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Rockingham 24hr & 3hr

The first race of the season is nearly upon us, and it certainly feels like that at C1 Towers, where we are working feverishly to get everything ready for a great weekend at Rockingham. This newsletter will focus mostly on the upcoming 24hr and 3hr races. See the promo video above and also available on our website, facebook and youtube.

Citroen UK have provided us with a safety car; and in order to involve as many people as possible, we are asking for up to eight volunteers to drive the safety car for two-hour stints.  Neither previous experience, nor a race licence is needed; all you would have to do is follow the instructions of the marshalls in the car with you.  As usual, it’s going to be first-come, first-served.  Please email meyrick@c1racing.club to volunteer.

BARC have now published the full weekend timetable, which can be found on:
https://barc.blob.core.windows.net/barcnet/2018-hq08-rk-v1-e9ni8.pdf .  We will not have access to the paddock until 1900hrs on Thursday night; and need to clear the paddock completely by 1000hrs Monday morning.   Rockingham has very kindly agreed to open the Diner on Monday morning so you can have a bacon buttie to speed you on your way.

We are going to add a group photograph of all the C1 Race Cars at the weekend.  This will take place immediately after the warm up for the 24hr race on the Saturday morning:  please would the 3hr cars line up in the hot pitlane during the 24hr warm up; we will then guide all the 24hr cars to join them, rather than going back to the pits; and hopefully it will be as bright and sunny as on the test day for the photographs.  We will take pictures with and without drivers, so we would be grateful if all drivers (both 3hr and 24hr) could be in their race suits with their helmets for the photo shoot.  We will aim to clear all the cars from the hot pitlane by 1120hrs, so that it is clear again for the Pickup race, which starts at 1135hrs.

The paddock will be extremely busy for the weekend, not only with competitors cars, but also with the food arena and trade stands including: Citroen UK, TradeTeam and Evans Halshaw, the local Citroen dealer; Safety Devices; Nankang; SmallcarsRUs (who will bring a cornucopia of spares including engines, gearboxes, front headlights, rear lights, bonnets, wings, front and rear bumpers, door glass, doors, tailgates, starters, alternators, exhausts, cats, wheels and various nuts and bolts); and hopefully Demon Tweaks all coming for the weekend.  If there is enough interest, we can also organize tyre changing facilities.  Please email meyrick@c1racing.club if you would like tyre changing and let him know how many tyres you expect to need mounting / changing by Sunday 29th April.

Each 24hr car will be allocated two vehicle paddock passes and 16 access passes for team members.  Drivers should park their cars in the outer paddock.  If you are sharing a garage, please be considerate of the other team; and don’t, for example, grab all the parking spaces just behind the garage.  The paddock police will not be accommodating and may remove passes from those being inconsiderate…

Club headquarters will be in garages 35 and 36 for the entire weekend, which is where breathalysing and signing-on will be; and where all drivers will need to collect their Hutags (£10 deposit each), which they will need to wear all weekend, and teams will need to collect their pitlane bibs (£40 deposit).  The Clerk of the Course will be in Race Control, which is located on Level 2, Stairwell 6; which can be accessed from the paddock via the tunnel next to garage 36, there is a lift next to the Diner; although we hope none of you will be summoned to visit.  There will be two drivers briefings, which will take in the Rockingham Welcome Centre at 0900hrs on Saturday morning.  The first part will be for all drivers and team managers in both the 3hr and 24hr races; the second will be for those drivers that are starting both the 3hr and 24hr races and will follow immediately after the first briefing.  Entrance to and exit from the briefings will be recorded by means of the Hutags, so there will be no getting out of attending the briefings.  If a team manager does not attend, the team’s drivers will not be allowed on circuit; if a driver does not attend, they will not be allowed on circuit.

We will only be using the small pit lane directly in front of the garages for the whole weekend, there will be a pit lane speed limit of 30 kmh, which corresponds to a little under 4,000rpm in first gear, and will be rigorously enforced with the Club’s radar gun.  First transgression will result in a one-lap penalty; second, five laps; a third immediate disqualification.  All team members on the pit wall will have to wear a C1 Racing high visibility bib at all times, four of which will be available for each car.  No pit wall shelters will be allowed, as it would hinder the visibility of teams further down the pit lane; nor may any pit boards be attached to the pit wall.  LED pit boards are not allowed.

A brief reminder on car numbers: all 24hr cars must display reflective race numbers as required by Section Q 11.4 of the MSA Yearbook.  Touring car style and high visibility race numbers are not permitted.

Finally, the 3hr teams will not have a pit allocation, unless their team is also running cars in the 24hr race.  They will be based in the outer paddock, along with the Pickup truck teams; and will only be able to bring fuel, tyres and a working tool box to the pit lane.  We suggest that the remaining 3hr teams pair up with a 24hr team, to be located in front of their garage.  We would be very grateful if those 24hr teams would help out those 3hr teams with tools and by providing some space if possible.

Finally, please make sure that you have read the SSRs for the 24hr race, which will be published on the BARC website shortly, and any other bulletins that come out.  All the Club directors have been published as DSOs and Judges of Fact for the event; and you will see us, especially at the first corner, sporting our identifying DSO bibs.

We will be arriving on the Thursday night and will be staying at Rockingham for the whole weekend, so please come and join us for a drink the night before – although bear in mind that the club breathalyzer will be in action again for drivers and team managers throughout the weekend.  See you then.

The C1 Racing Team

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Rockingham I 24hr

Thank you all who made the Test Day at Rockingham such a success, although the glorious weather certainly didn’t hurt.  We saw 57 cars out on circuit (which collectively made less noise than the single rather marvelous Aston Martin GT3 that was running in the other session);  pretty good driving standards overall with only one material incident all day; and virtually all cars running in the final happy hour of open pit lane.

The new club breathalyser was in action at signing on, which will be a consistent theme of the season.  One person failed the breath test and was not allowed to sign on or drive; everyone else sailed through with a zero-alcohol reading.  Hopefully, with Caryl having processed a lot of membership issues and handed out a lot of membership cards, the signing on process will be quicker as the season progresses. Anybody that couldn’t collect their membership card will have it sent in the post by the 27th April.

At lunchtime, Marvin Hall managed to get some great photographs when we managed to get virtually all the cars at the circuit lined up three abreast in the hot pit lane for a group photo.  We’ve already posted one, but if you’ve got any good photos of the group shot, please add them.  We thought that they all looked great together.  We will be trying to repeat the exercise at the 24hr weekend when there should be 91 cars there!

Philip and Meyrick spent a lot of the day hard at work in the scrutineering bay helping teams weigh their cars, so as to be able to get the ballast right; and check the cars over for eligibility, so that we won’t have any surprises at the 24hr weekend.  Looks like we have a bit of work to do on the club ramps, which weren’t man enough for the job; although its nothing that a little wooden reinforcement won’t cure.

Scruffybear Pictures were also at Rockingham the whole day to plan camera locations and their other logistics; and to take some footage with their drone and roving cameras in order to make a short promotional clip for Motors TV.  That should be out during next week.  We are also able to offer customized edits of the footage for your team, in addition to the TV feed; so if you would like to have a full HD program concentrating on your car, please let us know and we can work out pricing for you.  It would probably mean that you would get a live in-car camera in your car as well.

TSL joined us as well; and you may have seen them trialing the new driver transponder system at the end of the pit lane.  That trial went very well; and the system will be used at all our races this season.  This removes the need for the team to fill in any driver forms and materially reduces the administrative burden on teams.

The Touring Car boys were out in force today, including their leader, Alan Gow in his track return; but we also had Rob Austin, Josh Cook and Anthony Reid out on circuit.  The team from Rockingham Circuit was also out in their mostly liveried car, although we didn’t manage to coax Peter Hardman into the car – guess he already knows where the circuit goes.  We also had Vicky Parrott from MotorsTV, Mark Walton from Car Magazine, Adrian Mossop’s and Ian Sedgwick’s Citroen UK teams testing with us.  Rumour has it that none of the Touring Car drivers set the fastest time of the day, which was a 1.52.

We hope that you all enjoyed the hog roast – it all disappeared, so that is probably an answer in itself!

Looking forward to the 24hr and 3hr races on the weekend of 11-13th, which is going to be even busier, with double the number of cars and teams present.  Paddock space is going to be at a premium, and we will need to restrict the number of cars that each team keeps in the paddock during the race, so that there is enough space behind the pits for those that are really necessary.  Non-essential cars will have plenty of secure parking in the outer paddock.

The practice day on the Friday will follow much the same routine as you saw at today’s test day.  Signing on will be a long and time-consuming process if you have not fully completed your entry forms before you arrive.  Entry forms for both the 3hr and 24hr races are available online. They will remain open until midnight on 29th April after which time no changes will be possible. So make sure that your club membership is valid and all driver details are correct in the next few days. If you need to renew your club membership, you will have been sent an email. Please follow the link in the email to renew the membership – it can’t be done by adding your credit card details into the ‘My Details’ form.

We will also be issuing all drivers with a Hutag for a £10 deposit, which you will need to wear all weekend; and then return at the end of the weekend.  All drivers, pit wall crew and team managers will be breathalysed each day; with further spot checks during each day.

Scrutineering.  Please remember that you need to come with a full fuel tank, so that we can see fuel in the filler spout.  This is because when you are weighed, we can then deduct 28.5kg of fuel from the total, so that you can ballast the car to 910kg with the lightest driver. If the tank is half (or whatever) full, we cannot do so.   We will then lock wire and seal the ballast in place, and that seal has to remain in place for the whole weekend.

We will also be fitting OBD reader / recorders to cars throughout the weekend, so that we can download and check your car’s engine, electronic and ECU behaviour.  We have 10 of these rather trick little devices and will be fitting them at the end of the pit lane; and removing them at the beginning of the pit lane, so as to prevent any tampering.

The pit lane will not operate as it did on the test day.  The entire hot pit lane (ie the wider section that is further from the garages) will be closed throughout both races; and we will only be using the cold pit lane nearest to the garages.  All the cut-throughs will be closed and a 30 kph speed limit will apply to the entire cold pit lane.  The Club has a radar gun, which will be in operation throughout the race:  get caught speeding, and you will lose a lap.  The pit wall will remain as it was for the test day.
The C1 Racing Team

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The C1 Racing Club announces sponsorship and technical support by PSA Group’s Trade Team

The C1 Racing Club signs a sponsorship and technical support agreement with PSA Group’s Trade Team.

PSA Group’s Trade Team and C1 Racing Club have today signed an exciting agreement for PSA Group’s Trade Team to sponsor the C1 Racing Series and to provide a range of support to the Series and its competitors. This consists of:

  • The sun visor strip for the season will carry the Trade Team branding;
  • Trade Team will be providing a 20% discount to all Club members for C1 parts purchased from Trade Team. We are determined that the cars should remain as close to original specification as possible; so that racing should be as close as possible.  Trade Team provides OEM parts and very competitive pricing, allowing all competitors to benefit from the quality, durability and know how that has gone into the OEM parts
  • PSA Group will also provide technical support and information, via the Club, to its members, to ensure that the cars remain as close to original specification as possible; and that competitors can race safely
  • PSA Group will make available, via the Club website, Citroen C1 parts diagrams, in order to help club members identify the correct OEM replacement parts for their cars
  • Trade Team will be providing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes and winners caps for the drivers at each race meeting
  • Trade Team race suit badges will be available for club members to sew on to their race suits
  • The Club will also be testing a variety of parts with a view to their becoming compulsory in 2019, in order further to drive costs down and ensure conformity between competitors cars

We look forward to working with PSA Group’s Trade Team and building on our relationship together throughout 2018.

Launched in April 2017, the C1 Racing Club was established to deliver low-cost, value-for-money endurance racing.  It has been a runaway success, with a 2018 season comprising five UK enduros and two UK 24-hour races, at Rockingham, Pembrey, Snetterton and Croft; plus the iconic Spa 24-hour race in Belgium.  Over 130 C1 Racing cars are now built or in build; and we expect to have full grids at each race meeting, making for very close and exciting racing.

PSA Group was officially established in 2016 and brought together some of Europe’s most iconic car brands: Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles and most recently Vauxhall and Opel. With over 200 years of automotive history, PSA Group is no stranger to the world of motor sport having competed in the likes of WRC, WRX, Dakar and Formula E to name but a few.

PSA Group’s Trade Team offers competitively-priced genuine parts for Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles as well as the competitively-priced Eurorepar range designed for all makes and models of vehicle. Trade Team’s parts are manufactured and tested to the highest levels of quality standards and ensures that vehicles operate as safely and reliably as they did when they were new.

 

Colin Start, Head of Marketing for Parts & Service for the PSA Group said:

“PSA Group’s Trade Team is delighted to be sponsoring and providing technical support to the C1 Racing Club.  The Series has gained enormous popularity because of its focus on low-cost endurance racing; and has demonstrated again the reliability and handling prowess of the Citroen C1; there is no better medium than racing for testing durability to the very limits. 

 We at PSA Group want to support that success and ensure that competitors have access to the correct technical information on the cars as well as offering competitive prices on our own parts for the cars, as required by the regulations.  The PSA Group Trade Team Programme is designed to assist all Independent Motor Traders and Repairers in delivering outstanding service to owners of Peugeot, Citroën and DS Automobiles vehicles through technical assistance and highly competitive trade parts prices.  Competitors in the C1 Racing Series will have access to exactly the same information, assistance and pricing as our other customers.”

 

Meyrick Cox, Chairman of the C1 Racing Club, added:

“We are thrilled that Peugeot Citroen and Trade Team have the confidence to support our Series and that they will be supporting us both through sponsorship, technical assistance and Trade Team parts supply at a 20% discount.  Trade Team will also be providing 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for drivers at the race meetings.

 The C1 Racing Challenge is going from strength to strength.  Our first season saw grids building from 8 cars at our first race to over 40 cars at the Spa 24-hour.  There are now over 130 C1 Racing cars built or in build.  Both 24hr races have full grids of 53 cars each; our smallest grid this year will be at Pembrey, with 48 cars; and we are expecting full grids at every meeting.  We have increased the Pembrey and Croft races to 5 hours, free of charge to competitors, in order to be able to increase the available grid slots at those races.

 The season opens shortly with the test and BBQ day at Rockingham on 20th April.  We are looking forward to working more closely with PSA Group’s Trade Team; and can’t wait for the racing to get underway.”

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