Internet article on a flying lap at Spa
Discussion
I wrote my first ever article entitled 'A Flying lap of Spa-Francorchamps' (on my qualifying for the 2006 Mono Spa race) last week and had it published here:
http://www.motorauthority.com/
I would appreciate any comments
http://www.motorauthority.com/
I would appreciate any comments
Thanks to all for the positive comments I received and requests to republish my article. As I stated in my response to the comments, this article was written for the benefit of non-racers to give them an impression of what it feels like to drive at Spa. It is not and was never intended to be a dry and factual technical description of numbers, settings and ratios. A few of the comments seem to be around the 165mph in Eau Rouge, which is not very relevant to the article and was added later after review feedback to give flavour to the piece.
One commenter (Paul) disparaged the entire article based on this single number and the spin where I ended up rolling backwards at 120mph. If this somewhat unpleasant 'Paul' is reading, please contact Phil Moore who was in the car behind me and caught the whole incident on video. I believe I may have some datalogging from the session if I can find it too, as it seems Paul is more interested in that kind of information.
I also have the qualifying and race results sheets (as do http://www.ris-timing.eu/) to back up my statements as this Paul character seems to call into question several things without backing up his assertions.
One commenter (Paul) disparaged the entire article based on this single number and the spin where I ended up rolling backwards at 120mph. If this somewhat unpleasant 'Paul' is reading, please contact Phil Moore who was in the car behind me and caught the whole incident on video. I believe I may have some datalogging from the session if I can find it too, as it seems Paul is more interested in that kind of information.
I also have the qualifying and race results sheets (as do http://www.ris-timing.eu/) to back up my statements as this Paul character seems to call into question several things without backing up his assertions.
Edited by SpawnyWhippet on Thursday 21st April 11:12
The trouble is, if you're going to write an article, even if it's for non-racers, and then show it to racers, they are going to pick holes where you made up numbers.
Speeds through Eau Rouge are not going to be more than 130mph. 135 tops.
Your heartbeat won't be around 180bpm before the race (if it is, you're having a heart attack)
A high speed spin could see you doing 120mph backwards, but it's much more likely to be slower as the act of spinning will probably have scrubbed of a lot of energy. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt though
It's not that the whole article is rubbish, as it clearly isn't and it's well written, and would be informative for non-racers. But garnishing it with numbers that are clearly made up spoils it a bit.
I remain, however, massively jealous of you having done Spa at all. It remains on my to do list :-(
Speeds through Eau Rouge are not going to be more than 130mph. 135 tops.
Your heartbeat won't be around 180bpm before the race (if it is, you're having a heart attack)
A high speed spin could see you doing 120mph backwards, but it's much more likely to be slower as the act of spinning will probably have scrubbed of a lot of energy. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt though
It's not that the whole article is rubbish, as it clearly isn't and it's well written, and would be informative for non-racers. But garnishing it with numbers that are clearly made up spoils it a bit.
I remain, however, massively jealous of you having done Spa at all. It remains on my to do list :-(
Along with what has been said the piece is well written. The comments on the article by 'Paul' are slightly harsh but do touch on some relevant points none the less. For it to be directed at a non racer the real figures would still have been impressive, but as above with regards to who would be reading it, it left itself vunerable to nit picking when this could have been avoided.
A well written piece but, as has been said, there is no need to exaggerate to try and impress - regardless of who the article is aimed at.
If you ask for the opinions of seasoned racers on PH the figures you quoted were always going to be challenged. And internet forums being what they are (overwhelmingly negative) you were bound to get some grief.
It's no big deal, so don't be mortally offended. Just 'keep it real' for any future articles - which I for one would be interested to read.
If you ask for the opinions of seasoned racers on PH the figures you quoted were always going to be challenged. And internet forums being what they are (overwhelmingly negative) you were bound to get some grief.
It's no big deal, so don't be mortally offended. Just 'keep it real' for any future articles - which I for one would be interested to read.
Thanks for your feedback everyone. The article will be re-published on a few more websites (including www.race-at-spa.com) and those new articles have the actual speeds from my datalogger.
The main reason I slightly inflated the speeds was because several non-racers reviewed the article before it was sent for publishing and the overiding feedback was '140mph? I have been faster than that in my Golf/BMW/Vauxhall/motorbike. I thought race cars were supposed to be quick?'
No amount of explaining would convince them that actually, overtaking another car at 140mph through Eau Rouge is slightly trickier and more attention-grabbing than driving a BMW M3 down a 6 lane autobahn with your cruise control on whilst munching on a sandwich.
The main reason I slightly inflated the speeds was because several non-racers reviewed the article before it was sent for publishing and the overiding feedback was '140mph? I have been faster than that in my Golf/BMW/Vauxhall/motorbike. I thought race cars were supposed to be quick?'
No amount of explaining would convince them that actually, overtaking another car at 140mph through Eau Rouge is slightly trickier and more attention-grabbing than driving a BMW M3 down a 6 lane autobahn with your cruise control on whilst munching on a sandwich.
SpawnyWhippet said:
The main reason I slightly inflated the speeds was because several non-racers reviewed the article before it was sent for publishing and the overiding feedback was '140mph? I have been faster than that in my Golf/BMW/Vauxhall/motorbike. I thought race cars were supposed to be quick?'
No amount of explaining would convince them that actually, overtaking another car at 140mph through Eau Rouge is slightly trickier and more attention-grabbing than driving a BMW M3 down a 6 lane autobahn with your cruise control on whilst munching on a sandwich.
I hear you. No amount of explaining would convince them that actually, overtaking another car at 140mph through Eau Rouge is slightly trickier and more attention-grabbing than driving a BMW M3 down a 6 lane autobahn with your cruise control on whilst munching on a sandwich.
I was creating some content for an IRC rally piece and got similar feedback: "90mph that's pathetic. They must go faster than that" etc.
I suspect they would be a little more circumspect if they were strapped into the passenger seat as Guy Wilks threw his 207 around the slippery hairpins at Monte Carlo....
Fight the good fight and don't let the b******s grind you down.
SpawnyWhippet said:
Thanks for your feedback everyone. The article will be re-published on a few more websites (including www.race-at-spa.com) and those new articles have the actual speeds from my datalogger.
Yep I've finally found some time to Post it up, Although Andys Open wheel car is about the only car that cant enter our race I thought the article nicely described a lap so have included it on our site.Gassing Station | UK Club Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff