Goodwood Weekender 2018 - Track Activity Thread

[bstardchild]

Apr 17, 2018 22:07:29 GMT marky2202 said:

Bognor Regis Motor Club are holding a sprint event with 80 to 100 cars of all shapes and sizes at Goodwood on Saturday 28th April and we'd welcome anyone to come along to spectate (no entry fee), see what goes on at a BRMC sprint and look at / laugh at the lines being taken. It's as useful to see the bad lines and people getting it 'out of shape' as it is to see the good lines and the faster drivers.

Checks calendar - hmmm could be up for that I really need to get my head round the paddock plan we have

Apr 17, 2018 22:07:29 GMT marky2202 said:

As a regular marshal at the track I agree with all of the above comments, especially "respect the track" (Lord March is very proud of his grass and his daffodils - please stay off them!).

I'd prefer if we left the venue as we found it too - I suspect it may have influence in our ability to return

Apr 17, 2018 22:07:29 GMT marky2202 said:

I suspect that keeping a bit of distance from the car in front on your first lap will give a clearer run on the second lap... ie get to know the corners at a steady speed and don't just try to catch the guy/lass ahead and put them under pressure to go faster. Hopefully any speed differentials will become evident early on and you can discuss a suitable order with organisers and each other in your group to get the best out of the second and subsequent runs.

I'm hoping we get the same paddock vibe as at RRG events where participants are nice to each other and recognise that dropping down the group order is not bad thing but a "badge of honour" having enough respect for other people in the group who are quicker to allow them a good run at it unhindered.

Apr 17, 2018 22:07:29 GMT marky2202 said:

Lost time needs to be avoided... as stated above a scrape of the tyre-wall will cost a bit of time, but if you become a passenger in your own car (re. the S2000 video - you've no control once the tyres are on the grass at that speed, whether you can see past the airbags or not) and spread it over a wide area then delays WILL be substantial as many processes have to take place before any more track activity.

We have a good record of keeping the majority of participants shiney side up at prior RR events - I'd like this one to continue that tradition

Apr 17, 2018 22:07:29 GMT marky2202 said:

The other big time-eater is cleaning up oil... I'm reminded of a sprint a couple of years ago when an engine blew, the car spun on it's own oil and pirouetted on the grass - and then the driver re-started it and drove it another 600 yards along the track leaving a slippery trail behind him all the way. Don't be that moron!

Agreed at least on a recovery truck they can chuck a load of oil soak under the car and it keeps the track clean and gets the action back on track

[mikeygreenmini]

On the subject of helmets. Are open face ones fine?  i've got both but gets kinda hot in my car with windows that only slide open a fraction!! Many thanks

[bstardchild]

Apr 19, 2018 15:59:12 GMT mikeygreenmini said:

On the subject of helmets. Are open face ones fine?  i've got both but gets kinda hot in my car with windows that only slide open a fraction!! Many thanks

There is no scruitineering of helmets, it’s your head at the end of the day

That said if paddock team or marshalls saw a helmet that had clearly been damaged it would probably be suggested that an alternative be sourced

[mikeygreenmini]

Many thanks

[bstardchild]

Seems I need to chase a few non payments

30/40 paid up for morning
33/40 paid up for afternoon

[fulvia1436]

Paid, finally!
Teehee!

[Mark]

Apr 21, 2018 9:41:51 GMT bstardchild said:

Seems I need to chase a few non payments

30/40 paid up for morning
33/40 paid up for afternoon

Is there a deadline? Am just wanting to be sure have money on hand should s reserve spot become available.

[pu72]

34, allowing Fulvia 1436, or 85% paid up ain't bad at all. Mind you, only 4 weeks to go.!
Lets hope the weather is like this weekend. Might even pack the mini gas BBQ if it is..

[Morey]

I've Read through the majority of this thread, and I'm honored to have been selected!
(All paid up too)
A complete novice in regards to track time - So I'm assuming when the grouping info has been revealed we can get a better idea of what to expect coming up in the rear view mirror!! (Not performance-based, I mean more talent based )

Humbled by these videos... LOL more like terrified!

I concur with some by stating that I intend to drive my car home, so i won't be entering corners at S2000 speeds

[bstardchild]

Apr 23, 2018 20:59:17 GMT Morey said:

I've Read through the majority of this thread, and I'm honored to have been selected!
(All paid up too)

Thank you both for applying and paying promptly

Apr 23, 2018 20:59:17 GMT Morey said:

A complete novice in regards to track time - So I'm assuming when the grouping info has been revealed we can get a better idea of what to expect coming up in the rear view mirror!! (Not performance-based, I mean more talent based )

A very scientific approach was taken to the groupings and hopefully they will be well balanced although the process used did throw up some weird combinations

As soon as we have all the payments in I will reveal the groupings and cars within the groups - pointless doing it yet as things may change

Apr 23, 2018 20:59:17 GMT Morey said:

Humbled by these videos... LOL more like terrified!

I concur with some by stating that I intend to drive my car home, so i won't be entering corners at S2000 speeds

We want everyone to have a fun but safe time on track - it's our No'1 aim

[Morey]

How many payments are you missing?

[robmsport]

I did think that you may have difficulty in grouping cars based on engine size and power , hence declaring my laptime for Goodwood at 109.04 secs . Not fast by any means but may help.

[fulvia1436]

I managed 104.9 at an Alfa Sprint. But that was using a full race 1.6HF engine,and I was 20yrs younger! . Right now I'm not managing under 123, with a passenger.

[robmsport]

Apr 24, 2018 11:13:46 GMT fulvia1436 said:

I managed 104.9 at an Alfa Sprint. But that was using a full race 1.6HF engine,and I was 20yrs younger! . Right now I'm not managing under 123, with a passenger.

Time certainly plays games with us yes . I'm 74yr and my best ever sprint lap at Goodwood was 91.88secs , in a 630kgs 231bhp Stylus kit car . It now takes me 93.2 secs in the same car weighing 575kgs. The Alfa GTAm rep I'll be in on the 19th June weighs 1060kgs and last RR it was 148bhp , built at 150.6bhp . I don't envy their task at RETRO RIDES grouping us all . On a sprint they always ask your PB laptime within the class you're in , which makes it fairly accurate , not often we are baulked .

[marky2202]

I take my hat off to Mr. Bstardchild for taking on the role of organising the groupings... I can't imagine what sort of "very scientific approach" he's devised as from experience there's always a 1.4 Nova which can somehow keep up with anything, and a very expensive sports-car pootling around slower than the driver was going in the tow-car driving to the track! (o:
Whatever the outcome, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[slater]

I think we can probably make it up as we go along. My car is quickish on a short track but will probably be on the rev limiter most of the lap here so no idea what that will do for lap times. First time I will have had it out on different suspension setup and tyres too. Might go well might not! Resonably happy to just follow the guy in front for the first couple of runs and that should help work out what's what.

[Mark]

I thought a corner by corner guide might help.

Madgewick

A challenging double apex right hander. The braking zone and entry to the corner has a right hand fade to it and this often mis-leads to where the actual turn in point is and you find people either braking for the fade or being tempted to turn in too early. Depending on the car I would tend to ignore the fade, pick my turn in point for the actual corner and brake to this by partially straight lining the fade. This means your braking is being done in a straighter line than tracking the left hand side of the circuit and also make sure that as you roll off the brake pedal you do it nice and progressively. You often see people having a sharp stab at the brakes here, springing off the pedal causing the front suspension to bob up which, shifts the weight back in the car and results in understeer. The key to Madgewick is to be progressive and smooth with your inputs. The actual corner is a double apex right hander, made more complex by a crest in the middle. You should be missing the first apex (3-4 feet probably) and aiming to be on the second apex. Therefore its a slightly later turn in than you might expect but making sure you are on this later apex allows you to get onto the throttle nice and early (a trailing throttle from the moment you roll off the brakes and feeding in progressively so by the second apex, or before if you can, you are flat). Getting on the power early is key here as it controls you speed all the way down to No Name and St Mary's. If you hit the first apex you tend to miss the second and then run out of road on the exit. Go in deep, turn in smoothly, predict the crest as it will make the car move around and look for that second apex before unwinding the lock and letting the car out to the outside of the circuit. Its a great corner, faster than you might feel initially and ultimately the braking becomes quick smooth to check your speed and control the weight in the car but to allow the car to run and maintain momentum.

Fordwater

Ultimately a flat out right hander unless you are in something enormous or really soft in which case it might be a confidence lift. Start with a lift and build up from there, I have seen people manage to get it very wrong, usually by panicking! Fairly straight forward but watch that you don't run out of room as the circuit falls away slightly on the exit and sometimes you find people run out of room here as they've not allowed for it.

No Name and St Mary's

This is where it starts to become interesting! The critical bits as I see it are to maintain as much speed through No Name as possible but acknowledging that you want to have a nice progressive, smooth approach to St Mary's which is the adversely cambered left hander. Two corners, a fast right hander and then a left hander which falls away from you, but you need to think about the two corners together. I tend to have a light (sometimes left foot depending on what I'm driving) brake for No Name, looking to check the speed but you are still well committed at this point, a smooth wide turn in, holding tight to the right hand side on the exit, trying to keep the car as flat as possible for the entry into St Mary's. I have been known to use the grass on the apex at No Name on occasion, but I'd not recommend it unless you are really confident with the car. The short straight (which is still a right hander really I suppose) between No Name and St Mary's is a balance of maintaining as much throttle as possible before going hard on the brakes, a down shift or two and looking for a nice wide turn in to St Mary's. I always try to be back to the right by the concrete slip where the old taxis way used to be). St Mary's itself is a fairly straight forward left hander and if you balls it up its usually because you've ballsed up No Name before it and either approached it too fast or too far to the left and are scrabbling around on the brakes. It has a curb on the apex, you can use it but it can upset the car, especially with the adverse camber and the key here to pick a line off the corner that sets you up well for the slight right hand rise back up towards Lavant. its easy because of the camber to run out of road on the exit and I've often seen people that for me take this too wide. I tend to be 3/4 of the way across the circuit on the exit looking to set the car up for the run up the hill towards Lavant. The trick part is that the apex is where the curb is but you need to hold onto the lock slightly longer than you would naturally as releasing the car on the apex tends to be what causes you to run out road, hold it a little tighter and then release it as you see the grass on the left step back.

Lavant

Lavant is really two corners, I tend to refer to them as Lavant In and Lavant Out. The first is a fairly straight forward right hander, it has a curb on the apex and exit, I tend to avoid them. The critical bit here, just as with Madgewick is getting onto the power early and progressively. A good run out of Lavant In dictates your speed all the way to Woodcote and is key to a decent lap time. Lavant Out is another right hander, looser radius and often flat or taken with a slight confidence lift. The key here in both parts is to use all of the circuit width available to you to enable a nice smooth line and to get onto the power early. The biggest factor here is generally getting someone to look far enough through the corner.

The Lavant Straight is simple, but it does have a left hand fade to it and then a right flick half way down which can catch people out if they don't know the circuit and are trying to watch cars in their mirrors. If you are passing another car on a track day it's worth being aware that sometimes you might get a squeeze! It's a straight but its not!

Woodcote

Woodcote is a corner that is frequently made far more difficult than it needs to be. It looks like its a double apex right hander... its not. Simplify it is my advice. Focus on the second part of it and treat it as a single apex right hander. Ignore the first apex, use the outer edge of the circuit between the two apexes as your turn in point. Particularly when you are racing here, aiming straight at this point on approach and braking to this point and not the first gives you a critical additional 10-20 yards on the power and often means you can duck down the inside of someone into here on the brakes. Look for a nice solid apex to the curb and let the car get back out wide, feeding in the power. The curb here can be tempting but I'd avoid it as it often catches people out and causes wheel spin as you are hard back on the power by this point.

Chicane

The Chicane is relatively straight forward but the exit is really important for your speed over the line and down towards Madgewick. Different drivers have different styles on the entry, some take the classic line, wide entry with braking before the turn in, some aim straight for the first apex and brake in a straight line to the apex, flick the car in and across to the second apex by which time, with either line you want to be firmly back on the power and feeding it in. Avoid the curb, unless you are super confident in the car, but it tends to slow your exit rather than aid it.

I always found Goodwood deceptive, usually both braking and turning in far too early. It's great fun though and it's always special driving such historic circuits.

ETA - thank you to Tim Crighton for his insight.

[GavinJ]

I've got concerns over the decibel of my car 👎🏼

Anyone have any experience of using a decibel killer? (The insert type)

Looking at eBay you can pick one up for circa £20...

[pu72]

For all Drivers out there, and me being one myself, I'd like to see how many rides I can sit in as passenger in order to maximise my fun at the event.

Would make a good little challenge for me to see how many interesting rides I can sit in as a passenger. I'll pack a spare pair of underpants for the afternoon session.!

I'd also extend the offer to people who may want a ride in mine. Keeps it fun for all involved.

Happy Days.
(PM me if you prefer not to post it on the forum)

[bstardchild]

Apr 25, 2018 18:37:59 GMT pu72 said:

For all Drivers out there, and me being one myself, I'd like to see how many rides I can sit in as passenger in order to maximise my fun at the event.

Would make a good little challenge for me to see how many interesting rides I can sit in as a passenger. I'll pack a spare pair of underpants for the afternoon session.!

Whist I don’t have an issue with this groups will turn round in around 7 mins, there will also be two staging points paddock and pit lane.

You aren’t with your car and able to move from one to the other then you skip a go - you don’t get to join another group and ww don’t hold your group up while we wait fir you.

For Drivers thinking about taking passengers after a few laps under their belt bear in mind the added weight will have an effect in braking and cornering.

Just stating the obvious possibly