I've Signed Up For The Radical SR1 Cup This Year, HELP :-)

[Vipers]

Thanks Chris, yes I think I definitely jumped in a little too deep with this one, maybe Caterham's would have made more sense, no going back now though so hopefully something will click soon as only 2 race weekends left this year then I'll have to decide whether to have another go next year.

Have a great 50th, maybe you should join me on the grid 😉

[Vipers]

Win Some Passenger Laps In Our Radical SR1 At Donington Park!

 

Hi all,

Ok so no for something a little different We are giving one lucky person the opportunity to win 5 passenger laps around Donington Park on September 7th being driven around by my coach, Tom Gladdis, who is a professional racing driver and is seriously quick so this really isn’t for the faint hearted but will certainly be a day to remember if you are a petrolhead or thrill seeker.

All you need to do to enter is e-mail the answer to the below question to my e-mail address and we will hold the draw on August 24th and will announce the lucky winner on our website and social media channels.

Also keep an eye out as Chord Electronics, PMC Speakers and our new sponsor HiFi Pig will also also be holding competitions so that they can bring along a lucky winner each also.

Obviously you will need to be in good health and as we all know Motorsport can be dangerous so there will be a form to sign to say that you understand the risks, other than that it will be a fun day at the track.

Question - Nice and Easy

What year was HiFi Lounge Formed?

Please Send Answers to -

paul@hifilounge.co.uk

This Could Be You!

Please find a video below of Wendy going out for her first experience in the Radical at Cadwell Park a few weeks ago with Tom driving, she loved it but after a few laps she was quite keen to come back to the pits as she was feeling a bit queasy, she can’t wait to go out again though.

More information about the day!

I am racing at Donnington on the Saturday, we are testing on the Thursday and the Friday is a general track day so there will be all sorts of cars out but generally the Radical will be the quickest car out there, when you are passing other sports cars it really does help you realise just how quick the Radical SR1 is.

If you are the lucky winner please feel free to bring a guest for a bit of moral support, you will need to be at the track from around 9am where we will supply breakfast + a lunchtime meal.

Also as a memento of the day Oliver Read, the Radical official photographer, will be on hand to take pictures of the day which you can have copies and also as all track action is filmed on our onboard camera we can give you the video footage of your laps.

Life Begin’s at 50, Hopefully!

The day we are holding this is actually my 50th birthday so it will be great if you’d like to help me celebrate my mid life crisis, as that is what I am putting this years Radical adventure down to, but I have to say it is an amazing car to drive and also to be a passenger in as it is a real thoroughbred race car so if you love your motorsport as I do then please feel free to enter as this really is a great opportunity to experience motorsport first hand.

Please find a quick summary below.

• Event — Donington Park September 7th.
• Time - 9am at the track, passenger rides start at 10am
• Age - Over 16’s.
• Health - Must be in tip top health.
• Food - Breakfast and Lunch supplied
• Memento’s - Photo’s and Video of your laps.

Hope that is all clear and look forward to hearing from anyone who may be interested.

Regards,

Update -

Further to the above, I was testing at Donington yesterday in preparation for the forthcoming  race weekend so thought I would upload my best lap of the day, really pleased with this one, probably the best lap I have done this year, would have been good enough for 4th on last years Radical SR1 grid so it really feels like I made some good progress as I have been struggling a bit just lately but Donington really seemed to suit my driving style for whatever reason, roll on the race weekend

This will give an idea to those who don't know the Doningotn layout a good idea what to expect if you win the competition, it really is a great track that is fast and flowing and with the Craner Curves you have one of the best parts of any track in the world

Cheers,
Paul.

 

[cweeden]

On 30/07/2018 at 10:29, Vipers said:

Have a great 50th, maybe you should join me on the grid 😉

Ha, I would love to but its definitely too rich (and probably too scary) for me. I have been taking part in an amateur 24hr race at Ascari in an old MX5 for the past three years and that's about enough excitement now.  🙂

[Vipers]

Yeah I think the costs involved are more scary than driving the car to be honest which has made me think about cheaper alternatives as it almost doesn't matter what your driving as long as you are on track and having fun.

[Hangar 111]

2 hours ago, Vipers said:

Yeah I think the costs involved are more scary than driving the car to be honest which has made me think about cheaper alternatives as it almost doesn't matter what your driving as long as you are on track and having fun.

Hi Paul.

Have you thought about doing Lotus Elise Trophy?  Don't get the nice Radical hospitality, but probably a bit cheaper.

Saw you at Cadwell, you were setup not far from us, and was intending to come and say hello, but you weren't there whenever I had a spare moment!  Are you at Snet this weekend?

Dave

[Vipers]

1 hour ago, Hangar 111 said:

Hi Paul.

Have you thought about doing Lotus Elise Trophy?  Don't get the nice Radical hospitality, but probably a bit cheaper.

Saw you at Cadwell, you were setup not far from us, and was intending to come and say hello, but you weren't there whenever I had a spare moment!  Are you at Snet this weekend?

Dave

Hi Dave,

Yeah being a Lotus enthusiast the Elise Trophy would probably have made more sense, not quite sure how I ended up in a Radical to be honest 🙄

I'm coming along on Sunday to watch the SR3's, can't ever get enough track action, I take it you are there? If so I'll come and say hi 👍

[Hangar 111]

57 minutes ago, Vipers said:

Hi Dave,

Yeah being a Lotus enthusiast the Elise Trophy would probably have made more sense, not quite sure how I ended up in a Radical to be honest 🙄

I'm coming along on Sunday to watch the SR3's, can't ever get enough track action, I take it you are there? If so I'll come and say hi 👍

Lotus is only on Saturday, so sounds like we will miss each other.  Similar at Donington from what you have said, we are Sunday only I think.   Are SR1s doing Rockingham at the end of September?  That is our last round of the season.

Dave

[Vipers]

That's a shame, we only have Donington and Brands left, not really sure where the season has gone to be honest.

Have a good day tomorrow 👍

[Hangar 111]

1 hour ago, Vipers said:

That's a shame, we only have Donington and Brands left, not really sure where the season has gone to be honest.

Have a good day tomorrow 👍

Yeah it's rapidly disappearing.  Though between race series we are out doing support for five weekends in a row all through September, so still plenty of work to do!

If we get to Donington at a reasonable time on the Saturday, I'll see if you are still about.

Dave

[Vipers]

15 hours ago, Hangar 111 said:

Yeah it's rapidly disappearing.  Though between race series we are out doing support for five weekends in a row all through September, so still plenty of work to do!

If we get to Donington at a reasonable time on the Saturday, I'll see if you are still about.

Dave

Yeah having a team run my car has made me realise that a life working in motorsport is a real labour of love with really long days, definitely not all glamour.

Hope we get a chance to catch up at some point Dave,

Cheers,

Paul.

 

A quick clue to the answer to our competition to win some passenger laps in our Radical SR1 -

Question - What year was HiFi Lounge Formed?

Clue - It is the same year the classic 'Gangnam Style' was released

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Time For A HFL Van Upgrade!

Got some new work wheels which is a direct result of being in the paddock when racing at Silverstone as one drove past and being a bit of a tart, well I had one ordered the next week 👍

Delivery Day!

Let’s get some stickers on it!

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

 

One more week to enter!

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who has entered our competition so far for passenger laps in our Radical SR1, it really has been a great response, shame everyone can’t come.

 

The original plan was to hold the draw today but as entries are still coming in I have decided to let it run for another week so the draw will now be held next Friday 31st, 1 week before the big day so please feel free to check back here then and it goes without saying that we will notify the lucky winner personally.

 

More information below if you haven't already seen the competition -

 

http://bit.ly/2vRwF0F

 

Thanks again,

 

Cheers,

 

Paul.

[KennyN]

I have just read this thread end to end and watched all of the videos...well done Paul, it's been a thoroughly entertaining journey to read about and I can only imagine how it has been from your perspective!  I hope to make it along to watch you compete and hopefully meet you at some point.

[Vipers]

Hi Kenny, 

Thanks, really appreciate that, it has certainly been a year of discovery, I'm certainly no Jim Clark but it is great fun having a go 🙂

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

A Radical Day Out At Donington For Our Competition Winners

Hi Everyone,

A bit late with this one as it was a couple of weeks ago but just back from our hols so just got round to posting, just wanted to say thanks to our competition winners for coming along to Donington Park for 5 laps each round the full GP track, there were a lot of smiles once everyone got out the car, I think everyone was blown away by the braking power and cornering speed.

Thanks also to Tom for taking everyone round and for Darren at UPE Motorsport for helping run the day that went off without a hitch, well till the end of the day when the diff failed but at least everyone’s passenger laps were completed by then so it was good timing to be honest, also thanks to Ollie Read for taking the excellent photo’s of the day.

Finally thanks to Chord Electronics and PMC Speakers for helping support the day and great to meet the guys and girls from our new sponsors Hifi Pig, hopefully we can do it again next year

Please find a few pictures below from the day -

Playtime Over 😞

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Donington Race Weekend Report!

Hi Everyone,

So a couple of weeks ago we raced at Donington Park, I have to say that is one of my favourite tracks so far, we actually had 3 days there so 2 days of testing which we shared with taking our competition winners out in the car and then qualy and race day, I went in to the event determined to throw caution to the wind and to try and make some real progress which I feel I did at the end of the 2 days of testing then we got to race day where it all went horribly wrong.

Basically the weather was pretty mixed, when full wet on the Thursday I tip toed round without any mistakes but on race day for Qualy we had a damp drying track which was interesting trying to find the grip but in the end I got pole in both races in my ‘Fangio’ Class which I was happy with, but that was the last time I was happy with anything for the rest of the weekend as for the first race we went out on dry tyres and the rain really started to come down and I actually spun 3 times on my out lap, more a lack of skill than anything to be honest, doh, that really took being a novice to a new level, once I settled into the groove though times weren’t too bad but the damage had been done but at least we finished the race which quite a few didn’t, then for race 2 I went out on wets as it had been raining a fair bit and although it had stopped I thought the track would be damp but in the end it was really dry so I made a bad choice there.

It was such a shame as I really felt we were going to have a good race day but in the end it was a real weekend of ups and downs, we found more speed in the dry but was rubbish in the wet and in this country racing in the wet is a skill that needs mastering, more experience learned I guess.

So there is only one race weekend left now, Brand Hatch in November, really can’t believe it is nearly all over, it is all still to play for though in the Fangio Trophy as we are 2nd just 9 points of the lead, here’s hoping for a dry race day

Fastest Lap of the Weekend which I was reasonably happy with -

A few pictures from the event.

Ah yeah and it fell on my 50th Birthday so maybe all the cake slowed me down

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

End Of Season Brands Hatch Report, Missed The Fangio Title By 0.2 Sec, Doh!

Hi All,

So almost as if it was all a dream my first season pretending to be a racing driver is over, talk about all over in the blink of an eye, I wish my driving was that fast Seriously though it really does feel like only the other day we were at the Autosport show in January signing on the dotted line to join the Radical SR1 Cup championship.

So how has it been? In all honestly it has been great fun but it has transpired that it is most definitely a lot harder in real life than it looks on the TV, I am no longer an arm chair critic when watching motorsport on TV

I really thought I would be a lot more competitive than I was and I think I really did underestimate the task at hand, I think the main issue was getting used to a downforce car, it really is a matter of how brave are you, I have no problem with acceleration and top speed but going into a blind corner at say 90 MPH really makes you take notice.

Saying all this once I got to Donington, the 2nd from last race meeting of the season, I felt like I was starting to get somewhere, even though the races were not the best in the build up I found some time and it felt like I made some progress, funnily enough it has turned out that I like chasing lap time, ie going for a fast lap but come the race I seem to loose some speed, maybe I’m more suited to hill climbing

And even though it is supposed to be fun it really does play with your head, you just can’t help but get caught up in it all and end up feeling really disappointed and down when you don’t perform too well where the reality should be that you should be buzzing from driving a racing car round some of the best racks in the UK, I guess it is just the competitive edge coming in.

Brands Hatch Report, The Fangio Title Up For Grabs.

So our season finished at Brands Hatch last weekend, another circuit I had never driven before, we were in the shorter Indy layout but we still had to deal with Paddock Hill bend which I was dreading before I got there, I had seen enough cars go off their over the years on TV, it looked terrifying, as it turned out I loved Brands, seemed to suit my driving, I guess other than paddock there are no balls out corners, it very much reminded me of a big go kart track.

So amazingly I arrived at Brands 9 points off the lead in the Fangio Cup, basically the old buggers cup for over 45′s, I was racing David Tagg for the title, basically if I could beat him in both races I could take the title by 1 point but to be fair David had been quicker than me all year so my expectations weren’t very high.

For the Friday test it was wet conditions which it turned out suited me and I was probably the most competitive I had been all year so roll on a wet Saturday race day I thought. So come Saturday morning Qualifying, which was wet, I out qualified David for both races so that was part 1 complete but I still felt David would out race me, what followed was a brilliant race where we were swapping positions and trading paintwork but in the end I beat David to close the gap to 4 points with 1 race left.

Unfortunately for me anyway, the track had totally dried for race 2 so my advantage in the wet was gone but we still had an epic race and we almost crossed the finish line together with me just 0.2 second behind David meaning that he deservedly won the title and I lost out by the smallest of margins but I actually was fine with it as I had 2 brilliant races that really were fit for a championship decider, at last it felt like I was really racing which meant I left Brands buzzing and ready to try again next year.

So congratulations to David for winning but I would like to say a massive thanks to our sponsors for supporting me this year, I’ll be coming round with my cap begging again soon for donations for next year 😉 but thanks again to Chord Electronics, PMC Speakers, Trilogy Audio, Naim Audio, Rega, Atlas Cables and HiFi Pig, also thanks to Daz at UPE Motorsport for being a top bloke and running my car all year and also for Tom Gladdis for trying to coach me, he must have the patience of a saint.

So looking back it was epic fun, scary, frustrating and disappointing all in at the same time, I guess that is the same for any sport though but only after 1 week I am gagging to get back out in the car again, roll on next year.

Cheers,

Paul.

[silverfrost]

Cheers for the picyures Paul,  Well done on the time,  glad you ended the season with the car in one piece 

[Vipers]

Thanks Dan, yeah one of my competitors wrote off 2 cars throughout the season so I got away lightly 👍

[andyj007]

11 hours ago, Vipers said:

Thanks Dan, yeah one of my competitors wrote off 2 cars throughout the season so I got away lightly 👍

ouch!!

 

[F1_Chris]

This was a great read, thanks for writing that all up, vids and pictures. Really gave some insight into racing for the uninitiated like myself. Look forward to reading about next year's season

[NW76]

Great read! Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! 

If you do not mind, for the ones among who think about doing this as well - how much cash did you burn in that season? 

Cheers

Norbert

[Vipers]

Thanks Guys, looking forward to getting back out on the track after a couple of months off, just hope I can be a bit quicker this season 🙂

As for cost, I would say to run the car for the season cost around £40k, but that was employing a team to run the car and transport it so it could be done much cheaper if you have the skills to spanner it yourself, I definitely did it the Rock Star way 😀

Regarding buying the car, I did that on finance which costs around £2500 per month over 24 months, certainly be glad once that is all paid.

[Vipers]

Well This is Surreal :)

Hi Everyone,

Hilariously there is a picture of me racing at Brands hatch a couple of months ago in this months ‘Motorsport’ Magazine with Mike Hawthorn on the front cover, now that is something I never thought I’d be saying

It is actually a really interesting article about a rookie going racing written by the magazines photographer who was given the opportunity by Radical to move to other side of the lens and follow his dream of being a racing driver for one race which reminded me a lot of my first year last year.

Looks like I’m going to be changing teams for this coming season which is still being finalised, hopefully they can make my car quicker as obviously it is not me that is too slow 😉

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Radical Awards Evening, Wasn’t Expecting This!

Hi Everyone,

In a nice way to look back at last year Radical hold a yearly awards evening where everyone gets a chance to dress up in their finest, have a nice meal and celebrate the winners from the season that is now behind us, this was my first year obviously, it was held at the Belfry and I have to say that it really was a brilliant evening with a fantastic live band that really rocked, although having to wear a Tux is always a little odd.

So obviously as I came 2nd in my class I wasn’t expecting anything, I will actually upload the last lap when I get a moment from the last race at Brands Hatch to show how close losing a championship by 0.2 sec looks like, I think that will haunt me forever. So anyway I was chatting to Wendy when I heard my name called out and unexpectedly I thrust from my seat and before I knew it I was on the stage accepting my award for ‘First of the Losers’ Seriously though it was a nice touch and actually a really nice trophy that will take pride of place in the HFL office as something to spur me on to go one better this coming season

Thanks again to Radical for hosting a brilliant evening, to Darren Winter for being a brilliant Mechanic through last season and also to Tom Gladdis for attempting to coach me on how to drive faster and especially to our sponsors for helping to make last season possible as I am sure it won’t come as a big surprise that motorsport really isn’t cheap, right that is the Oscar speech part out of the way, here’s looking forward to doing it all again this coming year

Blimey, wasn’t expecting this.

Cheers,
Paul.