Mascar October 22nd 2016 Penultimate Race

It was good to be at the penultimate race of the season, at Birmingham Wheels and see Andy Hartwell in action yet again, in the very competitive Mascar series, wow they fly and there really are some great drivers in the field, its a great series and if you haven’t already been along to see these little pocket rockets in action, we can strongly suggest popping along to see, especially the final of the season when they are at the same venue as the Legends.

Saturday 22nd of October and Andy had 3 races, so we got there nice and early to set up and check the car over, and of course VAD was roped in, we were chief cook and bottle washer, pleased to say the burgers went down a treat, .. .so with the belly full, it was time to hit the first race at 5 pm.

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The car looked nervous and a bit of a handful to drive, and Andy did confirm, it was pushing on the front end, but even with that problem, he had a great result and came in 3rd overall, in the second race the car looked the same, very push on the front end, what didn’t help in race two was the tank slapper moment from another car that lost control and hit Andy in the side, luckily Andy didn’t sustain too much damage and managed to get to the finish line, and after a good check over would be out for race 3.

Back at the pits, Craig from PRO24 Race shop noticed one of the coilover units had too much play, which explains the pushy front end, especially as it was on the front passenger side, an the side that was doing most of the work, so a quick swap from side to side with an easy repair for the evening and as there was the third and final race, nothing really to lose.

Starting 3rd for the final race of the evening, 25 laps of the track, within half a lap car number #5 took the lead and pulled out a 1.5 to 2 second gap, the car looked so much better, it was planted,and all was going well , that was until half way point and backmarker car 50 gave andy very little room as he over took him, he shouldn’t really of been anywhere near him, but he was and he hit #05 and spun him round, frustrating end to a brilliant start, as he was on for the win, but that as they say is racing.

So now it’s the end of the season, with just the grand final left, Birmingham wheels here we come.

#Mascar05 #mascar #Birminghamwheels #andyhartwell #Hartwellmotorservices #Hartwell05 #05hartwell

Mascar, Welcome to the Grid, Andy Hartwell No5

Ever since we can remember we have always had our vehicles looked after by Hartwell Motor Services, for all our mechanical, vehicle servicing and all our MOT work, the service is second to none, and we can highly recommend the company, driven by a passionate owner, there isn't much they don’t know about fixing or looking after your pride and joy.

Proprietor and personal friend Andy Hartwell, has always been in and around some form of racing, not to long back he was terrorising the Legend grid, with some real ballsy racing, and we have to admit, he was pretty handy behind the wheel.

This year he has decided to submit to his cravings, the force is strong for the love of competing, and he does love a challenge, so at the start of the racing season his mind was made up. The first thing was deciding on what racing series he wanted to compete in, as there is so much racing that ticked most of the boxes, the Legends was a no go, he's been there and done that and was after a different challenge, with a few in mind his final decision was Mascar, it ticked all of the boxes, and for those that are not in the know, it’s the miniature form of Nascar, that's run over in the states, and boy are they a blast.

With the class of racing decided it was time to look at the transportation, getting this race car to and from the circuits all over the UK, with the odd trip to Europe, and with a 7.5 ton truck secured, with adjustable tail lift, it was time to go Mascar shopping. As with anything when Andy is on buying spree, a bargain was found, with a fresh unpainted shell, for him to plan out his paint and decal theme, and with the shell all painted Kawasaki Green, it was off over to James at Signs FX in Northampton for a bit of graphic designing, and we have to say it came out rather good, nice to see a bit of VAD in those lovely graphics.

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After a few niggles with various parts, Andy upgraded lots of the suspension components, so everything is now adjustable for fine tuning the car set up from track to track, the first test run was at Birmingham wheels, just outside the city centre, and the car looked, and sounded superb, he also reported it handled like it was on rails, and the first race meeting at Mendips to get a feel for racing the car went down a storm.

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Andy Hartwell 05 Mascar Race Day

Next outing for Hartwell Motor Services crew will be at Ipswich raceway on the 6th of August and we will be there in full VAD support. For anyone that’s interested in what makes this little fire breathers tick, Below we have listed a bit of technical info on these little pocket rockets.

10 things you need to know about Mascar

1 Tyres are restricted to 8 slicks & 8 wets per season all bar coded and driver allocated to individual drivers.

2 Engines all sealed and are basically a standard Yamaha J 1200 or XJR1300 engine units costs from £250.00 for second hand

3 The cars are basically all identical and makes for close racing and the size of cheque book dont count for anything in this series.

4 Shock are all restricted and identical

5 You don't need loads of spares because we all use the same equipment we have the parts track side at every meeting.

6 All drivers are on raceceivers to make fair and equal racing and make drivers aware of spun cars etc, saving on car damage.

7 Reverse grids give everyone that, race win opportunity, drivers are graded every meeting on averages.

8 The cars hold value when looked after as you can’t build or buy cars from outside the series protecting your investment ( Many cars have sold for more than the original drivers have bought them for.

9 All our officials are voted in by the drivers yearly and we Police our own series so no confusion about rules

10 We are a family friendly series that wants to encourage the NASCAR style of Racing to the UK and as an independent series we have the chance to also do long track and other style of tracks on occasions bring the fun element back to motor sport.

The full report of the Ipswich meeting will be posted on our blog, so look out for all the details coming soon.

For more details on what Hartwell Motor Services has to offer, check out their website for more info, www.hartwellmotorservices.co.uk

#andyhartwell #Hartwellmotorservices #mascar #Mascar05