Martin H

A petition's been started for anyone who believes the funding should be maintained: https://www.change.org/p/greg-abbott-save-circuit-of-the-americas-from-slashed-government-funding?recruiter=8611413&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

This is not good news... http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional/why-the-future-of-austins-f1-race-is-in-doubt/npKxM/ And for once, it seems it's not down to Bernie, although I'm sure he has the power to drop the race fee if he really wanted to keep it. But with tracks on such slim margins, and COTA taking a battering on income at this year's race due to the weather, I fear the worst...

Feeling somewhat embarrassed and stupid not to have picked that up! My apologies - I only tend to dip into this forum on an infrequent basis. Shane - hope you continue to improve, and that the car follows soon behind!

So how was the circuit? Saw the Indycar race there on TV last week and the track looks fantastic!

Should also have mentioned (for Charles' benefit on Blatchat, should he read this) that the best location to watch is probably the grandstands at the end of the back straight and into the complex (turns 12 through 15), as you get the overtaking under braking into the complex, and some side by side action through the complex. The best view is probably the turn 15 grandstand as you can see all the way down the straight as well. However, those are obviously also the most expensive grandstands, and there are no general admission zones there with a similar view. I've gone for general admission and will probably watch the F1 race from turn 1. You can glimpse some of the other parts of the circuit from there, and there's also a video screen opposite. I'm not too sure about the other general admission zones - will probably scout a few out on the Saturday, but I think they have more restrictive views. Martin

Hi Steve/Blokko Not sure we did meet when I was in the UK. I was near Basingstoke in Hampshire. My main Caterham activities were on track with the Graduates back in 2001/2002, followed by a few years on track with the 7 and then a 'blade engined Fury. I moved to Dallas in 2010. By the way, if funds are an issue, do watch out for the accommodation costs in Austin. At the weekend I found some budget hotels not too far away that were still charging under $100 a night, but many of the better known hotels are sold out or at double their normal rates already. Martin

Blokko - saw your post on Blatchat about rounding up some members at the Grand Prix, and referencing me as an ex-Blatchat member based in Dallas. In fact I've just booked tickets. If you weren't aware (and this might be worth posting on Blatchat as well), there are some early purchase deals on the COTA website, running till the end of January. I picked up two three day general admission tickets plus park and ride parking for $259 for example, but there are some other pretty good deals there as well. Would be great to meet up - although I will be with my 6 year old son (who's known what a Caterham looks like since the age of 3!). Martin

Voted - registration required but doesn't take long

Not sure I've seen anyone else post this, but when Blatchat was migrated to the new format, TechTalk became members only - however it seems to have been opened up to the public again now: http://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk

Unfortunately can't make it down, but best of luck to both of you - sounds like it'll be a great race to watch!

An even more satisfying win then, if he wasn't reporting a significant mechanical problem! Well done again! By the way, my son was really pleased to see the photos on the sight "It's Mr Andrew!!!", and was pleased to heard you'd won, so thanks for posting. I've now been instructed that I need to buy another Caterham to go racing again...

Thanks James Out of interest, what happened with the Miata - did he have problems in the Sunday race? It looks like he finished only just ahead of the Mustang. Martin

Hi James - great news to hear Andrew won on Sunday! Many thanks for letting us know the event was running - it was good to meet you on Saturday, and my son certainly got a kick out of seeing Andrew overtake the Mustang for second. We look forward to seeing the video if you manage to get it up on YouTube!

Perfect - thanks. I'd looked at the Apex site before, but hadn't seen the reference to renting cars. Will let you know if I make it that day, and if not, will certainly watch for future Apex events.

Thanks James - sounds like you'll be hard to miss with a car that colour Shane - will have to see if I can get a motorsport pass for two weekends running . Sadly would be to watch rather than drive, as I've been without a race car since emigrating to the US, and finances don't allow just at the moment. I don't suppose you've heard of any driving schools that hire cars out for trackdays? Martin

Thanks for the heads up James. May well try to be there with my 4yr old son who's crazy about cars. I assume you're racing? If so, which car are you in, as we'll aim to say hello. Martin

Croc - another great write-up. Really glad to hear the weather behaved for you this trip, and you got the opportunity to attack the circuit and see how well a 7 holds its own against some very exotic machinery. Brings back memories for me - hard to believe it was 10 years ago I last drove there.

Thanks for the write-up and pictures. I think this may have been the first time a Caterham was "allowed" to run at the FoS. I'm not surprised it looked fast compared to the Supercars - for those that watch it, the R500 had the 4th fastest time on the British Top Gear test track, beating many Ferraris, Porsches etc. and the Bugatti Veyron, so would be very interesting to see what the 620R could do. And the R500 time was done on a very cold day when they could get no heat in the tyres.

July 15 and 16 in the Ardennes. My money's on rain, sun, fog and snow. And on lap 2.....

Excellent write-up. Sad that you couldn't take advantage of the circuit though, as it's awesome in a 7 in the dry. That brought back memories of my first trip to Spa. On that occasion I was doing a trackday before two days of racing. During the trackday, which was in the wet (and so saw some very similar lines and steering "corrections" to those in your video), like you the tintops were managing much better with their extra weight. One Porsche went past me, and then noticeably reduced speed to let me get back past. They then followed me for a couple of laps before we headed for the paddock. I parked up in the 7s paddock, and noticed the Porsche pulling in as well, rather than going back to their paddock. With the rest of the race series watching, the driver got out and determinedly made their way over to me. As I worried about what they were going to say about my constant sideways driving, I was treated to the sight of the driver removing their helmet to reveal the most drop dead gorgeous Swiss-French girl with a huge beaming smile :drool:, desperate to know in broken English what my car was and how much fun it was to drive. At this point I really wished I'd brought the passenger seat! Fantastic circuit though, and a must do in the dry if at all possible - really shows how good the 7 can be through fast corners and under braking. Once things had dried out I almost rammed a race prepped Honda NSX with a huge rear wing and carbon fibre everything as he braked halfway up Eau Rouge while I was taking it flat. Martin

Bookatrack were my trackday provider of choice when I lived in the UK. As Croc said, they have one of the best driver briefings I've ever experienced(does the owner, Johnny, still refer to the "Japanese turbo nutter barges"?), and some of the best manners you'll see at trackdays. Doesn't hurt that Johnny's a Caterham fan as well, of course... I'm now jealous as I haven't been on a track in about three years. Oh, and if you thought Oulton was narrow with big elevation changes, try Cadwell Park next time you go. I mistook the track for a service road the first time I went there . The two of them are probably the best 7s tracks in the UK IMHO.

And now there's this... :drool: http://pistonheads.co.uk/news/default.asp?storyId=26472

And even if they do, at least you'll know which direction they went Great to hear it's been recovered.

Having owned a Caterham in the UK I can confirm it was absolutely normal to mount the brake on the passenger side up until about 2002 (if memory serves). Would always make you laugh when you tightened up your harnesses only to realise you hadn't released the brake - well, maybe it made you laugh the first couple of times....:banghead:

Finally found these pictures on the web (they seem to have been removed from most websites), which are the most spectacular 7 pictures I've seen. http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/doc.asp?c=16&i=4503 By the way, those are sparks under the car in the first picture. I recall he got punted from behind in the braking area for a sharp chicane following one of the fastest straights in the UK, ran off the circuit and got launched across the track at 90 degrees due to the huge concrete kerbs.