A Politically Incorrect Salutation.

Merry Christmas Everyone

 and a Happy, Prosperous and

Healthy New Year

I Just Hung My Christmas Lights.

Sometimes.......

something will strike me as so outrageously funny I feel I have to share it:

50th Anniversary Banquet

Friday night Linda and I went to the 50th Anniversary Banquet for the car club we belonged to for many years. The British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) came into being October 27th, 1959. I had been a member from 1964 to 1986 and Linda from 1965 t0 1986.

We had a blast from the past. A lot of old friends we haven't seen in years were there and it was just like old times. For me, of particular note was seeing old friends, Gary Magwood, Clive Rayman and Brian Stewart. Gary was a formidable Formula Atlantic driver, Clive Formula Ford and Brian, well what can I say. Brian Stewart Racing has probably done more to promote Canadian drivers ( including Paul Tracy) up through the Indycar ranks.

......................Brian Stewart (Brian Stewart Racing) and Gary Magwood

..........Brian Stewart, Norris McDonald (Toronto Star) and Clive Rayman.

Even though it has been years since we have seen one another, you fall back into relationships very fast and except for the added bit weight, graying hair, or lack of it, it is like a leap back in time.

In 1962, Stirling Moss donated one of his trophies to BARC. Since then it has been awarded yearly to the highest finishing BARC member in the Ontario Region Championship. In 1970 I was fortunate enough to have my name placed on it. In 1981, Davy Jones. In 1982, Scott Goodyear and in 1987, Ron Fellows. I guess I am in fairly good company.

The evening ended earlier than I had hoped but it was good fun. Maybe we can all get together again for the 60th anniversary.

S**T Happens, The Continuation.

The following clips were taken from the in car camera of Travis Engen in his Lola T97/20 Indy Lights car.

The first video was actually the second lap under yellow....a bit slower and more correct in execution. The second video was the first lap....not good form.

The following day I had a passenger for the first race. Having heard of the previous days excursion, she was well prepared for any eventuality. Drivers suit, helmet, Hans device and racing boots.

Gainsville GA to Whitby, Ont

14 hours, 57 minutes.

S**T HAPPENS

Only when you are trying your hardest not to screw up, you end up screwing up in the worst possible fashion.

This past weekend, at New jersey Motorsport Park, I was given the opportunity to train as a Pace car driver.

Saturday at lunch I was given the opportunity to do a few hot laps in the pace car to familiarize myself with both car and track. The car was a bog stock showroom, Subaru STI. Don't really know too much about them. It was a cool little car. I didn't play with any of the settings although I realized afterward I could have firmed up he suspension by going to "Sport Sharp" and locked the diff. to give me total 4wd. Anyway, with the stock car and a 200lb passenger I was able to get down to a respectable 1:46.8 within four laps. This would have put me 16th on the Group 3 grid. Probably without Black Flag Bob in the passenger seat, I could have shaved off another second or two. The whole lapping session went without incident and I felt pretty good about my effort.

Saturday afternoon I rode passenger with Dan, our pace car driver, for the first race. The second race saw me in the drivers seat with Dan handling the radio. The pace session went off without a hitch. Not picture perfect but at least I didn't embarass myself. For the third race, Dan turned over the radio operation too me as well as the driving. The pace lap for the fast Grp. 9 cars. Indy Lights, Formula 5000, Atlantic and 'B' cars went off OK, and then it was into the hot pits to act as Safety Car. Sure enough, the double yellow came out as one of the Atlantic cars highsided itself on the curbing in corner 5. I picked up the lead car, Travis Engen in a Lola T97 Indy Lights. So, here I am...race control in one ear, corner workers in the other, Dan giving instruction beside me and keeping an eye on the cars behind, guess what I forgot about....DRIVING!! By the time I got my s**t together it was too late. I was into corner one too fast, took too early an apex, and was in deep DooDoo. We exited the racing surface with all four wheels, drivers left, at about 90mph. Both Dan and I knew we were in dire straights the minute I turned in. Luck, more than skill got me through the corner in the dirt, back onto the racing surface fairly straight and I was able to continue with the safety car laps. Dans was visibly disturbed but was a true gentleman and my scolding was stern but not degrading. Control never said a word as the corner workers reported "Safety Car 4 wheels off, drivers left". Thank you Tom. The embarrassment would now be between Dan, Tom and myself....at least that is what I thought. Travis had a video camera in his Lola and filmed the whole degrading and embarrassing mess.

It was doubtful on Saturday night if I would be driving the pace car on Sunday. I did, and everything went as it should. Hopefully I was able to redeem myself, somewhat.

There is more to this little saga and I will continue it once I get some pictures, and maybe a video.

S.S.D.D.

Same S**t, Different Day

Racing season is drawing to a close....two more events to go, culminating with the Finale at Road Atlanta in October. Looking forward to being home so I can get some serious work done on the Banana.

Florida looks good for next Mar/Apr. We finally found a property that suits us and in the area we wanted....Lake Placid.

It is hard to get a commitment so early as most owners are looking for a minimum 3 month rental. Linda and I are just not ready for that much time away from home and family. Maybe in a few more years.

Next year we are in a new location, right on Lake Placid. White sandy beach and lots of amenities. Five bedrooms so we have lots of room for guests. Our good friend Bill Hurd will be staying with us again next year. If Bill ever gets that airplane of his out of the box, we may get to do some serious flying.

Maybe I will have more to report after our season finale.....or maybe from Myrtle beach in a few weeks.

TTFN

Current Updates on the MGB

Can be found at: http://public.fotki.com/colin1944/mgb-restoration/ starting on page 4.

Really looking forward to the end of the racing season so I can get down to some serious effort.

Engine will be back from the machine shop next week....will update with some pictures on Fotki.

A Lot of Catching Up To Do

So much stuff to catch up on, I don't really know how to cover it all.

Since April 6th we have been to Savannah Georgia for a race, done day trips to Naples, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Sarasota and come home. Left again for a race at Road America, Wisconsin and come home again. Left for Virginia Int'l Raceway and come home again. Left for Mid-Ohio and Put-In-Bay and come home again.

Wisconsin was quite a contrast to Florida. From balmy 80f weather to damn near freezing with high winds and rain, Brrrrr! Alas, it was still a good event. VIR and Mid-Ohio were hot, steamy and rainy. Put-In-Bay was also a mixture of good and bad weather. Fortunately the worst always seemed to wait until our daily activities were somewhat completed. Each event this year has had a severe storm pass through.

So, we have been home since the first week of July. I had big plans to get my airplane finished, get lots of work done on the 'B' and try and catch up on some of the house maintenance. I think I have accomplished a little of each. The plane isn't finished, the engine for the 'B' is languishing somewhere on the floor of the machine shop waiting for a balancing damper and Jay and I (mostly Jay) have almost completed a new deck off the back door.

Weather here has been at best, unpredictable. We really didn't start summer until the first of August. July was cold, rainy and windy. We have had some of the most severe storms that I can remember. The grass is green, but that is the only upside.

We had our second annual BBQ for the vintage racing crowd in June. It was well attended and huge quantities of dead animal flesh and liquid libation were consumed. Notably missed this year were Bob and Linda Williams and Bill Hurd. from Pa. We were really pleased that Paul Grego made the trip from Pa. and stayed for a week before we headed to Mid-Ohio.

I have shopped for another car to replace my aging BMW 325is. Primarily I was looking for a later model BMW E46 M3. Almost got a good deal on one in Pa. (have you noticed things this year seem to revolve around Pa.?) but the seller backed out of the deal. I have given that up for the time being and have decided to spend a few pennies on the 325 and hang on to it until the stock market improves. Also been looking for another MGB, preferably a GT. One that is restored so I can have a bit of driving pleasure. I have sort of given up on that as the money would be better spent on the one I am currently restoring.

That is a brief capsulization of the summer so far. Lots of other things going on....this retirement thing is really tiring. I almost think it would be worth getting a job so I can get some rest.

I will try and keep this more up to date in the future. Bye for now.

Fishing, Boating and other Whimsical Joys.

Contary to the popular belief of some people, who will remain nameless Mr Williams, Bill does enjoy boating, and indeed, even fishing.

Our new found friend 'Irv' took us out for a spin in his Bass boat. Without hesitation or coaxing, Bill jumped right in. Say Hi Bill...........

Even at speeds approaching suicidal, Bill remained poised and dignified. The boat event was not to go fishing, but to explore the possibilities of purchasing Irv's boat. Irv had this NorrisCraft 19 footer custom built for him in 1988 and has owned it ever since. Aside from being a bit faded from the Florida sunshine, the boat is almost as fresh as the day it was delivered. It is powered by a Mercury XR2 Black Max 150hp clip-on. Trimmed out, speeds approach 75mph. Like, you really need a fishing boat to go 75mph. I guess these Florida fish are fast:-)

Fishing was done from dry land. Following pictures show Irv's catch and Bill's catch. With just the fish alone, it was hard for the camera to distinguish the difference between Irv's and Bill's, so we took pictures with their respective hands for reference. Bill decided it was unfair as Irv had relatively small hands and it made his fish look bigger.

The contoversy will rage for decades as to who's was the biggest. Being sport fishermen, the catch was returned to the deep. One day, Bill's may catch up.

editors note: Both fish were caught while trying to net shinners for bait.

Anyway...it was a great mornings fun.

The Aviators

On Tuesday we (Bill, Gary, Jackie, Linda and myself) set off for a day trip to the Naples Zoo. On our way we passed the flying field were the Lake Placid Flying Club members meet every morning. This was the first time we had seen anyone at the field and we stopped in for a breif visit. Almost three hours later we were on our way to Tampa.

We were greeted most cordially and were soon deep in conversation with some of the members. Irv, the club trainer invited all three of us to take a turn at the stick of one of the club training planes, a Kadet LT40. Gary, an experienced pilot was first up, followed by Bill and then, reluctantly, myself.

We all left with a high level of enthusiasm to return the following day. At 8:00am we arrived and met a few of the early morning flyers. Charlie, an ex navy pilot and retired commercial pilot was there with an outstanding Yak stunt plane, powered by a 50cc four stroke engine and wit an 8'-0" wingspan.

Needless to say his prowess at the stick was most impressive. By the time Irv showed up with the trainer winds had picked up dramatically and we were unable to fly.

Today Bill and I had a chance to once again get airbourne with Irv's assistance. I think I am going to build a plane, most likely a Chance Voight F4U Corsair. Bill remains enthusiastic but it remains to be seen what his intentions may be.

The RC flying community here are very friendly and accomadating. We have been t Irv's garage and seen his great collection of aircraft. Tomorrow Charlie is taking us to his 'warehouse' to show us his collection. Can't wait.

Brining My Blog Up To Date.

I guess I have been rather lax in keeping things up to date. Life has been very stressful and pressure packed lying around the pool all day. Biggest decisions being made are wether to toast my front or back in the brilliant sun

Weeks leading up to the Sebring Race

The first week was rather quiet and relaxed. Did a bit of tanning, laid around the pool, BBQ'd some dead animal flesh and consumed a few pints of beer.

We took a day trip to Fort Pierce (75 miles away) to visit the nearest Costco. Shopped, had some lunch and did a bit of sightseeing.

Highlite of the week was the fishing endeavours of a blue heron. I was down on the dock with my camera when he swooped in and snagged an 18" pike. The fish was almost big enough to bite of the heron's head. He dashed it to the ground a few times then swallowed it in one gulp..greedy bugger.

Double click to enlarge

Our friends Dennis and Mary arrived from New Hampshire for a two week stay and we celebrated by hoisting some alcoholic beverage and having a BBQ.

The Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance

Bob and Paul arrived on the Tuesday and we had our Tech crew of myself, Bill, Dennis, Bob and Paul at hand for the Wednesday Tech session.

We started our part of the race weekend on Wednesday with our 98 entries. The vintage portion of the weekend had more entries than the 12 Hour and all its supporting races. We had two entries from Port Perry Ontario. Markus Glarner and Aram Tourikian in their BMW M1's. Both made impressive showings a walked off with a couple of 1st and 2nd medals each. Arams weekend was not without incident as he took an agricultural tour of the track in the ensuing rain. An all nighter by the crew got the car back in shape for the following days sprint races.

Entry for the 12 Hour was a total of 28 cars. Two withdrew and one could not start to make it to the grid. A grand total of 25 starters. I believe this is the smallest entry and starting field in the 57 year history of the race. A sign of economic times....maybe. For those interested, a small photo essay of the race can be found at: http://public.fotki.com/colin1944/sebring-2009/

Many parties and BBQ's followed the event and a goodtime was had by all. Bob and Paul headed for home on Sunday morning and our crew at the house was reduced to Bill, Dennis, Mary, Linda and myself.

Bill and Paul relaxing after a hard day at the track

On the 26th, Dennis and Mary headed home and were replaced by friends Gary and Jackie from Oshawa.

We are now on a relaxing schedule for two weeks until we head up to Savannah for another race event. In the meantime, if anything exciting happens I will post it here. If not, assume that we are lying by the pool, enjoying some alcoholic libation and soaking up those god old UV rays from the sun.

Ta Ta for now.

Sunrise

on our little piece of the Lake June canal system.

Surprising what great pictures await at the crack of dawn. Life is really relaxed this week. Nothing to do but lie around the pool, catch a few rays of sunshine and kick back with a margarita.

Yesterday we drove 70 miles into Fort Myers to visit the nearest Costco. Picked up tons of dead animal flesh to feed the BBQ for the next few weeks. Bought a 24lb roast of beef to put on the smoker next weekend for the 12 Hour race.

Actually went into the swimming pool yesterday afternoon. First time in probably 20 years. At Linda's daring, I produced a cannonball that reduced the volume of water in the pool by at least 50%.

All is well. Daytime temperatures in the mid to high 80's, nighttime in the low 60's.....perfect. There is a horrible rumour that there is a cold front moving in that may adjust our daytime temps down into the 60's.....arrrrrgh!

Friends Dennis and Mary are arriving sometime around lunch tomorrow.......the more the merrier.

HSR and Sebring

What can I say....it is a tough life

Our first full week and Florida is great. Weather is a constant low to mid 80's everyday with night time temperatures dipping to the low 60's.....PERFECT!

Not really too much to tell. A great weekend for the HSR races. Approx. 215 competitors, an all around great weekend. For full pictures of the HSR event, go to: http://public.fotki.com/colin1944/hsr-svra--sebring-2009/

A week of not much to do. Tomorrow we head to Fort Myers to visit the local (closest) Costco so we can bulk buy some meat and poultry for the upcoming festivities. Friends Dennis and Mary will be joining us mid week with Bob and Paul coming in after the weekend.

We Are Here!!!!!!

Neither wind nor snow nor sleet nor rain shall keep the King's from their appointed rental in Lake Placid. We arrived around 4:00pm and met with the owner of the property, have our keys and have moved in for two months. Digital photography does much to enhance the qualities of properties. The house is everything it was advertised, the inground pool, wellllll. Lets put it this way. If I were to jump in I could probably empty the pool of water. It is about the size of an eight person hottub. Not big but adequate I guess.

Our friend Biil joined us about 5:00 in the afternoon and will be sharing our abode for the next two months. Lots of room..four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

With the Sebring 12 Hours of Endurance coming up, we will be having guests Dennis and Mary and Bob and Paul joining us in a couple of weeks. A full house but promising to be lots of fun.

Weather sucks right now....68F, overcast and threatening rain. It is supposed to clear up and heading into the low 80's by Wednesday.

Ya Gotta Be Kidding!!!!!!

Here we are sitting in a nice Hotel room in Kingsland Ga. Weather forecast.....Tornado warnings, 5-6" of snow in Atlanta, 12" of snow in Alabama. Temperature has dropped 34 degrees in 8 hours.....what gives here? Starting to think we should have stayed at home.

We had planned on a liesurely dive down 1A1 this morning, stopping at our fav. lunch spot and then a tour down through Daytona for bike week. Think I am going to hit I-95 and head straight for Sebring.

Hope central Florida has better weather.

Helloooo Out There In Blog Land

Been awhile.....been very busy. It has been hectic with modelling and decals. I have just finished a 1:18 diecast for a friend's son and most of my decal work is caught up.

We had a great Christmas with family. Unfortunately Eileen didn't make it back to Canada until the 28th of December, not without incident I might add. She got stuck in New York overnight when they cancelled her flight to Toronto. Everything worked out OK and it gave us an excuse to have a second Christmas. Sienna is now of the age where all the excitement and gifts have an impact. She was a riot. It confirms that Christmas is for kids and it is t much more fun when they are around.
We celebrated two birthdays since the New Year. Sienna was two on January 26th and Eileen had a birthday on February 4th. We celebrated at Sarah's, her first large family get together, and she did an A1 job. Although there were only fourteen of us, she had enough food for a small army.

The Birthday Girls

The down side is, the Banana has been completely neglected since just before Christmas. I did finish the engine teardown and was able to assess it's condition....not too bad. New high compression pistons have been purchased along with big end and main bearings, piston rings and a few other goodies, like new wheels and an MGC bonnet.

We are now in preparation to depart the Great White North and head for Florida. Can't say I will be sad to leave all this white stuff behind. We are looking forward to seeing all our American friends and getting back to racing.

So, there it is, short and sweet. I guess the next time I will be adding to my blog is after the Sebring 12 Hour Endurance race.