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Nope -tell us more !

Is it me, or is there a potential problem out there with getting hold of the specified Michelin tyres for the 24 hr ?

I normally use a well established firm in the Midlands, Lodge Tyre, based in Birmingham. My friend Melvin there is the ony man I know who will take the trouble to balance my 2CV wheels. He and his colleagues know a lot about the tyre business.

I asked them for a quote for 6 of the specified tyres. He has come back to me saying that they are no longer in production, he can't get hold of any and in his words, they have 'gone vintage'. I checked a couple of vintage tyre sites and the prices are looking like £55 each. Now, that's a lot of money for just one race - albeit a nice long one.

Does anyone have any ideas on this ?

Happy New Year to all, Martin Harrold / Team Fine Print

Sorry, Pete - yes I did find a whole lot more. Many are all about the finer points of mounting - but, sadly in a picture framing sense. But, I can give you the address of a very interesting website in Russia and you can make your own interpretation of the words.  :twisted:

Sorry: all thumbs tonight. It should read: [email protected].

Hello all:

Yes, I'm still around but, sadly not racing again this year. Business is taking up more time than ever - and I should be thinking about retiring.  Team Fine Print does have drivers and cars all ready for the '06 24hr, so we are looking forward to that.

(If you own almost any Epson printer or all-in-one, Fine Print will have something simple and reliable and costing £80 or so which will reduce your ink costs by 90% in October. If that's interesting for you contact me at [email protected].)

In case it has not been written up anywhere, we had Wayne's 2CV on display at the BTCC meeting at Snet. 15,000 people came along and we had a lot of interest. My man Jez Clark was in the Porshe Cars with Team Autosport Porsche GT3. He enjoyed it, but, ahem, he had a little trouble with the gearchange, and fried he clutch three times. Whoops.

I've been having a big sort-out of accumulated stuff in my office. I've found three copies of the video of the 2003 24hr. One I'll send to ATB for his club archive. The othe two, I'm happy to send out FOC to the first two to ask. All I need is your mailing address. Send it to [email protected]

Ive been following the discussion over race formats for '06. I share Steve P's view that when he and I came in, the grids were spilling over and we had to qualify. That helped us all get our licences for the Spa 2hrs. And what a race that was ! Yep - I still recall going flat through Eau Rouge. That was an exciting season, if a trifle expensive with Zolder thrown in.

Maybe more excitement and variety is what is needed. And - what about some kind of weight handicap system - I'm sure Pete would not mind winning every race. The weird system used in BTCC seems to make thse races exciting - although, thinking about it, they only get 14 cars on the grid - so maybe that is not such a good idea. But I think money is the big issue there. But, then again, I think that James Tucker is hoping to fill all 80 grid slots for his 24hr race at Silvers - and some of the teams are spending serious money there.

It's true that the MX5 grids are full to overflowing. Simple cars, possibly no more expensive to run than 2CV's and with much less 'black art' involved in the engine building and chassis set-up. And lots of sticker space.

Best wishes, to all. Martin H

I guess this query is for Paul or Phil:

I see that the regs show that the garages are for 2CV's. Will the tarmac area behind the garages be roped off to stop other cars and support vehicles creeping on ? Other racers may not appreciate just how much space all our motorhomes and stuff take up.

Martin H  :roll:

Chris.

You may well be right about the 'F' connector. But, my vague re-collection from last year is that the connection boxes take a normal co-ax connector.

Problem apparently is that some other selfish occupiers of the garages during the season rip the boxes open, making things difficult for other users.

Martin H

OK - thanks. MH

Last year, plumbed-in fire extinguishers were optional. Are they compulsory this year ? :roll: [/b]

Paul - it may be age, or it may be because I've missed something somewhere. Can you tell me:

- will there be any free testing, as we have had before ?
- when is day time practice ?
- whenh is night-time practice ?

Our entry is on it's way. We shall be running the Frome 2CV Centre car under the 'Team Fine Print racing with Speed Chills' banner.

Dicky built up a special engine for us before his arm op. He had that last week and will now be in plaster for 6 - 8 weeks. He is in good spirits.

Team drivers will be:
Spencer Trenery, hot shot sports racing driver son of Bruce Trenery from USA who drove with us last year and is in Christians' car this year
Either Edd Straw of Autosport or Jeremy Clark. Both were with us last year. For interest, Jeremy is driving the 'Porsche Cars with Team Autosport' VIP car in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB round at the BTCC meeting at Snet in August. We were up at Dony taking a look on Sunday - it is a very fast car !
Oh - and me. Yep - I passed the medical yet again.

Speed Chills are the people running a bar / restaurant members only club at Beausejour at Le Mans. For more info, contact: [email protected]

Ta. Martin H :roll:  :lol:  :roll:  :lol:

Dear all,

You may have seen an advert for :lol: our car and truck in Autosport. Yep, the truck has been sold, to another member, and we are getting enquiries for the car, so we hope it will be on the grid in '05.
 And, the team will still be around, but not quite in the same formal way. Annual medical permitting, I'm going to share a car with Alan Glide at selected meetings. The team name 'Grumpy Old Men' has a nice ring to it. Some may know that Dicky is having some remedial surgery on his hands which may put him out of action for a few months. He'll still be around to 'encourage' us. Pat will be there, teapot and corkscrew in hand. Andy won't be too far way either, but with no cab to sleep in, I guess he'll be helping me charm the B&B landladies.
 We all still enjoy going 2CV racing. Pembrey, despite the rain, was most enjoyable. For me it was the first meeting I'd been to for two years where I was not weighed down with hassles of the 24hr. It was just great, getting out on the track for fun.
 Trev - despite our occasional differences, I think that anyone who takes on the job of Chairman deserves the support of everyone.
 I'm sorry that I could not help with getting a stand sorted for the club at the recent racing car show. Pressures of work at this time of year are now just too great.
 We do hope to be running at least one car in the 24hr, maybe a second. Still lots of interest from overseas drivers. We hope to have Jez Clark out again - that boy is very quick. We are trying to get him on the list for a drive in the Autosport Carrera Cup Porsche. Send your message of support to edd.straw@haynet,.com.
 And we are all off to Le Mans this year, for the first time in five years. Camping places seem to be almost sold out already, so at the moment. we'll be up on the site near the Porsche Curves.
 So, that's the news from Team Fine Print. We've been enjoying it for five years and hopefully will do for a few more years yet.
Best wishes, Martin

The snet24.co.uk website still exists, although will probably be faded out sometime soon. Chris Yates and I would be happy to show anyone how to use it.
 The system for drives etc. we set up last year seemed to work pretty well. It offered open access and anyone could quickly check it out on a daily basis. Remember - most people interested in the 24hr are not full club members, so don't have access to the club site.
 And the 24hr is where most new 2CV racers get started.

Phil:

We are all waiting on tenterhooks. How many classes ? What are the engine rules for the different classes ? How much is the entry fee ?

Martin H