Cima Racing is Rallying an old banger around Europe to raise money for BEN Donate Now!
Reserved Parking
30 August 2007
Yesterday saw me take the now stickered Safrane up to Peterborough, parking it inside the Serpentine Green Shopping Centre, blocking customers on their way to Boots and Tesco.The idea, other than to irritate, was to extract money from them, put it in our shiny yellow collection tins, and then hand that cash over to SPARKS, the charity we're doing all this for.
After close to ten hours in the centre, with free coffee being supplied by the good people in the Tesco Café, we'd come away with a bundle of cash and very sore feet.
Thanks Peterborough.
Labels: Staples2Naples 07
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Stick 'em up!
25 August 2007
The cooling system on the Safrane still isn't working properly, which didn't fill me with a great deal of confidence when I woke to (probably) the hottest day of the year so far faced with two hours of motorway speed driving, with a nice slow section in the middle. A hot engine and no airflow doesn't make the car very happy.However, the good people at Mitchell Signs couldn't be left waiting, as they'd kindly offered their services to us, prepared to sticker up the car so it looks a little more like the 'rally' car it's meant to be.
Stopping off at Thamesmead on the way, to pick up Juliana, the co-driving totty, we arrived at Micthell Signs in the small Kent town of Ash with the water temperatures rising rapidly, but within an acceptable range.
Mitchell's Danny Jones greeted us and, along with another member of staff, started the process of stickering the car. A few design tweaks later, and a few cups of coffee, the first sticker made it on - the big and bold Cima Racing URL on the back of the car.
Sticker after sticker was produced and slapped on the car in a process that looked frighteningly easy. It wasn't, but they made it look it.
After a few hours, the work was finished.
And it looks fantastic! Thanks guys.
Labels: Staples2Naples 07
Inside out
19 August 2007
It's getting better - the interior of the car is now complete, with carbon fibre trim and safety gear all in place for the rally, and a stereo with an auxiliary input that works!With drills and hairdryers needed, it was dangerous work thanks mainly to the ever present threat of thunderstorms, but we've managed to restore the inside to a reasonable standard and, quite frankly, improve on what Renault did back in 1992.
It's not the last word in style, and there's little support in the seats for hundreds of hairpin bends we'll be taking, but there's worse places to spend seven days and 3,000 miles.
Labels: Staples2Naples 07
That's more like it
12 August 2007
Today saw another trip to Swadlincote to finish off the paintwork on the Renault, despite the weather forecast being for scattered showers.So, late on Saturday night I got a head start, masking off vast swathes of car before the drive to Swad. Sunday morning therefore made me feel slightly ridiculous as I headed up the M1 in a car that looked even worse than it did when I'd bought it.
As it was last time, a quick trip for paint and thinners inevitably led to breakfast at McDonalds, where my good friend Jason Jenkin from T-Mobile wolfed down a Meat Ball Melt Deli Sandwich with fries and a chocolate doughnut. Being the healthy kind of guy he is, he washed that down with Coke Zero.
Alright, it's not relevant to the story, but I know someone is laughing at it...
So the sun stayed out, the paint went on without too many mishaps, and we decided to do the wheels. Around six hours later all was done, and the car now looks more like the Williams-Renault FW14B than ever.
Still left to do, cosmetically, are the wing mirrors, the brake calipers and some details on the wheels. Oh yes, and a massive wing.
Beyond that, it's all mechanical.
Labels: Staples2Naples 07
Va Va Vrooooooooom!
06 August 2007
Our sponsors are going to be thrilled! We're not content with showing the car off to money-laden shoppers, and then parking it in London for a launch party. Oh no.We're going to take it Donington Park and drive it around the circuit in front of 100,000 people! We'll then park it in the middle of a historic Renault display, generally lowering the tone of the Renault World Series weekend.
And (yes, there's more) we'll be taking our sponsors up to Donington for a day out over the weekend, allowing them to enjoy the luxury of our hospitality suite (thanks to our friends at Kia Hospitality) overlooking the start/finish straight and the first corner as they sip at the wine (thanks to Hallgarten) and enjoy the racing.
Amazingly, there's even more! As we'll be driving our delightful Renault Safrane around the track on both days, we might as well put the spare seats in the car to good use and invite some lucky guests to join us out on track.
If you're a team sponsor and you're reading this, your invitation will be in your email soon. If you're a supplier, sponsor or just a regular fan, then we'll have a bundle of tickets available to buy (or up for auction) before too long, and they'll be waaaay cheaper than any other hospitality options.
Of course, all profits will go to SPARKS, the wonderful charity we're doing the whole rally thing for, so don't hold back when the time comes to put your hand in your pocket.
Labels: Staples2Naples 07
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