Retromotorsport Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Congrats to Andy Pipe getting a 2 thirds in class D at Snetterton this weekend in the DMN Championship and being the fastest N/A Escort with a lap of 1:24.4 , the next best was a 2.0l gp2 Escort with a lap of 1:26.4 followed by a BDA powered broadspeed replica with a best of 1:27.6 and a another mk1 with a best of 1:30.021 The sun was shining which makes a change for us when we go to Snetterton .. it always rains. We set Andys car up for qualifiying and he drove down to get noise tested, 104 , so an exhaust re-pack is on the cards. Waiting in the collecting area for a while and off they all went, we ran to the pitwall and waited, along came Rod Birley, no surprises there ... eventually Andy came into view, obviously slow .. as he came alongside us he blipped the throttle, engine revs went up, car didnt move any quicker, .... damm clutch slip. He pulled into the pits after doing the 3 laps he needed to do to qualifiy. Told us what was going on and confirmed the clutch slip .. a few moments of panic but lets calm down and get the car to the paddock. Back at the paddock, and on closer inspection the pedal was solid. The pedal box had a split in from brands last month, it had been taken out of the car and i welded it up, when it went back in, now straight, the clutch pedal had no free play, so the fluid wasnt going back to the pot, and was holding the clutch down a little. Dave White slid into the footwell and after a few moments with the spanners we had freeplay, and a working clutch, just in time for the times to come out. Andys time .... 1:45.5 dead last Anyway.. after a few laughs we set the car up for the race. All Andy had to do in the race was make up 22 places to catch the class leader who had put his Pug205 on the Class D pole with a time of 1:22.1 a bit of catching up to do then At this point i'd like to point out that the driver of the Pug is Richard Brent, who happens to be a racecar driving instructor ...so he can pedal a car .. (teams excuse book page 34 no 12) All the cars came round for the rolling start and with a thunderous noise they set off, and when i say thunder i mean thunder... there was over 2,500 horsepower between the front 4 cars, there was under 500 horsepower for the lat 4 cars though Andy first passed Nick in his mk1 escort, to be fair to Nick it was his first race with a car that wasnt being kind to him, and then Andy set after the next two cars in class D, Alex Ribbens in his Gp2 Mk2 pinto powered car, and Paul Goddard in his Mk1 Broadspeed replica with BDA power. Andy passed 8 cars on his way to a fine 3rd in class bearing in mind he started dead last, a few minis, the escorts, a Pug 306GTI and a Lancia Delta. His best Lap was a 1;24.6 the next fastest N/A Escort was on a 1:27.0 lap. But that Bloody Richard Brent was doing 1:22's Richard and the other Class D car infront of Andy had also made a storming charge through the field finishing 12 (Richard) and 13th (Graham Richardson in his Nova) with andy 22nd O/A We put the car away for the night and headed back to the Pub... well its traditional Andy's dad had said at the start of the race.............. "if Andy passes all the N/A Escorts i'll buy the beers" And good to his word we all had a couple pints while talking about Sunday .. cheers John The weather on Sunday morning was bright and sunny, but the forcast was for rain, Andy said it would probably start raining at 12 (the race start time) and stop as the chequered flag drops .. always the optomist is Andy Anyway the rolling start comes round and Andys away, taking the Class C Renault Megane of 'woody' as soon as the lights went out, and he set of in the hunt for Graham and Richard, he had some brillient dices with the hot favourites to take class E and some class C cars, the pace was fast in the sunshine, with Rod Birley doing a 1:13.6. Andy was gaining on Graham's Nova, and just when he could see the Nova ahead the heavens opened, the rain soaking some corners and leaving others dry, the pace slowed and a few cars spun.... unfortunatly Andy was one of these spinners, the lap before he had been ahead of a 3 car battle, they came round and Andy wasnt infront after a few moments he came into view and hadnt lost a place in class, as he came by the wall i sent the slow signal and Andy settled for the points from 3rd place instead of trying too hard and spinning off again .. the sun came out again for the final few laps. When Andy got out the car, he was his normal self and said sorry for the spin. Sod that, he had done well, peddling the Mk1 past the more powerful Escorts in his class and running faster than some of the cars in classes above him, including a Seat Cupra .. Alex must have been really pushing to try and catch Andy as his pinto let go at the end of the Senna straight. Again, and yes i'm biased, the DMN provided the most entertaining racing with such a diverse field , Skylines, WRC Escorts, Seat's, Mini's, Pugs, and even a Vectra Supertourer.
Burns Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 sounds like you lot had a great weekend did you get much damage from the spin?
Retromotorsport Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Posted April 28, 2008 No. luck would have it that he span on the start of the Revet straight ..nice run off .. if it was at coram it would have been game over
MightySprocket Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 sounds like a great weekend top report too Gary
escortwithsunroof Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Sounds great, congratulations _________________ apollomist
Guest MK1gaz Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well played Andy in the pushrod screamer
cossie matt Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done Andy Good write up too Gary Love that Pic too car looks mean and low Matt
MexDan Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done Andy Great Pic and Love the write up.. Keep 'em coming!!
spitbarnatt Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done to all concerned Is there a meeting at Brands?
Retromotorsport Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Posted April 28, 2008 Dan, dont just read about it, turn up and watch .. at that round the Historics where there, with a few OSF's running . As far as i'm aware we have only had Twink and family along for one round .. The cost of Andy's car if he sold it would by him a Seat Cupra Cup car .. and he could be at the sharp end of the grid, but noooo hes keeping the Mk1 Escort in its winning ways and still giving the chance for Grandad to tell his sons sons that he watched them 30 odd years ago . You may laugh, but seeing a group of people cheering you from behind the barriers is a boost .. this round there was loads cheering for the 2 Skylines .. we need some backing for the OSF's And every time the DMN races, the Clerks of the course and marshalls always say we put on the best show .. like i said 2,500 bhp spread between the first 4 cars .. and 500 spread between the last 4, you dont get this mix with most championships .. from 1950s cars up to last years cars ..all mixing it together at 100mph inches apart with a Skyline coming up at 180mph. I know we would love to see a sea of OSF jackets and flags at a race .. and you all welcome to come walk round the pits and chat to us .. yes sometimes we have our jobs to do, but theres always one member of the teams that can spare a few minutes to chat. This Championship has been in the top 4 championships in the country in the Motorsport News for 2 years... just behind the BTCC .. 18,000 went to see the final round of the BTCC last year .. at the DMN's final round a week later we had 22,000 ............ (ok some may have been thier for the Truck Grandprix )
Retromotorsport Posted April 28, 2008 Author Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done to all concerned Is there a meeting at Brands? Theres a sticky in the motorsport and trackdays section
sambo Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done you lot. Will deffo make the effort to come down to watch some time soon.
105Ian Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done Andy another cracking job of pedaling the Escort Well done Gary , great report and well done to all of Andy's team on another great result
Mr Sam Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done to all concerned Is there a meeting at Brands? Theres a sticky in the motorsport and trackdays section goes to check if theres one at Donnington well done Andy and all invlolved
mossy Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 would love to come watch one day! great report and a great result especially considering the others cars in the race too!
Toby Posted April 28, 2008 Report Posted April 28, 2008 Well done Andy, and team. Keep up the good work. Great wheel waving picture.
Retromotorsport Posted April 29, 2008 Author Report Posted April 29, 2008 would love to come watch one day! great report and a great result especially considering the others cars in the race too! Lydden Hill and Brands arnt too much of a trek for you and as Pushrod is only 15 minutes from you, team up with him, help him at the races and get there for free..
Twinkle Posted April 29, 2008 Report Posted April 29, 2008 nice one guys gonna be coming to watch some more in the near future
Jeff HPE Motorsport Posted April 29, 2008 Report Posted April 29, 2008 Well done guys, credit to all concerned Jeff Harris..
andypipe Posted April 29, 2008 Report Posted April 29, 2008 In car video from the day http://www.turbosport.co.uk/movies/DMN% ... ce%201.wmv
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