I've Signed Up For The Radical SR1 Cup This Year, HELP :-)

[Vipers 447]

Ah mate, that's a shame, are you sure that is the same place, mad how it can change over a few hours, looks like we should have hung around a bit longer 

[Vipers 447]

HFL Race Team Wear, The Fashion Clothing of 2018

Hi Everyone,

So with only less than 2 weeks to go to my first race the excitement is really starting to build, in preparation we have had our Team HiFi Lounge Race Wear designed with the help from Simon at UPE Motorsport who are running my car this year and it does look really great if I do say so myself

We are going with fleeces and light weight jackets to start with, the fleeces are around £50 and the jackets £70, if anyone would like to grab any let me know and we can get more ordered.

A Testing Time!

One major problem with only less than 2 weeks to go till the first race is that I still haven’t actually driven the Radical SR1 that I will be racing yet due to the first test being cancelled because of snow, so we are planning to be running at Rockingham tomorrow but once again the snow has hit us, hopefully the worst is out the way though and we actually get some miles in, being a big Nascar fan it is going to be awesome to run on some of the Oval at Rockingham

Then on Friday we are up at Oulton Park, where the first race will be held, for more testing then it is straight into qualifying on the Saturday of the Easter weekend, no pressure then but hopefully by the end of this coming week I will have a good feel for the car.

Here is my Radical all loaded up at UPE ready for action, hopefully.

Please keep an eye on our Motorsports page as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live updates from the track.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers 447]

1st Drive In Our Radical SR1 -Report!

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would just jot down a few thoughts from my first drive in the Radical SR1 at Oulton Park on Friday, I must say I was very relieved to finally get out in the car after our first 2 tests being cancelled due to snow and with my first race less than 1 week away.

So how did it go? well looking back a couple of days later I would say I was fairly happy although I need to go a fair bit faster but for my first drive in the car at a circuit I didn’t know and to be fair is a pretty scary track, then I was reasonably happy at the end of the day.

Blimey It’s Fast!

So as an overview of the day, basically it was a general test day so there was some seriously quick machinery there of all kinds, it was quite cool start to the day when sitting in the cafe on my own eating a sausage sandwich and Matt Neal walked in, the triple British Touring Car Champion, to get his breakfast, that actually bought it home a little that this was all about to get quite serious.

The day was broken down into 4 x 30 minute sessions, I had 2 drives in the morning and another 2 in the afternoon, below are my thoughts on how each session went.

Session 1

So to say I was nervous would be a slight understatement as I had only driven 3 track days before and done some karting a few years ago but the guys as UPE Motorsport really helped me settle into the car and made me feel like there was no pressure and I need to get to feel the car first and to find my own limits.

So bearing in mind that the car had never been driven before in an ideal world we would have had someone who knows Radicals shake the car down but due to the test day cancellations this was never done so came down to me, so it was a case of going out for one lap then coming straight back in which I did and to me at least everything felt great, then I repeated the same but this time for 3 laps and then back in, again all seemed good so then I was free to go out until the end of the session and to start building my speed up but before I knew it the 30 mins was over and I was back in the pits but happy with my first drive.

Session 2

So now it was time to start pushing the car a little, as the track was still damp we did session 1 and 2 on wets which still felt very quick indeed and to be fair I still wasn’t reaching the limits of the tyres or the car, it’s really hard to describe how fast and physical these cars are, I had been practicing on Project Cars on Xbox which is great for learning the circuit but has no real way of giving you the sensation of speed and how scary it can be, in the game I can take some corners easily flat but in real life this is a very different story.

So during this session I was reasonably happy with my progress and got down to a 1m 59 second lap time which apparently on wets was pretty respectable, one thing I did notice was that when going down the main straight I was noticing that my head was being pushed back due to doing over 100 mph without a wind screen and after a while my neck was really starting to hurt, so after a couple of trips into the pits the guys added extra padding to the headrest which ended up helping a lot, looks like I need to get down the gym to start working my neck out

Session 3

So after a quick bite of lunch I was back in the car, this time on dry tyres so I was expecting to take quite a chunk of my time but in the end it ended up being a bit of a messy session with yellow flags then a red flag to stop the session and I was still concerned about my neck pain so I actually ended up going 2 secs slower, to say I was not impressed is a understatement so I went off, sat in the van and gave myself a telling off This was actually becoming a lot harder than I thought as the quick guys were doing 1 min 50′s so I was 10 secs of the pace which was quite shocking as it felt like I was going really fast, It’s much easier watching it on the TV that’s for sure.

Session 4

So with this being the last session of the day and my last drive in the car before qualifying the following weekend for my first race I was determined to try harder and to find some time, in the end I got down to a 1 min 56 which made me a little happier as at least I improved and I got within 1 sec of my team mate who raced his Radical last year so he is a very good benchmark but there is still a lot more speed in the car, I just need to find it in myself to man up and to throw caution to the wind a little more.

I have spent all weekend watching quick laps round Oulton Park in Radical’s on You Tube and to be fair I am pretty happy with my lines and breaking but there are 3 really quick corners at Oulton and I am sure it is here that I am loosing most of my time as well as that I am lifting when approaching Druids which should be flat out so I am confident that when next back in the car for Qualifying I can find some more time.

Doing quick laps on your own is one thing though but once it comes to racing then I am sure that will be a totally different experience again.

1st Race This Weekend

So this Easter weekend I have qualifying on Saturday followed by 2 x 20 minute races, certainly going to be a fun weekend, I hope my body has recovered by then as my arms and neck are still aching a fair bit, I have ordered some brave pills from the chemist as I know that all the extra speed I need is in me not being such a wimp in the quick stuff, to be honest though I am gagging to get back in the car to see if I can find that missing time.

Watch this space and I will report back after the first race weekend and will hopefully be able to load up some race footage.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers 447]

1st Race Weekend Report From Oulton Park!

So that is the first race weekend done and dusted and what an experience it was, for me as I had spent so little time in the car the main thing was all about getting to the end of the day unscathed, which we just about did although I definitely had a few hairy moments, and to learn how a race weekend works, procedure, time tables etc and not to do anything silly.

Qualifying

Heading Out For 1st Qualifying Session

Firstly we were blessed with the weather, I had been watching forecasts all week and whichever you looked at we would get wet at some point but miraculously other than the odd drizzle we had a day of dry running. Qualifying was at 10.40am and was a 20 minute session where your quickest time set the grid for race 1 and your second quickest set the grid for race 2.

Now I had been watching YouTube video’s all week on how to drive a Radical SR1 round Oulton Park, so in my head I knew what to do I just had to actually go out and do it, in an ideal world I to achieve a time of 1min 51 seconds which was 5 seconds quicker than I went in testing the week before, so we all drove down to the holding area 20 mins before qualifying was due to start and I sat there running the lap through my head, just like a real racing driver :-)

The only fly in the ointment was that due to heavy rain the night before the track was damp so it was declared a wet session so qualifying would be run on wets, so out we went but in all honestly on the racing line the track was pretty much dry, you just had to be careful to not go onto the wet stuff.

I slowly built up my speed and had a good few clear laps and by the end I could really feel the car moving around under me as I pushed it, in the end I got to the point on a couple of corners where the tyres were at their limit and I had a few scary sideways moments but at the end I achieved a couple of laps in the low 1min 52’s which I was delighted with especially as we were on wet’s, so this meant I started race 1 in 6th and race 2 in 5th, out qualifying my more experienced team mate on both occasions, so after Qualy it really felt like job done, now it was just a matter of 2 races to go.

Post Qualy Interview

Race 1

Getting Ready!

I must admit both races flew by and in all honesty I really don’t remember much as I was so focused on keeping it on the black stuff everything else was a blur, you don’t even notice anyone watching until the end and also my team were displaying my pit board every lap but I never noticed it once, Oulton Park really is a challenging circuit that grabs your attention with the quick corners as there really isn’t any run off before you hit the barrier so it is really difficult to balance speed with bravery.

So race 1 was at 1.30pm so you meet in the holding area 20 mins before the start in race order, get yourself strapped in and comfortable then follow the pace car onto the track for your lap to the grid, here it is about warming the tyres and bakes, then you take your grid position, not really sure what happened here but the marshall’s got myself and 5th mixed round so we had to swap positions after our green flag lap which followed next, again this is all about getting the car up to temperature, So now it is time for my first race start, the first mission here is not to stall.

Once we were all in grid position we waited for the 5 second board then everyone ups their revs to around 6000 RPM which is all very exciting then the lights go out and we are off, miraculously no one stalled and we were off racing. In all honesty my problem here is that once the lights go out you have to be at 100% straight away, no building up slowly but it did take me a couple of laps to get to where I should be so lost a couple of places.

In the Radical SR1 Cup there are three different championships, I’m never going to win the overall as some of the younger drivers are much quicker at the moment but there is also a Rookie Cup and the Fangio Cup for drivers over 45, needless to say the Fangio Cup is my focus at the moment, it is here that we had a good battle, for the whole race I kept one of my competitors behind me, he was quicker on some parts and I was quicker on others, but then my team mate took me only to spin on one of the quick left handers but he recovered then came at me again, this time he got me down the straight but then the next time I saw him he had spun and hit one of the barriers but overall in the race he was definitely quicker than me, in the end I came home as the winner of the Fangio class which meant a trip to the podium and a trophy from my first race which in my wildest dreams I never expected.

A 20 minute race really doesn’t sound long but I was so happy to see the chequered flag, these cars as so physical and mentally draining I really had enough by the end, I really don’t know how the F1 and LeMans drivers do it.

Really Happy with Race 1

Another Interview as Winner of the Fangio Class.

Race 2

So we had a spot of lunch and waited for the 2nd race at 5.30pm, by this time the temperature had dropped noticeably and whilst sitting in the holding area it started to drizzle again, we had to wait longer as in the previous race someone had put it into the barriers and done some serious damage to the barrier so this had to be repaired first, but eventually we were on the grid revving the engines waiting for the red lights to go out.

Now this race didn’t go quite as well as the first, unfortunately the car in front of me stalled so I had no where to go so by the time I had drove around him I was pretty much last but I caught one of my fellow Fangio competitors and then ensued a great race where I finally threw it done the inside going into the chicane and took the place, I didn’t realise at the time but my team mate also stalled it on the grid so I was now the lead Fangio car but then it all went horribly wrong.

I really don’t know what happened but looking in the racing drivers book of excuses I think I was trying a little too hard on a cooler, damp track and going through one of the chicanes I floored it on the exit only to hit the inner kerb and the car instantly spun round and before I knew it I was on the grass and facing the wrong way, bugger, all that hard work lost, basically I just run out of talent.

So now I started to panic a little and for whatever reason I couldn’t get it into first gear so I tried to pull away in 2nd and then got it on the track only to stall it in everyones way, bugger again, so in the end I had to retire and just watched the rest of the race with the marshalls behind the barriers, once the race was over I jumped back in the car and drove it back, so in the end no damage was done, in reality I was very lucky as when I was driving back one of my competitors had binned in into the barriers on the last lap and had done some serious damage but luckily he was OK.

So in the end it was a very mixed weekend with a great Qualifying, a race one trophy then a spin and DNF for race 2 but overall I left the circuit with a big smile and an eagerness to get in the car again as I know there is still a lot of speed left in the car and myself.

Still Smiling after a rather eventful race 2!

A Big Thank You!

Firstly I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who came to support us, some driving a long way to get to Oulton, it was brilliant to see so many friendly faces there and despite the cold weather everyone seemed to have a good time.

Also a big thanks to Simon and Darren and UPE Motorsport for doing a stirling job in giving me a brilliant car to race and also thanks to Radical for doing such a brilliant job of making everyone feel so welcome, there were 8 rookies but there is such great sense of comradeship in the paddock it is a brilliant place to spend the day.

Next Race meeting and hospitality.

So the next race isn’t until the 12th May at Snetterton but if anyone fancy’s coming along just let me know as we can get a limited number of passes and also if you want full hospitality please let me know in advance as I need to book it with Radical, basically it is £30 a head and you get breakfast and lunch on race day + drinks and nibbles through the day, I have to say the food was epic, if I had been given this in a restaurant I would have been happy so as you can imagine it is much better than any other race track food + you can spend the day in the paddock.

I am going to try and edit some video footage later for my qualifying and races so if I can figure it out I will upload it.

Roll on Snetterton but until then back to the day job of being a HiFi dealer :-)

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers 447]

A Couple of quick video’s

Hi Everyone,

So I have just figured out how to edit video’s, in true apple fashion is is made very easy.

Qualifying Lap

This is my best qualifying lap which I was very pleased with, especially as we were running on the wet tyres, to be fair though there is still a lot of time to be had as I really need to brake much later and carry more speed in the fast corners but for a 1st attempt I was very happy.

From Hero To Zero

This clip isn’t quite as good, I had just taken the lead in the Fangio Cup runnings but for some reason under acceleration from the chicane I just spun out, I had taken that corner the same lap after lap but maybe due to the colder weather and moisture in the air just touching the kerb was all it took, a lesson learnt definitely.

Cheers,
Paul.

[NW76 499]

Thanks for sharing this Paul!!! I really enjoyed reading it.

You are leaving the dream pretty well 

[The Pits 4,405]

Congrats Paul, that’s a massive achievement for your first qualifying and first race, particularly in such a fast series. Very impressive!

[Bibs 10,565]

Great read and well done mate, what a first race

[BatMobile 514]

Wow, looks great fun.

your competitor did a good job redesigning his radical!

congrats on the trophy and good luck in the next race.

when you have completed the season it would be great if you could do a final summary outlining costs for those wanting to do something similar in the future.

[Vipers 447]

Thanks guys, great idea @BatMobile regarding doing a end of season summary, regarding costs, I don't think I am going to want to know myself, just had an invoice in for another £4000 for the race on Saturday, someone could have told me that Motorsport isn't cheap 

[C8RKH 5,721]

Just read the thread from start to end. Great reading and well done. I grew up just a dozen miles from Oulton Park so great to see the old track looking so good too.

Best of luck for the rest of the season.

[Vipers 447]

Thanks, Oulton is certainly a scary track, be really interesting to see how I do at Snetterton next as although fast is it much flatter and wider so hopefully I'll nearer to the quicker guys as I did struggle with Oulton a little I must admit.

[NW76 499]

Will be very interesting to know how much it really is ... I would guess right now ... 80-100k EUR all in ...

@Vipers btw how fast of a track day driver have you been before taking the plunge into the deep end? Have you ever been to Spa and still remember your approx best laptime?

[Vipers 447]

Yeah I would say around £100K including the car, once that is paid for then it won't be too bad really.

I have only ever done 3 track days before so not that fast really, spent most of my life on racing sims which helps with circuit layout but in no way prepares you for the fear factor 

[NW76 499]

Wow ... thats a jump ... but anyway if you never jump you never know 😉👍

[Vipers 447]

Yeah in hindsight I think the Caterham Academy may have been a safer bet but the Radicals just look so epic I couldn't resist 

[Arun_D 719]

Great results, congrats to your Paul! I'll be eagerly following this.

[LF1 561]

Nice one Paul - bitten by the bug now I suspect, nothing like being on track close to other cars! Fantastic result for your first outing.

When I did the math on it last year i think i came to a similar conclusion with regards to cost, but there certainly is a lot of draw for the Radicals - I loved the SR1 and the sequential gearbox!

[Vipers 447]

1 hour ago, Arun_D said:

Great results, congrats to your Paul! I'll be eagerly following this.

Thanks Arun, I'm really looking forward to the next round at Snetterton, hopefully I'll be a little braver in the fast corners by then and later on the brakes.

58 minutes ago, LF1 said:

Nice one Paul - bitten by the bug now I suspect, nothing like being on track close to other cars! Fantastic result for your first outing.

When I did the math on it last year i think i came to a similar conclusion with regards to cost, but there certainly is a lot of draw for the Radicals - I loved the SR1 and the sequential gearbox!

Hi Tom, Yeah my every waking thought is about racing lines and braking points at the moment and I seem to spend all my time watching Driver 61 videos 

So when are you going to join me on the grid in the SR1 Cup, go on you know you want to ;-)

[LF1 561]

Ha ha, sorry just don’t have deep enough pockets for that! I do fancy the 420r series for the sequential experience mind. How big is the grid, I had a look at TSL but struggled to work it out?

[Vipers 447]

There was only 10 of us on Saturday as a few guys cried off due to lack of testing thanks to the snow, should have around 16 in the next race hopefully.

Funnily enough I've ordered the 420R Donnington Edition as I fancied the sequential box but now after driving the Radical I am not sure if I need that anymore.

[LF1 561]

Wow - first of 10 in your opening race is pretty awesome going! If i remember correctly the SR1 championship is not all novices so that is really good, what better way to start the season? Have you done the footage of that race yet?

I gave the donny edition a thrash round donny back to back with the full on 420r Race car. They were both epic although I found the donny edition a bit stiff compared to the race car and more so on the road. I am sure it could be tweaked to my liking though. I was pretty tempted but would want the 420r Race as you then have the option to race it. 

The only downer on the Caterham Sequential is you don't have the flappy paddles and the rev matching on down shift that you get in the SR1 - I found that particularly addictive

[Vipers 447]

Yeah really didn't expect a trophy in the first race :-) unfortunately not had the time to do anything with the race footage yet, wasn't the most exciting race to be honest as it was a first for lots of people but hopefully as the season progress's everyone will get more competitive.

I think I'll end up using the Caterham just for track days really as the Radical can only do 40 hours between engine rebuilds and that soon adds up and at £4k a pop I'm in no rush to get to that point, but yeah the box in the Radical is pretty special and I am sure I'll miss it when using the Caterham.

[Vipers 447]

Snetterton Testing Report, Starting to get to grips with the car!

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I would post a quick blog as went out testing yesterday at Snetterton in the Radical in preparation for our next race weekend there on May 12th, we only run the 200 configuration where for the race weekend we will be running the longer 300 version but I just felt I needed more time in the car to try and help understand this downforce thing.

In end I got nearly 3 hours of running and doesn’t my body know it today, my arms are really aching as Snetterton is a very fast and physically demanding circuit, towards the end of the day I started making mistakes as that much time in the car really does drain you mentally when you are not used to it.

In the end it was a brilliant day and I learned so much and am now starting to feel at home in the car, after our first race weekend at Oulton Park a few weeks ago I felt that I should have done better really even though it was my first run in the car I knew I had more to give but Oulton is a pretty scary place and my hope was that Snetterton was flat and wide so that would give me more confidence.

To help push me on I had Tom Gladdis who has had a pretty esteemed racing career as my driver coach, he was just brilliant as he didn’t pressure me but just gave excellent advice which I did my best to follow, basically he went out and set a benchmark lap of 1min 17 and then I did my best lap of 1min 23 after my first session then looking at the data we could compare where I was loosing the time, basically as at Oulton it was all on the brakes and in the fast corners, technically my driving style was good it was just I needed to be braver and trust the aero but as the day went on I chipped away with Tom’s help and got down to a 1min 20 which I was really happy with, I think if I had strung every sector together I could have done a 1min 19 but by the end of the day I was frazzled

The car went straight from Snetterton to the graphics shop to get it all HiFi Lounge’d up, can’t wait to see it once done.

Anyway here is my best lap of the day, roll on the race weekend

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[Vipers 447]

Hi Guys,

We are holding our Boys Toys Day on May 26th this year, we always get a good Lotus Turnout if anyone fancies coming along be good to see you, we are holding it this year in conjunction with Radical cars and UPE Motorsport so if you have ever fancied trying giving racing a try they will be here to show you how easy it is to get stuck in, if interested you can read more below on my TLF Blog - 

Cheers,

Paul.