixed year for us with racing, it had some massive highs but also some terrible lows.  It got off to a flying start with the arrival of the new Tigra.  We bought it rolling off Hairds and spent the winter bolting it all together at home ready to go on display at the NEC.  I think it looked beautiful sat on the stand and I have a picture of it as the background on my computer now.  If I’m honest it was far from finished and we still had lots to do before we could take it out testing.

The first time I drove it was at the Haird test day at the end of February.   I arrived at the track first and was so excited I could hardly sit still as I waited for everyone else to get there.   The plan was to test at Northampton that day then head back with the car to David’s in Newmarket, check it over and change the diff Saturday morning then go to the Ipswich practice on Saturday night.   Dad was going to come straight from work on Saturday, meet me at Ipswich and bring the car home.

After the first lap in the Tigra I knew I loved it.   It was so much easier to drive than the Saxo and even straight out the box I could feel how much quicker it was.    I loved the Saxo and was proud of how far we got with it but it was just very old.   Panels were a nightmare to get hold of and we made all the suspension bits ourselves.    I spent all day thrashing round Northampton getting used to the car and sorting out any initial problems that came up.   Just as we were getting ready to do the last run my parents arrived out of the blue to have a watch - and as soon as I pulled out onto the track the car developed a misfire . . .

I spent all the next morning changing bits in Hairds workshop to try and cure it and by the time it went in the trailer Saturday afternoon I was pretty sure it was sorted.   However, as soon as it reached about 4,000 rpm, it starting missing again.   Dad was at the track by now and between us we set about changing bits between runs, but all of it was to no avail and we left with the misfire still not cured.

Back home we took the engine straight out and back to Toovey for him to look at and fitted a very old engine we had in the garage so we could go and do a practice day at Hednesford.     We got there and the car ran fine and handled brilliantly but the old engine was very slow leaving me a complete second off the pace of the other Nationals!    John Toovey rang us saying there was nothing at all wrong with the engine and no matter what he did on the dyno it didn’t misfire.    We had sent the coil pack and plug leads up with the engine and he said he would run it with them on.    Sure enough a phone call a few minutes later revealed number 4 plug lead to be the problem.   We had done all that work for a plug lead!   It had a brand new set on and we took it for granted they would be fine.   Lesson learnt there for sure!

With the new engine in and everything sorted it was off to the first meeting full of confidence and ready to race.   The meeting went well and we picked up some points along the way.   The highest finish being a seventh in the second heat.   The car was brilliant and I came away really happy.

The great thing with the car is the way it responds to change; you can make a minor adjustment and really feel the difference it makes.   You could pretty much do anything with the Saxo and it would still push into the bends but the Tigra is so balanced and will just stick anywhere you put it.

Easter Monday at Ipswich saw the car’s third meeting and will certainly be a day I’ll never forget!   I started the first race on the inside second row and went into the first bend still in third.  It stayed in that formation until about lap 4 when the leaders tangled going into the scoreboard bend leaving me enough room to slip up the inside and into the lead!    I remember thinking that it was now or never to win a race and was determined to hang in there for the win.   The race seemed to last forever and as the 5-lap board was out I ran really deep into the bend almost letting Chris Harvey come up the inside.   I managed to hang on to the lead and take the win and as I crossed the line I felt so relieved that I’d finally won a national race!

The season rolled on and we kept making changes to the car, getting it better and better with every meeting we did.    We picked up some points - and a few DNF’s - but I was really happy.    May saw us make the trip across to Skegness.   I had never even seen the track before and had heard so many different things about the place but when we got there I was pleasantly surprised.   It was a brilliant track to drive and was really quick for its size.   I’m glad it’s back on the calendar this year!   The first race saw me finish near the back but in the second race came a second place finish.   I had managed to overtake quite a few cars to get there and it felt like such an achievement.   I’d spent so long starting at the front and trying to outrun the other cars - and to actually overtake them and gain places felt so good!    This backed up with a 4th or 5th in the final certainly meant we went home with a smile on our faces!

This is turning into an epic blog now. . . so I’m going to sign off for today.  I’ll pick it up again next week and take you a bit further into 2010.   Thanks as ever for reading

Until next time

Mikey

An Irishman, two Englishmen, and a missing Dutchman!

Well, first and foremost thanks to everyone who voted for me in the driver awards, Most Improved Driver 2010!   This came as a total shock to me, and it means so much that you all voted.   Things have just been getting better and better, and this was the icing on the cake.   It’s fair to say that it’s all I’ve been talking about since, and I really am overjoyed about it.   Going up onto the stage for the award was a brilliant feeling - especially sharing the experience with John and Chris, two of the biggest names in Hot Rods, and both really deserving of all their awards.

I don’t really know where to start with this because there’s so much I want to write about.   The weekend certainly didn’t disappoint, and I left it feeling very tired and hard up.   I won’t bore you with all the details, but there were two very late nights, lots of beer, and - most importantly - a lot of laughs!

I had heard so many things about racing in the live arena: some people said how great it is, and others were telling me it’s very slippery and really rough on the car.  So, when the time came for the first practice, I was very cautious and just took it steady to figure it all out.   I thought it was brilliant. We had a set of old wets on the car and it seemed to have enough grip to be controllable yet you could still get it sideways with the smallest touch of the throttle.   It was great being back in the car after two months, and I was quickly reminded just how brilliant a National is to drive.

The track was probably about the same size as Yarmouth but was almost laid out in a square, with a big concrete pillar making up each of the four corners, and a concrete wall around the edge.   You entered the track one end, then exited it at the other; everything was tight on time and was run like clockwork and you don’t even have time to leave the car between races.

We had a bit of a scare after practice when the marshal thought the car was leaking oil, but an inspection showed no leaks and after a few quick checks we were good for the show.   If I’m honest, I had never intended to push the car that hard and risk damaging it and was only going out there to enjoy the experience.    Racing under the lights was brilliant and the atmosphere was almost electric - all the drivers were giving each other respect and just out having a good time.

Both shows went well, with me getting more confidence with each run.  I didn’t win any races or set the world on fire - just had a thoroughly good time putting on a show with my mates.

I had billed the weekend to be a pretty wild social event and it really didn’t disappoint!   Myself and Ross managed about 5 hours sleep over the whole weekend, but ‘you’re only young once’ and sleep, as they say, is for the weak!   Friday night saw us sit down for a meal before heading off into town for one or two social beers.    This however didn’t happen, and before long we all found ourselves at a very random 80’s club. . . drinking Sambuca. . . and Gavin and Carl pulling off some very retro dance moves!

I thought Friday night was random but it wasn’t even going to come close to Saturday’s antics.   The evening began with 16 of us heading into town for an Indian meal – five people went in John van den Bosch’s  pick-up, leaving the rest of us to cram into the back of a delivery van.   I would love to have seen people’s reactions as we all piled out of it onto the side of the road.   After the meal we all headed back to the Hilton to get an early night . . . not likely!   After some beers in the bar, Ross, myself,  Steven O’Shea and John Van den Bosch’s  brother Peter decided it was time to get a taxi into town.    It was already well past 1am by this point, so any chance of an early night was now well out of the window.    When we got into town Ross went to a cash-point to give his bank balance another battering.   As he walked back across the road he saw Peter disappearing off into the distance not to be seen again that night - and not through lack of searching I might add!   It was the biggest feeling of relief when we saw him at breakfast the next morning and he explained he had to bluff his way into a hotel to use the toilet, and had been unable to find us again afterwards.   After a fair few vodkas we ventured back to the hotel at about half past four.   I retired from the hotel bar at about 5.30 (I know when I’m beaten - and I was driving next day),  Ross and Steven were still going strong and finally found their way into bed at about 7am - only to get up at 9 for breakfast . . . mental!

I could keep writing about this weekend because we just had so many laughs but I’m sure you’re starting to get bored of my rambling by now.   Thanks again to everyone that voted for me, it really does mean so much.   It was a cracking weekend and I can’t wait for the Autosport 2012, see you there!

Until next time, stay lucky.

Mikey

The Countdown

Well the NEC is only a matter of days now, I know I’ve been on about it a lot recently but I really can’t wait.   Not only does it mean I can finally get back in the car again but I get to see all my friends and play ‘catch up.’   With people from all over the country racing and following Nationals it means I only see some of them at the meetings - this is great but the meetings are always pretty hectic with people rushing to get the cars ready and you often don’t have time to ‘just chat.’   The show is more relaxed and gives you time to wander round looking at the cars and finding out all the gossip!    There is also the legendary nightlife?! . . . . details of this to follow next week I’m sure!

The social side of racing has always been a big part of it for me and the people I talk to and meet are just as important to me as the racing itself.    Whether it’s talking to fans about the cars or going into detailed lap to lap analysis with another driver, it’s all relative - and the pits without friends would be a very lonely place in my opinion.

I don’t really have much to report from the garage this week, but it would have been even less had things gone smoothly.   Firstly my Dad fitted the tyres in a hurry at work one evening and when Ross blew them up back in the workshop we found the air was leaking out of two as fast as it was going in.    It was back to work with them the next morning to be re-fitted and now they are staying up perfectly.  Fingers crossed!   Luckily we found enough straight wheels so we haven’t had to repair any, because as you know this is a job I really hate.    For now at least, the ones on the car are literally my last straight ones so we’re just putting off something that will become inevitable.

The next problem was discovered when Dad was having a look under the car and put his hand straight into a pool of petrol that had been dripping unnoticed from the fuel tank.   We smelt petrol at the last meeting but couldn’t see anything leaking so ignored it.   The tank must have a tiny split somewhere because it’s barely a teaspoon of fuel but ‘a leak’s a leak.’   A phone call to Gerry at Haird’s has seen another packaged up and sent, ready to be fitted this week.

The error I made with the stickers is failing to leave me alone and as I removed the wrong sticker off the side skirt it took all the paint with it.   Not only did this leave a mess along the side but to add to my annoyance you could still clearly read the incorrect web address - in grey primer this time rather than the fluorescent yellow it was before.    The side skirts are only held on with six bolts so that has been whipped off and given back to Terry who once again is going to sort my mess out!

We finally have some sort of plan for the show.   Terry is going to tow the car up for on Friday and Ross and Jay are going to baby-sit me and make sure I don’t cock everything up in my Dad’s absence!  He and Mum are coming up on Sunday and I’m sure he will enjoy sitting in the stands and watching without the worry of making sure everything is ok back in the pits.    I really do ‘owe’ these guys for all their help . . . . . . . .  and for just putting up with me!

That’s about all that’s happened this week.    I’ll be back next week with a full run down of the show. I’m thinking about looking back at 2010 the following week, and I’ll have some tales from a snowy, cold Sweden the week after that.   Massive thanks again to everyone for reading this, sorry it’s been a bit ‘samey’ (is that a word?) the last few weeks.   Looking forward to seeing all my old friends and making some new ones at the weekend.   Enjoy the show.

Mikey

So: into 2011.

Well “Happy New Year” everyone; hope you all have good ones!  It seems crazy that it’s 2011 already - time seems to fly these days.    Just before I start I want to thank everyone who helped make 2010 the brilliant year it was and thank everyone in advance for everything during 2011.   There are a lot of people who make the racing possible not just for me but everyone else as well so thanks to you all.

With snow being on the ground for what seemed like forever, I was spending most of my day clearing it from various places at work and by the time we were getting home at night we just didn’t feel like going out and working on the car, so it was really nice knowing it was all finished and just sitting in the workshop waiting.  We have decided to add a few more stickers just to make it look a bit different,  and once they  arrive we can get down to the serious work of polishing ready for the show.

As I type this my overalls are in the washing machine having a ‘freshen up’.   My parents bought me a new helmet for my birthday, my granddad bought me some new racing boots for Christmas and I have a new pair of gloves that I have never used all ready for this year.   I’m really fussy with helmets.  Wearing glasses seems to give me all sorts of problems with them misting up and actually fitting properly, so after trying lots of different ones and borrowing John’s Simpson helmet for a while, I settled on a motocross style helmet that lets me use my special double-glazed goggles with them.   I find this style of helmet so much more comfortable to wear; the goggles stop my glasses steaming up, and the big aperture gives you better visibility I think.

All my paperwork arrived for the NEC show the other day, and I’m going to sit down and read it when I get a second - it’s getting close now and I’m on countdown like a kid at Christmas!  I’m also nervous about it - my dad comes to every meeting I do and I would be lost without him, but due to work he won’t be able to make the weekend and is just going to drop me off on the Friday then he’s coming back on Sunday with my mum to look round and pick me up again.   I don’t have a licence to tow the trailer and this year I am hell-bent on taking the test because it really would make things so much easier at times like this.   My friend Ross is coming up and I’m trying to convince Jay Austin to come and play crew chief for the weekend, and make sure I’m not doing anything wrong!   Jay has always been a great help and always seems to make sure I have my head screwed on when I get in the car and don’t forget anything when I’m out of it!

Christmas and New Year has seen me eat and drink too much so now it’s time for the diet to begin and the exercise to start!   I say this every year but this time I’m determined . . .  the mountain bike has even been dug out of the shed ready.   I don’t think I have ridden a bike for at least 5 years but it can’t be that difficult surely!    I’m convinced that good fitness would benefit you whilst racing so it’s something I’m willing to try.  No pain, no gain, as they say!

My good friends John and Robert have flown over to South Africa to race there this January, and whilst I am very jealous I wish them both the best of luck.   Robert - of Stock Rod National Championship winning fame - is in my opinion one of the best drivers I have seen on a short oval, and think it’s about time he pulled his finger out and raced a National!   Hopefully when he drives one again John, will realise how much he misses it and make a return himself, back here in the UK.   Have a great time guys!

This coming week is going to see us making the final preps for the NEC, and although it’s the most organised we’ve EVER been, there’s bound to be something we’ve forgotten.  Now, time permitting, we can start the mammoth task of clearing out our workshop.   Those of you who have been in our workshop will know what I mean - and those of you that haven’t, just think 11 years-worth of racing stacked round the edges, with a ramp for the car in the middle!

Thanks once again for reading this and I wish everybody both on and off the track all the best for the coming year.

Until next time

Mikey

The good times! (part 2)

After Birmingham we spent the next week in good spirits looking forward to Hednesford on the Sunday.   The results from the previous weekend had moved us from 32nd to 20th in the points and all we had to do was change the diff in the car, do the relevant checks and move all the tyres round. The car had been so good at Birmingham I didn’t want to change anything at all.   I was hoping for another good meeting to bring the racing for 2010 to a sweet end.

As much as I was looking forward to it, I was also very nervous; the last time we had raced there had been quite frankly a disaster.  We had made major changes to the car’s brakes after they had been playing up all through the National Weekend and they turned out to be horrendous.   No matter how I adjusted the bias to the front there was massive amounts of back brake and I was fighting the car everywhere.   I came into a bend .... braked .... the car went sideways, and as I caught it the car gripped and headed straight for the Armco.   I was knocked out and the car was less than healthy to say the least!

There is never a practice at Hednesford so by the time the first race came I was really nervous but the race went well with me managing to overtake a couple of cars and finish in fifth, the car was once again completely faultless.   The next race was much more of the same with another fifth place finish and some good racing.

We lined up for the final and the last race of 2010 and I just wanted to finish and bring the car home in one piece.    I remember there was oil on the track and from my grid position I had no choice but  to line up on it.   Sure enough as the flag dropped there was a great deal of wheel spinning and the car didn’t really go anywhere!    Looking back now maybe this wasn’t such as bad thing because as the front few cars went racing off ahead of me into the first bend, they tangled, firing cars all over the place!

The final was a bit hectic with all sorts of incidents happening throughout, the last meeting of the year always seems to be carnage for some reason and all I wanted was to keep clear of any incidents and keep the car straight.   I knew I was up in the top few cars but didn’t know what position exactly. I had some space in front of me and some breathing room behind so just drove my own race counting down the laps as I went!    All of a sudden I could see Chris and his yellow Tigra.   He was driving like a true world champion and was all over me before I knew it.   Try as I might I was never going to keep him behind me and he was soon past and roaring off on a mission to catch the leaders. This is how the race ended and it was only when I returned to the pits that my dad told me I had crossed the line in fourth! 

This was a brilliant end to what can only be described as a very mixed year.   The fantastic firework display really summed up how I was feeling.   After the two best meetings I have ever had I’m now sitting 18th in the points.   At the halfway point in the season I’m pleased with this position and have everything crossed for a top 20 in the points, come the end of the season in July.   A place on the grid for the World Final would be a dream come true - especially after 4 years of trying! 

This will be my last blog before Christmas so I want to wish you all the best and hope you enjoy the holidays.   I’m looking forward to a bit of time off just to relax and maybe enjoy the occasional beverage!    Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this every week, I’m really enjoying writing it and certainly have no intention of stopping in the near future.   If anyone has any comments or wants to add anything please feel free to contact me, it will be nice to hear from you!

One last thing before I wrap this up.    From myself, and I’m sure all the other people involved in our sport, a massive thank you to Neil.   The website is always faultless, always up to date and always has something new to look at.   So on behalf of everyone - thank you!    It’s the people such as you that make National Hot Rods what they are - the best oval racing formula in the UK!

Thanks again for reading this, and a merry Christmas to you all

Until next time

Mikey

The good times!

This has been a really tough season for us, not only has the racing been really hard and brilliantly close but we seem to have spent the whole season plagued with disaster after disaster.  The new car was a revelation at the start of the season and it seemed like we’d made such progress, finally having a car I enjoy driving and feel comfortable in.   The Tigra has been brilliant in every race it’s done . . . however, the same cannot always be said about the driver!

I’m going to talk about the disasters another week though; it’s Christmas, so naturally the subject needs to be a good one.

After a particularly bad meeting at the last Ipswich round - where the car was put in the trailer after the first race with untold amounts of damage to both the front and back end - my mood was terrible, and in my own words “I didn’t even want to look at the car again until after Christmas.”  As you will know from previous blogs I had a change of heart.   Dad and I spent the whole trip home from Ipswich brooding on the night’s events and my last words before I went off to bed at stupid o’clock were  “We’ll unload the car in the morning, park it in the garage and miss the last two meetings.”

The next morning came and we unloaded the car with the help of some jacks, a great deal of pushing and no doubt endless swearwords on my part, and finally got it onto the ramp.   I looked at it and pondered awhile, and in the clear light of day things didn’t really look as bad as we’d first thought.   I decided to take the wings off and see how things looked underneath the broken fibreglass.   A couple of hours later all the damaged panels were off, the axle was out and a list was written of all the parts we needed to order.   But that was it - I still wasn’t racing!   The next morning I ordered the parts, the following day they arrived and Terry took them away to paint.   Whilst waiting for the painted panels to come back, Dad and I set about bolting bits back on in the garage.   By this point things had started to change - well if the car happened to be finished we’d have to race it!    A decision I’m now very glad I made.

The next meeting was at Birmingham and we arrived early so I could practice during the afternoon and make sure the car was ok after all the work we had just done on it.  After a couple of laps just warming things up the car felt really good and I just seemed to be able to push it harder and harder.  That practice was the best the car has ever been.  We hadn’t altered any settings or done anything different but the car just seemed to really work.   Birmingham has always been my favourite track and I really wish we had more meetings there every year.

After all the bad meetings and non-finishes I was running well down in ‘thirty something’ place in the points, and my average was honestly quite horrendous.   This saw me starting on the front row of the grid.   It was dry, the car was great and it was my favourite track - and I was sitting on the grid waiting for the green flag to drop.

Now I’m awful about remembering what happens in a race.   I get so engrossed in the actual racing that I never even look at the gauges – something that really annoys my dad when I come back into the pits and don’t give him any feedback at all, so please don’t expect a detailed lap by lap analysis.

I was in the lead by the first bend and actually stayed there!   The halfway flag came and I was still leading . . .   5 laps, 4 laps, 3 laps 2 laps, 1 lap, chequered flag!   I’d actually won a race.   It just felt like all my prayers had been answered and all the hard work and disappointment of the previous few months had been worth it.

The next race came and I was in the lead again but I could see a rapidly moving Russ Wilcox in my mirror getting closer by the lap.   Fair play to Russell he was absolutely flying and was soon past me and tearing off into the distance but I hung on in there for second.  I was quite enjoying this!

As we lined up for the final it was threatening to rain but as the flag dropped it was still bone dry.  I was leading into the first bend and even though all sorts of chaos seemed to be happening behind me I just kept my head down and pushing forwards.    Again the laps started to count down with no major drama but the blue Mercedes of Graham Luscombe was getting closer and closer.   As Graham got within striking distance, the rain started; it wasn’t heavy but the track was starting to get quite greasy.   Graham wasn’t going to hand me the win on a plate and stayed right there on my bumper.  I think we had an absolutely brilliant race over the remainder of the laps and there was no contact or foul play from either of us - just proper close Hot Rod racing; Graham having more speed than me on the straights and my Tigra seeming to have the legs through the bends.   The greasy conditions seemed to suit both the car and me really well, and after what seemed like an age, the chequered flag waved in front of me giving me my first final win.

I can honestly say it was the best feeling of my life and it took a few seconds before I registered what had happened.   All my dreams had come true.   As we pulled into the centre Graham was the first man over to shake my hand and congratulate me.   I think the race we had is the best race I have ever had and one I’m sure I will remember forever.   It’s certainly been a talking point between the two of us since!

Just before I sign off for another week, I want to thank everyone for their birthday wishes last weekend.   I had a really brilliant weekend in London.  One with no cars involved at all!  It made a welcome change trading my life in the country for a couple of manic days in the city!

Thanks for reading.

Until next time.

Mikey

Stickers, snow and spelling mistakes!

I learnt a valuable lesson today - I’m not cut out to be a signwriter!   Jay came across to put the stickers on a couple of our work vehicles and do the Hot Rod whilst he was at it.   I was given the role of assistant . . . and a string of disasters followed.   Firstly I managed to put a sticker on the door of the van only to find it wasn’t level.  Next I cut some Demon Tweeks stickers out wrong and ended up with a sticker that said ‘Demon Demon’ and another saying ‘Tweeks Tweeks’!    Neither of these minor brain fade incidents however came close to my next ‘faux pas’.   Jay had made a fluorescent yellow sticker advertising our new website to stick on the side skirt.   He stuck it on and we were admiring it and commenting on how nice it looked when it hit us - I had managed to give Jay the wrong  web address and the nice new sticker read “.com” and not “.co.uk”  as it should have!   I’ll hold my hand up and admit that I am, as Jay’s girlfriend Sarah called me, “a plank” - and to make it all worse I was wearing a work jumper that quite clearly displayed the correct web address across the chest!   I’m sure this is another one of those moments I’m never going to be allowed to forget for as long as Jay and I are friends.   All joking aside, Jay has done a top job once again and the car looks really smart.

We’ve had quite a hectic week at work, even though 90% of the country ground to a halt because of the snow, and have been a bit lazy when it came to the garage if I’m honest.   We spent a couple of nights out there just finishing bolting the car back together, fitting bonnet pins and things like that.   The diff still hasn’t been changed although it has seen a coat of paint!   We haven’t got round to sorting wheels and tyres yet either but the new outer rims have found their way into the workshop in readiness.   Building wheels is one job I hate doing.   You have to grind all the silicon off the centre of the wheel and it goes everywhere and sticks to everything then takes forever before it comes off!   Then you have to undo what seems like an endless amount of nuts and bolts to remove the damaged section, fit the new one then do them all up again and re-seal them with silicon.   I always manage to get this wrong and usually end up with a wheel that leaks air faster than you can inflate the tyre.   I’m sure the answer to this would be stop bending wheels but what can I say!!

Excuse me for going off topic here but I think this is a pretty cool thing.  One of my dad’s friends runs a rally school, and every year they take the cars to Sweden for 2 months and run the school on the frozen lakes.   They use Evos and Imprezas and the speed the cars are carrying and the amount of grip the studded tyres give them is incredible.   I have just booked up to go and try it in February and am really looking forward to doing something completely different.   My Dad used to rally and I have always fancied driving a rally car - just hope I don’t get lost having to turn in both directions!   Check out the website and watch some of the videos, I think you will be as impressed as I was www.extreme-rally.co.uk

I said I was going to talk about the last few race meetings this time, but I’ve got so carried away with my waffling that if I include it in this instalment it will turn into a novel - I’ll save it for next time when I may have a serious hang over after celebrating my 21^st in London with some friends next weekend.

Just before I go I want to say thanks to my mum, who is both my proof reader and critic and spends quite a lot of time each week reading through this and correcting all my spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.   My spelling is horrific and without her this would barely be legible.

Thanks again for tuning into my last blog before I turn into a mature and sensible 21 year old!  (not likely…).

Until next time

Mikey