Nov 08
Myself & Alex have written an article about the club and it will be featured in Decembers edition of Camper & Commercial magazine which is due out on the 10th Dec.
It’s a brief overview of how & why it was started, who are the members, their buses and what we do. The pictures look great - big thanks to Julian Hunt for all of his hard work over the year. He has spent many hours rushing around taking pics of our buses whether static or on track.
I hope you will enjoy the article and im sorry if your bus isn't pictured but there just wasn't enough room to show them all. This is the first time the USB has had some lime-light and lets hope for even more in the future.
Oct 08
The people of Vzi (volkszone) have put together a calendar featuring their selves/vehicles. This is all in aid of Brad's cancer fund and therefore all monies go to the charity.
I have to say that August looks extremely good but that´s because im biast. USB has two buses (mine and Alex´s) which were taken on the Fri of VW Action with the cheeky Lisa (miss Vzi - Shmoo) waving the flag for us. For your copy, go to http://www.volkszone.com/calendar and do your bit for charity.
VW Action 08
Once again one of the highlights of the year was upon us. The show had been eagerly anticipated since last years and we were very keen to get there.
Myself and Alex drove up on Thurs evening and were the usual excitable selves.
Gates opening at midday was a blessing as it gave us time to take a trip to Tesco for fuel/drink and breakfast.
Once in the gate, we signed in for racing and then found our club camping plot. Once sorted, it was time to chill.
A few hours later we were pit side with Lisa (Shmoo) for a photo shoot for next years VZi calendar. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures.
Fri & Sat we were lucky with the weather too!!! Dry and warm, this was a change from all the rain we'd had during the previous weeks.
A huge thank you goes out to John Stone from VZi as he supplied the club with new stickers for free!!!!!! Top man and if you ever require any stickers/banners then I highly recommend him!
Not forgetting Lisa! Thank you for the surprise stickers you made the club. A kind gesture indeed.
Russ couldn't quite get his bus to the show this year which was a real shame as I know he was so looking forward to double burnouts with Alex. I think Alex was doing burnouts for you mate.
During Saturday myself, Alex, Andy, Kev, Shane & Corky all made it round for the USB line-up. It was a lovely chilled out day and was nice to chat to others, whether about buses, engines or racing.
Sue (Kev's wife) said that we looked slimmer in out T shirts - we'll take that as a compliment hahaha...
Even Andy's little 'um was in on the act, wearing a USB pit crew shirt - bless.
One member who couldn't make the line-up was 'Evil' Dan in his black/green stripped panel van. Hats off to him though, he was having engine problems and was franticly trying to fix it for the racing later that evening. And yes his bus made it and came out to race, which was a huge achievement.
The night racing was, again, the star of the show for us. Well done to everyone involved in the fire-up lanes. All racers were asked what their personal best times were and then paired up against a similar running vehicle. This made it great for the spectators and racers alike.
5 members achieved personal bests!!! Myself (16.4), Dan (16.4), Alex (17.1), Kev (14.3) & Andy (16.7). A few celebrations afterwards were definitely had by all!!
Sunday was supposed to be RWYB but the weather stopped play to that, so many people headed off earlier than expected. All in all a great show and we hope next year will bring just as much fun and excitement.
One last note - Alex broke his gearbox and ended up going home on the back of a breakdown truck. If you're watched the video with myself & Alex racing, you'll see just how close it was!! In fact it was the closest race we've ever had!!! Alex beat me by the slightest of margins but this didn’t end there. Oh no....even on the way home...there we were cruising along the M1 when I hear a horn blowing and I look to the right, who do I see.....yes you've got it.....Alex passing me once more on the back of the truck, waving, hahaha.....
Chris
VW Action 08 update
As you may beware, the list of entrants for the Sat night racing is awesome!! This will be an evening of track action to remember!
USB for the first time will have a club camping plot. You are all welcome but I understand many of you are tied up with your local clubs. Anyone wanting to club with us remember to mention 'USB club camping' at the main gates.
Also, as you arrive, can you go to the 'information centre' which is next to the monster truck arena to sign in for the Sat night racing as its 'guests only' and your race number etc will be handed out. I'm guessing that the usual signing procedure is needed round at the tower too but just ask on Fri.
Our club has had the OK for a line-up on Saturday too. Can you all please drive round to the 'show & shine' area on Sat morning. Hopefully we'll have a good turn out to promote the club and to entice new blood. I'll bring the banners and hopefully will have the ALL NEW stickers to hand out too. I've still a few T shirts available if needed.
See you all there.
Chris.
BugJam22
Unlike last year, the weather was mostly dry for this busiest of Vw festivals. Myself & Alex had a mad/fun cruise up to Pod on the Thurs afternoon and got ourselves camped up ready for the weekend. Thanks to CCR over in the pits for the party and cocktails during thurs evening (what parts that I can remember).
Friday was the usual manic day as the crowds began to flow into the show. Alex decided to get some track time. Keen as always, he was the first to run and kept going round for more and more. Shame that there wasn't much of a crowd to witness his smokey burnouts but I know he certainly enjoyed himself. As for the USB, some people couldn't make it and others had issues so we knew the Sat session would be quiet for us.
BugJam being BugJam meant that most of us were busy elsewhere rather than on track. A few of us were out during Sat though. Racing ourselves mainly as the BWA boys were being quiet. Rikki couldn't make it this year so we were out to try for new PB's.
The head wind was pretty strong but 3 of us did manage best ever times!!
I had fuelling problems with the new NOS system so decided not to use gas. Still I managed a 17.1 PB so was well happy!! Kev with his turbo deluxe got so close to the 14's with a 15.0 and Shane ran a 17.3 - congrats to you both.
RWYB ended mid afternoon which gave us all time to chill out and crack open the beers/cider.
I ended up breaking the bus, school boy error, which resulted in calling the AA out on Sunday afternoon. I was the last to leave our campsite and made it home at midnight. But that´s racing and I hope to have it sorted for VW Action.
On a lighter note - Thanks to Alex for the entertainment on Sunday, we haven´t laughed so much for ages and I have to say you're a good sport and have taken it very well!!
If some of you don't know what I'm on about...all I can say is, never sleep with your sliding door open ;)
May 08
Welcome to our newest member, Andy Joyner. Most of you will know Andy or have heard of Andy as he's been trying for sub 18's since last summer. Out as gone his 1914cc and in has gone his new 2276cc motor. At Big Bang he came so close with two 18.0 runs!! But a few small problems stopped him from getting the all allusive sub 18 run that he'd been after.
The following week at a RWYB meeting it all hooked up for him, not only running a sub 18 but getting into the high 16's!! Told ya you'd do it Andy. Bet you're still grinning from ear to ear and that’s what it's all about. Congrats.
Big Bang 08
For me this has to be one of the best shows of the year and it couldn't have come around fast enough!
Since VW Action was such a success, back in Sept, the anticipation was nearly unbearable for me and Alex.
6-7 months over the winter period is a long time to wait when you are dying to get back on to the famous Santa Pod Raceway.
For Alex and I the weekend started early and we headed up to Santa Pod on the Thurs afternoon. A light rain was in the air as we arrived but hoped that this was all we'd see over the next few days. Missing the gate closure by 20 mins was a pain but we managed to park up in the overflow field side road ready for the morning.
Anyone who got to look around Alex's new bus would have noticed his all new curtains that had us all in stitches. Hand crafted from a weeks worth of the Daily Sport!! I say no more.
Friday we were up early but security weren't too happy with us as we fired up the motors but nothing was going to dampen our day. Once we got into Pod and camped up, the rest of the day was spent enjoying the show and catching up with club members who we'd not seen since the last outing.
Various members had upgraded, modified and tweaked their motors since last year and the excitement was there to see and hear.
Saturday was what we'd all been waiting for, a rematch of the BWA v USB clubs. The weather was perfect, clear blue sky and sunshine. The club formed up next to the pod shop, opposite the Splitscreen/BWA line up. Our new banner had an airing and the response from the passers by was great to hear.
Some of the members and non-members had itchy feet and were on track as soon as they could. We were supposed to have our first match up at 11.30am but the BWA wanted to run after lunch (I think there might have been a few sore heads from the night before). Problem was we weren't going to sit around and wait for a few more hours so we decided to race each other.
I'd given all the members a data sheet to fill in to help the commentators out once we were racing. I hope no-one heard me over the speakers as I'd run the length of the fire-up lane to hand them in, only to be given a mic and asked a few questions! Talk about surprised ha-ha...
There were some new PB's achieved, a few running problems for others and some cobwebs to dust off for the rest of us.
Well done to Kev for even making it to the Pod as he'd only just finished his huge 2332cc turbo project. Wait till later in the year for this bus to fly!!
Another amazing time was put in by our clubs smallest member (engine that is ha-ha). Alex's 1776cc deluxe blew his old PB away with a 17.2. I know he'd like to thank Mark Prosser at AutoTecniks for all of his hard work that’s gone into the bus.
After lunch both clubs converged into the fire-up lanes and apart from the marshals, everything went like clockwork. We all lined up side by side but the busses weren't put through together as a group, which was a real shame. For some strange reason the marshals staggered the busses with other RWYB vehicles but that was out of our hands.
All the club busses had their pics taken by Julian Hunt as he'll be doing a two page spread on the USB later in the year in Camper & Commercial magazine, we myself writing the article. More news to follow.
I'd like to welcome aboard our two latest members, Steve Turnbull & Dan Leatherbarrow, who qualified on the Sat and definitely enjoyed their time on track. See 'Members' section.
A big thanks to all the members for your efforts during the weekend and I have to say, you all looked sexy in your T shirts.
One final word, 2 - 0 ;-)
March 08
A huge thank you goes to John-g from Volkszone for the 3 club banners he sent me. Very professional to deal with and generous too as he made them for nothing! Thanks again fella.
Jan 08
Happy new year to you all.
2008 is going to be our biggest year so far!
The shows will be coming around thick and fast, so get out there and finish all those jobs you've been putting off over the xmas period (that includes me!).
Some of you I know have been upgrading your existing motors or have gone for bigger this year. I'm hoping to see a few personal bests this season and more silver memberships too!
Shane, Russ, Alex & Kev, to name a few, have all got new plans for the forth coming future and the competition is going to be better and closer than ever.
Incredibly, Mark (Beanie) will be aiming for the high 12's this year and maybe.....just maybe.....Bubbaontour will be back out in his bus too.
Good luck to those trying to qualify this year. I know of a few busses out there that are having engine transplants, even as I write this. At this rate it wont be long until we are over the 20 member count.
Talking of shows, it would be cool to meet up at the VolksWorld show in March. Maybe even have a few busses together for a pic or two.
But the first proper meet will be at Santa Pod over the Big Bang weekend. Now this is looking awesome and, like VW Action, we have been given track time for another heads up against our friends in the BWA. Lets get as many of us out there for this one and give the crowd something to cheer about!
Anyone who isn't a member but has a bus that they deem pretty quick are welcome to join in the fun, just come round to the fire-up lane before the session starts. If not, catch up with us over the weekend and look out for our club banner.
Banner? I hear you say? Yes, this year the club will have a banner plus some magnetic signs to place on the sides of busses. If possible, id like to get all members to line up pit side and get a few photos for us and the website. Might even be a opportunity for a magazine piece?
T shirts are now ready. Priced at £10 and come in M/L/XL. I will have them with me at all the shows. New window stickers (at last) will be available and I will make a point of seeing you all over the coming months. I still have a few certificates to give out, so don't worry guys, I haven't forgotten.
Here's to another memorable year of racing!
VW Action '07
This year VW Action had been greatly anticipated, mainly because of its new location at Santa Pod, and we were not disappointed at all. For the members & wannabes, the highlight of the weekend revolved around the famous drag strip.
I turned up on the Fri lunchtime to find a very busy campsite with a real buzz in the air. As the USB & BWA were not racing till the Sat evening, it was a day to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones and enjoy ourselves. Later that afternoon myself & Alex went over to welcome TonyM as he'd been having problems with his bus over the summer months. To our shock he had lost all steering as he pulled into the field!! Thank god it happened at such a slow speed off road. Luckily it was a minor fault and he'd be out playing on the Saturday.
Saturday was kind of a weird one for a lot of us. No drinking was involved!! (shock horror). The day was spent recovering from the Friday evening antics, watching the awesome cars & bikes racing....including the mind blowing Top Fuel dragster and making sure all the racers knew where to go and when.
Speaking to some of the members, there was a mixture of anxiety, excitement & nerves, mainly coming from me i must add!!
Respect goes to Corky who turned up Sat afternoon straight from a trip to Ireland! His new 3,2 Porsche engine was sounding sweet.
So by 4pm we had all just about signed in and were eager to get pit side and ready for action (no pun intended).
One thing to remember is don't try to fix something that isn't broken - at the 11th hour Alex decided to replace his clutch cable - but like all good plans - it went belly up.
A big thanks goes out to Shane r and his pit crew for helping him out as for a while it looked like he wouldn't make it out on track.
Some of us had USB logo's stuck to the front of our busses (Alex had to have two on his doors hahahaha) - just a little advertising until our banner is sorted.
So anyway........we'd made our way round to the top of the fire-up lane when Corky found that he'd got a puncture from leaving the campsite. Again, mad panic to find a donor wheel. In the end a temporary repair was done by fitting his spare wheel - the only problem was that he now had 3 Porsche cup wheels and a standard VW one. It might have looked odd but at least he managed to line up with the rest of us. Considering the club is still very young we had a respectable 12 Bays turn up to run. Yes we were out numbered by the BWA but that was to be expected.
We all lined up side by side against the BWA busses. The atmosphere was electric! This was the first time that the clubs had come together for a heads up race. It wasn't at all like us against them, more like busses united for one common purpose. There were alot of excited faces to be seen, last minute adjustments going on and then, what seemed to be for ages, the waiting for the signal that the track was ready for us.
Eventually we heard the announcement of our respective clubs and engines were fired up. I don't know about anyone else but my left foot was twitching on the clutch pedal!!
Once the first pairing had gone through, it didn't take long to get through the whole line up. I witnessed a few passes but mostly was concentrating on my own race.
Once we had all done our first run we went round for another run. The waiting was agony but it did give us time for more tinkering, a quick ciggie and a chat with our fellow racers.
After some other clubs had raced we got paired up again. Most of us managed a total of 3 runs - the last ones were probably the most fun! Night racing!! If you've never experienced this, you must!! A word of warning though - once you've passed the finish line, its very dark, especially with no lights on!
The USB busses were not embarrassed by the more experienced BWA.
Mark (Beanie) had the quickest bus of the day, running in the low 13's. There were a few personal bests on the day too. Pick of the day must have been Kev with his '70 deluxe turbo running a 17 dead. So close to a 16, but the engine is now for sale, watch out for this bus and others next year as over the winter there are some serious monster engines in the pipeline.
The USB can hold their heads high as we triumphed over the BWA. David and Goliath springs to mind, although it was the taking part that meant the most.
Welcome to two new members who qualified during the session - l.a.r.d in his early panel van and TonyM (at last mate) in his 2017cc bus.
All in all, a great show, great racing and we look forward to having a rematch next year.
Thanks to all concerned for your efforts, including the show organisers for allowing us this opportunity to race. Here's to more in 2008.
One last thing. During the Sunday RWYB session, two more busses qualified into the USB, one Bronze & one Silver member. Info in the 'members' section.
18/08/07 - Santa Pod RWYB/Mini Fest
As usual this summer, the weather wasn't great and the threat of rain was in the air.Braving the odds, five of us decided to risk it and drive up to Santa Pod which had a public RWYB day/ Mini Fest on.
Alex (Jesus) & Russ (6yrs & not finished) had already decided not to race and save their engines for VW Action as any breakages so close to this event would be disastrous. Plus as they are both members of USB, they didn't need to prove anything. As for the rest of us, we were hoping that it stayed dry long enough for us to get some track time, sort out any gremlins and hopefully qualify into the club.
I think I can speak for us all about our surprise when we arrived to find so many vehicles in the fire-up lane! This was definitely a popular event, probably due to less track time this summer, what with the dire weather and all.
Several clubs had turned up, for example, Mini's (as it was their event), Renault 5 turbo's, various Jap machines and Old School Fords. Even some of the pro's were out testing including Super Gas, Super Pro & Pro ET.
The bikes were very popular too and out in force, even some very quick scooters were running!
So there we were, signed in and rolling out into the fire-up lane. There were many smiles, weird looks, pointing and mumbling going on, which to our amusement was great fun! I guess its not the kind of sight that most people expect to see at one of these events.What I found great was the relaxed atmosphere and the friendliness between racers. There were alot of nicely turned out vehicles and most people seemed to acknowledge the time and effort that had gone into them whether it be a Mini, VW or Super Gas motor.
Myself & Andy were up first. Andy was on the money with his reaction time, pulling a 0.1 but he fell short of the elusive sub 18, running a respectable late 19 with his 1914cc motor.
I was struggling again with wheel spin and recorded a personal best of 18.1.
Kev was round next. Apparently the driver of the Renault 5 turbo (Kev's opponent) couldn't believe his eyes as his beloved French car was beaten briefly off the line hahaha........This was Kev's first ever run with his 1776cc turbo motor and incredibly he recorded a time of 17.2! Well done mate.
The fire-up lane by now was heaving and we knew we were going to have a long wait. Myself & Andy managed two more races. With a little tinkering, I managed less wheel spin and recorded 17.2 & 17.4 runs. Andy was still getting great reaction times but kept in the 19's and low 20's. Watch out for his Bay next year once his new engine arrives!
Kev managed one more run, a 17.3 before rain stopped play at mid-afternoon. We'd all had a great day, the big smiles were proof. Roll on VW Action!
BugJam 21
As you will know by now, the weather was against us for this weekend. By the time the track had dried on the saturday, there wasn't enough time for us to get out and play.
There was one bright moment though. Shane Rae (VWDRC) was out on track in his blue/white early westy testing his new engine. Shane and team (CCR) have recently fitted a new 2110cc stroker motor and were desperate to get the bus under the 18 seconds to qualify into the USB. The canadian done well, running a 17.7 and then a 17.9. Welcome aboard fella!
I've yet to run a sub 18 and have planned to head up to RWYB at Santa Pod on Sat 18th August. Other members will be joining me in some track action (weather dependant) and others are more than welcome to pop along too.
Just a quick note to say don't forget about VW Action at the end of August!
This event looks awesome and there will be a heads up race against the guys/girls of the BWA! This might even involve some night racing too!!
Myself and Rikki are going to try to pair up busses with similar ET's, adding to the excitement of close side to side racing.Hope you can all make it that weekend as i think it will be a memorable show. If you could let me know if you'll be attending as i need to put together some numbers for Brian Burrows and also a few notes for the commentators for when you're on track.
Reaction times
Test your own reaction skills. See LINKS.
Customize your Bay!
Now you have the chance to customize your Bay the way you want it! Slam it, change the wheels, colour etc.. See how your bus will look before you spend your hard earned cash. See LINKS.
Big Bang '07
Great to see so many busses out on the track during Saturday's RWYB session. With ideal weather (dry, not too hot and a tailwind) it gave everyone a good chance for some quick runs.
Well done to our two latest members, Russell Phillips (aka 6 yrs & not finished) with a blinding run of 17.1 and Paul Weeding with a 17.65. Good going, as it was the first time out for both of them.
Beanie was out playing too but his reliable subaru powered panel van broke a gearbox. A real shame as i expected a new personal best from him (hope the bus is fixed soon).
Congratulations to Alex (Jesus) who acheived a new PB of 17.7 in his 1776cc powered panel van. Great to see the bus is still running strong.
Stumpy vdub (brett) couldnt make it out this weekend but he has told me of his new plans for the next few months. If anyone was pit side and saw his stretched bay with the professional USB spray job (tongue in cheek), all i can say is keep your eyes peeled for it later in the year! Good luck Brett.
April '07
Good luck to Shane r at Big Bang this weekend, racing his all new Bay window. To check out his website, see LINKS
March '07
Welcome to our latest new Gold member - Mark Prosser, with his awesome VW powered panel van. Lets see if he can hit the 12's this year!
December '06
Certificates are now being presented with the stickers. Existing members, I will be in contact shortly for your addresses and to ask what name you'd like on them.
Congratulations to Simon (Corky) in running a 16.2 at Shakespeare County Raceway.
Bubbaontour wins the VWDRC AE 2006 Championship
After another thrilling VWDRC season, a Baywindow, running in the AE class, has come out on top of the pile.
A hugh well done to Bubba in achieving such heights with your Porsche powered Bay. A real crowd pleaser all year, its great to see peoples faces of amazement when your front wheels are in the air!
All the best for 2007 as I know you have a new Type II venture and I am looking forward to seeing you out on the track soon.