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aloib (f)
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wer is that  |
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Dis Guy
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one place like that after apogbon bridge |
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aloib (f)
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lol u think ill wait for u, google is so near me, olodo
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ss_collins
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@this guy - when were you there I went to Brookes
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ss_collins
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Report from yesterdays race,
Silverstone - England
I had a nightmare in qualifying, just as I was about to drive out of the pit garage and onto the track the ignition system failed, whilst I sat in the car the mechanics rushed around trying to find parts to rebuild it and the session started with me sat in the garage. Finally the car came together and we got it started and I roared out onto the track, having lost a lot of time I had to drive flat out on cold tyres (our tyres have to be at the correct temperature to grip properly), did one 1m38s lap (very slow) before going on a fast one - I started to catch a more modern car when I hit some oil and spun the car at around 100mph. I didn't hit anything and continued to start a new lap but at the next corner three other cars crashed due to oil including my team mate (Dr. Detlef Brehmer - German) so the organisers stopped the session.
I had not set a proper lap time yet so at the time I was running dead last. When the session restarted I got going again but the track was now in very poor condition with oil everywhere. I improved to a 1m13.74 lap (still 3.7 second slower than I ran last year - thats how bad the track was). This put me up to 33rd position - of 48. Whilst this doesn't sound great my car is about 13 years old - most of those in front are a lot more up to date.
For me the race was highly uneventful I started further back than normal and just worked my way back up through the field to 18th position. Not a great result but telling - I clearly need a more modern suspension setup and new a new aero package. I'm designing new bodywork for the car so hopefully I can complete that in time for the next race and move up the grid,
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aloib (f)
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hmm goodluck wid the next one, lol at your position, well considering all u went through before u started the race, wats the highest rposition uve got
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Dis Guy
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'04-'05
wet track oil on track- disaster!
you need major upgrade on your car if its 13 old! not just for the speed but safety
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ss_collins
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Safety is fine, the car gets rebuilt every year but its design is outdated and some parts are repaired when other racers buy new ones - but its a budget thing - the chassis cost just £2,500 - (650,000 Naira), and the engine is about £1,000 (250,000 Naira) but needs a complete rebuild at least once a year - the front runners spend about £20,000 on their cars (5,000,000 Naira)
I'm designing some new parts for the car which means I should be able to get closer to the front runners.
Best result? a few wins in rallying and karting. Some podiums in races (but no wins annoyingly) - came very close to winning a race at Mallory park a few years ago (when I had a much bigger budget and raced a works car) but I spun out of second whilst dicing with the champion of Ireland.
The UK formula vee series is one of the toughest in the world. Here is a pic taken by my Grandfather at the end of the race - the yellow car coming into the shot on the left is a very heavily tuned Storm chassis built last year. He won the race but was later disqualified as his engine was found to be illegal - I can't afford more than one engine!
The red car is a slightly more recent version of mine, but its driven by a guy who works for a company that designs and builds formula 1 car suspension (also a nice chap) he was 2 laps behind me.
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bispers (f)
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i've just been listening to the race commentary, Sam did get a mention to do with "is he Nigeria's fastest racing driver?" so he's promoting the country! raced with the nigerian flag [and union jacks] too of course
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naijacutee (f)
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Wow sscollins! I'm absolutely loving what you did with the car in the first shot. I saw the Nigerian colours on it and I had goose pimples. Thanks for promoting our name!!! The good thing about developing countries is that there's always room for development. If there isn't presently any racing interest in Nigeria, then you can create some. . . Contrary to what someone said about Nigeria not being ready for racing - If there are golfers and golf clubs in Nigeria, why not racers?
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ss_collins
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There are roads, there are cars - theres space. You don't need a lot of money to race in Barbados there are two small tracks yet they have great racing. Nigerian motorsport could be the envy of Africa
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ss_collins
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Another run out yesterday - this time a race against the clock rather than head to head - its a bit like F1 Qualifying used to be - one car on track at a time. The category I drove in was the super competitive 1400cc class (cars must not be modified and have an engine smaller than 1400cc), and despite making some very silly errors (spins and a run off the track) my final run put me into 2nd place. However in the final moments of the session a similar car to mine went 0.3 seconds quicker, and then a Honda put in a time 0.1 seconds faster dropping me to fourth (1 sec behind the winner). So close but so far away!
anyway a pic of me - as you can see I was driving VERY hard!
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ss_collins
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Kart race last night - a hard fought event but for once in equal machinery - was up against teams including my team mate and the UK formula Vee champion, as well as a selection of local rally and sprint drivers, my team (including a 75 year old man who is one the fastest racers in england!) came in 2nd. We were quicker than the winners but lost 2 laps as we had to make an extra pit stop,
no pics,
but heres a really old one
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ss_collins
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This is a shame - the only other Nigerian to have ever done anything in motorsport - I think from an international perspective this is typical of Nigerians - a poor perception Prince Malik Ado Ibrahim was once a part owner of the Arrows Formula 1 team. Now the Nigerian is in big trouble in the United States of America where he had hoped to create a motor racing empire after his F1 adventures came to an end. In 2004 he created a team called Maverick Motorsports with the plan to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Robert Richardson III as the driver. The team took part in three races at the end of 2005 but then the various parties fell out and in March this year a Grand Jury in Texas (a jury which determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial) indicted Ado-Ibrahim on a first-degree felony count of theft over $200,000 and a second-degree felony count of securing execution of a document by deception. The Collin County District Attorney's Special Crimes Unit (SCU) alleged that Ado-Ibrahim stole about $625,000 from Robert Richardson's father by promising it would be deposited into a Bank of America trust account that did not exist. The court issued a warrant under the name Malik Ibrahim and police officials arrested him in Los Angeles in May. He is being held in the Collin County Detention Center in McKinney, Texas (not far from Dallas) on a bond of $1.5m.
The SCU has now charged him with seven counts of perjury for allegedly giving false testimony during his trials relating to the dispute with Richardson.
Anyway on a lighter note I've been testing for 2008 in something with rather a lot more power, next year I'm doing NASCAR. |
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ss_collins
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If I get the sponsorship I need the car will be painted as a big Nigerian flag!
If anyone knows how to contact the Nigerian media could they point me in the right direction?
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ss_collins
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Been out testing again over the last two days - this is going to be an exciting season
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ss_collins
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Pics from yesterday
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