Ian,
I didn't get to Malvern but I did go to Silverstone on Sunday for the
GP. I got home at 9pm to find a message asking if I would like a pair
of tickets. After a short chat about the Pope, Catholicism, bears, and
woods I had them biked to me for 1am and chose a lucky partner for the
day.
Turns out these were tickets with hospitality, and easy parking, and we
were there by 9.30. It then turned out the tent was just for guests of
Arrows GP who were more than happy to show anybody with an interest
round their pit garage. Had a chat with Tom Walkinshaw, Prince Malik,
Pedro De La Rossa, and the test driver. It shocked me that two hours
before the race the cars were in small bits. Just a routine strip down
and check over. Engines off, peer in with an endoscope. Gears out.
Suspension apart. Others were surprised by the 20ft wide bank of
computers.
The highlight of the race was the lap when Hill was leading. I was
sitting just by the pit exit and we could hear the wall of sound from
the crowd come down the start finish straight and round the corner some
seconds ahead of and much above the car. We joined the Mexican Wave
before sitting back down and listening to the 180mph wall of cheer chase
him round.
As for Schumacher's problem with the gravel the current cars have a lot
of ground clearance. To ensure the cars don't drop down on their
springs under aerodynamic load they have a wooden panel which is
measured as 10mm thick before the race and must be at least 9mm thick at
the end so they can't afford to bottom out. The front wing isn't very
strong so there's nothing for the gravel to catch against for the car to
start ploughing. Fine in a spin as the sides of the tyres will catch
the gravel but not head on. My two-penneth is that a trap ploughed into
furrows would let the car bottom, catch, and plough.
The big surprise of the day was how much I enjoued the Red Arrows. To
think I nearly stayed at my lunch table rather than watch them.
Amazing. I won't even try to describe the experiance. NEVER miss a
chance to see them.
Racing, in all categories, was as dull as ditch water. The GP was saved
by being opposite a monster TV and next to a tannoy and even then half
the stand left their seats to sunbathe. Most fun to watch was the
saftey car sliding the full width of the track and all over the kerbs.
Give me VSCC or HSCC or AMOC any day!!
David
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