Bedford GT - Monday November 9th....
Discussion
Humour said:
Friends and I are going for a day out in our Boston green E36 328 Sport.
Anyone else from the community planning to attend that day? Would be nice to say hello if you are....
Humour
Depending on weather I'll either be at this one or Rockingham the day before. Or neither actually if both days are soaking!Anyone else from the community planning to attend that day? Would be nice to say hello if you are....
Humour
Hi Tommy,
looking at the weather forecast, currently looks like it will be dry in the morning with some broken sunshine up till 11am, but in the afternoon 3pm onwards there is 40% chance of rain showers according to weather.com as of today.
We are booked now so we are committed. I'm hoping it will be ok on the day.
If you go, would love to say hello.
Humour
looking at the weather forecast, currently looks like it will be dry in the morning with some broken sunshine up till 11am, but in the afternoon 3pm onwards there is 40% chance of rain showers according to weather.com as of today.
We are booked now so we are committed. I'm hoping it will be ok on the day.
If you go, would love to say hello.
Humour
Humour said:
Hi Tommy,
looking at the weather forecast, currently looks like it will be dry in the morning with some broken sunshine up till 11am, but in the afternoon 3pm onwards there is 40% chance of rain showers according to weather.com as of today.
We are booked now so we are committed. I'm hoping it will be ok on the day.
If you go, would love to say hello.
Humour
I'd have been happy with that but sadly I've had to reschedule a meeting at work so can't get Monday off now anywaylooking at the weather forecast, currently looks like it will be dry in the morning with some broken sunshine up till 11am, but in the afternoon 3pm onwards there is 40% chance of rain showers according to weather.com as of today.
We are booked now so we are committed. I'm hoping it will be ok on the day.
If you go, would love to say hello.
Humour
Looks like Rockingham on Sunday is the only option.Humour said:
I know how that goes Tommy.
Have fun at Rockingham today
Tomorrow is looking good now weather wise, for those that may be going. Weather.com for Bedford says 7% chance of precipitation worst case in the afternoon.
Humour
Sadly I'm not at Rockingham today! Missed the boat on it, sold out by the time I decided to book.Have fun at Rockingham today
Tomorrow is looking good now weather wise, for those that may be going. Weather.com for Bedford says 7% chance of precipitation worst case in the afternoon.
Humour
Have fun at Bedford though
BullyB said:
Nice to meat you guys today!
Really enjoyed it at Bedford, without a doubt I will be back next year.
Just googling to see what a good lap time is...? My best seems to be 03:03:57 but that obviously isn't that accurate.
Hard to get times for Bedford as it's not used for racing as far as I'm aware. Just roughly timed one of mine off a video though and it was almost identical, 3.03ish. Not sure if that's good or not, although that was the first time I'd done the full track there so it could probably be improved on. That was in a MK1 MX5, standard suspension etc. but with about 160bhp from a DIY turbo install.Really enjoyed it at Bedford, without a doubt I will be back next year.
Just googling to see what a good lap time is...? My best seems to be 03:03:57 but that obviously isn't that accurate.
Not a huge fan of Bedford for numerous reasons which is a shame as it's my second nearest track.
3'03 is good pace in my book, that's a shade quicker than I've managed in my E36 328i up to now - though it's never been fault-free there, with either power loss and/or brakes that couldn't stand a single lap at ten-tenths! I expect ultimate pace to be around 2:58 now the issues are sorted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTnvietA1RQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTnvietA1RQ
Bloody good day out, fun filled throughout, I needed that!!! I must have looked like a happy chimp I was grinning so much. 
Lovely to have met with BullyB, a thoroughly nice chap. Many thanks for the ride in the Evo, the difference in grip and the arrest on the brakes was very evident compared to our boat like E36, even if the Evo motor was not sounding it's best on tick over. I wonder if it has to do with having had to disconnect the second fuel pump due to the leak?!?!? I'll have to pm you a link of our videos once I've had a chance to trim and convert down to a manageable size. There were one or two of you going sideways, albeit we were a bit too far back for the camera to capture it well enough.
Co-incidentally, my friend got the "No Drifting" sign by the Marshal at the hairpin leading onto the back straight and a talking to by the Marshal upon returning to the pits
Not surprising given the tyres we are running, as grip just isn't there to push to the level we were asking from the car, and the LSD addition made it more tail happy than before, nevertheless we tried and no spins all day with only one brown trouser moment on the fast right hander leading onto the second chicane, that was a "JUST" save Mr. Bob lol. Funnily enough, the same mate got the sign from the same Marshal location last time around, that one being "Steady" lmao. A bit of a trend I think
Adam, I guess we did yes, albeit I didn't know at the time you were part of the PH community, otherwise we would have chatted a bit longer. Sorry fella, next time...
A quick lap of the new GT layout imo is sub 3 minutes, well setup motors with 200Bhp+/Ton are able to get under 3 minutes. We have previously managed a 3:01 with better tyres in a 180Bhp/ton (or there abouts) E36 328, now running in the 3.08~3.10's with the 205 profile Firenza specials, but I never thought working with less grip can be so involving and fun.
Humour
Lovely to have met with BullyB, a thoroughly nice chap. Many thanks for the ride in the Evo, the difference in grip and the arrest on the brakes was very evident compared to our boat like E36, even if the Evo motor was not sounding it's best on tick over. I wonder if it has to do with having had to disconnect the second fuel pump due to the leak?!?!? I'll have to pm you a link of our videos once I've had a chance to trim and convert down to a manageable size. There were one or two of you going sideways, albeit we were a bit too far back for the camera to capture it well enough.
Co-incidentally, my friend got the "No Drifting" sign by the Marshal at the hairpin leading onto the back straight and a talking to by the Marshal upon returning to the pits
Not surprising given the tyres we are running, as grip just isn't there to push to the level we were asking from the car, and the LSD addition made it more tail happy than before, nevertheless we tried and no spins all day with only one brown trouser moment on the fast right hander leading onto the second chicane, that was a "JUST" save Mr. Bob lol. Funnily enough, the same mate got the sign from the same Marshal location last time around, that one being "Steady" lmao. A bit of a trend I think Adam, I guess we did yes, albeit I didn't know at the time you were part of the PH community, otherwise we would have chatted a bit longer. Sorry fella, next time...
A quick lap of the new GT layout imo is sub 3 minutes, well setup motors with 200Bhp+/Ton are able to get under 3 minutes. We have previously managed a 3:01 with better tyres in a 180Bhp/ton (or there abouts) E36 328, now running in the 3.08~3.10's with the 205 profile Firenza specials, but I never thought working with less grip can be so involving and fun.
Humour
T0MMY said:
BullyB said:
Nice to meat you guys today!
Really enjoyed it at Bedford, without a doubt I will be back next year.
Just googling to see what a good lap time is...? My best seems to be 03:03:57 but that obviously isn't that accurate.
Hard to get times for Bedford as it's not used for racing as far as I'm aware. Just roughly timed one of mine off a video though and it was almost identical, 3.03ish. Not sure if that's good or not, although that was the first time I'd done the full track there so it could probably be improved on. That was in a MK1 MX5, standard suspension etc. but with about 160bhp from a DIY turbo install.Really enjoyed it at Bedford, without a doubt I will be back next year.
Just googling to see what a good lap time is...? My best seems to be 03:03:57 but that obviously isn't that accurate.
Not a huge fan of Bedford for numerous reasons which is a shame as it's my second nearest track.
I mean it lacks any kind of undulation/features in terms of gradient etc but as a track i would argue its a fantastic setup/quality and very very safe if you do over cook it....
Chr1sch said:
Ok i'll bite - why?
I mean it lacks any kind of undulation/features in terms of gradient etc but as a track i would argue its a fantastic setup/quality and very very safe if you do over cook it....
Well I'm not saying I don't enjoy driving or riding around it, obviously it's still fun but I just prefer most other tracks. Criticisms I would level at it are:-I mean it lacks any kind of undulation/features in terms of gradient etc but as a track i would argue its a fantastic setup/quality and very very safe if you do over cook it....
1. As you said, very flat and featureless which makes it a bit easier and less exciting than, say, Knockhill
2. Incredibly wide in most places which can make it seem a bit slow with no scenery flashing by and makes it feel like you can get away with taking all kinds of random lines, especially on the corners with acres of flat curb. You can feel a bit lost in oceans of tarmac, rather than feeling like you're threading a needle as you do at Cadwell. I find Silverstone has a similar problem really.
3. The main straight is far too long...I don't enjoy going in straight lines, it's not fun and it just puts a load of strain on the engine and then the brakes. I appreciate it's there to give supercar drivers a rare opportunity to really open their cars up but it's tiresome in an MX5 or a BEC. I'd like a chicance or two along there personally.
As I said, to put this in context, I'd still happily pay loads of cash to spend a day there! I enjoy all tracks, just this one slightly less than others, my favourite being Cadwell
I agree with Tommy's points above but still looking forward to going back.
The straight is just too long for me as I hit the limiter in 4th gear just a bit before the braking point, I would ideally need it to be about 100m shorter (or 100m longer).
131 mph was my maximum yesterday.
I bet it was fun in the Ferrari
The straight is just too long for me as I hit the limiter in 4th gear just a bit before the braking point, I would ideally need it to be about 100m shorter (or 100m longer).
131 mph was my maximum yesterday.
I bet it was fun in the Ferrari
BullyB said:
I agree with Tommy's points above but still looking forward to going back.
The straight is just too long for me as I hit the limiter in 4th gear just a bit before the braking point, I would ideally need it to be about 100m shorter (or 100m longer).
131 mph was my maximum yesterday.
I bet it was fun in the Ferrari
My CBR600RR would indicate 170 along there (so maybe 155 true speed...a 600 can't do 170!). It certainly made it feel shorter but it still wasn't as fun as the corners! I think my MX5 did about 110 (with the turbo!) but it would be particularly frustrating in my Vortx which accelerates like a stabbed rat up to 100mph then hits a brick wall. I expect I'd maybe see 120 out of it at a push. The straight is just too long for me as I hit the limiter in 4th gear just a bit before the braking point, I would ideally need it to be about 100m shorter (or 100m longer).
131 mph was my maximum yesterday.
I bet it was fun in the Ferrari
Edited by T0MMY on Tuesday 10th November 17:57
Always comes to a point of view with these things imo. I'll admit Bedford isn't the Ring or Spa, but the tracks and layouts were built with Palmersport cars like the Jaguar Palmer and the FPA in mind as a priority, given that it is a business after all, whilst also taking into account minimising the risk to assets given the wide range and skills of operators getting behind the wheel on any given day.
Having driven all of the toys Palmer sport has to offer on a corporate day out many moons ago, I don't recall any track layouts being boring or uneventful in those cars. Far from it, I felt high after the experience. Admittedly though the GT layout is not available for the FPA to hoon around in.
I've been in a passenger ride in an R400 with slicks on the GT layout (shortly before the owner bust a wheel bearing and retired for the day) and that hit 130 on the back straight before he grabbed for the chicane. Our old beemer on its first go maxxed out at 120ish, second close to 130ish, now with a few additional works we are nudging 140ish on the speedo.
I would agree that Bedford's GT layout and Silverstone are better suited for bigger/heavier cars with more power than a seven, but that's the nature of the beast. On other tracks the seven would be relishing the twisties whilst the bigger cars might feel frustrated at not being able to fully open them up.
For our needs it's perfect. We have many jobs to do to get the car up to par, and being the closest track to us it's our proving ground with plenty of space should some of our monkey mechanics fail us, plus it's repeatable so we can feel how development is progressing. Overall, its a good test for power, reliability and brakes, if a tad on the expensive side on consumables as a result. Still I would rather find shortcomings there than at Cadwell having driven 100+ miles to get there.
Just my opinion...
Having driven all of the toys Palmer sport has to offer on a corporate day out many moons ago, I don't recall any track layouts being boring or uneventful in those cars. Far from it, I felt high after the experience. Admittedly though the GT layout is not available for the FPA to hoon around in.
I've been in a passenger ride in an R400 with slicks on the GT layout (shortly before the owner bust a wheel bearing and retired for the day) and that hit 130 on the back straight before he grabbed for the chicane. Our old beemer on its first go maxxed out at 120ish, second close to 130ish, now with a few additional works we are nudging 140ish on the speedo.
I would agree that Bedford's GT layout and Silverstone are better suited for bigger/heavier cars with more power than a seven, but that's the nature of the beast. On other tracks the seven would be relishing the twisties whilst the bigger cars might feel frustrated at not being able to fully open them up.
For our needs it's perfect. We have many jobs to do to get the car up to par, and being the closest track to us it's our proving ground with plenty of space should some of our monkey mechanics fail us, plus it's repeatable so we can feel how development is progressing. Overall, its a good test for power, reliability and brakes, if a tad on the expensive side on consumables as a result. Still I would rather find shortcomings there than at Cadwell having driven 100+ miles to get there.
Just my opinion...
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