North Of Watford and us in Holland
Discussion
Sorry the title is cryptic, but I didn't want the moderators moving this to the trackday forum. I'm sure there's plenty of Zandvoort perspectives on there already, so this should stay in our village.
Wow, what a track! Surprisingly there are some good elevation changes, even though the track is built on the sand, by the sea. Threading through sand dunes,you can understand the cambers and flow. The track is an old style track. Keep it accurate and you will be fast. Take the wrong line, and you will spend the next three corners getting back to where you want to be. My main problem was turning in too late on many of the corners. They have an opening radius or are under the angle you expect, so are faster than they look. As with nearly every track I've driven, there are also a couple of corners that I just couldn't sort out. I can't blame it on the Ute, these corners are there to sort out the hobbyist like me from a racing driver. Looking at a couple of videos on Youtube last night, I wasn't the only one. Probably my favourite part of the circuit is the Gerlach to Hugenholtz complex. It looks very daunting being concrete lined, but the camber of the track mean you can take more speed in than you think. My least favourite was Nissan, where you brake downhill into a sharp 90 deg right followed by 180 degree left. The problem corner that just wouldn't work for me was Renault.
As with previous track days in the VXR8, the Ute suffered from oil temperature problems. Coupled with the automatic gearbox, it wasn't really an ideal car to have there, and I only seemed to overtake cars that were on their cooling down lap, as I was keeping the revs down and using 4th gear for all except the start/finish straight. I think a 14 year old M5 would probably be perfect for the circuit.
Wow, what a track! Surprisingly there are some good elevation changes, even though the track is built on the sand, by the sea. Threading through sand dunes,you can understand the cambers and flow. The track is an old style track. Keep it accurate and you will be fast. Take the wrong line, and you will spend the next three corners getting back to where you want to be. My main problem was turning in too late on many of the corners. They have an opening radius or are under the angle you expect, so are faster than they look. As with nearly every track I've driven, there are also a couple of corners that I just couldn't sort out. I can't blame it on the Ute, these corners are there to sort out the hobbyist like me from a racing driver. Looking at a couple of videos on Youtube last night, I wasn't the only one. Probably my favourite part of the circuit is the Gerlach to Hugenholtz complex. It looks very daunting being concrete lined, but the camber of the track mean you can take more speed in than you think. My least favourite was Nissan, where you brake downhill into a sharp 90 deg right followed by 180 degree left. The problem corner that just wouldn't work for me was Renault.
As with previous track days in the VXR8, the Ute suffered from oil temperature problems. Coupled with the automatic gearbox, it wasn't really an ideal car to have there, and I only seemed to overtake cars that were on their cooling down lap, as I was keeping the revs down and using 4th gear for all except the start/finish straight. I think a 14 year old M5 would probably be perfect for the circuit.
mik_ok said:
Sounds great. 
I know another couple of guys that did both Spa and Zandvoort this wwk. Not jealous at all.
Did you see a yellow UK 996.1 GT3 there with a black UK 996.2 GT3?
Yes, they overtook me many times. I know another couple of guys that did both Spa and Zandvoort this wwk. Not jealous at all.
Did you see a yellow UK 996.1 GT3 there with a black UK 996.2 GT3?
Was the black one an 03 plate? If so, they were two garages away from us.
stigmundfreud said:
I really wish that Codemasters would do an F1 masters rather than concentrate on iteration updates year on year.
There are some fantastic courses no longer used in F1 and its a shame this wont get a look in
I guess you're on about gaming - or Gay-ming as I would call it.There are some fantastic courses no longer used in F1 and its a shame this wont get a look in
Wake up and smell the coffee. You need the experiences, not some programmer's graphics.
stigmundfreud said:
yes I know and I might get over next year but as for the gaming yes, it would be great to be able to race some of the old greats from the comfort of my own home
If you're serious about going over there, the track is great, there's a Centre Parcs right behind it, and a big resort to the side. What's not to like?Gassing Station | HSV & Monaro | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff