andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

[andypipe]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Ring you when i get there

[david_white]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Don't ask. DO NOT ASK













Well done to Alex Ribbens who won the class by 4 points Roll on 2008

[Pushrod King]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!! There's no chicane at Brands Hatch so who did it?? What did the other car/s look like??

[david_white]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!! There's no chicane at Brands Hatch so who did it?? What did the other car/s look like??

Going into paddock on the first lap one of the scoobies got a tap and ended up on its roof, everyone anchored up to avoid it and Andy slid into the back of a Nova which was trying to take the same escape route. No one was hurt but many cars were bruised

I think we came off the worst, but there must have been 30 dented cars by the end!!!

[david_white]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Oh and the knock was so hard its sheared the n/s door handle in half

Anyone got a spare handle???

[Graham]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

i've got to say, that i'm really gutted for andy, he was really on form, he posted a 55.3 sec qualifying lap which is stonking for a 1600 x/f escort

and was well on course for the honors in the first race until things went wrong, the second race again he was flying but just had too much do do, a very brave and valient attempt andy, well done mate, you did yourself and every one proud

[david_white]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

That 55.3 was an unbelievable time, especially as previously he was well into the 57's. Given us a lot of hope for next year now, knowing what it can do with that little engine.

Andy was romping it this weekend and a tiny error has let us down, but thats racing (see Btcc and F1 this year).
We are totally gutted but will be back, stronger and much faster next year...

[Retromotorsport]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

We all arrived saturday morning ... tensions running high, some nerves getting shattered not only in class D but also Class A and E, the A class had a winner but it was still tight between John Cross and Greg Rose for 2nd and 3rd, with Lee McNair and Bill Richards foghting for the win in Class E and Andy and Alex fight for Class D ..

Prepped Andys car, camber adjustments and tyre presures, and filled up the tank with enough fuel for 15minutes plus a bit.

Andy went out and took the first few laps easy .. i called him in and he shouted " rear loose" David and I dived under the back as i shouted "down 1" ... dampers re-set and away Andy went ... to do the 55.3 LAP

to give you some idea how happy we were about that Darren Bly and his Skyline, all 680bhp, 4wheel drive of Skyline was 3 seconds, yes 3 seconds a lap quicker than Andy, With Ray Barrows Mk1 Cossie being just 1 second quicker.. Alex was in the 58's

Back to the pits after qualifiying and that old saying " if it aint broke dont fix it" came in.. we just checked the fuel, and that was it, in hindsight with the time we had, we should have checked the car from tip to toe, nothing left to chance, but as it was, excitement, and yeah, probably a bit of over-confidence stopped us from checking everything.

Race 1 ....

Andy gets a flying start, to be honest it was boring from the wall... P1 and Alex was miles away from, all Andy had to do was finish infront of Alex to get the title.. lap 6 and Andy dosnt come round... all the cars go by and we spot Andy diving into the pits, smoke billowing from the car, he pulls to a stop and David and I get the bonnet off , Andy is screaming that OIL and Water are fine, David and I are looking at the engine, feeling down its sides, checking anywhere the oil leak could have come from, with one eye on the clock counting the minutes down it hit 1 minute remaining ... i slung the bonnet back on and David and i clipped it in place, and pushed Andy away... as he rejoined the track the Chequered Flag came out for Rod Birley, the whole field pouring in behind him.. as Andy did his last lap the Marshalls pointed the cars off track and down the pit lane.. Andy included..

I waved him straight passed instead of our normal practice of stopping and taking the tyre temps and pressures, so he technicaly took the flag in the pitlane.

We get back to the pits and start looking round the car, the results are declared ...
Andy gets a DNF (did not finish)

What!!!! he took the flag ...

Sent Andy to the clark or the course to lodge a complaint.
Andy was told it dosnt matter that he took the flag, as he didnt do 80% of the race distance so would still be a DNF.

Andy came back in the pits and told us the result ... to say we were gutted is an undestatement Myself and David went up to see the Clarke of the course, But he was having none of it .... it was only that night that i realised they hadnt included his first in lap or the lap he did after the flag had dropped when he re-joined the track, 9 laps done in real terms and more than 80% of race distance, he should have been classed as a finisher and been given his points .. But you only have 1/2 an hour to lodge all complaints ... beaten..

At this point i would like to thank Burtons Power Products for hanging on till we got there, and lending us the part we needed, in the end it was slightly wrong, but it was the only one they had instock ... Thanks chaps for trying

Andys Brother and Dad had raided the garage and found some other replacements and had also popped round a friends to grab some more, so we had a few options ..

Race day 2...

Back to the track and with the car all fixed and ready to go we waited,
Race time, and all thoughts of yesterday where gone, today counted, a slim chance, but a chance .. the cars lined up on the grid, and there off...
Andy had a flyer from the back, by the first corner he was up with the Class D leaders ... then we heard it over the tannoy.. big crash and spotted the red flags out..

As the cars came round slowly ... and Andy came into view he was pointing to the Near Side.. as the Marshals opened the pit wall fence gate i dived out followed by David, as we got to the N/S the damaged was apparent, i dived under the car and had a look around, making sure nothing important was broken, bent or twisted .. Andy had got out and was telling david what had happened as David checked the door.. I dived inside to make sure nothing was amiss in there, no loose battery or extinguisher ..

The startline officiall was a bit worried about the condition but after a few words and him checking a clearance on the car which has been the same for 15 years and wasnt even involved in the crash ... he let us continue.. and well done to the startline Marshall for helping us "persuade" the official ..

We cleared the grid, and they set off, Andy on a flyer again, but as he was lining up to go between Alex and John Cross the door closed.. and backed out the throttle and tucked in behind, Now all Alex had to do was continue round and finish while Andy had to take the class win to win the championship .. from the back ...

He had a storming race, but too many laps behind the Class D Nova cost Andy the time need to catch the Pug205 class leader, he was close, another few laps and he would have had him.. Well done Andy, it was a storming drive.. and the whole paddock are proud of you ..

Alex pootled around at the back, and if there was another few laps Andy would have lapped him, Alex must have been overcome with emotion though at winning the class as when he drove past David and myself he didnt seem to see us applauding him on his win ..

Andy pulled up a few seconds later ... his first words...

"sorry boys ... i tried "

aww bless him ....

roll on next year

I'd like to thank everyone who came over in the pits afterwards, i think there was only one team that didnt come and say something, that shows that camaraderi between the competitors and the ... family spirit that is the DMN Championship, something which the 25,000 strong crowd saw (thats more people at Brands than they had at the last round of the BTCC) ok a few may have been there for the trucks ..

To Andy... well done mate
To the team ..well done
To the Competitors .. well done
To the BARC... well done

To all other saloon championships were the daddies

[Graham]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

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A brilliant drive and effort well done Andy

it wasnt for nothing that Alex took the class victory it may of come easy on the day, but he got it through hard graft and good driving through the season

but in my book Andy got the peoples and the moral victory, well done to all

i felt proud to of been just a small part in the whole thing

now get moving that engine back and leave the bulkhead alone...............................
__________________

[Jamie CRX]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Great write-up Gary, sorry I wasn't there to congratulate or commiserate.

Let's see what 2008 season brings shall we?

[david_white]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Great write-up Gary, sorry I wasn't there to congratulate or commiserate.

Let's see what 2008 season brings shall we?

Sorry to see you have problems again Jamie, bloody unreliable Hondas

Hope you get a better shot at it next year and we see more of Greg Pye and a few others too.
Class D is hotting up and it certainly stole a lot of the attention from the usual protagonists in class A and class E where all the biggest action usually is.

As Gary says a big thanks to all the team, to all of the other teams and drivers who showed their support and all the people who have turned up to help and cheer him on throughout the year

Next year will be a goodun for sure and I hope we'll see even more people turning up to help (even just to cheer us on) as we'll have at least 2 or 3 cars in the team, cheers guys

Above all I think we have suprised a few people with the little cars capabilities this year, not least ourselves, and Andy's driving has been superb.
Alex has driven a great season and I'd say all of the class D boys have conducted themselves honourably, swapping paint often, but never dirty.
More of the same in '08 I say

[Dave]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

So where did the oil come from?

And well done for everything you did achieve. It may not have been all you wanted, but pretty damned good anyway.
You would be as bored as Rod Birley if you won all the time.

[Jamie CRX]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

Sorry to see you have problems again Jamie, bloody unreliable Hondas

In defence of Hondas...

The driveshaft is the first mech failure I've had in two years - Combe and Brands were duff battery connections which were both done by me.

but it's ok, I know you're only yanking my chain Dave

[andypipe]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

What bore you with the details as you already know them.

All ive got to say is a big thank you to all that helped this season.

It wasnt all that bad this weekend though




Now got our work cut out as the car is racing at Brands on Sunday

[Dave]

Re: andypipe's - MK1 Escort - xflow

in hindsight with the time we had, we should have checked the car from tip to toe, nothing left to chance, but as it was, excitement, and yeah, probably a bit of over-confidence stopped us from checking everything.