Martin Galpin | Racing Driver » Festival Fever

Festival Fever: Looking to Sunday

Martin — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:06:14 +0000

A quick update: engine began cutting out after 3 laps of qualifying and developed into a terminal misfire. We’ve rewired most of the ignition electrics now in hope for more luck in our semi-final tomorrow. Related posts:Festival Fever: It’s tomorrowFestival Fever: ReviewFestival Fever: Day One

Festival Fever: It’s tomorrow

Martin — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:32:51 +0000

On the eve of our third day of trying, we still haven’t turned a single lap in anger. We’re already at Brands Hatch and I suppose that means we’re doing the Festival now. But with no seat time, no setup and a car which appears to be a long way from competitive, it will be a far cry from what I had wanted.

Thus far my Formula Ford career has been little short of a categorical disaster. This is how succesful yesterday was for us:

Session 1	Engine cuts off within half a lap – wont restart. Rebuild carburettor during interval. In addition, replace ignition unit and coil.
Session 2	Engine cuts off again within half a lap. Notice white smoke from exhaust – strip engine and replace head gasket.
Session 3	Missed due to above.
Session 4	Engine cutting off appears to be fixed. Two laps until left rear puncture. Change wheel, two laps and misfire develops due to flat battery. End of session.

It was a hard and hectic days work for very little gain. Taking positives from it, if it is possible, these are problems which would have happened later in the weekend and so if we have got on top of them now, I guess that is good.

Despite no serious running, I can be sure of one thing; the engine is tired and in desperate need of a rebuild.

In motorsport, seat time is everything. Seat time can make a mediocore driver look talented or conversly, a talented driver look mediocore. Regrettably, I fear it is exactly that I have to worry about.

What ever does happen this weekend, it will be an experience and I’m so far in the deep end that I can only get stronger. However, performance wise, I have little to look forward to and in the midst of what will be a difficult weekend, I have to remember – I am actually a champion, afterall.

So until qualifying, this is it. Qualifying begins at 1030AM tomorrow and the racing not until Sunday. If the car holds together, qualifying will be my first opportunity to explore the limits of the car. Throw in new (and yet to be bedded-in) brake pads and an unscrubbed set of new tyres, I simply cannot wait…

Festival Fever: Day One

Martin — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 19:30:14 +0000

It was a difficult first day. In fact, it wasn’t much of a day at all. After ten laps during the morning session we struggled with a misfire until the clutch failed in the pit-lane. After so much effort, day one ended in disappointment.

On Tuesday we had taken the car to a nearby airfield for a shake down. The car hadn’t moved for over a year and so it made sense to do a basic systems check before we arrived at Brands Hatch. It would also serve as a nice opportunity to get many of the “first times” over with and get a feel for what is new and what is different.

After an hour or so of running up and down the disused runway there didn’t appear to be any major problems. The battery was unable to retain a charge and so needed replacing and we also attributed this as also being the likely cause of a misfire.

Arriving at Brands Hatch for a full days testing the overriding objective was to get comfortable in the car and become familiar with the new environment. The plan was to do a exploratory day on Thursday, one more test during the week of the Festival and then to enter qualifying giving it our best.

We set out for the first session of testing at 0930. Despite a new battery, the curious misfire remained. After a couple of laps I came in searching for a cure and we made a few tweaks with the electronics, switched rotor arm, coil and plug leads, none of which made any difference.

Session two didn’t last very long either. The misfire had moved up the rev band now, from 6200RPM to somewhere around 6600RPM. Sadly, the Swift had had enough for the day and as I selected first gear in the pit lane, the clutch failed. With no spare, and no other FF Kent teams present, reluctantly it was time to go home.

Overall it was a frustrating debut. If I make an effort to draw positives from the day it was encouraging as I felt at home within the car. Whilst seat time is now a priority, it is not intimidating and whilst I still know very little about the ultimate competitiveness of the car, I think I will be able to reach its limit very quickly.

A new clutch will be installed early this week and in the meantime, I need a strategy to get this project back on track.

Festival Fever: Get Your Diary

Martin — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:50:58 +0000

June is an awfully long time ago. For one reason or another I haven’t managed to keep the Festival series going as I had intended. I’m going to play catch up now and bring this back up to date.

I have to admit that after stating it was our intention to contest the Formula Ford Festival, we became preoccupied with the hectic schedule of UK Formula Vee – between June and August we were racing every other weekend. With the season now drawing to a close the focus is gradually moving towards the Festival.

Earlier in the year, I made enquires to try and ascertain how much it would cost to do the event properly. In a competitive car, with an established team, the going rate is roughly £1000+VAT per day. The Festival is a three day meeting, plus at least one day testing is going to cost in the region of £4000+VAT. Add a minimum of one new set of tyres (£400+VAT) and entry fees, I would say that about £5000 would be needed to do it properly.

After Snetterton, we had to switch from our regular GAC team to the established AHS outfit. Our first meeting at Brands Hatch was a distinct success (two pole positions, a 2nd place, a win and fastest lap) but it was in fact, more than that. The switch gave us an introduction to Alan Robinson, who has now become the key to my Formula Ford campaign.

Following Brands Hatch, Alan very kindly offered me the use of his Swift SC94 Formula Ford for the Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy. A rare example of generosity, which if I’m honest, is probably the only reason I will be able to compete.

There are still costs involved. We will use three sets of tyres, many litres of petrol, need an experienced FF engineer and have the usual fixed costs of entry and accommodation. However, not having to worry about a car really is the difference between doing it and not.

I do not think many drivers make their category debut at the Formula Ford Festival. It represents a great challenge and I am enthused by the prospect of making the most of this opportunity. Nobody will be expecting me to win and it would unwise for me to underestimate the competition and think that I will. Any good result there is likely to draw favourable attention and that is my goal.

In my local area I am working on something I call, Donate a Tyre, which I see as a simple way for companies (or individuals) to support me for little cost whilst benefiting from a favourable return in publicity. Check it out: http://number66.net/donate.

I will continue to update further as it develops.

Festival Fever: The beginning.

Martin — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:00:59 +0000

I have made no secret of my desire to race something else at some point during this year. After I failed to secure the budget necessary to race in Formula Palmer Audi I was left wondering: what am I doing? Where I am going? I’ve thought about it since Mallory Park and what I need I need is a goal, one which is achievable.

However hard it is to believe, it is already mid-June and so finding a one-off drive in another series would be difficult, especially in a competitive car. Therefore, the only logical option is a winter series or one-off event.

And now, without further ado, I’d like to announce that it is my intention to contest the Formula Ford 1600 Festival at Brands Hatch later this year.

Of the options available to me, it makes near perfect sense and this is why.

First, I feel that it is a saleable proposition. Whilst Formula Ford may have a lower profile now than it has in the past, the Formula Ford brand remains strong. People without a particular interest in motorsport usually recognise the name, if not the cars. More often than not, the Formula Ford Festival itself is also familiar. Similarly, the festival nature (dog eat dog knockout) means that opportunities for hospitality at the event are of more interest than single race weekends. Again, despite it not being the world event it was during the eighties, there is still a noticeable amount of notoriety to be gained from winning it – even in the Duratec age.

Whilst Formula Ford 1600 is comparatively faster than a UK Formula Vee, at Brands Hatch the difference is actually relatively small. As an example, if I were to enter my GAC01 Formula Vee, I would be confident of qualifying in the upper second half of a hypothetical 1600 grid. The point being: after little testing, I feel I would be on the pace and be competitive come the Festival.

Finally, although far from insignificant, the required budget is realistically attainable. I’ll divulge more details on this in at a later date but for the time being, the ratio between cost, impact, competitiveness and achievability is about right.

So how am I going to do this? Well, I’ll be honest: I’m approaching this with nothing. I have a lot of talk, a lot of ideas but to make the grid in October, everything I do will need to be monetarised. Part of my plans is the Festival Fever series, of which this is the first entry. I hope that over the next 120 days it will provide an interesting insight into raising a commercial motorsport budget, every step of the way and to detail which I have never before seen.

It makes sense to present my next steps before I close this entry. The following is a brief critical path of what I want to achieve over the next two weeks.

Next steps: From the beginning.

This is the reality of motorsport.