Brands tomorrow?
Discussion
The Londoner said:
Post up how you got on, and any good tips!
Only just spotted this! You'll be in the driver's briefing right now I guess - looks dry which is a bit better than yesterday...
Turned up @ 3 - peeing it down. Found a garage, did some prep - fliuds, tyres and cleared the crap out of the car.
Signed on, got a cuppa and caught up with a few other club members.
Briefing, mini-bus tour of the track then follow-my-leader for a few laps. Back into pits, queue up and then out on track for the 1st time.
Weather was between downpour and monsoon and pretty slippery. An MR2 drier managed to end up in the gravel on paddock hill bend by lap 3 so a quick break for us... MR2 lost an undertray and looked like it'd been building sandcastles.
By 7:30 (2 hours of track time) I'd done some 70 miles on track, about 58 laps) which is a bit more than I'd planned and used 55 litres of optimax!
Highlights were thrashing along the main streight in torrential rain with only the break lights of the car in front visible and getting the break, blip, change-down, turn in right on Paddock Hill Bend for the 1st time.
Managed to get consistant lines round there and clearways but graham hill bend was always interesting (as I'd be batting oversteer most of the way down the hill into it meaning I was generally not breaking in a streight line down there!
Max speed through the apex(s) of clearways was ~50. Anything over and I couldn;t hold the inside radius to the second cone and oversetter in 3rd was imminent if pressing on too much on the first part of the main streight.
Driving the indy for the 1st proper track day is great as it's short enough to remember and you get to atack the same corners a lot. Twice as much as I'd have done on the full circuit.
MSV were great and the marshalls were a really friendly bunch.
Mass flames down on all breaking zones were apparently very visible from the overrun... hopefully there'll be some video of it haning round!
Roll on the next outing!
Let me know how you found it in the dry!
Cracking afternoon out, and one that I would recommend to anyone wanting to dip their toe into the track day world. Nice and dry all afternoon, and reckon I got about 60 laps in. Would have been more had I not discovered the delights of brake fade as I headed full tilt into Paddock Hill Bend, at which point discretion overcame valour and I retired for a while for tea and a sticky bun.
Good mix of cars, all the way from an ancient Jag and an even older Renault to an indecently fast Lambo.
I think I learned a lot and definitely feel happier after Silverstone in January; I know the tracks don't exactly compare, but now at least I have a slightly better grasp of what to do.
Good mix of cars, all the way from an ancient Jag and an even older Renault to an indecently fast Lambo.
I think I learned a lot and definitely feel happier after Silverstone in January; I know the tracks don't exactly compare, but now at least I have a slightly better grasp of what to do.
The Londoner said:
Cracking afternoon out, and one that I would recommend to anyone wanting to dip their toe into the track day world. Nice and dry all afternoon, and reckon I got about 60 laps in. Would have been more had I not discovered the delights of brake fade as I headed full tilt into Paddock Hill Bend, at which point discretion overcame valour and I retired for a while for tea and a sticky bun.
Good mix of cars, all the way from an ancient Jag and an even older Renault to an indecently fast Lambo.
I think I learned a lot and definitely feel happier after Silverstone in January; I know the tracks don't exactly compare, but now at least I have a slightly better grasp of what to do.
Sounds good - didn't have any fade issues in the wet which is a small mercy! How scary is PHB the first few times round?
Can't believe how steep it is. The only other time I have experienced compression like that has been on skis after a fast downhill run.
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