FAO: my homeboy zak

[Russ]

I remember you saying something about rallying. Do you race yourself? or are you a navvy, or do u just go along? i wont reply for a week as im on holiday, but tahts enough time for a nice post from you(LOTS OF INFO AND PICS HINTHINT)

Your main man
Fonz

[TiG]

from other threads on the cars and bikes forums sounds like its a skoda, and he co-drives?.

another eager listener here Zak, especially as my plans for new cars include skoda octavia 4x4 1.8s

TiG

[Zak33]

What do I do, and in what? hehe

Always been a Co driver.....Navigator.......but yes I do drive a bit too. Its always been hard cos the two guys I co-drive for are both blindingly fast. Pat is a rally instructor and works for all the main manufacturers doing performance driving classes and corporate stuff, like sacring people half to death around the Nurburgring in the snow in Audi S3's and Merc Limo driver training.
Par also is 50% in charge of the 205 Challenge, along with Kev Furber, ex works Pug driver.

The other bloke is Dave, who owns Aylesbury MOT and has been road rallying for a long time, but has got a Skoda Felicia which we have immense fun in on single venues...and he is demon fast, and smooth and best of all he listens to instructions

So I have my chances: and my recent aquisition, the L reg Astra 1.6 3dr is the most likely to be my "drive".......frankly the driving bit is literally onyl half the fun. I enjoy being in the left seat

[Zak33]

as an aside......just for reference....next time any of you are in the passenger side, see if you can feel the balance of the car, the twist of the shell, the break away of the front tyres....picture the line through corners and see if the driveris even close.

David will tell ya what I mean, he's ben out with me and I with him for a few minutes fun, in my Signum, and he learned very fast indeed...placement and position

[TiG]

heh, sounds like my work mates on Thursday when i drove 3 of em to the pub.



TiG

p.s they've refused to let me drive em to the pub if i get that skoda octavia 1.8T

[RocketmanX]

Quite interestedin Rallying Zak and Wish you good luck

So how are you 2 doing this year?

Rallying is getting more popular over here with an American Sister to the WRC over here. (sadly no Skodas or Citeons over here )Admittedly our drivers aren't as familiar with rallying the way it's done over there but we have had a couple drivers from here compete in a couple WRC events, I believe on even finished in 8th. Not bad for a first run with the likes of Gronholm and Burns.

[Zak33]

We got a first in class (up to 1400cc) in the Skoda.....reliability wins again....most of the monster power 1300 high tuned jobs died near the end of the stages

Here ya go.....it was at a Tank Testing ground, which has some incredible "ramps" to launch off!

[Zak33]

Then Abingdon Motorsport CAR-Nival.....much bigger....suffered badly onlack of power LONG long straights, getting whooped by the power boys....

None the less, 4th in class



and my mate (and work collegue) Robster was out for the first timein his recently built Nova GTE 1.6 and he did well, beating us (obviously) and getting 5th in his class....

and he bravely has his lady as his co-driver Braver than me...imagine the arguments after a missed corner

[Zak33]

and I have now found exactly what I have always wanted....and Astra (for Manx thats a mid sized family/shopping sized car) 3dr, with Power Assisted Steering (for fast turns) and the 1600 injection engine that Vauxhall made very reliable and which I have now ordered a Moderate Fast Road/Rally cam kit for, and fuel pressure regulator, the heads off being skimmed (a bit) and a new chimney (exhaust system ) and a new air filter kit. Then new water pump, cambelt, coolant pipes etc will go on.

and its really just exactly what I have wanted...but they were not good sellers as 3doors (impractical for a family car) and are rare rare rare.....

and one day a nice lady with her one, came into my showroom, wanted a new car....and sadly her car had just done a head gasket, which various people had told her a few horror stories about (and which I am not in the slightest bit worried about) and she virtually gave it to me in Part Exchange....

So Zak was a very happy, very excited boy that day.

Once the engine and exhaust are done, w both Dave and I will drive it for a few days as a standard road car.....then start work on the stuff that needs doing to make it 100% reliable....and then out with the interior, in with a full weld in, multipoint cage (over a £1000 sadly ) and extinguishers, new suspension, sump guard, brake upgrade, nice seats, harnesses, out with the sun roof, weld a panel in, get that bad ass car RIGID beyond belief.....

its along one, but I'm 32, been selling cars 13 years, and I have never been able to afford/find the ideal Clubmans car...and Iknew if I waited, bided my time....

and it happened...

Its not a looker, and no pictures have been taken, cos its a normal 3dr Astra....but.....its MINE

Along with over 10 new company cars per year

[Maldonado]

wanna race against my focus?

[Zak33]

depends.....whats it like on the loose in the welsh forests?

[Maldonado]

well, er... um...

how about we race the snake instead?

[RocketmanX]

VERY cool stuff Zak, sthanks for the info, I'm very interested in rallying and would love to try driving a WRC car on one of those tight twisty courses, even if I crshed It'd be fun

Us country boys over here do something similar through the fields and woods, we just do it for fun, and to beat the livin tar out of old junkers

we used to race on country roads at night without our headlights on
Gotta be a lot like rallying without a co-driver ?

[Zak33]

Originally posted by Grapevine
how about we race the snake instead?

My mate Robster will be on The Snake this very weekend.........wilyou be there. Me and Sair are gonna go to watch.

Tank Testing ground rocks

Manx.......we would get well nailed by the Law for smoking around in old junkers here now. Few years back the Governemtn made it an offense ro drive in an erratic maner even on private land, UNLESS an official motorsport license was obtained.

SO... if you are on YOUR OWN LAND....and its ALL PRIVATE property....and you go do a few handbrake turns in your own field....

YOU CAN STILL GET NICKED by the Police for Dangerous or Reckless driving

[RocketmanX]

Whoa!!!

That stinks!!!

So, in other words the British Government actually owns ALL property and there is no such thing as "Private" property in GB

And we thought that our government was starting to infringe on our private lives

[Zak33]

Originally posted by RocketmanX
So, in other words the British Government actually owns ALL property and there is no such thing as "Private" property in GB

And we thought that our government was starting to infringe on our private lives

NO...the UK government DOESNT own the land...its private...BUT....they have jurisdiction with Dangerous Driving, Reckless driving, Driving without due care and attention etc.

Its designed to help keep car theft and joyriding down, so its easier to throw the book at a car thief who escapes across a few fields etc.....

and it means the police can have a pop at people who are messing in their own back yard

Even Auto Tests (big wet field, lots of plastic cones and a stop watch) need a license from the Motorsport body