Looking back at 2007

From a motorsport perspective, this year was a non-event for me.

My Stratos kit was damaged in a race at Donington in 2006 and I hadn't put in the effort to get it fixed, so also did not want to take the car out with it looking a bit sorry in that area.

Thanks to an arsehole in Leeds (going by the name of Tony Dewing) who drove into the rear bumper of my Jeep, I got the local 'Chips Away' guy to fix the Jeep and then to do some of the bodywork damage on the Stratos. Louie Wan did a really great job on both of those cars and is highly recommended if you need paintwork fixed in the Hants/Surrey area.

Another job I had put off on the Strat was to get the gearbox checked over (it doesn't always go into 3rd or 4th as smoothly as it used to) and to fit a Limited Slip Diff. Got a Gripper Diff from Tom Seal (See http://www.coventryautomotive.co.uk/diffs.htm) to fit the Alfa 164 transaxle.

With that a pair of new, larger, rear tyres, a replacement windscreen and a fresh MOT, I then took the car back out to Belgium for the AutoHappening show. This is a car show held each year at Zolder race circuit and I am one of a crowd that is regularly invited by Eric and Sabine of Oracle Cars (http://www.oracle-kitcars.be/) to bring the car along for some track action. The Strat is ideally suited to most parts of this track, which has chicanes of different sizes and some gradient changes. In the past, I've also proven the 'rally car heritage' of the Stratos by using the grass to get past a dangerously obstructive Yank Tank of some sort (Corvette, I think, or maybe the Viper).

As usual, that was a great weekend of taking punters/passengers around the track at some pretty serious speeds. Hospitality from Eric, Sabine and the 'GTM Crowd', amongst others, was great too. Unfortunately, my digital video camera didn't want to work in my car, so I didn't end up with any footage of the on-track experience. There are some photos around somewhere though, so I'll try to find links to them.

I did get to take the Evo for display with the MLR (Mitsubishi Lancer Register - http://www.lancerregister.com/) at the Sunseeker Rally at the start of the year, at a local motor show (http://www.elvethamheathcarshow.co.uk/) then at Brands Hatch for the Time Attack event, where a huge convoy of Evo's took to the track at lunchtime. That made an impressive sight - albeit this might have been the first and last time some of the owners of those cars ever get onto a race circuit, they enjoyed the experience all the same.

Went spectating at the Abingdon Carnival Sprint in the summer, to catch up with some of the Stratos Enthusiast Club members http://www.stratclub.com/ although I wasn't competing this year.

At the end of the season I also went to do some marshalling on the Tempest Rally, which is a good way to put something back into sport whilst also enjoying the spectacle. Unfortunately, the location I was posted on was just above a rather dangerous section, with cars frequently going off the road. Mostly into a mud-filled ditch, some jumping into the air on a bank out of the ditch, others getting stuck and needing lots of people-power to extricate them. Some got stuck completely and had to await a tow vehicle to get them out. A Land Rover Wolf 110 managed to do a nose-stand against the bank, which much have winded the crew, although they did continue. Worst luck was for one of the Evo's, which managed to roll into the muddy ditch.
Got the crew out of the one door that could be partly opened, then pushed the car back onto its wheels, but it was to play no further part in that rally.

Other than that, I can think back to very little motorsport enjoyment. I went to the NEC for the Autosport International show, as usual, which was ok but not outstanding. Mind you, some of the lycra-clad show girls make up for it at times :-)

My plans are to get out competing again properly next year and to get more enjoyment from motorsport overall. I can't let work (and apathy) get the upper hand on my free time again...

Motor Clubs and memberships

It's now that time of year when many renewals come through for club and association memberships. Admittedly, lots of these are no longer fixed to a Jan/Dec timeframe, but at least in my case I seem to have many joining dates in these months.

Receiving the renewal invitations makes me briefly wonder how many clubs I have been a member of, and how many clubs other people tend to join.

I have done a bit of trimming over the years, not automatically renewing unless a can make a reason for continued membership. After all, it's my money I am parting with for the membership fee, but that isn't all there is to it.

Being a member of a motor club should be a bit more meaningful than paying an annual cheque to the club and receiving a newsletter or magazine in return every month, quarter, or whatever. Clubs depend on input from their members to actually run the organisation, to put on events, to round up volunteers and to define the future of the club. In almost all [motor] clubs, these roles are generally covered by a relatively small number of members.

Paying a membership fee to the club doesn't do full justification to the efforts put in by these people. As a member, you really should be more involved than that; turning up for club nights and meetings, sending photos and articles in the the club newsletter, posting comments and advice on forums - all these activities mean that a club will thrive.

So instead of just thinking 'Do I want to pay x pounds for this club newsletter for the year', the decision-making process should be more along the lines of 'What do I get from this club, and what can I put into this club as a values member'.

There are of course some motorsport organisations that you just have to be a member of so that you can compete at regional or national level (thinking of BRSCC, BRDC and the like here). In my view, they operate much less as a motor club and instead as a business with a form of monopoly. But maybe that's just me.

Back to the opening statements in this blog, I can recall being members of the following motor clubs:

• Craven Motor Club
• AWDC: All Wheel Drive Club (or the All Wet and Dirty Club)
• AROC: Alfa Romeo Owners Club
• Lancia Motor Club
• Hart Motor Club
• Stratos Enthusiasts Club (previously the Stratos Replica Club)
• BRSCC: British Racing and Sports Car Club
• BARC: British Automobile Racing Club
• 750MC: 750 Motor Club (for the SRGTC: Sports Racing & GT Challenge)
• MLR: Mitsubishi Lancer Register

Looking at this list, I've probably been a member of between 3 and 6 clubs at a time over the past 15 years or more. The current list is down to 2 at the moment, although I am looking to join a different local motor club in the new year, which will bring my expected tally up to 3 again.

Do you think that is excessive - too many, too few, too expensive, pointless?