johns

Peter - read the first sentence of my post, and you'll find out the starting time [] Basically it's on all day [] John

Wasn't me!

As I mentioned yesterday, the MLR are organising a timed sprint at Ingliston (next to Edinburgh airport) next Sunday from 9am to 7pm. Places are restricted to a maximum of 30 cars, and there are currently 9 slots remaining. These will be allocated on a first come first served basis. So far it's mostly EVOs and some SKylines that are taking part, but the event is open to all. This will be one car on track at a time, and it will be against the clock - time to see how you really compare against other cars and drivers ! A bit like Alford, but a more interesting track layout [] Full details on the event and how to book (please quote if you are an SIDC member when booking - may get it at MLR member rates as we have an long standing arrangement with the MLR to allow memebers of each club to book onto each others events at member's rates). Cost will be £45 for non members, and £30 for MLR members (and possibly SIDC members). It should be a cracking day out, and I would be there if I wasn't on holiday next week. John http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.p...threadid=121514http://www.scottishcarclub.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1361'>

Was a great day for me as it ran very smoothly after a bit of a slow start, and driver behaviour on track and the vigilence of the marshalls was spot on [] The Westfield driver was fine, and stayed around most of the event. Despite how it looked, it was mostly just cosmetic damage - bits of the car are designed to "pop out" if there is an impact to protect everything, and that's exactly what they did. Chassis 100% intact, and just some cosmetic work required to the front and rear (not as bad as everone thought though). I've heard from Bill (the owner/drive), and he would like to assure everyone that he is 100% fine, and following investigations, it appears that a mechanical failure (rose joint) may have been the cause of the incident, and that the car itself has just suffered cosmetic damage. He'll most certainly be back again in the future [] Sorry to Wilky stationary after the car was running so well up until the point the gearbox deciced to eat itself (again), though with a bit of luck, it may be something simpler and less expensive like the clutch. Good to meet everyone in the pit lane. It was a bit cold, but Knockhill veterens will know that it can often be very much colder there than it was today. Even in summer you always pack a warm jacket in the car, though I was cursing myself by forgetting my fleecy hat! After many requests on the day, I've gone in to see Knockhill about some other dates later in the year. There are some possbilities (like a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon), but I'll need to see what the prices are like. Will keep you all informed. See you all next time. John

I'm in Kintore just a few miles away. Looks like you are sorted already though [] If you do need a lift etc, I'll be leaving a bit earlier to get to Portlethen. I think most people have my phone number, and it's also prinmted in True Grip. John

Willie, I for one can't wait to see the purple monster in action [] It should be very impressive if everything is going OK. It will also be great to have you back on track again. Some of the old timers are the track events may remember Willie from some of his previosu cars, and he did attend virtually all our events for a few years. Just for people who don't know what Willie's car is, it's a TVR Tuscan Challenge car (ie one of the very fast race going ones you used to watch on TV), but with a modified Chevrolet V8 engine fitted (ie loads of grunt). It will eventually be road legal as well [] Can't wait for the passenger seat to be fitted. Cheers John

http://ukie.accuweather.com/adcbin/ukie/uk...d=2&whent=5 Looking good [] Might have a damp track first thing if there are overnight showers, but it will dry quickly (bit of a breeze) and no more rain predicted until the evening. John

Dedication []

Portlethen Asda car park. I'll be there about 6:10 am, and leaving shortly afterwards. Others will probably arrive a little later, but would recommend leaving no later than about 6:45am to get there on time if you are taking part. Think a few of the Lotus guys are also meeting up there, with a plan to leave about 6:30am. (Remember that it can take 20 minutes by the time eevryone queues up and pays for their fuel at the petrol station []) John

Craig, check your mail/PMs please [] John

Col, as the event is full, we need people to be there no later than about 8:15 who are taking part, to make sure we get everyone signed on in time and the briefing started on time. If people arrive later, without the pre-filled in forms, then it simply means that the track time sarts late, and everyone loses out. Far better to be there early and have time to enjoy a bacon roll or 3, than be panicing 10 miles away when you are stuck behind a tractor and 50 cars with only 15 minutes before the track opens. John

That's the info packs and instructions emailled out to everyone who has booked up and taking part. Some *very* nice and some *very* fast cars taking part this time. John

I'll be going through Dundee at about 7am, but I do need to be there first [] For those taking part in the event, I would expect them to be going through Dundee no later than about 7:30am, perhaps a few minutes earlier if they are going to fill up with V-Power first (the Shell one at Drum doesn't open until after 8am). John

You'll be in 2nd gear coming out of the hairpin, and you would need 5th by the end of the main straight for a short while before braking for Duffus (or whatever it is called at the moment). If wet, you'll probably be in 3rd, in the dry, you may be able to get away with 4th. Most likely 3rd for the right hander at McIntyres and up to the chicane you might need 4th. Chicane itself will be 3rd of 4th depending on the entry line and speed, and it will be 4th along the straight to Clarks. Might be OK keeping in 4th for Clarks, but will again depend on cornering speed - may just need 3rd, and you should be in 5th by the end of he back straight before braking for the hairpin. However, a lot of it will depend on your tyres and the available grip for cornering speeds. It may be possible to do much of the track in 4th by itself, depending on your torque levels at lower revs. John

Sorry about that. We did have a thread in the events section discussing when/where to have a meeting to sort out a few things. I gave it over the weekend to see if anyone had any suggestions, and on Monday morning there wasn't anything. Rather than let things drag on, and given there was some interest in holding the meet at the usual place/time, it was a fairly easy and obvious decision to take on Monday morning. Not a huge amount of notice, and it was always known that some people wouldn't be able to make it along - so the aim was really to get some suggestions on board from people, which can then be discussed at a later date. The main things to come out from last nights meeting (which was very positive and lasted until about 10pm) were: a) Quite a lot of people still want a regular meeting where they can meet up and chat with other owners. A quiet venue, possibly with good food, and ample safe parking is needed. We are open to suggestions. Most of the people attending these meetings, come from the northern side of Aberdeen, so a venue further north would make things easier for most people. For those travelling from the city centre, it wouldn't be much difference in travel times. c) We should perhaps look to move the venue around from time to time. d) Every couple of months (ie 2nd or 3rd months), and with plenty of notice, we should look to do something different like karting, bowling, meal etc, but ideally keep it to the same day of the month, as many owners up here work offshore and it's good for them to be able to plan the events they can attend. It has to be events that appeal to many people though, and not just one or two, otherwise they won't get enough suppport. e) We need more suggestions from people on what sort of things they would like to do. It's difficult for anyone to try and arrange events that they think people might like. f) Members are happy with the format and frequency of the larger events the club runs - events like Alford, Knockhill, the organised trips to Crail etc with owners from around the country. g) It's difficult for many people to attend events at relatively short notice. Many have family/work committments, and given say a month to 2 months notice can make definite arrangements to attend an event. However, at a week to two weeks notice, things can be difficult, especially if it's something like a wedding, golf outing, planned DIY etc. h) it's difficult for some people to attend events frequently, due to the reasons above, or possibly financial. Regular events need to be affordable for most people (ie not everyone has a spare £50 - £100 to spend each weekend on attending events. i) Anyone is welcome to arrange meets, attendance at events organised by others etc. It doesn't need to be an RO who does everything, and indeed, expecting an RO to arrange and attend everything is beyond the call of duty (everyone is an unpaid volunteer in the club, giving up their own time to benefit members). j) Everyone there agreed that Ken has been doing an excellent job, with events like Alford etc, the regular monthly meets, marshalling at the Granite City Rally etc (unfortunate that it has clashed with a Knockhill event for the past two years). All would very much like Ken to remain in this role and carry on as RO, however Ken feels it maybe time to hand over the role to someone with plenty of free time who can organise more events that local people want to attend. If there is anyone out there who would like to take things on, then please do get in touch or make yourself known. k) There shouldn't be any road runs as part of the regular meets, as there's always the risk that someone takes things too far, and there is an incident of some sort (crash, reports of racing on the road, complaints about noisy cars etc). The adverse publicity would do untold damage to the club, and the reputation of it's members etc. Why run the risk of one person spoiling things for the hundreds/thousands of others. There's no problems with people organising small get togethers which involve "enthusiastic" but 100% safe driving, but these would be best organised privately amongst owners who know each other (and their driving styles) well, and not widely advertised on forums etc for hopefully obvious reasons. There are exceptions like the excellent RB Relay, where it was all very well planned, police etc were notified in advance. l) Repeat of (e) above. We need more suggestions and input from members on things they would like to do, and perhaps some volunteers to assist with the organisation and running of those events. All of the above to be discussed further at the next available opportunity (during the Knockhill event and/or the curry on Saturday evening). I think that's a reasonable summary of things, from what was a friendly and positive meeting, and hopefully we'll get more positive input over the coming days/weeks . There's no immediate rush to make big and drastic changes (we're getting into the darker evenings/quieter months), but with some positive input from members, we can move things forward for the benefit of all [] John

Never reaslised that you had actually moved now. Hope the country life is treating you well []

Not exactly true - it will check that you have had enough rest before being allowed back offshore again, and that you won't exceed 21 days out of 28 (at time of outbound booking). One issue is that most people who aren't on rotation simply get an outbound booking made and then some time later, someone somewhere decides that a person can travel back in again on flight X on day Y as there is a spare seat. What the system does when there is no return booking, is check based on a default trip length (operator decides) of either 14 or 21 days, that when you travel offshore that a) All your certs are up to date and will be for the duration of the trip, You have had enough onshore rest from your last trip, c) You won't exceed operator specific limits (eg 21 out of 28, 28 out of 42 etc). Some operators overseas operate a 28/28 rotation. If the return/inbound trip was booked at the same time as the outbound, the it's possible to calculate how long a person will be offshore for, and generate suitable warnings or prevent the booking from being confirmed. This way, someone (normally OIM) has to give approval for a long duration trip. However, there are adverse conditions like the past few weeks, where bad weather for days on end meant huge backlogs for flights and some people did spend a few days longer offshore than planned. John

No problems Craig, was planning to do that anyway [] why not arrange to drop off/pick up cars the meeting, since it's only about 5 miles away at about the right time [] Think we'll still go ahead with tomorrow night anyway, as some can't make Saturday. See if we get some good ideas tomorrow, and then discuss further on Saturday etc. John

Due to the lack of other suggestions and lack of brain processing power on my part this week (not 100% well!), I'm going to propose that we meet up in the the usual place at the usual time, for what will probably be the last time. Old Mill Inn, Maryculter, 7:30pm onwards on Tuesday evening (3rd October). At least everyone knows where it is, it is reasonably central for those coming from the city/south/north/west and you can have a good drive out the South Deeside road and back again afterwards. Main discussion points will be the future of the Aberdeen/shire meets. What format would people like, how often to meet, where to meet, what to do, who is going to arrange future events (new Regional Organiser ?), what sort of events do people want to do etc. Remember it's YOUR club, and we're all here to do what you want us to (well within reason []). If you have any suggestions/ideas etc, then we'd love to hear them. Please come along to the meeting where we can discuss all the ideas and suggestions, and move things forward. Looking for a good turn-out, and a healthy positive discussion [] Cheers John

Remember that you'll need wheels to clear them as well, the standard WRX wheels won't clear the Brembos.

Stephen, under our current cover, we get two free track events which covered us for the Kames event (RB Relay) and Alford. We can pay more for additional events, which may not be that much (probably a few hundred pounds in total) if split amongst everyone taking part. However, there are minimum safety standards that need to be met regarding marshalling, medics on site, public safety measures etc, and the costs of these may well prove prohibitive. We're OK for Kames and Alford, as these events are run to a standard format so that all the requirements are met. The cost of our annual policy is close to £3k for mostly show & shine type events. Given the nature of this event (and recent publicity regarding high speeds and airfields), the insurers would likely load the premiums quite highly. If the VMAX people can arrange something, then that might be the easiest way forward if we can work with them to arrange a venue etc. RAF airfields may not require PLI cover if it is run as a closed event and not open to the public, and being conducted on private grounds. John

Cracking stretch of road, though you must be aware that although remote, this road is monitored regularly by both marked and unmarked police cars out to catch people speeding. I picked up a few points on my licence a few years ago here, despite only being above the speed limit by a few mph. It was a Sunday morning, clear sunny day, hardly anything on the road, and I was at least a mile from the nearest building or house of any sort. Was caught via the time between two marked points on the road method by an unmarked car that was sneakily posing as a tourist car in one of the lay-bys.[:@] I had passed the marked car a few miles earlier (was visible for miles!) without issue. Runway options sound good, though you may want to check out any requirements for public liability insurance by some of the potential venues whilst speaking to them. Although the club has a PLI policy in place, it wouldn't cover events like this. John

Welcome Zanders [] Look forward to meeting you again at various events/meets etc. Have you made your mind up yet about coming to KH on the 7th, before heading off for the football ? Cheers John

Steve, I touch goats []

I'd just like to welcome Higgy on board, and also thank ian for all his efforts in the past year in organising events for the Fife region and building up a loyal following. John