Lydden Result

Hi Everyone!

Apologies for taking a while to update you all, but I haven;t stopped since we got back!

A full race report of the weekend will be up on my site in a day or two, but my race videos are available now (save target as):

Round 9 - Saturday
http://www.keith.grone…deo/Lydden%20Race%201.wmv

Round 10 - Sunday
http://www.keith.grone…deo/Lydden%20Race%202.wmv

It is with much sadness that I have to tell you that, following an extremely successful and floorless weekend, that Sunday's race ended in a tyre wall!  I exited out of Devils Elbow, up the hill toward the North Bend hairpin, when I was tagged on my nearside rear quarter by another driver, which sent me spinning round into a tyre wall at 70mph! The force of the tyre wall impact had apparently spun me a full 360 in mid air, before coming to rest. The car has suffered severe rear end damage, which has unfortunately twisted the chassis. The front end, although not quite as bad, looks worse than it is. The headlights, front grill, front bumper are all gone, the front wing completely caved in and where the shell has distorted, the driver's door no longer closes properly.

Damage
http://www.keith.grone.co.uk/Video/Damage.wmv

Like I say, what makes this particularly sad is that, preceeding the incident, things were going so well. I had qualified in the Final for the first time on both days and mixing it with the front runners. The pic below is of me going up the inside of a 106 rallye at Paddock bend. This particular 106 is the sister car to the current championship leader. They are among the best prepared cars in stock hatch! This is how I want to remember the weekend.



Even the stock hatch guys have admitted that I proved them wrong about the competitiveness of the Golf, and this weekend has certainly been a wake up call to them.

My immediate plans now are to find a 3dr Mk1 shell as soon as possible. Thankfully, much of the essential components on the existing car are ok e.g. the engine and transmission, fuel system, suspension, roll cage and wheels. Me and my brother are going to re-build a new car once a suitable shell is found.

If anyone knows of a Mk1 shell going, I would be very interested in hearing from you. My email is keith@grone.co.uk.

Best regards,

Keith

unlucky mate :cry:   i dont really understand motorsport but those videos were great! nice to see an old car cutting it with newer stuff. are u allowed to change engine/brakes/suspension etc? (stock hatch?) how do you get your gearchanges so quick?
unlucky again im sure you will be up and running soon,
good luck,
paul

:cry:

Sorry for you, it looked like you got tagged with no reason.

Hope you are running again soon!  :tlc:

Good luck
Rajan

Gutted mate! you should be able to find a shell fairly easily…

Come on guys! anyone help out with getting Keith back on track to show these pug fairy's that the old Mk1 is still something to fear!

PhillTMK1GTI said

Gutted mate! you should be able to find a shell fairly easily…

Come on guys! anyone help out with getting Keith back on track to show these pug fairy's that the old Mk1 is still something to fear!

  Pug Fairy's  

That's cheered me up!

Cheers for the nice words everybody. I fully intend to get back on track one way or another. Can't stop now!

I've got to say Keith those videos are brilliant.  Slick gearchanges mate and your braking looked superb. That black Corsa was all over the shop and the maroon 106 had some weird, wide lines. The golf seamed to be able to get the power down early but the other cars pulled away as soon as they could get traction.

Really nice stuff to se Keith….. keep it up :wink:

I'll keep my eye out for a shell.

Cracking videos - thoroughly enjoyed watching those (bar the bit where you got shunted off the track)…

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between your car and the winner's (except that yours is a tad older)? Do they spend loads more money on mods, or have they just got bigger engines?

Seems strange as the cars around you were really evenly matched, but overall there was quite a spread in terms of speed…

Damn shame to hear the Golf has had its day, atleast it went out in a blaze of glory, battling the Pugs to the end! You're safe, that is the main thing, and "you'll be back"  :twisted:

That is a fantastic picture too…. background for my PC!

Scary crash too, very fast. I thought it would be that Corsa to blame, but I assume somebody was trying to come up the inside there?

Keep an eye out folks, lets do our best to help Keith out.

Cheers,

Drew.

mcscrew said

Cracking videos - thoroughly enjoyed watching those (bar the bit where you got shunted off the track)…

Out of curiosity, what's the difference between your car and the winner's (except that yours is a tad older)? Do they spend loads more money on mods, or have they just got bigger engines?

Seems strange as the cars around you were really evenly matched, but overall there was quite a spread in terms of speed…

The orange 106 I overtook (and pulled away from) in the picture is running Ohlins front dampers at ?1000 a piece! I know this because I take my car to the same place that set them up. The pair of them look like a semi-pro team in the paddock and throw ??? at them every time. I'm running your average Koni shocks that have been re-valved. Engine wise, the pugs are obviously a good 15 years ahead and have more modern engine management systems. Therefore, they run a lot more power, but this is balanced out by them having a much higher minimum weight limit to me.

drew said

Damn shame to hear the Golf has had its day, atleast it went out in a blaze of glory, battling the Pugs to the end! You're safe, that is the main thing, and "you'll be back"  :twisted:

That is a fantastic picture too…. background for my PC!

Scary crash too, very fast. I thought it would be that Corsa to blame, but I assume somebody was trying to come up the inside there?

Keep an eye out folks, lets do our best to help Keith out.

Cheers,

Drew.

To right I'll be back! :twisted:

The Corsa had nothing to do with my moment. I was shunted from behind by a 205.

Cheers for your comments everyone! I will continue to do the Golf even prouder once we have a new car built!

That has to be the best post on this site so far! This is what we need more of! A little barbarick perhaps but what a superb effort! One thing that crossed my mind is that when you need parts to repair your car, you may end up having to sourse new or new second hand parts! As such, parts for the rest of us may become even harder to get hold of! Maybe we could do with a motorsport support section where members can maybe get rid of their parts which would be of no use on concourse vehicles but perfect for you! This would ultimately help keep the price of parts down for everyone! Every little helps!
Maybe we should have a day out in support next season? What do you think?

Hi Keith , sorry to see the end of your mk1 i had been enjoying the vids . I dont know if its any use to you but there's a 3dr gti on ebay listed as breaking for spares . Its got a day (ish) left , hope you sort something soon . I'm up for a day spectating although i cant say i wont go 205 bashing in the car park.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=9889&item=4564872749&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

I've been speaking with a guy who has raced Mk1's for years, who has a black Mk1 shell in mint condition. I'm going up to see him next weekend. I'm being very fussy about what shell I end up with, as it can't have any rust or rot. A solid foundation is so important in building a successful race car, so hopefully this one will do the job!

I'm flattered that so many people are taking a real interest in my racing! I hope to continue to provide you with great action and entertainment very soon!

Thats the spirit . I have to say the one on ebay looks a little past its best .

Bad luck - car looks like it was starting to come on strong. The photo of you diving up the inside of the pug is excellent. Good luck getting back on track.