Rockingham 19th August

[Rod Birley]

Does anyone know what happened at Rockingham yesterday. A friend says the second pick up race was cancelled due to a demonstration on the track by Fiesta drivers!!

[ss_collins]

Thats what I hear rod...

[bdwoody]

may be they didnt want to play because i had just tipped it down at the end of the fast boys race, and i mean propper river in the pit lane stuff.

[Rod Birley]

The story is the oval was declared Ok, but the infield too wet. Fiestas were cancelled, but they invaded the track to stop the pick ups. Just wondered if that is true?

[bdwoody]

rod that sounds about right i went out in the morning in the megane and it was super slick and hadn't rained for a while so after the deluge it would have been realy bad i spose...all those cossys blowing out oil didn't help either..

[Rod Birley]

How did Greg and Martin get on.

[bdwoody]

martin didnt drive so i took him for a spin and greg just played silly sod by trying to suck my door mirrors off at ridiculas speeds with martin looking out of the window, good fun tho..silverstone should be much of the same i hope.

[Rod Birley]

What, you taking Martin out as a passenger (co-driver). Its not rallying, although I suppose it could be.

[bdwoody]

yup needed some coaching on the banking goin the wrong way round in the rain .......recipe for disaster init. still ,was good fun but i did snap the gear stick off.

[R59]

You should have come and found me, I'd have told you the proper way around the Rock. It's off the grid, turn left, then left, left, and left again.

The track during and after the downpour that caused carnage in the Ford Saloons race was dreadful Men in orange say there was a lake 3" deep in Tarzan, and a river running through pif-paf. It was mega aquaplane territory, and the CoC was right to red flag it, though with hind-sight they should never have gone out at all. The oval was OK to race, and at the end of it, the fans were seething for their beloved pickups not racing.

They had a first this year - TWO V8 races at prime-time in the dry!!
I won the V7 class in the first one, then DNF'd in the second one.

All in all, it spoilt what had turned into a good weekend's event. The RSOC have a whale of a time, and according to their forum, they (the RS500 register at least) want more.

Nice to hear the Falcon out there, I didn't see it too much being busy in the garage.

Rob.

[bdwoody]

hi racing 59 we did meet we had a chat behind the falcon if you recall i was driving the megane.

[R59]

Ahh yes, I was on my way to send off an unwanted friend.

What I meant to say was that I didn't see it on-track doing it's business.

[ceejay_racer]

What happened was... the Fiesta's got bumped further and further back down the timetable all day to ensure that everybody else and his dog got a go on the track while it was dry. By the time the Fiestas got out it had just chucked it down; the safety car driver decided that it was too wet for the Fiesta's to race so the the race was cancelled - despite every single one of the 30 odd drivers wanting to race, and most of them having raced in much worse condtions than there were on Sunday.

That's the official story anyway. What the Fiesta drivers think (which is why they were protesting) was that if they had been allowed to race there wouldn't have been time for the Pick up's to race before the curfew, therefore the Fiesta race was sacrificed to allow the Pick ups to go out. Not fair that the protest caused the Pick ups to be cancelled I agree, and the spectators lost out, but also not fair on the Fiesta drivers who had hung around all day only to be told that they weren't racing. Even a 10 minute race would have been sufficient to keep them quiet, then the Pick ups could have had their turn.

[R59]

Truth is, the Fiesta's got bumped down one slot, with the V8's moved up two.

Following race2 of the V8's there were 90minutes to run 1 x 30minute race, and 2 x 20 minute races. In fact, if the truth were known, there were over 110minutes available as the last race must start before 5pm, and can run over "a little".

It should have gone easily, but the skys opened. The Ford Saloons had a troublesome wrecking session, and that took time to clear.

After some discussions with others in the know, the Pickups would have got their race done, and the Fiesta's could have started their race before the 5pm curfew - and therefore had their full race. It would have been tight, but it would have been far safer for the Fiesta's.

I know that infield track in the wet. It's not like racing anywhere else as the drainage in some areas is atrocious. At race speeds, those cars would have been spearing off track in some of the faster sections, and that would have created a lot of DNF's thanks to aquaplaning that you wouldn't suffer until you get away from warm-up/pace car lap speed. 3" deep lakes on the track are a no-no!

If it's a call between Safety and ego, sorry, safety comes first.

I have had emails from spectators, and the feelings were running high. 95% of the crowd were boo-ing the Fiesta drivers to get off the grid and let their beloved pickups race. Sadly they (the Dees Fiesta drivers on the grid) made no friends that day. I say sadly because they are an entertaining series to watch.

I also had communication from Charlie Thornton who races in the Fiesta's, and after some reasoned discussion, he now see's what happened in a slightly different light.

There has been a lot of "shooting from the lip" since Sunday, and nobody has really thought about the people who lost out the most - the fans on the day.

Rockingham is all about entertainment, it's not like most motorsport in the UK which is about the individual whim of the driver who just fancies himself at having a go at a bit of racing. The way Rockingham works is to provide the crowd with entertaining racing, in the way NASCAR does. It's thrills and spills, hard and fast high octane racing. That's what the Pickups and the V8's are about. Entertainment first and foremost.

The circuit owners, Corby Town Council, Northamptonshire County Council, all want to see the place full to the brim with people enjoying themselves, and more importantly spending money in Corby!

P'ing off the spectators doesn't help that vision. Whether it be the organiser's fault, or the competitors, thanks to the inclement weather.

Rob.

[Speedworx]

Well said Rob.

Roll on Motorfest!