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HiFi Lounge Goes Motor Racing!

HiFi Lounge

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We Must Be Crazy :)

Hi All,

So this is probably the craziest thing I have ever decided to do but we has just bought a race car and HiFi Lounge are going Motor Racing :) We are entering a 12 round championship with races around the UK and I would love as many of our customer’s as possible to become involved by coming along to the races, other than being a hifi dealer I have always joked that being a racing driver would be my dream job so this is an attempt to merge my 2 passions together, I have spent my whole life watching far too much motorsport so I am hoping some of it may have sunk in :)

So when we say race car, what have we actually bought? Well there is no point mucking about so we have jumped in at the deep end with the slightly scary Radical SR1, for those who don’t know Radical Cars they are a local company based up the road at Peterborough and make pretty much everything in house and offer a range of pretty epic cars and for many people Radical offer are their first steps into motorsport, especially with the SR1 as they make the whole daunting process of going racing reasonably straight forward, you can read more about the car below -

https://www.radicalsportscars.com/our-cars/sr1



The Best Of British HiFi

The idea is to run a ‘Best Of British HiFi’ Car, we have a few sponsors lined up but as soon as everything is confirmed we will make an announcement regarding who is crazy enough to back us.

What started as an idea for a bit of fun has turned into a serious project now, basically I needed a race medical which luckily I passed this week, I have had to get all the racing kit, you know it is serious when you have to buy a Hans device :) I have then got my racing licence test at Brands Hatch at the end of February, we have had to employ a race team to run the car, we have gone with the guys at UPE Motorsport so look forward to a fun year with these guys, please see a link to their Facebook page below and my my first test in the car is at Snetterton in a few days with another shortly after at Rockingham then Oulton Park, the Car is being built now then we can have the fun part of designing the livery.

https://www.facebook.com/UPEMotorsport/

Keep Up To Date On How The Season Is Going!

We have a Motorsport page now on HFL’s homepage where all this years goings on will be posted with live feeds from the track so please keep an eye on this if you are a fellow petrolhead and also we will posting regularly on our social media feeds so if you don’t already follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please follow the links below

HFL Motorsport Page - http://hifilounge.co.uk/index.php?route=information/motorsports

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HiFiLoungeUK/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/hifilounge

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hifi_lounge/

We will also be holding a motorsport themed ‘Boys Toys’ open day shortly where we will be running a driving based competition where the winners will get full hospitality at one of the race meetings so please watch this space.

Please Support Us At The Track!

The races are on Saturday’s so it means HFL will be closing on 6 Saturday’s this year but as many of our customers are petrolheads I am hoping that a lot of you will come along to support our efforts and believe me I will need as much support as I can get as this is the fist time I have driven a car with real downforce which is a scary thought.

So please see the race calendar below and please put any of the races in your calendar that you think you can make it along to, if you can’t get to the track then the races are also broadcast live on you tube although you probably won’t see much of me as I expect to be trailing round at the back until I’ve got some experience in the car :)



So this is really just a headsup to the madness ahead for 2018 but please keep your eye out on the website on the Motorsport page for all the latest news, just hope I can get to the end of the year unscathed and with my dignity intact :)

Definitely looking forward to a fun year though with lots to learn :)

Please see a few photo’s below from the recent AutoSport show where I signed on the dotted line, I must say it seemed like a good idea at the time but as the first race gets closer I am already starting to feel the nerves.









Cheers,

Paul.
 
Hi All,

I just thought I would post a few pictures I took when on a Factory Tour of Radical Sportscars the other day, I have to say I was really surprised at the size of Radical as a company, good to see a local company doing so well
1f642.png


This is just a small part of the factory!



So this what my SR1 looks like under the skin





Now onto the cars!





Love the colour of this one!







This is really is a road going version, the RXC GT, Nice!











Cheers,
Paul.
 
A Big Day Tomorrow!



Hi All,

So tomorrow is a big day as I am off to Brands Hatch to take my ARDS Race License test, now that is something I never thought I’d be saying a couple of months ago :)

All a bit nerve racking really as it is a 3 hour test and it must be 30 years since I last did a test of any kind and I have never driven Brands in anger before so lots to learn, I have been told that the test is pretty straight forward though which almost makes it worse as if I fail I will then look like a right Muppet :)

Anyway plenty of PMA needed for tomorrow and I will post if I pass or fail.



In other news I want to thank the guys at UPE Motorsports yesterday for collecting my Radical SR1 which was finished being built this week just in time for my first test in the car on Tuesday at Snetterton, exciting times, I wonder what adventures this car will see this year, hopefully not too many trips to the kitty litter of worse.







Just need to get some HiFi Stickers on it now :)

Cheers,
Paul.
 


Cue Drum Roll ……..

So just got back from a day at Brands Hatch and I am pleased to say that I passed my ARDS Test.

Not sure that quite makes me a racing driver yet but it is definitely a step in the right direction and I can now look forward to a year racing in the Radical SR1 Cup around the UK.

In the end I was surprised how relaxed I was, I was expecting to be riddled with nerves but they never materialised, I think listening to Bruce Springsteen live at New York on the way must have helped :)

In the written exam there were a couple of questions that were designed to catch you out but I got a 100% pass here then it was on to the driving exam, this was in a turbo Peugeot that was a lot softer sprung than I am used to but was still fast and I got commended on my speed, consistency and awareness, especially as I had never driven Brands before and passed with flying colours.

I have to say that driving Paddock Hill Bend at speed is awesome, so much steeper than you realise, can’t wait to try that in the Radical, could be quite scary.

So all in all an excellent day, the next steps are for me to head over to UPE Motorsports tomorrow for my first time to sit in the car so we can adjust the seat, peddles and belts etc and get me as comfortable in the car as possible before my first days testing at Snetterton on Tuesday, there could be a major fly in the ointment here though with the impending snow that is due to hit so we’ll have to see how that pans out.

Anyway really pleased that the ARDS test is out the way, such a small stamp below should hopefully unlock a year of fun :)



Cheers,
Paul.
 
Anyone Got Any Snow Tyres?

Hi All,

Just a quick update today to say that I was supposed to be having my first outing in the car today at a test session organised by Radical Cars at Snetterton, I got up at 5am and headed off but as I got closer the temperature dropped to -7 and the whole of the track was covered in snow, we waited around for an hour or so but the conditions got worse and it was decided to cancel the session which was a real shame as I was keen to get stuck in.

At this rate I won’t get any track time before the first race in a months time, just as well that I like a challenge :)



My car is in there somewhere!





Good to see pictures of my racing hero, Mika Hakkinen on the walls of the Cafe at Snet though :)



Better luck for the next test at Rockingham in a few weeks time.

Cheers,

Paul.
 
HFL Race Team Wear, The Fashion Clothing of 2018 :)

Hi Everyone,

So with only less than 2 weeks to go to my first race the excitement is really starting to build, in preparation we have had our Team HiFi Lounge Race Wear designed with the help from Simon at UPE Motorsport who are running my car this year and it does look really great if I do say so myself :)

We are going with fleeces and light weight jackets to start with, the fleeces are around £50 and the jackets £70, if anyone would like to grab any let me know and we can get more ordered.



A Testing Time!

One major problem with only less than 2 weeks to go till the first race is that I still haven’t actually driven the Radical SR1 that I will be racing yet due to the first test being cancelled because of snow, so we are planning to be running at Rockingham tomorrow but once again the snow has hit us, hopefully the worst is out the way though and we actually get some miles in, being a big Nascar fan it is going to be awesome to run on some of the Oval at Rockingham :)

Then on Friday we are up at Oulton Park, where the first race will be held, for more testing then it is straight into qualifying on the Saturday of the Easter weekend, no pressure then :) but hopefully by the end of this coming week I will have a good feel for the car.

Here is my Radical all loaded up at UPE ready for action, hopefully.



Please keep an eye on our Motorsports page as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for live updates from the track.

Cheers,

Paul.
 
1st Drive In Our Radical SR1 -Report!

Hi Everyone,



I thought I would just jot down a few thoughts from my first drive in the Radical SR1 at Oulton Park on Friday, I must say I was very relieved to finally get out in the car after our first 2 tests being cancelled due to snow and with my first race less than 1 week away.

So how did it go? well looking back a couple of days later I would say I was fairly happy although I need to go a fair bit faster but for my first drive in the car at a circuit I didn’t know and to be fair is a pretty scary track, then I was reasonably happy at the end of the day.

Blimey It’s Fast!

So as an overview of the day, basically it was a general test day so there was some seriously quick machinery there of all kinds, it was quite cool start to the day when sitting in the cafe on my own eating a sausage sandwich and Matt Neal walked in, the triple British Touring Car Champion, to get his breakfast, that actually bought it home a little that this was all about to get quite serious.

The day was broken down into 4 x 30 minute sessions, I had 2 drives in the morning and another 2 in the afternoon, below are my thoughts on how each session went.



Session 1

So to say I was nervous would be a slight understatement as I had only driven 3 track days before and done some karting a few years ago but the guys as UPE Motorsport really helped me settle into the car and made me feel like there was no pressure and I need to get to feel the car first and to find my own limits.

So bearing in mind that the car had never been driven before in an ideal world we would have had someone who knows Radicals shake the car down but due to the test day cancellations this was never done so came down to me, so it was a case of going out for one lap then coming straight back in which I did and to me at least everything felt great, then I repeated the same but this time for 3 laps and then back in, again all seemed good so then I was free to go out until the end of the session and to start building my speed up but before I knew it the 30 mins was over and I was back in the pits but happy with my first drive.



Session 2

So now it was time to start pushing the car a little, as the track was still damp we did session 1 and 2 on wets which still felt very quick indeed and to be fair I still wasn’t reaching the limits of the tyres or the car, it’s really hard to describe how fast and physical these cars are, I had been practicing on Project Cars on Xbox which is great for learning the circuit but has no real way of giving you the sensation of speed and how scary it can be, in the game I can take some corners easily flat but in real life this is a very different story.

So during this session I was reasonably happy with my progress and got down to a 1m 59 second lap time which apparently on wets was pretty respectable, one thing I did notice was that when going down the main straight I was noticing that my head was being pushed back due to doing over 100 mph without a wind screen and after a while my neck was really starting to hurt, so after a couple of trips into the pits the guys added extra padding to the headrest which ended up helping a lot, looks like I need to get down the gym to start working my neck out :)



Session 3

So after a quick bite of lunch I was back in the car, this time on dry tyres so I was expecting to take quite a chunk of my time but in the end it ended up being a bit of a messy session with yellow flags then a red flag to stop the session and I was still concerned about my neck pain so I actually ended up going 2 secs slower, to say I was not impressed is a understatement so I went off, sat in the van and gave myself a telling off :) This was actually becoming a lot harder than I thought as the quick guys were doing 1 min 50′s so I was 10 secs of the pace which was quite shocking as it felt like I was going really fast, It’s much easier watching it on the TV that’s for sure.



Session 4

So with this being the last session of the day and my last drive in the car before qualifying the following weekend for my first race I was determined to try harder and to find some time, in the end I got down to a 1 min 56 which made me a little happier as at least I improved and I got within 1 sec of my team mate who raced his Radical last year so he is a very good benchmark but there is still a lot more speed in the car, I just need to find it in myself to man up and to throw caution to the wind a little more.

I have spent all weekend watching quick laps round Oulton Park in Radical’s on You Tube and to be fair I am pretty happy with my lines and breaking but there are 3 really quick corners at Oulton and I am sure it is here that I am loosing most of my time as well as that I am lifting when approaching Druids which should be flat out so I am confident that when next back in the car for Qualifying I can find some more time.

Doing quick laps on your own is one thing though but once it comes to racing then I am sure that will be a totally different experience again.

1st Race This Weekend



So this Easter weekend I have qualifying on Saturday followed by 2 x 20 minute races, certainly going to be a fun weekend, I hope my body has recovered by then as my arms and neck are still aching a fair bit, I have ordered some brave pills from the chemist as I know that all the extra speed I need is in me not being such a wimp in the quick stuff, to be honest though I am gagging to get back in the car to see if I can find that missing time.

Watch this space and I will report back after the first race weekend and will hopefully be able to load up some race footage.

Cheers,

Paul.
 
1st Race Weekend Report From Oulton Park!



So that is the first race weekend done and dusted and what an experience it was, for me as I had spent so little time in the car the main thing was all about getting to the end of the day unscathed, which we just about did although I definitely had a few hairy moments, and to learn how a race weekend works, procedure, time tables etc and not to do anything silly.

Qualifying

Heading Out For 1st Qualifying Session



Firstly we were blessed with the weather, I had been watching forecasts all week and whichever you looked at we would get wet at some point but miraculously other than the odd drizzle we had a day of dry running. Qualifying was at 10.40am and was a 20 minute session where your quickest time set the grid for race 1 and your second quickest set the grid for race 2.

Now I had been watching YouTube video’s all week on how to drive a Radical SR1 round Oulton Park, so in my head I knew what to do I just had to actually go out and do it, in an ideal world I to achieve a time of 1min 51 seconds which was 5 seconds quicker than I went in testing the week before, so we all drove down to the holding area 20 mins before qualifying was due to start and I sat there running the lap through my head, just like a real racing driver :)

The only fly in the ointment was that due to heavy rain the night before the track was damp so it was declared a wet session so qualifying would be run on wets, so out we went but in all honestly on the racing line the track was pretty much dry, you just had to be careful to not go onto the wet stuff.

I slowly built up my speed and had a good few clear laps and by the end I could really feel the car moving around under me as I pushed it, in the end I got to the point on a couple of corners where the tyres were at their limit and I had a few scary sideways moments but at the end I achieved a couple of laps in the low 1min 52’s which I was delighted with especially as we were on wet’s, so this meant I started race 1 in 6th and race 2 in 5th, out qualifying my more experienced team mate on both occasions, so after Qualy it really felt like job done, now it was just a matter of 2 races to go.





Post Qualy Interview



Race 1

Getting Ready!





I must admit both races flew by and in all honesty I really don’t remember much as I was so focused on keeping it on the black stuff everything else was a blur, you don’t even notice anyone watching until the end and also my team were displaying my pit board every lap but I never noticed it once, Oulton Park really is a challenging circuit that grabs your attention with the quick corners as there really isn’t any run off before you hit the barrier so it is really difficult to balance speed with bravery.

So race 1 was at 1.30pm so you meet in the holding area 20 mins before the start in race order, get yourself strapped in and comfortable then follow the pace car onto the track for your lap to the grid, here it is about warming the tyres and bakes, then you take your grid position, not really sure what happened here but the marshall’s got myself and 5th mixed round so we had to swap positions after our green flag lap which followed next, again this is all about getting the car up to temperature, So now it is time for my first race start, the first mission here is not to stall.

Once we were all in grid position we waited for the 5 second board then everyone ups their revs to around 6000 RPM which is all very exciting then the lights go out and we are off, miraculously no one stalled and we were off racing. In all honesty my problem here is that once the lights go out you have to be at 100% straight away, no building up slowly but it did take me a couple of laps to get to where I should be so lost a couple of places.

In the Radical SR1 Cup there are three different championships, I’m never going to win the overall as some of the younger drivers are much quicker at the moment but there is also a Rookie Cup and the Fangio Cup for drivers over 45, needless to say the Fangio Cup is my focus at the moment, it is here that we had a good battle, for the whole race I kept one of my competitors behind me, he was quicker on some parts and I was quicker on others, but then my team mate took me only to spin on one of the quick left handers but he recovered then came at me again, this time he got me down the straight but then the next time I saw him he had spun and hit one of the barriers but overall in the race he was definitely quicker than me, in the end I came home as the winner of the Fangio class which meant a trip to the podium and a trophy from my first race which in my wildest dreams I never expected.

A 20 minute race really doesn’t sound long but I was so happy to see the chequered flag, these cars as so physical and mentally draining I really had enough by the end, I really don’t know how the F1 and LeMans drivers do it.



Really Happy with Race 1



Another Interview as Winner of the Fangio Class.







Race 2



So we had a spot of lunch and waited for the 2nd race at 5.30pm, by this time the temperature had dropped noticeably and whilst sitting in the holding area it started to drizzle again, we had to wait longer as in the previous race someone had put it into the barriers and done some serious damage to the barrier so this had to be repaired first, but eventually we were on the grid revving the engines waiting for the red lights to go out.

Now this race didn’t go quite as well as the first, unfortunately the car in front of me stalled so I had no where to go so by the time I had drove around him I was pretty much last but I caught one of my fellow Fangio competitors and then ensued a great race where I finally threw it done the inside going into the chicane and took the place, I didn’t realise at the time but my team mate also stalled it on the grid so I was now the lead Fangio car but then it all went horribly wrong.

I really don’t know what happened but looking in the racing drivers book of excuses I think I was trying a little too hard on a cooler, damp track and going through one of the chicanes I floored it on the exit only to hit the inner kerb and the car instantly spun round and before I knew it I was on the grass and facing the wrong way, bugger, all that hard work lost, basically I just run out of talent.

So now I started to panic a little and for whatever reason I couldn’t get it into first gear so I tried to pull away in 2nd and then got it on the track only to stall it in everyones way, bugger again, so in the end I had to retire and just watched the rest of the race with the marshalls behind the barriers, once the race was over I jumped back in the car and drove it back, so in the end no damage was done, in reality I was very lucky as when I was driving back one of my competitors had binned in into the barriers on the last lap and had done some serious damage but luckily he was OK.

So in the end it was a very mixed weekend with a great Qualifying, a race one trophy then a spin and DNF for race 2 but overall I left the circuit with a big smile and an eagerness to get in the car again as I know there is still a lot of speed left in the car and myself.

Still Smiling after a rather eventful race 2!





A Big Thank You!

Firstly I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who came to support us, some driving a long way to get to Oulton, it was brilliant to see so many friendly faces there and despite the cold weather everyone seemed to have a good time.

Also a big thanks to Simon and Darren and UPE Motorsport for doing a stirling job in giving me a brilliant car to race and also thanks to Radical for doing such a brilliant job of making everyone feel so welcome, there were 8 rookies but there is such great sense of comradeship in the paddock it is a brilliant place to spend the day.

Next Race meeting and hospitality.



So the next race isn’t until the 12th May at Snetterton but if anyone fancy’s coming along just let me know as we can get a limited number of passes and also if you want full hospitality please let me know in advance as I need to book it with Radical, basically it is £30 a head and you get breakfast and lunch on race day + drinks and nibbles through the day, I have to say the food was epic, if I had been given this in a restaurant I would have been happy so as you can imagine it is much better than any other race track food + you can spend the day in the paddock.



I am going to try and edit some video footage later for my qualifying and races so if I can figure it out I will upload it.

Roll on Snetterton but until then back to the day job of being a HiFi dealer :)

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,

Paul.
 
A Couple of quick video’s

Hi Everyone,

So I have just figured out how to edit video’s, in true apple fashion is is made very easy.

Qualifying Lap

This is my best qualifying lap which I was very pleased with, especially as we were running on the wet tyres, to be fair though there is still a lot of time to be had as I really need to brake much later and carry more speed in the fast corners but for a 1st attempt I was very happy.


From Hero To Zero

This clip isn’t quite as good, I had just taken the lead in the Fangio Cup runnings but for some reason under acceleration from the chicane I just spun out, I had taken that corner the same lap after lap but maybe due to the colder weather and moisture in the air just touching the kerb was all it took, a lesson learnt definitely.


Cheers,
Paul.
 
Snetterton Testing Report, Starting to get to grips with the car!



Hi Everyone,

Just thought I would post a quick blog as went out testing yesterday at Snetterton in the Radical in preparation for our next race weekend there on May 12th, we only run the 200 configuration where for the race weekend we will be running the longer 300 version but I just felt I needed more time in the car to try and help understand this downforce thing.

In end I got nearly 3 hours of running and doesn’t my body know it today, my arms are really aching as Snetterton is a very fast and physically demanding circuit, towards the end of the day I started making mistakes as that much time in the car really does drain you mentally when you are not used to it.

In the end it was a brilliant day and I learned so much and am now starting to feel at home in the car, after our first race weekend at Oulton Park a few weeks ago I felt that I should have done better really even though it was my first run in the car I knew I had more to give but Oulton is a pretty scary place and my hope was that Snetterton was flat and wide so that would give me more confidence.

To help push me on I had Tom Gladdis who has had a pretty esteemed racing career as my driver coach, he was just brilliant as he didn’t pressure me but just gave excellent advice which I did my best to follow, basically he went out and set a benchmark lap of 1min 17 and then I did my best lap of 1min 23 after my first session then looking at the data we could compare where I was loosing the time, basically as at Oulton it was all on the brakes and in the fast corners, technically my driving style was good it was just I needed to be braver and trust the aero but as the day went on I chipped away with Tom’s help and got down to a 1min 20 which I was really happy with, I think if I had strung every sector together I could have done a 1min 19 but by the end of the day I was frazzled :)

The car went straight from Snetterton to the graphics shop to get it all HiFi Lounge’d up, can’t wait to see it once done.

Anyway here is my best lap of the day, roll on the race weekend :)










Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi Everyone,

Radical posted highlights from our first race weekend at Oulton Park up on YouTube a couple of days ago if anyone would like a look, haven't bought myself to watch them yet but looks like great coverage, links to Race 1 and Race 2 below.



Cheers,
Paul.
 
2nd Race Weekend at Snetterton this Saturday May 12th!



Hi all,

So here we go again, just a quick headsup for anyone that is following my Radical SR1 race adventures that the 2nd race weekend is with us already this coming Friday / Saturday at Snetterton, basically practicing on the Friday with Qualifying and 2 races on the Saturday. Snetterton looks a little more straightforward than Oulton Park in that it is flat and wide but it is actually a very fast circuit so the car will definitely be able to stretch its legs and I will get more practice at trying to get the hang of keeping the speed up in the fast corners which is my main weakness.

I feel much more prepared for this weekend now that I know the procedure of how a race day pans out + I have spent more time in the car so feel a bit more confident there. My main goal for this weekend is to be more competitive than at the first race at Oulton but also the main priority is to finish both races being that I only finished one at Oulton as I spun off in the 2nd race.



New Car Livery

So in-between races we have had the car’s livery designed in HiFi Lounge colours with our Sponsors put on the car, I actually haven’t seen it myself yet so this weekend will be it’s first showing, can’t wait to see it, we have a photoshoot planned for the following week so that we can announce our Sponsors officially and to get the story in the HiFi mags but at least the car will be more noticeable on track from now onwards.

Follow Our Progress with TSL Timing

We actually have quite a few friends coming along to support us for this event as well as taking advantage of the Radical hospitality package so look forward to seeing everyone on the Saturday, for those who can’t make it along but would still like to follow our progress there is a brilliant website called TSL Timing where you can follow qualifying and the race, please see link below -

http://www.tsl-timing.com/

So fingers crossed for a dry weekend so that I can hopefully get a better feel for how I fare up against the rest of the competition in the SR1 Cup.

For those who are coming along please see the event calendar below, looks like it will be a fun weekend of racing.



Cheers,
Paul.
 
Snetterton Race Weekend Photo Book + Video!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to post a few pictures from last weekends race at Snetterton, a big thanks to Oliver Read, Radical’s Photographer for taking such awesome pictures :)

Looking back on my 2nd race weekend I would say I did OK but not great, made big gains on Friday in testing thanks to my coach Tom Gladdis where he helped me find over 5 seconds from where I started the day getting down to a 2 min 3 sec lap which I was pretty happy with bearing in mind I had never driven the Snetterton 300 layout before.

Race day was a bit of a mixed bag really, I think I was still on the sun bed on my holiday to be honest, qualified 10th for both races, we had some new guys join the grid for this weekend who had a lot of race experience so it was difficult to compete with them. We also reverted over to rolling starts for the first time which was a little nerve racking beforehand but actually went pretty smoothly.

The first race started off OK then around half way I kind of just settled into a pace and almost stopped pushing, not really sure what that was all about to be honest, then between races we had a big downpour which was starting to dry out before the race but conditions were very slippery and as I had never driven in the wet before I just wasn’t confident to push at the start, especially as cars were spinning off on the warm up laps so I went into self preservation mode and just wanted to get to the end in one piece, in the end half way through the race we had a safety car as someone spun off and got stuck in a dangerous place so it wasn’t much of a race but on the last lap I was just starting to feel the grip levels when the chequered flag came out, but good experience if nothing else.

The main objective was to finish both races which I did and I closed the gap to my fellow ‘Fangio’ Competitors but in all honesty I was hoping to be a little more competitive.

Silverstone next though on June 23rd, this is the one race I have been looking forward to the most so I am really hoping I can be more competitive there.

Please find below the video of my best lap from the weekend, as you can see the gearbox got stuck in 5th going into the last corner so I would imagine I lost a fair bit of time there but all in all I was pretty happy with the lap.










































Cheers,
Paul.
 
Silverstone Lap + Free Hospitality Results from BTD Day!

Hi Everyone,

Our next Radical SR1 race is at Silverstone on June 23rd and in preparation for this I was out testing on Friday to help get more familiar with the car and also with the track, I have to say this was the first time I have been in the car and actually not been scared :) I actually started to feel relaxed in it and really enjoyed the day, I think it helps that even though Silverstone is a fast track it is very wide with large run off areas, I have watched many of my heroes over the years race around here, there is just so much great history, it really was epic to drive a race car around here myself :)

We were testing on the full Grand Prix layout which was great fun but for our race we will be on the National layout which is much shorter but I am really hoping I can be more competitive here, at the end of the day there are only 5 corners, how hard can that be, famous last words :)

Anyway, please find a lap from Friday’s testing, not sure if it was my fastest time as my telemetry was all up the spout, it still amazes me how fast it feels in the car but when I watch it back it really looks like I’m not even trying, I can definitely see where I can improve though which is good news, especially as there were a couple of mistakes on this lap, thanks again to Daz at UPE Motorsport and Tom, my coach, for helping me get the best out of the day.


Silverstone Hospitality - June 23rd

So for this years Boys Toys Day we said for the top 5 times on our simulator we would offer free full hospitality and free entry to our Silverstone race on June 23rd, so please see below for the top 5 times, if you are on this can you please e-mail me on the below address, also for £30 a head if you’d also like to come along and take advantage of Radicals brilliant Hospitality package please let me know.

[email protected]

The Top 5 Times.



Everyone else’s times.



Cheers,
Paul.
 
A Big Thanks To Our Radical Sponsors!



I’m not really sure when the idea popped into my head about going racing with Radical Sportscars but as soon as it did I thought it would be really cool if we could run it as a HiFi Car, then the idea developed into a ‘Best Of British’ HiFi Car, so the next step was to approach all my British brands that we work with, now I knew this wasn’t going to be everyones cup of tea, in fact I did wonder if anyone would be mad enough to agree but luckily enough 6 of our brands were crazy enough to think it was a good idea and they agreed to help with sponsoring the car.

So the next step was to design the livery in the HiFi Lounge colours and to cover it with our sponsors, I am really pleased how it has turned out, it looks like a real racing car now where as at the first race weekend it did look a little plain but at least it is easy to spot on track now and is also getting people talking in the pit lane, it turns out one of my competitors makes the case work for dCS, small world.

So I’d like to say a huge thanks to the following companies for supporting this mad cap idea especially as I am finding out that motorsport is definitely not a cheap past time but with their support it is definitely helping but more importantly it is really cool to be driving a HiFi themed Race Car :)

So thanks to our 4 main sponsors of (in alphabetical order) Chord Electronics, Naim Audio, PMC Speakers and Trilogy Audio as well as our other 2 additional sponsors of Atlas Cables and Rega, thanks guys, really appreciate your support.

A couple of weeks ago we had a photo shoot at HiFi Lounge with all the representatives from each company which was a lot of fun, here are a few of the pics from the day with each relevant sponsor -

Maurice From Chord Electronics

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-electronics



Mike From Naim Audio

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-audio



Tom From PMC Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-speakers



Nigel Representing Trilogy Audio

http://hifilounge.co.uk/trilogy



Rob From Rega

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega



Donal From Atlas Cables

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-cables



Also here are a few random pics from the day + a couple from when on track -

















Thanks again everyone for your support, know I just need to start getting faster :)

Cheers.

Paul.
 
We're Racing In The Radical SR1 Cup at Silverstone This Saturday, How Exciting!



Hi Everyone,

Just a quickie to say that I will be racing our HiFi Lounge Radical SR1 at Silverstone this weekend, now there is a sentence I never thought I’d be saying :)

When we signed up for the SR1 Cup at the start of the year this was the race that I circled on the calendar as the race I was most looking forward to, firstly I have actually driven this track once on a track day last year and also, it is Silverstone :) For me it doesn’t get any better than this, the first Grand Prix I ever went to was to see Nigel Mansell win in style in the Williams in 1992 and I have been back countless times since so to actually follow in so many greats footsteps and actually race myself at this brilliant track is a big tick on my Bucket List.

National Circuit



I will be practising on Friday with Qualifying and 2 races on Saturday, we are running on the National Circuit which really only has 6 corners so I expect the races to be pretty frantic but good fun hopefully, I think my main challenge will be taking Copse fast enough as fast corners have been my main weakness so far but I am definitely getting a little braver each time out in the car so hopefully that continues and I don’t run out of talent :)

We have quite a few friends coming along to watch which is great but if you can’t make it along you can follow our progress on TSL Timing, link below -

https://www.tsl-timing.com/

And also here is the timetable, a nice early start for Qualifying.



Cheers,
Paul.
 
Silverstone SR1 Photo Book + Fastest Lap & Cockup Video!



Hi All,

Well the weekend was definitely a big tick on my bucket list to say that I have now raced at Silverstone :)

In all honesty though I really thought this would be my best track as I had driven it before in a Caterham but in reality it turned out to be a real bogey track, I made progress on the quick guys and I was generally OK everywhere other than Maggott’s, I just couldn’t get that corner right all weekend, as you can see from a clip taken from Qualifying, I was determined to get it right but in the end I think I was just trying too hard so in this clip you will see the first damage I have done to the car by hitting a cone pretty hard which split my front splitter, then I did my quickest lap of the weekend, a 1.02.27, then I attacked again and went straight on at Maggots and had a nice chat with the marshalls, certainly an entertaining qualifying session.

At the end of the weekend though I was fairly happy as I drove as hard as I could, it just wasn’t quick enough compared to the rest of the grid finishing both races towards the back, Cadwell Park next though which looks terrifying but as I have found out at Silverstone you never know which tracks will suit your driving style so fingers crossed.


Please find a few pictures below from the weekend.

























Cheers,
Paul.
 
Cadwell Park Race Weekend Photo’s + Video Report!



Hi Everyone,

Well firstly I have to say that I have never driven Cadwell Park before and I have heard mixed reports from various people that I would either love it or hate it due to it being very narrow with the barriers very close and that you actually get airborne at the so called ‘Mountain’ well I am pleased to say that I actually loved this track, definitely one of my favourites and in a very picturesque setting it really is tough to beat.

So how did the weekend go? well in all honestly I am getting really frustrated now that I am just not quicker, everyone tells me the first year is all about learning and that I have jumped in at the deep end with a Radical but in my head I am Nigel Mansell but in reality I am more like Driving Miss Daisy :)

So in the end it was a weekend of highs and lows, one minute I love being in the car and the overall speed, then I get frustrated as I want to be quicker then I relax and love it again, one thing is for sure, this motorsport thing certainly challenges you emotionally as well as mentally, it really gets in your head, which is crazy really as this is supposed to be fun but you just can’t help getting caught up in the whole thing and putting yourself under pressure, which I guess is only natural.

Overall though Cadwell was a great experience and I learnt a little more, now I just need to to teach my brain to get off the brakes a little earlier and get on the power quicker, how hard can that really be :)

Off to Donnington Park next for my 50th Birthday weekend over the weekend of September 8th, hopefully I can have a breakthrough here and really get on top if this car which really is easier said than done, loads of PMA needed :)

Please keep an eye out as I will be announcing a pretty cool competition shortly where you can win some laps as a passenger with my coach at Donnington on September 7th.

Please find my fastest lap below, never did get the hang of the 1st corner really -


































Cheers,
Paul.
 
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.
 
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.





















 
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