Betts Family Autograssin'

[Jon]

After a rather eventful winter series at the end of last year my Class 1 Autograss Mini was looking a bit worse for wear so a complete repanel was needed for the 2008 season, this included new drivers side sill and step, passenger door skin, both front wings, front panel and bonnet. These were all replaced with new items as they are fairly cheap for the Mini and its not really worth trying to make good with secondhand stuff. As well as that lot there was also a few changes to the roll cage following a new rule by the governing body and a new gearbox as the old one jumped out of the 2nd gear all the time. As usual I left all this work until a few weeks before the start of the season, but it was all completed in time except the sign writing as you can see by the trailer pic. Door numbers were done in black electrical tape and due to time running out the car wasn't dynoed before the first event, big mistake!
This year as well as me racing I also have my youngest daughter Laura racing in the juniors, and my eldest daughter Robyn in the Ladies, all using the same car which makes it all afordable and a fun family day out.
Our first meeting was 2 weeks ago at our local club, Trent and the waether forcast was shite, but I ended up with sunburn as it stayed clear all day. As most meetings the previous week had been called off due to snow there was a big turnout with people travelling from all over which meant 4 races in my class and only 2 heats before the final so you needed good results to get that far!
Laura had to do a test to prove she could drive safely and this was the first time she had driven the mini on here own and she did great, even remembered what all the flags mean which I'm still trying to do:D
Anyway i was out in the first race and managed a 2nd place behind team mate Steve so was well chuffed, Laura upnext and despite comng near the back she was on the pace and remember this was her very first race so again well chuffed. Robyn next and she was as slow as anything and came into the pits saying it just wont go very fast:rsocmoan:Checked most things and car seemed OK, revved cleanly but with no time to do anything else I jumped in and went for my final heat. n the line the car revved perfectly but when i droped the clutch it just bogged down with no power at all:dunno:Managed one lap then pulled onto centre grenn. Back in the pits we traced the problem to bent points which obviously gave up the ghost under load so that was my day over. With the car running again Laura managed a 5th place and then Robyn did one better and finished 4th. Robyn was the only one to make her final as there was only one race of ladies class11. A good start saw her into second and the two front runners broke away and were a good length away from the rest. Sadly a car stopped on the way into bend one and with one lap to go the marshalls were telling everyone to avoid the car but Robyn thought they were telling her to stop, yeah you can guess what happened, the car behind caught her up and under pressure she made a hash of the last bend and ended up third. Still her first trophy, so again well chuffed:D Were all back out next Sunday, and the car will be tuned on thr dyno before the meeting and i've just put a new clutch master and slave cylinder on as it was a bugger to engage gear.
A good day out and fun for all the family, can highly recommend this sport if you are low on funds but still want to race. Once you have a car and licence all it costs is approx 8-quid per driver per meeting plus fuel and anything you break:thumb:

http://media.turbosport.co.uk/2008/4/2008041119275287476ts 1.jpg
http://media.turbosport.co.uk/2008/4/200804111927414734ts 2.jpg
http://media.turbosport.co.uk/2008/4/200804111927379639ts 3.jpg
http://media.turbosport.co.uk/2008/4/2008041119275773011ts 4.jpg

[graham bahr]

nice one jon :clap:

i guess a class 1 car is fairly std, but i'd still be interested in knowing a bit more about ther cars and whats allowed

[cossie matt]

Good write up Jon:thumb:

Sounds like a fantastic days racing brilliant fun at a sensible cost, I bet it's nerve wrecking seeing your daughters mixing :thumb:it up on track (or grass but you know what i mean:D)

Matt

[Dave]

Sounds fun :thumb:

[MCURZON]

Sounds like loads of action for the money. Think I need to switch code and have a go!!

Great write up, good luck for next time:thumb:

[Jon]

Cheers guys, yeah very nerve wracking, had only taken Laura out on a private track for 30-mins in Robyn's pink Clio then round a farm in the mini for 5-minutes then let her out on track on her own:clint: The racing can be very close and there can be plenty of roll overs, its classed as non contact but there's plenty of nugdging and jockeying for position on the bends:D
Graham, Class 1 as you say is pretty standard, Mini are most popular but due to cost of decent shells now they also have Citroen AX and Fiat Cinqewatsits in the same class. Body wise its just a case of strip out windows, and interior and install cage, door bars, battery, fuel cell, mesh screen, seat, harness, kill switch and fire extinguisher. Engine is all pretty standard, head can be skimmed, regulation cam, stock exhaust carb etc, think mines about 37bhp (will know for deffo this week!) but front runners can squeeze a few more out, and some have engines built by the likes of swifttune for lots of pennies. You can still have lots of fun on a budget tho and its a great family sport. Races only 4-5 laps but normally get a few heats and final and its a very friendly atmosphere. Loads of tracks and clubs around, cars can be bought on ebay/club ads for a few hundred quid and its a great way of getting kids involved. If you wanted you could race every weekend as you can race at any club once your car is registered and you have a licence (50-quid-ish), no pre entry just turn up pay a few quid and off you go:thumb:

[Retromotorsport]

Good write up Jon:thumb:


Matt


he could do it for a living .... :D :D

sorry Jon, :tongue:

Good to see them getting out and about but I reckon you'll soon be moving again as you'll need space for 4 minis and an escort soon :doh:

[Jon]

Know what you mean, got two cars on the drive, one on the road, Escort in my garage and two in a mates garage not to mention the extra one on the road as my mates using the sofa for a few weeks while he sorts his life out! Can't afford to move again now tho:clint:

[Jon]

Had the car on the rolling road today, made 30bhp on initial run which was just how it was from last meeting, with a tweak of the needle, timing adjust and fresh K&N air filter it went up to 36bhp, so a 20% increase:D

[steely dan]

good work :thumb: its nice reading about another aspect of racing :popcorn:

[Jon]

Just about to load car up ready for another days racing tomoro, just hope the weather is OK, bit boring racing in thick mud, wheels are doing about 40 but you travel around at about 10-15mph:D

[david_white]

Great stuff Jon and the rest of the Betts, any chance of some action pictures next time, or even in car video, if its allowed :thinking:

Car looks great again btw, better than most road cars :cool:

[Jon]

Well another good days racing, only two of us this time, me and Robyn as Laura was feeling ill after a party the night before!! The weather was crap all day, wet, cold and windy but track was in great shape and held up well with just a few ruts appearing in the corners. My first race was a disaster, missed the start and as we were the first ones out track was very slippery and no chance of catching anyone. Robyn had a similar first heat but is gaining confidence and speed all the time. Second race was my most enjoyable ever, got a reasonable start and was alongside a Citroen AX and we swapped positions and paint right through the race, much better that just racing around on your own at the back or front! Every time he took me I managed to get it back on the next bend and so it continued for 5 laps, then I went wide on final bend and allowed him to pass me, but I beleive he was flagged and dropped 2 places as he was pushing me from the back going into the bends:D. Robyn had an OK second heat, and again looked quicker. Sadly my first heat meant I didn't have enough points for the final, this was a National qualifier meeting so again a big turnout with lots of very quick cars, but Robyn made hers. She got a cracking start and was first into the bend and managed to hold that position for the entire race so she got her first, first in a Ladies final:D:clap::dance: Proud Dad, but also pissed off cos she has more trophies than me now:D
Back out agan in 2 weeks and yes Dave will try and get some action shots up shortly.

[david_white]

Well done to Robyn :clap:

Jon, she's making you look bad, sort it out :D

[Jon]

Well done to Robyn :clap:

Jon, she's making you look bad, sort it out :D

That's not too difficult mate:D

[tom burgess]

Excellent write ups there Jon(as expected:D).Glad to see the whole family getting involved in motorsport:banana:and great news on the win too:clap::clap:Good luck for the next event the lot of you:thumb:now go and get a trophy :thumb::lol:

[Jon]

Cheers Tom, out again on the 4th so fingers crossed

[graham bahr]

excellent jon, great stuff, it also sound like fantastic value for money, or smiles per £,

i dont supose a bit of internal tweeking of the engine would be allowed? its amazing how much more power you can gain by a carefully build, using things like minimum block height and head thickness etc,

Mountune started out tuning std 850 mini engines, from memory they use to get them upto 47bhp using only std parts.

its been a long while since i built a quick mini engine....................

[Jon]

Mine's got 36 and my team mate who tends to win everything is getting 41bhp and thats on a standard bore at the mo. To be fair there is a lot you can do if you have the knowledge and time to build it right, which I have neither of!! There are lots of tricks that people use to squeeze every last drop out of them, lots of the big guys that win the National rounds etc have expensive engines built by the likes of swift tune, but for club level you can still get away with a home built unit and still be competitive. Like you save lots of smiles per pound...back out again this Sunday so fingers crossed.

[graham bahr]

if you ever get desperate for that last drop of power, advise and a helping hand are on offer FOC

[Jon]

Cheers Graham, will be looking to rebuild end of this season unless it goes bang before then!!

[graham bahr]

sure, it might even make an interesting mini " engine resto" thread on here, i love engines, but theres a limit to how many of my own i can play with