Croc

I got news on my building today - good news - power was restored. Bad news - ground floor was badly damaged in the storm surge (lobby and 6 apartments). A barge loose during the storm punched a hole in the side of the building. Garage is damaged. Swimming pool, gym, maintenance storage rooms, car park office, building office, landscaped surrounds all wiped out. Plant and equipment mostly survived undamaged - it is elevated very high. Damage is mostly insured so not a major concern. No idea what my 8th top floor apartment is like - cannot get the guys to check it out as the ground floor is a major problem for them. If this is the damage in my building then the ones on either side are hit harder as they had lower level lobbies and apartments. One shocker that came to light today - 2 large multi-story apartment buildings in Hoboken were structurally damaged from the flooding as water got underneath and lifted the foundations! On a massive 10 story set of concrete and steel buildings! I struggle to believe it

Was your place ground floor or first floor? Damage looked fairly controlled - the immortal phrase 'it could be much worse' springs to mind. I am staying where I am in London until power returns. Unfortunately that means long days as I work UK and US business hours trying to kick start a business after the storm. Our disaster recovery program was a disaster - the back up work site flooded, our emergency power supply was comandeered, our communication plans and calling trees sucked with bad information/connections and our IT back up facilities only succeeded in getting my back up! :banghead: We are also working out how much we will likely pay on the insurance policies - that will be a 9 figure check at some point. No idea what damage my place took - still no services in downtown Jersey City. Someone did report that the office building across the street from my place has 4 stories of underground basement/garage full to the brim with water!

My luck did not hold - my building is now without power. Best guess is Monday/Tuesday next week for restoration but I suspect that is optimistic - this will stretch for a week or more. I am delaying my Friday flight into next week. Why come back if my home and office has no electricity, hot water, cold water, sewage facilities, lifts to get upstairs, no ability to store or cook food, no TV, no cable, no internet, etc. I can stay warm, dry and fed in comfort in London plus continue to work.

Yes - that got a smile and a laugh!

No its not a GT40 even though I have been shopping them extensively. For the record I really dont fit in a Superperformance GT40R. I tried out an official FIA spec GT40 in Florida and had to twist to sit in the narrow seat let alone being able to close the door with a helmet on. Can close it without a helmet though! The GT40 I do like is the CAV one :cooldude: Fit and finish are superb - better than Superperformance - and even Steve would fit in one (maybe not Karl) as they are designed for taller, more "prosperous" drivers. Also does not have the rust issues of the Superperformance monocoque. Anyway, its not a GT40 - I am finishing off a "restoration" (not Bruce's type - I am keeping the race patina) of............keep guessing.:bigear: Tom - no more clues:rofl: And there are 2 other race car restorations I have started researching for. Oops gone off topic...back to Sandy I still have power at my place - the answering machine works and the building concierge answers. Water was lapping at the doors of the lobby which is 10 feet above mean water mark. My garage was completely underwater - to the roof. Usual leaks in the apartment. Hope everyone else came through ok.

The website is at http://bookatrack.com/ There are cheaper seven track rental places out there but I would rather go with BookaTrack as they run the track event and support the cars - plus they are a fun group. Nomex was there but not in the majority. Lots of jeans and jackets and regular shoes. I travelled just with my gloves and race boots and rented the helmet and just wore docker trousers and a cotton shirt and windproof jacket. Don't feel you have to bring all your kit with you to the UK.

I prepared in advance as I saw this one coming last week. My Caterham is in Millville in a garage far enough away from the water it should be fine. The new toy is out at Frenchtown so that should be ok. My Audi is at Newark airport. And I am in London. However, my home garage is expected to be under 8 feet of water later as the storm surge backs up the Hudson River adjoining the garage. My residence is 8 floors up and balconies are clear so should be fine from flooding. I am nervous about the 15 foot wide glass skyroofs in the living and bedroom though.....

mmmmm.....I could have used the IRS in my CSR to handle the bumps. There is less power obviously (180 FWHP vs 275 FWHP but that was no real loss as the circuit was sufficiently bumpy that I would have had issues putting a lot more power down. I did like the lightened flywheel - pickup of revs was noticeably quicker (along with it being easier to stall at low revs!). The quicker ratio steering made the car a lot more nervous. Put it all together and the car felt quicker but that was an illusion from the darty steering, the de dion not handling the bumps well and throwing the car around more plus the general rawness of a Caterham race car. None of that is bad - I did enjoy the car but it is very different to what I am used to in the CSR275. The differences were far more pronounced from when I had it at Silverstone, simply because Silverstone was a billiard table smooth F1 super circuit.

Blank

I had the good fortune to run into a gentleman testing out VBox Lite equipment on a Caterham in a track environment with a view to renting at future track days. So my car was festooned with cameras and logging equipment from his kit and my usual Gopros/Racechrono logger. Given the hassle of lugging all my kit over to the UK, I think I would just rent it from him next time – much smarter. There was a few technical issues – the circuit was so bumpy it threw the camera aim off. The driver face camera became “Groin Cam” at one point not that there was much too look at given my distraction elsewhere! Then again, had it happened while I was following the Aston Martin.... Another coming over the rise exiting Lodge corner: Now at the end of every track day we all pack up and go home. How about this for a trailer unit for the Aston Martin DBR1 and the Atom? So who wants to do Spa Francorchamps track day in Belgium with me next year with one of the BookaTrack sevens?

Later on, Martin found me on the track once I had learned the basics and we had a more spirited session. For a 140hp engine, Martin showed how good a Caterham can really be around this track. Now one of the exciting pieces of machinery on the track was an Aston DBR1 run by a gentleman who had his son out in an Ariel Atom. I suspect it probably was not original as I think these go for $10m or something equally ridiculous plus it looked too fresh for a car that should have a touch of patina. I had the good luck to range up behind it on track and I slowed down long enough to follow. The owner later said to me it had no grip. Well that was obvious to me as it was all angles going through corners – understeer, oversteer, understeer, oversteer, back and forth working the wheel in one corner, as he piloted it nicely through the corner. Just incredible car control.

Some track photos now. Just starting to turn into Lodge Corner: Coming out of Lodge: Looks like it is in Cascades? Coming down Dentons just before Cascades corner:

The crowd at a Bookatrack event is really very similar to US trackdays – the average guy with his car ready for a bit of a spin. There are a lot more sevens than we see in the US and far less Corvettes (no shit Sherlock!), a lot less Porsche (only 2 or 3), a couple of Beemers, a Ferrari 360, a lovely Ginetta G60, and one or two Lotus Elises. Oh and they had 2 Radicals to blast the field. There were a couple of small commuter hatchback cars buzzing around – cheap track thrills and why not. BookaTrack does not crowd its track days – 55 people registered some sharing cars with a max 25 cars on circuit at once. I rarely got held up – worst case took me 1/3rd of the circuit to get past. Passing was done always on the left with point by and no corner passing, although the natural undulations and weaves of the circuit did confuse me as to what actually a “straight” was on the circuit! Quality of driving was excellent except for 1 or 2 cars in a Corporate Experience day. You know the type – you get 3 laps driving a race car for the first time on a circuit for the first time, all the time being dive bombed by other top notch drivers. And to think I was apprehensive! Fortunately, all drivers were courteous, passes acknowledged with a wave and no impatience. I have done a lot of track days and this was as good as it can get for the average non-pro driver like me. Format for the day is open pit lane. So you have 9.30-12.30, lunch 12.30 to 1.30, then back running again 1.30 to 5pm. I probably did 3-3.5 hours in the day and I was worn out by the end of the day – I think the car was in better condition! Luckily, I had a friend at the track. Martin (or Mav on Blatchat) is local to the circuit and brought his Roadsport SV for some fun. Now Martin KNOWS how to be prepared for a track day – a BBQ grill, gas stove, electric fridge, tea kettle, coffee maker, lots of cake, marinated chicken, burgers, sugar fixes, drinks, etc. He also managed to bring the usual complement of track day tools. Actually, it may not be Martin’s preparation as Viv (Mrs Mav) also was there and I have a sneaking suspicion she might just be responsible for Martin’s outstanding success. Here is Martin in gourmet cook mode in his pit garage: Martin’s Caterham also looks the part: Martin was kind enough to let me follow in the first “session” foray on to track. This is one place where placing the car on track is an art because of the bumps. It feels a very fast circuit because it is a slightly narrower tarmac plus the car is constantly being thrown around. However, from logging speeds, it is not as I thought! Being responsible and restrained, I satisfied myself with learning the circuit in my usual way – stick it in one gear (5th in this case) and focus on learning lines and braking points. So some pit photos:

Continuing with my habit of doing one to two UK track days each year, it was the turn of Oulton Park, in Cheshire UK to receive a visit from me. This circuit has a famed and somewhat fearsome reputation in the UK. Host to British Touring Car Championship race, British Superbikes, and the Gold Cup, famously won by Sir Sterling Moss 5 times in the 1950s and 60s. Why does it have this reputation? A track map really does not do the place justice. The track consists of a series of natural undulations and blind crests that flow from working the circuit into the topography. There is a lot of elevation change, steep climbs and drops, compressions, and crests. Making it very difficult is the inconsistent surface grip – some areas are shaded, damp and have wet leaves, painted grid markings and kerbs can be diabolical for grip – so it is difficult to gauge speed. It is a very fast circuit, beautifully designed for a Seven as the car is agile for sudden direction changes and with a relatively soft suspension is able to cope better with the bumps than a heavier car that can struggle to put the power down. It is an incredibly challenging circuit for an old fat race hacker to be launching onto. Oh and should I mention that there is not much run off ….so any off track excursion is going to involve the sound of crash, crump, wallop, swearing and the rustling of a LOT of pound notes being sucked out of your wallet/bank account. As usual I rented an Caterham Seven R300 SV race car from Jonny Leroux at BookaTrack. 2L Duratec powered with about 180hp, lightened flywheel, 6 speed box, full cage, upgraded 4 pot brakes, and CR500 tires. The race car deletes most options – handbrake, headlights, indicators, brake lights with just a steering wheel and a Stack display. The cars lead a hard life given the hackers who rent them but are very well maintained. If something breaks during the day then there are mechanics on hand to swarm all over the car to fix it quickly to get you back out there. If worst happens and an engine blows then (provided you did not over-rev it) there is a spare to get you back out on the track. I think it is testament to the maintenance and the design of the Duratec that the engines average 250 hours full on track running before they break. I suspect the K series would have been through 4 head gaskets by then. So the day starts off with sorting out your car in the pits: Then it is time for the drivers briefing which I have to say was one of the best ever I have experienced for a track day. Concise, focused, all lifted just enough with a hearty dose of English humor. Fortunately, they had sighting laps before the session opened up. I managed to get in one lap to begin to see where the corners went. This quaint tradition does not seem to happen in the US but you do see some rather remarkable vehicles lurching around the circuit. The look on this van guy’s face is intriguing: op_circuit_map_landscape_numbers.pdf

Yeah...after the driver who would want a second grizzly in the car? :jester: Hi Bruce :seeya: I hope to make this event - I just need to work on keeping the dates free from company meetings. Terry deserves a big thumbs up for taking the initiative on this - it should be an epic event! :driving:

It will be at the Tribeca area garage of the Classic Car Club of Manhattan

Is that just CA or all states? I was not aware of this until now. Would also make wearing the little foam ear plugs illegal?

Dad deserves a big thumbs up for bringing him along to this point! :cooldude: I can live with a BMW E30 M3 in the background. That is on my car bucket list for one day...

Well actually I have been suggesting Jeff deserves a new R500 and Mary inherits Jeff's rapid Zetec. I think Jeff might like that better.

Ouch - just what you want - more tax! How bad are they gouging you on the customs duty and taxes?

Bummer! I was looking forward to this happening. On the plus side, I think my living room floor had been reserved by about 10 people looking for cheap close accommodation - so I have been saved there!

Nice find Rikker! I live 1 mile from where the car is kept in Manhattan. It was originally built by a gentleman in Hackensack NJ area and sold about 1.5-2 years ago (I think) to the car club. I last saw it 2 years ago and it does not look any different in the photos. I know a few of the members at the car club and they all talk highly of enjoying driving the car (good fun, no track work at all, no major mechanical problems) and the club does maintain its vehicles well. The previous owner was a member on here from memory but have not seen him checked in for a long time. If anyone wants me to check it out for them I can easily do so and I have met the GM of the club (good guy!).

Didn't you know I have a Hummer! :seeya:

Its ok Steve. Come to my work office, I have 4 secretaries in a row outside it. They may not be called Dave but its definitely a wind tunnel as they blow a lot....