Kirsten Ashcroft News 2008

23rd May 2008
thanks to Mike

Unfortunately we have had to cancel Kirsten's' booking for Skegness (25/26 May 2008) + Kirsten will not be racing in the V8 class for the foreseeable future. Regretfully, despite our best efforts, the constant lack of communication, false promises, incompetence and haphazard way the Swinton Car Project ( notably their figurehead Mr Dave Wood) have gone about their dealings with us, leaves us with no option other than to terminate our arrangement.

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2nd May 2008
thanks to Mike

Kirsten is booked in to race at Sheffield in the V8's this Bank Holiday Monday (05/05).  The car she is using is the "spare" Swinton Motor Project car that has not raced for at least 2 years.  The car was more or less rebuilt by NFR over the winter and we have finished everything off over the last few weeks.  As long as all is well on Sunday the car will then be passed back to the SCP after Sheffield so it can be used by the project thereafter.  Kirsten is due to take delivery of another car, again courtesy of the SCP, which she will race full time this year. Race reports and updates will be added as the season progresses.

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Buxton 20/04/08
Buxton Bomber #414

Yesterday Kirsten made her debut in the Buxton Bomber class (formerly rookie bangers) at High Edge Raceway on a typically bleak April Buxton day!!  Kirsten and boyfriend Loz had done most of the work themselves on a Honda Civic kindly donated by Jamie Davidson and by the time Trish and I got to the track the car was ready to go.  The first race set off very well, Kirsten elected to start from the back and was making up a few places within a couple of laps or so. About half way Kirsten's exuberance got the better of her and she ended up in a half spin on the pit bend. Unfortunately for Kirsten this left the rear of her car sticking slightly onto the racing line where inevitably she got clipped by a passing car. The contact was very minimal but it soon became obvious that in a previous life, the car had a rear panel fitted because the impact, although minor, managed to rip off the entire rear panel of the car from it's welds!! (see photo)   

photo thanks to Buxton Racepics

This should have finished Kirsten's' race but Kirsten being Kirsten she span the car around and proceeded to finish the remainder of the race with a flailing rear panel!!!  Several black flags were shown but the 414 car finished the race at which point she got a rollicking of the meeting steward!!!  Some hasty repairs took place to get Kirsten's car out for heat 2 but her second race was almost over as soon as it began as, on lap 1, she decided to take one of her opponents into the fence where they were both then collected by another car. Kirsten spent the rest of the race as a spectator and as contact in bombers is only allowed after the first lap (and a union jack flag is shown) Kirsten then got a second rollicking!!!
 
With too much damage to repair for the final all that  was left to do was to load up and get home for warm (Jeez it was cold!!)
 
Many thanks to Loz Dowds for the help with the car, Rob Dowds for transporting the car and for his help and to Jamie Davidson of http://www.jdavidsonscrap.com/ for the donation of the car.
 
Kirsten isn't sure if or when she will venture out in a banger again but I think one or two other drivers might have her down for some attention if she does!!

 
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Kirsten's V8 News.
 
News from the V8 side of things is that we have now finally finished the Swinton Motor Project spare car, Al Bateman came over to our place tonight (21/04/08) and has worked his magic on the cars' badly misfiring engine. The car just needs all the panels putting back now and it's ready to venture out on track at Sheffield on 5th May. Huge thanks to Al (of F1 team 218 and 278, F2 team 213) for his expertise and time...cheers pal!
 
Kirsten and I (Mike) are going to the garage tomorrow night to fit up the seat in the new chassis so it can then go for blasting and repainting before Kirsten takes over the car for the Skegness V8 weekender 25/26 May 2008)

Mike