CTCRC Oulton Park 22nd September

[Mike 'Bean' Broadbent]

Thanks for posting the vid from Oulton. I was flagging (!) at Clay Hill. Shame that Andy could not race as I would imagine that would have been an epic battle.
Nice to see Dobbo showboating at Knicker out though.
Thanks for coming to see us & we hope you will come back next year. Can't do too much re: chicanes & weather, but will give you all a right good 'northern' welcome

[andy robinson]

Originally Posted by Bomber604

Mark, that Skyline of yours is an awesome bit of kit but do you compete in any series where there are cars of similar power & you can actually have a race instead of just blowing everyone into the weeds up the straights?

I'm not having a go as you can obviously peddle the thing but surely it would be more fun if you had some competition?

what series do you recomend he runs it in ??
Classic thunder already has most of the fastest clubby race cars in it, lots of cars that have dominated other championships/race series.

Maybe Mark should race it Britsh GT, but I dont think his hospitality suite & race support would look quite right there

[tokaikid]

Originally Posted by andy robinson

Maybe Mark should race it Britsh GT, but I dont think his hospitality suite & race support would look quite right there

I don't know Andy. We can swap the brown sauce for caviar, job done.
May need to get a wrap for 'Race Control'. On second thoughts a skip may be more appropriate!

[Al Weyman]

Mark can and was beaten at Thruxton, its not always so cut and dry. Some were moaning the Cossies in Pre 93's were putting 3 seconds a lap over the fastest Bimmers but this was surely just the nature of the circuit as the International layout obviously suits a bit of grunt. No as far as I am concerned Mark is welcome anytime.

[greenamex2]

There are a couple of other Skylines capable of matching/beating Mark in CT, they just haven't been out that often. When the big Aussie V8's are reliable and fully developed they should be able to match him at a number of circuits. There is at least one other CT car currently 'resting' that would also match it if it had some tyres produced this decade and some development money. And with a decent engine a certain indecently rapid M3 would also match him.

They will get there, especially when the economy start picking up and people have the money to start wasting on motorsport again.

As for cars outside of CT, I guess they are just not up to the challenge.

[indigorallye]

Ric Wood was doing 1:42's, even dropping down to a 1:40.

[Peter Davies]

Saturdays top ten race times

1 R Wood Audi V8 Star 1.40.714 CNC Heads
2 M Biggers Skyline 1.45.534 CT
3 S Owen Westfield SE 1.46.136 CNC Heads
4 R Spencer Locasaki 1.46.192 CNC Heads
5 S Allaway Lotus Daytona 1.46.764 CNC Heads
6 D Keenan MK Indy 1.48.146 CNC Heads
7 A Chalmers Caterham 1.48.237 CNC Heads
8 P Davies Caterham 1.48.329 CNC Heads
9 D Bly Skyline 1.49.140 CT
10 G Whittaker BMW M3 1.49.428 CT

Andy R would have been in top 10 looking at qualy times

Cheers

Pete

[G.Walker]

Ric should have gave his calibra a run out in classic thunder

[medius]

Originally Posted by G.Walker

Ric should have gave his calibra a run out in classic thunder

Does he still have that? I thought it was the car currently in STP colours that appeared at Mallory Modsports/Thundersaloons/SuperSaloons revival last year. Similarly, does Ric still have that Commodore too? And who owns the other V8SC Commodore in the UK? Its pictured in this week's Motorsport News at Brands, a red one.

[G.Walker]

The STP Calibra is the less developed sister car

Rics won Formula Saloons but has raced little since

[Mark Skyline]

Originally Posted by Al Weyman

Mark can and was beaten at Thruxton, its not always so cut and dry. Some were moaning the Cossies in Pre 93's were putting 3 seconds a lap over the fastest Bimmers but this was surely just the nature of the circuit as the International layout obviously suits a bit of grunt. No as far as I am concerned Mark is welcome anytime.

Thanks Al


To be honest with you all, I have been building my car for over 2-years, with the original intention of racing in the DMN now the QMN, but unfortunately there was an individual who saw to it that the rules were changed to exclude my car and other similar cars. I looked around and found out about the Classic Thunder Saloons Car championship, which I entered this year. Having had a good chat with Joss about the series and finding out that there were going to be some very interesting cars in this year's racing, I thought it was going to be very competetive.

Unfortunately, a few of the car that were racing had a few problems so I did not perhaps face the stiff competition I thought I would have in the races, but lets face it Garrie gives me a hard time in almost every race and so does Andy Robinson, as well as Darren Bly, when he is there LOL !!!!!. Although I built my car to be fast strong and reliable, I never expected it to go like it does: apart from a few problems, it's been an absolute dream. I am learning so much about the car and hope it will continue to allow me to grow stronger and gain more and more confidence. After Pembrey we will be making the car even better for next years series in the Thunder Saloons: thats if im still allowed and wanted



Regards Mark

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Peter Davies

1 R Wood Audi V8 Star 1.40.714 CNC Heads

Looked suspiciously like his Astra to me!

[Peter Davies]

Originally Posted by Dave Brand

Looked suspiciously like his Astra to me!

Apologies Dave,

He overtook me that quick, could not tell what he was in !!!

[snowen250]

In terms of competition short of moving it to Britcar or something like that (!) there is no faster series for that mentally quick Skyline to be in. It is however a pleasure to see it at circuits! It really is impressive.

Would a DTM car be allowed in Classic thunder by the way? As that could be some race.....

Simon

[greenamex2]

Originally Posted by Mark Skyline

After Pembrey we will be making the car even better for next years series in the Thunder Saloons: thats if im still allowed and wanted

We would never kick out an eligible car by changing the rules the following year so you will be both allowed and welcome. Hopefully we can arrange for some more competition for you!

Providing a DTM car meets the rules....bring it on. I have looked over the specs of one car and it looked fine. Certainly the older ones (190's, M3's etc)are no problem.

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Peter Davies

Apologies Dave,

He overtook me that quick, could not tell what he was in !!!

Not your fault - looks like nobody told TSL, as it's shown as the Audi on the timing sheets.

[indigorallye]

It always is for some reason

[Peter Davies]

Mike,

I think Ric puts the Audi down on the entry form

It gives us all a glimmer of hope!!!!

Cheers

Pete

[Bomber604]

Originally Posted by andy robinson

what series do you recomend he runs it in ??
Classic thunder already has most of the fastest clubby race cars in it, lots of cars that have dominated other championships/race series.

Maybe Mark should race it Britsh GT, but I dont think his hospitality suite & race support would look quite right there

I wasn't suggesting Mark Shouldn't run in CT, I was just asking if he ran in any other series.

Watching him carve through the rest of the field after being "Helped off" was very exciting to watch from trackside & I really enjoyed his in car footage.

I'm sure having a super quick car/driver in the series gives everyone else something to aim for & a reason/excuse to spend more time (& money) developing their cars.

"I'm sorry darling, I couldn't afford an anniversary present, I had to spend £2k on a new turbo, how else am I going to catch Mark?"

[TheSpiderMan]

I think Ric has a standing entry with the Audi, but it has had developement issues and so he's been running the DTM Astra. That day when CT were there, Ric broke the lap record for our series in the first race in his DTM Astra, then in race 2 he broke it again, with an average lap speed of over 100mph.
Regarding his Calibra. This was last out at Mallory in 2009. Ric still had the car up to earlier this month, when it changed ownership. The Calibra will be out in the NW Sports & Saloons next season wilst the new driver gets used to the car, then maybe out in CT at some point. The car is a 780bhp monster, with a normally aspirated Pontiac V8 and 640lb/ft of torque. 4 speed NASCAR Jericho gearbox. How do I know this?? Because I will be driving it next season.
HAPPY DAYS!!