Turned into a bigger job than I thought. One cylinder was down on compression so I took the chance to fit my bigger valve head & offset rocker gear. One rear brake adjuster not working (no wonder it didn't stop @ Snett!) so replaced backplate, new repackable exhaust from www.magicmidget.co.uk to get under the noise limit. I've also acquired a set of 042Rs from a fellow Midget racer, so I've got to check they'll go under the square arches. Cooo, busy!

Thankfully I had plenty of 2nd hand Midget parts via my www.midgetmax.com spares business.

Also fitting a TRS 6-point harness. See how Wayne & I get on, I'm quite a bit taller than him.

Llandow looms ever closer!

Went into the barn where the race car is stored over the weekend....even managed to get it started! Plans for upcoming Bank holiday - get the car home and a few little jobs ready for testing. Wayne's sharing the car with me at MG Silverstone and he's never driven RWD before so we're off to Llandow for a day. Looking forward to it.

 

First 10-mile TT cycle race tonight.....33m 16 - not a very good time but I was pleased enough as it was the first time on a bike for 10 months. 3 months on the gym has worked, my target was sub-35 mins so I smashed that. Actually beat some people too! Next week, want to beat 33 minutes, ut a bit more effort in.

Had my first race this weekend. Club 100 "corporate" at Llandow on the 100cc 2-strokes. Top fun! Came 4th overall, beaten by 3 whippets, but left Billy and Car Park for dead. First time on a direct drive kart. Really, really exciting racing. Thoroughly enjoyed myself, thoroughly recommend it. Can't wait for August when we're going to Buckmore Park.....

It's been a long time since I Blogged - I never was good with a diary...

I'm working on Midgetmax Racing, a new division of Thin Air Limited. How exciting!

I've got access to some products that don't sit naturally under the web address www.racewear.co.uk - because they're not racewear! TRS Harnesses spring to mind, and I've just done deals to sell CG Lock seat belt adjusters and Recaro seats. The seats are great, I'm impressed with their quality and as long as they fit in a Midget I'll be selling them. I've got a steel-framed Sparco at the moment, and have to use padding because I'm so far back against the bulkhead it hurts, so a fibre shell is much better.

I'll have some other rsacey bits too - tank tape, numbers, that sort of thing. Keep an eye on www.midgetmax.com and www.racewear.co.uk to see what develops for the 08 season.

 

Hmm, received some interesting information last night about the engine upgrades for next season...not as expensive as I thought...look out David & Chris, I'm after you!

Another 1275 Sprite arrived today. God the bodywork's in poor condition - ruddy passenger door fell on my foot! One of the worst I've seen for a long time.

Still, I got off it what I needed for the racer, so there's some bits up for sale.

Did a strange thing for me the other night. Went to see a modern popular beat combo. Well, when I say modern, it was modern when I was young...

Joined 50,000 other fans at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff to watch Sting and the Police. Now I'm not a huge Police fan, but can hum a few of their tunes, so spent quite a bit of the time people watching. We were among the youngest there...it was fun watching middle-aged women being a bit daring and dancing in the aisle away from their allocated seat...spot the blokes coming along because their wives liked Sting 30 years ago (well, me actually!).

They belted out all the old standards but to be honest looked even older than their audience! Sting had had an infection earlier in the week but we were lucky and he performed the whole couple of hours. Bit of energy lacking from the old days - less jumps - and I reckon that the speed was about 90% or less of the original in derference to us old 'uns jigging about.

Millennium Stadium's quite good. We were on the pitch - about 4 rows from the front with our heads in a huge speaker, but no grass stains 'cause they roll the turf up at the end of a match apparently - our seats were on a concrete floor. The roof was shut thankfully as it was a bit chilly for old bones.

Fun night out, means I've been to 3 national stadia this year - Millennium, Silverstone and Autodromo Nazionale. Mind you, guess where my heart is...

God I ache all over this morning - ended up doing a 50-minute stint at the end of the race. Great fun though, really must remember not to take on cars on slicks on turn-in, it gets a trifle embarrassing.

Adam, Chris, David & I were entered as Team FISC in the MG Car Club 4-hour Relay Race at Snetterton. In practice Adam was quickest in the team but broke the diff, followed by Chris, Me and David. To be honest we were out gunned by other cars on better tyres, but we gave it all we'd got and trusted in the handicap.

Adam's diff was fixed and he took the start - calamity, at the end of the first lap he went past looking for gears then didn't reappear! Gwyn's phone wemt confirming the worst: Adam was stuck out on track, send out Chris. I was next but was relaxeed, Chris down to do a 40-minuter. Only he didn't, and I found myself our third driver in 10 minutes of racing! But not for long; Adam was moving agaijn and we weren't allowed two cars out at once.

It all settled down for a couple of hours; Adam's car went out but only crawled round a lap, then David went out for his second stint when Chris came in. Chris had had alternator failure and was doubtful he could continue, so David & I did 45 minute+ stints to bring the team home 17th overall and about the same on handicap. Ah well, those lost laps at the start didn't help . Huge fun though!

So it's parked up for the winter. Got some plans, we'll post on here as some of them come to light. Need to earn some money first though! 

PS - Seen the vids on the main www.midgetmax.com site? Terrific film on the Wazcam from Monza - thanks for the loan of the camera, Wayne!

Well, Monza was unbelievable. Next time I bump into Lewis or Kimi in the local pub, I'l be able to nod sagely and say "Oh yes, I find inducing a little oversteer in Lesmo 1 creates a better entry line for Lesmo 2." Been there, done it, got the T-shirt!

Entertaining drive down included the car falling off the trailer, a puncture before we got more than 30miles from home, and only finding a hotel by the skin of ur teeth. Compensated by the Autoroute des Titans, the Mont Blanc Tunnel and a dead-ringer for Jeremy Clarkson running a hotel on the outskirts of Geneva! I'd never been to the Alps before, and it was all "Heidi" and snow-capped peaks, just what I expected.

I've read about Monza slipstreaming batles, but to be involved in them is something else. Race 1, Fred (Elite), Joop, Chris and I were swapping places three, four times a lap. Side-by-side in Parabolica, two/three/four abreast on the straights. Real racing! Sadly it all ended when my throttle cable snapped.

Race 2, and David Smith & I were hammer and tongs all over again, making a quartet with Ian Permain and Ben Kap. Running in the slipstream of the quicker cars, I was FOUR SECONDS faster than in practice, running on my own just a couple up. I could see the whites of David's eyes in his rear view mirror, yet we never touched in a huge battle that was decided in my favour when his fuel pump stopped. I was out of reach of Ian and Ben, so backed off to bring the temperatures down - I gained 10 degrees in traffic.

Race 3. I couldn't quite keep on the tail of the quicker cars which got a break when I had to back off to avoid debris in the first chicane. Running without a temp gauge or a rev counter, I just cruised to the finish to protect the failing oil pressure.

So how did the engine do? Well, for a "spare" it was stunning. At least 20 brake down on the opposition, I could out-turn them but found it hard to make the move stick as we came onto the straights - see the video which I'll upload soon.

Was it worth the 2000 mile round trip? You betcha! The experience of a lifetime, and I'm still bubbling, three days later. Now to get ready for Snetterton and the MGCC 4-Hour Relay Race on Sunday...but it won't be quite the same.

More as I think of it.