Enjoying this....... 
Motorsport to Monza.
- Thread starter Sgt Bilco
- Start date
This line:
Will be at Brands on Wednesday morning no problem.
No pink dots here as we are out in the paddock but there are orange squares for the corner of the trailer.
This OK.........?
So, we set off at 5-30 to miss the hell that is the Milan ring road as Monza is just slightly north.
The only issue is you miss the lovely views as you run down the Alps towards Turin. The engine brake is working hard to keep it nice and controlled and we take it fairly steady. There is a lot of kit in these things that is worth mega bucks!!
Switching lanes at the end of one tunnel for roadworks which is a bit tight.
Through seemingly endless peages which can be a little tight in a trucks. Plenty leave paintwork as a sign they were there. We run with toll boxes so never have to stop. You drive through slowly, hear the beep, what the barrier rise and out you go.
Yet another dawn rises as we cruise towards Milan with some nice views across to the Alps.
So much for missing the rush hour and Milan is rammed and it takes a good 45 mins to clear it.
Finally off the motorway and to the circuit. I'm led to believe that Monza is the 3rd oldest track in Europe and as per a lot of these tracks, they are buried in towns which have built up around them which doesn't make for easy access.
And then into the Temple of Speed where we have to park up for a couple of hours before being called in to our spot.
The truck in front is run by Ford in Belgium and they have the only other Mustang in teh race series but it's nowhere near the level of ours.
The only issue is you miss the lovely views as you run down the Alps towards Turin. The engine brake is working hard to keep it nice and controlled and we take it fairly steady. There is a lot of kit in these things that is worth mega bucks!!
Switching lanes at the end of one tunnel for roadworks which is a bit tight.
Through seemingly endless peages which can be a little tight in a trucks. Plenty leave paintwork as a sign they were there. We run with toll boxes so never have to stop. You drive through slowly, hear the beep, what the barrier rise and out you go.
Yet another dawn rises as we cruise towards Milan with some nice views across to the Alps.
So much for missing the rush hour and Milan is rammed and it takes a good 45 mins to clear it.
Finally off the motorway and to the circuit. I'm led to believe that Monza is the 3rd oldest track in Europe and as per a lot of these tracks, they are buried in towns which have built up around them which doesn't make for easy access.
And then into the Temple of Speed where we have to park up for a couple of hours before being called in to our spot.
The truck in front is run by Ford in Belgium and they have the only other Mustang in teh race series but it's nowhere near the level of ours.
Fascinating report, Sargent…thanks for taking the time to share
I just use my Garmin XT to be honest as very often truck sat navs won't allow you to get to places we need to go like the centre of Monza. I also use google maps on phone as a reference and I'm long enough in the tooth to know the routes to where I need to be and then rely on the nav for the last few miles.
They are both cameras which run. One is mine as back up and one is wired into the truck. There is also lane detection unit in there which beeps if you are moving lanes without indicators.
The big unit is the toll box which is good for all of Europe so you don't have to stop at toll booths.
We finally get into the paddock around 3pm for set up. In can get very chaotic so they supposedly put you in in order but it doesn't always work. Your work area is all marked out so you park on the markings and start the unloading and set up.
In British GT4 we have pits but not in Europe. We use a big awning which can take a bit of getting up if the weather is bad. It's overcast and is drizzling with rain so not too bad. The team have flown in and slowly appear to help.
Then the beasts come out of their lair.
And into the garage.
The team have been given their details about height set up etc and get straight onto prepping the cars.
The eagle eyed amongst you will note the cars have no doors when being transported. They have to be removed as teh things are just too wide for the trailers!!
In British GT4 we have pits but not in Europe. We use a big awning which can take a bit of getting up if the weather is bad. It's overcast and is drizzling with rain so not too bad. The team have flown in and slowly appear to help.
Then the beasts come out of their lair.
And into the garage.
The team have been given their details about height set up etc and get straight onto prepping the cars.
The eagle eyed amongst you will note the cars have no doors when being transported. They have to be removed as teh things are just too wide for the trailers!!
Attachments
A few pics inside the awning and we have everything in there to keep the Mustangs out on the track.
It was a long old day and we didn't finish until 8pm so we'd sent out for some pizza.
8 boxes of the biggest pizza's you've ever seen showed up which defeated even the hungriest of mechanics. We have 3 left if anyone is peckish!!
It was a long old day and we didn't finish until 8pm so we'd sent out for some pizza.
8 boxes of the biggest pizza's you've ever seen showed up which defeated even the hungriest of mechanics. We have 3 left if anyone is peckish!!
It looks OK to me, but Geoffrey is the arbiter.
I'll search you out at Brands!
Shhh, he's not here or at least we've not seen him. There is a young French guy doing the European rounds.
I'll be dropping teh truck off Wednesday and then shooting home. Back down Sunday morning to watch teh race, load and go.
Harry says hello.
If anyone wants to watch Bilco's team in combat:
Qualifying is at 11.00hrs on Saturday;
Race 1 starts at 16.00hrs on Saturday;
Race 2 starts at 11.35hrs on Sunday
(UK times)
Live stream with English commentary is here - look for GT4
Cars are:
#61 Ford Mustang GT4 (drivers Erik EVANS
Marco SIGNORETTI 
)
#62 Ford Mustang GT4 (Will MOORE
Matt NICOLL-JONES )
Qualifying is at 11.00hrs on Saturday;
Race 1 starts at 16.00hrs on Saturday;
Race 2 starts at 11.35hrs on Sunday
(UK times)
Live stream with English commentary is here - look for GT4
Cars are:
#61 Ford Mustang GT4 (drivers Erik EVANS
Marco SIGNORETTI )#62 Ford Mustang GT4 (Will MOORE
Matt NICOLL-JONES )
Are there some logo issues?
Sorry about the delay folks but been a bit busy. There is always something so do whether it be keeping the coffee machine topped up, helping with tyres or making sure everything looks clean and shiny which seems to be role this weekend.
The workload for evryone is not stop making sure teh cars are as good as they can be for the races and believe me, they take a real hammering.
The last 2 days heve been test sessions and pre qualifying.
The first test was a bit of a nightmare as a bearing failed causing one of the cars to lose a wheel and somehow Matt kept it from hitting the wall and all the other cars in the vicinity.
It came back on a wrecker which is never good.
Luckily there wasn't too much mechanical damage and the problem was put down to a manufacturing issue.
When they recovered the car, they strapped it through the roof which actually broke the hinges of the passenger door. Not a problem as we carry spare doors but somehow we had 2 drivers doors.
A bit of boggit a scarpery on the carbon fibre doors with a sheet of ally riveted to it, we got it operational again and although it wasn't a perfect fit, it closed and was good enough.
The other Mustang run by Ford Belgium is just around the corner and isn't at the pace of ours but looks pretty.
You can see how close the garages are in the paddock and there are our Austrian neighbours.
Crammed in but still got the truck looking shiny.
The trailers double up as workshops and offices.
AMS 1 is teh workshop and command centre.
And AMS 3 is for the drivers to relax, go through their debriefs etc and get changed.
The workload for evryone is not stop making sure teh cars are as good as they can be for the races and believe me, they take a real hammering.
The last 2 days heve been test sessions and pre qualifying.
The first test was a bit of a nightmare as a bearing failed causing one of the cars to lose a wheel and somehow Matt kept it from hitting the wall and all the other cars in the vicinity.
It came back on a wrecker which is never good.
Luckily there wasn't too much mechanical damage and the problem was put down to a manufacturing issue.
When they recovered the car, they strapped it through the roof which actually broke the hinges of the passenger door. Not a problem as we carry spare doors but somehow we had 2 drivers doors.
A bit of boggit a scarpery on the carbon fibre doors with a sheet of ally riveted to it, we got it operational again and although it wasn't a perfect fit, it closed and was good enough.
The other Mustang run by Ford Belgium is just around the corner and isn't at the pace of ours but looks pretty.
You can see how close the garages are in the paddock and there are our Austrian neighbours.
Crammed in but still got the truck looking shiny.
The trailers double up as workshops and offices.
AMS 1 is teh workshop and command centre.
And AMS 3 is for the drivers to relax, go through their debriefs etc and get changed.
This is the driver change area in AMS 3. Messy buggers......
Had a nice stroll around the paddock and who knew that KTM were really big into cars? These things are everywhere and run in whats called GT2 which from what I can gather is just mega rich people having a jolly and a very expensive track day!!
This GT2 Maserati is an absolute beautiful thing and I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at the price.
This is where the real money is......GT3 and Rossi's bandwagon is down there somewhere.
Chance to sit in the stand for half an hour or so and watch pre qualifying. This straight is unbelievably fast and the Mustangs are right up there in straight line speed.
As we have no pit garage, we have to use the front of the Ford GT3 garage and the GT3 car is a completely different animal with a 3 to 4 second quicker lap time.
Just off for qualifying.
Had a nice stroll around the paddock and who knew that KTM were really big into cars? These things are everywhere and run in whats called GT2 which from what I can gather is just mega rich people having a jolly and a very expensive track day!!
This GT2 Maserati is an absolute beautiful thing and I wouldn't like to hazard a guess at the price.
This is where the real money is......GT3 and Rossi's bandwagon is down there somewhere.
Chance to sit in the stand for half an hour or so and watch pre qualifying. This straight is unbelievably fast and the Mustangs are right up there in straight line speed.
As we have no pit garage, we have to use the front of the Ford GT3 garage and the GT3 car is a completely different animal with a 3 to 4 second quicker lap time.
Just off for qualifying.
Not as far as I'm aware Greg.
Sorry, it was Optimum GT3
9th and 14th out of 49 starters in Race 1
9th and 14th out of 49 starters in Race 1
Good result but could have been better. A bit baulked with safety cars but they are hoping for better today.
Not the results the performance deserved today as Marco in 61 was in strong 5th when he got punted off by a ridiculous move by the Belgian Mustang. He lost 31 places........!!
62 had a great 1st part of the race but then tailed off a little towards the end.
Overall a strong weekend and the Mustang can hold it's own in European GT3 which is a really competative series.
No pics as I have an issue with my phone transferring to the lap top but I'll get some loaded when I get home in the week.
Just about to start packing up and will be away from here 04.00 Monday morning to get the trucks to Brands for the last British round next weekend.
62 had a great 1st part of the race but then tailed off a little towards the end.
Overall a strong weekend and the Mustang can hold it's own in European GT3 which is a really competative series.
No pics as I have an issue with my phone transferring to the lap top but I'll get some loaded when I get home in the week.
Just about to start packing up and will be away from here 04.00 Monday morning to get the trucks to Brands for the last British round next weekend.
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