356 Race Car

[Hugo 356]

Nice shot of you guys in the pits on the Classic Driver web-site:



https://www.classicdriver.com/en/articl ... c-festival

KTF
Hugo

[johnM]

Great write up as always. Really enjoyed reading that.

[neilbardsley]

Nice shot of you guys in the pits on the Classic Driver web-site:



https://www.classicdriver.com/en/articl ... c-festival

KTF
Hugo

Steve being a kiwi will probably not know these adverts but does like to dress like The Milk Tray Man



PS Great race chaps.

[steve wright]

Thanks for all the comments everyone, my apologies for not replying individually as they were posted.

- Sanjay your comment about good fortune is spot on, so much is down to luck during the race...
- Jeremy/ Al, I was shocked how good the 356 was in the wet, especially against the Breadvan and yellow AC Cobra. The wet really did level things out. Maybe we should only race in Scotland
- Hugo, thanks for the link. We were all a bit grumpy at this point as the car was really twitchy and the last thing we wanted to be doing was setting tracking in the paddock, but it paid off: front toe was way off. No idea why but always worth checking....

Thanks again to Tom Fawdry for the photos - he seemed to be everywhere, and to Ian and Mav, great weekend racing guys.

Roll on Autosport 3 Hour at Snetterton June 13. Come say hello if you're coming to this great race.


Cheers Steve

[SambaMav]

Maybe I should read the race reports more often, that and Toms photos it gives a great feel to the race and fills in the gaps I don't see standing on the pit wall.

The over excited download I get from the drivers post race, really doesn't cover the ins and outs of the race as well as the write up.

Great job driving in difficult conditions and great write up!

Cheers
Mav

[steve wright]

Yes we must sound like a rabbit on speed when we get out the car, with a skin bag full of adrenaline and testosterone swirling round our system!

[914-6]

Hi Steve
Are yiou taking your car top Rennsport this year ?
Cheers
Ian

[steve wright]

Hi Ian, unfortunately not... Now that would be a great event to race at

[steve wright]

This weekend sees us race in The Big One, the Autosport 3 Hour at Snetterton - what many describe as a 'proper race'. Three hours distinguishes this race from most others because to just simply finish is an achievement, as pushing an old car at the limit for this length of time inevitably results in things breaking, wearing out, overheating, or simply expiring. Drivers also make mistakes having been racing at the limit for so long and race and pit stop strategy comes to the fore. With this sort of race duration a healthy dose of good fortune and luck is also required to finish. It is always an epic race with proper battles, twists and turns, full of trials and tribulations, highs and lows.

This year Nick Fulljames (owner of Redtek and builder of my 2.2S engine) is driving with Ian and I. I won't embarrass him by mentioning how many years of racing he has under his belt, but suffice to say it's a lot more than I have. At the test day at Silverstone in March he was shocked at the primitive 356 though. His opening remark on getting out the car for the first time was 'it's got absolutely no grip, what brilliant fun!' It will be great to have his partnership in the race.

The format is the same as last year, combining the HSCC Guards Trophy GT cars with the GT & Sports Car Cup series, so the grid is a healthy size with approximately 30 entries, but no Sports Racers which frankly is a good thing as the speed differential means you spend most of your time looking in the rear view mirror. Cars range from multiple E-Types, TVR Grantura's and Austin Healey 3000's in the larger capacity classes, to Lotus Elan's and MGB's in the smaller capacity classes. The odd Cooper Bobtail, Lister Jaguar, Shelby Mustang and Porsche 356 add variety to the grid. So yet again we will be completely out-classed! I think I'm correct in stating that we're the only car in the race on drum brakes (what madness!) and likely the oldest car on the grid as well. I'm not making excuses though - as with any endurance race this is always a tortoise and hare scenario. The last two 3 Hour races have seen us finish 15th overall and 3rd in class. Whether we better that against so many Lotus Elan's in the GT1 class (under 1,600cc) will be interesting to see. Having had such a good result in the wet against much more powerful cars at Donington I must be the only person in the UK who is wishing for rain this Saturday!

If Norfolk is your home or you fancy watching an epic race this weekend, please do come and see us at the track.

Cheers,
Steve

[Bootsy]

What are the timings Steve? Will see if I can pop along

[john ruston]

The Bobtail is not running so life will be so much easier!

[neilbardsley]

Good luck Steve. How come you aren't racing this one?

[steve wright]

Bootsy it's Saturday - practice 9am, qualifying 10.30am and race at 2pm. Neil I'm racing… it's a 3 hour, an hour each. Sad the Bobtail isn't racing John but it's one less to beat!

[john ruston]

You should be relieved it's not!

[steve wright]