illness

[chunder]

Well that was all over quicker than i wanted it to be
Sadly my inner ear is never going to get used to being thrown around a racetrack in anything let alone a race car.
I tried tablets, wrist pressure rings and a few old wives tales but today wasted 80 quid for about 4 laps of cadwell before feeling well and truly sick after doing a few laps
So if anyone fancies a very nice rarely used 306Gti 6 trackish car gimme a shout as this racing career is over before it even started!.

[Adam43]

I'm sorry about that. Is it a common problem do you know? A small consolation, but it'll save you a few quid in the long run.

Where are you advertising the car, any thoughts on your best bets? Got any photos?

[grantp]

Your symptoms sound like they came on rapidly but as I understand it they are not so uncommon.

A track like Cadwell with a lot of elevation changes is likely to be more of a challenge than somewhere flatter.

You may still come to the same conclusion about whether or not to race of course but it might be worth trying to persuade someone to do a deal to let you out on a flatter track for a lap or two to see if you suffer the same effects. I would say you owe it to yourself to at least find out.

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by chunder

Well that was all over quicker than i wanted it to be
Sadly my inner ear is never going to get used to being thrown around a racetrack in anything let alone a race car.
I tried tablets, wrist pressure rings and a few old wives tales but today wasted 80 quid for about 4 laps of cadwell before feeling well and truly sick after doing a few laps
So if anyone fancies a very nice rarely used 306Gti 6 trackish car gimme a shout as this racing career is over before it even started!.

Keep the car but change sport, go drag racing, sprinting or hill climbing instead, shorter distance and time

[chunder]

The issue was not as bad admittedly at snetterton. But in reality i see no point in only driving on flat tracks lol! I know the problem is not uncommon but it simply removes any enjoyment i get out of driving and also means i am sort of waiting for it to happen.
I have looked at short distance events but sadly i am really not in the best location and coz the interior has been removed, am finding i would have to run in modified classes.
Plus have found it to be very complicated to find out which clubs i can and should join!
So have decided to just leave it and enjoy spectating again, it really isnt for me certainly not physically.
I can send pics and details of the car to people if they want. Its a very tidy Peugeot 306 gti 6

[GORDON STREETER]

Personally I've never suffered with the problem but I know it certainly affects passengers when I have been giving hot laps including so called "hard men" so there is no common denominator !

[chunder]

It is odd for it to affect a driver I agree.

But as I say, even after taking medication and using wrist pressure things it still happens sadly, and that isn't a lot of fun.

I was talking to a RAF friend of mine who told me that pilots who suffer with this have it 'trained' out of them by literally bombarding them with it for weeks on end so the body gets used to it!

And even then some folk simply can never not be sick!

So, I will retire gracefully without even holding a comp licence I think!!

[Aysedasi]

Well, at least you gave it a try!

[chunder]

I certainly did

But being blunt rodding around without anyone to race against was rather dull! But at least I hadn't wasted a ton of cash on equipment and licences aswell, so to be honest I made a good discovery!

[ianpearson]

i would seriuously go & try another track somewhere smoother & flowing without the hills & rapid left to right changes of direction. A lot of drivers will not eat all day when they are racing, even more will not eat at cadwell. I personally don't have trouble but i have had to keep the weaving on a warm up lap down a bit when i fealt a can coke that i had foolishly had to close to the race starting to rise

before you chuck it in ask yourself if there is anything in your personal preperation that you could change??

[Tim Falce]

I wouldn't eat at Cadwell either but that's nothing to do with racing. Chunder, do you eat before going out and when you are driving where are you looking?

[chunder]

Haha

Honestly guys it is not a huge issue. it just clears up an issue

I get it every time I get in a kart, and thought it would be fine in saloon car at least, but 4 track days and only one where it didn't happen as badly, Snetterton300, that is fairly twisty but flat. Its inner ear, I had ear problems as a kid and this is the legacy sadly.

I don't usually eat and drink too much, drink yes.

I did take some travel sickness pills recommended to me by a doctor who track days, and they didn't help much. Plus wearing pressure bracelets on both arms!

Shame of it is the car is pretty much useless now and I am trying to sell it, so if anyone wants a tidy little 306GTI6 lemme know!

[Tim Falce]

It wasn't meant to be humorous, eating may well help and as for where do you look, it can make a great difference on how far you and where you look (I know some racers that don't look much further than the front of their car) but it sounds like you've given up so I hope you sell the car OK.

[chunder]

Tim

Eating is not that easy, I have been told that it would probably make it worse as having anything in your gut would make it quicker to be ill.

It is nothing to do with seeing, or vision, that is all fine. It is simply an inner ear problem stemming back to a time when I had ear issues as a child, I would imagine my ears have been slightly damaged by this and this is the result. I suppose I could go to a specialist etc, but really this is supposed to be good cheap fun and that means its not going to be.

I have never been able to manage more than a few short races in a kart, have never been any good on things like merry go rounds.

but I presumed that being in control and able to concentrate would perhaps rule this issue out as I never get it while driving normally and only as a rear seat passenger if someone is driving like a berk on twisty hilly roads.

I was very ill at the Nordschliefe so did some research on here and elsewhere to find there were pills you could take, so I tried that, it worked OK at Snetterton. But Cadwell was appalling, literally after 2 laps I could feel the nausea coming.

there are other things I could try, but as I say this is supposed to be fun, and this takes all that away as you are just sitting there waiting for it to happen, and in all honesty I tried it and even when I was fine didn't enjoy it very much sadly. Rather boring.

I can always try something else, but this was a way to get out there and see, imagine if I had bought loads of gear ARDS etc.

[chunder]

Just to prove that days like this do not get any better, I found out I got a speeding ticket on the way home

My God I cant get rid of this car soon enough, talk about bad omen.

What a pleasant day that was all in all, couldn't get my money back, found out I get sick in the car, then done for speeding in a zone that should be 40 but is 30 by a camera over a brow! Nice

[Aysedasi]

When it rains.......

[Lancsbreaker]

Sympathies, Chunder.....As a rally co-driver I often suffered, particularly as navigator on night road events, but the only place I've ever felt rough as a driver was .....Cadwell.....where towards the end of a 20 minute race stint I was really wretched, and could barely haul myself out of the car in the paddock....my mate told me afterwards that it was common at Cadwell, but he hadn't told me beforehand in order not to put the idea in my head.....

Snetterton, Brands (Indy and GP), Donington, Mallory, Silverstone, Oulton, Anglesey, Rockingham, Knockhill....none of them an issue.....but Cadwell - love it as a track but my stomach doesn't!

[Sodemo]

I have problems with my ears, in fact I am having the issues right now. It has been gone for about 6 months now has come back. Constant feeling of being dizzy (or drunk) feels like im going to throw up at any moment, headaches, etc. My brother has it too. Doctors told me ages ago to take sea sickness pills, but they don't do anything.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by Sodemo

I have problems with my ears, in fact I am having the issues right now. It has been gone for about 6 months now has come back. Constant feeling of being dizzy (or drunk) feels like im going to throw up at any moment, headaches, etc. My brother has it too. Doctors told me ages ago to take sea sickness pills, but they don't do anything.

It sounds like you may have vertigo, my wife suffers. Ask your doctor for some Stemetil.

[chunder]

I ahve contacted an ear and thriwo specialist to see if there is an ything they can suggest or maybe do.

Will post up some detail if I find anything.

Gotta say, even the Nordschliefe wasnt as bad as Cadwell, I suffered it there too, but thatw as without any idea it was there! This Cadwell incident was with medication and wrist bands!

Bizarre

[RICHARD.T]

I have suffered for the 35 years of racing and Cadwell Park and Monaco are the worst. I do not race at Cadwell any more but Monaco is an exception even if I can only manage 15 minits of quolifying before having to come in.
I have tried everything except Hipnosis and acupunture. I found that stugeron sea sickness tablets work for me, taking between 2 to 6 depending on the track. Smooth tracks are better than twisty ones. I have tried other tablets, perscrption ones etc but now stick to Stugeron.
The more you drive a track and car the better it becomes. So driving a race car every day would help as knowing a track. At a meeting testing is quite bad, quolifying is better and the race is not a problem. Like sea sickness you get used to being on a boat and the moovement after a few days the more you drive a track the easier it becomes. Learning a track is bad but once the brain knows the corners and what to expect it becomes easier as well as concentration playes an inportant part so never look around but focus on the track ahead. Try not to look around or even look at something in the car. After a race the slowing down lap can get me as I relax and look around.
I have tried wrist bands and a watch that sends an electric pulse but they do not work for me.
Also, as I start to feel sick my temperature rises so trying to keep cool and control my breathing helps a lot.

[chunder]

Interesting, I just keep thinking, this is not for me, it's not likely to get better!

You have the same approach as a pilot in the RAF, you just have to blat through it!

As I can't really afford to race, it is not a problem and I am not that fussed about not being able to do track days.

I was just interested to know and find that others have the same issue and are better at coping with it!

I just hate feeling sick it's that simple, and that is enough for me to walk away, or find something that doesn't do it, like oval racing or something short and quick.

I know Cadwell very well, and I don't look at anything in the car, it is just an inner ear balance problem, just like merry go rounds, I would be worst on something like waltzers for instance, but a big dipper would be fine, or something that loops, it's circular motion of the the head when the rest of the body is secure, like a kart or strapped into a race seat.

Be interesting to see if I get the same issue on a bike as you can move your body, whereas in a car your head is sort of the only thing that moves and maybe that affects things and sicknes coz you haven't got all your feelers out giving sensory feedback, as I am just reliant on vision, my brain and inner ear can't cope with the overload and that is what makes you feel sick.

The pills I took try and slow that down, and they do work, but I will admit I have not gone full bore on them, as they appaarently make your drowsy, and that could mean issues driving home etc.