HiFi Lounge Goes Motor Racing!

[HiFi Lounge]

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/banner-hfl-feb-motorsports-r1_2_zpsxxgplfvg.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/banner-hfl-feb-motorsports-r1_2_zpsxxgplfvg.jpg.html)

We Must Be Crazy :-)

Hi All,

So this is probably the craziest thing I have ever decided to do but we has just bought a race car and HiFi Lounge are going Motor Racing :-) We are entering a 12 round championship with races around the UK and I would love as many of our customer’s as possible to become involved by coming along to the races, other than being a hifi dealer I have always joked that being a racing driver would be my dream job so this is an attempt to merge my 2 passions together, I have spent my whole life watching far too much motorsport so I am hoping some of it may have sunk in :-)

So when we say race car, what have we actually bought? Well there is no point mucking about so we have jumped in at the deep end with the slightly scary Radical SR1, for those who don’t know Radical Cars they are a local company based up the road at Peterborough and make pretty much everything in house and offer a range of pretty epic cars and for many people Radical offer are their first steps into motorsport, especially with the SR1 as they make the whole daunting process of going racing reasonably straight forward, you can read more about the car below -

https://www.radicalsportscars.com/our-cars/sr1

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/sr1_2017_1_zpsczgfm4r7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/sr1_2017_1_zpsczgfm4r7.jpg.html)

The Best Of British HiFi

The idea is to run a ‘Best Of British HiFi’ Car, we have a few sponsors lined up but as soon as everything is confirmed we will make an announcement regarding who is crazy enough to back us.

What started as an idea for a bit of fun has turned into a serious project now, basically I needed a race medical which luckily I passed this week, I have had to get all the racing kit, you know it is serious when you have to buy a Hans device :-) I have then got my racing licence test at Brands Hatch at the end of February, we have had to employ a race team to run the car, we have gone with the guys at UPE Motorsport so look forward to a fun year with these guys, please see a link to their Facebook page below and my my first test in the car is at Snetterton in a few days with another shortly after at Rockingham then Oulton Park, the Car is being built now then we can have the fun part of designing the livery.

https://www.facebook.com/UPEMotorsport/

Keep Up To Date On How The Season Is Going!

We have a Motorsport page now on HFL’s homepage where all this years goings on will be posted with live feeds from the track so please keep an eye on this if you are a fellow petrolhead and also we will posting regularly on our social media feeds so if you don’t already follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please follow the links below

HFL Motorsport Page - http://hifilounge.co.uk/index.php?route=information/motorsports

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HiFiLoungeUK/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/hifilounge

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hifi_lounge/

We will also be holding a motorsport themed ‘Boys Toys’ open day shortly where we will be running a driving based competition where the winners will get full hospitality at one of the race meetings so please watch this space.

Please Support Us At The Track!

The races are on Saturday’s so it means HFL will be closing on 6 Saturday’s this year but as many of our customers are petrolheads I am hoping that a lot of you will come along to support our efforts and believe me I will need as much support as I can get as this is the fist time I have driven a car with real downforce which is a scary thought.

So please see the race calendar below and please put any of the races in your calendar that you think you can make it along to, if you can’t get to the track then the races are also broadcast live on you tube although you probably won’t see much of me as I expect to be trailing round at the back until I’ve got some experience in the car :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-02-05%20at%2012.22.52_zps8v5lxebb.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-02-05%20at%2012.22.52_zps8v5lxebb.png.html)

So this is really just a headsup to the madness ahead for 2018 but please keep your eye out on the website on the Motorsport page for all the latest news, just hope I can get to the end of the year unscathed and with my dignity intact :-)

Definitely looking forward to a fun year though with lots to learn :-)

Please see a few photo’s below from the recent AutoSport show where I signed on the dotted line, I must say it seemed like a good idea at the time but as the first race gets closer I am already starting to feel the nerves.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/IMG_0758_zpsaig2ikiy.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/IMG_0758_zpsaig2ikiy.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/IMG_0760_zpsne3en13i.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/IMG_0760_zpsne3en13i.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/IMG_0762_zpsx6r6nlhw.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/IMG_0762_zpsx6r6nlhw.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/IMG_0767_zpsylspru9u.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/IMG_0767_zpsylspru9u.jpg.html)

Cheers,

Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi All,

I just thought I would post a few pictures I took when on a Factory Tour of Radical Sportscars the other day, I have to say I was really surprised at the size of Radical as a company, good to see a local company doing so well https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/feb/2/16/1f642.png

This is just a small part of the factory!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0957_zpswn0t0ccv.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0957_zpswn0t0ccv.jpg.html')

So this what my SR1 looks like under the skin

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0963_zpszfdcgiiq.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0963_zpszfdcgiiq.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0962_zpsmuzvyj9z.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0962_zpsmuzvyj9z.jpg.html')

Now onto the cars!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0958_zpsjqrnus4z.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0958_zpsjqrnus4z.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0964_zpslokltjku.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0964_zpslokltjku.jpg.html')

Love the colour of this one!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0966_zps08ebvuh6.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0966_zps08ebvuh6.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0967_zpsoencvwdq.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0967_zpsoencvwdq.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0970_zpsdudfu2zo.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0970_zpsdudfu2zo.jpg.html')

This is really is a road going version, the RXC GT, Nice!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0971_zps9tgwbnrw.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0971_zps9tgwbnrw.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0972_zps6n0h0hsr.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0972_zps6n0h0hsr.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0973_zpsmgtdq8im.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0973_zpsmgtdq8im.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0974_zpsrx8mhjqv.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0974_zpsrx8mhjqv.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_0976_zpselxrcu3u.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_0976_zpselxrcu3u.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[Marco]

Hi Paul,

All I can say is wow, WOW and WOW!! :wow::wow:

Major respect, my friend! :respect:

Like you, two of my passions in life are hi-fi and motor racing (also tuning and modifying road cars to peak performance, such as with my own Brabus-modified C-class Mercedes), so I'm very interested to hear of what you're doing.

Also, up until now I hadn't heard of Radical Sportscars, so that side of things is rather interesting too, as I love the designs and the whole bespoke nature of them. I'll definitely try and come along to the meeting at Oulton park, as it's only 40 mins or so away from me.

One thing though, I didn't quite catch the hi-fi connection, so perhaps you could explain that again? Anyway, awesome stuff!! :cool:

Marco.

[anthonyTD]

Exciting times ahead! :)
A...

[HiFi Lounge]

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ards-logo-400-400_zpsqpklded3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ards-logo-400-400_zpsqpklded3.jpg.html)

Hi All,

So tomorrow is a big day as I am off to Brands Hatch to take my ARDS Race License test, now that is something I never thought I’d be saying a couple of months ago :-)

All a bit nerve racking really as it is a 3 hour test and it must be 30 years since I last did a test of any kind and I have never driven Brands in anger before so lots to learn, I have been told that the test is pretty straight forward though which almost makes it worse as if I fail I will then look like a right Muppet :-)

Anyway plenty of PMA needed for tomorrow and I will post if I pass or fail.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/3463267387_e46fc66196_b_zpskmgtt4lw.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/3463267387_e46fc66196_b_zpskmgtt4lw.jpg.html)

In other news I want to thank the guys at UPE Motorsports yesterday for collecting my Radical SR1 which was finished being built this week just in time for my first test in the car on Tuesday at Snetterton, exciting times, I wonder what adventures this car will see this year, hopefully not too many trips to the kitty litter of worse.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Image-1_zpsbxqb97k6.jpeg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Image-1_zpsbxqb97k6.jpeg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Image_zpslh33doej.jpeg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Image_zpslh33doej.jpeg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Image-1_zpsbxqb97k6.jpeg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Image-1_zpsbxqb97k6.jpeg.html)

Just need to get some HiFi Stickers on it now :-)

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi Paul,

All I can say is wow, WOW and WOW!! :wow::wow:

Major respect, my friend! :respect:

Like you, two of my passions in life are hi-fi and motor racing (also tuning and modifying road cars to peak performance, such as with my own Brabus-modified C-class Mercedes), so I'm very interested to hear of what you're doing.

Also, up until now I hadn't heard of Radical Sportscars, so that side of things is rather interesting too, as I love the designs and the whole bespoke nature of them. I'll definitely try and come along to the meeting at Oulton park, as it's only 40 mins or so away from me.

One thing though, I didn't quite catch the hi-fi connection, so perhaps you could explain that again? Anyway, awesome stuff!! :cool:

Marco.

Hi Marco,

Pleased to hear you are a fellow petrol head :-) Be great if you can make it along to Oulton, although I fear I will be trailing around at the back there as I get used to the car, should still be fun though.

Basically the HiFi Connection is that I am hoping to announce my sponsors soon which are HiFi based and we are running the car under the banner of 'The Best Of British HiFi' so watch this space :-)

Cheers,
Paul.

[CageyH]

That is a lot of car to get used to on a track, but I am sure there may be a few more experienced competitors that will offer some good advice.

[HiFi Lounge]

That is a lot of car to get used to on a track, but I am sure there may be a few more experienced competitors that will offer some good advice.

Let's hope so Kevin :)

[Marco]

Hi Marco,

Pleased to hear you are a fellow petrol head :-) Be great if you can make it along to Oulton, although I fear I will be trailing around at the back there as I get used to the car, should still be fun though.

Basically the HiFi Connection is that I am hoping to announce my sponsors soon which are HiFi based and we are running the car under the banner of 'The Best Of British HiFi' so watch this space :-)

Cheers,
Paul.

Ah, gotcha... Yeah, I'll defo try an make it to Oulton Park. See if I can haul a few mates with me to cheer you along (from the back, lol)!:D:wave:

Nah - with some practice, you'll be the next Stig!!

Marco.

[RobbieGong]

Just seen this Paul and can only applaud for you for deciding to live the dream, life as they say is too short so 10 out of 10.

I'm a big F1 fan since childhood and love cars, those cars in the pics look amazing and i'm in no doubt they are fast !!..... :eek:

Will keep an eye on things so keep us posted and you never know, I may even manage to get to one of the races :)

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks again for all the kind words guys, the first major hurdle cleared today :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-02-25%20at%2020.34.03_zpsrxm7l3g4.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-02-25%20at%2020.34.03_zpsrxm7l3g4.png.html)

Cue Drum Roll ……..

So just got back from a day at Brands Hatch and I am pleased to say that I passed my ARDS Test.

Not sure that quite makes me a racing driver yet but it is definitely a step in the right direction and I can now look forward to a year racing in the Radical SR1 Cup around the UK.

In the end I was surprised how relaxed I was, I was expecting to be riddled with nerves but they never materialised, I think listening to Bruce Springsteen live at New York on the way must have helped :-)

In the written exam there were a couple of questions that were designed to catch you out but I got a 100% pass here then it was on to the driving exam, this was in a turbo Peugeot that was a lot softer sprung than I am used to but was still fast and I got commended on my speed, consistency and awareness, especially as I had never driven Brands before and passed with flying colours.

I have to say that driving Paddock Hill Bend at speed is awesome, so much steeper than you realise, can’t wait to try that in the Radical, could be quite scary.

So all in all an excellent day, the next steps are for me to head over to UPE Motorsports tomorrow for my first time to sit in the car so we can adjust the seat, peddles and belts etc and get me as comfortable in the car as possible before my first days testing at Snetterton on Tuesday, there could be a major fly in the ointment here though with the impending snow that is due to hit so we’ll have to see how that pans out.

Anyway really pleased that the ARDS test is out the way, such a small stamp below should hopefully unlock a year of fun :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_1169_zpshmtxlfxg.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_1169_zpshmtxlfxg.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

[RobbieGong]

:hotrod: :thumbsup:

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi All,

Just a quick update today to say that I was supposed to be having my first outing in the car today at a test session organised by Radical Cars at Snetterton, I got up at 5am and headed off but as I got closer the temperature dropped to -7 and the whole of the track was covered in snow, we waited around for an hour or so but the conditions got worse and it was decided to cancel the session which was a real shame as I was keen to get stuck in.

At this rate I won’t get any track time before the first race in a months time, just as well that I like a challenge :)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_1191_zps0b6dqnov.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_1191_zps0b6dqnov.jpg.html')

My car is in there somewhere!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_1192_zpsbbucyrsh.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_1192_zpsbbucyrsh.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_1197_zpskkajqi7a.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_1197_zpskkajqi7a.jpg.html')

Good to see pictures of my racing hero, Mika Hakkinen on the walls of the Cafe at Snet though :)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_1196_zpsw0n7tlzt.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_1196_zpsw0n7tlzt.jpg.html')

Better luck for the next test at Rockingham in a few weeks time.

Cheers,

Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-18%20at%2010.20.35_zpsyfiwtyqd.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-03-18%20at%2010.20.35_zpsyfiwtyqd.png.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/29258040_10156460951784589_4770149983569575936_o_z pswuc4pwl6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/29258040_10156460951784589_4770149983569575936_o_z pswuc4pwl6.jpg.html)

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

Cheers,

Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

1st Drive In Our Radical SR1 -Report!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/29511645_10157146254622004_3829937647168060465_n_z psbcelhomv.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/29511645_10157146254622004_3829937647168060465_n_z psbcelhomv.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/3_zpsmttdn4fr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/3_zpsmttdn4fr.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/4_zpsa0p2gim6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/4_zpsa0p2gim6.jpg.html)

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 :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/5_zpsv2qws1yy.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/5_zpsv2qws1yy.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/6_zpsa9ugj4wm.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/6_zpsa9ugj4wm.jpg.html)

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

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/7_zpszefoirue.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/7_zpszefoirue.jpg.html)

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.

[HiFi Lounge]

1st Race Weekend Report From Oulton Park!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/1_zpstinaqt7m.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/1_zpstinaqt7m.jpg.html)

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

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/2_zpscgoxwyjy.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/2_zpscgoxwyjy.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/3_zpsutkvtxxz.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/3_zpsutkvtxxz.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/4_zpscbvqi036.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/4_zpscbvqi036.jpg.html)

Post Qualy Interview

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/5_zps8arpn4s8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/5_zps8arpn4s8.jpg.html)

Race 1

Getting Ready!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/6_zps6y98t4wl.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/6_zps6y98t4wl.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/7_zpsvfmfmfqc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/7_zpsvfmfmfqc.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/8_zpsb5yste7k.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/8_zpsb5yste7k.jpg.html)

Really Happy with Race 1

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/9_zpsysnhofbz.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/9_zpsysnhofbz.jpg.html)

Another Interview as Winner of the Fangio Class.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/10_zpsv1pohw4y.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/10_zpsv1pohw4y.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/11_zpsoh4d8q1f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/11_zpsoh4d8q1f.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/12_zps2eebcvod.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/12_zps2eebcvod.jpg.html)

Race 2

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/15_zpswia7xwls.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/15_zpswia7xwls.jpg.html)

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!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/13_zpsohxynwez.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/13_zpsohxynwez.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/14_zpszdcnxcgy.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/14_zpszdcnxcgy.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/17_zpscdnrvrq8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/17_zpscdnrvrq8.jpg.html)

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.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/16_zps7mlle0sr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/16_zps7mlle0sr.jpg.html)

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.

[HiFi Lounge]

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.

https://youtu.be/LJiBSxpYMy8

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.

https://youtu.be/AtB14FX8j3w

Cheers,
Paul.

[struth]

Motoring there paul... where is a cop when you need em! [emoji3]

Well done and very professional

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Grant, yeah that was certainly a fun weekend, almost feels like it was a dream to be honest :)

[CageyH]

Oulton park is a pretty scary circuit, so congratulations on a class win on the first run out, and well done for bringing it back in one piece!

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks, testing at Snetterton tomorrow, hopefully that won't be so daunting as Oulton, at least it is a bit warmer which will help with grip, just need to find some bigger brave pills :-)

[RobbieGong]

Thanks, testing at Snetterton tomorrow, hopefully that won't be so daunting as Oulton, at least it is a bit warmer which will help with grip, just need to find some bigger brave pills :-)

Ha ha, I know what you mean, it's a different ball game racing like this, if only some people knew - good on ya ! :)

[HiFi Lounge]

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/30725292_755465584841842_5412246791162691584_n_zps xhprwkqt.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/30725292_755465584841842_5412246791162691584_n_zps xhprwkqt.jpg.html')

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 :)


https://youtu.be/gIb-9U_8iQs

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/30726216_755465688175165_4550974753027915776_n_zps fmtwgehd.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/30726216_755465688175165_4550974753027915776_n_zps fmtwgehd.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/30743176_755465591508508_8866571799152820224_n_zps oph4bnlv.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/30743176_755465591508508_8866571799152820224_n_zps oph4bnlv.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/30742458_755465694841831_957488320701530112_n_zpsn mjtk62i.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/30742458_755465694841831_957488320701530112_n_zpsn mjtk62i.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/30742476_755465604841840_6292992095053414400_n_zps rak3on1k.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/30742476_755465604841840_6292992095053414400_n_zps rak3on1k.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi Everyone,

Radical posted highlights from our first race weekend at Oulton Park up on YouTube a couple of days ago if anyone would like a look, haven't bought myself to watch them yet but looks like great coverage, links to Race 1 and Race 2 below.


https://youtu.be/cxEvW1iNmgs


https://youtu.be/ET9BfElv7dY

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

2nd Race Weekend at Snetterton this Saturday May 12th!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Use_zps3crsyzw7.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Use_zps3crsyzw7.jpg.html')

Hi all,

So here we go again, just a quick headsup for anyone that is following my Radical SR1 race adventures that the 2nd race weekend is with us already this coming Friday / Saturday at Snetterton, basically practicing on the Friday with Qualifying and 2 races on the Saturday. Snetterton looks a little more straightforward than Oulton Park in that it is flat and wide but it is actually a very fast circuit so the car will definitely be able to stretch its legs and I will get more practice at trying to get the hang of keeping the speed up in the fast corners which is my main weakness.

I feel much more prepared for this weekend now that I know the procedure of how a race day pans out + I have spent more time in the car so feel a bit more confident there. My main goal for this weekend is to be more competitive than at the first race at Oulton but also the main priority is to finish both races being that I only finished one at Oulton as I spun off in the 2nd race.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/sn-banner_zpsv9ajfdio.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/sn-banner_zpsv9ajfdio.jpg.html')

New Car Livery

So in-between races we have had the car’s livery designed in HiFi Lounge colours with our Sponsors put on the car, I actually haven’t seen it myself yet so this weekend will be it’s first showing, can’t wait to see it, we have a photoshoot planned for the following week so that we can announce our Sponsors officially and to get the story in the HiFi mags but at least the car will be more noticeable on track from now onwards.

Follow Our Progress with TSL Timing

We actually have quite a few friends coming along to support us for this event as well as taking advantage of the Radical hospitality package so look forward to seeing everyone on the Saturday, for those who can’t make it along but would still like to follow our progress there is a brilliant website called TSL Timing where you can follow qualifying and the race, please see link below -

http://www.tsl-timing.com/ ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tsl-timing.com%2F&t=MGQ5MDY4OWIxY2ZiODFmMTJmMmY0NTVhNDljMGI3ZmFhNjE5 MDM3NSxNZEFqYlJTag%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1736 03404663%2F2nd-race-weekend-at-snetterton-this-saturday-may&m=1')

So fingers crossed for a dry weekend so that I can hopefully get a better feel for how I fare up against the rest of the competition in the SR1 Cup.

For those who are coming along please see the event calendar below, looks like it will be a fun weekend of racing.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/31542769_2125643614142304_2968304696298569728_n_zp shsycrkhx.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/31542769_2125643614142304_2968304696298569728_n_zp shsycrkhx.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[struth]

good luck...:)

[HiFi Lounge]

good luck...:)

Thanks Grant :)

[HiFi Lounge]

Snetterton Race Weekend Photo Book + Video!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to post a few pictures from last weekends race at Snetterton, a big thanks to Oliver Read, Radical’s Photographer for taking such awesome pictures :)

Looking back on my 2nd race weekend I would say I did OK but not great, made big gains on Friday in testing thanks to my coach Tom Gladdis where he helped me find over 5 seconds from where I started the day getting down to a 2 min 3 sec lap which I was pretty happy with bearing in mind I had never driven the Snetterton 300 layout before.

Race day was a bit of a mixed bag really, I think I was still on the sun bed on my holiday to be honest, qualified 10th for both races, we had some new guys join the grid for this weekend who had a lot of race experience so it was difficult to compete with them. We also reverted over to rolling starts for the first time which was a little nerve racking beforehand but actually went pretty smoothly.

The first race started off OK then around half way I kind of just settled into a pace and almost stopped pushing, not really sure what that was all about to be honest, then between races we had a big downpour which was starting to dry out before the race but conditions were very slippery and as I had never driven in the wet before I just wasn’t confident to push at the start, especially as cars were spinning off on the warm up laps so I went into self preservation mode and just wanted to get to the end in one piece, in the end half way through the race we had a safety car as someone spun off and got stuck in a dangerous place so it wasn’t much of a race but on the last lap I was just starting to feel the grip levels when the chequered flag came out, but good experience if nothing else.

The main objective was to finish both races which I did and I closed the gap to my fellow ‘Fangio’ Competitors but in all honesty I was hoping to be a little more competitive.

Silverstone next though on June 23rd, this is the one race I have been looking forward to the most so I am really hoping I can be more competitive there.

Please find below the video of my best lap from the weekend, as you can see the gearbox got stuck in 5th going into the last corner so I would imagine I lost a fair bit of time there but all in all I was pretty happy with the lap.


https://youtu.be/a9FL2Ms1tXM

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1104_zpsado4asan.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1104_zpsado4asan.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5005_zpsoaouz9nz.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5005_zpsoaouz9nz.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1111_zpshcwkgokj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1111_zpshcwkgokj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5057_zps4kbdjtyk.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5057_zps4kbdjtyk.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1152_zps5snmygzc.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1152_zps5snmygzc.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1233_zpssswryxpf.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1233_zpssswryxpf.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5512_zpszfuupfen.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5512_zpszfuupfen.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5671_1_zpspgsmw7lv.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5671_1_zpspgsmw7lv.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_5393_zpsuz5w4zun.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_5393_zpsuz5w4zun.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1560_zpsklmst2yi.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1560_zpsklmst2yi.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1622_zpsvrhsmxla.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1622_zpsvrhsmxla.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1701_zps4yx3xryl.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1701_zps4yx3xryl.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5724_zpsfgwunpny.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5724_zpsfgwunpny.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1799_zpsctyvtl7t.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1799_zpsctyvtl7t.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1878_zpsvcvljswl.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1878_zpsvcvljswl.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5989_zpscjbap7ml.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5989_zpscjbap7ml.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_6091_zpsrflcvc2i.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_6091_zpsrflcvc2i.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_2153_zpspgiha6av.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_2153_zpspgiha6av.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_6261_zpsobptr8yo.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_6261_zpsobptr8yo.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_6418_zpsvyvaihds.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_6418_zpsvyvaihds.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Silverstone Lap + Free Hospitality Results from BTD Day!

Hi Everyone,

Our next Radical SR1 race is at Silverstone on June 23rd and in preparation for this I was out testing on Friday to help get more familiar with the car and also with the track, I have to say this was the first time I have been in the car and actually not been scared :) I actually started to feel relaxed in it and really enjoyed the day, I think it helps that even though Silverstone is a fast track it is very wide with large run off areas, I have watched many of my heroes over the years race around here, there is just so much great history, it really was epic to drive a race car around here myself :)

We were testing on the full Grand Prix layout which was great fun but for our race we will be on the National layout which is much shorter but I am really hoping I can be more competitive here, at the end of the day there are only 5 corners, how hard can that be, famous last words :)

Anyway, please find a lap from Friday’s testing, not sure if it was my fastest time as my telemetry was all up the spout, it still amazes me how fast it feels in the car but when I watch it back it really looks like I’m not even trying, I can definitely see where I can improve though which is good news, especially as there were a couple of mistakes on this lap, thanks again to Daz at UPE Motorsport and Tom, my coach, for helping me get the best out of the day.


https://youtu.be/SOBe9Uj1rOk

Silverstone Hospitality - June 23rd

So for this years Boys Toys Day we said for the top 5 times on our simulator we would offer free full hospitality and free entry to our Silverstone race on June 23rd, so please see below for the top 5 times, if you are on this can you please e-mail me on the below address, also for £30 a head if you’d also like to come along and take advantage of Radicals brilliant Hospitality package please let me know.

paul@hifilounge.co.uk

The Top 5 Times.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2066_zpslvo4intq.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2066_zpslvo4intq.jpg.html')

Everyone else’s times.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2067_zpsx70hogvs.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2067_zpsx70hogvs.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/1_zpsixpjp8dm.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/1_zpsixpjp8dm.jpg.html')

I’m not really sure when the idea popped into my head about going racing with Radical Sportscars but as soon as it did I thought it would be really cool if we could run it as a HiFi Car, then the idea developed into a ‘Best Of British’ HiFi Car, so the next step was to approach all my British brands that we work with, now I knew this wasn’t going to be everyones cup of tea, in fact I did wonder if anyone would be mad enough to agree but luckily enough 6 of our brands were crazy enough to think it was a good idea and they agreed to help with sponsoring the car.

So the next step was to design the livery in the HiFi Lounge colours and to cover it with our sponsors, I am really pleased how it has turned out, it looks like a real racing car now where as at the first race weekend it did look a little plain but at least it is easy to spot on track now and is also getting people talking in the pit lane, it turns out one of my competitors makes the case work for dCS, small world.

So I’d like to say a huge thanks to the following companies for supporting this mad cap idea especially as I am finding out that motorsport is definitely not a cheap past time but with their support it is definitely helping but more importantly it is really cool to be driving a HiFi themed Race Car :)

So thanks to our 4 main sponsors of (in alphabetical order) Chord Electronics, Naim Audio, PMC Speakers and Trilogy Audio as well as our other 2 additional sponsors of Atlas Cables and Rega, thanks guys, really appreciate your support.

A couple of weeks ago we had a photo shoot at HiFi Lounge with all the representatives from each company which was a lot of fun, here are a few of the pics from the day with each relevant sponsor -

Maurice From Chord Electronics

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-electronics ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Fchord-electronics&t=YTU4ZmU2ZTJkYWU5N2Y3OTdjYTUwODNjNzdmNmM3OWQ3NDY5 YjQ5ZCxYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/2_zpsivwv9nqe.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/2_zpsivwv9nqe.jpg.html')

Mike From Naim Audio

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-audio ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Fnaim-audio&t=MDg0YTJmZjJkZDc0NDlhYTk5ODJkYjM3ZDNlMDBkYzZjOWEw NzI5NCxYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/3_zpsvf4bzccs.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/3_zpsvf4bzccs.jpg.html')

Tom From PMC Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-speakers ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Fpmc-speakers&t=YWUzZGU0ZmU5NGZkMmI5YjZjZjk3YzE0NzNkNmEwNGRmZWQy MGU0NixYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/4_zpse03oe07t.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/4_zpse03oe07t.jpg.html')

Nigel Representing Trilogy Audio

http://hifilounge.co.uk/trilogy ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Ftrilogy&t=NjZmYWZhMTcyNDBhNWQyNzAwZDU0ZDZlYTE1ZDUxYzY4ZjVk ZTVmMCxYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/5_zps0xzy8kve.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/5_zps0xzy8kve.jpg.html')

Rob From Rega

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Frega&t=NDczZjdmNTA0YjhmYThlOWI2N2NmMTZhNWYwZGE5NTc0NzQ2 YTMxZCxYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/6_zpsndbobotm.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/6_zpsndbobotm.jpg.html')

Donal From Atlas Cables

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-cables ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.co.uk%2Fatlas-cables&t=MWYwMjQ1Y2I3ZDA4OTc5ODdmOTcyMTU2M2Y1YTNkMGMwOGU2 YWUyMixYWVM2Q25KSw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1745 69870098%2Fa-big-thanks-to-our-radical-sponsors')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/7_zpskuioamaz.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/7_zpskuioamaz.jpg.html')

Also here are a few random pics from the day + a couple from when on track -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/8_zpsdfl6qjxi.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/8_zpsdfl6qjxi.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/9_zpsrqnmlsst.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/9_zpsrqnmlsst.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/10_zps3qekeum6.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/10_zps3qekeum6.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/11_zpsap0wapto.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/11_zpsap0wapto.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_5512_zpszfuupfen.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_5512_zpszfuupfen.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/12_zps3phyrxwo.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/12_zps3phyrxwo.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_1878_zpsvcvljswl.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_1878_zpsvcvljswl.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/14_zps4anzgxkw.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/14_zps4anzgxkw.jpg.html')

Thanks again everyone for your support, know I just need to start getting faster :)

Cheers.

Paul.

[struth]

Looks cool. Great job

[RobbieGong]

Excellent stuf !!:thumbsup:

[andyrlb]

Great , Silverstone is 12 miles away , might see you there.
Good luck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HiFi Lounge]

Cool, off to Lemans in a couple of days to see how to do it properly :-)

[struth]

lol. get to see all the astons too before.. enjoy

[HiFi Lounge]

We're Racing In The Radical SR1 Cup at Silverstone This Saturday, How Exciting!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Silverstone-Logo-1600x1191_zpslxeevgaf.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Silverstone-Logo-1600x1191_zpslxeevgaf.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

Just a quickie to say that I will be racing our HiFi Lounge Radical SR1 at Silverstone this weekend, now there is a sentence I never thought I’d be saying :)

When we signed up for the SR1 Cup at the start of the year this was the race that I circled on the calendar as the race I was most looking forward to, firstly I have actually driven this track once on a track day last year and also, it is Silverstone :) For me it doesn’t get any better than this, the first Grand Prix I ever went to was to see Nigel Mansell win in style in the Williams in 1992 and I have been back countless times since so to actually follow in so many greats footsteps and actually race myself at this brilliant track is a big tick on my Bucket List.

National Circuit

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Silverstone_national-500x500_zps6h58sacv.png ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Silverstone_national-500x500_zps6h58sacv.png.html')

I will be practising on Friday with Qualifying and 2 races on Saturday, we are running on the National Circuit which really only has 6 corners so I expect the races to be pretty frantic but good fun hopefully, I think my main challenge will be taking Copse fast enough as fast corners have been my main weakness so far but I am definitely getting a little braver each time out in the car so hopefully that continues and I don’t run out of talent :)

We have quite a few friends coming along to watch which is great but if you can’t make it along you can follow our progress on TSL Timing, link below -

https://www.tsl-timing.com/ ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tsl-timing.com%2F&t=MDcxMTQ3Zjg4YTllMTY2MzVlOGEyYTRlMzhkMjIwNWNiYjgw OTFkYixHMzQ5dlRGRA%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1751 01863068%2Fradical-sr1-cup-at-silverstone-this-saturday-how')

And also here is the timetable, a nice early start for Qualifying.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-06-21%20at%2008.53.19_zpsqqcqziaw.png ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202018-06-21%20at%2008.53.19_zpsqqcqziaw.png.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Silverstone SR1 Photo Book + Fastest Lap & Cockup Video!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0006_zpsxextlhzk.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0006_zpsxextlhzk.jpg.html')

Hi All,

Well the weekend was definitely a big tick on my bucket list to say that I have now raced at Silverstone :)

In all honesty though I really thought this would be my best track as I had driven it before in a Caterham but in reality it turned out to be a real bogey track, I made progress on the quick guys and I was generally OK everywhere other than Maggott’s, I just couldn’t get that corner right all weekend, as you can see from a clip taken from Qualifying, I was determined to get it right but in the end I think I was just trying too hard so in this clip you will see the first damage I have done to the car by hitting a cone pretty hard which split my front splitter, then I did my quickest lap of the weekend, a 1.02.27, then I attacked again and went straight on at Maggots and had a nice chat with the marshalls, certainly an entertaining qualifying session.

At the end of the weekend though I was fairly happy as I drove as hard as I could, it just wasn’t quick enough compared to the rest of the grid finishing both races towards the back, Cadwell Park next though which looks terrifying but as I have found out at Silverstone you never know which tracks will suit your driving style so fingers crossed.


https://youtu.be/FREtEKLBLLk

Please find a few pictures below from the weekend.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0070_zps5m5z3hz8.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0070_zps5m5z3hz8.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0074_zpsflvs0tot.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0074_zpsflvs0tot.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0107_zpsjuyeiuqe.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0107_zpsjuyeiuqe.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0169_zpshbx1fcyy.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0169_zpshbx1fcyy.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0578_zpsj965fnvo.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0578_zpsj965fnvo.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_0679_zps9xxiwidj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_0679_zps9xxiwidj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_9627_zpswryj7uuj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_9627_zpswryj7uuj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_7267_zpshfbaophd.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_7267_zpshfbaophd.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_7401_zpsicybd5mn.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_7401_zpsicybd5mn.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_7540_zpsvwvcxind.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_7540_zpsvwvcxind.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_7592_zpsdcanpay8.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_7592_zpsdcanpay8.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_7907_zpsholpkhgo.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_7907_zpsholpkhgo.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Cadwell Park Race Weekend Photo’s + Video Report!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Main_zpsnhn4zdrt.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Main_zpsnhn4zdrt.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

Well firstly I have to say that I have never driven Cadwell Park before and I have heard mixed reports from various people that I would either love it or hate it due to it being very narrow with the barriers very close and that you actually get airborne at the so called ‘Mountain’ well I am pleased to say that I actually loved this track, definitely one of my favourites and in a very picturesque setting it really is tough to beat.

So how did the weekend go? well in all honestly I am getting really frustrated now that I am just not quicker, everyone tells me the first year is all about learning and that I have jumped in at the deep end with a Radical but in my head I am Nigel Mansell but in reality I am more like Driving Miss Daisy :)

So in the end it was a weekend of highs and lows, one minute I love being in the car and the overall speed, then I get frustrated as I want to be quicker then I relax and love it again, one thing is for sure, this motorsport thing certainly challenges you emotionally as well as mentally, it really gets in your head, which is crazy really as this is supposed to be fun but you just can’t help getting caught up in the whole thing and putting yourself under pressure, which I guess is only natural.

Overall though Cadwell was a great experience and I learnt a little more, now I just need to to teach my brain to get off the brakes a little earlier and get on the power quicker, how hard can that really be :)

Off to Donnington Park next for my 50th Birthday weekend over the weekend of September 8th, hopefully I can have a breakthrough here and really get on top if this car which really is easier said than done, loads of PMA needed :)

Please keep an eye out as I will be announcing a pretty cool competition shortly where you can win some laps as a passenger with my coach at Donnington on September 7th.

Please find my fastest lap below, never did get the hang of the 1st corner really -


https://youtu.be/dQB_1XnpbHg

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_5404_zpswnq5xnuz.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_5404_zpswnq5xnuz.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_5503_zpsjbovvndu.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_5503_zpsjbovvndu.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_5576_zpstmyqurdk.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_5576_zpstmyqurdk.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_5818_zps9pjckcj1.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_5818_zps9pjckcj1.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_6039_zpshbewsjye.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_6039_zpshbewsjye.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_6373_zpsugyrjqvw.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_6373_zpsugyrjqvw.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_6469_zpsgtkk8tfr.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_6469_zpsgtkk8tfr.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_4228_zpsqppb3ack.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_4228_zpsqppb3ack.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_4283_zpsewtoxa8z.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_4283_zpsewtoxa8z.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_4312_zpsmjriisq8.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_4312_zpsmjriisq8.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_4293_zpscwpz4bzj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_4293_zpscwpz4bzj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_3795_zpsx5vaxr0x.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_3795_zpsx5vaxr0x.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_3824_zpspn7rgfd6.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_3824_zpspn7rgfd6.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_4112_zpsipoadtcc.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_4112_zpsipoadtcc.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_4293_zpscwpz4bzj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_4293_zpscwpz4bzj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_4190_zpsfhbmbvnk.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_4190_zpsfhbmbvnk.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[struth]

Beautiful car. Looked like you were going pretty quickly to me

[CageyH]

Looks pretty tidy to me.

Just one question though - is the brake in car telemetry working on the video?
I got the impression that at Silverstone that you could brake later, but harder. It is hard to tell without the brake telemetry though.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Guys, yeah feels scary quick in the car until you see the other guys times :doh:

Unfortunately for some reason the brake telemetry has stopped working, need to get that looked at before Donnington as really helps when looking back at the video's.

[HiFi Lounge]

Donington Race Weekend Report!

Hi Everyone,

So a couple of weeks ago we raced at Donington Park, I have to say that is one of my favourite tracks so far, we actually had 3 days there so 2 days of testing which we shared with taking our competition winners out in the car and then qualy and race day, I went in to the event determined to throw caution to the wind and to try and make some real progress which I feel I did at the end of the 2 days of testing then we got to race day where it all went horribly wrong.

Basically the weather was pretty mixed, when full wet on the Thursday I tip toed round without any mistakes but on race day for Qualy we had a damp drying track which was interesting trying to find the grip but in the end I got pole in both races in my ‘Fangio’ Class which I was happy with, but that was the last time I was happy with anything for the rest of the weekend as for the first race we went out on dry tyres and the rain really started to come down and I actually spun 3 times on my out lap, more a lack of skill than anything to be honest, doh, that really took being a novice to a new level, once I settled into the groove though times weren’t too bad but the damage had been done but at least we finished the race which quite a few didn’t, then for race 2 I went out on wets as it had been raining a fair bit and although it had stopped I thought the track would be damp but in the end it was really dry so I made a bad choice there.

It was such a shame as I really felt we were going to have a good race day but in the end it was a real weekend of ups and downs, we found more speed in the dry but was rubbish in the wet and in this country racing in the wet is a skill that needs mastering, more experience learned I guess.

So there is only one race weekend left now, Brand Hatch in November, really can’t believe it is nearly all over, it is all still to play for though in the Fangio Trophy as we are 2nd just 9 points of the lead, here’s hoping for a dry race day :)

Fastest Lap of the Weekend which I was reasonably happy with -


https://youtu.be/MQJIAFGn0tE

A few pictures from the event.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_3285_zps3wwi5qkk.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_3285_zps3wwi5qkk.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_3435_zps2pviw8no.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_3435_zps2pviw8no.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_3462_zpstmbseoed.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_3462_zpstmbseoed.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_1369_zps4mu2y1ri.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_1369_zps4mu2y1ri.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/BSC_4587_zpspwvcq2oh.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/BSC_4587_zpspwvcq2oh.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_2139_zpst5zzppcj.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_2139_zpst5zzppcj.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_2159_zps9vmxewau.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_2159_zps9vmxewau.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0825_zpsw91ipuoc.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0825_zpsw91ipuoc.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_9581_zps5f8lvssw.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_9581_zps5f8lvssw.jpg.html')

Ah yeah and it fell on my 50th Birthday so maybe all the cake slowed me down :)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/ASC_4316_zps4sfmil0r.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/ASC_4316_zps4sfmil0r.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

End Of Season Brands Hatch Report, Missed The Fangio Title By 0.2 Sec, Doh!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_8163_zpstemvy0g6.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_8163_zpstemvy0g6.jpg.html')

Hi All,

So almost as if it was all a dream my first season pretending to be a racing driver is over, talk about all over in the blink of an eye, I wish my driving was that fast :) Seriously though it really does feel like only the other day we were at the Autosport show in January signing on the dotted line to join the Radical SR1 Cup championship.

So how has it been? In all honestly it has been great fun but it has transpired that it is most definitely a lot harder in real life than it looks on the TV, I am no longer an arm chair critic when watching motorsport on TV :)

I really thought I would be a lot more competitive than I was and I think I really did underestimate the task at hand, I think the main issue was getting used to a downforce car, it really is a matter of how brave are you, I have no problem with acceleration and top speed but going into a blind corner at say 90 MPH really makes you take notice.

Saying all this once I got to Donington, the 2nd from last race meeting of the season, I felt like I was starting to get somewhere, even though the races were not the best in the build up I found some time and it felt like I made some progress, funnily enough it has turned out that I like chasing lap time, ie going for a fast lap but come the race I seem to loose some speed, maybe I’m more suited to hill climbing :)

And even though it is supposed to be fun it really does play with your head, you just can’t help but get caught up in it all and end up feeling really disappointed and down when you don’t perform too well where the reality should be that you should be buzzing from driving a racing car round some of the best racks in the UK, I guess it is just the competitive edge coming in.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/D75_4833_zpsyf5z870j.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/D75_4833_zpsyf5z870j.jpg.html')

Brands Hatch Report, The Fangio Title Up For Grabs.

So our season finished at Brands Hatch last weekend, another circuit I had never driven before, we were in the shorter Indy layout but we still had to deal with Paddock Hill bend which I was dreading before I got there, I had seen enough cars go off their over the years on TV, it looked terrifying, as it turned out I loved Brands, seemed to suit my driving, I guess other than paddock there are no balls out corners, it very much reminded me of a big go kart track.

So amazingly I arrived at Brands 9 points off the lead in the Fangio Cup, basically the old buggers cup for over 45′s, I was racing David Tagg for the title, basically if I could beat him in both races I could take the title by 1 point but to be fair David had been quicker than me all year so my expectations weren’t very high.

For the Friday test it was wet conditions which it turned out suited me and I was probably the most competitive I had been all year so roll on a wet Saturday race day I thought. So come Saturday morning Qualifying, which was wet, I out qualified David for both races so that was part 1 complete but I still felt David would out race me, what followed was a brilliant race where we were swapping positions and trading paintwork but in the end I beat David to close the gap to 4 points with 1 race left.

Unfortunately for me anyway, the track had totally dried for race 2 so my advantage in the wet was gone but we still had an epic race and we almost crossed the finish line together with me just 0.2 second behind David meaning that he deservedly won the title and I lost out by the smallest of margins but I actually was fine with it as I had 2 brilliant races that really were fit for a championship decider, at last it felt like I was really racing which meant I left Brands buzzing and ready to try again next year.

So congratulations to David for winning but I would like to say a massive thanks to our sponsors for supporting me this year, I’ll be coming round with my cap begging again soon for donations for next year ;-) but thanks again to Chord Electronics, PMC Speakers, Trilogy Audio, Naim Audio, Rega, Atlas Cables and HiFi Pig, also thanks to Daz at UPE Motorsport for being a top bloke and running my car all year and also for Tom Gladdis for trying to coach me, he must have the patience of a saint.

So looking back it was epic fun, scary, frustrating and disappointing all in at the same time, I guess that is the same for any sport though but only after 1 week I am gagging to get back out in the car again, roll on next year.

Cheers,

Paul.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0487_zpsqahzxmc3.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0487_zpsqahzxmc3.jpg.html')

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http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DSC_8656_zpsp6qs0bsc.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DSC_8656_zpsp6qs0bsc.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0055_zpsxdsrnyui.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0055_zpsxdsrnyui.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0187_zpslt61nbeu.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0187_zpslt61nbeu.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0386_zpsmvm5uwtt.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0386_zpsmvm5uwtt.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/N2O_0541_zpshytukicd.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/N2O_0541_zpshytukicd.jpg.html')

[HiFi Lounge]

Well This is Surreal :)

Hi Everyone,

Hilariously there is a picture of me racing at Brands hatch a couple of months ago in this months ‘Motorsport’ Magazine with Mike Hawthorn on the front cover, now that is something I never thought I’d be saying :)

It is actually a really interesting article about a rookie going racing written by the magazines photographer who was given the opportunity by Radical to move to other side of the lens and follow his dream of being a racing driver for one race which reminded me a lot of my first year last year.

Looks like I’m going to be changing teams for this coming season which is still being finalised, hopefully they can make my car quicker as obviously it is not me that is too slow ;-)

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2275_zpsgbfpztmg.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2275_zpsgbfpztmg.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2282_zpswztzzmih.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2282_zpswztzzmih.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[struth]

Thats fame for you... in the same issue as 'Le Papillon eh:D

[HiFi Lounge]

Radical Awards Evening, Wasn’t Expecting This!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2414_zps9vfratdn.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2414_zps9vfratdn.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

In a nice way to look back at last year Radical hold a yearly awards evening where everyone gets a chance to dress up in their finest, have a nice meal and celebrate the winners from the season that is now behind us, this was my first year obviously, it was held at the Belfry and I have to say that it really was a brilliant evening with a fantastic live band that really rocked, although having to wear a Tux is always a little odd.

So obviously as I came 2nd in my class I wasn’t expecting anything, I will actually upload the last lap when I get a moment from the last race at Brands Hatch to show how close losing a championship by 0.2 sec looks like, I think that will haunt me forever. So anyway I was chatting to Wendy when I heard my name called out and unexpectedly I thrust from my seat and before I knew it I was on the stage accepting my award for ‘First of the Losers’ :) Seriously though it was a nice touch and actually a really nice trophy that will take pride of place in the HFL office as something to spur me on to go one better this coming season :)

Thanks again to Radical for hosting a brilliant evening, to Darren Winter for being a brilliant Mechanic through last season and also to Tom Gladdis for attempting to coach me on how to drive faster and especially to our sponsors for helping to make last season possible as I am sure it won’t come as a big surprise that motorsport really isn’t cheap, right that is the Oscar speech part out of the way, here’s looking forward to doing it all again this coming year :)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2412_zpsmuwujkre.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2412_zpsmuwujkre.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2400_zpsvxqxp0e7.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2400_zpsvxqxp0e7.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2404_zpswykuxk0b.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2404_zpswykuxk0b.jpg.html')

Blimey, wasn’t expecting this.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2405_zpsyvyvwv2g.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2405_zpsyvyvwv2g.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/IMG_2407_zpsaotpynd5.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/IMG_2407_zpsaotpynd5.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Radical SR1 Season 2 - Here We Go Again!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DC3_2430_zpsednjrryd.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DC3_2430_zpsednjrryd.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

So this is a question I get asked a lot, will I be doing another season in the Radical SR1 Cup again this year? So I am pleased to say that yes I will although I did think long and hard about it as last season ended up being much tougher than I ever imagined it could be to be honest, I ended up being no where as fast as I thought I would be although I did love the whole experience, but I have been told by so many people that I’d be mad to abandon it after one season as the first season is such a big learning curve that the 2nd season will be much more straightforward and most people are always quicker in season 2 so fingers crossed.

We have moved teams to 360 Racing who are based at Silverstone, these guys run in the European LeMans series which is pretty epic so they really are a serious racers and I’ll have a team mate this year which will be a great yard stick, they’ve even got a truck with a meeting room to look over data and somewhere to get changed, really feels like we’ve gone up a level already, and I’m really pleased to be working with Darren Winter again and Tom Gladdis who is still trying to coach me to going faster, poor lad, he’s really got his work cut out.

https://www.360racing.net/elms ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.360racing.net%2Felms&t=NmI5ZmQwNDZhZWUzZmI2OWMzYjM4MmU4ZjM3NTJiYTllZDg0 NmM3YiwzVU9zZTNoWA%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F1836 12988638%2Fradical-sr1-season-2-here-we-go-again&m=1')

I’d like to thank our sponsors who have stuck with us for another year so thanks to, in no particular order, PMC, Atlas, Rega, Chord, Trilogy, HiFi Pig, Naim and I’d like to welcome dCS as a new sponsor, still waiting on a couple more that we hopefully can announce soon.

Goals for the year?

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DC3_2054_zps7tysqhrp.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DC3_2054_zps7tysqhrp.jpg.html')

So it looks like the grid for the SR1 Cup is going to be much bigger this year which hopefully will lead to much more close racing, there is almost more pressure this year as I can no longer hide behind the Rookie status of last year so I guess my main goal is to definitely be faster than last year, in all honesty it took me till the last 2 rounds to really feel like I was getting on top of the car so hopefully we can carry that into 2019.

It was the last race at Brands that really did help spur me on to this year as it was the first meeting where I actually felt I was racing so I want to attack more and be more aggressive, by the end of the year over 1 lap my times were OK but my racing still left a lot to be desired so I really need to work on that also, I’ve also decided to insure the car this year as last year I took my chances and got away with it but I did feel it was holding me back a little as these things are not cheap to mend so now I’ll be insured that is another excuse gone :)

Losing the Fangio Cup by 0.2 Second

I really meant to post this last year but it has been extremely busy lately but here is the last lap of the last race, basically at the start of the video the car that is 2 ahead was my main title contender for the Fangio Cup, David, I beat him in race one so it came down to whoever won between us took the Fangio crown, as you can see I had plenty of opportunities, unfortunately I just didn’t realise it was the last lap so I have fitted a countdown stop watch in the car for this year, but as you can see I definitely need to toughen up for this coming year, so in the end we lost the title by 0.2 of a second which I felt was a fitting end to any season of motorsport as it went to the wire but congratulations to David, the best man won in the end.


https://youtu.be/pdYgvkMm2ks

Testing at Snetterton

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/D75_2034_zpsmammbbu9.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/D75_2034_zpsmammbbu9.jpg.html')

So yesterday was my first time out in the car since the races at Brands and boy do I ache today, my arms are killing me, Snetterton is a pretty fast circuit and the last part of the lap really does have you holding on for dear live but it was good to be back in the car, in the end we went 1.5 seconds quicker than my best lap last year and there was plenty of potential to go even quicker, I just never managed to link up all the sectors but happy with that, the next stop is the first race of the season at Oulton Park, this will be interesting as last year when at Oulton I hadn’t driven the car before the race weekend so hopefully I should be much quicker there.

2019 Calendar

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-21%20at%2019.01.32_zpsywlkjmz4.png ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-21%20at%2019.01.32_zpsywlkjmz4.png.html')

All the best,

Regards,

Paul.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/D8F_3089_zpsxmt4odqr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/D8F_3089_zpsxmt4odqr.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/DC3_2061_zpsuxtka8wf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/DC3_2061_zpsuxtka8wf.jpg.html)

[HiFi Lounge]

Oulton Park 2019 Race Report!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/1_zpszpltmiea.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/1_zpszpltmiea.jpg.html')

Hi everyone,

So a couple of weeks ago we had our first race weekend of 2019 over the Easter Weekend, we were supporting the British GT championship so it was our biggest meeting of the year.

It was certainly great to be back in the car although it certainly felt a little alien for the first 20 min session as I had only done one test over the winter period but at the end of the Friday test I was reasonable happy as I was around 5 seconds quicker than last year although I did have a big moment when going down the back straight, we were out with the Ginetta’s in our test sessions and we were massively quicker so I pulled out to overtake one and he obviously didn’t see me and puled out to overtake the car in front of him which nearly put me on the grass as I tried to avoid a big accident, all good fun though.

Race Day.

Class of 2019

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So this ended up being a day of highs a lows which I guess is normal for me, I went into qualifying reasonably happy with the day before pace but due to the unusually hot weather our tyre pressures inflated a fair bit for qualifying and it was a totally different car to drive, it really felt like I was driving on ice, I had never experienced this before so wasn’t sure what was going on, I didn’t know if it was me or the car so in the end I was pretty relieved when we found out the reason why I was 5 seconds slower than the day before. This actually turned out to be a good learning exercise though and also showed that I could drive the car nearer it’s limit as watching the video back you could see I was on the edge so now I just need to drive like that but at higher speeds, easier said than done though.

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So anyway we qualified plum last due to this issue but I actually had 2 races I was happy with, I hung on to the pack and was having a fun race with the guy in front and to be fair I’m never going to be able to compete with the guys at the front so as long as I am racing someone then I’m very happy although I felt if qualy had gone smoother I would have qualified more in the mid pack which would have made for 2 very different races.

The biggest issue I need to work on is getting on the pace earlier, it turned out that my quickest lap of the race was the very last lap of race 2 so basically the last lap of the whole weekend and in the races I take a few laps to get to my ultimate pace so I really need to work on this so as the lights go green I’m bang on it, again easier said than done, I’ve got some testing coming up soon though where we are going to focus on this mainly.

Anyway a reasonably good start to the year, a fair bit quicker than the same race last year and I didn’t get lapped which to be fair was actually a good achievement for me as I think I got lapped at every race by the front runners last year.

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The next race is at Cadwell Park in a couple of weeks, this was probably my toughest race weekend last year, I loved the track and it’s surroundings, it really is a beautiful place but I really struggled with my ultimate pace, unfortunately I won’t have tested here since last year but hopefully all the things I have learned over the last 12 months will help make it a more solid weekend, time will tell I guess.

I’m actually getting my helmet painted at the moment so that will be ready for Cadwell which will obviously make me faster :)

Cheers,

Paul.

Here is my 2nd fastest lap of the weekend, unfortunately the file got corrupted for my fastest lap, it was only .3 quicker though.


https://youtu.be/hx4dFsJW2tQ

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[struth]

great pics i think.. my pc still hasnt loaded them all.;)

[HiFi Lounge]

Cadwell Park Race Weekend Report!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/D75_2491_zps8nmhx1bw.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/D75_2491_zps8nmhx1bw.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

This is just a quick one as I wanted to share my quickest lap from last weekend as I feel that I probably did my best lap yet in our Radical SR1, it is a slow process getting on top of these cars but everytime we go out we get a little bit faster which I guess is all I can ask for.

My problem is that I love chasing lap time and here I can find reasonable speed now but I go slower in the races for some reason, not ideal I know so just need to treat the races like qualifying.

This past weekend at Cadwell Park went pretty well, closed the gap to the front guys again, have to say that I absolutely love cadwell Park, probably my favourite track of the year, it is a stunning location and the track really is quite technical and challenging but it definitely rewards an attacking driver and getting air at the mountain is definitely a unique experience which keep you awake.

So I went 4 seconds quicker than when I was Cadwell last year, I put it down to my new helmet design, if I knew it was going to make that much difference I would have done it earlier I was concentrating on carrying more speed into the corners which I am getting the hang of now, for once the below lap actually looks reasonably fast whereas last year they looked pretty pedestrian.

I was mortified when I got home to watch my lap and find that the file was corrupted somehow but luckily I found some guys in California who somehow un-corrupted the file for me which was a huge relief, thanks guys.

So anyway here is the lap, for me it is worth watching just for how beautiful the track is -


https://youtu.be/Z8bqUPr_40Q

Next Stop Brand Hatch in a couple of weeks

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/D8F_6978_zpsozklj7jf.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/D8F_6978_zpsozklj7jf.jpg.html')

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[JohnJo]

Just read through this and wanted to say what a fantastic thread!

Somewhat wasted on all of us who aren't motor racing followers but you can't help but be impressed with the effort you've approached this with, the whole team, car, equipment, suits etc. look so professional!

All the very best with your endeavour Paul, oh and love the great photos.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks John, really appreciate your message, it has certainly been a steep learning curve, much more difficult than I could have ever imagined to be honest but great fun though, just think my F1 career will have to wait a bit longer :)

[AJSki2fly]

Hi Paul,

Well having done a number of track days in my life in various fast cars, sprinted and hill climbed for several years I certainly understand your itch. You most certainly have jumped in the deep end, especially if you have never been on a track in a race in anger before. I just realised this was last year.

Wishing you all the best for this year, good luck and have fun. If you are at a circuit near to us I will try and come along and say hello.

Regards

Adrian

[Alex_UK]

Great read and some great photos Paul. Well done, I have a mate who races in an MG series so I can only imagine how much more time, effort and money the Radical series is taking! I'm only an hour or so from Snetterton so try and get along a few times a year with my lad - I see you have two visits this season so will try and come and say hello! Good luck for the year.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Guys, appreciate the support, had an interesting race weekend at Brands just gone, bloody good ol British Summer time really kept us on our toes, at least the car survived unscathed, more than can be said for a few of my competitors.

Be great if you can make it along to any on the races, I need all the support I can get :)

[HiFi Lounge]

Brands Hatch Race Report!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/01_zpsprzc8co7.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/01_zpsprzc8co7.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

The races are coming thick and fast this year as we were at Brands Hatch this past weekend for race 5 & 6 on our calendar, unbelievably we are now half way through the season, I was really looking forward to racing at Brands again as I really enjoyed it last year but the weather really had different ideas.

In all honesty I much prefer dry conditions, especially at Brands as it is a track that really rewards a little attack but for the Friday test it was pretty much wet all day, we woke up Saturday morning to more rain and a drying qualifying session that got quicker with every lap which made it tricky to know how much grip there was but the weather looked promising for both races.

Race 1

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So for race 1 we are all in the assembly area where we gather 20 minutes before race start, all on dry tyres but in the distance we could all see this very dark and menacing cloud getting closer and closer and then with only a few minutes to go the heavens opened as everyone was running around swapping the tyres over from dry’s to wets, it was all a little chaotic but I have to say a big thanks to the team who did a stellar job getting the car ready under pressure for the race start.

I must admit at the start of race 1 I really had no confidence, I actually think I drive my van quicker in the wet, but anyway at least I survived with a top 10 finish which when the conditions are like this then I’ll take that, below is the first lap of race 1 where you’ll see 2 cars spin off then another hits the pit wall at the end of the lap, all very entertaining :)


https://youtu.be/dDINO2t9LXs

Race 2

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For race 2 it was almost DeJa Vu as the track had dried out between races and what looked like the same cloud was hovering again in the same place but luckily the wind changed direction and the race stayed mainly dry, I was a bit hesitant at the start and got overtaken by a couple of cars then 2 cars went off into the barriers at Paddock Hill bend so we spent quite a bit of time behind the safety car then I had a great race with one of my competitors, I knew I was quicker but I just couldn’t find a way past but in the end with 2 laps to go I found an opening, overtook and pulled away but before I knew it the race was over, another top 10 finish though so could have been worse.

Have to say it was a brilliant weekend though where we had every condition to deal with in true British summertime fashion and it ended up being a lot of fun and the car stayed in one piece which was quite an achievement in my book.

Snetterton next at the end of July, I really hope this is a dry one and that I can attack more as I am a fair bit quicker this year so really want to race with the mid pack more as I have been racing more this year and it really has wetted my appetite for more.

Anyway please find a few pics below, thanks as ever to Ollie for taking some brilliant pictures and to the guys from 360 Racing for their support and our great HiFi Sponsors

Cheers,

Paul.

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[HiFi Lounge]

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2019, Meeting my Motorsport Hero!

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Hi Everyone,

I know this isn’t exactly HiFi related but I do know a lot of our customers are car and motorsport enthusiasts like myself so I just wanted to share a quick story. I’m sure loads of you have attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed over the years, I actually went to the very first one way back in 1993, it was almost like a garden party back then, and I have been going on and off ever since and have seen it grow massively over the years and it is still an incredible event to attend. Now I wasn’t going to go this year but a couple of weeks ago I read that a particular car was going to be there, now I was sceptical if it would be the actual car as it was also supposed to be paraded before the start of Le Mans this year but that was actually a replica, I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to this particular car, but I really didn’t want to risk missing this car coming over to the UK, I was actually planning to go out to make the trip to see it is it’s normal museum residence in the states so this actually seemed to good to be true.

But anyway I got there Friday morning at 7am and started my hunt, it isn’t easy trying to find one car amongst thousands at the biggest car gathering in the world, but after a couple of hours I saw those iconic Gulf Colours out the corner of my eye, I rushed over to the car and to my amazement it was the actual Ford GT40 Chassis Number P/1075, I actually really couldn’t believe that I was standing next to such an iconic car and it was just sitting there with no security and to be honest most people probably didn’t realise the significance of this particular GT40.

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I have seen it read many times that it is considered the most valuable race car in the world today and as I mentioned it normally resides in the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit where I was planning to go to see it so I really never thought such a piece of history would be in the UK and be so accessible, I guess that is the power of Goodwood, So why is it so special? Well basically it is the only car to win Le Mans on 2 consecutive years of 1968 and 1969, I guess most car enthusiasts will know that Ford was in talks to buy Ferrari and when they fell through Henry Ford made it his mission to beat Ferrari at LeMans which he did for 4 consecutive years from 1966 to 1969 with the GT40, actually there is a big Hollywood film coming out later this year about this story, anyway not only is GT40 P/1075 remembered for it’s 2 wins it is also considered the winner for the greatest Le Mans race of all time in 1969 where is won by only 100 meters after 24 hours of racing, changing the lead 5 times on the last lap with the faster Porsche, you can view the video I took at Goodwood of Jackie Oliver discussing this incredible win below -


https://youtu.be/gGEyxX2YIig

Finally another iconic moment of the 1969 race was that Jacky Ickx made a protest about safety at the start of the race, this was when the drivers used to race across the track to their cars and speed off without doing up their belts til they got down the Mulsanne Straight to get a quick start, so Jacky walked slowly across the track, climbed in, did his belts up then left the grid in last place and as it happened there was a big crash on the first lap where John Wolf was killed as he hadn’t done up his belts to get a quick start, so in the end with Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver behind the wheel they fought their way from last to win with Ickx crossing the line by the smallest of margins after 24 hours, quite incredible.

Anyway it was an amazing day and a real honour to see P/1075 up close and personal, I probably looked like some weird stalker as I spent all day admiring the car taking loads of video’s and pictures and I really struggled to leave at the end of the day as the chances are it may never come back to the UK again but at 8pm I dragged myself away.

There are a few more video’s on our YouTube page below and probably far too many pictures below.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJOUerA5TrUPs0HpWORopg?view_as=subscriber ('https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fchannel %2FUCPJOUerA5TrUPs0HpWORopg%3Fview_as%3Dsubscriber&t=N2Y1NzY0YTgyZGE3Y2ZiY2E1ZTYwZWUyYzMwZWZlM2M0ZGNm ZjFiOSxUSmYyUmphYw%3D%3D&b=t%3Akbeu-sZhj-J5UwG0OXx9TA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fhifilounge.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F186 137171598%2Fgoodwood-festival-of-speed-2019-meeting-my&m=1')

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Jacky Oliver Re-United With P/1075 50 Years after it’s famous Le Mans win.

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Cheers,
Paul.

[struth]

superb pics of a super car. i remember them well, and are quite difficult, im told to drive fast. Good you didnt have to go all the way to the museum to see it..

[Alex_UK]

Great stuff Paul! I'm amazed they let it be run up the hill, but thank goodness they did and it isn't just festering away in the museum.

[AJSki2fly]

I sat in this when I was 9 years old, it was Paul Vestey's I believe he owned it for several years and entered in 69 Le Mans as a private entry. It was at a local garage in Ropley, Hants near to where he lived at the time. I think they maintained it for him and were possibly his race mechanics, there were quite a few pictures of it and other race cars on the office wall. My parents were buying a Vauxhall Cresta PB at the time, which turned out to have previously belonged to an Admiral, which is why my father kept getting saluted occasionally when he was out in it.

https://www.racingsportscars.com/wm/photo/1969/WM_Le_Mans-1969-06-15-008.jpg?dir=photo/1969&img=Le_Mans-1969-06-15-008.jpg&txt=©%20Michel%20Guilloux&wi=&mode=Null

[HiFi Lounge]

Beautiful :)

[HiFi Lounge]

Snetterton Photo Book!

Here are a few pics from our Radical SR1 race weekend at Snetterton a couple of weekends ago. It wasn't my best race weekend as the weather really threw up a few challenges and I just don't have the confidence in the wet but it is always great fun to drive the SR1 and we survived unscathed which was more than can be said for some.

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s1_zpsspa9dbn3.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s1_zpsspa9dbn3.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s2_zpsyaa0cdsf.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s2_zpsyaa0cdsf.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s3_zpsetwc8vra.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s3_zpsetwc8vra.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s6_zpsbgrohjhl.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s6_zpsbgrohjhl.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s5_zpsf3vwilj9.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s5_zpsf3vwilj9.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s4_zpspmvjs3ho.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s4_zpspmvjs3ho.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s7_zpsbsr50xgi.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s7_zpsbsr50xgi.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s12_zpsmnlb4hkl.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s12_zpsmnlb4hkl.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s9_zps3ikpwfci.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s9_zps3ikpwfci.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s8_zpshvbhigmw.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s8_zpshvbhigmw.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s10_zpswepvspti.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s10_zpswepvspti.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s11_zpsjtk6xnb0.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s11_zpsjtk6xnb0.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/s13_zps3vnfxonr.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/s13_zps3vnfxonr.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Donington Race Weekend Report, 1st Trip to the Kitty Litter!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d11_zpsjlofdg2m.jpg ('https://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d11_zpsjlofdg2m.jpg.html')

So the above pictures say it all really, saying that I had an awesome 3 days at Donington Park last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, basically 2 days of testing on the full GP layout but unfortunately not enough marshalls arrived on race day so we had to qualify and race on the shorter National layout which I actually prefer but not everything went to plan in the final race.

The strange thing from the whole weekend was that on my 8th lap on Thursday morning after just arriving at Donington I went 3 seconds quicker than my best lap last year then spent the next 3 days not being able to match it which I really don’t understand, I think I was just very keen to get out on track. Again though I learnt a lot, it seems you are forever learning, I went to Donington determined to get my apex speeds up by getting off the brakes earlier which I think I did but then I started breaking fractionally earlier which unbelievably can cost you a couple of seconds a lap but in the end it all came together and my lap times got very consistent.

In Qualifying for race 2 I did one of my best sessions and qualified a little nearer the mid pack where I have been aiming for all season, race 1 was difficult due to a crash at the start for some of my competitors, this put me to the back as I tried to avoid it and thanks to 2 safety cars the race was over before it began. For race 2 I was determined to have a good one, my start was OK, I held my position and I settled in to chase the pack in front only for the guy behind me to get a run down the straight only to out brake himself and then come across to T bone me leaving me no option but to go into the gravel in avoidance, I really was gutted as it felt like I was in for a good race, saying that luckily Ollie, the Radical photographer, was right where I went off so we got some great pictures and at the end of the day it is all part of the experience, below is the incident, if anyone has any idea what I could have done different please let me know.


https://youtu.be/8lFqK0Qn-rw

One race round left at Snetterton and that is season 2 done and dusted unbelievably, gone in the blink of an eye, the trouble is this motorsport thing really does get under your skin and I am now more than a little addicted so I need to look under the bed to see if I can find some sheckles to help fund next year.

Anyway below are a few pictures from the weekend and my best qualifying lap.

Cheers,

Paul.


https://youtu.be/YaeRTknGxxo

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d3_zpsc2s6scd7.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d3_zpsc2s6scd7.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d1_zpsw5lkb9ca.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d1_zpsw5lkb9ca.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d2_zpsmlhhjezn.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d2_zpsmlhhjezn.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d4_zpsxnlaxxsi.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d4_zpsxnlaxxsi.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d6_zpsyed1kfhh.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d6_zpsyed1kfhh.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d5_zps7lydsfab.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d5_zps7lydsfab.jpg.html')

This is where it all started to go wrong!

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d7_zpshccv9ycy.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d7_zpshccv9ycy.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d8_zpsbwt9wefy.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d8_zpsbwt9wefy.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d9_zpsoi4mxern.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d9_zpsoi4mxern.jpg.html')

https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d10_zps5rk5lxzr.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d10_zps5rk5lxzr.jpg.html')


https://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Motorsport/d12_zpsmblfae44.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Motorsport/d12_zpsmblfae44.jpg.html')

[Gaz]

Nope you certainly chose the fight option, it was him or the gravel, the latter being a cheaper and less painful thing to hit.
Hopefully there was no damage?
I've seen suspension and radiator/oil cooler/intercooler damage from high speed trips into gravel traps

[struth]

both you and the car live to fight another day; thats the important bit, so correct decision.

[Alex_UK]

As an “armchair enthusiast” for over 35 years, you did the best thing and avoided a proper crash - frustrating but a “racing incident” at the end of the day and discretion is the better part of valour so they say. Hard luck nonetheless.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Guys, yeah on to the next one, I was thinking of missing the last race of the season but I can't end the season like that so Snetterton here we come in a couple of weeks 👍

[HiFi Lounge]

https://i.imgur.com/zddxgMO.jpg

HFL Motorsport Season 3 Starts This Saturday!

Hi Everyone,

So here we go again, I get asked a lot what my plans are for this year regarding motorsport, well things kick of this Saturday morning as I have signed up for a 10 race season’s racing in the Senna Cup at Rye House in the Go Karts that we used for our Boys Toys Day last year as I really enjoyed that and it whetted my appetite for more Karting, the funny thing was that my best session in the the Radical last year was the first practice session at Donington which was straight after the karting where I went 2 seconds a lap faster than my previous best so I am hoping that doing more karting will help my Radical racing as the main thing with karting is that you can race hard and be fearless whereas in the Radical driving to the limit takes some real balls and commitment and in all honesty I am still struggling in fast corners with the Radical so it will certainly be an interesting experiment to see if the Karting helps me in the Radical, either way it will be fun finding out.

So the first race is at 10am at Rye, 15 mins qualifying with a 45 minute race, apparently there is a full 26 kart grid, now as Rye is a bit of a proving ground for up and coming talent then I am sure I am going to get my arse whipped by some young whipper snappers who are just out of nappies and weigh nothing but I am really looking forward to giving it a try.

As for the Radical racing this year, I don’t think I will be able to do a full season but aim to do at least half the season plus some testing and there is a chance of also racing at Spa which would be a huge tick on the bucket list but need to see the cost involved in that first, may have to get my begging hat out for that one.

Anyway If anyone wants to see how we get on Saturday at Rye live timing is available from the link below -

https://live.alphatiming.co.uk/rye ('https://live.alphatiming.co.uk/rye')

Can’t wait to find out myself.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/A287K9e.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/a5mYaOB.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/58GK90B.jpg

[struth]

Those look low.. Will no doubt feel a lot faster that close to ground.
Good luck

[HiFi Lounge]

HiFi Lounge Back on the Race Track in our Radical, Well Virtually!

https://i.imgur.com/oqiVWtQ.png

https://i.imgur.com/DGsUoQA.jpg

Hi All,

Hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and well, for me one of the big casualties of this whole mess has been all world motorsport being cancelled for the time being but what has been a real surprise is how well motorsports has adapted to the virtual world and how entertaining it is, Formula One, IndyCar and Nascar amongst others have taken to a piece of Sim Software called iRacing and I have to say seeing the real drivers competing in these races from the comfort of their homes but with full TV production values has been great fun and in many cases the virtual racing has been better than the real thing, seeing Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon change the lead twice a lap for the entire race at Interlagos will go down in virtual racing folk lore, let's hope when real motorsport returns it is as entertaining.

Needless to say I'm really missing driving my Radical at the moment so when Radical announced they were going to start a 6 race invitational championship I was really keen to get stuck in, now I had never heard of iRacing before lockdown but as Radical where using this as the virtual platform I had to get myself setup with a PC based Sim setup meaning I missed the first 2 rounds but I made the third round on Saturday, we had a practice session on Thursday, Pre-Qualifying on Friday with qualifying and the race Saturday afternoon, now I'm not making excuses, honest, but this is a invitational to Radical drivers from around the world and professional iRacer's but we got through Pre-Qualifying where over 100 drivers were trying to make the 50 car grid, we then qualified 35th which I was pretty happy with, my plan for the race was just to try and keep out of trouble and put in consistent lap times, the first half of the race went really well as I went from 35th to 13th, then unfortunately someone came out of the pits straight into me and took me out of the race which was a tad annoying to say the least but overall it was a lot of fun, there are 3 races left then hopefully we can get back on track for real, Mid-Ohio is this coming weekend so hopefully we'll have better luck there, this is a really tricky track so plenty of practice required this week, then we have Spa which I'm really looking forward to.

Below is Saturday's race which is broadcast live on YouTube with full commentary, have to say it was a brilliant race up front, if you love your motorsport and you don't watch the whole race just watch the last 5 minutes as it was an incredible finish for 1st place, one of commentators reckons it was the best finish he has seen in 10 years of virtual racing commentating so can't ask for more than that.

I will update this post with links for the last 3 races once competed for anyone like me who misses real motorsport, or you can watch live on you Tube, the races start at 4pm on Saturday afternoons, please see the remainder of the calendar below -


Rd 4 - May 23 - 15:00 GMT - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Rd 5 - June 6 - 15:00 GMT - Spa Francorchamps
Rd 6 - June 13 - 15:00 GMT - Road America



https://youtu.be/zmWMXtsP6J4

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Big Tick On The Bucket List This Weekend!

Hi All,

So life really is for living in my book and last weekend was a huge tick on the bucket list after spending 3 days racing in our Radical SR1 at Silverstone on the Grand Prix layout, only a few days after the F1 circus left and we had a new HiFi Lounge Livery on the car to celebrate.

The event was a Radical invitational so we didn't score any championship points but we joined the back for the Radical SR3 grid and gatecrashed their race weekend really, they are about 15 seconds a lap faster than us so there was no way we were going to be racing them but it meant instead of our normal 2 x 20 mins races we had 2 x 50 minute races with pit stops and also a 20 mins sprint race with a standing start, normally we do rolling starts, it turns out that I love the longer races, you can really settle into a rhythm and on Saturday the car felt particularly good and I did some of my best laps ever in the Radical, my SD card played up but I am hopeful I can upload my quickest lap, LeMans next year

Please find a few pictures below of the new Livery and from the race weekend, Brands Hatch GP next, another layout I have never driven before, next year I really do need to give Spa and Nurburgring a go.

I'm never going to be the quickest but it isn't through a lack of trying and it certainly feels quick to me.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/kYPM16V.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lKaGxwI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zARIbAe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/la0fa0l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/76tlwJG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7dujIdD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CH9z9vS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ftbL0xQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KDXV1p1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/17rRzh6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nfLgzfy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lGX0tuW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9yfUGEf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bycUbB4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KudiN7p.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cgSvHEk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/swpOsph.jpg

[JohnJo]

Car looks superb Paul, great photos as usual.

[Clive197]

Paul, who takes the photos. Can’t be you, unless somebody else is driving the car. Is it Wendy, if so she’s very good.

[RobbieGong]

Paul, who takes the photos. Can’t be you, unless somebody else is driving the car. Is it Wendy, if so she’s very good.

+1 - Superb pics every time

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi Clive,
Radical have a professional photographer who runs round the track taking awesome photo's, then we just buy them from him.
Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Season 3 Done and Dusted, What To Do Next Year?

https://i.imgur.com/niifheT.jpg

Hi All,

So in this strange year that is 2020 it is amazing that we had a season at all in our Radical SR1 but fair play to Radical for pulling it off, we have just finished with 2 race weekends, one at Brands Hatch on the full GP layout, this was a first for me and was another tick on my motorsport bucket list then last weekend we signed off with 2 days at Donington Park which along with Silverstone if my favourite UK track.

At Donington the first race and qualifying was dry but then the end of the world happened as a monsoon hit, they tried to run the race but it was definitely the worst conditions I have ever driven in, even going round behind the safety car we had guys spinning off, give me a dry, hot and sticky track any day of the week, anyway after 5 laps it was abandoned, a sorry way to end the season but that kind of sums up 2020 I guess.

So that is the end of Season 3 in our Radical SR1, it has been brilliant fun with some huge highlights, I really never thought I would be lucky enough to get an opportunity like this, yes I wish I was faster but it really has been an amazing experience. What to do next year though, I can stay in the SR1, as there is talk of longer races next year which I like the sound off, take the SR1 into a different championship, upgrade it to an SR3 and try the 750 Moto Club or do something totally different, maybe look at racing a Lotus of some kind, one thing is for sure it is now in my blood so if I can I definitely want to carry on racing in one form or another.

Anyway please find some pictures below from Brands Hatch and Donington Park.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/6VOYYc8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RWoYCES.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SV15OeT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QJCUPlS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/88XkP7L.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/txkVCnK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/EA2LOC4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bVIAd5z.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vtyJ3Xy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/o25H7uW.jpg

[RobbieGong]

Great pictures as always Paul. I've been a motor racing fan since childhood, in particular F1.

You're a lucky man to have this motor racing experience - well done ! :thumbsup:

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Robert, same here, I've always been a motorsport nut, actually got some exciting news coming up shortly regarding that, watch this space :)

[HiFi Lounge]

https://i.imgur.com/PDcFTxj.jpg

HFL's New Race Car for 2021, Yes We're Racing a Lotus :)

I am excited to announce that for the 2021 motorsport season we will be competing in the Lotus Elise Trophy Championship around the UK's best circuits and here is our new race car fresh from the Lotus Cars Production line.

I've owned Lotus's for over 30 years now, my first true car love was a Lotus Elan M100 back in 1989 and since then I have had the pleasure of owning quite a few Lotus Cars, so to finally get to race a Lotus is super exciting and especially so as Lotus recently announced that 2021 is the final year of Elise production after over 25 years so better late than never though I guess to finally drive one in anger on track.

So thanks to the team at Lotus Silverstone for supplying the beautiful 250 Cup in Porsche Miami Blue, the car is now off to Hangar 111 Lotus Performance to be converted into a race car which basically means pulling it all apart and replacing a ridiculous amount of parts.

I will update regularly with how the season is progressing and hopefully soon motorsport fans will be allowed back to the track so feel free to come along to watch the shenanigans unfold.

For More info please follow link - https://bit.ly/2Oyc8ve

Some more exciting HFL Motorsport news coming very soon!

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/ugaA9pe.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/O2BovS6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/j3vhPnD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/baUfZd5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4PHYito.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5FHwyex.jpg

[struth]

but where does the shopping go??:lol:

very nice car by way. bet it'll be fun to drive when souped up.

good luck

[HiFi Lounge]

Build Pictures Converting Road Lotus Elise into a Race Car!

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would post some pictures of the conversion of our Road Lotus Elise into a Race car, Lotus used to supply race Elise's but no longer do unfortunately so if you want to race in the Lotus Elise Trophy you have 3 options really, buy an Elise that has already been converted, buy a used Elise and convert it, there are certainly a lot of S1 Elise's racing or the way we did it, buy a brand spanking new Elise then pull it all apart, replace a hell of a lot of parts and put it back together again and hey presto, you have a race car.

Lotus specialists Hangar 111 did the conversion for us, have to say they did a brilliant job and whilst they were doing the work they took some snaps to show the work involved, have to say in the end you really wouldn't know that the car had been through this dismantling process, great job guys.

Please see pics below, really does show the amount of work involved, if interested you can see more pictures on www.iloungeracing.co.uk ('http://www.iloungeracing.co.uk')

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/zhc3PVb.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hggFHcR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tZypjm7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Se3SBq1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Hz5NslN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jI5eXkW.jpg

[struth]

is that a novec system?

[HiFi Lounge]

I have no idea to be honest, just hope it works if needed :)

[HiFi Lounge]

I Can Now Say I've Raced A Lotus, RD 1 Photobook!

Hi All,

So last weekend we had our first race in the Lotus Elise at Donnington Park, one of my favourite tracks, firstly it was a huge tick as I can now say I have raced a Lotus, Lotus is my favourite car Marque, I've lost count how many I have owned over the years so for me this was a very special day.

So how did it go? if I am totally honest I was a little disappointed that I wasn't a little quicker but we did come away with a trophy for third place in our class so I really can't complain at that and as seat time is so important, and I was racing people who have been in the Elise Trophy for years, then I'm hopeful as I get to know the car better then we can move up the grid and taking positives from the weekend I got faster with every session on track with my fastest laps coming at the end of the 45 minute race on Sunday.

Next stop in Silverstone in a couple of weeks which I am really looking forward too as I'd like to think we can really be in the mix there and whichever way you look at it I will be racing a Lotus as Silverstone, now that really is a dream come true.

Please find a selection of pictures below taken from the our first race in the Lotus Elise Trophy at Donington Park.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/K0LF6qQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BqjImBn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3DuJzfl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0y5tguP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/P5n63Xf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NqSdl4K.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5qqZkxH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wUgy1Jj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nhG4CZJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XdT4kpf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6rpmz4Q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wC7OrCC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Fc77C5l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dDck7q5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/v7GuNI9.jpg

[struth]

3rd in class is a great start. well done.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Grant, It was Silverstone yesterday, that didn't go quite as well, more to follow on that soon ......

[CageyH]

That sounds expensive....

[HiFi Lounge]

Lotus Elise Trophy Race Updates Rounds 2 and 3!

Hi Everyone,

Got a little behind with our race updates I'm afraid as we have now completed race 2 of our Elise Trophy which was at Silverstone and was very wet and I wasn't very competitive to be honest so the less we say about that the better but then we went to Oulton Park last weekend and it was great weather and I felt I really started to get the best from myself and the car although I did find a second on my last very lap which was a surprise so I am not sure where that came from but Oulton Park is such a great drivers track that encourages you to attack every corner, really was a lot of fun and spectators where allowed again which did make all the difference.

Next weekend we are at Cadwell Park which is arguably the prettiest UK track and is often called the mini Nurburgring which makes me a little nervous as it is so narrow and the barriers are very close and you can get airborne at the so called 'Mountain' which will be interesting.

But we left Oulton Park with another trophy for 2nd in our class so that was a great way to end 2 fun days at the track, please find some pics below and a video of my 2 best laps around Oulton park which also are my best laps in the Elise so far, unfortunately we think there is something wrong with the camera as the quality isn't great so we have sent it back to the supplier to check it out but it will give you an idea of how great Oulton is to drive.

Oulton Park 2 Best Laps


https://youtu.be/WTr5Jz6Bw0U

https://i.imgur.com/oQHAJY9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/CMA1HYJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RraB3o2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7bBQQnf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OsSYBVd.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/F01iMiC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mh8C9ph.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZcfVH8c.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OqCygM5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KwqQi6g.jpg

Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Photobook From Round 4, Cadwell Park, The Prettiest Track in the UK!

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update from our Lotus Elise Trophy exploits, for the last round we headed to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire which without doubt is the most picturesque race track in the UK, I must admit I’m always a little nervous when arriving there as it is very narrow with some really fast corners, it is also very undulating with not a lot of run off so get it wrong and it will bite but as always it worked its wonders on me again and I left falling in love with Cadwell all over again.

No trophies this time I’m afraid but had some good track action which is the whole point really and the car survived the dangers of the Mini Nurburgring as it is affectionately known.

The season is disappearing fast, this weekend we are at Snetterton, nowhere as pretty as Cadwell but equally as demanding, every race we have got more performance out the car and from me also so really hoping that trend continues this weekend and that it stays dry.

The penny dropped the other day when testing at Snetterton that the Elise is a very different animal to the Radical, basically with the Radical it feels planted thanks to the aero I guess but with the Elise if it isn’t moving around under you then you are just not going fast enough, you almost have to drive it to the point it is just about to break away, the good news is that when it does oversteer it is very easy to get it back, very much like a big go kart, so I really hope to test that theory more this weekend.

Please find a few pics below for the stunning Cadwell Park.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/vh4pgW8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JBoS4ZO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DVdo7lj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sFNv0Ss.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7miOLbo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6QOokbY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DOTQPvU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oPcH58t.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/OoAX3zR.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3s4iAFp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/jeZGr0k.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NxafKEI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Zr4ZSYJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ee0s6nF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/caFNbdn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/zdDvIpW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4x50B5F.jpg

[struth]

great action shots.. good luck next week

[HiFi Lounge]

Snetterton Photobook, Fire, Rain + New Livery!

Hi All,

So for our Snetterton race weekend it was certainly a weekend like no other, basically it was British Summertime so we had plenty of rain but we also had a huge pit lane fire just when we were about to go out for our first race, basically a teams lorry caught fire and it took 2 fire engines to get it under control, luckily no one was injured but it meant we lost our first race and our 2nd race was re-scheduled for 6pm, this ended up being cut short due to a car stranded on the track so basically we did 3 days at the track for a 17 minute race but at least we came away with a trophy so it wasn't all bad.

Plus we had the new livery on the Elise to promote iLounge Racing, a couple of tweaks to do but overall really happy with the look, really stands out on track now.

So off to Brands Hatch this weekend, really looking forward to this one as it is on the short Indy layout so is very much like a big Go Kart track which should suit me, presently we are 5th overall in the standings and 2nd in our class so plenty to still play for.

We were testing there last week and I had my closest moment to a big crash yet, please see below, certainly a Code Brown moment but luckily we got away with just a little damage under the car where I had to go over the grass in avoidance, could certainly have been much worse.


https://youtu.be/9ydF1Z-sft0

Anyway please find a few pictures below from our Snetterton weekend.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/VUcEmTQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eGUEzzS.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yykZAYp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/tSXlqt9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PwMMRjA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/oiXeuB7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sDG7TAt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6pGUjLZ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ifMSV2n.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bNw1BAK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FWSbrXU.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/L2Z9im1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZVhE60S.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cKkICGQ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MW8ghXG.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9WO9V1t.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9Q6XXLN.jpg

[struth]

well done on trophy, and avoidance of smash... could hear the rattle from underneath

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Grant, hoping for no more near misses like that for a while.

[HiFi Lounge]

Brands Hatch Race Report, Pics + Video's!

Hi All,

So the Brands Hatch Indy layout is one of the races I really look forward to every year as it really suits my driving style as to me it is just one big go kart track and although it is really technical with every corner seemingly having multiple ways through it I always seem to go well there.

Thankfully that continued with our first trip there in the Elise where we had our best race weekend of the year. Unbelievably I have never had a lap time disqualified before but unfortunately my best lap in Qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits so I ended up starting 4 places back on the grid to where I had hoped to start but that made the race more fun I guess.

When it came to the race, we just avoided a big crash at turn 1 which I had to stop to miss so that dropped us right to the back pretty much so I got my head down and lap by lap caught the pack back up, now this was a 45 minute race with a mandatory pitstop so once I caught the pack I pitted early to try the undercut which worked a treat as I made 2 places, made me smile as I exited the pits and I said to myself, right now it is Hammer Time, below are my first 3 laps after the pitstop -


https://youtu.be/q-BqYoGICTg

Then half way through the race there was another big accident but I was 2nd in my class with 3 other forced induction cars behind me, who to be fair have been quicker than me all year so it ended up with a 10 minute race to the finish, as I am fighting these guys in the championship I was determined to hold my 2nd place so basically I just looked forward and ignored my mirrors and at the end we held of the assault from behind to finish 2nd in class which I was really pleased with.

So we have one more race weekend left at Donington on the 30th October and if we have a good weekend we could finish 2nd in class and third overall but just checked the weather and it looks like it may be wet which will be a real shame as I’m much happier in the dry but let’s see how things pan out.

Certainly going to be a fun end to what has been a really enjoyable first season racing the Elise, please find highlights from Brands below + a few pics -

Cheers,

Paul.

Video Highlights!


https://youtu.be/Hzp-EqZyIDA

https://i.imgur.com/6Ugfuqx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bCWas6Y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/d2Ngi4o.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PwrVUEB.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/c1ijQuJ.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BKLPsT0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/aJAU8DM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ytxbpuF.jpg

[HiFi Lounge]

Lotus Elise Trophy Season 1 Complete, Donington Photo Book!

https://i.imgur.com/ZEKK2WZ.jpg

Hi Everyone,

So where did that season go? it only seems like yesterday we were collecting our new Lotus Elise looking forward to a new adventure and before you know it we have 7 race meetings under our belt and it is time to park the car ready for winter. Looking back it was a great season though, a lot of fun, if I'm honest at the start of the season I was surprised how quick the competition was, I was expecting to be straight on the pace but as the season progressed we got quicker and quicker, which was also helped by quite a bit of development on the car, and by the mid point I felt we were getting on top of the car with the Brands Hatch round being the highlight of the season with some really great racing.

Championship Standings!

In the end we finished 2nd in the Forced Induction class and 4th overall, really wanted 3rd but for our first year I was really happy with that. We have plans already in place for next year where we are taking the Elise into a different category, endurance racing, with one round at Spa so that is extremely exciting, more news next year.

Donington, The Final Round!

The less said about this race weekend the better really, we did some dry testing the Monday before and the lap times were great and the car felt on rails but once we got to race day we could have done with a boat rather than a car, much the same as the previous year in the Radical at Donington, it was just a challenge to keep the car on the track, I don't mind driving in the wet but when it is this wet it just isn't any fun really but we survived multiple incidents over the weekend where I lost it under breaking, ended up in the gravel with 6 others at the start of race 2 and had a Praga race car spinning off in front of me in testing, so getting away with a cracked windscreen was a result really.

Please find a few pictures below, roll on next season.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/C4WUKRP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bYGBZry.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/lXIAGQo.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/k3Vg8BA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LVlp4hj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dviSCph.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fVC7tIY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/S1sVTBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/54phiHw.jpg

[HiFi Lounge]

The 2022 Season Is Go As We Attempt Endurance Racing!

Hi Everyone,

So the closed season is now behind us and iLounge Racing is getting ready for another season of racing, I have spent 4 years now doing 20 minute sprint races in the Radical SR1 Cup and the Lotus Elise Trophy so for this year I fancied trying something different so we have entered the 750 Motor Club 'Club Enduro' Championship which comprises of 7 races weekends with races ranging from 125 minutes to 180 minutes with a driver change and refueling required so as a big LeMan fan it will be really interesting to try some mixed class racing over a longer race distance.

I will be sharing the drive with my Race Coach, Tom, he is seriously quick so the pressure will be on me to not lose too much ground to the leaders before he jumps in as it looks like I will be starting the race.

We will be racing in the top A class which is 300bhp per tonne so I have no idea how our very light and little Lotus will compete against the much bigger and heavier cars with more power on the grid, the first race is this Easter Monday at Donington so not long to find till we find out.

For anyone who would like to come along and spectate then please find the calendar below, yes we really are racing at Spa this year, that is a big tick on the Bucket List + I have never raced at Croft or Anglesey so plenty to look forward to this year -

Donington GP - 18th April
Croft - 29th May
Spa - 8th/9th July
Snetterton - 31st July
Silverstone - 21st August
Anglesey - 11th September
Oulton Park - 8th October

Watch Races Live - https://www.750mc.co.uk/live.htm

If you would like to see how we get on please find a link above to live coverage on YouTube or Alpha Timing also have the below coverage -


https://youtu.be/VzJshfUBOz4

We tested at Donington last week to get back in the groove, thanks to being on my sim at home all winter I was straight on my pace but please find a video of Tom below on a quick lap, great to watch, if I can get within a couple of seconds of his lap time then I'm happy.


https://youtu.be/9Vl6hiAmxb8

Finally I am racing in the Senna Cup at Rye House kart track this year also which has just been resurfaced, please find another video of a quick lap in the wet, great fun I have to say as sideways more than anything -


https://youtu.be/YvWxBhon2BM

As normal I will update on how each race in the Club Enduro goes after each round and also please feel free to subscribe to our iLounge Racing YouTube page for videos from each event.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-P27LCxLlSAqRScDGHqKg

All the best,

Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

Club Enduro Round 1 Race Report, Donington, Not What We Expected!

https://i.imgur.com/gOgyZNn.jpg

Hi Everyone,

So here we go again with another season or racing, for the last 4 years I have raced in mostly 20 minute sprint races with the odd longer 45 minute race in both the Radical SR1 Cup and Lotus Elise Trophy and it has always been the longer races I have enjoyed the most and have been the most competitive at so for this year we thought we'd try something different, endurance racing in the Elise in the 750 Motor Club 'Club Enduro' championship, which it turn out is the biggest grid in UK motorsport, for our first race at Donington we had 58 cars on track which certainly kept me busy for the 2 hour+ race.

So there are 3 classes we could enter depending on the power to weight, we decided to unleash all of the Elise's power to be bang on the 300bhp per tonne limit to be in the top class A group, I was going to share the drive with my driver coach Tom and we really thought that we could be competitive and maybe fight for the title, how wrong we were.

We arrived at Donington for Friday practice but we suffered brake issues all morning but once we sorted them we soon realised that the Touring Car type cars, TCR's for short, are much faster than us even though we all run to the 300bhp per tonne limit, they are basically specially built race cars where our Elise is a road car we turned into a race car.

Anyway come race day I did my mandatory 3 laps for qualifying then Tom went out to see what could be achieved, he is basically one of the quickest guys around and he could only manage 14th on the grid, it was decided I would start the race and Tom would jump in at the fuel stop. I must admit I was a little nervous at the start as I starting higher up than my natural speed would normally put me being Tom qualified and at the start I got eaten alive by all the quicker guys but in the end I fell back to where my pace was competitive and settled into the race, after an hour or so I was summoned into the pits for a fuel stop and driver change, I jumped out the car and refueling started and whilst out the car I decided that I'd like to do the whole race which Tom was happy with as I need the practice and he doesn't and at the end of the day we weren't competitive so I may as well get more seat time, so in the end I did the full 2 hours and 5 minutes which I must say was brilliant fun, towards the end though I could see I was getting low on fuel and as I was going through the Craners with a couple of minutes left when the car spluttered and I thought, bugger, I'm not going to finish the race so I decided I would limp home to the pits but as I came round the last corner the chequered flag was out so I just made it across the line to finish, talk about relieved.

In the end we finished 25th out of 58, there were quite a few Elise's entered and we finished as the top Elise so I guess that's something to take away from the weekend, but it certainly wasn't the weekend we were hoping for, at the end of the day though I loved being in the car for 2 hours+.

What to do for the rest of the season? well there are 6 rounds left, I have decided to do the next one at Croft in 2 weeks as never raced there then we are off to Spa in July so will do that as that is a huge tick on the bucket list then I will decide what to do from there, I have an historic racing itch I'd like to scratch but more on that later.

Please find sme pics below, they are quite funny as they make you realise just how small the Elise is.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/2SntAZK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/h9YrBye.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2Myeb85.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/IB4kay5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/auE3GBV.jpg

[HiFi Lounge]

In Over My Head!

As a lifelong motorsport fan something beyond my wildest dreams is about to kick into gear tomorrow for 4 days, here is a clue, any ideas? tbh it is all a bit terrifying and the enormity of it won’t sink in for a few days after I’m sure, all very exciting though and an amazing opportunity, all will be revealed tomorrow :)

https://i.imgur.com/urEaevj.jpg

[struth]

goodwood festival of speed?? good luck whatever it is...

[Jac Hawk]

1st time i've come across this thread, some great photos, personally looking forward to Silverstone, it's been an interesting season so far in F1, who would have thought that a 40 year old concept would be so difficult for some teams to get right? i'd like to see Hamilton do well, but as the company i work for do the AV and IT work for Williams i'd like to see them do well too.

[HiFi Lounge]

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2022, The Best Few Days Of My Life!

Hi All,

It’s 6.30 am Monday 27th June 2022 and I am at work the day after the best few days of my life, I really should be looking at the 400+ e-mails I have just come back to but I just want to briefly write down how I am feeling after this years Goodwood Festival of Speed whilst it is still fresh in my mind, there have been so many amazing memories made over the last 4 days that it is hard to know where to start but here we go, have to say that I have mixed feelings at the moment, even getting a bit emotional as I’m still buzzing from what just happened but am really sad that it is now over, it is going to be a huge come down, I’m such grateful that I have the best day job also to help me get back into the daily groove.

So I went to the very first FOS in 1993, 29 years ago, where it was more like a garden party compared to now and I have been to nearly every one since when I can but this year was very different, after a few months of planning and negotiations we got invited to actually drive up the hill twice a day for 3 days in front of 10’000’s of people and the best part of it all is the car we would be doing it in.

I am a big Nascar fan, started watching that in the early 1990’s, for me it is the best motorsport on the planet and can be misunderstood in this country but there is no purer form of racing in my view, the skill involved in oval racing is incredible, it is like chess at 200mph as the various strategies play out and the skill to race in a pack on 40+ cars at 200mph cm’s apart is incredible. My Nascar hero was and still is Jeff Gordon, a real legend of the sport, he famously raced No 24 for 22 years, winning the championship 4 times and 93 races from 805 start, it is the reason why I race no24 myself. So to cut to the chase, I was actually going to drive a 2012 Jeff Gordon Nascar up the hill, it is around 900hp and I had only driven it for 10 minutes or so a week before in a quick shakedown at Millbrook Proving Ground, so no pressure then, but never one to turn down an opportunity I just had to go for it, I mean what could possible go wrong.

Firstly, I have to thank the UK Nascar Community, these guys are awesome, I’d met a couple beforehand at Carfest last year but at Goodwood I met many more of the gang and what a really lovely bunch of guys, within 10 minutes I felt I had known them for years, so knowledgeable and passionate about the sport but more importantly to me just really fantastic people, without these guys it would be impossible for me to drive a Nascar over here but with their support I knew I was in safe hands, when I left Goodwood last night I really felt like I had made some amazing new friends for life, so thanks again guys, thank you so much for the weekend and helping give me a truly off the scale weekend.

Goodwood FOS Thurs - Sun.

https://i.imgur.com/Q2cyN5g.jpg

So here we go then, let’s run through the weekend, it is all a bit of a blur really of early starts, late finishes, very little sleep, a lot of coffee and thank god for adrenaline. I agreed to run the 24 a couple of months before but once I pulled into the car park on the Thursday it all became a bit real, this was really happening, I agreed to meet the guys in the car park where we sorted out all the passes and tickets then headed into Goodwood where the 24 was sitting in the paddock looking stunning, I want to thank Shaun at Road to Race for his support also in getting the car to Goodwood and collecting it after the event, so Thursday was a day of checking the car over, a few systems checks, getting signed on and collecting our access all areas passes and we even got a really cool medal to which would gain us access to the Driver Club where we were fed and watered for 4 days and then we had a wander around waiting for the big day on Friday.

Here we go, the first run!

Did I sleep Thursday night? Very little if I am honest, I really don’t get nervous but this was like nothing I had done before, it would have been nerve racking enough in a normal car but in a 900hp Nascar Monster it is enough to give anyone nerves, especially as it is a big car and the 2nd part of the run up the hill is very narrow, to make things worse as I sat in the holding area 10 minutes before Dario Franchitti, 3 time Indy 500 winner, said ‘Be careful, I’ve crashed loads of these, they are a handful’ thanks Dario.

From the collecting area you drive back down the track to the Start line, here you line up and wait to be called forward where you are told to wait, you watch this one man and once the car in front is far enough up the road ahead he waves you to go, I sat there waiting and all I could think was not to stall it which is really easy in a Nascar as the clutch is like a switch, on or off, but then I was told to go so I gave it loads of revs and we were off with a little wheel spin, the last thing you want at Goodwood is to be the person who gets it wrong so I drove it more like Miss Daisy than anything and although I had practised it a lot on my sim there is nothing like going up the iconic hill for yourself, the funny thing was though that although the hill was lined with 1000’s of people I never saw one of them as I was so focused on not getting it wrong that I may as well have been the only person there, it was all very surreal, so we poodled up, around the flint wall that everyone made me were of and I have never been so happy to see a finish line before but that was run one complete, I’d just done something that very few people had done before, driven a Nascar up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the sense of relief was amazing but I was absolutely buzzing.

What is it like to drive a Nascar? It is basically like sitting in the middle of a volcano, it is a very brutal environment, incredible noise and power, you can feel the cars anger as you sit in it as it shakes and rumbles side to side, it seems to want to spin its wheels at every opportunity and it really wouldn’t take much for it to bite you but show it some respect and it is an exhilarating experience, it could be further away from my other cars I race which are generally lightweight but low power, but once you have tasted a thoroughbred top tier race car like this it is very addictive and as the runs ticked by I found myself just wanting to get back in asap for another go.

We had 6 runs through the weekend but that was my run done for the Friday as I had been introduced to YouTuber PetrolPed, again a really nice guy, and we were going to split the runs, 4 for me, 2 for him, so that he could do a film for his Channel about the experience of running a Nascar up the hill, really can’t wait to see this.

Next it was Saturday, this was going to be a full on day, as I had 2 runs then it was the Driver Ball at Goodwood House, the 2 runs went really well again, each time I was getting more confident with the 24 as I pushed it a little bit harder each time, that could be dangerous but I really wanted to get a feel what she could do. Our last run finished around 6.30pm and the ball started at 7pm, luckily the drivers had showers so it was chaos as everyone tried to get ready, have to say it is very surreal seeing loads of your hero’s in the their undies getting dressed ready for a night out.

https://i.imgur.com/4LeZH2M.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7W5banI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qBhe3uz.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Sd1nrjK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Mf0hnFw.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/c2k4YaC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TiMXjs6.jpg

The Goodwood Drivers Ball.

Just when you think things can’t get any better Wendy and myself found ourselves at the Driver Ball, I was looking forward to this just a much as the driving to be honest. So we arrived at Goodwood house around 7pm, where all the Bentley’s and Supercars are pulling up with all the rich and famous, then walk in for a champagne reception in the Goodwood Gardens, again surreal surrounded by loads of your motorsport hero’s, now I feel that you really shouldn’t approach these drivers in this sort of environment, just didn’t seem the right thing to do but another of my real heroes is Mika Hakkinen, I used to follow him all round Europe attending Grand Prix to cheer him on so when I saw him I just had to go and say hello and get a picture with him, he was as lovely as he seems to happily stood there to have picture taken, what a great start to the evening.

After the reception we are asked to take our table, we were sitting with 6 others, mainly from a Biking motorsport side of things but had some great chats, food was served which was incredible, basically smoked Salmon to start with, Beef for main and what was probably the best chocolate desert I had ever had to finish things off, all washed down with as much red and white wine as we wanted, as I was driving the next morning early I actually drunk more water than anything, what a shame.

Next we were asked to go outside for the entertainment to start and what a show that was, fireworks like I’d never seen before, amazing singers, pyrotechnics, drone planes firing rockets, a jet man landing on the stage followed by more singing and fireworks, all you could do was watch in awe at the spectacle, I’d certainly never seen anything like this before and what blew my mind was that all this was for just around 1500 of us, Lord March really knows how to throw a party.

After this was finished we were then asked to go back inside to the concert area for the live band, this is kept very secret and there have been many big bands over the years apparently, I knew that Lord March loves his rock music, as do I, so was looking forward to this, who could it be?

Well it certainly didn’t disappoint as it turned out to be one of my favourite bands who I have been to see many times before over the years, The Darkness, and what a show they put on, pure rock’n’roll, Justin the lead singer was really on it, again it was like I had been imported into some alternative motorsport universe as I’m down the front row enjoying The Darkness then I turn round and Mr LeMans, 9 times winner Tom Kristensen is jumping up and down behind me standing next to Lord March who was really loving it, I look a couple of people over and there is Jenson Button rocking out along with his Radford partner Ant Anstead, in the end everywhere you looked there were famous drivers and boy do they know how to enjoy themselves, I guess if you are willing to risk your life racing cars at crazy speeds then you really are going to enjoy life at every opportunity.

The Darkness finished around midnight then a DJ set started to finish things off, it was such an amazing night but I was keen to get to bed as I was going back up the hill in the 24 around 9am, so 3 hours sleep later I was back in the paddock and getting ready for my final run, who knew having so much fun would be this exhausting, although I am sure I won’t get any sympathy.

https://i.imgur.com/KNGEOPs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gzStnDt.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1raTOLq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/iNT2PX8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FZyLYGc.jpg

The Final Run!

Here we go then, my 4th and final run up the hill in Jeff Gordon’s 2012 Nascar, so I lined up behind world rally champion Stig Blomqvist, unbelievable I know, the Stig fired off up the hill and I was ushered forward, when I got to the line for the first time I looked up and as I did that I saw hundreds of people hold their phones up to film me pulling away, really wish I hadn’t done that as straight away the nerves set in, all I could think was don’t stall it now, I was given the go signal and I gave it loads of revs and we were off, I was determined to make this run my fastest attempt but at the 2nd corner I tried a bit too hard, touched the grass and got a little loose, at that point I decided to not be a hero and just get to the finish line which I did and that was that, I had completed my 4 runs up the hill with the car still in one piece, result. Next PetrolPed had one more run at the end of the day which he did successfully and that was that, the 4 best days of my life complete, huge smiles all round.

I’ve been racing for 5 years now and this was the first time I actually felt like a Race Car Driver, to be in the inner circle at Goodwood is like nothing else I have experienced and being in the drivers club, this is basically where all the drivers hang out away from the crowds, when in your race overall then all the drivers are happy to talk to you, I’ve just jotted down some of the people I spoke to below, talk about a Who’s Who of motorsport.


Jacky Ickx
Stig Blomqvist
Dario Franchitti
Nigel Mansell
Mika Hakkinen
Damon Hill
John Watson
Karl Wendlinger
Tom Kristensen
Jenson Button
Travis Pastrana
Jackie Stewart

I even got asked twice for my autograph, I explained that I was no one but as I had driven Jeff Gordon’s car they still wanted me to sign pictures of Jeff, hilarious really but great fun.

So to coin a phrase, ‘if Carling did dream weekends’ then I have just lived mine, I really couldn’t have had more fun if I tried, I’m hopeful I’ll get invited back one day to do it all again but if not I’ll be fine with that as I now have the memories of a truly incredible weekend.

Finally I’d like to thank everyone at Goodwood for the invite and the hospitality, it really is an incredible event like nothing else in the world and to be a very small part of it has been such an honour and privilege so thanks again Goodwood and the UK Nascar Community for making this Petrolheads dreams come true, a weekend I will cherish forever and will never forget.

Regards,

Paul.

Please find some random pictures below -

Damon Hill

https://i.imgur.com/HSXvvBn.jpg

Nigel Mansell and some stalker!

https://i.imgur.com/vZl8aEj.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/W6Frs7p.jpg

6 Time LeMans Winner Jacky Ickx

https://i.imgur.com/vA0Aitt.jpg

Wendy as a passenger with PetrolPed.

https://i.imgur.com/xTczJKu.jpg

Thanks for the Memories Goodwood

https://i.imgur.com/CVtMa1X.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Uj4X2AF.jpg

[HiFi Lounge]

PetrolPed No24 Goodwood FOS Adventure!

Always been happy to share my toys so for Goodwood FOS this year I split the runs up the hill with Peter, better known as YouTuber PetrolPed so he could make this video, He really is a top guy and the No24 couldn't have been in safer hands, thanks Peter for returning her in one piece
We were both as nervous as each other as neither of us had any experience of a car with this much power but he did a stella job, his film really shows what an experience it was driving the 24 up the hill, just follow the link below, enjoy.


https://youtu.be/wUo5tVDNLtU

Cheers,
Paul.

[AJSki2fly]

Fantastic,😃👍🏻

[HiFi Lounge]

Croft Club 750 Enduro Race Pictures!

Hi All,

Been a busy old year and I never got round to posting the pics from our Club 750 Enduro round at Croft earlier in the year so here we are.

It was my first time racing at Croft, really loved the circuit but with this being the 2nd round of the Club Enduro it highlighted the problems we found in the first round where our Elise Cup 250 just isn't competitive in its class compared to the competition, so although we didn't know it at the time this ended up being the last race we would compete in the championship and actually the last race the Cup 250 and I would have in 2022.

We have some really exciting plans though for 2023, watch this space as I am about to enter the Historic Racing scene where I can see myself racing for many years to come all being well, all will be revealed early next year.

Many thanks,

Regards,

Paul.

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[HiFi Lounge]

Let's Go Racing, Again!

https://i.imgur.com/xI0bEWC.jpg

So here she is, I’m delighted to say 18 months after acquiring her and after a 300+ hour restoration by Classic Team Lotus + full engine and gearbox rebuild our 62 year old Lotus 20/22 has got her FIA papers, just in time to race at the Silverstone Festival next week, can’t wait.

Last Monday was a pinch yourself moment as it was shake down day at Lotus Cars test track at Hethel and who was there but Johnny Herbert, this was my first time driving a single seater so no pressure, but what a privilege it was to drive it at the track that so many legends have driven in the past, amazing day and an awesome car to drive, thanks CTL for doing such an amazing job, roll on Silverstone.

You can read the full story of our 20/22 from the link below -

https://bit.ly/3DQObFK

Cheers,

Paul.

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[HiFi Lounge]

Looking Back at the Silverstone Festival 2023

https://i.imgur.com/30gwqo1.jpg

Hi All,

I've just scribbled down a few words looking back at the Silverstone Festival if anyone would like a read, it was certainly a busy one jumping from the Lotus to the Nascar everyday, awesome fun though :)

https://bit.ly/3Z7k6vv

Cheers,
Paul.

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[Macca]

Looks like a lot of fun.

That Lotus is very cool.

[HiFi Lounge]

Thanks Macca, yeah love my little Lotus.

[HiFi Lounge]

Chasing a Nascar round Brands Hatch in the Lotus Cortina at Ford Fest!

https://i.imgur.com/5AsyNj5.jpg

Hi Everyone,

Well it's certainly not everyday you get Brands Hatch to yourself, well along with a Nascar of all things, but we were invited to run demo laps at Ford Power Live 2023 in our Lotus Cortina so needless to say I jumped at the chance.

This was the first time I'd taken the Cortina on track but I have to say it has fired me up to get it FIA approved asap so I can race it as it was so much fun.

As I mentioned we were sharing the track with a Nascar, now before our 15 minute demo run it rained really hard so the track was still damp which made things fun as I was quicker through the corners but with his 600 horses under the bonnet he'd leave me on the straights, great fun though, I wonder if that is the first time anywhere in the world that a Lotus Cortina has chased a Nascar.

Anyway I just wanted to post some pics, I have some great in car video also that I will post as soon as I get the time.

Cheers,

Paul.

https://i.imgur.com/gTWoHbU.jpg

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https://i.imgur.com/tWLX8Ak.jpg

[struth]

Not seen a Cortina for a long time, and of course not one like that. Very snazzy

[HiFi Lounge]

Historic Sports Car Club Finals Weekend Race Report!

https://i.imgur.com/M5PM2UN.jpg

Hi All,

Just scribbled down a look back at last weekend's racing at Silverstone if anyone has some time to kill, please find the link below -

https://bit.ly/46BNrRx

Roll on the 2024 season :)

#formulajunior #motorsport #lotuscars #racecar #motorracing #lotusformulajunior

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