Wet Race at Knockhill

[MeanRedSpider]

Only my 4th ever race and my first wet race

YouTube - Classics Race Knockhill 29th June

This is the Scottish Motor Racing Club Classic Sports and Saloons series. The opening shot shows all four Alfas in the field:

- Ian Miller in his blue 2.0 Giulietta
- Tim Reid in his FIA spec 1600 Sprint GT
- Colin Beveridge in his 1.5 Sud
- Me (camera car) in my 2000 Giulia GTA rep

The sad thing about this is that most of the Alfas are propping up the bottom of the grid. That said, I was there because I lost all electrics in the first race of the day (loose cable), Ian only bought his car two weeks before the event and hadn't even tried the control tyre (Yoko 048R) on the car until the day before the race and was having all sorts of issues (not to mention a totally standard engine) and Tim is running FIA spec (Dunlop brakes and all sorts) in a field of very well-prepared cars. The other car, for instance, on the back row with me is a 350bhp Datsun 240Z...(he was leading the first race until he binned it on lap 9 of 10)

The video is cut short because my battery ran out but I finally finished 13th of 18, passing the red Mini Ogle but getting stuck behind a Porsche 911 that was just far too quick on the straights (though much slower through the twisty bits).

For the spec of my car, take a look at GTA Replica Project. It has mostly been fast-road/trackday set-up and I'm still lacking the real power I need to compete with the Lotuses and Ford Escorts in my class but I certainly plan to sort that out along with a few suspension mods.

The series is really friendly though with lots of respect being shown for the cars - especially in these challenging conditions.

Richard

[andy97]

If you don't mind travelling, have a look at the occasional race in the Classic Sports Car Club's series'. They run 30 min practice and 40 min races to a "mini enduro" format, ie a compulsory pit stop, meaning races can be for one or two drivers. Good fun & good value per track minute, particularly if you can share costs ith a second driver.

I race either an Alfa 33 or a Fiat Uno in the Tin Tops series but there are also Alfas in the "Swinging Sixties" and "Future Classics" series, too.

Have a look here: CSCC Home Page

Next race at Oulton Park on Aug 9th.

Rgds

Andy

[MeanRedSpider]

Hi Andy - looks interesting. The regs seem pretty loose (same type of engine, 60 profile Yokos) - anything else? Brakes, suspension etc?

Cheers

Richard

[andy97]

Richard, the regs are very free - the aim is to allow as many people to be eligible as possible (rather than spend as much money as possible) & not worry, too much about FIA eligibility or Group X or Group Y etc etc. You can't put a Ferrari engine in a Sud - engine TYPE, induction TYPE and gearbox TYPE has to remain the same for eg but other mods are OK.

As an eg I have a Fiat Uno for the Tin Tops series & I have fitted a 1580 cc SOHC engine from the Fiat Tipo. This is allowed because the engine is from exactly the same family as the ones in the Uno. The engine has had CR uprated, new cam and twin carbs. Brakes are from an Uno Turbo and suspension camber has been adjusted. Plastic windows & panels would be allowed if I could be bothered/ had the cash.

To be honest, most of the CSCC series are occupied by people for whom the cheque has a limited size! There are always people spending more or less money that you but the club really tries to run "club racers" series' rather than acheque book racers series'

I would suggest that the Sud and the Guillietta (is it the ex Nico Picolini car from Norfolk, by the way?) would be ideal in "Tin Tops" and the Sprint GT & GTA rep would be ideal in "Swinging Sixties".

Travelling from Inverness might be your biggest challenge but how about having a few days holiday in England and coming to Oulton for a few days?!

[MeanRedSpider]

Yes - that Giulietta is that car, I think - been advertised for ages. Needs a bit of work.

Sounds interesting - maybe not this year because I'm pretty busy but a big field is always fun.

Richard

[andy97]

The "Swinging Sixties" grid is usually so popular that they get up to 9 reserves for most races!! The reserves always get races, though as they tend to be added to the Tin Tops or Futuire Classics grids. Hope to see you on track some time.

I remember seeing the Guillietta for sale for ages & ages but always thought it was bit pricey, particularly as it wasn't a Twin Spark in it. I thought about it but bought the Uno and then a 33 as well for way less than the Guillietta was up for! Pity that the I then blew the engine up in the Uno, necessitating the Tipo engine transplant!!

[MeanRedSpider]

I guess the price depends upon your start point - compared with a race-prepared Giulia, it seemed pretty cheap. As our race series wouldn't allow a TS motor to be fitted, the value of course depends upon the application. It'll be interesting to see what progress Ian has made on the Giulietta at the next race - he'd hardly driven it before he raced it and it wasn't running very well.

[AlfaMale]

And the GTV gets passed by at least two before the first turn. It must be being driven by one of those Top Gear dweebs.

[MeanRedSpider]

To be fair to Tim, that's not exactly a level playing field either. His 1600 GT is FIA spec and pretty heavy too. Oh, and that 240z passing him is 350bhp - probably 2.5x the power he has.

Richard

[Mr.Vercetti]

Any idea when the next race is going to be held?

[MeanRedSpider]

You've just missed a double-header race weekend - the videos are in the Video forum. I came 8th in both races (a 3rd in class and a 2nd in class).

The next race weekend is 14th Sept. See the Knockhill website for details. Or Scottish Motor Racing Club : Index

cheers

Richard

[andy97]

Was channel hopping on the TV last night during half time of the football & saw the Scottish Classic race on "Motors TV". Good racing, although the Alfas weren't at the front, sadly. I enjoyed the brief appearance by the Sud but the blue Giulietta (mentioned in an earlier post) had a slightly longer appearance when it went in to the gravel trap. Hope there was nothing too amiss.

Are we going to see any of you in the CSCC series? I know its a long way to travel to our races but the cars in this series are an ideal fit with ours. It would be fantastic to see you guest with us. We have the added bonus of a 1 hour race at Spa on July 4/5 this year. In fact we have two races, one for the "Swinging Sixties" cars and one for the combined "Tin Tops", "Future Classics" and "Magnificent Sevens" series. Some of the Scottish Classic cars would be ideal in our Swinging Sixties races and some in the Tin Tops or Future Classics races. We already have Bertone GTVs and Giulias in the SS whilst TT has Suds & 33s and FC has GTV6, 75 and Alfa Sprints.

[MeanRedSpider]

Hi Andy - I wasn't in that race unfortunately as my engine builder had broken my engine. I'm out this weekend though so tune back in next month. I was hoping to watch that show but I had a "no satellite signal" message for that channel alone. It's repeated tonight though so I'm hoping for better luck.

I've been generally the quickest Alfa in the field. Colin's Sud is quite quite and has beaten me in the wet. This year I have more power and a few suspension tweeks (plus a bit more experience) so I'm hoping to do better

I was planning on coming down for the Swinging Sixties meet at Oulton next month but it's full - and I don't really want to head down on the off chance - it's a 500-mile round trip. I need to visit a good rolling road so I might combine that with a race weekend at one of the Southern circuits if I can.

Richard

[andy97]

Richard

How about Cadwell on 6 Sept?

[MeanRedSpider]

Andy - the only problem is that the SMRC series has 3 race weekends in September (bizarrely). Silverstone at the beginning of August or even better, possibly, Donny middle of Aug. It would be good to get the rolling road session in as early as possible.

Richard