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9

Dec

ODE TO PICKUP TRUCK RACING

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ODE TO PICKUP TRUCK RACING

Here we are at the end of the 11 season;
let’s celebrate whatever the reason
At tonight’s awards some might get a cup;
because Sonny’s race results show this is where we’re ending up
But just a reminder that you’re all winners;
let’s take a look back at why we eat our dinners

The season starts, down at Brands Hatch;
where we saw new faces join our patch
Rockingham’s first was an April call;
when some they couldn’t avoid the wall
Silverstone was a great success;
when the GSport duo they did impress

Back to the Rock the spotters glance;
when both race wins go to the Dance
At Oulton Park the stewards had their say;
before the points were published on that day
For Donington we had weather hot;
and Seager won Grand final slot

Rockingham’s end went very fast;
where places changed up to the last
Thruxton heard the woo’s get higher;
when Nokia  set his car on fire
Pembrey brought an extra race,
where No 4 won his first place

We finally bought the season to a close;
the drivers showed us they’re all great pros
At Brands again in hellish rain,
perhaps Halloween sent them all insane
But 63 was on the pace,
aiming for a championship place

Let’s not forget those teams that back them up;
for without them they wouldn’t have a pickup truck
We’ve seen some highs and some lows;
but it always keeps us on our toes
The Grindrod team were full of grins;
with the arrival of the adorable twins

This ode was not to raise any tension;
if I didn’t give you a little mention
I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick remit;
and 2010 doesn’t see you quit
We hope to see you and wish you luck;
so raise your glass to the PICKUP TRUCK

Poem Thanks to Julie Jones from the Sertec Team

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9

Dec

2010 Provisional Race Calendar

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Provisional Calendar Dates

Updates will be posted as we get them:

10 – 11 April
Rockingham Motor Speedway

17 – 18 April
Brands Hatch

15 – 16 May
Knockhill

30 – 31 May
Rockingham Motor Speedway

13 June
Mallory Park

3 – 4 July
Rockingham Motor Speedway

17 – 18 July
Mondello Park

7 – 8 August
Thruxton

14 – 15 August
Pembrey

4 – 5 September
Donington Park

11- 12 September
Rockingham Motor Speedway

10 October
Snetterton

30 – 31 October
Brands Hatch

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18

Nov

2009 Race Calendar

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The Pickup Truck Racing 2009 Calendar was unveiled during the 2008 Awards night.  These dates are currently provisional and any changes will be amended in due course.


Here are the following dates to add into your diary:-


Rounds 1&2 - Brands Hatch - March 28th & 29th

Rounds 3&4 - Rockingham - April 18th & 19th

Rounds 5&6 - Silverstone - May 16th & 17th

Rounds 7&8 - Oulton Park - June 20th

Rounds 9&10 - Rockingham - July 18th & 19th

Rounds 11&12&13 – Donington – August 8th & 9th

Rounds 14&15 - Thruxton - August 15th & 16th

Rounds 16&17 - Rockingham - August 22nd & 23rd

Rounds 18&19 - Rockingham - September 5th & 6th

Rounds 20&21 - Pembrey, Wales – October 17th & 18th

Rounds 22&23 - Brands Hatch - October 31st & November 1st


Hope to see you all in 2009!

Yung.

Mechanic.

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4

Nov

Brands Hatch 1st/2nd November 2008 Season Finale!

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The Pickup Truck Racing was at Brands Hatch for the last race meeting of the 2008 season.  It was freezing Friday night and thoughts of snow were coming to my mind like the first race of the season back in March.  Start the season snowing and end in snow. 

 

Saturday morning and the temperature was warming up so no chance of snow so we had rain instead.  We had a full team with Michael Russell and Chris Stubbs returning and so while Chris Millett and Michael was working on the setup, me and Chris Stubbs was doing our usual checkups before the trucks went out for Qualifying.  We went out on wet tyres as the track was still wet and Richard ended up 13th fastest with a 59.311.  Tech Inspection was after qualifying and we failed the Sound Test as the exhaust was emitting too high decibels although we passed it in Pembrey two weeks ago and nothing was altered.  Me and Chris Stubbs again done our usual checkups after qualifying and Chris Millett and Michael worked on repacking the exhaust to pass the Sound retest the next day.

 

Sunday morning and it was foggy but the track was wet from the overnight rain.  Due to the fog our first race was delayed.  We passed the Sound retest and waited for the fog to dissipate.  The track was still wet and so we went out to Race 1 with wet tyres on.

 

Sunday Race 1 and Richard would start in 7th place with Neil Tressler (#37) ahead of him and Chris Dawkins (#10) behind.  Antony Hawkins (#98) who is ahead of us in the overall championship was alongside Richard for the start.  Richard finished the race in 15th place behind the #98 pickup truck with his fastest lap as 57.595 seconds.  Richard was going well until near the end where the wet tyres started to go “off”.  Pete Stevens (#4) got wide at Paddock Hill Bend and picked up some gravel and on the same lap he spun after Surtees corner.  After the race Michael found a small leak on the left rear corner and it was found that the leak was coming from the half-shaft.  After close inspection there weren’t any signs of wear on the half-shaft and so he refitted it with a change to the O-ring. 

 

Sunday Race 2 and it was sunny and dry track so full slick tyres were on the pickup truck.  We started 4th and he finished 13th with the fastest lap as 54.435.  Nic Grindrod (#22) came into the pits before the first lap and retired from the race with a problem.  Michael Smith (#93) had a problem with his door and so he borrowed the door from Nic Grindrod (#22) and then continued racing.

 

We finished the season in 11th place in the Overall Championship with 2780 points.  Only 40 points ahead of Julian Arnold (#3) who finished in 12th and 133 points behind Antony Hawkins (#98) who finished 10th in the Overall Championship.

 

Many thanks again for the team of Michael Smith (#93).  Without their help I think we wouldn’t get to sleep at all at some race meetings with the problems we sometimes receive.

 

Congratulations to Gavin Seager (#54) for winning both races and also sweeping the 2008 season with 4410 points in the Overall Championship.  Well done to Richard Novell (#24) for finishing 11th which is so much better than last year.  2008 was a season of improving and learning and so things look good for the future.  Hope you all enjoyed the racing this year and those with withdrawal symptoms can search for videos of the pickup trucks on YouTube.

 

Hope to see you all in 2009.

 

Yung.

Mechanic.

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30

Sep

The last Dance

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Pickup Truck racing returned to Rockingham for the last time last weekend and what a round it would be for RMN Motorsport. Having had our engine rebuilt from the DTM round at Brands Hatch it was pretty much all Richard could do to get the car in the transporter for the weekend. Hats off to him though as the truck arrived late on Friday with a lot less work needing to be done than I first thought.

That being said the team had a very late night on Friday as all effort was mode to return the truck to the Rockingham setup instead of the circuit. This may have been the reason that in the Saturday morning practice Richard reported that the truck had massive push.

After a slight change and a few more laps the decision was made to return to the pits and try to find the
problem that was making the car so hard to drive. The schedule wasn’t in our favor either as we would be lining up around 4:15pm.

The first race of the weekend happened on Saturday evening and I will admit that the truck not being fully ready was mainly my fault. With the schedule being brought forward I just plan ran out of time trying to get our setup correct and as a result Richard suffered during the race with a car that still pushed. Although the truck was running a good pace at first the tyres soon overheated and Richard ended up having to put full lock through turn 4 just to get round. So bad was the handling that we wore the front right tyre to the canvass! Still least it gave Richard a good work out and a healthy dose of adrenalin!

It became apparent that I would have to spend some time on the truck to find our setup. We were being turfed out our pit garage in the evening for the end of season party so I wheeled the car to Michael Smith’s garage and prepared to miss the celebrations and get the truck right for tomorrow.
As it turns out the setup was found in good time. Thanks to Steve for showing me a useful way of changing castor and camber without having to take things apart. With the correct settings on the front and the wheels properly aligned the corner weights were pretty good. It was decided that a small change in pressures for the race was all that remained and we headed of to join the party.

Sunday arrived and the whole team was pretty up beat apart from Richard who seemed to have been poisoned slightly from Yung’s red wine! Breakfast was had (something we missed yesterday) and the build up to the race was full of minor jobs that needed to be done.

As it turns out the calm experienced by the team before the race was to be followed by a storm! When lining up to go onto circuit it became apparent that we had radio problems as Richard and Jamie could hear each other! What was stranger was that I could hear both and they could hear me? As it turned out the antenna cable in the car was broken so a quick fix had to be made as the National Anthem was played. With Red Dog and Blue Leader talking again the trucks rolled out on the warm up laps.

I was particularly nervous that the problems from yesterday would return but as racing got underway Richard began what I believe to be his best race all season. Richard dropped from the front as the fast trucks made their way through. We dropped to 11th place as is the norm and I began to hop that the truck would at least keep working so we could finish in this position. Little did I know that Richard would soon begin a fantastic drive back into the pack that would see the number 24 truck fighting for 7th place for the remainder of the race!

With my nerves climbing every lap that was completed Richard pounded the oval constantly changing places with Phil White, Pete Stevens, Anthony Hawkins and a few other I forget in all the excitement! Although the top 6 trucks were pretty far ahead the tussle for 7th to 12th raged on and I am pleased to say that Richard was never out of 7th place for long.

The final lap began and I lost sight of the trucks heading into turn 1 with Richard being challenged for the 7th place he had fought so hard for all race. When they re-emersed from the blind spot I was gutted to see that Richard had been demoted to 9th! As it turns out all had got pretty scary and a small coming together with Pete Stevens had resulted in a loss of momentum that allowed a few other past. A Thank You here is needed to Anthony Hawkins for pushing Richard straight again. Something that truly did aid in Richard keeping in 9th.

With the chequered flag waved the race was over and although being robbed of the 7th place we thought was in the bag, the team was very happy with the 9th position and the knowledge that the pace was there.

The good news that followed was even better. In the Oval Championship we had finished in 9th place! An amazing achievement for RMN Motorsport and one at which I know the whole team is very proud. The challenge now is to topple the 115 point deficit we have to 10th place in the overall in the last few rounds.

Lets hope lady luck stays with us at Pembrey and Brands Hatch and RMN Motorsport can finish the year 10th or above!

Chris Millett
Crew Chief

P.S apparently developing push as the fuel tank empties happens in NASCAR,
so at least we are not alone in this problem!

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11

Jun

Mondello Park, Ireland. June 6/7/8 2008

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One that will be hard to forget as it was just me and Richard in the team heading to the circuit.  As Richard’s official title in the team is “Manager/Driver,” mine for the weekend was “Chief Mechanic, Cleaner, Crew Chief, Fuelman, Jackman, Navigator, PA, Photographer, Wheelman” and of course, “Teaboy.”  So I was expecting a busy weekend for me except “busy” was an understatement. More like “non-stop” as the weekend unfolds.

Friday testing was on a wet track.  What was worse was that the window wiper motor ceased and approximately a minute before going out on track, it rained.  It was sunny all day except just before testing.  I had to do a “Guido” from Cars changing slick tyres to wets in the rain and guess what happened when the trucks was out, it stopped raining.  Two minor problems were sorted with some help from #93 team after testing, misfiring and the engine was ticking over too high.

Saturday morning practice was sunny and dry.  After 8 laps, the red flags came out and I was trying to find out who went off track.  Unfortunately, it was Richard who brought the red flags out..  He got off track while avoiding pickup truck #14 on a fast bend and ended up in the tyre barriers.  Not a perfect start to the weekend.  After practice, there was only bodywork and suspension damage to the #24 truck and so it was a rush against time to get the truck ready for Race 1.  After some help from Sarge from #69 team and a lot of tape from #2 and #63 teams, the truck was ready for Race 1.  However just before race 1, alternator problems prohibited the truck to start and thanks to Stretch from #9 team, the truck got out on track just in the nick of time and Richard done only 2 laps.  Why?  Because there was only a box of neutrals as the selector broke after further inspection.  Long night ahead as me and Richard changed the gearbox.

Sunday morning practice and completed with the truck pushing a bit.  No major problems which is a good start to Sunday.  Just need a good finish as well and hope nothing else goes wrong.

Race 2 starting last on the grid due to new gearbox and just want the truck to finish in one piece.  Other trucks were dropping out and Richard was surviving.  Finished the race in our first top ten finish of the season with 9th place.  There were more bodywork damage or is that tape damage as Richard bumped #7 truck at the same place as when Richard hit the tyre barriers.

All in all, the start of the weekend wasn’t best but all our efforts paid off for Sunday and we had a happy ending to Mondello race meeting.

A big thanks goes to #93 team and the Grindrod brothers’ team for all their help over the weekend as well as others who I might have forgotten.

What an unforgettable non-stop weekend.

 

See you at Rockingham!
Yung
Mechanic

 


 

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8

May

We are hiring!!!

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Interested in Motorsport?

Do you like the idea of being a hands on member of a truck team?

RMN are looking for at least two more people to assist on race days with the running of the No 24 pickup. Ideally, you should have some experience of motor vehicle maintenance or perhaps some mechanical knowledge with an interest in cars, either way this would be an ideal opportunity for you to gain experience in a motorsport environment.

We are not a professional team so cannot pay wages for this position, but a team uniform can be provided along with food and the odd beer or two. We are a very friendly team and really enjoy a good laugh (not adverse to a good party in our awning) but we do take our racing very seriously especially on race days.

RMN are based in Bedford, but the race meetings are countrywide, so somebody from this general area would be preferable (or travelling would be at your own expense).

If you are interested, please e-mail: enquiries@rmnmotorsport.com

Cheers

Richard

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18

Apr

Atomic Energy Drinks to sponsor the No.24 truck!

Posted by admin  Published in Links, Pickups, Racing

Great News!!!! Atomic Energy Drinks have come onboard to sponsor the RMN Pickup Truck.

Look out for promotional items at forthcoming meetings…

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16

Feb

A New Year and a new start!

Posted by admin  Published in Links, Racing

No.24 truck

Ever hopeful for a better year.

The RMN team and Number 24 truck will be back in action for the 2008 season.

See you all at the track.

Richard Novell
Owner & Driver No.24

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Recent Posts

  • ODE TO PICKUP TRUCK RACING
  • 2010 Provisional Race Calendar
  • 2009 Race Calendar
  • Brands Hatch 1st/2nd November 2008 Season Finale!
  • Pembrey, Wales 11th/12th October 2008

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Recent Post

  • ODE TO PICKUP TRUCK RACING
  • 2010 Provisional Race Calendar
  • 2009 Race Calendar
  • Brands Hatch 1st/2nd November 2008 Season Finale!
  • Pembrey, Wales 11th/12th October 2008
  • The last Dance
  • Rockingham 27th/28th September 2008
  • Brands Hatch 29th/30th/31st August 2008
  • Thruxton 2nd/3rd August 2008
  • Donington 27 July 2008

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