BritishV8 2010 updates

[rficalora]

So where are they?

[Moderator]

I didn't take enough photos of people or action today... mostly just photos of cars and parts. Here's a small, sampling:

[Moderator]

two more...

[Moderator]

Dan Blackwood took some beautiful photos Wednesday night after most of us had hit the hay. (Many more cars arrived today, of course, and a few more will arrive tomorrow.) Isn't this a neat photo!?!



I hope someone else will post photos of today's action on the racetrack... I don't have the right camera for that kind of photography.

[mowog1]

We had an awesome day at the track on Thursday.

About 24 registrants attacked the course. We sent them out in two different flights in 20 minute sessions, according to driver experience. We were joined by a 2009 Corvette Z06, and registrant Todd Noll made his presence known with a rental Cadilac (reminicent of the Mustang Hurst Specials that were thrashed, abused, and returned to Hertz back in the '60s).

We did experience a VERY tense moment when Dale Knapke's turbo boosted TR6 hit some coolant laid down on the front straight by Les Shockey's TR6. The rear of the car let loose; Dale hit the concrete retaining wall at about a 90* angle at what is estimated to be over 100mph.

Dale escaped with lacerations on his chin, knees, and legs.....the car did not fair to well. After a rather long visit to one of the local emergency rooms, (thank you for transport, Dave Kirkman!) Dale returned to enjoy the remainder of the evening with us.

We got the autocross course set up (thank you to Barry Rowe and Jim Hamilton of the Champaign County Sportscar Club) and almost every registrant got a run before the skies opened up. About 6 Lotus-7 clones joined us for this activity.

Thursday evening we visited one of the local Hooters Restaurants for an evening of comaradarie and fun....

MGBs and a Triumph enter Turn One off of the main straight


Mike Moor chases Merv Hagen


Todd Noll's rental Cadillac pursues Team Duhamel and Fulton


Fun at Hooters

[MGBV8]

I can't take any more.

Sorry, Rob.  I'm headed to Indy!

[mowog1]

WooHoo!!!!!!!!!   See you about 3:30, probably in the parking lot!

[rficalora]

Good for you Carl!  I'm headed back into surgery this morning but looking forward to seeing your mug in some of the pics from today this evening when I'm back home.

Very glad to hear Dale is ok!  That was a very close call.  While I'm sure he sees little solice in it, at least his car had a cage if I recall.  Imagine if that had happened to one of the cars that didn't.  After last year, Dale's probably rethinking whether he'll participate in the future.

[mowog1]

Dale's car had a hoop...I don't think it had a cage...but I could be wrong.

Dale is in good spirits...although a little sore today.

He opted out of karting (wise decision!!!) but did go to the track and enjoyed watching the fun.

His brother is coming to Indy tomorrow and will help Dale pick up the car...they are heading home early.

He is already planning on how to rebuild/repair...and will be back. It's like riding a bicycle. His spirit was NOT broken by this accident!

[kstevusa]

Carl has arrived!      All is right in the world.
 Still HOT, but rain has stopped

[mowog1]

Today's karting activity was a BLAST!

We had nine teams of four drivers and did a 90 minute enduro-style race.

Each driver got a five minute practice session before we began the race. We did a Grand Prix style staggered start and had mandatory pit stops every 15 to 20 laps (or so) as determined by the race-master (manager of the track)

Most teams ran from 160 to 170 laps in the 90 minute session.

Podium  Apearance were made by: Team  G Force (second) - Team Canuck (first)- Team Bodget and Scarper 3rd)

A good time was had by all!

Pit line up before the first lap.


Mike Moor sets up his turn



Stig Mantell of Team Bodget and Scarper gets advise from Max Fulton


The Podium Appearance

[mowog1]

The facility.....


Bill Yobi becomes a Knight WHo Says Niche!


Racer David Mantell


Racer Jean Ingram

[rficalora]

"He is already planning on how to rebuild/repair...and will be back. It's like riding a bicycle. His spirit was NOT broken by this accident!"

Rick, that's the 2nd best news!!

[mowog1]

I found a registrant (Gordon McFall) who had taken a picture of Dale Knapke's TR6.

He is very lucky.

His brother drove over today with truck and trailer; they picked up the car at ORP and are on their way home.

[rficalora]

If he hit the wall at about 100 I'm amazed the engine didn't get shoved back & the car start to fold up.  Wow!  Luck is an under statement!

[tr6turbo]

Hello everyone, I am home and resting.  After taking a closer look.  The car seems to have more damage then what I was hoping to see.  I will keep you posted with where it goes from here.  Just wanted to say thanks for everyones kind words of encouragement and concern.

[kstevusa]

V8 meet in Townsend Tn.   Early May 2011  Plan NOW!

[RMO 699F]

Dale, hope your recovery is speedy!! Keep us posted on what is happening with your car and let me know if i can help in any way I'm only 30 miles away..cheers
mike

[tr6turbo]

Mike,   I was on Ebay today checking things out.  I need to pull it apart to see just what I am dealing with.  

When I picked up the car Saturday the safety guy that talked to us before the event stopped by to see how I was doing.  He indicated that he was within abut 100 feet of where I hit the wall looking for water on the track.  If he thought there could be anything on the track he should have called for a yellow flag.  I was told by a number of people that when Less lost the hose a lot of white smoke came from his car.  That should have been enough to call for the yellow flag.  This was not a NASCAR race.  There was a lot of time between the white smoke and when I came around.  If they were doing there job this could have been avoided.  Sorry, I had to get this off my chest.

I will stay in touch.

Dale

[MGBV8]

Another awesome V8 Meet!

A regular family reunion, with a number of  members very much missed. Hope everyone can make it next year.

Dale & Rob, a quick recovery to both of you.  I know y'all will persevere on the cars & have them ready for Townsend next year.

[rficalora]

Thanks for the well wishes Carl -- Glad you got to go -- hope it didn't cause too much trouble with whichever boss was keeping you from going earlier!

My 2nd surgery seems to have gone better than the 1st & seems like I'm on the mend now.  Still lots of pain, but the meds are plenty strong .  

I'm really bummed that I missed it this year but glad to hear next year is in Townsend.  That's the 1st meet I went to when I was just starting the project -- so it'll be full circle!

Dale, I feel for you!  Sounds from above info it could have been avoided too -- I'm sure that hurts as much as the situation itself!!  -Hope your recovery -- personal & car both go quickly.  Not that any companies cover a track incident, this got me re-checking into coverage!

Look forward to seeing everyone in May.  Who's coordinating?

[mowog1]

The last day of the event went well. We started with a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Museum. Fifty-nine of our folks enjoyed this display of vintage race cars and memorabilia.

We then headed over to Prototype Developments where we were treated to a great display of race cars and Lotus Super-7 clones. A great cookout of burgers and brats was also provided by the owner of the shoppe.

Saturday afternoon found us back at the Clarion for tech sessions in the parking lot. Dave Craddock, Pete Mantell, Ted Lathrop, Steve Carrick, Max Fulton, and Dan Masters filled our heads with information about V6 and V8 conversions.

Saturday evening was out banquet and auction. We had a great time....Mike Maloney and Scott Costanza were my targets for the evening's auction. I even got Scott to bid against himself for one item. We raised over $1700 in the auction.

We headed out to the parking lot after our banquet where we continued to kick tyres and swap lies...and consumed the remaining potables in our coolers. It was a late night; Merv Hagen, Curtis Jacobsen, Ted Lathrop, Tim Duhamel, Mike Maloney, Carl Floyd, Mike Moor, and I were among the "last bastards standing"...I got to bed about 3:30am.

I got out to the parking lot about 8:30am this morning so I could say "adieu" to those heading home. A few folks stayed over and headed back to the IMS to do a "behind the scenes tour of the track facility.

BritishV8 was a complete success in my book. Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck!

See you in Townsend, Tennessee for BritishV8 2011, hosted by Dan Masters.

[ex-tyke]

Just arrived home after a somewhat eventful return ride from Indy. Seems the alternator crapped out during the ride home and the car was running on battery power until Jackson, Mi. where the engine quit along I-94.- the car then got flatbedded 75 miles to Jack Renaud's house in Dearborn. A visit to to a couple of auto parts stores for a replacement alternator were fruitless so the battery was charged for a few hours in the hopes of making it across the border and the 60 miles back home.....and it made it!
My incident pales in comparison to what Dale went through. Having witnessed his accident, I am still marvelling at the fact that damage effects could have been a lot worse.....



Photo taken just after the spinout.........

[Merv]

Curtis how do I attach a a .mov vidio of BADASS, Excuse me RoadMaster?
Not much but better then nothing.

Merv

[Moderator]

Hi Merv. The message board software isn't set up to display a movie unless it's hosted externally (e.g. youtube or vimeo). Check the message list page and you should find a "sticky" message there which includes instructions for how to embed a youtube movie inside a message posting.



What a GREAT meet!

I got home safely last night about 7:30 (mountain time). I took a northern route, through Peoria, up to Davenport IA and then I-80 across Iowa and Nebraska as recommended by the Garmin GPS I borrowed. It says the distance was 1133.9 miles (one way). About 17 hours drive time...

Only one snafu: my battery needed a jump start Sunday morning and another after I stopped for lunch at Danville Illinois, so I dropped into an Advance Auto and bought a new one. The old battery was date-coded "December 1999" - so I guess I got my money's worth out of that one! After that, the trip was uneventful. Ironically, I needed to jump start my Honda with my MG when I got home because it was blocking entry to my garage. (I had left a dome light burning.)

Looks like I took about 800 photos before I dropped and broke my camera - I haven't sorted them yet - the camera's motorized zoom and focus features are jammed and I think a gear tooth is busted. Ken and Katie kindly lent me their camera, so I've could capture about fifty additional photos from Saturday afternoon.

If I had it to do over, I'd plan on arriving at the meet a day early and staying one day late. I used to take a lot of business trips to Indy and I know it's a GREAT city to visit, but I've never had enough time there. I could have enjoyed several days in the Indy 500 museum, so only spending a couple hours there just teased my appetite for more. I'll just have to go back!