HiFi Lounge Goes Motor Racing!

[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.



























Cheers,
Paul.

[HiFi Lounge]

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



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.



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.















This is where it all started to go wrong!

[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]

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

Can’t wait to find out myself.

Cheers,

Paul.

[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!





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

Cheers,
Paul.