Croc

Not hiding - just pure frustration on my side. The CSR is still without brakes from a problematic conversion from 15 inch wheels to 13 inch wheels. The other Caterham is getting some refresh items and is running late despite my best of intent to be ready. It does not help that I am trying to manage a garage construction 120 miles away, 2 bathroom renovations, 2 car restorations 20,000 miles away, a multi-national company and organize a sevens event. Where is the violin? Ah...here it is! :nopity: In hindsight I should just buy another car to particpate. :ack: Maybe I could borrow one of Bruce's lovely cars?

I have never seen them check a date on an arm restraint yet. The Caterham ones actually have no date marked. I think you are good to go. Tom has a pink velvet set he can lend you if you feel that way inclined :rofl: I will have a few spare sets also for passengers

That really does look a nice trailer. Who made it again?

I just want to clarify to those looking at the motorsportreg.com site that you will not see everyone who has signed up for this event. The reasons for this is: (a) NJMP members use a different web page to non-members (5 people) (b) there are a number who are coming and notified/talked with me that they will be registering late as they want to time their credit card billing dates, moon phase, etc. (4 people) © Visitors register offline (d) Motorsportreg.com is a buggy website at times. It does not always show everyone who is registered. That is the case for at least 1 person right now. So please do not assume that no one is coming by looking that the sign up pages. This should address the concern that was relayed to me overnight. Cheers mike

I think it was just the makings of a track orgy. The red car was a very early Caterham which had a brand new driver on track for the first time. The silver car was a Ginetta (I think) driven by a fairly experienced track driver. I think one or both overcooked it on that corner - it is quite fast and if you lift you have a good chance of rotating. There is a possibility that the red Caterham was coming out of the pits as that is pit exit but I was not stopping to find out what happened. There definitely was no contact by any car that day.

Video now posted at here http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=85978#post85978

Following on from the thread here: http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=9660 I put together some video of the circuits. One thing to keep in mind - renting Caterhams is not cheap. You break it you pay to fix it (except when it breaks due to something not your fault - e.g. gear lever). Exceeding rev limits (6800rpm) is monitored closely and is punished with a fine for each serious transgression (100-500rpm over is a slap on the wrist and told don't do it again). This is fair when you consider that race cars have a hard life and the maintenance is steep and therefore costly. I have found Bookatrack to be very reasonable about things. They have a team that prepares the car, keeps it field up and helps sort things out when they go wrong. I think they are very good outfit to rent with should anyone want to try out one of the famous UK or European circuit. With this in mind my mode for the day is to get to within 95% of the lap record for that circuit in a Caterham R300. In all cases I succeed by the end of the day and I have not risked the car or my wallet in the process. The Bookatrack Caterham is a R300 spec car. 180hp Duratec, fully caged, stopped race car. CR500 on 13 inch wheels. Caterham 6 speed gearbox. Stack instrumentation but no speedo. They run both S3 and SV chassis. If you do not like the regular carbon Tillet seats or the larger B2 Tillets like I do not (major back pain results) then they have these specially made up foam seat pads to construct a seat that is very comfortable for a days run - this is what I use. Camera is a pre-production Sony. Orginally recorded in 1080/60fps, 120 degrees field of view. Sound is mostly rotten as I was testing the internal mics for the maker. Data is recorded via Racechrono Pro with separate bluetooth GPS logger. I use Manfrotto clamps for the most part. Where the video looks like it is moving around and a camera mount may be loose then what you are seeing is actually the Sony SteadyShot feature which tries to compensate for vibration to improve image quality - I think it failed and will try it switch off next time. The large box on my left wrist is the camera control. The silver box on the scuttle is the GPS receiver for the data logger. Apart from the sound the Sony cameras were excellent - I could use the remote to turn on/off the camera mounted on the wishbone while I was belted up sitting in the car. You can also use it to check aim. The terrain change on these circuits is best shown by the altitude in feet change. Donington National Circuit Anglesey GP Circuit And an experiment at Anglesey to run a camera low down on the front wishbone/A arm. Apart from sound I thought this was a good position Anyone want to join me at Spa-Francorchamps in November?

So who wants to join me at Spa-Francorchamps in November? :seeya:

Steve following me in his K-series engine Caterham Roadsport SV

Photos: Steve (Blokko) looking concerned when talking with me (back of head)!

Just about to turn into Coppice A wonderful drivers track – definitely worth trying out. Then it was on to Anglesey. I decided to take the long way through the driving roads of the Peak District and through Snowdonia. Anglesey is way up at the very northern end of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It does have a reputation for wet and windy weather as you would expect. Although for me it was pretty nice – not raining until 4pm.

So then it was on to the track day run by BookaTrack. Normally very tightly organized, given it was the Friday before a weekend of racing, it really turned into a practice session for the racers. The track: http://nickleason.co.uk/circuits/Donington.jpg We were running the National Circuit without the hairpin extension. There were a range of cars – Radicals with RST V8s, BAC Monos, high powered Caterhams and Westfields, tin top touring cars, an absolutely amazing yellow Ruf Porsche 911, to hackers like me in a beaten up Caterham R300. Rules are passing on the “straights” only on the left, ideally with a point by. However, that degenerated rapidly as the red mist descended. In the afternoon it seemed like you did 2 laps went to the pits under red flag and then went out for another 2 laps before another red flag and so on. It was amazing how many “race cars” were showing drivers with no talent. One Renault Clio race car was ahead of me at Radcliffe before running off the track, through the gravel trap, out back onto track off onto the grass on the right, over correct and then back left across the track into the gravel and eventually into the mud….muppet! A few of the Caterham Academy drivers demonstrated lack of fear and made numerous gardening excursions. So the photos – looking towards Redgate: Looking back towards the start finish line and the pits: Going through MacLeans

You may want to hurry to see this collection. Tom Wheatcroft, who bought the circuit and established the museum passed away in 2009 and left his estate to his son who seems to be actively selling cars off to buy WW2 tanks

Then it was cross country to Donington. The circuit maintains a museum which has the greatest collection of Formula 1 cars anywhere on Earth. I can only say they may be under estimating. I left a trail of drool, dribble, sweat, tears, pee and sperm all over this museum….absolutely amazing.

An original Le Mans D Type and its interior: A lovely Lotus 7 Series 3 although it had some Series 2 touches if you look carefully

Here are the photos from my recent Donington and Anglesey excursions. Donington is based in the East Midlands area of the UK – about 2 hours drive from Heathrow. Given I arrived off a US flight early in the morning I stopped in first at the Heritage Motor Museum at Gaydon UK, about 1.5 hours drive from Heathrow. It celebrates the British motor industry which had extraordinary success until brought down by poor management, weak Governments and labor unions in the 1970s. The facility is superb with extensive sponsorship by Jaguar and Land Rover. If you want you can take a Land Rover or Range Rover on an off road test drive in a purpose built 4wd trail on the property. I had a great time testing a LR3! In the museum, there is a spectacular collection of cars: An original Jaguar XJ13 with its dashboard Who remembers Bob Tulius?

The NJMP facility is patrolled 24 hours a day. People have left their cars in the pit unattended overnight without an issue. This includes Caterhams. In theory I get access to my empty shell of an NJMP garage on June 18. It will be having a loft constructed but there is no reason why it could not hold 4 cars securely overnight during the long weekend as there will be no builders present. 1 spot is already taken. You and Jack will be spots 2 and 3. Shane asked as well so there is the 4th spot taken for him. Possibly I can squeeze a 5th car in but no guarantees right now until I can see the space while the loft is being installed. I have an accommodation share solution for you Roman but I need the NJMP office to reopen Monday. It will be a 5 min walk on the NJMP property from the garage where you can keep your car. If this is too far then you can reserve a garage at the Thunderbolt pits overnight but this is unlocked (enclosed with garage door but still unlocked). Roman - I will confirm things Monday or Tuesday next week but I think you are sorted.

Mike - Thanks for thinking of Roman. I was in touch with him last night. He is not the only one looking for accom and I think I have a share solution that I will work out Monday once get back into my office. Also, I am staying at an upstairs villa on track as they screwed up my garage construction timetable. That has a nice air-conditioned living room with sofas, dining are, cable TV, wifi, and kitchen overlooking the Thunderbolt circuit. I thought we could use that as a "ladies retreat" should anyone want to relax and chat somewhere comfortable.

Ok - we are a go! Thank you for your patience. Drivers and their Families/Companions For those who will be driving at this event, emails containing registration links will go out today. If you do not get an email then please let Tom or I know. This registration will allow drivers and their families/companions/friends/visitors/FWB/etc to sign up for all items that they wish to participate in. There is a lengthy document with all background information that should be read prior to registering. If you have questions then we are happy to answer in advance prior to your registering. Non-Driving Visitors/Participants For those who have expressed interest in joining in this event as a non-driver then we will send you an email offline from sevensarefun@gmail.com containing the same package of information and a price list for each meal/event/item so you are not left out of the fun. You will be able to pay by check to NJMP or by paypal in advance. If you register as a visitor to the HPDE events it entitles you to breakfast and lunch on the day. Registered visitors are also permitted to be passengers to instructors in a seven during a HPDE session. Open passenger seats are assigned first in first served. There are expected to be 2-3 sevens with instructors during this event so bring your (closed face) helmet and we will try to accommodate you (no guarantees but we will try). If you are looking at buying a seven, an event like this is perfect for checking out different manufacturers and their specifications. Cheers Mike

Is there any actual leak? Gas cap is on? Flooded carby with excess fuel floating? Seems strange that it is so strong without some form of leak. I know crossflows are like the Exxon Valdez for dripping oil on garage

Well this is a good news and bad news type of first posting... Firstly, welcome to the forum. Secondly, congratulations on your new CSR. As an owner I can say it is an amazing car. I have been very happy with mine. Thirdly, NJ registration....sigh....the difficulties that has caused. My first recommendation is talk to the NJ MVC. There is a guy in Trenton who deals in special registrations. Talk to him by phone and talk through the registration process. There is an information packet they can send you with the relevant forms - you should get that before you start trying to title or do anything. Then, forearmed with that knowledge, I would PM MrMustang on this forum since he has admitted himself to be the expert at getting cars through the NJ MVC special vehicle registration process. He has not put a new Caterham or any seven through the process but I defer to his superior knowledge of dealing with the NJ MVC. Hopefully he can fill in the details missing from the packet for you. It is supposed to be an easy process but that is not my experience... Sent you a PM to chat offline by phone.

Taber you are quite correct on the year for the British GP. I had 2003 in my mind as the year when in fact it was 1993 as you point out. I remembered it being Ayrton Senna who won as I watched the race live but I guess it was a senior moment that led me to have a mental arithmetic failure. :blush:

Steve - you may as well tell everyone what I did to the poor instructor at Angelsey....:svengo:

It was good to meet you in person Steve! Top days at Donington and Anglesey. While Donington did hold the British GP something like 10 years ago and is fairly well known, Angelsey is a small club circuit in the far north of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. Both make incredible use of terrain. While I looked at videos to familiarize myself with the layout in advance, nothing prepared me for the elevation changes that happen on those tracks. For those wondering what happened to the poor Caterham gear lever above, that was the result of it suddenly becoming a "flappy paddle" gearbox while going from 5th to 6th diving downing into Craner Curves at 85-90mph. Steve was generous enough not to show the results of the "gardening" that resulted from my sudden surprise and confusion. Somehow all the gear lever retaining bolts had worked loose so the lever disconnected from gearbox. While I tried to limp to the pits in 6th gear I ran out of revs and had to be flat towed back for recover. Give me to the weekend and I will upload photos of the astonishing Donington Collection of Formula One cars which has to be one of the most incredible auto collections I have ever seen in. I will also upload some circuit video and photos.