Wobba
14-10-2008, 23:50
It began on a warm Saturday afternoon, about 12 noon when I arrived at Leighannes house. The mission: Get to Northampton and have some fun at Santa Pod, Britain’s most famoustest drag strip!
I pulled up to see her freshly cleaned Williams 2 outside. Leighanne was just sorting out her hair and a few other details before we could go, and there was the issue of picking up our partners in crime, Justin and Arj256, both fine choices of comrades for their skills with cars as long distance runs often have a habit of revealing faults with cars like ours.
My car at Leighanne’s:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0126.jpg
Looking rather good I reckon, but then again, I am a tad biased ;)
Leighanne, packing all my various supplies of coolant and oil and tools lol, she’s a good lass eh? :
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0124.jpg
We soon had Arj256 and Justin on board and made our way to Tony16v’s place, where we collected some bits, such as coilover suspension and some other goodies for Leighanne’s car. Of course, it all had to go on the back of Lielei’s caras mine had nothing in the back to stop everything rolling about (well, that was my excuse lol) so she lost a bit of her power to weight ratio lugging all that extra weight. Thanks Leighanne :)
Part of the way up, I was on a dual carriageway where I had been trying to get into the inside lane for some time. People being people, no-one wanted to let me in despite indicating my intentions for about half a mile...just as I thought things couldn’t get worse, the man behind me decided to remind me why I hate all other drivers, mounting the verge of the outside lane in his 4x4 at about 50 mph and trying to overtake me whilst I was still in the outside lane, smashing his lard arse vehicle into my wing mirror and what I thought, at the time, was my front wing. He pedalled it off at top speed. I guess he knew he had cocked up, and was trying to make a getaway in his panic. Shame he hadn’t figured on hitting a Clio Williams stripped for drag racing. Let’s just say he didn’t get far...
Having overhauled his ass in about 0.88452 seconds I followed him for some time and eventually managed to sort the mess out in an amicable way. Getting mad about these things is just not worth it; otherwise you end up making poor decisions on the fly as seen by the fool who hit me.
Fortunately, the damage was light and I managed to reset the wing mirror, with just some minor scuffs on the cover of it. Drama over, we spent a while travelling up to the ‘Pod.
Eventually, we made it there, a bit later than we expected mainly due to my cautious old-man style of driving.
Now, I’ll shut up and let the pictures do the talking:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0128.jpg
Looking across the strip.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0129.jpg
Skylines battle it out.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0134.jpg
The Sun starts to set across the strip. Can you spot the Clio’s over the way?
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00887.jpg
Darkness descends.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0143.jpg
Justin, Adam, Leighanne, Allan and friend think about huddling for warmth...
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0150.jpg
...whilst on the strip, Clio’s battle it out for honour and glory in the cold night air.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0147.jpg
Allan fires up the ‘barby and cracks open another beer.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0146.jpg
They say monsters come out at night. They were right.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/th_DSCF0142.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/?action=view¤t=DSCF0142.flv)
This video is poor, and does not do the scene justice. The smell is intense and you can feel the shockwaves through air. No, it’s not a Coops.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/th_DSCF0153.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/?action=view¤t=DSCF0153.flv)
Meanwhile, over at the clio16valver base camp, the gang decide to try and build their very own jet car. And yes, that is Coops almost getting fried.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00888.jpg
Cars line up for action all through the night.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00891.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00892.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00890.jpg
It was very cold that night, but we had a great time wandering about from place to place losing each other and meeting up with some of the others we knew were coming along. A few of the C16v gang got quite drunk, I would have loved to have joined them but I needed to drive again that night and keep sober for the next day, as I intended to race :)
That didn’t stop me and some others jumping in our cars in the middle of the night and going a bit mental. This brought the security guys over sadly so I had to jump out my car and make like a tree, along with a rather shellshocked Allan who I almost hurled out of my window during some high speed cornering lol! Totally irresponsible, but great fun! I drove Allans car too, which felt very similar to my own, if not quite as tight yet, but I know Allan is sorting that side of things out soon.
After a long night, we returned to the Pod. Here are some various pics of our second day:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0154.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0155.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01561.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0157.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0158.jpg
Justin takes pics, track day specials in the background.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0160.jpg
Some of the c16v gang manage to crawl out from their tents after a hard night partying.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0161.jpg
Allans Williams in front of mine, later to be partners in crime on the ‘Strip. Coops car, in the foreground looking smug having posted a 12.9s quarter the previous day.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01621.jpg
American muscle lines up against Jap tech in the queue for the ‘Strip.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01671.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01681.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01711.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01731.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01751.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01761.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01771.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01782.jpg
All in all it was a great day. Sure, we were tired, yes we were skint but personally I had no regrets.
Running the strip for the first time was exhilarating and the weather was excellent, couldn’t have asked for a better couple of days.
I managed a 15.39 on my first run, and later discovered I beat that time with a 15.32, with a headwind and half a tank of fuel. I am sure I can do better with trial and error! The Williams behaved itself impeccably and feels very tight and torquey now. Can’t wait to sort a few more things and come back next year.
The drive home was great too. We managed to get some massive overrun pops out of the car which always makes me giggle, especially as we pass people with their windows down :D
Next year should prove to be very interesting, with both Justin and Allan having their looney toon Turbo’d Clio’s out to play. Can they challenge Coops with his 12.9? You’ll have to come along and find out next year ;)
I pulled up to see her freshly cleaned Williams 2 outside. Leighanne was just sorting out her hair and a few other details before we could go, and there was the issue of picking up our partners in crime, Justin and Arj256, both fine choices of comrades for their skills with cars as long distance runs often have a habit of revealing faults with cars like ours.
My car at Leighanne’s:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0126.jpg
Looking rather good I reckon, but then again, I am a tad biased ;)
Leighanne, packing all my various supplies of coolant and oil and tools lol, she’s a good lass eh? :
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0124.jpg
We soon had Arj256 and Justin on board and made our way to Tony16v’s place, where we collected some bits, such as coilover suspension and some other goodies for Leighanne’s car. Of course, it all had to go on the back of Lielei’s caras mine had nothing in the back to stop everything rolling about (well, that was my excuse lol) so she lost a bit of her power to weight ratio lugging all that extra weight. Thanks Leighanne :)
Part of the way up, I was on a dual carriageway where I had been trying to get into the inside lane for some time. People being people, no-one wanted to let me in despite indicating my intentions for about half a mile...just as I thought things couldn’t get worse, the man behind me decided to remind me why I hate all other drivers, mounting the verge of the outside lane in his 4x4 at about 50 mph and trying to overtake me whilst I was still in the outside lane, smashing his lard arse vehicle into my wing mirror and what I thought, at the time, was my front wing. He pedalled it off at top speed. I guess he knew he had cocked up, and was trying to make a getaway in his panic. Shame he hadn’t figured on hitting a Clio Williams stripped for drag racing. Let’s just say he didn’t get far...
Having overhauled his ass in about 0.88452 seconds I followed him for some time and eventually managed to sort the mess out in an amicable way. Getting mad about these things is just not worth it; otherwise you end up making poor decisions on the fly as seen by the fool who hit me.
Fortunately, the damage was light and I managed to reset the wing mirror, with just some minor scuffs on the cover of it. Drama over, we spent a while travelling up to the ‘Pod.
Eventually, we made it there, a bit later than we expected mainly due to my cautious old-man style of driving.
Now, I’ll shut up and let the pictures do the talking:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0128.jpg
Looking across the strip.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0129.jpg
Skylines battle it out.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0134.jpg
The Sun starts to set across the strip. Can you spot the Clio’s over the way?
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00887.jpg
Darkness descends.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0143.jpg
Justin, Adam, Leighanne, Allan and friend think about huddling for warmth...
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0150.jpg
...whilst on the strip, Clio’s battle it out for honour and glory in the cold night air.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0147.jpg
Allan fires up the ‘barby and cracks open another beer.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0146.jpg
They say monsters come out at night. They were right.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/th_DSCF0142.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/?action=view¤t=DSCF0142.flv)
This video is poor, and does not do the scene justice. The smell is intense and you can feel the shockwaves through air. No, it’s not a Coops.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/th_DSCF0153.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/?action=view¤t=DSCF0153.flv)
Meanwhile, over at the clio16valver base camp, the gang decide to try and build their very own jet car. And yes, that is Coops almost getting fried.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00888.jpg
Cars line up for action all through the night.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00891.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00892.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSC00890.jpg
It was very cold that night, but we had a great time wandering about from place to place losing each other and meeting up with some of the others we knew were coming along. A few of the C16v gang got quite drunk, I would have loved to have joined them but I needed to drive again that night and keep sober for the next day, as I intended to race :)
That didn’t stop me and some others jumping in our cars in the middle of the night and going a bit mental. This brought the security guys over sadly so I had to jump out my car and make like a tree, along with a rather shellshocked Allan who I almost hurled out of my window during some high speed cornering lol! Totally irresponsible, but great fun! I drove Allans car too, which felt very similar to my own, if not quite as tight yet, but I know Allan is sorting that side of things out soon.
After a long night, we returned to the Pod. Here are some various pics of our second day:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0154.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0155.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01561.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0157.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0158.jpg
Justin takes pics, track day specials in the background.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0160.jpg
Some of the c16v gang manage to crawl out from their tents after a hard night partying.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF0161.jpg
Allans Williams in front of mine, later to be partners in crime on the ‘Strip. Coops car, in the foreground looking smug having posted a 12.9s quarter the previous day.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01621.jpg
American muscle lines up against Jap tech in the queue for the ‘Strip.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01671.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01681.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01711.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01731.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01751.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01761.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01771.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/Santa%20Pod%2008/DSCF01782.jpg
All in all it was a great day. Sure, we were tired, yes we were skint but personally I had no regrets.
Running the strip for the first time was exhilarating and the weather was excellent, couldn’t have asked for a better couple of days.
I managed a 15.39 on my first run, and later discovered I beat that time with a 15.32, with a headwind and half a tank of fuel. I am sure I can do better with trial and error! The Williams behaved itself impeccably and feels very tight and torquey now. Can’t wait to sort a few more things and come back next year.
The drive home was great too. We managed to get some massive overrun pops out of the car which always makes me giggle, especially as we pass people with their windows down :D
Next year should prove to be very interesting, with both Justin and Allan having their looney toon Turbo’d Clio’s out to play. Can they challenge Coops with his 12.9? You’ll have to come along and find out next year ;)