PART 3 – WOT, NO CARBON?

 

Work commences in anger now. Bear is playing with a new rear spoiler, we found one that looks quite a bit like the Lynx rear spoiler but fits within the JEC spoiler height rules, so he's off making that fit.

 

I spend three nights making the pieces to create another of our strengthed rear subframes, but we take this one a step further this time to strengthen the top of the cage in addition, also handily providing for mounting lugs for the "extras" planned later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A preview of the 2012 regulations, however, brings everything to a grinding halt again. No carbon fibre. This causes us a problem. Bear’s car has some internally, my whole carbon trim idea that I’ve only just flaming well finished came from his car, Christine had some of the dash pieces in from the wrecked Dave Eyles car that last raced in 2006. Vanessa has some carbon in the bonnet, and I’ve just made a bunch of bits to go in Helen to join the cosmetic parts she's had for the past 5 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The irony is that I made the new bits to help pick up the standard of presentation, as the JEC demand. But all our cars are, at this moment in time, illegal. Carbon has been at least a cosmetic feature of some cars I’m aware of since 2004. Now it’s not allowed.

 

Taking the bits off is not going to be cheap, but it’s not so much that cost as the hidden toll this takes on our race effort, we’re already set up for carbon fibre, we have the stuff. We can’t unbuy it, or unmake the bits that exist. Our carbon matting stocks become superfluous, and some of the plans we’d had to make a few more cosmetic items from it go up in smoke. I wanted to replicate a TWR spoiler in bare carbon. How cool would that have looked? Not expensive, just a lot of my time out in my shed, fiddling and swearing. It’s how our stuff gets made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s annoying, because this regulation misunderstands carbon fibre completely. A roll of carbon matting isn’t actually a great deal more expensive than fibreglass. You use it the same way. The resin is the same stuff for both, in fact it costs more in resin to make something than it costs in matting. The idea that you’re using carbon and therefore spending big money is nonsense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason it costs so much more to buy carbon parts is the time that goes into making them in such a shiny, cosmetically-appealing finish. Raw fibreglass parts tend to be a little less perfect because they are to be painted, carbon tends to go on in its raw finish because it looks good, and the bragging rights to having carbon depend on showing everyone that you have it. The cost of finished parts is therefore little to do with the material, so much as the reputation it has an exotic, expensive product, it’s like paying more for an Audi than a VW despite it being the same damned car. It's not the material, it's the time that goes with it, and that's not an issue for the man playing in his shed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The problem we have is this rule has appeared and we’re already committed, we had all this stuff over from a time before this rule. It’s as if a regulation came out that banned big-bore throttles, or ported heads. Great if you’ve not got one yet. Not if you have. I respect the presence of the rule, it’s been discussed and a decision has been made, so that’s that, game over. I don’t agree with the reason for it, which is ostensibly cost, but it has been done. Why don’t I agree? Well, it’s not actually expensive, and since when has cost been a factor anyway, really? After all, I can’t afford a race-tuned 6 litre V12, but I don’t think we should ban them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a tremendous difference between autoclaved suspension components, and non-structural parts made of wet-lay carbon. Helen’s rebuild goes on hiatus until we work out exactly what we’re building now.

 

It is a real shame. But, and this is a big, round, Lopez but, for us, half the fun of the racing is playing with the cars, we like it. We don’t like to come home, leave the thing in the truck, and roll it out next race, we like to tinker. I’ve never raced the car two events in a row in the same format, I have always, always changed something. This time round I was going to rebuild her over about three months and tinker to my heart’s content. I was looking forward to this for god’s sake, I’ve been doodling things in meetings all year for this moment, I had plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restrict my ability to play, and I lose interest. If I want to spend a week making a shiny carbon fibre bracket to hold my lap timer, why should anyone want to stop me?  It worries me that it is symptomatic of the desire to stop the obsessed amateur from tinkering. I like tinkering. I like learning. I like learning to tinker in new ways. I like learning from my tinkering. I’ve learned things and figured things out that I have then read about from a completely different source and discovered I got them right, which is tremendously fulfilling. Don’t take that away from me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our plans for the red car were wild. There was no real advantage to doing what we had in mind, but it would have been such fun to attempt it, and now we can’t. Helen was going to positively glisten with tiny, yet shiny little touches, to be something of real pride.

 

Anyway, it’s done, move on, obsessing on the point doesn’t help. I say that having just done so, but it frustrates me a little. At least it has been discussed and considered, and I can respect a decision that doesn’t accord with my own so long as it has at least had a proper airing, so that’s my rant over, it is how it is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Production ceases, again, whilst a new plan of attack is formulated. The poor car sits forlorn, a part-stripped bodyshell wondering what she did so wrong as to deserve this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The question really, is what the hell are we going to do now? I want to push forwards, I like running the heavy car, and making it dance like a light one, and if I don't keep getting faster what's the point of going back? Perhaps it is time to look at the options.