Spa 6 hour 2023

[Peter Mallett]

Originally Posted by Alan Morgan

Our good friend Eddy V...

Still smiling then.

[delta]

Just left Spa in Wonderfull sunshine . Still smiling Pete . There is a track day today and I had a wonder around and found another Delta that’s not on my register . ?

[Eddy V]

It was good to meet up with you my friend.
The only highlight of my day, after having been placed on post with 2 allknowing people.

[MartinH]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Bring your car back in it's former glory will be a challenge, there are so many questionable repro parts around. And the genuine ones are fifty years old… A winter challenge!

Gerard, that is the problem seemingly, TR4 'remade' parts seem to be impossible to find ( no interest in making them) & originals are, as you say, 50 to 60years old !!

Could be a long winter search.

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by MartinH

Gerard, that is the problem seemingly, TR4 'remade' parts seem to be impossible to find ( no interest in making them) & originals are, as you say, 50 to 60years old !!

Could be a long winter search.

We has similar with other Chocolate Stanparts on the Tornado, had to redeseign, redraw and make everything from scratch to keep the wheels on. I feel your pain

Cortina parts are tough enough to withstand all sorts, but the shells are made of foil

Good to see/hear Eddy's still out there

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by MartinH

Could be a long winter search.

It will but it's worth. Fore some popular models, tie rods and tie rod ends are now machined from proper material and design is optmisied (lower ride height). When possible, I go for a supplier who actually races his cars using his in house products/parts. Or has enough clients racers to find a reliable feedback about his business. And yes, it quite a challenge. You'll fin help buying a sample of a magazine (special Triumph edition for instance), contacting the chief editor and any important owner's club. You're lucky, it's an English car.

You can learn visiting websites like NEC or Essen (3/7 April '24) and have a look to archives (previous exhibitors). And don't forget during your quest that we have now, as suggested by Joe, a fantastic tool called 3 D printing.

[Gerard C]

Ooops, almost forgot what is an evidence: there's at least an other forumer racing the same car! Learn, share, share, learn and listen (race is modesty teaching…).

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Eddy V

It was good to meet up with you my friend.
The only highlight of my day, after having been placed on post with 2 allknowing people.

Hi mate, haven't seen you for years since I retired, we are down in Spain for a while with horrible blue sky's and all day sunshine ! Cheers

[Eddy V]

That's where I expected of you to be. You're sorely missed here.
At least you have the weather; albeit sometimes too hot lately over there.

[Gerard C]

Souvenirs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye4SkEeG8LY (bad things at 2'56, 6'50 and 10'40)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eS_gwV8azo

[Gerard C]

Other grids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U9Wwcy1SSc

[grantp]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Souvenirs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye4SkEeG8LY (bad things at 2'56, 6'50 and 10'40)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eS_gwV8azo

Well, right from the start I have the strong impression that the refueling strategy of some competitors may be a tad compromised - especially as the video is already at the end of the lap.

[grantp]

6 Mins in and I just have a feeling that the true spirit of the original Cobra's would have been windblown and absent the hardtops.

Just doesn't seem quite right even though it makes some sense in the modern world.

[grantp]

Well, at about 6:30 the TR4 looked fine one second and gone the next.

Extremely sudden.

Well done the videographer for spotting what was happening and capturing the unfortunate result.

[grantp]

Thank you for the link, Gerard.

Almost better than being there.

Some unusual driving decisions but overall not too bad.

I must go again at some point.

It has been too long since the last visit.

[HRSTR5]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Iain spending a lot of time in the pits. Hope he will find what's going on under the hood/bonnet. MartinH and friends, doing great with the Triumph TR 4 (Triumph Roadster), seventh in GTS 11 class. The other Triumph Roadster Four announced as "Stop" on the track. Tomorrow will be another day…

So this note was during Quali. I had just climbed aboard and was on my first flying lap when the first red flag came out. We then went out again, and i had done 3 or 4 flying laps when second red flag came out ... and it had started raining a bit more ... so we parked it up. No issues, but we decided we weren't learning anything, just trying to dodge trouble, so a glass of something in the Killer Tree was a better option!

[HRSTR5]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Three hours to go, GTS 11 class: MG B, 911, 911, MG B followed by the Morgan (was class leader). The remaining Triumph is 9th (rather fast doing steady 3'12)

Colin had a great opening hour-20 or so, moving forward quite steadily. He then came in unexpectedly to investigate a bit of noise from the transmission tunnel, we had a look, clearly something was moving about a very small amount, hard to confirm what ... he went out again and ran the remaining half hour or so of his stint comfortable it was not getting worse.

Then it was my turn, Colin assured me the noise was nothing to be worried out, and after a lap i'd convinced myself of the same ... was worse on long left-handers, so Pouhon probably worst, but whilst off-putting it wasn't troubling us greatly, and certainly no impact on performance ... car was going great, i got into a really nice rhythm and remembered how to let the fast guys through without it impacting my own lap times too much. Several safety car periods, including two stuck in trains which were being held up by vehicles unable to catch the safety car!!

Then, with about 20 mins left to run in my 2 hour stint, at Campus (I thought it was called Stavelot corner!) a new and more troubling noise, which did not clear when the car straightened up, so through Paul Frere, staying hard to the right hand side and slowed as much as i thought was safe-ish to run through Blanchimont, probably 30mph ish ... and i pitted. We aren't yet sure what, we pulled the rocker cover off, expecting to find a broken valve spring, or rocker, or something ... nothing visible, no water in oil, or vice versa, etc ... so rocker cover back on, short fire-up and it sounded 'unhappy' ... we turned it off. So for the second night running we were enjoying a jar in the Killer Tree whilst the rest were still doing heroic deeds on track.

Disappointing for sure, we only ever go with the intention of achieving a finish, and we are staunchly amateur! Hopefully we stopped the car at the right time, before whatever is up got worse, but we'll only know when it's dismantled ... it goes to the engine builder at the weekend.

Well done to all who finished, and those who performed heroics to keep cars in the race. Sorry to hear the other (dutch) TR4 got 'rearranged' early in the race, i didn't see it, hope it's not too bad.

We enjoyed the meeting despite our disappointing second successive DNF...

[HRSTR5]

Originally Posted by MartinH

I'm sad to report it was "our" car ..... Steering rod broke entering Phouon & hit the barrier quite hard.

Driver perfectly ok, but car badly re-arranged front end & team very disappointed after all the prep work gone into this race, to only run for 40 minutes.

That's racing !!

Ahh, that's what happened, sorry for your outcome.

[delta]

You had better come next year GP. None of us are getting any younger ?

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by HRSTR5

Ahh, that's what happened, sorry for your outcome.

All the difference between losing control of the car, which was absolutely not the case, and losing control of the steering system due to a mechanical failure.
Thanks for the reports HRSTR5, just hope you've not been upset by live comments I made, sometimes written too fast I must confess. As to being stuck behind a slow car/driver unable to catch the Safety Car, I know your pain. And from the live timing, it seemed that the SC driver was fast.

[HRSTR5]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

All the difference between losing control of the car, which was absolutely not the case, and losing control of the steering system due to a mechanical failure.
Thanks for the reports HRSTR5, just hope you've not been upset by live comments I made, sometimes written too fast I must confess. As to being stuck behind a slow car/driver unable to catch the Safety Car, I know your pain. And from the live timing, it seemed that the SC driver was fast.

No offence taken Gerard!

[Gerard C]

Cheers, James!

[grantp]

Originally Posted by delta

You had better come next year GP. None of us are getting any younger ?

Well, that is something I reflected on quite a lot over the weekend.

In the paper yesterday there was a photo of half a dozen soccer heroes of the past. Most around my age or a little older.

All of them were unrecognisable from their playing days. Names and faces familiar to me, even as someone with limited interest.

Any of them could have been the grandadbod guys wandering around B&Q on a weekend. Or more likely mid-week.

However, those of us that still subconsciously feel stuck in their late 20s should probably realise their "youth" now before some sort of enforced reality overcomes us.

We should do more in '24.

(Funds, senility and agility permitting of course .... and, naturally, Governments).

Interestingly I think next year will be 50 years since I attended the Le Mans 24hrs. Or that may be 2025. 2024 will certainly be 50 years since I was (a very small) part of the Monaco GP.

[Gerard C]

Curious to know what happened to the british TR tho. If its only the engine, and nothing related to the gearbox, prop shaft or dif' like a lose bracket, what can it be? Flywheel bolts, clutch of something with the crank itself? Hope James will let us know.

[Gerard C]

I you love Le Mans 66 the movie, don't watch this (with the price tag hanging, TR's at 13'36 and 15'40) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3tnDvzZDIc
Support race, Lola T Septante on board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2blck3rcO5s