ACOC Goodwood Sprint 4th November 2017

[MkIV Lux]

What a nice event!!
   
   It was great to see good friends from the ACOC back on Saturday morning at the mystic circuit of Goodwood, where up to now I had only once stopped in the MkIV while on the my way back from the International in Ireland in 2010.
   
   With nothing better to do on a cold November w/e, my nephew Gilles and I decided to go for a quick roundtrip to support competitors and organizers of the traditional ACOC Sprint. Long live it on!
   
   The weather forecast had been quite bad for the w/e and with freezing temperatures at night I had decided to leave the Cobra stalled up and take the Lotus Exige with fixed roof and proper heating.
   On the way up to Calais on Friday afternoon, we stopped at Helfaut-Wizernes' La Coupole, a V2 launch site built by the Nazis in 1943-44, for launching V2 rockets at industrial cadence onto London and the South of England. Fortunately It was destroyed by Allied power in operation Crossbow before it went into operation .... Hard to imagine what the outcome would have been ... certainly no ACOC sprint at Goodwood and we might be driving Messerschmits and Heinkels, if at all!
   
   Took an early morning train on the Eurotunnel shuttle and 2 hours after leaving Folkestone, despite pouring rain most of the time, we entered the Goodwood circuit through its .... tunnel. Meanwhile the rain had stopped, with still an occasional light shower, and gradually the weather improved over the day.
   
   Our visit to Goodwood must have surprised more than one of my good ACOC friends, as I read from their faces.... It was so good so see you all before, at and after the driver's briefing.  With photo camera at hand, Gilles and I wandered around the paddock, looked at competitors' cars, discovered things I did not come across before like the Formula 500 racers (never too old to learn!). Tried to answer all questions from my nephew whom I try to get introduced to the world of ACs and other period machinery. Watched competitors on the start line and as they came through the chicane, intermitted by the occasional "hey ..... surprised to see you around here.." chat. We had a wonderful day, even if I had wished to be on the track..... but with no valid competition license at hand no other choice remained but to watch. The short lunch break warmed us up before watching the next round of sprints on a drying circuit. Competitors were in good mood, despite their times being ruined by the still very slippery tarmac, one or the other not happy about not having passed the very strict mandatory noise check. Guess with my street legal Mk IV Cobra I would have had to wear extra mufflers also!
   
   Organizer Bruce Claassen and his team of helpers, ACOC members doing scrutineering and paddock marshalling, setting up cars on the grid in correct order and keeping times, and Goodwood starters and track marshals all braved the adverse weather conditions to ensure competitors could enjoy their rounds under best of conditions. They all deserve a big thanks. The day at Goodwood eased off with the short price giving ceremony, our valid ACOC memorabilia shop keepers remaining on duty until the very last potential client had left the room. The usual goodbye hugs and wishes for a safe journey home.....  and we boarded our mount to tour around the horse racing facilities up on the hill overlooking the Goodwood estate, before hitting our hotel at Arundel.
   
   Bobby and Sue Langley soon came to pick us up for sharing the evening with Gilles and me around a very pleasant dinner at the Black Horse in Binsted just a few miles down the road and then give us a night tour around the little city of Arundel before return to the hotel.
   Sunday morning the sun was out again and we soon headed to nearby Tangmere for paying a visit to the Military Aviation Museum located on a former RAF site.
   
   A short stop under the white cliffs at the end of Fort Road near the harbor entrance of Newhaven and off we were across country via Rye to our reserved channel tunnel crossing. Had to queue for over an hour and it was only in Calais that we managed to find something to bite. A quick burst over French and Belgian motor ways brought us home safely arriving at Gilles home on the south-east of Luxembourg just before midnight and me returning then to the west side of the country in another 20 minute leg.
   
   A very nice weekend spent at the ACOC Sprint in excellent company with ACOC friends and in true spirit of the club. We'll be back!!

[MkIV Lux]

Don't worry. Nothing is wasted. Terry has got and will get more of this with photos. And it will not be anonymous!

[Shamea2]

Ref: Pedant comment.
   
   Why 'Wasted'?
   
   I read contributions on the Forum regularly and found this one very enjoyable.
   
   Nigel

[Shamea2]

Originally posted by Pedant
   
There's always a minority.
   
   
   Perhaps.........
   
   But as an owner I have found the forum very useful for solving issues and...well...I also like posting pictures of my car.

[MkIV Lux]

@ Pedant
   
   If it is wasted, then you waste your time here, anonymously.
   
   Let those who find the Forum useful, use it, those who find it a waste of time should play elsewhere.

[Colin Newbold]

I echo the compliments offered to Bruce and his bunch of happy helpers, and as always, the valiant army of orange-suited marshals.  Spare a thought for the ACOC members who can't quite afford the real thing (my Kirkham 289 comes close but is currently with Steve Gray for some fettling!) and who turn up in what they can.  Not the most gracious car on track last Saturday, my little Fiesta nevertheless proved great fun and a big bang for the buck.
   
   I'm happy to help the Club make this event possible each year and will continue to lend my support for as long as I can.
   
   Best regards
   Colin

[BE774]

"those who find it a waste of time should play elsewhere."
   
   Here here. What contribution have you (Pedant) made apart from criticisms?

[TTM]

Well, who is being snooty when saying good content should be reserved to ACtion while talking down the forum which is of free access to anyone?

[C9OBY]

Reposted... not sure what happened to my original post... Happy Christmas everyone!

ACOC Sprint 2017 (As printed in December ACtion)

A big thank you to all of our competitors, marshals, officials and spectators for another fabulous event. Once again everyone had a fantastic time, with the usual mix of interesting vehicles and even more interesting individuals.

This year's event was held on Saturday 4th November, with another return to Goodwood's historic motor circuit. For a short while we were unsure as to whether or not we'd be returning to the circuit this year but some persistent behind the scenes negotiations secured our a spot for 2017 and 2018. Times are changing and Goodwood's ability to push for higher prices is having a knock-on impact on smaller organisations and clubs.

For those not familiar with the Sprint format, the event comprises two back to back practice laps which are timed in order to help seed cars as they line up for the first of their two official times runs. The fastest time of the two timed laps the counts towards determining your position within your competition class. Classes for ACOC members are determined by the model of AC being competed in, with an additional class for "AC Owners not driving an AC". We also invite a number of other car clubs, with their members competing within their respective club-class irrespective of vehicle driven. We were once again joined by the Aston Martin Owners Club, VSCC, BMW Historic Motor Club, 500 Owners Association, Frazer Nash Car Club, BARC and Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club.

As has become tradition, a small group of core club officials meet up the evening before the Sprint for a steak & wine dinner at a little pub about a mile away from the track. It's always a relaxed evening, catching up on the events of the last year and ensuring that our paperwork and plans for the next day are all aligned.

We awoke to less than ideal conditions, with light rain and light wind confirming that we'd be greeted by a wet track after 3 weeks of no rain... how frustrating! We were nonetheless all glad to be back at Goodwood when we arrived at around 8am, with a number of familiar faces greeting us as we arrived - a mix of early competitors and the resident Goodwood trackside team. Mike Smith (Steward of the Course) headed off to begin organising the track side teams, Nathan & Mike Berrisford (Chief Paddock Marshall) headed into the paddock with clipboards in hand, and I set myself up with all of the sign-on paperwork in the Jackie Stewart pavilion.

The next hour passes fairly quickly as drivers sign on, vehicles pass through scrutineering (led by Bertie Gilbart Smith, our new Chief Scrutineer) and pit and track crews deliver the pre-sprint briefing – all warmed by tea, coffee and friendly faces. By 9.30am we were pretty much ready to go, with just the traditional parade lap behind Mike Smith's AC Buckland to complete - a personal highlight for me as I always enjoy my 'hot-laps' passenger ride around the course with Mike, taking turns to wave thanks to the trackside marshals and photograph the train of cars chasing after us.

Practice runs began soon thereafter with a paddock full of warming engines, chatting drivers, busy pit crews and meandering spectators. Practice laps finished at around 11.45, a little earlier than normal and enabling us to break for an early lunch. Notable this year was the fantastic lunch laid on by Goodwood for the drivers and key officials up in the Jackie Steward Pavilion. Following the recent price hike they agreed to soften the blow somewhat by offering a complementary hot buffet, served in a nicely decorated room overlooking the track and paddock. The food was superb and the room warm – what more could you want! Being the first time that we've brought everyone back together mid-event, it gave both drivers and officials alike the opportunity to relax, socialise and share stories of the morning before heading back out to the track feeling a little warmer (and a little heavier!) for the second half.

On point worth noting is that we run the event on a first-come-first-served basis and not in class order. This is a lot easier from a paddock marshalling perspective, with the added benefit being that each and every starting line has a mix of different vehicles – adding to the visual spectacle of the event. The only exception to this is the 500 Owners Association who run single-seater methanol-powered cars that are not suited to waiting in queues. We therefore shoal them onto the start in close formation which makes for a lovely spectacle as they each in turn light up their rear tyres and disappear into the distance in a squealing puff of smoke!

The fastest AC of the day was Andy Shepherd in his MKIV Lightweight who crossed the line in 109.20 seconds. Only 0.68sec behind him was Murray Shepherd in their AC Ace Bristol, with Ted Shepherd a mere 0.23sec further back... that's less than a second separating the three of them in damp conditions. Another entertaining AC to watch was new Sprint competitor Andrew Williams in his beautiful and recently acquired AC Cobra 289, who entertained us with some 'sideways + more' chicane-exiting action on more than one occasion (where's a camera when you need it?!).

Ace's appeared to be the AC of choice this year, with 4 Ace Bristols (Shepherd's + Mark Aldridge + Keith Lessiter) and Bill Holgate's Ace 2.6 filling the largest AC class of the day, complemented by Melanie Hutton's lovely Aceca Bristol. Regular attendees Bryan Moseley (3000ME) and David Goose (Brooklands Ace) completed the AC-car line-up, with a further 12 ACOC members participating in non-AC cars.

Overall fastest time of the day went to Glyn Sketchey in his Force PT with a time of 90.21. Damp track conditions appear to have little impact on Glyn and his winged steed... I can't wait to see what time he posts next year when he plans to run with the turbo at full boost!

The prize giving at the end of the day was a very jovial affair with lots of happy faces and more than a few interesting stories. The paddock then clears fairly quickly as the light starts to fade. There are a number of competitors with fairly long homeward journeys (either in the car in which they'd just competed or on a trailer behind them) but the person with perhaps the longest journey ahead of him was Constant Wagner who'd come across from Luxembourg to spectator – it was a lovely surprise to see him.

Overall, the 2017 Sprint was another resounding success and I'm please to be able to confirm that the 2018 Sprint will once again be returning to Goodwood with 10th November now confirmed as the date. I trust you all have a good festive break and look forward to seeing you all again next year!

[MkIV Lux]

see if it is possible to attach a photo here ......


looks like it works ......  ;) ;) ;) 

thanks Bryan, you deserve a couple of beers  ;) ;)

[MkIV Lux]

tribute to the man who pulled it all together .....

[MkIV Lux]

 ;) ;) tribute to all volunteers who helped

[C9OBY]

tribute to the man who pulled it all together .....

Thanks Constant, and here is one of the photo's I'd just taken / was about to take when you snapped me ;)

[C9OBY]

or in B&W (with you looking on from the top of the stairs!)

[MkIV Lux]

 :) :) thanks for the nice pic, Bruce